cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Computational Studies of Allosteric Regulation in the Hsp90 Molecular Chaperone: From Functional Dynamics and Protein Structure Networks to Allosteric Communications and Targeted Anti‐Cancer Modulators

Computational studies of allosteric interactions have witnessed a recent renaissance fueled by growing interest in the modeling of complex molecular assemblies and biological networks. Allosteric interactions of the molecular chaperone Hsp90 with a diverse array of cochaperones and client proteins allow for molecular communication in signal transduction networks. In this review, recent developments in the understanding of allosteric interactions in the context of structural, functional, and computational studies of the Hsp90 chaperone are discussed. A comprehensive analysis of structural and network-based models of protein allostery is provided. Computational and experimental approaches and advances in the understanding of Hsp90 interactions and regulatory mechanisms are reviewed to provide a systematic and critical view of the current progress and most challenging questions in the field. The current status and future prospects for translational research, bridging the basic science of chaperones with the discovery of anti-cancer therapies, are also highlighted.
A descriptive analysis of the postnatal development of contact‐righting in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

The development of contact-righting by rats was studied from birth to weaning. Such righting involved both vestibular and tactile forms, which matured at different rates. At birth, only righting triggered by snout contact with the ground (i.e., trigeminal righting) had the adult form of cephalocaudal axial rotation in which the limbs flex to accommodate placement on the ground while the body is rotated to prone. Vestibularly triggerd righting from the supine position initially only activated head and neck rotation, and failed to recruit the shoulders and pelvis to rotate to prone. In the fully adult form, achieved by about 12 days, vestibularly triggerd righting activated shoulder-led roration which passively carried the head and neck to prone, and then recruited the pelvis to rotate to prone. Asymmetrical contact of the body surface with the ground triggered both body-on-head (forequarter-led) and body-on-body (hindquarter-led) forms of righting. At birth, both involved limb righting movements (foreleg and hindleg, respectively), without rotation of the axial musculature: For both, the fully mature forms involved axial rotation by the shoulders and pelvis, respectively. In the adult, the body-on-body form of righting only occurs when the head is restrained by the experimenter; whereas in the infant it also occurs when the head is unrestrained, and thus simultaneously with those forms of righting which involve the forequarters. The simultaneous occurrence and differential rate of maturation of these forms of righting produce complex, seemingly bizarre, patterns of righting during development, which are unlike those present in adults. This study clearly shows that the postnatal development of contactrighting involves a complex interaction of righting subsystems.
Aminoacylation of undermethylated mammalian transfer RNA

Abstract To study the role of 5-methylcytidine in the aminoacylation of mammalian tRNA, bulk tRNA specifically deficient in 5-methylcytidine was isolated from the livers of mice treated with 5-azacytidine (18 mg/kg) for 4 days. For comparison, more extensively altered tRNA was isolated from the livers of mice treated with dl -ethionine (100 mg/kg) plus adenine (48 mg/kg) for 3 days. The amino acid acceptor capacity of these tRNAs was determined by measuring the incorporation of one of eight different 14C-labeled amino acids or a mixture of 14C-labeled amino acids in homologous assays using a crude synthetase preparation isolated from untreated mice. The 5-methylcytidine-deficient tRNA incorporated each amino acid to the same extent as fully methylated tRNA. The tRNA from dl -ethionine-treated livers showed an overall decreased amino-acylation capacity for all amino acids tested. The 5-methylcytidine-deficient tRNA from 5-azacytidine-treated mice and the more altered tRNA from dl -ethionine-treated mice were further characterized as substrates in homologous rate assays designed to determine the K m and V of the aminoacylation reaction using four individual 14C-labeled amino acids and a mixture of 14C-labeled amino acids. The K m and V of the reactions for all amino acids tested using 5-methylcytidine-deficient tRNA as substrate were essentially the same as for fully methylated tRNA. However, the K m and V were increased when liver tRNA from mice treated with dl -ethionine plus adenine was used as substrate in the rate reaction with [14C]lysine as label. Our results suggest that although extensively altered tRNA is a poorer substrate than control tRNA in both extent and rate of aminoacylation, 5-methylcytidine in mammalian tRNA is not involved in the recognition of the tRNA by the synthetase as measured by aminoacylation activity.
A new look at the relationship between time-series and structural econometric models☆

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between dynamic structural econometric models (SEM) and time series (TS) models. It extends the work of others by suggesting a reconciliation of SEM and TS models based on classical linear parameter restrictions in regression models rather than on time series methods. The paper demonstrates that in a number of common economic contexts there exist sets of plausible restrictions on the stochastic properties of the disturbances and on the dynamic adjustment processes in a SEM such that familiar structural models take on the form of univariate TS models. Consequently, it is argued that TS models should not be arbitrarily dismissed as being devoid of economic content.
Tight glycemic control reduces infection and improves neurological outcome in critically ill neurosurgical and neurological patients.

BACKGROUND Tight glycemic control (TGC) may improve outcomes in hyperglycemic neurosurgical patients. The adoption of TGC has been limited by a lack of adequate data on optimal insulin delivery protocols and serum glucose concentration and by concerns about the risks of hypoglycemia. OBJECTIVE This study was designed as a meta-analysis of outcomes to compare intensive insulin therapy and TGC with conventional insulin therapy and conventional glucose control. The secondary objective was to determine retrospectively whether a particular glucose range correlates with better outcomes. METHODS Using electronic databases, we retrieved all English language studies published between January 1997 and December 2010 reporting outcomes in neurological and neurosurgical patients as a function of glucose levels and insulin protocols. We conducted a meta-analysis around 4 outcome measures: infection, neurological outcome, hypoglycemia, and mortality. Effect sizes in each study were individually correlated with target intensive insulin therapy glucose levels. Individual studies were assessed for quality by use of the Jadad scale. RESULTS Nine studies reporting on 1459 patients met the inclusion criteria. Five were restricted to neurosurgical patients. Four included neurological patients. Compared with conventional glucose control, TGC lowered infection rates (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.47-0.76; P 0.9 for both). TGC resulted in a higher rate of hypoglycemic events (odds ratio, 8.04; 95% confidence interval, 4.85-13.31; P < .001). Mortality was not affected. CONCLUSION TGC reduced infection risk and improved neurological outcome despite increased rates of hypoglycemic events. An optimal target for serum glucose concentrations could not be determined.
Doubly charged negative ions of carbon-60.

We report the observation of long-lived ({tau}{gt}10{sup {minus}3} sec) doubly charged negative ions of C{sub 60} in the gas phase. C{sub 60}{sup {minus}} and C{sub 60}{sup 2{minus}} ions are produced by laser desorption from a surface covered with C{sub 60} molecules and are believed to be produced by negative surface ionization from the laser-heated surface. Pseudopotential calculations indicate that C{sub 60}{sup 2{minus}} is slightly bound (electron affinity of C{sub 60}{sup {minus}}{congruent}0.1--0.4 eV) relative to C{sub 60}{sup {minus}}.
Economic Consequences of Holstein Artificial Insemination Sire Selection by Independent Culling )

Abstract Objectives were to estimate the profitability changes in AI sire selection by using alternative independent culling restrictions. Net present values of semen were calculated for 439 Holstein sires available for purchase after the 1987 USDA Sire Summary. This measure of profit was used to quantify the net incomes from milk sacrificed by choosing bulls by independent culling restrictions in PD and repeatability for milk, fat test, and type score. Selections were the highest ranking bulls for PD milk or PD dollars that exceeded selection restrictions and cost Profits were reduced from $13 (.4 SD) when PD for type score was required to be > 0 to $59 (1.6 SD) when it exceeded 1.5 points. Additional restrictions on repeatability of PD type score and PD of fat percent and milk did not decrease further profit. Culling for fat percent resulted in net income losses ranging from nil when PD > −.05% to $39 (1.0 SD) when PD > .15%. Profits were not reduced by culling for PD milk except when repeatability was required to be greater than 50%. If independent culling is used in sire selection, profit losses would be minimized by selecting on net income rather than gross income or milk.
Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of an Exploratory Drilling Oil Spill in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Major offshore accidents such as Macondo well incident highlight one of the possible failure modes and subsequent disasters when an offshore engineering project could go wrong. Such events can potentially happen during any phase of an offshore well’s life — starting from the exploratory drilling phase to the final phase of plug and abandonment. Major factors that significantly contribute in defining such accident scenarios are the geological and operational complexities, equipment reliability, human factors, geographical/economy location, and environmental conditions. The path taken by the reservoir fluids to reach the sea floor is also an important factor in determining the worst case discharge rates. It is expected that the environmental risks from an oil/gas spill would also be function of the type of hydrocarbons released and duration of the spill.A representative Neogene well is studied for quantitative risk assessment (QRA) for spill in exploratory phase from the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico with a water depth of 3,000ft and total vertical depth of 16,726 ft and the representative reservoir properties for this area are selected from the literature. Due to the large variation of reservoir properties, lognormal distributions have been assumed for some of the reservoir properties and from the Monte Carlo simulations P10, P50 and P90 values are estimated. Based on P50 and P90 values, the worst case discharge rates are calculated using a commercially available multiphase flow simulator with black oil model. Based on historical trends, release of hydrocarbons during blowouts are simulated for the following circumstances: seabed and topside releases, restricted and unrestricted flow through BOP, flow with drill pipe inside the wellbore and open hole flow without drill pipe and flow from the reservoir when it is either fully or partially penetrated. To incorporate the technological improvements and study their effects on the reduction of the overall risk associated with deepwater drilling activity, two cases are considered and compared to each other. First case is based on the historical data and the second case is a modified version of the first case by incorporating some of the recent technological improvements and newly built oil spill response systems e.g. capping stacks. The historical kick statistics and the equipment reliability data available in the literature is used to analyze various scenarios and corresponding flow rates. Risk is analyzed using the failure probability and consequence analysis and is presented in the form of a risk matrix for the different case studied and for the overall drilling activity as well.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Activation of hepatic lipase catalyzed phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis by apolipoprotein E

The effect of apolipoproteins A-I, A-II, C-II, C-III and E on the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine and triacylglycerol by hepatic lipase was studied. Hepatic lipase catalyzed phospholipid hydrolysis was 1.8-fold activated by apolipoprotein E while the other apolipoproteins did not affect the hydrolysis by this enzyme. Triacylglycerol hydrolysis by hepatic lipase was 1.5-fold activated by apolipoprotein E while the other apolipoproteins inhibited hepatic lipase. These results suggest that lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein E may be preferred substrates for hepatic lipase.
Extreme college drinking and alcohol-related injury risk.

Background—Despite the enormous burden of alcohol-related injuries, the direct connection between college drinking and physical injury has not been well understood. The goal of this study is to assess the connection between alcohol consumption levels and college alcohol-related injury risk. Methods—12,900 college students seeking routine care in 5 college health clinics completed a general Health Screening Survey. 2,090 of these students exceeded at-risk alcohol use levels and participated in a face-to-face interview to determine eligibility for a brief alcohol intervention trial. The eligibility interview assessed past 28-day alcohol use and alcohol-related injuries in the past 6 months. Risk of alcohol-related injury was compared across daily drinking quantities and frequencies. Logistic regression analysis and the Bayesian Information Criterion were applied to compute the odds of alcohol-related injury based on daily drinking totals after adjusting for age, race, site, body weight and sensation seeking. Results—Male college students in the study were 19% more likely (95% CI: 1.12–1.26) to suffer an alcohol-related injury with each additional day of consuming 8 or more drinks. Injury risks among males increased marginally with each day of consuming 5–7 drinks (Odds ratio=1.03, 95% CI: 0.94– 1.13). Female participants were 10% more likely (95% CI: 1.04–1.16) to suffer an alcohol-related injury with each additional day of drinking 5 or more drinks. Males (OR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.14–2.50) and females (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.27–2.57) with higher sensation seeking scores were more likely to suffer alcohol-related injuries. Conclusions—College health clinics may want to focus limited alcohol injury prevention resources on students who frequently engage in extreme drinking, defined in this study as 8+M/5+F drinks per day, and score high on sensation seeking disposition.
A first-order estimate of shock heating and vaporization in oceanic impacts

The vaporization of water in oceanic impacts of asteroids or comets of multikilometer dimensions is estimated by a semianalytical modeling of impact heating and shock isobar geometry that is based on computer code calculations. The mass of water vaporized in an infinitely deep ocean by the impact of a 10 km diameter asteroid at 25 km/sec (these values have been proposed for the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction bolide) is approximately equal to the total mass of water vapor present in the earth's atmosphere, and 3-4 orders of magnitude larger than the mass of water vapor in the stratosphere. For projectiles of this size, however, the finite depth of the ocean becomes significant and may considerably reduce the amount of water vapor initially generated by the impact. Climatological models and extinction scenarios invoking the effects of impact-generated water vapor may critically depend on the a priori ambiguous details of the hypothesized impact.
Responses of small rodents to habitat restoration and management for the imperiled Florida Scrub-Jay

Debate about the relative merits of single-species management versus more comprehensive approaches has intensified in recent years. In east-central Florida, USA, land managers use prescribed burns and mechanical cutting to manage and restore scrub habitat to benefit the imperiled Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). However, these land-management techniques may affect non-target taxa, especially the threatened southeastern beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris). We evaluated the collateral effects of single-species land management by trapping P. p. niveiventris and other small rodents in eighteen land-management compartments at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida during 2004– 2005. Compartments were managed using either prescribed burns (N = 5), mechanical cutting (N = 6), checkerboarding (cut and uncut lanes alternating and overlapping, followed by a prescribed burn, N = 4) or left unburned and uncut for >50 year (N = 3). P. p. niveiventris was significantly more abundant in compartments managed with prescribed burns (mean ± SE: 4.2 ± 0.7 individuals/transect) than those managed with cutting alone (1.0 ± 0.3) or not managed for >50 y (0.2 ± 0.1 individuals/transect). In contrast, the cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus) tended to be more abundant in compartments managed with mechanical cutting alone (2.6 ± 0.4 individuals/transect) compared to the other three management strategies (prescribed burns; 1.5 ± 0.4; checkerboarding, 1.1 ± 0.3; not managed, 1.6 ± 0.4 individuals/ transect) but these differences were not statistically significant. Abundances of P. p. niveiventris and Florida Scrub-Jay breeding groups were positively correlated (r = 0.655), suggesting that both listed species benefit from similar management techniques. Thus, the mosaic of burned and cut patches used to improve habitat for the Florida Scrub-Jay also benefits an endemic, non-target species. Single-species management may benefit multiple species when restoration improves their shared habitat, which in this case is an endangered, fire-dependent ecosystem: Florida scrub.
Contextual correlates of semantic similarity

Abstract The relationship between semantic and contextual similarity is investigated for pairs of nouns that vary from high to low semantic similarity. Semantic similarity is estimated by subjective ratings; contextual similarity is estimated by the method of sorting sentential contexts. The results show an inverse linear relationship between similarity of meaning and the discriminability of contexts. This relation, is obtained for two separate corpora of sentence contexts. It is concluded that, on average, for words in the same language drawn from the same syntactic and semantic categories, the more often two words can be substituted into the same contexts the more similar in meaning they are judged to be.
Afterword: Toward an Asset-Based Policy Agenda for Children, Families, and Communities

This volume has presented a practical and pathbreaking approach to linking youth and community development strategies pioneered by Search Institute. The volume also offers critical reflections by researchers and practitioners on the importance and applicability of this approach to youth and community development. In addition to the enormous potential value that this approach has for communities seeking to fashion new strategies for creating and promoting the resources for youth development, the assumptions, ideas, and evidence presented also have broader implications for national, state, and local public policy focused on work, family, health, and education.
The Effects of Childhood Sexual Messages on African-American and White Women's Adolescent Sexual Behavior.

To clarify the relationship between sexual communication and sexual behavior, multiple components of sexual messages recalled from childhood were examined in a community sample of 248 African-American and White women. Respondents were matched on a predesignated set of demographic variables and were interviewed using the Wyatt Sexual History Questionnaire. We anticipated that women's recollections of messages from parents and television would differ both individually and across ethnicity, and that messages recalled from parents would be multidimensional, varying in tone (positive vs. negative) across time (childhood vs. adolescence) and form (verbal vs. nonverbal). We also expected that the presence and tone of specific types of messages recalled would be associated with risk-related sexual behavior. Results confirmed predictions concerning differential interpretations of messages, and ethnicity emerged as a strong mediating variable. The implications of the specific types of parental messages influencing ...
“I Just Wanted to Die” Preprison and Current Suicide Ideation Among Women Serving Life Sentences

For women serving life sentences, adjustments to prison are often marked by thoughts of suicide. Many enter prison with specific vulnerabilities that place them at risk for suicide. Using data on 214 female lifers, the authors examined the extent of suicide ideation prior to incarceration as well as current suicide ideation. The relationships between preprison abuse, mental health indicators, prison adjustment factors, prison and family supports, and time served along with sociodemographic variables were analyzed with respect to four categories of preprison and current suicide ideation. Multinomial logistic regression results indicated significant group differences in suicide ideation for abuse histories, depression, family and prison supports, and education level. Among the preprison ideation groups, current depression--not abuse history--distinguished between women with or without current ideation. That is, the way women coped with past abuse was a stronger predictor of current suicide ideation than abuse itself. Language: en
The evolution of violence risk assessment

Many instruments have been published in recent years to improve the ability of mental health clinicians to estimate the likelihood that an individual will behave violently toward others. Increasingly, these instruments are being applied in response to laws that require specialized risk assessments. In this review, we present a framework that goes beyond the "clinical" and "actuarial" dichotomy to describe a continuum of structured approaches to risk assessment. Despite differences among them, there is little evidence that one instrument predicts violence better than another. We believe that these group-based instruments are useful for assessing an individual's risk, and that the instrument should be chosen based on the purpose of the assessment.
Induction of Nod1 and Nod2 Intracellular Pattern Recognition Receptors in Murine Osteoblasts following Bacterial Challenge

Osteoblasts produce an array of immune molecules following bacterial challenge that could recruit leukocytes to sites of infection and promote inflammation during bone diseases, such as osteomyelitis. Recent studies from our laboratory have shed light on the mechanisms by which this cell type can perceive and respond to bacteria by demonstrating the functional expression of members of the Toll-like family of cell surface pattern recognition receptors by osteoblasts. However, we have shown that bacterial components fail to elicit immune responses comparable with those seen following challenge with the intracellular pathogens salmonellae and Staphylococcus aureus. In the present study, we show that UV-killed bacteria and invasion-defective bacterial strains elicit significantly less inflammatory cytokine production than their viable wild-type counterparts. Importantly, we demonstrate that murine osteoblasts express the novel intracellular pattern recognition receptors Nod1 and Nod2. Levels of mRNA encoding Nod molecules and protein expression are significantly and differentially increased from low basal levels following exposure to these disparate bacterial pathogens. In addition, we have shown that osteoblasts express Rip2 kinase, a critical downstream effector molecule for Nod signaling. Furthermore, to begin to establish the functional nature of Nod expression, we show that a specific ligand for Nod proteins can significantly augment immune molecule production by osteoblasts exposed to either UV-inactivated bacteria or bacterial lipopolysaccharide. As such, the presence of Nod proteins in osteoblasts could represent an important mechanism by which this cell type responds to intracellular bacterial pathogens of bone.
Spatiotemporal specificity of synaptic plasticity: cellular rules and mechanisms

Recent experimental results on spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) and heterosynaptic interaction in various systems have revealed new temporal and spatial properties of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. These results challenge the conventional understanding of Hebb's rule and raise intriguing questions regarding the fundamental processes of cellular signaling. In this article, I review these new findings that lead to formulation of a new set of cellular rules. Emphasis is on evaluating potential molecular and cellular mechanisms that may underlie the spike-timing window of STDP and different patterns of heterosynaptic modifications. I also highlight several unresolved issues, and suggest future lines of research.
Linking Organizational Behavior and Environmental Psychology

The linkage between environmental psychology and organizational behavior is demonstrated by use of Wapner's holistic, developmental, systems-oriented perspective. This approach uses the organism-in-environment as the unit of analysis, and provides different features of the organism, the environment, and their relations to conceptualize the problems and issues of organizational behavior in a novel way. By examining the individual-in-group, individual-in-organization, group-in-organization, and organization-in-environment systems, this theoretical approach encompasses numerous studies already conducted, and moreover, operates as a powerful heuristic device that leads to new avenues of research.
The differential sensitivity of flour beetles, Tribolium confusum and T. castaneum to x‐ray alteration of reproductive abilities, induced dominant lethals, biomass and survival

Some aspects of growth are reported for x-rayed populations of wild-type flour beetles cultured as single- or mixed-species. Irradiation with 250-kv x rays was carried out at 1 kr/min to total doses of 2, 4, or 6 kr. Reproductive abilities, measured as the mean number of F/sub 1/ adults per female, for single- species populations of T. castaneum given 2 hr approached control values after one month, whereas those of T. confusum persisted below controls. Four kr was almost sterilizing, over 90 and 99% sterilizing respectively for T. castaneum and T. confusum, while 6-kr doses induced complete sterility in both species. Dominant lethals induced by 2 kr were approximately twice as abundant in T. confusum as in T. castrneum. Increased fertility with time was considered evidence that undifferentiated gametes were more radioresistant than mature ones. Selective elimination of a flur beetle species (T. confusum) in coexistence was indicated at exposures greater than 4 kr of x rays but less than 6 kr. Interspecies antagonism and 2-kr irradiation, as an environmental stress factor, appeared additive in adversely influencing the reproductive ability of T. confusum. The dose-response curves for reproduction were linear up to 4 kr except for T. confusum. After 4more » kr the dose-response curves departed from linearity for both species. Biomass (standard dry wt) of F/sub 1/ adults decreased with increasing dose; however, the weight of individuals was not altered. Parental mortality was not affected at 2 and 4 kr; 94 to 100% were alive at 10 weeks. In the 6-kr group, 75 and 58% of T. confusum were alive in the single- and mixed-species populations, respectively, indicating that irradiation and coexistence reduced survival. Thus, these 2 organisms of similar biology differed radiologically, as seen by the overall greater radioresistance of T. castaneum compared with that of T. confusum. The one more pair of chromosomes in T. castaneum probably does not satisfy a genetic interpretation of radioinduced damage, but physiologic and cytogenetic factors may be responsible. (BBB)« less
Can Hysterectomy Be Considered a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease

In this issue of Circulation , Howard and colleagues1 present a study on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by hysterectomy status using data from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. The purpose of this editorial is to put their work and its findings into context by reviewing the literature both on the epidemiology of hysterectomy, as well as on menopause, sex hormones, and blood loss, and their impact on the risk of CVD. Hysterectomy is the most common nonobstetrical surgical procedure performed on women in the United States.2 In 2001, an estimated 649 000 hysterectomies were performed in the United States. Because most of the patients undergoing this procedure are between 25 and 54 years old, they live with the potential consequences of the procedure for many years.3 Thus, if hysterectomy is an independent risk factor for disease, then its attributable risk could be large even if the relative risk is small. This is especially true for CVD risk, a major cause of death among women. See p 1462 Women who undergo hysterectomies have been shown to differ from women in the general population. Low socioeconomic status, measured either by education or income, has been demonstrated to be associated with hysterectomy in the United States among non-Hispanic women.4,5 Women with higher parity and younger age at first child also appear to be more likely to have hysterectomies.4 Howard and colleagues’ study, however, is one of the few epidemiological studies to have examined the relationship between hysterectomy and risk factors specific to CVD. Howard et al1 state, as part of the rationale for their study, that hysterectomy reduces a woman’s exposure to endogenous hormones that are produced by the uterus and ovaries, especially when hysterectomy is performed significantly before the age at which natural …
Rotor Airloads Prediction Using Multidisciplinary Coupling

This work couples a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code and rotorcraft computational structural dynamics (CSD) code to calculate helicopter rotor airloads. An iterative loose coupling methodology is used to couple the CFD and CSD codes on a per revolution, periodic basis. The CFD code uses a high fidelity, Navier-Stokes, overset grid methodology with first principles-based wake capturing. For a UH-60A Blackhawk helicopter, three challenging level flight conditions spanning the flight envelope are computed. Airloads results are compared favorably with UH-60A Airloads Program flight test data. Overall, the results are a noteworthy improvement over state-of-the-art aerodynamics used in rotorcraft comprehensive codes.
Quality-controlled compression of sets of images

We propose the QCLICS algorithm for quality-controlled JPEG compression of image sets. Lossy compression of images results in a tradeoff between compression and quality: the greater the compression, the poorer the resulting image quality. Quality-controlled compression has two goals: meeting any desired compression/quality specification accurately and optimizing the compression-quality tradeoff. When a large set of images is to be compressed into a limited amount of disk space, it is desirable to optimize the compression-quality tradeoff for individual images as well as across images. This is an important issue in multimedia CD-ROM production, where hundreds or thousands of digital images need to be compressed to fit in the available space. The QCLICS algorithm uses the RD-OPT algorithm (Ratnakar and Livny, 1995) for optimizing JPEG quantization tables for individual images, and uses a dynamic programming strategy to apportion the target compression/quality to the individual images. The complexity overhead of optimizing across the images is minimal, while significant gains in compression/quality are obtained. QCLICS offer flexibility in choosing the image quality metric and allows various constraints to be placed on compression/quality for individual images. We present performance results for several sets of images. These images were taken from various scientific sources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, such as microscopy images of cells, crystals, brains, and spacecraft images of Venus.
Authigenic fluorite in dolomitic rocks of the Floridan aquifer

Fluorite in Eocene carbonate mudstone of Florida is reported for the first time. Fluorite occurs within primary gypsum nodules at a depth of 235–240 m below the surface. Water chemistry indicates undersaturation for gypsum and fluorite, and their survival is attributed to a lack of groundwater circulation. Fluorite probably formed penecontemporaneously with gypsum in a sabkha environment from seawater-concentrated brine. An additional source of fluoride may have been fluvial transport of salts weathered from Appalachian volcanic rocks.
Effective Online Instructional and Assessment Strategies

The purpose of this study was to better understand the instructional and assessment strategies that are most effective in the online learning environment. Faculty and students identified several strategies for maintaining instructional quality in the online environment, including the importance of using a variety of instructional methods to appeal to various learning styles and building an interactive and cohesive learning environment that includes group work. Online assessment strategies include having a wide variety of clearly explained assignments on a regular basis and providing meaningful and timely feedback to students regarding the quality of their work. Effective assessment techniques include projects, portfolios, self-assessments, peer evaluations, and weekly assignments with immediate feedback. The role of meaningful feedback cannot be overemphasized.
Overlapping genes in Nalp6/PYPAF5 locus encode two V2-type vasopressin isoreceptors: angiotensin-vasopressin receptor (AVR) and non-AVR

The angiotensin-vasopressin receptor (AVR) responds with equivalent affinities to angiotensin II (ANG II) and vasopressin and is coupled to adenylate cyclase and hence a V2-type vasopressin recepto...
Simulated 21st century changes in regional water balance of the Great Lakes region and links to changes in global temperature and poleward moisture transport

[1] Simulations from eight climate models and two greenhouse gas emission scenarios are used to investigate changes in the hydrologic budget of the Great Lakes region of North America and the links to large-scale hemispheric/global changes. The ensemble average simulations indicate that increased net moisture (increased P-E) for the Great Lakes area is associated with a general increase in poleward moisture transport, which in turn is highly correlated with the sensitivity of each climate model to greenhouse-gas induced warming as measured by the global average increase of temperature.
Reduced susceptibility to confirmation bias in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia (SZ) show cognitive impairments on a wide range of tasks, with clear deficiencies in tasks reliant on prefrontal cortex function and less consistently observed impairments in tasks recruiting the striatum. This study leverages tasks hypothesized to differentially recruit these neural structures to assess relative deficiencies of each. Forty-eight patients and 38 controls completed two reinforcement learning tasks hypothesized to interrogate prefrontal and striatal functions and their interaction. In each task, participants learned reward discriminations by trial and error and were tested on novel stimulus combinations to assess learned values. In the task putatively assessing fronto-striatal interaction, participants were (inaccurately) instructed that one of the stimuli was valuable. Consistent with prior reports and a model of confirmation bias, this manipulation resulted in overvaluation of the instructed stimulus after its true value had been experienced. Patients showed less susceptibility to this confirmation bias effect than did controls. In the choice bias task hypothesized to more purely assess striatal function, biases in endogenously and exogenously chosen actions were assessed. No group differences were observed. In the subset of participants who showed learning in both tasks, larger group differences were observed in the confirmation bias task than in the choice bias task. In the confirmation bias task, patients also showed impairment in the task conditions with no prior instruction. This deficit was most readily observed on the most deterministic discriminations. Taken together, these results suggest impairments in fronto-striatal interaction in SZ, rather than in striatal function per se.
Recurrence Patterns and Survival for Patients With Intermediate- and High-Grade Myxofibrosarcoma

Purpose Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is a rare sarcoma with a predilection for multiple local recurrences (LR), for which optimal treatment has not been defined. We reviewed our experience to determine the impact of surgery and radiation therapy (RT) on pattern of recurrence, limb salvage, and overall survival (OS). Methods and Materials Between 1995 and 2005, 36 patients with localized intermediate- or high-grade MFS were treated at our institution. Data on clinicopathologic features, treatments, and patient outcomes were reviewed and analyzed. Results Median age was 72.5 years (range, 42–96 years). Median tumor size was 7.5 cm, and 34 tumors (94%) were high grade. All patients underwent surgery at our institution, including re-resections in 20 patients (56%) after initial surgery elsewhere. Margins were microscopically positive in 9 patients (25%). RT was given to 28 patients (78%) pre - and/or postoperatively. After a median follow-up of 3.5 years (range, 0.4–12.4 years), 11 patients (31%) developed LR. There were no significant predictors for LR on univariate analysis, including margin status or use of RT. Limb salvage was ultimately achieved in only 5 of 11 LRs (45%) because of multiple subsequent LRs. Distant recurrence (DR) occurred in 6 patients (17%). Median and 4-year OS were 96 months and 65%, respectively. Seven patients (19%) died of tumor-related causes, 6 of whom had DRs. On univariate analysis, tumor size was associated with OS. Conclusions Despite aggressive surgery and RT, intermediate- and high-grade MFS are associated with a high rate of LR that adversely affects limb preservation. More aggressive local treatment strategies are necessary.
Emergency medical preparedness

The role of a special medical rescue system designed to limit the number of casualties as a result of various terrorist incidents has been described. The rescue system is based on studies which indicate that, despite the large variety of terrorist weaponry, there is a common model of injury that permits design of a simplified, economic, hierarchical medical rescue model. Medical rescue is seen as an essential, highly flexible element in the choreography of antiterrorist efforts. A medical rescue system can be devised based on three basic concepts: (1) Common Injury Model, (2) Common Physiological Response Model, and (3) Common Resuscitation Model. This essential life support, carried on by personnel who are members of the storming team, is designed to be followed by onsite portable intensive care, portable surgery, and adequate evacuation. The implications of a medical rescue force to terrorist, negotiator, and decision maker as well as the public's acceptance of the role of the protective professions are...
Dynamic coalescing for 16-bit instructions

In the embedded domain, memory usage and energy consumption are critical constraints.Embedded processors such as the ARM and MIPS provide a 16-bit instruction set, (called Thumb in the case of the ARM family of processors), in addition to the 32-bit instruction set to address these concerns. Using 16-bit instructions one can achieve code size reduction and instruction cache energy savings at the cost of performance. This paper presents a novel approach that enhances the performance of 16-bit Thumb code. We have observed that throughout Thumb code there exist Thumb instruction pairs that are equivalent to a single ARM instruction. We have developed enhancements to the processor microarchitecture and the Thumb instruction set to exploit this property. We enhance the Thumb instruction set by incorporating Augmenting eXtensions (AX). A Thumb instruction pair that can be combined into a single ARM instruction is replaced by an AXThumb instruction pair by the compiler. The AX instruction is coalesced with the immediately following Thumb instruction to generate a single ARM instruction at decode time. The enhanced microarchitecture ensures that coalescing does not introduce pipeline delays or increase cycle time thereby resulting in reduction of both instruction counts and cycle counts. Using AX instructions and coalescing hardware we are also able to support efficient predicated execution in 16-bit mode.
The representation and perception of 3D space: Interactions between 2D location and depth

ABSTRACTWe live in a 3D world, and yet the majority of vision research is restricted to 2D phenomena, with depth research typically treated as a separate field. Here we ask whether 2D spatial information and depth information interact to form neural representations of 3D space, and if so, what are the perceptual implications? Using fMRI and behavioural methods, we reveal that human visual cortex gradually transitions from 2D to 3D spatial representations, with depth information emerging later along the visual hierarchy, and demonstrate that 2D location holds a fundamentally special place in early visual processing.
Against Intellectual Monopoly: Does Intellectual Monopoly Increase Innovation?

What we have argued so far may not sound altogether incredible to the alert observer of the economics of innovation. Theory aside, what have we shown, after all? That thriving innovation has been and still is commonplace in the absence of intellectual monopoly and that intellectual monopoly leads to substantial and well-documented reductions in economic freedom and general prosperity. However, while expounding the theory of competitive innovation, we also recognized that, under perfect competition, some socially desirable innovations would not be produced because the indivisibility involved with introducing the first copy or implementation of the new idea is too large, relative to the size of the underlying market. When this is the case, monopoly power may generate the necessary incentive for the putative innovator to introduce socially valuable goods. And the value for society of these goods could dwarf the social losses we have documented. In fact, were standard theory correct, so that most innovators gave up innovating in a world without intellectual property, the gains from patents and copyright would certainly dwarf those losses. Alas, as we noted, standard theory is not even internally coherent, and its predictions are flatly violated by the facts reported in Chapters 2 and 3. Nevertheless, when in the previous chapter we argued against all kinds of theoretical reasons brought forward to justify intellectual monopoly on scientific grounds, we carefully avoided stating that it is never the case the fixed cost of innovation is too large to be paid for by competitive rents.
Book Review of 'Where We Live Now'

Going beyond Black/white analysis of the issue, WHERE WE LIVE NOW analyzes in a sophisticated fashion residential segregation through the lens of immigration. It specifically considers the impacts on housing patterns of the migration of diverse peoples from Mexico and Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Such an analysis is much-needed. The demographic diversity of the United States has grown exponentially since Congress eliminated discriminatory national origins quota system from the US immigration laws in 1965. The book tells the important story of the integration over time of immigrants of different races and national origins and their offspring in neighborhoods across the country. By so doing, WHERE WE LIVE NOW highlights the growing diversity of the American population and how, in certain instances, the struggle for civil rights implicates Latinos, Asians, and other groups as well as African Americans.
Healthcare outbreaks associated with a water reservoir and infection prevention strategies

Hospital water may serve as a reservoir of healthcare-associated pathogens, and contaminated water can lead to outbreaks and severe infections. The clinical features of waterborne outbreaks and infections as well as prevention strategies and control measures are reviewed. The common waterborne pathogens were bacteria, including Legionella and other gram-negative bacteria, and nontuberculous mycobacteria, although fungi and viruses were occasionally described. These pathogens caused a variety of infections, including bacteremia and invasive and disseminated diseases, particularly among immunocompromised hosts and critically ill adults as well as neonates. Waterborne outbreaks occurred in healthcare settings with emergence of new reported reservoirs, including electronic faucets (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella), decorative water wall fountains (Legionella), and heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery (Mycobacterium chimaera). Advanced molecular techniques are useful for achieving a better understanding of reservoirs and transmission pathways of waterborne pathogens. Developing prevention strategies based on water reservoirs provides a practical approach for healthcare personnel.
Atherosclerotic process, renovascular disease and outcomes from bench to bedside

Purpose of review Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis has become an important cause of secondary hypertension and renal dysfunction in the aging population. Its presence increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality independent of other atherosclerotic risk factors. Therefore, novel renoprotective strategies are needed to decrease the impact of this disease. Recent findings Although medical therapy can be effective in patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis and mild renal dysfunction, revascularization is desirable for patients with target-organ injury. Technical developments (such as drug-eluting or low-profile stents and distal protection devices) have increased the safety and effectiveness of renal revascularization, but in a significant proportion of patients renal function is not fully restored. Recent experimental evidence suggests that atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis is associated with the activation of intrarenal fibrogenic and inflammatory pathways, oxidative stress, and microvascular remodeling, and blocking these mechanisms can improve renal hemodynamics and function. Summary Despite significant advances in revascularization techniques, it remains unclear why the kidney affected by atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis often does not improve or even progressively deteriorates. In addition to the restoration of blood flow, targeted interventions to attenuate injurious intrarenal mechanisms should probably become part of a comprehensive management plan to preserve the ischemic kidney.
Fine-tuning DNA repair by protein acetylation.

Post-translational modifications of target DNA repair proteins may help to regulate the mechanism of DNA damage correction. A good analogy is an automobile tune-up necessary to make a car operate a...