cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuroblastoma screening data. An epidemiologic analysis.

• Neuroblastoma is one of the most common malignant neoplasms in children under age 5 years. Little progress has been made in the prognosis of advanced stage disease in the past three decades. Since the development in the 1960s of a simple urine test to detect neuroblastoma metabolites, there has been hope that mortality from this disease could be reduced by early detection via mass screening of young infants. Encouraging reports from Japan on mass screening programs instituted in the 1970s have been appearing in the medical literature since 1982, resulting in widespread interest in screening. This article applies standard epidemiologic criteria for screening evaluations to the Japanese reports. We find that the data needed to definitively assess the value of screening were not a part of those reports and that the benefits claimed from the reported data could be due to overdiagnosis. In addition, the most recent Japanese data, combined with recent advances in biologic understanding of neuroblastoma, show that screening at age 6 months may not detect tumors with poor prognoses. Even if it could, it is uncertain whether those outcomes could be substantially altered by earlier diagnosis. Although a final verdict on the value of neuroblastoma screening is not yet possible, these neuroblastoma studies are an excellent example of how screening results must be viewed with extreme caution in the absence of age-specific, population-based incidence and mortality rates. (AJDC.1991;145:1415-1422)
Run-time operator state spilling for memory intensive long-running queries

Main memory is a critical resource when processing long-running queries over data streams with state intensive operators. In this work, we investigate state spill strategies that handle run-time memory shortage when processing such complex queries by selectively pushing operator states into disks. Unlike previous solutions which all focus on one single operator only, we instead target queries with multiple state intensive operators. We observe an interdependency among multiple operators in the query plan when spilling operator states. We illustrate that existing strategies, which do not take account of this interdependency, become largely ineffective in this query context. Clearly, a consolidated plan level spill strategy must be devised to address this problem. Several data spill strategies are proposed in this paper to maximize the run-time query throughput in memory constrained environments. The bottom-up state spill strategy is an operator-level strategy that treats all data in one operator state equally. More sophisticated partition-level data spill strategies are then proposed to take different characteristics of the input data into account, including the local output, the global output and the global output with penalty strategies. All proposed state spill strategies have been implemented in the D-CAPE continuous query system. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of our proposed strategies. In particular, the global output strategy and the global output with penalty strategy have shown favorable results as compared to the other two more localized strategies.
Time to pick the fly's brain.

Drosophila transformed developmental genetics and cell biology. Now the fruitfly is poised to help biologists decipher how the brain works.
A novel method for low load friction testing on living cells.

A low load tribology technique for studying the effects of friction on living cells was developed. Results show a direct relationship between the coefficient of friction (COF) and the extent of cell damage. The COF, μ, for a glass pin on an intact layer of human corneal epithelial cells is determined to be on the order of μ = 0.05 ± 0.02 (n = 16). The correlations between applied normal load and extent of cell damage, as well as between number of reciprocation cycles and cell damage, are reported. It is also found that cell damage can occur when a loading force as low as 0.5 mN is applied, although the cells appear to be intact.
Over Time Dynamics of Monetary Intergenerational Exchanges

Using data from 9,674 individuals in three waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we used three latent-class transition models to predict the probabilities of monetary transfers that study participants made to adult children and received from their adult children over a 6-year period of time, from 1998 to 2002. Generally, we found a high degree of stability in over time transition patterns. Whereas time invariant predictor variables (i.e., age, race, and gender) were related to the probabilities of transfers in Wave 1 of the study, these variables were not predictive of over time changes. Only changes in marital status were consistently related to intergenerational exchanges of monetary resources over time.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia’s Nat Turner? Mesmerism, Stowe, and the Terror of Things

When mesmerism first came to this hemisphere by way of St. Domingue, a complex association between radical abolition and the new science was born. Harriet Beecher Stowe takes up that association in her second abolitionist novel Dred. In so doing she charts an emergent trauma theory developing among slaves that deliberately focused on perpetrators rather than victims of New World slavery. Such a reading widens our understanding of early trauma theory by making visible the tension between Stowe’s sentimental strategy famously inscribed in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and her adaptation of theories by thinkers like Frederick Douglass. If the first strategy depends on familiar but discrete bonds of sympathy between her reader and slaves like Uncle Tom, the second involves recognition of uncontained levels of fear compulsively linking emancipation with slave insurrection. The title Dred deliberately puns on that fear, working to undo what Brian Massumi has called its “preemptive logic.”
Fruit and pedicel characters derived from Galápagos Tomatoes

By relatively simple breeding procedures, seven different modifications of fruit and pedicel have been successfully transferred from wild tomatoes of the Galapagos Islands to large-fruited cultivars. Some of these traits, the majority of which are simply inherited, may have horticultural value. Such introgression from the wild forms is expedited by the remarkable freedom from barriers at any stage of the breeding processes.
Growth and interdiffusion of ultrathin films of Ti and Ni on Mo(110)

Abstract The growth and interdiffusion of Ti and Ni on a Mo(110) surface have been studied by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and temperature programmed desorption spectroscopy (TPD). Ti grows layer-by-layer upon deposition on Mo(110) at 115 K, whereas annealing multilayers of Ti to 900 K causes formation of Ti three-dimensional clusters. Submonolayer Ti on Mo(110), annealed to 300–700 K, induces a LEED pattern interpreted to arise from a Ti overlayer with a distorted Ti (0001) lattice. This pattern disappears upon annealing above 700 K, consistent with a phase transition from a distorted Ti (0001) lattice to a pseudomorphic structure. On a Mo (110) surface first covered with Ni and then Ti (or deposited in the reverse order), Ti and Ni interdiffuse to form a Ti-Ni compound when annealed above 300 K.
Fluorinated xerogel-derived microelectrodes for amperometric nitric oxide sensing.

An amperometric fluorinated xerogel-derived nitric oxide (NO) microelectrode is described. A range of fluorine-modified xerogel polymers were synthesized via the cohydrolysis and condensation of alkylalkoxy- and fluoroalkoxysilanes. Such polymers were evaluated as NO sensor membranes to identify the optimum composition for maximizing NO permeability while providing sufficient selectivity for NO in the presence of common interfering species. By taking advantage of both the versatility of sol-gel chemistry and the "poly(tetrafluoroethylene)-like" high NO permselective properties of the xerogels, the performance of the fluorinated xerogel-derived sensors was excellent, surpassing all miniaturized NO sensors reported to date. In contrast to previous electrochemical NO sensor designs, xerogel-based NO microsensors were fabricated using a simple, reliable dip-coating procedure. An optimal permselective membrane was achieved by synthesizing xerogels of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMOS) and 20% (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl)trimethoxysilane (17FTMS, balance MTMOS) under acid-catalyzed conditions. The resulting NO microelectrode had a conical tip of approximately 20 microm in diameter and approximately 55 microm in length and exhibited sensitivities of 7.91 pA x nM (-1) from 0.2 to 3.0 nM (R (2) = 0.9947) and 7.60 nA x microM (-1) from 0.5 to 4.0 microM ( R (2) = 0.9999), detection limit of 83 pM (S/ N = 3), response time ( t 95%) of or=90% of the sensor's initial sensitivity without serious deterioration in selectivity.
Suppressor Mutations Suggest a Surface on PAT-4 (Integrin-linked Kinase) That Interacts with UNC-112 (Kindlin)

Caenorhabditis elegans striated muscle cells attach to basement membrane and transmit the force of muscle contraction through integrin adhesion complexes. The cytoplasmic tail of β-integrin (PAT-3) is associated with a conserved four-protein complex that includes UNC-112 (kindlin), PAT-4 (integrin-linked kinase), PAT-6 (α-parvin/actopaxin), and UNC-97 (PINCH). The proper localization of UNC-112 to muscle integrin adhesion sites requires PAT-4. A recent report (Qadota, H., Moerman, D. G., and Benian, G. M. (2012) A molecular mechanism for the requirement of PAT-4 (integrin-linked kinase (ILK)) for the localization of UNC-112 (kindlin) to integrin adhesion sites. J. Biol. Chem. 287, 28537-28551) suggests a possible molecular mechanism for this requirement: that UNC-112 exists in closed inactive and open active conformations, and conversion to the open active form is promoted by binding to PAT-4 (ILK). Previously, we also reported identification of a single missense mutation in UNC-112, D382V, which abolishes both binding to PAT-4 and normal localization to integrin adhesion sites in vivo. In this report, we describe isolation and characterization of PAT-4 missense mutations that permit binding with UNC-112 D382V and place nine affected residues on a homology model of PAT-4. These nine residues cluster in two regions on the surface of PAT-4, do not overlap the likely binding surface for PAT-6 (α-parvin), and therefore may reside along the interaction surface of PAT-4 for UNC-112 (kindlin). We also show that one of these PAT-4 mutations restores the ability of UNC-112 D382V to localize to integrin adhesions and participate in complex formation.
Significance of new potassium-argon ages from the Goldens Ranch and Moroni Formations, Sanpete-Sevier Valley area, central Utah

Exposures of volcanic-sedimentary strata are widely distributed within central Utah. We believe that these volcanic and stratified sedimentary rocks, known by different formational names in different parts of this region, are, in fact, segments of one and the same suite of rocks that formed during the early and middle Tertiary. The volcanic-sedimentary complex is exposed on both sides of a north-trending lowland formed by the collinear Juab and Sevier Valleys. West of the lowland, the complex has been named the "Goldens Ranch Formation" east of the lowland, it has been called the "Moroni Formation."; Both formations are stratigraphically alike in that each consists of a lower unit composed predominantly of water-laid, variably cemented sediments and sedimentary rocks with some tuff beds near the base, and an upper unit of intermediate-composition volcanic rocks, chiefly ash-flow tuffs, and volcanic breccias. Both formations contain abundant exotic clasts of andesite, tan and purple quartzite, and dark blue limestone and dolomite. Both formations are folded and faulted along with the underlying sedimentary units. Potassium-argon ages indicate that both the Goldens Ranch and Moroni Formations formed during the late Eocene to middle Oligocene. The geochronology and stratigraphic relations are strong evidence that the Goldens Ranch and Moroni Formations are correlative, and that they are one and the same depositional unit. During the latest Oligocene-earliest Miocene, minor monzonitic bodies intruded sedimentary units in the area. The new K-Ar data bear on the matter of the origin of the complex structural deformation in central Utah. Different workers have attributed the singular deformation either to recurrent episodes of compression stemming from the Sevier orogeny, or to repeated episodes of salt diapirism. We recognize two sequences of repeated deformation: one that occurred prior to deposition and consolidation of the Goldens Ranch and Moroni Formations, and a second that occurred after these formations were emplaced, in essence, after early Oligocene time. The Sevier orogeny ended in Paleocene time; thus, the compression and thrusting stemming from the Sevier orogeny could be responsible for the structural complexity that marks pre-Paleocene units. These same orogenic forces do not seem to be viable explanations for the broad flexures and monoclinal downwarps that mark the Goldens Ranch, Moroni, and younger formations. In our view, multiple episodes of salt diapirism more reasonably explain the structural complexity in central Utah.
Hemoglobin Kinetics of the Galapagos Rift Vent Tube Worm Riftia pachyptila Jones (Pogonophora; Vestimentifera).

Kinetics of the reactions of Riftia pachyptila hemoglobin with oxygen were followed spectrophotometrically by stopped-flow and laser flash photolysis techniques. The rate of oxygen dissociation increases eightfold over the range of 5 ° to 20 ° C ( k = 2.2 sec – 1 at 10 ° C). Oxygen recombination after flash photolysis was biphasic. The rates of both slow and fast phases of the reaction were independent of temperature from 0 ° to 20 ° C( k9 fast = 7 x 10 6 ; k9 slow = 1 x 16 6 liter mole –1 sec –1 ). As the oxygen affinity is relatively temperature independent, analysis in terms of the two-state model of cooperativity requires that the conformational equilibrium constant L decrease by about 50-fold between 3 ° and 15 ° C .
Problems and crusades: A history of poultry disease research in the United Kingdom 1

Abstract 1. Poultry disease research in the UK began recognisably in the 1920s, in consequence of the development of a national poultry industry of economic importance. 2. Increasing disease problems during the 1930s revealed the need for more research, resulting notably in the growth of the Poultry Department of the Central Veterinary Laboratory and the establishment of Houghton Poultry Research Station. 3. Continued growth of the egg industry and the introduction of the broiler industry in the 1950s stimulated increased disease research, much of it publicly funded, during the following two decades. 4. Changing government attitudes to agricultural research in the 1980s brought about far‐reaching changes to the funding, organisation, nature and amount of disease research conducted. Arrangements for such research continue to evolve.
An Overview of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The advent of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), currently with a launch readiness date of December, 2012, will see evolutionary changes in the Landsat data products available from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. The USGS initiated a revolution in 2009 when EROS began distributing Landsat data products at no cost to requestors in contrast to the past practice of charging the cost of fulfilling a request; that is, charging $600 per Landsat scene. To implement this drastic change, EROS terminated data processing options for requestors and began to produce all data products using a consistent processing recipe. EROS plans to continue this practice for the LDCM and will required new algorithms to process data from the LDCM sensors. All previous Landsat satellites flew multispectral scanners to collect image data of the global land surface. Additionally, Landsats 4, 5, and 7 flew sensors that acquired imagery for both reflective spectral bands and a single thermal band. In contrast, the LDCM will carry two pushbroom sensors; the Operational Land Imager (OLI) for reflective spectral bands and the Thermal InfraRed Sensor (TIRS) for two thermal bands. EROS is developing the ground data processing system that will both calibrate and correct the data from the thousands of detectors employed by the pushbroom sensors and that will also combine the data from the two sensors to create a single data product with registered data for all of the OLI and TIRS bands.
Abnormal left ventricular contraction revealed by impedance cardiograms and arterial tracings in bundle branch blocks and old myocardial infarcts.

Following the observation of an unusual pattern of the first derivative of the impedance cardiogram in cases of bundle branch block, a systematic study was performed both in normal controls and clinical cases. This graphic study was supplemented by the simultaneous recording of the first derivative of an arterial tracing, preferably the indirect aortic pulse at the suprasternal notch.These studies were performed in 70 subjects: 30 normal subjects, 14 cases of right bundle branch block, 14 cases of left bundle branch block, and 12 cases of old infarcts.Out of 30 normal subjects, only 2 old persons showed splintering of the main systolic wave. Both right and left bundle branch blocks had in common either a splitting of this wave in 2 peaks or multiple splintering; however, 4 cases in each type of bundle branch block had a normal pattern. Among old infarcts, 7 had a splitting, 3 had multiple splitting, and 2 had a normal pattern. The derivative of the arterial tracings showed a remarkable similar ity with th...
Major and Minor Anomalies in Japanese Children with Down's Syndrome

Fifty-five percent of 106 Japanese patients between 2 days and 5 years of age with Down's syndrome were found to have major congenital cardiac defects. Autopsy was performed on 18 cases. Of these, 11 had major congenital heart defects. In addition, all 18 autopsied cases revealed many minor cardiac abnormalities, such as nodular or diffuse hypertrophic valves, parachute formation of atrioventricular valves, hypoplastic papillary muscles, and abnormal attachment of chorda tendineae. It is postulated that minor cardiac abnormalities are secondary to abnormal endocardial and bulbar cushion formation.
The binding of calcium to detergent-extracted rabbit psoas muscle fibres during relaxation and force generation.

Rigor complexes between actin and myosin have been shown to cause increased binding of Ca2+ to troponin C. A similar effect of force-generating crossbridges has been suggested as an explanation for the coupling between load and activation which has been observed in skeletal and cardiac muscle. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that Ca2+-troponin affinity during crossbridge cycling is load-dependent. Ca2+-binding to detergent-extracted rabbit psoas fibres was measured during ATP-induced force generation and in the relaxed state. To compare Ca2+ binding in the latter two states it was necessary to establish conditions in which ATP-induced force could be regulated independently of free Ca2+ concentration. Such conditions were obtained by the use of either the ATPase inhibitor sodium vanadate or the substitution of MgITP for MgATP as an energy source. This study showed that in the presence of MgATP (or MgITP) the amount of Ca2+ bound to the myofilaments at a given free Ca2+ concentration was independent of the force generated. Thus forceper se is not a determinant of Ca2+-troponin affinity.
Assessment of the male reproductive system in the preweanling rat following Mn3O4 exposure

Long-Evans rat pups were dosed orally from birth to 21 d with particulate Mn3O4 to obtain a daily dose of 0, 71, or 214 micrograms Mn/body weight . d. Assessments of the hypothalamic, pituitary, or testicular functions were determined by measuring the endogenous or stimulated serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and/or testosterone (T) at 21 or 28 d of age. Body, testes, and seminal vesicles weight and tissue concentrations of Mn were also evaluated. Only slight Mn treatment effects were seen in body and testes weights. No effects were seen either on unstimulated or stimulated FSH or LH serum concentrations. Although no Mn treatment effects were seen on endogenous or 2 h human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulate serum T concentrations, there was a reduction in the serum T following 7 d of hCG stimulation. The hypothalamic Mn concentrations in animals with these reproductive effects were three times those where alterations in the dopaminergic pathway have been reported. However, no indication of hypothalamic or pituitary malfunction was found. These results suggest that the site of Mn damage that causes depression of sustained serum T concentration is in the testicular Leydig cell.
Extracellular generation of adenosine by the ectonucleotidases CD39 and CD73 promotes dermal fibrosis.

Adenosine has an important role in inflammation and tissue remodeling and promotes dermal fibrosis by adenosine receptor (A 2A R) activation. Adenosine may be formed intracellularly from adenine nucleotides or extracellularly through sequential phosphohydrolysis of released ATP by nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (CD39) and ecto-5′-nucleotidase (CD73). Because the role of these ecto-enzymes in fibrosis appears to be tissue specific, we determined whether these ectonucleotidases were directly involved in diffuse dermal fibrosis. Wild-type and mice globally deficient in CD39 knockout (CD39KO), CD73 (CD73KO), or both (CD39/CD73DKO) were challenged with bleomycin. Extracellular adenosine levels and dermal fibrosis were quantitated. Adenosine release from skin cultured ex vivo was increased in wild-type mice after bleomycin treatment but remained low in skin from CD39KO, CD73KO, or CD39/CD73DKO bleomycin-treated mice. Deletion of CD39 and/or CD73 decreased the collagen content, and prevented skin thickening and tensile strength increase after bleomycin challenge. Decreased dermal fibrotic features were associated with reduced expression of the profibrotic mediators, transforming growth factor-β1 and connective tissue growth factor, and diminished myofibroblast population in CD39- and/or CD73-deficient mice. Our work supports the hypothesis that extracellular adenosine, generated in tandem by ecto-enzymes CD39 and CD73, promotes dermal fibrogenesis. We suggest that biochemical or biological inhibitors of CD39 and/or CD73 may hold promise in the treatment of dermal fibrosis in diseases such as scleroderma.
An active/passive mode-locked laser oscillator

A Q-switched/mode-locked Nd:YAG laser oscillator employing simultaneous active (electro-optic) and passive (saturable absorber) loss modulation within the optical cavity is described. This “dual modulation” oscillator can produce transform-limited pulses of duration ranging from &#60;50 psec to >5 nsec with greatly improved stability compared to other mode-locked systems. The pulses produced by this system lack intrapulse frequency or amplitude modulation, and hence are ideally suited for amplification to high energies and for other applications where well-defined pulses are required.
Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight analysis of low‐concentration oligonucleotides and mini‐sequencing products

A new sample preparation procedure has been developed to improve the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis of low-concentration oligonucleotides. In this method, a few microL of the oligonucleotide solutions are first dispensed and allow drying and shrinking to a small spot on an anchoring target. Thereafter, a small volume (0.1 microL) of the saturated 3-hydroxypicolinic acid (3-HPA) solution is added to the top of the shrunk oligonucleotide spot. It is found that the sample prepared by this procedure is more homogenous and substantially reduces the need to search for 'sweet' spots. Importantly, the increased shot-to-shot and sample-to-sample reproducibility makes it possible to perform high-throughput and quantitative analysis. We demonstrated that this procedure allowed the robust detection of oligonucleotides at a level of 0.01 microM and mini-sequencing products produced using only 50 fmol of the extension primer.
Casein kinase 2 associates with and phosphorylates Dishevelled

The dishevelled (dsh) gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a phosphoprotein whose phosphorylation state is elevated by Wingless stimulation, suggesting that the phosphorylation of Dsh and the kinase(s) responsible for this phosphorylation are integral parts of the Wg signaling pathway. We found that immunoprecipitated Dsh protein from embryos and from cells in tissue culture is associated with a kinase activity that phosphorylates Dsh in vitro. Purification and peptide sequencing of a 38 kDa protein co-purifying with this kinase activity showed it to be identical to Drosophila Casein Kinase 2 (CK2). Tryptic phosphopeptide mapping indicates that identical peptides are phosphorylated by CK2 in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that CK2 is at least one of the kinases that phosphorylates Dsh. Overexpression of Dfz2, a Wingless receptor, also stimulated phosphorylation of Dsh, Dsh-associated kinase activity, and association of CK2 with Dsh, thus suggesting a role for CK2 in the transduction of the Wg signal.
Three Fields of Research Help Mold the Future of Education.

School administrators and teachers realize that the nation is calling upon its schools to improve the quality of graduates. Learning styles, brain behavior, and thinking skills research can help educators meet that challenge,
A discourse analysis of deixis: pragmatic, cognitive and semantic factors in the comprehension of ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘here’ and ‘there’

Children (mean age 3; 6) were tested as to the comprehension of the deictic words this, that, here and there in two conditions: as hearers–addressees and as hearers–spectators. It was hypothesized that comprehension of these words depends on the role the comprehender plays in the conversation, and that a spectator's role is more difficult than an addressee's. Comprehension in a pragmatic condition (with a pointing gesture accompanying the utterance) was contrasted with a semantic condition (without gesture), and the prediction was that the pragmatic use of the words would facilitate comprehension. It was also theorized that this and here are marked, whereas that and there are unmarked. Therefore, it was predicted that this and here would be more difficult to comprehend than that and there. All the initial predictions were confirmed by the analysis of variance. The results are discussed within recent theories of pragmatics, semantics and cognitive development.
Early Rehabilitation Following Surgical Fixation of a Femoral Shaft Fracture

Background and Purpose. The purpose of this case report is to describe the outcome of a patient following fixation of a midshaft femur fracture and an evaluation-based, immediate-weight-bearing approach to rehabilitation. Case Description. The patient was a 28-year-old male manual laborer whose left femur was fractured in a head-on motor vehicle accident. The patient was treated with internal fixation of the left femur by use of an antegrade intramedullary nail. Following surgery, impairments in range of motion, knee extensor and hip abductor strength, and gait were observed. Intervention focused on immediate weight bearing and early progression of strengthening to address the observed impairments. Outcomes. All of the patient’s impairments improved, and he was able to return to work as a manual laborer within 6 months. Discussion. Immediate weight bearing with early strengthening activities following surgical correction of a midshaft femur fracture may result in early resolution of impairments and functional limitations and decreased disability.
Algorithm 428: Hu-Tucker minimum redundancy alphabetic coding method [Z]

This algorithm implements the Hu-Tucker method of variable length, minimum redundancy alphabetic binary encoding [1]. The symbols of the alphabet are considered to be an ordered forest of n terminal nodes. Two nodes in an ordered forest are said to be tentative-connecting if the sequence of nodes between the two given nodes is either empty or consists entirely of nonterminal nodes.
Phenylephrine-induced elevations in arterial blood pressure are attenuated in heat-stressed humans

To test the hypothesis that phenylephrine-induced elevations in blood pressure are attenuated in heat-stressed humans, blood pressure was elevated via steady-state infusion of three doses of phenylephrine HCl in 10 healthy subjects in both normothermic and heat stress conditions. Whole body heating significantly increased sublingual temperature by ~0.5 degrees C, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), heart rate, and cardiac output and decreased total peripheral vascular resistance (TPR; all P 0.05). At the highest dose of phenylephrine, the increase in MAP and TPR from predrug baselines was significantly attenuated during the heat stress [DeltaMAP 8.4 +/- 1.2 mmHg; DeltaTPR 0.96 +/- 0.85 peripheral resistance units (PRU)] compared with normothermia (DeltaMAP 15.4 +/- 1.4 mmHg, DeltaTPR 7.13 +/- 1.18 PRU; all P 0.05). These data suggest that phenylephrine-induced elevations in MAP are attenuated in heat-stressed humans without affecting baroreflex control of MSNA or heart rate.
Reflectance Measurements from 1140A to 1190A by a Simple Open Air Method

A method for the rapid measurement of reflectance, transmittance, and grating efficiencies in the region 1140A to 1190A is described. The method takes advantage of four narrow atmospheric transmission bands and requires no vacuum or dispersing system. The detector is a recently improved thermoluminescent phosphor which is sensitive only to wavelengths below 1340A. Reflectances obtained from samples of various materials are given, and aging and cleaning of aluminum surfaces are studied. The measured efficiencies of four 15 000 lines-per-in. aluminum gratings ranged from 12 to 5 percent.
Popliteal artery entrapment: Diagnosis by computed tomography

Abstract Popliteal artery entrapment by an anomalous band of the gastrocnemius muscle is uncommon. In cases where popliteal artery occlusion has occurred, the diagnosis is difficult to establish. A case is presented in which computed axial tomography of the popliteal space established the diagnosis of popliteal artery thrombosis caused by entrapment when other diagnostic modalities were inconclusive. Computed axial tomography provides precise anatomic display of the muscle structure of the popliteal fossa and should be an important diagnostic tool in patients suspected to have popliteal artery entrapment. (J VASC SURG 1986;3:360-3.)
The Clean Power Plan and Statutory Interpretation: Is the 'Building Block' Approach Permissible Under §111(d)?

This Comment considers a key question of statutory interpretation concerning EPA's Clean Power Plan: whether section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to establish emission goals based on measures that are implemented “beyond the fenceline” of regulated power plants. The Comment demonstrates that this question is reasonably answered in the affirmative. Of particular relevance, Congress' 1977 endorsement of §111 standards based on fuel pretreatment processes -- "whether they occur at, or are achieved by, the source or by another party" -- indicates that emission goals under this section may reflect the ability of regulated sources to obtain credits for off-site activities that prevent emissions. Further, recent practice in the mobile source context illustrates the reasonableness of crediting low- or zero-emission output that is expected to substitute for high-emission output. The Comment concludes that EPA's 'building block" approach is permissible under section 111(d).
Stability and DNA-binding ability of the bZIP dimers formed by the ATF-2 and c-Jun transcription factors.

The dimer formed by the ATF-2 and c-Jun transcription factors is one of the main components of the human interferon-β enhanceosome. Although these two transcription factors are able to form two homodimers and one heterodimer, it is mainly the heterodimer that participates in the formation of this enhanceosome, binding specifically to the positive regulatory domain IV (PRDIV) site of the enhancer DNA. To understand this surprising advantage of the heterodimer, we investigated the association of these transcription factors using fragments containing the basic DNA-recognition segment and the basic leucine zipper domain (bZIP). It was found that the probability of forming the hetero-bZIP significantly exceeds the probability of forming homo-bZIPs, and that the hetero-bZIP interacts more strongly with the PRDIV site of the interferon-β enhancer, especially in the orientation that places the folded ATF-2 basic segment in the upstream half of this asymmetric site. The effect of salt on the formation of the ATF-2/c-Jun dimer and on its ability to bind the target PRDIV site showed that electrostatic interactions between the charged groups of these proteins and with DNA play an essential role in the formation of the asymmetric ATF-2/c-Jun/PRDIV complex.
Biochemical manipulation of intracellular glutathione levels influences cytotoxicity to isolated human lymphocytes by sulfur mustard

Glutathione (GSH) is the major nonprotein thiol that can protect cells from damage due to electrophilic alkylating agents by forming conjugates with the agent. Sulfur mustard (HD) is an electrophilic alkylating agent that has potent mutagenic, carcinogenic, cytotoxic, and vesicant properties. Compounds that elevate or reduce intracellular levels of GSH may produce changes in cytotoxicity induced by sulfur mustard. Pretreatment of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) for 72 hr with 1 mM buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), which reduces intracellular GSH content to approximately 26% of control, appears to sensitize these in vitro cells to the cytotoxic effects of 10 microM HD but not to higher HD concentrations. Pretreatment of PBL for 48 hr with 10 mM N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), which elevates intracellular glutathione levels to 122% of control, appears to partially protect these in vitro cells from the cytotoxic effects of 10 microM HD but not to higher HD concentrations. Augmentation of intracellular levels of glutathione may provide partial protection against cytotoxicity of sulfur mustard.
Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome associated with Hirschsprung's disease and neuroblastoma: Case of multiple neurocristopathies

We report on a male infant with the rare combined occurrence of congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS or Ondine's curse), Hirschsprung's disease (HD), and neuroblastoma. Current therapeutical options leave no doubt that children with isolated forms of CCHS, HD, or neuroblastoma must be treated, but management decisions and the ethical dilemma become more difficult with the presence of multiple neurocristopathies. Our patient was dependent on mechanical ventilation and total parenteral nutrition, when a neuroblastoma was diagnosed at age 5 months. We initiated an attempt at curative chemotherapy. The tumor failed to respond to recommended chemotherapeutic regimens, and the patient died at 11 months of age. We emphasize the importance of screening CCHS patients for associated illnesses such as neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroblastoma at time of diagnosis.
Investigating Musical Disorders with Diffusion Tensor Imaging A Comparison of Imaging Parameters

The arcuate fasciculus (AF) is a bundle of white matter traditionally thought to be responsible for language function. However, its role in music is not known. Here we investigate the connectivity of the AF using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and show that musically tone-deaf individuals, who show impairments in pitch discrimination, have reduced connectivity in the AF relative to musically normal-functioning control subjects. Results were robust to variations in imaging parameters and emphasize the importance of brain connectivity in para-linguistic processes, such as music.
14C Rearrangement in the Alkylation of Benzene with [1‐14C]Ethanol over ZSM‐5 Catalyst

Abstract [α, β- 14 C]Ethylbenzene produced from benzene and [1- 14 C]ethanol using an acidic zeolite catalyst, HZSM-5, at 300 °C had 14 C activity equally distributed between the α- and β-positions of the ethyl side chain. Thus, the carbon label in [1- 14 C]ethanol was 100% scrambled in the ethylbenzene product. The same reaction at 200 °C produced [α, β- 14 C]ethylbenzene with approximately 18% excess 14 C activity at the α-position; this result corresponds to 82% scrambling of the carbon-14 label. Under these reaction conditions, the nearly equal α and β activity make it appear that little exchange of carbon between the ring and side chain of ethylbenzene occurred.
Assessing temperature dependence of T1 in cortical bone using ultrashort echo-time MRI

MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation is a promising, noninvasive method for treatment of bone tumors and palliation of pain. During thermal therapy, temperature mapping is necessary to ensure proper heat deposition in targeted tumors as well as to prevent undesired heating in healthy tissues. However, conventional proton resonance frequency-based MR thermometry cannot be applied in cortical bone due to its short T2* relaxation time. Recently, it was shown that ultrashort echo-time MRI can be used to assess T1 change in cortical bone due to temperature change (Han M, ISMRM 2014, P262). This work focused on characterization of temperature dependence of T1 in cortical bone by performing a calibration experiment.
Ordered binary decision diagrams and circuit structure

The relationship between two important means of representing Boolean functions, combinational circuits and ordered binary decision diagrams (OBDDs), is studied. Circuit width is related to OBDD size, and it is shown how register allocation can be used to determine a good variable order of OBDD construction. It is shown that if C has n inputs, m outputs, and width w(C), then there is a variable ordering for which the directed-acyclic-graph-based representation for C has at most n*m*2/sup w(C)/ nodes. Since the width of a circuit is closely related to the number of registers required to evaluate the circuit, the result shows that register allocation techniques can be used to compute variable orderings with predicted behavior. The use of these ideas in decomposing a function either for representation as a set of OBDDs or for implementation in a cascode technology is outlined. A characterization is given of a class of multioutput functions which includes addition whose members have particularly small OBDDs. >
A Critical Look at Decentralized Personal Data Architectures

While the Internet was conceived as a decentralized network, the most widely used web applications today tend toward centralization. Control increasingly rests with centralized service providers who, as a consequence, have also amassed unprecedented amounts of data about the behaviors and personalities of individuals. Developers, regulators, and consumer advocates have looked to alternative decentralized architectures as the natural response to threats posed by these centralized services. The result has been a great variety of solutions that include personal data stores (PDS), infomediaries, Vendor Relationship Management (VRM) systems, and federated and distributed social networks. And yet, for all these eorts, decentralized personal data architectures have seen little adoption. This position paper attempts to account for these failures, challenging the accepted wisdom in the web community on the feasibility and desirability of these approaches. We start with a historical discussion of the development of various categories of decentralized personal data architectures. Then we survey the main ideas to illustrate the common themes among these eorts. We tease apart the design characteristics of these systems from the social values that they (are intended to) promote. We use this understanding to point out numerous drawbacks of the decentralization paradigm, some inherent and others incidental. We end with recommendations for designers of these systems for working towards goals that are achievable, but perhaps more limited in scope and ambition.
Mutual diffusion coefficients of SrCl2–H2O and CsCl—H2O at 25 °C from Rayleigh interferometry

The volume-fixed mutual diffusion coefficients of SrCl2–H2O and CsCl–H2O have been measured from dilute solution to near saturation to an accuracy of 0.1–0.2% at 25 °C, using free-diffusion Rayleigh interferometry. A few diffusion coefficients were also measured for NaCl—H2O, as were the densities of SrCl2–H2O. These new data are compared with other available diffusion and density data for these salts. Diffusion coefficients are now available for most of the aqueous alkali-metal and alkaline-earth chlorides. The effects of cation size and ionic hydration on diffusion coefficients are discussed for these two series. The mutual diffusion coefficients of the alkaline-earth chlorides have crossovers as a function of the molarity, as do those of 2–2 sulphates. In contrast, their thermodynamic diffusion coefficients not only have no crossovers, but reduce the differences between weak and strong electrolytes.
Impacts of Tamarix‐mediated soil changes on restoration plant growth

Question Do soils impacted by Tamarix spp. affect the growth of plants used for restoration through altered soil chemistry and/or plant-soil feedbacks? Location The Bighorn River, the Yellowstone River and the Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana, western USA. Methods Soil was collected from paired subsites where Tamarix was either present or absent along three water bodies. To evaluate chemical and biological soil effects on plant growth, eight plant species (Achnatherum hymenoides, Astragalus cicer, Dalea candida, Elymus lanceolatus, Leymus cinereus, Pascopyrum smithii, Ratibida columnifera and Trifolium pratense) commonly used in restoration projects at Tamarix-invaded sites were grown in the collected soil. Plant-soil feedbacks were evaluated by growing two species (D. candida and P. smithii) in greenhouse soils inoculated with small amounts of the field soils. Germination, emergence and growth characteristics were compared between Tamarix-invaded and un-invaded subsites and across water bodies. Results Seedling emergence and plant relative growth rate, total biomass production and allocation of resources to roots and shoots were not negatively affected in field soils or in greenhouse soil inoculated with soil from areas where Tamarix was present. In fact, overall, plants emerged earlier and produced more biomass in soils affected by Tamarix than in soils from where Tamarix was not present. These results indicate that for sites in the northern range of Tamarix, restoration would not be inhibited by Tamarix-induced soil changes. Conclusions Tamarix is a relatively new invader in the northern USA, and little is known about its impacts in this area or the potential implications for restoration. However, our results indicate that neither altered soil chemistry nor plant-soil feedbacks negatively impact native plant growth, and restoration efforts would not be hindered by Tamarix-induced changes to soil chemistry or microbiota.
Automatic Parameter Identification via the Adjoint Method, with Application to Understanding Planar Cell Polarity

A key focus of systems biology has been the development of models, at the appropriate level of abstraction, to help understand different biological processes. This development usually proceeds in iterative fashion, in which the structure of the model is chosen to represent certain hypotheses about how the system operates and parameters for this structured model are chosen. Often, the first experiment is to ask if a robust set of parameters exists so that the model reproduces all or most of the observed biological data. The model is tested against this actual data and for its predictive capabilities. As new data and/or new understanding arises, the structure of the model may be altered, and new parameters selected. In protein regulatory networks, the number of states to model is typically large and depends on the number of proteins of interest, the parameter spaces are large, and the most appropriate models are nonlinear functions of the states. Thus it is becoming increasingly important to develop fast, efficient, scalable methods for large scale parameter identification. This paper presents an adjoint-based algorithm for performing automatic parameter identification on differential equation based models of biological systems. The algorithm solves an optimization problem, in which the cost reflects the deviation between the observed data and the output of the parameterized mathematical model, and the constraints reflect the governing parameterized equations themselves. Preliminary results of the application of this algorithm to a previously presented mathematical model of planar cell polarity signaling in the wings of Drosophila melanogaster are presented
Will the U.S. Productivity Resurgence Continue

U.S. productivity growth has accelerated in recent years, despite a series of negative economic shocks. An analysis of the sources of this growth over the 1995-2003 period suggests that the production and use of information technology account for a large share of the gains. The authors project that during the next decade, private sector productivity growth will continue at a rate of 2.6 percent per year, a significant increase from their 2002 projection of 2.2 percent growth.
Contact Law for Composite Sandwich Beams

In sandwich structures with soft foam core materials, the relationship between load and deflection under the load, also called contact law or indentation, plays a very important role. This work presents a combined experimental and analytical study of the contact behavior of sandwich beams with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam cores. The mechanical properties of the sandwich constituents were fully determined and sandwich beams, facesheet-foam and foam blocks were tested under quasi-static loading. These experimental results were used to model the load-deflection curve that includes a linear range followed by a nonlinear portion. The linear model was derived from the Winkler foundation theory and the nonlinear one was obtained by fitting experiments.
The Dispute over Dispersion

Although by the early 1830s the wave theory of light had demonstrated its superior explanatory power in accounting for many optical phenomena, it was not without obstacle. The phenomenon of dispersion (light of different colors suffering different degrees of refraction in a prism) was still problematic for the wave theory. According to the doctrines outlined by Augustin Fresnel, the velocity of light as well as its refractive index depended solely upon the elasticity of the medium transmitting it. Light of every color should travel with the same velocity and have only one refractive index in a homogeneous medium. But experiment showed that light beams traveled with different velocities and had difference refractive indices within a prism according to their colors. However, such negative evidence from dispersion experiments did not become an obstacle to the acceptance of the wave theory. Why did dispersion experiments not play any decisive role in the evaluation of the wave theory of light? Those who continued to embrace the wave theory perhaps did so because they gave more weight to the other explanatory successes of the wave theory, or because they did not believe that the rival particle theory could explain the phenomenon.1 But it is difficult to understand the reaction of the opponents of the wave theory. They should have seized this opportunity to expose the explanatory inadequacy of the rival, as they had done in many other cases. Why did they not take advantage of the issue of dispersion?