cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Rare Case of Myocarditis, Intracardiac Thrombus And Embolic Stroke Caused By Mycoplasma Pneumoniae

Introduction Cardiac, thrombotic and neurological complications of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection are uncommon. We describe a rare case of mycoplasma pneumoniae myocarditis complicated by acute systolic heart failure, left ventricular thrombus and embolic stroke. Case A previously healthy 37-year old man presented with a three-week history of sore throat, orthopnea and exertional dyspnea. Examination revealed an apical systolic 2/6 murmur and bilateral lower extremity pitting edema. He had elevated troponin (0.39 ng/ml, normal 0-0.03 ng/ml) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels (2500 pg/ml, normal 0-100 pg/ml). Rapid streptococcal Group A test was negative. Electrocardiogram was unremarkable. Chest X-ray revealed cardiomegaly with no evidence of pneumonia or edema. Transthoracic echocardiography showed severe left ventricular dilatation, reduced ejection fraction (10%), moderate to severe mitral regurgitation and an apical left ventricular thrombus. He was managed with diuretics and heparin infusion. Based on the clinical and laboratory findings, a diagnosis of myocarditis with acute systolic heart failure was made. Workup for Epstein-Barr virus, human immunodeficiency virus, cytomegalovirus, coxsackievirus, mycoplasma, serum protein electrophoresis, antinuclear antibody and amyloidosis revealed a positive mycoplasma IgM, so he was started on azithromycin. On the second day of hospitalization, he developed a stroke. MRI brain revealed a large acute infarction in the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory and multiple small areas in both cerebral hemispheres consistent with an embolic pattern, likely due to the dislodged emboli from the intracardiac thrombus. MR angiogram head showed left MCA proximal M1 segment occlusion. His elevated international normalized ratio (INR) prevented the administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, so he was placed on therapeutic hypothermia and intubated. He then developed cardiogenic shock and unfortunately passed away. Discussion Extrapulmonary manifestations of mycoplasma pneumoniae may be due to the direct invasion of the bacteria, an autoimmune response or vascular occlusion leading to vasculitis or thrombosis. Macrolides and second generation tetracyclines like doxycycline are the drugs of choice. Further studies are needed to explore the autoimmune mechanism and the use of immunosuppressants. Conclusion A high degree of suspicion for mycoplasma pneumoniae should be maintained in a young patient with features of myocarditis and cardiac thrombus to prevent potentially fatal cardiac and cerebrovascular complications.
Structural Protein-Based Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators

Nature provides a set of solutions for photonic structures that are finely tuned, organically diverse, and optically efficient. Exquisite knowledge of structure–property relationships in proteins aids in the design of materials with desired properties for building devices with novel functionalities, which are difficult to achieve or previously unattainable. Here we report whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microresonators fabricated entirely from semicrystalline structural proteins (i.e., squid ring teeth, SRT, from Loligo vulgaris and its recombinant) with quality factors as high as 105. We first demonstrate versatility of protein-based devices via facile doping, engaging secondary structures. Then we investigate thermorefractivity and find that it increases with β-sheet crystallinity, which can be altered by methanol exposure and is higher in the selected recombinant SRT protein than its native counterpart. We present a set of photonic devices fabricated from SRT proteins such as add-drop filters and fibers....
Caring for the Uninsured in a Pandemic Era

On the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans were uninsured despite a booming economy and a decade of health reform. The pandemic and its associated job losses have significantly increased the number of uninsured Americans – predominantly low-income, working-age adults and their families. Underlying drivers are the pandemic-triggered economic crisis, the inherent limits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 2012 United States Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of its nationwide Medicaid expansion, and policies pursued by the Trump administration and certain states that further restrict the ACA’s reach. Especially serious during a public health emergency, the uninsured are significantly less likely to receive necessary care and are more likely to forgo care because of cost. Health care safety net providers established and operated under federal, state, and local law offer vital care for the uninsured and medically underserved rural and urban populations and communities. Federal COVID-19 legislation enacted to date appropriates funding to directly support health care providers, but the administration’s implementation approach may be limiting the effectiveness of this funding for the highest-need populations and communities. Beyond reforms aimed at improving how federally appropriated emergency health care funding is spent, states should use Medicaid to foster greater safety net provider stability and should pursue policies that promote accountability by tax-exempt hospitals with charity care obligations. This paper was prepared as part of Assessing Legal Responses to COVID-19, a comprehensive report published by Public Health Law Watch in partnership with the de Beaumont Foundation and the American Public Health Association.
Evaluation of Journal Club Versus Clinical Debate Activities Within Pharmacy Experiential Education

Objective. Within pharmacy experiential education, practicing literature evaluation skills usually occurs via journal clubs. Clinical debates have gained traction as an engaging alternative during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). The purpose of this study was to compare clinical knowledge and literature evaluation application between journal clubs and clinical debates during APPEs.Methods. This mixed-methods prospective study was conducted in fourth year pharmacy students completing inpatient general medicine APPEs at four institutions. Students participated in a journal club and clinical debate during their experience. After each, students completed a 10-item knowledge assessment. Differences in journal club and clinical debate assessment scores were analyzed. Following completion of both activities, a perception survey was administered to gauge preferences and opinions. Differences in perception survey scores for journal clubs compared to clinical debates were evaluated quantitatively and a thematic analysis was completed for qualitative responses.Results. Fifty students participated in both activities. There were no differences between journal club and clinical debate assessment scores (57.4 ± 21.0% and 62.9 ± 20.7%, respectively). Forty students completed the post-perceptions survey and globally agreed or strongly agreed that both journal clubs and clinical debates improved confidence in literature evaluation and clinical skills. Common themes identified included applicability to pharmacists' roles and need for clear instructions and examples.Conclusion. There was no difference in knowledge assessments of journal clubs versus clinical debates and students found both activities to be beneficial. Clinical debates are a reasonable alternative to journal clubs to improve knowledge and literature evaluation skills.
Bringing the incumbency advantage into question for proportional representation

The literature largely neglects whether individual politicians or political parties in proportional representation enjoy a similar incumbency advantage to the established democracies with SMD. We suggest that institutional settings provide incentives for political parties to field incumbent candidates strategically, depending on district size; and high levels of party system instability in consolidating democracies create conditions under which political parties benefit more from the incumbents' reputations. By using a new dataset, we test whether the incumbency advantage exists, and depends on the district size and the level of political instability in Turkey. Our results indicate that the incumbency advantage in Turkey is largely conditional on the district size. The effect of the party system instability is also substantial. The higher the party system instability, the more political parties benefit from fielding incumbents in party lists.
Acetylcholine-induced retraction of an identified axon in the developing leech embryo

At early stages of embryonic development of the glossiphoniid leech, Theromyzon rude, a branch, termed MAC, of the axon of the segmentally iterated Retzius neuron extends into the anterior interganglionic connective nerve. At later stages, this branch disappears again in about 30% of the Retzius neurons in the standard midbody segments and in about 75% of the Retzius neurons in the two reproductive midbody segments. The frequency of disappearance of the MAC branch increases to about 85% in all Retzius neurons upon exposure of the embryos to culture media containing 1 mM acetylcholine (ACh) and 10 microM physostigmine during a sensitive period of axon outgrowth. This disappearance represents a retraction of the MAC branch to its point of origin, while other axon branches of the Retzius neuron remained unaffected. In later development, the retracted (medial) MAC branch was replaced by a new (lateral) branch termed LAC. The observations were made using confocal microscopy of fixed embryos stained with anti-5-HT antibody and confirmed by Lucifer yellow injection of individual Retzius neurons. The specific retraction of a single axon branch might be attributable to the local presence of extracellular matrix molecules in the ganglionic neuropil, which is contacted only by the MAC axon branch and could render this branch susceptible to growth-regulating signals. Since Retzius axon morphology in standard segments of ACh- treated embryos resembled that of reproductive segments in untreated embryos, it appears possible that ACh treatment may have simulated a process that contributes to the segmental differentiation of the Retzius neuron.
Approximately Common Priors

I show that if one is only interested in local results ~ that is, theorems about what is true at a state ~ which only depend on finitely many orders of beliefs about beliefs, then the common prior assumption is essentially irrelevant. More precisely, given any model where priors have the same support and any finite N, there is another model with common priors which has the same n th order beliefs for all n  N. In this sense, priors with the same support are (locally) approximately common.
Faceworking: Helping Students save Face in the Classroom

A shortstop for a professional baseball team misses a ground ball. He immediately looks in disgust at his glove, pounds it forcefully, removes the mitt and looks pleadingly at the crowd. A sixteen-year-old boy calls a girl for a date, the girl refuses and the boy's friends console him, "She wasn't good enough for you anyway," or "There are a lot of other girls where she came from." A student is asked an easy question by the teacher but the student cannot respond. When a peer gives the correct answer the student retorts, "But I didn't understand the question, I knew that answer. " What do these incidents have in common? In
The Role of Molybdenum in Xanthine Oxidase and Related Enzymes REACTIVITY WITH CYANIDE, ARSENITE, AND METHANOL

The binding of arsenite, cyanide, or methanol by chicken liver xanthine dehydrogenase, milk xanthine oxidase, and rabbit liver aldehyde oxidase results in characteristic alterations in the absorption spectra of these enzymes. The coincidence between the kinetics of inhibition of all three enzymes and the rate of development of characteristic difference spectra has been established. These difference spectra have afforded a useful tool for investigating the binding sites of these inhibitors. The results indicate that all three ligands bind to the molybdenum component at the active center of each enzyme. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of native and arsenite- and cyanide-treated xanthine dehydrogenase have provided more definitive evidence for the binding of these inhibitors to enzymic molybdenum.
A Comparative Study of Reinforcement Learning Techniques on Dialogue Management

Adaptive Dialogue Systems are rapidly becoming part of our everyday lives. As they progress and adopt new technologies they become more intelligent and able to adapt better and faster to their environment. Research in this field is currently focused on how to achieve adaptation, and particularly on applying Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques, so a comparative study of the related methods, such as this, is necessary. In this work we compare several standard and state of the art online RL algorithms that are used to train the dialogue manager in a dynamic environment, aiming to aid researchers/developers choose the appropriate RL algorithm for their system. This is the first work, to the best of our knowledge, to evaluate online RL algorithms on the dialogue problem and in a dynamic environment.
Dynamical Systems: Some Computational Problems

We present several topics involving the computation of dynamical systems. The emphasis is on work in progress and the presentation is informal — there are many technical details which are not fully discussed. The topics are chosen to demonstrate the various interactions between numerical computation and mathematical theory in the area of dynamical systems. We present an algorithm for the computation of stable manifolds of equilibrium points, describe the computation of Hopf bifurcations for equilibria in parametrized families of vector fields, survey the results of studies of codimension two global bifurcations, discuss a numerical analysis of the Hodgkin and Huxley equations, and describe some of the effects of symmetry on local bifurcation.
Time course of thermal acclimation in goldfish

1. The time course of acclimation from 15 ° C to 5 ° C and from 15 ° C to 25 ° C was measured for two compensating enzymes (cytochrome oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase) from epaxial muscle of goldfish (Carassius auratus L.). The time course of acclimation from 15 ° C to 25 ° C was measured for one inversely compensating enzyme (catalase). 2. The transition from one acclimation state to another shows initial oscillations before reaching a new steady state at from 3–4 weeks. The time necessary to reach the new steady state is shorter for small than for larger fish. The oscillations in activity cannot be attributed to the feeding schedule of the animals.
Base catalysis by alkali modified zeolites: III. Alkylation with methanol

Abstract Ion exchanged CsNaX and CsNaY, cesium acetate impregnated CsNaX ( CsAce CsNaX ) and CsNaY ( CsAce CsNaY ), and MgO have been reacted with isopropanol at 425 °C and atmospheric pressure to assess their acid/base properties at a temperature consistent with that used in the side chain alkylation of toluene with methanol. The results suggest that the ability of the catalysts tested here to promote a base mediated reaction follow the order of MgO > CsAce CsNaY > CsAce CsNaX ⋍ CsNaY > CsNaX . Selectivities to acetone measured at 4.73% conversion follow this order as well, ranging from 95.7% and 93.9% for MgO and CsAce CsNaY , respectively, to 17.6% for the CsNaX. Thus, these catalysts can be grouped into two categories: (i) catalysts which vary in acid/base properties yet possess identical topology (e.g., the zeolites) and (ii) catalysts which vary in topology yet have similar acid/base properties (e.g., MgO and CsAce CsNaY ). These catalysts were compared using the side chain alkylation of toluene, ethane, methane, and acetone with methanol. For the impregnated zeolites, similar toluene conversions were observed. Unlike the impregnated X zeolite, no formaldehyde (i.e., the alkylating agent) was observed in the product stream of the impregnated Y zeolite. Both MgO and CsAce CsNaY had similar methanol decomposition products; i.e., no formaldehyde and high CO formation, yet unlike CsAce CsNaY no toluene conversion was observed for MgO. No conversion of ethane or methane was observed for either impregnated zeolite at 425 °C. Attempts at higher temperatures (e.g., 465 °C) failed also. Acetone was alkylated to methyvinylketone and methylethylketone; however, the majority of the reacted acetone formed products which appear to result from acetone aldol condensations.
Radiant exposure level comparison between Gaussian and top hat beams in various scanning patterns

The radiant exposure of optical irradiation beams with different scanning parameters has been theoretically studied. We analyzed the difference in radiant exposure introduced by Gaussian and top hat beams. Various parameters such as scanning pattern, aperture position, beam size and scan spacing were also introduced in this study. We found that Gaussian beams introduce higher calculated radiant exposure to the aperture than top hat beams for certain beam size to aperture size ratios. However, as the scan spacing decreases, the radiant exposure difference calculated from Gaussian and top hat beams diminishes.
Influence of mass moment of inertia on the normal modes of a preloaded solar array mast

Earth-orbiting spacecraft often contain solar arrays or antennas supported by a preloaded mast. Because of weight and cost considerations, the structures supporting the spacecraft appendages are extremely light and flexible; therefore, it is vital to investigate the influence of all physical and structural parameters that may influence the dynamic behavior of the overall structure. The study primarily focuses on the mast for the space station solar arrays, but the formulations and the techniques developed in this study apply to any large and flexible mast in zero gravity. Furthermore, to determine the influence on the circular frequencies, the mass moment of inertia of the mast was incorporated into the governing equation of motion for bending. A finite element technique (MSC/NASTRAN) was used to verify the formulation. Results indicate that when the mast is relatively flexible and long, the mass moment inertia influences the circular frequencies.
Automating the optimization of 2 1 2 axis milling

Abstract This paper is the statement of goals, guidelines and procedures to automate the generation of an optimized ordering of 2-D tool paths for 2 1 2 axis milling of cavities for molds and dies designed on a geometric modeler. It addresses the overall goal of increasing productivity by shortening manufacturing time. The system described has the potential of dictating all motion for the milling tool, and automatically reducing the number of retractions to the minimal number possible within guidelines. It specifies predrill locations for tool plunges. In addition, it incorporates mechanisms for handling optional avoidance and containment regions of arbitrary shape. At the Corporate Research & Development of General Electric, the geometric modeler name TRUCE (Tridimensional Rational Unified Cubic Engine) has been extended to implement the techniques described. Figures were generated on this system.
DUODENAL ADENOCARCINOMA: PATTERNS OF FAILURE AFTER RESECTION AND THE ROLE OF CHEMORADIOTHERAPY

Purpose To report patterns of disease recurrence after resection of adenocarcinoma of the duodenum and compare outcomes between patients undergoing surgery only vs. surgery with concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CT-RT). Methods and Materials This was a retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing potentially curative therapy for adenocarcinoma of the duodenum at Duke University Medical Center and affiliated hospitals between 1975 and 2005. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and local control (LC) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate regression analysis evaluated the effect of CT-RT on clinical endpoints. Results Thirty-two patients were identified (23 M, 9 F). Median age was 60 years (range, 32–77 years). Surgery alone was performed in 16 patients. An additional 16 patients received either preoperative ( n = 11) or postoperative ( n = 5) CT-RT. Median RT dose was 50.4 Gy (range, 12.6–54 Gy). All patients treated with RT also received concurrent 5-fluorouracil-based CT. Two patients treated preoperatively had a pathologic complete response (18%), and none had involved lymph nodes at resection. Five-year OS, DFS, and LC for the entire group were 48%, 47%, and 55%, respectively. Five-year survival did not differ between patients receiving CT-RT vs. surgery alone (57% vs. 44%, p = 0.42). However, in patients undergoing R0 resection, CT-RT appeared to improve OS (5-year 83% vs. 53%, p = 0.07). Conclusions Local failure after surgery alone is high. Given the patterns of relapse with surgery alone and favorable outcomes in patients undergoing complete resection with CT-RT, the use of CT-RT in selected patients should be considered.
Thermodynamics of E. coli cytidine repressor interactions with DNA: distinct modes of binding to different operators suggests a role in differential gene regulation.

Abstract Interactions between the Escherichia coli cytidine repressor protein (CytR) and its operator sites at the different promoters that comprise the CytR regulon, play an important role in the regulation of these promoters. The natural operators are palindromes separated by variable length central spacers (0-9 bp). We have suggested that this variability affects the flexibility of CytR-DNA contacts, thereby affecting the critical protein-protein interactions between CytR and the cAMP receptor protein (CRP) that underlie differential repression and activation of CytR-regulated genes. To assess this hypothesis, we investigated the thermodynamics of CytR binding to the natural operator sequences found in udpP and deoP2 . To separate effects due to spacing from effects due to the differing sequences of the recognition half-sites of these two operators, we also investigated CytR binding to artificial hybrid operators, in which the half-site sequences of udpP and deoP2 were exchanged. Thermodynamic parameters, Δ S °, Δ H ° and Δ C ° p , were determined by van’t Hoff analysis of CytR binding, monitored by changes in the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of dye-conjugated, operator-containing oligonucleotides. Large differences in thermodynamics were observed that depend primarily on the central spacer rather than the sequences of the recognition half-sites. Binding to operators with deoP2 spacing results in a very large, negative Δ C ° p . Association is strongly favored enthalpically and strongly disfavored entropically at ambient temperature. By contrast, binding to operators with udpP spacing results in a small, negative Δ C ° p . Association is weakly favored both enthalpically and entropically at ambient temperature. A difference of such magnitude in ΔΔ C ° p has not been reported previously for specific binding of a transcription factor to different sites. The identical salt dependence of CytR binding to deoP2 and udpP operators indicates that ion-dependent processes do not contribute significantly to this difference. Thus, the different thermodynamic effects appear to reflect distinctly different modes of site-specific DNA binding. We discuss similarities to operator binding by CytR homologs among LacI family repressors, and we consider how different CytR binding modes might affect interactions with other components of the gene regulatory machinery that contribute to differential gene regulation.
Ocean Wave Dynamics and the Time Scale of ENSO

Abstract A reexamination of the coupled delayed-action oscillator model of Suarez and Schopf for the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is made, by deriving it using a parameterized atmosphere and explicit linear ocean wave dynamics. The derivation attempts to clarify the role of boundary reflections, damping, and scale sensitivity in determining the characteristic timescale of the model. Making the assumption that SST anomalies are related to thermocline perturbations in the central to eastern part of the basin, and that wind anomalies are related to SST anomalies, ocean wave dynamics are invoked to solve for the relationship between wind anomalies and the relevant thermocline displacement. A perturbation to SST causes wind anomalies which drive Kelvin waves eastward, thereby increasing the SST perturbation. The wind perturbations also generate Rossby waves in the ocean, which propagate westward, eventually reflecting from the western boundary as Kelvin waves. The thermocline displacements of...
Ranking on graph data

In ranking, one is given examples of order relationships among objects, and the goal is to learn from these examples a real-valued ranking function that induces a ranking or ordering over the object space. We consider the problem of learning such a ranking function when the data is represented as a graph, in which vertices correspond to objects and edges encode similarities between objects. Building on recent developments in regularization theory for graphs and corresponding Laplacian-based methods for classification, we develop an algorithmic framework for learning ranking functions on graph data. We provide generalization guarantees for our algorithms via recent results based on the notion of algorithmic stability, and give experimental evidence of the potential benefits of our framework.
The links between just-in-time practices and alignment of benchmarking performance measures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine if there are links between just-in-time (JIT) practices and consistency of benchmarking performance measures at various levels of organization. Design/methodology/approach – A set of ten hypotheses were used to examine the differences between traditional and JIT organizations in the effectiveness of benchmarking performance measures. A questionnaire-based survey data were used to test the hypotheses. The target population was manufacturing firms in Midwestern US; the sample covers organizations in a variety of industries. Out of 91 completed surveys received, 84 surveys were usable resulting in a response rate of 17 per cent. Out of 84 usable surveys, 33 organizations were grouped as JIT and 51 as traditional organizations. Findings – JIT organizations are better in recognizing external environmental factors, developing organizational core competencies, building learning organization through knowledge workforce, and using a broad and balanced mix of perfor...
HD 38451 : J.R. Hind's star that changed colour.

En 1851, John Russell Hind avait annonce son observation concernant le changement de couleur d'une etoile, passant du rouge au «blanc-bleute». Les observations spectroscopiques et photometriques de cette etoile, HD 38451, montrent qu'il s'agit d'une etoile enveloppe normale A2IV de magnitude 9 et qui avait probablement ejecte une enveloppe circumstellaire quand Hind l'avait observe pour la premiere fois
Transient radiative heat exchange at the surface of the moon

Abstract The surface of the Moon is characterized as an evacuated particulate medium in which radiative heat exchange between solid surfaces plays a decisive role in determining the transient behavior of the apparent temperature. A simple model is developed which permits quantitative comparisons with lunar surface temperature variations, observed in the 8–12 micron band, both during a lunation and a lunar eclipse. Thermal properties and certain surface characteristics are thereby inferred, including an effective microstructure scale of the order of 0.1 mm.
Histone modifications during DNA replication

Faithful and accurate replication of the DNA molecule is essential for eukaryote organisms. Nonetheless, in the last few years it has become evident that inheritance of the chromatin states associated with different regions of the genome is as important as the faithful inheritance of the DNA sequence itself. Such chromatin states are determined by a multitude of factors that act to modify not only the DNA molecule, but also the histone proteins associated with it. For instance, histones can be posttranslationally modified, and it is well established that these posttranslational marks are involved in several essential nuclear processes such as transcription and DNA repair. However, recent evidence indicates that posttranslational modifications of histones might be relevant during DNA replication. Hence, the aim of this review is to describe the most recent publications related to the role of histone posttranslational modifications during DNA replication.
Monitoring of geothermal steam moisture separator efficiency

A new Low Emission Atmospheric Metering Separator (LEAMS) was developed by Two-Phase Engineering and Research, Inc. and tested by Sandia National Laboratories in parallel with a cyclone separator at the Coso, California geothermal field. In order to determine the efficiency of the separator, a Jonas, Inc. Particle Monitor was installed in the exhaust from each separator to measure the mass flow rate and size distribution of water droplets exiting the separators. These tests provided semi-quantitative data on the improved separation provided by the LEAMS, as well as verification of the Jonas, Inc. Particle Monitor on geothermal steam systems.
Percutaneous Balloon Valvotomy for the Treatment of Isolated Tricuspid Stenosis

A 46-year-old woman with isolated tricuspid stenosis complained of increasing fatigue and dyspnea on exertion. Exercise Doppler echocardiography reproduced her symptoms and revealed a marked increase in transtricuspid gradient. Successful percutaneous balloon tricuspid valvotomy was performed, with resolution of her symptoms. (Chest 1991; 100:867-69)
A new insertion-based construction heuristic for solving the pickup and delivery problem with time windows

Abstract In this paper we present a new insertion-based construction heuristic to solve the multi-vehicle pickup and delivery problem with time windows. The new heuristic does not only consider the classical incremental distance measure in the insertion evaluation criteria but also the cost of reducing the time window slack due to the insertion. We also present a non-standard measure, crossing length percentage , in the insertion evaluation criteria to quantify the visual attractiveness of the solution. We compared our heuristic with a sequential and a parallel insertion heuristic on different benchmarking problems, and the computational results show that the proposed heuristic performs better with respect to both the standard and non-standard measures.
Interaction of Iodine with Aromatic Hydrocarbons

A RECENT communication by Bayliss1, commenting upon the spectroscopic evidence for specific, 'chemical' interaction between iodine and benzene obtained by us2, quite properly includes the remark that such spectroscopic evidence should be "interpreted with caution", and he advanced a formula for the shift of the ultra-violet absorption band of iodine toward the red in terms of its polarizability, dipole-strength, and the refractive index of the solvent. We ourselves, at the outset of our investigation, were prepared to find the influence of the solvent to be general or physical rather than specific; but the evidence we obtained later3 has all been in favour of a definite 1 : 1 molecular complex. Excellent constancy was obtained for the constant of the equilibrium, I2 + A⇄I2.A in a 'violet' (neutral) solvent, where A denotes an aromatic hydrocarbon. Moreover, the interaction is stronger in the case of the more basic mesitylene than in benzene, whereas, according to the formula of Bayliss, it should be weaker.
A comment on methodological concerns: A rejoinder

Abstract This rejoinder to Professor Cohen's Comment is intended to elaborate on approaches we utilized in our original paper. Some of our specification was necessitated by data availability (e.g., the specification of the sanction process). We attempt to clarify our approach in regard to the intervention process. We provide an explanation of the modeling that could underly a test of the hypothesis that the control effect is a product of the arrest process—a test that we had regarded as informative but peripheral to our main points. As noted, a significant part of that test utilizes the full range of control variables available to us. Finally, we enumerate what we felt to be the main points of our paper—points we are afraid might otherwise be lost in this discussion of methodology.
Conversion of isobutane over solid acids—A sensitive mechanistic probe reaction

Abstract Amorphous solid acids, such as SiO 2 Al 2 O 3 and halided-Al 2 O 3 , convert isobutane at elevated temperatures (700–920 K) to a limited number of products. These solid acids crack isobutane 30 to 400 times faster than a blank reactor, and yield a product consisting primarily of methane, propene, butenes, and hydrogen. This product distribution is similar to that obtained thermally. Conversion rates over amorphous solid acids display a first-order isobutane pressure dependency. In contrast to amorphous solid acids, a highly active, ultrastable Y, faujasite exhibits a paraffinic rather than an olefinic product. Hydrogen is not produced in significant quantities over faujasite but is incorporated into the conversion products. Isomerization to n -butane is a major path, rather than a trace reaction, alkylation reactions yielding C 5 (+) hydrocarbons readily occur and methane production is reduced. The rates of formation of cracking fragments, n -butane, and C 5 (+) products are second-order in isobutane. The product distribution and kinetics lead to the conclusion that amorphous solid acids convert isobutane by a different mechanism than faujasite. Over amorphous solid acids, the data are not consistent with the presence of “free” carbonium ion intermediates whereas with faujasite it is. Radical cations are suggested as initial intermediates over all solid acid systems and differences in their subsequent reactions account for the observed variation in products and kinetic orders.
Healthy, but comatose.

fi b PRESENTATION This case describes an increasingly recognized cause of altered mental status in adult patients. Although the condition is usually recognized in early childhood, partial or mild forms may not be recognized until they are unmasked by an environmental trigger. A 39-year-old previously healthy man was transferred to our Medical Intensive Care Unit after developing rapidly progressive confusion and combativeness followed by coma. By report, he had been in his usual good health until contracting severe, acute pharyngitis 1 week before transfer. He had been admitted to a local hospital and had been given cefuroxime and intravenous corticosteroids. Shortly thereafter he had become confused, disoriented, and eventually, unresponsive. The patient’s medical and social histories were unremarkable. He had no known allergies. However, his family medical history was notable for a younger brother who had developed rapidly progressing, severe confusion during an Outward Bound trip at the age of 14 years. In his state of confusion, the brother had run into a lake and drowned. The etiology of his altered mental status had never been determined.
Partial Pooling at the Reserve Price in Auctions with Resale Opportunities

Abstract Two features common to many auctions are the use of reserve prices and the existence of secondary markets for the goods being sold. Even in simple symmetric settings, the combination of these features can preclude existence of an equilibrium in symmetric separating bidding strategies. With a reserve price sufficiently far below the maximum (endogenous) valuation, a symmetric equilibrium still exists, but with some types pooling at the reserve. The optimal reserve price depends not only on the joint distribution of bidders' information before and after the auction, but also on how surplus is divided in the secondary market. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D44, C7, L1, D82
Maize host requirements for Ustilago maydis tumor induction

The biotrophic pathogen Ustilago maydis causes tumors by redirecting vegetative and floral development in maize (Zea mays L.). After fungal injection into immature tassels, tumors were found in all floral organs, with a progression of organ susceptibility that mirrors the sequential location of foci of cell division in developing spikelets. There is sharp demarcation between tumor-forming zones and areas with normal spikelet maturation and pollen shed; within and immediately adjacent to the tumor zone, developing anthers often emerge precociously and exhibit a range of developmental defects suggesting that U. maydis signals and host responses are restricted spatially. Male-sterile maize mutants with defects in anther cell division patterns and cell fate acquisition prior to meiosis formed normal adult leaf tumors, but failed to form anther tumors. Methyl jasmonate and brassinosteroid phenocopied these early-acting anther developmental mutants by generating sterile zones within tassels that never formed tumors. Although auxin, cytokinin, abscisic acid and gibberellin did not impede tassel development, the Dwarf8 mutant defective in gibberellin signaling lacked tassel tumors; the anther ear1 mutant reduced in gibberellin content formed normal tumors; and Knotted1, in which there is excessive growth of leaf tissue, formed much larger vegetative and tassel tumors. We propose the hypothesis that host growth potential and tissue identity modulate the ability of U. maydis to redirect differentiation and induce tumors.
Growth rate and plasma corticosterone levels in juvenile alligators maintained at different stocking densities

Sixty-six captive-reared, juvenile alligators maintained in environmentally con- trolled chambers were randomly assigned to four treatments consisting of stocking densities of 0.35, 0.18, 0.12, and 0.09 m'/alligator. Alligators were maintained a t these densities for 3.5 months. At approximately 4 week intervals the alligators were weighed, measured, and bled via cardiac puncture. Duplicate aliquots of plasma were assayed for corticosterone. All of the alligators continued to grow during the experiment, but alligators maintained a t the lowest stocking density were significantly heavier and grew significantly faster (P < 0.01) and had significantly lower plasma corticosterone (P < 0.01) than alligators maintained a t the highest stocking density. These results indicate tha t crowding (i.e., high-density rearing) of juvenile alligators inhibits maximum growth and that the subsequent stress associated with this crowding results in chronically elevated plasma corticosterone. Plasma corticosterone showed a strong negative correlation with change in body weight; the faster the rate of growth, the lower the hormone levels. These results also show that a single blood sample taken at monthly intervals is sufficient to monitor chronically elevated plasma corticosterone in this species.
Effect of volume fraction and wall thickness on the elastic properties of hollow particle filled composites

Abstract Hollow particle filled composites, called syntactic foams, are widely used in applications requiring high damage tolerance and low density. The understanding of the mechanics of these materials is largely based on experimental studies. Predictive models that are capable of estimating the elastic properties of these materials over wide variation of particle wall thickness, size, and volume fraction are not yet fully developed. The present study is focused on developing a modeling scheme to estimate the elastic constants for such materials. The elastic properties of an infinitely dilute dispersion of microballoons in a matrix material are first computed by solving a dilatation and a shear problem. A differential scheme is then used to extrapolate the elastic properties of composites with high volume fractions of microballoons. The results show that the model is successful in predicting the Young’s modulus for syntactic foams containing microballoons of a wide range of wall thickness and volume fraction.
Keypad: an auditing file system for theft-prone devices

This paper presents Keypad, an auditing file system for theft-prone devices, such as laptops and USB sticks. Keypad provides two important properties. First, Keypad supports fine-grained file auditing: a user can obtain explicit evidence that no files have been accessed after a device's loss. Second, a user can disable future file access after a device's loss, even in the absence of device network connectivity. Keypad achieves these properties by weaving together encryption and remote key storage. By encrypting files locally but storing encryption keys remotely, Keypad requires the involvement of an audit server with every protected file access. By alerting the audit server to refuse to return a particular file's key, the user can prevent new accesses after theft.We describe the Keypad architecture, a prototype implementation on Linux, and our evaluation of Keypad's performance and auditing fidelity. Our results show that Keypad overcomes the challenges posed by slow networks or disconnection, providing clients with usable forensics and control for their (increasingly) missing mobile devices.
In vacuo formation of peptide-metal coordination complexes.

Abstract Here we report on the reaction of rhenate anions (ReO 3 − ) with multiply protonated peptide cations in a quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometer. These reactions effect the formation of an anion–cation complex that, upon collisional activation, dissociates along the peptide backbone rather than by displacement of the anion. Cleavage of the peptide backbone, with anion retention, leads us to conclude the anion–cation complex must be tightly bound, most probably through coordination chemistry. We describe this chemistry and detail the possible application of such ion attachment reactions to the characterization of intact proteins.
Is there a case for selectively promiscuous anticancer drugs

We critically survey the paradigms of molecularly targeted cancer therapy in light of systems-level observations on tumor robustness and resilience. Multipronged attacks covering various clinical fronts such as angiogenesis, apoptosis and cancer progression, among others appear to be favored approaches at present, yet the enhancement of side effects has become a serious concern. In this regard, we argue that a departure from the yet untested single-target paradigm in favor of the notion of 'selective nonselectivity' may be necessary, but will ultimately require a rational control of specificity to curb side effects. This control may be achieved by drug redesign guided by known selectivity-promoting molecular features.
Work in progress — Extending parallelism education to the first year with a bottom-up approach

Parallel programming is quickly becoming a major focus of computer engineering education. This leads to the natural question of how to best introduce aspiring computer engineers to the topic. A bottom-up approach to computer architecture and programming was implemented in an experimental course at Purdue University and was offered to first year students. A study of that course's effectiveness is currently underway using a mixed-methods study. The Concurrency Concepts Inventory, an objective examination, and a focus group of past students will be the primary methods of evaluation. A pilot focus group was held in order to design a survey that accurately reflects students' understanding of the topics in question using concept maps and other methods. Initial findings using the Concurrency Concepts Inventory suggest that parallelism can certainly be grasped by first year students, and also show a small negative correlation between a student taking a traditional course in computer programming and that student's understanding of parallelism concepts. Further data analysis and a full focus group will be used to provide a recommendation on whether this method of introducing parallelism is effective in an engineering curriculum.
Lounging Ladies and Galloping Girls: Physical Strength and Femininity in Mansfield Park

Does Jane Austen believe women should be robust athletes or delicate flowers? In Mansfield Park, the virtuous Fanny Price may represent the feminine ideal of frailty. She relies on the chivalry of ...
FORTRAN program for lateral tracing of time-stratigraphic units based on faunal assemblage zones

INTRODUCTION Many methods are available for multivariate analysis of faunal zones (see Brower, Millendorf, and Dyman, 1978 for discussion). Especially popular are the techniques of numerical taxonomy, such as cluster analysis, factor analysis, principal-components analysis and principal coordinates. Generally in such analyses all samples from all stratigraphic sections are analyzed simultaneously. However, this approach is reasonable only when the purpose of the analysis is to depict ecological zones or biofacies. If, on the other hand, the results are to portray time-stratigraphic correlations, an alternative approach is recommended; namely, lateral tracing. At a given time of deposition, environmental conditions and thus faunal composition change in any particular geographic area. This variation generally is continuous, with faunal elements gradually being replaced by others both laterally (geographically) and vertically (stratigraphically). In the assemblage zone methods mentioned (e.g. the usual practice of Hazel, 1970, 1977; Brower, Millendorf, and Dyman, 1978), all samples from within the study area generally are analyzed together. This approach ignores the effects of faunal gradation within an isochronous unit with respect to geographic position. Thus, if the faunal composition of such an isochronous unit changes across the study area, samples taken from distant points in the unit might be dissimilar enough not to cluster. Simply, the greater the lateral variation and the larger the distance between them, the less similar are two isochronous samples. This difficulty can be ameliorated by utilizing a priori knowledge of the geographic distribution of the stratigraphic sections under study. Lateral tracing uses this knowledge which allows gradation of stratal character without affecting stratigraphic resolution. This is accomplished simply by performing the analysis in a stepwise fashion between pairs of adjacent stratigraphic sections. The lateral tracing algorithm was proposed originally by Sneath (1975a, 1975b) with an intended use for lithostratigraphy utilizing petrological and geochemical data. A