cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Association between early Gram-negative bacteria in tracheal aspirate cultures and severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia among extremely preterm infants requiring prolonged ventilation

Objective: To evaluate the association between bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) development at 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) and Gram-negative bacteria in tracheal aspirate cultures among extremely preterm infants. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Patients were 155 infants aged less than or equal to 26 gestational weeks who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Osaka Women’s and Children’s Hospital from 2009 to 2018. Primary outcome was respiratory outcomes expressed as BPD development. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify neonatal and bacterial factors associated with BPD. Results: After adjusting for gestational age, birth weight, sex, chorioamnionitis, Gram-positive cocci (GPC) and Gram-negative rods (GNRs) in tracheal aspirate cultures within 28 days after birth, GNRs were significantly associated with BPD development (odds ratio [OR]: 3.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.68–8.94). In contrast, GPC were not associated with BPD development (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.05–1.61). Conclusion: Gram-negative bacteria in tracheal cultures within 28 days of birth are associated with BPD development in infants aged less than or equal to 26 gestational weeks.
Artificial Neural Networks and Bayesian Techniques for Flip-Chip Package Thermo-Mechanical Analysis

In this paper, we present a predictive model created using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). ANN is used to develop approximate models that mimic the overall package mechanical behavior. Furthermore, the approximate ANN models can be efficiently coupled with probabilistic Bayesian Approaches which would normally take several hours to implement using the traditional FEA modeling methodology. Detailed implementation of a robust ANN model on flip-chip electronic packages is presented. The forward and backward propagation steps of the neural network model are programmed using MATLAB, with a cost function that minimizes the error between the predicted and input training data. The training set for ANN is generated using an FEA thermo-mechanical model. The FEA input data set encompasses effects of package geometry and material parameters on various package mechanical risk factors such as package warpage, delamination, and thermal degradation. We present results that show the methodology to co-optimize ANN hyperparameters and minimize the ANN inference error. The ANN surrogate models are then coupled with Bayesian inferencing techniques and applied for performing package mechanical integrity analysis.
Binding specificity and function of the SWI/SNF subunit SMARCA4 bromodomain interaction with acetylated histone H3K14

Bromodomains (BD) are conserved reader modules that bind acetylated lysine residues on histones. Although much has been learned regarding the in vitro properties of these domains, less is known about their function within chromatin complexes. SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes modulate transcription and contribute to DNA damage repair. Mutations in SWI/SNF subunits have been implicated in many cancers. Here we demonstrate that the BD of Caenorhabditis elegans SMARCA4/BRG1, a core SWI/SNF subunit, recognizes acetylated lysine 14 of histone H3 (H3K14ac), similar to its Homo sapiens ortholog. We identify the interactions of SMARCA4 with the acetylated histone peptide from a 1.29 A-resolution crystal structure of the CeSMARCA4 BD–H3K14ac complex. Significantly, most of the SMARCA4 BD residues in contact with the histone peptide are conserved with other proteins containing family VIII bromodomains. Based on the premise that binding specificity is conserved among bromodomain orthologs, we propose that loop residues outside of the binding pocket position contact residues to recognize the H3K14ac sequence. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutations in the SMARCA4 BD that abolish H3K14ac binding in vitro had little or no effect on C. elegans viability or physiological function in vivo. However, combining SMARCA4 BD mutations with knockdown of the SWI/SNF accessory subunit PBRM-1 resulted in severe developmental defects in animals. In conclusion, we demonstrated an essential function for the SWI/SNF bromodomain in vivo and detected potential redundancy in epigenetic readers in regulating chromatin remodeling. These findings have implications for the development of small-molecule BD inhibitors to treat cancers and other diseases.
Intraplaque CTA characteristics as predictors of symptomatology: a semiautomated volumetric analysis.

Prior studies comparing CT characteristics of carotid plaques to symptomatology have relied on gross morphologic imaging features. This study sought to determine if volumetric measurements of carotid plaque components are associated with ipsilateral neurologic symptoms. CTA images of consecutive patients that underwent a carotid endarterectomy were reviewed with a semiautomated software package. Intraplaque volumes of intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH), lipid-rich necrotic core (LRNC), and matrix were computed, as was the degree of arterial stenosis. Statistics were analyzed on a per cerebral hemisphere basis, and dichotomized into symptomatic and asymptomatic. Clinical and radiological endpoints included transient ischemic attack (TIA), ischemic stroke diagnosed on imaging studies, ophthalmologically diagnosed central or branch retinal artery occlusion (RAO), or amaurosis fugax. One hundred sixty-eight carotid plaques were reviewed. The average age is 70.8 years (SD = 8.8); 32/87 (36.8%) were female. Sixty-seven of eighty-seven (77.0%) patients were symptomatic. Sixty-six of one hundred sixty-eight (39.3%) plaques were ipsilateral to the patient’s symptoms, while 102/168 (60.7%) were ipsilateral to an asymptomatic hemisphere. Greater intraplaque volumes of IPH (p = 0.03), LRNC (p = 0.008), and matrix (p = 0.0008) were associated with symptoms, as was greater proportion of LRNC in regard to plaque volume (p = 0.04). All but proportion of LRNC remained statistically significant after adjustment for plaque size. More severe luminal stenosis was also associated with ipsilateral neurologic symptoms, both when calculated by smallest diameter or by area (p < 0.0001 for both). Higher volumes of intraplaque IPH, LRNC, matrix, and degree of arterial stenosis are associated with ipsilateral neurologic symptoms. Greater intraplaque proportions of LRNC are also associated with ipsilateral ischemic manifestations, suggesting that larger relative composition of lipids may be particularly predictive of symptomatology.
Stability, Memory, and Messaging Trade-Offs in Heterogeneous Service Systems

We consider a heterogeneous distributed service system consisting of n servers with unknown and possibly different processing rates. Jobs with unit mean arrive as a renewal process of rate proporti...
Sending Gaussian multiterminal sources over the Gaussian MAC with bandwidth expansion

In this work, we investigate the minimum power of transmitting Gaussian multiterminal sources over the Gaussian multiple access channel (MAC) with bandwidth expansion. Distributed encoders observe the individual components of the multiterminal sources and attempt to describe them to a central decoder. Instead of assuming the sources and the channel have matched bandwidth, we consider the scenario when the transmission is subject to a bandwidth constraint in terms of the number of channel uses per source sample. We study the minimum transmission power such that the decoder can reconstruct the individual sources and meet the mean squared error (MSE) constraints on them. For any given bandwidth and distortion constraints, we optimize uncoded transmission to obtain an upper bound on the minimum transmission power. A hybrid coding scheme is then proposed to obtain a tighter upper bound.
Phenylethanol derivatives as triplet sensitizers for 1‐azidoadamantane

Laser flash photolysis, phosphorescence and density functional calculations were used to characterize the triplet excited states of phenylethanol derivatives 1, 2, 3 and 4. In acetonitrile, the triplet excited states of these alcohols were formed with rate constants on the order of ~107 s–1 and decayed with rate constants between 105 and 106 s–1. The energies of these triplet excited states were between 80 and 83 kcal/mol. Furthermore, 3 can be used as a triplet sensitizer for alkyl azides to form triplet nitrene intermediates. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Statistical Evaluation of Concrete Strength Tests

Compressive strength data from tests of portland cement mortar cubes and concrete cylinders display central distribution tendencies that render them readily adaptable to evaluation by statistical procedures. Variation in strength, as measured by the statistical parameter coefficient of variation, is as important as average strength in evaluation of strength test data. Using the minimum compressive strength for cement cubes specified in ASTM C-150 as a basis, the optimum choice from among different brands is readily calculated from the average strength and variation among several shipments of the different brands. Statistical evaluation of ninety-two batches of 3,000-psi (nominal strength) concrete reveals that the batching water is the largest contributor to variability of the concrete strength. Using the risk factor given in ASTM C-94 and known variation in concrete strength for a given plant operation, the required average strength can be calculated. It is desirable to keep variation in concrete strength as low as possible, thereby minimizing required average strength and concrete costs.
The Evolution of Receptors: From On–Off Switches to Microprocessors

The evolution of the receptor concept is traced from the turn of the century where the receptor was an organizational concept to the present day where seven transmembrane (7TM) receptors are considered to be complex control units for cellular function. Drug receptor effect can be quantifi ed without knowledge of molecular mechanism through the operational model of drug action. Alternatively, biochemical knowledge of the receptor as an independent protein unit recognizing both external chemicals and cytosolic protein independently can be used to understand ligand specifi c receptor effects and how these might be exploited therapeutically.
Do Analysts Under-react to Bad News and Over-react to Good News?

Easterwood and Nutt (1999) show that analysts under-react to bad news in past earnings changes (or forecast errors) but over-react to good news in past earnings (or forecast errors) consistent with analysts exhibiting systematic optimism. We find that their results are sensitive to the cutoff used to define outliers. More specifically, when we define outliers as observations with the absolute value of earnings-related variables exceeding 100% of stock price, we obtain results similar to those reported in their study. However, when we define (and exclude) outliers as observations with the absolute value of earnings-related variables exceeding 20% of stock price, we find evidence of under-reaction to the information in past earnings and forecast errors. However, the under-reaction to bad news is not significantly greater (in magnitude) than the average under-reaction. Furthermore, we find some evidence of overreaction to good news in past earnings changes but no evidence of overreaction to the information in past forecast errors. With a 5% cutoff, there is no evidence of over-reaction to good news in past earnings changes or forecast errors. Furthermore, there is no evidence of over or under-reaction to the information in past returns. The last result suggests that the evidence of under-reaction to the information in past returns observed in previous studies may have been overstated. Overall, our results cast doubt on the hypothesis that analysts exhibit systematic optimism with respect to past information.
Abnormal Prenatal Lung Development Resulting from Maternal Zinc Deficiency in Rats

The effect of maternal zinc deficiency during gestation on fetal lung development was studied. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed from the day of mating (day zero) a zinc deficient diet (0.4 +/- 0.1 ppm zinc) ad libitum, or a zinc supplemented control diet (100 ppm zinc) either ad libitum or with restricted intake. Fetuses were removed by cesarean section on days 17 to 21 of gestation. Fetuses of zinc deficient dams had smaller lungs both in absolute weight and relative to body weight on all days than did either ad libitum-fed or restricted-intake controls. On days 20 and 21 of gestation, concentration of fetal lung lecithin and phosphatidylethanolamine was lower in zinc deficient fetuses than in control groups, indicating a reduced production of pulmonary surfactant. The lecithin to sphingomyelin ratio of amniotic fluid was lower in zinc deficient rats than in controls on days 19, 20, and 21 of gestation. On days 18 through 21 of gestation, fetal lung DNA concentration in zinc deficient fetuses was lower than in controls, but there were no differences in fetal lung zinc concentration. Histological examination of lungs from zinc deficient fetuses at term showed air spaces that were slightly collapsed with smaller lumina of the alveolar ducts than in controls.
Genetic information: consumers' right to privacy versus insurance companies' right to know: a public opinion survey.

In this paper we present arguments for and against the disclosure of genetic information to the insurance companies. One of the main issues which emerges from these arguments is the question of who should be responsible for the health insurance costs of the individuals who are most likely to be affected by the disclosure of genetic information. The results of a resident opinion survey related to the above question are presented and public policy alternatives related to the survey findings are discussed at the end of this paper.
Diagnosing MJO hindcast biases in NCAR CAM3 using nudging during the DYNAMO field campaign

This study evaluates the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) hindcast skill and investigates the hindcast biases in the dynamic and thermodynamic fields of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model version 3. The analysis is based on the October 2011 MJO event observed during the Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation field campaign. The model captures the MJO initiation but, compared to the observations, the hindcast has a faster MJO phase speed, a dry relative humidity bias, a stronger zonal wind shear, and a weaker MJO peak amplitude. The MJO hindcast is then nudged toward the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast Reanalysis fields of temperature, specific humidity, horizontal winds, and surface pressure. The nudging tendencies highlight the model physics parameterization biases, such as not enough convective diabatic heating during the MJO initiation, not enough upper tropospheric stratiform condensation, and lower tropospheric reevaporation during the mature and decay phases and a strong zonal wind shear during the MJO evolution. To determine the role of temperature, specific humidity, and horizontal winds in the model physics parameterization errors, six additional nudging experiments are carried out, with either one or two of the fields allowed to evolve freely while the others are nudged. Results show that convection and precipitation increase when temperature or specific humidity are unconstrained and decrease when horizontal winds evolve freely or temperature alone is constrained to reanalysis. Budget analysis of moist static energy shows that the nudging tendency compensates for different process biases during different MJO phases. The diagnosis of such nudging tendencies provides a unique objective way to identify model physics biases, which usefully guides the model physics parameterization development.
Launhardt on Von Thünen's rings

Abstract This note shows that the very first appearance of the formal land use model is in Launhardt's 1885 book, Mathematische Begrundung Der Volkswirtschaftslehre. The well-known concentric space price equilibrium model developed by Losch (1954), Dunn (1954), Isard (1956), Jones (1978), and Beckmann and Puu (1985) was anticipated by Launhardt. Launhardt should be given credit for it.
A cidade: sua distância da natureza / The city: its distance from nature

Cities are artifacts and worlds of artifice placed at varying distances from states close to nature. They can be arranged along a scale, using the physical criteria of 1) cutting agricultural ties, 2) civilizing winter, and 3) conquering night. Ancient cities, despite their monumental facades, had close ties with the countryside. Agriculture remained an important activity in English cities at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Whereas the country comes to life in the warm season, the glamorous metropolis blooms in winter. The natural rhythm of day and night, of work and rest, is disrupted in the city whose cultural status is measured by the vigor of its night life. Artificial lighting, a recent technological triumph in the long history of the city, can turn night into day. Cities differ greatly in their distance from livelihoods intimately tied to nature.
Surface Localization of Escherichia coli 5′-Nucleotidase by Electron Microscopy

The 5'-nucleotidase of Escherichia coli was shown to be located at the cell wall surface by histochemical techniques utilizing the deposition of inorganic phosphate. Penetration of the 5'-nucleotidase in the periplasmic space was seen only in cells treated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris). The 3'-nucleotidase of E. coli was also found to have a surface location, and periplasmic precipitation of inorganic phosphate was seen only after EDTA-Tris-sucrose exposure.
The Right to be Forgotten and Erasure: Privacy, Data Brokers, and the Indefinite Retention of Data

This article scrutinizes invasive cyber business practices and advocates passage of the proposed European Union right to erasure. The proposed regulation would prevent the indefinite storage and trade in electronic data, placing limits on the duration and purpose for which businesses could retain it. Currently in the United States, anyone transmitting personal content on the Internet has minimal control over its future uses by vendors and third parties. While businesses have legitimate reasons to use data in their day-to-day operations, a statutorily defined expiration period is necessary to preserve the data subjects’ dignitary and autonomy rights. Consumer oriented legislation should prevent indiscriminate capitalization in data initially divulged for specific transactions, such as making purchases or engaging in social networking, but later bundled by third parties for unrelated purposes.Part I of this article describes the many forms of data mining that organizations engage in to track on-line and off-line behaviors. The practices are particularly pervasive on social media, which present themselves as platforms for interpersonal communications but also market and trade personal profiles to third parties. Subjects retain little control once they have posted their data, even if they bethink the decision to make information public. Part II evaluates how Internet architecture leaves personal data vulnerable to snooping and surveillance. Part III elaborates on European data regulations and compares them to current United States self-help controls. It further argues for adoption of the EU’s right to erasure initiative and discusses the likelihood of its enforcement in the United States.
Morphological Studies on Relaxed and Contracted Forms of Purified Pyocin Particles

The bacteriocin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pyocin, consists of a contractile sheath and inner core reminiscent of T-even coliphage tails. Contraction of the outer sheath was found to be promoted by 0.5 m magnesium chloride, 1% Formalin, low pH, sonic treatment, and freezing or thawing or both. The contraction caused by 0.5 m magnesium chloride, however, was found to be reversible and occurred upon reduction of the salt concentration from 0.5 to 0.02 m. In addition, direct assay showed that pyocin activity was nearly proportional to the percentage of only uncontracted forms. Initial studies suggested that the adsorption of purified pyocin onto cell wall fragments from the sensitive indicator strain of P. aeruginosa occurs with the relaxed particle only and not with the contracted form. However, after adsorption, contraction occurred. Various morphological structures, such as tail fibers and base-platelike appendages, were also observed. Upon contraction, six tail fibers were observed on many particles, four of which appeared to originate from the sheath and two from the inner core. Polysheaths and polycores several hundred nanometers in length were also occasionally observed.
Analysis of Hox-4.5 and Hox-3.6 expression during newt limb regeneration: differential regulation of paralogous Hox genes suggest different roles for members of different Hox clusters

Adult urodele amphibians can regenerate their limbs and tail. Based on their roles in other developing systems, Hox genes are strong candidates for genes that play a role in regulating pattern formation during regeneration. There are four homologous clusters of Hox genes in vertebrate genomes. We isolated cDNA clones of two newt homeobox genes from homologous positions within two Hox clusters; Hox-4.5 and Hox-3.6. We used RNase protection on nonamputated (normal) and regenerating newt appendages and tissue to compare their transcriptional patterns. Both genes show increased expression upon amputation with similar kinetics. Hox-4.5 and Hox-3.6 transcription is limited to the mesenchymal cells in the regenerates and is not found in the epithelial tissue. In addition to regenerating appendages, both genes are transcriptionally active in adult kidney of the newt. Striking differences were found in the regulation of Hox-4.5 and Hox-3.6 when they were compared in unamputated limbs and in regenerating forelimbs versus regenerating hindlimbs. Hox-4.5 is expressed in the blastema of regenerating fore- and hindlimbs, but Hox-4.5 transcripts are not detectable in normal limbs. In contrast, Hox-3.6 transcripts are found exclusively in posterior appendages, but are present in normal as well as regenerating hindlimbs and tails. Hox-4.5 is also expressed at a higher level in proximal (mid-humerus) regenerates than in distal ones (mid-radius). When we proximalized the positional memory of a distal blastema with retinoic acid, we find that the early expression level of Hox-4.5 is also proximalized. When the expression of these genes is compared to the expression of two previously reported newt Hox genes, a consistent pattern emerges, which can be interpreted in terms of differential roles for the different Hox clusters in determining regenerative limb morphology.
Stabilizing elements in aircraft D-C systems

TWO RECENT STUDIES of aircraft generator regulator systems have come from this laboratory. One1 analyzed the carbon-pile regulator and determined its transfer function; the other2 derived a generator-transfer function and determined stability criteria for a regulator-generator combination. These studies were concerned primarily with design parameters of the regulator and generator but did not answer the question of how to improve matters once the regulator and generator design were fixed. In particular, an understanding of the function and limitations of the standard feedback resistor was desired. Therefore, a mathematical and experimental investigation was undertaken to obtain the transfer functions of systems with feedback. The mathematical determination of these functions was straightforward. They were, however, too cumbersome and complicated in their exact form to be of great help in noting the effect of changes of parameters, primarily because there are no buffer amplifiers allowable between components. In some cases, but not all, reasonable approximations have been derived. There are, however, mathematical generalizations in the frequency plane one can fall back upon for the purpose of understanding or designing stabilizing networks. These generalizations, in addition to transfer-function measurements, form the basis of work which has been done here.
KINETIC MECHANISM OF OMP SYNTHASE : A SLOW PHYSICAL STEP FOLLOWING GROUP TRANSFER LIMITS CATALYTIC RATE

Orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OMP synthase, EC 2.4.2.10) forms the UMP precursor orotidine 5‘-monophophate (OMP) from orotate and α-d-5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP). Here, equilibrium binding, isotope partitioning, and chemical quench studies were used to determine rate and equilibrium constants for the kinetic mechanism. PRPP bound to two sites per dimer with a KD of 33 μM. Binding of OMP and orotate also occurred to a single class of two sites per dimer, with KD values of 3 and 280 μM, respectively. Pyrophosphate binding to two sites was weak with a KD of 960 μM, and in the presence of bound orotate, its affinity for the first site was enhanced 4-fold (KD = 230 μM). Preformed E·OMP, E·PRPP, E·PPi, and E·orotate complexes were trapped as products in isotope partitioning experiments, indicating that each was catalytically competent and confirming a random mechanism. Rapid quench experiments revealed burst kinetics for product formation in both the forward phosphoribosyltransferase and the re...
The Unique Challenges Faced By Psychiatrists and Other Mental Health Professionals Working in a Multicultural Setting

This article describes and analyzes the unique challenges that face psychiatrists and other mental health professionals serving a multicultural population in a limited geographic setting, based on the author's experiences working as a psychiatrist on a mobile crisis unit from 1984 through 1991 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Of special importance, the paper presents and provides support for the "interaction hypothesis", which proposes that sociocultural background factors interact with mental disorders to produce dissimilar behavioral expressions of the same disorder among members of different ethnic groups. Concern is voiced that mental health professions, in order to provide effective treatment in multicultural settings, need to understand and accept each ethnic group's idiosyncracies, identity, and background.
Deliberation, learning, and institutional change: the evolution of institutions in judicial settings

Institutional change entails institutional design, assessment, and modification, which necessarily take place within the constraints and opportunities afforded by existing institutional arrangements. Viktor Vanberg has made major contributions to our understanding of how institutions evolve. We wish to contribute to this symposium in honor of Vanberg by analyzing how institutions for the management of water institutions in Southern California evolved primarily through the use of the courts as settings for deliberation, learning and institutional change.
Can self-prediction overcome barriers to Hepatitis B vaccination? A randomized controlled trial.

Objective Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a serious public health problem, due in part to low vaccination rates among high-risk adults, many of whom decline vaccination because of barriers such as perceived inconvenience or discomfort. This study evaluates the efficacy of a self-prediction intervention to increase HBV vaccination rates among high-risk adults. Method Randomized controlled trial of 1,175 adults recruited from three sexually transmitted disease clinics in the United States over 28 months. Participants completed an audio-computer-assisted self-interview, which presented information about HBV infection and vaccination, and measured relevant beliefs, behaviors, and demographics. Half of participants were assigned randomly to a "self-prediction" intervention, asking them to predict their future acceptance of HBV vaccination. The main outcome measure was subsequent vaccination behavior. Other measures included perceived barriers to HBV vaccination, measured prior to the intervention. Results There was a significant interaction between the intervention and vaccination barriers, indicating the effect of the intervention differed depending on perceived vaccination barriers. Among high-barriers patients, the intervention significantly increased vaccination acceptance. Among low-barriers patients, the intervention did not influence vaccination acceptance. Conclusions The self-prediction intervention significantly increased vaccination acceptance among "high-barriers" patients, who typically have very low vaccination rates. This brief intervention could be a useful tool in increasing vaccine uptake among high-barriers patients.
Is There an Optimal Hemoglobin Level

THE RED CELL mass is an organ suspended in plasma and designed almost exclusively for the purpose of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. It is composed of erythron units, each originating from a proerythroblast. This precursor cell matures, synthesizes hemoglobin, and over a period of 4 to 5 days, undergoes four mitotic divisions resultingin the formation of 16 long-lived red blood cells (Fig 1). The marrow precursor cells are the end product of erythroid marrow progenitor cells. Our current concept of the kinetics of progenitor cells is that they are derived from a pool of multipotential stem cells capable of lifelong self-renewal (Fig 1). These stem cells can differentiate into a number of unipotential progenitor cells, including the erythroid progenitors. The early erythroid progenitors, the burst forming cells-erythroid (BFU-E), have only a limited capacity for self-renewal, and depend to a great extent on influx of cells from the stem-cell pool. In the presence of various nonspecific growth factors such as granulocyte monocyte-eolony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), and erythropoietin, they will mature and multiply until they reach an end-stage, the colony forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E). In the presence ofthe erythropoietic hormone, erythropoietin, some of these cells will undergo blast transformation to a proerythroblast and start the formation of a new erythron. The total size of the red cell mass can be measured accurately by labeling a small number of red cells with various isotopes, primarily chromium 51, and determining the dilution of label 10 to 15 minutes after their infusion. The major problem with this technique is in the expression of the measured volume in a meaningful manner. The measurement is most often expressed in milliliters per
Graphite-containing tubes for protection of the stream of metal in teeming

Protection of the stream of metal in the steel-teeming-ladle-intermediate-ladle area of the continuous billet casting machine with the use of isostatically formed refractory graphite-containing tubes has been introduced in the Converter Shop of the Azov Steel Combine. The tube is butt joined to the collector nozzle, and the lower portion of it is submerged below the level of the metal in the intermediate ladle. The processes of wear of the tubes and the factors influencing it were studied. The use of the tubes makes it possible to increase the quality of the metal, to stabilize the teeming process, and to improve the working conditions for the operating personnel of the continuous billet casting machine.
Longitudinal Crack Initiation Under Pure Rolling Contact Fatigue

Pure rolling contact fatigue tests were carried out on a two-disc machine. The longitudinal cracks were initiated on the specimen surface with pure rolling and rough driving disc conditions. Cracks...
Structural dynamics of nanoscale gold by ultrafast electron crystallography

By employing ultrafast electron crystallography in a transmission geometry for ultra-thin (2–3 nm) gold, here we show that structural dynamics of the transverse atomic motions and the atomic displacements around the equilibrium position can be separated from the measured change in Bragg diffraction, the positions and intensities of the peaks, respectively. The rate of intensity change provides the electron-lattice equilibration time whereas the observed lattice expansion, which occurs on a slower time scale, maps the delayed response of transverse lattice strain. These textbook-type results provide the microscopic stress–strain profile that is critical for understanding dynamical deformations and the effect of morphological structures at surfaces.
Real-Time Simulation and Visualization Architecture With Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Simulator

Real-time simulation of dynamic vehicle system models is essential to facilitate advances in operator and hardware in the loop simulation and virtual prototyping. Real-time virtual reality-based simulation enables users to visualize and perceive the effect of their actions during the simulation. As model complexity is increased to improve the model fidelity, the computational requirements will also increase, thus increasing the challenge to meet real-time constraints. A distributed simulator architecture was developed for off-road vehicle dynamic models and 3D graphics visualization to distribute the overall computational load across multiple computational platforms. This architecture consisted of three major components: a dynamic model simulator, a virtual reality simulator, and an interface to controller and input hardware devices. The dynamic model simulator component was developed using Matlab/Simulink Real Time Workshop on a PC and also using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), which offered a highly parallel hardware platform. The simulator architecture reduced the computational load to an individual platform and increased the real-time simulation capability with complex off-road vehicle system models and controllers. The architecture was used to develop, simulate and visualize a tractor and towed implement steering dynamics model. The model also included a steering valve subsystem which contained very high frequency hydraulic dynamics and required 10 μs integration time step for numerical stability. The real-time simulation goal was not achievable for the model with this level of complexity when the PC-based simulator was used. However, the FPGA-based simulator achieved a real-time goal taking only 2 μs to complete one integration time step.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Intelligence and the developing human brain

Determining the brain properties that make people 'brainier' has moved well beyond early demonstrations that increasing intelligence correlates with increasing grey and white matter volumes. Both structural and functional in vivo neuroimaging techniques delineate a distributed network of brain regions, perhaps with a focus in the lateral prefrontal cortex, which varies in extent and connectivity with individual differences in intelligence. Longitudinal studies further show that the neuroanatomic correlates of intelligence are dynamic, changing most rapidly in early childhood. Several promising candidate genes affecting neuronal development and neurotransmission have been proposed that might begin to explain the marked genetic overlap between cortical morphology and intelligence. A major future challenge is to determine the cellular events that underpin the neuroanatomic differences correlated with intelligence.
Injection of myo-inositol reverses the effects of lithium on sea urchin blastomeres

Lithium is known to cause sea urchin blastomeres destined to give rise to epithelium rather than to differentiate into gut or skeleton. While it has been proposed that lithium alters development by interfering with the inositol-tris phosphate-protein kinase C (IP3-PKC) signaling pathway, the mechanism of action of lithium in sea urchins has remained elusive. Here we describe experiments that examine the hypothesis that lithium exerts its effect on sea urchin embryos via the IP3-PKC pathway. We make use of methods developed to isolate epithelial precursor cells from the animal hemisphere of cleavage 16-cell stage embryos. Pairs of cells were isolated and one of each pair was injected with either myo-inositol or its inactive isomer, epi-inositol. Rhodamine dextran was co-injected as a lineage tracer to follow the fate of injected cells. We demonstrate that injected myo-inositol, but not epi-inositol, can reverse the effects of lithium on sea urchin blastomeres. This is direct evidence that lithium affects the IP3-PKC pathway in sea urchins, and that this pathway plays an important role in cell fate determination.
A comparison of purging and nonpurging normal weight bulimics

Bulimia can be separated into two major subtypes according to whether the individual does or does not couple binge eating with purging via vomiting or laxative abuse after eating. Twenty normal-weight purging bulimic women were compared with 20 normal-weight nonpurging bulimic women and 20 normal-weight controls. Compared with the nonpurging bulimics, the purging bulimics showed greater anxiety about eating, disturbance on standardized measures of eating attitudes and disorders, body size distortion and desire to be thin, and disturbance on behavioral trait scales of the Eating Disorders Inventory. The nonpurging bulimics were never significantly more maladjusted than the purging bulimics on any measure although by comparison to normal controls, they exhibited more anxiety about eating, disturbance on eating disorder questionnaires, and depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem. These results suggest that bulimia with purging is associated with a greater amount of psychopathology than bulimia without purging in normal-weight women.
Validation by high-frequency epicardial echocardiography of a new method of analyzing coronary angiography quantitatively in coronary artery disease.

Abstract In coronary atherosclerosis, the arterial lumen size and shape can be markedly irregular, eccentric and variable. Traditional angiographic interpretation, emphasizing percent diameter stenosis, has been criticized as an inadequate descriptor of such diseased arteries. Computerized quantitative angiographic technologies, yielding a true lumen area measurement, may be superior. High-frequency epicardial echocardiography (HFEE) is a technique that allows on-line evaluation of coronary arterial wall and lumen at the time of cardiac surgery. It has been extensively validated and yields accurate measurements of normal and diseased coronary lumen areas. This study compares quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) estimates of lumen area to those obtained by HFEE to determine if the computerized angiographic method more accurately predicts residual luminal area than traditional angiographic percent diameter stenosis measurements. Although actual luminal morphology was quite variable, there was a good correlation between lumen areas determined by HFEE versus QCA: r = 0.85, n = 67, HFEE = 0.8 QCA − 0.1 (HFEE 4.0 ± 0.30 mm2, mean ± SEM range 0.3 to 14.0; QCA 5.1 ± 0.40 mm2, range 0.7 to 11.8). Percent diameter stenosis determined from the angiograms did not correlate well with HFEE or QCA measurements of residual luminal area. Separation of “normal” arterial segments (defined as 50% diameter stenosis) by angiography did not agree with lumen areas as defined by either HFEE or QCA. Better separation occured when QCA-determined luminal areas were used to separate normal from abnormal arterial segments. These data demonstrate that QCA accurately predicts residual luminal areas and indicate the inadequacy of traditional angiographic percent diameter stenosis measurements as an adequate descriptor of the presence and severity of coronary artery disease.
Near-lossless compression of large alphabet sources

We study universal compression of independent and identically distributed sources over large alphabets using fixed-rate codes. To model large alphabets, we use sequences of discrete alphabets that increase in size with the blocklength. We show that universal compression is possible using deterministic codes provided that the alphabet growth is sub-linear in the blocklength. For linear alphabet growth, we show that universal compression is not possible, even if the use of randomized encoders and decoders is permitted. However, if only the decoder is provided with the source distribution, then randomized universal coding is always possible for any growth rate. For the non-universal case in which the goal is to compress a source generated by a known sequence of distributions, we show that compression at the entropy of the source sequence is possible if and only if the ratio of the square logarithm of the alphabet size to the blocklength goes to zero.
Pathways to breast cancer recurrence.

Breast cancer remains a deadly disease, even with all the recent technological advancements. Early intervention has made an impact, but an overwhelmingly large number of breast cancer patients still live under the fear of “recurrent” disease. Breast cancer recurrence is clinically a huge problem and one that is largely not well understood. Over the years, a number of factors have been studied with an overarching aim of being able to prognose recurrent disease. This paper attempts to provide an overview of our current knowledge of breast cancer recurrence and its associated challenges. Through a survey of the literature on cancer stem cells (CSCs), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), various signaling pathways such as Notch/Wnt/hedgehog, and microRNAs (miRNAs), we also examine the hypotheses that are currently under investigation for the prevention of breast cancer recurrence.
Polarizing Assist Features for High-NA Optical Lithography

Optical lithography continues to be extended with shorter exposure wavelength and higher numerical aperture tools. Strong resolution enhancement techniques such as alternating aperture phase-shifting utilize 2-beam imaging to achieve effective spatial frequency doubling, high DOF, and ultralow k1. For these techniques, unpolarized light exposure latitude worsens significantly for tighter pitches and smaller linewidths. In addition, the mask error factor begins to become polarization-dependent. Due to vector interference effects, TE-polarized light (electric field polarized parallel to line) provides better imaging than TM-polarized light (electric field perpendicular to line). Suppression of TM-polarized light will therefore enable aggressive subwavelength imaging. In this paper, we apply rigorous electromagnetic simulations to evaluate the typical dimensions of photomask features in order for them to exhibit TM polarization suppression. Subwavelength absorbing features with high aspect ratio are one possible way of achieving adequate polarization selectivity on a photomask. TE polarization selectivity for darkfield binary and alternating aperture strong phase-shifting masks can also be achieved with the use of smaller spaces and/or thicker absorbers. Throughput is traded off against polarization selectivity since there is also significant absorption of TE-polarized light by the polarizing features. Polarization-selective imaging solutions based on thick Cr photomask blanks are presented.
Meeting Users’ Needs in Cataloging: What is the Right Thing to Do?

Library and Information Science takes a user-centered approach to research and practice, and helping users is the highest principle in ethics statements, such as the American Library Association's code of ethics. The cataloging field, however, generally has not taken a user-centered approach in research or in the development of cataloging standards. Instead, the responsibility to meet users’ needs has been placed on catalogers in practice, who are encouraged to customize bibliographic records to meet their local users’ needs. Previous research suggests that catalogers are constrained in their ability to customize bibliographic records, because catalogers do not know who their users are and cannot identify their users’ needs. In addition, library administrators limit customization in favor of fast and efficient cataloging processes. If catalogers in practice cannot customize bibliographic records, how can local users’ needs be met? Who is responsible for meeting users’ needs in cataloging? What is the “rig...
CONCEPTUALIZING INTELLIGENCE: FROM AN INTERNAL STATIC ATTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE PROCESS STRUCTURE OF ORGANISM-ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract The concept of intelligence is analyzed in this article from the standpoint of social attributions, related to the meanings of intelligence-terms in language. In various non-Western cultures, the meaning of “intelligence” includes characteristics of social transaction, along with cognitive characteristics. This cultural relativity of the meaning of “intelligence” pinpoints the difficulties in the building of a general theory of intelligence on the basis of the meaning of “intelligence” in the common sense of a given culture. Psychology's task is to transcend the limitations of the common sense of the background culture of the psychologists, instead of proposing theories based on the culture-specific common sense. The article outlines three types of causal attributions (internal, external, relationship) and two ways of conceptualizing the causes (static and dynamic). In psychology, as well as in the common sense of laymen from different cultures, intelligence has been traditionally conceptualized ...
Estimation of product of lipid peroxidation (malonyl dialdehyde) in biochemical systems.

Abstract A new thiobarbituric acid method for the estimation of the malonyl dialdehyde produced as a result of lipid peroxidation is described in which the trimethine colored substance is estimated in alkaline solution. Alkaline pyridine-butanol mixture dissolves both proteins and lipids that are precipitated or opalescent during the reaction, yielding a more accurate MDA estimation as well as simplifying the procedure.
Polymerization Kinetics and Nanostructure Evolution of Reactive Lyotropic Liquid Crystals with Different Reactive Group Position

The synthesis of polymers with inherent nanostructure has recently received much attention because of the wide range of potential application in which these materials could be used. To understand t...
Small vs. Large Companies: The Entrepreneurial Conundrum

Ten years ago, small businesses were very much viewed as “country cousins” and were considerably patronized by their larger counter‐parts in big business. The small‐business owner was considered rather odd, and was certainly bereft of the modern techniques and skills possessed by the larger company manager. Organizations were established, serviced by retired large company executives, in order to pass on their administrative pearls of wisdom to these ignorant embryos. Wise old “grandfathers” would smooth the way for these “children” to bypass the trauma of adolescence and achieve adulthood.