cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Why were the benefits of tPA exaggerated

News magazine US News and World Report began an article aboutthrombolytic treatment of acute stroke with the following anecdote: One Wednesday morning in January, 36-year-old Laurie Lucas was rushingabout, dressing her daughters for school and talking on the phone, when astrange confusion swept over her. She felt woozy. Her right arm flailed aboutand her right leg went weak. Paramedics arriving at Lucas's Sanford, Florida,home thought she was having epileptic seizures, but brain scans revealed ablockage of an artery that supplies the brain with blood. Lucas, a physicallyfit former professional cheerleader, had suffered a massive stroke... If Lucashad been stricken a year ago, before a new treatment was developed, she almostcertainly would havedied.1(p62) This story is interesting but misleading. It is not plausible thatphysicians could accurately conclude that Laurie Lucas “almost certainlywould have died” without treatment. Nor is it true that“massive” strokes are likely to benefit from thrombolytictreatment.2 Inaddition to several anecdotes, the US News and World Report articleincludes “expert” testimony in which prominent physiciansexaggerate the efficacy and effectiveness of the new treatment. Such exaggerations also appear in medical journals and other professionalvenues. Specialists have announced “the decade of thebrain,”3 a“new era of proactive rather than reactive stroketherapy,”4 and“transformation from a realm of fatalism to a field of therapeuticopportunities.”5Landis and associates write, “With the tools in hand, recognition ofischemic stroke as a medical emergency and application of prudent thrombolytictechniques will have a major impact on stroke morbidity andmorality.”6(p226)Some commentators even warn of lawsuits if thrombolytic agents are not givento eligible strokepatients.7 Theseclaims are without scientificbasis.8,9,10Yet, robust exaggerations and effusive sentiments of this sort appear notmerely in the literature concerning acute stroke but on other topics as well.They are a serious problem because they exhibit interpretation bias, which maylead to errors in clinical judgment and to unrealistic patientexpectations.11
Repair for the Masses? Gender and Care Work in the Fixers’ Collective

Meg Young and Daniela Rosner address a key aspect of the global renewal of our relation to objects, through an ethnographic study of a local “repair culture,” four Fixers Collectives in the Pacific Northwest region. In that setting, the authors identify a tension between, on the one hand, the empowering trend to take back the reins of the objects that surround us and, on the other, the stubbornness of classical gender roles and scripts, when it comes to doing the actual repair work. Through fine observations of the various obstacles that prevent women from taking an active role (i.e., other than a role as assistant or spectator of the male repairer) in the actual repair work, they highlight some internal tensions of an otherwise progressive and participative “repair culture.” Analytically, they ask how their engagements with care and repair can help produce different accounts of gender, and how their engagements with gender can, in turn, help develop different ways of understanding care and repair. Adopting care ethics as a lens, acts of care toward objects help to reconfigure conventional collective gender identities and norms.
Moments and reductions

In this note we gather together some diverse facts about the moment map for symplectic group actions and the corresponding reductions of the symplectic manifold on which the group acts. We also relate moment maps with the “character Lagrangian” so as to obtain “intertwining Lagrangians” for Hamiltonian group actions.
TiO2 Nanowires Based System for Urea Photodecomposition and Dialysate Regeneration

To enable portable kidney dialysis for end-stage renal disease, the regeneration of the dialysate in a closed loop system is a critical technical barrier. Currently dialysis treatment uses ∼120 L o...
Recruiting from the shallow end of the pool: Differences in cognitive and compliance measures for subject pool participants based on enrollment time across an academic term

ABSTRACTCognitive psychologists often recruit through university-organized subject pools. Such pools are effective for data collection, providing access to a convenient sample. However, there are p...
Periodicity Scoring of Time Series Encodes Dynamical Behavior of the Tumor Suppressor p53

In this paper, we analyze the dynamical behavior of the tumor suppressor protein p53, an essential player in the cellular stress response, which prevents a cell from dividing if severe DNA damage is present. When this response system is malfunctioning, e.g. due to mutations in p53, uncontrolled cell proliferation may lead to the development of cancer. Understanding the behavior of p53 is thus crucial to prevent its failing. It has been shown in various experiments that periodicity of the p53 signal is one of the main descriptors of its dynamics, and that its pulsing behavior (regular vs. spontaneous) indicates the level and type of cellular stress. In the present work, we introduce an algorithm to score the local periodicity of a given time series (such as the p53 signal), which we call "Detrended Autocorrelation Periodicity Scoring" (DAPS). It applies pitch detection (via autocorrelation) on sliding windows of the entire time series to describe the overall periodicity by a distribution of localized pitch scores. We apply DAPS to the p53 time series obtained from single cell experiments and establish a correlation between the periodicity scoring of a cell9s p53 signal and the number of cell division events. In particular, we show that high periodicity scoring of p53 is correlated to a low number of cell divisions and vice versa. We show similar results with a more computationally intensive state-of-the-art periodicity scoring algorithm based on topology known as Sw1PerS. This correlation has two major implications: It demonstrates that periodicity scoring of the p53 signal is a good descriptor for cellular stress, and it connects the high variability of p53 periodicity observed in cell populations to the variability in the number of cell division events.
Constructing and Verifying Program Theory Using Source Documentation.

Making the program theory explicit is an essential first step in Theory Driven Evaluation (TDE). Once explicit, the program logic can be established making necessary links between the program theory, activities, and outcomes. Despite its importance evaluators often encounter situations where the program theory is not explicitly stated. Under such circumstances evaluators require alternatives to generate a program theory with limited time and resources. Using source documentation (e.g., lesson plans, mission statements) to develop program theory is discussed in the evaluation literature as a viable alternative when time and resources do not permit a priori program theory development. Unfortunately, the evaluation literature is devoid of methodology illustrating how to translate source documentation into an explicitly stated program theory. The article describes the steps in using source documentation to develop and verify a program theory and illustrates the application of these steps. It concludes with a discussion about the feasibility and limitations of this methodology.
Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin plus zinc vs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone: outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Abstract Background COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a pandemic infection that has caused significant mortality and economic losses. Potential therapies and means of prophylaxis against COVID-19 are urgently needed to combat this novel infection. As a result of in vitro evidence suggesting zinc sulfate may be efficacious against COVID-19, our hospitals began using zinc sulfate as add-on therapy to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. We performed a retrospective observational study to compare hospital outcomes among patients who received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin plus zinc versus hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone. Methods Data was collected from electronic medical records for all patients being treated with admission dates ranging from March 2, 2020 through April 5, 2020. Initial clinical characteristics on presentation, medications given during the hospitalization, and hospital outcomes were recorded. Patients in the study were excluded if they were treated with other investigational medications. Results The addition of zinc sulfate did not impact the length of hospitalization, duration of ventilation, or ICU duration. In univariate analyses, zinc sulfate increased the frequency of patients being discharged home, and decreased the need for ventilation, admission to the ICU, and mortality or transfer to hospice for patients who were never admitted to the ICU. After adjusting for the time at which zinc sulfate was added to our protocol, an increased frequency of being discharged home (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.12-2.09) reduction in mortality or transfer to hospice remained significant (OR 0.449, 95% CI 0.271-0.744). Conclusion This study provides the first in vivo evidence that zinc sulfate in combination with hydroxychloroquine may play a role in therapeutic management for COVID-19. 40-word summary: Zinc sulfate added to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may improve outcomes among hospitalized patients.
Nanosecond pulse shaping at 780 nm with fiber-based electro-optical modulators and a double-pass tapered amplifier

We describe a system for generating frequency-chirped and amplitude-shaped pulses on time scales from sub-nanosecond to ten nanoseconds. The system starts with cw diode-laser light at 780 nm and utilizes fiber-based electro-optical phase and intensity modulators, driven by an arbitrary waveform generator, to generate the shaped pulses. These pulses are subsequently amplified to several hundred mW with a tapered amplifier in a delayed double-pass configuration. Frequency chirps up to 5 GHz in 2 ns and pulse widths as short as 0.15 ns have been realized.
Language and Culture

The literary culture of later Georgian England remained bound to traditional poetic diction and to the Augustan couplet even as politics and industry were changing the social landscape for ever, and with it the reading habits of an expanding public. Coleridge was trained to the traditional standard and chafed at the newer popular writing. His early reviews of gothic romances show him thinking about the fate of literature in this transitional period. Characterizing M. G. Lewis’s sensationalistic triple-decker, The Monk, on its appearance in 1796, he tried to put the tale’s popular appeal in perspective. Its fantastic excesses he took to be signs of the times.1
Irritability, Anger, and Aggression in the Context of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder.

Irritability, anger, and aggression, although not specific for pediatric bipolar disorder (BD), can be a common finding and an important source of distress and impairment in these patients. Over the past 2 decades the diagnostic significance of irritability in pediatric BD has been highly debated. Beyond the debate of its diagnostic significance, the clinical importance of irritability, anger, and aggression in youth with BD has been well established. In this review, the authors discuss evaluation and management strategies of irritability, anger, and aggression in youth with BD.
Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Genetic Risk Factors for Spastic Cerebral Palsy.

BACKGROUND Although many clinical risk factors of spastic cerebral palsy (CP) have been identified, the genetic basis of spastic CP is largely unknown. Here, using whole-genome genetic information linked to a deidentified electronic health record (BioVU) with replication in the UK Biobank and FinnGen, we perform the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) for spastic CP. OBJECTIVE To define the genetic basis of spastic CP. METHODS Whole-genome data were obtained using the multi-ethnic genotyping array (MEGA) genotyping array capturing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), minor allele frequency (MAF) > 0.01, and imputation quality score (r2) > 0.3, imputed based on the 1000 genomes phase 3 reference panel. Threshold for genome-wide significance was defined after Bonferroni correction for the total number of SNPs tested (P < 5.0 × 10-8). Replication analysis (defined as P < .05) was performed in the UK Biobank and FinnGen. RESULTS We identify 1 SNP (rs78686911) reaching genome-wide significance with spastic CP. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis suggests that rs78686911 decreases expression of GRIK4, a gene that encodes a high-affinity kainate glutamatergic receptor of largely unknown function. Replication analysis in the UK Biobank and FinnGen reveals additional SNPs in the GRIK4 loci associated with CP. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, we perform the first GWAS of spastic CP. Our study indicates that genetic variation contributes to CP risk.
The DEMATEL approach for integrating resilience indicators into building sustainability assessment frameworks

Abstract Resilience to natural and manmade hazards is rarely included in sustainability assessment frameworks. Despite their diverging principles, sustainability and resilience should be accounted for in conjunction with one another. This research proposes the integration of resilience indicators into preexisting sustainability assessment frameworks to create a combined building assessment framework. Given that sustainability assessment tools have been around for more than three decades, this study uses them as a basis for the integration process. Integrating resilience indicators into sustainability assessment frameworks to ensure green buildings withstand the disturbing forces of weather events or other disasters requires some tradeoffs between the two concepts. To better understand whether and to what extent the integration of resilience into sustainability assessment tools contributes or competes against the overall sustainability of buildings, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) was used. The findings suggest that Efficient Operation and Maintenance, and Energy Efficiency are the factors that contribute the most to the sustainability of buildings. Among resilience indicators, Flexible Systems, and Avoidance of Building in Hazard-Prone Areas are among the cause-factors and can impact other factors to enhance the overall sustainability of buildings. Plan and Design for Site-specific Hazards or Extreme Events was identified as the strongest factor in compromising the sustainability of buildings. Design for Durability and Structural Robustness was also noted to have the highest impact on other sustainability detractors. Furthermore, this manuscript presents data to illustrate the proposed framework's proof-of-concept and discusses the benefits and limitations of this approach along with future research opportunities.
Increased airway reactivity in a neonatal mouse model of continuous positive airway pressure.

Increased airway reactivity in a neonatal mouse model of continuous positive airway pressure
VI Beam-Foil Spectroscopy

Publisher Summary The fundamental observation that is made in beam-foil spectroscopy (BFS) is of the intensity of radiation as a function of some parameter such as time, wavelength, and external field. With the important exception of electrons, the observed radiation is in the form of light, and the spectral purity of the detected spectral lines is often a matter of concern. Thus, much attention has been devoted in recent years to making improvements in the shape of the spectral lines. The need for improvement and the achievements to date are reviewed in this chapter. The opportunity afforded by the beam-foil light source of studying the structures of many different elements in many different stages of ionization permits following hitherto-unknown level schemes over a number of members of an isoelectronic sequence. Two areas are of special interest: levels in multiplyionized atoms and levels due to the simultaneous excitation of two or more electrons.
Gastrin-releasing peptide is a mitogen and a morphogen in murine colon cancer.

Little is known about the factors involved in regulating the appearance, or differentiation, of solid tumors including those arising from the colon. We herein demonstrate that the mitogen gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is a morphogen, critically important in regulating the differentiation of murine colon cancer. Although epithelial cells lining the mouse colon do not normally express GRP and its receptor (GRP-R), both are aberrantly expressed by all better differentiated cancers in wild-type C57BL/6J mice treated with the carcinogen azoxymethane. Whereas small tumors in both wild-type and GRP-R-deficient (i.e., GRP-R-/-) mice are histologically similar, larger tumors become better differentiated in the former but degenerate into more poorly differentiated mucinous adenocarcinomas in the latter. This alteration in phenotype is attributable to GRP increasing focal adhesion kinase expression in GRP-R-expressing tumors. Consistent with GRP acting as a mitogen, GRP/GRP-R coexpressing tumors in wild-type animals also contain more proliferating cells than those occurring in GRP-R-/- mice. Yet tumors are similarly sized in animals of either genotype receiving azoxymethane for identical times, a finding attributable to the significantly higher number of apoptotic cells detected in GRP/GRP-R coexpressing cancers. Thus, these findings indicate that although GRP is a mitogen, aberrant expression does not result in increased tumor growth. Rather, the mitogenic properties of GRP are subordinate to it acting as a morphogen, where it and its receptor are critically involved in regulating colon cancer histological progression by promoting a well-differentiated phenotype.
A giant cell surface protein in Synechococcus WH8102 inhibits feeding by a dinoflagellate predator.

Summary Diverse strains of the marine planktonic cyanobacte- rium Synechococcus sp. show consistent differences in their susceptibility to predation. We used mutants of Sargasso Sea strain WH8102 (clade III) to test the hypothesis that cell surface proteins play a role in defence against predation by protists. Predation rates by the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina on mutants lacking the giant SwmB protein were always higher (by 1.6 to 3.9¥) than those on wild-type WH8102 cells, and equalled predation rates on a clade I strain (CC9311). In contrast, absence of the SwmA protein, which comprises the S-layer (surface layer of the cell envelope that is external to the outer mem- brane), had no effect on predation by O. marina. Reductions in predation rate were not due to dis- solved substances in Synechococcus cultures, and could not be accounted for by variations in cell hydro- phobicity. We hypothesize that SwmB defends Syn- echococcus WH8102 by interfering with attachment of dinoflagellate prey capture organelles or cell surface receptors. Giant proteins are predicted in the genomes of multiple Synechococcus isolates, sug- gesting that this defence strategy may be more general. Strategies for resisting predation will con- tribute to the differential competitive success of dif- ferent Synechococcus groups, and to the diversity of natural picophytoplankton assemblages.
Defensive Practice Adoption in the Face of Organizational Stigma: Impression Management and the Diffusion of Stock Option Expensing

Although most diffusion research focuses on firms adopting new practices to maintain their legitimacy, this paper examines a setting in which firms adopted a controversial practice to defend themselves against challenges relating to corporate deviance. We argue that understanding defensive adoption requires attending to both the dynamics of organizational stigma and impression management, and test our theoretical claims by analysing the diffusion of an accounting practice, stock option expensing (SOPEX), following the Enron scandal. We first provide evidence that the media and shareholder activists transformed the practice into a defensive device by theorizing it as a solution to problems relating to corporate fraud and corporate governance. Using event history analysis, we then show that corporations that became targets of stigma-inducing threats were more likely to adopt SOPEX and that the media were a key force channelling these threats.
Evaluation of a QRS scoring system for estimating myocardial infarct size: VIII. Specificity in a control group with left ventricular hypertrophy and proposal of a new scoring system for use with this confounding factor☆

Electrocardiographic differentiation between left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and myocardial infarction (MI) is often difficult because both diagnoses are based primarily on QRS changes on the electrocardiogram (ECG). The specific goal of this study was the development of ECG criteria that could be used with the complete Selvester QRS scoring system for MI size in patients with LVH. A study population of 127 patients had significant aortic valve disease verified by cardiac catheterization. Inclusion in the study required no significant coronary artery disease, no focal contraction abnormality on the left ventriculogram, and no documented MI. Quantitative criteria for LVH developed by Bonner (IBM) and also those developed by the Cornell group were used to determine the ECG evidence for LVH in each patient. One or both sets of criteria were met in 110 (87%) of the 127 patients. This group was compared to a previously evaluated control population of 500 normal subjects. The complete 54-criteria, 32-point QRS MI size scoring system was applied to the 12-lead ECG of both groups. The score was 98% specific in the normal controls and 73% specific in the LVH group using a score of greater than 3 points as diagnostic for MI. Of the 54 individual QRS criteria, 16 failed to achieve 95% specificity in the LVH population: 13 were for anterior (and apical), 2 for inferior, and 1 for posterior locations. Of these 16, minor modifications to 11 were sufficient to achieve the 95% specificity standard.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
It's a wonderful hypogean life: a guide to the troglomorphic fishes of the world

There are at least 86 species of troglomorphic fishes belonging to 18 families. Some of those families are characterized by features that can be labeled as preadaptations to the hypogean life; others are not. The level of structural reduction in eye development and pigmentation is highly variable, even within some populations. Reduction in number and complexity of scales does occur but has yet to be fully documented. Reduction in the size and structure of the swim(gas)bladder may be another troglomorphic feature. There is considerable doubt on the taxonomic position of many species of troglomorphic fishes given that a number of them have been described solely on the basis of morphology while genetically they may be very closely correlated to genera different from those they have been assigned to. Geographically speaking there are no evident patterns since many of those species are not found in karstic areas but in phreatic waters. These fishes represent an excellent example of convergent evolution.
Learning and participation in a persistent whole-classroom seismology simulation

This paper presents the results of a six-week unit on seismology conducted in a fifth-grade classroom. The unique feature of the unit involved the use of classroom technology designed to support students' participation in an authentic seismological practice: the interpretation of seismograms to determine the epicenter and magnitude of earthquakes. The goals of the empirical study were (1) to gain insight into the impact of the intervention with respect to student mastery of seismological practice skills, development of conceptual understanding of earthquake distributions, and changes in self-conception as investigative agents, and (2) to investigate student participation in an emerging community of practice over an extended time course.
Measurement and simulation of pulsed plasma development at medium pressure in a non-uniform field

The development of plasma in a medium pressure (50 torr) environment in nitrogen was studied by simulation and measurement under the influence of non-uniform, pulsed electric fields. A GPU-accelerated, 3-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC)/Monte Carlo Collision (MCC) simulation code was written utilizing the CUDA platform to simulate pulsed plasma development in a nitrogen environment and uncover the transient plasma characteristics in detail. The simulation provides significant speed-up over the CPU equivalent implementations. Experimentally, a needle-protrusion (1.5 mm in length, 200 μηι tip radius) opposite a brass ground plane with the distance between needle-tip and wall held at 1.5 mm provided a non-homogeneous field. Excitation of the needle-plane gap was achieved with a ∼100 ns rise-time high-voltage pulser with a peak voltage of 30 kV. Diagnostics included time-resolved nanosecond gated imaging for light intensity measurements and high speed electrical probes for timing. A time series of the plasma formation captured with a 5 ns camera gate revealed a mostly uniform expanding plasma cloud from the needle tip.
Does ‘gliding while gravid’ explain Rensch's rule in flying lizards?

Among species with sexual size dimorphism (SSD), taxa in which males are the larger sex have increasing SSD with increasing body size, whereas in taxa in which females are the larger sex, SSD decreases with body size: Rensch's rule. We show in flying lizards, a clade of mostly female-larger species, that SSD increases with body size, a pattern similar to that in clades with male-biased SSD or more evenly mixed SSD. The observed pattern in Draco appears due to SSD increasing with evolutionary changes in male body size; specifically divergence in body size among species that are in sympatric congeneric assemblages. We suggest that increasing body size, resulting in decreased gliding performance, reduces the relative gliding cost of gravidity in females, and switches sexual selection in males away from a small-male, gliding advantage and toward selection on large size and fighting ability as seen in many other lizards. Thus, selection for large females is likely greater than selection for large males at the smaller end of the body size continuum, whereas this relationship reverses for species at the larger end of the continuum. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 270–282.
A linear optimization based controller method for real-time load shifting in industrial and commercial buildings

Abstract Effective demand responsiveness (DR) is crucial to the stability of the electrical grid. The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources demands higher load variation adaptability. Therefore, consumer-side flexibility is required for responding to abrupt DR signals. Real-time pricing (RTP) offer a direct approach for continually communicating DR signals. RTP has shown effectiveness in residential applications, however, its implications are impaired in industrial buildings which are less price-elastic due to stresses imposed by just in time (JIT) manufacturing and market competition. In this paper, we propose an instantaneous demand control methodology for industrial and commercial buildings, where the DR action is continually updated as new DR signals are received. We utilize the hour-ahead RTP (RTP-HA) tariffs and the demand shifting concept. The instantaneous approach is independent of price prediction uncertainty and scheduling approaches. The controller algorithm is converted to a linear optimization problem which is solved optimally and saves computational time, making it practical for real-time use. The method is robust and verified using MATLAB/SIMULINK with actual, 1 week, data from eight industrial and commercial buildings in Florida. Results show modest reductions in consumers’ electricity bills while maintaining required comfort standards. Results also address the load synchronization problem associated with RTP.
Arsenic precipitation in GaAs for single-electron tunneling applications

Compositional control of precipitate position by preferential precipitation in a GaAs well sandwiched between low-temperature grown AlGaAs arsenic supply layers is examined for single-electron tunneling applications, where closely spaced particles a few nanometers in diameter are required. Control of small particles formed at low annealing temperatures where positional control is expected to be more difficult is examined. The use of a superlattice supply layer to intentionally increase the arsenic diffusion from the AlGaAs into the GaAs well is also examined. The results suggest useful directions for realizing controlled precipitation at scales of interest for single-electron tunneling applications.
Spatial distribution of nitrogen fixation in methane seep sediment and the role of the ANME archaea.

Nitrogen (N_2) fixation was investigated at Mound 12, Costa Rica, to determine its spatial distribution and biogeochemical controls in deep-sea methane seep sediment. Using ^(15)N_2 tracer experiments and isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis, we observed that seep N_2 fixation is methane-dependent, and that N_2 fixation rates peak in a narrow sediment depth horizon corresponding to increased abundance of aggregates of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME-2) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Using fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled to nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (FISH-NanoSIMS), we directly measured ^(15)N_2 uptake by ANME-2/SRB aggregates (n = 26) and observed maximum ^(15)N incorporation within ANME-2-dominated areas of the aggregates, consistent with previous analyses. NanoSIMS analysis of single cells (n = 34) from the same microcosm experiment revealed no ^(15)N_2 uptake. Together, these observations suggest that ANME-2, and possibly physically associated SRB, mediate the majority of new nitrogen production within the seep ecosystem. ANME-2 diazotrophy was observed while in association with members of two distinct orders of SRB: Desulfobacteraceae and Desulfobulbaceae. The rate of N_2 fixation per unit volume biomass was independent of the identity of the associated SRB, aggregate size and morphology. Our results show that the distribution of seep N_2 fixation is heterogeneous, laterally and with depth in the sediment, and is likely influenced by chemical gradients affecting the abundance and activity of ANME-2/SRB aggregates.
Directional Specificity in the Boronate Cleavage of Unsaturated 1,3-Diol Derivatives

Abstract Recently Miyashita, Yanami, and Yoshikoshi reported an apparent case of peripheral bond cleavage in the fragmentation of the boronate 2 derived from octalin 1 to give aldehyde 4 (Scheme I, Path a).1 Since previous examples of related fragmentations had been shown to proceed with exclusive cleavage of the more highly substituted carbon-carbon bond2 (i.e. 2 → 3) it was of interest to examine the above system in greater detail to determine if the neighboring hydroxyl substituent caused the unexpected bond cleavage or if an alternative pathway (Scheme I, Path b) might be operative in this case.3 To that end, we first examined the behavior of the methyl ether derivative (5) of alcohol 1 which was prepared along the lines described below for ether 15 (Scheme II). However hydroboration of unsaturated ether 5 followed by base treatment led to no identifiable product. Evidently steric factors retard the hydroboration and / or basic cleavage of the intermediate boronate.
Mg2+/Ca2+ cation binding cycle of guanylyl cyclase activating proteins (GCAPs): role in regulation of photoreceptor guanylyl cyclase.

Photon absorption by photoreceptors activates hydrolysis of cGMP, which shuts down cGMP-gated channels and decreases free Ca2+ concentrations in outer segment. Suppression of Ca2+ influx through the cGMP channel by light activates retinal guanylyl cyclase through guanylyl cyclase activating proteins (GCAPs) and thus expedites photoreceptors recovery from excitation and restores their light sensitivity. GCAP1 and GCAP2, two ubiquitous among vertebrate species isoforms of GCAPs that activate retGC during rod response to light, are myristoylated Ca2+/Mg2+-binding proteins of the EF-hand superfamily. They consist of one non-metal binding EF-hand-like domain and three other EF-hands, each capable of binding Ca2+ and Mg2+. In the metal binding EF-hands of GCAP1, different point mutations can selectively block binding of Ca2+ or both Ca2+ and Mg2+ altogether. Activation of retGC at low Ca2+ (light adaptation) or its inhibition at high Ca2+ (dark adaptation) follows a cycle of Ca2+/Mg2+ exchange in GCAPs, rather than release of Ca2+ and its binding by apo-GCAPs. The Mg2+ binding in two of the EF-hands controls docking of GCAP1 with retGC1 in the conditions of light adaptation and is essential for activation of retGC. Mg2+ binding in a C-terminal EF-hand contributes to neither retGC1 docking with the cyclase nor its subsequent activation in the light, but is specifically required for switching the cyclase off in the conditions of dark adaptation by binding Ca2+. The Mg2+/Ca2+ exchange in GCAP1 and 2 operates within different range of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations and provides a two-step activation of the cyclase during rod recovery.
Theoretical study of kinetics of zipping phenomena in biomimetic polymers

In this work we use theory to obtain a mathematical expression for a time correlation function c(l,t) that provides insight into the zipping phenomena along a polymer going through a conformational transition. The polymer is modeled as an Ising-like chain with each segment being in one of two states: bound (+1) or unbound (-1). The time correlation function c(l,t) predicts the correlation between the state of the jth polymer segment at time 0 and the state of the (j+/-l)th polymer segment at time t . The expressions for c(0,t) , c(1,t), and c(2,t) obtained from our theory are dependent on the values of k0 and k1, where 2k0 is the rate coefficient for one segment changing from an unbound state to a bound state when both the neighboring segments are in an unbound state, and 2k1 is the rate coefficient for one segment changing from an unbound state to a bound state when both the neighboring segments are in a bound state. The ratio k1/k0 is an indication of the extent of cooperativity of binding adjacent segments on the polymer. We observe that c(0,t), c(1,t), and c(2,t) decay to 0 (no correlation) more slowly and the maximum values of c(1,t) and c(2,t) are lower for low values of k1/k0 as compared to high values of k1/k0. This is because at low values of k1/k0 the consecutive binding of adjacent segments along the polymer occurs slowly, while at high values of k1/k0 the cooperativity of binding adjacent segments is high and the segments along the polymer bind in a fast zipping mechanism.
DNA helicase E and DNA polymerase epsilon functionally interact for displacement synthesis.

A functional interaction between DNA helicase E and DNA polymerase epsilon from calf thymus has been detected which results in the extension of an upstream 3' OH through a downstream primer to the end of a synthetic template. DNA synthesis resulting in full-length extension products was dependent on the addition of DNA helicase E and hydrolysis of ATP, suggesting that displacement of the downstream primer was required. Identical reactions using DNA polymerases alpha and delta in place of DNA polymerase epsilon showed no full-length products dependent on helicase E, indicating that polymerases alpha and delta were incapable of functionally interacting with the helicase. The reaction leading to full-length extension products was time dependent and dependent on the concentration of added polymerase epsilon and helicase E. Exonucleolytic degradation of the downstream primer, or ligation of the downstream primer to the upstream 3' OH, were not responsible for the full-length products observed. Displacement of the downstream primer by DNA helicase E was not affected by the addition of polymerase epsilon to the reactions. Template dilution experiments demonstrated that DNA polymerase epsilon and helicase E were acting in concert to perform displacement synthesis. Additional evidence for functional coordination was obtained by demonstration that DNA helicase E stimulated DNA polymerase epsilon in a standard DNA synthetic assay using dA3000.dT16 as the template-primer. The results presented are consistent with the hypothesis that DNA helicase E and DNA polymerase epsilon are capable of coordinated activities that result in displacement synthesis. A functional interaction of this sort may be involved at the eukaryotic replication fork or in DNA repair.
Phosphorelay control of virulence gene expression in Bordetella

In Bordetella, the BvgAS phosphorelay comprising the polydomain sensor, BvgS, and response regulator, BvgA, controls the expression of at least three distinct phenotypic phases in response to differences in the concentration of a few chemical compounds. Each phenotypic phase is characterized by maximal expression of some genes and minimal expression of others, and current data support the hypothesis that each plays a distinct and important role in the Bordetella infectious cycle. The ability to control expression of multiple phenotypic states in response to subtle differences in signal intensity could be a characterizing feature of phosphorelays that contain polydomain sensors.
Fabrication and characterization of cross-linkable hydrogel particles based on hyaluronic acid: potential application in vocal fold regeneration.

There is a critical need to engineer hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogels with prolonged in vivo residence time, temporal release of therapeutics and matching viscoelasticity for use in vocal fold tissue engineering. We have previously demonstrated the synthesis and characterization of HA-based soft hydrogel particles (HGP) and particle cross-linked networks as injectable materials to treat vocal fold scarring. In this paper, we report a more versatile technique for preparing cross-linkable HA HGP with reduced sizes. HA HGP were synthesized via chemical cross-linking with divinyl sulfone using a sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane reverse micelle system in the presence of 1-heptanol. These HGP were rendered cross-linkable by introducing aldehyde groups via sodium periodate oxidation (oxHGP). The presence of aldehyde groups was confirmed by multi-photon confocal microscope upon fluorescence staining using cascade blue hydrazide. The aldehyde groups were used as reactive handles for cova...
Economic Aspects of a Nuclear Desalination Agro-Industrial Project in the United Arab Republic

The purpose of the study is to investigate the financial feasibility and social benefits and costs of nuclear desalination agro-industrial projects. As presently designed, such a complex appears to require deficit financing, provide litttle employment, retard national income growth compared to other investment opportunities, and increase the foreign exchange deficit.
Lattice site of helium implanted in magnesium aluminate spinel

Abstract The lattice site of helium implanted at 60 keV in magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4) has been investigated with channeling effect measurements that apply the ion-induced 3He(d, p)4He nuclear reaction. Within the spinel crystal structure, numerous interstices characterized by octahedral anion coordination are intrinsically unfilled by cations. For implantation at 300 K, a typical helium atom locates centrally in one of these vacant octahedral interstices with a probability of approximately 95%. Significant occupation of other lattice sites of either high or low symmetry was rejected. In particular, helium neither clusters in defect complexes nor locates in tetrahedral interstices or substitutional sites.
Comparative aspects of brain organization of an african "wave" electric fish, Gymnarchus niloticus.

Gymnarchus niloticus, one of the less-well-known electroreceptive teleost fishes, is the only African mormyriform fish with a wavelike or tone electric organ discharge. For Gymnarchus, this is the first detailed description of the lateral line lobe, vestibulolateral lobe, cerebellum, and midbrain torus semicircularis—central electrosensory structures. Brain organization in Gymnarchus closely resembles that of mormyrids. In particular, the lateral line lobe is a bilateral structure with three cortical zones—ventral, dorsal, medial—and a fourth central zone of large cells. The convergent evolution of the electric sense of mormyriform and gymnotoid fish, and its central representation, is discussed.
Run-Time Enforcement of Nonsafety Policies

A common mechanism for ensuring that software behaves securely is to monitor programs at run time and check that they dynamically adhere to constraints specified by a security policy. Whenever a program monitor detects that untrusted software is attempting to execute a dangerous action, it takes remedial steps to ensure that only safe code actually gets executed.This article improves our understanding of the space of policies enforceable by monitoring the run-time behaviors of programs. We begin by building a formal framework for analyzing policy enforcement: we precisely define policies, monitors, and enforcement. This framework allows us to prove that monitors enforce an interesting set of policies that we call the infinite renewal properties. We show how to construct a program monitor that provably enforces any reasonable infinite renewal property. We also show that the set of infinite renewal properties includes some nonsafety policies, that is, that monitors can enforce some nonsafety (including some purely liveness) policies. Finally, we demonstrate concrete examples of nonsafety policies enforceable by practical run-time monitors.
Sensitivity analysis of the diagnostic value of endoscopies in cross-sectional studies in the absence of a gold standard.

Objectives The evaluation of the diagnostic value of endoscopic procedures usually lacks a gold standard when performed in cross-sectional studies. The objective is to demonstrate an easily applicable method to assess the possible range of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of endoscopic procedures in the absence of a gold standard method. Methods Data from a study of 328 endoscopies comparing two different methods to diagnose superficial bladder cancer were used as a numerical example. Both endoscopic procedures were performed in the same patients in one session. Under the assumption of a systematic misclassification process, a model to correct sensitivity estimates is developed. Results The lowest possible sensitivity estimate for a new fluorescence endoscopy technique (FE) was 78%, the maximum 97.5%. Depending on realistic assumptions made upon the misclassification, a reasonable estimate for sensitivity was 93.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 90%-97.3%) for the FE technique. The sensitivity of the traditional white-light endoscopy method ranged from 47.2% to 53%, with a reasonable estimate of 46.7% (95% CI: 39.4%-54.3%). Conclusions This method to determine the theoretically possible range of sensitivity estimates in endoscopic procedures is helpful in cross-sectional studies with a missing gold standard method. It is easily applicable for a variety of endoscopic procedures, including upper and lower gastro-intestinal tract, urogenital tract, or diagnostic laparoscopic surgery.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF WATER FROM THE GREAT SALT LAKE.

FROM about 1900 until 1904 fears were expressed that the Great Salt Lake was doomed to extinction, and that it would be a matter of only a few years until its site would become a salt desert. The recession of the shore line and sinking of the lake level continued until the autumn of 1903. Since that time there has been a rise in the level of the lake, and during the year just ending new fears have arisen-fears that large engineering works like the Lucin cut-off of the Southern Pacific and the roadbed of the Western Pacific railroad would have to be abandoned. A succession of years with abnormally high rainfall is responsible for the condition now existing.
A multi-phase multi-frequency clock generator using superharmonic injection locked multipath ring oscillators as frequency dividers

A phase-locked loop providing multiphase clocks at 12-GHz and its subdivisions is presented. A quadrature VCO with low supply sensitivity is used. Frequency division is achieved using superharmonic injection-locked multipath ring oscillators to extend the maximum division frequency of latch-based dividers without using peaking inductors. A low mismatch charge pump reduces the reference spur level to a worst case of -74 dBc. The phase locked loop is fabricated in 65-nm CMOS. It operates in a frequency band between 7.92-12.14 GHz. The measured phase noise, random jitter, and power consumption at 12.08 GHz output frequency are -127.5 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz offset, 251 fs-rms, and 46.6 mW, respectively.
Calcium-independent stimulation of Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase by calmodulin

Bordetella pertussis produces an extracellular adenylate cyclase activity that is present in the culture medium of exponentially growing cells. We have determined that calmodulin (CaM) stimulates this enzyme both in the presence and in the absence of free Ca2+. In the presence of 90 micron Ca2+ half-maximal stimulation of the enzyme occurred at 95 pM calmodulin. Comparable levels of calmodulin stimulation were observed when free Ca2+ levels were minimized by using EGTA-containing buffers. However, the concentration of CaM required for half-maximal stimulation of B. pertussis adenylate cyclase in the presence of 1 nM free Ca2+ was 24 nM. The apparent affinity of the enzyme for calmodulin was also significantly enhanced by Mn2+. In addition, troponin I inhibited calmodulin stimulation of the bacterial adenylate cyclase. Photoaffinity cross-linking experiments using azido[125I]calmodulin and B. pertussis adenylate cyclase revealed only one major cross-linked product having a molecular weight of 97000. It is proposed that the catalytic subunit of the calmodulin-sensitive adenylate cyclase is 77000.
Comparison of electroluminescent quantum efficiencies of PPV and a PPV-related alternating block copolymer

A comparison of the electroluminescent properties of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and a conjugated/non-conjugated alternating block copolymer has been made. The chromophoric sequences in the latter contain about 76 mol% of sequences containing three phenylene or dimethoxy phenylene rings interspersed with vinylene units, with the remaining chromophores being a distribution of longer sequences containing additional phenylene vinylene units. Photoluminescent and electroluminescent spectra of PPV and the block copolymer are very similar, but the quantum efficiency of the latter is up to two orders of magnitude greater. This is attributed largely to morphological differences between the two macromolecules; the block copolymer can provide greater excitonic confinement by virtue of a phase-segregated morphology.
Analysis of prostate-specific membrane antigen splice variants in LNCap cells.

The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a product of the folate hydrolase (FOLH1) gene, is highly expressed as a largely extracellular membrane-anchored protein in malignant prostate tissues and in nonprostatic tumor neovasculature. Treatment of prostate cancer LNCap cells with spliceswitching oligonucleotides (SSOs) modulated splicing of FOLH1 pre-mRNA from the full-length PSMA splice variant to three splice variants: the cytoplasmic PSM′, alternatively spliced at exon 1, and the previously unexamined PSMAΔ6 and PSMAΔ18 variants, which lack exons 6 and 18, respectively. Application of SSOs decreased membrane PSMA levels and increased PSM′, PSMAΔ6, and PSMAΔ18 transcripts. As a result, PSM′ protein was translocated to the cytoplasm, and switching to PSMAΔ6 and PSMAΔ18 downregulated PSMA expression. NAALADase assays showed that PSM′ retained enzymatic activity. PSMAΔ6 and PSMAΔ18 were not active, presumably due to a change in a reading frame that eliminated the NAALDase active site or the dimerizati...