cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Onward to petaflops computing

With programs such as the US High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCCP), the attention of scientists and engineers worldwide has been focused on the potential of very high performance scientific computing, namely systems that are hundreds or thousands of times more powerful than those typically available in desktop systems at any given point in time. Extending the frontiers of computing in this manner has resulted in remarkable advances, both in computing technology itself and also in the various scientific and engineering disciplines that utilize these systems. Within the month or two, a sustained rate of 1 Tflop/s (also written 1 teraflops, or 10(exp 12) floating-point operations per second) is likely to be achieved by the 'ASCI Red' system at Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. With this objective in sight, it is reasonable to ask what lies ahead for high-end computing.
P300 from a single auditory stimulus.

Abstract The P3(00) event-related brain potential (ERP) was elicited with auditory stimuli to compare 2 different discrimination tasks. The oddball paradigm presented both target and standard tones; the single-stimulus paradigm presented at target but no standard tone stimulus. Experiment 1 manipulated target stimulus probability (0.20, 0.50, 0.80) and produced highly similar P3 amplitude and latency results across probability levels for each paradigm. Experiment 2 factorially varied inter-stimulus interval (2 sec, 6 sec) and target stimulus probability (0.20, 0.80). P3 amplitude and latency were highly similar for both the oddball and single-stimulus procedures across all conditions.
Plagiarism and international students in academic libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how plagiarism and the detection of plagiarism are interwoven with the education of international students.Design/methodology/approach – The literature searches encompassed articles on the issue of plagiarism as it affects students coming from abroad.Findings – There is a definite problem involved in the interaction of international students in a higher education setting and plagiarism.Research limitations/implications – Although no survey was done for this article, much of the information gathered regarding plagiarism is dependent on external surveys. These surveys may not always be answered truthfully despite anonymity. There is also a dearth of data on plagiarism and international students. There is some anecdotal data on the subject.Practical implications – Although plagiarism is a serious problem on academic campuses, libraries and librarians can offer substantial help in deterring and preventing plagiarism especially with regard to international stu...
Probing green algal hydrogen production

The recently developed two-stage photosynthesis and H(2)-production protocol with green algae is further investigated in this work. The method employs S deprivation as a tool for the metabolic regulation of photosynthesis. In the presence of S, green algae perform normal photosynthesis, carbohydrate accumulation and oxygen production. In the absence of S, normal photosynthesis stops and the algae slip into the H(2)-production mode. For the first time, to our knowledge, significant amounts of H(2) gas were generated, essentially from sunlight and water. Rates of H(2) production could be sustained continuously for ca. 80 h in the light, but gradually declined thereafter. This work examines biochemical and physiological aspects of this process in the absence or presence of limiting amounts of S nutrients. Moreover, the effects of salinity and of uncouplers of phosphorylation are investigated. It is shown that limiting levels of S can sustain intermediate levels of oxygenic photosynthesis, in essence raising the prospect of a calibration of the rate of photosynthesis by the S content in the growth medium of the algae. It is concluded that careful titration of the supply of S nutrients in the green alga medium might permit the development of a continuous H(2)-production process.
Turn, Turn, and Turn Again: The Woolgar Formula

This response to a recent article in ST&HV by Woolgar ("The Turn to Technology in Social Studies of Science") investigates Woolgar's concept of analytic ambivalence. The response points out how this notion originates in a formula applied to social problems research and how this formula is used as the basis for Woolgar's critique of work in the social studies of technology. The response then goes on to show that Woolgar's own application of the formula of analytic ambivalence is formulaic and glosses over many of the interesting features of the social studies of technology. Woolgar's article seems set to become another exemplification of the reflexivist formula rather than an occasion for questioning the idea of applying formulas altogether.
INCORPORATION OF 5-IODO-2'-DEOXYURIDINE INTO BACTERIOPHAGE T1 AS RELATED TO ULTRA-VIOLET SENSITIZATION OR PROTECTION.

Incorporation of 5-Iodo-2′-Deoxyuridine into Bacteriophage T1 as Related to Ultra-Violet Sensitization or Protection
Linear Estimation of the Normal Distribution Standard Deviation

Recently in a series of articles ([1], [2], [3], [6], [7], [8]) the estimation of the standard deviation of the normal distribution based on the sample standard deviation, s, has been thoroughly explored-both for unbiased estimation ([1], [2], [3], [6]) and minimum mean square error estimation ([7], [8]). If one is willing to retain the assumption of normality then it is well known that many simple highly efficient linear estimates of the standard deviation also exist (for example in [4] Chapter 9). The usual drawbacks of these linear estimates are that they are appropriate either to small samples (e.g., the sample range) or large samples (e.g., estimates using a few sample quantiles) or else they do apply to all sample sizes (e.g., the BLUE estimates) but involve elaborate weighting schemes for the ordered observations-thus rendering them chiefly only of academic interest. In the following we examine one linear estimate first proposed by Downton [5]. It does not suffer the above mentioned drawbacks and further it compares extremely well with the estimates based on s. Let X1,n ? ? Xn,n represent the ordered observations from a random sample of size n drawn from a normal distribution. Downton's unbiased estimate of the distribution's standard deviation ois
Anterior versus posterior, and rim-rent rotator cuff tears : prevalence and MR sensitivity

Purpose. To determine the relative distribution of the locations of rotator cuff tears, and the sensitivity of anterior versus posterior tears on MR images. Patients and methods. We identified 110 consecutive patients who had a shoulder MR and either a partial-thickness or a small full-thickness rotator cuff tear diagnosed at arthroscopy. From the arthroscopy videotapes, we classified the tears as centered in the anterior or posterior half of the cuff, and as either in the critical zone or adjacent to the bony insertion. The original MR interpretation was compared with the arthroscopic findings. MR sensitivity and patient age were compared between patients with tears in the anterior and posterior halves of the cuff. In addition, in patients with partial tears less than 2 cm in diameter, an age comparison between those with tears in the critical zone and those with articular surface tears adjacent to the bony insertion (rim-rent tear) was performed. Results. The tear was centered in the anterior half of the rotator cuff in 79% of the patients younger than 36 years old, and in 89% of the patients 36 years old and over. The average age of the patients with tears in the anterior half (44 years) was not significantly different from the average age of those with posterior tears (40 years)(P=0.23). The sensitivity of MR for anterior tears was 0.69, and for posterior tears it was 0.56 (P=0.17). The average age of the 9 patients with rim-rent tears was 31 years, while that of the 28 patients with similarly-sized partial tears not involving the insertion was 40 years old (P=0.048). Five of the nine rim-rent tears (0.56) were interpreted correctly on the original MR report; two of the other tears were misinterpreted as intratendinous fluid but were diagnosable in retrospect. Conclusion. Even in patients less than 36 years old, most partial and small full-thickness rotator cuff tears are centered in the anterior half of the supraspinatus. Although our figure for MR sensitivity for these tears is lower than in recent articles, we found no significant difference between the sensitivity of MR for diagnosing posterior tears versus tears in the anterior half of the supraspinatus tendon. Rim-rent tears can be mistaken for intratendinous signal, and should be carefully looked for in younger patients with shoulder pain.
Effect of Cimetidine and other antihistaminics on the elimination of aminopyrine, phenacetin and caffein

Abstract Cimetidine is widely prescribed for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease and has recently been shown to inhibit the metabolism of warfarin, antipyrine and diazepam. To further examine this phenomenon we investigated the effect of various doses of cimetidine and other related drugs on 14C-aminopyrine, 14C-phenacetin and 14C-caffeine breath tests. Cimetidine caused a dose-related inhibition of the metabolism of aminopyrine and caffeine but had no effect on the phenacetin breath test. Metiamide, H1-antihistamines, phenothiazines and local anesthetics also inhibited the aminopyrine breath test. Cyproheptadine had no effect on either phenacetin or caffeine elimination. This study demonstrates a complex drug-drug interaction which may have widespread clinical implications.
Patterned discharge of six different neurons in a single enteric ganglion.

Impulses from six different neurons within a single ganglion of the myenteric plexus of an isolated segment of feline small intestine, which previously had been stored at 5°C for a period of 48 h, were recorded and each of the neurons is characterized by data collected over a continuous recording period of at least 40 min duration. Discharge of individual members of a group of four cells was detected concurrently by a single microelectrode at one position within the ganglion and spikes of two additional cells were detected later at a different electrode position within the same ganglion. Each of the neurons was spontaneosly active and periodically discharged bursts of action potentials with stereotyped patterns. Within the first group of four cells, variation of the discharge pattern of two of the cells was related to changes in firing pattern of a third cell. The two neurons of the second group displayed close temporal coupling indicative of driver-follower neurons.
The validity and reliability of the Socioeconomic Status Instrument for assessing prostate cancer patients

Abstract Background : Because of the lack of consistency in the associations of the socioeconomic status (SES) of prostate cancer (PC) patients from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds with PC health outcomes, I created the Socioeconomic Status Instrument (SESI) from the Demographic and Health Access components of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2004 Questionnaires and the socioeconomic indices of the subjects' residential counties to better assess the SES of PC patients. Methods: The SESI was tested on 220 consecutive subjects with pathologically confirmed PC at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, TX. A team that included an epidemiologist, a validation statistician/health services research scientist, and PC survivors assessed the content validity of the SESI. The construct validity of the SESI was assessed with factor analysis by extracting and analyzing 5 principal components based on the subjects' individual responses on the assessment: county socioeconomic characteristics, individual socioeconomic characteristics, financial distress, increased domestic burden with limited earnings, and affluence. The internal consistency reliability of the SESI was assessed with Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Results: Based on the reviews of the SESI, all of the initial 10 items were retained. The correlations between individual responses on the SESI were similar to the results of previous studies. The 5 principal components that I assessed accounted for 71.5% of the variance. Factor loadings ranged from 0.66 to 0.98 and communalities ranged from 0.55 to 0.94. County socioeconomic characteristics accounted for 22.6% of the variance, whereas individual socioeconomic characteristics accounted for 14.6% of the variance. The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.78. Conclusions: The SESI is valid and reliable. Accurate measurements of the SES of PC patients would provide better guidance for future research and care deliveries.
High-throughput microwave synthesis and characterization of NiO nanoplates for supercapacitor devices

In order to produce economically viable supercapacitor devices for electrical energy storage, low cost, and high throughput methods must be developed. We developed a microwave based synthesis for the formation of β-Ni(OH)2 for the formation of nickel oxide nanoplates. These nanoplates have shown excellent properties as pseudocapacitive devices with high-specific capacitance. Novel to this article is the use of a microwave reactor which enables a growth process of only 10 min in duration as compared to previous reports requiring a 24 h period. The resulting NiO nanoplates were fully characterized by electron microscopy, electron diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, thermo gravimetric analysis, and surface area and porosity measurements. Nanoplates formed using the microwave reactor is similar to those formed by hydrothermal processes. NiO-single walled carbon nanotube composites were made without any binder and the specific capacitance was measured using charge discharge techniques.
Differential sensitivity of brain iodothyronine 5'-deiodinases to sulfhydryl-blocking reagents.

Abstract Propylthiouracil (PTU) and iodoacetate (IAc) partially inhibit the 5'-deiodination of 3,3',5'-triiodothyronine (rT 3 ) in cerebral cortex, but PTU has no effect on the 5'-deiodination of thyroxine (T 4 ). We now report that pretreatment of cerebral cortex microsomes with increasing concentrations of IAc or iodoacetamide inhibits the PTU-sensitive 5'-deiodination of rT 3 with half-maximal inhibition at 3 and T 4 requires 100–1000-fold higher concentrations of IAc to achieve similar inhibition. Trypsinization decreases both 5'-deiodinating activities by > 90%. These data suggest that enzyme SH groups do not participate in the 5'-deiodination of T 4 or rT 3 by the PTU-insensitive pathway.
Inhibition of System A-mediated glycine transport in cortical synaptosomes by therapeutic concentrations of clozapine: implications for mechanisms of action

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic with particular efficacy in schizophrenia, possibly related to potentiation of brain N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) -mediated neurotransmission. NMDARs are regulated in vivo by glycine, which is regulated in turn by glycine transporters. The present study investigates transport processes regulating glycine uptake into rat brain synaptosomes, along with effects of clozapine on synaptosomal glycine transport. Amino-acid uptake of amino acids was assessed in rat brain P2 synaptosomal preparations using a radiotransport assay. Synaptosomal glycine transport was inhibited by a series of amino acids and by the selective System A antagonist MeAIB (2-methyl-aminoisobutyric acid). Clozapine inhibited transport of both glycine and MeAIB, but not other amino acids, at concentrations associated with preferential clinical response (0.5-1 microg/ml). By contrast, other antipsychotics studied were ineffective. The novel glycine transport inhibitor N[3-(4'-fluorophenyl)-3-(4'-phenylphenoxy)propyl]sarcosine (NFPS) produced biphasic inhibition of [(3)H]glycine transport, with IC(50) values of approximately 25 nM and 25 microM, respectively. NFPS inhibition of [(3)H]MeAIB was monophasic with a single IC(50) value of 31 microM. Clozapine significantly inhibited [(3)H]glycine binding even in the presence of 100 nM NFPS. In conclusion, this study suggests first that System A transporters, or a subset thereof, may play a critical role in regulation of synaptic glycine levels and by extension of NMDA receptor regulation, and second that System A antagonism may contribute to the differential clinical efficacy of clozapine compared with other typical or atypical antipsychotics.
Prolonged circulating lives of single-chain Fv proteins conjugated with polyethylene glycol: a comparison of conjugation chemistries and compounds.

The utility of single-chain Fv proteins as therapeutic agents would be substantially broadened if the circulating lives of these minimal antigen-binding polypeptides were both prolonged and adjustable. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) bioconjugate derivatives of the model single-chain Fv, CC49/218 sFv, were constructed using six different linker chemistries that selectively conjugate either primary amines or carboxylic acid groups. Activated PEG polymers with molecular weights of 2000, 5000, 10 000, 12 000, and 20 000 were included in the sFv bioconjugate evaluation. Additionally, the influence of PEG conjugate geometry in branched PEG strands (U-PEG) and the effect of multimeric PEG-sFv bioconjugates on circulating life and affinity were examined. Although random and extensive PEG polymer conjugations have been achievable in highly active derivatives of the prototypical PEG-enzymes, PEGylation of CC49/218 sFv required stringent adjustment of reaction conditions in order to preserve antigen-binding affinity as...
Meta-Structured diffractive optics: concepts and applications

Nano-optics is interpreted as an extrapolation of diffractive optics aimed at increasing the degrees of freedom for design. Structuring optical materials simultaneously at different length scales is introduced as a fundamental paradigm.
FTS studies of line shapes

With the advent of high-resolution infrared spectroscopic observations of the atmosphere the need for precise characterization of spectral line shapes has arisen and is being met using ultra-high-resolution FTS in the laboratory.
Si–SiO2 interface formation in low-dose low-energy separation by implanted oxygen materials

Abstract The evolution of the Si–SiO2 interface morphology of low-dose low-energy separation by implanted oxygen materials was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The Si–SiO2 interface morphology and the RMS roughness are strongly affected by the implantation conditions and the annealing process. Three main types of the domains including round, square, and pyramid shapes with the step-terrace structure were observed on the buried SiO2 surface. Round domains are observed in the early stage of the annealing process, while the square and pyramid domains are observed after the high temperature annealing. The mean RMS roughness decreases with increasing time and annealing temperature, while in the 1350 °C 4-h annealed samples, the mean RMS roughness decreases with either increasing the implantation dose or decreasing implantation energy. The scaling analysis shows that the Si–SiO2 interfaces were found to be self-affine on the short length scales with a roughness exponent above 0.50. Qualitative mechanisms of Si–SiO2 surface flattening are presented in terms of the variations of morphological features with the processing conditions.
Ethical issues across cultures: managing the differing perspectives of China and the USA

US marketers know the US standard of ethics. However, that standard can lead to ethical conflict when Americans encounter the emerging market giant, China. As smaller US companies enter China, the potential for ethical conflict increases. Reducing that potential requires knowledge. Knowing the nature and history of the two cultures can lead to an understanding of the foundation of their ethical systems. Ethics and the expectations within cultures affect all business transactions. It is vital for Western marketers to understand the expectations of their counterparts around the world. Understanding the cultural bases for ethical behavior in both the USA and China can arm a marketer with knowledge needed to succeed in cross‐cultural business. Implementing that knowledge with a clear series of managerial guidelines can actualize the value of that understanding.
Toxigenesis and infection of mice by Salmonella enteritidis.

SummaryToxigenesis and infection studies caused by S. enteritidis (LD50/48hr = 7.1 × 108 cell) were evaluated. Mice were fed per os 103 or 108 viable cells harvested from an 18- or 36-hr culture. Time of toxigenic onset, duration, and persistence of test organisms in organ tissues were confirmed bacteriologically, physiologically and by pathological differences between infected and control mice. No toxigenesis and/or infection was noted in mice fed 103 cells of either culture, while severe syndrome was observed within 3 hr in mice fed 108 cells of both cultures. Feeding 108 cells harvested after 36 hr of growth produced short-lived toxigenic manifestation (less than 5 hr PF), but mice receiving 108 cells obtained after 18 hr of growth had a longer toxigenic syndrome, and organisms persisted in the GI tract for 72 hr PF. High incidence of recovery of the test organism from the liver, spleen, and blood of mice was noted in mice fed 108 cells of the 18-hr culture but not from the 36-hr culture. It appeared t...
North East Asian historical-comparative linguistics on the threshold of the third millennium

Le but de cet article est de souligner les developpements les plus importants depuis ces vingt dernieres dans le domaine de la linguistique historico-comparative des langues asiatiques orientales. L'A. se limite a l'etude du japonique (comprenant le japonais et le ryukyuais) et le coreen. Ce choix s'est fait sur le fait que pour lui ces langues etaient relativement proches l'une de l'autre. Les themes discutes sont aussi bien le travail sur les reconstructions des proto-langues ou de certains stades de langues attestees historiquement, que la recherche sur l'affiliation genetique des langues en question.
Unbalanced government budgets, private asset holdings, and the traditional comparative static multipliers

Abstract During the past quarter century, the traditional macro model of effective demand has been criticized repeatedly for ignoring certain asset market effects associated with government policy. The customary approach in using an underlying framework for this model has been to assume that government faces a budget constraint whereas the private sector confronts a wealth constraint. In this paper, we demonstrate thet if every sector faces a budget constraint, many of the aforementioned criticisms disappear. One particularly interesting result is that a balanced government budget is not necessary to achieve a stationary equilibrium for national income.
The near-road exposures and effects of urban air pollutants study (NEXUS): Study design and methods

Abstract The Near-Road Exposures and Effects of Urban Air Pollutants Study (NEXUS) was designed to examine the relationship between near-roadway exposures to air pollutants and respiratory outcomes in a cohort of asthmatic children who live close to major roadways in Detroit, Michigan USA. From September 2010 to December 2012 a total of 139 children with asthma, ages 6–14, were enrolled in the study on the basis of the proximity of their home to major roadways that carried different amounts of diesel traffic. The goal of the study was to investigate the effects of traffic-associated exposures on adverse respiratory outcomes, biomolecular markers of inflammatory and oxidative stress, and how these exposures affect the frequency and severity of respiratory viral infections in a cohort of children with asthma. An integrated measurement and modeling approach was used to quantitatively estimate the contribution of traffic sources to near-roadway air pollution and evaluate predictive models for assessing the impact of near-roadway pollution on children's exposures. Two intensive field campaigns were conducted in Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 to measure a suite of air pollutants including PM 2.5 mass and composition, oxides of nitrogen (NO and NO 2 ), carbon monoxide, and black carbon indoors and outdoors of 25 participants' homes, at two area schools, and along a spatial transect adjacent to I-96, a major highway in Detroit. These data were used to evaluate and refine models to estimate air quality and exposures for each child on a daily basis for the health analyses. The study design and methods are described, and selected measurement results from the Fall 2010 field intensive are presented to illustrate the design and successful implementation of the study. These data provide evidence of roadway impacts and exposure variability between study participants that will be further explored for associations with the health measures.
Development of a novel catheter for early diagnosis of bacterial meningitis caused by the ventricular drain

A novel smart catheter for the early diagnosis of bacterial meningitis caused by the use of an external ventricular drainage catheter was developed and characterized in this work. The specific aim is the rapid differentiation between bacterial meningitis and aseptic meningitis by continuous measurement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate levels. An accurate and stable lactate biosensor was developed and integrated at the proximal portion of the intraventricular catheter to achieve this goal. The in vitro experimental data showed that the lactate measurements in the clinical CSF solutions were accurate and reliable over the course of 7 days.
Comorbidity of panic disorder and major depressive disorder: effects on platelet alpha2 adrenergic receptors

Adrenergic receptor dysregulation has been described as occurring in both major depressive disorder (MDD) and panic disorder. Measurements of platelet alpha 2 adrenergic receptors in these patients may be confounded by the coexistence or comorbidity of both diagnoses in the same patient. To explore this possibility, we measured platelet alpha 2 adrenergic receptors (3H-clonidine and 3H-yohimbine binding) in 3 groups of patients (MDD only, panic disorder only, and those showing comorbidity of MDD and panic) and normal controls. Patients with comorbidity of MDD and panic disorder had significantly lower agonist binding (3H-clonidine).
Grade Progression and Regression in Recurrent Urothelial Cancer

ABSTRACTPurpose: Recurrent urothelial cancers are reported to have characteristics similar to those of the primary tumor, with 10% to 25% of low grade tumors recurring as high grade disease. We determined how often grade progression and regression occur and whether abnormalities in p53 protein expression in original tumors are preserved in recurrences.Materials and Methods: Two groups of patients treated for recurrent stages Ta/T1 urothelial bladder cancers with at least 1 tumor-free examination between the index and recurrent tumors were reviewed. Group 1 included 115 patients in whom the first available tumor was compared with the last recurrence and group 2 included 42 in whom the initial tumor was compared with the first recurrence. Immunohistochemical analysis of p53 expression was performed on a subset of 34 tumor pairs.Results: In group 1, 33 grade 3 tumors (45%) recurred as grade 1 or 2 tumors, while 9 of 82 grades 1 and 2 tumors (11%) recurred as grade 3 tumors. Five of 7 group 2 grade 3 tumors (...
Optical de Haas-Shubnikov effect in antimony

Abstract The high frequency or optical de Haas-Shubnikov effect, first predicted by Azbel' in 1957, has now been observed while studying the magnetoreflection from a single crystal antimony surface. This effect is most pronounced near a plasma edge. The periods deduced from the magnetoreflectivity maxima are found to be in agreement with those obtained by the other techniques.
General Conservation Equation for Solute Transport in Heterogeneous Porous Media

In this study it is shown that in heterogeneous porous media all the ensemble average conservation equations, representing linear reactive and nonreactive transport at a spatial scale one step larger than the Darcy scale, are in the same operator equation form as given by (15) herein for vector cases and by (18) herein for scalar cases to exact second-order closure (they do not need information on third or higher moments or cumulants). This equation acts as a “master key” in that once one determines the particular form of the coefficient operator within a Darcy-scale transport equation, corresponding to a particular linear transport case, one can then write immediately the explicit ensemble average transport equation for this case for the spatial scale that is one-step larger than the Darcy scale. The aforementioned equations are in Eulerian-Lagrangian form since while the spatial coordinate xt is given by time t, the spatial coordinate xt−s is an unknown which is determined by the Lagrangian trajectories...
Prevention of falls during stairway descent in older adults

A prospective design was applied to examine how older adults would adapt stairway intervention stimuli to gait patterns during stairway descent to prevent falls. Ambient lighting and an auditory signal were used as stairway intervention stimuli. The gait pattern changes with and without stimuli were compared. No significant change of angular displacement was found between normal condition and intervention conditions under daylight and nightlight. The lighting intervention tended to increase the knee's angular velocity for both daylight and nightlight conditions, but not the ankle's angular velocity. However, adding the auditory signal to the lighting intervention under nightlight condition increased the ankle's angular velocity. Under the daylight condition, every intervention was significantly helpful to make people step on the floor more confidently compared to the condition without interventions. However, the intervention of lighting had an opposite effect on the confidence of stepping under the nightlight condition. The intervention of lighting may contribute to increase of confidence during stair descent while compromising the declined stride length in older adults and the potential "rush" factor for falls on stairs.
Conformational analysis of n-butanal by Chirped-Pulse Fourier Transform Microwave spectroscopy

Abstract The rotational spectrum of n -butanal was obtained in the 7.5–18.5 GHz range using Chirped-Pulse Fourier Transform Microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy. In addition to the previously observed cis/trans and cis/gauche conformers, a new conformer gauche/gauche was assigned; tentative assignments were also made on a second new conformer, gauche/trans. Density functional theory calculations using GAUSSIAN03 allowed us to predict the four most stable geometries (cis/trans, cis/gauche, gauche/trans, and gauche/gauche), which were verified as local minima in vibrational calculations. We also performed relaxed potential energy scans and found internal methyl rotor torsional barriers of V 3 = 8.4 kJ/mol (cis/trans), 11.6 kJ/mol (cis/gauche), 12.5 kJ/mol (gauche/trans), and 11.8 kJ/mol (gauche/gauche). The program XIAM was used to determine a V 3 barrier 6.3 ± 0.2 kJ/mol for the gauche/gauche structure, which is significantly smaller than the lowest V 3 barrier predicted by ab initio calculations of 8.4 kJ/mol. Because of the high signal-to-noise of the CP-FTMW spectrometer, we assigned the 13 C n -butanal isotopologues of cis/trans and cis/gauche in natural abundance. Kraitchman analysis was performed to determine the carbon–carbon bond angles and bond distances in these structures based on our observed data.
The impact of sleep quality on cognitive functioning in Parkinson's disease.

In healthy individuals and those with insomnia, poor sleep quality is associated with decrements in performance on tests of cognition, especially executive function. Sleep disturbances and cognitive deficits are both prevalent in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Sleep problems occur in over 75% of patients, with sleep fragmentation and decreased sleep efficiency being the most common sleep complaints, but their relation to cognition is unknown. We examined the association between sleep quality and cognition in PD. In 35 non-demented individuals with PD and 18 normal control adults (NC), sleep was measured using 24-hr wrist actigraphy over 7 days. Cognitive domains tested included attention and executive function, memory and psychomotor function. In both groups, poor sleep was associated with worse performance on tests of attention/executive function but not memory or psychomotor function. In the PD group, attention/executive function was predicted by sleep efficiency, whereas memory and psychomotor function were not predicted by sleep quality. Psychomotor and memory function were predicted by motor symptom severity. This study is the first to demonstrate that sleep quality in PD is significantly correlated with cognition and that it differentially impacts attention and executive function, thereby furthering our understanding of the link between sleep and cognition. (JINS, 2012, 18, 108–117)
Cosmetic liposuction causes only transient elevation of acute inflammatory response and does not advance to oxidative and nitrosative stress

Cosmetic liposuction is a surgical procedure performed on normal nonobese subjects to remove unwanted fat. We are interested to know whether the impact of acute inflammatory response induced by liposuction differs from that of chronic inflammation and whether acute inflammatory response will also advance further and cause oxidative and nitrosative stress leading to various clinical complications. In our investigation we monitored 15 nonobese women prior to liposuction, and one day and one month after the surgery with multiple markers associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Our results indicate that liposuction causes only a transient elevation of acute inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), high sensitive C-reactive protein (hCRP), and serum amyloid A (SAA), and a transient decrease of nitric oxide (NO). Apparently the impact of liposuction for normal subjects did not advance beyond acute inflammatory response; there was little change in the levels of markers corresponding to downstream events of chronic systemic inflammation such as adhesion molecules, urinary microalbumin (uMA), homocysteine (Hcy), uric acid (UA), and markers of oxidative stress, including urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OhdG) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3NT). It appears that the acute inflammatory response of cosmetic liposuction does not lead to impaired renal function and oxidative and nitrosative damage, which are frequently associated with chronic inflammation.
A novel method for analyzing grain facility heat treatment data

Use of elevated temperatures (⩾50°C) in food processing facilities for management of stored-product insects is a viable alternative to fumigation with methyl bromide. Effectiveness of heat treatment in controlling insects is determined by attainment of uniform temperatures between 50°C and 60°C. A unique surface area method was proposed and developed to assess the effectiveness of heat distribution. The pilot flour mill at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, was heated with natural gas (positive pressure) and electric (neutral pressure) heaters in June and August 1999, respectively. The proposed surface area method compared the two different heating systems and successfully quantified the under- and over-heated sections of the treated rooms at any given time during the treatments. A two-parameter nonlinear log-logistic equation was used to describe and predict the general trend in the floor surface area that is under 50°C as a function of treatment time, and percentage of floor surface area as a function of maximum floor temperature. With electric heating, time delays for temperature increase were considerably shorter than with gas heating. However, electric heating resulted in substantial amounts of under-heated floor areas (T < 50°C) throughout the facility at the end of the heat treatment. The methods provided here, especially when coupled with the contour maps of temperature, can be used to design and evaluate heat treatment strategies in grain and food processing facilities.
Associations between rates of unassisted inpatient falls and levels of registered and non-registered nurse staffing

Objective. To enhance understanding of how nurse staffing relates to unassisted falls by exploring non-linear associations between unassisted fall rates and levels of registered nurse (RN) and non-RN staffing on 5 nursing unit types, thereby enabling managers to improve patient safety by making better-informed decisions about staffing. Design. Cross-sectional analysis of routinely collected data using hierarchical negative binomial regression. Settings. 8069 nursing units in 1361 U.S. hospitals participating in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators ® . Main outcome measure. Rate of unassisted falls per inpatient day.
Comet Shoemaker‐Levy 9: Fragment and progenitor impact energy

Initial observational data from the impact of fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) are compared with smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) calculations to determine their pre-impact diameters and the equivalent diameter of the SL9 progenitor. Diameters (solid ice) of 2.0±0.1, 2.0±0.05, 2.1±0.04 and 1.9±0.05 km for fragments A, E, G1, and W are obtained from impact-induced plume heights from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data. Applying these values to scale apparent diameters for the balance of 18 SL fragments in Weaver et al.'s [1995] catalog of 22 objects yields a SL9 progenitor diameter of 5.0±1.8 km. This corresponds to total impact energy of 1.2 (+1.8−0.8) × 10^(30) erg. Such an energetic event occurs on Jupiter and Earth at least every 4,900 +4,700, −2,700, and ∼0.5 × 10^8 years, respectively.
Virus-neutralizing antibodies of immunoglobulin G (IgG) but not of IgM or IgA isotypes can cure influenza virus pneumonia in SCID mice.

The ability of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to passively cure an influenza virus pneumonia in the absence of endogenous T- and B-cell responses was investigated by treating C.B-17 mice, homozygous for the severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mutation, with individual monoclonal antiviral antibodies 1 day after pulmonary infection with influenza virus PR8 [A/PR/8/34 (H1N1)]. Less than 10% of untreated SCID mice survived the infection. By contrast, 100% of infected SCID mice that had been treated with a single intraperitoneal inoculation of at least 175 micrograms of a pool of virus-neutralizing (VN+) antihemagglutinin (anti-HA) MAbs survived, even if antibody treatment was delayed up to 7 days after infection. The use of individual MAbs showed that recovery could be achieved by VN+ anti-HA MAbs of the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 isotypes but not by VN+ anti-HA MAbs of the IgA and IgM isotypes, even if the latter were used in a chronic treatment protocol to compensate for their shorter half-lives in vivo. Both IgA and IgM, although ineffective therapeutically, protected against infection when given prophylactically, i.e., before exposure to virus. An Fc gamma-specific effector mechanism was not an absolute requirement for antibody-mediated recovery, as F(ab')2 preparations of IgGs could cure the disease, although with lesser efficacy, than intact IgG. An anti-M2 MAb of the IgG1 isotype, which was VN- but bound well to infected cells and inhibited virus growth in vitro, failed to cure. These observations are consistent with the idea that MAbs of the IgG isotype cure the disease by neutralizing all progeny virus until all productively infected host cells have died. VN+ MAbs of the IgA and IgM isotypes may be ineffective therapeutically because they do not have sufficient access to all tissue sites in which virus is produced during influenza virus pneumonia.
Social Identity, Electoral Institutions and the Number of Candidates

The empirical literature in comparative politics holds that social cleavages affect the number of candidates or parties when electoral institutions are ‘permissive’, but it lacks a theoretical account of the strategic candidate entry and exit decisions that ultimately determine electoral coalitions in plural societies. This article incorporates citizen-candidate social identities into game-theoretic models of electoral competition under plurality and majority-runoff electoral rules, indicating that social group demographics can affect the equilibrium number of candidates, even in non-permissive systems. Under plurality rule, the relationship between social homogeneity and the effective number of candidates is non-monotonic and, contrary to the prevailing Duvergerian intuition, for some demographic configurations even the effective number of candidates cannot be near two. Empirical patterns in cross-national presidential election results are consistent with the theoretical model.
Novel gp91 phox Homologues in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells : nox1 Mediates Angiotensin II–Induced Superoxide Formation and Redox-Sensitive Signaling Pathways

Emerging evidence indicates that reactive oxygen species are important regulators of vascular function. Although NAD(P)H oxidases have been implicated as major sources of superoxide in the vessel wall, the molecular identity of these proteins remains unclear. We recently cloned nox1 (formerly mox-1), a member of a new family of gp91(phox) homologues, and showed that it is expressed in proliferating vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). In this study, we examined the expression of three nox family members, nox1, nox4, and gp91(phox), in VSMCs, their regulation by angiotensin II (Ang II), and their role in redox-sensitive signaling. We found that both nox1 and nox4 are expressed to a much higher degree than gp91(phox) in VSMCS: Although serum, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and Ang II downregulated nox4, they markedly upregulated nox1, suggesting that this enzyme may account for the delayed phase of superoxide production in these cells. Furthermore, an adenovirus expressing antisense nox1 mRNA completely inhibited the early phase of superoxide production induced by Ang II or PDGF and significantly decreased activation of the redox-sensitive signaling molecules p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt by Ang II. In contrast, redox-independent pathways induced by PDGF or Ang II were unaffected. These data support a role for nox1 in redox signaling in VSMCs and provide insight into the molecular identity of the VSMC NAD(P)H oxidase and its potentially critical role in vascular disease.
Mutation and polymorphism spectrum in osteogenesis imperfecta type II: implications for genotype–phenotype relationships

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease, is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder primarily characterized by susceptibility to fracture. Although OI generally results from mutations in the type I collagen genes, COL1A1 and COL1A2, the relationship between genotype and phenotype is not yet well understood. To provide additional data for genotype-phenotype analyses and to determine the proportion of mutations in the type I collagen genes among subjects with lethal forms of OI, we sequenced the coding and exon-flanking regions of COL1A1 and COL1A2 in a cohort of 63 subjects with OI type II, the perinatal lethal form of the disease. We identified 61 distinct heterozygous mutations in type I collagen, including five non-synonymous rare variants of unknown significance, of which 43 had not been seen previously. In addition, we found 60 SNPs in COL1A1, of which 17 were not reported previously, and 82 in COL1A2, of which 18 are novel. In three samples without collagen mutations, we found inactivating mutations in CRTAP and LEPRE1, suggesting a frequency of these recessive mutations of approximately 5% in OI type II. A computational model that predicts the outcome of substitutions for glycine within the triple helical domain of collagen alpha1(I) chains predicted lethality with approximately 90% accuracy. The results contribute to the understanding of the etiology of OI by providing data to evaluate and refine current models relating genotype to phenotype and by providing an unbiased indication of the relative frequency of mutations in OI-associated genes.
Vortex Dynamics and Turbulence

We shall define Vortex Dynamics to be the study of laminar (i.e. non turbulent) solutions of the equations $$ \frac{{\partial \omega }}{{\partial t}} + u \bullet \nabla \omega = - \omega \bullet \nabla u + \left( {v{\nabla ^2}\omega } \right) $$ (1) $$ u = cur{l^{ - 1}}\omega $$ (2) for which ω is compact. It is also implied that usually v ≪ 1.
Differentiated thyroid cancer in children and adolescents: clinical outcome and mortality after long-term follow-up.

Background Children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) have a good prognosis and prolonged survival even when extensive regional disease or lung metastases are present at the diagnosis; very-long-term follow-up is needed to appreciate what, if any, impact the disease may exert on the ultimate outcome. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical course of 112 patients with DTC who registered at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center between 1944 and 1986, were younger than 20 years old at the time of diagnosis, and were followed for at least 10 years. Surgery alone or combined with radioactive iodine or radiotherapy was used for most cases. Results At the time of most recent contact, 99 patients remained alive and 13 had died. The 99 patients had 25 ± 0.9 years of available follow-up (mean ± SEM) and were 41 ± 0.9 years of age at time of last contact; one fourth had had recurrent disease at some point since diagnosis. Among the 13 patients who died, one died of complications from coexisting diabetes mellitus, and the cause of death was not clear in one other case. Two patients died of breast cancer 13 and 15 years after thyroid cancer diagnosis. In three cases, cause of death could be considered etiologically related to initial radiotherapy: one patient developed tracheal necrosis 26 years after diagnosis and died of upper airway complications, whereas another two patients developed sarcomas of the cervical region 22 and 29 years after thyroid cancer diagnosis. Lastly, six patients died of thyroid cancer 26 ± 3.1 years after initial diagnosis (at age 40 ± 2.1 years). Among these cases, one patient had invasive disease and lung metastases at diagnosis and died of progressive lung metastases after 36 years. The other five patients were initially seen with local/regional disease and developed lung and skeletal metastases after a 2- to 20-year disease-free interval. Conclusions Our findings support the clinical impression that children and adolescents with DTC live for many years regardless of apparent extent of disease at diagnosis or development of recurrence. Indeed, overall survival was 100% at 10 years even in patients with distant metastases. However, attention to these patients' clinical course beyond the first decade indicates that a small minority (5% to 7%) of patients eventually succumb to progressive disease and that a similar number develop possibly treatment-related lethal complications or second neoplasms. We suggest lifelong surveillance for all such patients. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck20: 549–555, 1998.