cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Winnicott and clinical social work: A facilitating partnership

This article examines the applicability of D. W. Winnicott's theoretical concepts to clinical social work practice with clients whose psychosocial well-being has been compromised by environmental deprivation and related developmental vulnerabilities. This examination is organized around three questions: (1) Why is Winnicott relevant for social work? (2) Which of his concepts are most useful for social workers? (3) How can these concepts be put into practice with social work problems and populations? The translation of theory to practice is illustrated with case material.
General medical practice as a guideline for preclinical anatomy teaching? The veins.

The amount of time assigned for teaching anatomy to medical undergraduates has been drastically reduced in all countries of the world during the 'sixties. This restriction has intensified the debate about the contents to be taught. The present study is intended to be a contribution to defining, against this background, a “tronc commun”, a basic stock of anatomical knowledge that should be required from every medical student, whatever clinical speciality he may eventually engage in. The criterion proposed is the need of anatomical knowledge in general medical practice. With regard to the veins, the following conclusions have emerged from a questionnaire directed to general practitioners: 1) 92.8% of the vessels were agreed upon by the physicians asked. 2) General medical relevance was granted to 9.6% of the vessels mentioned in the international anatomical nomenclature. These results, which are in accordance with those recorded for the other chapters investigated so far, suggest that an adaptation of the amount of information taught to the time disponible in our days is possible, without endangering the basic knowledge necessary for general clinical practice. But the results also show that any reduction beneath the time necessary for teaching these notions jeopardizes the fundamental education indispensable to every physician. Thus, they clearly contradict tendencies considering that anatomy has become a branch that can be neglected in modern medical curricula.
The effect of the transmission grid on market power

If competition could extend without hindrance through the entire extent of an electrically connected power grid, the US would have just two electricity markets, each with a uniform price. These markets would be competitive indeed. Unfortunately, losses and congestion present barriers to competition and thereby provide the likelihood of significantly increased market power. This paper begins the analysis of congestion as it affects the physical extent of markets and thereby affects the degree of market power. This is new territory; very little has previously been written in this area. Although the theoretical developments reported here rely on complex economic analysis, and although the market behaviors described are extremely subtle, several broad generalizations relevant to policy analysis can be made. From these generalizations one major policy conclusion can be drawn: In an unregulated market it will be socially beneficial to build a grid that is more robust than what is optimal in a regulated environment. Unused capacity may be needed. For a line to support full competition it may need to have a capacity that is much greater than the flow that will take place on it under full competition. Markets do not have sharp boundaries. Even with only one line the two busses may be in different regions, the same region, or partially in each other`s region. Increasing capacity is more effective on a small line. If connecting two busses with a very strong line will reduce market power, then the first MW of connecting capacity will have the most impact and each additional MW will have less. A congested line will cut a market into two non-competing regions. In each region the generators will markup according to the elasticity of the demand in only their region. A generator may reduce output in order to congest a line and increase its market power.
Legal Aspects of Drug Addiction

Human societies are regulated by social rules which can be formalised as laws. The ­principles and philosophy upon which laws are based often differ fundamentally from country to country. The law is so closely involved in the regulation of drug addiction because, firstly, the disorder follows the epidemiological model of a communicable, ­‘infectious disease’, and needs containment. Secondly, drug addiction imposes enormous personal, social and economic burdens. The law may also govern the conduct of research into the problems of addiction, both animal and human studies. The debate concerning prohibition or liberalisation of drug legislation has been conducted fiercely for many years and has raised many issues.
Atomic-position independent descriptor for machine learning of material properties

The high-throughput screening of periodic inorganic solids using machine learning methods requires atomic positions to encode structural and compositional details into appropriate material descriptors. These atomic positions are not available a priori for new materials, which severely limits exploration of novel materials. We overcome this limitation by using only crystallographic symmetry information in the structural description of materials. We show that for materials with identical structural symmetry, machine learning is trivial, and accuracies similar to that of density functional theory calculations can be achieved by using only atomic numbers in the material description. For machine learning of formation energies of bulk crystalline solids, this simple material descriptor is able to achieve prediction mean absolute errors of only 0.07 eV/at on a test dataset consisting of more than 85 000 diverse materials. This atomic-position independent material descriptor presents a new route of materials discovery wherein millions of materials can be screened by training a machine learning model over a drastically reduced subspace of materials.
Graft Recovery Estimation at Transplantation (GREAT) Algorithm Identifies the Most Important Risk Factors for Primary Graft Dysfunction for Heart Transplantation

Purpose Primary Graft Dysfunction (PGD) is the most prevalent cause of one-month mortality following heart transplant(1). With the increase need to use marginal donor, because of the limited pool of donor available, an algorithm to predict PGD following heart transplantation could help identify marginal donors that are still suitable for transplantation. Methods 64 patients who underwent heart transplantation procedure without the use of organ care system were analyzed. PGD was defined as described before (2) and was present in 21. Donor, procedural and Recipient factors were run in an machine learning algorithm with lasso regression based on the coordinate descent technique provided by the glmnet algorithm. The predictive algorithm was generated for the outcome Primary Graft Dysfunction by continuous cross-referencing and re-sampling. Depending on the importance and distribution of each predictor in the model was assigned a score. The sum score was tested in a ROC-analysis with optimal cut-off calculated Results The following variables were found to be high risk to develop PGD (in descendant order): Cardiopulmonary bypass time, units of red blood cells given, cold ischemia time, cardioplegia amount, Time from brain death to recovery, Troponin T level in donor, diabetes in recipient and post-op creatinine level were left for the final algorithm. Scores were assigned in proportion to the weight given to them in the algorithm.). A ROC- analyze for the prediction of PGD showed a AUC (95% conf interval) 0.93(0.86-0.99). The optimal cut off was determined at 10 (0-29) Conclusion GREAT score can intra -operatively be used to prepare the transplantation team for who needs post-procedural support.
The ionic resistance and chemical stability of polycrystalline K-β″ alumina in aqueous solutions at room temperature

Abstract Interfaces between alkali metal solid state electrolytes and aqueous solutions are often unstable. In particular, the use of β/β″ alumina superionic conductors is generally limited to conditions absent of liquid water due to their well-known sensitivity to water vapor. However, the degradation mechanism upon exposure to aqueous solutions is not well understood. Using impedance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and chemical analysis, we studied the mechanism of ionic impedance rise for K+-ion-conducting, polycrystalline K-β″ alumina membranes in room temperature aqueous solutions. By using a non-blocking Fe2+/Fe3+ couple in a symmetric aqueous impedance cell with different concentrations of LiOH, NaOH, KOH, CsOH, and KBr, we find that the rate of resistance rise of the membrane is highly dependent on the pH and K+ concentration in the solution. We find the rate decreases from ~50–200 Ω cm2 h−1 in neutral pH solutions to ~0.1–1 Ω cm2 h−1 in alkaline solutions or solutions with high K+ concentrations. Characterization results are consistent with ion exchange of K+ for hydrated protons as the mechanism of resistance rise.
Stark Effects in Optically Pumped FIR Lasers

Low electric field Stark effects on an optically pumped FIR waveguide laser have “been investigated. Modifications of output characteristics produced by DC and AC Stark fields are discussed.
Sport-to-School Spillover Effects of Passion for Sport: The Role of Identity in Academic Performance.

There is a theoretical and empirical basis that suggests that passion and identity are interrelated and that they can cross the achievement domain in influencing outcomes. Using a sample of student...
Usability and Educational Affordance of Web 2.0 tools from Teachers’ Perspectives

The emergence of Web 2.0 technologies has provided new opportunities for creating and sharing content and interacting with peers. In education, Web 2.0 can be used by instructors as a tool to promote distance and collaborative learning without requiring to have advanced technical knowledge for developing such environments. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Web 2.0 applications are of great importance as they can provide interactive learning environments where the learning takes place without time and space barriers. This study investigates the usability and educational affordance of Web 2.0 tools from the instructors’ perspective. To this direction, thirty teachers in secondary schools participated in this research, utilizing several representative Web 2.0 platforms for teaching and learning in their courses. The results showed that instructors quickly became familiar with Web 2.0 technologies and found the capabilities of these applications very useful in the learning process. The findings were encouraging with regard to the teachers’ perceptions, needs and attitudes towards educational affordance of Web 2.0 tools and integrating such technology into their future practice and teaching.
Emergence-Oriented Programming

In this paper we describe emergence-oriented programming (EOP), a novel, human-centric technique to engineer swarm algorithms at a higher level of complexity than those developed with simple reactive agents. The process is iterative, building modules of behavior that can be layered to produce solutions that converge faster than reactive swarms to the desired emergent goal. The layers are modular and can be independently applied, mirroring the arbitrarily nested cognitive model proposed by Baas and Emmeche. The layers are produced by external observers recognizing and reinforcing patterns within swarms that are not visible at lower levels. Each layer builds upon the previous one leading to emergence, but the entire hierarchy can be mechanically collapsed into executable if-then rules based on robot primitives. We demonstrate portions of this technique to improve on the reactive swarm approach for solving the 4-color mapping problem
Analysis of Variance and Generalized Linear Models

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 1, pp. 473–480, © 2001, Elsevier Ltd., with an updated Bibliography section supplied by the Editor.
The shared experience of adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their caregivers

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Objective: We examined the interdependent, dyadic, mental health of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and their caregivers. Our aims were as follows: (1) to investigate the degree to which patients' and caregivers' subjective perceptions of illness severity are congruent with objective severity (i.e., medical indicators), (2) to compare patients' and caregivers' subjective perceptions of illness severity and cancer-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and (3) to evaluate whether subjective perceptions of illness severity are linked to patients' and caregivers' cancer-related PTSS. Methods: The AYA cancer patients (n=110; ages 12-24 years; 52% male) undergoing active treatment at an outpatient clinic and their caregivers (n=110; 97% parents; ages 24-68 years; 89% female) independently reported their PTSS and subjective illness severity. Results: Overall, neither patients' nor caregivers' reports of subjective illness severity were associated with objective illness severity. Caregivers reported higher PTSS than did patients and higher illness severity than younger, but not older, patients. Actor-partner interdependence model analyses indicated that AYA patients' subjective illness severity is the strongest predictor of their own PTSS and is a significant correlate of their caregivers' PTSS. Caregivers' subjective illness severity is associated with their own PTSS only. Results remained robust after controlling for demographic and illness characteristics. Conclusions: The AYA patients' and caregivers' illness perceptions are distinct from each other and from objective medical indicators of illness severity. Patients' reports of subjective illness severity may be a marker for their own and their caregivers' mental health. Patient care and efficacious psychosocial interventions may require consideration of both patients' and caregivers' subjective perceptions of illness severity.
Current status of small-bowel transplantation.

Patients who have lost such a large portion of their small bowel that they permanently require total parenteral nutrition for survival would greatly benefit by receiving a small-intestinal transplant. Over the past two decades, many experimental studies have delineated the specific problems surrounding small-bowel transplantation and provided strategies for their control. Control of rejection, the most difficult problem, may be achieved with a combination of cyclosporine, azathioprine, prednisone, antithymocyte globulin, and monoclonal antibodies. The threat of graft-versus-host disease originating from the allogeneic lymphatic tissues in the allograft is abolished by in vitro x-irradiation of the cold, nonperfused graft with 1000 rads. Monitoring of the intestinal allograft is possible with the combination of a function test (maltose absorption, glucose absorption, or any other function test) and repeated graft biopsy. Effective short-term preservation of small-bowel segments for up to 18 h is possible by intravascular flushing with a balanced electrolyte solution containing 3% fructose and by subsequent hypothermic storage. Clinical smallbowel transplantation is certainly not an imminent therapeutic tool. However, clinical trials in highly selected patients could be envisioned on the basis of our present understanding of small-bowel transplantation and of transplantation biology in general, and in view of the clinical successes achieved with duodenal grafts transplanted in conjunction with pancreatic grafts.
Piecing together the puzzle: development of the Societal Attitudes towards Autism (SATA) scale

The rise in the prevalence of autism creates a need for a reliable and valid measure of attitudes towards autism. The current study describes the development of a brief 16- item measure of Societal Attitudes towards Autism (SATA) that exhibits sound psychometric properties and has a demonstrated ability to discriminate between expert and general college student samples. The final SATA was the result of pilot work on 75 items and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on a 45-item version with 475 undergraduates. Knowledge and personal distance subscales yielded inconsistent reliability and validity outcomes. The SATA showed strong content and construct validity as evidenced by known groups discrimination, and predicted associations with an attitude towards disability measure, an autism preference item, and a measure of implicit attitudes towards disabilities. Autism is a disorder that affects more children than juvenile diabetes, childhood cancer, and paediatric AIDS combined each year. Experts estimate that autism is diagnosed in one out of every 91–110 births and affects 1.5 million people in the USA (Kogan et al., 2009; National Survey of Children’s
Color Vision in the Antelope Ground Squirrel

Antelope ground squirrels (Citellus leucurus) were able, after conditioning, to respond correctly to a port illuminated with light at a wavelength of 460 nanometers. This color randomly presented at one of two positions, was correctly selected in reference to a second port illuminated with light at 500, 520, 569, and 600 nanometers, or with white light of varying intensity. Luminosity was not a factor in the discrimination.
The ethics of human systems

C. West Churchman in ‘Churchman's Conversations’ in Systems Research journal defines systems research as ‘research into the ethics of human systems’ [2]. The methodological research problem with ethical or human systems questions is that there is no commonly agreed criterion of ultimate validity. Systems researchers who wish to abide by C. West Churchman's exhortations to investigate the ethics of our human systems will undoubtedly meet with resistance to their ideas from the scientific community on methodological grounds. To those researchers, this discussion of Michael Polanyi's arguments and observations may be relevant in putting such criticisms in a larger perspective. As an example, the dialectical tension between two ethical principles (tolerance and doubt) is argued to be a historical and philosophical foundation of the system of science. The case study of science is used to illustrate that unprovable ethics permeate even our most rationalized human systems. Paradoxically the study of ethics is somewhat beyond the range of science. Hence, a model for systems research into the ethics of human systems is proposed based on work by Joseph Campbell.
Alcoholic pancreatitis and polymorphisms of the variable length polythymidine tract in the cystic fibrosis gene.

Background: The observation that only a minority of alcoholics develops clinical pancreatic disease has led to a search for a predisposing factor to the disease. One possible predisposing factor is mutation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene as cystic fibrosis leads to pancreatic injury. We have recently demonstrated that 15 common CFTR mutations are not found in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis. Another common polymorphism of the CFTR gene has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis, the 5T variant of the variable length polythymidine tract in intron 8 (the normal genotypes are 7T and 9T). The 5T variant inhibits transcription of exon 9 resulting in a CFTR protein lacking chloride channel activity. The aim of this study was to determine whether the 5T variant is associated with alcoholic pancreatitis. Methods: Fifty-two patients with alcoholic pancreatitis were identified using standardized diagnostic criteria. Fifty alcoholics without pancreatitis were also studied as controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes and the polythymidine tract of intron 8 was amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction using established primers. The polymerase chain reaction products were digested with Msel, separated by electrophoresis on 15% polyacrylamide gels and genotypes assigned by comparison with known positive controls. Results: The 5T allele was found in only two patients with alcoholic pancreatitis (3.9% of the index group; 95% confidence intervals 0-10%) and in seven alcoholic controls. Allele frequencies for 5T, 7T, and 9T in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis were 1.9%, 85.6%, and 12.5%, respectively. These did not differ from the allele frequencies in alcoholic controls (7%, 79%, and 14% for 5T, 7T, and 9T, respectively). Conclusion: The 5T allele was not associated with alcoholic pancreatitis. Individual susceptibility to this disease remains unexplained.
Thrombosis in the pediatric population

Whereas thrombotic events in critically ill children do not occur as commonly as in adults, they are being recognized with increasing frequency in the pediatric intensive care unit. The reasons for this are not clear but likely include an increased awareness of the problem and the ability to make a diagnosis using relatively noninvasive tests. In this section, I attempt to define the extent of the problem, summarize and discuss the relevant literature (pointing out where published experience in the pediatric population differs from that in adult patients), and suggest some guidelines regarding thrombophilia treatment and the management of thrombotic events.
Utility of fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis of recurrent pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis: a case report

Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (PLAM) is a rare disease of undetermined cause that almost exclusively occurs in women of child-bearing age and is characterized by distinct clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings. PLAM is usually fatal unless treated with hormonal manipulation or lung transplantation. Primary diagnosis usually requires open lung biopsy to demonstrate the characteristic hamartomatous smooth muscle proliferation. To date, cytologic diagnosis of LAM has been limited to an ancillary role. Herein, we report the diagnosis of this neoplasm in a recurrence in an abdominal lymph node using fine-needle aspiration.
RELIGIOUS LEADERS' PERSPECTIVES ON MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Religious leaders from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths were interviewed about their understanding of the intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and religion, and a grounded-theory analysis was conducted. The present manuscript explored the leaders' beliefs about the partners' responsibility for IPV and the role of divorce. Although religious leaders tended to place greater responsibility for abuse on the perpetrator, most also thought women bore some responsibility—either for inciting abuse or for not leaving the situation. Although there was diversity in beliefs, most of the leaders expressed concerns related to balancing the sacredness of marriage with the urgency of divorce in cases of IPV. Many suggested that divorce be considered as a “last resort” and would urge reconciliation if possible.
Multiple saccular aortic aneurysms in nonspecific aortitis

FIGURE 1. Aortographic film illustrating 4 of the 8 aneurysms. numbness in her hands and feet. At age 53, she was seen at the National Institutes of Health. The patient had lost 15 pounds in 2 years. She was unable to climb stairs and used a wheelchair. On examination the blood pressure was XXV90 mm Hg; she had a sensorymotor neuropathy, marked ataxia, and thyroid enlargement. Laboratory studies revealed serum positive for cryogiobulins, an elevated sedimentation rate, a positive rheumatoid factor (2:32 dilution) and hypergammaglobulinemia. There was evidence of vasculitis on muscle biopsy. She was treated with prednisone for 2 years without significant therapeutic effect. Her symptoms were essentially unchanged until the week before her final admission when her presenting symptoms began. Temperature now was 101.8~F; bibasilar pulmonary rales and marked sensory deficits in her lower extremities were present. Chest x-ray revealed a mass in the left upper lung field. Aortography revealed multiple aneurysms of the thoracic and abdominal aorta (Fig. I]. Serum cryoglobulins were absent. Multiple blood cultures were sterile. A serologic test for syphilis and a fluorescent antinuclear antibody examination were negative. Hepatitis B core antibody was present. lust before planned aortic surgery, she died suddenly.
Child maltreatment and blood pressure in young adulthood

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with hypertension in older adults. This study assessed whether an association between child maltreatment and blood pressure is detectable in young adults and whether any association differs by sex or is modified by genetic polymorphisms known to be involved in stress sensitivity. We examined these patterns in a sample of 12,420 young adults ages 24-32 years who participated in Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Participants retrospectively reported history of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse before age 18 years. Participants with a systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mmHg were classified as hypertensive. We used sex-stratified linear and logistic regression models to assess associations between each type of childhood maltreatment and SBP, DBP, and hypertension. We created interaction terms to assess for effect modification of any relationship between maltreatment and blood pressure by sex or SLC64A genotype. Fifteen percent of females and 31.5% of males were hypertensive. Frequent physical abuse in childhood was reported by 5%, frequent emotional abuse by 12%, and any sexual abuse by 5%. No association was observed between abuse history and blood pressure in either males or females, nor was effect modification present by SLC64A genotype. Child maltreatment exposure was not associated with blood pressure or hypertension in young adults in this study. Future studies should investigate additional critical windows for the effect of child maltreatment on cardiovascular health.
Physician-staffed helicopter scene response from a rural trauma center

One hundred ten consecutive trauma patients transported directly from the scene of injury by a hospital-based helicopter emergency medical service were reviewed. These patients were injured in the rural areas of central and northeastern Pennsylvania and were transported to a level I trauma center. The medical flight team consisted of an emergency physician and a registered nurse. The average round-trip flight distance was 44 miles. The overall mortality was 21.8%. Eighty-eight percent of the injuries were motor vehicle related. Only two patients received advanced life support prior to arrival of the helicopter. Forty-five percent of patients required major intervention by the medical flight team at the scene. The average scene time was 33.6 minutes for transported patients. Sixteen patients required extrication after the arrival of the flight crew and had significantly prolonged scene times averaging 61.8 minutes ( P
The tetrahedral deformation in the nucleus 16O

Abstract The tetrahedrally deformed model is applied to the excited states in the 16 O nucleus. Single-particle spectra and wave functions are calculated using a tetrahedrally deformed potential. The intrinsic energy for 16 O is determined as a function of the depth of the tetrahedrally deformed potential assuming the nuclear force has a soft core. Vibration and deformation which break the tetrahedral symmetry are discussed.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the fetus in congenital intrathoracic disorders: preliminary observations.

Background and objective. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide high-quality images of the intrathoracic organs. We studied the ability of MRI to define spatial relationships of the fetal lungs and measured lung volume in two cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), one of severe oligohydramnios secondary to bilateral cystic renal dysplasia and one case of prenatal chylothorax. Patients and methods. We performed pelvic MRI using single-shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) pulse sequence in four pregnant women referred because of abnormal prenatal ultrasound (US) findings associated with pulmonary hypoplasia. Results. The exact anatomic position of the contents of the hernia in CDH, including the position of the liver, was better defined with MRI. Pleural effusions were identified as well as the renal abnormality in the case of oligohydramnios. Lung volume was measured and the degree of pulmonary hypoplasia was quantified in every case. Lung-to-thorax ratio was calculated in the case of fetal chylothorax. Conclusion. Ongoing work suggests that MRI can provide additional detailed quantitative information in prenatal disorders associated with fetal lung compression and resulting hypoplasia. Correlation of fetal lung volume with postnatal management and outcome may affect prognosis in these cases.
Structure of the influenza virus; the relation between biological activity and chemical structure of virus fractions.

Influenza virus elementary bodies can be disintegrated by treatment with ether with the liberation of two types of smaller particle, soluble antigen and red cell agglutinin.Soluble antigen derived from the elementary body is identical in serological and chemical behaviour with soluble antigen recovered from infected tissues. Its chemical properties are those of a ribonucleoprotein.The agglutinin is an enzyme, with a protein part carrying the enzymic activity and a combining group with affinity for red cells. The agglutinin does not react in complement-fixation tests by the short fixation technique, but by the use of prolonged fixation or by indirect complement fixation it can be shown to contain a strain specific antigen and also a non-specific antigen. The specific antigen is identical with the specific complement-fixing antigen demonstrable in the intact elementary body, and has combining affinity for red blood cells. The non-specific antigen is probably similar to the protein part of the soluble antigen. No evidence has been found that the agglutinin contains either carbohydrate or nucleic acid.From the ether used to disintegrate the elementary body a serologically active lipid can be recovered which has properties suggesting that it is derived from the host cell.The author is greatly indebted to Dr L. Dmochowski for assistance in experiments involving high-speed centrifugation, to Sir Macfarlane Burnet and Dr G. L. Ada for supplies of receptor-destroying enzyme, to Dr E. S. Duthie for crystalline trypsin and chymotrypsin, and to Dr R. R. Porter for a sample of crystalline ribonuclease.
Characterization of a mutagenic DNA adduct formed from 1,2-dibromoethane by O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase

It has been proposed that the DNA repair protein O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase increases the mutagenicity of 1,2-dibromoethane by reacting with it at its cysteine acceptor site to form a highly reactive half-mustard, which can then react with DNA (Liu, L., Pegg, A. E., Williams, K. M., and Guengerich, F. P. (2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277, 37920-37928). Incubation of Escherichia coli-expressed human alkyltransferase with 1,2-dibromoethane and single-stranded oligodeoxyribonucleotides led to the formation of covalent transferaseoligo complexes. The order of reaction determined was Gua>Thy>Cyt>Ade. Mass spectrometry analysis of the tryptic digest of the reaction product indicated that some of the adducts led to depurination with the release of the Gly136-Arg147 peptide cross-linked to a Gua at the N7 position, with the site of reaction being the active site Cys145 as established by chromatographic retention time and the fragmentation pattern determined by tandem mass spectrometry of a synthetic peptide adduct. The alkyltransferase-mediated mutations produced by 1,2-dibromoethane were predominantly Gua to Ade transitions but, in the spectrum of such rifampicin-resistant mutations in the RpoB gene, 20% were Gua to Thy transversions. The latter are likely to have arisen from the apurinic site generated from the Gua-N7 adduct. Support exists for an additional adduct/mutagenic pathway because evidence was obtained for DNA adducts other than at the Gua N7 atom and for mutations other than those attributable to depurination. Thus, chemical and biological evidence supports the existence of at least two alkyltransferase-dependent pathways for 1,2-dibromoethane-induced mutagenicity, one involving Gua N7-alkylation by alkyltransferase-S-CH2CH2Br and depurination, plus another as yet uncharacterized system(s).
Alterations of the Sphingolipid Pathway in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Biomarkers and Treatment Targets?

The public health burden of Alzheimer disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disease, threatens to explode in the middle of this century. Current FDA-approved AD treatments (e.g. cholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA-receptor agonists) do not provide a “cure”, but rather a transient alleviation of symptoms for some individuals. Other available therapies are few and of limited effectiveness so additional avenues are needed. Sphingolipid metabolism is a dynamic process that modulates the formation of a number of bioactive metabolites, or second messengers critical in cellular signaling and apoptosis. In brain, the proper balance of sphingolipids is essential for normal neuronal function, as evidenced by a number of severe brain disorders that are the result of deficiencies in enzymes that control sphingolipid metabolism. Laboratory and animals studies suggest both direct and indirect mechanisms by which sphingolipids contribute to amyloid-beta production and Alzheimer pathogenesis but few studies have translated these findings to humans. Building on the laboratory and animal evidence demonstrating the importance of sphingolipid metabolism in AD, this review highlights relevant translational research incorporating and expanding basic findings to humans. A brief biological overview of sphingolipids (sphingomyelins, ceramides, and sulfatides) in AD is first described, followed by a review of human studies including post-mortem studies, clinical and epidemiological studies. Lastly, the potential role of peripheral ceramides in AD pathogenesis is discussed, as well as the possible use of sphingolipids as biomarkers for AD.
Response of saturable reactors with resistive load

THIS ANALYSIS deals with saturable reactors whose core material can be approximated by a rectangular magnetization curve. Such response is analyzed with respect to changes of control voltage, supply voltage, and load resistance. Operating in the proportional region, the response of the load current to any of the previous changes is an exponential function, governed by a single time constant, which varies with the load and inversely with control-circuit resistance and line frequency.
The shift of iron emission lines produced by argon and helium

Abstract The shifts of all the strong emission lines of the neutral iron atom in hot compressed argon and helium (produced by a ballistic compressor) were measured in the region 2497–5900 A. Curves showing the shift vs. relative density (r.d.) are presented for 68 of these lines with argom and 14 with helium, over a range of r.d. from 28 to 104 at 3230°K for argon and from 36 to 108 at 3600°K for helium. For argon, the relative displacements of various spectral terms of FeI with different J, L, S or electron configurations are discussed. A decrease in red shift was observed at higher temperatures.
Dust and pollution: A recipe for enhanced ocean fertilization?

[1] For Fe contained in aeolian dust to act as a micronutrient for oceanic phytoplankton, some fraction of it must first be transformed (mobilized) into a form soluble in ocean water. Fe solubilization in deliquesced mineral dust aerosols emanating from East Asia during the springtime outflow conditions is investigated here with a Lagrangian box model of the gas and aqueous-phase chemistry. The model simulates the scavenging of soluble and reactive gaseous species by mineral dust aerosols, chemical reactions of these species and mineral dust ions in deliquesced solution, and dissolution of Fe-III oxides that occurs as a result of the acid mobilization. The calculations indicate that mineral calcite (CaCO3) strongly buffers deliquesced dust aerosols with a pH that remains close to 8 until the amount of acid added to the aerosol solution exceeds CaCO3 alkalinity. SO2 pollutant emissions are a potential source of acidity to advecting dust from East Asia. The model is used to simulate the chemical evolution of dust plumes formed from two contrasting documented Gobi-desert storms that advected dust to Fe-limited regions of the North Pacific Ocean (NPO). These calculations indicate that only plumes with relatively high initial SO2-to-dust ratios are capable of delivering significant amounts of bioavailable Fe to the NPO. The estimated change in phytoplankton population inferred from the model-calculated inputs of bioavailable Fe for these two episodes is consistent with the satellite-measured chlorophyll a concentrations in the NPO. Model simulations indicate that (1) large dust advection episodes, that can export vast amounts of mineral dust to the open ocean, should have insignificant dissolved iron fraction (DIF) as the amount of SO2 required to acidify such dust plumes is about an order of magnitude higher than what can typically be entrained in the plume during its advection; (2) smaller dust plumes will generally have higher DIFs because they require lower amounts of SO2 and, even if such small plumes may not cause algae blooms, they could still be important sources of dissolved Fe to the NPO. The calculations suggest that future changes in SO2-pollutant emissions from East Asia, either up or down, may affect the productivity of the NPO.
Decreased aperture surface energy enhances electrical, mechanical, and temporal stability of suspended lipid membranes

The development of next-generation transmembrane protein-based biosensors relies heavily on the use of black lipid membranes (BLMs); however, electrical, mechanical, and temporal instability of BLMs poses a limiting challenge to biosensor development. In this work, micrometer-sized glass apertures were modified with silanes of different chain length and fluorine composition, including 3-cyanopropyldimethychlorosilane (CPDCS), ethyldimethylchlorosilane (EDCS), n-octyldimethylchlorosilane (ODCS), (tridecafluoro-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrahydrooctyl)dimethylchlorosilane (PFDCS), or (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl)dimethylchlorosilane (PFDDCS), to explore the effect of substrate surface energy on BLM stability. Low energy silane-modified surfaces promoted enhanced lipid–substrate interactions that facilitate the formation of low-leakage, stable BLMs. The surface energies of silane-modified substrates were 30 ± 3, 16 ± 1, 14 ± 2, 11 ± 1, and 7.1 ± 2 mJ m–2 for CDCS, EDCS, ODCS, PFDCS, and PFDDCS, respectively. D...
Conversion of GIS contour maps into surface digital elevation models for robotic surveying

With the advent of new technologies, robotic surveying systems are being developed to facilitate the collection of ground-based information to validate and complement data collected by traditional and satellite-based instruments. The development of such systems necessitates an accurate set of reference data. Given the limitations of current in situ measurement methods to aid remote sensing, this paper outlines a method for the creation of three-dimensional data from the most common public data source, 2D contour maps. Using image processing and interpolation techniques, this method was first tested against data collected by a robotic survey system and against methods that a human expert would use. Comparatively, our method yielded vertical RMSE in the range of (0.006066 – 0.39) [m] for different horizontal spatial resolutions. Twenty additional sample contour maps were identified to further vet our method against that of a human expert as a function of the 3D interpolation method selected. These tests provided errors in the centimeter range and also revealed that the linear triangular mesh interpolator is the best choice for this type of image input data.
Neuropeptide Y Blocks Serotonergic Phase Shifts of the Suprachiasmatic Circadian Clock In Vitro

The mammalian circadian pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) can be reset in vitro by various neurochemical stimuli. This study investigated the phase-shifting properties of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin (5-HT) agonists when applied alone, as well as their combined effects on clock resetting. These neurotransmitters have both been shown to advance the SCN clock in vitro when applied during the daytime. By monitoring the SCN neuronal activity rhythm in vitro, I first confirm that the 5HT1A/5HT7 agonist (+)DPAT maximally advances the SCN clock when applied at zeitgeber time 6 (ZT6). Conversely, NPY only phase advances the neuronal activity rhythm when applied at ZT 10. This effect occurs through stimulation of Y2 receptors. NPY, again acting through Y2 receptors, blocks (+)DPAT-induced phase shifts at ZT 6, while neither (+)DPAT nor 5-HT affect NPY-induced phase shifts at ZT 10. NPY appears to block (+)DPAT-induced phase shifts by preventing increases in cyclic AMP. These data are the first to demonstrate in vitro interactions between daytime resetting stimuli in the rat, and provide critical insights into mechanisms controlling circadian clock phase.
Substrate-ligand interactions with acetylcholinesterase and energetics of binding

Abstract 1. 1. Ester hydrolysis by acetylcholinesterase (from electric eel, Electrophorus electricus) increased in the presence of low concentrations (ca 10−7 M) of edrophonium, propidium, d-tubocurarine, gallamine, decamethonium or bis-N-methylacridinium, and decreased at higher concentrations. 2. 2. The overall sensitivity of the substrates to inhibition by the ligands was acetylcholine (Ach) > phenylacetate (PA) > indophenylacetate (IPA). 3. 3. Complete (saturable) inhibition was unattainable with edrophonium or gallamine for IPA and, to a lesser degree, with propidium for PA. 4. 4. Reaction heats between the enzyme and the ligands (edrophonium, propidium and decamethonium) measured directly in a microcalorimeter revealed binding sites that are different from each other in their interaction energetics.
Modifying JPEG Binary Arithmetic Codec for Exploiting Inter/Intra-Block and DCT Coefficient Sign Redundancies

This article presents four modifications to the JPEG arithmetic coding (JAC) algorithm, a topic not studied well before. It then compares the compression performance of the modified JPEG with JPEG XR, the latest block-based image coding standard. We first show that the bulk of inter/intra-block redundancy, caused due to the use of the block-based approach by JPEG, can be captured by applying efficient prediction coding. We propose the following modifications to JAC to take advantages of our prediction approach. 1) We code a totally different DC difference. 2) JAC tests a DCT coefficient by considering its bits in the increasing order of significance for coding the most significant bit position. It causes plenty of redundancy because JAC always begins with the zeroth bit. We modify this coding order and propose alternations to the JPEG coding procedures. 3) We predict the sign of significant DCT coefficients, a problem is not addressed from the perspective of the JPEG decoder before. 4) We reduce the number of binary tests that JAC codes to mark end-of-block. We provide experimental results for two sets of eight-bit gray images. The first set consists of nine classical test images mostly of size 512 ntn512 pixels. The second set consists of 13 images of size 2000ntn3000 pixels or more. Our modifications to JAC obtain extra-ordinary amount of code reduction without adding any kind of losses. More specifically, when we quantize the images using the default quantizers, our modifications reduce the total JAC code size of the images of these two sets by about 8.9 and 10.6%, and the JPEG Huffman code size by about 16.3 and 23.4%, respectively, on the average. Gains are even higher for coarsely quantized images. Finally, we compare the modified JAC with two settings of JPEG XR, one with no block overlapping and the other with the default transform (we denote them by JXR0 and JXR1, respectively). Our results show that for the finest quality rate image coding, the modified JAC compresses the large set images by about 5.8% more than JXR1 and by 6.7% more than JXR0, on the average. We provide some rate-distortion plots on lossy coding, which show that the modified JAC distinctly outperforms JXR0, but JXR1 beats us by about a similar margin.
Resolution of the spherical piston problem for compressible isentropic gas dynamics via a self-similar viscous limit

This paper proves the existence of solutions to the spherical piston problem for isentropic gas dynamics with equation of state p ( p ) = Ap γ , γ≧ 1. The method of analysis is to replace the usual viscosity e with e t , thus permitting a search for self-similar viscous limits. The main result of the paper is that self-similar viscous limits are proved to exist and converge to a solution to the piston problem when N = 1, 2, 3 space dimensions.
Quantifying wavefront measurement variation with standard deviation maps

A choice of methods exists for determining the variability of an averaged wavefront measurement. Pixel-by-pixel standard deviation (SD) maps provide a spatial description of the variability as well as a scalar magnitude. An efficient algorithm for computing SD maps as measurements occur is given. Results for simulated and experimental wave-front maps are shown. Plots of the average SD as a measurement progresses can be used to characterize a test system and determine the minimum number of measurements required for acceptable results.
Leptin and prostate cancer.

Background Higher prostate cancer mortality rates among US immigrants from countries with lower rates suggest environmental influences on prostate carcinogenesis (e.g., diet, body composition). Methods In a study identifying determinants of clinically relevant prostate cancer, we compared plasma concentrations of leptin, an adiposity-related hormone, in 48 men with tumors ≤ 0.5 cc measured after radical prostatectomy and 151 men with tumors > 0.5 cc in volume or with histologic evidence of extraprostatic extension but without metastases (“high-volume disease”), matched by age (± 5 years) and year at diagnosis (± 1 year). Results Men with high-volume disease exhibited higher leptin concentrations overall and after stratification by age, testosterone level, height, and body mass index (BMI). Analysis revealed that men with elevated leptin concentrations had an increased risk of diagnosis with high-volume disease (odds ratio (OR) = 2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01–5.44), as did men with high leptin and high testosterone (OR = 9.73, 95% CI = 2.05–46.24) and men ≥5′8″ with high leptin (OR = 3.67, 95% CI = 1.40–9.63). Conclusions Leptin may affect the risk of clinically relevant prostate cancer through testosterone and factors related to stature and obesity. Prostate 46:62–67, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.