cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 3287: Mutational analysis of serous ovarian cancer using Ion Torrent sequencing

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Ovarian cancer is a biologically diverse tumor with heterogeneous molecular subtypes. Genetic mutations in various oncogenes have been previously identified in high grade serous ovarian cancer, including RB1, CDK12, BRAF, PI3KCA, and KRAS. To further investigate genetic variants, we screened 104 high grade serous ovarian cancer specimens for 2.855 hotspot regions of 50 oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes using the Ion AmpliSeq™ Cancer Hotspot Panel. The panel contains 207 primer pairs in a single tube, using only 10ng of DNA to allow sequencing. Data analysis was performed via Ion Torrent software version 3.0, Nextgene software version 2.3.2, Excel and Medcalc. Our analysis resulted in the detection of 240 mutation variants. The most frequent mutation variants detected were in PDGFRA (91.35%), FGFR3 (90.38%), APC (86.54%), RET (82.69%), EGFR (74.04%), and TP53 (52.88%). When only COSMIC hotspot mutations were analyzed, genes with frequent mutations were APC (COSM19349; 91.35%), KDR (COSM149673; 56.7%), PDGFRA (COSM22413; 36.5%), KIT (COSM28026; 19.23%) and TP53 (COSM10704; 7.69%). The COSM19349 APC hot spot mutation results in a frameshift and has been described in colorectal cancer. The hotspot PDGFRA mutation (COSM22413) is a silent mutation that has been previously reported in gastrointestinal stromal tumors, gliomas and endometrial carcinoma. KDR (COSM149673) is a missense mutation that has been found in stomach cancer. KIT (COSM28026) is a missense mutation that has been confirmed as a somatic mutation in chordomas, hematologic malignancies and Merkel cell carcinoma. The TP53 (COSM10704) hotspot mutation has been found in many different tissues, including serous ovarian cancer, breast cancer and GI tract malignancies. We used the dbNSFP database (database for nonsynonymous SNPs' functional predictions) via Nextgene for functional prediction analysis using six algorithms (PolyPhen, SIFT, Mutation Taster, LRT and 1000 Genomes). Among the most frequent hotspot mutations, TP53 (COSM10704) was found to be ‘damaging’ via all prediction tools. KIT (COSM28026) was found to be ‘possibly damaging’ via PolyPhen. In summary, Ion Torrent sequencing revealed mutation variants in serous ovarian cancer that have not been previously identified. Further studies will be needed to analyze the functional and clinical importance of these variants. Citation Format: Salome Masghati, Oliver Dorigo, Chintda Santisvkulvong. Mutational analysis of serous ovarian cancer using Ion Torrent sequencing. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3287. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3287
An Efficient Architecture for Floating-Point Eigenvalue Decomposition

Eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) is a widely-used factorization tool to perform principal component analysis, and has been employed for dimensionality reduction and pattern recognition in many scientific and engineering applications, such as image processing, text mining and wireless communications. EVD is considered computationally expensive, and as software implementations have not been able to meet the performance requirements of many real-time applications, the use of reconfigurable computing technology has shown promise in accelerating this type of computation. In this paper, we present an efficient FPGA-based double-precision floating-point architecture for EVD, which can efficiently analyze large-scale matrices. Our experimental results using an FPGA-based hybrid acceleration system indicate the efficiency of our novel array architecture, with dimension-dependent speedups over an optimized software implementation that range from 1.5x to 15.45x in terms of computation time.
Comparative effect of C3a and C5a on adhesion molecule expression on neutrophils and endothelial cells.

Complement activation is known to enhance neutrophil binding to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Recently, we have shown that recombinant human C5a upregulates P-selectin in HUVECs. Unstimulated human neutrophil binding is also increased on C5a stimulated HUVECs. We demonstrate in this report that C5a upregulates CD11b/CD18 in human neutrophils. Also shown is that synthetic C3a57–77 and an analog 15 amino acid C3a peptide (C3a15) neither upregulate CD11b/CD18 nor do the C3a peptides increase P-selectin, ICAM-1 or E-selectin in HUVECs. Thus C5a and not C3a is responsible for early (∼30 minutes) neutrophil adhesion to endothelial cells after complement activation.
Application of a Finite Element Algorithm to the Solution of Steady Transonic Euler Equations

A finite element algorithm for the solution of two-dimensional, steady Euler equations is presented which, through a Clebsch-type transformation for the velocity vector, solves the conservation of mass equation with one primary variable and two additional equations for the convection of two new variables. The accuracy and efficiency of this scheme is discussed, and the second-order accuracy attained in the analysis of the convection of the vorticity is demonstrated together with the efficient treatment of rotational and irrotational flow subregions. A sample problem is used to show the accuracy of the numerical scheme and its convergence characteristics.
Dry heat, moist heat and body fat: are heating modalities really effective in people who are overweight?

Surface heating modalities are commonly used in physical therapy and physical medicine for increasing circulation, especially in deep tissues, to promote healing. However, recent evidence seems to ...
Complications and validity of pulmonary angiography in acute pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUNDThe Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED) addressed the value of ventilation/perfusion scans in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). The present study evaluates the risks and diagnostic validity of pulmonary angiography in 1,111 patients who underwent angiography in PIOPED:METHODS AND RESULTSComplications were death in five (0.5%), major nonfatal complications in nine (1%), and less significant or minor in 60 (5%). More fatal or major nonfatal complications occurred in patients from the medical intensive care unit than elsewhere: five of 122 (4%) versus nine of 989 (1%) (p less than 0.02). Pulmonary artery pressure, volume of contrast material, and presence of PE did not significantly affect the frequency of complications. Renal dysfunction, either major (requiring dialysis) or less severe, occurred in 13 of 1,111 (1%). Patients who developed renal dysfunction after angiography were older than those who did not have renal dysfunction: 74 +/- 13 years versus 57 +/- 17 years...
Processor Tradeoffs in Distributed Real-Time Systems

Optimizing the design of real-time distributed systems is important since the systems are frequently critical to life. This optimization is a difficult problem, and heuristics and designer judgment are called for in the process. The chief cause of the difficulty is the large number of parameters under the designer's control which impact performance and life-cycle cost. We study the interplay between the more important parameters in this paper using two objective measures, i. e., the mean cost and the probability of dynamic failure in [6], [10]. Among these are the processor burn-in time and processor replacement policy. A central feature of this work is a look at how the application requirements affect the optimality of the distributed systems; indeed, the application requirements are an integral part of the analysis.
Privatizing Poland: Baby Food, Big Business, and the Remaking of Labor. Elizabeth C. Dunn

(2006). Privatizing Poland: Baby Food, Big Business, and the Remaking of Labor. Elizabeth C. Dunn. Eurasian Geography and Economics: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 124-128.
The Role of Sunlight in Human Cataract Formation

This review summarizes and integrates new findings concerning the role of near-ultraviolet radiation, as is present in sunlight and common artificial light sources, in stimulating human and animal cataract formation. Epidemiological and basic research studies are summarized and critical statements concerning them are offered. Although certain questions still remain unanswered, the evidence that near-UV radiation does stimulate cataract formation is very strong. Avoidance of excessive exposure to near-ultraviolet light and the use of protective lenses that filter it out are suggested to prevent the enhancement of human cataract formation by near-UV light.
Interface charge engineering in GaN-based MIS-HEMTs

Atomic layer deposited Al2O3/III-nitride interfacial charge properties were investigated experimentally. Substantial amount of positive interface fixed charges (> 1.8×1013 cm-2) were observed on all the orientations of GaN and Ga-polar AlGaN. These interface charges bring large impact on electron transport especially in vertically scaled devices. Post-metallization anneals is one of the methods which can significantly alter this sheet charge in the case of Al2O3 on GaN. Oxygen plasma is another approach to efficiently reduce the interface charges at Al2O3/AlGaN. The interface charge density engineering described here can be used to improve performance of device such as gate leakage and electron transport, and also provides a new design of normally-off MISHEMTs.
Numerical and experimental investigation of heat transfer within the first circulation length of a digitized flow

In this paper, the heat transfer to a hydrodynamically developed digitzed flow in a microchannel is studied with a specific emphasis on the dynamics occuring near the start of a heated region. The nondimensional parameters governing the phenomena are identified and the relations among them are presented. It is shown that the relevant nondimensional parameters are Nu, x/D, Ld/D, Re, and Pr while ignoring the air gap between droplets. Currently, Digitized Heat Transfer (DHT) is most commonly presented as Nu with respect to equation. This approach is reexamined and it is shown that equation is a parameter uniquely suited to heat transfer in a continuous flow and not appropriate for DHT. Based on two dimensional Cartesian and axisymmetric numerical simulations, a new model is proposed where heat transfer rate in DHT is presented as Nu√(AR/Pe) vs x/(2Ld+D) where AR = Ld/D is the droplet aspect ratio. Using this scaling, the Nu within the first circulation length of a translating droplet converges for all AR and Pe values greater than 1. Experimental trials are conducted to verify trends observed in numerical simulations. It is confirmed that increases in Pe cause an overall increase in Nu and that the proposed scaling is applicable to digitized flows with liquid fractions less than one. Furthermore, it is found that the relative size of the gas bubbles compared to the liquid droplets can have an effect on local heat transfer rate where larger gas bubbles result in a lower Nu.
DGA-designed bended film antenna for dual-band WLAN operation

In this paper, we apply a distributed genetic-algorithm (DGA) to the design of bended film antenna operating at the 2.4/5 GHz wireless local area network. The DGA is performed by selection, crossover, mutation and migration of individuals in sub-populations (islands) grouped by bending angles. Multi-objective optimization for antenna characteristics is solved. Several methods are proposed for the migration and the effect is demonstrated by comparing their simulated results.
Evaluation of SnB for the location of anomalous scattering atoms in SAD/MAD phasing

Sixteen existing single-wavelength/multi-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD/MAD) data sets with a broad range of crystallographic properties have been used to investigate the various parameters in SnB with the goal of finding the optimum values for locating the positions of anomalous scatterers. The results of the analysis indicate some changes in default parameters that may be useful for non-routine and difficult cases.
Expanding Our Understanding of the Change Message

With the development of the global economy in the late 1980s and 1990s, organizations have been forced to continually reevaluate operations and strategies. As a result, the one constant in this dynamic world is the everchanging work environment. The human resource and organizational development fields have long looked to investigate what makes change efforts successful. Researchers and practitioners have both found employee readiness to be a critical factor in successful change efforts. This article provides a theoretical foundation for one of the most complete models of organizational readiness. Specifically, the Armenakis, Harris, &Feild five-message component model of organizational readiness is presented with a theoretical foundation for the importance of each of the five specified components. A case study is provided to display the need to communicate each of the message components. Implications and conclusions draw attention to the importance of taking proactive steps in creating readiness.
Fluorine-18 labelled substituted benzazepines as potential radiotracers for imaging dopamine D1 receptors by positron emission tomography

Received 8 July 1993, accepted 25 August 1993 High affinity and selective fluorinated derivatives of 7-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-l-(3'-aminophenyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-lH-3benzazepine (SCH 38548) for dopamine D 1 receptors have been prepared. The derivatives exhibit subnanomolar to nanomolar affinities for dopamine D 1 receptors and micromolar to millimolar affinities for dopamine D 2 and 5-HT 2 receptors. Biodistribution of N-(3-[lSF]fluoropropyl)SCH 38548 in rats showed specific uptake and retention (0.64% injected dose/g at 30 min) of the radiotracer in the striata with striata to cerebellum ratios reaching 12 at 2 h post-injection. Preliminary positron emission tomography scans in rhesus monkeys indicate selective uptake of the radiotracer in the striata. N-(3-[~F]Fluoropropyl)SCH 38548; Dopamine D 1 receptors; PET (positron emission tomography)
Outcome profiles of locoregional disease after radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the outcome profiles of a large number of patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the prostate following radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) for clinically organ-confined disease. Of 1662 men who underwent RPP performed by a single surgeon between January 1972 and January 1999, 692 patients (41.6%) aged a median of 66.1 years were found to have extracapsular disease on pathological evaluation. The extent of disease was categorized as either specimen-confined (n=355) or margin-positive (n=337). The histological grade of the cancer was characterized using the Gleason score. Time to biochemical failure, defined as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of ≥0.5 ng/ml, and cancer-associated survival were the end points of our outcome analysis using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. The median time to cancer-associated death for patients with specimen- confined and margin-positive disease was 18.5 and 13.1 years, respectively. After 5 years, 37% and 54% of the patients with specimen-confined and margin-positive disease, respectively, had PSA failure. Prostate cancer patients with a Gleason score of 5–6, 7, and 8–10 experienced a median time to cancer-associated death of 19.9, 19.2, and 10.5 years, respectively. A subset of patients undergoing adjunctive radiation therapy (XRT) relapsed biochemically after a median period of approximately 18 months. RPP provides a substantial disease-control benefit in patients with specimen-confined cancer. The time to biochemical failure and the time to cancer-associated death are significantly influenced by the biology of the underlying disease, necessitating long-term follow-up in the outcome analysis of any modality of treatment for prostate cancer. A benefit of early adjunctive XRT for local failure remains to be determined.
Current Issues in Gram-Negative Resistance: Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases and Inducible Beta-Lactamases

The production of beta-lactamases is the most common cause of antimicrobial resistance in gram-negative bacilli. Two beta-lactamases, extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and inducible beta-la...
Estradiol Regulates Expression of Estrogen Receptor ERα46 in Human Macrophages

BACKGROUND Monocytes and macrophages are key innate immune effector cells that produce cytokines and chemokines upon activation. We and others have shown that 17beta-estradiol (E2) has a direct role in the modulation of monocyte and macrophage immune function. However, relatively little is known about the ability of E2 to regulate isoform expression of estrogen receptors (ERs) in these cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study, we quantify expression of ERalpha and ERbeta in human monocytes and macrophages. We also show for the first time that the N-terminal truncated ERalpha variant, ERalpha46, is expressed in both cell types. Promoter utilization studies reveal that transcription of ERalpha in both cell types occurs from upstream promoters E and F. Treatment with E2 induces ERalpha expression in macrophages but has no effect on ERbeta levels in either cell type. During monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation, ERalpha is upregulated in a time-dependent manner. Previous studies by our group demonstrated that E2 treatment attenuates production of the chemokine CXCL8 in an ER-dependent manner. We now show that ERalpha expression levels parallel the ability of E2 to suppress CXCL8 production. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This work demonstrates for the first time that human macrophages predominantly express the truncated ER variant ERalphap46, which is estradiol-inducible. This is mediated through usage of the ERalpha F promoter. Alternative promoter usage may account for tissue and cell type-specific differences in estradiol-induced effects on gene expression. These studies signify the importance of ERalpha expression and regulation in the ability of E2 to modulate innate immune responses.
Diffusion of methanol in PMMA shear bands

Abstract The rate of penetration of liquid methanol in PMMA shear bands was found to be much faster than that in the undeformed region. In the shear bands, the transport process seems to be Fickian diffusion, while in the undeformed region it is Case 11. The diffusion coefficient of methanol in the PMMA shear band was found to be 2·4 × 10 −8 cm2/s at 24·5°C.
Product variety strategy after rivals exit: preexisting market structure and new market entry

The departure of major players from a concentrated market often causes dramatic changes in the competitive landscape, yet little research has investigated the strategic implications of rival exits ...
Review of Autopsies of Stillborn Infants with Retroplacental Hematoma or Hemorrhage

Abstract Intrathoracic petechiae are a potential marker of acute asphyxia in stillborn infants. Retroplacental hematoma (RPH) is a cause of acute asphyxia. The histological features of RPH can be timed using criteria for intrauterine duration of fetal death. Autopsies of stillborn infants of >26 weeks in gestation with RPH were evaluated for gross or microscopic evidence of petechiae. Placental gross and microscopic features were recorded. Eleven controls from other mechanisms of death were randomly selected. Intrathoracic petechiae were present in all 17 infants with RPH of >50% of the placental area, in 3 of 7 infants with 50% of the placenta demonstrat...
Michael Smith and the rationality of immoral action

Although it goes against a widespread significant misunderstanding of his view, Michael Smith is one of the very few moral philosophers who explicitly wants to allow for the commonsense claim that, while morally required action is always favored by some reason, selfish and immoral action can also be rationally permissible. One point of this paper is to make it clear that this is indeed Smith’s view. It is a further point to show that his way of accommodating this claim is inconsistent with his well-known “practicality requirement” on moral judgments: the thesis that any rational person will always have at least some motivation to do what she judges to be right. The general conclusion is that no view that, like Smith’s, associates the normative strength of a reason with the motivational strength of an ideal desire will allow for the wide range of rational permissibility that Smith wants to capture.
High-speed holocinematographic velocimeter for studying turbulent flow control physics

Use of a dual view, high speed, holographic movie technique is examined for studying turbulent flow control physics. This approach, which eliminates some of the limitations of previous holographic techniques, is termed a holocinematographic velocimeter (HCV). The data from this system can be used to check theoretical turbulence modeling and numerical simulations, visualize and measure coherent structures in 'non-simple' turbulent flows, and examine the mechanisms operative in various turbulent control/drag reduction concepts. This system shows promise for giving the most complete experimental characterization of turbulent flows yet available.
Thoughts after Brunn: Quality and Quantity in Geography Research

(1996). Thoughts after Brunn: Quality and Quantity in Geography Research. The Professional Geographer: Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 100-102.
Creating a single combined composition table for foods and dietary supplements

Traditionally, developers of nutrient composition databases have maintained separate databases for foods and supplements. Here we present a methodology for combining these two databases with the evaluated advantages and disadvantages of such a conversion. A combined database will have several advantages: eliminating the need to distinguish between a supplement and a food; adding the ability to create recipes for foods with added nutrients and for supplements which are combinations of multiple tablets or ingredients; permitting quantification of nutrient intakes from herbal supplements and food extracts used as supplements; facilitating analysis of naturally occurring nutrients versus added nutrients; and simplifying database maintenance. Several challenges were identified in this process including the need to resolve differing units for nutrients in foods and supplements and the time and cost of the conversion. We concluded the conversion to a combined database is essential if we are to increase the accuracy of our estimates of total dietary intake.
Laguerre polynomial expansions in indefinite inner product spaces

Abstract When − j − 1 α j , where j is a positive integer, the Laguerre polynomials { L n ( α ) } n = 0 ∞ form a complete orthogonal set in a nondegenerate inner product space H which is defined by employing an appropriate regularized linear functional on H ( j ) [[0, ∞); x α + j e − x ]. Expansions in terms of these Laguerre polynomials are exhibited. The Laguerre differential operator is shown to be self-adjoint with real, discrete, integer eigenvalues. Its spectral resolution and resolvent are exhibited and discussed.
Methane generation from UK landfill sites and its use as an energy resource

Emissions of methane from UK landfill sites are estimated to be about 46% of the country's total releases of methane to atmosphere. Combusting landfill gas offers an effective way of reducing emissions from this source. Using landfill gas as an energy resource also reduces dependence on fossil fuel sources of energy. There are currently over 60 landfill sites in the UK where landfill gas is used either directly or in power generation schemes, combusting about 190 kt of methane per year. This figure is predicted to exceed 550 kt per year by 2000 as a result of market incentive schemes for power generation from non-fossil sources and of increased environmental legislation to encourage landfill gas control and use.
Sucrose octaacetate-taster mice have more vallate taste buds than non-tasters.

Abstract Taste buds were counted in two strains of mice which have been characterized in terms of their taste avoidance of the bitter-tasting substance, sucrose octaacetate (SOA). One strain (SWR/J) avoids SOA and is referred to as ‘taster’ while the other strain (C57BL/6J) does not avoid SOA at the same concentration and is termed ‘non-taster’. The taster-strain contains a significantly greater number of taste buds in its vallate papillae than the non-tasters do. The relative number of taste buds which individual mice and humans possess probably contributes to the relative differences in their taste sensitivity and preference behaviors.
A potential model of pediatric posttraumatic epilepsy

Preclinical models of pediatric posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) are lacking. We hypothesized that traumatic brain injury (TBI), induced by controlled cortical impact, in immature rats would cause electroencephalographic (EEG) epileptiform activity and behavioral seizures. TBI or sham craniotomy was performed on postnatal day 17. Using video-EEG monitoring 4-11 months post-TBI, most TBI rats (87.5%) showed EEG spiking and one had spontaneous, recurrent seizures. Controls showed neither EEG spikes nor electrographic/behavioral seizures. Late seizures were rare after TBI, but EEG spiking was common and may represent a surrogate for PTE.
Improving the performance of log-structured file systems with adaptive methods

File system designers today face a dilemma. A log-structured file system (LFS) can offer superior performance for many common workloads such as those with frequent small writes, read traffic that is predominantly absorbed by the cache, and sufficient idle time to clean the log. However, an LFS has poor performance for other workloads, such as random updates to a full disk with little idle time to clean. In this paper, we show how adaptive algorithms can be used to enable LFS to provide high performance across a wider range of workloads. First, we show how to improve LFS write performance in three ways: by choosing the segment size to match disk and workload characteristics, by modifying the LFS cleaning policy to adapt to changes in disk utilization, and by using cached data to lower cleaning costs. Second, we show how to improve LFS read performance by reorganizing data to match read patterns. Using trace-driven simulations on a combination of synthetic and measured workloads, we demonstrate that these extensions to LFS can significantly improve its performance.
High-temperature thermodynamic properties of alkali feldspars

Recent hydrofluoric acid solution calorimetric data are used to derive standard enthalpies and Gibbs free energies of formation of low-albite, high-albite, NaAlSi3O8 glass, microcline, sanidine, and KAlSi3O8 glass. The data are presented as high-temperature functions from 298.15 to 1400° K.
Germline melanoma susceptibility and prognostic genes: A review of the literature

In recent years, there have been increasing efforts to identify germline genetic variants that may alter melanoma susceptibility and prognosis. The findings of these studies have indicated the presence of rare, high-penetrance alleles with large effects, such as CDKN2A and CDK4 , more common, moderately penetrant genes like MC1R , and very common, low-penetrance polymorphisms with small effects that are related to pigmentation, nevus count, immune responses, DNA repair, metabolism, and the vitamin D receptor. The study of these low-penetrance single nucleotide polymorphisms is relatively new; thus many of them are termed ‘candidate melanoma susceptibility or prognostic genes.' This review summarizes the research on germline polymorphisms that have been implicated in melanoma susceptibility and prognosis in order to provide a framework for additional studies to meet the ultimate goal of predicting a patient's risk of, and prognosis in, cutaneous malignant melanoma.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS FROM DIMENSIONAL STUDIES OF ROLL‐CALL VOTING?

How many dimensions are there in Congressional roll-call votes? What do dimensions tell us about Congressional politics? Poole and Rosenthal have found one or a very few dimensions. Earlier work has identified problems with Poole and Rosenthal's dimensional fitting method. This paper finds additional problems, showing that when legislators’relative intensity of preferences varies across issues, the Poole and Rosenthal approach will fail. Specifically, while redistributive issues fit their model, distributive and regulative issues allow gains from trade, and thus vote-trading and coalition-building. Roll-call data show voting patterns inconsistent with the Poole and Rosenthal model.
Climate extremes in California agriculture

Changes in extreme events may represent an important component of climate change impacts on agricultural systems in California. This study considered the relative historical importance of extreme events, as measured by insurance and disaster payments. The causes for each main event for 1993–2007 were classified into general categories to compare the importance of dry vs. wet and hot vs. cold events. The study found that the most common cause of both insurance indemnity and disaster payments is excess moisture, followed by cold spells and heat waves. Climate change is likely to have different effects on the occurrence of each of these, for instance with frosts becoming less common while heat waves increase in frequency and duration. Resolving the overall net effect of changes in climate extremes will largely depend on improved understanding of future risks of excess rainfall and flooding events.
Fading Mnemonic Memories: Here's Looking Anew, Again!

Abstract Associative mnemonic benefits on delayed memory tests have been questioned—especially in the absence of an immediate test (e.g., Wang & Thomas, 1995). In this regard, we recently described a series of experiments that placed delayed mnemonic performance in a more favorable light (Carney & Levin, 1998). Despite the positive findings, a nonstatistically steeper rate of forgetting was observed for mnemonic participants, which led us to search for additional decay-preventive measures. One such measure might be to provide actual pictures of mnemonic interactions rather than just verbal descriptions of them. To test this hypothesis, we assigned undergraduates to one of three conditions to study a set of artists and their paintings: own best method, verbal mnemonic, and pictorial mnemonic. Following study of over 24 paintings, students in the two mnemonic conditions outperformed those in the control condition on both immediate and delayed tests. Further, and in line with our expectation, pictorial mnemonic students exhibited a statistically lower rate of forgetting compared to control students.
Hydrogen tolerance of a Ti3Al-based alloy

The Ti-24Al-llNb (Ti-24-11) alloy heat-treated to the fine basketweave microstructure was shown previously to be hydrogen-tolerant. In order to assess its limit of hydrogen tolerance, the tensile, creep, fracture toughness, and sustained-load crack growth behaviors of this alloy were studied as a function of hydrogen content. All test specimens were charged thermally with internal hydrogen and tested at 25 °C and 600 °C. Coupon specimens were used for developing the hydrogen-charging procedures and for studying compatibility of the alloy with high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous hydrogen. The mechanical test results indicated that the fine basketweave microstructure was tolerant to hydride embrittlement for hydrogen contents up to ≈1500 wppm. On the other hand, hydrogen charging experiments indicated that the Ti-24-11 alloy was severely cracked and pulverized under zero load when the hydrogen content exceeded 3000 wppm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the dichotomous behaviors might be due to the formation of face-centered cubic (fee) δ-type hydrides at higher hydrogen contents but face-centered tetragonal (fct) γ-type hydrides at lower hydrogen contents. Thus, hydrogen embrittlement in the Ti-24-11 alloy with the fine basketweave microstructure depends on hydrogen content and the nature of hydrides formed.
Conformational electroresistance and hysteresis in nanoclusters

Among many mechanisms proposed for electroresistance, ones involving structural changes are the least understood because of challenges of controllability and repeatability. Yet structural changes can cause dramatic changes in electronic properties, leading to multiple ways in which conduction paths can be opened and closed, not limited to filament movement or variation in molecular conductance. Here we show at least another way: conformational dependence of the Coulomb charging energy of a nanocluster, where charging induced conformational distortion changes the blockade voltage, which in turn leads to a giant electroresistance. This intricate interplay between charging and conformation change is demonstrated in a nanocluster Zn3O4 by combining a first-principles calculation with a temperature dependent transport model. The predicted hysteretic Coulomb blockade staircase in the current-voltage curve adds another dimension to the rich phenomenon of tunneling electroresistance. The new mechanism also provides a better controlled and repeatable platform to study conformational electroresistance.
CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SINGLE CELLS AND SINGLE MOLECULES

Advances in sensitive optical measurement schemes have led to the detection and the physical and chemical characterization of single biological cells and individual molecules. These technological achievements are much more than the ultimate milestone in low-level monitoring. Potential applications include DNA sequencing at high speeds, probing microscale environments, monitoring environmental pollution, studying the variability of molecular conformations, detecting disease infection at an early stage, and devising molecular-scale imaging probes.
Hot topics in autoimmune diseases: Perspectives from the 2013 Asian Congress of Autoimmunity

Our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and possible treatments of autoimmune diseases has significantly increased over the past decade. Nonetheless, numerous major issues remain open and such issues span from epidemiology to clinimetrics and from the role of infectious agents to the search for accurate biomarkers in paradigmatic conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and spondyloarthropathies. In the case of cardiovascular comorbidities of autoimmune diseases or, more generally, the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, fascinating evidence points to a central role of autoimmunity and metabolic dysfunctions and a possible role of therapies targeting inflammation to ameliorate both conditions. Basic science and translational medicine contribute to identify common mechanisms that underlie different autoimmune diseases, as in the case of tumor necrosis factor alpha, and more recently vitamin D, autoantibodies, T and B regulatory cells, and microRNA. Finally, new therapies are expected to significantly change our approach to autoimmune diseases, as represented by the recent FDA approval of the first oral JAK inhibitor. The present article moves from the major topics that were discussed at the 2013 Asian Congress of Autoimmunity in Hong Kong to illustrate the most recent data from leading journals in autoimmunity and immunology.
Choosing a Model and Appropriate Transition Dipole Moments for Time-Dependent Calculations of Intervalence Electronic Transitions

Intervalence electron transfer spectra in mixed-valence molecules are frequently modeled by an interacting pair of adiabatic potential energy surfaces. The presence or absence of a double minimum in the lower surface is correlated with trapped or delocalized charges, respectively. In the time-dependent picture of the spectroscopy, calculations are conveniently carried out in a diabatic basis. The choice of a diabatic basis for a given adiabatic potential surface is not unique. The appropriateness of a given representation depends on the physical model that is chosen to represent the system. We present three diabatic models that give the same adiabatic potential surface. The first model represents charge transfer between two sites, the second represents a transition between bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals, and the third represents a nonbonding to nonbonding transition. Each of these models gives rise to a different calculated absorption spectrum even though they arise from the same adiabatic pic...
UNILATERAL VIDEO-ASSISTED THORACIC SURGICAL LUNG REDUCTION

Background. Lung reduction has been demonstrated to be a promising treatment for end-stage emphysema when performed on both lungs via sternotomy. The role for a thoracoscopic approach has not yet been determined. Methods. Unilateral video-assisted thoracic surgical lung reduction was performed on 50 patients for the treatment of end-stage emphysema. There were 34 men and 16 women with a mean age of 61.5 years (range, 31 to 78 years). Emphysema was secondary to smoking in 45 patients (90%), and α 1 -antitrypsin deficiency in 5 patients (10%), 4 of whom had smoked in the past. Lung reduction was performed unilaterally using a thoracoscope and a stapled resection without the routine use of bovine pericardium. The side to be operated on the site of resection were determined preoperatively by examination of the perfusion and computed tomographic scans of the lungs. The average amount of lung removed was 59 ± 15 g (range, 29 to 111 g). Results. Morbidity included prolonged air leak in 15 patients (30%), bleeding in 3 (6%), pneumonia requiring reintubation in 3 (6%), myocardial infarction in 1 (2%), and perforated ulcer in 1 (2%). Seven patients (14%) required a second thoracic procedure for management of these complications. Two patients died, for an operative mortality of 4%. Follow-up obtained between 1 and 3 months in 25 patients revealed significant improvement in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (0.71 to 0.95 L; p p p p = 0.06). Conclusions. Significant subjective improvement in dyspnea has been noted in 41 of 48 hospital survivors (85%). For patients with end-stage emphysema, unilateral video-assisted thoracic surgical lung reduction appears to be a preferable alterantive to standard medical management.
Apolipoprotein ε4 is associated with more rapid decline in odor identification than in odor threshold or Dementia Rating Scale scores

Abstract Individuals with the apolipoprotein E e4 genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) show deficits in olfactory function. The purpose of the present study was to examine longitudinally odor identification (odor ID), odor threshold, picture identification, and global cognitive status in allele positive (e4+) and negative (e4−) persons. Participants were initially given the San Diego Odor Identification test, an odor threshold test, and the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). Participants were re-tested approximately four years later. The results indicate: (1) odor ID declined more rapidly in e4+ than in e4− normal elderly adults; (2) neither group exhibited a significant decline in odor threshold, picture identification or DRS scores. These results suggest that declines in odor identification occur before declines in other measures of dementia in persons at risk for AD because of their APOE allele genetic status.
Inquiring About the Bizarre: False Positives in Diagnostic Interview Schedule Children (DISC) Ascertainment of Obsessions, Compulsions, and Psychotic Symptoms

This study examines the extent to which children misinterpret the intent of structured interview questions about obsessions, compulsions, and psychotic symptoms, and it evaluates the implications of such errors for estimating the rate of psychiatric symptoms. The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) was administered to a sample of 240 randomly selected children and young adults. Positive replies to questions were recoded as negative when the examples indicated that the respondents misunderstood the intent of the question. The editing reduced the rate of obsessive and compulsive symptoms by approximately one third and the rate of delusions by a factor of 5 to 10. Analysis of mothers' responses to the parent version of the DISC indicated that mothers made similar “errors” Suggestions for improving the instrument include rewording questions to incorporate examples of abnormal behaviors, and enhancing interviewers' understanding of the intent of these questions.
Generalized affine gap costs for protein sequence alignment.

Based on the observation that a single mutational event can delete or insert multiple residues, affine gap costs for sequence alignment charge a penalty for the existence of a gap, and a further length-dependent penalty. From structural or multiple alignments of dis- tantly related proteins, it has been observed that conserved residues frequently fall into ungapped blocks separated by relatively non- conserved regions. To take advantage of this structure, a simple generalization of affine gap costs is proposed that allows nonconserved regions to be effectively ignored. The distribu- tion of scores from local alignments using these generalized gap costs is shown empirically to follow an extreme value distribution. Examples are presented for which generalized affine gap costs yield superior alignments from the stand- points both of statistical significance and of alignment accuracy. Guidelines for selecting generalized affine gap costs are discussed, as is their possible application to multiple align- ment. Proteins 32:88-96, 1998. 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc. †
A chromatin activity-based chemoproteomic approach reveals a transcriptional repressome for gene-specific silencing

Immune cells develop endotoxin tolerance (ET) after prolonged stimulation. ET increases the level of a repression mark H3K9me2 in the transcriptionally silent chromatin specifically associated with pro-inflammatory genes. However, it is not clear what proteins are functionally involved in this process. Here we show that a novel chromatin activity-based chemoproteomic (ChaC) approach can dissect the functional chromatin protein complexes that regulate ET-associated inflammation. Using UNC0638 that binds the enzymatically active H3K9-specific methyltransferase G9a/GLP, ChaC reveals that G9a is constitutively active at a G9a-dependent mega-dalton repressome in primary endotoxin-tolerant macrophages. G9a/GLP broadly impacts the ET-specific reprogramming of the histone code landscape, chromatin remodelling and the activities of select transcription factors. We discover that the G9a-dependent epigenetic environment promotes the transcriptional repression activity of c-Myc for gene-specific co-regulation of chronic inflammation. ChaC may also be applicable to dissect other functional protein complexes in the context of phenotypic chromatin architectures.
Implementing a Neural Network System to Solve the Inverse Kinematics of a Biologically Inspired Robotic Cat Leg

A neural network capable of solving the inverse kinematics of a four degree of freedom biologically inspired robotic cat leg (qualified as a serial linkage system) within its effective 3-D workspace is presented in this paper. The workspace consists of layers of similar but highly nonlinear cells whose vertices are associated with known kinematic variables provided by the robotic leg. The proposed neural network uses geometric properties coupled with the desired end effecter location as the neural network inputs to locate the cell for which encapsulates the associated location. Another neuron layer utilizing activation functions trained with the Perceptron Fixed learning rule is applied to interpolate within the identified cell. The similarity associated between all of the cells allows the trained neural network to effectively be applied in solving the inverse kinematics of the entire workspace.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
GRAVITY-INDUCED STRESSES IN FINITE SLOPES

Abstract An exact solution for gravity-induced stresses in finite elastic slopes is presented. This solution, which is applied for gravity-induced stresses in 15, 30, 45 and 90° finite slopes, has application in pit-slope design, compares favorably with published finite element results for this problem and satisfies the conditions that shear and normal stresses vanish on the ground surface. The solution predicts that horizontal stresses are compressive along the top of the slopes (zero in the case of the 90° slope) and tensile away from the bottom of the slopes, effects which are caused by downward movement and near-surface horizontal extension in front of the slope in response to gravity loading caused by the additional material associated with the finite slope.
Occurrence and vapor particle partitioning of heavy organic compounds in ambient air in Brazzaville, Congo

Abstract High volume air samples for organochlorine (OC) pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were collected during August–September 1989 in Brazzaville, Congo (4·14°S, 15·14°E). Average concentrations (ng/m 3 ) were ΣDDT = 2·8; ΣHCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) 0·42; Σchlordane = 0.027; ΣPCB = 0.55; Σ 3–6 ring PAH = 42; total DDT concentrations in Brazzaville fell between those reported in Porto Novo and Delhi (India) and were 20–100 times higher than those found in US cities. The average γ-HCH to α-HCH ratio (11) indicated use of lindane instead of technical HCH. The similarities between chlordane levels in Brazzaville and the open ocean indicated that little or no local use occurs. PAH levels were about equal to or lower than those reported in US cities, whereas PCB levels were three times lower. Vapor/particle distribution coefficients for several OC and PAH were in good correlation with their vapor pressures. The fraction of PAH on particles was greater than that of OC pesticides.
Regulation of oxygen utilization by angiotensin II in chronic kidney disease

Angiotensin II blockade delays progression of chronic kidney disease by modifying intrarenal hemodynamics, but the effects on metabolic adaptations are unknown. Using the remnant kidney model of chronic kidney disease in rats, we measured the effects of combined angiotensin II blockade with captopril and losartan on renal oxygen consumption (QO2) and factors influencing QO2. Remnant kidneys had proteinuria and reductions in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal blood flow (RBF) and nitric oxide synthase-1 protein expression while QO2, factored by sodium reabsorption (QO2/TNa), was markedly increased. Combined blockade treatment normalized these parameters while increasing sodium reabsorption but, since QO2 was unchanged, QO2/TNa also normalized. Triple antihypertensive therapy, to control blood pressure, and treatment with lysine, to increase GFR and RBF, did not normalize QO2/TNa, suggesting a specific effect of angiotensin II in elevating QO2/TNa. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase increased QO2 in the kidney of sham-operated rats but not in the remnant kidney of untreated rats. Our study shows that combined captopril and losartan treatment normalized QO2/TNa and functional nitric oxide activity in the remnant kidney independent of blood pressure and GFR effects, suggesting that other mechanisms in addition to hemodynamics underlie the benefits of angiotensin II blockade.
Mineralocorticoid receptors in the brain and cardiovascular regulation: minority rule?

A small proportion of brain mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) mediate control of blood pressure, water and electrolyte balance, sodium appetite, and sympathetic drive to the periphery. Circulating inflammatory cytokines modulate MR-mediated changes in sympathoexcitation. Aldosterone binding to MR in the brain occurs, despite concentrations that are 2–3 orders of magnitude less than those of cortisol and corticosterone, which have similar affinity for the MR. The possible mechanisms for selective MR activation by aldosterone, the cellular mechanisms of MR action and the effects of brain MR on hemodynamic homeostasis are considered in this review. MR antagonists are valuable adjuncts to the treatment of chronic cardiovascular and renal disease; the crucial need to discover targets for development of selective therapy for specific MR functions is also discussed.