cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The utility of computed tomography in shunted patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension presenting to the emergency department

Background Shunted patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) often present to the emergency department (ED) for symptoms related to their disease. Although brain imaging with computed tomography (CT) is often performed, particularly in the current medicolegal environment, its utility during these ED visits is unclear. Methods The ED visits of all shunted adult patients with IIH from 2003–2015 were retrospectively reviewed. ED visits not related to IIH were excluded from our study. Results Thirty-one patients visited the ED 171 times for IIH symptoms. Five patients had greater than 10 ED visits. Twenty-five (81%) patients had 131 visits involving a CT scan, while six (19%) patients were not scanned. The majority of scans ( n = 126, 96%) showed no change; five (4%) scans detected new noncritical pathologies. On the basis of CT findings alone, treatment changes occurred in three (2.3%) instances. Of the 131 visits with a CT scan, twenty-five (19%) visits resulted in management changes; of the 40 ED visits without a CT scan, four (10%) visits resulted in a management change ( P = 0.23). Conclusions In our cohort, CT imaging rarely showed a change in pathology or affected the management of patients with IIH. There was no difference in the rate of management changes between those patients who underwent a CT scan and those who did not. Given the risk of cumulative radiation exposure and cost of CT scans, CT imaging should be used when there is concern for visual dysfunction and the utility of CT imaging in the ED for the workup of other symptoms related to IIH must be explored further.
Fine mapping of the chromatin structure of a cell cycle-regulated human H4 histone gene.

We have observed changes in the chromatin structure of a human histone gene promoter that may be functionally related to variations in transcription during the cell cycle. A detailed analysis of the chromatin structure of a cell cycle-dependent human H4 histone gene and its flanking sequences was performed using DNase I, S1 nuclease, and restriction endonucleases. This gene was previously shown to have a DNase I-and S1-sensitive site for which the boundaries varied with the cell cycle, and we have now precisely mapped these modifications. During S phase, the entire coding region of this gene and the 5′-flanking region up to approximately −600 base pairs are sensitive to both DNase I and S1, while during mitosis/G1, accessibility to these enzymes is greatly decreased in regions from −250 to −600 base pairs and downstream of +100 base pairs. DNase I- and S1-hypersensitive sites in the proximal promoter region (which contains two sites of protein-DNA interaction as well as sequence elements necessary for the correct initiation of transcription) are present throughout the cell cycle, as is an additional site sensitive to both DNase I and S1, located at −700 to −800 base pairs. Restriction enzyme analysis confirmed the general openness of the promoter region and relative insensitivity of the 3′-flanking region, while salt wash experiments indicated several discrete sites in the promoter that are candidates for regulatory interactions. The chromatin structure of the proximal promoter region of this H4 gene is different during early S phase when it is maximally transcribed, as indicated by the ability of a high salt wash to render this region inaccessible to the restriction enzyme MspI only at this time of the cell cycle.
Projective-Planar Graphs with no K 3, 4 -Minor

An exact structure is described to classify the projective-planar graphs that do not contain a K3, 4-minor. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Retinal ganglion cells act largely as independent encoders

Correlated firing among neurons is widespread in the visual system. Neighbouring neurons, in areas from retina to cortex, tend to fire together more often than would be expected by chance. The importance of this correlated firing for encoding visual information is unclear and controversial1,2,3,4,5. Here we examine its importance in the retina. We present the retina with natural stimuli and record the responses of its output cells, the ganglion cells. We then use information theoretic techniques to measure the amount of information about the stimuli that can be obtained from the cells under two conditions: when their correlated firing is taken into account, and when their correlated firing is ignored. We find that more than 90% of the information about the stimuli can be obtained from the cells when their correlated firing is ignored. This indicates that ganglion cells act largely independently to encode information, which greatly simplifies the problem of decoding their activity.
Multiple convergence: an approach to disjunctive concept acquisition

Multiple convergence is proposed as a method for acquiring disjunctive concept descriptions. Disjunctive descriptions are necessary when the concept representation language is insufficiently expressive to satisfy the completeness and consistency requirements of inductive learning with a single conjunction of generalized features. Multiple convergence overcomes this insufficiency by allowing the disjuncts of a complex concept to be acquired independently. By summarizing correlations among features in the training data, disjunctive concepts can provide rich extensions to the representation language which may enhance subsequent learning. This paper presents the benefits of disjunctive concept descriptions and advocates multiple convergence as an approach to their acquisition. Multiple convergence has been implemented in the learning system HYDRA, and a detailed example of its execution is presented.
Pharyngeal oxygenation during apnoea following conventional pre-oxygenation and high-flow nasal oxygenation

We hypothesised that pharyngeal oxygen concentrations would be maintained higher and for longer with transnasal humidified rapid insufflation ventilatory exchange (THRIVE) than conventional bag-mask pre-oxygenation (CPO). CPO requires the mask to be removed during laryngoscopy; this means that air may enter the mouth so subsequent apnoeic oxygenation will be less effective. Oral suctioning could exacerbate this process. However, if high pharyngeal oxygen concentrations and an open airway are maintained, apnoeic oxygenation could be substantially improved. Methods used have included NO-DESAT [1] and recently THRIVE [2], which has been shown to extend apnoea times for up to 1 hour.
Ring-Opening Polymerization of Trimethylene Carbonate Using Aluminum(III) and Tin(IV) Salen Chloride Catalysts

Aluminum and tin salen complexes have been shown to effectively catalyze the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of trimethylene carbonate (TMC) to polycarbonate. The most active salen derivative in each instance contained a phenylene backbone with chloro substituents in the 3,5-positions of the phenolate rings, with the aluminum derivatives being significantly more active than their tin(IV) counterparts. Importantly, the resultant polycarbonate was shown by 1H NMR to be void of ether linkages. The reaction was demonstrated to proceed via a mechanism first order in both [catalyst] and [monomer] and to involve TMC ring-opening by way of acyl oxygen bond cleavage. Consistent with a reaction pathway involving an insertion of the monomer into the metal−nucleophile bond (e.g., Al−Cl or Sn−Cl), the activation parameters were determined to be ΔH⧧ = 51 kJ/mol and ΔS⧧ = −141 J/(mol deg).
Reverse-flow reactor operation and catalyst deactivation during high-temperature catalytic partial oxidation

Abstract Catalytic partial oxidation of methane at high temperature short contact time conditions was studied over three different noble metal catalysts (Pt, Rh, and Ir) in a comparison between steady state (SS) and reverse-flow reactor (RFR) operation. A particular emphasis was put on the interplay between catalyst deactivation and regenerative heat-integration. It was found that RFR operation leads to strong improvements in synthesis gas yields over SS results for all three catalysts, with particularly strong improvements for poorly performing catalysts. Furthermore, while the increased catalyst temperatures result in an accelerated deactivation of the unstable catalysts ( Pt , Ir ) , heat integration leads to a complete compensation of this acceleration. RFR operation thus has an intrinsic “equalizing” effect on catalyst performance and thus offers a widely applicable reactor engineering approach to compensate for poor or degrading catalysts in high temperature partial oxidations.
Regulatory costs on entrepreneurship and establishment employment size

In this article, we examine how the level of regulation affects the size distribution of businesses. To the extent that regulation functions as a fixed cost, it should lead to larger firm size. However, regulations may also lead to smaller establishments with firms outsourcing regulated activities or staying small to take advantage of state exemptions for small businesses from regulations. We empirically examine the relationship between the size distribution of establishments and the level of regulation using state- and industry-level panel data from 1992 to 2004. Our results suggest that regulation decreases the proportion of zero employee and 1–4 employee establishments. The proportion of establishments in the 5–9 employee range generally increases with the level of regulation. Thus, regulation appears to operate as a fixed cost causing establishments to be larger.
Religiosity and Premarital Sex in Adulthood

A growing body of literature finds an inverse association between religiosity and several types of deviant behavior. Although studies of adolescent sexuality form a large part of this literature, it is not clear that their results necessarily pertain to adults. This study examines the relationship between religiosity and the number of sexual partners among never-married adults in pooled samples of the General Social Survey. The major findings indicate that religiosity reduces the number of partners and does so partly because of moral disapproval of premarital sex. Additional analyses address whether the inverse association between religiosity and number of partners varies across gender and race categories. Final remarks address the theoretical importance of the findings and outline areas for further research.
RIGHT TURNS AND WRONG TURNS

“Michelle is driving down the street. As she approaches the Intersection she slows the car down, glances in her rear-view mirror, raises her arm out the window, and then turns the car into the near lane.”
A general search sequencing rule for job shop sequencing

This paper sets out, an approach to the job shop sequencing problem by determining the priority of a job from a linear combination of the basic quantities of operation times and due date. This achieves a simple yet unified format. Furthermore, since these basic quantities are used in fixed linear combinations in the majority of well-known simple heuristics, the rule outlined in the paper is capable of representing such heuristics as special cases within its framework. A performance function is used to assess the effectiveness of the rule and no limitations are imposed on its structure. The form of the variable priority rule is then determined by a computer search routine basing its decisions on the values of the performance function. This overall approach to job shop sequencing we term the search sequencing rule (SSR).
Ca2+ currents of fast blue-labeled superior cervical ganglion neurons.

To investigated if Ca2+ currents of acutely isolated superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons are altered after dye labeling or ultraviolet (UV) exposure, SCG neurons were labeled by multiple injections of 2% fast blue (FB) (S-μl total) into the submaxillary gland. Ca2+ currents of both labeled and unlabeled neurons were significantly depressed by 2-min exposure to UV, compared to labeled and unlabeled neurons not exposed to UV. The I–V curve of labeled neurons was shifted hyperpolarized after UV exposure. Tail-current activation curves of both labeled and unlabeled neurons were fitted to a double Boltzmann equation. In labeled neurons, 2-min exposure to UV produced a significant reduction of the amplitude of the more depolarized component as well as a hyperpolarizing shift of the half activation potential of both components of the activation curve. However, the short time (< 10 s) required to identify a target-specific neuron had no significant effect on the biophysical properties of Ca2+ currents of FB-labeled SCG neurons. Thus, use of this label in combination with the patch-clamp technique comprises a powerful approach to study membrane currents of target-specific neurons.
Model Semiconductor Surfaces: Arsenic Termination of the Ge(111), Si(111) and Si(100) Surfaces

Recent results for the arsenic termination of the Ge(111), Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces are reviewed. Arsenic interaction with the Ge(111) and Si(111) surfaces has been found to result in the replacement of the outer Ge (Si) layer with an As layer. This arrangement has a 1 × 1 symmetry and the calculated positions of the As atoms are very close to the positions expected from bulk bond lengths. Ge(111): As and Si(111): As thus provide us with model ideal surfaces. Similar investigations of the Si(100): As 2 × 1 surface show that this system can be considered as a model for surface dimers. Experimental surface-state dispersions obtained from angle-resolved photoemission measurements and their comparison with results of total energy calculations for these surfaces are reviewed. Photoemission core level data for the As-terminated surfaces and for GaAs on Si(111) are also discussed in terms of the model surfaces.
Rate of DNA repair in progeric and normal human fibroblasts.

Summary The rate of rejoining of γ-ray induced DNA strand breaks has been measured in diploid skin fibroblasts from normal subjects at early and middle passage through their in vitro lifespan and compared to the rate of rejoining observed in cells from 4 patients with symptoms of the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome of precocious aging. The rate of rejoining observed in middle passage diploid cells was less than that in cells in very early passage. The rate of rejoining in progeric cells varied markedly among cells from different patients but was significantly less than the rate in normal diploid cells. The reason for this decreased rate of DNA strand rejoining in progeric cells is not clear, but it may be related to accelerated in vitro senescence which is observed in some progeric cell strains.
Abstract 4448: Disruption of nedd4 and connexin 46 interaction by gap junction activator in breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women; it is also the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Progress in understanding the etiology of this disease and developing therapies has been slow due to multiple deregulations of various genes. Cancer cells exhibit many defects in cell communication that contribute to the loss of tissue homeostasis (excess cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis). Most normal cells have functional gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC), while most, if not all, tumors cells have dysfunctional GJIC. GJIC consists of connexin proteins, which mediate the direct passage of small molecules from one cell to the next. They are involved in the regulation of the cell cycle, cell differentiation, cell signaling and previous studies have been suggested their participation in tumor formation and progression. It is believed that restoring GJIC is linked to drug sensitivity and reduction of tumorigenicity. Thus, increasing gap junction activity or enhancing GJIC in tumor cells provides the targets to enhance anti-neoplastic therapies. Several GJIC enhancers have been reported; however, an effective clinical drug targeting gap junction is not available at this time. Recently, we synthesized a new class of substituted quinolines (code name: PQ) and found that they possess potent inhibitory activities against T47D breast cancer cells (IC 50 value of PQ1 is 119 nM) through the enhancement of GJIC. Since the mechanism of action of GJIC enhancement caused by PQ is unknown, the current study is to determine the target proteins that PQ interacts with, which may lead to the mechanism of enhancement of GJIC and inhibition of cancer cell growth. Using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, we have found that PQ1 has a strong binding with Nedd4, E3 ubiquitin ligase which previously been shown to involve in the degradation of gap junction. T47D breast cancer cells were treated with various concentrations of PQ1 for 24 hours. Whole cell extract was isolated and subjected to immunoprecipitation assay, followed by western blot analysis. The results show that 100 nM PQ1 can cause a 2-fold decrease in the interaction of Nedd4 and connexin 46 compared to control without treatment or solvent. Since gap junction turnover has been shown to be facilitated by lysosomal and proteasomal degradation, disruption of Nedd4 and connexin 46 suggests that PQ1 may inhibit the lysosomal and proteasomal degradation of connexin 46 in breast cancer cells. Future study will focus on whether PQ causes an increase in gap junction activity via inhibition of Nedd4-ubiquination of connexin. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4448.
Enhancement of salvage of reperfused myocardium by early beta-adrenergic blockade (timolol).

Although reperfusion of severely ischemic myocardium with thrombolytic agents or surgery has shown reduction in infarct size, the time after coronary occlusion during which reperfusion can salvage ischemic myocardium is limited. To determine whether beta-adrenergic blockade could enhance the salvage of ischemic myocardium by reperfusion, the left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded in 18 anesthetized dogs. An in vivo area at risk was determined by injecting technetium-99m-labeled albumin microspheres into the left atrium 5 minutes after occlusion and carrying out radioautography to define the poorly perfused tissue. Fifteen minutes after coronary occlusion, the dogs were randomized either to a control (saline-treated) group (n = 8) or to a timolol-treated group (n = 10). Timolol was administered until a decrease of 20% in heart rate or blood pressure occurred (mean total dose = 0.85 ± 0.22 mg/kg ± standard error of the mean). Coronary occlusion was maintained for 3 hours and was followed by 3 hours of reperfusion in both groups. At the end of 6 hours, infarct size was defined by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and masses of infarct and risk were calculated. Percent left ventricular mass at risk was similar for both groups (control = 20.9 ± 2.4%, timolol-treated = 23.7 ± 2.1%, p = not significant). Mass of necrosis/mass at risk was significantly smaller in the timololtreated reperfusion group (27.3 ± 2.7%) versus saline reperfusion alone (46.5 ± 5.6%) (p
Ranking causal variants and associated regions in genome-wide association studies by the support vector machine and random forest

We study the number of causal variants and associated regions identified by top SNPs in rankings given by the popular 1 df chi-squared statistic, support vector machine (SVM) and the random forest (RF) on simulated and real data. If we apply the SVM and RF to the top 2r chi-square-ranked SNPs, where r is the number of SNPs with P-values within the Bonferroni correction, we find that both improve the ranks of causal variants and associated regions and achieve higher power on simulated data. These improvements, however, as well as stability of the SVM and RF rankings, progressively decrease as the cutoff increases to 5r and 10r. As applications we compare the ranks of previously replicated SNPs in real data, associated regions in type 1 diabetes, as provided by the Type 1 Diabetes Consortium, and disease risk prediction accuracies as given by top ranked SNPs by the three methods. Software and webserver are available at http://svmsnps.njit.edu.
A computational study of the influence of thermal softening on ballistic penetration in metals

A two-dimensional axisymmetric computational study of the penetration of a tungsten heavy alloy (WHA) rod into a 6061-T6 aluminum target has been performed using a Lagrangian formulation. Adaptive remeshing has been used to alleviate the problem of excessive distortion of elements which occurs during large deformation studies (such as ballistic penetration). Strain hardening, strain-rate hardening and thermal softening in both the penetrator and target materials are taken into full consideration. The computed depth of penetration (DOP), residual penetrator length and maximum crater diameter match very well the experimental results reported by Yadav and Ravichandran (Int. J. Impact Eng., Submitted for publication) for an impact velocity of 1100 m/s. Computer simulations reveal that in the absence of failure mechanisms (such as shear banding), introduction of thermal softening in the penetrator material decreases its depth of penetration in a metal target, when compared to a penetrator material which does not soften thermally. These results are in contrast to the recent work of Rosenberg and Dekel (Int. J. Impact Eng. 21 (1998) 283–296) and a plausible explanation for this discrepancy is presented.
Strategies to accomplish targeted gene delivery to muscle cells employing tropism-modified adenoviral vectors

We are developing strategies to modify the tropism of adenoviral vectors to accomplish targeted transduction of muscle cells for DMD gene therapy. In one approach, we have introduced targeting ligands into the adenovirus fibre, which mediates the binding of the virus Ad5 to the primary cellular receptor. In order to incorporate these fibre-ligand fusions into recombinant adenoviral vectors, we have employed a method based upon homologous DNA recombination between a fibre-deleted, propagation-defective rescue plasmid and a shuttle plasmid encoding a variant fibre. To date, we have generated an adenoviral vector containing chimeric fibres composed of the tail and shaft domains of adenovirus serotype 5 and the knob domain of serotype 3. This modification altered the receptor recognition profile of the virus containing the fibre chimera. In an alternative approach to the generation of a targeted adenoviral vector, we conjugated folate to the neutralising Fab fragment of an anti-fibre monoclonal antibody. This Fab-folate conjugate was shown to redirect adenoviral infection of target cells via the folate receptor at a high efficiency. These studies suggest that it will be possible to achieve our goal of deriving targeted adenoviral vectors for muscle cell-specific gene delivery in vivo.
Control of carbon dioxide solubility in aqueous piperazine

Abstract Solubility correlations are of great importance in the design of industrial carbon dioxide capture processes. Nevertheless, the development of this correlations are rarely used in the design of industrial control systems. The main objective of this work is to provide the basis for using solubility correlations in fast dynamic systems for industrial model based control applications.
Efficacy of infrainguinal bypass for limb salvage in young diabetic patients

The efficacy of infrainguinal bypass for limb salvage in young diabetic patients has not been well established. The purpose of this study is to determine the intermediate-term results (patency and limb salvage) of infrainguinal revascularization carried out for limb salvage (rest pain or ulceration) in young ( 70%) in all three major named foot vessels (dorsalis pedis, medial and lateral plantar arteries) was associated with a high likelihood of limb loss despite a patent bypass (p<0.05). We could not identify any other factors statistically predictive of thrombosis, amputation, or the need for graft revision. Infrainguinal revascularization in this patient population can be carried out with acceptable limb salvage rates. However, patients should be made aware of the high incidence of amputation regardless of the success of the revascularization procedure, particularly in the presence of severe occlusive disease within the foot.
Strengthening via deformation twinning in a nickel alloy

Nanograins and nanotwins are produced in specimens using one processing technique to allow direct comparison in their nanohardnesses. It is shown that the hardness of nanotwins can be close to the lower end of the hardness of nanograins. The resistance of nanotwins to dislocation movement is explained based on elastic interactions between the incident 60° dislocation and the product dislocations. The latter includes one Shockley partial at the twin boundary and one 60° dislocation in the twinned region. The analysis indicates that a resolved shear stress of at least 1.24 GPa is required for a 60° dislocation to pass across a twin boundary in the nickel alloy investigated. It is this high level of the required shear stress coupled with a limited number of dislocations that can be present between two adjacent twin boundaries that provides nanotwins with high resistance to dislocation movement. The model proposed is corroborated by the detailed analysis of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.
Buffet response of a hammerhead launch vehicle wind-tunnel model

A wind-tunnel test of a l/10th-scale Atlas-Centaur I launch vehicle model was conducted in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. The model was aeroelastically scaled to simulate flight bending modes using a partial mode technique. Several payload fairing configurations were tested at various angles of attack. No aeroelastic instabilities were found, and each configuration was generally more sensitive to Mach number variations than changes in angle of attack. Small length-to-diameter fairing ratios produced changes in buffet response in the second bending mode configuration. Additional testing was performed with vertical rods attached to the sting support to reduce the effects of mechanical vibration induced through the facility. The first flight of the Atlas-Centaur I vehicle successfully occurred on July 25, 1990, and the flight response was found to be well within the 3a level of the wind-tunnel data.
Influences of genotype and sex on behavioral tolerance to nicotine in mice.

Abstract Spontaneous motor activity in a Y-maze was measured in DBA/2Ibg and C57BL/6Ibg mice which had received nicotine or saline injections three times a day for two, four or seven days. Both genotype and sex influenced the development of tolerance to nicotine's effects on spontaneous motor activity, with DBA males requiring the longest exposure to nicotine and C57 males requiring the shortest drug exposure for tolerance development. DBA and C57 females developed behavioral tolerance equally after two days of pretreatment, but the C57 females showed a greater degree of tolerance after seven days of injections than did the DBA females. The development of behavioral tolerance in DBA males after four days of nicotine pretreatment was associated with the development of drug dispositional tolerance, with minimal evidence for a change in nervous system sensitivity. Drug dispositional tolerance in DBA females, C57 males and C57 females, however, did not seem to affect spontaneous motor activity.
Neural network based energy storage control for wind farms

One of the main issues related with the wind energy systems is the unpredictable and fluctuating nature of the extracted wind power. The combinations of different types of energy storage systems and control strategies have been proposed in the literature in order to improve the power quality coming from the wind turbines. In the current paper, a novel neural network based control system is proposed for the entire wind farm with distributed storage system. Storage is integrated in every wind turbine (WT) in the wind farm and proposed control system reduces the total output power fluctuations by using the available energy storage distributed among the wind turbines in a cooperative manner. For the verification of the proposed control method a Simulink model for a wind farm containing 100 wind turbines was developed and simulated.
Regulatory seryl-phosphorylation of C4 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase by a soluble protein kinase from maize leaves

Abstract A reconstituted system composed of purified phospho enol pyruvate carboxylase (PEP-Case) and a soluble protein kinase (PK) from green maize leaves was developed to critically assess the effects of in vitro protein phosphorylation on the catalytic and regulatory (malate sensitivity) properties of the target enzyme. The PK was partially purified from light-adapted leaf tissue by ammonium sulfate fractionation (0–60% saturation fraction) of a crude extract and blue dextran-agarose affinity chromatography. The resulting preparation was free of PEPCase. This partially purified protein kinase activated PEP-Case from dark-adapted green maize leaves in an ATP-, Mg 2+ -, time-, and temperature-dependent fashion. Concomitant with these changes in PEPCase activity was a marked decrease in the target enzyme's sensitivity to feedback inhibition by l -malate. The PK-mediated incorporation of 32 P from [γ- 32 P]ATP into the protein substrate was directly correlated with these changes in PEPCase activity and malate sensitivity. The maximal molar 32 P-incorporation value was about 0.25 per 100-kDa PEPCase subunit (i.e., 1 per holoenzyme). Phosphoamino acid analysis of the 32 P-labeled target enzyme by two-dimensional thin-layer electrophoresis revealed the exclusive presence of phosphoserine. These in vitro results, together with our recent studies on the light-induced changes in phosphorylation status of green maize leaf PEPCase in vivo ( J.-A. Jiao and R. Chollet (1988) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 261 , 409–417 ), collectively provide the first unequivocal evidence that the seryl-phosphorylation of the dark-form enzyme by a soluble protein kinase is responsible for the changes in catalytic activity and malate sensitivity of C 4 PEPCase observed in vivo during dark/light transitions of the parent leaf tissue.
The Tribolium decapentaplegic gene is similar in sequence, structure, and expression to the Drosophila dpp gene

We are characterizing members of the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, in order to examine the evolutionary conservation of the structure and function of TGF-β-like genes during insect development. A decapentaplegic-like gene of the TGF-β superfamily was isolated in Tribolium (Tc dpp) that is similar in sequence, organization, and expression to the Drosophila melanogaster dpp gene (Dm dpp). Conserved features include a high degree of sequence similarity in both the pro-domain and mature domains of the encoded polypeptide. In addition, the position of an intron within the protein-coding region is conserved in Tc dpp, Dm dpp, and two bone morphogenetic protein genes of the TGF-β superfamily in humans, BMP2 and BMP4. Consensus binding sites for the dorsal transcription factor are found within this intron in Tc dpp similar to the intronic location of several dorsal binding sites in Dm dpp. During embryogenesis, Tc dpp is expressed in an anterior cap of serosa cells at the blastoderm stage, in the dorsal ectoderm at the lateral edges of the developing and extended germ band, and in the distal tips of developing embryonic appendages. Several aspects of embryonic expression, similar in both flies and beetles, suggest conserved roles for dpp in cellular communication during the development of these distantly related insects.
Association of maternal psychological functioning to pathology in child sexual abuse victims.

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological impact of disclosure of sexual abuse on child victims and their mothers and evaluate whether there was an association between maternal distress and report of child behavioral and psychological problems. Data on child psychological and behavioral problems and maternal psychological functioning were collected at the time of disclosure of sexual abuse and 9 months later for 49 subjects. The study showed the heterogeneity and severity of problems among victims and their mothers at baseline. These problems persisted almost a year later. Maternal distress was strongly correlated with the mothers' assessments of child functioning and was less strongly associated with the children's own assessments of their status. Because the mothers in this study reported high levels of persistent distress for themselves and their children, comprehensive intervention with the family may be an eficient route to child recovery afer disclosure of sexual abuse.
A quantitative analysis of cache policies for scalable network file systems

Current network file system protocols rely heavily on a central server to coordinate file activity among client workstations. This central server can become a bottleneck that limits scalability for environments with large numbers of clients. In central server systems such as NFS and AFS, all client writes, cache misses, and coherence messages are handled by the server. To keep up with this workload, expensive server machines are needed, configured with high-performance CPUs, memory systems, and I/O channels. Since the server stores all data, it must be physically capable of connecting to many disks. This reliance on a central server also makes current systems inappropriate for wide area network use where the network bandwidth to the server may be limited.In this paper, we investigate the quantitative performance effect of moving as many of the server responsibilities as possible to client workstations to reduce the need for high-performance server machines. We have devised a cache protocol in which all data reside on clients and all data transfers proceed directly from client to client. The server is used only to coordinate these data transfers. This protocol is being incorporated as part of our experimental file system, xFS. We present results from a trace-driven simulation study of the protocol using traces from a 237 client NFS installation. We find that the xFS protocol reduces server load by more than a factor of six compared to AFS without significantly affecting response time or file availability.
Toeplitz minimal rank completions

It is proven that for banded patterns a block Toeplitz partial matrix has a minimal rank completion which is block Toeplitz. The results are applied to a variation of the partial realization problem.
On the optimal mobile association in heterogeneous wireless relay networks

This paper considers a cellular network with multiple low-power relay nodes (RN) deployed in each cell, helping the downlink transmission between the base stations (BS) and the user equipments (UE). The difference in transmission power between the BSs and the RNs makes this network heterogeneous. With conventional mobile association schemes, traffic load may concentrate on the BSs due to their high transmit power, leading to a highly unbalanced traffic load distribution and inefficient utilization of the RNs. To improve the capacity and the overall spectrum efficiency of the network, it is beneficial to let the RNs share a larger amount of the traffic burden. Towards this end, in associating the UEs to the RNs, the spectrum consumption on both UE to RN and RN to BS links should be cautiously considered. Also the interference from the high power BSs to the low power RNs need to be carefully mitigated. A systematic mobile association scheme considering load-balancing and overall spectrum efficiency is essential to ensure a fair and efficient usage of network resources. In this paper, we propose a load-balancing based mobile association framework under both full frequency reuse and partial frequency reuse and find the pseudo-optimal solutions using gradient descent method. By comparing with other mobile association schemes, a significant improvement in overall network capacity and RN utilization can be observed for the proposed mobile association framework. To enable dynamic and timely mobile association for the incoming UEs, we also develop an online mobile association algorithm based on the gradient descent method. Simulation results show that the proposed online algorithm achieves a good tradeoff between association delay and network capacity.
Body composition and metabolic effects of a diet and exercise weight loss regimen on obese, HIV-infected women.

HIV has classically been a wasting disease. However, in the United States, obesity is increasingly common among HIV-infected individuals receiving effective antiviral treatment. The risks of obesity are unclear in HIV, although the increased prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the presence or absence of obesity causes growing concern. This study aimed to assess the effects of weight loss (through energy restriction combined with aerobic and resistance exercise) on body composition, body fat distribution, resting energy expenditure, quality of life (QOL), strength and fitness, and metabolic risk factors in obese, HIV-infected women. Eighteen HIV-infected women with a body mass index of 30 or more completed a 12-week weight loss program. Before and after the intervention, body composition and fat distribution by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and whole-body magnetic resonance imaging, resting energy expenditure by indirect calorimetry, QOL, strength, and fitness were measured. Insulin sensitivity by intravenous glucose tolerance test and circulating cardiovascular risk factors (including lipids, tissue plasminogen activator, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1) were measured in a subset (n = 9). Daily food intake and total body weight decreased (mean ± SD) by 3195 ± 477 kJ and 6.7 ± 4.2 kg, respectively. Weight lost was 95.5% fat by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry or 6.2 L of subcutaneous adipose tissue, 0.7 L visceral adipose tissue, and 0.8 L skeletal muscle by magnetic resonance imaging. Resting energy expenditure fell approximately 419 kJ, strength and fitness increased by 28.9% ± 18.5% and 36.8% ± 41.6%, respectively, and QOL improved in 11 of 13 dimensions. There was significant insulin resistance in the subset with metabolic measurements at baseline, and at follow-up there was no improvement in fasting glucose, insulin, or insulin sensitivity, nor was there any change in fasting lipids, tissue plasminogen activator, or plasminogen activator inhibitor 1. There was no significant change in CD4 count or HIV viral load. In conclusion, moderate weight loss achieved by a short-term program of diet and exercise in obese HIV-positive women appears safe and induces loss of adiposity in both the subcutaneous adipose tissue and visceral adipose tissue regions. Despite reduced food intake, weight and fat loss, as well as improvements in strength, fitness, and QOL, the lack of improvement in metabolic parameters suggests that additional interventions may be necessary to reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in this population.
Aortic laceration after anterior spinal fusion

Six weeks after anterior spinal fusion and instrumentation for a burst fracture of the second lumbar vertebra, a patient developed a nearly fatal retroperitoneal hemorrhage from a laceration of the aorta produced by the metallic implant. This experience suggests that placement of fusion hardware in close proximity to large arteries should be avoided if possible or, if such placement is necessary, the device should be removed as soon as fusion has taken place.
The course and correlates of high hospital utilization in sickle cell disease: Evidence from a large, urban Medicaid managed care organization

Although most patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are hospitalized infrequently and manage painful crises at home, a small subpopulation is frequently admitted to emergency departments and inpatient units. This small group accounts for the majority of health care expenses for patients with SCD. Using inpatient claims data from a large, urban Medicaid MCO for 5 consecutive years, this study sought to describe the course of high inpatient utilization (averaging four or more admissions enrolled per year for at least 1 year) in members with a diagnosis of SCD and a history of hospitalizations for vaso-occlusive crisis. High utilizers were compared with the other members with SCD on demographics, medical and psychiatric comorbidity, and use of other health care resources. Members who were high utilizers had more diagnostic mentions of sickle cell complications than low utilizers. However, the pattern of high inpatient utilization was likely to moderate over successive years, and return to the pattern after moderation was uncommon. Despite this, a small subpopulation engaged in exceptional levels of inpatient utilization over multiple years.
Seven Non-contiguous Intracellular Residues of the Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor Dictate the Rate of Agonist-induced Internalization and Its Sensitivity to Non-visual Arrestins

The amino acid sequences of the human (h) and rat (r) lutropin/choriogonadotropin receptors (LHR) are 87% identical, but the rate of agonist-induced internalization of the hLHR is approximately 7 times faster than that of the rLHR. Chimeras of the hLHR and the rLHR showed that this rate is dictated by the serpentine domain and the cytoplasmic tail. Further mutational analysis identified seven residues, two adjacent residues in the second intracellular loop (Val/Gln in the rLHR and Ile/His in the hLHR), four non-contiguous residues in the third intracellular loop (Arg/Gln/Thr/Pro in the rLHR and Lys/Arg/Met/Thr in the hLHR), and one in the C-terminal tail (Leu in the rLHR and Phe in the hLHR), that are necessary and sufficient to impart the slow rate of internalization of the rLHR and the fast rate of internalization of the hLHR. The internalization of the rLHR and the hLHR display different sensitivities to the non-visual arrestins. Therefore, we also tested if the simultaneous exchange of these seven residues resulted in the exchange of this property. Since this was found to be the case, we propose that these seven residues identified here form a non-visual arrestin-binding site.
Monoclonal Antibodies to Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 1 Detect Major Antigenic Changes in Clinical Isolates

The extent of antigenic diversity within a population of human parainfluenza virus type 1 (HPIV-1) isolates collected over a 26-year period was investigated. Twenty-three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) made to the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein (HN), fusion protein (F), phosphoprotein (P), and nucleoprotein (NP) of a 1957 type strain were compared in their ability to bind to the different clinical isolates in ELISA and hemagglutinin-inhibition (HI) assay. Four HN, one F, and two NP MAbs bound equally to all of the viruses tested, but six of the MAbs demonstrated significant antigenic heterogeneity. Most of these antigenic changes appeared stable over time and noncummulative. Four of the clinical isolates and the type virus had similar reactivity patterns (subtype A) to these MAbs, while the remaining 10 isolates may form a second group (subtype B). Children's sera demonstrated this same subtype specificity in HI assays. One neutralization site was present on the 1957 strain and not on any of the subsequent isolates. The possibility of two or more major subtypes of HPIV-1 should be considered in future epidemiologic, therapeutic, and vaccine-related work.
Performance Metrics for IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover (MIH) Signaling

The IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover (MIH) working group is developing a set of mechanisms to facilitate migration of mobile users between access networks that use different link-layer technologies. Among these are mobility managers that create and process signaling messages to facilitate handovers. The MIH signaling architecture being developed in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) allows any transport layer protocol to carry MIH messages. The IETF has considered using the unreliable but lightweight transport available with the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as well as the reliable stream-oriented transport with congestion control offered by the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). In this paper we develop mathematical models that result in expressions for the characteristic function of the time required to complete exchanges of an arbitrary number of MIH signaling messages between a mobile node (MN) and a remote mobility manager (MM). Our models also provide expressions for the average amount of overhead associated with MIH message exchanges due to retransmissions either by the MIH signaling entities or by the transport-layer protocol. In addition, we provide simulation results that confirm the results from the mathematical model and illustrate the effect of varying transport parameters such as the TCP maximum retransmission timeout.
Repeated stress dysregulates κ-opioid receptor signaling in the dorsal raphe through a p38α MAPK-dependent mechanism.

Repeated stress releases dynorphins and causes subsequent activation of κ-opioid receptors (KORs) in limbic brain regions. The serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) has previously been found to be an important site of action for the dysphoric effects of dynorphin-κ-opioid receptor system activation during stress-evoked behaviors, and KOR-induced activation of p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in serotonergic neurons was found to be a critical mediator of the aversive properties of stress. Yet, how dynorphins and KORs functionally regulate the excitability of serotonergic DRN neurons both in adaptive and pathological stress states is poorly understood. Here we report that acute KOR activation by the selective agonist U69,593 [(+)-(5α,7α,8β)-N-methyl-N-[7-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-oxaspiro[4.5]dec-8-yl]benzeneacetamide] inhibits serotonergic neuronal excitability within the DRN through both presynaptic inhibition of excitatory synaptic transmission and postsynaptic activation of G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channels (GIRKs) electrophysiologically recorded in brain slices. C57BL/6 mice subjected to repeated swim, stress sessions had significantly reduced KOR-mediated GIRK currents recorded in serotonergic neurons in DRN postsynaptically, without significantly affecting presynaptic KOR-mediated regulation of excitatory transmission. This effect was blocked by genetic excision of p38α MAPK selectively from serotonergic neurons. An increase in phospho-immunoreactivity suggests that this functional dysregulation may be a consequence of tyrosine phosphorylation of GIRK (KIR3.1) channels. These data elucidate a mechanism for stress-induced dysregulation of the excitability of neurons in the DRN and identify a functional target of stress-induced p38α MAPK activation that may underlie some of the negative effects of pathological stress exposure.