cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrating Trade and Human Rights in the Americas

This paper analyzes the relationship between the OAS Inter-American human rights system and several regional integration systems, including NAFTA, MERCOSUR and the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Broadly speaking, there are two models for the relationship between integration systems and human rights protection: the leverage model and the incorporation model. The leverage model involves making effective participation in extrinsic human rights systems a legal or political condition of integration system membership. The incorporation model focuses on the juridical interpenetration of the two systems at many levels. This paper will focus on the leverage model, as it applies or may apply to the American hemisphere. Such inquiry involves addressing two questions: first, to what extent has membership in hemispheric integration systems been used to leverage more effective human rights protection; and second, to what extent should such leverage be developed as part of the evolution of hemispheric integration. The paper concludes, first, that the existing relationship between trade and human rights in the Americas follows the linkage model, but only to a limited extent, and primarily between trade and democracy. Linking trade to formal democracy, while desirable and to some extent successful in the hemisphere as this paper will show, is not adequate to address the range of human rights challenges facing the hemisphere. In view of the fact that the OAS Inter-American system exists as a promising legal venue for human rights protection, this paper also concludes that hemispheric efforts to strengthen the relationship between trade and human rights should focus instead on linking membership in the emerging FTAA system with effective participation in the OAS system. Since the U.S. does not even participate in the OAS system, further integration between trade and human rights in this hemisphere will therefore require strategies for overcoming U.S. resistance to the OAS system.
Preclinical orthotopic and intracardiac injection models of human breast cancer metastasis to bone and their use in drug discovery.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, with the development of distant metastases rendering the condition incurable. Relatively little is known about the factors governing the progression from primary tumor to metastasis, in part because of the difficulty in modeling what is a complex series of events. Detailed in this unit are descriptions of two murine models of breast cancer metastasis to bone that can be used to screen the effectiveness of new chemical entities on this disease process. Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol. 52:14.18.1-14.18.23. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: breast cancer; bone metastasis; orthotopic model; intracardiac model; bioluminescent imaging
Influence of Trans Unsaturated Fats on Experimental Atherosclerosis in Rabbits

To test the effects of trans unsaturated fatty acids (t-FA) on atherosclerosis, lipidemia and enzyme activities, rabbits were fed a semipurified, cholesterol-free diet containing 40% sucrose, 25% casein and 14% fat for 5 months. Two experimental diets provided either 6% (high) or 3.2% (low) t-FA. The control group was fed a fat of composition similar to the two experimental diets but free of t-FA. Serum cholesterol and triglycerides were elevated in the rabbits fed 6% t-FA. Liver glycerides were also elevated in this group. The fatty acids of plasma, erythrocytes, epididymal fat, liver microsomes and liver mitochondria reflected the dietary composition. Levels of aortic atherosclerosis were identical in the three groups. There were no significant differences in activity of five hepatic enzymes: glucose-6-phosphatase (microsomal), fatty acid synthetase (cytosolic), malate dehydrogenase, beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and monoamine oxidase (mitochondrial).
Two-Dimensional Electron-Hole Systems in a Strong Magnetic Field

Two-dimensional systems containing N e electrons and N h holes (N e > N h ) strongly correlated through Coulomb interactions in the presence of a large magnetic field are studied by exact numerical diagonalisation. Low lying states are found to contain neutral (X0) and negatively charged (X -)excitons and higher charged exciton complexes ( \( X_k^ - \) a bound state of k neutral excitons and an electron). Representing these states in terms of angular momenta and binding energies of the different exciton complexes, and the pseudopotentials describing their interactions with electrons and with one another, permits numerical studies of systems that are too large to investigate in terms of individual electrons and holes. Laughlin incompressible ground states of such a multi-component plasma are found. A generalised composite Fermion picture based on Laughlin type correlations is proposed. It is shown to correctly predict the lowest band of angular momentum multiplets for different charge configurations of the system for any value of the magnetic field.
Temperature Compensated IBAR Reference Oscillators

This work presents a two-chip automatically temperature-compensated micromechanical IBAR reference oscillator with a temperature drift of 39ppm over 100 ° C. Temperature compensation is provided by a parabolic V P correction scheme and provides 10X improvement over previously reported results. Tunable 6MHz, 10MHz, and 20MHz resonators were characterized with 2000– 4500ppm tuning and Q up to 119000. Motional impedances as low as 218Ω were extracted from measurement data with V P = 18V. The interface IC for temperature compensation and oscillation consumes only 1.9mW. Measurements also show that temperature compensation of a 10MHz resonator with 65nm gaps is possible with less than 5V.
The Sociologist as Expert Witness: A Resource for Resolving Injustice in the Case of Personal Injury

This article expands the application of sociology in expert testimony by presenting a case study of personal injury. Experts in this matter are drawn typically from the domains of psychology, medicine, and economics. Reframing personal injury by summoning a sociological analytical framework shifts the analysis from a determination made on the basis of an absolute standard of injury to a relative one based on “cultural injury.” Individual damages are reasoned on the basis of a situational context analogous to the part of a musician in a symphony, whereby behavior cannot be understood apart from its milieu. An extensive literature review of “Machismo” and the ethnic character of Latinos, particularly Costa Rican males, provides the background for inferring the extent of impairment resulting from an automobile collision. Implications are for applied sociologists and for the legal community concerning a reassessment of conventional procedures for assigning monetary compensation to victims injured by liable ot...
Large-scale profiling of the Arabidopsis transcriptome.

DNA microarray is a powerful technology for parallel analysis of gene expression ([Brown and Bostein, 1999][1]). Since microarray technology emerged 5 years ago ([Schena et al., 1995][2]), the number of genes that can be monitored by this technology has increased from several hundreds ([Yuan et al
Relationship between a history of systemic allergic reactions and risk of subsequent carboplatin hypersensitivity.

Abstract Objective The establishment of clinical features identifying patients at a heightened risk for the development of carboplatin hypersensitivity may assist in the management of this important toxicity. Based on a previous report suggesting a history of "bee sting" allergy predicted for paclitaxel hypersensitivity, we attempted to determine if there was a relationship between a history of prior systemic allergic reactions and the subsequent development of carboplatin hypersensitivity. Patients and methods The medical records of all women treated in the Gynecologic Cancer Program of the Cleveland Clinic from June 1995 to May 2002 who received >6 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed for a history of prior systemic hypersensitivity (e.g., medications, environmental exposure). The incidence of "positive" allergic histories was then examined in relation to the subsequent risk of patients developing either a documented carboplatin hypersensitivity reaction or a "positive" carboplatin skin test. Results The analysis included 174 patients (91 undergoing "carboplatin skin testing") who received > 6 courses of carboplatin. Of 53 patients with no recorded history of systemic hypersensitivity treated prior to our routine use of carboplatin skin testing, 19% experienced an allergic reaction, in contrast to a 40% incidence of a documented carboplatin reaction in 30 patients with a recorded history of hypersensitivity to a medication or environmental exposure ( P P > 0.05). Conclusion This analysis suggests that patients with a prior history of systemic hypersensitivity to medications or environmental exposures may be at a heightened risk for experiencing allergic reactions to carboplatin.
Mouse myeloma mutants blocked in the assembly, glycosylation and secretion of immunoglobulin.

Two stable mutant cell lines derived from the MPC-11 mouse myeloma synthesize immunoglobulin with abnormal heavy chains and normal light chains. The mutant heavy chains have molecular weights of 38,000 to 42,000 (M3.11) and 50,000 (ICR 11.19) as compared to 55,000 of the wild type. The mutants demonstrate a variety of blocks in the assembly, glycosylation and secretion of immunoglobulin. (1) The wild type assembles and secretes 90% of its immunoglobulin primarily as H 2 L 2 while M3.11 is partially blocked in the assembly of H 2 L 2 , and secretes approximately one half of its immunoglobulin as HL. ICR 11.19, with a more complete block in interchain disulfide bond formation, assembles less than 10% of its immunoglobulin into H 2 L 2 , has a block in secretion and degrades most of its immunoglobulin. (2) M3.11 uses only one of the two wild type pathways of assembly. Reduction of isolated H 2 L 2 with 2-mercapthoethanol suggests an altered stability of the inter-H chain disulfide bonds in M3.11 as compared to the wild type immunoglobulin. (3) While the parent glycosylates all of its heavy chains, M3.11 does not attach any carbohydrate to 30 to 50% of its heavy chains. These non-glycosylated heavy chains are, nonetheless, assembled and secreted with similar kinetics to the glycosylated heavy chain.
Pure adaptive search in global optimization

Pure adaptive seach iteratively constructs a sequence of interior points uniformly distributed within the corresponding sequence of nested improving regions of the feasible space. That is, at any iteration, the next point in the sequence is uniformly distributed over the region of feasible space containing all points that are strictly superior in value to the previous points in the sequence. The complexity of this algorithm is measured by the expected number of iterations required to achieve a given accuracy of solution. We show that for global mathematical programs satisfying the Lipschitz condition, its complexity increases at mostlinearly in the dimension of the problem.
AlGaN/AlGaN UV light-emitting diodes grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract We report the electrical and optical characteristics of an AlGaN/AlGaN quantumwell ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The devices operating under room-temperature DC excitation exhibit a peak emission wavelength at 341 nm with a narrow line width of Δ λ =10 nm. We also report a ternary AlGaN UV LED grown on sapphire with peak wavelength emission at 302 nm. The device utilized a double heterostructure, along with a Mg-doped AlGaN/AlGaN superlattice structure as a p-cladding layer. The emission peak exhibits a narrow line width of Δ λ =10 nm.
Beta-receptor activity in aorta; variations with age and species.

Helically cut thoracic aortic strips (from rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs) in a state of low to moderate tone and under the influence of alpha-receptor blockade relaxed in response to isoproterenol. Propranolol blocked these relaxations. Helically cut thoracic aortic strips from cats and abdominal aortic strips from rats, rabbits, and cats were not relaxed by isoproterenol. In addition, aortic beta-receptor activity of rats and rabbits decreased with increasing age. The ability of thoracic aortas to be relaxed by isoproterenol was lost when rats were 90 days old and when rabbits were 2 years old. Significant loss of beta-receptor activity was not evident in rat trachea and stomach. Sodium nitrite completely relaxed thoracic and abdominal aortas from all species including thoracic aortas from old rats and rabbits. We conclude: (1) there are species differences in the response of thoracic aortic strips to beta-receptor stimulation; (2) a gradient in beta-receptor activity exists in the aorta with greater activity in the thoracic aorta and a relatively small amount of activity in the abdominal aorta; and (3) aortic beta-receptor activity decreases with increasing age.
The artistry of conservative esthetic dentistry

Restorative dentistry, especially esthetic techniques, demands the dentist be artist and scientist. Artistic elements such as shape of form, symmetry and proportionality, position and alignment, surface texture, and color must be considered. Conservative esthetic dentistry provides a new dimension to treatment that is rewarding and gives the dentist another means of artistic expression.
Treatment algorithms in refractory partial epilepsy

An algorithm is a "step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end....in a finite number of steps." (Merriam-Webster, 2009). Medical algorithms are decision trees to help with diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. For the treatment of epilepsy there is no generally accepted treatment algorithm, as individual epilepsy centers follow different diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. This article presents two algorithms to guide decisions in the treatment of refractory partial epilepsy. The treatment algorithm describes a stepwise diagnostic and therapeutic approach to intractable medial temporal and neocortical epilepsy. The surgical algorithm guides decisions in the surgical treatment of neocortical epilepsy.
A Time for Silence: William Lloyd Garrison and the “Woman Question” at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention

The World Anti-Slavery Convention of 1840 is remembered most as the event that inspired Lucretia Coffin Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to organize the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention. Few scholars, however, have analyzed the debate proceedings that ultimately resulted in women’s exclusion from the convention. An analysis of the convention proceedings questions Wendell Phillips’ strategy of speaking on behalf of the women, arguing instead that William Lloyd Garrison’s strategy of silence was the more rhetorically astute response to the exclusion of women. Garrison’s silent protest not only attracted more attention to the women’s rights cause, but also inspired women to speak on their own behalf.
Self-assembly of three-dimensional M3L2 cages via a new flexible organometallic clip.

The simple combination of tritopic pyridine donor linkers with a new flexible acceptor “clip” in a 2:3 stoichiometric ratio generates three-dimensional M3L2 cages which possess large cavities in essentially quantitative yields.
Peripheral Proliferative Retinopathy without Oxygen Therapy in a Full-Term Infant

A 2,948-g full-term male infant, the product of an uncomplicated pregnancy, developed fundus changes consistent with retrolental fibroplasia in the absence of supplemental oxygen therapy. He had no associated illnesses or congenital anomalies, and had not received exchange transfusions. There was no family history of ocular disease. Changes similar to those of retrolental fibroplasia do occasionally occur in fullterm infants who have had no supplemental oxygen therapy. A relative hyperoxia caused by the increase in arterial oxygen saturation occurring at birth is one possible explanation for these events. This rise, plus susceptibility factors apart from prematurity, may account for these unusual cases. Additionally, these cases may represent sporadic examples of familial exudative vitreoretinopathy.
Collision array based workload assignment for Network-on-Chip concurrency

To improve Network-on-Chip (NoC) parallelism, this paper proposes a new collision array based workload assignment to increase data request cancellation. Through a task flow partitioning algorithm, we minimize sequential data access and then dynamically schedule tasks while minimizing router execution time. Experimental results show that this method can provide an average of 87.7% system throughput improvement and 41.4% router execution time reduction. This throughput improvement is the direct consequence of collision array. A 7x improvement was reported in [10] Fig. 7 when 32 threads are employed on a single core. The system can achieve 2.7 times of speedup. By investigating the performance-overhead tradeoff between different collision array sizes, we proved a maximum of 42.9% energy and area overheads saving, only with a cost of 23.6% performance degradation in term of router execution time.
The Therapeutic Value of Friendship Between Women

This study examined whether a group of 42 university women perceived their best and slight same-sex friendships as therapeutic. Of those subjects, 29 had best friends who also participated in the study. Two paper and pencil instruments were completed by all participants and 10 of the best friend pairs were interviewed. Results of the study indicated that both best and slight same-sex friendships had therapeutic value for women, with best friendships seen as more therapeutic than slight friendships. Rank ordering of the therapeutic factors used as a basis for the study resulted in agreement among subjects on the relative importance of the factors in their best and slight friendships. Subjects and their best friends were also in agreement on the worth and rank orderings of these factors. Background for the study is provided by the literature review which included psychological perspectives on friendship, friendship's therapeutic importance, and sex differences in friendship. An additional perspective on fem...
A modified chondroitin sulfate aldehyde adhesive for sealing corneal incisions.

Purpose To compare a modified chondroitin sulfate aldehyde adhesive with standard sutures for sealing corneal incisions. Methods A keratome knife was used to create non-self-sealing, uniplanar, 3-mm, clear corneal incisions in enucleated rabbit eyes (n = 18). The wounds were sealed with either a chondroitin sulfate-aldehyde adhesive (n = 8), three 10-0 nylon sutures (n = 5), or one 10-0 nylon suture (n = 5). Wound stability was tested by filling the globes with balanced salt solution through an anterior chamber port and slowly increasing the IOP. The pressure changes were monitored with a digital manometer connected to the anterior chamber, and leak pressure was recorded for each eye. Confocal microscopy was performed on the glued eyes, to document the glue distribution along the wound. Results The mean leak pressures in the single-suture and three-suture subgroups were 26.4 +/- 6.0 and 44.3 +/- 8.2 mm Hg (SD), respectively. The maximum IOP achieved in eyes that received the glue was 104.7 mm Hg with a mean of 101.4 +/- 3.2 mm Hg. None of the eyes in which glue was used showed leakage. At confocal microscopy, the glue was distributed inside the wound edges as a homogeneous thin layer of a less dense signal than that of the stroma. Conclusions A novel chondroitin sulfate-aldehyde adhesive was shown to be effective ex vivo for sealing corneal incisions in rabbit eyes and was superior to sutures for this purpose.
Indigenous Reserves and Nature Conservation in Amazonian Forests

CARLOS A. PERES Center for Tropical Conservation Duke University 3705-C Erwin Road Durham, NC 27705, U.S.A. The growing duality among scientists between nature- and people-oriented conservation has been explicitly illustrated once again in a dispute between Redford and Stearman ( 1933a~ 1993b) and Alcorn (1993) in a recent issue of
Rotational vertebral artery occlusion: a mechanism of vertebrobasilar insufficiency.

Objective Symptomatic dynamic changes in blood flow secondary to vertebral artery compression with rotational head motion are evaluated in a series of patients as a cause for posterior circulation transient ischemic attacks. These cases are classic examples of rotational vertebral artery occlusion and allow for the discussion of the anatomic basis, angiographic features, and treatment options. Illustrative cases In our series, symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency were reproducible with rotational head movement. Compression of the vertebral artery was demonstrated angiographically. The correct site of occlusion of the vertebral artery was apparent only by dynamic angiography with progressive head rotation. All of the patients presented in the illustrative cases had occlusion at the C2 level; however, one patient had been previously misdiagnosed and another had an additional site of occlusion. The anatomic course of the vertebral artery is described in addition to the sites of rotational occlusion. Conclusion Rotational vertebral occlusion is an important cause of vertebrobasilar symptoms, which may lead to permanent neurological deficit if left undiagnosed. Dynamic angiography is the established method of diagnosis. Great care must be taken to avoid misdiagnosing the site of occlusion or missing a second occlusive site. For this reason, it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of the anatomic course of the vertebral artery and the muscular and tendinous insertions, which may cause rotational occlusion. The decision for treatment must be based on the site of occlusion as well as the assessment of the patient as a surgical candidate. A review of the literature reveals that surgical treatment is effective and must be considered to avoid further morbidity.
Temperature dependence of tryptophan photophysics in rabbit skeletal myosin rod

The fluorescence intensity decays of the two tryptophans in rabbit skeletal myosin rod were fit to double exponential functions at six temperatures ranging from 5 to 62 degree(s)C. The radiative decay rate (kf) was estimated from the ratio of the average lifetime and quantum yield (0.11) at 23 degree(s)C. This value (0.024 ns-1 was used to calculate the non-radiative decay rates (equals knr) for each lifetime species at each temperature. Plots of log (knr) versus 1/T for each species showed distinctive breaks at 45 degree(s)C. The Arrhenius activation energies (Ea) for non-radiative quenching of the two lifetime species were significantly different below 45 degree(s)C, with values of 85 J/mole for the long and 31 J/mole for the short lifetime species, while the values were similar, 210 J/mole for the long and 230 J/mole for the short species, above 45 degree(s)C. The thermal unfolding of rod is known to be complex with transitions at 43 degree(s), 47 degree(s), and 53 degree(s)C; only the 43 degree(s) and 53 degree(s)C transitions involve the tryptophan-containing light meromyosin region (LMM) (King & Lehrer (1989) Biochemistry 28, 3498). Our results indicate that the two lifetime components are quenched by different mechanisms below, and similar mechanisms above, 45 degree(s)C. Although the environment of the two pairs of tryptophans differ in the folded protein, they have similar environments in the unfolded protein.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Total synthesis and initial biological evaluation of new B-ring-modified bryostatin analogs.

The total synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of the first bryostatin analogs (bryologs) to incorporate B-ring substitution are reported. Asymmetric syntheses of two new polyketide “spacer” domains are described, one exploiting the pseudosymmetry of the C1−C13 region. These fragments are convergently joined to the “recognition” domain through a remarkably versatile macrotransacetalization process. The resulting new analogs exhibit potent nanomolar or picomolar affinity to protein kinase C (PKC), comparable to or better than that found for bryostatin.
Partial purification of l-glutamine:d-fructose 6-phosphate aminotransferase from zoospores of Blastocladiella emersonii

Abstract l -Glutamine: d -fructose 6-phosphate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.16) was purified about 88-fold from zoospores of Blastocladiella emersonii by centrifugation and fractionation on DEAE-cellulose. Specific activities up to 4.85 μmoles glucosamine 6-phosphate·−1·mg protein−1 were achieved.
Crystallographic and Modeling Studies of RNase III Suggest a Mechanism for Double-Stranded RNA Cleavage

Abstract Background: Aquifex aeolicus Ribonuclease III (Aa-RNase III) belongs to the family of Mg 2+ -dependent endonucleases that show specificity for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). RNase III is conserved in all known bacteria and eukaryotes and has 1–2 copies of a 9-residue consensus sequence, known as the RNase III signature motif. The bacterial RNase III proteins are the simplest, consisting of two domains: an N-terminal endonuclease domain, followed by a double-stranded RNA binding domain (dsRBD). The three-dimensional structure of the dsRBD in Escherichia coli RNase III has been elucidated; no structural information is available for the endonuclease domain of any RNase III. Results: We present the crystal structures of the Aa-RNase III endonuclease domain in its ligand-free form and in complex with Mn 2+ . The structures reveal a novel protein fold and suggest a mechanism for dsRNA cleavage. On the basis of structural, genetic, and biological data, we have constructed a hypothetical model of Aa-RNase III in complex with dsRNA and Mg 2+ ion, which provides the first glimpse of RNase III in action. Conclusions: The functional Aa-RNase III dimer is formed via mainly hydrophobic interactions, including a "ball-and-socket" junction that ensures accurate alignment of the two monomers. The fold of the polypeptide chain and its dimerization create a valley with two compound active centers at each end of the valley. The valley can accommodate a dsRNA substrate. Mn 2+ binding has significant impact on crystal packing, intermolecular interactions, thermal stability, and the formation of two RNA-cutting sites within each compound active center.
The influence of riming on the oxygen isotopic composition of ice-phase precipitation

Abstract The oxygen isotopic composition of freshly fallen snow has been measured simultaneously with ice-crystal photography at a high altitude station in the central Sierra Nevada. These and other meso- and microscale cloud measurements have been used to study the short-term δ 18 O variations of ice-phase precipitation from winter storms. In this study, snow samples collected from six storm events in 1985 were used. The results show that: (1) the degree of riming and the δ 18 O value of the ice particles correlate positively for six of the six storms samples, except at times of strong convective activity; (2) temperatures of ice phase initiation do not agree with the isotopically derived “temperatures” of the precipitation reaching the ground, as a result of riming; hence, the amount and location of supercooled liquid water in the clouds are considered to be strong determining factors influencing the δ 18 O values; and (3) no obvious correlations were observed between precipitation rate and δ 18 O or between the maximum precipitation intensity and the range of the δ 18 O values of the snowfall.
Research Spotlight: Aircraft measured oil evaporating from Gulf oil spill

[1] Following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in April 2010, some hydrocarbons dissolved in the ocean, while other leaked hydrocarbons that did not dissolve evaporated into the atmosphere. Ryerson et al. describe airborne in situ measurements of the hydrocarbons in the atmosphere after the oil spill, during initial cleanup operations. By comparing the amounts of chemicals in the atmosphere with those in crude oil, they determined which compounds dissolved in the ocean and which evaporated; by measuring the rate at which the compounds reached the atmosphere, they could estimate that oil and gas were leaking into the Gulf at a rate of at least 32,600–47,700 barrels of fluid per day.
EcoRI analysis of bacteriophage P22 DNA packaging

Abstract Bacteriophage P22 linear DNA molecules are a set of circularly permuted sequences with ends located in a limited region of the physical map. This mature form of the viral chromosome is cut in headful lengths from a concatemeric precursor during DNA encapsulation. Packaging of P22 DNA begins at a specific site, which we have termed pac, and then proceeds sequentially to cut lengths of DNA slightly longer than one complete set of P22 genes (Tye et al., 1974b). The sites of DNA maturation events have been located on the physical map of EcoRI cleavage sites in P22 DNA. EcoRI digestion products of mature P22 wild-type DNA were compared with EcoRI fragments of two deletion and two insertion mutant DNAs. These mutations decrease or increase the length of the genome, but do not alter the DNA encapsulation mechanism. Thus the position of mature molecular ends relative to EcoRI restriction sites is different in each mutant, and comparison of the digests shows which fragments come from the ends of linear molecules. From the positions of the ends of molecules processed in sequential headfuls, the location of pac and the direction of encapsulation relative to the P22 map were deduced. The pac site lies in EcoRI fragment A, 4.1 × 103 base-pairs from EcoRI cleavage site 1. Sequential packaging of the concatemer is initiated at pac and proceeds in the counterclockwise direction relative to the circular map of P22. One-third of the linears in a population are cut from the concatemer at pac, and most packaging sequences do not extend beyond four headfuls. Fragment D is produced by EcoRI cleavage at a site near the end of a linear chromosome which has been encapsulated starting at pac. The position of the pac site is therefore defined by one end of fragment D. The pac site is not located near genes 12 and 18, the only known site for initiation of P22 DNA replication, but lies among late genes at a position on the physical gene map approximately analogous to the cohesive end site (cos) of bacteriophage λ at which λ DNA is cleaved during encapsulation. Our results suggest that P22 and λ DNA maturation mechanisms have many common properties.
Blood cultures: their clinical usefulness--a prospective study.

A five month prospective study of all blood cultures performed on patients over twelve years of age was undertaken at the Regional Hospital, Galway. The study looked at the diagnostic ability and therapeutic implications of blood cultures. In total 324 blood cultures were performed on 270 patients. There were 29 significant isolates grown from blood cultures (8.9%). The specificity of blood cultures, based on combined clinical and laboratory criteria, was 84% and the sensitivity was 31.7%, giving an overall accuracy of 68.2%. Six of the 270 patients had alterations in their management based solely on the results of their blood cultures.
Intelligent UAS situation awareness and information delivery

A significant impediment to the regular operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in non-segregated civil airspace is the concern surrounding loss of the UAS command and control (C2) data link. While a UAS is typically preprogrammed to behave in a prescribed manner in a “lost link” situation, surrounding pilots and Air Traffic Control (ATC) may be unaware of the immediate flight intent of the UAS while it is flying autonomously without C2 link. This makes it difficult or impossible for controllers to predict where the UAS is going and to clear conflicting traffic along the UAS intended course in a timely fashion. This paper describes MITRE's current research investigating autonomous methods for maintaining automated situational awareness onboard the UAS and timely communication from the UAS to ATC, near-by pilots, and other operational personnel during a lost link situation. At MITRE, we have developed a prototype of an onboard UAS Intelligent Analyzer to monitor the state of the UAS during operations, detect link status changes and formulate an appropriate message regarding current flight status and future intent following standardized operational procedures. The message is then converted to a synthesized voice and is available for transmission over internationally recognized aircraft emergency frequencies. This voice message from the UAS without C2 link provides the needed situational awareness to ATC personnel and near-by pilots, and allows for safe and timely response. This prototype has been demonstrated and evaluated in a simulated environment. MITRE believes that an on-board capability to intelligently analyze flight status and develop and initiate appropriate communications in a timely fashion could provide an effective mechanism for ensuring safe UAS operations even in a lost link situation.
TALEN-mediated genetic tailoring as a tool to analyze the function of acquired mutations in multiple myeloma cells.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell malignancy that is initiated by a number of mutations and the process of disease progression is characterized by further acquisition of mutations. The identification and functional characterization of these myelomagenic mutations is necessary to better understand the underlying pathogenic mechanisms in this disease. Recent advancements in next-generation sequencing have made the identification of most of these mutations a reality. However, the functional characterization of these mutations has been hampered by the lack of proper and efficient tools to dissect these mutations. Here we explored the possible utility of transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) genome engineering technology to tailoring the genome of MM cells. To test this possibility, we targeted the HPRT1 gene and found that TALENs are a very robust and efficient genome-editing tool in MM cells. Using cotransfected green fluorescent protein as an enrichment marker, single-cell subclones with desirable TALEN modifications in the HPRT1 gene were obtained in as little as 3–4 weeks of time. We believe that TALENs will greatly facilitate the functional study of somatic mutations in MM as well as other cancers.
Acute and chronic effects of normothermic anoxia on canine hearts. Light and electron microscopic evaluation.

In order to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of normothermic cardiac anoxia, structural and functional observations were made on the hearts of 29 dogs subjected to total cardiopulmonary bypass. Elective, normothermic cardiac arrest was induced by aortic cross-clamping for 30 minutes in 7 dogs and for 45 minutes in 16 dogs. The remaining six dogs, which served as controls, were placed on bypass without aortic cross-clamping. The six control dogs and six of seven dogs subjected to 30 minutes of cardiac anoxia showed excellent cardiac function and minimal myocardial damage; one dog in the latter group that died 6 to 12 hours after bypass showed no myocardial damage. All 16 dogs subjected to 45 minutes of cardiac anoxia showed extensive myocardial damage. Depressed cardiac function was demonstrated in three of five dogs that survived for eight days or longer after bypass. The acute cardiac damage was of the myofibrillar degeneration type and progressed to replacement fibrosis; this damage was selectively localized in the left ventricular papillary muscles and subendocardium.
Aldosterone impairs vascular reactivity by decreasing glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity

Hyperaldosteronism is associated with impaired vascular reactivity; however, the mechanisms by which aldosterone promotes endothelial dysfunction remain unknown. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) modulates vascular function by limiting oxidant stress to preserve bioavailable nitric oxide (NO(*)). Here we show that aldosterone (10(-9)-;10(-7) mol/l) decreased endothelial G6PD expression and activity in vitro, resulting in increased oxidant stress and decreased NO(*) levels-similar to what is observed in G6PD-deficient endothelial cells. Aldosterone decreased G6PD expression by increasing expression of the cyclic AMP-response element modulator (CREM) to inhibit cyclic AMP-response element binding protein (CREB)-mediated G6PD transcription. In vivo, infusion of aldosterone decreased vascular G6PD expression and impaired vascular reactivity. These effects were abrogated by spironolactone or vascular gene transfer of G6pd. These findings demonstrate that aldosterone induces a G6PD-deficient phenotype to impair endothelial function; aldosterone antagonism or gene transfer of G6pd improves vascular reactivity by restoring G6PD activity.
Multivariate symmetric polynomial based Group Key Management for Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) are emerging as the first commercial implementation of mobile ad hoc networks. There has been a significant rise in the use of secure group communication as a result of the growth in the applications that require confidentiality and authorized access to multicast data. Numerous Group Key Management (GKM) schemes have been proposed to meet the security and QoS requirements. The highly dynamic nature of VANETs can cause significant overhead in the form of re-keying communication, if these existing GKMs are to be used. Hence, we identify the need for new solutions specific to VANETs and introduce a multivariable symmetric polynomial based GKM which eliminates the need for the re-distribution of keys upto a configurable number of membership changes, without compromising the forward or the backward secrecy. Furthermore, our scheme reduces the effect of mobility on the re-keying overhead by allowing vehicles to handoff between road side units (RSUs) within the group without re-keying.
Head Start and School-to-Work program participation

ABSTRACT Using logistic regression analysis, this study of 4,540 high school students in the U.S. shows that Head Starters have a greater likelihood of participating in School-to-Work programs when controlling for curriculum type, school auspices, sex, race/ethnicity, and academic class level. Head Start participation makes no difference in regard to type of training among STW program participants. Evidence is mixed in regard to whether or not STW programs might constitute a de facto tracking system for Head Start graduates. Tracking appears to occur, but with positive and negative consequences. On one hand, findings suggest that Head Starters who participate in STW programs are more likely to remain in high school longer than non-STW participants. On the other hand, due to lower participation rates by white males, STW fails to achieve the sexual and racial/ethnic diversity requisite to ensure greater levels of academic rigor than might be the case otherwise. The author concludes that government education...
Identifying Failure-Inducing Combinations in a Combinatorial Test Set

A t-way combinatorial test set is designed to detect failures that are triggered by combinations involving no more than t parameters. Assume that we have executed a t-way test set and some tests have failed. A natural question to ask is: What combinations have caused these failures? Identifying such combinations can facilitate the debugging effort, e.g., by reducing the scope of the code that needs to be inspected. In this paper, we present an approach to identifying failure-inducing combinations, i.e., combinations that have caused some tests to fail. Given a t-way test set, our approach first identifies and ranks a set of suspicious combinations, which are candidates that are likely to be failure-inducing combinations. Next, it generates a set of new tests, which can be executed to refine the ranking of suspicious combinations in the next iteration. This process can be repeated until a stopping condition is satisfied. We conducted an experiment in which our approach was applied to several benchmark programs. The experimental results show that our approach can effectively and efficiently identify failure-inducing combinations in these programs.
Minimally Invasive Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection (MILND) for Melanoma: Experience from Two Academic Centers

Regional lymph nodes are the most frequent site of spread of metastatic melanoma. Operative intervention remains the only potential for cure, but the reported morbidity rate associated with inguinal lymphadenectomy is approximately 50 %. Minimally invasive lymph node dissection (MILND) is an alternative approach to traditional, open inguinal lymph node dissection (OILND). The aim of this study is to evaluate our early experience with MILND and compare this with our OILND experience. We conducted a prospective study of 13 MILND cases performed for melanoma from 2010 to 2012 at two tertiary academic centers. We compared our outcomes with retrospective data collected on 28 OILND cases performed at the same institutions, by the same surgeons, between 2002 and 2011. Patient characteristics, operative outcomes, and 30-day morbidity were evaluated. Patient characteristics were similar in the two cohorts with no statistically significant differences in patient age, gender, body mass index, or smoking status. MILND required longer operative time (245 vs 138 min, p = 0.0003). The wound dehiscence rate (0 vs 14 %, p = 0.07), hospital readmission rate (7 vs 21 %, p = 0.25), and hospital length of stay (1 vs 2 days, p = 0.01) were all lower in the MILND group. The lymph node count was significantly higher (11 vs 8, p = 0.03) for MILND compared with OILND. MILND for melanoma is a novel alternative to OILND, and our preliminary data suggest that MILND provides an equivalent lymphadenectomy while minimizing the severity of postoperative complications. Further research will need to be conducted to determine if the oncologic outcomes are similar.
Efficiency in SETI

Abstract While modern SETI experiments are often highly sensitive, reaching detection limits of 10−25 W/m2 Hz in the radio, interstellar distances imply that if extraterrestrial societies are using isotropic or broad-beamed transmitters, the power requirements for their emissions are enormous. Indeed, isotropic transmissions to the entire Galaxy, sufficiently intense to be detectable by our current searches, would consume power comparable to the stellar insolation of an Earth-size planet. In this paper we consider how knowledge can be traded for power, and how, and to what degree, astronomical accuracy can reduce the energy costs of a comprehensive transmission program by putative extraterrestrials. Indeed, an exploration of how far this trade-off might be taken suggests that extraterrestrial transmitting strategies of civilizations only modestly more advanced than our own would be, as are our SETI receiving experiments, inexpensive enough to allow multiple efforts. We explore the consequences this supposition has for our SETI listening experiments.
Immediate-early gene expression in the amygdala following footshock stress and contextual fear conditioning

This study investigated the increase in expression in the amygdala of 2 immediate-early genes, c-fos and NGFI-A, following contextual fear conditioning. The immediate-shock freezing deficit paradigm was used to compare rats that received footshock after exploring a context to rats that received footshock immediately after placement in the chamber. The former procedure produces contextual fear conditioning while the latter does not. Rats were either handled (handled group), placed in a test chamber without receiving footshock (context-no-footshock group), received footshock immediately upon being placed in the chamber (immediate-footshock group), or received footshock after a 1 min delay (delayed-footshock group). Only the delayed-footshock group displayed a fear response (freezing behavior). Rats were sacrificed either 15 min after the experience or after a retention test 24 h later. The c-fos mRNA was increased in the medial nucleus of the amygdala in all of the groups that were placed in the test chamber. However, rats that received footshock (immediate- and delayed-footshock groups) had greater levels of c-fos mRNA expression than rats of the context-no-footshock group. The c-fos mRNA expression in the immediate- and delayed-footshock groups did not differ. However, after the retention test, the expression of c-fos mRNA in the medial nucleus of the amygdala did not differ between groups. In contrast to c-fos, NGFI-A mRNA expression in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala was greater in the delayed-footshock group than the handled and context-no-footshock groups 15 min after the footshock. This elevation in NGFI-A mRNA was not seen in the immediate-footshock group. This suggests that NGFI-A mRNA in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala may play a role in contextual fear conditioning.
First use: Introducing information security in high school oracle academy courses

Security education is vital to successfully counter cyber-attacks. While stand-alone computer security and database security courses are offered in college-level computer science degree programs, these courses do not reach all computing majors and are often available only for senior level students. We believe that security should be incorporated into the computing curriculum at every level, including high school computing courses. In this paper we show how to extend the widely popular high school-level Oracle Academy program with security concepts. The proposed curriculum extensions require minimal changes to the current curriculum while introducing students to the security threats in database systems. We provide example database laboratory materials that can be included in a high school database or computer science course. We show that security concepts can be presented to the students even at this early stage of their education. We propose age and education-level appropriate methods, such as computer gaming and social interaction, to deliver the security relevant course modules. We also argue that it is imperative to educate high school teachers on database security topics to ensure satisfactory delivery of the security components.
Long term effects of dietary copper and sodium upon blood pressure in the long-evans rat

Abstract Forty-eight male Long-Evans rats were divided into three groups of 16 and assigned to one of the following levels of dietary copper at weaning: 1) low copper (LC), no added copper; 2) marginal copper (MC), 3 mg Cu/kg feed; 3) adequate copper (AC), 8 mg Cu/kg feed. At 100 days of age, half of the rats in each group were fed 5% NaCl in their drinking water for 1 week, followed by 1% NaCl for an additional 11 weeks. The other half were fed deionized-distilled water for the same time period. Systolic blood pressure was measured biweekly from day 100 until the rats were 6 months old. The copper deficiency of rats in the LC group was confirmed by a decrease in growth rate, a decrease in hematocrit and hemoglobin levels, and an increase in serum cholesterol levels. Copper deficient rats also had higher levels of serum triglycerides and glucose, but lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol as a percentage of total cholesterol than AC and MC animals. The results from this study also indicated that LC and MC rats had lower blood pressure than AC rats. The addition of 5% NaCl to drinking water increased blood pressure whereas 1% NaCl did not have the same effect.