cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular interactions of phospholipid monolayers with a model phospholipase

The intrinsic overexpression of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) in various pro-inflammatory diseases and cancers has the potential to be exploited as a therapeutic strategy for diagnostics and treatment. To explore this potential and advance our knowledge of the role of sPLA2 in related diseases, it is necessary to systematically investigate the molecular interaction of the enzyme with lipids. By employing a Langmuir trough integrated with X-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction techniques, this study examined the molecular packing structure of 1,2-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) films before and after enzyme adsorption and enzyme-catalyzed degradation. Molecular interaction of sPLA2 (from bee venom) with the DPPC monolayer exhibited Ca2+ dependence. DPPC molecules at the interface without Ca2+ retained a monolayer organization; upon adsorption of sPLA2 to the monolayer the packing became tighter. In contrast, sPLA2-catalyzed degradation of DPPC occurred in the presence of Ca2+, leading to disruption of the ordered monolayer structure of DPPC. The interfacial film became a mixture of highly ordered multilayer domains of palmitic acid (PA) and loosely packed monolayer phase of 1-palmitoyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (lysoPC) that potentially contained the remaining un-degraded DPPC. The redistribution of lipid degradation products into the third dimension, which produced multilayer PA domains, damaged the structural integrity of the original lipid layer and may explain the bursting of liposomes observed in other studies after a latency period of mixing liposomes with sPLA2. A quantitative understanding of the lipid packing and lipid-enzyme interaction provides an intuitive means of designing and optimizing lipid-related drug delivery systems.
Dual-purpose cooling plate for thermal management of prismatic lithium-ion batteries during normal operation and thermal runaway

Abstract A dual-purpose cooling plate for prismatic lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to increase the battery pack life and safety for applications in vehicles, aircraft, and stationary electric storage systems for grid and renewables is proposed. The proposed cooling plate can maintain the temperature of the battery within the manufacturers’ recommended temperatures during the battery normal operation to increase the battery life, and can effectively control and dissipate the generated heat during thermal runaway to prevent propagation of heat from one cell to the adjacent cells in the battery pack to increase the safety. The proposed cooling plate is made of aluminum and works on the principle of the liquid cooling method with 60% ethylene glycol in water as the coolant. The cooling plate is featured with pins with staggered arrangement, which act as heat sinks and disperse the coolant over the surface of the cooling plate. The performance of the cooling plate is examined for heat generation trend of aggressive discharging of the battery during the normal operation and the heat generation during thermal runaway of the fully charged battery. The results show that the designed cooling plate can maintain the LIB surface temperature below 25 °C with the input coolant temperature of 20 °C and flow rate of 0.2 L/min during the normal operation, and can control the LIB temperature during thermal runaway at about 75 °C in 30 s with the input coolant temperature of 20 °C and flow rate of 30 L/min. The pressure-drop of the coolant is also about 75 Pa for the normal operation mode and about 54 kPa for the thermal runaway operation mode of the cooling plate.
Clinical outcomes of acute pancreatitis in patients with cirrhosis

Abstract Background AP outcomes in cirrhotic patients have not yet been studied. We aim to investigate the outcomes of cirrhotics patients with acute pancreatitis. Methods The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2003–2013) was queried for patients with a discharge diagnosis of AP and liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis was further classified as compensated and decompensated using the validated Baveno IV criteria. Primary outcome was inpatient mortality. The analysis was adjusted for age, gender, race, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), median income quartile, and hospital characteristics. Results Over 2.8 million patients with acute pancreatitis were analyzed. Cirrhosis prevalence was 2.8% (80,093). Both compensated and decompensated cirrhosis subjects had significantly higher mortality. Highest odds ratios (OR) were: inpatient mortality (OR 3.4, P Conclusion AP patients with cirrhosis have higher inpatient mortality, but it is unlikely to be due to AP severity as patients had lower incidence of SIRS and AKI. Higher mortality is possibly related to complications of cirrhosis and portal hypertension itself such as GI bleed, shock, PVT, AC and sepsis.
Building a Low-Cost and State-of-the-Art IoT Security Hands-On Laboratory

The popularity of IoT has raised grave security and privacy concerns. The huge IoT botnets Mirai and Reaper were built on compromised IoT devices. In this paper, we propose to develop a low-cost platform with an industrial grade microcontroller (MCU) ESP32 equipped with a crypto co-processor ATECC608A and create teaching materials including labs and case studies for IoT security education. MCUs have broad applications in IoT. Sensor nodes in various smart systems such as smart home, smart health and smart grid can use MCUs to process commands and perform automatic control. We will develop effective, engaging and novel teaching materials on IoT hardware security, operating system/firmware/software security, network security, and data security with the low-cost IoT kit and IDE. The teaching materials will contribute to the Cybersecurity Workforce Development Initiative led by NICE and help respond to a dynamic and rapidly developing array of cyber threats including those resulting from IoT.
Estimating Hard-tissue Conditions from Dental Images via Machine Learning

Despite the great success of machine learning in various biomedical domains, applications to dental hard tissue conditions (primarily on dental Caries, Erosive Tooth Wear (ETW), and Fluorosis) are under-explored, in particular for analyzing photographic images. The clinical diagnostics of these dental hard-tissue conditions is routinely performed by visual examination but is often limited by its subjectivity. To bridge this gap, we apply four categories of machine learning strategies including nine different methods with two different feature representations to estimate the probability and severity of dental hard-tissue conditions from photographic tooth images. Our first empirical study is performed on the real dataset containing both controls and cases, and the best probability estimation results are achieved by Extra Trees Regression (RMSE: 0.030, Pearson correlation: 0.600) for Caries, Decision Tree (RMSE: 0.183, Pearson correlation: 0.581) for ETW, and Bayesian ARD Regression (RMSE: 0.191, Pearson correlation: 0.745) for Fluorosis. Our second empirical study is performed on the case only datasets, and the best severity estimation results are achieved by Extra Trees Regression (RMSE: 0.029, Pearson correlation: 0.687) for Caries, Bayesian ARD Regression and Linear Regression (RMSE: 0.192, Pearson correlation: 0.490) for ETW, and Bayesian ARD Regression (RMSE: 0.238, Pearson correlation: 0.537) for Fluorosis. These results indicate that machine learning models provide promising opportunities to help clinical evaluation and save resources in the management of these dental conditions.
Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in a COVID-19 Positive Patient

Introduction Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID) in patients with advanced heart failure presents unprecedented challenges in management of cardiogenic shock. Recommendations for perioperative triaging of cardiac surgery have been proposed but none regarding LVAD implantation. To our knowledge, we are the first to report on LVAD implantation in a patient with COVID and cardiogenic shock Case Report A 37-year-old-male with Stage D, NYHA class IV heart failure on chronic milrinone was admitted for cardiogenic shock. Despite uptitration of milrinone and addition of dobutamine,the patient remained in cardiogenic shock . Our Selection Committee discussed and approved him for an LVAD. Institutional protocol required COVID screening prior to surgery and returned positive. Given the absence of clinical signs of COVID infection contrasted with the severity of shock, the decision was made to proceed with implantation. Temporary mechanical support was considered but not thought to mitigate risks of thrombosis rather adding procedural risk with ECMO cannulation and left ventricular unloading. He successfully underwent LVAD implantation as INTERMACS 1. He required high doses of heparin to achieve ACT for cardiopulmonary bypass. On day 2, he developed left-sided weakness with imaging revealing multifocal acute cerebral infarcts. Despite normal LVAD function, the embolic infarcts to multiple organs led to further deterioration and death Summary LVAD implantation in COVID patients appears inevitable. Centers must risk stratify this cohort to reduce susceptibility to thrombosis and improve outcomes. We propose an algorithm that triages patients for elective and urgent LVAD implantation based on specific coagulation and inflammatory markers (figure 1) and have successfully implanted an LVAD in a COVID patient using this. We acknowledge this method has not been validated in a large cohort and are unable to recommend anticoagulation protocols. Further research is necessary to address safety of LVAD implantation in COVID patients
Effect of a Mediterranean diet intervention on gastrointestinal function in Parkinson's disease (the MEDI-PD study): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Introduction Constipation is a common and sometimes debilitating non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that can result in intestinal inflammation and microbial dysbiosis. The Mediterranean diet, rich in fermentable fibres and anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds, is associated with reduced risk of developing PD and slower progression of parkinsonism. The Mediterranean diet is often recommended for people with PD; however, no studies to date examine this diet as a therapeutic intervention to modulate gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction. Methods and analysis This is a randomised, controlled, parallel study. During a 2-week run-in, participants with PD and constipation symptoms (n=52) will undergo baseline nutritional and neurological assessments and provide a stool sample. Participants will be stratified by sex and Hoehn and Yahr stage and randomised to follow standard of care for constipation (control) or standard of care plus a Mediterranean diet (intervention) for 8 weeks. A study dietitian will provide dietary instruction and weekly follow-up via telephone to both groups to support adherence and monitor adverse events. Questionnaires will assess dietary intake and GI function including stool frequency, form, symptoms and laxative usage. Measurements completed at baseline will be repeated at 4 and 8 weeks of the intervention. The primary outcome is to evaluate the difference between mean change (final–baseline) in Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) constipation syndrome scores for the control versus intervention groups. Secondary outcomes will assess stool frequency and form, weekly GSRS syndrome scores, digestive quality of life, laxative usage, faecal microbial communities and inflammatory markers, anxiety, depression, quality life, body weight and composition, dietary fibre intake and Mediterranean diet adherence. Ethics and dissemination The study has received University of Florida Institutional Review Board-01 approval (IRB202001333). Findings will be disseminated via conference presentations, lectures and peer-reviewed publications. Trial registration number NCT04683900.
Temporal covariance of postsynaptic membrane potential and synaptic input--role in synaptic efficacy in visual cortex.

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the role played by temporal covariance of pre- and post-synaptic activity in altering synaptic efficacy. This phenomenon is demonstrated in cells of the primary visual cortex in guinea-pigs and cats, and in more mature animals as well as those at the critical development age for the visual cortex. The results suggest that there is a temporal window about which the pre- and post-synaptic conjunction occurs in order to alter synaptic efficacy. This is particularly important if temporal associations are to be detected and specifically modify the connections that participated in them. The effects occur in the visual cortex beyond the classically defined critical period. The results also suggest that a threshold mechanism operates to only allow the effects of temporal conjunction of pre- and post-synaptic activity to occur outside of a certain “dead zone” around the resting membrane potential. The effects observed appeared to be spatially specific— that is, positive pairing (conjunction of pre-synaptic activation and post-synaptic depolarization) only enhances the efficacy of the paired synapses, and negative pairings (conjunction of pre-synaptic activation and postsynaptic hyper-polarization) only reduce the efficacy of the paired synapses. In some cases, unpaired pathways onto the same cell show no effect, or in other cases, the unpaired pathway shows an opposite effect.
Computers and Publishing: Writing, Editing, and Printing

Publisher Summary Despite the variety of communications media available today, the printed word is still very much in use, particularly in “hardcopy” manuscript form, and to a much lesser but growing extent, in “softcopy” display console form. This chapter examines the current role of computers in writing, editing, printing, and publishing. There is very little interaction among the stages of traditional manuscript creation. The operation may be characterized as strictly batch processing. Once an author has finished a manuscript, he/she must wait to see galley proofs before finding out what changes the copy editor has wrought. It is very difficult to make changes once the manuscript goes into copy editing, not to mention once galleys have been produced. This is true because page layout and typesetting, despite increasingly available mechanization, are still expensive and time consuming productions. In other words, the mechanization of typesetting and printing is still sufficiently expensive that it has affected primarily the high-volume publishing houses. There have been many advances in the state-of-the-art of typesetting and printing, particularly in the past decade.
In-vitro and In-vivo Evaluation of an Intravenous Formulation of the Antineoplastic Agent Thiotepa

Gelatin microparticles, diameter approximately 2 μm, and loaded with thiotepa were prepared by a chilled dehydration procedure previously described by this laboratory. Thiotepa was measured using a high-performance liquid-chromatographic procedure. A membrane dialysis dissolution method was used to determine the in-vitro release of the drug into water. Pharmacokinetic studies were carried out in female New Zealand white rabbits. The in-vivo disappearance of thiotepa was fitted by a two-compartment model. Using this model the drug was rapidly distributed throughout the body following a single bolus injection (tα = 3 min; α = 0.25 min−1), with a slower terminal elimination phase (tβ = 1.5 h, β = 0.0078 min−1). The rabbit plasma level following administration of a gelatin microparticle suspension containing the drug was elevated when compared with injection of the same dose of drug in the free (unformulated) state. The area under the curve (AUC.) before formulation was 212±35 μg min mL−1 compared with 538±54 μg min mL−1 when formulated in gelatin microparticles. There was a corresponding decrease in the clearance rate in those animals given the formulated thiotepa (131 vs 33 mL min−1 kg−1) but there was rather less change in the elimination half-life of drug between the two experimental groups (116.7 vs 88.6 min). The implication from these kinetic data is that the formulation of thiotepa at least doubles the AUC., suggesting that the dose might be halved, thereby reducing side-effects associated with this otherwise important drug.
The Heterochromatin Protein 1 family

Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1) was first discovered in Drosophila as a dominant suppressor of position-effect variegation and a major component of heterochromatin. The HP1 family is evolutionarily conserved, with members in fungi, plants and animals but not prokaryotes, and there are multiple members within the same species. The amino-terminal chromodomain binds methylated lysine 9 of histone H3, causing transcriptional repression. The highly conserved carboxy-terminal chromoshadow domain enables dimerization and also serves as a docking site for proteins involved in a wide variety of nuclear functions, from transcription to nuclear architecture. In addition to heterochromatin packaging, it is becoming increasingly clear that HP1 proteins have diverse roles in the nucleus, including the regulation of euchromatic genes. HP1 proteins are amenable to posttranslational modifications that probably regulate these distinct functions, thereby creating a subcode within the context of the 'histone code' of histone posttranslational modifications.
An Interlaboratory Comparison of the ASTM C 335 Pipe Insulation Test

An interlaboratory round-robin test program has been conducted for comparison of results from the ASTM Test for Thermal Conductivity of Pipe Insulation (C 335-69). Two specimens of glass fiber pipe insulation have been tested over a range of mean temperatures of approximately 50 to 150°C (120 to 300°F). Data from the nine laboratories reporting tests on one specimen show good agreement with an overall expected error of ′ 4.2 percent. During the 7½-year test period, the specimen shows some degradation due to handling as is evident from a loss in weight and from a trend toward a slightly higher conductivity in repeat tests conducted by two laboratories. If this specimen change is considered, it is evident that the test error is approximately ′ 3 percent. Tests on the second specimen have been limited to fewer laboratories, but similar results are evident. The general conclusion is that good agreement is obtained for the temperature range investigated. It would be desirable, however, to have a standard specimen which could be used up to the temperature limit of the apparatus and which could stand the repeated handling and temperature exposures without change.
Exploring the limits of contactless electrical conductivity imaging

Contactless electrical conductivity imaging (CECI) is a new medical imaging modality that uses magnetic field measurements from magnetic excitations. Due to strong attenuation of magnetic fields with distance, the major challenge of CECI is imaging deep voxels. In this study, the vertical line spread, and, vertical line separation functions of the CECI are assessed to explore this phenomenon. It is found that CECI can produce low resolution images up to a depth of 3 cm. The modality appears to be a promising tool to provide conductivity images of the brain.
Phase II trial of ZD1839 (IRESSA) in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Eighteen patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were treated on a phase II trial with ZD1839 (IRESSA). Treatment efficacy was determined using the endpoint of improvement in time to progression (TTP) compared to TTP in patients who received interferon-α therapy. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center database of renal cell patients shows that patients receiving therapy with interferon-α had a median TTP of 4.7 months, with 40% of patients having disease progression at 4 months. To show efficacy in this trial, 60% of evaluable patients would have to remain progression free at 4 months. Treatment with ZD1839 did not result in any complete or partial responses, and 13 patients (81%) had progression of disease within 4 months of start of therapy. At the dose and schedule used in this trial, the lack of antitumor activity associated with ZD1839 does not support further study in patients with metastatic RCC.
IL-2 and Related Cytokines Can Promote T Cell Survival by Activating AKT

The regulated elimination of T cells serves to maintain normal immune function and prevents autoimmune responses. IL-2 family cytokines play an important role in controlling the survival of immature and mature T cells. These molecules activate the protein kinase, AKT/PKB. AKT has been shown to transduce an antiapoptotic signal in numerous cell types. In this study, we show that an active form of AKT can protect T cells from apoptosis following growth factor withdrawal and that IL-2 family cytokines can promote T cell survival by activating this kinase. We also provide evidence that AKT does not block death receptor-mediated killing of lymphocytes. These data suggest that AKT may serve as a common signaling element by which members of the IL-2 family of cytokines promote T cell survival.
Upper and lower bounds for the rate of diffusion-controlled reactions

Recent upper and lower bounds established by the authors for the rate to diffuse to traps in a random medium are compared in a consistent manner by taking account of how the trap‐free volume affects various definitions of the rate constant.
Factored adaptation for separable compensation of speaker and environmental variability

While many algorithms for speaker or environment adaptation have been proposed, far less attention has been paid to approaches which address both factors. We recently proposed a method called factored adaptation that can jointly compensate for speaker and environmental mismatch using a cascade of CMLLR transforms that separately compensate for the environment and speaker variability. Performing adaptation in this manner enables a speaker transform estimated in one environment to be be applied when the same user is in different environments. While this algorithm performed well, it relied on knowledge of the operating environment in both training and test. In this paper, we show how unsupervised environment clustering can be used to eliminate this requirement. The improved factored adaptation algorithm achieves relative improvements of 10–18% over conventional CMLLR when applying speaker transforms across environments without needing any additional a priori knowledge.
Hepatitis-Associated Lipid Storage Myopathy

Abstract We report the case of a 23-year-old woman who developed severe myalgias in association with mild hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatitis. Muscle biopsy showed myriads of microvacuol...
Nanostructure patterned active regions for semiconductor diode lasers

We describe a nanoscale selective area epitaxy process for uniform patterned quantum dot growth and present laser device results for both conventional quantum dot lasers and a novel inverted quantum dot (nanopore) laser structure.
Augmented Mass Transport of Macromolecules in Sheared Suspensions to Surfaces

Abstract Results are reported on the adsorption of bovine gamma globulin (γG) from aqueous suspensions of red blood cell (RBC) ghosts onto quartz planar surfaces under laminar shear flow conditions. Adsorption was measured continuously and in situ under diffusion-limited transport conditions in a rectangular channel flow system. The effective (i.e., enhanced over Brownian) diffusion coefficients of the protein solutes were evaluated using total internal reflection fluorescence as a function of suspension particle volume fraction (5 to 45%), particle deformability, and wall shear rate (400 to 1,400 s-1). Augmented mass transport of γG (defined as De /Ds - 1, where De and Ds are, respectively, the effective diffusivities in flowing and stationary suspensions) was found to be 120% in 5% ghost suspensions at a shear rate of 400 s-1 and to increase nearly fifty times to 4,500% in 45% ghost suspensions at 1,400 s-1. Regardless of shear rate, γG augmentation in suspensions of hardened ghosts compared to unhardened was about 200% greater for 5% suspensions and decreased to a value of about 100% for 45% suspensions.
Association preferences of unisexual Amazon mollies (Poecilia formosa): differential response to swords based on sex of the bisexual parental species

Most females exhibit preferences for certain males and females based on mating and social decisions. Unisexual females that reproduce by gynogenesis are also expected to express association preferences, which may have been inherited from parental species, or may have evolved in response to selection pressures associated with their unisexual mating system. The unisexual, gynogenetic Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) is a hybrid of the Atlantic molly (P. mexicana) and sailfin molly (P. latipinna). Although none of these three species have sword tails, the two parental species differ in preference for swords on conspecifics. We further examined the variation in pre-existing bias within this species complex by testing Amazon molly preference to associate with male and female sailfin mollies with artificially attached swords. Amazon mollies significantly avoided females with colored swords, but were indiscriminate towards swords on males. Thus, this hybrid species shares its lack of preference for swords on males with female Atlantic mollies and females from one population of sailfin mollies. Avoidance of females with swords by Amazon mollies is unique in this species complex. We discuss the implications and functions of association preferences expressed by Amazon mollies and propose hypotheses for the differential response towards swords based on sex.
Modulation of Innate Antigen-Presenting Cell Function by Pre-patent Schistosome Infection

Schistosomes are intravascular helminths that infect over 200 million people worldwide. Deposition of eggs by adult schistosomes stimulates Th2 responses to egg antigens and induces granulomatous pathology that is a hallmark of schistosome infection. Paradoxically, schistosomes require host immune function for their development and reproduction and for egress of parasite eggs from the host. To identify potential mechanisms by which immune cells might influence parasite development prior to the onset of egg production, we assessed immune function in mice infected with developing schistosomes. We found that pre-patent schistosome infection is associated with a loss of T cell responsiveness to other antigens and is due to a diminution in the ability of innate antigen-presenting cells to stimulate T cells. Diminution of stimulatory capacity by schistosome worms specifically affected CD11b(+) cells and did not require concomitant adaptive responses. We could not find evidence for production of a diffusible inhibitor of T cells by innate cells from infected mice. Rather, inhibition of T cell responsiveness by accessory cells required cell contact and only occurred when cells from infected mice outnumbered competent APCs by more than 3∶1. Finally, we show that loss of T cell stimulatory capacity may in part be due to suppression of IL-12 expression during pre-patent schistosome infection. Modulation of CD4(+) T cell and APC function may be an aspect of host immune exploitation by schistosomes, as both cell types influence parasite development during pre-patent schistosome infection.
Photoenolization as a means to release alcohols.

We have designed molecules which release alcohols upon exposure to UV light independent of the reaction media, making it possible to liberate alcohols in a controlled manner in applications. Photolysis of 2-(2-isopropylbenzoyl)benzoate ester derivatives 4 in various solvents and in thin films results in the liberation of the alcohol moiety from the ester. The reaction mechanism for the release of the alcohol has been elucidated by time-resolved laser flash photolysis. Upon irradiation the triplet excited state of ketone, 4 is formed, and its lifetime can be estimated to be between 0.08 and 0.8 ns. The triplet excited state decays by efficient intramolecular H-atom abstraction to form a 1,4-biradical, 8, that has a lifetime of less than 17 ns and is trapped by molecular oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, biradical 8 intersystem crosses to form photoenols (Z)-9 and (E)-10 in a ratio of 5:2, respectively. Photoenol (Z)-9 has a lifetime of ∼3000 ns in protic solvents and returns to the starting material throug...
A peptide that inhibits hydroxyapatite growth is in an extended conformation on the crystal surface

Proteins play an important role in the biological mechanisms controlling hard tissue development, but the details of molecular recognition at inorganic crystal interfaces remain poorly characterized. We have applied a recently developed homonuclear dipolar recoupling solid-state NMR technique, dipolar recoupling with a windowless sequence (DRAWS), to directly probe the conformation of an acidic peptide adsorbed to hydroxyapatite (HAP) crystals. The phosphorylated hexapeptide, DpSpSEEK (N6, where pS denotes phosphorylated serine), was derived from the N terminus of the salivary protein statherin. Constant-composition kinetic characterization demonstrated that, like the native statherin, this peptide inhibits the growth of HAP seed crystals when preadsorbed to the crystal surface. The DRAWS technique was used to measure the internuclear distance between two 13C labels at the carbonyl positions of the adjacent phosphoserine residues. Dipolar dephasing measured at short mixing times yielded a mean separation distance of 3.2 +/- 0.1 A. Data obtained by using longer mixing times suggest a broad distribution of conformations about this average distance. Using a more complex model with discrete alpha-helical and extended conformations did not yield a better fit to the data and was not consistent with chemical shift analysis. These results suggest that the peptide is predominantly in an extended conformation rather than an alpha-helical state on the HAP surface. Solid-state NMR approaches can thus be used to determine directly the conformation of biologically relevant peptides on HAP surfaces. A better understanding of peptide and protein conformation on biomineral surfaces may provide design principles useful for the modification of orthopedic and dental implants with coatings and biological growth factors that are designed to enhance biocompatibility with surrounding tissue.
Detailed reduction of reaction mechanisms for flame modeling

A method for reduction of detailed chemical reaction mechanisms, introduced earlier for ignition system, was extended to laminar premixed flames. The reduction is based on testing the reaction and reaction-enthalpy rates of the 'full' reaction mechanism using a zero-dimensional model with the flame temperature profile as a constraint. The technique is demonstrated with numerical tests performed on the mechanism of methane combustion.
Y3Fe5O12 spin pumping for quantitative understanding of pure spin transport and spin Hall effect in a broad range of materials (invited)

Using Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) thin films grown by our sputtering technique, we study dynamic spin transport in nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic, and antiferromagnetic (AF) materials by ferromagnetic resonance spin pumping. From both inverse spin Hall effect and damping enhancement, we determine the spin mixing conductance and spin Hall angle in many metals. Surprisingly, we observe robust spin conduction in AF insulators excited by an adjacent YIG at resonance. This demonstrates that YIG spin pumping is a powerful and versatile tool for understanding spin Hall physics, spin-orbit coupling, and magnetization dynamics in a broad range of materials.
Mechanics of the pressure-volume curve of the lung.

The pressure-volume behavior of the lung is described and analyzed at the continuum and microscopic levels. If pressure-volume hysteresis is predominantly a result of surface tension-surface area hystersis, a potential function, the stored tissue energy, exists, and a relation between surface tension, surface area and recoil pressure can be derived. The data that are available are consistent with this relation. The anatomy of the mechanical elements of lung parenchyma is reviewed and the contributions of tissue membranes, elastic line elements and surface tension to recoil pressure are evaluated. A model for the micromechanics of the parenchyma is presented. The model describes the equilibrium between surface tension and tissue forces in the alveolar duct. The relation between the micro and macromechanics is displayed by identifying the contributions of different tissue elements to the stored energy function.
Influence of Length of Day on Reproduction in Turkey Hens

Abstract USE of artificial light is known to bring turkey hens into egg production earlier than if the birds are exposed only to normal daylight (Albright and Thompson, 1933). Moreover, blue light was found to be ineffective by Scott and Payne, 1937, presumably because the light intensity was reduced below the required level. Turkey hens require a light intensity of about 2 foot candles (Asmundson, Lorenz, and Moses, 1946). Data on the optimum length of day are not available for turkeys, hence further tests were started. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bronze hens were used. They were selected in such a way that, for example, the first bird banded in one pen was of similar ancestry (usually a full or half sister) to the first bird banded in any of the other pens; they weighed about the same at the time the tests were started. Thus the ten birds in one pen could . . .
Comparison of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire With Daily Angina Diary in the TERISA Clinical Trial

Background— As new techniques emerge to quantify patients’ health status, new opportunities are created to validate patient-reported outcome questionnaires. The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), a widely used coronary artery disease–specific health status tool, has not been validated against daily records of angina frequency and sublingual nitroglycerin (SL NTG) use. Additional evidence supporting the validity of the SAQ could justify its broader use as an outcome for clinical studies designed to evaluate treatments that may improve patients’ symptoms, function, and quality of life. Methods and Results— We used data from 917 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and stable angina from the multinational Type 2 Diabetes Evaluation of Ranolazine in Subjects With Chronic Stable Angina (TERISA) trial. The number of angina episodes and SL NTG used were recorded and transmitted daily using an electronic diary. In cross-sectional analyses, there was a strong relationship between the 2 SAQ angina frequency questions (ie, frequency of angina and SL NTG use) and the corresponding diary responses, with correlation coefficients of −0.64 for angina frequency (95% confidence interval,−0.68 to −0.60) and −0.69 for SL NTG use (95% confidence interval, −0.73 to −0.66). Longitudinally, changes in SAQ angina frequency scores from day 1 to week 8 also correlated with changes in angina frequency (−0.42; 95% confidence interval, −0.48 to −0.30) and SL NTG use by diary (−0.38; 95% confidence interval, −0.43 to −0.32) over the corresponding time period. Correlations were similar when stratified by age, sex, or geography. Conclusions— In a multinational cohort of patients with stable angina, the SAQ angina frequency domain was significantly correlated, both cross sectionally and longitudinally, with daily diary entries of angina frequency and SL NTG use. These data further support the validity of the SAQ angina frequency domain across a broad spectrum of patients with stable angina. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: . Unique identifier: [NCT01425359][1]. [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01425359&atom=%2Fcirccvoq%2Fearly%2F2014%2F09%2F23%2FCIRCOUTCOMES.113.000752.atom
Micellar rate effects: assumptions and approximations

Surfactants with ionic or polar head groups and extended apolar groups form micelles in water with hydrocarbon-like interiors and ionic or polar groups at the surface and bind ionic and nonionic solutes. They act as reaction regions, i.e., as pseudophases distinct from the bulk solvent, and can accelerate or inhibit reactions, depending on rate constants and reactant concentrations in the two regions. Theoretical treatments and experimental evidence of reactant partitioning between water and micelles allow estimation of rate constants in the micellar pseudophase for both uni-and bimolecular reactions, provided that they are slower than reactant transfers between water and micelles, but some treatments apply only to dilute electrolyte. Competition between reactive and inert ions inhibits bimolecular ionic reactions and is treated by ion-exchange equations and some local ionic concentrations can be estimated by dediazonization trapping or physical methods. Ionic micelles affect rates of unimolecular and bimolecular watercatalyzed reactions because the reaction region at the micelle-water interface is less polar than water. Zwitterionic micelles have no net charge but they interact with ions, although ion-binding is weaker than with ionic micelles and there are limitations in the use of the theoretical treatments applied to ionic micelles. Micelles can control product composition, but product isolation limits use of surfactants in some reactions
A simple calculation for the average number of steps to trapping in lattice random walks

We show that the asymptotic results for the average number of steps to trapping at an irreversible trapping site on aD-dimensional finite lattice can be obtained from the generating function for random walks on aninfinite perfect lattice. This introduces a significant simplification into such calculations. An interesting corollary of these calculations is the conclusion that a random walker traverses, on the average, all the distinct nontrapping lattice sites before arriving on the trapping site.
REHABILITATION BIOMECHANICS IN WHEELCHAIR PROPULSION AND HEMIPARETIC GAIT

Functional independence for individuals with disability is a primary goal in rehabilitation. Rehabilitation interventions are usually directed toward independent mobility for those individuals who desire independent function and for whom that goal is feasible. Models of disability have provided a framework for examining how rehabilitation research studies address the enabling-disabling continuum [1]. Within this framework, biomechanical measures and analyses play an important role in quantifying disability related performance and factors affecting the enablingdisabling process. This framework is illustrated by selected studies of wheelchair propulsion and hemiparetic walking gait. In these studies, biomechanical performance measures have contributed to an understanding of disability and how rehabilitation interventions can be more individualized and effective.
The Effects of Presleep Stimuli of Different Sources and Types on REM Sleep

The sleep patterns of 12 experienced meditators and 9 age-matched prospective meditators were compared to determine the effect of presleep stimuli of different sources and types on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. All subjects were EEG monitored for two nights. On both nights the experienced meditators attended to internal stimuli, i.e. meditated prior to sleep, and the prospective meditators attended to external stimuli, i.e. listened to music through earphones, for an equal time. The music group had a significantly higher REM percent. Post hoc tests showed this was not due to a rebound following a difficult adaptation night. To test whether the elevation following music was a response specific to those committed to presleep external stimulus reduction, a second study compared the REM percent of a non-meditation oriented student sample following presleep verbal or music stimulation to their base rate. These subjects showed REM percents higher than their base after music and lower than base following verbal stimulation.
Regulation of CHMP4/ESCRT-III Function in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Budding by CC2D1A

The detachment of human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) virions depends on CHPM4 family members, which are late-acting components of the ESCRT pathway that mediate the cleavage of bud necks from the cytosolic side. We now show that in human cells, CHMP4 proteins are to a considerable extent bound to two high-molecular-weight proteins that we have identified as CC2D1A and CC2D1B. Both proteins bind to the core domain of CHMP4B, which has a strong propensity to polymerize and to inhibit HIV-1 budding. Further mapping showed that CC2D1A binds to an N-terminal hairpin within the CHMP4 core that has been implicated in polymerization. Consistent with a model in which CC2D1A and CC2D1B regulate CHMP4 polymerization, the overexpression of CC2D1A inhibited both the release of wild-type HIV-1 and the CHMP4-dependent rescue of an HIV-1 L domain mutant by exogenous ALIX. Furthermore, small interfering RNA against CC2D1A or CC2D1B increased HIV-1 budding under certain conditions. CC2D1A and CC2D1B possess four Drosophila melanogaster 14 (DM14) domains, and we demonstrate that these constitute novel CHMP4 binding modules. The DM14 domain that bound most avidly to CHMP4B was by itself sufficient to inhibit the function of ALIX in HIV-1 budding, indicating that the inhibition occurred through CHMP4 sequestration. However, N-terminal fragments of CC2D1A that did not interact with CHMP4B nevertheless retained a significant level of inhibitory activity. Thus, CC2D1A may also affect HIV-1 budding in a CHMP4-independent manner.
Blendshapes from commodity RGB-D sensors

Creating and animating a realistic 3D human face is an important task in computer graphics. The capability of capturing the 3D face of a human subject and reanimate it quickly will find many applications in games, training simulations, and interactive 3D graphics. We demonstrate a system to capture photorealistic 3D faces and generate the blendshape models automatically using only a single commodity RGB-D sensor. Our method can rapidly generate a set of expressive facial poses from a single depth sensor, such as a Microsoft Kinect version 1, and requires no artistic expertise in order to process those scans. The system takes only a matter of seconds to capture and produce a 3D facial pose and only requires a few minutes of processing time to transform it into a blendshape-compatible model. Our main contributions include an end-to-end pipeline for capturing and generating face blendshape models automatically, and a registration method that solves dense correspondences between two face scans by utilizing facial landmarks detection and optical flows. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by capturing different human subjects and puppeteering their 3D faces in an animation system with real-time facial performance retargeting.
Quantum-limited timing jitter in actively modelocked lasers

Expressions for the quantum-limited timing jitter in an actively modelocked fiber laser are derived. We identify a set of characteristic constants that govern the timing jitter for the cases using amplitude modulation (AM) and phase modulation (PM) as the active modelocking elements. We find that when using AM, the Gordon-Haus jitter is proportional to the square of the group-velocity dispersion and reaches a minimum value for the case of low dispersion. Using PM, the Gordon-Haus jitter increases only linearly proportional to group-velocity dispersion, and there exists an optimum group-velocity dispersion that minimizes the jitter. We compare the theory to recent experiments of the timing jitter for an active harmonically modelocked fiber laser.
Electron ionization in superimposed magnetic and radio frequency quadrupolar electric fields

An improved design of a novel electron ionization source for orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry is described, based on the superimposition of an axial magnetic field with cylindrical symmetry around a radio frequency-only quadrupole. A tubular permanent magnet was designed to generate the required strong magnetic field and field profile. An axial electric field along the ion guide for efficient ion extraction was introduced using segmented quadrupole rods. Details of the source design and the effects of various operating parameters are described. The source produces high-quality mass spectra with regard to fragmentation, relative abundances, and isotopic ratios. Preliminary results have shown excellent sensitivity, with limits of detection in the subfemtogram range (octafluoronaphthalene, full spectrum acquisition) in gas chromatography/mass spectrometry operation.
Engineering a noncarrier to a highly efficient carrier peptide for noncovalently delivering biologically active proteins into human cells.

Abstract Noncovalent protein delivery into cells via peptide carriers is an emerging concept. Only a handful of such peptides are known. To address various limitations associated with protein delivery for therapeutic purposes, a greater number of different delivery peptides would be required. No general method exists for creating such peptides. By combining a sequence of 16 lysine residues (K16) with the signal peptide (SP) sequence of Kaposi’s fibroblast growth factor (K-FGF), we have synthesized a peptide (K16SP) that efficiently and noncovalently delivers functionally intact proteins (immunoglobulin G molecules, β-galactosidase, and green fluorescent protein) into mammalian cells. The peptides K16 and SP each alone did not show any noncovalent protein-carrying capacity. K16SP appears to be nontoxic to cells and three to four times more efficient than a commercially available peptide reagent. Our approach offers proof-of-concept of a general strategy for creating a diverse array of peptide carriers for eventual therapeutic applications.
Homoleptic cerium(III) and cerium(IV) nitroxide complexes: significant stabilization of the 4+ oxidation state.

Electrochemical experiments performed on the complex CeIV[2-(tBuNO)py]4, where [2-(tBuNO)py]− = N-tert-butyl-N-2-pyridylnitroxide, indicate a 2.51 V stabilization of the 4+ oxidation state of Ce compared to [nBu4N]2[Ce(NO3)6] in acetonitrile and a 2.95 V stabilization compared to the standard potential for the ion under aqueous conditions. Density functional theory calculations suggest that this preference for the higher oxidation state is a result of the tetrakis(nitroxide) ligand framework at the Ce cation, which allows for effective electron donation into, and partial covalent overlap with, vacant 4f orbitals with δ symmetry. The results speak to the behavior of CeO2 and related solid solutions in oxygen uptake and transport applications, in particular an inherent local character of bonding that stabilizes the 4+ oxidation state. The results indicate a cerium(IV) complex that has been stabilized to an unprecedented degree through tuning of its ligand-field environment.
Hydroxybenzene compounds as cytoplasmic fixatives

SummaryMethods for the fixation of the cell cytoplasm employing pyrogallol or resorcinol in neutralized formaldehyde solution are outlined. Tissue pieces fixed with these solutions have, in general, shown few signs of distortion, and the protein cytoplasmic elements of the cells have appeared well preserved, such structures as mitochondria, secretion granules, and some of the specific types of granulation being well maintained. The advantages of these methods lie in the simplicity and rapidity of the procedures, the ease with which the tissue can be sectioned at a thickness of 1 to 2 micra, and the generally satisfactory results obtained.
The inhibition of ciliary activity in tracheal organ cultures by sera from children with cystic fibrosis and control subjects

The cilioinhibitory effect of sera from patients with cystic fibrosis and control subjects was studied in chicken and rabbit trachel organ cultures. All sera were markedly ciliotoxic and no difference was noted between sera from cystic fibrosis patients and those of control subjects. The serum ciliotoxic factor was found to be heat labile, nondialyzable, removable by kaolin, and lost during Sephadex G-200 gel filtration.