cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Economic Assessment of Energy Storage in Systems With High Levels of Renewable Resources

High penetration levels of renewable resources impose increasing uncertainty and variability on power system operations. Traditionally, power systems rely on conventional generators (CGs) to balance the uncertainty in renewable generation. However, as renewable penetration levels increase, CGs may suffer from higher operating costs while receiving lower profits. In contrast, since bulk energy storage can store and shift clean energy and have fast ramping capability, they may become more competitive under high renewable penetration levels. In this paper, a stochastic unit commitment model with energy storage will be presented to evaluate the short-term profitability of CGs and energy storage under different levels of renewable penetrations. The short-term profitability of CGs and energy storage units will be compared to identify the impact of increasing renewable penetration on the attractiveness of bulk energy storage in comparison to CGs.
Selection and Breeding of Lysine-accumulating Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Stable Source of Lysine in the Rumen

The possibility of using lysine-accumulating yeast cells as a rumen-stable source of lysine for ruminants was investigated. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain AJ14599 accomulated free lysine amounting to 15% of the dry weight of the cells when cultured in a medium with the lysine precursor, L-α-aminoadipate (AAA). A mutant, LA-1, which was induced from AJ14599 and resistant to S-(β-aminoethyl)-cysteine (AEC), accumulated 4% free lysine in AAA-free medium. In both LA-1 and AJ14599 cells, more than 90% of the free lysine was in vacuoles. In an in vitro evaluation, the intracellular lysine was stably maintained and protected from microbial degradation during incubation in intact rumen juice, but it was immediately and completely released in a digestive enzyme (pepsin) solution. Lysine in LA-1 cells was also nutritionally available for weanling rats. Thus, lysine-accumulating yeast cells were effective for use as a rumen-stable source of lysine.
Synthesis of a simple analog of periplanone-B

The synthesis of a simple analog of periplanone-B with high biological activity is described mainly on the examination of the conformational property of the key intermediate 10-t-butoxy-6-methyldeca-2,6-dienone by molecular mechanics calculation and dynamic NMR spectroscopy
Force field variations along the torsional coordinates of CH3OH and CH3CHO

Abstract We examine the question of reduced Hamiltonians for the torsion–rotation problem and in particular the question of the continuity of frequencies obtained by projecting out a large-amplitude torsional coordinate. We find that suitable results for torsion–rotation analysis can be obtained using either a rectilinear or a curvilinear formalism.
Identification of an active site ligand for a group I ribozyme catalytic metal ion.

The transition state of the group I intron self-splicing reaction is stabilized by three metal ions. The functional groups within the intron substrates (guanosine and an oligoribonucleotide mimic o...
Hypoxia Induces High-Mobility-Group Protein I(Y) and Transcription of the Cyclooxygenase-2 Gene in Human Vascular Endothelium

Cyclooxygenases catalyze a rate-limiting step in the synthesis of vascular endothelial prostaglandins. Expression of the inducible cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene is increased by hypoxia in human vascular endothelial cells via the nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB p65 transcription factor, which is necessary but not sufficient to fully induce COX-2 transcription in response to hypoxia. After finding that cytoplasmic NF-kappaB p65 and IkappaBalpha (an inhibitory protein that binds NF-kappaB p65 precursors) levels are not changed by hypoxia, we hypothesized that other factors might play a role in regulating the COX-2 promoter, like the high-mobility-group (HMG) I(Y) family of proteins, which features multiple A.T hooks and is associated with NF-kappaB-mediated transactivation. Nuclear protein obtained from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was supplemented with HMG I(Y) during electrophoretic mobility shift assays using an NF-kappaB-3' element probe. These data suggested that HMG I(Y) proteins interact with NF-kappaB p65 to induce COX-2 promoter activity. We also found that TATA-box DNA demonstrated increased electrophoretic shifting indicative of DNA binding after incubation with either hypoxic HUVEC nuclear protein or normoxic nuclear protein supplemented with HMG I(Y). Transfection of HUVECs with an expression vector containing the COX-2 promoter ligated to HMG I(Y) cDNA demonstrated positive feedback on COX-2 promoter activity in hypoxia. We confirmed that COX-2 is transcriptionally regulated by hypoxia using a nuclear runoff assay. Hypoxia increased steady-state cellular levels of HMG I(Y) mRNA as an early event, corresponding with increases in HMG I(Y) protein. Overexpression of HMG I(Y) was associated in a dose-response relationship with increasing prevalence of the COX-2 protein in hypoxic HUVECs. Furthermore, sense (and antisense) HMG I(Y) overexpression caused stimulation (or inhibition) of COX-2 promoter activity as measured by luciferase reporter gene expression. The physiological significance of these findings was demonstrated by cyclooxygenase-dependent release of prostaglandin E2 by HUVECs in hypoxia. We concluded that hypoxia increases expression of HMG I(Y) proteins while facilitating transactivation of the COX-2 promoter. The HMG I(Y) family of proteins may therefore function as part of a hypoxia-induced enhanceosome that helps to promote transcription of COX-2.
Correlation of relative rates of chromyl chloride oxidation and chromic acid oxidation of acyclic alkenes versus alkene IPs and HOMOs

Plots of logarithms of relative reaction rates of chromyl chloride oxidation and of chromic acid oxidation of alkenes (log krel values) versus alkene ionization potentials (IPs) and versus their highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels (HOMOs) demonstrate excellent correlations. Each plot has a similar appearance and shows a single line with a positive slope. The results indicate that the rate-determining step of each title reaction involves an electrophilic attack on the alkene π-bond without significant steric effects; this supports a proposed 2 + 3 cycloaddition mechanism and disfavors a proposed stepwise 2 + 2 cycloaddition mechanism. Comparison is made with other d0 transition metal complexes that oxidize alkenes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cytoplasmic poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase during the HeLa cell cycle.

Abstract Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, an enzyme that has reportedly been confined to the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, has been found in the cytoplasm of HeLa cells. The enzyme activity is stimulated more than 30-fold by the addition of both DNA and histones. These two macromolecules are absolutely necessary for maximal activity and they act in a synergistic manner. The product of the reaction was characterized as poly(ADP-ribose) by its acid insolubility, its insensitivity to hydrolysis by DNase, RNase, spleen phosphodiesterase or Pronase and by release of 5′-AMP and 2′-(5″-phosphoribosyl)-5′-AMP by incubation with snake venom phosphodiesterase. A covalent attachment between histone F1 and poly(ADP-ribose) has been established by using the cytoplasmic enzyme. The enzyme is primarily associated with ribosomes, both free ribosomes and those found in polysomes. Inhibition of protein synthesis in the intact cell reduced the level of activity in the cytoplasm. The enzyme can be removed from the ribosomes by centrifugation through sucrose gradients containing 0.6 m ammonium chloride. A relationship between this enzyme and DNA replication is suggested by the fact that the specific activity in the cytoplasm parallels the rate of DNA synthesis during the HeLa cell cycle.
Perceived Neighborhood Environment Affecting Physical and Mental Health: A Study with Korean American Older Adults in New York City

This study examined how subjective perceptions of the neighborhood environment (e.g., perceived ethnic density, safety, social cohesion, and satisfaction) influenced the physical and mental health of Korean American older adults. Using data from 420 residents of the New York City metropolitan area (Mage = 71.6, SD = 7.59), health perceptions and depressive symptoms were estimated with hierarchical regression models entered in the order of (1) demographics and acculturation, (2) health-related variables, and (3) perceived neighborhood environment. After controlling for the effects of the individual-level variables, perceived neighborhood environment was found to make a significant contribution to both outcomes. Individuals less satisfied with their overall neighborhood environment were more likely to have negative perceptions of health and depressive symptoms. A strong linkage between perceived neighborhood safety and depressive symptoms was also observed. Findings from the study highlight the importance of subjective evaluations of neighborhood environment and provide implications for health promotion.
Kinetic isotope effects in the reactions of bromine atoms with CH4 and CD4

The competitive reactions of Br atoms with CH4 and CD4 were studied over the temperature range of 562° to 637°K. Over this temperature interval, the kinetic isotope effect, kH/kD, varied from 3.05 to 2.47 for the reactions The rate constant ratio kH/kD, expressed in Arrhenius form, was found to equal (1.10 ± 0.05) exp (1030 ± 60/RT). A comparison is presented between the experimental result and the result obtained theoretically from absolute rate theory using the London-Eyring-Polanyi-Sato (LEPS) method of constructing the potential energy surface of the reaction. The agreement between theory and experiment is very poor, and this is believed to arise from the highly unsymmetrical nature of the potential energy surface involved in these reactions. A comparison is also presented between the kH/kD values obtained in the Br + CH4–CD4 experiments and the available data on the corresponding Cl + CH4–CD4 reactions.
THE AGING POPULATION: Implications for the Burden of Neurologic Disease

The aging population has had a significant impact upon the societal burden of several neurologic disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, primary malignant brain tumor, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The increased burden is the result of more than just the dramatically increasing number of elderly individuals. This profound demographic change in the age structure of populations in developed nations is primarily the result of increasing survival. This differential survival over time, and its corresponding less selective culling effect on the surviving population gene pool, is an additional explanation for the observed increasing frequency of several neurologic diseases associated with senescence.
The anesthetic management of children with pulmonary hypertension in the cardiac catheterization laboratory

Children need cardiac catheterization to establish the diagnosis and monitor the response to treatment when undergoing drug therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Children with PAH receiving general anesthesia for cardiac catheterization procedures are at significantly increased risk of perioperative complications in comparison with other children. The most acute life-threatening complication is a pulmonary hypertensive crisis. It is essential that the anesthesiologist caring for these children understands the pathophysiology of the disease, how anesthetic medications may affect the patient's hemodynamics, and how to manage an acute pulmonary hypertensive crisis.
A 30-Year Follow-Up Study of Actual Applied Music Practice versus Estimated Practice

This study was designed to determine if adults are able to remember how much time they actually spent practicing during a past time period of their lives where detailed daily records were kept of actual number of minutes practiced. It also addressed how past practice time relates to their highest level of musical performance across the 30 years on a scale of top-level expert to competent. Responses were divided into six classifications: (1) professional, (2) semiprofessional, (3) free-lance musician/college instructor, (4) music teacher, (5) community musician, and (6) jury/senior recital. Results indicated that after a 30-year period, students are not accurate in assessing past amounts of applied music practice when comparing records of actual practice time to later perceptions of this practice time. Also, there is not a strong relationship between practice time and their highest level of performance, although most participants indicate that they believe that there is.
Tropical and Stratospheric Influences on Extratropical Short-Term Climate Variability

Abstract The relative impacts of tropical diabatic heating and stratospheric circulation anomalies on wintertime extratropical tropospheric variability are investigated in a linear inverse model (LIM) derived from the observed zero lag and 5-day lag covariances of 7-day running mean departures from the annual cycle. The model predicts the covariances at all other lags. The predicted and observed lag covariances are generally found to be in excellent agreement, even at the much longer lag of 21 days. This validates the LIM’s basic premise that the dynamics of weekly averages are effectively linear and stochastically driven, which justifies further linear diagnosis of the system. Analysis of interactions among the LIM’s variables shows that tropical diabatic heating greatly enhances persistent variability over most of the Northern Hemisphere, especially over the Pacific Ocean and North America. Stratospheric effects are largely confined to the polar region, where they ensure that the dominant pattern of sea...
Simulation of robotic radical hysterectomy using the porcine model

This paper describes simulation of robotically-assisted radical hysterectomy using the porcine model. A technique for robotically-assisted radical hysterectomy was developed using 3 domestic pigs. An edited videoclip of the model was assessed by 3 gynecologic oncologists. The steps of the operation are described in detail and shown in a videoclip. Overall the procedure simulated that done in the human, both anatomically and surgically. Surgical plane development and ureterolysis appears to be easier in the pig, the uterine artery is not anatomically related to the ureter, and there is not a well defined ureteric tunnel. Reported here is a technique for robotically-assisted radical hysterectomy in the domestic pig that may be useful for training purposes.
A Ca2+-independent Activation of a Type IV Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 Underlies the Receptor Stimulation of Arachidonic Acid-dependent Noncapacitative Calcium Entry

Abstract The oscillatory [Ca2+]i signals typically seen following physiologically relevant stimulation of phospholipase C-linked receptors are associated with a receptor-activated entry of Ca2+, which plays a critical role in driving the oscillations and influencing their frequency. We have recently shown that this receptor-activated entry of Ca2+ does not conform to the widely accepted “capacitative” model and, instead, reflects the activity of a distinct, novel Ca2+ entry pathway regulated by arachidonic acid (Shuttleworth, T. J., and Thompson, J. L. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 32636–32643). We now show that the generation of arachidonic acid under these conditions results from the activity of a type IV cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). Although cPLA2 activation commonly involves a Ca2+-dependent translocation to the membrane, at these low agonist concentrations cPLA2 activation was independent of increases in [Ca2+]i, and no detectable translocation to the membrane occurs. Nevertheless, stimulation of cPLA2 activity was confined to the membrane fraction, where an increase in phosphorylation of the enzyme was observed. We suggest that, at the low agonist concentrations associated with oscillatory [Ca2+]i signals, cPLA2 activation involves an increased phosphorylation of a discrete pool of the total cellular cPLA2 that is already localized within the membrane fraction at resting [Ca2+]i.
Not drinking the poison you name: reflections on teaching ethics to evaluators in for-profit settings

Abstract Recent corporate scandals represent a type of ethical challenge frequently encountered by evaluators within and outside of for-profit settings: the pressure to misrepresent findings. Effectively addressing this and related issues in the teaching of evaluation involves, in part, linking the ethical challenges faced by for-profit evaluators to the Guiding Principles to Evaluators. In addition, instructors need to develop strategies for strengthening the relationship between ethical knowledge and ethical practice, as well as help students learn skills that are useful for preventing ethical problems from occurring. Successfully accomplishing these educational tasks will depend on programs' willingness to make ethical concerns a pervasive presence in their curricula.
An expert system for power plant NDE

Expert systems are computer software that embody the knowledge of expert(s) in such a form that the system can offer intelligent advice to solve the problem. Knowledge and expertise are principal assets, which, along with capital assets comprised of plant and equipment, make up a modern electric utility. Thus, the capability of expert systems technology to capture the intellectual resources may be beneficial for the industry [1].
Leakage potential of LWR containment penetrations under severe accident conditions

This paper is an overview of a Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque (SNLA) study of the performance of mechanical penetrations in light-water reactor (LWR) containment buildings that are subjected to severe accident environments. The study is concerned with modes of failure as well as the magnitude of leakage. The following tests have been completed, are under way, or are planned: (a) seals and gaskets have been tested to register the effects of radiation aging, thermal aging, seal geometry, and squeeze on seal and gasket materials in severe accident environments; (b) the performance of a full-scale airlock will be evaluated at severe accident temperature and pressure levels; (c) personnel airlock and equipment hatch tests were made on a 18-scale model of a steel containment building; and (d) tests of mechanical penetrations are planned as part of a test on a 16-scale model of a reinforced concrete building. This program is part of an overall US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) effort to evaluate the integrity of LWR containment buildings.
Hair-Cell Mechanotransduction and Cochlear Amplification

In the inner ear, sensory hair cells not only detect but also amplify the softest sounds, allowing us to hear over an extraordinarily wide intensity range. This amplification is frequency specific, giving rise to exquisite frequency discrimination. Hair cells detect sounds with their mechanotransduction apparatus, which is only now being dissected molecularly. Signal detection is not the only role of this molecular network; amplification of low-amplitude signals by hair bundles seems to be universal in hair cells. "Fast adaptation," the rapid closure of transduction channels following a mechanical stimulus, appears to be intimately involved in bundle-based amplification.
Evaluation of volatile organic emissions from hazardous waste incinerators.

Conventional methods of risk assessment typically employed to evaluate the impact of hazardous waste incinerators on public health must rely on somewhat speculative emissions estimates or on compli...
Providing systemic change for schools: towards professional development through moral conversation

This paper briefly reviews the criticisms of current reform efforts; definitions of educational culture, moral purpose, and change processes; and forms of conversation. Such a discourse naturally concludes by developing the premise that disciplined conversation, especially of a moral nature, is the critical variable in successful change. Recommendations are given for professional development within a systemic context that will provide organizational and procedural continuity, and facilitate stakeholder development. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Experimental Study of Natural Convection in a Rectangular Enclosure Using PIV Measurement Techniques

An experimental study is conducted to determine the circulation patterns inside a rectangular enclosure due to natural convection using a Particle Image Velocimeter (PIV). Experiments were conducted using two different fluids (air and water) and for rectangular enclosures with aspect ratios 0.5 and 1.0. Natural convection in enclosures has been experimentally studied in the past. Many of these studies cited in the literature use some kind of an optical method like interferograms, shadowgraphs, streak photographs, or multi-exposure photographs to visualize the flow patterns in the enclosure. The present study employs a commercial two-dimensional PIV to capture, instantaneously, the circulation patterns inside the test section. The test cavity in the present setup is of rectangular shape, which is 5 inches (127 mm) wide, where the height of the enclosure can be changed to obtain aspect ratios of 0.5 and 1.0. The depth of the rectangular enclosure measures 12 inches (305 mm) to minimize the effect of walls normal to the two dimensional flow patterns that are expected in this type of arrangement. The walls of the cavity are made of Aluminum plates. These plates are kept at constant but different temperatures during the experiments. In the present study, hollow glass sphere particles with 10 microns in diameter were used as seeding for water experiments and fine particles/flakes of ash generated from burned incense were used as seeding in the air experiments. For each working fluid, the experiments were repeated for different aspect ratios and for different wall temperature differences which corresponded to Rayleigh numbers in the range of 106 and 107 . Velocity fields were captured at steady state for each experiment using the two-dimensional PIV system. Numerical studies were also carried out using a commercial CFD software. Comparisons of the numerical and experimental results indicate a good match in terms of circulation patterns and velocity magnitudes in the core of the buoyancy driven flow. Discrepancies in measured and predicted values of velocities are more pronounced near to the boundaries of the enclosure. Separate measurements with finer interrogation areas and different PIV setting were required to improve the accuracy of the measurements near the corners (top and bottom) of the enclosure. The results of these measurements are also presented.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Making It Happen: Possibilities and Pitfalls of Cunningham's Educational Semiotic

In fundamental agreement with Cunningham's overall thesis, we attempt in this paper to articulate what an educational semiotic might look like on a practical level. For educational psychologists, it should mean an increased awareness of the limited, localized world views offered by current models of cognition and an increased attentiveness to alternate models. For teachers, an educational semiotic offers integration of cognition and affect and instructional strategies that depend upon and facilitate many ways of knowing. For an educational semiotic to be realized, however, there must be much greater attention paid to the roles of motivation and metacognition in semiotic pedagogy.
Improving services and transparency in emerging governments through business process automation

In this paper, we present a rapid implementation approach for process automation that is appropriate for an emerging government with limited resources and human capacity.
Effect of centrally active drugs on the action of coumarin anticoagulants.

PREVIOUS investigations have shown that pretreatment with barbiturates reduces the prothrombin response to coumarin anticoagulants, presumably by stimulating the metabolic breakdown of the coumarin drugs1. Hrdina, who was interested in the effect of centrally active drugs on the response to anticoagulants, confirmed this effect of barbiturates2. On the other hand, compounds of the morphine type were found to enhance the response to coumarins (Hrdina, personal communication), and to inhibit enzymes which metabolize drugs in the liver3. The present experiments were designed to determine whether tranquillizers or antidepressants exert an effect on the coumarin response which might correlate with the nature of their central effects.
Analysis of variability of in vitro lymphocyte responses as measured by laser cytometry and thymidine incorporation

Abstract The in vitro responses of human peripheral blood lymphocytes to antigenic stimuli were sequentially monitored over a period of 4 to 5 months. On a day-to-day, experiment-to-experiment basis the measurement of the immune responses by laser cytometric analysis was inherently less variable than the measurement of the same responses by the traditional techniques of thymidine incorporation.
Immunosuppression by aldicarb of T cell responses to antigen-specific and polyclonal stimuli results from defective IL-1 production by the macrophages.

Abstract In the present study we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of aldicarb, a carbamate pesticide, on T cells activated by a number of different ways. When C3H mice were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of Aldicarb, 0.005–50 μg/kg body wt, and their spleen cells were stimulated with T cell mitogens such as concanavalin A (ConA) 3 or anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies (mAb), a decreased responsiveness was detected when compared to the control mice. Aldicarb administered at concentrations less than 0.005 μg/kg body wt failed to cause significant immunosuppression. Interestingly, when purified T cells from immunosuppressive doses of aldicarb-treated mice were stimulated with ConA in the presence of irradiated control macrophages, the defective T cell response was no longer demonstrable. Also, purified control T cells stimulated with ConA in the presence of irradiated macrophages from aldicarb-treated mice showed decreased responsiveness. Similar observation were made using anti-CD3 mAb to activate the T cells, inasmuch as whole spleen cells from aldicarb-treated mice showed decreased responsiveness to anti-CD3 stimulation, whereas purified T cells in the presence of irradiated control macrophages showed normal reactivity. The fact that aldicarb did not directly affect the T cell functions was further confirmed by stimulating purified T cells from aldicarb-treated mice with phorbol myristate acetate and calcium ionophore, a response which is independent of the accessory cells and which was found to be normal in aldicarb-treated mice. It was observed that the macrophages from aldicarb-treated mice demonstrated a decreased capacity to stimulate conalbumin-specific T helper cell clone, D10.G4, and when activated produced decreased amounts of IL-1 when compared to control macrophages. Also, the decreased stimulation of D10.G4 clone by aldicarb-treated macrophages was reconstituted when exogenous recombinant IL-1 was added to the cultures. These data together suggested that aldicarb affects the macrophage functions by interfering with IL-1 production and that it does not affect the T cell functions directly.
Aggregation of utility and social choice: a topological characterization

Abstract We study the topological properties of aggregation maps combining individuals’ preferences over n alternatives, with preference expressed by a real-valued, n -dimensional utility vector u defined on an interval scale. Since any such utility vector is specified only up to arbitrary affine transformations, the space of utility vectors R n may be partitioned into equivalence classes of the form {a u +b 1 | a∈ R 0 + , b∈ R } . The quotient space, denoted T , is shown to be the union of the ( n −2)-dimensional sphere denoted S with the singleton {0}, which corresponds to indifference or null preference. The topology of T is non-Hausdorff, placing it outside the scope of most existing theory (e.g., J. Econom. Theory 31 (1983) 68–87.). We then investigate the existence and nature of continuous aggregation maps under the four scenarios of allowing or disallowing null preference both in individual and in social choice, i.e. maps f : P×⋯×P→Q with P , Q ∈{ T , S }. We show that there exist continuous, anonymous, unanimous aggregation maps iff the outcome space includes the null point (i.e., Q = T ), and provide a simple well-behaved example for the case f : S×⋯×S→T . Similar examples exist for f : T×⋯×T→T , but these and all other maps have a property of always either over- or under-allocating influence to each voter (in a specific manner). We conclude that there exist acceptable aggregation rules if and only if null preference is allowed for the society but not for the individual.
Electrocortical Differentiation of Evaluative and Nonevaluative Categorizations

The evaluative categorizations that underlie affective and attitudinal judgments have often been equated with non-evaluative categorizations despite the central importance of evaluative processes for survival In the present experiment, a late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related brain potential elicited when participants evaluatively categorized food items as positive or nonpositive was compared with the LPP elicited when participants semantically (i e, nonevaluatively) categorized food items as vegetable or nonvegetable Results revealed that evaluative categorizations evoked an LPP that was relatively larger over the right than the left scalp regions compared with the LPP evoked by nonevaluative categorizations This finding provides evidence regarding the differences in neural and cognitive processes involved in evaluative and nonevaluative categorizations
Transport quantum logic gates for trapped ions

Many efforts are currently underway to build a device capable of large scale quantum information processing (QIP). Whereas QIP has been demonstrated for a few qubits in several systems, many technical difficulties must be overcome in order to construct a large-scale device. In one proposal for large-scale QIP, trapped ions are manipulated by precisely controlled light pulses and moved through and stored in multizone trap arrays. The technical overhead necessary to precisely control both the ion geometrical configurations and the laser interactions is demanding. Here we propose methods that significantly reduce the overhead on laser-beam control for performing single- and multiple-qubit operations on trapped ions. We show how a universal set of operations can be implemented by controlled transport of ions through stationary laser beams. At the same time, each laser beam can be used to perform many operations in parallel, potentially reducing the total laser power necessary to carry out QIP tasks. The overall setup necessary for implementing transport gates is simpler than for gates executed on stationary ions. We also suggest a transport-based two-qubit gate scheme utilizing microfabricated permanent magnets that can be executed without laser light.
Novel methods for detecting epistasis in pharmacogenomics studies

The importance of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in the underlying genetic architecture of common, complex phenotypes is gaining wide recognition in the field of pharmacogenomics. In epidemiological approaches to mapping genetic variants that predict drug response, it is important that researchers investigate potential epistatic interactions. In the current review, we discuss data-mining tools available in genetic epidemiology to detect such interactions and appropriate applications. We survey several classes of novel methods available and present an organized collection of successful applications in the literature. Finally, we provide guidance as to how to incorporate these novel methods into a genetic analysis. The overall goal of this paper is to aid researchers in developing an analysis plan that accounts for gene-gene and gene-environment in their own work.
Distribution of alcohol dehydrogenase in roots and shoots of rice (Oryza sativa) and Echinochloa seedlings

Abstract Aerobically germinated seedlings of rice and Echinochloa were found to survive when placed in an anaerobic environment for 4 d, whereas pea and maize seedlings did not. Although root and shoot growth were inhibited in rice and Echinochloa under anaerobiosis, growth resumed when the seedlings were returned to aerobic conditions. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity increased more, and protein synthesis was greater, in the shoots than in the roots under anaerobic conditions. These results suggest that, in anaerobiosis-tolerant species, ADH activity and protein synthesis in the shoots represents or results from metabolic adaptations to low oxygen. These results are discussed in terms of plant establishment and growth in a low-oxygen environment.
Völkerpsychologie: The Synthesis that Never was

One of the aims of Culture & Psychology has always been to synthesize past ideas in order to enhance the tools we use to look at the phenomena we want to understand. In order to do so, we also need to understand the approaches our intellectual forefathers applied. The present article brings to light a ‘forgotten’ approach to studying people bound by common language, myth and customs. Volkerpsychologie is the historical predecessor to cultural psychology; however, readers not familiar with the history of psychology may not know what this ‘forgotten’ discipline attempted to achieve. The article focuses on Volkerpsychologie as its founders, Lazarus and Steinthal, conceived of it (including the often overlooked continuation of their journal after 1890), as well as Wilhelm Wundt’s considerable contributions to the discipline. Possible new directions for this approach are suggested in order to make it more suitable for 21st-century cultural psychology.
Diagnostic Marker Cooperative Study for the Diagnosis of Myocardial Infarction

Background—Millions of patients present annually with chest pain, but only 10% to 15% have myocardial infarction. Lack of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of clinical and conventional markers prevents or delays treatment and leads to unnecessary costly admissions. Comparative data are lacking on the new markers, yet using all of them is inappropriate and expensive. Methods and Results—The Diagnostic Marker Cooperative Study was a prospective, multicenter, double-blind study with consecutive enrollment of patients with chest pain presenting to the emergency department. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity and frequency of increase in patients with unstable angina were determined for creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) subforms, myoglobin, total CK-MB (activity and mass), and troponin T and I on the basis of frequent serial sampling for ≤24 hours. Of 955 patients with chest pain, 119 (12.5%) had infarction identified by use of CK-MB mass, and 203 (21%) had unstable angina. CK-MB subforms were most sensitive ...
An automated high-throughput counting method for screening circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood

Enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has proved valuable for early detection and prognosis in cancer treatment. This paper describes an automated high-throughput counting method for CTCs based on microfluidics and line-confocal microscopy. Peripheral blood was directly labeled with multiple antibodies, each conjugated with a different fluorophore, pneumatically pumped through a microfluidic channel, and interrogated by a line-confocal microscope. On the basis of the fluorescence signals and labeling schemes, the count of CTCs was automatically reported. Due to the high flow rate, 1 mL of whole blood can be analyzed in less than 30 min. We applied this method in analyzing CTCs from 90 stage IV breast cancer patient samples and performed a side-by-side comparison with the results of the CellSearch assay, which is the only method approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at present for enumeration of CTCs. This method has a recovery rate for cultured breast cancer cells of 94% (n = 9), with an average of 1.2 counts/mL of background level of detected CTCs from healthy donors. It detected CTCs from breast cancer patients ranging from 15 to 3375 counts/7.5 mL. Using this method, we also demonstrate the ability to enumerate CTCs from breast cancer patients that were positive for Her2 or CD44(+)/CD24(-), which is a putative cancer stem cell marker. This automated method can enumerate CTCs from peripheral blood with high throughput and sensitivity. It could potentially benefit the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of cancer.
Sexual Abuse and Perimenstrual Symptoms in Adolescent Girls

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between sexual abuse and perimenstrual symptoms in adolescent girls. Perimenstrual symptoms include somatic and affective complaints that occur immediately prior to and during menstruation. Patients from an outpatient adolescent health service completed questionnaires and structured interviews that elicited sexual abuse histories and perimenstrual symptomatology. Of the 68 girls enrolled in the study, 22 had a history of a forced sexual experience. No significant differences in retrospective or prospective reports of perimenstrual symptoms were found between the adolescent girls with and without a history of sexual abuse. Girls with a history of abuse had significantly more premenstrual symptoms than a control group of women reported in a normative study. They also had significantly more menstrual physical complaints than women with premenstrual syndrome or control group women.
Magnetomotive optical coherence tomography for the assessment of atherosclerotic lesions using αvβ3 integrin-targeted microspheres

Purpose We investigated the early-stage fatty streaks/plaques detection using magnetomotive optical coherence tomography (MM-OCT) in conjunction with αvβ3 integrin-targeted magnetic microspheres (MSs). The targeting of functionalized MSs was investigated by perfusing ex vivo aortas from an atherosclerotic rabbit model in a custom-designed flow chamber at physiologically relevant pulsatile flow rates and pressures.
Getting to synaptic complexes through systems biology

Large numbers of synaptic components have been identified, but the effect so far on our understanding of synaptic function is limited. Now, network maps and annotated functions of individual components have been used in a systems biology approach to analyzing the function of NMDA receptor complexes at synapses, identifying biologically relevant modular networks within the complex.
Voltage-gated sodium channel function and expression in injured and uninjured rat dorsal root ganglia neurons

The nine members of the voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav) family mediate inward sodium currents that depolarize neurons and lead to action potential firing. Increased Nav expression and function in sensory ganglia may drive ectopic action potentials and result in neuropathic pain. Using patch-clamp electrophysiology and molecular biology techniques, experiments were performed to elucidate the contribution of Nav channels to sodium currents in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons following the L5/L6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model of neuropathic pain. The abundance of DRG neurons with fast, tetrodotoxin sensitive (TTX-S) currents was seven-fold higher whereas the abundance of DRG neurons with slow, tetrodotoxin resistant (TTX-R) currents was nearly thirty-fold lower when comparing ipsilateral (injured) to contralateral (uninjured) neurons. TTX-S currents were elevated in larger neurons while TTX-R currents were reduced in both small and large neurons. Among Nav transcripts encoding TTX-R channels, Scn10a (Nav1.8) and Scn11a (Nav1.9) expression was twenty- to thirty-fold lower, while among Nav transcripts encoding TTX-S channels, Scn3a (Nav1.3) expression was four-fold higher in injured compared to uninjured DRG by qRT-PCR analysis. In summary, the SNL model of neuropathic pain induced a phenotypic switch in Nav expression from TTX-R to TTX-S channels in injured DRG neurons. Transcriptional reprogramming of Nav genes may drive ectopic action potential firing and contribute to neuropathic pain.
Dependence of plasma-induced oxide charging current on Al antenna geometry

The dependence of the plasma-induced oxide charging current on Al electrode geometry has been studied. The stress current is collected only through the electrode surfaces not covered by the photoresist during plasma processes and therefore is proportional to the edge length of the electrode during etching and proportional to the electrode area during photoresist ashing. Knowing the measured oxide charging currents, one should be able to predict the impact of these processes on oxide integrity and interface stability for a given antenna geometry more accurately. >
Electromechanical effects on nanotube formation from lipid membranes

The formation of nanotubes from lipid membranes permits characterization of the resistance of the membrane to curvature changes, a fundamental material property. Current theoretical models of nanotube formation do not consider potential effects that could arise from an applied electric field. A finding, discovered using atomic force microscopy, that voltage induces membrane movement (Zhang et al., 2001) necessitates inclusion of an electromechanical energy in the thermodynamic description of nanotube formation. This energy is expressed as the product of the electric field, the curvature of the membrane and an electromechanical coupling coefficient. Inclusion of this term in the full thermodynamic potential results in constitutive equations applicable to tether experiments on lipid vesicles. These equations predict electric fields can have a significant and measurable effect on the behavior of nanotubes. The analysis motivates new experiments to measure the magnitude of the flexoelectric coefficient in giant liposomes.
Glucocorticoids and immune responses

We describe a series of investigations on mechanisms of antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive actions of glucocorticoids. Glucocorticoid receptors and primary mechanisms of action have been studied with isolated rat thymus cells. When added to these cells glucocorticoids immediately form cytoplasmic hormone-receptor complexes which after activation bind to the nuclei where they apparently induce mRNA for specific proteins that rapidly inhibit glucose transport and acetate incorporation into lipids. Protein and RNA metabolism are inhibited more slowly and eventually the cells die. With normal peripheral human lymphocytes, similar but slower effects are produced. A dramatic increase in receptor sites per cell is seen in lymphocytes stimulated with concanavalin A or antigen. This increase is probably associated with preparation for mitosis. We do not find, contrary to widespread belief, that these stimulated cells are insensitive to glucocorticoids. Such insensitivity has been invoked to explain the insensitivity to glucocorticoid suppression of secondary compared to primary immune responses. An alternative explanation emerges from our experiments with T-cell growth factor. T-cell growth factor, produced by mitogen or antigen stimulated spleen cells, is necessary for the proliferation of T-lymphocytes in culture and may be responsible for clonal expansion of antigen-responsive T-cells. Treatment of Con A-stimulated rat spleen cells or human peripheral mononuclear cells with 100 nM dexamethasone inhibits the production of the growth factor by 95%. This effect is specific for glucocorticoids. Addition of T-cell growth factor completely reverses the inhibition by glucocorticoid of mitogen-induced blastogenesis. We propose that the inhibitory actions of glucocorticoids on antigen- or mitogen-induced T-cell blastogenesis are related to inhibition of production of T-cell growth factor and that the reason the primary immune response is more sensitive to glucocorticoids is that by inhibiting production of T-cell growth factor, glucocorticoids block the clonal expansion necessary to amplify the primary response. We have also studied effects of glucocorticoids on Fc receptors, which play important roles in phagocytosis and other aspects of immune responses. Treatment of the human progranulocytic cell line HL-60 with dexamethasone for 72 hours reduces by 35-50% the Fc receptors per cell with no effect on cell viability or proliferation and slight increase in leucine incorporation. The effect is specific for glucocorticoids. These findings indicate that an important component in glucocorticoid-induced immunosuppression may be a reduction in Fc receptors, and with the results on T-cell growth factor, suggest that glucocorticoids regulate immune processes via effects on lymphokines and other immunologically important proteins.
The development of a supply chain management process maturity model using the concepts of business process orientation

The concept of process maturity proposes that a process has a lifecycle that is assessed by the extent to which the process is explicitly defined, managed, measured and controlled. A maturity model assumes that progress towards goal achievement comes in stages. The supply chain maturity model presented in this paper is based on concepts developed by researchers over the past two decades. The Software Engineering Institute has also applied the concept of process maturity to the software development process in the form of the capability maturity model. This paper examines the relationship between supply chain management process maturity and performance, and provides a supply chain management process maturity model for enhanced supply chain performance.
Isopotential Body Surface Maps and Their Relationship to Atrial Potentials in the Dog

The origin of body surface P waves was evaluated in the intact dog by recording body surface isopotential maps and atrial epicardial potential maps. P waves were recorded from 150 points on the body surface, and 80 atrial unipolar electrograms were recorded by means of permanently implanted atrial electrodes during normal sinus rhythm and during atrial pacing. When the atrial pacing sites were changed, the associated shape changes in body surface P waves were highly dependent on the position of the recording sites. Throughout most of the P wave, multiple maxima were present on the body surface, and these were caused by widely separated right and left atrial excitation waves; however, the presence of several simultaneous atrial excitation waves could not be appreciated from the body surface maps when the atrial excitation waves were close to one another. In the last third of atrial excitation there were two maxima on the body surface, one due to atrial excitation waves and the other due to early atrial rep...
Absorption distribution of an optical beam focused into a turbid medium

The focusing of light into a turbid medium was studied with Monte Carlo simulations. Focusing was found to have a significant effect on the absorption distribution in turbid media when the depth of the focal point (the distance between the focal point and the surface of the turbid media) was less than or comparable with the transport mean free path. Focusing could significantly increase the peak absorption and narrow the absorption distribution. As the depth of the focal point increased, the peak absorption decreased, and the depth of peak absorption increased initially but quickly reached a plateau that was less than the transport mean free path. A refractive-index-mismatched boundary between the ambient medium and the turbid medium deteriorated the focusing effect, increased the absorption near the boundary, lowered the peak absorption, and broadened the absorption distribution.