cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermodynamic considerations on the formation of reactive species from hypochlorite, superoxide and nitrogen monoxide Could nitrosyl chloride be produced by neutrophils and macrophages?

Hypohalous acids are poor one-electron oxidizing agents, such that reactions with hydrogen peroxide to yield radical species are not feasible. However, the oxidation of superoxide by hypohalous acids can be a source of hydroxyl or haline radicals. The oxidation of nitrogen monoxide by hypochlorous acid is favourable, but in all likelihood cannot compete with the diffusion-controlled reaction with superoxide to yield peroxynitrite. The reaction of the latter with hypochlorous acid may lead to nitrosyl chloride, a strongly oxidizing agent [E°′(NOCl/NO•, Cl) = 1.0 V] that is capable of nitrosylating organic compounds and thereby generating mutagens or promutagens.
Control design via TAM and H/sub infinity / approaches: a flexible beam case study

The target approximation method (TAM) and H/sub infinity / control theory are used to design robust vibration control of a flexible beam. The beam dynamics are approximated by a few lower order vibration modes of the beam. The remaining modes are treated as a modeling error. In the closed-loop system the uncontrolled and controlled modes interact through the control and observation spillovers, which cause a degraded system performance. The TAM solves the problem in the time domain by designing gains and actuator and sensor locations such that the closed-loop system imitates a target which has no spillovers. The H/sub infinity / approach tackles the problem in the frequency domain by designing a controller which attenuates a class of disturbing signals, including the disturbance generated by the uncontrolled modes. The TAM always gives a lower order controller than the H/sub infinity / approach. The H/sub infinity / approach might not be a good solution for the spillover effect minimization problem when the controller can only have a low-order estimator. The H/sub infinity / gains are much greater than the TAM gains. This implies that the H/sub infinity / controller consumes more power than the TAM controller. >
Strake-wing analysis and design

The technology is still evolving for improving the transonic maneuver capability of strake-wing configurations. Much of the work to date has been of an experimental nature; whereas, the theories that are available to handle vortex-flow aerodynamics have mostly treated wings of constant sweep. Hence, two efforts were undertaken. They are: (1) to extend the suction analogy to more general configurations and evaluate the method by using selected critical planforms; and (2) to develop a procedure for strake planform shaping and test the resulting shape in conjunction with a wing-body. The conclusions from this study are that (1) some improvement has been made in estimating high-angle-of-attack longitudinal aerodynamics, and (2) the gothic strake designed with the developed procedure does produce a stable vortex system in the presence of a wing body and flat post-maximum-lift characteristics.
An Intron Control Region Differentially Regulates Expression of Thyroid Hormone Receptor β2 in the Cochlea, Pituitary, and Cone Photoreceptors

The Thrb gene, encoding thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRbeta), serves key roles in endocrine regulation and the development of the senses of hearing and color vision. The versatile functions of this gene depend upon its expression of distinct receptor isoforms by differential promoter activation. The TRbeta2 isoform has a particularly specialized distribution including in the anterior pituitary and cochlea. TRbeta2 is also found in immature cone photoreceptors where it has a unique role in programming the expression pattern of opsin photopigments that mediate color vision. Given the importance of precise, tissue-specific expression for the function of TRbeta2, we investigated the genomic control elements that direct this expression in vivo using lacZ reporter transgenes in mice. The TRbeta2 promoter region is sufficient for cochlear expression, whereas a complex intron control region is necessary for pituitary and retinal expression. In the retina, the intron region directs peak expression in the embryo in postmitotic, immature cones. The retinal control region is further subdivided into domains that specify and amplify expression, respectively, indicating that timely, cone-specific expression reflects an integrated response to complex signals. The mammalian Thrb gene has therefore incorporated several mechanisms into a multifunctional intron control region that regulates developmental induction of the distant promoter. This specialized genomic organization underlies the unique expression pattern and functions of TRbeta2.
Physicochemical properties of type I corticosteroid receptors from rat brain.

[3H]Aldosterone binds with high affinity to Type I corticosteroid receptors in cytosols from adrenalectomized rat forebrains. Physicochemical parameters of these receptors were determined in the presence of molybdate, which stabilized receptors and maintained them in a presumably untransformed state. The Stokes' radius of the molybdate-stabilized receptor was 8.1 nm, as determined by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. Its sedimentation coefficient was 9. 1S in linear sucrose density gradients. The receptor is asymmetric, with an axial ratio of 8–10 and an apparent mol. wt of 303,000 dalton. The [3H]aldosterone-receptor complex is anionic and elutes from DEAE-Trisacryl in a single peak with a maximum at 160 mM KCl. Exposure to heat or salt in the absence of molybdate, conditions which transform other steroid receptors to smaller DNA-binding forms, causes marked instability of the [3H]aldosterone-receptor complex. The [3H]aldosterone-binding protein of rat forebrain, which displays the binding characteristics of a renal Type I (mineralocorticoid) receptor, is similar in size, shape and charge to the molybdate-stabilized oligomeric forms of other steroid hormone receptors.
Gene therapy progress and prospects: non-viral gene therapy by systemic delivery

Non-viral vectors continue to be an attractive alternative to viral vectors due to their safety, versatility and ease of preparation and scale-up. Over the past few years, investigators have been successful in developing gene carriers that can be targeted to the disease site. Several different delivery vectors for systemic use have been developed by different groups for plasmid DNA and oligonucleotide. Most of them are designed for targeted tumor therapy. The mechanism of inflammatory toxicity, the major toxicity of cationic lipoplex, has been studied and managed. In this review, we focus on the progress made over the last 2 years. We also discuss some future prospects for gene delivery.
Energetics of the gel to glass transformation in sodium silicate gels

Silicate gels of the nominal compositions Na2O·xSiO2, where x = 2, 3, dried at temperatures up to 400°C, were found to exhibit a significant exotherm when heated at temperatures 25 to 40°C above the Tg of melt-quenched glass of similar compositions. The magnitude, ΔHexo, and temperature, Texo, of this exothermic event and its relationship to endothermic phenomena were found to depend strongly on the amount of time the dried gel was heated at a temperature about 40°C below Tg. On differential scanning calorimetry measurements, carried out on the material after the exotherm has been observed, there is no exotherm but there is a glass transition similar to that of the melt quenched glass. The evidence from X-ray, infrared and thermal experiments indicates that the exotherm is not related to crystallization, or, primarily, to chemical reaction. The results are discussed in terms of structural relaxation.
Calculation of stress intensities at sharp notches in anisotropic media

Abstract We present a procedure to calculate mode I and II notch stress intensities in anisotropic media using the path-independent H-integral. The method is based on coupling the analysis of asymptotic stress and displacement fields near a sharp notch with a path independent integral that results from the application of Betti's reciprocal theorem to the notched solid. The approach is demonstrated for two loading/geometry combinations that arise naturally in etched single crystal silicon: mode I loading of a 70.53° notch and mixed mode I and II loading of a T-structure with a 90° notch. Results agree well with those obtained by correlating computed notch-flank displacements with the asymptotic solution.
An Ambulatory Information System Serving the Needs of Clinical Practice: COSTAR V

The COmputer STored Ambulatory Record (COSTAR*) was developed at the Laboratory of Computer Science of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Since release into the public domain, COSTAR has become the most widely used automated ambulatory medical record system (AAMRS). However, because of limited acceptance in the health care community, neither COSTAR nor any other system can claim to be the ‘standard automated record.’ Because of COSTAR's modular design, documentation and private vendor support, it has been installed in diverse practice settings and has been the core of many experimental and innovative record developments. COSTAR has not remained a static piece of software but is an evolving system. This paper will briefly describe the history of COSTAR's development and then review innovations in ambulatory practices using COSTAR.
PoolView: stream privacy for grassroots participatory sensing

This paper develops mathematical foundations and architectural components for providing privacy guarantees on stream data in grassroots participatory sensing applications, where groups of participants use privately-owned sensors to collectively measure aggregate phenomena of mutual interest. Grassroots applications refer to those initiated by members of the community themselves as opposed to by some governing or official entities. The potential lack of a hierarchical trust structure in such applications makes it harder to enforce privacy. To address this problem, we develop a privacy-preserving architecture, called PoolView, that relies on data perturbation on the client-side to ensure individuals' privacy and uses community-wide reconstruction techniques to compute the aggregate information of interest. PoolView allows arbitrary parties to start new services, called pools, to compute new types of aggregate information for their clients. Both the client-side and server-side components of PoolView are implemented and available for download, including the data perturbation and reconstruction components. Two simple sensing services are developed for illustration; one computes traffic statistics from subscriber GPS data and the other computes weight statistics for a particular diet. Evaluation, using actual data traces collected by the authors, demonstrates the privacy-preserving aggregation functionality in PoolView.
Preparation of a single-state atomic beam by optical pumping and radiative deflection

A simple technique for producing a single-state sodium atomic beam is described. A single laser both optically pumps the F = 2 ground-state atoms into m/sub F/ = +2 and deflects the pumped atoms away from residual F = 1 atoms. Data demonstrating the technique are presented, and a practical design for an apparatus based on these principles is described.
Identification of small compound biomarkers of pituitary adenoma: a bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling study

Evaluation of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying Cushing disease (CD) is limited partly by the inaccessibility of the pituitary gland for biopsy. We used bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS), the gold standard in diagnosing pituitary sources of CD, to obtain central blood samples for in vivo metabolomic analysis of pathways involved in pituitary adenomas. We evaluated 16 samples from eight patients who underwent BIPSS to measure adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels in the inferior petrosal sinus (IPS) bilaterally. Seven patients had CD with concordant BIPSS, surgical, and pathologic findings. Samples from the IPS contralateral to histologically proven lesions were used as controls. BIPSS of the eighth patient revealed no central pituitary ACTH source, and these samples were also included as controls. Plasma samples were profiled using a combination of three liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods, which assessed 259 metabolites. Following Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, three small compound biomarkers of CD (pyridoxate, deoxycholic acid, and 3-methyladipate) were identified to be significantly altered in pituitary adenomas. The pathway most significantly impacted in CD samples is one previously shown to be upregulated in other cancers. Exploiting the BIPSS technique, we showed a complete metabolite and lipid profile of pituitary adenomas in CD. These potential biomarkers of CD may elucidate tumor biology and suggest possible diagnostic molecular imaging probes as well as therapeutic targets in patients with recurrent disease after surgery.
Asymmetric wear behavior of self-mated copper fiber brush and slip-ring sliding electrical contacts in a humid carbon dioxide environment

Abstract This study examines wear phenomenon occurring in high-current density self-mated metal copper sliding contacts in humid carbon dioxide environments. A custom tribometer built to test macroscopic (lightly loaded) brush and slip-ring sliding electrical contacts at relatively high speed and current density is described in the text. Data is presented as further evidence that at some elevated current density (between 120 and 180 A/cm2) there is a transition in the wear mechanism as the brush wear rates, friction coefficients, and contact resistances bifurcate. In situ white light interferometry provides new insight on the evolution of slip-ring surfaces as a function of current flow direction through the contact. Ex situ SEM of the brush fiber bundle surfaces shows a strong dissimilitude in the wear of contacting fibers as a result of the current flow direction. Steady-state friction coefficients in the range of 0.20–0.25, linear wear rates of 3–5 × 10−11 m/m, and contact resistances of 0.6 mΩ are reported for copper fiber brushes in water saturated carbon dioxide environments at 2.5 m/s sliding speed and up to 120 A/cm2. A bifurcation occurs at 180 A/cm2 where the electron receiving brush (positive bias) exhibits an increase in friction coefficient to a range of 0.3–0.4, and the electron donating brush (negative bias) a drop to 0.18. The positive brush also exhibits an increase in wear rate to 2.3 × 10−10 m/m and a sharp decrease in contact resistance to 0.2 mΩ. The negative brush shows an increase in wear rate but only to half the value of the positive brush, and the negative brush contact resistance increased sharply to 0.6–0.8 mΩ. An uncertainty analysis of wear rate is presented that demonstrates the need for long (100s of km) sliding distances to achieve a reasonable measurement uncertainty for such low wear contacts.
Some generalized projection methods for solving operator equations

Abstract We provide sufficient conditions for the convergence of a certain Newton-like method to the solution of an equation with a nondifferentiable term.
Reproducing styli for speech audiometry.

Between 1956 and 1958, Technisonic Studios changed the groove shape on the lateral-cut monophonic recordings that they supply for speech audiometry. A stylus that has a spherical tip with a radius ...
Cyclo (His-Pro), d-amphetamine and striatal dopamine: a microdialysis study.

Extracellular levels of dopamine (DA) and its metabolites (DOPAC and HVA) were monitored in the striatum of rats using in vivo microdialysis, in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of cyclo (His-Pro) (histidyl-proline-diketopiperazine, CHP) on dopaminergic activity. Pretreatment with CHP (0.5 mg/kg SC) (n = 5) or the equivalent volume of saline (n = 5) was followed 30 min later by 5 mg/kg IP of d-amphetamine. Dialysate samples were collected and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC). Following the initial increase in DA caused by d-amphetamine, DA levels of CHP-treated rats were significantly lower than saline-treated rats across time (p<0.05). No difference was observed for DOPAC or HVA. It is therefore unlikely that CHP interferes with the d-amphetamineinduced inhibition of DA reuptake. Other neurotransmitter systems may be involved in the CHP-induced augmentation of amphetamine's behavioral effects. Our data, as well as previous findings, suggest that attenuation of the dopaminergic response to d-amphetamine might be best explained on the basis of striatal DA depletion, possibly via tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) inhibition. This study also indicates that a dissociation may exist between the behavioral and the striatal DA response to acute amphetamine. The data support the hypothesis that amphetamine releases DA from a newly synthesized, extravesicular cytoplasmic pool, and that intracellular striatal DA is present in considerable excess relative to the extracellular DA.
Series solutions for a gas permeator with countercurrent and cocurrent flow

The difficulties in the numerical solution of differential equations for countercurrent binary gas permeators are discussed. For a permeator with countercurrent or cocurrent flow of a binary gas mixture without axial pressure drops, a series solution technique is introduced to express each product composition as a power series in terms of a dimensionless membrane area. For countercurrent flow over a wide range of parameters, compute product compositions and fractions of the feed mixture permeating the membranes compare very well with those from a numerical solution of the governing equations for small to moderate permeate fractions in the range considered practical. For ideal separation factors of 2, 5, 10, 25, and 80, significant deviations occur at fractions larger than 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, and 0.15, respectively, at a pressure ratio of around 0.1 and a more-permeable-component feed mole fraction around 0.2. Cocurrent flow predictions are excellent at somewhat lower permeate fractions. Preliminary countercurrent permeator design or rating problems will require solution of only one o two cubic equations.
Hardiness, History of Abuse and Women's Health

This study examined hardiness and health in women with and without histories of physical and/or sexual abuse. Patients (N=201) from a major Midwestern hospital gynecology clinic completed measures of hardiness, physical health, psychological health and neuroticism. The following findings were obtained: (a) the proposed three-factor structure of hardiness was not confirmed, and a different model was suggested; (b) evidence for convergent (adjustment and neuroticism) validity was found; (c) hardiness was significantly associated with physical and psychological health; (d) hardiness was not found to moderate the effects of an abusive past; and (e) the constructs of neuroticism and hardiness appear to overlap to a certain extent. Implications of these findings for theory, research and practice are discussed.
Moral Expertise?: Constitutional Narratives and Philosophical Argument

Using the bench trial of Colorado’s Amendment 2 as an example, this article focuses on the more general question of expert testimony in moral philosophy. It argues that there is indeed expertise in moral philosophy but argues against admitting such expert testimony in cases dealing with what John Rawls terms “constitutional essentials” and ‘matters of basic justice.” Developing the idea of public reason inherent in the Rawlsian concept of political liberalism, the article argues that philosophers can and should speak out on public issues, if they do so with due respect for certain restrictions, but that they should not serve as expert witnesses on core constitutional questions, since doing so suggests that they claim a type of authority that would require fellow citizens to defer to their views. Such claims to authority in basic ethical matters threaten the mutual respect for divergent comprehensive doctrines that lies at the core of political liberalism. Philosophers have a duty to serve the public good, and they perform this service in fruitful ways. But they should refuse a public role that appears incompatible with equal respect for the committed ethical searching of their fellow citizens.
Comparison of Multistix PRO dipsticks with other biochemical assays for determining urine protein (UP), urine creatinine (UC) and UP:UC ratio in dogs and cats.

Background Urine protein: urine creatinine (UP:UC) ratio determined from the quantitative measurement of protein and creatinine in a single urine sample is the best feasible assessment of clinically significant proteinuria in dogs and cats. A dipstick that measures urine protein, urine creatinine, and UP:UC ratio has been used in human medicine and could have application for veterinary practice. Objective The objective of this study was to compare the Multistix PRO dipstick (Bayer Corporation, Elkhart, IN, USA) to other biochemical methods for determination of urine protein and creatinine, and UP:UC ratio in canine and feline urine. Methods A complete urinalysis, including sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) precipitation, was performed on urine samples submitted to our laboratory between February and April 2003 from 100 dogs and 49 cats. Urine protein and creatinine concentrations were determined by the Multistix PRO dipstick using a Clinitek 50 analyzer (Bayer) and compared with the results of SSA precipitation and quantitative biochemical analysis. The UP:UC ratios from the dipstick results (calculated by the Clinitek 50 and also manually) were compared with those calculated from quantitative values. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis and diagnostic sensitivity and specificity (using quantitative results as the gold standard) were determined. Results For both canine and feline urine, protein and creatinine concentrations determined by the Multistix PRO correlated closely with quantitative concentrations for protein (dogs r = .78, P = .0001; cats r = .87, P = .0001) and creatinine (dogs r = .78, P = .0001; cats r = .76, P = .0001). The Multistix PRO was more sensitive and less specific than SSA precipitation for diagnosing clinically significant proteinuria. UP:UC ratios obtained by manual calculation of dipstick results correlated best with quantitative UP:UC ratios in dogs, and had higher specificity but lower sensitivity for the diagnosis of proteinuria. In cats, UP:UC ratios determined by the dipstick method did not correlate (r = -.24, P = .0974) with quantitative values. Conclusions The Multistix PRO, with manual calculation of UP:UC, may be a good alternative for the diagnosis of clinically significant proteinuria in dogs, but not cats. Dipstick creatinine concentration should be considered as an estimate.
Practical considerations to guide development of access controls and decision support for genetic information in electronic medical records

Background Genetic testing is increasingly used as a tool throughout the health care system. In 2011 the number of clinically available genetic tests is approaching 2,000, and wide variation exists between these tests in their sensitivity, specificity, and clinical implications, as well as the potential for discrimination based on the results.
Screening Brassica species for glucosinolate content

Glucosinolates (GSLs), a group of compounds found in Brassica plants, are toxic to some soil-borne plant pathogens because of the toxicity of their hydrolysis products, isothiocyanates. Other phytochemicals found in Brassica plants, such as phenols and ascorbic acid, may compliment the activity of GSLs. A survey of Brassica accessions from the national germplasm repository was conducted to identify potential cover crops that could be soil-incorporated for use as biofumigants. Ten Brassica accessions that demonstrated relative cold tolerance, rapid maturity, and superior biomass production were selected. The selected accessions were grown under three climatic conditions (fall greenhouse, winter high tunnel, and spring field) to investigate whether growing conditions affect their GSL, phenol, and ascorbic acid content. The selected accessions included seven accessions of Brassica juncea (Indian mustard), one of Brassica napus (oil seed rape), one of Brassica campestris (field mustard), and one of Eruca sativa (arugula). Separation of GSLs from the selected Brassica accessions was achieved using ion-exchange sephadex in disposable pipette tips. Quantification of total GSLs was based on inactivation of the endogenous thioglucosidase and liberation of the glucose moiety from the GSL molecule by addition of standardized thioglucosidase (myrosinase) and colorimetry. GSL concentration of greenhouse, high tunnel, and field-grown shoots (leaves and stems) averaged 24, 40 and 76 micromoles g(-1) fresh weight, respectively. Accessions of B. juncea generally had the highest GSL content. A comparison of accessions revealed that Ames 8887 of B. juncea contained the greatest GSL concentration, but had the lowest biomass yield and ascorbic acid concentration, in part because phytochemical concentration tended to be negatively correlated with biomass yield. More promising was B. juncea accession 'Pacific Gold' which coupled high biomass yield with above-average GSL production, but had low phenol and ascorbic acid concentration. We concluded that environmental stress on growing plants can increase the concentration of GSLs, ascorbic acid, and total phenols in Brassica shoots, but does not increase yields of these phytochemicals per unit area.
Phylodynamic analysis of a viral infection network

Viral infections by sexual and droplet transmission routes typically spread through a complex host-to-host contact network. Clarifying the transmission network and epidemiological parameters affecting the variations and dynamics of a specific pathogen is a major issue in the control of infectious diseases. However, conventional methods such as interview and/or classical phylogenetic analysis of viral gene sequences have inherent limitations and often fail to detect infectious clusters and transmission connections. Recent improvements in computational environments now permit the analysis of large datasets. In addition, novel analytical methods have been developed that serve to infer the evolutionary dynamics of virus genetic diversity using sample date information and sequence data. This type of framework, termed “phylodynamics”, helps connect some of the missing links on viral transmission networks, which are often hard to detect by conventional methods of epidemiology. With sufficient number of sequences available, one can use this new inference method to estimate theoretical epidemiological parameters such as temporal distributions of the primary infection, fluctuation of the pathogen population size, basic reproductive number, and the mean time span of disease infectiousness. Transmission networks estimated by this framework often have the properties of a scale-free network, which are characteristic of infectious and social communication processes. Network analysis based on phylodynamics has alluded to various suggestions concerning the infection dynamics associated with a given community and/or risk behavior. In this review, I will summarize the current methods available for identifying the transmission network using phylogeny, and present an argument on the possibilities of applying the scale-free properties to these existing frameworks.
The delay region for P2P file transfer

Motivated by P2P file transfer applications (e.g., BitTorrent) on the Internet, this paper considers the problem of delivering a file from a server to multiple receivers in a P2P network. Each receiver has an associated delay in receiving the file. We aim at understanding the optimal delay region, i.e., the set of all possible delay vectors that can be achieved. Previous work has addressed the problem of delivering the file to all receivers in minimum amount of time (equivalently, minimizing the maximum delay to the receivers), assuming peer uplinks are the only bottleneck in the network. This paper shows that it is in fact possible to significantly reduce the average delay at a slight increase in the maximum delay. Moreover, given an order at which the receivers finish downloading, the optimal delay region is characterized by a system of linear inequalities. Any point in the optimal delay region can be achieved by linear network coding. We also propose a simple routing scheme that has near-optimal empirical performance.
Leaf physiology and morphology of Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh., Castanea mollissima Blume, and three backcross breeding generations planted in the southern Appalachians, USA

Backcross breeding programs have been used to transfer disease resistance and other traits from one forest tree species to another in order to meet restoration objectives. Evaluating the field performance of such material is critical for determining the success of breeding programs. In eastern North America, The American Chestnut Foundation has a backcross breeding program that uses Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Blume) to introduce resistance of the fungal pathogen chestnut blight [Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr.] to the native American chestnut [Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.]. We compared physiological and morphological characteristics among seedlings of American chestnut, Chinese chestnut, and BC1F3, BC2F3, and BC3F3 hybrid chestnuts during their fourth growing season after field-planting. American chestnut and the BC3F3 breeding generation displayed photosynthetic light-response curves that were similar to each other but different from Chinese chestnut. Rates of photosynthesis were higher for American chestnut and the BC3F3 breeding generation when compared to Chinese chestnut for light levels ≥800 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density and for maximum photosynthetic capacity. Leaf morphology variables were not different between American chestnut and any of the breeding generations, but leaf area (on a per leaf basis) of Chinese chestnut was lower than that of any other chestnut type. Our results suggest that backcross breeding can be used to transfer desirable traits for restoration of native species threatened by non-native pathogens.
The evolution of developmental patterning under genetic duplication constraints

Of considerable interest are the evolutionary and developmental origins of complex, adaptive structures and the mechanisms that stabilize these structures. We consider the relationship between the evolutionary process of gene duplication and deletion and the stability of morphogenetic patterns produced by interacting activators and inhibitors. We compare the relative stability of patterns with a single activator and inhibitor (two-dimensional system) against a ‘redundant’ system with two activators or two inhibitors (three-dimensional system). We find that duplication events can both expand and contract the space of patterns. We study developmental robustness in terms of stochastic escape times from this space, also known as a ‘canalization potential’. We embed the output of pattern formation into an explicit evolutionary model of gene duplication, gene loss and variation in the steepness of the canalization potential. We find that under all constant conditions, the system evolves towards a preference for steep potentials associated with low phenotypic variability and longer lifespans. This preference leads to an overall decrease in the density of redundant genotypes as developmental robustness neutralizes the advantages of genetic robustness.
Racial Disparities in Cardiovascular Care: A Review of Culprits and Potential Solutions

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for white and black Americans. Despite the presence of therapies that improve survival and quality of life in cardiac patients, African-Americans continue to have the worst heart disease survival rates of all racial groups. The literature has described racial disparities in cardiovascular care for at least 25 years. We review the current status of racial disparities in four areas of cardiovascular care: automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (AICD) implantations in patients at risk for sudden cardiac death, cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D) implantation in patients with severely depressed left ventricular function and refractory heart failure, reperfusion therapy in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction, and revascularization in patients with critical limb ischemia. We will discuss potential culprits for these disparities with a particular focus on hospital quality, physician bias, and the relative lack of diversity among cardiovascular physicians in the USA. Finally, we will discuss strategies already in progress that hold promise to reduce or eliminate racial disparities in cardiovascular care.
The Hv1 Voltage-Gated Proton Channel: Are Two Pores Better than One?

Voltage-gated proton channels serve different functions in a variety of excitable and non-excitable cells, such as acid extrusion from neurons, muscles, and epithelial cells, and regulation of the NADPH oxidase in phagocytic cells. The first -and so far only- cloned voltage-gated proton channel, Hv1 (also known as VSOP), belongs to the family of proteins containing voltage-sensing domains (VSDs). In all other known channels of this family, the function of ion conduction is performed by a pore domain permeable to sodium, potassium or calcium ions. In Hv1, there is no pore domain, and the function of proton conduction is performed by the VSD itself. The Hv1 protein was recently shown to form dimers, in which each subunit has its own proton pore and gate, and the channel was found to function also when dimerization was prevented. This posed an interesting problem. If the two subunits of Hv1 can work separately, why do they form dimers? Do they gain any new functional feature by dimerization? Here, I will describe our attempts to answer these questions, focusing on the study of cooperativity between Hv1 subunits. I will also review our current understanding of the structural organization of Hv1 channels, and discuss the relationship between the gating of Hv1 and the gating of ion-conducting pores recently discovered in the VSDs of mutant voltage-gated potassium and sodium channels.
Improving the practice of systems engineering: Boot strapping grass roots success

This paper describes how to use a positive deviance-inspired process for improving the practice of systems engineering, and how positive deviance fits into an evolutionary improvement strategy. It illustrates the process with examples from both systems engineering and cases studies outside of systems engineering. In particular we cite the experience of the team that authored the DoD Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems (SoS) [Ref 1]. They developed a representation of how successful SoS engineering practitioners view and do systems engineering that is substantially different from their individual system counterparts. The cases outside of systems engineering relate to an antistarvation program in rural Vietnam and a 150-year old problem of inadequate hand scrubbing and infections in hospitals [Ref 2]. Even with substantial progress in technology, processes, and efficiencies, complex problems from enterprise systems engineering to nutrition to medical needs still stubbornly resist improvement. By using a positive deviance-inspired approach, this can be reversed.
Naturally occurring radioactive materials and medical isotopes at border crossings

Countries around the world are deploying radiation detection instrumentation to interdict the illegal shipment of radioactive material crossing international borders. Some cargo contains naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) or technologically enhanced NORM (TENORM) that triggers alarms at border crossings. This paper discusses experience with radiation portal monitors for the interdiction of radioactive materials and the issues raised by NORM. The results of observations and computations related to NORM characteristics are discussed.
Applications of boundary element methods on the Intel Paragon

This paper describes three applications of the boundary element method and their implementations on the Intel Paragon supercomputer. Each of these applications sustains over 99 Gflops/s based on wall-clock time for the entire application and an actual count of flops executed; one application sustains over 140 Gflops/s. Each application accepts the description of an arbitrary geometry and computes the solution to a problem of commercial and research interest. The common kernel for these applications is a dense equation solver based on LU factorization. It is generally accepted that good performance can be achieved by dense matrix algorithms, but achieving the excellent performance demonstrated here required the development of a variety of special techniques to take full advantage of the power of the Intel Paragon. >
Everything is alive

The pervasive computing vision is a paradigm shift "back to the future." It could create a world 25 years hence where, once again, everything is alive (EiA) and can sense, act, think, feel, communicate, and maybe even move and reproduce. This might include equipment, vehicles, robots, clothing, pets, and objects such as trees and walls. The assumption behind this paradigm shift is that sensors, actuators, intelligent controllers, software, and communication devices will be virtually free and vanishingly small. They will be able to attach to their hosts transparently and intercommunicate and cooperate to help us with our tasks. This will extend the desktop metaphor so that computing is no longer just inside computers but rather inside all sorts of physical things. Wireless will replace telepathic communication - everything will be Internet-enabled and stamped with "agents inside.".
ERK5: a novel IKKα-kinase in rat hippocampal neurons.

Background Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is characterized in part by the increased presence of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques. Alzheimer's Disease is considered an inflammatory disease and, as such, nuclear factor-kappaB (NFκB) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of AD. Insulin acts as a neurotrophic factor. Yet, in the context of insulin resistance, concomitant hyperinsulinemia may contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. Methods Rat Primmary Hippocampal Neurons (RPHN) were treated with insulin in the absence and presence of Wortmannin and ERK5 small inhibitory RNA and assayed for downstream effectors of activated ERK5. Results Here we demonstrate that genetic inhibition of ERK5 blocks insulin stimulated (1) activation and translocation of ERK5 and NFκB, (2) phosphorylation of IKKα via association with ERK5, (3) increases in Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 soluble proteins 3-fold and 2.2-fold, respectively, and (4) increases in tau phosphorylation in RPHN. Conclusions ERK5 plays an active role in insulin signaling in neurons and may be a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases.
Control Synthesis of Singularly Perturbed Fuzzy Systems

This paper considers the problem of designing stabilizing and Hinfin controllers for nonlinear singularly perturbed systems described by Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy models with the consideration of the bound of singular perturbation parameter e. For the synthesis problem of simultaneously designing the bound of e and stabilizing or Hinfin controllers, linear matrix inequalities (LMI)- based methods are presented. For evaluating the upper bound of e subject to stability or a prescribed Hinfin performance bound constraint for the resulting closed-loop system, sufficient conditions are developed, respectively. For the stabilizing and Hinfin control synthesis without the consideration of improving the bound of e, new design methods are also given in terms of solutions to a set of LMIs. Examples are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed methods.
Health as a meaningful social practice

The pursuit of health has become a highly valued activity in modern and contemporary life, commanding enormous resources and generating an expansive professionalization and commercialization along with attendant goods, services and knowledge. Health has also become a focal, signifying practice. As a ‘key word’, health is constructed in relation to social structures and experience and systematically articulated with other meanings and practices. Although the cogency of health as a practical concept is largely a product of the enormous influence of modern medicine, medical conceptions have never been able to contain the irrepressible proliferation of meanings associated with health. The meaningful - and ideological - practices of health can be illustrated by comparing three periods in American culture: (1) the late 19th and early 20th century; (2) the 1970s and 1980s; and (3) the first years of the 21st century.
Efficient processing of proximity queries for large databases

Emerging multimedia applications require database systems to provide support for new types of objects and to process queries that may have no parallel in traditional database applications. One such important class of queries are the proximity queries that aims to retrieve objects in the database that are related by a distance metric in a way that is specified by the query. The importance of proximity queries has earlier been realized in developing constructs for visual languages. In this paper, we present algorithms for answering a class of proximity queries-fixed-radius nearest-neighbor queries over point object. Processing proximity queries using existing query processing techniques results in high CPU and I/O costs. We develop new algorithms to answer proximity queries over objects that lie in the one-dimensional space (e.g., words in a document). The algorithms exploit query semantics to reduce the CPU and I/O costs, and hence improve performance. We also show how our algorithms can be generalized to handle d-dimensional objects. >
Guided surface plasmon mode of semicircular cross section silver nanoridges

Tightly confined plasmon waveguide modes supported by semicircular cross section top silver nanoridges are investigated. Mode field profiles, dispersion curves, propagation distances, confinement factors, and figures-of-merit of the semicircular top silver nanoridge plasmon waveguide mode are calculated for different radii of curvature at different wavelengths. It is found that semicircular top silver nanoridges support tightly confined quasi-transverse electromagnetic (TEM) and quasi-cylindrical plasmon waveguide modes. The surface plasmon mode of a semicircular top silver nanoridge waveguide has longer propagation distance and higher figure-of-merit than the surface plasmon mode of a cylindrical silver nanowire of the same radius of curvature.
Myeloid Cell–Specific ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter A1 Deletion Has Minimal Impact on Atherogenesis in Atherogenic Diet–Fed Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Knockout Mice

Objective— Transplantation studies suggest that bone marrow cell ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 protects against atherosclerosis development. However, the in vivo effect of macrophage ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 expression on atherogenesis is not fully understood because bone marrow contains other leukocytes and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Myeloid-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 knockout mice in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor knockout C57BL/6 background were developed to address this question. Approach and Results— Chow-fed myeloid-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 knockout/LDL receptor knockout (double knockout [DKO]) versus LDL receptor knockout (single knockout [SKO]) mice had similar plasma lipid concentrations, but atherogenic diet (AD)–fed DKO mice had reduced plasma very-LDL (VLDL)/LDL concentrations resulting from decreased hepatic VLDL triglyceride secretion. Resident peritoneal macrophages from AD-fed DKO versus SKO mice had significantly higher cholesterol content but similar proinflammatory gene expression. Atherosclerosis extent was similar between genotypes after 10 to 16 weeks of AD but increased modestly in DKO mice by 24 weeks of AD. Lesional macrophage content was similar, likely because of the higher monocyte flux through aortic root lesions in DKO versus SKO mice. After transplantation of DKO or SKO bone marrow into SKO mice and 16 weeks of AD feeding, atherosclerosis extent was similar and plasma apolipoprotein B lipoproteins were reduced in mice receiving DKO bone marrow. When differences in plasma VLDL/LDL concentrations were minimized by maintaining mice on chow for 24 weeks, DKO mice had modest, but significantly more, atherosclerosis compared with SKO mice. Conclusions— Myeloid cell ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 increases hepatic VLDL triglyceride secretion and plasma VLDL/LDL concentrations in AD-fed LDL receptor knockout mice, offsetting its atheroprotective role in decreasing macrophage cholesterol content, resulting in a minimal increase in atherosclerosis.
The Re-Politicization of Religion in Europe: The Next Ten Years

In the coming decade religion will become an increasingly salient issue in European politics. This prediction runs counter to the conventional wisdom that Europeans are “post-Christian.” When comparing Europe to the United States, observers note that church pews are empty, that fewer people profess to believe in God, and that Europeans are moral relativists who shy away from principled positions against authoritarian countries. In the European view, modernization implies secularization, and by this standard Europeans are modern while Americans are, depending on who the observer is, either postmodern or irrational. Why then are we flooded with evidence of the “re-Christianization” of Europe?Jytte Klausen is associate professor of comparative politics at Brandeis University (klausen@brandeis.edu).
Assessing Students' Learning Of Internal Controls: Closing The Loop

This study describes the multifaceted components of an assessment process. The paper explains a novel approach in which an advisory council participated in a fun, hands-on activity to rank-order learning outcomes. The top ranked learning competency, as identified by the advisory council, was the need for students to gain a better understanding of internal controls. With this competency identified, the advisory council exercise was then followed-up by a modification in the auditing course. An empirical study, consisting of a control group and a treatment group, was conducted to assess whether performance on an internal control essay question by students now met or exceeded established expectations. The results indicated that students preliminary understanding of internal controls had been enhanced. The accounting faculty further closed the loop by approving a new internal controls course designed to cover, in greater detail, topics such as the COSO internal controls framework, Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, recent PCAOB statements, and real-world cases involving internal control failures.
Moses the Magician

Exodus 1–15 repeatedly shows familiarity with Egyptian traditions: the biblical motifs of the hidden divine name, turning an inanimate object into a reptile, the conversion of water to blood, a spell of 3 days of darkness, the death of the firstborn, the parting of waters, and death by drowning are all paralleled in Egyptian texts, and, for the most part, nowhere else.