cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcomes and Short-Term Follow-Up in Complex Ross Operations in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Damus-Kaye-Stansel Takedown

Review echocardiography and outcomes before and after Ross procedures, including patients undergoing biventricular conversion with Damus-Kaye-Stansel (DKS) takedown. A retrospective review was performed on 62 patients undergoing simple (control group) and complex Ross procedures, including 12 patients who underwent biventricular conversion with Ross operation and DKS takedown (complex). Echocardiography was reviewed preoperatively and at discharge and late follow-up. Kaplan-Meier estimates of patient survival and freedom from reintervention were obtained. In all, 62 patients had a median age of 4.5 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 1-12.5), weight of 16.4kg (IQR: 8-41), and follow-up of 3.8 years (IQR: 1.3-6). The complex DKS takedown group had 2 deaths, no neoaortic valve or root reinterventions, and 3 right ventricular outflow tract (VOT) reinterventions. There were no differences from the control group in left VOT or right VOT reinterventions. Neither group showed differences between pre- and late follow-up aortic root and ascending aorta dimensions, and no correlations were found among preoperative pulmonary valve (PV) size, late aortic regurgitation (AR), aortic root, or ascending aortic Z-scores. Aortic valve size increased from discharge to late follow-up for both groups (P ≤ .05); 90% of patients at late follow-up had mild or less AR with similar distributions in severity between complex and control groups. Severity of late AR showed no correlation with preoperative PV size and is independent of it. The Ross procedure has good short-term results in simple and complex patients and should be considered in those undergoing Ross operation with biventricular conversion and DKS takedown. Moreover, native PV size should not be a contraindication for Ross procedure.
The Fact/Value Distinction and the Social Sciences

Metaethics is an especially illuminating context for exploring the relation between facts and values. There are good reasons in favor of a cognitivist, realist interpretation of moral value, and some of the elements of that interpretation suggest bases for rejecting the alleged fact/value distinction in social scientific explanations. Some of the main objections to the alleged fact/value distinction and to expressivist interpretations of moral value are articulated, with a view to showing their relevance to the understanding of social phenomena more broadly. Also, the way in which rationality inevitably involves normativity is discussed because it is a crucial consideration in regard to understanding the normative aspects of issues the social sciences seek to explain.
System Architecture Of Mmic-Based Large Aperture Arrays For Space Applications

The persistent trend to use millimeter-wave frequencies for satellite communications presents the challenge to design large-aperture phased arrays for space applications. These arrays, which comprise 100-10,000 elements, are now possible due to the advent of lightwave technology and the availability of monolithic microwave integrated circuits. In this paper, system aspects of optically-controlled array design are studied. In particular, two architectures for a 40 GHz array are outlined, and the main system-related issues are examined : power budget, synchronization in frequency and phase, and stochastic effects.
Work-Related Injuries An Old Problem Revisited in the First Representative U.S. Sample of Home Health Aides

Objective: To examine whether certain personal and workplace factors increase risk for work-related injuries among home health aides. Method: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the 2007 National Survey of Home Health Aides among workers who provided formal caregiving to older adults or people with disabilities (N = 3,377, weighted sample = 160,720). Results: Multivariate logistic regression identified six factors associated with injury: White race (OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.18, 3.63); inappropriate workload (OR = 3.27, 95% CI 1.55, 6.93); having multiple jobs (OR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.30, 5.71); job dissatisfaction (OR = 2.71, 95% CI 1.23, 5.96); higher hourly pay rate (OR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.31, 4.33); and working in two locations (inpatient facility and patient’s home) compared with working in patient’s home only (OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.51, 4.40). Discussion: Interventions should be developed to address preventable risk factors. Evaluations of candidate interventions should control for other relate...
MITOCHONDRIAL AND NUCLEAR DNA ALTERATIONS CAUSED BY HEPATOTOXIC DOSES OF ACETAMINOPHEN (AP) IN MICE. † 970

Reactive metabolites of AP bind to hepatic and renal DNA and hepatotoxic doses initiate oligonucleosomal fragmentation of nuclear DNA. Despite generation of the reactive metabolites of AP primarily in the endoplasmic reticulum, alterations of mitochondrial proteins by reactive metabolites of AP also have been observed; however, the effects of AP metabolites on mitochondrial DNA have not been investigated. Fasted male ICR mice were given 400 mg/kg of AP or equal volumes of saline, killed at 2 h, mitochondria isolated, and DNA extracted. The mitochondrial DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, using sets of primers that collectively span the entire mitochondrial genome and which were selected to amplify the common deletions that have been identified in studies of aging and degenerative diseases as critical targets for damage to mitochondrial DNA. Our studies to date do not indicate that significant increases in common deletions of mitochondrial DNA are associated with acutely hepatotoxic doses of AP, although results indicative of altered PCR amplification of the mitochondrial DNA in the AP-treated mice suggest other forms of damage to the DNA, such as alkylation. The correlation between cumulative ingestion of AP and incidence of end stage renal disease in humans [NEJM 1675, 1994] suggests a chronic injury, which may include DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, the investigations of alterations of mitochondrial DNA in relevant models of chronic exposure to AP are needed. Supported by GM44263 and a summer research fellowship (to SAM) from the Society for Pediatric Research.
Hemoglobin Concentration in Normal Diploid and Intersex Triploid Chickens: Genetic Inactivation or Canalization?

Of 19 adult intersex chickens examined, 17 were triploid animals with ZZW sex chromosomes. Triploid erythrocytes were about 1.5 times the size of diploid erythrocytes, and were present in amounts that were about two-thirds the number of diploid erythrocytes. Both diploid and triploid animals had similar hematocrits and hemoglobin concentrations. Triploidy is reflected in a relative increase in RNA, as well as in DNA, per erythrocyte. This, in addition to the trisomic mode of inheritance observed in several genetically distinct loci determining isoantigens, indicates that all three sets of chromosomes in the triploid animals are genetically active. Apparently, there is a homeostatic mechanism maintaining the concentration of hemoglobin for the species in spite of triploidy and its effect on erythrocyte size.
Prostaglandin E1 binds to Z protein of rat liver

Z protein or fatty-acid-binding protein is abundant in the cytosol of many cell types including liver cells. It is considered to play an important role in intracellular transport and metabolism of long-chain fatty acids and other organic anions. We studied the role of Z protein in the metabolism of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1). Binding of tritiated prostaglandin E1 to this fatty-acid-binding protein (Z protein) purified from rat liver was determined. The binding of [3H]prostaglandin E1 to Z protein is rapid, saturable and reversible. Scatchard analysis of [3H]PGE1 binding to Z protein showed a single class of binding sites with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 37 nM. The binding capacity is 110 nmol/mg Z protein. Optimal [3H]PGE1 binding occurred at pH 7.4. The presence of 3 mM MgCl2 stimulated the prostaglandin E1 binding to Z protein. Competition experiments show that the binding of this autacoid to Z protein is highly specific. It could not be displaced by other prostaglandins (PGA1, PGA2, PGE2, PGB1, PGI2, PGD2, PGF2α, and 6-ketoPGF1α). Z protein might be involved in the metabolism of prostaglandins in the cytosol.
Molecular dynamics study of unbinding of the avidin-biotin complex.

We report molecular dynamics simulations that induce, over periods of 40–500 ps, the unbinding of biotin from avidin by means of external harmonic forces with force constants close to those of AFM cantilevers. The applied forces are sufficiently large to reduce the overall binding energy enough to yield unbinding within the measurement time. Our study complements earlier work on biotin-streptavidin that employed a much larger harmonic force constant. The simulations reveal a variety of unbinding pathways, the role of key residues contributing to adhesion as well as the spatial range over which avidin binds biotin. In contrast to the previous studies, the calculated rupture forces exceed by far those observed. We demonstrate, in the framework of models expressed in terms of one-dimensional Langevin equations with a schematic binding potential, the associated Smoluchowski equations, and the theory of first passage times, that picosecond to nanosecond simulation of ligand unbinding requires such strong forces that the resulting protein-ligand motion proceeds far from the thermally activated regime of millisecond AFM experiments, and that simulated unbinding cannot be readily extrapolated to the experimentally observed rupture.
A Nonreactive Predictor of a “Liquor by the Drink” Referendum

Summary The lost letter technique (2) was used as a predictor of the outcome of the 1973 “liquor by the drink” referendum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Three hundred letters with a note, “Found by your car—thought it might be yours,” were placed under the windshield wipers of automobiles selected at random. One hundred letters were addressed to a committee favoring passage of the referendum, 100 to a committee opposed to its passage, and 100 to a neutral third party. The return rate of the letters accurately predicted the outcome of the election. It was recommended that the lost letter technique be used as a nonreactive predictor of the outcome of an election when two conditions are met: (a) when voters are reluctant to state publicly their position on an issue, and (b) when the issue has arosed strong feelings in the population.
Biomedical Applications: From Data Capture to Modeling

Just as calculus helps physicists understand and model the mechanical world, computational models can help us model complex biological systems and reason and make predictions about them. Computer graphics and visualization techniques and algorithmsa#x2014;from modeling to physically based animationa#x2014;make this process possible. This special issue is dedicated to the multidisciplinary effort needed to build, verify, and understand biological models.
Evaluation of biodiesel’s impact on real-world occupational and environmental particulate matter exposures at a municipal facility in Keene, NH

Many organizations are interested in biodiesel as a renewable, domestic energy source for use in transportation and heavy-duty equipment. Although numerous biodiesel emission studies exist, biodiesel exposure studies are nearly absent from the literature. This study compared the impact of petroleum diesel fuel and a B20 blend (20% soy-based biodiesel/80% petroleum diesel) on occupational and environmental exposures at a rural municipal facility in Keene, NH. For each fuel type, we measured concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), elemental carbon (EC), and organic carbon (OC) at multiple locations (in-cabin, work area, and near-field) at a materials recovery facility utilizing non-road equipment. B20 fuel use resulted in significant reductions in PM2.5 mass (56–76%), reductions in EC (5–29%), and increases in OC (294–467%). Concentrations of PM2.5 measured during petroleum diesel use were up to four times higher than PM2.5 concentrations during B20 use. Further analysis of the EC and OC fractions of total carbon also indicated substantial differences between fuels. Our results demonstrate that biodiesel blends significantly reduced PM2.5 exposure compared to petroleum diesel fuel in a workplace utilizing non-road construction-type equipment. While this suggests that biodiesel may reduce health risks associated with exposure to fine particulate matter mass, more exposure research is needed to better understand biodiesel-related changes in particulate matter composition and other exposure metrics.
K-tree/forest: efficient indexes for boolean queries

In Information Retrieval it is well-known that the complexity of processing boolean queries depends on the size of the intermediate results, which could be huge (and are typically on disk) even though the size of the final result may be quite small. In the case of inverted files the most time consuming operation is the merging or intersection of the list of occurrences [1]. We propose, the Keyword tree (K-tree) and forest, efficient structures to handle boolean queries in keyword-based information retrieval. Extensive simulations show that K-tree is orders-of-magnitude faster (i.e., far fewer I/O's) for boolean queries than the usual approach of merging the lists of occurrences and incurs only a small overhead for single keyword queries. The K-tree can be efficiently parallelized as well. The construction cost of K-tree is comparable to the cost of building inverted files.
A comparative life cycle assessment of a transparent composite façade system and a glass curtain wall system

Abstract High performance glass such as low-e coated or heat reflective glass offers better thermal performance, preventing undesired heat loss or gain during a building operation phase. However, these coatings may not be as effective in certain climate zones and create glare problems for adjacent buildings. A transparent composite facade system (TCFS) was newly configured to provide a sustainable alternative to a high performance glass wall in that the biofiber composite core acts as a shading device while the airspace between the polymer skins provides adequate insulation. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) method was selected as a sustainability measuring tool to compare the environmental impacts of a TCFS with a glass curtain wall system (GCWS). In this paper, the environmental performance of a facade system is characterized by the energy consumption and CO 2 emissions through all stages of the life cycle. Comparative LCA results show that the total life cycle energy of the TCFS is estimated to be 93% of that of the uncoated GCWS, and the total emissions of kg CO 2 equivalent for the TCFS is determined to be 89% of the uncoated GCWS. The use phase for both the TCFS and GCWS plays a dominant role in reducing environmental impacts while the impact associated with transportation and the end-of-life management is estimated to be insignificant in this study. The life cycle inventory data and analysis results provided in this paper are expected to assist designers with a better understanding of building material selection and system improvement from the whole life cycle perspectives.
Manufacturing management in a borderless organisation

A question that we hear repeated at production conferences is "Which manufacturing system is best?" We have heard of material requirements planning (MRP), just-in-time (JIT), economic order quantity (EOQ), etc. Our international research shows that the selection process is usually a copy-cat strategy. A factory will look to see what someorie else is using and copy it. These installations work on the assumption that there is one best system for everyone. We have found that not only is there not one best system, but the best system for two factories side by side producing the same product may be different because of management style, goals, materials sourcing, etc.
Serum IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE levels and allergy in Filipino children in the United States

Abstract The serum levels of IgE, IgG, IgA, and IgM of 27 American-born Filipino children 5 to 17 years of age were measured and found to be significantly higher than those of a control group of 24 Caucasian children of similar age distribution and attending the same general pediatric clinics. The geometric mean of serum IgE of the Filipinos was 227 U. per milliliter and of the Caucasians, 69 U. per milliliter (p
Page kidney as a complication of percutaneous antegrade endopyelotomy.

Abstract A kidney with a compressive process that results in hyperreninemic hypertension is often referred to as a “Page” kidney. We present a case of “Page” kidney that resulted as a complication of percutaneous antegrade endopyelotomy. The patient had a typical presentation and classic radiologic signs of such a process. Surgical management consisted of nephrectomy, with resultant resolution of signs and symptoms.
Correlation of 31P chemical shifts and carbonyl stretching force constants with substituent constants for a series of ring-substituted arene chromium dicarbonyl triphenylphosphine complexes

Abstract Fourteen mono-substituted arene chromium tricarbonyl and arene chromium dicarbonyl triphenylphosphine complexes have been prepared and characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy. Carbonyl stretching force constants for all compounds have been calculated. Correlations of stretching forces constants of arene chromium tricarbonyl complexes with a series of substituent constants agree well with those reported in earlier studies. Similarly, both the stretching force constants and 31 P chemical shifts of arene chromium dicarbonyl triphenylphosphine complexes have been compared with the same series of substituent constants and were found to exhibit trends similar to those previously observed.
Activation of the Endothelial Store-Operated ISOC Ca2+ Channel Requires Interaction of Protein 4.1 With TRPC4

Store-operated calcium (SOC) entry represents the principal Ca 2+ entry pathway into nonexcitable cells. Despite intensive investigation, mechanisms underlying activation of SOC entry have remained elusive. The endothelial I SOC channel is a Ca 2+ -selective SOC entry channel to which the transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins TRPC1 and TRPC4 contribute subunits. Activation of I SOC is specifically regulated by the spectrin–actin membrane skeleton; however, the nature of coupling between the I SOC channel and membrane skeleton is unknown. Here we demonstrate that protein 4.1 is an essential component of the I SOC channel gating mechanism. Protein 4.1 interacts with TRPC4 and the membrane skeleton. Deletion of the protein 4.1 binding domain on TRPC4 or peptide competition to the protein 4.1 binding domain prevents I SOC activation. These findings reveal that interaction of protein 4.1 with TRPC4 is required for activation of the endothelial I SOC channel.
Abstract 254: Genome-wide shRNA screening identifies candidate proteins modulating the extrinsic apoptotic pathway

Apoptosis is a highly regulated process critical for embryonic development, and tissue and organ homeostasis. Deregulation of apoptosis is a common occurrence in cancer. Emerging oncology therapeutic agents designed to engage apoptosis are currently undergoing clinical investigations. To identify unknown proteins that modulate the sensitivity to death receptor DR5 targeted agent drozitumab and to uncover predictive biomarkers, we perform a genome-wide screening of 18,000 genes by using pooled short hairpin RNA libraries, followed by the next generation sequencing for candidate identification. We have identified and confirmed candidate shRNA constructs and target genes that resulted in selective desensitizing of the cells to drozitumab. The roles and mechanisms of action of the newly identified proteins in modulating the extrinsic apoptotic pathway will be presented. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 254. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-254
Metabolism of 4-C 14-cortisol in man: body distribution and rates of conjugation.

The dynamics of cortisol metabolism in normal men at levels ordinarily maintained by endogenous sources has been only partly explored. Hellman et al. (1) have recently presented data on the rate and routes of excretion of 4-C14-cortisol in 2 patients with breast cancer, 1 with chronic lymphatic leukemia and 1 with multiple benign lipomata. Over 90 per cent of the radioactivity administered was excreted in the urine and feces in seventy-two hours. Little or no radioactivity was found in the exhaled carbon dioxide of these patients. In addition, the dynamic behavior of 4-C14-cortisol in an adrenalectomized oophorectomized patient was studied when the subject was untreated and when she was maintained on fairly large doses of intravenous cortisol. Peterson et al.
Electrical Impedance Analysis of Phospholipid Bilayer Membranes for Enabling Engineering Design of Bio-based Devices

Recent research at Virginia Tech have shown that active transporter proteins reconstituted into suspended bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) formed across an array of pores in synthetic substrates can convert chemical energy available in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into electricity. Experimental results from this work show that this system—called BioCell—is capable of 1.7μW of electrical power per square centimeter of BLM area and per 15μL of ATPase enzyme. In support of such a system, the lipid membrane, as host to active biological proteins and channels, must be formed evenly across a porous substrate, remain stable and yet fluid-like for protein folding and activation, and provide sufficient electrical insulation. We report on the formation and characterization using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of BLMs formed across two types of porous substrates: polycarbonate filters and single-aperture silicon substrates. Equivalent electrical circuits describing the lipid membranes and their supporting substrates are approximated to fit the measured responses. The results show that BLMs formed in some but not all of the 400nm pores of the filters, while the formation of BLMs on the single-aperture silicon substrates was much more consistent.
Thermal Analysis and Characterization of a High Q Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR) as Biosensers in Liquids

This paper presents the thermal analysis and characterization of a zinc oxide (ZnO) based film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) having a high quality factor (Q) in liquid environments for biosensing applications. Q of up to 120, an improvement of at least 8× greater than state-of-the-art devices in liquids, are achieved by integrating microfluidic channels with heights comparable to the acoustic wavelength in FBAR. In order to achieve temperature stability in the highly sensitive FBAR sensor, we analyze sources of thermal effects and characterize FBAR in a Pierce oscillator. Measurements show a temperature coefficient of oscillation frequency (TCF) of -112 ppm/K for the uncompensated circuit. We show that this thermal drift can be reduced to less than 1ppm/K by applying a properly chosen bias to the oscillator, which suggests the possibility of a feedback approach to achieve thermal stability.
The Viscoelastic Properties of Passive Eye Muscle in Primates. III: Force Elicited by Natural Elongations

We have recently shown that in monkey passive extraocular muscles the force induced by a stretch does not depend on the entire length history, but to a great extent is only a function of the last elongation applied. This led us to conclude that Fung's quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) model, and more general nonlinear models based on a single convolution integral, cannot faithfully mimic passive eye muscles. Here we present additional data about the mechanical properties of passive eye muscles in deeply anesthetized monkeys. We show that, in addition to the aforementioned failures, previous models also grossly overestimate the force exerted by passive eye muscles during smooth elongations similar to those experienced during normal eye movements. Importantly, we also show that the force exerted by a muscle following an elongation is largely independent of the elongation itself, and it is mostly determined by the final muscle length. These additional findings conclusively rule out the use of classical viscoelastic models to mimic the mechanical properties of passive eye muscles. We describe here a new model that extends previous ones using principles derived from research on thixotropic materials. This model is able to account reasonably well for our data, and could thus be incorporated into models of the eye plant.
The frame of reference of three-dimensional vectorcardiograms drawn by a computer-driven cathode ray tube.

A vectorcardiogram that is composed of solid figures is drawn to perspective by a computer-driven cathode ray tube. The frame of reference is a sphere. To identify its aspects, the sphere is placed upon a table, is divided by planes, or is centred within a cube. Variations are described.
GABAB-Mediated Presynaptic Inhibition of Excitatory Transmission and Synaptic Vesicle Dynamics in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Local recycling of synaptic vesicle membrane at nerve terminals is necessary to maintain a readily releasable pool of transmitter. To what extent are the dynamics of vesicle recycling subject to modulation? We examined the influence of presynaptic GABA(B) receptors on vesicle dynamics at single synapses using optical imaging of FM1-43 in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. The kinetics of FM1-43 destaining indicate that synapses from a single neuron have a unimodal distribution of release probabilities, and GABA(B)-mediated inhibition occurs uniformly at all sites. Electrical and optical recordings from single cells show that the inhibition of excitatory transmission is entirely accounted for by a rapidly reversible reduction of exocytosis. In contrast, GABA(B) receptors do not alter the rate or extent of endocytosis.
Association between diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism or hyperadrenocorticism, and atherosclerosis in dogs.

The objective of this study was to determine whether dogs with atherosclerosis are more likely to have concurrent diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, or hyperadrenocorticism than dogs that do not have atherosclerosis. A retrospective mortality prevalence case-control study was performed. The study group included 30 dogs with histopathological evidence of atherosclerosis. The control group included 142 dogs with results of a complete postmortem examination, a final postmortem examination diagnosis of neoplasia, and no histopathological evidence of atherosclerosis. Control dogs were frequency matched for age and year in which the postmortem examination was performed. Proportionate changes in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, and hyperadrenocorticism were calculated by exact prevalence odds ratios (POR), 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), and P values. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the combined effects of prevalence determinants while controlling for age and year of postmortem examination. Dogs with atherosclerosis were over 53 times more likely to have concurrent diabetes mellitus than dogs without atherosclerosis (POR = 53.6; 95% CI, 4.6-627.5; P = .002) and over 51 times more likely to have concurrent hypothyroidism than dogs without atherosclerosis (POR = 51.1; 95% CI, 14.5-180.1; P < .001). Dogs with atherosclerosis were not found to be more likely to have concurrent hyperadrenocorticism than dogs that did not have atherosclerosis (POR = 1.8; 95% CI, 0.2-17.6; P = .59). Diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism, but not hyperadrenocorticism, are more prevalent in dogs with atherosclerosis compared to dogs without atherosclerosis on postmortem examination.
d- and dl-penicillamine complexes of chromium(III)

Abstract An angular overlap model analysis was performed on the electronic spectrum of [Cr( d -pen) 2 ] − and [Cr( d -pen)( l -pen)] − (H 2 pen = penicillamine), in both of which penicillamine acts as a tridentate ligand. The d -penicillamine complex has the trans -S, cis -N, cis -O configuration, while the dl -penicillamine complex has the cis -S, cis -N, cis -O configuration. The carboxylate group is a strong π-donor and the deprotonated sulphydryl a moderate π-donor.
Product binding modulates the thermodynamic properties of a Megasphaera elsdenii short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase active-site mutant

Previous work has shown that the redox properties of Megasphaera elsdenii short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) are specifically modulated upon the binding of the substrate/product couple, allowing the reaction to proceed thermodynamically [Stankovich, M.T., & Soltysik, S. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 2627-2632]. The focus of this study on the Glu367Gln SCAD mutant protein is to gain an understanding of this phenomenon. The active-site mutant Glu367Gln SCAD inactivates the reductive and oxidative pathways and allows the effects of substrate (butyryl-CoA) and product (crotonyl-CoA) binding on the redox properties of the Glu367Gln SCAD mutant protein to be determined separately. Red anionic semiquinone was found to be thermodynamically stabilized in coulometric/potentiometric reductions of both butyryl-CoA- and crotonyl-CoA-complexed Glu367Gln SCAD. Reduction potential measurements showed that butyryl-CoA binding has little effect on the reduction potential of Glu367Gln SCAD. Crotonyl-CoA complexation, however, shifted the reduction potential of the Glu367Gln SCAD mutant protein by 30 mV in the positive direction. This modulation is similar to the 60-mV positive shift observed in native M. elsdenii SCAD upon complexation with the substrate/product couple [Stankovich, M.T., & Soltysik, S. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 2627-2632]. Thus, product binding and not substrate binding, thermodynamically regulates M. elsdenii SCAD. We propose that this observation is best explained by assuming that the product resembles an intermediate in the catalytic mechanism that is responsible for facilitating isopotential electron transfer from the substrate to the enzyme.
Schooling Race Talk

S oon after colleagues in my department began an American Indian Teacher Training Program, I met the director of a program with a history of preparing both Native and non-Native teachers to work in indigenous communities. Interested in hearing what the director saw as distinctive in their curriculum, I asked her what the student teachers were taught in their methods classes. "We teach them to listen," she told me. "The most important thing is for teachers in indigenous communities to talk to the people in the communities and to listen." How do teachers, especially teachers from outside a community, learn to listen? What does it mean to teach teachers to listen? Teachers often tell students to listen, but we seldom teach students to listen. Listening is supposed to be intuitive. On the rare occasions that listening is theorized in educational research, it tends to be treated not as profoundly relational, cultural, and political but as a generic virtue. In the pedagogical and philosophical scholarship on dialogue, for example, listening usually is understood in idealized, universal terms. In sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and feminist research, where the gender, cultural, and political dimensions of listening have received more attention, what counts as listening across difference may be explored, but learning to listen across difference usually is not. Some teachers have had long practice at code-switching across race, nation, or other divides. For many educators, though, listening across differences may require learning new moral, intellectual, and visceral habits. Although we can communicate in multiple cultural registers (with family, friends, a boss, customers, strangers on the bus, acquaintances at the laundromat), we cannot expect our fluency in accustomed communicative contexts to transfer to all
Internal Structure of the Jets in 3C 353

We have imaged the total and polarized intensity structures of the jets in the FR II radio galaxy 3C 353 with transverse resolutions up to nine beamwidths using the VLA at 8.4 GHz. Both the polarized intensity and the apparent degree of linear polarization exhibit elongated minima near both edges of both jets. We interpret these minima as the result of vector cancellation along the line of sight between polarized emission from the outer layers of the jets and from the surrounding lobes. Both jets also exhibit flat-topped total intensity profiles over much of their length. We infer that most of the jet emission comes from a thick outer layer where the magnetic field has no component transverse to the jet axis, but the axial and toroidal components are random and approximately in equipartition. We suggest that this region is a boundary layer where the field is ordered by velocity shear. The apparently lower emissivity near the jet axis may be produced by Doppler hiding of emission from fast-flowing material in the jet "spines." This view of the internal structure of an FR II jet can readily be unified with the two-component model for decelerating FR I jets proposed by Laing.
Marketing challenges of e-services

Technological innovations---such as the telephone, television, and the Internet---enable new capabilities that may create long-lasting changes in organizational structure, conduct, and performance. E-commerce currently accounts for a small portion of the U.S. economy, and an even smaller portion of the economies of other developed countries. Hence, marketers imperfectly understand the long-run ramifications of e-commerce for the behavior of buyers and sellers, organizational conduct and performance, the function and evolution of markets, and public policy. For example, there are differences between traditional and computer-mediated buying environments, with the latter characterized by increased information flows, interactivity, reduced information asymmetry between buyers and sellers, and a shift away from geographically based competition. However, the consequences of these features for organizational behavior are (as yet) unclear.
Asbestos disease in sheet metal workers: II. Radiologic signs of asbestosis among active workers

A review of chest x-rays of 707 currently employed New York metropolitan area sheet metal workers found that 29.3% of the workers with 20 years or more of union membership (a surrogate for years of exposure) had radiologic abnormalities characteristic of parenchymal and/or pleural asbestosis, with 18.6% having abnormalities characteristic of parenchymal asbestosis (International Labor Organization [ILO] classification 1/0 or higher) and 17.4% of pleural asbestosis. The prevalence of abnormalities characteristic of either parenchymal and/or pleural asbestosis in the group as a whole was 16.4%, with 10.9% exhibiting signs of parenchymal asbestosis and 9.2% of pleural asbestosis. There was a strong, statistically significant relationship between years in the trade and the prevalence of radiologic abnormalities. These findings underscore the need for medical surveillance of all asbestos-exposed construction workers, including retirees and workers who have had past exposure but who are no longer exposed.
Semi-Classical Limit Theorems for Hartree-Fock Theory

Consider a large number of electrons with Coulomb repulsion moving under the influence of static nuclei. It is assumed the potentials due to the nuclei are Coulombic away from their centers but are smooth at the centers, so no singularities exist. The author shows that the exchange energy for the Hartree-Fock ground state of this system converges in a suitable limit to the formula obtained by Dirac for exchange energy as an integral of the one body density.
Optimal health insurance: the case of observable, severe illness

We explore optimal cost-sharing provisions for insurance contracts when individuals have observable, severe diseases with a discrete number of medically appropriate treatment options. Variation in preferences for alternative treatments is unobserved by the insurer and non-contractible. Interest in such situations is increasingly common, exemplified by disease carve-out programs and shared decision-making (SDM) tools. We demonstrate that optimal insurance charges a copay to patients choosing the high-cost treatment and provides consumers of the low-cost treatment a cash payment. A simulation of the effect of such a policy, based on prostate cancer, indicates a substantial reduction in moral hazard.
Does success diminish competitive responsiveness? Reconciling conflicting perspectives

Previous research provides conflicting evidence of the association between the past performance of a business and its competitive responsiveness, with researchers observing both positive and negative relationships. To clarify this issue, the authors test a model using survey data from the retailing industry. The model delineates direct and indirect mediated paths through ability to respond, motivation to respond, and awareness of competitors’ actions to show how past performance can have both positive and negative influence on competitive responsiveness. However, the overall impact of past performance of an organization on its competitive responsiveness is positive. The implications of these findings for research, practice, and theory are discussed.
Relationship of immunologic abnormalities and disease stage in multiple sclerosis: Implications for therapy

Multiple sclerosis is classified as an inflammatory cell-mediated autoimmune disease directed against central nervous system myelin. Different stages of disease appear to be related to different patterns of inflammation and changes on MRI. It is postulated that the lack of response to anti-inflammatory drugs in the secondary progressive stage relates to a neurodegenerative component that is immune independent. However, there is also evidence that the immune system itself is more abnormal in the secondary progressive phase according to a number of immune measures including dendritic cell function in the peripheral blood. Furthermore, neuropathologic studies suggest that there is inflammation in the brain of MS patients in the progressive stages in which inflammation takes a different form that includes a diffuse inflammatory process in the brain and activation of microglial cells. In summary, this implies that there may be different types of inflammation depending on the stage of MS with abnormalities in adaptive immunity playing an important role in the relapsing-remitting stage and innate immunity a more important role in the progressive stage.
Peptide-like immunoreactivity in anuran optic nerve fibers.

Unilateral section, crush, or ligation of the optic nerve was performed in Rana pipiens. Following optic nerve disruption, Substance P (SP)-, leucine-enkephalin (LENK)-, cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8)-, and bombesin (BOM)-like immunoreactivities were analyzed in the retinae and optic nerves. Peptide-like immunoreactivity developed in the retinal stump of disrupted optic nerves within 1 hour after surgery and was retained until at least 30 days. Peptide-positive staining in the retinal stump of the optic nerves was abolished by preabsorption of each of the antibodies/antisera with the corresponding synthetic substances. No massive peptide-like immunoreactivity was observed in the cerebral stump of the ligated side, nor in the contralateral, nonoperated, optic nerve. No change in the pattern of peptide-like immunoreactivity was apparent in the retina ipsilateral or contralateral to the experimental procedure. The optic tectum contralateral to the surgical procedure displayed those changes in peptide-like immunoreactivity described previously following retinal deafferentation (Kuljis and Karten, '82a, '83a). Peptide-like immunoreactivity in the stump retinad to the surgical procedure occurred in the form of beaded and fibrillar elements often ending in an irregular expansion near the lesion site. Fluorescent double-label antibody methods demonstrated that SP-like immunoreactivity is present in different processes than those containing LENK, CCK8, or BOM. Electron microscopical immunocytochemistry revealed that peptide-like immunoreactivity is contained within unmyelinated and possibly also within myelinated axons in the stump retinad to the traumatic procedure. Radioimmunoassay studies of SP demonstrated a four- to sixfold increase in SP-like content in the retinal stump of ligated nerves, compared with both the cerebral stump and with the contralateral nonoperated optic nerves. These findings demonstrate the presence of peptide-like immunoreactivity in retinal ganglion cell processes, which is compatible with either a posttraumatic expression of previously repressed peptide-like phenotypes, or, most likely, with the existence of various classes of peptide-containing retinal ganglion cells. The latter prospect strongly suggests that peptide-specific subsets of retinal ganglion cells terminate in highly specific laminae in the optic tectum (Kuljis and Karten, '81, '82a-83a) and presumably differ in their physiological role in vision. Thus, these observations provide direct anatomo-chemical evidence in support of Lettvin et al. ('59) and Maturana et al. ('60), regarding the differential laminar termination of physiologically diverse classes of retinal ganglion cells in the tectum.
Hypermatrix scheme for finite element systems on CDC STAR-100 computer

A study is made of the adaptation of the hypermatrix (block matrix) scheme for solving large systems of finite element equations to the CDC STAR-100 computer. Discussion is focused on the organization of the hypermatrix computation using Cholesky decomposition and the mode of storage of the different submatrices to take advantage of the STAR pipeline (streaming) capability. Consideration is also given to the associated data handling problems and the means of balancing the I/Q and cpu times in the solution process. Numerical examples are presented showing anticipated gain in cpu speed over the CDC 6600 to be obtained by using the proposed algorithms on the STAR computer.
On-Line Learning for the Infinite Hidden Markov Model

We develop a sequential Monte Carlo algorithm for the infinite hidden Markov model (iHMM) that allows us to perform on-line inferences on both system states and structural (static) parameters. The algorithm described here provides a natural alternative to Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers previously developed for the iHMM, and is particularly helpful in applications where data is collected sequentially and model parameters need to be continuously updated. We illustrate our approach in the context of both a simulation study and a financial application.
Insights into the Enzyme-Substrate Interaction in the Norovirus 3C-like Protease

The Glu54 residue of the norovirus 3C-like protease was implicated in proteolysis as a third-member carboxylate of the catalytic triad. The E54L mutant protease cleaved the sequence 133 LSFE/AP between the 3B and 3C regions of norovirus polyprotein, but did not cleave the sequence 198 ATSE/GK between the 3A and 3B. The 3BC junction mutation (3B-L133A or 3B-F135S) hampered the cleavage by the E54L protease, whereas the 3AB junction mutation (3A-A198L, S200F) allowed the E54L protease to digest. These results indicate that the E54L mutant protease is a substrate-specificity mutant and requires large hydrophobic amino acid residues at both P4 and P2 positions of the substrate. It was notable that the 3A-S200F P2 position mutation caused tight interaction between the wild-type protease and the C-terminus of the 3A protein, hence a decreased release rate of the product from the enzyme. This tight binding was dependent on the hydrophobicity of amino acid residues introduced at position 200 of the 3A region and was affected by the mutation in the bII-cII loop of the protease or the mutation of position 198 of 3A corresponding to the P4 position of the substrate. These results suggest that the protease and the substrate sense each other in the process of the proteolysis, being supported by crystal structures.
Interspike interval analyses reveal irregular firing patterns at short, but not long, intervals in rat head direction cells.

Previous studies have shown that a subset of neurons in the rat anterodorsal thalamus discharge as a function of the animal's head direction (HD) in the horizontal plane, independent of the animal's location and behavior. These cells have consistent firing properties across a wide range of conditions and cell discharge appears highly regular when listened to through a loudspeaker. In contrast, interspike interval (ISI) analyses on cortical cells have found that cell firing is irregular, even under constant stimulus conditions. Here, we analyzed HD cells from the anterodorsal thalamus, while rats foraged for food pellets, to determine whether their firing was regular or irregular. ISIs were measured when the animal's HD was maintained within ±6° of the cell's preferred firing direction. ISIs were highly variable with a mean coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.681. For each cell, the CV values at HDs ±24° away from the cell's preferred direction were similar to the coefficient measured at the cell's preferred direction. A second recording session showed that cells had similar coefficients of variation as the first session, suggesting that the degree of variability in cell spiking was a characteristic property for each cell. There was little correlation between ISIs and angular head velocity or translational speed. ISIs measured in HD cells from the postsubiculum and lateral mammillary nuclei showed higher CV values. These results indicate that despite the appearance of regularity in their firing, HD cells, like cortical cells, have irregular ISIs. In contrast to the irregular firing observed for ISIs, analyses over longer time intervals indicated that HD cell firing was much more regular, more nearly resembling a rate code. These findings have implications for attractor networks that model the HD signal and for models proposed to explain the generation of grid cell signals in entorhinal cortex.
Effect of Restricted Feeding from 6 to 20 Weeks of Age on Reproductive Performance of Turkeys

Abstract A study was undertaken to determine the influence of nutrient restriction between 6 weeks and 20 weeks of age on the reproductive performance of commercial turkey breeders. Females were restricted in feed intake to 70% or 60% of full-fed control hens. Males were restricted to approximately 50% of normal feed intake for the same period. The body weight of restricted fed females was significantly less than that of control hens at 20, 32, and 52 weeks of age. The restricted hens consumed approximately 10% less feed during the 6- to 52-week period than the control hens. There were no carry-over effects of feed restriction on rate of egg production, feed per egg, hatchability, fertility or egg weight. Also, restriction of feed for males had no subsequent effects on fertility of eggs.
Identifying Clinically Disruptive International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision Clinical Modification Conversions to Mitigate Financial Costs Using an Online Tool

Complex transitions and diagnosis codes associated with information loss within clinical oncology require additional attention during the transition to ICD-10-CM.