cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Orientation of Ribosome Recycling Factor in the Ribosome from Directed Hydroxyl Radical Probing

Ribosome recycling factor (RRF) disassembles posttermination complexes in conjunction with elongation factor EF-G, liberating ribosomes for further rounds of translation. The striking resemblance of its L-shaped structure to that of tRNA has suggested that the mode of action of RRF may be based on mimicry of tRNA. Directed hydroxyl radical probing of 16S and 23S rRNA from Fe(II) tethered to ten positions on the surface of E. coli RRF constrains it to a well-defined location in the subunit interface cavity. Surprisingly, the orientation of RRF in the ribosome differs markedly from any of those previously observed for tRNA, suggesting that structural mimicry does not necessarily reflect functional mimicry.
Efficient board interconnect testing using the split boundary scan register

This article presents a new approach to testing board interconnects, on a board containing chips equipped with the Boundary Scan Architecture. The proposed technique reduces the test time, test vector size, and requires an order independent test set at the expense of minimal hardware overhead to the ANSI/IEEE Std. 1149.1-1990 standard. Although most of the algorithms developed so far can be used to test boards under this scheme, we have concentrated on the Walking 1's and 0's for the purpose of presenting this technique. This test can be applied with a reduced time complexity for test generation and application. Furthermore, with local response compaction this scheme can easily be used for BIST implementation, resulting in the application of Walking 1/0 in linear time. All of the above results assume boards that contain 3-state nets, which is an improvement over previously reported results.
Tuberculous Infection of the Descending Thoracic and Abdominal Aorta: Case Report and Literature Review

We report here a case of infrarenal aortic disruption and aortoduodenal fistula secondary to tuberculous aortitis in a 77-year-old man. From a review of experience with operative management of tuberculous infection of the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta reported in the English-language literature, including the current report, we found that operative repair was attempted in 26 patients with tuberculous aortitis of the abdominal (n = 16), thoracic (n = 8), and thoracoabdominal (n = 2) aorta. Six patients had emergent operations for massive hemoptysis (n = 2), aortoduodenal fistula (n = 2), or abdominal rupture (n = 2), with an associated 30-day mortality of 50%. Elective or semi-elective repair was undertaken in 20 patients, of whom 19 (95%) survived for at least 30 days. On the basis of limited experience with this rare entity, in situ graft replacement is an appropriate treatment of tuberculous aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms of the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta.
Space flight applications of optical fiber; 30 years of space flight success

For over thirty years NASA has had success with space flight missions that utilize optical fiber component technology. One of the early environmental characterization experiments that included optical fiber was launched as the Long Duration Exposure Facility in 1978. Since then, multiple missions have launched with optical fiber components that functioned as expected, without failure throughout the mission life.
Overlapping computations, communications and I/O in parallel sorting

Abstract In this paper, we present a new parallel sorting algorithm which maximizes the overlap between the disk, network, and CPU subsystems of a processing node. This algorithm is shown to be of similar complexity to known efficient sorting algorithms. The pipelining effect exploited by our algorithm should lead to higher levels of performance on distributed memory parallel processors. In order to achieve the best results using this strategy, the CPU, network, and disk operations must take comparable time. We suggest acceptable levels of system balance for sorting machines and analyze the performance of the sorting algorithm as system parameters vary.
Collective dynamics of lysozyme in water: terahertz absorption spectroscopy and comparison with theory.

To directly measure the low-frequency vibrational modes of proteins in biologically relevant water environment rather than previously explored dry or slightly hydrated phase, we have developed a broadband terahertz spectrometer suitable for strongly attenuating protein solutions. Radiation is provided by harmonic multipliers (up to 0.21 THz), a Gunn oscillator (at 0.139 THz), and the UCSB free-electron lasers (up to 4.8 THz). Our spectrometer combines these intense sources with a sensitive cryogenic detector and a variable path length sample cell to detect radiation after it is attenuated by more than 7 orders of magnitudes by the aqueous sample. Using this spectrometer, we have measured the molar extinction of solvated lysozyme between 0.075 and 3.72 THz (2.5-124 cm -1 ), and we made direct comparison to several published theoretical models based on molecular dynamics simulations and normal-mode analysis. We confirm the existence of dense, overlapping normal modes in the terahertz frequency range. Our observed spectrum, while in rough qualitative agreement with these models, differs in detail. Further, we observe a low-frequency cutoff in terahertz dynamics between 0.2 and 0.3 THz, and we see no evidence of a predicted normal mode at 0.09 THz for the protein.
FAMILIAL IMMUNE DEFICIENCY AND LEUKODYSTROPHY: RECONSTITUTION WITH FETAL THYMUS IN A MILLIPORE CHAMBER

FAMILIAL IMMUNE DEFICIENCY AND LEUKODYSTROPHY: RECONSTITUTION WITH FETAL THYMUS IN A MILLIPORE CHAMBER
Promoting Healthy Lifestyles With Aging: Development and Validation of the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP) Using the Rasch Measurement Model

This study was conducted to develop and validate the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP), a self-report measure for examining various aspects of health-related lifestyle in older adults. Data derived from 253 community-dwelling older adults were analyzed through the Rasch measurement model. Unidimensionality and data-model fit of HELP were largely supported through the analyses of principal components of residuals, fit statistics, local dependency, and differential item functioning. The item hierarchy formed through logits provided an expected pattern of healthy lifestyle behaviors. Acceptable to good person separation and reliability statistics supported the clinical applicability and consistency of the HELP scores. Finally, analysis of the rating scale structure confirmed the functioning of the 0- to 5-point rating scale used. HELP can assist in monitoring lifestyle risk factors and measuring the outcome of services aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles among older adults.
Networks of Coevolving Sites in Structural and Functional Domains of Serpin Proteins

Amino acids do not occur randomly in proteins; rather, their occurrence at any given site is strongly influenced by the amino acid composition at other sites, the structural and functional aspects of the region of the protein in which they occur, and the evolutionary history of the protein. The goal of our research study is to identify networks of coevolving sites within the serpin proteins (serine protease inhibitors) and classify them as being caused by structural-functional constraints or by evolutionary history. To address this, a matrix of pairwise normalized mutual information (NMI) values was computed among amino acid sites for the serpin proteins. The NMI matrix was partitioned into orthogonal patterns of amino acid variability by factor analysis. Each common factor pattern was interpreted as having phylogenetic and/or structural-functional explanations. In addition, we used a bootstrap factor analysis technique to limit the effects of phylogenetic history on our factor patterns. Our results show an extensive network of correlations among amino acid sites in key functional regions (reactive center loop, shutter, and breach). Additionally, we have discovered long-range coevolution for packed amino acids within the serpin protein core. Lastly, we have discovered a group of serpin sites which coevolve in the hydrophobic core region (s5B and s4B) and appear to represent sites important for formation of the "native " instead of the "latent" serpin structure. This research provides a better understanding on how protein structure evolves; in particular, it elucidates the selective forces creating coevolution among protein sites.
PASS: Creating Physically Active School Systems

PASS, a Physically Active School System, is a program by which school districts and schools utilize opportunities for school-based physical activity that enhance overall fitness and cognition, which can be broken down into four integral parts consisting of connecting, communicating, collaborating, and cooperating. There needs to be an understanding of the important connection between mind and body. Making this connection is crucial to the success of the program and, more globally, to have an impact on childhood obesity. In order for PASS to be successful “school districts and schools should utilize all opportunities for school-based physical activity to develop physically educated students who participate in the nationally-recommended 60+ minutes of physical activity each day and develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 2013, p.1). School districts need to make the commitment to become a ph...
FAS ANTIGEN-MEDIATED APOPTOSIS OF OVARIAN SURFACE EPITHELIAL CELLS

The Fas antigen is a cell surface receptor that, when engaged by Fas ligand or specific agonistic antibodies, triggers apoptosis. The effect of an agonistic monoclonal antibody to mouse Fas antigen (Fas mAb, clone J02) on the viability of cells from dispersed mouse corpora lutea (CL cultures) was tested. Cultures were prepared by enzymatic digestion of CL from day 4-7 pseudopregnant mice. Cultures were pretreated with 0, 1, 10, 100, or 1000 U/ml murine interferon-gamma (IFN) at 72 h of culture. IFN has been shown to increase Fas antigen expression in a number of cell types. At 96 h (time zero), cultures were treated with Fas mAb or IgG. By 4 h after Fas mAb treatment, discrete homogeneous patches of cells within the cultures showed characteristic signs of apoptosis, including blebbing of cell membranes, detachment, and disappearance from the culture. CL cultures contain luteal, stromal, and endothelial cells; fibroblasts; and surface epithelial cells (OSE). Cells dying in response to Fas mAb were identified as OSE. Affected cells had the cobblestone appearance and distinct nuclei typical of epithelial cells. Unlike luteal cells, OSE did not stain with the lipophilic dye, Nile red. The cells did not stain with acetylated low density lipoprotein conjugated to the fluorescent marker octadecyl indocarbocyanine, a marker for endothelial cells and monocytes. Cells in patches stained positively for cytokeratin, a marker for epithelial cells. Fas-mediated cytotoxicity was quantified by counting the number of cells present in discrete patches of OSE 0 and 8 h after Fas mAb treatment. Fas mAb treatment had no effect in cultures pretreated with 0 or 1 U/ml IFN, but induced significant death of OSE in cultures pretreated with 10, 100, and 1000 U/ml IFN (37 +/- 11%, 54 +/- 18%, and 60 +/- 11%, respectively). There was no apparent effect of Fas mAb on other cell types within the CL cultures. To confirm that cells dying in response to Fas mAb were OSE, experiments were also performed on enriched cultures of OSE prepared by enzymatic digestion of the outer surface of the ovary. In enriched OSE cultures pretreated with 200 U/ml IFN, there was 44% killing in response to Fas mAb, whereas in cells not pretreated with IFN, there was no effect. In situ fluorescent end labeling of DNA in CL cultures indicated that treatment with IFN and Fas mAb induced DNA fragmentation in OSE typical of apoptosis. Immunocytochemistry of CL cultures indicated that Fas antigen was expressed in OSE pretreated with IFN. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR showed that IFN pretreatment increased Fas antigen messenger RNA levels 2.3-fold in enriched cultures of OSE. In summary, OSE in CL cultures and enriched cultures of OSE undergo apoptosis in response to Fas mAb when pretreated with IFN. In vivo, OSE undergo programmed cell death before ovulation and rapidly proliferate to repair the surface of the ovulatory follicle after ovulation. Most ovarian cancers are derived from the OSE. The results have implications for both normal ovarian function and oncogenesis in the ovary.
Theatre as Civic Leader.

During the last century, appreciation courses and theatre departments have gained a place in community colleges. An examination of current textbooks reveals that pedagogical approaches to introductory theatre courses have focused on fostering an understanding of the history and the “poetics” of theatre. While this avenue is useful, I propose that introductory courses can have a more profound effect on students and the community through the practical application of course content. Through theatre, community colleges can teach students to be leaders in society. That is, colleges have an opportunity to prepare students to discharge successfully their civic responsibilities, and even one semester's work in theatre fundamentals can culminate in the fulfillment of that goal.
Evidence-based treatment: Why, what, where, when, and how?

Research and clinical perspectives are blended in this commentary on the rapidly emerging requirement for evidence-based treatment (EBT) in substance abuse programs. Although, historically, it has not been a standard of care in behavioral health, there are sound scientific, ethical, and compassionate reasons to learn and deliver an EBT as it becomes available. This article explores a series of issues, including the following: (1) Why should EBTs be used in substance abuse treatment? (2) What kinds of treatment are EBTs, and how are they determined? (3) Where can EBTs be implemented--at what levels of service delivery? (4) When should EBTs be used? and (5) How do clinicians learn EBTs? Potential pitfalls in implementing EBTs are also considered.
Regional Flow Adjusted Hemoperfusion During Coronary Angioplasty: Circulatory Support/Myocardial Protection

Routine percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty catheters are adequate and demonstrate high success rates in balloon angioplasty with stable patients. Active hemoperfusion seems to offer an advantage in patients with hemodynamic instability. Active hemoperfusion provides myocardial protection during coronary interventions and can be applied in conjunction with routine angioplasty equipment. When compared with other devices demonstrating clinical utility in a supported angioplasty setting, this flow adjustable active antegrade hemoperfusion pump appears reliable, simple to use, cost-effective, and requires much less instrumentation than the more bulky CPS systems.
On the Mertens conjecture for cusp forms, Corrigendum

In my recent paper [1], the corollary on p. 241 is not correct. It should be Corollary. There is a sequence S, tending to infinity, such that for each t in S we have where γ is any zero of
Pyridoxine Deficiency in Congestive Heart Failure

Summary1. Fourteen patients with congestive heart failure and 14 control patients without heart failure were studied with the tryptophan load test. 2. Urinary xanthurenic acid excretion following tryptophan load was significantly greater in the cardiac group than in controls. Mean XA excretion of the group with congestive failure was 35.6 mg/24 hours with standard deviation of 22.8. Mean excretion of the control group was 12.9 mg/24 hours with standard deviation of 5.2 mg/24 hours. 3. The heart failure group, which attained a higher level of XA excretion than the control group in the post tryptophan period, showed a greater decline in XA excretion after pyridoxine than the controls. 4. Since pyridoxine is required for orderly catabolism of tryptophan and pyridoxine corrects this metabolic aberration of tryptophan, it is not unreasonable to state that in congestive heart failure availability of Vit. B6 is limited.
Feature-Preserving MRI Denoising: A Nonparametric Empirical Bayes Approach

This paper presents a novel method for Bayesian denoising of magnetic resonance (MR) images that bootstraps itself by inferring the prior, i.e., the uncorrupted-image statistics, from the corrupted input data and the knowledge of the Rician noise model. The proposed method relies on principles from empirical Bayes (EB) estimation. It models the prior in a nonparametric Markov random field (MRF) framework and estimates this prior by optimizing an information-theoretic metric using the expectation-maximization algorithm. The generality and power of nonparametric modeling, coupled with the EB approach for prior estimation, avoids imposing ill-fitting prior models for denoising. The results demonstrate that, unlike typical denoising methods, the proposed method preserves most of the important features in brain MR images. Furthermore, this paper presents a novel Bayesian-inference algorithm on MRFs, namely iterated conditional entropy reduction (ICER). This paper also extends the application of the proposed method for denoising diffusion-weighted MR images. Validation results and quantitative comparisons with the state of the art in MR-image denoising clearly depict the advantages of the proposed method.
Role transitions in emerging adulthood are associated with smoking among Hispanics in Southern California.

Introduction: Smoking initiation seldom occurs after emerging adulthood, making prevention critical during this phase of the life course. Among emerging adults, Hispanics have an especially high risk for cigarette use. Emerging adulthood scholars sug -gest role transitions commonly experienced by this age group may lead to substance use including cigarette experimentation and/or progression, contributing to the high smoking rates exhibited by Hispanics.Methods: Hispanic emerging adults (aged 18Ð24) completed surveys indicating which of a comprehensive list of role transi -tions they had experienced in the past year. Separate logistic regression models explored the association between each individual role transition and smoking in the past 30!days, controlling for age and gender and using a Bonferonni correction.R esults: Among the sample of emerging adults ( n!=!1,390), 41% were male, the average age was 21, and about 21% reported cigarette use in the past 30!days. Losing a job, becoming a family memberOs caregiver, starting to date someone new, experienc -ing a breakup, being arrested, and becoming addicted to illicit drugs and/or alcohol were all associated with smoking.Conclusions: The stress associated with navigating through changes in critical periods of the life course may lead some emerg -ing adults to smoke. Future research should be directed toward determining what specific mechanisms make these transitional processes risk factors for smoking. These determinations could prove critical if effective prevention programs are to be designed that lead to a decrease in the smoking prevalence among Hispanic emerging adults.
First measurements of neutral atmospheric cluster and 1-2 nm particle number size distributions during nucleation events

Recent observations throughout the atmosphere have shown that nucleation occurs frequently (Kulmala et al. 2004). Modeling studies and observations have shown that nucleated particles contribute si...
Application of a conceptual framework to interpret variability in rangeland responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment

Plant productivity and other ecosystem processes vary widely in their responses to experimental increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration. A conceptual framework first suggested by Chapin et al. (1996) was adapted to address the question of why CO2 effects on primary productivity vary so greatly among rangelands and among years for a given ecosystem. The ‘interactive controls’ framework is based on the premise that the influence of elevated CO2 on productivity is governed by a set of internal variables that interact dynamically with ecosystem processes. These interactive controls, which include regional climate, soil resource supply, major functional groups of organisms and disturbance regimes, both regulate CO2 effects on ecosystems and respond to CO2 effects. Changes in interactive controls resulting from CO2 enrichment may feed back to dampen or amplify ecosystem responses to CO2. Most feedbacks from interactive controls will be negative and dampen CO2 effects on ecosystems. Negative feedbacks promote homeostasis in ecosystem processes and reduce the response of plant productivity to CO2. Positive feedbacks on CO2 responses are fewer, but can sustain or even increase benefits of CO2 enrichment for productivity. Positive feedbacks on CO2 responses occur most frequently through changes in plant species and functional group composition. Understanding positive and negative feedbacks on CO2 responses could be one key to predicting consequences of CO2 enrichment for rangeland productivity and other processes.
Mass spectra of partially fluorinated β‐diketonato complexes of Al(III), Cr(III), Fe(III) and Co(III)

The mass spectra of the Al(III), Cr(III), Fe(III) and Co(III) complexes of the anions of hexafluoroacetylacetone (hfac) trifluoroacetylacetone (ttac), benzoyltrifluoroacetone (btac) and thenoyltrifluoroacetone (ttac) have been determined and are discussed here. Emphasis is placed on discerning which of the observed reactions may properly be attributed to the influence of the metal in the complex and those which may be thought of as arising from the nature of the ligand. The most important influence of the coordinated metal is related to its ability to be reduced2; however, the presence of the metal serves to prohibit or facilitate certain rearrangement reactions relative to the free protonated ligand. Since essentially all fragmentation occurs within or by loss of a ligand, the nature of the ligand determines the nature of the observed fragments. Where intramolecular com-petition of fragment types is possible (tfac, btac and ttac complexes), the most probable fragment of a given class, odd electron or even electron, is easily determined. The most commonly eliminated fragments are CF3and CF2. Certain metastable peaks are associated with consecutive decomposition in the field free region. Such a phenomenon appears to be common for molecules of the type studied here.
Emotion Regulation Predicts Marital Satisfaction: More Than a Wives' Tale

Emotion regulation is generally thought to be a critical ingredient for successful interpersonal relationships. Ironically, few studies have investigated the link between how well spouses regulate emotion and how satisfied they are with their marriages. We utilized data from a 13-year, 3-wave longitudinal study of middle-aged (40-50 years old) and older (60-70 years old) long-term married couples, focusing on the associations between downregulation of negative emotion (measured during discussions of an area of marital conflict at Wave 1) and marital satisfaction (measured at all 3 waves). Downregulation of negative emotion was assessed by determining how quickly spouses reduced signs of negative emotion (in emotional experience, emotional behavior, and physiological arousal) after negative emotion events. Data were analyzed using actor-partner interdependence modeling. Findings showed that (a) greater downregulation of wives' negative experience and behavior predicted greater marital satisfaction for wives and husbands concurrently and (b) greater downregulation of wives' negative behavior predicted increases in wives' marital satisfaction longitudinally. Wives' use of constructive communication (measured between Waves 1 and 2) mediated the longitudinal associations. These results show the benefits of wives' downregulation of negative emotion during conflict for marital satisfaction and point to wives' constructive communication as a mediating pathway.
IS VISUAL SPACE EUCLIDEAN

Philosophers of past times have claimed that the answer to the question, Is visual space Euclidean?, can be answered by a priori or purely philo­sophical methods. Today such a view is presumably held only in remote philosophical backwaters. It would be generally agreed that one way or another the answer is surely empirical, but the answer might be empirical for indirect reasons. It could be decided by physical arguments that physi­cal space is Euclidean and then by conceptual arguments about perception that necessarily the visual space must be Euclidean. To some extent this must be the view of many laymen who accept that to a high degree of approximation physical space is Euclidean, and therefore automatically hold the view that visual space is Euclidean.
On the Undecidability of Second-Order Unification

There is a close relationship between word unification and second-order unification. This similarity has been exploited, for instance, in order to prove decidability of monadic second-order unification and decidability of linear second-order unification when no second-order variable occurs more than twice. The attempt to prove the second result for (nonlinear) second-order unification failed and led instead to a natural reduction from simultaneous rigid E-unification to this second-order unification. This reduction is the first main result of this paper, and it is the starting point for proving some novel results about the undecidability of second-order unification presented in the rest of the paper. We prove that second-order unification is undecidable in the following three cases: (1) each second-order variable occurs at most twice and there are only two second-order variables; (2) there is only one second-order variable and it is unary; (3) the following conditions (i)?(iv) hold for some fixed integer n: (i) the arguments of all second-order variables are ground terms of size
Radiobrightness thermal inertia sensing of soil and canopy moistures for grassland areas

Radiobrightness thermal inertia (RTI) can be used to estimate the moisture content of prairie grassland and agricultural soils. Moisture increases the apparent thermal inertia' of soil by increasing its thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat. Apparent thermal inertia is further increased by evapotranspiration during the day and by condensation at night. Increasing moisture content causes a decrease in microwave emissivity. Combined, these effects should enhance the dependence of RTI upon soil moisture. 37 GHz data from the Nimbus 7 SMMR have been used to demonstrate the plausibility of the RTI method. However, longer data sets over several contiguous days of moisture change were needed to more fully test the model. Also, the masking effect of a vegetation canopy is best handled through the use of a Soil Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) model. From August 19 to September 8, 1992, the authors' Tower Mounted Radiometer System (TMRS) was operated at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Michigan. 19, 35, 37.0, and 85.5 GHz polarimetric observations were made. Simultaneous measurements of solar and net downwelling radiation, air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, thermal IR surface temperature, wind speed, subsurface temperature, and soil heat flux were also made. >
AGENTS OF BIOTERRORISM: Preparing for Bioterrorism at the Community Health Care Level

Bioterrorism preparedness is clearly a goal for the health care community, working in concert with city, county, state, and federal public health and emergency authorities and in collaboration with law enforcement at the local and federal levels. Opening the channels of communication between all groups involved, obtaining the necessary resources, and maintaining an understanding of the potential agents and the diseases they cause will foster a smooth transition to a rational program directed at patient, personnel, and community safety.
High‐resolution anorectal manometry and dynamic pelvic magnetic resonance imaging are complementary technologies

Background and Aim Dynamic pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (DP-MRI) offers a comprehensive evaluation of pelvic organ structure in addition to functional information regarding evacuation. Opportunity to apply this technology can be limited due to regional lack of availability. Ideally, clues from standard anorectal testing could predict abnormalities on DP-MRI, leading to its efficient use. The aim of this study is to determine whether high-resolution anorectal manometry (HR-ARM) correlates with findings on DP-MRI. Methods This is a retrospective study of HR-ARM performed on patients with constipation who also underwent DP-MRI. Studies were reviewed for significant findings including posterior pelvic organ prolapse, rectocele > 3 cm, rectal intussusception, and anorectal angle. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, Student's t-test, and Fisher's exact test. Results Twenty-three patients undergoing HR-ARM (age range 25–78) also underwent DP-MRI. All were female; 76% were Caucasian. Twenty had significant structural findings: small pelvic prolapse (n = 2), moderate pelvic prolapse (n = 10), large pelvic prolapse (n = 9), rectocele (n = 8), or rectal intussusception (n = 3). Only intrarectal pressure on HR-ARM weakly correlated with size of rectocele (r = 0.46; P = 0.03) and degree of pelvic organ prolapse (r = 0.48; P = 0.02). The remainder of the HR-ARM parameters did not significantly correlate with DP-MRI findings. Patients with dyssynergy were not more likely to have rectoceles > 3 cm (44.4% versus 35.7%; P = 0.5) or large prolapses (44.4% versus 50%, P = 1.0), compared with those without dyssynergy, on HR-ARM. Conclusion We were unable to find a correlation between HR-ARM findings and structural pelvic defects on DP-MRI. Therefore, these two technologies provide complementary information in the evaluation of defecatory dysfunction.
Visnagin—a new protectant against doxorubicin cardiotoxicity? Inhibition of mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2) and beyond

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a broad-spectrum and potent anthracycline antibiotic that has been widely used since 1960s as a chemotherapeutic agent to treat a variety of human cancers (1). Despite its superior anti-cancer efficacy, the clinical use of DOX is often limited by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, which may lead to irreversible dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure (2,3). Currently predominant theories for explaining DOX cardiotoxicity include the DOX-induced increase of oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes (4), alteration of mitochondrial energetics (5,6), and direct effect on DNA. Particularly, anthracyclines promote the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through redox cycling of their aglycones and anthracyclineiron complexes (7). Other suggested contributing factors to DOX cardiotoxicity comprise platelet-activating factor, prostaglandins, histamine, calcium, and C-13 hydroxy anthracycline metabolites, etc. (8,9). DOX is metabolized to doxorubicinol, which is implicated for its cardiotoxicity, possibly by causing perturbation of the iron homeostasis (4).
Molecular Pathology Laboratory Management

Clinical molecular pathology tests identify or measure molecular and genetic markers for an individual patient. These markers confirm a diagnosis, predict prognosis, guide treatment, and monitor response to therapy. The rapid turnaround time, reliability, and high accuracy of molecular pathology tests have reduced the occurrence and cost of health care services, enhanced patient outcome, and improved disease management, making molecular pathology one of the fastest-growing sectors of clinical pathology, with more than 2,500 tests currently available in the National Institutes of Health Genetic Testing Registry (NIH GTR) (Rubinstein et al., Nucleic Acids Res 41(Database issue): D925–D935, 2013). The vast majority of these tests are developed and performed as laboratory developed tests (LTDs), which to date have limited oversight by the US Food and Drug Administration. Regulatory and quality oversight of all clinical testing in the USA is provided by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1988 and its implementation through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The operation of a clinical molecular pathology laboratory requires integration of medical, scientific, and clinical molecular pathology expertise, resources including facilities, equipment, and personnel, and skills in organization, administration, management, and communication. Quality service is achieved by adherence to clinical laboratory regulations and standards, from specimen collection and processing to reporting of patient results. This chapter reviews fundamental knowledge important for the management and operation of a clinical molecular pathology laboratory.
Adhesion and Bonding Between Steel Pipe and Cement/Spacer/Mud System

The principle function of oil-well cementing is to bond and support the casing, and to provide downhole zonal isolation. However, the residual non-aqueous drilling fluids (oil-based mud) on the surface of steel pipe can weaken the bond to the hardened cement. The most practical way to analyze the bonding between cement slurry and steel pipe is to directly measure adhesion between these two materials. In the present study, the cement cylinder and the steel coin are separately fixed in two sides of a Brazilian disk, and then the force is applied along the diameter of the disk, at an angle to the interface between the cement and steel. The preliminary results from Brazilian disk tests show that shear bond strength is quite different for the two commercial spacers. Another important factor is the surface condition. Polished, sandblasted and rusted coins are used to examine the effect of surface conditions. Better adhesion is obtained on rusted steel surfaces.
Flies and myiasis.

Many species of flies cause insect bites. The Lutzomyia and Phlebotomus flies, which carry leishmaniasis, and the Simulium flies, which carry onchocerciasis, have the greatest impact. Fly larvae, or maggots, can be used to cleanse necrotic debris from a wound. Although repulsive, this may be effective. Some larvae are obligatory parasites of warm-blooded animals and sometimes of man. These must burrow into the flesh in order to develop. Screwworms cause great problems for livestock and, rarely, for man. Dermatobia hominis is the most common such parasite seen in the United States. Infection with this parasite, botfly myiasis, is described in detail.
Neurologic Therapies in Critical Care

The preservation of neurologic function has become an increasing concern in critical care. Both status epilepticus and increased intracranial pressure may significantly affect cerebral perfusion. This article discusses neurologic emergencies and their pharmacologic management and examines the impact of vasoactive agents on cerebral perfusion.
What Can Humans Cognize about the Self from Experience? Comments on Corey Dyck’s “The Development of Kant’s Psychology during the 1770’s”

I agree with Dyck’s basic claim that Kant follows the methodology of Rational Psychology in setting up his critique of it: He starts as it starts, with an existential proposition ‘I think.’ On the other hand, I am not convinced of Dyck’s use of the Dreams essay in establishing a timeline for the development of Kant’s views on inner sense. That essay is evidence that Kant thinks that Schwendenborg’s metaphysics is ungrounded, because he has a crazy sort of inner sense, but it does not show that Kant rejected a more standard internal sense at this time. I also suggest that some of Kant’s vacillation about inner sense depends on an unusual feature of his doctrine of the representations of space and time: They are composed of both sensory and a priori elements. My hypothesis is that the seeming vacillation about inner sense may be a reflection of whether whether he is considering it broadly, as a faculty that provides intuitions with a particular form, or whether he is restricting what it provides to what can be sensed.
Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy and Beyond: A Quality Improvement (QI) Project

Smoking during pregnancy is a prevalent and preventable risk factor for adverse outcomes, including prematurity, growth restriction, and perinatal mortality. Brief provider interventions are effective and pregnancy often inspires smoking cessation, but postpartum recidivism is unfortunately common, restoring risk to women, children, and future pregnancies. Frequent patient-provider interactions during the antenatal period and corresponding child’s first year of life offer a unique opportunity to introduce and reinforce healthy lifestyle habits of budding family units. EMR technology can be used to improve quality and continuity of tobacco-free healthcare by optimizing implementation of proven interventions and by synthesizing coordination of care between obstetricians and pediatricians. Force functionality within EPIC can prompt obstetricians to routinely provide cessation support, and hard stops can ensure ongoing assessment of a patient’s status within the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change. Well-child templates can then import smoking-related data from prenatal visits into the infant’s chart and prompt pediatricians to provide consistent, patient-specific interventions. The project will test the enriched EMR in a treatment group and compare prevalence of smoking vs. a control group upon admission for delivery and at 1-month, 6-month, and 1-year well-child visits.
Live Attenuated Vaccines for Respiratory Syncytial Virus

In the five decades since the identification of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as an important pediatric pathogen, no effective vaccine has been developed. Previous attempts to develop inactivated RSV vaccines resulted in vaccine-enhanced disease, resulting in a greater focus on the generation of live attenuated RSV vaccines. However, identifying a live attenuated vaccine candidate that is appropriately attenuated and sufficiently immunogenic has proven to be difficult. Recently, reverse genetics systems have been developed for RSV, allowing researchers to introduce specific mutations into the genomes of recombinant vaccine candidates. These systems provide a means of determining the effects of known attenuating mutations and identifying novel methods of attenuating the virus without decreasing immunogenicity. In addition, different mutations can be combined in a single genome to fine-tune the level of attenuation and immunogenicity to achieve the proper balance in a viable vaccine candidate. Current research into RSV attenuation includes investigation of point mutations responsible for temperature sensitivity, nontemperature-sensitive attenuating mutations, and deletion of nonessential viral genes that play roles in viral RNA synthesis and/or inhibition of innate immune responses. Development of an effective RSV vaccine will likely rely on using reverse genetics systems to optimize the attenuation and immunogenicity of a live vaccine candidate, while preserving viral replication in vitro.
A Census of Statistics Requirements at U.S. Journalism Programs and a Model for a “Statistics for Journalism” Course

This essay presents data from a census of statistics requirements and offerings at all 4-year journalism programs in the United States (N = 369) and proposes a model of a potential course in statistics for journalism majors. The author proposes that three philosophies underlie a statistics course for journalism students. Such a course should (a) represent a statistics course with journalism, not a journalism course seasoned with a few statistics; (b) encourage awareness of error and skepticism of omniscience of official figures; and (c) cultivate statistical enthusiasts, not formulae repositories. Findings report students in just one fifth of U.S. journalism programs are required to take statistics, and none of those programs offer a course within their own academic unit that fulfills a traditional statistics requirement.
Oxygen–Isotope Exchange and Metastable Dissociation in Oxides

To understand the corrosion of bulk oxide materials at the molecular scale, oxygen–isotope exchanges were examined in two classes of nanometer-sized ions, one cation and one anion, and subsets that differ by targeted single-atom substitutions. In niobate anions, the different oxygen sites within each molecule differ by ∼ 103–104 in overall rates of isotopic exchange, yet all structural oxygens exhibit similar pH dependencies that relate to the dissociation pathways. In aluminate cations of the ɛ-Keggin structure, single-atom substitutions cause a 107–1010 variation of rates of oxygen–isotopic exchange into two sets of μ2-OH. Molecular-dynamic simulations indicate that metastable forms of these structures exist as loose, long-lived intermediates. A series of common steps is observed to access the intermediate structures, and these are best resolved in the symmetric ɛ-Keggin aluminate ions. In the first step, solvation forces, or a nucleophile, cause a near-surface metal to partly detach from a deeper overbonded oxygen via concerted motions of many atoms. Isotopically distinct oxygens then add to the newly undercoordinated metal in the partly detached metastable state. Protons transfer to more basic oxygens and oxygens shuffle. Finally, the metastable structure collapses and dehydrates. The number of such metastable states depends on the symmetry and composition of the starting structure and access to the metastable state controls the overall rates. Surprisingly, polyoxometalate ions with only 40–100 atoms already seem to capture much of the macroscopic chemistry observed for dissolving minerals and glasses.
Electrically Addressable Hierarchical Carbon Nanotube Forests

Hierarchical, branched carbon nanotube (CNT) forest assemblies were created by synthesizing a second generation of CNTs directly from the alumina-coated surface of a parent CNT forest. First, a parent CNT forest generation was synthesized using floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in which gaseous argon and hydrogen are flowed into a tube furnace, along with a controlled flow rate of ferrocene nanoparticles suspended in xylene solvent. Next, a thin alumina coating was applied to the parent CNT forest using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The ALD process pulses alternating gases of water vapor and trimethylaluminum (TMA) and is repeated for 100 cycles, yielding a 10nm coating. This coating adheres to the outer walls of the larger CNTs and serves as a supportive surface to enable the growth of a second CNT generation. Finally, a second CNT generation was synthesized from the parent CNT forest using a floating-catalyst CVD method similar to that used for the parent generation. The relatively low areal density of the parent CNT generation allows for gas-phase additive processing (i.e. ALD and floating catalyst CVD) to occur deep within the volume of the original parent CNT forest.Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the hierarchical CNT forests shows that second-generation CNTs nucleate and grow from the alumina-coated walls of the parent generation rather than nucleating from the original growth substrate, as has been previously reported. Further, physical confinement of the second-generation catalyst particle on the external surface of the parent generation CNTs (28 nm average diameter) leads to small-diameter CNTs (8 nm average) for the second generation. Further, radial breathing modes are detected by Raman spectroscopy, indicating single-walled or few-walled CNTs are synthesized in the second generation.The hierarchical forests exhibit many desirable properties compared to single generation forests. Because the second generation CNTs within the interstitial regions of the parent CNT forest, they increase the structural rigidity of the cellular CNT forest morphology, increasing in mechanical stiffness by ten-fold, relative to the parent CNT forest. Further, we demonstrate that electrical continuity between the CNT generations is retained. Because a thin alumina buffer layer exists between CNT generations, electrical continuity is not guaranteed. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are used to characterize the electrical resistance elements within the hierarchical forest. This hierarchical structure offers a new avenue to tailor the performance of CNT forests and offers performance enhancements for applications in thermal interfaces, electrical interconnects, dry adhesives and energy generation and storage.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
A power density optimization method for a power pulsation decoupling buffer in single-phase DC-AC converters

The goal of this work is to develop an analytical method to determine the optimum size of an active decoupling buffer in single phase DC-AC converters for the highest power density. The conventional method for active twice line frequency power pulsation decoupling is a structure commonly known as the full ripple port architecture. However, its high voltage stress and correspondingly large inductor volume become a bottleneck to improve its power density, and the large amount of power processed in the active converter increases the power losses, leading to large heat removal solutions. recently proposed series-stacked buffer architecture provides a way to reduce the buffer converter voltage stress, reduce the power conversion losses and balance the volume of passive components to achieve very high power density. This paper presents a design procedure of the series-stacked buffer architecture that optimizes the power density through mathematical derivations and numerical design examples. The design procedure is based on calculating the energy storage of the passive components as the optimization objective and analyzing the operation of the buffer converter that forms certain optimization constraints. A set of optimal design parameters is found by the method of Lagrange multipliers. A hardware prototype is developed under the guidance of this optimization and the high power density has been experimentally verified.
Welfare-Equivalent Uniform Tariff Under the Dixit-Stiglitz Preference

This paper studies the welfare-equivalent uniform (WEU) tariff, based on Anderson and Neary (2005), under the Dixit-Stiglitz preference. I show that the WEU tariff is simply the weighted (σ − 1)th-power average of tariffs, where σ is the elasticity of substitution.
Us Versus them: The United States, Radical Islam and the Rise of the Green Threat

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks and the declaration of a ‘Global War on Terror’, scholars and the general public have sought to understand the relationship between the US and political Islam. ...
Online 2D-LC-MS/MS Platform for Analysis of Glycated Proteome

Glycated proteins are emerging as good indicators for diabetes and age related diseases. However, the platform for analysis of glycated proteome has been relatively less well established. We here introduce an online 2D-LC-HCD-MS/MS platform for comprehensive glycated peptide quantification. This platform includes a boronate affinity column in the first dimension for enrichment, reversed phase nanoLC column in the second dimension for separation, a benchtop Orbitrap mass spectrometer with HCD-MS/MS for peptide sequencing, and MaxQuant bioinformatics tool for identification and quantification of glycated peptides. This online 2D-LC-HCD-MS/MS platform has high enrichment efficiency with 85% of identified peptides in the enriched fraction as glycated, high sensitivity for detection of glycated peptides with LOD and LOQ at 1.2 and 2.4 pg, respectively, and high reproducibility with interday CVs < 20% for 80% of the glycated peptides. The number of glycated peptides quantified in in vitro glycated human plasma ...