cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
005 Clinical Practice Guidelines and Systematic Reviews: Point of Intersection?

Background Guideline committees (GCs) rely on the evidence synthesised in systematic reviews (SRs) to develop evidence-based guidelines. Institute of Medicine standards for clinical practice guidelines include an interaction between the GC and the team conducting the SR. Context In 2005, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation moved from consensus-based to evidence-based guideline development. SRs are now commissioned to inform specific guidelines. A methodologist, serving as a member of each multidisciplinary GC and as the lead investigator for the SR teams, provides the link for the scope, approach, and output of both processes. Description of Best Practice The methodologist, as part of the GC, facilitates the definition of the scope and refines the questions for the SRs. The methodologist oversees the conduct of the SR, ensuring that the review team addresses relevant questions, appropriately conducts searches, and establishes inclusion criteria and provides informative details to the GC. The methodologist provides training, where needed, and ensures consistency across guidelines in the drafting and grading of the recommendations. The methodologist also helps to address peer review comments and draft the guideline documents. Lessons for Guideline Developers, Adaptors, Implementers, and/or Users Having a methodologist serve on both the GC and the SR team ensures that there is appropriate and timely intersection of the guideline and SR processes. The methodologist can ensure that the SR team meets the needs of the GC and illuminate for the GC the methods and outcomes of the SR.
Fast cardiac CT simulation using a Graphics Processing Unit-accelerated Monte Carlo code

The simulation of imaging systems using Monte Carlo x-ray transport codes is a computationally intensive task. Typically, many days of computation are required to simulate a radiographic projection image and, as a consequence, the simulation of the hundreds of projections needed to perform a tomographic reconstruction may require an unaffordable amount of computing time. To speed up x-ray transport simulations, a MC code that can be executed in a graphics processing unit (GPU) was developed using the CUDATM programming model, an extension to the C language for the execution of general-purpose computations on NVIDIA's GPUs. The code implements the accurate photon interaction models from PENELOPE and takes full advantage of the GPU massively parallel architecture by simulating hundreds of particle tracks simultaneously. In this work we describe a new version of this code adapted to the simulation of computed tomography (CT) scans, and allowing the execution in parallel in multiple GPUs. An example simulation of a cardiac CT using a detailed voxelized anthropomorphic phantom is presented. A comparison of the simulation computational performance in one or multiple GPUs and in a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a benchmark with a standard PENELOPE code, are provided. This study shows that low-cost GPU clusters are a good alternative to CPU clusters for Monte Carlo simulation of x-ray transport.
A comparative study of electrode effects on the electrical and luminescent characteristics of Alq3/TPD OLED: Improvements due to conductive polymer (PEDOT) anode

Abstract The performance of organic light emitting device (OLED) structures, based on identically fabricated Alq 3 /TPD active regions, with various anode and cathode electrode structures are compared, and performance differences related to the different anode structure. The best performance was achieved with a conductive polymer, 3,4-polyethylenedioxythiopene–polystyrenesultonate (PEDOT), used as an anode layer, yielding a brightness of 1720 cd/m 2 at 25 V, a turn-on voltage of 3 V, and electroluminescence (EL) efficiency and external quantum efficiency of 8.2 cd/A and 2%, respectively, at a brightness of 100 cd/m 2 and 5 V. Compared to a baseline device (TPD/Alq 3 /Al), PEDOT anodes substantially reduce the turn-on voltage and made current injection almost linear after turn-on, whiles devices incorporating a LiF and CuPc layers significantly improved device efficiency while slightly improving turn-on voltage and maintaining superlinear I–V injection. This is attributed to the reduced barrier at the organic-organic interface in PEDOT, the ‘ladder’ effect of stepping the band offset over several interfaces, and the favorable PEDOT film morphology. The benefit of the PEDOT anode is clearly seen in the improvement in device brightness and the high external quantum efficiency obtained.
Enhancement of Local Air Pollution by Urban CO2 Domes

Data suggest that domes of high CO(2) levels form over cities. Despite our knowledge of these domes for over a decade, no study has contemplated their effects on air pollution or health. In fact, all air pollution regulations worldwide assume arbitrarily that such domes have no local health impact, and carbon policy proposals, such as "cap and trade", implicitly assume that CO(2) impacts are the same regardless of where emissions occur. Here, it is found through data-evaluated numerical modeling with telescoping domains from the globe to the U.S., California, and Los Angeles, that local CO(2) emissions in isolation may increase local ozone and particulate matter. Although health impacts of such changes are uncertain, they are of concern, and it is estimated that that local CO(2) emissions may increase premature mortality by 50-100 and 300-1000/yr in California and the U.S., respectively. As such, reducing locally emitted CO(2) may reduce local air pollution mortality even if CO(2) in adjacent regions is not controlled. If correct, this result contradicts the basis for air pollution regulations worldwide, none of which considers controlling local CO(2) based on its local health impacts. It also suggests that a "cap and trade" policy should consider the location of CO(2) emissions, as the underlying assumption of the policy is incorrect.
Clinical Social Work in a Digital Environment: Ethical and Risk-Management Challenges

Clinical social workers’ use of digital and other technology to provide distance counseling services is proliferating. Increasing numbers of contemporary practitioners are using video counseling, email chat, social networking websites, text messaging, smartphone apps, avatar-based websites, self-guided web-based interventions, and other technology to provide clinical services to clients, some of whom they may never meet in person. The advent of this technology has produced a wide range of ethical challenges related to social workers’ application of traditional social work ethics concepts: client informed consent; client privacy and confidentiality; boundaries and dual relationships; conflicts of interest; practitioner competence; records and documentation; and collegial relationships. The principal purpose of this article is to identify pertinent ethical and ethically-related risk-management issues that clinical social workers need to consider if they contemplate using this technology to assist people in need. The author addresses compelling ethical issues concerning (1) social workers’ use of digital technology to communicate with clients in relatively new ways, and (2) whether social workers’ use of digital technology alters the fundamental nature of the therapeutic relationship and clinicians’ ability to provide clients with a truly therapeutic environment.
The value of the pretreatment albumin/globulin ratio in predicting the long-term survival in colorectal cancer

Low serum albumin was found as a predictor of long-term mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Our aim was to evaluate the value of the pretreatment albumin/globulin ratio (AGR) to predict the long-term mortality in CRC patients. Patients were included if they had comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) before treatment (surgery or chemotherapy). The albumin/globulin ratio, routinely reported in CMP, is calculated [AGR = Albumin/(Total protein − Albumin)]. Patients were divided into three equal tertiles according to their pretreatment AGR. The primary outcome was cancer-related mortality, which was obtained from our cancer registry database. A total of 534 consecutive CRC patients had pretreatment CMP. The 1st AGR tertile had a significant higher 4-year mortality compared to the second and third AGR tertiles (42 vs. 19 and 7 %, p 3.5 g/dl), serum AGR continues to be an independent predictor of cancer-related mortality with an adjusted hazard ratio of the third tertile compared to the first tertile equal to 0.05 (95 % confidence interval 0.01–0.33, p = 0.002). Low AGR was a strong independent predictor of long-term cancer-specific survival among colorectal cancer patients. Additionally, among the patients with normal albumin (>3.5 g/dl), patients with lower globulins but higher albumin and AGR levels had better survival.
The effect of ionizing radiation on the enzyme desoxyribonuclease in the dry state.

SummaryThe radiation sensitivity of the enzyme DNase in the dry state may be altered in the presence of added materials. In the presence of sodium chloride or sodium phosphate the radiation sensitivity of DNase is increased. This radiation sensitivity was found to vary, depending on the ph of the environment before freezing and drying. The addition of desoxyribonucleic acid was found to increase the radiation sensitivity above ph 6·5 and to decrease the sensitivity below ph 6·5. The radiation-sensitivity changes which occur in the presence of DNA include a specific decrease, dependent on the intact DNA-molecule, and a non-specific effect, in the presence of the degraded substrate or of intact RNA. The DNA-specific sensitivity change is probably a result of energy transfer from the enzyme to the substrate via the enzyme-substrate attachment site.
Cholera Toxin inhibits Macromolecular Synthesis in Mouse Spleen Cells

UNDER appropriate experimental conditions, cholera enterotoxin affects a wide variety of non-intestinal tissues and cells1–3. As cholera toxin can profoundly alter normal cellular biochemical events, including lipolysis stimulation in fat cells, glycogenolysis in liver cells and platelets and the inhibition of histamine release from buffy coat cells from sensitized animals challenged with antigen4, we chose to study this material with the expectation that it might affect DNA synthesis and be useful for studying lymphocyte biochemistry.
On the systematic variation in surface aerosol concentration at the South Pole

Abstract Aerosol observations have been made at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica, on a disciplined schedule since January 1974. Analysis of the data shows a repeatable annual cycle in surface aerosol concentration characterized by a twenty-fold increase during the spring months as lower-latitude air is advected onto the Polar Plateau. During the nine-year period 1977–1985, the mean values of the aerosol concentrations for the spring months as well as for the entire calendar year, decreased. This diminution of surface aerosol at South Pole Station, Antarctica appears to be statistically significant.
Large-cell renormalisation and systems of dimensionality larger than the upper marginal dimension

A recent argument dismissing the applicability of large-cell renormalization schemes to systems whose dimensionality is larger than the upper marginal dimension is critically discussed. In this connection, new large-cell renormalization results for the random walk for a dimensionality of 3 and 4 are presented which indicate convergence to the correct results.
Chromosome Conformation Capture of All 13 Genomic Loci in the Transcriptional Regulation of the Multisubunit Bigenomic Cytochrome c Oxidase in Neurons

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is the terminal enzyme of the electron transport chain composed of 13 subunits; three are mitochondria-encoded, and 10 are nucleus-inscribed on nine different chromosomes within the mammalian genome. The transcriptional regulation of such a multisubunit, multichromosomal, and bigenomic enzyme is mechanistically challenging. Transcription factories have been proposed as one mechanism by which genes from different genomic loci congregate to transcribe functionally related genes, and chromosome conformation capture (3C) is a means by which such interactions can be revealed. Thus far, however, only loci from the same chromosome or at most two chromosomes have been co-localized by 3C. The present study used 3C to test our hypothesis that not only the 10 genomic loci from nine chromosomes encoding the 10 nuclear subunits of COX, but also genes from three chromosomes encoding mitochondrial transcription factors A and B (Tfam, Tfb1m, and Tfb2m) critical for the transcription of the three mitochondria-encoded COX subunit genes all occupy common intranuclear sites in the murine neuronal nuclei. The pairing of various COX subunit genes and Tf genes indicates that interactions are present among all of them. On the other hand, genes for a non-mitochondrial protein (calreticulin) as well as a mitochondrial enzyme (citrate synthase) did not interact with COX genes. Furthermore, interactions between COX subunit and Tf genes were up-regulated by depolarizing stimulation and down-regulated by impulse blockade in primary neurons. Thus, a viable mechanism is in place for a synchronized, coordinated transcriptional regulation of this multisubunit, bigenomic COX enzyme in neurons.
Time-dependent changes in gender-based promotion differences

Abstract A five-period model is used to model gender differences in promotions. Differences in outside opportunities lead to a gender-biased efficient promotion strategy. Changes over time in outside opportunities for women can lead to promotion which is not gender-biased.
O,S,S,-trimethyl phosphorodithioate-induced lung damage in rats and mice.

O,S,S,-Trimethyl phosphorodithioate (OSS) is a contaminant of various organophosphorus insecticides which induces delayed damage to rat lung bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells. Whether lung damage occurs in mice has not been tested. Changes in DNA synthesis, an index of cell division after the induction of damage, were monitored by measuring thymidine incorporation into pulmonary DNA. Mice, treated with 45 mg/kg OSS, exhibited a significant increase in pulmonary thymidine incorporation on Day 5. Maximal increases occurred on Days 7–10 and were followed by a gradual decline to control levels by Day 15. The labeling index of mouse lung cells, determined following autoradiography, exhibited a similar time course. Differential cell counts indicated that maximal division of type II cells occurred before that of interstitial cells, although interstitial cells were the predominant type labeled at all times. Pulmonary DNA synthesis was significantly increased in rats 2 days after treatment with 90 mg/kg OSS. Maximal thymidine incorporation was measured on Day 3, followed by a decline to control levels on Day 5. Thymidine incorporation into total lung DNA was dose related in both species. Maximal increases appeared after 45 and 90 mg/kg OSS in mice and rats, respectively. The histopathological changes in mouse lung tissue were similar, but somewhat less severe than those seen in rats. Rats exhibited a severe interstitial pneumonitis with type I alveolar cell destruction followed by type II cell proliferation. Mice exhibited a mild to moderate alveolitis with only slight damage to type I cells. Necrosis of bronchiolar Clara cells was evident in both species but was more extensive in rats. SKF 525a and piperonyl butoxide prevented OSS-induced increases in pulmonary DNA synthesis in rat lung suggesting that metabolic activation was necessary to elicit damage. Piperonyl butoxide treatments had no effect, however, on thymidine incorporation after OSS in mouse lung tissue, and the highest dose of SKF 525a and only a moderate inhibitory effect on this parameter while increasing animal mortality. These data indicate that systemic treatment with OSS results in damage to mouse, as well as rat, lung tissue at both the alveolar and bronchiolar levels.
The Rotational Analysis of the S 2 Bands

The emission spectrum of ${\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ has been obtained by means of a Geissler tube, the plates being taken in the third order of a 21 foot concave grating giving a dispersion of 0.878A per mm. The following bands have been studied; $9\ensuremath{-}1(\ensuremath{\lambda}2857.36)$, $7\ensuremath{-}0(\ensuremath{\lambda}2860.13)$, $8\ensuremath{-}1(\ensuremath{\lambda}2887.84)$, $9\ensuremath{-}2(\ensuremath{\lambda}2917.38)$ and $7\ensuremath{-}1(\ensuremath{\lambda}2920.28)$. Each band consists of three $R$ and three $P$ branches. For small values of $K$ each band appears to have a weak and a strong $R$ branch and a weak and a strong $P$ branch. The lines of the strong branches separate into two components for $K\ensuremath{\geqq}25$. This structure is similar to that of the Schumann-Runge bands of ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$. It is concluded that the ${\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ bands investigated are due to a $^{3}{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{u}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{3}{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{g}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ transition (like ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$). The values of ${{B}_{e}}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}$ and ${{B}_{e}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ (by extrapolation) are 0.409 and 0.319 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, respectively, the nuclear separation of the lower state being ${{r}_{e}}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}=1.603\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ cm and of the upper state ${{r}_{e}}^{\ensuremath{'}}=1.814\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ cm. It is shown that the rotational levels with odd $K$ values are missing in the upper state and those with even $K$ values in the lower state. The fact that alternate levels are missing shows that the internal angular momentum of the ${\mathrm{S}}^{32}$ nucleus is zero.
Diflubenzuron Effect on Yellowjacket (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Worker Numbers in a Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest

Ten yellowjacket species, of markedly different abundances, were found in a central Appalachian broadleaf forest from 1991 to 1993. Malaise-trap samples indicated that yellowjacket numbers fluctuated greatly between years, as occurs in other habitats. A split-plot analysis revealed that diflubenzuron decreased worker number in the application year but not in the postapplication year and revealed no effect of trap site on worker sample size.
Thermosolutal convection during cellular arrayed growth of Pb-Sn alloys

Thermosolutal convection caused by the solute build up ahead of the growing arrays of cells and dendrites results in macrosegregation along the length of the Pb-Sn alloy (10 to 58 wt pct Sn) specimens when they are directionally solidified in a positive thermal gradient (melt on top, solid below, and gravity pointing down). At a constant thermal gradient, the extent of macrosegregation increases with decreasing growth speed as the microstructure changes from dendritic, to cellular and to planar. An empirical parameter, effective partition coefficient, obtained from the dependence of the longitudinal macrosegregation on fraction distance solidified can be used to represent the extent of macrosegregation.
Ischemic preconditioning induces XRCC1, DNA polymerase-β, and DNA ligase III and correlates with enhanced base excision repair

Abstract Neuronal protection induced by ischemic preconditioning has an important role in the reduction of stroke volume and attenuation of neuronal cell death. Ischemic injury is associated with increased oxidative DNA damage, and failure to efficiently repair these oxidatively damaged lesions results in the accumulation of mutations and neuronal cell death. Although the effects of ischemic tolerance can have profound implications, the precise mechanisms mediating this phenomenon remain unclear. The base excision repair (BER) pathway has a major role in the repair of oxidative DNA base damage after ischemic injury. Using a rat model of ischemic preconditioning, we now report that the neuronal protection observed after induction of ischemic tolerance is associated with increased BER. In situ detection of single-strand breaks and apurinic/apyrimidinic sites reduced to baseline levels after reperfusion following ischemic preconditioning. By contrast, no change was seen in the quantity of in situ lesions after reperfusion in non-ischemic preconditioned brain. Induction of the BER proteins XRCC1, DNA polymerase-β, and DNA ligase III was seen after reperfusion in ischemically conditioned brain. Moreover, an increase in binding between XRCC1 and DNA polymerase-β was seen under these conditions, as might be expected during formation of functional BER complexes. Using in vitro BER oligonucleotides, we directly demonstrated an increase in total BER capacity of nuclear extracts prepared from ischemic-conditioned brain after reperfusion compared with sham-operated brain. These findings provide direct evidence that increased BER is associated with the neuroprotection induced after ischemic preconditioning, and provides important new mechanistic insight into the important biologic pathways that protect neurons against irreversible ischemic injury.
Dvaravati, Si Thep, and Wendan.

The aim of this article is to better define the historical position of Wendan (Land Zhenla), an 8th-century kingdom known from Chinese sources, which had a capital in northeastern Thailand. The material evidence from Thailand, primarily in the form of Buddhist boundary stones, will not yield a coherent story until it is studied more deeply, with careful attention to issues of chronology. Architectural ruins in the Angkor region show that temple building (in contrast to what some have previously thought) fell off dramatically in about the second quarter of the 8th century, consistent with the hypothesis that the area fell under the domination of Wendan. For evidence that Angkor-region craftsmen were taken north by Wendan, it is necessary to look at sculpture and monumental remains taken from or remaining in Si Thep, a city likely to have stood west of Wendan’s political center. Evidence from the Delta region (“Water Zhenla”), finally, dating from the second half of the 8th century, reveals contact with Si Thep in this period and also indicates that at least some of the craftsmen who worked on Mt. Kulen (probably beginning prior to Jayavarman II’s coronation in 802) were likely to have been brought from this region.
The Dream as Text, The Dream as Narrative

The concepts of “text” and “narrative” are reviewed in terms of their appropriate application to the study of dreams. It is proposed that, once experienced, all dreams are texts, but that not all of these texts are narratives. Blending Jung's proposal for the form of the average dream with basic terms from narratology, dream data are employed in order to examine the narrativity of dreams, and by way of inquiring into cognitive aspects of narrative structure. Questions about the relation between language and narrative structure on the one hand, and between dreaming and language on the other are also briefly taken up.
Dead Cotton Coverage of Direct Dyes

More than 100 direct dyes of known structure are evaluated for dead cotton coverage. For each hue, dyes that cover best are identified, and a statistical analysis of the cor relation of dye properties (e.g., structural features) and coverage ability is presented.
Status of the Seismic Safety Margins Research Program of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Abstract The status of the Seismic Safety Margins Research Program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is presented. A description of the program is given in terms of objectives and approach. The first phase of the program has been completed and the major results reported. Future planned research to be completed within the next 3 years is briefly described. Finally, the use of the research results is discussed.
Non-viral delivery and optimized optogenetic stimulation of retinal ganglion cells led to behavioral restoration of vision

Stimulation of retinal neurons using optogenetics via use of chanelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) has opened up a new direction for restoration of vision for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Here, we report non-viral in-vivo electroporation of degenerated retina of adult RP-mice with ChR2-plasmids and subsequent in-vivo imaging of retina to confirm expression. Further, we demonstrate that in addition to efficient non-viral delivery of ChR2 to a specific retinal layer, threshold level of stimulation light needs to be delivered onto the retina for achieving successful behavioral outcome. Measurement of intensity of light reaching the retina of RP-mouse models along with geometrical optics simulation of light propagation in the eye is reported in order to determine the stimulating source position for optimal light delivery to the retina. The light-guided navigation of mice with ChR2 expressing retinal ganglion cells was found to be significantly improved over a long distance in correlation with stimulation intensity.
The Influence of an SST Front on a Heavy Rainfall Event over Coastal Taiwan during TiMREX

AbstractA long-lived heavy precipitation area was observed along the southwest coast of Taiwan from 13 to 18 June 2008 during the Terrain-Influenced Monsoon Rainfall Experiment (TiMREX). Rainfall amounts exceeded 500 mm along portions of the coast, and the coastal plains experienced severe flooding. The precipitation systems were influenced by blocking effects, as the southerly moist monsoon flow impinged on the island. A relatively strong gradient in the sea surface temperature (SST) off the southwest coast of Taiwan existed during the rainfall event. Mesoscale SST fronts are known to influence the planetary boundary layer (PBL) such that low-level convergence and precipitation are enhanced under certain circumstances. In this study, the authors investigate the role of the SST front in enhancing the 13–18 June 2008 precipitation event over Taiwan using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. In control simulations with the observed SST, there is a transition from a well-mixed to a stable PBL ac...
Why mathematics needs new heroes

Top IBM researcher Gregory Chaitin on a bold attempt to explain why mathematicians need to be revolutionaries
The identity of Stigmaphyllon dichotomum (L.) Griseb. (Malpighiaceae)

The type of the Linnaean nameBanisteria dichotoma was found to represent a species ofStigmaphyllon from northern South America known asS. humboldtianum (DC.) Adr. Juss. The correct name for this species isStigmaphyllon dichotomum (L.) Griseb. The misapplications of the namesB. dichotoma andS. dichotomum are reviewed. A full synonymy and description forS. dichotomum are provided, as well as a key to separate it from four other species ofStigmaphyllon with which it may be confused.
Transneuronal Down Regulation of Vestibulo-Ocular Neurons Following Vestibular Ablation

Unilateral ablation of vestibular input causes lasting morphological changes bilaterally in superior vestibulo-ocular neurons (SVON). The present study was performed to see if these changes in SVON are more pronounced after bilateral vestibular neurectomy. Twenty-three SVON from both vestibular nuclei of 2 cats sacrificed 8 weeks after bilateral ablation were examined utilizing morphometric ultrastructural techniques. There was a significantly greater somal atrophy, loss of synaptic profiles, rough endoplasmic reticulum and polyribosomes compared to unilateral neurectomy. These changes indicate a down regulation that is proportional to the level of deafferentation and may account for functional deficits seen in the vestibulo-ocular reflex after peripheral ablation.
A State Transition Model of United States Congressional Information.

Abstract Borrowing a computer science technique called state-transition modeling, the authors show that some reference sources, notably nongovernmental, are more useful than others in answering users' questions about U.S. congressional matters. Interestingly, however, there is no statistically significant difference between the ability of the Government Printing Office (GPO) and private sector print-based sources to answer congressional reference questions based on a grouped t-test. To make congressional question answering easier for documents librarians, the authors propose that the Joint Committee on Printing, the GPO, and the Superintendent of Documents make several changes in the various publications' structure and format. A flowchart of the congressional process and a state-transition diagram of the reference process are included.
Electronic structure description of the cis-MoOS unit in models for molybdenum hydroxylases.

The molybdenum hydroxylases catalyze the oxidation of numerous aromatic heterocycles and simple organics and, unlike other hydroxylases, utilize water as the source of oxygen incorporated into the product. The electronic structures of the cis-MoOS units in CoCp{sub 2}[Tp{sup iPr}Mo{sup V}OS(OPh)] and Tp{sup iPr}Mo{sup VI}OS(OPh) (Tp{sup iPr} = hydrotris(3-isopropylpyrazol-1-yl)borate), new models for molybdenum hydroxylases, have been studied in detail using S K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and detailed bonding calculations. The results show a highly delocalized Mo {double_bond} S {pi}* LUMO redox orbital that is formally Mo(d{sub xy}) with {approx}35% sulfido ligand character. Vibrational spectroscopy has been used to quantitate Mo-S{sub sulfido} bond order changes in the cis-MoOS units as a function of redox state. Results support a redox active molecular orbital that has a profound influence on MoOS bonding through changes to the relative electro/nucleophilicity of the terminal sulfido ligand accompanying oxidation state changes. The bonding description for these model cis-MoOS systems supports enzyme mechanisms that are under orbital control and dominantly influenced by the unique electronic structure of the cis-MoOS site. The electronic structure of the oxidized enzyme site is postulated to play a role in polarizing a substrate carbon center for nucleophilic attack by metal activated watermore » and acting as an electron sink in the two-electron oxidation of substrates.« less
Tat-functionalized near-infrared emissive polymersomes for dendritic cell labeling.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal role in both immune tolerance and the initiation of immunological responses. The ability to track DCs in vivo is imperative for the development of DC-based cellular therapies and to advance our understanding of DC function and pathophysiology. Here, we conjugate a cell permeable peptide, Tat, to near-infrared (NIR) emissive polymersomes in order to enable efficient intracellular delivery for future DC tracking with these optical probes. NIR imaging allows quantitative, repetitive, in vivo detection of fluorophore-laden cells, at centimeter tissue depths without disturbing cellular function. Flow cytometry and confocal microscopy results indicate that Tat-mediated polymersome delivery to DCs is concentration and time dependent, resulting in punctate intracellular localization. Further, loading cells with Tat NIR emissive polymersomes does not interfere with cytokine-induced DC maturation and has modest effects on DC viability, but has a significant effect on mature DC-i...
Finite-element modeling of posterior lamellar keratoplasty: construction of theoretical nomograms for induced refractive errors.

Purpose: To estimate the theoretical corneal refractive error induced by mechanical weakening effects from posterior lamellar keratoplasty (PLKP) in the human cornea. Methods: The refractive effects of PLKP are simulated by finite-element modeling (FEM) as a mathematical function of the thickness of the excised posterior lamellar corneal button, with a nonlinear formulation of stress-strain relation for the corneal material. A theoretical nomogram was developed to correlate the refractive changes to button thickness. Results: The predicted refractive change after PLKP is less than 1 dpt for a 170-µm thickness posterior corneal button over a broad range of Young’s modulus.Thicker buttons result in greater surgically induced refractive errors. Conclusions: According to FEM analysis, the excision of a posterior lamellar button of less than 170 µm thickness produces a minimal predicted refractive change (
Degradation of Drinking Water Treatment Plant Infrastructure from Enhanced Coagulation

The new Enhanced Coagulation Rule requires that drinking water utilities improve the removal of natural organic matter from their water. One common method of doing so is to "enhance" the performance of existing coagulation processes by increasing the coagulant dose, changing the coagulant type, or lowering the coagulation pH. There is growing concern that these treatment changes might cause degradation of cement and metallic components of drinking water treatment plant infrastructure. In a survey of enhanced coagulation impacts at 275 water utilities, 24% have reportedly already seen at least some infrastructure degradation. A comprehensive literature review highlights the potential causes for the degradation observed by utilities, and recommendations are provided to guide utilities seeking to minimize degradation and repair existing damage.
Spectral density functionals for electronic structure calculations

We introduce a spectral density-functional theory which can be used to compute energetics and spectra of real strongly correlated materials using methods, algorithms, and computer programs of the electronic structure theory of solids. The approach considers the total free energy of a system as a functional of a local electronic Green function which is probed in the region of interest. Since we have a variety of notions of locality in our formulation, our method is manifestly basis-set dependent. However, it produces the exact total energy and local excitational spectrum provided that the exact functional is extremized. The self-energy of the theory appears as an auxiliary mass operator similar to the introduction of the ground-state Kohn-Sham potential in density-functional theory. It is automatically short ranged in the same region of Hilbert space which defines the local Green function. We exploit this property to find good approximations to the functional. For example, if electronic self-energy is known to be local in some portion of Hilbert space, a good approximation to the functional is provided by the corresponding local dynamical mean-field theory. A simplified implementation of the theory is described based on the linear muffin-tin orbital method widely used in electronic structure calculations. We demonstrate the power of the approach on the long standing problem of the anomalous volume expansion of metallic plutonium.
FROM MADONNA TO MEDEA: MATERNAL INFANTICIDE IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN'S LITERATURE OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

Angelina Weld Grimke's short story “The Closing Door” (1919), Georgia Douglas Johnson's one-act drama Safe (c. 1929), and Shirley Graham's play It's Morning (1940) are perhaps the most disturbing p...
“No Matter What, Good or Bad, Love is Still There”: Motivations for Romantic Commitment Among Black Cohabiting Couples

Given the increasing number of couples that use cohabitation as a pathway or alternative to marriage, few studies to date have examined the factors that facilitate relationship entry and commitment. Recent study findings reveal children born to Black mothers as compared with White mothers have a 72% higher risk of experiencing their parents’ separation by year 3 and Black married parents have 5.33 times the risk of separating within 3 years after their child's birth relative to White married parents. However, few studies to date have examined the factors that increase the likelihood that cohabiting Black couples will enter and remain in a committed relationship. To fill the current void that exists in the literature and through the use of phenomenology as the foundation, I asked 30 low-income cohabiting Black couples the following question: “What do you think motivated your partner to commit to you?” Qualitative analysis of the responses revealed the following six themes: (1) no response/unsure, (2) physi...
Van Wyk and Grumbach syndrome revisited: imaging and clinical findings in pre- and postpubertal girls.

Background In 1960 Van Wyk and Grumbach described a syndrome of juvenile hypothyroidism, precocious puberty and ovarian enlargement. These findings undergo complete regression with thyroid hormone replacement therapy. This diagnosis can be made on the basis of imaging findings and thyroid function analysis, avoiding surgery.
HAPS: Hierarchical abnormal event processing over data streams

Many distributed real-time applications, such as electric device monitoring, object tracking and disaster monitoring, require effective and efficient techniques to detect abnormal events of interest in the physical world. Despite the simplicity in implementation, the existing threshold-based approach to event detection suffers from limited expressive power and poor tolerance to missing values and errors in sensor data. In this paper, we present a hierarchical abnormal event detection framework for data streams. We formalize the event specification and develop efficient matching methods in three different levels. An overview about a typical active real-time database (ARTDB) is also provided. Furthermore, HAPS can be implemented on ARTDB by using objects and ECA rules in it. To illustrate the benefits of HAPS for abnormal event detection over data stream, an example application is presented.
Does teacher educational training help the early math skills of English language learners in Head Start

Abstract To address the early performance gap between native-born and immigrant children and to seek ways to reduce the disparity, the study explored the effect of teacher qualification on early math skills of preschoolers, with focused attention to immigrant children. Particularly, the study examined the effects of teacher educational levels, certification, and professional training, by employing Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis to a US nationally representative database from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences (FACES). The study found a significantly positive effect of teacher qualification for immigrant preschoolers in Head Start, who displayed lower early math skills than their native-born counterparts. Among immigrant preschoolers, those who were with teachers of lower educational levels showed significantly lower early math skills compared with their immigrant peers with teachers of higher educational levels. The study also supported teacher certification and professional training as potential mediators in promoting early math competency of immigrant students, especially with teachers of lower educational levels.
An in vitro cell culture system to study the influence of external pneumatic compression on endothelial function.

Abstract Purpose: External pneumatic compression (EPC) is an effective means of prophylaxis against deep venous thrombosis. However, its mechanism remains poorly understood. Understanding of the biological consequences of EPC is an important goal for optimizing performance of the EPC-generating device and providing guidance for clinical use. We present a new in vitro cell culture system (Venous Flow Simulator) that simulates blood flow and vessel collapse conditions during EPC, and we examine the influence of these factors on endothelial cell (EC) fibrinolytic activity and vasomotor function. Methods: An in vitro cell culture system was designed to replicate the hemodynamic shear stress and vessel wall strain associated with induced blood flow during different modes of EPC. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were cultured in the system and subjected to intermittent flow, vessel collapse, or a combination of the two. The biologic response was assessed through changes in EC morphology and the expression of fibrinolytic factors tissue plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, profibrinolytic receptor (annexin II), and vasomotor factors endothelial nitric oxide synthase and endothelin–1. Results: The cells remained attached and viable after being subjected to intermittent pulsatile flow (F) and tube compression (C). In F and F + C, cells aligned in the direction of flow after 6 hours. Northern blot analysis of messenger RNA shows that there is an upregulation of tissue plasminogen activator expression (1.95 ± 0.19 in F and 2.45 ± 0.46 in FC) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression (2.08 ± 0.25 in F and 2.11 ± 0.21 in FC). Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, annexin II, and endothelin 1 show no significant change under any experimental conditions. The results also show that pulsatile flow, more than vessel compression, influences EC morphology and function. Conclusion: Effects on ECs of intermittent flow and vessel collapse, either individually or simultaneously, were simulated with an in vitro system of new design. Initial results show that intermittent flow associated with EPC upregulates EC fibrinolytic potential and influences factors altering vasomotor tone. The system will facilitate future studies of EC function during EPC. (J Vasc Surg 2000;32:977-87.)
Issues involving the creation of digital elevation models and terrain corrected orthoimagery using soft‐copy photogrammetry

Abstract Orthoimage maps are becoming the base maps for many geographic information systems. This paper first presents technological reasons why digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthoimagery databases are becoming so ubiquitous in our society based on improvements in 1) the collection of ground control, 2) the collection of high spatial resolution imagery, 3) image digitization technology, and 4) soft‐copy phtogrammetric hardware and software. The advantages and limitations of DEMs and orthoimages derived using soft‐copy techniques are identified. Recent advances in orthoimage creation are then presented. Users of these technologies are encouraged to take these observations into consideration when using DEMs and orthoimagery for earth resource management decision making.
Multiple-Point Thomson Scattering Measurement For The ZT-40 Reversed Field Pinch

A multiple-point Thomson scattering device, capable of giving radial electron temperature profiles, has been developed for the ZT-40 reversed field pinch experiment. The measurement is accomplished by observing the Thomson scattered spectrum from along an entire chord of focused ruby-laser light traversing the minor diameter of the plasma. A specially built, nearly diffraction limited laser is focused through the plasma using a long focal length lens. The detector uses specially designed collection optics to focus the entire scattering volume into an image dissecting array of fiber optics, which serve as the entrance slit to an anastigmatic spectrograph. The dispersed spectra from all the spatial locations are detected with a gated microchannel plate image intensifier, and recorded on an optical multichannel analyzer using a SIT tube detector. A computer interface is used for data transmission for analysis. Results from the ZT-40 experiment will be presented.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Comment on "Off-Design Performance Prediction of Single-Spool Turbojets Using Gasdynamics"

T HE authors of this technical note assert, without presenting supporting evidence, that the methods of Mattingly et al. "gave results having more than 10-15% error in fuel flow and thrust, even at cruise flight conditions." These methods have, in fact, been shown to reproduce thrust within a few percent, and fuel consumption within about 5% over a wide range of operation, even for complex dual-spool, mixed-
Epidemic neuropathy in Cuba: A public health problem related to the Cuban Democracy Act of the United States

In 1992, the USA embargo on Cuba was tightened through the passage of the Cuban Democracy Act (CDA) that explicitly restricts food and medical supplies. The embargo has contributed to cause a number of public health problems in Cuba including: (1) an epidemic of more than 50,000 cases of optic and peripheral neuropathies in 1992-1993, resulting from dietary deficiency; (2) an epidemic of esophageal stenoses in toddlers who inadvertently drank liquid lye as a result of a soap shortage for which liquid lye was substituted; (3) an outbreak of Guillain-Barre syndrome in Havana, in June and July 1994, resulting from water contamination due to lack of chemicals for water treatment to eliminate Campylobacter sp.; (4) outbreaks of self-inflicted disease and injuries caused by rioting among Cubans detained at the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, and (5) a decline in medical practice standards and public health indicators in Cuba resulting from the enactment of the CDA, documented by the American Public Health Association in 1993 and confirmed in March 1997 by the American Association for World Health. Despite this evidence, the Cuban embargo remains a politically sensitive subject in the USA, resistant to public health concerns, as evidenced by the recent passage of the Helms-Burton Act. The public health effects of the CDA need to be reviewed with possible revocation or at least modification.
Vitamin E Deficiency and Biosynthesis of Glycine, Serine, and Methionine in Rabbits.∗

SummaryInjections of sodium formate-C14 resulted in no activity in the methionine from the protein of skeletal muscle from normal rabbits but such activity did appear in the methionine of vit. E-deficient rabbits. The specific activities of glycine and serine were essentially the same in normal and in deficient skeletal muscle protein following injections of glycine- 1-C14. In spite of this the activity of the protein from deficient rabbits was much higher than that of the normal controls.
The wave of activation current in the egg of the medaka fish

An extracellular vibrating electrode was used to measure the ring-shaped wave of inward current, the activation current, that propagates at 10 μm/sec across the egg of the medaka fish, Oryzias latipes, from the site of sperm-egg fusion at the animal pole to the vegetal pole. This activation wave is due to a localized increase in the conductance to Na+, K+, and Ca2+ and reflects the propagated opening of these ion channels. The earliest detectable current begins to enter the animal pole 20 sec after the initiation of the fertilization potential, so the first ion movements responsible for the fertilization potential are below the resolution of the vibrating probe system. These channels are present in both the animal and vegetal hemispheres, but the magnitude of the activation current is about seven times greater in the animal hemisphere. An outward current of smaller magnitude and spread out over a larger area precedes and follows the inward current except at the point of fertilization where the current is first inward. The current direction is dependent on the external Na+ concentration, and in the more physiological solution of 10% NaCl-Yamamoto's Riger's, its direction reverses to become outward, apparently carried by K+ efflux. Raising the external Ca2+ in this same low-Na+ medium reverses the current so that it becomes inward again and increases the propagation velocity of the wave, suggesting a Ca2+ component to the inward current. Current enters a given region on the egg's surface about 16 sec before any vesicle fusion occurs in that region. Iontophoresis of inositol-1,4,5,-trisphosphate immediately triggers egg activation with a minimum activating charge of 0.6 nC.