cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in pH sensitivity of adenylate cyclase specifically induced by fluoride and vanadate.

Abstract The interdependent effects of divalent cations, pH, and various activators of adenylate cyclase were examined in partially purified plasma membranes from rat liver. This adenylate cyclase was found to exhibit largely alkaline pH optima, in the range of 8.3 to 9.3, for the expression of basal activity, and activities with GTP, GPP(NH)P, prostaglandin E 1 and GTP, and N 6 -(phenylisopropyl)adenosine and GTP. Glucagon and GTP, while increasing activity 8- to 10-fold, shifted the optimum activity to about pH 7.5. However, stimulation of the enzyme by 10 m m NaF or 3 m m Na 3 VO 4 was strikingly dependent on pH. In both cases activation was optimal at pH values between 6.3 and 7.3, though above about pH 8.5 fluoride was barely stimulatory and vanadate was slightly inhibitory. This effect of elevated pH to reduce fluoride- or vanadate-stimulated activity could be prevented by glucagon plus guanine nucleotide, but could not be reversed once activity was lowered during preincubation. The data suggest that this effect was not due to the formation of an inhibitor of adenylate cyclase per se, nor to an artifact of assay methods. The effect of elevated pH was more pronounced with Mn 2+ as activating cation than with Mg 2+ . With fluoride and lower pH adenylate cyclase was essentially Mn 2+ requiring, whereas with fluoride and higher pH activity was comparable with either cation. The data suggested that combinations of pH, divalent cation, and activating ligand dictate the interactions of the constitutive subunits of the adenylate cyclase and provide additional criteria with which current models for the regulation of adenylate cyclase may be tested.
Bedbug Complaints among Public Housing Residents—New York City, 2010–2011

Few studies have evaluated population-level risk factors for having a bedbug infestation. We describe characteristics associated with bedbug complaints among New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents. Unique households receiving bedbug extermination services in response to a complaint during January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 were identified from NYCHA’s central facilities work order database. We examined associations between household characteristics and having a bedbug complaint using a generalized estimating equation Poisson regression model, accounting for clustering by housing development. Of the 176,327 NYCHA households, 11,660 (6.6 %) registered a bedbug complaint during 2010–2011. Bedbug complaints were independently associated with households having five or more children versus no children (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.0), five or more adults versus one adult (PR = 1.6), a head of household (HOH) with impaired mobility (PR = 1.3), a household member receiving public assistance (PR = 1.2), a household income below poverty level (PR = 1.1), and a female HOH (PR = 1.1). Infestations were less likely to be reported by households with employed members (PR = 0.9), and an HOH aged 30–44 years (PR = 0.9) or 45–61 years (PR = 0.9), compared with an HOH aged 18–29 years. These results indicate that bedbug control efforts in public housing should be targeted toward households with low income and high occupancy.
Significance of electric fields on the growth of thin metal films

Thin films of Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, In, Sn, Bi, and Te were vacuum vapor deposited onto air‐cleaved NaCl (001) substrates in the absence of an electric field and in the presence of dc fields (in the plane of the substrate), ranging in intensity from 10 to 103 V/cm. The vacuum environments were varied between 10−6 and 10−9 Torr, and evaporation rates ranged from 10 to 103 A/sec. Substrate temperatures were varied from 25 to 350°C for a distribution of mean film thicknesses ranging from 15 to 1200 A. No significant effects of an electric field applied in the plane of the substrate were observed upon examination and comparison of representative film samples by transmission and scanning electron microscopy.
Regulation of integrin-mediated adhesion during cell migration.

Migrating cells form dynamic and highly regulated adhesive interactions with their environment. In particular, integrin-mediated adhesions to the extracellular matrix (ECM) play a central role in cell migration. This review focuses on recent advances in understanding the adhesive mechanisms that regulate cell detachment at the rear of migrating fibroblasts and neutrophils. The contribution of several key adhesive regulators is discussed, including myosin mediated cell contractility, tyrosine phosphorylation, rho, calcium fluxes, and calpain. A challenge for future investigation will be to determine how adhesive events are spatially and temporally coordinated to promote productive directional cell movements. Microsc. Res. Tech. 43:412–419, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Extracranial Lower Cranial Nerve Sheath Tumors

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to review the clinicoradiographic features of lower cranial nerve sheath tumors and to outline surgical approaches that allow the safe and complete resecti...
Clostridium difficile: an under-recognized cause of reactive arthritis?

Reactive arthritis usually presents as a sterile, inflammatory, asymmetric oligoarthritis, affecting large lower extremity joints. Extra-articular features (conjunctivitis, uveitis, enthesopathy, urethritis, balanitis, keratoderma blenorrhagicum) may occur. Common causes of enteric reactive arthritis are preceding infections attributable to Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia. In contrast, Clostridium difficile is an uncommon cause of reactive arthritis, with only ∼40 reported cases. We describe a patient with an intense additive, asymmetric oligoarthritis after an antecedent C. difficile infection. The potential contribution of C. difficile to more insidious cases of undifferentiated oligoarthritis is discussed, with emphasis on corresponding therapeutic interventions.
Competing interests: public-sector managed behavioral health care.

The development of public-sector managed behavioral health care programs in the 1990s to serve Medicaid and other publicly financed populations represented a dramatic change in economic control and power within the behavioral health care system. Some have cogently argued that states make decisions regarding how to contract out (“carve out”) the management of such programs and which carve-out model to use based upon a complex consideration of strategic objectives within a political context. This paper argues that, on the contrary, it is changes in market power and political influence that drive states’ purchasing choices and subsequent decisions. A case in point, we observe, is the managed behavioral health care market. Providers that lost control and power in the first publicsector managed behavioral health care programs reacted aggressively. Their behavior, in turn, shaped the market that now offers program models in which providers play a dramatically different role from the one they assumed in the original carve-out models. State purchasers must be cognizant of this power shift, of how the market has influenced (and influences) their managed behavioral health care choices, and of what the implications are for a state that chooses to implement a carved-out managed behavioral health care program today. Development And Impact Of Carve-Outs
Body size and spatial scales in avian response to landscapes: a meta-analysis

D. H. Thornton (dthornton@panthera.org), School of Environment, Washington State Univ., PO Box 642812, Pullman, WA 99164-2812, USA, and Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018, USA. – R. J. Fletcher, Jr, Univ. of Florida, Dept of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
770 Consecutive Supraclavicular First Rib Resections for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

During a 28-year period, 637 patients underwent 770 supraclavicular first rib resections and scalenectomies for thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). The neurologic type of TOS was found in 705 cases (92%) and the remaining 65 cases (8%) had the vascular form of TOS. Of those extremities with brachial plexus irritation, the symptom complex consisted of paresthesia in 30 (4%), pain in 221 (31%), and pain with paresthesia in 454 (64%). In the cases of vascular TOS, 47 limbs (6%) had venous complications and 18 limbs (2%) had arterial sequelae. Following supraclavicular scalenectomy and rib resection, an excellent response was achieved in 59% (455 cases) and a good result was achieved in another 27% (206 cases). A fair outcome was present in 13% (95 cases) and a poor result was found in only 1% (13 cases). There was a single occurrence of lymphatic leakage and no brachial plexus injuries resulted. Postoperative causalgia requiring subsequent sympathectomy developed in two cases. No vascular or permanent phrenic nerve injuries occurred and only 12 patients (2%) required operative intervention for recurrent TOS. First rib resection and scalenectomy can be performed by the supraclavicular route with an acceptable outcome, minimal morbidity, and long-lasting results.
Fluid-structure interaction in crash simulation

In the automotive industry crash simulation plays an important role in decreasing development costs and in improving cars. To increase the reliability of crash simulation the modelling of parts of vehicles, which has been neglected in the past, becomes more important. One of these parts is the fuel tank together with the fuel inside the tank. An important aspect of a fuel tank in crash simulation is its kinematic behaviour as a result of the interaction with the fuel. To obtain good results in the simulation it is necessary to take into consideration the fluid properties of the fuel. The ability of crash simulation software to model fluid-structure interaction including free surfaces has been limited until now. Therefore, it is helpful to obtain some insight into modelling capabilities and to compare them with other sophisticated simulation techniques. In this paper three modelling techniques for fluid-structure interaction of fluids with free surfaces are presented. These results are compared with an experiment. It is shown that the simplest modelling technique is precise enough for reliable crash simulations. (A)
Maternal Labor Supply and the Introduction of Kindergartens into American Public Schools

Since the mid-1960s, many state governments have introduced subsidies for school districts that offer kindergarten. This paper uses the staggered timing and age targeting of these grants to examine how the childcare subsidy implicit in public schooling affects maternal labor supply. Using data from five Censuses, I estimate that four of ten single mothers with no younger children entered the work force with public school enrollment of a five-year-old child. No significant labor supply responses are detected among other mothers with eligible children. Results also indicate that at least one in three marginal public school enrollees would have otherwise attended private school.
Perturbing the minimand resampling with Gamma(1,1) random variables as an extension of the Bayesian Bootstrap

Abstract Jin et al. (2001) proposed a clever resampling method useful for calculating a variance estimate of the solution to an estimating equation. The method multiplies each independent subject's contribution to the estimating equation by a randomly sampled random variable with mean and variance 1. They showed that this resampling technique gives consistent variance estimates under mild conditions. Rubin (1981. The Bayesian Bootstrap. Ann. Statist. 9, 130–134) proposed the Bayesian Bootstrap as a modification of the usual bootstrap. In this note, we show that the Bayesian Bootstrap is a special case of Jin et al.'s resampling approach.
Molecular cloning, characterization and alternative splicing of the human cytoplasmic serine hydroxymethyltransferase gene

The human cytoplasmic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (CSHMT) gene was isolated, sequenced and its expression characterized in human MCF-7 mammary carcinoma and SH_5Y5Y neuroblastoma cells. The 23-kb gene contains 12 introns and 13 exons; all splice junctions conform to the gt/ag rule. The open reading frame is interrupted by 10 introns, two of which are positionally conserved within the human mitochondrial SHMT gene. The gene is expressed with 330 nucleotides of 5' untranslated message within three exons. The 5' promoter region does not contain a consensus TATA, and primer extension and 5'-RACE studies suggest that transcription initiation occurs at multiple sites. Consensus motifs for several regulatory proteins, including SP1, mammary and neuronal-specific elements, NF1, a Y-box, and two steroid hormone response elements, are present within the first 408 nucleotides of the 5' promoter region. The human gene is expressed as multiple splice variants in both the 5' untranslated region and within the open reading frame, all due to exon excision. The splicing pattern is cell-specific. At least six CSHMT mRNA splice forms are present in MCF-7 cells; the gene is expressed as a full-length message as well as splice forms that lack exon(s) 2, 9 and 10. In 5Y cells, the predominant form of the message lacks exon 2, which encodes part of the 5' untranslated region, but does not contain deletions within the open reading frame. Western analysis suggests that the CSHMT gene is expressed as a single full-length protein in 5Y cells, but as multiple forms in MCF-7 cells. Multiple tissue Northern blots suggest that the CSHMT message levels and alternative splicing patterns display tissue-specific variations.
Mastery learning: A psychological trap?

In spite of all its announced advantages, the implementation of mastery learning instruction often falls short of theoretical expectations. As discussed under the four major characteristics of mastery learning, these implementation weaknesses pose serious problems for unsuspecting students, teachers, and instructional designers alike.
Thermodynamic equilibrium of organic-electrolyte mixtures in aerosol particles

This thermodynamic model describes the phase equilibria of mixtures of electrolytes and organic species in aqueous solutions existing as aerosol particles. The activity coefficient of each species in solution is explicitly related to the chemical composition by treating the (inorganic) ion–water, organic–water and ion-organic interactions with a combined Pitzer–UNIFAC thermodynamic approach. It was parameterized with a new type of multifunctional “meta-group” to better represent measured properties of long-chain monofunctional compounds and short-chain multifunctional compounds. Interactions between dissolved electrolytes and organic species are modeled using the “salting-out” effect of NaCl with organic compounds to predict the hygroscopic growth of particles composed of a salt and diacid. The predicted growth agrees well with laboratory measurements. The presence of 50% malonic acid decreases the growth of pure (NH4)2SO4 by 20% at high relative humidities, while mixtures with 50% succinic acid and 50% glutaric acid cause decreases of 35% and 38%, respectively. The mixing of organic compounds with solubility higher than 4 mol·L−1 with salt can decrease the observed DRH. The mixture of malonic acid and (NH4)2SO4 is predicted to start taking up water at 58%, much lower than the DRH of pure (NH4)2SO4 (80%). Insoluble compounds do not change the observed DRH, while reducing the amount of water taken up. The predicted water contents for internal and external mixtures are largely similar, with small differences predicted for mixtures of soluble organic species. The largest deviation of 10% between the water contents of internal and external mixtures occurs for 50% malonic acid with 50% (NH4)2SO4. For less soluble compounds such as succinic acid and glutaric acid, the two types of growth generally agree within 3%.
Zidovudine-induced hepatitis

. A case of acute hepatitis induced by zidovudine in a 38-year-old patient with AIDS is presented. The mechanism whereby the hepatitis was induced is not known. However, the patient tolerated well an alternative reverse transcriptase inhibitor, 2′ 3′ dideoxyinosine. Physicians caring for patients with AIDS should be aware of this hitherto rarely reported complication.
The design evolution of LuminAR: a compact and kinetic projected augmented reality interface

LuminAR is a new form factor for a compact and kinetic projected augmented reality interface. This video presents the design evolution iterations of the LuminAR prototypes. In this video we document LuminAR's design process, hardware and software implementation and demonstrate new kinetic interaction techniques. The work presented is motivated through a set of applications that explore scenarios for interactive and kinetic projected augmented reality interfaces. It also opens the door for further explorations of kinetic interaction and promotes the adoption of projected augmented reality as a commonplace user interface modality.
Development of novel Asf1–H3/H4 inhibitors

The histone chaperone anti-silencing function 1 (Asf1) has emerged as a promising target for therapeutic intervention for multiple cancers (Cell2006, 127, 458). Asf1 is involved in the packaging of the eukaryotic genome into chromatin, which is essential for normal growth, development, and differentiation, as this regulates all nuclear processes that use DNA as a substrate. Starting from a collection of HTS leads, we identified a series of N-acyl hydrazones as novel inhibitors of the Asf-histone H3/H4 interaction. These compounds represent the first example of inhibitors capable of disrupting the Asf1-H3/H4 complex.
Simulation of structure formation in an electrorheological fluid.

The temporal evolution of three-dimensional structure in an electrorheological (ER) fluid is examined by a computer simulation. A parameter B characterizing the ratio of the Brownian force to the dipolar force is introduced. For a wide range of B, the ER fluid has a rapid chain formation followed by aggregation of chains into thick columns which has a body-centered tetragonal lattice structure. The Peierls-Landau instability of single chains help formation of thick columns. If the Brownian force is very small, the ER system may be trapped in some local energy-minimum state.
Electrolyte balance and energy mobilization in acid-stressed rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri , and their relation to reproductive success

The main objective of the research was to learn whether selected physiological responses could be used as symptoms of forthcoming reproductive impairment in fishes subjected to acid stress. Electrolyte balance (Na+, Cl−) in blood and muscle, plasma osmotic pressure, internal water balance, blood glucose and liver glycogen were the most important parameters measured in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, exposed for two — three weeks at six pH levels: 8.3, 7.7, 7.0, 6.2, 4.8, 4.2. In general, plasma and muscle Na+/Cl− and plasma osmotic pressure declined sharply at higher acidifies while energy mobilization responded in the opposite fashion. The data were interpreted in terms of zones of tolerance and resistance. The zone of tolerance lies between pH 9.0 and 5.0, while the zone of resistance extends beyond pH 5.0. Complete regulation of physiological parameters occurred between the highest measured pH, 8.3, and 6.0. The limits of partial regulation and loss of regulation were tentatively set between pH 6.0 and 5.0 for the former and beyond 5.0 for the latter. Environmental and genetic factors are known to shift these limits. Reproductive stress occupies a zone between pH 5.5 and 6.5, according to laboratory and field observations on several species. The zone of reproductive stress overlaps the limits of complete and partial regulation. The physiological parameters therefore, would not be expected to exhibit consistently recognizable and dependable changes that would be useful to forecast reproductive failure. Severe acid stress could be diagnosed with the symptoms, however. A field test of the findings was provided by blood and tissue samples of white suckers, Catostomus commersoni, from an acidified (pH 5.2) and an unacidified (pH 7.2) lake in the Adirondack Mountains, Herkimer County, New York. Changes in electrolytes and glucose-glycogen, predicted from the laboratory experiments, were noticed in fish from the acidified lake, although the changes were not striking. These fish may have been in a physiological state of partial regulation within the zone of tolerance.
Binding of imipramine to plasma protein and to brain tissue: relationship to CSF tricyclic levels in man.

The possible clinical significance of the plasma protein binding of tricyclic antidepressants has been evaluated using imipramine (IMI), a typical tricyclic. Using equilibrium dialysis, the in vitro binding of IMI to plasma was compared to that of brain tissue. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IMI was used as an independent measure of “free” drug in the central nervous system. Intrinsic metabolic clearances were calculated on the basis of steady-state plasma IMI concentrations. There were three significant results: (1) variations in plasma binding are not great; (2) plasma protein binding does not limit the entry of IMI into the CSF; (3) variations in metabolism (intrinsic clearance) account for almost all variations in CSF concentrations of drug. It is concluded that measurement of free tricyclic antidepressant is not indicated in studies of clinical efficacy.
Microbial degradation of microcystin in Florida’s freshwaters

Presence of microcystin (MC), a predominant freshwater algal toxin and a suspected liver carcinogen, in Florida’s freshwaters poses serious health threat to humans and aquatic species. Being recalcitrant to conventional physical and chemical water treatment methods, biological methods of MC removal is widely researched. Water samples collected from five sites of Lake Okeechobee (LO) frequently exposed to toxic Microcystis blooms were used as inoculum for enrichment with microcystin LR (MC-LR) supplied as sole C and N source. After 20 days incubation, MC levels were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A bacterial consortium consisting of two isolates DC7 and DC8 from the Indian Prairie Canal sample showed over 74% toxin degradation at the end of day 20. Optimal temperature requirement for biodegradation was identified and phosphorus levels did not affect the MC biodegradation. Based on 16S rRNA sequence similarity the isolate DC8 was found to have a match with Microbacterium sp. and the DC7 isolate with Rhizobium gallicum (AY972457).
Actin cores of hair-cell stereocilia support myosin motility.

Abstract The actin cores of hair-cell stereocilia were tested as a substrate for the movement of myosin-coated beads in an in vitro assay. Large numbers of stereocilia from bullfrog sacculi and semicircular canals were isolated by blotting onto coverglasses and were demembranated to expose the polar actin tracks of their cytoskeletal cores. Silica or polystyrene beads, coated with thick filaments of chicken skeletal muscle myosin, were added to this core preparation in the presence of ATP. Myosin-coated beads could reach some of the cores by diffusion alone, but the efficiency and precision of the assay were improved considerably by the use of "optical tweezers" (a gradient-force optical trap) to deposit the beads directly on the cores. Beads applied in this fashion bound and moved unidirectionally at 1-2 microns/s, escaping the retarding force of the trap. Actin filaments within the stereocilia are cross-linked by fimbrin, but this did not appear to interfere with the motility of myosin. Beads coated with optic-lobe kinesin were also tested for movement; these bound and moved unidirectionally at 0.1-0.2 microns/s when applied to microtubule-based kinociliary cores, but not when applied to actin-based stereociliary cores. Our results are consistent with, and lend support to, a model for hair cell adaptation in which a molecular motor such as myosin maintains tension on the mechanically gated transduction channels. Optical tweezers and video-enhanced differential interference contrast optics provide high efficiency and improved optical resolution for the in vitro analysis of myosin motility.
Plasma biomarkers for detecting Hodgkin's lymphoma in HIV patients.

The lifespan of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has increased as a result of effective antiretroviral therapy, and the incidences of the AIDS-defining cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Kaposi sarcoma, have declined. Even so, HIV-infected individuals are now at greater risk of other cancers, including Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). To identify candidate biomarkers for the early detection of HL, we undertook an accurate mass and elution time tag proteomics analysis of individual plasma samples from either HIV-infected patients without HL (controls; n = 14) and from HIV-infected patient samples with HL (n = 22). This analysis identified 60 proteins that were statistically (p<0.05) altered and at least 1.5-fold different between the two groups. At least three of these proteins have previously been reported to be altered in the blood of HL patients that were not known to be HIV positive, suggesting that these markers may be broadly useful for detecting HL. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software identified “inflammatory response” and “cancer” as the top two biological functions associated with these proteins. Overall, this study validated three plasma proteins as candidate biomarkers for detecting HL, and identified 57 novel candidate biomarkers that remain to be validated. The relationship of these novel candidate biomarkers with cancer and inflammation suggests that they are truly associated with HL and therefore may be useful for the early detection of this cancer in susceptible populations.
Meta-analysis of neuroimaging data.

As the number of neuroimaging studies that investigate psychological phenomena grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to integrate the knowledge that has accrued across studies. Meta-analyses are designed to serve this purpose, as they allow the synthesis of findings not only across studies but also across laboratories and task variants. Meta-analyses are uniquely suited to answer questions about whether brain regions or networks are consistently associated with particular psychological domains, including broad categories such as working memory or more specific categories such as conditioned fear. Meta-analysis can also address questions of specificity, which pertains to whether activation of regions or networks is unique to a particular psychological domain, or is a feature of multiple types of tasks. This review discusses several techniques that have been used to test consistency and specificity in published neuroimaging data, including the kernel density analysis (KDA), activation likelihood estimate (ALE), and the recently developed multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA). We discuss these techniques in light of current and future directions in the field.
Comparative biochemistry of oxygen toxicity in lactic acid-forming aquatic fungi

Taxonomically diverse aquatic fungi ranging in oxidative capabilities from obligate aerobes to aerotolerant anaerobes were examined for growth under hyperbaric (0.9 atm) O2, and for the ability to degrade H2O2 and O 2 - . The results support the presumption that several Oomycetes and Chytridiomycetes are biochemically adapted to environments low in O2. Results further indicate significant differences between Oomycetes and Chytridiomycetes in the enzymatic means of dealing with O 2 - and H2O2, supporting the recent concept of a great evolutionary divergence between the groups. In general, facultative anaerobes and aerotolerant anaerobes were more severely inhibited by hyperbaric O2, and they exhibited lower superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and peroxidase activities than did strongly-oxidative species. SOD activity, which was detected in all isolates, was insensitive to cyanide in Oomycetes but cyanide sensitive in the Blastocladiales (Chytridiomycetes). All strongly-oxidative Oomycetes exhibited readily-detectable catalase and peroxidase activities, while activities were very low or absent in strongly-fermentative species. As with the Oomycetes, peroxidase activities among the Blastocladiales were high in aerobes and low in strong fermenters. Surprisingly, however, none of the Blastocladiales, including strongly-oxidative species, exhibited substantial catalase activity. Catalase and SOD activities in faculatively anaerobic Oomycetes increased with increasing O2 concentration; but even in hyperbaric (0.5 atm) O2, activities for both enzymes in the aerotolerant anaerobe Aqualinderella fermentans were very low compared with activities in aerobes.
The chemical synthesis of the phagocytosis-stimulating tetrapeptide tuftsin (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg) and its biological properties.

Abstract Tuftsin, the phagocytosis-stimulating tetrapeptide Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg, has been synthesized using the Merrifield solid-phase method. A strongly inhibitory analog Thr-Lys-Pro-Pro-Arg was similarly synthesized. Synthetic tuftsin has all the properties of the natural compound, physical, chemical and biological. It stimulates phagocytosis and cell migration with similar specific activities. Both properties are inhibited by the pentapeptide analog. Thr-Lys-Pro and Lys-Pro-Arg are inactive at comparable dosage.
Numerical Modeling of Fluid Flow and Thermal Behavior in Geothermal Heat Exchangers

Geothermal heat exchangers are highly dependent on the local heat exchange capacity and ground thermal properties. The ability to simulate performance and testing of geothermal heat exchangers is limited. Therefore thermal conductivity tests are usually required for correct sizing of geothermal heat exchange systems. To better understand these tests in relation to energy piles, a 3D finite element model was created using the COMSOL software to simulate the thermal conductivity test of a 12inch (30cm) energy pile. The finite element simulation was created and validated using experimental data to expand the comparisons made between geothermal boreholes and energy piles. In this study, the numerical finite element model has been recreated using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS which incorporates fluid flow effects. Confirming that the CFD model can accurately model the thermal conductivity test provides an additional tool that will be valuable in modeling geothermal heat exchangers. Results show that parametric variations in terms of fluid flow rate and fluid selection are easier to evaluate using the CFD model compared to the finite element model. Results are also compared with discrete thermal conductivity measurements obtained from real geothermal heat exchangers.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Delay of adjuvant chemotherapy initiation following breast cancer surgery among elderly women.

Delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with worse stage distribution at diagnosis and decreased survival. However, the occurrence of delay in the delivery of adjuvant therapy and its impact on prognosis is not well understood. To investigate the timeliness of initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery for breast cancer, we used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results (SEER)–Medicare database. Among women ≥ 65 years diagnosed between 1992 and 1999 with stages I–II breast cancer, we used linear regression and Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the time intervals between surgery and initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy, factors associated with delay, and the effect of delay on survival. Our sample consisted of 5003 women who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Of these, 47% initiated chemotherapy within 1 month, 37% between 1 and 2 months, 6% between 2 and 3 months and 10% >3 months (delay) following surgery. Delay was associated with increasing age, residing in a rural location, being unmarried, earlier tumor stage, hormone receptor positivity, mastectomy, and non-receipt of radiation therapy. Survival did not differ among patients who initiated chemotherapy within 1, 2, or 3 months after surgery. Delay beyond 3 months was, however, associated with increased disease-specific mortality (HR 1.69; 95% CI 1.31–2.19) and overall mortality (HR 1.46; 95% CI 1.21–1.75). Among older patients, moderate delays in the receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy occur frequently, but long delays (>3 months) are uncommon. While early initiation of therapy is no benefit, significant delays are associated with increased mortality. Whether this reflects the medical impact of the delay of chemotherapy or factors associated with delay is unclear, but until this is clarified, patients should be encouraged to initiate treatment without significant delay.
R&D subsidies in a model of growth with dynamic market structure

This paper presents the effects of an R&D subsidy in a Schumpeterian general equilibrium model with rich industry dynamics. R&D subsidies raise the long-run growth rate, but they also raise the level of industry concentration. In the model firms compete for market share through process R&D endogenously determining the market structure within and across industries. Endogeneity of the market structure allows for analysis of changes in the moments of the firm size distribution in response to policy. R&D subsidies primarily benefit large incumbent firms who increase their innovation rates creating a greater technological barrier to entry. Concentration increases with fewer firms and a higher variance in the market shares. In general equilibrium, the greater distortions in the product market cause the wage rate to fall which leads to increased turnover rates. In addition, the analysis demonstrates that the model captures a large number of empirical regularities described in the industrial organization literature, but absent from most endogenous growth models. These features, such as entering firms are small relative to incumbents, the hazard rate of exit is negatively related to firm size, and large firms spend more on R&D than small firms play important roles in understanding the impact of R&D subsidies on the economy.
ADDISON'S DISEASE IN AN INFANT

IN a recent review (2) of Addison's disease in children the reports of one hundred cases were analyzed. Sixty-two of these presented sufficient evidence to be classified as “proved”. Only four cases under five years of age were found; three ofthese were associated with macrogenitosomia (1, 4, 5, 8, 9). The case study presented by Wilkins, Fleischmann and Howard (9)conclusively demonstrated that hyperplasia of the androgenic or fetal zone of the adrenals can be associated with insufficiency of the true cortical tissue. The other two similar cases were living at the tiine of the report and required specific therapy. The fourth case was a three year old girl, reported by Netter (4);the adrenal glands were found at autopsy to be destroyed by tuberculous lesions. Up to this time this was the youngest patient in whom tuberculosis was responsible for the disease. The purpose of the present paper is to report the youngest recorded “proved” case of Addison's disease, and to describe the response of this girl, aged...
Vehicle and Mode of Administration Effects on the Induction of Aberrant Crypt Foci in the Colons of Male F344/N Rats Exposed to Bromodichloromethane

Bromodichloromethane (BDCM) and tribromomethane given by corn oil gavage were previously found to induce neoplasia in the large intestine of rats. Our chronic bioassay of BDCM administered in drinking water failed to produce colon neoplasia in male F344/N rats. We recently reported that BDCM induces aberrant crypt foci (ACF), putative precursor lesions in the development of colon cancer, when included in the drinking water of male rats. To investigate whether ACF induced by BDCM could be promoted by corn oil (CO), male F344/N rats were exposed to 0.7 g BDCM/L in drinking water or 50 mg BDCM/kg body weight by oral gavage in CO. Animals exposed to drinking water, CO, or 15 mg/kg azoxymethane (AOM) (ip) constituted the negative, vehicle, and positive controls. After 26 wk, colons were examined for ACF. A significant decrease in water consumption was observed in both the positive controls and BDCM-treated animals; however, no difference was noted in final body weight. The administration of CO to AOM-exposed a...
Modeling the Global Workplace Using Emerging Technologies

The Fall 2006 term of COM495, Senior Practicum in Communication, offered communication and information design students the privilege of taking part in a transatlantic intercultural virtual project. To emulate real world experience in today's global workplace, these students researched and completed a business communication project with German students attending Fachhochschule Hannover, Germany. Students had to come to grips with differences in language and culture, but in doing so, they also developed and refined competencies and skills in emerging technologies. This article covers the course's project and its goals, analyzes the students' experiences, and focuses on the technologies students discovered and used to bridge the cultural, virtual, and communication divide.
The impact of hospital quality on profits, volume, and length of stay.

Using 2006–2007 data from a sample of 6,082 U.S. hospitals, quality of care measures developed by the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) are applied to heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgery. Quality of care for these was related to both higher profits per case and increased number of cases. Length of stay was inversely related to quality of care for preventative (surgical and heart attack) care.
Dynamic Analysis of Three-dimensional Frames

The stiffess method for dynamic analysis of frames presented in Chapter 11 for plane frames and in Chapter 12 for grid frames can readily be expanded for the analysis of three-dimensional space frames. Although for the plane frame or for the grid there were only three nodal coordinates at each joint, the three-dimensional frame has a total of six possible nodal displacements at each unconstrained joint: three translation components along the x, y, z axes and three rotational components about these axes. Consequently, a beam element of a three-dimensional frame or a space frame has for its two joints a total of 12 nodal coordinates; hence the resulting element matrices will be of dimension 12 x 12.
Accuracy of Within-household Selection in Web and Mail Surveys of the General Population:

Household surveys are moving from interviewer-administered modes to self-administered modes for data collection, but many households do not accurately follow within-household selection procedures in mail surveys. In this article, we examine accuracy of within-household selection using an oldest adult/youngest adult method in web, mail, and mixed-mode surveys. The frame for this study comes from a telephone survey conducted with Nebraska residents in which the oldest adult/youngest adult method is used to select the initial respondent. One year later, these telephone participants are followed up using identical household selection methods. This article examines characteristics of people who followed the selection procedures compared to those who did not.
Autonomous hot patching for Web-based applications

Patching technologies are commonly applied to improve the dependability of software after release. This paper proposes an autonomous hot patching (AHP) framework to fully automate the reasoning for the causes of failures, and to patch the binary code of Web-based applications. AHP admits the hardness for rooting out all faults before product release, and autonomously patches problems of application programs. By directly operating on binary code, AHP is universal to virtually all applications. A promising application of AHP is to shortcut the remote maintenance center (RMC) and hence to reduce the turn around time for patches.
Tumefactive perivascular spaces mimicking cerebral edema in a patient with diabetic hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome: a case report

Introduction Acute cerebral edema is a significant cause of death in patients treated for diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome.
Zinc-Mediated Allosteric Inhibition of Caspase-6

Zinc and caspase-6 have independently been implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders. Depletion of zinc intracellularly leads to apoptosis by an unknown mechanism. Zinc inhibits cysteine proteases, including the apoptotic caspases, leading to the hypothesis that zinc-mediated inhibition of caspase-6 might contribute to its regulation in a neurodegenerative context. Using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, we observed that caspase-6 binds one zinc per monomer, under the same conditions where the zinc leads to complete loss of enzymatic activity. To understand the molecular details of zinc binding and inhibition, we performed an anomalous diffraction experiment above the zinc edge. The anomalous difference maps showed strong 5σ peaks, indicating the presence of one zinc/monomer bound at an exosite distal from the active site. Zinc was not observed bound to the active site. The zinc in the exosite was liganded by Lys-36, Glu-244, and His-287 with a water molecule serving as the fourth ligand, forming a distorted tetrahedral ligation sphere. This exosite appears to be unique to caspase-6, as the residues involved in zinc binding were not conserved across the caspase family. Our data suggest that binding of zinc at the exosite is the primary route of inhibition, potentially locking caspase-6 into the inactive helical conformation.
Correlates of consistent condom use among men who have sex with men recruited through the Internet in Huzhou city: a cross-sectional survey

Background There is growing evidence that men who have sex with men (MSM) are currently a group at high risk of HIV infection in China. Our study aims to know the factors affecting consistent condom use among MSM recruited through the internet in Huzhou city.
Power distribution architecture for tele- and data communication system based on new generation intermediate bus converter

Paper addresses new advances in intermediate bus architecture in its historical perspective as further improvement of distributed power system for tele- and data communication equipment. The modern requirements to intermediate bus converter and its design challenges are addressed in details. Experimental data for bus converter using advanced control approach are provided.
Impact of macrophage deficiency and depletion on continuous glucose monitoring in vivo

Although it is assumed that macrophages (MQ) have a major negative impact on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), surprisingly there is no data in the literature to directly support or refute the role of MQ or related foreign body giant cells in the bio-fouling of glucose sensors in vivo. As such, we developed the hypothesis that MQ are key in controlling glucose sensor performance and CGM in vivo and MQ deficiencies or depletion would enhance CGM. To test this hypothesis we determined the presence/distribution of MQ at the sensor tissue interface over a 28-day time period using F4/80 antibody and immunohistochemical analysis. We also evaluated the impact of spontaneous MQ deficiency (op/op mice) and induced-transgenic MQ depletions (Diphtheria Toxin Receptor (DTR) mice) on sensor function and CGM utilizing our murine CGM system. The results of these studies demonstrated: 1) a time dependent increase in MQ accumulation (F4/80 positive cells) at the sensor tissue interface; and 2) MQ deficient mice and MQ depleted C57BL/6 mice demonstrated improved sensor performance (MARD) when compared to normal mice (C57BL/6). These studies directly demonstrate the importance of MQ in sensor function and CGM in vivo.
Density Coordinate Mixed Layer Models

The development of mixed layer models in so-called density coordinates is discussed. Density coordinates, or isopycnal coordinates as they are sometimes called, are becoming increasingly popular for use in ocean models due to their highly desirable adiabatic properties. In contrast, almost all existing mixed layer models assume a continuous density variable and are therefore somewhat inconsistent with the density coordinate philosophy. Many existing isopycnal models attempt to join standard surface mixed layer models to density coordinate interior models, and it is known that problems can arise in the physical behavior of the resulting system. The problem of mixed layer model development is approached here by adopting a density coordinate framework at the outset, thereby generating a surface layer model whose construction is entirely consistent with that of existing interior density coordinate models. Examples of quantitative and qualitative behavior are presented and argued to be encouraging.
Characterization of MicroRNA Expression Levels and Their Biological Correlates in Human Cancer Cell Lines

MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that function by regulating target gene expression posttranscriptionally. They play a critical role in developmental and physiologic processes and are implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases including cancer. We examined the expression profiles of 241 human microRNAs in normal tissues and the NCI-60 panel of human tumor-derived cell lines. To quantify microRNA expression, we employed a highly sensitive technique that uses stem-loop primers for reverse transcription followed by real-time PCR. Most microRNAs were expressed at lower levels in tumor-derived cell lines compared with the corresponding normal tissue. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis of microRNA expression revealed four groups among the NCI-60 cell lines consisting of hematologic, colon, central nervous system, and melanoma tumor-derived cell lines clustered in a manner that reflected their tissue of origin. We identified specific subsets of microRNAs that provide candidate molecular signatures characteristic of the tumor-derived cell lines belonging to these four clusters. We also identified specific microRNA expression patterns that correlated with the proliferation indices of the NCI-60 cell lines, and we developed evidence for the identification of specific microRNAs as candidate oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in different tumor types. Our results provide evidence that microRNA expression patterns may mark specific biological characteristics of tumors and/or mediate biological activities important for the pathobiology of malignant tumors. These findings call attention to the potential of microRNAs to provide etiologic insights as well as to serve as both diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for many different tumor types.
Retrotransposition of a bacterial group II intron

Self-splicing group II introns may be the evolutionary progenitors of eukaryotic spliceosomal introns1,2,3,4,5,6,7, but the route by which they invade new chromosomal sites is unknown. To address the mechanism by which group II introns are disseminated, we have studied the bacterial Ll.LtrB intron from Lactococcus lactis8. The protein product of this intron, LtrA, possesses maturase, reverse transcriptase and endonuclease enzymatic activities9,10,11. Together with the intron, LtrA forms a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex which mediates a process known as retrohoming11. In retrohoming, the intron reverse splices into a cognate intronless DNA site. Integration of a DNA copy of the intron is recombinase independent but requires all three activities of LtrA11. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of a group II intron invading ectopic chromosomal sites, which occurs by a distinct retrotransposition mechanism. This retrotransposition process is endonuclease-independent and recombinase-dependent, and is likely to involve reverse splicing of the intron RNA into cellular RNA targets. These retrotranspositions suggest a mechanism by which splicesomal introns may have become widely dispersed.