cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CARIN: Wireless CSI-based Driver Activity Recognition under the Interference of Passengers

Recent studies have proposed to use the Channel State Information (CSI) of WiFi wireless channel for human gesture recognition. As an important application, CSI-based driver activity recognition in passenger vehicles has received increasing research attention. However, a serious limitation of almost all the existing WiFi-based recognition solutions is that they can only recognize the activity of a single person at a time, because the activities of other people (if performed at the same time) can interfere with the WiFi signals. In a sharp contrast, there can often be one or more passengers in any vehicles. In this paper, we propose CARIN, CSI-based driver Activity Recognition under the INterference of passengers. CARIN features a combination-based solution that profiles all the possible activity combinations of driver and (one or more) passengers in offline training and then performs recognition online. To attack possible combination explosion, we first leverage in-car pressure sensors to significantly reduce combinations, because there are only limited seating options in a passenger vehicle. We then formulate a distance minimization problem for fast runtime recognition. In addition, a period analysis methodology is designed based on the kNN classifier to recognize activities that have a sequence of body movements, like continuous head nodding due to driver fatigue. Our results in a real car with 3,000 real-world traces show that CARIN can achieve an overall F1 score of 90.9%, and outperforms the three state-of-the-art solutions by 32.2%.
A qualitative assessment of home visitors’ knowledge, skills, and abilities in delivering prenatal physical activity curriculum modules

Abstract Different early childhood home visitation program models include prenatal physical activity (PA) modules within their curricula. This study’s intent was to examine home visitors’ knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in delivering these modules, by conducting three focus groups and one interview with home visitors, “Outreach Workers” (OWs), and five interviews with Site Leaders from the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) home visitation program. Findings showed: (1) OWs’ depth of knowledge on prenatal PA information and the modules varied; (2) over half the OWs discussed implementing PA, rapport building, communication, adaptability, and/or problem-solving skills; (3) over half the OWs felt comfortable delivering the modules; and (4) OWs’ KSAs were influenced by their life experiences and by their clients either directly or indirectly. These findings suggest prenatal PA is an important aspect of the MIHOW program and that OWs’ KSAs could be enhanced through a prenatal PA focused competency and trainings.
Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and Long-Term Cardiac Function: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Although FGF23 (fibroblast growth factor 23) is associated with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, the mechanisms driving these associations are unclear. Sensitive measures of cardi...
Multi-site practice and physician travel burden by oncology specialty.

e13513Background: Having physicians who practice at multiple sites may increase patients’ access to care, but also burden physicians Gynecologic oncologists (GO) are increasingly practicing at more...
Introduction to Mapping and Neural Networks

In this chapter, the major properties of mappings and multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks (NNs) are formulated and discussed. Several examples of real-life problems (prediction of time series, interpolation of lookup tables, satellite retrievals, and fast emulations of model physics) that can be considered as complex, nonlinear, and multidimensional mappings are introduced. The power and flexibility of the NN emulation technique as well as its limitations are discussed; also, it is shown how various methods can be designed to bypass or reduce some of these limitations. The chapter contains an extensive list of references giving extended background and further detail to the interested reader on each examined topic. It can be used as a textbook and an introductory reading for students and beginning and advanced investigators interested in learning how to apply the NN technique to emulate various complex, nonlinear, and multidimensional mappings in different fields of science.
Assembly of the mitochondrial membrane system. The DNA sequence of a mitochondrial ATPase gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The nucleotide sequence of mitochondrial DNA of a cytoplasmic "petite" mutant of Saccharomyces cer- evisiae is reported. The DNA has a repeat length of 1060 base pairs and contains a genetic marker (oli-i) for the ATPase pro- teolipid. The nucleotide sequence reveals the presence of part of the structural gene of the subunit-9 proteolipid of the ATPase complex and an extended A+T-rich region adjacent to the car- boxy -terminal end of the gene. The structural gene sequence agrees with the primary structure of the protein. These studies point out the feasibility of using the DNA of appropriately marked "petite" mutants to obtain the sequence of mitochon- drial genes. Mitochondrial DNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae codes for a limited number of proteins that are components of respiratory complexes and of the oligomycin-sensitive ATPase (1-6). Re- cent evidence suggests that the mitochondrial gene products correspond to the set of proteins translated within the organelle (6-8). In view of its relatively small size and the large number of currently known genetic markers, the mitochondrial genome of this yeast offers many advantages for DNA sequence stud- ies. In this communication, we report the nucleotide sequence of a segment of mitochondrial DNA obtained from a p- clone containing the oli-1 resistance locus (9). In other studies, the oli-i marker was localized in the structural gene of a subunit polypeptide of the mitochondrial ATPase complex (7). Our data indicate that the DNA of the p- clone includes part of the ATPase gene adjoined by an extended A+T-rich region.
Dirty, Pretty Trash: Confronting Perceptions through the Aesthetics of the Abject

Both abjection and the return of the abject are crucial feedback. We send away what we don’t want, but the forced confrontation of the abject can have a transformative power when we actually perceive what is a part of us and not apart from us. Visual feedback serves as a potential “event” that can let us experience how our behaviors are problematic; in turn, this knowledge can result in potential for change. When the abject appears in the form of art, it becomes enframed for our scopic pleasure and itself becomes an object to observe and reflect upon: abject as object. When it comes to our encounters with the material world of nature and art, both are more than the picturesque or the sublime, but instead embody the cultural connections that we sometimes wish we could ignore and keep safely out of sight or at a distance. This is why confrontations with the aestheticized abject can serve as potential sites for encounter and possibly of transformation. Artist Mark Dion conceives of art as part of this transformation, asserting that one way to encourage care for the more-than-human world is through an “aesthetic sensibility.” It is this sensibility that Dion employs in his work to address environmental concerns. Rather than ruminate on the sublime or pastoral, Dion explores the frequently invisible urban ecologies that the vast majority of people encounter but frequently keep at a distance. Dion’s work explores what happens to trash and the othered animals that inhabit such trashscapes. By framing the aestheticized abject in the gallery, we grant our bodies the opportunity to perceive and not to simply to look away.
Mining novice user activity with TRECVID interactive retrieval tasks

This paper investigates the applicability of Informedia shot-based interface features for video retrieval in the hands of novice users, noted in past work as being too reliant on text search. The Informedia interface was redesigned to better promote the availability of additional video access mechanisms, and tested with TRECVID 2005 interactive search tasks. A transaction log analysis from 24 novice users shows a dramatic increase in the use of color search and shot-browsing mechanisms beyond traditional text search. In addition, a within-subjects study examined the employment of user activity mining to suppress shots previously seen. This strategy did not have the expected positive effect on performance. User activity mining and shot suppression did produce a broader shot space to be explored and resulted in more unique answer shots being discovered. Implications for shot suppression in video retrieval information exploration interfaces are discussed.
Truncation of the cytoplasmic tail of the lutropin/choriogonadotropin receptor prevents agonist-induced uncoupling.

An agonist-induced change in the functional properties of a constant number of receptors seems to be a ubiquitous phenomenon involved in the regulation of cell surface receptors. Although the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon (called uncoupling or desensitization) have been studied in detail using beta 2-adrenergic receptors it is unclear if the models derived from these studies are applicable to other members of the family of G protein-coupled receptors. Since it has been shown previously that truncation of the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor results in a delay in the onset of agonist-induced uncoupling (Bouvier, M., Hausdorff, W.P., De Blasi, A., O'Dowd, B.F., Kobilka, B.K., Caron , M.G., and Lefkowitz, R.J. (1988) Nature 333, 370-373), we now present experiments designed to test the effects of a similar truncation of the lutropin/choriogonadotropin (LH/CG) receptor on its functional properties. The results presented herein show that (i) clonal lines of human embryonic kidney cells stably transfected with cDNAs encoding for the wild-type (rLHR-wt) or a mutant receptor truncated at amino acid residue 631 (rLHR-t631) express functional LH/CG receptors as judged by their ability to bind hCG and to respond to it with increased cAMP accumulation; (ii) a preincubation of the cells expressing rLHR-wt with hCG leads to a reduction in the ability of hCG to activate adenylylcyclase; and (iii) this reduction is severely blunted in cells expressing rLHR-t631. These results demonstrate that the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the LH/CG receptor is necessary for agonist-induced uncoupling.
Family, School, and Community Factors and Relationships to Racial–Ethnic Attitudes and Academic Achievement

This study examined family, school, and community factors and the relationships to racial-ethnic attitudes and academic achievement among 98 African American fourth-grade children. It has been posited that young people who feel better about their racial-ethnic background have better behavioral and academic outcomes, yet there is a need for more empirical tests of this premise. Psychometric information is reported on measures of parent, teacher, and child racial-ethnic attitudes. Path analysis was used to investigate ecological variables potentially related to children's racial-ethnic attitudes and achievement. Parental education and level of racial-ethnic pride were correlated and both were related to children's achievement though in the final path model, only the path from parental education level was statistically significant. Children whose teachers exhibited higher levels of racial-ethnic trust and perceived fewer barriers due to race and ethnicity evidenced more trust and optimism as well. Children living in communities with higher proportions of college-educated residents also exhibited more positive racial-ethnic attitudes. For children, higher racial-ethnic pride was related to higher achievement measured by grades and standardized test scores, while racial distrust and perception of barriers due to race were related to reduced performance. This study suggests that family, school, and community are all important factors related to children's racial-ethnic attitudes and also to their academic achievement.
Failure to provide adequate one-lung ventilation with a conventional endotracheal tube using a transbronchial approach: a case report.

Purpose To report a case where failure to provide adequate onelung ventilation during transbronchial intubation resulted in a potentially fatal mishap.
Conceptualizing IT Management: Testing a Competing Values Model of Policy Compliance

Despite a wealth of prescriptive literature intended to assist practitioners to manage information technology more effectively, there is ample evidence that many organizations continue to experience serious difficulties in achieving desired levels of success in implementing strategic IT initiatives. This paper describes a research design intended to investigate whether identification of an organization’s cultural archetypes can provide a useful predictor of compliance with accepted IT management prescriptions as a reflection of IT management effectiveness. The proposed study applies the “competing values model” as a means of operationalizing organizational culture to ascertain whether identified cultural archetypes may prove useful in predicting the extent and quality of organizational IT management efforts.
The dimensionality of fashion‐brand experience: Aligning consumer‐based brand equity approach

Purpose – This study aims to understand the multifaceted fashion‐brand experience. By identifying the constructs and conceptualizing the building process of fashion‐brand experience, this study also aims to demonstrate the cognitive, affective, and behavioral brand experience dimensions in accordance with the customer‐based brand equity hierarchy. In addition, by comparing two rivaling fashion brands, this study seeks to empirically depict the exclusivity of the Korean apparel market.Design/methodology/approach – Based on three studies conducted in South Korea, the fashion‐brand experience scale was validated. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that the scale consisted of brand awareness, brand performance, brand imagery, customer judgments, customer feelings, and customer‐brand resonance according to cognitive, affective and, behavioral brand experience dimensions. Additionally, the brand effect was controlled by comparing the composition of the two brands.Findings – F...
Exploring Complex Organizational Communities: Identity as Emergent Perceptions, Boundaries, and Relationships

Scholars in the fields of organization science and communication have shown increasing interest in exploring theories of complexity as a framework for theorizing about organizational processes. We conceive of organizations as heterogeneous complex systems characterized by interdependency and member identification, which self-organize into a relatively stable core and fluid, ill-defined boundaries. This conceptualization also necessitates rethinking our understanding of organizational identity construction, since many predominant theories of organizational identity suffer from managerial bias (Scott, 2007). We thus propose that identity is an emergent property of self-organization in complex organizational communities. From a complexity theory perspective, organizational identity can be viewed as a dynamic, emergent, multilevel process of negotiation that encompasses reflexivity, boundary setting, and relationship building.
Methodology used for the development of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitivity classification for packaging and handling of automotive components

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is an increasing threat of electrical overstress damage, in both discrete electronic devices and integrated circuits of electronic components. A test procedure for evaluating electronic components in the powered state was already available. A test procedure for evaluating the ESD sensitivity of components for handling and packaging was also available, but real world results showed it to be deficient. Consequently, there was a definite need to develop a test procedure that correlated to real world results. The paper describes the development of a test method that evaluates the ESD sensitivity of components and simulates realistic handling and packaging conditions. >
Semantic web: the story of the RIFt so far

The W3C has embarked on a new standardization effort: the Rules Interchange Format (RIF). The goal of the effort has undergone several changes from the initial idea of creating a standard ”rules” layer for the semantic web, and its official mission is to provide a standardized interchange for rules. This change, from creating a rule language to an interchange standard, has been driven mainly by the large number of interests the effort is trying to satisfy, which make it seem impossible to settle on a single language and potentially more feasible to design a method for interoperability. Even with this slightly less politically charged agenda, the number of interests are large, from ”Business Rules”, ”Production Rules”, ”Reactive Rules”, etc., to query languages, First-order logic, alethic and deontic modal logic, etc., to bayes nets, fuzzy logic, etc., to programming languages themselves. Will anything usable ever arise from this morass?
Seeking Spatial Pedagogy: Towards an Ontological Alternative

In this commentary I am particularly interested in how spatiality/hybridity theory lends a hand in helping to shape and inform pedagogy and classroom practice in an age of what Mark Fisher has recently termed ‘capitalist realism’. Using the time/space hybridity theories of cultural critics such as Edward Soja and sj Miller, and utilizing central arguments in critical pedagogy, I outline a spatial pedagogy, one which allows for educators to better understand identity and agency within the context of dissent.
The Impact of Cognitive Impairment and Comorbid Depression on Disability, Health Care Utilization, and Costs

Objectives:This study examined the impact of co-occurring cognitive impairment and depression on functional limitations, hospital and nursing home admissions, and out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPEs) among older adults.Methods:Individual mixed-effects regressions were performed to examine the relationship between cognitive impairment and depression and selected outcomes among 18,315 community-dwelling adults ages 50 and over from the Health and Retirement Study from 1998 to 2010.Results:Cognitive impairment and depression were independently associated with the outcomes of interest, and the estimated effects were largest among individuals with both conditions. Cognitive impairment with comorbid depression predicted limitations in activities of daily living (odds ratio [OR]=3.02) and instrumental activities of daily living (OR=4.18), hospitalizations (OR=1.53), nursing home admissions (OR=3.34), and an increase of $1,150 in annual OOPEs.Conclusions:Compared with cognitive impairment or depression alone, cogni...
Carbon dioxide production from pyruvate and glucose by bovine oocytes

Abstract The production of carbon dioxide from radioactive pyruvate and radioactive glucose by bovine follicular oocytes was investigated. The rate of carbon dioxide production from pyruvate was 12.78 ± 0.66 pmole/oocyte/h, while the rate of production from glucose was 0.35 ± 0.07 pmole/ oocyte/h. The data suggest that the bovine oocyte relies to a considerable extent on pyruvate as an energy source.
A Re-United Bible and Thirteenth-Century Illumination in Northern France

IN her study of the so-called Philomena manuscripts, Dr. Ellen J. Beer proposed Arras as the center of thirteenth-century illumination in Artois and French Flanders.1 She reaffirmed this opinion in a more recent article on Bibles of the same region and period.2 The present study will cite evidence to show that by about the middle of the thirteenth century the city of Lille, a trade center hardly less important than Arras, was probably also prominent in the production of fine books. This evidence derives in part from a study of the fourth volume of the Marquette Bible, owned by H. P. Kraus of New York, and its relationship to two volumes of a Bible in the Royal Library at Brussels (Bibl. Roy. 11,2523). It can be demonstrated beyond any doubt that these three volumes were once part of the same four-volume Bible. It will be proposed that this and several stylistically related Bibles were made at Lille, but that, as Beer suspected, Arras played a central role in the diffusion of the style. The initial efforts to group the principal manuscripts of the period and region were made by von Vitzthum and by Gunther Haseloff.3 Dr. Beer defined a more specific style group when she isolated a number of manuscripts related to a lectionary made for Cambrai Cathedral (Cambrai, Bibl. Mun. 189-190) in which the colophon (in Cambrai 190) states that the text was copied by Johannes Philomena in 1266.4 A further step toward understanding the larger style group to which the Philomena manuscripts belong was made in an essay, written for the catalogue of an exhibition held at Tournai Cathedral in 1971, by Professor Alison Stones, who reviewed the
Apoptosis and associated phenomena as a determinants of the efficacy of photodynamic therapy

Failure of neoplastic cells to respond to conventional chemotherapy is usually associated with factors that limit access of drugs to subcellular sites, differences in cell-cycle kinetics or mutations leading to loss of drug-activation pathways or other processes that govern response factors. For PDT, efficacy depends mainly on selective uptake of photosensitizers by neoplastic cells, oxygenation levels, the suitable direction of irradiation and the availability of pathways to cell death that are highly conserved among mammalian cell types. While it is possible to engineer PDT-resistant cell types, current evidence suggests that the major obstacles to cancer control relate to drug, light and oxygen distribution. This review discusses some of the factors that can govern PDT-induced cell death.
Slab-gel and capillary electrophoretic characterization of polyamidoamine dendrimers

Abstract Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and derivatives of these polymers were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel- (PAGE) and capillary (CE) electrophoretic methods. Slab-gel PAGE allowed characterization of several generations of PAMAM dendrimers with terminal amino or carboxylate groups. Generational separation was achieved in CE up to the fifth generation of ammonia-core PAMAM dendrimers. Furthermore, CE allowed the separation of different substitution levels of low-generation, PAMAM dendrimers in which terminal amino groups were modified with salicylaldehyde groups, or of low-generation, methyl ester PAMAM dendrimers in which some of the terminal methyl ester groups were hydrolyzed to carboxylate groups.
NMR identification of heavy metal-binding sites in a synthetic zinc finger peptide: toxicological implications for the interactions of xenobiotic metals with zinc finger proteins.

Lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) are toxic and interfere with protein metal-binding sites. The Cys2/His2 zinc finger is a structural motif required for sequence-specific DNA binding and is present in zinc finger transcription factors (ZFP): Sp1, Egr-1, and TFIIIA. Neurotoxic studies have shown that heavy metals directly inhibit the DNA binding of ZFP and result in adverse cellular effects. Recently, we demonstrated the ability of heavy metals to alter the DNA binding of a synthetic Cys2/His2 finger peptide (Razmiafshari and Zawia, Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 166, 1–12, 2000). To determine the precise site of interactions between heavy metals and this protein domain, Pb, Hg, Cd, and Ca were reconstituted with the synthetic apopeptide and studied by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. In the presence of Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb, but not Ca, distinct peptide NMR signal changes in the aliphatic region were observed and attributed to metal–cystiene interactions. However, chemical shifts indicative of metal–histidine binding were elicited by all the metals in the peptide's aromatic region. Chemical shift assignments and sequential connectivity were established in the presence and absence of Zn, Pb, and Ca through TOCSY and NOESY spectra. Cysteine and histidine residues showed a distinct change in their amide and beta resonances in the presence of Zn and Pb, suggesting the metal-ligand binding sites were near these residues. However, Ca led to no significant spectral changes in these regions, suggesting that it is not actively involved in the binding site. These studies reveal this structure as a mediator of metal-induced alterations in protein function.
Maximum-likelihood detection and estimation performance for rank one MEG activity

Abstract We investigate the performance of maximum-likelihood (ML) signal estimation and the corresponding generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector for rank one and full rank signal models. Spatio-temporal prior information is incorporated by constraining the subspace in which the signal lies. The rank one model enables estimation of the signal spatial pattern, as well as the corresponding signal time series. We consider ML detection and estimation performance as a function of subspace dimension and various levels of prior information regarding the source spatial pattern. Simulated and measured evoked response data are used to illustrate the performance advantages of the rank one signal model. The receiver operating characteristic shows that the benefits of rank one detection are greatest at moderately low SNR, and increase as the dimension of the subspace describing the prior information increases. The ML signal estimate is evaluated in terms of mean squared error. The rank one signal estimate is less sensitive to noise than the corresponding full rank signal estimate.
Ending corruption in Africa through United Nations inspections

Evidence suggests that a lack of effective checks and balances against corruption undermines the rule of law, the protection of human rights and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. This article suggests the need for an international treaty to establish an African commission against corruption, involving United Nations inspectors to investigate and prosecute corruption. A range of evidence is reviewed suggesting that pressure from constituents as well as international organizations may be effective in compelling African leaders to sign this type of protocol.
Pal and ethylene content during maturation of red and golden delicious apples

Abstract Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity (PAL), a PAL inhibitor (PAL-IS) and fruit internal ethylene levels were measured during apple maturation in Red and Golden Delicious apples. In both cultivars internal ethylene and PAL increased at approximately the same time. Apple PAL-IS extract stimulated yeast PAL activity initially, but increased yeast PAL inhibition was observed as maturation progressed. PAL inhibitor levels were similar in both cultivars. The increase in yeast PAL inhibition with maturation, increased red skin colour development in Red Delicious and a comparable pattern of PAL activity and inhibition in Red and Golden Delicious indicates that PAL-IS was not closely involved with the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis in apple skin.
Protection from toxicant-mediated renal injury in the rat with anti-CD54 antibody

Protection from toxicant-mediated renal injury in the rat with anti-CD54 antibody. Background The benefit of the potent chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin in treating neoplasms is limited by nephrotoxicity. We tested the hypothesis that CD54 [intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)] is an important mediator in cisplatin-mediated renal failure. Methods The effect of a monoclonal anti-CD54 antibody was evaluated in a rat model of cisplatin toxicity. Renal function, histopathology, renal myeloperoxidase activity, and mortality were determined in the anti-CD54 and placebo groups. Results Renal CD54 mRNA expression was markedly increased by 24 hours after exposure to cisplatin in mice. An improvement in renal function, mortality, and histological abnormalities was evident in animals exposed to cisplatin and treated with anti-CD54 antibody (mAb). Seven days after the administration of cisplatin, the mean creatinine was 0.65 ± 0.05 mg/dl in the rats that received anti-CD54 mAb and 4.76 ± 1.42 in control animals ( P P P Conclusion CD54 may be critical in the pathophysiology of renal injury following cisplatin, perhaps by its effects on leukocyte–endothelial interactions.
Giving Birth, Going Home: Influences on when Low-Income Women Leave Hospital

The US Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996 (‘The Two-Day Law’) mandates insurance coverage for women who have just given birth to remain in hospital for two days post-partum. However, many women are being discharged from hospital after 24 hours. To assess why early discharge is still occurring, a study of 406 new mothers was conducted at an urban metropolitan hospital in the USA. The women were aware of the new law (95%) but decision making was often relinquished to hospital authorities. Patients who stayed longer tended to be more assertive in decision making, and used the Two-Day Law as leverage in discussions about going home. The study concluded that the nurses were authoritative and often influential agents in the decision-making process, and that patients were likely to interpret specific interactions with hospital staff as a signal to leave.
A novel strategy for development of recombinant antitoxin therapeutics tested in a mouse botulism model.

Antitoxins are needed that can be produced economically with improved safety and shelf life compared to conventional antisera-based therapeutics. Here we report a practical strategy for development of simple antitoxin therapeutics with substantial advantages over currently available treatments. The therapeutic strategy employs a single recombinant ‘targeting agent’ that binds a toxin at two unique sites and a ‘clearing Ab’ that binds two epitopes present on each targeting agent. Co-administration of the targeting agent and the clearing Ab results in decoration of the toxin with up to four Abs to promote accelerated clearance. The therapeutic strategy was applied to two Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) serotypes and protected mice from lethality in two different intoxication models with an efficacy equivalent to conventional antitoxin serum. Targeting agents were a single recombinant protein consisting of a heterodimer of two camelid anti-BoNT heavy-chain-only Ab VH (VHH) binding domains and two E-tag epitopes. The clearing mAb was an anti-E-tag mAb. By comparing the in vivo efficacy of treatments that employed neutralizing vs. non-neutralizing agents or the presence vs. absence of clearing Ab permitted unprecedented insight into the roles of toxin neutralization and clearance in antitoxin efficacy. Surprisingly, when a post-intoxication treatment model was used, a toxin-neutralizing heterodimer agent fully protected mice from intoxication even in the absence of clearing Ab. Thus a single, easy-to-produce recombinant protein was as efficacious as polyclonal antiserum in a clinically-relevant mouse model of botulism. This strategy should have widespread application in antitoxin development and other therapies in which neutralization and/or accelerated clearance of a serum biomolecule can offer therapeutic benefit.
Photometric recording of transmembrane potential in outer hair cells

Cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) are polarized epithelial cells that have mechanoelectrical transduction channels within their apical stereocilia and produce electromotile force along their lateral wall. Phase shifts, or time delays, in the transmembrane voltage occurring at different axial locations along the cell may contribute to our understanding of how these cells operate at auditory frequencies. We developed a method to optically measure the phase of the OHC transmembrane potential using the voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) di-8-ANEPPS. The exit aperture of a fibre-optic light source was driven in two dimensions so that a 24 microm spot of excitation light could be positioned along the length of the OHC. We used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in the current-clamp mode to stimulate the OHC at the base. The photometric response and the voltage response were monitored with a photodetector and patch-clamp amplifier, respectively. The photometric response was used to measure the regional changes in the membrane potential in response to maintained (dc) and sinusoidal (ac) current stimuli applied at the base of the cell. We used a neutral density filter to lower the excitation light intensity and reduce phototoxicity. A sensitive detector and lock-in amplifier were used to measure the small ac VSD signal. This permitted measurements of the ac photometric response below the noise floor of the static fluorescence. The amplitude and phase components of the photometric response were recorded for stimuli up to 800 Hz. VSD data at 400-800 Hz show the presence of a small phase delay between the stimulus voltage at the base of the cell and the local membrane potential measured along the lateral wall. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that OHCs exhibit inhomogeneous membrane potentials that vary with position in analogy with the voltage in nerve axons.
The influence of multi-layered kinetics on the selection of the primary phase during the diffusion-controlled growth of titanium-silicide layers

Abstract A titanium-silicon diffusion couple was used to measure the interdiffusion coefficients for TiSi2, TiSi, Ti5Si4, Ti5Si3 and Ti3Si at 950–1150 °C. The activation energy for the TiSi2 interdiffusion coefficient agrees with the data reported in the literature for thin film interdiffusion at lower temperatures. Diffusion-controlled, multi-layered growth kinetics set a constant ratio for the thickness of the TiSi2 layer to the total sum of thicknesses for the TiSi, Ti5Si4, Ti5Si3 and Ti3Si layers at a fixed temperature. The thickness ratio predicted from the Arrhenius temperature dependence for layer growth was compared with that experimentally observed at 700–1150 °C. Comparison of this thickness ratio with data reported for Ti-Si thin film growth indicates that only TiSi2 should form at low temperatures. Competitive multi-layered kinetics decide that the low-temperature interdiffusion of Ti-Si thin films results in the exclusive growth of TiSi2, and consideration of nucleation or other constraints are not required to explain the absence of other Ti-silicide layers.
Effect of the quality of dietary protein on heptachlor toxicity.

Abstract The toxicity of heptachlor was studied in male weanling rats which had been fed different types of dietary protein for 10 days at two levels of protein intake. With a dietary protein level of 10%, heptachlor was less acutely toxic in rats fed an unsupplemented gluten diet than in animals pair-fed diets containing gluten plus amino acids or casein plus 0·2% dl -methionine. When the level of dietary protein was raised to 18%, heptachlor was twice as toxic to rats pair-fed casein diets as to rats fed unsupplemented gluten. The clinical syndrome of intoxication was not affected by the quality of dietary protein fed, but the acute toxicity of heptachlor varied according to the method of feeding used. Animals fed casein diets ad lib. were less susceptible to heptachlor intoxication than were rats fed the same diets at a restricted level of intake.
Collection of nanoliter microdialysate fractions in plugs for off-line in vivo chemical monitoring with up to 2 s temporal resolution.

Abstract An off-line in vivo neurochemical monitoring approach was developed based on collecting nanoliter microdialysate fractions as an array of “plugs” segmented by immiscible oil in a piece of Teflon tubing. The dialysis probe was integrated with the plug generator in a polydimethlysiloxane microfluidic device that could be mounted on the subject. The microfluidic device also allowed derivatization reagents to be added to the plugs for fluorescence detection of analytes. Using the device, 2 nL fractions corresponding to 1–20 ms sampling times depending upon dialysis flow rate, were collected. Because axial dispersion was prevented between them, each plug acted as a discrete sample collection vial and temporal resolution was not lost by mixing or diffusion during transport. In vitro tests of the system revealed that the temporal resolution of the system was as good as 2 s and was limited by mass transport effects within the dialysis probe. After collection of dialysate fractions, they were pumped into a glass microfluidic chip that automatically analyzed the plugs by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence at 50 s intervals. By using a relatively low flow rate during transfer to the chip, the temporal resolution of the samples could be preserved despite the relatively slow analysis time. The system was used to detect rapid dynamics in neuroactive amino acids evoked by microinjecting the glutamate uptake inhibitor l -trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (PDC) or K + into the striatum of anesthetized rats. The resulted showed increases in neurotransmitter efflux that reached a peak in 20 s for PDC and 13 s for K + .
SU‐FF‐T‐570: A Dosimetric Comparison as a Function of Respiration and Tumor Location in Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Treatment Plans For Patients with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose: To calculate and compare doses to the tumor and normal tissues at full respiratory cycle, inhalation, and exhalation as a function of the tumor site and location within the thorax. Materials and Methods: 20 patients were scanned using 4D CT techniques. Treatment plans were created with five to seven 6 MV non‐opposing coplanar beams using Varian Eclipse Treatment Planning System with tissue heterogeneity corrections for three respiratory phase combinations. A 7 mm margin was given to the internal target volume to create the planning target volume. The prescribed dose was 60 Gy in 3 fractions. Optimization goals and normal tissue constraints were the same as in the RTOG 0236 criteria. Statistical analysis used a mixed effect ANOVA model, and a 2‐sided 0.05 alpha level was used for hypothesis testing. Results: Lower peripheral tumors had three times the displacement of the upper peripheral tumors. Central tumors received lower minimum doses than the peripheral tumors. When tumors were in the peripheral region, the uninvolved lung mean dose was significantly different for all phases of respiration (p=0.008), specially, when the tumors were in the upper peripheral region (p=0.04), and the doses were higher (>26%) in the lower peripheral region compared to the upper one for all phases of respiration. The V15, V20, and V30 for uninvolved lung were below 10%. Patients with central tumors received higher maximum doses in the esophagus than patients with peripheral tumors. For the ipsilateral bronchus, patients with central tumors received higher mean and maximum doses than patients with peripheral tumors. There were no statistical differences in the mean and maximum doses to the heart or to the spinal cord. Conclusions: Lesions in the lower part of the lung are more impacted by respiratory motion. Central lesions receive less tumordose to preserve normal tissuedose limits.
Effects of low-level α-myosin heavy chain expression on contractile kinetics in porcine myocardium

Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms are principal determinants of work capacity in mammalian ventricular myocardium. The ventricles of large mammals including humans normally express ∼10% α-MHC on a ...
Conductance studies of salt solutions in the presence of poly(vinylbenzo crown ethers)

The conductance of acetone and methyl ethyl ketone solutions of tetraphenylborate salts in the presence of homopolymers and styrene copolymers of vinylbenzo-15-crown-5 and vinylbenzo-18-crown-6 was studied, and the results compared with data obtained for crown ethers. Polycations are formed on binding cations to the poly(crown ethers), and the conductance behavior of the polyelectrolytes depends on the nature of the cation-crown complex and the spacing between crown moieties which in turn determines the charge density on the polymer chain. The compositions of the crown-cation complexes were determined for crown ethers. The complex formation constants of sodium and potassium cations to poly(vinylbenzo-18-crown-6) were found to change as more cations bind to the chain. This is not the case for the copolymers where the crown ligands are spaced farther apart. A mixture of poly(vinylbenzo-15-crown-5) and 10−3M potassium tetraphenylborate in methyl ethyl ketone or acetone has a minimum conductance at a crown to cation ratio of 3.0, but the conductance rapidly increases on addition of crown ether. This was used to qualitatively determine the binding efficiency of a series of crown ethers since the rate of increase in the conductance is a measure of the binding ability of the crown ether to the cation.
Optimal resolution of eye lens γ-crystallins by cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography on synchropak CM300

Abstract Cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography on SynChropak CM300 in Tris-acetate buffers of pH 5–7, using sodium acetate gradients, produces an excellent separation of the various γ-crystallin gene products and their post-synthetically modified forms from eye lens. With a single analysis of total lens extract, the γ-crystallins can be resolved, quantified and collected for amino acid analysis. Experimental conditions are presented for optimal resolution of individual human, rat, bovine and dogfish shark γ-crystallins. Applications presented include determinations of differntial synthesis of γ-crystallins and chemical modification (oxidation by hydrogen peroxide) in situ.
Formation of dimethylarsinic acid from methylation of sodium arsenite in Lumbricus terrestris

Arsenic is ubiquitous in the environment and the toxicological response of various organisms to it is dependent on the particular chemical form involved. In general, methylation of inorganic arsenic is considered to be a detoxification reaction. While this transformation is known to be mediated by methyltransferases in several species of mammals, less is known about the fate of arsenic in invertebrates. As part of a continuing interest in heavy metals and metalloid toxicology, the alkylating activity of cytosol prepared from the common earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, towards sodium arsenite has now been investigated. Thus, S-adenosyl-l-[(14)C]methionine ([(14)C-methyl]SAM) fortified earthworm cytosol was incubated with sodium arsenite at 37 degrees C for 90 min. Initial TLC analysis of the incubation mixture suggested incorporation of radiolabel into dimethylarsinic acid. This was subsequently proven by isolation of the metabolite through radiodilution followed by recrystallization of the recovered material to constant specific activity. This result suggests that earthworm cytosol has the same methylating reactivity towards arsenite as do similar preparations from various tissues of several species of mammals.
Risk evaluation and mitigation strategies: a focus on belatacept.

Objective—To review the elements and components of the risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) for the costimulation blocker belatacept and associated implications for health care providers working with transplant recipients.Data Sources and Extraction—The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (January 1990 to March 2012) were searched by using risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, REMS, belatacept, and organ transplant as search terms (individual organs were also searched). Retrieved articles were supplemented with analysis of information obtained from the Federal Register, the Food and Drug Administration, and the manufacturer of belatacept.Data Synthesis—REMS are risk-management strategies implemented to ensure that a product's benefits outweigh its known safety risks. Although belatacept offers a novel strategy in maintenance immunosuppression and was associated with superior renal function compared with cyclosporine in phase 2 and 3 trials, belatacept is also associated with increased risk of po...
An Official American Thoracic Society Policy Statement: Managing Conscientious Objections in Intensive Care Medicine

Rationale: Intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians sometimes have a conscientious objection (CO) to providing or disclosing information about a legal, professionally accepted, and otherwise available medical service. There is little guidance about how to manage COs in ICUs.Objectives: To provide clinicians, hospital administrators, and policymakers with recommendations for managing COs in the critical care setting.Methods: This policy statement was developed by a multidisciplinary expert committee using an iterative process with a diverse working group representing adult medicine, pediatrics, nursing, patient advocacy, bioethics, philosophy, and law.Main Results: The policy recommendations are based on the dual goals of protecting patients’ access to medical services and protecting the moral integrity of clinicians. Conceptually, accommodating COs should be considered a “shield” to protect individual clinicians’ moral integrity rather than as a “sword” to impose clinicians’ judgments on patients. The committ...
Monitoring schedules for randomly deployed sensor networks

Given n sensors and m targets, a monitoring schedule is a partition of the sensor set such that each part of the partition can monitor all targets. Monitoring schedules are used to maximize the time all targets are monitored when there is no possibility of replacing the batteries of the sensors. Each part of the partition is used for one unit of time, and thus the goal is to maximize the number of parts in the partition.We present distributed algorithms for Monitoring Schedule under the following assumptions: 1) identical sensors can each monitor all targets within a certain radius, 2) the n sensors are randomly distributed uniformly in a large square containing the targets, 3) the number of sensors is high enough given the area the square, and 4) the communication range is twice the sensing range (thus any two sensors which can monitor the same target can communicate in one hop). Our results hold with high probability. With the further assumptions that the sensors are capable (for example, by GPS) of knowing their exact geographic position, and targets fill out the square, our schedule has at least (1-e) opt parts, where opt is the optimum solution. Without geographic position we show that a previously proposed distributed algorithm can be modified to achieve a constant approximation ratio. Our algorithms run in a polylogarithmic number of communication rounds, with the exact running time depending on assumptions on the information a sensor receives when packets collide.
Finescale Vertical Structure of a Cold Front as Revealed by an Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract In the afternoon of 24 May 2002, a well-defined and frontogenetic cold front moved through the Texas panhandle. Detailed observations from a series of platforms were collected near the triple point between this cold front and a dryline boundary. This paper primarily uses reflectivity and Doppler velocity data from an airborne 95-GHz radar, as well as flight-level thermodynamic data, to describe the vertical structure of the cold front as it intersected with the dryline. The prefrontal convective boundary layer was weakly capped, weakly sheared, and about 2.5 times deeper than the cold-frontal density current. The radar data depict the cold front as a fine example of an atmospheric density current at unprecedented detail (∼40 m). The echo structure and dual-Doppler-inferred airflow in the vertical plane reveal typical features such as a nose, a head, a rear-inflow current, and a broad current of rising prefrontal air that feeds the accelerating front-to-rear current over the head. The 2D cross-fro...