cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Formation of liquid water at low temperatures via the deliquescence of calcium chloride: Implications for Antarctica and Mars

Abstract There is significant interest in the potential existence of even small amounts of liquid brine on current Mars. It has been proposed that aqueous solutions could form on Mars via the deliquescence of hygroscopic salts in contact with atmospheric water vapor, and these hygroscopic salts have recently been detected in recurring slope linae (RSL). While past work has largely focused on perchlorate species, another Mars-relevant salt that has a low eutectic temperature and may be deliquescent is calcium chloride, CaCl 2 . This salt may be linked to RSL formation on Mars, and deliquescence of CaCl 2 is also known to be responsible for the only terrestrial RSL analog features known thus far: water tracks in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Here we use Raman microscopy to monitor the low-temperature (223−273 K) deliquescence (solid to aqueous phase transition) and efflorescence (aqueous to solid phase transition) of two hydration states of CaCl 2 , the dihydrate and the hexahydrate. We find the deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) decreases with decreasing hydration state and with increasing temperature. Average DRH values over the temperature range studied are 15.8±3.5% RH for the dihydrate and 63.3±12.5% RH for the hexahydrate, making this salt at least as deliquescent as many perchlorate salts. A remarkable property of CaCl 2 is its ability to persist as metastable, supersaturated brine. Once an aqueous solution was formed, efflorescence (recrystallization) of the liquid did not occur until single-digit RH values were reached (3.9±2.4% RH on average). We show that temperature and relative humidity conditions in the martian subsurface are sufficient to allow deliquescence of CaCl 2 , and the resulting brines may persist for over half of a martian sol. Therefore, this salt could play a role in RSL formation, the martian water cycle, and have implications for the potential habitability of Mars.
The Characteristic Length of a Polar Fluid

The constitutive equations for a linear polar fluid were introduced in 1952 by Grad [1] and were motivated by statistical mechanics considerations. Recently polar fluids have been considered from a statistical mechanics viewpoint by Dahler [2, 3] and from a continuum approach by Cowin [4], Jatjnzemis and Cowin [5], and Eringen [6]. The constitutive equations for a polar fluid relate the stress tensor T and the couple stress tensor Λ to the rate of deformation tensor D, to the angular velocity of the rigid Cosserat triad Ḡ, to the gradient of Ḡ denoted by ψ, and to the difference H between Ḡ and the usual or regional angular velocity W (Wis one half the vorticity ∇ × v), $$\hat H = \hat G - \hat W = \hat G - \frac{1}{2}\nabla \times v.$$ (1)
Tobacco biomass as a source of advanced biofuels

Tobacco plants can be developed as an energy crop for biofuels production. Tobacco represents a well-established non-food crop with an over 400-year tradition of cultivation in the United States. I...
Association between small-for-gestational age and neurocognitive impairment at two years of corrected age among infants born at preterm gestational ages: a cohort study

Association between small-for-gestational age and neurocognitive impairment at two years of corrected age among infants born at preterm gestational ages: a cohort study
In Ovo Electroporation in the Chicken Auditory Brainstem

Electroporation is a method that introduces genes of interest into biologically relevant organisms like the chicken embryo. It is long established that the chicken embryo is an effective research model for studying basic biological functions of auditory system development. More recently, the chicken embryo has become particularly valuable in studying gene expression, regulation and function associated with hearing. In ovo electroporation can be used to target auditory brainstem regions responsible for highly specialized auditory functions. These regions include the chicken nucleus magnocellularis (NM) and nucleus laminaris (NL). NM and NL neurons arise from distinct precursors of rhombomeres 5 and 6 (R5/R6). Here, we present in ovo electroporation of plasmid-encoded genes to study gene-related properties in these regions. We show a method for spatial and temporal control of gene expression that promote either gain or loss of functional phenotypes. By targeting auditory neural progenitor regions associated with R5/R6, we show plasmid transfection in NM and NL. Temporal regulation of gene expression can be achieved by adopting a tet-on vector system. This is a drug inducible procedure that expresses the genes of interest in the presence of doxycycline (Dox). The in ovo electroporation technique – together with either biochemical, pharmacological, and or in vivo functional assays – provides an innovative approach to study auditory neuron development and associated pathophysiological phenomena.
Thermodynamic Constraints on the Lower Atmosphere of Venus

The lower Venusian atmosphere is the region from the surface to the cloud deck or about 0–50 km. Early modeling studies of the atmosphere were primarily based on thermodynamics; more recent modeling studies are based on kinetics of the elementary reactions. In this paper, we take the accepted nominal composition of near-surface gases at ∼42 km and show some of the constituents are indeed at thermodynamic equilibrium. We impose a small oxygen gradient and use a thermodynamic free energy minimization code to describe the vertical gradients of mixing ratios for the primary gases in the lower atmosphere. The oxygen gradient is within the measurement errors on oxygen and thus maintains mass conservation. Reasonable agreement is found between our calculations and the vertical profiles of H2O, H2SO4, OCS, H2S, and Sn (n = 1–8). We then did a kinetic analysis of kinetic expressions for the formation of these species. Consistent with other investigators, we find that very few if any reactions should be at equilibr...
Quantification of tomographic PIV uncertainty using controlled experimental measurements.

This erratum corrects information regarding the author listing in Appl. Opt.57, 420 (2018)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.56.00420.
MEDICARE OR MEDICAID ENROLLMENT INCREASES RISK OF 30 DAY READMISSIONS FOR HEART FAILURE PATIENTS

Patients with heart failure (HF) are at a greater risk for readmission within 30 days of discharge. There is a lack of comparison between patients with Medicare:Medicaid (CMS) insurance and those with other forms or without insurance regarding hospital readmission. We retrospectively examined 127
How Gender Identity and Transgender Status Affect Perceptions of Attractiveness

Can a perceiver’s belief about a target’s transgender status (distinct from gender nonconforming appearance) affect perceptions of the target’s attractiveness? Cisgender, heterosexual men and women...
Crossed-Molecular Beam Studies of Charge Transfer Reactions at Low and Intermediate Energy

Investigations of the state-to-state reaction dynamics of ion molecule reactions have evolved steadily over the past several years, parallelling in many respects similar developments concerning the kinematics of neutral reactions. The main goal of these studies is the elucidation of the microscopic mechanism of reaction which describes the precise way in which reactants are converted into products. Intimately connected with this question is the disposal of energy--internal, translation and reaction exo- or endothermicity--in the reaction products. We shall summarize in this report recent results obtained primarily in this laboratory using the crossed beams technique.
Knowledge and Belief in Plato’s Republic

Plato was the first philosopher to draw, appreciate and explore the distinction between knowledge and belief. He first drew it in the Gorgias 454D: there is false as well as true belief but not false as well as true knowledge. In that dialogue Plato used the distinction to draw the boundaries between rhetoric, whose main aim and use at the hands of Gorgias and his pupils was to gain power by inducing belief, and techne or episteme whose main aim and use at the hands of mathematicians and philosophers was to discover truths about the world and about how men ought to live.
More Than Epiphyseal Osteochondromas: Updated Understanding of Imaging Findings in Dysplasia Epiphysealis Hemimelica (Trevor Disease).

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to discuss approaches to imaging dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica in the context of recent advances in the understanding of the underlying pathophysiologi...
Teaching about diagnostic errors through virtual patient cases: a pilot exploration

Background Diagnostic error is a major problem in health care, yet there are few medical school curricula focused on improving the diagnostic process and decreasing diagnostic errors. Effective strategies to teach medical students about diagnostic error and diagnostic safety have not been established. Methods We designed, implemented and evaluated a virtual patient module featuring two linked cases involving diagnostic errors. Learning objectives developed by a consensus process among medical educators in the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) were utilized. The module was piloted with internal medicine clerkship students at three institutions and with clerkship faculty members recruited from listservs. Participants completed surveys on their experience using the case and a qualitative analysis was performed. Results Thirty-five medical students and 25 faculty members completed the survey. Most students found the module to be relevant and instructive. Faculty also found the module valuable for students but identified insufficient curricular time as a barrier to implementation. Conclusions Medical students and faculty found a prototype virtual patient module about the diagnostic process and diagnostic error to be educational.
Extraterrestrial Intelligences in the Atomic Age: Exploring the Rhetorical Function of Aliens and the ‘Alien’ in the Twin Peaks Universe

Drawing on Mark Frost’s Secret History and Season 3 of Twin Peaks, this chapter examines the relationships constructed between UFO sightings, spiritual transcendence, and nuclear testing. While the relationship between aliens and nuclear sites is of interest to conspiracy theorists, and folklorists have long discussed the relationship between spiritual transcendence and extraterrestrial visitations, Frost and Lynch explore some of these connections in new ways—suggesting that extraterrestrial encounters can result in an uncanny prescience or ‘sixth sense,’ that may be associated with forces of good intended to offer a cosmic counterbalance to the evils of nuclear war. However, Season Three marks a movement away from simple good/evil binaries and suggests an ‘Other’ or third place where neither identity is clear and both are inextricably intertwined.
Seeking Legitimacy : Why Arab Autocracies Adopt Women's Rights

Aili Mari Tripp explains why autocratic leaders in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria embraced more extensive legal reforms of women's rights than their Middle Eastern counterparts. The study challenges existing accounts that rely primarily on religiosity to explain the adoption of women's rights in Muslim-majority countries. Based on extensive fieldwork in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and an original database of gender-based reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, this accessible study analyzes how women's rights are used both instrumentally and symbolically to advance the political goals of authoritarian regimes as leverage in attempts to side-line religious extremists. It shows how Islamist political parties have been forced to dramatically change their positions on women's rights to ensure political survival. In an original contribution to the study of women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa, Tripp reveals how women's rights movements have capitalized on moments of political turmoil to defend and advance their cause.
Resisting the Neoliberal Role Model: Latino Male Mentors’ Perspectives on the Intersectional Politics of Role Modeling:

This article reports on research with two Latino male youth workers who express strong criticism of their positioning as “positive” role models for struggling Latino boys in a Latino male mentorshi...
Analyzing How Changes in the Health Status of Healthcare Workers Affects Epidemic Outcomes

Abstract During a disease outbreak, healthcare workers (HCWs) are essential to treat infected individuals. However, these HCWs are themselves susceptible to contracting the disease. As more HCWs get infected, fewer are available to provide care for others, and the overall quality of care available to infected individuals declines. This depletion of HCWs may contribute to the epidemic’s severity. To examine this issue, we explicitly model declining quality of care in four differential equation-based SIR-type models with vaccination. We assume that vaccination, recovery, and survival rates are affected by quality of care delivered. We show that explicitly modelling healthcare workers and accounting for declining quality of care significantly alters model-predicted disease outcomes, specifically case counts and mortality. Models neglecting the decline of quality of care resulting from infection of HCWs may significantly under-estimate cases and mortality. These models may be useful to inform health policy that may differ for healthcare workers and the general population. Models accounting for declining quality of care may therefore improve the management interventions considered to mitigate the effects of a future outbreak.
Germinal Center and Extrafollicular B Cell Responses in Vaccination, Immunity, and Autoimmunity.

Activated B cells participate in either extrafollicular (EF) or germinal center (GC) responses. Canonical responses are composed of a short wave of plasmablasts (PBs) arising from EF sites, followed by GC producing somatically mutated memory B cells (MBC) and long-lived plasma cells. However, somatic hypermutation (SHM) and affinity maturation can take place at both sites, and a substantial fraction of MBC are produced prior to GC formation. Infection responses range from GC responses that persist for months to persistent EF responses with dominant suppression of GCs. Here, we review the current understanding of the functional output of EF and GC responses and the molecular switches promoting them. We discuss the signals that regulate the magnitude and duration of these responses, and outline gaps in knowledge and important areas of inquiry. Understanding such molecular switches will be critical for vaccine development, interpretation of vaccine efficacy and the treatment for autoimmune diseases.
The Tragedy of Central European University: Theorizing Hungarian Illiberal Democracy and Its Threat to Academic Freedom

The global proliferation of radical right political movements and the decline of democracy are defining features of our current moment. Authoritarian leaders ascend to power through the ballot box, but at once, they systematically consolidate control over the state and civil society. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the Fidesz party is emblematic of illiberal democracy, a term originally coined by Fareed Zakaria. This Note applies Zakaria’s illiberal democracy to Hungary while adjusting the contours of his theory to better account for the role of anti-intellectualism and nationalism in the illiberal toolkit. This Note also investigates the Orban government’s targeting of Central European University, one of the most notorious struggles between a university and an illiberal democracy for academic freedom. Central European University’s situation illuminates the ways in which illiberal regimes attempt to smother spaces of resistance, using ethno-nationalist rhetoric to characterize universities and intellectuals as outsider threats to the illiberal nation-state.
There is No Such Thing As a 'Legal Name': A Strange, Shared Delusion

As far as federal, most state, and any other source of American law is concerned — as several courts in the early 20th Century put it: there is no such thing as a legal name. Yet, the phrase “legal name” appears everywhere, often beside threats of the penalties of perjury if you give something other than your legal name. For example, transgender people often hear “well, this has to say your ‘Legal Name,’” as an explanation for why they must be referred to by their deadname. One would assume, given the widespread use, surely must be a clear, unambiguous name that constitutes a person’s “legal name” — as well as “legal” reasons an organization insists on using that name, right? Well. Not so much. Thus, this Article seeks to highlight the (legal, moral, and philosophical) wrongness of that notion. We begin by explaining the practical significance of this mistake (the mistake being something like, “legal name means XYZ and only XYZ,” where “XYZ” means “name on [usually one and only one of: birth certificate/social security card/driver’s license/name change order]”). Then, we survey the “legal” status of names in various legal domains, highlighting that legal consensus tends to be that there is no one “correct legal name” for individuals (if anything, people often have many “legal” names). We then frame the wrongheaded notion that a person has a single clearly defined “legal name” as a harmful, collective delusion. So how do we rid ourselves of this delusion? We present a series of ready-to-cite conclusions about the current state of the law and introduce a normative framework for how institutions and individuals ought to choose between people’s various legal names when referring to them. Specifically, we introduce what we call the ‘Preference Norm’, according to we should defer to the legal name someone prefers absent some existent superseding legal reason not to. We argue that violating this norm in many cases constitutes a gross violation of someone’s dignity. We conclude by proposing a series of concrete legal suggestions which are meant capture the spirit of the Preference Norm.
An alternating-direction implicit algorithm for unsteady potential flow

An implicit finite-difference scheme is presented for the efficient computation of unsteady potential flow about airfoils. The formulation uses density and the velocity potential as dependent variables and is cast in conservation form to assure the theoretically correct determination of shockwave location and speed. To enable boundary conditions to be imposed directly on the airfoil surface, a time-varying sheared-rectilinear coordinate transformation is employed. Calculated time-history solutions on a pulsating airfoil are compared with the results of other unsteady transonic codes, including a previous method of the authors. The present method is demonstrated to be unconditionally stable and to give accurate solutions with sharply resolved shocks.
Maternal age-specific drivers of severe maternal morbidity.

Abstract Background Maternal age influences the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including severe maternal morbidity (SMM). However, the leading drivers of SMM may differ between maternal age groups. Objective Compare the contribution of risk factors to risk of SMM between maternal age groups and estimate their population attributable risks. Study Design Retrospective population-based cohort study of all U.S. live births using birth certificate records, 2012-2016. Demographic, medical, and pregnancy factors were compared between 4 strata of maternal age ( Results Of 19,473,910 births in the U.S. from 2012-2016, 80,553 (41 cases per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations) experienced SMM. The highest rates of SMM were observed at the extremes of maternal age, 45 per 10,000 at Conclusions Both adolescent and advanced-age pregnancies have increased risk of SMM. However, there are age-specific differences in drivers of SMM. This information may allow for better identification of those at a higher risk of SMM and ultimately aid in patient counseling.
Psychoanalysis, Psychology and Literature: A Bibliography

This edition contains more than 20,000 entries for books, articles and monographs dealing with literary writing from a psychological point of view.
Early Development of Glomerular Injury in Dahl Salt-Sensitive (SS) Rats with Metabolic Syndrome Independent of Diabetes and Hypertension

The incidence of obesity-induced metabolic syndrome (MetS) has paralleled the increasing rate of renal disease. Recently, we characterized a rodent model of MetS that develops progressive renal inj...
Destruction of Various Kinds of Mycobacteria in Milk by Pasteurization

Various strains of unclassified mycobacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (including H37Rv strains), M. bovis, M. avium, M. fortuitum, and bacille Calmette-Guerin, were exposed to the temperature and time of pasteurization in skim milk in test tubes. Of the 195 strains tested, there were a few surviving colonies among 6 of 33 skotochromogens, 1 of 26 photochromogens, 10 of 79 nonchromogens, and 1 of 9 rapid growers. Subcultures of the surviving colonies failed to resist the pasteurization tests on subsequent trials.
Copmment on "The Veil of Public Ignorance"

Nehring (2004) proposes an interesting methodology to extend the utilitarian criterion defined under complete information to an interim social welfare ordering allowing to compare acts. The first axiom defining his approach, called “State Independence,” requires the interim social welfare ordering to be consistent with ex-post utilitarian comparisons: if it is commonly known that the act f selects in each state an outcome that is socially prefererred according to the utilitarian criterion to the lottery selected by an alternative act g, then f should be interim socially preferred to g. The second axiom is a classical condition of consistency with respect to interim Pareto comparisons: if an act f interim Pareto dominates and act g, then f should be interim socially preferred to g. Nehring proves that 1) these two axioms are incompatible if there is no common prior, and 2) that the unique interim social welfare ordering that satisfies these two axioms when there is a common prior is the ex-ante utilitarian criterion. The purpose of this comment is to show that Nehring’s methodology does not prove helpful in finding ways of extending other classical social welfare orderings. I show indeed that the corresponding state-independence property becomes incompatible with the interim Pareto criterion for a very large class of common priors, as soon as the social welfare ordering satisfies the strict Pigou-Dalton transfer principle (strict PD for short). I also show that his impossibility result in the absence of a common prior extends to any social welfare ordering that satisfies PD. The Pigou-Dalton principle states that transferring utility so as to reduce inequality should never hurt from a social perspective. Strict PD requires that the resulting utility profile is socially strictly preferred. PD is often viewed as a very appealing axiom in social choice theory, and indeed all the classical social welfare orderings (e.g. utilitarian sum, egalitarian minimum, and Nash product) ∗K. Nehring, 2004, Journal of Economic Theory 119, 247-270 †Department of Economics, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island declippel@brown.edu. Financial support from the National Science Foundation (grant SES-0851210) is gratefully acknowledged.
Response of no-till and conventionally planted grain sorghum to weed control method and row spacing.

Grain sorghum can substitute for corn as a full season crop and replace soybeans in double cropping systems with wheat in the southeastern United States. Relatively few studies have been conducted to measure the response of grain sorghum to tillage, weed control method, and row spacing. These experiments were designed to determine the effects of weed control method and row spacing on no-till planted grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench ‘G1516-BR’) after wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Coker 68–15’) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L. ‘Bigbee’) grown for winter forage in comparison to sorghum planted on a conventionally prepared seedbed. The experiment included 45, 60, and 90 cm row spacings and three weed control regimes: none, mechanical, and chemical. Grain sorghum planted no-till in crimson clover or wheat sod yielded considerably more grain than conventionally planted sorghum. Grain sorghum produced significantly higher yields in 45-cm rows than in 60-and 90-cm row spacings with all three planting methods. Effects of chemical weed control on weed population with all tillage methods and on grain yield with conventional tillage were significant. There were no significant differences in grain protein content due to row spacing or weed control method.
Reduced-order model design for nonlinear smart system models

The use of finite element or finite difference techniques to discretize nonlinear smart material system models can yield full-order numerical models that accurately characterize the system dynamics but do so at significant computational cost. This can preclude the use of these full-order models for uncertainty analysis, sensitivity analysis, system design, or real-time control implementation. In this paper, we discuss the construction of reduced-order system models using proper orthogonal decompositions (POD) with updates. Through the use of snapshots constructed from the full-order models, fundamental physics is retained while significantly improving efficiency for high-speed implementation.
Glycosyltransferase inhibitors: Synthesis of D-threo-PDMP, L-threo- PDMP, and other brain glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors from D- or L- serine

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure (1S,2S)-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-N-morpholino-1-propanol (l-threo-PDMP) (1a) from l-serine, and the enantiomer (1R,2R)-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (d-threo-PDMP] (1b) from d-serine is reported. Reductive alkylation of the fully protected O'Donnell's Schiff base (3b) derived from d-serine provided the β-amino alcohol 5b in high yield and excellent selectivity, which yielded optically pure 1b in high yield after six steps. Three other d-threo-PDMP analogues with various amine groups have been synthesized using the same methodology, including the more potent pyrrolidine compound d-threo-PDPP (1e). A key feature of the synthesis is the isolation of tosylate (8b), which allows for the divergent synthesis of many analogues from a common advanced intermediate. The synthesis is amenable to large-scale production of d-threo-PDMP, l-threo-PDMP, and similar compounds.
Hypercholesterolemia induced by dietary PCBs (Aroclor 1254) in Fischer rats.

An increase in hepatic and serum cholesterol in PCB-treated rats was first reported in 1971. In addition, one of the lipoprotein fractions of serum cholesterol has been reported as being elevated in PCB-treated animals. In most of the studies relatively large doses of PCBs were administered for lengthy periods of time. The objectives of the present study were to produce hypercholesterolemia and hyperlipoproteinemia (HDL-cholesterol) in a minimum amount of time using minimally toxic dietary PCB concentrations which would not adversely affect food consumption or body weight gain in juvenile male Fischer rats.
Simplified heavy metal staining techniques demonstrated with Fast Plant leaf tissue

Fast Plant (Brassica rapa, Cruciferae) leaf tissue fixed in glutaraldehyde-acrolein and post-fixed in osmium, was examined for response to several easily-prepared heavy metal stains. Lead and uranium, separately and in combination, gave typical results across the spectrum of cell organelles. As a single stain following osmium, bismuth produced images seemingly equivalent to lead and uranium. Phosphotungstic acid produced very good membrane delineation but produced a washed-out background image similar to that from lead staining. Carbohydrate compounds were especially responsive to ruthenium; the cytoplasm and the matrix of all organelles were also stained very well. The procedures were no more demanding than traditional staining methods and may be easily used in research and teaching. Fast Plant materials are a reliable, quick and easy source of living material.
Renal complications secondary to radiation treatment of upper abdominal malignancies.

Abstract A retrospective review of all patients undergoing radiotherapy for carcinoma of the colon, pancreas, stomach, small bowel and bile ducts, lymphomas of the stomach, and other GI sites and retroperitoneal sarcomas was completed to assess the effects of secondary irradiation on the kidney. Eighty-six adult patients were identified who were treated with curative intent, received greater than 50% unilateral kidney irradiation to doses of at least 2600 cGy and survived for 1 year or more. Following treatment, the clinical course, blood pressure, addition of anti-hypertensive medications, serum creatinine and creatinine clearance were determined. Creatinine clearance was calculated by the formula: creatiinine clearance equals [(140 − age) × (weight in kilograms)] ÷ (72 × serum creatinine) which has a close correlation to creatinine clearances measured by 24 hr. urine measurements. The percent change in creatinine clearance from pre-treatment values was analyzed. Of the thirteen patients with pre-radiotherapy hypertension, four required an increase in the number of medications for control and nine required no change in medication. Two patients developed hypertension in follow-up, one controlled with medication and the other malignant hypertension. Acute or chronic renal failure was not observed in any patient. The serum creatinine for all 86 patients prior to radiation therapy was below 2 mg/100 ml; in follow-up it rose to between 2.2–2.9 mg/100 ml. in five patients. The mean creatinine clearance for all 86 patients prior to radiotherapy was 77 ml/minute and for 16 patients with at least 5 years of follow-up it was 62 ml/minute. The mean percent decrease in creatinine clearance appeared to correspond to the percentage of kidney irradiated: for 38 patients with only 50% of the kidney irradiated the mean percent decrease was 10%, whereas for 31 patients having 90 to 100% of the kidney treated the decrease was 24%. Although physiologic changes were seen in patients receiving 50% or more unilateral kidney irradiation, the development of significant clinical sequelae was limited to one patient.
The absence of genes for cytochrome c oxidase and reductase subunits in maxicircle kinetoplast DNA of the respiration-deficient plant trypanosomatid Phytomonas serpens.

By completing the sequencing of the maxicircle conserved region in the kinetoplast DNA of Phytomonas serpens, we showed that the genes for subunits I and II (COI and COII) of cytochrome c oxidase in this organism were missing. We had previously shown that the genes for cytochrome c oxidase subunit III and apocytochrome b were also missing. These deletions did not affect the structure or expression of the remaining genes. Partial editing of the mRNA for NADH dehydrogenase subunit 8, previously found in strain 1G from insects, was complete in two other strains isolated from plants. The appearance of a novel maxicircle gene for MURF2 block I gRNA, which substitutes for the gene missing due to the COII gene deletion, may illustrate a general mechanism for the origin of gRNAs.
Solvent protection of the hammerhead ribozyme in the ground state: evidence for a cation-assisted conformational change leading to catalysis.

Tertiary folding of the hammerhead ribozyme has been analyzed by hydroxyl radical footprinting. Three hammerhead constructs with distinct noncore sequences, connectivities, and catalytic properties show identical protection patterns, in which conserved core residues (G5, A6, U7, G8, and A9) and the cleavage site (C17, G1.1, and U1.2) become reproducibly protected from nucleolytic attack by radicals. Metal ion titrations show that all protections appear together, suggesting a single folding event to a common tertiary structure, rather than an ensemble of different folds. The apparent binding constants for folding and catalysis by Mg2+ are lower than those for Li+ by 3 orders of magnitude, but in each case the protected sites are identical. For both Mg2+ and Li+, the ribozyme folds into the protected tertiary structure at significantly lower cation concentrations than those required for cleavage. The sites of protection include all of the sites of reduced solvent accessibility calculated from two different ...
Mantle cell lymphoma: a rare cause of a solitary duodenal mass

Mantle cell lymphoma is a very aggressive lymphoma with a very poor prognosis. It commonly involves the gastrointestinal tract but rarely presents as primary gastrointestinal lymphoma. The most notable cases of primary gastrointestinal mantle cell lymphomas have been described as multiple lymphomatous polyposis and have a very poor prognosis. We report a case of primary gastrointestinal mantle cell lymphoma that was discovered by endoscopic biopsy of a single duodenal polyp in a 70-year-old woman who was previously treated for Helicobacter pylori gastritis. She presented with a 6-month history of indigestion, heartburn and abdominal bloating. A subsequent workup revealed one extranodal site of involvement, lymphatic involvement below the diaphragm and a normal bone marrow biopsy. We followed a wait-and-watch approach including serial CT scans and blood tests. Two years later, her symptoms have not progressed and her disease has remained stable.
Perspectives on US Domestic Violence Emergency Shelters: What do Young Adolescent Residents and their Mothers Say?

As part of a larger qualitative study using Life Story methods, an ethnically diverse, purposive sample (n = 27) of young adolescents (ages 12–14) and their mothers residing in four US domestic violence emergency shelters were interviewed about their perspectives of shelter life. Youth reported aspects they liked, most often expressing that they liked other families residing in the shelter. More than one-half expressed disliking shelter rules restricting their behaviour. Mothers expressed positive feelings about the shelters overall. They emphasised the package of services received, safety, the shelter's effectiveness in meeting their needs, and positive interactions with personnel. Mothers’ most frequently suggested improvement was for more space and services for children and youth. Results of youth and mother interviews are contextualised by descriptions of the shelters they resided in, based on interviews with personnel at each shelter. This article discusses findings within developmental and human rig...
Molecular Interactions between Two Global Regulators,sar and agr, in Staphylococcus aureus

The expression of many virulence determinants in Staphylococcus aureus is controlled by regulatory loci such as agr and sar. We have previously shown that the SarA protein is required for optimal transcription of RNAII and RNAIII in the agr locus. To define the specific molecular interaction, we overexpressed SarA as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein by cloning the 372-base pair (bp) sarA gene into the vector. The purified GST-SarA as well as cleaved SarA were able to bind specifically to the P2, P3, and the combined P2-P3 promoter fragments of agr in gel shift assays. Using monoclonal antibodies to SarA, we found that SarA is a part of the retarded protein-DNA complex as evidenced by the formation of a supershifted band. The SarA binding site on the agr promoter, mapped by DNase I footprinting assay, covered a 29-bp region between the P2 and P3 promoters devoid of any direct repeats. A synthetic 45-bp fragment encompassing the 29-bp sequence also bound the SarA protein in band shift assays. Serial in-frame deletion analysis of sarA revealed that, with the exception of 15 residues in the N terminus, almost all of SarA (residues 16-124) is essential for agr binding activity. Northern analysis confirmed that only the sar mutant clone containing a truncated sarA gene with a 15-residue deletion in the N terminus (SarA16-124) could activate agr transcription to a level approaching that of the full-length counterpart (SarA1-124). Taken together, these data indicated that SarA is a DNA-binding protein with binding specificity to the P2 and P3 interpromoter region of agr, thereby activating RNAII and RNAIII transcription.
Failure of cAMP to replace ACTH in over-riding the melanosome aggregation effect of epinephrine.

Epinephrine-induced melanosome aggregation in cultured terminally differentiated Black Moor goldfish melanophores can be over-ridden by ACTH but not by cAMP.
Evolution of Current Loops in Space

Ampere’s law requires that every magnetic field have an associated current. The analysis of magnetic fields in this paper begins with that current in a circular loop and calculates the forces that make the loop evolve. A circular current generates a dipole field; and a second-order, ordinary differential equation represents the evolving magetic field. The theory describes cases where the conductor shrinks as the loop increases in size. The temperature of the conducting ions and electrons then decreases. The theory also describes cases where the conductor grows as the loop grows. Then the conducting particles heat up.
Occasional essay: Jewish perspective on prenatal diagnosis and selective abortion of affected fetuses, including some comparisons with prevailing Catholic beliefs.

Prenatal diagnosis and selective abortion of affected fetuses are controversial subjects for many individuals. Much of the controversy centers around religious beliefs. In this paper we present prevailing Jewish and Catholic beliefs concerning these two subjects. We hope to resolve some of the controversy and emphasize the fact that physicians counsel and patients often make decisions based on their religious persuasion.
Mercury concentrations in salmonids from western U.S. National Parks and relationships with age and macrophage aggregates.

Mercury accumulation in aquatic foodwebs and its effects on aquatic biota are of growing concern both for the health of the fish and the piscivores that prey upon them. This is of particular concern for western U.S. National Parks because it is known that mountainous and Arctic areas are sinks for some contaminants. The Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project seeks, in part, to ascertain mercury concentrations and evaluate effects of contaminants on biota in 14 lakes from 8 National Parks or Preserves. In this paper we report that mercury has accumulated to concentrations in trout that may negatively impact some piscivorous wildlife, indicating potential terrestrial ecosystem effects. Additionally, we show that mercury concentrations increase with age in 4 species of trout, providing evidence of bioaccumulation. Finally, we demonstrate that mercury is associated with tissue damage in the kidney and spleen, as indicated by increases in macrophage aggregates. This finding suggests that mercury, and...
Computer simulation of the measured respiratory impedance in newborn infants and the effect of the measurement equipment

Abstract The forced oscillation technique (FOT) is a non-invasive method to investigate lung mechanics. FOT does not require active co-operation and therefore it seems to be useful for lung function measurements in newborn infants. The aims of this simulation study were to investigate the effects of development and growth of the lung, pulmonary inhomogeneities and the measurement equipment on the respiratory impedance ( Z rs ). The respiratory impedance was simulated by using four lung models with lumped parameters in the frequency range of 3–50 Hz considering resistive and elastic resistances of the respiratory system and the inertance of breathing air and tissue. The simulation has shown that the maturation of lungs produces only a parallel shifting of the real and imaginary part of the impedance curves whereas respiratory diseases change the course of the curves. Furthermore, a high influence of the measurement equipment (e.g. compliance of the face mask, endotracheal tube leaks) on Z rs was found. In conclusion, the simulation has shown that FOT offers a deeper insight in the structure of the respiratory system. However, the technical requirements for accurate measurements in newborns are very high.
Penrose Pixels Super-Resolution in the Detector Layout Domain

We present a novel approach to reconstruction based super- resolution that explicitly models the detector's pixel layout. Pixels in our model can vary in shape and size, and there may be gaps between adjacent pixels. Furthermore, their layout can be periodic as well as aperiodic, such as penrose tiling or a biological retina. We also present a new variant of the well known error back-projection super-resolution algorithm that makes use of the exact detector model in its back projection operator for better accuracy. Our method can be applied equally well to either periodic or aperiodic pixel tiling. Through analysis and extensive testing using synthetic and real images, we show that our approach outperforms existing reconstruction based algorithms for regular pixel arrays. We obtain significantly better results using aperiodic pixel layouts. As an interesting example, we apply our method to a retina-like pixel structure modeled by a centroidal Voronoi tessellation. We demonstrate that, in principle, this structure is better for super-resolution than the regular pixel array used in today's sensors.
Autocorrelation of Wind Observations

Autocorrelation and variance statistics are calculated for cloud motion measurements from four different sources, rawinsonde wind reports, synoptic land station reports, ship reports, aircraft reports, automatic aircraft reports gathered during the Global Weather Experiment, and Seasat scatterometer winds from September 1978. The last of these data sources exhibited the highest autocorrelations and lowest standard deviations over short distances. Structure function plots of autocovariances against separation distance between observations indicated that Seasat was most sensitive to wind field structure by having low autovariance at short distances.
Osmotic and cell volume regulation in atrium and ventricle of the Elasmobranch skate, Raja erinacea

Abstract 1. 1. Extracellular fluid volume changed insignificantly in both atrium and ventricle of the skate (Raja erinacea) when in vitro medium osmolality was decreased by 1 3 . Relative water content increased 3–4% in vivo when fish were gradually acclimated to 50% sea water. 2. 2. Intracellular concentrations of ninhydrin positive substances, predominantly taurine, decreased significantly in atrium (49%) but not in ventricle during a 2 hr in vitro incubation period in 1 3 diluted medium; intracellular K+ simultaneously dropped 26%. 3. 3. An in vitro “hemi-atrium” preparation appears uniquely suited for studying membrane transport kinetics, cellular metabolic events and electrophysiology of the myocardium.
Improved clinical outcomes after operation of the proximal aorta: a 10-year experience

Background. This study evaluated the impact of recent advances (particularly noninvasive diagnosis, retrograde cerebral perfusion, heparin-bonded circuits, and use of collagen-impregnated grafts and antifibrinolytic agents) on clinical outcomes of patients undergoing proximal aortic operations. Methods. One hundred eight consecutive patients undergoing 111 proximal aortic operations over 10 years were studied. The cohort was divided into two groups: early, 1987 to 1993 and late, 1994 to 1997. Results. Baseline patients profiles, indications for operation (aneurysm, 66 patients; dissection, 45 patients), priority of the operation, and surgical procedures were comparable for both groups. Mortality and morbidity for the entire cohort were 13.5% (15 of 111) and 66% (73 of 111), respectively. Compared with the early group, the late group was characterized by significantly higher use of noninvasive diagnostic modalities (69% versus 10%), exclusive use of heparin-bonded circuits and collagen-impregnated grafts (100% versus 0% for both), use of antifibrinolytic agents (79% versus 8%), and the introduction of retrograde cerebral perfusion (43% versus 0%) (p < 0.00001 for all). These changes in practice were associated with a substantial decrease in operative mortality (26% [13 of 49] versus 3% [2 of 62], p = 0.001), overall morbidity (77% [38 of 49] versus 56% [35 of 62], p = 0.02), blood transfusions (55.6 ± 48 donor units versus 29.3 ± 35 donor units, p = 0.003), and a shorter hospital stay (21.6 ± 31 days versus 12.1 ± 15 days, p = 0.07). Average long-term follow-up for 99% (107 of 108) of patients was 29.6 ± 30 months (1 to 120 months). Ten-year actuarial survival was 57.3% ± 8% with 93% being in New York Heart Association functional class I or II. Conclusions. Recent advances, particularly noninvasive diagnosis and improved operative management, have led to a substantial reduction in mortality and morbidity after proximal aortic operation. Improved short- and long-term outcomes were achieved both in acute dissection and aneurysm procedures, although patients remain at risk for long-term distal aortic complications.KEY WORDS: Proximal aorta, Diagnosis, Management, Surgery, Clinical Outcomes.
On the optimal drivers of high-speed low power ICs

In this paper we study the optimal design of drivers for high-performance VLSI systems. Specifically, we design a driver for a given interconnect such that the signal delay is minimal, or a driver such that the power dissipation and chip area are minimal for a specified delay. For a driver consisting of the cascaded inverters, we first show that the well known method using a fixed size-ratio e (=2.73) between consecutive inverters does not give the optimal design due to the over-simplified circuit model used. Based on the transistor's nonlinear I-V characteristics, we derive an analytic relationship among the parameters of signal delay, power dissipation, driver size, and interconnection load. Using this relationship, we obtain the optimal design of drivers for high-speed low power ICs. When driving a heavy load, the newly designed drivers can reduce the delay by up to 15%, and the power dissipation and chip area by up to one order as compared to the best known designs. The developed optimal driver has a significant impact on the design of high-performance ICs, such as the high-speed bus in microprocessors, interconnect circuit in MCMs, minimal delay clock network, buffers for sending signals from chip to packaging pads, and low power circuits. The practical design examples are given in the paper.
An engineering design of a social system in a digital age

A new political system is proposed for the Chinese society as an alternative to the current system for academic study purpose. A country is similar to a big engineering system. For the system to achieve maximum efficiency and to operate smoothly, components such as culture, history, economy and international environments as well as available technologies must be carefully coordinated. The need of China's political reform is not the focus here, rather, the article emphasizes what would the reformed system look like and how would the transition happen. The cost of the transition to the new political system is numerically analyzed. The stabilities of the current and proposed political systems are compared. A democratic and clean government can be achieved by the new political system conceptually.