cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A history of sweeteners--natural and synthetic.

Sweetness for the prehistoric man was the taste sensation obtained from sweet berries and honey. Man's quest for other sweet things led to sucose, starch-derived sugars, and synthetic sweeteners. An unusual source of sweet taste is a West African berry known as miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum). This fruit possesses a taste-modifying substance that causes sour foods--e.g., lemons, limes, or grapefruit--to taste sweet. The active principle was found to be a glycoprotein. Until this time, only small molecules were considered sweet-evoking substances, but now macromolecules are considered capable of participating in taste perception. The intense sweetener of the fruit of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii, called the serendipity berry, was revealed to be a protein. The intensely sweet principle of Thaumatococcus daniellii, called katemfe, was reported in 1972 to contain two proteins having intense sweetness. Since intensely sweet protein sweeteners act directly on taste buds as a probe, a peptide linkage analogous to the aspartic acid sweeteners may be partly responsible for their sweetness.
Analysis of anti-HLA antibodies in sensitized kidney transplant candidates subjected to desensitization with intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab.

Background Preexisting donor-specific antibodies against human leukocyte antigens are major risk factors for acute antibody-mediated and chronic rejection of kidney transplant grafts. Immunomodulation (desensitization) protocols may reduce antibody concentration and improve the success of transplant. We investigated the effect of desensitization with intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab on the antibody profile in highly sensitized kidney transplant candidates. Methods In 31 transplant candidates (calculated panel-reactive antibody [cPRA], 34%-99%), desensitization included intravenous immunoglobulin on days 0 and 30 and a single dose of rituximab on day 15. Anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies were analyzed before and after desensitization. Results Reduction of cPRA from 25% to 50% was noted for anti-class I (5 patients, within 20-60 days) and anti-class II (3 patients, within 10-20 days) antibodies. After initial reduction of cPRA, the cPRA increased within 120 days. In 24 patients, decrease in mean fluorescence intensity of antibodies by more than 50% was noted at follow-up, but there was no reduction of cPRA. Rebound occurred in 65% patients for anti-class I antibodies at 350 days and anti-class II antibodies at 101 to 200 days. Probability of rebound effect was higher in patients with mean fluorescence intensity of more than 10,700 before desensitization, anti-class II antibodies, and history of previous transplant. Conclusions The desensitization protocol had limited efficacy in highly sensitized kidney transplant candidate because of the short period with antibody reduction and high frequency of rebound effect.
Price fixing via rating bureaus: the case of the title insurance industry

Abstract This paper argues that there is need for reform in the title insurance industry in the United States. In particular the combination of the regulatory process and the existence of rating bureaus in many states have led to price fixing and excess profits for title insurance in most areas.
Entrepreneurial Teams and Start-Up Capital Sources: A Network Ambidexterity Approach

Utilizing recent advances in the study of entrepreneurial network ambidexterity and the development of a team based theory of entrepreneurship, this study explores the relationship between sources of start-up capital and the presence of a team based governance system. This study suggests that the presence of an entrepreneurial team may result in a strategic affinity for particular source of start-up capital due to the presence of shared network ties among team members. We extend current conceptualization of start-up capital availability and investor signaling to suggest a non- recursive relationship between entrepreneurial firms and capital sources. Our exploratory findings, partially confirmed utilizing data from the US Census Bureaus’ Survey of Business Owners, suggest the relationship between capital sources and firms is much more complex than currently thought.
New truths and old verities

An environment for learning should be established that reflects an informed awareness of how people learn, one that prepares all students for life and work in a society dominated by science and technology and is based on the expectation that all students can learn science and mathematics.
Measuring the impact of character recognition errors on downstream text analysis

Noise presents a serious challenge in optical character recognition, as well as in the downstream applications that make use of its outputs as inputs. In this paper, we describe a paradigm for measuring the impact of recognition errors on the stages of a standard text analysis pipeline: sentence boundary detection, tokenization, and part-of-speech tagging. Employing a hierarchical methodology based on approximate string matching for classifying errors, their cascading effects as they travel through the pipeline are isolated and analyzed. We present experimental results based on injecting single errors into a large corpus of test documents to study their varying impacts depending on the nature of the error and the character(s) involved. While most such errors are found to be localized, in the worst case some can have an amplifying effect that extends well beyond the site of the original error, thereby degrading the performance of the end-to-end system.© (2008) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Control and Collaboration: Digital Fabrication Strategies in Academia and Practice:

The integration of digital tools currently being used in many schools and offices with Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) hardware, has allowed architects to exert a far greater degree of control than they have previously been afforded. It is precisely this control that enables greater collaboration during design phases between architects and fabricators. However, the impact of this integration on academia and small practice is unknown. Several questions remain to be answered regarding teaching fabrication techniques and identifying strategies suitable for adoption in small firms. This paper investigates digital fabrication not as a software-specific set of capabilities, but as a design methodology that can allow schools to graduate young practitioners who can use these concepts to design and manage projects in more sophisticated ways. We outline six control and collaboration strategies and present several projects that explore those concepts through analog, digital, and hybrid methods.
Assurance Seals, On-Line Customer Satisfaction, and Repurchase Intention

This study explores how third-party assurance seals, a privacy service provided by vendors to mitigate customers' fears, has an impact on on-line customer satisfaction and repeat-purchase intention. It asks the following research questions: Do assurance seals influence on-line service experience? If so, how do they affect consumers' satisfaction and repeat-purchase intention? The study shows, first, that seals provide a frame such that a consumer's overall satisfaction and repeat-purchase intention would be higher when vendors provide assurance seals than when they do not. Second, applying the concept of diminishing sensitivity, it shows that consumers would be subjectively less sensitive to service performance of vendors who provide seals than vendors who do not provide seals. The hypotheses are tested on data obtained from Bizrate.com. The empirical analysis supports the hypotheses.
Dissecting the protein-RNA and RNA-RNA interactions in the nucleocapsid-mediated dimerization and isomerization of HIV-1 stemloop 1.

The specific binding of HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein (NC) to the different forms assumed in vitro by the stemloop 1 (Lai variant) of the genome's packaging signal has been investigated using electrospray ionization-Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS). The simultaneous observation of protein–RNA and RNA–RNA interactions in solution has provided direct information about the role of NC in the two-step model of RNA dimerization and isomerization. In particular, two distinct binding sites have been identified on the monomeric stemloop structure, corresponding to the apical loop and stem-bulge motifs. These sites share similar binding affinities that are intermediate between those of stemloop 3 (SL3) and the putative stemloop 4 (SL4) of the packaging signal. Binding to the apical loop, which contains the dimerization initiation site (DIS), competes directly with the annealing of self-complementary sequences to form a metastable kissing-loop (KL) dimer. In contrast, binding to the stem-bulge affects indirectly the monomer–dimer equilibrium by promoting the rearrangement of KL into the more stable extended duplex (ED) conformer. This process is mediated by the duplex-melting activity of NC, which destabilizes the intramolecular base-pairs surrounding the KL stem-bulges and enables their exchange to form the inter-strand pairs that define the ED structure. In this conformer, high-affinity binding takes place at stem-bulge sites that are identical to those present in the monomeric and KL forms. In this case, however, the NC-induced “breathing” does not result in dissociation of the double-stranded structure because of the large number of intermolecular base-pairs. The different binding modes manifested by conformer-specific mutants have shown that NC can also provide low affinity interactions with the bulged-out adenine bases flanking the DIS region of the ED conformer, thus supporting the hypothesis that these exposed nucleotides may constitute “base-grips” for protein contacts during the late stages of the viral lifecycle.
Tradeoffs in the placement of time delay in a large, wideband antenna array

Time delay units are needed in large, wideband arrays that scan to angles far from boresight. The time delay consists of many different sizes of transmission line lengths that incrementally increase the signal path length. This paper shows the trade-offs between cost and performance in the placement of the time delay in a corporate feed.
Non-Cooperative Decentralized Charging of Homogeneous Households' Batteries in a Smart Grid

For the efficient operation of the smart grid, it is important that there is an instant by instant matching between the electricity supply and the power consumption. Electrical power storage provides a viable solution to managing power supply and electrical loads as well as unexpected imbalances. Electricity suppliers could deploy electricity storage facilities at various levels of the smart grid system: generation, transmission, substations and residential level. Storage would significantly address the power quality and reliability problems through peak shaving and frequency control. It also reduces the need for huge infrastructural expenditures by making them more efficient. At the residential level, smart storage together with dynamic pricing in the deregulated electricity markets presents the electricity suppliers with a strategy to achieve grid stability. In this paper, we consider a smart grid environment with a high penetration of households' storage batteries. By using an appropriate electricity price structure, the electricity supplier influences households' electricity consumption. On the other hand, the households aim to minimize their electricity bills by capitalizing on price fluctuation to schedule their electrical appliances and coordinate the charging and discharging of their batteries. The electricity supplier has a dynamic power limit for each hour that must not be exceeded by the hourly aggregate load of the households. Further, we assume that in supplying electrical power, the households' electrical devices are given priority over their storage devices. The policy is such that batteries will be charged by the residual power after the appliances loads have been satisfied. The households have to compete for the residual electricity so as to maximize the state of charge of their batteries. We have therefore modeled this system as a non-cooperative Nash equilibrium game where the households are considered as selfish but rational players whose objectives are to optimize their individual utilities.
Mandibular osteomyelitis caused by Actinomyces israelii.

Abstract Mandibular osteomyelitis due to Actinomyces israelii is considered rare in the pediatric population. The initial complaint of the 7-year-old girl described here was increased mobility of several permanent teeth. A specific diagnosis was aggressively pursued with biopsy and anaerobic cultures to prevent the loss of these permanent teeth.
Measurement of pH and Redox Potential in Boric Acid/Lithium Hydroxide Buffer Solutions at Elevated Temperatures

A palladium‐hydride electrode (Pd black on Pt) was used for the measurement of pH in high temperature aqueous systems (25°–275°C). The electrode potential was calibrated against boric acid/lithium hydroxide buffer solutions, whose vs. temperature profiles have been calculated (1) using known dissociation constants for the components. The plateau potential for the α+β phase was observed up to 150°C, but was not observed above 200°C. The potential measured above 200°C was identified to be the redox potential and to correspond to the hydrogen electrode potential in the case of a hydrogenated system. The redox potential measured in hydrogenated systems were found to exhibit linear Nernstian responses to temperatures up to 275°C, but deviations of the measured potentials from equilibrium values were detected at temperatures above 200°C. The deviations are most probably due to uncertainties in the thermal and isothermal liquid junction potentials associated with the external reference electrode, and to uncertainties in the thermodynamic properties of high temperature aqueous solutions.
The role of proinflammatory cytokines in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Objective: Proinflammatory cytokines are known to play roles in ischemia-reperfusion injury of the heart, kidney, small bowel, skin, and liver. Little is known about their roles in ischemia-reperfusion injury of the lung. This study was undertaken to define the role of 2 proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β, in ischemia-reperfusion injury of the lung. Methods: Left lungs of male rats were rendered ischemic for 90 minutes and reperfused for up to 4 hours. Treated animals received anti-tumor necrosis factor α or anti-interleukin 1β antibody before reperfusion. Increased vascular permeability in the lung was measured by using iodine 125-labeled bovine serum albumin. Neutrophil sequestration in the lung parenchyma was determined on the basis of activity. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed to measure cell counts. Separate tissue samples were processed for histology, cytokine protein, and messenger RNA content by using Western blotting and the ribonuclease protection assay. Results: Animals receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor α and anti-interleukin 1β demonstrated reduced injury compared with that seen in positive control animals (vascular permeability of 48.7% and 29.4% lower, respectively; P <.001). Vascular injury was reduced by 71% when antibodies to tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β were administered together. Lung neutrophil accumulation was markedly reduced among animals receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor α and anti-interleukin 1β (myeloperoxidase content of 30.9% and 38.5% lower, respectively; P <.04) and combination blockade afforded even greater protection (52.4% decrease, P <.01). Bronchoalveolar lavage leukocyte content was also reduced by treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor α, anti-interleukin 1β, and combination treatment. Reductions in permeability, myeloperoxidase, and bronchoalveolar lavage leukocyte content also resulted in a decrease in a histologic injury. Finally, anti-tumor necrosis factor α and anti-interleukin 1β treatment resulted in decreased messenger RNA expression for a number of early response and regulatory cytokines. Conclusion: Tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β help regulate the development of lung ischemia-reperfusion injury. They appear to promote injury by altering expression of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and influencing tissue neutrophil recruitment. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003;125:261-72
The Imaging 3.0 Informatics Scorecard

Abstract Imaging 3.0 is a radiology community initiative to empower radiologists to create and demonstrate value for their patients, referring physicians, and health systems. In image-guided health care, radiologists contribute to the entire health care process, well before and after the actual examination, and out to the point at which they guide clinical decisions and affect patient outcome. Because imaging is so pervasive, radiologists who adopt Imaging 3.0 concepts in their practice can help their health care systems provide consistently high-quality care at reduced cost. By doing this, radiologists become more valuable in the new health care setting. The authors describe how informatics is critical to embracing Imaging 3.0 and present a scorecard that can be used to gauge a radiology group's informatics resources and capabilities.
Speech synthesis using partial syllables

Abstract This article describes a method for synthesizing Arabic speech by using segments (synthesis units) which are parts of syllables. The method has several advantages. It is inherently capable of dealing with most phonetic variations of the sounds of modern standard Arabic; it permits speech to be synthesized using simple concatenation rules and synthesis techniques such as direct waveform concatenation of the synthesis units; and it allows the realization of prosodic features on segments because the segments are derived from Arabic syllables. Most intersyllabic coarticulations cannot be treated directly by this method. This has prompted a phonetic study of Arabic speech following the present method; we have investigated contextual variations of Arabic sounds and related these variations to the synthesis units. This enabled us to define a small number of allophones of the synthesis units which when included in the text-to-speech transcription process improved the quality of the synthesized speech. The segmentation of the Arabic syllables into synthesis units, on both phonetic and parametric levels, is similar to standard demisyllabic segmentation used by other speech synthesis researchers. However, it differs in one important respect which we have investigated. Synthesized speech is produced by two synthesis techniques: time-domain waveform concatenation and linear predictive (LPC) techniques. Time-domain waveform concatenation is used because it is simple and easy to carry out and is attractive since the juncture points between any contiguous synthesis units are stable. It involves direct concatenation of the digital data that represent the synthesis units. LPC synthesis is used because it eases the treatment of certain distortions which are introduced by the synthesis process. It is a parametric method that allows certain suprasegmental aspects of speech to be modified. This results in memory saving because it allows us to compare speech produced by the two synthesis techniques. The types of distortion introduced by concatenating the synthesis units are studied. It is shown how the stability of the juncture points between contiguous units and the phonological properties of Arabic syllables and speech make it possible to avoid these problems. This can be achieved by using simple synthesis techniques such as direct waveform concatenation and shows how problems can be avoided by using a parametric synthesis technique such as LPC. To demonstrate the suitability of the present method for the synthesis of Arabic speech, the method has been implemented as a non-real-time text-to-speech system on a personal computer (PC) and the intelligibility of the synthesized speech has been established by conducting perception tests.
Inductors and Transformers: Enabling the Gigahertz Silicon IC Revolution

Today we are all accustomed to miniature wireless devices embedded in our mobile phones, laptops, printers, thermostats, and even watches and glasses! This wireless revolution has its roots in technology scaling, in particular smaller and faster transistors allowing higher speed operation, into the gigahertz regime where antennas are small and plenty of bandwidth exists for high speed communication. Along the way we can identify many key ideas, process technology advancements, and other innovations that took us from brick sized mobile phones to today's sleek devices. One key idea along the way was the realization that on-chip inductors and transformers were an enabling technology to make this happen. In their seminal paper in 1990 [1], Prof. Meyer and his graduate student Nhat Nguyen were the first to have this key insight, and they demonstrated that inductors on the silicon substrate were viable for the realization of LC tanks and filters, low phase noise VCOs, and other key building blocks operating in the gigahertz frequency range (See Fig. 1) [2][3].
Soft-tissue sarcoma: initial characteristics and prognostic factors in patients with and without metastatic disease.

Five hundred and sixty-five patients with soft-tissue sarcoma were admitted to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from July 1, 1982 to July 1, 1985. Clinical and pathologic factors were analyzed to identify initial characteristics and to determine factors associated with prognosis and the development of metastasis. In decreasing order of frequency, the most common sites of primary tumor were the extremity (51.1%), retroperito-neum/viscera (28.8%), trunk (15.9%), head and neck (3.7%) and breast (0.4%). The most common histologie types were liposarcoma (21.4%), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (20.2%), leiomyosarcoma (20.0%), fibrosarcoma (11.0%), and tendosynovial sarcoma (9.6%). One hundred and twenty-eight patients (22.7%) had metastases in a median follow-up period of 19 months. Metastasis was more common in patients with retroperito-neal and visceral sarcomas than in patients with extremity sarcomas. Patients with leiomyosarcomas were more likely to develop metastases than those with other histologie types. Fibrosarcoma and liposarcomas were the least likely to develop metastases in this time frame. Tumors greater than 5 cm in diameter occurred more frequently in patients with metastases. Actuarial survival was related to the site of primary tumor and the histologie type and grade of malignancy. Multivariate analysis indicated that patients with low-grade sarcomas, extremity sarcomas, and fibrosarcomas and patients without metastatic disease demonstrated significantly improved survival. In patients with metastases, disease-free interval ( 365 days) was significantly related to overall survival. Thus the development of metastatic disease and prognosis in patients with soft-tissue sarcoma is significantly associated with specific clinical and pathologic factors, including site of primary tumor, histologie type, histologie grade, and disease-free interval.
MSX1 inhibits MyoD expression in fibroblast × 10T½ cell hybrids

Transfer of human chromosome 11, which contains the myoD locus, from primary fibroblasts into 10T1/2 cells results in activation of myoD. In contrast, hybrids that retain human chromosome 11 and additional human chromosomes fail to activate myoD. We show that human chromosome 4 inhibits myoD activation. myoD enhancer/promoter reporter constructs show that repression is at the transcriptional level. Chromosome fragment-containing hybrids localize the repressing activity to the region of 4p that contains the homeobox gene MSX1. MSX1 is expressed in primary human fibroblasts and in 10T1/2 cells containing human chromosome 4, while parental 10T1/2 cells do not express Msx1. Forced expression of Msx1 represses myoD enhancer activity. Msx1 protein binds to the myoD enhancer and likely represses myoD transcription directly. Antisense MSX1 relieves repression mediated by chromosome 4. We conclude that MSX1 inhibits transcription of myoD and that myoD is a target for homeobox gene regulation.
Differential effects of limbic versus striatal dopamine loss on motoric function

Abstract Bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine injections into either the ventral tegmental area, or the substantia nigra pars compacta in rats, produced severe losses of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens-olfactory tubercle and striatum respectively. After 1 and 3 months postoperation, the depletion of limbic dopamine was associated with reduced spontaneous locomotor activity, which was enhanced by apomorphine (0.125 mg/kg), but not amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg). The severe loss of striatal dopamine had no persistent effect on spontaneous or d -amphetamine-induced locomotor activity, but did produce a persistent augmentation of rigidity. Although there was considerable recovery, both lesions chronically increased catalepsy scores. The results of this study suggested that limbic dopamine deficits may be important in initiation of movement; whereas, striatal dopamine deficits may contribute more to the rigidity aspects of Parkinsonism.
NKG2D contributes to efficient clearance of picornavirus from the acutely infected murine brain

Activated murine cytotoxic T cells express the NKG2D natural cytotoxicity receptor. This receptor recognizes major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-like molecules expressed on the surface of infected cells and serves to augment T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. The role of NKG2D-mediated augmentation in the clearance of central nervous system viral infections has not been explored. Using the Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus model, the authors found that NKG2D-positive CD8+ cytotoxic T cells enter the brain, that NKG2D ligands are expressed in the brain during acute infection, and that interruption of NKG2D ligand recognition via treatment with a function-blocking antibody attenuates the efficacy of viral clearance from the central nervous system.
Americium metallides: AmAs, AmSb, AmBi, Am3Se4, and AmSe2

Abstract The crystal structures of several americium metallides were determined using the long-lived americium-243 isotope. Three of the binary systems produced alloys near the equiatomic compositions (AmAs, AmSb and AmBi), which were found to have the NaCl-type structure. Two compounds were identified in the AmSe system: (1) Am3Se4, which was found to have a bcc structure and (2) AmSe2 (less certain), with a tetragonal structure. The lattice parameters, calculated and observed d-spacings, and calculated and observed line intensities for these compounds are reported.
The use of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities to assess moderately mentally retarded children

The performance of a sample of moderately mentally retarded children on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was investigated by comparing their obtained mental age (MA) scores with their Stanford-Binet MAs and Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI) developmental ages (DAs). All three MA estimates correlated significantly, and there were no significant differences among mean MAs. However, valid MSCA Index scores could not be obtained for these moderately retarded children, using the current normative tables. Therefore, the MSCA cannot be recommended for measuring the intellectual level of retarded children for educational classification purposes.
A neural network approach to identifying non-point sources of microbial contamination

Commonly measured fecal bacteria concentrations in water and rainfall data were utilized as inputs for training a neural network model to distinguish between urban and agricultural fecal contamination present in inputs to a drinking water reservoir. Seven sites were selected that represented differing degrees of fecal contamination arising from agricultural, urban, or a blend of both land use activities. The absence of human sewage at the inlet sites to the reservoir was determined by analysis for coprostannol and serotyping of male-specific coliphage. Analyses for fecal coliform (FC), fecal streptococci (FS), total coliform (TC) and coliphage were conducted over 2 years from weekly samples collected from these sites during dry and rainy times during warm seasons. The average concentrations of microorganisms measured were highly variable and analysis of FC/FS ratios was not able to differentiate between urban or agriculturally impacted sites. A neural network model was written that used bacterial and weather data to differentiate between three site classifications: urban, agricultural and a mixture of these. The validity of the source identification, neural network model was verified through case study.
The social construction of the human brain.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to review the development of concepts about the contribution of nature and nurture to brain structure and mental function, and to derive the implications of these changing concepts for clinical practice. Method: The literature of the past five decades, as refracted by the author's personal experience in academic psychiatry during that interval, is reviewed. Results: Psychiatric theory has swung through mighty arcs in recent years but has begun to re-equilibrate. Fifty years ago, psychoanalysis dominated the academic scene; for the past two decades, reductionist biological determinism has held the fort. Neither position is tenable. To subscribe to either is possible only by ignoring conflicting evidence. Worse, it means short-changing patients, whose disorders do not come neatly packaged into "organic" and "functional" compartments. Development is neither predestined in the genome nor completely malleable to shaping by the environment. Children inherit, along with ...
Multiplicity and word sense: evaluating and learning from multiply labeled word sense annotations

Supervised machine learning methods to model word sense often rely on human labelers to provide a single, ground truth label for each word in its context. We examine issues in establishing ground truth word sense labels using a fine-grained sense inventory from WordNet. Our data consist of a sentence corpus of 1,000 sentences: 100 for each of ten moderately polysemous words. Each word was given multiple sense labels--or a multilabel--from trained and untrained annotators. The multilabels give a nuanced representation of the degree of agreement on instances. A suite of assessment metrics is used to analyze the sets of multilabels, such as comparisons of sense distributions across annotators. Our assessment indicates that the general annotation procedure is reliable, but that words differ regarding how reliably annotators can assign WordNet sense labels, independent of the number of senses. We also investigate the performance of an unsupervised machine learning method to infer ground truth labels from various combinations of labels from the trained and untrained annotators. We find tentative support for the hypothesis that performance depends on the quality of the set of multilabels, independent of the number of labelers or their training.
A note on incomplete integrals of cylindrical functions

Abstract Representations for incomplete Lipschitz–Hankel integrals of cylindrical functions are given in closed-form by using Kampe de Feriet double hypergeometric functions. In addition, reduction formulae for the Kampe de Feriet functions associated with these integrals are provided for some cases.
The relationship between the entry of isoproturon into Alopecurus myosuroides and its effect on growth and CO2 fixation

SUMMARY Alopecurus myosuroides (blackgrass) was grown in nutrient and with isoproturon added to the solution when plants had three leaves. The transpiration stream coefficient factor was calculated over a period of 96h after treatment to be approximately 1. On this basis isoproturon entry into A. myosuroides was estimated using data for water loss through plants and there was a linear relationship between herbicide entry and plant weight 14 days after treatment. Treatment for at least 7 days with isoproturon at a dose of 1 μg a.i./15 ml nutrient solution (≡ 0.32 × 10-6M) before returning plants to fresh nutrient was necessary for damage to be still evident after 14 days. This time period corresponded with the reduction of CO2 exchange to zero as measured by infra-red gas analysis. Some recovery occurred from 6 h treatment with 120 μg a.i. isoproturon/15 ml nutrient solution when assessed after returning plants to untreated nutrient for 14 days. A quicker depletion in CO2 uptake by blackgrass occurred when both the primary and secondary roots were treated compared with secondary alone but eventually the levels reached were similar. The ‘CALF’ model predicted much higher concentrations of isoproturon than appeared necessary to damage A. myosuroides. This suggests a major influence of climate on the plant and this and other interactions are discussed.
Spheroplasts from Rhizobium Japonicum

Abstract Stable spheroplasts from Rhizobium japonicum were obtained by exposing the cells, after pretreatment with sodium lauryl sulphate (0.1%), to a combination of lysozome and a lytic enzyme preparation from Cytophaga sp. in the presence of EDTA (0.01 M ), sorbitol (0.4 M ) and Tris buffer (0.025 M ) at pH 8.2. Lytic enzyme preparations from three Streptomyces species were also able to induce spheroplast formation in conjuction with lysozyme unxder similar conditions.
Enhancing access and retention in substance abuse treatment: The role of Medicaid payment acceptance and cultural competence

a b s t r a c t Background: Health insurance coverage and quality of care are common factors believed to improve access for and retention of racial and ethnic minority groups in health care. However, there is little evidence that acceptance of public insurance and provision of culturally responsive care decrease wait time and retention of minority populations in community-based substance abuse treatment. Methods: We analyzed client and program data collected in 2010–2011 from publicly funded treatment programs in Los Angeles County, CA. An analytical sample of 13,328 primarily African American and Latino clients nested within 104 treatment programs located in minority communities was analyzed using multilevel negative binomial regressions on count measures of days to initiate and days spent in treatment. Results: Programs that accepted public insurance (p < .001) and in which staff reported personal involvement (p < .01) and linkages and resources with minority communities (p < .001) were negatively associated with client wait time. Similarly, programs with culturally responsive policies and assessment and treatment practices (p < .05) were positively associated with retention in treatment, after controlling for individual and program characteristics. Conclusions: These preliminary findings provide an evidentiary base for the role of community-based financial and cultural practices in improving accessibility and treatment adherence in a population at high risk of treatment dropout. Implications related to health care reform legislation, which seeks to expand public insurance and enhance culturally competent care, are discussed.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay development for the beta-adrenergic agonist zilpaterol.

Zilpaterol is an beta-adrenergic agonist approved for use in cattle in South Africa and Mexico as a growth promoter. It is not currently approved for use in the EU, USA, or Asia. Here, we report the development of an ELISA for zilpaterol. Zilpaterol was reacted with ethyl 4-bromobutyrate followed by refluxing in 0.1 M potassium hydroxide. The resulting hapten was reacted with two carrier proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) or keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) as an activating agent. Immunization of goats with the zilpaterol-butyrate-KLH resulted in an antibody useful for an ELISA. We utilized zilpaterol-butyrate-BSA as a coating antigen for ELISA development. The average IC(50) derived from the developed zilpaterol immunoassay was 3.94 +/- 0.48 ng/mL (n = 25). The antibody did not cross react with N-alkyl [bamethane, clenbuterol, (-)-isoproterenol, (+)-isoproterenol, metaproterenol, or salbutamol] or N-arylalkyl (dobutamine, fenoterol, isoxsuprine, ractopamine, or salmeterol) beta-agonists. The assay was tolerant of up to 10% (v/v) of acetone, ethanol, or methanol, and 15% (v/v) of acetonitrile or DMSO. Salt concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 1.0 M minimally affected B(0) or IC(50) values. When buffer pH was 8.8, the IC(50) values increased in comparison to those measured at pH 7.4. In conclusion, a sensitive, specific zilpaterol ELISA has been developed that can serve as a rapid screening assay.
Advance directives in a pediatric emergency department

Parents of children with terminal illnesses are not always present when a life-threatening event occurs. For many of these children, an advance directive specifying alternate code orders has been written by the parent or legal guardian (hereafter the use of parent is to be interpreted as parent/legal guardian) and the patient's attending physician. Implementing a pediatric advanced directive presents significant problems for emergency personnel if the parent is not present to identify the existence of the directive and interpret the contents in the context of the current medical crisis.
DNA turnover: evidence from studies of steady-state bacterial populations.

Abstract Since the work of Hershey (1954) most biologists have regarded DNA pools of bacterial cells as stable or conservative. Nonetheless, turnover was invoked as a possible explanation of mutation in non-replicating bacterial cells (Ryan, 1949) and in spheroplasts ( Ryan et al. , 1963 ). It also could account for observations of mutation rates independent of growth rates in slowly growing cultures of Escherichia coli ( Novick & Szilard, 1950 ; Fox, 1955 ). Results of recent studies suggest DNA turnover in cultures of primary human amnion cells ( Chang & Vetrovs, 1963 ), mouse fibroblasts ( Thomson et al. , 1957 ), and bacteria ( Theil & Zamenhof, 1963 ). We have obtained evidence of DNA turnover from studies of carbon-flux through steady-state cultures of Aerobacter aerogenes under conditions of nitrogen limitation.
The Politics of, A Case Study

(2008). The Politics of, A Case Study. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning: Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 32-37.
Pyridinium Cationic Lipids in Gene Delivery: An in Vitro and in Vivo Comparison of Transfection Efficiency Versus a Tetraalkylammonium Congener

Abstract Cationic lipids provide a promising alternative to the use of viruses for delivering genes therapeutically. Among the several classes of lipidic vectors, those bearing a heterocyclic cationic head have shown important advantages, such as low cytotoxicity and improved efficiency across different cell lines. We recently reported a simple and efficient strategy for obtaining pyridinium cationic lipids, starting from pyrylium salts and primary amines. The present study is aimed to compare the cellular toxicity and transfection efficiency generated by the pyridinium polar head versus the tetramethylammonium one on several tumor cell lines and also in experimental animals, delivered via intratumor injections. Thus, the lead compound 1-(2,3-dioleoyloxypropyl)-2,4,6-trimethylpyridinium lipid ( 2Oc ), coformulated with different helper lipids in various molar ratios, was tested against its ammonium congener DOTAP—a standard transfection reagent. The results revealed that when formulated with cholesterol at 1:1 molar ratio, the pyridinium lipid 2Oc was able to transfect several cancer cell lines with similar or better efficiency than its tetraalkylammonium congener DOTAP, while producing lower cytotoxicity. The NCI-H23 lung cancer cell line was found to be the most susceptible to be transfected. Therefore, we designed an in vivo assay based on this type of carcinoma in nude mice, which were injected intratumoral with 2Oc- and DOTAP-based lipoplexes. The red fluorescent protein reporter revealed that the pyridinium cationic lipid was superior to its tetraalkylammonium congener, transfecting the tissue on a higher area and with higher efficiency. These encouraging findings, together with the simple and efficient synthetic strategy, lay the foundation for further development of pyridinium lipids for gene therapy with improved transfection efficiency in vivo and even further reduced cytotoxicity.
Using the theory of constraints to guide the implementation of quality improvement projects in manufacturing operations

Several studies have shown that more than 70% of all medium to large size companies (sales exceeding $19 million) have some form of quality improvement program in place. Based on independent studies by Arthur D. Little, Ernst & Young, and others, researchers have concluded that only about one-fifth of all QI programs achieve tangible results. One explanation for the disappointing results is that many quality improvement efforts are not results-oriented. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of using the theory of constraints for achieving a results-oriented quality improvement program.
Inner and outer approximations of technology: a data envelopment analysis approach

This paper discusses inner and outer approximation to a technology given by a data set of prices and quantities.
A study of integrated prefetching and caching strategies

Prefetching and caching are effective techniques for improving the performance of file systems, but they have not been studied in an integrated fashion. This paper proposes four properties that optimal integrated strategies for prefetching and caching must satisfy, and then presents and studies two such integrated strategies, called aggressive and conservative. We prove that the performance of the conservative approach is within a factor of two of optimal and that the performance of the aggressive strategy is a factor significantly less than twice that of the optimal case. We have evaluated these two approaches by trace-driven simulation with a collection of file access traces. Our results show that the two integrated prefetching and caching strategies are indeed close to optimal and that these strategies can reduce the running time of applications by up to 50%.
Correlative studies in optical reflectance measurements of cerebral blood oxygenation

A numerical study is made of correlation development for measuring cerebral blood oxygen saturation (StO) noninvasively using optical reflectance ratio of dual wavelengths. The Monte Carlo (MC) method was used for simulating reflectance measurements in a model neck tissue, where the cerebral blood oxygenation was monitored through the blood flows in the common carotid artery (CCA) and jugular vein. Reflectance ratios between two wavelengths at 633 and 800 nm were obtained under different blood vessel conditions. The results revealed a quantifiable correlation between the reflectance ratio and the cerebral StO level. Correlations for each of the blood vessel parameters such as the location, size, and hemoglobin concentration of the CCA or jugular vein (JV) were developed.
Radar Backscattering of Microwaves by Spongy Ice Spheres.

Abstract The radar backscattering cross section of a spongy ice hailstone—a mixture of ice and liquid water—depends on its size, shape and dielectric function. There are two types of theories of the effective dielectric function of two-component mixtures: Maxwell-Garnet and Bruggeman theories. In the latter, the two components are treated symmetrically, whereas in the former they are not. We have generalized the Maxwell-Garnet expression, originally derived for spherical inclusions in an otherwise homogeneous matrix, to ellipsoidal inclusions. When this expression, with all ellipsoidal shapes equally probable, is used in calculations of radar backscattering by ice spheres coated with spongy ice, the results are in generally good agreement with measured cross sections. Agreement is better if the inclusions are ellipsoidal rather than spherical, but only slightly so. Shape considerations are less important than taking ice to be the inclusions and liquid water to be the matrix.
Modeling Low-Platinum-Loading Effects in Fuel-Cell Catalyst Layers

The cathode catalyst layer within a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell is the most complex and critical, yet least understood, layer within the cell. The exact method and equations for modeling this layer are still being revised and will be discussed in this paper, including a 0.8 reaction order, existence of Pt oxides, possible non-isopotential agglomerates, and the impact of a film resistance towards oxygen transport. While the former assumptions are relatively straightforward to understand and implement, the latter film resistance is shown to be critically important in explaining increased mass-transport limitations with low Pt-loading catalyst layers. Model results demonstrate agreement with experimental data that the increased oxygen flux and/or diffusion pathway through the film can substantially decrease performance. Also, some scale-up concepts from the agglomerate scale to the more macroscopic porous-electrode scale are discussed and the resulting optimization scenarios investigated.
Primary Cytomegalovirus Infection in Liver Transplant Recipients: Comparison of Infections Transmitted Via Donor Organs and Via Transfusions

Primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in liver transplant recipients generally occurs following transmission via a CMV-seropositive donor organ. Occasionally primary infection arises in recipients of CMV-seronegative donor organs through blood transfusions. We studied the differences in clinical manifestations of primary CMV infection associated with these two modes of transmission, among 40 liver transplant recipients who had documented primary CMV infection post-transplantation. Thirty-one of 40 patients received a CMV-seropositive donor organ; CMV infection in the other nine patients was transfusion related. Symptomatic CMV disease (22 of 31 vs. 4 of 9; P = .06), CMV hepatitis (20 of 31 vs. 1 of 9; P = .007), invasive fungal disease (13 of 31 vs. 0 of 9; P = .03), and death (16 of 31 vs. 1 of 9; P = .06) were more likely to occur in patients with donor organ-associated primary CMV infection. The incubation period between transplantation and onset of CMV infection, a possible marker for viral load, was shorter in recipients of donor organ-transmitted CMV infection (median, 44 vs. 137 days; P = .004). Controlling for potential confounders such as immunosuppression did not alter these associations. Primary CMV infection associated with the donor organ has a more profound impact than primary infection associated with transfusion. These differences may be due to dissimilarities in the viral load associated with donated livers and transfused blood products.