cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Serotype of Type Ia and III Group B Streptococci Is Determined by the Polymerase Gene within the Polycistronic Capsule Operon

Streptococcus agalactiae is a primary cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Essential to the virulence of this pathogen is the production of a type-specific capsular polysaccharide (CPS) that enables the bacteria to evade host immune defenses. The identification, cloning, sequencing, and functional characterization of seven genes involved in type III capsule production have been previously reported. Here, we describe the cloning and sequencing of nine additional adjacent genes, cpsIIIFGHIJKL, neuIIIB, and neuIIIC. Sequence comparisons suggested that these genes are involved in sialic acid synthesis, pentasaccharide repeating unit formation, and oligosaccharide transport and polymerization. The type III CPS (cpsIII) locus was comprised of 16 genes within 15.5 kb of contiguous chromosomal DNA. Primer extension analysis and investigation of mRNA from mutants with polar insertions in their cpsIII loci supported the hypothesis that the operon is transcribed as a single polycistronic message. The translated cpsIII sequences were compared to those of the S. agalactiae cpsIa locus, and the primary difference between the operons was found to reside in cpsIIIH, the putative CPS polymerase gene. Expression of cpsIIIH in a type Ia strain resulted in suppression of CPS Ia synthesis and in production of a CPS which reacted with type III-specific polyclonal antibody. Likewise, expression of the putative type Ia polymerase gene in a type III strain reduced synthesis of type III CPS with production of a type Ia immunoreactive capsule. Based on the similar structures of the oligosaccharide repeating units of the type Ia and III capsules, our observations demonstrated that cpsIaH and cpsIIIH encoded the type Ia and III CPS polymerases, respectively. Additionally, these findings suggested that a single gene can confer serotype specificity in organisms that produce complex polysaccharides.
THE TEXTURE PROFILE: ITS FOUNDATIONS AND OUTLOOK

The origins of the Texture Profile are traced from antecedent developments both in food science and in psychology. A variety of theoretical underpinnings of the Profile are considered: (1) selection of texture variables, (2) problem of standards in texture, (3) appropriate rules for measuring psychological magnitudes, (4) appropriate sensory-instrumental functions, (5) combination rules whereby the observer combines different texture attributes and relates each attribute to a linear combination of others, and (6) interaction between users of the Texture Profile. In each of the above, the underlying assumptions are discussed and possible modifications are suggested in order to generalize the profile procedure.
Retrospective review of the relationship between weight change and demographic factors following initial depot medroxyprogesterone acetate injection in adolescents.

Abstract Background Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is an effective ( Objective This study evaluated the relationship between weight change at 10 to 14 weeks post-DMPA initiation and race, baseline weight, and gynecologic age (age at DMPA initiation minus age at menarche) in female adolescents. Methods Data for baseline and 10 to 14 weeks post-DMPA initiation were obtained via retrospective chart review of 115 female adolescents treated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Descriptive statistics, 2-tailed t tests, and a multivariable linear regression model were used to evaluate weight gain and potentially associated characteristics. Results A total of 29 of 115 patients (25%) were excluded from the analysis owing to first post-DMPA initiation visit occurring later than 14 weeks, no recorded weight, and/or no documented age of menarche. For the 86 patients (75%) included in the analysis (study cohort), the mean (SD) baseline weight was 60.4 (14.0) kg (range, 36.4–114.8 kg), the mean (SD) age at initiation was 15.5 (1.3) years, the mean (SD) gynecologic age was 3.8 (1.6) years, and 83% of DMPA-treated adolescents were of black race. There was no significant difference in the mean weight change during the 10 to 14 weeks post-DMPA initiation by race; 0.19 kg for black patients versus −0.97 kg for non-black patients ( P = 0.16; 95% CI of the difference, −0.49 to 2.81). For black patients, there was no significant difference in the mean weight change by gynecologic age ( P = 0.58; 95% CI, −0.69 to 1.22). A multivariable linear regression model demonstrated that baseline weight ( P = 0.60), race ( P = 0.07), and gynecologic age ( P = 0.88) were not significantly associated with weight change during the 10 to 14 weeks following DMPA initiation. Conclusion In this study cohort, race, gynecologic age, and baseline weight were not associated with weight gain 10 to 14 weeks following initiation of DMPA.
The occurrence of blanks in the filbert Corylus avellana L. and possible causes

The problem of seedless nuts, or “ blanks,” is common to the filbert wherever it is grown. To the commercial grower, it represents a serious economic loss. The cause of blanks is unknown. Suspected causes for blanks are cytomixis during megasporogenesis, genetic incompatibility between pollenizer and main-crop cultivars, self-pollination, aneuploidy, lack of double fertilization, embryo abortion, seasonal variation, and cultural practice.
Courseware to aid database design

Designing normalized tables is a subject of great difficulty and importance. Unnecessary redundancy may results not only in too much space being used to store the data and poor query performance, but it may also result in inconsistencies as denormalized (unnecessary redundancy) data is much more difficult to keep current. Converting tables from E-R Diagrams (or extended E-R Diagrams or Class Diagrams) is a difficult task for most students. Some students manage this task in their first undergraduate class by simply memorizing the rules and never knowing the reasons behind why the rule was created. Therefore when they get to more advanced classes they had forgotten how to accomplish the conversion because they never understood the reasons behind the rules.
Determinants Of Corrections Expenditures In The American States: An Exploratory Analysis*:

This exploratory study seeks to shed light on the complexities surrounding the determinants of state corrections expenditures. Employing a framework composed of external environmental characteristi...
The geochemistry of C14 in fresh-water systems

Abstract The processes controlling the radiocarbon concentration in the dissolved bicarbonate of fresh-water systems have been investigated in order to allow more precise estimates to be made of the initial C 14 C 12 ratio in materials formed in such systems in the past. Two factors control this ratio: (a) the relative amounts of silicate and carbonate minerals dissolved by the system and (b) the rate of exchange of CO2 across the water-air interface. Measurements on samples collected from the Great Basin yield information on both of these factors. As would be expected, the initial C 14 C 12 ratio of the bicarbonate in streams flowing over igneous rocks is close to that in atmospheric CO2. The CO2 exchange rates across the surfaces of Mono, Walker, Pyramid and Great Salt Lakes are similar. The results suggest that the exchange rate for lakes is within the range of from 2 to 15 moles/m2 per year. These values are consistent with published estimates for the average exchange rate for the oceans. Whereas these data allow the C 14 C 12 ratio in samples formed in ancient Lake Lahonton to be estimated within ±5 per cent, the error for random fresh-water samples is probably as great as ±20 per cent. Thus it appears that whereas considerable uncertainty must be attached to radiocarbon ages on random fresh-water materials, where detailed studies such as the above are made the uncertainty can be reduced to the level of the laboratory error.
Simulated impact of altered Southern Hemisphere winds on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

[1] Previous work has suggested that the strength and latitudinal position of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) mid-latitude westerly winds has an important impact on climate and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We probe this hypothesis by conducting ensembles of experiments using the GFDL CM2.1 coupled ocean-atmosphere model with altered SH wind stress. We find, consistent with previous work, that enhanced (reduced) and poleward (equatorward) displaced SH westerly winds lead to an AMOC intensification (weakening). While the AMOC takes more than a century to respond fully to the altered SH winds, initial effects in the North Atlantic can occur within a few decades. The AMOC changes generate SST and surface air temperature responses in the North Atlantic and adjacent continental regions. In the Southern Hemisphere, the atmosphere responds to the altered ocean circulation with a further strengthening and poleward movement of the SH winds, thereby constituting a modest positive feedback.
Value systems for comparing three or more independent multinomial trials

SUMMARY Gail (1974) defined a value system as any real function on the outcome space of a multinomial random variable, and he showed how the mean value of this function can be used as a figure of merit for comparing two multinomial populations. This note generalizes those results to the comparison of three or more independent multinomial trials. Methods are given for finding that value system, an eigenvector, which maximizes the differences in figure of merit among several multinomials.
Sleep problems, sleepiness and daytime behavior in preschool-age children

Background:Sleep problems are a common complaint of parents of preschool children. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders have even more disrupted sleep than typically developing children. Although disrupted nighttime sleep has been reported to affect daytime behavior, the pathway from sleep disruption to sleep problems, to impairments in daytime performance or behavior is not clear. This multi-method, preliminary study assessed this path in 68 children with autism, matched to 57 children with developmental delay without autism and 69 children developing typically.Methods:Actigraphy, structured questionnaires, laboratory assessments, and parent reports were obtained in 194 children.Results:Controlling for diagnosis and developmental age of the child, nighttime sleep problems determined by parent reports were significantly associated with decrements in daytime behavior, also measured by parent report instruments. However, actigraph-defined sleep problems and objective measures of daytime sleepiness were not associated with decrements in daytime performance.Conclusions:Parent report measures substantiate relationships between disrupted sleep patterns and waking behavior. Further understanding of the pathway from sleep disorders to daytime sleepiness and decrements in waking performance, however, may require more rigorous methods of assessment such as polysomnography and the multiple sleep latency test.Keywords:Sleep disorder, sleepiness, behavior, autism, preschoolers, developmental delay.Abbreviations:ASD: autism spectrum disorder; AUT: autism; DD: developmental delay without autism; TYP: typically developing; RDC: research diagnostic criteria; ADOS: Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale; MSEL: Mullen Scales of Early Learning; VABS: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales; ADI-R: Autism Diagnostic Interview‐Revised; ELC: Early Learning Composite; CSHQ: Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire; ESS: Epworth Sleepiness Scale; PEP-R: Psychoeducational Profile‐Revised; CBCL: Child Behavior Checklist; WASO: wake after sleep onset; ABC: Adaptive Behavior Composite.
Thermo-optical determination of vapor pressures of TNT and RDX nanofilms

Abstract Accurate thermodynamic parameters of thin films of explosives are important for understanding their behavior in the nanometer scale as well as in standoff detection. Using UV-absorbance spectroscopy technique, accurate thermodynamic parameters such as activation energies of sublimation, sublimation rates, and vapor pressures of the explosives cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) were determined. The values of these parameters are in excellent agreement with those reported using traditional experiments based on gravimetry. In terms of the Clapeyron equation, the dependence of RDX and TNT vapor pressures on temperature can be described by the relations Ln P (Pa) = 39.6 − 15459/ T (K) and Ln P (Pa) = 34.9 − 12058/ T (K), respectively. Heats of sublimation of RDX and TNT were also determined to be 128 kJ/mol and 100.2 kJ/mol, respectively.
Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ Interacts with CIITA·RFX5 Complex to Repress Type I Collagen Gene Expression

Recent reports demonstrate that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, acts as a repressor of type I collagen synthesis. Our data demonstrate that exogenously expressed PPARgamma down-regulates collagen expression in a dose-responsive manner in human lung fibroblast cells. Silencing PPARgamma using lentiviruses expressing short hairpin RNAs partially reverses interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-induced repression and activates collagen mRNA levels. Previous studies indicate that IFN-gamma represses collagen gene expression and induces major histocompatibility complex II (MHC II) expression by activating the formation of a regulatory factor for X-box 5 (RFX5) complex with class II transactivator (CIITA). This report demonstrates that PPARgamma is within the RFX5.CIITA complex as judged by co-immunoprecipitation and DNA affinity precipitation studies. Most importantly, occupancy of PPARgamma on the collagen transcription start site and MHC II promoter increases with IFN-gamma treatment. The PPARgamma agonist, troglitazone, sensitizes the cells to IFN-gamma treatment by increasing recruitment of PPARgamma to collagen gene while repressing collagen expression, and these effects are blocked by the PPARgamma antagonist T0070907. PPARgamma may mediate IFN-gamma-stimulated collagen transcription down-regulation and MHC II up-regulation by interacting with CIITA as well as regulating CIITA expression. Therefore, PPARgamma is a critical target for investigations into therapeutics of diseases involving extracellular matrix remodeling and the immune response.
Isolation of methyl ferulate from rice bran oil

An unknown ferulate in rice bran oil was isolated by column chromatography. The ferulate was identified as methyl ferulate by TLC, GLC, UV, IR, NMR and mass spectrometry.
Integrating adhesion, protrusion, and contraction during cell migration

Cell migration is fastest when the strength of the adhesion between the cell and the substrate is neither too strong nor too weak. In this issue of Cell, Gupton and Waterman-Storer (2006) reveal how adhesion and cytoskeletal dynamics are integrated to optimize migration speed.
ARFIMA Tests for Random Walks in Exchange Rates in Asian, Latin American and African-Middle Eastern Markets

This article examines fractional processes as alternatives to random walks in emerging foreign exchange rate markets. Sowell's (1992) joint maximum likelihood is used to estimate the ARFIMA parameters and test for random walks. The results show that, in most cases, the emerging market exchange rates follow fractionally integrated processes. Forecasts of exchange rates based on the fractionally integrated autoregressive moving average models are compared to those from the benchmark random walk models. A Harvey, Leybourne and Newbold (1997) test of equality of forecast performance indicates that the ARFIMA forecasts are more efficient in the multi-step-ahead forecasts than the random walk model forecasts. The presence of fractional integration is seen to be associated with market inefficiency in the exchange markets examined. The evidence suggests that fractional integrated processes are viable alternatives to random walks for describing and forecasting exchange rates in the emerging markets.
Defensive and chemical characterization of the froth produced by the cercopid Aphrophora cribrata

Nymphs of the cercopid Aphrophora cribrata cover themselves with a frothy exudate while ingesting sap from their preferred host plant, the eastern white pine, Pinus strobus. Chemical analyses of froth collected from A. cribrata nymphs revealed an array of metabolites belonging to five chemical classes, including fatty acid-derived alcohols, γ-lactones and a single 1-monoacylglycerol, as well as the polyol pinitol and the polyhydroxyalkanoate, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate. Bioassays showed the natural A. cribata froth, as well as a synthetic mixture comprised of representative compound classes identified therein, to be repellent to ants but largely devoid of topical irritancy in tests with cockroaches.
Penoplasty for buried penis in infants and children: report of 100 cases

Purpose The aim of this study is to report single surgeon’s experience in treatment of buried penis in children and describe the surgical technique which was developed by the senior author.
Correlation between behavioral sensitization to cocaine and G protein ADP-ribosylation in the ventral tegmental area.

The ventral tegmental area is a site of action by psychostimulants in the production of behavioral sensitization. Recently, G proteins of the ventral tegmental area have been implicated in behavioral sensitization to cocaine. To further investigate the specific role of G proteins, rats were treated with either 15 or 30 mg/kg, i.p., of cocaine (x 5 days), and at 1, 6 or 24 h after the last injection in vitro pertussis toxin catalyzed adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosylation was used to measure the G proteins in the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, substantia nigra, and striatum. A significant decline in the ADP-ribosylation of G proteins, specific for the ventral tegmental area, was observed at 1 and/or 6 h but had returned to normal by 24 h. A significant negative correlation was found between the percent of G proteins ADP-ribosylated in the ventral tegmental area and the behavioral activity elicited in sensitized but not acute cocaine-treated animals at 1 h after injection. These data suggest that the G proteins ADP-ribosylated by pertussis toxin may be involved in the sensitized motor response produced by repeated cocaine administration in rats.
Non-Statistical Chemical Reactions: The Isomerization over Low Barriers in Methyl and Ethyl Cyclohexanones

At room temperature, methyl cyclohexanone exists in two dominant conformations in which the methyl group is either axial or equatorial to the six membered ring in the chair conformation. In addition to the axial and equatorial conformations, the ethyl cyclohexanones have several ethyl rotor positions. Both theoretical and experimental information indicate that the barriers for axial−equatorial and for the ethyl rotor interconversion are on the order of 4−5 kcal/mol. According to the transition state theory (TST), such low barriers lead to interconversion rates of 109 sec-1. Yet, it has been demonstrated that the room-temperature concentrations are frozen out during the cooling in a pulsed supersonic expansion. This means that vibrational relaxation is much more rapid than interconversion of the various conformations. The analysis of the results indicates that the axial−equatorial or ethyl rotor interconversion rates must be at least 3 orders of magnitude less than predicted by the TST. It is proposed that...
Restraint use legislation: Its prospects for increasing the protection of children in cars

Abstract Very few children traveling in cars—even fewer than adults—are restrained, and effective ways need to be found to increase their crash protection. One potential mechanism for accomplishing this goal is through laws requiring restraint use. Unfortunately, seat belt use laws have tended to exempt children, and the increases in restraint use and decreases in occupant fatalities that have resulted from some of these laws have not been shared by children. Empirical evidence from several countries indicates that children can be protected by seat belts, and thus they should be included in belt use legislation. Several Australian states have now extended restraint use legislation to children less than eight years old, requiring them to use seat belts or child restraints. In the United States, Tennessee has a law in force requiring use of child restraints by children less than four years old. Present child restraint laws have major gaps and shortcomings that limit their potential effectiveness, and the data available at this writing indicate that the effects of the laws have, at best, been slight. It is more likely that significant advances in protecting children in cars can be achieved through implementation of measures that provide protection automatically to virtually all the people for whom they are available, whether children or adults.
Evidence of cellular nicotinic receptor desensitization in rats exhibiting nicotine-induced acute tolerance

Rationale Individuals vary in their susceptibility to nicotine addiction. However, there is little evidence that behavioral sensitivity to nicotine is dependent upon the functional state of nicotinic cholinergic receptors (nAChRs).
Measurement of intravascular Na+ during increased CBF using 23Na NMR with a shift reagent

Sodium ions are intimately involved with neural activity. Thus, it is highly desirable to devise a way of mapping brain activity via sodium imaging. Sodium ions exist in the extravascular and intravascular spaces. To separate the two components, the shift reagent Tm(DOTP)(5-) was intravenously introduced into rats. Intravascular sodium changes in the rat brain were measured during increased blood flow induced by hypercapnia using volume-localized (23)Na-NMR. The intravascular sodium changes, equivalent to cerebral blood volume changes, are significant during hypercapnia conditions and correlate well with the increase in arterial pCO(2). This suggests that the intravascular sodium change is dominant in total (23)Na spectroscopy or imaging of the brain during blood flow increase induced by external perturbation.
A new phase behavior apparatus for supercritical fluid extraction study

A high-pressure phase behavior apparatus is presented in this paper. One new feature of the apparatus is a “rodded cylinder”, which greatly simplifies the equipment design. This experimental apparatus is capable of performing vapor−liquid equilibrium tests at pressures up to 40 MPa and temperatures up to 150 °C. Test runs of the apparatus have been made to study the phase behavior of CO2-containing binary and ternary fluid mixtures. The measured compositions of equilibrium vapor and liquid phases are in good agreement with those reported in the literature. This apparatus is useful for generating data required for process designs of supercritical fluid extraction.
A fuzzy logic framework for scenario support

ABSTRACT The field of decision support systems arose in the 1970s to assist decision makers in addressing problems in which only a limited amount of structure is present. An important class of such problems is the management of scenarios that describe future events of interest to a decision maker. In this paper we present a framework for scenario management based on relational algebra and fuzzy set theory. We illustrate the framework with scenarios concerning the future of Hong Kong after 1997.
Lensfree on-chip microscopy and tomography

We review our recent progress on computational lensfree on-chip microscopy and tomography techniques for biomedical imaging and telemedicine applications.
Choices and Best Practice in Corporate Risk Management Disclosure

For over a decade, the SEC has required corporations to disclose in their 10-K filings the nature and extent of their risk exposures using one or more of the following three methods: (1) sensitivity analysis; (2) the so-called “tabular” format; and (3) value-at-risk (VaR). After discussing the significant differences in the type and level of information revealed by each method, this article presents the findings of a study that examines how corporate choices of disclosure method vary with firm-specific and industry characteristics. While sensitivity analysis has been the “middle of the road” chosen by the majority of companies, there have also been significant minorities adopting the tabular and VaR methods. Those companies that have chosen the tabular method—in the authors' view, the most revealing of the three methods—have also had the largest interest rate and commodity exposures as well as the greatest demand for external financing. The propensity of companies to use VaR, the least revealing method, has been associated with larger size, perhaps reflecting scale economies in risk management, greater use of derivatives, and competitiveness concerns about revealing proprietary information.
The Influence of Market Economics on Primary Health Care in Vietnam

THE SOCIALIST Republic of Vietnam first cautiously introduced economic reforms in 1986 to reverse the economic deterioration of the previous 15 years. A more extensive and consistent program of reforms, commonly referred to as the introduction of a market economy, began in 1989 as an expression of Vietnamese national policy. The reform programs enacted new monetary, price, and exchange rate policies; tightened credit; decontrolled prices; and abolished or substantially reduced subsidies to state enterprises and consumers as private enterprises emerged. The year 1993 marked a particularly important milestone in the transition to a market economy as Vietnam once again obtained access to concessional international finance.1 PRIVATIZATION AND A NEW MARKET ECONOMY The promise of privatization and market forces in Vietnam, with its industrious and well-educated workforce, should promote socioeconomic development. Sustained economic growth in the range of 8% per year may continue throughout the decade of the 1990s.1
Whole cell imaging based on wide-field interferometric phase microscopy and its application to cardiomyocytes

Whole cell imaging is a novel technique using which the time-dependent quantitative phase profiles of live unstained biological cells are analyzed numerically to learn on the cell functionally. Dynamic phase profiles of the sample are first acquired by wide-field digital interferometry (WFDI), a quantitative holographic approach, without the need for scanning or using exogenous contrast agents. The resulting phase profiles are proportional to the multiplication between the cell thickness profile and its integral refractive index profile. However, many morphological parameters, including cell volume and cell force distribution, are based on the cell thickness profile, rather than on its WFDI phase profile. For cells with heterogeneous refractive index structure, more than a single exposure is typically needed to decouple thickness from integral refractive index using the phase profile, with the risk of losing transient acquisition. The presented wholecell- imaging approach show that the WFDI phase profiles are useful for numerically analyzing cells even in cases where decoupling of thickness and integral refractive index is not possible or desired. We thus define new numerical parameters that directly utilize the WFDI phase profile and demonstrate their usefulness for characterizing contracting cardiomyocytes, cells with complex and highly-dynamic refractive-index structure.
A Framework, Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned for an Undergraduate Short-Term Study Abroad in China.

In this article, a framework is presented that describes a program developed for a short-term study abroad in China. The framework provides a starting point from which to develop a similar program that can be adapted to fit the unique needs of other undergraduate business school programs. Learning outcomes are discussed and lessons learned are described in this paper. All are based on several years of study-abroad experience and are presented in order to help others avoid some of the same pitfalls.
Fabrication of large planar Ge(Li) detectors

Abstract Several new techniques in the fabrication of large area, planar Ge(Li) detectors with thin windows are described, including use of argon atmosphere, simplified drifting device, and gold sputtering for windows.
What are the facts and artifacts of the pathogenensis and etiology of Alzheimer disease

Over the past decade, an increased clinical awareness, together with advances in biochemical, cellular, and molecular analyses, have catapulted the study of Alzheimer disease to the forefront of biomedical research. During this time, a great number of theories, regarding disease pathogenesis, have come and gone but several have persisted. Here, we critically evaluate these theories in an attempt to delineate the facts from the artifacts.
Autoimmune Pancreatitis Presenting with Mass and Biliary Obstruction

We report a case of autoimmune pancreatitis in a 31-year-old man with signs and symptoms of biliary tract obstruction. Evaluation with sonography, computed tomography, and ultimately endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, demonstrated a 5 by 2 cm hypoechoic, hypodense mass near the head of the pancreas that extended into the porta hepatis. Common bile duct obstruction with proximal dilatation was present. Following fine needle aspiration of the mass, cytology showed findings consistent with autoimmune pancreatitis. Treatment with common bile duct stent was followed by resolution of the patient's symptoms.
Wald, likelihood ratio, and infinite induced test statistics for joint one-sided hypothesis

Abstract The relationship between certain infinite induced test statistics and the Wald and likelihood ratio statistics for testing hypothesis with one-sided alternatives is considered. In addition, it is shown that one of these infinite induced statistics reduces to a simple finite induced test statistic when the Wald statistic is equal to zero.
Challenges in the scale-up of particulate processes—an industrial perspective

Studies by the Rand Corporation in the 1980s identified substantial differences in the scale-up and start-up performance of plants processing particles versus those processing liquids or gases. These differences were inevitably unfavorable. Particulate process plants take longer to start up and are less likely to achieve desired production rates. Facility operators often underestimate the challenges involved. These problems generally relate to an inadequate understanding of the behavior of particle systems. Many of these behaviors are sensitive to process scale or process history in ways that would not be expected by engineers familiar only with liquid or gas systems. Empiricism must often substitute for first principles. Modeling provides some answers, but often not enough to eliminate the need to operate pilot plants. This paper reviews some of the unit operations involved in particle processing and highlights scale-up issues involved. The use of information from suppliers and other third parties is discussed, as well as scale-up strategies in competitive or regulated industries.
WE-SAMS-332-02: SPECT/CT Instrumentation and Clinical Applications

Hybrid SPECT/CT is rapidly becoming a mainstream imaging modality, with the recent commercial introduction of systems that incorporate state‐of‐the‐art multi‐slice, diagnostic CTscanners. The ability to acquire contemporaneous, electromechanically registered dual‐modality scans has created a new paradigm for SPECTimaging. The first generation, single‐slice hybrid scanner produced acceptable attenuation coefficient (mu) maps for SPECT attenuation correction, however the quality of its anatomical overlay CT for SPECT/CT fusion imaging was limited. The CT integrated into the latest generation of hybrid systems is a fully‐functional diagnostic scanner. In addition to generating high‐quality mu maps, these systems can produce diagnostic image quality CT scans with variable scan parameters (speed, collimation, pitch, mA, slice thickness and FOV), that are capable of greatly improving both the localization and specificity of abnormalities detected on the corresponding SPECT scan. In some cases, these systems are also capable of performing billable diagnostic CT scans with contrast enhancement. The widest use of SPECT/CT is currently in oncology, with applications including: tumor localization, staging and response to treatment; presurgical mapping (e.g., parathyroid adenomas, sentinel lymph nodes); differentiation of skeletal metastases from other disease processes; functional image‐based radiation therapy treatment planning (e.g., lung perfusion); and quantitative SPECT/CT‐based internal radionuclide therapy dosimetry/treatment planning. Cardiac SPECT/CT is currently focused primarily on improved attenuation correction of SPECT myocardial perfusion images; although the newest, 16‐to‐64‐slice integrated scanners offer the potential for contemporaneous CTcardiacimaging (e.g., coronary angiography, calcium scoring). SPECT/CT is also being utilized for imaging bone and other non‐malignant diseases. This lecture will review the underlying physics of SPECT/CT imaging, present several examples of the clinical application of SPECT/CT, and provide an overview of the currently available SPECT/CT scanner types and models. Educational Objectives: 1. To understand the underlying physical principles of SPECT/CT image acquisition, processing and reconstruction. 2. To understand current and future clinical applications of SPECT/CT imaging. 3. To become familiar with the various commercially‐available SPECT/CT product offerings.
Clustalnet: the joining of Clustal and CORBA.

Motivation: Performing sequence alignment operations from a different program than the original sequence alignment code, and/or through a network connection, is often required. Interactive alignment editors and largescale biological data analysis are common examples where such a flexibility is important. Interoperability between the alignment engine and the client should be obtained regardless of the architectures and programming languages of the server and client. Results: Clustalnet, a Clustal alignment CORBA server is described, which was developed on the basis of Clustalw. This server brings the robustness of the algorithms and implementations of Clustal to a new level of reuse. A Clustalnet server object can be accessed from a program, transparently through the network. We present interfaces to perform the alignment operations and to control these operations via immutable contexts. The interfaces that select the contexts do not depend on the nature of the operation to be performed, making the design modular. The IDL interfaces presented here are not specific to Clustal and can be implemented on top of different sequence alignment algorithm implementations. Availability: This implementation is freely available for non-commercial use for a variety of architectures. Clustalnet can be downloaded from http:// transport.physbio.mssm.edu/ clustalnet.
New and Old Ceramic Processes: Manufacturing Costs

Recent advances in the property and performance requirements of ceramics have stimulated new approaches to ceramics processing. One approach being studied in numerous laboratories around the world involves the introduction of specialty chemicals to the sequential processing steps. Because many of these new approaches involve changes in equipment, raw materials, and processing variables, this paper focuses on an examination of the process economics. In some instances we can project the costs for these new technologies by considering the costs of similar commercial processes.
Potential distribution for a spheroidal cell having a conductive membrane in an electric field

When a cell is situated in a uniform electric field, the field is modified due to the relatively low conductance of the cell membrane compared to that of the surrounding fluids. In certain cases, such as in the estimation of internal and external electrokinetic forces, one requires a means of estimating the magnitude of the electric field inside and outside the cell. Most treatments consider the case when the membrane has zero conductivity, or the case of only a spherical cell. The authors solve Laplace's equation for the electric potential distribution inside and outside a cell having a prolate spheroidal shape and having a membrane with a finite, nonzero conductivity.
The frequently low cobalamin levels in dementia usually signify treatable metabolic, neurologic and electrophysiologic abnormalities

: Cobalamin levels are frequently low in patients with dementia, but it is unclear if they represent definable deficiency and what the mechanisms are. Therefore, patients being evaluated for dementia who had low cobalamin levels but no obvious evidence of deficiency were studied hematologically, neurologically and with metabolic tests and were re-evaluated after cobalamin treatment. Abnormalities suggestive of or diagnostic for deficiency were documented in most of the 16 demented and nondemented patients. Metabolic results: 50% of patients tested had abnormal deoxyuridine suppression and 44% had increased serum methylmalonic acid and/or homocysteine levels; these test results correlated with each other. Neurologic results: 73% of patients had clinical abnormalities, primarily mild neuropathies, not attributable to other causes, 75% had electroencephalographic abnormalities, 77% had abnormal visual evoked potentials and 33% had abnormal somatosensory potentials. Metabolic and neurologic dysfunction were present together or absent together in all but 2 cases. Cobalamin therapy improved 50–100% of the various types of abnormalities, although it did not improve cognitive function in the 13 demented patients. Food-cobalamin malabsorption was found in 60% of the patients. Despite the absence of megaloblastic anemia and rarity of traditional malabsorption of free cobalamin, low cobalamin levels in demented patients frequently represent mild cobalamin deficiency and are often associated with food-cobalamin malabsorption. Perhaps most importantly, this is accompanied not only by metabolic changes but by evidence of mild neurologic dysfunction. Their frequent reversibility by cobalamin confirms that these defects indeed arise from cobalamin deficiency. Although the long-standing dementia does not improve, treating such patients with cobalamin has other concrete benefits.
Using Remote Sensing to Select and Monitor Wetland Restoration Sites: An Overview

ABSTRACT Klemas, V., 2013. Using remote sensing to select and monitor wetland restoration sites: an overview. Coastal and estuarine wetlands represent highly productive and critical habitats for a wide variety of plants and animals and provide protection from storms and wave damage. However, wetland acreage in the continental United States has been steadily decreasing mainly as a result of human activities and sea level rise. Major efforts are being made by federal, state, and local agencies to protect existing wetlands, restore lost wetlands, and improve those stressed by human activities. The restoration process can involve removing exotic plants, removing bulkheads and fill, elevation grading, creating flushing channels, and planting native vegetation. Having developed criteria for selecting wetland sites to be restored or enhanced, wetland managers must prioritize the sites based on ecological and economic considerations. Remote sensing techniques can provide a cost-effective means for selecting resto...
Elevated Cholesterol Levels in the Plasma Membranes of Macrophages Inhibit Migration by Disrupting RhoA Regulation

Objective— Atherogenesis begins as small subendothelial accumulations of foam cells that develop through unregulated uptake of modified and aggregated low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The reason why foam cells remain in the atherosclerotic plaque rather than migrating out of the area is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that elevated membrane cholesterol levels, which may result from interactions with aggregated LDL, affect macrophage migration. Methods and Results— Cholesterol loading by incubation with cholesterol-chelated methyl-β-cyclodextrin decreased migration of J774A.1 macrophages toward complement 5a (C5a) in transwell migration assays, even though cholesterol-loaded macrophages responded to a bath application of C5a. In a micropipette polarization assay, cholesterol-loaded cells polarized toward a C5a gradient. In a transwell migration assay, cholesterol-loaded cells extended lamellae through the filter pores but were unable to translocate their cell bodies. Cholesterol loading decreased both the ...
Monitoring the transition from the T to the R state in E.coli aspartate transcarbamoylase by X-ray crystallography: crystal structures of the E50A mutant enzyme in four distinct allosteric states.

Abstract A detailed description of the transition that allosteric enzymes undergo constitutes a major challenge in structural biology. We have succeeded in trapping four distinct allosteric states of a mutant enzyme of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbomylase and determining their structures by X-ray crystallography. The mutant version of aspartate transcarbamoylase in which Glu50 in the catalytic chains was replaced by Ala destabilizes the native R state and shifts the equilibrium towards the T state. This behavior allowed the use of substrate analogs such as phosphonoacetamide and malonate to trap the enzyme in T-like and R-like structures that are distinct from the T-state structure of the wild-type enzyme (as represented by the structure of the enzyme with CTP bound and the R-state structure as represented by the structure with N -(phosphonacetyl)- l -aspartate bound). These structures shed light on the nature and the order of internal structural rearrangements during the transition from the T to the R state. They also suggest an explanation for diminished activity of the E50A enzyme and for the change in reaction mechanism from ordered to random for this mutant enzyme.
Frequency Agile Switched Beam Antenna Array System

A dual frequency reconfigurable antenna array and its associated phase shifter are presented. The system is capable of operation at two independent frequencies (4.7 GHz and 7.5 GHz) while switching between four different radiation patterns pointing at different spatial locations for each frequency. The reconfigurability is achieved by using high performance PIN diodes acting as microwave switches.
GLASS DENSITY DETERMINATIONS BY SINK‐FLOAT METHOD

Procedures are described which have been in use for several years in a bottle plant for the purpose of making daily determinations of glass density as a check on glass composition. These procedures are examined experimentally with a view to adopting any changes in technique, such as those suggested by Knight and others, which will yield results more quickly. This study includes (1) a comparison of alternate methods of observing sink-float temperatures as to precision and time required, (2) determination of the effect of handling and marking samples, (3) an estimate of the variability introduced into density results by the use of samples from commercially annealed bottles, (4) a comparison of the amount and type of information which may be expected from various plans of sampling plant production, and (5) data on the reliability for use in glass-composition control of rod samples taken from forehearths, troughs, or tap streams. The use of rod samples, prepared “as described” and without reannealing, is recommended in composition-control work because (1) rod samples show less variability in the effect of thermal history on density than do those from lehr-annealed bottles from a number of lehrs, (2) elapsed time between entry of batch into the furnace and the completion of density determinations on glass made therefrom is approximately three hours less than when lehr-annealed bottle samples are used and approximately six hours less than when* reannealed samples from bottles are used, and (3) rod samples are available regardless of whether or not finished ware is being produced.
Managing mesenteric vasculitis.

Mesenteric vasculitis is a rare diagnosis, but it comprises a group of disorders that may have devastating manifestations. It is often difficult to diagnose using clinical symptoms and biomarkers. Vascular imaging often provides the best opportunity for the noninvasive diagnosis of vasculitis and obviates the need for performing a biopsy. The medical management of vasculitis involves controlling the inflammatory process with the use of steroids or other immunosuppressants, but medical therapy does not consistently provide regression of the vascular changes (ie, aneurysms or vascular occlusions) seen at the time of the initial diagnosis. Operative management remains the mainstay of therapy for focal occlusive or aneurysms, but the treatment options for multifocal disease remain challenging. Endovascular treatment is increasingly being used as a first line of treatment for symptomatic vasculitis. Interventionalists should be familiar with the indications and outcomes associated with the various therapeutic options for mesenteric vasculitis–associated occlusive disease and aneurysms.
Spatial chirp control of high-intensity 4D pulse focusing for laser-matter interactions

Spatial chirp can be manipulated to control the focusing conditions for materials processing. Our double-ABCD nonparaxial analysis helps to understand and exploit the mechanisms for intensity localization, pulse front tilt, and grating formation, and includes initial spectral phase and detuning of the wavelength crossing plane. We also present a novel method for creating high density, high intensity interference patterns with crossed beams that have no relative pulse front tilt. 1. Non-paraxial double ABCD tracing The properties of space-time focused beams are strongly dependent of the nature of the spatial overlap of the frequency components. The analysis of optical systems with spatial chirp is therefore critical both for understanding the unusual properties of these beams and for designing systems to exploit these properties for materials processing. In a recent paper, we developed an analytical approach to calculate the propagation of spatially chirped beams. A ray is traced that represents the central axis of the Gaussian beamlet for each frequency component. Since one form of the calculation is nonparaxial, the beamlet angles can be large and the calculation is valid over a wider range of conditions than direct Fresnel propagation. Our technique explains, for example, how the evolution of the beamlet radius of curvature leads to an axial variation of the spectral chirp through the focus, contributing to the axial intensity localization. It also allows the derivation of simple scaling properties of the beam, showing that the improvement of the localization over the confocal parameter of the focused beamlets depends primarily on the degree of spatial chirp, not on the initial pulse duration or the focal length.
Evaluation of Escherichia coli Cell Response to Antibiotic Treatment by Use of Raman Spectroscopy with Laser Tweezers

Laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy was used to detect the cellular response of Escherichia coli cells to penicillin G-streptomycin and cefazolin. Time-dependent intensity changes of several Raman peaks at 729, 1,245, and 1,660 cm−1 enabled untreated cells and cells treated with the different antibiotic drugs to be distinguished.