cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatic detection and damage quantification of multiple cracks on concrete surface from video

Real-time automatic detection of multiple cracks from a video stream of a concrete surface is addressed in this paper. Robust principal component analysis is used to detect multiple cracks forming at different instances of time in an unsupervised manner using the Gini index as a metric to quantify the presence of an observable crack. The relative positions of the relevant pixels around the crack are monitored using the Kanade Lucas Tomasi feature tracking algorithm. Further, Hu's invariant moments of those pixel positions are computed which acts as a robust damage indicator even for breathing cracks under time-varying service loads. The proposed method is experimentally validated using two small scale under-reinforced beams undergoing three-point bending tests. The method successfully detects the onset of multiple cracks, at varied locations, at different time instants and further tracks their propagations.
Implementing SAFE™ care: Evaluation of a geriatric model of care for real-world practice

Abstract Systems Addressing Frail Elders (SAFETM) Care is a geriatric model of care that identifies high-risk hospitalized older adults, and provides targeted interprofessional interventions for risk factors associated with frailty. This post, mixed methods study sought to evaluate SAFETM Care implementation retrospectively at one public academic medical center and describe practical “real-world” considerations for implementation using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). In addition to barriers and facilitators, hidden characteristics to consider for implementation include initiating conditions, skills and experiences of implementers, interpersonal challenges, unique facilitators and barriers, surprising conditions, and threats to and requirements for sustainability. Implementation of SAFETM Care demonstrated effective adoption and implementation, but faced multiple threats that led to failed sustainability. The public sharing of these successes and failures will help implementers understand and make progress in adapting such important geriatric programs and quality improvement initiatives.
Multiplex Assays of Luminex for Identification of COVID-19 Antibodies in Patient Serum: Performance Evaluation and Comparison to ELISA

Introduction/Objective Mount Sinai Hospital has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) antibody testing using ELISA. This serological assay detects and titrates the presence of circulating antibodies to COVID-19. Other platforms have aimed to achieve the credentials of the ELISA instrument, including the multiplex assays of Luminex. The platform is known to have a greater throughput (384 wells vs. 96 wells per microplate) and faster processing speed (8 hours vs. 17 hours).
Detecting individual abandoned houses from google street view: A hierarchical deep learning approach

Abstract Abandoned houses (AH) are focal points in urban communities by threatening local security, destroying housing markets, and burdening government finance in the U.S. legacy cities. In particular, individual-level AH detection provides essential information for fine-resolution urban studies, government decision-makers, and private sector practitioners. However, three primary conventional data sources (field data, utility data, and remote sensing data) cannot suffice to collect such fine-resolution data in the large spatial area via a cost-effective approach. To this end, Google Street View (GSV) imagery, which emerges as the mainstream open-access data source with global coverage, provides an opportunity to address this issue. Subsequently, a follow-up challenge confronting the detection of AH arises from the fact that it lacks an effective method that can discern authentic visual features from the redundant noise in GSV images. In this study, we aim to develop an effective method to detect individual-level AH from GSV imagery. Specifically, we developed a new hierarchical deep learning method to leverage both global and local visual features of AH in the detection. The method can be further divided into three steps: (1) Scene-based classification that can extract global visual features of AH was implemented through fine-tuning a pre-trained deep convolutional neural network (CNN) model. (2) We developed a patch-based classification method that can extract specific local features of AH. In this method, patches were generated from GSV images based on auto-detected local features, followed by being labeled as three categories: building patches, vegetation patches, and others. Two deep CNN models were employed to identify deteriorated building facade patches and overgrown vegetation patches, respectively. (3) Individual-level AH were detected by integrating scene classification results and patch classification results in a decision-tree model. Experimental results showed that the F-score of AH was 0.84 in a well-prepared dataset collected from five different Rust Belt cities. The proposed hierarchical deep learning approach effectively improved the accuracy comparing with the traditional scene-based method. In addition, the proposed method was applied to generate an AH map in a new site in Detroit, MI. Our study demonstrated the feasibility of GSV imagery in AH detection and showed great potential to detect AH in a large spatial extent.
A New Dynamic Adaptive Chemistry Reduction Method

A dynamic adaptive chemistry(DAC)is developed based on the path flux analysis(PFA)model reduction approach to increase drastically the computation efficiency of combustion modeling with large,detailed kinetic mechanism.This new method is applied to the simulation of homogeneous ignition and unsteady flame propagation of n-decane/air mixtures.The comparison between results predicted by dynamic adaptive chemistry and those by detailed chemistry shows that this method can accurately reproduce the species time histories and ignition delay times.Compared to the detailed mechanism,there are much smaller numbers of active species and reactions with DAC method.The effects of the mechanism size and criteria of model reduction in path flux analysis are investigated.Results show that the computation efficiency of DAC increases with the size of chemical kinetic mechanisms.This scheme can be used for direct numerical simulations and large eddy simulations with detailed chemical mechanisms to improve the computation efficiency.
An inter-country comparison of nuclear pile development during World War II

Between the time of the discovery of nuclear fission in early 1939 and the end of 1946, approximately 90 “nuclear piles” were constructed in six countries. These devices ranged from simple graphite columns containing neutron sources but no uranium to structures as complex as the water-cooled 250-MW plutonium production reactors built at Hanford, Washington. This paper reviews and compares the properties of these piles.
Nurturing Trust and Mutuality

Marie is a low-income and first-generation Latina student who transferred from community college to a four-year institution. As a student of color in a historically white-dominated college, Marie experienced daunting challenges. Yet, her mentors were able to connect with her, to encourage her to press on, nurturing her talents so deeply that she became a successful Ph.D. student.
A Visual Tracking Framework for Intent Recognition in Videos

To function in the real world, a robot must be able to understand human intentions. This capability depends on accurate and reliable detection and tracking of trajectories of agents in the scene. We propose a visual tracking framework to generate and maintain trajectory information for all agents of interest in a complex scene. We employ this framework in an intent recognition system that uses spatio-temporal contextual information to recognize the intentions of agents acting in different scenes, comparing our system with the state of the art.
Genomic and epigenomic heterogeneity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Defining features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are not only its immunophenotype of CD19+CD5+CD23+sIgdim expressing clonal mature B cells but also its highly variable clinical course. In recent years, advances in massively parallel sequencing technologies have led to rapid progress in our understanding of the CLL genome and epigenome. Overall, these studies have clearly demarcated not only the vast degree of genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity among individuals with CLL but also even within individual patient leukemias. We herein review the rapidly growing series of studies assessing the genetic and epigenetic features of CLL within clinically defined periods of its growth. These studies strongly suggest an evolving spectrum of lesions over time and that these features may have clinical impact.
Patent Swords and Shields

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied an "experimental use defense" in a patent infringement lawsuit against Duke University, signaling that academic researchers may be liable for use of patented equipment and processes even without use for commercial purposes. The court declared that the noncommercial character of the research in Madey v. Duke University was irrelevant. What matters is whether the research "is in keeping with the alleged infringer's legitimate business, regardless of commercial implications." In the case of a university, noncommercial research is "legitimate business," subject to the patent laws.
High-throughput high-accuracy immune repertoire sequencing (TECH1P.841)

Using VDJ recombination, the human immune system contains hundreds of billions of B and T cells that each expresses a unique antigen receptor through a gene recombination mechanism. This “immune repertoire” forms the base of a safety net that protects each individuals against infections and cancers, with particular lymphocytes proliferating in response to antigenic stimulation. Recently developed immune repertoire sequencing technology has enabled us to quantitatively study the immune repertoire in response to vaccination. However, high rate of errors generated from sequencing the PCR amplification process imposed a challenge on accurate determining repertoire diversity and somatic hypermutations. Recently, we developed a RNA barcoding technology that significantly reduced the error rate from 10-3 to 10-5 nt. This new method greatly improved the over-all diversity and mutation estimates and enabled us to answer many questions in human natural infections.
Personal Learning Apprentices

We believe that learning apprentice systems may make practical a number of personalized work assistant applications which are now impractical due to the prohibitive costs of knowledge base development and maintenance. CAP is a prototype learning apprentice for one such application: personal calendar management. While CAP is still a prototype system with only a fraction of the capabilities we envision, it is already in routine use by one secretary in our environment, collecting training data on a regular basis. Our preliminary learning experiments indicate that CAP's inductive learning methods are sufficient to automatically acquire rules comparable in performance to manually created rules, for the two features of meetings we have tested thus far. We plan to continue development of CAP, and to distribute copies to a number of users in our environment in order to test its ability to customize itself to a variety of individuals.
Phosphors for flat panel field emission and plasma displays

Summary form only given, as follows. Truly emissive flat panel displays have long been sought, and have faced many technological challenges, but are now very close to becoming a commercial reality. A review is given of the recent developments of phosphors for low to medium voltage applications in field emission displays (FED) and in new plasma display panels (PDP). For FEDs the drive to operate at lower voltage and power, is frustrated by the rapid decrease in phosphor luminous efficiency. This is due to the smaller volume of luminescent activators that are sampled at low electron beam voltages and by the presence of non-radiative surface recombination effects. The higher drive currents possible from a field emission device can be used to compensate for this loss in brightness and efficiency, but for many current phosphors, saturation and coulombic degradation limit the advantage of high current sources. The use of fast activators and a more complete understanding of electron-solid interactions at low voltages is shown to be necessary to characterize and develop solutions to this problem. In PDP the switch to xenon plasma excitation sources requires further phosphor optimization to achieve the same efficiencies when pumped by 150-180 nm radiation, than the 254 nm Hg discharge used in lighting, but many existing phosphors have acceptable properties for current applications. There is, however, a need to increase phosphor lifetimes in a display by developing coating techniques. Additionally, an improved red chromaticity and a faster green phosphor to prevent smearing, are desired as well as a more efficient blue phosphor. Recent progress in this area and the search for more power efficient plasma phosphors will be discussed.
Measuring the Effects of Decoupled Payments on Indica Rice Production Under the 1996 and 2002 Farm Bills

As a heavily subsidized crop with significant exports, rice bears at least a superficial similarity to upland cotton, which causes some to speculate that current rice policy exposes the U.S. to the same WTO sanctions as were levied in 2005 against U.S. cotton subsidies. This paper examines the impact of decoupled payments on U.S. indica rice production in the southern states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana and Texas, a region chosen because it accounts for nearly all U.S. rice exports to Central and South America. Using Arellano’s and Bond’s generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique for dynamic panel models on county-level data, we find that both direct and counter-cyclical payments exert significant, positive effects on acreage planted in indica rice. The estimated acreage price and cost elasticities are statistically significant and are within the ranges of values in previous studies.
High-fidelity DNA hybridization using programmable molecular DNA devices

The hybridization of complementary nucleic acid strands is the most basic of all reactions involving nucleic acids, but has a major limitation: the specificity of hybridization reactions depends critically on the lengths of the complementary pairs of strands and can drop to very low values for sufficiently long strands. This reduction in specificity occurs especially in the presence of noise in the form of other competing strands that have sequence segments identical to the target. This limits the scale and accuracy of biotechnology and nanotechnology applications which depend on hybridization reactions. Our paper develops techniques for ensuring specific high-fidelity DNA hybridization reactions for target strands of arbitrary length. Our protocol is executed autonomously, without external mediation and driven by a series of conversions of single stranded DNA into duplex DNA that help overcome kinetic energy traps, similar to DNA walkers.
The Analysis and Performance of Multi-Rate Service in Distributed Video-on-Demand Systems

In this paper, we develop an end-to-end analysis of a distributed Video-on-Demand (VoD) system that includes an integrated model of the server and the network subsystems with analysis of its impact on client operations. The VoD system provides service to a heterogeneous client base at multiple playback rates. A class-based service model is developed where an incoming video request can specify a playback rate at which the data is consumed on the client. Using an analytical model, admission control conditions at the server and the network are derived for multi-rate service. We also develop client buffer requirements in presence of network delay bounds and delay jitter bounds using the same integrated framework of server and network subsystems. Results from an extensive simulation show that request handling policies based on limited redirection of blocked requests to other resources perform better than load sharing policies. The results also show that downgrading the service for blocked requests to a lower bitrate improves VoD system performance considerably. Combining the downgrade option with restrictions on access to high bitrate request classes is a powerful tool for manipulating an incoming request mix into a workload that the VoD system can handle.
Ultraviolet Microscopy of Candida albicans

Balish, Edward (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Ill.), and George Svihla. Ultraviolet microscopy of Candida albicans. J. Bacteriol. 92:1812-1820. 1966.-Yeast and mycelial strains of Candida albicans were grown in medium supplemented with sulfur amino acids in an effort to determine factors that control the morphology and pathogenicity of the organism. Ultraviolet microscopy revealed a greater concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in the vacuoles of the mycelial phase than in those of yeast phases. Supplementation with amino acids greatly increased the concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in the mycelial phase, and made these cells more sensitive to the lytic action of snail gut enzymes than two yeast phase strains. This indicates a difference in cell wall structure that may be related to the pathogenicity of the mycelial phase.
Tidal motion, ice velocity and melt rate of Petermann Gletscher, Greenland, measured from radar interferometry

Over a floating glacier ice tongue or an ice shelf, the glacier motion measured by a single, repeat-pass, radar interferogram is difficult to analyze, because the long-term, steady motion of the ice is intermixed with its cyclic, downward motion induced by tidal forcing. Multiple interferograms and a quadruple-difference technique are necessary to separate the tidal signal from the long-term, steady motion of the ice. An example of application of this technique is given here using ERS-1 radar images of Petermann Gletscher, a major outlet glacier of northern Greenland. Tidal displacements are measured with <5 mm statistical noise. The long-term ice velocity is measured with a precision of 1 m a-1. The inferred tidal displacements agree well with model predictions from a fixed elastic beam with an elastic damping factor of 0.47 ± 0.01 km-1. The hinge line is mapped with a precision of 20-80 m. Combining the interferometric ice velocities with ice thickness data, the glacier ice discharge is calculated at and below the hinge line. At the hinge line, the ice flux is 12.1 ± 1 km3 a-1. At the ice front, calf-ice production is only 0.59 km3 a-1, meaning that 95% of the ice that crosses the grounding line melts before it reaches the calving front. Assuming steady-state conditions, the melt rate of the glacier tongue averages 12 ± 1 m a-1, with peak values exceeding 20 m a-1 near the hinge line. This high melt rate cannot be accommodated by surface ablation alone (only about 2-3 m a-1) and is attributed to pronounced basal melting of the ice tongue. Basal melting, often assumed to be negligible in Greenland, is the dominant process of mass release from the floating section of Petermann Gletscher.
Gastric origin of the first-pass metabolism of ethanol in humans: Effect of gastrectomy

The areas under the curve (AUCs) of blood ethanol concentrations are much smaller after oral than after intravenous administration of a small dose of ethanol. To study whether this difference is due to ethanol oxidation in the stomach, in the small intestine, or during first pass through the liver, we compared the AUCs after random administration of the same ethanol dose by the intravenous, oral, and intraduodenal routes to 5 abstaining alcoholics and via the two former routes to 10 subjects with Billroth II subtotal gastrectomy. In the nonoperated subjects, the AUCs after an ethanol dose (0.15 g/kg) given orally were 17% (p less than 0.01) of those achieved intravenously, in spite of the fact that greater than 99% of the dose had disappeared from the stomach at the completion of the AUC. By contrast, the AUCs after intraduodenal administration did not differ from those produced intravenously, indicating that neither the intestine nor the liver make a detectable contribution to this first-pass metabolism. Moreover, gastrectomy completely abolished the first-pass metabolism of ethanol. Gastric metabolism decreases the bioavailability of the ingested alcohol and thus attenuates its systemic toxicity. The abolition of this "protective barrier" in gastrectomized patients may increase their vulnerability to ethanol.
A Discrete State Model for Kinesin-1 with Rate Constants Modulated by Neck Linker Tension

Kinesin-1 is a homodimeric molecular motor protein that uses ATP and a hand-over-hand motion to transport cargo along microtubules. How kinesin converts chemical energy into directed motion is a question that has been actively studied since its discovery. Even at the most coarse-grained level of chemical kinetics, understanding is still lacking. Minimal kinetic models are often developed to both explain kinesin’s hand-over-hand forward-stepping behavior and to infer important kinetic rate constants from experimental data. These minimal models are often limited to a handful of two-headed states on a core cycle and have been essential for the current level of understanding. However, it is not always clear how to evolve these core-cycle models to explain more complex behavior such as non-processive motion. We have taken a different approach and have developed a kinetic model without a pre-defined core cycle. Our model includes 80 two-headed states and permits transitions between any two states that differ by a single catalytic or binding event. We constrain the rate constants as much as possible by published experimental data. We define many of the remaining unknown rate constants based on mechanical strain in the kinesin neck linkers and their docking state. We present a one-dimensional model for neck-linker modulation of head binding and unbinding rates and nucleotide binding and unbinding rates. We show that our model reproduces a run length (processivity) and run time in the range of experimental results. The core cycles that emerge are slightly different than those commonly discussed. We also explore how processivity and speed change with neck linker length. Our modeling applications are available as LabVIEW open-source code and compiled executables for PCs, which will allow other research groups to adapt the model and rate constants and may aid in general understanding of molecular motor behavior.
Tritium-hydrologic research: Some results of the U.S. Geological Survey Research Program

In general tritium is of limited usefulness as a tool in hydrologic studies because the tritium content of ground water, as a result of radioactive decay, becomes too low to be detectable after about 50 years. Nevertheless, a unique study was made of the hydrologic cycle of small stream basins in Wisconsin and New Jersey on the basis of measurements relative to the peak of tritium fallout in the spring of 1958. The continental and the coastal basins receivedapproximately the same tritium fallout. Approximately 30 percent went into ground-water storage, the remainder being exported as runoff and evapotranspiration. The mean residence time for ground-water recharge for the two basins was 45 and 30 days, respectively.
“Cursed with Self-Awareness”: Gender-Bending, Subversion, and Irony in Bull Durham

In this essay I argue that the popular baseball film/romantic comedy Bull Durham works against heteronormative viewing by infusing its scenes with an ironic sensibility that is both feminist and key to a gay male understanding of gender paradox. I rhetorically analyze the ways in which the film both reinscribes masculinity and encourages spectators rhetorically to identify with the female lead, Annie Savoy, thus modeling new possibilities for characters and viewers to understand sexuality.
Assessment of model assumptions and budget terms of the unsteady flamelet equations for a turbulent reacting jet-in-cross-flow

Abstract An a priori analysis of the flamelet model for diffusion flames is conducted to systematically assess model assumptions that are associated with the asymptotic expansion, the omission of higher-order expansion terms, the consideration of preferential diffusion effects, and the one-dimensional flamelet representation. For this, a recent direct numerical simulation database of a reacting hydrogen/air jet-in-cross-flow (JICF) by Grout et al. [15,16] is used. The full flamelet equation for temperature, exact to the order of the Eulerian transport equation and general to different definitions of the mixture fraction, is derived. Analysis of mixture fraction conditioned profiles of temperature and scalar dissipation rate along the jet trajectory identified different ignition and flame stabilization scenarios on the windward and leeward sides of the reacting JICF. A balance analysis of the temperature flamelet equation is conducted to quantify contributions in flame-aligned and flame-orthogonal directions. Consistent with the flamelet assumption, it is shown that terms arising from scalar diffusion, heat-release, and species-diffusion-induced enthalpy flux are the dominant contributions, while the flame-aligned preferential diffusion promotes entrainment of heat into the flamelet structure. For the current JICF-configuration, it is found that contributions along the flame-orthogonal direction are on average negligible.
Use of Abdominopelvic Computed Tomography in Emergency Departments and Rates of Urgent Diagnoses in Crohn's Disease

Background & Aims In the United States, the use of abdominopelvic computed tomography (APCT) by emergency departments for patients with abdominal pain has increased, despite stable admission rates and diagnosis requiring urgent intervention. We proposed that trends would be similar for patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Methods We conducted a retrospective study of data from 648 adults with CD who presented at 2 emergency departments (2001–2009; 1572 visits). Trends in APCT use were assessed with Spearman correlation coefficient. We compared patient characteristics and APCT findings during 2001–2003 and 2007–2009. Results APCT use increased from 2001 (used for 47% of encounters) to 2009 (used for 78% of encounters; P = .005), whereas admission rates were relatively stable at 68% in 2001 and 71% in 2009 ( P = .06). The overall proportion of APCTs with findings of intestinal perforation, obstruction, or abscess was 29.0%; 34.9% of APCTs were associated with urgent diagnoses, including those unrelated to CD. Between 2001–2003 and 2007–2009, the proportions of APCTs that detected intestinal perforation, obstruction, or abscess were similar (30% vs 29%, P = .92), as were the proportions used to detect any diagnosis requiring urgent intervention, including those unrelated to CD (36% vs 34%, P = .91). Conclusions Despite the increased use of APCT by emergency departments for patients with CD, there were no significant changes in admission rates between the periods of 2001–2003 and 2007–2009. The proportion of APCTs that detected intestinal perforation, obstruction, abscess, or other urgent conditions not related to CD remained high.
Crystal structure ofcis-[Ru(bpy)2{PPh2(o-tol)}Cl][ClO4]·1.5(CH2Cl2), a structure containing both ordered and disordered dichloromethane molecules of crystallization

The complexcis-[Ru(bpy)2 {PPh2(o-tol)}Cl][ClO4] crystallizes from dichloromethane as the sesqui-dichloromethane solvate. The complex crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n with Z=4. The structure was refined toR=5.50% for those 2552 independent reflections with |F0|>6σ(|F0|) The octahedral Ru(II) cation is associated with the following bond lengths: Ru-PPh2(o-tol)=2.360(3)A. Ru−Cl=2.433(2)A and Ru−N(bpy)=2.041(8)–2.095(8)A. Both the perchlorate anion and the dichloromethane molecules of solvation exhibit large amplitudes of vibration. One dichloromethane molecule lies in a general position, the other lies about an inversion center and suffers from disorder.
Microwave, Raman, and infrared spectra, r0 structural parameters, conformational stability, and vibrational assignment of cyanocyclohexane

Abstract The FT-microwave spectrum of cyanocyclohexane, c-C 6 H 11 CN has been investigated from 11,000 to 21,000 MHz and 99 transitions for the chair-equatorial conformer and 76 transitions for the chair-axial form have been observed and assigned from which the rotational constants and five centrifugal distortion constants have been obtained. By utilizing the six microwave rotational constants along with ab initio MP2(full)/6-311 + G(d,p) predicted structural values, adjusted r 0 parameters have been obtained for the two conformers. The determined heavy atom structural parameters for the axial[equatorial] conformer are: the distances (A) C 1 –C 8,9 = 1.536(3)[1.536(3)], C 8,9 –C 14,15 = 1.532(3)[1.532(3)], C 4 –C 14,15 = 1.544(3)[1.544(3)], C 6 N 7 = 1.162(3)[1.161(3)] and angles in degrees: ∠C 1 C 8,9 C 14,15 = 111.6(5)[110.8(5)], ∠C 6 C 4 C 14,15 = 110.0(5)[110.8(5)] and τ C 1 C 8,9 C 14,15 C 4 = 55.6(10)[56.9(10)]. Variable temperature (−55 to −100 °C) studies of a xenon solution were carried out and by using two conformer pairs from which an enthalpy difference of 63 ± 9 cm −1 (0.75 ± 0.11 kJ/mol) was obtained with the more stable form the chair-axial conformer. At ambient temperature, the abundance of the chair-axial conformer is 58 ± 8%. By measuring the temperature dependency of the Raman spectrum of the liquid of the conformer pair at 819 (axial)/842 (equatorial) cm −1 , a standard enthalpy difference of 46 ± 16 cm −1 (0.54 ± 0.19 kJ/mol) was obtained again with the chair-axial conformer the more stable form. From MP2(full)/6-311 + G(d,p) ab initio calculations the chair-axial conformer is predicted to be more stable by 120 cm −1 (1.44 kJ/mol) whereas in contrast the density functional theory calculations by the B3LYP method with the same basis sets gives the chair-equatorial conformer more stable by 180 cm −1 (2.16 kJ/mol). A complete vibrational assignment is given for the chair-axial conformer and most of the fundamentals for the chair-equatorial form have been assigned. To support the vibrational assignments, normal coordinate calculations with two scaling factors for the force constants from MP2(full)/6-31G(d) calculations were carried out to predict the fundamental vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, Raman activities, depolarization values and infrared band contours. The results of these spectroscopic and theoretical studies are discussed and compared to the corresponding results for some similar molecules.
Conformational analysis of platinum antitumor drugs

Abstract The purpose of this research is to effectively and efficiently search the conformational space of square planar Pt(II) antitumor drugs, using a combination of molecular mechanics, Monte Carlo (MC) and molecular dynamics (MD) methods. An MM2 force field for square planar Pt(II) complexes developed in our lab is extended to the related MM+ force field and shown to give equally reliable structural prediction. The reliability of the force field and three different conformational searching techniques (MC, MD and a random cartesian coordinate method (RCC)) are tested for cis -PtCl 2 (NH 2 R) 2 complexes. The MC and MD methods are found to be better than the RCC method for finding low-energy conformations. The conformational search results were used for a prototypical quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study and the results suggest that toxicity ( p ( LD 50 )) is reduced for complexes with larger volumes and surface areas. More importantly, the results show that molecular properties can be very geometry dependent, and hence an ensemble of low energy conformers must be considered for constructing QSARs for metal complexes with large and flexible ligands.
An R || C max Quantum Scheduling Algorithm

Grover's search algorithm can be applied to a wide range of problems; even problems not generally regarded as searching problems, can be reformulated to take advantage of quantum parallelism and entanglement, and lead to algorithms which show a square root speedup over their classical counterparts. In this paper, we discuss a systematic way to formulate such problems and give as an example a quantum scheduling algorithm for an R||Cmax problem. R||Cmax is representative for a class of scheduling problems whose goal is to find a schedule with the shortest completion time in an unrelated parallel machine environment. Given a deadline, or a range of deadlines, the algorithm presented in this paper allows us to determine if a solution to an R||Cmax problem with N jobs and M machines exists, and if so, it provides the schedule. The time complexity of the quantum scheduling algorithm is $${\mathcal{O}(\sqrt{M^N})}$$ while the complexity of its classical counterpart is $${\mathcal{O}(M^N)}$$ .
Neurophysiological “markers”— EEG sleep measures

Although a number of neurophysiological "markers" have been suggested as potential correlates of depression, the most promising set has been based on the electroencephalographic (EEG) measurement of sleep in affective disorders. Our knowledge, based on episodic biological correlates of depression, has attained considerable consensus in demonstrating specific findings for EEG sleep and depression. While there are some controversial issues remaining, the available evidence suggests that EEG sleep correlates can certainly be used as a state measure in affective disorders. A second phase of inquiry is now concerned with two issues--whether there are any specific markers during remitted phases of depression, and how the data base can help us understand some of the key theoretical biological issues in affective states.
Simple device for transferring and eluting thin-layer chromatographic fractions.

Abstract A device is described that combines simultaneously scraping and vacuum aspiration techniques. It allows for fast, quantitative recovery of large thin-layer chromatographic fractions with practically no contamination from sample to sample.
Interaction of St. John's Wort with oral contraceptives: Effects on the pharmacokinetics of norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol, ovarian activity and breakthrough bleeding

Abstract Objectives This study evaluated the effect of the herbal remedy St. John's Wort on oral contraceptive (OC) therapy with respect to the pharmacokinetics of norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol, ovarian activity and breakthrough bleeding. Methods Sixteen healthy women were treated with a low-dose OC (Loestrin 1/20) and a placebo for two consecutive 28-day cycles in a single-blind sequential trial. Treatment with St John's Wort 300 mg three times daily was then added for two additional 28-day cycles. Outcomes compared between control and treatment cycles included the pharmacokinetics of norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol, daily bleeding diaries, follicle growth, changes in cervical mucus and progesterone levels drawn at 7- to 10-day intervals. Results Treatment with St. John's Wort was associated with a significant 13���15% reduction in the dose exposure from the contraceptive. Breakthrough bleeding increased in the treatment cycles, as did evidence of follicle growth and probable ovulation. Conclusion St. John's Wort is associated with increased metabolism of norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol, breakthrough bleeding, follicle growth and ovulation. Women using OCs should be cautioned that St. John's Wort might interfere with contraceptive effectiveness.
Space-time formulation of Harnack inequalities for curvature flows of hypersurfaces

We consider the motion of hypersurfaces in Riemannian manifolds by their curvature vectors. We show that the Harnack quadratic is an affine second fundamental form of the space-time track of the hypersurface. Given a solution to the Ricci flow, we show that with respect to an appropriate metric on space-time, the space-slices evolve by mean curvature flow. This enables us to identify the Harnack quadratic for the mean curvature flow with the trace Harnack quadratic for the Ricci flow.
A randomized controlled trial of smoking cessation intervention in pregnancy in an academic clinic.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a physician-based intervention to promote smoking cessation during pregnancy, we conducted this landomized controlled trial in the residentstaffed prenatal clinics at the University of North Carolina Women's Hospital. Two hundred fifty prenatal patients who smoked were enrolled at their first visit and randomly assigned to the intervention or the usual-care group. Resident physicians provided self-help materials to intervention subjects and used a script to set goals with them at each prenatal visit. Subjects who set quit dates were contacted by volunteer cessation counselors. To verify smoking status, subjects provided a self-report and breath carbon monoxide (CO) sample at each visit. Controls were similarly assessed at enrollment and at three additional predetermined intervals. Twenty percent of intervention subjects and 10% of controls reported cessation, which was verified by CO level ( P =.052). Fifty-one percent of subjects reduced their consumption by half or more, compared with 30% of controls ( P =.002). The intervention is effective in promoting smoking cessation and reduction. In addition, this technique is inexpensive, readily accepted by staff, and efficient.
Anchor chain length alters the apparent mechanism of chloride channel function in SCMTR derivatives

Two membrane-anchored heptapeptides have been prepared and their pore-formation behavior in phospholipid bilayer membranes has been found to differ profoundly as a result only of alkyl chain length.
Examination of the highly diverse CD4(+) T-cell repertoire directed against an influenza peptide: a step towards TCR proteomics.

We combined several recent technological advances in immunology and molecular biology to identify and sequence a large number of T-cell receptor (TCR) genes specific for a particular antigen. We utilized class II MHC tetramers and interferon-γ surface capture to isolate from samples of peripheral blood the population of CD4+ T cells responding to a peptide derived from influenza hemagglutinin and restricted by HLA-DR1. Detailed analysis of hundreds of clones from three different patients revealed an extremely diverse repertoire, with little overlap between patients. We observed no dominant usage of particular Vβ segments nor any clear CDR3 sequence motif in the responding T cells, but most of the clones appear to utilize acidic residues in the CDR1 and CDR3 regions, presumably to interact with the exposed basic residues in the MHC-peptide complex. This methodology could be expanded to a large scale to identify the generalized rules governing TCR-MHC engagement and factors which shape the T-cell repertoire after vaccination and in autoimmune pathologies.
The Portrayal of Older People in Award-winning Literature for Children

Abstract This study extended previous research on picture books receiving the prestigious Caldecott Medal by examining illustrations for the portrayal of older adult characters. Comparison of the 1972–1983 and 1984–1995 groups of Caldecott winners revealed significant changes in the depiction of older people in the more recent group of award books. Recent books portray them in a more positive manner. In addition, only two significant gender differences in a field of 36 possibilities were found over the entire 23-year period of Caldecott award-winners. Implications are drawn regarding the important role picture books play in the construction of young readers' positive attitudes toward old age and older people.
A model for odd parity states in even nuclei

Abstract The level structure of negative parity levels in deformed even nuclei are explained by a collective model in which the nuclear surface in these excited states contains only the spherical harmonics Y3, 0 and Y3,±2, the moments of inertia being expressed in terms of two new variables ζ and η, the octupole deformation and asymmetry parameters, respectively. The energy eigenvalues for the rotation of such a rigid, asymmetric octupole surface are obtained. A ζ-like vibration is then added in a manner analogous to β-vibrations in the quadrupole case. Electromagnetic transitions are discussed and branching ratios for E2 and E3 transitions are given. The model is compared with experiment for those even nuclei which have al least three negative parity levels in oneζ-vibrational band and it is found to account for the observations quite well for large A.
Structural Basis for DNA Recognition by FoxO1 and Its Regulation by Posttranslational Modification.

FoxO transcription factors regulate the transcription of genes that control metabolism, cellular proliferation, stress tolerance, and possibly life span. A number of posttranslational modifications within the forkhead DNA-binding domain regulate FoxO-mediated transcription. We describe the crystal structures of FoxO1 bound to three different DNA elements and measure the change in FoxO1-DNA affinity with acetylation and phosphorylation. The structures reveal additional contacts and increased DNA distortion for the highest affinity DNA site. The flexible wing 2 region of the forkhead domain was not observed in the structures but is necessary for DNA binding, and we show that p300 acetylation in wing 2 reduces DNA affinity. We also show that MST1 phosphorylation of FoxO1 prevents high-affinity DNA binding. The observation that FoxO-DNA affinity varies between response elements and with posttranslational modifications suggests that modulation of FoxO-DNA affinity is an important component of FoxO regulation in health and misregulation in disease.
Oxygen uptake efficiency slope: an index of exercise performance and cardiopulmonary reserve requiring only submaximal exercise.

OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate, in adults, the efficacy of the Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope (OUES), an index of cardiopulmonary functional reserve that can be based upon a submaximal exercise effort. BACKGROUND Maximal oxygen uptake (O2 max), the most reliable measure of exercise capacity, is seldom attained in standard exercise testing. The OUES, which relates oxygen uptake to total ventilation during exercise, was proposed by Baba and coworkers (7) in a study of pediatric cardiac patients. They felt this submaximal index of cardiopulmonary reserve might be more practical than O2 max and more appropriate than the commonly used peak oxygen consumption (O2 peak). METHODS Treadmill exercise tests with simultaneous respiratory gas measurement were performed in 998 older subjects free of clinically recognized cardiovascular disease and 12 male patients with congestive heart failure. During incremental exercise, oxygen uptake was plotted against the logarithm of total ventilation, and the OUES was determined. RESULTS The OUES, when calculated only from the first 75% of the exercise test, differed by 1.9% from the OUES calculated from 100% of exercise time in subjects with a peak respiratory exchange rate ≥1.10. On serial tests the OUES was less variable than exercise duration or O2 peak. It correlated strongly with O2 max, with forced expiratory volume in 1 s and negatively with a history of current smoking. The OUES declined linearly with age in both women and men. A small sample of patients with congestive heart failure had OUES values much lower than those of older subjects without cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS The OUES is an objective, reproducible measure of cardiopulmonary reserve that does not require a maximal exercise effort. It integrates cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and respiratory function into a single index that is largely influenced by pulmonary dead space ventilation and exercise-induced lactic acidosis.
Trends and prospects in state and local finance

Abstract This article reviews trends in the national total of the expenditures of state and local governments for the period of 1929–1982. The principle conclusions are that growth of federal grants has played a significant role in the growth of these expenditures, and that even after allowing for the effects of relative price, income, and federal grants, a relatively large unexplained positive residual remains. Part of this upward drift in expenditures, especially for the period of 1950–1970, can be accounted for by the growth in school-age population. The article ends with a brief discussion of future prospects for subnational governments.
Effect of external standards on children's evaluations of their reproduction of visual forms.

96 second grade children and 144 4-yr-old nursery school children were asked to copy geometric designs. One group was given high standards for evaluating their work, one group was given low standards, and a control group was given no external standards. Differences between treatment groups were significant (p = .01); there were no sex or socioeconomic differences. Children in the low standards group rated their drawings higher, and children in the high standards group rated their drawings lower, thah children in the control group. Results suggest perceptual judgments might be used to shape visual-motor reproduction, rather than vice vera.
Role and Management of Exercise in Diabetes Mellitus

As more is understood about the physiology of exercise, in both normal and diabetic subjects, its role in the treatment of diabetes is becoming better defined. Whereas people with diabetes may derive many benefits from regular physical exercise, there are also several hazards that make exercise difficult to manage. In type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes, there are risks of hypoglycemia during or after exercise or of worsening metabolic control if insulin deficiency is present. Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients treated with sulfonylureas are also at some increased risk of developing hypoglycemia during or after exercise, although this poses less of a problem than with insulin treatment. In individuals treated by diet alone, regulation of blood glucose during exercise is usually not a significant problem and exercise can be used as an adjunct to diet to achieve weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity. When obese type II diabetic patients are treated with very low calorie diets, adequate amounts of carbohydrate must be provided to ensure maintenance of normal muscle glycogen content, particularly if individuals wish to participate in high-intensity exercise that places a heavy workload on specific muscle groups. On the other hand, moderate-intensity exercise such as vigorous walking can be tolerated by individuals on very low calorie, carbohydrate-restricted diets after an appropriate period of adaptation. A number of strategies can be employed to avoid hypoglycemia in type I diabetic patients, and both type I and II diabetic patients should be examined carefully for long-term complications of their disease, which may be made worse by exercise. These considerations have led many diabetologists to consider exercise beneficial in the management of diabetes for some individuals but not recommended for everyone as a necessary part of diabetes treatment as in the past. The goals should be to teach patients to incorporate exercise into their daily lives if they wish and to develop strategies to avoid the complications of exercise. The rationale for the use of exercise as part of the treatment program in type II diabetes is much more clear than for type I diabetes; regular exercise may be prescribed as an adjunct to caloric restriction for weight reduction and as a means to improve insulin sensitivity in the obese insulin-resistant individual.
Intramolecular Electron Transfer in Tetraammine(L)ruthenium(III)-Modified Manganocytochromes c

Manganese-substituted horse heart cytochrome c was modified at histidine-33 with the ruthenium complexes trans-(NH3)4(L)Ru−His33, where L = NH3, pyridine, or isonicotinamide. Manganese(II)-to-ruthenium(III) intramolecular electron-transfer rates were measured by pulse radiolysis as functions of concentration and temperature to obtain intramolecular and intermolecular electron-transfer rate constants and activation parameters.