cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of an Intervention for Obesity and Depression on Patient-Centered Outcomes: An RCT.

Introduction An integrated collaborative care intervention was successful for treating comorbid obesity and depression. The effect of the integrated intervention on secondary outcomes of quality of life and psychosocial functioning were examined, as well as whether improvements in these secondary outcomes were correlated with improvements in the primary outcomes of weight and depressive symptoms. Study design This RCT compared an integrated collaborative care intervention for obesity and depression to usual care. Data were analyzed in 2018. Setting/participants Adult primary care patients (n=409) with a BMI ≥30 (≥27 if Asian) and 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire score ≥10 were recruited from September 30, 2014 to January 12, 2017 from primary care clinics in Northern California. Intervention The 12-month intervention integrated a behavioral weight loss program and problem-solving therapy with as-needed antidepressant medications for depression. Main outcome measures A priori secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life (Short Form-8 Health Survey), obesity-specific quality of life (Obesity-Related Problems Scale), sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System), and functional disability (Sheehan Disability Scale) at baseline and 6 and 12 months. Results Participants randomized to the intervention experienced significantly greater improvements in obesity-specific problems, mental health–related quality of life, sleep disturbance, sleep-related impairment, and functional disability at 6 months but not 12 months. Improvements in obesity-related problems (β=0.01, 95% CI=0.01, 0.02) and sleep disturbance (β= −0.02, 95% CI= −0.04, 0) were associated with lower BMI. Improvements in the physical (β= −0.01, 95% CI= −0.01, 0) and mental health components (β= −0.02, 95% CI= −0.03, −0.02) of the Short Form-8 Health Survey as well as sleep disturbance (β=0.01, 95% CI=0.01, 0.02) and sleep-related impairment (β=0.01, 95% CI=0, 0.01) were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Conclusions An integrated collaborative care intervention for obesity and depression that was shown previously to improve weight and depressive symptoms may also confer benefits for quality of life and psychosocial functioning over 6 months. Trial registration This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT02246413.
Firn Clutter Constraints on the Design and Performance of Orbital Radar Ice Sounders

Radar sounding is a powerful tool for constraining subglacial conditions, which influence the mass balance of polar ice sheets and their contributions to global sea-level rise. A satellite-based radar sounder, such as those successfully demonstrated at Mars, would offer unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage of the subsurface. However, airborne sounding studies suggest that poorly constrained radar scattering in polar firn may produce performance-limiting clutter for terrestrial orbital sounders. We develop glaciologically constrained electromagnetic models of radar interactions in firn, test them against in situ data and multifrequency airborne radar observations, and apply the only model we find to be consistent with observation to assess the implications of firn clutter for orbital sounder system design. Our results show that in the very high-frequency (VHF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) bands, radar interactions in the firn are dominated by quasi-specular reflections at the interfaces between layers of different densities and that off-nadir backscatter is likely the result of small-scale roughness in the subsurface density profiles. As a result, high frequency (HF) or low VHF center frequencies offer a significant advantage in near-surface clutter suppression compared to the UHF band. However, the noise power is the dominant constraint in all bands, so the near-surface clutter primarily constrains the extent to which the transmit power, pulselength, or antenna gain can be engineered to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Our analysis suggests that the deep interior of terrestrial ice sheets is a difficult target for orbital sounding, which may require optimizations in azimuth processing and cross-track clutter suppression which complement existing requirements for sounding at the margins.
II. Antidepressants and sexual behavior: Acute fluoxetine, but not ketamine, disrupts paced mating behavior in sexually experienced female rats.

Abstract Female sexual dysfunction is both a symptom of depression and exacerbated by treatments for depression. Ketamine, a novel treatment for depression, has been shown to enhance, whereas fluoxetine has been shown to impair sexual motivation. Sexual experience leads to more robust partner preference and paced mating behavior in female rats. Whether acute ketamine and fluoxetine similarly affect sexual motivation and mating behavior in sexually experienced female rats is unknown. Sexually experienced female rats received 10 mg/kg i.p. of ketamine or saline vehicle (Experiment 1) or 10 mg/kg i.p. of fluoxetine or water vehicle (Experiment 2) 30 min before a 10-min no-contact partner preference test followed immediately by a 15-intromission paced mating test. Partner preference and paced mating behavior did not differ between ketamine- and saline-treated rats. In contrast, rats treated with fluoxetine spent significantly less time with either stimulus animal and were less active during the partner preference test than water-treated rats. Additionally, contact-return latency to ejaculation was significantly longer in fluoxetine-treated rats and they spent less time with the male during paced mating in comparison to water-treated rats. Thus, even with sexual experience, fluoxetine disrupts sexual function whereas ketamine has no detrimental effects on sexual behavior in female rats. A growing body of evidence suggests that ketamine is an encouraging new approach to treat depression particularly because it is not associated with sexual dysfunction.
Volumetric Ultrasound and Related Dental Applications

Ultrasound is a natural 2D imaging methodology. While this is partially due to the substantially increased complexity of 3D (or 4D) ultrasound versus 2D, it is also due to the real-time display standard. For such, it is largely impossible to display 3D image volumes in real-time, unless they are segmented in a way to essentially create 2D counterparts that can be processed by the technologist or radiologist. Examples include cardiology, where the blood filled heart lends itself to real-time, i.e. 4D, segmentation due to the stark difference in echogenicity between soft tissue and blood. Obstetrics is similar as the amniotic fluid is hypoechoic compared to soft and hard tissue, which therefore allows for segmentation of the fetus from its surroundings. On the other hand, segmentation of soft tissue from other soft tissue is currently not viable. Dental applications of 3D/4D ultrasound are developing and this chapter provides geometry and imaging considerations. The chapter closes with specific examples of tissue and bone recession.
Parenting Adolescents with ADHD

Parenting teenagers with ADHD brings a unique set of challenges to an already difficult task. In this chapter, we review the complex interplay of developmental changes typical of teens, with the new expectations they face both academically and socially, in the context of evolving parent-child interactions. We review the existing literature on child, parent, and family risk factors for poor outcomes and interventions designed specifically to mitigate these risks.
Consumption Externalities and Growth: Online Appendix

This appendix provides mathematical details to substantiate the arguments made in Section 5 of Petach and Tavani (2018).
Examining the Preference of Sodium Concentration in the Diets of Nasutitermes corniger (Blattodea:Termitidae)(Motschulsky)

Sodium is an essential element for the nervous system of many animals, including termites. This experiment tested different sodium concentrations on rotting wood blocks and cellulose in a pure, powdered state. Nasutitermes corniger termites were collected from a nearby colony. Thirty-eight colonoids were created, which consisted of 10 soldiers and 50 workers each. Each colonoid was kept in a Petri dish with a damp filter. For the first part of the experiment, Seventy-six blocks of wood were cut into pieces of similar mass and dipped into sodium concentrations ranging from 0-10% for 10 seconds. The blocks were placed 1cm apart on the arenas and the termites were left to roam for a certain amount of time. In the second part of the experiment, sodium concentrations ranging from 2-8% were made by mixing with pure, powdered cellulose. The arenas contained all four concentrations this time. It was observed that N. corniger termites do not have a clear sodium preference, however some trends were apparent in both experiments. Further experimentation would be needed to explore these trends.
Global trends in urban wildlife ecology and conservation

Abstract As urbanization continues to expand across the globe, urban wildlife research is critical for urban planners and conservation practitioners to create livable cities for both humans and wildlife. In 2012, Magle et al. conducted a foundational review on the status of urban wildlife research. The authors described the status of urban wildlife research as of 2010 and offered suggestions for future advancements in the field. We conducted a systematic review following Magle et al. (2012) to provide a 10-year update on the state of urban wildlife research globally and describe recent advancements in the field. We also conducted a broader literature search to further explore current research trends and continuing research gaps within the urban wildlife field. We found that urban wildlife publications have continued to increase within the last decade. However, the sectors conducting the research and the geographical location of publications stayed relatively the same. Similarly, the predominant taxa studied were mammals and birds across the 2000–2020 decades. After broadening our literature search, we were able to identify a new emphasis on management-related research and research in the fields of disease ecology, social science, and methodological development. Critical knowledge gaps remain, however, as there was still a significant lack of studies on herptiles, arthropods, and fish. Additionally, studies from Africa, South America, and Asia – three of the fastest urbanizing continents – were underrepresented. Our results provide conservation practitioners a summary of emerging topics and recommendations for future research that will contribute to creating healthier and more livable cities for both wildlife and people.
Advantage of Organization

In Section 11 and elsewhere we have considered tasks that can only be performed by organizations. There are other activities in which organizations compete with individuals. In many areas it appears that organizations are in fact on the advance. Increasingly they are taking over functions previously performed mainly by individuals. Is this true? What, if any, are the economic facts that would permit and drive this process?
Reimbursement: Understanding How We Pay for Health Care

American health care costs have now grown to encompass 20 % of our gross domestic product, and efforts at slowing this growth have been largely unsuccessful. The need for payment reform is clearly more critical now than ever before. Though payment in the United States has been historically grounded in fee-for-service models, many organizations have begun to test new systems for reimbursement to attempt to curtail spending. In this chapter, we address the history and shortcomings of the fee-for-service model in the United States and describe reforms that have been undertaken to address these issues. Important historical developments described in this chapter include the introduction of diagnosis-related groups by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the 1980s as well as the rise of strategies including pay for performance, capitation, and nonpayment for preventable complications of care. Models that have been introduced more recently include accountable care organizations (ACOs) and payment bundling. The goals of these emerging models include the following: (1) lowering health care costs, (2) increasing alignment between payment and the provision of quality care, and (3) improving incentives to deliver high quality care. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the effect of payment reform on future physician practice.
Sensing and Responding to Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species

This chapter provides an overview of what is known about the regulation and defenses against reactive oxygen species and nitrogen species. In Escherichia coli and a subset of enteric bacteria, SoxR only controls the expression of SoxS, an AraC-type transcription regulator. Structural and spectral studies of oxidized SoxR bound to DNA show that the activated protein introduces a significant distortion into the DNA in order to activate transcription, as has been observed for other MerR family members. In Salmonella enterica and E. coli, OxyR regulates numerous genes whose expression is induced by exposure to H2O2 and that make sense in terms of a defense against peroxides, including genes encoding catalase and the AhpC peroxiredoxin together with the AhpF reductase, the iron-sequestering protein Dps, and the disulfide bond reducing enzymes thioredoxin and glutaredoxin. In the denitrifying organism Ralstonia eutropha, the single subunit quinol-oxidizing respiratory free radical nitric oxide (NO) reductase is encoded by the norB gene, which is co-transcribed with norA under the control of the transcription activator encoded by the divergently transcribed norR gene. In higher eukaryotes, the major receptor for NO is the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). DosS (DevS) and DosT are paralogous histidine kinases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis that each contain a heme cofactor bound to an N-terminal GAF domain. In all cases, the redox-active centers contain reactive metals or cysteine or histidine residues, although the types of modifications that occur are surprisingly varied.
Global coupled sea ice-ocean state estimation

We study the impact of synthesizing ocean and sea ice concentration data with a global, eddying coupled sea ice-ocean configuration of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model with the goal of reproducing the 2004 three-dimensional time-evolving ice-ocean state. This work builds on the state estimation framework developed in the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean consortium by seeking a reconstruction of the global sea ice-ocean system that is simultaneously consistent with (1) a suite of in situ and remotely-sensed ocean and ice data and (2) the physics encoded in the numerical model. This dual consistency is successfully achieved here by adjusting only the model’s initial hydrographic state and its atmospheric boundary conditions such that misfits between the model and data are minimized in a least-squares sense. We show that synthesizing both ocean and sea ice concentration data is required for the model to adequately reproduce the observed details of the sea ice annual cycle in both hemispheres. Surprisingly, only modest adjustments to our first-guess atmospheric state and ocean initial conditions are necessary to achieve model-data consistency, suggesting that atmospheric reanalysis products remain a leading source of errors for sea ice-ocean model hindcasts and reanalyses. The synthesis of sea ice data is found to ameliorate misfits in the high latitude ocean, especially with respect to upper ocean stratification, temperature, and salinity. Constraining the model to sea ice concentration modestly reduces ICESat-derived Arctic ice thickness errors by improving the temporal and spatial evolution of seasonal ice. Further increases in the accuracy of global sea ice thickness in the model likely require the direct synthesis of sea ice thickness data.
Circulating lipoprotein profiles are modulated differently by lipoprotein lipase in obese humans.

BACKGROUND Several genetic analyses have suggested that lipoprotein lipase (LpL) genotypes causing decreased LpL activity correlate with increased triglyceride concentrations and risk for coronary artery disease. In contrast, in some other studies LpL activity was positively correlated with plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations. OBJECTIVE To assess whether these different associations represent physiologic differences in lipoprotein metabolism. METHODS We correlated postheparin lipase activities, postprandial lipemia, and fasting lipoprotein concentrations in obese (BMI > or = 30 kg/m2, n = 26) and non-obese (BMI < or = 30 kg/m2, n = 57) individuals. LpL was measured using specific inhibitory antibodies. RESULTS Surprisingly, LpL activity was significantly correlated with triglyceride area under the curve after a fat load in the non-obese, but not the entire group. Moreover, in non-obese individuals, LpL activity correlated directly (r = 0.40) and hepatic lipase activity correlated inversely (r = -0.32) with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations. These relationships were not found in the obese group, in whom LpL correlated with LDL cholesterol concentrations (r = 0.54). CONCLUSIONS We conclude that postheparin LpL activity relates to different lipoproteins in obese and non-obese individuals. In obesity, greater LpL activity may enhance conversion of very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to LDL cholesterol, whereas in non-obese individuals the correlation is with HDL cholesterol. Whether this is due to differences in the source of LpL (muscle or fat), or to other associated alterations in lipoprotein metabolism is unknown. These results may explain the non-uniformity of correlations between LpL and atherogenic lipoproteins in different populations.
Autoimmunity to the heart in cardiac disease: Current concepts of the relation of autoimmunity to rheumatic fever, postcardiotomy and postinfarction syndromes and cardiomyopathies

Abstract Current information on the role of immune mechanisms in rheumatic fever, postcardiotomy and postinfarction syndromes, cardiomyopathies and other cardiac disorders is reviewed. The possible role of autoimmunity is emphasized in view of the evidence that serum autoantibodies to diverse constituents of heart tissue frequently may be detected in these cardiac disorders. In rheumatic fever, experimental and clinical data indicate that autoimmunity to heart tissue may be induced in response to a constituent of group A streptococci, antigenically cross-reactive with heart tissue. Populations of autoantibodies with divergent specificities are present in the sera of patients with rheumatic disease. Certain of these autoantibodies exhibit correlation with the severity of disease and with the presence of carditis. The differentiation of those autoantibodies reactive with streptococcal crossreactive antigen seems essential for further understanding of the possible role of autoimmunity in pathogenesis. Evidence for such a role is provided by immunopathologic findings of bound gamma globulin and complement in postmortem rheumatic hearts and in biopsy specimens of atrial appendage. Circulating autoantibodies to heart tissue occur frequently after cardiotomy and myocardial infarction and are commonly associated with postcardiotomy and postmyocardial infarction syndromes. They may reappear during symptomatic recurrent episodes but are not present in quiescent intervals between attacks. Further efforts should be directed to definition of the specific antigens stimulating such autoantibodies, to the biologic and physicochemical properties of the autoantibodies related to clinical symptoms, as well as to immunopathologic observations in these syndromes. In recurrent acute benign pericarditis and in primary cardiomyopathies, viral infection, complicated by hypersensitivity or autoimmunity, or both, has been proposed as a pathogenetic mechanism. Autoimmune bodies have been described in varying frequency in these conditions, and their possible role in pathogenesis should be investigated further, using combined immunologie, virologie and immunopathologic approaches in the early phases of disease. Abnormal immune mechanisms are strongly suspect in the pathogenesis of the cardiac involvement of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and polyarteritis, but progress must await further understanding of the cause of the primary lesions in these conditions. In tropical endomyocardial fibrosis, an abnormal autoimmunologic diathesis, presumptively related to malarial infection, has been implicated. Animal models of autoimmune myocarditis have been explored. The available data suggest that experimental cardiac lesions of a focal nature may be produced in a variety of animal species. Their relevance as a model for human cardiac disease is under current study.
Stability intricacies of two-delay linear systems in the presence of delay cross-talk

An improved technique to stabilise a class of first-order linear time-invariant dynamics with two delays is presented. It proposes to design a controller in which delay cross-talk feature (or delay coupling) is utilised to enhance the system's stability characteristics. The authors present some comparative observations vis-a'-vis an earlier pioneering study, which is a widely used point of reference for this class of systems, however, without the delay cross-talk effect. Furthermore, the treatment here profits from a recently introduced methodology, called the 'cluster treatment of characteristic roots (CTCR)', for the stability assessment of these systems, differently from the earlier suggested procedures. With the introduction of the delay cross-talk term, the authors show that the new system may become stable for larger delay zones, which is otherwise impossible. In the text, we present several case studies to display the outcome of such a tool.
More on the employment effects of innovation

Abstract This article argues the lack of relevance to reality of the Hall-Heffernan model, specifies a model that makes the issue clear, and extends beyond Hagen (1982) the discussion of technological disemployment and re-employment.
Lymphocyte depletion during treatment with intensive chemotherapy for cancer.

Recently we have observed an increased incidence of opportunistic infections in patients treated with intensive chemotherapy for cancer. Because T-cell depletion is associated with similar clinical events in human immunodeficiency virus infection and after bone marrow transplantation, we have analyzed peripheral blood lymphocyte populations in a series of patients during treatment with intensive chemotherapy for cancer. Although neutrophil, monocyte, and platelet numbers consistently recovered to greater than 50% of pretreatment values after each sequential cycle of therapy, lymphocyte numbers did not recover within the same time period. B cells decreased rapidly from a mean value of 149 +/- 46/mm3 before chemotherapy to 4 +/- 1/mm3 during chemotherapy (P = .01). CD4+ T cells decreased from a mean of 588 +/- 76/mm3 before chemotherapy to 105 +/- 28/mm3 during chemotherapy (P = .0002) and CD8+ T cells decreased from a mean of 382 +/- 41/mm3 before chemotherapy to 150 +/- 46/mm3 during chemotherapy (P = .0009). Natural killer cell numbers did not show significant declines (171 +/- 30/mm3 before, 114 +/- 24/mm3 during, P = .19). Based on the history of opportunistic complications in patients with other disorders who display similar degrees of CD4+ T-cell lymphopenia and preliminary observations in this population, immune incompetence could surface as a dose-limiting toxicity for highly dose-intensive chemotherapy regimens.
Do Pheromone Binding Proteins Converge in Amino Acid Sequence When Pheromones Converge

Convergence in amino acid sequences between proteins can be strong evidence for selection. Here, I look for evidence of convergence in the amino acid sequences of pheromone binding protein (PBP) in response to convergence in pheromones. PBPs are involved in sex pheromone reception by the antennae of male moths. In this role PBPs may selectively bind pheromone components and experience convergent selection in response to convergence in pheromone components. However, examination of the PBPs of the taxa that have converged upon the use of (E)- or (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate as their major pheromone component reveals little evidence for convergence in the PBPs identified from these taxa. A few sites show a pattern consistent with convergence or parallelism; however, it cannot be ruled out that these sites share the ancestral state. Two of these sites fall within the proposed binding region of PBPs. These results suggest that PBPs either have not converged in sequence or have converged at very few sites in response to convergence on the same pheromone component.
The silence of biogeography

Modern biogeography now encompasses an impressive diversity of patterns and phenomena of the geography of nature, providing insights fundamental to understanding the forces influencing the spatial and temporal dynamics of biological diversity. However, rather than praise our discipline for its great breadth of visions, our purpose here is to point out our glaring oversight of a potentially transformative frontier in the geography of nature. A new, emerging area called soundscape ecology, if guided by the principles of biogeography, holds the promise of ‘opening the ears’ of our field and providing fresh perspectives on fundamental problems being addressed by biogeographers.
Microchannel Chemical Reactors for Fuel Processing Applications. II. Compact Fuel Vaporization

A fuel processor is a critical element for the deployment of automotive fuel cell power systems. One component of the fuel processor, the compact gasoline vaporizer, was demonstrated at full-scale using commercial-grade gasoline. The full-scale process volume was less than 0.3 liters; it vaporized nearly 300 mL/min of gasoline, which is sufficient to support a 50-kWe fuel cell. The reduction in hardware volume was made possible using a microchannel reactor-based design; the compact process hardware is roughly an order of magnitude smaller than conventional technology.
Lung redox homeostasis: emerging concepts

This symposium was organized to present some aspects of current research pertaining to lung redox function. Focuses of the symposium were on roles of pulmonary endothelial NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase (XO)/xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), heme oxygenase (HO), transplasma membrane electron transport (TPMET), and the zinc binding protein metallothionein (MT) in the propagation and/or protection of the lung or other organs from oxidative injury. The presentations were chosen to reflect the roles of both intracellular (metallothionein, XO/XDH, and HO) and plasma membrane (NADPH oxidase, XO/XDH, and unidentified TPMET) redox proteins in these processes. Although the lung endothelium was the predominant cell type under consideration, at least some of the proposed mechanisms operate in or affect other cell types and organs as well.
A Data-Driven Behavior Modeling and Analysis Framework for Diabetic Patients on Insulin Pumps

About 30%-40% of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) patients in the United States use insulin pumps. Current insulin infusion systems require users to manually input meal carb count and approve or modify the system-suggested meal insulin dose. Users can give correction insulin boluses at any time. Since meal carbohydrates and insulin are the two main driving forces of the glucose physiology, the user-specific eating and pump-using behavior has a great impact on the quality of glycemic control. In this paper, we propose an "Eat, Trust, and Correct" (ETC) framework to model the T1D insulin pump users' behavior. We use machine learning techniques to analyze the user behavior from a clinical dataset that we collected on 55 T1D patients who use insulin pumps. We demonstrate the usefulness of the ETC behavior modeling framework by performing in silico experiments. To this end, we integrate the user behavior model with an individually parameterized glucose physiological model, and perform probabilistic model checking on the user-in-the-loop system. The experimental results show that switching behavior types can significantly improve a patient's glycemic control outcomes. These analysis results can boost the effectiveness of T1D patient education and peer support.
Stress relaxation of cartilage under simple shear and compression: Experiments and finite element analyses

Articular cartilage is a hydrated connective tissue consisting of a relatively small number of chondrocytes surrounded by a saturated extracellular matrix comprised mainly of type-II collagen fibrils and proteoglycans. As a deformable fluid saturated material, cartilage is most often modeled using biphasic or poroelastic theories [1,2]. The ultimate goal of this work is to evaluate biomechanical properties of native and tissue engineered cartilage under combined compression and shear. The purpose of this investigation was to determine stress and deformation fields in cartilage under compression and simple shear and relate these to measured results.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
VERBAL BEHAVIOR AS A FUNCTION OF APPREHENSION AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

This study examined the effect of high and low communication apprehension in conjunction with social and personal settings upon verbal behavior. Step wise multiple discriminant analysis of the data indicated a linear combination of language indices (number of syllables, Noun-Verb/Adjective-Adverb ratio, and phrase repetitions) which discriminated between the high apprehensive-personal setting group and the remaining three groups. Results are discussed relative to theoretical projections and the potential for sensitivity toward communication behavior being operative within the communication apprehension framework.
Studies on the Synthesis of Corrins and Related Ligands

Abstract The development of a plan for the synthesis of the corrin and corphin ligands ( 5 and 6 ) together with experimental execution thereof is presented.
Naphthalene toxicity in mice and aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated CYPs

Abstract Naphthalene (NP) has been designated a ‘reasonably anticipated human carcinogen’ because of positive responses in carcinogenicity bioassays in rodents. Whereas CYP2F enzymes are widely regarded as responsible for NP bioactivation, other metabolic enzymes—including CYP1A1 and CYP1A2—produce NP-1,2-oxide in vitro. We investigated the role of these aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-mediated enzymes in NP toxicity in two ways. First, NP was assessed for the ability to activate transcription via the AHR in an in vitro luciferase reporter assay and was found to have no activity. Second, mice deficient in AHR, CYP1A1 or CYP1A2 were dosed with NP alone, or following pretreatment with the CYP2F inhibitor 5-phenyl-1-pentyne. None of the knockout mice were protected from olfactory toxicity of NP. In contrast, CYP1A1- and CYP1A2-null mice pretreated with 5-phenyl-1-pentyne exhibited no NP olfactory toxicity. These results suggest that AHR-mediated enzymes do not contribute significantly to NP bioactivation in the intact animal.
Influence of surface protonation on the sensitization efficiency of porphyrin-derivatized TiO2

The influence of electrolyte pH on the sensitization efficiency of porphyrin-derivatized TiO2 was studied by photoelectrochemical and transient absorption measurements. The porphyrins 5-(4-carboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-trimesitylporphinatozinc(II) (1), 5-(4-carboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-trimesitylporphine (2), 5-(4-carboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-trimesitylporphinatoplatinum(II) (3), and 5-(4-dihydroxyphosphorylphenyl)-10,15,20-trimesitylporphinatozinc(II) (4) were anchored to low-surface-area and nanocrystalline TiO2 films. The TiO2 conduction band edge potential (ECB) shifted 59 ± 2 mV/pH, from −0.43 V vs Ag/AgCl(aq) at pH 12 to +0.16 V vs Ag/AgCl(aq) at pH 2. Excited-state potentials (E1/2(P+/*)) of 1−4 ranged from −1.58 to −0.91 V vs Ag/AgCl(aq), well negative of ECB. Despite the thermodynamic favorability of electron injection, a 10-fold increase in sensitized photocurrent was measured for 1−4 upon acidification of the electrolyte from pH 10 to 4. Transient absorption data revealed that sensitization of nanocrystalline ...
Internal Impingement of the Shoulder

Internal impingement of the shoulder is a pathologic condition characterized by excessive or repetitive contact of the greater tuberosity of the humeral head with the posterosuperior aspect of the glenoid when the arm is abducted and externally rotated. This arm positioning leads to rotator cuff and glenoid labrum impingement by the bony structures of the glenohumeral joint. Although some degree of contact between these structures occurs under normal conditions, to date most of the orthopaedic literature has focused on internal impingement as a disease state that affects overhead athletes and is characterized by the development of articular-sided rotator cuff tears and posterosuperior labral lesions. The precise cause of these impingement lesions remains unclear. However, it is believed that varying degrees of glenohumeral instability, posterior capsular contracture, and scapular dyskinesis may play a role in the development of symptomatic internal impingement. The purpose of this article is to review the pathomechanics, clinical complaints, physical examination findings, and imaging findings that are associated with internal impingement. The results of treatment will be reviewed, and a diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm for the management of internal impingement is presented.
Sulfonylurea drugs increase early mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus after direct angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction

Abstract Objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of sulfonylurea drug use on outcome in diabetic patients undergoing direct coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. Background. Sulfonylurea drugs impair ischemic preconditioning. Whether sulfonylurea drugs affect outcome adversely in diabetic patients undergoing direct angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction is unknown. Methods. Clinical outcomes after direct balloon angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction were evaluated in 67 diabetic patients taking oral sulfonylurea drugs and 118 diabetic patients not taking these drugs. Results. Hospital mortality was significantly higher among diabetics treated with sulfonylurea drugs at the time of myocardial infarction (24% vs. 11%). Univariate analysis identified sulfonylurea drug, age, ventricular function, ejection fraction less than 40%, prior bypass surgery and congestive heart failure as correlates of increased in-hospital mortality. Logistic regression found sulfonylurea drug use (odds ratio 2.77, p = 0.017) to be independently associated with early mortality. Congestive heart failure, but not sulfonylurea drug use, was associated with an increased incidence of in-hospital ventricular arrhythmias. Congestive heart failure, prior bypass surgery and female gender, but not sulfonylurea drug use, were associated with late adverse events. Conclusions. Sulfonylurea drug use is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality among diabetic patients undergoing coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. This early risk is not explained by an increase in ventricular arrhythmias, but may reflect deleterious effects of sulfonylurea drugs on myocardial tolerance for ischemia and reperfusion. For surviving patients sulfonylurea drug use is not associated with an increased risk of serious late adverse events.
Proof of the Positive-Action Conjecture in Quantum Relativity

We extend our previous method of proving the positive-mass conjecture to prove the positive-action conjecture of Hawking for asymptotically Euclidean metric. This result is crucial in proving the path integral convergent in the Euclidean quantum gravity theory.
Combinatorial Mapping of the Phase Behavior of ABC Triblock Terpolymers in Thin Films: Experiments

We report on the thin film phase behavior of poly(styrene)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) triblock terpolymers with volume fractions φPS:φP2VP:φPtBMA scaling as 1:1.2:x, with x ranging from 3.05 to 4. On controlled annealing in the vapor of a nearly nonselective solvent the films form terraces of well-defined thickness with a highly ordered hexagonally perforated lamella structure. Using a gradient combinatorial technique we are able to systematically map the dependence of the morphology on the film thickness. By use of substrates with different surface energy we demonstrate that the perforated lamella is a stable phase, regardless of the chemical nature of the substrate, which makes the structure and methodology robust for application in nanotechnology.
(Ethanolato)[2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octa-ethylporphyrinato(2-)]iron(III).

The title compound, [Fe(C2H5O)(C36H44N4)], contains a five-coordinate iron–porphyrin complex with an axial eth­oxy ligand. The iron(III) atom is displaced by 0.504 (2) A towards the eth­oxy ligand from the 24-atom mean plane of the porphyrin. The average Fe—Np distance is 2.078 (2) A and the Fe—O distance is 1.8232 (18) A. The eth­oxy C atoms are disordered in a 0.581 (12):0.419 (12) ratio. The bond angles of the Fe—O—C linkage are 128.6 (3) and 130.4 (3)°, respectively, for the major and minor occupancy C atoms.
Allocation of electric vehicles' parking lots in distribution network

Increasing growing of electricity demand and environmental issues bring huge incentives to electric vehicles (EVs) market. High penetration of these vehicles leads to some challenges for the future power system. Specifically, utilizing them in an unscheduled manner will result in distribution network technical issues such as reliability issues, congestion and loss enhancement. In this paper, firstly, a probabilistic modeling of EVs' behavior is achieved. Secondly, reliability-constraint optimum allocation of EVs' parking lots is proposed. To achieve this purpose, a composite objective function is defined. This function contains three significant distribution network reliability indices and used to allocate parking lots by means of enhancing reliability. Finally, the proposed method is implemented on a standard distribution system for RBTS bus 2.
Distribution of QoI Resistance in Populations of Tangerine-Infecting Alternaria alternata in Florida.

Abstract Chemical control, based on copper and quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) fungicides, has been essential for the management of brown spot of citrus, caused by Alternaria alternata. However, QoI control failures were detected recently in Florida. From 2008 to 2012, 817 monoconidial isolates of A. alternata from 46 citrus orchards were examined for sensitivity to azoxystrobin (AZ) and pyraclostrobin (PYR). Of the isolates, 57.6% were resistant to both fungicides, with effective concentration to inhibit 50% growth (EC50) values greater than 5 μg/ml for AZ and 1 μg/ml for PYR. The mean EC50 values for sensitive isolates were 0.139 and 0.020 μg/ml for AZ and PYR, respectively. The EC50 values of both fungicides were highly correlated (P < 0.0001), indicating cross resistance. The proportion of resistant isolates differed significantly (P < 0.0001) among cultivars and with QoI application frequency (P < 0.0001). However, resistance was not significantly related (P = 0.364) to disease severity in the field ...
Multiple ATP Binding Is Required to Stabilize the “Activated” (Clamp Open) Clamp Loader of the T4 DNA Replication Complex

Abstract Most DNA replication systems include a sliding clamp that encircles the genomic DNA and links the polymerase to the template to control polymerase processivity. A loading complex is required to open the clamp and place it onto the DNA. In phage T4 this complex consists of a trimeric clamp of gp45 subunits and a pentameric loader assembly of four gp44 and one gp62 subunit(s), with clamp loading driven by ATP binding. We measure this binding as a function of input ligand concentration and show that four ATPs bind to the gp44/62 complex with equal affinity. In contrast, the ATPase rate profile of the clamp-clamp loader complex exhibits a marked peak at an input ATP concentration close to the overall Kd (∼30 μm), with further increases in bound ATP decreasing the ATPase rate to a much lower level. Thus the progressive binding of the four ATPs triggers a conformational change in the complex that markedly inhibits ATPase activity. This inhibition is related to ring opening by using a clamp that is covalently cross-linked across its subunit interfaces and thus rendered incapable of opening. Binding of this clamp abolishes substrate inhibition of the ATPase but leaves ATP binding unchanged. We show that four ATP ligands must bind to the T4 clamp loader before the loader can be fully “activated” and the clamp opened, and that ATP hydrolysis is required only for release of the loader complex after clamp loading onto the replication fork has been completed.
RECENT ADVANCES IN THE DOUBLE ISOTOPE DERIVATIVE ANALYSIS OF STEROIDS.

The first description of the successful use of acetic anhydride-H3 for double-isotope derivative analysis of aldosterone and other steroids appeared in 1960 [1]. Since then, this methodology has been modified by many laboratories and applied to a variety of steroids in diverse biological fluids. The original methods were described in previous symposia [2, 3]. The purpose of this paper is to summarize several changes in methodology and new applications of such methods in one laboratory. Other workers have developed and applied their own modifications, which are too numerous to review here. The purpose of these changes is to provide greater reliability, speed, and sensitivity for analyses of steroids in biologic samples. The general method is applied to selective assay of specific steroids, with a range of sensitivity to 0.01 µg using 100 mc/mmole acetic anhydride-H3.
EFFECT OF THEOBROMINE ON GROWTH AND AFLATOXIN PRODUCTION BY ASPERGILLUS PARASITICUS

Theobromine (0, 2, 4, and 8 mg/ml) had little effect on growth and aflatoxin production by Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 in a glucose-mineral salts-yeast extract medium, indicating that the anti-aflatoxigenic activity of cocoa beans is not due to the presence of this methylxanthine.
Representing the relationship between items in logical bill-of-material to support customers' requests for quotation for make-to-order products

For make-to-order products in which the specification of some component-product variants are to be defined by customers, it is almost impossible to develop a bill-of-material system that supports customers' requests for quotation (RFQ) response activities using the existing bill-of-material concepts. To deal with this problem, a new technique for representing the relationship between parent-product variants and componenent- product variants in the generic bill-of-material (GBOM) structure is developed. The new technique is based on an assumption that the relationship between any two components in a product structure has pairwise independent property. The technique represents the relationship with compatibility constraints in the form of matrices and rules. The new representation provides users with a means to describing variants of make-to-order products as well as supporting the customers' RFQ response activities with only a limited amount of data which is comprehensive, easy to maintain, and easy to understand.
Simulating bioterrorism through epidemiology approximation

Bioterrorism represents a significant threat to society. The lack of successful attacks that have resulted in true epidemics have created a need for data that can be generated from existing known factors. We have taken the popular susceptible-infected-recovery model and created a hybridized model that balances the simplicity of the original with an approximation of what more complex agent-based models already offer, with an emphasis on the exploration of large search spaces. Our experiments focus on more unconventional methods of intervention in the event of an epidemic, the results of which suggest a much more basic approach can be taken beyond the thoroughly explored realm of inoculation strategies.
Mind the gap: explaining unified Germany’s divided party system

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, unified Germany is still confronted with significant political divides. Two distinct party systems have emerged and are now consolidated, and a narrowing of the gap between them is not in sight. Among other dimensions, the differences in party spaces and competition are more fragmented, more unstable and, most importantly, characterised by the enduring success of the post-Communist Left in the East, where the party is a major third player. Looking at the origins and causes of the divide, the relevance of specific historical legacies and the role of distinct political cultures and value cleavages are emphasised. These point to previously neglected explanatory frameworks. In addition, some parties act as agents that facilitate political resentments and reinforce cultural divisions. Finally, lessons in understanding and coming to terms with some persisting East–West divides in the European Union are discussed.
Half-Dirichlet problems for dirac operators in lipschitz domains

Recall that in the case of the Dirichlet problem for the Laplace operator ∂2 x +∂ 2 y in Ω ⊆ R2, one prescribes the whole trace of a harmonic function in, say, L2(∂Ω). On the other hand, for the Cauchy-Riemann operator ∂x + i∂y, natural boundary problems are obtained by prescribing “half” of the trace of the analytic function in L2(∂Ω). Such half-Dirichlet problems arise when, for example, one prescribes the boundary values of the real part of an holomorphic function. This type of phenomenon has a natural extension to the higher dimensional setting in the context of Clifford algebras and Dirac operators. The main goal of this paper is to continue the line of investigation initiated in [Mi], [Mi2] (and further pursued in [McMM], [McM], [Mi3]) aimed at solving elliptic boundary problems in nonsmooth domains via tools originating in Clifford analysis. More specifically, here we shall study certain half-Dirichlet type problems for Dirac operators in nonsmooth Euclidean domains. Since no symbolic calculus for singular integral operators in the irregular context is available so far, one is forced to study such problems on an individual basis. Furthermore, it is well known that there are topological obstructions to the existence of local elliptic boundary conditions for general Dirac type operators (cf., e.g., [Gi]). Here we focus the discussion on the classical (full, as opposed to chiral) Dirac operator D := ∑ j ej∂j in Rm. Let Ω be an arbitrary Lipschitz subdomain of Rm. A specific example of a boundary value problem which fits the above description is