cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outer Membrane Protein F (Porin) Preparation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a Protective Vaccine Against Heterologous Immunotype Strains in a Burned Mouse Model

Outer membrane (OM) protein F (porin) was purified by extraction from polyacrylamide gels of cell envelope proteins of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 strain. Mice were immunized intramuscularly with 10 micrograms of protein F preparation on days 1 and 14 and then subjected to burn and challenge on day 28. Protein F immunization afforded significant protection above that provided by PA01 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) immunization against subsequent challenge with six of six heterologous LPS immunotype strains of P. aeruginosa. By an ELISA, the murine immune response revealed an IgG titer of 5,120 to protein F by day 30. Immunoblot analysis of antisera from protein F-immunized mice revealed bands with both protein F and protein H of cell envelopes of all immunotypes tested. Active immunization with OM protein H did not, however, afford significant protection to mice in this burned mouse model. These data show the efficacy of OM protein F as a protective vaccine in a murine model representative of human infection.
Temporary DDD pacing after surgically induced heart block.

Abstract The development of a DDD temporary pacemaker has increased the feasibility of atrial synchronous ventricular pacing in the postoperative patient. A significant improvement in the early postoperative hemodynamics has been observed when using atrial synchronous ventricular pacing (DDD effectively operating as atrially triggered ventricular pacing) as compared with DVI in 3 pediatric patients with surgical complete heart block.
Electrical equipment of the Union Pacific steam-electric locomotive

THE development of the steam-electric locomotive for the Union Pacific Railroad represents the culmination of more than two years of co-operative design and research by scientists, engineers, and officials of the railroad and of the various manufacturers of equipment for this outstanding example of modern motive power. It is the intention of the authors to deal primarily with the electrical details but a comprehensive picture of the general features of this recent development is included.
A study of the pH of perspiration from male and female subjects exercising in the gymnasium - A practical challenge for students in the nonscience major class

An engaging activity is developed out of an authentic inquiry posed by students. This article presents the debate behind the title question, a procedure, sample data, results, and discussion.
Prospective analysis of pediatric pseudophakia: Myopic shift and postoperative outcomes

Abstract Purpose: Limited data exist about long-term refractive changes in eyes of children with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Information of postoperative results should allow more accurate predictions for IOL power implantation in children. Data regarding IOL complications, including secondary membranes, myopic shift, stereopsis, and pseudophakic glaucoma should also be reported. Methods: In a prospective study, the refractive errors of all pediatric patients between 12 months and 18 years who had cataract surgery and IOL implantation were evaluated at 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and every 6 months thereafter. All patients were followed for a minimum of 3 years. Results: Fifty-two eyes of 42 patients met inclusion criteria. Forty-two eyes had developmental cataracts. There were 10 bilateral cases. Of the 52 eyes, 85% had 20/40 vision or better. Visual acuity of 20/30 or better was achieved in 95% of bilateral eyes. In unilateral cataracts, visual acuity was 20/50 or better in 74% of eyes. Mean follow-up time was 5.45 years with a range of 3 to 10.5 years. Mean follow-up by age group ranged between 4.38 and 6.35 years. Children operated on at 12 months to 2 years of age had a mean myopic shift of −5.96 D; children operated on at 3 and 4 years of age had a −3.66 D shift; children operated on at 5 and 6 years of age had a shift of −3.40 D; children operated on at 7 and 8 years of age had a shift of −2.03 D; children operated on at 9 and 10 years of age had a mean shift of −1.88 D; children operated on at 11 to 14 years of age had a shift of −0.97 D; children operated on at 15 to 18 years of age had −0.38 D shift. No cases of pediatric pseudophakic glaucoma were observed. Secondary membrane occurred in 72% of eyes when the capsule was left intact. The operated eye showed a greater mean myopic shift than the nonoperated eye. No statistically significant difference in refractive change was found comparing amblyopic to nonamblyopic eyes or traumatic to nontraumatic cataracts. Conclusions: The greatest rate of refractive growth or change occurred between 1 and 3 years of age. After age 3 years, the rate of refractive growth followed a more linear trend. Based on this study, we have provided a guide for selecting IOL power in pediatric cataract cases using current formulas with the understanding that new formulas will need to be devised to better predict IOL power in children. (J AAPOS 2002;6:277-82)
Phagocytic and Nitroblue Tetrazolium Reductive Properties of Bovine Neutrophils for Mammary Pathogens

Abstract A comparative evaluation of in vitro phagocytic and metabolic activities of freshly isolated bovine blood neutrophils from 26 cows was performed. Degrees of phagocytosis and nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by neutrophils were measured using zymosan, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Mycoplasma bovis, Salmonella sp. , and Brucella abortus opsonized with fresh bovine serum. Percent phagocytosis and nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by the neutrophils were determined by microscopic evaluation of stained coverslip smears. Individual variation among cows was found in parameters measured, but age was not a contributing factor. Phagocytosis was high (73 to 81%) for E. coli, Salmonella sp., Strep. agalactiae , and zymosan; intermediate (64%) for Staph. aureus ; and low (24 to 40%) for M. bovis and B. abortus . Nitroblue tetrazolium reduction was distinctly lower than zymosan (74%) for all microorganisms. Similar percentages (32 to 41%) of nitroblue tetrazolium reduction were observed for E. coli, Staph. aureus, Strep. agalactiae , and M. bovis ; intermediate (28%) was obtained for Salmonella sp. ; and lowest (11%) for B. abortus .
Moment theory of chromatographic separations: Resolution and optimization

Abstract An equation is derived for the length of a chromatographic column required to obtain a given resolution between two components from expressions for the first and second moments of chromatographic pulses. This equation includes the effects of adsorption rate and equilibrium, film and intraparticle mass transfer, axial dispersion, fluid velocity, particle diameter, and size and shape of the input pulse. Calculations are made for gas-solid, gel permeation, and liquid-solid chromatography. The net profit for chromatographic separations is calculated by accounting for column throughput and pumping and packing costs
Global change science and the Arctic citizen

This paper argues that global change science is both shaping and being shaped by a new type of citizen, namely the Arctic citizen, in at least three ways. First, global change science regionalizes the Arctic and underwrites an Arctic identity centered on the notion that its peoples comprise an at-risk community. Second, the ways in which science imagines nature-society interactions assume a certain agency (or lack thereof) on the part of the citizen. Third, global change science is recognizing new local voices in interpreting environmental phenomena and their implications for Arctic socio-ecological systems. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.
Increased responsiveness of the hepatic guanylate cyclase-guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate system to nitrosoguanidine following partial hepatectomy

When tested at concentrations producing submaximal responses, the N-nitroso carcinogen, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine) elicited a 2-fold greater increase in guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic GMP) accumulation in slices and a 5-fold greater stimulation of guanylate cyclase activity in whole homogenates of rat liver examined 24 h after 75% hepatectomy compared to the corresponding methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine responses in sham-operated and unoperated controls. Enhanced methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine sensitivity of guanylate cyclase in whole homogenates of regenerating liver was attributable to altered responsiveness of the enzyme activity of the 100 000 X g soluble fraction, which contained 98% of the methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine responsive activity. Basal cyclic GMP accumulation and guanylate cyclase activities of these systems, and their responses to concentrations of methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine eliciting maximal stimulation were unchanged after partial hepatectomy or sham operation, compared to unoperated controls. The findings of (a) increased heme concentrations in the supernatant and the high molecular weight Sephadex G-25 fraction of sham operated, compared to regenerating liver, (b) suppression of methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine responsive activity after addition of exogenous hemoglobin to supernatants from regenerating liver, and (c) enhancement of the responsiveness of soluble guanylate cyclase from sham operated liver to submaximal methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine after reduction of endogenous heme content by in situ perfusion, all suggested that the difference in methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine action observed in control vs. regenerating liver are related to a lower heme-protein content of the latter. These results emphasize the importance of endogenous heme as a factor modulating the response of the hepatic guanylate cyclase system to methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine.
Numerical models of creep cavitation in single phase, dual phase and fully lamellar titanium aluminide

Abstract Numerical simulations of the high temperature creep constrained cavitation in single phase γ, equiaxed dual phase α 2 + γ and fully lamellar α 2 + γ TiAl intermetallic alloy microstructures have been performed. Nonlinear viscous secondary creep deformation is modeled in each phase using finite element techniques. Additional models of these alloys were developed that incorporate grain boundary sliding in addition to the dislocation creep flow within each phase. The cavitation in the models is based on the modified equations of Needleman and Rice. It was found that grain boundary sliding strongly enhances the cavity growth in all of the models analyzed. The present results indicate that the relatively long creep life observed experimentally for fully lamellar TiAl is primarily due to the suppression of grain boundary sliding as a result of the serrated nature of the grain boundaries.
Passive ion fluxes across toad bladder.

Toad bladders mounted as sacs, with edge damage eliminated (mean spontaneous potential =101 mV) were treated with sufficient ouabain (1.89×10−3 m) to eliminate active sodium transport. Fluxes of22Na,36Cl and35SO4 across the epithelium in both directions were measured at 0 mV and with potential clamped to 100 mV in various media. The results were analyzed by a set of equations, derived from previous work of others. Transport numbers are obtained from unidirectional isotope fluxes measured at 0 mV and 100 mV. Deviation from the Ussing flux ratio equation is expressed in terms of a constant ratio of bulk diffusion coefficient to tracer diffusion coefficient. Tracer flux in either direction at zero potential is the logarithmic mean of bidirectional fluxes at any potential. These equations were tested by comparing fluxes at zero potential predicted from fluxes at 100 mV with observed values, and by comparing transport numbers calculated from average net flux and current. The correspondence was within experimental error. Constant ratio of bulk diffusion coefficient to tracer diffusion coefficient for Na, Cl and SO4 ions in a given medium is more consistent with the data than constant values for exchange diffusion, independent of potential. Conductance measurements indicate that Na transport is facilitated by (or coupled with) transport of Cl and/or phosphate. Bicarbonate apparently contributes substantially to passive conductance.
Human DNA Damage Checkpoint Protein hRAD9 Is a 3′ to 5′ Exonuclease

Human RAD9 protein (hRAD9) is a homolog of the fission yeast Rad9 protein, one of the six so-called checkpoint Rad proteins involved in the early steps of DNA damage checkpoint response in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. It has been shown previously that, in vivo, a highly modified form of hRAD9 makes a ternary complex with two other checkpoint Rad proteins, hRAD1 and hHUS1 (Volkmer, E., and Karnitz, L. M. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 567-570; St. Onge, R. P., Udell, C. M., Casselman, R., and Davey, S. (1999) Mol. Biol. Cell. 10, 1985-1995). However, the function of this complex is not known at present. To help define the functions of checkpoint Rad proteins in humans, we expressed hRAD9 in Escherichia coli, purified the recombinant protein and characterized it. We found that hRAD9 is a 3' to 5' exonuclease and located the nuclease active site to the region between residues 51 and 91 of the 391-amino acid-long protein. Our results suggest that exonucleolytic processing of primary DNA lesion by hRAD9 may contribute to DNA damage checkpoint response in humans.
Self-Perceived Competence of Advanced Public Health Nutritionists in The United States

Abstract Objective To describe the development and use of a self-assessment tool designed to evaluate competencies in skill areas, including management and leadership, among advanced public health nutritionists. Design Subjects were identified by state and territorial nutrition directors who provided lists of nutrition personnel in official, state, public health agencies. The 519 nutritionists identified were mailed a 137-item self-assessment tool developed for advanced public health nutritionists. Subjects A self-selected sample of 281 state public health nutritionists responded. Statistical analyses performed Means and standard deviations were calculated for descriptive variables. Factor analysis was conducted to examine associations of items within the assessment tool measured by Spearman correlation. The Cronbach α coefficient statistic was used to examine reliability. Results Factor analysis produced a 48-item, 3-factor tool comprising items with a correlation of 0.6 or greater; the 3 factors were management, public health nutrition, and communication. Mean scores on the assessment tool indicated that respondents scored competent in 50% of items and adequate in 50% of items. Conclusions Ongoing self-assessment by public health nutrition professionals can guide the selection of continuing education and higher education degree programs. Although this self-assessment tool was tested in the public health arena, it can be applied to all nutritionists and dietitians with management responsibilities. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999;99:808–812.
Fantasy: Inner journeys for today’s child

Susan Lehr divides the fantasy genre into five categories—high fantasy, time-slip fantasy, animal fantasy, realistic fantasy, and picture-book fantasy—and reviews trends and issues in each. She provides numerous examples of classic and contemporary works in each category.
Ad-Hoc Implicature in Preschool Children.

If a speaker tells us that “some guests were late to the party,” we typically infer that not all were. Implicatures, in which an ambiguous statement (“some and possibly all”) is strengthened pragmatically (to “some and not all”), are a paradigm case of pragmatic reasoning. Inferences of this sort are difficult for young children, but recent work suggests that this mismatch may stem from issues in understanding the relationship between lexical items such as “some” and “all” rather than broader pragmatic deficits. We tested children’s ability to make nonquantificational pragmatic inferences by constructing contextually derived “ad-hoc” implicatures, using sets of pictures with contrasting features. We found that 4-year-olds and some 3-year-olds were able to make implicatures successfully using these displays. Hence, apparent failures in scalar implicature are likely due to difficulties specific to the constructions and tasks used in previous work; these difficulties may have masked aspects of children’s und...
Progressive chronic heart failure slows the recovery of microvascular O2 pressures after contractions in the rat spinotrapezius muscle.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) induces muscle fiber-type specific alterations in skeletal muscle O2 delivery and utilization during metabolic transitions. As a result, the recovery of microvascular Po...
Motion Planning and Control of Artificial Muscle Actuated Underwater Vehicle Using Nonlinear Neural Oscillator

In this paper, we introduce the motion planning and control strategy for the underwater vehicle actuated by a soft artificial muscle actuator. The artificial muscle used for this underwater application is an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) which can generate bending motion in aquatic environments. In this research, the double ring structured nonlinear neural oscillator is proposed for the undulatory motion in the actuator. The overall dynamic model of the flexible IPMC actuator including its fluid interaction terms is used for the motion planning and open-loop controller design. The IPMC used in this study is a patterned or segmented type where the electrode surface of the actuator is encoded such that each segment can be controlled independently for effectively generating an undulatory motion in the water. Computer simulations show that the proposed neural oscillator based controller can be effectively used for the underwater locomotion applications, and can be extended to the closed-loop controller where the precise maneuver is needed in the unstructured aquatic environments.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Formation of 5-fluoronicotine from 5-fluoronicotinic acid in Nicotiana tabacum☆

Abstract The alkaloids isolated from Nicotiana tabacum plants which were fed sub-lethal amounts of 5-fluoronicotinic acid contained 5-fluoronicotine, which was separated from nicotine and other natural alkaloids by thin layer and gas chromatography. It was identical with an authentic specimen of 5-fluoronicotine synthesized by an unambiguous method. In preliminary studies the administration of 5-fluoronicotinic-5,6-14C acid to tobacco yielded radioactive 5-fluoronicotine detected by dilution with inactive 5-fluoronicotine.
Contrasting effects of resistance and aerobic training on body composition and metabolism after diet-induced weight loss

This study examined whether exercise training facilitates maintenance of body weight at reduced levels following weight loss by attenuating weight loss-induced reductions in resting metabolism and fat oxidation. The effects of 12 weeks (three times per week) of either aerobic or weight training exercise on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism during rest and following a meal in 18 older (mean +/- SE, 61 +/- 1 years; range, 56 to 70) subjects who had recently lost a mean of 9 +/- 1 kg were studied. During the exercise training period, the aerobic training group (five women, four men) had a significant (P < .05) reduction in body weight (-2.5 +/- 0.6 kg) as compared with the weight training group (five women, four men) (0.4 +/- 0.9 kg). Eight of nine aerobic training subjects lost additional weight, while six of nine weight training subjects gained weight. Neither type of training reversed the depressions in resting metabolism or fat oxidation rates (ie, resting or postprandial) that had occurred as a consequence of the prior weight loss. Thus, alterations in resting metabolism or fat oxidation (resting or postprandial) do not appear to be the mechanism(s) by which exercise training facilitates maintenance of diet-induced weight loss.
Lepton-number-violating radiative W decay in models with R-parity violation

Models with explicit [ital R]-parity violation can induce new rare radiative decay modes of the [ital W] boson into single supersymmetric particles which also violate lepton number. We examine the rate and signature for one such decay, [ital W][r arrow][ital [tilde l]][gamma], and find that such a mode will be very difficult to observe, due to its small branching fraction, even if the lepton-number-violating coupling in the superpotential is comparable in strength to electromagnetism. The reason for this small rate is primarily due to the helicity suppression of the amplitude that results from the form of the allowed [ital R]-parity-violating couplings in this class of models.
Immune surveillance obstructed by viral mRNA

Detection of virus-infected cells is one of the most vexing challenges for the immune system. Unlike most bacteria, which can be recognized by their distinctly foreign features, a virus becomes invisible as it hides and multiplies inside the infected cells of the host. To enable the immune system to detect viruses, the host cells have evolved an elaborate mechanism called the “antigen presentation pathway” (1–3) (Fig. 1). This pathway scrutinizes virtually all actively synthesized proteins in the cell. A few snippets or peptides are produced from the proteins and are ferried to the cell surface by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. The circulating T cells of the immune system probe the peptide–MHC complexes (pMHCs) on the cell surface to identify and eliminate infected cells. In this issue of PNAS, Tellam et al. (4) report the discovery of an unexpected mechanism that allows viral mRNAs to escape the otherwise remarkably efficient immune surveillance mechanisms.
Fourier series and the δ 2 process

We discuss the effect of a particular sequence acceleration method, the @d^2 process, on the partial sums of Fourier series. We show that for a very general class of functions, this method fails on a dense set of points; not only does it not speed up convergence, it turns the sequence of partial sums into a sequence with multiple limit points.
Operator Performance Evaluation of Fault Management Interfaces for Next-Generation Spacecraft

In the cockpit of the NASA's next generation of spacecraft, most of vehicle commanding will be carried out via electronic interfaces instead of hard cockpit switches. Checklists will be also displayed and completed on electronic procedure viewers rather than from paper. Transitioning to electronic cockpit interfaces opens up opportunities for more automated assistance, including automated root-cause diagnosis capability. The paper reports an empirical study evaluating two potential concepts for fault management interfaces incorporating two different levels of automation. The operator performance benefits produced by automation were assessed. Also, some design recommendations for spacecraft fault management interfaces are discussed.
Fragmented Federalism: The State of American Federalism 2012–13

Intense party polarization at the state and federal levels has hindered the adoption and implementation of numerous policies. One of the most important ways we see “fragmented federalism” is in the patchwork of policies across the country, created by factions and implemented in fragments across and within conflicted institutions throughout 2012–13. Implementation of various policies—notably education and health care—has been plagued by partisanship, pushback, and uncertainty. Operating under conditions of fiscal stress and a federal budget plagued by roadblocks has further complicated planning and program implementation at all government levels. Finally, Supreme Court decisions continue to contribute to the fragmented nature of federalism by alternately protecting state sovereignty from federal intrusion and at other times endorsing broad federal preemption of state laws.
Consequences of RNase E scarcity in Escherichia coli.

Summary The endoribonuclease RNase E plays an important role in RNA processing and degradation in Escherichia coli. The construction of an E. coli strain in which the cellular concentration of RNase E can be precisely controlled has made it possible to examine and quantify the effect of RNase E scarcity on RNA decay, gene regulation and cell growth. These studies show that RNase E participates in a step in the degradation of its RNA substrates that is partially or fully rate-determining. Our data also indicate that E. coli growth requires a cellular RNase E concentration at least 10–20% of normal and that the feedback mecha-nism that limits overproduction of RNase E is also able to increase its synthesis when its concentration drops below normal. The magnitude of the in-crease in RNA longevity under conditions of RNase E scarcity may be limited by an alternative pathway for RNA degradation. Additional experiments show that RNase E is a stable protein in E. coli. No other E. coli gene product, when either mutated or cloned on a multicopy plasmid, seems to be capable of compensating for an inadequate supply of this essential protein.
Fleshing out the skeletal system

![Figure][1] The Skeletal System Edited by Olivier Pourquie Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (2009) 365 pages, ISBN 978-087969825-6, £61.75/$95 (hardcover) One of the most prominent features of vertebrate evolution is the formation of the skeletal system, which consists of
Surface-micromachined photonic integrated circuits

Summary form only given. Surface-micromachining technology offers many advantages for implementing optical MEMS. It is versatile; many different types of optical MEMS devices can be fabricated by the same process. This enables monolithic integration of an entire free-space optical system onto a single chip. In the past several years, we have shown that refractive and diffractive microlenses, micropositioners with multiple degrees of freedom (e.g., rotary or XYZ stages), and precision microactuators can be fabricated by standard three-layer polysilicon surface-micromachining processes.
Direct detection of dark matter

▪ Abstract This article reviews the astrophysics and cosmological evidence for nonbaryonic dark matter (DM). It covers historical, current, and future experiments that look for direct evidence of particle DM. In addition, it surveys the underlying particle theories that provide some guidance about expected event rates, and the future prospects for the discovery of DM. A number of recent theoretical papers, making calculations in SUSY-based frameworks, show a spread of many (>5) orders of magnitude in the possible interaction rates for models consistent with existing cosmological and accelerator bounds. Within this decade, it seems likely that DM searches will be successful, or at the very least rule out a broad class of the currently most favored DM models.
Three Observations That Have Changed Our Understanding of Cyclin D1 and p27Kip1 in Cell Cycle Control

Our understanding of cell cycle control has been based largely upon studies of synchronized cultures, often focused upon the early stages of the cell cycle following stimulation of quiescent cultures. These studies showed that cyclin D1 and p27Kip1 (p27) each respond to the growth environment of the cell and together control entry into the cell cycle. In contrast, all cell cycle phases were considered in these studies of actively growing cultures, including events leading to withdrawal from the cell cycle. This approach relies upon the techniques of microinjection, quantitative image analysis, and time-lapse microscopy. The results provide critical new detail to our understanding of the roles of cyclin D1 and p27 in cell cycle regulation. Three critical observations resulting from this work will be described here to demonstrate that 1) cyclin D1 levels oscillate through the normal cell cycle, 2) checkpoint kinases are able to suppress cyclin D1 during S phase, and 3) the level of p27 is determined by a dy...
Thermal legacies: transgenerational effects of temperature on growth in a vertebrate

Transgenerational plasticity (TGP), a generalisation of more widely studied maternal effects, occurs whenever environmental cues experienced by either parent prior to fertilisation results in a modification of offspring reaction norms. Such effects have been observed in many traits across many species. Despite enormous potential importance—particularly in an era of rapid climate change—TGP in thermal growth physiology has never been demonstrated for vertebrates. We provide the first evidence for thermal TGP in a vertebrate: given sufficient time, sheepshead minnows adaptively program their offspring for maximal growth at the present temperature. The change in growth over a single generation (c. 30%) exceeds the single-generation rate of adaptive evolution by an order of magnitude. If widespread, transgenerational effects on thermal performance may have important implications on physiology, ecology and contemporary evolution, and may significantly alter the extinction risk posed by changing climate.
Frictional torque on a rotating disc

Resistance to motion often includes a dry frictional term independent of the speed of an object and a fluid drag term varying linearly with speed in the viscous limit. (At higher speeds, quadratic drag can also occur.) Here, measurements are performed for an aluminium disc mounted on bearings that is given an initial twist and allowed to spin until it comes to a stop. It is found that a sum of both the dry and fluid resistive terms are needed to accurately fit the entire data. However, the speed-independent term alone suffices over any suitably limited range of motion, permitting one to use the standard kinematic equations for constant angular acceleration. The measurements and theory are appropriate for an introductory physics laboratory at the college level. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)
Generator Neutral Grounding Some Aspects of Application for Distribution Transformer with Secondary Resistor and Resonant Types

Two separate studies were made with regard to generator neutral grounding practices. One of these relates to distribution transformer with secondary resistor type of grounding and specifically as to the applicability of L-N rated transformers. The second investigation relates particularly to resonant grounding and to the effect of departures from rated frequency which occur during such operations as load rejection, startup and shutdown on the transient voltages which may exist.
The effect of sumatriptan on brain monoamines in rats

Clinical data suggests that sumatriptan is effective in the acute treatment of migraine. The vascular effects of the drug have been invoked to explain this antimigraine efficacy. However, the effect of sumatriptan on brain monoamines has not previously been investigated. In order to study these hypothetical effects, we administered the drug to 24 male rats, subcutaneously, at three doses (0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 mg/kg of body weight), and 30 minutes later, all animals were decapitated. Dopamine, serotonin, and their metabolites 3,4 dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and homovanillic acid concentrations were measured in the frontal cortex, hypothalamus, striatum, and hippocampus, by high performance liquid chromatography. Plasma concentrations of the drug were also determined. The control group was treated with NaCl 0.9%, given subcutaneously. Sumatriptan, at the dose of 0.3 mg/kg did not alter the brain monoamine concentrations; however, at the dose of 0.6 mg/kg, sumatriptan decreased serotonin concentration in the hypothalamus and increased the turnover of dopamine and serotonin in the hypothalamus and striatum, while at the dose of 0.9 mg/kg, it augmented only the turnover of serotonin in the hypothalamus. No dose-dependent effect of the drug was found. This subcortical antidopaminergic and antiserotoninergic effect of sumatriptan may be involved in its antimigraine action.
RNase treatment of yeast and mammalian cell extracts affects in vitro substrate methylation by type I protein arginine N-methyltransferases.

Abstract Type I protein arginine N-methyltransferases catalyze the formation of ω-NG-monomethylarginine and asymmetric ω-NG, NG-dimethylarginine residues using S-adenosyl- l -methionine as the methyl donor. In vitro these enzymes can modify a number of soluble methyl-accepting substrates in yeast and mammalian cell extracts including several species that interact with RNA. We treated normal and hypomethylated Saccharomyces cerevisiae and RAT1 cell extracts with RNase prior to in vitro methylation by recombinant protein N-arginine methyltransferases and found that the methylation of certain polypeptides is enhanced up to 12-fold whereas that of others is diminished. 2-D gel electrophoresis of RNase-treated yeast extracts allowed us to tentatively identify the glycine- and arginine-rich (GAR) domain-containing proteins Gar1, Nop1, Sbp1, and Npl3 as major methyl-acceptors based on their known isoelectric points and apparent molecular weights. These results suggest that the methylation and RNA-binding of GAR domain-containing proteins in vivo may regulate protein-nucleic acid or protein-protein interactions.
A Network Performance Tool for Grid Environments

In grid computing environments, network bandwidth discovery and allocation is a serious issue. Before their applications are running, grid users will need to choose hosts based on available bandwidth. Running applications may need to adapt to a changing set of hosts. Hence, a tool is needed for monitoring network performance that is integral to the grid environment. To address this need, Gloperf was developed as part of the Globus grid computing toolkit. Gloperf is designed for ease of deployment and makes simple, end-to-end TCP measurements requiring no special host permissions. Scalability is addressed by a hierarchy of measurements based on group membership and by limiting overhead to a small, acceptable, fixed percentage of the available bandwidth. Since this fixed overhead may push host-pair revisit time into the tens-of-hours, we also quantitatively examine the "trajectory" of the cost-error trade-off for measurement frequency.
Graphical Solution of Equations of Vibrations

Method for analysis of dynamical systems of oscillations described by two simultaneous first order ordinary differential equations; method involves step-by-step graphical integration; examples of application are taken from hydraulic vibrations with nonlinear damping force and arbitrary forcing function; systems involving two sets of two simultaneous equations are included.
The Use of Stable Free Radicals to Determine Motion in Polymeric Systems

Abstract The application of thermally and chemically stable nitroxide free radicals to a variety of motional problems in polymeric systems has been investigated. Solvents do not cause significant motion in glassy polymers until the glass transition is lowered to the temperature of measurement. With nonsolvents the results depend on the nature of the sample preparation as well as on the polymer-solvent pair. Molecular motion at the surface of a polymer immersed in a nonsolvent was investigated by means of surface-labeled latex spheres. The application of nitroxides as spin labels to the measurement of translational diffusion coefficients is explored and discussed. Finally, the application of the technique to adsorption and motion of surfactants and polymers onto surfaces is reported.
Anisotropic growth of PtFe nanoclusters induced by lattice-mismatch: Efficient catalysts for oxidation of biopolyols to carboxylic acid derivatives

Abstract By exploiting the large difference in lattice constants between Pt and Fe metals, anisotropic growth of bimetallic PtFe clusters with high index numbers has been prepared to investigate their catalytic performance in oxidation of biopolyols. Surface characterization using transmission electron microscopy shows that etching effects caused by Fe3+ and anisotropic growth induced by lattice mismatch contributed to the final nanocrystal geometry. The bimetallic PtFe heterocluster is shown to exhibit an unprecedented sixfold enhanced catalytic activity and threefold higher selectivity compared to monometallic Pt catalyst, in oxidation of biomass-derived polyols to dicarboxylic acids. A detailed study on structure-dependent kinetics of oxidation of glycerol, based on concentration–time profiles on Pt and PtFe catalysts, reveals that the presence of Fe in Pt catalysts significantly enhances the rate of oxidation and decreases the activation barriers for primary and secondary oxidation steps leading to enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity. The lattice mismatch methodology employed in this work provides an unique tool for designing high index catalytically active materials for various other industrial applications.
Robust motion tracking based on adaptive speckle decorrelation analysis of OCT signal

Speckle decorrelation analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) signal has been used in motion tracking. In our previous study, we demonstrated that cross-correlation coefficient (XCC) between Ascans had an explicit functional dependency on the magnitude of lateral displacement (δx). In this study, we evaluated the sensitivity of speckle motion tracking using the derivative of function XCC(δx) on variable δx. We demonstrated the magnitude of the derivative can be maximized. In other words, the sensitivity of OCT speckle tracking can be optimized by using signals with appropriate amount of decorrelation for XCC calculation. Based on this finding, we developed an adaptive speckle decorrelation analysis strategy to achieve motion tracking with optimized sensitivity. Briefly, we used subsequently acquired Ascans and Ascans obtained with larger time intervals to obtain multiple values of XCC and chose the XCC value that maximized motion tracking sensitivity for displacement calculation. Instantaneous motion speed can be calculated by dividing the obtained displacement with time interval between Ascans involved in XCC calculation. We implemented the above-described algorithm in real-time using graphic processing unit (GPU) and demonstrated its effectiveness in reconstructing distortion-free OCT images using data obtained from a manually scanned OCT probe. The adaptive speckle tracking method was validated in manually scanned OCT imaging, on phantom as well as in vivo skin tissue.
One-year results of PRK in low and moderate myopia: fewer than 0.5% of eyes lose two or more lines of vision.

PURPOSE To retrospectively evaluate the results of myopic photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for different levels of intended correction, including analysis of loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity. METHODS Four hundred seventy-five consecutive eyes with 1 year of follow-up that had PRK for the correction of 1-7 diopters (D) of myopia by using the Summit SVS Apex excimer laser. Three hundred forty-eight eyes were examined at 1 year. This study was confined to the 236 eyes with 1 year of follow-up that had PRK without astigmatic keratotomy. Eyes also were analyzed according to the range of attempted correction (0-3 D, low; 3.1-6D, moderate; and > or =6.1 D, high moderate). Manifest refraction, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), surface regularity index (SRI), and surface asymmetry index (SAI) were evaluated for each group. RESULTS One year after PRK, 91% of all eyes were within 1 diopter and 73% of eyes were within 0.5 diopter of emmetropia. Uncorrected visual acuity was 20/25 or better in 79% and 20/40 or better in 96% of eyes. Two lines of BSCVA were lost in only 0.4% of eyes (one of 236). No eye lost >2 lines of BSCVA, and 30% gained one line. Mean SRI and SAI were increased as compared with preoperative values, but were within the normal range for our patient population (ranges, 0.2-1.0 and 0.1-0.7, respectively). UCVA, BSCVA, and predictability decreased, whereas SAI and SRI increased, with increasing attempted correction. CONCLUSION PRK effectively reduced myopia in all eyes with 12 months' follow-up. Predictability tended to decrease with increasing attempted correction, even for low to moderate myopia. PRK may induce mild surface asymmetry and irregularity, and these alterations tend to increase with higher attempted correction. Fewer than 0.5% of eyes lost > or =2 lines of best-corrected visual acuity.
Double‐blind Randomized Controlled Trial of Intranasal Dexmedetomidine Versus Intranasal Midazolam as Anxiolysis Prior to Pediatric Laceration Repair in the Emergency Department

Objective The objective of this study was to compare anxiolysis with intranasal dexmedetomidine, an alpha-2 agonist, versus intranasal midazolam for pediatric laceration repairs. Methods We performed a double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 40 patients 1–5 years with lacerations requiring suture repair in an academic pediatric emergency department (ED). Patients were randomized to receive either intranasal dexmedetomidine or intranasal midazolam. Our primary outcome measure was the anxiety score at the time of patient positioning for the laceration repair. We chose this time point to isolate the anxiolysis from the medications prior to intervention. Patient encounters were videotaped and scored for anxiety at multiple time points using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale. The scale is 23.3–100 with higher scores indicating higher anxiety. We also evaluated these scores as a secondary outcome by dichotomizing them into anxious versus not anxious with a previously validated score cutoff. Results Of the 40 patients enrolled, 20 in the dexmedetomidine group and 18 in the midazolam group completed the study and were included in the analysis. The median age was 3.3 years (range = 1.0–5.4 years). The median baseline anxiety score was 48.3. The anxiety score at position for procedure for patients receiving dexmedetomidine was 9.2 points lower than those receiving midazolam (median difference = 9.2, 95% confidence interval = 5 to 13.3; median score for dexmedetomidine = 23.3, median score for midazolam = 36.3). The proportion of patients who were classified as not anxious at the position for procedure was significantly higher in the dexmedetomidine group (70%) versus the midazolam group (11%). The number needed to treat with dexmedetomidine instead of midazolam to obtain the result of a not anxious patient at this time point was 1.7 patients. There were also significantly more patients who were classified as not anxious at the time of wound washout in the dexmedetomidine group compared to the midazolam group (35% vs. 6%). Dexmedetomidine and midazolam performed similarly with respect to all other measures including anxiety at other time points, parental perceived anxiety, parent and proceduralist satisfaction, procedural success, complications, and time in the ED. There were no serious adverse events seen in either group. Conclusions Intranasal dexmedetomidine is an alternative anxiolytic medication to intranasal midazolam for pediatric laceration repairs, performing similarly in our study, except that patients who received dexmedetomidine had less anxiety at the time of positioning for procedure.
Long Interspersed Element Sequencing (L1-Seq): A Method to Identify Somatic LINE-1 Insertions in the Human Genome

L1-seq is a high-throughput sequencing technique which is utilized to identify novel L1 insertions in genomic DNA samples of interest. Using special diagnostic nucleotides unique to the youngest and most active L1 sequence, we can amplify new somatic insertions. This technique has helped to establish the number of L1 insertions present in the general population as well as the variation among individuals with regard to their complement of active L1 elements. More recently, this technique has been employed to assess the level of retrotransposition occurring in various diseases such as cancer. These efforts try to establish a connection between the process of retrotransposition and disease development and/or progression.
Interpreting Perceived Effectiveness: Understanding and Addressing the Problem of Mean Validity.

Research has shown that perceived message effectiveness (PE) correlates reasonably well with indices of actual effectiveness, but little attention has been given to how to interpret mean PE. This article describes the problem of mean validity and presents a research design that can be used to address it. Participants (N = 195) viewed messages that advocated being screened for colorectal cancer. The results showed downward bias in PE among members of the non–target audience (persons younger than 50) and upward bias as the referent for the judgment became more abstract/distant (self vs. persons older than 50 vs. general). The need for more research on mean validity is discussed. For applied researchers, recommendations for preferred indices of PE are offered.
Experimental Validation of Dynamic Granger Causality for Inferring Stimulus-Evoked Sub-100 ms Timing Differences from fMRI

Decoding the sequential flow of events in the human brain non-invasively is critical for gaining a mechanistic understanding of brain function. In this study, we propose a method based on dynamic Granger causality analysis to measure timing differences in brain responses from fMRI. We experimentally validate this method by detecting sub-100 ms timing differences in fMRI responses obtained from bilateral visual cortex using fast sampling, ultra-high field and an event-related visual hemifield paradigm with known timing difference between the hemifields. Classical Granger causality was previously shown to be able to detect sub-100 ms timing differences in the visual cortex. Since classical Granger causality does not differentiate between spontaneous and stimulus-evoked responses, dynamic Granger causality has been proposed as an alternative, thereby necessitating its experimental validation. In addition to detecting timing differences as low as 28 ms using dynamic Granger causality, the significance of the inference from our method increased with increasing delay both in simulations and experimental data. Therefore, it provides a methodology for understanding mental chronometry from fMRI in a data-driven way.
Laboratory Testing, PTH Measurement of Needle Aspirates, and Intra Operative PTH Technologies

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is synthesized by the parathyroid glands and secreted directly into circulation in order to regulate calcium and phosphate homeostasis. The full-length hormone, which is comprised of 84 amino acids, has a plasma half-life of less than 5 min. PTH is measured to aid in the differential diagnoses of calcium-related disorders and to monitor bone metabolism in patients with chronic kidney disease. Rapid PTH assays are currently the best intraoperative adjunct for monitoring for an adequate response to resection of one or more hyperfunctional parathyroid tumor(s). Significant variability exists among commercially available PTH assays. This chapter describes these assays and their relative characteristics.