cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microchimerism in Endocrine Pathology

Chimerism in an individual refers to the coexistence of cells arising from two distinct organisms. It can arise iatrogenically via transplant or blood transfusion, and physiologically via twin to twin transfer, or from trafficking between mother and fetus during pregnancy. Many of the diseases associated with microchimerism affect the endocrine system (e.g., autoimmune thyroid disease and diabetes mellitus type 1). Microchimerism is relevant to endocrine pathology because (a) it is associated with pregnancy, a condition of complex endocrine physiology; (b) materno-fetal and feto-maternal cellular migration must involve the placenta, itself an endocrine organ; and (c) in some species, chimerism results in states of intersexuality, a condition intimately involved with endocrine physiology. Studies of feto-maternal microchimerism in the thyroid have documented the presence of fetal cells in association with Hashimoto thyroiditis, Graves’ disease, thyroid adenoma, and papillary thyroid carcinoma. Studies of materno-fetal microchimerism have documented the presence of maternal cells in juvenile diabetes and other pediatric conditions. Microchimerism plays a potential role in the repair of diseased thyroid and pancreatic tissues.
EFFICIENT DETERMINATION OF GLOBAL GRAVITY FIELD FROM SATELLITE-TO-SATELLITE TRACKING MISSION

The gravity field dedicated satellite missions like CHAMP, GRACE, and GOCE are supposed to map the Earth's global gravity field with unprecedented accuracy and resolution. New models of the Earth's static and time-variable gravity fields will be available every month as one of the science products from GRACE. A method for the efficient gravity field recovery is presented using in situ satellite-to-satellite observations at altitude and results on static as well as temporal gravity field recovery are shown. Considering the energy relationship between the kinetic energy of the satellite and the gravitational potential, the disturbing potential observations can be computed from the orbital state vector, using high-low GPS tracking data, low–low satellite-to-satellite GRACE measurements, and data from 3-axis accelerometers. The solution method is based on the conjugate gradient iterative approach to efficiently recover the gravity field coefficients and approximate error covariance up to degree and order 120 every month. Based on the monthly GRACE noise-only simulation, the geoid was obtained with an accuracy of a few cm and with a resolution (half wavelength) of 160 km. However, the geoid accuracy can become worse by a factor of 6–7 because of spatial aliasing. The approximate error covariance was found to be a very good accuracy measure of the estimated coefficients, geoid, and gravity anomaly. The temporal gravity field, representing the monthly mean continental water mass redistribution, was recovered in the presence of measurement noise and high frequency temporal variation. The resulting recovered temporal gravity fields have about 0.3 mm errors in terms of geoid height with a resolution of 670 km.
Status report on the Stanford Mark III infrared free electron laser

Abstract We review recent experimental results from the Stanford Mark III infrared FEL. More than 900 h of lasing operation have achieved from 2.0 to 5.5 μm and continuous gap tuning has been achieved over the design range of 1.7:1. Micropulses with peak powers as high as 2 MW and pulse lengths as short as 500 fs have been measured. A multiple output coupler arrangement has been tested which allows variation of the output coupling from 0.1% to 7% in a matter of a few minutes. Accelerator performance will also be discussed and the results of recent improvements to the microwave gun will be presented. The measured brightness of this gun is in excess of 10 12 A/cm 2 which is sufficient for operation in the UV.
Determination of co-factor dissociation constants from the kinetics of inhibition of enzymes

Abstract A method is proposed for the determination of the dissociation constants of enzyme-cofactor complexes which depends on the alteration, by the cofactor, of the rate of inhibition of the enzyme by a slow-acting, irreversible inhibitor. The method is tested with pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) which is inhibited by p -mercuribenzoate in a slow second-order reaction ( k = (3.8 ± 0.8)·10 3 mole −1 sec −1 ) and is protected by the co-factor Mn 2+ . The dissociation constant of the manganese-pyruvate kinase complex determined by this method ( K d = (0.47 ± 0.16)·10 −4 M) at 5·10 −9 M enzyme is in good agreement with the activator constant of Mn 2+ , and with K d obtained by three independent types of direct binding studies (electron-spin resonance, proton-relaxation rate, and ultraviolet difference spectroscopy) carried out at (3–10)·10 −5 M enzyme. The major advantage of the present method is that it permits the determination of K d at extremely low concentrations of enzymes. Other advantages and disadvantages of this method are enumerated.
Factors Influencing Well Productivity in Glaciated Metamorphic Rocks

Eight factors were examined to determine their influence on the transmissivities of 35 domestic wells drilled in glaciated, metamorphic bedrock. Wells were grouped into categories on the basis of bedrock type, topographic position, structural setting, proximity to fracture-correlated lineaments, overburden type, overburden thickness, proximity to surface water bodies, and water table depth. Results indicate that bedrock type, topographic setting proximity to fracture-correlated lineaments, and structural position explain 34,31,15 and 12% of the observed variation in transmissivity, respectively, and are the only variables that have a statistically significant (90% confidence level) relationship with transmissivity. In this study, wells situated in amphibolite bedrock in upland valleys and flats located 25 m from fracture-correlated lineaments and positioned on the axes of major folds are the most productive. Review of the literature and comparison of results from this study with those from three other investigations, each representing geologic environments (carbonate, clastic sedimentary, and unglaciated metamorphic/igneous terrains), indicates that well productivity varies with geologic setting; a set of factors in one geologic environment does not necessarily have the same significance when applied to wells in a different geologic setting.
Nosema sphingidis sp. n., a Microsporidian parasite of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta.

Abstract A microsporidian was isolated from a single field-collected larva of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, which was also parasitized by the hymenopterous parasite Apanteles congregatus. The pathogen is described as Nosema sphingidis sp. n., and an account is given of the general aspects of pathogenicity, symptomatology, and histopathology. The infection is initiated in the posterior portion of the midgut epithelium, and, as a result of a severe inflammatory response, the infection is limited largely to the adjacent tissues in the posterior portion of hornworm larvae. A series of cross-infectivity tests revealed that N. sphingidis was readily transmissible to a number of other lepidopterous insects, including five species of sphingids and the noctuid species Heliothis zea, Heliothis virescens, and Trichoplusia ni. Attempts to cross-infect larvae of M. sexta with several other species of Nosema (N. heliothidis, N. trichoplusiae, and N. acridophagus) were unsuccessful. A discussion is presented on the possibility that M. sexta is not the habitual host of N. sphingidis and that the natural infection observed was probably due to transmission during oviposition by the parasite A. congregatus.
The effects of temperature and crystal defects on electron channeling radiation

Abstract Channeling radiation from relativistic electrons has been studied by several groups in the past few years, and the basic mechanism is understood. There are, however, a number of areas remaining to be explored. Bound-state population lengths, which are determined by non-radiative transitions, are much longer than coherence lengths, resulting in radiation intensities appreciably greater than initially expected. Experimental results have been obtained which demonstrate this effect. Also, the temperature dependence of channeling radiation from Si has been measured recently. In addition, experiments have been performed on Si and diamond crystals with defects, to determine the effect of crystalline imperfections upon channeling radiation.
Fluorescence Polarization: Measurement with Ultraviolet-Polarizing Filters in a Spectrophotofluorometer

Ultraviolet-polarizing filters with large apertures facilitate the use of spectrophotofluorometers for measuring fluorescence polarization. Such filters (i) allow the use of polarized exciting light even in the ultraviolet region, (ii) make it possible to correct for grating anomalies which influence the observed polarization, and (iii) because of good transmission properties allow the entrance of sufficient light so that small slits and dilute solutions can be used. Under optimum conditions, polarization can be measured with a precision of +/-0.002. Results obtained are in excellent agreement with values cited elsewhere and indicate that standard spectrophotofluorometers can easily be adapted for accurate measurement of polarization.
Spectrum sharing for delay-sensitive applications with continuing QoS guarantees

We study a wireless network in which multiple users stream delay-sensitive applications such as video conferencing and video streaming. Existing spectrum sharing policies, which determine when users access the spectrum and at what power levels, are either constant (i.e. users transmit simultaneously, at constant power levels) or weighted round-robin time-division multiple access (TDMA) (i.e. users access the spectrum in turn, one at a time). Due to multi-user interference, constant policies have low spectrum efficiency. We show that round-robin policies are inefficient for delay-sensitive applications because the various "positions" (i.e. transmission opportunities) in a cycle are not created equal: earlier transmission opportunities are more desirable since they enable users to transmit with lower delays. Specifically, we show that (weighted) round-robin TDMA policies cannot simultaneously achieve high network performance and low transmission delays. This problem is exacerbated when the number of users is large. We propose a novel framework for designing optimal TDMA spectrum sharing policies for delay-sensitive applications, which can guarantee their continuing QoS (CQoS), i.e. the desired throughput (and the resulting transmission delay) starting from every moment in time is guaranteed for each user. We prove that the fulfillment of CQoS guarantees provides strict upper bounds on the transmission delays incurred by the users. We construct the optimal TDMA policy that maximizes the desired network performance (e.g. max-min fairness or social welfare) subject to the users' CQoS guarantees. The key feature of the proposed policy is that it is not cyclic as in (weighted) round-robin policies. Instead, it adaptively determines which user should transmit next, based on the users' remaining amounts of transmission opportunities needed to achieve the desired performance. We also propose a low-complexity algorithm, which is run by each user in a distributed manner, to construct the optimal policy. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed policy significantly outperforms the optimal constant policy and round-robin policies by up to 6 dB and 4 dB in peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) for video streaming.
Point Mutations in Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 oriL, but Not in oriS, Reduce Pathogenesis during Acute Infection of Mice and Impair Reactivation from Latency

In vitro studies of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) viruses containing mutations in core sequences of the viral origins of DNA replication, oriL and oriS, that eliminate the ability of these origins to initiate viral-DNA synthesis have demonstrated little or no effect on viral replication in cultured cells, leading to the conclusion that the two types of origins are functionally redundant. It remains unclear, therefore, why origins that appear to be redundant are maintained evolutionarily in HSV-1 and other neurotropic alphaherpesviruses. To test the hypothesis that oriL and oriS have distinct functions in the HSV-1 life cycle in vivo, we determined the in vivo phenotypes of two mutant viruses, DoriL-ILR and DoriS-I, containing point mutations in oriL and oriS site I, respectively, that eliminate origin DNA initiation function. Following corneal inoculation of mice, tear film titers of DoriS-I were reduced relative to wild-type virus. In all other tests, however, DoriS-I behaved like wild-type virus. In contrast, titers of DoriL-ILR in tear film, trigeminal ganglia (TG), and hindbrain were reduced and mice infected with DoriL-ILR exhibited greatly reduced mortality relative to wild-type virus. In the TG explant and TG cell culture models of reactivation, DoriL-ILR reactivated with delayed kinetics and, in the latter model, with reduced efficiency relative to wild-type virus. Rescuant viruses DoriL-ILR-R and DoriS-I-R behaved like wild-type virus in all tests. These findings demonstrate that functional differences exist between oriL and oriS and reveal a prominent role for oriL in HSV-1 pathogenesis.
In vivo hepatic and peripheral insulin resistance in genetically obese (fa/fa) rats.

The techniques of hyperglycemic and euglycemic clamps previously used in human investigation have been adapted to small rodents to measure in vivo peripheral (muscle, adipose tissues) glucose metabolism and in vivo hepatic glucose production, in lean and genetically obese (fa>/fa) rats. The aim of the study was 1) to assess the in vivo relevance of previously described in vitro abnormalities of muscle and adipose tissues producing insulin resistance in genetically obese (fa/fa) rats; 2) to decide whether livers of obese rats were insulin resistant. It was observed that during either hyperglycemic or euglycemic clamps, peripheral glucose metabolism by muscle and adipose tissue of obese rats was similar to that of lean controls but at the cost, for the obese rats, of plasma insulin levels that were 3.5 times higher than control. This indicated that peripheral tissues of obese rats were indeed insulin resistant when tested in vivo. It was also observed hat raising plasma insulin levels in lean rats inhibited...
The preparatory Set: A Novel Approach to Understanding Stress, Trauma, and the Bodymind Therapies

Basic to all motile life is a differential approach/avoid response to perceived features of environment. The stages of response are initial reflexive noticing and orienting to the stimulus, preparation, and execution of response. Preparation involves a coordination of many aspects of the organism: muscle tone, posture, breathing, autonomic functions, motivational/emotional state, attentional orientation, and expectations. The organism organizes itself in relation to the challenge. We propose to call this the “preparatory set” (PS). We suggest that the concept of the PS can offer a more nuanced and flexible perspective on the stress response than do current theories. We also hypothesize that the mechanisms of body-mind therapeutic and educational systems (BTES) can be understood through the PS framework. We suggest that the BTES, including meditative movement, meditation, somatic education, and the body-oriented psychotherapies, are approaches that use interventions on the PS to remedy stress and trauma. We discuss how the PS can be adaptive or maladaptive, how BTES interventions may restore adaptive PS, and how these concepts offer a broader and more flexible view of the phenomena of stress and trauma. We offer supportive evidence for our hypotheses, and suggest directions for future research. We believe that the PS framework will point to ways of improving the management of stress and trauma, and that it will suggest directions of research into the mechanisms of action of BTES.
Understanding interfacial electron transfer to monolayer protein assemblies

Recent advances in the study of protein interfacial electron transfer are described. Special emphasis is given to cytochrome c/self-assembled monolayer/electrode assemblies. Results on the ionic strength dependence of the formal potential, the change of electron transfer mechanism with increase of electron tunneling distance, and the most probable electron tunneling pathway are discussed.
A calculation of the capacitance-voltage characteristics of p + - InP/ n- InP/ n-InGaAsP photodiodes

Abstract An analytic solution for the capacitance-voltage characteristics of p + −InP/ n −InP/ n −InGaAsP diodes has been obtained. The solution, which closely approximates that obtained using numerical methods, indicates that the dip followed by a peak generally observed in the effective carrier concentration profile as derived from experimental capacitance measurements is likely due to the properties of the n - n heterojunction rather than actual variations in the doping concentration. The availability of the analytic solution greatly facilitates the study of the effects of various parameters on these characteristics. The influence of grading and the collection of holes in the notch formed by the valence band discontinuity is also briefly considered.
Evaluation of electric belt grill, forced-air convection oven, and electric broiler cookery methods for beef tenderness research

Five muscles from USDA Select beef carcasses were cooked on an electric belt grill at three temperatures (93, 117, and 163°C), in a forced-air convection oven, and on an electric broiler to determine effects of cooking treatment and muscle on Warner-Bratzler shear force values, cooking traits (cooking loss, cooking time, and endpoint temperature), and repeatability of duplicate measurements. All cooking treatments allowed shear force differences to be detected (P<0.05) among the five muscles, although the differences were inconsistent. Neither longissimus lumborum nor semitendinosus shear values differed among the five cooking treatments; however, shear values for biceps femoris, deep pectoralis, and gluteus medius differed (P<0.05) among cooking treatments. Belt grill cooking resulted in the highest shear force repeatability (R=0.70 to 0.89) for the longissimus lumborum. All cooking methods provided acceptable repeatability (R⩾0.60) of shear values for the biceps femoris and semitendinosus. The electric broiler was the only cooking treatment that resulted in acceptable repeatability of shear force measurements for all five muscles. It is not recommended to use the gluteus medius to test treatment effects on shear force values. Belt grill or electric broiler cooking are recommended for shear force evaluations.
Effects of active versus passive dendritic membranes on the transfer properties of a simulated neuron

In a simulated neuron with a dendritic tree, the relative effects of active and passive dendritic membranes on transfer properties were studied. The simulations were performed by means of a digital computer. The computations calculated the changes in transmembrane voltages of many compartments over time as a function of other biophysical variables. These variables were synaptic input intensity, critical firing threshold, rate of leakage of current across the membrane, and rate of longitudinal current spread between compartments. For both passive and active dendrites, the transfer properties of the soma studied for different rates of longitudinal current spread. With low rates of current spread, graded changes in firing threshold produced correspondingly graded changes in output discharge. With high rates of current spread, the neuron became a bistable operator where spiking was enhanced if the threshold was below a certain level and suppressed if the threshold was above that level. Since alterations in firing threshold were shown to have the same effect on firing rate as alterations in synaptic input intensity, the neuron can be said to change from graded to contrast-enhancing in its response to stimuli of different intensities. The presence or absence of dendritic spiking was found to have a significant effect on the integrative properties of the simulated neuron. In particular, contrast enhancement was considerably more pronounced in neurons with passive than with active dendrites in that somatic spike rates reached a higher maximum when dendrites were passive. With active dendrites, a less intense input was needed to initiate somatic spiking than with passive dendrites because a distal dendritic spike could easily propagate by means of longitudinal current spread to the soma. Once somatic spiking was initiated, though, spike rates tended to be lower with active than with passive dendrites because the soma recovered more slowly from its post-spike refractory period if it was also influenced by refractory periods in the dendrites. The experiment of comparing neurons with active and passive dendrites was repeated at a different, higher value of synaptic input. The same differences in transfer properties between the active and passive cases emerged as before. Spiking patterns in neurons with active dendrites were also affected by the time distribution of synaptic inputs. In a previous study, inputs had been random over both space and time, varying about a predetermined mean, whereas in the present study, inputs were random over space but uniform over time. When inputs were made uniform over time, spiking became more difficult to initiate and the transition from graded to bistable response became less sharp.
Third-year medical student survey of office preceptorships during the pediatric clerkship

Objective To assess medical students' interest in a career in pediatrics following their categorical pediatric clerkship. Design Satisfaction questionnaire to 704 third-year clerks in 5 university medical schools following the pediatric clerkship. Methods Analysis of the influence of the community office-based experience compared with the inpatient experience, and examination aspects of the office preceptorship most valued by the medical students. Main Outcome Measure Satisfaction questionnaire addressing office-based experiences. Results Third-year pediatric clerks report that the private office setting provides a valuable learning experience, particularly when there is exposure to a wide spectrum of disease and when the preceptor had time to teach. Feelings about pediatrics as career choice rose during the clerkship from neutral to positive, and the frequency of strongly positive feelings rose from 9.2% to 28.6%. In deciding about pediatrics as a career, experiences with patients and residents in the inpatient setting still seem to count more than those experiences in the outpatient setting. Conclusion Categorical pediatric clerkships provide learning environments that influence students positively toward pediatrics as a career choice. This choice is enhanced by encouraging community practitioners with students in their office to expose them to a wide variety of issues and devote time to teaching.
A Novel Polymeric Metallomacrocycle Sensor Capable of Dual-Ion Cocomplexation

A polythiophene based electroactive polymeric sensor material, prepared from the novel monomer/ligand system, 25,27-bis(2-thienyl)(9,10,12,13,15,16-hexahydro-3,7:18,22-dimetheno-8,11,14,17-thenyltetraoxodiazacyclopentacosine-28,29-diolato(2−)-N,1N,24O,28O29), has been electro- synthesized and possesses the ability to simultaneously complex/sense hard and soft metal ions, as well as neutral organic molecules.
On a relation between the minimax risk and the phase transitions of compressed recovery

This paper provides a sharp analysis of the optimally tuned denoising problem and establishes a relation between the estimation error (minimax risk) and phase transition for compressed sensing recovery using convex and continuous functions. Phase transitions deal with recovering a signal xo from compressed linear observations Ax 0 by minimizing a certain convex function f(·). On the other hand, denoising is the problem of estimating a signal x 0 from noisy observations y = x 0 +z using the regularization min x λ/f(x) + ½‖y−x‖ 2 2. In general, these problems are more meaningful and useful when the signal x 0 has a certain structure and the function f(·) is chosen to exploit this structure. Examples include, l 1 and l 1 − l 2 norms for sparse and block sparse vectors and nuclear norm for low rank matrices. In this work, we carefully analyze the minimax denoising problem and relate our results to the phase transition performance under a considerably general setting where the measurement A in compressed recovery and the noise z in the denoising problem are iid Gaussian random variables. Our results suggest that the required number of observations to recover a compressed signal is closely related to the asymptotic variance of the optimal estimation error. This relation was first empirically noted in [9]. Here we provide a rigorous foundation.
Colonoscopy With Clipping Is Useful in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diverticular Bleeding

Background & Aims Diverticular bleeding is the most common cause of acute severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) in Western countries. Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, including endoscopy, radiology, or surgery, have not been standardized. We investigated colonoscopy as a first-line modality to diagnose and manage patients with LGIB. Methods We performed a retrospective study of data collected from 2 tertiary Veterans hospitals of 64 patients (61 men, 76 ± 11 years) with acute severe diverticular bleeding, based on colonoscopy examination. We assessed primary hemostasis using endoscopic clipping for diverticular bleeding and described the bleeding stigmata. We measured early ( Results Patients received 3.1 ± 3.0 and 0.9 ± 2.2 U of blood before and after colonoscopy, respectively. Twenty-four of the 64 patients (38%) had diverticular stigmata of recent hemorrhage; and 21 of these patients (88%) were treated successfully using endoscopic clips, without complication or early rebleeding. Hospital stays averaged 6.4 ± 5.6 days. Endoscopic clipping provided primary hemostasis in 9/12 patients (75%) with active diverticular bleeding. During 35 ± 18 months of follow-up, late recurrent diverticular bleeding occurred in 22% of the patients (14/64) after a mean time period of 22 months; 5 of the patients (21%) with stigmata of recent hemorrhage who received clip treatment had rebleeding at 43 months. Rebleeding was self-limited in 8 patients (57%), was clipped in 4 (29%), or was embolized in 2 (14%). Conclusions Colonoscopy can be a safe first-line diagnostic and therapeutic approach for patients with severe LGIB. Endoscopic clipping provides hemostasis of active diverticular bleeding. Recurrent bleeding occurs in about 21% of patients who were treated with clips, at approximately 4 years; most bleeding is self-limited or can be retreated by endoscopic clipping.
Changes in intra-axonal calcium distribution following nerve crush

We used the oxalate-pyroantimonate method to demonstrate the ultrastructural distribution of calcium within rat sciatic nerve 4 h after a crush injury. In normal nerve there are discrete gradients of axoplasmic calcium precipitate with the amount of precipitate decreasing in the axoplasm beneath the Schmidt Lantermann clefts and in the paranodal regions at the node of Ranvier. Near the crush site a marked increase in endoneurial and intra-axonal calcium precipitate correlated with morphologic evidence of axonal degeneration. More distant from the crush site, both in the distal segment destined to degenerate and in the proximal segment destined to regenerate, the most prominent finding was a loss of the normal gradient of precipitate beneath the Schmidt Lantermann clefts. The calcium influx at the crush site corresponds to the known role of calcium in triggering degeneration. The alterations in the distal axon may be an early stage leading to degeneration. Alteration in calcium distribution in the proximal nerve stump may play a role in the regulation of the response to injury.
Practicable Ergonomics: The Challenge to Change

A workable “systems approach” ergonomics program must be comprehensive, yet practicable in application. In order of the evolutionary development of Fisher Body's Manufacturing Ergonomic Program, data analysis, workplace analysis, recommended changes, training, reporting and evaluating progress and future planning are discussed. Emphasis throughout is put on practical implementation.
Influence of post-oxidation cooling rate on residual stress and pn-junction leakage current in LOCOS isolated structures

The influence of the cooling rate after field oxidation on n/sup +/-p junction diodes and residual process-induced stress is characterized. Depending on the cooling rate after field oxidation, the room temperature stress can be significantly higher than the stress induced during oxidation. In regions that are already highly strained, this additional stress may lead to an increase in reverse diode leakage current. Stress relaxation simulations are used to explain the cooling rate dependence of the observed leakage current.
Micro-fabricated, expandable temperature sensor network for macro-scale deployment in composite structures

We have developed methods for creating a highly expandable temperature sensor network for distributed temperature measurement. Stresses and strains due to network expansion are minimized through finite element analysis. Through the use of a uniquely patterned polyimide substrate and wire pattern an expansion ratio of 1,000% is achieved and the electrical resistance of components is maintained from pre-expansion to full expansion. Platinum resistance temperature detectors and electrodes are integrated directly in the polyimide-based network through a non-standard micro fabrication process. Calibration and interpolation algorithms have been developed for temperature measurement. Real-time distributed temperature measurement has been achieved through this sensor network, and it has shown great potential to be integrated into composites. 1 2
Forced forward smolder combustion

Abstract We consider porous cylindrical samples closed to the surrounding environment except at the ends, with gas forced into the sample through one of the ends. A smolder wave is initiated at that end and propagates in the same direction as the flow of the gas. We employ asymptotic methods to find smolder wave solutions with two different structures. Each structure has two interior layers, i.e., regions of relatively rapid variation in temperature separated by longer regions in which the temperature is essentially constant. One layer is that of the combustion reaction, while the other is due to heat transfer between the solid and the gas. The layers propagate with constant, though not necessarily the same, velocity, and are separated by a region of constant high temperature. A so-called reaction leading wave structure occurs when the velocity of the combustion layer exceeds that of the heat transfer layer, while a so-called reaction trailing wave structure is obtained when the combustion layer is slower than the heat transfer layer. The former (latter) occurs when the incoming oxygen concentration is sufficiently high (low). Reaction trailing structures allow for the possibility of quenching if the gas mass influx is large enough; that is, incomplete conversion can occur due to cooling of the reaction by the incoming gas. For each wave structure there exist stoichiometric, and kinetically controlled solutions in which the smolder velocity is determined, respectively, by the rate of oxygen supply to the reaction site and by the rate of consumption in the reaction, i.e., by the kinetic rate. Stoichiometric (kinetically controlled) solutions occur when the incoming gas flux is sufficiently low (high). For each of the four solution types, we determine analytical expressions for the propagation velocities of the two layers, the burning temperature, and the final degree of solid conversion. We also determine analytical expressions for the spatial profiles of temperature, gas flux, and oxygen concentration. Gravitational forces are considered and are shown to have a minimal effect provided the ambient pressure is large compared to the hydrostatic pressure drop. The solutions obtained provide qualitative theoretical descriptions of various experimental observations of forward smolder. In particular, the reaction trailing stoichiometric solution corresponds to the experimental observations of Ohlemiller and Lucca, while the reaction leading stoichiometric solution corresponds to the experimental observations of Torero et al.
Cell-type specific effects of endocytosis inhibitors on 5-hydroxytryptamine2A receptor desensitization and resensitization reveal an arrestin-, GRK2-, and GRK5-independent mode of regulation in human embryonic kidney 293 cells

The effect of endocytosis inhibitors on 5-hydroxytryptamine(2A) (5-HT(2A)) receptor desensitization and resensitization was examined in transiently transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells and in C6 glioma cells that endogenously express 5-HT(2A) receptors. In HEK-293 cells, 5-HT(2A) receptor desensitization was unaffected by cotransfection with a dominant-negative mutant of dynamin (DynK44A), a truncation mutant of arrestin-2 [Arr2(319-418)], or by two well-characterized chemical inhibitors of endocytosis: concanavalin A (conA) and phenylarsine oxide (PAO). In contrast, beta 2-adrenergic receptor desensitization was significantly potentiated by each of these treatments in HEK-293 cells. In C6 glioma cells, however, DynK44A, Arr2(319-418), conA, and PAO each resulted in the potentiation of 5-HT(2A) and beta-adrenergic receptor desensitization. The cell-type-specific effect of Arr2(319-418) on 5-HT(2A) receptor desensitization was not related to the level of GRK2 or GRK5 expression. Interestingly, although beta 2-adrenergic receptor resensitization was potently blocked by cotransfection with DynK44A, 5-HT(2A) receptor resensitization was enhanced, suggesting the existence of a novel cell-surface mechanism for 5-HT(2A) receptor resensitization in HEK-293 cells. In addition, Arr2(319-418) had no effect on 5-HT(2A) receptor resensitization in HEK-293 cells, although it attenuated the resensitization of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor. However, in C6 glioma cells, both DynK44A and Arr2(319-418) significantly reduced 5-HT(2A) receptor resensitization. Taken together, these results provide the first convincing evidence of cell-type-specific roles for endocytosis inhibitors in regulating GPCR activity. Additionally, these results imply that novel GRK and arrestin-independent mechanisms of 5-HT(2A) receptor desensitization and resensitization exist in HEK-293 cells.
Effects of Circuit Manufacturing Errors on Small Signal Gain and Phase in a Traveling Wave Tube

Summary form only given. Motivated by the current interest in vacuum slow wave THz sources, where difficult-to-manufacture miniature slow wave circuits are required, we evaluate the effects of geometrical random errors introduced during the circuit manufacturing processes on the small signal gain and phase characteristics of a traveling wave tube amplifier. A continuum model is used. Random perturbations are introduced through the gain parameter C, the velocity mismatch b, and the cold tube circuit loss d, in Pierce notation. The perturbations are incorporated in the differential equations describing the beam-circuit interaction in such a way that the Pierce dispersion relation is recovered for an ideal tube free of manufacturing errors. We employ these differential equations in a Monte-Carlo study to determine the rms effects on small signal gain and phase of the different types of errors. Our study shows that effects of a perturbation in the circuit phase velocity dominate those due to perturbations in the gain parameter C and loss d. More importantly, we find that the effects on gain and phase depend not only on the magnitude of the manufacturing errors, but also on the axial distribution of these errors. The analytic theory and our numerical results, including the statistics of the variations in the output gain and output phase, will be presented.
Diversity and metabolism of marine bacteria cultivated on dissolved DNA

Dissolved DNA (dDNA) is a potentially important source of energy and nutrients in aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known about the identity, metabolism, and interactions of the microorganisms capable of consuming dDNA. Bacteria from Eel Pond (Woods Hole, MA) were cultivated on low-molecular-weight (LMW) or high-molecular-weight (HMW) dDNA, which served as the primary source of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that distinct bacterial assemblages with comparable levels of taxon richness developed on LMW and HMW dDNA. Since the LMW and HMW dDNA used in this study were stoichiometrically identical, the results confirm that the size alone of dissolved organic matter can influence bacterial community composition. Variation in the growth and metabolism of isolates provided insight into mechanisms that may have generated differences in bacterial community composition. For example, bacteria from LMW dDNA enrichments generally grew better on LMW dDNA than on HMW dDNA. In contrast, bacteria isolated from HMW dDNA enrichments were more effective at degrading HMW dDNA than bacteria isolated from LMW dDNA enrichments. Thus, marine bacteria may experience a trade-off between their ability to compete for LMW dDNA and their ability to access HMW dDNA via extracellular nuclease production. Together, the results of this study suggest that dDNA turnover in marine ecosystems may involve a succession of microbial assemblages with specialized ecological strategies.
SHIFTING PREFERENCES IN PORNOGRAPHY CONSUMPTION

Male and female students and nonstudents were exposed to one hour of common, nonviolent pornography or to sexually and aggressively innocuous materials in each of six consecutive weeks. Two weeks after this treatment, they were provided with an opportunity to watch videotapes in a private situation. G-rated, R-rated, and X-rated programs were available. Subjects with considerable prior exposure to common, nonviolent pornography showed little interest in common, nonviolent pornography, electing to watch uncommon pornography (bondage, sadomasochism, bestiality) instead. Male nonstudents with prior exposure to common, nonviolent pornography consumed uncommon pornography almost exclusively. Male students exhibited the same pattern, although somewhat less extreme. This consumption preference was also in evidence in females, but was far less pronounced, especially among female students.
Role of Lysyl Oxidase Propeptide in Secretion and Enzyme Activity

Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is secreted as a proenzyme (proLOX) that is proteolytically processed in the extracellular milieu to release the propeptide and mature, active LOX. LOX oxidizes lysyl residues of a number of protein substrates in the extracellular matrix and on the cell surface, which impacts several physiological and disease states. Although the LOX propeptide (LOX-PP) is glycosylated, little is known about the role of this modification in LOX secretion and activity. To gain insight into this issue, cells were transfected with native, full-length LOX cDNA (pre-pro-LOX), the N-glycosylation null pre-[N/Q]pro-LOX cDNA and the deletion mutant pre-LOX cDNA, referred to as secretory LOX, in which mature LOX is targeted to the secretory pathway without its N-terminal propeptide sequence. The results show that glycosylation of the LOX-PP is not required for secretion and extracellular processing of pro-LOX but it is required for optimal enzyme activity of the resulting mature LOX. Complete deletion of the propeptide sequence prevents mature LOX from exiting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Taken together, our study points out the requirement of the LOX-PP for pro-LOX exit from the ER and is the first to highlight the influence of LOX-PP glycosylation on LOX enzyme activity.
Panniculectomy and Supraumbilical Vertical Midline Incisions in Morbidly Obese Gynecologic Oncology Patients

Abstract Background: We reviewed the outcomes of panniculectomy and supraumbilical vertical midline incisions in morbidly obese women undergoing gynecologic operations. Study Design: Medical records were reviewed for 62 morbidly obese women with a large dependent pannus who underwent gynecologic operations on the Gynecologic Oncology Service at the State University of New York at Stony Brook between May 1990 and July 1997. Thirty-five patients underwent panniculectomy and 27 had a supraumbilical vertical midline incision, forming the study groups. The patient charts were abstracted for demographic, perioperative, and postoperative data. Results: For the entire study population, the average age was 56 years, the mean body mass was 128.6 kg, and the mean Quetelet Index was 48.3 kg/m 2 . The mean operative time and estimated blood loss were similar for both groups. Eight percent of the patients had urologic injuries, evenly distributed between the groups. Postoperative infections, wound breakdowns, and hospital stay were greater for the panniculectomy group than for the supraumbilical vertical midline incision group (p Conclusions: Panniculectomy and supraumbilical vertical midline incision provide reasonable peritoneal access with acceptable rates of postoperative complications for morbidly obese women undergoing gynecologic operations.
A SODIUM BICARBONATE-ACID POWERED BLOW-GUN SYRINGE FOR REMOTE INJECTION OF WILDLIFE

An automatic blow-gun syringe which uses carbon dioxide gas as the injecting force is described. Upon striking the animal, carbon dioxide gas is released by the chemical combination of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and acid (vinegar), within the blow-gun syringe. The syringe has been used successfully with captive collared peccaries (Dicotyles tajacu). It has the advantages of longer stability, dependable gas expansion, reduction of drug loss, and consistent drug injection.
Toxicology of a series of phthalate esters

Certain types of plastic materials require the addition of appreciable quantities of plasticizers to impart specific physical-chemical properties to the final item. Presently, many vinyl devices used with drug products may contain plasticizers of the phthalate type. For this reason, a series of phthalic acid esters were evaluated for parenteral toxicity including LD 50 values and hexobarbital narcosis. Experiments utilized in the study also included i.p. injections in mice for acute toxicity profiles, i.v. administration in rabbits for blood pressure and respiration effects, and intradermal injections into rabbits for irritation effects. A further study was conducted to note what effects repeated i.p. doses of the phthalates would have on mice over a period of time, examining the effects on organs, weight gain, and the blood. Finally, tissue culture experiments were conducted to attempt to correlate certain of the toxicity manifestations. The most salient feature of the toxicity of these compounds was the central depression on the animals and the rather low order of toxicity by the parenteral route of administration.
Can density functional theory (DFT) be used as an aid to a deeper understanding of tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation pathways

Prediction of tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) fragmentation for non-peptidic molecules based on structure is of immense interest to the mass spectrometrist. If a reliable approach to MS/MS prediction could be achieved its impact within the pharmaceutical industry could be immense. Many publications have stressed that the fragmentation of a molecular ion or protonated molecule is a complex process that depends on many parameters, making prediction difficult. Commercial prediction software relies on a collection of general heuristic rules of fragmentation, which involve cleaving every bond in the structure to produce a list of 'expected' masses which can be compared with the experimental data. These approaches do not take into account the thermodynamic or molecular orbital effects that impact on the molecule at the point of protonation which could influence the potential sites of bond cleavage based on the structural motif. A series of compounds have been studied by examining the experimentally derived high-resolution MS/MS data and comparing it with the in silico modelling of the neutral and protonated structures. The effect that protonation at specific sites can have on the bond lengths has also been determined. We have calculated the thermodynamically most stable protonated species and have observed how that information can help predict the cleavage site for that ion. The data have shown that this use of in silico techniques could be a possible way to predict MS/MS spectra.
Fault tolerant data flow modeling using the generic modeling environment

Designing embedded software for safety-critical, real-time feedback control applications is a complex and error prone task. Fault tolerance is an important aspect of safety. In general, fault tolerance is achieved by duplicating hardware components, a solution that is often more expensive than needed. In applications such as automotive electronics, a subset of the functionalities has to be guaranteed while others are not crucial to the safety of the operation of the vehicle. In this case, we must make sure that this subset is operational under the potential faults of the architecture. A model of computation called fault-tolerant data flow (FTDF) was recently introduced to describe at the highest level of abstraction of the design the fault tolerance requirements on the functionality of the system. Then, the problem of implementing the system efficiently on a platform consists of finding a mapping of the FTDF model on the components of the platform. A complete design flow for this kind of application requires a user-friendly graphical interface to capture the functionality of the systems with the FTDF model, algorithms for choosing an architecture optimally, (possibly automatic) code generation for the parts of the system to be implemented in software and verification tools. In this paper, we use the generic modeling environment (GME) developed at Vanderbilt University to design a graphical design capture system and to provide the infrastructure for automatic code generation. The design flow is embedded into the Metropolis environment developed at the University of California at Berkeley to provide the necessary verification and analysis framework.
Can white matter changes occur in disorders of peripheral nerve hyperexcitability

In 1961, Isaac described an acquired syndrome of continuous muscle fiber activity originating in peripheral nerve and now known to be caused by antibodies against voltage gated potassium channels (Isaacs 1961; Sinha et al., 1991; Shillito et al., 1995). In other disorders associated with these antibodies, such as Morvan's syndrome and limbic encephalitis, patients exhibit signs of nerve hyperexcitability in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) including muscle twitching caused by myokymia or fasciculations, autonomic involvement manifested as hyperhydrosis, and in those with central nervous system disease, encephalopathy and seizures(Vincent, 2008). The clinical presentation largely depends on the permeability and binding affinity of the antibodies to different subunits of the potassium channels (Vincent, 2008). There are different types of potassium channels and many have been implicated in a number of hereditary disorders such as benign familial neonatal epilepsies (KCNQ2 and KCNQ3), peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (KCNQ2), and episodic ataxia type 1 (KCNA1) (Maljevic et al., 2010; Tomlinson et al., 2010). These disorders can also occur in the context of autoimmune conditions (Benatar, 2000). Therefore, the same disease phenotype may result from either a genetic mutation or autoimmune condition that targets the same proteins. Phenotypic variability occurs within families with some having fasciculations and cramps, and others with episodic ataxia, benign neonatal convulsions or paroxysmal dyskinesia (Falace et al., 2007; Browne