cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of c/ebpα in granulocytic differentiation and myeloid leukemogenesis

Abstract C/EBPα plays a critical role in myeloid differentiation. Specifically, induced expression of C/EBPα in early myeloid cells directed differentiation along the granulocytic pathway. In addition, C/EBPα knockout mice demonstrate a block in granulocyte differentiation. For this reason, we investigated abnormalities in C/EBPα in human acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). We identified eleven heterozygous mutations in C/EBPα in ten patients, mostly AML-M2 subtype without the t(8;21). The mutations resulted in production of mutant alleles which blocked DNA binding, transactivation of granulocyte target genes, and induction of granulocytic differentiation mediated by the wild type allele in a dominant negative manner. This is the first report of mutations in C/EBPα in human neoplasia, and such mutations are likely to induce the differentiation block found in AML. The hallmark of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), another subtype of AML, is the translocation t(15;17) and a block in promyelocytic differentiation. Treatment with A ll- T rans- R etinoic A cid (ATRA) induces blast differentiation and clinical remission. In primary human APL cells, we did not find mutations in C/EBPα, but the fusion protein PML/RARα physically interacts with C/EBPα to block its function in an ATRA reversible manner. These studies implicate disruption of C/EBPα DNA binding and function by physical interaction with PML/RARα as a mechanism contributing to the block in differentiation following expression of the fusion protein in APL. In summary, these results implicate abnormalities in function of C/EBPα as a major target leading to the block in myeloid differentiation found in AML.
Resistance minima in non-dilute Y-Ce alloys

Abstract Resistance minima indicative of a spin-compensated state have been observed in h.c.p. Y-Ce alloys containing up to 44 at. % Ce.
Chemotherapy of ovarian cancer. New approaches to treatment.

In an effort to develop a more effective treatment regimen for patients with advanced epithelial cancers of the ovary, patients treated with single agent chemotherapy with an alkylating agent; a three-drug combination of actino-mycin D, 5-fluorouracil, and cyclophosphamide; chemotherapy followed by irradiation, and chemotherapy followed by surgery were compared. Only patients treated with chemotherapy followed by surgery had an improved survival over patients treated with a single alkylating agent.
An Introduction to Observations Relevant to Astrophysical Jets and Nebulae

This article reviews the basic physics and jargon associated with astronomical observations of nebulae, with an emphasis on processes relevant to shock waves in astrophysical jets.
The effects of the synthetic steroid 17-alpha-methyltestosterone on the growth and organ morphology of the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

Abstract Groups of juvenile channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) were administered 17-alpha-methyltestosterone (MT) at levels of 1.0, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/kg dry diet over a period of 16 weeks and the effects on weight, length, and organ morphology were determined. At moderate and high levels, MT produced reduced growth rates which were reflected in a significantly decreased weight and length when compared to the control group. No significant changes in weight and length were noted at the 1 mg/kg level. In all hormone treated groups, marked morphological changes were observed in the kidney along with an increase in the renosomatic index. However, only the 1 and 5 mg/kg groups showed hepatotrophic activity with an elevated hepatosomatic index. It was clear that 17-alpha-methyltestosterone retarded growth when administered at moderate and high dosage levels. Moreover, its strong androgenic properties were reflected by a precocious maturation of the testes of treated males. Prolonged treatment led to deleterious effects on body organs as evidenced by a marked edema in the renal tubules and many of the renal corpuscles of the kidney, and a hepatotrophic response causing weight increases in the liver. Attempts of growth enhancement of juvenile channel catfish through the use of anabolic steroids have been unsuccessful. However, other anabolic steroids should be tested in order to find a hormone that not only promotes growth but has little or no detrimental effects on the internal organs.
Formation of Aluminide Coatings on Fe-Based Alloys by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Aluminide and Al-containing coatings were synthesized on commercial ferritic (P91) and austenitic (304L) alloys via a laboratory chemical vapor deposition (CVD) procedure for rigorous control over coating composition, purity and microstructure. The effect of the CVD aluminizing parameters such as temperature, Al activity, and post-aluminizing anneal on coating growth was investigated. Two procedures involving different Al activities were employed with and without including Cr-Al pellets in the CVD reactor to produce coatings with suitable thickness and composition for coating performance evaluation. The phase constitution of the as-synthesized coatings was assessed with the aid of a combination of X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis, and existing phase diagrams. The mechanisms of formation of these CVD coatings on the Fe-based alloys are discussed, and compared with nickel aluminide coatings on Ni-base superalloys. In addition, Cr-Al pellets were replaced with Fe-Al metals in some aluminizing process runs and similar coatings were achieved.
Inhibition of rat lung glutathione synthesis attenuates hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and the associated leukotriene C4 production.

Lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid have been proposed as possible mediators of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) in the rat. Since reduced glutathione (GSH) is a required substrate for the synthesis of the sulfidopeptide eicosanoid leukotriene C4 (LTC4), we reasoned that this specific GSH dependence of LTC4 synthesis might allow us to distinguish between the roles of sulfidopeptide leukotrienes and other 5-lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid. In the present study we have examined the effect of in vivo pretreatment with the GSH synthesis inhibitor buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) on both the hypoxic pressor response and lung leukotriene synthesis in the rat. The intraperitoneal administration of 4 mmol/kg of BSO 30, 20, and 4 h prior to lung excision significantly depleted total lung glutathione as compared to saline-pretreated controls. This depletion of glutathione was associated with a significant attenuation of HPV in isolated perfused lungs but no alteration in pressor responses ...
Numerical method for the analysis of time-varying singular systems

A new method that generates approximate values of the solution of the time-varying singular problem is presented in the paper. The method of regularisation is used to overcome the ill-posedness of this problem and a relation between the unknown state variable and its derivative is generated. A pseudospectral method is used to discretise this relationship. The discrete relationship between the state variable and its derivative is reduced to a set of algebraic equations, which are solved to produce values of the state variable at discrete values of time. Performance of this method is evaluated through its application to the solution of an example of a time-varying singular system. Results from this example show that this method generates excellent approximate values for the state variable of the singular system.
Measuring Enthalpies of Formation Using Thick Multilayer Foils and Differential Scanning Calorimetry

The ability to measure formation enthalpies of compounds at relatively low temperatures using thick multilayer foils and differential scanning calorimetry is demonstrated. Cu/Zr and Al/Zr multilayers were deposited onto Si and glass substrates using a planetary, magnetron source sputtering system. The as-deposited foils were removed from their substrates and heated from 50 to 725C in a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The Cu/Zr samples, which are all Cu-rich, showed three distinct, reproducible, and exothermic solid state reactions. The heats from the first two reactions were summed and analyzed to measure 14.3{plus_minus}0.3 kJ/mol for Cu{sub 51}Zr{sub 14}`s enthalpy of formation. This quantity agrees with the single value of {Delta}H{sub f} = 14.07{plus_minus}1.07kJ/mol reported for this compound. The composition of the Al/Zr multilayers ranged from 8 at% Zr to 64 at% Zr. These samples showed a variety of distinct, reproducible, and exothermic solid state reactions. The total heats from these reactions were summed and analyzed to measure enthalpies of formation for five different Al-Zr alloys. The results compare favorably with literature values of {Delta}H{sub f}. Advantages of measuring enthalpies of formation using thick multilayer foil samples and low temperature DSC calorimetry are discussed.
Interactions of proteins with uniform colloidal hematite and chromium hydroxide particles. I. Adsorption

The adsorption of ovalbumin, γ-globulin, and lysozyme on uniform spherical hematite and chromium hydroxide particles in aqueous media has been studied as a function of the pH at a constant ionic strength. The uptake of ovalbumin and γ-globulin was greatest at their isoelectric points and differed little at 10−2 and 10−3 mol dm−3 NaNO3. The adsorption of lysozyme was strongly influenced by the ionic strength.
Contract-based blame assignment by trace analysis

Fault diagnosis in networked systems has been an extensively studied field in systems engineering. Fault diagnosis generally includes the tasks of fault detection and isolation, and optionally recovery (FDIR). In this paper we further consider the blame assignment problem: given a system trace on which a system failure occurred and an identified set of faulty components, determine which subsets of faulty components are the culprits for the system failure. We provide formal definitions of the notion culprits and the blame assignment problem, under the assumptions that only one system trace is given and the system cannot be rerun. We show that the problem is equivalent to deciding the unsatisfiability of a set of logical constraints on component behaviors, and present the transformation from a blame assignment instance into an instance of unsatisfiability checking. We also apply the approach to a case study in the medical device interoperability scenario that has motivated our work.
Sub-event based multi-document summarization

The production of accurate and complete multiple-document summaries is challenged by the complexity of judging the usefulness of information to the user. Our aim is to determine whether identifying sub-events in a news topic could help us capture essential information to produce better summaries. In our first experiment, we asked human judges to determine the relative utility of sentences as they related to the sub-events of a larger topic. We used this data to create summaries by three different methods, and we then compared these summaries with three automatically created summaries. In our second experiment, we show how the results of our first experiment can be applied to a cluster-based automatic summarization system. Through both experiments, we examine the use of inter-judge agreement and a relative utility metric that accounts for the complexity of determining sentence quality in relation to a topic.
Preparation, separation, and conformational analysis of differentially sulfated heparin octasaccharide isomers using ion mobility mass spectrometry.

Heparin is a linear sulfated polysaccharide widely used in medicine because of its anticoagulant properties. The various sulfation and/or acetylation patterns on heparin impart different degrees of conformational change around the glycosidic bonds and subsequently alter its function as an anticoagulant, anticancer, or antiviral drug. Characterization of these structures is important for eventual elucidation of its function but presents itself as an analytical challenge due to the inherent heterogeneity of the carbohydrates. Heparin octasaccharide structural isomers of various sulfation patterns were investigated using ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS). In addition to distinguishing the isomers, we report the preparation and tandem mass spectrometry analysis for multiple sulfated or acetylated oligosaccharides. Herein, our data indicate that heparin octasaccharide isomers were separated on the basis of their structural conformations in the ion mobility cell. Subsequent to this separation, isomers were ...
Blowing up the power set of the least measurable

We prove some results related to the problem of blowing up the power set of the least measurable cardinal. Our forcing results improve those of [1] by using the optimal hypothesis. ?
Reliable identification of mental tasks using time-embedded EEG and sequential evidence accumulation

Eleven channels of EEG were recorded from a subject performing four mental tasks. A time-embedded representation of the untransformed EEG samples was constructed. Classification of the time-embedded samples was performed by linear and quadratic discriminant analysis and by an artificial neural network. A classifier's output for consecutive samples is combined to increase reliability. A new performance measure is defined as the number of correct selections that would be made by a brain–computer interface (BCI) user of the system, accounting for the need for an incorrect selection to be followed by a correct one to 'delete' the previous selection. A best result of 0.32 correct selections s−1 (about 3 s per BCI decision) was obtained with a neural network using a time-embedding dimension of 50.
Effective Feedforward/Feedback Controller Design With Command Shaping to Reduce Residual Vibration

Many manufacturing devices must execute motions as quickly as possible to achieve profitable high-volume production. This paper develops a control strategy that combines feedforward and feedback control with command shaping. First, the feedback controller is designed to increase damping and eliminate steady-state error. Next, the feedforward controller is designed to speed up the transient response. Finally, an appropriate reference profile is generated using command-shaping techniques to ensure fast point-to-point motions with minimum residual vibration. The particular focus of the paper is to understand the interactions between these individual control components. The resulting control strategy is demonstrated on a model of a high-speed semiconductor manufacturing machine.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Robust design of rail-to-rail CMOS operational amplifiers for a low power supply voltage

New bias circuits which provide currents to n- and p-channel differential pairs placed in parallel are introduced. The bias currents are a function of the input common mode voltage in such a way that the total transconductance, g/sub mT/, of the differential pairs is constant over the entire common mode range. The bias circuits, together with the differential pairs, are used to design input stages of low-voltage (/spl les/3.3 V) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) operational amplifiers (op amps). The new circuits are robust in that they do not require transconductance parameter matching of n- and p-channel transistors for proper operation. A simple rail-to-rail common source output stage with class AB control is also developed and used in the design of two-stage op amps. Experimental results of MOSIS test chips containing a family of low-voltage op amps fabricated in 2 /spl mu/m p-well process are provided. The results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed constant transconductance input stages in achieving constant opamp unity gain frequency with very low levels of total harmonic distortion (THD) and with 3.3 V and 2.5 V power supply voltage.
Decay of Se81m and Se81

Abstract The gamma rays in Se81 and Br81 following the decay of Se81m and Se81 were studied with a magnetic spectrograph. Three internal conversion lines were observed in these measurements. Gamma-ray spectra taken with a NaI(Tl) detector indicated a transition at 30 keV in addition to previously reported gamma rays. Measurements were made of spectra of gamma rays in coincidence with gamma rays in five energy regions. The results indicate levels at 280 keV, 560 keV and 832 keV in Br81 and agree with the main features of the decay scheme proposed by Krause et al. Beta-gamma coincidence measurements showed that the 560 keV level in Br81 is a different level than the 550 keV level which is excited in (p, γ) and (γ, γ′) reactions. Intensities of the transitions were computed.
Polycaprolactone degradation by mixed and pure cultures of bacteria and a yeast

The degradability of three high molecular weight polycaprolactones (Mw = 35,000, 18,600, and 7,130) and one low molecular weight polycaprolactone diol(Mw = 2060) by mixed and pure cultures of microorganisms was assayed. A yeast, Cryptococcus laurentii, a gram-negative rod, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. lwoffi, and a gram-positive coryneform rod were used in the pure culture assays. The analysis of degradation by gel permation chromatography (GPC) allowed for quantitation independent of the growth of the organisms or the addition of supplementary growth factors. GPC analysis showed that the degradation effected by pure cultures was often enhanced when alternate carbon sources were present. This was not the case for mixed cultures. Mixed cultures. Mixed cultures completely metabolized polymer breakdown products while in some cases pure cultures did not.
PD-1 as an emerging therapeutic target in renal cell carcinoma: current evidence

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common primary malignant tumor of the kidney in adults, representing approximately 4% of all adult cancers in the United States. Metastatic RCC is poorly responsive to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies but can be sensitive to T-cell-directed immunotherapies such as interferon-α or interleukin-2. Despite recent progress in the application of antiangiogenic "targeted therapies" for metastatic RCC, high-dose interleukin-2 remains an appropriate first-line therapy for select patients and is associated with durable complete remissions in a small fraction of treated patients. Thus, advanced RCC provides a unique opportunity to investigate the requirements for effective antitumor immunotherapy. Accumulating evidence suggests that resistance mechanisms exploited by RCC and other tumor types may play a dominant role in limiting the effectiveness of tumor-reactive adaptive immune responses. Expression of the inhibitory coreceptor programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes within RCC tumors, as well as the expression of the PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) on RCC tumor cells, are strong negative prognostic markers for disease-specific death in RCC patients. Monoclonal antibodies targeting either PD-1 or PD-L1 have now entered clinic trials and have demonstrated promising antitumor effects for refractory metastatic RCC. This review summarizes the results of published and reported studies of PD-1- and PD-L1-targeted therapies enrolling patients with advanced RCC, focusing on key safety, toxicity, and efficacy end points. Prospects for advanced phase clinical testing and novel therapy combinations with PD-1- and PD-L1-targeted agents are discussed.
Whole-genome association analysis to identify markers associated with recombination rates using single-nucleotide polymorphisms and microsatellites

Recombination during meiosis is one of the most important biological processes, and the level of recombination rates for a given individual is under genetic control. In this study, we conducted genome-wide association studies to identify chromosomal regions associated with recombination rates. We analyzed genotype data collected on the pedigrees in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics on Alcoholism data provided by Genetic Analysis Workshop 14. A total of 315 microsatellites and 10,081 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from Affymetrix on 22 autosomal chromosomes were used in our association analysis. Genome-wide gender-specific recombination counts for family founders were inferred first and association analysis was performed using multiple linear regressions. We used the positive false discovery rate (pFDR) to account for multiple comparisons in the two genome-wide scans. Eight regions showed some evidence of association with recombination counts based on the single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis after adjusting for multiple comparisons. However, no region was found to be significant using microsatellites.
Finite-horizon optimal adaptive neural network control of uncertain nonlinear discrete-time systems

In this paper, finite-horizon optimal control design for affine nonlinear discrete-time systems with totally unknown system dynamics is presented. First, a novel neural network (NN)-based identifier is utilized to learn the control coefficient matrix. This identifier is used together with the action-critic-based scheme to learn the time-varying solution, or referred to as value function, of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation in an online and forward in time manner. To handle the time varying nature of the value function, NNs with constant weights and time-varying activation functions are considered. To satisfy the terminal constraint, an additional term is added to the novel updating law. The uniformly ultimately boundedness of the closed-loop system is demonstrated by using standard Lyapunov theory. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulation results.
Quelle vérité ? Dans un gant de fer, sa réception et la question de la référentialité

L’autobiographie de Claire Martin, Dans un gant de fer, a suscite une vive controverse lors de sa parution en 1965, a cause de ses revelations-chocs sur la violence familiale et sur l’education des jeunes filles dans le Quebec d’avant la Revolution tranquille. Il va de soi que l’impact du livre n’aurait pas ete le meme si l’auteure avait couche son recit sous une forme romanesque. Cet article analyse la reception publique et privee de Dans un gant de fer par rapport a la question de la referentialite, element essentiel et pourtant difficile a cerner dans toute autobiographie. En enumerant les partis pris passionnes pour ou contre la « verite » du livre, ainsi que les reponses tout aussi passionnees de l’auteure a ses critiques, il tente de mettre en valeur l’importance de Dans un gant de fer non seulement comme oeuvre litteraire mais comme document historique.
Diabetogenic Polypeptide From Human Pituitaries Similar to That Excreted by Proteinuric Diabetic Patients

A polypeptide exhibiting diabetogenic body weight to dogs resulted in significant and antiinsulin properties has been iso- intolerance to glucose and resistance to lated from human pituitary glands by exogenous insulin 10 and 34 hours a procedure slightly modified from that after injection. Comparison of glucose with which a similar polypeptide was tolerance tests in the same animals dispreviously isolated from the adeno- closes that the diabetogenic potency of hypophysis of cattle, sheep and pigs. The the substance from human pituitaries is isoelectric point of the compound is ap- much greater than that of human growth proximately pH 4.1 which is the same hormone or ovine prolactin. The molecuas that of the compound isolated from lar weight of the substance as determined the adenohypophysis of the other three by the dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel species and from urine of patients with electrophoresis method is 20,600. A lipoatrophic diabetes and proteinuric dia- modified procedure for the isolation and betics without lipoatrophy. Administra- purihcation of the polypeptide has been tion of 1 mg polypeptide per kilogram of outlined.
Lipopolysaccharide Inhibits Rat Ovarian Thecal- Interstitial Cell Steroid Secretion in Vitro*

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of gram-negative cell walls, is a potent immunostimulator. Treatment of monocytes/macrophages in vitro with LPS induces the secretion of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 alpha, -1 beta, and -6. LPS is thought to require LPS-binding protein or CD14 to act at low concentrations (< 100 ng LPS/ml). In the present study, rat ovarian thecal-interstitial cells (TIC) were cultured in a serum-free culture system (in the absence of LPS-binding protein or soluble CD14) and challenged with LPS. Treatment with LPS led to a dose-dependent (1-100 ng LPS/ml) decrease in LH-stimulated progesterone and androstenedione secretion. LPS had no effect on radiolabeled hCG binding to TIC homogenates or cAMP accumulation in culture medium. LPS treatment was associated with an increase in interleukin-6 bioactivity in the medium of thecal-interstitial cell cultures; however, tumor necrosis factor-alpha bioactivity was undetectable. Herbimycin A, an src tyrosi...
Modification of a Hyperbranched Hydridopolycarbosilane as a Route to New Polycarbosilanes

A general method for introducing various side chains onto a highly branched polysilaethylene (HBPSE) backbone is described. This method starts with a commercial oligomer mixture which has a highly ...
Sobriety as a symptom of alcohol intoxication: a clinical commentary on intoxication and drunkenness.

Summary Intoxication and drunken behavior are related but not identical phenomena. Certain biological, psychomotor and psychological effects define intoxication. On the other hand, drunken behavior is to a great extent culturally defined and is related to variables such as time, place, environmental cues, social atmosphere, role expectations, attitudes and psychological needs. A common denominator for both is alcohol imbibition. The behavior of an intoxicated alcoholic does not have to be drunken. In support of this position, a case is presented showing that an alcoholic–whose drinking behavior is characteristically maladaptive–was able to display socially integrative behavior while exposed to substantial amounts of alcohol. This finding was not fortuitous. Twenty-nine other alcoholics received alcohol according to a two-day drinking schedule. The men initiated and stopped drinking on request and did not display provocative behavior while drinking. The study demonstrates that it is possible to initiate and easily terminate periods of drinking in alcoholics. This may represent a first step in the process of teaching alcoholics to drink without exhibiting socially disruptive behavior.
Helping Infertile Couples Explore the Option of Adoption

Adoption often is considered an ideal option for infertile couples. This article presents topics health-care professionals should address when discussing adoption with infertile couples and delineates interventions for anticipatory guidance once they decide to adopt.
Remote Sensing of Ice Water Characteristics in Tropical Clouds Using Aircraft Microwave Measurements

An ice water path retrieval algorithm, using airborne Millimeter-Wave Imaging Radiometer brightness temperatures at 89, 150, and 220 GHz, is developed for tropical clouds. This algorithm is based on the results of radiative transfer model simulations, using in situ ice particle properties measured from aircraft as model inputs. The scattering signatures at the 150- and 220-GHz channels are the primary inputs into the algorithm, while 89-GHz data are used for determining the nonice background radiation. The ice water path is first calculated from each of the 150- and 220-GHz scattering signatures, and then a combination of the two channels is used for the final retrieval, based on the consideration of the different channel sensitivities to the magnitude of the ice water path. The algorithm is evaluated by comparing the retrieved with in situ measured ice water paths for seven cases observed during the Tropical Oceans Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE). Theoretical analysis shows that the uncertainty due to particle size could be the largest error in the retrievals and this error could be as large as plus or minus 50%. As an application of this algorithm, the ice water path characteristics during TOGA COARE are studied, including assessment of the mean of ice water path, its frequency distribution, and its relationships with cloud-top temperature and liquid water amount. Although tropical clouds are the target of this study, this algorithm could be modified and extended to other climatological regions.
THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF UNCOMPLICATED MARKED LEFT AXIS DEVIATION IN MEN WITHOUT KNOWN DISEASE.

T HE electrocardiographic finding of marked left axis deviation occurs in a wide variety of clinical conditions.l+? These include acquired diseases which alter myocardial integrity, such as myocardial fibrosis, myocardial infarction, myocardiopathies and left ventricular hypertrophy. In addition. either congenital or acquired interruption of the conduction system may be associated with left axis deviation. Alteration of electric resistance of pulmonarytissue,resulting from chronic pulmonary disease,’ is yet another cause. Left axis deviation also occurs in individuals without clinically apparent cardiac disease. There are those who believe that, in this latter circumstance, left axis deviation is an indication of an “aging heart”; others consider it merely an indication of an altered “electrical position.” Still other observers regard left axis deviation (if it is the only finding in an apparently healthy subject) as a variant of the normal. Thus, a question requiring an answer is, ” W/tat is the clinical signz&ance of left axis deviation in the apparently flealthy individual?” Although retrospective studies have been reported,3r4 no prospective study, to our knowledge, has been made to demonstrate the incidence of cardiovascular disease in apparently healthy individuals who exhibit left axis deviation. Thus, in undertaking this study, it was our intention to determine the clinical significance of left axis deviation in apparently healthy subjects.
Nonlinear Least‐Squares Minimization Applied to Tracer Gas Decay for Determining Airflow Rates in a Two‐Zone Building

We developed a method based on tracer gas decay measurements to quantify the airflow rates, including the interzonal airflows, in a two-zone building: different tracer gases were simultaneously pulse-injected into each of the two zones and the evolution of the gas concentrations in each zone was measured; theoretical concentration profiles obtained by solving dynamic material-balance equations for two coupled, well-mixed zones were fit to the experimental data using nonlinear least-squares minimization; and estimates of the airflow rates were iteratively refined until a best fit was achieved between the model and the data. We conducted experiments validating the method in two full-sized rooms of a test house. Airflows were controlled using blowers, and mixing was ensured by the use of fans. Airflow rates inferred by the tracer gas technique agreed with imposed airflow rates within an average absolute error of 8%. Results are also reported for two experiments conducted in the same structure under uncontrolled conditions. Goodness-of-fit tests revealed no statistically significant differences between measured tracer gas concentrations and theoretical concentration profiles constructed using the least-squares parameter estimates.
The impact of the 80-hour workweek on pediatric surgical training: an Association of Pediatric Surgery Program Directors–sponsored study

Abstract Background/Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the preliminary impact of work hour regulations on pediatric surgical training. Methods An anonymous survey was sent to all program directors (PDs) and fellows to identify changes in pediatric surgery fellowship programs. Results Ninety-three percent of programs and 87% of PDs responded. Thirty programs hired additional personnel, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and fellows outside the training program. Thirteen programs reported increased attending coverage. The daily composition of the surgical team has changed, with postcall fellows and residents leaving in the morning. Residents and fellows also take call less frequently. More than 50% of PDs felt that quality of care had declined and three quarters of respondents felt that continuity of care was worse. Half of the respondents feared missed educational opportunities. However, half of the fellows felt more rested, 61% reported more family time, and 22% reported increased social time. In contrast, no PDs perceived life-style improvements. Conclusions The work hour regulations have resulted in fundamental changes in pediatric surgical training. Ongoing assessment is needed to prioritize quality of care, improve continuity of care, and track changes in operative, clinical, and didactic experiences of the trainees. The added impact of these changes on the time spent available for commitment to teaching by the faculty should be assessed.
Electron temperature profile reconstructions from multi-energy SXR measurements using neural networks

Neural networks have been implemented to reconstruct electron temperature profiles from multi-energy soft-x-ray (ME-SXR) arrays and other plasma diagnostics with fast time resolution. On NSTX, electron temperature profiles are measured with a Thomson scattering diagnostic at 60?Hz, a speed limited by the repetition rate of the lasers. By training a neural network to match fast (>10?kHz) x-ray data with Te profiles from Thomson scattering, the ME-SXR diagnostic can be used to produce Te profiles with high time resolution. In particular, a new ME-SXR system will be used in conjunction with a new laser blow-off impurity injection system to measure cold pulse propagation in NSTX-U plasmas for direct, perturbative heat transport measurements. Synthetic ME-SXR data were used to optimize performance of the neural networks and study the impact of including data from various diagnostics in the networks. Initial tests on data from a previous-generation ME-SXR diagnostic on NSTX have proven successful.
Improved sephadex procedures for buffer exchange of ribosephosphate isomerase

Abstract Modified conditions for buffer exchange operations with Sephadex are proposed. Sephadex having the highest water regain consistent with void volume elution will give the highest degree of purification in addition to buffer exchange, for a given sample volume and bed volume of Sephadex. Sample volumes representing up to 0.40 V t may be used to obtain complete buffer exchange. These conditions allow for the most efficient use of Sephadex for buffer exchange operations.
Coagulation factors, fibrinogen and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, are differentially regulated by yellow fever virus infection of hepatocytes

Yellow fever virus (YFV) infection poses a great risk to un-vaccinated individuals living or traveling in the endemic regions of Africa and South America. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 people die each year of this disease. The liver is the main target of YFV, where as many as 80% of the hepatocytes may become involved in the infection. The overwhelming infection of the liver is associated with the observed hemorrhagic disease manifestations such as petechiae, ecchymoses, and hematemesis which are all thought to be linked with the observed coagulation abnormalities that include prolonged clotting times, reduction in clotting factors, fibrin-split products (D-dimers) and elevated prothrombin times. Many factors involved in the coagulation pathway are produced by hepatocytes, such as fibrinogen (FBG) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Both of these proteins have been indicated in another flavivirus related disease, dengue, as having roles related to the bleeding abnormalities observed and overall outcome of infection. In this study we wanted to determine if FBG and PAI-1 expression levels by human hepatocytes was disrupted or altered by infection with either wild-type Asibi or vaccine strain17-D YFVs. Our findings indicate that YFV infection does affect the transcriptional and translational expression of FBG and PAI-1 in human hepatocytes and that these results are further affected by IL-6 during early stages of infection. These results may lead to further understanding of the molecular mechanism associated with bleeding abnormalities observed during late stage YFV infection.
Compositional system-level design exploration with planning of high-level synthesis

The growing complexity of System-on-Chip (SoC) design calls for an increased usage of transaction-level modeling (TLM), high-level synthesis tools, and reuse of pre-designed components. In the framework of a compositional methodology for efficient SoC design exploration we present three main contributions: a concise library format for characterization and reuse of components specified in high-level languages like SystemC; an algorithm to prune alternative implementations of a component given the context of a specific SoC design; and an algorithm that explores compositionally the design space of the SoC and produces a detailed plan to run high-level synthesis on its components for the final implementation. The two algorithms are computationally efficient and enable an effective parallelization of the synthesis runs. Through a case study, we show how our methodology returns the essential properties of the design space at the system level by combining the information from the library of components and by identifying automatically those having the most critical impact on the overall design.
Active control of vortex breakdown over a delta wing

The first step of this study is to identify a physical quantity that indicates the existence of vortex breakdown and can be used as feedback signal for active control. The second element in active control of vortex breakdown is to identify a flow controller to influence the vortex breakdown location.
Exploiting internet route sharing for large scale available bandwidth estimation

Recent progress in active measurement techniques has made it possible to estimate end-to-end path available bandwidth. However, how to efficiently obtain available bandwidth information for the N2 paths in a large N-node system remains an open problem. While researchers have developed coordinate-based models that allow any node to quickly and accurately estimate latency in a scalable fashion, no such models exist for available bandwidth. In this paper we introduce BRoute--a scalable available bandwidth estimation system that is based on a route sharing model. The characteristics of BRoute are that its overhead is linear with the number of end nodes in the system, and that it requires only limited cooperation among end nodes. BRoute leverages the fact that most Internet bottlenecks are on path edges, and that edges are shared by many different paths. It uses AS-level source and sink trees to characterize and infer path-edge sharing in a scalable fashion. In this paper, we describe the BRoute architecture and evaluate the performance of its components. Initial experiments show that BRoute can infer path edges with an accuracy of over 80%. In a small case study on Planetlab, 80% of the available bandwidth estimates obtained from BRoute are accurate within 50%.
Recovering the Pastness of the Past: A Response to the Focus on Eighteenth‐Century Ethics

In its dominantly ahistorical character, the Journal of Religious Ethics has much in common with its counterparts among philosophical journals, showing as clearly as they do the widespread antihistorical bias oftwentieth-century analytical philosophy. Moreover, such historical work as the journal has published has been tied unnecessarily closely to the voluntarist (divine command) paradigm. While drawing attention to the antivoluntarist strand in the history of ethics, the articles by John Bowlin, Mark Cladis, and Mark Larrimore, together with the introduction by Jennifer Herdt, demonstrate that the purposes of inquiry in religious ethics are better served by attending to the past than by ignoring it.
Dual Gated Nuclear Cardiac Images

A data acquisition system has been developed to collect camera events simultaneously with continually digitized electrocardiograph signals and respiratory flow measurements. Software processing of the list mode data creates more precisely gated cardiac frames. Additionally, motion blur due to heart movement during breathing is reduced by selecting events within a specific respiratory phase. Thallium myocardium images of a healthy volunteer show increased definition. This technique of combined cardiac and respiratory gating has the potential of improving the detectability of small lesions, and the characterization of cardiac wall motion.
Multicommodity Export Subsidies

Recently there has been renewed attention to the welfare-enhancing effects of export subsidies, in particular targeted export subsidies. This report extends that analysis to the case where cross price effects are significant to trade. In the context of two exportables, a subsidy on one of the goods can be welfare enhancing if a combination of conditions hold. First, the export level of the subsidized good should be low. Second, the rest-of-world (ROW) own price substitution elasticity for the subsidized good should be large, and the two exportables should be complementary or only weakly substitutable in ROW. Third, the two exportables should be strongly substitutable in the subsidizing country. Optimal subsidies that incorporate cross effects and targeting can be derived from the spatial equilibrium framework. An example based on USDA's trade liberalization model shows that there are small gains from a targeted U.S. subsidy program for wheat and corn. Sensitivity analysis shows that cross price effects can be important when determining the amount of the subsidies and when evaluating their benefit to the subsidizing country.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of DOPA-containing peptides related to adhesive protein of marine mussel, Mytilus edulis.

The common blue marine mussel adheres to underwater surfaces using an adhesive protein (Mefp-1) extruded from its foot. This highly hydroxylated protein contains a number of unusual amino acids, including 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), which is thought to contribute to the crosslinking of the extruded threads and adhesion to the substratum. Mefp-1 adheres to a wide variety of surfaces and is ultimately biodegradable. In this study we use surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to characterize the adsorption of DOPA-containing peptides on colloidal gold. The peptides are simplified fragments of the Mefp-1 consensus decapeptide repeat, Ala-Lys-Pro-Ser-Tyr-DHP-Hyp-Thr-DOPA-Lys. Our results show that the peptides TΔKA, PTΔKA, and PPTΔKA (where Δ represents DOPA) coordinate to the gold surface through the catechol oxygens of the DOPA residue and through primary amine groups. The diproline sequence introduces conformational constraints that influence the conformations of the adsorbed peptides. These findings lay the groundwork for developing synthetic adhesives for underwater and medical applications. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopolymers (Biospectroscopy) 57: 92–102, 2000
Weighted graphs and university course timetabling

Abstract A weighted graph is used to model the problem of scheduling university courses minimizing conflict. A variety of vertex section criteria are introduced, and are used in a heuristic algorithm for finding approximate solutions in the form of least-cost k-colorings. The trade-off between these approximate algorithms and exact integer programming methods is discussed, and computational results are presented.
Bilateral Asymmetrical Asterixis as Limb-shaking Transient Ischemic Attack in Bilateral Carotid Stenosis

Asterixis as limb-shaking transient ischemic attack (TIA) is rare and poorly understood. Bilateral asymmetrical asterixis as limb-shaking TIA has not been reported in carotid stenosis. A 69-year-old gentleman presented with a TIA episode (dysarthria, right-arm weakness, and numbness). Bilateral asterixis was observed and was more severe on the right side. No prior infarcts were noted in the thalamus. Liver function was normal. A computerized tomography angiogram revealed 85%stenosis of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and 65% stenosis of the left ICA. Three days after left ICA endarterectomy, the patient had complete disappearance of bilateral asterixis, with the right side showing initial improvement. The bilateral asterixis observed is proposed to be secondary to hemodynamic impairment and hypoperfusion of certain brain territory with resolution on revasculari-zation.
The Earth Has a Future

An alternative to visualizing geologic time by looking into the past is to look into the future. Even geologically short future time scales completely outstrip our ability to forecast changes in human society, whereas most geologic changes in the same time will be modest. Many events that are infrequent on a human time scale, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, become commonplace on longer time scales, and events that have not occurred in recorded history, such as major ice ages, large meteor impacts, giant pyroclastic eruptions, or collapses of Hawaiian shield volcanoes, become almost inevitable in a million years.
Use of meteorological models in computational wind engineering

Computational wind engineering has progressed considerably in recent years. Along with the improved capability to simulate the small-scale flows around architectural structures there is a need to more realistically simulate the larger-scale atmospheric flows in which they are embedded. This would greatly expand the application of numerical models in areas of overlap between the disciplines of atmospheric science and wind engineering. This paper reviews the basic equations used by meteorological models, modifications required to incorporate buildings and how nested grids can be used to span the gap between large separations in scale. Areas requiring future research and model development are discussed and potential applications of a model which can simulate both large-scale meteorological flows as well as small-scale flows around buildings are suggested.
Modeling fluid flow in fuel cells using the lattice-Boltzmann approach

Two flow problems relevant to fuel cell modeling are simulated with the lattice-Boltzmann (LB) approach. The first is a 3D viscous flow through a section of serpentine channel and the second is a 2D channel filled or partially filled with porous medium. In the first case, attention is given to the implementation details such as inlet–outlet boundary conditions, nonuniform grid, and forcing. It was shown that the flow pattern and pressure distribution depends sensitively on the flow Reynolds number as the flow Reynolds number is increased from 10 to 1000. There also appears to be some evidence that the transition to a turbulent flow occurs at Reynolds number on the order of 1000. In the second case, the effects of multiple time scales and interface between the porous medium and clear channel are considered. It was shown that, in order to obtain correct results at the interface or near the boundary, the physical time scales of the problem must be kept larger than the lattice time. This can be achieved by using a small particle velocity in the LB scheme. © 2006 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
“I Want to be the Minority” The Politics of Youthful White Masculinities in Sport and Popular Culture in 1990s America

In this article, the author offers a contextualized cultural analysis of the “youthful” White masculinities constituted in two sites: first, a 1997 Sports Illustrated cover story titled,“Whatever Happened to the White Athlete?” and second, a discourse about the social-psychological development of adolescent boys written in the wake of the rash of school shootings that took place in the United States in 1997-1998.The author’s main contention is that these representations of disadvantaged and victimized youthful White masculinities found both inside and outside of sport discourses signify a new representational strategy of White male backlash politics in the late 1990s—the youthification of the White male as victim trope.