cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A novel heterozygous mutation of the AIRE gene in a patient with autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy syndrome (APECED)

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy syndrome (APECED) is an autosomal recessive disease due to mutations of the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene. Typical manifestations include candidiasis, Addison's disease, and hypoparathyroidism. Type 1 diabetes, alopecia, vitiligo, ectodermal dystrophy, celiac disease and other intestinal dysfunctions, chronic atrophic gastritis, chronic active hepatitis, autoimmune thyroid disorders, pernicious anemia and premature ovarian failure are other rare associated diseases although other conditions have been associated with APECED. CASE PRESENTATION: What follows is the clinical, endocrinological and molecular data of a female APECED patient coming from Lithuania. The patient was affected by chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, hypoparathyroidism and pre-clinical Addison's disease. Using direct sequencing of all the 14 exons of the AIRE gene in the patient's DNA, we identified in exon 6 the known mutation c.769 C>T (p.Arg257X) in compound heterozygosity with the newly discovered mutation c.1214delC (p.Pro405fs) in exon 10. The novel mutation results in a frameshift that is predicted to alter the sequence of the protein starting from amino acid 405 as well as to cause its premature truncation, therefore a non-functional Aire protein. CONCLUSIONS: A novel mutation has been described in a patient with APECED with classical clinical components, found in compound heterozygosity with the c.769 C>T variation. Expanded epidemiological investigations based on AIRE gene sequencing are necessary to verify the relevancy of the novel mutation to APECED etiopathogenesis in the Lithuanian population and to prove its diagnostic efficacy in association with clinical and immunological findings.
Structure of HLA molecules and immunosuppressive effects of HLA derived peptides

Elucidation of the structure of MHC molecules has provided profound new insights into their function in antigen presentation. In addition, structural studies have implicated certain regions of MHC molecules in specific functions. Although much of MHC biology has concentrated on the extensive polymorphism among these molecules, there is also evolutionary pressure to maintain the relatively monomorphic portions of these molecules. Drs. Krensky and Clayberger have found that synthetic peptides corresponding to linear sequences of HLA molecules have immunomodulatory effects both in vitro and in vivo. In this paper, they review the structure of HLA molecules and their studies of HLA derived peptides as novel immunotherapeutics. Members of the heat shock protein 70 family are implicated in the HLA derived peptide immunosuppressive pathway.
Early axon outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells in the fetal rhesus macaque

Abstract Employing retinal explants and retrograde transport techniques, we studied the formation of the arcuate fascicles by examining the growth of the central retina, the emergence of the adult fiber layer pattern, and the projections of retinal ganglion cells in the central and peripheral retina. Sixty days prior to foveal pit formation, the distance from the incipient fovea to the optic disk was equal to the adult, even though the retinal area was only 8% of the adult. Arcuate fibers, at this age, were observed to avoid the incipient fovea, with no fascicles and few axons projecting over this region. A small population of 15.2% of the ganglion cells located within 2 mm of the incipient fovea possessed an axon with an aberrant trajectory that wound around and projected 50 to several hundred μm away from the optic disk, compared to only 3% at other retinal locations. The incidence of disorder decreased with increasing fetal age, establishing mature values in late fetal periods. These findings suggest that the area of the central retina does not increase after embryonic day 60 and that guidance factors are present that allow outgrowing ganglion cell axons to distinguish and avoid that portion of the retina that will become the fovea.
Human Rights and the Honduran Coup

: Shannon Speed is contributing editor of “Human Rights Forum,” the AAA Committee for Human Rights column in Anthropology News.
Hemodynamics of arterial stenosis.

In order to derive a better understanding of the effect of varying degrees of stenosis on arterial pulsatile waveforms, an in vitro model was constructed and in vivo studies were done in dogs to observe and record the changes in the pulsatile and steady arterial blood flow components. Blood flow measurements were made using the electromagnetic blood flowmeter proximal and distal to the stenosis. The data show that as the degree of stenosis increases, the decreases in the pulsatile components of flow and distal pressure occur earlier and to a much greater degree than changes in mean flow.
A two-stage calibration method for low-cost UAV attitude estimation using infrared sensor

Infrared (IR) sensors are widely used on robotics platforms for measurement purposes. Low-cost small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have drawn broad interests during recent years for their various uses in many applications. This paper introduces a two-stage IR sensor calibration method for the attitude estimation of low-cost UAVs. The first stage is based on ground and flight tuning procedures, which are concluded from experience; the second stage is to use the calibration algorithm with inertial measurement unit (IMU) as the baseline reference. The implementation and optimization of the proposed algorithm is described and explained in detail. The experimental flight results are compared and discussed in the end.
The oxidation of aluminum films in low-pressure oxygen atmospheres

Abstract The oxidation kinetics of aluminum films exposed to oxygen atmospheres at room temperature in the pressure range of from 10−3 to 10 Torr are followed by simultaneous measurement of the film's oxygen uptake and work function as a function of time under the conditions of constant pressure. For successive increases in pressure, the experimental data for both the oxygen uptake and work function can be fitted to pressure-dependent, direct logarithmic time laws. On decreasing the oxygen pressure more or less abruptly to the vacuum level of the system, the total amount of oxygen taken up is observed to remain constant while the work function decays in accordance with a direct logarithmic time law. A theoretical treatment shows that the observed experimental behavior of both the oxygen uptake and work function of the oxidized aluminum film can be accounted for by a two-stage reaction. At the temperature and pressures employed in the experiment the first stage of the oxidation process is an activated oxygen chemisorption onto the oxidized surface of the film. The second stage is an activated, place-exchange process between the chemisorbed oxygen and the underlying aluminum atoms to form the oxide. An analysis of the experimental data in terms of the theory yields values for the aluminum-aluminum oxide-oxygen gas system parameters which are consistent with previously published results for this type of oxide film formation on aluminum.
SYNTHETIC HYBRIDS OF NEW WORLD AND OLD WORLD AGROPYRONS: III. AGROPYRON REPENS × TETRAPLOID AGROPYRON SPICATUM

obtained from emasculated and unemasculated crosses, respectively. The 35-chromosome hybrids tended to be morphologipally intermediate between the parent species but resembled A. repens more closely than A. spicatum. A. repens behaved cytologically as a segmental autoallohexaploid, and A. spicatum acted cytologically as an autotetraploid. Mean chromosome associations of 8.04 I, 12.72 II, 0.41 III, 0.06 IV, and 0.009 V were observed in 116 hybrid cells at metaphase I. Most chromosome pairing in the hybrids was attributed to autosyndesis. A. spicatum, A. repens, and their hybrids were represented by genome formulas of SSSS, R1R1X1X1X2X2, and SSR1X,X2, respectively. Hybrid fertility ranged from 0.02 to 0.69 seeds per spikelet. AGROPYRON REPENS (L.) Beauv., quackgrass,
Bimodality in Damped Lyα Systems

We report evidence for a bimodality in damped Lyα systems (DLAs). Using [C II] 158 μm cooling rates, lc, we find a distribution with peaks at lc = 10−27.4 and 10−26.6 ergs s−1 H−1 separated by a trough at lcritc ≈ 10−27.0 ergs s−1 H−1. We divide the sample into "low cool" DLAs with lc ≤ lcritc and "high cool" DLAs with lc > lcritc and find the K-S probabilities that velocity width, metallicity, dust-to-gas ratio, and Si II equivalent width in the two subsamples are drawn from the same parent population are small. These quantities are significantly larger in the high cool population, while the H I column densities are indistinguishable in the two populations. We find the DLA gas is heated by local radiation fields and background radiation, rather than background radiation alone. The rare appearance of faint, extended objects in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field rules out in situ star formation as the dominant star-formation mode for the high cool population, but is compatible with in situ star formation as the dominant mode for the low cool population. Star formation in the high cool DLAs likely arises in Lyman break galaxies. Using Si II equivalent width as a mass indicator, we construct bivariate distributions of metallicity, lc, and areal SFR versus the mass indicators. Tentative evidence is found for correlations and parallel sequences, which suggest similarities with the bimodality found in nearby galaxies. We suggest that the transition-mass model provides a plausible scenario for the bimodality we have found. As a result, the bimodality in current galaxies may have originated in DLAs.
A study of metabolism of deaminated and sulfoconjugated iodothyronines by rat placental iodothyronine 5-monodeiodinase

The interaction of the rat placental type III iodothyronine 5-monodeiodinase (5-MD) with acetic acid (AA), propionic acid (PA), and sulfoconjugate (SA) derivatives of thyroid hormones has been investigated in comparison with hepatic iodothyronine type I MD. PA and AA derivatives of both T3 and T4 were potent inhibitors of 5-monodeiodination of [125I]T3 by rat placental microsomes. 3,5,3'-Triiodothyroacetic acid (T3AA) and 3,5,3'-triiodothyropropionic acid (T3PA) were comparable to T3 in their ability to inhibit 5-monodeiodination of [125I]T3, whereas T4AA and T4PA were more potent than T4. 3,5,3'-triiodothyrosulfonic acid (T3SA), T4SA, and rT3SA caused little or no inhibition of placental 5-MD activity. Among various analogs of T3 or T4, the order of relative potency of inhibition of hepatic 5'-MD was PA > AA > SA > parent iodothyronine. The metabolism of T3 and its derivatives by rat placental microsomes was studied by determining the rates of disappearance of the various substrates and the production of the metabolites generated by inner ring monodeiodination of the substrate. T3AA and T3PA were metabolized at a rate comparable to that of T3. Under the same conditions, essentially 100% of T3SA remained intact. Kinetic studies of placental inner ring monodeiodination of T3, T3AA, and T3PA demonstrated comparable values for Km (1.3, 1.8, and 2.3 nM, respectively) and maximum velocity (44, 57, and 74 fmol/micrograms.h, respectively). All derivatives of T3 studied were deiodinated by hepatic type I MD more avidly than the parent iodothyronine. Our data suggest that 1) deamination does not appreciably influence, while sulfoconjugation markedly inhibits type III 5-monodeiodination of T3; and 2) deamination may be even more conducive to degradation of thyroid hormone than sulfoconjugation.
The Effects of Hindsight Bias on Jurors' Evaluations of Auditor Decisions*

Hindsight bias refers to the tendency of individuals with outcome knowledge (hindsight) to alter their perception of an event such that, ex-post, one's assumed ability to predict an event is greater than one's ex-ante ability. Auditors must make decisions without knowledge of an eventual outcome, but auditor liability is determined from a perspective that includes outcome knowledge. A behavioral experiment was conducted with 92 prospective jurors. Jurors were presented with a case in which auditors performed an audit of a client company and subsequently issued the standard, favorable audit report. Outcome knowledge was manipulated as: (1) no outcome (control group), (2) negative outcome (bankruptcy and subsequent lawsuit), and (3) negative outcome with a debiasing strategy. Results indicate that outcome knowledge biased jurors' evaluations of the auditor's judgment. Additional analysis revealed that the results are consistent with a cognitive interpretation of hindsight bias. The debiasing strategy was found to be effective in mitigating hindsight bias.
A balance control model predicts how vestibular loss subjects benefit from a vibrotactile balance prosthesis

A balance control model was applied to interpret how subjects with a severe vestibular loss (VL) used vibrotactile information from a balance prosthesis to enhance balance control. Experimental data were from 5 VL subjects standing with eyes closed and responding to continuous pseudorandom surface tilts of the stance platform. Results showed that vibrotactile feedback information reduced sway at frequencies below ∼0.6 Hz, but vibrotactile feedback was less effective in reducing sway as stimulus amplitude increased. This experimental pattern was accurately predicted by the model, which was based on time-delayed sensory feedback control. The model predicted that changes to the vibrotactor activation scheme could improve performance of the prosthesis and demonstrated that further improvements might be possible if motor learning, acquired by practice and training, could increase VL subjects' reliance on the prosthesis.
Quasi-two-dimensional modeling of GaAs MESFET's

A numerical simulation of GaAs MESFET structures is presented. The approach taken in this paper combines an analytical solution with a full simulation. Poisson's equation, the current continuity equation, and an electron-temperature equation are formulated in terms of a geometry factor that defines the shape of the conducting channel in the MESFET. The transport equations are then solved in one dimension and the channel geometry factor is found analytically. This method was found to be considerably faster than full two-dimensional simulations. The model has been compared to full two-dimensional drift-diffusion and energy-momentum results to determine its validity.
Rapid changes in foveal sensitivity resulting from direct and indirect adapting stimuli.

It is well known that an intense stimulus imaged upon one part of the retina has the capacity to reduce the sensitivity of a spatially remote area. Controversy has long existed regarding the interpretation of this effect—whether it is the result of stray light in the eye or of some kind of indirect inhibition. A method first used by Crawford makes it possible to measure sensitivity changes associated with the onset of an adapting stimulus by determining the threshold of a test flash at various times near the onset of the adapting stimulus. Two adapting stimuli were used alternately within each experimental session. The “direct” adapting stimulus was concentric with and larger than the foveal test flash; the “indirect” or glare-adapting stimulus was presented at a glare angle of 18°. When the luminances of these radically different adapting stimuli were suitably adjusted, the resulting foveal sensitivity changes, as a function of time after onset of adapting stimulus, were found to be identical. The equivalence held when the luminance of each adapting stimulus was reduced 1 log unit. The results are interpreted as favoring the stray-light hypothesis.
Barriers to Truck Drivers' Healthy Eating: Environmental Influences and Health Promotion Strategies

This article presents an assessment of 25 trucking work settings designed to examine whether the environmental attributes of these settings influence eating patterns of truckers who are at risk for excess weight gain. Findings corroborate evidence that these work settings represent healthy food deserts. From restaurants and vending machines to the social/information environments and their surrounding communities, only meager opportunities exist for healthful eating practices. This article aims to place underserved truckers and warehousing-sector employees firmly within the discourse of workplace health promotion and calls for multistakeholder wellness strategies that encompass the intertwined risk factors linked with the transportation work environment.
Laser light-scattering evidence for an altered association of βB1-crystallin deamidated in the connecting peptide

Deamidation is a prevalent modification of crystallin proteins in the vertebrate lens. The effect of specific sites of deamidation on crystallin stability in vivo is not known. Using mass spectrometry, a previously unreported deamidation in βB1-crystallin was identified at Gln146. Another deamidation was investigated at Asn157. It was determined that whole soluble βB1 contained 13%–17% deamidation at Gln146 and Asn157. Static and quasi-elastic laser light scattering, circular dichroism, and heat aggregation studies were used to explore the structure and associative properties of recombinantly expressed wild-type (wt) βB1 and the deamidated βB1 mutants, Q146E and N157D. Dimer formation occurred for wt βB1, Q146E, and N157D in a concentration-dependent manner, but only Q146E showed formation of higher ordered oligomers at the concentrations studied. Deamidation at Gln146, but not Asn157, led to an increased tendency of βB1 to aggregate upon heating. We conclude that deamidation creates unique effects depending upon where the deamidation is introduced in the crystallin structure.
Differential actions of the blockade of spinal opioid, adrenergic and serotonergic receptors on the tail-flick inhibition induced by morphine microinjected into dorsal raphe and central gray in rats.

Abstract Microinjection of morphine sulfate into dorsal raphe, ventrolateral central gray and dorsolateral central gray inhibits spinal nociceptive reflexes. The effects of the blockade of spinal opioid, adrenergic, and serotonergic receptors by intrathecal injection of naloxone, yohimbine and methysergide, respectively, on inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by morphine microinjected into dorsal raphe, ventrolateral central gray and dorsolateral central gray were studied. Naloxone (20 μg) given intrathecally effectively antagonized inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by morphine (4 μg) given into dorsal raphe and ventrolateral central gray, but not dorsolateral central gray. On the other hand, intrathecal injection of yohimbine (30 μg) antagonized inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by morphine given into ventrolateral central gray and dorsolateral central gray, but not dorsal raphe. Intrathecal injection of prazosin (30 μg) did not antagonize inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by morphine given into dorsal raphe or lateral central gray. Intrathecal injection of methysergide (30 μg) only partially antagonized inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by morphine given into dorsal raphe, but not ventrolateral central gray and dorsolateral central gray. It is concluded that the analgesia induced by morphine injected into dorsal raphe is mediated by spinal opioid receptors but not by spinalα2-adrenergic receptors while the analgesia produced by morphine given into dorsolateral central gray is mediated by spinalα2-adrenergic receptors. The analgesia induced by morphine given into ventrolateral central gray is mediated in part by both spinalα2-adrenergic and opioid receptors. Spinal α1-adrenergic receptors are not involved in morphine-induced analgesia given into dorsal raphe, ventrolateral central gray or dorsolateral central gray. Spinal serotonergic receptors only play a minor role in dorsal raphe and lateral central gray morphine-induced analgesia.
A 0.6–107 µW Energy-Scalable Processor for Directly Analyzing Compressively-Sensed EEG

Compressive sensing has been used to overcome communication constraints (energy and bandwidth) in low-power sensors. In this work, we present a seizure-detection processor that directly uses compressively-sensed electroencephalograms (EEGs) for embedded signal analysis. In addition to addressing communication, this has two advantages for local computation. First, with compressive sensing, reconstruction costs are typically severe, precluding embedded analysis; directly analyzing the compressed signals circumvents reconstruction costs, enabling embedded analysis within applications. Second, compared to Nyquist-sampled signals, the use of compressed representations reduces the computational energy of signal analysis due to the reduced number of signal samples. We describe an algorithmic formulation as well as a hardware architecture that enables two strong power-management knobs, wherein application-level performance can scale with computational energy. The two knobs are parameterized as follows: 1) ξ, which quantifies the amount of data compression, and 2) ν, which determines the approximation error within the proposed compressed-domain processing algorithm. For ξ and ν in the range 2-24×, the energy to extract signal features (over 18 channels) is 70.8-1.3 nJ, and the detector's performance for sensitivity, latency, and specificity is 96-91%, 4.7-5.3 sec., and 0.17-0.30 false-alarms/hr., respectively (compared to a baseline performance of 96%, 4.6 sec., and 0.15 false-alarms/hr.).
Generalized methods for the development of quantum logic gates for an NMR quantum information processor

Logic gates such as the controlled-NOT (c-NOT) and Toffoli gates play a key role in quantum information processing (QIP) and quantum computing. A natural extension of such gates would necessarily operate on one quantum bit (qubit) conditional on the state of the remaining qubits in the system. We show that such selective gates, termed $(\mathrm{controlled}{)}^{n}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{NOT}$ gates, or ${\mathrm{c}}^{n}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{NOT}$ gates, are convenient in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) implementations of QIP and are straightforward to implement. NMR pulse sequences for these gates can be built using classical methods as well as insights from geometric algebra. These methods yield equivalent NMR pulse sequences for the generation of ${\mathrm{c}}^{n}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{NOT}$ gates for any number of control spins. In this work, a catalog of ${\mathrm{c}}^{n}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{NOT}$ gates for systems of as many as 16 spins is provided along with an experimental implementation of a ${\mathrm{c}}^{3}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{N}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{T}$ gate on a four spin system, ${}^{13}\mathrm{C}$ alanine.
Debriefing in peacemaking and conflict resolution practice: models of emergent learning and practitioner support

This paper examines four models of debriefing practices applied by the team of authors in settings working with conflict resolution and peacemaking practitioners. It examines the effectiveness of these methods in particular, and of the practice of debriefing as a reflective tool in the context of peacemaking practice. All research was conducted as part of an Applied Practice and Theory team, under the supervision of Dr. Susan Allen, at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.
Local Feature Extraction Using Scale-Space Decomposition

In our recent work we have introduced a framework for extracting features from solid of mechanical artifacts in polyhedral representation based on scale-space feature decomposition [1]. Our approach used recent developments in efficient hierarchical decomposition of metric data using its spectral properties. In that work, through spectral decomposition, we were able to reduce the problem of matching to that of computing a mapping and distance measure between vertex-labeled rooted trees. This work discusses how Scale-Space decomposition frame-work could be extended to extract features from CAD models in polyhedral representation in terms of surface triangulation. First, we give an overview of the Scale-Space decomposition approach that is used to extract these features. Second, we discuss the performance of the technique used to extract features from CAD data in polyhedral representation. Third, we show the feature extraction process on noisy data — CAD models that were constructed using a 3D scanner. Finally, we conclude with discussion of future work.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Testing of refrigerant-charged solar domestic hot water systems

Abstract A repeatable test method independent of outdoor environmental conditions and laboratory geographical location is required in order to provide a means by which solar domestic hot water systems may be rated and compared. The experimental investigation presented in this paper describes two techniques which meet the above criteria for a refrigerant-charged solar domestic hot water system. One experimental technique replaces the energy normally absorbed by the irradiated solar collector with energy provided by electric strip heaters attached to the back side of the absorber plate. The second technique uses a solar simulator to irradiate the solar collector. Analytical expressions are presented which allow the power input to the strip heaters and irradiance output of the solar simulator to be computed for various environmental conditions. A description of the experimental apparatus and test procedure is given. Results are presented which show that the outdoor performance of the refrigerant-charged solar hot water system may be closely duplicated indoors using either of the experimental techniques considered in this investigation. Both techniques were shown to reproduce the outdoor thermal output of the collector-heat exchanger to within 4%. Overall system performance was reproduced to within 2%. Experiments conducted to determine the effect of irradiance level on the thermal performance of the collector-heat exchanger assembly are described. The influence of irradiance level on thermal performance was found to be negligible for the irradiance levels considered.
High rates of nitrogen fixation in equatorial upwelling region

Surface waters in upwelling regions of the ocean are generally rich in nutrients. Scientists had thought that these areas would have low rates of nitrogen fixation because diazotrophs—microbes that convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into usable forms, such as ammonia—could use the nutrients in the water directly instead of having to fix nitrogen gas. However, researchers recently recorded high rates of nitrogen fixation in an upwelling region in the equatorial Atlantic.
Are older adults more attuned to morally charged information

Whereas older adults typically show declines in various cognitive processes, they also typically demonstrate greater interest in social relationships. Part of this increased focus on interpersonal relations may extend to morality, which by its very nature is concerned with social contracts, obligations, and the give-and-take among people. The authors tested whether in comparison to younger adults, older adults show increased activation and memory for morally charged information relative to nonmoral information. Three experiments examined older and younger adult comprehension and memory of moral content in stories. Participants read stories and were tested for surface form, textbase, and situation model recognition memory. In contrast to past studies that have not focused on moral content, in this study older adults had textbase memory for moral information equal to that of young adults, suggesting an enhanced attention to morally charged details. To examine online moral inference making, Experiment 2 used...
Implantation of a Nonthoracotomy Defibrillator Using a Second Defibrillator Patch in the Abdominal Pocket

Successful implantation of a biphasic nonthoracotomy implantable cardioverter defibrillator may not be achieved with a conventional system. We describe a successful device implantation using a pectoral and abdominal patch electrode system.
Formation of Near-Wall Streamwise Vortices by Streak Instability

Using direct numerical simulations of turbulent channel flow, we present new insight into the formation mechanism of near-wall longitudinal vortices. Instability of lifted, vortex-free low-speed streaks is shown to generate, upon nonlinear saturation, new streamwise vortices, which dominate near-wall turbulence production, drag, and heat transfer. The instability requires sufficiently strong streaks (y circulation per unit x > 7.6) and is inviscid in nature, despite the proximity of the no-slip wall. Streamwise vortex formation (collapse) is dominated by stretching, rather than rollup, of instability generated (ωx sheets. In turn, direct stretching results from the positive ∂u/∂x (i.e. positive VISA) associated with streak waviness in the (x,z) plane, generated upon finite-amplitude evolution of the sinuous instability mode. Significantly, the 3D features of the (instantaneous) instability-generated vortices agree well with the coherent structures educed (i.e. ensemble averaged) from fully turbulent flow, suggesting the prevalence of this instability mechanism. Fundamental differences in the regeneration dynamics of minimal channel and Couette flows are revealed regarding (nonlinear) streak instability, vortex formation and evolution, and wall shear behavior.
Magnetospheric substorm as a discharge process.

Magnetospheric substorm as discharge process of associated electric current system, discussing relaxation processes, explosive release of energy, etc
How Fast Can a CRP Be Conducted with Preserved Chain End Functionality

The preservation of chain end functionality (CEF) is perhaps the most important criterion of the “livingness” for any controlled/living radical polymerization (CRP) system. CEF depends on several parameters but most importantly on concentration of propagating radicals, i.e., rate of polymerization. There are claims in the literature about ultrafast CRP leading to ultrahigh molecular weight with perfectly preserved CEF. However, faster CRP always results in lower CEF. Thus, how fast can a CRP be conducted with preserved CEF? In this paper we evaluate, by kinetic analysis and computation, the dependence of CEF on the rate of polymerization, monomer structure (rate constants of propagation and termination), targeted degree of polymerization, initial monomer concentration, and monomer conversion. Some subtle differences in the definition of CEF are discussed for different types of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) techniques. CEF for polymer chains with and without an α-alkyl group from a (macro)ini...
High speed diffused-alloyed silicon tunnel diodes

Abstract High speed silicon tunnel diodes were made by alloying through a highly doped diffused layer. Rapid alloy cycles were achieved in a furnace using intense light sources to heat the wafers. The current density was as much as three orders of magnitude higher and peak current divided by the valley capacitance was as much as two orders of magnitude less than those of silicon tunnel diodes made from bulk doped material. The peak-to-valley current ratio was 2:1 and the voltage swing was 0·4 V compared with 3:1 and 0·6 V, respectively, for bulk phosphorus doped silicon.
Effect of phencyclidine on plasma corticosterone in mice.

Abstract Phencyclidine produced a dose dependent increase in plasma corticosterone when administered to ovariectomized C57BL/6J mice. This effect was blocked by pretreatment of the animals with dexamethasone. The plasma corticosterone concentration after PCP remained elevated after the concentration of PCP observed in plasma and brain tissue began to decline. These data demonstrate a stress-like hormonal effect of PCP in mice which appears to be a result of an action of PCP at the pituitary, hypothalamus, or higher.
Trail impacts and trail impact management related to visitation at Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Abstract Protected area visitation and ecotourism in Central and South America are largely dependent upon a relatively undisturbed quality of natural resources. However, visitation may impact vegetation, soil, water, and wildlife resources, and degrade visitor facilities such as recreation sites and trails. Findings are reported from trail impact research conducted at Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile. The frequency and magnitude of selected trail impacts and the relative effect of the amount of use, vegetation type, trail position, and trail grade are investigated. Findings differed from previous studies in that amount of use was significantly related to both trail width increases and trail erosion. Management actions to minimize trail impacts are offered.
Heart rate reactivity, habituation, and associative learning in developmentally disabled preschool children

The relationship between adaptive behavior and cardiac indices of orienting, habituation, and associative learning were evaluated in a heterogeneous population of developmentally disabled infants and young children. Cardiac reactivity and habituation were examined through responses to simple nonsignal stimuli, and associative learning was evaluated by the cardiac response to stimulus omission in a conditioned expectancy paradigm. Results revealed a significant negative correlation between the magnitude of the deceleratory orienting response and adaptive competence, as measured by the Adaptive Behavior Scale for Infants and Early Childhood. This correlation was independent of both age and baseline heart rate. In contrast, habituation and simple associative learning were not related to the level of adaptive behavior. These findings suggest that cardiac reactivity may provide a sensitive measure for the evaluation of functional capacities of impaired populations.
BMP7 reduces synergistic injury induced by methamphetamine and ischemia in mouse brain.

Abstract Previous studies have indicated that methamphetamine (MA) potentiates neurodegeneration induced by ischemia in brain. We, and others, have reported that bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) is protective against MA and ischemic brain injury. The purpose of this study is to examine whether BMP7 reduces synergistic injury induced by both MA and cerebral ischemia. Adult CD-1 mice were treated with MA (4× 10 mg/kg, each dose 2 h apart) or saline. Using the quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction, we found that MA suppressed the expression of BMP7 mRNA in the cerebral cortex 1 day after injection. Ischemic and reperfusional injuries were introduced by ligation of the right middle cerebral artery for 90 min after MA injection. Animals were sacrificed for caspase-3/7 activity assay and tri-phenyl-tetrazolium chloride staining at 1 h and 2 days after reperfusion, respectively. Cerebral infarction and caspase-3/7 activity were enhanced in the stroke animals pretreated with MA; both responses were attenuated by pretreatment with BMP7. In conclusion, our data suggest that MA facilitates cerebral infarction after ischemia possibly mediated, in part, through the suppression of BMP7.
Development of techniques for visualization of scalar and vector fields in an immersive environment (CAVE)

Visualization of scalar and vector fields in the immersive environment (CAVE - Cave Automated Virtual Environment) is very important for its application to radiation shielding research at NASA Langley Research Center. In particular, a system was needed for the visualization of the earth's magnetic field and the study of south Atlantic anomaly, and for the visualization of geomagnetically trapped protons and electrons in the surrounding space to earth.
What do pediatric primary care providers think are important research questions? A perspective from PROS providers.

Objective To describe what pediatric primary care providers involved in the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) research network think are important yet inadequately addressed questions in pediatric primary care research. Methods A total of 1785 pediatric primary care providers in the PROS network were asked what they thought were important yet inadequately addressed areas of primary care research. We used a single, open-ended question in a mail survey. Written answers to this question were analyzed by qualitative methods to determine the main themes of interest to pediatric primary care providers. Results Overall survey response rate was 48.7%; the open-ended question yielded 1109 individual answers. Six lines of inquiry were identified as being important to these providers: (1) effective counseling techniques to use in anticipatory guidance; (2) strategies to prevent and treat obesity; (3) the effectiveness of well-child care; (4) ongoing management of patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; (5) the role of the primary care provider in caring for children with mental health needs; and (6) optimal organization of office practices. Conclusions The translation of research into practice may be improved by a better understanding of the needs and interests of those who see pediatric patients in the primary care setting.
SOME RESULTS OF A TRADE-CUMULUS CLOUD INVESTIGATION

Abstract Cross sections through two trade-cumulus clouds are presented, showing the temperatures, turbulence, and water-vapor content of the clouds and their nearby environment, the cloud slope, and the external wind profile. The two clouds were studied over the Caribbean Sea on the same afternoon in June, 1952, and were in widely differing phases of their life cycles. The measurements were made from a slow-flying aircraft, equipped with sensing instruments and whose behavior as a meteorological tool had been previously studied. Numerous calculations are made from the cross sections, including total and dynamic entrainment, drafts, slopes, and liquid-water content. These are, where possible, checked against the corresponding observations. In addition to testing previously evolved theoretical models, and the usefulness of the steady-state hypothesis, the data provide some evidence concerning the formation and growth of larger tradecumulus clouds from several smaller ones and by successive stages.
Performance of quantized power control in multiple antenna systems

In this paper, we analyze the outage probability of a single user system with multiple antennas at the transmitter, single antenna at the receiver, and finite rate feedback power control. The optimum power control is complex and the analysis is not tractable. Hence we propose a sub-optimal power allocation scheme, with very low computational complexity, which is asymptotically optimum. Analyzing the proposed algorithm we show that the diversity order can potentially be increased unboundedly by increasing the feedback rate and without increasing number of transmit or receive antennas. We find a closed form approximation to this diversity-like gain at large SNRs, as a function of number of transmit antennas, number of quantization levels, and average available SNR. Simulation results confirm the validity of the analysis.
A Fuzzy Set Model of NATO Decision-Making: The Case of Short-Range Nuclear Forces in Europe:

This article develops a fuzzy set model of group decision-making and then applies the model to the debate that took place between the NATO states in 1989 over whether to modernize the alliance's shortrange nuclear missiles or negotiate a force reduction agreement with the WTO. The NATO partners decided what to do at their May 1989 Brussels summit. From among four discernible courses of action x, = modernize, x2 = negotiate, x3 = modernize and negotiate, and x4 = neither modernize nor negotiate - the alliance agreed to negotiate (x2) with the WTO. It is the organization's path to this decision that is conceptualized as being fuzzy. The sixteen NATO allies' individual preference orderings of the four alternatives are first determined via a content analysis of reports on their discussions. These preference orderings are then used to define a fuzzy group preference relation describing the extent to which each alternative is preferred to the others by the entire alliance. Derived from the fuzzy group relation is then NATO's optimal preference ordering (which, at Brussels, was (x2, x4, x3, x1)) as well as the organization's fuzzy level of agreement for that ordering (a very weak .56). Subsequent analysis also reveals that the group's optimal preference ordering was the reverse of the United State's preference ordering at the outset of the summit and identical to the preference ordering of Germany. The implications of this outcome for future NATO decisions are discussed.
Safety Impacts of Differential Speed Limits for Trucks and Passenger Cars on Rural Interstate Highways: A Modified Empirical Bayes Approach

To compare the safety effects of a uniform speed limit (USL) for all vehicles as opposed to a differential speed limit (DSL) for cars and heavy trucks, detailed crash data for six states were obtained for rural interstate highways for the period 1991-2000. The states were categorized into four policy groups based on the speed limit type employed during that decade: maintenance of a uniform limit, maintenance of a differential limit, a change from a uniform to a differential limit, and a change from a differential to a uniform limit. A modified empirical Bayes framework was used to evaluate crash frequency changes without presuming a constant relationship between crashes and traffic volume. Aggregate results showed no consistent safety effects of DSL as opposed to USL. The reason for this finding is that within each state, the modified empirical Bayes methodology suggested that crash risk increased regardless of speed limit policy. The crash estimation models (CEMs) that were developed for each state varied substantially from one state to another such that use of a single state's CEM for other states could lead to an erroneous conclusion regarding DSL versus USL safety impacts. However, by looking at results for multiple states, this study shows how that problem is avoided. Two considerations for future applications of the empirical Bayes methodology that proved helpful for this investigation are noted. First, it is feasible to use a site as its own control group in a before/after study if the geographical variation from state to state is greater than the temporal variation from the before to the after period. Such a situation arises not only in the case of statewide speed limit policies, but also for other transportation-related policies enacted on a statewide basis. Second, results were consistent between conventional approaches and the modified empirical Bayes approach. The latter technique showed the crash frequency increasing regardless of whether a state changed from DSL to USL, changed from USL to DSL, maintained USL, or maintained DSL, leading one to conclude that speed limit policy has no consistent impact on safety. This conclusion is similar to that reached when using conventional methods, which had shown that in each state, speed limit policy (DSL versus USL) usually had no significant impact on crash rate (crash frequency divided by vehicle miles traveled).
Development of Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase PCR Assays To Detect and Serotype Dengue Viruses

Serotyping dengue virus (DENV) from suspect human specimens is crucial for developing sound epidemiological control measurements early in the transmission season and for effective patient management. We modified DENV consensus D1 (mD1) and serotype-specific TS2 (mTS2) and redesigned serotype-specific TS1 (rTS1) and TS4 (rTS4) as described previously in the conventional capsid and premembrane gene (C-prM) protocol (R. S. Lanciotti, C. H. Calisher, D. J. Gubler, G.-J. Chang, A. V. Vorndam, J. Clin. Microbiol. 30:545-551, 1992). In addition, we designed two new sets of amplimers and probes, located at nonstructural protein 5 (NS5) and the 3' noncoding region (3'NC) of DENV. The NS5 protocol utilizes two flaviviral consensus outer amplimers (mFU1 and CFD2) and four dengue virus serotype-specific TaqMan fluorogenic probes. The 3'NC protocol uses two DENV consensus amplimers, DC10418 and CDC10564. The conventional gel-based, heminested detection method was adapted for the C-prM protocol for detecting and serotyping dengue viruses. In addition, we developed the real-time SYBR green I and postamplification melting temperature curve analysis for the mD1/TS and 3'NC protocols using identical amplification conditions. The NS5 amplimer/probe set was formulated as a one-tube, multiplex, real-time reverse transcriptase PCR for serotype identification. Three sets of amplimers and probes were verified for their specificity in tests with yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, and West Nile viruses; optimized against 109 DENV strains; and validated for detection of the virus in sera from two different panels of acute-phase human dengue serum specimens and one panel of virus isolates from dengue patients' serum specimens. Clinical evaluation by two separate laboratories indicated that the C-prM was more sensitive (100%) than the NS5 (91%) or the 3'NC (91%) protocol.
The future of political Islam: the importance of external variables

Much has been written about the potential of political Islam to affect in major ways the future of Muslim societies and polities around the world. However, most analyses of political Islam that explicitly try to assess its future potential concentrate on its innate characteristics as a political ideology with the propensity to mobilize its adherents for purposes of regime change or social transformation or both. Therefore, these analyses emphasize the inherent nature of, and the in-built contradictions within, Islamism. Far less has been written about the environment external to the phenomenon of Islamism, namely, the milieu in which Islamist groups operate and propagate their ideology. Moreover, only a minuscule portion of the writings on political Islam try explicitly to analyse the impact that variables external to the inherent characteristics of political Islam are likely to have on Islamism's future prospects. This article attempts to fill this gap by putting Islamism in a wider perspective and by analysing the impact of environmental factors external to Islamism as an ideology, and largely outside the control of Islamists, on the future potential of political Islam.
Interleukin‐17 in host defence against bacterial, mycobacterial and fungal pathogens

Summary The mammalian immune system is intricately regulated, allowing for potent pathogen-specific immunity to be rapidly activated in response to infection with a broad and diverse array of potential pathogens. As a result of their ability to differentiate into distinct effector lineages, CD4 T cells significantly contribute to pathogen-specific adaptive immune responses. Through the production of effector cytokines, CD4 T helper (Th) cells orchestrate the precise mobilization of specific immune cells to eradicate infection. The protective effects of the newly identified lineage of Th17 cells against pathogens like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter rodentium and Candida albicans indicate the capacity of Th17 cells to confer protection against extracellular bacterial and fungal pathogens, filling a critical void in host immunity not covered by the classically described Th1 lineage that activates immunity to intracellular pathogens or the Th2 lineage that is important in protection against mucosal parasitic pathogens. Host defence by Th17 cells extends beyond protection against extracellular bacterial and fungal pathogens, as demonstrated in infections against intracellular bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica, as well as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Herein, we summarize both experimental data from mouse infection models and epidemiological studies in humans that demonstrate the protective effects of interleukin-17 and Th17 CD4 T cells in immunity to bacterial, mycobacterial and fungal pathogens.
Universality of the 24-dimensional embedding of the -1 2-local geometry

The 2-local geometry for the Conway group.1 has a standard embedding of dimen-sion 24 in the Leech lattice mod 2. A short proof shows this embedding is universal.