cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Marijuana and illicit drugs: Correlates of condomless anal sex among adolescent and emerging adult sexual minority men.

Abstract The association between “illicit drugs” (e.g., cocaine/crack, methamphetamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate-GHB, ketamine, and ecstasy) and condomless anal sex (CAS) with casual partners is well established for sexual minority men (SMM). Recent evidence from adult SMM has indicated that marijuana is associated with the occurrence of CAS with casual partners above and beyond illicit drug use. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate associations between CAS and the use of marijuana and illicit drugs in a sample of young SMM (aged 15–24). Participants (n = 578) completed an online survey assessing demographics, current PrEP prescription, age, marijuana use, as well as drug use and sexual behavior in the past 90 days. A hurdle model simultaneously predicted the occurrence of CAS as well as the frequency of CAS among those reporting it. Illicit drug use was associated with both the occurrence (OR = 2.26; p = .01) and frequency of CAS (RR = 1.63; p = .02). In contrast, marijuana use was associated with the occurrence (OR = 1.69; p = .01), but not the frequency of CAS (RR = 1.07; p = .74). Findings mirror recent observations in large samples of adult SMM. While the effect size of marijuana is more modest than illicit drug use, marijuana does have significant and unique associations with the occurrence of CAS. HIV prevention services for young SMM may therefore benefit from assessing and addressing marijuana use in the context of HIV sexual behavior.
Circumnavigating the sun with diffractive solar sails

Abstract A solar sail based on the physics of diffracted light provides a means of harnessing opto-mechanical momentum for in-space propulsion. As an example a heuristic roll maneuver of a diffractive sail is found to produce a spiral trajectory that provides a high orbital inclination angle at a close solar orbit. A comparison of five-year spiral trajectories of ideal diffractive and reflective sails reveals that the former achieves a higher solar inclination angle and a smaller orbital radius than the latter. We envision placing a constellation of diffractive solar sails around the sun to collect images and other data for space weather monitoring and heliophysics science. For illustration purposes we consider a series of 14 [kg], 400 [m 2 ] lightsails at various inclination angles, all positioned at 0.32 [AU] within six years. This paper may inspire materials scientists to design and fabricate thin novel optical metamaterial films that efficiently diffract light at large angles across the solar spectrum for future solar sails. Mission designers may also be prompted to imagine alternatives beyond reflective sails.
Microbial Toxins in Insect and Nematode Pest Biocontrol

Invertebrate pests, such as insects and nematodes, not only cause or transmit human and livestock diseases but also impose serious crop losses by direct injury as well as vectoring pathogenic microbes. The damage is global but greater in developing countries, where human health and food security are more at risk. Although synthetic pesticides have been in use, biological control measures offer advantages via their biodegradability, environmental safety and precise targeting. This is amply demonstrated by the successful and widespread use of Bacillusthuringiensis to control mosquitos and many plant pests, the latter by the transgenic expression of insecticidal proteins from B. thuringiensis in crop plants. Here, I discuss the prospects of using bacterial and fungal toxins for pest control, including the molecular basis of their biocidal activity.
DNA polymerase θ promotes CAG•CTG repeat expansions in Huntington's disease via insertion sequences of its catalytic domain.

Huntington's disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive dementia, psychiatric problems, and chorea, is known to be caused by CAG repeat expansions in the HD gene HTT. However, the mechanism of this pathology is not fully understood. The translesion DNA polymerase θ (Polθ) carries a large insertion sequence in its catalytic domain, which has been shown to allow DNA loop-outs in the primer strand. As a result of high levels of oxidative DNA damage in neural cells and Polθ's subsequent involvement in base excision repair of oxidative DNA damage, we hypothesized that Polθ contributes to CAG repeat expansion while repairing oxidative damage within HTT. Here, we performed Polθ-catalyzed in vitro DNA synthesis using various CAG•CTG repeat DNA substrates that are similar to base excision repair intermediates. We show that Polθ efficiently extends (CAG)n•(CTG)n hairpin primers, resulting in hairpin retention and repeat expansion. Polθ also triggers repeat expansions to pass the threshold for HD when the DNA template contains 35 repeats upward. Strikingly, Polθ depleted of the catalytic insertion fails to induce repeat expansions regardless of primers and templates used, indicating that the insertion sequence is responsible for Polθ's error-causing activity. In addition, the level of chromatin-bound Polθ in HD cells is significantly higher than in non-HD cells and exactly correlates with the degree of CAG repeat expansion, implying Polθ's involvement in triplet repeat instability. Therefore, we have identified Polθ as a potent factor that promotes CAG•CTG repeat expansions in HD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Initial Den Location by Neonatal Prairie Rattlesnakes: Functions, Causes, and Natural History in Chemical Ecology

The concept of adaptation has long been a central idea in the study of the survival and evolution of life on earth (e.g., Williams, 1966). The potential existence of biological adaptation is best thought of as a hypothesis to be tested or an idea to be approached, and not a phenomenon that is automatically inherent in each and every characteristic of a living system1s biology. To be considered an adaptation, sensu stricto, potentially important mechanisms and processes should be rigorously studied to determine if they do in fact figure significantly into an organism’s “fit” with its environment. Once such features of phenotype are determined to be genuinely critical to survival, subsequent analysis of the trait’s mechanisms can lead to much more full explanations of how things actually work, and why they may have evolved into the structural and functional mosaics that we now see.
Repo Market Strategies in Financial Engineering

This chapter reviews repo markets and some uses of repo. This is essential for understanding many standard operations in financial markets. Many financial engineering strategies require the use of the repo market. The repo market is both a complement and an alternative to swap markets. During a swap transaction, the market practitioner conducts a simultaneous “sale” and “purchase” of two sequences of cash flows generated by two different securities. For example, returns of an equity instrument are swapped for a floating rate Libor. This is equivalent to selling the equity, receiving cash, and then buying a floating rate note (FRN). These operations are combined in an equity swap and accomplished without actually buying and selling the involved assets or exchanging the original principals.
Premature ovarian failure is a major risk factor for cancer-related sexual dysfunction.

Women who were distressed about their loss of desire had reducedresponses in the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when viewing erotic or romantic images, but theyhad normal responses to sad or frightening pictures. Chemotherapy for breast cancer may blunt responses in the brain’sreward system. More research is needed, however, to understand the contribution of prior chemotherapy, menopause,andnormalversuslowsexualdesiretothisfinding.Although Rosenberg et al report cross-sectional data from an assessment at 1 year after diagnosis,
Fornet: a distributed forensics network

Networks are vulnerable to attacks and misuse. Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems are in place to protect the networks. Despite these defenses we still witness many security incidents. To guarantee the safety and survivability of networks we must complement the defensive mechanisms with a monitoring mechanism capable of aiding forensics when the security mechanisms fail. State-of-the-art solutions to support network forensics often collect raw network data but lack the ability to retain large volumes of collected data for prolonged periods of time. This reduces the longevity of evidence collected which in turn inhibit postmortems. Furthermore, these solutions also do not scale well for large inranets and wide area networks. This dissertation describes the design and the development of a distributed network forensics system called ForNet. Unlike the state-of-the-art solutions, ForNet uses a concept called synopses to reduce raw network traffic to succinct form such that sufficient data useful for forensics is captured and archived for prolonged periods of time. The dissertation also describes the architecture of ForNet in which we introduce the concept cascading data collection and the integration of monitoring and privacy policies into the system itself. The use of synopses and cascading collection of data together allow ForNet to scale better for large networks as well. We also introduce some useful synopses in this dissertation. The first synopsis, called a Hierarchical Bloom Filter, represents payloads in a succinct form. The synopsis is then extended and used in ForNet to be able to attribute bit strings to their sources and destinations. The second set of synopses keep track of flow aggregates and flow compositions. This synopsis uses the statistical properties of payloads to identify the content type of flows independent of port bindings or application headers. We conclude the dissertation with the description of ForNet's deployment in an intranet and with the evaluation of its synopses in tracking real security incidents in the intranet.
High-Angular Resolution Studies of Stellar Radio Sources

Scientific goals and instrumentation for high-angular resolution studies of stellar radio sources are discussed. By plotting the sampling range of various instruments in luminosity-brightness temperature coordinates, an appropriate instrument can be selected for the study of a given emission process independent of observing wavelength.
Application of optical properties of the Vi capsular polysaccharide for quantitation of the Vi antigen in vaccines for typhoid fever.

The capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi and of Citrobacter freundii (Vi) is a linear homopolymer of alpha 1,4-linked N-acetylgalactosaminuronic acid, variably O-acetylated at the C-3 position. Vaccines composed of Vi confer protection against typhoid fever with an efficacy of about 70%; Vi has recently been conjugated to proteins to increase its immunogenicity and effectiveness (I.L. Acharya, R. Tapa, V.L. Gurubacharya, M.B. Shrestha, C.U. Lowe, D.D. Bryla, R. Schneerson, J.B. Robbins, T. Crampton, B. Trollfors, M. Cadoz, D. Schulz, and J. Armand, N. Engl. J. Med. 317:1101-1104, 1987; K.P. Klugman, I. Gilbertson, H.J. Kornhof, J.B. Robbins, R. Schneerson, D. Schulz, M. Cadoz, and J. Armand, Lancet ii:1165-1169, 1987; S.C. Szu, A.L. Stone, J.D. Robbins, R. Schneerson, and J.B. Robbins, J. Exp. Med. 166:1510-1524, 1987). Vi, however, cannot be measured by conventional colorimetric methods. Two optical techniques were adapted to quantitate Vi in vaccines. The first, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, was performed on salt-free, freeze-dried samples. The intensities of the absorbance peaks of Vi were proportional to the amount of Vi within the range of 0.25 to 2.0 mg. The amount of Vi was determined from integrated absorptions at the 1,235- or 1,417-cm-1 band. The second technique, spectrophotometric titration, was more sensitive than the Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy and could be performed on dilute solutions. The metachromatic effect of the reaction between the aromatic cationic dye acridine orange and the carboxyl groups of Vi was quantitative within +/- 2% in the range of 20 to 700 micrograms of Vi per ml. The accuracy of the titration of Vi in the vaccines was within +/- 8%. These two methods may be applicable to measure other capsular polysaccharides in vaccines.
A Probabilistic Classification System for Predicting the Cellular Localization Sites of Proteins

We have defined a simple model of classification which combines human provided expert knowledge with probabilistic reasoning. We have developed software to implement this model and have applied it to the problem of classifying proteins into their various cellular localization sites based on their amino acid sequences. Since our system requires no hand tuning to learn training data, we can now evaluate the prediction accuracy of protein localization sites by a more objective cross-validation method than earlier studies using production rule type expert systems. 336 E. coli proteins were classified into 8 classes with an accuracy of 81% while 1484 yeast proteins were classified into 10 classes with an accuracy of 55%. Additionally we report empirical results using three different strategies for handling continuously valued variables in our probabilistic reasoning system.
Plaintiphobia in the Supreme Court

Through the years debate has raged over whether the Supreme Court’s summary judgment trilogy and Twombly-Iqbal pleading decisions had significant practical effects. To address that question, this article introduces a new empirical measure: the difference between the pretrial-adjudication judgment rates for the defendant and for the plaintiff. Plotting that rates’ difference over time suggests that the cases on summary judgment and pleading, which were far and away the two most major alterations of pretrial disposition during the last three decades, had a markedly anti-plaintiff impact.
Are Special Educators' Career Paths Special? Results from a 13-Year Longitudinal Study:

A statistical methodology relatively new to education—survival analysis—is used to describe the career paths of over 6,600 special education teachers newly hired in Michigan and North Carolina between 1972 and 1983, following them for up to 13 years, or until they stopped teaching in the state. Beginning special educators in both states continue to teach for an average of 7 years. They are most likely to leave teaching during the first few years after hire; those who survive this initial “hazardous” period typically teach for many years to come. Young women are particularly likely to leave, as are those special educators who provide support services or teach students with speech, hearing, or vision disabilities. Teachers with high test scores are at greater risk of leaving as are teachers paid comparatively low salaries.
Exile as evidence of civic identity in Florence in the time of Dante: some examples

In the 13th-century Florentine political culture, even outlaw and escaped individuals claimed their belonging to the civitas and bonum commune.
Occurrence and seasonal distribution of leafhopper vectors of the X-disease causal agent in methoxychlor-sprayed and unsprayed peach orchards

Abstract Leafhopper (LH) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) populations were monitored in a peach orchard in which eight blocks of 10 trees each were unsprayed or sprayed seven times in 1979 and three times in 1980 with methoxychlor. Of 7552 LH trapped during both years, 1335 adults of six species known to transmit the mycoplasma-like causal agent of X-disease (X-vectors) were recorded: Paraphlepsius irroratus (Say), 703; Scaphytopius acutus (Say), 439; Colladonus clitellarius (Say), 88; Norvellina seminuda (Say), 65; Gyponana lamina (Delong), 39; and Fieberiella florii (Stal), three. In sprayed blocks, total LH, total X-vectors and total P. irroratus and S. acutus adults (the most abundant X-vectors), were reduced by 49%, 46%, 43% and 50% respectively. In 1979, during one of two periods of peak adult LH activity, total LH, total X-vectors, P. irroratus and S. acutus were reduced by 56–73%, 22–48%, 26% and 62–85% respectively. In 1980, during the first period of adult leafhopper activity, total LH, total X-vectors, P. irroratus and S. acutus populations in sprayed trees were reduced by 72%, 56%, 50% and 60% respectively. The value of reducing X-vector populations, especially those of major X-vectors such as S. acutus and P. irroratus, for disease control is unknown, but should be considered for integrated management of X-disease.
Experience with a nonlaparoscopic, transumbilical, intracavitary pyloromyotomy.

Abstract Background/Purpose Ramstedt's pyloromyotomy for hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is elegant, effective, and time-honored. Although its basic principle has not changed over the last 95 years, considerable debate exists concerning the preferred access to the pylorus and the muscle-splitting technique. Reviewed here is the experience with an approach that combines the ease and safety of the “open” pyloromyotomy with the advantages of minimal invasiveness. Methods This series encompasses 75 consecutive, prospectively recorded pyloromyotomies. A short, curved upper umbilical rim incision is made. The linea alba is transected transversally and the abdomen entered. The pylorus is grasped with a Babcock clamp and lifted to the incision, but not delivered. Two 3:0 guy sutures are placed in the hypertrophied musculature to lift and maintain the pylorus in place. A longitudinal serosal incision is made and deepened to 1 to 3 mm. Two double-pronged skin hooks are placed, one on each partially separated edge, and gentle upward and outward traction applied until complete splitting is achieved. The mucosa is not touched by an instrument. Results The age of the 75 children ranged from 9 to 89 days (mean, 40; median, 36). Their weight ranged from 2.4 to 5.4 kg (mean, 3.7 kg; median, 3.6). Fifty-seven were boys. The mean operating time was 28 minutes. The pyloric muscle splitting was performed by general surgical residents in 66. There were no mucosal injuries. Seventy-two children were discharged within 24 hours, the remaining within 48 hours. Two superficial wound infections and one suture reaction occurred. There were no recurrences. Conclusion Transumbilical intracavitary pyloromyotomy is a safe, reproducible procedure combining the advantages of the two most commonly employed approaches (traditional “open” and laparoscopic). Because the pylorus is not delivered, a smaller incision is used. The scar is virtually invisible. The safety of this procedure renders it well suited for the teaching setting.
Selection of genomic sequences that bind tightly to Ff gene 5 protein: primer-free genomic SELEX

Single-stranded DNA or RNA libraries used in SELEX experiments usually include primer-annealing sequences for PCR amplification. In genomic SELEX, these fixed sequences may form base pairs with the central genomic fragments and interfere with the binding of target molecules to the genomic sequences. In this study, a method has been developed to circumvent these artificial effects. Primer-annealing sequences are removed from the genomic library before selection with the target protein and are then regenerated to allow amplification of the selected genomic fragments. A key step in the regeneration of primer-annealing sequences is to employ thermal cycles of hybridization-extension, using the sequences from unselected pools as templates. The genomic library was derived from the bacteriophage fd, and the gene 5 protein (g5p) from the phage was used as a target protein. After four rounds of primer-free genomic SELEX, most cloned sequences overlapped at a segment within gene 6 of the viral genome. This sequence segment was pyrimidine-rich and contained no stable secondary structures. Compared with a neighboring genomic fragment, a representative sequence from the family of selected sequences had about 23-fold higher g5p-binding affinity. Results from primer-free genomic SELEX were compared with the results from two other genomic SELEX protocols.
Visualization of room fire induced smoke movement and flow in a corridor

A study was conducted of the smoke and flow field in a corridor subject to a room fire. The study was conducted using a scale model of roughly 0.35 m in height. The effect of corridor-exit doorway width was recorded while the room doorway and fire-room temperature were maintained constant. Smoke was generated from cotton wads soaked with titanium tetrachloride which produces white particles of titanium dioxide. By this means, the smoke layer resulting from the room fire and the corridor flow characteristics were visualized. The results show the lowering interface of the corridor smoke layer with decreasing corridor-exit door width. Also a four-layer horizontal counter-current flow pattern was displayed and shown to result from a restriction (e.g. soffit) at the corridor exit. The mixing of the incoming cold flow and exiting hot flow at the corridor exit was observed to be shedding vortices swept into the cold floor jet. Results based on velocity measurements and smoke observations are presented for the corridor smoke layer height and doorway neutral-plane heights. The limitations of current predictive models are demonstrated for layer-heights and flow rates for the room and corridor experiments.
Mixing Considerations in Stirred Tank Bioreactors When Using Fluid Property Altering Microorganisms

Stirred tank reactors are one of the standard reactors in the chemical industry and have been widely implemented for biological applications. They are used with viscous liquids, slurries, very low gas flow rates, and large liquid volumes. Stirred tank bioreactors are popular because a well-mixed state, required or preferred for numerous biological processes, is usually achieved in such situations; however, many production processes using microorganisms tend to experience fluid property alterations, which significantly impact mixing, operational parameters, and process results. The most troubling issues occur when a fluid gradually undergoes a viscosity change and/or slowly exhibits non-Newtonian behavior due to microorganism growth since these will alter the flow conditions and possibly limit the conversion rate or production scale. This paper provides an overview of the relevant mixing issues in stirred tank bioreactors when using a range of fluid viscosities, surface tensions, and/or non-Newtonian fluids.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Application Explorations for Future Interconnects

For over two decades the dominant means for enabling portable performance of computational science and engineering applications on parallel processing architectures has been the bulk-synchronous parallel programming model. Code developers, motivated by performance considerations to minimize the number of messages transmitted, have typically strived to increase the size of each message through aggregation strategies. Emerging and future architectures, especially those seen as targeting Exascale capabilities, provide motivation and capabilities for revisiting this approach. In this paper we explore alternative configurations within the context of a large-scale complex multi-physics application and a proxy that represents its behavior, presenting results that demonstrate some important advantages as the number of processors increases in scale.
The effect of hypolipidemic drugs on plant lipid metabolism

Abstract The effect of hypolipidemic drugs, WY14643 and DH990, on plant lipid metabolism has been studied. The total incorporation of [ 14 C]acetate into lipids was inhibited by addition of both drugs to aged potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) tuber discs, spinach ( Spinacia oleracea ) leaves, and spinach chloroplasts, while the incorporation in Chlorella vulgaris cells was affected only by DH990. Moreover, DH990 inhibited the incorporation of 14 C-labeled fatty acids into phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine of potato discs, and decreased the incorporation into phosphatidylglycerol of Chlorella cells. DH990 inhibited the formation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in potato discs, Chlorella cells, and spinach leaves, whereas WY14643 had no effect on the formation of these fatty acids. Stearoyl-ACP desaturase from safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius ) seeds was very sensitive to both drugs, especially DH990, which completely blocked the activity at 2 m m levels. When safflower lysophospholipid acyltransferases were solubilized by detergent treatment, only DH990 inhibited the incorporation of [ 14 C]oleoyl-CoA into lysophosphatidylcholine or lysophosphatidylethanolamine. Both drugs inhibited fatty acid synthesis from [ 14 C]malonyl-CoA in the microsomal fraction from safflower seeds, but only DH990 inhibited FAS activity in the soluble fraction; both drugs inhibited severely the formation of stearic acid. Both acetyl-CoA carboxylase and acetyl-CoA synthetase were sensitive to both drugs.
Challenges in managing NSAID-associated gastrointestinal tract injury.

The use of non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and/or aspirin is associated with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract injury, particularly in high-risk patients (e.g. those with
Differentiation of human dental stem cells reveals a role for microRNA-218.

Background Regeneration of the lost periodontium is the ultimate goal of periodontal therapy. Advances in tissue engineering have demonstrated the multilineage potential and plasticity of adult stem cells located in the periodontal apparatus. However, it remains unclear how epigenetic mechanisms controlling signals determine tissue specification and cell lineage decisions. To date, no data is available on micro-RNAs (miRNAs) activity behind human-derived dental stem cells.
Discovery of a selective allosteric M1 receptor modulator with suitable development properties based on a quinolizidinone carboxylic acid scaffold

One approach to ameliorate the cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been to restore neuronal signaling from the basal forebrain cholinergic system via the activation of the M(1) muscarinic receptor. A number of nonselective M(1) muscarinic agonists have previously shown positive effects on cognitive behaviors in AD patients, but were limited due to cholinergic adverse events thought to be mediated by the activation of the M(2) to M(5) subtypes. One strategy to confer selectivity for M(1) is the identification of positive allosteric modulators, which would target an allosteric site on the M(1) receptor rather than the highly conserved orthosteric acetylcholine binding site. Quinoline carboxylic acids have been previously identified as highly selective M(1) positive allosteric modulators with good pharmacokinetic and in vivo properties. Herein is described the optimization of a novel quinolizidinone carboxylic acid scaffold with 4-cyanopiperidines being a key discovery in terms of enhanced activity. In particular, modulator 4i gave high plasma free fractions, enhanced central nervous system (CNS) exposure, was efficacious in a rodent in vivo model of cognition, and afforded good physicochemical properties suitable for further preclinical evaluation.
Neutron Structure of Human Carbonic Anhydrase II: A Hydrogen-Bonded Water Network "Switch" Is Observed between pH 7.8 and 10.0.

The neutron structure of wild-type human carbonic anhydrase II at pH 7.8 has been determined to 2.0 A resolution. Detailed analysis and comparison to the previously determined structure at pH 10.0 show important differences in the protonation of key catalytic residues in the active site as well as a rearrangement of the H-bonded water network. For the first time, a completed H-bonded network stretching from the Zn-bound solvent to the proton shuttling residue, His64, has been directly observed.
Translocation 4;11 acute leukemia: three case reports and review of the literature.

Three children with acute leukemia and t(4;11)(q21;q23) are presented. Two of the cases showed very unusual karyotypic findings and long survival for the type of leukemia. In case B.T., the original karyotype change observed was t(4;11), with other changes (+4q-,+11q+,+6,+10) appearing during the last stages of the disease. In case R.B., the translocation was accompanied by many numerical and morphological chromosome changes, with a near-tetraploid chromosome number. In both of the above cases, remission was associated with a normal marrow karyotype. In case D.C., only the t(4;11) was observed. The number of cases with t(4;11) and acute leukemia published so far is 36, including the three cases presented by us. As this disease is usually characterized by a relatively short survival, the possible reasons for the remarkably long survival in two of our patients are discussed in relation to the rather unusual cytogenetic findings.
Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions

From the late 1930s through the mid-1950s, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) brought together America's working men and women under a united class banner. Of the 38 CIO unions, 18 were 'left-wing' or 'Communist-dominated'. Yet the political struggle between the CIO's 'Communist dominated' and right-leaning unions was immensely divisive and self-destructive. How did the Communists win, hold, and wield power in the CIO unions? Did they subordinate the needs of workers to those of the Soviet regime? The authors of this book, first published in 2002, provide testable answers to these questions with historically specific quantitative analyses of data on the CIO's origins, internal struggles, and political relations. They find that among the CIO unions, the Communists were more egalitarian, the most progressive on class, race, and gender issues, and leading fighters in struggles to enlarge the freedom and enhance the human dignity of America's workers.
Preliminary Results on Generating Assembly Sequences for Shape Display

Recently there has been much interest in developing shape display systems, i.e. systems that can generate, based on a virtual representation such as a CAD file, a physical shape that a user can touch. The approach considered here is to automatically assemble a shape from simple, identical building blocks using a robot. This paper describes preliminary research results on generating assembly sequences for this purpose, using a rule-based approach in order to deal with the huge search space due to the large number of components. While many of the details of the rule-based approach are discussed elsewhere, this paper focuses on analyzing and comparing the use of two different methods, the assembly method and the disassembly method in the z-direction, for assembly sequence generation.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Bayesian-validated computer-simulation surrogates for optimization and design: error estimates and applications

Abstract We present a Bayesian-validated surrogate framework which permits economical and reliable integration of large-scale simulations into engineering design and optimization. In the surrogate approach, the large-scale simulation is evoked only to construct and validate a simplified input-output model; this simplified input-output model then serves as a simulation surrogate in subsequent engineering optimization studies. The distinguishing features of our approach are: sequential statistical sampling procedures which permit both efficient adaptive surrogate construction and rigorous ‘probably-approximately-correct’ surrogate validation; and validation-based non-parametric a posteriori error estimates which precisely quantify the effect of surrogate-for-simulation substitution on system predictability and optimality. In this paper we discuss recent improvements and extensions to our construction-validation algorithms and a posteriori error framework, and present several illustrative applications in heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
Fabrication Of The Keck Ten Meter Telescope Primary Mirror

The University of California and the California Institute of Technology are collaborating to build and operate the Keck Ten Meter Telescope and Observatory. The telescope will be a ten-meter diameter, ground-based, astronomical telescope for observations at visible and infrared wavelengths. The telescope primary mirror is a mosaic of thirty-six hexagonal segments, each 1.8m in diameter. Piston and tilt in two directions of each segment are actively con-trolled by computer. The fabrication of the segments is a major challenge. The material must be stable under gravitational and ther-mal perturbations. Each segment has a surface shape that is the off-axis section of the parent hyperboloid and this surface shape is difficult to achieve with conventional polishing methods. In this paper we describe in detail the proposed segments and we describe the theoretical basis of the method proposed for achieving the segment figure, Stressed Mirror Polishing.
Fast and slow fractions of K+ flux in human lymphocytes

Potassium influx and efflux were studied in human peripheral blood lymphocytes equilibrated over a wide range of external K+ levels. The absence of a net ion movement throughout the flux study was established, trapped space was measured with polyethylene glycol, and cells were separated from incubation media without exposure to any washing solution. There are both rapid and slow cellular fractions of 42K influx and efflux, and half-times of exchange of around 2 minutes, and 400 minutes, respectively. The rapid component is identical in magnitude to the smaller non-saturable component of cell K+, while the slow component is identified with the larger, sigmoidal, saturable component of cell K+ that was previously shown to follow a cooperative adsorption isotherm. These results support the association-induction hypothesis, which predicts (a) a rapid fraction of K+ flux due to equilibration of ion within cell water existing in a state of polarized multilayers, and (b) a slower component of K+ flux limited by adsorption onto, or desorption from, fixed anionic sites existing throughout the cell. K+ influx, as a function of external K+, showed a triphasic relation with a peak around 1 mM K+ex, then a trough around 4mM K+ex, and then a gradual rise. This relation was readily explained, in terms of the association-induction hypothesis, by the cooperative interaction between, and ion occupancy of, fixed anionic sites that adsorb K+ or Na+.
Web-based screening and brief motivational intervention reduces alcohol use in heavy-drinking undergraduates at up to 6 months

Commentary on: K Kypri, J Hallett, P Howat, et al.. Randomized controlled trial of proactive web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention for university students. Arch Intern Med2009;169:1508–14.
Modified radioiodination and quality control methods for [125I]sodiuin iothalamate

Abstract [125I]Sodium iothalamate can be prepared by the isotope-exchange method with the use of a contrast medium preparation (i.e. iothalamate sodium injection, USP, 80%). The initial isolation and purification of iothalamate from the contrast medium solution for radioiodination is tedious and time-consuming (i.e. 1 1 2 h for purification and overnight for drying). The new method uses iothalamic acid to replace iothalamate sodium injection as a starting material and reduces the heating time and multiple acid-washing steps during radioiodination to expedite the radiolabelling process. The radiochemical purity (RCP) of [125I]sodium iothalamate obtained from the new method was 98.9±1.3% (n = 30) versus RCP value of 99.2 ± 1.0% (n = 25) from the old method with no significant differences between the two groups of RCP values. An RCP chromatographical system to separate and migrate the radiochemical species of [125I]sodium iothalamate from the origin is described in this paper.
A 6 bit 10 GS/s TI-SAR ADC With Low-Overhead Embedded FFE/DFE Equalization for Wireline Receiver Applications

High-speed ADC front-ends in wireline receivers allow for implementing flexible, complex, and robust equalization in the digital domain, as well as easily supporting bandwidth-efficient modulation schemes, such as PAM4 and duobinary. However, the power consumption of these ADC front-ends and subsequent digital signal processing is a major issue. This paper presents a 64-way 6 bit 10 GS/s time-interleaved successive-approximation-based ADC front-end that efficiently incorporates a two-tap embedded FFE and a one-tap embedded DFE, providing the potential for a lower complexity back-end DSP and/or decreased ADC resolution. Fabricated in a 1.1V GP 65nm CMOS process, the ADC with embedded equalization achieves 0.48 pJ/conv.-step FOM, while consuming 79.1mW and occupying 0.33 mm 2 core ADC area. The effectiveness of the embedded FFE and DFE is demonstrated with significant timing margin improvement observed for 10 Gb/s operation over several FR4 channels.
An investigation of SEC “Speech GAAP”

Abstract This study investigates the financial reporting regulation effects of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff comments made during the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Annual Current SEC & Public Company Oversight Board (PCAOB) Developments Conference in Washington, D.C. (SEC Conference). At this conference, the SEC staff communicates its preferences about areas where it believes companies are misapplying GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). We call this communication SEC Speech GAAP. One outcome of the SEC Conference may be that companies re-evaluate their previous financial reporting by restating their financial statements. We find, first, that firms with restatement issues similar to those covered at the SEC Conference experience a decrease in the association between earnings and future cash flows after the restatement. Second, we find little market reaction to the disclosure of restatements related to SEC Conference issues, but the disclosure of non-conference related restatement issues has a significantly negative affect on investors’ valuation decisions. Our findings suggest that SEC Speech GAAP is associated with financial statements that are less informative to investors and investors find the valuation consequences of restatements prompted by SEC Speech GAAP to be less important than the valuation consequences for restatements prompted for other reasons.
Malignant tumors of the nasopharynx.

One hundred and twenty patients with malignancy of the nasopharynx were reviewed. The most common presenting symptoms of this disease were cervical mass and hearing loss. Neoplasm occurred three times more frequently in males than in females. Cranial nerve dysfunction was present in 17.5% of patients at the time of initial evaluation. The overall 3- and 5-year determinate survival for the entire series of nasopharyngeal malignancies was 38.9, and 27.0%, respectively. Nonsquamous cell malignancies demonstrated a better 5-year survival (42%) than squamous cell and undifferentiated neoplasms (24%). The presence of cervical metastases offered a poorer prognosis. A 39.6% 5-year survival was recorded for patients without nodal disease. Massive lymphadenopathy or bilateral cervical metastases forecasted an ominous 5-year survival of 13.6%. Control rate was greatest among patients with tumors restricted to one area of the nasopharynx and without regional metastases. The 5-year survival of such patients was 71.4% compared to 13.3% for patients having tumor extension beyond the nasopharynx producing cranial nerve impairment or bone erosion.
Mentoring in Academe: A Feminist Poststructural Lens on Stories of Women Engineering Faculty of Color

We analyzed the mentoring narratives of women of color in faculty in engineering using feminist poststructural narratological lenses. We found that university mentoring systems were designed to align with master narratives of mentoring but did not coincide with women faculty’s own mentoring stories. Specifically, women engineers regarded their mentee experiences and cultures of mentoring with varying levels of suspicion, ambiguity, vulnerability, and dis/enchantment that became embodied in alternative subject positions, emplotments, and agency. We contribute to greater understandings of mentoring processes as well as difference and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) academic workplaces.
Structure of thrombin complexed with selective non-electrophilic inhibitors having cyclohexyl moieties at P1.

The crystal structures of five new non-electrophilic β-strand-templated thrombin active-site inhibitors have been determined bound to the enzyme. Four co-crystallize with hirugen and inhibitor isomorphously to produce thrombin–hirugen crystals (monoclinic, space group C2), while one co-crystallizes in the hexagonal system, space group P65. A 1,4-substituted cyclohexyl moiety is conserved at the P1 position of all the inhibitors, along with a fused hetero-bicyclic five- and six-membered ring that occupies the P2 site. Amino, amidino and aminoimidazole groups are attached to the cyclohexyl ring for recognition at the S1 specificity site, while benzylsulfonyl and diphenyl groups enhance the binding at the S3 subsite. The cyclohexyl groups at the P1 positions of three of the inhibitors appear to be in the energetically favored chair conformation, while the imidazole-substituted cyclohexyl rings are in a boat conformation. Somewhat unexpectedly, the two cyclohexyl-aminoimidazole groups bind differently in the specificity site; the unique binding of one is heretofore unreported. The other inhibitors generally mimic arginyl binding at S1. This group of inhibitors combines the non-electrophilicity and selectivity of DAPA-like compounds and the more optimal binding features of the S1–S3 sites of thrombin for peptidic molecules, which results in highly potent (binding constants 12 nM–16 pM, one being 1.1 µM) and selective (ranging from 140 to 20 000 times more selective compared with trypsin) inhibitors of thrombin. The binding modes of these novel inhibitors are correlated with their binding constants, as is their selectivity, in order to provide further insight for the design of therapeutic antithrombotic agents that inhibit thrombin directly at the active site.
Two-photon LIF imaging of atomic oxygen in flames with picosecond excitation

Abstract Interference-free planar laser-induced fluorescence measurements of atomic oxygen are demonstrated in steady and unsteady laminar premixed methane flames. Two-dimensional LIF measurements of atomic oxygen present a challenge because of the relatively weak two-photon absorption cross-sections and the nonlinear dependence of the LIF signal on laser intensity. Previous two-photon LIF measurements of atomic oxygen in hydrocarbon flames using nanosecond laser excitation were complicated by significant interference from photolytically produced oxygen atoms. Recent results from line-imaging studies in our laboratory indicate that CO 2 is the dominant photolytic precursor. Here, we use picosecond excitation to image atomic oxygen with negligible photolytic interference. We demonstrate this capability in premixed CH 4 /O 2 /N 2 ( ϕ = 1.08 , X N 2 = 0.63 ) flames with an adiabatic flame temperature of 2480 K and an estimated peak O-atom mole fraction of 0.5%. Peak single-shot signal-to-noise ratios of 9 are achieved, and the estimated detection limit is approximately 80 ppm. Quantitative O-atom LIF measurements also require knowledge of the temperature-dependent quenching cross-sections, which are not currently available. The effects of collisional quenching on the O-atom LIF are predicted using two models for the temperature dependence of quenching cross-sections, and the results indicate that O-atom LIF signals can provide accurate measurements of O-atom profiles in flames. Measurements in an acoustically forced Bunsen flame illustrate the feasibility of using O-atom LIF to investigate flow–flame interactions.
Water-Soluble Cruciforms: Response to Protons and Selected Metal Ions

The syntheses of three water-soluble cruciform fluorophores (XF) carrying aniline-N,N-bisacetic acid, 2-hydroxyaniline-N,N,O-trisacetic acid, and 1,2-phenylenediamine-N,N,N′,N′-tetrakisacetic acid are reported. The XF skeleton was synthesized by a Horner reaction to assemble the distyrylbenzene unit followed by a Sonogashira coupling to attach the phenyleneethynylene modules. The photophysics of both the sodium salts and the ethyl esters of the three carboxylated 1,4-bis(aminostyryl)-2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)benzenes were investigated in chloroform and in aqueous buffered solution at a pH of 7.0 and compared to that of 1,4-bis(dibutylaminostyryl)-2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)benzene (BDB). The attachment of the carboxylate units to the aniline nitrogens influenced the photophysics and the sensory responses of the XFs, as the combined effect of steric bulk and charge repulsion led to a blue-shifted absorption when compared to that of BDB. While the fluorescence of the water-soluble XFs is sensitive toward metal cati...
Hemodynamic Changes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Right cardiac catheterization was performed in 136 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Forty-three of these patients had a second study a mean of 25 months later (range, 18 to 38 months). The changes in hemodynamic data over a period of 25 months were small. The cardiac index decreased 6 percent, and the mean pulmonary arterial pressure increased 7 percent. The changes were similar in patients with and those without emphysema.
Surgery, Not Percutaneous Revascularization, Is the Preferred Strategy for Patients With Significant Left Main Coronary Stenosis

The place to begin is with a brief discussion of the general case: percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) for all anatomic varieties of coronary disease. Daemen et al1 pooled 3051 patients from 4 randomized trials comparing CABG with PCI using bare metal stents (BMS). At 5 years, PCI and CABG were similar with respect to death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. Repeat revascularization was significantly more frequent after PCI (29.7% versus 7.9%; P <0.001), which probably accounted for a significantly higher frequency of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) after PCI (39.2% versus 23.0%; P <0.001). Revascularization was considered complete in 89.4% of CABG patients compared with 62% of PCI patients ( P <0.001). Bravata et al2 reviewed 23 randomized controlled comparisons of CABG with PCI with the use of BMS in 5019 patients and found significantly greater angina relief with CABG at 1 to 5 years ( P <0.001). Repeat revascularization was more frequent after PCI (risk difference 25% at 1 year and 33% at 5 years; P <0.001). Javaid et al3 reviewed their “real world” experience with CABG and PCI using drug-eluting stents (DES) for 2- and 3-vessel coronary disease in 1680 patients and found that MACCE were more frequent with PCI (21.2% versus 9.7% for 2-vessel disease; P <0.001; 28.4% versus 10.8% for 3-vessel disease; P <0.001). Response by Teirstein p 1020 The broad experiences reviewed above include experience with BMS and DES and contain a very small number of patients with left main coronary artery (LMCA) stenosis. Do the same lessons apply? Early reported experience focused on the LMCA population varied widely. In the discussion that follows, DES were used exclusively or partially unless specifically stated otherwise. In 50 patients followed up for 5.2 months, with angiography in 42%, …
[60]Fullerene cycloaddition across hindered acenes

The Diels–Alder cycloadditions of [60]fullerene across sterically hindered 6,13-bis(2′,6′-dialkylphenyl)pentacenes, 1 and 2, produce fullerene–acene monoadducts 3 and 4. In both cases, further [60]fullerene cycloaddition to form cis-bis[60]fullerene adducts is retarded by steric resistance between the [60]fullerene moieties and the o-dialkyl substituents. Instead, the fullerene moieties of monoadducts 3 and 4 sensitize the formation of 1O2 which subsequently cycloadds across the acene backbone to produce novel syn and anti [60]fullerene–dioxo bisadducts, 8–11.