cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural formulas and explanation in organic chemistry

Organic chemists have been able to develop a robust, theoretical understanding of the phenomena they study; however, the primary theoretical devices employed in this field are not mathematical equations or laws, as is the case in most other physical sciences. Instead it is diagrams, and in particular structural formulas and potential energy diagrams, that carry the explanatory weight in the discipline. To understand how this is so, it is necessary to investigate both the nature of the diagrams employed in organic chemistry and how these diagrams are used in the explanations of the discipline. I will begin this paper by characterizing some of the major ways that structural formulas used in organic chemistry. Next I will present a model of the explanations in organic chemistry and describe how both structural formulas and potential energy diagrams contribute to these explanations. This will be followed by several examples that support my abstract account of the role of diagrams in the explanations of organic chemistry. In particular, I will consider both the appeal to ‘hyperconjugation’ in the explanation of alkene stability and how the idea of ‘ring strain’ was developed to explain the relative stability of cyclic compounds.
Methods and effectiveness of indoor environmental control.

Learning Objectives The purpose of this review is to describe recommended methods of decreasing exposure to indoor allergens. Data Sources Data were obtained from published studies and reviews. Study Selection The reviewed studies met these criteria: 1) measurement of environmental allergens; 2) selection of participants with clearly defined allergic airway disease confirmed by detection of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E; and 3) clearly defined clinical and environmental outcomes. The studies were conducted as controlled clinical trials and the results between treated and control groups were compared with appropriate statistics. Results The results of these studies show that installing allergen proof encasings and washing bedding frequently reduces house-dust mite exposure by 10-fold or more and significantly improves clinical measures of asthma. Washing pets reduces allergen levels temporarily. Excluding the pet from the bedroom while installing allergen-proof encasings and operating air cleaner reduces airborne allergens although having no significant effect on allergic symptoms. Cockroach populations can be controlled for over 6 months and allergens can be reduced with controlled pesticide application and cleaning, but clinical correlates have not been reported. Methods to improve adherence to environmental control measures have not been tested but effective methods can be recommended from literature on medication adherence. Conclusions For patients allergic to indoor allergens, reasonable recommendations include installation of allergen-impermeable encasings, frequent laundering of bedding, removing furred pets from the home, and controlling of cockroach populations with effective pesticides using the principles of integrated pest management.
The inhibition of intestinal absorption of phenylalanine in the rhesus monkey.

Summaryβ-2-Thienylalanine, cycloleucine, and parachlorophenylalanine have been shown to acutely reduce intestinal absorption of an oral phenylalanine load. Combined with phenylalanine, they reduce plasma tryptophan levels more than phenylalanine alone.Whether their oral administration will be of benefit in allowing a more liberal diet in phenylketonuric children requires more investigation.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin alters the differentiation of alloreactive CD8+ T cells toward a regulatory T cell phenotype by a mechanism that is dependent on aryl hydrocarbon receptor in CD4+ T cells

Activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) by 2,3,7,8-tetracholordibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) during an acute graft-versus-host response induces a population of alloreactive donor CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg)-like cells that have potent suppressive activity in vitro. In the present studies, we show that TCDD induced a similar population of donor CD8+CD25+ T-cells with suppressive activity in vitro. Like the CD4+ Treg cells, donor CD8+CD25+ T-cells also expressed higher levels of CD28, glucocorticoid-induced TNFR (GITR) and CTLA-4 along with low levels of CD62L. These TCDD-induced phenotypic changes were not observed if donor T-cells were obtained from AhR-KO mice. When CD4+ and CD8+ donor T-cells from AhR-WT and AhR-KO mice were injected in various combinations into F1 mice, the enhanced expression of CD25 on CD8+ T-cells required AhR in donor CD4+ T-cells, while down-regulation of CD62L required AhR in the donor CD8+ T-cells themselves. Changes in GITR and CTLA-4 on donor CD8+ T-cells were partially mediated by AhR in both T-cells subsets. In contrast, all phenotypic changes in donor CD4+ T-cells were dependent on the presence of AhR in the CD4+ T-cells themselves. These findings suggest that the direct effects of AhR-mediated signaling in CD8+ T-cells are more limited than the direct effects in CD4+ T-cells, and that AhR signaling in CD4+ T-cells may be a unique pathway for the induction of both CD4+ and CD8+ adaptive Treg.
Investigation of Pressing and Sintering Processes of CP-Ti Powder Made by Armstrong Process

This work used in-situ and ex-situ techniques to investigate the pressing and sintering processes of commercially pure (CP) Ti powder made by the Armstrong process. The objective is to simulate the actual manufacturing process of near net shape Ti components. Ti powders were uniaxially pre-pressed at designated pressures up to 100 ksi to form disk samples with different theoretical densities. Compression tests were performed in an SEM at different temperatures to obtain the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of these samples. Ex-situ technique was used to track the powder deformation process of disk samples from low pressure to high pressure. In-situ sintering was also performed in an SEM to record the morphology change of the porosities on the sample surface during the sintering process. The results will provide valuable information for optimizing the manufacturing process of high-density near net shape Ti components.
Nonpsychiatric medication interventions initiated by a postgraduate year 2 psychiatric pharmacy resident in a patient-centered medical home.

Objective: Studies have demonstrated the benefits of incorporating comprehensive medication management into primary care, but no study describes the types of nonpsychiatric medication–related interventions provided by a psychiatric pharmacist while providing comprehensive medication management. Method: A chart review of Center for Community Health patients enrolled in the University of Southern California Psychiatric Pharmacy Clinic, Los Angeles, between July 1, 2013, and January 10, 2014, was conducted. Progress notes were reviewed to collect medication recommendations and interventions. The number and types of interventions were compared between groups based on substance abuse history, comorbid medical conditions, number of psychiatric diagnoses, and number of medications. An anonymous survey was distributed to primary care providers (PCPs) regarding perceptions and attitudes toward a postgraduate year 2 psychiatric pharmacy resident’s interventions pertaining to nonpsychiatric medications. Results: 177 nonpsychiatric medication interventions were documented. Fifty interventions required PCP approval, and 45% of those were accepted. Having a diagnosis of diabetes (P < .0001), hypertension (P < .0001), gastroesophageal reflux disease (P < .0001), ≥ 9 medications (P < .0001), or ≥ 5 medical diagnoses (P < .0001) were all associated with an increased mean number of interventions. Of the PCPs, 66% viewed the psychiatric pharmacist as a resource for addressing medical interventions by providing drug information. The PCPs were agreeable to having a psychiatric pharmacist provide drug information and monitor the patient but reported mixed opinions on whether a psychiatric pharmacist should comanage nonpsychiatric conditions. Conclusions: Psychiatric pharmacists can successfully collaborate with PCPs in primary care clinics to provide comprehensive medication management that optimizes pharmacotherapy for patients with medical and psychiatric conditions. Continued efforts are needed to promote interdisciplinary approaches to provide comprehensive medication management services for patients with both psychiatric and medical disorders.
China and HIV — A Window of Opportunity

Chinese and international health officials express optimism about controlling the HIV–AIDS epidemic but emphasize the need to move quickly. Bates Gill and Dr. Susan Okie explain that, given China's enormous population, even a small increase in prevalence could be devastating. Bates Gill discusses the largely rural HIV epidemic in China, the turnaround in the central government's approach to HIV–AIDS, and the remaining obstacles to controlling the epidemic. Gill is a China scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
Transition from metastability to instability in the dynamics of phase separation.

We present results from a numerical study of the Cahn-Hilliard-Cook model in two dimensions. We study the transition from metastability to instability in this model by systematically changing the quench depth for an off-critical quench condition. We use different kinetic probes in the simulation to distinguish between two types of growth mechanisms: nucleation and spinodal decomposition. Although we can distinguish between nucleation and spinodal decomposition in some cases, the transition between these two growth processes is gradual. We do not see any evidence of a sharp transition from one to the other at the mean-field spinodal line. Actually, the center of the diffuse transition zone that we find in the simulation is located above the mean-field spinodal line. These features of the transition zone agree extremely well with analytical theories and with recent experiments.
SupMR: Circumventing Disk and Memory Bandwidth Bottlenecks for Scale-up MapReduce

Reading input from primary storage (i.e. the ingest phase) and aggregating results (i.e. the merge phase) are important pre- and post-processing steps in large batch computations. Unfortunately, today's data sets are so large that the ingest and merge job phases are now performance bottlenecks. In this paper, we mitigate the ingest and merge bottlenecks by leveraging the scale-up MapReduce model. We introduce an ingest chunk pipeline and a merge optimization that increases CPU utilization (50 - 100%) and job phase speedups (1.16× - 3.13×) for the ingest and merge phases. Our techniques are based on well-known algorithms and scale-out MapReduce optimizations, but applying them to a scale-up computation framework to mitigate the ingest and merge bottlenecks is novel.
Reinterpretation of the invalidation of the principle of competitive exclusion.

Ayala has demonstrated a stable coexistence of two species of Drosophila that violates the competitive exclusion principle as defined by the Gause–Volterra equations. His data are shown to fit a non-linear competition model and to satisfy a meaningful statement of competitive exclusion.
Dealing with skewed data: an example using asthma-related costs of medicaid clients

Abstract Background: Cost data often are nonnormally distributed due to a few very high cost values that may not necessarily be dismissed as outliers. Researchers have not reached agreement on how to appropriately deal with skewed cost data. Objectives: This study presents an example of skewed cost data that were collected retrospectively from the Texas Medicaid database. Common methods of dealing with skewed cost distributions are discussed. Data were analyzed using various methods, and the statistical results of each test were compared. Methods: Prescription and medical claims data extracted from the Texas Medicaid database were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and t tests of untransformed, log-transformed, and bootstrapped data. Results: All distributions of the untransformed cost data were nonnormally distributed, and comparison groups had unequal variances. The Mann-Whitney U test negated the effect of the high-cost patients and gave a significant result for overall cost differences between groups, but in the opposite direction of the mean. The t tests on raw data and log-transformed data may not have been optimal because distributions of both raw costs and log-costs were nonnormal. Conclusions: The bootstrap method does not need to meet the assumptions of normality and equal variances. In analyses of small sample sizes with skewed cost data, the bootstrap method may offer an alternative to the more traditional nonparametric or log-transformation techniques.
Headlong into futurity

‘So, with a kind of madness upon me, I flung myself into futurity.’ These are the words with which H. G. Wells’s Time Traveller powers his machine into high gear, as a result of which he will soon find himself more than 800,000 years removed into ‘futurity,’ a sufficient distance from which to speculate on the long-term effects of the profound changes occurring back in England in 1895. With this abrupt gesture, Wells also pretty much invented speculative fiction, the literary genre which self-consciously addresses the present by flinging the technology of today into the futurity of an imagined tomorrow. This genre constitutes something of a secret sharer to the conventional history of technology, which operates primarily by tracing genealogies of the technology of today into the lived past of the last few centuries. To consider the relationship between literature (or art or culture) and the history of technology is to consider the relationship between speculating about the future and studying the past, between what the philosopher Ernst Bloch termed the ‘anticipatory consciousness’ of cultural production and what historians can verify or at least hypothesize about what actually happened in the past. This distinction manifests itself in many ways in the literature, art and culture of technology, as is evident in the range of topics and approaches in the three full-length essays and two briefer case studies on the topic that share the current issue of History and Technology with this introduction. This distinction between the study of the literature of technology and the historiography of technology should be regarded less as a stark divide than a question of perspective, which is why elements of the approaches taken by the essays here overlap with and complement those of the history of technology more strictly speaking. Nevertheless, observing where they separate from and run counter to the conventional methodologies of history and how those methodologies are changed when incorporated into the discipline of literary studies will also, hopefully, be instructive regarding what both fields can tell us about their shared object of study, what we can term in the broadest sense the ‘technological imaginary’: the range of ways in which technology is and has been conceptualized and represented. In this introduction, I discuss some key sites of overlap and divergence and suggest some of their implications both for the study of the literature, art and culture of technology and for the history of technology.
Supersonic flow computations using a rectangular-coordinate finite-volume method

A numerical procedure has been developed for the computation of supersonic flows over complex conical geometries. The full potential equation is solved using a finite-volume method with a non-body-fitted rectangular grid. The only mapping done is the transformation of the spherical cross-flow plane to a flat surface using a stereographic projection. A new procedure for very thin fins is described which does not require the resolution of the fin thickness. Applications for simple cones, conical wing-bodies, wave riders and finned geometries compare favorably with existing solutions with body-fitted grids and available experimental data.
On comparing hardware implementations of fixed point digital filters

Distributed arithmetic structures are an alternative to the use of conventional multipliers in hardware implementations of digital filters. The authors compare the various methods of using distributed arithmetic in implementing fixed point digital filters. They introduce as a measure of hardware complexity the chip area needed to fabricate competing designs using nMOS technology. Comparisons of alternate realizations in hardware are also made. These comparisons are based on equating the output signal quality of each design. They show that traditional measures of complexity (such as the number of multipliers per output sample) do not agree with complexity measures based on chip area.
The ferroresonant trigger pair: Analysis and design

The phenomenon of nonlinear resonance can be utilized in the design of a trigger pair which uses neither vacuum tubes nor transistors, is capable of highspeed operation, and operates with electrical input and output signals. This article outlines the analysis of the basic circuit to a first approximation only, and design relations are derived. Experimental data are also given. Applications of the circuit described may be found in the logic components of digital data-handling apparatus.
Alkyllithium‐initiated polymerization of butadiene in presence of a bi‐1,3‐dioxane derivative

Some results are reported on the alkyllithium-initiated polymerization of butadiene in cyclopentane in presence of 2,′2-bis(4,4,6-trimethyl-1,3-dioxane). The effect of this lithium chelating agent on one-unit model active centres is also reported. Comparisons are made with another highly efficient polymer structure modifier, 1,2-dipiperidinoethane. Conclusions are reached on the reasons why both are particularly effective in inducing the formation of polydienes having extremely high vinyl content.
Plausible models of alphabetic search: Reply to Scharroo, Leeuwenberg, Stalmeier, and Vos (1994).

D. Klahr, W. C. Chase, and E. Lovelace (1983) proposed a model of the cognitive processes involved in alphabetic retrieval in terms of a 2-level hierarchy of forward-linked associations. J. Seharroo, E. Leeuwenberg, P. F. M. Stalmeier, and P. G. Vos (1994) attempt to demonstrate that a simple associative model is more plausible, more parsimonious, and a better fit to the data than is Klahr et al.'s model. In this commentary I argue that Seharroo et al. misrepresent the way in which Klahr et al. evaluated their model and that they fail to demonstrate the superiority of a simple associative model. In addition, I suggest that a composite model that integrates the distinctive features of both models would advance our understanding of the process of alphabetic retrieval.
Incremental data flow analysis

In this paper we present ACINCF and ACINCB, incremental update algorithms for forward and backward data flow problems, which are based on a linear equations model of Allen/Cocke interval analysis [Allen 77, Ryder 82a]. We have studied their performance on a robust structured programming language L. Given a set of localized program changes in a program in L, we can identify a priori the nodes in its flow graph whose corresponding data flow equations will be affected by the changes. We can characterize these affected nodes by their corresponding program structures and their relation to the original change sites.
Analysis of NSTX TF Joint Voltage Measurements

This report presents findings of analyses of recorded current and voltage data associated with 72 electrical joints operating at high current and high mechanical stress. The analysis goal was to characterize the mechanical behavior of each joint and thus evaluate its mechanical supports. The joints are part of the toroidal field (TF) magnet system of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) pulsed plasma device operating at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Since there is not sufficient space near the joints for much traditional mechanical instrumentation, small voltage probes were installed on each joint and their voltage monitoring waveforms have been recorded on sampling digitizers during each NSTX "shot". Strong mechanical forces arise during pulsed operations, far stronger than the joint conductors could long survive without the restraining assistance of a mechanical support system. A joint's apparent electrical resistance changes dynamically if sufficiently strong net lateral force on the conductors causes a reduction in the joint's area of high pressure contact. Since the electromagnetic forces are well known, this circumstance would arise if the mechanical supports were not working properly. Analyzing the nonlinear relations between pulsed magnetic forces and joint electrical resistances can thus identify and even diagnose mechanically overstressed joints. The present design of the joints and their supports was operated in two successive run periods, February-July 2004 and April-September 2005. Because of indications from analyzing the first run period's voltage probe data that the mechanical support system's fabrication was flawed, the joints and their mechanical supports were rebuilt before the second run period without changing the design. Analyses of voltage probe data from the second run period indicate improved mechanical support function
Endogenous morphine and codeine: release by the chromaffin cells of the eel.

Abstract Both the adrenomedullary equivalent and the plasma of the American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ) contain endogenous morphine and codeine. The opiate concentrations are similar to those found in the rat adrenal and human plasma, respectively. The adrenal medulla equivalent of the eel was perifused in vitro and the levels of catecholamines and endogenous opiate alkaloids in the perifusate were measured. A strong correlation between the release of morphine and codeine and between the release of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) was found. On the other hand, there was no significant correlation between the release of dopamine (DA) and that of the other catecholamines or opiate alkaloids, suggesting three different ways of release of these components of the secretory cocktail of the chromaffin cells. The plasma of eels stressed by urethane anesthesia showed a substantial increase in DA, NE, and E levels but there was no clear stress response of plasma morphine and codeine.
Policy Drivers for Improving the Electric End-Use Efficiency in the USA: An Economic-Engineering Analysis

This paper estimates the economically achievable potential for improving electricity end-use efficiency in the USA from a sample of policies. The approach involves identifying a series of energy efficiency policies tackling market failures and then examining their impacts and cost-effectiveness using Georgia Institute of Technology's version of the National Energy Modeling System. By estimating the policy-driven electricity savings and the associated levelized costs, a policy supply curve for electricity efficiency is produced. Each policy is evaluated individually and in an integrated policy scenario to examine policy dynamics. The integrated policy scenario demonstrates significant achievable potential: 261 TWh (6.5 %) of electricity savings in 2020 and 457 TWh (10.2 %) in 2035. All 11 policies examined were estimated to have lower levelized costs than the average electricity retail price. Levelized costs range from 0.5 to 8.1 cents/kWh, with the regulatory and information policies tending to be most cost-effective. Policy impacts on the power sector, carbon dioxide emissions, and energy intensity are also estimated to be significant.
Structure of metal adlayers during the course of electrocatalytic reactions: O2 reduction on Au(111) with Tl adlayers in acid solutions

Abstract Surface X-ray scattering has been used to determine the structure of Tl adlayers on the Au(111) electrode surface during the course of O 2 reduction in acid solution. O 2 reduction is considerably catalyzed by Tl adlayers on Au(111). The half-wave potential is shifted to more positive values in the presence of the Tl adlayer. In the potential region between −0.18 and −0.4V (vs. sce ), the reaction mechanism changes from a 2e-reduction on Au(111) to a 4e-reduction on Au(111) covered with a lowcoverage Tl phase. The close-packed rotated-hexagonal Tl phase, which exists in the potential range between −0.4V and the bulk Tl deposition at ~ −0.7V, has a lower activity for O 2 reduction than the low-coverage phase. O 2 reduction does not change the Tl coverage in this phase but causes a significant decrease of the in-plane diffracted intensity. This observation indicates that the O 2 molecules interact directly with the Tl adatoms prior to the charge transfer. It provides the most direct evidence that the outer sphere charge transfer mechanism is not operative for some surfaces. H 2 O 2 reduction is facile on the surface covered with the low-coverage Tl phase, while it is almost completely suppressed by the rotated-hexagonal phase.
Gene Expression Profiling during Pregnancy in Rat Brain Tissue

The neurophysiological changes that occur during pregnancy in the female mammal have led to the coining of the phrases “expectant brain” and “maternal brain”. Although much is known of the hormonal changes during pregnancy, alterations in neurotransmitter gene expression have not been well-studied. We examined gene expression in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) during pregnancy based on the fact that this nucleus not only modulates the physiological changes that occur during pregnancy but is also involved in the development of maternal behavior. This study was designed to identify genes that are differentially expressed between mid- and late-pregnancy in order to determine which genes may be associated with the onset and display of maternal behavior and the development of the maternal brain. A commercially available PCR array containing 84 neurotransmitter receptor and regulator genes (RT2 Profiler PCR array) was used. Brains were harvested from rats on days 12 and 21 of gestation, frozen, and micropunched to obtain the VMH. Total RNA was extracted, cDNA prepared, and SYBR Green qPCR was performed. In the VMH, expression of five genes were reduced on day 21 of gestation compared to day 12 (Chrna6, Drd5, Gabrr2, Prokr2, and Ppyr1) whereas Chat, Chrm5, Drd4, Gabra5, Gabrg2, LOC289606, Nmu5r2, and Npy5r expression was elevated. Five genes were chosen to be validated in an additional experiment based on their known involvement in maternal behavior onset. This experiment confirmed that gene expression for both the CCK-A receptor and the GABAAR γ2 receptor increases at the end of pregnancy. In general, these results identify genes possibly involved in the establishment of the maternal brain in rats and indicate possible new genes to be investigated.
Probabilistic Neural Networks Application for Vehicle Classification

Federal, state, and local agencies use vehicle classification data for planning, design, and conducting safety and operational evaluation of highway facilities. In conformity with federal reporting requirements, most states use the "F" scheme which classifies vehicles based on their axle configurations; primarily the number of axles and the length of axle spacings. However, the scheme is prone to errors resulting from imprecise demarcation of class thresholds. To improve classification, the problem is hereby viewed as a pattern recognition problem in which statistical techniques such as probabilistic neural networks (PNN) can be used to assign vehicles to their correct classes. In this research, the network was trained and applied to field data composed of individual vehicle's axle spacing and number of axles per vehicle. The PNN reduced the error rate by 3.3% compared to an existing classification algorithm. The error rate was further reduced by 6.5% when the individual vehicle's gross weight was added as a classification variable. These results confirm the promise of neural networks in axle classification but the technique still requires additional field validation as well as exploration of additional variables to improve categorization of vehicles into the F or other schemes.
Noncentral Composite Designs

Second-order designs are constructed by adding a second two-level design to an initial 2k or 2k−p experiment. I label such designs as noncentral composite designs since they are composed of two designs with different centers. The location of the second block can be determined following analysis of the initial experiment. Noncentral composite designs provide an attractive alternative to the popular central composite designs when the location of interest shifts following an initial two-level design. An alternative family of asymmetric composite designs is also considered. The methodology is illustrated via a paper-helicopter experiment.
The inalienable right to life and the durable power of attorney

The scalpel is a two-edged sword. Surgeons frequently wield it to vanquish death and to restore patients with malignant tumors, severe disabilities or maimed bodies to healthy active lives. On other occasions, all that modern surgery can achieve is to prolong the process of dying or to patch up a mangled body only enough to enable the patient to suffer through an extended period of hopeless disability during which no normal human activities are possible. More generally, modern medical technologies are increasingly used to sustain the basic biological processes in a patient long after the patient has become unable to live anything remotely like a genuinely human life or even to decide for himself whether to consent to or refuse medical treatment. Although some physicians and their patients accept a moral imperative to prolong merely biological life as long as possible and at any cost, increasingly this has come to be recognized as excessively costly to society, cruel to the family, of no value to the patient and even inconsistent with a respect for human dignity. But how could anyone else possess the authority to decide when an incompetent patient shall die?
Conceptions of ethos in ancient rhetoric

(1947). Conceptions of ethos in ancient rhetoric. Speech Monographs: Vol. 14, No. 1-2, pp. 55-65.
The UNI3 gene is required for assembly of basal bodies of Chlamydomonas and encodes delta-tubulin, a new member of the tubulin superfamily.

We have cloned the UNI3 gene in Chlamydomonas and find that it encodes a new member of the tubulin superfamily. Although Uni3p shares significant sequence identity with α-, β-, and γ-tubulins, there is a region of Uni3p that has no similarity to tubulins or other known proteins. Mutant uni3–1 cells assemble zero, one, or two flagella. Pedigree analysis suggests that flagellar number in uni3–1 cells is a function of the age of the cell. The uniflagellate uni3–1 cells show a positional phenotype; the basal body opposite the eyespot templates the single flagellum. A percentage of uni3–1 cells also fail to orient the cleavage furrow properly, and basal bodies have been implicated in the placement of cleavage furrows in Chlamydomonas. Finally when uni3–1 cells are observed by electron microscopy, doublet rather than triplet microtubules are observed at the proximal end of the basal bodies. We propose that the Uni3 tubulin is involved in both the function and cell cycle-dependent maturation of basal bodies/centrioles.
The amount of tissue to be preserved at subtotal thyroidectomy: an estimate based on serial isotope tracer measurements.

IDEALLY, the optimum amount of thyroid parenchyma to be preserved at thyroidectomy for an overfunctioning thyroid gland is that amount which will assure a euthyroid postoperative state and at the same time reduce to a minimum the danger of recurrent hyperthyroidism. Generally speaking, this is the smallest quantity of tissue compatible with euthyroidism, since, other factors being equal, the smaller the tissue remnant the less the probability of recurrence. There are serious and obvious difficulties in the way of determining the exact dimensions of such an optimal parenchymal remnant in the traditional clinical manner. In a purely clinical method of estimation, the size of the remnant would be judged on the basis of the visual impression of the surgeon, and this intelligent guess would then be correlated with the clinical course of the disease. Visual impressions are deceptive, and their correlation with clinical manifestations, the assessment of which is likewise often a matter of subjective judgment, wi...
Practice parameters: background and usefulness

Background/Objective The number of clinical practice parameters has been increasing in recent years. A more complete understanding of the development of parameters will help the clinician understand the purpose of practice parameters and how to use them in their clinical practice. Data Source The MEDLINE database was used to review the recent English language literature about practice parameters. Conclusions The overall goal of practice parameters is to improve patient care. Practice parameters may be considered a major tool that can aid the clinician in decision-making, and improve overall health care for patients. They can help reduce unwanted variation in clinical practice and help physicians make more efficient use of resources. Practice parameters can also be used as teaching tools, reference documents, and aids to help defend patient care decisions, particularly in managed health care situations.
Activity staining of nucleolytic enzymes after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: Use of aqueous isopropanol to remove detergent from gels☆

Abstract The sensitivity with which RNase and DNase activity can be detected after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) varies widely, depending upon the particular SDS preparation used for electrophoresis. (See also S. A. Lacks, S. S. Springhorn, and A. L. Rosenthal, 1979 , Anal. Biochem.100, 357–363.) Sensitivity of detection is greatly increased by using buffered 25% isopropanol, rather than buffer alone, to wash detergent from gels after electrophoresis. Thus it is routinely possible to detect bovine pancreatic RNase A at the picogram level. Use of isopropanol improved activity staining of RNases with each of the 10 SDS preparations examined, including one containing 32% tetradecyl sulfate and 4% hexadecyl sulfate, and reduced the variability from preparation to preparation observed when buffer alone was used to remove SDS. Other water-organic cosolvent binary mixtures can be used but none shows advantages over aqueous isopropanol when sensitivity of detection as well as availability and cost of organic solvent are considered.
Stress activation of glutamate neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex: implications for dopamine-associated psychiatric disorders

In most psychiatric disorders, stress is the major nongenomic factor that contributes to the expression or exacerbation of acute symptoms, recurrence or relapse after a period of remission, and treatment outcome. Delineation of mechanisms by which stress contributes to these processes is fundamental to understanding the disease process and for improving outcome. In this article, evidence is reviewed to indicate that many central aspects of stress response, including activation of the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and dopamine neurotransmission, are modulated, and in some cases mediated, by glutamate neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). It is suggested that activation of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the PFC presents a common mechanism by which stress influences normal and abnormal processes that sustain affect and cognition. Although monoamines, in particular dopamine, have been considered the major culprits in the adverse effects of stress in disorders such as addiction and schizophrenia, it is likely that in a vulnerable brain with an underlying PFC pathophysiology, abnormal stress-activated monoaminergic neurotransmission is secondary to anomalies in cortical glutamate neurotransmission. Thus, understanding the contribution of glutamate-mediated processes to stress response through the use of experimental models that involve disrupted PFC function can provide insights to the fundamental pathophysiology of stress-sensitive psychiatric disorders and lead to novel strategies for treatment and prevention.
Experimental studies on the pathogenesis of atrial arrhythmias in myocardial infarction.

Abstract To determine the pathogenesis of atrial arrhythmias which begin during acute myocardial infarction a series of experiments based on focal ischemia of the sinus node were performed in 15 dogs. Rendering the sinus node ischemic by ligation of all of its visible supply of blood did not produce atrial fibrillation. Lowering the coronary perfusion pressure and presumably impairing collateral arterial flow after ligation of the sinus node arteries produced atrial fibrillation in 1 of 9 experiments. Vagal stimulation did not produce atrial fibrillation as a control procedure but occasionally produced atrial fibrillation in dogs in which the arteries to the sinus node were ligated. Administration of calcium to the same dogs did not produce atrial fibrillation, until the vagus nerve was also stimulated. Intravenous injection of epinephrine or norepinephrine sometimes produced atrial fibrillation after the sinus node arteries were ligated (but not before), and this could be prevented with atropine. Vagal stimulation after administration of either calcium or catecholamines to dogs in which the sinus node arteries were ligated most consistently produced atrial fibrillation. Most of these variables had interacting effects. One possible common effect of all the variables was an increase in the normal disparity of repolarization speed in atrial fibers, which is known to facilitate the onset of atrial fibrillation. Of contributory importance was the suppression of the formation of sinus impulses by vagal stimulation, and the probable weakening of the formation of these impulses by nodal ischemia.
Likelihood Analysis of Disequilibrium Mapping, and Related Problems

Summary In this paper a theory is developed that provides the sampling distribution of alleles at a diallelic marker locus closely linked to a low-frequency allele that arose as a single mutant. The sampling distribution provides a basis for maximum-likelihood estimation of either the recombination rate, the mutation rate, or the age of the allele, provided that the two other parameters are known. This theory is applied to (1) the data of Hastbacka et al., to estimate the recombination rate between a locus associated with diastrophic dysplasia and a linked RFLP marker; (2) the data of Risch et al., to estimate the age of a presumptive allele causing idiopathic distortion dystonia in Ashkenazi jews; and (3) the data of Tishkoff et al., to estimate the date at which, at the CD4 locus, non-African lineages diverged from African lineages. We conclude that the extent of linkage disequilibrium can lead to relatively accurate estimates of recombination and mutation rates and that those estimates are not very sensitive to parameters, such as the population age, whose values are not known with certainty. In contrast, we also conclude that, in many cases, linkage disequilibrium may not lead to useful estimates of allele age, because of the relatively large degree of uncertainly in those estimates.
Further paradoxes in admissibility

Abstract Let X, Y be independent discrete random variables distributed according to exponential families dPθ(x)=eθx β(θ) μ(x) θ ϵ Λ, dQΨ(y)=eyΨγ(Ψ)ν(y) Ψ ϵ Γ, respectively. We assume Λ and Γ are the natural parameter spaces of X and Y. This paper is concerned with the estimation of any given function g(θ) in a fairly general class of functions. We will consider estimators of the form δ(Y) and given conditions under which these estimators are admissible for estimating g(θ) under a certain standard class of loss function; let L denote one of these loss functions. The anomaly is that these estimators δ(Y) are admissible for estimating g(θ) but do not depend on the parameter θ. In particular it is shown that if the sample space T of Y is bounded below or above then all estimators δ(Y) taking values in R ∗ = [g(θ):θ ϵ Λ] and also in certain boundary points for R ∗ are admissible for estimating g(θ) under loss L. It should be pointed out that the boundary points mentioned above depend on the distribution of X. More generally we show that if the natural parameter space Γ (for Y) is unbounded below (respectively above) then all estimators δ(Y) are admissible for estimating g(θ) under loss L provided that: 1. (a) the range of values of δ(Y) is in R ∗ ; and 2. (b) δ(Y) takes on some constant value c ϵ R ∗ as y → −∞ (respectively + ∞). Extensions of the above results to non-discrete and/or non-exponential families are briefly discussed.
A note on the estimation of the demand for sugar in the USA in the presence of measurement error in the data

Inaccuracy in the measurement of the price data for the substitute sweeteners for sugar is a problem encountered in the estimation of the demand for sugar. Two diagnostics are introduced to assess the effect that this measurement error has on the estimated coefficients of the sugar-demand relationship. The regression coefficient bounds diagnostic is used to indicate a range in which the true price responsiveness of consumers to changes in the price of sugar substitutes lies. The bias correction factor is computed to evaluate the magnitude of the overestimation of the responsiveness of the quantity of beverage sugar and non-beverage sugar demanded to a change in the price of sugar.
Topiramate: a potent anticonvulsant in the amygdala-kindled rat

Topiramate, a chemically novel anti-epileptic drug, was evaluated in amygdala-kindled seizures in rats. Topiramate, given at doses between 0.63 and 80 mg/kg i.p. and p.o. 4 h before kindling stimulation, exhibited a dose-related inhibition on all seizure parameters measured, i.e. behavioral seizures, forelimb clonus, amygdala and cortical afterdischarges. The ED50 values obtained with topiramate on kindled seizures in all parameters tended to be lower than those observed on maximal electroshock seizures in rats. After oral drug administration, the ED50 values were: on forelimb clonus, 7.25 mg/kg; on amygdala afterdischarges 7.09 mg/kg and on cortical afterdischarges 7.12 mg/kg. After i.p. drug administration, the ED50 values were: on forelimb clonus, 10.6 mg/kg; on amygdala afterdischarges, 13.9 mg/kg and on cortical afterdischarges, 10.4 mg/kg. The data obtained after i.p. drug administration are in line with the suggestion that topiramate primarily blocks spread of seizures.
Natural XML for data binding, processing, and persistence

The article explains what you need to do to incorporate XML directly into your computational science application. The exploration involves the use of a standard parser to automatically build object trees entirely from application-specific classes. This discussion very much focuses on object-oriented programming languages such as Java and Python, but it can work for non-object-oriented languages as well. The ideas in the article provide a glimpse into the Natural XML research project.
Recreational Drug Use Among Primary Care Patients: Implications of a Positive Self-Report

Should recreational drug use raise clinical concern? We examined the association between weekend-only recreational drug use at baseline (yes vs no) and any increase in recreational drug use frequency or severity over 6 months among primary care patients who screen positive for drug use. In the weekend-only recreational drug use group (52/483 [10.8%]), 54% (28/52) started using drugs on weekdays. Compared with use not limited to weekends, weekend-only use was associated with lower odds of increasing drug use frequency (AOR 0.48, P = 0.03) and lower odds (non-significant) of increasing severity (AOR 0.56, P = 0.07). Although weekend-only recreational drug use appears prognostically less severe, the findings nonetheless suggest that continued episodic monitoring may be clinically wise.
Development of High-Content Imaging Assays for Lethal Viral Pathogens:

Filoviruses such as Ebola (EBOV) and Marburg (MARV) are single-stranded negative sense RNA viruses that cause acute hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics to counter filovirus infections in humans. The development of higher throughput/high-content primary screening assays followed by validation using the low-throughput traditional plaque or real-time PCR assays will greatly aid efforts toward the discovery of novel antiviral therapeutics. Specifically, high-content imaging technology is increasingly being applied for primary drug screening. In this study, the authors describe the challenges encountered when optimizing bioassays based on image acquisition and analyses for the highly pathogenic filoviruses Ebola and Marburg. A number of biological and imaging-related variables such as plating density, multiplicity of infection, the number of fields scanned per well, fluorescence intensity, and the cell number analyzed were evaluated during the development of these assays. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the benefits related to the statistical analyses of single-cell data to account for heterogeneity in the subcellular localization and whole-cell integrated intensity of the viral antigen staining pattern. In conclusion, they show that image-based methods represent powerful screening tools for identifying antiviral compounds for highly pathogenic viruses.
A discussion of the constraints which lead to steady state electrophoretic boundaries

The electric field variation across moving boundaries in three component systems is analyzed with a model based on electromigration only (moving boundary equation and regulating function). A decrease in the electric field strength across a boundary in the direction of migration is the most general requirement for the establishment of steady state migrating boundaries. The formation of that electric field gradient is shown to be based on two fundamental constraints. These are (1) the higher net mobility of the leading component compared to that of the terminating constituent and (2) the higher concentration ratio of the leading component to the terminating component ahead of the moving boundary compared to that in the terminating zone. The relations are discussed with respect to strong and weak electrolytes where all three components are present on either side of the boundary. The predictions are verified experimentally. Limitations of the model based on migration only are discussed.
Mining assumptions for synthesis

Automatic synthesis of a reactive system from its formal specification is appealing but often difficult due to the tedium of writing auxiliary specifications, especially on the environment. In several instances, specifications are found unrealizable as a result of insufficient environmental assumptions. We present an approach to this problem for synthesis from LTL based on specification mining. For a satisfiable but unrealizable specification, a counter-strategy can be computed from the synthesis game as a witness to unrealizability. Our algorithm mines environment assumptions from this counter-strategy as well as user scenarios if they are provided. We argue that our approach is a natural way to discover the designer's intent. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on examples from the domains of digital circuits and robotic controllers.