cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design simulation and analysis of a fiber-bundle based optical wireless link

A novel receiver and transmitter that utilize fiber bundles are under development to address the challenges associated with acquiring and maintaining a free-space optical link between mobile platforms in the presence of vibration and atmospheric turbulence. The fiber bundles allow for greater misalignment tolerance at the receiver and greater control over the spatial area covered by the transmitted beam upon reaching the receiver. This paper reports on a simulation-based investigation of design choices that optimize the performance of the system under several operating scenarios. The simulation incorporates prior experimental data into the theoretical calculations for optical propagation to better describe the performance of the physical designs. For a given link length and available power, the coverage area and collected power are controlled by the pattern of transmitters, beam divergence, and the receiver construction. The investigation finds that the coverage area of the receiver can be optimized for a given link length by proper choices of these parameters, and that similar parameters may provide near optimal performance at other wavelengths. Trade-offs between choices of the key parameters are explored as a function of link length. The results provide guidance on the further development of the overall system.
Isolation of an amino-terminal deleted recombinant ADP-ribosylation factor 1 in an activated nucleotide-free state.

Abstract ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that activate cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase in vitro and participate in intracellular vesicular membrane trafficking. ARFs are activated when bound GDP is replaced by GTP and inactivated by hydrolysis of bound GTP to yield ARF-GDP. Usually, ARFs are isolated in an inactive GDP-bound state and require addition of GTP along with detergent or phospholipid for activity. Purified mutant recombinant ARF1 lacking the first 13 amino acids (r delta 13ARF1-P) stimulated cholera toxin activity essentially equally with or without added GTP (and phospholipid or detergent), at least in part due to the presence of bound nucleotides, which later were identified as GTP and GDP. Nucleotide-free r delta 13ARF1 (r delta 13ARF1-F), prepared by dialysis against 7 M urea, was active without added GTP in the absence of SDS but inactive without added GTP in its presence. Renaturation of r delta 13ARF1-F in the presence of GTP, ITP, or GDP yielded, respectively, r delta 13ARF1-GTP and r delta 13ARF1-ITP, which were active, and r delta 13ARF1-GDP, which was inactive. Effects of phospholipids and detergents on nucleotide exchangeability evaluated as effects on activity of rARF1 and r delta 13ARF1-F differed. With r delta 13ARF1-F, 100 microM ITP and 100 microM GTP were essentially equally effective in the presence of cardiolipin or SDS. The finding that r delta 13ARF1 differs from rARF1 in the effects of phospholipids and detergents on nucleotide binding is consistent with the conclusion that the ARF amino terminus plays an important role in nucleotide binding and its specificity as well as the molecular conformation and associated activity.
Variation in PED response at a gold microelectrode as a function of waveform parameters when applied to alditols and carbohydrates separated by capillary electrophoresis

Results are presented from a systematic study of the noise (N) and peak-to-noise ratio (P/N) obtained for pulsed electrochemical detection (PED) at a gold micro-wire electrode applied to a mixture of alditols and monosaccharides separated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The electrode potentials and time periods for oxidative cleaning and reductive reactivation of the electrode were held constant in the PED waveform at minimum allowable values and the time period for digital integration of electrode current (tint) was varied from 50 to 800 ms by 50-ms intervals. The value of N was virtually independent of tint and P/N increased approximately as a linear function of tint in the range 50–200 ms corresponding to waveform frequencies in the range 4.5–2.7 Hz. A detection limit of 9 fmol glucose was determined for a 4-nL injection using tint = 200 ms.
Zoonotic Potential of Escherichia coli Isolates from Retail Chicken Meat Products and Eggs

Chicken products are suspected as a source of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), which causes diseases in humans. The zoonotic risk to humans from chicken-source E. coli is not fully elucidated. To clarify the zoonotic risk posed by ExPEC in chicken products and to fill existing knowledge gaps regarding ExPEC zoonosis, we evaluated the prevalence of ExPEC on shell eggs and compared virulence-associated phenotypes between ExPEC and non-ExPEC isolates from both chicken meat and eggs. The prevalence of ExPEC among egg-source isolates was low, i.e., 5/108 (4.7%). Based on combined genotypic and phenotypic screening results, multiple human and avian pathotypes were represented among the chicken-source ExPEC isolates, including avian-pathogenic E. coli (APEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), neonatal meningitis E. coli (NMEC), and sepsis-associated E. coli (SEPEC), as well as an undefined ExPEC group, which included isolates with fewer virulence factors than the APEC, UPEC, and NMEC isolates. These findings document a substantial prevalence of human-pathogenic ExPEC-associated genes and phenotypes among E. coli isolates from retail chicken products and identify key virulence traits that could be used for screening.
Preparation and characterization of a dextran-amylase conjugate

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase was attached to dextran after activation of the polysaccharide by using a modification of the cyanogen bromide method. The soluble dextran-amylase conjugate was purified by molecular-sieve chromatography. The conjugated enzyme has greater stability than the unmodified enzyme at low pH values, during heat treatment, and on removal of calcium ions with a chelating agent. Attachment of dextran to alpha-amylase did not alter the Michaelis constant of the enzyme acting on starch. The polysaccharide-enzyme conjugate probably consists of a cross-linked aggregate of many dextran and many enzyme molecules, in which a proportion of the enzyme molecules, although not inactivated, are unable to express their activity, except after dextranase treatment.
Detecting Outflows from Cataclysmic Variables in the Optical

Cataclysmic variables (CVs) often show evidence of bipolar winds that carry away mass and angular momentum, likely affecting the evolution of the system. For the most part, it has only been possible to study such winds by means of the P Cygni profiles seen in space-UV resonance lines. We demonstrate that optical P Cygni profiles in two He I lines (λλ5876 and 7065) and in Hα provide an alternative method for studying CV outflows. We give the results of a spectroscopic study of a few disk systems (BZ Cam, Q Cyg, HR Del, DI Lac, BT Mon, and AT Cnc) in which wind signatures indicate maximum observed blueshifted absorption (vedge) up to ~4600 km s-1. A discussion of the wind characteristics in individual systems is presented, along with near-simultaneous optical photometry.
Age-related changes in orolingual motor function in F344 vs F344/BN rats

Normal aging is associated with both locomotor and orolingual motor deficits. Preclinical studies of motor function in normal aging, however, have focused primarily on locomotor activity. The purpose of this study was to measure age-related changes in orolingual motor function and compare these changes between two rat strains commonly used in aging studies: Fischer 344 (F344) and Fischer 344/Brown Norway hybrid (F344/BN) rats. Rats (6-, 12-, 18- and 24-months of age) were trained to lick water from an isometric force-sensing operandum so that the number of licks per session, licking rhythm (licks/second) and lick force could be measured. In both strains, the number of licks per session was greatest in the oldest group, while this measure was greater for F344/BN rats at all ages. Peak tongue force increased with age in F344/BN rats, did not change with age in the F344 rats, and was greater for the F344/BN rats at all ages. Both strains exhibited an age-related slowing of licking rhythm beginning with the 18-month-old group. These findings suggest that despite lifespan differences between these two rat strains, diminished tongue motility emerges at the same age.
Component-based, gray-box modeling of ductless multi-split heat pump systems

Abstract Multi-split ductless heat pumps are touted as an energy efficient option for air conditioning and heating in residential and small commercial applications. However, their use of multiple indoor units with variable speed compressor and fans and complicated controls leads to difficulties in understanding their characteristics by experiments only. A method to model the system using gray-box component models and an empirical control algorithm is described in this paper. The model was constructed from experimental results of an 8 kW R410A dual-unit ductless heat pump system having an accumulator. Strategies for modeling systems with accumulators and saturated control inputs are presented. Parametric studies with varying indoor air temperature, individual indoor unit load ratio, indoor fan speed and total indoor load were conducted. The results show that the model predicts system performance accurately and can help to understand the effect of saturated control inputs and changes of accumulator status on system performance.
Inhibition of Calcium Uptake by Somatostatin in Isolated Rat Islets of Langerhans

Somatostatin (1 μg/ml) inhibited glucose (16.7 mM)-stimulated 45Ca uptake by isolated rat islets incubated in media containing no added calcium or calcium at a low concentration (0.2 mM). Epinephrine (50 μg/ml) and mannoheptulose (20 mM) also inhibited 45ca uptake by islets incubated in the presence of calcium (0.2 mM). Addition of glucose (16.7 mM) caused a small but significant increase in insulin release from islets incubated in media containing no added calcium. In the presence of a low concentration of calcium (0.2 mM), glucose caused a much greater increase in insulin secretion which was inhibited by addition of somatostatin, epinephrine or mannoheptulose.
Simulation of Consumer Trends in Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Genetic Testing

Despite the rapidly decreasing cost and increase in the range of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services, uptake and utilization have been slow compared with similar technologies. In this paper, we examine the potential consumer trends of DTC genetic testing using the Theory of Diffusion of Innovation and the Bass Model to simulate consumer purchasing trends with respect to internal and external influences such as word-of-mouth dissemination and regulatory trends. By simulating these influences on the adoption of DTC genetic testing in the consumer market, stakeholders will be better able to evaluate the need for changes in policy and influences in consumer demand for DTC genetic testing products.
Heterogeneous Spacecraft Networks: General concept and case study of a cost-effective, multi-institutional Earth observation platform

In recent years the Mission Design Center (MDC) at NASA Ames Research Center has been studying mission concepts involving clusters of small spacecraft capable of providing cost-effective solutions in orbit compared to space missions involving only a single larger spacecraft. Low-cost networks of small spacecraft can be a viable alternative to large budget Earth observation or space exploration missions producing significant scientific return for often moderate development efforts and short lead times. This paper is the first in a series of 3 companion papers in which we make the point that the scientific value (and hence the cost effectiveness) of small multi-spacecraft missions can be further increased if the network of spacecraft is allowed to be heterogeneous. We define Heterogeneous Spacecraft Networks (HSNs) to be networks of spacecraft having different operators or originating from different missions that are able to communicate with each other in a low-cost manner and with low impact on overall system resources. HSN incorporates both the space segment and ground segment for an end-to-end solution. In this contribution we illustrate the strength of the HSN approach by presenting a general concept for a HSN in LEO as well as a case study showcasing the value of such a network. In particular, we present a case study where we examine the feasibility of a low-cost, multi-institutional network of small spacecraft acting as a next-generation Earth Observation (EO) platform and focusing on ad-hoc data relay to maximize throughput. In the simulation we show that the downlink throughput of an HSN can be larger by an order of magnitude compared to the conventional scenario where no networking capability exists. Other benefits of using a HSN as a next-generation increment of existing capabilities include increased revisit frequencies as well as the ability to collect correlated data simultaneously from distributed locations around the globe using either conventional or fractionated spacecraft. We list key performance requirements for a HSN in order to produce a desirable scientific return and present a concept of operations (ConOps) for the practical implementation. In the ConOps we discuss the required performance of the inter-satellite and space-to-ground links and give an overview of the associated ground station network. We give an overview of the network management techniques required to operate and control the network on a day-to-day basis and address the issues of network configuration, network discovery and security, as well as fault and performance management. The paper ends with an outlook on the paradigm shift HSNs may introduce in the domain of space operations. We also list a number of promising applications making use of the strength of the concept.
From sneezes to adieux: stages of health for American men and women.

Abstract This article traces health from daily symptoms to death for American (U.S.) men and women in three age groups 17–44, 45–64, 65+. How do leading problems change as our perspective shifts from daily symptoms to annual incidence and prevalence rates of diseases and injuries; then to problems that induce long term limitations; to conditions brought to physicians for care; to diagnoses for hospital stays; and finally to causes of death? We study the top 15 conditions in each of these stages of health. Young adults are bothered most by acute and chronic respiratory diseases, but deaths among them are due to diseases and violent injuries that seldom figure in daily life. Fatal chronic diseases become more prevalent in middle ages and spur professional care, but they rarely cause daily symptoms. For older people, life threatening chronic conditions stretch through all stages of health. Arthritis also becomes a dominant facet of symptoms, social limitations and ambulatory care. Men's and women's leading daily symptoms are very similar; so are their leading acute and chronic conditions, limiting conditions, diagnoses for health care and causes of death. What distinguishes the sexes is the rates, not the ranks, of health problems they suffer. We elaborate the iceberg of morbidity metaphor, as a device to highlight stage, age and sex differences in health.
Generation of Enterobacter sp. YSU auxotrophs using transposon mutagenesis.

Prototrophic bacteria grow on M-9 minimal salts medium supplemented with glucose (M-9 medium), which is used as a carbon and energy source. Auxotrophs can be generated using a transposome. The commercially available, Tn5-derived transposome used in this protocol consists of a linear segment of DNA containing an R6Kγ replication origin, a gene for kanamycin resistance and two mosaic sequence ends, which serve as transposase binding sites. The transposome, provided as a DNA/transposase protein complex, is introduced by electroporation into the prototrophic strain, Enterobacter sp. YSU, and randomly incorporates itself into this host’s genome. Transformants are replica plated onto Luria-Bertani agar plates containing kanamycin, (LB-kan) and onto M-9 medium agar plates containing kanamycin (M-9-kan). The transformants that grow on LB-kan plates but not on M-9-kan plates are considered to be auxotrophs. Purified genomic DNA from an auxotroph is partially digested, ligated and transformed into a pir+ Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain. The R6Kγ replication origin allows the plasmid to replicate in pir+ E. coli strains, and the kanamycin resistance marker allows for plasmid selection. Each transformant possesses a new plasmid containing the transposon flanked by the interrupted chromosomal region. Sanger sequencing and the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) suggest a putative identity of the interrupted gene. There are three advantages to using this transposome mutagenesis strategy. First, it does not rely on the expression of a transposase gene by the host. Second, the transposome is introduced into the target host by electroporation, rather than by conjugation or by transduction and therefore is more efficient. Third, the R6Kγ replication origin makes it easy to identify the mutated gene which is partially recovered in a recombinant plasmid. This technique can be used to investigate the genes involved in other characteristics of Enterobacter sp. YSU or of a wider variety of bacterial strains.
Clinical aspects of chronic granulomatous disease

Data from a registry of 368 patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) documenta shift in the most common infecting organisms away from staphylococci and enteric bacteria to Aspergillus species, although staphylococci remain a threat. A. nidulans appears to have a particular virulence in CGD. Burkholderia cepacia sepsis/pneumonia was the second most lethal infection in patients in the registry. Seventy-six percent of registry patients had the X-linked recessive (XLR) form of CGD. Chorioretinitis may be more common than previously appreciated, and boys with the XLR disease should probably have routine full eye exams. A new variant of CGD has been described that is caused by an inhibitory mutation in Rac2, which regulates activity of the neutrophil respiratory burst and actin assembly. Interferon-gamma, antibacterial prophylaxis, and, probably, antifungal prophylaxis with itraconazole reduce the rate of infection, and bone marrow transplantation can cure the disease if a histocompatible donor is available. Gene therapy can cure CGD in knockout mouse models. Having even a small percentage of phagocytes that are nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phospate oxidase-positive can reduce the risk of serious infection, and procedures now under study appear close to achieving that goal, if not a cure.
Microsimulation-Based Framework for Freeway Travel Time Forecasting

This paper presents a microsimulation-based framework for generating short-term forecasts of travel time on freeway corridors. The microsimulation model that was developed replicated freeway capacity drop and relaxation phenomena critical for modeling non-steady state conditions. This framework was evaluated offline on a real-world freeway corridor by using data from manual counts and the Georgia Department of Transportation's video detection system. The travel time forecasts were compared with ground truth travel time data; the comparison demonstrated the efficacy of this framework to produce realistic forecasts.
ANCIENT MYTHS AND MODERN THEORIES OF THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS AND CHRISTIAN ORIGINS

The discovery of any manuscript is always a joyous occasion, not least when the manuscript is a venerable document that makes a difference in our understanding of religion and culture. In the past century two such discoveries, each fifty years apart, have provided us with the opportunity to pause, take stock of our studies, and reassess what we know about the beginnings of Christianity. I am referring, of course, to two separate discoveries of the same early Christian text: the Gospel According to Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas is an anthology of 114 sayings preserved in the name, and under the authority, of Jesus. Fragments of three different manuscripts of the Greek text of Thomas (P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655) were discovered nearly one hundred years ago in a garbage dump in the ancient town of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and published at the turn of the century. Fifty years later, a Coptic translation of the entire gospel was discovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, where it was buried (in a large storage jar) in the fourth century, unearthed in 1945 (by Muhammad Ali), and published the next decade. Thomas quickly became the subject of intense scholarly debate. Since no fewer than 68 of the 114 sayings in the text have biblical parallels, establishing a connection between Thomas and the New Testament was thought to have far-reaching consequences. The outcome is not restricted to the narrow confines of biblical source criticism. Broader issues are at
Antegrade thoracic stent grafting during repair of acute DeBakey I dissection prevents development of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms.

Background Acute DeBakey I dissection repair consists of ascending aortic resection, aortic root repair or replacement, and variable aortic arch replacement. This "proximal" strategy leaves most patients with a patent residual "type B" dissection which leads to greater than 30% distal "open" reoperations for dissecting aneurysm. This report tests whether antegrade stent-grafting of the proximal descending thoracic aorta during acute DeBakey I dissection decreases future distal aortic aneurysms without an increase in surgical risk. Methods Between June 2005 and June 2008, 150 patients were treated surgically for acute type A aortic dissection at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Of these, 78 were DeBakey I dissections: 42 patients underwent standard open repair, while 36 underwent additional thoracic stent-grafting by the open arch. Arch repairs were performed with a combination of retrograde cerebral and selective antegrade perfusion. Results Mean follow-up was 15.9 months. Hospital mortality was 5 of 36 (14%) for stented and 6 of 42 (14%) for nonstented repairs. Postoperative strokes were 1 of 36 (3%) in stented versus 4 of 42 (10%) in nonstented repairs ( p = not significant [NS]) despite longer circulatory arrest times in the stented group; 60 ± 13 minutes versus 41 ± 18 minutes ( p p = NS) with no permanent deficits. Stented thoracic false lumen obliteration was achieved in 24 of 30 (80%) with 5 of these (17%) achieving complete thoracoabdominal false lumen thrombosis. Eight of 31 (26%) stented patients underwent endovascular reintervention to achieve the desired false lumen obliteration. Open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repairs were performed in 0 of 31 in the stented group and 4 of 36 (11%) in the standard group ( p = 0.083). Conclusions Antegrade stent graft deployment during acute DeBakey I dissection repair is a safe method to obliterate the thoracic false lumen. Endovascular reinterventions were well-tolerated. "Elephant trunk" thoracic stent-grafting as part of the repair for acute DeBakey I dissection gives equal short-term results compared with standard repair, and lowers morbidity and mortality during follow-up.
Scaling Java Virtual Machine on a many-core system

In order to effectively leverage the abundant parallelism provided by large many-core enterprise servers, Java applications, libraries and the virtual machine need to be carefully architected to avoid single-thread bottlenecks. Among the challenges tackled in scaling a single Java Virtual Machine (JVM), we discuss the most rewarding ones including converting shared data objects to per-thread independent objects, applying scalable memory allocators, utilizing appropriate concurrency frameworks, parallelizing garbage collection phases and enhancing data affinity to CPUs through a NUMA aware garbage collector. In this paper, we use SPECjbb2013 to illustrate the importance of various scaling bottlenecks and demonstrate the performance gain from the discussed solutions.
Globalization and health: Venezuela and Cuba.

This article explores the impact of globalization and neo-liberal reforms on the health of Venezuelans and Cubans during the 1980s and 1990s. It seeks to illustrate, through the lens of health care...
The nonsensical smile of the torturer: documentary form and the logic of enjoyment

AbstractWhen it comes to shedding light on the hidden facts of the American use of torture at Abu Ghraib or elsewhere, Errol Morris's Standard Operating Procedure (2008), Rory Kennedy's Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007), and Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) represent major interventions into the contemporary political landscape, and their success is unqualified. They are successful in attacking the ideology of torture because they address it on the level of ideology. Pursuing the facts, however, leads these documentaries to miss the most disturbing aspect of the Abu Ghraib photos: the smiles on the faces of the torturers. The way each documentary deals with the issue (or avoids it) expresses the way that enjoyment acts as a stain that points to the symbolic failure of the violence of torture.
Borders, Rivalry, Democracy, and Conflict in the European Region, 1816-1994

Should peace be attributed mainly to democracy or to some intervening variable that influences both democracy and conflict? A second, perhaps related question is whether or to what extent democratization is driven by external drivers of threat. If regime type helps explain external conflict, does external conflict also help explain regime type? By examining the relationships among strategic rivalry, unstable boundaries, democracy, and interstate conflict in a regional context, we find that rivalry and unstable boundaries are alternative manifestations of external threat. Both have significant, if not identical effects on stimulating interstate conflict. Regime type does not appear to have an independent effect on interstate conflict when we take either rivalries or unstable boundaries into consideration. At the same time, we also find that external threat indicators negatively predict changes in democratization. In short, greater threat is associated with less democratization.
Inhibition of Protein Kinases after an Induced Calcium Transient Causes Transition of Bovine Oocytes to Embryonic Cycles without Meiotic Completion

We have examined the response of bovine oocytes matured in vitro for 24 hr to parthenogenic activation using compounds that increase intracellular calcium (ionomycin) or inhibit protein phosphorylation (6-dimethylaminopurine, DMAP). Treatment with ionomycin alone caused resumption of meiosis (57.8 +/- 7.8%) but not pronuclear formation (8.9 +/- 7.3%). DMAP alone did not cause resumption of meiosis or pronuclear formation. Sequential treatment with ionomycin (5 microM for 4 min) immediately followed by DMAP (1.9 mM for 5 hr) resulted in activation that led to pronuclear formation (80.5 +/- 13.1%). Completion of meiosis, however, was bypassed as evidenced by only one polar body and one pronucleus present in activated parthenogenones. It was necessary to incubate the oocytes for at least 3 hr in DMAP to obtain high rates of activation (76.6 +/- 9.8%) and development to blastocysts (21.1 +/- 1.5%). Temporal separation of the two treatments resulted in a decrease in oocytes with one pronucleus and one polar body (uniformly diploid parthenogenones) and an increase in a mixture of diploid and haploid parthenogenones since DMAP was capable of causing transition to interphase of all chromatin configurations after anaphase commenced and prior to metaphase arrest. Parthenotes produced with ionomycin and DMAP that developed to the blastocyst stage had high cell numbers (70 to 88 cells) and were able to cause extended cycles in 33.3% of recipient cattle after nonsurgical transfer to the uterus. Response of the bovine oocyte arrested in metaphase II to different activation stimuli was also found to show age-dependent changes in pattern of activation response and developmental competence.
Kidney function in the North American crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana) stepwise acclimated to dilutions of sea water

Abstract 1. 1. The Na + , Cl − and osmotic concentration was determined in urine from crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana), stepwise acclimated to 20, 40 and 70% sea water (100% seawater = 31%). The osmotic concentration of the urine increased in the higher salinities but never equilibrated with the blood. 2. 2. Urine-blood (U/B) ratios for Na + , Cl − and osmotic concentration were less than 1 at all salinities. The U/B ratio inulin was greater than 1 and did not change with salinity. 3. 3. Urine production rate, as measured by weighing the crayfish after plugging the nephropore, decreased slightly in 60 and 70% sea water. 4. 4. Inulin clearance rates, measured by the rate of appearance of inulin- 14 C, were greatly reduced in the higher salinity.
The role of interword spaces in the processing of English compound words

Four experiments are reported which examined the role of interword spaces in the processing of English compound words. Normally nonspaced compounds (e.g., softball) as well as normally spaced compounds (e.g., front door) were presented with either their correct spatial layout (softball, front door) or with an incorrect spatial layout (soft ball, frontdoor). Lexical decisions and first fixations on the compounds showed an advantage for interword spaces. However, when refixations on the compounds were taken into account, inserting a space into a normally nonspaced compound significantly disrupted processing. This disruption was larger for adjective-noun compounds than for noun-noun compounds. The results indicate that spatially segmenting compounds facilitates access to the constituent lexemes while spatial unification of compounds benefits the specification of full compound meaning.
Alpha-decarboxylation, an important pathway for degradation of phytanic acid in animals.

Abstract Patients suffering from Refsum's disease, an inherited disorder of the nervous system ( Refsum, 1946 ), accumulate large stores of phytanic acid (3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadecanoic acid) in their blood and tissues ( Klenk and Kahlke, 1963 ). There appears to be little or no endogenous synthesis of phytanic acid either in normal experimental animals ( Avigan, Steinberg and Cammermeyer, 1966 ; Mize et al, 1966 ) or in patients with Refsum's disease ( Steinberg et al, 1965 , 1966a ) and the metabolic error is presumed to lie in a relative inability to degrade phytanic acid. It has been suggested on the basis of indirect evidence that an error in omega-oxidation might be involved ( Eldjarn, 1965 ), but there is as yet no direct information on the normal pathway for degradation of phytanic acid. The results reported below show that the normal rat rapidly converts phytanic acid (3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadecanoic acid) to its α-decarboxylation product, pristanic acid (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecanoic acid).
Temporal emission characteristics of millisecond pulsed radiofrequency and direct current glow discharges

Interpretation of optical emission spectra reveals the primary excitation mechanisms for discharge gas, argon and sputtered analyte, copper, species in glow discharge plasmas operated with millisecond pulses of radiofrequency or direct current power. There is negligible difference between the two power sources. During the applied power pulse, plasma processes include ion and atom excitation through electron excitation, asymmetric charge exchange and Penning ionization. Fast ion and atom excitation processes, characterized by monitoring argon emission at 811.5 nm, occur within 2 mm of the cathode surface. Electron excitation, for both discharge gas and sputtered species, maximizes 3 mm from the cathode surface. Asymmetric charge exchange between ground state sputtered atoms and discharge gas ions, characterized by Cu II emission at 224.7 nm, occurs at 5 mm from the cathode surface. Upon power termination, the recombination of ions with thermal electrons yields excited atoms and argon metastable species. At this time, emission monitored at 811.5 nm maximizes 6–7 mm from the cathode surface, corresponding to an increase in the metastable population and, hence, Penning ionization.
Oxidative Stress Mediates through Apoptosis the Anticancer Effect of Phospho-Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs: Implications for the Role of Oxidative Stress in the Action of Anticancer Agents

We assessed the relationship between oxidative stress, cytokinetic parameters, and tumor growth in response to novel phospho-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), agents with significant anticancer effects in preclinical models. Compared with controls, in SW480 colon and MCF-7 breast cancer cells, phospho-sulindac, phospho-aspirin, phospho-flurbiprofen, and phospho-ibuprofen (P-I) increased the levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and decreased GSH levels and thioredoxin reductase activity, whereas the conventional chemotherapeutic drugs (CCDs), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, oxaliplatin, chlorambucil, paclitaxel, and vincristine, did not. In both cell lines, phospho-NSAIDs induced apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation much more potently than CCDs. We then treated nude mice bearing SW480 xenografts with P-I or 5-FU that had an opposite effect on RONS in vitro. Compared with controls, P-I markedly suppressed xenograft growth, induced apoptosis in the xenografts (8.9 ± 2.7 versus 19.5 ± 3.0), inhibited cell proliferation (52.6 ± 5.58 versus 25.8 ± 7.71), and increased urinary F2-isoprostane levels (10.7 ± 3.3 versus 17.9 ± 2.2 ng/mg creatinine, a marker of oxidative stress); all differences were statistically significant. 5-FU's effects on tumor growth, apoptosis, proliferation, and F2-isoprostane were not statistically significant. F2-isoprostane levels correlated with the induction of apoptosis and the inhibition of cell growth. P-I induced oxidative stress only in the tumors, and its apoptotic effect was restricted to xenografts. Our data show that phospho-NSAIDs act against cancer through a mechanism distinct from that of various CCDs, underscore the critical role of oxidative stress in their effect, and indicate that pathways leading to oxidative stress may be useful targets for anticancer strategies.
Urban and suburban deer management by state wildlife-conservation agencies

Given an increase of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in many urban and suburban areas, deer management has become increasingly controversial. We surveyed deer biologists at state conservation agencies to compare opinions regarding urban and suburban deer management with those found in public surveys. We emailed a survey to deer biologists in 41 states to investigate what agencies are doing to control urban deer, which management techniques have been used in the past and are currently being used, and which techniques are believed to be most effective. Urban and suburban deer populations were increasing in most states (75.8%); accordingly, most biologists (97%) believed that urban and suburban deer were a problem in their state. Sixty-five percent of biologists have not surveyed local communities for their opinions on deer and deer management. Managed archery hunts (85% of states), sharpshooting (68%), and managed firearm hunts (59%) were the most utilized methods during the past 5 years. Biologists ranked managed firearm hunts (54%) as the most preferred method for deer control, followed by managed archery hunt (39%) and sharpshooting (39%). Ninety-one percent of biologists listed deer–vehicle accidents and damage to gardens as primary reasons for managing urban deer populations. Most biologists (88%) indicated that urban and suburban deer management in their state was overall effective. Biologists and public constituents agree on the primary reasons to manage deer, yet their preferences for management options vary greatly. We recommend state agencies survey constituents regarding their beliefs and concerns about deer management beyond questions that simply address the acceptability of management techniques. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.
Kinesiology for the Occupational Therapy Assistant: Essential Components of Function and Movement

Kinesiology for the Occupational Therapy Assistant: Essential Components of Function and Movement is the first edition of a text designed and written for occupational therapy assistant students by ...
The exocyst is an effector for Sec4p, targeting secretory vesicles to sites of exocytosis

Polarized secretion requires proper targeting of secretory vesicles to specific sites on the plasma membrane. Here we report that the exocyst complex plays a key role in vesicle targeting. Sec15p, an exocyst component, can associate with secretory vesicles and interact specifically with the rab GTPase, Sec4p, in its GTP-bound form. A chain of protein-protein interactions leads from Sec4p and Sec15p on the vesicle, through various subunits of the exocyst, to Sec3p, which marks the sites of exocytosis on the plasma membrane. Sec4p may control the assembly of the exocyst. The exocyst may therefore function as a rab effector system for targeted secretion.
Language specification by multi-axiom grammars

Multiaxiom grammars and language, presented as generalizations of context-free grammars and languages, are defined and used as a mechanism for programming language specification and implementation. It is shown how to divide such a grammar into a sequence of subgrammars that generate inductively the language specified by the original grammar. Furthermore, it is shown how to use this sequence of subgrammars for inductive language recognition by a process of tokenizing. Two classes of algorithms for languages parsing based on multi-axiom grammars are developed: an algorithm obtained by generalizing context-free LR-parsers to multi-axiom grammars, and a pattern-matching algorithm that results from the ability to layer a multi-axiom language into levels such that each sublanguage is independent of the language that contains it. The implications of multi-axiom grammars for compiler code generation are briefly discussed. >
Optimizing diamond growth for an atmospheric oxyacetylene torch

Diamond growth conditions for an atmospheric combustion flame have been optimized using statistical experimental design. Films are grown on a molybdenum bolt for 40 min at a distance of 1 mm from the flame cone. The diamond films have been characterized using Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope. The input process variables are varied over a range of conditions: total gas flow rate Q = 2–4 standard liter/min, substrate surface temperature Ts = 800–1000 °C, and flow ratio of O2/C2H2 = R = 0.93–0.99. The experimental response outputs are growth rate, full width half maximum (FWHM) of the diamond Raman peak, Raman diamond fraction (s) in the film, ratio of luminescence to diamond peak height (LR), and the relative intensity of the {220}, {311}, {400}, and {331} orientations. The film quality indices FWHM, s, and LR improve by increasing the gas ratio (R), by increasing substrate surface temperature (Ts), and lowering the growth rate by decreasing total gas flow rate. Diamond film shows a small amount texturing in {220} and {400} orientation at low R and Ts. At high R and low Ts crystals are oriented with the {111} direction normal to the substrate surface. Jet and boundary layer theory have been applied to understand the growth rate, the thickness profile, and the morphological instability of the diamond films. Surface Damkohler calculation shows that the deposition process is marginally controlled by mass transfer. Growth rate of an open flame is higher than for an enclosed flame, while the Raman quality measurements of the enclosed flame are more uniform than open flame over the range of the comparison.
Targeted Disruption of G0/G1 Switch Gene 2 Enhances Adipose Lipolysis, Alters Hepatic Energy Balance, and Alleviates High-Fat Diet–Induced Liver Steatosis

Recent biochemical and cell-based studies identified G0/G1 switch gene 2 (G0S2) as an inhibitor of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), a key mediator of intracellular triacylglycerol (TG) mobilization. Here, we show that upon fasting, G0S2 protein expression exhibits an increase in liver and a decrease in adipose tissue. Global knockout of G0S2 in mice enhanced adipose lipolysis and attenuated gain of body weight and adiposity. More strikingly, G0S2 knockout mice displayed a drastic decrease in hepatic TG content and were resistant to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced liver steatosis, both of which were reproduced by liver-specific G0S2 knockdown. Mice with hepatic G0S2 knockdown also showed increased ketogenesis, accelerated gluconeogenesis, and decelerated glycogenolysis. Conversely, overexpression of G0S2 inhibited fatty acid oxidation in mouse primary hepatocytes and caused sustained steatosis in liver accompanied by deficient TG clearance during the fasting-refeeding transition. In response to HFD, there was a profound increase in hepatic G0S2 expression in the fed state. Global and hepatic ablation of G0S2 both led to improved insulin sensitivity in HFD-fed mice. Our findings implicate a physiological role for G0S2 in the control of adaptive energy response to fasting and as a contributor to obesity-associated liver steatosis.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Mediates Intracrine Survival in Human Breast Carcinoma Cells through Internally Expressed VEGFR1/FLT1

Background While vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in breast tumors has been correlated with a poor outcome in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, the expression, localization, and function of VEGF receptors VEGFR1 (also known as FLT1) and VEGFR2 (also known as KDR or FLK1), as well as neuropilin 1 (NRP1), in breast cancer are controversial.
Calorimetric, Computational (G2(MP2) and G3) and Conceptual Study of the Energetics of the Isomeric 1,3- and 1,4-Dithianes †

To understand the relative isomeric stabilities of 1,3- and 1,4-diheterocyclohexanes and the ultradiagonal strain energy of thiirane, the enthalpies of formation and sublimation of 1,4-dithiane hav...
2,4,5,2',4',5'-Hexachlorobiphenyl: distribution, metabolism, and excretion in the dog and the monkey.

Abstract The tissue distribution, metabolism, and excretion of 2,4,5,2′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (2,4,5-HCB) were investigated in beagle dogs and cynomolgus monkeys (Macacca fascicularis). Following a single iv dose of [14C]2,4,5-HCB (0.6 mg/kg), excreta, blood, and tissues were collected at time intervals ranging from 30 min to 15 days for dogs and 2 hr to 90 days for monkeys. The concentration of 2,4,5-HCB and its metabolites was determined in all samples. Elimination of the parent PCB from the blood of both species was biphasic with a terminal phase elimination rate constant of 0.045 day−1 for the dog and 0.015 day−1 for the monkey. By 15 days the dog had excreted 66% of the dose, 63% in the feces, and 3% in the urine. The percentage dose remaining was found largely as parent compound in the adipose tissue (16%), skin (6%), and muscle (2%). By 90 days, the monkey had excreted only 18% of the dose (17% in feces, 1% in urine). Again, the major storage depots for nonexcreted dose were adipose tissue 945%) and skin (5%). In anesthetized dogs, 0.8% of the dose appeared in the bile within 2 hr, while only 0.2% of the dose appeared in the bile of anesthetized monkeys in 2 hr. The monkey excreted a greater percentage of dose as parent compound into the bile than the dog. The data provide evidence that the pharmacokinetic behavior of 2,4,5-HCB in the monkey is similar to that observed in other species. However, the dog is unique from other species in that it can readily eliminate 2,4,5-HCB.
Subjective Sleep Disturbance during a Smoking Cessation Program: Associations with Relapse

Background Sleep disturbance may affect smoking cessation efforts. We describe sleep changes across three months among women in a smoking cessation program and tested whether sleep disturbances at baseline and 1 month post-quit attempt predicted smoking status at three months.
TOPICAL RETINOIC ACID IN THE TREATMENT OF ACNE VULGARIS

Summary.— Twenty-two patients with facial acne vulgaris received local treatment with 0·1% retinoic acid lotion. Although a slight to moderate improvement occurred in 13 patients, the irritant effect of the lotion was a major problem producing an unacceptable degree of erythema and peeling. If the frequency of application of the lotion was reduced sufficiently to minimize the side effects of treatment, any obvious beneficial effect on the acne was often lost.
The Benefits of Cognitive Disfluency

People process new information along a continuum, from very fluently (with great ease) to very disfluently (with great difficulty). Researchers have long recognized that people prefer fluently processed stimuli across a broad range of dimensions. A more recent stream of research suggests that disfluency sometimes produces superior outcomes. In this review, I suggest that disfluency prompts people to process information more carefully, deeply, and abstractly, and mitigates the social problems of overdisclosure and reflexive xenophobia. I conclude by raising several remaining questions that warrant empirical attention.
Efficient splitting-based rare event simulation algorithms for heavy-tailed sums

Rare events in heavy-tailed systems are challenging to analyze using splitting algorithms because large deviations occur suddenly. So, every path prior to the rare event is viable and there is no clear mechanism for rewarding and splitting paths that are moving towards the rare event of interest. We propose and analyze a splitting algorithm for the tail distribution of a heavy-tailed random walk. We prove that our estimator achieves the best possible performance in terms of the growth rate of the relative mean squared error, while controlling the population size of the particles.
WNT targets: repression and activation

Several puzzling observations made previously suggested that target genes that are activated by WNT signaling during development were actively repressed in the absence of the signal. Recent work sheds light on how this switch between repression and activation is regulated.
Clinical Outcomes and Correlates of TP53 Mutations and Cancer

The initial observation that p53 accumulation might serve as a surrogate biomarker for TP53 mutation has been the cornerstone for vast translational efforts aimed at validating its clinical use for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. Early on, it was realized that accurate evaluation of p53 status and function could not be achieved through protein-expression analysis only. As our understanding of the p53 pathway has evolved and more sophisticated methods for assessment of p53 functional integrity have become available, the clinical and molecular epidemiological implications of p53 abnormalities in cancers are being revealed. They include diagnostic testing for germline p53 mutations, and the assessment of selected p53 mutations as biomarkers of carcinogen exposure and cancer risk and prognosis. Here, we describe the strengths and limitations of the most frequently used techniques for determination of p53 status in tumors, as well as the most remarkable latest findings relating to its clinical and epidemiological value.