cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hypochlorous acid-modified low-density lipoprotein inactivates the lysosomal protease cathepsin B: protection by ascorbic and lipoic acids.

AbstractUnregulated uptake of oxidized LDL by the scavenger receptor (s) of macrophages is thought to be an early event in atherosclerotic lesion development. Accumulation of oxidized LDL within macrophages may result from resistance of the modified LDL to enzymatic hydrolysis or from direct inactivation of lysosomal enzymes by reactive LDL-associated moieties. Since HOCl-modified LDL has been detected in vivo, the effects of HOCl-modified LDL on the activities of the cysteine protease cathepsin B and the aspartyl protease cathepsin D were investigated. LDL (0.5 mg protein/ml), which had been exposed to HOCl (25–200 µM), caused rapid dose-dependent inactivation of cathepsin B, but not of cathepsin D. Exposure of LDL to HOCl results primarily in the formation of LDL-associated chloramines, and the model chloramine N-acetyl-lysine chloramine also caused dose-dependent inactivation of cathepsin B. Incubation of HOCl-modified LDL with ascorbic and lipoic acids (25–200 µM) resulted in dose-dependent reduction...
Efficient sampling of ion motions in molecular dynamics simulations on DNA: Variant Hamiltonian replica exchange method

Abstract Counterions play an important role in biomolecular functions. Although molecular dynamics simulations have been applied on various nucleic acids, accurate and efficient descriptions of ion motions around DNA or RNA are still challenging, largely due to ions’ slow mobility. Here, a variant Hamiltonian replica exchange method was developed to achieve efficient sampling of ion motions. Based on the present approach, the results from our model study on classical Drew–Dickerson B-DNA dodecamer show remarkable agreements with experimental measurements and nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann predictions. Due to the employment of this variant Hamiltonian replica exchange method, these amazing agreements can be achieved within a short simulation time (900 ps).
Drugs that suppress hepatic fat synthesis in starved-refed BHE/cdb rats also have an effect on muscle protein synthesis.

AbstractSimultaneous lipogenesis and protein synthesis as influenced by LY79771, testosterone, or dehydroepiandrosterone in starved/refed rats were studied. Starved-refed BHE/cdb rats were injected with one of these compounds during the 2-day refeed period. Hepatic de novo fatty acid synthesis using tritium incorporation into fatty acids and protein synthesis using [14C]phenylalanine incorporation into hepatic and muscle protein were determined. Hepatic lipogenesis was decreased by all three drugs and these drugs had a differential effect on protein synthesis. We did not observe a corresponding increase in protein synthesis in the liver when fat synthesis was decreased, but we did observe a corresponding increase in muscle protein synthesis. We concluded that in the acute hyperlipogenic state induced by starvation/refeeding, these drugs induced a reciprocal increase in muscle protein synthesis along with a suppression of fatty acid synthesis.
A Search for Genes from the Dark Band Regions of Human Chromosome 21

Abstract As part of an effort to isolate genes from the entire long arm of human chromosome 21, we performed cDNA selection with 15 YACs from the regions of the pericentromeric heterochromatin and the two Giemsa dark bands of this chromosome using cDNA libraries from six different tissues. Nine of these YACs mapped to the Giemsa dark band, 21q21. The 9 YACs cover approximately 6 Mb of DNA, representing 15% of 21q and a significant portion of the 12-15 Mb estimated to be within this band. Several lines of evidence from analysis of the selected cDNA libraries suggest that this region of 21q has very few single-copy transcribed sequences. An EcoRI library was constructed with DNA from 1 of the 9 YACs. Grail analysis of the sequences of both ends of 24 YAC-specific clones from this EcoRI library revealed no potential exons. In contrast to these results, the selected cDNA libraries of a control YAC from the human MHC region in 6p21.3 as well as those from most of the other 21q YACs consisted largely of YAC-specific single-copy cDNA clones. Given the success of the cDNA selection method for finding a large number of genes in YACs from other chromosomal regions, these results suggest that the 6 Mb of DNA in the dark band 21q21 contains few single-copy sequences expressed in this tissue set. In contrast, selected cDNA libraries from the pericentromeric region, the telomeric border of the dark band 21q21, and the dark band 21q22.2 yielded more than 30 new ESTs. These data contribute to our understanding of human genome organization and are relevant to plans for the Human Genome Initiative.
Design of a production process to enhance optical performance of 3ω optics

Using the Phoenix pre-production conditioning facility we have shown that raster scanning of 3ω optics using a XeF excimer laser and mitigation of the resultant damage sites with a CO2 laser can enhance their optical damage resistance. Several large-scale (43 cm x 43 cm) optics have been processed in this facility. A production facility capable of processing several large optics a week has been designed based on our experience in the pre-production facility. The facility will be equipped with UV conditioning lasers -- 351-nm XeF excimer lasers operating at 100 Hz and 23 ns. The facility will also include a CO2 laser for damage mitigation, an optics stage for raster scanning large-scale optics, a damage mapping system (DMS) that images large-scale optics and can detect damage sites or precursors as small as ≈15 μm, and two microscopes to image damage sites with ≈5 μm resolution. The optics will be handled in a class 100 clean room, within the facility that will be maintained at class 1000.
Label-free detection of DNA hybridization using gold-coated tapered fiber optic biosensors (TFOBS) in a flow cell at 1310 nm and 1550 nm

Abstract We had previously reported the detection of a model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) using antibody-immobilized tapered fiber optic biosensors (TFOBS) at 1310 nm and 1550 nm under stagnant and flow conditions. Because of recent interest in pathogen detection based on DNA, in this work we explore the application of these sensors for the detection of single stranded DNA (ssDNA). We show that it is feasible to directly detect the hybridization of a 10-mer ssDNA to its complementary strand immobilized on the sensor surface. Detection was performed under flow conditions because flow reduces non-specific binding to sensor surface, eliminates optical transmission changes due to mechanical movements, and allows for instantaneous switching of samples when needed. TFOBS were fabricated with waist diameters of 5–10 μm and total lengths of 1000–1200 μm. The taper regions were coated with 50 nm of gold and housed in a specially constructed holder which served as a flow cell. The TFOBS was immobilized with 15-mer ssDNA with a C6 extension and a thiol group, which attaches to Au〈1 1 1〉 sites. Then, the complementary 10-mer ssDNA samples were allowed to flow in from low to high concentration (750 fM to 7.5 nM) and the resulting transmission changes were recorded. It is shown that 750 fM of complementary DNA can be detected. This sensor was able to distinguish between complementary DNA from DNA with a single nucleotide mismatch in the middle position.
Gender, Rhetoric, and Power: Toward a Model of Reciprocal Empowerment

Feminist rhetorical theorists have examined the influence of gender on rhetorical style. We initiate here a discussion of the influence of traditional concepts of power on rhetoric and offer reciprocal empowerment as an alternative concept of power. Furthermore, we argue that rhetoric filtered through the prism of reciprocal empowerment encourages a universal give-and-take perspective of influence that can foster a more humane society.
Elevated Serum Cobalamin in Patients With Decompensated Biventricular Failure

ABSTRACT Background Serum cobalamin (vitamin B 12 ), bound to transcobalamin II, is taken up by the endothelium of the hepatic vasculature via a receptor-mediated membrane transport process. We hypothesized hepatic congestion is associated with elevated serum B 12 without hepatocyte necrosis. Methods and Results Serum B 12 , aspartate and alanine transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin (Bili), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were monitored at the time of admission in 91 hospitalized patients: ( a ) 38 with decompensated biventricular failure having systemic venous distention, tricuspid regurgitation (TR), and echocardiographic evidence of inferior vena cava dilation and moderate to marked TR; ( b ) 18 with acute left heart failure having a myocardial infarction, an ischemic cardiomyopathy, or hypertensive heart disease; and ( c ) 35 without clinical evidence of failure despite myocardial infarction, pericarditis, or atrial arrhythmia. Serum cobalamin (normal 180–600 pg/mL) was elevated with biventricular failure (861.4 ± 53.0 pg/mL) compared with ( P 12 remained normal. Serum aspartate, alanine, and alkaline phosphatase were normal in each group whereas Bili was increased (1.8 ± 0.2 mg/dL; P Conclusions Elevated cobalamin and Bili are respective biomarkers of hepatocellular dysfunction and cholestasis in patients having decompensated biventricular failure with systemic venous distention and TR without hepatocyte necrosis vis-a-vis left heart failure or in the absence of clinical failure. Elevated plasma BNP did not distinguish between the presence or absence of systemic venous congestion.
Evaluation of serial venous and arterial lactate concentrations in healthy anesthetized sheep undergoing ovariectomy

Abstract Objective To determine if lactate concentrations in jugular venous and auricular arterial blood differ in anesthetized sheep. Study design Prospective, controlled experimental study. Animals Twelve healthy adult ewes, 4–7 years and weighing 62–77 kg. Methods Jugular venous blood was collected before anesthesia (PreO v ) for measurement of lactate concentration, packed cell volume and total protein. Ewes were administered a standard anesthesia protocol. Jugular venous (IntraO v ) and auricular arterial (IntraO a ) blood samples were obtained 40 minutes after induction of anesthesia, and again in recovery (PostO v and PostO a ). An additional blood sample was drawn 6 weeks post-operatively from non-fasted sheep (NF_Lact). Lactate concentrations were compared among PreO v , IntraO v and IntraO a , PostO v and PostO a , and between PreO v and NF_Lact with paired t-test and repeated measure analyses of variance ( anova ) with PreO v as a covariate ( p = 0.05). Results IntraO v lactate concentration had decreased from PreO v There were significant differences between arterial and venous IntraO and PostO lactate concentrations. There was no significant difference between IntraO and PostO, or PreO v and NF_Lact. Conclusions and clinical relevance Lactate concentrations were significantly lower in anesthetized sheep compared to non-anesthetized sheep. Lactate concentrations in venous blood were higher than in arterial blood. Therefore, anesthetic status and sampling site should be considered when interpreting lactate concentrations, and the sampling site should be consistent for repeated measurements.
Minimal dating and its relationship to other social problems and general adjustment

This study was designed to answer the question of whether low-dating men and women have difficulties in same-sex friendship interactions and in general psychological adjustment. Anxious minimal daters were compared with active relaxed daters on self-report, self-monitoring, behavioral, and peer-rating measures of social anxiety, social skill, and social activity. In addition, all subjects were given the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) as a measure of general adjustment. For men, our prediction that low-daters would show difficulties in samesex friendship interactions was confirmed, as was the prediction that they would be less well adjusted than high-daters on the EPI. However, the predictions were not confirmed for women. Low-dating women did not show any difficulties in same-sex friendship interactions, nor were they any less well adjusted in general than high-dating women. These results point to the importance of sex, differences in understanding and treating minimal dating and suggest that broader based interventions may be needed for low-dating men.
Demographic balancing of migrant and resident elk in a partially migratory population through forage–predation tradeoffs

Partial migration is widespread in ungulates, yet few studies have assessed demographic mechanisms for how these alter­ native strategies are maintained in populations. Over the past two decades the number of resident individuals of the Ya Ha Tinda elk herd near Banff National Park has been increasing proportionally despite an overall population decline. We compared demographic rates of migrant and resident elk to test for demographic mechanisms partial migration. We deter­ mined adult female survival for 132 elk, pregnancy rates for 150 female elk, and elk calf survival for 7&calves. Population vital rates were combined in Leslie-matrix models to estimate demographic fitness, which we defined as the migration strategy-specific population growth rate. We also tested for differences in factors influencing risk of mortality between migratory strategies for adult females using Cox-proportional hazards regression and time-varying covariates of exposure to forage biomass, wolf predation risk, and group size. Despite higher pregnancy rates and winter calf weights associated with higher forage quality, survival of migrant adult females and calves were lower than resident elk. Resident elk traded high quality food to reduce predation risk by selecting areas close to human activity, and by living in group sizes 20% larger than migrants. Thus, residents experienced higher adult female survival and calf survival, but lower pregnancy and calf weights. Cause-specific mortality of migrants was dominated by wolf and grizzly bear mortality, whereas resident mortality was dominated by human hunting. Demographic differences translated into slightly higher (2— 3%), but non-significant, resident population growth rate compared to migrant elk, suggesting demographic balancing between resident strategies during our study. Despite statistical equivalence, our results are also consistent with slow long-term declines in migrants because o f high predation because o f higher wolf-caused mortality in migrants. These results emphasize that migrants and residents will make different tradeoffs between forage and risk may affect the demographic balance o f partially migratory populations, which may explain recent declines in migratory behavior in many ungulate populations around the world. 60 65 70 75 80
Crohn's Disease and Lichen Nitidus: A Case Report and Comparison of Common Histopathologic Features

We describe a 54-year-old black woman with Crohn's disease, who developed lichen nitidus, the third report of a patient with both diseases. The rarity of these diseases individually and the histopathologic features in common imply that the two diseases are linked. Multinucleated giant cells, a common finding in the lesions of Crohn's disease, are less common in the lesions of lichen nitidus. The presence of multinucleated giant cells in lichen nitidus in all three case reports is distinctly unusual. The infiltrates of Crohn's disease and lichen nitidus contain CD-68-positive macrophages. As such, the subset of lichen nitidus with giant cells should be recognized as a cutaneous manifestation of Crohn's disease.
A stationary model for periodic excitation with uncorrelated random disturbances

Abstract The paper presents a stationary model for periodic excitations with random amplitude and phase disturbances for linear and nonlinear random vibration analysis. The disturbances are modeled as uncorrelated stationary white noise processes. Application of the model is demonstrated by stationary moment response of a linear single-degree-of-freedom system subject to such excitations. To find moment responses, an equivalent augmented system subject to parametric white noise excitations under certain constraint conditions is studied. Numerical results for the second and fourth-order moment responses are presented. The probability density function of the response is calculated based on thhe cumulant-neglect closure method. NonGaussianity of the response is discussed in terms of the excess factor. The results show that the random amplitude disturbance can significantly increase system moment response. The random phase modulation may increase or reduce the system moment response, depending on the value of relative detuning berween the system natural frequency and the mean excitation frequency. The response may become Gaussian in the sense of up to the fourth-order moment for sufficiently large random phase or relative detuning.
Geophysical variables and behavior: LI. Temporal variation of suicide in teens and young adults.

Young adults aged 15 to 24 yr. showed a significant variation over the days of week, with a peak on Sunday (X,2 = 18.12, p < .01), whereas those over 35 yr. of age showed a peak on Mondays (xG2 = 44.27, p < ,001). Young adults showed no variation over the months of the year (X,,2 = 12.57) whereas those over 35 yr. of age showed a peak in April and May (x,,' = 53.09, p < .001). Young adults had no fewer suicides on national holidays than expected (x,2 = 0.78) whereas those over 35 yr. of age had fewer than expected (x,* = 6.88, p < .01). The present analysis then showed that young adults may have a different temporal distribution for suicide than older adults.
Accelerator Development at Bates

The past year has seen the completion of a major expansion of the Bates Accelerator Laboratory. A second experimental hall, South Hall, and several magnetic spectrometers have been constructed. The accelerator's maximum energy has been raised from 400 to 750 MeV by means of beam recirculation. A current two-year project for the fabrication of an additional RF transmitter plus a 30% increase in RF peak power capability will increase energy further to ca. 1 GeV. During the same period pulse-to-pulse beam sharing between the high-resolution spectrometer area and South Hall will become available. In January 1981 the Laboratory submitted their ''Proposal for a Long-Range Expansion Program'' to DOE-NSF. The proposed development consists of three stages. Stage I calls for the addition of a pulse stretcher ring to furnish a CW beam to the South Hall beam lines. Additional experimental space for internal target experiments and photon tagging research are also included. Stage II increases the accelerator energy to 2.1 GeV (at 140 microamps) by means of a five-pass head-to-tail recirculator. Stage III is, at this time, a plan rather than a proposal. It increases accelerator energy to 4 GeV by extending the accelerator length and power and adds another pulsemore » stretcher ring and three new experimental areas for the higher energy work. This paper discusses each of these stages in detail and recommends their funding and scheduling.« less
MDR1 Ala893 Polymorphism Is Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are overlapping chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Suggestive evidence for linkage at chromosome 7q has been reported for both CD and UC. Contained within this region is the gene for MDR1 (multidrug resistance), a membrane transport protein for which human polymorphisms have been reported in Ala893Ser/Thr and C3435T that alter pharmacokinetic profiles for a variety of drugs. Because mdr1 knockout mice spontaneously develop colitis, exonic regions were resequenced and tested for IBD association in a large, multicenter North American cohort. Two missense mutations, Asn21Asp and Ala893Ser/Thr, as well as the expression-associated polymorphism C3435T, described elsewhere, were genotyped in the entire cohort. Significant association of Ala893 with IBD was observed by both case-control analysis (P=.002) and the pedigree disequilibrium test (PDT [P=.00020–.00030]) but not for the Asn21Asp or C3435T polymorphisms. Significant association by PDT was observed within the subset with CD (P=.0014–.00090), with similar, nonsignificant trends in a smaller subset with UC. The Ala893Ser/Thr variant is triallelic, and the associated, common allele is Ala893, with undertransmission of the 893Ser (common) and the 893Thr (rare) variants. The Ala893 variant has decreased activity compared with the 893Ser variant; therefore, the association with human IBD is consistent with the murine model of mdr1 deficiency. Taken together, these data support the association of the common Ala893 polymorphism with IBD specifically and, more broadly, provides additional support for its contribution to interindividual pharmacogenetic variation.
In situ measurements of BrO during AASE II

BrO measured from the NASA ER-2 during Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE) II exhibited a mean value (for 20-minute averages) of 5.4 +/- 0.3 pptv, with a standard deviation of 3.1 pptv. Ratios of BrO to available inorganic bromine (Br(sub y)) show only slight increases in polar regions relative to midlatitudes. A comparison between observed latitudinal and diurnal variations of this same ratio and that calculated by photochemical models shows reasonable agreement in behavior, but significant discrepancies in magnitude. It is unclear whether this difference is due to errors in measurements, models or both.
Wavelet domain mutual information synchronization of multimodal cardiac microscopy image sequences

Multi-modal microscopy, such as combined bright-fiel and multi-color fluorescenc imaging, allows capturing a sample's anatomical structure, cell dynamics, and molecular activity in distinct imaging channels. However, only a limited number of channels can be acquired simultaneously and acquiring each channel sequentially at every time-point drastically reduces the achievable frame rate. Multi-modal imaging of rapidly moving objects (such as the beating embryonic heart), which requires high frame-rates, has therefore remained a challenge. We have developed a method to temporally register multimodal, high-speed image sequences of the beating heart that were sequentially acquired. Here we describe how maximizing the mutual information of time-shifted wavelet coefficien sequences leads to an implementation that is both accurate and fast. Specificall , we validate our technique on synthetically generated image sequences and show its effectiveness on experimental bright-fiel and fluorescenc image sequences of the beating embryonic zebrafis heart. This method opens the prospect of cardiac imaging in multiple channels at high speed without the need for multiple physical detectors.
Stochastic Impulsive Control Problems for Degenerate Reflected Diffusions

In this paper we give a characterization of the optimal cost of a stopping time problem (resp. impulse control problem) as the solution of a variational (resp. quasi-variational) inequality without assuming coercivity. The evolution case under Neumann boundary conditions is treated by combining the analytic and probabilistic methods.
A Hybrid Conformal/Nonconformal Domain Decomposition Method for Multi-Region Electromagnetic Modeling

This paper presents a unified framework for solving large-scale multi-region electromagnetic problems using a hybrid conformal/nonconformal domain decomposition method. In this method, an original electrically large problem is first divided into several regions based on its geometry. Each region is then meshed and further decomposed into smaller subdomains. As such, the decomposed problem is mesh-conformal and geometry-conformal within each region but could be mesh-nonconformal and geometry-nonconformal between two neighboring regions. To solve such a problem, a hybrid method is proposed that employs the finite-element tearing and interconnecting (FETI) method to deal with mesh-nonconformal and/or geometry-nonconformal interfaces, where a second-order transmission condition and a crosspoint correction technique are applied to improve the iterative convergence of the interface system and ensure a correct interconnection across subdomain interfaces. For mesh-conformal and geometry-conformal interfaces inside each region, the hybrid method employs the dual-primal finite element tearing and interconnecting (FETI-DP) method to construct an effective coarse grid correction for the interface problem. A unified global system of equations is finally formulated for the interface unknowns from both nonconformal and conformal interfaces. The proposed method is validated with simulation of wave propagation and radiation by broadband antennas and phased-array antennas covered with a radome and a near-field focal lens.
The Subsystem Family of Concepts: A Critique and a Proposal:

The subsystem concept has been widely utilized by political scien tists for many decades. The various concepts that fall under this ru bric have been greatly modified and improved in recent years. However, a number of problems persist. This essay explains why the subsystem concept has been so popular and enduring, and then discusses three problems in the application and use of subsystem concepts. It then proposes that a different approach, which emphasizes function rather than structure, be utilized, and develops the idea of a "hierarchy of conflict" to help improve the utility of the subsystem model. This per mits the development of a typology of subsystem strategies, and the formulation of basic hypotheses.
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy in Multiple Sclerosis

AIDS generated a significantly increased interest in the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and treatment of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a disease previously considered to be very rare. Scrutiny increased after a second wave of PML following the introduction of biological agents, in particular, natalizumab and efalizumab. While efalizumab, a lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 inhibitor marketed for use in psoriasis, has been removed from the market, natalizumab, an α4β1 and α4β7 integrin inhibitor, remains widely used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Approximately 400 cases of natalizumab-associated PML have been reported from 2005 to August 2013. Additionally, other therapies currently employed or under development for the treatment of MS may also be associated with PML, such as mycophenolate mofetil, rituximab, and alemtuzumab. Therefore, practitioners using these medications need to understand the risks associated with these agents, ways to mitigate the risk, and treatment of PML and the related condition PML immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. PML associated with the use of therapeutic agents, especially, natalizumab, does share similarities with HIV-related PML; however, distinct differences exist. Radiographically isolated PML is seen more commonly with natalizumab-associated PML and the disease appears to be heralded more often by cognitive and behavior disturbances. Furthermore, the mortality of natalizumab-associated PML is substantially lower. Risk mitigation strategies have been developed for the natalizumab-associated PML, which has been convincingly demonstrated to be linked to duration of therapy, JC virus seropositivity, and the prior use of immunosuppressive agents.
Multifocal primary neuroblastoma

The purpose of this study is to present three patients with multifocal primary neuroblastoma, to review the literature, and describe the radiographic findings.Subjects and methods. Three children with multifocal neuroblastoma have been identified. The case histories and imaging findings in these patients are reviewed.Results. Two children had synchronous and one child had metachronous multifocal primary neuroblastoma. The primary tumors were both in the abdomen in one patient, both in the chest in another patient, and in the chest and abdomen in the third patient. Evidence for multifocal orgin of these tumors, rather than metastatic spread, is presented.Conclusion. Multifocal primary neuroblatomas can occur. The tumors maybe synchronous or metachronous. Awareness of this disorder may prevent errors in diagnosis and staging. Although not identified in our patients there is a strong familial incidence of neuroblastomas in those patients with multifocal tumors.
Restriction to human cytomegalovirus replication in vitro removed by physiological levels of cortisol

Since viral infection is in most cases contrary to the survival of the host cell, it is reasonable to assume that cells possess innate viral replication inhibitory mechanisms. Even between strains of permissive cells, degrees of permissiveness are observed. Restriction to human cytomegalovirus (CMV) replication in vitro is well known, especially in epithelioid cells or cells derived from certain organs. We have studied restriction in a fibroblastic strain of human embryonic kidney cells. By treatment of cell cultures with maximum physiologic concentration of the hormone cortisol (25 micrograms%) both pre and post virus inoculation, susceptibility to laboratory strain Ad169 CMV and low-passaged clinical isolate JSS CMV was enhanced by factors of 6.4 +/- 0.7 and 11.1 +/- 0.4, respectively; effectively converting these cells to a totally permissive state. A linear dose response, which peaks at 25 micrograms% and declines thereafter up to 300 micrograms%, is evident for both virus strains in this enhancement system. Breakdown of restriction increases in linear fashion with increasing time of cortisol pretreatment of cells. The characterization of cortisol effects converting restrictive human fetal cells in vitro to the permissive state further indicates that human hormones may play a significant role in CMV susceptibility in vivo.
Verifiable random functions

We efficiently combine unpredictability and verifiability by extending the Goldreich-Goldwasser-Micali (1986) construction of pseudorandom functions f/sub s/ from a secret seed s, so that knowledge of s not only enables one to evaluate f/sub s/ at any point x, but also to provide an NP-proof that the value f/sub s/(x) is indeed correct without compromising the unpredictability of f/sub s/ at any other point for which no such a proof was provided.
A sparse and high-order accurate line-based discontinuous Galerkin method for unstructured meshes

We present a new line-based discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretization scheme for first- and second-order systems of partial differential equations. The scheme is based on fully unstructured meshes of quadrilateral or hexahedral elements, and it is closely related to the standard nodal DG scheme as well as several of its variants such as the collocation-based DG spectral element method (DGSEM) or the spectral difference (SD) method. However, our motivation is to maximize the sparsity of the Jacobian matrices, since this directly translates into higher performance in particular for implicit solvers, while maintaining many of the good properties of the DG scheme. To achieve this, our scheme is based on applying one-dimensional DG solvers along each coordinate direction in a reference element. This reduces the number of connectivities drastically, since the scheme only connects each node to a line of nodes along each direction, as opposed to the standard DG method which connects all nodes inside the element and many nodes in the neighboring ones. The resulting scheme is similar to a collocation scheme, but it uses fully consistent integration along each 1-D coordinate direction which results in different properties for nonlinear problems and curved elements. Also, the scheme uses solution points along each element face, which further reduces the number of connections with the neighboring elements. Second-order terms are handled by an LDG-type approach, with an upwind/downwind flux function based on a switch function at each element face. We demonstrate the accuracy of the method and compare it to the standard nodal DG method for problems including Poisson's equation, Euler's equations of gas dynamics, and both the steady-state and the transient compressible Navier-Stokes equations. We also show how to integrate the Navier-Stokes equations using implicit schemes and Newton-Krylov solvers, without impairing the high sparsity of the matrices.
Neuromaturation of the Human Fetus

The fetal human possesses an active central nervous system from at least the eighth week of development. Until mid-gestation the most significant center of activity is the brainstem. By the end of the first trimester, it appears that the brainstem could be acting as a rudimentary modulator of sensory information and motor activity. What importance ought to be attached to such regulatory activity is uncertain. Some argue that it represents a level of integrated activity sufficient to bolster an argument for conferring some measure of standing at this point. Our thinking about sentience is not advanced a great deal, as we as yet have no good way of talking about it at the brainstem level. As for the neocortex, available evidence indicates that it does not become a functional part of the neuraxis until at least mid-gestation. It is not until then that the thalamus--the major gateway for sensory input to the cerebrum--makes its first afferent contacts with the neocortex.
A non-iterative deconvolution method for estimating multipath channel responses

The authors address the problem of estimating a multipath channel response characterized by time delays and amplitudes. The data for the problem are a noisy received waveform which consists of scaled and delayed replicas of a known transmitted signal. The problem of estimating the unknown parameters is posed as a convolution problem. A simple approach which just solves a set of linear equations is proposed for this deconvolution. The approach makes use of the special structure of the impulse response of the channel. It yields a better estimation of the channel response than the iterative method of projection onto convex sets (POCS). The connection between the proposed and the POCS method is shown. The problem that occurs when the time delays are not integer multiples of the sampling interval, which is often the case in practice, is addressed. >
Hemagglutinin activity and heterogeneity of related Porphyromonas gingivalis proteinases

Thiol-dependent proteinases that are expressed and released by Porphyromonas gingivalis are considered virulence factors in periodontitis because of their potential to effect matrix degradation and inflammation. A number of P. gingivalis thiol-proteinases have been described, however, with similar biochemical characteristics. In this report we demonstrate that an isolated P. gingivalis proteinase consists of nonco-valently associated peptides and that slight variations in the association pattern of these peptides could result in different proteinases with different affinities and activities. We also describe the co-purification of thiol-proteinase activity with hemagglutinin activity and demonstrate that each type of activity has similar inhibition profiles. With the use of monoclonal antibodies against the P. gingivalis proteinase we follow proteinase released into the culture medium over the course of 10 days and, by Western blot analysis, demonstrate that many of the proteinases with varying molecular weight are related. The identification of a single, immunoreactive, 140 kDa proteinase detected early in the culture and in association with the P. gingivalis cells suggests that multiple proteinases may originate from a single 140 kDa proteinase.
Lack of HER2 Overexpression and Amplification in Small Intestinal Adenocarcinoma

HER2 overexpression and amplification have been studied as a therapeutic and prognostic target in a number of human cancers, including esophageal, gastric, and colorectal adenocarcinomas. However, HER2 status has not been well investigated in primary small intestinal adenocarcinoma, probably because of its rarity. In this study, we conducted immunohistochemical analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for HER2 on 49 primary nonampullar small intestinal adenocarcinomas. The results showed a complete lack of HER2 protein expression in 47 cases (96%) by immunohistochemical analysis. Only 2 cases (4%) showed a 1+ staining pattern. No tumors exhibited 2+ or 3+ HER2 immunoreactivity. By FISH, none of the tumors, including those with 1+ HER2 immunoreactivity, exhibited HER2 gene amplification. These observations demonstrate that HER2 protein overexpression and gene amplification are infrequent events, if they occur at all, in small intestinal adenocarcinoma. Thus, routine immunohistochemical and/or FISH testing for HER2 for potential targeted anti-HER2 therapy may not be beneficial for patients with primary small intestinal adenocarcinoma.
Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Use in Pediatric Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Anemia

Until recently, pediatric Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph(+)) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was associated with an extremely poor outcome when treated with chemotherapy alone, and only modest survival benefits were obtained with the widespread use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The development of first-generation (imatinib) and second-generation (dasatinib and nilotinib) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that target the BCR-ABL1 fusion protein produced by the Ph chromosome revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The Children's Oncology Group (COG) AALL0031 trial showed that the addition of imatinib to intensive chemotherapy did not cause increased toxicity and resulted in 3-year event-free survival rates that were more than double those of historical control data from the pre-imatinib era. These findings create a new paradigm for integrating molecularly targeted agents with conventional chemotherapy and call for a reassessment of the routine use of HSCT for children and adolescents with Ph(+) ALL. Second-generation TKIs have theoretical advantages over imatinib, and are now being tested in Ph(+) ALL. The focus of contemporary trials is to define the optimal use of chemotherapy, HSCT, and TKI in Ph(+) ALL. In the coming years, it is anticipated that additional agents will become available to potentiate TKI therapy and/or circumvent TKI resistance in Ph(+) ALL. Recent genomic studies have identified a subtype of high-risk pediatric B-cell-precursor ALL with a gene-expression profile similar to that of Ph(+) ALL, suggestive of active kinase signaling. Many of these Ph-like ALL cases harbor chromosome rearrangements and mutations that dysregulate cytokine receptor and kinase signaling, and these leukemias may also be candidates for TKI therapy.
Biochemistry of Iron Uptake

Recent information gained from genetic and biochemical studies of iron transport in yeast, coupled with the identification of specific mutations causing iron uptake disorders in mice and man, has provided new clues about the mechanisms involved in iron uptake. This article summarizes these discoveries and discusses their impact on our current understanding of the biochemistry of iron uptake.
Light emission from silicon nanostructures: Past, present and future perspectives

In this tutorial, I will review the main approaches developed so far to engineer efficient light emission from silicon-based materials. I will discuss the physics of radiative recombination in silicon nanostructures embedded in different dielectric matrices and I will picture the state of the art for on-chip optical amplifiers and silicon laser devices. In addition, I will introduce novel device concepts based on a-periodic photonic/plasmonic structures for the control and manipulation of localized light states on silicon-based chips.
Orientations of the Water Molecules in Cobalt Dichloride Hexahydrate by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

The orientations of the water molecules in cobalt dichloride hexahydrate have been established by study of the proton resonance spectrum. The directions of the experimentally determined proton-proton vectors are compared with a hydrogen bonding scheme which is determined from the crystal structure reported by Mizuno. The scheme is then modified to fit the experimental data. The proposed atomic parameters for the hydrogen atoms are x , y , z =(0.097, 0.313, 0.268); (0.427,0.205, 0.205); (0.191, 0.000, 0.549); (0.226, 0.500, 0.162).
BEVs/PHEVs as Dispersed Energy Storage for V2B Uses in the Smart Grid

Numerous recent studies have assessed the feasibility of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode of discharging, which provides an option to use the energy stored in a battery in electric vehicles to support the power grid. This paper aims at demonstrating the potential benefits of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as dynamically configurable dispersed energy storage acting in a vehicle-to-building (V2B) operating mode. V2B is a concept that is practically viable today being far simpler than V2G, and it may be implemented on a 3-5 year time horizon while V2G may take 10-15 years to gain wider acceptance. Based on the battery characteristics, the benefits of using BEVs/PHEVs as energy storage for demand side management (DSM) and outage management (OM) are discussed in detail. This paper is also focused on the implementation issues of DSM and OM in the smart distribution grid. A strategy for adopting BEVs/PHEV uses in the V2B mode under the peak load and during outage condition is proposed and demonstrated with test cases and numerical results.
CUVAR-a new controlled expansion, high conductivity material for electronic thermal management

The increasing level of integration and operating speed of integrated circuit chips is leading to larger chip sizes with higher power dissipation. Electronic packages incorporating such devices require low cost and highly efficient thermal management materials for reliable performance of the device. W/Cu and Mo/Cu materials are often used as heat sinks or substrates for direct bonding the Si devices. While W and Mo based materials possess the required thermal expansion and thermal conductivity for electronic packages, they are difficult to machine and fabricate into intricate shapes. This report describes a new thermal management material, called CUVAR, which possesses low thermal expansion and high thermal conductivity. CUVAR is an extruded composite of copper and Invar powders, where Invar restrains thermal expansion while copper provides thermal conductivity. Most importantly, CUVAR is easily machined, enabling high speed and efficient fabrication of components. It is readily plated with copper, nickel, silver or gold for joining and finishing. CUVAR is an alternative to low thermal expansion materials such as Kovar and Alloy 42 with a much higher thermal conductivity. CUVAR can also be a replacement for the conventional W and Mo based thermal management materials with the advantages of low cost and excellent fabricability for high volume applications.
A novel low-loss integrated 60 GHz cavity filter with source-load coupling using surface micromachining technology

This paper presents a novel surface micromachined low-loss integrated cavity filter with a pair of transmission zeros using a simple source-load coupling scheme for emerging 60 GHz applications. The proposed method eliminates the dielectric loss by elevating the cavity-based filter into the air with the aid of the polymer-core conductor surface micromachining technology. The electrical fields of the cavity are thus entirely in air. A coplanar waveguide input and output interface is designed for easy integration with other planar electronics. The inter-cavity inductive coupling is realized through the use of pillar array iris, with the source-load capacitive coupling achieved with integrated coplanar waveguide lines. This combination of couplings creates a pair of transmission zeros to help achieve better selectivity. A measured insertion losses as low as 1.92 dB, along with a pair of transmission zeros, has been observed at 60 GHz.
Social play skill enhancement of children with autism using peers and siblings as therapists

Peer-mediated approaches represent the largest and most empirically supported type of social intervention for children with autism. In this article, we discuss peer-initiation strategies, the peer-mediated intervention that has been most used to teach typically developing peers or siblings to improve the social play skills of children with autism. Also discussed are additional intervention strategies that have preliminary research support including: integrated play groups, peer buddy systems, and group oriented contingencies. Practical information regarding how to apply peer-initiation strategies and peer buddy systems in the school setting is also provided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 727–735, 2007.
The Teradata SQL3 Multimedia Database Server

Multimedia applications??-??such as fingerprint matching, signature verification, face recognition, and speech recognition or translation??-??require complex abstract data-type support within database management systems. However, conventional databases are not designed to support multimedia. In this chapter, we describe several multimedia database challenges and explain how Teradata solves these problems with its SQL3 Multimedia Database system. A key component of this system is the Multimedia Object Manager, a general-purpose content-based multimedia server designed for the symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) and massively parallel processor (MPP) environments. The Teradata SQL3 Multimedia Database system allows users to define and manipulate user-defined functions (UDFs), which are invoked in parallel in the Multimedia Object Manager to analyze/manipulate the contents of multimedia objects. The two key characteristics of this subsystem are its support for content-based retrieval and multimodal integration. We provide an in-depth analysis of retrieval techniques using feature extraction and spatial indices. We also illustrate the power of multimodal integration by walking through the development of a complex application involving the generation of a ?>talking agent, ?> which uses speech, image, and video data types within the database system.
Role played by NaV 1.7 channels on thin-fiber muscle afferents in transmitting the exercise pressor reflex

Voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV) 1.7 are highly expressed on the axons of somatic afferent neurons and are thought to play an important role in the signaling of inflammatory pain. NaV 1.7 channels are classified as tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive, meaning that they are blocked by TTX concentrations of less than 300 nM. These findings prompted us to determine in decerebrated, unanesthetized rats, the role played by NaV 1.7 channels in the transmission of muscle afferent input evoking the exercise pressor reflex. We first showed that the exercise pressor reflex, which was evoked by static contraction of the triceps surae muscles, was reversibly attenuated by application of 50 nM TTX, but not 5 nM TTX, to the L4-L5 dorsal roots (control: 21 ± 1 mmHg, TTX: 8 ± 2 mmHg, recovery: 21 ± 3 mmHg; n = 6; P < 0.01). We next found that the peak pressor responses to contraction were significantly attenuated by dorsal root application of 100 nM Ssm6a, a compound that is a selective NaV 1.7 channel inhibitor. Removal of Ssm6a restored the reflex to its control level (control: 19 ± 3 mmHg, Ssm6a: 10 ± 1 mmHg, recovery: 19 ± 4 mmHg; n = 6; P < 0.05). Compound action potentials recorded from the L4 and L5 dorsal roots and evoked by single-pulse stimulation of the sciatic nerve showed that both TTX and Ssm6a attenuated input from group III, as well as group IV afferents. We conclude that NaV 1.7 channels play a role in the thin-fiber muscle afferent pathway evoking the exercise pressor reflex.