cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rearrangement of chloramphenicol-3-monosuccinate

The equilibrium mixture of chloramphenicol-3-monosuccinate and its alternate form at neutral pH in aqueous solution was reexamined. The structure of the alternate form was shown by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy to be chloramphenicol-1-monosuccinate and not the cyclic hemi-ortho ester reported previously.
Performance studies of a new Russian FEU115M phototube

We report on the results of tests of FEU115M one inch phototubes manufactured in Russia. The tubes are 12-stage, fast devices with high gain and low dark current. These photomultiplier tubes were developed for the PHENIX EMCal project by members of the PHENIX group at IHEP, Protvino (Russia). We report on investigations of the gain, quantum efficiency, linearity, photocathode uniformity and long-term behavior of these tubes. >
Bone-Targeted Overexpression of Bcl-2 Increases Osteoblast Adhesion and Differentiation and Inhibits Mineralization In Vitro

Apoptosis is a process important for the development and homeostasis of self-renewing tissues, including bone. However, little is known about the function of Bcl-2, a key player of apoptosis, in the regulation of osteoblast activity. Ex vivo cultures of osteoblasts from Col2.3Bcl-2 mice, in which human Bcl-2 was targeted to bone by the 2.3 kb fragment of the type I collagen promoter, were used to study the effect of Bcl-2 in osteoblasts. During 35 days of culture, hBcl-2 expression increased without any effect on endogenous mouse Bcl-2 and Bax expression. Adhesion of transgenic (TG) osteoblasts was twofold more than that of wild-type (WT) cells, with significantly higher expression of integrins alpha(1), alpha(2), and alpha(5) but similar levels of alpha(v) and beta(1) relative to WT cells. Proliferation of osteoblasts was not affected. Overexpression of hBcl-2 promoted the differentiation of osteoblasts, as shown by increased message levels of alkaline phosphatase, type I collagen, bone sialoprotein, and osteocalcin in the TG compared to WT cells throughout the culture period. The two transcription factors essential for osteoblast differentiation, core binding factor alpha 1 (Cbfa-1) and osterix, had significantly higher expression in TG than WT cells during the early culture period. ss-Catenin, a central player in the canonical Wnt pathway, also had higher expression in TG than WT cultures. Mineralization was significantly decreased in TG cultures, with less osteoblast apoptosis, compared to WT. Thus, Bcl-2 seems to have multiple roles in modulating osteoblast activities.
Japan's clinic physicians and their behavior.

Abstract The paper examines the behavior of the Japanese general practitioner or clinic physician. Clinic physicians in Japan are entrepreneurs who own and operate their own clinics with either no beds or less than 20 beds. They have been the prime providers of Japan's health care, and they are represented by the politically powerful Japan Medical Association. General practitioners are reimbursed basically on the basis of fee-for- service with fees determined by the authority. Japan has universal health insurance. The paper modeled the general practitioner as a maximizer of his own utility and explored its theoretical and empirical implications. The maximization of his own utility which is a function of his income and leisure time should reflect the fact that the physician's conscientious behavior is relied upon for the effective delivery of medical care in Japan. Our empirical results found that revenues and net profits of clinics are critically related to the quantity of drugs used, the age of physicians and the size of clinics. This finding gives some support to the oft-heard allegation in Japan that physicians maximize their income by prescribing more drugs and examinations.
Distributed Josephson junction arrays as local oscillators

The power and linewidth of the radiation, near 250 GHz, of small distributed Josephson junction array sources have been measured using a single-chip integrated source and receiver. The intermediate frequency (IF), coupled off the chip to a room-temperature spectrum analyzer, permitted a direct measurement of the oscillator linewidth. The one-dimensional arrays were of a novel design with junctions placed in 1/4 wavelength lumps separated by one half wavelength. The measured power ( approximately=2 mu W) and linewidth ( approximately=10 MHz) for the 10 junction sources were in reasonable agreement with those obtained from computer simulations. >
Numerical evaluation of coaxial RF calibration standards

We evaluate the RF network scattering parameters (S-parameters) of the calibration standards for the coaxial transmission lines. Those standards include: single ended open/shorts, step discontinuities in inner/outer conductors, tapers, and mismatch airlines. We use either an analytical function when the geometry is simple, or finite elements analysis for the more elaborate geometry. Whenever possible, we compare the analytic, numerical and experimental results.
Long-term follow-up of patients treated with coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract Long-term follow-up data for patients treated with coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for acute myocardial infarction are limited. Therefore the long-term outcome of 336 consecutive patients treated with PTCA at a median of 4.5 hours (range 0.5 to 48 hours) from symptom onset was evaluated. The in-hospital mortality was 11.1% (37 patients). Follow-up is complete for 293 of 299 (98%) hospital survivors at a median of 24 months. Of patients discharged, the mean age was 55 ± 11 years, 49% received intravenous thrombolytic therapy, 53% had multivessel coronary artery disease, and the mean ejection fraction was 48 ± 10%. Post-discharge survival was 96.1% at 1 year and 93.6% at 2 years by life table analysis. Post-discharge survival was independently predicted by no prior myocardial infarction (96.9% versus 87.3% 2-year survival, p p = 0.02]). For patients with analyzable ventriculograms at hospital discharge, ejection fraction ≥ 40% was also a significant independent predictor of survival (98.1% versus 85.8% 2-year survival, p = 0.01). For patients with a successful PTCA, time from symptom onset to catheterization and angioplasty ≤ 4 hours versus > 4 hours was also an independent predictor of outcome (97.1% versus 91.4% 2-year survival; p = 0.04). Freedom from recurrent myocardial infarction was achieved in 95.2% of patients at 1 year and in 93.1% at 2 years. The only independent predictors of recurrent nonfatal myocardial infarction were a history of diabetes mellitus ( p = 0.004), and multivessel coronary artery disease ( p = 0.03). During follow-up, 7.1% of patients had repeat PTCA and 11.0% had coronary artery bypass surgery. Independent predictors of late revascularization were a history of prior myocardial infarction and an age ≤ 65 years ( p
Spontaneous polymerization in the emulsion polymerization of styrene and chlorobutadiene

Spontaneous initiation in emulsion polymerization may be more important: than in the corresponding bulk free-radical polymerization. A methodology is derived for finding the locus of spontaneous polymerization in emulsion polymerization, through use of spin traps and catalysts which can accelerate decomposition of peroxides. Applying this to both styrene and chloroprene (chlorobutadiene), it is found that this generation occurs to some degree within all phases present. The rate of spontaneous initiation is relatively small in styrene emulsion polymerization but large in chloroprene. A means of including this effect in modeling rates and molecular weight distributions is derived, which also shows how rate parameters for the process may be obtained from experimental molecular weight distributions. This methodology is applied to these two monomers, with a series of seeded emulsion polymerizations using polystyrene host seeds for both. For styrene polymerization, the spontaneous initiation rate is low and varies with latex preparation; consistent values for this rate coefficient for a given latex are obtained by independent measurements involving two different techniques, thereby verifying the methodology. Applying this methodology to chloroprene, it is found that the effect of spontaneous initiation is much larger and probably arises from peroxides formed by exposure to oxygen. For chloroprene, spontaneous radical generation occurs both within the particles and in any monomer droplets present, with different chain-stopping mechanisms occurring in these two phases. It is a major influence on rates and molecular weight distributions, even in the presence of large amounts of added initiator; chain stoppage in droplets is largely by transfer to monomer, whereas chain stoppage within particles is by termination with short radicals formed by spontaneous initiation. Arrhenius parameters for the rate coefficient for transfer to monomer are obtained from the molecular weight distributions for the chloroprene system: k(tr)/dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) = 10(4.3) exp(-30.9 kJ mol(-1)/RT).
Detection of large interstellar molecules with radio interferometers

More than 112 interstellar molecular species have been reported to date. Small interstellar molecules and large interstellar molecules with a low degree of saturation (low hydrogen count) can be formed in quiescent gas clouds or in shock fronts by gas-phase chemical reactions, such as ion- molecule reactions and neutral-neutral reactions. Because these gas-phase species are found in spatially extended clouds, they have dominated most of the past single-element telescope studies of extended interstellar molecular clouds. Now, with the advent of radio interferometric arrays that operate at millimeter wavelengths with high spatial resolution, the study of a rich dust-phase chemistry around small hot molecular cloud cores has become possible. These small cloud cores, less than 0.1 parsec in diameter, form the type of dusty environment that contains presolar nebulae contracting under gravity before the onset of fusion; they contain large, complex, interstellar molecules with a high degree of saturation that are also of some biological interest: acetone, ethyl cyanide, ethanol, acetic acid, and probably the smallest amino acid, glycine. These molecules cannot be formed easily by gas-phase reactions alone; consequently, theories of solid state chemical reactions on grain surface ice mantles are often invoked to form these large molecules and evaporation is proposed as the mechanism that drives them into the gas phase. Hence, high resolution millimeter-wavelength arrays can spectroscopically sample the composition of evaporated presolar material--the material that eventually may form the basis for a type of prebiotic organic chemistry similar to that found on the early Earth.
The Mammary Gland Microenvironment Directs Progenitor Cell Fate In Vivo

The mammary gland is a unique organ that continually undergoes postnatal developmental changes. In mice, the mammary gland is formed via signals from terminal end buds, which direct ductal growth and elongation. Intriguingly, it is likely that the entire cellular repertoire of the mammary gland is formed from a single antecedent cell. Furthermore, in order to produce progeny of varied lineages (e.g., luminal and myoepithelial cells), signals from the local tissue microenvironment influence mammary stem/progenitor cell fate. Data have shown that cells from the mammary gland microenvironment reprogram adult somatic cells from other organs (testes, nerve) into cells that produce milk and express mammary epithelial cell proteins. Similar results were found for human tumorigenic epithelial carcinoma cells. Presently, it is unclear how the deterministic power of the mammary gland microenvironment controls epithelial cell fate. Regardless, signals generated by the microenvironment have a profound influence on progenitor cell differentiation in vivo.
Mutational analysis of the prohead binding domain of the large subunit of terminase, the bacteriophage lambda DNA packaging enzyme.

Abstract Terminase, the DNApackaging enzyme of bacteriophage γ, is made up of two subunits, gpNul and gpA, the products of the Nu1 and A genes. The activities of terminase include DNA binding, cos cleavage and prohead binding. Specificity domains within the structure of terminase have previously been defined by genetic studies of γ-21 hybrids. The prohead binding domain of terminase is localized to the last 32 amino acid residues of gpA. Mutations in the prohead binding domain of gpA were constructed by introducing the corresponding amino acids from gp2, the gpA analog of bacteriophage 21. The last five residues of gpA can be replaced with little effect on the burst size of γ. A phage with a replacement of the last six residues of gpA with the corresponding residues of gp2 was unable to form plaques, indicating that the sixth-to-last residue of gpA is crucial for prohead binding. Site-specific mutagenesis fo the sixth-to-last position of gpA indicated that the sixth-to-last residue of gpA must be hydrophobic, of the seven amino acids tested, only isoleucine and valine can substitute for leucine at this position. Although the last five residues of gp2 were functional when they replaced the last five residues of gpA, two results indicated that the last five residues of gpA functioned better than the corresponding residues of gp2. FIrst, the presence of a valine residue at the sixth-to-last position of gpA allowed plaque formation, whereas replacement of the last six residues of gkA with those of gp2, which substitutes a valine residue at the sixth-to-last position, was lethal. The second set of results indicating that the last five residues of gpA function better than the gp2 residues were obtained by study of revertants of lethal substitution mutations. In constructing the replacement mutations, a short linker was inserted into the C terminus of the A gene; this insertion increased a short duplication of the end of the A gene, so that the normal C-terminal codons were located dowstream of the stop codon of the A gene in the substituyion mutants. Revertants of the lethal substitution mutations were obtained in which a mutation in the stop codon resulted in addition of the last five residues of gpA to the end of the substitution terminase. Thus lethal mutants with six or seven residues of gp2 substituted for the normal C terminus of gpA were restored to viability by addition of the normal five residues at the C terminus of the mutant gpA. Such revertants also indicate positional flexibility for the terminal residues of the prohead binding domain: the last five residues of gpA can suppress a lethal substitution when added to the end of the polypeptide.
Apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids in feedstuffs for White Pekin ducks

The apparent ileal amino acid digestibility of 6 feedstuffs, namely corn, wheat, corn distillers dried grains with solubles, canola meal, soybean meal (SBM), and meat and bone meal (MBM) were determined for White Pekin ducks in a 5-d experiment. The feedstuffs served as the sole source of amino acids in semipurified diets composed of dextrose, soy oil, Solka Floc, minerals, and vitamins, with the exception of corn and wheat, in which both lacked dextrose. The ducks received a standard duck starter diet during the first 14 d posthatch. On d 14, ducks were sorted by weight and allocated to 6 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. Each assay diet was fed to 8 replicates (6 ducks/replicate) from d 14 to 19 posthatch. Birds were killed on d 19 and digesta from the terminal ileum were collected. Ileal N digestibility was highest (P < 0.01) in SBM (88.3%) and lowest in MBM (72.4%). Ileal digestibility for all of the amino acids was highest in SBM among the feedstuffs. Lysine digestibility was highest (P < 0.01) for SBM followed by canola meal, corn, wheat, MBM, and distillers dried grains with soluble; the values were 90.3, 79.0, 78.0, 76.8, 75.6, and 69.2%, respectively. Methionine digestibility in SBM was highest (P < 0.01), whereas MBM had the lowest digestibility value for methionine (78.4%). For threonine, SBM (84.0%) had the highest digestibility and corn (61.6%) had the lowest digestibility (P < 0.01), but there were no differences among other feedstuffs. Ileal tryptophan digestibility was between 78.9 (MBM) and 93.0% (SBM). In conclusion, the data from the current study show that there are considerable differences among feedstuffs in the digestibility of their amino acids for ducks. Therefore, it is important to take the digestible amino acid content of feedstuffs into account during feed formulation.
A Trust- and Cooperation-Based Solution of a Dynamic Resource Allocation Problem

Resource allocation is a common problem in technical systems. For instance, the main task in power management systems is to maintain the balance between energy production and consumption at all times. If such a resource allocation problem has to be solved in a multi-agent system in a decentralized or regionalized manner, agents have to rely on cooperation due to their limited resources and knowledge. In open systems, various uncertainties - introduced by the environment as well as the agents' possibly self-interested or even malicious behavior - have to be taken into account to be able to allocate the resources according to the actual demand. Trust has been proposed as a concept to measure and deal with such uncertainties. In this paper, we present a trust- and cooperation-based algorithm that solves a dynamic resource allocation problem in open multi-agent systems. Throughout the paper, the problem of creating power plant schedules in decentralized autonomous power management systems serves as a running example to illustrate our algorithm and results.
The impact of alum based advanced nutrient removal processes on phosphorus bioavailability.

Abstract Because eutrophication is a widespread consequence of wastewater discharges, there is a strong impetus to develop new approaches to remove phosphorus (P) from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. We examined the effluents from a pilot plant that is testing various alum based processes for achieving > 99% P removal, however, it is not known how these advanced P removal technologies affect the bioavailability of P (BAP). We tested how the percent BAP (%BAP) varied with different P removal levels using an algal growth bioassay methodology. This facility reduced total P concentrations from ≈ 500 μg L −1 in the pilot plant influent to 19 ± 4 (±SD) μg L −1 in the final effluent, and our results showed that as the level of P removal increased, the %BAP of the product declined sharply, r 2 = 0.98. Prior to alum treatment, the influent had an average %BAP of 79 ± 13%, and after three steps of alum-based removal the %BAP averaged 7 ± 4%. Thus, this alum based P removal process was very effective at sequestering the P forms that most readily stimulate algal growth. Further, our results show the final BAP of the effluent was only ≈ 50% of the “reactive” P concentration. These results have important implications for nutrient management and trading schemes.
A note on the existence of continuous functionals

Abstract Let if P = { p i | iϵI } and if Q = { q i | iϵI } be sets of partial functions with the same index set I . We say that Φ is an interpolating function (from P to Q ) if if Φ ( p i = q i for each i . We give simple necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a monotone interpolating functional. We show that these same conditions are necessary and sufficient for the existence of a continuous interpolating functional if the index set I is finite, but that they are not sufficient if the index set is infinite
Workstation Modelling and Development: Clinical Definition of a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) User Interface,

A PACS must provide a user interface which is acceptable to all potential users of the system. Observations and interviews have been conducted with six radiology services at the Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, in order to evaluate user interface requirements for a PACS system. Based on these observations, a conceptual model of radiology has been developed. These discussions have also revealed some significant differences in the user interface requirements between the various services. Several underlying factors have been identified which may be used as initial predictors of individual user interface styles. A user model has been developed which incorporates these factors into the specification of a tailored PACS user interface.
Practical aspects of sterility studies

Abstract 1. 1. Accurate diagnosis of the source of human sterility in a given couple is dependent upon a routine, complete repetition of certain definite investigative steps in both the wife and the husband. 2. 2. None of these may be omitted, even though various major faults may be found, because in every couple a multiplicity of faulty factors, both female and male, is the rule. 3. 3. Relative sterility is correctable in a majority of these instances by active though often simple treatment of these faulty factors, including those that are minor as well as the major ones. 4. 4. Many instances of absolute sterility with gross pathologic changes, in either the female or the male, are also correctable, but by operative procedures. 5. 5. This paper concerns itself with the problem of outlining minimum necessary diagnostic measures, and their summation. Treatment is briefly discussed, but is usually obvious when the diagnosis is complete and has been carefully summarized. Certain common diagnostic errors are enumerated, with especial emphasis on those committed so often in the examination of the spermatic fluid.
Optimizing an index with spatiotemporal patterns to support GEOSS Clearinghouse

A variety of Earth observation systems monitor the Earth and provide petabytes of geospatial data to decision-makers and scientists on a daily basis. However, few studies utilize spatiotemporal patterns to optimize the management of the Big Data. This article reports a new indexing mechanism with spatiotemporal patterns integrated to support Big Earth Observation (EO) metadata indexing for global user access. Specifically, the predefined multiple indices mechanism (PMIM) categorizes heterogeneous user queries based on spatiotemporal patterns, and multiple indices are predefined for various user categories. A new indexing structure, the Access Possibility R-tree (APR-tree), is proposed to build an R-tree-based index using spatiotemporal query patterns. The proposed indexing mechanism was compared with the classic R*-tree index in a number of scenarios. The experimental result shows that the proposed indexing mechanism generally outperforms a regular R*-tree and supports better operation of Global Earth Obs...
FIELD OBSERVATIONS OF BEACH CUSPS AND SWASH MOTIONS

Abstract We tested the hypothesis of cusp formation by the longshore structure of synchronous or subharmonic, mode-zero edge waves using detailed field measurements of foreshore topography, incident waves and swash motions. Two distinct intervals of cusp formation were observed. Alongshore separated swash measurements were analyzed to detect structures at wavelengths and frequencies consistent with the measured cusp spacings. For both events, no statistical support for cusp generation by the traditional subharmonic or synchronous edge wave mechanisms was found. However, once cusps became well developed, there was evidence of interaction between fluids and topography at a wavelength equal to the cusp spacing, but at the period of the incident swash. We propose that this interaction could have been responsible for the generation of the second set of cusps with a spacing of half the pre-existing cusp wavelength.
FORCE FIELD FOR PLATINUM BINDING TO ADENINE AND GUANINE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT FLEXIBILITY OF NUCLEIC ACIDS BASES

Many metal-based antitumor drugs such as cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin) bind to purine nucleic acid (NA) bases via N7. On the basis of ab initio quantum mechanics calculations using [Pt(NH3)3 purine]2+ (where purine = adenine or guanine) as a model system, we show that the common assumption of planarity of NA bases leads to an overestimation of the platinum out-of -plane bending molecular mechanics constant in certain cases by more than 50%. New values of force-field parameters are given, and some of the implications on molecular mechanics computations of platinum nucleic acid adducts are discussed.
A dimer as a building block in assembling RNA. A hexamer that gears bacterial virus phi29 DNA-translocating machinery.

Six RNA (pRNA) molecules form a hexamer, via hand-in-hand interaction, to gear bacterial virus phi29 DNA translocation machinery. Here we report the pathway and the conditions for the hexamer formation. Stable pRNA dimers and trimers were assembled in solution, isolated from native gels, and separated by sedimentation, providing a model system for the study of RNA dimers and trimers in a protein-free environment. Cryo-atomic force microscopy revealed that monomers displayed a ✓ outline, dimers exhibited an elongated shape, and trimers formed a triangle. Dimerization of pRNA was promoted by a variety of cations including spermidine, whereas procapsid binding and DNA packaging required specific divalent cations, including Mg2+, Ca2+, and Mn2+. Both the tandem and fused pRNA dimers with complementary loops designed to form even-numbered rings were active in DNA packaging, whereas those without complementary loops were inactive. We conclude that dimers are the building blocks of the hexamer, and the pathway of building a hexamer is: dimer → tetramer → hexamer. The Hill coefficient of 2.5 suggests that there are three binding sites with cooperative binding on the surface of the procapsid. The two interacting loops played a key role in recruiting the incoming dimer, whereas the procapsid served as the foundation for hexamer assembly.
Transport and bioelectric properties of post-mortem lenses.

Abstract In this study changes in the physiological activity of post-mortem lenses were evaluated on the basis of changes in membrane transport and potentials as a function of time and storage conditions of enucleated eyes. Irreversible damage to membranes of rabbit lenses were observed within 4–6 hr of post-mortem storage at 37 or 21°C as judged by the inability of lenses to maintain potentials across outer limiting membranes, transport cations, or respond to elevation in sodium levels through pump stimulation. In contrast, changes during storage of eyes at 4°C were completely reversible for periods of storage up to 72 hr, as indicated by recovery in potential and transport properties. Moreover, the ability of lenses to recover normal transport function following storage was not impaired by delaying enucleation by 5 hr. Results obtained from a limited number of human lenses were similar in that both reversible and irreversible changes in potential accompanied changes in normal or stimulated transport rates of the cation pump following post-mortem storage. Recovery in cation levels and potential often appeared incomplete during short term culture after 2 days of eye storage at 4°C and appeared absent in lenses obtained from eyes stored for 3 days at 4°C.
The role of diversification in dynamic small-scale fisheries: Lessons from Baja California Sur, Mexico

Globally, small-scale fisheries are critical for livelihoods and food security yet face increasing uncertainty and variability from processes such as overfishing, globalization, and climate change. Enhancing the number of options for human response through increased access to marine resources, diverse livelihood approaches, and generalist fishing strategies may attenuate the negative effects of change and disturbance. My research explores the relative importance of diversification strategies for achieving resilient small-scale fishing communities and cooperatives of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Specifically, interview data and long-term catch and economic data were used to develop an economic metric of resilience, in addition to income diversification indices, for fishing cooperatives. Fishing cooperative characteristics and environmental conditions were then evaluated as possible predictors of cooperatives’ relative ability to diversify. I found that while diversification was important for risk mitigation and stabilizing income, the ability of cooperatives to specialize during favorable conditions may be important for poverty reduction and wealth accumulation. Thus, the flexibility to move across fishing strategies given changing environmental conditions is important for the adaptive capacity of small-scale fishing cooperatives. My findings will contribute to a better understanding of the institutional arrangements that promote a resilient small-scale fishery, and therefore, will be invaluable for practitioners of small-scale fisheries.
Synchronized Turbulent Boundary Layer-Flexible Structure by Sound and Transient Shock Wave

Acoustic and turbulent boundary-layer flow loadings over a flexible structure are used to study the spatial-temporal dynamics of the response of the structure. The stability of the spatial phase synchronization and desynchronization by an active external force is investigated from time series with an array of coupled transducers on the structure. In the synchronous state, the structural phase is locked, which leads to the formation of spatial patterns while the amplitude peaks exhibit chaotic behaviors. Large-amplitude, spatially symmetric loading is superimposed on broadband, but in the desynchronized state, the spectrum broadens and the phase space is lost. The resulting pattern bears a striking resemblance to phase turbulence. The transition is achieved by using a low-power external actuator to trigger broadband behaviors from the knowledge of the external acoustic load, inducing synchronization. The changes are made favorably and efficiently to alter the frequency distribution of power, not the total power level. Before synchronization effects are seen, the panel response to the turbulent boundary-layer loading is discontinuously spatiotemporally correlated. The stability develops from different competing wavelengths; the spatial scale is significantly shorter than when forced with the superimposed external sound. When the external sound level decreases and the synchronized phases are lost, changes in the character of the spectra can be linked to the occurrence of spatial phase transition. These changes can develop broadband response. Synchronized wall pressure loading on a fuselage structural panel induced by turbulent boundary layer and by traveling transient shock wave has been observed in flight. Results from two flight tests are discussed.
The properties of ribosomal proteins from a moderate halophile.

The ribosomes from the extreme halophile Halobacterium cutirubrum are unusual in that their ribosomal proteins are acidic rather than basic as is the case with almost all bacterial ribosomes (Bayley, S.T. (1966) J. Mol. Biol. 15, 420–427). To determine whether the ribosomes of a moderate halophile show similar properties the ribosomal proteins from an unidentified moderate halophile, which grows over a wide range of NaCl concentrations (0.04–4.3 M), were compared to those of Escherichia coli and H. cutirubrum. The proteins are slightly more acidic than those of E. coli but much less acidic than those from the extreme halophile as judged by their mobility on polyacrylamide gels and their amino acid composition. The electrophoretic profile on polyacrylamide gels of the ribosomal proteins from the moderate halophile is similar whether the cells are grown in 0.5 M or 4.25 M NaCl.
Genetic deletions in AML and MDS

Chromosomal deletions are common molecular events in myeloid malignancies. Heterozygous deletions may contain a tumor suppressor gene that undergoes homozygous inactivation or may contain one or more genes that alter the disease phenotype through haploinsufficiency. The most common karyotypic abnormality in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is deletion of chromosome 5q. A subset of patients with del(5q) as a sole cytogenetic abnormality has a consistent set of clinical features, termed the 5q- syndrome. While no tumor suppressor genes have been identified on 5q that are homozygously inactivated, recent studies have highlighted several genes and micro RNAs (miRNAs) that cause the phenotype of the 5q- syndrome through allelic insufficiency. For example, deletion of one allele of the RPS14 gene causes a severe defect in erythropoiesis, analogous to the congenital syndrome Diamond Blackfan anemia, which is itself caused by mutations that inactivate one allele of a ribosomal gene. Loss of one allele of miR-145 and miR-146a causes an increase in megakaryocyte production and may contribute to the clonal advantage of cells with del(5q). The functional approaches used to dissect the molecular basis of the 5q deletion in MDS have the potential to identify key genes and therapeutic targets within other chromosomal deletions in hematologic malignancies.
The potential role of anibamine, a natural product CCR5 antagonist, and its analogues as leads toward development of anti-ovarian cancer agents.

Abstract Chemokines and their receptors play important roles in the development of primary tumors and their metastases. Particularly CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) and its ligand CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5/RANTES) seem to be critical in proliferation and invasion of ovarian cancer, the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies in the United States. Anibamine, the first natural product CCR5 antagonist, and its analogues were examined for their effects on proliferation of the OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells in order to validate their candidacy as leads to develop novel anti-ovarian cancer agents. Acting as CCR5 antagonists, anibamine and its analogues significantly suppressed CCL5-induced intracellular Ca2+ flux. The compounds also inhibited the proliferation of OVCAR-3 at micromolar to submicromolar range. Moreover, anibamine and several analogues did not show significant cytotoxicity in NIH 3T3 cells at concentrations up to 20 μM. Based on these results, anibamine and one of its synthetic analogues were defined as potential leads to develop novel agents against ovarian cancer.
Radiation effects on embryonic chick tibiae.

Huhnerschienbeine zeigen 2 strahlensensitive Perioden wahrend der embryonalen Entwicklungszeit. Wachstumshemmung durch ionisierende Strahlen wirkt sich am starksten wahrend der ersten 3 Tage sowie am 10. Tag der Inkubation aus. Strahlendosiseffektkurven zeigen eine vergleichbare Strahlenempfindlichkeit am 3. und 10. Tag, wenn Schienbeinlange und-gewicht als Dosiseffekt gemessen werden.
Effects of a dietary copper deficiency on plasma coagulation factor activities in male and female mice

Abstract A previous study in this laboratory has shown that dietary copper (Cu) status mediates the development of thrombotic lesions in female mice. In the present investigation, groups ( n = 16) of 6-week-old male and female Swiss-Webster mice were fed Cu-supplemented (9.0 mg Cu/kg) or Cu-deficient (0.2 mg Cu/kg) diets and deionized water for 49–53 days. Thrombotic lesions were observed exclusively in Cu-deficient female mice. Mice fed the Cu-deficient, compared with Cu-supplemented, diet were found to have significantly increased activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT; P P P P P P P
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Elastase Provides an Escape from Phagocytosis by Degrading the Pulmonary Surfactant Protein-A

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes both acute pneumonitis in immunocompromised patients and chronic lung infections in individuals with cystic fibrosis and other bronchiectasis. Over 75% of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa secrete elastase B (LasB), an elastolytic metalloproteinase that is encoded by the lasB gene. Previously, in vitro studies have demonstrated that LasB degrades a number of components in both the innate and adaptive immune systems. These include surfactant proteins, antibacterial peptides, cytokines, chemokines and immunoglobulins. However, the contribution of LasB to lung infection by P. aeruginosa and to inactivation of pulmonary innate immunity in vivo needs more clarification. In this study, we examined the mechanisms underlying enhanced clearance of the ΔlasB mutant in mouse lungs. The ΔlasB mutant was attenuated in virulence when compared to the wild-type strain PAO1 during lung infection in SP-A+/+ mice. However, the ΔlasB mutant was as virulent as PAO1 in the lungs of SP-A-/- mice. Detailed analysis showed that the ΔlasB mutant was more susceptible to SP-A-mediated opsonization but not membrane permeabilization. In vitro and in vivo phagocytosis experiments revealed that SP-A augmented the phagocytosis of ΔlasB mutant bacteria more efficiently than the isogenic wild-type PAO1. The ΔlasB mutant was found to have a severely reduced ability to degrade SP-A, consequently making it unable to evade opsonization by the collectin during phagocytosis. These results suggest that P. aeruginosa LasB protects against SP-A-mediated opsonization by degrading the collectin.
Neutrino production by UHECR proton interactions in the infrared background

We discuss the contribution of proton photoproduction interactions in the isotropic infrared/optical background to the cosmic neutrino fluxes. This contribution has a strong dependence on the proton injection energy spectrum, and is essential at high redshifts. It is thus closely correlated with the cosmological evolution of the ultra-high energy proton sources and of the infrared background itself. These interactions may also contribute to the source fluxes of neutrinos if the proton sources are located in regions of high infrared emission and magnetic fields.
A meta-analysis of the association between day-care attendance and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Background Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) may be the result of a rare response to common infection(s) acquired by personal contact with infected individuals. A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between day-care attendance and risk of childhood ALL, specifically to address whether early-life exposure to infection is protective against ALL. Methods Searches of the PubMed database and bibliographies of publications on childhood leukaemia and infections were conducted. Observational studies of any size or location and published in English resulted in the inclusion of 14 case–control studies. Results The combined odds ratio (OR) based on the random effects model indicated that day-care attendance is associated with a reduced risk of ALL [OR = 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67, 0.87]. In subgroup analyses evaluating the influence of timing of exposure, a similarly reduced effect was observed for both day-care attendance occurring early in life (≤2 years of age) (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.95) and day-care attendance with unspecified timing (anytime prior to diagnosis) (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.94). Similar findings were observed with seven studies in which common ALL were analysed separately. The reduced risk estimates persisted in sensitivity analyses that examined the sources of study heterogeneity. Conclusions This analysis provides strong support for an association between exposure to common infections in early childhood and a reduced risk of ALL. Implications of a ‘hygiene’-related aetiology suggest that some form of prophylactic intervention in infancy may be possible.
Enthesitis-related arthritis is associated with higher pain intensity and poorer health status in comparison with other categories of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Registry.

Objective To assess the relative effect of clinical factors and medications on pain intensity, physical function, and health status in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of data from children with JIA enrolled in the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Registry. We tested whether clinical characteristics of JIA were associated with pain intensity, physical function, and health status using multivariable linear and ordinal logistic regression. Results During the study period, 2571 subjects with JIA enrolled in the CARRA Registry. Ratings of pain intensity, physical function, and health status differed significantly between JIA categories. In comparison to other categories of JIA, subjects with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) reported worse pain and function. In multivariable analyses, higher active joint count and current use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), biologics, or corticosteroids were associated with worse scores on all patient-reported measures. ERA and older age were significantly associated with higher pain intensity and poorer health status. Systemic JIA and uveitis were significantly associated with worse health status. Enthesitis, sacroiliac tenderness, and NSAID use were independently associated with increased pain intensity in ERA. The correlation was low between physician global assessment of disease activity and patient-reported pain intensity, physical function, and health status. Conclusion Significant differences in pain intensity, physical function, and health status exist among JIA categories. These results suggest that current treatments may not be equally effective for particular disease characteristics more common in specific JIA categories, such as enthesitis or sacroiliac tenderness in ERA.
Methotrexate in psoriasis: A brief review of indications, usage, and complications of methotrexate therapy

Methotrexate is widely used by dermatologists in the treatment of recalcitrant psoriasis. Despite potentially serious side effects, including hepatic cirrhosis, the drug is relatively safe and remarkably effective when carefully administered to selected patients.
Hemodynamic Performance of a Transplanted Human Heart

Cardiac catheterization studies, performed 3 weeks after cardiac homotransplantation, revealed nearly normal cardiac performance. Alteration in heart rate by right atrial pacing, passive elevation of the legs, and exercise modified cardiac performance predominantly by variation in ventricular filling. Isoproterenol infusion increased stroke volume above the level predicted from the ventricular end-diastolic pressure. The heart was hypersensitive to beta-adrenergic stimulation with isoproterenol as judged by a greater responsiveness of the donor sinus node than the recipient sinus node, by prolongation of ventricular filling time, and by shortening the P-R interval for any given paced heart rate. These measures permitted tests for endogenous catecholamine effects during passive leg elevation and during exercise. Only after the 3 minutes of exercise was a small beta-adrenergic effect detectable. These data demonstrate the dependence of the denervated human heart upon variation in ventricular filling as the ...
Control of Flywheel Energy Storage Systems for wind farm power fluctuation mitigation

This paper proposes a new method to regulate the output power of offshore wind farms in presence of variable wind speed using Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FESS). A novel configuration FESS-integrated offshore wind farm is presented. A hierarchical control structure was developed to handle the complexity of the FESS. Multi-Input Multi-Output Quantitative Feedback Theory (MIMO QFT) and Feedback Linearization were used to designed the controllers such that robust performance is achieved in presence of nonlinearities. A new current coordinating algorithm was developed to extend the operating speed of the FESS resulting in an increase in the energy storage capability.
Phase transformation under intense shock pressure loading

Solids subjected to high velocity impact or explosive loading may undergo polymorphic phase transformation or melting within time periods appreciably less than 10-8 s due to the intense shock-pressure environment. Although criteria for equilibrium phase transformation on the Hugoniot are satisfied, other nonequilibrium features unique to the shock-wave environment have been identified in the shock transformation process. These features include shear and heterogeneous deformation effects which control the transformation kinetics and microstructure of the transformed material. Transformation under shock loading leads to unusual microstructure in the recovered materials and can result in interesting and useful changes in physical and mechanical properties.
Low Dimensional Modeling of Zero-Net Mass-Flux Actuators

The flow field generated by a zero-net mass-flux (ZNMF) actuator is investigated via both numerical simulations and experiments to augment the current understanding of the flow physics of the orifice. The results aid in improving the accuracy of low dimensional lumped element ZNMF models suitable for design. Dimensional analysis yields a number of key parameters that govern the characteristics of this flow. Among them for a sharp rectangular slot or circular orifice are the Reynolds number, the dimensionless stroke length, and the orifice height-to-diameter ratio. Variation of these parameters shows that the flow field differs appreciably from the exact linear solution of pipe flow driven by an oscillatory pressure gradient. In particular, depending on the stroke length and the orifice geometry, the pressure drop in the orifice may be dominated by nonlinear "minor" losses due to entrance/exit effects, or linear "major" losses associated with the presence of a nominally fully-developed region in the central region of the orifice/slot.
Voluntary cardio-respiratory synchronization: hardware and software development and evaluation

Voluntary cardio-respiratory synchronization (VCRS) is a technique where an individual's breathing is voluntarily phase locked with his/her heart beat. A signal is generated (tone or light) from the ECG that is used to pace the breath with a fixed number of heart beats for inspiration and expiration. A small portable device was developed that can create a tone to pace the breathing and record the data for repeated measurements for extended periods of time (days or weeks). The device was tested on an individual over a four-week period. Measurements of heart rate variability were made at various times throughout the day for a total of 68 recordings. The data were analyzed to separate out respiratory and non-respiratory induced changes in the heart rate using a unique time domain analysis. The results showed significant variability over the measurement period.
Capacity-efficient protection with fast recovery in optically transparent mesh networks

Survivability becomes increasingly critical in managing high-speed networks as data traffic continues to grow in both size and importance. In addition, the impact of failures is exacerbated by the higher data rates available in optical networks. It is therefore imperative to address network survivability in an efficient manner in order to design and operate reliable networks. Transparent optical networks (TONs) provide several advantages over optically opaque networks for supporting the growing communication demands, but suffer from several drawbacks that reduce the efficacy of most applicable capacity-efficient survivability techniques. In this paper, we introduce a novel protection algorithm (for single link and node failures) called streams. The streams algorithm is similar to 1:1 dedicated path protection in terms of implementation and operation overhead, and has identical recovery speeds while requiring less capacity. We compare the streams algorithm with dedicated and shared path protection in terms of capacity requirements, path lengths, and recovery time. We also extend the flooding based mesh restoration algorithm (FBMR) in order to provide a fair comparison in online routing scenarios, and report the relative tradeoffs between the different algorithms. Our results show that dynamically routed streams offer attractive tradeoffs in terms of capacity, path length, recovery speed, data loss and implementation complexity.