cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pregnancy in human IAPP transgenic mice recapitulates beta cell stress in type 2 diabetes

Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) misfolding and toxic oligomers contribute to beta cell loss and stress in type 2 diabetes. Pregnancy-related diabetes predicts subsequent risk for type 2 diabetes but little is known about the impact of pregnancy on beta cell mass, turnover and stress. Availability of human pancreas tissue in pregnancy is limited and most widely used mouse models of type 2 diabetes do not develop pregnancy-related diabetes, possibly because rodent IAPP is not prone to form toxic oligomers. We hypothesised that mice transgenic for human IAPP (hIAPP) are prone to pregnancy-related diabetes with beta cell responses reflective of those in type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the impact of a first and second pregnancy on glucose homeostasis, beta cell mass and turnover and markers of beta cell stress in hIAPP transgenic (hTG) mice. Pregnancy induced both endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress and compromised autophagy in beta cells in hTG mice, which are characteristic of beta cells in type 2 diabetes. Beta cell stress persisted after pregnancy, resulting in subsequent diabetes before or during a second pregnancy. High expression of hIAPP in response to pregnancy recapitulates mechanisms contributing to beta cell stress in type 2 diabetes. We hypothesise that, in individuals prone to type 2 diabetes, pregnancy-induced increased expression of IAPP inflicts beta cell damage that persists and is compounded by subsequent additive stress such as further pregnancy. The hTG mouse model is a novel model for pregnancy-related diabetes.
Relationships among potassium, calcium and trace elements in tree leaves and associated canopy arthropods.

There is a paucity of information that describes the relationship between the suite of nutrient elements in tree foliage and associated arthropod assemblages. Foliage from chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), hickories (Carya spp.), yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), red maple (Acer rubrum), and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) and associated canopy arthropods were collected in an undisturbed and a 15 yr-old successional forested watershed and analyzed for K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, and Sr. Foliar Mn and Sr were found in higher concentrations in the undisturbed watershed. Foliage from hickories was generally higher in concentrations of metals (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn) compared with other tree species. Dogwood foliage had significantly higher concentrations of Ca and significantly lower concentrations of Mn than other tree species (P 0.05). Concentrations of elements in and among arthropod feedin...
At the Intersections: Feminist Border Theory

In June 2018, a flood of images and news stories emerged on the national scene: children in cages; frightened and desperate parents unsure and lost. The response, across the country, was immediate ...
An Accurate and Efficient Instrument for Monitoring Chest Wall Therapy

Monitoring the progress of therapeutic treatment is paramount to its success and to the patient's quality-of-life. An efficient, cost-effective, and accurate assessment of the treatment's progress that illustrates its tangible impact can motivate patients and guide the procedure. This work discusses such an assessment tool for both surgical and nonsurgical interventions to correct pectus excavatum – the most common chest wall deformity. The developed instrument utilizes optical scanning and registration techniques to provide an accurate evaluation of the improvement over the course of treatment. In this paper, a prospective study is conducted to report on and establish the validity of the instrument after deploying it for clinical use. Statistical tests are used to study the utility of the system in a clinical setting.
Trades-Based Literacy: Community College Faculty’s Exploration of Disciplinary Literacy

This case study investigated disciplinary literacy specific to the trades from a sociocultural perspective. Four community college faculty (diesel marine technology, mechatronics, and mathematics) ...
Quasi-independence models with rational maximum likelihood estimator

Abstract We classify the two-way quasi-independence models (independence models with structural zeros) that have rational maximum likelihood estimators, or MLEs. We give a necessary and sufficient condition on the bipartite graph associated to the model for the MLE to be rational. In this case, we give an explicit formula for the MLE in terms of combinatorial features of this graph. We also use the Horn uniformization to show that for general log-linear models M with rational MLE, any model obtained by restricting to a face of the cone of sufficient statistics of M also has rational MLE.
Three Trade Cases to Rein in Trump's Trade Tariffs

Discusses pending or shortly to be pending federal court cases attacking President Trump's tariff and trade actions. These courts may very likely rule against the president and uphold the Congress' exclusive authority over trade and limit his previously delegated authority to declare national emergencies as a basis of trade actions.. This involves actions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (National Security) as well as those under the IEEPA (International Emergencies).
Cardiac Risk Assessment Prior to Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Cases and Management Strategies

Cardiac risk assessment is a standard component of the pre-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) screening, which considers performance status, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), pulmonary function tests, and existing cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities.
Urinary Citrate and Stone Disease

Citrate plays an important role in calcium oxalate stone formation. Hypocitraturia has now been found in topiramate therapy, bariatric surgery, and high-protein low-carbohydrate diet. Citrate indirectly reduces urinary saturation of stone-forming calcium salts by complexing calcium and reducing ionized calcium fraction in urine; its direct effect on nucleation, crystal growth, and agglomeration is minor or uncertain. Hypocitraturia can be readily corrected by potassium citrate treatment. This treatment also increases urinary pH.
This Is the Feeling That Breaks

This is the feeling that breaks the ends of your words; the wind that blows an already hard rain into your face. You look down at the ground, but it is not going to assist you. It feels itself under attack, betrayed by the explorer's shoes, the road that followed him in, the house built at the end of the road. A door opens, and light falls onto the ground; what disturbs your sleep in the same way? Now the deer have a drum they play only at night, to warn the earth of their arrival. Everyone in the world hears that drum, out of one ear, the sound growing dimmer and dimmer. There are more footsteps and more trees losing their leaves in the middle of spring. There are feelings that cause you to put your hands over your eyes, that lead the usually immobile branches to slap at your ankles and wrists. Your only defense is that you are defense less; that you have come out into the open expecting some open to be there.
Aspiration-Induced Pulmonary Injury

Pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents can cause a spectrum of sequelae that spans from relatively minor to rapidly lethal disease. To emphasize the extent of this spectrum and to encompass both noninfectious complications and infection, we use the term “aspiration-induced pulmonary injury” rather than “aspiration pneumonia.” In this article we review the relevant literature, focusing on more recent insights into the pathogenesis of lung injury, the natural history of aspiration, risk factors, the relationship between aspiration and infection, and recommendations for management. The relevance to human disease of studies using intra-airway acid instillation in animals is questioned. We discuss the difficulties in predicting the clinical course after aspiration. We identify risk factors for aspiration-induced pulmonary injury that are commonly encountered in the intensive care unit, and discuss in detail factors of special interest to the intensivist, including the impact of tracheal intubation; the effects of enteric intubation, particularly the comparison between pre- and postpyloric routes of enteric feeding administration; and the relative risks associated with particular feeding protocols. We conclude with recommendations regarding treatment and prevention strategies.
Childhood obesity and sleep: relatives, partners, or both?—a critical perspective on the evidence

In modern life, children are unlikely to obtain sufficient or regular sleep and waking schedules. Inadequate sleep affects the regulation of homeostatic and hormonal systems underlying somatic growth, maturation, and bioenergetics. Therefore, assessments of the obesogenic lifestyle, including as dietary and physical activity, need to be coupled with accurate evaluation of sleep quality and quantity, and coexistence of sleep apnea. Inclusion of sleep as an integral component of research studies on childhood obesity should be done as part of the study planning process. Although parents and health professionals have quantified normal patterns of activities in children, sleep has been almost completely overlooked. As sleep duration in children appears to have declined, reciprocal obesity rates have increased. Also, increases in pediatric obesity rates have markedly increased the risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children. Obesity and OSAS share common pathways underlying end-organ morbidity, potentially leading to reciprocal amplificatory effects. The relative paucity of data on the topics covered in the perspective below should serve as a major incentive toward future research on these critically important concepts.
Evaluation of SSM/I filtering algorithm for snow cover identification in Northern New York State

Snow-cover parameters are being increasingly used as input to hydrological models. An accurate knowledge of the onset of snow melts and snow water equivalent values are important variables in different hydrological applications such as Hooding prediction, reservoir management and agricultural activities. However, the traditional field sampling methods and the ground-based data collection are often very sparse, time consuming, and expensive compared to the coverage provided by remote sensing techniques. Microwave remote sensing techniques have been investigated by numerous researchers using various sensors and have been demonstrated to be effective for monitoring snow pack parameters such as spatial and temporal distribution, snow water equivalent, depth, and snow condition (wet/dry state). Those researches have resulted that the microwave brightness temperature and the microwave backscattering are related to the snow cover structure with different correlation degrees. The primary objective of this research is to produce a spatial estimation of snow water equivalent in a timely fashion with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution using multi-source microwave and optical data. The final product of this project will be an additional tool for flood warning and water resource forecasts, which can be an additional input to the actual hydrological models. The contribution of remote sensing snow related information into the advanced hydrologic prediction system (AHPS) operated by NWS/NOAA (with 4 km grid resolution) will be also evaluated. This paper presents the first step of this project: data collection and evaluation
Successful Pregnancy in a Couple with Severe Male Factor Infertility after Selection of Sperm with Cytoplasmic Droplets

We present live births resulting from two separate IVF cycles in a couple in which ICSI was performed with sperm specifically selected for presence of small cytoplasmic droplets. These cycles followed previous cycles using standard sperm selection methods in which very poor embryo development and no pregnancies ensued. The male partner was diagnosed with severe male factor infertility including elevated DNA fragmentation.
Ethylenecarbodiimide-Fixed Donor Splenocyte Infusions Differentially Target Direct and Indirect Pathways of Allorecognition for Induction of Transplant Tolerance

Strategic exposure to donor Ags prior to transplantation can be an effective way for inducting donor-specific tolerance in allogeneic recipients. We have recently shown that pretransplant infusion of donor splenocytes treated with the chemical cross-linker ethylenecarbodiimide (ECDI-SPs) induces indefinite islet allograft survival in a full MHC-mismatched model without the need for any immunosuppression. Mechanisms of allograft protection by this strategy remain elusive. In this study, we show that the infused donor ECDI-SPs differentially target T cells with indirect versus direct allospecificities. To target indirect allospecific T cells, ECDI-SPs induce upregulation of negative, but not positive, costimulatory molecules on recipient splenic CD11c(+) dendritic cells phagocytosing the injected ECDI-SPs. Indirect allospecific T cells activated by such CD11c(+) dendritic cells undergo robust initial proliferation followed by rapid clonal depletion. The remaining T cells are sequestered in the spleen without homing to the graft site or the graft draining lymph node. In contrast, direct allospecific T cells interacting with intact donor ECDI-SPs not yet phagocytosed undergo limited proliferation and are subsequently anergized. Furthermore, CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells are induced in lymphoid organs and at the graft site by ECDI-SPs. We conclude that donor ECDI-SP infusions target host allogeneic responses via a multitude of mechanisms, including clonal depletion, anergy, and immunoregulation, which act in a synergistic fashion to induce robust transplant tolerance. This simple form of negative vaccination has significant potential for clinical translation in human transplantation.
Numerical Methods for Distributed Models

Numerical methods commonly used for solving partial differential equations of the reaction–advection–diffusion type are presented. The use of implicit (e.g., Crank–Nicolson) and semi-implicit methods is emphasized as being more time efficient than that of explicit methods. The main kinds of boundary conditions are considered. Briefly discussed are operator-splitting and spectral methods, as well as methods for equations with two spatial dimensions and for hyperbolic problems. Relevant built-in commands of Matlab are presented and their counterparts in other programming languages are briefly mentioned.
Optimization of Soluble Dietary Fiber Extraction from Defatted Rice Bran Using Response Surface Methodology

Optimum extraction conditions for extraction of soluble rice bran fiber (SRBF) from defatted rice bran (DRB) were determined using response surface methodology (RSM). The three independent variables for extracting SRBF, including ratio of Ca(OH)2 solution to DRB, concentration of Ca(OH)2 and extraction temperature on the yield of SRBF were determined on the basis of single factor experiments. A Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to investigate the effects of the three independent variables, and the BBD consisted of 15 experimental points with three replications at the center point. The experimental study examined the effect of the independent variables within the following ranges: Ca(OH)2 solution to DRB ratio range of 25:1–30:1, Ca(OH)2 concentration in the range of 2–3% and the temperature in the range of 20–100C The optimum experimental yield of SRBF (7.86 ± 0.04%) was obtained at the extraction condition of 3% Ca(OH)2 solution with a ratio of solution to DRB of 29.75:1 (mL/g) stirred for 1 h at 84C. The experimental yield percentage was in agreement with predicted yield percentage of SRBF by RSM at the optimum extraction conditions. Practical Applications The optimum soluble rice bran fiber (SRBF) yield cannot be estimated based on just the one-factor-at-a-time (single-factor) approach, because it is not only time consuming, but also the interaction between extractions condition may not be included in the determination of the yield and/or quality. A study is needed not only to determine the optimum extraction conditions to obtain a desirable yield or quality of SRBF from defatted rice bran (DRB) but also to understand the degree of interactions between extraction conditions such as temperature, time, ratio of solvent to raw material and solvent concentration.
Espetáculo das raças

A segmentacao do mercado em funcao de caracteristicas raciais ainda e uma atividade incipiente no Brasil. Ao mesmo tempo em que a metade da populacao do pais e formada por negros e mesticos, apenas uma pequena parcela dos modelos usados em propagandas representam essa populacao. Este artigo, desenvolvido a partir de uma pesquisa de campo, contradiz alguns pressupostos sobre preferencias dos consumidores e sugere uma revisao de certas praticas de marketing.
Towards reliable storage of 56-bit secrets in human memory

Challenging the conventional wisdom that users cannot remember cryptographically-strong secrets, we test the hypothesis that users can learn randomly-assigned 56- bit codes (encoded as either 6 words or 12 characters) through spaced repetition. We asked remote research participants to perform a distractor task that required logging into a website 90 times, over up to two weeks, with a password of their choosing. After they entered their chosen password correctly we displayed a short code (4 letters or 2 words, 18.8 bits) that we required them to type. For subsequent logins we added an increasing delay prior to displaying the code, which participants could avoid by typing the code from memory. As participants learned, we added two more codes to comprise a 56.4- bit secret. Overall, 94% of participants eventually typed their entire secret from memory, learning it after a median of 36 logins. The learning component of our system added a median delay of just 6.9 s per login and a total of less than 12 minutes over an average of ten days. 88% were able to recall their codes exactly when asked at least three days later, with only 21% reporting having written their secret down. As one participant wrote with surprise, "the words are branded into my brain."
Integrating qualitative and quantitative temporal information: a general model

This paper presents a general model based on the time Petri net, capable of handling both qualitative and quantitative temporal information. Both metric relations between time points and qualitative relations between time interval can be encoded in a model. This model also allows the representation of higher-order expression and repeated activities which constitute a large part of the normal schedule. In addition, graphical representation of a time Petri net gives a straightforward view of relations between temporal objects. >
Systems of provision and delivery of hand care, and its impact on the community

Hand injuries are important causes of impairment in the United States. They are one of the top causes for days lost from work and they impose a great economic burden on the country. In less affluent regions of the world, the impact of hand injuries on the population is even more dire, rendering the affected to life-long disability. When one considers that 85% of the world's population lives in low to middle income countries, the global deleterious effect of hand trauma becomes apparent. This paper is a review of pertinent literature available on the provision and delivery of trauma care around the world. While specific reference to hand surgery care is sparse, we will infer trauma management in these countries, synthesised from available literature, to the provision of hand surgery care. We will also examine programs around the world that are implemented at an affordable cost to the respective countries.
Tracing quartz through the environment

Quartz, SiO2, a pure mineral with tight crystal structure, is widespread in rocks and soil. Cosmic rays produce10Be (t 1/2=1·5×106, yr) and26Al (t 1/2=7·05×105 yr) in quartz exposed at or near the earth’s surface. The use of accelerator mass spectrometry permits measurement of these nuclides in samples exposed at sea level for typical periods.In situ production makes interpretation relatively straightforward. Potential applications include age determination, measurement of erosion and deposition rates, and use as a tracer for continental weathering processes.
Quantitative pharmacokinetics of chemotherapy and PDT agents in vivo using elastic-scattering spectroscopy

We have developed an optical instrument and method for measuring in real time, and with sitespecificity, the concentrations of drugs or other compounds in tissue.
Impact of guideline implementation on transfusion practices in a surgical intensive care unit.

Background Anemia is a common clinical problem in cardiac surgery patients in the postoperative period and may result in transfusion in up to 90% of this population. There is tremendous variation in transfusion rates by hospital and individual physician. It is unknown if implementation of a clinical practice guideline lowers unnecessary transfusion in hospital practices that already have a restrictive transfusion culture . Objective To evaluate transfusion practice before and after implementation of a clinical practice guideline. Design Pre/post intervention study. Setting Sixteen bed surgical intensive care unit in an academic hospital. Participants Four hundred ninety-five adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Interventions Implementation of an anemia clinical practice guideline reinforced with education and retrospective audit/feedback. Measurements and Main Results A total of 252 pre-intervention and 243 postintervention cases were examined. Unnecessary transfusion occurred in 14.7% of pre-intervention patients and decreased to a rate of 8.1% after guideline implementation (p = 0.016). Conclusions This study suggests that clinical guideline implementation utilizing guideline development, education, and compliance audit/feedback may reduce unnecessary transfusion in cardiac surgery patients. A fully powered prospective trial would be necessary to validate these findings.
Does New York City really have as many rats as people

Jonathan Auerbach, winner of the YSS/Significance Young Statisticians Writing Competition, uses statistical methods to challenge an urban legend.
Loss of α7 Nicotinic Receptors Enhances β-Amyloid Oligomer Accumulation, Exacerbating Early-Stage Cognitive Decline and Septohippocampal Pathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Early Alzheimer's disease (AD) is marked by cholinergic hypofunction, neuronal marker loss, and decreased nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) density from the cortex and hippocampus. α7 nAChRs expressed on cholinergic projection neurons and target regions have been implicated in neuroprotection against β-amyloid (Aβ) toxicity and maintenance of the septohippocampal phenotype. We tested the role that α7 nAChRs perform in the etiology of early AD by genetically deleting the α7 nAChR subunit from the Tg2576 mouse model for AD and assessing animals for cognitive function and septohippocampal integrity. Thus, Tg2576 mice transgenic for mutant human amyloid precursor protein (APP) were crossed with α7 nAChR knock-out mice (A7KO) to render an animal with elevated Aβ in the absence of α7 nAChRs (A7KO–APP). We found that learning and memory deficits seen in 5-month-old APP mice are more severe in the A7KO–APP animals. Analyses of animals in early-stage preplaque cognitive decline revealed signs of neurodegeneration in A7KO–APP hippocampus as well as loss of cholinergic functionality in the basal forebrain and hippocampus. These changes occurred concomitant with the appearance of a dodecameric oligomer of Aβ that was absent from all other genotypic groups, generating the hypothesis that increased soluble oligomeric Aβ may underlie additional impairment of A7KO–APP cognitive function. Thus, α7 nAChRs in a mouse model for early-stage AD appear to serve a neuroprotective role through maintenance of the septohippocampal cholinergic phenotype and preservation of hippocampal integrity possibly through influences on Aβ accumulation and oligomerization.
Epithelial and mesothelial basement membranes in diabetic patients and dogs

The influence of diabetes on the thickness of basement membrane of the ciliary epithelium, lens epithelium, and corneal mesothelium (endothelium) was investigated post mortem in eyes from 27 human subjects and 30 dogs. Ten of the human subjects were diabetic, 10 were non-diabetic matched for age and sex, and seven were non-diabetic subjects who had been diagnosed as hypertensive 2–8 years before death. The dogs comprised three prospectively identified groups: 10 were alloxan diabetic for 5 years and kept in poor glucose control, 10 were alloxan diabetic for 5 years and kept in good glucose control, and 10 were non-diabetic animals. Basement membranes at the three sites measured appeared to be normal in the seven non-diabetic hypertensive subjects. Basement membrane of the ciliary epithelium was found to be significantly thicker than normal both in diabetic human subjects and in poorly controlled diabetic dogs. The thickness of the anterior lens capsule was significantly greater in poorly controlled diabetic dogs than in non-diabetic dogs, and showed a significant positive correlation with duration of diabetes in human subjects. Better glucose control in diabetic dogs resulted in significant inhibition of the epithelial basement membrane thickening. The basement membrane of the corneal mesothelium failed to thicken with diabetes both in human subjects and in animals.
Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of preoperative IABP in patients with ejection fraction of 0.25 or less.

Background. The purposes of this study are to determine whether patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction benefit from prophylactic insertion of an intraaortic balloon pump and to evaluate its coste-ffectiveness. Methods. Between January 1991 and December 1995, 163 consecutive patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 0.25 or less underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting. An intraaortic balloon pump was inserted before operation in 37 patients (group A). The remaining 126 patients underwent operation without preoperative insertion of the device (group B). Preoperatively, 91.9% (34/37) of group A patients and 54.8% (69/126) of group B patients were in New York Heart Association functional class III or IV ( p Results. The 30-day mortality rate was 2.7% (1/37) and 11.9% (15/126) for groups A and B, respectively ( p p = not significant). Conclusions. Our experience suggests that patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting may benefit from preoperative intraaortic balloon pump insertion, especially patients in functional class III or IV. This approach improved survival significantly, reduced hospital stay, and was more cost-effective.
Topographical and laminar localization of 2-deoxyglucose uptake in rat olfactory bulb induced by electrical stimulation of olfactory nerves

Experiments were carried out to examine the topographical projection of the olfactory nerves to the olfactory bulb in the rat, using the Sokoloff [14C]2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) technique. Electrical stimulation of a medially located bundle of olfactory nerves produced a discrete zone of 2-DG uptake at the rostral pole of the bulb. Increasing stimulus strength yielded a slightly larger focus at this site. In contrast, electrical stimulation of laterally situated bundles of olfactory nerves resulted in a broad zone of activity extending along the lateral wall of the bulb, and increasing stimulus intensity produced a more extensive area of uptake. Laminar analyses provided information on the relation between activity in the glomerular layer, where the olfactory nerves terminate, and activity in deeper layers. The results support previous studies of the topographical projections of the olfactory nerves to the olfactory bulb. They also support the hypothesis that odor-induced 2-DG uptake in the olfactory bulb represents activation of groups of receptors in the olfactory epithelium whose axons terminate in activated glomerular regions in the olfactory bulb.
Immunochemistry of an insect protease, cocoonase, and its zymogen.

Abstract Serum obtained after primary immunization of rabbits with the insect protease, cocoonase, showed reactions of only partial identity between cocoonase and its zymogen. This serum also revealed substantial cross-reactivity between cocoonase and phylogenetically distant serine proteases, including mammalian trypsin, chymotrypsin and elastase and bacterial subtilisin. Sera obtained from rabbits immunized with cocoonase zymogen showed reactions of partial identity between zymogen and active cocoonase, but failed to precipitate mammalian and bacterial proteases and their zymogens. Antibodies purified from either type of serum inhibited to varying degrees enzymatic activity of cocoonase and the other proteases. The enzyme inhibitors DFP, PMSF, and soybean trypsin inhibitor interfered significantly with immunoprecipitation of the proteases. During the course of immunization with cocoonase, major changes in antibody specificities were detected. The results have bearing on the nature of antigenic determinants in this enzyme-zymogen system, on possible evolutionary relationships of serine proteases, and on the nature of specific antibody changes during immunization.
t-kernel: a naturalizing OS kernel for low-power cost-effective computers

Low-power embedded systems traditionally employ a "thin" OS because of resource constraints, hardware variety, and cost efficiency. This results in two problems - First, the embedded system programmers are limited to professionals with sufficient knowledge on hardware; Second, it is much slower for progress in programming languages and software engineering to find their ways to the systems with embedded microcontrollers, which is 98% of the microprocessors market. When low-power embedded processors are used in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the thin OS approach, if followed, leads to another serious problem - The OS services cannot meet applications' ever-growing requirements. If these three problems are not solved, the transformation of the prosperous research on WSNs into a technology and market success has to be slow.
Pre-steady-state kinetic studies of the reductive dehalogenation catalyzed by tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase.

Tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase catalyzes two successive reductive dehalogenation reactions in the pathway for degradation of pentachlorophenol in the soil bacterium Sphingobium chlorophenolicum. We have used pre-steady-state kinetic methods to probe both the mechanism and the rates of elementary steps in the initial stages of the reductive dehalogenation reaction. Binding of trichlorohydroquinone (TriCHQ) to the active site is followed by rapid deprotonation to form TriCHQ-2 and subsequent formation of 3,5,6-trichloro-4-hydroxycyclohexa-2,4-dienone (TriCHQ*). Further conversion of TriCHQ* to 2,6-dichlorohydroquinone (DCHQ) proceeds only in the presence of glutathione. Conversion of TriCHQ to DCHQ during the first turnover is quite rapid, occurring at about 25 s-1 when the enzyme is saturated with TriCHQ and glutathione. The rate of subsequent turnovers is limited by the rate of the thiol−disulfide exchange reaction required to regenerate the free enzyme after turnover, a reaction that is intrinsical...
High-dose immune suppression and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in refractory pemphigus foliaceus

High-dose immune suppression and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in refractory pemphigus foliaceus
Development of the Conceptual Models for Chemical Conditions and Hydrology Used in the 1996 Performance Assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a US Department of Energy (DOE) facility for the permanent disposal of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations specify that the DOE must demonstrate on a sound basis that the WIPP disposal system will effectively contain long-lived alpha-emitting radionuclides within its boundaries for 10,000 years following closure. In 1996, the DOE submitted the ''40 CFR Part 191 Compliance Certification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant'' (CCA) to the EPA. The CCA proposed that the WIPP site complies with EPA's regulatory requirements. Contained within the CCA are descriptions of the scientific research conducted to characterize the properties of the WIPP site and the probabilistic performance assessment (PA) conducted to predict the containment properties of the WIPP disposal system. In May 1998, the EPA certified that the TRU waste disposal at the WIPP complies with its regulations. Waste disposal operations at WIPP commenced on March 28, 1999. The 1996 WIPP PA model of the disposal system included conceptual and mathematical representations of key hydrologic and geochemical processes. These key processes were identified over a 22-year period involving data collection, data interpretation, computer models, and sensitivity studies to evaluate the importance of uncertainty and of processes that were difficult to evaluate by other means. Key developments in the area of geochemistry were the evaluation of gas generation mechanisms in the repository; development of a model of chemical conditions in the repository and actinide concentrations in brine; selecting MgO backfill and demonstrating its effects experimentally; and determining the chemical retardation capability of the Culebra. Key developments in the area of hydrology were evacuating the potential for groundwater to dissolve the Salado Formation (the repository host formation), development of a regional model for hydrologic conditions, development of a stochastic, probabilistic representation of hydraulic properties in the Culebra Member of the Rustler Formation; characterization of physical transport in the Culebra, and the evaluation of brine and gas flow in the Salado. Additional confidence in the conceptual models used in the 1996 WIPP PA was gained through independent peer review in many stages of their development.
Progress Toward the Determination of Correct Classification Rates in Fire Debris Analysis

Principal components analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) were used to develop a multistep classification procedure for determining the presence of ignitable liquid residue in fire debris and assigning any ignitable liquid residue present into the classes defined under the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E 1618-10 standard method. A multistep classification procedure was tested by cross-validation based on model data sets comprised of the time-averaged mass spectra (also referred to as total ion spectra) of commercial ignitable liquids and pyrolysis products from common building materials and household furnishings (referred to simply as substrates). Fire debris samples from laboratory-scale and field test burns were also used to test the model. The optimal model's true-positive rate was 81.3% for cross-validation samples and 70.9% for fire debris samples. The false-positive rate was 9.9% for cross-validation samples and 8.9% for fire debris samples.
The reactive tyrosine residue of human serum albumin: Characterization of its reaction with diisopropylfluorophosphate

Abstract The rapid reaction of diisopropylfluorophosphate with a tyrosine residue of human serum albumin at 0.02 m ionic strength involves prior rapid reversible binding characterized by a dissociation constant of 3.6 × 10 −3 m and an apparent p K a of 8.3. The rapid reaction of p -nitrophenyl acetate with human serum albumin (G. E. Means and M. L. Bender, 1975, Biochemistry 14 , 4989–4994) appears to involve the same tyrosine residue and is thus stoichiometrically inhibited by prior reaction with diisopropylfluorophosphate. Both reactions are strongly inhibited by decanoate anion, strongly retarded at higher ionic strength, and reflect strong rapidly reversible binding and abnormally low tyrosine p K a values. This reactive tyrosine residue thus appears to be located in a primary binding site for small apolar anions and to be closely associated with several cationic groups.
Monitor placement for large-scale systems

System administrators employ network monitors, such as traffic analyzers, network intrusion prevention systems, and firewalls, to protect the network's hosts from remote adversaries. The problem is that vulnerabilities are caused primarily by errors in the host software and/or configuration, but modern hosts are too complex for system administrators to understand, limiting monitoring to known attacks. Researchers have proposed automated methods to compute network monitor placements, but these methods also fail to model attack paths within hosts and/or fail to scale beyond tens of hosts. In this paper, we propose a method to compute network monitor placements that leverages commonality in available access control policies across hosts to compute network monitor placement for large-scale systems. We introduce an equivalence property, called flow equivalence, which reduces the size of the placement problem to be proportional to the number of unique host configurations. This process enables us to solve mediation placement problems for thousands of hosts with access control policies containing of thousands of rules in seconds (less than 125 for a network of 9500 hosts). Our method enables administrators to place network monitors in large-scale networks automatically, leveraging the actual host configuration, to detect and prevent network-borne threats.
Irresolute Ravishers and the Sexual Economy of Chivalry in the Romantic Novel

Walter Scott9s Ivanhoe (1819) and James Fenimore Cooper9s The Last of the Mohicans (1826) attempt in divergent ways to deal with the contradictions attendant on the contemporary ideology of "chivalry." In these novels chivalry becomes inconsequential: the woman9s fate depends ultimately not on the intervention of a "knight" but on the irresolution of her would-be ravisher, who becomes paralyzed momentarily when he finds that the heroine is "resolved" to die rather than suffer abuse. Scott9s method of rescuing his heroine Rebecca is not reassuring: the villain Bois-Gilbert implausibly drops dead, killed by "the violence of his own contending passions." One reason that chivalry fails to protect women in these novels is that it is not disinterested (as Edmund Burke defined it), but rather dependent on sexual desire. The Last of the Mohicans, moreover, shows that not all evil men will be irresolute: when the Europeanized Indian Magua cannot bring himself to kill Cora Munro, one of his "savage" comrades stabs her instead. The impulse that impedes the unchivalrous Magua is, ironically, the sexual desire that undergirds chivalry, but Cora9s killer lacks even this desire. By showing that chivalry is powerless against men who are outside its sexual economy, The Last of the Mohicans renders moot Scott9s struggles in Ivanhoe over chivalry9s inconsistencies and contradictions.
Ingestion in the satiated rat: role of alpha and beta receptors in mediating effects of hypothalamic adrenergic stimulation.

Anterior perifornical hypothalamic injection of l-norepinephrine in satiated rats elicits a brief, vigorous drinking response followed within a minute or two by a vigorous feeding response. These adrenergically elicited responses, which bear striking similarities to a rat's naturally motivated ingestive behaviors, were examined in the present series of experiments. It was found that: (1) Both responses could be elicited by perifornical hypothalamic injection of l-epinephrine, which was actually found to be more potent than l-norepinephrine. In contrast, only feeding could be elicited by the alpha-stimulant metaraminol, and neither feeding nor drinking could be elicited by hypothalamic injection of d-norepinephrine, l-isoproterenol, or dopamine. (2) The threshold doses of l-epinephrine for eliciting reliable ingestive responses were quite low, namely, 0.8 nmole (0.15 μg) for drinking and 0.2 nmole (0.04 μg) for feeding. (3) Pharmacological analysis of the ingestive behaviors induced by l-norepinephrine or l-epinephrine indicated that the eating response was mediated by alpha-adrenergic receptors, whereas the drinking response involved the synergistic action of both alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors. No evidence for the involvement of dopaminergic or cholinergic (muscarinic) receptors was obtained. (4) A third adrenergically elicited phenomenon, namely, a suppression of drinking, was observed during and after the period of induced feeding. Analysis of this effect revealed its dependence solely upon alpha-adrenergic receptor activity.
Help, don't romanticize, the poor

Aneel Karnani suggests that current thinking about reducing poverty is based on an unrealistic view of the poor and inadequate expectations about how governments can best address the problem.
Assimilation and Contrast Effects in General/Specific Questions1

Data from five surveys that included specific and general questions on a similar topic are examined. Results suggest that when specific and general questions are paired in surveys, significant patterns will appear. In each of the five studies, correlations between pairs of questions were significantly different when the general followed the specific item compared with the general/specific order. But there was no consistent pattern of assimilation (answers to second item agree with the first) or contrast (response to second question opposite that of the first). One study showed clear evidence of assimilation; the other four showed varying degrees of contrast effects.
Probable maximum loss estimation in earthquakes: an application to welded steel moment frames

An approach to the evaluation of the damageability of buildings and the determination of probable maximum loss (PML) values is presented and applied to welded steel moment frame buildings. PML is defined as the loss that has a given (usually 10%) probability of exceedance in a specified number of years from earthquake ground shaking. A Markov Model developed is used in a Monte Carlo simulation to determine damage statistics, from which PML values are determined. Four sites within the Los Angeles area are considered, as are a range of building damageabilities from very low to very high. Specific assessments are made for welded steel moment frame buildings representative of the post-Northridge understanding of damageability. PML values are shown to be very sensitive to the probability of loss exceedance, the time period considered, the number of buildings in the portfolio, and the lower bounds of earthquake magnitude and ground motions considered. The number of buildings considered in the PML assessment is shown to be very important as a means of reducing PML values. The use of MMI ground motion characterization is assessed and found to be wanting. A comparison of PML results with other damageability measures (both average and 10% exceedance) for four sites, including different ground motions and earthquakes, and a maximum probable loss associated with the closest serious earthquake, indicates that these other measures are not good estimators of the full probabilistic PML that considers in a consistent manner both site ground motion and building performance uncertainty. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A mapping of spin matrices on polynomials

Abstract A mapping between spin matrices and polynomial functions is exhibited. Matrix multiplication is replaced by specific left-right differential operators. The procedure supplies the natural extension of the method of Wigner distributions to include spin.
ON A TECHNIQUE FOR STUDYING RELATIONSHIP TERMS

T HE fact that kinship terminology of an ethnic group has a real and very close correlation with the social organization is generally accepted. For this reason, the study of relationship terms has obvious importance to the understanding of social organizations. However, when comparing the terms of any two groups, the basic principles inherent in the two relationship systems are often obscured by linguistic differences. A simple device will reduce the difficulties materially and facilitate the anthropologist's task of comparison. I have employed this technique in studying Chinese kinship structure and have obtained gratifying results. The following is a summary of the technique and of the Chinese findings. Much has been written about Chinese relationship terms. The scholars who have applied their labor on this subject may be divided into two camps. Most of them, including Chen and Shryock, Feng and Wilkinson, concentrate on the terms as they are found in the literary language.2 Since the same literary language is used in all parts of China, the literary terms are the same everywhere. The other camp is chiefly represented by H. T. Fei, who has done excellent work but who has entirely ignored the literary terms. His main findings are that the terms used in the spoken language by Chinese of one part are often entirely different from those used by Chinese of another part.3 Anyone who is at all familiar with the differences in Chinese dialects will have no difficulty in appreciating the latter point. In fact, one of the most readily observable differences in various parts of the country is that of dialects. There are at least seven dialects among which the differences are considerable.4 The differences are so great that the seven dialects are mutually unintelligible. Such differences are, as a rule, reflected faithfully in kinship terminology. A glance over any two or more published local systems will leave no doubt whatsoever on this matter.6
Optical tuning behavior of Al0.25 Ga0.75 As/GaAs HBT oscillators with transparent ITO emitter contacts

Optical tuning experiments were performed on an Al0.25Ga0.75As/GaAs HBT oscillator operating at 6 GHz. The HBT was fabricated with a transparent emitter ohmic contact made of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) to allow light input through the top of the device. Under direct illumination of the base and base-collector depletion regions, optical tuning was observed with an increase in oscillation frequency of up to 25 MHz. The observed increase in frequency is attributed to a shift in resonance due to a decrease in the base-emitter junction capacitance of the HBT under optical illumination. This effect is verified using detailed device and circuit modeling techniques. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comparison of conjunctival and corneal surface areas in rabbit and human

This comparative study shows the surface area ratio of conjunctiva to cornea to be two times larger in humans than in rabbits. This large heretofore unrecognized interspecies difference may affect the applicability of drug pharmacokinetic data obtained using rabbit models and should be taken into consideration in topical drug development and future comparative drug penetration studies between rabbit and man.