cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Leachability of Protein and Metals Incorporated into Aquatic Invertebrates: Are Species and Metals-Exposure History Important?

To partially simulate conditions in fish intestinal tracts, we leached six groups of metals-contaminated invertebrates at pH 2 and pH 7, and analyzed the concentrations of four metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and total protein in the leachates. Four of the groups of invertebrates were benthic macroinvertebrates collected from metals-contaminated rivers (the Clark Fork River in Montana and the Coeur d’Alene River in Idaho, USA); the other two groups of invertebrates (one of which was exposed to metals in the laboratory) were laboratory-reared brine shrimp (Artemia sp.). Additionally, we fractionated the pH 2 leachates using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). Protein content was 1.3 to 1.4× higher in Artemia than in the benthic macroinvertebrates, and leachability of metals and protein differed considerably among several of the groups of invertebrates. In SEC fractions of the pH 2 leachates from both groups of Artemia, Cu and protein co-eluted; however, Cu and protein did not co-elute in SEC fractions of the leachates from any of the benthic macroinvertebrate groups. Although none of the other three metals co-eluted with protein in any of the pH 2 leachates, one or more of the metals co-eluted with lower-molecular-weight molecules in the leachates from all of the groups of invertebrates. These results suggest fundamental differences in metal-binding properties and protein leachability among some invertebrates. Thus, different invertebrates and different histories of metals exposure might lead to different availability of metals and protein to predators.
Existence of acid and alkaline phosphohydrolase activity in the phytoflagellate Ochromonas danica.

Cell homogenates of light-grown Ochromonas danica contained distinct non-specific non-phosphate-repressible acid and alkaline phosphohydrolase activities. Acid phosphohydrolase activity had a broad pH range of 2.0–5.0 and the optimum for alkaline phosphohydrolase activity was pH 8.6 Acid phosphohydrolase (pH 3.6) activity had an optimum temperature of 55°C; the alkaline enzyme activity had an optimum temperature of 37–40°C.
Activity Limitations, Use of Assistive Devices or Personal Help, and Well-Being: Variation by Education

Objectives This study examined the associations among self-care or mobility limitations, use of assistive devices or personal help, and well-being while giving special attention to 3 dimensions of well-being and older adults' educational attainment. Method The analysis was based on 4,456 community-dwelling older adults with self-care or mobility limitations who completed interviews in the first round of the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Path models were estimated to examine the associations among limitations, use of assistive devices or personal help, and 3 dimensions of well-being (positive affect, self-realization, and self-efficacy) for different educational groups of older adults. Results Self-care or mobility limitations had a negative association with 3 dimensions of well-being. The use of assistive devices was positively related, but the use of personal help was negatively related to well-being. Older adults with more education demonstrated weaker associations between assistive devices and well-being and stronger inverse associations between personal help and well-being than those with less education. Discussion The use of coping strategies to address self-care or mobility limitations is not necessarily associated with better well-being, and education does not seem to play a protective role once limitations develop. More research is needed to unpack population heterogeneity in the association between coping strategies and well-being.
Isolation, cloning, and expression of three prepro-GnRH mRNAs in Atlantic croaker brain and pituitary.

Three prepro-gonadotropin-releasing hormones, seabream GnRH (sbGnRH), chicken GnRH-II (cGnRH-II), and salmon GnRH (sGnRH) were isolated by cDNA cloning from the brain of the Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus. The amino acid sequences of croaker GnRH precursors show greatest similarities to those of the gilthead and red sea breams and European sea bass. In situ hybridization of croaker brain sections revealed more abundant sbGnRH mRNA expression in the preoptic area (POA) than in other brain regions. sbGnRH mRNA expression was also observed in the olfactory bulb (OB; but not in the terminal nerve ganglion cells [TNgc]), ventral telencephalon (vTEL), and anterior hypothalamus. In addition, specific sbGnRH mRNA signals were detected in the pituitary. cGnRH-II mRNA expression was limited to the midbrain tegmentum. Neuronal elements expressing sGnRH mRNA were detected in the OB including the TNgc, vTEL, and POA, indicating an overlap of the sbGnRH and sGnRH systems in certain ventral forebrain areas. The results of quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of the three GnRH mRNAs in different brain areas and the pituitary are consistent with their localization by in situ hybridization. Interestingly, a few sbGnRH mRNA-expressing neuronal elements were observed arranged in a row in the anteroventral hypothalamus projecting toward the pituitary. The results provide a morphological basis for a putative role of sbGnRH as the gonadotropinreleasing hormone. Moreover, localization of sbGnRH mRNA in a teleost pituitary points to sbGnRH synthesis, and its potential role as a local regulator, within the pituitary, similar to the role of GnRH-I in mammals. J. Comp. Neurol. 488:384 –395, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Zurich's New Apportionment

How mathematics has played an essential role in giving an ancient democracy a new electoral system
Chivalry in Medieval England. By Nigel Saul. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. Pp. xiv, 416. $35.00.)

Maurice Keen reestablished the dignity of chivalry as part of medieval history with his vivid, wise masterpiece Chivalry [1984], and since then new vigor has filled the study of aristocratic cultur...
A quantitative luminescence assay for nonradioactive nucleic acid probes.

In histochemical work with digoxigenin- or biotin-labeled nucleic acid probes, reproducibility of in situ hybridization depends on accurate measurement of the amount of non-radioactive label being used. We describe a rapid and sensitive assay for nonradioactive label incorporated into nucleic acids employing a luminogenic substrate for alkaline phosphatase, CSPD (disodium 3-(4-methoxyspirol?1,2-dioxetane-3,2'-(5'-chloro)tricyclo [3.3.1.1(3,7)]decan?-4-yl)phenyl phosphate). An alkaline phosphatase-antibody conjugate was bound to digoxigenin-labeled nucleic acids spotted on nylon membranes. Light emission from the reaction of the bound alkaline phosphatase with CSPD was measured with a luminometer. This method allows an accurate determination of digoxigenin incorporated into nucleic acid probes in the range of 0.5-500 fmol of nonradioactive label.
Increasing Consumption of Dry Feed by Young Calves

Abstract In one of two experiments to improve consumption of dry feed by the young calf, calves were fed milk from an open pail twice daily and always had access to calf starter. One-half of the calves were stimulated to consume calf starter by a small amount of calf starter placed in the milk pail as the calves were finishing their milk. The stimulated calves consumed more calf starter, exclusive of that put in the milk pail, and gained weight more rapidly than did the controls, indicating that is an effective way to increase consumption of calf starter. In the second experiment, calves had continuous access to both pelleted calf starter (4.8mm diameter, weight 590 g/liter) and the same mixture extruded (extruded through 6.4mm die, expanded to average 9.6mm diameter, 9.6mm length, weight 295 g/liter). Calves ate more pelleted than extruded feed during the first 3 wk of life; thus, consumption was not increased by extruding the feed.
Imaginal and in vivo exposure: A comparison with obsessive-compulsive checkers.

The efficacy of imaginal and in vivo exposure was compared in 19 obsessive-compulsives who manifested checking rituals. Response prevention was not instituted in either group. No difference between the two procedures was detected either at posttreatment or at follow-up; both were moderately effective in ameliorating obsessive-compulsive symptoms. There appears to be a tendency for patients treated with in vivo exposure to improve further at follow-up, whereas those treated with imaginal exposure maintained the level of gains achieved at posttreatment. In comparison with a treatment regimen which includes both exposure and response prevention, the exposure procedures in vestigated here yielded inferior outcomes. The finding of no difference between in vivo and imaginal exposure modalities is incongruent with studies on phobics. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed.
Development of eight pubertal males with 47,xxy karyotype.

The increasing frequency with which the diagnosis of the 47,XXY karyotype is made requires more knowledge of the prognosis of this condition. We present four 47, XXY boys identified at birth and followed since then (Group I), and four 47, XXY boys diagnosed because of physical and/or emotional problems (Group II). Physical, psychological, language, and hormone data are presented. The physical and intellectual profiles for the two groups are similar. This is in contrast to the very poor school and emotional adjustment of the Group II individuals. These boys were definitely more difficult and problematic for their parents when compared to their siblings and to Group I who were un-selected. This further emphasizes that the expression of this karyotype is variable and individuals with behavioral disorders may represent a maladaptive subgroup rather than the entire population of 47,XXY males. Recommendations are given for intervention with attention to learning and language problems, hormone status, and emotional state.
Determinantal Method and the Littlewood-Richardson Rule

Determinantal method is a powerful tool to study invariants and representations of classical groups. Let R, = Z![x,,,],, , = 1, 2 ,,,,, n be the integral coordinate ring of the module of all n x n integral matrices. In [7], Doubilet, Rota, and Stein gave a beautiful theory on combinatorial approach to invariant theory using a nice basis of R, called standard basis whose elements are simply parametrized by means of “standard tableaux.” This standard basis also occurs in the theory of flag manifolds (cf. [12], [17]). As application of this theory, Procesi and DeConcini gave many results on the characteristic free approach to the invariants and represen- tation spaces of classical groups [4], [S J, 161. In particular, a representation space of each finite dimensional irreducible representation of GL(n, C) is realized in R, @I C canonically. This representation space plays a key roll in application to physics, since each weight vector in this representation space is actually an element of standard basis. Now let us consider the tensor product representation of two arbitrarily irreducible representations pi, and pfl of GL(n, @). Tensor product representations have deep relation with the interaction of particles (cf. [Z]). The branching rule of the tensor product representation pA @ pp into its irreducible constituents is described using combinatorial methods on Young diagrams. This rule, the Littlewood-Richardson rule, was first found by Littlewood [14] and proved rather recently (cf. [15]). However, in application to physics, not only the branching rule but also more detailed information of the representation spaces of tensor product representations is required. In case of GL(2, C), the decomposition of pj.@pp is multiplicity free. So in this case, each weight vector of each irreducible constituent of
A comparison of solutions for adiabatic shear banding by forward‐difference and Crank‐Nicolson methods

A set of non-linear and coupled equations governing the thermomechanical deformations of a viscoplastic body undergoing simple shearing deformations is integrated in time by using the forward-difference Galerkin finite-element (FDGFE) method and the Crank-Nicolson-Galerkin finite-element (CNGFE) method. In the latter scheme the number of unknown functions is increased so that the governing equations contain only first-order spatial derivatives. It is shown that the solutions obtained by the two methods agree qualitatively; however, the CNGFE method seems to introduce some damping into the system for non-polar materials, but none for dipolar materials.
The role of mentorship in protégé performance

It is clear that mentors, in academia and elsewhere, influence the future success of their proteges, but it is unclear to what extent they influence future mentorship skills and career choices of their proteges. The records of the Mathematics Genealogy Project, which track the careers of 114,666 mathematicians since 1637, provide a data set with sufficient detail for those questions to be addressed. Malmgren et al. determine that career success of academic mathematicians was correlated with how many proteges they mentored, and the proteges of mentors with small trainee pools went on to have significantly larger than expected mentorship pools themselves. Mentors influence the future success of their proteges, but to what extent do those proteges emulate their mentors? Here, one aspect of mentor emulation is studied, namely fecundity — the number of proteges a mentor trains. Analysis of data from the Mathematics Genealogy Project shows that although mentorship fecundity correlates with success, those mentors who maintain a small fecundity go on to train proteges with a larger fecundity. Moreover, the mentor's career stage influences the eventual fecundity of their proteges. The role of mentorship in protege performance is a matter of importance to academic, business and governmental organizations. Although the benefits of mentorship for proteges, mentors and their organizations are apparent1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, the extent to which proteges mimic their mentors’ career choices and acquire their mentorship skills is unclear10,11,12,13,14,15,16. The importance of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce to economic growth and the role of effective mentorship in maintaining a ‘healthy’ such workforce demand the study of the role of mentorship in academia. Here we investigate one aspect of mentor emulation by studying mentorship fecundity—the number of proteges a mentor trains—using data from the Mathematics Genealogy Project17, which tracks the mentorship record of thousands of mathematicians over several centuries. We demonstrate that fecundity among academic mathematicians is correlated with other measures of academic success. We also find that the average fecundity of mentors remains stable over 60 years of recorded mentorship. We further discover three significant correlations in mentorship fecundity. First, mentors with low mentorship fecundities train proteges that go on to have mentorship fecundities 37% higher than expected. Second, in the first third of their careers, mentors with high fecundities train proteges that go on to have fecundities 29% higher than expected. Finally, in the last third of their careers, mentors with high fecundities train proteges that go on to have fecundities 31% lower than expected.
Characterization of the Flow Localization History in Dynamic Viscoplasticity

The evolution of narrow regions of intense plastic flow during the dynamic deformation of rate-sensitive materials is an outstanding problem in mechanics. A unified framework for the analysis of the pre-localization regime was recently presented by Shawki. In the former work, the onset of flow localization was tied to the increased importance of inertial effects. An energy criterion was developed for the characterization of localization initiation. On the other hand, the aforementioned criterion does not provide the critical strain associated with severe localization. The current work examines the extension of the energy criterion towards the determination of the critical strain for the onset of the so-called {open_quotes}stage III{close_quotes} of the localization evolution history. The onset of severe localization appears to be tied to the attainment of an inflection point in the total system kinetic energy evolution profile. Fully nonlinear numerical solutions of the governing system of coupled, dynamic and thermo-mechanical equations are carried out to the late-time, post-localization regime. The foregoing numerical solutions establish the role of the total kinetic energy as a possible single parameter for the characterization of the full localization history. 10 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.
Diophantine Analysis of Conformal Iterated Function Systems

A formula for the Hausdorff dimension of a subset of the limit set of a conformal infinite iterated function system is derived and expressed as a unique zero of the topological pressure of corresponding strongly Holder family of functions.
Supervised local sparse coding of sub-image features for image retrieval

The success of sparse representations in image modeling and recovery has motivated its use in computer vision applications. Image retrieval and classification tasks require extracting features that discriminate different image classes. State-of-the-art object recognition methods based on sparse coding use spatial pyramid features obtained from dense descriptors. In this paper, we develop a feature extraction method that uses multiple global/local features extracted from large overlapping regions of an image, which we refer to as sub-images. We propose a procedure for dictionary design and supervised local sparse coding of sub-image heterogeneous features. We perform image retrieval on the Microsoft Research Cambridge image dataset and show that the proposed features outperform the spatial pyramid features obtained using dense descriptors.
Muscarinic suppression of the M-current is mediated by a rise in internal Ca2+ concentration

The role of intracellular Ca2+ in the muscarinic suppression of M-current was examined. Intracellular injection of Ca2+ buffer into cells in the intact ganglion reduced the response to muscarinic agonist. In similar experiments on isolated cells, Ca2+ buffer was introduced into the cytoplasm using a perfused recording pipette. Ca2+ buffer (20 mM) with the free Ca2+ concentration set to normal resting levels produced a reversible reduction of the muscarinic response. In a second line of investigation, it was found that pharmacological procedures designed to deplete internal stores of Ca2+ produced a decrease in the muscarinic response. These results, taken together with previous work, support the hypothesis that the muscarinic suppression of M-current is mediated by the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores.
Beef tenderness and sarcomere length

A wide range of muscle glycolytic rates was produced in 60 beef carcasses by applying different forms and periods of electrical stimulation immediately after decapitation; a further seven carcasses were not stimulated. The sides were subjected to normal chilling, and at 48 h one short loin per carcass was taken for tenderness evaluation and determination of sarcomere length (SL). In the 19 relatively slow-glycolysing loins-those of 3-h pH (pH(3)) above 6·3-tenderness extended over almost five panel units on a 1-8 scale, and included both the tenderest two and the toughest 10 muscles of the entire study. In the 48 loins of pH(3) below 6·3, on the other hand, tenderness ranged over only 2·5 units, and on average was a full panel unit higher than that of the high-pH(3) muscles. The most striking difference between the two groups, however, was in the relationship between toughness and shortening; the correlation of panel tenderness on SL was remarkably high in the slow glycolysers (r = 0·84), but negligible in those of faster pH decline (r = 0·16). Thus although shortening occurred to about the same extent and over the same range in both groups, it influenced tenderness and tenderness variability only when glycolysis was quite slow. A loin pH(3) of below 6·3, however, is unusual in non-stimulated carcasses, so slow glycolysis and the very wide tenderness diversity accompanying it must be expected in commercial operations that do not use electrical stimulation.
Carboxypeptidase 4 gene variants and early-onset intermediate-to-high risk prostate cancer

Carboxypeptidase 4 (CPA4) is a zinc-dependent metallocarboxypeptidase on chromosome 7q32 in a region linked to prostate cancer aggressiveness. CPA4 is involved in the histone hyperacetylation pathway and may modulate the function of peptides that affect the growth and regulation of prostate epithelial cells. We examined the association between genetic variation in CPA4 and intermediate-to-high risk prostate cancer. We studied 1012 men (506 cases and 506 controls) from Cleveland, Ohio. All cases had Gleason ≥ 7, clinical stage ≥ T2c, or PSA ≥ 10 ng/mL at diagnosis. Six CPA4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped, and evaluated for their relation to prostate cancer. We also evaluated whether CPA4 variants influence risk of disease among men diagnosed at an earlier age (< 66 years). The nonsynonymous coding SNP (rs2171492, Cys303Gly) in CPA4 was associated with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer among younger patients (< 66 years). Specifically, men carrying the TT genotype had an approximately two-fold increased risk for being diagnosed with intermediate-to-high risk disease (Odds Ratio = 1.83, p = 0.04). In the overall population (all ages) none of the CPA4 SNPs demonstrated a statistically significant association with prostate cancer. Coding variation in CPA4 may confer increased risk of intermediate-to-high risk prostate cancer among younger patients. Further work is needed to identify the functional aspects of this variation and understand its biological effects on prostate cancer. Such work may translate into more precise screening of higher risk individuals as well as guiding clinicians and patients toward earlier and more definitive treatment modalities in patients genetically identified as higher risk.
Sufficiency criteria and duality for nonlinear programs involving n-set functions

Abstract Several sufficiency criteria and duality results are established under generalized ϱ-convexity conditions for a class of nonlinear programming problems involving differentiable n -set functions.
Large-scale integrated photonics for high-performance interconnects

Moore's Law has set great expectations that the performance of information technology will improve exponentially until at least the end of this decade. Although the physics of silicon transistors alone might allow these expectations to be met, the physics of the long metal wires that cross and connect packages almost certainly will not. Global-level interconnects incorporating large-scale integrated photonics fabricated on the same platform as silicon microelectronics hold the promise of revolutionizing computing by enabling parallel many-core and network switch architectures that combine unprecedented performance and ease of use with affordable power consumption.Over the last decade, remarkable progress has been made in research on low-power silicon photonic devices for interconnect applications, and CMOS-compatible fabrication technologies promise a “Moore's Law for photonics” that could completely change the economics of integrated optics. In this survey, photonic technologies amenable to large-scale CMOS integration are reviewed from the perspective of high-performance interconnects operating over distance scales of 1mm to 100m. An overview of the requirements placed on integrated optical devices by a variety of modern computer applications leads to discussions of active and passive photonic components designed to generate, guide, filter, modulate, and detect light in the telecommunication bands. Critical challenges and prospects for large-scale integration are evaluated with an emphasis on silicon-on-insulator as a platform for photonics.
The immune response in humans and rabbits to monomeric and polymeric grass allergens

The antigenicity of polymerized grass (PG) and monomer grass (MG) was studied. As compared with MG, PG produces a similar immunologic response in rabbits as demonstrated by a tanned red blood cell (TRBC) passive hemagglutination assay or by total serum binding of perennial rye grass Group I antigens (RGGI). Six patients with allergic rhinitis sensitive to several grass pollens received an average of 60,000 protein nitrogen units (PNU) of PG. The initial dose was 100 PNU and a maintenance dosage of 8500 PNU was obtained after six injections without systemic reactions in any of the patients. Serum binding of RGGI increased significantly in the PG-treated patients and this increase was quantitatively similar to that measured in a second group of six atopic patients previously treated for 1 year with a total of 100,000 PNU of a standard grass extract mixture. PG, like polymerized ragweed (PRW), has a reduced allergenicity while retaining immunogenicity. These data suggest that PG as compared to standard aqueous grass extract mixtures represents an improved form of immunotherapy for the atopic patient.
Penalty-combined approaches to the Ritz-Galerkin and finite element methods for singularity problems of elliptic equations

Penlty coupling techniques on an interface boundary, artificial or material, are first presented for combining the Ritz–Galerkin and finite element methods. An optimal convergence rate first is proved in the Sobolev norms. Moreover, a significant coupling strategy, L + 1 = O(|ln h|), between these two methods are derived for the Laplace equation with singularities, where L + 1 is the total number of particular solutions used in the Ritz–Galerkin method, and h is the maximal boundary length of quasiuniform elements used in the linear finite element method. Numreical experiments have been carried out for solving the benchmark model: Motz's problem. Both theoretical analysis and numreical experiments clearly display the importance of penalty-combined methods is solving elliptic equations with singularities.
Adrenal metastases from renal cell carcinoma: Role of ipsilateral adrenalectomy and definition of stage

Abstract Objectives We undertook this study to establish criteria for adrenalectomy in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 162 patients undergoing radical nephrectomy from 1979 to 1993 at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Simultaneous ipsilateral adrenalectomy was performed in 57 patients (35%). Results Three of these 57 patients (5.3%) had ipsilateral adrenal metastases. All 3 patients had large, leftsided, upper-pole tumors that extended through the renal capsule (Stage T3a). All 3 patients with adrenal metastases had progression to disseminated disease, with an average time to progression of 7.2 months, whereas only 13 (24%) of the 54 patients without adrenal metastases developed metastatic disease (none to adrenal), with an average time to progression of 27.6 months. No patient with organ-confined disease (Stage T1 or T2) or extracapsular disease in the midkidney or lower pole had adrenal metastases identified histologically. Conclusions The prognosis is poor for renal cell carcinoma with ipsilateral adrenal involvement, even with complete removal. Because of this poor prognosis, we believe that adrenal involvement should constitute a separate stage category. We propose that patients with ipsilateral adrenal metastases via direct extension should be classified as having pathologic Stage pT3d. If the patient has an ipsilateral adrenal metastasis not via direct extension, contralateral adrenal metastasis, or bilateral adrenal metastases, the pathologic stage should be M1. Ipsilateral adrenalectomy should only be performed if a lesion is seen preoperatively on computed tomographic scan or if gross disease is seen at the time of nephrectomy although its removal may not benefit the patient.
How to simulate 1000 cores

This paper proposes a novel methodology to efficiently simulate shared-memory multiprocessors composed of hundreds of cores. The basic idea is to use thread-level parallelism in the software system and translate it into corelevel parallelism in the simulated world. To achieve this, we first augment an existing full-system simulator to identify and separate the instruction streams belonging to the different software threads. Then, the simulator dynamically maps each instruction flow to the corresponding core of the target multi-core architecture, taking into account the inherent thread synchronization of the running applications. Our simulator allows a user to execute any multithreaded application in a conventional full-system simulator and evaluate the performance of the application on a many-core hardware. We carried out extensive simulations on the SPLASH-2 benchmark suite and demonstrated the scalability up to 1024 cores with limited simulation speed degradation vs. the single-core case on a fixed workload. The results also show that the proposed technique captures the intrinsic behavior of the SPLASH-2 suite, even when we scale up the number of shared-memory cores beyond the thousand-core limit.
RNA editing of sorghum mitochondrial atp6 transcripts changes 15 amino acids and generates a carboxy-terminus identical to yeast.

Sequencing of sorghum mitochondrial atp6 cDNA clones revealed 19 C-to-U transcript editing events within a 756 bp-conserved core gene; three were silent and 16 resulted in 15 amino acid changes. Only one edit, which was silent, was found in the 381 bp amino-extension to the core gene. Eleven of the 15 changed amino acids were identical with or else represented conservative changes compared to yeast atp6. Editing of a CAA codon to TAA truncates to carboxy-terminus to a position identical to that of yeast. The frequency of editing at sites which change amino acids was very high in contrast to partial editing at silent, third base, sites.
Double-Contrast Arthrography of the Knee: ITS VALUE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE KNEE DERANGEMENTS

1. Arthrography of the knee is a valuable diagnostic procedure. In 225 consecutive knees examined and operated on by the same surgeon, the preoperative arthrograms, all performed and interpreted by the same radiologist, demonstrated meniscal tears correctly in 97.5 per cent of the 200 knees with such lesions, giving an accuracy of 99.7 per cent in the 143 lesions of the medial meniscus and of 93 per cent in the fifty-seven lesions of the lateral meniscus. Five tears found at operation were not demonstrated by arthrography, four in the lateral and one in the medial meniscus. In six patients, tears of both menisci, unsuspected on the basis of the clinical examination, were demonstrated correctly on the arthrograms. In no instance did an arthrogram indicate a tear in a meniscus which was not corroborated at surgery. In twenty-five patients with lesions other than meniscal tears, the arthrograms were helpful but not diagnostic for all types of lesions. 2. Prolonged observation and procrastination in the treatment of patients with symptomatic knees were avoided. The surgeon and patient were assured of a correct preoperative diagnosis, especially when the clinical signs were not specific and the symptoms were intermittent and not disabling. 3. Unnecessary surgery was reduced. 4. Arthrography revealed residual portions of the meniscus left after previous meniscectomy in eight patients, one of the retained fragments being itself torn. Reoperation resulted in cure in all eight patients. Osteochondral fractures were also demonstrated as well as loose fragments more than eight millimeters in diameter. 5. In this series, one-half of the thirty-four tears of the anterior cruciate ligament were demonstrated by arthrography. We are still developing the technique to demonstrate the cruciate ligaments on arthrograms. 6. Four patients with no anteroposterior instability were shown to have anterior cruciate tears by arthrography. 7. There were no complications of arthrography in this series. All patients returned to work immediately after the procedure.
Pathophysiologic changes due to TASER® devices versus excited delirium: Potential relevance to deaths-in-custody?

The syndrome of excited delirium has been implicated in some deaths-in-custody which also involved the use of electronic control devices (ECDs) (including those manufactured by TASER International) on subjects. This review is an update on recent studies of pathophysiologic changes related to these two separate but parallel topics: a) first, the use of ECDs during law-enforcement activities; and b) second, the occurrence of excited delirium during such activities. This is a narrative review of elements that may be of use in generating hypotheses relating to potential similarities or differences between the two topics. Differences between changes in most factors due to excited delirium versus those of ECD applications were not readily apparent in most cases. These factors include: direct and indirect effects on the cardiovascular system, respiration, rhabdomyolysis and muscle enzymes, hyperkalemia, acidosis, hyperglycemia, and increased hematocrit. One factor that may exhibit consistent differences, however, is increased body temperature, which is often evident during excited delirium (versus a lack of increase temperature during ECD exposures). Thus, on the basis of this review, a more detailed delineation of this factor could be a major focus for future forensic investigations of deaths-in-custody involving either excited delirium or ECD exposures.
Parallel Processing for Supercomputing Speeds

The various approaches to improving the speeds of computers by exploiting parallelism is briefly described. The architecture of PACE which is a loosely coupled, message-passing MIMD machine developed by ANURAG is described. PACE is an open architecture which is independent of the specific hardware used for the computing nodes. Several versions of PACE have been configured and the performance figures for some applications are presented.
A LuGre tire friction model with exact aggregate dynamics

The LuGre dynamic point contact friction model for the two-dimensional translation of a body on a surface has been used in the past to derive a model for the friction forces and moments at the contact patch of a tire. The resulting tire friction model is distributed, described by a set of partial differential equations. Several approximations have been used in the literature to approximate this distributed model using a set of ordinary differential equations, making the model appropriate for control design and on-line estimation. In this paper, the method of moments is used to derive a set of ordinary differential equations to describe the exact average dynamics of the distributed model. Three cases of normal load distribution are considered and compared: uniform, trapezoidal and cubic load distribution. Simulations are also presented to compare with existing approximate steady-state lumped models.
A New Amplifier Model for Resonance Enhancement of Optically Injection-Locked Lasers

A new Fabry-Perot amplifier model is established based on parameters extracted from the injection-locking rate equations to explain the resonance frequency enhancement and the small-signal frequency response behavior of injection-locked vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Simulations using this amplifier model in conjunction with injection-locking rate equations show excellent agreement with the experimental results.
Survey of data management and analysis in disaster situations

The area of disaster management receives increasing attention from multiple disciplines of research. A key role of computer scientists has been in devising ways to manage and analyze the data produced in disaster management situations. In this paper we make an effort to survey and organize the current knowledge in the management and analysis of data in disaster situations, as well as present the challenges and future research directions. Our findings come as a result of a thorough bibliography survey as well as our hands-on experiences from building a Business Continuity Information Network (BCIN) with the collaboration with the Miami-Dade county emergency management office. We organize our findings across the following Computer Science disciplines: data integration and ingestion, information extraction, information retrieval, information filtering, data mining and decision support. We conclude by presenting specific research directions.
Exploring and Expanding the Structural Diversity of Self‐Assembling Dendrons through Combinations of AB, Constitutional Isomeric AB2, and AB3 Biphenyl‐4‐Methyl Ether Building Blocks

General, efficient and inexpensive methods for the synthesis of dendritic building blocks methyl 3',4'-dihydroxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate, 3',5'-dihydroxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate, and methyl 3',4',5'-trihydroxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate were elaborated. In all syntheses the major step involved an inexpensive Ni(II)-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. These three building blocks were employed together with methyl 4'-hydroxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate in a convergent iterative strategy to synthesize seven libraries containing up to three generations of 3',4'-, 3',5'-, and 3',4',5'-substituted biphenyl-4-methyl ether based amphiphilic dendrons. These dendrons self-assemble into supramolecular dendrimers that self-organize into periodic assemblies. Structural and retrostructural analysis of their assemblies demonstrated that these dendrons self-assemble into hollow and non-hollow supramolecular dendrimers exhibiting dimensions of up to twice those reported for architecturally related dendrons based on benzyl ether repeat units. These new dendrons expand the structural diversity and demonstrate the generality of the concept of self-assembling dendrons based on amphiphilic arylmethyl ethers.
A conserved domain in the N-terminus is important for LEAFY dimerization and function in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Summary The floral meristem identity gene LEAFY (LFY) of Arabidopsis thaliana is essential for the formation of fertile flowers and has roles in the control of several aspects of floral development, which include phyllotaxy and organ number and identity. This gene encodes a land plant-specific transcription factor and regulates expression of a number of genes that include other floral meristem identity genes and floral homeotic genes. Although the LFY DNA-binding domain has a structure that resembles that of helix–turn–helix proteins, LFY and its orthologs represent a novel family of transcription factors that are characterized by a conserved N-terminus domain of unknown function and a C-terminus DNA-binding domain. Many transcription factors act as dimers. These dimers are essential for the biological activity of the proteins. We demonstrate that LFY forms homodimers or oligomers in solution. This association is mediated through the N-terminus conserved region of the LFY protein. Although mutant LFY proteins that cannot dimerize in solution can bind DNA, the binding is weaker than that of wild type LFY protein. LFY–LFY interactions mediated by the N-terminus domain are essential for the biological activity of this protein, as mutations that abolish the ability to self-associate cannot complement an lfy null allele. Our data indicate: (i) that LFY, and probably its orthologs in other plants, must act in complexes that contain at least two LFY molecules; and (ii) that the N-terminus is essential for stabilization of LFY complexes. This situation is integral to the ability of LFY to regulate gene expression.
Screening for SF3B1 mutations is a useful tool to differentiate between acquired clonal and non-clonal sideroblastic anemia

Sideroblastic anemia (SA) is one of the major types of anemia encountered in clinical practice. There are three primary types, namely congenital SA, acquired clonal SA and acquired reversible SA. A...
Education Predicts Incidence of Preclinical Mobility Disability in Initially High-Functioning Older Women. The Women’s Health and Aging Study II

Methods. The Women's Health and Aging II Study is a prospective observational cohort study of 436 initially high-functioning community-dwelling women aged 70-79 years at baseline in Baltimore, Maryland. We measured the association of highest attained education level with preclinical mobility disability (PCD) over an 11-year period. PCD is defined as self-reported modification in any of four tasks without reporting difficulty in those tasks. The tasks were walking ½ mile, climbing up steps, doing heavy housework, and getting in/out of bed or chair. Results. Participants with less than 9 years of education were more likely to acquire incident PCD (hazard ratio: 3.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.2-7.7) than their counterparts with more education after adjusting for income, marital status, number of diseases, and high self-efficacy. Conclusions. Lower education level is an independent predictor of incident preclinical mobility disability. This as- sociation has important implications for primary and secondary prevention and can be easily assessed in clinical encoun- ters.
A homogeneous chemical reactor analysis and design laboratory: The reaction kinetics of dye and bleach

Abstract An experimental module for senior-level reaction engineering/reactor design students is described. The module is used to characterize the kinetics of dye (food coloring) neutralization by household bleach, and the reactor system is configurable for use in either batch reactor or continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) modes. The reactor temperature, volume, reactant feed rates, and reactant concentrations may be adjusted to enable students to obtain a wide range of kinetic data. Dye concentrations in the reactor are monitored by absorbance spectroscopy, and the kinetic rate law is determined directly from the batch reactor performance data. Students use the completed kinetic rate law to compare experimental steady-state CSTR performance data to the mathematical models derived from reactor design equations. Finally, the students use the kinetic behavior of the system to design a hypothetical plug-flow reactor for the same chemical reaction and a set of stated operational goals.
Testosterone, growth and the evolution of sexual size dimorphism

The integration of macroevolutionary pattern with developmental mechanism presents an outstanding challenge for studies of phenotypic evolution. Here, we use a combination of experimental and comparative data to test whether evolutionary shifts in the direction of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) correspond to underlying changes in the endocrine regulation of growth. First, we combine captive breeding studies with mark-recapture data to show that male-biased SSD develops in the brown anole lizard (Anolis sagrei) because males grow significantly faster than females as juveniles and adults. We then use castration surgeries and testosterone implants to show that castration inhibits, and testosterone stimulates, male growth. We conclude by reviewing published testosterone manipulations in other squamate reptiles in the context of evolutionary patterns in SSD. Collectively, these studies reveal that the evolution of SSD has been accompanied by underlying changes in the effect of testosterone on male growth, potentially facilitating the rapid evolution of SSD.
Addressing the PEG Mucoadhesivity Paradox to Engineer Nanoparticles that “Slip” through the Human Mucus Barrier

Mucus linings serve as the body's first line of defense at exposed surfaces of the eye and respiratory, gastrointestinal, and cervicovaginal tracts. The high viscoelasticity and adhesivity of mucus traps and limits exposure to foreign pathogens,[1,2] toxins,[3] and environmental ultrafine particles,[1,4] which are all typically removed by normal mucus clearance mechanisms. Numerous studies have demonstrated that human mucus also strongly immobilizes conventional synthetic nanoparticles,[5-7] and therefore represents a hurdle for localized drug and gene delivery at mucosal surfaces, such as aerosol-based gene carriers for cystic fibrosis gene therapy.[8] To increase the bioavailability of cargo therapeutics, it is important that carrier particles rapidly penetrate mucus to avoid being shed.
Sonar-based measurement of user presence and attention

We describe a technique to detect the presence of computer users. This technique relies on sonar using hardware that already exists on commodity laptop computers and other electronic devices. It leverages the fact that human bodies have a different effect on sound waves than air and other objects. We conducted a user study in which 20 volunteers used a computer equipped with our ultrasonic sonar software. Our results show that it is possible to detect the presence or absence of users with near perfect accuracy after only ten seconds of measurement. We find that this technique can differentiate varied user positions and actions, opening the possibility of future use in estimating attention level.
Hypogammaglobulinemia in uremic infants receiving peritoneal dialysis.

7. Borkowsky W, Krasinski K, Paul D~ et al. Human immunodeficiency virus infections in infants negative for anti-H1V by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Lancet 1987;1:1168-71. 8. Consortium for Retrovirus Serology Standardization. Serologic diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus infection by Western blot testing. JAMA 1988;260:674-8. 9. Centers for Disease Control. Classification system for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in children under 13 years of age. MMWR 1987;36:91-6. l 0. Johnson J, Davis E, Sbinaberry R, Nair P. Serologic responses to HIV infection in infants. Presented at the Fifth International Conference on AIDS, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, June 4-9, 1989. 11. Martin K, Katz B, Miller G. AIDS and antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus in children and their families. J Infect Dis 1987;155:54-9. 12. Epstein L, Boucher C, Morrison S, et al. Persistent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antigenemia in children correlates with disease progression. Pediatrics 1988;82:919-24. 13. Ou C-Y, Kwok S, Mitchell SW, et al. DNA amplification for direct detection of HIV-1 in DNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Science 1988;7:825-35. 14. Amadori A, De Rossi A, Gaguinto C, et al. In vitro production of HIV-specific antibody in children at risk of AIDS. Lancet 1988;1:852-4.
RESONATE: reverberation environment simulation for improved classification of speech models

Home monitoring systems currently gather information about peoples activities of daily living and information regarding emergencies, however they currently lack the ability to track speech. Practical speech analysis solutions are needed to help monitor ongoing conditions such as depression, as the amount of social interaction and vocal affect is important for assessing mood and well-being. Although there are existing solutions that classify the identity and the mood of a speaker, when the acoustic signals are captured in reverberant environments they perform poorly. In this paper, we present a practical reverberation compensation method called RESONATE, which uses simulated room impulse responses to adapt a training corpus for use in multiple real reverberant rooms. We demonstrate that the system creates robust classifiers that perform within 5 -- 10% of baseline accuracy of non-reverberant environments. We demonstrate and evaluate the performance of this matched condition strategy using a public dataset, and also in controlled experiments with six rooms, and two long-term and uncontrolled real deployments. We offer a practical implementation that performs collection, feature extraction, and classification on-node, and training and simulation of training sets on a base station or cloud service.