cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Single-Day Low-Residue Diet Prior to Colonoscopy Demonstrates Improved Bowel Preparation Quality and Patient Tolerance over Clear Liquid Diet: A Randomized, Single-Blinded, Dual-Center Trial

Patients often refer to bowel preparation and associated dietary restrictions as the greatest deterrents to having a colonoscopy completed or performed. Large studies comparing a low-residue diet (LRD) and a clear liquid diet (CLD) are still limited. The aim of this study is to compare LRD and CLD with regard to bowel preparation quality, tolerance, and satisfaction among a diverse patient population. This study is a dual-center, randomized, single-blinded, prospective trial involving adult patients undergoing outpatient colonoscopy at the University of California Irvine Medical Center and an affiliated Veterans Administration hospital. Patients were randomized to consume either a CLD or a planned LRD for the full day prior to colonoscopy. Both groups consumed 4L split-dosed PEG-ELS. The adequacy of bowel preparation was evaluated using the Boston Bowel Preparation Score (BBPS). Adequate preparation was defined as a BBPS ≥ 6 with no individual segment less than a score of 2. Hunger and fatigue pre - and post-procedure were graded on a ten-point scale. Nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal cramping, overall discomfort, satisfaction with the diet, willingness to repeat the same preparation and overall experience were assessed. A total of 195 subjects who underwent colonoscopy from October 2014 to October 2017 were included. The mean BBPS for the LRD and CLD groups was 8.38 and 7.93, respectively (p = 0.1). There was a significantly higher number of adequate preparations in the LRD group compared to CLD (p = 0.05). Evening hunger scores just before starting the bowel preparation were significantly lower in the LRD than the CLD group, 2.81 versus 5.97, respectively (p = 0.006). Subjects in the LRD group showed significantly less nausea (p = 0.047) and bloating (p = 0.04). Symptom scores for vomiting, abdominal cramping, and overall discomfort were similar between the groups. Satisfaction with diet was significantly higher in the LRD group than CLD, 72% versus 37.66%, respectively (p < 0.001). The overall colonoscopy experience and the satisfaction with the preparation itself were also better reported in the LRD group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). This study, which included a diverse group of patients, demonstrated that patients using a LRD before colonoscopy achieve a bowel preparation quality that is superior to patients on a CLD restriction. This study shows that a low-residue diet improves patient satisfaction and results in significantly better tolerability of bowel preparation. As a less restrictive dietary regimen, the low-residue diet may help improve patient participation in colorectal cancer screening programs.
Electro-oxidation of Formaldehyde at Sol-Gel Derived Metal Dispersed Carbon Composites

A Summary Report to The Electrochemical Society for the 1997 Colin Garfield Fink Summer Research Fellowship.
Success of Serial Office Resection in Severe Asherman's Syndrome

Study Objective Demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of serial office hysteroscopic lysis of adhesions for a severe case of Asherman's Syndrome. Design Video. Setting Outpatient gynecologic clinic. Patients or Participants 38-year-old G1P1001 diagnosed with Asherman's Syndrome after a vaginal delivery followed by a postpartum hemorrhage requiring a D&C and Bakri balloon placement. She is amenorrheic and desires future fertility. Interventions The patient had three office visits for lysis of adhesions with a rigid hysteroscope and semi-rigid scissors. The first office hysteroscopy had a duration of 21 minutes, the second office hysteroscopy had a duration of 4 minutes, and on the third visit, no recurrent intrauterine adhesions were seen and no further resection was necessary. She was pre-treated with ibuprofen prior to the procedure and tolerated the intervention well. The patient took 1mg estradiol PO BID during the treatment course. Measurements and Main Results The patient's intrauterine adhesions were completely resolved by the end of the hysteroscopy series. She tolerated all the office procedures well with minimal medication for pain control. We believe our vaginoscopy technique for office hysteroscopy procedures leads to minimal pain. Additionally, we demonstrate the necessary components and benefits of a sustainable office hysteroscopy practice. Conclusion Serial hysteroscopic resection in the office for severe Asherman's Syndrome is safe, effective, and well-tolerated by patients.
Earth's Response to a Variable Sun

Solar radiation reaching Earth is not constant but rather varies with time because of cyclical changes in the sun's activity. In their Perspective, [Lean and Rind][1] discuss the emerging evidence that this variability, albeit small, is translated into climatic variability on Earth. This issue is important because the solar variability signal must be distinguished from the anthropogenic signal to understand the human influence on climatic change. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5515/234
Survivable Network Design: The State of the Art

In the past few years the telecommunications industry has undergone significant changes. We are rapidly evolving to a state where audio/visual and data traffic is all provided on the same networks. Telecommunication companies are investing billions of dollars in the design and maintenance of telecommunication networks to provide the users with the better quality of service that they have begun to expect. Due to their high capacity, fiber optic cables have become the medium of choice in the deployment of such new networks worldwide. Such high capacities encourage telecommunication providers to create networks that are substantially more sparse than previous copper based networks. Unfortunately, with sparsity comes vulnerability to failure. Given the dependence on the varied services offered by the modern networks, the magnitudes of the investments involved and the costs of disasters it is only logical that researchers look at problems in survivable network design as an interesting research question. There have been a number of papers that have addressed these and other related issues. In this paper we try to classify the area of survivable network design and provide a classification scheme for the same.
Different fixational eye movements mediate the prevention and the reversal of visual fading

Fixational eye movements (FEMs; including microsaccades, drift and tremor) are thought to improve visibility during fixation by thwarting neural adaptation to unchanging stimuli, but how the different FEM types influence this process is a matter of debate. Attempts to answer this question have been hampered by the failure to distinguish between the prevention of fading (where fading is blocked before it happens in the first place) and the reversal of fading (where vision is restored after fading has already occurred). Because fading during fixation is a detriment to clear vision, the prevention of fading, which avoids visual degradation before it happens, is a more desirable scenario than improving visibility after fading has occurred. Yet previous studies have not examined the role of FEMs in the prevention of fading, but have focused on visual restoration instead. Here we set out to determine the differential contributions and efficacies of microsaccades and drift to preventing fading in human vision. Our results indicate that both microsaccades and drift mediate the prevention of visual fading. We also found that drift is a potentially larger contributor to preventing fading than microsaccades, although microsaccades are more effective than drift. Microsaccades moreover prevented foveal and peripheral fading in an equivalent fashion, and their efficacy was independent of their size, number, and direction. Our data also suggest that faster drift may prevent fading better than slower drift. These findings may help to reconcile the long-standing controversy concerning the comparative roles of microsaccades and drift in visibility during fixation.
Strategic Planning for Sustaining User-Generated Content in Digital Collections

Experimentation and exploration are hallmarks of innovative libraries, but as experiments become on-going projects and investigations become long-term commitments, it is important to gain perspective on how the roles of librarians, archivists, and information professionals are changing. Â As social computing becomes routine for computer users, libraries of all types are responding to these new expectations by building interactive communication features into their on-line collections. Social features and user-generated content raise several compelling issues as organizations strive to balance agile adaptation to the ever-evolving user environment with the realities of limited staff resources and greater administrative expectations. This paper examines the challenges inherent in efficiently managing social media and user-generated content and discusses the various stakeholders involved in managing the increased day-to-day work these initiatives create. Several strategies are suggested to help develop an flexible and supportive organizational framework that can effectively sustain and deliver on the promise of social computing .
THE PATHOGENESIS OF STRANGULATION OBSTRUCTION. EFFECT OF HEMOGLOBIN ON BACTERICIDAL CAPACITY OF HUMAN LEUKOCYTES.

Summary Hemoglobin in concentrations of 2%, 4% and 6% did not interfere with the bactericidal capacity of human neutrophil polymorphonuclear leucocytes against Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus albus when tested in vitro.
Puppet Life and Death Education.

(1978). Puppet Life and Death Education. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 51, No. 9, pp. 458-459.
A study on content and management style of corporate blogs

Corporate blogs are used by companies to talk with customers. We did a study into 262 blog entries in 9 corporate blogs. The study revealed three corporate blog content types; three corporate blog management styles, and relatively shorter blog length and lower update frequency.
Loneliness, friendship quality and the social networks of adolescents with high‐functioning autism in an inclusive school setting

By definition, children with autism have poor peer relationships despite age and ability. When children enter adolescence, social problems typically worsen and feelings of loneliness and isolation may emerge. Thus, the overarching goal of the current study is to examine the social–emotional relationships of adolescents with autism and their typically developing (TD) classmates. Participants included 20 adolescents, 7 adolescents with autism and 13 TD classmates. All participants were enrolled in a drama class at a regular education high school in the Los Angeles area. Results indicate that adolescents with autism experienced significantly more loneliness than their TD classmates, had significantly poorer friendship quality in companionship and helpfulness, and had significantly lower social network status than their TD classmates. In addition, 92.4% of TD adolescents had secondary or nuclear social network centrality, which means that those adolescents were significantly connected and recognised in their classroom social structure although 71.4% of the adolescents with autism were either isolated or peripheral in their classroom. These findings imply that although inclusion in regular classrooms may allow adolescents with autism to be involved in the social structure of their classroom, they experienced more loneliness, poorer friendship quality and social network status as compared with their classmates. These results suggest that, perhaps, more intensive social skills' interventions that focus on friendship development are needed in adolescents with autism.
Thematic Analysis of Teacher Instructional Practices and Student Responses in Middle School Classrooms with Problem-Based Learning Environment.

Problem-based learning (PBL) environment is a student-centered instructional method based on the use of ill-structured problems as a stimulus for collaborative learning. This study tried to gain an understanding of teachersΓCO instructional practices and studentsΓCO responses to such practices in middle school classrooms with PBL environment through qualitative analyses. A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive thematic analyses was employed and applied to field notes and transcripts of video observations of four PBL classrooms. To do so, a codebook was created based on the descriptions of roles of teachers and students in PBL classrooms in literature, and was then applied to inductive codes that emerged from the data. This study identified a number of specific instructional practices of teachers, as well as responses that students might engage in during PBL instructions. Being able to articulate these roles is an important step in helping new PBL teachers learn to facilitate student-centered classrooms.
Xenografting and harvesting human ductal pancreatic adenocarcinomas for DNA analysis.

Abstract Xenotransplantation (xenografting) of primary cancers or cancer cell lines into immunodeficient mice is a commonly used technique to assess tumor growth in response to a variety of experimental agents. When primary pancreatic cancers are xenografted, cancer cells proliferate in the mouse, but the human stroma does not. This growth pattern enables facile genetic analysis of cancer genetics profiles without the contamination of admixed stromal cells typical of primary cancers.
Outcomes of Children and Adolescents with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder

Children and adolescents with severe conduct problems, such as those diagnosed with conduct disorders (CD), by definition have significant impairments in their social, emotional, and educational functioning (Frick & O’Brien, 1995; Lahey et al., 1994). In addition, their behavior is highly costly to society (e.g., costs of incarceration) and to the victims of their antisocial and aggressive acts. Perhaps the greatest cause for concern for children and adolescents with CD, however, is the fact that their behavior is often quite stable and persistent. In fact, it is one of the most persistent forms of childhood psychopathology (Offord et al., 1992). Given the impairment, cost, and stability of CD, it is not surprising that a great deal of research has focused on understanding the developmental course of youth with this disorder.
Integral Role of PTP1B in Adiponectin-Mediated Inhibition of Oncogenic Actions of Leptin in Breast Carcinogenesis

Abstract The molecular effects of obesity are mediated by alterations in the levels of adipocytokines. High leptin level associated with obese state is a major cause of breast cancer progression and metastasis, whereas adiponectin is considered a "guardian angel adipocytokine" for its protective role against various obesity-related pathogenesis including breast cancer. In the present study, investigating the role of adiponectin as a potential inhibitor of leptin, we show that adiponectin treatment inhibits leptin-induced clonogenicity and anchorage-independent growth. Leptin-stimulated migration and invasion of breast cancer cells is also effectively inhibited by adiponectin. Analyses of the underlying molecular mechanisms reveal that adiponectin suppresses activation of two canonical signaling molecules of leptin signaling axis: extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt. Pretreatment of breast cancer cells with adiponectin protects against leptin-induced activation of ERK and Akt. Adiponectin increases expression and activity of the physiological inhibitor of leptin signaling, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), which is found to be integral to leptin-antagonist function of adiponectin. Inhibition of PTP1B blocks adiponectin-mediated inhibition of leptin-induced breast cancer growth. Our in vivo studies show that adenovirus-mediated adiponectin treatment substantially reduces leptin-induced mammary tumorigenesis in nude mice. Exploring therapeutic strategies, we demonstrate that treatment of breast cancer cells with rosiglitazone results in increased adiponectin expression and inhibition of migration and invasion. Rosiglitazone treatment also inhibits leptin-induced growth of breast cancer cells. Taken together, these data show that adiponectin treatment can inhibit the oncogenic actions of leptin through blocking its downstream signaling molecules and raising adiponectin levels could be a rational therapeutic strategy for breast carcinoma in obese patients with high leptin levels.
Small bowel transplantation induces adrenergic hypersensitivity in ileal longitudinal smooth muscle in rats

Our aim was to determine the effects of small bowel transplantation on contractility of longitudinal muscle in the rat ileum. Full-thickness longitudinal muscle strips from four groups of rats (naive controls, sham-operated controls, and 1 week and 8 weeks after syngeneic orthotopic small bowel transplantation) were studied in vitro. Neither baseline contractility nor response to neural blockade (tetrodotoxin) or adrenergic/cholinergic blockade differed among the groups. Although the dose response to the cholinergic agonist bethanechol and to nitric oxide did not differ among groups, the ED50 (negative log of concentration giving half-maximal effect) for the adrenergic agonist norepinephrine was increased 1 week and 8 weeks after transplantation, indicating a hypersensitivity response not blocked by tetrodotoxin. Nonadrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory responses to electrical field stimulation were of greater amplitude and occurred at lesser frequencies (≤5 Hz) 1 week after small bowel transplantation, but returned to control values 8 weeks postoperatively. These inhibitory responses were blocked by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NMMA but not by methylene blue, a nonspecific inhibitor of guanylate cyclase. Small bowel transplantation induces a persistent adrenergic denervation hypersensitivity at the muscle and appears to upregulate, at least transiently, other inhibitory mechanisms mediated by neural release of nitric oxide. Small bowel transplantation does not alter muscle response to cholinergic pathways. These alterations in smooth muscle contractility may affect gut function early after clinical small bowel transplantation.
The impact of salary dispersion and performance bonuses in NFL organizations

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the effects of both salary dispersion and incentive pay on team performance using data complied from the National Football League over the years 2000‐2007.Design/methodology/approach – The authors consider the effect of pay structure on both in terms of on‐field and financial performance. Salary disparity and its subsequent consequences has been a topic of economic research on corporate pay structure and also professional team sport organizations. Analysis of pay structures incorporating the effects of incentive pay on performance is also recurrent in the literature. The paper uses regression analysis and incorporates both fixed and random effects models.Findings – A relationship between improved on‐field performance and increased payroll, lower levels of salary dispersion, and increased incentive payments is found. However, when employing team revenue production as the measure of performance, a positive relationship with salary dispersion is found.Research limitation...
Cooperation to Secure Nuclear Stockpiles: A Case of Constrained Innovation

thousands of nuclear weapons, and enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium to make tens of thousands more, out of hostile hands. In this crisis, small groups of policy entrepreneurs launched major innovations to spur the nuclear complexes of the former rival superpowers to pursue their common interest in securing and dismantling nuclear stockpiles. Billions of dollars have now been spent pursuing these efforts, thousands of bombs’ worth of nuclear materials have been permanently destroyed, and security both for thousands of nuclear weapons and for enough nuclear material for tens of thousands more has been substantially improved. But as the Soviet collapse has receded into the past, the initial innovations have been increasingly constrained by cautious bureaucracies, continuing secrecy and mistrust, and festering political obstacles and disputes. Programs once conceived as free-wheeling, short-term crisis responses have shifted toward “business as usual” approaches—more systematized and sustainable, but far slower and less flexible. Yet the danger remains very real. Al Qaida and the jihadist network it helped to spawn have repeatedly attempted to purchase stolen nuclear material and to recruit nuclear expertise; indeed, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri met at length with two senior Pakistani nuclear scientists to discuss nuclear weapons. Government studies have repeatedly concluded that a technically capable terrorist group could plausibly make at least a crude nuclear bomb if it procures HEU or separated plutonium. The essential ingredients of nuclear weapons are stored in hundreds of buildings in more than 40 countries—some very well secured, and some with little more than a night watchman and a chain-link fence. The danger of nuclear theft is Matthew Bunn
A Conserved Tryptophan in Nitric Oxide Synthase Regulates Heme−Dioxy Reduction by Tetrahydrobiopterin†

In nitric oxide synthase (NOS), (6R)-tetrahydrobiopterin (H(4)B) binds near the heme and can reduce a heme-dioxygen intermediate (Fe(II)O(2)) during Arg hydroxylation [Wei, C.-C., Wang, Z.-Q., Wang, Q., Meade, A. L., Hemann, C., Hille, R., and Stuehr, D. J. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 315-319]. A conserved Trp engages in aromatic stacking with H(4)B, and its mutation inhibits NO synthesis. To examine how this W457 impacts H(4)B redox function, we performed single turnover reactions with the mouse inducible NOS oxygenase domain (iNOSoxy) mutants W457F and W457A. Ferrous mutants containing Arg and H(4)B were mixed with O(2)-containing buffer, and then heme spectral transitions, H(4)B radical formation, and Arg hydroxylation were followed versus time. A heme Fe(II)O(2) intermediate was observed in W457A and W457F and had normal spectral characteristics. However, its disappearance rate (6.5 s(-1) in W457F and 3.0 s(-1) in W457A) was slower than in wild-type (12.5 s(-1)). Rates of H(4)B radical formation (7.1 s(-1) in W457F and 2.7 s(-1) in W457A) matched their rates of Fe(II)O(2) disappearance, but were slower than radical formation in wild-type (13 s(-1)). The extent of H(4)B radical formation in the mutants was similar to wild-type, but their radical decayed 2-4 times faster. These kinetic changes correlated with slower and less extensive Arg hydroxylation by the mutants (wild-type > W457F > W457A). We conclude that W457 ensures a correct tempo of electron transfer from H(4)B to heme Fe(II)O(2), possibly by stabilizing the H(4)B radical. Proper control of these parameters may help maximize Arg hydroxylation and minimize uncoupled O(2) activation at the heme.
Taxonomy of the Neotoma Albigula-Grow of Woodrats in Central Mexico

Study of specimens collected from critical localities since 1944 reveals that: Neotoma montezumae and N. leucodon zacatecae are indistinguishable from earlier named taxa; N. latifrons is a subspecies of an earlier named taxon; and N. palatina, previously known from only one specimen and thought by some mammalogists to be merely an aberrant individual of Neotoma albigula, is a species distinct from N. albigula as Goldman tentatively decided when he named it 64 years ago. In the narial passage, the partition formed by the vomer that extends well behind the hard palate as a swordlike projection is present in all specimens of N. palatina, but the projection is not present in N. albigula.
Taking studio-based learning online (abstract only)

Studio-based learning (SBL), the centerpiece of architecture and fine arts education for over a century, has become increasingly attractive to computing educators. SBL can be conceptualized as an iterative process of solution refinement that relies heavily on shared physical space and design critiques. This session will explore ways in which CS educators can transition aspects of traditional or face-to-face SBL to an online learning environment. We will discuss the potential for online studios, how they might look and function, and how their effectiveness in promoting student learning might be gauged. As more and more CS courses assume an online presence, we seek to understand both the opportunities and the limitations associated with conducting critical studio work in a digital medium.
Maize-Beer, Gossip, and Slander: Female Tavern Proprietors and Urban, Ethnic Cultural Elaboration in Bolivia, 1870–1930

This article analyzes the ways in which chicheras, or sellers of maize beer, integrated themselves into urban chola (mixed ethnic identity) neighborhoods in Sucre, Bolivia in the years 1870—1930, the years in which Bolivia urbanized, modernized, and formed a national identity. The article utilizes one of the only sources available where one can find the actual words of early twentieth-century cholas and chicheras, slander suits. Chicheras, more than any other cholas, became involved in the numerous slander suits that took place in the local courts in Sucre. Chiceras' ambivalent social positions put them into the court system more often than any other group of cholas. In the legal cases it became particularly evident that chiceras controlled important social aspects of the neighborhoods because of the kinds of vocabulary that they used in their interactions not only with other cholas, but with elites as well. They were the people most frequently involved in legal suits because in their roles as proprietors of chicherias they were central to neighborhood gossip and politics and they wielded that centrality into a kind of power that integrated them into the neighborhoods and cemented their positions as leaders. Their story provides one of the best examples of cultural miscegenation available for the national period in Bolivian history.
ELECTRONIC LITHOTRIPSY FOR VESICAL CALCULUS WITH “URAT‐1”

SUMMARY Electronic lithotripsy has been briefly described. Some practical observations on the technique of crushing vesical calculi have been made. Our first 100 cases and results have been discussed. Experimental work in connection with crushing calculi in the upper urinary tract has been described.
The Heteronomy of Modern Jewish Philosophy

Abstract Proceeding from Jewish philosophy’s origins in the convergence and divergence of Greek and Jewish thought and the resulting possibilities of construing Judaism and philosophy as heterogeneous or homogeneous, and ranging across the three major “ages” or linguistic matrices of Jewish philosophizing (Hellenistic, Judeo-Arabic, and Germanic), the essay describes Jewish philosophy as an unresolvable entanglement in a dialectic of heteronomy and autonomy.
Metabolism of phosphoramidates. I. Enzymic hydrolysis and transfer reactions.

Abstract Extracts of Escherichia coli grown on succinate salts medium contain at least two phosphoramidases which can be largely separated by ammonium sulfate fractionation. Phosphoramidase-I has been purified about 110-fold and shows maximal activity at pH 5.1. This enzyme shows no metal or other cofactor requirements. Phosphoramidase-II shows maximal activity at pH 7.5 and also requires Mg2+ ions and a sulfhydryl compound for maximal activity. In addition to the hydrolytic activities, an enzymic phosphoryl transfer from phosphoramidate to glucose was shown.
Utility of obtaining blood cultures in febrile neutropenic patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation

Infection remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality after bone marrow or stem cell transplantation. To evaluate the role of obtaining blood cultures for intermittent or persistent fever in neutropenic patients on antibiotic therapy, we performed a retrospective chart review of 196 consecutive patients admitted to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the University of North Carolina Hospitals from 1995 to 1998. From the cohort of 196 patients, 154 patients developed neutropenic fever. The initial blood culture was positive in 16 of 145 patients during the first fever episode giving a prevalence of 11%. From the total of 109 patients that had blood cultures drawn after day 1 of fever, five patients had blood cultures positive for a pathogen, a prevalence of 4.6%. In only one patient, did blood cultures drawn after day 1 identify an organism not present on day 1 (prevalence 0.9%). After reviewing the results in the first 105 patients, we changed our timing of collection of blood cultures. Forty-nine patients were treated in this manner and we found that the mean number of blood cultures decreased from 9.2 to 4.7 per patient without a change in the frequency of infectious complications or length of hospitalization.
Fast growth of 3He-B into supercooled 3He-A

We report results of an investigation of the growth of 3He-B into supercooled, magnetized 3He-A. The B-phase growth was observed magnetically, with the difference between A- and B-phase susceptibilities generating signals in SQUID magnetometers. The form of the magnetization signal associated with the moving interface evolved radically with increased supercooling, indicating that the rapidly moving interface is no longer a simple boundary between equilibrium B phase and metastable equilibrated A phase. Magnetization changes were observed to travel through the superfluid as fast as 800 cm/s. Several features of the measurements can be explained by a model based on magnetization transport by a critical-velocity-limited spin super current. Other features of the data remain unexplained.
Rational Design of Bioactive, Modularly Assembled Aminoglycosides Targeting the RNA that Causes Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is caused when an expanded r(CUG) repeat (r(CUG)exp) binds the RNA splicing regulator muscleblind-like 1 protein (MBNL1) as well as other proteins. Previously, we reported that modularly assembled small molecules displaying a 6′-N-5-hexynoate kanamycin A RNA-binding module (K) on a peptoid backbone potently inhibit the binding of MBNL1 to r(CUG)exp. However, these parent compounds are not appreciably active in cell-based models of DM1. The lack of potency was traced to suboptimal cellular permeability and localization. To improve these properties, second-generation compounds that are conjugated to a d-Arg9 molecular transporter were synthesized. These modified compounds enter cells in higher concentrations than the parent compounds and are efficacious in cell-based DM1 model systems at low micromolar concentrations. In particular, they improve three defects that are the hallmarks of DM1: a translational defect due to nuclear retention of transcripts containing r(CUG)exp; pr...
Acoustic-radiation stress in solids. II. Experiment

The first direct experimental evidence for the radiation-stress-induced static strain or displacement associated with the propagation of acoustic waves in solids is reported. Ultrasonic tonebursts launched into samples of single-crystal silicon along the [110] direction and vitreous silica (Suprasil W1) are seen to generate static displacement pulses having the shape of a right-angled triangle. This shape is in agreement with acoustic-radiation-stress theory which also predicts that the slope of the static displacement pulse depends directly on the magnitude and sign of the acoustic nonlinearity parameter of the solid. For silicon the nonlinearity parameter is positive and is seen to give rise to a dilative pulse, while for vitreous silica the nonlinearity parameter is negative and produces a contractive pulse as predicted. Calculations of the acoustic nonlinearity parameters from absolute measurements of the slope of the static displacement pulse and the amplitude of the ultrasonic toneburst yield the values 5.4 for silicon along the [110] direction and --- 12.7 for Suprasil W1. These values are in good agreement with those determined independently from ultrasonic harmonic-generation methods.
Nonlinear Auto-Oscillator Theory of Microwave Generation by Spin-Polarized Current

This paper formulates a general analytic approach to the theory of microwave generation in magnetic nano-structures driven by spin-polarized current and reviews analytic results obtained in this theory. The proposed approach is based on the universal model of an auto-oscillator with negative damping and nonlinear frequency shift. It is demonstrated that this universal model, when applied to the case of a spin-torque oscillator (STO) based on a current-driven magnetic nano-pillar or nano-contact, gives adequate description of most of the experimentally observed properties of STO. In particular, the model describes the power and frequency of the generated microwave signal as functions of the bias current and magnetic field, predicts the magnitude and properties of the generation linewidth, and explains the STO behavior under the influence of periodic and stochastic external signals: frequency modulation, phase-locking to external signals, mutual phase-locking in an array of STO, broadening of the generation linewidth near the generation threshold, etc. The proposed nonlinear auto-oscillator theory is rather general and can be used not only for the development of practical nano-sized STO, but, also, for the description of nonlinear auto-oscillating systems of any physical nature.
Use of compatibility linkages and solution structures in the dimensional synthesis of mechanism components

A proposed general method for constructing compatibility linkages for the dimensional synthesis of planar mechanism components is presented. These components include a single link, a dyad, a triad, and a quadriad for up to the maximum number of precision positions and are derived here for components having one of its links with unknown angular displacements. Also included are derived formulas for calculating number of degrees of freedom and number of links of the respective compatibility linkages. Bernshtein formula is introduced for the computation of number of possible solutions. The concept of solution structure and the solution procedure are also introduced to assist the application of compatibility linkages in solving dimensional synthesis problems and an example is given to demonstrate different solution positions of a compatibility linkage.
Synthesis and characterization of TiL2 complexes with tridentate (ONO) (S)-NOBIN Schiff-base ligands

Abstract Tridentate (ONO) C1-symmetric Schiff base ligands were synthesized by the condensation of (S)-2-amino-2′-hydroxy-1,1′-binaphthyalene with 4-hydroxy-3-phenanthrenecarboxaldehyde or 1-hydroxybenz[a]anthracene-2-carboxaldehyde. C2-symmetric titanium(IV) Schiff base complexes, TiL2, were synthesized and characterized with these ligands. The complex with the benz[a]anthryl unit crystallizes in a facial coordination mode, OC-6-1′3′-C, whereas complex with phenanthryl unit crystallizes in a meridional mode, OC-6-22′-A. A comparison between the complexes and the ligands were done in solution using circular dichroism spectroscopy. Preliminary catalytic studies showed that these complexes can catalyze asymmetric carbonyl-ene addition reactions of 2-methoxypropene with aromatic aldehydes with moderate selectivity. The ligands and complexes were characterized by NMR, HRMS, single crystal X-ray diffraction and CD spectroscopy.
Cytokine traps: multi-component, high-affinity blockers of cytokine action

Cytokines can initiate and perpetuate human diseases, and are among the best-validated of therapeutic targets. Cytokines can be blocked by the use of soluble receptors; however, the use of this approach for cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-13 that use multi-component receptor systems is limited because monomeric soluble receptors generally exhibit low affinity or function as agonists. We describe here a generally applicable method to create very high-affinity blockers called 'cytokine traps' consisting of fusions between the constant region of IgG and the extracellular domains of two distinct cytokine receptor components involved in binding the cytokine. Traps potently block cytokines in vitro and in vivo and represent a substantial advance in creating novel therapeutic candidates for cytokine-driven diseases.
P763Ovariectomy increases epinephrine-induced mortality in a rat takotsubo cardiomyopathy model: the effects of estrogen supplementation

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) is an acute heart failure syndrome that can occur after a period of intense emotional stress, characterised by a hypokinetic apex and a hyperkinetic base. We have previously shown that a single IV injection of epinephrine can recapitulate the syndrome in male rats. As TCM usually occurs in post-menopausal females we gave the same epinephrine dose to normal female and ovariectomised (OVX) rats with or without short or long-term (2 weeks) estrogen replacement. Methods: OVX rats were anaesthetised with 2% isoflurane in 100% O2 and a parasternal long-axis echocardiograph was acquired. For short-term estrogen treatment, 600ng 17β-estradiol was infused IV 5 minutes before epinephrine injection (4.3x10-8mol.100g-1). For 2-week replacement, osmotic minipumps were implanted containing 17β-estradiol (238μg.day-1) in 50:50 glycerol:DMSO. Fractional shortening was measured before and at 5 minute intervals after epinephrine using M-mode images from the apex and base of the left ventricle. QTc was calculated using the LabChart 7 ECG Analysis Module from a Lead II ECG. Results: Compared to males, female non-OVX rats had reduced mortality and did not exhibit TCM-like contraction patterns when given the same epinephrine bolus (6.25% vs. 46% mortality; P<0.01). OVX rats showed increased mortality compared to non-OVX females (75% vs. 6.25%; P<0.001, n=12-16); death was typically due to VF. Two-week E2 supplementation (n=10) reduced mortality compared to OVX (no minipump) (10% vs. 75% mortality; P=0.007). Vehicle minipump (n=10) had a similar but non-significant trend to reduce mortality (40% vs. 75%; P=0.38) with the result that E2 vs. vehicle was not significantly different (P=0.30, n=10). Acute estrogen supplementation did not significantly reduce mortality (75% vs. 50%; P=0.4, n=12 per group). Vehicle and E2 minipump groups had significantly (P<0.0001 and P<0.01, respectively) shorter QTc intervals compared to OVX (no minipump) (OVX=200±2.36ms, n=12; E2=158±8.86ms, n=11; Vehicle=173±4.61 ms, n=11). The difference in QTc interval between E2 and vehicle groups was not significant. Conclusion: Female rats are protected from epinephrine-induced sudden death. Loss of ovarian function predisposes rats to epinephrine-mediated death; acute estrogen infusion did not reverse this but 2 week E2 treatment did. There appeared to be an interacting effect of the DMSO vehicle on this reduction, as well as the decrease in QTc interval: we suggest this may be a result of its effect to reduce ROS.
Control of the Tennessee Eastman process using input-output models

Abstract This paper presents a case-study where model predictive control is applied to control a nonlinear, open-loop unstable process called the Tennessee Eastman Challenge Process. Both the base case and transitions between different operating points are considered. The control scheme is based on an input-output model identified from plant data. The Model Predictive Controller (MPC) controller acts as a supervisory controller that dictates the setpoints for a lower level PID loop structure. Simulations are presented to illustrate its effectiveness or disturbance rejection and setpoint tracking.
Using distributed genetic algorithms in three-dimensional bin packing for rapid prototyping machines

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are excellent approaches to solving complex problems in optimization with difficultconstraints. and in high state space dimensionality problems. The classic bin-packing optimization problem has beenshown to be a NP-complete problem. There are GA applications to variations of the bin-packing problem for stock cutting,vehicle loading, air container loading, scheduling, and the knapsack problem. Mostly, these are based on a one-dimensional or two-dimensional considerations. Ikonen et. al.' have developed a GA for rapid prototyping called GARP,which utilizes a three-dimensional chromosome structure for the bin-packing of the Sinterstation 2000's build cylinder.GARP allows the Sinterstation to be used more productively. The GARP application was developed for a single CPUmachine. Anticipating greater use of time compression technologies, this paper examines the framework necessary toreduce GARP's execution time. This framework is necessary to speed-up the bin-packing evaluation, by the use ofdistributed or parallel GAs. In this paper. a framework for distribution techniques to improve the efficiency of GARP, andto improve the quality of GARPIs solutions is proposed.Keywords: genetic-algorithm. distributed-computing. distributed-genetic-algorithms, three-dimensional bin-packing,rapid-prototyping.
The interrelationships between sodium ion, calcium transport and oxygen utilization in the isolated chick chorioallantoic membrane

The interrelationships between sodium ion, calcium transport and oxygen utilization have been investigated in the chick chorioallantoic membrane. The oxygen uptakes of the two surface layers of the tissue, the ectoderm and the endoderm, were separated into their basal, Na+ dependent and Ca++ dependent components. The endoderm has a basal rate of respiration of 3.6 μliters O2/cm2/hr and a Na+ dependent component of 1.4 μliters O2/cm2/hr. The ectoderm has a basal rate of respiration of about 3.5 μliters O2/cm2/hr, and Na+ and Ca++ dependent components of 1.1 and 3.6 μliters O2/cm2/hr, respectively. The rate of ectodermal calcium transport and calcium-stimulated oxygen uptake is strictly dependent on the presence of sodium in the bathing medium, and complex kinetics are observed as a function of sodium concentration. On the other hand, in 140mm Na+ the rate of calcium transport exhibits simple saturation kinetics as a function of calcium concentration. Ca++/O2 ratios determined for many different rates of transport give a ratio of about 0.5, a value much lower than similar ratios determined for other transport mechanisms. The calcium transport mechanism in the ectoderm responds to changes in transport rate very sluggishly, taking 30 to 50 min to give a maximum response. The differences between the calcium transport mechanism in this membrane and other known transport systems are discussed and it is suggested that these differences may represent the adaptations necessary for transcellular calcium transport.
A local-coloring method for night-vision colorization utilizing image analysis and fusion

A natural color mapping method has been previously proposed that matches the statistical properties (mean and standard deviation) of night-vision (NV) imagery to those of a daylight color image (manually selected as the ''target'' color distribution). Thus the rendered NV image appears to resemble the natural target image in terms of color appearance. However, in this prior method (termed ''global-coloring'') the colored NV image may appear unnatural if the target image's ''global'' color statistics are different from that of the night-vision scene (e.g., it would appear to have too much green if much more vegetation was contained in the target image). Consequently, a new ''local-coloring'' method is presented that functions to render the NV image segment-by-segment by taking advantage of image segmentation, pattern recognition, histogram matching and image fusion. Specifically, a false-color image (source image) is formed by assigning multi-band NV images to three RGB (red, green and blue) channels. A nonlinear diffusion filter is then applied to the false-colored image to reduce the number of colors. The final grayscale segments are obtained by using clustering and merging techniques. With a supervised nearest-neighbor paradigm, a segment can be automatically associated with a known ''color scheme''. The statistic-matching procedure is merged with the histogram-matching procedure to enhance the color mapping effect. Instead of extracting the color set from a single target image, the mean, standard deviation and histogram distribution of the color planes from a set of natural scene images are used as the target color properties for each color scheme. The target color schemes are grouped by their scene contents and colors such as plants, mountain, roads, sky, water, etc. In our experiments, five pairs of night-vision images were initially analyzed, and the images that were colored (segment-by-segment) by the proposed ''local-coloring'' method are shown to possess much more natural and realistic coloration when compared with those produced by the previous ''global-coloring'' method.
Ungated extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy in children: An initial series

Abstract Objectives Ungated extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is associated with cardiac arrhythmias in adults. However, the incidence of arrhythmias in children undergoing ungated ESWL has not been established. Therefore, we report on the safety and efficacy of ungated ESWL of renal calculi in children. Methods We evaluated all patients younger than 18 years of age who were undergoing ungated ESWL of renal calculi. All patients were monitored for arrhythmias, along with other standard monitoring, by the anesthesiologist. Results Eight consecutive children (three boys and five girls) between 3.5 and 17 years of age (median 13.5) underwent 10 ESWL procedures for renal calculi. Of the 10 stones, 9 were located in the left kidney and 1 was located in the right kidney. The stone size ranged from 5 to 19 mm. Six patients underwent 3000 shocks and 2 patients underwent 800 and 2200 shocks. All patients underwent lithotripsy with a gradual incremental energy increase from 17 to 24 kV, except for 1 child (maximum of 18 kV) because of the patient’s age (3.5 years). No patient had cardiac arrhythmias or other intraoperative complications. No patient required conversion to gated ESWL. The overall stone-free rate was 90.0% as determined by abdominal radiography and renal/bladder ultrasonography. Conclusions The results of this initial series suggest that ungated ESWL is safe and efficacious in patients younger than 18 years of age. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate further the use of ungated ESWL in the pediatric population.
Raising the Thermoelectric Performance of p-Type PbS with Endotaxial Nanostructuring and Valence-Band Offset Engineering Using CdS and ZnS

We have investigated in detail the effect of CdS and ZnS as second phases on the thermoelectric properties of p-type PbS. We report a ZT of ∼1.3 at 923 K for 2.5 at.% Na-doped p-type PbS with endotaxially nanostructured 3.0 at.% CdS. We attribute the high ZT to the combination of broad-based phonon scattering on multiple length scales to reduce (lattice) thermal conductivity and favorable charge transport through coherent interfaces between the PbS matrix and metal sulfide nanophase precipitates, which maintains the requisite high carrier conductivity and the associated power factor. Similar to large ionically bonded metal sulfides (ZnS, CaS, and SrS), the covalently bonded CdS can also effectively reduce the lattice thermal conductivity in p-type PbS. The presence of ubiquitous nanostructuring was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Valence and conduction band energy levels of the NaCl-type metal sulfides, MS (M = Pb, Cd, Zn, Ca, and Sr) were calculated from density functional theory to gain i...