cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Forced imbibition in natural porous media: Comparison between experiments and continuum models

A well-characterized set of large-scale laboratory experiments is presented, illustrating forced imbibition displacements in the presence of irreducible wetting phase saturation in a cylindrical, homogeneous Berea sandstone rock. Experiments are designed to operate in the regime of compact microscopic flows and large-scale viscous instability. The distribution of fluid phases during the flow process is visualized by high-resolution computed tomography imaging. Linear stability analysis and high-accuracy numerical simulations are employed to analyze the ability of macroscopic continuum equations to provide a consistent approximation of the displacement process. The validity of the equilibrium relative permeability functions, which form the basis for the continuum model, is fundamentally related to the stability of the displacement process. It is shown that not only is the stable flow regime modeled accurately by existing continuum models, but the onset of instability as well as the initial unstable modes are also determined with reasonable accuracy for unstable flows. However, the continuum model is found to be deficient in the case of fully developed unstable flows.
Emergency department visits for heart failure and subsequent hospitalization or observation unit admission

Background Treatment of acute heart failure in the emergency department (ED) or observation unit is an alternative to hospitalization. Both ED management and observation unit management have been associated with reduced costs and may be used to avoid penalties related to rehospitalizations. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in ED visits for heart failure and disposition following such visits. Methods We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a representative sample of ED visits in the United States, to estimate rates and characteristics of ED visits for heart failure between 2002 and 2010. The primary outcome was the discharge disposition from the ED. Regression models were fit to estimate trends and predictors of hospitalization and admission to an observation unit. Results The number of ED visits for heart failure remained stable over the period, from 914,739 in 2002 to 848,634 in 2010 (annual change −0.7%, 95% CI −3.7% to +2.5%). Of these visits, 74.2% led to hospitalization, wheras 3.1% led to observation unit admission. The likelihood of hospitalization did not change during the period (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.00, 95% CI 0.99-1.01 for each additional year), whereas admission to the observation unit increased annually (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.25). We observed significant regional differences in likelihood of hospitalization and observation admission. Conclusions The number of ED visits for heart failure and the high proportion of ED visits with subsequent inpatient hospitalization have not changed in the last decade. Opportunities may exist to reduce hospitalizations by increasing short-term management of heart failure in the ED or observation unit.
Capsule Commentary on Ackerman et al., When to Repatriate? Clinicians’ Perspectives on the Transfer of Patient Management from Specialty to Primary Care

The question of when patients can stop seeing specialists and instead be managed exclusively by their primary care providers (PCPs) is an important one. Studies have examined the transition of care among patients surviving cancer,1,2 though the literature on other health conditions is limited.3 In a mixed methods study, Ackermann and colleagues found that there was agreement between the PCP and the specialist co-managing patients for about half of patients, with 16 % of patients deemed appropriate for transfer to primary care and 36 % appropriate for continued co-management.4 Among the remaining 48 % of patients in which there was disagreement, specialists were half as likely to deem patients appropriate for transfer back to primary care. In interviews with PCPs, reasons for this discordance included lack of specialist belief in the PCP’s abilities, financial incentives for specialists to continue to follow stable patients, and patient preference to see specialists. Additional reasons included easing the PCP’s burden for complex patients and difficulty accessing primary care appointments. The PCPs felt uncomfortable initiating conversations with specialists regarding transitioning a patient’s care back to the PCP. Some felt disagreeing with a specialist’s recommendation could offend them, disrupting future professional collaboration. Another barrier to smooth transition is its dependency on the patient’s approval. Patients should be the focus in the decision to transition; however many are misinformed in thinking dual health care is superior to sole care by a PCP. In this study, there were no interviews with either the specialists or patients involved. It would be helpful to understand patient care transition from these two perspectives. This might provide answers to why transitions are difficult. Currently, there are no guidelines to determine when patients are appropriate to be transferred back to their PCPs. Future studies should explore potential models that physicians can use to determine direction of a patient’s care. Obstacles like medical stability of a patient and the PCP’s experience related to the condition are factors that should be considered. While primary care is much less expensive than specialty care, the growing shortage of PCPs is likely to exacerbate this problem.
On the Significance of Multiple Consecutive Days of Tornado Activity

AbstractMotivated by the temporal behavior of recent high-end tornado events, a 30-yr historical record of tornadoes in the United States is examined for multiple-day periods of tornado activity. Comprising the 3129 tornado days during 1983–2012 are 1406 unique, nonoverlapping periods. Only 24% of these periods have lengths of 3 or more days. However, the conditional probability of such a multiday period given an outbreak day (OB; one with 20 or more tornado reports) is 74%, and given a significant tornado day [SIGTOR; one rated Fujita/enhanced Fujita (F/EF) ≥ 3] is 60%. Alternative ways of expressing these conditional probabilities all lead to the conclusion that SIGTORs and/or OBs are more likely to be contained within multiday periods of tornadoes than within 1–2-day periods. Two additional conclusions are offered: 1) SIGTORs and OBs have a relatively higher likelihood of occurrence during the latter half of the multiday periods, and 2) multiday periods have a relatively higher likelihood of occurrence...
Sperm velocity and longevity trade off each other and influence fertilization in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus.

The theoretical prediction that fast sperm should be more effective at fertilizing eggs has never been documented empirically. Interspecific comparisons suggest an inverse relationship between sperm velocity and sperm longevity, but this trade–off has never been demonstrated within a species. Here I investigate how sperm velocity and sperm longevity influence the patterns of fertilization in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus . In the laboratory, I examined 11 male–female pairs of sea urchins for variation in sperm velocity and sperm longevity, and determined the correlations of these traits with the percentage of eggs fertilized with serially diluted sperm. Males with faster sperm had higher rates of fertilization than males with slower sperm. Within individual males, as sperm aged they slowed down and showed a reduced percentage activity and lower rates of fertilization. Across males, the average velocity of freshly spawned sperm was inversely related to sperm longevity. These results establish the possibility that sperm traits are adapted for varying conditions along a continuum from sperm limitation to sperm competition.
Glutathione analogs in prokaryotes

Abstract Background Oxygen is both essential and toxic to all forms of aerobic life and the chemical versatility and reactivity of thiols play a key role in both aspects. Cysteine thiol groups have key catalytic functions in enzymes but are readily damaged by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Low-molecular-weight thiols provide protective buffers against the hazards of ROS toxicity. Glutathione is the small protective thiol in nearly all eukaryotes but in prokaryotes the situation is far more complex. Scope of review This review provides an introduction to the diversity of low-molecular-weight thiol protective systems in bacteria. The topics covered include the limitations of cysteine as a protector, the multiple origins and distribution of glutathione biosynthesis, mycothiol biosynthesis and function in Actinobacteria, recent discoveries involving bacillithiol found in Firmicutes, new insights on the biosynthesis and distribution of ergothioneine, and the potential protective roles played by coenzyme A and other thiols. Major conclusions Bacteria have evolved a diverse collection of low-molecular-weight protective thiols to deal with oxygen toxicity and environmental challenges. Our understanding of how many of these thiols are produced and utilized is still at an early stage. General significance Extensive diversity existed among prokaryotes prior to evolution of the cyanobacteria and the development of an oxidizing atmosphere. Bacteria that managed to adapt to life under oxygen evolved, or acquired, the ability to produce a variety of small thiols for protection against the hazards of aerobic metabolism. Many pathogenic prokaryotes depend upon novel thiol protection systems that may provide targets for new antibacterial agents. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Cellular functions of glutathione.
The market for pediatric surgeons: a survey of recent graduates.

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the demand for pediatric surgeons as perceived and experienced by recent graduates of North American training programs. Methods: A survey questionnaire was mailed to every pediatric surgeon who had completed a certified training program in the United States or Canada between 1992 and 1997; 84% of the 165 responded. The data were then analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistics and content analysis. Results: The number trained has risen since 1992 from 21 to 35 per year, exceeding previous definitions of need. However, recently trained pediatric surgeons found positions, and their first-year incomes had risen oven the 6-year period. In contrast, just 54% found first positions in the type of hospital desired, and the percent working in a children's hospital dropped from 65% in 1992 to 32% in 1997; 34% cover between four and ten hospitals. The majority of those in practice for more than 2 years expressed the perception of a decline in market demand with just 30% of those 1996 to 1997 graduates perceiving a strong market. The clinical scope of practice was less than that for which they were trained. Three specified complex cases were managed by fewer than 30% of recent graduates during practice despite more than 60% having had fellowship experience. The scope of practice, as measured by variables of index procedures, was strongly associated with hospital type (children's or general) and by practice region. Although satisfaction with practice is lower for each successive class, 96% of the graduates were satisfied with their training programs, and 98% believed they had been well prepared, although 46% indicated they desired some additional training. Sixty-one percent believed the role of pediatric surgeons will change over the next 5 years. Conclusions: The market demand was strong as measured by employment and income. This was in contrast to the striking recent changes in the market for new pediatric surgeons, including a migration of practice from children's to general hospitals, a reduced scope of practice, a more negative perception of the pediatric surgery market, and concerns for narrowing of the specialty.
Natural communities in large linked networks

We are interested in finding natural communities in large-scale linked networks. Our ultimate goal is to track changes over time in such communities. For such temporal tracking, we require a clustering algorithm that is relatively stable under small perturbations of the input data. We have developed an efficient, scalable agglomerative strategy and applied it to the citation graph of the NEC CiteSeer database (250,000 papers; 4.5 million citations). Agglomerative clustering techniques are known to be unstable on data in which the community structure is not strong. We find that some communities are essentially random and thus unstable while others are natural and will appear in most clusterings. These natural communities will enable us to track the evolution of communities over time.
Mill, sentimentalism and the problem of moral authority

Mill's aim in chapter 3 of Utilitarianism is to show that his revisionary moral theory can preserve the kind of authority typically and traditionally associated with moral demands. One of his main targets is the idea that if people come to believe that morality is rooted in human sentiment then they will feel less bound by moral obligation. Chapter 3 emphasizes two claims: (1) The main motivation to ethical action comes from feelings and not from beliefs and (2) Ethical feelings are highly malleable. I provide a critical examination of Mill's use of these claims to support his argument that Utilitarianism can preserve morality's authority. I show how the two claims, intended to form a significant rebuttal to the worry about Utilitarianism, can in fact be combined to raise powerful skeptical concerns. I explain how Mill evades the skepticism, and why contemporary philosophers who lack Millian optimism about human nature find it harder to avoid the skeptical outcome.
Overfull conjecture for graphs with high minimum degree

Chetwynd and Hilton showed that any regular graph G of even order n which has relatively high degree $\Delta (G)\,\ge\,((\sqrt{7}- 1)/2)\, n$ has a 1-factorization. This is equivalent to saying that under these conditions G has chromatic index equal to its maximum degree $\Delta(G)$. Using this result, we show that any (not necessarily regular) graph G of even order n that has sufficiently high minimum degree $\delta(G)\,\ge\,(\sqrt{7}/3)\,n$ has chromatic index equal to its maximum degree providing that G does not contain an “overfull” subgraph, that is, a subgraph which trivially forces the chromatic index to be more than the maximum degree. This result thus verifies the Overfull Conjecture for graphs of even order and sufficiently high minimum degree. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 47: 73–80, 2004
Perinatal lethality in H19 enhancers-Igf2 transgenic mice

The insulin-like growth factor II (IGFII) is a mitogen for a number of cell types in vitro and is required for normal embryonic growth. It has been hypothesized that overexpression of IGF2 is responsible for the increased growth and tumor predisposition in patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Association of increased levels of IGFII with increased growth is also incorporated in a current model for the evolution of Igf2 imprinting. Different experimental approaches to increasing IGFII levels in the mouse have yielded different results with respect to its effects on growth, viability, and tumor development. To investigate the consequences of IGf2 overexpression in the embryonic period, without alterations in the activity of other genes, we produced transgenic mice that express the Igf2 gene under the control of the H19 enhancers. Transgene expression in the embryonic period had no significant effect on the overall size of the embryos, but was associated with perinatal lethality in homozygous, and some heterozygous, mice. A large fraction of homozygous mice also developed a cleft palate. These findings indicate that overexpression of Igf2 can have an adverse effect on viability in the absence of a pronounced effect on overall body growth. The results are consistent with the view that growth and perinatal viability are affected differently by Igf2 overexpression in endodermal and mesodermal tissues.
Finite element model of the impedance catheter technique for ventricular volume measurement

Abstract A two-dimensional, finite element model of the electric field occurring in the heart and surrounding tissues during left ventricular volume measurement by the impedance catheter technique has been developed. This model allows visualization of dynamic equipotential contours and current density distribution throughout different phases of the cardiac cycle. In addition, the model can be used to explore the effects of changes in the conductance of surrounding tissues as well as the actions of the right ventricle on left ventricular volume measurement. The model suggests a significant lack of homogeneity of the electric field inside the ventricular chamber. Furthermore, the field varies during different phases of the cardiac cycle. Alterations of parallel conductance can significantly affect the field inside the left ventricle. The right ventricular chamber is capable of drawing significant current and thus may affect left ventricular volume measurements. Knowledge of the relationship between chamber morphology and the imposed electric field may lead to more accurate impedance volume measurement techniques. The model is simple, apparently accurate, and requires little computing time.
Some representations of variations with application to optimization and sensitivity analysis

Abstract Representations for the first variation of a class of functionals of the solution of elliptic boundary value problems are given. These may be used for sensitivity analysis and optimization studies. Several engineering applications are discussed. These include some applications to structural optimization as well as the estimation of heat transfer parameters from experimental measurements. The useful numerical representations which follow from the continuous derivation are discussed.
Fault detection and diagnosis in an industrial fed-batch cell culture process.

A flexible process monitoring method was applied to industrial pilot plant cell culture data for the purpose of fault detection and diagnosis. Data from 23 batches, 20 normal operating conditions (NOC) and three abnormal, were available. A principal component analysis (PCA) model was constructed from 19 NOC batches, and the remaining NOC batch was used for model validation. Subsequently, the model was used to successfully detect (both offline and online) abnormal process conditions and to diagnose the root causes. This research demonstrates that data from a relatively small number of batches (∼20) can still be used to monitor for a wide range of process faults.
Effects of pH and H2O2 upon coprecipitated PbTiO3 powders

PbTiO3 was prepared by coprecipitation and calcination from mixed solutions of TiCl4 and Pb(NO3)2. The effect of pH in the precipitation solution on the properties of calcined powders was studied by calcining coprecipitated precursor powders prepared at pH values between 8.00 and 10.50. The effects of H2O2 were studied by preparing PbTiO3 powders from mixed solutions containing H2O2∶PbTiO3 ratios between 0∶1 and 6∶1. Synthesis of phase pure PbTiO3 by coprecipitation and calcination is highly dependent upon the complex ionic equilibria dictated by the pH. The pH used for precipitation determines the types of crystalline phases formed from coprecipitated precursor powders. The rate at which amorphous precipitates transform to crystalline PbTiO3 during calcination is also affected by both the pH and H2O2 additions. High purity (greater than 98%) PbTiO3 with a rapid amorphous-to-crystalline transformation rate was obtained for H2O2∶PbTiO3=1.1∶1, and pH=9.65 to 9.75.
Stochastic gradient descent on GPUs

Irregular algorithms such as Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) can benefit from the massive parallelism available on GPUs. However, unlike in data-parallel algorithms, synchronization patterns in SGD are quite complex. Furthermore, scheduling for scale-free graphs is challenging. This work examines several synchronization strategies for SGD, ranging from simple locking to conflict-free scheduling. We observe that static schedules do not yield better performance despite eliminating the need to perform conflict detection and resolution at runtime. We identify the source of the performance degradation to be the structure of certain parts of the graph (dense vs sparse). This classification can be used to devise hybrid scheduling strategies which exploit different schedules for different regions of the graph to obtain better performance. We found that the best schedule for some problems can be up to two orders of magnitude faster than the worst one. To evaluate the performance of our GPU implementation, we also compare against a CPU implementation of SGD. Dynamic schedules perform comparably to a 14-thread CPU implementation, while a static schedule performs comparably to a 6-thread CPU implementation.
Geological effects and implications of the 2010 tsunami along the central coast of Chile

Abstract Geological effects of the 2010 Chilean tsunami were quantified at five near-field sites along a 200 km segment of coast located between the two zones of predominant fault slip. Field measurements, including topography, flow depths, flow directions, scour depths, and deposit thicknesses, provide insights into the processes and morphological changes associated with tsunami inundation and return flow. The superposition of downed trees recorded multiple strong onshore and alongshore flows that arrived at different times and from different directions. The most likely explanation for the diverse directions and timing of coastal inundation combines (1) variable fault rupture and asymmetrical slip displacement of the seafloor away from the epicenter with (2) resonant amplification of coastal edge waves. Other possible contributing factors include local interaction of incoming flow and return flow and delayed wave reflection by the southern coast of Peru. Coastal embayments amplified the maximum inundation distances at two sites (2.4 and 2.6 km, respectively). Tsunami vertical erosion included scour and planation of the land surface, inundation scour around the bases of trees, and channel incision from return flow. Sheets and wedges of sand and gravel were deposited at all of the sites. Locally derived boulders up to 1 m in diameter were transported as much as 400 m inland and deposited as fields of dispersed clasts. The presence of lobate bedforms at one site indicates that at least some of the late-stage sediment transport was as bed load and not as suspended load. Most of the tsunami deposits were less than 25 cm thick. Exceptions were thick deposits near open-ocean river mouths where sediment supply was abundant. Human alterations of the land surface at most of the sites provided opportunities to examine some tsunami effects that otherwise would not have been possible, including flow histories, boulder dispersion, and vegetation controls on deposit thickness.
Genes expressed during the IFNγ-induced maturation of pre-B cells

Interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) exerts diverse responses in B cell development ranging from growth arrest and apoptosis to proliferation and differentiation. IFN gamma stimulates murine 70Z/3 pre-B cells to express surface immunoglobulin (Ig) and this system serves as a useful model for the pre-B to immature B cell transition in B cell development. To analyze this developmental transition, we used a PCR-based subtractive hybridization in combination with miniarray screening to identify differentially-expressed genes in IFN gamma-stimulated compared with unstimulated 70Z/3 pre-B cells. The majority (44%) of the differentially-expressed genes obtained were known IFN gamma-inducible. These included multiple isolates from each of three multi-gene families, including two guanylate-binding protein (47 and 67kDa GBP) families of GTPases and the hematopoietic IFN gamma-inducible nuclear protein family (HIN-200). These multiple isolates of genes comprised the majority of the total isolated and sequenced clones. Other known IFN gamma-induced genes in this group included Ig kappa light chain and Ly-6, as well as genes with functions in antigen processing, cellular regulation, and cytoskeletal organization. Another 36% of the genes identified were previously known, but not known to be IFN gamma-inducible (e.g. pre-B cell enhancing factor, PBEF). The remaining 20% of the IFN gamma-induced isolates did not match entries in Genbank, and thus, may represent novel genes involved in IFN gamma responses and/or in the pre-B to immature B cell transition. Overall, the majority of the individual genes isolated were either not known to be IFN gamma responsive or were not previously known.
Tumor–stroma interactions

The importance of stromal cells and the factors that they express during cancer initiation and progression has been highlighted by recent literature. The cellular components of the stroma of epithelial tissues are well-recognized as having a supportive role in carcinogenesis, where the initiating mutations of a tumor originate in the epithelial cells. The use of mouse models and xenografts suggests that mutations in the stromal fibroblasts can also initiate epithelial tumors. Many of these tumors result from the alteration of paracrine growth factor pathways that act on the epithelia. However, the tissue specificity of the responses to the growth factors is a mystery not yet solved.
The proton magnetic resonance spectra of some aromatic nitroso compounds

Abstract Unusual chemical shifts are reported for o -alkylnitrosobenzenes. The origin of these shifts is considered. The PMR spectrum of o -nitrosotoluene is found to contain signals attributed to both monomeric and dimeric forms in carbon tetrachloride and d -chloroform solution.
Does midtrimester cervical length aid in predicting vaginal birth after cesarean

Objective A longer midtrimester cervical length (CL) is associated with an increased chance of cesarean delivery, but CL has not been used to predict the chance of successful trial of labor after cesarean delivery (TOLAC). The objective of this study was to identify whether midtrimester CL improves the prediction of vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC) among women undergoing a TOLAC. Study Design Women with 1 prior cesarean and a singleton gestation in the vertex position who had a routine CL assessment between 18 and 24 weeks and chose to undergo a TOLAC were identified. Midtrimester CL and characteristics identifiable in early prenatal care that have been used in a validated predictive model for VBAC (ie, age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, prior vaginal delivery, prior VBAC, and indication for prior cesarean delivery) were abstracted from the medical record. Multivariable regressions with VBAC as the dependent variable, with and without CL, were created and their predictive capacity compared using receiver-operating characteristic curves and reclassification tables. Results Of the 678 women who met inclusion criteria, 517 (76.3%) experienced a VBAC. Mean midtrimester CL was lower in women who achieved a VBAC compared with those who required a cesarean delivery in labor (4.3 ± 0.8 cm vs 4.7 ± 0.8 cm, P P = .03), it did not significantly enhance the clinical value of the model, as quantified by net reclassification improvement ( P = .11). Conclusion Shorter midtrimester CL is associated with a greater chance of vaginal birth after a TOLAC. However, midtrimester CL does not significantly improve the clinical value of a previously developed VBAC prediction model.
Corrective measures for myopia

Many myopic people, expressing dissatisfaction with traditional methods of optical correction, are interested in a permanent correction of their refractive error which would alleviate dependence on corrective lenses. Although much effort has been put forth in the last century, there is still no method of correcting myopia which is broadly acceptable as safe and effective. The nonsurgical procedures of orthokeratology and the topical use of cycloplegics have not been well proven. Surgical measures are the current vectors of hope. Surgical procedures on parts of the eye other than the cornea have proven to be difficult. Surgery which alters the refractive power of the cornea (refractive keratoplasty) has been used frequently in the past decade. These procedures include keratomileusis, epikeratophakia and radial keratotomy. The latter is currently the most often performed method for the correction of myopia. This paper critiques the major methods, explains their historical development and basic procedures, lists major published studies and discusses their problems and promise for their future.
Fate of indicator microorganisms, giardia and cryptosporidium in subsurface flow constructed wetlands

Abstract Limited information is available on the ability of subsurface flow wetlands to remove enteric pathogens. Two multi-species wetlands, one receiving secondary sewage effluent and the other potable (disinfected) groundwater were studied from February 1995 to August 1996, at the Pima County Constructed Ecosystems Research Facility in Tucson, Arizona. Each wetland had a retention time of approximately 4 days. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the ability of multi-species subsurface wetlands to physically remove Giardia cysts; Cryptosporidium oocysts, total and fecal coliforms, and coliphages; and (2) to determine the likely impact of local wildlife on the occurrence of these indicators and pathogens. In the wetland receiving secondary sewage effluent, total coliforms were reduced by an average of 98.8% and fecal coliforms by 98.2%. Coliphage were reduced by an average of 95.2%. Both Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were reduced by an average of 87.8 and 64.2%, respectively. In the wetland receiving disinfected groundwater, an average of 1.3×102 total coliforms/100 mL and 22.3 fecal coliforms/100 mL were most likely contributed by both flora and fauna. No parasites or coliphages were detected.
Predictions of Relative Humidity and Temperature in an Operating Room

This paper uses airflow simulations to evaluate different ventilation systems on an operating room (OR). This study compares air distribution systems for an operating room by use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. The air supply distribution and exhaust arrangements were modeled for a directional air flow system where air moves across the space from the high-pressure supply area to the low pressure exhaust area. Calculations were done to model a typical operating room in a steady-state condition with inclusion of object such as surgical lights, operating table, heat sources such as surgical staff and a patient, side-wall supply grille and exhaust air grilles. The discharge angle for the side-wall supply grille was varied from 0 to 45 degrees. Air return locations were also studied. One and two air exhaust outlet sites inside the surgical suite were considered. In the two-exhaust outlet configuration, one position was close to the floor and the other position was high on the wall. Simulations with combinations of 1:0, 1:0.343, 0.343:1, and 1:1 flow rates between the two return locations were performed. Predictions for the air movement, room temperature, room relative humidity, and concentration of contaminants within the operating room are shown. Analysis of these predictions is discussed. The supply and exhaust conditions of the ventilation air flow are shown to play an important role in the control of air quality. Results show good agreement with experimental data.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Elevation of serum CA125 in carcinomas of the fallopian tube, endometrium, and endocervix.

An immunoradiometric assay with the use of a monoclonal antibody can detect an antigenic determinant (CA 125) in peripheral blood from more than 80% of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. In this report elevated levels of CA 125 were detected in serum from patients with adenocarcinomas of the fallopian tube, endometrium, and endocervix. Among patients with endometrial cancer, CA 125 levels were elevated in recurrent or disseminated disease but not with tumors confined to the uterus.
Activation of human MutS homologs by 8-oxo-guanine DNA damage.

The DNA lesion 8-oxo-guanine (8-oxo-G) is a highly mutagenic product of the interaction between reactive oxygen species and DNA. To maintain genomic integrity, cells have evolved mechanisms capable of removing this frequently arising oxidative lesion. Mismatch repair (MMR) appears to be one pathway associated with the repair of 8-oxo-G lesions (DeWeese, T. L., Shipman, J. M., Larrier, N. A., Buckley, N. M., Kidd, L. R., Groopman, J. D., Cutler, R. G., te Riele, H., and Nelson, W. G. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 95, 11915–11920; Ni, T. T., Marsischky, G. T., and Kolodner, R. D. (1999) Mol. Cell 4, 439–444). Here we report the effect of double-stranded DNA oligonucleotides containing a single 8-oxo-G on the DNA binding affinity, ATPase, and ADP → ATP exchange activities of hMSH2-hMSH6 and hMSH2-hMSH3. We found that hMSH2-hMSH6 binds the oligonucleotide DNA substrates with the following affinities: 8-oxo-G/T > 8-oxo-G/G > 8-oxo-G/A > 8-oxo-G/C ≈ G/C. A similar trend was observed for DNA-stimulated ATPase and ADP → ATP exchange activities of hMSH2-hMSH6. In contrast, hMSH2-hMSH3 did not appear to bind any of the 8-oxo-G containing DNA substrates nor was there enhanced ATPase or ADP → ATP exchange activities. These results suggest that only hMSH2-hMSH6 is activated by recognition of 8-oxo-G lesions. Our data are consistent with the notion that post-replication MMR only participates in the repair of mismatched 8-oxo-G lesions.
Anyons and Chiral Solitons on a Line.

We show that excitations in a recently proposed gauge theory for anyons on a line in fact do not obey anomalous statistics. On the other hand, the theory supports novel chiral solitons. Also we construct a field-theoretic description of lineal anyons, but gauge fields play no role.
Factors affecting nitrate leaching from sewage sludges applied to a sandy soil in arable agriculture

Abstract Application of sewage sludge to agricultural land is an increasingly popular disposal route and can be a valuable source of nitrogen (N) for crops. However, inappropriate application times or rates may lead to poor utilisation by crops and, thus, to nitrate leaching and contamination of water supplies. The effects on nitrate leaching of sludge type (raw liquid, digested liquid or dewatered digested cake), application time (September, November or January), application method (injected or surface-applied) and winter versus spring barley, were measured in annual field experiments on a sandy soil in 1991/1992 and 1992/1993 in central England. A second experiment tested the effects of a nitrification inhibitor (dicyandiamide; DCD) mixed with liquid digested sludge (1992/1993). Similar trends were found in both years, but leaching losses were larger in the first year, despite more rainfall in the second winter. It may have been that N was lost by alternative routes, particularly denitrification, in the second, wetter winter. The earlier the application in autumn, the greater was the N leaching. Liquid digested sludge, with a large proportion of its N content in ammoniacal form, presented the greatest leaching risk; losses were much smaller from raw liquid or dewatered cake. Losses were further exacerbated by deep injection of sludge. Drilling winter barley immediately after sludge applications in September decreased leaching only slightly compared with leaving the land bare during winter. The experiments suggest that autumn application of digested sludge to light textured arable land is inadvisable. Nitrification inhibitor shows some promise for decreasing leaching losses.
Pol II Docking and Pausing at Growth and Stress Genes in C. elegans

Fluctuations in nutrient availability profoundly impact gene expression. Previous work revealed postrecruitment regulation of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) during starvation and recovery in Caenorhabditis elegans, suggesting that promoter-proximal pausing promotes rapid response to feeding. To test this hypothesis, we measured Pol II elongation genome wide by two complementary approaches and analyzed elongation in conjunction with Pol II binding and expression. We confirmed bona fide pausing during starvation and also discovered Pol II docking. Pausing occurs at active stress-response genes that become downregulated in response to feeding. In contrast, “docked” Pol II accumulates without initiating upstream of inactive growth genes that become rapidly upregulated upon feeding. Beyond differences in function and expression, these two sets of genes have different core promoter motifs, suggesting alternative transcriptional machinery. Our work suggests that growth and stress genes are both regulated postrecruitment during starvation but at initiation and elongation, respectively, coordinating gene expression with nutrient availability.
Rho Guanosine Triphosphatase Mediates the Selective Stabilization of Microtubules Induced by Lysophosphatidic Acid

The asymmetric distribution of stable, posttranslationally modified microtubules (MTs) contributes to the polarization of many cell types, yet the factors controlling the formation of these MTs are not known. We have found that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a major serum factor responsible for rapidly generating stable, detyrosinated (Glu) MTs in serum-starved 3T3 cells. Using C3 toxin and val14 rho we showed that rho was both necessary and sufficient for the induction of Glu MTs by LPA and serum. Unlike previously described factors that induce MT stability, rho induced the stabilization of only a subset of the MTs and, in wound-edge cells, these stable MTs were appropriately oriented toward the leading edge of the cell. LPA had little effect on individual parameters of MT dynamics, but did induce long states of pause in a subset of MTs near the edge of the cell. Rho stimulation of MT stability was independent of actin stress fiber formation. These results identify rho as a novel regulator of the MT cytoskeleton that selectively stabilizes MTs during cell polarization by acting as a switch between dynamic and stable states of MTs rather than as a modulator of MT assembly and disassembly.
Genetic aspect of pulmonary arterial hypertension

This paper concentrates on the genetic aspects of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a diagnostically based subclass of pulmonary hypertension that includes primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). During the past year, patients with familial and sporadic PPH were found to have germline heterozygous missense, nonsense and frameshift mutations in bone morphogenetic protein receptor II (BMPRZ). Mutations in BMPR2, a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor superfamily, are predicted to interrupt the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling pathway, resulting in proliferation, rather than apoptosis of cells within small arterioles. Mechanistically, haploinsufficiency was found by using in vitro gene expression experiments, but a dominant-negative mechanism has not been excluded. The failure to find BMPR2 mutations in all families with familial PPH and in all patients with sporadic PPH suggests that other genes remain to be identified. Mutations in ALK1, a TGF-β type 1 receptor, previou...
Reliability of IGBT in a STATCOM for harmonic compensation and power factor correction

With smart grid integration, there is a need to characterize reliability of a power system by including reliability of power semiconductors in grid related applications. In this paper, the reliability of IGBTs in a STATCOM application is presented for two different applications, power factor correction and harmonic elimination. The STATCOM model is developed in EMTP, and analytical equations for average conduction losses in an IGBT and a diode are derived and compared with experimental data. A commonly used reliability model is used to predict reliability of IGBT.
A recursive multi-scale correlation-averaging algorithm for synchronization and fusion of independent pavement roughness measurements

A signal processing approach is proposed to jointly filter and fuse spatially-indexed measurements captured from many vehicles. It is assumed that these measurements are corrupted by both sensor noise and GPS positioning uncertainties. Measurements from low-cost vehicle-mounted sensors (e.g., accelerometers and GPS receivers) are properly combined to produce higher quality road roughness data for cost-effective road surface condition monitoring. The proposed algorithms are recursively implemented and thus require only moderate computational power and memory space. These algorithms are important for future road management systems, which will use on-road vehicles as a distributed network of sensing probes gathering spatially-indexed measurements for condition monitoring in addition to other applications such as environmental monitoring. Our method and the related signal processing algorithms are tested using field data.
Parallel genomic sequence-searching on an ad-hoc grid: experiences, lessons learned, and implications

The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) allows bioinformaticists to characterize an unknown sequence by comparing it against a database of known sequences. The similarity between sequences enables biologists to detect evolutionary relationships and infer biological properties of the unknown sequence. mpiBLAST, our parallel BLAST, decreases the search time of a 300KB query on the current NT database from over two full days to under 10 minutes on a 128- processor cluster and allows larger query files to be compared. Consequently, we propose to compare the largest query available, the entire NT database, against the largest database available, the entire NT database. The result of this comparison will provide critical information to the biology community, including insightful evolutionary, structural, and functional relationships between every sequence and family in the NT database. Preliminary projections indicated that to complete the above task in a reasonable length of time required more processors than were available to us at a single site. Hence, we assembled GreenGene, an ad-hoc grid that was constructed "on the fly" from donated computational, network, and storage resources during last year?s SC|05. GreenGene consisted of 3048 processors from machines that were distributed across the United States. This paper presents a case study of mpiBLAST on GreenGene - specifically, a pre-run characterization of the computation, the hardware and software architectural design, experimental results, and future directions.
Enzymatic aldol reaction/isomerization as a route to unusual sugars

Abstract Utilizing fructose diphosphate aldolase and glucose isomerase as catalysts, 3-, 5, and 6-deoxy- and 6-0-methylhexoses have been synthesized from dihydroxyacetone phosphate or acetol phosphate and the corresponding hydroxypropionaldehydes.
Basic Commutators in Weights Six and Seven as Relators

Charles Sims has asked whether or not the lower central subgroup γ n (F) of a free group F coincides with the normal closure in F of the basic commutators of weight n. This question has a positive answer in weights at most 5, but remains an open question in general. In earlier work with Gaglione and Spellman, it was shown that γ n (F) is the normal closure in F of the basic commutators of weights n through 2n − 4. Here, we specialize to the case where F has rank 2 and show that γ6(F) is the normal closure in F of the basic commutators of weights 6 and 7.
Aligning gene expression time series with time warping algorithms.

Motivation: Increasingly, biological processes are being studied through time series of RNA expression data collected for large numbers of genes. Because common processes may unfold at varying rates in different experiments or individuals, methods are needed that will allow corresponding expression states in different time series to be mapped to one another. Results: We present implementations of time warping algorithms applicable to RNA and protein expression data and demonstrate their application to published yeast RNA expression time series. Programs executing two warping algorithms are described, a simple warping algorithm and an interpolative algorithm, along with programs that generate graphics that visually present alignment information. We show time warping to be superior to simple clustering at mapping corresponding time states. We document the impact of statistical measurement noise and sample size on the quality of time alignments, and present issues related to statistical assessment of alignment quality through alignment scores. We also discuss directions for algorithm improvement including development of multiple time series alignments and possible applications to causality searches and non-temporal processes (‘concentration warping’). Availability: Academic implementations of alignment programs genewarp and genewarpi and the graphics generation programs grphwarp and grphwarpi are available as Win32 system DOS box executables on our web site along with documentation on their use. The publicly available data on which they were demonstrated may be found at http://genome-www.stanford.edu/cellcycle/. Postscript files generated by grphwarp and grphwarpi may be directly printed or viewed using GhostView software available at http://www.cs.wisc.edu/∼ghost/.
Results of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search

The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) employs Ge and Si detectors to search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their elastic-scattering interactions with nuclei while discriminating against interactions of background particles. CDMS data, accounting for the neutron background, give limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic-scattering cross section that exclude unexplored parameter space above 10 GeV c-2 WIMP mass and. at > 75% CL. the entire 3σ allowed region for the WIMP signal reported by the DAMA experiment.
Female and Male Perceptions of Ideal Body Shapes: Distorted Views among Caucasian College Students.

Recent studies have demonstrated that women overestimate male preferences for thin female figures. This study examined whether women also overestimate the desirability of thin figures among female peers. Using body silhouettes employed by Fallon and Rozin (1985), 87 college women and 118 college men indicated the size of their own body figure, their ideal figure, the figure most attractive to other-sex peers, and the figure most attractive to same-sex peers. As predicted, the female silhouette that women selected as most attractive to same-sex peers was significantly thinner than the silhouette that women actually selected as most desirable. College men also misjudged the body preference of same-sex peers, exaggerating the extent to which other men perceived large physiques as ideal and desirable.
Faculty Perceptions of Multicultural Teaching in a Large Urban University.

As college graduates face an increasingly globalized world, it is imperative to consider issues of multicultural instruction in higher education. This study presents qualitative and quantitative findings from a survey of faculty at a large, urban, midwestern university regarding perceptions of multicultural teaching. Faculty were asked how they define multicultural teaching, how they engage in multicultural teaching, what they perceive to be the benefits of multicultural teaching, and what barriers to implementing multicultural teaching they experience. Results indicate faculty members most frequently define multicultural teaching as using diverse teaching pedagogies and materials. In line with their definitions, faculty also report engaging in multicultural teaching through use of inclusive course materials. Faculty identified positive learning outcomes for all students as a primary benefit to engaging in multicultural teaching. The primary barrier reported by faculty is an anticipated resistance from students. Variations in responses based on academic discipline and rank of faculty member are discussed.