cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High- and low-uptake forms of β-hexosaminidase in human platelets Selective retention of the high-uptake form during stimulation with thrombin

Human platelets are rich in beta-hexosaminidase and other acid hydrolases contained in organelles (lysosomes) distinct from alpha-granules and dense granules. Incubation of platelets with bovine or human thrombin (100 U/ml for 5 min at 37 degrees C) induces the secretion of 100% of the contents of alpha- and dense granules, but only 40-60% of total beta-hexosaminidase from lysosomes. Both isozymes Hex A and Hex B are secreted in the same proportion as found intracellularly. There is no selective recapture or plasma membrane binding by platelets of secreted beta-hexosaminidase. The secreted enzyme is of the low-uptake type, i.e., it is poorly recognized by the phosphomannosyl receptor-mediated uptake mechanism of fibroblasts, while the retained enzyme is a 3-fold higher uptake form. Preincubation of platelets with NH4Cl (10 mM, 2 h), followed by thrombin stimulation, results in secretion of all beta-hexosaminidase as a low-uptake form. The data support the hypothesis that there are secretory and nonsecretory forms of lysosomes. The secretory lysosomes would contain low-uptake forms of hydrolases in addition to acid phosphatase, while the nonsecretory lysosomes would contain high-uptake hydrolases and be acid phosphatase-deficient. Conditions where the contents of both lysosomal populations were released together, i.e., amine treatment followed by thrombin induction, or extraction of unstimulated cells, would result in the exposure of high-uptake phosphomannosylated hydrolases released from one population of lysosomes to acid phosphatase released from the second population of lysosomes with their subsequent conversion to low-uptake forms.
Diabetes is not a risk factor for hospital mortality following contemporary coronary artery bypass grafting

The outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in diabetic patients has traditionally been worse than in non-diabetic patients. Recent studies have suggested an improvement in outcome in diabetic patients undergoing contemporary CABG. However, the direct impact of diabetes on mortality and morbidities following CABG remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed prospectively collected data of 2725 CABG patients from January 1998 to December 2005: one thousand and eighty-five (40%) diabetics and 1640 (60%) non-diabetics [mean age 65+/-11 years, 1882 (69%) male]. Subgroup analysis was performed for two study periods (1998-2002 vs. 2003-2005). The overall hospital mortality was 1.8% [n=50; diabetics: 2.4%, non-diabetics: 1.5% (P=0.07)]. The mortality rate among diabetics decreased from 3.1% in 1998-2002 to 1.0% in 2003-2005 (P=0.021). Diabetes was not an independent predictor of hospital mortality but predicted the occurrence of deep sternal wound infection (OR=3.77). Diabetes significantly decreased long-term survival [1-year and 5-year survival 94.7+/-0.7% and 81.9+/-1.4% for diabetic vs. 95.4+/-0.5% and 85.9+/-1.0% for non-diabetic patients (P=0.01)]. Excellent results following contemporary CABG can be expected in diabetics with a similar mortality compared to non-diabetics. Therefore, our data suggest that diabetes may, in fact, not be a risk factor for adverse outcome following CABG. However, long-term survival in diabetics remains significantly inferior compared to non-diabetics.
A method for determining the fraction of positrons annihilating within a source

Abstract A simple method, utilizing a summing amplifier in a coincidence circuit, is presented for determining the fraction of positrons annihilating within a source holder. The technique is particularly suited to sources which are commonly employed in gas phase positron annihilation studies.
The Ubiquitously Expressed Human CYP51 Encodes Lanosterol 14α-Demethylase, a Cytochrome P450 Whose Expression Is Regulated by Oxysterols

Sterol biosynthesis requires the removal of the 14α-methyl group from lanosterol in animals and fungi and from obtusifoliol in plants. This reaction is catalyzed by a microsomal cytochrome P450, the sterol 14α-demethylase (P45014DM), which is the only P450 described so far to be expressed in different phyla. A cDNA encoding human P45014DMwas isolated from a liver cDNA library using a partial rat lanosterol 14α-demethylase cDNA probe. The deduced amino acid sequence is 93% and 38–42% identical to rat and fungal P45014DM, respectively. Expression of the human CYP51 cDNA inEscherichia colishowed that the cDNA encodes an enzyme having lanosterol 14α-demethylase activity. Northern blot analysis showed that CYP51 mRNA is ubiquitously expressed with highest levels in testis, ovary, adrenal, prostate, liver, kidney, and lung. Many genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis are regulated by cholesterol or its metabolites. In the case of CYP51, cholesterol deprivation led to a 2.6- to 3.8-fold induction of mRNA levels in human adrenocortical H295R cells and this effect was suppressed by the addition of 25-hydroxycholesterol. In human hepatoma HepG2 cells, no effect of cholesterol deprivation was observed; however, the levels of CYP51 mRNA were reduced 4- to 6-fold by the addition of 25-hydroxycholesterol. Thus, like several other genes in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway, including the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) synthase, HMG CoA reductase, squalene synthase, and farnesyl diphosphate synthase, the expression of the human CYP51 is suppressed by oxysterols.
Regional Controls on Silica Sedimentation in the Ouachita System

Deposits of nonterrigenous silica in the Ouachita orogen range in age from Middle Ordovician through Pennsylvanian with principal modes in Upper Ordovician and Devonian–Lower Mississippian strata. The coincidence of Paleozoic Taconic and Acadian orogenesis and Ouachita silica sedimentation is related to regional tectonic patterns and ocean surface-water circulation. Throughout most of Paleozoic time, Ouachita sediments accumulated in the western part of a marginal sea between the southern edge of the North American craton and an orogenic zone marking the convergent junction between the North American and Gondwana plates. Westerly equatorial surface currents in the Paleozoic Atlantic Ocean were enriched in volcanic silica during orogenesis along the plate junction. Radiolaria flourishing in these currents were carried into the Ouachita basin and contributed significantly to formation of Upper Ordovician chert. Silica-rich waters also originated in areas of upwelling off the west coasts of North America and Gondwana during middle and late Paleozoic time. The eastward flow of this water across the Mexican peninsula and into the Ouachita basin was promoted by rises of sea level and by the disruption of westerly equatorial circulation. The accumulation of Radiolaria carried by these currents and indigenous silica-sponge remains along the northern and western margins of the Ouachita basin and on adjacent shelves led to the formation of Devonian–Lower Mississippian novaculite and correlative shelf chert and siliceous carbonate rock.
Subcarrier multiplexing of packet headers in a WDM optical network and a novel ultra-fast header clock recovery technique

Recently, a number of projects aimed at the implementation of optical packet-switched network prototypes have been announced. A common element is the effort to keep packets in optical form from the source node to the destination node, avoiding electro-optical conversion at intermediate nodes. However, network nodes must extract some packet-addressing information to decide whether to receive or to route (and where to route) the optical packets. A critical issue is how to accomplish this in an efficient way.
Business strategy and CEO intelligence acquisition

When top executives gather information for making strategic decisions, they pay more attention to some sectors of the environment than others. The authors were curious about which sectors are important to CEOs pursuing different strategies. They also wondered whether CEOs change their patterns of information search if their firm's strategy changes. Finally, they wanted to know if CEOs of higher-performing firms that follow a particular strategy scan the environment differently than lower performers? These questions were evaluated by studying the scanning practices of CEOs of single-business manufacturing firms. The authors conducted an experiment in a field setting, wherein CEOs responded in their offices to interactive, computer-delivered information search tasks. These data were combined with information from surveys. The authors found that business-level strategy was related to the focus of both external and internal scanning, and that CEOs' scanning patterns changed when business-level strategy changed. The CEOs of firms that were the highest performers matched certain aspects of both their external and internal scanning to their business-level strategy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Integrated view of resetting a circadian clock

Abstract This report extends and systematizes the observations of Pittendrigh and his coworkers on the phase resetting of the circadian rhythm of pupal eclosion in populations of the fruitfly, Drosophila pseudoobscura, in response to a single discrete perturbation. Using a pulse of dim blue light as the resetting stimulus, the daily eclosion time is plotted as a function of the duration of the stimulus and the time at which it is given. The resulting three-dimensional graph, covering four days of eclosion, resembles four turns of a corkscrew linking tilted planes. The corkscrew axis points to a unique stimulus time and duration, small variations of which result in radically altered phase resetting. Approximations to this stimulus result in unusual broadening of the daily eclosion peaks, even to the extreme of obscuring the circadian rhythm. The resetting data published by investigators of other circadian systems suggest that this behavior in fruitflies is typical of circadian clocks in many phyla. Abolition of the steady-state rhythm following exposure to the unique stimulus might be attributed to diversification of phases within the pupal population. Further experiments are reported which seem to exclude this interpretation. The circadian clock may have been “turned off” in each individual pupa, thus returning them to the state characteristic of darkreared populations.
Healthy adiposity in women: the Framingham Offspring Study.

This report estimates a threshold for “healthy adiposity” by determining the relationship between subscapular skinfolds thickness, a direct measure of adiposity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in 1254 nonsmoking adult women who participated in the Framingham Offspring Study. Cardiovascular disease risk factors, including blood pressure, fasting plasma lipoprotein cholesterol, plasma glucose and echocardiographically measured left ventricular mass, were included. The optimal subscapular skinfold for 20-39-year-old women was determined to be < 15 mm. Women aged 20-59 whose subscapular skinfolds were below this level had a mean body mass index (BMI) of 21.1 kg/M2. Weight-for-height estimates for these women corresponded closely to the 1959 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Desirable Weight table. The probability of having unhealthy adiposity was estimated for all women aged 20-59 for each (rounded) integer value grouping of BMI. The probability of being above the healthy adiposity threshold rises ...
Computational verb systems: Verb predictions and their applications

Computational verbs are models of dynamical expertises of humans. They are used to transfer the continuum of dynamics of human perceptions into discrete events for representing, communicating and storing dynamical expertises. When good databases exist, but without information for rigorous analyses, humans use many methods including prediction to make decisions. When predictions are modeled by verbs, they are called verb predictions. In this paper, the concept of verb predictions is presented and illustrated by examples. Verb predictions are used to control an unknown chaotic system. First the experiences of human expert on control of this unknown chaotic system are summarized as verb statements. Then verb predictions are used to compensate the delay of controller for changing feedback control gain in different controlling phases. Computer simulations are given. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Morphine analgesia and acute physical dependence: rapid onset of two opposing, dose-related processes

Enhanced responsiveness to noxious stimulation is a reliable sign of opioid withdrawal and is therefore a measure of physical dependence. In lightly anesthetized rats, naloxone, given i.v. 15 min following i.v. morphine, caused a significant shortening of tail flick latency (hyperalgesia). At each dose of naloxone (0.1, 1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg), the magnitude of the observed hyperalgesia was a function of the preceding dose of morphine (0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg). Thus morphine rapidly induces two dose-related opposing processes: one results in antinociception and the other in the potential for hyperalgesia.
First sound dispersion near Tλ(P) in liquid helium

Abstract The background, the critical and the gravitational contributions to the velocity of the first sound at Tλ(P) in 4He liquid are analyzed in terms of the dynamic scaling theory of Ferrell and Bhattacharjee.
X-ray scattering by cybotactic nematic mesophases

Abstract A structural model is proposed to account fully for observed x-ray scattering by certain nematic mesophases above their transition to smectic-C phases. In an external magnetic field, the constituent molecules tend to align into nearly periodic parallel chains that give rise to disc-like intensity distributions along the meridian in reciprocal space. Close to the transition temperature, the chains aggregate into parallel sheets which cause a ring-shaped intensity rise in these dises. The planar array in the cybotactic nematic bears a close similarity to that in cholesteric mesophases.
From Lydia Pinkham to Queen Levitra: direct-to-consumer advertising and medicalisation.

The medicalisation of life problems has been occurring for well over a century and has increased over the past 30 years, with the engines of medicalisation shifting to biotechnology, managed care, and consumers. This paper examines one strand of medicalisation during the last century: direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceuticals. In particular, it examines the roles that physicians and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have played in regulating DTCA in the US. Two advertising exemplars, the late 19th century Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound (for ‘women's complaints’) and contemporary Levitra (for erectile dysfunction) are used to examine the parallels between the patent medicine era and the DTCA era. DTCA re-establishes the direct and independent relationship between drug companies and consumers that existed in the late 19th century, encouraging self-diagnosis and requests for specific drugs. The extravagant claims of Lydia Pinkham's day are constrained by laws, but modern-day advertising is more subtle and sophisticated. DTCA has facilitated the impact of the pharmaceutical industry and consumers in becoming more important forces in medicalisation.
A novel method for quantitating delayed enhancement of the left atrium

Delayed contrast enhancement of the left atrium (DE-LA) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has been reported to correlate well with outcomes after catheter ablation of AF. Currently utilized methods for DE-LA assessment require intensive post-processing and significant user-defined thresholding to obtain meaningful results.
Effect of aeration and agitation on growth rate of Thermus thermophilus in batch mode

The growth kinetics of Thermus thermophilus HB27 was investigated in rich medium (Thermus medium) under batch cultivation at 65 degrees C in 3-l fermentors. The growth and oxygen consumption rates were highly dependent on the aeration and agitation rates. Volumetric mass transfer coefficient (K(L)a, h(-1)) and hence oxygen transfer rate (OTR, mol m (-3) h(-1)) into the fermentation broth increased with increased aeration and/or agitation rates. A K(L)a and OTR of 175.4 h(-1) and 31.7 mol m(-3)h(-1) respectively, corresponding to 500 rpm agitation and 2 vvm aeration with a mixture of air and oxygen, were required to avoid oxygen limitation. The maximum growth rate (mu(max), h(-1)), doubling time (t(D), h), and dry cell weight determined for T. thermophilus HB27 growing under these conditions were 0.27 h(-1), 2.67 h, and 3g/l respectively. This cell yield is higher than any previously published reports for growth of Thermus cultures, including studies that employed pressurized bioreactors.
Application of electroporation for transfer of plasmid DNA to Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Listeria, Pediococcus, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Enterococcus and Propionibacterium

Plasmid DNA was introduced by electroporation into Bacillus, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Listeria, Pediococcus, Propionibacterium and Staphylococcus as an alternative to competent-cell or protoplast transformation. Plasmid-containing transformants were recovered in these recipients at frequencies ranging from 10(1) to 10(5) transformants micrograms-1 of pGK12. Several parameters of the protocol, including DNA concentration, voltage, plating regimen and electroporation buffers were evaluated to determine conditions that improved transformation frequencies for Lactobacillus acidophilus. Using optimized conditions, the following plasmids were introduced into L. acidophilus: pAMB1, pC194, pGB354, pGKV1, pSA3, pTRK13, pTV1 and pVA797. The ability to transfer plasmid DNA via eletroporation will greatly facilitate the application of recombinant DNA methodology and transposon technology to Gram-positive bacteria for cloning and analysis of significant genes.
Risk hedging in storage grid markets: Do options add value to forwards?

Internet storage services allow businesses to move away from maintaining their own internal storage networks. Service providers currently follow a utility pricing model which translates to them absorbing all the risk that arises from the fluctuating storage needs of their customers. The risk borne by the Internet storage service providers has large revenue implications as Internet startups and smaller companies, which face significant demand stochasticity, constitute an important segment of their clientele. We develop an option pricing mechanism to hedge against this risk and evaluate its effectiveness vis-a-vis forward contracts. We obtain the conditions under which options dominate forward contracts and the trade-offs involved when the provider has to decide on appropriate pricing mechanisms. Our empirical study uses publicly obtainable traffic data of Amazon S3 clients to validate the analytical results. We show that providers can significantly benefit from including options in their risk-hedging portfolio, especially when there is less variation in the costs faced by the buyers in building their own data networks as opposed to using cloud services.
Sodium and oxygen disorder in a scandium-substituted nasicon: A time of flight neutron powder diffraction study of Na2.5Zr1.8Sc0.2Si1.3P1.7O12

Abstract A Sc-substituted NASICON of composition Na 2.5 Zr 1.8 Sc 0.2 Si 1.3 P 1.7 O 12 has been prepared and characterized by neutron powder diffraction and conductivity measurements. Time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction data were collected at 26, 100, 200, and 400°C. Satisfactory Rietveld refinements were obtained for all temperatures using the rhombohedral space group R 3 c. The novel aspect of this structure is the simultaneous presence of partially occupied intersitial sodium and oxygen sites that are disordered with the regular Na(2) and O(1) sites in the known rhombohedral NASICON structure. The results are compared with recent findings of defect structures in other NASICON materials. Conductivity measurements in the range 30–350°C reveal an activation energy of 0.30 eV for Na + conduction but conductivity values were found to change with temperature of sample preparation.
Profiles in Ontological Rebellion: The Presence of Moby-Dick in Heathers

I t is common internet knowledge that Daniel Waters, screenwriter for the indie cult classic Heathers (1989),1 about a disaffected high school girl whose ennui gradually evolves into mass murder, had originally intended to use Catcher in the Rye as the principal literary motif in the movie, but could not because of the famous copyright taboos that envelope J. D. Salinger’s writings. Thus thwarted, he turned to that other omnipresent article of the high school object-scape, Moby-Dick. However, nothing about this choice seems arbitrary or unfortunate. It is difficult to imagine Holden Caulfield’s voice poking into Heathers. Holden’s rhetoric is too personal, too humanly resonant and vulnerable, to reflect the operatic, archetypal cartoonishness crammed into this movie. Holden’s voice in Heathers would emit an aura of real worldliness and an echo of real shootings that would unbalance the knife-edge tone of rampant zaniness that the movie achieves. But Moby-Dick is perfect. On the one hand, Melville’s world is full the same blend of strutting satirical types, rhetorical indulgence, manic pathos, cryptic wisdom, and panoramic inclusiveness that characterizes the movie. And on a second hand there is Moby-Dick’s status, even and perhaps especially for those who have never read it and never will, as the Archetypal American Novel. The namedropping, in collusion with the allegorical fairy-tale sheen of the filmmaking, elevates the plane of discourse the movie engages. Furthermore, Heathers goes backwards and rewrites Moby-Dick as a rock video, a zany jaunt into the heartland of the American apocalyptic wet dream. Conversely, something of Melville’s profound moral vision trickles into Heathers, complicating its conventional Hollywood ending. Heathers is a black satire of John Hughes-style high school movies which de-sentimentalizes the cliche of “teen angst bullshit.” Veronica Sawyer is the fourth member of a coven of merciless bitches (the rest of them all named Heather) who tyrannize their school’s loose assortment of nerds, jocks, stoners,
Mycotic aneurysm: A diagnostic challenge

Infected "mycot ic" aneurysms are an uncommon entity, with an incidence of nearly 3% of all abdominal aortic aneurysms. ~ The diagnosis poses a challenging problem for the emergency physician because symptomatology is frequently minimal or nonspecific during the early stages, and a high index of suspicion is essential. The importance of making such a diagnosis cannot be overemphasized, because without surgical intervention, this usually leads to uncontrolled sepsis and catastrophic hemorrhage. Survival is markedly improved by a prompt diagnosis and aggressive surgical intervention. Surgery performed after rupture carries high morbidity and mortality rates. Experience with a patient having this diagnosis and no reported cases from the English-language emergency medicine literature form the basis of this report.
Multiple Criteria ABC Analysis

Prioritising items for management attention has been advocated in operations management for a long time, normally using ABC analysis (inventory control). This focuses attention on the “A” category items to maximise managerial effectiveness. Empirical evidence shows that this is a reasonable rule for allocating scarce resource‐management time but presents difficulties when the manager has to take more than one important dimension of a situation into account. A joint criteria matrix is put forward within the ABC framework and an industrial application given. The joint criteria matrix has practical utility provided ranking on some scale of measurement is realistic. The appropriate number of categories must be defined by the user. Combining criteria will probably require different analytical approaches, e.g. goal programming or heuristic approaches. Utilisation of the matrix by managers can provide an explicit method for taking a range of criteria into account in the development of inventory policies.
Microstructural stability in multi-alloy systems: Nanostructured two-phase, dual alloy multilayers

Interdiffusion and microstructural stability in multilayers consisting of two nanostructured two-phase alloys were investigated using phase field simulations. A prototype ternary system containing a miscibility gap was used as the model system. Alloys with various compositions within the miscibility gap were chosen to form 20 μm bilayer repeating units in the multilayers. The initial microstructures in the alloys were produced by spinodal decomposition, which yielded a uniform distribution of precipitates having an average diameter of about 50 nm. Two types of multilayers were investigated; one in which the alloys in the repeating unit had the same matrix phase and the other in which the alloys had a different matrix phase. In general the microstructural instability measured as the size of the reaction zone increased with the increase in composition difference between the two initial alloys and in atomic mobility difference between the diffusing species. In particular, when the matrix phase was the same a precipitate-free zone (i.e. a single-phase layer) and a coarse interconnected precipitate zone formed at the interface between the two alloys, while when the matrix phase differed two precipitate-free zones formed at the interface. The microstructural instabilities were analyzed in terms of variations in the effective diffusivity with composition, which produced a singularity in the diffusion path at the initial alloy interface. The instability caused the diffusion path to exit the two phase region of the phase diagram and enter the single phase region.
Symbolic Racism: Problems of Motive Attribution in Political Analysis

Research on symbolic racism attempts to identify the underlying psychological sources of public resistance to policies designed to promote racial equality. This research program has been built on the fundamental idea that, although old-fashioned, overt forms of racism have lost much of their appeal in American politics, new, more subtle and symbolic forms of racism continue to exert a pervasive influence on policy debates, making themselves felt, for example, in opposition to busing, to affirmative action, or even to black candidates running for office. This paper identifies serious empirical, logical, and methodological shortcomings in the case that researchers have advanced to support the symbolic racism thesis. Most serious are (a) the lack of clarity in theoretical definitions of symbolic racism, (b) the major inconsistencies in the operationalization of the construct, (c) the confounding of “independent” and “dependent” variables in the construction of symbolic racism scales, (d) the politically controversial nature of the item content of certain symbolic racism scales, (e) the frequent failures to distinguish the impact of traditional racial prejudice from that of symbolic racism on policy preferences, and (f) the tendency to pose a very restrictive conception of self-interest as the major explanatory alternative to symbolic racism interpretations of policy preferences.
Impact of comorbid depression on medication adherence and asthma‐related healthcare costs in Texas Medicaid patients with asthma

Objectives To compare: (1) rates of adherence to asthma controllers (ACs) between patients with asthma alone (A) and patients with asthma and comorbid depression (A + D); (2) rates of adherence to AC between patients who adhere to antidepressants and patients who do not adhere to antidepressants; and (3) asthma-related healthcare costs between the A and A + D groups. Methods Texas Medicaid insurance claims from 1 January 2007 to 31 October 2011 were extracted for adults (18–63 years) diagnosed with asthma with at least two fills of the same AC (inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting beta agonists, fixed-dose combinations (FDC) and leukotriene modifiers) in the A group, and at least two antidepressant claims in the A + D group. Proportion of days covered (PDC) was used to assess adherence to antidepressants and AC, while controlling for demographics, chronic disease score (CDS) and AC therapy type (monotherapy, FDC, dual therapy). Asthma-related healthcare costs included asthma-related prescriptions, inpatient and outpatient costs. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon test and regression analyses were used. Key findings The patients (n = 3626) were 40.1 ± 14.0 years, primarily women (75.0%), Caucasians (37.3%), FDC therapy users (56.3%), with CDS = 0 (74.2%). Results showed that compared to the A group (n = 3400), patients in the A + D group (n = 226) were 1.6 times more likely to adhere (PDC ≥50%) to their AC (odds ratio (OR) = 1.596; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.198–2.128; P < 0.001). Compared to patients who do not adhere to antidepressants (PDC <80%) (n = 140), patients who adhered to antidepressants (PDC ≥80%) (n = 86) were 2.5 times more likely to adhere (PDC ≥50%) to AC, while controlling for covariates (OR = 2.517; 95% CI = 1.304–4.855; P = 0.006). After controlling for covariates, compared to the A group, the A + D disorder group had significantly lower total asthma-related healthcare costs (P < 0.001). Conclusions In the A + D group, the higher costs of asthma-related prescriptions was offset by the lower costs of inpatient and outpatient claims. Patients in the A + D group should be encouraged to adhere to both their ACs and antidepressants.
Error Bounds and Improved Probability Estimation using the Maximum Likelihood Set

The maximum likelihood set (MLS) is a novel candidate for nonparametric probability estimation from small samples that permits incorporating prior or structural knowledge into the estimator. It is a set of probability distributions which assign to the observed type (or empirical distribution) a likelihood that is no lower than the likelihood they assign to any other type. The MLS has been shown to have many highly desirable properties, including strong consistency of MLS-based estimates; yet the probability that the MLS contains the data-generating distribution may be arbitrarily small. In this paper, we propose to overcome this shortcoming via an epsiv-fattening of the MLS. The proposed set, called the High Likelihood Set (HLS), with epsiv rarr 0 slowly in sample size, ensures that the HLS contains the data- generating distribution with arbitrarily large probability, while retaining most desirable properties of the MLS. In particular, the HLS provides a "high-probability" bound on the estimation error, and experimental results in statistical language modeling show improved operational performance from HLS-based estimates.
Barbara Tomlinson. Feminism and Affect at the Scene of Argument: Beyond the Trope of the Angry Feminist

The scene of academic argument is the scene of contested power relations, and feminist scholars must contend with continued challenges to our legitimacy, even in the hallowed halls that helped rear...
Adolescent Dating Violence and Peplau’s Dimensions of the Self:

BACKGROUND: Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a significant public health problem. Despite an association between ADV and lowered self-esteem, little research has examined identity issues in pers...
Novel 4‐Vinylpyridine‐Extended Metal–Dibenzoylmethanate Host Frameworks: Structure, Polymorphism, and Inclusion Properties

In this contribution we show that host materials based on metal dibenzoylmethanates (DBM) can be extended in a versatile way by decreasing the packing efficiency of the simpler metal DBM's reported earlier. Specifically, this can be accomplished by coordinating two 4-vinylpyridines (4-ViPy) to the metal (Ni or Co) DBM units to give [M(4-ViPy)2(DBM)2] host complexes. These display a remarkable polymorphism and an ability to form inclusion compounds with a large variety of organic species. Five non-clathrate phases representing three polymorphic types and twenty-eight inclusion compounds with nineteen guests, representing five structural types were isolated and studied in varying degrees of detail. The inclusion compounds can be prepared by recrystallization or by interaction of the solid host with guest vapor. In the latter case, the process realization, kinetics and final product strongly depend on the host polymorph chosen as starting material. Kinetic studies executed with powder XRD suggest that transient formation of inclusion compounds may occur even during solvent vapor induced transformation of one guest-free polymorph to another. The beta polymorph of the Ni-host reveals the strongest clathratogenic ability as well as a high selectivity towards certain homologues and isomers. Its properties give insight into the concept of "flexible zeolite mimics", or "apohosts", as this empty host form is energetically and structurally predisposed towards inclusion processes. In all eleven (three host and eight clathrate) structures studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction the [M(4-Vi-Py)2(DBM)2] complex molecule is transconfigured. In most, the host molecules show effective packing in one dimension by forming parallel chains. Guest species are located between the chains in cages or channels formed by combining voids in the host molecules belonging to adjacent chains. The corresponding Ni and Co versions of the compounds studied were similar.
Exercise-induced vasodilation in forearm circulation of normal subjects and patients with congestive heart failure: Role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide

Abstract Objectives. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide in the regulation of forearm blood flow during exercise in normal subjects and patients with congestive heart failure. Background. Nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation in response to muscarinic stimulation is impaired in the peripheral circulation of patients with congestive heart failure. Whether nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation during exercise is also impaired in patients with congestive heart failure is unknown. Methods. Forearm blood flows (ml/min per 100 ml) were determined during rhythmic hand grip exercise at 15%, 30% and 45% of maximal voluntary contraction by venous occlusion plethysmography before and after regional inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis with administration of L-NG-monomethylarginine (L-NMMA) in the brachial artery of 17 patients with congestive heart failure (mean age 49 years, mean left ventricular ejection fraction 0.22) and 10 age-matched normal subjects. Results. Before administration of L-NMMA in the brachial artery, forearm blood flows in patients with congestive heart failure during rhythmic hand grip exercise at 15%, 30% and 45% of maximal voluntary contraction were slightly but not significantly lower than that of normal subjects ([mean ± SE] 6.8 ± 1.0, 8.5 ± 1.0 and 12.9 ± 1.7 ml/min per 100 ml, respectively, in patients with congestive heart failure vs. 6.6 ± 1.2, 11.6 ± 1.9 and 16.2 ± 1.9 ml/min per 100 ml, respectively, in normal subjects, p = NS). After administration of L-NMMA in the brachial artery, forearm blood flows in normal subjects significantly decreased by 10% to 21% during hand grip exercise but did not change during exercise in patients with congestive heart failure. Conclusions. Regional inhibition of nitric oxide synthase with administration of L-NMMA in the brachial artery significantly decreased forearm blood flows during rhythmic hand grip exercise in normal subjects but not in patients with congestive heart failure. These findings suggest that nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation during submaximal exercise is impaired in the forearm circulation of patients with congestive heart failure.
Hematologic Diseases: From Within the Heart

The fundamental relationship between blood disorders and the cardiovascular system originates within multiple points of interface, ranging from the heart and its structural constituents to include heart chambers, valves, coronary arteries, coronary veins, and the cerebrovascular and peripheral vasculature. While the cellular components of circulating blood derive their primary origin from multipotent progenitor cells, plasma-based components, which include coagulation proteins, are mostly born of hepatic synthesis and endothelial cells. Here we provide a focused overview of nononcological blood disorders and their potential impact on the arterial circulatory system as common phenotypes, including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke and peripheral arterial occlusive events. Venous thromboembolism is employed in our discussion as a clinical template. We also provide practical steps and guidance for diagnostic testing and management in routine clinical practice.
Desiring the Muscular Ideal: Men's Body Satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana

Failure to achieve a lean and muscular build, a prominent characteristic of masculinity for many men, may lead to body dissatisfaction. In four studies the authors used silhouette measures to assess men’s satisfaction with their muscularity and body fat. Across studies, many U.S. men (51‐71%) were not satisfied with their body fat level. Further, over 90% of U.S. undergraduate men wanted to be more muscular, as did many Ukrainian (69%) and Ghanaian (49%) men. In the United States, men’s ratings of their current and ideal muscularity were associated with endorsement of the male role, and many men desired increased muscularity for reasons related to increased dominance and attractiveness to women. These results suggest widespread desire for increased muscularity among men.
Church’s Thesis and Hume’s Problem

We argue that uncomputability and classical scepticism are both reflections of inductive underdetermination, so that Church’s thesis and Hume’s problem ought to receive equal emphasis in a balanced approach to the philosophy of induction. As an illustration of such an approach, we investigate how uncomputable the predictions of a hypothesis can be if the hypothesis is to be reliably investigated by a computable scientific method.
Stabilization and coordination of underwater gliders

An underwater glider is a buoyancy-driven, fixed-wing underwater vehicle that redistributes internal mass to control attitude. We examine the dynamics of a glider restricted to the vertical plane and derive a feedback law that stabilizes steady glide paths. The control law is physically motivated and with the appropriate choice of output can be interpreted as providing input-output feedback linearization. With this choice of output, we extend the feedback linearization approach to design control laws to coordinate the gliding motion of multiple underwater gliders.
Beltrami-Maxwell postulates for time-varying electromagnetism in materials

The Beltrami-Maxwell postulates are discussed as an autonomous system. Their conjugate invariance and applicability to linear materials are explored. Finally, they are retrofitted into the Maxwell postulates for time-varying electromagnetic fields. >
ROBUST CONSENSUS OUTPUT TRACKING OF MULTI-AGENT SYSTEMS WITH DIRECTED COMMUNICATIONS

In this paper, we study the consensus output tracking control for multi-agent systems with high-order dynamics under directed communication topology. Time-varying reference is assumed to be available to a subgroup of a team. A leader-follower scheme is applied and robust consensus control is developed so that the reference is treated as disturbances to those agents with no access to the reference. The control scheme avoids estimation of the derivatives of neighbor’s states through measurement as done in previous work and guarantees a finite L2 -gain from the reference to an transformed output. Simulation results show satisfactory performances.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
MIMO downlink spatial multiplexing algorithms applied to channel measurements

Several algorithms have recently been proposed for multiplexing multiple users in multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) downlinks. The ability of a transmitter to accomplish this using spatial methods is generally dependent on whether the users' channels are linearly independent. Until now, most multiplexing algorithms have been tested on uncorrelated Gaussian channels, a best-case scenario. We examine the performance of multiplexing multiple users using actual channel measurements. We impose the constraint that all inter-user interference must be zero, and optimize the transmit vectors to maximize total throughput under this constraint. The maximum throughput was calculated for different user separation distances, and the results show that for this particular set of measurement data, a separation of five wavelengths is enough to achieve close to the maximum available performance for two users.
Health economics: implications for novel antirheumatic therapies.

This paper discusses the pharmacoeconomics issues relating to the use of the newer therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), namely the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. Results of recent studies have provided some evidence regarding the cost effectiveness of these agents. However, as the use of TNF inhibitors evolves—including their use in other systemic inflammatory diseases—this will be influenced by several factors including treatment of patients with early RA, longer term treatment, problems related to toxicity, quality of life, productivity, and market forces. Thus, pharmacoeconomic considerations are likely to remain a central factor in the use of novel therapies in rheumatology, and awareness about these will aid clinicians to select the most favourable therapies for their patients with arthritis.
The Socialization of New Teachers into Teacher Unions

Using interview data collected from local teacher-union presidents in ten districts, this study identified the key mechanisms and content of union-sponsored new-teacher socialization efforts. Using a framework of union attachment, the utility of these socialization efforts was evaluated and implications for future research and union-leader practice were offered. Based on the analysis of the findings, the impact of new-teacher socialization on union attachment is often minimal due to the short duration and limited focus of socialization efforts. Therefore calls for sustained socialization within a context of a supportive union culture at the school-level may be warranted.
Dynamics of Bacterial and Fungal Communities on Decaying Salt Marsh Grass

Both bacteria and fungi play critical roles in decomposition processes in many natural environments, yet only rarely have they been studied as an integrated microbial community. Here we describe the bacterial and fungal assemblages associated with two decomposition stages of Spartina alterniflora detritus in a productive southeastern U.S. salt marsh. 16S rRNA genes and 18S-to-28S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were used to target the bacterial and ascomycete fungal communities, respectively, based on DNA sequence analysis of isolates and environmental clones and by using community fingerprinting based on terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. Seven major bacterial taxa (six affiliated with the α-Proteobacteria and one with the Cytophagales) and four major fungal taxa were identified over five sample dates spanning 13 months. Fungal terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) were informative at the species level; however, bacterial T-RFs frequently comprised a number of related genera. Amplicon abundances indicated that the salt marsh saprophyte communities have little-to-moderate variability spatially or with decomposition stage, but considerable variability temporally. However, the temporal variability could not be readily explained by either successional shifts or simple relationships with environmental factors. Significant correlations in abundance (both positive and negative) were found among dominant fungal and bacterial taxa that possibly indicate ecological interactions between decomposer organisms. Most associations involved one of four microbial taxa: two groups of bacteria affiliated with the α-Proteobacteria and two ascomycete fungi (Phaeosphaeria spartinicola and environmental isolate “4clt”).
Platelets Possess and Require an Active Protein Palmitoylation Pathway for Agonist-Mediated Activation and In Vivo Thrombus Formation

Objective— Several platelet proteins are palmitoylated, but whether protein palmitoylation functions in platelet activation is unknown. We sought to determine the role of platelet protein palmitoylation in platelet activation and thrombus formation. Methods and Results— Platelet proteins were depalmitoylated by infusing acyl-protein thioesterase 1 into permeabilized platelets. In intact platelets, platelet protein palmitoylation was blocked using the protein palmitoylation inhibitor cerulein. The effects of inhibiting platelet protein palmitoylation on platelet function and on thrombus formation in vivo were evaluated. When infused into permeabilized platelets, acyl-protein thioesterase 1 reduced total platelet protein palmitoylation and inhibited protease-activated receptor-1–mediated α-granule secretion with an IC 50 of 175 nmol/L and maximal inhibition of ≥90%. G αq and SNAP-23, membrane-associated proteins that are constitutively palmitoylated, translocated to the cytosol when permeabilized platelets were exposed to recombinant acyl-protein thioesterase 1. The protein palmitoylation inhibitor cerulein also inhibited platelet granule secretion and aggregation. Studies using intravital microscopy showed that incubation with cerulein decreased the rate of platelet accumulation into thrombi formed after laser-induced injury of mouse arterioles and inhibited maximal platelet accumulation by >60%. Conclusion— These studies show that platelets possess a protein palmitoylation machinery that is required for both platelet activation and platelet accumulation into thrombi. These studies show that inhibition of platelet protein palmitoylation blocks platelet aggregation and granule secretion. In a murine model of thrombus formation, inhibition of protein palmitoylation markedly inhibits platelet accumulation into thrombi at sites of vascular injury.
Defects in mitochondrial localization and ATP synthesis in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy are not alleviated by PDE5 inhibition

Given the crucial roles for mitochondria in ATP energy supply, Ca(2+) handling and cell death, mitochondrial dysfunction has long been suspected to be an important pathogenic feature in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Despite this foresight, mitochondrial function in dystrophin-deficient muscles has remained poorly defined and unknown in vivo. Here, we used the mdx mouse model of DMD and non-invasive spectroscopy to determine the impact of dystrophin-deficiency on skeletal muscle mitochondrial localization and oxidative phosphorylation function in vivo. Mdx mitochondria exhibited significant uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation (reduced P/O) and a reduction in maximal ATP synthesis capacity that together decreased intramuscular ATP levels. Uncoupling was not driven by increased UCP3 or ANT1 expression. Dystrophin was required to maintain subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM) pool density, implicating it in the spatial control of mitochondrial localization. Given that nitric oxide-cGMP pathways regulate mitochondria and that sildenafil-mediated phosphodiesterase 5 inhibition ameliorates dystrophic pathology, we tested whether sildenafil's benefits result from decreased mitochondrial dysfunction in mdx mice. Unexpectedly, sildenafil treatment did not affect mitochondrial content or oxidative phosphorylation defects in mdx mice. Rather, PDE5 inhibition decreased resting levels of ATP, phosphocreatine and myoglobin, suggesting that sildenafil improves dystrophic pathology through other mechanisms. Overall, these data indicate that dystrophin-deficiency disrupts SSM localization, promotes mitochondrial inefficiency and restricts maximal mitochondrial ATP-generating capacity. Together these defects decrease intramuscular ATP and the ability of mdx muscle mitochondria to meet ATP demand. These findings further understanding of how mitochondrial bioenergetic dysfunction contributes to disease pathogenesis in dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle in vivo.