cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Technique and apparatus for automated fractionation of the contents of small centrifuge tubes: application to analytical ultracentrifugation.

An automated method is described for dividing the contents of small cylindrical centrifuge tubes into fractions deriving from laminae of solution as thin as 0.1 mm in the direction of the cylindrical axis. Experimental data are presented to demonstrate that fractions as small as 1 μl may be prepared with a standard deviation of less than 3% in volume delivery and that negligible mixing occurs between the contents of adjacent fractions during the fractionation procedure. The method has been used to quantitate the gradients of a variety of radiolabeled proteins formed in sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium experiments. Sedimentation coefficients and molecular weights calculated from the gradients obtained agree well with literature values and with values obtained by optically scanning the centrifuge tubes (A. K. Attri and A. P. Minton, 1983, Anal. Biochem.133, 142–152; 1984, Anal. Biochem.136, 407–415). The present technique combines a spatial resolution equal to that of optical methods of gradient measurement with a sensitivity which may be several orders of magnitude greater, depending upon the specific activity of labeled solute.
Accumulation of Cu++ onto modified bone-gelatin beads

Cu2+ adsorbs onto modified bone gelatin beads as a function of pH. The amount of Cu2+ adsorbed is similar to that which has been shown to be adsorb onto other biological materials including bacterial biomass. Langmuir adsorption isotherms were fitted to this data and both the asymptotic maximum solid-phase concentration and the equilibrium constant for these isotherms are presented as a function of the solution pH. The adsorption rate for a typical set of experimental conditions is presented.
Oncogenic potential is related to activating effect of cancer single and double somatic mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases

Aberrant activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) is a common feature of many cancer cells. It was previously suggested that the mechanisms of kinase activation in cancer might be linked to transitions between active and inactive states. Here, we estimate the effects of single and double cancer mutations on the stability of active and inactive states of the kinase domains from different RTKs. We show that singleton cancer mutations destabilize active and inactive states; however, inactive states are destabilized more than the active ones, leading to kinase activation. We show that there exists a relationship between the estimate of oncogenic potential of cancer mutation and kinase activation. Namely, more frequent mutations have a higher activating effect, which might allow us to predict the activating effect of the mutations from the mutation spectra. Independent evolutionary analysis of mutation spectra complements this observation and finds the same frequency threshold defining mutation hotspots. We analyze double mutations and report a positive epistasis and additional advantage of doublets with respect to cancer cell fitness. The activation mechanisms of double mutations differ from those of single mutations and double mutation spectrum is found to be dissimilar to the mutation spectrum of singletons.
Cultural Explorations of Human Intelligence Around the World

The goal of this article is to review cultural explorations of human intelligence around the globe. The article opens in the first part with a consideration of cultural studies that suggest that there is more to intelligence than IQ. It continues with the suggestion for what that "more" might be, namely, "successful intelligence." The second part of the article thus describes the theory of successful intelligence, as well as data from various cultures that support the theory. The third part of the article considers cultural conceptions, of implicit theories of intelligence. It is concluded that cultural studies suggest that conventional notions of intelligence are narrow and limited. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol4/iss3/1
High order residual distribution conservative finite difference WENO schemes for convection-diffusion steady state problems on non-smooth meshes

In this paper, we propose a high order residual distribution conservative finite difference scheme for solving convection-diffusion equations on non-smooth Cartesian meshes. WENO (weighted essentially non-oscillatory) integration and linear interpolation for the derivatives are used to compute the numerical fluxes based on the point values of the solution. The objective is to obtain a high order scheme which, for two space dimension, has a computational cost comparable to that of a high order WENO finite difference scheme and is therefore much lower than that of a high order WENO finite volume scheme, yet it does not have the restriction on mesh smoothness of the traditional high order conservative finite difference schemes, hence it would be more flexible for the resolution of sharp layers. The principles of residual distribution schemes are adopted to obtain steady state solutions. The distribution of residuals resulted from the convective and diffusive parts of the PDE is carefully designed to maintain the high order accuracy. The proof of a Lax-Wendroff type theorem is provided for convergence towards weak solutions in one and two dimensions under additional assumptions. Extensive numerical experiments for one and two-dimensional scalar problems and systems confirm the high order accuracy and good quality of our scheme to resolve the inner or boundary layers.
The Operational Role of Security Information and Event Management Systems

An integral part of an enterprise computer security incident response team (CSIRT), the security operations center (SOC) is a centralized unit tasked with real-time monitoring and identification of security incidents. Security information and event management (SIEM) systems are an important tool used in SOCs; they collect security events from many diverse sources in enterprise networks, normalize the events to a common format, store the normalized events for forensic analysis, and correlate the events to identify malicious activities in real time. In this article, the authors discuss the critical role SIEM systems play SOCs, highlight the current operational challenges in effectively using SIEM systems, and describe future technical challenges that SIEM systems must overcome to remain relevant.
The possible role of the cerebellum in autism/PDD: disruption of a multisensory feedback loop

Autism and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) are characterized by impairments in socialization and communication, and by restricted and stereotypic patterns of behavior. Associated symptoms or features of autism/PDD include problems with attention and orientation, and an odd response to the environment and sensory stimuli. Persons with autism/PDD can over or under respond or react to sensation. Evidence suggests that there is aberrant brain structure in this disorder, particularly in the cerebellum. This paper will attempt to show a possible relationship between the pathology in the cerebellum and the symptomatology seen in autism/PDD with an emphasis on the sensory issues.
Reversal learning deficits in young monkeys exposed to lead.

Abstract The reversal learning capacity of young rhesus monkeys in visual discrimination tasks was examined during daily exposure to dietary lead acetate throughout the first year of life. While not affected in physical development, all lead-treated monkeys showed performance deficits on reversal learning tasks. These deficits were independent of lead-induced changes in motivation. Over a series of problems, the overall learning rate of monkeys with blood lead concentrations in the range of 70–90 μg/dl was retarted, which resulted partly from a pronounced difficulty in attaining criterion on the first of a series of reversals within a given problem. This latter deficit resulted from an increase in errors, balks, and total trials to criterion on the first reversal. Monkeys exposed to blood lead concentrations of 40–60 μg/dl required significantly more trials to finish all problems, but did not show the first-reversal deficit. Theoretical implications of these data were discussed.
Mechanism of fast air heating and infrasound generation by sprites

Sprites are electrical discharges transversing the middle atmosphere, between 40–90 km altitude. They are generated by the the electric fields produced by cloud-to-ground lightning in underlying thunderstorms. Therefore, sprites represent optical evidences of the electrical coupling between troposphere and the mesosphere/lower ionosphere regions. In the last decade, another evidence of the above mentioned coupling has been discovered. Farges et al. [GRL, 32, L011813, 2005] have correlated optical observations with infrasound signatures produced by sprites. The main characteristics of infrasound from sprites are a chirp-inverted signature (at 0.1–9 Hz frequency range) and amplitudes of 0.01–0.1 Pa, as measured at ground at distances of the order of 400 km. Sprites manifest themselves as growing streamer tree discharges, where many individual streamers have a common origin point, that can be observed as a bright core [e.g., Li and Cummer, JGR, 116, A01301, 2011, Figure 2]. Although individual streamers transport low electrical current, the total electrical current flowing through the sprite body can be sufficiently large to produce Joule heating and excitation of vibrational states in nitrogen molecules. In this work, we introduce a first-principles model to quantify the air heating in sprites. The model describes the coupling between chemistry and gas dynamics in a nonequilibrium plasma. The model accounts for fast air heating due to quenching of excited electronic states of nitrogen molecules [Popov, JPD, 44, 285201, 2011]. We provide parametric dependences of air heating and pressure perturbation amplitudes on sprite characteristics, such as available current, electric field, and channel radius. This modeling study is the first step towards connecting the well-known optical [e.g., Stenbaek-Nielsen and McHarg, JPD, 41, 234009, 2008] and electrical [e.g., Cummer et al., GRL, 25, 8, 1998] properties of sprites to their infrasound signatures [e.g., Farges et al., 2005; de Larquier and Pasko, GRL, 37, L17804, 2010].
Role of hot-electron preheating in the compression of direct-drive imploding targets with cryogenic D2 ablators.

The compression of direct-drive, spherical implosions is studied using cryogenic ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$ targets on the 60-beam, 351-nm OMEGA laser with intensities ranging from $\ensuremath{\sim}3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{14}$ to $\ensuremath{\sim}1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{15}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. The hard-x-ray signal from hot electrons generated by laser-plasma instabilities increases with laser intensity, while the areal density decreases. Mitigating hot-electron production, by reducing the laser intensity to $\ensuremath{\sim}3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{14}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, results in areal density of the order of $\ensuremath{\sim}140\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{mg}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, in good agreement with 1D simulations. These results will be considered in future direct-drive-ignition designs.
Bacterial responses to photo-oxidative stress

Singlet oxygen is one of several reactive oxygen species that can destroy biomolecules, microorganisms and other cells. Traditionally, the response to singlet oxygen has been termed photo-oxidative stress, as light-dependent processes in photosynthetic cells are major biological sources of singlet oxygen. Recent work identifying a core set of singlet oxygen stress response genes across various bacterial species highlights the importance of this response for survival by both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic cells. Here, we review how bacterial cells mount a transcriptional response to photo-oxidative stress in the context of what is known about bacterial stress responses to other reactive oxygen species.
Risk for postterm delivery after previous postterm delivery

Objective We examined the hypothesis that the risk for subsequent postterm birth is increased in women with an initial postterm birth. Study design We performed a population-based cohort study of Missouri births (1989-1997) to assess the recurrence of postterm birth using the Missouri Department of Health's maternally linked database. Results A total of 368,633 births were evaluated, of which 7.6% were postterm (>42 weeks of gestation). Black mothers had a lower risk for all (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.70; 95% CI, 0.67-0.73) or recurrent (adjusted OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.67-0.79) postterm birth. Maternal education of 35 kg/m 2 (adjusted OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.11-1.37) were associated with increased risk for recurrent postterm birth. Mothers with an initial postterm birth were at increased risk for postterm birth (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.79-1.97) in subsequent pregnancies, independent of race. Conclusion Among mothers who deliver postterm, there is a significant risk for subsequent postterm births. This increased risk suggests that common factors (genetic or other) influence the likelihood of abnormal parturition timing.
Comparison of behavioral and cardiovascular effects of l-DOPA and 5-HTP in conscious dogs

Moderate doses of l-DOPA (30–40 mg/kg) alone produced depressant effects, emesis and a mild hypertensive response in dogs. These depressant effects included decreased alertness, reduced response to overt stimuli such as whistling or sharp noises, reduced response to handling and a degree of flaccidity. Haloperidol completely blocked the behavioral and emetic effects of l-DOPA and, in most cases, significantly reduced the hypertensive response. Methysergide prevented the depressive effects and significantly attenuated emesis but had variable effect on the hypertensive response of l-DOPA. HMD and Ro 4-4062, in doses which selectively inhibit peripheral decarboxylase, completely blocked most of the behavioral effects, markedly attenuated emesis and prevented or reduced the hypertensive response, of l-DOPA. HMD, in addition, converted the hypertensive response of l-DOPA to a hypotensive response. dl-Parachlorophenylalanine completely blocked the behavioral effects and significantly reduced the cardiovascular effect of l-DOPA but had no effect on emesis induced by l-DOPA.
Hemodynamic consequences of common carotid artery thrombosis and thrombogenically activated blood in rats.

We documented the hemodynamic consequences of nonocclusive common carotid artery thrombosis (CCAT) and tested the hypothesis that vasoactive substances capable of altering local CBF (LCBF) are released into the systemic circulation following cerebrovascular injury. Ten minutes after photochemically induced CCAT, an autoradiographic determination of LCBF was conducted with [14C]iodoantipyrine. In blood transfusion studies using donor and recipient rats, a 1-ml sample of thrombogenically activated blood (TAB) collected downstream from the forming thrombus was reinjected into a recipient rat 15 or 60 min before CBF study. A heterogeneous pattern of abnormal LCBF was documented in the ipsilateral hemisphere of CCAT rats and recipient rats receiving TAB 15 min before CBF study. Acute hemodynamic abnormalities included ischemic ( 125% of control) foci and more global reductions (50–80% of control) in cortical and subcortical LCBF. Border zone hyperemia exceeding 2.0 ml/g/min wa...
Defining Political Will

Although frequently invoked as a rhetorical tool in political discussions, “political will” remains ambiguous as a concept. Acknowledging the centrality of political will to policy outcomes, the authors propose a pragmatic and systematic approach to definition. This approach facilitates analysis by identifying particular shortcomings in political will. This identification in turn permits the application of appropriate theoretical frameworks from various disciplines and the effective construction and use of ameliorative measures. The authors also address fundamental issues like the specification of contexts. The analytical approach includes a conceptual definition dissected into essential components, along with corresponding means of operationalization and targets for assessment. Among the major definitional components are requirements that a sufficient set of decision makers intends to support a particular initiative and that such support is committed. The latter condition is difficult to ascertain, but various signals, influences, and constraints on action are observable. Aunque frecuentemente invocado como una herramienta retorica en las discusiones politicas, “la voluntad politica” se mantiene como unconcepto ambiguo. Reconociendo la importancia de la voluntad politica en los resultados politicos, los autores proponen una aproximacion pragmatica y sistematica para su definicion. Esta aproximacion facilita el analisis al identificar faltas particulares en el concepto de voluntad politica. Dicha identificacion permite a su vez la aplicacion del marco teorico apropiado de varias disciplinas y la construccion efectiva y utilizacion de medidas de mejoramiento. Los autores abordan tambien topicos fundamentales como la importancia del contexto. La aproximacion analitica incluye una definicion conceptual diseccionada en componentes esenciales, junto con medios correspondientes de operacionalizacion y los objetivos a evaluar. Entre los componentes mas importantes de la definicion estan los requerimientos que una serie de hacedores de politicas intente apoyar una iniciativa particular y que dicho apoyo sea real. La ultima condicion es dificil de determinar, pero varias senales, influencias, y limitaciones son observables.
“A WAY OUTA NO WAY”: Eating Problems among African-American, Latina, and White Women

This article offers a feminist theory of eating problems (anorexia, bulimia, extensive dieting, and binging) based on life history interviews with African-American, Latina, and white women. Until recently, research on eating problems has focused on white middle-and upper-class heterosexual women. While feminist research has established why eating problems are gendered, an analysis of how race, class, and sexual oppression are related to the etiology of eating problems has been missing. The article shows that eating problems begin as strategies for coping with various traumas including sexual abuse, racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, and poverty. Identifying eating problems as survival strategies shifts the focus from portraying them as issues of appearance to ways women take care of themselves as they cope with trauma.
A 32mW 1.25GS/s 6b 2b/step SAR ADC in 0.13μm CMOS

ADCs with 6b resolution and gigahertz sampling frequency are widely used in serial links, magnetic recording systems and UWB receivers. Flash ADCs have been dominantly used for these applications. This paper presents an ADC that takes advantage of the high-speed digital logic and highly matched small capacitors in deep-submicron digital CMOS processes to achieve similar performance, but with lower power consumption than flash ADCs. Unlike many previously published low-power high-speed ADCs based on time-interleaved SAR, this ADC has only 2 clock-cycle latency (1.6ns at 1.25GS/s) and achieves 6b performance without any digital post-processing or off-line calibration, making it a plug- in replacement for conventional flash ADCs in many applications.
A genome-wide transcriptional analysis of morphology determination in Candida albicans

Candida albicans, the most common cause of human fungal infections, undergoes a reversible morphological transition from yeast to pseudohyphal and hyphal filaments, which is required for virulence. For many years, the relationship among global gene expression patterns associated with determination of specific C. albicans morphologies has remained obscure. Using a strain that can be genetically manipulated to sequentially transition from yeast to pseudohyphae to hyphae in the absence of complex environmental cues and upstream signaling pathways, we demonstrate by whole-genome transcriptional profiling that genes associated with pseudohyphae represent a subset of those associated with hyphae and are generally expressed at lower levels. Our results also strongly suggest that in addition to dosage, extended duration of filament-specific gene expression is sufficient to drive the C. albicans yeast-pseudohyphal-hyphal transition. Finally, we describe the first transcriptional profile of the C. albicans reverse hyphal-pseudohyphal-yeast transition and demonstrate that this transition involves not only down-regulation of known hyphal-specific, genes but also differential expression of additional genes that have not previously been associated with the forward transition, including many involved in protein synthesis. These findings provide new insight into genome-wide expression patterns important for determining fungal morphology and suggest that in addition to similarities, there are also fundamental differences in global gene expression as pathogenic filamentous fungi undergo forward and reverse morphological transitions.
An Online Outlier Identification and Removal Scheme for Improving Fault Detection Performance

Measured data or states for a nonlinear dynamic system is usually contaminated by outliers. Identifying and removing outliers will make the data (or system states) more trustworthy and reliable since outliers in the measured data (or states) can cause missed or false alarms during fault diagnosis. In addition, faults can make the system states nonstationary needing a novel analytical model-based fault detection (FD) framework. In this paper, an online outlier identification and removal (OIR) scheme is proposed for a nonlinear dynamic system. Since the dynamics of the system can experience unknown changes due to faults, traditional observer-based techniques cannot be used to remove the outliers. The OIR scheme uses a neural network (NN) to estimate the actual system states from measured system states involving outliers. With this method, the outlier detection is performed online at each time instant by finding the difference between the estimated and the measured states and comparing its median with its standard deviation over a moving time window. The NN weight update law in OIR is designed such that the detected outliers will have no effect on the state estimation, which is subsequently used for model-based fault diagnosis. In addition, since the OIR estimator cannot distinguish between the faulty or healthy operating conditions, a separate model-based observer is designed for fault diagnosis, which uses the OIR scheme as a preprocessing unit to improve the FD performance. The stability analysis of both OIR and fault diagnosis schemes are introduced. Finally, a three-tank benchmarking system and a simple linear system are used to verify the proposed scheme in simulations, and then the scheme is applied on an axial piston pump testbed. The scheme can be applied to nonlinear systems whose dynamics and underlying distribution of states are subjected to change due to both unknown faults and operating conditions.
Linear programming optimization for video coding under multiple constraints

A linear programming (LP) technique that performs rate-distortion based optimization for constrained video coding is introduced. Given the assumption of piecewise linear and convex rate-distortion functions, LP is used to generate optimal solutions for the minmax problem under VBR buffer constraints. The LP solution for this problem avoids an explicit search for the maximum distortion value. To verify the linearity and convexity assumptions, this minmax optimization procedure is applied to the MPEG-2 framework with macroblock level rate control under VRB buffer constraints. The results show an improvement in average PSNR of approximately 0.5 dB to 2.0 dB over the initial TM5 solution, while maintaining an almost constant PSNR level. As a second LP application, a minimum rate problem with constraints on linear combinations of frame-level distortions is considered. Using the previous assumptions on the rate-distortion functions, it is proven that the LP solution is optimal. The LP technique yields a computationally efficient solution for this filtered distortion problem.
Motor System III: Cerebellum and Movement

A number of schemes for dividing the cerebellum into various lobes and lobules have been devised. From a functional standpoint, it is perhaps best for the student to visualize the cerebellum as composed of various longitudinal and transverse divisions. In order to visualize these subdivisions, it is necessary to unfold and to flatten the cerebellum as shown in Figure 20–1.
Predicting defibrillation success with a multiple-domain model using machine learning

Ventricular Fibrillation(VF) waveform can represent rapidly worsening chances of defibrillation success, and those of subsequent Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC), during a cardiac arrest. We propose a new method to analyze the chaotic nature of VF using multiple feature extraction and machine learning techniques.
Women with Golden Arms: Narco‐Trafficking in North America, 1910–1970

After the arrests of a number of prominent women traffickers in 1975, the Federal Bureau of Investigation proclaimed that there was ‘no anti-woman bias’ in the Latin American drug trade (New York Times, April 22, 1975). Long before, narcotics warriors in the US, Mexico, and Canada had monitored the activities of a number of prominent women traffickers. Using official documents, reports, and newspapers, this article examines five cases of women smugglers of opiates and marijuana who operated from the early 1910s to the 1960s. Two of the women lived in the US, two in Mexico, and one in China. For all of them, Mexico served as a source of supply, a site of transit, a point for contacts, and/or a place for peddling. In this study, I argue that women found lucrative opportunities in the trafficking of narcotics just as men. Moreover, this study challenges the masculine constructions of the narcotics trade by considering how female peddlers used certain spaces in the economy to develop their enterprises or how they exploited certain gendered stereotypes to undermine the law.
QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF GROUND BEEF ON THE RETAIL MARKET

Each of three ground beef products, varying in price (based on lipid content) were purchased from each of three retail stores. Patties of each product were modified broiled at 177°C for 35 min. Products containing 10–20% lipid had less cooking loss than those containing 25–30% lipid, but lower-lipid, higher-priced beef cost more per 100g of cooked meat than higher-lipid, lower-priced beef. Percentage ether extract decreased after broiling raw ground beef containing 20–30% lipid, and increased slightly after broiling raw ground beef containing less than 12% lipid. Over-all acceptability was similar for all three products, but the leanest, highest-priced product rated less juicy, more mealy and lower in flavor than higher-lipid, lower-priced products.
A hardware mechanism for dynamic extraction and relayout of program hot spots

This paper presents a new mechanism for collecting and deploying runtime optimized code. The code-collecting component resides in the instruction retirement stage and lays out hot execution paths to improve instruction fetch rate as well as enable further code optimization. The code deployment component uses an extension to the Branch Target Buffer to migrate execution into the new code without modifying the original code. No significant delay is added to the total execution of the program due to these components. The code collection scheme enables safe runtime optimization along paths that span function boundaries. This technique provides a better platform for runtime optimization than trace caches, because the traces are longer and persist in main memory across context switches. Additionally, these traces are not as susceptible to transient behavior because they are restricted to frequently executed code. Empirical results show that on average this mechanism can achieve better instruction fetch rates using only 12KB of hardware than a trace cache requiring 15KB of hardware, while producing long, persistent traces more suited to optimization.
Expression and synthesis of the Na,K-ATPase beta 2 subunit in human retinal pigment epithelium.

Abstract Na,K-ATPase in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is apically localized, whereas in most other tissues this pump is found predominantly in the basolateral membrane domain. As part of our investigations into the molecular aspects of this pump in the RPE, we have cloned the cDNA and characterized the expression of the gene encoding the β2 subunit isoform of Na,K-ATPase in human, rat and bovine RPE and in the bovine choroid plexus. We have also detected the β2 isoform polypeptide in the human RPE (hRPE). Comparison of complete coding sequences derived from cloned cDNAs revealed that all β2 sequences from RPE, and the choroid plexus, differed uniformly at positions: P51/L, M121/I, and L148/R from the published sequences for human retina and liver. However, analysis of 10 RT-PCR clones derived from 5 fetal and 2 adult human retinas sequenced in our laboratory, revealed that only the P51/L residue was different with the hRPE β2 subunit sequence. Northern blot analysis indicated a 3.4-kb RNA transcript for the β2 subunit, a 4.5-kb RNA for the αl subunit and a doublet of 2.3 and 2.6 kb for the βl subunit, respectively. αl (100 kDa), βl (45 kDa) and β2 (65 kDa) isoforms were detected in hRPE extracts by immunoblotting. No α2 and α3 RNA transcripts were found in the hRPE. Quantification of β2 mRNA by RT-PCR revealed 2.7 × 105 molecules per ng of poly A+ RNA. This is similar to the β1 isoform levels reported previously from our laboratory. These data demonstrate the coexistence of significant amounts of α1, β1 and β2 Na,K-ATPase subunits in the RPE. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that both α1β1 and α1β2 heterodimers are present in these cells.
What is SETI?a

: This paper describes the efforts of SETI that are going on around the world. It presents a brief rationale for the choice of methodology and the limits that can be set on the basis of such results to date.
Transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients. Background Atherosclerotic vascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is a multifunctional cytokine that inhibits the atheromatous process. We studied coding region polymorphisms of the TGF-β1 gene (+869 T → C at codon 10 and +915 G → C at codon 25) as genetic susceptibility factors for prevalent vascular disease and cardiac outcomes in a cohort of HD patients enrolled in the HEMO Study. Methods Genotyping was carried out using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) methods with a cytokine genotyping tray. Prevalent vascular disease was coded from the Index of Disease Severity (IDS) scores for ischemic heart disease (IHD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and congestive heart failure (CHF), 0 indicating absence, and 1 to 3 increasing grades of severity. The presence of any vascular disease (VD) (i.e., any degree of IHD/PVD/CVD), and the number of coexistent vascular system diseases per patient were derived. Cardiac outcomes, one of the secondary outcomes of the HEMO Study, were expressed as a composite of the first hospitalization for, or death from, cardiac causes. Results The cohort consisted of 183 patients at enrollment, 56% male, 44% African American (AA), and 40% diabetic. The mean age was 62.4 ± 12.2 years, and median dialysis vintage 2.02 years. The most frequent genotype at codon 10 was T/C (67%), and at codon 25 was G/G (72%). IHD was present in 52% of patients; 65% had at least one vascular system involvement, and 31% had 2 or more. On both univariate and multivariate analysis, the G/C genotype at codon 25 was significantly associated with the presence and extent of vascular disease at enrollment. The median time to cardiac outcome, defined as a composite of the first hospitalization for, or death from, cardiac causes, was 411 days in patients with the G/C genotype compared with 851 days in those with the G/G genotype (P = 0.03). Patients with the G/C genotype had a 1.6-fold increased hazard for cardiac outcomes after adjustment for baseline covariates (P = 0.04). Conclusion The G/C substitution at codon 25 was associated with an increased risk for prevalent vascular disease, new onset cardiac morbidity, and cardiac mortality in HD patients, and may be a genetic susceptibility factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Further studies are required to evaluate the role of TGF-β1 as a candidate gene.
Mammalian germ cell mutagenicity of ENU, IPMS and MMS, chemicals selected for a transgenic mouse collaborative study

A collaborative study to systematically assess transgenic mouse mutation assays as screens for germ cell mutagens has been conducted. Three male mouse germ cell mutagens (ENU, iPMS and MMS) were selected for testing. This paper provides a brief review of the effects reported for those 3 chemicals in the most commonly used non-transgenic germ cell mutagenicity assays, namely the dominant lethal, heritable translocation, and specific locus tests. Additionally, information on the DNA reactivity and the molecular nature of mutations induced by these chemicals is summarized.
Costs of smoking and attempts to quit

Using recent cross-sectional state-level data for the US, this article examines smoking quitting behaviour by smokers. In particular, we uniquely focus on how the costs of smoking, both direct and indirect costs, induce smokers to quit. Results show that the price of cigarettes and home smoking restrictions are the primary thrusts behind smokers' quit decision. The indirect costs due to workplace smoking restrictions, medical costs and a lack of insurance do not seem to significantly matter. The habit-forming effect of cigarettes is shown to lead to greater quit attempts. Policy implications are discussed.
Effects of solubilizing surfactants and loading of antiviral, antimicrobial, and antifungal drugs on their release rates from ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer.

Objectives This study investigates the effects of surfactants and drug loading on the drug release rate from ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer. The release rate of nystatin from EVA was studied with addition of non-ionic surfactants Tween 60 and Cremophor RH 40. In addition, the effect of increasing drug load on the release rates of nystatin, chlorhexidine diacetate and acyclovir is also presented.
Organische Phosphorverbindungen XVII. Darstellung von Alkylen‐bis‐phosphonsäurechloriden und Alkylen‐bis‐thiophosphonsäurechloriden und deren Reaktion mit GRIGNARD‐Verbindungen

The synthesis and some physical properties of alkylene bis-(phosphonic dichlorides), Cl2P(O)(CH2)n(O)PCl2, and of alkylene bis-(phosphonothioic dichlorides), Cl2P(S)(CH2)n(S)PCl2, a new class of compounds, are reported. The reactions of alkylene bis-(phosphonothioic dichlorides) with GRIGNARD reagents and of CH3P(S)Br2 with di-GRIGNARD reagents are also described. Some physical properties of several diphosphine disulfides and of two cyclic tertiary phosphine sulfides have been determined.
Regulation of hepatic glutamine metabolism during exercise in the dog

The goal of this study was to determine how liver glutamine (Gln) metabolism adapts to acute exercise in the 18-h-fasted dogs (n = 7) and in dogs that were glycogen depleted by a 42-h fast (n = 8)....
High luminous flux from single crystal phosphor-converted laser-based white lighting system

The efficiency droop of light emitting diodes (LEDs) with increasing current density limits the amount of light emitted per wafer area. Since low current densities are required for high efficiency operation, many LED die are needed for high power white light illumination systems. In contrast, the carrier density of laser diodes (LDs) clamps at threshold, so the efficiency of LDs does not droop above threshold and high efficiencies can be achieved at very high current densities. The use of a high power blue GaN-based LD coupled with a single crystal Ce-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG:Ce) sample was investigated for white light illumination applications. Under CW operation, a single phosphor-converted LD (pc-LD) die produced a peak luminous efficacy of 86.7 lm/W at 1.4 A and 4.24 V and a peak luminous flux of 1100 lm at 3.0 A and 4.85 V with a luminous efficacy of 75.6 lm/W. Simulations of a pc-LD confirm that the single crystal YAG:Ce sample did not experience thermal quenching at peak LD operating efficiency. These results show that a single pc-LD die is capable of emitting enough luminous flux for use in a high power white light illumination system.
Update on bioterrorism preparedness

Knowledge and preparation are the best defense against a biological attack. By understanding the epidemiology of biological warfare agents and diseases, strategies can be planned to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with them. There is an urgent need for developing rapid diagnostic tests, effective vaccines, and drug therapy to defend against biological weapon attacks. The CDC, along with other agencies and partners, are defining how the public health system is to prepare for and respond to public health threats posed by terrorism.
When the Sequence of Thin Film Deposition Matters: Examination of Organic-on-Organic Heterostructure Formation Using Molecular Beam Techniques and in Situ Real Time X-ray Synchrotron Radiation

We have examined the growth of bilayers and superlattices of pentacene and perylene derivatives (PTCDI-Cn) using in situ real time X-ray synchrotron radiation techniques and ex situ atomic force microscopy. We find that the growth of PTCDI-Cn layers on 1 monolayer (ML) of pentacene is initially 2D layer-by-layer (LbL), eventually transitioning to a mode of growth that is more 3D after several monolayers have been deposited. We find that the extent of 2D LbL growth depends on the length of the alkyl end chains, Cn: the smoothest films are formed with PTCDI-C5, while the roughest are formed with PTCDI-C13. These observations reflect a difference in the Ehrlich–Schwoebel barrier for step-edge crossing with alkyl end-chain length. When the sequence of deposition is reversed, we observe spectacular changes in the evolution of surface roughness for the growth of pentacene thin films on 1 ML of PTCDI-Cn. The growth is immediately 3D, while still remaining crystalline. The morphology of these thin films indicates...
Vasodilation induced by a specific vasopressin V2 agonist in dogs.

Vasopressin V2 agonists increase cardiac output and lower total peripheral resistance within minutes when infused into conscious dogs. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanisms of these haemodynamic effects. Two groups of dogs were studied. In the first group, six dogs were instrumented for the measurement of mean arterial pressure and cardiac output (electromagnetic flowmeter) at least 1 week before the experiment. They were then anaesthetized with pentobarbital and the central nervous system was destroyed. Mean arterial pressure was maintained with an infusion of noradrenaline. After it had remained stable for 30 min the dogs received an intravenous infusion of 4-valine-8-D-arginine vasopressin (VDAVP), a specific V2 agonist, 10 ng/kg per min. Mean +/- s.e.m. arterial pressure fell from 97.6 +/- 1.8 to 69.1 +/- 2.5 mmHg, but cardiac output did not change significantly. Total peripheral resistance fell from 1322.5 +/- 151 to 859.7 +/- 84.9 units. Thus, VDAVP exerts haemodynamic effects in the absence of the central nervous system and appears to act primarily as a vasodilator. A second group of six anaesthetized dogs was studied in which femoral blood flow was measured with an electromagnetic flow probe during intravenous and intrafemoral arterial infusion of VDAVP, 10 ng/kg per min. Blood flow increased by 27.9 +/- 5.4 ml/min from a control value of 65.1 +/- 12.6 ml/min with intra-arterial infusion of VDAVP, but did not change significantly with intravenous infusion. Mean arterial pressure remained unchanged under both conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Comparison of Pencil-and-Paper-Based and Computer-Based Career-Guidance with College Students

40 undergraduate students (20 men, 20 women) were asked to rate the Discover II microcomputer career-guidance system and the self-directed search on a measure of users' satisfaction. Most preferred the Discover II system.
Sputtered Fitas of Amorphous Hydrogenated Silicon Carbide

The field of amorphous hydrogenated silicon-carbon alloys and thin films has witnessed, since the pioneering work of Anderson and Spear [1], rapid development and has attracted scientific attention and technological interest [2,3]. However, relatively little information is known [4] about the physical mechanisms that govern the inclusion of C and H in the silicon matrix, the nature of the chemical bonds involved, and the structural changes that result in the amorphous phase. Clearly, further fundamental studies are needed to achieve complete understanding of such amorphous systems with variable disorder.
Farming an Uncertain Climate Future: What Cop 15 Means for Agriculture

This Article examines some of the legal and political issues raised by the global debate over climate change, with the goal of providing helpful insight to guide future actions. It evaluates the results of the climate talks that took place in Copenhagen in 2010, with a particular emphasis on the opportunity missed by U.S. agriculture in achieving meaningful change. Disappointed by the results of that conference, the author compares the lackluster outcome there with the debate on cap-and-trade legislation in the United States. Detailing an era of missed opportunities, from January 2009 to July 2010, the Article examines the consequential effect on the United States’ ability to develop a more balanced renewable energy policy and for U.S. agriculture to participate in potential markets for carbon. The author concludes by looking forward to what may happen in U.S. politics on climate change and the impact on issues important to agriculture.
Translational Regulation of Ribosomal Proteins in Escherichia coli

In 1979–1980, a number of papers appeared that suggested that control of ribosomal (r)-protein synthesis in Escherichia coli takes place at the translational level. Gene-dosage experiments, for instance, showed that messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesis rates increase with extra copies of an r-protein operon, but the r-protein synthesis rate changes very little.1–3 Overproduction of specific r-proteins in vivo repressed the synthesis of other r-proteins in the same operon,4 and the same effect was observed when purified r-proteins were added to in vitro translation systems.5–7 These and other experiments demonstrated that some r-proteins act as autogenous, translational repressors in a negative feedback mechanism that adjusts the r-protein synthesis rate to match ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis (see Fig. 1). In detail, the autoregulation hypothesis proposes that (1) each r- protein operon codes for one r-protein repressor; (2) the repressor is able to bind specifically to rRNA and to a single mRNA target site; (3) repressor binding at the mRNA target site affects translation of all downstream cistrons (i.e., ribosomes do not load at independent sites, but only at a single regulated entry site); and (4) significant free r-protein accumulates and binds the mRNA target only when all the available rRNA is assembled into ribosomes. There is evidence for translational autoregulation in most of the E. coli r-protein operons, though other mechanisms may contribute in some operons (e.g., transcription attenuation in the S10 operon).8 Excellent reviews summarizing the evidence for this regulatory scheme and evaluating its importance for the regulation of ribosome biosynthesis have appeared.9,10
Molecular Testing in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Abstract Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm that has become a paradigm of targeted molecular therapy, as well as molecular diagnosis and disease monitoring. The disease is defined by the BCR–ABL1 fusion which can be detected by a variety of techniques. While conventional morphology, hematology, and cytogenetics remain important diagnostic tools, both FISH and RT-PCR for the BCR–ABL1 fusion offer increased sensitivity. TKI therapy has revolutionized the treatment of CML and quantitative RT-PCR has become the standard of care for monitoring patients after the initiation of therapy. Finally, the identification of ABL1 kinase domain mutations using sequencing allows appropriate, patient-specific selection of TKIs in patients who are refractory to first-line treatment.
Thomas Edison: life, love and light bulbs

Richard Feynman observed that young scientists or engineers begin either with electrical experiments, stringing the neighbourhood with wires to send code or phone messages to other young friends, or with chemistry by blowing up the back porch or setting the barn on fire. Young Thomas Edison did both. At about the age of 12, he built a half-mile telegraph line to the home of his friend James Clancy. A year or two later, his early chemistry experiments carried out in the corner of a railway baggage-car caused the young newsboy considerable trouble with his supervisors on the Grand Trunk Railway.
Waveform diversity for distributed and layered sensing

Waveform diversity in distributed radio frequency (RF) sensor systems offers the potential for breakthrough performance enhancements in the detection and identification of natural and manmade objects. This paper discusses advances in relevant technology and emerging applications to radar. (5 pages)
MIBI and Mitochondria

In 2006, the American Heart Association Expert Consensus Panel proposed a new definition of cardiomyopathies ([1][1]): Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of diseases of the myocardium associated with mechanical and/or electrical dysfunction that usually (but not invariably) exhibit
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE ETIOLOGY OF MITRAL VALVE DISEASE

Background: Women historically have poorer outcomes following mitral valve surgery. This study sought to define gender differences in the etiology of valve disease for patients undergoing mitral valve surgery. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed primary mitral valve pathology for all patients who
Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein II causes vascular leakage and exacerbates experimental cerebral malaria in mice

A devastating complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection is cerebral malaria, in which vascular leakage and cerebral swelling lead to coma and often death. P. falciparum produces a protein called histidine-rich protein II (HRPII) that accumulates to high levels in the bloodstream of patients and serves as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for falciparum malaria. Using a human cerebral microvascular endothelial barrier model, we previously found that HRPII activates the endothelial cell inflammasome, resulting in decreased integrity of tight junctions and increased endothelial barrier permeability. Here, we report that intravenous administration of HRPII induced blood-brain barrier leakage in uninfected mice. Furthermore, HRPII infusion in P. berghei-infected mice increased early mortality from experimental cerebral malaria. These data support the hypothesis that HRPII is a virulence factor that contributes to cerebral malaria by compromising the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.