cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of Health Literacy in Health-Related Information-Seeking Behavior Online: Cross-sectional Study

Background: The internet has emerged as a main venue of health information delivery and health-related activities. However, few studies have examined how health literacy determines online health-related behavior. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the current level of health-related information-seeking using the internet and how health literacy, access to technology, and sociodemographic characteristics impact health-related information-seeking behavior. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study through a survey with Minnesotan adults (N=614) to examine their health literacy, access to technology, and health-related information-seeking internet use. We used multivariate regression analysis to assess the relationship between health-related information-seeking on the internet and health literacy and access to technology, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Better health literacy (β=.35, SE 0.12) and greater access to technological devices (eg, mobile phone and computer or tablet PC; β=.06, SE 0.19) were both associated with more health-related information-seeking behavior on the internet after adjusting for all other sociodemographic characteristics. Possession of a graduate degree (β=.28, SE 0.07), female gender (β=.15, SE 0.05), poor health (β=.22, SE 0.06), participation in social groups (β=.13, SE 0.05), and having an annual health exam (β=.35, SE 0.12) were all associated with online health-related information-seeking. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that access to online health-related information is not uniformly distributed throughout the population, which may exacerbate disparities in health and health care. Research, policy, and practice attention are needed to address the disparities in access to health information as well as to ensure the quality of the information and improve health literacy.
Risks of Increase in the IoT Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) involves various objects and communication methods. IoT manufacturers are continually creating new devices that are unprecedented in the past analysis. The security of IoT involves different aspects including confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. However, most of the current risk assessment methodologies are for general-purpose software systems and hence lack a holistic approach for assessing risks in IoT systems especially due to the diversity of IoT systems. This paper discusses the risks related to continually increasing IoT devices and the cautionary measures to consider in developing these devices.
New Names for Old Tumors

OBJECTIVES Previous studies described "clear cell" hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although definitions have varied. New clear cell subtypes of HCC have been proposed, including chromophobe (C-HCC), steatohepatitic (SH-HCC), and steatotic (S-HCC), and this study assessed the utility and clinical-pathologic profile of these subtypes. METHODS Current histologic definitions, including 3 separate proposed definitions for SH-HCC, were applied to tumors previously characterized as clear cell HCC. Histologic and clinical variables were analyzed. RESULTS Of 66 HCCs, 51 (77%) were classified using modern definitions, including 34 SH-HCCs, 15 S-HCCs, and 2 C-HCCs. Compared with the most permissive SH-HCC definition, the other 2 definitions designated 30 and 25 SH-HCCs (-12% and -26% cases, respectively). Unsurprisingly, S-HCC and SH-HCC were associated with steatotic clear cells (P < .0001). S-HCC was also more typically early type and low grade (P = .0017). The remaining unclassified clear cell HCCs were associated with flocculent (rather than steatotic or optically clear) cytoplasm (P < .0001) but otherwise demonstrated no discrete clinical-pathologic profile. CONCLUSIONS Current definitions could be used to reclassify the majority of "clear cell" HCCs. The subtypes are significantly correlated with a few variables, suggesting valid differences of the subtypes, although additional study is warranted, particularly to standardize the definition of SH-HCC.
Semantic predictability and adaptation to nonnative speecha)

Listeners improve their ability to understand nonnative speech through exposure. The present study examines the role of semantic predictability during adaptation. Listeners were trained on high-predictability, low-predictability, or semantically anomalous sentences. Results demonstrate that trained participants improve their perception of nonnative speech compared to untrained participants. Adaptation is most robust for the types of sentences participants heard during training; however, semantic predictability during exposure did not impact the amount of adaptation overall. Results show advantages in adaptation specific to the type of speech material, a finding similar to the specificity of adaptation previously demonstrated for individual talkers or accents.
Lending Technologies, Bank Size, and Small Business Finance: Extensions and Tests of the Current Paradigm

We extend and test the current paradigm in small business lending research. We generalize the paradigm that focuses on hard- and soft-information lending technologies and relax some of its most restrictive assumptions. We treat the hard-information lending technologies separately, rather than combining them and assuming that they may be adequately represented by financial statement lending. We also ease the assumption that relationship lending is the only important soft-information lending technology. Our empirical analysis matches the data on U.S. small businesses, the banks that lend to these firms, the contract characteristics of their loans, and other information. We empirically identify 10 distinct lending technologies used by the banks to make significant numbers of small business loans. The results of our empirical tests conflict with the predictions of the current paradigm, but are consistent with our more general extended paradigm.
Six-dimensional Lie–Einstein metrics

A metric is said to be Lie–Einstein if it is both a one-sided invariant metric on a Lie group and also an Einstein space. In this article right-invariant metrics are used thoughout. Several Lie–Einstein metrics on six-dimension Lie groups are constructed. The associated Lie algebras are necessarily solvable and are assumed to be indecomposable. They belong to two classes studied by Mubarakzyanov and Turkowski, respectively. Since the general problem of finding Lie–Einstein metrics in dimension six appears to be intractable, a certain ansatz for the form of the metric and class of Lie algebra is adopted. Nineteen Mubarakzyanov and five Turkowski Lie algebras are shown to be Lie–Einstein.
Influence of Arrival Weight, Season and Calf Supplier on Survival in Holstein Beef Calves on a Calf Ranch

Large calf ranches rear neonatal cattle for veal or dairy beef. Dairy beef ranches purchase bull calves from multiple sources and with questionable colostrum intake histories. They need information to help with calf purchasing strategies and on-farm management practices to avoid losses. It was the purpose of this project to describe factors associated with mortality in neonatal calves raised on a large calf ranch.
Negotiation issues in multinational humanitarian assistance/disaster relief

Large scale humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) operations often require the intervention and aid of various agencies from all over the world. As a result, HA/DR operations involve many negotiation and coordination issues. Although a number of studies have emphasized computer assistance for negotiations, it remains unclear how such information and communication technology could be employed in HA/DR operations. This paper presents a framework for developing a global information network (GIN) for HA/DR operation. It derives a set of functional requirements and proposes system components for GIN that would facilitate HA/DR operations.
Minimizing inner product data dependencies in conjugate gradient iteration

The amount of concurrency available in conjugate gradient iteration is limited by the summations required in the inner product computations. The inner product of two vectors of length N requires time c log(N), if N or more processors are available. This paper describes an algebraic restructuring of the conjugate gradient algorithm which minimizes data dependencies due to inner product calculations. After an initial start up, the new algorithm can perform a conjugate gradient iteration in time c*log(log(N)).
Radio tracking and animal populations

Publisher Summary Steady technological advancements including subminiaturization of telemetry components, smaller and more accurate global positioning systems (GPSs), and increasingly available geographic information systems (GISs) continue to influence the way researchers collect and analyze wildlife radio-tracking data. These developments have increased the diversity of animals that can be studied and have boosted the number and accuracy of location estimates, within a framework of contemporary conservation issues. This chapter conducts a literature review using the Wildlife Worldwide (WW) database to assess the specific topics and number of studies using radiotelemetry in wildlife research. Databases within the WW search engine include Wildlife Review Abstracts (formerly Wildlife Review), Swiss Wildlife Information Service, Wildlife Database, BIODOC, and the Waterfowl and Wetlands database. The most critical assumption in any radiotelemetry study is that the transmitter has no appreciable effect on the study animal. One can assume that a marked animal behaves, functions, and survives in a manner similar to that of an unmarked animal. Despite this critical assumption, the impact of radio marking of animals has often been subjectively evaluated. Generally, researchers assume that large animals are not affected by radio marking, whereas smaller animals, particularly birds, are impacted more.
Restatement for Joint and Several Liability Under CERCLA After Burlington Northern

This past May, the United States Supreme Court for the first time addressed two issues which Congress left open in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ('CERCLA'). These issues are (1) the scope of 'generator' or 'arranger' liability under the language of CERCLA Section 107(a)(3) and (2) the circumstances under which a liable party under Section 107 may be held jointly and severally liable. Rejecting the position of the United States Government on both issues, the Court found that the Government had attempted to extend CERCLA generator liability 'beyond the limits of the statute itself' and that, despite the Government’s 'refusal to acknowledge the potential divisibility of the harm,' the District Court’s rough formula limiting the CERCLA liability of the Railroad defendants to 9% of the Government’s total response costs 'was supported by the evidence and comports with the apportionment principles' to which members of Congress had made reference in 1980 - 'traditional and evolving principles of common law' set forth in the ALI’s Restatements. Because the Court first addressed these two issues more than twenty-eight years after CERCLA’s enactment and because of the fact that the Court rejected the Government’s litigation position which it had asserted regularly in the lower courts, Burlington Northern has implications for the precedential effect of hundreds of lower court opinions. This is especially so with respect to the second issue: the application of joint and several liability. Below we adopt the artifice of a hypothetical 'Restatement' for this area of Superfund jurisprudence. Following the structure of a Restatement, there are three subdivisions: (1) the black-letter law, reflecting an assessment of the current applicable legal rules in summary form after Burlington Northern, (2) Comments and Illustrations reflecting an elaboration and application of these rules with reference to prior cases, and (3) Reporter’s Notes, reflecting commentary about these rules, applications and likely areas of ambiguity or dispute which courts may need to visit or revisit
Granidt: Towards Gigabit Rate Network Intrusion Detection Technology

We describe a novel application of reconfigurable computing to the problem of computer network security. By filteringne twork packets with customized logic circuits, we can search headers as well as packet content for specific signatures at Gigabit Ethernet line rate. Input to our system is a set of filter rule descriptions in the format of the public domain "snort" databases. These descriptions are used by the hardware circuits on two Xilinx Virtex 1000 FPGAs on a SLAAC1V [9]board. Packets are read from a Gigabit Ethernet interface card, the GRIP [8], and flow directly through the packet filtering circuits. A vector describing matchingpa cket headers and content are returned to the host program, which relates matches back to the rule database, so that logs or alerts can be generated. The hardware runs at 66 MHz with 32-bit data, giving an effective line rate of 2 Gb/s. The granidt combination software/hardware runs at 24.9X the speed of snort 1.8.
Digital preservation technologies and hybrid libraries

La demande de conservation en materiaux traditionnels (papier, photographies, microformes...) en Europe, du fait de son passe historique et culturel, ne diminuera pas. La numerisation offre cependant l'avantage de faciliter l'acces aux documents, par des liens hypertexte notamment et meme d'ameliorer la lisibilite par augmentation du contraste et autres techniques. Projets de preservation par numerisation: projet Archivos General de Indias (Seville, Espagne) sur sur l'experience espagnole en Amerique, 160 millions de manuscrits et projet de la Bibliotheque Vaticane, 20000 manuscrits. Numerisation des paryrii. Cooperation inter-institutionnelle et programmes de preservation de l'OCLC. Metadonnees pour la numerisation
Intracellular bacterial communities of uropathogenic Escherichia coli in urinary tract pathogenesis

Urinary tract infections in young, healthy women frequently recur, despite their traditional classification as acute infections. Conventional wisdom dictates that uropathogens causing recurrent infections in such individuals come from the fecal or vaginal flora, in the same manner as the initial infection. However, recent studies of uropathogenic Escherichia coli have found that it can carry out a complex developmental program within the superficial epithelial cells of the mouse bladder, forming intracellular bacterial communities with many biofilm-like properties. These intracellular biofilms allow the bacteria to outlast a strong host immune response to establish a dormant reservoir of pathogens inside the bladder cells. Re-emergence of bacteria from this reservoir might be the source of recurrent infection.
Adrenal suppression in children with the human immunodeficiency virus treated with megestrol acetate

Symptoms and laboratory evidence of adrenal suppression developed in 2 children with the human immunodeficiency virus after megestrol acetate (MA) therapy was discontinued; both required transient glucocorticoid replacement therapy. High-dose corticotropin stimulation testing performed on children with the human immunodeficiency virus treated or not treated with MA showed that baseline and post-corticotropin cortisol levels were extremely low in 7 of 10 treated patients and normal in 10 of 10 members of a control group (P <.01). MA may suppress adrenal function, and replacement glucocorticoids may prevent or relieve associated symptoms at times of severe stress or on discontinuation of MA therapy.
A new digital human environment and assessment of vehicle interior design

Vehicle interior design directly relates to driver performance measures such as comfort, efficiency, risk of injury, and vehicle safety. A digital human is a convenient tool for satisfying the need to reduce the design cycle in order to save time and money. This paper presents a digital human environment, Santos(TM), developed at The University of Iowa, and its assessment as applied to the interior design of a Caterpillar vehicle. The digital human environment involves male models and accommodates a large percentage of the operator population (from the 5th percentile to the 95th percentile). It has a user-friendly interface and includes various tools such as posture prediction, reachability check, zone differentiation, and biomechanics assessment for the upper body and hand. The key difference from a traditional digital human environment is that Santos's environment is optimization-based. This can answer design questions regarding whether the operator can reach relevant controls, what the comfort level is if one can reach the control, and what strength is required of the operator to pull a shift, etc. The illustrative example of a Caterpillar cab is demonstrated using this digital human environment.
A Mutation in the Catalytic Subunit of cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase that Disrupts Regulation

A mutant catalytic subunit of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase has been isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is no longer subject to regulation yet retains its catalytic activity. Biochemical analysis of the mutant subunit indicates a 100-fold decreased affinity for the regulatory subunit. The mutant catalytic subunit exhibits approximately a threefold increase in Michaelis constant for adenosine triphosphate and peptide cosubstrates, and is essentially unchanged in its catalytic rate. The nucleotide sequence of the mutant gene contains a single nucleotide change resulting in a threonine-to-alanine substitution at amino acid 241. This residue is conserved in other serine-threonine protein kinases. These results identify this threonine as an important contact between catalytic and regulatory subunits but only a minor contact in substrate recognition.
Anagram versus word-fragment solution: A comparison of implicit-memory measures

Previous experiments have revealed that word-completion tasks (both word stem and word fragment) are powerful measures of implicit memory. The present study compared the results obtained using word fragments with a new measure, anagram solution. It may be argued that both measures are tapping data-driven processes in memory, but the strategies necessary for these two types of completion tasks are intuitively quite different. The results obtained by this comparison reveal no significant differences between the two measures. Further ramifications of these findings in implicit-memory testing are discussed.
Real Freshwater Flux as a Natural Boundary Condition for the Salinity Balance and Thermohaline Circulation Forced by Evaporation and Precipitation

Abstract Freshwater flux used as a natural boundary condition for the salinity balance is applied to a primitive equation model of the oceanic general circulation. Instead of the relaxation condition or the virtual salt flux boundary conditions used in many existing models, the real freshwater flux across the upper surface is specified as the vertical velocity boundary condition for the continuity equation, and the salinity flux is set to identically zero at the sea surface. Numerical experiments show that a model with the natural boundary conditions runs smoothly. Much important physics involving the freshwater flux emerge from the new model. The barotropic Goldsbrough–Stommel gyres driven by the precipitation and evaporation, which were excluded in the previous numerical models, are reproduced. In addition, the model's results reveal extremely complex structure of the three-dimensional circulation driven by the freshwater flux. In fact, a relatively small amount of freshwater flux drives very strong mer...
Flow cytometric analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid in human granulosa cells from in vitro fertilization cycles: relationships to oocyte maturity and fertilizability and to follicular fluid steroids.

We measured the mitotic activity of granulosa cells, sex steroid concentrations in follicular fluids, and the maturity and fertilizability of oocytes from 49 follicles. Flow cytometric measurements of DNA were used to determine the percentage of cells in G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases of the cell cycle. Mitotic index was designated as the percentage of granulosa cells in S + G2/M. The progesterone concentration and the progesterone to estradiol ratio in follicular fluids were inversely correlated to mitotic index (r = −0.506; P < 0.001, and r = −0.320; P < 0.02, respectively). Estradiol and androstenedione levels did not correlate with the mitotic index. The mitotic index was higher in follicles with immature oocytes [25.6 ± 2.0% (± se); n = 7] than in follicles with mature oocytes (15.6 ± 1.2%; n = 41; P < 0.001). The mitotic index of granulosa cells was lowest in follicles with oocytes that fertilized (15.5 ± 1.8%), higher in follicles with oocytes that remained unfertilized (18.5 ± 1.3%; P < 0.03), and high...
Power line inspection with a flying robot

Power line inspection is an essential job for the maintenance of electric grids. However, the job is not easy due to wide range of grid distribution. Besides manually inspecting power lines, which is still the main method, helicopters are also used for the inspection from the sky. In the recent years, unmanned flying systems were used for power line inspection in order to reduce the risk. In recent years, some researchers have started to use unmanned helicopters to inspect power lines. Following their research, we present an applied inspection robot called SmartCopter based on an Unmanned Autonomous Helicopter (UAH) for the inspection of transmission lines. Our interest is on the combination of a UAH and an inspection system for the practical application in the field. This paper describes the design of the flying robot and presents the experimental results.
Increasing the Efficiency of Angler Surveys by Canceling Sampling during Inclement Weather

Abstract Operational modifications on the basis of meteorological conditions and angler activity patterns can be successfully formulated to improve harvest-sampling efficiency without a significant loss of information. A savings in time and money could be realized if days in which two or fewer interviews would be made because of inclement weather could be identified and sampling on those days were canceled. This study was conducted to determine the amount of interview and harvest data that would be missed coastwide and within individual bay systems in Texas if sampling were canceled on days predicted to have bad weather conditions and little or no angler activity. A multiple-regression analysis was used to relate the effect of day type, wind speed, air temperature, and rain on angler activity. For ease of use, predicted data were plotted on nomographs. The percentages of interviews and harvested fish that would have been missed coastwide by canceling bad sample days during the low-use season (21 November–...
Size and complexity of human cytomegalovirus DNA.

Abstract Human cytomegalovirus DNA (Davis strain) has a molecular weight of approximately 150 × 10 6 , as determined by velocity sedimentation in sucrose gradients, by contour measurements of the molecules in the electron microscope, and by renaturation kinetics. Molecules of only one size class, 150 x 10 6 daltons, were observed.
Aneurysm of the Sinus of Valsalva Resulting from Bacterial Endocarditis

Abstract This report describes a patient in whom an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva secondary to bacterial endocarditis was successfully repaired. The literature pertaining to this rare condition is reviewed, and a simple and secure method of repair is illustrated.
TEM study of ion beam mixed nickel silicides formed on SiC at different implant temperatures

Abstract High resolution and diffraction contrast transmission electron microscopy (TEM), together with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), have been used to study intermixing between thin metal films of Ni ( ∼ 50 nm) on single crystals of (100) SiC substrates. As a result of inert-gas ion bombardment at different substrate temperatures it has been found that it is possible to form a uniform layer of nickel silicide with a sharp transition at the (100) planar interface. For a fixed dose of Xe+ ions at 350 keV the thickness of the silicide layer was found to be dependent on the substrate temperature. However, at all substrate temperatures a dominant phase of Ni2Si was detected. For implantations at room temperature, the mixed layer mainly consisted of small oriented islands at the original metal-semiconductor interface. Ion mixing at 300°C resulted in a intermixed layer with the thickness increased by a factor of 10; however, the layer was not uniform in structure. At an implantation temperature of 500°C and over, a uniform polycrystalline silicide layer was formed.
Highly Tunable Thiol–Ene Networks via Dual Thiol Addition

Throughout the past decade, investigations of thick thermoset thiol–ene networks (TENs) have become increasingly prominent in the literature due to facile, quantitative synthesis giving rise to uni...
Non-conductive heat transfer associated with frozen soils

Abstract The assertion that pure conductive heat transfer always dominates in cold climates is at odds with decades of research in soil physics which clearly demonstrate that non-conductive heat transfer by water and water vapor are significant, and frequently are for specific periods the dominant modes of heat transfer near the ground surface. The thermal regime at the surface represents the effective boundary condition for deeper thermal regimes. Also, surface soils are going to respond more quickly to any climatic fluctuations; this is important to us because most facets of our lives are tied to earth's surface. To accurately determine the surface thermal regime (for example, the detection of climate change), it is important to consider all potential forms of heat transfer. Gradients that have the potential to alter the thermal regime besides temperature include pore water pressure, gravitational, density, vapor pressure and chemical. The importance of several non-conductive heat transport mechanisms near the ground surface is examined. Infiltration into seasonally frozen soils and freezing (release of latent heat) of water is one mechanism for the acceleration of warming in surficial soils in the spring. Free convection due to buoyancy-induced motion of fluids does not appear to be an important heat-transfer mechanism; estimates of the Rayleigh number (the ratio of buoyancy to viscous forces) are generally around 2, which is too low for effective heat transfer. The Peclet number (ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer) is on the order of 0.25 for snowmelt infiltration and up to 2.5 for rainfall infiltration for porous organic soils. In mineral soils, both vertical and horizontal advection of heat can be neglected (Peclet number is approximately 0.001) except for snowmelt infiltration into open thermal contraction cracks. The migration of water in response to temperature or chemical gradients from unfrozen soil depths to the freezing front, and the redistribution of moisture within the frozen soil from warmer depths to colder depths, can also result in heat transfer although this effect has not been quantified here. Many of these processes are seasonal and effective only during periods of phase change when the driving gradient near the ground surface is relatively large.
Simple model for estimating the anisotropic compressibility of high temperature superconductors

Abstract Using the concepts of “Comparative crystal chemistry”, utilized by Hazen and Finger for insulating oxides, we have developed a model to estimate the anisotropic compressibility of high temperature superconductors. This model yields volume compressibilities within 10% of the accurate experimental values found by neutron diffraction on the superconducting oxides and accounts approximately for their compressibility anisotropy. In this model, the cation-anion coordination polyhedra, which themselves have different volumes and compressibilities, are considered. The compressibility of the bulk sample is then estimated by evaluating the compressibility of the individual layers in the layered structure. Estimates are made for the anisotropic compressibility of a large number of high temperature superconductors, including the many, like the electron-doped systems, whose compressibility has not yet been determined experimentally.
Acoustic versus associative models of short-term memory coding

A 230-item word list was used to study methods of coding. The list consisted of 35 pivot words, one each of their high associates (HA), medium associates (MA), synonyms (S), rhymes (R), plus 20 buffer words. The data indicated that short-term memory coding complied to an associative rather than an acoustical model The study offers a possible explanation of why different experiments have found acoustical coding predominant in short-term memory.
The ascending and descending connections of the hypothalamus in the cat.

The ascending and descending projections of the lateral preopticohypothalamus were studied with radioautographic methods. Injections of [−3H]leucine were placed throughout the rostral to caudal extent of the lateral preopticohypothalamic zone in adult cats. Ascending fibers of the rostral two-thirds of the lateral preopticohypothalamus terminate primarily in a nonspecific manner within the lateral and intermediolateral parts of septum and to a limited extent in the medial septum. Fibers from the rostral two-thirds of the lateral preopticohypothalamus also project to the lateral habenular nucleus via the stria medullaris. The caudal third of lateral hypothalamus appears to provide little or no contribution to the septum and habenular complex. Neurons from all parts of the lateral hypothalamus contribute to the total projection to both the ventral tegmental region and lateral preoptic region and adjacent structures. Projections from the lateral hypothalamus to midline thalamus could not be identified in the present study.
Microsurgical laser technique for abdominal myomectomy

This study was designed to evaluate the applicability of a hand-held CO2 laser combined with microsurgical principles to the abdominal myomectomy in women with menorrhagia and infertility. Seventeen patients with submucous and intracavitary myomata diagnosed by hysterosalpingography were included in this study. The myomectomy technique described was rapid, allowed for excellent intraoperative hemostasis, and resulted in a short, uneventful postoperative hospital stay. In all patients, menstrual pattern returned to normal. Seven out of ten patients who attempted pregnancy succeeded.
Why the 'H' in ECEH? Considerations in Training Teachers of Young Handicapped Children

The purpose of this article is to examine one of the possible undesirable consequences of the trend toward mainstreaming handicapped young children, i.e., the increasing tendency to overlap the roles of regular and special education teachers to the extent that the educational programs for the two populations become the same. The differences between the populations of normal and handicapped young children are reviewed in terms of their implications for essential program characteristics. These are then used as the basis of a plea for recognizing and maintaining the unique characteristics of training programs that prepare personnel to work with young handicapped children.
DAB389IL-2 (Denileukin Diftitox, ONTAK): A New Fusion Protein Technology

Genetic engineering has led to the development of fusion protein toxins, which are targeted effector molecules that combine a targeting ligand such as a growth factor with a cytocidal moiety such as a plant or bacterial toxin. The first genetically constructed family of fusion proteins used diphtheria toxin as the toxophore for receptor-binding domain substitution. Diphtheria toxin consists of three domains: an enzymatically active adenosine diphosphate (ADP) ribosyltransferase domain, a hydrophobic transmembrane domain, and a C-terminal receptor-binding domain. Introduction of the enzymatically active domain into the cytosol via receptor-mediated endocytosis results in inhibition of protein synthesis by ADP ribosylation of elongation-factor 2. DAB(486)IL-2, in which the native receptor-binding domain of diphtheria toxin was replaced with the full-length interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene, was capable of intoxicating high-affinity IL-2 receptor-bearing cells in vitro with an IC(50) of 10(-10) M; whereas, cells lacking the full component of the high-affinity IL-2 receptor (p55, p75, p64) were relatively resistant (IC(50) of 10(-8) M). Because of a short in vivo half-life of DAB(486)IL-2, efforts to reengineer the molecule were undertaken, leading to the DAB(389)IL-2 construct, which had a twofold to threefold higher Kd than DAB(486)IL-2 and a longer half-life, resulting in a tenfold increase in potency. Thus far, the clinical activity of both IL-2 chimeric fusion toxins has been similar, with the DAB(389)IL-2 molecule displaying more favorable pharmacokinetics.
Effects of the presence of water on ultrasonic devulcanization of polydimethylsiloxane

The effects of the presence of water on ultrasonic devulcanization of 30 phr silica-filled polydimethylsiloxane (PMDS) were investigated at increasing feed rates and different die gap sizes. The results showed that the initial die entrance pressure without ultrasound for wet rubber was higher than in the case without water and then it decreased monotonously with applying ultrasound. The die pressure for wet rubber decreased significantly even at low ultrasonic amplitude, while that for dry rubber changed little at low amplitude. The power consumption at an amplitude of 10 μm, where devulcanization was most effectively achieved, was lower for wet rubber even though the pressure was lower. The crosslink density and gel fraction after the devulcanization of wet rubber were lower than those of dry rubber, indicating that the presence of water facilitates the devulcanization process under the same devulcanization conditions. The good mechanical properties of recycled silica-filled PDMS were obtained at higher feed rates and at lower ultrasound amplitudes, which are directly related to the economics of a recycling process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 2630–2638, 2003
Effect of Reaction Conditions on Hydrolysis of Chitin by Serratia marcescens QMB 1466 chitinase

The hydrolysis of chitin by Serratia marcescens chitinase was studied as part of ar overall project to develop a chitin waste treatment bioconversion scheme. Hydrolyses were conducted with automatic pH control in stirred flasks. Parameters varied were temperature, enzyme activity, and chitin particle size and concentration. A temperature of 30°C is suitable. Hydrolysis increases with increasing enzyme activity and chitin slurry concentration, and with decreasing particle size.
Recovery and validation of historical sediment quality data from coastal and estuarine areas: An integrated approach

Abstract A comprehensive database of sediment chemistry and environmental parameters has been compiled for Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. This work illustrates methodologies for rescuing and validating sediment data from heterogeneous historical sources. It greatly expands spatial and temporal data coverage of estuarine and coastal sediments. The database contains about 3500 samples containing inorganic chemical, organic, texture and other environmental data dating from 1955 to 1994. Cooperation with local and federal agencies as well as universities was essential in locating and screening documents for the database. More than 80% of references utilized came from sources with limited distribution (gray literature). Task sharing was facilitated by a comprehensive and clearly defined data dictionary for sediments. It also served as a data entry template and flat file format for data processing and as a basis for interpretation and graphical illustration. Standard QA/QC protocols are usually inapplicable to historical sediment data. In this work outliers and data quality problems were identified by batch screening techniques that also provide visualizations of data relationships and geochemical affinities. No data were excluded, but qualifying comments warn users of problem data. For Boston Harbor, the proportion of irreparable or seriously questioned data was remarkably small (
Modeling chromate ion‐exchange processes

In spite of chromate's very high selectivity at acidic pH, fixed-bed chromate-exchange processes always suffer from severe gradual breakthroughs of chromate during column runs. Earlier, Sengupta and Clifford confirmed that such a gradual breakthrough is an equilibrium phenomenon and provided the underlying ion-exchange mechanism. An algorithm, developed with the aid of the governing chromate ion-exchange mechanism, is presented here to predict the salient properties of chromate-exchange processes in a multicomponent system. The model predicts the gradual chromate breakthroughs during column runs fairly accurately and also accounts for other unusual characteristics of chromate ion exchange. Average separation factor models, often used for designing fixed-bed ion-exchange processes, are unable to predict the gradual breakthrough characteristics of a preferred component such as chromate.
Enthalpies of absorption of carbon dioxide in aqueous methyldiethanolamine solutions

Abstract An isothermal flow calorimeter was used to measure the enthalpies of absorption of carbon dioxide in aqueous 20, 40, and 60 wt.% methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) solutions. The experimental temperature and pressure ranges were 288.71 to 422.04 K and 156 to 1466 kPa, respectively. The experimental equipment and procedure are described, with emphasis on the complexities originating from the difficulty of measuring the enthalpy of absorption of a gas in an aqueous solution. The calorimetric data were also found to be useful in determining the equilibrium concentrations of CO2in the MDEA solutions. Both enthalpy of absorption and equilibrium concentration data for CO2-aqueous MDEA systems are reported and compared with existing values from other investigations. The enthalpy of absorption of CO2 in aqueous MDEA solutions was found to be independent of pressure and linearly dependent upon both the temperature and the MDEA concentration. An equation is given for predicting the enthalpy of absorption over the ranges of temperatures, pressures, and concentrations investigated.
Effect of Fictive Temperature on the Polishing Rate of Thermally Grown Silicon Dioxide

The influence of fictive temperature on the polishing characteristics of amorphous silicon dioxide films was studied. Amorphous materials, in general, can have different properties depending upon their thermal history, and this is attributed to a difference in their lictive temperature, the temperature at which the supercooled liquid structure freezes into a glass Amorphous silicon dioxide films ca. 2 μm thick, were prepared by wet thermal oxidation, dried, and then heat-treated to have different fictive temperatures, Indentation testing of similarly heat-treated silica glasses, done using nanoindentation and a Knoop microhardness indenter, showed that the glass with a higher fictive temperature had a higher hardness. On the other hand, the chemical etch rate in dilute hydrofluoric acid was faster for the silica glass with the higher lictive temperature. Polishing of the silicon dioxide films using cerium oxide slurry under identical conditions showed that the polishing rate was higher for the oxide films with a lower fictive lemperature. Hence, it was suggested that the mechanical properties of the glass were more important than chemical properties in controlling the polishing behavior of amorphous silicon dioxide.
Bioimpedance Cardiography Measurements of Cardiac Output and Other Cardiovascular Parameters

This paper describes impedance technique and device types, discusses hemodynamic data parameters that are available, discusses the differences between impedance cardiography and data that are derived from invasive pulmonary artery catheters, and explains how nurses can apply bioimpedance cardiography in a variety of patient populations.
Laboratory abrasion and electrochemical test methods as a means of determining mechanism and rates of corrosion and wear in ball mills

Abstract A review is given on general characteristics of corrosion and wear processes in both wet and dry environments. Laboratory methods for corrosion and wear studies are also reviewed including a detailed account of a jet slurry impingement apparatus used by Pitt and Chang at the University of Utah to study grinding ball metal corrosion-wear processes. Workers in the field have found that corrosion-wear processes are highly complex and subject to a great number of experimental variables such as load, pH, oxygen partial pressure, relative hardness of two interacting surfaces, impact and nature of the protective film formed on the metal surface. Effects of interactions of particles and surfaces under varying conditions are discussed. Synergistic effects between corrosion and wear are also discussed. Larger particles, higher impingement velocities and more corrosive conditions tend to increase the synergism between corrosion and wear. Methods of decreasing the corrosion rate in grinding mills are discussed along with the role that laboratory tests can play in preventing corrosion and wear of the ginding media.
Steroid-receptor proteins in nonepithelial malignancies of the ovary

Tissue samples from 20 patients with nonepithelial ovarian malignancies were assayed for cytosol estrogen (ERc) and in selected samples progestin-receptor (PRc) proteins. The nine germ cell malignancies assayed were low in ERc. One recurrent granulosa cell tumor had an ERc concentration of 36 fmole/mg cytosol protein (fmole/mg c.p.) while three other stromal tumors were low in ERc. Three of seven mixed mesodermal tumors had a high ERc concentration (34-91 fmole/c.p.). Two primary and one recurrent granulosa cell tumors and one endodermal sinus tumor had borderline to elevated PRc levels (18-254 fmole/c.p.). Four of seven mixed mesodermal tumors had borderline to slightly elevated PRc concentrations (13-22 fmole/c.p.). The low ERc in germ cell malignancies of the ovary is consistent with previous clinical observations that the growth of these tumors is not influenced by removal of the contralateral ovary. The high ERc levels detected in three of seven mixed mesodermal ovarian tumors and one of three granulosa cell tumors suggest that hormone-related therapy should be investigated in the management of patients with these malignancies.
950 Dyspnoea with gemcitabine is commonly seen, often disease related, transient, and rarely severe

In clinical trials with gemcitabine dyspnoea is commonly reported. We report here a full analysis of the incidence and severity of dyspnoea. The US Integrated Safety Summary (ISS) database records ail adverse events from completed studies regardless of severity. Of 979 patients, approximately 25% of patients reported some worsening of dyspnoea at some time during therapy. Drug-related dyspnoea of any severity was reported in 8% of patients. However, many of these patients had lung cancer or pulmonary manifestations of other malignancies. Serious dyspnoea was reported in 5% of patients, and dyspnoea at rest in 1% of patients. Dyspnoea resulted in the early discontinuation from study of 0.6% of patients. The dyspnoea is generally mild and often temporally related to gemcitabine administration. It is occasionally accompanied by bronchospasm (0.6% of patients). These events usually abate spontaneously without any specifie therapy. The mechanism of this dyspnoea is not clear. The Drug Experience Network (DEN) is a separate database which reports the adverse events. Of approximately 2500 patients who received gemcitabine (single agent or in combination), 300 patients (12%) reported serious pulmonary events. 183 patients (7.3%) had dyspnoea after gemcitabine administration, but only 7 patients (0.003%) experienced dyspnoea within 24 hours of drug administration with no other obvious aetiology. This dyspnoea was transient, and patients were treated symptomatically. It is concluded that dyspnoea is seen with gemcitabine but is often disease related, transient, and rarely severe.
The Weights of Phymata Pennsylvania Americana Melin (Phymatidae, Hemiptera)

This study was done simultaneously with that on the weights of Sinea diadema (Fabr.) described in number 4 of volume XL of these ANNALS, and followed the same general plan. The four diets used, A to D, are explained in the legends for Tables I and II. The results are presented under the same topics employed for Sinea in order to facilitate comparison. The data offered below are derived from daily weights of 40 individuals.
Binding Specificity of SH2 Domains: Insight from Free Energy Simulations

Cellular signal transduction pathways are controlled by specific protein–protein interactions mediated by the binding of short peptides to small modular interaction domains. To gain insights into the specificity of these interactions, the association of phosphotyrosine-containing peptides to Src Homology 2 (SH2) domains is characterized using computations. Molecular dynamics simulations based on high-resolution crystal structures complemented by homology models are used to calculate the absolute binding free energies for 25 SH2-peptides pairs. The calculations are carried out using a potential of mean force free energy simulations method with restraining potentials that was developed previously (Woo and Roux, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005;102:6825–6830). The method is utilized in conjunction with an implicit solvent representation to reduce the computational cost to characterize the association of five SH2 domains and five peptides. Specificity is ascertained by directly comparing the affinities of a given SH2 domain binding for any of the different peptides. For three of the five SH2 domains, the computational results rank the native peptides, as the most preferred binding motif. For the remaining two SH2 domains, high affinity binding motifs other than the native peptides are identified. This study illustrates how free energy computations can complement experiments in trying to elucidate complex protein–protein interactions networks. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.