cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigations into particular human circulatory system phenomena by true computer-man interaction.

Abstract Recently-developed computer graphic techniques are being applied to certain hemo-dynamic and rheologic problems. Involved are fluid dynamic concepts and numerical analysis techniques. One particular study concerns the simulation of blood flow through prosthetic heart valves in a desire to form an optimum flow design. The investigation has been enlarged to include the study of localisation factors involved in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Two-dimensional semi-quantitative results showed turbulent motion at, sites of predilection for atherosclerotic plaques. This lends credence to thoughts of turbulence causing injury to the intima and subsequent lesion development. Also formed were preliminary motion studies of idealised heart valve occluders and such simulation compared favourably with clinical findings. These studies have led to shear stress evaluations and the representation of blood flow by particle motion.
Determinants of the optimal time in gestation to initiate antenatal fetal testing: A decision-analytic approach☆

Abstract To identify the most important determinants of the optimal timing for the initiation of antenatal fetal testing in a high-risk pregnancy (such as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus), we performed a decision analysis based on a Markov model. The model incorporated several components: test sensitivity and specificity and week-specific probability estimates for fetal death, delivery, and neonatal morbidity and mortality. The analysis demonstrated that the optimal time in gestation to begin testing (from the combined standpoint of both maximizing neonatal survival and minimizing fetal death) was highly dependent on test specificity, the cumulative risk of fetal death (and its distribution throughout gestation), and the week-specific probabilities of neonatal death. For example, even with the increased risk of fetal death associated with insulin-dependent diabetes, very high test specificity (>99%) is required to recommend testing before 30 weeks. If tests of lower specificity (higher false-positive rates) are used, neonatal deaths will increase and will not be offset by a corresponding decrease in fetal deaths. By performing sensitivity analyses, we demonstrated the effect and relative importance of the model components for determining the optimal gestational age to initiate fetal testing.
A key-management scheme based on control vectors

This paper presents a cryptographic key-management scheme based on control vectors. This is a new concept that permits cryptographic keys belonging to a cryptographic system to be easily, securely, and efficiently controlled. The new key-management scheme—built on the cryptographic architecture and key management implemented in a prior set of IBM cryptographic products—has been implemented in the newly announced IBM Transaction Security System.
Deconvolution of isobaric interferences in mass spectra

The concept of isobar deconvolution using the mass domain and signal intensity based domains is described. The intensity domain-based approach employs the reconstruction of the observed isotope pattern from the isolated patterns of the isobaric species. The quantitative information is adjusted with the use of the least squares algorithm. The mass domain-based approach employs signal deconvolution by forming Gaussian components for which the peak width and position can be predicted a priori. The latter method is applicable to medium resolution instruments, such as TOF-MS, while the pattern reconstruction approach is applicable also to low resolution instrumentation, such as quadrupole-based ICP-MS or GC/MS. An example of CH z Se (z = 0–4) cluster analysis in dimethyl diselenide mass spectra is given to illustrate the concepts underlying both approaches.
Molecular proxies for paleoclimatology

We summarize the applications of molecular proxies in paleoclimatology. Marine molecular records especially are proving to be of value but certain environmentally persistent compounds can also be measured in lake sediments, loess deposits and ice cores. The fundamentals of this approach are the molecular parameters, the compound abundances and carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen isotopic contents which can be derived by the analysis of sediment extracts. These afford proxy measures which can be interpreted in terms of the conditions which control climate and also reflect its operation. We discuss two types of proxy; those of terrigenous and those of aquatic origin, and exemplify their application in the study of marine sediments through the medium of ten case studies based in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific Oceans, and in Antarctica. The studies are mainly for periods in the present, the Holocene and particularly the last glacial/interglacial, but they also include one study from the Cretaceous. The terrigenous proxies, which are measures of continental vegetation, are based on higher plant leaf wax compounds, i.e. long-chain (circa C30) hydrocarbons, alcohols and acids. They register the relative contributions of C3 vs. C4 type plants to the vegetation in the source areas. The two marine proxies are measures of sea surface temperatures (SST). The longer established one, (U37K′) is based on the relative abundances of C37 alkenones photosynthesized by unicellular algae, members of the Haptophyta. The newest proxy (TEX86) is based on C86 glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) synthesized in the water column by some of the archaeal microbiota, the Crenarchaeota.
Active phase of Ni2P/SiO2 in hydroprocessing reactions

Abstract A series of Ni2P/SiO2 catalyst samples with loading from 6 to 22 wt% Ni2P was prepared by the method of temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). The samples were characterized by BET, CO uptake, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements. The activity of these catalysts was measured at 643 K and 3.1 MPa in a three-phase, packed-bed reactor for hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) using a model liquid feed containing 3000 ppm S as dibenzothiophene, 2000 ppm N as quinoline, and 500 ppm O as benzofuran. An optimum Ni2P loading for HDS, HDN, and HDO activity was found around 18 wt% which gave an HDS conversion of 99%, an HDN conversion of 91%, and an HDO conversion of 80% at a WHSV of 2.1 h−1. These were much higher than those of a commercial Ni–Mo–S/Al2O3 catalyst which gave an HDS conversion of 76%, and an HDN conversion of 38% based on equal sites (70 μmol) loaded in the reactor. The sites were counted by CO chemisorption for the phosphide and by low-temperature O2 chemisorption for the sulfide. XRD and EXAFS results confirmed that a Ni2P phase was formed on the support. The crystallite size increased slightly from 7.7 to 9.8 nm when the loading was increased, and there was evidence from CO chemisorption that some crystallite agglomeration occurred in the higher loading samples. It was found that the HDS performance did not change appreciably with Ni2P loading, but that the HDN activity and stability went through a maximum at intermediate loading. It was concluded that the HDS reaction is structure-insensitive, while the HDN reaction depends on the local arrangement of surface Ni, P, and S atoms, and is structure-sensitive. XRD and EXAFS analysis indicated that the active catalyst formed a surface phosphosulfide phase on top of a Ni2P core in the course of hydrotreating.
Altered acetylation in polyglutamine disease: an opportunity for therapeutic intervention?

Abstract Recent investigations into polyglutamine diseases suggest that aberrant transcriptional regulation might be central to the molecular pathogenesis, perhaps because of inappropriate interaction between mutant proteins and important nuclear factors. Several groups have reported an interaction of mutant polyglutamine with histone acetylases, implicating defective acetylation as a cause of abnormal transcription. An important recent observation is that reversal of the acetylation defect with histone deacetylase inhibitors ameliorates polyglutamine toxicity in yeast, mammalian cell culture, and animal models. These encouraging findings suggest that a novel strategy – pharmacological restoration of histone acetylation – could prove effective in treating this group of devastating illnesses.
Autonomic and prefrontal cortex responses to autobiographical recall of emotions

The present study combined measures of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using positron emission tomography (PET) with measures of the autonomic nervous system using skin conductance (SC), heart rate (HR), and the high frequency band of heart rate variability (HRV) in ten healthy participants who were exposed to autobiographical scripts of memories for three target emotions: anger, happiness, and sadness. According to the results, anger was the only emotion to show a significant increase in sympathetic activity, accompanied by a significant decrease in HRV when compared with a neutral script. Anger was also the only emotion to show significant changes in rCBF in the prefrontal cortex. By contrast, the results for the happy and sad conditions showed no significant increase in sympathetic activity and no changes in rCBF in the prefrontal cortex in comparison with the neutral script. The findings suggest that a relative increase in sympathetic activity with a reciprocal decrease in parasympathetic activity may be necessary to generate frontal activity in autobiographical recall of emotions.
Incorporating economic risk aversion in agroforestry planning

The ability to use a knowledge of past market price fluctuations to reduce the risk of future financial returns is explored in the context of planning an agroforestry system with a cash crop component. It is demonstrated that if past crop price behavior is indicative of future price behavior, planting crops with stable and/or negatively correlated net revenues can reduce the variance of future net revenues and hence decrease the financial risks of agroforestry systems.
Estimating educational production functions: The problem of multicollinearity

Abstract This article attempts to address the problem of multicollinearity in the estimation of educational production functions. Past studies consistently indicate the seeming lack of importance of school input variables such as teacher salary, class size, and expenditure per student in influencing educational outcomes. Our ordinary least squares results were consistent with these past studies, but collinearity diagnostics revealed the presence of at least four potentially serious sources of collinearity within the data, possibly degrading the coefficients on the school input variables. Ridge regression and principal components regression techniques were employed in an effort to “solve” the collinearity problem. The coefficients of the school input variables continue to have the hypothesized signs, but with smaller standard errors. The results indicate that researchers should be cautioned against reaching the conclusion that school input variables don't matter on the basis of ordinary least squares estimates of these parameters.
New UDP-GlcNAc C4 Epimerase Involved in the Biosynthesis of 2-Acetamino-2-deoxy-l-altruronic Acid in the O-Antigen Repeating Units of Plesiomonas shigelloides O17†

Plesiomonas shigelloides is a ubiquitous waterborne pathogen responsible for diseases such as diarrhea and bacillary dysentery, commonly afflicting infants and children. This bacterium is endowed with an O-antigen gene cluster consisting of 10 consecutive reading frames. One of these, designated wbgU (orf3), has been overexpressed and biochemically characterized to show that it encodes a uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) C4 epimerase, only the second microbial enzyme characterized to have this activity. Epimerization is an equilibrium reaction resulting in a 70:30 ratio of UDP-GlcNAc to uridine diphosphate-N-acetylgalactosamine (UDP-GalNAc), irrespective of the initial substrate. The K(m) values for UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcNAc are 131 microM and 137 microM, respectively. WbgU is also capable of converting nonacetylated derivatives but with much lower efficiency. It contains a tightly bound nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide [NAD(H)] molecule and requires no other cofactors for activity. We propose here that this enzyme catalyzes the first of the three transformations in the biosynthetic pathway of 2-acetamino-2-deoxy-L-altruronic acid, an unusual sugar present in the O-specific side chains of lipopolysaccharide of P. shigelloides O17 and its close relative Escherichia coli Sonnei.
Zonal analysis of electrolytes in epiphyseal cartilage and bone of normal and rachitic chickens and pigs

Electrolytes were analyzed in serum, and in mineralizing tissues at varying stages of calcification, in normal and vitamin D-deficient chickens and pigs. Moisture, ash, and organic matter were also measured. Results revealed that in addition to Ca, other serum electrolytes were altered in rickets. Mg and inorganic P were diversely affected by the vitamin deficiency. Larger changes in mineral level were seen in the tissues in the early stages of calcification than were seen at corresponding times in the serum, suggesting a direct effect of the vitamin deficiency on the calcifying tissue itself. Relative to the serum level, Ca was deposited in the tissues of rachitic animals to a greater extent than in normal animals. This was not true for Mg or inorganic P, indicating a preferential affinity for Ca in the rachitic tissue. Gravimetric analyses of organic and dry matter in epiphyseal zones revealed that the amounts of proliferating and hypertrophic cartilage were increased, and calcified cartilage decreased, in rickets, in accord with previous histological observations. Unexpectedly, the proportion of resting cartilage was also increased.
The effect of breathing 100 per cent oxygen in pulmonary emphysema: Correlation of clinical improvement with changes in pulmonary ventilation

Abstract The resting pulmonary ventilations breathing air and 100 per cent oxygen were recorded in 121 patients with chronic pulmonary emphysema, twenty patients with bronchial asthma, and twenty-nine control subjects of whom twentyone were healthy individuals and eight were ambulatory patients who had no evidence of cardiac or pulmonary disease. A significant reduction in the minute ventilation was observed in pulmonary emphysema when oxygen was substituted for air, with the extent of this decrease indicating a positive although rough correlation with the clinical severity of the disease. Insignificant changes in pulmonary ventilation took place in the asthma patients and control subjects under identical testing conditions. Lowering of the minute ventilation also occurred when patients with pulmonary emphysema were placed in the head-down position. The decrease in ventilation expressed as a per cent change from the sitting position was of the same order as the air-oxygen difference, and was probably due to the initiation of diaphragmatic breathing resulting in increased aeration of the lower lobes and more efficient alveolar ventilation. Thirty-three patients with severe pulmonary emphysema were retested after two to six months of treatment designed to train and encourage viscero-diaphragmatic breathing and to ameliorate bronchospasm. The mean per cent change in ventilation between breathing air and oxygen fell from minus 22 to minus 8, and this was paralleled by the clinical improvement in exercise tolerance.
Effect of Time of Feeding on Growth of Channel Catfish1

Channel catfish fingerlings were stocked into 16 0.04-ha ponds at a rate of 24,700 fish/ha on 5 May 1992. Four replicate ponds were used for each of the following treatments: 1) fed once daily at 0830h; 2) fed once daily at 1600h; 3) fed once daily at 2000h; and 4) fed on demand using demand feeders. Fish on the first three treatments were fed to satiation. All fish were harvested 145d after stocking. Results from this study showed that when channel catfish raised in ponds were fed once daily to satiation, time of feeding had no significant impact on water quality, feed consumption, feed conversion, weight gain, or body proximate composition. Fish fed on demand consumed more feed than fish fed once daily to satiation, but difference in weight gain was not significant. These data indicated that feeding time may not be critical for channel catfish production as long as fish are fed when dissolved oxygen is sufficient. Although feeding at night was not detrimental in this study, night feeding is not recommended on large ponds unless sufficient aeration is available to quickly provide oxygen in an emergency—and even then it would be problematic.
Effect of ecdysone on protein synthesis in the larval fat body of Calliphora

Abstract The effect of ecdysone on protein synthesis in the fat body of isolated abdomens of 6- and 8-day-old larvae of Calliphora erythrocephala has been investigated. A very rapid and significant stimulation of protein synthesis occurred in both the 6- and the 8-day-old larvae. The pattern of 14 C-leucine (u.l.) incorporation was rather similar in both age groups. The 6-day-old larvae showed a stimulation of 152 per cent relative to their controls 1 hr after injection of the hormone and reached a maximal stimulation of 172 per cent at 2 hr after hormone administration. The 8-day-old larvae showed a maximal stimulation of 185 per cent relative to their controls within 1 hr after injection of the hormone.
Engineering Neurospora crassa for improved cellobiose and cellobionate production

We report engineering Neurospora crassa to improve the yield of cellobiose and cellobionate from cellulose. A previously engineered strain of N. crassa (F5) with six of seven β-glucosidase (bgl) genes knocked out was shown to produce cellobiose and cellobionate directly from cellulose without the addition of exogenous cellulases. In this study, the F5 strain was further modified to improve the yield of cellobiose and cellobionate from cellulose by increasing cellulase production and decreasing product consumption. The effects of two catabolite repression genes, cre-1 and ace-1, on cellulase production were investigated. The F5 Δace-1 mutant showed no improvement over the wild type. The F5 Δcre-1 and F5 Δace-1 Δcre-1 strains showed improved cellobiose dehydrogenase and exoglucanase expression. However, this improvement in cellulase expression did not lead to an improvement in cellobiose or cellobionate production. The cellobionate phosphorylase gene (ndvB) was deleted from the genome of F5 Δace-1 Δcre-1 to prevent the consumption of cellobiose and cellobionate. Despite a slightly reduced hydrolysis rate, the F5 Δace-1 Δcre-1 ΔndvB strain converted 75% of the cellulose consumed to the desired products, cellobiose and cellobionate, compared to 18% converted by the strain F5 Δace-1 Δcre-1.
Linkage Disequilibrium Between Two Genetic Loci of the Major Histocompatibility Complex in Rats

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in natural populations of rats is composed of genetic phenotypes that are similar, if not identical, to those seen in inbred laboratory strains. Examination of individual wild rats from a single location in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, resulted in the identification of seven different RT1.A histocompatibility serotypes and three RT1.B mixed lymphocytes responses. In this population of animals there is a significant association (p < 0.005) between four RT1.A and RT1.B phenotypic pairs: RT1.A8B1, RTl.AkBn, RTl.AdBa and RT1.A1Ba. The observed values for linkage disequilibrium (0.211,0.076,0.070 and 0.085, respectively) are very high and are close to the maximum expected, given the individual allelic frequencies. Although the animals included in this study were obtained from one location, agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is demonstrated for other loci in the same population. The demonstration of equilibrium suggests that significant inbreeding is not affecting this population of rats. Not enough is known about the allelic frequencies in surrounding rat populations to determine how important the effect of migration is on these disequilibrium values. The large linkage disequilibria may indicate that, in the rat, environmental selective forces are operating to ensure the nonrandom association of separate components of the MHC.
Perspectives on multimedia systems in education

Although multimedia or interactive video seemed revolutionary in the early and mid-1980s, its application to individualized instruction followed clearly defined evolutionary paths. Forms of individualized instruction leading up to multimedia instruction are described, and a review of the integration of individualized instruction into a standard education curriculum is included. Discussed is a jointly defined effort between IBM and the California State University at Fullerton that demonstrated: (1) the benefits of a parallel course-development and course-implementation approach, (2) the superiority of multimedia over traditional instruction in the subject area tested, and (3) very low-cost development of quality multimedia courses. A projection by IBM for its own internal education program indicates that by the year 2000 not only will individualized instruction become fully integrated into IBM's education curriculum, but it will become the dominant approach, encompassing within it many aspects of traditional instruction. The continuing integration of individualized instruction with other technologies and advances in digital full-motion capabilities can help make multimedia instruction not only independent of time and place, but more engrossing and enjoyable as well.
Congenital Cystic Lesions of the Head and Neck

This article presents clinical characteristics and radiologic features of congenital cervical cystic masses, among them thyroglossal duct cysts, cystic hygromas, branchial cleft cysts, and the some of the rare congenital cysts, such as thymic and cervical bronchogenic cysts. The imaging options and the value of each for particular masses, as well as present clinical and radiologic images for each, are discussed.
A Comparison of Outcomes in Demand Versus Schedule Formula-Fed Premature Infants.

This qualitative short-term study was designed to determine if preterm infants who are fed in response to their own feeding cues, gain weight at a faster rate than infants fed on a schedule that may not correspond with these cues. Self-regulatory feeding behaviors have been studied by several previous investigators, and growing interest in neurobehavioral development of premature infants led to the hypothesis that ability to exhibit feeding cues is enhanced when premature infants are demand fed as opposed to being fed on a schedule. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that demand-fed premature infants may have a decreased length of stay when compared with schedule-fed infants. Results indicated that demand feeding may shorten hospital stay (31 days for the study group versus 33 days for the control group) and increase a premature infant's ability to exhibit feeding cues (demand-fed infants demonstrated and average of 10.5 feeding cues per day versus 4.6 feeding cues per day for the schedule-fed infants).
Transcriptional bypass of bulky DNA lesions causes new mutant RNA transcripts in human cells

Here, we characterize the mutant transcripts resulting from bypass of an 8,5′-cyclo-2′-deoxyadenosine (cyclo-dA) or cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) by human RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in vivo. With the cyclo-dA lesion, we observed two new types of mutant transcripts. In the first type, the polymerase inserted uridine opposite the lesion and then misincorporated adenosine opposite the template deoxyadenosine downstream (5′) of the lesion. The second type contained deletions of 7, 13 or 21 nucleotides (nt) after uridine incorporation opposite the lesion. The frequency of the different types of transcript from the cyclo-dA lesion in mutant human cell lines suggests that the Cockayne syndrome B protein affects the probability of deletion transcript formation. With the CPD-containing construct, we also detected rare transcripts containing 12 nt deletions. These results indicate that RNA pol II in living human cells can bypass helix-distorting DNA lesions that are substrates for nucleotide excision repair, resulting in transcriptional mutagenesis.
LESIONS OF THE ORGANUM VASCULOSUM OF THE LAMINA TERMINALIS (OVLT) ATTENUATE OSMOTICALLY-INDUCED DRINKING AND VASOPRESSIN SECRETION IN THE DOG

Drinking and secretion of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in response to intravenous infusion of hypertonic NaCl were studied in dogs before and after destruction of the OVLT. The functional relationship between plasma osmolality and plasma AVP was eliminated following destruction of the OVLT. Furthermore, osmotically-induced drinking was significantly reduced in dogs with OVLT lesions. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that the OVLT contains osmoreceptors in the dog.
Gravity-Balanced Test Stand for Testing Micro Air Vehicles

For the purpose of safety, test stands are usually used for testing small or micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially in the early test stage. Although a test stand can prevent the tested vehicle from flying out of control or crashing, it adds extra burden to the vehicle due to the weight of the stand’s moving mechanism. This is a major problem for micro air vehicles (MAVs) because of their very limited lifting or payload capability. This paper presents an innovative solution to this problem by using a passive gravity-balanced test stand. Designed based on the static gravity balancing technique, the test stand is capable of completely compensating its own weight, so that the test vehicle, while flying with the stand, will not have the extra burden from the weight of the test stand. A hardware prototype of the test stand has been designed and built, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the new technology. Nomenclature A = distance from the pivot point to the cable connection point d1 = vertical distance from pivot to pulley 1 d2 = vertical distance from pivot to pulley 2 g = gravitational acceleration h1 = height from the X-Y plane or the ground to the lower bar of the arm h2 = distance from the lower bar to the upper bar of the arm k1 = stiffness of spring 1 k2 = stiffness of spring 2 l1 = length of the inner section l2 = length of the outer section m1 = mass of each upper and lower part of the inner section m2 = mass of each upper and lower part of the outer section m12 = mass of connecting link with pulley m3 = mass of landing mechanism θ1 = angle between inner section and vertical θ2 = angle between outer section and vertical
BOOK REVIEW: REVIEW ESSAY California Farmiń: Promise and Reality

Making Sweatshops: The Globalization of the U.S. Apparel Industry. Ellen Israel Rosen. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
The predictive value of multidetector CTA on outcomes in patients with below-the-knee vascular injury.

Abstract Background Multidetector computed tomographic angiography (MDCTA) has become the gold standard for the early assessment of lower extremity vascular injury. The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of MDCTA documented vessel run-off to the foot on limb salvage rates after lower extremity vascular injury. Methods All trauma patients undergoing lower extremity MDCTA for suspected vascular injury assessed at 2 high-volume Level I trauma centers between January 2009 and December 2012. Demographics, clinical data and outcomes (compartment syndrome requiring fasciotomy and limb salvage) were extracted. The predictive value of MDCTA vessel run-off was tested against an aggregate gold standard of operative intervention, clinical follow-up and all imaging obtained. Results During the 4-year study period, 398 patients sustained lower extremity trauma and were screened for inclusion into this study. Of those, 166 (41.7%) patients (72.9% at MHH and 27.1% at LAC + USC Medical Center) underwent initial evaluation with MDCTA, 86 (51.8%) had vascular injury below the knee identified by MDCTA. Among these, the average age was 38.0 ± 15.8 years, 80.2% were men and 83.7% sustained a blunt injury mechanism. On admission, 8.1% were hypotensive and the median ISS was 10 (range 1–57). There was a direct correlation between the number of patent vessels to the foot and the need for operative intervention (86.4% with no patent vessels, 56.0% with 1 patent vessel, 33.3% with 2 and 0.0% with 3, p p = 0.003). No amputations occurred in patients with 2 or more patent vessels to the foot (68.2% for no patent vessel; 16.0% for 1; 0.0% for 2; and 0.0% for 3; p Conclusions In this multicenter evaluation of patients undergoing MDCTA for suspected below-the-knee vascular injury, there was a stepwise increase in the need for operative intervention, fasciotomy and amputation as the number of patent vessels to the foot decreased.
Supersonic vortex breakdown during vortex/cylinder interaction

The head-one interaction of a supersonic streamwise vortex with a circular cylinder reveals a vortex breakdown similar in many ways to that of incompressible vortex breakdown. In particular, the dramatic flow reorganization observed during the interaction resembles the conical vortex breakdown reported by Sarpkaya (1995) at high Reynolds number. In the present study, vortex breakdown is brought about when moderate and strong streamwise vortices encounter the bow shock in front of a circular cylinder at Mach 2.49. The main features of the vortex/cylinder interaction are the formation of a blunt-nosed conical shock with apex far upstream of the undisturbed shock stand-off distance, and a vortex core which responds to passage through the apex of the conical shock by expanding into a turbulent conical flow structure. The geometry of the expanding vortex core as well as the location of the conical shock apex are seen to be strong functions of the incoming vortex strength and the cylinder diameter. A salient feature of the supersonic vortex breakdown is the formation of an entropy-shear layer, which separates an interior subsonic zone containing the burst vortex from the surrounding supersonic flow. In keeping with the well-established characteristics of the low-speed vortex breakdown, a region of reversed flow is observed inside the turbulent subsonic zone. The steady vortex/cylinder interaction flow fields generated in the current study exhibit many characteristics of the unsteady vortex distortion patterns previously observed during normal shock wave/vortex interactions. This similarity of the instantaneous flow structure indicates that the phenomenon previously called vortex distortion by Kalkhoran et al. (1996) is a form of supersonic vortex breakdown.
The spectral grid method: a novel fast Schrodinger-equation solver for semiconductor nanodevice simulation

A spectral-domain method is described for solving Schrodinger's equation based on the multidomain pseudospectral method and boundary patching. The computational domain is first divided into nonoverlapping subdomains. Using the Chebyshev polynomials to represent the unknown wave function in each subdomain, the spatial derivatives are calculated with a spectral accuracy at the Chebyshev collocation points. Boundary conditions at the subdomain interfaces are then enforced to ensure the global accuracy. Numerical results demonstrate that this spectral-domain method has an exponential accuracy and is flexible, and thus is an attractive method for large-scale problems. With only about four cells per wavelength, the results have an error less than 1% in our typical examples. For a typical quantum well, the method is about 51 and 295 times faster than the second-order finite-difference method for 1% and 0.1% accuracy, respectively. The spectral grid method has also been validated by results obtained by the finite-element method, semianalytical (Airy function) method, and the Numerov's method.
Augmented training of hidden Markov models to recognize remote homologs via simulated evolution

Motivation: While profile hidden Markov models (HMMs) are successful and powerful methods to recognize homologous proteins, they can break down when homology becomes too distant due to lack of sufficient training data. We show that we can improve the performance of HMMs in this domain by using a simple simulated model of evolution to create an augmented training set. Results: We show, in two different remote protein homolog tasks, that HMMs whose training is augmented with simulated evolution outperform HMMs trained only on real data. We find that a mutation rate between 15 and 20% performs best for recognizing G-protein coupled receptor proteins in different classes, and for recognizing SCOP super-family proteins from different families. Contacts:anoop.kumar@tufts.edu;lenore.cowen@tufts.edu
Tactile illusion perception in patients with central pain

Objectives To evaluate lemniscal pathways in patients with central pain (CP) by use of a novel tactile illusion (TI)–producing technique. Patients and Methods Somatosensory (SS) and TI testing was performed on the unaffected and affected wrists of 27 patients with unilateral central nervous system injury and unilateral CP. Data on TI testing–naive control subjects were used to adjust for a learning effect. Results Testing in CP patients with cervical and brainstem injuries revealed predominantly unchanged or decreased SS perception on the affected side compared with the unaffected side. The majority of cervical- and brainstem-injured subjects with CP had improved TI performance on the affected side compared with the unaffected side. All the thalamic-injured and most of the suprathalamic-injured CP patients had altered SS testing with either decreased or increased SS perception noted. In these same CP patients the majority had reduced TI perception on the affected side compared with the unaffected side. Unexpectedly, perseveration of numbers was noted in patients with Dejerine-Roussy syndrome, and expanded TI testing was performed to better define this observation. Conclusion Cervical spinal cord–injured CP patients may have improved TI perception, whereas the majority of patients with supraspinal injuries and CP have reduced SS and TI perception. A unique sensory phenomenon of TI perseveration was observed in some patients with Dejerine-Roussy syndrome.
“A compliment to Canadian medicine”: Sir Thomas Roddick addresses the British Medical Association in Montréal

Two events in 2012, the centennials of both the birth of the Medical Council of Canada and the death of Joseph Lister — the originator of antiseptic/aseptic surgery,[1][1] can be serendipitously connected through the surgeon, Thomas Roddick, especially by his presidential speech delivered in 1897
On optimizing collective communication

We discuss issues related to the high-performance implementation of collective communications operations on distributed-memory computer architectures. Using a combination of known techniques (many of which were first proposed in the 1980s and early 1990s) along with careful exploitation of communication modes supported by MPI, we have developed implementations that have improved performance in most situations compared to those currently supported by public domain implementations of MPI such as MPICH. Performance results from a large Intel Pentium 4 (R) processor cluster are included.
In-situ elevated temperature imaging of thin films with a microfabricated hot stage for scanning probe microscopes

Abstract A microfabricated hot stage for a scanning probe microscope (SPM) has been developed to enable in-situ investigations of thin film specimens at elevated temperatures. With this hot stage, a SPM can now examine and test materials at high magnifications under conditions that closely resemble their true service temperature. The hot stage is capable of operating from ambient room temperature up to 800°C without damage to the microscope. With this device, topographical images of platinum supported titanium films, which are important for catalytic reaction studies, thin film gas sensor technology, and microelectronic applications, have been acquired at temperatures between 25–400°C. The average roughness of these films remained constant at 12.4±1.9 nm. The surface of the hot stage can be equipped with electrodes enabling four point probe measurements of conducting specimens as the temperature is increased and the surface is imaged. In-situ imaging of the titanium underlayer diffusing through the platinum film has been observed at 375°C. Titanium migration to the surface near this temperature is also shown on 35 A Pt/65 A Ti films with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This stage can be retrofitted to any existing SPM to expand its current capabilities to include high temperature analysis of a wide diversity of materials, from biological samples, to polymers, and metals.
A Theory-Based Hydrometeor Identification Algorithm for X-Band Polarimetric Radars

Abstract Although much work has been done at S band to automatically identify hydrometeors by using polarimetric radar, several challenges are presented when adapting such algorithms to X band. At X band, attenuation and non-Rayleigh scattering can pose significant problems. This study seeks to develop a hydrometeor identification (HID) algorithm for X band based on theoretical simulations using the T-matrix scattering model of seven different hydrometeor types: rain, drizzle, aggregates, pristine ice crystals, low-density graupel, high-density graupel, and vertical ice. Hail and mixed-phase hydrometeors are excluded for the purposes of this study. Non-Rayleigh scattering effects are explored by comparison with S-band simulations. Variable ranges based on the theoretical simulations are used to create one-dimensional fuzzy-logic membership beta functions that form the basis of the new X-band HID. The theory-based X-band HID is applied to a case from the Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CA...
Airway Microbiota and Pathogen Abundance in Age-Stratified Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Bacterial communities in the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are, as in other ecological niches, influenced by autogenic and allogenic factors. However, our understanding of microbial colonization in younger versus older CF airways and the association with pulmonary function is rudimentary at best. Using a phylogenetic microarray, we examine the airway microbiota in age stratified CF patients ranging from neonates (9 months) to adults (72 years). From a cohort of clinically stable patients, we demonstrate that older CF patients who exhibit poorer pulmonary function possess more uneven, phylogenetically-clustered airway communities, compared to younger patients. Using longitudinal samples collected form a subset of these patients a pattern of initial bacterial community diversification was observed in younger patients compared with a progressive loss of diversity over time in older patients. We describe in detail the distinct bacterial community profiles associated with young and old CF patients with a particular focus on the differences between respective “early” and “late” colonizing organisms. Finally we assess the influence of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) mutation on bacterial abundance and identify genotype-specific communities involving members of the Pseudomonadaceae, Xanthomonadaceae, Moraxellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae amongst others. Data presented here provides insights into the CF airway microbiota, including initial diversification events in younger patients and establishment of specialized communities of pathogens associated with poor pulmonary function in older patient populations.
The influence of thermodynamic phase on the retrieval of mixed-phase cloud microphysical and optical properties in the visible and near-infrared region

Cloud microphysical and optical properties are inferred from the bidirectional reflectances simulated for a single-layered cloud consisting of an external mixture of ice particles and liquid droplets. The reflectances are calculated with a rigorous discrete ordinates radiative transfer model and are functions of the cloud effective particle size, the cloud optical thickness, and the values of the ice fraction in the cloud (i.e., the ratio of ice water content to total water content). In the present light scattering and radiative transfer simulations, the ice fraction is assumed to be vertically homogeneous; the habit (shape) percentage as a function of ice particle size is consistent with that used for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) operational (Collection 4 and earlier) cloud products; and the surface is assumed to be Lambertian with an albedo of 0.03. Furthermore, error analyses are performed that pertain to the inference of the mixed-phase cloud effective particle size and optical thickness. Errors are calculated with respect to the assumption of a cloud containing solely liquid or ice phase particles. The analyses suggest that the effective particle size inferred for a mixed-phase cloud can be underestimated (or overestimated) if pure liquid phase (or pure ice phase) is assumed for the cloud, whereas the corresponding cloud optical thickness can be overestimated (or underestimated)
The Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Reversing Revaluation Review under US GAAP VS. IFRS Models in the United States

The impairment valuation of assets plays a central role in the accounting and operating decisions of the multinational companies. Although these techniques based on a similar theory, they may generate different results in application. This study incorporates an empirical approach to compare the outcomes of the two valuations: under US GAAP and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). The aim of this study it to make the observation whether these valuation methods result in different values and to contribute to the understanding of why these two valuations, although similar in theory, may generate different results when applied to real life companies. In addition, this study will respond to readers this article, what kind of the management decision should make CEO before the first-time adoption IFRS in the U.S.A from management accounting perspective. This article will help the audience develop and internalize a model for making business judgments.
Chemical aspects of bioassay techniques for establishing water quality criteria

Abstract Increasing emphasis is being placed on the use of bioassay techniques to evaluate potential water quality problems in the aquatic environment. Although the physical environment is carefully maintained, often less emphasis is placed on maintaining the proper chemical environment in bioassay tests. Considerations of oxidation state, solubility, complexation, ionic strength, type and amount of solids, salt ratios and concentrations and organic content are essential in extrapolating the results from the test conditions to the environment. The chemical history of the test organism must be controlled to insure meaningful results, and analytical measurements should be made to insure that the proper chemical species is maintained throughout the test period. If the environmental conditions are not duplicated, studies are needed to determine how the results are dependent on the test environment used. This paper discusses examples in which changes in the chemical environment of a bioassay test may affect the results of the test and recommends procedures for minimizing problems of this type.
Body weight and blood pressure. Effects of weight reduction on hypertension.

Abstract A substudy of the Hypertension Optimal Treatment study, conducted in the Jackson Mississippi Center, set out to determine the link between obesity and hypertension and to determine the effects of weight loss in hypertensive individuals. An analysis of the relationship between body mass index and diastolic blood pressure for another study showed that increasing body mass indices were associated with increases in blood pressure. This indicates that not only is there a strong relationship between obesity and hypertension, but that there is also a close association between the continuous variables of body mass index and blood pressure. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of a weight loss regimen in reducing the amount of medication required to achieve the target blood pressure in 228 patients at the Jackson center. Subjects were randomized to a dietary intervention group or to a control group. Preliminary 3 month observational data showed that subjects who lost the appropriate amount of weight were three times more likely to achieve their target blood pressure at 3 months. These observations suggest that weight reduction regimens can reduce elevated blood pressure and can probably promote further blood pressure reductions when combined with drug therapy in the treatment of hypertension.
Kinetics of Renaturation of Denatured DNA. I. Spectrophotometric results.

The kinetics of renaturation of heat- or formamide-denatured DNA have been studied by following the change of optical density at a constant temperature. Solvents of different ionic strength and various DNA samples have been used. At the lower ionic strengths studied, the reaction follows second-order kinetics, substantiating the hypothesis that strands of native DNA separate upon denaturation and recombine during renaturation. As the ionic strength is increased at a constant temperature, the reaction deviates from simple second-order behavior. This appears to be the result of the inhibition to rewinding caused by short helical segments in the denatured DNA which are more stable at the higher ionic strenth.
Reduced Foxp3 Protein Expression Is Associated with Inflammatory Disease during Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 Infection

The Foxp3 protein is a specific marker of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T (T(reg)) cells, and its expression is critical to their development and function. Several studies have demonstrated the dysregulation of Foxp3 expression during human inflammatory diseases. Infection with human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is associated with the development of a number of inflammatory conditions, including myelopathy, although the majority of individuals who are infected with HTLV-1 remain asymptomatic. To examine the role played by T(reg) cells in the development of inflammatory disease during HTLV-1 infection, we examined Foxp3 expression by flow cytometry. Our analysis showed that HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis was associated with a lower expression (compared with that in asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers and healthy donors) of Foxp3 in peripheral-blood leukocytes. In individuals infected with HTLV-1, Foxp3 expression was inversely correlated with HTLV-1 tax proviral DNA load. These results suggest that impaired Foxp3 expression may contribute to the development of inflammatory disease during HTLV-1 infection.
Intrathecal analgesic drug therapy

Intrathecal analgesic infusion therapy through an implantable pump system is a sophisticated medical therapy for those who suffer from chronic, severe pain who are unresponsive to traditional medical therapy. This article describes the patient selection and monitoring process and reviews available intrathecal medications and combinations.