cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Real-Time Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Lymph Node Aspiration

Background Accurate staging of lung cancer requires noninvasive and pathologic examination of intrathoracic lymphadenopathy, which determines both the treatment options and prognosis. The gold standard for mediastinal staging has been mediastinoscopy. Other options include video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, blind transbronchial needle aspiration, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has recently been introduced. Here we report the use of EBUS-TBNA as a diagnostic modality for mediastinal adenopathy and staging modality for lung cancer. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of 152 consecutive patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA with undiagnosed intrathoracic adenopathy or cancer staging as the primary indications. The procedures occurred between January 2005 and June 2006 at a single academic medical center. Of the 152 patients, 117 were included in the final statistical analysis after excluding those with benign disease diagnosed by EBUS-TBNA. Rapid on-site cytopathologic examination was used in all cases. Results Malignancy was identified in 113 patients, of which 67 (59.3%) had non-small cell lung carcinoma, and 20 (17.7%) underwent surgical resection. Four patients had benign diagnoses at surgical pathology. Only 1 surgical patient was found to have nodal metastasis at a lymph node station previously biopsied by EBUS-TBNA (negative predictive value, 97%). Compared with radiologic staging, EBUS-TBNA down-staged 18 of 113 (15.9%) and up-staged 11 (9.7%). Sensitivity was 98.7%, with 100% specificity. No major complications were associated with the procedure. Conclusions EBUS-TBNA is useful in accessing mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes for the diagnosis and staging of non-small cell lung cancer and other disorders of the mediastinum. Thoracic surgeons and pulmonologists are well positioned to use this tool in everyday practice.
Channel selection algorithms in virtual MIMO sensor networks

In this paper, we present two practical algorithms to select a subset of channels in virtual MIMO wireless sensor networks (WSN). One is the Singular-Value Decomposition-QR with Threshold (SVD-QR-T) approach that selects the best subset of transmitters while keeping all receivers active. The threshold is adaptive by means of Fuzzy C-Mean (FCM). The other is the Maximum Spanning Tree Searching (MASTS) algorithm on a basis of graph theory in respect of cross-layer design, which potentially provides a path connecting all sensors that benefits routing and QoS of networks. The MASTS algorithm keeps all sensors active but selects Mt + Mr -1 subchannels, where Mt and Mr are the number of transmitters and receivers, respectively. These two approaches are compared against the case without channel selection in terms of capacity, bit error rate (BER), and multiplexing gain in the presence of water-filling as well as the circumstance of without water-filling under the same total transmission power constraint. Despite less multiplexing gain, when water-filling is applied, MASTS achieves higher capacity and lower BER than that of virtual MIMO without channel selection at moderate to high SNR while SVD-QR-T FCM provides the lowest BER at high SNR; in case of no water-filling and equal transmission power allocation, MASTS still offers the highest capacity at moderate to high SNR but SVD-QR-T FCM achieves the lowest BER. Both algorithms provide satisfying performances with reduced cost and resources compared to the case without channel selection.
THE LABOR RESERVE AND THE SKILL DEBATE

Competing assertions abound about changes in the skill structure of wage labor. One claims that workplace changes do not necessarily lead to a general deskilling, but enhance skill levels for certain categories of wage labor; another, that such changes contribute to a general deskilling of the paid workforce. Despite having been the focus of much research, these competing assertions remain unresolved. Braverman's discussion of the labor reserve and its pattern of inclusion into the paid workforce promises one possible resolution. Incorporation of a sizable proportion of female workers from the latent labor reserve negated a trend towards an increased proportion of skilled workers in the U.S. paid workforce from 1950 to 1987. Implications of the particular pattern of inclusion and exclusion of this labor reserve are discussed in terms of the debate surrounding the deskilling and reskilling of wage labor in general.
Effect of purified equine follicle-stimulating hormone on follicular development and ovulation in transitional mares

Abstract Horse owners want to have their mares bred as early as possible in the breeding season after February 1. Numerous medical treatments, such as progesterone, dopamine antagonists, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone have been administered to anestrous or transitional mares in an attempt to induce follicular development. Some of these treatments are ineffective or impractical, so there is a need in the horse industry to develop alternative techniques to stimulate follicular development and ovulation early in the breeding season. Twenty transitional mares were assigned to one of two treatment groups. Mares in group 1 (n = 10) served as untreated controls, and mares in group 2 (n = 10) were administered 12.5 mg of purified equine follicle-stimulating hormone (eFSH) (Bioniche Animal Health USA, Inc., Athens, Ga) intramuscularly twice daily for a maximum of 15 consecutive days. Mares were considered to be in transition when the diameter of the largest follicle was ≥25 mm. Once one or more follicles >35 mm were detected, eFSH treatment was discontinued and human chorionic gonadotropin was administered intravenously. The percentage of mares ovulating during the 15-day observation period was compared by means of chi-square analysis. The interval to ovulation and the number of ovulations per mare were compared between the two groups by Student t test. In 8 of 10 mares treated with eFSH follicles developed and ovulation occurred during the 15-day observation period, compared with 0 of 10 control mares. Interval from onset of treatment to ovulation was 7.6 ± 2.4 days for these eight mares. The eight mares were treated for an average of 5.2 ± 1.3 days with eFSH. Thus, the eFSH treatment was effective in advancing the first ovulation of the year in transitional mares.
Is prosthetic anuloplasty necessary for durable mitral valve repair

Background Because emerging percutaneous mitral valve repair may address only leaflets and not the anulus, we compared durability of mitral valve repair with and without prosthetic anuloplasty. Methods From 1985 to 2007, 3,057 patients underwent primary isolated posterior leaflet repair for degenerative mitral disease either with prosthetic anuloplasty (n = 2,754, 90%) or without (n = 303, 9.9%: no anuloplasty, 68; suture anuloplasty, 7; pericardial anuloplasty, 228). Most of the latter operations occurred in the early 1990s. Differences in patient characteristics were addressed by propensity-score adjustment and matching (214 pairs). In all, 3,870 echocardiograms for 1,236 patients were available for assessing mitral regurgitation after prosthetic anuloplasty and 257 in 99 patients without one. Mean follow-up for mitral valve reoperation was 4.2 ± 4.1 years, with 13,003 patient-years of data available for analysis. Results Early, and to a lesser degree late, postoperative mitral regurgitation was less after prosthetic anuloplasty than repair without one, and this difference persisted after risk adjustment and in propensity-matched patients ( p = 0.0002). Freedom from mitral valve reoperation was 96% and 94% at 10 years after repair with versus without prosthetic anuloplasty in unmatched groups, and 97% and 96% in matched groups ( p = 0.3), respectively. Unadjusted survival was greater with than without prosthetic anuloplasty (84% versus 81% at 10 years, p = 0.009), but similar after propensity adjustment and in matched pairs. Conclusions Mitral valve repair without a prosthetic anuloplasty was associated with accelerated return of mitral regurgitation, although risk-adjusted survival was similar. This finding has important implications for durability of percutaneous mitral repair techniques that do not address both leaflets and anulus.
Corticosteroid receptors in the neural retina and other tissues of the chick embryo

Abstract Glutamine synthetase is an enzyme marker of differentiation in the neural retina of the chick embryo. The enzyme is induced by hydrocortisone and related corticosteroids. We determined the levels of hydrocortisone receptors in the neural retina, brain, liver, and serum of the embryo at several stages of development and have described their tissue-characteristic developmental profiles. Hormone-binding properties of glucocorticoid receptors in the retina and the other tissues have been examined. Analysis of receptor binding data in the embryonic retina indicated the presence of two classes of receptor sites for hydrocortisone with equilibrium dissociation constants of 0.8 and 4.4 n m , and one class of sites for dexamethasone with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 1.3 n m . There was a good correlation between the ability of various steroids to compete for hydrocortisone binding to the retina receptor and their effectiveness as inducers of glutamine synthetase. Hydrocortisone receptors from the retina differ from those of brain, liver and serum in temperature and pH sensitivity, and chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex. In contrast to findings in mammals, chick serum contains components which bind dexamethasone as well as hydrocortisone. The results are discussed in relation to the induction of glutamine synthetase and differentiation of the embryonic neural retina.
Pion production for MuCF

Abstract We suggest a novel scheme for energy efficient, copious negative pion production: a stored proton beam collides with a thin metallic target producing primary π − and other shower particles. These high energetic secondaries produce further π − in external secondary targets. Estimations on energy cost per primary negative pion production for this scheme are given for proton beams and various targets. The secondary particle distributions according to momentum and angle are obtained with Monte Carlo simulation. The secondary neutron, proton and π + efficiencies to produce negative pions are given. We find that a π − may be produced at a cost of 2.7 GeV in beam kinetic energy at P p ≈ 4.8 GeV/ c using Be targets.
Column chromatography of insect esterases

Abstract Insect esterases were fractioned on DEAE-cellulose columns and assayed with 1-naphthyl acetate, 5-bromoindoxyl acetate, and indophenyl acetate. Adults of the American cockroach, Colorado potato beetle, honey bee, housefly, Mexican bean beetle, milkweed bug, two-spotted spider mite, and 1- and 5-day old eggs of milkweed bug were examined. Aliesterase activity only was detected. With 1-naphthyl acetate three patterns of activity were discerned; with indophenyl acetate two patterns; and with 5-bromoindoxyl acetate each species had its own pattern. Considerable changes were found in the milkweed bug in the course of egg development and in the adult.
Reaffirming the Importance of Strategic Use A Two-Dimensional Perspective on Policy Analysis in Congress

Focusing exclusively on the substantive use of policy analysis results in a limited assessment of the role of analysis in policymaking, particularly in a congressional setting. This article develop...
Lovastatin therapy for hypercholesterolemia in cardiac transplant recipients

Abstract Hypercholesterolemia (type II hyperlipidemia) after cardiac transplantation is common and may play a rote in the accelerated rate of coronary atherosclerosis seen following the procedure. However, conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs are either ineffective or contraindicated for use in transplant recipients. The presence of type II hyperlipidemia was identified in 11 cardiac transplant recipients during a mean follow-up period of 15 months (range 3 to 41) after transplantation. Lovastatin, at an initial dosage of 20 mg/day, was administered for a period of 1 year. The maximal dosage of lovastatin was 60 mg/day. All patients received maintenance dosages of immunosuppressive agents, including cyclosporine-A, prednisone and, in some instances, azathioprine. Lipid profiles, hepatic transaminases, serum creatinine, creatine kinase and cyclosporine-A serum trough levels were measured quarterly. Total cholesterol decreased by 27% (354 ± 50 vs 258 ± 36 mg/dl, p
When Objectivity Is Not Objective: Network Television News Coverage of U.S. Senators and the “Paradox of Objectivity”

Do the electronic media, the principal source of political information for many if not most American citizens, present biased accounts of national affairs? Our analyses of network coverage of U.S. senators during the 1970s and 1980s find that the networks follow objective routines, which normally ensure balanced reporting of political affairs. During times of seismic change in the political landscape, however, these very routines can produce what might be interpreted as biased coverage. The first four years of the Reagan administration, we show, is a striking example of this phenomenon. We label this the "paradox of objectivity," a phenomenon that greatly complicates the evaluation of news reporting.
Solvent use and psychiatric comorbidity

From a family study of 286 alcoholics, 157 felons, 60 control subjects, and 1640 of their relatives, 130 solvent users were retrospectively identified. Risk for diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder was significantly elevated for all solvent users. Relatives, though not probands, were more likely to receive diagnoses of alcoholism and secondary depression, but this relationship appeared to be mediated by the presence of antisocial personality disorder. Solvent users were not at increased risk for primary depression or other psychiatric illnesses. Subjects reporting any solvent use also had significantly increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt compared to non-users, with half of the solvent users reporting suicidal ideation and 30% reporting a history of suicide attempt. However, risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among solvent users appeared to covary with presence of antisocial personality disorder, alcoholism, and secondary depression rather than being specifically associated with solvent use.
Race/ethnicity, sexual partnerships with men involved with drugs, and sexually transmitted infections among a sample of urban young adult women:

In many urban neighbourhoods in the United States, drug markets borne from disadvantage have produced risk for sexually transmitted infections through altered sexual norms and partnerships. Presently, we examined the association of race, sexual partnerships with men involved with drugs, and self-reported sexually transmitted infections among 240 African American and white women aged 18–30 years. Thirty seven per cent reported ever having a sexually transmitted infection. Almost 30% of Whites reported sex with a drug user, compared to 5% of African Americans. Fifty eight per cent of African Americans compared to 31% of Whites reported sex with a drug dealer. On Step 1 of a sequential logistic regression model, race was associated with lifetime sexually transmitted infections (OR = 4.7, 95% CI = 2.61–8.34). Results from the full sequential logistic regression model indicated a significant, but smaller association of race and lifetime sexually transmitted infections (Adjusted OR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.78–7.02) an...
Improving the Quality of Radiographs in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Utilizing Educational Interventions.

Objective We aimed to develop an educational tool to improve the radiograph quality, sustain this improvement overtime, and reduce the number of repeat radiographs. Study Design A three phase quality control study was conducted at a tertiary care NICU. A retrospective data collection (phase1) revealed suboptimal radiograph quality and led to an educational intervention and development of X-ray preparation checklist (primary intervention), followed by a prospective data collection for 4 months (phase 2). At the end of phase 2, interim analysis revealed a gradual decline in radiograph quality, which prompted a more comprehensive educational session with constructive feedback to the NICU staff (secondary intervention), followed by another data collection for 6 months (phase 3). Results There was a significant improvement in the quality of radiographs obtained after primary educational intervention (phase 2) compared with phase 1 (p 95% in all domains of image quality. No radiographs were repeated in phase 3, compared with 5.8% (16/277) in phase 1. Conclusion A structured, collaborated educational intervention successfully improves the radiograph quality and decreases the need for repeat radiographs and radiation exposure in the neonates.
Content and cluster analysis: assessing representational similarity in neural systems

If connectionism is to be an adequate theory of mind, we must have a theory of representation for neural networks that allows for individual differences in weighting and architecture while preserving sameness, or at least similarity, of content. In this paper we propose a procedure for measuring sameness of content of neural representations. We argue that the correct way to compare neural representations is through analysis of the distances between neural activations, and we present a method for doing so. We then use the technique to demonstrate empirically that different artificial neural networks trained by backpropagation on the same categorization task, even with different representational encodings of the input patterns and different numbers of hidden units, reach states in which representations at the hidden units are similar. We discuss how this work provides a rebuttal to Fodor and Lepore's critique of Paul Churchland's state space semantics.
Image Coding: Variable Rate Differential Pulse Code Modulation Through Fixed Rate Channel

Abstract A previously -developed block adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM) procedure has beencombined with a buffer feedback technique. The result is an efficient variable rate DPCM algorithm. The new technique is fully adaptive, yet it retains the basic simplicity of DPCM. It utilizes the appropriatequantizer parameters and also assigns the available channel bandwidth according to need as determined bythe local image structure.A buffer feedback procedure, previously reported by the authors, has been generalized and wasimplemented to control the bit rate selection. Examples demonstrate that the algorithm is successful in achieving adaptivity objectives. Although buffer control requires additional hardware, because of itsrelatively low speed, the impact on overall hardware complexity is negligible. Introduction Although classical DPCM is limited in the range of useful compression rates, its simplicity has madeit attractive for numerous applications. DPCM in conventional implementations assumes the source is
Columbia Application Performance Tuning Case Studies

This talk will. present several case studies of application performance enhancements on the SGI Altix platform. The enhancements include both explicit (dplace) and implicit (cpubind/cpuset-pin) process-pinning, eliminating memory contention in OpenMP applications, eliminating unaligned memory accesses, and system profiling. These enhancements enabled 2- to 28-fold improvements in application performance.
The effects of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy on the surgical outcomes of breast reconstruction

Breast reconstruction following mastectomy has become, in many centers the standard of care. An increasingly encountered trend is the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to downstage high stage tumors and to decrease tumor burden prior to definitive oncologic surgery. These agents clearly provide a survival benefit, but also have the potential to adversely affect the surgical course of immediate and delayed breast reconstruction. The use of new biologic and hormonal agents may also have effects on surgery and reconstruction. Furthermore, chemotherapeutic agents as a whole may impair cellular functions necessary for normal recovery from surgery. In this paper we present a concise review for the reconstructive surgeon on adverse effects of chemotherapeutic, hormonal and biologic agents used for treatment of breast cancer, important perioperative issues, and also discuss their potential effect on breast reconstruction.
Rule-based runtime verification revisited

Runtime verification (RV) consists in part of checking execution traces against user-provided formalized specifications. Throughout the last decade many new systems have emerged, most of which support specification notations based on state machines, regular expressions, temporal logic, or grammars. The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has for an even longer period of time studied rule-based production systems, which at a closer look appear to be relevant for RV, although seemingly focused on slightly different application domains, such as, for example, business processes and expert systems. The core algorithm in many of these systems is the Rete algorithm. We have implemented a rule-based system, named LogFire, for runtime verification, founded on the Rete algorithm, as an internal DSL in the Scala programming language (in essence a library). Using Scala's support for defining DSLs allows to write rules elegantly as part of Scala programs. This combination appears attractive from a practical point of view. Our contribution is part conceptual in arguing that such rule-based frameworks originating from AI are suited for RV. Our contribution is technical by implementing an internal rule DSL in Scala; by illustrating how specification patterns can easily be encoded that generate rules, and by adapting and optimizing the Rete algorithm for RV purposes. An experimental evaluation is performed comparing to six other trace analysis systems. LogFire is currently being used to process telemetry from the Mars Curiosity rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Comment on the differential equation of Smagala and Fawcett

Abstract It is shown that the differential equation of Smagala and Fawcett [T.G. Smagala, W.R. Fawcett, J. Electroanal. Chem. 597 (2006) 43] for an electrified interface is similar, but not equivalent, to the hypernetted chain approximation integral equation. Nonetheless, their differential equation is of interest and is an improvement over the Poisson–Boltzmann approximation of Gouy and Chapman and may lead to further improvements.
Tissue-engineered dermo-epidermal skin analogs exhibit de novo formation of a near natural neurovascular link 10 weeks after transplantation.

Purpose Human autologous tissue-engineered skin grafts are a promising way to cover skin defects. Clearly, it is mandatory to study essential biological dynamics after transplantation, including reinnervation. Previously, we have already shown that human tissue-engineered skin analogs are reinnervated by host nerve fibers as early as 8 weeks after transplantation. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that there is a de novo formation of a “classical” neurovascular link in tissue-engineered and then transplanted skin substitutes.
Antidepressant augmentation and combinations

A significant proportion of patients with MDD are treatment resistant or only partial responders to adequate therapy with a single agent. In this situation, one must consider augmentation with another agent. Lithium and thyroid augmentation have been investigated for many years. In a meta-analysis of double-blind studies involving augmentation with lithium or placebo after nonresponse to conventional antidepressants, lithium augmentation was concluded to be the first-line therapy for depressed patients who failed to respond to monotherapy. One important study reported no significant difference in response rates between T3 and lithium as augmentation agents in patients who had failed to respond to TCAs. Very few controlled, double-blind trials show consistently positive results for the other augmentation strategies, although some open-labeled trials and case reports are promising. Additional placebo-controlled, double-blind studies are needed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of all of these agents, especially in combination with the newer classes of antidepressants.
Enforcing user-space privilege separation with declarative architectures

Applying privilege separation in software development is an effective strategy for limiting the damage of an attack on a software system. In this approach, a software system is separated into a set of communicating protection domains of least privilege. In a privilege-separated system, even if one protection domain is hijacked by an attacker, the rest of the system may still function.uPro is a tool that provides efficient and flexible enforcement of privilege separation. It adopts software-based fault isolation to implement protection domains in the user-space so that inter-domain communication is efficient. It provides a declarative language to describe an application's security architecture, facilitating developers to identify different architecture alternatives. The evaluation shows that real applications can be ported to uPro with enhanced security, acceptable performance, and declarative architectures.
Patient Characteristics and Prognosis in Metastatic Breast Cancer

REFERENCES 1. Devizzi L, Guidetti A, Tarella C, et al: High-dose yttrium-90 –ibritumomab tiuxetan with tandem stem-cell reinfusion: An outpatient preparative regimen for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation. J Clin Oncol 26:5175-5182, 2008 2. Ferrucci PF, Vanazzi A, Grana CM, et al: High activity 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) with peripheral blood progenitor cells support in patients with refractory/ resistant B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Br J Haematol 139:590-599, 2007 3. European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials: Use of Zevalin at myeloablative dose for aggressive lymphoma treatment in elderly patients: A prospective randomized trial of Z-HDS1.2 v R-CHOP, EudraCT no. 2006-002524-42
Noninvasive Measurement of Protein Aggregation by Mutant Huntingtin Fragments or α-Synuclein in the Lens

Many diverse human diseases are associated with protein aggregation in ordered fibrillar structures called amyloid. Amyloid formation may mediate aberrant protein interactions that culminate in neurodegeneration in Alzheimer, Huntington, and Parkinson diseases and in prion encephalopathies. Studies of protein aggregation in the brain are hampered by limitations in imaging techniques and often require invasive methods that can only be performed postmortem. Here we describe transgenic mice in which aggregation-prone proteins that cause Huntington and Parkinson disease are expressed in the ocular lens. Expression of a mutant huntingtin fragment or α-synuclein in the lens leads to protein aggregation and cataract formation, which can be monitored in real time by noninvasive, highly sensitive optical techniques. Expression of a mutant huntingtin fragment in mice lacking the major lens chaperone, αB-crystallin, markedly accelerated the onset and severity of aggregation, demonstrating that the endogenous chaperone activity of αB-crystallin suppresses aggregation in vivo. These novel mouse models will facilitate the characterization of protein aggregation in vivo and are being used in efficient and economical screens for chemical and genetic modifiers of disease-relevant protein aggregation.
The ubiquitous nature of accessory calcite in granitoid rocks: Implications for weathering, solute evolution, and petrogenesis

Calcite is frequently cited as a source of excess Ca, Sr and alkalinity in solutes discharging from silicate terrains yet, no previous effort has been made to assess systematically the overall abundance, composition and petrogenesis of accessory calcite in granitoid rocks. This study addresses this issue by analyzing a worldwide distribution of more than 100 granitoid rocks. Calcite is found to be universally present in a concentration range between 0.028 to 18.8 g kg−1 (mean = 2.52 g kg−1). Calcite occurrences include small to large isolated anhedral grains, fracture and cavity infillings, and sericitized cores of plagioclase. No correlation exists between the amount of calcite present and major rock oxide compositions, including CaO. Ion microprobe analyses of in situ calcite grains indicate relatively low Sr (120 to 660 ppm), negligible Rb and 87Sr/86Sr ratios equal to or higher than those of coexisting plagioclase. Solutes, including Ca and alkalinity produced by batch leaching of the granitoid rocks (5% CO2 in DI water for 75 d at 25°C), are dominated by the dissolution of calcite relative to silicate minerals. The correlation of these parameters with higher calcite concentrations decreases as leachates approach thermodynamic saturation. In longer term column experiments (1.5 yr), reactive calcite becomes exhausted, solute Ca and Sr become controlled by feldspar dissolution and 87Sr/86Sr by biotite oxidation. Some accessory calcite in granitoid rocks is related to intrusion into carbonate wall rock or produced by later hydrothermal alteration. However, the ubiquitous occurrence of calcite also suggests formation during late stage (subsolidus) magmatic processes. This conclusion is supported by petrographic observations and 87Sr/86Sr analyses. A review of thermodynamic data indicates that at moderate pressures and reasonable CO2 fugacities, calcite is a stable phase at temperatures of 400 to 700°C.
Decoupling the Role of Ubiquitination for the Dislocation Versus Degradation of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class I Proteins during Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated Degradation (ERAD)

Aberrantly or excessively expressed proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum are identified by quality control mechanisms and dislocated to the cytosol for proteasome-mediated, ubiquitin-dependent degradation by a process termed endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD). In addition to its role in degradation, ubiquitination has also been implicated in substrate dislocation, although whether direct ubiquitin conjugation of ERAD substrates is required for dislocation has been difficult to ascertain. An obstacle in probing the mechanism of quality control-induced ERAD is the paucity of ERAD substrates being dislocated and detected at any given time. To obviate this problem, we report here the use of a sensitive biotinylation system to probe the dislocation of major histocompatibility complex I (MHCI) heavy chain substrates in the absence of immune evasion proteins. Using this assay system the dislocation of MHCI heavy chains was found not to require potential ubiquitin conjugation sites in the cytoplasmic tail or Lys residues in the ectodomain. By contrast, dislocation of MHCI heavy chains did require deubiquitinating enzyme activity and rapid proteasome-mediated degradation required Lys residues in MHCI heavy chain ectodomain. These combined findings support the model that the endoplasmic reticulum quality control-induced dislocation of MHCI heavy chains may not require direct ubiquitination/deubiquitination as is required for proteasome-mediated degradation post dislocation.
THE UNKNOWN MAN OF ALEXIS CARREL: THE FATHER OF TRANSPLANTATION

The contributions and great advances accomplished by the dedicated work and extraordinary genius of Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) made possible the establishment of a new discipline, now considered to be transplantation. His pioneering Nobel Prize winning vessel suturing work (1912) plowed the way for an enhanced participation of surgical leaders in the demonstration of the feasibility of his newly introduced techniques. Even though most of the scientific disciplines associated with transplantation were in their infancy, the possibility of offering a means to realize the surgical face of transplantation presented an optimistic and new horizon for the developing field. Carrel remains an unknown man to the scientific and nonacademic readers of his life. In addition to his professional and well-advanced scientific works, he was a mystical individual. He profoundly studied the human being, and through these studies he revealed himself. As one starts to unfold his complex personality through all his nonmedical writings, one begins to encounter the meticulous man, the impatient individual, the religious believer, the truth seeker and, paradoxically, the acceptor of clairvoyance and the supernatural. His popular and the best-selling book of his times, Man The Unknown (1935), defined Carrel's philosophical principles of life and confirmed his intense interest in discovering man and the most important part of him, the unknown element. For Carrel, man was as complex as he believed himself to be: the unknown man. Scientists did not take Carrel's philosophical incursions kindly. They did not accept his views and criticized him in all his nonscientific developments. Carrel nevertheless characteristically disregarded his critics and charged himself to search for new concepts and forthcoming ideas. He maintained this resilience through all his existence and his work defines the Carrel as the complex man he was, as the spiritual student he attempted to be, and as the philosopher of the human race he so desired to be in his writings.
Polymer adsorption on colloidal particles

Adsorption sur des particules colloidales spheriques et cylindriques dont les dimensions sont comparables au rayon de gyration des chaines des polymeres
Structure-function relationships of S-carboxymethyl methionine27 glucagon.

Abstract Carboxymethylation of glucagon and subsequent purification of the hormone has provided a derivative modified by the addition of bulk to the methionine at position 27 without a net charge alteration in the side chain. Unreacted glucagon was removed after methylation of the methionine which provides a positively charged Chromatographic handle. The derivative has a half-maximum concentration for binding of 5.3 n m and is a full agonist. These findings along with those provided by methylation of the methionine indicate that a positive charge rather than bulk on the methionine side chain disrupts the binding of hormone to its receptor. The S -carboxymethyl derivative lacks the concentration-dependent aggregation characteristic of glucagon at pH 10.2 as does the S -methyl derivative but increases its helical content in 30% 2-chloroethanol to the same extent as native and S -methyl hormone. Full activity of the S -carboxymethyl methionine 27 glucagon does not favor the existence of the globular structure proposed by Korn and Ottensmeyer [(1983) J. Theor. Biol. 105 , 403] as the binding species whereas multiple considerations do favor a flexible hormone with nucleation followed by conformational changes for complete binding and activation. Isotopic enrichment using labeled iodoacetate is feasible and can provide more definitive structural information.
Nitrogenous Compounds Reversibly Inhibit the Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate Response to Thyrotropin: This Effect Is Dissociated from Altered Guanine 3',5'- Monophosphate Levels*

Nitrogenous compounds were studied for their effect on cGMP levels in the thyroid. Several agents, including sodium nitrite and hydroxylamine, could generate a rise of over 100-fold in cGMP. At a concentration of 20 mM, NH2OH and NaNO2 significantly reduced cAMP levels previously generated by 0.5 mU/ml TSH. If the slices were rinsed and placed in new buffer without the latter nitrogenous compound, the cAMP response to TSH was restored even though intracellular cGMP levels remained elevated. Thus, the counterregulatory effect of these agents on cAMP levels is not correlated with the presence of high levels of cGMP per se. Both the rise in cGMP and the fall in cAMP could still be detected when Ca++ was deleted from the incubation medium, in contrast to other reported stimuli that elevate cGMP levels in the thyroid.
Long-Term Satellite Record Reveals Likely Recent Aerosol Trend

Analysis of the long-term Global Aerosol Climatology Project data set reveals a likely decrease of the global optical thickness of tropospheric aerosols by as much as 0.03 during the period from 1991 to 2005. This recent trend mirrors the concurrent global increase in solar radiation fluxes at Earth's surface and may have contributed to recent changes in surface climate.
The Effect of High-carbohydrate Intake on Substrate Utilization in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To determine if changes in piasma lipoprotein concentrations that occur in response to high-carbohydrate, low-fat (HCLF) intake may be associated with or result from changes in substrate utilization. By implementing three diets which replaced energy from fat with carbohydrate, stepwise, over a 16-week period, we assessed the metabolic effects of a controlled increase in carbohydrate consumption in postmenopausal women. Substrate utilization was assessed by analysis of plasma metabolites [e.g. lactate, free glycerol (FG), and free fatty acids (FFA)] as well as respiratory quotient (RQ) measurements at baseline and three different timepoints throughout the study. Fasting insulin and glucose concentrations were measured to assess insulin sensitivity. Following the increase in carbohydrate consumption, mean fasting insulin concentration decreased nearly 24% and was accompanied by a concurrent drop in fasting glucose levels. Fasting RQ measurements, plasma FFA and FG concentrations following intervention did not significantly shift from baseline concentrations. Mean total-, low-density lipoprotein- and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were reduced an average of 5%, 9% and 13.5% of baseline values, respectively. Both plasma triglyceride (TG) and lactate were markedly elevated relative to baseline. Plasma lactate and TG correlated significantly at two of four timepoints, with plasma TG concentrations higher in those with higher plasma lactate levels. Our results suggest that during increased carbohydrate consumption, glucose oxidation increases, resulting in increased concentrations of plasma lactate. Thus, HCLF intake may promote lipogenesis by enhancing the levels of lipogenic precursors, such as lactate. The increase in lipogenesis induced through HCLF intake by increased lipogenic precursors causes the endogenous synthesis of FFA which in turn increases plasma TG. Additional research is warranted to more clearly define the relationship of increased production of lactate, a lipogenic substrate, to hypertriglyceridemia and increased plasma TG and cardiovascular disease risk in postmenopausal women.
Forget about the ‘correspondence theory of truth’

It’s true that cats purr iff it’s useful to believe that cats purr, and since these two biconditionals are meant to be a priori, and since It’s useful to believe that cats purr iff cats purr is manifestly not a priori, the redundancy theory and the pragmatic theory conflict. Likewise, mutatis mutandis, for the redundancy theory versus the coherence and epistemic theories; and for the coherence, pragmatic, and epistemic theories versus one another. The alleged conflict between the correspondence theory and the redundancy theory is different. The conflict is not with the positive part of the redundancy theory, the bundle of redundancy biconditionals such as (1). Taking (1) together with
The Interpretive Repertoires of Whites on Race-Targeted Policies: Claims Making of Reverse Discrimination:

Drawing on the accounts of white men and women, we examine the role that discourse plays in the formation and reinforcement of ideals that perpetuate social disadvantaging. In addition, using discourse analysis we examine the redefinition of race-targeting policies from being a social remedy into being a current social problem. We collected interview and questionnaire data from a sample of 310 students and faculty at a predominantly white university, regarding their attitude toward race- and income-targeted social policies in the United States. We find that the majority of respondents who oppose race-targeting policies (1) frame racial discrimination as a problem of the past; (2) define race-targeting as a subversion of meritocracy; and therefore, (3) devalue programs that seek to provide differential opportunity to those groups that have been structurally disadvantaged in American society. We conclude that the “American stratification ethos” can be employed for disadvantaging purposes.
Film Cooling Calculations With an Iterative Conjugate Heat Transfer Approach Using Empirical Heat Transfer Coefficient Corrections

An iterative conjugate heat transfer technique has been developed to predict the temperatures on film cooled surfaces such as flat plates and turbine blades. Conventional approaches using a constant wall temperature to calculate heat transfer coefficient and applying it to solid as a boundary condition can result in errors around 14% in uncooled blade temperatures. This indicates a need for conjugate heat transfer calculation techniques. However, full conjugate calculations also suffer from inability to correctly predict heat transfer coefficients in the near field of film cooling holes and require high computational cost making them impractical for component design in industrial applications. Iterative conjugate heat transfer (ICHT) analysis is a compromise between these two techniques where the external flow convection and internal blade conduction are loosely coupled. The solution obtained from solving one domain is used as boundary condition for the other. This process is iterated until convergence. Flow and heat transfer over a film cooled blade is not solved directly and instead convective heat transfer coefficients resulting from external convection on a similar blade without film cooling and under the same flow conditions are corrected by use of experimental data to incorporate the effect of film cooling in the heat transfer coefficients. The effect of conjugate heat transfer is taken into account by using this iterative technique. Unlike full conjugate heat transfer (CHT) the ICHT analysis doesn’t require solving a large number of linear algebraic equations at once. It uses two separate meshes for external convection and blade conduction and thus problem can be solved in lesser time using less computational resources. A demonstration of this technique using a commercial CFD solver FLUENT is presented for simulations of film cooling on flat plates. Results are presented in form of film cooling heat transfer coefficients and surface temperature distribution which are compared with results obtained from conventional approach. For uncooled surfaces, the deviations were as high as 3.5% between conjugate and conventional technique results for the wall temperature. For film cooling simulations on a flat plate using the ICHT approach showed deviations up to 10% in surface temperature compared to constant wall temperature technique for a high temperature difference case and 3% for a low temperature difference case, since surface temperature is not constant over the surface when conjugate heat transfer is considered. Results show that conjugate heat transfer effect is significant for film cooling flows involving high temperature differences for the current blade materials and application of film cooling correction obtained from experimental data is very useful in obtaining realistic blade temperatures.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
An artificial gastrocnemius for a transtibial prosthesis

A transtibial amputee does not have a functional gastrocnemius muscle, which affects the knee as well as the ankle joint. In this investigation, we developed a transtibial prosthesis comprising an artificial gastrocnemius mechanism as well as a powered ankle-foot device. A pilot study was conducted with a bilateral transtibial amputee walking at a self-selected speed. The trial compared muscle electromyography and metabolic cost data for the amputee while using the active gastrocnemius prosthesis and a conventional Flex-Foot prosthesis. The experimental data showed that the compensation for ankle-foot and gastrocnemius function offered by the active device resulted in a reduced metabolic cost for the amputee participant.
Modeling and analysis of combustion assisted thermal spray processes

The combustion assisted thermal spray systems are being used to apply coatings to prevent surface degradation. They offer a highly attractive way to modify the surface properties of the substrate to extend the product life. In addition to the materials being sprayed, the quality of combustion assisted thermal spray coating depends greatly on the flow behavior of reacting gases and particle dynamics. The present study investigates the effect of gas phase and its interaction with particles through the nozzle of a thermal spray gun by developing a comprehensive mathematical model. The objective is to develop a predictive understanding of various design parameters of combustion assisted thermal spray systems. The model was developed by considering the conservation of mass, momentum and energy of reacting gases. The particle dynamics was decoupled from the gas phase dynamics since the particle loading in the spray process is very low. The developed model was employed to investigate the influence of various design parameters on the coating quality of thermal spray process.
A general approach to crystalline and monomodal pore size mesoporous materials.

Mesoporous oxides are important materials with a range of tunable structural properties. Here, the authors report a general, inverse micelle-based method to produce crystalline mesoporous materials with monomodal pore sizes from a range of elements.
Chemical and technological properties of rose (Rosa canina L.) fruits grown wild in Turkey

Nutrients and technological properties were determined in developing Rosa canina L. fruits (rosehips) from Konya (Hadim) and Kastamonu to investigate potential uses. Completely ripe fruits contained ash, crude oil, crude energy, crude fiber, crude protein, ascorbic acid, dimethyl sulfite (DMS), and minerals including K, P, Mg, Ca and Fe. Also, technological properties such as length and width of fruit, weight of 1000 fruits, projected area, porosity, bulk density, hectoliter weight, skin break resistance were measured. In general, dry matter, crude energy, crude protein, ascorbic acid, water-soluble extract, acidity, DMS, Na, K, P, Mn and Mg contents of Kastamonu rosehip fruits were higher than those of Hadim fruits. Ascorbic acid was also present at high concentrations in the rose fruits. Also, length of fruit, width of fruit, weight of 1000 fruits, projected area and fruit bulk of Kastamonu rose fruits were found to be higher than those of Hadim fruits. Results of the static and dynamic coefficients of friction for both rose fruits were found to be similar.
Leptin in the newborn mouse. Plasma concentrations, characterization of the circulating hormone, and tissue source.

Previous studies suggested that brown adipose tissue (BAT) provides a source of circulating leptin in the newborn mouse. However, we detected no leptin mRNA in newborn BAT or in newborn liver or stomach. In contrast, leptin expression was detected readily in newborn white adipose tissue (WAT). Fasting plasma leptin concentrations in newborn mice were comparable to those in adult nonpregnant mice. In contrast to adult mice, however, the fasting leptin levels in newborn males were comparable to those in females. While leptin in the late-gestational pregnant mouse circulates as a complex with the leptin-binding protein, leptin in the newborn mouse circulates as the free hormone. Factors regulating the expression of leptin by newborn WAT remain to be elucidated.