cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of 36S Isotopologues of Methionine and S-Adenosyl-l-methionine

Substrates containing isotope labels at specific atoms are required for transition-state analysis based on the measurement of multiple kinetic isotope effects.36S-labeled l-methionine and S-adenosyl-l-methionine were synthesized from elemental sulfur using a chemoenzymatic approach with >98% 36S enrichment. This method provides access to previously inaccessible sulfur isotope-labeled substrates for sulfur kinetic isotope effect studies.
Resting extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 expression following a continuum of chronic resistance exercise training paradigms

ABSTRACTExtracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) moderates skeletal muscle growth; however, chronic responses of this protein to unique resistance exercise (RE) paradigms are yet to be explored. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the long-term response of ERK1/2 following circuit weight training (CWT), recreationally weight training (WT), powerlifting (PL) and weightlifting (WL). Independent t-tests were used to determine differences in trained groups compared to sedentary controls. Total ERK1/2 content was lower in PL and WL compared to their controls (p ≤ 0.05). Specific trained groups displayed large (WL: pERK/total-ERK; d = 1.25) and moderate (CWT: total ERK1/2; d = 0.54) effect sizes for altered kinase expression compared to controls. The results indicate ERK1/2 expression is down-regulated after chronic RE in well-trained weightlifters and powerlifters. Lower expression of this protein may be a method in which anabolism is tightly regulated after many years of high-i...
Planning and Scheduling for Industrial Demand Side Management: Advances and Challenges

In the context of the so-called smart grid, the intelligent management of electricity demand, also referred to as demand side management (DSM), has been recognized as an effective approach to increase power grid performance and consumer benefits. Being large electricity consumers, the power-intensive process industries play a key role in DSM. In particular, planning and scheduling for industrial DSM has emerged as a major area of interest for both researchers and practitioners. In this work, we provide an introduction to DSM and present a comprehensive review of existing works on planning and scheduling for industrial DSM. Four main challenges are identified: (1) accurate modeling of operational flexibility, (2) integration of production and energy management, (3) optimization across multiple time scales, and (4) decision-making under uncertainty. Two real-world case studies are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of state-of-the-art models and solution approaches. Finally, we highlight the research gaps and future opportunities in this area.
Stealthy output injection attacks on control systems with bounded variables

ABSTRACTAs more and more critical infrastructures such as transportation, power systems and water are being embedded with sensing and control and linked to the Internet, the resulting security vulnerability can be exploited to inflict systematic damage to the connected physical systems. The class of false-data injection attacks is of particular interest as it only requires the ability to compromise the measurements. We construct such attacks, that are stealthy to set-membership-based anomaly detectors over widely used constrained control systems with bounded disturbances. The design of robust controllers and detectors based on the ability to withstand disturbance lets the attacker masquerade itself as disturbance and necessitates the development of a disturbance set-estimator as a soft-constrained optimisation problem. We then formulate another constrained optimisation problem that maximises the state estimation error by manipulating measurements and results in a computable performance loss and derive its...
Advantages of nonhuman primates as preclinical models for evaluating stem cell-based therapies for Parkinson's disease

The derivation of dopaminergic neurons from induced pluripotent stem cells brings new hope for a patient-specific, stem cell-based replacement therapy to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) and related neurodegenerative diseases; and this novel cell-based approach has already proven effective in animal models. However, there are several aspects of this procedure that have yet to be optimized to the extent required for translation to an optimal cell-based transplantation protocol in humans. These challenges include pinpointing the optimal graft location, appropriately scaling up the graft volume, and minimizing the risk of chronic immune rejection, among others. To advance this procedure to the clinic, it is imperative that a model that accurately and fully recapitulates characteristics most pertinent to a cell-based transplantation to the human brain is used to optimize key technical aspects of the procedure. Nonhuman primates mimic humans in multiple ways including similarities in genomics, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, immunogenetics, and age-related changes in immune function. These characteristics are critical to the establishment of a relevant model in which to conduct preclinical studies to optimize the efficacy and safety of cell-based therapeutic approaches to the treatment of PD. Here we review previous studies in rodent models, and emphasize additional advantages afforded by nonhuman primate models in general, and the baboon model in particular, for preclinical optimization of cell-based therapeutic approaches to the treatment of PD and other neurodegenerative diseases. We outline current unresolved challenges to the successful application of stem cell therapies in humans and propose that the baboon model in particular affords a number of traits that render it most useful for preclinical studies designed to overcome these challenges.
Nontraumatic Neurological Conditions

Various neurological impairments other than traumatic brain injury (TBI) are routinely encountered in critically ill populations. The more common diseases seen in a non-neurological ICU include acute ischemic stroke, cerebral infections, cerebral vein thrombosis, status epilepticus, anoxic brain injury, brain tumors, primary intracerebral hemorrhage, and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. These conditions are potentially devastating and life threatening. However, most of these conditions may be successfully managed using fundamental critical care techniques in combination with expert neurologist consultation. With an awareness of the basic nuances of specific neurological diseases, proper collaborative care can be delivered to these patients in a timely fashion.
Fundamentals of Fluidics

Microfluidics has had tremendous impact on miniaturization of biological experiments by reducing the reagent volumes, shortening the reaction times, and enabling multiplexed parallel operations by integrating an entire laboratory protocol onto a single chip (i.e., lab-on-a-chip or LOC). Best examples of microfluidic tools in biology are Gene chips, Capillary electrophoresis, CD-based inertial cell separation devices, integrated transcriptome analysis systems, and others. Along with miniaturization comes a tremendous opening at the microscale where slight manipulation in physics can provide unprecedented number of applications for each design. An understanding of the physical processes at microscale and their dynamics can allow biologists to leverage those for performing experiments that are practically not feasible at macroscale. Since microfluidics can allow new processes and experimental paradigms to emerge therefore, here we will focus on fundamentals that predominantly govern the processes at microscales and how we can manipulate those to address problems in the field of biology.
Abstract 999: Utilization of catastrophic autophagy in ovarian cancer

In ovarian cancer, the dysfunction of apoptotic effectors such as p53 suggests that therapies which act tangential to ‘apoptotic’ pathways may offer alternative avenues to target recalcitrant disease. These pathways include necroptosis, ER stress, and autophagy. Evaluating combinations of agents which impact these pathways, we found that effects of ‘non-toxic’ drugs that induced ER stress and autophagy were potentiated when used with drugs that prevented autophagy resolution. At the cellular level, LC3-II levels were elevated in response to these agents, and predicted efficacy. GRP78 and SQSTM1/p62 were similarly elevated, indicating induction of the ER stress pathway impaired autophagic flux, respectively. The resulting death, via ‘catastrophic autophagy,’ may be an effective way to target traditional-chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer. Citation Format: Joe R. Delaney, Chandni Patel, Dwayne G. Stupack. Utilization of catastrophic autophagy in ovarian cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 999. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-999
Dermatologic care of the transgender patient

Given the complexities of the transitioning process, transgender individuals may face unique dermatologic needs in addition to routine care. Exogenous hormones affect hair and sebum production, gender-confirming surgeries often require dermatologic pre- and postoperative interventions, and postoperative anatomy may show unique presentations of routine skin conditions. Aesthetic techniques that are often used for rejuvenation may have a role in facial feminization and masculinization and unfortunately are too frequently performed by nonmedical personnel with negative consequences. Ultimately, physicians should strive to make their office a more accommodating environment for transgender individuals.
An effective method to detect seam carving

Abstract Seam carving, also known as content-aware image resizing, is the most popular image resizing algorithm nowadays. Therefore, detecting seam carving has become an important topic in image forensics. In this paper, an advanced statistical model, consisting of local derivative pattern, Markov transition probabilities, and subtractive pixel adjacency model, is proposed to determine if an image has been seam carved or not. The performance of the proposed feature set can be further improved, and the feature set's dimensionality can be largely reduced by utilizing linear support vector machine (SVM) based recursive feature elimination. With the linear SVM classifier, the experimental works have demonstrated that the proposed approach can successfully detect seam carving. It outperforms the state-of-the-art in general; in particular at the low carving rate cases, such as 5%, 10% and 20%, the average detection accuracy has been boosted from 66%, 75% and 87% to 81%, 90% and 96%, respectively. On detecting seam carving in JPEG images and geometrical transformed uncompressed images, the proposed approach has also shown promising performance.
Does New Teacher Induction Really Improve Retention

Policymakers have increasingly worked to combat teacher turnover by implementing induction programs for early-career teachers. Yet the existing evidence for the effects of induction on turnover is ...
Can Institutional Investors Soften Downstream Market Competition

Recently, a number of papers have noted the dramatic increase in the extent to which institutional investors account for the ownership of publicly-traded stock, including holding ownership stakes in multiple market rivals. This change, in turn, has raised the intriguing or disturbing possibility that large institutional investors have used their influence to discourage aggressive rivalry among competitors. Indeed, two papers have developed evidence of such reduced rivalry in the airline and banking industries. If generally true, this evidence could lead to a radical reset of antitrust enforcement policy. This paper considers the original conclusions of these two papers and reviews the potential conceptual and empirical flaws in the analysis. While the evidence is still too sparse to justify antitrust action on this front, there can be little doubt that more research should be pursued to further validate (or not) the effect of institutional investors on market rivalry (and so prices). If so validated, then antitrust policy may well need to hit the "reset" button.
Clinical Outcomes After Four-Level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Study Design:Retrospective cohort study.Objectives:Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) demonstrates reliable improvement in neurologic symptoms associated with anterior compression of th...
Ewing sarcoma of the head and neck: The Mayo Clinic experience.

Background Treatment options of Ewing sarcoma of the head and neck include surgery, radiotherapy (RT), and chemoradiotherapy. However, local control can be challenging. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of all patients with head and neck Ewing sarcoma treated from 1972 to 2015 at a single tertiary care hospital. Results Seventeen patients met criteria (median 21 years, range 5-58 years; 5 women). Mean follow-up was 10.4 years (range 2.2-39 years). Tumors occurred commonly in the cervical spine (5/17), the skull (3/17), and the paranasal sinuses (3/17). A total of 14 of 17 patients underwent surgical resection, 9 with gross total resection. After multimodality therapy, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 87% and 75%, respectively. Conclusion Combined multimodal treatment resulted in a 5-year OS and RFS of 87% and 75%, respectively. Aggressive surgical resection with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy should be considered. Although negative margin surgery is the goal, subtotal resection may be acceptable in the setting of adjuvant treatment.
Lateral Percutaneous Epicardial Access With a Novel Technique.

Percutaneous epicardial access is increasingly used for atrial and ventricular arrhythmia ablation and left atrial appendage ligation [(1–4)][1]. Although electrophysiologists frequently perform a subxiphoid puncture for epicardial access; access to certain structures, such as the left atrial
Understanding Tradeoffs Between Throughput, Quality, and Cost of Alert Analysis in a CSOC

Intrusion detection systems (IDSs) analyze data that are collected by sensors, which monitor the network traffic. Any alert generated by the IDS is transmitted to a cybersecurity operations center (CSOC), which performs the important task of analyzing the alerts. In order to deliver a strong security against threats, an efficient CSOC requires the following characteristics: 1) all alerts must be analyzed in a timely manner; 2) there must be an ideal mix of analyst expertise levels in the organization because the quality of analysis performed depends on the mix; and 3) there must be adequate operating budget to hire the required number of analyst personnel. However, it is non-trivial for a CSOC manager to establish the parameter settings for the above characteristics for a desired CSOC efficiency, and current literature lacks a thorough analysis of the tradeoffs between them. This void is filled by this paper whose research objective is to develop an optimized tradeoff study model of the CSOC that studies and quantifies the interactions between the above characteristics, and to use the knowledge gained from the above study to provide the foundation principles to establish and operate an efficient CSOC. A constraint-optimization tradeoff study model is built to drive the decisions that optimize the above characteristics of the CSOC, which is then tested via several simulation runs of the alert arrival and service processes at the CSOC. The paper serves as the first step toward a unified tradeoff study model that integrates the throughput performance, the quality of analysis, and the cost metrics to design and establish an efficient CSOC. Results from the above optimization-simulation tests capture several valuable insights along with parameter settings of the metrics that explain how to operate an efficient CSOC, and quantifies the economic impact of scaling-up the CSOC operation.
McConnell’s sign in a patient with pulmonary embolism

A 76-year-old non-smoking woman with a sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, lumbar spondylosis and degenerative lumbar disk disease was electively admitted for bilateral lumbar decompressive laminectomy. After a 12-hour surgery, the patient became hypotensive. The ECG and echocardiogram were
Explicit Modeling of White Matter Axonal Fiber Tracts in a Finite Element Brain Model

Many human brain finite element (FE) models lack mesoscopic (~ 1 mm) white matter structures, which may limit their capability in predicting TBI and assessing tissue-based injury metrics such as axonal strain. This study investigated an embedded method to explicitly incorporate white matter axonal fibers into an existing 50th percentile male brain model. The white matter was decomposed into myelinated axon tracts and an isotropic ground substance that had similar material properties to gray matter. The axon tract bundles were derived from a population-based tractography template explicitly modeled using 1-D cable elements. The axonal fibers and ground substance material were implemented using hyper-viscoelastic constitutive models, which were calibrated using white and gray matter brain tissue material testing data available in the literature. Finally, the new axon-based model was extensively validated for brain-skull relative deformation under various loading conditions (n = 17) and showed good biofidelity compared to other brain models. Through these analyses, we demonstrated the applicability of this method for incorporating axonal fiber tracts into an existing FE brain model. The axon-based model will be a useful tool for understanding the mechanisms of TBI, evaluating tissue-based injury metrics, and developing injury mitigation systems.
The Effect of Positive Airway Pressure Treatment of Obstructive and Central Sleep Apnea on the Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter Postintervention

Study Objectives:A strong association between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and atrial fibrillation and/or atrial flutter (AF) has consistently been observed in epidemiologic and interventional ...
Ultra-fast conductive media for RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assays.

The use of RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assays (REMSAs) for analysis of RNA–protein interactions have been limited to lengthy assay time and qualitative assessment. To vastly improve assay ef...
Hospitality Research: How to Plan, Fund, Execute, and Publish

Researchers interested in exploring topics of concern to the hospitality industry can discover a wide range of areas to be explored and a variety of sources to fund the research. The authors discuss a four-step plan for conducting and publishing quality research, including tips for the writing process.
Is There Room for Common Sense in Surgical Decision-Making?

The topic of this chapter arose from a conversation that one of the authors (IB) had with the editor of this book. In the conversation, the editor expressed the difficulty for physicians to be, at times, critical of some of the choices that they make regarding which medical intervention they either suggested or acquiesced to implement. After discussing the influences of hospital policies, healthcare law, insurance, clinical specialization, and patient autonomy on medical and surgical decision-making, the editor of this book asked, or rather exclaimed: “Is there room for common sense?” In this chapter, we will attempt to answer this question.
Multi-layer analysis of quantitative 7 T magnetic resonance imaging in the cortex of multiple sclerosis patients reveals pathology associated with disability.

Background:Cortical demyelination is a relevant aspect of tissue damage in multiple sclerosis (MS). Microstructural changes may affect each layer in the cortex differently.Objectives:To evaluate th...
Health Insurance Provision and Women's Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana

We use the Demographic and Health Survey to study the healthcare utilization effects of Ghana’s 2004 adoption of a national health insurance scheme (NHIS), covering over 95% of medical expenditures. First, we find that self-reported participation in the NHIS increases twelve-month healthcare visits by 32 percentage points using the timing of the rollouts across districts as an instrument. We also show that the positive effect is larger for less-educated, poor, and rural women. Second, we find that the NHIS increases deliveries in health facilities and prenatal care visits by 6 and 7 percentage points, respectively, using a difference-in-differences strategy and women from rural Nigeria as the control group. Together, these findings are consistent with evidence from similar programs in developed countries despite numerous implementation challenges and relatively low take-up of the NHIS.
Mapping Sea Level from Space

Since 1992, a series of satellite missions, beginning with TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) and followed by Jason-1 and the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on Jason-2 (OSTM/Jason-2), have combined precision orbit determination (POD), a sophisticated method to determine precise height of spacecraft above the center of the Earth, and satellite altimetry to make precise measurements of sea surface height (SSH) and to map ocean surface topography.
Triangular Shell Heat Transfer Element for the Thermal Analysis of Nonuniformly Heated Structures

AbstractThis paper presents a triangular shell heat transfer element that is used to simulate the thermal response of nonuniformly heated structures. The formulation uses a combination of finite-element and control volume techniques to arrive at a layered shell element that is used to solve the 3D conduction heat transfer problem in a highly efficient manner. This paper considers a 3-node linear element and a 6-node quadratic element. The element formulation is verified against a converged continuum heat transfer model for a thick steel plate exposed to a concentrated heat flux, a thick steel pipe exposed to a concentrated heat flux, and a concrete slab exposed to a localized fire. The verification studies demonstrate that the linear and quadratic elements consistently converge to the continuum model and require a fraction of the computational cost. The verification study involving the concrete slab exposed to a localized fire demonstrates that the formulation can readily handle steep temperature gradient...
Archery as a School Sport

(1930). Archery as a School Sport. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 26-47.
Prevalence of and risk factors for hypertension in a rural area of the Philippines.

This study reports on a community health survey conducted among ≥ 30 year old rural residents of San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, to serve as a basis for tailoring health programs for hypertension in the community. The focus of the analyses is the assessment of the prevalence of and risk factors for hypertension. A cluster survey was conducted among 336 residents in May 1998. Sixty clusters were drawn from areas comprising the town using probability proportionate to size sampling technique. Seven households were visited per cluster and one respondent was randomly chosen for interview and measurement of blood pressure, height and weight in each household. Eighty-four percent of eligible respondents participated. Hypertension prevalence was 23%. Only 42% had been diagnosed with hypertension (i.e., had been told and prescribed anti-hypertensive medication by their physician). Forty-seven percent reported taking anti-hypertensive medication (33 were prescribed by a physician while 4 were by self-medication) but only 17% of those identified as being hypertensive had it under control. Logistic regression showed that age ≥ 50 (p = 0.000), family history of hypertension (p = 0.004), and body mass index ≥ 25 (p = 0.003) were significantly associated with hypertension. This study documents the prevalence and predictors of hypertension in a previously understudied population. In the absence of fully implemented programs to prevent and control hypertension, the current prevalence is only expected to increase, leading to substantial increases in morbidity and mortality and health care cost.
Sensitivity of Predicted Tokamak Physics Parameters to Divertor Atomic/Molecular Data and Modeling

An interactive divertor and scrape-off layer plasma/two-dimensional neutrals/core plasma particle and power balance model has been used to investigate the importance of uncertainties or inadequacies in the data and modeling of atomic/molecular phenomena in the divertor to the calculation of the core and divertor plasma physics parameters in a tokamak. Treating recycling as being in the form of molecules rather than atoms as well as the inclusion of reabsorption of Lyman alpha radiation in the divertor are found to have large effects on the calculated plasma and neutral parameters throughout the divertor, scrape-off layer, and core. Whether the global parameters are changed if a significant fraction of the molecules are vibrationally excited has been tested; while molecular excitation does change parameters in the recycling region in front of the divertor plate, the effect on other divertor, scape-off layer, and core plasma parameters is negligible. Estimated uncertainties in the rates for charge-exchange and elastic scattering also have a very small effect on the global parameters. Inclusion of neutral-neutral scattering, while important for the calculation of local properties in the recycling region, has only a small effect on the global parameters.
Children as victims, witnesses, and offenders: Psychological science and the law.

_x000D__x000D_1. Children as Victims, Witnesses, and Offenders: An Introduction through Legal Cases, Jillian N. Ducker, Jessica M. Salerno, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, and Gail S. Goodman _x000D_I. Children as Victims and Witnesses _x000D_2. Abuse Disclosure: What Adults Can Tell, Thomas D. Lyon _x000D_3. Trauma and Memory, Andrea Follmer Greenhoot and Sarah L. Bunnell _x000D_4. Children's Memory in Forensic Contexts: Suggestibility, False Memory, and Individual Differences, Iris Blandon-Gitlin and Kathy Pezdek _x000D_5. Child Sexual Abuse Investigations: Lessons Learned from the McMartin and Other Daycare Cases, James M. Wood, Debbie Nathan, M. Teresa Nezworski, and Elizabeth Uhl _x000D_6. Contemporary Child Forensic Interviewing: Evolving Consensus and Innovation Over 25 Years, Karen J. Saywitz and Lorinda B. Camparo _x000D_7. Child Victims in Dependency Court, Jodi A. Quas, Alexia Cooper, and Lindsay Wandrey _x000D_8. Child Witnesses in Criminal Court, Natalie R. Troxel, Christin M. Ogle, Ingrid M. Cordon, Michael J. Lawler, and Gail S. Goodman _x000D_9. Expert Psychological Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Trials, John E. B. Myers _x000D_10. Jurors' Perceptions of Children's Eyewitness Testimony, Jonathan M. Golding, Emily E. Dunlap, and Emily C. Hodell _x000D_11. An International Perspective on Child Witnesses, Kay Bussey _x000D_12. Child Victim Research Comes of Age: Implications for Social Scientists, Practitioners, and the Law, Bradley D. McAuliff _x000D_II. Children as Offenders _x000D_13. How Victims Become Offenders, Cathy Spatz Widom and Helen W. Wilson _x000D_14. Police Interrogation and False Confessions: The Inherent Risk of Youth, Allison D. Redlich and Saul M. Kassin _x000D_15. Challenging Juvenile Transfer: Faulty Assumptions and Misguided Policies, N. Dickon Reppucci, Jaime L. Michel, and Jessica O. Kostelnik _x000D_16. Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Juvenile Justice, Patrick H. Tolan and Jennifer Anne Titus _x000D_17. Girl Offenders: Special Issues, James Garbarino, Kathryn Levene, Margaret Walsh, and Sacha M. Coupet _x000D_18. Understanding Adults' Perceptions of Juvenile Offenders, Margaret C. Stevenson, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, and Tamara M. Haegerich _x000D_19. An International Perspective on Juvenile Justice Issues, John Petrila _x000D_20. Different Visions of Juvenile Justice, Christopher Slobogin
Research Needs for Developing a Risk-Informed Methodology for Community Resilience

AbstractResilience has been defined as “the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.” The term resilience is applied to a range of topics including physical security, business continuity, emergency planning, hazard mitigation, and the built environment’s (e.g., facilities, transportation systems, and utilities) ability to resist and rapidly recover from disruptive events. This paper focuses on research needs for achieving community resilience of the built environment. Community resilience depends upon the capacity of facilities and infrastructure systems to maintain acceptable levels of functionality during and after disruptive events and to recover full functionality within a specified period of time. Natural, technological, and human-made hazards in the United States continue to be responsible for significant losses and damage to the built environment. To improve the disaster resilience of communities to hazard events, each community needs to ...
Control of Mesh Size and Modulus by Kinetically Dependent Cross‐Linking in Hydrogels

Kinetically controlled cross-linking processes produce mechanically distinguishable hydrogels using identical precursor chemistry. The oxime ligation demonstrates tunable reaction kinetics with pH and buffer strength, which induce changes in the structural features of hydrogels and determine their mechanical properties. Small-angle neutron scattering and swelling studies provide an insight into how structural properties correlate with mechanical properties for this hydrogel system.
Tests for assessing multivariate normality and the covariance structure of MIMO data

Measurements taken at the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) are used to investigate the statistical properties of the indoor MIMO channel. Two statistical tests, Royston's and Henze-Zirkler's, are applied to the MIMO data to assess whether the data belongs to a multivariate normal distribution or not. The possibility of modeling the covariance matrix as a Kronecker product of the correlations at the transmitter and receiver are also investigated by deriving a likelihood ratio test. It is found that small MIMO systems such as 2 /spl times/ 2 can be considered normally distributed and can also be approximated with a Kronecker structure. Larger systems, on the other hand, show evidence of strong non-normality and are not well modeled using a Kronecker product. However, for short measurement segments, these distributions can be used for approximate channel capacity calculations.
Glucocorticoid effects on zinc transport into colostrum and milk of lactating cows.

Colostrum Zn concentrations were measured in eight randomly selected Holstein dairy cows. Overall mean Zn concentrations were highest within 12 h postpartum (257±14 μM, mean ±SEM), fell to 141±8 μM by 24 h, and then declined at a linear rate of 30 μM/d during the following 48 h. Zn concentrations at 3 d (82±5 μM) were not different from 150-d milk samples (72±μM). In a second experiment, 32 early-gestation cows were blocked by stage of lactation into four groups in a randomized block design and injected with 0, 15, 30, or 45 mg of dexamethasone. Milk and blood samples were collected at 0, 12, and 24 h after injection and analyzed for Zn, and for fat, protein, and lactose in milk. Cows administered 0 and 15 mg of dexamethasone showed no difference in milk Zn concentrations compared to pretreatment measurements; however, milk Zn concentrations in cows administered 30- and 45-mg doses increased significantly. Plasma cortisol decreased in the dexamethasone-treated cows. Plasma Zn and milk fat, protein, and lactose did not change. These data indicate that glucocorticoids can mediate Zn uptake and transport by the mammary glands of lactating cows and suggest that the high Zn concentration in colostrum could be a result of the preparturient surge of cortisol.
Schistosomal myelitis: findings at MR imaging

Schistosomal spinal cord involvement is a rare complication of infection by Schistosoma mansoni. This work reports the MR imaging findings in a patient with schistosomal myelitis involving the lower spinal cord and conus medullaris. MR imaging showed a focal mass with a slightly nodular surface and which had peripheral enhancement after contrast administration. The MR appearance of this complication of schistosomal infection is important to recognize so that early medical therapy can be started in an attempt to maximize neurologic recovery.
Hydrolysis and biodegradation of the vesicant agent HT: Two potential approaches

Abstract HT is a powerful vesicant produced for use as a chemical warfare agent. It is a mixture of 60 wt % 2,2'‐dichlorodiethyl sulfide ("HD”; or “sulfur mustard") and 40 wt % bis‐(2‐(2‐chloroethylthio)ethyl) ether (T). Because HT reacts with water to form primarily the alcoholic compounds thiodiglycol (TDG) and bis‐(2‐(2‐hydroxyethylthio)ethyl) ether (T‐OH), disposal might be accomplished by combining hydrolysis with biodegradation. The half‐lives of H and T in a well‐agitated 3.8% HT/water reaction at 90°C were 1.4 and 1.6 minutes, respectively. The concentrations of both compounds were reduced to less than 1 mg/L within about 30 minutes. TDG is readily biodegradable. However, T‐OH biodegradability has not been reported previously. HBr treatment converted HT ether‐alcohol products to TDG. A comparative study of two hydrolysis/biodegradation approaches is reported here. HT was hydrolyzed (1) in water, and (2) in water then with HBr. Products were used as feed for separate aerobic sequencing batch reacto...
How to read floating point numbers accurately

Consider the problem of converting decimal scientific notation for a number into the best binary floating point approximation to that number, for some fixed precision. This problem cannot be solved using arithmetic of any fixed precision. Hence the IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic does not require the result of such a conversion to be the best approximation.This paper presents an efficient algorithm that always finds the best approximation. The algorithm uses a few extra bits of precision to compute an IEEE-conforming approximation while testing an intermediate result to determine whether the approximation could be other than the best. If the approximation might not be the best, then the best approximation is determined by a few simple operations on multiple-precision integers, where the precision is determined by the input. When using 64 bits of precision to compute IEEE double precision results, the algorithm avoids higher-precision arithmetic over 99% of the time.The input problem considered by this paper is the inverse of an output problem considered by Steele and White: Given a binary floating point number, print a correctly rounded decimal representation of it using the smallest number of digits that will allow the number to be read without loss of accuracy. The Steele and White algorithm assumes that the input problem is solved; an imperfect solution to the input problem, as allowed by the IEEE standard and ubiquitous in current practice, defeats the purpose of their algorithm.
Induction of immunologic tolerance to the trimellitate haptenic group in mice: model for a therapeutic approach to trimellitic anhydride-induced hypersensitivity syndromes in humans?

Abstract IgE and IgG antibody responses to the trimellitate (TM) hapten group were elicited in mice by the intraperitoneal injection of the hapten coupled with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Treatment of such previously sensitized mice with the same hapten coupled to synthetic copolymer of d-glutamic acid and d-lysine (d-GL) after primary immunization resulted in significant and specific suppression of anti-TM antibody responses in both IgE and IgG classes. These results provide direct evidence for the potential clinical usefulness of the d-GL immunotherapeutic approach to TMA sensitivity in humans.
DNA excision repair in the very UV-sensitive xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A strain XP4LO.

— XP4L0, a xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A strain, exhibits very limited DNA repair activity. It has extreme sensitivity to UV (254 nm) as determined by colony forming ability. The rate of loss of UV (1 J/m2)-induced pyrimidine dimers from populations of quiescent, nondividing XP4LO cells was determined and found to be slower than that observed for other group A strains (XP25R0, XP12BE, XP8LO). The extreme UV-sensitivity is also exhibited by the nondividing cells in a survival assay that employs nondividing cell populations and does not involve cell reproduction. This result suggests that the extreme sensitivity measured previously by colony-forming ability (a cell-reproduction assay) is due to the excision repair defect alone and not to an additional post-replication repair defect. The very limited excision allows for an accurate definition of target size for inactivation of nondividing cells, about 1 pyrimidine dimer per 105 base pairs, and when compared to results observed for other XP-A strains, provides further evidence that even though excision repair in group A is severely limited, it has biological significance.
Mobility of nucleoside transporter of human erythrocytes differs greatly when loaded with different nucleosides.

Abstract Time courses of transmembrane equilibration of 2-chloroadenosine, 2′-deoxyadenosine, 3′-deoxyadenosine, cytidine and 2′-deoxycytidine were measured by rapid kinetic techniques in human erythrocytes under equilibrium exchange and zero-trans conditions. The kinetic parameters for transport were computed by fitting appropriate integrated rate equations to the data pooled for seven concentrations and compared to the kinetic parameters for uridine, adenosine, thymidine and formycin B transport determined previously for human erythrocytes under comparable experimental conditions. The transport of all nucleosides conformed to the simple carrier model and was directionally symmetric. The Michaelis-Menten constants for equilibrium exchange ( K ee ) ranged from 22 μM for 2-chloroadenosine to about 4 mM for cytidine and the maximum velocities ( V ee ) differed in a similar manner, so that the first-order rate constants ( V ee /K ee ) were similar for all nucleosides. The kinetic parameters for 2′-deoxyadenosine transport were similar to those for adenosine transport, whereas the lack of the 3′-OH group greatly reduced the affinity of 3t-deoxyadenosine (cordycepin) for the carrier, 2′,3′-Dideoxynucleosides were transported as efficiently as 2′- and 3t-deoxynucleosides. Thus, the 2′- and 3′-OH groups play an important role in nucleoside transport. The mobility of the carrier when loaded with pyrimidine nucleosides (reflected by V ee was 5–10-times greater than that of the empty carrier, whereas the mobility of th adenosine-loaded or 2′-deoxyadenosine-loaded carrier was about equal to that of the empty carrier. Loading the carrier with 2-chloroadenosine or 3′-deoxyadenosine actually decreased its mobility. Thus, the differential mobility of the loaded and empty carrier differs greatly with the nucleoside substrate. The mobility of the loaded carrier as well as K ee increased with a decrease in lipid solubility of the nucleoside substrate, but the relationship was complex.
A novel triply bridged dinuclear manganese (III) complex containing the [Mn2O(OAc)2]2+ core: synthesis, crystal structure and properties of [Mn2(μ-O)(μ-OAc)2(bpea)2](ClO4)2

Abstract The reaction of Mn(O 2 CCH 3 ) 3 ·2H 2 O with the ligand N , N -bis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylamine (bpea) in a 1:1 ratio in methanol followed by the addition of NaClO 4 afforded the title compound [Mn 2 O(O 2 CCH 3 ) 2 (bpea) 2 ](ClO 4 ) 2 ( 1 ) in 75% yield. Compound 1 was characterized by using several physical methods including single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. Compound 1 ·0.5H 2 O crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca (No. 61) with a = 38.780(2), b = 22.058(4), c = 19.719(5) A , V = 16 868(8) A 3 and Z = 16. There are two independent equivalents of compound 1 in the crystallographic asymmetric unit and there is a single unique water molecule in the crystal lattice. Both manganese atoms in each of the independent dinuclear units are in the +3 oxidation state and they are bridged by one oxo ligand (O 2− ) and two acetate groups. Each manganese atom is also bound to one facially-coordinating tridentate bpea ligand, with the aliphatic nitrogen donor situated trans to an acetate oxygen atom. Deviations from idealized octahedral symmetry at each manganese center are consistent with expectations for a d 4 electronic configuration. Compound 1 has an average Mn…Mn separation of 3.11 A and an average Mn(μ-O)Mn angle of 122.7°. The electronic absorption spectrum of 1 in CH 3 CN is very similar to other compounds that contain the {Mn 2 (μ-O)(μ-O 2 CCH 3 ) 2 } 2+ core. A cyclic voltammogram of 1 in CH 3 CN exhibits an oxidation wave (III,III to III,IV) at +0.66 V and a reduction wave (III,III to III,II) at −0.39 V versus the ferrocene/ferrocenium (Fc/Fc + ) couple. The IR spectrum of 1 reveals two strong bands at 1566 and 1432 cm −1 corresponding to the bridging acetate groups present in the compound. The X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of 1 in dry CH 3 CN at 77 and 4 K is featureless. Compound 1 disproportionates in an H 2 O/CH 3 CN solvent mixture to give the (III,IV) binuclear species [Mn 2 O 2 (O 2 CCH 3 )(bpea) 2 ] 2+ , which displays a characteristic 16-line g = 2 EPR signal.
A Computationally Efficient Oracle Estimator for Additive Nonparametric Regression with Bootstrap Confidence Intervals

Abstract This article makes three contributions. First, we introduce a computationally efficient estimator for the component functions in additive nonparametric regression exploiting a different motivation from the marginal integration estimator of Linton and Nielsen. Our method provides a reduction in computation of order n which is highly significant in practice. Second, we define an efficient estimator of the additive components, by inserting the preliminary estimator into a backfitting˙ algorithm but taking one step only, and establish that it is equivalent, in various senses, to the oracle estimator based on knowing the other components. Our two-step estimator is minimax superior to that considered in Opsomer and Ruppert, due to its better bias. Third, we define a bootstrap algorithm for computing pointwise confidence intervals and show that it achieves the correct coverage.
1254 USE OF INTRAVENOUS PARALDEHYDE IN NEONATAL STATUS EPILEPTICUS

Intravenous paraldehyde was used in all infants admitted to an intensive care nursery with status epilepticus over a nine-month period. Nine out of ten infants had been treated unsuccessfully with phenobarbital. Seven had perinatal asphyxia, two had meningitis, and one had a Vein of Galen aneurysm with interventricular hemorrhage. The average gestational age and postnatal age were 39.3 weeks (±2.1 wk SD) and 3.7 days (±6.6 days SD) respectively. Calcium and glucose concentrations were normal. Paraldehyde was administered at 3 cc/kg/hr as a 5% solution for 3 hours. Six of ten responded during the infusion with complete cessation of seizures. The calculated average concentration of paraldehyde at the time of cessation was 40.5 μg/cc (±35.0 μg/cc SD). The initial T½ was 7.3 hr (±2.8 hr SD). The peak paraldehyde concentration in responders versus non-responders was not different, (223.0 μgm/cc v. 254 μgm/cc. Five out of seven infants with perinatal asphyxia and one out of two infants with meningitis responded. No azotemia, metabolic acidosis, hepatitic toxicity or hemorrhagic/thrombotic episodes were initiated by paraldehyde. Leucocytosis occurred in one infant with meningitis. We conclude that paraldehyde is a safe, effective and predictable drug in the treatment of neonatal status epilepticus.
Modulational instability for normal dispersion.

Modulational instability has been observed for the first time with visible waves. Intensity modulation at 3.5 THz is observed on two orthogonally polarized waves copropagating in a birefringent fiber.
Hydrolytic function of Exo1 in mammalian mismatch repair

Genetic and biochemical studies have previously implicated exonuclease 1 (Exo1) in yeast and mammalian mismatch repair, with results suggesting that function of the protein in the reaction depends on both its hydrolytic activity and its ability to interact with other components of the repair system. However, recent analysis of an Exo1-E109K knockin mouse has concluded that Exo1 function in mammalian mismatch repair is restricted to a structural role, a conclusion based on a prior report that N-terminal His-tagged Exo1-E109K is hydrolytically defective. Because Glu-109 is distant from the nuclease hydrolytic center, we have compared the activity of untagged full-length Exo1-E109K with that of wild type Exo1 and the hydrolytically defective active site mutant Exo1-D173A. We show that the activity of Exo1-E109K is comparable to that of wild type enzyme in a conventional exonuclease assay and that in contrast to a D173A active site mutant, Exo1-E109K is fully functional in mismatch-provoked excision and repair. We conclude that the catalytic function of Exo1 is required for its participation in mismatch repair. We also consider the other phenotypes of the Exo1-E109K mouse in the context of Exo1 hydrolytic function.
Differences in research ethics judgments between male and female marketing professionals

With the unprecedented increase in the number of females holding executive positions in business, there has arisen interest in issues pertaining to the role of women in business organizations, including that of malefemale differences in ethical attitudes/behavior. To add to the research evidence on the issue, this paper examines differences in research ethics judgments between male and female marketing professionals. The results indicate that female marketing professionals evince higher research ethics judgments than their male counterparts.
Initial dosimetric experience using simple three-dimensional conformal external-beam accelerated partial-breast irradiation.

Purpose: Several accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) techniques are being investigated in patients with early-stage breast cancer. We present our initial experience using three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). Methods and Materials: Sixty-one patients with tumors of 2 cm or less and negative axillary nodes were treated with 3D-CRT accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) between August 2003 and March 2005. The prescribed radiation dose was 32 Gy in 4-Gy fractions given twice daily. Efforts were made to minimize the number of beams required to achieve adequate planning target volume (PTV) coverage. Results: A combination of photons and electrons was used in 85% of patients. A three-field technique that consisted of opposed, conformal tangential photons and enface electrons was employed in 43 patients (70%). Nine patients (15%) were treated with a four-field arrangement, which consisted of three photon fields and enface electrons. Mean PTV volumes that received 100%, 95%, and 90% of the prescribed dose were 93% ± 7%, 97% ± 4%, and 98% ± 2%, respectively. Dose inhomogeneity exceeded 10% in only 7 patients (11%). Mean doses to the ipsilateral lung and heart were 1.8 Gy and 0.8 Gy, respectively. Conclusions: Simple 3D-CRT techniques of APBI can achieve appropriate PTV coverage while offering significant normal-tissue sparing. Therefore, this noninvasive approach may increase the availability of APBI to patients with early-stage breast cancer.