cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Part 1. Automated change detection and characterization in serial MR studies of brain-tumor patients.

The goal of this study was to create an algorithm which would quantitatively compare serial magnetic resonance imaging studies of brain-tumor patients. A novel algorithm and a standard classify–subtract algorithm were constructed. The ability of both algorithms to detect and characterize changes was compared using a series of digital phantoms. The novel algorithm achieved a mean sensitivity of 0.87 (compared with 0.59 for classify–subtract) and a mean specificity of 0.98 (compared with 0.92 for classify–subtract) with regard to identification of voxels as changing or unchanging and classification of voxels into types of change. The novel algorithm achieved perfect specificity in seven of the nine experiments. The novel algorithm was additionally applied to a short series of clinical cases, where it was shown to identify visually subtle changes. Automated change detection and characterization could facilitate objective review and understanding of serial magnetic resonance imaging studies in brain-tumor patients.
Multiple factors contribute to keeping levels of the symbiosis regulator RscS low

Increased activity alleles (rscS1 and rscS2) of the symbiosis regulator RscS induced both syp transcription and biofilm formation in Vibrio fischeri. Neither allele encodes a protein variant; instead they carry mutations near the putative ribosome-binding site and, in the case of rscS1, an additional silent mutation at codon Leu25. In this study, we found that endogenous levels of RscS are very low under the culture conditions examined and that the increased activity alleles dramatically increased the levels of protein. Of the two mutations present in rscS1, the Leu25 mutation, which replaces a rare with a more common Leu codon, appeared to make the greater contribution to increased activity. Our results suggest that RscS levels are maintained at low levels in the cell by the presence of a weak promoter, possible inefficient ribosome binding and the presence of rare codons in the 5′ end of the gene. Restriction of RscS levels may be important to prevent spurious signalling by this sensor kinase in the absence of a squid host.
The Ethical Environment of Local Government Managers

Empirical research on ethics in government is growing rapidly. One area that has been largely overlooked, however, is the ethical environment of the public manager. This paper examines the ethical ...
Assessment of adult skeletons to detect prenatal exposure to acetazolamide in mice

A skeletal variant assay system (SVAS) consisting of a group of 88 spontaneously occurring qualitative variations of the adult mouse skeleton was applied to CD-1 animals that had been exposed in utero to 0, 200, or 1,000 mg/kg/day of the sodium salt of acetazolamide dissolved in distilled water, presented by SC injection of the dam during day 8 or days 9-11 of gestation. Two separate series of experiments were performed, and skeletons were examined at postnatal 62 +/- 2 days. Variation occurred in 62 and 67 characters in the two series. Frequencies of occurrence differed from untreated (UNTD) and vehicle-treated (VEH) values of substantial numbers of variants in a dose related manner for both series in both treatment regimes as did the number of variants which showed significantly different frequencies (P less than .01) in comparisons of experimental with either UNTD or VEH. At the high doses 12 and 16 variants occurred with significantly different frequencies from UNTD in day 8 treatments in the two series, and 15 and 19 variants differed in the days 9-11 treated group. Contrasting high-dose animals with appropriate vehicle controls revealed differences in 13 and 12 variants in day 8 treatment groups and in 18 and 15 variants in days 9-11 groups. Agreement between the two series was good, especially in the D9-11 treatments. Several variants differed significantly from both UNTD and VEH in both series of experiments. Among these were a number which appeared more or less specific to acetazolamide exposure. They include: day 8 treatments--accessory parietal, frontal extension, and 27 presacral vertebrae; day 9-11 treatments--sacral fusions in dorsal processes and vertebral bodies, and caudal fusions and malformations; both sets of treatments--lumbar fusions, and fusions of the transverse processes of the sacral vertebrae. Other importantly affected variants, also seen in exposure to other compounds include: day 8 treatments--abnormal metoptic roots; day 9-11 treatments--accessory mental foramen, foramina transversaria imperfecta of the atlas, arch foramen of the fifth cervical (C) vertebra, malformed sternebrae, fossa olecrani perforata, and fewer than 30 caudal vertebrae; both treatment regimes--parted frontals, accessory transverse foramina in C3-C6, reduced articular processes on the thoracic vertebrae, and 14 ribs. By all criteria applied, the SVAS is able to detect prenatal exposure to acetazolamide in adult skeletons even in the absence of any gross morphological abnormalities.
Neuropeptides and neuropathology in the amygdala in Alzheimer's disease: relationship between somatostatin, neuropeptide Y and subregional distribution of neuritic plaques.

Abstract This study examined the amygdaloid complex in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We compared the distribution and morphology of somatostatin (SOM-) and neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive (NPY-IR) neurons in the amygdala with the distribution of neuritic plaques (NP) and acetylcholinestarase (AChE) staining patterns in various subnuclei. We found that in AD, there was an increase in the number of small, atrophic neurons for both SOM and NPY, and subregional analysis revealed similar size reductions in all subnuclei. In contrast, the highest density of NP was found in the corticomedial nuclei and densest staining for AChE in the basal nucleus. Although NPY- and SOM-IR fibers were occasionally associated with NP, a dense, morphologically preserved peptidergic fiber-network was found in all areas including subnuclei with high numbers of NP. Our study indicates that atrophic SOM- and NPY-IR neurons are not correlated with the subregional distribution of NP or cholinesterase staining pattern of the amygdala, and suggests that alterations in SOM and NPY neurons are not characteristics of the primary pathogenic process that underlie the formation of NP or cholinergic cell loss in AD.
Rapid discrimination of MHC class I and killer cell lectin-like receptor allele variants by high-resolution melt analysis.

Ly49G and H-2 class I Dk molecules are critical to natural killer cell-mediated viral control. To examine their contributions in greater depth, we established NK gene complex (NKC)/Ly49 congenic strains and a novel genetic model defined by MHC class I Dk disparity in congenic and transgenic mouse strains. Generation and maintenance of Ly49 and H-2 class I select strains require efficient and reproducible genotyping assays for highly polygenic and polymorphic sequences. Thus, we coupled gene- and allele-specific PCR with high-resolution melt (HRM) analysis to discriminate Ly49g and H-2 class I D and K alleles in select strains and in the F2 and backcross hybrid offspring of different genetic crosses. We show that HRM typing for these critical immune response genes is fast, accurate, and dependable. We further demonstrate that H-2 class I D HRM typing is competent to detect and quantify transgene copy numbers in different mice with distinct genetic backgrounds. Our findings substantiate the utility and practicality of HRM genotyping for highly related genes and alleles, even those belonging to clustered multigene families. Based on these findings, we envision that HRM is capable to interrogate and quantify gene- and allele-specific variations due to differential regulation of gene expression.
Steric Effects in Aluminum Compounds Containing Monoanionic Potentially Bidentate Ligands: Toward a Quantitative Measure of Steric Bulk

To develop an understanding of the factors that control the strength of the Lewis acid−base interactions in five-coordinate compounds of aluminum, dimeric dialkylaluminum compounds [R2Al{μ-O(CH2)nER‘x}]2 (n = 2, 3; ER‘x = OR‘, SR‘, NR‘2) have been prepared from AlR3 and the appropriate substituted alcohol, thiol, or amine: [R2Al(μ-OCH2CH2OMe)]2, R = tBu (1), iBu (2), and Et (3); [R2Al(μ-OCH2CH2OnBu)]2, R = tBu (4) and Me (5); [R2Al(μ-OCH2CH2CH2OMe)]2, R = tBu (6) and Me (7); (tBu)2Al(μ-OnBu)(μ-OCH2CH2OMe)Al(tBu)2 (11); [R2Al(μ-OCH2CH2SMe)]2, R = tBu (12), iBu (13), Et (14), and Me (15); [R2Al(μ-OCH2CH2CH2SMe)]2, R = tBu (16) and Me (17); [R2Al(μ-OCH2CH2NMe2)]2, R = tBu (18), iBu (19), Et (20), and H (21); [(tBu)2Al(μ-OCH2CH2NH2)]2 (22); [(tBu)2Al(μ-OCH2CH2CH2NH2)]2 (23). The molecular structures of compounds 1, 2, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 18−22, and [Me2Al(μ-OCH2CH2NMe2)]2 have been determined by X-ray crystallography. The solution structures have been probed by 13C NMR spectroscopy using the alkoxide derivativ...
On collisional disruption - Experimental results and scaling laws

Both homogeneous and inhomogeneous targets have been addressed by the present experimental consideration of the impact strengths, fragment sizes, and fragment velocities generated by cement mortar targets whose crushing strengths vary by an order of magnitude, upon impact of projectiles in the velocity range of 50-5700 m/sec. When combined with additional published data, dynamic impact strength is found to correlate with quasi-static material strengths for materials ranging in character from basalt to ice; two materials not following this trend, however, are weak mortar and clay targets. Values consistent with experimental results are obtainable with a simple scaling algorithm based on impact energy, material properties, and collisional strain rate.
Teaching word connotations: An alternative strategy

Abstract Effective communication requires sensitivity to the various connotations contained within broad definitions of words. Knowing the shades of meaning associated with words enables writers and speakers to create more accurate portrayals of characters and events and enables readers and listeners to more easily discern the intention of the communication received. Traditional methods of teaching word connotations typically fall short of demonstrating to students this sensitivity to effective communication. An alternative strategy, feature analysis, is proposed as a means to overcome the limitations of traditional methods as it actively involved students in the learning process, capitalizes on their experiential background, and uses context.
Physical activity interventions in low-income, ethnic minority, and populations with disability

Abstract Background: Low-income, racial and ethnic minority, and populations with disabilities are more likely to be sedentary than the general population. Increasing physical activity in these groups is an important public health challenge. This report summarizes interventions that have targeted populations at risk for inactivity. Methods: Computer and manual searches were performed to identify manuscripts published from 1983 to 1997. Interventions conducted in these populations in which physical activity was part of the intervention, and activity or cardiorespiratory fitness were outcome measures, were included in the review. Results: Fourteen studies were identified. Most studies used pre-post or quasi-experimental designs. Common intervention features for the ten studies that included ethnic minority groups were community advisory panels, community needs assessments, and community members delivering the intervention. Eight studies reported a theoretical framework that guided the intervention. Increased physical activity was documented in two studies. Post-intervention follow-up was conducted in two studies; both reported no significant findings. Only four studies for people with disabilities were found; all four reported post-intervention physical activity change. Conclusion: Much work remains to develop effective interventions for these populations. Research that involves the community at all steps in the design and implementation of the intervention shows greatest promise for promoting behavior change. Future intervention studies should include: (1) rigorous experimental designs; (2) theoretically based interventions; and (3) validated assessment instruments to detect physical activity change.
Design and analysis of successive approximation algorythms via bilinear control theory

Gradient techniques which use a weighting matrix to accelerate convergence are shown to be bilinear in the neighborhood of the extremum, while the gradient method itself behaves as a linear system. An investigation of their reachable sets at the extremum provides a basis for explaining the improved performance experienced in practice. Using concepts from bilinear control theory, two new algorithms are designed which achieve further improvements in performance.
High quality optoelectronic grade epitaxial AlN films on α-Al2O3, Si and 6H-SiC by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract AlN is one of the most important optoelectronic materials in the wide band gap III–V semiconductors because of its wide and tunable energy band gap in conjunction with other nitrides, high thermal conductivity, doping capabilities, and high hardness. The proposed optoelectronic devices require high quality epitaxial films on various substrates. Here, we present our recent work on the fabrication of high quality epitaxial AlN films on Al2O3(0001), Si(111) and 6H-SiC(0001) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The PLD is a nonequilibrium technique where thin film growth temperature can be reduced by more than 250–350°C and epitaxial films comparable in quality to MOCVD (equilibrium technique) obtained. The laser fluence and the substrate temperature were found to be crucial processing parameters for the formation of high quality monocrystalline AlN films. The AlN films deposited above 750°C and laser energy densities of 2–3 J cm−2 were found to be epitaxial with c-axis normal to substrate plane. The X-ray rocking curve of epitaxial films on sapphire and SiC yielded full-width-at-half-maximum of ∼0.06–0.07°. The transmission electron microscopy also revealed that the films were epitaxial with an orientational relationship of AlN[0001]‖Al2O3[0001], AlN[0001]‖Si[111], AlN[0001]‖SiC[0001] and in-plane alignment of AlN[1210]‖ Al2O3[0110], AlN[1010]‖Al2O3[2110], AlN[2110]‖Si[011] and AlN[0110]‖SiC[0110]. The optical absorption edge measured by UV-visible spectroscopy for the epitaxial AlN film on sapphire was sharp and the band gap was found to be 6.1 eV. The electrical resistivity of the films was about 5–6×1013 Ω cm−1 with a breakdown field of 5×106 V cm−1.
Complexity analysis of propositional resolution with autarky pruning

Abstract An algorithm called “Modoc”, which has been introduced elsewhere, enhances propositional model elimination with autarky pruning, and other features. The model elimination method is based on linear resolution, and is designed to produce refutations of formulas in conjunctive normal form (CNF). Informally, an autarky is a “self-sufficient” model for some clauses, but which does not affect the remaining clauses of the formula. Modoc finds a model if it fails to find a refutation, essentially by combining autarkies. Although the original motivation for autarky pruning was to extract a model when the refutation attempt failed, practical experience has shown that it also greatly increases the performance, by reducing the amount of search redundancy. This paper presents a worst-case analysis of Modoc as a function of the number of propositional variables in the formula. The analysis sheds light on why autarky pruning improves the performance, compared to “standard” model elimination. A worst-case analysis of the original algorithm of Davis, Putnam, Loveland and Logemann (DPLL) is also presented. The Modoc analysis yields a worst-case upper bound that is not as strong as the best known upper bound for model-searching satisfiability methods, on general propositional CNF. However, it is the first time a nontrivial upper bound on non-Horn formulas has been shown for any resolution-based refutation procedure.
Dynamic Transmission Error Prediction of Helical Gear Pair Under Sliding Friction Using Floquet Theory

An analytical solution to the dynamic transmission error of a helical gear pair is developed by using a single-degree-of-freedom model with piecewise stiffness functions that characterize the contact plane dynamics and capture the velocity reversal at the pitch line. By assuming a constant mesh stiffness density along the contact lines, a linear time-varying model (with parametric excitations) is obtained, where the effect of sliding friction is quantified by an effective mesh stiffness term. The Floquet theory is then used to obtain closed-form solutions to the dynamic transmission error, and responses are derived to both initial conditions and the forced periodic function under a nominal preload. Analytical models are validated by comparing predictions with numerical simulations, and the effect of viscous damping is examined. Stability analysis is also briefly conducted by using the state transition matrix. Overall, the sliding friction has a marginal effect on the dynamic transmission error of helical gears, as compared with spur gears, in the context of the torsional model.
The Gapology of the Obama Vote in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries

In their competition for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton developed distinct demographic bases of support. This study will analyze the demographic divides in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, focusing on the “gaps” that emerged in the support of Obama. Obama’s demographic bases of support were African-Americans, younger voters, educated voted, those with no religion affiliation, wealthier voters, males, political independents, and ideological liberals. Despite the considerable amount of attention given to the gender gap, a number of demographic gaps were more significant. Race was by far the most important gap and a key component of Obama’s victory was his tremendous support from African-American voters.
Spheroidal evaporation and ignition of fuel droplets on a hot surface

An analytical model is presented for the spheroidal fuel droplet evaporation and ignition on a hot surface. The model predicts the average and surface temperature histories of the droplet, rate of evaporation, fluid mechanics of the vapor underneath the droplet and vapor concentration around the droplet as well as the rate of heat transfer from the hot surface to the droplet by conduction and radiation. The transient convective-diffusion equation is solved analytically to obtain an expression for the fuel vapor concentration profiles around the droplet. Numerical predictions of the developed model for the droplet surface temperature, rate of evaporation and evaporation lifetime are compared to experimental data from the literature. Satisfactory agreement is obtained for various diameters of n -hexadecane and n -heptane droplets. A procedure is outlined to estimate the total ignition delay of a droplet on a hot surface at elevated pressures. The predicted ignition delay times for n -hexadecane droplets agree reasonably well with the experimental data for pressures lower than 1500 kPa.
Case report: Death associated with stroke following intracarotid amobarbital testing.

Abstract Objective One previous accidental death during intracarotid amobarbital testing (IAT) associated with cerebral angiography (CA) has been reported in the literature. The objectives of this article are to briefly review morbidity and mortality risks for patients undergoing diagnostic CA and to describe a case with a fatal outcome. Method The case of a 38-year-old man who had a right middle cerebral artery stroke while undergoing IAT is described. The patient was not high risk by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services criteria or invasive procedures; neither did he have risk factors for embolic stroke. Conclusions A problem noted is that IAT procedures vary from center to center and that IAT may increase the risk for individual patients because of differences between IAT and other CA interventions.
Bulk phase and intrinsic interfacial resistances to evaporation under vacuum

Abstract To assess the importance of bulk phase heat transfer resistances in vacuum evaporation processes, measurements are made of the evaporation rate of triethanolamine at subatmospheric pressures. Spontaneous interfacial convection at the evaporating vapor:liquid surface is suppressed by the addition of sufficient amounts of a surface-active solute. At pressures of 100 and 21 Pa the contribution of kinetic mobility of molecules at the interface is negligible and the experimental results are predicted by accounting for the heat transfer resistance in the bulk liquid phase only. Furthermore, these results confirm the validity of published natural convection heat transfer correlations for this system. Next, experimental measurements of evaporative flux are made at low pressures (≤0.1 Pa), for which the limited kinetic mobility of molecules adds a significant resistance. Results are seen to, be consistent only with an evaporation coefficient E = 0.3, suggesting that even trace quantities of a soluble surface-active agent can dramatically alter the interfacial character of triethanolamine.
Protective Immunity produced by the Injection of X-irradiated Sporozoites of Plasmodium berghei

STUDIES with avian malaria have shown that killed sporozoites as well as sporozoites inactivated with ultraviolet light can produce a partial immunity after injection into birds1,2. On the other hand, attempts to use the erythrocytic stages of the parasite as the source of antigen have met with only limited success with avian3, rodent4 and monkey malaria5,6. Previous attempts to use killed sporozoites of the rodent malarial parasite, Plasmodium berghei, to immunize rodents have been unsuccessful. We therefore sought to determine whether protective immunity to this parasite could be achieved by partial inactivation of the injected sporozoites as opposed to injection of dead parasites. X-irradiation was chosen as the inactivating agent, because of the partial immunity obtained by vaccination with irradiated blood forms of malaria parasites7–9. This communication reports preliminary results on the production of protective immunity in mice by vaccination with X-irradiated sporozoites of P. berghei.
The biochemical effects of sex hormones in adrenalectomized rats.

INTRODUCTION ACONSIDERATION of the effects of sex hormone injections has proceeded through a study of the normal, castrated, and hypophysectomized male and female rats (Buchwald and Hudson, 1944, 1945, and 1947). Castration or hypophysectomy increased the serum acid phosphatase activity. Diethylstilbestrol decreased the serum acid phosphatase activity of the males. Diethylstilbestrol decreased the alkaline phosphatase activity of the femurs of the intact and hypophysectomized males. Testosterone propionate increased the serum alkaline phosphatase activity of the intact females. In the castrated females testosterone propionate increased the alkaline phosphatase activity of the femurs. Calcium and phosphorus of serum and feces were unchanged. To continue the study male and female rats have been adrenalectomized and injected with female and male sex hormones, respectively. Herger and Sauer (1943), attempting to explain the delayed failures which occur in androgen control of carcinoma of the prostate, suggest...
Air Pollution and Epigenetics: Recent Findings

The health effects of ambient air pollution are well-described, but less is known about the biological mechanisms mediating these health effects. In recent years, the hypothesis that epigenetics may play a role in driving exposure-disease associations has gained traction, in part because epigenetic modifications are labile and may respond to environmental exposures in ways that directly affect gene transcription and disease risk. The purpose of this review is to provide an understanding of the latest evidence to support this hypothesis. The studies selected for this review were collected through a PubMed search for articles published between January 2010 and July 2013 using the following epigenetics keywords: epigenetics, histone, microRNA, and DNA methylation; along with air pollutant keywords: air pollution, benzo[a]pyrene, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter 1.0 (PM1), particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), particulate matter 10 (PM10) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). A total of 38 original research articles were identified for our review. The scientific studies to date provide evidence that PAHs and PM2.5 may have modest effects on methylation levels of certain CpG sites within candidate genes of interest in cardiovascular and respiratory disease as well as cancer. However, the data remain too sparse to draw any meaningful conclusions with regard to histone modifications, miRNAs, or effects of other pollutants such as NO2, O3, and SO4.
On bounds for some optimal policies in reliability

Often in the study of reliability and its applications, the goal is to maximize or minimize certain reliability characteristics or some cost functions. For example, burn-in is a procedure used to improve the quality of products before they are used in the field. A natural question which arises is how long the burn-in procedure should last in order to maximize the mean residual life or the conditional survival probability. In the literature, an upper bound for the optimal burn-in time is obtained by assuming that the underlying distribution of the products has a bathtub-shaped failure rate function; however, no lower bound is available. A similar question arises in studying replacement policy, warranty policy, and inspection models. This article gives a lower bound for the optimal burn-in time, and lower and upper bounds for the optimal replacement and warranty policies, under the same bathtub-shape assumption.
Multiple Injection Ports and Part Thickness Impact on Wetout of High Pull Speed Resin Injection Pultrusion

Manufacturing of composite materials using resin injection pultrusion is presently a cost-effective method of producing composites; however, there is still a potential for significant improvements in the productivity of this approach for high-speed production. Complete wetout of the dry fiber reinforcement by the liquid resin at high pull speeds is essential for improving the throughput of the pultrusion process. Complete fiber reinforcement wetout depends strongly on axial placement of the injection ports/slots and the geometry of the injection chamber (taper of the walls of injection chamber and final part thickness). Geometric parameters modeled in this study were multiple injection ports and their axial location within the injection chamber and thickness of the final pultruded part; investigations of these geometric parameters are original contributions of the work. In this study, the finite volume numerical technique was employed to model the flow of polyester resin through the glass fiber reinforcem...
Dissecting racial disparities in the treatment of patients with locoregional pancreatic cancer: a 2-step process.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that black patients with pancreatic cancer are less likely to undergo resection and have worse overall survival compared with white patients. The objective of this study was to determine whether these disparities occur at the point of surgical evaluation or after evaluation has taken place. METHODS: The authors used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked data (1992-2002) to compare black patients and white patients with locoregional pancreatic cancer in univariate models. Logistic regression was used to determine the effect of race on surgical evaluation and on surgical resection after evaluation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify which factors influenced 2-year survival. RESULTS: Nine percent of 3777 patients were black. Blacks were substantially less likely than whites to undergo evaluation by a surgeon (odds ratio, 0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.77) when the model was adjusted for demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical evaluation, socioeconomic status, and year of diagnosis. Patients who were younger and who had fewer comorbidities, abdominal imaging, and a primary care physician were more likely to undergo surgical evaluation. Once they were seen by a surgeon, blacks still were less likely than whites to undergo resection (odds ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.84). Although black patients had decreased survival in an unadjusted model, race no longer was significant after accounting for resection. CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-nine percent of black patients with potentially resectable pancreatic cancers never received surgical evaluation. Without surgical evaluation, patients cannot make an informed decision and will not be offered resection. Attaining higher rates of surgical evaluation in black patients would be the first step to eliminating the observed disparity in the resection rate. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society
Computed tomography of prosthetic arterial graft complications

Abstract Nine cases that illustrate the advantages of CT in the evaluation of prosthetic arterial graft complications are presented. The role of ultrasound in the assessment of prosthetic aortic grafts has been well described. To date, however, only the ultility of CT in the detection of infected grafts has been documented.
Final Stage Sintering of ThO2

The addition of CaO to ThO2 inhibits discontinuous grain growth and allows sintering to proceed to theoretical density by maintaining a high diffusion flux of vacancies from the pores to the grain boundaries. The optimum amount of CaO added is 2.0 mol%, which exceeds the solid solubility limit. A model of second-phase inclusions impeding grain boundary motion was used to explain the results.
Biotechnology: The Next Transatlantic Trade War?

The dispute between the United States and the European Union over genetically modified organisms is genuine and rooted in opposing philosophies of food safety regulation. Yet it is unlikely to deve...
Histone H2A.Z Regulates Transcription and Is Partially Redundant with Nucleosome Remodeling Complexes

Nucleosomes impose a block to transcription that can be overcome in vivo by remodeling complexes such as SNF/SWI and histone modification complexes such as SAGA. Mutations in the major core histones relieve transcriptional repression and bypass the requirement for SNF/SWI and SAGA. We have found that the variant histone H2A.Z regulates gene transcription, and deletion of the gene encoding H2A.Z strongly increases the requirement for SNF/SWI and SAGA. This synthetic genetic interaction is seen at the level of single genes and acts downstream of promoter nucleosome reorganization. H2A.Z is preferentially crosslinked in vivo to intergenic DNA at the PH05 and GAL1 loci, and this association changes with transcriptional activation. These results describe a novel pathway for regulating transcription using variant histones to modulate chromatin structure.
The kinetics of carbochlorination of titania slag

Les cinetiques de carbochloruration de scories de titanes avec du chlore gazeux et du coke de petrole ont ete determinees. La porosite creee lorsque des composants de la scorie facilement chlores, comme l'oxyde de fer, reagissent rapidement, a un effet significatif sur la chloruration de la scorie. On a determine les effets de la temperature, de la pression de chlore partielle et de la taille initiale des particules. Une equation de vitesse qui introduit ces effets dans les gammes de conditions experimentales utilisees dans ce travail a ensuite ete mise au point. Les resultats de ce travail montrent que les cinetiques de choruration de scories de titanes sont assez differentes de celles du rutile, sur lequel ont porte la plupart des etudes anterieures.
Elastomer–Fuel Compatibility Studies With Alternative Jet Fuels for Dynamic Seal Applications

Alternative jet fuels (Fischer-Tropsch fuels and Biomass derived fuels) lack aromatic compounds and does not provide the desired seal-swell characteristics and other needed “fit-for-purpose” (FFP) properties. The research need is to investigate the effect of alternative fuels and fuel blends on elastomer seals in a simulated turbojet engine environment. In light of this research need, this paper describes the laboratory bench top apparatus that evaluates the engineering performance of elastomer o-rings exposed to alternative fuels and fuel blends under dynamic conditions. The three elastomer materials selected for dynamic tests were Fluorosilicone, Viton, and Buna-N o-rings. The performance of the elastomer o-rings was determined in terms of failure time that was based on fuel leakage past the o-ring seals. Pre-test and post-test elastomer properties were measured. Performance-property envelopes were used as a metric to compare different elastomer materials exposed to the same fuel and further investigate the effect of different alternative fuels on elastomers under dynamic conditions. This paper presents and compares the results from the alternative fuel (R8) and a 50/50 blend containing R-8–JP-8 on all three elastomer materials in terms of performance-property envelope charts.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Genotype and phenotype relationships for mutations in the ryanodine receptor in patients referred for diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia

Anaesthesia-induced malignant hyperthermia (MH) may be caused by specific gene defects in the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor. We have studied the frequency of occurrence of the C1840T mutation, analogous to the porcine mutation, and three mutations associated both with MH and central core disease (G7301A, C487T and C1209G). We investigated skeletal muscle specimens from up to 137 patients testing negative and 101 patients testing positive for MH susceptibility by the North American MH Group protocol. The presence or absence of the mutations was determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestion. The frequencies of occurrence of the C1840T and C487T mutations were 2% and 1%, respectively, in MH-positive subjects and were the only two mutations identified. One subject with central core disease did not have any of the three mutations examined associated with this disorder. Therefore, the porcine and central core disease-associated mutations examined in the ryanodine receptor account for a small proportion (approximately 3%) of MH-positive diagnoses. The mutations examined did not occur in any of the MH-negative patients, supporting an association between defects in the ryanodine receptor and a positive diagnosis for MH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A periodicity theorem for autonomous functional differential equations

Many periodicity problems in the theory of control, biological behavior, econometrics and other active areas of scientific research can be formulated in terms of differential equations in which the derivatives depend upon previous states of the systems. Such history dependent differential equatioas are called functional differential equations. In this paper, we shall consider autonomous functional differential equations for which the derivatives at time t depend upon values of the solution on the finite time interval [t T, t], where Y is a fixed, positive number. The main result is a periodicity theorem for such autonomous functional differential equations. The theorem will be applied to examples of first and second order differential difference equations. The problem of determining conditions under which a functional differential equation will have a periodic solution has been undertaken by G. S. Jones in a series of papers, [I], [2], and [3]= He formulated certain asymptotic fixed point theorems which were applicable to operators arising in the study of functional differential equations of the type considered here. For a given equation, he defined an operator A with domain and range in an infinite dimensional Banach space B, such that a fixed point of A corresponded to a periodic solution of the equation. The problem thus is reduced to showing that the operator has a nontrivial fixed point in B. Woweverr, the equations considered by Jones (and here) have the origin of B as a critical point, and the operator A has the origin as a fixed point. This means that the origin of B must be removed from the set in which fixed points of A may lie. The approach used by Jones was to apply generalizations of standard fixed point theorems to the operator A. Wowever, in order to
Covariances among join-count spatial autocorrelation measures

Spatial distributions of biological variables are often well-characterized with pairwise measures of spatial autocorrelation. In this article, the probability theory for products and covariances of join-count spatial autocorrelation measures are developed for spatial distributions of multiple nominal (e.g. species or genotypes) types. This more fully describes the joint distributions of pairwise measures in spatial distributions of multiple (i.e. more than two) types. An example is given on how the covariances can be used for finding standard errors of weighted averages of join-counts in spatial autocorrelation analysis of more than two types, as is typical for genetic data for multiallelic loci.
Reduction of Orc6 expression sensitizes human colon cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin.

Previous studies from our group have shown that the expression levels of Orc6 were highly elevated in colorectal cancer patient specimens and the induction of Orc6 was associated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. The goal of this study was to investigate the molecular and cellular impact of Orc6 in colon cancer. In this study, we use HCT116 (wt-p53) and HCT116 (null-p53) colon cancer cell lines as a model system to investigate the impact of Orc6 on cell proliferation, chemosensitivity and pathways involved with Orc6. We demonstrated that the down regulation of Orc6 sensitizes colon cancer cells to both 5-FU and cisplatin (cis-pt) treatment. Decreased Orc6 expression in HCT-116 (wt-p53) cells by RNA interference triggered cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Prolonged inhibition of Orc6 expression resulted in multinucleated cells in HCT-116 (wt-p53) cell line. Western immunoblot analysis showed that down regulation of Orc6 induced p21 expression in HCT-116 (wt-p53) cells. The induction of p21 was mediated by increased level of phosphorylated p53 at ser-15. By contrast, there is no elevated expression of p21 in HCT-116 (null-p53) cells. Orc6 down regulation also increased the expression of DNA damaging repair protein GADD45β and reduced the expression level of JNK1. Orc6 may be a potential novel target for future anti cancer therapeutic development in colon cancer.
Dual mechanism bifunctional polymers: Phosphinic acid ion-exchange/redox resins and the kinetics of metal-ion complexation

Abstract The detailed study of bifunctional phosphinic acid resins has recently been introduced. It has been shown that they operate through the dual mechanism of ion exchange and metal-ion reduction. A key component in the synthesis is the Friedel-Crafts catalyst used for the reaction between PCl3 and polystyrene. We now find that the order of catalyst activity is AlCl3 > FeCl3 > ZnCl2 > SnCl4. Ferric chloride catalysis also operates by an additional redox mechanism which yields a phosphonic acid resin. The extent of loading onto phosphinic and sulfonic acid resins by zinc ions at equilibrium was studied as a function of the anion present both with and without the presence of an excess of sodium ions. Both sets of resins exchange at a comparable rate upon the introduction of macroporosity into the polystyrene support. The influence of the redox process as an additional variable in the phosphinic resin kinetics was studied with silver and mercury(II) nitrate solutions. All of the primary acid sites are oxidized after a 9-hour contact time with Ag(I) ions and a 2-hour contact time with Hg(II) ions. The mercury loading curves and the different behavior of silver, which shows more ion exchange than redox at short times while leaving a residual ion concentration on the resin irrespective of whether all of the primary acid sites have been oxidized or not, can be explained by the termolecular nature of the Ag(I) redox reaction in contrast to the bimolecular nature of the Hg(II) reaction. Studies with other ions show that the minimum metal-ion reduction potential below which no redox occurs with the phosphinic resins is probably between 0.0 and 0.3 V.
Periurethral aggressive angiomyxoma: a case report

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare soft tissue tumor of the pelvis. Notorious for its locally infiltrative behavior, this tumor is identified by pathological appearance. Grossly gelatinous, spindle cells widely separated by collagen fibrils with vascular components can be microscopically visualized. Wide local excision is the treatment of choice. A 19-year-old woman presented with a periurethral mass that extended beyond the hymen with Valsalva. With imaging, the differential was narrowed to a soft tissue mass. Surgical excision was performed and histopathological findings were consistent with the diagnosis of aggressive angiomyxoma. Twenty-four months later the patient remains recurrence free. The typical findings of aggressive angiomyxoma are highlighted as well as the novel presentation as a periurethral mass. Histological and radiological findings are reviewed as well as current treatment options.
Signal detection in multivariate class-A interference

The aim of this article is to identify and evaluate multivariate density functions when the univariate densities are all Class-A. Three models are proposed: Model A for independent random variables; Model B for dependent random variables; Model C for uncorrelated random variables. For each model, the structure of the marginal densities, moments, and characteristic functions are evaluated. Truncated forms for the multivariate densities are proposed. The error and percentage error due to truncation are evaluated numerically for the two-dimensional case. Finally, a signal detection problem is examined. The performance of the optimal detector is compared to that achieved by the detector designed using truncated density functions. It is shown that the performance difference is negligible when the model parameters are small. >
Microcomputers in Industrial Control Applications

In their thirteen years of existence, microprocessor chips have evolved through four generations. Contemporary 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors offer sophisticated architectures and powerful instruction sets. However, in many industrial applications, data rates are very high and the control structure has a decentralized configuration. In either case, multiple processors must be used. The major constraint in multiprocessor systems is usually the speed of the interconnection mechanism used for communication between the computing elements. This paper covers several of these issues. First, it compares and contrasts the performance of advanced microprocessors. Second, it discusses a split transaction protocol that mitigates the problem of overloading of the interconnection bus. Third, it describes an interactive tool to model multimicroprocessor systems. Overall this paper enumerates the steps involved in the design of efficient multimicroprocessor-based systems.
Hildegard of Bingen and the greening of medieval medicine.

L'A. decrit la biographie D'Hildegard et presente une analyse de ses textes medicaux dans le contexte du XII e siecle ou elle exprime la relation des hommes avec le monde naturel
A Pilot Study to Evaluate an Elementary School-Based Dog Bite Prevention Program

ABSTRACTThe primary objective of this program evaluation was to determine if a school-based education program is an effective means of informing elementary school-aged children enrolled in second through fourth grades about dog bite safety—the awareness of proper behavior when in the company of dogs to prevent bites, injuries, or fatalities. The pilot program, featuring written materials and a video, was developed to teach dog bite safety, and questionnaires were designed to assess the program. Students (n=486) from seven schools from Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland, USA participated. Pre- and post-program questionnaires assessed students' interactions, encounters, and relationships with dogs, as well as use of program materials, and changes in understanding about dog behavior, body language, and bite avoidance. The program results appeared to be highly effective in helping children understand how to prevent or avoid potentially threatening situations involving dogs. The program was mo...
Participatory planninga View of Tourism in Indonesia

Abstract Most of the planning literature dealing with tourism focuses on what should be done in developing this industry at the expense of providing an understanding of what is actually being pursued and what can be done given a destinations local conditions. This study presents a normative model of participatory planning principles, which originates in the Western literature. This model is used to investigate what is actually being done in tourism planning in one developing destination, and examines the local constraints upon many of the principles recommended by researchers. Some of the participatory principles are practiced, but others are not. Local sociocultural and economic conditions are constraints in the principles recommended in the model.
Impact of familial risk factors on management and survival of early-onset breast cancer : a population-based study

This population-based study evaluates the impact of a strong family history of breast cancer on management and survival of women with early-onset disease. We identified all breast cancer patients ⩽50 years, recorded between 1990 and 2001 at the Geneva familial breast cancer registry. We compared patients at high familial risk and low familial risk in terms of tumour characteristics, method of detection, treatment, survival and breast cancer mortality risk. Compared to patients at low familial risk (n=575), those at high familial risk (n=58) received significantly more often systemic therapy, especially for node-negative or receptor-positive disease. Five-year disease-specific survival rates of patients at high vs low familial risk were 86 and 90%, respectively. After adjustment, there was no difference in breast cancer mortality in general. A strong family history nonsignificantly increased breast cancer mortality in patients ⩽40 years (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 4.0, 95% CI 0.8–19.7) and in patients treated without chemotherapy (adjusted HR 2.7, 95% CI 0.6–12.5). A strong family history of breast cancer is associated with an increased use of systemic therapy in early-onset patients. Although a strong family history does not seem to affect survival in general, it may impair survival of very young patients and patients treated without adjuvant chemotherapy. Owing to the limited number of patients in this study, these results should be used only to generate hypotheses.
Playing Music for a Smarter Ear: Cognitive, Perceptual and Neurobiological Evidence

Human hearing depends on a combination of cognitive and sensory processes that function by means of an interactive circuitry of bottom-up and top-down neural pathways, extending from the cochlea to the cortex and back again. Given that similar neural pathways are recruited to process sounds related to both music and language, it is not surprising that the auditory expertise gained over years of consistent music practice fine-tunes the human auditory system in a comprehensive fashion, strengthening neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of both music and speech processing. In this review we argue not only that common neural mechanisms for speech and music exist, but that experience in music leads to enhancements in sensory and cognitive contributors to speech processing. Of specific interest is the potential for music training to bolster neural mechanisms that undergird language-related skills, such as reading and hearing speech in background noise, which are critical to academic progress, emotional health, and vocational success.