cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nuclear medicine—the past predicts a bright future

Nuclear medicine, a field characterized by innovation since the time Becquerel and Curie defined the basic properties of radionuclides, continues to evolve in this seventh decade of the isotope scan. Nuclear medicine has always been ‘molecular’ [1] with early studies defining the avidity of the reticuloendothelial system, identifying the flux of ions across membranes and defining the size and turnover of important compartments, pools and spaces in the body. In contrast to anatomic imaging technology, nuclear medicine has made great strides in the development of new radiopharmaceuticals but has made little progress in imaging devices. Technical progress in technologies such as ultrasound and multidetector CT are remarkable. Harmonic imaging of native tissue (without added contrast) with ultrasound is an example of this. Harmonic imaging detects the second harmonic of the transmitted ultrasound pulse rather than imaging the fundamental frequency. Harmonic imaging provides better contrast than fundamental imaging as demonstrated in Fig. 1 of a complex renal cyst. Harmonic imaging has been applied to the heart to enhance delineation of lesions and perfusion. Heinle et al. [2] compared harmonic ECHO (with added echo contrast) to myocardial perfusion imaging with 99m Tc–sestamibi at rest and pharmacological stress. Images were obtained at baseline and during adenosine infusion in three apical views in 123 patients. Agreement between the two methods for detecting coronary disease in each of the three coronary territories was 81% for the left anterior descending artery, 76% for the right coronary artery and 72% for the left circumflex artery. Discrepancies between the two techniques were most notable in the circumflex territory, where fixed defects were observed in 33% by harmonic Doppler contrast ECHO but in only 14% by SPECT. This study concluded that harmonic Doppler contrast ECHO could reliably detect myocardial perfusion during pharmacological stress although there was a significantly higher number of false positive results in the circumflex territory.
1', 2', 3', 4'-Tetradehydrotubulosine, a cytotoxic alkaloid from Pogonopus speciosus

Bioassay-guided phytochemical investigation of the stems of Pogonopus speciosus, using human oral epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells as a monitor, led to the isolation of a novel alkaloid, 1',2', 3',4'-tetradehydrotubulosine (1), along with tubulosine (2) and psychotrine (3) as bioactive constituents. The structure of the novel compound was elucidated through 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic methods. Alkaloids 1 and 3 showed weak cytotoxic activity against a panel of human cancer cell lines, with the potency of these compounds being markedly less than that of tubulosine (2).
Bounds on the Saved Area Ratio Due to PLA Folding

Folding is a scheme to reduce the silicon area in Programmable Logic Array (PLA) design. Since optimum folding is an NP-complete problem, methods for estimating potential area saving are desirable. In the case of row folding, both the upper and lower bounds for the saved area ratio d are derived in the paper. By applying the well-known Rent's relationship on a proposed partition model for PLA, we can show that [formula omitted] where r is the Rent's exponent in the range 0 ≤ r ≤ 1. Four examples are given to validate the theoretical prediction. Finally, possible refinement and open problems are also mentioned.
ALTERED DISTRIBUTION OF B AND T LYMPHOCYTES IN LYMPH-NODES FROM HOMOSEXUAL MEN WITH KAPOSI'S SARCOMA

Abstract Immunostaining of lymph-nodes from 10 homosexual men with Kaposi's sarcoma by anti-B lymphocyte monoclonal antibodies revealed an abnormally exuberant follicular hyperplasia with erosion of the mantle zone and disruption of surrounding follicles. There were numerous IgD-positive and B-1-positive lymphocytes (B cells) in the interfollicular areas; these cells were uncommon at these sites in normal lymphoid tissue. In the interfollicular T zone of lymph-nodes from patients with Kaposi's sarcoma the helper:suppressor ratio (0·9±0·3 SD) was significantly different from the value in controls (2·9±1·0). In nodes from Kaposi's sarcoma patients there were numerous suppressor cells in the hyperplastic follicular centres and mantle regions; in normal lymphoid tissue suppressor cells were uncommon at these sites. These results implicate B lymphocyte proliferation in the pathogenesis of altered immunological status in homosexual men with Kaposi's sarcoma.
Electrical property-based biopsy for prostate cancer detection and assessment

Prostate cancer diagnosis is based solely on biopsy-based findings. Unfortunately, routine biopsy protocols only sample ~0.95% of the entire gland limiting the technique's sensitivity to cancer detection. Previous studies have demonstrated significant electrical property differences between malignant and benign prostate tissues due to their dissimilar morphological architectures. We have taken the important step of translating these findings to the clinic by integrating an electrical property sensor into the tip of a standard biopsy needle. This novel device allows clinicians to simultaneously extract a tissue core and assess the electrical properties around the needle tip in real-time. The expected volume of tissue sensed with this device was estimated using finite-element method (FEM) based simulations to model the potential fields and current distributions. Prototype devices have been constructed and evaluated in a series of saline baths in order to validate the FEM-based findings. Simulations suggest that the electrical property sensor is able to interrogate a tissue volume of ~62.1 mm 3 and experimental results demonstrated a volume of sensitivity of ~68.7 mm 3 . This coupled device is being used to assess the increased sensitivity and specificity to cancer detection when electrical properties are sensed in concert with tissue core extraction in a series of 50 ex vivo prostates. Typical 12-core prostate biopsy protocols extract a total tissue volume of 228 mm 3 for histological assessment. Employing this electrical property sensor to gauge electrical properties at both the beginning and end of the needle trajectory will provide pathological assessment of an additional 1648 mm 3 of tissue.
Techniques for Compensating Memory Errors in JPEG2000

This paper presents novel techniques to mitigate the effects of SRAM memory failures caused by low voltage operation in JPEG2000 implementations. We investigate error control coding schemes, specifically single error correction double error detection code based schemes, and propose an unequal error protection scheme tailored for JPEG2000 that reduces memory overhead with minimal effect in performance. Furthermore, we propose algorithm-specific techniques that exploit the characteristics of the discrete wavelet transform coefficients to identify and remove SRAM errors. These techniques do not require any additional memory, have low circuit overhead, and more importantly, reduce the memory power consumption significantly with only a small reduction in image quality.
Teaching professional, ethical and legal aspects of engineering to undergraduate students

Two courses, one credit hour each, were introduced at Oakland University a few years ago. The first, an introduction to engineering, is offered to freshmen and the second, professional engineering, to seniors. Both courses are given in a seminar format and are part of a core program that is required of all engineering majors. The first course is given by the senior engineering faculty members from the various departments in their respective areas of specialty. The second course is given by a combination of faculty and speakers from industry and focuses on professionalism, ethics, and legal aspects, of engineering. The author summarizes details of the topics covered and the methodologies involved in the achievement of the course objectives. >
A case for resource heterogeneity in large sensor networks

Sensor networks have traditionally consisted of nodes with the same amount of resources such as battery life and computational power. While such homogeneity has distinct advantages in terms of ease-of-fabrication, it has also been shown that in multi-hop ad-hoc scenarios homogeneity leads to large duty cycles, small end-to-end data throughput and poor deployment lifetimes. In this paper, we investigate sensor networks that have a single degree of heterogeneity, a random subset of the sensors, called accumulators, have more power and computational capability. To this end, we develop a decentralized, hierarchical clustering algorithm, called hierarchical clustering and routing (HCR) algorithm. HCR exploits heterogeneity among sensor nodes to form a cluster hierarchy, with the objective of achieving better information throughput and improving network lifetime. A unique feature of HCR is its integration of routing with cluster formation and data delivery. Routing tables are constructed/updated in the course of cluster formation and data transmission, therefore incurring essentially no routing overhead. By exploiting geometrical features of hexagons, we show several desirable properties of HCR. In particular, we show via ns-2 simulations that HCR improves message overhead in cluster formation by 120-210%. We also show that heterogeneity achieves performance improvements of (i) up to 200% in terms of information throughput, (ii) power savings of up to 30% of the power spent in data transmission and (iii) a 2% density of accumulators is sufficient for most improvements.
A disrupted circumstellar torus inside η Carinae's homunculus nebula

We present thermal infrared images of the bipolar nebula surrounding η Carinae at six wavelengths from 4.8 to 24.5 μm. These were obtained with the MIRAC3 camera system at the Magellan Observatory. Our images reveal new intricate structure in the bright core of the nebula, allowing us to reevaluate interpretations of morphology seen in images with lower resolution. Complex structures in the core might not arise from a pair of overlapping rings or a cool (110 K) and very massive dust torus, as has been suggested recently. Instead, it seems more likely that the arcs and compact knots comprise a warm (200-350 K) disrupted torus at the intersection of the larger polar lobes. Some of the arcs appear to break out of the inner core region and may be associated with equatorial features seen in optical images. The torus could have been disrupted by a posteruption stellar wind or by ejecta from the Great Eruption itself if the torus existed before that event. Kinematic data are required to rule out either possibility.
Correlated evolution of stem and leaf hydraulic traits in Pereskia (Cactaceae).

Summary • Recent studies have demonstrated significant correlations between stem and leaf hydraulic properties when comparing across species within ecological communities. This implies that these traits are co-evolving, but there have been few studies addressing plant water relations within an explicitly evolutionary framework. • This study tests for correlated evolution among a suite of plant water-use traits and environmental parameters in seven species of Pereskia (Cactaceae), using phylogenetically independent contrasts. • There were significant evolutionary correlations between leaf-specific xylem hydraulic conductivity, Huber Value, leaf stomatal pore index, leaf venation density and leaf size, but none of these traits appeared to be correlated with environmental water availability; only two water relations traits – mid-day leaf water potentials and photosynthetic water use efficiency – correlated with estimates of moisture regime. • In Pereskia, it appears that many stem and leaf hydraulic properties thought to be critical to whole-plant water use have not evolved in response to habitat shifts in water availability. This may be because of the extremely conservative stomatal behavior and particular rooting strategy demonstrated by all Pereskia species investigated. These results highlight the need for a lineage-based approach to understand the relative roles of functional traits in ecological adaptation.
Ion, electron and neutral temperatures derived from ion composition distribution

Ion, electron and neutral temperatures from ion composition distribution, assuming no change in vertical distribution within horizontal distance between upleg and downleg measurements
Impact of Texting Laws on Motor Vehicular Fatalities in the United States

Using a panel study design, we examined the effects of different types of texting bans on motor vehicular fatalities. We used the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and a difference-in-differences approach to examine the incidence of fatal crashes in 2000 through 2010 in 48 US states with and without texting bans. Age cohorts were constructed to examine the impact of these bans on age-specific traffic fatalities. Primarily enforced laws banning all drivers from texting were significantly associated with a 3% reduction in traffic fatalities in all age groups, and those banning only young drivers from texting had the greatest impact on reducing deaths among those aged 15 to 21 years. Secondarily enforced restrictions were not associated with traffic fatality reductions in any of our analyses.
Sliding window test vs. single time test for Track-to-Track Association

Track-to-track association (T2TA) is very important in distributed tracking systems. When the fusion center receives multiple tracks from a local tracker, T2TA needs to be performed before track-to-track fusion (T2TF). The problem of T2TA, similar to measurement-to-track association, can be formulated and solved as an assignment problem, whose costs are based on the likelihood of assigning a local track to a central track, namely, the likelihood of the hypothesis H0: the two tracks originated from the same target. Thus the basic hypothesis test of whether two tracks are for the same target is very important for T2TA. Compared to the measurement-to-track association, T2TA has two features: i) The local track is correlated with the central track that has the same origin with it, due to the common process noise of the target. ii) Multiple frames of data are available from both the tracks. Thus, two issues are of concern for the T2TA test, namely, the derivation of the exact test statistic needs to take into account the crosscorrelation between the tracks; and how should multiple frames of data from the tracks be utilized. In this paper, the exact algorithm for calculating the test statistic for T2TA using multiple frames of data is derived. To keep the complexity of the algorithm under control, a limit is set for the number of the frames of data used in the test, which leads to a sliding window test for the problem of T2TA. By accounting for the cross-correlations between tracks for the same target and the cross-correlations across time of the terms entering into the test statistics, the proposed test for T2TA yields false rejections of H0 that match the theoretical values. Then the sliding window test is compared with the single time test. It is shown that the intuitive belief ldquothe longer the window, the more the power of the testrdquo is not necessarily correct. Thus, caution should be used when using multiple frames of data from the tracks to improve the power of the test.
Do immigrants squeeze natives out of bad schedules? Evidence from Italy

This paper documents the effect of immigrant concentration on natives’ work schedules. I show that immigrants are more likely to work at non‐standard hours (i.e. evenings, nights and Sundays) and that a higher proportion of immigrants in the local labor market is associated with a lower probability of employed natives working non‐standard shifts. Results are strongest in sectors and occupations that are more accessible to immigrants. In particular, I find that a 1 standard deviation increase in the foreign population residing in a province is associated to a 4% reduction in the natives’ likelihood of working non standard hours. J15, J81, J61
Photopolymerization of acrylate suspensions

Abstract Polymerization time parameters, induction time t 0 and t 50 obtained from Boltzmann sigmoidal fitting, were determined from photorheology experiments performed on diacrylate and glycol dimethacrylate suspensions with silicon dioxide, with varying photoactives concentration and in the presence of diluents. The experiments were performed at the intensity ∼23 mW/cm 2 . t 0 and t 50 are linearly proportional to reciprocal photoinitiator concentration 1/ c P , dye concentration c D and inhibitor concentration c INH as predicted by modified inhibitor exhaustion model. Further, the effect of a reactive and an inert diluent is shown.
Achieving High Throughput Ground-to-UAV Transport via Parallel Links

Wireless data transfer under high mobility, as found in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications, is a challenge due to varying channel quality and extended link outages. We present FlowCode, an easily deployable link-layer solution utilizing multiple transmitters and receivers for the purpose of supporting existing transport protocols such as TCP in these scenarios. By using multiple transmitters and receivers and by exploiting the resulting antenna beam diversity and parallel transmission effects, FlowCode increases throughput and reception range. In emulation, we show that TCP over FlowCode gives greater goodput over a larger portion of the flight path, compared to an enhanced TCP protocol using the standard 802.11 MAC. In the process, we make a strong case for using trace-modulated emulation when developing distributed protocols for complex wireless environments.
Disparities in the treatment and outcomes of vascular disease in Hispanic patients

Background The Hispanic population represents the fastest growing minority in the United States. As the population grows and ages, the vascular surgery community will be providing increasing amounts of care to this diverse group. To appropriately administer preventive and therapeutic care, it is important to understand the incidence, risk factors, and natural history of vascular disease in Hispanic patients. Methods We analyzed hospital discharge databases from New York and Florida to determine the rate of lower extremity revascularization (LER), carotid revascularization (CR), and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair in Hispanics relative to the general population. The rates of common comorbidities, the indications for the procedures, and outcomes during the same hospitalization as the index procedure were determined. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the differences between Hispanics and white non-Hispanics with respect to rate of procedure, symptoms at presentation, and outcome after procedure. Demographic variables and length of stay were also analyzed. Results The rate of LER, CR, and AAA repair was significantly lower in Hispanic patients than in white non-Hispanics. Despite this lower rate of intervention, Hispanics were significantly more likely than whites to present with limb-threatening lower extremity ischemia (odds ratio [OR], 2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.91 to 2.29), symptomatic carotid artery disease (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.4 to 1.75), and ruptured AAA (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.04-1.52) than white non-Hispanics These differences were maintained after controlling for the presence of diabetes mellitus and other comorbidities. Hispanic patients had higher rates of amputation during the same hospitalization after LER (6.2% vs 3.4%, P P = .0032). Length of stay after LER, CR, and AAA repair was longer for Hispanic patients than white non-Hispanics. Conclusion Significant disparities in the rate of utilization of three common vascular surgical procedures exist between Hispanic patients and the general population. In addition, Hispanics appear to present with more advanced disease and have worse outcomes in some cases. Reasons for these disparities must be determined to improve these results in the fastest growing segment of our society.
International Trade and Bank Groups: Welfare Enhancing or Welfare Reducing?

In international competition, are bank groups efficiency enhancing or efficiency reducing? This paper attempts to clarify this issue by asking instead: efficiency for whom? In a simple, illustrative model, this paper shows that bank groups can be efficiency enhancing for the bank and the member firms, but hurting its competitor. More important global welfare rises with bank groups. These results are robust when we allow the bank and the member firm to bargain over its loan rate, when bank groups can be formed endogenously and when there are multiple exporters. Results in this paper suggest alternative interpretations of existing econometric results concerning the role of Japanese groups in U.S.–Japan trade. J. Japan. Int. Econ., June 2002, 16(2) pp. 212–226. Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California.
Laser Driven Electron Accelerators

The following possibilities are discussed: inverse free electron laser (wiggler accelerator); inverse Cerenkov effect; plasma accelerator; dielectric tube; and grating linac. Of these, the grating acceleraton is considered the most attractive alternative. (GHT)
Dynamic Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy. Part I: Melt-Crystallized Nylon 11

Two-dimensional FT-IR spectroscopy has been used to study the N-H stretching and amide I/amide II region of melt-crystallized nylon 11 thin films on Teflon® substrates. Samples are dynamic mechanically oscillated at room temperature at a frequency of 11 Hz. A two-dimensional correlation analysis on the dynamic spectra indicates that the N-H stretching region splits into two peaks. Analysis of two-dimensional crossplots between the N-H stretching region and the amide I/amide II region shows that the prominent peak in the N-H stretching region (~3300 cm-1) is similar in morphological character to the ordered peak of the amide I region. The amide II region resolves into two-ordered and one-disordered peak.
Improving Reading Comprehension through Philosophy for Children.

The reading comprehension achievement of two groups of fifth grade students, 80 experimental and 20 control, was compared on pre and post measures using the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, reading comprehension subtest. The experimental group was exposed once each week to materials from the Philosophy for Children program as a supplement to their regular reading program for eight months of the school year. The reading comprehension achievement of two subsets of the experimentals, those above grade level and those below grade level on the pre‐test, was also analyzed. Results with above grade level students support previous studies indicating that including philosophical skills in the reading program leads to greater achievement than would be expected in normal development. Further, the results of the low level students reveal that such skills may also lead to improved reading comprehension achievement.
Modern Interpretation of Giant Cell Tumor of Bone: Predominantly Osteoclastogenic Stromal Tumor

Owing to striking features of numerous multinucleated cells and bone destruction, giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone, often called as osteoclastoma, has drawn major attractions from orthopaedic surgeons, pathologists, and radiologists. The name GCT or osteoclastoma gives a false impression of a tumor comprising of proliferating osteoclasts or osteoclast precursors. The underlying mechanisms for excessive osteoclastogenesis are intriguing and GCT has served as an exciting disease model representing a paradigm of osteoclastogenesis for bone biologists. The modern interpretation of GCT is predominantly osteoclastogenic stromal cell tumors of mesenchymal origin. A diverse array of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines disrupts osteoblastic differentiation and promotes the formation of excessive multi-nucleated osteoclastic cells. Pro-osteoclastogenic cytokines such as receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) as well as monocyte-recruiting chemokines such as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 participate in unfavorable osteoclastogenesis and bone destruction. This model represents a self-sufficient osteoclastogenic paracrine loop in a localized area. Consistent with this paradigm, a recombinant RANK-Fc protein and bisphosphonates are currently being tried for GCT treatment in addition to surgical excision and conventional topical adjuvant therapies.
Broad-Spectrum Inhibitors against 3C-Like Proteases of Feline Coronaviruses and Feline Caliciviruses

ABSTRACT Feline infectious peritonitis and virulent, systemic calicivirus infection are caused by certain types of feline coronaviruses (FCoVs) and feline caliciviruses (FCVs), respectively, and are important infectious diseases with high fatality rates in members of the Felidae family. While FCoV and FCV belong to two distinct virus families, the Coronaviridae and the Caliciviridae, respectively, they share a dependence on viral 3C-like protease (3CLpro) for their replication. Since 3CLpro is functionally and structurally conserved among these viruses and essential for viral replication, 3CLpro is considered a potential target for the design of antiviral drugs with broad-spectrum activities against these distinct and highly important viral infections. However, small-molecule inhibitors against the 3CLpro enzymes of FCoV and FCV have not been previously identified. In this study, derivatives of peptidyl compounds targeting 3CLpro were synthesized and evaluated for their activities against FCoV and FCV. The structures of compounds that showed potent dual antiviral activities with a wide margin of safety were identified and are discussed. Furthermore, the in vivo efficacy of 3CLpro inhibitors was evaluated using a mouse model of coronavirus infection. Intraperitoneal administration of two 3CLpro inhibitors in mice infected with murine hepatitis virus A59, a hepatotropic coronavirus, resulted in significant reductions in virus titers and pathological lesions in the liver compared to the findings for the controls. These results suggest that the series of 3CLpro inhibitors described here may have the potential to be further developed as therapeutic agents against these important viruses in domestic and wild cats. This study provides important insights into the structure and function relationships of 3CLpro for the design of antiviral drugs with broader antiviral activities. IMPORTANCE Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) is the leading cause of death in young cats, and virulent, systemic feline calicivirus (vs-FCV) causes a highly fatal disease in cats for which no preventive or therapeutic measure is available. The genomes of these distinct viruses, which belong to different virus families, encode a structurally and functionally conserved 3C-like protease (3CLpro) which is a potential target for broad-spectrum antiviral drug development. However, no studies have previously reported a structural platform for the design of antiviral drugs with activities against these viruses or on the efficacy of 3CLpro inhibitors against coronavirus infection in experimental animals. In this study, we explored the structure-activity relationships of the derivatives of 3CLpro inhibitors and identified inhibitors with potent dual activities against these viruses. In addition, the efficacy of the 3CLpro inhibitors was demonstrated in mice infected with a murine coronavirus. Overall, our study provides the first insight into a structural platform for anti-FIPV and anti-FCV drug development.
P2 purinergic receptor agonists enhance cAMP production in Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells via an autocrine/paracrine mechanism.

Mechanisms of cross-talk between different classes of signaling molecules are inadequately understood. We have used clonal Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK-D1) epithelial cells as a model system to investigate the effects of extracellular nucleotides (e.g. ATP, UTP), which promote increase in activity of several phospholipases, on cAMP production. In contrast to observations in some other cell systems, ATP and UTP, acting via P2 purinergic receptors, stimulated cAMP production in MDCK-D1 cells. At maximally effective concentrations, ATP and UTP were not additive with the beta-adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol, but were synergistic with forskolin in increasing cAMP production, indicating that G alpha s is activated by these nucleotides. Additionally, we found that (a) nucleotide-induced increases in cAMP were blocked by indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, (b) arachidonic acid increased cellular cAMP levels in an indomethacin-sensitive fashion, and (c) PGE2, the major metabolite of arachidonic acid, stimulated cAMP formation. Overall, our results suggest a mechanism by which extracellular nucleotides stimulate release of arachidonic acid which is metabolized to PGE2 which, in turn, acts in an autocrine/paracrine fashion via prostaglandin receptors to activate G alpha s and increase cAMP. Based on the ability of extracellular nucleotides to stimulate the formation and release of prostaglandins in MDCK-D1 epithelial and other cells, we hypothesize that receptor-mediated prostaglandin release may be a general mechanism that regulates cAMP formation in many types of cells.
Learning Lie Groups for Invariant Visual Perception

One of the most important problems in visual perception is that of visual invariance: how are objects perceived to be the same despite undergoing transformations such as translations, rotations or scaling? In this paper, we describe a Bayesian method for learning invariances based on Lie group theory. We show that previous approaches based on first-order Taylor series expansions of inputs can be regarded as special cases of the Lie group approach, the latter being capable of handling in principle arbitrarily large transfonnations. Using a matrix-exponential based generative model of images, we derive an unsupervised algorithm for learning Lie group operators from input data containing infinitesimal transfonnations. The on-line unsupervised learning algorithm maximizes the posterior probability of generating the training data. We provide experimental results suggesting that the proposed method can learn Lie group operators for handling reasonably large 1-D translations and 2-D rotations.
Parallel protein structure determination from uncertain data

Molecular structure determination is an important task in biology because of the intimate relation between form and function of biological molecules. Individual sources of information about molecular structure are subject to uncertainty and are not sufficiently abundant to define the structure to high accuracy by themselves. The authors have examined a probabilistic algorithm, PROTEAN, which can incorporate multiple sources of uncertain data to estimate the three dimensional structure of molecules and also predict a measure of the uncertainty in the estimated structure. They have applied this algorithm successfully to several biological structure problems. Like most structure prediction methods, this algorithm is computationally expensive for realistic biological macromolecules. The authors experiment with speeding up the algorithm through the application of parallelism. They present a parallel version of the algorithm, and demonstrate good speedups on a 32-processor Stanford DASH, a cache coherent shared address space multiprocessor. The results were obtained by exploiting data locality only in the per-processor coherent caches, without attempt to distribute data intelligently in the physically distributed main memory of the machine. The authors also obtained very good speedups on a state of the art commercial multiprocessor, the Silicon Graphics Challenge. Finally, the authors propose an extension to the serial algorithm which enables it to handle a wider class of data, and discuss the potential for parallelization of the extended algorithm. >
Particle nucleation and monomer partitioning in styrene O/W microemulsion polymerization

Particle nucleation in the polymerization of styrene microemulsions was found to take place throughout the polymerization as indicated by measurements of the particle number as a function of conversion. A mechanism based on the nucleation in the microemulsion droplets was proposed to explain the experimental findings although homogeneous nucleation and coagulation during polymerization were not completely ruled out. A thermodynamic model was developed to simulate the partitioning of monomer in the different phases during polymerization. The model predicts that the oil cores of the microemulsion droplets were depleted early in the polymerization (4% conversion). Due to the high monomer/polymer swelling ratio of the polymer particles, most of the monomer resides in the polymer particles during polymerization. The termination of chain growth inside the polymer particles was attributed to the chain transfer reaction to monomer. The low n (less than 0.5) of the microemulsion system was attributed to the fast exit of monomeric radicals.
INVESTING IN BANKRUPT STOCKS: IS IT A SWEET TRICK?

We track the holding period return from investing in bankrupt stocks using a buy-and-hold strategy, buying the stocks on the bankruptcy filing date and holding them until the final resolution date (reorganization or liquidation). We find that holding a simple long position in the bankrupt stocks will generally lead to a large loss. The holding period return computed from the stock price alone cannot show the entire story. When considering final distributions plus the stock price, we seea much greater loss. In our regression analysis, we find that liquidity is always a key factor in explaining the returns. Profitability and information uncertainty plays a significant role in explaining the positive returns, while liquidity and (un)profitability are the two key issues associated with the negative returns. In addition, the involvement of hedge funds does not seem to be associated with better stock performance.
Structural Variations in a Homologous Series of Fluorinated Tetracyano-p-Quinodimethanes

The various intermolecular interactions observed in the crystalline structures of the tetracyano-p-quinodimethanes TCNQ, TCNQF, 2, 5-TCNQF2, and TCNQF4 are examined. These intermolecular interactions include: (1) the quinone ring-over-cyano group overlap in TCNQ; (2) the antiparallel cyano-cyano coupling in TCNQF and 2, 5-TCNQF2; and (3) the donor/acceptor(acid-base) contacts in TCNQF4. Results are also presented on an initial attempt at the resolution of the twinned nature of the crystal structure of TCNQF. The electrostatic(Madelung) energy has been evaluated for eight dipole-ordered arrays and appears to indicate only limited model differentiation.
Clinical and Economic Impact of Formulary Conversion From Inhaled Flolan to Inhaled Veletri for Refractory Hypoxemia in Critically Ill Patients

Background: Flolan (iFLO) and Veletri (iVEL) are 2 inhaled epoprostenol formulations. There is no published literature comparing these formulations in critically ill patients with refractory hypoxemia. Objective: To compare efficacy, safety, and cost outcomes in patients who received either iFLO or iVEL for hypoxic respiratory failure. Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center analysis of adult, mechanically ventilated patients receiving iFLO or iVEL for improvement in oxygenation. The primary end point was the change in the PaO2/FiO2 ratio after 1 hour of pulmonary vasodilator therapy. Secondary end points assessed were intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, duration of study therapy, duration of mechanical ventilation, mortality, incidence of adverse events, and cost. Results: A total of 104 patients were included (iFLO = 52; iVEL = 52). More iFLO patients had acute respiratory distress syndrome compared with the iVEL group (61.5 vs 34.6%; P = 0.01). There was no difference...
Association of Fellowship Training With Otolaryngology Training Examination Scores

Importance No prior studies have evaluated whether residents who pursue fellowship training achieve higher performance on the Otolaryngology Training Examination (OTE) and whether a specific fellowship will demonstrate a correlation with the corresponding specialty-specific OTE score. Objectives To determine whether residents pursuing fellowship training achieve higher performance on the OTE and whether fellowship choice is correlated with higher scores on the related subspecialty section of the OTE. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective analysis included 35 residents training in an academic otolaryngology residency program from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2014. The OTE scores for postgraduate years 2 through 5 and the type of fellowship were collected for all residents meeting inclusion criteria. Data were collected from September 1 to October 15, 2014, and analyzed from October 16 to December 1, 2014. Exposures Residents were divided by whether they pursued fellowship training and by the type of fellowship chosen. Main Outcomes and Measures Outcome measures included comparison of scores between residents who pursued vs those who did not pursue fellowship training and comparison of subspecialty OTE scores between residents who pursued the corresponding fellowship and those who did not. Results Of the 35 residents who met the inclusion criteria (24 men and 11 women), 17 (49%) pursued fellowship training. The 3 most common fellowship choices were facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, and rhinology (4 residents each [24%]). For all residents, mean scores on the OTE improved each subsequent training year, but this difference was only significant between postgraduate years 2 and 3 (from 60.9% to 68.6% correct;P Conclusions and Relevance Residents who pursued fellowship training did not achieve higher scores on the OTE in any examination year compared with residents who did not pursue fellowship training and did not achieve higher scores within the OTE section that matched their chosen subspecialty in their last year of training. Fellowship choice does not appear to influence OTE scores among residents.
Dense Free Space Optical Multi-Access Networks

We describe a secure and highly efficient architecture for a free space turbulent atmospheric optical multi-access network that has applications for Metropolitan-Area-Networks with dense connectivity and cloud and data center interconnects.
The Cone-Infesting Moth Barbara colfaxiana as a Pest of Douglas-fir in Northern Idaho

Cone samples collected during the 3-year period (1957–1959) indicated that Barbara colfaxiana (Kearf.) was the most important insect species attacking Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) in northern Idaho. Adult emergence occurred at about the time stamens and bracts appeared beyond the scales of Douglas-fir cones, with the highest emergence rate corresponding to the period of pollen release. Oviposition commenced 8 days, and maximum oviposition 30 days, after the onset of adult emergence. B. colfaxiana was prevalent at all collection points. The intensities of infestation throughout northern Idaho average 38.1 and 44.8 percent of the sampled cones for 1958 and 1959, respectively, and ranged from 8 to 88 percent for both years. Analysis of two localized infestations showed that great variation occurred between, but were relatively uniform within, different infestations. Associated species included Dioryctria sp., Megastigmus spennotrophus Wachtl., Rubsaamenia keeni Foote, and Contarinia sp. The causes of the population fluctuations are theorized, and the influence of B. colfaxiana on cone collection and handling is discussed.
Irregular remaining 2 354 examples of Yunnan province Zhaotong city lepriasis investigation is analytical

Objective:Leprosy was unbalanced remnantly in the society people frightened leprosy,the discrimination leprosy's primary cause,the investigation grasps the Zhaotong leprosy patient to be unbalanced the remnant present situation,to launch leprosy to be unbalanced prevents and controls and was restored to health to provide the support remnantly.Methods:The used unified "Leprosy Is unbalanced Remnant Survey form" carried on to the patient investigates one by one,the cruising data inputs excel to carry on the statistical analysis.Results:The Zhaotong survival patient 2 402 examples,investigate 2 354 examples,the investigation rate 98%,was unbalanced the remnants 1 171 examples,was unbalanced rem nantly rate 49.75%.Conclusion:Zhaotong leprosy is unbalanced,the remnant formation rate is high,launches to launch positively the remnant prevention and the recovery,can help the patient healthily to return the society and the family.
Impact on Angle Stability of Power System With Doubly Fed Induction Generators Connected to Grid

Doubly fed induction generator(DFIG) has occupied a large percent of the wind generators integrated in the system. Because of the different operating characteristics from synchronous generator, the integration of DFIG has an effect on the dynamic behaviors of power system. With the penetration level of the DFIG-based wind generation increased, the power system stability will change gradually. The paper defined the DFIG power angle characteristic and derived the DFIG equivalent external characteristics. On this basis, the power characteristics of single side power system with DFIG connected is investigated and then a theoretical analysis of the system transient angle stability is demonstrated. The study suggests that the first swing angle and the damping ratio are both reduced after the DFIG integrated into the system. Lastly, the simulation results verify the correctness of the study in this paper.
Biological nihilism and modern moral and political theory.

As Arnhart acknowledges, the major intellectual challenge of the 20th century is to justify moral judgments rationally and to provide moral authority for political action when individuals meet as moral strangers who do not share common moral assumptions. This is the task of a secular morality that aspires to transcend particular religious or ideological commitments. The arguments for nihilism suggest that such a task cannot be successfully completed. There are three ways one might attempt to escape the threat of nihilism. First, one might endeavor to show that the Aristotelian project to read human moral goals and the lineaments of proper political structure from the characteristics of human biology can be successful, despite the skepticism of authors who have articulated the naturalistic fallacy: from what is the case, one cannot conclude what ought to be the case. A neo-Aristotelian approach would need to derive from the biological nature of humans a proper code for human conduct and morally justified guidelines for human political action. Second, one might attempt to discover, as Kant had hoped, content in the very nature of reason. Here the “nature” at stake is not an external biological nature, but the characteristics of reason or reasoning itself. A contemporary example of the Kantian undertaking is found in Rawls' Theory of Justice (1971). The Aristotelian and Kantian traditions provide two quite different senses of “natural,” from which Western thinkers have attempted (in different ways) to establish the content of natural law and to justify moral and political rules.
Ultratrace minerals mythical elixirs or nutrients of concern

Demonstration of the nutritional significance of the ultratrace elements has resulted from studies indicating enhanced need in organisms exposed to various metabolic, hormonal, physiological and nutritional stresses. These studies indicate that some ultratrace elements, namely boron and silicon, will be found to be nutritionally important. The dietary lack of these elements may result in suboptimal function and composition of bone and brain.
Immunolocalization of tropomodulin, tropomyosin and actin in spread human erythrocyte skeletons

The human erythrocyte membrane skeleton consists of a network of short actin filaments cross-linked into a hexagonal network by long, flexible spectrin molecules. The lengths of the short actin filaments (33 +/- 5 nm) at the central junctions are proposed to be stabilized and limited by association with tropomyosin and the tropomyosin-binding protein, tropomodulin. Here, we use immunogold labelling followed by negative staining to specifically localize tropomodulin, tropomyosin and actin to the sites of the central junctions in spread membrane skeletons. In addition to negative staining, immunogold labelling for tropomodulin at the sites of the central junctions was also visualized by a quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary-replication technique. These experiments confirm previous indirect evidence that the short filaments at the central junctions are indeed actin filaments and provide the first direct evidence that tropomodulin and tropomyosin are associated with the erythrocyte actin filaments in situ.
Physiological Response to Social Evaluative Threat in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was employed to study response to social evaluative threat in male adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD, n = 21) and typical development (n = 13). Participants wore a mobile electrocardiogram to collect heart rate data. There were significant group effects on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic nervous system function, with lower values in ASD (F = 4.97). Bivariate correlations also showed a significant relationship between parent reports of social problems and RSA response to the TSST (r = −0.586). These findings suggest that autonomic dysregulation may contribute to social deficits in adolescents with ASD.
Exploring Willingness of Elder Chinese in Houston to Participate in Clinical Research.

Abstract Background and objectives Inadequate minority participation in clinical research can threaten the applicability and strength of scientific findings. Previous research suggests that trial participation rates are lowest among Asian Americans, compared to other groups. This study explored barriers to clinical research participation among elder Chinese living in Houston, Texas. Additionally we administered the Trust in Medical Researchers Scale (TIMRS), used previously in researching trust in medical researchers as related to research participation. Design In this mixed methods study, a semi-structured interview, including the TIMRS were administered to 30 adults of Chinese ancestry aged 50 years or older recruited from a Chinese community center. Interviews were conducted in English, Mandarin and Cantonese and independently coded and analyzed using thematic content analysis. TIMRS scores were calculated for participants. Results Participants were 70% female, 70% were 60 or elder, all were foreign born and on average lived in the US for 21.8 years. Participants perceived risks to research participation and preferred language concordant research staff. Interviewees were more willing to participate if they perceived personal and community health-related benefits. The overall TIMRS score was 23.9 (±5.0), lower than the overall TIMRS for Whites in a previous study (P Conclusions The barriers and facilitators to research participation confirmed previous research among Asians. Our participant TIMRS scores were consistent with decreased levels of trust observed in the original TIMRS study for African Americans as compared and lower than Whites. Employing strategies that utilize language concordant staff who build trust with participants may aid in recruiting elder Chinese, especially if the research is personally relevant to those being recruited.