cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Signal transduction pathways activated by engaging immunoglobulin Fc receptors on chicken heterophils.

Abstract In the present studies, we initiated experiments to identify the signal transduction factors involved in activating phagocytosis, oxidative burst, and degranulation following the binding of IgG-opsonized SE to Fc receptors on the surface of avian heterophils. Peripheral blood heterophils were isolated and exposed to known inhibitors of signal transduction pathways for either 20 min (chelerythine, genistein, or verapamil) or 120 min (pertussis toxin) at 39°C. The cells were then stimulated for 30 min at 39°C with SE opsonized with IgG purified from SE-immune chickens. Phagocytosis, luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (LDCL), and β- d -glucuronidase release were then evaluated in vitro. The G-protein inhibitor, pertussis toxin, the protein kinase C inhibitor, chelerythine, and the Ca ++ channel blocker, verapamil, markedly reduced phagocytosis in a dose responsive manner. Genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, had no effect on the phagocytosis of the opsonized SE. Both pertussis toxin (66–98%) and verapamil (47–76%) had marked inhibitory effect on LDCL. Chelerythine (13–25%) and genistein (5–25%) had far less biologically significant effects on LDCL. Neither chelerythine nor genistein had a significant effect on degranulation. Verapamil (2–28%) and pertussis toxin (25–29%) had a moderate inhibitory effect on degranulation stimulated by IgG-opsonized SE. As was found with complement receptor mediated activation of heterophils, the binding of Fc receptors by the IgG–SE complex activated distinct signaling pathways that regulate the functional activities of avian heterophils. Pertussis toxin-sensitive, Ca ++ -dependent, G-proteins and protein kinase C-dependent protein phosphorylation play a major role in the phagocytosis of IgG-opsonized SE. Pertussis toxin-sensitive, Ca ++ -dependent, G-proteins appear to regulate LDCL following Fc receptor binding. The signal transduction inhibitors used in these studies did not affect Fc receptor mediated degranulation by avian heterophils.
"How am I doing? Just ask me!" The usefulness of patient self-reported quality of life in thoracic surgery.

Estimates of risk for a poor outcome after thoracotomy and lung resection are based primarily on pulmonary function tests, dyspnea scales, andmeasurements of cardiorespiratory reserve. Operative risks have decreased for most patients during the past 20 years for a variety of reasons, and this in turn has allowed experienced centers to offer surgical intervention for more impaired patients. Previous prohibitive benchmarks that excluded some patients from surgical intervention (such as forced expiratory volume in 1 second <1 L) are no longer considered nonoperative thresholds. There has been interest in gaining the participation of the patient with pulmonary impairment in this assessment of risk and baseline quality of life. After all, the patients themselves have a strong sense of how they will do with treatment. Patient estimates of performance status correlate better with symptoms than do physician estimates of performance status. Patient self-assessment and understanding of risk are paramount to the informed consent process, and I believe that patient self-assessment has been underutilized in surgical studies. In this issue of the Journal, Fernando and colleagues report on the use of 2 self-administered quality of life tools (questionnaires) as part of a prospective, randomized control trial of sublobar lung resection for cancer versus sublobar lung resection with locally applied brachytherapy in a population with respiratory impairment. These are further data from the previously published Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and American College of Surgeons Oncology Group cooperative group trial Z4032. This is a noteworthy contribution, because there is no comparable source of prospectively acquired quality of life data for such a high-risk group facing lung surgery. A number of interesting observations have come from this study:
Garden hose separation of gaseous isotopes

METHODS of separation of isotopes and in particular the separation of uranium isotopes, have long been studied1,2. Here I present a new variation of the “time-of-flight” process, applicable to all gaseous isotopes, although UF6 gas is considered as the example.
Effect of CAD on radiologists' detection of lung nodules on thoracic CT scans: observer performance study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) on radiologists' performance for the detection of lung nodules on thoracic CT scans. Our computer system was designed using an independent training set of 94 CT scans in our laboratory. The data set for the observer performance study consisted of 48 CT scans. Twenty scans were collected from patient files at the University of Michigan, and 28 scans by the Lung Imaging Database Consortium (LIDC). All scans were read by multiple experienced thoracic radiologists to determine the true nodule locations, defined as any region identified by one or more expert radiologists as containing a nodule larger than 3 mm in diameter. Eighteen CT examinations were nodule-free, while the remaining 30 CT examinations contained a total of 73 nodules having a median size of 5.5 mm (range 3.0-36.4 mm). Four other study radiologists read the CT scans first without and then with CAD, and provided likelihood of nodule ratings for suspicious regions. Two of the study radiologists were fellowship trained in cardiothoracic radiology, and two were cardiothoracic radiology fellows. Freeresponse receiver-operating characteristic (FROC) curves were used to compare the two reading conditions. The computer system had a sensitivity of 79% (58/73) with an average of 4.9 marks per normal scan (88/18). Jackknife alternative FROC (JAFROC) analysis indicated that the improvement with CAD was statistically significant (p=0.03).
Tomographic imaging of time-varying distributions

This paper addresses the tomographic imaging of time-varying distributions, when the temporal variation during acquisition of the data is high, precluding Nyquist rate sampling. This paper concentrates on the open (and hitherto unstudied) problem of nonperiodic temporal variation, which cannot he reduced to the time-invariant case by synchronous acquisition. The impact of the order of acquisition of different views on the L2 norm of the image-domain reconstruction error is determined for band-limited temporal variation. Based on this analysis, a novel technique for lowering the sampling rate requirement while preserving image quality is proposed and investigated. This technique involves an unconventional projection sampling order which is designed to minimize the L2 image-domain reconstruction error of a representative test image. A computationally efficient design procedure reduces the image data into a Grammian matrix which is independent of the sampling order. Further savings in the design procedure are realized by using a Zernike polynomial series representation for the test image. To illustrate the approach, reconstructions of a computer phantom using the best and conventional linear sampling orders are compared, showing a seven-fold decrease in the error norm by using the best scheme. The results indicate the potential for efficient acquisition and tomographic reconstruction of time-varying data. Application of the techniques are foreseen in X-ray computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Mechanosensitive Vinculin Signaling Regulates Stem Cell Fate

Human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) proliferation, migration, and differentiation have all been linked to extracellular matrix stiffness, but despite serious scientific inquiry, a consensus on the signaling pathways that are necessary and sufficient for this mechanosensitive ability has yet to be reached. An analysis of kinase binding site accessibility revealed MAPK1 to be both prevalent and inaccessible in many focal adhesion/mechanosensing candidate proteins. One binding partner for MAPK1, vinculin, is activated upon binding to talin in a force-sensitive manner. A Cysteine Shotgun/Western Blot was used to confirm the unfolding of talin in response to changes in substrate stiffness. RNA interference was used to knock down vinculin, resulting in an 80% decrease in stiffness-induced MyoD, a muscle transcription factor; control cultures that induce Runx2 expression, an osteoblast transcription factor, were insensitive to vinculin knockdown. Vinculin knockdown was not observed to interfere with focal adhesion assembly, alter adhesive properties, or diminish cell traction force generation, indicating that its deletion only adversely affected MAPK1 signaling. In addition, vinculin domains were also selectively deleted and added back into knocked-down cells to assess which domains of the protein were sufficient for stiffness-induced differentiation. Together, these data provide some of the first in situ evidence that force-sensitive focal adhesion proteins can activate stem cell differentiation signals.
Enhanced Selectivity of Electron Capture Detector for Nitroaromatic Explosives Through the Application of Electron Attachment Reactions

Differences between the electron attachment reactions of thermal electrons and representive classes of organic molecules with high electron affinities were used to selectively identify nitroaromatics. The investigations showed that the reactions of thermal electrons with nitroaromatics lead to the formation of products with very low electron affinities. By contrast, other analytes with high electron affinities such as polyhalogenated organics, lead to products with high electron affinities. This difference was exploited to differentiate between nitroaromatics and polychlorinated organics with a monitoring device consisting of a tandem arrangement of two electron capture detectors connected in series with an electron capture detectors connected in series with an electron attachment reactor. The tandem ECD arrangement was used for selective determination of nitroaromatics vapors in the presence of interfering compounds at ppb and sub ppb concentrations.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Pursuing a response in office hour interactions between US college students and international teaching assistants

Abstract This article provides a discourse analysis of question and answer exchanges between US college students and international teaching assistants in office hours. Drawing upon second language acquisition (SLA), speech act theory (SAT), and conversation analysis (CA), this study aims to explicate the specific circumstances under which a question–answer exchange becomes problematic and the communicative procedures in which a problematic understanding gets resolved. The data under study here consist of a number of audio-taped, dyadic interactions that naturally occurred during office hours. A close examination of these interactions reveals that a question–answer exchange may become problematic when participants do not possess the same adequate access to the social, pragmatic, and interactional knowledge, and that participants may appeal to various kinds of modifications for achieving a mutual understanding. The findings may have some implications for enhancing communication competence across linguistic and cultural boundaries in instructional contexts.
LC-MS/MS biopharmaceutical glycoanalysis: identification of desirable reference material characteristics

Glycosylation, the enzymatic addition of carbohydrates to a protein, is one of the most abundant post-translational modifications found in nature. There is variability in the number, location, and identity of glycans attached. As a result, a glycoprotein consists of a number of glycoforms with different combinations of glycans, potentially resulting in different stability, toxicity, and activity. This is especially important in the biopharmaceutical industry where product consistency and safety are vital. Glycoprotein analysis involves numerous mass spectrometry based techniques, each of which provides various aspects of characterization. The current paper describes two commonly used analytical techniques for glycoprotein characterization. In one experiment, nonspecific proteolysis is combined with a two-tiered mass spectrometry approach (MALDI-TOF and LC-MS/MS) to gain glycosylation site and glycan identity. In a second approach, glycans were enzymatically released, labeled with a fluorescent dye, and analyzed using LC-Fluorescence-MS/MS to give glycan identification and relative quantification. The type and degree of information yielded by each method is assessed in an effort to identify desired reference material characteristics for improving biopharmaceutical glycoanalysis.
The swing up control problem for the Acrobot

Underactuated mechanical systems are those possessing fewer actuators than degrees of freedom. Examples of such systems abound, including flexible joint and flexible link robots, space robots, mobile robots, and robot models that include actuator dynamics and rigid body dynamics together. Complex internal dynamics, nonholonomic behavior, and lack of feedback linearizability are often exhibited by such systems, making the class a rich one from a control standpoint. In this article the author studies a particular underactuated system known as the Acrobot: a two-degree-of-freedom planar robot with a single actuator. The author considers the so-called swing up control problem using the method of partial feedback linearization. The author gives conditions under which the response of either degree of freedom may be globally decoupled from the response of the other and linearized. This result can be used as a starting point to design swing up control algorithms. Analysis of the resulting zero dynamics as well as analysis of the energy of the system provides an understanding of the swing up algorithms. Simulation results are presented showing the swing up motion resulting from partial feedback linearization designs. >
Building Communities with People Who Have Disabilities

SUMMARY Many community psychologists have the educational and professional backgrounds which make them potentially valuable resources for the disabilities field. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) call for greater community inclusion, empowerment, and self-determination for persons with disabilities. Community psychologists with interests in these concepts, as well as in interdisciplinary training, collaboration, community-driven research, and political action are needed as leaders in the disabilities field. This paper explores the development of one community psychologist's career working with persons who have disabilities and the institutions that support them.
Molecular chemiluminescence from Mercury halides excited in an atmospheric-pressure active-nitrogen afterglow

The potential for using molecular photodissociation processes to obtain population inversions in excited atomic and molecular excimer fragments was first suggested by Zare and Herschbach and later demonstrated by observation of laser action from a variety of species. The relative high efficiency of excimer lasers is now well documented. In all excimer systems in operation, the preferred mode for obtaining highly populated excited states is either from electron beam pumping or from excitation through electrical discharges.
Toward characterizing the effects of environmental and operational conditions on diffuse-field ultrasonic guided-waves in pipes

One of the main challenges in real-world application of guided-waves based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of pipelines is their sensitivity to changes in environmental and operational conditions (EOC) that these structures are subject to. In spite of many favorable characteristics of guided-waves for NDE of pipes, their multi-modal, dispersive, and multi-path characteristics result in complex signals whose interpretation is a difficult task. Studies that have considered the effects of EOC variations either fail to reflect realistic EOC scenarios (e.g., limited to particular effects of specific EOCs, like time shifting effects of temperature in plates) or lack the necessary understanding of the effects of EOC variations on different aspects of the developed damage detection approaches. Such gaps limit the extensibility of these approaches to pipeline applications outside of controlled environments. This paper motivates the idea of analytically incorporating the effects of temperature and flow rate variations into damage diagnosis of pipes, through a number of case studies. A review of the existing literature on guided-wave based testing is also provided. For damage detection, a linear supervised classification method, namely linear discriminant analysis (LDA), is applied to experimental guided-wave data recorded from a hot water piping system under regular operation. Principal components, obtained through principal component analysis (PCA), and Fourier transforms of the signals are two sets of damage-sensitive features (DSF) that are examined for LDA-based classification. The effects of temperature and flow rate difference among testing and training datasets on (A) detection performance and (B) goodness of fit of the method to the data are investigated.
An Experimental Study of Transient Annealing in I2L Devices Following Pulsed Neutron Irradiation

A series of experiments have been performed to determine the annealing factor for I2L devices at 23°C. The devices used in these experiments were obtained from Texas Inst. Inc., and are representative of their "Second-Generation-Oxide-Separated" I2L technology. The devices were irradiated using the SPR reactors at Sandia Laboratories. The annealing factor was obtained through the use of several electrical parameters and the value obtained was greater than 1.7 at a time of 50?s after the peak of the neutron irradiation pulse and decayed down to a value of 1.1 at a time of 1s after the peak of the pulse.
Beta Decay of Cl-39

The β− decay of Cl39 to states of Ar39 has been studied using a Ge(Li) detector. Cl39 was produced in the reaction Cl37(t,p)Cl39 at Et=3.0 MeV by bombarding BaCl2 targets enriched to 96.1% in Cl37. The half-life was measured to be 56.2 ± 0.6 min. Ten γ-ray transitions were observed including seven γ rays not seen previously in the Cl39 decay. Ge(Li) versus NaI(Tl) coincidence measurements were used to determine the placement of these γ-ray transitions in the Ar39 level scheme. The measured γ-ray intensities determine new β-ray branches of ≤0.08%, (2.61 ± 0.11)%, (2.29 ± 0.12)%, and (0.60 ± 0.05)% to Ar39 levels at 2093, 2358, 2503, and 2829 keV with lofft values of ≥8.03, 6.14 ± 0.04, 5.96 ± 0.04, and 5.84 ± 0.06, respectively. The latter two logft values lead to spin restrictions of 12, 32, or 52 for the 2305- and 2829-keV Ar39 levels and strongly suggest even parity for both states. Other previously observed β-ray branches have been confirmed. Accurate excitation energies with errors between 0.05 and 1.0 keV have been obtained for the Ar39 states involved.
Anorexia nervosa: an illness of young adults.

Anorexia nervosa, usually an illness of adolescent females, also affects young adult women, both de novo and as a continuation of the adolescent form of the disease. Six young adult women with anorexia nervosa are described to illustrate this point.
Climatology of Cloud and Radiation Fields in a Numerical Weather Prediction Model

Satellite-derived datasets are used to verify the cloud cover and radiation field generated by a T62 (horizontal resolution) version of the operational global model at the National Meteorological Centre (NMC). An ensemble of five day forecasts for July 1985 is used, as well as 30 day climatological forecasts for July 1985, October 1985, January 1986, and April 1986.
Glucocorticoid Receptor DNA Binding Decoy Is a Gas

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a paradigmatic DNA binding transcription factor and was described over 20 years ago as one of the first proteins identified to bind the enhancer region of genes called "response elements." Since that time, an immense amount of work has revealed that GR transcriptional regulation is controlled at virtually every step of its activity: ligand binding, nuclear translocation, transcriptional cofactor binding, and DNA binding. Just when the major modes of GR regulation appear known, a new study provides yet another mechanism whereby GR transcriptional activity is controlled under conditions of cell growth arrest. In this case, GR activity is repressed by a small noncoding RNA (ncRNA) from the growth arrest-specific transcript 5 gene that folds into a soluble glucocorticoid response element-like sequence and serves as a decoy for GR DNA binding. This unexpected mode of regulation by nucleic acid molecular mimicry is probably not confined to GR and should spark interest in the hunt for other ncRNAs that regulate transcription factor binding to DNA.
Inhibition of cell-mediated cytolysis and P-glycoprotein function in natural killer cells by verapamil isomers and cyclosporine a analogs

We have previously shown that among normal leukocytes, CD56+ and CD8+ cells express relatively high levels of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a transmembrane efflux pump. While the physiologic significance of P-gp expression in leukocytes is unknown, the relatively high levels of P-gp in CD56+ and CD8+ cells suggest that P-gp may function in cell-mediated cytolysis. To explore this possibility we examined the effect of four inhibitors of P-gp efflux [(R)-verapamil (R-ver), (S) -verapamil (S-ver), cyclosporine A (CsA), and PSC833 (PSC)] on both the inhibition of natural killer cell (NK) function and on P-gp efflux. NK function was assayed by measuring the lysis of51Cr-labeled K562 target cells in the presence and absence of inhibitors. All four P-gp efflux inhibitors inhibited NK-mediated cytolysis in a dose-dependent manner. The stereoisomers of verapamil were more potent inhibitors of cell-mediated cytolysis than the cyclosporines CsA and PSC. In contrast, CsA and PSC were more potent as inhibitors of P-gp-mediated rhodamine 123 dye efflux than the verapamil isomers. Both CsA and PSC maximally inhibited P-gp efflux at 3μM, but only minimally inhibited cell-mediated cytolysis. The verapamil compounds demonstrated closer correlation between efflux inhibition and inhibition of NK-mediated cytolysis. The data support a role for P-gp in NK-mediated cytolysis; however, these studies also suggest that the NK cytolytic process is multifaceted and that inhibition of the P-gp-mediated efflux mechanism only partially abrogates this process.
The American Character and the American Revolution: A Pennsylvania German Sampler

WO elements in the character of the American experience are frequently overlooked in the discussions of our religious, cultural, and intellectual history. The revolutionary mind of the eighteenth century and the subsequent public life of this nation have been significantly informed by the elements of esoteric wisdom and folk religiousness. Together these two elements comprise what we shall refer to as the complementary tradition. It is a tradition that complements the Christian faith primarily, but also, to some extent, the heritage of natural religion and the Age of Reason. It has been customary to refer to the thought of the Enlightenment, to the realistic view of human nature usually associated with Calvinism and to the experience of Puritanism--these are considered principal factors contributing to the revolutionary mind. Along with an analysis of the dominant features of the early nineteenth century, these factors are assumed to be sufficient explanation for whatever uniqueness is associated with our history as an American people. "In the beginning and to some extent ever since, Americans have interpreted their history as having religious meaning. They saw themselves as being a 'people' in the classical and biblical sense of the word"' So writes Robert N. Bellah, by now among the foremost of scholars concerned with clarifying the nature of our peoplehood. The recovery of an understanding of the religious aspects of our saga will go a long way in improving our historical comprehension and in contributing to the renewal of our sense of meaning and destiny. I am suggesting that it is essential to bring into relief certain elements in the national design that often remain unnoticed.
Cavity flow dynamics at higher reynolds number and higher aspect ratio

Abstract A primitive variable unsteady viscous incompressible Navier-Stokes flow simulation in a higher aspect ratio ( A = depth/width = 2) driven cavity at a higher Reynold's number (Re = 10,000) exhibits dynamical features not apparent in previous studies of stationary solutions or at lower Reynold's number or in the more usual unit cavity investigations. The initial dynamics, e.g., between t = 0 sec and t = 70 sec, reveals transient bifurcations between states including two, three, and four interacting vortices in an anterior separation region. Following this, there is an intermediate interval, e.g., between t = 70 sec and t = 140 sec, characterized by a vertical oscillation of the primary vortex related to the general activities of the secondary features of the flow. The long time behavior, e.g., between t = 140 seconds and t = 360 seconds, is one of qualitative smoothing of all secondary features except a persistent oscillation indicating a Hopf bifurcation.
Computer Games as Therapy for Persons with Stroke.

Abstract Background: Stroke affects approximately 800,000 individuals each year, with 65% having residual impairments. Studies have demonstrated that mass practice leads to regaining motor function in affected extremities; however, traditional therapy does not include the repetitions needed for this recovery. Videogames have been shown to be good motivators to complete repetitions. Advances in technology and low-cost hardware bring new opportunities to use computer games during stroke therapy. This study examined the use of the Microsoft (Redmond, WA) Kinect™ and Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST) software as a therapy tool to play existing free computer games on the Internet. Subjects and Methods: Three participants attended a 1-hour session where they played two games with upper extremity movements as game controls. Video was taken for analysis of movement repetitions, and questions were answered about participant history and their perceptions of the games. Results: Participants re...
The tangled path to glucose production.

Liver glucose production is crucial to survival during fast and is abnormally elevated in diabetes. Studies of the transcriptional coactivator Torc2 redefine the mechanism by which cAMP signaling affects fasting-induced glucogenesis.
Cepheid and Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances to the Dwarf Irregular Galaxy IC 10

We present color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions of stars in the nearby galaxy IC 10, based on VI CCD photometry acquired with the COSMIC prime-focus camera on the Palomer 5m telescope.
Evaluation of Vertical Deviations Secondary to Other Causes

Distinguishing the cause of a vertical deviation can be important for management. When surgery is being considered, it is also critical to distinguish a true hypertropia from a dissociated vertical deviation (DVD). This paper reviews the clinical manifestations of DVD, true hypertropia, and primary oblique muscle dysfunction.
Effect of water depth and clipping frequency on the growth and survival of four wetland plant species

Abstract In an experimental study conducted in north-central India, four plant species were either clipped weekly, clipped every 2 weeks, or left unclipped while growing at one of three water levels (0, 3 or 13 cm above the soil surface). When clipped underwater, individuals of three emergent species, Ipomoea aquatica Forssk., Paspalidium punctatum A. Camus, and Paspalum distichum L. usually died, but those of Nymphoides cristatum Kuntze did not. Clipped plants of N. cristatum had as much total biomass as unclipped plants, with increased mean shoot biomass but reduced mean root biomass in 3 cm of water. The three emergent species lived when clipped every 2 weeks in 0 cm of water. Clipped plants of emergents had less total mass and less root mass than unclipped plants in 0 cm of water. In a field study in a monsoonal wetland in the Keoladeo National Park, plants of Ipomoea aquatica and Paspalum distichum, died when clipped underwater.
Scale-space expansion of acoustic features improves speech event detection

In a system for detecting and measuring phonetic events (here bursts, voice onsets, and voice-onset times), we show that the addition of features smoothed at multiple scales can improve both recall (the proportion of events correctly identified) and measurement accuracy (the timing of events and the difference between event times, relative to expert human judgments). Multi-scale (or “scale space”) features had an especially strong positive effect on robustness across datasets with different materials and recording conditions. Standard machine-learning classifiers were able to integrate information across scales, without any special treatment of the multi-scale features.
Liver transplant-associated graft-versus-host disease.

Background Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is an important, underdiagnosed cause of mortality associated with liver transplantation. We identified 12 cases of GVHD among 1,082 liver transplantations performed in patients at our institution between 1991 and 1998. Patients typically developed fever, skin rash, diarrhea, or pancytopenia within 2 to 6 weeks after their transplant. Treatment generally involved increased immune suppression and hematopoietic cytokines (granulocyte colony stimulating factor, granulocyte monocyte colony stimulating factor); however, all but one patient died, most often from sepsis. Early in its course, GVHD was difficult to distinguish from cytomegalovirus disease or drug reactions. The diagnosis was confirmed by demonstration of substantial donor lymphoid chimerism. Methods To identify risk factors for severe GVHD, a retrospective analysis was performed comparing index cases with the rest of the cases in our institutional experience. Results Closely matched human leukocyte antigen recipients, those older than 65 years, and recipients with donors more than 40 years younger were at higher risk for GVHD. One case occurred in a patient with a congenital immunodeficiency. Conclusions Liver transplant-associated GVHD is a progressive and fatal disease. Future approaches should focus on prevention and might include avoidance of closely matched human leukocyte antigen donors, treatment of the donor to reduce the number of lymphocytes, or reduction of immunosuppression in the early posttransplant period.
Characterization of Hazardous Aqueous Samples by Near-IR Spectroscopy

We describe the application of near-infrared spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition of aqueous samples that simulate hazardous wastes at the DOE Hanford site. Surrogate liquid mixtures are prepared with compositions similar to the actual Hanford liquid wastes. We demonstrate a standard error of precision of approximately 0.06 M for NaNO3 and NaNO2, 0.006 M for Na3HEDTA, and 0.009 M for Na2CO3 by using a 1 mm pathlength and approximately 1 min collection time in the 9000-5400 cm-1 (1.11-1.85 mu m) region. Even though most of these electrolytes do not possess characteristic near-infrared bands suitable for quantitative analysis, the use of partial least-squares multivariate calibration makes it possible to correlate spectral differences, based on perturbations in the near-IR water spectrum, and determine each component concentration. The effects of the electrolytes and temperature on the water spectrum are discussed.
Accelerated Cartesian Expansions for the Rapid Solution of Periodic Multiscale Problems

We present an algorithm for the fast and efficient solution of integral equations that arise in the analysis of scattering from periodic arrays of PEC objects, such as multiband frequency selective surfaces (FSS) or metamaterial structures. Our approach relies upon the method of Accelerated Cartesian Expansions (ACE) to rapidly evaluate the requisite potential integrals. ACE is analogous to FMM in that it can be used to accelerate the matrix vector product used in the solution of systems discretized using MoM. Here, ACE provides linear scaling in both CPU time and memory. Details regarding the implementation of this method within the context of periodic systems are provided, as well as results that establish error convergence and scalability. We also demonstrate the applicability of this algorithm by studying several exemplary electrically dense systems.
Comment on Vreeland (2011): Foreign aid and global governance: Buying Bretton Woods—the Swiss-bloc case

This comment discusses highlights of Vreeland's excellent analysis of how Switzerland was able to use foreign aid to secure its election to provide the executive director to the IMF from its group of countries. This sheds light on a little understood aspect of the governance of the IMF. The comment goes on to argue, however, that the formal role of the executive directors in the operation of the IMF has been substantially diminished over time and that inclusion of more representatives from emerging market countries in the IMF's senior management team is a more important way of substantively increasing the influence of these countries on the behavior of the IMF.
Ethylene Glycol Adsorption and Reaction over CeOX(111) Thin Films

This study reports the interaction of ethylene glycol with well-ordered CeOX(111) thin film surfaces. Ethylene glycol initially adsorbs on fully oxidized CeO2(111) and reduced CeO2–X(111) through the formation of one C–O–Ce bond and then forms a second alkoxy bond after annealing. On fully oxidized CeO2(111) both recombination of ethylene glycol and water desorption occur at low temperature leaving stable −OCH2CH2O– (ethylenedioxy) intermediates and oxygen vacancies on the surface. This ethylenedioxy intermediate goes through C–C bond scission to produce formate species which then react to produce CO and CO2. The formation of water results in the reduction of the ceria. On a reduced CeO2–X(111) surface the reaction selectivity shifts toward a dehydration process. The ethylenedioxy intermediate decomposes by breaking a C–O bond and converts into an enolate species. Similar to the reaction of acetaldehyde on reduced CeO2–X(111), the enolate reacts to produce acetaldehyde, acetylene, and ethylene. The loss o...
Science Signaling Podcast: 4 February 2014

This Podcast features an interview with Ravi Iyengar and John He, authors of a Research Article published in the 4 February 2014 issue of Science Signaling , about using network modeling to predict strategies for repairing kidney damage. Kidney damage is often characterized by changes in the morphology of podocytes. The highly specialized morphology of podocytes is critical for the kidney9s ability to filter waste products out of the blood without allowing proteins and other large molecules to leak from the blood into the urine. A group led by Ravi Iyengar and John He identified changes in protein abundance that were associated with damaged kidneys and used computational methods to predict drug targets for restoring normal podocyte morphology and function.
Fluid–structure interaction modeling of parachute clusters

We address some of the computational challenges involved in fluid-structure interaction (FSI) modeling of clusters of ringsail parachutes. The geometric complexity created by the construction of the parachute from 'rings' and 'sails' with hundreds of gaps and slits makes this class of FSI modeling inherently challenging. There is still much room for advancing the computational technology for FSI modeling of a single raingsail parachute, such as improving the Homogenized Modeling of Geometric Porosity (HMGP) and developing special techniques for computing the reefed stages of the parachute and its disreefing. While we continue working on that, we are also developing special techniques targeting cluster modeling, so that the computational technology goes beyond the single parachute and the challenges specific to parachute clusters are addressed. The rotational-periodicity technique we describe here is one of such special techniques, and we use that for computing good starting conditions for FSI modeling of parachute clusters. In addition to reporting our preliminary FSI computations for parachute clusters, we present results from those starting-condition computations. In the category of more fundamental computational technologies, we discuss how we are improving the HMGP by increasing the resolution of the fluid mechanics mesh used in the HMGP computation and also by increasing the number of gores used. Also in that category, we describe how we use the multiscale sequentially coupled FSI techniques to improve the accuracy in computing the structural stresses in parts of the structure where we want to report more accurate values. All these special techniques are used in conjunction with the Stabilized Space-Time Fluid-Structure Interaction (SSTFSI) technique. Therefore, we also present in this paper a brief stability and accuracy analysis for the Deforming-Spatial-Domain/Stabilized Space-Time (DSD/SST) formulation, which is the core numerical technology of the SSTFSI technique.
Theoretical calculations of the enthalpies and entropies of diffusion and vacancy formation in semiconductors

Abstract Enthalpies and entropies of vacancy formation and diffusion have been calculated for elements having the diamond structure. In the calculations, the potential between nearest neighbor atoms is assumed to have the form of the Morse function. In this fashion kinetic parameters of crystals are calculated by the use of properties determined from equilibrium properties. One of the factors facilitating calculation results from the open nature of the diamond lattice. Because of this, an atom, moving from its equilibrium position into a vacancy, does not pass through a geometric barrier as is the case for more close-packed structures. Calculations yield values for the enthalpies of formation of vacancies of 207 eV, 232 eV and 416 eV for germanium, silicon and diamond respectively. Experimental results available for germanium yield 201 eV. Calculations of the activation enthalpies of self diffusion, assuming a vacancy mechanism, are 302, 338 and 6.18 eV for germanium, silicon and diamond. Experimental information for germanium indicates a value of 298 eV.
Differences in the subcomponents of fat-free body in relation to height between black and white children.

The individual subcomponents of fat-free body (FFB) in relation to height were investigated in 131 white (N = 85) and black (N = 46) males (MW, MB) and 108 white (N = 63) and black (N = 45) females (FW, FB), aged 8 to 18 years. Bone mineral content (BM), bone width (BW), and bone mineral index (BMI) were measured using photon absorptiometry; total body water (TBW) was measured by deuterium dilution; body density was measured by hydrostatic weighing, correcting for residual lung volume; and estimates of lean body mass (LBM) were made from total body potassium (40 K spectroscopy). The subcomponents of the FFB-BM, BW, BMI, TBW, and K-were regressed on the log of height to determine the exponent of the independent variable (Ht) that would most accurately predict the dependent variables (BM, BW, BMI, TBW, K) within gender and race. Regression equations were derived for each of the variables used to represent a subcomponent of the FFB on Ht. Significant (P < .05) racial differences were found in BW, with the MB having wider bones than the MW. Significant racial differences were observed in BMI with FB demonstrating a greater difference across height than FW. Racial differences in BM and TBW approached significance within the female sample. At heights greater than the mean of a typical pubescent child, the males had higher values for each of the variables, except for BMI, than did the females. The lower BMI values observed in males indicated that the rate at which male bones grow in width was greater than their rate of mineralization. Within the male sample, blacks had higher bone mineral than whites with the magnitude of these differences dependent on the variable under consideration. Within the female sample the blacks had greater amounts of BM and BMI in relation to height, while the whites had a greater amount of K. Therefore, the magnitude of the differences between blacks and whites in the subcomponents of the FFB are dependent on gender, stature, and the particular subcomponent of the FFB under consideration.
Pigmented skin lesions of the upper extremity

This article discusses pigmented lesions of the upper extremities, including nevi, melanoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma. The diagnosis and work-up is emphasized, with attention also given to the techniques of sentinel node biopsy. An overview of the latest treatment strategies is provided.
Neuroplasticity and rehabilitation research for speech, language, and swallowing disorders.

Purpose This article introduces a collection of consensus statements regarding the application of neuroplasticity principles to rehabilitation of dysphagia, dysarthria, apraxia, and aphasia.
INBREEDING DEPRESSION, GENETIC LOAD, AND THE EVOLUTION OF OUTCROSSING RATES IN A MULTILOCUS SYSTEM WITH NO LINKAGE.

We studied deterministic models of multilocus systems subject to mutation-selection balance with all loci unlinked, and with multiplicative interactions of the loci affecting fitness, in partially self-fertilizing populations. The aim was to examine the fitnesses of the zygotes produced by outcrossing and by selling, and the magnitude of inbreeding depression, in populations with different levels of inbreeding. The fates of modifiers of the outcrossing rate were also examined. With biologically plausible parameter values, inbreeding depression can be very large in moderately selfing populations, particularly when the mutant alleles are fairly recessive and selection is weak. A modifier allele reducing the selfing rate can be favored under these circumstances. In more inbred populations, inbreeding depression is lower, and selection favors alleles that increase the selfing rate. When inbreeding depression is caused by mutant alleles with strong selective disadvantage, modifiers causing large increases in selfing can often be favored even when the inbreeding depression exceeds one-half, though in these circumstances modifiers increasing selfing by smaller amounts are usually eliminated. Weaker selection appears to be more favorable to the maintenance of outcrossing.
Methotrexate-induced necrolysis

A 72-year-old woman with a long history of recalcitrant psoriasis developed severe generalized erosions after receiving low-dose (7.5 mg) methotrexate. Her clinical picture was consistent with toxic epidermal necrolysis and showed a gradual response to systemic steroids and topical therapy. Patients with underlying dermatoses or previous cutaneous insults may be particularly prone to adverse cutaneous reactions resulting from folic acid antagonists.
A comparative developmental study of impulsivity in rats and humans: the role of reward sensitivity.

: The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that differences in reward sensitivity between adolescents and adults account for differences in impulsivity. In a comparative study, we examined preferences for various concentrations of sucrose solutions as an operational measure of reward sensitivity in adolescent and adult rats and humans. Humans also completed self-report measures of impulsivity and reward sensitivity. There was some indication that adolescents preferred sweeter solutions compared to adults. Also, adolescents scored substantially higher on impulsivity. However, adolescents and adults did not differ in self-ratings of reward sensitivity and personality scores were not consistently related to sucrose preferences. The data highlight some of the benefits and issues that arise with developing comparative measures in humans and animals. Future comparative research using alternative behavioral paradigms is necessary to determine if and how changes in reward sensitivity influence developmental shifts in impulsivity.
High resolution model based 2-D spectrum estimation

A noncausal autoregressive (NCAR) plus additive noise model is presented for model-based spectrum estimation of two-dimensional sinusoidal signals in noise. The maximum-likelihood (ML) procedure provides consistent and efficient parameter estimates for NCAR models with bilateral neighbor sets, and these properties carry over to the maximum-likelihood estimates of parameters for Gaussian-NCAR-plus-noise models. By assuming a toroidal lattice the complexity of the ML equation is significantly reduced with little impact on the observed accuracy of the estimated spectra. Initial conditions for starting the ML computation are proposed. Experimental results are presented for various signal-to-noise ratios. >
APPROACH CHANGE: A RESPONSIBLE AUTO INDUSTRY

“Enterprises, even national and regional economies, will not succeed unless they promote sustainable development. And sustainable development is only possible in dynamic economies. CSR already contains this double purpose, economic and societal. It is above all a question of creating value for companies and for society at large.” In modern society cars play one of the most important roles, and this is unlikely to change in the near future. The automotive industry has developed spectacularly in the past decade and has become the most important economic sector in many developed countries. According to estimates, over 600,000,000 passenger cars travel the streets and roads of the world today. In my written report and presentation I would like to show, through the example of DENSO Manufacturing Hungary Ltd., how strict the internal world of the automotive industry is and how they are trying to adjust to the variable expectations of the market. In this quote from the DENSO president’s message you can see that future business will be based on environmental consciousness and responsibility: “Amid a shakeup of the automobile industry, DENSO will meet stakeholder expectations by maximizing its collective knowledge and capabilities based on corporate social responsibility (CSR).” Keywords: automotive industry; sustainable development; corporate social responsibility
Deep Impact, the mission

This paper discusses the Deep Impact (DI) mission (the 8/sup th/ Discovery Mission) objectives and potential discoveries derived from impacting a comet nucleus at ten times the speed of a bullet and simultaneously observing the results of that impact. The scientific return from this mission centers on 13 minutes of critical operations while flying through a comet's coma on July 4, 2005. A detailed mission and spacecraft description is provided including science instruments. The overall implementation approach is discussed, including the special shared development and operations responsibilities among JPL, Ball Aerospace and University of Maryland. This paper also discusses the unique challenges of this mission especially the unknowns and potential hazards of flying deep into the comet environment (e.g. dust, surface topography, structure and composition). The design for robustness in the face of significant unknowns is discussed including autonomous navigation to track and hit a target, at a relative speed of 10 km/s.