cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How to grow a bat wing

The earliest bats underwent an extraordinary limb-to-wing transition during their evolutionary history and successfully colonized the aerial habitat. Unfortunately, the bat fossil record lacks transitional fossils documenting this event, thereby challenging scientists to reconstruct these changes in their body plan based on the molecular and morphological events occurring throughout embryonic development. This chapter reviews how recent evolutionary developmental biologists have begun to elucidate how bats got their wings based on molecular studies in embryonic and fetal bats. This chapter first summarizes our current understanding of the processes regulating basic mammalian limb development in terrestrial taxa, and then discusses how bat limb development is unique in its formation of a novel limb pattern, wing membrane, and elongated digits. Lastly, this chapter outlines novel areas ripe for future study in bat evolution and development. Taken together, these data offer insights into the molecular and gross morphological events that drive innovation and molecular diversification in mammals.
Reconstruction of Full-Thickness Defects of the Abdominal Wall

A 62-year-old diabetic and alcoholic patient developed synergistic gangrene of the scrotum that spread rapidly across the perineum and lower abdomen. The source of the infection remains unclear. The urologist began debridement of all involved tissue, which resulted, after several operations, in entire loss of the scrotum, perineum, and lower abdominal wall. The abdominal loss was complete from the umbilicus to the pubis.
Criminal Victimization Among Black Americans

For decades, criminal victimization has been an important subject of investigation for social and behavioral scientists. This importance is the result, in part, of the uneven distribution of actual victimization (Karmen, 1984, p. 50). Studies of criminal victimization show that males were victimized more than women, except for cases of rape and purse snatching; young persons, especially teenagers and adults in their early twenties, were the targets of criminal attack much more often than older people; divorced or separated people and those who had never married experienced far greater troubles than married couples or widowed persons; Black people were victimized more than Whites or members of other minority groups, except for crimes of theft; households with family incomes less than $7,500 were burdened much more often by burglary than households in higher income categories; city dwellers were the targets of criminal attack much more often than those living in suburban or rural areas; and suburban residents were victimized more often than residents of rural areas (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1986b). These findings do not necessarily indicate that victimiza-
A mixed valence copper coordination polymer with a new highly self-penetrated topology

Abstract Crystals of {[Cu5(oba)4(bpmp)3(H2O)2]·10H2O}n (1, oba = oxybisbenzoate, bpmp = bis(4-pyridylmethyl)piperazine) were prepared by hydrothermal methods. A single-crystal structure determination showed the presence of [Cu5(oba)4(H2O)2]n ribbons with {Cu2(OCO)4} paddlewheel dimers connected to isolated divalent copper atoms and isolated monovalent copper atoms. These ribbon motifs are pillared into the full complicated 3D coordination polymer net of 1 by long-spanning bpmp tethers. Compound 1 presents the unique example of a self-penetrated 3,4,4-connected (83)2(6.8.104)(64.8.10) topology. Decameric water molecule clusters entrained within the net play an important stabilization role.
The Mayo Clinic experience in patients with metastatic melanoma who have failed previous pembrolizumab treatment.

e21014Background: Blockade of programmed death (PD-1) receptor has shown unprecedented rates of durable clinical responses in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, the majority of patients ev...
Multi-level safety climate associations with safety behaviors in the fire service.

INTRODUCTION Limited research associated with safety climate has been completed within the fire service. Given this dearth of information, the present study sought to identify a valid and reliable measure of safety climate at both the workgroup and organizational levels within the fire service. METHODS Researchers surveyed 994 firefighters in two large metropolitan fire departments. Preliminary analyses including psychometrics, confirmatory factor analyses, and shared perception analyses were completed. A linear mixed model analysis was then completed to assess the relationships between workgroup safety climate, organizational safety climate, and safety behaviors, including both safety compliance and safety citizenship behaviors. RESULTS Measures of safety climate at the workgroup (WGSC) and organizational levels (OSC) were derived. WGSC factors include supervisor support (α = 0.92), vertical cohesion (α = 0.89), and horizontal cohesion (α = 0.94). OSC factors include management commitment (α = 0.91), safety programs/policies (α = 0.89), perceived fairness (α = 0.86) and incident command (α = 0.90). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed our multi-factor models were a good fit to the data. The linear mixed model analysis found that WGSC positively predicted safety compliance behavior (B = 0.13, p < .001) and safety citizenship behavior (B = 0.22, p < .001) and OSC positively predicted safety compliance behavior (B = 0.16, p < .001) and safety citizenship behavior (B = 0.15, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS This work presents reliable and valid measures of both workgroup and organizational safety climate, which have positive relationships with safety behavior outcomes. Practical application: The measures, which were developed through an extensive multi-method process, provide a means for researchers and practitioners to assess safety climate in the fire service and provides guidance for future safety climate research, including informing intervention research, which could potentially bolster safety climate and enhance safety in the fire service.
Faith Versus Rationality in the Bible: Game-Theoretic Interpretations of Sacrifice in the Old Testament

Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his son, Isaac (as given in Genesis), and Jephthah’s actual sacrifice of his daughter (as given in Judges), are viewed as two-person, nonzero-sum games played by the fathers with God. Different interpretations of these games suggest that there is a trade-off between “faith” and “rationality”: the more sophisticated rationality calculations biblical characters make, the less need for them to have blind faith in God to achieve their goals. Thus, as the faith of a character wavers, his rationality may sustain him — but not necessarily if he deviates seriously and God is unsympathetic.
Pragmatic open space box utilization: asteroid survey model using distributed objects management based articulation (DOMBA)

A multi-craft asteroid survey has significant data synchronization needs. Limited communication speeds drive exacting performance requirements. Tables have been used in Relational Databases, which are structure; however, DOMBA (Distributed Objects Management Based Articulation) deals with data in terms of collections. With this, no read/write roadblocks to the data exist. A master/slave architecture is created by utilizing the Gossip protocol. This facilitates expanding a mission that makes an important discovery via the launch of another spacecraft. The Open Space Box Framework facilitates the foregoing while also providing a virtual caching layer to make sure that continuously accessed data is available in memory and that, upon closing the data file, recharging is applied to the data.
Charity Hall: A Foundational Report of a 19th-Century Chickasaw Mission

Toward the end of the 18th-century, the newly independent United States deliberated solutions to the “problem” in which Natives occupied lands that Euro-American settlers desired. The Civilization Fund Act was implemented in 1819 as one of the solutions, and it supported groups, like missionary organizations, to instruct Natives in Western culture. Charity Hall, a Presbyterian mission to the Chickasaws, was created as a result of the Act and can offer information regarding Native American accommodation and contestation to Western practices. While historical records provide ample information about the workings of Charity Hall, archaeological studies aim to make up for the lack of the Chickasaw voice in these records.
10.16 – Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt Objects

This chapter provides a review of the current state of knowledge concerning Pluto, Charon, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt (KB). Necessarily, some background information on the KB itself is also provided, but the emphasis is not on the KB as a structure, but the objects in it. We begin by placing the discovery of Pluto and the KB in historical context. We then provide overviews regarding the Pluto system, the KB, and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) themselves. We then review the environment of the KB and the properties of Pluto and KBOs in more detail. This is followed by a discussion of scenarios for the origin of the KB and KBOs. We end by examining the goals and prospects for future progress in these areas over the next 10–15 years.
Abstract WP19: Reliability of CT Perfusion in the Posterior Circulation in Comparison to the Anterior Circulation

Background: DAWN and DEFUSE-3 excluded posterior-circulation cases, but in practice endovascular therapy (EVT) is common due to life-threatening large-vessel occlusions. Often CT perfusion (CTP) is...
HSATII RNA is induced via E2F3a and a non-canonical ATM-regulated DNA damage response pathway

Recently, we documented that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections lead to a robust induction of HSATII RNA, among other satellite repeat transcripts. HSATII RNA positively affects viral gene expression, DNA accumulation and yield, as well as has a broad influence on host cell biology. Our report also provided evidence that cooperation between at least two HCMV immediate-early proteins (IE1, IE2) is necessary for the robust induction of HSATII RNA expression. However, cellular processes contributing to the virus-induced HSATII RNA were still unknown. Here, we report that the strength with which HSATII RNA affects virus replication cycle is cell-type specific with retinal pigment epithelial cells being markedly more sensitive to levels of HSATII RNA than fibroblasts. We demonstrate that the HCMV IE1 and IE2 proteins regulate HSATII expression via the E2F3a transcription factor. Moreover, treatment of cells with DNA damaging agents also induced HSATII expression, and we determined that a rerouted DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, based on kinase independent ATM regulation, plays a central role in the expression of HSATII in HCMV-infected cells. Importantly, we discovered that, depending on the HSATII RNA levels, breast cancer cells showed differential sensitivity to DNA damaging drugs with enhanced cell migration seen in less metastatic cells. Additionally, we demonstrate that highly motile and proliferative phenotype of metastatic breast cancer cells can be effectively inhibited by knocking down HSATII RNA. Together, our investigation provides the molecular mechanism that links a high expression of HSATII RNA to the E2F3a-initiated induction of DDR, centered on kinase-independent functions of ATM, and to processes critical for efficient viral infection, cancer cell migration and proliferation.
Walkability; The Relationship of Walking Distance, Walking Time and Walking Speed

Walking is cheap and healthy. It is the main transportation for the majority of students exploring their daily life in their campus area. Different types of people will have various types of walking behavior. To develop a better knowledge of the walkability of built environment, it is important to understand the complexity behind walking behavior. There are many possible factors in measuring walking behavior. Walking behavior can be measured by walking speed, walking directions, walking experiences, group formation, and density. In this research paper, only three factors are going to be used to testify the descriptive study of walking behavior on the campus of UNIKA St Thomas University; which are walking distance, walking time and walking speed. The method used in this study is known as walking distance test, and the data were analyzed using the comparative approach. The findings show that walking speed, walking time and walking speed are deeply related to each other. The results of the observation study of walking behavior revealed that the condition of the campus built environment related to the density, connectivity, and land-use diversity seem to influence the amount and variety of walking activities that occur in the given environment and also affect how the walking activities conducted. The researcher concluded that walking speed, walking time and walking distance the pedestrian in campus UNIKA St.Thomas are comfortable based on the related theories.
Health care under the knife: moving beyond capitalism for our health

Reviewer’s note: Authors of each subsection are a who’s who of social medicine, many of whom I count as mentors and friends (including Waitzkin), and as such I am neither a disinterested nor unbiased reviewer. Dr. Waitzkin1 also endorsed my own book2 with a back of the cover blurb (as did others), although my (perhaps) fragile ego and my mother’s equally glowing endorsement compel me to write this off to my literary skills, rather than our friendship! I have no financial arrangements with any of the authors. I have critically assessed the volume with recognition of my subjective biases as best as humanly possible. Furthermore, I have supplemented my review with my own critiques of contemporary medicine and suggestions for improving health care for all.
The closet and the cul-de-sac: the politics of sexual privacy in Northern California: by Clayton Howard, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019, 392 pp., US$45.00 (hardcover), ISBN 9780812251241

During the tumult of World War II and its immediate aftermath, the influx of servicemembers and defense industry employees, newly employed middle-class women, and teenagers freed from the restraini...
Association of Maternal Folate and Vitamin B12 in Early Pregnancy With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of folate and vitamin B12 in early pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The data of this study were from a subcohort within the Shanghai Preconception Cohort Study. We included pregnancies with red blood cell (RBC) folate and vitamin B12 measurements at recruitment (between 9 and 13 gestational weeks) and those with three samples available for glucose measurements under an oral glucose tolerance test. GDM was diagnosed between 24 and 28 weeks’ gestation. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI of having GDM was used to quantify the association. RESULTS A total of 1,058 pregnant women were included, and GDM occurred in 180 (17.01%). RBC folate and vitamin B12 were significantly higher in pregnancies with GDM than those without GDM (P values were 0.045 and 0.002, respectively) and positively correlated with 1-h and 2-h serum glucose. Daily folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy increases the risk of GDM; OR (95% CI) was 1.73 (1.19–2.53) (P = 0.004). Compared with RBC folate CONCLUSIONS Higher maternal RBC folate and vitamin B12 levels in early pregnancy are significantly associated with GDM risk, while the balance of folate/vitamin B12 is not significantly associated with GDM.
MADMAX: a DSL for explanatory decision making

MADMAX is a Haskell-embedded DSL for multi-attribute, multi-layered decision making. An important feature of this DSL is the ability to generate explanations of why a computed optimal solution is better than its alternatives. The functional approach and Haskell's type system support a high-level formulation of decision-making problems, which facilitates a number of innovations, including the gradual evolution and adaptation of problem representations, a more user-friendly form of sensitivity analysis based on problem domain data, and fine-grained control over explanations.
Pragmatics as an Ethical System

As I stated in the very first chapter, there is a fashion in medical ethics—which is perhaps an inelegant way of saying that our intellectual responses are culturally preprogrammed or conditioned by the disciplines we have mastered. The disvalue of such fashions, of all preprogrammed responses, is that a once adaptive mechanism does not remain adaptive over long periods of time. Since adaptation is a concept I have used frequently, I would like now to take a look at just what is meant by it. In a sense, the pragmatic criterion (fruitfulness, workability, or survival value) is a conceptual restatement of the biological notion of adaptation. Since the second clause of my ethical hypothetical generalization depends heavily on such a pragmatic criterion, let me examine it from a systems viewpoint to discover what it implies for the comparison of various human perspectives on the universe.
Uniformly Stable Spline Approximations for Scalar Delay Problems

Uniformly stable semidiscrete approximation schemes are desirable for constructing approximate solutions of certain optimal control problems for distributed parameter systems. We discuss construction of uniformly stable spline-based approximation schemes for a scalar delay equation. A method is used which employs an equivalent inner product. Convergence is established via a “hybrid” Trotter-Kato/Galerkin result.
Translation and Host Cell Shutoff

Poliovirus represents the prototypic enterovirus, and thus, much of the information available on the mechanism of protein synthesis of enteroviruses has been derived from its study. The other members of the genus Enterovirus, such as coxsackieviruses A and B and enteric cytopathic human orphan (ECHO) virus, presumably display similar modes of translation initiation. Enteroviruses, like all members of the Picornaviridae family, have a positive-sense (i.e., message-sense), single-stranded RNA genome that is translated in the cellular cytoplasm immediately after the virions have been uncoated. Enteroviral RNAs resemble cellular mRNAs to such an extent that the viral mRNAs are translated efficiently by the host cell translation machinery, although the mechanism for initiation of protein synthesis appears to be distinct from that employed for most eukaryotic mRNAs. In poliovirus-infected cells, eIF-4F is targeted for proteolysis, thereby causing a shutoff of host cell translation, but the processed form of eIF-4F is still capable of stimulating poliovirus protein synthesis.
A New Decomposition Method for Multiuser DC-Programming and Its Applications

We propose a novel decomposition framework for the distributed optimization of Difference Convex (DC)-type nonseparable sum-utility functions subject to coupling convex constraints. A major contribution of the paper is to develop for the first time a class of (inexact) best-response-like algorithms with provable convergence, where a suitably convexified version of the original DC program is iteratively solved. The main feature of the proposed successive convex approximation method is its decomposability structure across the users, which leads naturally to distributed algorithms in the primal and/or dual domain. The proposed framework is applicable to a variety of multiuser DC problems in different areas, ranging from signal processing, to communications and networking. As a case study, in the second part of the paper we focus on two examples, namely: i) a novel resource allocation problem in the emerging area of cooperative physical layer security and ii) and the renowned sum-rate maximization of MIMO Cognitive Radio networks. Our contribution in this context is to devise a class of easy-to-implement distributed algorithms with provable convergence to stationary solution of such problems. Numerical results show that the proposed distributed schemes reach performance close to (and sometimes better than) that of centralized methods.
Statistical Optimization of Process Variables In A Continuous Inkjet Process – A Case Study

This paper investigates a statistical approach to optimizing the process variables in a Continuous Inkjet Process. In a continuous inkjet (CIJ) process miniaturized fluid droplets are deposited onto substrates for microfabrication. A critical aspect of this fabrication process is the precise generation of droplets based on various input parameters. In this research ultra high speed photography was employed to observe the effect of input parameters such as fluid pressure, frequency, and voltage of a piezoelectric disc on the droplet volume. In order to identify the most significant parameters a factor screening test was performed based on a full factorial design. Based on the ANOVA results, it was revealed that fluid pressure, piezoelectric disc frequency and their interaction were the significant factors that affected the droplet volume. A response surface optimization was conducted to determine the variation on droplet volume based the significant factors. A second-order response surface is established that captures the droplet volume variation over the ranges of the input parameters. The results of this study are vital in determining optimal values of the significant input parameters for microfabrication of electronic devices and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) components using direct write technology.
Generating a Product of Three Primes with an Unknown Factorization

We describe protocols for three or more parties to jointly generate a composite N=pqr which is the product of three primes. After our protocols terminate N is publicly known, but neither party knows the factorization of N. Our protocols require the design of a new type of distributed primality test for testing that a given number is a product of three primes. We explain the cryptographic motivation and origin of this problem.
Measurement of B(K -> pnn)

The experimental measurement of positive kaons decaying to a positive pion and a neutrino, anti-neutrino pair (pnn) is reviewed. Recent results from experiment E787 at BNL are presented: with data from 1995--97 the branching ratio has been measured to be B(pnn) = (1.5^{+3.4}_{-1.2}) \times10^{-10}. The future prospects for additional data in this mode are examined.
Electrophysiological Predictors of Transplantation and Left Ventricular Assist Device-Free Survival in Patients With Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Undergoing Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation

Abstract Objectives This study sought to identify predictors of transplantation/left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-free survival among patients with left ventricular nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) and ventricular tachycardia (VT). Background Outcomes vary widely among these patients. Methods The derivation cohort consisted of patients with NICM undergoing VT ablation from 2007 to 2011. Scar percentage was defined as the area of low voltage divided by total surface area. Cox proportional hazard modeling was performed to identify predictors of shorter time to the primary endpoint of death, transplantation, or LVAD. A risk score was created using β regression coefficients. The risk score was then validated in a separate cohort of patients undergoing ablation from 2004 to 2007. Results Of 100 patients with NICM undergoing VT ablation, 41 experienced an endpoint during 1.2 years mean follow-up. In multivariate modeling, VT storm, wider native QRS duration, greater endocardial/epicardial bipolar scar percentage, and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) identified worse transplantation/LVAD-free survival. The risk score = (VT storm × 83) + (greater of endocardial/epicardial bipolar scar percentage × 4) + (QRS duration) − (LVEF × 3). A score >180 identified patients at high risk for the endpoint, whereas a score 80% for low, p Conclusions Wider native QRS duration, greater bipolar scar percentage, VT storm, and lower LVEF are potent predictors of time to death, transplantation, or LVAD. By combining these variables into an “electrophysiological risk score,” patient risk can be refined.
Preoperative Examination Checklist for Upper Blepharoplasty

When evaluating a patient for upper blepharoplasty, I go through the following anatomic checklist: brow, orbit, skin, fat, lacrimal gland, lid margin, ocular exam, VF, and photos. Finally, certain patients may be at higher risk for complications.
Cavum septum pellucidum: a novel endoscopic approach to the posterior third ventricle.

Results The patient was referred for neurosurgical opinion due to a 2-week history of gait instability on a background of progressive ataxia and urinary incontinence. MRI showed triventricular hydrocephalus due to a tectal plate mass with thalamic extension. On examination, his GCS was 15/15 and he demonstrated truncal ataxia, gait instability, and upper limb dysmetria. He was admitted for an endoscopic third ventriculostomy with biopsy. Operative approach: The patient was anaesthetised and placed supine. Incision and burr hole were over the left coronal suture. A third ventriculostomy was performed for hydrocephalus. The tumour was then approached through the cavum septum pellucidum. Septal fenestrations allowed easy access to the cavum. Internal cerebral veins were identified and the velum interpositum opened with sharp scissors. The opening was dilated and an endoscope advanced into the posterior third ventricle. The tumour was identified and biopsies obtained. He had a satisfactory recovery and was discharged 6 days later. Histology showed a low-grade glioma, which remained stable on follow-up MRI.
L FORMS ISOLATED FROM A STRAIN OF SERRATIA.

Abstract Bandur, Bojana M. (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston) and Louis Dienes. L forms isolated from a strain of Serratia. J. Bacteriol. 86:829–836. 1963.—In an L culture isolated from a strain of Serratia, two types of colonies developed, one (S-1) similar to the usual L colonies with the centers embedded in the agar and the other (S-2) similar in gross appearance to the usual bacterial colonies. The S-2 colonies consisted almost exclusively of large bodies and were produced by the direct multiplication of the large bodies. This occurred by enlargement, deformation, and segmentation. The organisms in the two types of L colonies were equivalent, and the type of growth was determined by environmental influences. The high viability of the cultures and the relative lack of autolysis permitted the study of the reproductive processes and the resulting growth under varying conditions. The basic reproductive process, as in other L forms and pleuropneumonia-like organisms, seemed to be the multiplication of small granules, either free or in small or large aggregates enclosed in a common envelope. It was possible to observe clearly the growth of small granules from the large bodies.
Quasi-Lagrangian diagnostics of a Mediterranean cyclone: Isentropic results

The development of the Mediterranean cyclone of 4–6 March, 1982 that occurred during the Alpine Experiment (ALPEX) is studied through use of isentropic quasi-Lagrangian diagnostics. The analyses include a determination of the mass and angular momentum balance and the forcing of the cyclone's mass circulation by torques and heating. The isentropic mass circulation was inward in lower isentropic layers and outward in upper isentropic layers throughout the period of the study. During the initial twenty-four hour period of maximum development, the cyclone's mass circulation was forced by pressure and inertial torques and eddy convergence of angular momentum associated with the larger scale baroclinic structure over the eastern Atlantic and western Europe. The storm's inward absolute angular momentum transport by the mass circulation was maximized in the lower isentropic layers. An intense eddy mode of angular momentum convergence that was primarily induced by orography developed rapidly within a 10.5° storm volume in the initial eighteen hours of the study. Later as the circulation intensified within a 4.5° volume, an eddy mode developed within the cyclone's vortex over the Mediterranean through rotation and deformation of the thermal structure in lower isentropic layers. The results for the radial and temporal distributions of the azimuthally-integrated mass transport, its geostrophic and ageostrophic modes and the forcing by total torques reveal that the cyclogenesis associated with large scale baroclinic and barotropic processes was nonlinear. Initially, the intensity of the forcing by the larger scale through the asymmetric baroclinic and barotropic structure was most intense when the circulation was weak. Later, the forcing through asymmetries was suppressed as the cyclone's circulation intensified and occlusion occurred. During this stage the frictional torque and upward transport of angular momentum through latent heat release dominated.
Linking vertebral number to performance of aquatic escape responses in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

Environmental conditions during early development in ectothermic vertebrates can lead to variation in vertebral number among individuals of the same species. It is often seen that individuals of a species raised at cooler temperatures have more vertebrae than individuals raised at warmer temperatures, although the functional consequences of this variation in vertebral number on swimming performance are relatively unclear. To investigate this relationship, we tested how vertebral number in axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) affected performance of aquatic escape responses (C-starts). Axolotls were reared at four temperatures (12-24°C) encompassing their natural thermal range and then transitioned to a mean temperature (18°C) three months before C-starts were recorded. Our results showed variation in vertebral number, but that variation was not significantly affected by developmental temperature. C-start performance among axolotls was significantly correlated with caudal vertebral number, and individuals with more caudal vertebrae were able to achieve greater curvature more quickly during their responses than individuals with fewer vertebrae. However, our results show that these individuals did not achieve greater displacements or velocities, and that developmental temperature did not have any effect on C-start performance. We highlight that the most important aspects of escape swim performance (i.e., how far individuals get from a threat and how quickly they move the most important parts of the body away from that threat) are consistent across individuals regardless of developmental temperature and morphological variation.
Nonlinear dynamics of oversampling A-to-D converters

Analog-to-digital converters that employ dynamics and oversampling in conjunction with low-rate quantizers are becoming increasingly popular in digital signal processing and computer control applications. In this paper we analyze the behavior of such converters using techniques from dynamical systems theory. Among our results are assertions about the stability and limit cycle behavior of sigma-delta modulators driven by bounded deterministic inputs. >
Mitochondrial and Peroxisomal β‐Oxidation of Stearic and Lignoceric Acids by Rat Brain

Abstract: Crude subcellular fractions were prepared from adult rat brains by differential centrifugation of brain ho-mogenates. Greater than 98% of the cellular mitochondrial marker enzyme activity sedimented in the heavy and light mitochondrial pellets, and <1% of the activity sedimented in microsomal pellets. Lysosomal marker enzyme activities mainly (71-78% of cellular activity) sedimented in the heavy and light mitochondrial pellets. Significant amounts of the lysosomal marker enzyme activity also sedimented in the crude microsomal pellets (9-13% of total) and high-speed supernatants (14-16% of total). The specific activities of microsomal and peroxisomal marker enzyme activities were highest in the crude microsomal pellets. Fractionation of the crude microsomal pellets on Nycodenz gradients resulted in the separation of the bulk of the remaining mitochondrial, lysosomal, and microsomal enzyme activities from peroxisomes. Fatty acyl-CoA synthetase activities separated on Nycodenz gradients as two distinct peaks, and the minor peak of the activities was in the peroxisomal enriched fraction. Fatty acid β-oxidation activities also separated as two distinct peaks, and the activities were highest in the peroxisomal enriched fractions. Mitochondria were purified from the heavy mitochondrial pellets by Percoll density gradients. Fatty acyl-CoA synthetase and fatty acid β-oxidation activities were present in both the purified mitochondrial and peroxisomal enriched fractions. Stearoyl-CoA synthetase activities were severalfold greater compared to lignoceroyl-CoA synthetase, and stearic acid β-oxidation was severalfold greater compared to lignoceric acid β-oxidation in purified mitochondrial and peroxisomal enriched fractions. The results presented demonstrate conclusively that, in contrast to rat liver and human skin fibroblasts, rat brain mitochondria contain lignoceroyl-CoA synthetase, as well as lignoceric acid β-oxidation activities
Geography for Our Youngest Learners.

In the earliest days of American education, leaders in educational theory and practice believed that the curriculum should revolve around the child's lived experiences. Geography, therefore, should...
■ REVIEW : Excitotoxicity, Free Radicals, Necrosis, and Apoptosis

Recent studies have shown that excitotoxicity can result in either neuronal necrosis (passive cell lysis associated with energy failure) or apoptosis (active cell death requiring energy production). The type of cell death encountered by neuronal cell cultures exposed to excessive levels of excitatory amino acids—such as glutamate, the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, or free radicals, such as nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion (O2 -), which react to form peroxynitrite (ONOO-)—depends on the intensity of the exposure and may involve two temporally distinct phases. After relatively fulminant insults, an initial phase of necrosis—associated with extreme energy depletion—may simply reflect the failure of neurons to carry out the "default" apoptotic death program used to efficiently dispose of aged or otherwise unwanted cells. Neurons that survive this initial insult recover mitochondrial membrane potential and energy charge and subsequently undergo apoptosis, which seems to...
Standard automata and semidirect products of transformation semigroups

We propose a decomposition of transformation semigroups (X, S) on a finite set X that provides 1. a composition of its elements out of idempotents/generators, 2. a way by which S is obtained from semilattices/cyclic groups acting on X, namely by means of bilateral semidirect products and quotients. The point is to provide both (a) and (b) simultaneously while still being accountable for the resources used in terms of cardinalities. This approach is applied to the semigroup End(X, ⩽) of isotonic mappings of a linearly ordered set as well as the transition semigroups of automata that arise from certain varieties of formal languages. We discuss the semigroup varieties D, R, J, LJ1, and give a bilateral semidirect decomposition of the full transformation semigroup T(X) into End (X, ⩽) and the symmetric group on X.
A New Route to Macrocycles Possessing the 2,6‐Pyridino Subunit via Bis‐1,3‐Dithianes [1]

Two rigid crown ethers 12, which possess a terpyridine subunit, are herein prepared by the construction of the middle pyridine moiety via a bis-dithiane precursor. The intermediate diketone and derivatives are sufficiently mobile to permit macrocyclization; then their irreversible conversion to a pyridine nucleus circumvents the inherent structural constraints associated with the synthesis of these macromolecules.
Direct Printing of Self-Assembled Lipid Tubules on Substrates

Lipid tubules formed by rolled-up bilayer sheets have shown promise in drug delivery systems, nanofluidics, and microelectronics. Here we report a method for directly printing lipid tubules on substrates. Preformed lipid tubules of 1,2-bis(tricosa-10,12-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine are aligned in the recessed channels of a thin poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamp. The aligned lipid tubules then serve as an “ink” for microcontact printing. We demonstrate that two-dimensional (2-D) arrays of aligned lipid tubules can be transferred onto planar, patterned, and curved substrates from the recessed channels of the PDMS stamp by bringing the tubule-inked PDMS stamp into contact with these substrates. We show that the 2-D array of aligned lipid tubules can be transcribed into a 2-D array of aligned silica cylinders through templated sol−gel condensation of tetraethoxysilane.
Multiple skin nodules in a 64-year-old woman.

The nodules developed about 18 years ago, about 10 years after the onset of proximal muscle weakness and rash. What is the diagnosis?
Diversity, taphonomy and behavior of encrusting foraminifera on experimental shells deployed along a shelf-to-slope bathymetric gradient, Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas

Abstract Encrusting foraminifera that settled on experimental arrays deployed for 2 years in shelf (15 m–30 m), shelf edge (70 m) and slope (183–253 m) environments off the carbonate platform of Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas, were found to occur in four environmental-indicator guilds, each with common and unique encrusting species. These guilds can be used as paleobathymetric and temporal guides, indicating how long a substrate was exposed on the sea floor prior to burial. Taphonomic signatures of encrusting foraminifera also changed with depth, resulting in four foraminiferal taphofacies that varied from corrasion (dissolution and abrasion) at shallow sites to pristine tests at the deepest sites. The taphonomic processes for encrusting foraminifera were found to be decoupled from those reported for invertebrate hardparts in this region, perhaps related to their ability to nestle within sutures or other depressions (deemed taphonomic refugia) on the shell substrates. The shelf-edge site had the highest foraminiferal diversity associated with the highest physical damage to the tests, which is counter-intuitive to the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH), which posits that high physical disturbance leads to low species diversity. While the IDH appeared true for the shallowest sites, it does not completely explain the high foraminiferal diversity at the shelf edge where physical taphonomic factors were high. Behavioral interactions, such as overgrowth interactions, also varied with depth, and these can be used to examine depth-related paleobehavioral patterns in the past. Thus, the often overlooked encrusting foraminifera are excellent candidates for paleocommunity and paleoenvironmental analyses.
Detection Of Single Atoms And Measurement Of Their Motion By The Photon Burst Method

Using a digital correlator, we record the burst of photons emitted by a single atom as it passes through a resonant laser beam. A high efficiency light collection system allows us to register many counts from each atom. The transit time of the atom across the laser beam is computed from the displayed autocorrelation function. By averaging over many atoms, we determine diffusion coefficients for ground state sodium in helium, neon and argon. We have also used this technique to measure rapid flow speeds of gases.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Empirical Fit to Precision Inclusive Electron-Proton Cross Sections in the Resonance Region

An empirical fit is described to measurements of inclusive inelastic electron-proton cross sections in the kinematic range of four-momentum transfer $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}{Q}^{2}l8$ GeV${}^{2}$ and final-state invariant mass $1.1lWl3.1$ GeV. The fit is constrained by the recent high-precision longitudinal and transverse separated cross section measurements from Jefferson Lab Hall C, unseparated Hall C measurements up to ${Q}^{2}$ $\ensuremath{\approx}7.5$ ${\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}$, and photoproduction data at ${Q}^{2}=0$. Compared to previous fits, the present fit covers a wider kinematic range, fits both transverse and longitudinal cross sections, and features smooth transitions to the photoproduction data at ${Q}^{2}=0$ and deep inelastic scattering data at high ${Q}^{2}$ and $W$.
The effective lagrangian for supersymmetric QED3

Abstract The constant field strength effective lagrangian for supersymmetric QED in 2 + 1 dimensional space-time is calculated directly in superspace. The constant field strength constraints are specified in a supersymmetric covariant manner using superfields and covariant derivatives.
Fluctuations of Lightning Casualties in the United States: 1959–1990

Abstract Long-term fluctuations in the number of lightning deaths and injuries from 1959 to 1990 have been examined for the contiguous United States. After taking into account the population increase, there was an overall trend amounting to a 30% reduction in casualties during the period. It is possible that this trend resulted from improved forecasts and warnings, increased education efforts of the public, and socioeconomic changes. In addition, there was a 40% reduction in the number of deaths but not of nonfatal injuries. This additional reduction in deaths was probably due to improved medical attention given to lightning victims and a wider knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques among the public. Improved medical care would increase the chances of a person surviving a lightning strike but would not affect the total number of casualties. Superimposed on the overall downward trend there were fluctuations of one or two decades in duration. From 1959 until 1968 there was a sharp reduction i...
Interaction of Drugs with Branched DNA Structures

(1992). Interaction of Drugs with Branched DNA Structures. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 157-190.
In-Flight Aeroelastic Stability of the Thermal Protection System on the NASA HIAD, Part II: Nonlinear Theory and Extended Aerodynamics

Conical shell theory and a supersonic potential flow aerodynamic theory are used to study the nonlinear pressure buckling and aeroelastic limit cycle behavior of the thermal protection system for NASA's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator. The structural model of the thermal protection system consists of an orthotropic conical shell of the Donnell type, resting on several circumferential elastic supports. Classical Piston Theory is used initially for the aerodynamic pressure, but was found to be insufficient at low supersonic Mach numbers. Transform methods are applied to the convected wave equation for potential flow, and a time-dependent aerodynamic pressure correction factor is obtained. The Lagrangian of the shell system is formulated in terms of the generalized coordinates for all displacements and the Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to derive the governing differential-algebraic equations of motion. Aeroelastic limit cycle oscillations and buckling deformations are calculated in the time domain using a Runge-Kutta method in MATLAB. Three conical shell geometries were considered in the present analysis: a 3-meter diameter 70 deg. cone, a 3.7-meter 70 deg. cone, and a 6-meter diameter 70 deg. cone. The 6-meter configuration was loaded statically and the results were compared with an experimental load test of a 6-meter HIAD. Though agreement between theoretical and experimental strains was poor, the circumferential wrinkling phenomena observed during the experiments was captured by the theory and axial deformations were qualitatively similar in shape. With Piston Theory aerodynamics, the nonlinear flutter dynamic pressures of the 3-meter configuration were in agreement with the values calculated using linear theory, and the limit cycle amplitudes were generally on the order of the shell thickness. The effect of axial tension was studied for this configuration, and increasing tension was found to decrease the limit cycle amplitudes when the circumferential elastic supports were neglected, but resulted in more complex behavior when the supports were included. The nominal flutter dynamic pressure of the 3.7-meter configuration was significantly lower than that of the 3-meter, and it was found that two sets of natural modes coalesce to flutter modes near the same dynamic pressure. This resulted in a significant drop in the limit cycle frequencies at higher dynamic pressures, where the flutter mode with the lower frequency becomes more critical. Pre-buckling pressure loads and the aerodynamic pressure correction factor were studied for all geometries, and these effects resulted in significantly lower flutter boundaries compared with Piston Theory alone. The maximum dynamic pressure predicted by aerodynamic simulations of a proposed 3.7-meter HIAD vehicle was still lower than any of the calculated flutter dynamic pressures, suggesting that aeroelastic effects for this vehicle are of little concern.
Noise effect on the measurement of polarization-mode dispersion in a system with polarization-dependent loss using a generalized Poincare sphere method

We simulate the measurement statistics of differential group delay and differential attenuation slope in a long-haul fiber communication system using a generalized Poincare sphere method and found them to be sensitive to Stokes noise.
A Stochastic Model of Performance for Adaptive Environments

This paper introduces a stochastic model useful for the evaluation of building performance or decay. The model is especially structured to allow prediction of the value of alternative adaptation during a building's lifetime. It is designed for conditions in which only scanty data on building system operations are available. Extensions considered are: system interactions, nonstationary behavior, and policy formulations based on resource allocations. Incorporated is the necessary accounting framework for data collection so as to allow regular review of maintenance policies.
Postobstructive Pulmonary Edema in a 40-Year-Old Man after Suffocation by a Swimming Pool Cover

Abstract Background Postobstructive pulmonary edema (POPE) is a form of sudden onset, noncardiogenic pulmonary edema that can occur after the relief of an upper airway obstruction. Objective Since POPE is an uncommon diagnosis made in the emergency department (ED), this case is presented to increase emergency physicians' awareness of the etiology, pathophysiology, and management of this type of edema. Case Report This is a case of bilateral POPE in a 40-year-old man with no history of cardiac or pulmonary disease who experienced near suffocation due to the vacuum effect of a swimming pool cover. On presentation to the ED, the patient's symptoms included bilateral pleuritic pain over the anterior chest, shortness of breath, and inspiratory cough. He was tachycardic and tachypneic, with an oxygen saturation of 92% on room air. Pertinent physical examination findings included shallow breathing and right-sided rhonchi. The initial arterial blood gas on room air demonstrated a PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio of 304 mm Hg. Cardiac enzymes and the electrocardiogram result were normal. The patient's chest radiograph was interpreted as having marked bilateral pulmonary edema. The patient was admitted to the Medicine Intensive Care Unit and placed on noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV). The patient was clinically asymptomatic and was discharged after 72 h. Conclusions Emergency physicians should consider the diagnosis of POPE in a symptomatic patient if there is evidence of pulmonary edema immediately after a history of hanging, suffocation, strangulation, choking, naloxone administration, or other forms of upper airway obstruction. Rapid initiation of NIPPV with or without diuretics, steroids, or fluid restriction can lead to symptom resolution within 24 to 48 h.
Writing narrative literature reviews for peer-reviewed journals: secrets of the trade

Objective To describe and discuss the process used to write a narrative review of the literature for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Publication of narrative overviews of the literature should be standardized to increase their objectivity.