cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-temperature superconducting superconductor/normal metal/superconducting devices

We describe the fabrication and characterization of superconductor/normal metal/superconductor (SNS) devices made with the high-temperature superconductor (HTS) YBa2Cu3O(7-x). Structures of YBa2Cu3O(7-x)/Au/Nb on c-axis-oriented YBa2Cu3O(7-x) were made in both sandwich and edge geometries in order to sample the HTS material both along and perpendicular to the conducting a-b planes. These devices display fairly ideal Josephson properties at 4.2 K. In addition, devices consisting of YBa2Cu3O(7-x)/YBa2Cu3O(y)/YBa2Cu3O(7-x), with a 'normal metal' layer of reduced transition temperature YBa2Cu3O(7-x) were fabricated and show a great deal of promise for applications near 77 K. Current-voltage characteristics like those of the Resistively-Shunted Junction model are observed, with strong response to 10 GHz radiation above 60 K.
On the Experiemntal Silicification of Microorganisms. I. Microbial Growth on Organosilicon Compounds

Abstract In the course of experimenting on the laboratory silification of algal cells and algal mats a series of organosilicon compounds was employed in attempts to simulate fossilization. These compounds provided a silica source for emplacement in the organic matrices of the algae. It was found that during the silicification process silicon acetate, triethoxysilane propylamine and tetraethylorthosilicate (tetraethoxysilane) yielded hydrolytic products which supported growth of microbes. Large numbers of microorganisms: several fungi, including yeast and an Aspergillus sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from salt solutions containing these organosilicon compounds as the sole source of carbon. The rate of hydrolysis yielding silica for emplacement was not affected by growth of these microorganisms. The isolation and growth of pure cultures of P. aeruginosa on either triethylsilane propylamine or tetraethylorthosilicate is described.
KINETIC MODEL REDUCTION USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS

Large reaction networks pose difficulties in simulation and control when computation time is restricted. We present a novel approach to simplification of reaction networks that formulates the model reduction problem as an optimization problem and solves it using a genetic algorithm (GA). Two formulations of kinetic model reduction and their encodings are considered, one involving the elimination of reactions and the other the elimination of species. The GA approach is applied to reduce an 18-reaction, 10-species network, and the quality of solutions returned is evaluated by comparison with global solutions found using complete enumeration. The two formulations are also solved for a 32-reaction, 18-species network.
Penile implants: newer devices provide improved function, safety and satisfaction

Surgical intervention for the restoration of erectile function involves implantation of an inflatable penile prosthesis. Modern implants closely reproduce the physiology of the normal male erection and enable the man to have normal sexual intercourse. Culley Carson looks at the evidence for the reliability, safety and outcome of the newer devices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons
The crocodilian mitochondrial control region: general structure, conserved sequences, and evolutionary implications.

We present the first comprehensive analysis of the crocodilian control region. We have analyzed sequences from all three families of Crocodylia (Crocodylidae, Gavialidae, Alligatoridae), incorporating all genera except Paleosuchus and Melanosuchus. Within the control region of other vertebrates, several sequence motifs and their order appear to be conserved. Herein, we compare aligned crocodilian D-loop sequences to homologous sequences from other vertebrates ranging from fish to birds. Among other findings, we have discovered that while domain I tends to be shorter than the same region in mammals and birds, it contains sequences similar in structure to both the goose-hairpin and termination associated sequences (TAS). Domain II is highly conservative with regard to size among the taxa examined and contains several of the conserved sequence boxes characterized in other vertebrates. Domain III contains several interesting sequence motifs including tandemly repeated sequences, a long poly-A region in the Crocodylidae, and possible bidirection promoter sequences.
Doing care plans in patient conferences.

Abstract Staffings are conferences, common to human service institutions, where professional staff members deliberate over aspects of client care. This paper describes the social organization of care planning conferences in nursing homes. The working question is how do participants formulate reasonable and acceptable care plans when they bring to these proceedings diverse experience, information, and interest in patients? Based on data gathered in observations of conferences in five nursing homes, three processes are examined: (1) the identification of patient problems and selection of treatment approaches; (2) how participants deal with disparities in problem perception; and (3) writing the care plan. Questions of practice and accountability are discussed.
The greenhouse hamburger.

The article discusses the release of greenhouse gases by the cattle farming industry. The generation of 13 times the amount of greenhouse gases by raising cattle compared with chicken is mentioned, noting that cattle farming generates 57 times more greenhouse gases than growing potatoes. The opinion that individuals in the U.S. and other developed countries should eat less beef is also presented.
Glucose production and substrate cycle activity in a fasting adapted animal, the northern elephant seal

SUMMARY During prolonged fasting physiological mechanisms defend lean tissue from catabolism. In the fasting state, glucose is derived solely from gluconeogenesis, requiring some catabolism of amino acids for gluconeogenic substrates. This creates a conflict in animals undergoing fasts concurrently with metabolically challenging activities. This study investigated glucose metabolism in fasting and developing neonatal elephant seals. Glucose production and glucose cycle activity were measured early (2 weeks) and late (6 weeks) in the postweaning fasting period. Additionally the role of regulatory hormones on glucose production and glucose cycle activity were investigated. Glucose cycle activity was highly variable throughout the study period, did not change over the fasting period, and was not correlated with insulin or glucagon level. Endogenous glucose production (EGP) was 2.80±0.65 mg kg –1 min –1 early and 2.21±0.12 during late fasting. Insulin to glucagon molar ratio decreased while cortisol levels increased over the fast ( t =5.27, 2.84; P =0.003, 0.04; respectively). There was no relationship between EGP and hormone levels. The glucose production values measured in this study were high and exceeded the estimated gluconeogenic substrate available. These data suggest extensive glucose recycling via Cori cycle activity occurring in northern elephant seals, and we propose a possible justification for this recycling.
Computed tomography of the normal and abnormal superior sagittal sinus

The appearances on computed tomography (CT) of the normal and abnormal superior sagittal sinuses are presented. The varied patterns of non-enhanced and enhanced normal superior sagittal sinuses are correlated with and reflect the findings of anatomical dissection. Cases of abnormal of abnormal superior sagittal sinus include thrombosis, brain death and sinus displacement.
The influence of host immunity on the arrest of circulating cancer cells, and its modification by neuraminidase

The patterns of initial tumour cell arrest of a methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma and the Gardner lymphosarcoma were determined after injection of 125IudR-labelled tumour cells into the systemic circulation of mice. Experiments were performed with normal mice, mice sensitized by bearing ascites or subcutaneous variants of these tumours and animals hyperimmunized with X-irradiated tumour cells. Tumour-bearing and hyperimmunized mice were shown to produce humoral and cell-mediated tumour-immune responses by membrane immunofluorescence tests and migration inhibition assays of peritoneal exudate cells. In normal mice more than 90% of injected fibrosarcoma cells became localized in the lungs whereas the lymphosarcoma cells were localized primarily in both liver and lungs. The fibrosarcoma cells showed a decreased localization in the lungs and a corresponding increase in the livers, lymphoid tissues and kidneys of sensitized mice. However, the lymphosarcoma cells showed greater localization in the lungs of tumour-bearing and immunized mice compared with that in control animals. Prior treatment of both tumour types with Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase modified the pattern of cell arrest to some extent in both normal and tumour-sensitized mice. The relevance of these expriements as a model of the haematogenous metastasis of cancer cells is discussed.
Accurate conductance measurements of a pinhole orifice using a constant-pressure flowmeter

Abstract A pinhole orifice with a known conductance can be used as a secondary flow standard. Commercially available laser-drilled pinhole orifices with diameters ranging from 1.0 μm to 50 μm can have molecular-flow conductances ranging from about 0.1 μL/s to 200 μL/s for N 2 at 23 °C. Gas flows of 10 −11 –10 −6 mol/s can easily be produced by applying an upstream pressure in the range of 1–10 5 Pa. Accurate measurements of the orifice conductance as a function of pressure are required to use the pinhole orifice as a basis of a flowmeter. We use a constant-pressure flowmeter to make accurate measurements of the conductance of a 20 μm orifice as a function of pressure for gas flows of Ar and N 2 into vacuum. We present results of these conductance measurements for an orifice with a nominal diameter of 20 μm. The N 2 conductance of this orifice ranged from 30 μL/s to 60 μL/s over the range of pressures investigated, and was measured with an uncertainty of better than 0.2% ( k = 2) for upstream pressures greater than 10 Pa.
Inclusion Complexes of N-Benzoyl-d-Leucine and N-Benzoyl-l-Leucine with β-Cyclodextrin by Raman Spectroscopy:

We report what is believed to be the first detection of chiral recognition in the inclusion complexes of cyclodextrins by Raman spectroscopy. The spectra of inclusion complexes of N-benzoyl-D-leucine or N-benzoyl-L-leucine with beta-cyclodextrin were recorded in the 1500-1800 and 3000-3150 cm-1 regions. These chiral molecules were chosen to provide group frequencies (NH2+ and benzoyl C=O) near the chiral center of the guest as well as COO- and phenyl CH for probing the guest molecule without spectral interference from the vibrational bands of the cyclodextrin host. Frequency shifts and intensity decreases were observed for some Raman bands of N- benzoyl-leucines upon inclusion in the cyclodextrin cavity. In the Raman spectra of the inclusion complex, the frequency shifts were greater for N-benzoyl-D-leucine than for N-benzoyl-L-leucine.
Preliminary results of detecting and locating defects under triangular thick composite structural members

Thick triangularly shaped structural sections used in a variety of applications are inspected using open-ended microwave rectangular waveguide probes. Previous work has shown the ability of microwave techniques to detect and locate planar defects in thick composite structures. In all of those applications, the microwave sensor aperture has been parallel to the surface under inspection. However, in certain cases involving triangular joints, the geometry may require that the microwave sensor be positioned at an angle to the joint surface. Therefore, the inspection is conducted with the waveguide maintaining a certain angle with the surface of the sample. This angle causes the incident fields to bend at an angle which can be determined using Snell's law and the dielectric properties of the sample under inspection. The bending of the fields causes defects and internal structural features to appear at positions at which they are not actually located. The proper location of defects can be found by using Snell's law along with the geometrical and dielectric properties of the material under inspection. The preliminary results of this investigation, including the results of a simple mathematical model and several experimental results, are presented.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Invasive fungal infections in the era of biologics

With the advent and widespread use of immunomodulating biologic agents, emerging invasive fungal infections are reported increasingly. To date there is no reliable method to screen patients before starting anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy to predict their risk for acquiring fungal infections, partly because most of these infections are de novo infections. Patients should be counseled about avoiding high-risk activities that are associated with the endemic mycosis in their geographic areas. Physicians should keep a high level of suspicion for endemic fungal infections when patients receiving anti-TNF therapy or other biologics present with pulmonary or systemic infections. Rapid diagnosis and initiation of antifungal therapy are of utmost importance.
Iron(II)-catalyzed oxidation of arsenic(III) in a sediment column.

Arsenic contamination in aquatic systems is a worldwide concern. Understanding the redox cycling of arsenic in sediments is critical in evaluating the fate of arsenic in aquatic environments and in developing sediment quality guidelines. The direct oxidation of inorganic trivalent arsenic, As(III), by dissolved molecular oxygen has been studied and found to be quite slow. A chemical pathway for As(III) oxidation has been proposed recently in which a radical species, Fe(IV), produced during the oxidation of divalent iron, Fe(II), facilitates the oxidation of As(III). Rapid oxidation of As(III) was observed (on a time scale of hours) in batch systems at pH 7 and 7.5, but the extent of As(III) oxidation was limited. The Fe(II)-catalyzed oxidation of As(III) is examined in a sediment column using both computational and experimental studies. A reactive-transport model is constructed that incorporates the complex kinetics of radical species generation and Fe(II) and As(III) oxidation that have been developed pr...
Determination of Spherical Test Mass Kinematics with Modular Gravitational Reference Sensor

A modular gravitational reference sensor is stand-alone sensor for gravitational wave detection, inertial navigation, and fundamental physics experiments in space. In a modular design, measurement of the mass center of a drag-free test mass is made with respect to reference surfaces fixed to the spacecraft. In a gravitational wave detection scheme, the same reference surfaces are used to independently measure the distance between sensors on separate spacecraft. A single spinning spherical test mass is used as the gravitational reference, with several interferometers used to measure the mass center location relative to the spacecraft housing. This paper develops an analytical model for the modular gravitational reference sensor output including all first-order contributions. With this model, we evaluate systematic errors in the mass center measurement due to geometric variations which place requirements on spacecraft attitude and test mass dynamics. We also present a fast and reliable algorithm for recovering the mass center location and spin frequency of the test mass, in real time, to the required level of accuracy from the sensor data.
Rank tests for ordered alternatives in analysis of variance

Abstract A class of asymptotically X2 rank tests is proposed for testing homogeneity against order restricted alternatives in two-way layouts with unequal number of observations per cell. The asymptotic relative efficiency comparisons (in Pitman sense) with respect to the restricted least squares test is made. An extension to the case of linear models is also considered.
It's Not Easy Being Green: Gender and Friendship in Eliza Haywood's Political Periodicals

L'A. presente la vision du sexe et de l'amitie developpee au 18 e siecle dans la revue «The Female Spectator», publiee en Grande-Bretagne a l'initiative d'Eliza Haywood. Il analyse ce que Haywood entend par femme spectateur. Il montre que les differentes femmes qui ont collabore a la revue revendiquaient une certaine conception de l'alterite ainsi qu'un engagement politique en faveur du parti jacobite.
Control of Outlet Temperature in Adiabatic Tubular Reactors

Adiabatic tubular reactors are used in many industrial processes. The conventional control scheme for these reactors is to maintain the inlet temperature to the reactor. However, the optimum operation of the entire process (reaction and separation sections) often requires that the reactor be run at the highest possible temperature, which occurs under steady-state conditions at the reactor exit if the reactions are exothermic. The process studied in this paper has the exothermic, irreversible, gas-phase reaction A + B → C occurring in an adiabatic tubular reactor. A gas recycle returns unconverted reactants from the separation section. Four alternative plantwide control structures for achieving reactor exit temperature control are explored. The reactor exit temperature controller changes different manipulated variables in three of the four control schemes: (1) CS1, the set point of the reactor inlet temperature controller is changed; (2) CS2, the recycle flow rate is changed; and (3) CS3, the flow rate of...
Determination of carbofuran and its metabolites.

Abstract High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods for the determination of carbofuran and its metabolites are described. Results obtained for carrot samples by HPLC are compared with those obtained using gas chromatography and nitrogen-specific detection for carbofuran and 3-hydroxy carbofuran and gas chromatography—mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring for the determination of the three 7-phenol metabolites. The effect upon observed residue levels of conjugate formation by the 3-hydroxy and/or the 7-phenoxy groups of the four metabolites is demonstrated, and appropriate acid hydrolysis techniques are described. Variations in the HPLC parameters for different commodities are presented.
Physical impairment and functional outcomes six months after severe lower extremity fractures.

To determine functional outcomes after lower extremity fracture (LEF), a prospective follow-up study of patients admitted to three level 1 trauma centers for treatment of unilateral LEFs was conducted. In this paper we describe outcomes at 6 months after discharge from the initial hospitalization and examine the relationship between impairment and disability. A total of 444 patients met the entry criteria for the study. Of these 376 (85%) were successfully located and interviewed at 6 months; 302 (68%) returned to the trauma center at 6 months for a clinical assessment by a physical therapist. Study patients were predominantly young (mean age =32.4), white (72%) men (70%) who were working before the injury (77%)
Binocular vision with primary microstrabismus.

PURPOSE. Patients with primary microstrabismus have a high degree of binocularity, which suggests that their ocular misalignment may have a sensory rather than an oculomotor origin, as in large-angle strabismus. The purpose of these experiments was to determine whether microstrabismic subjects have sensory abnormalities that could give rise to a small angle of strabismus. METHODS. The binocular disparity response functions for sensory and motor processes were compared in seven orthotropic subjects and six strabismic subjects (four with primary microstrabismus and two with infantile esotropia). Binocularity was assessed by disparity vergence (central and peripheral stimuli) and depth discrimination (relative and absolute disparities) measures. Motor and sensory disparity response functions were both determined by psychophysical methods: vergence responses by dichoptic nonius alignment and sensory responses by forced-choice depth discrimination. RESULTS. All the strabismic subjects demonstrated normal retinal correspondence with peripheral binocular stimuli and anomalous retinal correspondence with central fusion stimuli. The microstrabismic subjects' disparity vergence responses with peripheral fusion stimuli were centered on disparities relative to their angle of strabismus. However, with central fusion stimuli, the disparity vergence responses were relative to the subjective angle of strabismus. The microstrabismic subjects' stereoacuities were substantially reduced, but their discrimination responses did not show an asymmetry indicative of an unrepresented population of disparity-selective mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS. The data do not support a sensory abnormality as the primary cause of microstrabismus. The results are not compatible with an oculomotor adaptation to an inherent anomalous correspondence or with a strabismus caused by an absence of a class of disparity-selective mechanisms. Thus, just as in large-angle strabismus, the anomalous retinal correspondence and defective stereopsis of microstrabismus appear to be consequences of abnormal visual experience caused by an interocular deviation.
Warriors, Levelers, and the Role of Conflict in Human Social Evolution

The origins of such varied features of contemporary life as the national state and the desire to uphold generous and civic social norms are to be found in a combination of conflict between groups and attenuation of both inequalities and conflicts within groups. In contrast to the adoption of a better tool or a more productive crop, which can be adopted by a single individual, a new institution works only if most people adopt it. This explains why collective action against those benefitting from the status quo at the expense of others, as well as conflict between groups governed by different norms and institutions, figures so prominently in our capacity to adapt to changing circumstances and to harness new knowledge for human benefit.
Combination Effects of Docetaxel and Doxorubicin in Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer Cells

Combination effects of docetaxel (DOC) and doxorubicin (DOX) were investigated in prostate cancer cells (PC3 and DU145). Combination indices (CIs) were determined using the unified theory in various concentrations and mixing ratios (synergy: CI 1.1). DOC showed a biphasic cytotoxicity pattern with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) at the picomolar range for PC3 (0.598 nM) and DU145 (0.469 nM), following 72 h drug exposure. The IC50s of DOX were 908 nM and 343 nM for PC3 and DU145, respectively. Strong synergy was seen when PC3 was treated with DOC at concentrations lower than its IC50 values (0.125~0.5 nM) plus DOX (2~8 times IC50). Equipotent drug combination treatments (7×7) revealed that the DOC/DOX combination leads to high synergy and effective cell death only in a narrow concentration range in DU145. This study provides a convenient method to predict multiple drug combination effects by the estimated CI values as well as cell viability data. The proposed DOC/DOX mixing ratios can be used to design combination drug cocktails or delivery systems to improve chemotherapy for cancer patients.
Plant Productivity and Environment

An analysis of major U.S. crops shows that there is a large genetic potential for yield that is unrealized because of the need for better adaptation of the plants to the environments in which they are grown. Evidence from native populations suggests that high productivity can occur in these environments and that opportunities for improving production in unfavorable environments are substantial. Genotypic selection for adaptation to such environments has already played an important role in agriculture, but the fundamental mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent scientific advances make exploration of these mechanisms more feasible and could result in large gains in productivity.
Geometric tolerance verification using superquadrics

Standards for Geometric Tolerance Verification such as ANSI Y14.5 have been in practice for many years. These standards were developed for hard gage technology, and provide little guidance for how tolerances should be verified for flexible technologies such as coordinate measuring machines or laser scanners. As a result, most techniques used in practice do not make use of proper statistical analysis of results. We present a statistically-based technique using jackknifing for geometric tolerance verification. The techniques are constructed for the superquadric parametric model representation, but are applicable to any parametric representation. The techniques are illustrated by examples, and a simulation study is provided for comparison.
Reexamination of the carbohydrate binding stoichiometry of lima bean lectin

Abstract The carbohydrate binding stoichiometry of lima bean lectin component III was reexamined using equilibrium dialysis and quantitative affinity chromatography following limited chemical modification. Equilibrium dialysis employing methyl[2- 14 C]benzamido-2-deoxy-α- d -galactopyranoside as ligand demonstrated that the lectin tetramer bound 4 mol of sugar with K assoc = 1.44 ± 0.13 × 10 3 m −1 (T = 5 °C, pH 7.0, ionic strength 0.1). The previous report of two sites/tetramer [Bessler, W. and Goldstein, I. J. (1974) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 165 , 444] appears to be the result of partial inactivation of the lectin due to oxidation of essential thiol groups. Following limited chemical modification of the thiol groups by methyl methanethiosulfonate, multiple intermediate forms with reduced affinity for Synsorb A were obtained. The number and hemagglutinating activities of these intermediates provided further support for the presence of four carbohydrate binding sites on lima bean lectin component III.
A three-dimensional cyclic meso-scale numerical procedure for simulation of unreinforced masonry structures

Three-dimensional (3D) cyclic analysis and constitutive material model are needed to better understand the behavior of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings under earthquake excitations. So far, most of the existing constitutive material models applied to the field of masonry structures have focused on two-dimensional modeling and monotonic loading. In addition, most of the studies have used implicit dynamic procedures in the time domain. Based on the inherent features of implicit formulations for nonlinear problems, a number of iterations are required at each time step to achieve convergence, which leads to intensive computations and lack of convergence in some cases such as cyclic loadings. In this paper, a 3D cyclic constitutive material model implemented within an explicit analysis procedure is proposed, which can be used to model large deformation behavior of masonry walls. A rigorous constitutive material model is proposed and validated with available experimental data from previous researches, and for the attributes for which experimental data is not readily available; a number of new experimental tests has been conducted by the authors. The material model is implemented in a user-defined subroutine and compiled with ABAQUS (VUMAT). The subroutine is then tested by several numerical examples on a single element under cyclic normal and transverse deformations to examine the behavior of the material model. Moreover, several analyses are conducted and the numerical results are compared with experimental data to assess the robustness and predictive capabilities of the proposed material model and the numerical solution algorithms.
ALD-TiO2 Preparation and Characterization for Metal-Insulator-Silicon Photoelectrochemical Applications

Atomic layer deposition of ultrathin TiO2 films for metal-insulator-silicon photoelectrochemical applications is accomplished in a custom built ALD chamber using the precursor tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium (TDMAT) and water vapor co-reactant. This paper discusses the procedures used to achieve high quality, repeatable depositions for this particular application. Characterization of the ALD-TiO2 films can be performed by metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure capacitance-voltage methods. Electrochemical characterization methods are also used to determine the approximate film resistivity, photovoltage, differential resistances, and stability of an MIS device performing water splitting. This set of electrochemical measurements allows for the rapid characterization of ultrathin ALD films for MIS photoelectrochemical applications.
Severe chronic kidney disease as a predictor of benefit from aminophylline administration in patients undergoing regadenoson stress myocardial perfusion imaging: A substudy of the ASSUAGE and ASSUAGE-CKD trials.

Regadenoson is predominantly renally metabolized. Patients with severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience more frequent gastrointestinal adverse effects (AE) from regadenoson. Aminophylline use following regadenoson reduces the incidence of regadenoson-related AE. We investigated whether patients with severe CKD receive incremental benefit from aminophylline administration in reducing regadenoson AE. We performed post hoc analysis of the pooled database of the ASSUAGE and ASSUAGE-CKD trials. These were randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials which tested the benefit of intravenous aminophylline vs placebo after regadenoson injection in patients undergoing a clinically indicated stress MPI. Patients were categorized into two treatment arms: aminophylline vs placebo; and two groups: Severe CKD (GFR < 30 mL·min−1/1.73 m2 or dialysis) and Control (GFR ≥ 30 mL·min−1/1.73 m2). The study endpoints were gastrointestinal AE, non-gastrointestinal AE and composite of any regadenoson AE. The pooled database of the two trials yielded 548 patients, of whom 274 patients received aminophylline and 274 received placebo. Aminophylline was associated with greater absolute risk reduction (ARR) in gastrointestinal AE among patients with severe CKD vs controls (25% vs 4%, p < .001). A significant interaction was identified between severe CKD and aminophylline in reducing gastrointestinal AE (p = .007), indicating greater reduction in gastrointestinal AE with aminophylline use among patients with severe CKD. Aminophylline use was associated with a trend toward greater ARR in any regadenoson-related AE (32% vs 21%, p = .08). Aminophylline is associated with incremental benefit in reducing gastrointestinal AE in patients with severe CKD undergoing regadenoson stress MPI. Potentially, this population could be targeted for prophylactic administration of aminophylline in order to improve their overall experience with the test.
Hereditary breast cancer.

The clustering of breast cancers in family members has been known since Roman times. This observation has been given added clinical significance with the discovery of a family of breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. The BRCA1 gene is the first adult-onset cancer gene mapped to a single gene locus. Certain inherited mutations in either of these genes greatly increase a patient’s lifetime risk of breast and other cancers. These landmark discoveries are already having an impact on clinical care and have raised ethical, social, and medical issues, many of which are unprecedented. In many ways, the discovery of the genes predated our ability to deal with complex issues surrounding access to testing, informed consent, and interventions. This problem is compounded by the magnitude of the breast cancer epidemic. The cumulative lifetime risk of developing breast cancer for women in the United States is 12.6%, or one in eight women. There are 184,300 new breast cancer cases diagnosed annually in the United States and 44,300 deaths.1
Experimental determination of axial dispersion coefficient in a bubble column

Abstract A new graphical method of finding axial dispersion coefficients in a bubble column is developed. This method requires only the area above an experimental curve, thus is simpler than the conventional method of curve fitting. The new method is used to find the dimensionless dispersion number in the bubble column and shows that the dispersion number decreases with column Reynolds number due to increasing coalescence of bubbles at higher gas flow-rates.
Arabidopsis phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase 1 binds F-actin and recruits phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase β1 to the actin cytoskeleton.

The actin cytoskeleton can be influenced by phospholipids and lipid-modifying enzymes. In animals the phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIPKs) are associated with the cytoskeleton through a scaffold of proteins; however, in plants such an interaction was not clear. Our approach was to determine which of the plant PIPKs interact with actin and determine whether the PIPK-actin interaction is direct. Our results indicate that AtPIPK1 interacts directly with actin and that the binding is mediated through a predicted linker region in the lipid kinase. AtPIPK1 also recruits AtPI4Kβ1 to the cytoskeleton. Recruitment of AtPI4Kβ1 to F-actin was dependent on the C-terminal catalytic domain of phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase but did not require the presence of the N-terminal 251 amino acids, which includes 7 putative membrane occupation and recognition nexus motifs. In vivo studies confirm the interaction of plant lipid kinases with the cytoskeleton and suggest a role for actin in targeting PIPKs to the membrane.
Surgical Excision of Primary Canine Rectal Tumors by an Anal Approach in Twenty‐Three Dogs

Objective— To describe an anal approach for excision of primary rectal tumors in dogs and to report outcome. Study Design— Retrospective study. Animals— Dogs (n=23) with primary rectal tumors. Methods— Review of medical records (1990–2000) of dogs with primary rectal neoplasia excised surgically using an anal approach with rectal prolapse. With dogs anesthetized, the rectum was prolapsed, stabilized with stay sutures during tumor excision with 1 cm margins to the level of the muscularis, then the rectal mucosa was sutured. Results— Each dog had only 1 tumor type (adenocarcinoma [8], solitary polyp [5], carcinoma [4], plasmacytoma [2], adenoma [1], leiomyoma [1], mucinous carcinoma [1], and papilloma [1]). Mean tumor volume was 3.1 cm3 (range 0.1–37.7 cm3). Postoperative complications (rectal bleeding [5], tenesmus [4]) were mild and resolved within 7 days after surgery; another dog had partial mucosal dehiscence identified at 6 days. The primary tumor was incompletely excised in 1 dog (4.3%), and local recurrence occurred 16 and 24 months after surgery in 2 dogs. Outcome beyond the immediate postoperative period was known for 18 dogs, including 2 dogs still alive. Mean postoperative disease-free interval for these 18 dogs was 36.8 months (range 5–84 months). Conclusion— Surgical excision of tumors of the caudal rectum can be accomplished through the anus after rectal prolapse. Clinical Relevance— An anal approach facilitated by rectal prolapse should be considered as a viable option for the surgical treatment of selected cases of tumors of the caudal aspect of the rectum in dogs.
Synthesis of Oligodeoxynlicleotides Containing Specific Methylphosphonothioate and Dithioate Moieties

Abstract Deoxynucleoside thiophosphoramidites and methyl phosphonothioates were synthesized and used to prepare dinucleotides containing phosphorodithioates and methylphosphonothioate internucleotide linkages.
Odor identification testing in children and young adults using the smell wheel

Abstract Objective Olfaction is important for nutrition, safety, and quality of life. Detecting smell loss in young children can be difficult, since many children with olfactory deficits do not recognize their problem and may even pretend to smell. The short attention span of some young children precludes testing with longer standardized olfactory tests. Currently there is a dearth of pediatric smell tests. In this study we evaluated the performance of 152 children and young adults on a game-like rotating “Smell Wheel” odor identification test. This forced-choice test, which can be self-administered, was designed to capture the child's imagination and to provide a standardized test measure with odors known to young children using a minimum number of trials. Method Thirty 4-5-year olds (10 female), 62 6-7-year olds (17 female), 30 10-11-year olds (18 female) and 30 18-19-year olds (15 female) were tested. Analysis of variance was used to assess the influences of sex and age on the test scores. Results All participants completed the simple and rapid test protocol. Test performance and age-related changes analogous to those obtained using longer tests were observed. Test scores of participants who self-administered the test were equivalent to those for whom the test was administered by the experimenter. Conclusion Good compliance and olfactory test findings congruent with literature results were obtained using the Smell Wheel, suggesting that this test may be useful in assessing olfactory function in pediatric settings where attentional demands are compromised and test time is limited.
Experiences of Demand and Control During Daily Life Are Predictors of Carotid Atherosclerotic Progression Among Healthy Men

Objectives: The authors previously reported that individuals who rate their daily life as more demanding or less controllable by momentary electronic diary (ED) reports showed greater intima–medial thickness (IMT) by carotid ultrasonography. They now present prospective findings on this relation. Design. Three hundred thirty-five healthy individuals (ages 50–70 at study onset) completed ongoing ratings of activity and mood over a 6-day period, using ED assessments. Main Outcome Measures: Mean bilateral carotid artery IMT was measured at baseline and 36 months later. Results and Conclusion: Mean ratings of high demand and low control were significantly associated with IMT progression among men but not among women. These associations were not explained by traditional risk factors or by measures of occupational stress. Effects were partially accounted for by elevated ambulatory heart rates among those with low ratings of control. These data support the utility of ED-based measures for examining psychosocial risks in the prediction of cardiovascular disease progression.
Survival and aging of a small laboratory population of a marine mollusc, Aplysia californica

Abstract In a investigation of the postmetamorphic survival of a population of 112 Aplysia californica, five animals died before 100 days of age and five after 200 days. The number of survivors among the 102 animals which died between 100 and 220 days declined approximately linearly with age. The median age at death was 155 days. The animals studied were those that died of natural causes within a laboratory population that was established to provide Aplysia for sacrifice in an experimental program. Actuarial separation of the former group from the latter was justified by theoretical consideration. Age-specific mortality rates were calculated from the survival data. Statistical fluctuation arising from the small size of the population was reduced by grouping the data in bins of unequal age duration. The durations were specified such that each bin contained approximately the same number of data points. An algorithm for choosing the number of data bins was based on the requirement that the precision with which the age of a group is determined should equal the precision with which the number of deaths in the groups is known. The Gompertz and power laws of mortality were fitted to the age-specific mortality-rate data with equally good results. The positive values of slope associated with the mortality-rate functions as well as the linear shape of the curve of survival provide actuarial evidence that Aplysia age. Since Aplysia grow linearly without approaching a limiting size, the existence of senescence indicates especially clearly the falsity of Bidder's hypothesis that aging is a by-product of the cessation of growth.
Zinc-Regulated DNA Binding of the Yeast Zap1 Zinc-Responsive Activator

The Zap1 transcription factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays a central role in zinc homeostasis by controlling the expression of genes involved in zinc metabolism. Zap1 is active in zinc-limited cells and repressed in replete cells. At the transcriptional level, Zap1 controls its own expression via positive autoregulation. In addition, Zap1's two activation domains are regulated independently of each other by zinc binding directly to those regions and repressing activation function. In this report, we show that Zap1 DNA binding is also inhibited by zinc. DMS footprinting showed that Zap1 target gene promoter occupancy is regulated with or without transcriptional autoregulation. These results were confirmed using chromatin immunoprecipitation. Zinc regulation of DNA binding activity mapped to the DNA binding domain indicating other parts of Zap1 are unnecessary for this control. Overexpression of Zap1 overrode DNA binding regulation and resulted in constitutive promoter occupancy. Under these conditions of constitutive binding, both the zinc dose response of Zap1 activity and cellular zinc accumulation were altered suggesting the importance of DNA binding control to zinc homeostasis. Thus, our results indicated that zinc regulates Zap1 activity post-translationally via three independent mechanisms, all of which contribute to the overall zinc responsiveness of Zap1.
Synthesis and Characterization of Tetrahydrofurfurylcyclopentadienyl Molybdenum Tricarbonyl Dimer: Evidence for 19-Electron Intramolecular "Solvento" Interactions

The synthesis and characterization of a THF pendant, dimeric Mo cyclopentadienyl complex is reported and the structure characterized by NMR, FTIR, and UV−vis spectroscopies. The dimer was found to undergo metal−metal bond homolysis under either photochemical or electrochemical conditions to yield an odd-electron complex. Cyclic voltammetry under varying scan rate conditions from 25 to 10 000 mV/s demonstrates a dynamic equilibrium process that we assign to the formation of either an intramolecular 19-electron (18 + δ) complex or a bare 17-electron complex. Photolysis of the dimer in room temperature solution could be monitored as a loss of the dπ−dσ* transition at 503 nm by transient absorption spectroscopy. The recovery of the transient absorption signal at 410 nm follows first-order kinetics at a rate of 5 × 103 s-1.
A Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic based segmentation approach to learning from imbalanced datasets: With application in property refinance prediction

Classification is an important task in data mining. Class imbalance has been reported to hinder the performance of standard classification models. However, our study shows that class imbalance may not be the only cause to blame for poor performance. Rather, the underlying complexity of the problem may play a more fundamental role. In this paper, a decision tree method based on Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic (K-S tree), is proposed to segment the training data so that a complex problem can be divided into several easier sub-problems where class imbalance becomes less challenging. K-S tree is also used to perform feature selection, which not only selects relevant variables but also removes redundant ones. After segmentation, a two-way re-sampling method is used at the segment level to empirically determine the optimal sampling percentage and the rebalanced data is used to fit logistic regression models, also at the segment level. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through its application on property refinance prediction.
Low-altitude Terrestrial Spectroscopy from a Pushbroom Sensor

Hyperspectral cameras sample many different spectral bands at each pixel, enabling advanced detection and classification algorithms. However, their limited spatial resolution and the need to measure the camera motion to create hyperspectral images makes them unsuitable for nonsmooth moving platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs. We present a procedure to build hyperspectral images from line sensor data without camera motion information or extraneous sensors. Our approach relies on an accompanying conventional camera to exploit the homographies between images for mosaic construction. We provide experimental results from a low-altitude UAV, achieving high-resolution spectroscopy with our system.
Real-Time Electronic Medical Record Alerts Increase High Blood Pressure Recognition in Children

Objective. Pediatric hypertension remains largely unrecognized. We hypothesized that an electronic medical record (EMR) alert would increase elevated blood pressure (BP) recognition in a pediatric primary care setting. Study Design. Pre–post evaluation of a real-time EMR alert and one-time provider educational session. A total of 1305 encounters of children 3 to 21 years with elevated intake BP and no prior hypertension diagnosis were included. Elevated BP recognition and relationship of recognition with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors during the intervention was compared with an historical control. Results. Recognition increased from 12.5% to 42% (P < .001). Recognition increased soon after alert implementation and was sustained without evidence of “alert fatigue.” During both periods, presence of CVD risk factors was associated with recognition. However, the magnitude was lesser in the intervention period. Conclusions. Real-time EMR alerts substantially increase elevated BP recognition in chil...
Bisphosphonate treatment modifies canine bone mineral and matrix properties and their heterogeneity

Bone loss and alterations in bone quality are major causes leading to bone fragility in postmenopausal women. Although bisphosphonates are well known to reduce bone turnover and prevent bone loss in postmenopausal osteoporosis, their effects on other bone properties are not fully characterized. Changes in bone mineral and matrix properties may contribute to the anti-fracture efficacy observed with bisphosphonate treatments. The aim of this work was to analyze the effect of a 1-year treatment with either alendronate or risedronate, at low and high doses, on spatially resolved bone material and compositional properties that could contribute to the fracture efficacy of these agents. Distal tibias from 30 normal beagles that had been treated daily for 1 year with oral doses of vehicle (Veh), alendronate (Aln) at 0.2 or 1 mg/kg, and risedronate (Ris) at 0.1 or 0.5 mg/kg were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared imaging (FTIRI) to assess the changes in both mineral and matrix properties in discrete bone areas. The widths at half maximum of the pixel histograms for each FTIRI parameter were used to assess the heterogeneity of the bone tissue. Aln and Ris increased the mineral content and the collagen maturity mainly in cancellous bone and at the endocortical surface. Significant differences were observed in the mineral content and in the hydroxyapatite crystallinity distribution in bone tissue, which can contribute to reduced ductility and micro-crack accumulation. No significant differences were observed between low and high dose nor between Aln and Ris treatments. These results show that pharmacologic suppression of bone turnover increases the mineral and matrix bone tissue maturity in normal cancellous and endocortical bone areas where bone turnover is higher. These positive effects for decreased fracture risk are also associated with a loss of bone heterogeneity that could be one factor contributing to increased bone tissue brittleness and micro-crack accumulation.