cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What do biochemistry students pay attention to in external representations of protein translation? The case of the Shine–Dalgarno sequence

Biochemistry instructors often use external representations—ranging from static diagrams to dynamic animations and from simplistic, stylized illustrations to more complex, realistic presentations—to help their students visualize abstract cellular and molecular processes, mechanisms, and components. However, relatively little is known about how students use and interpret external representations in biochemistry courses. In the current study, variation theory was used to explore the potential for student learning about protein translation from a stylized, dynamic animation. The results of this study indicate that students learned from this animation, in that they noticed many critical features of the animation and integrated those features into their understandings of protein translation. However, many students also focused on a particular feature of the animation, the Shine–Dalgarno sequence, that their instructors did not feel was critical to promote an overall understanding of this metabolic process. Student attention was focused on this feature because of the design of the animation, which cued students to notice this feature by significantly varying the appearance of the Shine–Dalgarno sequence.
Organic constituents in the annual cycle of the crayfish Orconectes nais (FAXON)

Abstract 1. 1. The lipid-free dry wt. of the ovaries increased from April to October whereas that of the hepatopancreas decreased. 2. 2. Lipid was the major organic reserve, varying from 25 to 75 per cent of the dry wt. of the hepatopancreas and from 5 to 30 per cent of the dry wt. of the ovaries. Glycogen varied between 1 and 2 per cent of the dry wt. of the hepatopancreas and between 1 and 6 per cent of the dry wt. of gonads. 3. 3. Lipid concentration of the hepatopancreas of all populations and of the gonads of males and small females declined in midsummer. Possibly this decline occurred because energy intake was insufficient to meet metabolic demands at high estival temperatures. 4. 4. The patterns of seasonal change of organic nutrients are similar in sexually mature and sexually immature crayfish.
Characteristics of interleukin-6-enhanced lymphokine-activated killer cell function☆

To study the effect of IL-6 on the development of cytotoxic cells, we examined lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity generated from human nonadherent PBL. Addition of rIL-6 at the initiation of 5-day PBL cultures significantly increases LAK activity in the presence of low concentrations (between 5 and 25 u/ml) of rIL-2. RIL-6 alone induces no PBL LAK activity but at doses as low as 0.8 u/ml rIL-6 enhances LAK activity with optimal enhancement of LAK at 5.0 u/ml of rIL-6. This enhancement is independent of effects on cells growth as rIL-6 did not affect the cell recovery of PBL cultured in rIL-2. RIL-6-enhanced LAK is mediated by the same type of effector cells as those of LAK from rIL-2 alone with effector cells primarily generated from large granular CD3-negative E rosetting lymphocytes. RIL-6 does not change the time course of LAK development and pretreatment of PBL with rIL-6 has no effect on the PBL response to subsequent rIL-2 induction of LAK. Addition of rIL-6 to LAK cultures 2 hr before the cytotoxicity assay shows equal enhancement as addition at the initiation of the culture. However, rIL-6 requires the presence of both rIL-2 and another factor in the supernatant from LAK cultures in order to enhance LAK. Our results indicate that IL-6 can modulate LAK activity at a very late stage of LAK development, and that the enhancement by IL-6 is dependent on the presence of IL-2 and another soluble factor generated during rIL-2 culture.
A photoelastic fiber optic strain gage

This paper reports on the development of a photoelastic fiber optic strain gage sensitive to transverse strain. The sensing element is made from an epoxy resin which is stress frozen to passively achieve the quadrature condition. Light, emitted from an LED operating at 820 nm, is transmitted to and from the sensing element via multimode fibers and the signal is detected using a dual channel operational photodiode/amplifier. This unique combination of optics and electronics produces a fiber optic sensor having a high signal to noise ratio which is lead-in/out insensitive. Results show that strains on the order of 1 microstrain can be measured over an 800 microstrain range and that dummy gages can be used for temperature compensation.
Initial conditions for dipole evolution beyond the McLerran-Venugopalan model

Abstract We derive the scattering amplitude N ( r ) for a QCD dipole on a dense target in the semi-classical approximation. We include the first subleading correction in the target thickness arising from ∼ ρ 4 operators in the effective action for the large-x valence charges. Our result for N ( r ) can be matched to a phenomenological proton fit by Albacete et al. over a broad range of dipole sizes r and provides a definite prediction for the A-dependence for heavy-ion targets. We find a suppression of N ( r ) for finite A for dipole sizes a few times smaller than the inverse saturation scale, corresponding to a suppression of the classical bremsstrahlung tail.
Electron tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting A15 V-Ga alloy films

The results of a tunneling study of the high-${T}_{c}$, A15 superconductor ${\mathrm{V}}_{3}$Ga are presented. The superconducting electron-phonon interaction spectral function ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{2}$F(\ensuremath{\omega}) is obtained for a set of samples with compositions spanning stoichiometry. These results are of particular interest since ${\mathrm{V}}_{3}$Ga is unusual among the high-${T}_{c}$, A15 superconductors in that single-phase material can be formed on either side of stoichiometry. The results demonstrate that increased weight of ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{2}$F(\ensuremath{\omega}) (or so-called mode softening) occurs at low energies as stoichiometry is approached either from above or below. Concomitantly ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\mathrm{log}}$ is found to show a minimum at stoichiometry. Interestingly, although ${T}_{c}$ is a symmetric function of composition around stoichiometry, ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\mathrm{log}}$ is asymmetric. Hence, some other factor beyond mode softening is playing a significant factor in the systematics of the high ${T}_{c}$'s exhibited by this superconductor as a function of composition.
Factors affecting degree of perceived foreign accent in English sentences.

This study used interval scaling to assess degree of perceived foreign accent in English sentences spoken by native and non‐native talkers. Native English listeners gave significantly higher (i.e., more authentic) pronunciation scores to native speakers of English than to Chinese adults who began learning English at an average age of 7.6 years. The results for the ‘‘child learners’’ suggest that a sensitive period for speech learning is reached long before the age of 12 years, as commonly supposed. Adults who had lived in the U.S. for 5 years did not receive higher scores than those who had lived there for only 1 year, suggesting that amount of unaided second‐language (L2) experience does not affect adults’ L2 pronunciation beyond an initial rapid stage of learning. Native speakers of Chinese who rated the sentences for foreign accent showed the same pattern of between‐group differences as the native English listeners. The more experienced of two groups of Chinese listeners differentiated native and non‐native talkers to a significantly greater extent than a less experienced group, even though the subjects in both groups spoke English with equally strong foreign accents. This suggests that tacit knowledge of how L2 sentences ‘‘ought’’ to sound increases more rapidly than the ability to produce those sentences.
The cardiac sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive potassium channel as a novel target for anti-arrhythmic therapy

The activation of cardiac cell membrane ATP-sensitive potassium channels during myocardial ischemia promotes potassium efflux, reductions in action potential duration, and heterogeneities in repolarization, thereby creating a substrate for re-entrant arrhythmias. Drugs that block this channel should be particularly effective anti-arrhythmic agents. Indeed, non-selective ATP-sensitive potassium channel antagonists, (e.g., glibenclamide) can prevent arrhythmias associated with myocardial ischemia. However, these non-selective antagonists have important non-cardiac actions that promote insulin release and hypoglycemia (pancreatic β-cells), reduce coronary blood flow (vascular smooth muscle cells), prevent ischemia preconditioning (cardiac mitochondrial channels) and depress cardiac contractile function. The ATP-sensitive potassium channel consists of a pore forming inward rectifying potassium channel (Kir6.1 or Kir6.2) and a regulatory subunit (sulfonylurea receptors, SUR1, SUR2A &SUR2B). The Kir6.2/SUR2A combination appears to be preferentially expressed on cardiac cell membranes. As such, it should be possible to develop agents selective for cardiac sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive potassium channels. The novel compounds HMR 1883 (or its sodium salt HMR 1098) or HMR 1402 have been shown to block selectively the cardiac sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive potassium channels. These drugs attenuated ischemically-induced changes in cardiac electrical properties and prevented malignant arrhythmias without the untoward effects of other drugs. Since the ATP-sensitive potassium channel only becomes active as ATP levels fall, these drugs have the added advantage that they would have effects only on ischemic tissue with little or no effect noted on normal tissue. Thus, selective antagonists of the cardiac cell surface ATP-sensitive potassium channel may represent a new class of ischemia selective anti-arrhythmic medications.
Estimating Pure-Component Vapor Pressures of Complex Organic Molecules: Part II.

The purpose of this work was to develop an equation to estimate the saturated vapor pressures of organic compounds at ambient temperature. A new equation based on the integrated form of the Clausius−Clapeyron equation was used to estimate the room temperature saturated vapor pressures of 815 organic compounds. It was found to reliably estimate vapor pressures over 15 orders of magnitude with an average absolute error of 0.18 logarithmic units, corresponding to a factor of 1.50.
A subset of 1200 hexamers is sufficient to sequence over 95% of cDNAs by hexamer string primer walking.

It has recently been discovered that DNA sequencing reactions can be successfully primed by contiguous strings of three or more hexamer oligonucleotides. Thus, with the complete set of 4096 hexamers it should now be feasible to sequence DNA templates by primer walking. This method may work best for cDNAs, which have both shorter templates and less repetitive sequence than commonly sequenced genomic templates such as cosmids. To investigate streamlining the primer walking procedure, the authors explored the possibility of using a subset of hexamers. 5 refs., 1 fig.
Long-Distance Radical Cation Hopping in DNA: The Effect of Thymine−Hg(II)−Thymine Base Pairs

Thymine−Hg(II)−thymine base pairs have been incorporated in an oligonucleotide duplex to study their effect on DNA-mediated charge transport. The introduction of a formally charged Hg atom inside the DNA base core does not significantly alter the charge hopping and trapping properties, as discussed in this paper. Hg(II) replaces the protons normally found on thymines within the complex and acts like a “big proton” in terms of its role in DNA charge transport.
Insights from Soft Condensed Matter

The physicist’s method of reflection about the world has, especially in this century, opened our eyes to the world as have few activities in history. Relativity has shown a profound link between space and time, unveiling a startling unity of mass and energy. Quantum mechanics has revealed that motion entails spatial and temporal periodicity, leading to phenomena of beauty, precision, and utility that are inconceivable in terms of everyday experience. Perhaps this is why ours has been called the century of physics.
A Developmental, Community, and Psychosocial Approach to Food Allergies in Children

Recent estimates show that food allergies affect a substantial proportion of children in the United States and appear to have increased in prevalence. At present, management of food allergies consists of strict avoidance of the responsible allergen and an appropriate response should a reaction occur. Creating safe environments for the growing number of children with food allergies requires a partnership between affected families and members of the caregiving and educational communities. This article reviews issues affecting children with food allergies at different stages of psychosocial development and discusses strategies that can be implemented to promote food safety within child care and school environments as well as in the community. It also presents an overview of policy developments at the state and national level that have implications for children with food allergies.
Steroid reactions on thin-layer films.

Abstract Steroids with a Δ4 or Δ5-3β-hydroxy configuration have bean found to develop a distinctive pink color on thin films of silica gel or alumina when treated with ethanolic sulfuric acid. In combination with in situ borohydride reduction this color test can be extended to the identification of Δ 4-3 ketones. Oxidation of 17–20 glycols derived from borohydride reduction of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids to 17-oxosteroids with sodium metaperiodate can also be employed for further characterization. The combination of chemical transformation, chromatography and specific color tests on the same chromatogram without the need for elution furnishes a valuable technique for steroid identification with much saving in time and effort.
Development of Time Concepts in Normal and Retarded Children

36 normal and retarded children, matched for MA at three levels (6, 9, and 11, ns = 6 each), were tested for understanding of the time concepts of simultaneity, equality of synchronous intervals, and order of events. For both normals and retardates, active ordering of observed events was more difficult than understanding of simultaneity or of equality of synchronous intervals in observed demonstrations. Understanding of time concepts increased steadily with increases in MA, and a sequential order of development in rime concepts was indicated. Children at lower MAs understood simultaneity and equality of synchronous intervals better than active ordering of events, whereas at higher MAs these concepts were understood essentially equally. A slower rate of development by retardates than by normals was suggested by the results, but unequivocal acceptance of this finding was cautioned against due to confounding of IQ with MA level in the retarded Ss.
A Look at Adolescent Treatment in a Time of Change

Multiple changes in the authors' inpatient adolescent unit--including unit mergers, increased patient acuity, and shorter length of stay--created the need and opportunity to implement a new Behavioral Milieu Program with two significant components: A positive Behavioral Points System and 15 nurse-led groups. The authors describe this new program, which provides a safe and effective treatment modality and promotes each adolescent's sense of responsibility for his own behavior and life. Dramatic outcomes include decreased use of mechanical restraints by 56% in the first three months of implementation and by 82% in the second three months. This program has applications for inpatient units, community residences, and schools, and can even be adapted for home use by parents.
Shrinkage and cracking studies of high performance concrete for bridge decks

Abstract Restrained shrinkage cracking is a critical issue that raises the concern of widespread use of high-performance concrete (HPC) in bridge deck. Present studies were undertaken to compare the different HPC and propose concept to use local field data to define a threshold for cracking potential. We developed 18 HPC mixtures, suitable for bridge decks in shrinkage-prone locations, using supplementary cementitious materials – fly ash, slag, silica fume, and metakaolin; and local aggregates with three different w/cm: 0.40, 0.35, and 0.30. Basic properties as well as shrinkage and cracking properties were evaluated. In addition to comparing among HPC performance, a correlation was made between commonly measured parameters such as strength, shrinkage, and modulus of elasticity with cracking onset obtained from ring tests. Finally, field data from no-crack and well performing bridges were used to define a threshold safe limit. This concept can be used for design of HPC mixtures to reduce cracking potential from materials point of view for any other locations.
Broadly altered expression of the mRNA isoforms of FE65, a facilitator of beta amyloidogenesis, in Alzheimer cerebellum and other brain regions.

FE65 is a key “adapter” protein that links a multiprotein complex to an intracellular domain of β-amyloid precursor protein (βPP). Its overexpression modulates the trafficking of βPP and facilitates the generation of β-amyloid (Aβ). FE65 is predominantly expressed in brain tissues. An exon 9-inclusive isoform is exclusively expressed in neurons, and an exon 9-exclusive isoform is only expressed in non-neuronal cells. We quantitated the two isoforms in middle temporal cortex, middle frontal cortex, cerebellar cortex and caudate nucleus of 17 Alzheimer disease (AD) patients, 12 normal controls and 9 non-AD neurodegenerative disease controls by reverse transcription-competitive polymerase chain reaction (RT-cPCR). Expression of the two isoforms was significantly and differentially altered, with a 30–57% decrease in levels of the neuronal form (P < 0.05–0.002) and a 73–135% increase in levels of non-neuronal form (P < 0.02–0.001), in the temporal and frontal cortex of AD brains. These alterations presumably reflect advanced neurodegenerative processes of these regions. Surprisingly, expression of both isoforms was significantly up-regulated by 42–66% in the cerebellar cortex and caudate nucleus of AD brains when compared to normal brains (P < 0.05–0.005). Diffuse Aβ-positive plaques were observed in the cerebellum of these AD subjects but not in the normal controls. Selective up-regulation of only the FE65 neuronal isoform was seen in the cerebellar cortex in association with other neurodegenerative diseases (largely Parkinson's disease). Because FE65 modulates trafficking of βPP toward the production of Aβ, the up-regulation of FE65 in AD cerebellum may be relevant to the genesis of diffuse plaques. Thus, early biochemical alterations in AD, not complicated by advanced pathology, may be beneficially investigated in the less-affected regions of the brain, such as the cerebellum. J. Neurosci. Res. 60:73–86, 2000 © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Early-Life Socioeconomic Status and Mortality at Three Life Course Stages: An Increasing Within-Cohort Inequality.

Using the 1957–2011 data from 10,317 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, I examine how socioeconomic status (SES) at age 18 affects all-cause mortality between ages 18 and 72. Integrating fundamental cause theory, gender relations theory, and a life course perspective, I evaluate the cumulative advantage (CA) and age-as-leveler processes as well as gender differences in these processes. Findings indicate that higher early-life SES at age 18 is related to lower mortality over the life course, and the effect of early-life SES is not explained by socioeconomic achievement and health behaviors in adulthood. Consistent with the CA model, early-life SES generates increasing within-cohort inequality with age, and this CA process is stronger for women than men. Results also show that unequal selection by SES obscures the CA process and creates an illusion of the age-as-leveler process. This study calls for a lifelong gendered approach to socioeconomic health disparities.
Mice Deficient in All Forms of Lysosomal β-hexosaminidase Show Mucopolysaccharidosis-like Pathology

Lysosomal beta-hexosaminidase consists of 2 subunits, alpha and beta. Mutations in the alpha-subunit gene cause Tay-Sachs disease, while mutations in the beta-subunit gene cause Sandhoff disease. Mice generated by targeted disruption of either the alpha- or beta-subunit genes displayed the pathological features of Tay-Sachs disease or Sandhoff disease, respectively. In this report we describe the pathologic features of mice that carry both disrupted genes and that are deficient in all forms of beta-hexosaminidase activity. These mice displayed physical dysmorphia and extensive neuro-visceral storage. Neurons in the CNS and PNS contained pleomorphic inclusions in addition to membranous cytoplasmic bodies characteristic of gangliosidosis. Diffuse hypomyelination was also apparent in the CNS. Vacuolated cytoplasm was a conspicuous feature of chondrocytes, osteocytes and renal tubular epithelium on routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) -stained sections. Numerous vacuolated cells were also noted in the connective tissue, cornea, heart valves, arterial walls, liver, spleen, skin and throughout other visceral organs. These vacuolated cells stained positive with PAS, colloidal iron and alcian blue, indicating an accumulation of glycosaminoglycans. Furthermore, cultured fibroblasts showed a defect in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans, and glycosaminoglycans were excreted in the urine of these mice (1). Thus, morphological and biochemical features in these mice are consistent with those of mucopolysaccharidosis and demonstrate an essential role of beta-hexosaminidase in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans.
Distributed, collaborative human-robotic networks for outdoor experiments in search, identify and track

This paper presents an overview of a human-robotic system under development at Cornell which is capable of mapping an unknown environment, as well as discovering, tracking, and neutralizing several static and dynamic objects of interest. In addition, the robots can coordinate their individual tasks with one another without overly burdening a human operator. The testbed utilizes the Segway RMP platform, with lidar, vision, IMU and GPS sensors. The software draws from autonomous systems research, specifically in the areas of pose estimation, target detection and tracking, motion and behavioral planning, and human robot interaction. This paper also details experimental scenarios of mapping, tracking, and neutralization presented by way of pictures, data, and movies.
Characterization of the cell-free translation products of carnation mottle virus genomic and subgenomic RNAs.

Abstract The in vitro translation products of carnation mottle virus (CarMV) genomic and subgenomic RNAs were analysed using a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. Viral RNAs directed synthesis of three main polypeptides, p80, p40, and p34. p40, which was the predominant product using unfractionated virion RNA as template, was identified as coat protein based on electrophoretic mobility through SDS-polyacrylamide gels and immunoprecipitation with anti-CarMV serum. Upon size-fractionation of virion RNAs by sucrose gradient centrifugation and subsequent translational analysis, p40 was found to be encoded by subgenomic RNA, whereas p80 and p34 were synthesized from templates of genome length. p80 and p34 were found to contain common or overlapping amino acid sequences by analysis of cleavage peptides formed during proteolysis with α-chymotrypsin. These data support CarMV translational mechanisms other than those proposed in a previous study (R. Saloman, M. Bar-Joseph, H. Soreq, I. Gozes, and U. Z. Littauer, 1978, Virology 90, 288–298).
Fatal Tension Pneumopericardium Complicating Tracheostomy

The findings in a patient who developed a fatal pneumopericardium following tracheostomy are reported. This complication of tracheostomy does not appear to have been reported previously in the literature. When recognized, pneumopericardium is a treatable lesion, and clinicians should be aware of this potential complication.
A second-order artificial satellite theory based on an intermediate orbit

Oblate planet artificial satellite motion, obtaining secular and periodic perturbations to third and second order
Novel nanowire integration schemes for massively parallel and manufacturable nanoscale electronics and photonics

In the last decade, the nanotechnology has made significant progress in the synthesis and demonstration of novel devices with semiconductor nanowires. However, interfacing and integrating nanowires in devices and circuits has remained a formidable challenge since they were first envisioned as building blocks of future electronics, photonics and sensing systems. We demonstrated an epitaxial bridging technique for interfacing nanowires that allows individual electrical access to a large number of nanowire devices without recourse to nanoprobes or tedious and expensive serial interfacing procedures. Two opposing electrically isolated semiconductor surfaces are fabricated using coarse optical lithography, along with wet and dry etching. Lateral nanowires are then grown from one surface and epitaxially connected to the other, forming electrically continuous and robust ldquonano-bridgesrdquo. By forming the structure on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, electrical isolation is achieved. The nanowire devices fabricated using the bridging interfacing technique exhibit more than two orders of magnitude lower contact resistance and three orders of magnitude lower noise level than any other reported works. We extended our nano-bridging method and demonstrated heterogeneous bridged InP nanowires between Si surfaces. Interesting properties such as space charge limited current and a discernable level of persistent photocurrent were observed. The nano-bridging technique was expanded to fabricate high performance nanowire device on any type of substrates such as amorphous materials or even metals. Based on this new approach, a semiconductor nano-bridge based photodetector was designed and fabricated on a quartz substrate and an impressive bandwidth >30 GHz was measured. These results demonstrate that it is now possible to design and manufacture nanowire based semiconductor devices without using expensive single crystal substrates. Exciting opportunities for novel high performance electronics and photonics on ultra-low cost surfaces such as quartz, plastic, FR4, metal etc. are likely to becoming a commercial realty.
Effect of Backscattered Electrons on the Analysis Area in Scanning Auger Microscopy

Abstract A simple analytical model has been used to determine the effects of backscattered electrons on the analysis area in scanning Auger microscopy. For normally incident electrons, the radius r a of the analysis area is calculated corresponding to detection of 80, 90, and 95% of the total Auger-electron signal as a function of two sample parameters, the backscattering factor R and the Gaussian parameter σ b describing the radial distribution of the backscattered electrons. For a reasonable range of these parameters, r a depends linearly on σ b and to a lesser extent on R . Values of r a can also be appreciably larger, by more than a factor of 100, than the widths of the incident beam in modern instruments, and need to be considered in quantitative analyses of particles and inclusions. Monte-Carlo calculations are needed for more realistic evaluations of the analysis area and to determine this area for non-normal incidence of the electron beam.
Distribution, correlation, and radiocarbon dating of late Holocene tephra, Mono and Inyo craters, eastern California

Two pumiceous tephra layers, widespread in meadow topsoils of the southern Sierra Nevada, are correlated on the basis of radiocarbon dates and trace-element analyses with two eruptive centers at the northern and southern ends of the Mono Craters—Inyo craters volcanic chain in eastern California. Pumice and obsidian that were erupted in the northern part of the chain are uniform in trace-element content, whereas those erupted from the southern part are nonuniform and distinctly different, particularly in Sr content. Similar differences are recognized in the two most recent and widespread tephra layers originating from these sites. These tephra layers are the deposits of the most recent explosive eruptions of magma from the Mono Craters and the Inyo craters. Tephra 1, characterized by sanidine microphenocrysts and a Sr content of about 215 ppm, was erupted 720 ± 60 yr B.P. Its distribution defines a south-trending lobe extending over the Sierra Nevada from the upper San Joaquin drainage area to the Little Kern drainage area. Sr, Rb, and Zr contents of the ash are similar to those of a tephra-ringed obsidian dome at the south end of the Inyo craters. Tephra 2, characterized by a lack of microphenocrysts and a Sr content of less than 20 ppm, was erupted 1190 ± 80 yr B.P. It is encountered as a fine ash layer in the Sierra Nevada from northernmost Yosemite to Kings Canyon. Its low Sr content indicates geochemical affinity with the Mono Craters. Panum Crater, a tephra-ringed dome at the north end of the chain, appears to be its most likely source vent.
Segmental volume distensibility of the canine thoracic aorta in vivo

Segments of the canine ascending aorta, upper descending thoracic aorta, and middle descending thoracic aorta were instrumented with ultrasonic dimension gauges and a cathetertip manometer simultaneously to measure changes in segment diameter, length, and intravascular pressure. Volume distensibility (EV) was calculated as the sum of circumferential extensibility (EC), longitudinal extensibility (EL), and high order extensibilities (EK) for each segment. The EC and EL were linear expressions that represented percentage volume changes per mmHg pulse pressure due to circumferential and longitudinal dimensional changes. The high order extensibilities (second and third order) accounted for the percentage volume changes per mmHg pulse pressure due to the interactions between circumferential and longitudinal dimensional changes. Mean(SEM) EV values from six dogs were 1.62(0.31), 0.84(0.08), and 0.62(0.08)% delta V/mmHg delta P for the ascending aorta, upper descending thoracic aorta, and middle descending thoracic aorta segments respectively. The EV, EL, and EK of the ascending aorta segment were significantly greater than those of the upper descending thoracic aorta and middle descending thoracic aorta segments, whereas EC was significantly less in the ascending aorta than in both the upper descending thoracic aorta and middle descending thoracic aorta segments. It is concluded that there are regional differences in aortic distensibility and its components in vivo. Longitudinal wall motion is an important determinant of these aortic mechanical properties.
Synthesis of medium size rings containing oxygen and sulfur by ring expansion of halodioxolanes, dioxanes and oxathiolanes

Ring expansion of the readily available cyclic haloketals and halo-O,S-ketals provides a versatile method for the synthesis of medium rings containing sulfur and/or oxygen atoms.
Dimensional recovery of cold‐rolled polycarbonate

The dimensional recovery of cold-rolled polycarbonate was measured between 100 and 147°C, and compared to stress-relaxation data. The strain-recovery isotherms were superimposed to produce a master curve which could be represented by a distribution function, U(τ), termed the strain recovery spectrum. U(τ) is found to be nearly identical to the relaxation spectrum, H(τ), calculated from the stress-relaxation master curve; and the shift in U(τ) as a function of temperature, WLF shift factor, is similar to that obtained from other viscoelastic measurements on polycarbonate. For the deformations studied, 25 and 50% reduction in thickness, the recovery behavior is found to be independent of strain (linear), suggesting that nonlinearity in a polymer glass results from large stresses, and not from large strains.
Chemisorption and thermal decomposition of acetic acid on Pt(111)

Acetic acid (CH3COOH, CH3COOD and 13CD3COOH(D)) adsorption and decomposition on Pt(111) has been studied by HREELS and TDS. At low acetic acid coverages (θ<0.3), dissociative adsorption occurs forming a surface acetate species with an η2(O,O)-CH3COO configuration. Further dissociative adsorption as CO(a), O(a) and CHx(a) with x=1–2 is also observed (θ~0.2 or less). Molecular adsorption occurs at moderate acetic acid dosages (θ~0.5 or above) with a finger print peak at ~932 cm−1 which is a well documented γ(OH) mode of the CH3COOH dimer. Hydrogen bonding between neighboring acetic add molecules is observed at submonolayer coverages which is responsible for the stabilization of the acetic acid hydroxyl group. We estimate the hydrogen bond energy for acetic acid dimer on Pt(111) to be ~7.3 kcal/mole and the RO4O distance to be ~2.68A. Annealing the acetic acid/Pt(111) system results in the thermal decomposition yielding H2 and CO. Three hydrogen desorption peaks are observed at 230, 370 and 498K which are assigned as from the cracking of the parent molecules, combination of surface H(a) species and the dissociation of CHx(x=1~2) species, respectively. With the 13C labeled acetic acid molecules the observed three carbon monoxide desorption peaks at 400–500K, 520–550K and 700–800K are assigned as from the carboxyl group decomposition, the combination of neighboring C(a) and O(a) and the combination of C(a) and O(a) with large surface diffusion barrier.
Translocation (15;17)(q22;q21) as a Secondary Chromosomal Abnormality in a Case of Acute Monoblastic Leukemia with Tetrasomy 8

We describe a case of acute monoblastic leukemia (AML M5a), originally presenting as granulocytic sarcoma of the testis, showing unusual cytogenetic abnormalities. Tetrasomy 8 (primary) and t(15;17)(q22;q21) (secondary) were detected in bone marrow cells 6 months post-diagnosis, both by routine karyotype analysis and by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies on metaphases and interphase nuclei. Retrospectively, the same abnormalities were identified in the primary testicular lesion using interphase FISH. However, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) did not reveal the presence of a classic PML/RARα fusion transcript. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to be reported in the literature of AML showing tetrasomy 8 in combination with secondary t(15;17).
Use-Dependent Loss of Acetylcholine- and Bradykinin-Mediated Vasodilation After Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition: Evidence for Preformed Stores of Nitric Oxide–Containing Factors in Vascular Endothelial Cells

In the present study, we examined the possibility that the endothelium-dependent vasodilators acetylcholine and bradykinin release preformed pools of nitric oxide–containing factors. Successive injections of selected doses of acetylcholine (1.18±0.3 μg/kg IV) or bradykinin (5 μg/kg IV) caused reproducible hypotensive and vasodilator responses within sympathetically intact and sympathetically denervated hindlimbs of conscious rats. After administration of the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor N ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 25 μmol/kg IV), the first injection of acetylcholine or bradykinin produced pronounced depressor and vasodilator responses that, in the case of bradykinin, were greater than those observed before L-NAME administration. However, each successive injection of acetylcholine and bradykinin produced progressively smaller responses, such that the later injections elicited a markedly diminished hypotension and vasodilation. This “use-dependent” loss of endothelium-dependent vasodilation was not due to the diminished vasorelaxant potency of nitric oxide–containing factors because the vasodilator effects of the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (32 μg/kg IV) and the S -nitrosothiol compound S -nitrosocysteine (200 nmol/kg IV) were augmented in the presence of L-NAME. These results suggest that the use-dependent loss of the hemodynamic effects of acetylcholine and bradykinin in L-NAME–treated rats may be due to the release and subsequent depletion of a factor whose synthesis depends on the bioavailability of nitric oxide. Taken together, these results suggest that preformed pools of nitric oxide–containing factors exist within the endothelium of resistance vessels and that endothelium-dependent agonists exert their vasorelaxant effects at least in part by the mobilization of these preformed pools.
Application modeling description language for reconfigurable co-processor computing

Growing demands on functionality in today's electronic products is leading to an increasing shift towards developing in-system programmable hardware in order to increase design flexibility. As a result, the development of embedded applications is becoming more and more important. The application modeling description language (AMDL) is a language created to aid user designing and creating application while hiding all hardware implementation and execution details. The AMDL represents a collection of the functions that can be used directly or be programmed by the end users. In this paper we mainly discuss about the concept of AMDL with its execution environment -Translator, which is designed by the new development methodology - Lex and Yacc. Here we named the software application, both AMDL and Translator as PACO v0.1
Comparability of self rated health: cross sectional multi-country survey using anchoring vignettes

Abstract Objective To examine differences in expectations for health using anchoring vignettes, which describe fixed levels of health on dimensions such as mobility. Design Cross sectional survey of adults living in the community. Setting China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. Participants 3012 men and women aged 18 years and older (self ratings); subsample of 406 (vignette ratings). Main outcome measures Self rated mobility levels and ratings of hypothetical vignettes using the same questions and response categories. Results Consistent rankings of vignettes are evidence that vignettes are understood in similar ways in different settings, and internal consistency of orderings on two mobility questions indicates good comprehension. Variation in vignette ratings across age groups suggests that expectations for mobility decline with age. Comparison of responses to two different mobility questions supports the assumption that individual ratings of hypothetical vignettes relate to expectations for health in similar ways as self assessments. Conclusions Anchoring vignettes could provide a powerful tool for understanding and adjusting for the influence of different health expectations on self ratings of health. Incorporating anchoring vignettes in surveys can improve the comparability of self reported measures.
Diagnostic Utility of Blood Volume Monitoring in Hemodialysis Patients

characteristic curve to predict volume excess were 0.48 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33 to 0.63) for UFR index, 0.71 (95% CI, 0.60 to 0.83) for RBV slope, and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.86) for volume index. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve to predict volume depletion were 0.56 (95% CI, 0.38 to 0.74) for UFR index, 0.55 (95% CI, 0.38 to 0.72) for RBV slope, and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.48 to 0.76) for volume index. Limitations:Dialysis-related symptoms and echocardiographic findings are not validated measures of volume. Our results were not adjusted for demographic or clinical characteristics; performance characteristics of the indices may differ across populations. Conclusions:Volume index appears to be a novel marker of volume, but requires validation studies, and its utility needs to be tested in clinical trials. Am J Kidney Dis51:242-254.©2008 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc. INDEX WORDS:Hemodialysis; blood volume monitoring; echocardiograms; volume overload; intradialytic hypotension; diagnostic test studies.
Surface-induced ion neutralization with high energy deposition†

Ion-to-neutral conversion at surfaces is found to be complementary to that with gas-phase targets for neutralization–reionization mass spectrometry and to yield high-energy neutral species. With an Ag surface deposited on an in-line Si substrate, neutralization–reionization efficiencies of 0.01% are achieved using 9.8 keV CH, with the neutral CH4 receiving a median internal energy of 14 eV; with a conventional target of K vapor, the efficiency is 0.4% with a neutral energy of 8.2 eV expected from their ionization energy difference. The energy deposition can be increased by increasing the potential that deflects ions into the surface; in this way ∼15% of CH4 neutral species can be given >20 eV of internal energy. Product abundances from CH4 dissociation provide a useful estimate of the distribution of energy values deposited in neutralization.
Antigen-Specific Immunotherapeutic Vaccine for Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis (MG) and experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) are caused by Ab-mediated autoimmune responses to muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) that impair neuromuscular transmission, thereby causing muscle weakness. Previously, we discovered that i.p. injection of a therapeutic vaccine consisting of bacterially expressed cytoplasmic domains of human AChR subunits reduced the development of chronic EAMG in rats. In this article, we show that immunization with the therapeutic vaccine in adjuvants does not induce EAMG and, thus, is safe. The potency and efficacy of the therapeutic vaccine were greatly increased by s.c. administration of repeated low doses in IFA. Onset of chronic EAMG could be prevented. Established chronic EAMG could be rapidly reversed, modeling therapy of chronic MG. Therapy reduced pathological Abs assayed by immune precipitation of a main immunogenic region chimera. Successfully treated rats exhibited long-term resistance to reinduction of EAMG, suggesting a lasting cure of MG. A long-term effect of therapy was to change the isotype of the pathogenic Ab response from IgG2b, which fixes complement, to IgG1, which does not. Prevention and reversal of chronic EAMG was not caused by the isotype switch, but the isotype switch may contribute to resistance to reinduction of EAMG. Immunization with AChR cytoplasmic domains in adjuvant is promising as a safe, Ag-specific, potent, effective, rapidly acting, and long-lasting therapeutic approach to MG.
The Khoros software development environment for image and signal processing

Data flow visual language systems allow users to graphically create a block diagram of their applications and interactively control input, output, and system variables. Khoros is an integrated software development environment for information processing and visualization. It is particularly attractive for image processing because of its rich collection of tools for image and digital signal processing. This paper presents a general overview of Khoros with emphasis on its image processing and DSP tools. Various examples are presented and the future direction of Khoros is discussed. >
Changes in left ventricular diastolic filling patterns by Doppler echocardiography in cystic fibrosis.

The onset of cor pulmonale is a common terminal finding in patients with cystic fibrosis. Since Doppler echocardiography can detect changes in diastolic filling patterns prior to the onset of either systolic dysfunction or clinical symptoms, we utilized this technique to determine whether detectable changes in left ventricular diastolic filling patterns exist in patients with cystic fibrosis. Among 25 patients, the proportion of left ventricular filling attributable to atrial contraction was significantly increased when compared with age-matched control individuals. When filling patterns were compared with severity of pulmonary disease, worsening pulmonary disease was directly correlated to shifts in left ventricular filling patterns. We conclude that changes in left ventricular patterns of relaxation are detectable early in the course of cystic fibrosis and that such changes are probably progressive. Early detection could lead to therapeutic trials designed to improve left ventricular filling and delay the onset of overt cor pulmonale. (Chest 1991; 99:646–50)
Dynamic ventriculography and the role of the ejection fraction.

Cardiac function is best evaluated in two different states since function may be normal at rest and abnormalities may become evident only when a load or stress is applied to the cardiovascular system. Such an intervention is exercise, typically used to provoke changes in the electrocardiogram or phonocardiogram, particularly when these are normal at rest. Similarly, hemodynamics have been studied in the cardiac catheterization laboratory at rest and during exercise. 1,2 These studies have concerned changes in pressures and flow, but not in the function of the heart as a pump, primarily because of the limitations of technique for quantifying the displacement capabilities of the beating heart. The advent of ventriculography allowed changes in wall motion and ventricular volume to be evaluated throughout the cardiac cycle. Most recently, the pumping action of the left ventricle has been analyzed, not only at rest but during a second state designed to test the reserve capacity of the heart in a manner similar to that of the earlier studies of pressure and flow. Dynamic ventriculography is the term that best characterizes this type of investigation.
Effectiveness of a Dynamic Load Balancing Library for Scientific Applications

The design of a general-purpose dynamic load balancing library for a vast variety of parallel applications is a very challenging task. The library has to address potentially unpredictable load imbalance in the application, to interface with the data structures native to the application and to achieve significant performance improvement and scalability. In this paper we look into the design and sample results of a new dynamic load balancing library called LB Migrate, targeted for large scientific applications with parallel loops as a major source of concurrency. The applicatons must supply the library a routine that encapsulates the computations for a chunk of loop iterates, and the data for the computations must be stored in an array of arbitary type. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the library on two real applications - the profiling of an automatic quadrature routine problem and for a simulation of a hybrid model for image denoising. The experimental results indicate that the library achieves up to 60 % performance improvement for these applications.
Network constrained clustering for gene microarray data

Many bioinformatics problems can be tackled from a fresh angle offered by the network perspective. Directly inspired by metabolic network structural studies, we propose an improved gene clustering approach for inferring gene signaling pathways from gene microarray data. Based on the construction of co-expression networks that consists of both significantly linear and non-linear gene associations together with controlled biological and statistical significance, our approach tends to group functionally related genes into tight clusters despite their expression dissimilarities. We illustrate our approach and compare it to the traditional clustering approaches on a yeast galactose metabolism dataset and a retinal gene expression dataset. Our approach greatly outperforms the traditional approach in rediscovering the relatively well known galactose metabolism pathway in yeast and in clustering genes of the photoreceptor differentiation pathway. Availability: The clustering method has been implemented in an R package 'GeneNT' that is freely available from: http://www.cran.org. Contact: [email protected]