cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tat-responsive region RNA of human immunodeficiency virus 1 can prevent activation of the double-stranded-RNA-activated protein kinase

Transcription from the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 promoter gives rise to short cytoplasmic transcripts of approximately 60 nucleotides as well as to longer mRNAs. These RNAs contain the Tat-responsive region sequence, which is capable of assuming a stem-loop structure and has been implicated in the regulation of both transcription and translation. It has been reported that Tat-responsive region RNA inhibits translation in vitro through activation of an interferon-induced protein kinase, the double-stranded-RNA-activated inhibitor, which phosphorylates eukaryotic initiation factor 2. We show that the activation property is due to double-stranded RNA that often contaminates RNA synthesized in vitro using bacteriophage RNA polymerases. After purification, high concentrations of Tat-responsive region RNA inhibit the activation of double-stranded RNA-activated inhibitor, suggesting that it may serve to protect human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection from a cellular defense mechanism.
Peptide studies using a fast atom bombardment high field mass spectrometer and data system. 2—characteristics of positive ionization spectra of peptides, m/z 858 to m/z 5729

Sixteen peptides ranging in molecular weights from 858 to 5729 were examined under positive ionization fast atom bombardment conditions employing a high field magnet mass spectrometer and data system. The contributions of the polyisotopic elements to the molecular protonated ion envelope become important in the interpretation of the data at higher mass. For masses less than 2000 u, the most abundant ion within this envelope is the monoisotopic molecular protonated ion. Above 2000 u, the most abundant ion in the envelope is a polyisotopic molecular protonated ion. Characterization of the peptide requires identification of both the molecular protonated ion envelope and significant fragment ions. Partial spectra displaying both the molecular ion and significant fragment ions are presented for mastoparan (mol. wt = 1478), somatostatin (mol. wt = 1637), bovine parathyroid hormone (1–34) (mol. wt = 4106), and bovine insulin (mol. wt = 5729). A partial spectrum for bovine ribonuclease A (mol. wt = 13673) displayed significant fragment ions that identified the protein. The types of fragment ions included those that indicated the amino acid sequence and the location of disulfide bonds. The abundance of these ions appears to be influenced by the characteristics of the noble gas fast atom beam and the sample matrix.
Effect of forskolin on synthesis of xyloside-initiated glycosaminoglycans in embryonic chick chondrocytes

The synthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains has been studied in the presence of various concentrations of the artificial acceptor 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-xyloside and of forskolin. Sulfated GAG chains formed in the presence of forskolin had a smaller hydrodynamic radius than controls, as revealed by chromatography on Sepharose CL-6B. Sulfated GAGs from both control and treated cultures behaved identically when chromatographed on DEAE.
The limits of uncertainty: A note

Discussions of decision making by individuals and organizations invariably touch on the issue of uncertainty. Decision theory axiomatizations are based on the assumption that uncertainty cannot be unlimited, but that there must exist a minimal interval of value stability. This note makes explicit that assumption for individual choice. For group and organizational decision making, a proof is presented which deduces a limit to uncertainty from the existence of deliberate social action.
Visualization of Intracellular Movement of Vaccinia Virus Virions Containing a Green Fluorescent Protein-B5R Membrane Protein Chimera

We produced an infectious vaccinia virus that expressed the B5R envelope glycoprotein fused to the enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP), allowing us to visualize intracellular virus movement in real time. Previous transfection studies indicated that fusion of GFP to the C-terminal cytoplasmic domain of B5R did not interfere with Golgi localization of the viral protein. To determine whether B5R-GFP was fully functional, we started with a B5R deletion mutant that made small plaques and inserted the B5R-GFP gene into the original B5R locus. The recombinant virus made normal-sized plaques and acquired the ability to form actin tails, indicating reversal of the mutant phenotype. Moreover, immunogold electron microscopy revealed that both intracellular enveloped virions (IEV) and extracellular enveloped virions contained B5R-GFP. By confocal microscopy of live infected cells, we visualized individual fluorescent particles, corresponding to IEV in size and shape, moving from a juxtanuclear location to the periphery of the cell, where they usually collected prior to association with actin tails. The fluorescent particles could be seen emanating from cells at the tips of microvilli. Using a digital camera attached to an inverted fluorescence microscope, we acquired images at 1 frame/s. At this resolution, IEV movement appeared saltatory; in some frames there was no net movement, whereas in others movement exceeded 2 μm/s. Further studies indicated that IEV movement was reversibly arrested by the microtubule-depolymerizing drug nocodazole. This result, together with the direction, speed, and saltatory motion of IEV, was consistent with a role for microtubules in intracellular transport of IEV.
The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Program and the Department of Defense Dilemma

The U.S. space launch program no longer dominates the world and is now playing 'catch-up' with the world's first commercial launch company, Arianespace. A healthy U.S. commercial launch program is essential and will assure continued low-cost military access to space. The effort to regain the lead in commercial space launch market has been hindered by declining Department of Defense budgets. President Clinton's space policy prohibits expensive new launch vehicles and limits the Department of Defense to low cost upgrades of existing launch vehicles. The U.S. government created the space sector and must ensure a smooth and effective split from the emerging commercial space program in order to regain world dominance. Until U.S. government and commercial ties are severed, the Department of Defense must consider commercial space launch interests when making military decisions. Ariane provides an excellent 'bench mark' for the U.S. to base future launch vehicle upgrades. Ariane advantages were identified and low-cost recommendations have been made. If the U.S. sets the target of first equaling and then surpassing Ariane by incorporating these recommendations, then the U.S. could once again dominate the world commercial launch market and ensure low cost military access to space.
Endocytotic mechanisms in synapses.

Abstract Nerve terminals are highly enriched in proteins needed for endocytosis. Although constitutive and ligand-stimulated endocytosis take place in nerve terminals, the primary type is compensatory endocytosis — the process by which a cell retrieves the additional membrane added to cell surface by a regulated secretory event. This process has been extensively characterized using electrophysiological techniques. Except for an unusual form of coupled exo- and endocytosis called kiss-and-run release, compensatory endocytosis appears to use basically the same clathrin-mediated mechanisms as the constitutive and ligand stimulated type. The remarkable speed and selectivity of compensatory endocytosis may be achieved by concentrating the machinery at specialized sites in the nerve terminal adjacent to exocytosis sites and by the use of neuronal isoforms of the proteins that mediate endocytosis.
Application of Electrical Analog in Composite Plates

A simple experimental method is proposed for determining stress intensity factors for composite plates in antiplane loading. The method relies on the fact that, in antiplane loading, a single harmonic potential function describes the state of stress und strain in an isotropic body in much the same way as a single potential function describes local flux densities in an electric conductor.
A monofunctional platinum complex coordinated to a rhodium metalloinsertor selectively binds mismatched DNA in the minor groove.

We report the synthesis and characterization of a bimetallic complex derived from a new family of potent and selective metalloinsertors containing an unusual Rh–O axial coordination. This complex incorporates a monofunctional platinum center containing only one labile site for coordination to DNA, rather than two, and coordinates DNA nonclassically through adduct formation in the minor groove. This conjugate displays bifunctional, interdependent binding of mismatched DNA via metalloinsertion at a mismatch as well as covalent platinum binding. DNA sequencing experiments revealed that the preferred site of platinum coordination is not the traditional N7-guanine site in the major groove, but rather N3-adenine in the minor groove. The complex also displays enhanced cytotoxicity in mismatch repair-deficient and mismatch repair-proficient human colorectal carcinoma cell lines compared to the chemotherapeutic cisplatin, and it triggers cell death via an apoptotic pathway, rather than the necrotic pathway induced by rhodium metalloinsertors.
Relationship of the duration of sustained voluntary isometric contraction to changes in endurance and strength.

Abstract The research was undertaken to determine if an increase in the duration of a sustained voluntary isometric contraction is more closely related to changes in cardiovascular endurance or changes in strength. Subjects (N = 24) were tested before and after a training program to determine their endurance (oxygen consumption) and strength. The training program consisted of one daily sustained voluntary isometric contraction of the left forearm flexors at a prescribed percentage of the subject's maximum isometric strength. When the mean duration of contractions for each group showed a significant increase, training ceased. The groups which trained with contractions of 50, 75, and 100 percent of a maximum voluntary contraction showed significant increases in strength, but not in endurance. The group which trained with a 25 percent contraction increased significantly in endurance, but not in strength. The increased duration of contractions at percentages greater than or equal to 50 percent of a maximum vo...
Recursive TMR: scaling fault tolerance in the nanoscale era

As process technologies decrease in feature size, designers face new reliability challenges. Feature sizes of less than 0.25 /spl mu/m increase the risk of noise-related faults that result from electrical disturbances in the logic values held in circuits and on wires. Such transient faults can cause single-bit upsets, which in turn can introduce a logical fault in the circuit. In this article, we classify the sources of noise that can be scalably corrected (where using RTMR is beneficial as device size scales) with recursive triple modular redundancy (RTMR) and those that cannot. In particular, we have found that single-event upsets caused by energetic particles can be effectively compensated with RTMR. Flicker noise in devices, however, is not competitively correctable. In other words, noise models show that an RTMR circuit composed of small, less reliable devices does not always compete in speed and area with an equivalent circuit composed of large more reliable devices. In light of this finding, we discuss microarchitectural design options for mixing large and small devices to trade off reliability, speed, and area.
An energy efficient collaborative framework for event notification in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks consist of large number of low power devices equipped with RF links for communication that have several military, civil and environmental monitoring applications. The energy constraints due to limited battery power present numerous design challenges. In this paper we propose an energy efficient, cluster based framework for collaboration among nodes in a region for reducing the redundancy in reporting events. Collaboration is done among the exposed nodes using a localized and deterministic schedule based on TDMA/FDMA MAC. A novel, three phase collaboration scheme is presented to exchange messages for determining the local maximum of the confidence measure in the two hop cluster neighborhood of the event. This local maximum generates the response for the event, thereby reducing the redundant reporting of the event. Through extensive simulations we have shown that there is a significant reduction in the overall network traffic thereby, saving energy at the nodes responsible for originating response traffic and also at nodes, which handle the route-through traffic.
A Byzantine-fault tolerant self-stabilizing protocol for distributed clock synchronization systems

Embedded distributed systems have become an integral part of safety-critical computing applications, necessitating system designs that incorporate fault tolerant clock synchronization in order to achieve ultra-reliable assurance levels. Many efficient clock synchronization protocols do not, however, address Byzantine failures, and most protocols that do tolerate Byzantine failures do not self-stabilize. Of the Byzantine self-stabilizing clock synchronization algorithms that exist in the literature, they are based on either unjustifiably strong assumptions about initial synchrony of the nodes or on the existence of a common pulse at the nodes. The Byzantine self-stabilizing clock synchronization protocol presented here does not rely on any assumptions about the initial state of the clocks. Furthermore, there is neither a central clock nor an externally generated pulse system. The proposed protocol converges deterministically, is scalable, and self-stabilizes in a short amount of time. The convergence time is linear with respect to the self-stabilization period. Proofs of the correctness of the protocol as well as the results of formal verification efforts are reported.
Multi-channel audio segmentation for continuous observation and archival of large spaces

In most real-world situations, a single microphone is insufficient for the characterization of an entire auditory scene. This often occurs in places such as office environments which consist of several interconnected spaces that are at least partially acoustically isolated from one another. To this end, we extend our previous work on segmentation of natural sounds to perform scene characterization using a sparse array of microphones, strategically placed to ensure that all parts of the environment are within range of at least one microphone. By accounting for which microphones are active for a given sound event, we perform a multi-channel segmentation that captures sound events occurring in any part of the space. The segmentation is inferred from a custom dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) that models how event boundaries influence changes in audio features. Example recordings illustrate the utility of our approach in a noisy office environment.
THE TRADE-OFF THEORY AND THE PECKING ORDER THEORY: ARE THEY MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE?

The main purpose of this study is to simultaneously examine the pecking order and trade-off theories of capital structure and determine which one performs better for a sample of US firms. Our empirical models, which allow the financing coefficient and the rate of adjustment to vary with the firms' characteristics, provide evidence that the trade-off theory factors play a significant role in determining the proportion of debt to be issued or repurchased under the pecking order assumptions. In addition, we find that the pecking order factors are major determinants of the rate of adjustment under the trade-off theory assumptions. These empirical results imply that the pecking order theory and the trade-off theory are not mutually exclusive.
Case studies in energy use to realize ultra-high purities in semiconductor manufacturing

With increasing sophistication of products, there is a general trend towards higher purity (lower tolerances) in materials and parts. The purification of input materials and the need to create low-entropy environments in manufacturing lead to significant energy and materials use - referred to as secondary materialization. In this article we explore secondary materialization in semiconductor manufacturing by characterizing energy use trends for three cases: cleanrooms, producing ultrapure water (UPW), and purifying elemental gases. For purification of water and elemental gases, increasing purity standards are correlated with dramatic increases in energy use. For cleanrooms, while electricity use per square foot tends to increase with increasing air purity, this growth is cancelled by the evolution towards larger wafers and mini-environments. The net result is reductions in energy use per area of wafer processed when moving from 200 mm to 300 mm wafer processing. Given the continuing trend towards higher purity standards and growth in high-tech manufacturing, the high growth in secondary energy use suggests that the characterization and management of energy and materials use for purification deserves increased attention.
Using finite element methods to approximate kinematic solutions of robot manipulators when closed form solutions are unobtainable

The following paper demonstrates how finite element methods can be applied to approximating inverse kinematic solutions of robot, manipulators. The method demonstrated in this paper is unique to previous work on this subject in that it requires computation of only the forward solution and not the inverse. This is significant when the robot geometry is too complex to yield an easily obtainable inverse solution. After computation of the approximating solution, the actual kinematic solution of the robot is obtained by interpolating across an element, as in typical finite element problems. In this case element node values represent joint configurations rather than the more common elastic displacement or stress. The approximation is obtained by dividing the workspace into an element grid, and minimizing a potential function to obtain the best fit node values of joint configuration. An example is included.
Annotation, phylogenetics, and expression of the nuclear receptors in Daphnia pulex

The nuclear receptor superfamily currently consists of seven gene subfamilies that encompass over 80 distinct receptor proteins. These transcription factors typically share a common five-domain structure with a highly conserved DNA-binding domain. Some nuclear receptors are ubiquitous among the metazoans, while others are unique to specific phylogenetic groups. Crustaceans represent the second largest group of arthropods with insects being the largest. However, relative to insects, little is known about the nuclear receptors of crustaceans. The aim of this study was to identify putative nuclear receptors from the first assembled genome of a crustacean Daphnia pulex http://wFleaBase.org . Nuclear receptor expression was evaluated and receptors were subjected to phylogenetic analyses to gain insight into evolution and function. Twenty-five putative nuclear receptors were identified in D. pulex based on the presence of a conserved DNA-binding domain. All of the nuclear receptor protein sequences contain a highly homologous DNA-binding domain and a less conserved ligand-binding domain with the exception of the NR0A group. These receptors lack a ligand-binding domain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of all seven receptor subfamilies. The D. pulex genome contains several nuclear receptors that have vertebrate orthologs. However, several nuclear receptor members that are represented in vertebrates are absent from D. pulex. Notable absences include receptors of the 1C group (peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors), the 3A group (estrogen receptor), and the 3C group (androgen, progestogen, mineralcorticoid, and glucocorticoid receptors). The D. pulex genome also contains nuclear receptor orthologs that are present in insects and nematodes but not vertebrates, including putative nuclear receptors within the NR0A group. A novel group of receptors, designated HR97, was identified in D. pulex that groups with the HR96/CeNHR8/48/DAF12 clade, but forms its own sub-clade. Gene products were detected in adult female D. pulex for 21 of the 25 receptors. Nuclear receptors are ancient proteins with highly conserved DNA-binding domains. The DNA-binding domains of the nuclear receptors of D. pulex contain the same degree of conservation that is typically found within nuclear receptors of other species. Most of the receptors identified in D. pulex have orthologs within the vertebrate and invertebrate lineages examined with the exception of the novel HR97 group and the Dappu-HR10 and potentially the Dappu-HR11 receptors found in D. pulex. These groups of receptors may harbour functions that are intrinsic to crustacean physiology.
Emulation of a 1.5MW wind turbine with a DC motor

In order to provide a testing environment for generator control strategies, a wind turbine emulator was developed. First, a mathematical model was developed for the a 1.5MW wind turbine generator based on available modeling data. Using this data a function relating maximum power output and wind speed was developed along with a one-mass model of the turbine. The model was implemented in a software simulation along with controllers for a DC motor acting as the wind turbine and a dynamometer acting as the generator. The software simulation was implemented in LabVIEW and read in a data file containing high sample rate (20 Hz) wind speed data, calculated the optimal power from that wind speed, and generated control signals for the DC motor and dynamometer. The effectiveness of the controller was found by calculating the mean-square error between the optimal power calculated by the simulation turbine model and the actual power produced by the DC motor/dynamometer combination. Two 800 second wind speed data files were used as test inputs for the emulator: a low-speed low-frequency wind profile and a turbulent or varying-speed wind profile. The results of the controller development using these two wind speeds show that the turbine inertia is a significant factor in following the optimal power output of a wind turbine. The time constant of the generator speed-tracking function specified in the modeling data also plays a significant role in how quickly the system can respond to changes in wind speed.
A TQM Study: Integrating the Importance‐Performance and Intra‐Organization Impact Analyses

This study demonstrates the value of employing a TQM perspective in institutions of higher education. Using data collected from a Mid‐Atlantic university,Importance‐Performance Analysis and Intra‐Organizational Impact Analysis are introduced. An integration of the results of the two analyses identifies those areas within the university where cooperative arrangements are necessary to achieve improved performance and customer satisfaction.
Wrong side dilated pupil

A 59-year-old man with alcoholic liver disease became comatose from a left acute subdural hematoma. He developed a fixed dilated right pupil but the left pupil was responsive to light. Oculovestibular responses were normal. He had right extensor posturing. At autopsy uncal herniation was not found, but there was a diagonally shifted and rotated brainstem likely tethering or compressing the contralateral third nerve against the tentorium ridge or clivus (figure). In the pre-CT era, a false localizing fixed pupil led to negative exploratory burr holes. Presently, this phenomenon is still a confusing, inadequately understood curiosity.1,2
Variation Aware Spline Center and Range Modeling for Analog Circuit Performance

With scaling technologies, process variations have increased significantly. This has led to deviations in analog performance from their expected values. Performance macromodeling aids in reduction of synthesis time by removing the simulation overhead. In this work, we develop a novel spline based center and range method (SCRM) for process variation aware performance macro-modeling (VAPMAC) which works on interval valued data. Experiments demonstrate around 200K times computational time advantage using VAPMAC generated macromodels over SPICE Monte Carlo simulation. The results also demonstrate less than 10% loss in accuracy in computing the performance bounds using the macromodels compared to the SPICE simulations.
Nighttime dosing with tolterodine reduces overactive bladder-related nocturnal micturitions in patients with overactive bladder and nocturia

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of nighttime tolterodine dosing on urgency-related micturitions in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) and nocturia. Methods This was a 12-week randomized controlled study of 850 patients given 4 mg tolterodine extended release (TER) or placebo once daily 4 hours or less before bed. Patients with eight or more micturitions/24 hours and a mean of 2.5 episodes/night or more were included. Changes in the number of nighttime and 24-hour micturitions were analyzed by urgency rating per micturition. The urgency per micturition was recorded in 7-day diaries using a 5-point rating scale (score 1 to 5). Each micturition was classified according to the following urgency rating categories: total (1 to 5), non-OAB (1 to 2), or OAB (3 to 5). OAB-related micturitions were further classified as nonsevere (score 3) and severe (score 4 to 5). Results TER reduced the total number of nocturnal micturitions, but, compared with placebo, this difference was not statistically significant. However, TER did significantly reduce OAB-related and severe OAB-related nocturnal micturitions compared with placebo. TER had no effect on non-OAB micturitions. TER significantly reduced the total, OAB, and severe OAB micturitions during 24-hour and daytime intervals compared with placebo. Significantly more TER-treated than placebo-treated patients reported a treatment benefit and willingness to continue treatment. Adverse events associated with nighttime dosing of TER versus placebo were few. Conclusions TER significantly reduced OAB-related micturitions during 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime intervals. TER did not affect normal (non-OAB) micturitions. Nighttime dosing with TER was associated with few adverse events and adverse event-related withdrawals. The 24-hour efficacy of TER was maintained with nighttime dosing.
GSTP1 forms a stable, non-covalent complex with the tissue transglutaminase TGM2 in human glioblastoma cells

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA 4488 In addition to its major role in cellular phase II metabolism and xenobiotic detoxification, the human glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) protein participates in a diverse array of cellular processes including stress and growth factor signaling, regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, transformation, and apoptosis. Here, we report that endogenously expressed GSTP1 can be recovered in a stable complex with the tissue transglutaminase TGM2 protein in the MGR3 human glioblastoma cell line. In contrast to an earlier report in which GSTP1 was found to interact with exogenously expressed TGM2 in cells undergoing TGM2-induced apoptosis, we have found that the GSTP1/TGM2 complex can be recovered from actively dividing cells in the absence of apoptotic stimuli. The GSTP1/TGM2 complex is not recovered under denaturing conditions, indicating that the interaction between the two proteins is non-covalent and thus not formed through the Iµ-(I³-glutamyl)lysine protein crosslinking activity of TGM2. When visualized through immunofluorescence, TGM2 is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm, whereas GSTP1 is found both in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Subcellular fractionation experiments indicate that the GSTP1/TGM2 complex is found predominantly in the cytoplasm. siRNA-mediated down-regulation of TGM2 resulted in significantly decreased recovery of the TGM2/GSTP1 complex and an increased response to apoptotic stimuli. This report is the first to demonstrate that TGM2 can form a stable complex with GSTP1 in actively dividing tumor cells and establishes a direct physical link between two critical factors that are often found to be over-expressed in human breast and brain tumors. The data further suggest that the TGM2/GSTP1 interaction plays an important role in the survival of tumor cells and in their response to apoptosis-inducing anticancer agents. Further investigation of this complex should provide a deeper insight into the role of GSTP1 and of TGM2 in the biology and therapeutic response of malignant gliomas. Supported by grants RSG MGO-103761 from the American Cancer Society (JK) and RO1 CA112519, RO1 CA 91438, P50 CA108786 (FAO).
CHARCOT SPINAL ARTHROPATHY IN CONGENITAL INSENSITIVITY TO PAIN

Neuropathic joints can arise secondary to multiple etiologies. Charcot, in 1868, 1 described neuropathic joints due to tabes dorsalis. Later, Morvan 2 noted a series of cases with neuropathic joints and compromised sensation. Most of these patients had syringomyelia. Jordan, in 1936, 3 first recognized the presence of neuropathic joints in diabetic patients. Diabetes mellitus is now recognized as the most common cause of neuropathic arthropathy. Estimates state that one of every 680 diabetic patients develops Charcot arthropathy at some site. 4 The incidence of spinal involvement has ranged from 6% to 21% in reported cases of Charcot arthropathy. 5,6 Mitchell, reporting in 1831, 7 noted a relationship between spinal cord lesions and arthropathies. In 1884, Kronig 8 reported the first case of neuropathic spinal arthropathy. The reported causes of neuropathic spinal arthropathy include tabes dorsalis, 5,9-14 syringomyelia, 15.16 spinal cord tumors, 16-18 traumatic spinal cord injury, 18-22 acute transverse myelitis, 17 and diabetes mellitus. 4,23,24 Congenital insensitivity to pain is a very rare cause of neuropathic arthropathy. In 1932, Dearborn 25 reported a case of congenital general pure analgesia. The report described a carnival worker calling himself the Human Pin Cushion. Since that time, various authors have proposed theories to explain the cause of this disorder. To date, however, no single anatomic, physiologic, or pathologic entity has been identified as the cause of congenital insensitivity to pain. 26-32 In 1953, Petrie 33 described the orthopedic manifestations of congenital insensitivity to pain. Piazza et al, in 1988, 34 reported a case of neuropathic spinal arthropathy in congenital insensitivity to pain. A 28-year-old woman with destruction at the L1-L2 interspace developed kyphosis and instability. She remained neurologically intact and was fused successfully with staged anterior and posterior procedures. 34 Heggeness 35 recently reported the case of a 17-year-old girl who developed truncal asymmetry during pregnancy. A dense paraparesis developed 10 days after delivery. She had developed a Charcot spine at L3 and L4 with significant canal compromise. She underwent anterior decompression and stabilization of the spine after which she made a complete neurologic recovery. Two other cases of spinal arthropathy with congenital insensitivity to pain have appeared in literature. 33,36 We report the case of a 12-year-old girl with congenital insensitivity to pain and a neuropathic spine who suffered a progressive neurologic compromise secondary to her L4-5 lesion.
Shock Wave Profile Effects on Dynamic Failure of Tungsten Heavy Alloy

It is well established that dynamic fracture or spall is a complex process strongly influenced by both the microstructure and the loading profile – the shape of the shock wave as a function of time – imparted to the specimen. For ductile metals it has been observed that the spall response is highly dependent on the pulse shape in addition to the peak stress. Here tungsten heavy alloy (WHA) specimens have been subjected to a shock wave loading profiles with a similar peak stress of 15.4 GPa but varying duration. Contrary to the strong dependence of strength on wave profile observed in ductile metals, for WHA, specimens subjected to significantly different wave profiles exhibited similar spall strength. Post mortem examination of recovered samples revealed that dynamic failure is dominated by brittle cleavage fracture, with additional energy dissipation through crack branching in the more brittle tungsten particles. Overall, in this brittle material all relevant damage kinetics are equally supported by both loading profiles considered, and the spall strength is shown to be dominated by the shock peak stress, independent of loading profile.
National Bankruptcy Review Commission Recommendations: Notice, Jursidiction, and Corporate Debtors

Pursuant to congressional mandate, the National Bankruptcy Review Commission (NBRC) reported its recommendations for modification of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended (the "Bankruptcy Code"), to the President, Congress, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on October 20, 1997. This Article, the second and final installment analyzing the tax recommendations of the NBRC, focuses on the proposed revisions relating to, among other things, taxation of corporate and partnership debtor estates. In particular, this Article discusses the requirement of reasonable notice to the government, bankruptcy court jurisdiction over tax controversies, bankruptcy administration affecting tax matters, chapter 11 plan requirements, and substantive tax matters.
0112 Components of the Healthy Worker Effect with Quantification for Different Referent Comparisons

Objectives The healthy worker effect (HWE) is widely known to bias standardised risk estimates from occupational cohort studies. Multiple factors contribute to HWE bias that is commonly characterised as confounding due to the selection of individuals with “better health status” who are more likely to gain and retain employment relative to a general population including non-employed persons. Comparisons between standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) estimated from reference population rates with different characteristics allow for quantitative evaluation of different components of the HWE. Method Data from over five decades for a company-wide mortality registry comes from life insurance claims, and deaths are validated against the U. S. National Death Index. Average person-years at risk during five-year calendar periods for the occupational cohort population are estimated. The expected mortality counts are specific to age, sex, race, and calendar-time period strata. SMRs are calculated based on the mortality rates for the general U. S. population and the company-wide population. Results From 1956 through 2012, the annual US employee population has ranged from 29 000 to 108 000 workers. The mortality registry includes over 80 000 deaths validated through 2010, 25% due to malignant neoplasms and 37% due to cardiovascular diseases. Conclusions The HWE influences the interpretation of standardised estimates from occupational studies. Comparisons for different reference populations can evaluate differential HWE bias of associations between occupational exposure and mortality. Analyses based on company reference rates identify contributions from components of the HWE based on comparable demographic characteristics, a similar likelihood of obtaining and retaining employment, and an equivalent potential for ascertainment of mortality outcomes.
How Distinct are the Stages of Change for Smoking Cessation? A Comparison of the Stages of Change and the Contemplation Ladder Using an Adolescent Sample

The stage of change approach to smoking cessation posits that smokers can be divided into categories based on the extent to which they are motivated to quit smoking. Recent research, however, suggests that the stage of change algorithm systematically misclassifies smokers by underestimating motivation to quit. The hypothesis of the current study was that the systematic misclassification by the stages of change results in stages that blend together smokers varying widely in motivation to quit. We tested this hypothesis by contrasting the stages of change with the contemplation ladder (an alternative measure of motivation to quit smoking) using cross-sectional data on ten cessation-relevant variables. The sample consisted of 401 adolescent smokers. The results were consistent with the hypothesis. The cross-sectional analyses indicated that the contemplation ladder is a more discriminating measure of motivation to quit, and that the stage of change algorithm is an unnecessarily imprecise instrument.
Effect of Hanhei oral solution on ability to move of decrepit mice caused by D-galactose

Aim: To observe the influence of Hanhei oral solution on the movement ability of the old and feeble mice caused by D-galactose.Methods: A total of 50 Kunming mice were divided into five groups: control group, model group, and Hanhei oral solution groups (high concentration group, middle concentration group and low concentration group). Except for the control group, the other 4 groups were given 50 g/L D-galactose for 42 d. Meanwhile, the Hanhei oral solution groups were given Hanhei oral solution at three different levels, respectively, and the other groups were given physiological saline.The exhausting time for swimming, memorial ability, SOD, Na + -K+-ATP,Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ -ATP, Ca 2+ ,MDA in different tissue after 6 weeks were assessed. Results: The exhausting time for swimming in the high and middle concentration group was prolonged compared with that of the model group(P0.01).The memorial ability test showed longer latency period. The levels of SOD, Na + -K+-ATP,Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ -ATP improved (P0.01 or 0.05) and the levels of Ca 2+ and MDA reduced(P0.01 or 0.05) in Hanhei oral solution groups. Conclusion:Hanhei oral solution can effectively prevent the decrease of movement ability and memorial ability caused by D-galactose. The consequence might be related to the improvement of the activity of anti-oxidized enzyme, the elimination of the freebase, and regulation of the Ca 2+ balance in and out the cells.
Prevalence of high-risk sex among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men: a longitudinal analysis.

Introduction This longitudinal study examined the prevalence and demographic correlates of unprotected insertive and receptive anal intercourse among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men who were aware of their serostatus. Methods Participants (n = 395), sampled randomly at two HIV outpatient clinics in Los Angeles, completed two waves of self-administered questionnaires (separated by approximately 7-9 months) that measured sexual behaviors in the previous 60 days. Results The cross-sectional prevalence of unprotected insertive anal intercourse was 11.2% at time 1 and 7.1% at time 2. Longitudinal analyses indicated that nearly 15% of the participants had engaged in that high-risk behavior either at time 1 or time 2 and approximately 4% had engaged in the behavior at each time period. Similar rates of unprotected receptive anal intercourse were observed. These high-risk activities were more prevalent with seropositive and unknown serostatus partners than with seronegative partners. The rate of anal intercourse risk behaviors was higher among asymptomatic men and among those who were exclusively gay. conclusion The findings demonstrate considerable differences in the prevalence of stable and occasional high-risk sexual behaviors among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men. Simple cross-sectional analyses cannot capture the stability or variation in behavior across time and, thus, may generate misleading conclusions about disease transmission, especially if the partner’s HIV serostatus is not considered in the analysis. The findings indicate a need for focused safer-sex interventions for seropositive men. The HIV outpatient clinic is an ideal setting for such interventions.
Stomal obstruction of ileal conduits in children: a urodynamic study.

Abstract: In an attempt to diagnose stomal obstruction before radiological evidence is present, urodynamic perfusion studies were done on 40 children with ileal conduit diversion. Residual urine, capacity, resting pressure and mean emptying pressure were recorded after perfusion of the conduit with normal saline at 10ml. per minute. Emptying pressure appeared to be the most sensitive parameter of obstruction. Residual urine may be normal in early obstruction and may be increased in the presence of normal emptying pressures in atonic conduits.
Function of Zinc in Toxin Production by PseudomonasSyringae Pv. Tabaci

Sixteen tabtoxin-producing strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci were grown in Woolley’s medium to mid-log phase (48 h), and tested for their ability to hydrolyze tabtoxin by the action of a Zn metallopeptidase in the periplasm. Analysis after 1h incubation with 1μM Zn showed: 11 tabaci and 3 tabaci (angulata) strains required Zn for activity; 2 tabaci strains could not hydrolyze tabtoxin even with Zn; and 5 tabaci (angulata) strains did not require Zn for hydolysis. Pathovar tabaci (ATCC 11528) in Woolley’s medium with 1μM Zn grew identically to Zn-minus controls; in the former case only tabtoxinine-s-lactam accumulated, whereas only tabtoxin accumulated in the controls. In inoculated plants only tabtoxinine-s-lactam was found in the intercellular fluid with strains whose peptidase were activated by Zn; however tabtoxin was found with strains unable to hydrolyze tabtoxin. Since the plant can hydrolyze tabtoxin too, both forms of the toxin would be present in host cells when this latter strain type is involved. This has implications for site-of-action studies because each could have a separate target.
Improved PC Based Resource Scheduling Algorithm for Virtual Machines in Cloud Computing

The existing resource scheduling algorithms for virtual machines usually use serial job deployment ways which easily lead to the job completion time overlong and the system load unbalance. To solve the problems, an Improved Potential Capacity (IPC) based resource scheduling algorithm for virtual machines is proposed, which comprehensively considers the overall job completion time and system load balancing, and applies a new metric to dynamically estimate the resource remaining capacities of virtual machines, and thus reduce the inexact matching between jobs and virtual machines. A batch job deployment method is also proposed to execute the batch job deployment. Many simulation experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively decrease the overall job completion time and improve the load balancing of a cloud system.
Atrial Mapping With Basket Catheters: A Basket Case?

Ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) by targeting pulmonary veins for isolation (PVI) is a largely successful strategy but is limited by frequent recurrence of atrial fibrillation [(1–6)][1].This has led to a search for alternative or additional targets with re-examination of the voltage-sensitive
High Levels of Donor Chimerism Early after Non-Myeloablative Transplantation Predictive of Overall and Progression Free Survival but Not Risk of Acute Graft Versus Host Disease for Patients with AML or MDS.

Non-myeloablative (NST) transplantation is increasingly used in the treatment of patients with AML and MDS who are not candidates for myeloblative transplant. Relapse of disease remains a major cause of treatment failure after NST. Predictive factors to identify patients at high risk of relapse are needed to identify patients who would benefit from additional interventions. Attainment of a high degree of donor engraftment achieved early after transplantation may indicate the presence of a more significant allo-immune effect. We have performed a retrospective analysis of 64 patients with AML and MDS receiving NST, assessing the impact of donor chimerism when measured early after transplantation on outcome. Overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS) and risk of graft versus host disease (GVHD) were compared for patients achieving ≥90 % or 2 /day x 4 days and intravenous busulfan (Busulfex)0.8 mg/kg/day x 4 days for conditioning. All patients received calcineurin-inhibitor based GVHD prophylaxis. All patients received PBSC with G-CSF at 5 mcg/kg beginning day 1 after transplantation. Chimerism was measured using FISH for sex mismatched patient donor pairs or by STR analysis. 37 patients had ≥90% donor derived hematopoiesis, 27 patients had
Taking the plunge! A case study in teaching a credit-bearing information literacy course to business undergraduate students

ABSTRACTThis case study describes the experience and examines the efficacy of teaching a three-credit, semester-length information literacy class to undergraduate business students. The discussion includes an overview of the steps involved in garnering administrative support, in developing and teaching the course in the fall of 2014 and 2015, and in evaluating student progress. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach as opposed to other modes of library instruction are also explored. Finally, future directions for the course and plans for the closer study of its effectiveness are examined.
Intimate Violence as it Relates to Risky Sexual Behavior Among At-Risk Females

OBJECTIVE Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents are on the rise. The majority of adolescents who contract STIs do so through risky sexual behavior. Previous literature has identified multiple correlates of risky sexual behaviors among adolescents, including physical and sexual victimization, mental health concerns, and substance use. Few studies, however, have examined these relationships together in a comprehensive model. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether relationship violence was related to risky sexual behavior, and whether mental health symptoms and substance use mediated this relationship. METHOD A cross-sectional design was used, and adolescent females (N = 179), recruited from social service agencies, were 18.9 years old on average and were 37.2% White, 19.3% Black, 37.9% multiracial, and 5.6% other. RESULTS Regression results revealed that females who were physically assaulted and sexually victimized by their intimate partners did engage in more sex without condoms. Mediational analyses indicated that PTSD symptoms significantly influenced the relationship between (1) physical assault and risky sexual behavior and (2) sexual victimization and risky sexual behavior. CONCLUSION Contrary to expectations, PTSD may act to reduce risk perhaps by reducing interest in sex. It is important to address victimization, PTSD, and sexual risk in young women. More work is needed to understand these complex relationships using longitudinal designs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
CORRELATION OF THE LOW TEMPERATURE 695 NM FLUORESCENCE EMISSION WITH THE REACTION CENTER OF PS II (CP47)

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a correlation of the low temperature 695 nm fluorescence emission with the reaction center of photosystem II (PS II) (CP47). Initial studies were directed at the reexamination of the polypeptide profile of the PS II reaction center core complex. Five polypeptides rather than three were resolved when this core complex was subjected to electrophoresis in the presence of urea. One of the polypeptides was identified as the herbicide-binding protein using l4 C azidoatrazine. Two polypeptides in the 40–50 K Dalton size class were assigned to be the putative PS II chlorophyll-a binding apoproteins. The fact that this core complex elicited two fluorescence emission bands at 685 nm and 695 nm prompted the studies to determine the origin of these emissions and to characterize the chlorophyll-a binding pigment proteins with respect to PS II reaction center properties.