cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolation of a 43 kDa protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and its identification as a pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase

R.G. DESHPANDE, M.B. KHAN, D.A. BHAT AND R.G. NAVALKAR. 1994. A 43 kDa protein (TB43) was isolated from the cell sonicate (CS) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv with immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) on a Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid column. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of the IMAC fraction showed a major spot with an Mr of 43000 and a pI of ˜6.0. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of TB43 was met-arg-val-gly-ile-pro-asn-glu-thr-lys-asn-asn-glu-phe-arg-val-ala-ile-thr-pro-ala. It showed 86% homology with the N-terminal end of the alanine dehydrogenase of Myco. tuberculosis and 65% homology with the N-terminal end of the alpha-subunit of the Escherichia coli pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase (Tsh). TB43 did not show any alanine dehydrogenase activity and did not react with monoclonal antibody (MAb) HBT10, which is known to recognize the 40 kDa alanine dehydrogenase of Myco. tuberculosis. It was also not recognized by MAb F29–29 which is known to react with a 43 kDa protein of Myco. tuberculosis complex. This protein exhibited strong Tsh activity. A similar 43 kDa protein showing Tsh activity was also isolated by IMAC from Myco. bovis CS. However, the pI of the protein was ˜7.0. A similar protein could not be isolated from the CS or culture filtrate of Myco. bovis BCG and Myco. tuberculosis H37Ra. TB43 is a cell-associated pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase and is distinct from the 40/44 kDa secreted alanine dehydrogenase of Myco. tuberculosis.
Impact of health care worker policy awareness on hand hygiene and urinary catheter care in nursing homes: Results of a self-reported survey

Utilizing a self-administered questionnaire in 440 health care workers (81% response rate), we evaluated the impact of health care workers policy awareness on hand hygiene and urinary catheter care in nursing homes. We show that health care workers aware of their nursing home policies are more likely to report wearing gloves and practicing hand hygiene as per evidence-based recommendations during urinary catheter care compared with those who are unaware of their facility policies.
The kinetics of X-ray-induced somatic crossing-over in Drosophila melanogaster and the effects of dose fractionation ☆

Abstract Nonlinear dose-response curves have been obtained with the X-ray induction of somatic crossover spots on Drosophila tergites, possibly reflecting the formation of independent breaks in two homologous chromatids in G2 with restitution by crossing-over. Interrupting the irradiation dose for some time reduces the number of crossover spots observed compared with that found on flies irradiated continuously with the same total energy. The effect of dose fractionation is to separate the two breaks in time so that the pair of ends at the first break in the chromatid are rejoined to their original configuration before a new pair of ends is available for interaction. The amount of repair observed with 10 min separation is comparable to that observed from stage-7 oocytes.
Somatostatin receptor subtype gene expression in pituitary adenomas.

Somatostatin (SRIF) exerts its diverse biological effects through a family of membrane receptors. In addition to inhibiting GH secretion, SRIF has antiproliferative effects and has been used clinically in the treatment of pituitary tumors. SRIF receptor (SSTR) expression has recently been identified in pituitary adenomas, and it is unknown whether differential expression of SSTR subtypes predicts clinical responses to SRIF analogs. We therefore determined which SSTR subtype messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are expressed in pituitary adenoma phenotypes and in normal human pituitary tissue using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and tested whether expression of specific SSTR subtype mRNA is necessary for SRIF inhibition of GH secretion in human somatotroph adenomas in vitro. Expression of SSTR subtypes 1, 2, and 5 mRNA was identified in all pituitary adenoma types and normal pituitary tissue. In contrast, SSTR3 mRNA was detected in only one somatotroph adenoma as well as in control insulinoma tissue, a ...
Rethinking the Comprehensive Test on Qualitative Reasoning for Designers

A battery of tests assessing the cognitive skills needed for the conceptual design is being developed. Tests on Divergent thinking and visual thinking are fully developed and validated. The first version of the qualitative reasoning test has also been developed; this paper focuses on the lessons learned from testing of the first version of the test (alpha version) and the improvements made to it since then.A number of problems were developed for each indicator of the qualitative reasoning skill (deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, analogical reasoning, and abductive reasoning). Later, a protocol study was done with the problems to make sure that the problems assess the desired skills. The problems were also given to a randomly chosen population of undergraduate senior-level or graduate-level engineering students. Data was collected from the test results on the possible correlations between the problems (e.g. technical and non-technical problems); feedback on clarity, time allocation, and difficulty for each problem was also collected. Based on all of the observed correlations, the average performance of the test takers, and test parameters such as validity, reliability, etc. the beta version of the test is constructed.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Congenital osseous anomalies of the upper cervical spine.

Background: The developmental anatomy and biomechanics of the upper cervical spine are unique in children. Congenital osseous anomalies in this region may be associated with an increased risk for subsequent neurological compromise from instability and/or spinal cord encroachment. We performed a doub
Simulation Reveals Fundamental Behavior of the Actin Filament and Arp2/3 Branch Junction

Molecular modeling and simulation now offer unprecedented opportunity to study biological events at the atomic level. Unfortunately, broad application of these approaches is elusive due to the difficulty of simulating biologically relevant length and time scales. I will use our recent investigation into key processes within the actin cytoskeleton to highlight progress we have made on these challenges.The self-assembly of actin into a branched network of filaments is a vital process within the cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells. This is chiefly regulated by the controlled hydrolysis of actin's bound ATP nucleotide. Although it is well established that ATP hydrolysis induces a change in actin's structure and dynamics, the exact mechanism by which this occurs is still unknown. We have used a novel computational approach to simulate various hydrolysis-induced structural transformations that have been suggested in the literature. Based on these results we are able to suggest a mechanism by which ATP hydrolysis regulates actin's structure and dynamics.Equally important to the dynamics of the cytoskeleton is the process by which actin filaments are depolymerized in a controlled fashion. Recent experimental studies have yielded a number of hypotheses regarding the process by which actin depolymerization factor cofilin severs and depolymerizes filaments. We will present molecular and coarse-grained analyses of cofilin-bound actin filaments, and provide a molecular view of this process.Finally, we have performed simulations of the actin branch junction - a key structural building block in the cytoskeleton. Our simulations reveal how small features of the actin protein give rise to the underlying dynamics of the entire branch junction. Strategies for coarse-graining supramolecular structures will be discussed in context of the branch junction.
Reproductive ecology and pollen representation among neotropical trees

Three years of pollen trapping data from Barro Colorado Island, Panama, are compared with local vegetation inventories. Two hypotheses relating pollen representation to ‘messy’ pollination and flower form are tested. Dioecious taxa were found to be over-represented in pollen spectra compared with their occurrence in local forests. Similarly, anemophilous and ‘messy’ pollination types were found to be over-represented. While anemophilous taxa were the best dispersed pollen types, zoophilous taxa were also well-represented in dispersal classes of 20‐4 0 m and > 40 m. Thus pollen arriving to lake sediments is most likely to be from anemophilous species or those zoophilous species exhibiting ‘messy’ pollination syndromes. Pollination mechanisms will predictably bias the fossil record against certain flower morphologies. These data are of significance to those using the fossil pollen record to reconstruct the timing and sequence of angiosperm evolution. These data help prioritize plants to be included in modern pollen reference collections and to focus the search for ‘unknown’ types on most-likely candidate families.
Treatment of humoral rejection with rituximab

Humoral vascular rejection is a B cell-mediated production of immunoglobulin G antibody against the transplanted organ. Available treatments of vascular rejection offer limited success, and chronic manifestations of vascular rejection require retransplantation. On the basis of the mechanism of action of rituximab, we successfully treated 1 patient with vascular rejection refractory to plasmapheresis with this drug without major toxicity.
Preclinical pharmacokinetics and stability of isophosphoramide mustard

Stability and preclinical pharmacokinetics of isophosphoramide mustard (IPM), an active metabolite of ifosphamide, were investigated using analytical methods developed in this laboratory. For stability evaluation of IPM we used a rapid, high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method by which IPM is analyzed directly from aqueous solutions without derivatization on a 10-microns C-18 reversed-phase column with theophylline as the internal standard. IPM in sodium phosphate buffers was found to undergo pH-dependent first-order degradations. At pH 7.4 and 38 degrees C, the IPM solution showed a half-life of 45 min. A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for the analysis of IPM in plasma was also developed. This method utilized solid-phase extraction with deuterium-labeled IPM as the internal standard. The routine detection limit for the assay was 50 ng/ml with within-run and between-run coefficients of variation of 6% and 11%, respectively. By this method, stability of IPM in plasma and in RPMI 1640 tissue culture medium was evaluated, and its pharmacokinetics in the Sprague-Dawley rat following i.v. administration at 40 mg/kg were investigated. IPM was found to be more stable in these media, with half-lives in the range of 100 min. IPM plasma pharmacokinetics were found to decline monoexponentially with terminal half-lives ranging from 6.8 to 18.7 min and total clearance between 6.0 and 18.3 ml/min. Plasma protein binding of IPM was found to be 55%, and the partition ratio between plasma and red blood cells of 4.9 to 1, respectively. Cytotoxicity of IPM to L1210 cells was evaluated, and the results indicated that the IC50 with 1-h and 4-h exposure was 33 and 15 microM, respectively. Based on these data, IPM plasma levels in the rat declined below the IC50 in about 1 h at this dose. More frequent dosing or infusion may be necessary to maintain adequate drug levels for antitumor activity when IPM is administered directly.
Integrated detector array technology for infrared astronomy

The status of laboratory and telescope tests of integrated infrared detector array technology for astronomical applications is described. The devices tested represent a number of extrinsic and intrinsic detector materials and various multiplexer designs. Infrared arrays have now been used in successful astronomical applications. These have shown that device sensitivities can be comparable to those of discrete detector systems and excellent astronomical imagery can be produced.
Demo: Luxapose: indoor positioning with mobile phones and visible light

We explore the indoor positioning problem with unmodified smartphones and slightly-modified commercial LED luminaires. The luminaires-modified to allow rapid, on-off keying-transmit their identifiers and/or locations encoded in human-imperceptible optical pulses. A camera-equipped smartphone, using just a single image frame capture, can detect the presence of the luminaires in the image, decode their transmitted identifiers and/or locations, and determine the smartphone's location and orientation relative to the luminaires. Continuous image capture and processing enables continuous position updates. The key insights underlying this work are (i) the driver circuits of emerging LED lighting systems can be easily modified to transmit data through on-off keying; (ii) the rolling shutter effect of CMOS imagers can be leveraged to receive many bits of data encoded in the optical transmissions with just a single frame capture, (iii) a camera is intrinsically an angle-of-arrival sensor, so the projection of multiple nearby light sources with known positions onto a camera's image plane can be framed as an instance of a sufficiently-constrained angle-of-arrival localization problem, and (iv) this problem can be solved with optimization techniques. We explore the feasibility of the design through an analytical model, demonstrate the viability of the design through a prototype system, discuss the challenges to a practical deployment including usability and scalability, and demonstrate decimeter-level accuracy in both carefully controlled and more realistic human mobility scenarios.
Innovative uses of electronic health records and social media for public health surveillance

Electronic health records (EHRs) and social media have the potential to enrich public health surveillance of diabetes. Clinical and patient-facing data sources for diabetes surveillance are needed given its profound public health impact, opportunity for primary and secondary prevention, persistent disparities, and requirement for self-management. Initiatives to employ data from EHRs and social media for diabetes surveillance are in their infancy. With their transformative potential come practical limitations and ethical considerations. We explore applications of EHR and social media for diabetes surveillance, limitations to approaches, and steps for moving forward in this partnership between patients, health systems, and public health.
GLOBAL MARKETS OR GLOBAL COMPETITION

The recent debate generated by Levitt's advocacy of standardization is certainly not a new controversy; it goes back to earlier writings in the late fifties and early sixties. I would like here to clarify the issue rather than take sides with one or the other school of thought.
The Case | Progressive hypertension and proteinuria on anti-angiogenic therapy

A 76-year-old woman with type II diabetes and hypertension was diagnosed with gastrointestinal stromal tumor. At the time of diagnosis, she was on insulin glargine 10 U daily and atenolol 50 mg daily. She had a blood pressure (BP) of 104/58 mm Hg, serum creatinine (SCr) of 1.2 mg per 100 ml, and no proteinuria. For treatment of the gastrointestinal stromal tumor, she was started on imatinib mesylate. Sixteen months into this therapy, the tumor progressed. At that point, she had a BP of 130/78 mm Hg, weight of 53.4 kg, SCr of 1.2 mg per 100 ml, and still no proteinuria. Imatinib was replaced with sunitinib 37.5 mg daily (Sutent). Over the next 20 weeks, her BP gradually rose to 166/76 mm Hg. A total of 30 weeks after initiation of sunitinib, her BP was 142/49 mm Hg, weight was 59.2 kg, SCr was 2.4 mg per 100 ml, and protein/creatinine ratio was 7.2 (g/g). When she was first seen in the renal clinic 3 months later, her BP was 156/69 mm Hg, weight was 59.4 kg, jugular venous pressure was 6 cm, cardiopulmonary examination was unremarkable, renal artery bruits were not appreciated, but 1+ pitting pedal edema was present. Urinalysis showed 3+ protein with a bland sediment. SCr was 1.8 mg per 100 ml and urine protein/creatinine was 10.4 (g/g) (Figure 1). Serum complement and protein electrophoreses were normal; ANA, cryoglobulin, and rheumatoid factor were negative; and there was no evidence of microangiopathic hemolysis. Figure 1 Development and resolution of proteinuria during sunitinib treatment
Embedded electrode electrochemical noise monitoring of the corrosion beneath organic coatings induced by ac–dc–ac conditions

Abstract The degradation of urethane topcoat/epoxy primer systems used for military aircraft and industrial applications were monitored using the electrochemical noise method and measured with embedded electrodes. The degradation was induced by the ac–dc–ac method. The trend in the noise resistance parameter was consistent with the trend in the low frequency impedance modulus obtained from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments. The localization index was not informative about the corrosion mechanism. However, the two shot noise parameters, average charge of event and event frequency, were able to characterize the corrosion process beneath the coating. There was a change from uniform corrosion to localized corrosion on the metal substrate associated with the aircraft coating as indicated by the decrease in frequency event as this coating failed. There was an increase in the charge per corrosion event of the substrate of the industrial coating indicating that the uniform corrosion occurring became more severe as the coating failed.
Fibronectin-α4β1 Integrin-Mediated Blockade Protects Genetically Fat Zucker Rat Livers from Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

We tested a hypothesis that interactions between fibronectin (FN), the major extracellular matrix component, and its integrin α4β1 receptor is important in the development of ischemia/reperfusion injury of steatotic liver transplants. We examined the effect of connecting segment-1 (CS1) peptide-facilitated blockade of FN-α4β1 interaction in a well-established steatotic rat liver model of ex vivo cold ischemia followed by iso-transplantation. In this model, CS1 peptides were administered through the portal vein of steatotic Zucker rat livers before and after cold ischemic storage. Lean Zucker recipients of fatty liver transplants received an additional 3-day course of CS1 peptides after transplant. CS1 peptide therapy significantly inhibited the recruitment of T lymphocytes, neutrophil activation/infiltration, and repressed the expression of proinflammatory tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ. Moreover, it resulted in selective inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression, peroxynitrite formation, and hepatic necrosis. Importantly, CS1 peptide therapy improved function/histological preservation of steatotic liver grafts, and extended their 14-day survival in lean recipients from 40% in untreated to 100% in CS1-treated OLTs. Thus, CS1 peptide-mediated blockade of FN-α4β1 interaction protects against severe ischemia/reperfusion injury experienced otherwise by steatotic OLTs. These novel findings document the potential of targeting FN-α4β1 in vivo interaction to increase the transplant donor pool through modulation of marginal steatotic livers.
Easily Accessible Uniform Wide-Diameter Helical, Cylindrical, and Nested Diacetylene Superstructures That Can Be Metallized and Oriented in Magnetic Fields

Very long lipid tubules with uniform widths, spirals, and spirals nested in tubular superstructures are formed rapidly from a lipid analogue made by acylating 1- (N,N-1-dimethylamino)ethyl-2,3-dihydroxybutyramide with two molecules of pentacosa-10,12-diynoic acid. The high propensity of this molecule for tubule formation is attributed to the large carbonyl dipole in the headgroup. The tubules formed from the pure lipid are hollow and can be gold-plated by vapor deposition without collapsing. The superstructures can also be metallized by adsorption of nickel(II) or copper(II) ions followed by reduction with borohydride. The nickel-metallized tubules can be oriented in very modest magnetic fields. Tubules can be over 1000 μm in length and have a wide diameter. The unusual length, stability, and ease of preparation of these tubules should be of great utility in the construction of microstructures.
Heat capacity and microstructure of ordered and disordered Pd3V

Abstract Differences in the heat capacity and thermal expansion of cubic (fcc-disordered) and tetragonal (DO22-ordered) Pd3V were measured from 40 K to 315 K. Below 100 K the heat capacity difference was consistent with harmonie vibrations. At higher temperatures, however, the data show significant anharmonic effeets. Measurements of elastic constants. densities and thermal expansion showed that the anharmonic volume expansion contribution (CP - CV ) could account for only about one-third of this anharmonic heat capacity difference. The remainder may originate with elastic and plastic deformation of the polycrystalline microstructure. Strain energy from anisotropic thermal contractions of grains in the tetragonal ordered phase contributes to the heat capacity, but some of this strain energy is eliminated by plastic deformation. The vibrational entropy difference of disordered and ordered Pd3V was estimated to be Sdis - Sord = (+0.035 ± 0.001)K B/atom at 300 K. with 70% of this coming from anharmonic effeets.
Environmental toxicology of testicular cancer.

Abstract Objective Testicular cancer incidence appears to be increasing. In many regions, industrialization results in the production of potentially carcinogenic environmental toxins. We review the available data linking environmental toxins to testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT). Methods A PubMed review of the English literature was performed to identify studies evaluating the relationship between environmental toxins and TGCT. Results Many environmental toxins have been implicated in the development of TGCT, including organochlorines, polychlorinated biphenyls, polyvinyl chlorides, phthalates, marijuana, and tobacco. Variable levels of evidence exist and significant study design limitations preclude a definitive etiologic role for individual environmental toxins. Conclusion Environmental toxins may play an important but undetermined role in the development of TGCT. Further work is needed to evaluate specific toxins and TGCT carcinogenesis.
Direct-Drive Shockwave-Timing Experiments in Planar Targets

Summary form only given. Inertial-confinement-fusion target designs use multiple shock waves to condition the target material for optimal performance. These designs require that the shock waves be accurately timed to coalesce at a particular point in the target. It is essential that the propagation and dynamics of these multiple shocks be understood and correctly modeled. The OMEGA laser facility at the University of Rochester is used to perform direct-drive experiments that measure the propagation and coalescence of two laser-driven shock waves propagating in planar targets made of CH or cryogenic D2. Laser pulses with various temporal shapes are used to generate two primary shocks that propagate in these transparent targets. The velocity and self-emission profiles of these shocks are temporally resolved and clearly show the first shock wave propagating through the material and then being overtaken by the second shock wave. The coalescence of these shocks forms a single, stronger, shock that eventually arrives at the rear surface of the target. The measured velocity and emission profiles exhibit distinct features that include: the decay rate of unsupported shocks, the coalescence and shock breakout times, and curvature of the shock fronts. These results are presented for a number of drive conditions and compared to 3-D and 2-D hydrodynamic codes. The simulated velocity profiles and coalescence times are in good agreement with experimental observations as are many of the two-dimensional effects. The effect of preheat by X-rays on these experiments is also discussed
EDWIN CHADWICK'S SELF-FASHIONING: PROFESSIONALISM, MASCULINITY, AND THE VICTORIAN POOR

In the PAST DECADE EDWIN chadwick has been the subject of several scholarly inquiries1 ; indeed one can almost speak of a "Chadwick industry" these days. This is not, however, the first time he has attracted significant scholarly attention: in 1952, S. E. Finer's and R. A. Lewis's biographies initiated our century's first evaluation of him, culminating in M. W. Flinn's excellently edited reprint of Chadwick's most important text, The Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain (referred to as the Sanitary Report). Yet the Chadwick that emerges in recent accounts could not be more different from the mid-century Chadwick. The post-war critics saw him as a visionary, an often-embattled crusader for public health whose enemies were formidable but whose vision, extending the liberal and radical tradition, ultimately prevailed. Cultural critics, on the other hand, present a Chadwick who misrepresented (if not outright oppressed) the poor and who was instrumental in developing a massive bureaucracy to police their lives. Thus, while earlier accounts highlighted Chadwick's accomplishments, the progress of public health reforms, and the details of legislative politics, more recent ones draw atten tion to his representations of the poor, the erasures in his text, and the growing nineteenth century institutionalization of the poor that the Sanitary Report promotes. Chadwick, in other words, is portrayed as either a pioneer of reform or an avatar of bureaucratic oppression. Although our understanding of Chadwick and Victorian institutions has been con siderably enhanced by this debate, aspects of both have also suffered neglect in the controversy's singular focus. Missing in twentieth-century accounts of this lawyer who drafted the most significant piece of Victorian class-legislation - the New Poor Law - is, ironically, a discussion of class or, more specifically, the production of class identity. Joseph Childers and Mary Poovey have written insightfully about Chadwick's representations of the poor in the Sanitary Report, but neither they nor other critics have considered his self presentation. In this essay I propose to shift attention from Chadwick's representations of
Efflorescence of new warts: a sign of onset of involution in flat warts

SUMMARY The sudden eruption of large numbers of tiny new warts in a patient with multiple flat warts often signals the onset of involution and subsequent regression of all flat warts. We have observed 5 such cases and, in this report, describe 2 cases in which the sudden efflorescence of many new warts was used as a sign to predict accurately the onset of involution and subsequent regression of all flat warts. Correlation of the histopathological and clinical findings provides an explanation for this phenomenon.
Identification of new cell size control genes in S. cerevisiae

Cell size homeostasis is a conserved attribute in many eukaryotic species involving a tight regulation between the processes of growth and proliferation. In budding yeast S. cerevisiae, growth to a “critical cell size” must be achieved before a cell can progress past START and commit to cell division. Numerous studies have shown that progression past START is actively regulated by cell size control genes, many of which have implications in cell cycle control and cancer. Two initial screens identified genes that strongly modulate cell size in yeast. Since a second generation yeast gene knockout collection has been generated, we screened an additional 779 yeast knockouts containing 435 new ORFs (~7% of the yeast genome) to supplement previous cell size screens. Upon completion, 10 new strong size mutants were identified: nine in log-phase cells and one in saturation-phase cells, and 97% of the yeast genome has now been screened for cell size mutations. The majority of the logarithmic phase size mutants have functions associated with translation further implicating the central role of growth control in the cell division process. Genetic analyses suggest ECM9 is directly associated with the START transition. Further, the small (whi) mutants mrpl49Δ and cbs1Δ are dependent on CLN3 for cell size effects. In depth analyses of new size mutants may facilitate a better understanding of the processes that govern cell size homeostasis.
Vulnerable Myocardial Interstitium in Patients With Isolated Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Sudden Cardiac Death: A Postmortem Histological Evaluation

Background Concentric left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is independently associated with increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Some animal models of LVH display specific alterations of the myocardial interstitium that could increase myocardial vulnerability to ventricular arrhythmias, but these merit evaluation in humans with LVH and SCD. Methods and Results Twelve consecutive patients with isolated LVH and SCD (LVH+SCD) in the absence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, coronary disease, or other cardiac structural abnormality were ascertained in the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study. Detailed postmortem comparisons were conducted with 18 controls who had isolated LVH and unnatural deaths (Control Group A) and 6 controls who had structurally normal hearts and unnatural deaths (Control Group B). Postmortem left ventricular myocardial sections were obtained for measurement of collagen volume fraction, characterization of gap junctions, and quantification of collagen subtypes. Heart weight normalized to body weight was higher in LVH+SCD cases (6.9±1.2 g/kg) than in Control Group A (5.3±1.4 g/kg) and Control Group B (4.2±0.3 g/kg); P =0.001. Collagen volume fraction was also higher in LVH+SCD cases (3.1±0.4) than in Control Group A (2.3±0.4) and Control Group B (1.6±0.3); P =0.0002. The relative amount of collagen III was significantly higher in LVH+SCD cases (33.0±4.4%) than in Control Group A (20.9±4.3%) and Control Group B (13.4±3.5%); P =0.0001. There was an overall increase in the number of connexin 43–labeled gap junctions with increasing myocyte size. No subject was found to have high-risk hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations. Conclusions In addition to the expected increase in myocardial mass and overall collagen content, SCD with isolated LVH was associated with relative abundance of type III collagen, a novel finding that warrants further mechanistic evaluation. ( J Am Heart Assoc . 2012;1:e001511 doi : 10.1161/JAHA.112.001511.)
Subjective assessments of comorbidity correlate with quality of life health outcomes: initial validation of a comorbidity assessment instrument.

Background Interventions to improve care for persons with chronic medical conditions often use quality of life (QOL) outcomes. These outcomes may be affected by coexisting (comorbid) chronic conditions as well as the index condition of interest. A subjective measure of comorbidity that incorporates an assessment of disease severity may be particularly useful for assessing comorbidity for these investigations.
Multicast routing and wavelength assignment in multihop optical networks

This paper addresses multicast routing in circuit-switched multihop optical networks employing wavelength-division multiplexing. We consider a model in which multicast communication requests are made and released dynamically over time. A multicast connection is realized by constructing a multicast tree which distributes the message from the source node to all destination nodes such that the wavelengths used on each link and the receivers and transmitters used at each node are not used by existing circuits. We show that the problem of routing and wavelength assignment in this model is, in general, NP-complete. However, we also show that for any given multicast tree, the wavelength assignment problem can be solved in linear time.
Gaze and task performance in shared virtual environments

Non-verbal behaviour, particularly gaze direction, plays a crucial function in regulating conversations and providing critical social information. In the current set of studies, we represented interactants in a shared immersive virtual environment. Interactants sat in physically remote rooms, entered a common virtual room and played games of 20 questions. The interactants were represented by one of three types of avatars: (1) human forms with head movements rendered in real time; (2) human forms without head movements rendered; or (3) human voice only (i.e., a conference call). The data demonstrated that interactants in the rendered head movement condition rated a higher level of co-presence, liked each other more, looked at each other's heads more, and spoke for a lower percentage of time during the game, compared to the other two conditions. We discuss implications for the design of shared virtual environments, the study of non-verbal behaviour and the goal of facilitating efficient task performance. Copyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Mental Health of Black Caribbean Immigrants: Results from the National Survey of American Life

Objectives. We examined the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Black Caribbean immigrant (“Caribbean Black”) and African American populations and the correlates of psychiatric disorders among the Caribbean Black population.Methods. We conducted descriptive and age-adjusted analyses of the data from the National Survey of American Life—an in-person household mental health survey of noninstitutionalized US Blacks. We assessed psychiatric disorders as defined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.Results. Compared with African American men, Caribbean Black men had higher risks for 12-month rates of psychiatric disorders. Caribbean Black women had lower odds for 12-month and lifetime psychiatric disorders compared with African American women. Risks varied by ethnicity, immigration history, and generation status within the Caribbean sample. First-generation Caribbean Blacks had lower rates of psychiatric di...
Water desalination by indirect freezing

Abstract The results of an experimental investigation of the effects of container geometry on the recovery of product water from indirectly frozen salt water are presented. Salt water was frozen in containers having circular or rectangular cross-section, then allowed to melt and drain until the residual ice was potable. Thin rectangular cross-sections were found to be more effective than circular cross-sections. The product water recovery was found to increase with increasing ice height up to 60 cm, beyond which the effect of height was negligible.
InterSense: Interconnect Performance Emulator for Future Scale-out Distributed Memory Applications

A common approach for improving application performance is to process its working set from memory. For datasets that do not fit into DRAM of a single machine this leads to a design of scale-out applications, where the application dataset is partitioned and processed by a cluster of machines. Performance of distributed memory applications, implemented using MPI (Message Passing Interface), inherently depends on performance of communication layer, which is largely defined by performance characteristics of underlying interconnect. During last couple years, many Big Data applications, e.g., Hadoop, Spark, Memcached, were re-written to take advantage of Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) technology and RDMA-capable interconnects which provide fast and high-bandwidth communications. The application analysis of potential performance improvements due to faster and higher bandwidth interconnects is a challenging task. Does the existing application implementation take a full advantage of the underlying interconnect or not? Will the application performance get worse if the interconnect has X% increased latency or Y% lower bandwidth? In this work, we introduce a novel emulation framework, called InterSense, which is implemented on top of existing high-speed interconnect, such as InfiniBand, and which provides two performance knobs for changing the interconnect bandwidth and latency. This approach offers an easy-to-use framework for a sensitivity analysis of complex distributed applications to communication layer performance instead of creating customized and time-consuming application models to answer the same questions. We evaluate the emulator accuracy with popular OSU MPI benchmarks: InterSense emulates the specified bandwidth and latency values with less than 2% error between the expected and measured values. We apply InterSense for sensitivity analysis of two new benchmarks, such as GUPS and Graph 500 to demonstrate the emulator's ease of use in getting non-trivial insights.
Revolution, Participatory Democracy, and Property (the Nicaraguan Property Regime after Sandinista Land Reform

Following forty years of dictatorship, disagreement concerning the legitimacy of Sandinista land reform occupies a central place in the process of forging and consolidating Nicaraguan democracy. For much of the 1980's, this disagreement fueled a highly divisive and destructive civil war. The war finally ended in 1989, due more to the sheer exhaustion of the population than to any lasting resolution of the conflicts that gave rise to it. Since the signing of the peace accords, conflict over land reform continues within both political and legal discourse. The contributions to this symposium represent an attempt to widen and deepen this discourse, and to help resolve the numerous disputes over property entitlements that currently threaten the stability of Nicaragua's fragile democratic order. The essays offer insight into the relation between Nicaraguan land reform and property law, and more generally between revolution and legality.
Examining the effect of the Flextend Orthotic Device® on grip strength: A pilot study

Strengthening exercises like those used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome have been recommended for prevention however their effectiveness when used in this manner are not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the Flextend Orthotic Device on grip strength of dental hygiene students. This study used a convenience sample of 24 (n=24) first year dental hygiene students. Students were randomly assigned to either the Flextend Orthotic Exercise glove group or a control group. A series of grip strength measurements were taken periodically throughout the study using a hydraulic hand dynamometer. In a repeated measures analysis of covariance there were no significant effects for study group (p=0.812) time (p=0.954), nor was there a significant interaction between group and time (p=0.858). Use of the Flextend Orthotic Device did not additionally increase grip strength among dental hygiene students over the eight week time period. In none of the weeks post baseline was there a significant difference between the Flextend Orthotic Device group and control groups.
Pure Electron Plasmas Confined on Magnetic Surfaces

Summary form only given. Small Debye length, low temperature, pure electron plasmas have been successfully confined in the Columbia Non-neutral Torus (CNT). These plasmas are created by steady state emission of electrons from an electron emitter physically located on the axis of the magnetic surfaces. Equilibrium density, temperature, and potential profiles have been measured by emissive Langmuir probes and they agree well with numerical calculations. Toroidal density variations of a factor of four are also predicted numerically. Confinement time is measured by dividing the total number of electrons by the emission current, which is equal to the electron loss rate. Confinement is currently limited in CNT by the presence of insulating rods in the plasma. The rods charge up electrostatically and create an E x B convection of electrons out of the magnetic surfaces. Confinement has been studied as a function of magnetic field, emitter bias, and neutral pressure. Electron loss rate is found to be proportional to B-1 in the low neutral pressure regime, which is consistent with rod-driven transport being the dominant mechanism. At higher neutral pressures where the neutral-driven transport is dominant, the loss rate scales linearly with pn, as expected, and approximately as B-1.5. Ion driven instabilities are also observed at high neutral pressure. A retractable electron emitter has been installed in CNT that creates the plasma without having an insulating rod present in steadv state. Measurements of confinement time in this unperturbed plasma should help to clearly identify other transport mechanisms.
A novel fractal block-coding technique for digital images

An approach to digital image coding, rooted in iterated transformation theory (ITT) and referred to as ITT-based coding, is proposed. It is a fractal block-coding method which relies on the assumption that image redundancy can be efficiently exploited through block self-transformability. The coding-decoding system is based on the construction, for any given original image to encode, of an image transformation of a special kind which (when iterated on any initial image) produces a sequence of images that converges to a fractal approximation of the original. The requirements on the transformation are that (i) it is contractive in the metric space of images endowed with the L/sub 2/ metric, (ii) it leaves the original image approximately invariant, and (iii) its complexity is smaller than that of the original image. The fully automated ITT-based system has comparable performance, in terms of signal-to-noise-ratio and bit rate, to state-or-the-art vector quantizers, with which it shares some features. >
The Choice of Target Populations

Public policy almost always seeks to change the behavior of one or more target populations who are ostensibly linked to the problems the policy is seeking to address. This paper argues that statutory designers and agency officials almost always have a choice from among several potential target groups, and that institutional factors often influence them to make inappropriate choices. Statutory designers, who it is assumed are sensitive to electoral conditions, will tend to oversubscribe some policies by identifying too many targets, including some who are not linked to policy objectives at all. Under other conditions, they will under subscribe, excluding some target groups who would contribute considerably to achievement of policy goals. The institutional conditions and incentives faced by agencies differ from those of elected officials. Therefore, they tend to target policies differently. Under some conditions, agencies will attempt to correct problems introduced by statutory designers, but in other situa...
Personality–event interaction models of depression

Several theorists have suggested that excessive concerns about social relatedness or autonomous achievement create vulnerabilities to depression in response to negative interpersonal or achievement events, respectively. In this paper, I describe these models and review empirical studies of them. I then discuss a number of methodological and conceptual issues that arise from these studies and that need to be addressed as this research area matures. Finally, I discuss findings that need to be incorporated by these models, which suggest that the relations among personality, events, and depression are more complex, bi-directional, and recursive. Language: en
Redirecting Effector T Cells Through Their IL-2 Receptors

Fusion proteins constructed of a tumor-specific Ab joined to IL-2 (Ab-IL-2) have been used in the past to deliver cytokine directly to the site of tumor cells in vivo. These molecules mimic the activity of IL-2 and assist in activating and expanding antitumor effector cells. To enhance the cytolytic activity of CTL specific for peptide epitopes of the Her-2/neu tumor Ag presented by HLA-A*0201 molecules, a fusion protein was constructed consisting of a single chain Ab specific for Her-2/neu, linked to IL-2 (neu-Ab-IL-2). When added to a mixture of tumor cells and Her-2/neu-specific CTL, the protein was found to augment lysis of tumor cells. In addition, the hybrid molecule also promoted lysis of Her-2/neu expressing tumors by non-tumor-specific cloned T cell lines, including Th1 CD4 cells. Analysis of the mechanism of cytotoxicity revealed that the fusion protein mediates the formation of stable conjugates between T cells expressing IL-2R and tumor cells expressing Her-2/neu, resulting in lysis through the Fas-Fas ligand pathway. Lysis induction was independent of specific engagement by the TCR. When tested for its ability to enhance tumor cell eradication by Her-2/neu-specific CD8+ T cells in an adoptive transfer model in SCID mice, neu-Ab-IL-2 facilitated the elimination of tumor cells in vivo. Surprisingly, the combination of non-tumor-specific CD8+ T cells and fusion protein also induced a significant delay of tumor growth. This represents a novel approach for redirecting non-tumor-specific T cells to eliminate tumors.
Student-directed retrieval practice is a predictor of medical licensing examination performance

Introduction A large body of evidence indicates that retrieval practice (test-enhanced learning) and spaced repetition increase long-term information retention. Implementation of these strategies in medical curricula is unfortunately limited. However, students may choose to apply them autonomously when preparing for high-stakes, cumulative assessments, such as the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1. We examined the prevalence of specific self-directed methods of testing, with or without spaced repetition, among preclinical students and assessed the relationship between these methods and licensing examination performance.
Evidence of a dorsal pharynx in the marine polychaete Capitella teleta (Polychaeta: Capitellidae)

Observations from compound, confocal, and scanning electron microscopy reveal that the buccal organ in Capitella teleta Blake, Grassle & Eckelbarger, 2009 should be classified as a dorsal pharynx. This buccal organ is an eversible proboscis that has the following characters: (1) dorsal ciliated pad, (2) well-developed pharyngeal retractor muscles, (3) pharyngeal gland-like structures, (4) cuticular fold surrounding the dorsal ciliated pad, and (5) unciliated buccal cavity and anterior ventral epithelium. All of these features are characteristic of dorsal pharyngeal organs present in oligochaetes and one terrestrial polychaete. Our observations in C. teleta confirm the presence of a dorsal pharynx in larvae, juveniles, and adults. C. teleta is a subsurface deposit feeder and a dorsal pharynx may have evolved independently in Capitellidae through selection of feeding mode in benthic marine habitats. Our results represent the first detailed description of a dorsal pharynx in a marine polychaete.
Sun's changing UV flux has atmospheric implications

Satellite measurements are providing solar and atmospheric physicists with the most accurate records to date of the Sun's ultraviolet flux and of changes in this emission caused by variations in solar activity. The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), launched by NASA in September 1991 into a 585 km orbit, started observing the Sun near maximum levels of solar activity (figure 1) using an instrument called the Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE).