cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extended Hough methodology for 3D feature detection

In an effort to make automatically detect image features for pattern recognition, we described a 3-dimesional (3-D) Hough transform. We describe two interlocking theoretical extensions to greatly enhance the Hough transform's ability to handle finite lineal features and allow directed search for various features while balancing memory and computational complexity. We computed the 2-D Hough transform of 1-D slices of an image which results in a 2-D to 3-D transform. Features such as line segments will cluster in a particular location so that both line orientation and spatial extent can be determined. This approach allows the Hough transform to be more widely applied in pattern recognition including 3-D features.
Focus Versus Flexibility Majority and Minority Influence Can Both Improve Performance

Charlan Nemeth argued in 1986 that exposing people to a majority point of view causes them to focus exclusively on that view (convergent thought). Exposure to a minority viewpoint stimulates people to consider an issue from multiple perspectives (divergent thought) -to go beyond what is given by either the majority or the minority. This study supports and extends that cognitive processing hypothesis by demonstrating that (a) minority influence encourages understanding an issue from multiple perspectives and encourages flexible, or integrative, thinking among those perspectives, (b) majority influence can aid performance tasks requiring convergence on one dimension of a two-dimensional task (i.e., the Stroop task), and (c) majority influence can teach multiple perspectives on a problem one at a time but does not encourage flexible thinking among those perspectives. The convergent nature of majority-influenced thought interferes with the ability to use both of the dimensions simultaneously.
DISC GEL ELECTROPHORESIS OF PROTEINS IN NATIVE AND HEAT‐TREATED ALBUMEN, YOLK, AND CENTRIFUGED WHOLE EGG

SUMMARY– Polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis was an effective technique for resolving the proteins of albumen, yolk, and centrifuged whole egg into distinct bands. Albumen proteins including ovalbumins, conalbumins, and globulins were separated into 12 bands. Ovomucoid could not be detected and lysozyme did not migrate into the gel. With yolk, 19 bands including livetins and lipovitellins but not low-density lipoproteins were formed. When centrifuged whole egg was subjected to electrophoresis, livetin and albumen protein bands were detected, but no evidence was obtained for the formation of new protein complexes. Alterations of gel patterns were observed when albumen, yolk, and centrifuged whole egg were heated to pasteurization temperatures of 61.7°C and above.
Risk Predictors of Retroperitoneal Hemorrhage Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Retroperitoneal hemorrhage (RPH) is a potentially catastrophic complication after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Previous studies identified female gender, body surface area, and high arterial puncture location as independent risk factors for RPH. There have been conflicting reports regarding the association with vascular closure devices (VCDs). Chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) and diabetes mellitus have been associated with both peripheral vascular disease and vascular access-site complications. The putative association of VCDs, CRI, and diabetes mellitus with RPH in the contemporary PCI era was investigated. A total of 3,062 consecutive patients undergoing 3,482 PCIs at Brigham and Women's Hospital from January 2005 to April 2007 were evaluated for the study. All 3,311 patients with femoral angiography underwent hand-caliper–based quantitative vascular analysis and were included in this analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed using a backwards selection algorithm, and a propensity adjustment was developed to control for possible confounding variables regarding VCD use. The incidence of RPH was 0.49% (17 of 3,482 patients). After multivariate and propensity analyses, covariates that significantly influenced the risk of RPH were CRI, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, and high arterial puncture (p ≤0.007). VCD use was not independently associated with the development of RPH (p = 0.74). In conclusion, this large prospective cohort study identified CRI, but not VCD use, as an independent predictor for RPH and peripheral vascular disease.
NF-κB-dependent production of nitric oxide by astrocytes mediates apoptosis in differentiated PC12 neurons following exposure to manganese and cytokines

Abstract Neuronal injury in manganism is accompanied by activation of astroglia within the basal ganglia that is thought to increase production of inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO). The present studies postulated that astroglial-derived NO mediates neuronal apoptosis induced by manganese (Mn) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells differentiated with nerve growth factor (NGF) were co-cultured with primary astrocytes and exposed to Mn and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plus interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Mn enhanced cytokine-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2, EC 1.14.13.39) and production of NO in astrocytes that correlated with apoptosis in co-cultured neurons, as determined by caspase activity, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL), and nuclear morphology. Apoptosis in PC12 neurons required the presence of astrocytes and was blocked by overexpression of a phosphorylation-deficient mutant of IκBα (S32/36A) in astrocytes that prevented induction of NOS2. Pharmacologic inhibition of NOS2 with (±)-2-amino-5,6-dihydro-6-methyl-4 H -1,3-thiazine (AMT) significantly reduced neuronal apoptosis, and the addition of low concentrations of the NO donor, S -nitroso- N -acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), to neurons cultured without astrocytes was sufficient to recover the apoptotic phenotype following exposure to Mn and TNF-α/IFN-γ. It is concluded that Mn- and cytokine-dependent apoptosis in PC12 neurons requires astroglial-derived NO and NF-κB-dependent expression of NOS2.
Citizen-candidates, lobbies, and strategic campaigning

We study a spatial model of political competition in which potential candidates need a fixed amount of money from lobbies to enter an election. We show that the set of pure strategy Nash equilibria in which lobbies finance candidates whose policies they prefer among the set of entrants coincides with the set of Nash equilibria with weakly less than two entering candidates. Fixing lobbies’ preferences, if the total amount of money held by lobbies is finite, there exists some minimal distance between the two candidates’ positions. This minimal distance is a bound for all such Nash equilibria and is independent of the distribution of voters’ preferences.
Conversion of Fertility Restoration of the Sorghum IS1112C (A3) Male‐Sterile Cytoplasm from Two Genes to One Gene

The restoration of male fertility in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] lines carrying the IS1112C male-sterile cytoplasm is characterized by limited seed set. Restoration requires complementary gametophytic action of two restoring alleles, Rf3 and Rf4, for individual gamete viability, and an F t heterozygous for the two restoring loci is expected to exhibit 25% viable pollen. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of converting restoration to single gene behavior. Single-seed descent B3Tx398/IS1112C F 5:6 lines were used to generate homozygosity at the rf3 and rf4 loci, and critical segregants were identified by progeny tests, assays for action of the Rf3 allele, and genomic markers for the rf4 locus. Using these criteria, we constructed the genotypes Rf3Rf3rf4rf4 and rf3rf3Rf4Rf4 in normal, male-fertile cytoplasm lines, and in IS1112C male-sterile cytoplasm lines. Pollination of either male-sterile line with a matching male-fertile line resulted in about 25% pollen staining in the F 1 , demonstrating complementation of the two restoring loci. Pollination of either male-sterile line with IS1112C, Rf3Rf3Rf4Rf4, resulted in about 50% pollen staining. These characteristics substantiate complementary action of the restoring alleles, and are consistent with successful conversion to a single gene fertility restoration system.
Response of California temperature to regional anthropogenic aerosol changes

In this paper, we compare constructed records of concentrations of black carbon (BC)--an indicator of anthropogenic aerosols--with observed surface temperature trends in California. Annual average BC concentrations in major air basins in California significantly decreased after about 1990, coincident with an observed statewide surface temperature increase. Seasonal aerosol concentration trends are consistent with observed seasonal temperature trends. These data suggest that the reduction in anthropogenic aerosol concentrations contributed to the observed surface temperature increase. Conversely, high aerosol concentrations may lower surface temperature and partially offset the temperature increase of greenhouse gases.
Inheritance of electrophoretic variants of tuber proteins in Solanum tuberosum haploids

Soluble tuber proteins were separated by discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on vertical slabs. Banding patterns of proteins stained with Coomassie Blue in 7.5% acrylamide gels (pH 4.3) were few and distinctive for haploids (2n = 2x = 24) derived from several cultivars (2n = 4x = 48). Katahdin and Chippewa haploids have only three different banding patterns for the eight fastest moving bands. The haploids have either the parental pattern (all eight bands) or one of two complementary banding patterns (four bands). The frequency of these patterns among the haploids indicates that the eight bands are controlled by one locus which is duplex (A1 A1 A2 A2) in the parents. Haploids with the genotype A1 A2 have eight bands. A1 A1 haploids have four bands, and A2 A2 have the other four bands. Tawa haploids have in equal numbers either the eight (A1 A2) or four (A2 A2) band pattern. Thus the genotype of Tawa is A1 A2 A2 A2. The control of four bands by one allele could be explained by assuming that these alleles are involved in posttranslational modification or assembly of one or two protein species. Another explanation is that pseudoalleles or redundant genes produce the groups of protein bands. The eight proteins studied apparently are of similar molecular weight but differ in charge.
Differential effects of nitric oxide–mediated S-nitrosylation on p50 and c-jun DNA binding

Abstract Background: Nitric oxide (NO) regulates a variety of cellular functions. One mechanism by which NO may exert its influence is through formation of S-nitrosothiols at critical thiol residues in protein-active sites, including those of nuclear protein transcription factors. Methods: NF-κB p50 and AP-1 c-jun were S-nitrosylated in the presence of acidic NaNO 2 . Wild-type protein and protein subjected to nitrosylating conditions in the absence of NaNO 2 served as controls. Confirmatory evidence for S-nitrosothiol bond formation was obtained by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry with the absorption maximum for S-NO bonds at ~320 to 360 nm. With consensus oligonucleotide probes, gel-shift analysis was used to examine DNA binding characteristics. Results: In the case of NF-κB p50, S-nitrosylation resulted in significantly decreased DNA binding. In contrast, S-nitrosylation did not alter c-jun DNA binding. The S-nitrosylating conditions themselves did not alter p50 or c-jun DNA binding. Quantitative analysis was performed according to the Scatchard plot technique to generate the respective dissociation constants. S-nitrosylated p50 was associated with a fourfold greater dissociation constant than that of the wild-type p50. Conclusions: S-nitrosylation of transcription factors may be one mechanism by which NO may selectively regulate gene transcription. (Surgery 1998;124:137-42.)
Characterization of Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resin Cesium Adsorption with Batch Contact Tests

Batch contact tests provided data that will be useful in cesium isotherm modeling of spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde ion exchange resin. This resin is the baseline for cesium removal from alkaline high sodium nuclear waste at the Hanford River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant and is being considered for other applications. Batch contact work at 25°C found that increasing potassium concentration in alkaline solution simulating waste unexpectedly improves cesium adsorption when cesium concentration exceeds about 0.001 M. At lower cesium levels potassium competes with cesium for adsorption on the resin as expected. Additional batch work found that dimethylamine cation competes strongly with sodium adsorption with no significant reduction in cesium adsorption.
The Characteristics of GaP Window Layer Grown by Indium‐added Liquid Phase Epitaxy

The effects of added indium on the growth characteristics of GaP were systematically studied using conventional liquid phase epitaxy technique with Ga-rich GaP source melt. The GaP growth rate uniformly increase with the source melt of increasing indium addition against gallium solvent. These epilayers have mirror-like surface morphology examined by optical microscope except several grown films with large amount of indium addition meet a terrible interface. The surface morphologies examined by AFM showed the ripples in samples of R 0.05 and R 0.4 and distinct islands with elliptical base shape in the sample of R 0.7 (R-In ratio). The epitaxial layer with incorporation of indium addition during growth had good performance on the carrier concentrations and resistivity. The composition of compound semiconductor become to InGaP at higher amount of In addition to Ga was examined by double-crystal X-ray diffraction and the distribution of indium examined by SIMS also provided the evidences in sample of R 0.7 .
Evaluation of major caffeic acid derivatives in Echinacea purpurea dietary supplements by HPLC with photodiode array detection and electrospray mass spectrometry

Abstract An RP‐HPLC method with photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was established for the determination of major caffeic acid derivatives (caftaric acid, chlorogenic acid, cynarin, and cichoric acid) in commercial Echinacea purpurea dietary supplements. The samples were extracted with 60% methanol (3 × 15 mL) by means of sonication at room temperature. The components of interest were separated on a RP‐18 chromatography column using a 20‐min water–methanol–trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) gradient, identified by photodiode array detection, and further confirmed by LC‐ESI‐MS. The quantification was performed using external standards. The sample preparations and stability of the methanolic extracts were extensively explored. Analyses of 16 commercial E. purpurea products revealed that there is a considerable variability in the content of the caffeic acid derivatives among the products tested. The current method may serve as a valuable tool for the Quality assurance (QA)/Quali...
Fabrication of spiral-phase diffractive elements using scanning-electron-beam lithography

The authors report on the fabrication of binary spiral zone plates and investigate an approach using gray scale scanning-electron-beam lithography to fabricate spiral-phase plates. The optical performance of the spiral zone plates is characterized via photoresist exposures and compared to theory.
Volume-outcome relationships in cardiovascular operations: New York state, 1990-1995

Abstract Background: It has been known for nearly 20 years that, in cardiovascular operations, a significant inverse relationship exists between clinical outcomes and the volume of procedures performed. Interestingly, this relationship persists 2 decades after it was recognized. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hospital volume and in-hospital deaths in 3 cardiovascular procedures: coronary artery bypass grafting, elective repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, and repair of congenital cardiac defects. Methods: The database includes all patients who were hospitalized in New York State during the years 1990 to 1995. Using standard logistic regression techniques, we analyzed the relationship between hospital volume and outcome. Results: No correlation exists between hospital volume and in-hospital deaths in coronary artery bypass grafting. Statewide, 31 hospitals performed 97,137 operations over the 6-year period (overall mortality rate, 2.75%). By contrast, most of the hospitals statewide (195 of 230 hospitals) performed 9847 elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs with an overall mortality rate of 5.5%. In abdominal aortic aneurysm operations, a significant inverse relationship between hospital volume and in-hospital deaths was determined. Sixteen hospitals performed 7199 repairs for congenital cardiac defects. A significant inverse relationship (which was most pronounced for neonates) was found between volume and death. Conclusions: The importance of these findings lies in the rather striking difference between the volume-outcome relationship found for operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms and congenital cardiac defects and the lack of such a relationship for coronary artery bypass grafting. This observation may be largely explained by the quality improvement program in New York State for bypass operations since 1989. If so, these results have important implications for expanding the scope of quality improvement efforts in New York State. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;117:419-30)
Comparative limb myology of two opossums, Didelphis and Chironectes.

A comparative study of limb morphology indicates that the osteological and myological differences between Didelphis virginiana, the Virginia opossum, and Chironectes minimus, the water opossum, may be associated in Chironectes with decreased resistance to water and increased mechanical advantage of its muscles for increased force. Limb myology is described and a synonymy of terms is applied to the musculature of these two opossums.
Characterizing Attribute Distributions in Water Sediments by Geostatistical Downscaling

Information about attributes such as contaminant concentrations or hydraulic properties in benthic sediments is typically obtained in core sections of varying lengths, and only the average value is measured in each section. However, an estimate of the attribute distribution at a uniform spatial resolution is often required for site characterization and the design of appropriate risk-based remediation alternatives. Because attributes exhibit spatial autocorrelation, geostatistical methods have become an essential tool for estimating their spatial distribution. The purpose of this paper is to optimally infer the spatial distribution of sampled attributes at a uniform resolution from fluvial core sampling data, using a downscaling technique formulated as a geostatistical inverse problem. We compare geostatistical downscaling to the more traditional approach of point-to-point ordinary kriging for a hypothetical case study, and for total organic carbon observations from the Passaic River, New Jersey. Although frequently used to interpolate measurements, ordinary kriging is shown not to be able to estimate the spatial distribution of attributes accurately, because this approach assumes that data are sampled at a uniform resolution. Geostatistical downscaling, on the other hand, is shown to resolve this problem by explicitly accounting for the relationship between the known average measurements and the unknown fine-resolution attribute distribution to be estimated.
Effect of thyroid hormones on the intestinal transport of valine in vitro.

Injection of 4 mg. thyroxine on the first day and 8 mg. on the second, third, and fourth days decreased (p<0.05) by the fifth day all the parameters of valine transport in everted intestinal sacs from the rat. Thyroidectomy-parathyroidectomy, 50 days prior to sac studies, profoundly accelerated all the parameters of valine translocation. The injection of 4 µg. of thyroxine daily into the thyroidectomized group reduced the valine transport parameters to control levels. An isolated deficiency in the parathyroid hormones had no significant effect on valine transport. Serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase levels were found to vary inversely with the thyroid status of the rats.
Corn Root Protoplasts ISOLATION AND GENERAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ION TRANSPORT

A method was developed for the large scale and rapid isolation of intact viable corn root protoplasts. Pure and metabolically active protoplasts were collected using a flotation technique. Vital staining tests, light and electron microscopy, and measurements of basic metabolic processes indicated that the isolated protoplasts were metabolically active, and that the plasmalemma and other organelles were well preserved. The isolated protoplasts performed normal, active ion transport functions. Time course of K+ and inorganic phosphate (H2PO4−) influx and the effects of external pH, carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone, fusicoccin, and diethylstilbestrol on K+ and inorganic phosphate influx and net H+ efflux in isolated protoplasts correlated well with data obtained on root segments. Data presented indicated that isolated protoplasts from roots can be used to gain additional insights into the mechanism of ion transport in plant cells.
Oxidation of homochiral ketals by rhenium(VII) oxide. V

Abstract 2-Hydroxyethyl enol ethers react with Re 2 O 7 to produce 2-hydroxyketals. Where homochiral starting enol ethers are employed, greater than 99:1 diastereoselectivities are obtained. The stereocontrol is rationalized by invoking a transition state that approximates the geometry of a metallaoxetane. Finally, homochiral ketals are themselves oxidized to provide 2-hydroxyketals with high diastereoselectivity.
Describing access control models as design patterns using roles

An access control model describes at a high level of abstraction a mechanism for governing access to shared resources. In this paper, we view an access control model as a design pattern providing a general solution for ensuring confidentiality, integrity and availability of information resources. We present three widely used access control models, DAC, MAC and RBAC as design patterns using the POSA template. We use an extension of the UML to represent the structure and behavior of the patterns. The extension enables capturing variations of pattern instances. We also attempt to give more details on the problem domain of the patterns to help pattern selection.
Development, mechanism, and scope of the palladium-catalyzed enantioselective allene diboration.

In the presence of a chiral phosphoramidite ligand, the palladium-catalyzed diboration of allenes can be executed with high enantioselectivity. This reaction provides high levels of selectivity with a range of aromatic and aliphatic allene substrates. Isotopic-labeling experiments, stereodifferentiating reactions, kinetic analysis, and computational experiments suggest that the catalytic cycle proceeds by a mechanism involving rate-determining oxidative addition of the diboron to Pd followed by transfer of both boron groups to the unsaturated substrate. This transfer reaction most likely occurs by coordination and insertion of the more accessible terminal alkene of the allene substrate, by a mechanism that directly provides the η3 π-allyl complex in a stereospecific, concerted fashion.
Autoclaving Time in Relation to the Nutritional Quality of Dried Egg White

Abstract DURING the course of experiments concerned with the development of techniques that might be used to estimate the extent to which the amino acids of intact proteins are available for chick growth, two reference standard diets were used. The first of these was a diet containing crystalline amino acids as the sole source of amino nitrogen while in the second, non-autoclaved dried egg white (DEW), properly heat treated, was substituted for the crystalline amino acids on an isonitrogenous basis (2.34% N). It was deemed desirable to work with a sample of DEW that had been subjected to heat treatment, severe enough to impair chick growth approximately 50 percent when incorporated in a purified diet as the sole source of protein. Precise information on the effect that heat treatment exerts on the nutritional quality of egg white beyond that required to inactivate avidin could not be found in a search of . . .
Gastrointestinal tract malignancies and positron emission tomography: an overview.

18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging is highly accurate in restaging colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Overall, it compares favorably with anatomical imaging in the evaluation of tumor recurrence because metabolic abnormalities usually precede a structural change. Initial staging of these malignancies with PET is best used in patients with locally advanced disease who may benefit from curative resection if distant metastases are not found. It also appears to have great potential in predicting histopathologic response to neoadjuvant therapy and in monitoring the success of radiofrequency ablation and 90 Y microspheres radioembolization soon after intervention. FDG-PET can be used in other gastrointestinal malignancies as a prognostic tool and to detect distant disease but its role has not yet been well defined.
Cortical control of an AlphaII robot arm

This paper describes a five year collaborative effort between Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University to develop a robotic interface utilizing neural signals recorded from the motor cortex of the brain. The ultimate objective is to provide severely disabled individuals a “natural” method of controlling prosthetic devices. Initial research uses rhesus monkeys to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a cortical controller.
Gene product of moloney murine leukemia virus required for proviral integration is a DNA-binding protein

The 3'-terminal portion of the retroviral pol gene encodes a function required for the formation of the integrated provirus soon after infection of sensitive cells. To permit the isolation of large quantities of the gene product, we expressed various portions of the pol gene of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) as trpE fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. The proteins were found to exhibit strong DNA-binding activity after extraction and renaturation by two different procedures. In the first method, proteins separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were blotted to nitrocellulose and assayed when bound to the support. The second procedure involved the isolation of proteins in an insoluble fraction, solubilization with guanidine, and renaturation. The characteristics of the binding activity are described and compared with those of authentic viral protein.
Risky local tax bases: risk-pooling vs. rent-capture

Abstract When a jurisdiction's land or other fixed resources are owned by non-residents, its residents have an incentive to capture the non-residents' rents by imposing confiscatory taxes. When different jurisdictions are subject to less than perfectly correlated risks, such taxes destroy the benefits of risk-pooling that cross-ownership of property otherwise permits. If jurisdictions must use property taxes (i.e. taxes on both immobile land and mobile capital) instead of taxes on land alone, they will compete for mobile capital by keeping tax rates low. If capital is sufficiently substitutable for immobile factors, tax rates will be low enough to achieve greater effective diversification of risks and higher welfare.
SeeSite: characterizing relationships between splice junctions and splicing enhancers

RNA splicing is a cellular process driven by the interaction between numerous regulatory sequences and binding sites, however, such interactions have been primarily explored by laboratory methods since computational tools largely ignore the relationship between different splicing elements. Current computational methods identify either splice sites or other regulatory sequences, such as enhancers and silencers. We present a novel approach for characterizing co-occurring relationships between splice site motifs and splicing enhancers. Our approach relies on an efficient algorithm for approximately solving Consensus Sequence with Outliers, an NP-complete string clustering problem. In particular, we give an algorithm for this problem that outputs near-optimal solutions in polynomial time. To our knowledge, this is the first formulation and computational attempt for detecting co-occurring sequence elements in RNA sequence data. Further, we demonstrate that SeeSite is capable of showing that certain ESEs are preferentially associated with weaker splice sites, and that there exists a co-occurrence relationship with splice site motifs.
Application of Machine Learning Techniques for Classification of Cavity Flow and Resonance

I NTERNAL bays are aerodynamically advantageous to modern military aircraft. However, cavities or open weapons bays are characteristic of steady and unsteady flow disturbances. Large pressure gradients can be a result of changes in the mean static pressure gradients inside the cavity that can impede safe store separation, and unsteady flow disturbances can result in selfsustaining oscillations that, in turn, can generate acoustic tones radiating from the cavity. Figure 1a shows the open bomb bay of the F-22 Raptor, which can generate self-sustaining oscillations that might lead to cavity resonance, risking the structural integrity of the vehicle. Figure 1b shows the open missile bay of the F-35 Lightning II that can provide a large noseup pitching moment to the stores on discharge. To ensure safe carriage and separation of stores, the flowfields that develop in cavities must be thoroughly characterized at all operational speeds. Rossiter [1] first developed a semiempirical formula for the tone frequencies of the feedback loop formed by the periodic shedding of vortices and acoustic disturbances given by Eq. (1):
Full-Tidal Liquid Ventilation with Perfluorocarbon for Prevention of Lung Injury in Newborn Non-Human Primates

Hyaline membrane disease (HMD), the most common life-threatening respiratory disorder of newborns, is associated with lung injury manifested by alveolar proteinaceous edema. The cause of the disease is thought to be elevated alveolar surface tension due to surfactant deficiency at birth. Treatment with exogenous surfactant may be unsuccessful due to problems in distribution of the surfactant, or inhibition of the surfactant by alveolar proteinaceous edema. Liquid ventilation with oxygen-saturated perfluorocarbon liquid has been proposed as a method to eliminate alveolar surface tension; little is known about the interfacial tension between perfluorocarbon liquids and the lung lining layer. Premature and term newborn monkeys were treated from birth with a pressure-limited, time-cycled liquid ventilator using oxygenated perfluorocarbon liquids (APF-145 and perflubron). Adequate gas exchange was achieved, and pilot experiments suggest long-term survival without adverse sequelae. Although many questions remai...
Role of the Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor in Learning

This study reviews the role of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor in learning as measured by the acquisition of the rabbit's classically conditioning nictitating membrane response, a component of the eyeblink response. Agonists at the 5-HT2A receptor including LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) enhanced associative learning at doses that produce cognitive effects in humans. Some antagonists such as BOL (d-bromolysergic acid diethylamide), LY53,857, and ketanserin acted as neutral antagonists in that they had no effect on learning, whereas others (MDL11,939, ritanserin, and mianserin) acted as inverse agonists in that they retarded learning through an action at the 5-HT2A receptor. These results were placed in the context of what is known concerning the anatomical distribution and electrophysiological effects of 5-HT2A receptor activation in frontal cortex and hippocampus, as well as the role of cortical 5-HT2A receptors in schizophrenia. It was concluded that the 5-HT2A receptor demonstrates constitutive activity, and that variations in this activity can produce profound alterations in cognitive states.
Reaction of Re2(μ-O2CCH3)4Cl2 with Bis(dicyclohexylphosphino)methane (dcpm): Isolation of the Mixed-Valent Complex O3ReReCl(η2-dcpm)2 Containing an Unsupported Re−Re Bond

The reaction of Re2(μ-O2CCH3)4Cl2 with Cy2PCH2PCy2 (dcpm) affords a separable mixture of trans-ReOCl(η2-dcpm)2 (1) and trans-Re2(μ-O2CCH3)2Cl2(μ-dcpm)2 (2). Complex 1 is converted in the presence of O2 to the novel mixed-valent Re(VI)−Re(I) complex O3ReReCl(η2-dcpm)2 (3), which contains an unsupported Re−Re bond.
A kaleidoscope model : Defining natural environments

Abstract Research on the relationship between people and nature has rarely incorporated a definition of natural environments. This exploratory project was designed to uncover underlying themes which comprise conceptualization of natural environments. Fourteen interviews were conducted with adult respondents, combining a biographical section with a picture sorting exercise. Content analysis revealed a myriad of dimensions and attributes which can be organized into four meta-level themes used to categorize environments as natural or not natural. The meta-themes included: (1) people as separate from nature; (2) assessment of natural elements; (3) human impact on nature; and (4) the human place within natural environments. Further analysis of the meta-level themes led to hypothesis generation about possible subcategories of natural environments, including ‘totally natural’, ‘civilized natural’, ‘semi-natural’ and ‘quasi-natural’. ‘Non-natural’ environments were also included in this schema, as they define the boundary of natural environments. A kaleidoscope model is used to illustrate how nature is defined through a complex web of interrelationships.
Opinion-based entity ranking

The deployment of Web 2.0 technologies has led to rapid growth of various opinions and reviews on the web, such as reviews on products and opinions about people. Such content can be very useful to help people find interesting entities like products, businesses and people based on their individual preferences or tradeoffs. Most existing work on leveraging opinionated content has focused on integrating and summarizing opinions on entities to help users better digest all the opinions. In this paper, we propose a different way of leveraging opinionated content, by directly ranking entities based on a user's preferences. Our idea is to represent each entity with the text of all the reviews of that entity. Given a user's keyword query that expresses the desired features of an entity, we can then rank all the candidate entities based on how well opinions on these entities match the user's preferences. We study several methods for solving this problem, including both standard text retrieval models and some extensions of these models. Experiment results on ranking entities based on opinions in two different domains (hotels and cars) show that the proposed extensions are effective and lead to improvement of ranking accuracy over the standard text retrieval models for this task.
Survival among children with portal vein thrombosis and end-stage liver disease

Occlusive PVT concurrent with chronic liver disease is a common clinical entity among pediatric patients referred for transplantation. The natural history of PVT is unknown. Our aim was to determine, using a retrospective cohort design, if children under 13 yr with chronic liver disease and concomitant PVT have an increased mortality risk prior to and after transplantation. A total of 203 patients were included in the study. Nearly 10% of the population had PVT (n = 19); 63.2% of PVT patients (5.9% of total cohort) underwent liver transplantation (n = 12). PVT patients tended to be younger than non-PVT patients at evaluation (1.94 +/- 3.51 vs. 3.79 +/- 4.11, p = 0.059). Clinical and demographic factors were similar between the two groups. Regarding survival, four PVT patients died, of which two had undergone transplantation. Kaplan-Meier analyses indicated that PVT and non-PVT patients had similar survival from the time of evaluation, on the waiting list, and after transplant. Although limited by sample size, our study suggests that a diagnosis of PVT does not increase the mortality risk for children waiting for a liver transplant. Further study is needed to discern variations in mortality risk that may occur in the pediatric chronic liver disease population with PVT.
Effectiveness of CEO pay-for-performance

Abstract Firm performance has a generally positive, but diminishing relationship with the level of CEO pay-for-performance sensitivity to stock returns, consistent with the tradeoffs between incentives and risk sharing that underlie the use of pay-for-performance. Two moderating risk variables capture this tradeoff and significantly shape the pay-for-performance relationship: a firm's business risk and the standard deviation of its stock returns. At higher levels of pay-for-performance sensitivity, the future performance of higher risk firms is more negatively related to sensitivity than for lower risk firms. Our results support the notion that CEO risk aversion limits the benefits from incentive pay, and that when too much risk is placed on the CEO, firm performance suffers. Compensation managers should take these results into account when making changes in CEO pay-for-performance plans.
Novel cyclic dienolates from difunctional silanes and β-diketones

Abstract β-Diketones react with dialkyl- (or aryl-)dichlorosilanes in the presence of triethylamine at room temperature to afford silylated cyclic dienolates. These derivatives, formally synthetic equivalents of β-dicarbonyl dianions, do not require strongly basic conditions for their generation.
Animal models of Graves' hyperthyroidism

An animal model of Graves' disease (GD) will help us to clearly understand the role of thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR)-specific T cells and TSHR-Abs during the development of GD and to develop TSHR-specific immunotherapy. This review focuses on four different recent approaches towards the development of an animal model of GD. These approaches are: (1) Immunization of AKR/N mice with fibroblasts coexpressing syngeneic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and TSHR. (2) Immunization of selected strains of mice with an expression vector containing TSHR cDNA. (3) Immunization of BALB/c mice with syngeneic M12 cells or xenogenic HEK-293 cells expressing full-length or extracellular domain of TSHR (ETSHR). (4) Injection of adenovirus-expressing TSHR into BALB/c mice.
Coarse decision making and overfitting

Abstract We study decision makers who willingly forgo decision rules that vary finely with available information, even though these decision rules are technologically feasible. We model this behavior as a consequence of using classical, frequentist methods to draw robust inferences from data. Coarse decision making then arises to mitigate the problem of over-fitting the data. The resulting behavior tends to be biased towards simplicity: decision makers choose models that are statistically simple, in a sense we make precise. In contrast to existing approaches, the key determinant of the level of coarsening is the amount of data available to the decision maker. The decision maker may choose a coarser decision rule as the stakes increase.
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) induces differentiation in the neuronal F11 cell line through a PKA-dependent pathway

Abstract PACAP is a peptide with neuroprotective activity, which induces adenylate cyclase and protein kinase A (PKA) activity. PACAP has also been shown to induce neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Here, we report that exogenous PACAP38 promotes neurite outgrowth in the F11 neuroblastoma/dorsal DRG hybrid cell line. Using an automated microscopy system, we show that PACAP38 induces a 170-fold increase in neurite length, with an EC50 of 3.1 nM, compared to 3.7 μM for forskolin and 143.4 μM for dibutyril cyclic AMP (dbcAMP). PACAP38 induced a 4-fold increase in the level of phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) in F11 cells with an EC50 of 130 pM. In contrast a peptide related to PACAP, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) failed to induce CREB phosphorylation or neurite outgrowth in F11 cells. Addition of the nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor, isobutyl methylxanthine (IBMX) increased the potency of PACAP at inducing neurite outgrowth by ten-fold. The PKA inhibitor, H89, was a potent inhibitor of PACAP38-induced neurite outgrowth. The delta-opioid receptor agonist, SNC 80, did not inhibit PACAP-induced neurogenesis even though it did reduce CREB phosphorylation. In contrast to previous studies in PC12 cells, PACAP38 failed to show MEK1 activation in F11 cells. PACAP is upregulated in DRG neurons as a result of injury, and F11 cells provide an easily accessible in vitro model for understanding mechanisms underlying PACAP differentiation and neurogenesis.
Testicular Choriocarcinoma: a Rare Variant that Requires a Unique Treatment Approach

Testicular germ cell tumors represent the most common malignancy among young men. While 5-year overall survival and cure for this population is greater than 95%, choriocarcinoma is an aggressive subtype of this disease with far worse prognosis--5-year survival for choriocarcinoma is less than 80%. In order to be able to treat these patients appropriately, a provider must recognize characteristic features of choriocarcinoma including elevated human chorionic gonadotropin in a young man with testicular mass; the astute clinician should also know the signs and symptoms of choriocarcinoma syndrome, characterized by bleeding from metastatic sites, which represents a medical emergency and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Treatment should be directed towards a goal of tumor marker normalization, and patients with refractory disease should be considered for advanced therapies and clinical trials. Choriocarcinoma is a unique and aggressive germ cell malignancy, and these patients require early aggressive treatment to improve their chance of survival.
The caudal brainstem is sufficient to mediate inhibition of gastric emptying by peripheral glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor activation.

Peripheral glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation engages a set of physiological responses that include inhibition of gastric emptying (GE). Does peripheral or central GLP-1R activation mediate the GE response? Previous reports and data from our laboratory suggest that inhibition of GE by GLP-1R is mediated by peripheral receptors the engage central processing via vagal afferents. Support for this view comes from surgical and chemical lesioning of the vagus and from targeted central application of GLP-1R antagonist in conjunction with intraperitoneal (IP) delivery of the selective GLP-1R agonist Exendin-4. Here we determined whether forebrain processing is required for GE response production by investigating the dose-response function of IP Exendin-4 on GE rates of chronic supracollicular decerebrate (CD) rats in comparison to neurologically intact control rats. In both control and CD rats, the lowest dose of Exendin-4 (0.12 μg/kg) was ineffective in altering GE rates (72.0±3.9 and 62.4±5.5%) compared to vehicle (73.5±1.9 and 69.8±1.5%), whereas a dose of 1.2 μg/kg similarly suppressed GE in control and CD rats (43.2±6.1 and 46.6±5.5%). Significant suppression, but no further enhancement occurred at the highest dose of Exendin-4 (2.4 μg/kg) in control and CD rats (53.5±4.2 and 50.9±2.4%). These studies demonstrate that the caudal brainstem is sufficient to mediate GLP-1R-mediated inhibition of GE and that forebrain processing is not required. Support by DK21397.
Structures of the bacterial ribosome at 3.5 Å resolution

Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), we determined the structure of the Escherichia coli 70S ribosome with a global resolution of 2.0 A. The maps reveal unambiguous positioning of protein and RNA residues, their detailed chemical interactions, and chemical modifications. Notable features include the first examples of isopeptide and thioamide backbone substitutions in ribosomal proteins, the former likely conserved in all domains of life. The maps also reveal extensive solvation of the small (30S) ribosomal subunit, and interactions with A-site and P-site tRNAs, mRNA, and the antibiotic paromomycin. The maps and models of the bacterial ribosome presented here now allow a deeper phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal components including structural conservation to the level of solvation. The high quality of the maps should enable future structural analyses of the chemical basis for translation and aid the development of robust tools for cryo-EM structure modeling and refinement.
Some remarks on decoupling the BBGKY hierarchy of equations

Abstract Using a modification of Zwanzig's projection technique, a hierarchy of decoupled equations for the reduced distribution functions is presented.
Stereodirective Effects in Mixed Substituent Vinyloxycyclotriphosphazenes

Reaction pathways leading to the new mixed substituent cyclophosphazenes, N3P3Cl4(OCH═CH2)(OCH2CF3) and N3P3Cl3(OCH═CH2)(OCH2CF3)2, have been explored. Examination of the relative isomeric yields and the spectroscopic properties of these new derivatives gave insight into the mechanism of substitution of cyclophosphazenes with oxyanions. The syntheses of the mixtures of compounds were carried out by two different synthetic pathways. The nucleophilic substitution reaction involves either the vinyloxy (−OCH═CH2) or the trifluoroethoxy (−OCH2CF3) ion. Either oxyanion could be reacted with the phosphazene first to be followed by the other oxyanion. A comparison of the observed pathways shows the stereoselectivity is controlled by the ring substituent with trifluoroethoxy species favoring trans substitution and the vinyloxy species favoring increased cis substitution. Density Functional Theory and NMR (13C, 31P) studies show the electronic relationships between the exocyclic group and the cyclophosphazenes incl...
Phase Transition of Message Propagation Speed in Delay-Tolerant Vehicular Networks

Delay-tolerant network (DTN) architectures have recently been proposed as a means to enable efficient routing of messages in vehicular area networks (VANETs), which are characterized by alternating periods of connectivity and disconnection. Under such architectures, when multihop connectivity is available, messages propagate at the speed of radio over connected vehicles. On the other hand, when vehicles are disconnected, messages are carried by vehicles and propagate at vehicle speed. Our goal in this paper is to analytically determine what gains are achieved by DTN architectures and under which conditions, using the average message propagation speed as the primary metric of interest. We develop an analytical model for a bidirectional linear network of vehicles, as found on highways. We derive both upper and lower bounds on the average message propagation speed by exploiting a connection with the classical pattern-matching problem in probability theory. The bounds reveal an interesting phase transition behavior. Specifically, we find out that, below a certain critical threshold, which is a function of the traffic density in each direction, the average message speed is the same as the average vehicle speed, i.e., DTN architectures provide no gain. On the other hand, we determine another threshold above which the average message speed quickly increases as a function of traffic density and approaches radio speed. Based on the bounds, we also develop an approximation model for the average message propagation speed that we validate through numerical simulations.