cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improvements in the measurement of distillation curves. 1. A composition-explicit approach

The distillation (or boiling) curve of a complex fluid is a critically important indicator of the bulk behavior or response of the fluid. For this reason, the distillation curve, usually presented graphically as the boiling temperature against the volume fraction distilled, is often cited as a primary design and testing criterion for liquid fuels, lubricants, and other important industrial fluids. While the distillation curve gives a direct measure of fluid volatility fraction by fraction, the information the curve contains can be taken much further; there are numerous engineering and application-specific parameters that can be correlated to the distillation curve. When applied to liquid motor fuels, for example, one can estimate engine starting ability, drivability, fuel system icing and vapor lock, the fuel injector schedule, and fuel autoignition, etc. It can be used in environmental applications as a guide for blending virgin stock with reclaimed oil, guiding the formulation of product that will be su...
Computational Redesign of Bacterial Biotin Carboxylase Inhibitors Using Structure-Based Virtual Screening of Combinatorial Libraries

As the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria steadily increases, there is an urgent need for new antibacterial agents. Because fatty acid synthesis is only used for membrane biogenesis in bacteria, the enzymes in this pathway are attractive targets for antibacterial agent development. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase catalyzes the committed and regulated step in fatty acid synthesis. In bacteria, the enzyme is composed of three distinct protein components: biotin carboxylase, biotin carboxyl carrier protein, and carboxyltransferase. Fragment-based screening revealed that amino-oxazole inhibits biotin carboxylase activity and also exhibits antibacterial activity against Gram-negative organisms. In this report, we redesigned previously identified lead inhibitors to expand the spectrum of bacteria sensitive to the amino-oxazole derivatives by including Gram-positive species. Using 9,411 small organic building blocks, we constructed a diverse combinatorial library of 1.2×10⁸ amino-oxazole derivatives. A subset of 9×10⁶ of these compounds were subjected to structure-based virtual screening against seven biotin carboxylase isoforms using similarity-based docking by eSimDock. Potentially broad-spectrum antibiotic candidates were selected based on the consensus ranking by several scoring functions including non-linear statistical models implemented in eSimDock and traditional molecular mechanics force fields. The analysis of binding poses of the top-ranked compounds docked to biotin carboxylase isoforms suggests that: (1) binding of the amino-oxazole anchor is stabilized by a network of hydrogen bonds to residues 201, 202 and 204; (2) halogenated aromatic moieties attached to the amino-oxazole scaffold enhance interactions with a hydrophobic pocket formed by residues 157, 169, 171 and 203; and (3) larger substituents reach deeper into the binding pocket to form additional hydrogen bonds with the side chains of residues 209 and 233. These structural insights into drug-biotin carboxylase interactions will be tested experimentally in in vitro and in vivo systems to increase the potency of amino-oxazole inhibitors towards both Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive species.
Effect of angiotensin II on the renal response to amino acid in rats.

Abstract Administration of the nitric oxide (NO) synthase blocker, NG-monomethyl L-arginine prevents the increase in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) normally observed with glycine, an effect that is restored by angiotensin II (All) blockers. These findings suggest that changes in NO and All dictate the presence or absence of renal vasodilation during amino acid (AA) infusion. We examined the effect of branched-chain (BCAA) and non-branched-chain (NBCAA) AA on GFR, NO, and All to determine if abnormal NO or All responses could explain the absence of vasodilation with BCAA. Our findings demonstrated that NBCAA increased GFR and NO and did not modify All, either plasma (Allp) or kidney (Allk) All. The response with BCAA was strikingly different. L-Valine increased GFR without modifying NO or All. L-Leucine increased Allk and NO but did not increase GFR. Administration of All blockers (captopril or losartan) was associated with an increase in GFR during infusion of leucine. Single nephron studies demonstrated that increased Allk with L-leucine was associated with decreased absolute proximal reabsorption and probably activation of the tubuloglomerular feedback. An AA-specific increase in Allk is critical to inhibition of the normal renal response to AA infusion. NO generation is an important mediator but not the sole mechanism that determines the increase in GFR during amino acid infusion.
Raman spectra of gases. XXII. (CH 3 ) 3 SiCl, (CD 3 ) 3 SiCl and some normal coordinate calculations on (CH 3 ) 3 SiNCO and (CH 3 ) 3 SiNCS

The Raman spectra (0 to 3600 cm−1) of gaseous (CH3)3SiCl and (CD3)3SiCl have been recorded. It was possible to resolve the symmetric and antisymmetric SiC3 deformations. The spectra are discussed in detail and previous vibrational assignments are compared. A normal coordinate calculation has been carried out utilizing a modified simple valence force field. The extent of the vibrational coupling has been determined. It is believed that the main force constants should be transferable to other substituted trimethylsilyl compounds and this transferability is demonstrated by some normal coordinate calculations for trimethylsilylisocyanate and trimethylsilylisothiocyanate.
Dissociating Eye Movements and Workload on Lateral Lane Position Variability

Recent research suggests that performing a secondary, non-visual task while driving may lead to a reduction in lateral vehicle movement. A plausible explanation for this counterintuitive pattern involves the joint findings that (1) increased cognitive load disrupts eye movements, and (2) eye movements often precipitate steering input. However, a partial dissociation of these factors by Cooper et al. (2009) found that increases in workload and eye movements (at a constant eccentricity) both reduce lateral lane variability. This follow-up study examines the contribution of eye movement eccentricity, under varying workload, on lateral lane position variability. Thirty-two participants drove nine, five minute scenarios in a fixed based driving simulator under varying eye movement and workload conditions. Consistent with previous finding, increased workload led to a decrease in lateral vehicle movement. Interestingly, an effect of visual eccentricity on eye movements was only observed in one of the driving mea...
Two-neutron pickup strengths on the even lead isotopes the transition from single-particle to “collective”☆

Abstract The (p, t) reaction on 208 Pb, 206 Pb, and 204 Pb has been studied with 35 MeV protons. It is observed that the L = 0 ground-state cross section rapidly increases as one changes targets from 208 Pb to 206 Pb to 204 Pb while the cross section for other natural-parity transitions decreases. The observed cross sections are compared with predictions of the shell model and the pairing-vibration model. Both models are seen to describe some features of the data.
Dark halos consist of compact stellar remnants

The hypothesis that galactic halos consist of compact stellar remnants, such as white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes is explored. I focus on star formation considerations, including the nature of the initial stellar mass function both at present and in the past, and the rate of star formation in various types of galaxies. A protogalaxy model is presented, and I describe alternative schemes for forming halos of baryonic dark matter in the form of stellar relics. I conclude by describing possible manifestations of the enhanced primordial star formation rate that must be invoked for this hypothesis to be viable, and I suggest a possible technique for directly observing halo relics in our galaxy.
The change in carbon and oxygen isotopic composition during contact metamorphism of Trenton limestone by the Mount Royal pluton

Abstract The carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of the Trenton limestone was systematically altered by metamorphism associated with the emplacement of the Mount Royal pluton. Values approach those thought to be characteristic of carbonatites and suggest that the isotopic composition of carbonatites is of limited diagnostic value.
Holographic imaging and interferometry with non-Bragg diffraction orders in the volume gratings

Recording of holographic volume gratings lead to Bragg and non-Bragg diffracted beams with transformed images in each beam. In real-time mode fringes appear with a proper phase shift resulting in one shot phase shifting interferometry.
The Matrix Peptide Exporter HAF-1 Signals a Mitochondrial UPR by Activating the Transcription Factor ZC376.7 in C. elegans

Genetic analyses previously implicated the matrix-localized protease ClpP in signaling the stress of protein misfolding in the mitochondrial matrix to activate nuclear-encoded mitochondrial chaperone genes in C. elegans (UPR(mt)). Here, we report that haf-1, a gene encoding a mitochondria-localized ATP-binding cassette protein, is required for signaling within the UPR(mt) and for coping with misfolded protein stress. Peptide efflux from isolated mitochondria was ATP dependent and required HAF-1 and the protease ClpP. Defective UPR(mt) signaling in the haf-1-deleted worms was associated with failure of the bZIP protein, ZC376.7, to localize to nuclei in worms with perturbed mitochondrial protein folding, whereas zc376.7(RNAi) strongly inhibited the UPR(mt). These observations suggest a simple model whereby perturbation of the protein-folding environment in the mitochondrial matrix promotes ClpP-mediated generation of peptides whose haf-1-dependent export from the matrix contributes to UPR(mt) signaling across the mitochondrial inner membrane.
Development and Field Evaluation of Variable Advisory Speed Limit System for Work Zones

A practical methodology to reduce traffic conflicts at work zones was developed and evaluated in the field. The proposed system uses variable advisory speed limits that are determined with a two-stage speed reduction scheme. The system is designed to lower the speed of the upstream traffic approaching the work zone bottleneck to the same level as the downstream flow. The system was implemented at one of the I-494 work zones in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, for a 3-week period in 2006. Data collected from the field indicated a 25% to 35% reduction of the average 1-min maximum speed difference along the work zone area during the 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. morning peak periods after the system was implemented. The reduction in speed difference also resulted in an approximate 7% increase of the total throughput volume measured at the downstream work zone boundary during the 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. periods. The volume increase during the 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. periods was not significant. Estimation of the driver compliance rate, b...
Doubly wound coils for solid-state double-resonance and multiple-pulse NMR

A critical part of probe construction in modern solid-state NMR spectrometers is the coil. The inductance of the coil determines the quality factor Q, which in most cases is a major factor determining both the overall sensitivity and the ringdown time of the spectrometer’s receiving system. In this communication, we present a coil design similar to one suggested to us by Stephen B. W. Roeder (I) which has some advantages over the usual coil designs. The basis of this coil is a parallel double-winding arrangement. A typical coil is shown in Fig. la. Doubly wound coils have been discussed in the literature (see Refs. (2) and (3) and discussions therein), but not with the interwoven design given here. Theoretically, inductively uncoupled parallel inductors would give one-eighth the total inductance when compared to the inductance of a singly wound coil having the same number of turns, radius, and length. In actual designs, there is enough mutual inductance to cause the total inductance to be reduced by approximately two. We find triply wound coils have total inductances reduced by “4, but with coils of ~15 turns the end effects become too large for this design to be useful. The reason for using this configuration is to construct a coil with a length (I) to diameter (d) ratio, l/d 9 1, to maintain a relatively homogeneous B, field, while keeping the inductance sufficiently low to tune the circuit containing the coil to resonance at -300 MHz. The advantage, then, of being able to decrease the inductance of the coil is being able to correspondingly increase the capacitance of the isolation tuning capacitor (C, in Fig. lb). This is especially an advantage for proton work at high frequencies. A 10 turn5 turns in each parallel winding-5 mm diam. coil as shown in Fig. 1 has an inductance of -0.09 PH at 220 MHz, compared to -0.18 PH for the corresponding singly wound coil. This decrease in inductance allows us to tune our multiple-pulse proton probe with a 0.8-10 pf Polyflon variable capacitor (4). The Q of the probe was adjusted to the optimal value of 23 (5). The rf homogeneity of the coil is shown in Fig. 2 for a 5 mm spherical water sample under the normal 7r/2 tuning pulse sequence (6, 7). With
Regulating By the Numbers Probabilistic Risk Assessment and Nuclear Power

Probabilistic risk assessment has been promoted within the Nuclear Regulatory Com mission as both a means of judging the extent of risk to the public and a direct means of determining what specific regulations should be strengthened, better enforced, or possibly abandoned. These uses have met with skepticism not only from public interest groups but from lower level bureaucrats. Interviews with engineers and other technically trained personnel reveal the difficulties created by expectations that probabilistic risk assessment can be applied to everyday regulatory decision making. While most think PRA is technically useful, they express concern that it may be used in ways they see as inappropriate.
Predictors of safety belt initiative by primary care physicians. A social learning theory perspective

Even with the passage of state safety belt laws, primary care physicians can contribute to their patients' safety by brief interventions. The present study explores the prevalence of such action with adult patients and tests the power of constructs taken from social learning theory to explain physicians' behavior. These constructs included self-efficacy, personal behavior (self-modeling) and three outcome expectations--expectation of patient follow-through, health impact, and impact of health promotion on the practice. Data were taken from a survey of Texas family physicians prior to enactment of the state law (n = 209). History-taking and advising were combined to form a single scale, "safety belt action." Prevalence of safety belt action was low. Overall, only 5% said they ask routinely about safety belts; 58.1% do not advise or discuss the risk even when they are aware of nonuse. Social learning theory variables accounted for 34% of the variance in safety-belt action after controlling for year of graduation in a hierarchical regression analysis. Self-efficacy was entered first, and it predicted 25% of the variance. The other social learning variables were entered together, and they predicted the additional 9% of the variance after controlling for year of graduation and self-efficacy. Of these other variables, only health impact was significant, however. These findings suggest several avenues for improving safety belt action and add evidence for the importance of outcome expectations over and above self-efficacy. Language: en
Spectral beam combining with volume Bragg gratings: Cross-talk analysis and optimization schemes

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) have been recognized as critical elements in various types of beam-combining applications, such as, design of super-parallel holographic optical correlators, coherent power beam-combiners and couplers, and spectral beam combiners (SBC) in which the output beams from several distinct laser sources are combined into a single-aperture beam. The obvious advantage of VBG stems from extremely narrow spectral and/or angular selectivity compared, to any other surface grating. This feature of VBG enables combining of large number of laser beams within near-diffraction-limited divergence. The VBGs recorded in a photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass exhibit a long-term stability of all their parameters at total CW power at a multi-kilowatt level and have shown high-efficiency combining of high-power laser beams. In order to increase the spectral capacity of such a "beam-combiner", the overall loss resulting from absorption and cross-talk between channels should be minimized. This paper considers architecture-specific SBC scheme and addresses the cross-talk minimization problem based on optimal channel positioning. A mathematical model reveals the critical parameters for high efficiency spectral beam combining.
Spatial pattern analysis for monitoring protected areas

The management of diverse biota within protected areas is affected by both land cover change within a protected area and habitat loss and fragmentation in the surrounding landscape. Satellite images provide a synoptic view of land cover patterns, but the use of such imagery requires careful consideration of sensor type, resolution, extent, and the metrics used to quantify ecologically significant change. We examined these factors for landscape monitoring applications in four small National Parks near Washington, DC: Antietam National Battlefield, Catoctin Mountain Park, Prince William Forest Park and Rock Creek Park. Using 4 m Ikonos, 10 m SPOT, 15 m pan-sharpened Landsat ETM+ and 30 m Landsat ETM+ imagery, the parks and surrounding areas were mapped to National Land Cover system classes. For each park, we examined four methods for defining map extent, including park administrative boundaries, two variable buffer widths, and watershed boundaries, and then analyzed patterns of forest habitat for the maps using a graph theoretic approach (critical dispersal threshold distance) and common landscape metrics (number of patches, percent forest, forest edge density, and forest area-weighted mean patch size). As expected, landscape metrics for maps derived at differing resolutions varied significantly, but map extent often yielded even larger differences. We found that for most applications, coarser scale data (e.g., 30 m Landsat) are adequate for characterizing landscape pattern, although ultimately data from multiple sensors may be appropriate or necessary based on different objectives of landscape monitoring (e.g., mapping single trees vs. forest stands) and the scale at which a resource of interest interacts with the larger landscape (e.g., birds vs. herptiles). Our results provide a strong caution regarding the practical issues associated with combining data sources from multiple satellite sensors for monitoring applications.
Biochemical Properties of Sulfonamide-resistant Strains of Streptococcus mitis, and Their Similarity to Enterococci

Summary1. At a certain level of sulfonamide resistance properties characteristic of enterococci were acquired by 4 strains of S. mitis. 2. Increased resistance to sulfonamides was accompanied by increased resistance to penicillin, streptomycin, bacitracin, and aureomycin in all 4 strains. The resistance of these trained1 strains to the antibiotics and sulfathiazole was similar to that of a strain of S. fecalis. 3. Acquisition of ability to grow on bile or in high concentrations of streptomycin did not generally produce the biochemical properties of enterococci, nor resistance to sulfathiazole or to the antibiotics.
Reintroducing Nature to the City: Wetlands in New Orleans

For more than two centuries, New Orleans' builders struggled to expel the soggy wetlands from within their city. Early settlers saw little value in the swamps after they had harvested the virgin cypress forests and marshes held no value as urban real estate. The original city grew during the early 1700S along the natural levee, a narrow band of relatively high ground deposited by recurring river floods, and several faubourgs gradually extended into the miasmatic backswamps by the end of the colonial period (1803). Levee construction along the river coupled with canal excavation toward the lakefront were the key colonial public works projects to drain water from the city and thereby reclaim the swamps and marshes within the urbanized territory. Only after a viable flood protection barrier was in place by the mid-nineteenth century and the effective completion of major drainage systems by the 1930S were developers able to extend streets and subdivisions across the marsh to the Lake Pontchartrain shore. In addition to expanding usable real estate, the massive drainage projects greatly reduced disease threats that had plagued the city for two centuries. To accommodate post-World War II suburbanization, wetland drainage pressed westward into adjacent Jefferson Parish, into the marshes east of New Orleans, and southward beyond the natural levee on the Mississippi's west bank'By the late 196os, technical capability and real estate demand seemed poised to complete the wetland conquest within the city limits. Yet after more than two centuries, the drive to enlarge the drained territory reversed itself. Fundamental changes in public attitudes toward the environment in general and wetlands in particular impeded the Crescent City's ever-expanding drainage program since about 1970. While the city will not abandon the existing drainage system, it has shelved expansion plans. There has arisen an overwhelming urge to protect marsh and swamp in and near the city, along with programs creating wetlands as relicts of Louisiana's natural history. This essay proposes to answer the question why there was a reversal in this fundamental aspect of urban development in New Orleans. It considers the abandonment of the belief that the city was no place for a swamp, and its replacement by practices that preserved wetland tracts to satisfy public will. Beyond sentiments about urban uses of wetlands, a second underlying attitude shift was necessary. This involved the adoption of notions
Evolution of consultation-liaison services in bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow transplantation offers new hope for cure in a variety of leukemias, aplastic anemia, and other immunodeficiency and hematologic disorders. But the psychologic circumstances accompanying this procedure are often profoundly stressful. The evolution of consultation--liaison services on a bone marrow transplantation unit are described and illustrated with several clinical vignettes. The results of a survey of 52 other bone marrow transplantation centers report the percentage that provide such services and the extent to which they are performed by a psychiatrist, a nonphysician psychosocial counselor, or both.
Cardiac extracellular matrix-fibrin hybrid scaffolds with tunable properties for cardiovascular tissue engineering.

Abstract Solubilized cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) is being developed as an injectable therapeutic that offers promise for promoting cardiac repair. However, the ECM alone forms a hydrogel that is very soft compared to the native myocardium. As both the stiffness and composition of the ECM are important in regulating cell behavior and can have complex synergistic effects, we sought to develop an ECM-based scaffold with tunable biochemical and mechanical properties. We used solubilized rat cardiac ECM from two developmental stages (neonatal, adult) combined with fibrin hydrogels that were cross-linked with transglutaminase. We show that ECM was retained within the gels and that the Young’s modulus could be tuned to span the range of the developing and mature heart. C-kit+ cardiovascular progenitor cells from pediatric patients with congenital heart defects were seeded into the hybrid gels. Both the elastic modulus and composition of the scaffolds impacted the expression of endothelial and smooth muscle cell genes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the hybrid gels are injectable, and thus have potential for minimally invasive therapies. ECM–fibrin hybrid scaffolds offer new opportunities for exploiting the effects of both composition and mechanical properties in directing cell behavior for tissue engineering.
Correlative genotoxicity studies of airborne particles in Salmonella typhimurium and cultured human lymphocytes

The acetone extracts of ambient air particulates collected locally were tested for their capacity to induce sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs) in human lymphocytes, and to induce gene mutations (GMs) in Salmonella typhimurium. The extracts caused dose-related clastogenic/mutagenic responses in all three assay systems. With the same concentration, it seems that the Ames Salmonella/microsomal assay with TA98 gave the highest, and the chromosomal aberration assay with human lymphocytes the lowest, mutagenic/clastogenic responses, respectively. Because high frequencies of SCEs were induced by solvent extracts of airborne particles, this study further indicated the usefulness of SCE assay in human lymphocytes for genotoxicity studies of airborne particles.
Antimalarial drug discovery: old and new approaches

New drugs against malaria are greatly needed. Many approaches to antimalarial drug discovery are available. These approaches must take into account specific concerns, in particular the requirement for very inexpensive and simple to use new therapies and the need to limit the cost of drug discovery. Among important efforts that are currently ongoing are the optimization of therapy with available drugs, including the use of combination therapy, the development of analogs of existing agents, the discovery of natural products, the use of compounds that were originally developed against other diseases, the evaluation of drug resistance reversers, and the consideration of new chemotherapeutic targets. The last category benefits from recent advances in malaria research technologies and genomics and is most likely to identify new classes of drugs. A number of new antimalarial therapies will likely be needed over the coming years, so it is important to pursue multiple strategies for drug discovery.
Cerebrovascular hemodynamics in chronic hypertensive pregnant women who later develop superimposed preeclampsia.

We have previously shown that normotensive pregnant women who later develop preeclampsia demonstrate lower baseline pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) but normal vasodilatory responses to stimulation tests. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that women with chronic hypertension who later developed superimposed preeclampsia behave similarly. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound was performed on 17 women with chronic hypertension during the second trimester of pregnancy to measure middle cerebral artery (MCA) velocities. Superimposed preeclampsia developed in seven patients (SUPER group) while the rest did not develop preeclampsia (CHT group). Measurements were performed in the left lateral position at baseline on room air, during 5% CO2 inhalation, and during a 2-minute isometric handgrip test. Blood pressure, heart rate, O2 saturation, and end-tidal Pco2 were recorded with each Doppler measurement. Mean PI, RI, and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) at each time were compared using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Statistical significance was set at P <. 05. The women who developed superimposed preeclampsia did this an average of 8.7 ± 1.3 weeks after the study. MCA PI and Rlwere lower, and CPP higher, in the SUPER group compared to the CHT group (0.64, 0.46, and 80.7 vs 0.74, 0.51, and 63.6, respectively; P <.05). Both maneuvers caused reduction in MCA PI and RI in both groups, whereas CPP increased only in the SUPER group. These findings suggest that women destined to develop preeclampsia have cerebral hemodynamic changes that predate the development of overt preeclampsia.
The cardiopulmonary arrest record

Cardiopulmonary arrests are high-stress events requiring precise management by experienced personnel. Proper organization is one of the keys to successful functioning during a resuscitative effort. Previous reports have outlined techniques utilized to decrease the confusion of drug dosing during cardiopulmonary arrest. 1,2 We describe a form used in our emergency department that is intended to simplify record-keeping during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Reliable optical pump architecture for highly coherent lasers used in space metrology applications

Laser-based metrology has been identified as an enabling technology in the deployment of large, spaceborne observatories, where nanometer-level knowledge of fiducial displacement drives overall system performance. In particular, Nd:YAG NPRO (non-planar ring oscillator) based lasers have received considerable attention in this application because of their inherent high coherence at wavelengths of interest (1064 and 1319nm). However, the use of NPRO based lasers in decade long space missions is limited by typical 800nm-band pump laser diode wearout and random failure rates. Therefore, reliably achieving multi-hundred milliwatt NPRO power over prolonged mission lifetimes requires innovative pump architectures. In this paper we present a pump architecture capable of supporting continuous NPRO operation over 5.5yrs at 300mW with reliability exceeding 99.7%. The proposed architecture relies on a low-loss, high port count, all-fiber optical coupler to combine the outputs of multiple single-mode pump laser diodes. This coupler is capable of meeting the exacting environmental requirements placed by a space mission, such as SIM Lite.
Human umbilical cord blood cells directly suppress ischemic oligodendrocyte cell death.

Previous reports have shown that human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs) administered intravenously 48 hr following middle cerebral artery occlusion reduce infarct area and behavioral deficits of rodents. This cellular therapy is potently neuroprotective and antiinflammatory. This study investigates the effect of HUCBC treatment on white matter injury and oligodendrocyte survival in a rat model of ischemia. Intravenous infusion of 106 HUCBCs 48 hr poststroke reduced the amount of white matter damage in vivo as seen by quantification of myelin basic protein staining in tissue sections. To determine whether HUCBC treatment was protective via direct effects on oligodendrocytes, cultured oligodendrocytes were studied in an in vitro model of oxygen glucose deprivation. Active caspase 3 immunohistochemistry and the lactate dehydrogenase assay for cytotoxicity were used to determine that HUCBCs provide protection to oligodendrocytes in vitro. Based on these results, it is likely that HUCBC administration directly protects oligodendrocytes and white matter. This effect is likely to contribute to the increased behavioral recovery observed with HUCBC therapy. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Adaptation to deprivation and its effect on visual discrimination performance in pigeons

Following reduction to 80% of their free-feeding weights, each of 20 pigeons was maintained at its 80% weight for 0,10, 25, 50, or 100 days before receiving training on a horizontal-vertical visual discrimination problem. Upon reaching criterion, the subjects were placed on terminal deprivation. Based on the number of days to death and percentage of free-feeding weight at death, the results suggested that the birds did adapt to their deprivation weights; however, no significant group differences were observed in terms of days to criterion on the discrimination problem. Design limitations and parameters for additional research were discussed.
Magnetic resonance imaging and histopathology of hydronephrosis in the rat

Abstract Magnetic resonance imaging revealed conspicuously hyperintense regions in the papillary area of kidneys of three untreated rats. When the kidneys were examined histologically, a hydronephorosis associated with the presence of bacteria was found. This study relates magnetic resonance images of an early stage of hydronephrosis to its histological picture.
Single-finger subcutaneous defibrillation lead and "active can": a novel minimally invasive defibrillation configuration for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in a young child.

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) provide a safe and effective treatment for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Several investigators have demonstrated that ICD use in pediatric patients is feasible, effective, and associated with a low risk of sudden death in follow-up. However, ICD placement in young children can usually be accomplished only by a thoracotomy approach involving multiple incisions and placement of epicardial defibrillation electrodes. We describe a less invasive yet efficacious lead configuration likely to be associated with a lower complication rate.
Scheduling cooperative emergency response: or how the meek shall overcome the greedy

We consider the problem of scheduling emergency responders to geospatially located finite duration temporally bounded tasks. We consider two different schedulers, Greedy and Meek. schedulers: the Greedy algorithm schedules the closest available qualified emergency responder to a task, while the Meek algorithm, assigns the qualified emergency responder that minimizes the expected future cost of the Greedy algorithm. We show that to be effective emergency response scheduling must take into consideration future costs (as the Meek algorithm does), and not merely instantaneous costs (as the Greedy algorithm does).
ACComplice: Location inference using accelerometers on smartphones

The security and privacy risks posed by smartphone sensors such as microphones and cameras have been well documented. However, the importance of accelerometers have been largely ignored. We show that accelerometer readings can be used to infer the trajectory and starting point of an individual who is driving. This raises concerns for two main reasons. First, unauthorized access to an individual's location is a serious invasion of privacy and security. Second, current smartphone operating systems allow any application to observe accelerometer readings without requiring special privileges. We demonstrate that accelerometers can be used to locate a device owner to within a 200 meter radius of the true location. Our results are comparable to the typical accuracy for handheld global positioning systems.
Legal implications of xenotransplantation

Abstract: Xenotransplantation (XTx) offers a possible solution to the severe shortage of organs for transplantation, but it will raise new legal questions. There are currently no legal impediments to XTx in the United States nor do animals possess common law or constitutional rights that would prevent it. The law remains indefinite regarding what constitutes a human being, allowing the possibility that legal arguments will be raised regarding the legal status of transgenic animals expressing human tissues or cells. As successful XTx will eliminate the organ shortage, Congress or state legislatures will have to reconsider the need for the current centralized system of allocation and distribution of organs, for this could be replaced by a commercial system based on market forces. The most significant legal issue relating to XTx is probably the potential threat to the public health and safety through the transmission of an infectious disease. The Public Health Service has recently issued draft guidelines which make recommendations about how XTx procedures might be performed. These guidelines currently have no legal authority but offer insight into how XTx might be regulated if it becomes a clinical, reality. Existing federal laws, however, empower federal agencies to regulate XTx, in part because of the potential risk to the public health. Additionally, tort liability will impose legal pressure on transplant centers to minimize the level of risk that the general public might face. The most difficult questions facing legislatures and the Public Health Service may well prove to be those raised by the behavior of individual patients or their social contacts who do not comply with the guidelines/regulations relating to long-term monitoring for infectious complications.
An Asymptotic Expansion for Unbalanced Quadratic Forms in Normal Variables

Abstract When the coefficients in a quadratic form in normal variables are not all similar in size, the usual methods for computing the distribution fail to work well. An asymptotic expansion is given for the upper tail probability of such a quadratic form in which a few of the coefficients are comparable in size and the rest are much smaller. The accuracy of the approximation based on the expansion is investigated numerically.
One‐minute video: marketing your library to faculty

Purpose – This article first aims to describe a successful streaming video communication effort developed at the California State University, Northridge Oviatt Library to reach out to campus faculty. It then aims to discuss other library video collaborations for the purpose of marketing library resources and services in an academic setting.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review discusses the relevance of library instructional videos as well as the tools and technologies utilized for creating streaming videos on the web for marketing purposes. The case study of marketing the library to faculty through one‐minute videos details the project's development from conception to production to assessment.Findings – Identifying and utilizing the library's existing resources and expertise provided the foundation for the project. Collaboration among campus faculty as well as with other departments at the university also played a large role in the team's ability to develop the video campaign. Promoting new a...
Lack of effects on fertility and developmental toxicity of a quadrivalent HPV vaccine in Sprague‐Dawley rats

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, with approximately half of the HPV-infected people being adolescents and young adults. A recently developed quadrivalent HPV vaccine, GARDASIL((R)), has been shown to be highly effective in the prevention of a number of HPV-mediated diseases. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential effects of the vaccine on female fertility and F1 development, growth, behavior, and reproductive performance. In addition, anti-HPV antibodies in the F0 females and F1 offspring were measured during the study. Two groups of 65 virgin Sprague-Dawley rats were administered two or four intramuscular injections of the vaccine (full human dose of 0.5 mL at 5 and 2 weeks prior to mating, on Gestation Day [GD] 6, and Lactation Day [LD] 7; or GD 6 and LD 7 only). Additional groups of rats were administered phosphate-buffered saline or Merck Aluminum Adjuvant (MAA) at the same four times. All females were mated to males of the same stock. Cesarean sections were performed on 22/group on GD 21, 22/group were allowed to deliver, and remaining females used for blood collections or replacements. F0 female fertility parameters were evaluated. An extensive number of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal parameters were evaluated in the F1 generation. There were no unscheduled deaths during the study. There was no evidence of toxicity in the F0 females given either MAA or vaccine. There were no effects on the fertility or reproductive performance of the F0 females. There was no evidence of developmental toxicity to the F1 generation, including fetal body weight and morphology, postnatal growth and development, behavior, and reproductive performance. The quadrivalent vaccine induced a specific antibody response to the four HPV types in the F0 female rats following one or multiple injections. Antibodies against all four HPV types were transferred to the F1 generation during gestation and/or lactation, likely via the placenta and milk, respectively. The passively transferred antibodies persisted up to Postnatal Day 77 when they were last measured. These results demonstrate that this quadrivalent HPV vaccine had no detectable adverse effects in either the treated F0 female rats or the F1 generation.
Linking sexual and aggressive motives: contributions of "irrelevant" arousals.

Summary One hundred thirty-two male and female college undergraduates were randomly assigned to three different arousal conditions-sex, anxiety, laughter-and a nonaroused control, as a test of the hypothesis that aggressive and sexual imagery would appear only under conditions of sexual arousal. The subjects wrote four TAT stories, two to male-dominant pictures and two to female-dominant As predicted, the sexually aroused subjects wrote stories higher in sexual and aggressive imagery than did those in the other two arousal conditions, and the scores of those in the anxiety and laughter conditions were not significantly different from the controls'. The results are discussed in terms of a connection between sex and aggression. Hull's theory of drive level and Schachter and Singer's nonspecific arousal are rejected as explanations for the results. Support is also given to earlier findings in the area.
ESR and UV study of an electron transfer reaction

Abstract The electron transfer reactions between the stilbene anion radical and cis - and trans -stilbene are studied by using the combined techniques of ESR and UV. The second order rate constants are about 10 9 M −1 sec −1 for the trans isomer and 10 3 M −1 sec −1 for the cis isomer.
Statistical threshold for nonlinear Granger Causality in motor intention analysis

Directed influence between multiple channel signal measurements is important for the understanding of large dynamic systems. This research investigates a method to analyze large, complex multi-variable systems using directional flow measure to extract relevant information related to the functional connectivity between different units in the system. The directional flow measure was completed through nonlinear Granger Causality (GC) which is based on the nonlinear predictive models using radial basis functions (RBF). In order to extract relevant information from the causality map, we propose a threshold method that can be set up through a spatial statistical process where only the top 20% of causality pathways is shown. We applied this approach to a brain computer interface (BCI) application to decode the different intended arm reaching movement (left, right and forward) using 128 surface electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes. We also evaluated the importance of selecting the appropriate radius in the region of interest and found that the directions of causal influence of active brain regions were unique with respect to the intended direction.
Topological pattern recognition and reconstruction from noise-affected boundary patterns

Using our recently modified curve-fitting-topological-coding (CFTC) computer program, we can automatically obtain a precise topological code to represent the topological property of a closely reconstructed boundary of a selected object in an edge-detected picture. This topological property is perhaps the most important property to be used for object identification. It is very accurate, yet very robust, because the topological property is independent of geometrical location, shape, size, orientation, and viewing angles. It is very accurate if two different objects to be differentiated or to be identified have different boundary topologies. Patch noise and obscuring noise can also be automatically eliminated as shown in some live experiments.
Contribution of the Helix-Loop-Helix Factor Id2 to Regulation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation *

Smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation plays a key role in vascular proliferative disorders. The molecular mechanisms that control cell cycle entry of SMCs in response to vascular injury are not well understood. Id2 (inhibitor of DNA binding) is a member of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) family of transcription regulators that are known to promote cell cycle progression. Thus, we investigated the role of Id2 in SMC growth and cell cycle regulation. The results demonstrated that overexpression of Id2 resulted in a significant enhancement of SMC growth via increased S-phase entry. A possible mechanism of Id2-enchanced SMC growth is via regulation of p21 expression, as overexpression of Id2-inhibited transcriptional activity of a 2.3-kb p21 promoter/luciferase reporter construct as well as p21 protein levels. Id2 enhancement of SMC growth and inhibition of p21 expression were dependent on phosphorylation of Id2 by cyclin E/cdk2, as an Id2 cDNA containing a mutation in the cdk2 phosphorylation site (serine 5) failed to regulate SMC cell cycle progression or p21 promoter activity. The mechanism of cyclin E/cdk2 control of the Id2 effect may in part involve regulation of nuclear transport; unlike wild-type Id2, the Id2 mutant was not transported to the nucleus. Finally, in a rat carotid model of arterial injury, Id2 was expressed in a temporal pattern that parallels the kinetics of cellular proliferation. In summary, these results provide evidence that the Id2 protein is integrated into the cell cycle regulatory cascade that results in SMC proliferation following vascular injury and suggest that this effect is at least in part via a cdk2-dependent inhibition of p21 gene expression.
Latency Analysis and Architecture Design of Simplified SC Polar Decoders

Recently, a low-latency decoding scheme called the simplified successive cancellation (SSC) algorithm has been proposed for polar codes. In this brief, we present the first systematic approach to formally derive the SSC decoding latency for any given polar code. The method to derive the SSC polar decoder architecture for any specific code is also presented. Moreover, the architecture of the precomputation SSC polar decoder is also proposed, which can further reduce the decoding latency. Compared with their SC decoder counterparts, the proposed SSC and precomputation SSC polar decoders can save up to 39.6% decoding latency with the same hardware cost.
Points of Zero Charge and Intrinsic Equilibrium Constants of Silica-Magnetite Composite Oxides.

Abstract A series of magnetic adsorbents (silica–magnetite composite oxides) containing 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 wt% magnetite were prepared via the sol–gel process, where 0.1-μm-radius magnetite particles were encased in a mesoporous silica matrix. The experimental pHpzc for each of the pure oxides and their mixtures was tested against two applicable models in the literature; neither model explained the observed behavior. One of the models did not account for the heterogeneous nature of the two distinct surfaces present in these silica–magnetite composite oxides, and neither model accounted for the possibility of the silica locally altering the behavior of the magnetite functional groups. The behavior was corroborated independently, however, based on an analysis carried out with the measured surface acidity constants. This work also showed that the total exchange capacity of each of the mixed oxides was dominated by the high surface area of the silica, and that the electrolyte species, Na+ or NO−3, did not completely complex with the surface of the oxides, as expected for weak binding ions. The chemical component of the free energy of adsorption of protons for the acid–base reactions also dominated the solvation and coulombic contributions for each of the pure oxides and their mixtures.
Presumed consent models and health information exchanges: hard nudges and ambiguous benefits.

Cohen (2013) is so committed to the theory of nudging that he argues it is ethically justifiable in some circumstances when the act of nudging takes advantage of flaws in a patient's decision-makin...