cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thick target photon yields and angular distributions for the 19F(p,αγ)16O source reaction at incident proton energies between 1.5 and 4.0MeV

Abstract The absolute thick target yield of 6.129, 6.917 and 7.116 MeV γ-rays produced from the 19 F(p,αγ) 16 O source reaction has been measured for incident proton energies between 1.5 and 4.0 MeV. The angular distributions of the respective γ-lines have been determined for incident proton energies of 2.0 and 3.0 MeV. The experiments were performed at the 4.5 MV Tandem Van der Graaff accelerator at the Ohio University Edwards Accelerator Laboratory in Athens, Ohio, using a thick CaF 2 target and a 7.62 cm×7.62 cm Na(I) scintillation detector. The Monte Carlo code MCNP was used to calculate detector response functions for the three individual γ-rays. A least-squares fit of these functions to a selected region in the pulse height spectrum was carried out to determine the relative intensities of these γ-rays. The uncertainty in the fluence determination is based on the χ 2 of the fit, the uncertainty in the response functions, the statistics of the data, and the uncertainty in the recording of the proton charge. A maximum photon yield of 1.316×10 7 γ/μC/sr (at 90°) was determined for the sum of these three γ-rays at the highest incident proton energy of 4.0 MeV. The contribution of the individual lines to the total photon yield depends strongly on the incident proton energy. The angular distributions are isotropic to within 15%.
Laparoscopic occlusion of testicular veins for clinical varicocele.

Abstract Surgery via the laparoscope is now a reliable and cost-effective alternative to some open surgical procedures. Advances in videoendoscopy, incorporating optical magnification combined with the development of instruments with which to dissect, ligate, and transect blood vessels provide the urologist the opportunity to surgically correct a varicocele. In the outpatient setting, 4 patients (14–26 years of age) underwent laparoscopic ligation of the left internal spermatic veins for painful left varicocele. Carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum was obtained using a Veress needle. A 10-mm laparoscope was placed intraperitoneally through a cannula inserted in the infraumbilical border. Utilizing two additional endosurgical ports (5 mm and 10 mm) through which 5-mm dissecting instruments and vaso-occlusive endoclips were placed, three veins were individually isolated and ligated in each of the 4 patients. In all 4 patients, the left testicular artery was visualized and preserved. There was no blood loss or other intraoperative complication. In each patient the varicocele was successfully corrected. Analgesic medication was not required postoperatively. We conclude that laparoscopic ligation of the internal spermatic veins is a safe and effective way of treating a varicocele without immediate postoperative sequelae. Long-term follow-up is necessary to determine the place of the endoscopic approach.
Factors affecting the reliability of ratings of students' clinical skills in a medicine clerkship.

Objective:To determine the overall reliability and factors that might affect the reliability of ratings of students’ clinical skills in a medicine clerkship.
Risk perception and Bayesian analysis of international construction contract risks: The case of payment delays in a developing economy

Abstract Although subjective probabilities and Bayesian methods are applied successfully in other industries to manage “subjective” risks similar to those encountered in construction contracts, very little is reported on the application of such methods for analysing construction contract risks, which are generally subjective in nature. Predominant industrial practice seems to be the use of arbitrary contingency figures, which are often subject to individual perceptions of risks, to give an overall impression of contract risks. This paper presents an application of an expert elicitation model and Bayesian methods to the analysis of the risk of payment delays in international contracts set in a developing economy, and a determination of how differing perceptions about risks affect estimates about the risk. Expert opinions about the risk of payment delays in an international contract set in Ghana are transformed into prior distributions about the risk using the relative likelihood method and combined with sample information about the risk for a Bayesian analysis of the risk. Results of the study validates the elicitation model applied and reveal that although construction professionals to have difficulty estimating intermediate and tail values of probability distributions, expert elicitation and Bayesian analysis can be applied to construction contract risks, as part of a more systematic management of contract risks, to achieve better rigour in risk analysis. It further confirms the assertion that differences exists in the belief functions and hence the risk estimates of experts from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Effective strategies for systematically analysing contract risks in international contracts must therefore consider the impact of risk perception in the risk management process.
Tumor cell killing by freshly isolated peripheral blood monocytes

Abstract Human peripheral blood monocytes were reproducibly shown to lyse a variety of tumor cells in a 3- to 4-hr 51 Cr release assay. Ficoll-Hypaque-purified mononuclear cells were suspended in medium supplemented with either 10% autologous serum or fetal calf serum (PCS). With either serum, highly purified (97–99%) and viable (>99%) monocyte suspensions were obtained by EDTA-reversible adherence to plastic surfaces which had been precoated with autologous serum. When used as effectors in cytotoxicity assays, the monocytes recovered from mononuclear cells suspended in FCS-supplemented medium exhibited higher cytolytic activity and were therefore used for further studies. Using FCS for both coating the plates and supplementing the suspension medium resulted in monocytes with low cytolytic activity. Tumor cell lysis measured by 51 Cr release was detected within 2 hr of incubation and increased gradually with time. The level of lysis was dependent on the effector/target ratio and the tumor target cell employed. The involvement of natural killer lymphocytes in the observed tumoricidal activity was excluded. Detection of cytotoxic activity in a short-term assay will be very helpful in further studies of the mechanism of tumor cell killing by human monocytes since potential complicating effects of long-term in vitro cultivation will be minimized.
Design of a Dual Wide-Angle Visual Cue Simulator

The simulator design provides independent, simultaneous visual environment and pilot flight stations, allowing research to be conducted with two piloted vehicles in a differential mode, either cooperative or noncooperative. Attention is given to design features including: the pilot's field of view, occlusion and parallax in the observed scene, and maximum range of simulated flight parameters. In parallel to a detailed design phase, extensive analyses and computer simulations have been conducted using actual design parameters. These studies were directed toward: 1) development of the drive equation for an offset four-axis gimbal system, 2) evaluation of the effects of torque coupling between axes of four-gimbal systems, and 3) the achievement of scene synchronization through matching the dynamic responses of independent servomechanisms.
Toward Consumer-Ownable Digital Personal Property: An Emerging Standard

The IEEE P1817 working group is creating a standard for consumerownable digital personal property. Our mission is to enable people to actually own movies, music, books, and games that they buy and download. If you think that you own your downloads, then you're not alone; most people think this. We are going to help make it true.
Nuer ethnicity militarized

L'A. examine la rapide polarisation et la militarisation des identites ethniques nuer et dinka, entre 1991 et 1999, qui ont marque le conflit entre l'Armee populaire de liberation du Soudan (SPLA) et le pouvoir central a Khartoum. Il considere plus particulierement les conditions historiques qui ont abouti a l'abandon abrupte des restrictions ethiques quant a la violence entre Nuer et Dinka. Il tente de montrer comment les hommes et les femmes nuer ont rejete une conception performative de l'ethnicite en faveur d'une conception plus primordialiste basee sur des metaphores procreatives du sang partage. Il soutient que ce basculement de la situation de guerre a contribue non seulement a l'escalade dramatique de la violence entre les deux groupes ethniques, apres la partition ethnique du SPLA, mais surtout a une reformulation de la relation entre categorie de sexe et ethnicite, du point de vue nuer.
Endogenous Regulator of G Protein Signaling Proteins Reduce μ-Opioid Receptor Desensitization and Down-Regulation and Adenylyl Cyclase Tolerance in C6 Cells

Chronic exposure of cells to μ-opioid agonists leads to tolerance which can be measured by a reduced ability to activate signaling pathways in the cell. Cell signaling through inhibitory G proteins is negatively regulated by RGS (regulator of G protein signaling) proteins. Here we examine the hypothesis that the GTPase accelerating activity of RGS proteins, by altering the lifetime of Gα and Gβγ, plays a role in the development of cellular tolerance to μ-opioids. C6 glioma cells were stably transfected with μ-opioid receptor and pertussis toxin (PTX)-insensitive Gαo that was either sensitive or insensitive to endogenous RGS proteins. Cells were treated with PTX to uncouple endogenous Gα proteins followed by exposure to the μ-opioid agonists [d-Ala2, N -Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO) or morphine. Receptor desensitization as measured by agonist-stimulated [35S]GTPγS binding and receptor down-regulation as measured by [3H]diprenorphine binding were increased in cells expressing RGS-insensitive Gαo. Exposure to high concentrations of morphine or the peptidic μ-opioid agonist DAMGO led to a tolerance to inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity in both cell types with a rapid (30 min) and a slower component. Using a submaximal concentration of DAMGO to induce a reduced level of tolerance, a shift in the concentration-effect curve for DAMGO to inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity was seen in the cells expressing RGS-insensitive Gαo, but not in the cells expressing RGS-sensitive Gαo, which can be partly explained by an increased supersensitization of the adenylyl cyclase response. The results show that RGS proteins endogenously expressed in C6 cells reduce agonist-induced μ-opioid receptor desensitization, down-regulation, and sensitivity to tolerance to inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity.
The union of narrative and executive function: different but complementary.

Oral narrative production develops dramatically from 3 to 5 years of age, and is a key factor in a child’s ability to communicate about the world. Concomitant with this are developments in executive function (EF). For example, executive attention and behavioral inhibition show marked development beginning around 4 years of age. Both EF and oral narrative abilities have important implications for academic success, but the relationship between them is not well understood. The present paper utilizes a cross-lagged design to assess convergent and predictive relations between EF and narrative ability. As a collateral measure, we collected a Language Sample during 10 minutes of free play. Language Sample did not share significant variance with Narrative Production, thus general language growth from Wave 1 to Wave 2 cannot account for the predictive relations between EF and Narrative. Our findings suggest that although EF and Narrative ability appear independent at each wave, they nevertheless support each other over developmental time. Specifically, the ability to maintain focus at 4 years supports subsequent narrative ability and narrative ability at 4 years supports subsequent facility and speed in learning and implementing new rules.
A simple turntable for vestibular stimulation of cats by acceleration through a fixed angle with description of a head restraint

An inexpensive turntable for producing uniform angular accelerations for use in vestibular research is described. The table provides semicircular canal stimulation for cats or smaller animals at moderate accelerations above 3 deg sec−2. A head restraint suitable for use on the table and designed for chronically implanted cats is also described.
Optimal outgroup analysis

We present and critically examine a statistical criterion for the selection of outgroup taxa for rooting evolutionary trees. The criterion is the amount of phylogenetic signal for the ingroup when the states of the candidate outgroup taxa are assumed to be plesiomorphic relative to the ingroup for the purpose of measuring plesiomorphy content of the outgroup taxon. A statistical measure of rooted, ingroup signal was subjected to a suite of critical tests which indicate that it provides a proxy measure of plesiomorphy content. As the evolutionary distance between the ingroup ancestral node and outgroup taxa increases, the tree-independent measure of signal decreases, tracking the decay in plesiomorphy content and the increase in convergence to the ingroup states. We show thata priorigeneralizations about optimal outgroup taxon sampling strategies are likely to be misleading, and that testing for the suitability of available outgroup taxon sampling in specific instances is warranted. Software for optimal outgroup analysis is available.
The function relating the subjective magnitude of brain stimulation reward to stimulation strength varies with site of stimulation.

A two-lever choice paradigm with concurrent variable interval schedules of reward was used to measure the growth in the subjective magnitude of reward as a function of current, by finding the adjustment in the stimulating current required to offset a given difference in the rates at which two rewards were received. Increasing current by a factor of 2 increased subjective reward magnitude by a factor ranging from as little as 3 to as much as 4,000. This range was about as great between electrodes within one rat as between electrodes and rats. In the light of earlier findings regarding the equivalent effects of increments in current and pulse frequency, these large differences cannot readily be explained by differing fiber densities at the site of stimulation. It is suggested that the medial forebrain bundle terminates in more than one spatio-temporal integration mechanism. The magnitude of the spatio-temporally integrated effect of a barrage of action potentials in the reward-relevant axons depends on which subset of reward-relevant axons is excited by the stimulation.
ACTH control of cholesterol side-chain cleavage at adrenal mitochondrial cytochrome P-450scc. Regulation of intramitochondrial cholesterol transfer☆☆☆

Rat adrenal mitochondria exhibit a linear 2-fold accumulation of cholesterol for 20 min following either in vivo ether stress or ACTH administration, providing cholesterol metabolism is inhibited by aminoglutethimide (AMG). Additional cycloheximide (CX) pretreatment only slightly decreases this increase, but the location of accumulation shifts from the inner membrane to the outer membrane, implying a decreased cholesterol transfer from outer to inner membrane. Although the capacity of outer mitochondrial membranes was saturated after a 10-min treatment with CX, a 20-min treatment resulted in further retention of cholesterol in intact mitochondria that was not recovered in the isolated membranes. An additional pool of loosely bound cholesterol is proposed for CX mitochondria. These studies provide evidence that the CX-sensitive step of adrenal steroidogenesis attributed to loss of a labile ACTH regulatory protein (Pedersen, R.C. and Brownie, A.C. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 1882-1886) involves cholesterol transfer from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane. ACTH also enhances the PI and PE content of the outer membranes by a CX-sensitive mechanism that may contribute to intramitochondrial cholesterol transport. CX treatment does not affect cholesterol uptake by the inner membrane from phospholipid vesicles. The initial rate of endogenous metabolism in isolated inner membranes is insensitive to pretreatment (2 nmol/nmol P-450/min). The duration of this linear rate was increased 4-fold by AMG treatment while this increase was prevented by CX treatment. The kinetics indicate differences in inner membrane reactive cholesterol levels. Inner membranes also contained a fraction of unreactive cholesterol that is insensitive to pretreatment. Cholesterol-P-450scc complex formation for all pretreatments fits a single hyperbolic function of the reactive cholesterol content of the inner mitochondrial membrane (Kd = 0.025 mol cholesterol/mol phospholipid), and is activated over 5-fold upon mitochondrial disruption. All changes in inner membranes caused by CX can, therefore, be attributed solely to the restricted cholesterol access in vivo.
System modeling and operation characteristics of thermosyphon solar water heaters

Abstract An efficient numerical simulation model for thermosyphon solar water heaters has been developed and compared with test data from two locations. The model was used to study the characteristics of vertical and horizontal tank thermosyphon systems. The results indicate that thermosyphon systems have optimum performance when the daily collector volume flow is approximately equal to the daily load volume. Heat conduction in one tank horizontal system was found to significantly reduce solar contribution.
On the tandem duplication-random loss model of genome rearrangement

We initiate the algorithmic study of a new model of genome rearrangement, the tandem duplication-random loss model, in which a genome evolves via successive rounds of tandem duplication of a contiguous segment of genes, followed by the loss of one copy of each of the duplicated genes. This model is well-known in the evolutionary biology literature, where it has been used to explain many of the known rearrangements in vertebrate mitochondrial genomes. Based on the model, we formalize a notion of distance between two genomes and show how to compute it efficiently for two interesting regions of the parameter space. We then consider median problems (i.e. finding the point which minimizes the sum of distances to a given set of points under some distance function) in the context of maximum parsimony phylogenetic reconstruction for these two special cases. Surprisingly, one of them turns out to correspond to the well-known rank aggregation problem, while the other corresponds to the biologically interesting case of whole genome duplication and loss, and we give an O(log log n) additive approximation algorithm for the latter.
The in vivo mechanisms of origin of estrogen in subjects with trophoblastic tumors.

Abstract Total daily estradiol production, the extent of conversion of circulating dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate to estradiol and the fraction of estradiol derived from the utilization of dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate has been determined in 3 women with hydatidiform mole and in 1 male with choriocarcinoma. The results have demonstrated that the neoplastic trophoblast utilizes circulating dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate for estradiol synthesis and further that this mechanism of estrogen synthesis accounted for 14, 27 and 100% respectively of estradiol production in the 3 subjects with hydatidiform mole, and for 86% of the total estrogen production in the male subject with choriocarcinoma. It has also been demonstrated in each of these subjects that dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate was converted to estriol via an estrone independent pathway.
213) Pain Reduction in Cognitively Impaired Cancer Patients Treated with Olanzapine

Background: Anxiety and cognitive impairment may accompany and aggravate pain. Delirium is extremely common in patients with advanced cancer (up to 85%) and is frequently underdiagnosed. Neuroleptics for the treatment of delirium are standard clinical practice. Their use for pain management remains controversial due to the conflicting reports of their efficacy and their prominent side effects. Olanzapine, an atypical neuroleptic, might offer advantages over traditional neuroleptics because of its safer side effect profile. Also, independent antinociceptive activity of olanzapine was demonstrated in animals and is thought to be mediated by alpha-2 adrenoreceptors, as well as some activity at dopamine and serotonin receptors. Reduction of pain in cognitively impaired cancer pain patients treated with olanzapine has not been previously described. Methods: We present 3 cancer patients with uncontrolled pain who received 2.5 to 5 mg of olanzapine daily to treat mild cognitive impairment and anxiety. Levels of pain, sedation and opioid use were measured 2 days before and 2 days after olanzapine was started. Cognitive function was monitored daily by a psychiatrist using DSM-IV criteria. Results: 2 out of 3 patients were treated with intravenous hydromorphone and 1 intravenous with fentanyl. Cognitive impairment and anxiety resolved within 48 hours in all patients. All 3 patients had marked reduction of the average daily pain scores (from 7 to 1) and an average daily opioid use (64%) without increase in sedation. Discussion: Decreased pain scores and opioid requirements may have resulted from improvement in cognitive function and the known anxiolytic effects of olanzapine or direct or adjuvant analgesic effects of olanzapine. We conclude that olanzapine may be useful as an adjuvant in the treatment of patients with reversible cognitive impairment or severe anxiety and uncontrolled cancer pain. Studies are needed to further evaluate olanzapine's possible independent or opioid synergistic analgesic effect.
Bacterial resistance ATPases: primary pumps for exporting toxic cations and anions

Bacterial plasmid resistance systems that maintain low intracellular levels of toxic heavy metals by pumping the substrates out as rapidly as they accumulate sometimes work at the biochemical level as efflux ATPases. The two systems responsible for arsenic and cadmium resistance have recently been sequenced. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences with those of better characterized ATPases has revealed certain structural and sequence similarities.
The Illinois functional programming interpreter

The Illinois Functional Programming (IFP) language is a modified version of Backus' FP(1). IFP has the same side-effect free combinator style of Backus FP, while introducing an ALGOL-like syntax and structure. While IFP superficially appears to be an inefficient language to execute, its simplicity makes it quick to interpret. Functions are always monadic and there are no variable or parameter names. Furthermore, combinator-style languages allow common housekeeping operations to be condensed into efficient machine-language primitives.By reference-counting, the interpreter can often convert call-by-value to destructive call-by-reference while preserving referential transparency. The interpreter has an expression cache which can improve the asymptotic time of some combinatorial functions. IFP function definitions are stored as UNIX files, so much of UNIX's functionality is immediately borrowed into the IFP environment, e.g. ls, more, and grep.Benchmarks indicate that IFP is an order of magnitude faster than Berkeley FP[2], and is competitive with interpreted von-Neumann languages such as BASIC. The interpreter can parallel process on shared-memory multiprocessors, e.g. the Encore Multimax. IFP currently runs on machines as varied as the IBM PC, VAX, and CRAY-XMP.
Effects of Conceptual Training and Procedural Training for Teaching Aviation Instrument Holding Patterns

Twenty private pilots without instrument ratings trained how to fly instrument holding patterns. Holding patterns are advanced aviation maneuvers learned during instrument training where pilots maintain a particular “race-track” figure that keeps the airplane essentially stationary. Participants were randomly assigned to a procedural training group or a conceptual training group. The step-by-step sequence of actions to fly instrument holds was emphasized in the procedural training group. The reasons for flying instruments holds and the interrelationship of elements in a dynamic environment were emphasized in the conceptual training group. Training stimuli included reading text and watching videos. Participants who were conceptually trained showed no difference in situation awareness when flying a typical instrument hold in a flight simulator compared to when flying a more difficult, atypical instrument hold in a flight simulator. However, the procedurally trained participants showed significantly less sit...
Cascading Crises: The Crisis-Policy Nexus and the Restructuring of the US Housing Finance System

Scholars currently debate the causes and consequences of the financial, housing foreclosure, and economic crises that are spreading globally to transform cities and international relations. This article develops the heuristic device crisis-policy nexus to identify and explain the policy drivers of the subprime mortgage crisis. I argue that the generation and regulation of capital flows through state policies systematically produces and exacerbates crisis tendencies - the accumulation of capital is associated with the accumulation of crises. Against conventional forms of Marxist theorizing, this article suggests that the metamorphosis of the subprime mortgage crisis into the global financial crisis reflects sociopolitical contradictions of previous state policies, and not the contradictions of capitalist accumulation per se.
Comparison of K+ and e- quasielastic scattering.

We formulate [ital K][sup +]-nucleus quasielastic scattering in a manner that closely parallels standard treatments of [ital e][sup [minus]]-nucleus quasielastic scattering. For [ital K][sup +] scattering, new responses involving scalar contributions appear in addition to the Coulomb (or longitudinal) and transverse ([ital e],[ital e][prime]) responses which are of vector character. We compute these responses using both nuclear matter and finite nucleus versions of the relativistic Hartree approximation to quantum hadrodynamics including random-phase approximation (RPA) correlations. Overall agreement with measured ([ital e],[ital e][prime]) responses and new [ital K][sup +] quasielastic scattering data for [sup 40]Ca at [vert bar][bold q][vert bar]=500 MeV/[ital c] is good. Strong RPA quenching is essential for agreement with the Coulomb response. This quenching is notably less for the [ital K][sup +] cross section even though the new scalar contributions are even more strongly quenched than the vector contributions. We show that this differential quenching'' alters sensitive cancellations in the expression for the [ital K][sup +] cross section so that it is reduced much less than the individual responses. We emphasize the role of the purely relativistic distinction between vector and scalar contributions in obtaining an accurate and consistent description of the ([ital e],[ital e][prime]) and [ital K][supmore » +] data within the framework of our nuclear structure model.« less
Use of historical data in flood-frequency analysis

A flood-frequency study for the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa., involved the use of both historical and recent flood data. The historical data started in 1786 and covered all flood peaks above a stage of 18.0 ft or approximately 340,000 cfs. The continuous record began in 1874. The use of hitherto available techniques for combining the historical with recent data was found to give inconsistent results. Analysis showed that in plotting points for the purpose of drawing a frequency curve, consistent results could be obtained only if all points were based on the same period of record. It was known that all the missing years of record since 1786 had annual peak floods of less than 340,000 cfs. It was assumed that the same distribution of peak floods below 340,000 cfs occurred during these years as is known to have occurred during those years in the recent period. The method of computation involved an adjusting of order numbers for all items below 340,000 cfs. The result is a consistent set of points and a well-defined frequency curve.
Centrally acting hormones and respiration.

The role of hormones acting centrally in producing respiratory changes is described. Progesterone is particularly considered. This hormone lowers the threshold of the respiratory center and increases its excitability. The response in men is similar to that observed during pregnancy. The ventilatory response to progesterone administration is similar to the effect of high altitudes. Estrogen has also been shown to increase ventilation. When given with progesterone an additive and prolonged effect results. Increased metabolism a slight rise in temperature a transient alkalosis or direct action on the medullary respiratory centers may be the mechanism. Thyroid hormones act centrally in respiratory control. Respiratory centers become depressed with deficient thyroid function. Adrenocortical and adrenocorticotropin hormones induce increased excitability of the respiratory center. Catecholamines have been shown to affect ventilation. In clinical application progesterone has been shown to overcome states of alveolar hypoventilation and the respiratory depression of metabolic alkalosis and to improve ventilation in pulmonary emphysema.
Calculation and measurement of high-order harmonic energy yields in helium

We present calculations of the energy yields of high-order harmonic radiation produced by 526-nm laser light focused into a helium gas jet. The intensity-dependent dipole moments of helium calculated by numerical integration of the Schrodinger equation have been used in a numerical solution of the wave equation to determine the energy yields of harmonics in the 30–17-nm wavelength range. These calculations are compared with measured absolute energy yields and are shown to be in good agreement with experiment.
Juvenile Spiny Lobster Management or How to Make the Most of What You Get

Abstract Larval production and survival, equitable allocation and efficient harvest among fishermen, and maximization of yield per postlarval recruit are identified as three major elements amenable to management actions in spiny lobster fisheries. Minimum harvestable lobster size, habitat protection and enhancement, trap escape vents, and nursery sanctuaries are some of the means of improving yield per postlarval recruit.
EP3: Innovating on the tapeout treadmill

In your current job, would you describe yourself as a "Brilliant Technology Innovator" or "Indentured Spice Monkey"? In the competitive and fast-paced semiconductor industry, most jobs require people to do at least a little (but more often a lot) of both. And your answer may change on a daily or hourly basis. But how do corporations, universities and the technologists at the heart of these organizations strike the right balance between blue-sky innovation and disciplined execution? What priorities and policies distinguish the industry leaders from the industry followers?
Mast Cells in Cutaneous Inflammatory Disorders

Mast cells in skin are distributed around dermal and subcutaneous blood vessels. Activation of tissue mast cells produces secretion and/or generation and secretion of a variety of biologically active molecules. Mast-cell-dependent mediators may be classified as smooth-muscle-contracting and vasoactive activities, chemotactic factors, enzymes, and proteoglycans. These mediators alter the microenvironment to produce a biphasic response. The initial or humoral phase of the response is mediated by materials that alter vascular permeability; peripheral blood leukocytes attracted by chemotactic factors establish the cellular phase. Failure to limit the humoral phase creates a pharmacologic state that may be recognized in skin as urticaria/angioedema. The inability to control the cellular phase permits progression to a local inflammatory state with subacute and chronic tissue injury recognized in skin, for example, as necrotizing vasculitis. As an example of the former, certain forms of physical urticaria have provided experimental models in humans to allow observation of the clinical manifestations, study of tissue alterations by histologic analysis, measurement of mediators released into the circulation, and assessment of motility of peripheral blood leukocytes. An example of the role of the mast cell in the production of subacute and chronic inflammatory cutaneous disease is suggested by studies in a patient in whom exposure to the physical stimuli of cold and trauma was followed by initial mast cell degranulation, subsequent tissue deposition of circulating immune complexes, and the development of a necrotizing vasculitis.
SYNTHESIS OF OLIGONUCLEOSIDE BORANOPHOSPHATES VIA AN H-PHOSPHONATE METHOD WITHOUT NUCLEOBASE PROTECTION

Short oligonucleoside boranophosphates containing all four nucleosides were synthesized on solid support using base-unprotected nucleoside H-phosphonate monomers. This strategy avoided irreversible base modifications during the boronation procedure. Structures of the boranophosphate oligomers were confirmed by 1H, 31P, 10B NMR and MS analysis as well as by enzymatic hydrolysis.
Bone and tooth mineralization: Matrix effects and crystal development

The apatite crystals of bones and teeth form, grow, replicate and dissolve in a fluid environment whose general properties and chemical constituents are under direct control by cellular elements. For example, the temperature of physiological fluids is fixed, for most experimental masanals, at 37'C as a consequence of general body metabolism. Further, pH levels in all biological fluids are constant, primarily dependent on the relative concentrations of soluble amphoteric protein molecules and bicarbonate Ions present. The former are directly synthesized and degraded by cells or cell constituents, while the latter are regulated by a sequence of events involving macromolecular carriers and enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase which directly converts CO2 to B2CO3. Body fluid levels of the most abundant inorganic constitutents of skeletal tissue, calcium and phosphate, are under rigorous control involving regulation by circulating hormones and vitamins, such as calcitonin, parathyroid hormone and the vitamin D metabolites. The skeleton is the major body storehouse for all the vital electrolytes and thus their flow into and out of bone is very carefully controlled. To the crystal chemist, this means that almost all the critical elements involved in hard tissue apatite deposition, namely degree of supersaturation, solution pR, temperature and competing ion levels are fixed by living biological entities, the cells, having a host of mechanisms available to assure constant control over those elements.
Photoinduced electron transfer from rail to rung within a self-assembled oligomeric porphyrin ladder

Photoinduced electron transfer in a self-assembled supramolecular ladder structure comprising oligomeric porphyrin rails and ligated dipyridyltetrazine rungs was characterized by transient absorption spectroscopy and transient direct current photoconductivity to be mainly from an oligomer (rail) to the center of a terminal tetrazine (rung), with the remaining hole being delocalized on the oligomer and subsequent charge recombination in 0.19 ns.
Pit nucleation originated by coupling of perturbations with local anodic sites on passive metals

Abstract The system is considered as a precursor state of pit initiation where a passive metal is immersed in an aqueous environment containing aggressive ions and local anodic sites arise on the passive film surface due to the existence of structural defects in the passive film. Assuming the array of the anodic sites as 2-D lattice points which lies on the passive film surface, the coupling of the anodic sites with the perturbation of the ionic concentration and the electric field which originate in the solution is calculated with the help of Fourier transform operations. It is shown that the susceptibility of the passive metal to pitting increases as the spatial distribution of the anodic sites becomes more sparse and the higher the anodic current per anodic site. The unification of two kinds of approaches concerning pit initiation, the a priori and a posteriori assumptions proposed previously, is made in the present study.
Conversion disorder presenting in a patient with an implantable morphine pump and an epidural abscess resulting in paraplegia

Conversion disorders are symptoms or deficits affecting voluntary motor or sensory function that suggest a neurological or medical condition. The psychological symptoms associated with the medical condition must be preceded by conflict or other stressors. We present an individual who developed conversion disorder and paraplegia secondary to a sterile epidural abscess near the tip of her surgically implanted, epidural morphine infusion pump. She manifested at varying times both transient bilateral blindness and pseudoseizures consistent with a diagnosis of conversion disorder. Neurological evaluation for seizure activity and meningitis were negative. The etiology of the sterile epidural abscess remained unknown. The essential features of conversion disorder, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, are discussed. Treatment of patients diagnosed with conversion disorder remains primarily supportive, with the focus on consistency and behavioral management. Extreme caution is suggested in regards to further investigations.
Energy cost optimization through the implementation of cogeneration and grid interconnection

As a summary, we first introduced the cogeneration concept leading to improved energy utilization by burning less fuel and reducing unfriendly emissions. Then, we gave an overview of power generation statistics in the Arab World, underlining the fact that more that 92% of its generation is obtained by burning the equivalent of close to one billion barrels of crude oil annually with poor thermal efficiencies. As an example to improve this situation, we presented a case study involving Saudi Arabia and its leading role into cogeneration implementation. We covered its existing facilities that already make 24% of its total generation, and shed some light on the future plans. Finally, we introduced the power system interconnection between Arab countries as a must and basic contribution to reach the objectives regarding energy conservation and the tighter environmental regulation from national and international standards. A coordinated action can lower the reserve capacity to 12%, and save 11 billion dollars on capital cost, in addition to the fuel, operating and maintenance, and other expenses.
1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of benzonitrile oxide with vinylsilanes

Abstract The reaction of benzonitrile oxide with several vinylsilanes has been found to afford silylated isoxazoles. Relative rates for the cycloaddition reaction were determined.
Chinese Architectural History in the Twenty-First Century

The impact of foreign building traditions on Chinese architecture had been limited until the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, dramatic changes in construction occurred as the result of the introduction of Western architectural practice and methods of architectural history, as China transformed from an imperial society to a republic to a communist state. In Chinese Architectural History in the Twenty-First Century, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt examines the state of architectural history in China at the end of the twentieth century and the impact that recent social and cultural transformations are likely to have on the field in the future.
A Gene-Specific Promoter in Transgenic Mice Directs Testis-Specific Demethylation Prior to Transcriptional Activation In Vivo

Transcription of the autosomal phosphoglycerate kinase gene, Pgk-2, is initiated at the onset of meiosis during spermatogenesis in mammals. However, in the mouse, the 5' portion of the endogenous Pgk-2 coding sequence undergoes a specific demethylation event that precedes transcriptional activation by 10-12 days. Here we show that transgenes consisting of the Pgk-2 core promoter ligated to the CAT reporter gene undergo a similar tissue-, stage-, and cell type-specific demethylation in the 5' portion of the CAT coding sequence, whereas transgenes consisting of the CAT reporter sequence alone, or of the CAT sequence ligated to the CpG island-containing transferrin gene promoter, demonstrate different patterns of demethylation. These results indicate that specific promoter sequences can influence the pattern of tissue-specific demethylation within different genes and that a signal for spermatogenic cell-specific demethylation resides within the core promoter of the mammalian Pgk-2 gene.
DISTRIBUTION IN RELATION TO LIFE HISTORY IN THE DIRECT-DEVELOPING GASTROPOD BATILLARIA CUMINGI (BATILLARIIDAE) ON TWO SHORES OF CONTRASTING SUBSTRATA

Population structure and spatial distribution with growth of the direct-developing gastropod, Batillaria cumingi, were investigated on two shores of differing substrata. Sand-mud shore and rocky shore populations differed in size structure; first-year snails were ca. 7 mm in shell length (SL) in both populations, whereas second-year snails, merging with older cohorts, measured 15‐25 mm SL in the sand-mud shore population and ca. 15 mm SL in the rocky shore population. Egg distribution matched adult distribution in the sand-mud shore population, but was more restricted than that of adults in the rocky shore population. The distribution of newly-hatched juveniles (0‐1 mm SL) was restricted in both populations, but the growth stage at which snails extended their distribution differed between the two populations; 1‐2.5 mm SL on the sand-mud shore and . 5 mm SL on the rocky shore. Floating achieved by early juveniles (ca. 2 mm SL), was commonly observed in the sand-mud population, but rarely in the rocky shore population. The sudden expansion in distribution of the 1‐2.5 mm SL growth stage in the sand-mud shore population is considered to have been caused by floating, while expansion of the distribution of older growth stages (. 5 mm SL) in the rocky shore population probably occurs by crawling.
An adaptive rate control algorithm for real-time streaming of 3D image-based rendering over heterogeneous wireless networks

The limited bandwidth of a wireless network, along with its varying nature, poses a significant obstacle when streaming the large volume of data that represents a 3D image-based scene. In this paper, we propose an efficient adaptive rate control algorithm which uses an immediate feedback mechanism to determine network status. We also propose a path prediction and pre-fetching schema to deliver a set of images that the client is predicted to request, from which the rate control algorithm can selectively stream if the network status deems it feasible.
Refractive index modulation in photo-thermo-refractive fibers

Refractive index decrement was discovered in a fiber made from photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass. PTR glass is a fluorosilicate glass doped with cerium and silver which demonstrates refractive index change after UV exposure and thermal development due to precipitation of NaF nanocrystals in the irradiated areas. This glass is widely used for volume holographic optical elements recording. Photosensitivity in PTR optical fibers has been shown after exposure to radiation at 325 nm for about 1 J/cm2 followed by thermal development at 520°C. Refractive index difference between exposed and unexposed areas was about 1000 ppm. A Bragg mirror at 1088 nm was recorded in such fiber which showed narrow band reflection within 1 nm.
Lack of relation of coronary sinus oxygen content to extent of coronary artery disease or left ventricular dysfunction

Abstract A recent study suggests that the prognosis of patients with congestive heart failure is related to the oxygen content of coronary sinus blood: the lower the oxygen content at rest, the worse the outlook. 1 Although it is hypothesized that the oxygen content of coronary sinus blood decreases as coronary artery disease worsens, no previous study has assessed the relation, if any, between the oxygen content of coronary sinus blood at rest and the extent of (1) atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, or (2) left ventricular systolic dysfunction. This study was performed for this purpose.
Non-islet cell tumour induced-hypoglycaemia as a cause of delirium.

Non-islet cell tumour induced hypoglycaemia (NICTH) is a rare but potentially reversible cause of recurrent low blood glucose.
Pubertal Development and Adolescent Girls’ Substance Use: Race, Ethnicity, and Neighborhood Contexts of Vulnerability

To highlight individual and neighborhood interactions in the risk of adolescent substance use, this study examined the moderating role of neighborhood disadvantage on the relationship between pubertal development and adolescent girls’ substance use. Drawing on the contextual amplification hypothesis, it was hypothesized that the effect of pubertal development on substance use would vary by level of neighborhood disadvantage and race. The sample included 5,591 adolescent girls from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (23% Black, 15% Hispanic, 55% White, and 7% Other race). Results showed that the relationships between pubertal development, neighborhood disadvantage, and alcohol use varied for girls from different racial backgrounds. Although there was some of evidence of contextual amplification among Black adolescent girls, low levels of neighborhood disadvantage tended to be associated with higher levels of alcohol use during early adolescence. Findings highlight the importance of studyi...
Bariatric intervention effective at reversing Type 2 diabetes

Commentary on: Schauer PR, Kashyap SR, Wolski K, et al. Bariatric surgery versus intensive medical therapy in obese patients with diabetes. N Engl J Med 2012;366:1567–76.[OpenUrl][1] Obesity is at worldwide epidemic proportions with estimates that over 60% of the population is overweight or obese in the USA.1 Individuals born in this decade have a 30–50% risk of developing diabetes over their lifetime,2 with potentially disastrous consequences from disease complications. Medical interventions to promote clinically meaningful weight loss are effort intensive, with most patients unable to achieve and maintain long-term weight loss. Bariatric surgery achieves more effective and sustainable weight loss and cardiovascular benefits than medical therapy.3 It is more effective at improving diabetes control and inducing disease remission than conventional medical therapy.4 It is recommended as a treatment option … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DN%2BEngl%2BJ%2BMed%26rft.issn%253D0028-4793%26rft.volume%253D366%26rft.spage%253D1567%26rft.atitle%253DBARIATRIC%2BSURGERY%2BVERSUS%2BINTENSIVE%2BMEDICAL%2BTHERAPY%2BIN%2BOBESE%2BPATIENTS%2BWITH%2BDIABETES%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx
R/EBcoexpress

Summary: R/EBcoexpress implements the approach of Dawson and Kendziorski using R, a freely available, open source statistical programming language. The approach identifies differential co-expression (DC) by examining the correlations among gene pairs using an empirical Bayesian approach, producing a false discovery rate controlled list of DC pairs. This interrogation of DC gene pairs complements but is distinct from differential expression analyses, under the general goal of understanding differential regulation across biological conditions. Availability and implementation: R/EBcoexpress is freely available and hosted on Bioconductor; a source file and vignette may be found at http://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/EBcoexpress.html Contact:DrJADawson@hotmail.com or kendzior@wisc.edu