cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The gamma-secretase complex: membrane-embedded proteolytic ensemble.

γ-Secretase is responsible for the proteolytic processing of a variety of membrane-associated fragments derived from type I integral membrane proteins, including the amyloid β-protein precursor and the Notch receptor. This enzyme is composed of four different integral membrane proteins: presenilin, nicastrin, Aph-1, and Pen-2. During assembly and maturation of the protease complex, presenilin is endoproteolyzed into two subunits, each of which contributes one aspartate to the active site of an aspartyl protease. Substrate apparently interacts with an initial docking site before passing in whole or in part between the two presenilin subunits to the internal water-containing active site. The ectodomain of nicastrin also interacts with the N-terminus of the substrate as an essential step in substrate recognition and processing. Sites for allosteric regulation on the protease complex allow selective inhibition or modulation of APP processing without interfering with Notch signaling, and such selective agents...
VERBAL PROTOCOL RESEARCH IN AUDITING.

Abstract Recognizing the increasing interest in verbal protocol analysis in auditing research, this paper reviews the literature in this area. Consideration is given to the research problems investigated, the underlying theories appealed to, the methodological issues addressed and the overall contribution made by each of seven studies. Future directions for audit research using protocol techniques are then discussed prior to a concluding assessment of research in the area.
Epidemiologic and prognostic factors for lung cancer in a county hospital

This is a study of 269 patients with lung cancer at the Erie County Medical Center who were admitted between 1973 and 1978. They were analyzed for sex, race, age, history of smoking, occupation, tumor cell type, cytology, incidence of metastases, changes in liver function, mode of treatment, and survival. The incidence of cancer was highest in white males. Only 1.5% of patients were under age 40. Smoking was a predisposing factor. Not enough information was available to determine the relationship of occupation to lung cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common (53.9%), followed by adenocarcinoma (16.0%) and small-cell carcinoma (12.6%). Sputum cytology was 28.3% sensitive, and bronchial washings were 52.2% sensitive. A greater incidence of bone metastases from a small-cell primary (50%) was found than is reported in the literature. Changes in SGOT and/or SGPT liver enzymes correlated significantly with liver metastases, but not with tumor cell type. Changes in alkaline phosphatase correlated well with bone metastases. Radiation was the most commonly used mode of therapy. The best survival was achieved in patients treated by surgery (22.6 months), followed by surgery and radiation (16.2 months); those treated by radiation alone had a mean survival time of 8.7 months. Untreated patients had a mean survival time of 2.4 months. Treated patients with adenocarcinomas had the longest survival (18.5 months), compared to 13.0 months for those with squamous cell carcinomas and 8.4 months for those with small-cell carcinomas. Only three patients survived 5 years, all of whom were treated surgically for adenocarcinoma. No patients with tumors of other cell types survived 5 years. The 5-year survival rates are 2.1% (3 of 141) for all histologic types of lung cancer and 12.5% (3 of 24) for adenocarcinoma.
Petrology of Buckner Member of Haynesville Formation in Adjacent Parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas: ABSTRACT

The Buckner Member of the Haynesville Formation is an evaporitic mudstone unit of Late Jurassic age that is present only in the subsurface around the margin of the Gulf Coast embayment. It has been divided informally into two parts, lower and upper. The most common rock types in the Buckner are nodular anhydritic mudstone and nodular anhydrite. The nodules consist of swirls of lathy anhydrite in a matrix of blocky to anhedral crystals. The mudstone matrix consists of a red or gray non-laminated or poorly laminated mixture of silt and clay minerals. The clay minerals are mostly illite and chlorite. The next most common rock type is light gray crypto- to micrograined laminated anhydrite that is largely confined to the lower part. This type contains scattered minute rounded dolomite grains, clay mineral grains, and fine-grained sand and silt. Some less common rock types in the Buckner are oolitic and detrital limestone, oolitic-micritic and detrital-micritic limestone, rock salt, micrograined dolomite, and medium-grained dolomite. > The member was deposited around the margin of the Gulf Coast embayment in linear basins. Contemporaneously growing salt-cored anticlines along the seaward margin caused restricted circulation with the open sea. The lower part was deposited mainly in standing bodies of water and the upper part was deposited on a tidal mud flat that was, from time to time, flooded by both marine and non-marine water. The sea generally was regressing during deposition of the Buckner. Micrograined anhydrite is associated with rock salt and is considered to be primary. Nodular anhydrite is associated with brackish-water fossils and was probably deposited as gypsum. End_of_Article - Last_Page 461------------
316 Apoptosis: Relevance to radiotherapy

Apoptosis is a central part of normal development. Under some circumstances, however, apoptosis can also be seen in response to a number of abnormal stimuli which include hormonal or growth factor manipulations, aberrant gene expression, particularly of oncogenes or anti-oncogenes, and in response to a number of toxic agents including chemotherapeutic drugs and X-rays. It is for these latter reasons that apoptosis has generated great interest among oncologists and cancer biologists both because of the potential insights it may yield into carcino-genesis and in the hope of generating new strategies for cancer treatment. Control of apoptosis, like carcinogenesis, seems to be linked to some of the genes which also regulate cell cycle progression. Thus, the Rb, p53 and myc oncogenes which in the normal cell are involved in cell cycle regulation also are involved in the control of apoptosis. There is some evidence that the radiosensitivity of cells may be related to their rate of spontaneous apoptosis or to the extent of induction of apoptosis by X-rays. Our group has focussed on the relationship of cell cycle perturbations by radiation to the induction of apoptosis by X-rays. These studies suggest several new areas for the development of new therapeutic strategies which will be discussed.
Silica nanorod-array films with very low refractive indices

The refractive-index contrast is an important figure of merit for dielectric multilayer structures, optical resonators, and photonic crystals. This represents a strong driving force for novel materials that have refractive indices lower than those of conventional optically transparent materials. Silica nanorod-array dielectric films with unprecedented low refractive indices of 1.08 are demonstrated and shown to have viable optical properties including enhanced reflectivity of a single-pair distributed Bragg reflector.
Rhetorics of Sanctity: Christina of Hane in the Early Modern Period with a Comparison to a Mary Magdalene Legend

This study presents the particular case of the medieval mystic Christina of Hane in the Early Modern transmission to uncover the dynamics of sanctity across traditional period boundaries. It discusses the interest of copying and transmitting the Life of this local saintly figure with a legend on Mary Magdalene’s conversion in the sixteenth century. Christina of Hane’s medieval Life becomes refashioned in a seventeenth-century Flemish text that addresses the religious needs of its time, stressing apolitical forms of devotion such as prayers for the souls in purgatory.
Evidence for Epitaxy in the Formation of Collagen and Apatite

A NUMBER of structural relationships between the organic and inorganic components of bone are known from X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies. The interrelationships have led to a theory of mineralization involving the process of epitaxy, that is, the orientated overgrowth of bone mineral on certain well crystallized areas of the organic matrix. This differs in principle from theories of mineralization which assign no active role to the organic matrix in the mineralization process. Epitaxy clearly requires some structural symmetry, but considerable mismatch seems to be permissible in the process of crystal seeding. Results reported here indicate a structural symmetry in collagen and apatite in the presence of copper ion and support the concept of epitaxial growth; areas of identical crystal order on apatite and the organic substrate have been demonstrated as would be expected if epitaxy were a relevant mechanism.
Comparison of the Incorporation of Various Transition Metals into GaN by MOCVD

The incorporation of transition metals in GaN has long been of interest in spintronics due to theoretical predictions of room temperature ferromagnetism in these materials. However, the mechanism of the observed ferromagnetism of the nitride-based DMS is still controversial, and may originate from a carrier-mediated, defect-related or nanoscale clustering mechanism. In this work, we present a comparative study of the incorporation of various transition metals and their effect on the optical, structural, and magnetic properties of GaN. Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has been employed to produce epitaxial films of varying thickness and manganese and iron doping using bis-cyclopentyldienyl(magnanese,iron) as the transition metal sources. High-resolution X-ray diffraction reveals no secondary phases under optimized growth conditions. Magnetic hysteresis is observed at room temperature in both GaMnN and GaFeN, though the strength of the magnetic ordering is roughly an order of magnitude weaker in the Fe-alloyed samples. Increasing Mn concentrations significantly affect long-range lattice ordering, and the observation of local vibrational modes (LVMs) supports the formation of nitrogen vacancies, even under optimized MOCVD growth conditions. Such vacancies form shallow donor complexes and thus contribute to self-compensation. A disorder-induced mode at 300 cm−1 and a LVM due to vacancies at 669 cm-1 were revealed by Raman spectroscopy.
Social Performance of Gifted Students as Measured by the Social Performance Survey Schedule

Few studies have investigated the relative contributions of both positive and negative behaviors in the social performance of intellectually gifted students. In the present study, the Social Perfor...
A-Kinase Anchoring Protein Targeting of Protein Kinase A and Regulation of HERG Channels

Adrenergic stimulation of the heart initiates a signaling cascade in cardiac myocytes that increases the concentration of cAMP. Although cAMP elevation may occur over a large area of a target-organ cell, its effects are often more restricted due to local concentration of its main effector, protein kinase A (PKA), through A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs). The HERG potassium channel, which produces the cardiac rapidly activating delayed rectifying K+ current (I Kr), is a target for cAMP/PKA regulation. PKA regulation of the current may play a role in the pathogenesis of hereditary and acquired abnormalities of the channel leading to cardiac arrhythmia. We examined the possible role for AKAP-mediated regulation of HERG channels. Here, we report that the PKA-RII-specific AKAP inhibitory peptide AKAP-IS perturbs the distribution of PKA-RII and diminishes the PKA-dependent phosphorylation of HERG protein. The functional consequence of AKAP-IS is a reversal of cAMP-dependent regulation of HERG channel activity. In further support of AKAP-mediated targeting of kinase to HERG, PKA activity was coprecipitated from HERG expressed in HEK cells. Velocity gradient centrifugation of solubilized porcine cardiac membrane proteins showed that several PKA-RI and PKA-RII binding proteins cosediment with ERG channels. A physical association of HERG with several specific AKAPs with known cardiac expression, however, was not demonstrable in heterologous cotransfection studies. These results suggest that one or more AKAP(s) targets PKA to HERG channels and may contribute to the acute regulation of I Kr by cAMP.
A semantic concordance

A semantic concordance is a textual corpus and a lexicon so combined that every substantive word in the text is linked to its appropriate sense in the lexicon. Thus it can be viewed either as a corpus in which words have been tagged syntactically and semantically, or as a lexicon in which example sentences can be found for many definitions. A semantic concordance is being constructed to use in studies of sense resolution in context (semantic disambiguation). The Brown Corpus is the text and WordNet is the lexicon. Semantic tags (pointers to WordNet synsets) are inserted in the text manually using an interface, ConText, that was designed to facilitate the task. Another interface supports searches of the tagged text. Some practical uses for semantic concordances am proposed.
Chromatographic separation of the C(1), C(1a), and C(2) components of gentamicin and the assessment of their individual binding to serum proteins

[3H]gentamicin and [14C]gentamicin samples were purified by Sephadex column chromatography and separated by an HPLC technique into the three major, medicinally active gentamicin components. These separated components were used in equilibrium dialysis studies to determine their percent binding to serum proteins. The bindings of the components were inversely related to concentrations of ionized calcium and magnesium. When dialyzed against a buffer containing physiological concentrations of the divalent cations, the binding of the C(1) component was 2.2 ± 1.0%, the binding of the C(1a) component was 1.2 ± 1.9%, and the binding of the C(2) component was 5.0 ± 2.0%. The percent bindings are not identical and, due to their low values, probably have negligible clinical significance. The radioactive composition and purity of the 3H- and 14C-labeled gentamicin samples differed and these may be important factors in the variance of reported gentamicin bindings.
The Impact of a Tiered Network on Hospital Choice.

Objective To evaluate the effect of a tiered network on hospital choice for scheduled admissions. Data The 2009–2012 patient-level claims data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). Study Design BCBSMA's three-tiered hospital network employs large differential cost sharing to encourage patients to seek care at hospitals on the preferred tier. During the study period, 44 percent of hospitals were moved to a different tier based on changes in cost or quality performance. We relied on this longitudinal variation for identification and specified conditional logit models to estimate the effect of the tiered network (TN) on patients' hospital choices relative to a non-TN comparison group. Principal Findings The TN was associated with increased use of hospitals on the preferred and middle tiers relative to the nonpreferred tier for planned admissions. The results suggest that if all members were in a TN plan, relative to all members being in a non-TN plan, scheduled admissions to hospitals on the nonpreferred tier would drop by 7.6 percentage points, while those to middle and preferred tier hospitals would rise by 0.9 and 6.6 percentage points, respectively. Conclusion Differential cost sharing can steer patients toward preferred hospitals for planned admissions.
Measurements of Air Breakdown and Scaling to Microwaves Using 193 nm Focused Laser Radiation

Summary form only given. The measurements and analysis of air breakdown processes by focusing 193 nm, 200 mJ, 10 MW high power UV laser radiation on to a 10-20 mum spot size that produces laser power densities up to 1012-1013 W/cm2, well above the threshold power flux for air ionization will be presented. The breakdown threshold is measured and compared with classical and quantum theoretical models. A universal scaling analysis of these results allows one to predict some aspects of high power microwave breakdown based on measured laser breakdown observations. The air breakdown threshold is being measured for a wide pressure range from 90 torr to 5 atmospheres. Above atmospheric pressures and their increased collisional frequencies relative to the high laser frequency (1015 Hz) allow enhanced ionization and plasma formation. Multi-photon ionization processes can also play a substantial role at 193 nm due to the high photon energies (6.4 eV). The laser breakdown threshold data for air at 193 nm is correlated with corresponding microwave breakdown values using the concept of universal scaling, for which extensive microwave data is available [1-2] and current microwave breakdown measurements are being obtained at TexasTech University. An extensive range of optical and spectroscopic diagnostics with ns fast gating and 13 mum ICCD resolution is utilized to characterize the plasma. Laser shadowgraphy technique is used to characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of the laser focused plasma ionization shockwave. Plasma temperature is measure using optical emission spectroscopy method of the N2 second positive system N2 (2+) (0,0) at 337.1 nm band. Initial measurements of vibrational temperatures obtained from nitrogen lines at 500 mus are found to be 0.22 eV with electronic temperatures of 0.8 eV and rotational temperatures of 0.1 eV. Plasma density and neutral pressure variations are measured using two color laser interferometry. Phase shifts produced by the laser focused plasma for red (632 nm) and green (532 nm) wavelengths are being measured, which is used to measure the plasma and neutral pressure densities. The peak plasma densities are anticipated to be in the 1016-18/cc range. A comparison of the laser breakdown case to the microwave breakdown case utilizing the universal scaling law is being carried out and was presented.
From designer Lewis acid to designer Brønsted acid towards more reactive and selective acid catalysis.

This review focuses on the development of acid catalysis for selective organic transformations conducted in our laboratories for the past 30 years. Several important concepts in designing of catalysts are described with some examples. Further, recent developments in super Bronsted acid and their applications in a one-pot procedure to construct complex molecules with high diastereoselectivities are described.
Large-Scale Semidefinite Programming for Many-Electron Quantum Mechanics

The energy of a many-electron quantum system can be approximated by a constrained optimization of the two-electron reduced density matrix (2-RDM) that is solvable in polynomial time by semidefinite programming (SDP). Here we develop a SDP method for computing strongly correlated 2-RDMs that is 10-20 times faster than previous methods [D. A. Mazziotti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 213001 (2004)]. We illustrate with (i) the dissociation of N(2) and (ii) the metal-to-insulator transition of H(50). For H(50) the SDP problem has 9.4×10(6) variables. This advance also expands the feasibility of large-scale applications in quantum information, control, statistics, and economics.
Compositional study and properties characterisation of alkaline earth feldspar glasses and glass-ceramics

Fields in which metastable crystallisation of feldspars may occur as a result of heterogeneous nucleation were defined at 1000° C for the systems BaO-Al2O3-SiO2, SrO-Al2O3-SiO2, and CaO-Al2O3-SiO2. The metastable fields of the above barium and calcium systems differ considerably from the respective primary liquidus fields of celsian and anorthite with the tendency for the stoichiometric compositions to be situated at the centre of the metastable region. Various physical and dielectric properties of the glasses and glass-ceramics of the three systems are presented and compared. High linear thermal expansion, high electrical resistivity, and low loss tangent and dielectric constant characterise these glass-ceramics. One of them (No. 2, table I) has, in addition, high heat resistance and translucency at high temperatures.
Quadratic Solitons that Balance Self-Steepening and Dispersion

We present a theoretical study of solitons of the Chen-Lee-Liu equation (CLLE) in a realistic quadratic crystal. These solitons balance dispersion and self-steepening.
A high-sensitivity sampling IR detector

Abstract Photoionization of carriers trapped in shallow levels in semiconductors is used to realize an integrating IR detector. Low dark currents and extremely long integration times permit detection of IR photons with very high sensitivity. Lowering the photoionization barrier with an applied electric field permits signal sampling at subthreshold wavelengths within the detector, greatly reducing noise in sampling applications.
A compact water-soluble porphyrin bearing an iodoacetamido bioconjugatable site

A broad range of applications requires access to porphyrins that are compact, water-soluble, and bioconjugatable. A symmetrically branched hydrocarbon chain (‘swallowtail’) bearing polar end groups imparts high (>10 mM) aqueous solubility upon incorporation at one of the meso positions of a trans-AB-porphyrin. Two such swallowtail-porphyrins (1a, 1b) equipped with a conjugatable group (carboxylic acid, bromophenyl) have been prepared previously. The synthesis of three new water-soluble trans-AB-porphyrins is reported, where each porphyrin bears a diphosphonate-terminated swallowtail group and an amino (2a), acetamido (2b), or iodoacetamido (2c) group. The amine affords considerable versatility for functionalization. The iodoacetamide provides a sulfhydryl-reactive site for bioconjugation. Porphyrins 2a–2c were fully characterized in aqueous solution by 1H NMR spectroscopy (in D2O), ESI-MS, static absorption spectroscopy, and static and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Porphyrins 2a–2c exhibit characteristic porphyrin absorption and emission bands in aqueous solution, with a strong, sharp absorption band in the blue region (∼401 nm) and emission in the red region (∼624, 686 nm). Porphyrin 2b in aqueous phosphate buffer or phosphate-buffered saline solution exhibits a fluorescence quantum yield of ∼0.04 and an excited singlet-state lifetime of ∼11 ns. Collectively, the facile synthesis, amenability to bioconjugation, large spacing between the main absorption and fluorescence features, and long singlet excited-state lifetime make this molecular design quite attractive for a range of biomedical applications.
Resource costs for asthma-related care among pediatric patients in managed care.

Background In 1998, the economic burden of asthma in the United States was estimated to be $12.7 billion. Yet few studies have examined the relationship between the total costs of asthma-related care and measures of asthma morbidity. Understanding the relationship between total costs of asthma-related care and morbidity can assist in designing the most cost-effective asthma care strategies to improve patient outcomes and minimize total costs. Objective To investigate correlates of asthma costs for children with mild-to-moderate persistent asthma and, specifically, to characterize how closely the percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ) and symptom days were correlated with costs of illness. Methods A total of 638 parents and children with mild-to-moderate persistent asthma in 4 managed care delivery systems in 3 different US geographic regions were enrolled. Symptom burden and annual resource utilization were determined from reports of physician visits, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, medication use, and parental missed workdays. Spirometry was conducted on children who were 5 years and older. To characterize the relationship between symptom days and the percentage of predicted FEV 1 with costs, we specified a multivariate regression model. Results The median total annual asthma-related cost for the group was $564 (interquartile range [IQR], $131-$1602). Indirect costs represented 54.6% of total costs. Medicines accounted for 52.6% of direct costs. The mean percentage of predicted FEV 1 was 101.6% (range, 39.3%-183.5%; IQR, 91.6%-111.3%), with 91.4% of patients with a percentage of predicted FEV 1 of more than 80%. Based on multivariate modeling, increasing asthma severity, use of peak expiratory flow rate meters, younger age, low-income status and nonwhite race, and longer duration of asthma were significantly associated with increasing cost. Symptom days ( P 1 ( P Conclusions For the large number of children with mild-to-moderate persistent asthma and normal or near-normal lung function, symptom days are predictive of health care costs. For these insured children receiving care from 3 large managed care providers, low-income status and nonwhite race were the strongest correlates for increased asthma-related costs.
Interleukin 10 inhibits alveolar macrophage production of inflammatory mediators involved in adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Abstract Background. Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) causes severe morbidity and mortality in trauma patients. One potential method to attenuate the lung injury is to inhibit alveolar macrophage production of proinflammatory mediators. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cellular mechanism of interleukin 10 (IL-10) inhibition on LPS-stimulated macrophage (Mφ). We hypothesized that IL-10 inhibited phospholipase C signal pathways in Mφ. IL-10 inhibition would be restored by calcium ionophores and protein kinase C (PKC) activation. Methods. Rabbit alveolar Mφ were obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage. Mφ were treated with Escherichia coli LPS (10 ng/ml) in the presence of various concentrations of human IL-10. Cell lysates and supernatant were analyzed for proagulants (PCA) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), respectively. TNF mRNA expression of alveolar Mφ was also measured by Northern Blot assay. Macrophage PGE 2 production was measured by ELISA. Results. IL-10 inhibited the production of both TNF and PCA by LPS-stimulated Mφ. In addition, IL-10 also reduced TNF mRNA expression. Similarly, PGE 2 production by LPS-stimulated Mφ was also attenuated by IL-10. An increase in the intracellular [Ca 2+ ] induced by A23187 failed to reverse this IL-10-mediated inhibition. In comparison, phorbol myristate acetate, a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, restored TNF and PCA production despite the presence of IL-10. Conclusions. IL-10 inhibits Mφ production of inflammatory mediators. This inhibition is, at least in part, mediated by modulating the PKC activity.
Effects of pressure on thermal transport in plutonium oxide powder

Abstract Radial temperature profiles of plutonium dioxide powder in a cylindrical vessel were measured over a pressure range of 0.055 to 334.4 kPa with two different fill gases, helium and argon. The powder provides a very uniform self-heating medium for analysis. A thermal conductivity model was developed for heat conduction in the fine ceramic powder. Most literature models make limiting assumptions about powder characteristics that do not hold for this material. Despite the powder particles’ complex geometry, the proposed model correctly reproduces the powder temperature profiles over the wide pressure range for both fill gases.
Influence of precursor on microstructure and phase composition of epitaxial hydrothermal PbZr0.7Ti0.3O3 films

Amorphous Zr−Ti hydrous oxide submicrometer spheres were employed in hydrothermal syntheses of PbZr0.7Ti0.3O3heteroepitaxial thin films on single-crystal SrTiO3 substrates. Reactions utilizing processing variables that included precursor concentration (0.1−0.4 m), KOH concentration (6−12 m), and time (24−60 h) were carried out at 150 °C to evaluate the effect of this precursor on the formation of an epitaxial film. Selected experiments were also conducted to examine how this spherical precursor compares with two other precursor systems, that is, nanostructured amorphous Zr−Ti hydrous oxide prepared by coprecipitation at room temperature, and a mixture of crystalline TiO2 and amorphous ZrO2·nH2O obtained from soluble ZrOCl2·8H2O. On the basis of the results of X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, precursor choice, precursor concentration, and KOH mineralizer concentration have a significant effect on the quality, composition, and morphology of the film.
Instability of Meridional Baroclinic Currents

Abstract The baroclinic instability of a meridional current in a north–south channel is investigated in a two-layer model for the case when the current has no horizontal shear. The vertical shear of the current provides a potential vorticity gradient in the zonal direction while the beta effect provides a potential vorticity gradient in the meridional direction. The normal modes of the two-layer baroclinic flow are found both numerically and analytically. In contrast to the situation when the current is in the zonal direction there seems to be no minimum shear required for instability in spite of the active presence of the planetary vorticity gradient, β, although the growth rates of the instability are reduced as the shear is weakened. Also, the horizontal structure of the unstable mode is a strong function of the parameters, and weakly growing modes exhibit a boundary layer structure and are compressed to a narrow region near the western edge of the channel. The unstable modes are connected to the neutr...
Flavonoids and Antioxidant Activity of Fresh Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Cultivars

Flavonoid, ascorbic acid and total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of “jalapeno” (Veracruz, Mitla, Tam Mild, Jaloro, Sweet Jalapeno), “yellow wax” [(Hungarian Yellow, Long Hot Yellow, Gold Spike (hybrid)], “Chile” (New Mexico-6, Green Chile), “ancho” (San Luis Ancho), and “serrano” (Hidalgo) peppers were investigated at green or yellow stages of maturity. Major pepper flavonoids were quercetin and luteolin which were present in conjugate forms. Total flavonoid content varied from none detectable to 800 mg/kg after hydrolysis. “Chile”, “yellow wax” and “ancho” peppers had greater flavonoid and ascorbic acid contents and antioxidant activities than “jalapeno” peppers. Sep-Pak C18(tm) bound phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, correlated well with antioxidant activity (r2=0.86). Luteolin had highest antioxidant activity followed by capsaicin and quercetin on equimolar basis.
Chronic Kidney Disease Before and After Partial Nephrectomy

Purpose: We performed a multi-institutional retrospective cohort study to evaluate baseline renal function of patients who underwent partial nephrectomy for renal tumors, and determined rates of progression to higher stages of chronic kidney disease.Materials and Methods: The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study equation was used to estimate glomerular filtration rate. Preoperative and postoperative serum creatinine values were obtained from patients who underwent partial nephrectomy at 6 institutions with a normal contralateral kidney, and had baseline chronic kidney disease stage I (estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than 90 ml/minute/1.73 m2), II (estimated glomerular filtration rate 60 to 89 ml/minute/1.73 m2) or III (estimated glomerular filtration rate 30 to 59 ml/minute/1.73 m2). The end point was change in chronic kidney disease stage at long-term followup (3 to 18 months). Multivariate logistic and Cox regression models tested the association of newly acquired chronic kidney dise...
Plasma noncholesterol sterols as indicators of cholesterol absorption.

A publication by Jakulj et al. (1) in this issue of the Journal of Lipid Research calls into question the validity of plasma noncholesterol sterols for the evaluation of cholesterol absorption in humans. This method was first proposed by Miettinen and coworkers (2–5), who showed that either sitosterol/total cholesterol or campesterol/lathosterol ratios reflect amounts of cholesterol absorbed by the intestine. Normally only small amounts of plant sterols (sitosterol and campesterol) are absorbed, but Miettinen and associates claimed that quantities absorbed are proportional to amounts of cholesterol absorbed. In turn, the greater the total of plant sterol absorbed, the higher will be the plasma level, normalized for plasma cholesterol levels. These investigators (4, 6, 7) further showed that plasma levels of a cholesterol synthesis precursor, lathosterol, reflect the body's cholesterol synthesis rate. Because absorbed cholesterol returns to the liver and suppresses cholesterol synthesis, a low level of plasma lathosterol will denote reduced cholesterol synthesis because of more cholesterol absorption. Consequently, the campesterol/lathosterol ratio should better indicate cholesterol absorption than the sitosterol/cholesterol ratio.
A hybrid approach to modeling metabolic systems using genetic algorithm and simplex method

The genetic algorithm is applied to the parameter estimation problem to optimize a model of the glucose cycle of an E. Coli cell. Since the evaluation of the model is computationally expensive, a hybrid algorithm is proposed which grafts a proposed variant of J.A. Nelder and R. Mead's (1965) downhill simplex-called concurrent simplex-with the genetic algorithm by using the simplex as an additional operator. The addition of the operator speeds up the rate of convergence of the genetic algorithm in some cases. The advantages and disadvantages of the simplex hybrid are discussed and the hybrid is tested against several different problem sets to verify its improvement over the generic genetic algorithm. >
Toward a Positive and Practical Public Management: Organizational Research Supporting a Fourth Critical Citizenship

This article seeks to relate materials concerning citizenship and the character of administration with the theory and experience developing in the behavioral sciences, especially in Organization Development and Organization Behavior Basically, the article proposes that a convenient starting point exists for enhancing levels of democratic consciousness and experience in organization citizens. In turn-1, this enhancement can contribute not only to High Administration but also to High Citizenship, as those notations have come to be used in both political science and public administration.
A generalization for stable mixed finite elements

Mixed finite element methods solve a PDE involving two or more variables. In typical problems from electromagnetics and electrodiffusion, the degrees of freedom associated to the different variables are stored on both primal and dual domain meshes and a discrete Hodge star is used to transfer information between the meshes. We show through analysis and examples that the choice of discrete Hodge star is essential to the model and numerical stability of a finite element method. We also show how to define interpolation functions and discrete Hodge stars on dual meshes which can be used to create previously unconsidered mixed methods.
Endophthalmitis following intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Endophthalmitis following intravitreal injections of therapeutic medications is a rare but potentially vision-threatening problem. Infectious agents associated with endophthalmitis following injection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors are typically Gram positive organisms with a predominance of Streptococcal and Staphylococcal microbiologic isolates. Patients with infectious endophthalmitis generally present within the first 72 hours following an intravitreal anti-VEGF injection with complaints of pain, redness, and decreased vision. Prompt treatment with a conventional endophthalmitis management approach may mitigate irreversible vision loss; however, poorer outcomes have been reported with more virulent organisms such as those associated with Streptococcal species. As the number of intravitreal injections performed each year continues to increase, ophthalmologists must maintain a rigorous approach to their injection technique and remain vigilant for the signs and symptoms of endoph...
SAMHD1 is a single-stranded nucleic acid binding protein with no active site-associated nuclease activity

The HIV-1 restriction factor SAMHD1 is a tetrameric enzyme activated by guanine nucleotides with dNTP triphosphate hydrolase activity (dNTPase). In addition to this established activity, there have been a series of conflicting reports as to whether the enzyme also possesses single-stranded DNA and/or RNA 3′-5′ exonuclease activity. SAMHD1 was purified using three chromatography steps, over which the DNase activity was largely separated from the dNTPase activity, but the RNase activity persisted. Surprisingly, we found that catalytic and nucleotide activator site mutants of SAMHD1 with no dNTPase activity retained the exonuclease activities. Thus, the exonuclease activity cannot be associated with any known dNTP binding site. Monomeric SAMHD1 was found to bind preferentially to single-stranded RNA, while the tetrameric form required for dNTPase action bound weakly. ssRNA binding, but not ssDNA, induces higher-order oligomeric states that are distinct from the tetrameric form that binds dNTPs. We conclude that the trace exonuclease activities detected in SAMHD1 preparations arise from persistent contaminants that co-purify with SAMHD1 and not from the HD active site. An in vivo model is suggested where SAMHD1 alternates between the mutually exclusive functions of ssRNA binding and dNTP hydrolysis depending on dNTP pool levels and the presence of viral ssRNA.
A ribose sugar conformational switch in the LTR-retrotransposon Ty3 polypurine tract-containing RNA/DNA hybrid.

To probe structural features of a polypurine tract (PPT) that mediate its specific recognition and processing, a model 20 bp RNA/DNA hybrid duplex, which includes the full PPT sequence of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae LTR-retrotransposon Ty3, has been investigated using solution NMR spectroscopy. While homonuclear NOESY and DQF-COSY analyses indicate that this PPT-containing RNA/DNA hybrid adopts an overall A-form-like helical geometry, an unexpected sugar pucker switch has been detected for the ribose at position +1, relative to the cleavage site, on the RNA strand. A model of the conformational changes induced by the A- to B-type sugar pucker switch shows a significant change in the backbone trajectory of the RNA strand, which alters the presentation of backbone phosphate and 2‘ hydroxyl groups 3‘ of this residue. This observation implies that part of the mechanism governing RNase H fidelity may be through distortion of the RNA/DNA helix one base ahead of the scissile bond.
Modification of an existing preheater system for increased production and efficiency (cement industry)

A project is described in which the capacity of the precalciner kiln was considerably increased to meet market requirements. The project was conceived and executed during a time when plant utilization regularly exceeded 95% and cement shipments had reached all-time highs. A study was made of the preheater calciner performance with a view toward improving kiln output. The bottleneck in the system was the kiln induced draft fan, in connection with high pressure loss over the preheater. Pressures approached -30" W.G. The study concluded that it should be possible to reduce the pressure loss over the preheater by introduction of the FLS-LP (low pressure) cyclone. The fact that the cyclones and calciner were replaced in an almost normal planned maintenance and kiln lining outage indicates that it is possible to provide nearly any such system with new cyclones, in one or more stages, to improve output, fuel economy and power consumption. >
Blue Light and Phytochrome-Mediated Stomatal Opening in the npq1 and phot1 phot2 Mutants of Arabidopsis

Recent studies have shown that blue light-specific stomatal opening is reversed by green light and that far-red light can be used to probe phytochrome-dependent stomatal movements. Here, blue-green reversibility and far-red light were used to probe the stomatal responses of the npq1 mutant and the phot1 phot2 double mutant of Arabidopsis. In plants grown at 50 μmol m-2 s-1, red light (photosynthetic)-mediated opening in isolated stomata from wild type (WT) and both mutants saturated at 100 μmol m-2 s-1. Higher fluence rates caused stomatal closing, most likely due to photo-inhibition. Blue light-specific opening, probed by adding blue light (10 μmol m-2 s-1) to a 100 μmol m-2 s-1 red background, was found in WT, but not in npq1 or phot1 phot2 double mutant stomata. Under 50 μmol m-2 s-1 red light, 10 μmol m-2 s-1 blue light opened stomata in both WT and npq1 mutant stomata but not in the phot1 phot2 double mutant. In npq1, blue light-stimulated opening was reversed by far-red but not green light, indicating that npq1 has a phytochrome-mediated response and lacks a blue light-specific response. Stomata of the phot1 phot2 double mutant opened in response to 20 to 50 μmol m-2 s-1 blue light. This opening was green light reversible and far-red light insensitive, indicating that stomata of the phot1 phot2 double mutant have a detectable blue light-specific response.
Automatic detection of previously-unseen application states for deployment environment testing and analysis

For large, complex software systems, it is typically impossible in terms of time and cost to reliably test the application in all possible execution states and configurations before releasing it into production. One proposed way of addressing this problem has been to continue testing and analysis of the application in the field, after it has been deployed. A practical limitation of many such automated approaches is the potentially high performance overhead incurred by the necessary instrumentation. However, it may be possible to reduce this overhead by selecting test cases and performing analysis only in previously-unseen application states, thus reducing the number of redundant tests and analyses that are run. Solutions for fault detection, model checking, security testing, and fault localization in deployed software may all benefit from a technique that ignores application states that have already been tested or explored.In this paper, we present a solution that ensures that deployment environment tests are only executed in states that the application has not previously encountered. In addition to discussing our implementation, we present the results of an empirical study that demonstrates its effectiveness, and explain how the new approach can be generalized to assist other automated testing and analysis techniques intended for the deployment environment.
A binary XML for scientific applications

XML provides flexible, extensible data models and type systems for structured data, and has found wide-acceptance in many domains. XML processing can be slow, however, especially for scientific data, thus leading to the conventional wisdom that XML is not appropriate for such data. Instead, data is stored in specialized binary formats, and is transmitted via work-arounds such as attachments and base64 encoding. Though these work-arounds can be useful, they nonetheless relegate scientific data to second-class status within the Web services framework; and they generally require yet another API, data model, and type system. An alternative solution is to use more efficient encodings of XML, often known as "binary XML". Using XML uniformly throughout an application simplifies and unifies design and development. In this paper we present a binary XML format and implementation for scientific data called Binary XML for Scientific Applications (BXSA). We show that performance is comparable to that of commonly used scientific data formats such as netCDF. These results challenge the prevailing practice of handling control and data separately in scientific applications, with Web services for control and specialized binary formats for data
Audio visual cues in driver affect characterization: Issues and challenges in developing robust approaches

Computer vision, speech and machine learning technologies play an important role and are increasingly used in today's vehicles to improve the safety as well as comfort in the car. Driving in particular presents a context in which a user's emotional state plays a significant role. Emotions have been found to affect cognitive style and performance. Even mildly positive feeling can have a profound effect on the flexibility and efficiency of thinking and problem solving. In this paper, we review some of the existing approaches for analyzing in-vehicle driver affect using audio and visual cues. We will discuss challenges in developing robust system and hopefully provide some insight in practical realization of such system. In particular, we present our ongoing efforts in collecting driving data using simulator as well as real world driving testbeds, and propose to utilize a multilevel audio-visual fusion scheme to utilize contextual information often available in co-existing tasks in an intelligent system.
The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act Of 2010: Constitutional?

After decades of debates and policy discussions, in early 2010, the Obama Administration, with the Democrat party controlling both the House and the Senate, passed a National Health Insurance Act. The Patient Protection and Affordability Act was immediately challenged in court. One district court in Florida declared it unconstitutional. Two other district courts and an appellate court declared it constitutional. This paper looks at the Act and those issues.
Mapping the historic city: Mapmaking, preservation zoning, and violence:

The paper presents a critique of the cartographic construction of Rattanakosin City, the historic district of Bangkok, Thailand. Drawing on critical cartography literature, I argue that Rattanakosin City has emerged from a particular intersection between cartography and historic preservation as the former is used to legitimize the latter. The paper explores how geometric lines, boundaries, and colored zones have been deployed in constructing Rattanakosin as central and as whole. The paper goes on to show that this particular cartographic construction has a hegemonic potential as it is a double silencing that eclipses outside historical geographies, while silencing and subsuming those inside under the category of “historic preservation” landuse.