cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Survival impact based on hepatic artery lymph node status in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: A study of patients receiving modern chemotherapy

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has significantly improved in recent years. While the involvement of the hepatic artery lymph node (HALN; station 8a lymph node) likely represents advanced disease, a comparison to patients with metastases on modern chemotherapy is lacking. METHODS Patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy with HALN sent for pathologic review at a single institution from 2003 to 2018 were reviewed. Patients who presented with liver-only metastases at the time of PDAC diagnosis (Stage IV) and received chemotherapy were identified. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was utilized and overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS Of the 112 patients with a HALN sent for analysis, 17 (15%) were positive and 13 (76%) received chemotherapy. Ninety-four stage IV patients were identified and were significantly more likely to have received a multiagent rather than single-agent chemotherapy regimen compared to HALN positive patients (79.8% vs. 38.5%, p < .001). Median OS was significantly longer in all patients who underwent surgical resection, regardless of HALN status, compared to stage IV patients. CONCLUSIONS Patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy with HALN positivity have significantly improved OS compared to patients with stage IV disease. HALN involvement does not significantly alter survival among resected patients and does not warrant preoperative endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy.
Coordinated Power Balance Scheme for a Wind-to-Hydrogen Set in Standalone Power Systems

To conserve energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, deploying renewable sources into power systems have been on the rise. Due to the intermittency and variability of renewable sources, energy storage technologies have been employed to provide long-term energy balance by managing the power flow and responding to the output fluctuation from renewable resources. This paper proposes a coordinated power balance (CPB) scheme for a wind-to-hydrogen set, which consists of a type-4 wind turbine generator (WTG), a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, and a fuel cell system (FCS). The proposed CPB control scheme aims to meet the supply and demand of electricity in a standalone power system while enhancing the efficiency of a WTG by utilizing a PEM electrolyzer and FCS in parallel with the DC capacitor of the WTG. To achieve these, the proposed CPB scheme employs a grid-forming inverter for a WTG and realizes the imbalance between supply and demand by detecting voltage variation at the DC capacitor; then, to balance the supply and demand, the CPB scheme utilizes an electrolyzer and FCS to produce hydrogen from surplus power and convert it back to electricity when increase in demand. The CPB scheme was tested under various scenarios using PSCAD.
Computational Investigation of the Role of Active Site Heterogeneity for a Supported Organovanadium(III) Hydrogenation Catalyst

A crucial consideration for supported heterogeneous catalysts is the non-uniformity of the active sites, particularly for Supported Organometallic Catalysts (SOMCs). Standard spectroscopic techniques, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), reflect the nature of the most populated sites, which are often intrinsically structurally distinct from the most catalytically active sites. With computational models, often only a few representative structures are used to depict catalytic active sites on a surface, even though there are numerous observable factors of surface heterogeneity that contribute to the kinetically favorable active species. A previously reported study on the mechanism of a surface organovanadium(III) catalyst [(SiO)VIII(Mes)(THF)] for styrene hydrogenation yielded two possible mechanisms: heterolytic cleavage and redox cycling. These two mechanistic scenarios are challenging to differentiate experimentally based on the kinetic readouts of the catalyst are identical. To showcase the importance of modeling surface heterogeneity and its effect on catalytic activity, density functional theory (DFT) computational models of a series of potential active sites of [(SiO)VIII(Mes)(THF)] for the reaction pathways are applied in combination with kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations. Computed results were t then compared to the previously reported experimental kinetic study.: 1) DFT free energy reaction pathways indicated the likely active site and pathway for styrene hydrogenation; a heterolytic cleavage pathway requiring a bare tripodal vanadium site. 2) From the kMC simulations, a mixture of the different bond lengths from the support oxygen to the metal center was required to qualitatively describe the experimentally observed kinetic aspects of a supported organovanadium(III) catalyst for olefin hydrogenation. This work underscores the importance of modeling surface heterogeneity in computational catalysis.
Analysis of large scale fracturing effect and influencing factors in low permeability oil reservoir

H Oilfield is a complex fault field. Due to poor physical properties, it is still difficult to effectively inject wells after fracturing. In addition, the repeated fracturing effect has deteriorated year by year. Most of the blocks are generally low in production, and the oil recovery speed is less than 0.31 %. Since 2014, large-scale fracturing field tests have been carried out in H Oilfield. By analyzing the influence of various factors on fracturing effect, the grey correlation method was used to analyze the influence of various factors on oil production after fracturing. The results showed that the main factors influencing the fracturing effect in the test area were formation coefficient, porosity, oil saturation, amount of sand carrying fluid, amount of fracturing fluid, and amount of sand added. The research results can be used for reference and guidance to improve the development level of low-permeability oil fields.
A Deep Neural Network for Multivariate Time Series Clustering with Result Interpretation

In today's industrial and scientific arenas, large quantities of multivariate time series data are generated without labels. Clustering such data is an important but challenging task due to complex variable associations. Unlike other previous efforts, this work explicitly explores variable associations through learning variable association graphs for each cluster. This is achieved through time series autoregression by a multi-path neural network, where each path corresponds to one cluster. The learned variable association graphs can be used to interpret how one cluster differs from another. Experiments demonstrate our framework's effectiveness on clustering and result interpretability.
The Quality of Outcome from Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia

This paper explores the problems of measuring outcome from intensive exploratory psychotherapy with schizophrenic persons. Four dimensions of outcome which may be specific to such treatment are proposed in conjunction with a semistructured interview for reliably evaluating these dimensions. Preliminary results indicating the potential validity of this interview will be presented, and their implications will be discussed.
Alignment of iron nanoparticles in a magnetic field due to shape anisotropy

Abstract During high magnetic field solidification processing there is evidence for the alignment of nanoscale metallic particles with elongated morphologies that nucleate from a liquid metal. Such alignment occurs well above the Curie temperature of the particle where the magneto-crystalline anisotropy energy and exchange energy contributions are negligible. The main driving force for alignment is the magnetic shape anisotropy. Current understanding of the phenomenon is not adequate to quantify the effect of particle size, aspect ratio, temperature and the magnetic field on particle alignment. We demonstrate a Monte Carlo approach coupled with a scaling law for the dipole–dipole interaction energy as a function of the particle size to identify the conditions under which such alignment is possible.
Mathematical Techniques for Curve Fitting

As we pointed out in the previous chapter, the brightness matrix of a picture must be transformed into a more compact mathematical structure before we can proceed with any pattern recognition analysis. Curve and surface fitting is a popular technique in many branches of engineering and computer science when large volumes of data must be described in a compact way. We describe a number of such techniques in this chapter. Sections 2.2–4 deal primarily with least integral square error approximations of functions of a single variable over their whole domain. Section 2.5 discusses uniform approximations (i.e., those minimizing the maximum pointwise error). Splines and piecewise approximations are introduced in Section 2.7 and their properties are investigated in Sections 2.8–12. Readers may prefer to skip this chapter, except possibly Section 2.6, on first reading and refer to it whenever its material is used in the sequel. Section 2.6 discusses some of the problems associated with the application of curve fitting techniques to pattern recognition and their relation to transforms.
Why Potentiality Does Not Matter: A Reply to Stone

In its earliest stages the macroscopic properties of a human embryo are merely those of a few-celled organism, not so very different from (say) a fly embryo. If all goes well, however, it will eventually develop into a human infant. Expectation of such future development leads to the absolutist view that from the moment of conception the zygote has the same moral status as an infant. When the absolutist view is based on this expectation, I shall say it is based on a potentialist intuition that sees fetal development as the unfolding of a pre-established essence. This intuition was expressed by a Tennessee judge dealing with a custody case concerning frozen embryos, who claimed that ‘the entire constitution of the man is clearly, unequivocally spelled-out, including arms, legs, nervous system and the like ....’ Singer and Dawson put the potentialist picture (with which they disagree) in these terms: ‘The development of the embryo inside the female body can be seen as a mere unfolding of a potential that is inherent in it.’
Optimal data-driven sparse parameterization of diffeomorphisms for population analysis

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for intensity based atlas construction from a population of anatomical images, that estimates not only a template representative image but also a common optimal parameterization of the anatomical variations evident in the population. First, we introduce a discrete parameterization of large diffeomorphic deformations based on a finite set of control points, so that deformations are characterized by a low dimensional geometric descriptor. Second, we optimally estimate the position of the control points in the template image domain. As a consequence, control points move to where they are needed most to capture the geometric variability evident in the population. Third, the optimal number of control points is estimated by using a log-L1 sparsity penalty. The estimation of the template image, the template-to-subject mappings and their optimal parameterization is done via a single gradient descent optimization, and at the same computational cost as independent template-to-subject registrations. We present results that show that the anatomical variability of the population can be encoded efficiently with these compact and adapted geometric descriptors.
Methylmercury-induced Cytogenetic Damage in Syrian Hamster Bone Marrow Cells

Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmental toxin capable of interacting with chromatin and suspected of inducing chromosomal damage. In order to further evaluate the cytogenetic effects of MeHg in vivo, Syrian hamsters received a single injection of either 5, 10, 15, or 20 mg/kg MeHg 24 hours presacrifice and preparation of bone marrow cells for cytogenetic analysis. Negative and positive controls (0.25 mg/kg Trenimon) were also incorporated into the experimental design. The most prevalant type of cytogenetic damage observed was chromosome pulverization. A dose-response increase in the incidence of chromosomal aberrations following MeHg treatment was not observed. However, both MeHg- and Trenimon-treated hamsters had significantly higher proportions of cells with pulverized chromosomes than did controls. The observation that fewer cells with pulverized chromosomes were detected in the 15 and 20 mg/kg MeHg groups as compared with the 5 and 10 mg/kg MeHg groups was attributed to cellular toxicity. These data ...
Emerging Models of Computation: Directions in Molecular Computing

Computing as we have known it for 60 years is based on the von Neumann stored-program concept and its ubiquitous implementation in the form of electronic instruction processors. For the past four decades, processors have been fabricated using semiconductor integrated circuits, the dominant material being silicon, and the dominant technology CMOS. Relentless miniaturization has been decreasing feature size and increasing both the operating frequency and the number of elements per chip, giving rise to so-called Moore's law (which we interpret broadly to mean the expectation of an exponential improvement in salient performance parameters).
Synergy between spleen cells and bone marrow cells in mixed lymphocyte culture-induced cytotoxicity. Requirement for macrophages in the induction of synergy.

Abstract Synergistic interaction between isogeneic spleen cells and bone marrow cells were induced during the in vitro generation of cytotoxic effector cells against alloantigens. The observed synergy occurs during the early sensitization period and not at the effector phase of cytotoxicity. The cytotoxic effector cells appear to be T cells provided by spleen cells. The synergizing cells are Thy-1-negative subpopulations of bone marrow cells have light to moderate densities on BSA gradient, and appear to interact with splenic T cells only in the presence of macrophages.
A global forest canopy height map from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System

[1] The value of lidar derives from its ability to map ecosystem vertical structure which can be used to estimate aboveground carbon storage. Spaceborne lidar sensors collect data along transects and gain value for the global change science community when combined with data sources that have complete horizontal coverage. Data sources and methods for this type of analysis require evaluation. In this work we use image segmentation of 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to produce a global map of 4.4 million forest patches. Where a Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) transect intersects a patch, its height is calculated from the GLAS observations directly. Regression analysis is then used to estimate the heights of those patches without GLAS observations. Regression goodness-of-fit statistics indicate moderately strong relationships for predicting the 90th percentile patch height, with a mean RMSE of 5.9 m and mean correlation (R2) of 0.67.
The Estate System and Basic Future Interests

"The Estate System" and "Basic Future Interests" set out the traditionally “difficult” estates material in a steady progression of easily absorbed bite-sized portions. As such, they provide a relatively quick and painless presentation of these subjects. Yet, the treatment is also thorough.Many regard the estate system and future interests as intricate and tedious. Indeed, for many law students these subjects are the hardest thing they do in their first year.Used as tutorials, this presentation of the estate system and future interests, along with a set of online “drill” questions, not only provides students of property law with a helpful learning supplement and review. They also can shorten and even potentially eliminate the class time needed on estates and future interests in the first-year property course. (Please note that this online presentation of the common-law estate system and future interests is absolutely free and is not connected with any revenue-generating venture. The goal is simply that students of property law benefit from using them.)
Senior design projects with industry

For more than seven years the Binghamton University Electrical Engineering Department has had a capstone 1-semester design course, in cooperation with local industry, in its core curriculum. Projects are requested from local companies; students select their teams and projects and the teams meet with their company and faculty advisors every week. Two design reviews, held on company premises and attended by several company engineers, are held for each project. Final presentations and final reports complete the projects. The course has evolved from a multi-instructor fragmented course with low success rates, to a single-instructor course with a 70% success rate in terms of delivering working prototypes. This paper describes the original goals and structure of the course and how it has evolved over the years as specific problem areas were addressed and overcome, leading to the current course goals and structure. Also, assessment techniques are described, along with a list of projects and seminar topics from spring, 1998. ABET 2000 will require course changes. The planned modifications are described, as well as the rationale and plan to take this course from a one-semester, two-credit course to a two-semester, eight-credit course.
Carnitine affects octanoate oxidation to carbon dioxide and dicarboxylic acids in colostrum-deprived piglets: in vivo analysis of mechanisms involved based on CoA- and carnitine-ester profiles.

Newborn, colostrum-deprived piglets (n = 21) were used to study the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on the in vivo oxidation of [1-14C]octanoate to CO2 and dicarboxylic acids. Pigs were fitted with arterial and bladder catheters and were infused with octanoate (supplying 35-100% of piglets' energy expenditure) and with or without valproate for a period of 24 h. After achieving steady-state octanoate oxidation, carnitine was coinfused [50 mumol/kg 0.75 prime plus 20 mumol/h.kg 0.75)], and deviations in the octanoate oxidation rate, dicarboxylic acid excretion rate, and carnitine metabolism were monitored. At the end of the 24-h infusion, samples of liver and muscle were analyzed for carnitine- and CoA-esters by HPLC. Carnitine stimulated octanoate oxidation by 7% (P < 0.05) and decreased dicarboxylic acid excretion by 45% (P < 0.05). Carnitine supplementation increased (P < 0.05) concentrations of carnitine and acetyl carnitine in hepatic tissue (three- and 55-fold, respectively) and plasma (seven- and 11-fold); whereas, muscle-carnitine concentration doubled upon carnitine supplementation, but acetyl carnitine concentration remained unaltered. Urinary excretion of acetyl and free carnitine also increased with carnitine supplementation, but accounted for < 10% of carnitine infused. Hepatic total CoA and CoA esters increased with carnitine supplementation, whereas muscle acetyl-CoA decreased. Valproate had only marginal effects on octanoate metabolism. These data confirm the hypothesis that carnitine effects the in vivo oxidation of octanoate in colostrum-deprived piglets and suggest that the effects may be mediated by aiding the export of excess acetyl groups from muscle or by enhancing uptake of octanoate into liver mitochondria.
Physiographic and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Fish Community Composition in Tributaries to the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania

Abstract We evaluated the status of fish communities from 30 first- to fourth-order wadeable Youghiogheny River (YR) tributaries located in the Allegheny Mountain Section (AMS) and Pittsburgh Low Plateau (PLP) physiographic provinces in Pennsylvania. The AMS is underlain primarily by geologic formations dominated by the Allegheny Group, while the Casselman Formation underlies much of the PLP. Streams draining the AMS were primarily forested, low-order (1–2), high-gradient, and poorly-buffered with minimal cultural influences. By contrast, the majority of the PLP was drained by low-gradient, well-buffered, valley streams of order ≥2, with varying anthropogenic influences. In order to characterize connectivity, all streams were sampled from their mainstream junctions to an endpoint 200 m upstream utilizing back-pack electrofishing. A total of 366 fishes representing seven families, 17 genera, and 22 species were collected from AMS streams, while the PLP yielded 2738 fishes representing 8 families, 25 genera...
Ultrasound of fracture and bone healing.

Although ultrasound is unable to penetrate cortical bone, the high reflectivity of the soft tissue–bone interface and tomographic technique make it possible to assess bone contour and cortical fracture. Ultrasound, by its ability to visualize developing callus before radiographic changes are evident, can be utilized to assess the changes of bone healing.
A microchip for nucleic acid isolation and enrichment

This paper presents a microchip that effectively isolates and enriches target-binding single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in a randomized DNA mixture using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and electrophoresis. The microchip consists of isolation and enrichment microchambers that are connected by a microchannel partially filled with agarose gel. Single-stranded DNA oligomers in the randomized mixture are captured via specific binding onto human immunoglobulin E (IgE) that is immobilized on microbeads in the isolation chamber. Following elution, the oligomers are separated from impurities via electrophoretic transport through the gel-filled microchannel to the enrichment chamber. Experimental results show that this approach can enhance the sensitivity of ssDNA detection methods in dilute and complex biological samples.
Schwarz's lemma for vector-valued analytic functions

Abstract Let D be a domain in the plane, p a point of D, and X a complex Banach space; let m(D, p, X) = sup{∥f′(p)∥: f is a holomorphic X-valued function on D bounded by one}. Theorem 1 of this paper shows that the number m(D, p, X) is independent of X and shows the existence of X-valued holomorphic functions f with ∥f′(p)∥ = m(D, p). The remainder of the theorems investigate the extremal properties of such functions and give conditions on X which imply that each such function has the form φx where φ is a scalar-valued bounded holomorphic function and x is a point of X with ∥ x ∥ = 1.
Wide line, low current electromigration in Al-Cu metallization with refractory underlayer

A one-year electromigration experiment was performed on an 8.9 /spl mu/m wide serpentine metal structure, at stress current densities from 0.3 to 1.3 MA/cm/sup 2/. Resistance decreases were observed and explained, and used to estimate a drift velocity which is linearly proportional to the difference between the stress current and the current threshold. The activation energy was found to be approximately 1.1 eV. >
Handbook of HIV Prevention: Edited by John L. Peterson and Ralph J. DiClemente; New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2000, 337 pages

In the two decades since the beginning of the HIV pandemic, the rapid growth of social science research on HIV prevention has stimulated the need for an advanced sourcebook. The Handbook of HIV Pre...
Portuguese: A Linguistic Introduction

1. Portuguese in the world 2. The sounds of Portuguese 3. Words 4. Sentences 5. Portuguese in time 6. The expansion of European Portuguese 7. Brazilian Portuguese 8. Sociolinguistic issues.
DATA: a decision aid for management of the patient with stable angina pectoris.

Objective: The patient with stable disabling angina must choose between bypass surgery, coronary angioplasty, or medical therapy. Estimation of comparative outcomes of these alternative therapies is difficult. Design: Utilizing Artificial Intelligence, an expert-system computerized decision aid, DATA (Decision Aid for Therapy of Angina), was developed to run on a personal computer and to calculate the probability of each possible clinical event based on individual patient characteristics. For each therapeutic option, relative clinical outcomes and anticipated charges are computed. Ten patients were evaluated retrospectively by DATA and by a group of cardiologists. Results: DATA agreed with the primary therapy given to all patients. The physician group underestimated the value of alternative therapies and underestimated charges for all therapies. Conclusions: This decision aid allows comparison of alternative therapies in terms of relative patient outcome and anticipated costs can be better estimated.
Formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans from soot of benzene and o-dichlorobenzene combustion.

Soots were prepared from flame combustion of benzene and o-dichlorobenzene (ODCB), creating one soot without carbon−chlorine bonds (benzene soot) and one with such bonds (ODCB soot). ODCB soot was tested for PCDD/F formation between 277 and 600 °C without additional chlorine, but levels were very low. Copper and Cu2O were added as potential catalysts for ODCB soot oxidation, but levels of PCDD/F observed were even lower than without these additives. Both benzene soot and ODCB soot produced PCDD/F after adding CuCl2 to the reaction mixtures, suggesting that a (volatile) metal chloride was needed in order for PCDD/F formation to take place. Under the various conditions of [Cu2+], time, and temperature tested, ODCB soot was always more reactive than benzene soot in forming PCDD/F. It seemed plausible that, despite the fact that CuCl2 was very effective in creating C−Cl bonds in benzene soot, the C−Cl bonds created in ODCB soot during preparation were of a reactivity so as to make this soot especially prone t...
CINNAMON: Coupled Integration and Nodal Analysis of MOS Networks

The use of simulation tools to verify the behavior of integrated circuits is a well established technique for circuit design. This paper describes a novel approach for circuit simulation that promises a significant improvement over conventional methods. The algorithm involves an explicit event driven technique that seems stable even when the accuracy of the solution is relaxed, and is able to perform automatic and dynamic partitioning of the network, thus allowing the full exploitation of latency in large digital networks. Although the basic method could be generalized for any type of circuit, in this paper the scope is limited to MOS integrated circuits.
HIV-associated periodontitis complicated by necrotizing stomatitis

This report describes a case of HIV-associated periodontitis complicated by necrotizing stomatitis in a homosexual male patient with AIDS. Necrotizing stomatitis is a rapidly progressive ulcerative and necrotic infection that causes massive destruction of the oral tissues and underlying bone. Like HIV periodontitis, it appears to be related to the immune suppression caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; importantly, it may be life threatening. In this case, initial resolution resulted from local debridement in association with metronidazole therapy. Long-term clinical management consisted of monthly professional prophylaxis, good oral hygiene, and daily rinses with chlorhexidine. This case suggests that progressive oral necrotizing infection should be recognized as one element in the spectrum of oral manifestations of HIV infection.
Solution structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis NmtR in the apo-state: Insights into Ni(II)-mediated allostery

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an obligate human respiratory pathogen that encodes approximately 10 arsenic repressor (ArsR) family regulatory proteins that allow the organism to respond to a wide range of changes in its immediate microenvironment. How individual ArsR repressors have evolved to respond to selective stimuli is of intrinsic interest. The Ni(II)/Co(II)-specific repressor NmtR and related actinomycete nickel sensors harbor a conserved N-terminal α-NH2-Gly2-His3-Gly4 sequence. Here, we present the solution structure of homodimeric apo-NmtR and show that the core of the molecule adopts a typical winged-helix ArsR repressor (α1-α2-α3-αR-β1-β2-α5) “open conformation” that is similar to that of the related zinc sensor Staphylococcus aureus CzrA, but harboring long, flexible N-terminal (residues 2–16) and C-terminal (residues 109–120) extensions. Binding of Ni(II) to the regulatory sites induces strong paramagnetic broadening of the α5 helical region and the extreme N-terminal tail to residue 10. Ra...
Early and Late M Intermediates in the Bacteriorhodopsin Photocycle: A Solid-State NMR Study†

To enforce vectorial proton transport in bacteriorhodopsin (bR), it is necessary that there be a change in molecular structure between deprotonation and reprotonation of the chromophore-i.e., there must be at least two different M intermediates in the functional photocycle. We present here the first detection of multiple M intermediates in native wild-type bacteriorhodopsin by solid-state NMR. Illumination of light-adapted [zeta-15N-Lys]-bR at low temperatures shifts the 15N signal of the retinal Schiff base (SB) downfield by about 150 ppm, indicating a deprotonated chromophore. In 0.3 M Gdn-HCl at pH 10.0, two different M states are obtained, depending on the temperature during illumination. The M state routinely prepared at the lower temperature, Mo, decays to the newly observed M state, Mn, and the N intermediate, as the temperature is increased. Both relax to bR568 at 0 degreesC. A unique reaction sequence is derived: bR568-->Mo-->(Mn+N)-->bR568. Mo and Mn have similar chemical shifts at [12-13C]ret, [14-13C]ret, and [epsilon-13C]Lys216, indicating that Mn, like Mo, has a 13-cis and C=N anti chromophore. However, a small splitting in the [14-13C]ret signal of Mo reveals that it has at least two substates. The 7 ppm greater shielding of the SB nitrogen in Mn compared to Mo suggests an increase in basicity and/or hydrogen bonding. Probing the peptide backbone of the protein, via [1-13C]Val labeling, reveals a substantial structural change between Mo and Mn including the relaxation of perturbations at some sites and the development of new perturbations at other sites. The combination of the change in the protein structure and the increase in the pKa of the SB suggests that the demonstrated Mo-->Mn transition may function as the "reprotonation switch" required for vectorial proton transport.
Analysis of ground tests of a microwave, earth-occultation, pressure-reference-level system.

A two-satellite, microwave, earth-occultation system can supplement an infrared sensor by providing an accurate altitude reference that will serve to fix, as a function of height, the derived temperature profile of the infrared sounder. The results of ground tests made in Hawaii to estimate the likely effects of scintillation and fading on an occultation system are described. It was found that the microwave signal suffered periods of intense fading; extensive computer analyses of the data were performed in which aircraft-generated refractivity profiles were subjected to ray tracing. Results of these analyses indicate that the probable cause of the observed fading was multipath, a low-altitude phenomenon usually attributed to water vapor inhomogeneities. It is maintained that multipath will therefore have minimal effect on the pressure-reference microwave occultation system, which would operate at a relatively high closest-approach altitude (about 8 km).
Effect of pressurization on methylmethacrylate-bone interdigitation: An in vitro study of canine femora

Abstract Aseptic mechanical loosening of the femoral and acetabular components is a major long term complication of total hip arthroplasty. Pressurized injection of bone cement (polymethylmethacrylate) has been advocated for increasing cement-bone interlock. To determine the relationship between cement intrusion pressure and its penetration into cancellous bone, an in-vitro study of paired, fresh frozen canine femora was conducted. Methacrylate cement was injected at predefined constant pressures from 0.11 to 1.23 MPa (16–175 psi). The penetration was quantified for each injection pressure. The results showed a positive logarithmic relationship between the relative penetration and the intrusion pressure, the former reaching a near asymptotic value at approximately 0.70 MPa (100 psi). Unequal radial distribution of cement within the metaphysis was demonstrated. Greater penetration was observed into the proximal postero-lateral cancellous bone bed as compared to other regions. The relationship between cement penetration and bone size was explored at a single constant pressure of 0.35 MPa (50 psi). Although absolute cement penetration was found to be linearly related to the bone size, the relative penetration remained nearly constant with bone size.
Relation of leptin to insulin resistance syndrome in children.

Objectives: To examine the relation of leptin to insulin resistance, as measured by euglycemic insulin clamp, and insulin resistance syndrome factors in thin and heavy children. Research Methods and Procedures: Anthropometrics, insulin, blood pressure, and leptin were measured in 342 11- to 14-year-old children (189 boys, 153 girls, 272 white, 70 black). Insulin sensitivity (M) was determined by milligrams glucose uptake per kilogram per minute and expressed as M/lean body mass (Mlbm). Children were divided by median BMI (boys = 20.5 kg/m2; girls = 21.4 kg/m2) into below-median (thin) and above-median (heavy) groups. Correlation coefficients between log-leptin and components of insulin resistance syndrome were adjusted for Tanner stage, gender, and race. Results: BMI was related to leptin in boys (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) and girls (r = 0.75, p < 0.001). Leptin was higher in girls than boys (32.6 vs. 12.3 ng/mL, p = 0.0001). Leptin levels increased in girls and decreased in boys during puberty, paralleling the changes in body fat. Leptin was significantly correlated with insulin, Mlbm, triglycerides, and blood pressure in heavy children and only with insulin in thin children. After adjustment for body fat, the correlations remained significant for insulin and Mlbm in heavy children and with insulin in thin children. Discussion: Significant associations were found between leptin and insulin resistance in children, and these associations were attenuated by adjustment for adiposity. These findings at age 13 likely have long-term consequences in the development of the obesity-insulin resistance-related cardiovascular risk profile.
Activation energies to characterize ease of removal of various kinds of oxygen from bismuth molybdate

Abstract The technique of minimum energy paths is used on oxygen ions of different types leaving a unit cell on the surface of the lattice of the 2:1 bismuth molybdate (Bi 2 MoO 6 ). Several kinds of behavior are obtained. Oxygen ions originally between the molybdenum and the bismuth layers of the unit cell are first considered. The activation energy computed for the transition of such ions from inside the lattice to outside, near the interface, is approximately 2 eV. This implies that it is possible for some of this type of ion to be removed from the lattice. The corresponding activation energy for an ion in the molybdenum layer is a little larger. For an O 2− ion in the bismuth layer, the activation energy is found to be enormously high, apparently implying that such ions could never directly leave the lattice. However, a great deal of information indicates that it is just such an ion that takes part in a chemical reaction with the hydrocarbon. While the presence of the hydrocarbon will perhaps facilitate the removal of this O 2− ion by factors not considered in the present analysis, the requirement still seems overly high. It is suggested that the presence of anion vacancies reduces this activation energy. The role of prereduction in forming a reproducible catalyst is hypothesized in this manner.
Residential migration and crowding

The challenges of migration research are described. Consistent with other attempts to adapt social-psychological theory to the area of migration the present effort delineates an analysis of crowding and its implications for residential migration research. Crowding is delineated in terms of perception interpretation generation of stress adaptation and consequent response. Residential migration decisions not to move and social behavior disruption are hypothesized to be understandable from such a perspective. Investigative directions are suggested. (excerpt)
Estimating size, scope, and membership of the speech/sign communities of undocumented indigenous/village sign languages: The Ban Khor case study

Abstract Indigenous or village sign languages arise suddenly, spread rapidly, and disappear quickly. Their compressed life cycles lend urgency to and pose challenges for language documentation, description, preservation, and revitalization. This case study analysis of a Thai village sign language demonstrates how the traditional anthropological methods of mapping, surname analysis, kinship diagramming, medical genetic pedigrees, and social network analysis were effectively combined to develop a foundational description of the size, scope, and membership of Ban Khor Sign Language’s speech/sign community. This replicable metric can aid other fieldworkers in producing baseline accounts of the speech/sign communities of other un(der)documented indigenous sign languages.
Risk management for plausibly hormetic environmental carcinogens: the case of radon.

Risk management typically involves efforts to reduce human exposures by establishing regulations that limit the concentration of the substance in environmental media. In cases where a substance is widely used in commerce or is naturally occurring in the environment, compliance costs can be substantial because of nationwide requirements to add expensive control technologies. Uncertainties in a dose-response function further impact risk management decisions because they may correspond to large differences in health benefit per unit exposure reduction. These problems are highlighted in the case of plausibly hormetic environmental carcinogens, for which a linear-no-threshold (LNT) dose-response model has been the traditional regulatory default assumption. In this case, model uncertainty is pivotal, and risk management is consequently inherently controversial. However, marginal cost functions that arise for plausibly hormetic carcinogens are expected to possess a common analytic feature that may be particularl...
In Vitro Evaluation of Polyisobutylcyanoacrylate Nanoparticles as a Controlled Drug Carrier for Theophylline

AbstractTheophylline nanoparticles were prepared by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization technique in continuos aqueous phase. The polymerization process was carried out at a pH 3. Different concentrations of isobutylcyacoacrylate (IBCA) were used to investigate the effect of monomer concentration. The in vitro release of theophylline in phosphate buffer was studied. An HPLC assay was used to follow the release of the drug from the nanospheres. This polymerization technique was able to hold 2349% of the drug initially dissolved in the aqueous medium. The percentage drug loading is a monomer concentration dependent. Increasing the monomer concentration above 40 μL per mL resulted in a less significant increase in the percentage drug loading. The percentage of drug retained in nanospheres up to 24 hr followed first order kinetics (r = 0.94-0.98). The release rate constant of theophylline from nanoparticles is inversely related to the monomer concentration in the initial solution (r = 0.996). In the mean ...
Debating the BVSR Theory of Creativity: Comments on Dasgupta (2011) and Gabora (2011)

Donald Campbell's blind variation and selective retention (BVSR) theory of creativity is now more than a half-century old, but it continues to provoke debate, both in his original version and in the later versions of subsequent researchers, especially Simonton (e.g., 2010a). Gabora (2011) and Dasgupta (2011) have provided useful and detailed critiques. The present response begins with an overview of the debate's history, and then turns to the two sets of criticisms. This reply then closes with a suggested integrative reconciliation in which variation-selection episodes can be evaluated along a blind-sighted continuum.
Natural Transmission of Avian-Lymphomatosis

Abstract A KEY to the control of lymphomatosis may be present in studies which involve natural transmission of the disease. Doyle (1927) was one of the first investigators to suggest that this disease was transmitted by way of the egg. Later numerous investigators, Warrack and Dalling (1932), Biely et at. (1932), Seager (1933), Blakemore and Glover (1935), Gibbs (1936), Tower (1937), McClary and Upp (1939), and Lee and Wilcke (1941), made suggestions and presented evidence which incriminated both the egg and infected birds as carriers of some form of lymphomatosis. Further evidence by Waters and Prickett (1944) has strengthened the conclusion that the egg and the infected bird serve as a means of transmission of the disease. The object of the present study, from data accumulated over a period of five years, is to add further factual evidence that the disease can be transmitted under natural conditions both through the egg . . .
Fully adaptive space-spectral detection of small targets in the absence of a-priori knowledge of the spectral signature of the target

The ability to detect and track dim unresolved targets in heavy clutter can be improved by the inclusion of the spectral dimension. Because of the great variation in targets, operating conditions and environments factors the spectral signature of the target is typically unknown. This paper present a fully adaptive matched filter and tracking paradigm which assumes no a priori information about the spectral signature of the target. It is shown that the full SCR gain can be realized in the absence of the spectral signature of the target. The ROC curve of the detector is used to show that performance loss due to the absence of spectral information is entirely due to an increase in the false alarm probability. This increase in PFA adversely effects tracker performance. The SCR track feature is developed to mitigate these effects. Track features provide an information shunt around the detection threshold nonlinearity that would otherwise block the flow of useful information to the tracker.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Clinical Utility of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Fourth Edition After Traumatic Brain Injury:

The performance of 100 patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) was compared with that of 100 demographically matched neurologically healthy controls. Processing Speed was the only WAIS-IV factor index that was able to discriminate between persons with moderate-severe TBI on the one hand and persons with either less severe TBI or neurologically healthy controls on the other hand. The Processing Speed index also had acceptable sensitivity and specificity when differentiating between patients with TBI who either did or did not have scores in the clinically significant range on the Trail Making Test. It is concluded that WAIS-IV Processing Speed has acceptable clinical utility in the evaluation of patients with moderate-severe TBI but that it should be supplemented with other measures to assure sufficient accuracy in the diagnostic process.
Post-crash fire testing of titanium fuselages

The problem … maintain fuselage integrity and a survivable cabin environment during a post-crash fire. Its high melting point made titanium an attractive candidate for the large-scale test discussed here.
The advantages of mathematical modeling over traditional methods in the analysis of category clustering

Abstract A mathematical model for the analysis of category clustering is developed and testd. The model, which can be applied to categories of any size, is an extension of a two-item statistical model developed by Batchelder and Riefer ( Psychological Review , 1980 , 87 , 375–397), and is equivalent to their model when categories consist of two items. The model is based on a current theory of clustering which postulates that the learning of a list of category items occurs on different hierarchical levels. Two category list-learning experiments are presented, and the data from these experiments are analyzed using the general statistical model. The first experiment reveals that the probabilities of storing and retrieving a cluster increase with category size, while the learning of items as singletons decreases. The effects of within-category spacing indicate that the storage of clusters decreases while cluster retrievability increases with an increase in input spacing. In the second experiment, the storage and retrieval of clusters are shown to be unaffected by whether the presentation of items is uncued or cued with the name of the category. However, the association of items decreases and the learning of items as singletons increases with uncued presentation. In the final sections, the general statistical model is compared to other methods for the measurement of category clustering. The model is shown to be superior to numerical indices of clustering, since these measures are not based on any theory of clustering, and because unitary measures cannot capture the multiprocess nature of categorized recall. The model is also argued to have certain advantages over other mathematical models that have been applied to category clustering, since these models cannot account for situations in which a portion of the items are clustered while others are learned singularly.
Discovery of human macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)-CD74 antagonists via virtual screening.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a cytokine that is involved in the regulation of inflammation as well as cell proliferation and differentiation. Deactivation of MIF by antibodies or inhibition of MIF binding to its receptor, CD74, attenuates tumor growth and angiogenesis. To discover small-molecule inhibitors of MIF’s biological activity, virtual screening was performed by docking 2.1 million compounds into the MIF tautomerase active site. After visual inspection of 1200 top-ranked MIF-ligand complexes, 26 possible inhibitors were selected and purchased and 23 of them were assayed. The in vitro binding assay for MIF with CD74 revealed that 11 of the compounds have inhibitory activity in the micromolar regime, including four compounds with IC50 values below 5 μM. Inhibition of MIF tautomerase activity was also established for many of the compounds with IC50 values as low as 0.5 μM; Michaelis−Menten analysis was performed for two cases and confirmed the competitive inhibition.
The buoyancy and variable viscosity effects on a water laminar boundary layer along a heated longitudinal horizontal cylinder.

Abstract The solution of a three-dimensional water boundary layer along a heated horizontal longitudinal hollow cylinder is given. Since the thickness of the boundary layer in the region distance O(a) from the leading edge is thin compared with the radius of the cylinder, the terms of transverse curvature effect can be neglected and the solution is valid for both outer and inner flow provided the induced pressure gradient of inner flow is being neglected. The effects of water variable viscosity on the heat transfer and shear stress distribution are discussed. It has been found that the variable viscosity effect can enhance the heat-transfer rate and can stabilize the boundary-layer flow. On the other hand, the secondary boundary layer induced by the buoyancy forces degrades the heat transfer and destabilizes the boundary layer over the top half of the cylinder.