cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bullous pemphigoid presenting as exfoliative erythroderma

Several unusual clinical presentations of bullous pemphigoid have been described such as localized, vesicular, vegetating, nodular, and sine bulla pemphigoid. Patients with erythroderma who fulfill diagnostic criteria for bullous pemphigoid and in whom bullae develop have been reported. We describe a patient with exfoliative erythroderma without any blistering in whom a diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid was based on examination of a biopsy specimen. Circulating antibodies to the basement membrane zone, with an epidermal pattern on salt split skin, and the presence of eosinophilic spongiosis in the skin biopsy specimen supported the diagnosis.
Human genetic diseases of proteolysis.

Although in the past protein stability commonly has been considered an inherent property of a given protein, the truth is far more complex. Elaborate enzymatic systems exist in multiple intracellular compartments to hydrolyze proteins. These systems are capable of providing a sensitive mechanism to regulate protein expression, a mechanism that is complementary to the transcriptional and translational control mechanisms that influence protein synthesis. The power of regulated proteolysis has been well-demonstrated in the abrupt degradation of cyclins that underlies eukaryotic cell cycle progression. Coincidental with the recent rapid gains in understanding proteolysis at a biochemical level, several human diseases have been found to result from disordered proteolysis. This article reviews several examples of human disease resulting from mutations of genes encoding serine proteases, cysteine proteases, and their inhibitors. Examples are also presented of human diseases resulting from disorders in the highly intricate ubiquitin-proteasome pathway of protein degradation. It is certain that many more human diseases will be associated in the future with disorders of proteolysis. Hum Mutat 13:87–98, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
PERPETUAL FIRE INSURANCE

THE PERPETUAL fire insurance policy, an oddity among insurance contracts, and unknown even to most insurance people today, was quite popular in some parts of the United States during the nineteenth century. After more than two centuries of experience with this type of policy, Sweden still uses it extensively. Its popularity in the United States, however, has dwindled until currently only nine perpetual fire insurers can be found. The long-continued success of these insurers in their operations utilizing the perpetual plan-one has been writing perpetual policies for one hundred and fifty-six years-suggests an investigation of perpetual fire insurance and its use today might well prove both interesting and profitable. Fire insurance is generally written on a term basis, the premium paid purchasing insurance for a period of from one to five years. Perpetual fire insurance is written on a continuous basis, one comparatively large premium or deposit paid at the outset buying insurance for an indefinite period. The single premium may be, but is not necessarily, returnable to the policyholder upon cancellation. The following definition of a perpetual insurance rate clearly defines perpetual insurance as well: "The perpetual rate of a risk is the percentage rate which, multiplied by the amount of the policy, will produce a premium, the interest from which produces a sum sufficient to pay the annual premium. It follows that so long as the deposit remains with the insuring company, the insurance will continue in force, inasmuch as the interest on the deposit pays the annual premium."' The coverage is never strictly perpetual, however, since the insured and the insurer both have the right to cancel the policy.
Effect of different preadapting luminances on the resolution of visual detail during dark adaptation

Luminance thresholds for the resolution of various widths of grating line were determined during dark adaptation following light adaptation to luminances of 0.98, 100, 1290, and 11 200 millilamberts. The dark adaptation curves for the finest gratings, representing high visual acuity, start at a high initial luminance and drop to a final steady level after 5 to 10 minutes in the dark, as is characteristic of cone function. Curves for coarser gratings may display both cone and rod portions, or after light adaptation to low luminances may represent rod function only. The higher the degree of resolution required, the higher the position of the dark-adaptation curve on the log threshold luminance axis. Increasing the level of light adaptation results in higher initial threshold luminances and a more gradual decline to a final steady value. The final steady value of threshold luminance for a given grating size is little influenced by the level of light adaptation.
Urodynamic classification of patients with symptoms of overactive bladder.

ABSTRACTPurpose: We describe a new classification of patients with overactive bladder symptoms.Materials and Methods: The office records of 132 patients who presented for evaluation of symptoms of urinary frequency, urinary urgency and/or urge incontinence, and who underwent videourodynamics were identified. All patients completed a 24-hour voiding diary and 24-hour pad test. Data collection included age, sex, hormone status, number of voids and incontinence episodes per 24 hours, functional bladder capacity, pad weight and associated genitourinary conditions. Videourodynamics were reviewed and patients were divided into 4 clinical categories, including type 1—no evidence of involuntary detrusor contractions on videourodynamics, type 2—involuntary detrusor contractions present, and patient aware and able to abort them, type 3—contractions present, patient aware and able to contract the sphincter but not abort contractions and type 4—contractions present and patient unaware but unable to contract the sphin...
Solomon's Secret Arts: The Occult in the Age of Enlightenment. By Paul Kléber Monod. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013. Pp. x, 430. $45.00.)

In the past two decades, the academic study of magic, alchemy, and the occult has evolved from the obscure pursuits of a few brave scholars into a vibrant subfield, drawing in scholars of literatur...
Effect of Larval Swimming Duration on Growth and Reproduction of Bugula neritina (Bryozoa) Under Field Conditions.

A growing body of evidence indicates that even subtle events occurring during one portion of an animal's life cycle can have detrimental, and in some cases, lasting effects on later stages. Using a laboratory-field transplant design, postmetamorphic costs associated with the duration of larval swimming were investigated in the bryozoan Bugula neritina. Larvae were induced to metamorphose in the laboratory after swimming for either less than 1 h or between 23 and 24 h; colonies that developed from these two groups of larvae are referred to hereafter as "1-h colonies" and "24-h colonies," respectively. After completing metamorphosis, individuals were transplanted to the field, where rates of growth and reproduction were monitored. In a study of the interaction between colony orientation (up or down) and larval swimming duration, both factors significantly affected the number of autozooids produced. For example, 14 days after metamorphosis, 1-h colonies facing up were approximately 40% smaller than 1-h colon...
Radiant Heating from a Cylindrical Fire Column

Abstract The radiant heat flux from a cylindrical flame to an elemental surface area is formulated in terms of a shape factor, emittance and the blackbody emissive power. The expression for the emittance is presented in an approximate form containing the mean beam length, which is shown to be convenient for treatment of a small-particle suspension in a participating gas medium. The predicted results from this approximate formulation agree well with available experimental data on pool fires and exact numerical calculations.
The fate of char-N at pulverized coal conditions

The fate of char-N (nitrogen removed from the coal matrix during char oxidation) has been widely studied at fluidized bed conditions. This work extends the study of char-N to pulverized coal conditions. Coal chars from five parent coals were prepared and burned in a laboratory-scale pulverized coal combustor in experiments designed to identify the parameters controlling the fate of char-N. The chars were burned with natural gas (to simulate volatiles combustion) in both air and in a nitrogen-free oxidant composed of Ar, CO2, and O2. In some experiments, the char flames were doped with various levels of NO or NH3 to simulate formation of NOx from volatile-N (nitrogen removed during coal devolatilization). The conversion of char-N to NOx in chars burned in the nitrogen-free oxidant was 50–60% for lignites and 40–50% for bituminous coals. In char flames doped with NOx, the apparent conversion of char-N to NOx (computed using the NOx measurements made before and after the addition of char to the system) decreased significantly as the level of NOx doping increased. With 900 ppm NOx present before the addition of char, apparent conversion of char-N to NOx was close to 0% for most chars. While there is no clear correlation between nitrogen content of the char and char-N to NOx conversion at any level of NOx in the flame, the degree of char burnout within a given family of chars does play a role. Increasing the concentration of O2 in the system in both air and nitrogen-free oxidant experiments increased the conversion of char-N to NOx. The effects of temperature on NOx emissions were different at low (0 ppm) and high (900 ppm) levels of NOx present in the flame before char addition.
A measure of chronic quality of life predicts socioeconomic and medical outcomes in psoriasis patients.

Background Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that detracts from quality of life, including elements of physical, psychological and social functioning. Objective This study investigated whether retrospective questions about chronic quality of life (CQoL) were better predictors of poor socioeconomic and medical outcomes than the current Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Methods One hundred fourteen participants answered the 10 questions used in the standard DLQI for ‘over the last week’, ‘over the last year’ and ‘over your lifetime with psoriasis’. Subjects were examined and completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding disabilities, relationships, education and medical and economic outcomes (a smaller subset of 58 subjects also answered questions regarding religion and discrimination). Results Greater lifetime DLQI (LT DLQI) correlated with lower satisfaction with treatment (P = 0.007), greater concern that psoriasis will worsen (P = 0.012), worse perceived general health (P = 0.003), younger age at which weight became problematic (P = 0.002), greater likelihood of believing psoriasis had caused weight gain (P < 0.001), shorter retention of current job (P = 0.001), more experiences of discrimination at work (P = 0.002) and in social settings (P < 0.001) over one's lifetime and more severe discrimination in social settings over one's lifetime (P = 0.002). Greater LT DLQI predicted more packs smoked per day (P = 0.005), greater likelihood of believing psoriasis caused smoking (P = 0.012), greater likelihood of recreational drug use (P = 0.004), greater likelihood of a depression diagnosis (P < 0.001), greater likelihood of having felt depressed (P = 0.011) and greater likelihood of believing psoriasis caused depression (P < 0.001). Conclusion Compared to the standard LW DLQI, LT DLQI was a better predictor of patient outcomes related to weight, discrimination and depression.
Aerobic exercise reverses arterial inflammation with aging in mice

We tested the hypothesis that regular aerobic exercise reverses arterial inflammation with aging. When compared with young controls (6.2 ± 0.4 mo; n = 7), old (31.3 ± 0.5 mo; n = 11) male B6D2F1 cage-restricted mice demonstrated increased arterial activation of the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-κB, as indicated by greater aortic phosphorylation of both the inhibitor of NF-κB kinase (IKK) and the p65 subunit of NF-κB (both P < 0.05). Similarly, aortic expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α were greater in the old mice (all P < 0.05). Macrophage and T lymphocyte abundance was unchanged with age in the aortic intima and media but was markedly increased in the adventitia and perivascular fat tissue of old mice (all P < 0.05). This proinflammatory arterial phenotype with aging was associated with vascular dysfunction, as reflected by impaired nitric oxide-mediated endothelium-dependent dilation. Voluntary wheel running (10–14 wk) normalized aortic IKK-NF-κB activation, cytokine expression, adventitial and perivascular macrophage infiltration, and vascular function in old mice (32.4 ± 0.3 mo; n = 8) while having no consistent effects in young mice. Short-term voluntary wheel running started late in life reverses arterial inflammation with aging in mice possibly via outside-in actions. These anti-inflammatory effects may play an important role in the amelioration of age-associated vascular dysfunction by regular aerobic exercise.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1): a critical regulator of innate immune responses

Innate immune responses mediated by macrophages and dendritic cells through Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a central role in sensing and eliminating microbial pathogens. However, excessive innate immune responses can result in sepsis, autoimmunity, and chronic inflammation. Cells have evolved multiple mechanisms to prevent deleterious TLR activation, including transcriptional induction of intracellular negative regulators. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) is a nuclear-localized dual-specificity phosphatase that is induced by TLR stimulation in macrophages. MKP-1 preferentially dephosphorylates p38 MAPK and c-Jun N-terminal kinase, resulting in the attenuation of TLR-triggered production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other inflammatory mediators. MKP-1 deficiency in mice leads to a markedly elevated susceptibility to endotoxic shock (a murine model of sepsis) and autoimmune arthritis, highlighting a key role for MKP-1 in regulating innate immunity. Herein we discuss bioche...
Identification of a strawberry flavor gene candidate using an integrated genetic-genomic-analytical chemistry approach

There is interest in improving the flavor of commercial strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) varieties. Fruit flavor is shaped by combinations of sugars, acids and volatile compounds. Many efforts seek to use genomics-based strategies to identify genes controlling flavor, and then designing durable molecular markers to follow these genes in breeding populations. In this report, fruit from two cultivars, varying for presence-absence of volatile compounds, along with segregating progeny, were analyzed using GC/MS and RNAseq. Expression data were bulked in silico according to presence/absence of a given volatile compound, in this case γ-decalactone, a compound conferring a peach flavor note to fruits. Computationally sorting reads in segregating progeny based on γ-decalactone presence eliminated transcripts not directly relevant to the volatile, revealing transcripts possibly imparting quantitative contributions. One candidate encodes an omega-6 fatty acid desaturase, an enzyme known to participate in lactone production in fungi, noted here as FaFAD1. This candidate was induced by ripening, was detected in certain harvests, and correlated with γ-decalactone presence. The FaFAD1 gene is present in every genotype where γ-decalactone has been detected, and it was invariably missing in non-producers. A functional, PCR-based molecular marker was developed that cosegregates with the phenotype in F1 and BC1 populations, as well as in many other cultivars and wild Fragaria accessions. Genetic, genomic and analytical chemistry techniques were combined to identify FaFAD1, a gene likely controlling a key flavor volatile in strawberry. The same data may now be re-sorted based on presence/absence of any other volatile to identify other flavor-affecting candidates, leading to rapid generation of gene-specific markers.
Architecture using Jini technology for simulation of an agent-based transportation system

This paper describes an architecture for the simulation of a transportation system that uses agent technology to deliver people and goods from their origins to their destinations. The intent of the architecture is to analyze incremental changes to the existing transportation paradigm to determine what type of system we could plan for in the future. Each entity within the system that has computational power is simulated as an agent. This architecture is useful for experimenting with many different algorithms and strategies for improving transportation systems.
A Humidity-Sensitive Arabidopsis Copine Mutant Exhibits Precocious Cell Death and Increased Disease Resistance

The copines are a newly identified class of calcium-dependent, phospholipid binding proteins that are present in a wide range of organisms, including Paramecium, plants, Caenorhabditis elegans, mouse, and human. However, the biological functions of the copines are unknown. Here, we describe a humidity-sensitive copine mutant in Arabidopsis. Under nonpermissive, low-humidity conditions, the cpn1-1 mutant displayed aberrant regulation of cell death that included a lesion mimic phenotype and an accelerated hypersensitive response (HR). However, the HR in cpn1-1 showed no increase in sensitivity to low pathogen titers. Low-humidity-grown cpn1-1 mutants also exhibited morphological abnormalities, increased resistance to virulent strains of Pseudomonas syringae and Peronospora parasitica, and constitutive expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. Growth of cpn1-1 under permissive, high-humidity conditions abolished the increased disease resistance, lesion mimic, and morphological mutant phenotypes but only partially alleviated the accelerated HR and constitutive PR gene expression phenotypes. The disease resistance phenotype of cpn1-1 suggests that the CPN1 gene regulates defense responses. Alternatively, the primary function of CPN1 may be the regulation of plant responses to low humidity, and the effect of the cpn1-1 mutation on disease resistance may be indirect.
Computability and Recursion

We consider the informal concept of “computability” or “effective calculability” and two of the formalisms commonly used to define it, “(Turing) computability” and “(general) recursiveness”. We consider their origin, exact technical definition, concepts, history, general English meanings, how they became fixed in their present roles, how they were first and are now used, their impact on nonspecialists, how their use will affect the future content of the subject of computability theory, and its connection to other related areas. After a careful historical and conceptual analysis of computability and recursion we make several recommendations in section §7 about preserving the intensional differences between the concepts of “computability” and “recursion.” Specifically we recommend that: the term “recursive” should no longer carry the additional meaning of “computable” or “decidable;” functions defined using Turing machines, register machines, or their variants should be called “computable” rather than “recursive;” we should distinguish the intensional difference between Church's Thesis and Turing's Thesis, and use the latter particularly in dealing with mechanistic questions; the name of the subject should be “Computability Theory” or simply Computability rather than “Recursive Function Theory.”
Organ Culture at the Rockefeller Institute

THE celebrated surgeon Alexis Carrel, pioneer in the surgery of blood vessels and a leader in the development of tissue culture, dreamed of the day when human organs might be grown in flasks for study of their function and for use in replacing diseased organs of patients. Tissue culture was possible because the cells and fragments were small enough to be nourished by diffusion from the surrounding medium. Whole organs had to be supplied with nutritive fluids by perfusion through their blood vessels. This required a sterilizable glass pump, into which bacteria could not penetrate. When Carrel and his technicians ran into difficulty in designing a pump, he found an unexpected ally in Charles Lindbergh, the aviator. Lindbergh had become interested in the idea of an artificial heart to substitute for the human heart during operations on that organ, and hearing of Carrel's work, volunteered his services as an amateur inventor and mechanic. Beginning work at the Rockefeller Institute in 1930, Lindbergh worked as a volunteer in Carrel's laboratory for about five years. His first pump was a coil of glass tubing rotated by a motor as one waves a flag, so that the centrifugal force drove the fluid into a chamber containing the explanted organ. This pump proved to be not perfectly bacteria-proof and did not produce a pulsating flow. Continuing his very ingenious efforts, in 1934, Lindbergh found he could use glass valves, and produced a design which was executed by the Institute's glass-blower, Otto Hopf.
Using the Non-Intrusive Load Monitor for Shipboard Supervisory Control

Field studies have demonstrated that it is possible to evaluate the state of many shipboard systems by analyzing the power drawn by electromechanical actuators. One device that can perform such an analysis is the non-intrusive load monitor (NILM). This paper investigates the use of the NILM as a supervisory control system in the engineering plant of gas-turbine-powered vessel. Field tests conducted at the Navy's DDG-51 Land-Based Engineering Site (LBES) demonstrate that the NILM can potentially reduce overall sensor count if used in a supervisory control system.
A preliminary study of new parents, sleep disruption, and driving: a population at risk?

Background Drowsy driving is estimated to be a causal factor in 2–16 % of vehicular crashes. Several populations are reported to be at high risk for drowsy driving accidents, including shift workers, teenage drivers, medical residents, and pilots. Although new parents are known to have significant sleep disruption, no study has investigated vehicular accidents or near miss accidents in this population. Methods A preliminary cross-sectional, anonymous survey of parents who had given birth within the previous 12 months. Participants were asked about their sleep, including validated measures of sleep disruption, their driving patterns, and information about near miss traffic accidents and actual crashes. Results Overall, 72 participants were enrolled. A large proportion of participants had poor sleep including approximately 30 % with daytime sleepiness, 60 % with poor daytime function and two-thirds with poor sleep quality. The mean sleep duration was only 6.4 h. Although most participants drove <100 miles per week, 22.2 % reported at least one near miss accident and 5.6 % reported a crash. Sleep problems were more common in those with near miss accidents and actual crashes than in those without. Of note, poor sleep quality was associated with a sixfold increase in near miss accidents even after accounting for other factors. Conclusion Poor sleep is common in new parents and we provide preliminary evidence that sleep disruption in this population is associated with near miss motor vehicle accidents. Drowsy driving results in thousands of unnecessary serious injuries and fatalities each year; raising public awareness that new parents are a high-risk group is important.
Lift System for Raising Continuous Concrete Bridges

Due to road resurfacing a significant number of highway bridges throughout the nation violate underneath clearance requirements. A bridge lifting/monitoring system was developed as one solution to this problem. The system was designed to uniformly raise continuous 4‐span/4‐girder reinforced concrete deck/girder bridges. It is relatively lightweight, easy to set‐up and operate, reusable and designed to fit most bridge slopes, skew angles, girder spacings, and abutment/bent configurations. The major components of the lift system are: (1) A modular set of jack support and lift hardware; (2) a hydraulic system; and (3) a displacement monitoring system. The lift system performed very nicely when field tested on an experimental test bridge. The system was refined based on the results of the field testing. Detailed descriptions of the lift system components along with the systems capabilities, and lift procedure are presented.
A method for catheter navigation within realistic three-dimensional cardiac anatomy

We recently combined noncontact mapping and intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) in a single catheter-system that permitted detailed, single-beat, 3-D electrical-anatomical imaging of the heart. In the present study we developed a nonfluoroscopic electrode-catheter localization method and integrated it with noncontact electrical-anatomical imaging. The difference in nonfluoroscopic electrode locations compared to ICE was 6.3/spl plusmn/3.4 mm, while error in reproducibility of the nonfluoroscopic method was 0.7/spl plusmn/1.0 mm. Therefore, accurate and reproducible nonfluoroscopic localization and navigation of standard electrode-catheters within true and detailed 3-D images of cardiac anatomy is feasible. This approach may facilitate diagnosis of arrhythmias and advance their therapy.
Surface Potential of Charged Liposomes Determined by Second Harmonic Generation

We demonstrate that the surface potential of charged liposomes can be determined by second harmonic generation. The Gouy−Chapman model is used to describe the electric double layer. From the experimental data, we obtained the surface charge density and the surface potential of liposomes consisting of the negatively charged phospholipid dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol. The surface potential was found to be in the range of 20−100 mV depending on the concentration and valence of the electrolyte (NaCl or MgSO4) in solution. The charge density was found to be ∼1.3 × 1014 per cm2, corresponding to ∼70 A2/charge, which is comparable to the area per phospholipid headgroup.4
Reconnaissance geochemistry of the Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite, southern Antarctic Peninsula

Calc-alkaline plutonic rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite are the predominant rocks exposed in the Lassiter, Orville, and southern Black Coasts and eastern Ellsworth Land of West Antarctica. Compositions range from granite to gabbro. K-Ar and Rb-Sr isotopic ages are in the range 130–95 m.y., Early Cretaceous. Magmas were formed in the roots of an Andean-type magmatic arc developed on continental crust during Pacific plate subduction and were emplaced at high crustal levels as one-mica (biotite) granitoids. Our data do not demonstrate transverse asymmetric geochemical variation across the southern Antarctic Peninsula batholith complex in either the southern Black Coast or Lassiter Coast. We have, however, few samples from the eastern half of the batholith in this area. In eastern Ellsworth Land, however, where our samples span the entire width of the batholith, K 2 O index [1,000 K 2 O/(SiO 2 -45)] increases to the south away from the site of the former subduction zone. The batholithic rocks of the southern Antarctic Peninsula are similar in form, regional extent, composite nature, over-all composition, and geochemistry to the plutonic rocks of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, to southeastern Australian I-type granitoids, and to other circum-Pacific batholith terrenes. Geochemical features of the southern Antarctic Peninsula batholith complex that are shared with other circum-Pacific subduction-related magmatic arcs include moderate to low iron enrichment, late K 2 O enrichment, transition from diopside-normative to corundum-normative rocks in the range 63% to 69% SiO 2 , high levels of large-ion lithophile elements (Ba, K, LREE, Rb, Sr, Th), high Ba/Sr, high large ion lithophile element/high field strength element ratios, and low K/Rb ratios. Chondrite-normalized, rare-earth–element trends in the southern Antarctic Peninsula are similar to those of many western North and South American batholith complexes. Light rare-earth elements are only slightly enriched over heavy rare-earth elements in the most mafic samples, increase in abundance (to as much as 160 times chondrite values) and are more strongly enriched in intermediate and felsic rocks, but decline slightly in abundance in the most felsic compositions. Europium anomalies are negligible in the most mafic rocks but become moderately negative in intermediate and felsic samples. Variation in mineral assemblages is controlled by fractionation of clinopyroxene and plagioclase in the most mafic rocks, by hornblende and plagioclase in intermediate and felsic rocks, and by plagioclase and rare-earth-element–rich accessory minerals in the most felsic rocks.
Binding Modes of Thioflavin-T to the Single-Layer β-Sheet of the Peptide Self-Assembly Mimics

Although the amyloid dye thioflavin-T (ThT) is among the most widely used tools in the study of amyloid fibrils, the mechanism by which ThT binds to fibrils and other beta-rich peptide self-assemblies remains elusive. The development of the water-soluble peptide self-assembly mimic (PSAM) system has provided a set of ideal model proteins for experimentally exploring the properties and minimal dye-binding requirements of amyloid fibrils. PSAMs consist of a single-layer beta-sheet (SLB) capped by two globular domains, which capture the flat, extended beta-sheet features common among fibril-like surfaces. Recently, a PSAM that binds to ThT with amyloid-like affinity (low micromolar K(d)) has been designed, and its crystal structure in the absence of bound ThT was determined. This PSAM thus provides a unique opportunity to examine the interactions of ThT with a beta-rich structure. Here, we present molecular dynamics simulations of the binding of ThT to this PSAM beta-sheet. We show that the primary binding site for ThT is along a shallow groove formed by adjacent Tyr and Leu residues on the beta-sheet surface. These simulations provide an atomic-scale rationale for this PSAM's experimentally determined dye-binding properties. Together, our results suggest that an aromatic-hydrophobic groove spanning across four consecutive beta-strands represents a minimal ThT binding site on amyloid fibrils. Grooves formed by aromatic-hydrophobic residues on amyloid fibril surfaces may therefore offer a generic mode of recognition for amyloid dyes.
Somatic Symptoms and Anxiety Among African American Adolescents

Somatic symptoms are an associated feature of anxiety disorders that have received little research attention among non-White samples. In addition, the majority of previous studies have examined the influence of somatic symptoms in a cross-sectional rather than a prospective manner. This study examines the prevalence of 12 somatic symptoms, the association of somatic and anxiety symptoms (both concurrently and prospectively) with psychosocial functioning, and gender differences in somatic symptoms among a community sample of 114 African American adolescents (57 girls). In all, 83% of the sample reported at least one somatic symptom (some or most of the time within the past 2 weeks), and on average, adolescents reported 2.5 somatic symptoms. Somatic symptoms correlated positively with severity of anxiety symptoms and negatively with aspects of perceived competence. After the initial level of anxiety symptoms was controlled for, somatic symptoms were a unique predictor of perceived competence (at initial ass...
Modeling Unsteady Boundary Layer Transition on a Curved Plate Under Periodic Unsteady Flow Conditions: Aerodynamic and Heat Transfer Investigations

A boundary layer transition model is developed that accounts for the effects of periodic unsteady wake flow on the boundary layer transition. To establish the model, comprehensive unsteady boundary layer and heat transfer experimental investigations are conducted. The experiments are performed on a curved plate at zero-streamwise pressure gradient under periodic unsteady wake flow, where the frequency of the periodic unsteady flow is varied. The analysis of the time-dependent velocities, turbulence intensities, and turbulence intermittencies has identified three distinct quantities as primarily responsible for the transition of an unsteady boundary layer. These quantities, which exhibit the basis of the transition model presented in this paper, are: (1) relative intermittency, (2) maximum intermittency, and (3) minimum intermittency. To validate the developed transition model, it is implemented in an existing boundary layer code, and the resulting velocity profiles and the heat transfer coefficients are compared with the experimental data.
Use and Care of Laboratory Animals

The Society has always been concerned over the problems involved in the use of animals for medical research and in 1935 appointed a Committee for the Defense of Animal Experimentation composed of Eliot Cutler, Chairman; C. I. Reed, Secretary; G. H. Whipple and A. B. Luckhardt. At every meeting of the Society, there were appeals for money for the support of this Committee and in 1942 the Society voted 5 cents per member as a suitable donation for the cause (with 796 members this amounted to about $40.00). Much of the activity of the antivivisectionists was centered in Chicago at this time and A. J. Carlson and A. C. Ivy were particularly vigorous in defending the use of dogs for research purposes. In 1946, Dr. Ivy addressed the Society and described the new National Society for Medical Research with headquarters in Chicago with Dr. Carlson as its first president and Mr. Ralph A. Rohweder as Executive Secretary. The important part played by this group and various members of the American Physiological Society in the defense of animal experimentation is very well described in the following letter by Mr. Rohweder dated January 31, 1963:
Natural Degradative Routes for the Aporphines

While it is recognized that aporphines may be biosynthesized in different ways (direct coupling, rearrangement of proaporphines, etc), it is also true that they are catabolized in plants by a variety of routes.
An analysis of five negative sprite-parent discharges and their associated thunderstorm charge structures

In this study we analyze the discharge morphologies of five confirmed negative sprite-parent discharges and the associated charge structures of the thunderstorms that produced them. The negative sprite-parent lightning took place in two thunderstorms that were associated with a tropical disturbance in east central and south Florida. The first thunderstorm, which moved onshore in east central Florida, produced four of the five negative sprite-parent discharges within a period of 17 min, as it made landfall from the Atlantic Ocean. These negative sprite-parents were composed of bolt-from-the-blue (BFB), hybrid intracloud-negative cloud-to-ground (IC-NCG), and multicell IC-NCGs discharges. The second thunderstorm, which occurred inland over south Florida, produced a negative sprite-parent that was a probable hybrid IC-NCG discharge and two negative gigantic jets (GJs). Weakened upper positive charge with very large midlevel negative charge was inferred for both convective cells that initiated the negative-sprite-parent discharges. Our study suggests tall, intense convective systems with high wind shear at the middle to upper regions of the cloud accompanied by low cloud-to-ground (CG) flash rates promote these charge structures. The excess amount of midlevel negative charge results in these CG discharges transferring much more charge to ground than typical negative CG discharges. We find that BFB discharges prefer an asymmetrical charge structure that brings the negative leader exiting the upper positive charge region closer to the lateral positive screening charge layer. This may be the main factor in determining whether a negative leader exiting the upper positive region of the thundercloud forms a BFB or GJ.
Multi-frequency self-calibration of antenna arrays

Self-calibration techniques typically use signals collected in a single channel. To operate properly they require multiple co-channel signals to be present. Here we develop a self-calibration technique which uses data collected simultaneously from multiple frequency channels to calibrate the array and provide direction estimates for the signals in the channel of interest. The probability that a sufficient number of signals are present at any given time is dramatically increased when multiple channels are being used. This increases significantly the usefulness of self-calibration in practical direction finding scenarios. The performance advantages of multi-frequency calibration are illustrated by numerical examples.
Focus on . . . Pensions Under the New Bankruptcy Code

This article describes the issues that arise upon the bankruptcy of an individual who is (1) a participant or beneficiary under an employer-sponsored retirement plan or (2) the owner or a beneficiary of an individual retirement account (IRA), including a rollover IRA. It does not address issues arising on the bankruptcy of the sponsoring employer, or issues relating to health and welfare plans.
The Right to Remedy by Due Course of Law -- A Historical Exploration and an Appeal for Reconsideration

This Article explores the meaning of the right to remedy by due course of law recognized in many state constitutions and argues that the state supreme courts that have equated this provision of their state constitution with the Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution have misunderstood this provision. This study develops in several steps. Part II discusses three significant developments in American law and jurisprudence that have had a profound impact on state constitutional interpretation and have contributed to the misunderstanding of this provision. Part III examines the opinions of members of the Indiana Supreme Court that were issued in a series of cases that interpreted this provision, and it highlights some of the different approaches and different understandings among the justices. Part IV explores the history and the sources of this state constitutional provision and the right to remedy by due course of law, noting two distinct textual paths — the “due process” path and the “remedial” path — that developed from Magna Carta in English law and were incorporated into early state constitutions. Along the way, this study will provide insight into the rich meaning of this provision, the three clauses (i.e., the open courts clause, the remedy clause, and the administration of justice clause) included in it, and the right to remedy by due course of law. This Article concludes with an appeal to state supreme courts to reconsider their precedents interpreting this provision and the right to remedy by due course of law and to take into account the historical exploration conducted here.
Characterization of Photo-Cvd Silicon Oxide

A photochemical vapor deposition technique was used to deposit silicon oxide films. A range of film properties was produced through changes in the process conditions. Refractive index, indicative of film composition, varied from 1.5 to 2.0, corresponding to oxygen rich and silicon rich conditions, respectively. Etch rate in buffered HF was a strong function of the refractive index, with higher index of refraction yielding lower rates. Film stress was tensile and the magnitude of the stress was again related to the index of refraction. Other properties that were evaluated included pinhole density and adhesion to Si. All the properties were directly relatable to the basic film composition. X-ray photo electron and Auger electron spectroscopy were used to characterize the composition of these films. The Si 2p photoelectron and the Si KLL Auger electron spectra were broad for higher refractive index films and upon deconvolution indicated the presence of different silicon containing species, the natures of which depended upon the actual index of refraction. For stoichiometric films, the predominant constituent was SiO2 and for non-stoichiometric films, varying amounts of Si2O, SiO, Si2O3 and SiO2 were all present.
Single and modeled multifrequency electrical impedance myography parameters and their relationship to force production in the ALS SOD1G93A mouse

ABSTRACTObjective: The relationship between muscle force production in ALS SOD1G93A mice and single and modeled multifrequency electrical impedance myography (EIM) parameters is unknown. We evaluated the relationship between multifrequency EIM data and paw grip and in situ force measurements, as well to standard measures including body weight and compound motor action potential (CMAP) amplitude. Methods: Twenty-nine SOD1 G93A mice aged 13–18 weeks (approximately 4–5 per week) and a group of similarly aged wild-type mice (N = 7) were studied with single and multifrequency EIM, CMAP, front and hind-limb paw grip measures, and in situ force measurements of the gastrocnemius. Results: Significant differences among WT, presymptomatic, and symptomatic ALS animals were identified for all standard measures and single 50 kHz frequency EIM parameters. Of the modeled multifrequency measures, the center frequency, fc , an index of cell size, showed the strongest relationship to force output. The two other multifreque...
Lu Yu: the past and future of condensed matter physics

Lu Yu, a distinguished theoretical physicist at the Institute of Physics (IOP) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has witnessed the development of Chinese physics over the past five decades, from the difficult period of 1960s when physicists worked in a 'half-fed' state to the present flowering springtime of Chinese physics in which many breakthroughs at the frontier of physics are attracting international recognition. He considers these achievements to be not merely 'intermittent bubbles', but the cumulative result of sustained governmental support of basic research over the past decades. In his area of condensed-matter physics, Yu sees 'a big deep-rooted tree with many branches-some old branches have withered away, but new shoots continue to appear'. In a recent interview with NSR, Yu reflected upon the recent history of condensed-matter physics in China-what has been accomplished and what lies ahead-and his view on the development of physics in general.
A unification hypothesis of pigment dispersion syndrome.

Abstract PURPOSE: To synthesize recent findings regarding pigment dispersion syndrome in order to arrive at a hypothesis concerning the nature of an underlying genetic predisposition. METHODS: The literature on the subject was reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: Eyes with pigment dispersion syndrome differ from normal in that they have a larger iris, a midperipheral posterior iris concavity that increases with accommodation, a more posterior iris insertion, increased iridolenticular contact that is reversed by inhibition of blinking, possibly an inherent weakness of the iris pigment epithelium, and an increased incidence of lattice degeneration of the retina. CONCLUSION: A gene affecting some aspect of the development of the middle third of the eye early in the third trimester appears at the present time to be the most likely cause.
Resting-state functional MRI distinguishes temporal lobe epilepsy subtypes.

SummaryObjective We assessed whether presurgical resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides information for distinguishing temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with mesial temporal sclerosis (TLE-MTS) from TLE without MTS (TLE-noMTS). Methods Thirty-four patients with TLE and 34 sex-/age-matched controls consented to a research imaging protocol. MTS status was confirmed by histologic evaluation of surgical tissue (TLE-MTS = 16; TLE-noMTS = 18). The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs) in the blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) resting-state fMRI signal, a marker of local metabolic demand at rest, was averaged at five regions of interest (ROIs; hippocampus, amygdala, frontal, occipital, and temporal lobe), along with corresponding volume and cortical thickness estimates. ROIs were labeled ipsilateral or contralateral according to seizure lateralization and compared across TLE-MTS, TLE-noMTS, and healthy controls (HCs). MTS status was regressed on ipsilateral hippocampal volume and fALFF to test for independent contributions. Results The TLE-MTS group had reduced fALFF in the ipsilateral amygdala and hippocampus; whereas, the TLE-noMTS group had marginally reduced fALFF in the ipsilateral amygdala but not hippocampus. These results were consistently obtained with and without application of global signal regression (GSR). Ipsilateral hippocampal volume contributed to 37% of the variance in MTS status (p < 0.001) and fALFF contributed an additional 10% (p = 0.021). Two MTS cases were accurately classified with fALFF but not volume, and three were accurately classified with volume but not fALFF. At the lobar level, fALFF (with GSR) was reduced in the ipsilateral temporal and bilateral frontal lobes of patients with TLE-MTS and bilateral frontal lobes of patients with TLE-noMTS in the context of normal cortical thickness. Significance This study indicates that resting-state fMRI provides complementary functional information for MTS classification. Findings validate fALFF as a measure of regional brain integrity in TLE and highlight the value of using multi-modal imaging to provide independent diagnostic information in presurgical epilepsy evaluations.
Difficult Conversations in Neurology: Defining Medical Student Exposure and Educational Opportunities (P2.369)

OBJECTIVE: To define the frequency and range of content of medical student exposure to difficult conversations during a neurology clerkship and its impact on students9 confidence to lead similar conversations in the future. BACKGROUND: Training in communication skills is an essential part of medical student education; however, it is not clear how this training occurs in the context of clinical rotations. DESIGN/METHODS: In this prospective study, students rotating through a required neurology clerkship were asked to record and reflect on difficult conversations (defined as discussions of 1) new disability, 2) poor neurologic prognosis, 3) prognostic uncertainty, 4) terminal diagnosis or 5) end-of-life care). All students completed baseline and follow-up surveys. Students tracked the number and content of difficult conversations using an online “communication tracker” tool. Focus groups were performed at clerkship end to explore the educational value of clinical encounters. RESULTS: Fifty-five second (n=22; 11 M, 11 F), third (n=24; 12 M, 12 F), and fourth-year (n=9; 5 M, 4 F) medical students were enrolled. Most students reported no prior formal classroom (63[percnt]) or bedside (84[percnt]) instruction in communication around the pre-defined conversation types. The majority of students (85[percnt]) desired additional bedside instruction in communication skills. Most students (71[percnt]) observed a difficult conversation during the neurology clerkship (median 1, range 0-6). Students were most frequently exposed to discussions of poor neurologic prognosis (42[percnt]), new disability (29[percnt]), and/or prognostic uncertainty (22[percnt]). Students who observed a conversation about poor neurologic prognosis felt more prepared to lead such a conversation at the end of the rotation than those who did not (p=0.02). In focus groups, students identified pre-conversation planning and post-conversation debriefing as important, often overlooked, educational opportunities. CONCLUSIONS: While exposure alone can improve students’ perceived ability to lead conversations about poor neurologic prognosis, opportunities remain to enhance communication skills education in neurology. Disclosure: Dr. Lemmon has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gamaldo has nothing to disclose. Dr. Salas has nothing to disclose. Dr. Saxena has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cruz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Boss has nothing to disclose. Dr. Strowd has received research support from the American Academy of Neurology.