cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing thrombosis risk in patients with idiopathic, diabetic, and postsurgical gastroparesis

Patients with severe gastrointestinal motility disorders are often found to have intravenous access clots or deep venous thrombosis. It has previously been reported that many patients who have intravenous access thrombosis have concomitant thrombotic risk factors. In this study, the goal was to determine the underlying prevalence of hypercoagulable risk in a series of patients with documented gastroparesis. Investigators studied 62 consecutive patients (52 female; mean age, 42 y) who had symptoms of gastroparesis. All patients were evaluated for placement of a gastric neural stimulation device, or they had had one placed previously. Patients underwent a hematologic interview and standardized coagulation measures of thrombotic risk. Laboratory studies measured acquired elevations of Factor VII, Factor VIII, fibrinogen, lupus anticoagulant panel, antiphospholipid antibody panel, homocysteine (in the setting of kidney disease), and activated protein resistance. Investigators also measured congenital factors: Factor VIII (with C-reactive protein levels), antithrombin III, protein C, protein S (total and free), Factor II mutation, Factor V Leiden, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, and homocysteine. Fifty-five patients (89%) were found to have detectable hypercoagulable risk factors. Twenty-five of the 62 patients (40%) had a documented history of abnormal clotting, including deep venous thrombosis, intravenous access thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. All patients with a previous history of thrombosis had detectable clotting abnormalities. Of 56 patients, 40 (71%) had hypercoagulability and did not have diabetes (P=.036), and 20 (36%) had hypercoagulability and no known history of infection. However, this value was not statistically significant when infection and hypercoagulability were compared (P=.408). A high prevalence of acquired and congenital hypercoagulable defects has been observed in patients with gastroparesis, which may predispose them to arterial and venous clots. This unique finding warrants consideration of coagulation evaluation in patients with severe gastroparesis, especially when these patients are placed in high-risk thrombophilic situations, such as hospitalization, prolonged intravenous access, and surgery.
Recurrent symptomatic aortic sac seroma after open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

The expansion of an abdominal aortic aneurysm sac after conventional repair has been rarely described. All cases in the literature have been associated with polytetrafluoroethylene grafts and perigraft seromas. We present a patient with a recurrent, symptomatic periaortic graft seroma after conventional repair. The etiology of this problem along with its potential increasing significance in the endovascular era is reviewed.
Generalizing the notion of schema in genetic algorithms

Abstract In this paper we examine some of the fundamental assumptions which are frequently used to explain the practical success which Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have enjoyed. Specifically, the concept of schema and the Schema Theorem are interpreted from a new perspective. This allows GAs to be regarded as a constrained random walk, and offers a view which is amenable to generalization. The minimal deceptive problem (a problem designed to mislead the genetic paradigm) is analyzed in the context provided by our interpretation, where a different aspect of its difficulty emerges.
Is alcohol consumption a cofactor in the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Abstract Excessive alcohol (EtOH) consumption and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are two major public health problems in the United States. Overwhelming evidence is showing that heavy EtOH ingestion broadly suppresses the various arms of immune response, seriously impairing the body's normal host defense to invading microbes and tumorigenesis. The onset of clinical symptoms of AIDS (low CD4 + T cells count, opportunistic infections, and tumors) is quite variable among HIV' individuals with a mean incubation time 3–10 years following serocon version. Because of the deleterious effects of chronic EtOH consumption on Cyokine release, immune response, host defense, nutritional status, and oxidative stress, it has been believed to be a possible cofactor that could enhance the host's susceptibility to infections, and subsequently increase the rate of AIDS development. The purpose of this review is to present evidence indicating clinical disorders during EtOH ingestion in murine AIDS. These EtOH-induced abnormalities may promote a more rapid development of AIDS in HIV-infected individuals.
Using Association Metrics to Help Users Navigate API Documentation

In the past decade there has been spectacular growth in the number and size of third-party libraries, frameworks, toolkits and other Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available to modern software developers. However, the time-saving advantages of code re-use are commonly hampered by the difficulty in finding the correct methods for a given task among the thousands of irrelevant ones. We have developed a tool called Apatite that helps address this issue by letting programmers browse APIs by viewing associations between their components. Apatite indicates which items of an API are popular in different contexts and allows browsing by initially selecting verbs (methods and actions) in addition to classes and packages. The associations are calculated by leveraging existing search engine data and source code, and verbs are identified by parsing the documentation descriptions. Apatite is available on the web and is being used by developers worldwide on a regular basis.
Detecting objects in three-dimensional laser radar range images

Statistical detection theory is used to develop the structure and performance of quasioptimal detection processors for 3-D coherent laser radar range imagery. Generalized likelihood-ratio tests (GLRTs) and receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) are presented for a detection scenario involving a variety of unknown object and background parameters. A computationally efficient, hard-limiter matched-filter processor is shown to yield performance closely approximating that of the GLRT.
DETECTION OF TYPE-SPECIFIC ANTIBODY TO GROUP B STREPTOCOCCI (GBBHS) BY THE “LONG CHAIN REACTION.”

Since the lack of transplacental antibody to GBBHS appears to constitute a major determinant of susceptibility to neonatal infection and presently available methods for detecting antibody are cumbersome and time-consuming, a rapid test for antibody would be advantageous for screening populations at risk. Accordingly, we have adapted the streptococcal “long chain reaction” to measure antibody to GBBHS type Ia in human sera and correlated the results with those previously obtained by mouse protection and bactericidal assays (Clin. Res., 24:578A, 1976).
A rather intense source of fast neutrons for small scale activation

Abstract A thick beryllium target has been developed for installation onto a small proton cyclotron (CTI RDS 112), providing an intense source of fast neutrons for activation purposes. Carefull attention was paid to cooling and irradiation geometry, allowing cubic centimeter scale samples to approach the proton beam strike surface to within 5 mm. This proximity assures ≈ 1011 neutron/s passing through the irradiated sample when 20 μA of 11 MeV protons are incident on the beryllium primary target.
An incremental memory allocation method for mixed workloads

This paper proposes and investigates an incremental memory allocation method for mixed database workloads of simple hash-join queries and short read transactions. Traditionally, a DBMS allocates all memory reserved for a query at the beginning of the query execution. However, there may be a prolonged period from the time the query begins to the time that all reserved memory is actually consumed by the query process. We propose to allocate reserved memory to the query incrementally by smaller portions when the query process is actually ready to utilize this memory. Memory that was reserved but not yet allocated to the query can be used temporarily as a shared buffer pool by other components of the workload. Through a series of simulation experiments we demonstrate that the incremental memory allocation for hash-join queries improves the performance of read transactions without penalizing queries.
SU-E-T-412: Can Cyberknife SBRT Be an Alternative to Brachytherapy for Cervical Cancer Treatment?

Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of stereotactic body radiation therapy(SBRT) with Cyberknife for treatment of squamous cell carcinoma (SCCa) of cervix that are commonly treated with brachytherapy.Methods: SCCa of cervix is routinely treated with external beam radiation therapy(EBRT) followed by brachytherapy. Common practice is to use high‐dose‐ rate (HDR) brachytherapy, mainly with Ir‐192; however, low‐dose‐rate (LDR) brachytherapy with Cs‐137 is also used. Three of our patients with cervical SCCa who were chosen to have LDR brachytherapy (Cs‐137 with tandem and ovoids) could not tolerate the prolonged treatment or applicator placement. All these patients previously received 45Gy (1.8Gy/fratction) from EBRT and well tolerated. Planned LDR treatmentdose and time were for patient‐1: 42.63Gy in 73.5hr, patient‐2: 42.34Gy in 73hr, patient‐3: 41.76Gy in 72hr. Delivered LDR dose and time were: 3.75Gy in 6.5hr, OGy in Ohr, and 17.3Gy in 19.8hr, for patient‐1, ‐2 and ‐3, respectively. Two of the three patients tolerated LDR treatment partially; the second patient could not tolerate the applicator, which required immediate removal after placement. Treatments were completed with Cyberknife SBRT (CK‐SBRT)doses of 25Gy, 15Gy and 25Gy for patient‐1, ‐2 and ‐3, respectively; all had 5Gy/fraction and 3fractions/week. Prescriptions were at 80% isododelines; CTV coverages were 96.6%, 99.9% and 100% for patient‐1, ‐2 and ‐3, respectively. Results: Till their last follow‐up in February 2012, all three patients were doing fine clinically without any evidence of disease; none of these patients had any complications that could be related to CK‐SBRT. Conclusions: Appears that CK‐SBRT can be a viable treatment alternative to brachytherapy. CK‐SBRT may also be more appealing to patients and physicians for a variety of reasons such as out‐patient procedure, shorter treatment time, no need for operating room, and no need for applicator insertion and tolerance. However, extensive clinical study is warranted in this regard.
Transgenic Indian Mustard Overexpressing Selenocysteine Lyase or Selenocysteine Methyltransferase Exhibit Enhanced Potential for Selenium Phytoremediation under Field Conditions.

Two new transgenic Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] lines were tested under field conditions for their ability to accumulate selenium (Se) from Se- and boron-contaminated saline sediment. The transgenic lines overexpress genes encoding the enzymes selenocysteine lyase (cpSL) and selenocysteine methyltransferase (SMT), respectively. In the first Spring planting, cpSL, SMT, and wildtype plants (WT) were compared, while SMT and WT were compared in a second, Fall planting. In the Spring planting, shoots of the cpSL transgenic plants accumulated 2-fold more Se (p < 0.01), had 1.8 times higher leaf Se concentrations (p < 0.01), and grew better on contaminated soil than WT. The SMT plants had a 1.7-fold higher leaf Se concentration than WT (p < 0.05). In the Fall planting, the SMT transgenic plants accumulated 1.6-fold more Se in their shoots than WT (p < 0.01) with Se concentrations being higher in both leaves and stems. These results conclusively demonstrate that cpSL and SMT transgenic lines have ...
Interaction of adolescent anthropometric characteristics and family history on breast cancer risk in a Historical Cohort Study of 426 families (USA).

Objective: To determine whether the association of adolescent anthropometric characteristics with breast cancer is modified by a family history of the disease. Methods: These interactions were evaluated in a historical cohort of 426 families of breast cancer probands diagnosed between 1944 and 1952 at the University of Minnesota. The occurrence of breast cancer and the measurement of risk factors in sisters, daughters, granddaughters, nieces and marry-ins was determined through telephone interviews and mailed questionnaires conducted from 1991–1996. Cox proportional hazards regression, accounting for age, birth cohort, adult body mass index (BMI), and clustering within families, was used to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of breast cancer. Results: Among 4632 women from 426 families available for analysis, there were 175 breast cancers. There was a strong interaction between degree of relationship to proband and relative weight at age 12 on breast cancer risk (p < 0.001). Among sisters and daughters of the probands, risk of breast cancer was slightly increased in those with below average weight at age 12 (RR = 1.55; 95% CI = 0.66–3.64), and strongly increased in those with above average weight (RR = 4.25; 95% CI = 1.71–10.5), compared to those with average weight. In contrast, among marry-ins, there was a weak positive association for those with below average weight at age 12 (RR = 1.61; 95% CI = 0.91–2.83), while there was an inverse association for above average weight (RR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.26–2.16), compared to those with average weight. There were no significant interactions between degree of relationship to proband and height (p = 0.55), weight at age 18 (p = 0.22) and BMI at age 18 (p = 0.63) on breast cancer risk. Conclusions: Family history appears to modify the effect of obesity in early adolescence on subsequent breast cancer risk, and may identify differing etiologic pathways.
THE EFFECT OF PLAGUE MURINE TOXIN ON THE ELECTRON-TRANSPORT SYSTEM.

1. 1. The inhibition of rat-liver mitochondrial respiration in the presence of a-ketoglutarate, glutamate, succinate and β-hydroxybutyrate as a substrates by the murine toxin of Pasteurella pestis is not relieved by 2,4-dinitrophenol indicating that the toxin exerts its inhibitory effect somewhere in the electron-transport chain. 2. 2. Absolute and difference spectra of the cytochrome components of toxin-treated rat-heart and -liver mitochondria reveal that toxin addition causes on oxidation of cytochromes a, b and c suggesting that the toxin acts between reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide or succinate and cytochrome b. 3. 3. The oxidation of ascorbate by rat and liver mitochondria in the presence of tetramethylphenylenediamine and cytochrome c as carriers is not affected by the toxin. 4. 4. The reduction of cytochrome c in the presence of reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide by rat-heart mitochondria and electron-transport particles is inhibited by the toxin.
Role of the C terminus of the glucocorticoid receptor in hormone binding and agonist/antagonist discrimination.

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a hormone-inducible intracellular modulator of specific gene transcription. Both glucocorticoids and progestins bind to the GR, and some progestins are able to activate the receptor. We have characterized a mutation of the mouse GR that restricts transcriptional activation, but not hormone binding, to glucocorticoids. This mutation, Y77ON, is located 13 amino acids from the C terminus of the mouse GR and helps define a region of the receptor that is important for transcriptional specificity. To further characterize this region of the GR, we have constructed a series of chimeric receptors between the glucocorticoid, progesterone, and androgen receptors. We find that the C-terminal 14 amino acids of the GR can be replaced by the equivalent region of the progesterone or androgen receptors with little alteration in either hormone-binding specificity or transcriptional response to agonists and antagonists. The region is required for hormone binding, however, since C-terminal...
Mammary-Specific Ablation of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor During Lactation Alters Maternal Calcium Metabolism, Milk Calcium Transport, and Neonatal Calcium Accrual

To meet the demands for milk calcium, the lactating mother adjusts systemic calcium and bone metabolism by increasing dietary calcium intake, increasing bone resorption, and reducing renal calcium excretion. As part of this adaptation, the lactating mammary gland secretes PTHrP into the maternal circulation to increase bone turnover and mobilize skeletal calcium stores. Previous data have suggested that, during lactation, the breast relies on the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) to coordinate PTHrP secretion and milk calcium transport with calcium availability. To test this idea genetically, we bred BLG-Cre mice with CaSR-floxed mice to ablate the CaSR specifically from mammary epithelial cells only at the onset of lactation (CaSR-cKO mice). Loss of the CaSR in the lactating mammary gland did not disrupt alveolar differentiation or milk production. However, it did increase the secretion of PTHrP into milk and decreased the transport of calcium from the circulation into milk. CaSR-cKO mice did not show accelerated bone resorption, but they did have a decrease in bone formation. Loss of the mammary gland CaSR resulted in hypercalcemia, decreased PTH secretion, and increased renal calcium excretion in lactating mothers. Finally, loss of the mammary gland CaSR resulted in decreased calcium accrual by suckling neonates, likely due to the combination of increased milk PTHrP and decreased milk calcium. These results demonstrate that the mammary gland CaSR coordinates maternal bone and calcium metabolism, calcium transport into milk, and neonatal calcium accrual during lactation.
Comprehensive surveys of adult education: A recipe for ossifying provision?

This paper cautions against uncritically enthusiastic calls for comprehensive national surveys of adult education provision and participation in Australia. It is argued that the socially essential characteristics of adult education–its diversity, flexibility and responsiveness–are threatened by such surveys. To adequately plan, implement and report a comprehensive national survey, adult education must be highly standardised and categorised. This structuring of the field may conflict with the maintenance of that flexibility and responsiveness which allows adult education to fulfil its social mission in a liberal and pluralistic representative democracy (such as that in Australia). A comprehensive national survey, if successful, may be expected to exert formalising and conservative (of regressive) influences on the field. Under such influences, the field of adult education may become increasingly socially dysfunctional. This could lead in time to the creation of alternative forms of education outside the de...
Simvastatin and t-butylhydroquinone suppress KLF1 and BCL11A gene expression and additively increase fetal hemoglobin in primary human erythroid cells

Although increased fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels have proven benefit for people with β-hemoglobinopathies, all current HbF-inducing agents have limitations. We previously reported that drugs that activate the NRF2 antioxidant response signaling pathway increase HbF in primary human erythroid cells. In an attempt to increase HbF levels achieved with NRF2 activators, in the present study, we investigated potential complementary activity between these agents and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) based on their ability to induce KLF2 protein levels. Experiments in K562 cells showed that simvastatin increased KLF2 mRNA and protein and KLF2 binding to HS2 of the β-globin locus control region and enhanced γ-globin mRNA production by the NRF2 activator Tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ). When tested in differentiating primary human erythroid cells, simvastatin induced HbF alone and additively with tBHQ, but it did not increase KLF2 mRNA or locus control region binding above levels seen with normal differentiation. Investigating alternative mechanisms of action, we found that both simvastatin and tBHQ suppress β-globin mRNA and KLF1 and BCL11A mRNA and protein, similar to what is seen in people with an HPFH phenotype because of KLF1 haploinsufficiency. These findings identify statins as a potential class of HbF-inducing agents and suggest a novel mechanism of action based on pharmacologic suppression of KLF1 and BCL11A gene expression.
Kinetic Evaluation of Positron-Emitting Muscarinic Receptor Ligands Employing Direct Intracarotid Injection

The development and characterization of new receptor ligands for in vivo binding assays are often both lengthy and expensive. It is therefore desirable to predict the suitability of a ligand early in the process of its evaluation. In the present study, compartmental analysis following intracarotid ligand injection in the monkey is used to evaluate the in vivo kinetics of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonists [11C]tropanyl benzilate ([11C]TRB) and [11C]N-methylpiperidyl benzilate ([11C]NMPB). Animals were implanted with chronic subcutaneous access ports and indwelling catheters with tips located in the common carotid artery, just proximal to its bifurcation. The external carotid artery was ligated to ensure selective tracer delivery through the internal carotid artery to the brain. Positron emission tomography was used to measure brain tissue time-activity curves following tracer injections. CBF was estimated from the clearance of [15O]H2O, and receptor ligand distributions were analyzed according to a physiologic model consisting of an intravascular compartment and nonspecific plus free and receptor-bound tissue ligand compartments. In [11C]TRB studies, marked reductions in the forward ligand-receptor binding rate and in both the total and the specific binding tissue-to-plasma volumes of ligand distribution were observed after scopolamine receptor blockade or with low administered specific activity. Conversely, neither the distribution volume of the nonspecific plus free ligand compartment nor the rate of ligand dissociation from receptor sites was affected. In [11C]NMPB studies, tissue compartments describing specific binding and nonsaturable components could not be reliably separated. The receptor-related term in this case, the total tissue-to-plasma distribution volume, demonstrated reduction after low specific activity ligand injection. Comparison of the two ligands suggests that NMPB interacts more rapidly with the receptors and has a lower apparent volume of distribution than does TRB. Thus, NMPB may be the more suitable ligand if accurate estimates of binding dissociation rate are limited by temporal constraints or if simplified, one-tissue-compartment analyses are used. The carotid injection method appears promising for the initial evaluation of ligand kinetics, permitting physiologic compartmental analyses without measurement of input functions or chromatography of blood samples.
Successful Alignment of MBA Curriculum: A Product of Attentional Change

This study examines the factors influencing business schools’ decision to materially change their full-time MBA curriculum. Our qualitative study is based on 29 interviews with faculty and administ...
Theoretical K-Shell Auger Rates, Transition Energies, and Fluorescence Yields for Multiply Ionized Neon

X-ray rates, Auger group rates, and $K$-shell fluorescence yields are presented for variously ionized states of neon. The nonrelativistic Hartree-Fock-Slater atomic model, with the exchange approximation of Herman-Van Dyke-Ortenburger, is used. The x-ray and Auger transition energies were obtained by the adiabatic method. The theoretical results presented here are applicable to the analysis of defect configurations which may be produced in a heavy-ion-neon collision. It is shown that the commonly used statistical scaling procedure to obtain the $K$-shell fluorescence yield for defect configuration leads to significant errors for neon.
Using Aurora Road Network Modeler for Active Traffic Management

Active Traffic Management (ATM) is the ability to dynamically manage recurrent and nonrecurrent congestion based on prevailing traffic conditions. Focusing on trip reliability, it maximizes the effectiveness and efficiency of freeway corridors. ATM relies on fast and trustworthy traffic simulation software that can assess a large number of control strategies for a given road network, given various scenarios, in a matter of minutes. Effective traffic density estimation is crucial for the successful deployment of feedback algorithms for congestion control. Aurora Road Network Modeler (RNM) is an open-source macrosimulation tool set for operational planning and management of freeway corridors. Aurora RNM employs Cell Transmission Model (CTM) for road networks extended to support multiple vehicle classes. It allows dynamic filtering of measurement data coming from traffic sensors for the estimation of traffic density. In this capacity, it can be used for detection of faulty sensors. The virtual sensor infrastructure of Aurora RNM serves as an interface to the real world measurement devices, as well as a simulation of such measurement devices.
Detection of specific solvent rearrangement regions of an enzyme: NMR and ITC studies with aminoglycoside phosphotransferase(3')-IIIa.

This work describes differential effects of solvent in complexes of the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase(3‘)-IIIa (APH) with different aminoglycosides and the detection of change in solvent structure at specific sites away from substrates. Binding of kanamycins to APH occurs with a larger negative ΔH in H2O relative to D2O (ΔΔH(H2O-D2O) < 0), while the reverse is true for neomycins. Unusually large negative ΔCp values were observed for binding of aminoglycosides to APH. ΔCp for the APH−neomycin complex was −1.6 kcal·mol-1·deg-1. A break at 30 °C was observed in the APH−kanamycin complex yielding ΔCp values of −0.7 kcal·mol-1·deg-1 and −3.8 kcal·mol-1·deg-1 below and above 30 °C, respectively. Neither the change in accessible surface area (ΔASA) nor contributions from heats of ionization were sufficient to explain the large negative ΔCp values. Most significantly, 15N−1H HSQC experiments showed that temperature-dependent shifts of the backbone amide protons of Leu 88, Ser 91, Cys 98, and Leu143 revealed a...
Comparison of chronic illness among children receiving mechanical ventilation in a cohort of children's hospitals in 1991 and 2001.

Objective To compare the prevalence of chronic illness and characteristics of children who underwent mechanical ventilation in a cohort of patients at large children’s hospitals between 1991 and 2001. Study design This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study using the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) case mix database to identify children who underwent mechanical ventilation and compare the prevalence of chronic illness and incidence of mechanical ventilation. Results The proportion of children who underwent mechanical ventilation who had at least 1 chronic condition increased from 72% in 1991 to 75% in 2001. The incidence of mechanical ventilation in hospitalized children almost doubled during this decade, from 77 per 1000 hospitalizations in 1991 to 124 per 1000 in 2001. The rate of mechanical ventilation increased with increasing numbers of chronic conditions. The mortality of children who underwent mechanical ventilation decreased from 14% in 1991 to 11% in 2001. Conclusions The increase in mechanical ventilation in hospitalized children is due to both an increased incidence of chronic illness and higher use within diagnostic categories. Unlike utilization of some services, the use of mechanical ventilation in hospitalized children may be a marker of increased severity of illness and need, because it is plausible that mechanical ventilation use is not primarily supply-sensitive.
Making ladle products using North Onezhsk bauxites

It was found that the North-Onezhsk bauxites are promising raw materials for the production of highly resistant ladle bricks. We developed and mastered a technology in the BKO conditions for making ladle brick using these bauxites containing up to 6% iron oxides. In the lining of the steel ladles made with the use of bauxite chamotte, the bricks wear out 30–40% less than with ordinary ladle brick produced by BKO and the Chasov Yarsk Combine.
Acidity of the amidoxime functional group in aqueous solution: a combined experimental and computational study.

Poly(acrylamidoxime) adsorbents are often invoked in discussions of mining uranium from seawater. While the amidoxime–uranyl chelation mode has been established, a number of essential binding constants remain unclear. This is largely due to the wide range of conflicting pKa values that have been reported for the amidoxime functional group. To resolve this existing controversy we investigated the pKa values of the amidoxime functional group using a combination of experimental and computational methods. Experimentally, we used spectroscopic titrations to measure the pKa values of representative amidoximes, acetamidoxime, and benzamidoxime. Computationally, we report on the performance of several protocols for predicting the pKa values of aqueous oxoacids. Calculations carried out at the MP2 or M06-2X levels of theory combined with solvent effects calculated using the SMD model provide the best overall performance, with a root-mean-square deviation of 0.46 pKa units and 0.45 pKa units, respectively. Finally,...
Do Students Listen To Advice From Their Experienced Peers

How students use advice from the previous class is analyzed and reveals more than just the value passing suggestions from one class to the next.
Images of Sex and Rape A Content Analysis of Popular Film

Americans are spending increasingly greater portions of their leisure time consuming audiovisual forms of media, such as movies and television. Given the regularity of media consumption and the assumption of its influence on the perceptions of viewers, it is important to study the content of media programming. In this study, we conduct a content analysis of the 50 top-grossing films in 1996 to measure the prevalence and nature of sex and rape depictions. We find that movies present a rather patriarchal vision of sex and rape. Rapes in the movies are committed by sadistic, disturbed, lower-class individuals who prey on children and the vulnerable. This unidimensional movie picture of rape may help to perpetuate the real problem of rape and sexual abuse in our society by ignoring the reality of most real life rapes.
Polycystic ovary syndrome: the new millenium

Our understanding of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) has been hampered by varying diagnostic criteria, and ignorance of the etiology of the syndrome. PCOS women are uniquely insulin resistant and obesity aggravates this underlying predisposition to insulin resistance. Diagnostic criteria which focus on hyperandrogenism and/or menstrual irregularity are more likely to identify insulin resistant women, than such criteria as abnormal gonadotropin secretion or ovarian morphology. The lack of a clear etiologic mechanism to the syndrome has led to a multitude of symptom-oriented treatments with few therapies improving all aspects of the endocrine syndrome of PCOS. Improving insulin sensitivity has become established as a baseline treatment strategy in PCOS. There are, however, few randomized controlled trials of adequate power to provide an evidence based guide to treatment in PCOS.
SMAP antenna feed radome: Design, development, and test

NASA's proposed Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission would provide global soil moisture content and freeze/thaw state measurements with a minimum repeat period of three days at the equator. To do so, the SMAP instrument would employ a conically scanning synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and a radiometer operating at L-band (1.20 GHz – 1.41 GHz) through a common feed assembly. The proposed mission profile plans to employ a near polar sun-synchronous orbit that would periodically allow for solar impingement upon the internal surfaces of the feed horn, which could result in solar entrapment. If left unaddressed, this solar entrapment would cause the instrument to exceed its tight thermal stability requirements. These thermal stability requirements result from the sensitivity of the radiometer electronics and their proximity to the feed assembly. As a result of these stability requirements, a radome was incorporated into the design to act as a thermal barrier. As such, this paper will discuss the material selection process, design rationale, analysis, and material property test campaign for the SMAP antenna feed radome.12
Paraspinal musculature and skin temperature changes: comparing the Thermacare HeatWrap, the Johnson & Johnson Back Plaster, and the ABC Warme-Pflaster.

Study Design Prospective, randomized, crossover design. Objectives To compare the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson Back Plaster, the ABC Warme-Pflaster, and the ThermaCare HeatWrap on skin and paraspinal muscle temperature. Also, to compare the subjects' heat perception for the 3 products. Background Heat therapy is a common treatment for low back pain and disability. There are a number of products on the market that are suggested to relieve low back pain by providing warmth to the back; however, their effectiveness for increasing tissue temperature compared with heat sensation has not been tested. Methods and Measures To measure paraspinal muscle temperature, 1 thermocouple monofilament was inserted into the paraspinal muscle 2 cm from the skin surface at the L3 level using a 20-gauge 1.25-in (3.15-cm) sterile catheter. To measure skin interface temperature, 2 thermocouples were placed on the skin at distances of 5 cm and 7 cm from the insertion site. The Isothermex was used to record temperatures ...
Memory management thread for heap allocation intensive sequential applications

Dynamic memory management is one of the most ubiquitous and expensive operations in many C/C++ applications. Some C/C++ programs might spend up to one third of their execution time in dynamic memory management routines. With multicore processors as a mainstream architecture, it is important to investigate how dynamic memory management can exploit the multi-core parallelism for speeding up sequential programs.In this paper, we propose a way for exploiting multicore parallelism in dynamic memory management for sequential applications, by spinning off memory allocation and deallocation functions to a separate thread that we refer to as memory management thread (MMT). The goal of this study is to show how an efficient design and implementation of MMT can give performance without any algorithm or implementation level knowledge of underlying memory management library being offloaded.Using heap allocation-intensive benchmarks, we evaluate MMT on an Intel Core 2 Quad platform for widely used Doug Lea's memory allocator. Without any modifications to application source-code or memory management algorithm of underlying memory allocators, our MMT approach achieves an average speedup ratio of 1.19x, and 1.60x in the best case.
Invertibility of switched nonlinear systems

This article addresses the invertibility problem for switched nonlinear systems affine in controls. The problem is concerned with reconstructing the input and switching signal uniquely from given output and initial state. We extend the concept of switch-singular pairs, introduced recently, to nonlinear systems and develop a formula for checking if the given state and output form a switch-singular pair. A necessary and sufficient condition for the invertibility of switched nonlinear systems is given, which requires the invertibility of individual subsystems and the nonexistence of switch-singular pairs. When all the subsystems are invertible, we present an algorithm for finding switching signals and inputs that generate a given output in a finite interval when there is a finite number of such switching signals and inputs. Detailed examples are included to illustrate these newly developed concepts.
Hybrid nested Partitions And Relax-And-Fix approach for capacitated multi-item lot sizing problem

In this paper we consider the capacitated multi-item lot sizing problem with setup times. The problem is to schedule N different items over a horizon of T periods with the objective to minimize the sum of setup cost and inventory holding cost. To achieve feasible high quality solutions, we propose a hybird solution approach which integrates Nested Partitions and Relax-and-Fix. Nested Partitions is a partitioning and sampling based heuristic method with a global perspective on the problem. Relax-and-Fix is implemented to obtain good promising regions and speed up the computational process. Computational results based on benchmark test problems show that the approach is computationally tractable and is able to obtain good results. The approach outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches found in the literature.
Suicide attempts by the old and the very old

Attempted suicide by the elderly is a major psychiatric problem. Ninety-five patients between 60 and 90 years of age were evaluated by a psychiatric consultation service after a suicide attempt. Characteristics of this group included (1) a high degree of premeditation, (2) a tendency toward firearm use and wounds to the head, (3) male sex, (4) coexisting medical problems, (5) serious intent that increased by decade, (6) solitary living arrangements, (7) presence or history of a major psychiatric illness, and (8) ill health reported as a precipitant to suicidality. Major depression was the most common psychiatric diagnosis, with congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease the most frequently noted physical ailments. This elderly population of attempters resembled older persons who actually completed suicide and differed significantly from 1630 persons aged 16 to 59 years who attempted suicide. Heightened investigation of depressive features, treatment of alcohol abuse, early referral for psychiatric care, limited access to firearms, and strategies aimed at decreasing social isolation are recommended to decrease the likelihood of completed suicide in the elderly. ( Arch Intern Med . 1991;151:141-144)
Renal artery stenosis treated with stent deployment: indications, technique, and outcome for 108 patients.

Abstract From January 1993 to May 1996, 108 patients (64 men, 44 women; mean age, 72 years; age range, 37 to 87 years) underwent 125 percutaneous transluminal angioplasties and stent implantations primarily for atherosclerotic lesions of the renal artery. Sixty-four patients underwent treatment for renovascular hypertension (two antihypertensive medications or more), 32 patients underwent treatment for a combination of hypertension and renal failure (serum creatinine level ≥1.6 mg/dL), and a small group of six patients (5%) without hypertension or diminished renal function underwent treatment to prevent the progression to renal artery occlusion and kidney loss. Thirty-three patients (31%) had renovascular hypertension that was classified as severe on three or more medications, 31 patients (29%) had renovascular hypertension that was classified as moderate on two medications, and 38 patients (35%) had renovascular hypertension that was classified in the mild group on a single antihypertensive agent. Stenotic lesions were located at the ostium of the renal artery in 82 cases (65%) and were ostial-adjacent (
Development of non-ferrous superconducting magnets

The authors investigate nonferrous two-dimensional arrays of line currents, creating magnetic fields suitable for guiding or focusing particle beams. Complex potential theory is used throughout. Methods have been found which reduce stray fields which are lower than those of the ferromagnetic equivalents. Harmonic analysis shows that the quality of the useful field is on a par with the state of the art. In addition to Cartesian coordinates, the potential theory is extended to elliptic coordinates. This provides greater freedom in shaping the aspect ratio of the useful field. Treated in detail is the proposed inflector for the muon g-2 experiment at BNL. A combined function magnet is developed, scaled to the CERN alternating gradient proton synchrotron. The principle of a dual beam facility is advanced. >
Targeted lipidomics using electron capture atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

There is an increasing need to be able to conduct quantitative lipidomics analyses as a complement to proteomics studies. The highest specificity for proteomics analysis can be obtained using methodology based on electrospray ionization (ESI) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) coupled with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). For lipidomics analysis it is often necessary to be able to separate enantiomers and regioisomers. This can be very challenging when using methodology based on conventional reversed-phase chromatography. Normal-phase chromatography using chiral columns can provide dramatic improvements in the resolution of enantiomers and regioisomers. However, conventional ESI- and APCI-MS/MS has limited sensitivity, which makes it difficult to conduct studies in cell culture systems where only trace amounts of non-esterified bioactive lipids are present. The use of electron capture APCI-MS/MS overcomes this problem. Enantiomers and regioisomers of diverse bioactive lipids can be quantified using stable isotope dilution methodology coupled with normal-phase chiral chromatography and electron capture APCI-MS/MS. This methodology has allowed a lipidomics profile from rat epithelial cells maintained in culture to be delineated and allowed the effect of a non-selective lipoxygenase inhibitor to be assessed.
DNA-dependent protein kinase is a molecular target for the development of noncytotoxic radiation-sensitizing drugs

DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK)-defective severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice have a greater sensitivity to ionizing radiation compared with wild-type mice due to deficient repair of DNA double-strand break. SCID cells were therefore studied to determine whether radiosensitization by the specific inhibitor of DNA-PK, IC87361, is eliminated in the absence of functional DNA-PK. IC87361 enhanced radiation sensitivity in wild-type C57BL6 endothelial cells but not in SCID cells. The tumor vascular window model was used to assess IC87361-induced radiosensitization of SCID and wild-type tumor microvasculature. Vascular density was 5% in irradiated SCID host compared with 50% in C57BL6 mice (P < 0.05). IC87361 induced radiosensitization of tumor microvasculature in wild-type mice that resembled the radiosensitive phenotype of tumor vessels in SCID mice. Radiosensitization by IC87361 was eliminated in SCID tumor vasculature, which lack functional DNA-PK. Irradiated LLC and B16F0 tumors implanted into SCID mice showed greater tumor growth delay compared with tumors implanted into either wild-type C57BL6 or nude mice. Furthermore, LLC tumors treated with radiation and IC87361 showed tumor growth delay that was significantly greater than tumors treated with radiation alone (P < 0.01 for 3 Gy alone versus 3 Gy + IC87361). DNA-PK inhibitors induced no cytotoxicity and no toxicity in mouse normal tissues. Mouse models deficient in enzyme activity are useful to assess the specificity of novel kinase inhibitors. DNA-PK is an important target for the development of novel radiation-sensitizing drugs that have little intrinsic cytotoxicity.
A 256×256 separable transform CMOS imager

This paper discusses a 256times256 computational imager capable of performing separable transforms. Unlike traditional imagers, this imager performs computation on-chip and in- pixel. The primary computation performed is a separable matrix transformation. Several developments were made since a previous matrix transform imager to expand functionality and resolution. New circuit design emphasized dynamic range, accuracy, and speed. This architecture includes a novel overlapping block scheme allowing 8times8 general separable 2-D convolutions as well as 16times16 block transforms.
The Tie That Binds the Dynamic Duo: the Connector between AS1 and AS2 in the HAMP Domain of the Escherichia coli Tsr Chemoreceptor

A phospholipid bilayer membrane provides a selective permeability barrier that separates a cell’s world into “me” and “not me.” A large fraction of a bacterial genome is devoted to encoding proteins that allow only the desired molecules to breach this barrier and become concentrated in, or excluded from, the intracellular space. The membrane also filters information about the environment using transmembrane receptors to communicate what is important to the cell. Transmembrane signaling is therefore one of the key biological activities to understand. In this issue, Ames et al. (1) present a high-resolution genetic analysis of one critical 14-residue segment of the Escherichia coli Tsr chemoreceptor. Their results suggest that a detailed mechanistic understanding of one type of transmembrane signaling is within reach.
AnisDep: A FORTRAN program for the estimation of the depth of anisotropy using spatial coherency of shear-wave splitting parameters

We present a FORTRAN-77 program to estimate the optimal depth of the source of anisotropy using spatial coherency of teleseismic shear-wave splitting (SWS) parameters. For a given assumed depth of anisotropy, the program computes a variation factor which is a weighted sum of the arithmetic standard deviation (SD) of the splitting times and the circular SD of the fast directions over overlapping blocks. The optimal depth of anisotropy corresponds to the minimum variation factor. The program executes computations over different block sizes for testing the stability of the resulting optimal depth. A synthetic shear-wave splitting data set is provided for testing the program. In addition to anisotropy depth estimation, some of the subroutines in AnisDep can be used for other applications such as computing circular mean and SD of the observed fast directions, and for computing the coordinates of ray-piercing points. The program is designed for Linux and Sun Solaris platforms, but can be easily adapted for other platforms.
Generation of poikiloderma with neutropenia (PN) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

Poikiloderma with neutropenia (PN, Clericuzio-type poikiloderma with neutropenia) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by biallelic mutations in the USB1 gene (Alias C16orf57 and MPN1). To date, there have been only 37 reported cases worldwide of this disorder that presents with neutropenia, early onset poikiloderma, respiratory infections, palmo-plantar hyperkeratosis, and skeletal defects. Here we described the generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell lines (PN1 and PN2) from the peripheral blood of a 1-year-old patient using the dox-inducible STEMCCA vector. This patient presented with bacteremia, pneumonia, and neutropenia. Analysis of bone marrow demonstrated normal cellularity with trilineage hematopoiesis and neutropenia.
Molecular simulation of ethylene-expanded methanol: Phase behavior, structure, and transport properties

Abstract Ethylene is an important industrial feedstock for the generation of commodity chemicals and is increasingly abundant as a by-product of natural gas production. In some cases, the reaction of ethylene can be enhanced by using it to create a gas-expanded liquid with the co-reactants dissolved in an organic solvent. Here, we present a molecular simulation study of the phase behavior, structure, and transport properties of mixtures of ethylene and methanol, in which the ethylene mole fraction is controlled by changing the pressure. For this ethylene-expanded methanol system, we report phase equilibria, volume expansion, liquid structure, translational diffusion constants, and rotational correlation times. The simulation results show excellent agreement with experimental values, where available, and the ethylene and methanol models show promise for use in further studies on related systems.