cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The relation between atrial fibrillation wavefront characteristics and accessory pathway conduction.

Abstract Although the source-sink relationship for impulse propagation in cardiac tissues has been demonstrated in vitro, there has been no verification of this hypothesis in humans. Accordingly, eight patients undergoing surgical division of their accessory pathways were studied. A 56-channel (7 x 8) bipolar plaque electrode array was placed over the atrioventricular groove on the accessory pathway and atrial fibrillation electrically induced. 10 episodes of QRS transition from consecutively preexcited to nonpreexcited complexes were analyzed. This showed that consecutively preexcited QRS complexes were always associated with uniform large atrial wavefronts. Immediately prior to QRS transition, four general types of changes were observed: (a) premature invasion by secondary wavefronts creating local conduction block (n = 5); (b) wavefront collision leading to wavefront curvature (n = 2); (c) transition from a uniform large atrial wavefront to multiple fractionated small wavefronts (n = 1); and (d) uniform atrial wavefronts "marching" into the accessory pathway refractory period (n = 2). We conclude that local atrial wavefront characteristics are important factors influencing impulse propagation through the accessory pathway. The findings that local wavefront collision, curvature, or fractionation often precede loss of accessory pathway conduction support the notion that source-sink relationship is an important determinant of the safety factor for impulse propagation in the human heart.
Stereospecific synthesis of (Z,Z)-11,13-hexadecadienal, a female sex pheromone of the navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

A synthesis of (Z,Z)-11,13-hexadecadienal, a compound previously identified as the major component of the sex pheromone of the female navel orangeworm,Amyelois transitella (Walker), is described. The key step is the reduction of an unsymmetrical conjugated diyne with dicyclohexylborane. This reduction produced theZ,Z isomer with less than 0.5% total of other isomers.
Laser Combustion Diagnostics, Application to Engines

Laser-induced fluorescence of biacetyl is used to measure the temporal evolution of fuel distributions at rates of 12 kHz in a gasoline direct-injection engine with a frequency-tripled diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser and an image-intensified CMOS camera.
A fresh look at paralytics in the critically ill: real promise and real concern

Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs), or “paralytics,” often are deployed in the sickest patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) when usual care fails. Despite the publication of guidelines on the use of NMBAs in the ICU in 2002, clinicians have needed more direction to determine which patients would benefit from NMBAs and which patients would be harmed. Recently, new evidence has shown that paralytics hold more promise when used in carefully selected lung injury patients for brief periods of time. When used in early acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), NMBAs assist to establish a lung protective strategy, which leads to improved oxygenation, decreased pulmonary and systemic inflammation, and potentially improved mortality. It also is increasingly recognized that NMBAs can cause harm, particularly critical illness polyneuromyopathy (CIPM), when used for prolonged periods or in septic shock. In this review, we address several practical considerations for clinicians who use NMBAs in their practice. Ultimately, we conclude that NMBAs should be considered a lung protective adjuvant in early ARDS and that clinicians should consider using an alternative NMBA to the aminosteroids in septic shock with less severe lung injury pending further studies.
Using the spiral model to assess, select and integrate software development tools

Rather than having software tool assessment and selection be performed separately from the software development process, Boehm's (1988) spiral model of software development can be used to provide a framework within which tool assessment and selection can be systematically integrated into the software development process. The result is an incremental decision making/integration process which results in conservative (minimal, best-for-now) decisions which come under review each cycle through the spiral. This paper first describes the decision making/integration process. It then shows how the decision making/integration process has been used in the VETRONICS Simulation Facility project. The first three cycles through the spiral are described for the selection of a CASE tool, a prototyping tool, and an interprocess communication (IPC) tool. >
A Component Architecture for Dynamically Managing Privacy Constraints in Personalized Web-based Systems

User-adaptive (or ”personalized”) systems on the web cater their interaction to each individual user and provide considerable benefits to both users and web vendors. These systems pose privacy problems, however, since they must collect large amounts of personal information to be able to adapt to users, and often do this in a rather inconspicuous manner. The interaction with personalized systems is therefore likely to be affected by users’ privacy concerns, and is in many cases also subject to privacy laws and self-regulatory privacy principles. An analysis of nearly 30 international privacy laws revealed that many of them impose severe restrictions not only on the data that may be collected but also on the personalization methods that may be employed. For many personalization goals, more than one methods can be used that differ in their data and privacy requirements and their anticipated accuracy and reliability. This paper presents a software architecture that encapsulates the different personalization methods in individual components and, at any point during runtime, ascertains the dynamic selection of the component with the optimal anticipated personalization effects among those that are permissible under the currently prevailing privacy constraints.
A comparison of information security risk analysis in the context of e-government to criminological threat assessment techniques

This paper examines prior research on the topic of information security analysis in the context of e-Government. Specifically, risk management concept models and analysis techniques are reviewed and their application in e-Government is covered. In addition, this paper will review criminological threat assessment techniques and relate them to risk management methodologies, discussing similarities and differences. This paper offers the conclusion that the fields of information security risk management and criminological threat assessment techniques have a number of similarities and differences and the methodologies should be examined together more closely in future research for the benefit of both fields.
The future of audit

The purpose of this study is to discuss the current state and future of auditing. Expert consensus is used as a basis to examine the current state of auditing and generate modifications both needed and likely to occur in the audit profession. This study contributes to the literature by using the Delphi method to develop predictions as to the direction of the audit industry and discuss the implications associated with these predictions. If auditors can better understand where the profession stands and where it is headed, then they can better prepare for the future. Some predictions emerging from this study relative to future audit practices include increasing automation of audit procedures, more predictive financial statements, continuous auditing of financial statements and transactions, and an increasingly global perspective regarding audit activities.
Image guided complex dose delivery for small animal radiotherapy

The purpose of the Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) is to demonstrate computed tomography, conformal irradiation, and treatment planning capabilities for small animals. The SARRP is a portable system for precision irradiation with beam sizes down to approximately 0.5 mm and optimally planned radiation with on-board cone-beam CT (CBCT) guidance. This paper describes the utilization of the precision radiation beam on the SARRP for “dose painting” complex structures in the mouse brain. Pencil beam dose painting aims to target the tumor as accurately as possible and give it the highest dose of radiation while sparing normal tissue as much as possible.
Tracking transcriptional activities with high-content epifluorescent imaging

High-content cell imaging based on fluorescent protein reporters has recently been used to track the transcriptional activities of multiple genes under different external stimuli for extended periods. This technology enhances our ability to discover treatment-induced regulatory mechanisms, temporally order their onsets and recognize their relationships. To fully realize these possibilities and explore their potential in biological and pharmaceutical applications, we introduce a new data processing procedure to extract information about the dynamics of cell processes based on this technology. The proposed procedure contains two parts: (1) image processing, where the fluorescent images are processed to identify individual cells and allow their transcriptional activity levels to be quantified; and (2) data representation, where the extracted time course data are summarized and represented in a way that facilitates efficient evaluation. Experiments show that the proposed procedure achieves fast and robust image segmentation with sufficient accuracy. The extracted cellular dynamics are highly reproducible and sensitive enough to detect subtle activity differences and identify mechanisms responding to selected perturbations. This method should be able to help biologists identify the alterations of cellular mechanisms that allow drug candidates to change cell behavior and thereby improve the efficiency of drug discovery and treatment design.
Vote Switching on Foreign Policy in the U.S. House of Representatives

How do party members manage recurring and divisive foreign policy agendas? Do they stay the course or switch their position? The annual decision in Congress regarding the extension of China’s most favored nation (MFN) status was a high-profile foreign policy battle between the anti-China coalition and its pro-China counterpart. To test theories of members’ vote choice and change, this article analyzes the U.S. House of Representatives roll call votes over China trade policy from 1990 through 2000. Despite the conventional wisdom of voting stability over a recurring agenda, some members engaged in a substantial amount of vote switching. Changes in voting context such as party status, constituency interests, campaign finance, and seniority contributed to members’ position shifts. The findings of this study suggest that cross-cutting domestic interests over foreign policy debates in the post–Cold War era lead party members to recalculate the benefits of vote stability and the costs of vote switching.
Family Matters: Intergenerational and Interpersonal Processes of Executive Function and Attentive Behavior

Individual differences in self-regulation include executive function (EF) components that serve self-regulation of attentive behavior by modulating reactive responses to the environment. These factors "run in families". The purpose of this review is to summarize a program of research that addresses familial inter-generational transmission and inter-personal processes in development. Self-regulation of attentive behavior involves inter-related aspects of executive function (EF) including attention, inhibitory control, and working memory. Individual differences in EF skills develop in systematic ways over childhood, resulting in moderately stable differences between people by early adolescence. Through complex gene-environment transactions, EF is transmitted across generations within parent-child relationships that provide powerful socialization and experiential contexts in which EF and related attentive behavior are forged and practiced. Families matter as parents regulate home environments and themselves as best they can while also supporting cognitive self-regulation of attentive behavior in their children.
The preflight calibration of sensors employing solar-diffuser calibration

A new method for performing a preflight calibration of an optical remote sensing instrument with an on-board solar diffuser calibration system is presented. The rationale, method, advantages, disadvantages, error sources, and expected accuracies are discussed. The method was applied to the SeaWiFS sensor to be flown on the SeaStar satellite. >
Exploiting instruction level parallelism with the DS architecture

A new architecture, DS, for exploiting instruction level parallelism is proposed in this paper. DS splits the program into two instruction substreams with the dominant one navigating the control flow and the subsidiary one carrying out the rest of the computational task. Compiler techniques associated with the DS architecture are discussed, with the goal of minimizing communication and balancing computation. Performance is compared with an aggressive 8-way superscalar processor. In general, DS can deliver the same IPC as the superscalar. This is achieved with less complex hardware and better potential for fast clock rates.
Microwave welding of high density polyethylene using intrinsically conductive polyaniline

The use of intrinsically conductive polymers in welding of plastics and composites offers the possibility of developing new welding methods. Intrinsically conductive polyaniline (PANI) composite gaskets were used to microwave weld high density polyethylene (HDPE) bars. Two composite gaskets were made from a mixture of HDPE and PANI powders in different proportions. Adiabatic heating experiments were used to estimate the internal heat generation and electric field strength in the gasket. During welding, the effects of heating time, heating pressure and welding pressure were evaluated. It was found that increasing the heating time and the welding pressure increased the joint strength. The maximum tensile joint strength was achieved using a 60 wt% PANI gasket with a heating time of 60 sec and a welding pressure of 0.9 MPa; this resulted in a tensile weld strength of 24.79 ± 0.34 MPa, which equals the tensile strength of the bulk HDPE.
Iron Binding by Sodium Alginate

Sodium alginate was dispersed in iron chelate solutions and incubated for 10 min. The alginate was precipitated with acetone and the iron in the supernatant measured. Bound iron was calculated. The effects of pH, iron: alginate ratio, chelator, and competing cation on iron binding by alginate were determined. Binding increased as the pH decreased and as the iron:alginate ratio increased; the chelator used (EDTA, NTA, ascorbic acid, citrate) affected complexing. Binding decreased in the presence of calcium. In vitro iron availability studies indicated that alginate-iron complexes are disrupted during digestion.
Effects of an apparent space dust impact on a position sensing solid state detector aboard the Ulysses spacecraft

Abstract The High Energy Telescope (HET) is part of the COsmic and Solar Particle INvestigation (COSPIN) aboard the Ulysses spacecraft. The Ulysses mission is to explore the Heliosphere in three dimensions by passing over the polar regions of the sun. Ulysses achieved it present high inclination (>80°) solar orbit via a gravitational sling-shot around Jupiter. During or proximate to Jovian encounter, the HET suffered an apparent dust impact. The dust particle entered through the telescope aperture windows and damaged the top position sensing solid state detector. This paper discusses the evidence of the impact in the data, and the effect of the impact on the detector.
Effects of Stem Cell Factor and Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor on Survival of Porcine Type A Spermatogonia Cultured in KSOM

Spermatogenesis is initiated with the divisions of the type A spermatogonial stem cells; however, the regulation of this stem cell population remains unknown. In order to obtain a better understanding of the biology of these cells, type A spermatogonia were isolated from 80-day-old pig testes by sedimentation velocity at unit gravity. The cells were cultured for up to 120 h in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/Ham's F-12 medium (DMEM/F12) or a potassium-rich medium derived by the simplex optimization method (KSOM). At the end of the 120-h culture period, 30-50% of the spermatogonia were viable in KSOM, whereas in DMEM/F12 very few cells survived. Using KSOM as the culture medium, the effects of stem cell factor (SCF) and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were studied. SCF significantly enhanced the percentage of cell survival at 100 ng/ml but not at lower concentrations. In comparison, GM-CSF promoted survival at relatively low concentrations (0.01, 0.1, and 1 ng/ml). At a higher dose (10 ng/ml), a significant reduction in percentage of cell survival was observed. The combination of SCF with GM-CSF had no significant effect on the percentage survival of type A spermatogonial cells. These data indicate that SCF and GM-CSF play a role in the regulation of survival and/or proliferation of type A spermatogonia.
The reflection integration model: A process for facilitating reflective learning

Abstract One of the goals of teacher education is to develop each preservice teacher into a reflective educator. A reflective educator is a lifelong learner who perceives every experience as an opportunity for growth, change, and development of understanding. As a result of our teaching experiences in the College of Education, we have developed a process that helps students become reflective learners. In this article we discuss this process, the Reflection Integration Model (RIM). The four components of the model are (a) pre‐experience, (b) experience, (c) reflection, and (d) integration. While the model is germane to any experiential‐based learning, in this article it is applied to a field experience for preservice teachers.
Top Management of the Personnel Function: Current Issues and Practices

The article reviews the book “Top Management of the Personnel Function: Current Issues and Practices,” edited by William B. Wolf.
A comparison of amrinone and glucagon therapy for cardiovascular depression associated with propranolol toxicity in a canine model.

This study's objective is to evaluate the ability of glucagon and amrinone to reverse propranolol induced cardiovascular depression in a canine model, compared to a control of normal saline. The study design included 18 animals which received intravenous propranolol (10 mg/kg) resulting in significant depression in heart rate, cardiac output, mean arterial pressure, maximal ventricular dP/dt and stroke volume. Each canine was randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups; controls (normal saline only), glucagon (20 μg/kg bolus) and ammrione (4 mg/kg bolus). Cardiovascular parameters were monitored at 1, 6, 11, 21 and 31 min after treatment was rendered. Multiple comparison procedures at each time period controlled the overall α-level at. 05. Compared to control animals, both amrinone and glucagon were effective in reversing propranolol-induced depression of dP/dtmax at 6 and 11 min for glucagon and 11 min for amrinone and cardiac output at 1, 6 and 11 min for glucagon and 1 min for amrinone. Amrinone...
Temporal logic control for an autonomous quadrotor in a nondeterministic environment

We present an experimental setup for automatic deployment of a quadrotor in an environment with known topology and nondeterministically changing properties. The missions are specified as rich, temporal logic statements about the satisfaction of the properties. The main objective is to be able to synthesize, test, and evaluate control policies for complex aerial missions. Our testbed consists of quadrotors, a motion capture system that provides precise and continuous position information of the quadrotor, projectors that can emulate dynamically changing environments, physical obstacles, and computers that control the quadrotor, the motion capture system, and the projectors. Our computational approach is hierarchical. At the bottom level, we partition the environment and construct an abstraction in the form of a finite transition system such that the quadrotor can execute its transitions by using low level feedback controllers. At the top level, we draw inspiration from LTL model checking and use a value iteration algorithm to determine an optimal control policy that guarantees the satisfaction of the specification under nondeterministically changing properties. We illustrate the approach for the particular case of a surveillance mission in a city-like environment.
Discrete-Time /spl epsilon/-Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithm Using Neural Networks

Dynamic programming for discrete time systems is difficult due to the "curse of dimensionality". In this paper, we present our work on dynamic programming for discrete-time system, which is referred as isin-adaptive dynamic programming. A single controller, isin-optimal controller muisin*, which is determined from an isin-optimal cost Visin*, is obtained to approximate the optimal controller. The isin-optimal controller muisin* can always control the state to approach the equilibrium state, while the performance cost is close to the biggest lower bound of all performance costs within an error according to isin. An algorithm for finding the isin-optimal controller is developed and numerical experiments are given to illustrate the performance of the algorithm.
Thinking Geographically: Globalizing Capitalism and Beyond

In the spirit of strengthening its intellectual foundations and clarifying its contributions to making sense of Earth, we should resist any inclination to treat geography as a club—a discipline with boundaries to be policed and defended. I advocate for the strengths of thinking geographically, a way of being in the world open to all. This means attending to the geography of knowledge production; how spatiotemporalities shape and are shaped by socionatural processes; the emergent more-than-human world; the variety of ontologies, epistemologies, and methodologies underlying knowledge claims; and the world not only as it is but also as it should be. Thinking geographically about globalizing capitalism can problematize the particular sociospatial positionalities from which commonsense understandings of capitalism have metastasized. Europe did not invent capitalist practices but became globalizing capitalism's center of calculation, catalyzed by the spatial dynamics of colonialism elevating Europe relative to ...
A Study of Systematic Errors in Multiple Linear Regression Peak Fitting Using Generated Spectra

Quantitative analysis using electron, x-ray, or ion beam excited x rays depends on accurate measurement of characteristic peak intensities in the spectrum. Multiple-linear-least-squares (ML) procedures are routinely used to extract peak areas even from spectra with severe peak overlaps. In an ML fitting procedure, a factor is found that scales a reference distribution for each peak or family of peaks from each element of interest contributing to the specimen spectrum. The area of the reference is known, so the fitting factor may be used to calculate the area of the fitted peak. Most conveniently, the reference distributions are segments of spectra from pure element specimens and thus are assumed to include all spectrum features associated with a particular family of lines as well as any spectral artifacts peculiar to the spectrometer.(l) For electron excited x rays, some implementations of ML peak fitting utilize reference distributions that are background-free.(2,3) Others fit distributions that include the continuum background and assume that a correction can be made for the reference background contribution in the fitted area.(4) Continuum can be suppressed before the fitting procedure by digitally filtering both the spectrum and references with a “top-hat” filter of dimensions chosen to preferentially pass only higher frequency features.(5,6) For spectra from bulk specimens, these high frequency features include not only characteristic peaks but also abrupt decreases in continuum due to absorption edges that may introduce an error in calculating fitted peak areas. In fact, as pointed out by Statham,(6) any region of the continuum a residual in the filtered spectrum that will introduce an error in the fitted area of a peak in that region. For example, Kitazawa et al. demonstrated a systematic error for Na in spectra from a thin specimen acquired with a beryllium window detector. This error arises from the change in curvature of the continuum near the Na Ka energy due to strong absorption of the low energy x rays by the detector.
An Appreciative Inquiry into the Healthcare Concerns of the Elder Hmong Women Living in Alaska, USA

In addition to high levels of poverty and ignorance of the structure and conduct of the healthcare system, language and cultural barriers hamper efforts by Hmong women in the US to meet their healthcare needs. To better understand the complex interconnections among these factors, the researchers conducted a number of focus group interviews. The focus group interviews were conducted in the spirit of appreciative inquiry and resulted in thick and situated knowledge about some of the major healthcare issues faced by female members of the Hmong community. Certain methods to cope with the barriers have already organically evolved within the community framework. While highlighting and appreciating such developments, the researchers also propose alternatives to ensure that the community gets the best out of the national healthcare system. Keywords: Illiteracy, communication difficulties, cultural isolation, healthcare quality, Hmong, Alaska
Magnetostatic shielding by a cylindrically layered magnetic medium

Laplace's equation for the scalar magnetic potential in a cylindrically layered medium is solved for the case of a transversely uniform external field. Coefficients in the cylindrical harmonic expansion of the potential are governed by a set of linear equations for the N-layered inhomogeneity. In addition to verification that magnetostatic shielding is accomplished via a large volume of high-permeability materials, this simple boundary value problem is useful as a teaching tool in electromagnetics courses. >
Catholic Orientalism: Portuguese empire, Indian Knowledge (16th–18th centuries)

The aim of Catholic Orientalism: Portuguese Empire, Indian Knowledge is, in the words of the two authors, ‘to follow the path of knowledge production about India and in India and to re-draw the map...
Site of action of putative lipostatic factor: food intake and peripheral pentose shunt activity

Obesity due to overfeeding in one parabiotic rat results in mild hypophagia and specific loss of fat from its partner. Studies were conducted to determine whether the changes in body composition were reversible and whether the nonsignificant reduction in food intake was a primary response to a humoral lipostatic factor. Tube feeding partners of overfed rats 0.5 g more food per day than eaten voluntarily prevented loss of fat, although hepatic and adipose glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were depressed. Glucose flux through the pentose phosphate pathway was inhibited in both adipose and hepatic tissue from thin partners of obese rats, although fatty acid synthesis was depressed only in adipose tissue. Response to insulin by adipocytes from ad libitum partners of obese rats appeared to be blunted, but insulin sensitivity was normal. When overfeeding stopped, both partners returned to control body composition, suggesting that the changes observed in parabiotic partners of obese rats were physiological responses to a putative circulating lipostatic factor rather than a nonspecific consequence of parabiosis.
Ending the Local Tax Deduction

Under this proposal, local taxes would not be deductible for federal purposes, but state taxes would continue to be deductible. A deduction for local taxes is less justified because they provide benefits to local taxpayers in ways that make them more similar to a purchase of private goods, for which a deduction is generally not allowed. State taxes, on the other hand, are more likely to be redistributive, and a deduction for them is therefore more appropriate. The proposal is estimated to raise $45.1 billion in 2016.The proposal is made as a part of the Shelf Project, a collaboration of tax professionals developing methods for raising revenue in ways that improve the fairness and efficiency of the tax base. Shelf Project proposals imitate committee reports in describing current law, discussing the reasons for change, and explaining the proposal.
A Methodology and Results for Comparative Assessment of the Prediction Performance of the Collaborative Routing Coordination Tools (CRCT)

The Collaborative Routing Coordination Tools (CRCT) is the prototype of a set of tools to help the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to detect traffic flow problems in advance, to generate problem resolutions, and to evaluate the resolution strategies. CRCT does this by modeling four-dimensional aircraft trajectories and using them to predict demand for sector usage. A methodology was developed and used to compare the prediction performance of CRCT under various software and data configurations. The methodology can be and has been used for other tools (e.g., the Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS)) that predict sector demand. Several performance metrics were defined and tools were developed to calculate the metrics from prediction data and actual track data. The metrics assess how closely predictions match the sector loads that actually occur. This paper presents the methodology used to assess CRCT’s prediction performance and the results of various comparative performance analyses. The analyses are based on CRCT runs against recordings of actual air traffic data on both good and bad weather days. Analysis results are compared for the two weather days and for three Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs).
On the Nature of the Specific Reacting Substance of B. proteus X19 in the Weil-Felix Reaction.

Through methods commonly employed for the recovery of specific soluble substances (polysaccharides) it is possible to obtain from the X 19 strains of the proteus bacillus specific reactive substances which flocculate with antiproteus and typhus serum, (Lim and Kurotchkin,1 White,2 and Castaneda3). Castaneda3 has also shown that suspensions of Mexican Rickettsia similarly treated will yield a specific reacting substance which gives the same precipitation reactions with typhus and antiproteus sera as do the polysaccharides extracted from B. proteus X19. It appears, then, that there is in B. proteus X19 and typhus Rickettsia a common antigenic complex which is responsible for the Weil-Felix reaction. This paper corroborates the above reports and emphasizes White's findings in regard to the dual antigenic nature of the polysaccharidal substance obtainable from the proteus bacillus.Thirty-four samples of human typhus sera have been tested against extracts of B. proteus X19 (0–504 strain). All of these were pur...
Pathogenesis prediction of influenza in Anhui Province by the ARIMA Model

Objective To explore the application of time series analysis on influenza and confirm its feasibility and applicability.Methods Auto-regressive integrated moving average(ARIMA) model was fitted with data of monthly influenza incidence from January2005 to June 2012,and the monthly incidence of 2013 was predicted and evaluated.Results The model of ARIMA(2,2,1)(2,2,0)12was established and used to verify its usability due to predictive results being similar to the actual incidence.Conclusion The ARIMA model can be used to fit trends of influenza incidence on a time series and forecast changing trends within a short period.
Correction for Laser Beam Non-Uniformity in the Flash Method of Thermal Diffusivity Measurement

Many workers have commented on the difficulty in achieving the uniform illumination required by the flash method of thermal diffusivity measurement. An analysis of the heat flow for nonuniform surface heating is presented. The errors in diffusivity values for moderately non-uniform heating are investigated. It is shown that the values obtained by the popular half-maximum method are significant, but can be sharply reduced by different methods of data analysis, even without detailed knowledge of the beam profile. Measurements on Armco iron are evaluated, with and without corrections for the known beam profile.
Activation of intestinal brush border guanylate cyclase by aromatic disulphide compounds

Guanylate cyclase in pig intestinal brush border membranes was stimulated by certain aromatic disulphides. The most effective were 6-thioguanine disulphide [(TGS)2], 6-mercaptopurine disulphide, 6,6'-dithiodinicotinic acid, 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and 5-carboxy-2-thiouracil disulphide. (TGS)2 stimulated activity 15-fold when present at 0.1 mM. The optimum concentration for each disulphide was different, and higher concentrations were inhibitory. There was no activation by alkyl disulphides or by N-ethylmaleimide. Activation by 50 microM-(TGS)2 was partially reversed by later addition of 0.1 mM-dithiothreitol, whereas activation by the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin STa was relatively unaffected. Pretreatment of the membranes with (TGS)2 produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of STa-stimulated activity, while stimulating basal activity, until the activities were equal at 50 microM. Activity was [Mg2+]-dependent, the optimal [Mg2+] progressively increasing as the enzyme was stimulated by (TGS)2, STa and Lubrol PX respectively. However, (TGS)2 pretreatment prevented the shift to higher [Mg2+]optima induced by STa or Lubrol alone. Substitution of Mn2+ for Mg2+ in the reaction elevated basal activity and eliminated by activation (TGS)2. (TGS)2 only inhibited Mn2(+)-dependent activity (both basal and stimulated). The affinity of 125I-STa for its receptor was slightly increased by (TGS)2. We propose that (TGS)2 undergoes thiol-disulphide exchange with at least three different protein thiols of decreasing reactivity. The first is associated with Mg2(+)-dependent activation, the second is associated with a tonic inhibition of activity and the third is associated with the catalytic activity, although probably not at the active site.
OPMES: A Similarity Search Engine for Mathematical Content

This paper presents details about a new mathematical search engine, i.e., OPMES. This search engine leverages operator trees in both representation and relevance modeling of the mathematical content. More specifically, OPMES represents mathematical expressions using operator trees, and then indexes each expression based on all the leaf-root paths of the generated operator tree. Such data structures enable OPMES to implement an efficient two-stage query processing technique. The system first identifies structurally relevant expressions based on the matching of the leaf-root paths, and then further ranks them based on their symbolic similarity to the query.
Further Problems of Analyzing and Treating Monopoly

Concern about monopoly has long influenced the theory and practice of economic policy. The debates center on what must be done to ensure a competitive economy. The optimistic view is that competitive forces are so strong that all that is necessary is to prevent the government from imposing barriers. It is warned that many government policies claiming to promote competition actually increase inefficiency. The contrary view is that monopolistic forces are so extensive that massive governmental control efforts are needed.
Population Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Modeling of Epacadostat in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies

Epacadostat (EPA, INCB024360) is a selective inhibitor of the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and is being developed as an orally active immunotherapy to treat advanced malignancies. In the first clinical study investigating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of EPA in oncology patients, increasing doses of EPA ranging from 50 mg once daily to 700 mg twice daily were administered as a monotherapy to 52 subjects with advanced solid tumors. The EPA plasma concentration-time profiles were adequately described by a population PK model comprised of the first-order kinetics of oral absorption with 2-compartment distribution and constant clearance from the central compartment. Body weight was the only significant covariant to influence EPA PK. Determination of EPA's on-target potency, ie, its half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) against IDO1, is important for dose selection but complicated by the bioconversion of tryptophan (TRP) to kynurenine (KYN) catalyzed by both IDO1 and TRP 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO). In vitro and ex vivo, the IC50 was estimated following the selective induction of IDO1, rendering the TDO activity relatively insignificant; however, it was desirable to determine the in vivo IC50 without inducing an IDO1 abundance. A mechanistic population PD model was developed based on time-matched EPA, TRP, and KYN plasma concentrations in 44 oncology patients, and EPA in vivo IC50 was estimated to be ∼70 nM, consistent with the ex vivo value independently determined. The model suggests that ∼60% and 40% of TRP→KYN bioconversion was mediated by IDO1 and TDO, respectively, in the cancer patients at baseline. For this study population of limited numbers of subjects, neither age nor sex was a significant covariate for EPA PK or PD.
Endothelial and Hematopoietic Tissue Factor Are Unnecessary in Two Mouse Models of Hemostasis and Thrombosis

Abstract Endothelial and hematopoietic tissue factor are unnecessary in two mouse models of hemostasis and thrombosis Tissue Factor (TF), in combination with Factor VII, activates the extrinsic coagulation pathway leading to thrombin generation and clot formation. TF is expressed by epithelial, smooth muscle and perivascular cells; in addition endothelial and hematopoietic cells can express TF, especially in response to inflammatory stimuli. Despite extensive studies the exact cellular source of TF during clot initiation and propagation has not yet been clearly identified, and the importance of endothelial or hematopoietic TF in hemostasis and thrombosis is unknown. To address the latter, we measured bleeding time and arterial thrombus formation in TF flox/flox: Tie-2p/e Cre conditional mice, in which endothelial and circulating TF expression is absent. We observed that TF deficiency in the endothelial and hematopoietic compartment was not associated with defective hemostasis. In a FeCl3- induced carotid injury model, in contrast to PAR4 null mice, clotting in TF conditional mice did not significantly differ from that of wild type littermates. This study suggests that TF derived from endothelial or blood cells is not necessary for hemostasis and thrombosis in the models studied. Download : Download high-res image (98KB) Download : Download full-size image
Spatial organization of multi-enzyme biocatalytic cascades

Industrial biocatalysis is an economically attractive option for the production of valuable chemicals. Our repertoire of cheap building blocks and commodity target molecules is vastly enhanced by multi-enzyme biocatalytic cascades. In order to achieve suitable titers in complex novel biocatalytic schemes, spatial organization may become necessary to overcome barriers caused by slow or inhibited enzymes as well as instability of biocatalysts. A number of spatial organization strategies are currently available, which could be integrated in the design of complex cascades. These include fusion proteins, immobilization on solid supports, multi-dimensional scaffolding, and encapsulation within vessels. This review article highlights recent advances in cascade biocatalysis, discusses the role of spatial organization in reaction kinetics, and presents some of the currently employed strategies for spatial organization of multi-enzyme cascades.
The Communist Roots of Zapatismo and the Zapatista Uprising

This study suggests that communist politics had much deeper roots in the larger indigenous-campesino movement that formed the social base of the Zapatista National Liberation Army ( EZLN ) than has previously been acknowledged. Tracing the political development of the indigenous communities of Chiapas, Mexico from the late nineteenth century to the founding of the EZLN in 1983, it examines the influence of several currents of revolutionary socialist and communist theory and practice on the Zapatistas. It concludes with a call for further investigation into the theoretical status of communism as a category of a critical theory of contentious politics.
Matrimonial Partnerships and Politics in Three Late Plays: “In Good King Charles’s Golden Days”: A True History That Never Happened, The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza, and Geneva: Another Political Extravaganza

Matthew Yde considers “In Good King Charles’ Golden Days,” The Apple Cart , and Geneva . While acknowledging that Shaw’s views on marriage are various and often contradictory, he suggests that the best place to look for Shaw’s overriding opinion on the topic is in his own childless yet seemingly happy marriage to Charlotte, as reflected in The Apple Cart and Good King Charles.
Segmentation and tracking of lung nodules via graph-cuts incorporating shape prior and motion from 4D CT

Purpose We have developed a robust tool for performing volumetric and temporal analysis of nodules from respiratory gated four-dimensional (4D) CT. The method could prove useful in IMRT of lung cancer. Methods We modified the conventional graph-cuts method by adding an adaptive shape prior as well as motion information within a signed distance function representation to permit more accurate and automated segmentation and tracking of lung nodules in 4D CT data. Active shape models (ASM) with signed distance function were used to capture the shape prior information, preventing unwanted surrounding tissues from becoming part of the segmented object. The optical flow method was used to estimate the local motion and to extend three-dimensional (3D) segmentation to 4D by warping a prior shape model through time. The algorithm has been applied to segmentation of well-circumscribed, vascularized, and juxtapleural lung nodules from respiratory gated CT data. Results In all cases, 4D segmentation and tracking for five phases of high-resolution CT data took approximately 10 min on a PC workstation with AMD Phenom II and 32 GB of memory. The method was trained based on 500 breath-held 3D CT data from the LIDC data base and was tested on 17 4D lung nodule CT datasets consisting of 85 volumetric frames. The validation tests resulted in an average Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) = 0.68 for all test data. An important by-product of the method is quantitative volume measurement from 4D CT from end-inspiration to end-expiration which will also have important diagnostic value. Conclusion The algorithm performs robust segmentation of lung nodules from 4D CT data. Signed distance ASM provides the shape prior information which based on the iterative graph-cuts framework is adaptively refined to best fit the input data, preventing unwanted surrounding tissue from merging with the segmented object.
Modeling trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity in vitro using human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Trastuzumab (Herceptin®), a monoclonal antibody against the ErbB2 (HER2) receptor, has significantly improved clinical outcomes for HER2+ breast cancer patients. However, the drug also has known cardiotoxic side effects through mechanisms that are not fully understood. Here we utilized human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPS-CMs) to model trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity in vitro. We demonstrate that cardiotoxic effects of ErbB2 inhibition by trastuzumab can be recapitulated only when the cardioprotective effects of ErbB2/4 signaling is observed. We observed no cardioprotective effects of ErbB2/4 signaling without cellular stress (doxorubicin exposure in this study). In addition to neuregulin-1 (NRG-1), we show that heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) also provides cardioprotective effects for iPS-CMs. Finally, we demonstrate a simple, high-throughput co-culture platform utilizing iPS-CMs and endothelial cells that is capable of detecting trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity. We conclude that iPS-CMs can recapitulate trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity, and may be used to elucidate additional modes of toxicity of trastuzumab and related compounds.
Hitting the Target: How T Cells Detect and Eliminate Tumors

The successes of antitumor immuno-based therapies and the application of next-generation sequencing to mutation profiling have produced insights into the specific targets of antitumor T cells. Mutated proteins have tremendous potential as targets for interventions using autologous T cells or engineered cell therapies and may serve as important correlates of efficacy for immunoregulatory interventions including immune checkpoint blockade. As mutated self, tumors present an exceptional case for host immunity, which has primarily evolved in response to foreign pathogens. Tumor Ags' resemblance to self may limit immune recognition, but key features appear to be the same between antipathogen and antitumor responses. Determining which targets will make efficacious Ags and which responses might be elicited therapeutically are key questions for the field. Here we discuss current knowledge on antitumor specificity, the mutations that provide immunogenic targets, and how cross-reactivity and immunodominance may contribute to variation in immune responses among tumor types.
Arthroscopic knotless rotator cuff repair: Factors associated with construct selection and recent trends from a manual review of 1617 cases

Abstract Purpose Our aim was to identify predictors of construct selection and recent trends for arthroscopic knotless rotator cuff repair (RCR). Methods A manual review of 1617 operative reports was performed. Results A medium-sized tear had a threefold increase in odds of single row (SR) knotless repair (OR, 6.91; p = 0.009) versus SR knotted (OR, 3.05; p = 0.003). Generalist orthopaedic surgeons were 79% less likely to perform SR knotless repairs versus sports medicine trained specialists (p Conclusion There was a significant increase from 2009 to 2016 in SR knotless and double row medial row knotless constructs contrasting the declining use of the SR knotted technique.
Ásatrú and Hindu: From Prophecy to Dialogue

Written from a Heathen perspective, this chapter presents first steps toward interfaith dialogue between Asatru and Hindu traditions – steps inspired by a comparative reading of prophetic material from the Old Norse poem Voluspa (“Prophecy of the Seeress”) and the Sanskrit Mahābhārata (“Great Epic of the Bhārata Dynasty”). The term Heathen is commonly used as a self-identifier by practitioners of Asatru, a new religious movement that revives, reconstructs, and reimagines Norse polytheism as a living religion in a modern context. Seigfried’s discussion of his “holy envy” of the rich and detailed literary and philosophical traditions of Hinduism leads to a close reading of the two texts, examination of analogues in other religions, reflection on a scholarly turn to non-Abrahamic traditions, and discussion of some implications for interfaith action.
Superconductors speed up computation

The past three decades have seen spectacular improvements in the performance of semiconductor devices. Nearly all of the key figures-of-merit, including the speed and the integration scale (the number of devices on a chip), have improved exponentially year on year. These advances have enabled a revolution in computers and communications: the computing power that once required a special building now sits on people's desks.