cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunosuppression in chronic autoimmune neurological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Objective To study the risk of acquiring Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its outcomes in patients on immunosuppressive therapy (IST) for chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disorders (aNMD) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods We used TriNetX, a global health collaborative clinical research platform collecting real-time electronic medical records data, which has one of the largest known global COVID-19 database. We included patients with chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disorders (aNMD) [myasthenia gravis (MG), inflammatory myositis, and chronic inflammatory neuropathies (CIN)] and MS, based on the International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) coding for one year before January 20th, 2020. We examined the use of IST, rate of COVID- 19, hospitalization, intubation, and mortality among the patients with aNMD and MS. Results A total of 33,451 patients with aNMD and 42,899 patients with MS were included. Among them, 111 (0.33%) patients with aNMD and 115 patients (0.27%) with MS had COVID-19. About one third of them required hospitalization. IST did not appear to have a significant impact on overall infection risk in either group; however, risk of hospitalization for immunosuppressed patients with aNMD was higher (Odds ratio 2.86, p-value 0.011). Conclusions IST use does not appear to make patients with aNMD and MS more vulnerable to COVID-19. IST may be continued during the pandemic, as previously suggested by expert opinion guidelines. However, it is important to consider individualizing immunotherapy regimens in some cases. Additional physician reported registry-based data is needed to further confirm these findings.
The relationship between play and language milestones in infancy

For the current study, a multi-measure, micro-analytic approach was used to prospectively explore the role of preliminary symbolic play with single and multi-objects in language milestone developme...
DIY city: The collective power of small actions, by Hank Dittmar: Washington, D.C., Island Press, 2020

Planners are biased toward big ideas and big plans. Ever since Daniel Burnham inspired us to “make no little plans,” the planning profession has prided itself on transformative action. Planners ver...
Silhouettes analysis: a posthuman method for visualizing and examining the material world:

In recent decades, postmodern, poststructuralist, and social constructivist theories, and the methodologies and methods they have informed, have been criticized for focusing primarily on human acto...
Immigrant Health and the Intersection of Type 2 Diabetes and Non-Endemic Infectious Diseases in the United States

The current type 2 diabetes (T2D) pandemic is expected to afflict almost 500 million people over the next 15 years. Its global burden is well publicized, but less attention has been paid to how it interacts with other conditions, particularly infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB). T2D is characterized by insulin insensitivity, along with chronic low-grade inflammation and subsequent immunocompromise; when comorbid with TB, T2D tends to increase symptom severity and heighten mortality rates. Recent immigrants (both documented and undocumented, especially those from Latin America) and persons of Hispanic or Latino descent in the United States are particularly vulnerable to this comorbidity due to factors such as lack of access to healthcare, poverty and acculturation, meaning the process by which immigrants adopt American behaviors. The goal of this investigation is to elucidate the interaction between T2D and TB, thereby highlighting a troubling disparity in healthcare availability that is likely to apply beyond immigrants and affect other marginalized populations as well.
Common things are common… or the elephant in the room

Abstract Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, genetically heterogeneous cause of bronchiectasis. It has a frequency of 1 in 10,000–20,000 and is inherited as an autosomal recessive gene. It is characterized by chronic lung disease, rhinosinusitis, hearing impairment and subfertility, while situs inversus occurs in 50% of cases. The prevalence of congenital heart disease with heterotaxy is 200-times higher in those with PCD than in the general population. Here, we describe a six year old girl with known dextrocardia and situs inversus who presented with supraventricular tachycardia. After the restoration of the normal sinus rhythm, an echocardiogram demonstrated situs inversus, a large secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) and morphological right atrial dilatation. The ASD was not suitable for interventional closure. As the patient had a persistent cough, she also underwent a Mantoux test, which was positive at more than 15 mm induration. The association of pulmonary tuberculosis with primary ciliary dyskinesia is rarely described. However, infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria are common in bronchiectasis and should be suspected in every child presenting with chronic cough.
Improved spoiling efficiency in dynamic RF-spoiled imaging by ghost phase modulation and temporal filtering.

Purpose Radiofrequency-spoiled steady-state sequences offer rapid data acquisition with T1- or T2*-weighting. The spoiler gradients in these sequences must be large enough to suppress ghost artifacts, and are chosen empirically. However, certain factors such as the need to minimize gradient first moments or acoustic noise can limit the spoiler size and, hence, the ability to suppress ghosts. We present an acquisition and preprocessing strategy for improved spoiling efficiency in conventional and echo-shifted dynamic radiofrequency-spoiled 3D imaging. Theory and Methods By requiring each time-frame in a dynamic imaging sequence to contain a particular (restricted) number of total radiofrequency shots, the ghost signal can be made to alternate in sign every other frame. The ghost is then suppressed by Fourier transforming along the temporal dimension, and removing the Nyquist frequency in preprocessing (similar to UNFOLD). The method works for both Cartesian and non-Cartesian imaging. Results We demonstrate improved ghost suppression with the proposed approach, for both conventional and echo-shifted spoiled gradient echo imaging in stationary phantoms and in vivo. Cartesian echo-shifted spoiled gradient echo imaging produces two ghosts shifted in opposite directions, both of which are suppressed with our method. Conclusion For a given spoiler gradient area, the proposed approach substantially suppresses the ghost signal in both conventional and echo-shifted dynamic radiofrequency-spoiled imaging. Magn Reson Med, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis and reactions of unsaturated sugars : Unsaturated sugars through thionocarbonate intermediates and synthesis of a 5-deoxy-6-thiohexose system

Abstract 1,2- O -Isopropylidene-α- D -glucofuranose (I) was converted by treatment with bis(imidazol-1-yl)thione into the 5,6-thionocarbonate (II), characterized by physical data and as the 3- p -phenylazobenzoate (III). Treatment of II and III with trimethyl phosphite gave the corresponding 5,6-unsaturated derivatives V and VI; substance VI could also be prepared by p -phenylazobenzoylation of V. Photocatalyzed addition of thiolacetic acid to V gave 6- S -acetyl-5-deoxy-1,2- O -isopropylidene-6-thio-α- D - xylo -hexofuranose (IV), characterized by n.m.r. and i.r. spectroscopy and also as the 3-acetate.
Parameter Space Design of Control Systems using Interactive Computer Graphics

This paper presents contributions to computer-aided control system design in the parameter space approach. Newly developed modeling algorithms allow the use of three-dimensional interactive computer graphics as a powerful and very flexible tool for multivariable control system design. Robustness with respect to plant variation and sensor failures, actuator constraints, sensor noise and quantization effects in addition to specifications about stability, damping, and bandwidth are handled in a direct geometric way by working with admissible regions of several design parameters. An interactive CAD software package with these capabilities is discussed and several design examples demonstrate the potential and versatility of the method.
Studies in Blood Volume with the Dye Method

Excerpt New conceptions concerning blood are urgently needed in medicine, since the routine count of blood cells and the determination of the hemoglobin relate entirely to the concentration of the ...
The Effects of Rivalry with Price Regulation of Electric Power Generation

This article examines how rivalry between an electric utility and nonutility generators (NUGs) affects electricity prices, market structure and welfare. If a utility cannot break even financially when outputs are priced at marginal cost, then the Ramsey optimal price paid by a utility purchasing electricity from a NUG should be below avoided cost, in contrast to the requirements of PURPA. The analysis also compares FDC, Residual and Ramsey prices for a utility‘s electricity sales. It illustrates how FDC prices may force a utility to exit relatively competitive business markets, eliminating any benefits of economies of scope from serving both business and residential customers.
Why certain antibodies cross-react with HLA- A and HLA-G: Epitope mapping of two common MHC class I reagents

Abstract Antigen presentation at the maternal-fetal interface has been characterized by a reported lack of classical MHC class I products and the presence of a tissue-restricted, non-classical class I product with limited polymorphism, HLA-G. The lack of HLA-A, -B, and -C products at this interface would allow escape from T-cell mediated attack, while the presence of HLA-G may enable evasion of NK cell-mediated destruction. We provide evidence that in addition to HLA-G, the classical class I product HLA-C is also present in trophoblast. Specifically, cDNA from the trophoblast-derived JEG 3 cell line encodes the HLA-C-locus product, HLA-Cw∗0401. This protein, obtained by in vitro transcription\translation, has biochemical characteristics identical to MHC class I products immunoprecipitated directly from the same cells. These findings are in agreement with RNA analysis and immunohistochemistry on both cell lines and primary trophoblast tissues. We report here the preferential reactivity in JEG 3 cells of two widely used monoclonal anti-MHC class I heavy chain antibodies, HC10 and HCA2, with HLA-C and HLA-G, respectively. We have mapped the epitopes recognized by these reagents to distinct areas of the α 1 domain of the MHC class I heavy chain. HCA2 recognizes the motif xLxTLRGx spanning amino acids 77–84 present in both HLA-A and HLA-G. In contrast, HC10 may recognize a discontinuous epitope, with essential elements of the recognized motif surrounding residue 60 in the α 1 domain of the class I heavy chain, as shown by truncation analysis. These results adequately explain the immunochemical cross-reactivity of HLA-A and HLA-G.
Subband adaptive noise canceler for hands-free cellular phone applications

Broadband adaptive noise cancellation applications often involve adaptive filter lengths of hundreds of taps. This gives rise to high computational complexity, large misadjustment errors and slow convergence. In this paper subband processing techniques are proposed to get a better noise cancellation in hands-free cellular phones. Simulation results are shown for the traditional and subband adaptive noise canceler (SANC). An average noise reduction of 18 dB is achieved with SANC, as compared to a reduction of 6 dB with traditional ANC. >
Collective Choice and the Lindahl Allocation Method

This paper contains a proof of the existence of Lindahl equilibrium in a very general model of externalities, public goods, and non-selfish preferences. The trick in this paper is to treat all goods as pure public goods, with private goods and their competitive prices treated as special cases induced by special structure within the public goods, Lindahl framework.
Standard filtration practices may significantly distort planktonic microbial diversity estimates.

Fractionation of biomass by filtration is a standard method for sampling planktonic microbes. It is unclear how the taxonomic composition of filtered biomass changes depending on sample volume. Using seawater from a marine oxygen minimum zone, we quantified the 16S rRNA gene composition of biomass on a prefilter (1.6 μm pore-size) and a downstream 0.2 μm filter over sample volumes from 0.05 to 5 L. Significant community shifts occurred in both filter fractions, and were most dramatic in the prefilter community. Sequences matching Vibrionales decreased from ~40-60% of prefilter datasets at low volumes (0.05-0.5 L) to less than 5% at higher volumes, while groups such at the Chromatiales and Thiohalorhabdales followed opposite trends, increasing from minor representation to become the dominant taxa at higher volumes. Groups often associated with marine particles, including members of the Deltaproteobacteria, Planctomycetes and Bacteroidetes, were among those showing the greatest increase with volume (4 to 27-fold). Taxon richness (97% similarity clusters) also varied significantly with volume, and in opposing directions depending on filter fraction, highlighting potential biases in community complexity estimates. These data raise concerns for studies using filter fractionation for quantitative comparisons of aquatic microbial diversity, for example between free-living and particle-associated communities.
Analysis of false-negative diagnoses on endoscopic brush cytology of biliary and pancreatic duct strictures: the experience at 2 university hospitals.

Abstract Context.—Endoscopic brush cytology is a valuable technique for the diagnosis of pancreatobiliary malignancy. Despite its widespread use, the sensitivity of this method has been reported as approximately 50%. The specificity is usually higher than 95%. Few reports have systematically analyzed the reasons for this relatively low sensitivity. Objectives.—To determine the rate and reasons for false-negative diagnoses in endoscopic brushing cytology of biliary and pancreatic ducts based on the results of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values. Design.—Retrospective analysis of laboratory data and slide review of false-negative cases. Setting.—Two tertiary care state university hospitals. Patients.—A total of 183 pancreatobiliary brushing specimens obtained from patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for biliary or pancreatic duct disease for a 4- to 5-year period. Intervention.—Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography brushings...
A modeling framework for integrated distributed systems fault management

This paper describes a modeling framework for integrated fault management of distributed systems. The model integrates all different layers of distributed systems such as application, system, and network layer in a single, consistent view. This enables generic management applications to perform their tasks across layer boundaries of the distributed system without knowledge about the specific details. The focus is on fault management issues. Dependencies between resources critical for the availability of the distributed system are modeled using relationships. Generic fault management applications are hereby enabled to determine the root cause of a distributed system failure automatically. The SAP R/3 application serves as an example to demonstrate the capabilities of the modeling framework.
Associations between cognitive impairment in advanced cancer patients and psychiatric disorders in their caregivers

Caregiving for a terminally ill loved one has emerged as a public health concern given its association with increased rates of depression and other psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular morbidity, and economic hardship. Previous research suggests that 13% of the caregivers of advanced cancer patients may meet criteria for an axis I psychiatric disorder, of whom less than half accessed mental health services after the patient's diagnosis [1]. Predictors of increased risk for post-loss psychiatric disorders in caregivers of advanced cancer patients may include hospital or ICU-based deaths, pessimistic thinking, limited social support, and stressful life events in addition to the loved one's illness [2, 3]. Delirium is a common complication of cancer, affecting 25%–50% of hospitalized cancer patients; up to 80% of cancer patients develop delirium in their final days. Prior research among cancer patients suggests that caregivers are more distressed than patients in response to delirium [4], and that caregiver-perceived delirium may be associated with generalized anxiety in caregivers [5]. In non-oncology settings, independent risk factors for distress and depression in caregivers of patients with dementia include younger age, white or Hispanic race/ethnicity, low income, and extent of impairment in ADLs [6, 7]. Caregivers of patients with mild cognitive impairment display variability in cortisol secretion and distress levels which correlate with daily stressors including patient behavioral disturbances [8]. However, no prior research has examined the relationship between milder forms of patient cognitive impairment and caregiver psychiatric disorders specifically in an advanced cancer patient population. The objective of this study was to assess whether the cognitive status of advanced cancer patients is associated with psychiatric disorders of their primary caregivers. We hypothesized that, under the strains of caregiver burden, anticipatory grief, and increased decisional responsibility, caregivers of cognitively impaired patients would be at higher risk for pre-loss psychiatric disorders than the caregivers of cognitively intact patients.
Limit and uniqueness of discrete rotating waves in large arrays of Josephson junctions

We study the limiting behaviour of discrete rotating wave solutions (also known as ponies on a merry-go-round or splay phase solutions) for large arrays of Josephson junctions. In particular, we prove that these solutions, together with all their derivatives, converge to a certain waveform exponentially fast when the number of junctions in the array tends to infinity. Moreover, when the number of junctions is sufficiently large the discrete rotating wave solution is unique up to a time shift.
Questions for societies with "Third Age" populations. The Extension-of-Life Working Group, The Gerontological Society of America.

By 2030, the number of people aged 65 and over in the United States will total 70.2 million, 20% of the U.S. population, making the older population a major consumer of goods and services. The demands of this growing group are already affecting the medical professional, changing the mix of patients, conditions treated, and what the profession and society consider acceptable outcomes. Medical education will have to adjust to these new demands by training in the diagnosis and treatment of older persons, by equating successful management of chronic conditions with curing illnesses or fixing hurts, and by dealing with the inevitability of death. Also, however, medical education should train students to understand that the rapid aging of the population has the potential to affect almost every human and societal arrangement and every social and economic institution, raising a host of ethical, moral, scientific, social, and economic questions. The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has convened an informal working group to explore the issues raised by the extension of human life expectancy. The multidisciplinary group, which has 13 members from academia and the GSA, held its first meeting in May 1997, when it laid out the issues to be discussed in future meetings. To help frame the discussions, the group adopted the concept of the "Third Age," a time in the life course when for most people the basic work of parenting is done, when, under current arrangements and definitions, people are not heavily relied on for production (that is, a time when people for different reasons leave paid, full-time jobs), and when few positive roles are recognized. The group's discussions will explore sets of interrelated questions raised by longer life expectancy and the larger number of older people. These questions can be considered in five general themes: the further extension of human life expectancy, research choices, societal vision and values, global aging, and economies and Third Age populations. These questions are raised in the paper, and in coming months the group will discuss their implications.
The Myopathy of Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease: Part 1. Functional and Histomorphological Changes and Evidence for Mitochondrial Dysfunction:

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated that a myopathy is present, contributes, and, to a certain extent, determines the pathogenesis of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD). These works provide evidence that a state of repetitive cycles of exercise-induced ischemia followed by reperfusion at rest operates in PAD patients and mediates a large number of structural and metabolic changes in the muscle, resulting in reduced strength and function. The key players in this process appear to be defective mitochondria that, through multilevel failure in their roles as energy, oxygen radical species, and apoptosis regulators, produce and sustain a progressive decline in muscle performance. In this 2-part review, we highlight the currently available evidence that characterizes the nature and mechanisms responsible for this myopathy. In part 1, the authors review the functional and histomorphological characteristics of the myopathy and focus on the biochemistry and bioenergetics of its mitochondriopathy. In part 2, they then review accumulating evidence that oxidative stress related to ischemia reperfusion is probably the major operating mechanism of PAD myopathy. Important new findings of a possible neuropathy and a shift in muscle fiber type are also reviewed. Learning more about these mechanisms will enhance our understanding of the degree to which they are preventable and treatable.
Bioinspired Focal-Plane Polarization Image Sensor Design: From Application to Implementation

In this paper, a bioinspired monolithic complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) polarization image sensor is described as a solution to real-time polarization image capture. Metallic wire-grid gratings are integrated onto standard CMOS image sensor arrays with different orientations. A numerical analysis is performed to guide the design of the wire-grid arrays. Experimental results from different CMOS processing units are compared. A current-mode polarization processing unit is designed, fabricated, and tested in order to perform the extraction of the polarization characteristics from the captured intensities. This paper illustrates how polarization image processing can be used to monitor live cells. Several polarization processing methods with different computational complexity and data requirements have been applied and compared.
Room Service Project

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: The hospital-based professional will be able to replace a large number of potentially wasted Universal Trays with a Room Service Program for more individualized service. As part of the Quality Improvement program, the Nutrition Services Department (operated by Morrison Health Care, Inc.) of the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center initiated a Room Service program to address the problem of off-schedule trays delivered after 45 minutes or longer. It was designed to guarantee delivery within 30 minutes and to improve patient satisfaction. Nursing or the Nutritionist now offers the Room Service menus (one for Regular and one for Modified Diets) to only those patients who are dissatisfied with all alternatives, including Universal Trays or available "write-in" items. The patient's order is then faxed to the Room Service staff in the cafeteria and is filled from the wide variety of items available in the cafeteria. There is no charge to the patient. Results have shown that the decreased waste of multiple orders or large numbers of uneaten Universal Trays have more than paid for the program. Also, both nurses and patients were surveyed, and results were overwhelmingly positive; for nurses, greater ease in use of the system, and for patients increased satisfaction from timely, individualized service.
Carcinogenic N‐nitrosamine formation: A requirement for nitric oxide

Abstract This paper provides evidence that nitric oxide is required for the aqueous nitrosation of amines by nitrogen dioxide and that the rate of reaction is first‐order for both nitrogen oxide species. The formation of nitrosamines in the organic phase is also first‐order with respect to nitric oxide concentration, but unlike the aqueous phase reaction, extrapolation to zero NO concentration suggests that some nitrosation from N2O4 may occur. We attribute previous reports of nitrosation of amines by nitrogen dioxide in aqueous solution to the presence of nitric oxide as a contaminant found in tanks of compressed nitrogen dioxide. We also report that phenols do not enhance nitrosation by NO2 in the presence of NO. Although much previous research in vitro and in vivo has focused on the role of nitrogen dioxide in amine nitrosation, the results reported here suggest that nitric oxide levels may be of greater significance with regard to the formation of nitrosamines.
Dynamic Measurements of Three-Dimensional Scapular Kinematics: A Validation Study

The validation of two noninvasive methods for measuring the dynamic three-dimensional kinematics of the human scapula with a magnetic tracking device is presented. One method consists of simply fixing a sensor directly to the acromion and the other consists of mounting a sensor to an adjustable plastic jig that fits over the scapular spine and acromion. The concurrent validity of both methods was assessed separately by comparison with data collected simultaneously from an invasive approach in which pins were drilled directly into the scapula. The differences between bone and skin based measurements represents an estimation of skin motion artifact. The average motion pattern of each surface method was similar to that measured by the invasive technique, especially below 120 degrees of elevation. These results indicate that with careful consideration, both methods may offer reasonably accurate representations of scapular motion that may be used to study shoulder pathologies and help develop computational models.
Phonon generation in KCl: Li+ and KCl: OH- with pulsed electric fields.

A pulsed electric field technique has been developed to explore the possibility of using electrically polarizable tunneling defects in crystals as generators of short pulses of phonons of discrete, tunable frequencies, and has been applied to KCl:Li+ and KCl:OH−. Phonons generated by the application of highvoltage pulses to one end of an impurity-doped sample are studied using bolometric detection. By measuring defect-lattice relaxation times it is concluded that in both KCl:Li+ and KCl:OH− at least half of the detected phonon energy is a result of generation at discrete frequencies. The remainder of the signal may be a result of panchromatic generation produced by other relaxation processes faster than could be resolved (≲ 1 nsec). Low-field relaxation times of 8 and 6.5 nsec were obtained for KCl:Li+ and KCl:OH− respectively, in reasonable agreement with previous estimates obtained with other techniques. These times exhibit electric field and temperature dependences consistent with a single-phonon relaxation model. Scattering by the Li+ and OH− impurities resulted in considerable temporal broadening of the phonon pulses.
Age-related declines in exploratory behavior and markers of hippocampal plasticity are attenuated by prenatal choline supplementation in rats

Supplemental choline in the maternal diet produces a lasting enhancement in memory in offspring that resists age-related decline and is accompanied by neuroanatomical, neurophysiological and neurochemical changes in the hippocampus. The present study was designed to examine: 1) if prenatal choline supplementation alters behaviors that contribute to risk or resilience in cognitive aging, and 2) whether, at old age (25 months), prenatally choline-supplemented rats show evidence of preserved hippocampal plasticity. A longitudinal design was used to look at exploration of an open field, with and without objects, at 1 and 24 months of age in male and female rats whose mothers were fed a diet supplemented with choline (SUP; 5 mg/kg choline chloride) or not supplemented (CON; 1.1 mg/kg choline chloride) on embryonic days 12-17. Aging caused a significant decline in open field exploration that was more pronounced in males but interest in novel objects was maintained in both sexes. Prenatal choline supplementation attenuated, but did not prevent age-related decline in exploration in males and increased object exploration in young females. Following behavioral assessment, rats were euthanized to assess markers of hippocampal plasticity. Aged SUP males and females had more newly proliferated cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) were significantly elevated in female SUP rats in comparison to all other groups. Taken together, these findings provide the first evidence that prenatal choline supplementation causes changes in exploratory behaviors over the lifespan and preserves some features of hippocampal plasticity that can be seen even at 2 years of age.
Microcracks in New England granitoids: A record of thermoelastic relaxation during exhumation of intracontinental crust

The upper intracontinental crust carries an excess horizontal compression, a remnant stress that arises because exhumation-related thermoelastic relaxation of deeper horizontal stress lags behind the reduction in overburden stress. This remnant stress appears in Earth stress data as an interchange in orientation of vertical σ 2 and horizontal σ 3 so that the ratio of least compressive horizontal stress ( S hmin ) to vertical compressive stress ( S v ) is >1 in much of the top 2 km of intracontinental crust. In theory, rocks exhumed from beneath 2 km should carry some record of this stress interchange, and this record is found in the orientation and density of healed, filled, and open micro-cracks in exhumed New England granitoids. Fluid inclusion planes (FIP) of older, healed microcracks are the best developed in a vertical orientation, and younger filled and open microcracks are best developed in the horizontal plane. Lateral unloading during initial isobaric cooling from the solidus of laterally constrained granite allows early microcrack growth once horizontal tension on the microscopic scale develops in response to vertical compression from the overburden load. During exhumation, further relaxation of lateral compressive stress takes place by a combination of decompression and cooling so that Δ S hmin /Δ S v
Topological groups and covering dimension

Abstract We consider a natural way of extending the Lebesgue covering dimension to various classes of infinite dimensional topological groups. The dimension function that we introduce extends Lebesgue covering dimension, has the hereditary property, and has a product theory that is more similar to the product theory for the finite dimensional case.
DNA methylation, heterochromatin and epigenetic carcinogens

This paper will explore emerging concepts related to alternative carcinogenic mechanisms of 'non-mutagenic,' and hence epigenetic, carcinogens that may heritably alter DNA methylation without changing the underlying DNA sequence. In this review, we will touch on the basic concepts of DNA methylation, and will elaborate in greater detail on related topics including chromatin condensation, and heterochromatin spreading that is well known to induce gene silencing by position effect variegation in Drosophila and other species. Data from our model transgenic G12 cell system will be presented to support our hypothesis that certain carcinogens, such as nickel, may be carcinogenic not primarily because of their overt mutability, but rather as the result of their ability to promote DNA hypermethylation of important cancer-related genes. We will conclude with a discussion of the broader relevance of our findings and its application to other so-called 'epigenetic' carcinogens.
Modest Expectations: The Effects of Interviewers' Prior Expectations on Responses

This paper measures the effect of interviewers and interviewers'prior expectations on response to threatening questions. The results indicate that interviewers are responsible for an average of abo...
Lattice dielectric and thermodynamic properties of yttria stabilized zirconia solids

A study of lattice dielectric and thermodynamic properties of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) crystals as a function of yttria concentration is reported. This study is based on density functional perturbation theory, using ABINIT. Within the local density approximation and the harmonic approximation, we find excellent agreement between calculated and low temperature experimental specific heat and dielectric constants. From the variation of the specific heat of YSZ with the yttria composition, we propose a simple additivity rule that estimates the dependence of the specific heat of YSZ on the yttria concentration, whereas for the dielectric constants of YSZ, the values are bounded by the dielectric constants of cubic and amorphous zirconia.
Planetary gear set and automatic transmission simulation for machine design courses

Due to their unique ability to provide a variety of gear ratios in a very compact space, planetary gear systems are seen in many applications from small powered screw drivers to automobile automatic transmissions. The versatile planetary gear device is often studied as part of an undergraduate mechanical engineering program. Textbook presentations typically illustrate how the different planetary gear components are connected. Understanding of the operation of the planetary gear set can be enhanced using actual hardware or simulations that show how the components move relative to each other. The Department of Engineering Mechanics at the United States Air Force Academy has developed a computer simulation of the planetary gear set and the Chrysler 42LE automatic transmission. Called “PG-Sim,” the dynamic simulations complement a static textbook presentation. PG-Sim is used in several of our courses and assessment data clearly indicates students' appreciation of its visual and interactive features. In this paper, we present an overview of PG-Sim and then describe how the simulation courseware facilitates understanding of the planetary gear system. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 11: 144–155, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.10045
John of Tynemouth alias John of London: emerging portrait of a singular medieval mathematician

In 1953 Marshall Clagett presented a preliminary scheme of the medieval Latin versions of Euclid's Elements. Since then a considerable body of these texts has become available in critical editions, thanks to Clagett's labours on the Archimedean tradition and H. L. L. Busard's work on the Euclidean versions. Further, Busard, M. Folkerts, R. Lorch and C. Burnett have scrutinized the pivotal ‘second’ version of Adelard of Bath, and have thereby exposed a diversity of text forms that spells real complications for the effort to establish its provenance and use. In his recent overview of the medieval Euclidean tradition, Folkerts displays not only how these studies have filled out and expanded upon Clagett's initial framework, but also how they have compelled rethinking of some basic issues, such as on the source relations and authorship of the various versions.
Target localization in Wireless Sensor Networks with quantized data in the presence of Byzantine attacks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to Byzantine attacks in which malicious sensors send wrong data to the fusion center leading to an increase in the probability of incorrect inference. This paper considers Byzantine attacks for the location estimation task in wireless sensor networks where each sensor uses a binary quantization scheme to send binary data to the fusion center. Posterior Cramer-Rao lower Bound (PCRLB) metric and Fisher Information Matrix (FIM) are used to analyze the performance of the network in the presence of Byzantine attacks. We have considered two kinds of attack strategies, independent attacks (all the malicious sensors attack a WSN independently of each other) and collaborative attacks (all the malicious sensors communicate with each other and attack the WSN in a coordinated manner). We determine the fraction of Byzantine attackers in the network above which the fusion center becomes incapable of finding the location of the target. Optimal attacking strategy for given attacking resources is also proposed.
Technology transfer: the organizational role

Transfer of technological developments from the research laboratory to the production line is a topic which has been given increasing attention in the past few years (Tornatzky, et al, 1983). The very survival of many large corporations hinges on the efective management of the technology transfer process. Recent development of research consortia, e.g., MCC and SRC, may be taken as evioence of the growing corporate concern with this issue.
A Unified Model of Microsegregation and Coarsening

Using a coordinate transform in a standard microsegregation model it is shown that the effect of coarsening on the dilution of the liquid phase can be accounted for by adding a dimensionless parameter α c to the back-diffusion Fourier number. Through theory, for the case of parabolic growth, and numerical experiments for the constant cooling rate, it is shown that a constant value of α c =0.1 is a sound choice across a wide range of casting and alloy conditions. This finding allows for the development of a unified model for microsegregation and coarsening. In particular, previous approximate microsegregation models can be readily modified to account for coarsening.
The rotational spectrum of OH in the V = 0-3 levels of its ground state

Abstract Rotational and fine structure transitions have been observed between low rotational levels in the v = 0-3 levels of the OH X2Π state by tunable far-infrared spectroscopy. The rotational and fine structure constants of the ground state have been refined by least-squares fitting to the observed data in combination with far-infrared and microwave measurements by other authors. Pressure-induced frequency shifts with helium as a buffer gas are also reported for some of the v = 0 transitions.
Species-Recognition in the Field Cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus: Behavioral and Neural Mechanisms

SYNOPSIS. Field crickets depend on acoustic organs to detect the presence of potential predators as well as conspecific crickets. Predators are recognized largely on the basis of spectral frequencies that are contained in their acoustic signals. Puffs of air and very low frequencies activate a cricket's cereal receptors and ultrasonic frequencies activate their tympanal organs. Both of these acoustic stimuli release “escape behavior,” in the form of evasive movements. An identified neuron sensitive to ultrasound is described. Crickets recognize singing conspecifics by both frequency and temporal properties of cricket songs; however species recognition requires specific temporal information in calling songs. While previous studies have emphasized the role of songs on female behavior, males also recognize conspecific songs; sexual differences in recognition behavior occur.
Petrographic and reflectance analysis of solvent-swelled and solvent-extracted South African vitrinite-rich and inertinite-rich coals

Maceral transitions during solvent swelling and extraction of two South African coals similar in rank and age, but different in maceral composition, were evaluated. Inertinite-rich Highveld coal (dominated by semifusinite) and vitrinite-rich Waterberg coal were used. Maceral-group analysis of solvent-extracted and solvent-swelled residues showed no changes in the maceral composition for both coals. Solvent-extracted residues exhibited significant observable changes of some particles: particle fracturing, decrease in reflectance and rounding of particle edges. Inertinite-rich coal exhibited extensive fracturing during solvent treatment. Random reflectance analyses of both coals showed that solvent treatment reduces reflectance values of both vitrinite and inertinite. Vitrinite reflectograms showed a shift from the dominant reflecting V-types to lower-reflecting V-types. The inertinite reflectograms exhibited an increase in the number of reflecting inertinite-types (I-types) with solvent treatment, resulting in a broadening of the reflectograms. The changes in reflectance between the original and solvent-treated coal may be attributed to a combination of structural, elemental or surface changes. Current data for these South African coals suggests a relationship between solvent extraction and mean random reflectance: the higher the extraction yields the lower the mean random reflectance.
De novo design of a D2-symmetrical protein that reproduces the diheme four-helix bundle in cytochrome bc1.

An idealized, water-soluble D2-symmetric diheme protein is constructed based on a mathematical parametrization of the backbone coordinates of the transmembrane diheme four-helix bundle in cytochrome bc1. Each heme is coordinated by two His residues from diagonally apposed helices. In the model, the imidazole rings of the His ligands are held in a somewhat unusual perpendicular orientation as found in cytochrome bc1, which is maintained by a second-shell hydrogen bond to a Thr side chain on a neighboring helix. The resulting peptide is unfolded in the apo state but assembles cooperatively upon binding to heme into a well-folded tetramer. Each tetramer binds two hemes with high affinity at low micromolar concentrations. The equilibrium reduction midpoint potential varies between −76 mV and −124 mV vs SHE in the reducing and oxidizing direction, respectively. The EPR spectrum of the ferric complex indicates the presence of a low-spin species, with a gmax value of 3.35 comparable to those obtained for hemes b...
Gross and cytological characteristics of normal feline anal-sac secretions.

This study was conducted to characterize the gross and cytological characteristics of secretions from normal feline anal sacs. Thirty cats with no recent history of anal-sac disease were selected consecutively and their anal sacs manually expressed. The color, cell counts, or presence of solid portions of the secretions in the youngest cats (<1 year old) were not significantly different from the rest. Young cats (<1 year old) tended to more often have watery secretions. The secretions contained 13 (median) epithelial cells per 600× magnification microscopic field, basophilic background debris, and a mixture of Gram-positive cocci (83 per field; median), Gram-negative cocci (38 per field; median), and Gram-negative rods (1.8 per field; median). Most secretions had occasional neutrophils, and a minority of cats had occasional yeasts in their secretion. Erythrocytes were found only rarely. Extreme heterogeneity existed in gross color, consistency, and amount of solid material. Hence, these latter parameters ...
Turnover of interstitial albumin in the kidney

On a determine le renouvellement de l'albumine plasmatique dans les interstices du rein. Le temps moyens de passage fut de 37,5 min. Un flux lymphatique de 0,3–0,4 ml par min/100 g tissu renal parut suffisant pour le drainage total de l'albumine interstitiel du rein.
Compressive creep of copper containing a liquid bismuth intergranular phase

Abstract The creep behavior of copper containing a liquid bismuth intergranular phase has been characterized in experiments performed in compression. The melting of the intergranular phase is shown to enhance the rate at which the material creeps, primarily by hastening the onset of tertiary creep and failure. The stress dependence of the minimum creep rate can be described by a power law with a stress exponent of 23, and the activation energy for creep is 181 kJ/mol. These are shown to be consistent with a creep mechanism in which strain is produced primarily by grain boundary sliding accommodated by cavitation in the liquid phase, with the rate of cavity nucleation controlling the rate of deformation.
Ethanol enhances naloxone sensitization and disrupts morphine discrimination - comparison to dizocilpine and pentobarbital: explanation of enhancing acute and attenuating chronic effects

Abstract 1. Ethanol affects ligand-gated ion channels as a positive modulator of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA A ) receptor function and an N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) antagonist. NMDA antagonists attenuate chronic drug effects. Accordingly, we found that ethanol decreased morphine dependence and locomotor sensitization. We now test whether ethanol alters sensitization to the disrupting effects of naloxone on schedule-controlled responding after morphine administration or affects the acute stimulus effects of morphine. 2. Groups of rats, trained to lever-press for food, were co-administered ethanol (1 g/kg; IP), the NMDA antagonist dizocilpine (DZ; 0.05 mg/kg; IP), the GABA A agonist pentobarbital (PB; 3 mg/kg IP), or vehicle with morphine (5 mg/kg SC). Separate groups received naloxone (0.1–1 mg/kg SC) 4-hrs later, prior to food sessions (FR15; 30 min) on three consecutive days. Ethanol enhanced the suppressive effects of higher naloxone doses on all three days. DZ and PB altered this behavior differentially by day and naloxone dose. 3. Next, we examined the effects of ethanol, DZ, PB, and naloxone (0.3 mg/kg; SC) on morphine discrimination. Rats, trained to discriminate morphine (3.2 mg/kg SC) from saline in a two-lever, food-reinforced procedure, were tested with morphine (0, 1–5.6 mg/kg) after vehicle and drug administrations. Naloxone blocked dose-related responding to morphine, demonstrating pharmacological specificity, and altered response rates. Both ethanol and DZ, but not PB, disrupted morphine-appropriate responding. 4. The paradox that ethanol DZ attenuate chronic morphine effects while enhancing acute effects may reflect a temporal pattern of primary μ opiate receptor function followed by secondary NMDA-mediated processes induced by morphine administration.
Chemical Behavior of Detrital Feldspars in Mudrocks Versus Sandstones, Frio Formation (Oligocene), South Texas

ABSTRACT In both sandstones and mudrocks, dissolution and replacement can cause substantial modification of detrital feldspar assemblages. Over burial depths from < 1 km to 5.5 km in the Frio Formation (Oligocene) of South Texas, mudrocks lose most K-feldspar and Ca-plagioclase. Both of these minerals, however, survive to greater depths in mudrocks than in associated sandstones and are not completely removed even in the deepest samples examined. Albite is the most abundant replacement phase; calcite and Al-rich sphene are common. Sphalerite, pyrite, and TiO2 also occur as replacements of detrital feldspar. Replacement phases are introduced subsequent to dissolution of the detrital grain and require transport of material over minimum distances of tens of microns from sources exter al to the detrital feldspar.
Estimated fetal weight: Applicability to small‐ and large‐for‐gestational‐age fetus

Ultrasonic formulas using femur length and abdominal circumference with or without biparietal diameter were found to be highly accurate in predicting the weight of normal-sized term infants. The small-for-gestational age fetus, however, was overestimated and the large-for-gestational-age fetus was underestimated. The fetal weight formulas tested that were appropriate for the entire study group were not applicable to those fetuses having altered growth.