cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contributions of Phenylalanine 335 to Ligand Recognition by Human Surfactant Protein D: ring interactions with Sp-D ligands

Abstract Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is an innate immune effector that contributes to antimicrobial host defense and immune regulation. Interactions of SP-D with microorganisms and organic antigens involve binding of glycoconjugates to the C-type lectin carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). A trimeric fusion protein encoding the human neck+CRD bound to the aromatic glycoside p-nitrophenyl-α-d-maltoside with nearly a log-fold higher affinity than maltose, the prototypical competitor. Maltotriose, which has the same linkage pattern as the maltoside, bound with intermediate affinity. Site-directed substitution of leucine for phenylalanine 335 (Phe-335) decreased affinities for the maltoside and maltotriose without significantly altering the affinity for maltose or glucose, and substitution of tyrosine or tryptophan for leucine restored preferential binding to maltotriose and the maltoside. A mutant with alanine at this position failed to bind to mannan or maltose-substituted solid supports. Crystallographic analysis of the human neck+CRD complexed with maltotriose or p-nitrophenyl-maltoside showed stacking of the terminal glucose or nitrophenyl ring with the aromatic ring of Phe-335. Our studies indicate that Phe-335, which is evolutionarily conserved in all known SP-Ds, plays important, if not critical, roles in SP-D function.
An Information Architecture for Systems Engineering ‐ Progress, Examples, and Directions

As the complexity of our systems continues to rise, a growing number of engineers, managers and marketing professionals are realizing that they must make dramatic process improvements in order to address the challenges of timely systems development in a strong competitive environment. Three critical elements are needed to provide the foundation for these process improvements: 1) an information architecture; 2) an information structure, optimized by domain; and 3) Enterprise-wide decision making and technology planning processes. This paper will describe the progress made in developing and piloting these capabilities, provide an example of successful use, and outline some of the next steps.
Evolution of symptom severity during residential treatment of females with eating disorders.

Objectives: The overall objective of this study was to measure the evolution of symptom severity in a residential programme based on a multidimensional approach to treatment that includes cognitive-behavioural, interpersonal, experiential and family therapies. The specific aims of the study were: 1) to evaluate changes in symptom severity in bulimic and anorexic patients between admission and discharge; 2) to compare the severity of these symptoms with those of non-patient college females (control group); and 3) to monitor the progression of symptom changes six months after discharge. Methods: The evolution of symptom severity was measured by comparing the mean raw scores of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI original inventory, 1983 version), which was administered at the beginning and end of the residential treatment. A subgroup of patients was also administered the EDI six months after discharge. The study involved 99 females: 47 with bulimia and 52 with anorexia as diagnosed by means of a clinical interview using DSM-IV criteria. The mean raw EDI scores in the control group (FC1, female college students) were obtained from the EDI manual. The population means were compared using the t-test for paired data (Microsoft Excel, version 2000). Results: The overall results for the population as a whole show that the eight subscales of the EDI improved significantly with treatment (<0.001). The subscales with the largest numerical improvements were drive for thinness, ineffectiveness and interoceptive awareness. When divided on the basis of diagnosis, the mean feelings of perfectionism score of the bulimic patients was less than that of the control female college sample; the symptoms of bulimia in the anorexic patients were similar to those found in the control group. The fact that the mean follow-up scores for a number of the EDI subscales remained similar to those recorded at the time of discharge suggests that some of the improvements in symptoms remained for at least six months. Conclusions: The results of our study show that multidimensional residential treatment leads to statistically significant changes in the severity of the symptoms manifested by females with eating disorders.
Type IV collagen localization in hamster tracheal epithelial cell cultures

Summary Hamster tracheal epithelial (HTE) cell cultures when grown on collagen coated Millicell-HA filters for 28 d in vitro have an incomplete basal lamina-like structure at the basal plasmalemma/collagen interface. EM evaluation of 42 d HTE cell cultures also revealed the presence of hemidesmosome-like structures on the basal plasmalemma. In order to better characterize this discontinuous basal lamina-like material, HTE cultures at 7, 14, 21, and 28 d were evaluated for the presence of type IV collagen, a basal lamina component. Immunocytochemical treatment of HTE cultures at these time points resulted in the presence of reaction product at the base of the cell layer. When immunocytochemical procedures for the localization of type IV collagen were carried out with normal mouse trachea, the results were also positive. Immunoblotting evaluation of HTE cell supernatants and conditioned media also indicated the presence of type IV collagen. Taken altogether, the presence of what appears to be basal lamina, hemidesmosome-like structures and immunocytochemical and immunoblot data showing the presence of type IV collagen in HTE cultures suggest that HTE cells may be producing basal lamina components but cannot organize them into a complete basal lamina.
Mining sequences of changed-files from version histories

Modern source-control systems, such as Subversion, preserve change-sets of files as atomic commits. However, the specific ordering information in which files were changed is typically not found in these source-code repositories. In this paper, a set of heuristics for grouping change-sets (i.e., log-entries) found in source-code repositories is presented. Given such groups of change-sets, sequences of files that frequently change together are uncovered. This approach not only gives the (unordered) sets of files but supplements them with (partial temporal) ordering information. The technique is demonstrated on a subset of KDE source-code repository. The results show that the approach is able to find sequences of changed-files.
Lipoprotein effects of different thiazolidinediones in clinical practice.

Objective: To investigate and compare the effects of troglitazone and rosiglitazone on plasma lipoproteins in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. Methods: This cohort study was conducted in the Diabetes Clinic of the University of Alabama. We identified and studied 18 patients with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia first treated with troglitazone (600 mg/day) and then transferred to rosiglitazone therapy (8 mg/day). Results: By lowering insulin resistance, thiazolidinediones have common effects on lipoproteins; however, these drugs may have important differences in their effects on individual lipid particles. In our patients, both troglitazone and rosiglitazone increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels; however, only rosiglitazone significantly changed the LDL particle size to the larger, less atherogenic LDL particle. Similarly, both troglitazone and rosiglitazone increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations; however, although troglitazone increased only HDL3, rosiglit...
Germalin repertoire of T-cell receptor β-chain genes in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Abstract We have investigated the genotype and allelic distribution of germline restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the T-cell receptor β chain, segment Cβ, and two variable segments which are in linkage disequilibrium, Vβ8 and Vβ11, in 42 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients and in 51 healthy blood donors used as controls. Recently, several works have reported contradictory results showing or not showing an association between polymorphic alleles of the Cβ gene and diabetes type I. We found no significant differences in the allele, genotype, and haplotype distribution of the gene segments studied, between IDDM patients and control populations. Human Immunology 31 77–80 (1991)
Bandwidth Limitations in Pulse Code Modulation

The calculations of Huang and Reiss for the power spectrum of a pulse code modulation message is here extended, corrected, and generalized to include a formalism for an arbitrary Markovian process. The formalism contains arbitrary pulse shape and transmission times. For a first-order Markovian message the importance of the quasidiscrete frequencies is emphasized and it is concluded that these frequencies are more significant in defining the necessary bandwidth for transmission than any “optimized” choice of transmission times.
Covert self-reinforcers, fear of consequences, and health behavior.

A sample of 125 U.S. college students reported how frequently they exercised vigorously; wore seat belts in automobiles; and avoided consumption of red meat and foods high in dietary cholesterol, saturated fat, and salt. They also reported their fears of long-term negative effects from the unhealthful alternatives and both the frequencies and intensities of 6 self-administered covert consequences: 3 positive for healthful behaviors and 3 negative for the unhealthful alternatives. Diet-related health behaviors were best predicated by a single scale composed of all 12 covert-consequence items. Factor analyses suggested the use of 2 scales for exercise and use of seat belts: 1 rating positive consequences and the other rating negative consequences. For both behaviors, only the positive-item scale predicted in multiple regression. Fear was correlated with all health behaviors except exercise, but it contributed independently only to red-meat avoidance.
Testable Earthquake Forecasts for 1999

INTRODUCTION We describe in this paper a “long term” forecast of earthquakes with magnitudes greater than or equal to 5.8, evaluated for calendar year 1999 over two active seismic regions. We also describe a “short term” daily forecast that explicitly includes clustering. These forecasts are based on earthquake data only, with no explicit use of tectonic, geologic, or geodetic information or any physical model. Our primary purposes are to develop a quantitative standard against which geological constraints and physical theories of earthquake potential can be compared, to offer an example of a general format for rigorously testable forecasts, and to give our best present estimate of seismic potential. We describe a likelihood-function method for testing the consistency of probabilistic forecasts against the ensuing earthquake record and for comparing forecasts. We have archived specific forecasts for the Northwest Pacific and Southwest Pacific regions of the Earth. At the year's end, we...
Climate change and fire management in the mid-Atlantic region.

In this review, we summarize the potential impacts of climate change on wildfire activity in the midAtlantic region, and then consider how the beneficial uses of prescribed fire could conflict with mitigation needs for climate change, focusing on patters of carbon (C) sequestration by forests in the region. We use a synthesis of field studies, eddy flux tower measurements, and simulation studies to evaluate how the use of prescribed fire affects short- and long-term forest C dynamics. Climate change may create weather conditions more conducive to wildfire activity, but successional changes in forest composition, altered gap dynamics, reduced understory and forest floor fuels, and fire suppression will likely continue to limit wildfire occurrence and severity throughout the region. Prescribed burning is the only major viable option that land managers have for reducing hazardous fuels in a cost-effective manner, or ensuring the regeneration and maintenance of fire-dependent species. Field measurements and model simulations indicate that consumption of fine fuels on the forest floor and understory vegetation during most prescribed burns is equivalent to <1–3 years of sequestered C, and depends on pre-burn fuel loading and burn intensity. Overstory tree mortality is typically low, and stands have somewhat reduced daytime C uptake during the next growing season following burns, but may also have reduced rates of ecosystem respiration. On an annual basis, net ecosystem productivity is negative the first year when consumption losses are included, but then positive in following years, and stands can reach C neutrality within <2–3 years. Field data and model simulations suggest that increases in prescribed burning in fire-prone areas would have little appreciable effect on long-term forest C dynamics in some fire-prone forest types. Large-scale conversion to young pine plantations for fiber and biofuels will potentially increase the risk of wildfires, as had occurred previously in the late-19th and early-20th centuries in the region. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Regionalization of extreme precipitation estimates for the Alabama rainfall atlas

The Alabama Rainfall Atlas is an internet-based server for delivery of design information on the characteristics of extreme precipitation throughout the state. Products delivered include intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves and 24-h design storm hyetographs based on US Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) methods. Three databases (daily, hourly, subhourly) upon which the server relies consist of at-site estimates of generalized extreme value distribution parameters for gauging sites throughout the state. Regionalization of those at-site estimates to develop precipitation products for a user-specified location is accomplished using a hybrid estimation method that consists of a weighted average of estimators based on gauging station proximities and record lengths. The regionalization procedure provides products on demand for any user-selected location (gauged or ungauged) and does not cause discontinuities at boundaries that would result from delineation of distinct regions. The databases are compact and user-requested products are produced and delivered nearly instantaneously. These latter issues are felt to be major ones considering the internet-based delivery method.
Regulative development in the pulmonate gastropod, Lymnaea palustris, as determined by blastomere deletion experiments

To determine the regulative ability of Lymnaea eggs one or more cells were deleted by puncturing or shaking eggs at the 2−, 4−, 8− and 16-cell stages. Normal snails developed from: one/two, three/four, and two/four embryos; from 8-cell embryos in which one, two, or three cells of the first quartet of micromeres or one or two macromeres were deleted; and from 16-cell stage embryos in which one cell of the second quartet of micromeres or one macromere was deleted. Only one/two embryos that cleaved as though they were whole eggs up to the 24-cell stage developed normally. Normal development of other partial embryos was associated with partial cleavage. Developmental abnormalities of partial embryos included death in the cleavage period; arrested gastrulae; trochophores, or veligers; and abnormal snails with head malformations, everted stomodea, or conical shells. Comparing the results with deletion experiments in other molluscs and with deductions from descriptive studies on the Lymnaea egg, we propose that the regulative ability of partial embryos depends on the rearrangement of cells relative to the D macromere before inductive activities begin at or after the 24-cell stage.
Soot formation in ethanol/gasoline fuel blend diffusion flames

Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine how adding ethanol to gasoline affects soot formation. This is currently an important question with respect to particulate emissions from gasoline powered motor vehicles, but in this paper the ethanol impact is examined in co-flow diffusion flames to decouple combustion chemistry from the effects of engine operating parameters. Soot size distributions are measured as a function of height above the burner for E0, E20, E50, and E85 blends. For all fuels, the size distributions evolve from a single nucleation mode low in the flame through a bimodal distribution at mid heights and finally a single accumulation mode. The soot agglomerates in the accumulation mode, exhibit a bipolar charge. The nucleation mode initially includes charged particles, but becomes electrically neutral with increasing height in the flame. Thermodesorber measurements reveal significant hydrocarbon condensation on nucleation mode particles. This is more extensive for E0, E20, and E50 fuels as compared to E85. In other respects as well, the flames fall into two classes: (1) E85 versus (2) E0, E20, and E50. These groups of flames are visibly distinct and exhibit quantitatively different trends in terms of the size and quantity of particulate matter. The E85 flame appears similar to an ethylene diffusion flame, whereas those in the second group are more akin to a benzene flame. The results are discussed with respect to their implications regarding the effects of ethanol blends on PM emissions from gasoline engines.
Taste-mediated potentiation of noningestional stimuli in rats

Abstract Holtzman rats drank saccharin in a distinctive environmental chamber prior to lithium-induced toxicosis. This treatment was administered four times. These animals subsequently drank less water or familiar saline in the chamber than animals which received water in the environment during conditioning. In addition, these environmental stimuli blocked the formation of a lithium-mediated coffee aversion more if they were conditioned in the presence of saccharin than if they were conditioned in the presence of water. Such differential blocking provided further evidence that the presence of a taste during conditioning facilitated aversion learning to the environmental chamber.
Structural signature of jamming in granular media

Glasses are rigid, but flow when the temperature is increased. Similarly, granular materials are rigid, but become unjammed and flow if sufficient shear stress is applied. The rigid and flowing phases are strikingly different, yet measurements reveal that the structures of glass and liquid are virtually indistinguishable1,2. It is therefore natural to ask whether there is a structural signature of the jammed granular state that distinguishes it from its flowing counterpart. Here we find evidence for such a signature, by measuring the contact-force distribution between particles during shearing. Because the forces are sensitive to minute variations in particle position, the distribution of forces can serve as a microscope with which to observe correlations in the positions of nearest neighbours. We find a qualitative change in the force distribution at the onset of jamming. If, as has been proposed3,4,5,6,7,8,9, the jamming and glass transitions are related, our observation of a structural signature associated with jamming hints at the existence of a similar structural difference at the glass transition—presumably too subtle for conventional scattering techniques to uncover. Our measurements also provide a determination of a granular temperature that is the counterpart in granular systems to the glass-transition temperature in liquids.
Sulfated zirconia catalysts: Are Bronsted acid sites the source of the activity?

The thermal decomposition products of pyridinium sulfate differ from those of pyridinium sulfate supported on zirconia which in turn differs from that of pyridine adsorbed on a sulfated zirconia. Unsupported pyridinium sulfate decomposes to produce pyridine and sulfuric acid, and these subsequently react to produce oxides of carbon and sulfur. Zirconia that is sulfated and then exposed to pyridine does not release detectable amount of pyridine during heating in an inert gas; rather the pyridine undergoes oxidation reduction reactions simultaneously to release CO2 and sulfur compounds. Pyridinium sulfate supported on zirconia decomposes upon heating to release pyridine and sulfuric acid, which reacts with the zirconia. The desorption of pyridine in one case and only CO2/SOx in the other case suggests that sulfated zirconia does not contain Bronsted acidity that can form pyridinium sulfate.
Ethics and defense agency funding : some considerations

Abstract The author, an anthropologist working in a military defense science and technology funding agency, offers four guidelines for social scientists for evaluating the ethical problems in defense funding opportunities. These guidelines address what social scientists need to know in order to evaluate the ethical risks involved in accepting defense funding: (1) the need to understand the code of ethics of social science organizations and their limits in dealing with ethical problems of new technologies; (2) the need to understand the implications of working in “classified” contexts; (3) the need to understand the funding program's goals and objectives; (4) the need to develop an ethical imagination about technological advances and research and develop an appropriately supportive environment for promoting ethical behavior in the scientific community.
1α,25(OH)2D3 differentially regulates miRNA expression in human bladder cancer cells

Bladder cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and eighth leading cause of cancer-related death in the US. Epidemiological and experimental studies strongly suggest a role for 1α,25(OH)2D3 in cancer prevention and treatment. The antitumor activities of 1α,25(OH)2D3 are mediated by the induction of cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, differentiation and the inhibition of angiogenesis and metastasis. miRNAs play important regulatory roles in cancer development and progression. However, the role of 1α,25(OH)2D3 in the regulation of miRNA expression and the potential impact in bladder cancer has not been investigated. Therefore, we studied 1α,25(OH)2D3-regulated miRNA expression profiles in human bladder cancer cell line 253J and the highly tumorigenic and metastatic derivative line 253J-BV by miRNA qPCR panels. 253J and 253J-BV cells express endogenous vitamin D receptor (VDR), which can be further induced by 1α,25(OH)2D3. VDR target gene 24-hydroxylase was induced by 1α,25(OH)2D3 in both cell lines, indicating functional 1α,25(OH)2D3 signaling. The miRNA qPCR panel assay results showed that 253J and 253J-BV cells have distinct miRNA expression profiles. Further, 1α,25(OH)2D3 differentially regulated miRNA expression profiles in 253J and 253J-BV cells in a dynamic manner. Pathway analysis of the miRNA target genes revealed distinct patterns of contribution to the molecular functions and biological processes in the two cell lines. In conclusion, 1α,25(OH)2D3 differentially regulates the expression of miRNAs, which may contribute to distinct biological functions, in human bladder 253J and 253J-BV cells. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled '17th Vitamin D Workshop'.
Long head of the biceps brachii tendon: unenhanced MRI versus direct MR arthrography.

We sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of unenhanced MRI and direct MR arthrography (MRA) for evaluation of the intra-articular long head of the biceps brachii tendon (LHBT) using arthroscopy as the gold standard. A retrospective review of patients who underwent shoulder MRI (n = 132) and MRA (n = 67) within 12 months prior to arthroscopy was performed. MR images were independently reviewed by two blinded musculoskeletal radiologists. Routinely recorded arthroscopic photos/videos were reviewed by an orthopedic surgeon. The LHBT was graded as normal, tendinosis, partial thickness tear less or greater than 50 %, and complete tear. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy for tendinosis and tear detection were calculated. MRI correctly diagnosed fewer normal LHBTs compared to MRA (39–54 % versus 74–84 %, respectively; p 0.05) and tears (75–83 % and 64–73 %, respectively; p > 0.05). For tendinosis, MRI versus MRA showed 18–36 % and 15–38 % sensitivity, 69–79 % and 83–91 % specificity, 22–28 % and 18–50 % PPV, 74–76 % and 80–86 % NPV, and 61–64 % and 70–81 % accuracy; respectively. For tears, MRI versus MRA showed 75–83 % and 64–73 % sensitivity, 73–75 % and 82–91 % specificity, 66–69 % and 41–62 % PPV, 82–87 % and 92–94 % NPV, and 74–78 % and 79–88 % accuracy; respectively. No significant difference was found between unenhanced MRI and direct MRA for the detection of tendinosis and tears of LHBTs.
Quantum Pareto optimal control

We describe algorithms and experimental strategies for the Pareto optimal control problem of simultaneously driving an arbitrary number of quantum observable expectation values to their respective extrema. Conventional quantum optimal control strategies are less effective at sampling points on the Pareto frontier of multiobservable control landscapes than they are at locating optimal solutions to single observable control problems. The present algorithms facilitate multiobservable optimization by following direct paths to the Pareto front, and are capable of continuously tracing the front once it is found to explore families of viable solutions. The numerical and experimental methodologies introduced are also applicable to other problems that require the simultaneous control of large numbers of observables, such as quantum optimal mixed state preparation.
WE‐C‐332‐04: Computed Tomography Imaging to Quantify Iodine Distribution in IUdR‐Labeled DNA

Purpose:Treatment planning for X‐ray Activated Auger electron radiotherapy requires CTdata sets correlated to the distribution of preloaded high Z radiosensitizer molecules in cellular DNA. The study's aim was to evaluate a polychromatic microCT scanner and a synchrotron monochromatic CT system for their ability to measure the spatial distribution of iodine incorporated in DNA.Method and Materials: The Skyscan 1074 microCT system produces images at 20–40 kVp with a 736×512 element CCDcamera.CTimages were acquired at 40 kVp and 1000 μA. The synchrotron produces a tunable (6–35 keV) monochromatic beam with a beam profile of 0.1×2.8 cm2 and a 1.5k×1k CCDcamera with focusing lenses to obtain CTimages with pixel sizes of 4.5–9.0 μm. CTimages were acquired above (33.8 keV) and below (32.5 keV) iodine's K‐edge binding energy of 33.169 keV. Phantoms were constructed from acrylic for the benchtop microCT system or glass micro‐hematocrit capillary tubes for the synchrotron based monochromatic CT system. Iodine contrast agent (Reno‐30) was diluted with distilled‐deionized water in concentrations 0.05–25 mg I ml−1. Results: Results from the microCT system and the synchrotron K‐edge subtraction data were fit using linear regression. The fit parameters for the Skyscan and CAMD (33.8 keV) data were CT♯ =2.39 + 29.7×[I] with χν 2=0.282 and CT♯ =6.80 + 82.74×[I] with χν 2=1.37 respectively. The fit parameters for the K‐edge subtraction were [I]meas= − 0.00968 + 0.677×[I]known with χν 2=1.61. Conclusion: Noise limited the microCT's accuracy at low iodine concentrations. K‐edge subtraction using monochromatic x‐rays is promising but the glass capillary tubes have proved too attenuating for test measurements. Measurement of 0.06 mg I ml−1 (corresponding to 18% thymidine replacement) appeared feasible. The imaging methods are being applied to studying Chinese hamster ovary cells containing iododeoxyuridine‐labeled DNA to verify the magnitude and distribution of iodine incorporation in cell samples.
Research programs in technical information services

Abstract Much has been made of the importance of providing cost-effective information services to scientists, engineers, and others in need of factual information of any kind. Little has been done to develop integrated and comprehensive programs aimed at improving such services. One of the reasos for this default has been the absence of any reasonably exhaustive, easy to use, collection of information about current and recent research and development in the area. Without such a data base, efforts to identify gaps or redundancies in the research would be futile. This paper describes just such a collection of information which has been developed, organized and indexed as a machine-readable data base. Besides four conventional indexes (title, author, supporting organization and performing organization) there is, as the principal approach to subject content, a specially developed faceted classification. A faceted analytical index based on this classification permits rapid Boolean searches, either manually or by computer. In addition, the full text of the data base can be searched by computer for the occurrence of any string of characters up to 80 characters long. Uses of this data base and its value to research planning are discussed.
A method for methylidenation and ethylidenation of an allylic thioether leading to a 2,3-sigma-tropic rearrangement. Failure of the Simmons-Smith reaction in the presence of thioethers

Abstract Allylic phenylthioethers are converted in one step to homoallylic phenylthioethers by treatment with methylene iodide or ethylidene iodide in the presence of diethylzinc but not zinc—copper or zinc—silver couples; furthermore, Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of cyclohexane is unsuccessful in the presence of various thioethers.
Mechanisms of Reactions of Ring-Substituted Bis(1-aziridinyl) phosphinyl Urethan Antineoplastic Agents

Bis(trans-2,3-dimethylaziridinyl)phosphinyl urethan (IV) was synthesized and compared with the corresponding cis-2,3-dimethyl derivative (III). The comparative alkylating activities and rates of hydrolysis of these two stereoisomeric aziridine derivatives, III and IV, were determined and compared with corresponding data for the monomethyl derivative (V) and two other clinically tested members of this series of antineoplastic agents (dual antagonists), AB-100 (I) and AB-132 (II). The structures of the final hydrolysis products of III, IV, and V were determined and confirmed by direct synthesis. The results indicate that the mechanisms of hydrolysis of III, IV, and V (as that of the unsubstituted aziridine derivative, AB-100) are essentially SN2, in contrast to the much faster hydrolysis of the 2,2-dimethylaziridine analog, AB-132, which involves a carbonium-ion mechanism. These studies give further support to the hypothesis that the unique pharmacologic properties of AB-132, as compared to other members of this series, may be related to the unique chemical properties of the 2,2-dimethyl-aziridine moieties.
Vascular Impedance Analysis in Human Pulmonary Circulation

Vascular impedance in human pulmonary circulation is analyzed by the fluid dynamic approach. A model representing the entire system of pulmonary circulation is constructed based on experimentally measured morphometric and elasticity data of the vessels. The pulmonary arteries and veins are considered as elastic tubes. Their impedance follows Womersley’s theory and electric analogue. The “sheet-flow” theory is employed to describe the flow in capillaries and thus a microvascular impedance matrix is derived. The input impedance at the main pulmonary artery is calculated under both zone 3 and zone 2 conditions. The results are compared with available experimental data in the literature.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Structure and Properties of Tl2Nb2O6+x Phases with the Pyrochlore Structure

Abstract Phases with the cubic pyrochlore structure and the composition Tl 2 Nb 2 O 6+ x were prepared under various oxygen pressures. Rietveld refinements of neutron powder diffraction data showed a =10.674 A for x =0.11, a =10.637 A for x =0.44, and a =10.627 A for x =0.64. Reflections forbidden by spherical atoms in ideal positions are observed at x =0.11, and these can be attributed to an anisotropic thermal displacement parameter for Tl. Despite the Tl(I)/Tl(III) mixed valency, these phases show a high electrical resistivity.
Spirituality and Quality of Life in Gynecologic Oncology Patients

PURPOSE: The inclusion of spiritual well-being in healthcare assessments can provide insight into patients' needs and coping resources. This study explored the relationship between spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL) in gynecologic oncology patients in an attempt to clarify the significance of spiritual well-being in the assessment process. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: Eighteen women with gynecologic cancer completed a self-administered questionnaire that obtained sociodemographic, medical, spiritual, and functional information. The Spiritual Well-being Scale was used to assess spiritual well-being, and the Functional Living Index: Cancer (FLIC) measured QOL. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, comparison of means, and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Patients with gynecologic cancers other than ovarian reported a better QOL and a higher degree of spiritual, existential, and religious well-being. Older patients consistently reported higher degrees of spiritual well-being and QOL than did younger patients. Married patients consistently reported higher degrees of spiritual well-being than patients who were not married (never married or separated). Catholic patients scored higher in degrees of religious and spiritual well-being as well as in FLIC scores than other patients. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Health professionals do not generally assess spiritual well-being in their evaluations of patients' needs. The findings from this study support the inclusion of spirituality as part of routine patient assessment and intervention. Clinical intervention that would increase a patient's level of spiritual awareness and his or her level of comfort associated with a personal perspective on death could help decrease the patient's level of psychosocial distress. Despite the medical establishment's bias to the contrary, religion and spirituality are positively associated with both physical and mental health and may be particularly significant to terminally ill patients. The curricula of medical, nursing, and other health schools should be redesigned appropriately.
The Role of Gender in the Generation of Stalking Scripts

The focus of this research was to examine the influence of gender on college students’ stalking scripts. One hundred fifty-four participants from a university located in the southern United States generated a narrative account of what occurs during stalking. Women were expected to generate more examples of ambiguous, non-aggressive, behaviors than were men, as well as to generate more coping strategies on the part of the target. Results overall revealed a high degree of similarity in content of generated stalking behaviors as a function of gender. However, women generated hyper-intimacy behaviors and mediated contact as part of their scripts significantly more often than did men. Women were also significantly more likely to generate a coping strategy than men.
pH Dependence of Stability of the 10th Human Fibronectin Type III Domain: A Computational Study

We present detailed computational studies based on electrostatic calculations to evaluate the origins of pKa values and the pH dependence of stability for the 10th type III domain of human fibronectin (FNfn10). One of our goals is to validate the calculation protocols by comparison to experimental data (Koide, A.; Jordan, M. R.; Horner, S.; Batori, V.; Koide, S. Biochemistry 2001, 40, 10326-10333). Another goal is to evaluate the sensitivity of the calculated ionization free energies and apparent pKa values on local structural fluctuations, which do not alter the structural convergence to a particular architecture, by using a complete ensemble of solution NMR structures and the NMR average minimized structure of FNfn10 (Main, A. L.; Harvey, T. S.; Baron, M.; Boyd, J.; Campbell, I. D. Cell 1992, 71, 671-678). Our calculations demonstrate that, at high ionic strength, FNfn10 is more stable at low pH compared to neutral pH, in overall agreement with experimental data. This behavior is attributed to contributions from unfavorable Coulombic interactions in a surface patch for the pairs Asp7-Glu9 and Asp7-Asp23. The unfavorable interactions are decreased at low pH, where the acidic residues become neutral, and are further decreased at high ionic strength because of increased screening by salt ions. Elimination of the unfavorable interactions in the theoretical mutants Asp7Asn (D7N) and Asp7Lys (D7K) produce higher calculated stabilities at neutral pH and any ionic strength compared to the wild-type, in agreement with the experimental data. We also discuss subtleties in the calculated apparent pKa values and ionization free energies, which are not in agreement with the experimental data. This work demonstrates that comparative electrostatic calculations can provide rapid predictions of pH-dependent properties of proteins and can be significant aids in guiding the design of proteins with tailored properties.
Coded Decimal Number Systems for Digital Computers

In this paper, basic properties of coded decimal number systems are presented, extending the discussion of "Synthesis of Electronic Computing and Control Circuits." From the very large numbers of possible ways of coding the ten decimal digits into sets of binary elements, a restricted group of number systems is presented as being particularly adaptable for representing the decimal digits in digital computers. As an example, one number system of this group is presented which permits the construction of a very simple addition circuit.
Use of an interactive teaching modality in predoctoral oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Purpose Although only a small percentage of any dental class will pursue oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) as a career, it is imperative that educators engender interest and foster knowledge of the specialty to the entire predoctoral class. We sought to enhance the educational experience in the predoctoral OMS rotation by employing an interactive teaching technique. Materials and Methods During 1 academic year, 108 predoctoral dental students rotated through the OMS clinical rotation at 1 institution. Clinical and didactic material was introduced to students, and was reinforced using a highly interactive technique. After all members of the class had completed the rotation, a survey of teaching methods was performed. Next, National Dental Examining Board, Part II (NDEB-II) scores from this graduating class were compared with aggregate scores from the previous 3 graduating classes, to evaluate improvements in the OMS subsection score. Groups scoring above, at, or below the national average were compared, using the χ 2 test. Results Survey results described a positive response to the teaching techniques instituted in the OMS rotation. In comparing scores from each of the 11 sections of NDEB-II between the New Curriculum (NC) class and the aggregate score of the 3 previous graduating classes, a significant improvement was noted in only 2 of 11 sections, OMS and Public Health Dentistry. In these sections, there were reductions in the numbers of students scoring below the national average, and increases in those scoring at or above the national average. Conclusions Implementation of a structured, interactive educational technique was associated with an improvement in OMS section board scores. With the exception of OMS and Public Health Dentistry, the other subsection scores remained unchanged, suggesting that our technique may have positively influenced NDEB-II board scores in OMS.
Effects of gamma-irradiation on the M-CSF-promoter linked to a chloramphenicol aminoacyl transferase reporter gene expressed in a clonal murine bone marrow stromal cell line

The effects of cytokines produced by bone marrow stromal cells on closely associated hematopoietic cells constitute a major component of the physiology of the hematopoietic microenvironment. A major cytokine produced by marrow stromal cells is macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). To determine the effect of gamma-irradiation on the M-CSF promoter in bone marrow stromal cells, we selected a clonal cell line from the C3H/HeJ mouse marrow stromal cell line D2XRII and stably transfected a reporter construct containing the murine M-CSF-promoter linked to a chloramphenicol aminoacyl transferase (CAT) gene. CAT activity was measured at serial time points after gamma-irradiation in vitro to doses between 500 and 10,000 cGy at a dose rate of 116 cGy/min. D2XRII marrow stromal cells treated with phorbol myristate acetate (40 micrograms/ml, four h), demonstrated a significant two-fold increase in CAT activity. In contrast, CAT activity measured immediately, 24 h, 72 h or 1 week after gamma-irradiation, showed no significant increase or decrease in CAT activity. An increase in CAT activity was detected 48 h after irradiation with cells that received 5,000 cGy. Thus, single fraction gamma-irradiation of plateau phase bone marrow stromal cells did not decrease M-CSF-promoter activity. These results are consistent with prior experimental data demonstrating stable levels of release of M-CSF protein following gamma-irradiation of bone marrow stromal cells and imply that the stability of transcription of the gene for this important cytokine is protected from irradiation.
Chaotic Advection and Enhanced Groundwater Remediation

The field of groundwater remediation needs cost effective and time efficient technologies. Recent developments in the field of chaotic advection in low Reynolds number flows have led to the belief that a system of wells that oscillate between injection and extraction with time-dependent, randomly constrained flow rates could cause substantial mixing in an aquifer. This could have significant effects when combined with the advection and dispersion and biodegradation aspects of natural attenuation, especially in the context of mixing rate-limiting electron acceptors with contaminants that are serving as substrate for microbes. Chaotic advection enhanced remediation could possibly turn decades into years, while reducing both exposure risk and clean up costs. In this research work, we use flow and transport modeling to study the mixing phenomena created in groundwater by oscillating wells. To quantify mixing, an index is developed using the concept of average interparticle distances and implemented along with the dilution index, presented in the literature before.
Trendy bugs: topic trends in the Android bug reports

Studying vast volumes of bug and issue discussions can give an understanding of what the community has been most concerned about, however the magnitude of documents can overload the analyst. We present an approach to analyze the development of the Android open source project by observing trends in the bug discussions in the Android open source project public issue tracker. This informs us of the features or parts of the project that are more problematic at any given point of time. In turn, this can be used to aid resource allocation (such as time and man power) to parts or features. We support these ideas by presenting the results of issue topic distributions over time using statistical analysis of the bug descriptions and comments for the Android open source project. Furthermore, we show relationships between those time distributions and major development releases of the Android OS.
Reversed flow in face seals.

Reversed laminar and turbulent flow in flat face seals, determining external fluid exchange across seal land using stream surfaces
Analysis of ventricular hypertrabeculation and noncompaction using genetically engineered mouse models

Ventricular trabeculation and compaction are two of the many essential steps for generating a functionally competent ventricular wall. A significant reduction in trabeculation is usually associated with ventricular compact zone deficiencies (hypoplastic wall), which commonly lead to embryonic heart failure and early embryonic lethality. In contrast, hypertrabeculation and lack of ventricular wall compaction (noncompaction) are closely related defects in cardiac embryogenesis associated with left ventricular noncompaction, a genetically heterogeneous disorder. Here we summarize our recent findings through the analyses of several genetically engineered mouse models that have defects in cardiac trabeculation and compaction. Our data indicate that cellular growth and differentiation signaling pathways are keys in these ventricular morphogenetic events.
Scopolamine but not haloperidol disrupts training-induced neuronal activity in cingulate cortex and limbic thalamus during learning in rabbits.

Abstract Rabbits previously trained to asymptotic performance of discriminative active avoidance behavior ( n = 8 ) received systemic injections of scopolamine hydrobromide (SH: 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0 mg/kg) and scopolamine methylbromide (SM: 4.0 mg/kg.) Each rabbit received all of the doses in a counterbalanced order. Single injections were administered 30 min before daily training sessions in which the multi-unit activity in the cingulate cortex and anterior thalamus was recorded. A single session in which saline was administered prior to testing preceded each of the drug sessions, and two days without training followed each drug session to allow dissipation of the drug effects. Additional groups received injections of haloperidol (HA: 0.025, 0.10,or0.40mg/kg; n = 7) , or both SH/SM and HA (n = 5) . The rabbits had been trained to step in an activity wheel in response to a tone CS + to avoid a footshock unconditional stimulus (US), and to ignore a different tone not followed by the US. SH and HA, but not SM, reduced significantly the frequency of conditioned avoidance responses (CRs). All doses of SH significantly attenuated cingulate cortical and AV thalamic training-induced neuronal discharges. HA injections also impaired CR performance but had no effect on the neuronal activity. These results suggest that the loss of the neuronal responses is contributory to the SH-induced CR loss. Absence of an effect of HA on neuronal activity indicates that the HA-induced CR impairment is due to disruption of other neuronal systems.
Emotions and terrorism research: A case for a social-psychological agenda.

Abstract Limited attention has been paid to the intersection of emotions and the etiology of terrorism. Instead, research priorities have tended to focus on the structural (e.g., poverty; weak and failing states), sociopolitical (e.g., U.S. foreign policy; a “clash of civilizations”), or codal (e.g., madrassas; Wahhabism). The aim here is to outline an agenda which transitions discourse related to the “body” of the terrorist (i.e., his/her historical and social positioning) to one focused on intrapsychic and interpersonal emotional processes. As such, scholarship's predictive and explanatory capacities will be heightened if it adopts a perspective grounded in the emotions of terrorists and their source communities, particularly for those phenomena that suggest a fluidity of movement of actors across a continuum of zealotry. Criminology and criminal justice are well suited to assess the expressive byproducts of humiliated fury, contempt, moral outrage, and disgust and how such emotions may distillate as impulses that form a basis for terror.
Concurrency and recovery for index trees

Although many suggestions have been made for concurrency in B $^+$-trees, few of these have considered recovery as well. We describe an approach which provides high concurrency while preserving well-formed trees across system crashes. Our approach works for a class of index trees that is a generalization of the B $^{\rm link}$-tree. This class includes some multi-attribute indexes and temporal indexes. Structural changes in an index tree are decomposed into a sequence of atomic actions, each one leaving the tree well-formed and each working on a separate level of the tree. All atomic actions on levels of the tree above the leaf level are independent of database transactions, and so are of short duration. Incomplete structural changes are detected in normal operations and trigger completion.