cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Repurposing of gamma interferon via inhalation delivery.

Abstract Pulmonary diseases frequently involve imbalances in immunity. The inability to control bacteria in tuberculosis is a failed response to a pathogen. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive fibrotic lung disease, can lead to respiratory failure and death within 3 years of diagnosis. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) progresses until death and in recent years has been labeled an autoimmune disease. Proposed mechanistic pathways of pathophysiology involve uncontrolled healing governed by pro-fibrotic cytokines that are unresponsive to the standard anti-inflammatory agents (e.g., corticosteroids). Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), currently delivered as a subcutaneous injection for chronic granulomatous disease and osteopetrosis, is a cytokine that can stimulate macrophage function and inhibit fibrotic pathways. In recent studies, our group has repurposed IFN-γ as an inhaled aerosol, targeted directly to the lung to treat a host of diseases affected by dysregulated immunity. At present, we have studied its potential in treating tuberculosis and IPF. In a controlled clinical trial in tuberculosis, inhaled IFN-γ was effective while parenteral IFN-γ was not, indicating that macrophages can be effectively immune-stimulated by aerosol therapy. A similar approach has been taken in IPF. In a two-year safety study treating patients with IPF, the drug was safe and the pretreatment decline in pulmonary function was reversed. Furthermore, the same fibrotic pathways active in the lung parenchyma in IPF may be at fault in the airways of COPD patients. These experiences warrant the continued evaluation of inhaled IFN-γ in human clinical trials.
Intramedullary Influences on in Vitro Granulopoiesis in Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Provision of granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating activity by human bone marrow (CSABM) was determined in 21 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) utilizing in vitro culture techniques to assess intramedullary cellular interactions on human granulopoiesis. CSABM production of these patients was compared to that from normal marrow by testing the capacity of conditioned mediums from adherent marrow cells to promote granulocytemonocyte colony formation in agar of relatively light density nonadherent human marrow target cells.
Drug-Induced Renal Disease

Many pharmacologic agents affect the kidney, but special attention should be paid to four classes: aminoglycoside antibiotics, radiocontrast agents, ACE inhibitors, and NSAIDs. Iatrogenic complications associated with these agents include acute renal failure, acute interstitial nephritis, and prerenal failure, which are frequently reversible with early diagnosis.
Evidence for Multiple Mutational Mechanisms which Generate Polymorphism at H-2K

Several serologically similar H-2K alleles which are closely related to H-2Kd have been isolated. These variants were originlly isolated from Mus domesticus found in several geographically distant locations. We undertook the nucleotide sequence analysis of these naturally occurring variants to define their relationship to one another and to look for evidence of mutational mechanisms which may have given rise to these variants. Data were obtained by direct RNA sequencing and from PCR-generated cDNA clones. Data for Kdvl, Kdv4 and the standard Kd are most informative and will be discussed for the antigen- binding αl and α2 domains. First, Kdvl has a total of six nucleotide (five amino acid) alterations as compared to Kd. Kdv4 has identical nucleotide substitutions at all positions except one, where Kdv4 has the same nucleotide as Kd. Thus, we believe that Kdv4 is more related to Kd than is Kdvl. Second, three nucleotide substitutions in a span of eleven, coupled with identification of several D and Q region genes possessing the same substitutions, suggest that intergenic recombination events may account for some of the variations seen, a situation similar to the well-documented H-2 mutants. However, at least one variation is clearly the result of a point mutation and results in a unique substitution in Kd. Finally, these variations are concentrated in two groups on opposite sides of the antigen-binding pocket and may be useful for comparing binding to defined peptide antigens.
A COMPARISON PRINCIPLE FOR STEADY-STATE DIFFUSION OPERATORS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a comparison principle for steady-state diffusion operators. Physical intuition suggests that an analog of the familiar linear comparison principle (inequality on the boundary and satisfaction of a differential inequality implies inequality in the interior) should remain valid even if the diffusion coefficient varies fairly arbitrarily with concentration and its gradient so long as that coefficient remains positive and thereby preserves the basic character of Fickian diffusion. The comparison principle confirms this suggestion. The operators of similar mathematical structure also occur in the Reynold's equation of gas lubrication theory and in the minimal surface problem.
The application of pen-based computer technology to home health care

The purpose of this project was to study the applicability of pen-based computer technology to home health care through the development of a pen-based computer system for a Hospital/Community-Patient Review Instrument (H/C-PRI) used for nursing home placement. The sample included nurses (n = 12) from the four regional Visiting Nurse Service of New York offices, as well as all patients on whom a H/C-PRI was completed during the pre-period (n = 238) and patients on whom a H/C-PRI was completed during the post-period (n = 238). The quality of documentation was higher for patients whose H/C-PRI was performed using the pen-based computer (0% calculation errors) than for those patients whose H/C-PRI was documented in the usual manner (11% calculation errors).
Gellans, Curdlan, Dextrans, Levans, and Pullulan

Abstract This chapter describes the sources, production processes, structures, properties, and uses of high-acyl gellan, low-acyl gellan, and curdlan. It explains the molecular bases for the differences in gel formation and characteristics of high- and low-acyl gellans and the unique gel formation properties of curdlan. It also describes the structures and relationships to foods of dextrans, levans, and pullulan.
Promoting population health by integrating an interprofessional poverty simulation into the curriculum

Background: Nursing programs have a unique opportunity to bolster students’ understanding of the concept of population health management through use of a poverty simulation. Addressing population health requires that nurses understand the broader issues impacting patient care. Aim: To determine if integrating an interprofessional poverty simulation is an effective tool to introduce the concept of population health management. Methods: The Community Action Poverty Simulation© was implemented in a baccalaureate nursing curriculum as an interprofessional learning activity. The study was quasi-experimental using a quantitative pre-test and post-test design and qualitative essays. Results: Data were collected from 277 college students, including 149 nursing majors. Conclusions: The analyses support that a published poverty simulation is an effective resource to expose students to interprofessional collaboration and establish a professional precedent to promote population health management principles.
High sensitivity hexagonal boron nitride lateral neutron detectors

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) thermal neutron detectors have demonstrated the highest detection efficiency among all solid-state detectors (at 58% for a detection area of 1 mm2 and 53% for a detection area of 9 mm2). However, scaling up the detector size of vertical h-BN detectors is challenging due to increased dark current, capacitance, and surface recombination with the increasing detection area. Here, we report the demonstration of a 29 mm2 thermal neutron detector fabricated from a freestanding 10B enriched h-BN epilayer of 90 μm in thickness with a detection efficiency of 50% by employing a lateral device geometry. The lateral detector geometry takes advantage of the unique layered structure of h-BN which naturally provides higher in-plane carrier mobilities than those in the vertical direction. Moreover, due to the reduced area of metals in contact with the h-BN material, the detrimental effects associated with the surface recombination at the metal contacts and device capacitance were reduced, which resulted in improved charge collection efficiency and signal to noise ratios. This work laid the ground work for scaling up to large size neutron detectors based on h-BN.
Coverage dependence of the Landau Fermi-liquid parameters F 0 A and F 1 S for He 3 on thin He 4 films

We present the results from our heat capacity experiments on two-dimensional liquid $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ on thin superfluid $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ films adsorbed to Nuclepore. Measurement of the specific heat at low temperatures $(40lTl220\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mK})$ over a $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ coverage range 0.02--0.93 atomic layers on 3.14 and 4.33 bulk-density atomic layer $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ films enables the determination of the $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ quasiparticle effective mass ${m}^{*}$. Combining these results with previous $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ NMR magnetic susceptibility measurements for the same substrate and $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ coverages permits the determination of the two-dimensional Landau Fermi-liquid parameters ${F}_{0}^{A}$ and ${F}_{1}^{S}$.
Hierarchical Filter and Refinement System Over Large Polygonal Datasets on CPU-GPU

In this paper, we introduce our hierarchical filter and refinement technique that we have developed for parallel geometric intersection operations involving large polygons and polylines. The inputs are two layers of large polygonal datasets and the computations are spatial intersection on a pair of cross-layer polygons. These intersections are the compute-intensive spatial data analytic kernels in spatial join and map overlay computations. We have extended the classical filter and refine algorithms using PolySketch Filter to improve the performance of geospatial computations. In addition to filtering polygons by their Minimum Bounding Rectangle (MBR), our hierarchical approach explores further filtering using tiles (smaller MBRs) to increase the effectiveness of filtering and decrease the computational workload in the refinement phase. We have implemented this filter and refine system on CPU and GPU by using OpenMP and OpenACC. After using R-tree, on average, our filter technique can still discard 69% of polygon pairs which do not have segment intersection points. PolySketch filter reduces on average 99.77% of the workload of finding line segment intersections. PNP based task reduction and Striping algorithms filter out on average 95.84% of the workload of Point-in-Polygon tests. Our CPU-GPU system performs spatial join on two shapefiles, namely USA Water Bodies and USA Block Group Boundaries with 683K polygons in about 10 seconds using NVidia Titan V and Titan Xp GPU.
A puzzle about Moorean metaphysics

Some metaphysicians believe that existence debates are easily resolved by trivial inferences from Moorean premises. This paper considers how the introduction of negative Moorean facts—negative existentials that command Moorean certainty—complicates this picture. In particular, it shows how such facts, when combined with certain plausible metaontological principles, generate a puzzle that commits the proponents of this method to a contradiction.
Alterations in the ribosomal protein bL12 of E. coli affecting the initiation, elongation and termination of protein synthesis

Abstract In bacteria, ribosomal protein bL12 forms the prominent stalk structure on the ribosome and binds to multiple, distinct translational GTPase factors during the sequential steps of translation. Using a genetic selection in E. coli for altered readthrough of UGA stop codons, we have isolated seven different mutations affecting the C-terminal domain of the protein that forms the interaction surface with translation factors. Analysis of these altered proteins, along with four additional alterations previously shown to affect IF2-ribosome interactions, indicates that multiple steps of translation are affected, consistent with bL12’s interaction with multiple factors. Surprisingly, deletion of the release factor GTPase, RF3, has relatively little effect on bL12-promoted stop codon readthrough, suggesting that other steps in termination are also influenced by bL12.
Whole genome sequencing for the investigation of canine mammary tumor inheritance - an initial assessment of high-risk breast cancer genes reveal BRCA2 and STK11 variants potentially associated with risk in purebred dogs

Although, in general, cancer is considered a multifactorial disease, clustering of particular cancers in pedigrees suggests a genetic predisposition and could explain why some dog breeds appear to have an increased risk of certain cancers. To our knowledge, there have been no published reports of whole genome sequencing to investigate inherited canine mammary tumor (CMT) risk, and with little known about CMT genetic susceptibility, we carried out whole genome sequencing on 14 purebred dogs diagnosed with mammary tumors from four breed-specific pedigrees. Following sequencing, each dog’s data was processed through a bioinformatics pipeline. This initial report highlights variants in orthologs of human breast cancer susceptibility genes. The overall whole genome and exome coverage averages were 26.0X and 25.6X, respectively, with 96.1% of the genome and 96.7% of the exome covered at least 10X. Of the average 7.9 million variants per dog, initial analyses involved surveying variants in orthologs of human breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1, BRCA2, CDH1, PTEN, STK11, and TP53, and identified 19 unique coding variants that were validated through PCR and Sanger sequencing. Statistical analyses identified variants in BRCA2 and STK11 that appear to be associated with CMT, and breed-specific analyses revealed the breeds at the highest risk. Several additional BRCA2 variants showed trends toward significance, but have conflicting interpretations of pathogenicity, and correspond to variants of unknown significance in humans, which require further investigation. Variants in other genes were noted but did not appear to be associated with disease. Whole genome sequencing proves to be an effective method to elucidate risk of CMT. Risk variants in orthologs of human breast cancer susceptibility genes have been identified. Ultimately, these whole genome sequencing efforts have provided a plethora of data that can also be assessed for novel discovery and have the potential to lead to breakthroughs in canine and human research through comparative analyses.
Partitioning of Chemotherapeutics into Nuclear Condensates-Opening the Door to New Approaches for Drug Development.

Klein et al. (2020) demonstrate for the first time that small-molecule cancer therapeutics are selectively partitioned and concentrated within phase-separated nuclear condensates, providing new insights to drug efficacy and creating the opportunity for enhanced control of therapeutic targeting.
Nine Theses on Twenty-First-Century Socialism*:

This essay, written in memory of Erik Olin Wright (1947–2019), outlines nine characteristics of a future socialism. It elaborates socialism as a set of processes and institutional arrangements that...
Accelerating biological insight for understudied genes.

The rapid expansion of genome sequence data is increasing the discovery of protein-coding genes across all domains of life. Annotating these genes with reliable functional information is necessary to understand evolution, to define the full biochemical space accessed by nature, and to identify target genes for biotechnology improvements. The vast majority of proteins are annotated based on sequence conservation with no specific biological, biochemical, genetic, or cellular function identified. Recent technical advances throughout the biological sciences enable experimental research on these understudied protein-coding genes in a broader collection of species. However, scientists have incentives and biases to continue focusing on well documented genes within their preferred model organism. This perspective suggests a research model that seeks to break historic silos of research bias by enabling interdisciplinary teams to accelerate biological functional annotation. We propose an initiative to develop coordinated projects of collaborating evolutionary biologists, cell biologists, geneticists, and biochemists that will focus on subsets of target genes in multiple model organisms. Concurrent analysis in multiple organisms takes advantage of evolutionary divergence and selection, which causes individual species to be better suited as experimental models for specific genes. Most importantly, multisystem approaches would encourage transdisciplinary critical thinking and hypothesis testing that is inherently slow in current biological research.
Dynamic x-ray detectors for high-energy-density experiments in high density

Dynamic X-ray detectors at the National Ignition Facility play a crucial role on High-Energy-Density (HED) experiments. They record data in the form of X-ray spectra, hot spot emission profiles, radiographic images, et cetera. The fast (pico- to nanoseconds) time scales and harsh environments of the HED experiments at the NIF impose tight constraints on the performance of these instruments, both in terms of temporal and spatial resolution, background rejection as well as their survivability. We are constantly striving to improve the quality of the data collected by identifying, implementing, and integrating cutting-edge technology, such as the hybridized CMOS cameras from SNL [1]. Here we provide a summary of the how we utilize these multi-frame nanosecond cameras in our X-ray detectors for HED experiments.
Police as “Helpers”: Social Studies Content Standards and Dominant Narratives of Law Enforcement:

Curricular standards have the potential to elevate dominant ideology at the expense of marginalized perspectives. Recently, dominant narratives of police as a community benefit have been passionate...
The tertiary oxime monoisonitrosoacetone penetrates the brain, reactivates inhibited acetylcholinesterase, and reduces mortality and morbidity following lethal sarin intoxication in guinea pigs.

Abstract The brain is a critical target for the toxic action of organophosphorus (OP) inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) such as the nerve agent sarin. However, the available oxime antidote 2-PAM only reactivates OP-inhibited AChE in peripheral tissues. Monoisonitrosoacetone (MINA), a tertiary oxime, reportedly reactivates AChE in the central nervous system (CNS). The current study investigated whether MINA would be beneficial as a supplemental oxime treatment in preventing lethality and reducing morbidity following lethal sarin exposure, MINA supplement would improve AChE recovery in the body, and MINA would be detectable in the CNS. Guinea pigs were exposed to sarin and treated with atropine sulfate and 2-PAM at one minute. Additional 2-PAM or MINA was administered at 3, 5, 15, or 30 min after sarin exposure. Survival and morbidity were assessed at 2 and 24 h. AChE activity in brain and peripheral tissues was evaluated one hour after MINA and 2-PAM treatment. An in vivo microdialysis technique was used to determine partitioning of MINA into the brain. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the analysis of MINA in microdialysates. MINA-treated animals exhibited significantly higher survival and lower morbidity compared to 2-PAM-treated animals. 2-PAM was significantly more effective in reactivating AChE in peripheral tissues, but only MINA reactivated AChE in the CNS. MINA was found in guinea pig brain microdialysate samples beginning at ~10 min after administration in a dose-related manner. The data strongly suggest that a centrally penetrating oxime could provide significant benefit as an adjunct to atropine and 2-PAM therapy for OP intoxication.
Glycolytic enzyme activities in murine sarcoma virus-transformed cultures of Balb 3T3. The role of culture density.

Abstract The effects of transformation by murine sarcoma virus and of increasing cell density on the activities of several key glycolytic enzymes in Balb 3T3 cells were tested. Hexokinase levels increased with culture density in the uninfected and in the two virus-transformed (HB2 and KA31) cells. Phosphofructokinase did not increase with culture density in the uninfected cells but rose dramatically in dense cultures of virus-transformed cells. 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase levels were high in sparse cultures of uninfected cells and decreased steadily with increased culture density. Pyruvate kinase levels increased with density only in KA31 cultures. A density-dependent decrease in the level of hexokinase type II with a concomitant increase in type I isozyme was seen in uninfected 3T3 cultures. This change was negligible in HB2 cells.
Overview no. 44

Abstract We discuss the correlation between such apparently diverse properties as the superconducting transition temperature and Young's modulus. This correlation suggests that it is possible to pick a number of different bases to describe a property of interest. In this paper we introduce the concepts of bond directionality and charge polarizability and argue that these concepts are the most natural ones with which to describe elastic properties. Using these concepts the elemental trends observed in the shear modulus and Poisson's ratio are explained. The ease with which these trends are explained justifies the application of the same concepts toward an atomistic understanding of environmentally induced fracture.
Microvilli in sea urchin eggs. Differences in their formation and type.

Abstract The elongation of microvilli, which normally occurs upon fertilization in sea urchin eggs, was also observed in unfertilized eggs treated with the enzyme, papain. Cortical granule exocytosis, which is thought to be the source of membrane used in microvillar elongation, does not occur in the papain-treated eggs. It appears, therefore, that there is more than one way in which the egg plasma membrane can increase very quickly and to a great extent. In addition, the kinds of microvilli formed in the two instances appear to be different. Previous work with reaggregating sea urchin cells is also cited to support the suggestion that microvilli can form in different ways and are of different types.
DNA binding specificity of the bovine papillomavirus E1 protein is determined by sequences contained within an 18-base-pair inverted repeat element at the origin of replication

Abstract Bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) DNA replicates episomally and requires two virally expressed proteins, E1 and E2, for this process. Both proteins bind to the BPV-1 genome in the region that functions as the origin of replication. The binding sequences for the E2 protein have been characterized previously, but little is known about critical sequence requirements for E1 binding. Using a bacterially expressed E1 fusion protein, we examined binding of the BPV-1 E1 protein to the origin region. E1 strongly protected a 28-bp segment of the origin (nucleotides 7932 to 15) from both DNase I and exonuclease III digestion. Additional exonuclease III protection was observed beyond the core region on both the 5' and 3' sides, suggesting that E1 interacted with more distal sequences as well. Within the 28-bp protected core, there were two overlapping imperfect inverted repeats (IR), one of 27 bp and one of 18 bp. We show that sequences within the smaller, 18-bp IR element were sufficient for specific recognition of DNA by E1 and that additional BPV-1 sequences beyond the 18-bp IR element did not significantly increase origin binding by E1 protein. While the 18-bp IR element contained sequences sufficient for specific binding by E1, E1 did not form a stable complex with just the isolated 18-bp element. Formation of a detectable E1-DNA complex required that the 18-bp IR be flanked by additional DNA sequences. Furthermore, binding of E1 to DNA containing the 18-bp IR increased as a function of overall increasing fragment length. We conclude that E1-DNA interactions outside the boundaries of the 18-bp IR are important for thermodynamic stabilization of the E1-DNA complex. However, since the flanking sequences need not be derived from BPV-1, these distal E1-DNA interactions are not sequence specific. Comparison of the 18-bp IR from BPV-1 with the corresponding region from other papillomaviruses revealed a symmetric conserved consensus sequence, T-RY--TTAA--RY-A, that may reflect the specific nucleotides critical for E1-DNA recognition.
Hire Joe to Run the Firm or Run the Firm Myself? Management Agency Costs in Entrepreneurial Firms

While Jensen and Meckling’s 1976 seminal work explores key aspects of the principal-agent relationship between owners and managers, they do not examine the principal’s decision on whether to hire the agent. An owner (principal) of a closely held firm can either hire someone to manage her firm (agent) or run the firm herself. Her goal is to maximize her own welfare, not the value of the firm; this is important because owner welfare maximization and firm value maximization can be inconsistent in this decision. We use this distinction to define and empirically measure entrepreneurial firms’ management agency costs.
Dynamical behavior in a differential-algebraic algal blooms model

In this paper, we consider a differential-algebraic model which links the outbreak and biological control strategy of algal blooms. In the proposed mathematical model, two interacting algal species are investigated by a two-species Lotka-Volterra competition differential model, and an algebraic equation is presented to study the economic interest of harvest effort on some algal. The occurrence mechanism of algal blooms is revealed by analyzing the local stability of the proposed model system at the interior equilibrium. Furthermore, the instability mechanism of the proposed model system due to the variation of economic interest of harvesting is studied. With the purpose of eliminating the algal blooms and maintaining the economic interest of harvesting at an ideal level, a biological control strategy corresponding to a state feedback controller in the proposed model system is designed. Finally, a numerical simulation is carried out to show the consistency with theoretical analysis obtained in this paper.
Children’s Natural Conversations Following Exposure to a Rumor: Linkages to Later False Reports

Abstract Previous research has shown that children naturally propagate overheard false rumors and that the circulation of such information can induce children and their peers to wrongly recall actually experiencing rumored-but-nonexperienced events. The current study extends this work by recording 3- to 6-year-olds’ naturally occurring conversations following exposure to an erroneous rumor. Results indicate that, compared with children who overhear rumors spread by adults, those who pick up rumors from peers during natural interactions engage in deeper and more inventive rumor mongering. Moreover, the degree and originality of rumor propagation was linked with various qualities of children’s subsequent recollections at both 1-week and 4-week delayed interviews. Furthermore, compared with 3- and 4-year-olds, 5- and 6-year-olds naturally transmitted more novel and coherent embellishments of the rumor to their peers, and more of their false narrative reports during the interviews overlapped with their own and their peers’ utterances transmitted soon after the rumor was planted.
Growth and characterization of thin films of Y2O3, La2O3 and La2CuO4

Abstract Films of Y2O3, La2O3, and La2CuO4 were prepared by an ultrasonic nebulization and pyrolysis method using acetylacetonates of the corresponding metals in alcohol solvents as source materials. Homogeneous, uniform films with good adherence have been obtained using this simple technique. As-deposited yttrium and lanthanum oxide films were poorly crystallized. After postannealing in oxygen at higher temperature, they crystallized into cubic and hexagonal phases, respectively. Transparent yttrium and lanthanum oxide films have high electric breakdown voltages. Single phase polycrystalline La2CuO4 thin films were obtained from a source solution with a La:Cu ratio of 2:1.
Semiconductors: Excitonic lattice control

Customizing the refractive index of wells and barriers in a periodic array of quantum wells yields a way to control the reflectivity and dispersion of an excitonic lattice. The result is a new method for slowing or modulating light.
The pontine respiratory group, particularly the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus, mediates phases of the hypoxic ventilatory response in unanesthetized goats

The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that, in the in vivo awake goat model, perturbation/lesion in the pontine respiratory group (PRG) would decrease the sensitivity to hyp...
Privacy management in dynamic groups: understanding information privacy in medical practices

Recent wide adoption of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems provides health practitioners with easy access to patient private information. However, there is a dilemma between the easy access to patient information and the potential privacy infringement brought by such easy access. This paper elaborates three types of group dynamics that identify challenges of privacy management in medical practices: team members, temporal involvement, and different levels of information sensitivity. Drawing on the theory of contextual integrity, this work identifies the appropriate actors, information access, and information transmission principles for understanding the norms of information flows. The findings of the study shed lights on the design insights that privacy enhancing features should be appropriately aligned with the dynamic group behaviors of medical practices.
Singular integral equation for antiplane-wave scattering by a semi-infinite crack

The problem of antiplane-wave scattering by a semi-infinite crack is reduced to a singular integral equation of the Cauchy type. This equation is obtained by treating the problem as the limiting case of a sequence of problems for which the crack-opening displacements decay exponentially at infinity, and by using real-variable (as opposed to complex-variable) Fourier-transform methods. An integral identity is used to obtain the solution of the singular integral equation. The solution is shown to coincide with the classical Wiener-Hopf solution of the problem.
Mental workload in multi-device personal information management

Knowledge workers increasingly use multiple devices such as desktop computers, laptops, cell phones, and PDAs for personal information management (PIM) tasks. The use of several of these devices together creates higher task difficulty for users than when used individually (as reported in a recent survey we conducted). Prompted by this, we are conducting an experiment to study mental workload in multi-device scenarios. While mental workload has been shown to decrease at sub-task boundaries, it has not been studied if this still holds for sub-tasks performed on different devices. We hypothesize that the level of support provided by the system for task migration affects mental workload. Mental workload measurements can enable designers to isolate critical sub-tasks and redesign or optimize the user experience selectively. In addition, we believe that mental workload shows promise as a cross-tool, cross-task method of evaluating PIM tools, services and strategies, thus fulfilling a need expressed by several researchers in the area of personal information management. In this paper, we describe our ongoing experiment of measuring mental workload (via physiological as well as subjective measures) and its implications for users, designers and researchers in PIM.
Oxidative stress in the placenta

Pregnancy is a state of oxidative stress arising from increased placental mitochondrial activity and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mainly superoxide anion. The placenta also produces other ROS including nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and peroxynitrite which have pronounced effects on placental function including trophoblast proliferation and differentiation and vascular reactivity. Excessive production of ROS may occur at certain windows in placental development and in pathologic pregnancies, such as those complicated by preeclampsia and/or IUGR, overpowering antioxidant defenses with deleterious outcome. In the first trimester, establishment of blood flow into the intervillous space is associated with a burst of oxidative stress. The inability to mount an effective antioxidant defense against this results in early pregnancy loss. In late gestation increased oxidative stress is seen in pregnancies complicated by diabetes, IUGR, and preeclampsia in association with increased trophoblast apoptosis and deportation and altered placental vascular reactivity. Evidence for this oxidative stress includes increased lipid peroxides and isoprostanes and decreased expression and activity of antioxidants. The interaction of nitric oxide and superoxide produces peroxynitrite, a powerful prooxidant with diverse deleterious effects including nitration of tyrosine residues on proteins thus altering function. Nitrative stress, subsequent to oxidative stress is seen in the placenta in preeclampsia and diabetes in association with altered placental function.
Differences in Species Composition and Stand Characteristics of Mixed Upland Hardwood Forests of North Alabama as Reflected by the Presence of Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.)

The mixed hardwood forests of North Alabama and adjacent states contain stands of varied specks composition and stand structure, with much variation associated with the presence of Eastern redcedar (Juniperus viginiana L.) within the stands. This study quantified the composition of 44 stands within these forests with discriminate analysis, cluster analysis and tree area ratio modeling. Little variation in the presence of specific species was found on plots with Eastern redcedar when compared to plots without this species, but the number of individuals and their portion of the total stand structure did vary between the two types of stands. Twenty-seven species were grouped into six clusters, with associated species differing between plots with and without eastern redcedar. Eastern redcedar sites did appear to reflect lower productivity, with the trees smaller in diameter and shorter in height. Additional stand structure information is also discussed.
Real business cycles and labor markets with imperfectly flexible wages

Abstract One of the principal criticisms of real business cycle models is that the assumptions made about labor markets do not accord with the actual structure of these markets. This paper replaces the standard spot labor market with a market characterized by imperfectly flexible wages, which corresponds to impressions of contractual labor relations. It is found that the behavior of the model, in terms of the predicted variances and correlations, is similar to that of the standard real business cycle model, but that the variability of hours worked and the correlation of hours worked with wages will depend on the structure of the labor market.
Higher-order coupling effects in low energy heavy-ion fusion reactions.

Higher-order couplings to inelastic excitations of surface vibrations can strongly affect the enhancement of heavy-ion fusion cross sections at sub-barrier energies. Detailed second-order calculations are presented for reactions between different nickel isotopes. The agreement with measured fusion cross sections is considerably improved with respect to conventional coupled channels calculations based on linear couplings.
Effect of elevated oxygen and glutamine levels on foreign protein production at high cell densities using the insect cell-baculovirus expression system.

Per cell protein expression in virally-infected insect cells declines significantly at high cell density resulting in a decrease in volumetric productivity. Specific protein expression levels in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-21) cells could be increased at high cell densities by increasing the oxygen supply and by supplementing the medium with glutamine post-infection. β-Galactosidase yield was increased from 411 to 855 IU/ml by increasing the glutamine concentration in the medium by 46% and increasing the gas phase oxygen concentration from 21 to 80%. Similarly, the yield of a secreted alkaline phosphatase was increased from 14.2 to 26.2 IU/mL using the same conditions. Part of the increase in production with Sf-21 culture was due to increased release to the extra-cellular compartment at the higher oxygen concentrations. Increasing the gas phase oxygen concentration to 95% in conjunction with a 100% increase in glutamine and glucose concentrations did not improve the yield any further. Peak production under elevated oxygen and nutrient conditions occurred at 72 h about 24–48 h earlier than under normal conditions. In a Trichoplusia ni cell line (BTI-TN-5B1-4), the maximum secreted alkaline phosphatase activity was increased from 10 to 27.2 IU/mL by similarly manipulating the oxygen supply. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 54: 142–152, 1997.
Optimal neyman-pearson classification under Bayesian uncertainty models

A Bayesian modeling framework over an uncertainty class of underlying distributions has been used to derive an optimal MMSE error estimator for arbitrary classifiers and an optimal Bayesian classification rule that minimizes expected error, both relative to the overall misclassification rate. In this work, we use the same Bayesian framework to formulate a Neyman-Pearson based approach that optimizes relative to true and false positive rates. True and false positive rates are often of more practical use than the misclassification rate in medical applications, meanwhile the Neyman-Pearson theory does not require modeling or knowledge of the prior class probabilities.
Divinity, humanity, and death

In an article which appeared a few years ago, entitled ‘God's Death’ (Theology, 1977), A.D. Smith launched one of the most interesting of recent attacks on the traditional doctrine of the Incarnation. Focusing on the death of Christ, he claimed to demonstrate the logical impossibility of Jesus having been both human and divine. Each of the premises of his argument was said to be a commitment of orthodox theology. He thus presented his reasoning as displaying an internal incoherence in that way of thinking about divinity, humanity, and the person of Christ. The argument was basically quite simple: According to Christian theology and in concurrence with general thought on the matter, we must hold that human death involves the possibility of annihilation. As a man, Jesus of Nazareth faced and underwent a human death. He thus faced the possibility of annihilation. But orthodox theologians hold God to be of such an ontological status that no divine being could even possibly be annihilated. So no divine person could die a human death. From this follows the impossibility of the traditional claim that the Second Person of the divine Trinity became a man, lived a human life, and died a human death for us and our salvation. The qualitative difference between God and man is such as to render incarnational christology an incoherent theological stance.
Second-order necessary conditions in locally Lipschitz optimization with inequality constraints

In this paper we obtain primal and dual second-order necessary conditions for a scalar optimization problem with inequality constraints in a nonsmooth setting using second-order directional derivatives. We generalize results of Ben-Tal (J Optim Theory Appl 31(2):143–165, 1980) given for scalar problems with twice differentiable data, of Ginchev and Ivanov (J Math Anal Appl 34:646–657, 2008) and of Ivanov (J Math Anal Appl 356:30–41, 2009) given for scalar problems with continuously differentiable data, and of Ivanov (Optim Lett 4:597–608, 2010) given for scalar problems with locally Lipschitz and second-order Hadamard differentiable data. We suppose that the objective function and the active constraints are only locally Lipschitz in the primal necessary conditions and only locally Lipschitz, regular in the sense of Clarke and Gâteaux differentiable at the extremum point in the dual necessary conditions. To illustrate the efficiency of our results, we provide some examples.
Heart of Newt: A Recipe for Regeneration

The field of regenerative medicine holds tremendous promise for the treatment of chronic diseases. While the adult mammalian heart has limited regenerative capacity, previous studies have focused on cellular therapeutic strategies in an attempt to modulate cardiac regeneration. An alternative strategy relies on the modulation of endogenous stem/progenitor cells or signaling pathways to promote cardiac regeneration. Several organisms, including the newt, have an incomparable capacity for the regeneration of differentiated tissues. An enhanced understanding of the signals, pathways, and factors that mediate the regenerative response in these organisms may be useful in modulating the regenerative response of mammalian organs including the injured adult heart.
Improving material characteristics and reproducibility of MBE HgCdTe

This paper describes our progress to improve the material quality, reproducibility, and flexibility of molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of HgCdTe. Data, statistics, and yields according to defined screen criteria are presented for n-type layer carrier concentration and mobility, void defect density, and dislocation density for more than 100 layers. Minority carrier lifetime data are also presented. Continued improvements in impurity reductiont have allowed us to achieve, for the first time, reproducible, low n-type carrier concentration in the mid-1014 cnr−3 range with high electron mobility. Data are presented that show that low dislocation density films are obtained for growth on CdZnTe substrates with a wide range of Zn concentration. Results are presented from a nine-growth run first pass success demonstration run to further assess material quality reproducibility and flexibility of wavelength band tuning. These results demonstrate the promising potential of MBE growth for flexible manufacturing of HgCdTe for infrared focal plane arrays.
What patients say about their doctors online: a qualitative content analysis.

Doctor rating websites are a burgeoning trend, yet little is known about their content. To explore the content of Internet reviews about primary care physicians. Qualitative content analysis of 712 online reviews from two rating websites. We purposively sampled reviews of 445 primary care doctors (internists and family practitioners) from four geographically dispersed U.S. urban locations. We report the major themes, and because this is a large sample, the frequencies of domains within our coding scheme. Most reviews (63%) were positive, recommending the physician. We found a major distinction between global reviews, “Dr. B is a great doctor.” vs. specific descriptions which included interpersonal manner, “She always listens to what I have to say and answers all my questions.”; technical competence “No matter who she has recommended re: MD specialists, this MD has done everything right.”; and/or systems issues such as appointment and telephone access. Among specific reviews, interpersonal manner “Dr. A is so compassionate.” and technical competence “He is knowledgeable, will research your case before giving you advice.” comments tended to be more positive (69% and 80%, respectively), whereas systems-issues comments “Staff is so-so, less professional than should be…” were more mixed (60% positive, 40% negative). The majority of Internet reviews of primary care physicians are positive in nature. Our findings reaffirm that the care encounter extends beyond the patient–physician dyad; staff, access, and convenience all affect patient’s reviews of physicians. In addition, negative interpersonal reviews underscore the importance of well-perceived bedside manner for a successful patient–physician interaction.
An experimental model of pulmonary embolism.

Abstract Previous experimental studies have contributed to the diagnosis and management of pulmonary embolism in patients. However, most experimental techniques to produce pulmonary embolism used material with a structure and composition quite unlike the pulmonary emboli which occur in patients. This report describes a method to induce pulmonary embolism by using a subcutaneously implanted prosthetic graft for thrombus formation. Dogs were prepared by anastomosis of the graft from the distally ligated carotid artery to the proximally ligated femoral artery to provide initial blood flow which led to gradual graft occlusion by laminar deposition of fibrin and blood elements. Seven of 10 animals examined developed a large quantity of formed thrombus within the graft 5 days following implantation. A subsequent intravenous administration of a quantity of 0.2 g/kg of animal weight produced a massive pulmonary embolus which caused hemodynamic alterations in all 36 animals studied and proved lethal in four. Pulmonary embolism was induced in 20 dogs and the systemic arterial pressure, pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary arterial blood flow, left atrial pressure, static and dynamic lung compliance were observed for a 2-hr period. One group of 10 dogs was subjected to pulmonary embolism using fresh autologous blood clot, and the other group of 10 dogs was subjected to formed thrombus obtained by gradual occlusion of a prosthetic graft anastomosed to the carotid and femoral arteries and placed subcutaneously. Neither group of animals demonstrated significant alterations of systemic blood pressure. However, two animals died and two other animals developed significant hypotension in the group of 10 animals subjected to formed thrombus pulmonary embolism. None of the animals subjected to autologous blood clot developed significant hypotension. The pulmonary artery pressure increased in animals subjected to clot but returned to control values within 60 min. A much larger increase in pulmonary artery pressure was observed following embolism using formed thrombus and the pulmonary artery pressure remained elevated for the duration of study. Pulmonary mean blood flow did not change significantly in dogs subjected to clot but decreased significantly for a 60-min period in dogs subjected to formed thrombus. Left atrial pressure increased and static and dynamic compliance decreased significantly in dogs subjected to formed thrombus embolism, but no significant changes occurred in dogs which received fresh blood clot. This study documented significant differences in hemodynamic and ventilatory alterations induced by material with different mechanical properties. In addition, these observations indicate that the approach to inducing pulmonary embolism using thrombus recovered from a subcutaneous graft represents a useful experimental technique for evaluation of pulmonary embolism.
Meta-Analysis of Statins for Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Falls Short

To the Editor: The conclusions of the meta-analysis recently published in your journal by Sillberg and colleagues regarding the use of statins to prevent cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are concerning.1 Although we agree that the pleiotropic effects of statins are intriguing and that several agents in this class have exhibited some promise in the setting of SAH, the statement in the abstract that the data “support the routine use of statins in the care of patients with aneurysmal SAH” is disagreeable to us. We are disappointed that your prestigious journal published such …