cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sodium pump inhibition by sulfhydryl inhibitors and myocardial contractility.

In order to determine whether the positive inotropic action of cardiac glycosides is related to the inhibition of sodium pump activity, the actions of known inhibitors:N-ethylmaleimide,p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB),p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonic acid (PCMBS) and digitoxin, were studied in isolated guinea pig hearts. In electrically driven left atrial preparations, all these agents increased isometric contractile force. The inotropic effect ofN-ethylmaleimide was only partially reduced in the presence of propranolol or by reserpine pretreatment, whereas the inotropic effects of PCMB and PCMBS were unaffected by reserpine pretreatment. (±)-Propranolol markedly delayed the development of the inotropic action of PCMB and PCMBS without affecting the magnitude of the peak inotropic response. Similar effect was observed with (+)-propranolol indicating that the delayed development of the inotropic action is probably due to the action of propranolol unrelated to β-adrenergic blockade. Among sulfhydryl blocking agents, the development of the inotropic effects was fastest withN-ethylmaleimide and slowest with PCMBS. Effects of these sulfhydryl inhibitors on resting potential and action potential were unrelated to the inotropic action. These agents caused a decrease in ouabain-sensitive86Rb uptake, an estimate of sodium pump activity, in sodium-loaded ventricular slices obtained from drug-perfused Langendorff preparations. Quantitative comparisons between the degree of inotropic response and sodium pump inhibition caused by these agents were not possible because of the difference in experimental conditions. These results, however, are consistent with the hypothesis that Na+, K+-ATPase inhibitors cause positive inotropic effects associated with sodium pump inhibition.
A method for deriving a 4D-interpolated balanced planning target for mobile tumor radiotherapy.

Purpose: Tumor control and normal tissue toxicity are strongly correlated to the tumor and normal tissue volumes receiving high prescribed dose levels in the course of radiotherapy. Planning target definition is, therefore, crucial to ensure favorable clinical outcomes. This is especially important for stereotactic body radiation therapy of lung cancers, characterized by high fractional doses and steep dose gradients. The shift in recent years from population-based to patient-specific treatment margins, as facilitated by the emergence of 4D medical imaging capabilities, is a major improvement. The commonly used motion-encompassing, or internal-target volume (ITV), target definition approach provides a high likelihood of coverage for the mobile tumor but inevitably exposes healthy tissue to high prescribed dose levels. The goal of this work was to generate an interpolated balanced planning target that takes into account both tumor coverage and normal tissue sparing from high prescribed dose levels, thereby improving on the ITV approach. Methods: For each 4DCT dataset, 4D deformable image registration was used to derive two bounding targets, namely, a 4D-intersection and a 4D-composite target which minimized normal tissue exposure to high prescribed dose levels and maximized tumor coverage, respectively. Through definition of an ''effective overlap volume histogram'' the authors derived anmore » ''interpolated balanced planning target'' intended to balance normal tissue sparing from prescribed doses with tumor coverage. To demonstrate the dosimetric efficacy of the interpolated balanced planning target, the authors performed 4D treatment planning based on deformable image registration of 4D-CT data for five previously treated lung cancer patients. Two 4D plans were generated per patient, one based on the interpolated balanced planning target and the other based on the conventional ITV target. Plans were compared for tumor coverage and the degree of normal tissue sparing resulting from the new approach was quantified. Results: Analysis of the 4D dose distributions from all five patients showed that while achieving tumor coverage comparable to the ITV approach, the new planning target definition resulted in reductions of lung V{sub 10}, V{sub 20}, and V{sub 30} of 6.3% {+-} 1.7%, 10.6% {+-} 3.9%, and 12.9% {+-} 5.5%, respectively, as well as reductions in mean lung dose, mean dose to the GTV-ring and mean heart dose of 8.8% {+-} 2.5%, 7.2% {+-} 2.5%, and 10.6% {+-} 3.6%, respectively. Conclusions: The authors have developed a simple and systematic approach to generate a 4D-interpolated balanced planning target volume that implicitly incorporates the dynamics of respiratory-organ motion without requiring 4D-dose computation or optimization. Preliminary results based on 4D-CT data of five previously treated lung patients showed that this new planning target approach may improve normal tissue sparing without sacrificing tumor coverage.« less
Elastic Constants of Thick Orthotropic Composite Plates

This paper gives a method of obtaining the three-dimensional elastic constants of a completely free orthotropic plate from experimental plate vibration data, using an optimized three-mode Rayleigh formulation that incorporates through-the-thickness shear and rotatory inertia. The author believes this is the first reported attempt employing this formulation for obtaining the frequencies of thick plates with the incorporation of these two phenomena. The primary purpose of this paper is to develop the basic theory and method for this class of plates. The author had earlier utilized the classical lamination theory (which does not include these two effects) with both three and six optimized modes. The forward problem of computing plate vibration frequencies from given elastic constants by the Rayleigh method is solved for three thickness ratios (.075, .1, .125) for an isotropic (aluminum) and an orthotropic (graphite/epoxy) material. The inverse method for extracting the elastic constants from experimental vib...
Interplay of Protein and DNA Structure Revealed in Simulations of the lac Operon

The E. coli Lac repressor is the classic textbook example of a protein that attaches to widely spaced sites along a genome and forces the intervening DNA into a loop. The short loops implicated in the regulation of the lac operon suggest the involvement of factors other than DNA and repressor in gene control. The molecular simulations presented here examine two likely structural contributions to the in-vivo looping of bacterial DNA: the distortions of the double helix introduced upon association of the highly abundant, nonspecific nucleoid protein HU and the large-scale deformations of the repressor detected in low-resolution experiments. The computations take account of the three-dimensional arrangements of nucleotides and amino acids found in crystal structures of DNA with the two proteins, the natural rest state and deformational properties of protein-free DNA, and the constraints on looping imposed by the conformation of the repressor and the orientation of bound DNA. The predicted looping propensities capture the complex, chain-length-dependent variation in repression efficacy extracted from gene expression studies and in vitro experiments and reveal unexpected chain-length-dependent variations in the uptake of HU, the deformation of repressor, and the folding of DNA. Both the opening of repressor and the presence of HU, at levels approximating those found in vivo, enhance the probability of loop formation. HU affects the global organization of the repressor and the opening of repressor influences the levels of HU binding to DNA. The length of the loop determines whether the DNA adopts antiparallel or parallel orientations on the repressor, whether the repressor is opened or closed, and how many HU molecules bind to the loop. The collective behavior of proteins and DNA is greater than the sum of the parts and hints of ways in which multiple proteins may coordinate the packaging and processing of genetic information.
Responses of the marsh periwinkle, Littoraria (Littorina) irrorata to temperature, salinity and desiccation, and the potential physiological relationship to climbing behavior

Littoraria irrorata climb the vertical stems of Sparlina alterniflora in the face of an advancing tide. This behavior, while allowing escape from predators, may also be correlated with the physiological responses of the organism to variations in physical factors typically found in an estuarine salt marsh. To test this hypothesis, snails were exposed to changes in environmental salinity, their resistance to desiccation was determined, and their ability to take up oxygen from both water and air was measured at varying temperatures. L. irrorata were found to be tolerant to wide variations in salinity. The mechanism employed appears to be intracellular volume regulation, which is common in many other marine and estuarine species. This species is also very tolerant of desiccation, surviving after losing nearly 70% of its soft tissue weight over a period of two weeks. Upon contact with water, it quickly rehydrates, regaining its initial weight within one hour. At low temperature (20°C) aquatic and aerial oxygen...
Double Resonance Excitation of Fluorescence by Stimulated Raman Scattering

Fluorescence spectroscopy is usually limited in its specificity by broad absorption and fluorescence profile. Recent papers have suggested that double resonance methods of fluorescence excitation could provide higher specificity. A vibrational excitation is first created by either direct infrared absorption or stimulated Raman scattering and is followed by excitation to an excited electronic level which fluoresces. Since the positions of vibrational levels are much less strongly affected by environmental changes than electronic levels, the vibrational features are sharp and characteristic of the molecule. It was shown that the rapid vibrational relaxation of molecules in condensed phases can be overcome by efficient pumping with stimulated Raman or infrared excitation. In this paper, we report the results of an experiment that tests the feasibility of double resonance excitation of fluorescence by stimulated Raman scattering. It is found that the method is limited by a strong, interfering two-photon process.
CD-ROM and the Undergraduate: Reference and Instruction at Risk.

A barrage of criticism has been leveled recently at those librarians championing the importance of bibliographical instruction and the reference interview. Some critics claim reference librarians, unable to restrain their “yen to teach,” insist on telling patrons which sources to use and which to avoid instead of providing them with requested materials. According to this view, instruction has replaced service, despite the evidence showing patrons prefer “user‐friendly CD‐ROMs such as Infotrac” to more traditional print reference services. In fact, claims one writer, the entire concept of the reference interview (or at least its present permutation) is a myth. Patron queries may need clarification, but no drawn‐out, analyzed interaction with patrons is mandatory for providing effective reference. Instead of posing counter‐questions, which may illustrate ineptitude as much as perspicacity, librarians should redirect their efforts toward mastering substantive knowledge.
Synthesis of a Novel Bisphosphonium Salt Based on 2,2′-Bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1′-binaphthyl (Binap)

The reaction between 2,2′-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1′-binaphthyl (Binap) and an equimolar amount of [Cu(OTf)2] (where OTf = trifluoromethylsulfonate) in acetonitrile afforded the new bisphosphonium salt 1 by a mechanism that must involve two C−H bond activations and the consequent intramolecular formation of two new C−P bonds. Compound 1 was characterized by spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction methods.
IN-HOME GENERALIZATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN FAMILIES OF ADOLESCENTS WITH BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

The effects of a three-phase family communication program were evaluated. In the skill-teaching phase, family members were taught reciprocal social communication skills in a clinic setting. During the skill-review phase, each family member practiced the skills in their homes with the teacher. During the home-based family conference phase, each family was taught to use a structured format to resolve current family issues using their newly acquired skills. In-home parent-youth interactions were observed during a series of 1-hr sessions that involved directed and nondirected situations. Evaluation included a multiple baseline design across skills during the skill-teaching phase and a multiple baseline design across families for the family conference phase. Although the procedures of the skill-teaching phase resulted in parent-adolescent dyads learning to use the skills in the teaching setting, competent use of the skills in the home was not observed until the family conference phase was implemented. These results suggest the importance of home-based intervention if changes are to be obtained at home.
DUALITY FOR LINEAR MULTIPLICATIVE PROGRAMS

Linear multiplicative programs are an important class of nonconvex optimisation problems that are currently the subject of considerable research as regards the development of computational algorithms. In this paper, we show that mathematical programs of this nature are, in fact, a special case of more general signomial programming, which in turn implies that research on this latter problem may be valuable in analysing and solving linear multiplicative programs. In particular, we use signomial programming duality theory to establish a dual program for a nonconvex linear multiplicative program. An interpretation of the dual variables is given.
Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment To Determine Absolute Configuration Using Thin-Layer Chromatography

A new undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory experiment has been developed to determine the absolute configuration of enantioenriched secondary alcohols with the competing enantioselective conversion (CEC) method. The CEC method uses both enantiomers of a chiral kinetic resolution reagent in parallel reactions to identify the fast-reacting reagent and thus the configuration of the alcohol. Students working in pairs are given one of three enantioenriched secondary alcohols with an unknown absolute configuration. They assign the molecular structure using the corresponding 1H NMR spectrum and determine the absolute configuration via the CEC method. The parallel reactions are run at room temperature for 1 h using small quantities of solvent, substrate, and catalyst. Students use thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to analyze the parallel reactions and determine the fast reaction qualitatively. The free program ImageJ is used with a picture of the TLC plate to carry out a quantitative analysis of reaction conv...
INTRAVENOUS LIPID INFUSION INCREASES LUNG FLUID FILTRATION IN LAMBS

In adult sheep intravenous infusion of a 10% lipid emulsion at an hourly rate of 0.25 g/kg body weight increases pulmonary microvascular pressure and filtration of fluid into the lungs, causing pulmonary lymph flow to double (J Clin Invest 61:1291, 1978). As 10% lipid usually is administered at lower rates in infants, some of whom have lung disease, we tested the effect on lung fluid balance of a continuous parenteral infusion of 10% fat emulsion at an hourly rate of 0.125 g/kg in healthy, awake newborn lambs. We measured mean pulmonary arterial (Ppa) and left atrial (Pla) pressures, arterial blood gas tensions (PaO2 and PaCO2), lung blood flow (Qb) and lymph flow (Q1), and protein concentrations in lymph (PR1) and plasma (PRp) of 5 lambs, 1 to 3 wks old. After a 2-3 h infusion of isotonic saline (control), the lambs received an infusion of 10% lipid for 3-4 h at the same rate as the preceding saline. Results (X ± sx; *p < 0.05): Lipid infusion at a rate suitable for infants increased pulmonary microvascular pressure and lung lymph flow, and decreased lymph protein concentration, suggesting that intravenous fat causes constriction of the pulmonary circulation distal to sites of microvascular fluid exchange in lambs. Lipid infusions may thereby contribute to lung edema and impair arterial oxygenation.
The influence of polarization functions on molecular orbital hydrogenation energies

Polarization functions are added in two steps to a split-valence extended gaussian basis set: d-type gaussians on the first row atoms C. N, O and F and p-type gaussians on hydrogen. The same d-exponent of 0.8 is found to be satisfactory for these four atoms and the hydrogen p-exponent of 1.1 is adequate in their hydrides. The energy lowering due to d functions is found to depend on the local symmetry around the heavy atom. For the particular basis used, the energy lowerings due to d functions for various environments around the heavy atom are tabulated. These bases are then applied to a set of molecules containing up to two heavy atoms to obtain their LCAO-MO-SCF energies. The mean absolute deviation between theory and experiment (where available) for heats of hydrogenation of closed shell species with two non-hydrogen atoms is 4 kcal/mole for the basis set with full polarization. Estimates of hydrogenation energy errors at the Hartree-Fock limit, based on available calculations, are given.
Millimicrosecond Transistor Current Switching Circuits

If transistor switching circuits are to have response times limited by the bandwidths of the transistors operating as amplifiers and by diffusion or transit time delay, it becomes necessary to avoid operation in saturation. Since a low collector to base voltage, or operation near saturation, has a detrimental effect on transistor bandwidth, it is desirable to avoid this operating region as well. Where nonsaturating circuits are used with transistors having cutoff frequencies of several hundred megacycles, transistor and circuit capacitances become the primary limitation on speed. To minimize the delays due to capacitance, it is desirable to operate with voltage swings as small as reliability consideration will permit. A new mode of operation has been developed whereby well-specified currents can be switched reliably with small voltage swings. The complementary current switching technique described provides a means of constructing relatively simple logical circuits in which transistors are operated well out of saturation in a region of maximum bandwidth. This technique offers several advantages besides high-speed switching. The resulting logical circuits have complemented outputs, and reset their own levels. There is no requirement on the upper limit of \alpha and dc stability factors are essentially unity. The circuits are simple and relatively noise free. A few basic circuits and working examples are presented in the paper. Application and extension of this current switching technique results in a large body of new and useful logical circuits.
A new species of Trichacoides from India with a redescription of T. scutellaris Dodd (Hymenoptera: Platygasteridae)

SYNOPSIS A second species of Trichacoides Dodd, parasitic on Procontarinia sp. (Cecidomyiidae), is described from India. The first description of a male of this genus is given. Trichacoides scutellaris Dodd, the type species, is redescribed and illustrated, and a revised generic diagnosis presented.
The need for ease: development principles for successful autonomic computing projects

Summary form only given. Autonomic computing has emerged as a paradigm for self managing IT systems to stem the tide of rapidly increasing administration costs in the face of rising IT system complexity. The development of self managing systems poses special challenges to research and development teams. This paper explores some of the development paradigms that lead to successful software projects in autonomic computing. Examples from IBM's DB2 UDB Autonomic Computing project is used so as to highlight recent successes illustrating software engineering principles, algorithmic/mathematical techniques such as online simulation and close loop adaptive control, and experimental results
Extended abstract: organizing automaton specifications to achieve faithful representation

We have developed an approach to organizing automaton specifications in which a reference variable captures the essential state and shadow variables are used to facilitate expressiveness. We have applied our approach in specifying automaton models for three different examples: TESLA protocol, SELinux security policies and leader election for IEEE 1394. In all three cases the resulting specification bears an obvious close relationship to the actual system being modeled.
HtaA Is an Iron-Regulated Hemin Binding Protein Involved in the Utilization of Heme Iron in Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Many human pathogens, including Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the causative agent of diphtheria, use host compounds such as heme and hemoglobin as essential iron sources. In this study, we examined the Corynebacterium hmu hemin transport region, a genetic cluster that contains the hmuTUV genes encoding a previously described ABC-type hemin transporter and three additional genes, which we have designated htaA, htaB, and htaC. The hmu gene cluster is composed of three distinct transcriptional units. The htaA gene appears to be part of an iron- and DtxR-regulated operon that includes hmuTUV, while htaB and htaC are transcribed from unique DtxR-regulated promoters. Nonpolar deletion of either htaA or the hmuTUV genes resulted in a reduced ability to use hemin as an iron source, while deletion of htaB had no effect on hemin iron utilization in C. diphtheriae. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of HtaA and HtaB showed that they share some sequence similarity, and both proteins contain leader sequences and putative C-terminal transmembrane regions. Protein localization studies with C. diphtheriae showed that HtaA is associated predominantly with the cell envelope when the organism is grown in minimal medium but is secreted during growth in nutrient-rich broth. HtaB and HmuT were detected primarily in the cytoplasmic membrane fraction regardless of the growth medium. Hemin binding studies demonstrated that HtaA and HtaB are able to bind hemin, suggesting that these proteins may function as cell surface hemin receptors in C. diphtheriae.
Uncertainty quantification in reacting-flow simulations through non-intrusive spectral projection

Abstract A spectral formalism has been developed for the “non-intrusive” analysis of parametric uncertainty in reacting-flow systems. In comparison to conventional Monte Carlo analysis, this method quantifies the extent, dependence, and propagation of uncertainty through the model system and allows the correlation of uncertainties in specific parameters to the resulting uncertainty in detailed flame structure. For the homogeneous ignition chemistry of a hydrogen oxidation mechanism in supercritical water, spectral projection enhances existing Monte Carlo methods, adding detailed sensitivity information to uncertainty analysis and relating uncertainty propagation to reaction chemistry. For 1-D premixed flame calculations, the method quantifies the effect of each uncertain parameter on total uncertainty and flame structure, and localizes the effects of specific parameters within the flame itself. In both 0-D and 1-D examples, it is clear that known empirical uncertainties in model parameters may result in large uncertainties in the final output. This has important consequences for the development and evaluation of combustion models. This spectral formalism may be extended to multidimensional systems and can be used to develop more efficient “intrusive” reformulations of the governing equations to build uncertainty analysis directly into reacting flow simulations.
Quantifying Randomness Versus Consensus in Wine Quality Ratings

There has been ongoing interest in studying wine judges' performance in evaluating wines. Most of the studies have reached a similar conclusion: a significant lack of consensus exists in wine quality ratings. However, a few studies, to the author's knowledge, have provided direct quantification of how much consensus (as opposed to randomness) exists in wine ratings. In this paper, a permutation-based mixed model is proposed to quantify randomness versus consensus in wine ratings. Specifically, wine ratings under the condition of randomness are generated with a permutation method, and wine ratings under the condition of consensus can be produced by sorting the ratings for each judge. Then the observed wine ratings are modeled as a mixture of ratings under randomness and ratings under consensus. This study shows that the model can provide excellent model fit, which indicates that wine ratings, indeed, consist of a mixture of randomness and consensus. A direct measure is easily computed to quantify randomness versus consensus in wine ratings. The method is demonstrated with data analysis from a major wine competition and a simulation study. (JEL Classifications: C10, C13, C15)
AFM and CAFM studies of ELO GaN films

The techniques of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and conductive AFM (CAFM) have been used to study the morphology and conduction properties of a-plane GaN films grown via epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO). Four GaN samples were prepared using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with slightly different growth conditions. In AFM images, the coalesced ELO films show undulations, where the window regions appear as depressions with a higher defect density than surrounding areas. At reverse bias above 20 V, lower quality samples show localized leakage defect sites inside the window regions, whereas higher quality samples show no localized leakage. This behavior is consistent with previous observations on non-ELO samples where significantly enhanced localized leakage occurs at voltages above 15 V. Surface oxidation was also observed, where continuous scanning at reverse bias results in decreased conduction. This CAFM study confirms that ELO-grown GaN samples show enhanced reverse-bias leakage inside window regions where a higher defect density is present.
Electron precipitation coincident with ELF/VLF wave bursts

[1] On 15 October 1999, charged particle and plasma wave detectors on the Polar satellite observed an enhancement in precipitating energetic electrons coincident with an ELF/VLF electromagnetic emission. Assuming that the electromagnetic wave was field aligned and scattered trapped electrons by first-order cyclotron resonance near the equatorial plane, the resulting pitch angle distribution of precipitating electrons was calculated. For reasonable values of the cold plasma density and the wave intensity at the equatorial plane, the calculated precipitation agrees with measurements for an equatorial interaction region approximately 1000 km in length.
The Utility of Comparative Genetics to Inform Breast Cancer Prevention Strategies

My research seeks to aid in developing approaches to prevent breast cancer. This research evolved from our early empirical studies for discovering natural compounds with anticancer activities, coupled with clinical evaluation to a genetics-driven approach to prevention. This centers on the use of comparative genomics to discover risk-modifying alleles that could help define population and individual risk and also serve as potential prevention drugable targets to mitigate risk. Here, we initially fine map mammary cancer loci in a rat carcinogenesis model and then evaluate their human homologs in breast cancer case-control association studies. This approach has yielded promising results, including the finding that the compound rat QTL Mcs5a's human homologous region was associated with breast cancer risk. These and related findings have the potential to yield advancements both in translation-prevention research and in basic molecular genetics.
The common inhalation anesthetic isoflurane induces caspase activation and increases amyloid β-protein level in vivo

Objective An estimated 200 million patients worldwide have surgery each year. Anesthesia and surgery have been reported to facilitate emergence of Alzheimer's disease. The commonly used inhalation anesthetic isoflurane has previously been reported to induce apoptosis, and to increase levels and aggregation of Alzheimer's disease–associated amyloid β-protein (Aβ) in cultured cells. However, the in vivo relevance has not been addressed. Methods We therefore set out to determine effects of isoflurane on caspase activation and levels of β-site amyloid precursor protein–cleaving enzyme (BACE) and Aβ in naive mice, using Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results Here we show for the first time that a clinically relevant isoflurane anesthesia (1.4% isoflurane for 2 hours) leads to caspase activation and modest increases in levels of BACE 6 hours after anesthesia in mouse brain. Isoflurane anesthesia induces caspase activation, and increases levels of BACE and Aβ up to 24 hours after anesthesia. Isoflurane may increase BACE levels by reducing BACE degradation. Moreover, the Aβ aggregation inhibitor, clioquinol, was able to attenuate isoflurane-induced caspase-3 activation in vivo. Interpretation Given that transient insults to brain may lead to long-term brain damage, these findings suggest that isoflurane may promote Alzheimer's disease neuropathogenesis and, as such, have implications for use of isoflurane in humans, pending human study confirmation. Ann Neurol 2008
Heat tolerance in Southern Rhodesian sheep fed on a maintenance diet

1. Heat tolerance in nine hair-coated wethers on a maintenance diet was studied during the hottest period of the year near Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia.
Linear Ensemble Antennas Resulting from the Optimization of Log Periodic Dipole Arrays Using Genetic Algorithms

Optimization with genetic algorithms (GAs) has become both popular and realistic in the electromagnetic community with the growth in computers and precise electromagnetic computer programs. Intuition is often required for antenna design but GAs can instead define and search a large design space. Using this method results in a non-intuitive and yet very effective antenna architectures. This paper presents an integrated technique to optimize antennas whose basis is Log Periodic Dipole Arrays (LPDA). We use an aggregated fitness function in a multi-objective GA, the NSGA-II, and the optimization software package iSIGHT, along with the Graphical Numerical Electromagnetics Code (GNEC), a method of moments program for antenna design. The results of this design technique compare excellently to Yagi-Uda designs as well as produce acceptable antenna designs based on LPDAs.
THERMOCHEMISTRY OF METAL NITRIDES IN THE CA/ZN/N SYSTEM

The energetics of ternary oxide formation is reasonably well understood, but little is known of the energetics of ternary nitride formation. We have developed new procedures for high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry on metal nitrides and employed them to study compounds in the Ca/Zn/N system. The calorimetry utilized the easy reduction of MoO3 in the solvent to supply a pathway for rapid oxidation of “N3–” to N2 gas. These experiments represent the first high-temperature solution calorimetry of ternary metal nitrides. The results indicate that Ca3N2 acts as a basic nitride analogous to CaO in oxide systems, while Zn3N2 acts as an acidic nitride (“N3–” acceptor) in this ternary nitride system.
TNF-alpha gene (TNFA) variants increase risk for multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in acute pancreatitis.

Abstract Background/Objectives Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a complex inflammatory syndrome with unpredictable progression to systemic inflammation and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF−α) is a cytokine that may link inflammation to the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which usually precedes MODS. Small genetic cohort studies of the TNFA promoter in AP produced ambiguous results. We performed a comprehensive evaluation of TNFA promoter variants to assess both susceptibility to AP and risk of progression to MODS. Methods We prospectively ascertained 401 controls and 211 patients with AP that were assessed for persistent SIRS (>48 h) and MODS. MODS was defined as failure of ≥2 organ systems (cardiovascular, pulmonary, and/or renal) persisting more than 48 h. Subjects were genotyped by DNA sequencing and analyzed for SNPs at −1031 C/T (rs1799964), −863 A/C (rs1800630), −857 C/T (rs1799724), −308 A/G (rs1800629), and −238 A/G (rs361525). Results Twenty-three of 211 AP patients (11%) developed MODS. TNFA promoter variants were not associated with susceptibility to AP, but progression to MODS was associated with the minor allele at −1031C (56.5% vs. 32.4% P = 0.022, OR: 2.7; 95%CI: 1.12–6.51) and −863A (43.5% vs. 21.8% P = 0.022, OR: 2.76; 95%CI: 1.12–6.74). Conclusion TNFA promoter variants do not alter susceptibility to AP, but rather the TNF−α expression-enhancing −1031C and −863A alleles significantly increased the risk of AP progression to MODS. These data, within the context of previous studies, clarify the risk of specific genetic variants in TNFA and therefore the role of TNF−α in the overall AP syndrome.
EFFECT OF LIGHT ON SEXUAL MATURATION, ESTROUS CYCLES, AND ANTERIOR PITUITARY OF THE RAT1

THE FACT that light stimulates many vertebrates, hastening the onset of the breeding season or inducing precocious sexual maturity, has already been es-il_ tablished. It has also been shown that this stimulation of the gonads and accessories is mediated through the anterior pituitary. For a review of the subject see Bissonette (1). The effect of light on a polyestrous mammal was investigated by Hemmingsen and Krarup (2), who found that the normal diurnal variations associated with estrus in the rat were reversed when the day-night rhythm of light was artificially shifted. They further reported a prolonged cornification of the vagina in rats kept under continuous light. Browman (3), confirmed the effect of light on the vaginal smear and also found no significant change in the age at which vaginal introitus occurred.
Effects of melatonin on isolated pulmonary artery and vein: role of the vascular endothelium.

Abstract Summary: The influence of melatonin on tension of isolated pulmonary vascular smooth muscle rings was examined in these experiments. Melatonin caused a dose-dependent relaxation of precontracted (30 mM KCl) pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein. Removal of the endothelium did not alter the relaxant response to melatonin in pulmonary artery. In pulmonary artery with endothelium intact, preincubation with indomethacin, but not L-NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) or deferoxamine, antagonized the relaxant response to melatonin. In pulmonary artery with endothelium removed, preincubation with deferoxamine, but not indomethacin, phorbol esters, or lithium chloride, antagonized the relaxant response to melatonin. In pulmonary vein, removal of the endothelium significantly increased the maximum relaxation attained in response to melatonin. In pulmonary vein with endothelium intact, preincubation with indomethacin, but not L-NMMA or deferoxamine, antagonized the relaxant response to melatonin. On the other hand, preincubation of de-endothelialized pulmonary vein with lithium chloride significantly increased the relaxation response to melatonin. These experiments demonstrate that both pulmonary artery and vein relax in response to melatonin and the mechanisms are apparently different.
ATPase activity of the heat shock protein Hsp72 is dispensable for its effects on dephosphorylation of stress kinase JNK and on heat-induced apoptosis

A major inducible heat shock protein, Hsp72, has previously been found to stimulate dephosphorylation (inactivation) of stress kinase JNK in heat-shocked cells and protect them from apoptosis. Using Rat-1 fibroblasts with constitutive expression of a human Hsp72 or its deletion mutant lacking an ATPase domain (C-terminal fragment (CTF)), we tested whether ATPase activity of Hsp72 is necessary for these effects. We found that expression of CTF markedly increased, similarly to the intact protein, JNK dephosphorylation in heat-shocked cells. As a result, JNK inactivation following heat shock occurred much faster in cells expressing either full-length or mutant Hsp72 than in parental cells and this was accompanied by suppression of heat-induced apoptosis. Thus, protein refolding activity of Hsp72 appears to be dispensable for its effect on JNK inactivation and apoptosis.
Severity of Myocardial Infarction New Insights on an Elusive Construct

Cardiovascular disease constitutes a burden of epidemic proportion,1 and understanding its determinants is essential to designing effective interventions. Doing so requires the ability to track disease burden at the population level. In the United States, without national registries, community surveillance is the method of choice.2 Community surveillance studies are mostly retrospective by design, rely on diagnostic codes for case finding, and require a defined population in which events can be consistently and reliably captured and validated with standardized approaches. Applied to cardiovascular disease, community surveillance measures its burden in communities by tracking the incidence of events, their severity, and their mortality, thereby enabling the appraisal of the components of cardiovascular diseases in a given population.2 Because of the aforementioned methodological requirements, few surveillance studies exist in the United States. They include the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study,3 the Minnesota Heart Survey,4 the Olmsted County Study,5 and the Worcester Heart Attack Study.6 The data from these studies indicate that, although deaths from coronary disease have declined, the incidence of myocardial infarction in the United States has remained mostly stable. Thus, the decline in mortality can be envisioned as reflecting an improvement in survival, which may be mediated by a declining severity of myocardial infarction. Article p 503 The article by Myerson et al7 in this issue of Circulation specifically addresses this important and understudied issue in ARIC between 1987 and 2002. They examined a large, multiracial population and relied on several indicators, including the composite Predicting Risk of Death in Cardiac Disease Tool (PREDICT) score to conclude that the severity of infarction declined over time. Indeed, the proportion of infarctions with major ECG abnormalities, ST-segment elevation, and Q waves decreased, as did biomarker values and the proportion of persons presenting with shock. …
Structure of Cyanobacterial Photosystems I and II

Photosynthesis is an efficient natural process that converts solar energy into chemical energy. The ancestors of today’s cyanobacteria were the first to use water as the electron source for this process, which resulted in the release of oxygen into the formerly reducing atmosphere of Earth. The actual conversion of light energy into chemical energy occurs in two large membrane protein complexes, Photosystems I and II, where the light-induced charge seperation across the photosynthetic membrane takes place. This chapter describes and compares the structure of both cyanobacterial Photosystems and discusses their function in respect to the mechanisms of light harvesting, electron transfer and water splitting.
The effect of the Fanconi anemia polypeptide, FAC, upon p53 induction and G2 checkpoint regulation

Fanconi anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive disease marked by developmental defects, bone marrow failure, and cancer susceptibility. FA cells are hypersensitive to DNA cross-linking and alkylating agents and accumulate in the G2 phase of the cell cycle in response to these agents. FA cells also display genomic instability, suggesting a possible defect in the p53 pathway. To test the effect of heterologous expression of FAC cDNA on drug-induced cytotoxicity, G2 accumulation, and p53 induction in FA cells, we compared two isogenic FA cell lines: HSC536N (mock), a FA type C cell line sensitive to mitomycin C (MMC), and the same cell line transfected (corrected) with wild-type FAC cDNA (HSC536N [+FAC]). HSC536N (+FAC) cells showed a 30-fold increase in resistance to MMC concentration. Similarly, increases in resistance were observed following exposure to cisplatin, carboplatin, and cyclophosphamide. In addition, HSC536N (+FAC) cells showed a twofold lower G2 accumulation following MMC treatment. To analyze the possible interaction of FAC with the p53 pathway, we analyzed p53 induction in mock and corrected cell lines following exposure to MMC. HSC536N (mock) cells induced p53 at lower MMC concentrations than HSC536N (corrected). Caffeine, a known G2 checkpoint inhibitor, not only inhibited G2 accumulation seen in both cell lines but also caused the resistant HSC536N (+FAC) to become as sensitive to MMC as HSC536N (mock) cell line. We conclude that the FAC protein has a specific cytoprotective effect and may function as a cell cycle regulator of the G2 phase of the cell cycle.
Rethinking Traditional Alignments: Privatization and Participatory Citizenship

Privatization has been traditionally perceived as a threat to social justice from the perspective of progressive lawyers. The concept has been understood as an inherently conservative project that must be resisted. However, recent developments in both theory and practice illuminate the ways in which privatization processes can and should be pluralized conceptually and pragmatically. Progressive scholars must seize the opportunity to explore the question of privatization in terms of participatory citizenship and democratic governance. Privatization has incorporated under its conceptual umbrella a vast range of processes including selling government assets, leasing, outsourcing, contracting-out, deregulating, franchising, vouchering, and shifts from direct public action to grants, loans, loan guarantees, and subsidies of private action. As a result of the disengagement of progressive reformers with privatization, the social and democratic aspects of privatization alternatives have been underdeveloped. The article introduces a nascent progressive intervention in the discourse of privatization. It discusses a variety of domains where recent experimentation with public-private partnerships reveal the potential to enrich our concepts of democracy and progressive law and lawyering. Three central strategies of the new progressive engagement are discussed. The first strategy is the pluralization of the projects of privatization, revealing how the term privatization is already employed to signify a myriad of governance mechanisms, processes, and structures. Second, the inclusion of recent initiatives of public/private partnerships within the range of privatization possibilities enables a more robust concept of progressive participatory privatization. The emerging vision is brought to bear on three areas - workfare, school reform, and budgeting restructuring - in which aspiration and practices of alternative privatization processes are unfolding. The final step is therefore to recognize the implications of innovative governance architecture for the on-going roles of government and the legal system in the new political economy.
Center-Based Trees and Multicast Packing

Computing routing trees for multicast networks is an expensive operation. As explained in the previous chapters, a number of algorithms for this problem use models borrowed from the Steiner tree problem on graphs, as well as other network problems.
Effects of the surface physico-chemical properties and the surface textures on the initial colonization and the attached growth in algal biofilm

Algal biofilm reactors represent a promising cultivation system that can economically produce biomass without the need for expensive harvesting operations. A critical component of algal biofilm systems is the material used for attachment. This research reports a comprehensive study of the effects of material surface physico-chemical properties, the surface texture, and their interactions on the initial colonization and the long-term attached growth in algal biofilm systems. A total of 28 materials with a smooth surface were tested for initial cell colonization and it was found that the tetradecane contact angle of the materials had a good correlation with cell attachment. The effects of surface texture were evaluated using mesh materials (nylon, polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, polyester, aluminum, and stainless steel) with openings ranging from 0.05 to 6.40 mm. The mesh materials with an opening of 0.5 mm resulted in the highest attachment. The interaction of surface physico-chemical properties and surface texture, and their co-effects on the cell attachment, was quantitatively described using a second-order polynomial regression. The long-term algal attached growth for the different materials showed a trend similar to that found in initial colonization. Collectively, nylon and polypropylene mesh with 0.50–1.25 mm openings resulted in the best initial colonization and long-term attached growth, with a 28–30 g m−2 biomass yield and 4.0–4.3 g m−2 day biomass productivity being achieved on a pilot-scale revolving algal biofilm system.
Laser-Induced Nuclear Orientation of 1 µs 85mRb

Laser-Induced Nuclear Orientation (LINO) [1] experiments employ intense laser optical pumping to orient unstable nuclei, and detect the subsequent angular anisotropy of the nuclear gamma ray emission. The profiles of anisotropy versus laser tuning yield atomic resonance frequencies from which nuclear moments and other structure parameters are derived. Prior to the present study, a number of experiments were performed using lamps as light sources,and were limited to nuclides with half-lives >1 s. LINO type experiments were also performed on-line at accelerator facilities [2,3] on nuclides whose lifetimes were in the range of milliseconds.
ras and c-myc protein expression in colorectal carcinoma. Study of cancer-prone patients.

This study was performed to determine the correlation of tumorrasand c-myconcogene expression with clinical and prognostic variables in patients prone to develop colorectal cancer. One hundred eighteen patients with colorectal cancer were studied; mean age was 40 years. Fifty-three were young patients (age 40 or less), 49 had ulcerative colitis, and 16 had multiple polyposis coli. Immunoperoxidase stains of paraffin-embedded cancer sections were performed for the c-mycandrasproteins.rasstaining was found to correlate with Dukes stage and prognosis. Patients with tumors negative forrasprotein stain had an actuarial five-year survival of 61 percent versus 44 percent for those tumors with a positive stain (P<0.05). This correlation was not seen with the c-mycstain. Positiverasoncogene stain appears to be a useful indicator of advanced stage and poor prognosis in colorectal cancer occurring in cancer-prone patients.