cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Localization of the mRNA for a chicken prion protein by in situ hybridization.

Abstract The infectious agent (prion) responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in humans and animals is composed primarily of a 33- to 35-kDa glycoprotein called PrPSc (scrapie isoform of prion protein), which is a posttranslationally modified form of the normal cell-surface protein PrPC. Little is known about the function of PrPC. Interestingly, chPrP, the chicken homologue of PrPC, copurifies with a factor from brain that stimulates synthesis of acetylcholine receptors on skeletal muscle cells. Using in situ hybridization, we report here that chPrP mRNA is widely distributed in cholinergic and noncholinergic neurons throughout the adult central nervous system, including those in the telencephalic striata, thalamus and hypothalamus, optic tectum, medulla, cerebellum, and spinal cord. The mRNA is present in the brain and spinal cord as early as embryonic day 6 and is also found in dorsal root ganglia, retina, intestine, and heart. Our data suggest that if chPrP serves to regulate acetylcholine receptor number on postsynaptic targets, this is not its only function. It is likely that the protein plays a more widespread role in the central nervous system and perhaps elsewhere, possibly one related to intercellular communication, adhesion, or recognition. The chicken embryo represents an attractive experimental system in which to investigate the normal developmental function of PrPC.
SiC and TaC as optical materials

Abstract The heteroepitaxial growth of β-SiC on silicon and TaC on single-crystal tantalum films for optical applications is reported. Both types of films were deposited by employing a horizontal chemical vapor deposition reactor at temperatures above 1200 °C. The β-SiC comprises single crystals with diameters greater than 2 in. The TaC was grown on single crystals of tantalum with (100) orientation and a crystal diameter greater than 0.5 in. Both materials exhibited reflectances greater than 40% at a wavelength of 100 nm and at angles of incidence less than approximately 70°. These measurements were made on the as-grown samples and are remarkable results given that the samples were not polished to a flatness of less than λ/80 r.m.s. in the visible region.
Factor Analysis in Geology: ABSTRACT

In geology, as in physical science in general, it is sometimes possible to approach complex problems by arranging observations or experiments so that selected variables are held constant. In many cases, however, such a simplification is either difficult to achieve, or unrewarding by reason of uncertainties and artificialities entailed in attempts to duplicate natural conditions in the laboratory. Advent of high-speed digital computers has made it possible to treat such problems by various multivariate statistical techniques. One of these techniques, factor analysis, can be applied to problems involving as many as 200 variables recorded quantitatively or qualitatively on any number of samples. By treating such a data array simultaneously, relationships that might otherwise be missed can be identified and objectively evaluated. One of the most useful features of this system is its ability to specify the number of independent casual influences at work in a given problem and to assess the relative importance of each variable at each locality. Applications to modern sediment data and ancient sedimentary rocks indicate that the scheme is a useful supplement to usual rational procedures of data analysis. End_of_Article - Last_Page 269------------
Effects of demethylchlortetracycline on cellular action of antidiuretic hormone in vitro

Effects of demethylchlortetracycline on cellular action of antidiuretic hormone in vitro . Demethylchlortetracycline (DMC) can induce a syndrome of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in man without affecting other renal functions. Because this pathologic change might be due to interference with the cellular action of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) on the distal nephron, we studied, in vitro , the effect of DMC on some enzymes of the ADH-dependent cyclic AMP (cAMP) system prepared from human renal medulla. Increasing concentrations of DMC produced increasing inhibition of adenylate cyclase basal activity and of the activity stimulated by ADH or by sodium fluoride; at a DMC concentration of 500 µg/ml the inhibition was about 50%. The inhibition appears to be noncompetitive. The same doses of DMC produced only slight inhibition of cAMP diesterase. cAMP-dependent protein kinase contained in cytosol of renal medulla also was inhibited by DMC. Therefore, DMC has the potential to inhibit cAMP formation and the accumulation of cAMP in the renal medulla in response to ADH and also to inhibit cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of proteins in the renal medulla. It is suggested that differential inhibition of these enzymes might be the basis of the unresponsiveness to ADH induced by this drug in vivo . Tetracycline and chlortetracycline had the same effects as DMC in vitro . Additional factors would probably determine why the effect is apparent in vivo only after administration of DMC.
MetR-Regulated Vibrio cholerae Metabolism Is Required for Virulence

LysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs) are the largest, most diverse family of prokaryotic transcription factors, with regulatory roles spanning metabolism, cell growth and division, and pathogenesis. Using a sequence-defined transposon mutant library, we screened a panel of V. cholerae El Tor mutants to identify LTTRs required for host intestinal colonization. Surprisingly, out of 38 LTTRs, only one severely affected intestinal colonization in the suckling mouse model of cholera: the me- thionine metabolism regulator, MetR. Genetic analysis of genes influenced by MetR revealed that glyA1andmetJwere also re- quired for intestinal colonization. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of MetR and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT- PCR) confirmed interaction with and regulation of glyA1, indicating that misregulation of glyA1is likely responsible for the colonization defect observed in the metRmutant. TheglyA1mutant was auxotrophic for glycine but exhibited wild-type trim- ethoprim sensitivity, making folate deficiency an unlikely cause of its colonization defect. MetJ regulatory mutants are not auxo- trophic but are likely altered in the regulation of amino acid-biosynthetic pathways, including those for methionine, glycine, and serine, and this misregulation likely explains its colonization defect. However, mutants defective in methionine, serine, and cys- teine biosynthesis exhibited wild-type virulence, suggesting that these amino acids can be scavenged in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that glycine biosynthesis may be required to alleviate an in vivo nutritional restriction in the mouse intestine; however, additional roles for glycine may exist. Irrespective of the precise nature of this requirement, this study illustrates the importance of pathogen metabolism, and the regulation thereof, as a virulence factor. IMPORTANCE Vibrio cholerae continues to be a severe cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Identification of V. cholerae factors critical to disease progression offers the potential to develop or improve upon therapeutics and prevention strategies. To increase the efficiency of virulence factor discovery, we employed a regulator-centric approach to multiplex our in vivo screening capabilities and allow whole regulons in V. cholerae to be interrogated for pathogenic potential. We identified MetR as a new virulence regulator and serine hydroxymethyltransferase GlyA1 as a new MetR-regulated virulence factor, both required by V. cholerae to colonize the infant mouse intestine. Bacterial metabolism is a prerequisite to virulence, and current knowledge of in vivo metabolism of pathogens is limited. Here, we expand the known role of amino acid metabolism and regula- tion in virulence and offer new insights into the in vivo metabolic requirements of V. cholerae within the mouse intestine.
Rapid identification of non-human sequences in high-throughput sequencing datasets

Summary: Rapid identification of non-human sequences (RINS) is an intersection-based pathogen detection workflow that utilizes a user-provided custom reference genome set for identification of non-human sequences in deep sequencing datasets. In <2 h, RINS correctly identified the known virus in the dataset SRR73726 and is compatible with any computer capable of running the prerequisite alignment and assembly programs. RINS accurately identifies sequencing reads from intact or mutated non-human genomes in a dataset and robustly generates contigs with these non-human sequences ( Supplementary Material). Availability: RINS is available for free download at http://khavarilab.stanford.edu/resources.html Contact:abhaduri@stanford.edu or kqu@stanford.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Monetary policy for rationally inattentive economies with staggered price setting

The paper examines the optimal monetary policy when firms are constrained by information processing capability and infrequent price adjustments. Firms' information processing limit gives rise to imperfect knowledge about macroeconomic aggregates and endogenous information learning contingent on the monetary policy. Staggered price setting introduces the observed price duration and additional policy tradeoffs resulting from the interactions between nominal rigidities and imperfect information processing. The integrated model implies an optimal policy that commits to complete price stabilization in response to natural rate shocks but not in response to markup shocks. In the presence of markup shocks, it is optimal for the central bank to focus on price stabilization in the initial periods following markup shocks and shifts the emphasis to output gap stabilization later. Moreover, larger information capacity, stronger complementarities and more persistent shocks require more aggressive price stabilization in the short-run.
Modeling Radiation-Induced Degradation in Top-Gated Epitaxial Graphene Field-Effect-Transistors (FETs)

This paper investigates total ionizing dose (TID) effects in top-gated epitaxial graphene field-effect-transistors (GFETs). Measurements reveal voltage shifts in the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and degradation of carrier mobility and minimum conductivity, consistent with the buildup of oxide-trapped charges. A semi-empirical approach for modeling radiation-induced degradation in GFETs effective carrier mobility is described in the paper. The modeling approach describes Coulomb and short-range scattering based on calculations of charge and effective vertical field that incorporate radiation-induced oxide trapped charges. The transition from the dominant scattering mechanism is correctly described as a function of effective field and oxide trapped charge density. Comparison with experimental data results in good qualitative agreement when including an empirical component to account for scatterer transparency in the low field regime.
Early primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot does not lead to increased postoperative resource utilization.

Background Although early primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot has gained wider acceptance, there is some speculation that repair at a younger age may be associated with increased morbidity and resource utilization. Methods A retrospective review of all consecutive patients undergoing tetralogy of Fallot repair between September 2004 and December 2011 was performed. Primary end points were hospital charges, and surrogates of postoperative hospital resource utilization, including ventilation time, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and hospital stay. The secondary end point was operative death. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with increased postoperative hospital resource utilization. Results Among 164 patients in the study, there was 1 hospital death (0.6%). After excluding 9 patients who had palliative procedures before their repair, 155 comprised the primary repair group. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed prematurity ( p = 0.018), a nonelective operation ( p p = 0.003) were independent predictors of increased postoperative hospital charges. Prematurity ( p p = 0.047), and major extracardiac anomalies ( p p p p = 0.048) significantly increased ICU length of stay. A nonelective operation ( p = 0.025) and major extracardiac anomalies ( p Conclusions Extracardiac anomalies, prematurity, low birth weight, and nonelective surgical intervention are predictors of increased morbidity and increased hospital resource utilization and impose a significant cost burden to the care of these patients. Early primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot can be safely performed without any increase in morbidity or increased hospital resource utilization.
Primary myelofibrosis: 2012 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management.

Disease overview: Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by stem cell-derived clonal myeloproliferation, abnormal cytokine expression, bone marrow fibrosis, anemia, splenomegaly, extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH), constitutional symptoms, cachexia, leukemic progression, and shortened survival. Diagnosis: Diagnosis is based on bone marrow morphology. The presence of fibrosis, JAK2/MPL mutation or +9/13q- cytogenetic abnormality is supportive but not essential for diagnosis. Prefibrotic PMF mimics essential thrombocythemia in its presentation and the distinction is prognostically relevant. Differential diagnosis of myelofibrosis should include chronic myelogenous leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and acute myeloid leukemia. Risk stratification: The Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System-plus (DIPSS-plus) prognostic model for PMF can be applied at any point during the disease course and uses eight independent predictors of inferior survival: age >65 years, hemoglobin 25 × 109/L, circulating blasts ≥1%, constitutional symptoms, red cell transfusion dependency, platelet count 80% two-year mortality is predicted by monosomal karyotype, inv(3)/i(17q) abnormalities, or any two of circulating blasts >9%, leukocytes ≥40 × 109/L or other unfavorable karyotype. Risk-adapted therapy: Observation alone is adequate for asymptomatic low/intermediate-1 risk disease. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation or experimental drug therapy is considered for intermediate-2/ high risk disease. Conventional or experimental drug therapy is reasonable for symptomatic intermediate-1 risk disease. Splenectomy and low-dose radiotherapy are used for drug-refractory splenomegaly. Radiotherapy is also used for the treatment of non-hepatosplenic EMH, PMF-associated pulmonary hypertension, and extremity bone pain.
A replicated file system for Grid computing

To meet the rigorous demands of large-scale data sharing in global collaborations, we present a replication scheme for NFSv4 that supports mutable replication without sacrificing strong consistency guarantees. Experimental evaluation indicates a substantial performance advantage over a single-server system. With the introduction of a hierarchical replication control protocol, the overhead of replication is negligible even when applications mostly write and replication servers are widely distributed. Evaluation with the NAS Grid Benchmarks demonstrates that our system provides comparable and often better performance than GridFTP, the de facto standard for Grid data sharing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using administrative data to track fall-related ambulatory care services in the Veterans Administration Healthcare system.

Background and aims: The Veterans Administration (VA) Healthcare system, containing hospital and community-based outpatient clinics, provides the setting for the study. Summary data was obtained from the VA Ambulatory Events Database for fiscal years (FY) 1997–2001 and in-depth data for FY 2001. In FY 2001, the database included approximately 4 million unique patients with 60 million encounters. The purpose of this study was: 1) to quantify injuries and use of services associated with falls among the elderly treated in Veterans Administration (VA) ambulatory care settings using administrative data; 2) to compare fall-related services provided to elderly veterans with those provided to younger veterans. Methods: Retrospective analysis of administrative data. This study describes the trends (FY 1997–2001) and patterns of fall-related ambulatory care encounters (FY 2001) in the VA Healthcare System. Results: An approximately four-fold increase in both encounters and patients seen was observed in FY 1997–2001, largely paralleling the growth of VA ambulatory care services. More than two-thirds of the patients treated were found to be over the age of 65. Veterans over the age of 65 were found to be more likely to receive care in the non-urgent setting and had higher numbers of co-morbid conditions than younger veterans. While nearly half of the encounters occurred in the Emergency/Urgent Care setting, fall-related injuries led to services across a wide spectrum of medical and surgical providers/departments. Conclusions: This study represents the first attempt to use the VA Ambulatory Events Database to study fall-related services provided to elderly veterans. In view of the aging population served by the VA and the movement to provide increased services in the outpatient setting, this database provides an important resource for researchers and administrators interested in the prevention and treatment of fall-related injuries.
Characterization of entrained air voids in cement paste with scattered ultrasound

This research develops a technique that uses the attenuation of ultrasonic waves to characterize the average size and volume fraction of entrained air voids in hardened cement paste. Quantitative knowledge of entrained air void size and distribution helps ensure that an adequate design strength is developed, while maintaining resistance to freeze-thaw damage in cement-based materials. Ultrasonic attenuation coefficients obtained from pulse-burst signals are measured in the frequency range of 500 kHz–5 MHz. From these parameters, the average size and the volume fraction of the entrained air voids are determined using a combination of an ultrasonic scattering model and an inversion algorithm. Experiments are performed on specimens produced with and without entrained air voids. There is a good agreement between the model prediction and the experiments in these systems that contained o10% by volume of entrained air voids. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Environmental accounting: an essential component of business strategy

Environmental accounting is on an expansion path. With increasing social focus on the environment, accounting fills an expectation role, to measure environmental performance. The status of environmental awareness provides a dynamic for business reporting its environmental performance. Examining the integration of environmental policy with business policy is the focus of this research. The business firm's strategy includes responding to capital and operating costs of pollution control equipment. This is caused by increasing public concerns over environmental issues, and by a recent government-led trend to incentive-based regulation. This paper describes the environmental component of the business strategy, producing the required performance reports and recognizing the multiple skills required to measure, compile and analyze the requisite data. Special emphasis of the research is on generation of reports and their standards, for the range of business and regulatory purposes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Neural Stimulation of Release of Renin

Increased vasomotor discharge induced by bleeding caused renal release of renin in anesthetized dogs whether or not there was measurable change in either arterial pressure or total renal blood flow. Release of renin was prevented by ganglion blockade or local anesthesia of the renal nerves. Hemorrhage-induced release of renin occurred more consistently in dogs fed a low-sodium diet than in those fed a standard kennel diet. Stimulation of sympathetic vasomotor discharge by occlusion of the common carotid arteries, while renal perfusion pressure was kept constant, also caused release of renin, as did infusions of norepinephrine, tyramine, or DMPP. Isoproterenol, angiotensin, vasopressin, serotonin, or acetylcholine infused into the renal artery did not cause release of renin. It is concluded that neural stimuli are capable of causing release of renin in the absence of gross change in renal perfusion pressure or flow.
Razorfish: Note to Instructors:

This note provides guidance to instructors who may be interested in using the case study, “Razorfish,” for educational purposes in their classrooms.
Dynamics of Ligand Binding to Proteins

Dynamics is of importance to ligand binding, if for no other reason than that ligand binding is a reaction in which motion as a function of time is the essential element. In what I shall discuss my focus will be on certain detailed aspects of the dynamics of ligand binding, both in relation to the kinetics of the reaction and the thermodynamic properties of the system. “Ligand” in the present context is interpreted very broadly; it might involve oxygen binding to myoglobin, substrates or inhibitors binding to enzymes and hormones binding to receptors. Thus, the ligand can be as small as an electron, an atom or diatomic molecule and as large as a protein. To set the stage, I have indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1 some of the dynamical aspects of the ligand binding problem. There is first of all the relative motion of the ligand and the protein to which it binds. This is expected to be governed by the diffusion equation appropriately modified to take account of attractive interactions and activation barriers that are present in many cases. It has been suggested, for example, that in the binding of O 2 - to superoxide dismutase, attractive and even channeling interaction between the ligand and the enzyme are involved. A second aspect of the binding problem involves internal motions of the ligand. For small ligands like Open image in new window Fig. 1 Dynamic Elements in ligand binding oxygen, where only the bond stretching vibration is present, internal motions are expected to play a negligible role. By contrast, in the case of the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, a ligand for trypsin, the motions of the side chains are likely to be involved in the binding. The internal dynamics of the macromolecule to which the ligand binds are also expected to be of great importance. Finally, the center of the diagram is occupied by the solvent which affects all of the motions. It is obviously dominant in the relative diffusion of ligand and macromolecule, but the solvent also plays a role in the motion of external side chains and, as Hans Frauenfelder has emphasized, may be significant for the internal dynamics as well.
Treatment with Bazedoxifene, a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator, Causes Regression of Endometriosis in a Mouse Model

Endometriosis is a common estrogen-dependent disorder. Medical treatments currently consist of progestins or GnRH agonists; however, neither is fully effective and both entail significant side effects. Selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulators (SERM) have tissue-selective actions, acting as an ER agonist in some tissues and ER antagonist in others. The SERM bazedoxifene (BZA) effectively antagonizes estrogen-induced uterine endometrial stimulation without countering estrogenic effects in bone or central nervous system. These properties make it an attractive candidate for use in the treatment of endometriosis. Experimental endometriosis was created in reproductive-age CD-1 mice. After 8 wk, 10 animals received ip injections of BZA (3 mg/kg·d) for 8 wk, whereas 10 received vehicle control. Mice were killed, and implant size was assessed. The mean size of the implants after treatment was 60 mm2 in the control group and 21 mm2 in the BZA treatment group (P = 0.03). Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical analysis were used to determine the effect on endometrial gene expression. PCNA, ERα, and LIF mRNA and protein expression were significantly decreased in endometrium of the treated group. Caspase 3 mRNA expression was increased. Expression of PR and Hoxa10 were not significantly altered by treatment. There was no evidence of ovarian enlargement or cyst formation. Decreased PCNA and ER expression demonstrated that the regression of endometriosis likely involved decreased estrogen-mediated cell proliferation. BZA may be an effective novel agent for the treatment of endometriosis due to greater endometrial-specific estrogen antagonism compared with other SERM.
A clumpy fluid model of plasma dynamics

Summary form only given, as follows. The problem of using the Vlasov-Maxwell set of equations as a basis for numerical modeling of the dynamics of collisionless plasmas is a vexing one. The Vlasov equation itself is a seven dimensional object, which is numerically untenable. If one chooses to simplify the approach by integrating over the unobserved velocity components of the Vlasov equation coupled fluid equations emerge with no natural rules for closure. We present an alternative to the fluid method which avoids the closure problem, but at the cost of somewhat increased computational complexity. Rather than integrating over all of velocity space we perform separate integrations over small, contiguous subdomains of velocity space. In each subdomain the distribution function is simple enough that accurate integrations may be performed using Gaussian quadrature with a small number of points (N /spl les/ 7). The value of the distribution function at these N nodal points permits us to find the first N + 1 moments, and these are used to solve the fluid equations for N moments in each subdomain with boundary values provided by neighboring subdomains. After each time step the process is inverted, and the N moments are used to evaluate the distribution function at N nodal points which again allows the calculation of the N + 1/sup th/ moment, necessary to close the fluid equations, and the process is repeated. Several examples of the application of this method are offered.
THE ACCUMULATION OF ELECTROLYTES XII. ACCUMULATION OF HALIDE AND NITRATE BY VALONIA IN HYPERTONIC SOLUTIONS

When cells of Valonia macrophysa were placed in hypertonic sea water, the concentration of halide and of nitrate increased, and the sum of halide + nitrate became 0.05 M greater inside than outside, which is about the same difference as is found in cells in normal sea water. In ordinary sea water the ratio of halide to nitrate is 80,000 to 1. When this was changed by substituting nitrate for halide so that the concentration of halide was 1.75 times that of nitrate the rate of entrance of halide was 1.68 times that of nitrate in 276 hours and the ratio of halide to nitrate in the sap decreased from 38 to 18.5. No halide came out in exchange for entering nitrate. The retention of chloride may well be due to the fact that even when the halide concentration of the sea water is reduced as low as 0.4 M, there is still an inwardly directed activity gradient of sodium chloride.
Electronically Screening Discharge Summaries for Adverse Medical Events

Objective: Detecting adverse events is pivotal for measuring and improving medical safety, yet current techniques discourage routine screening. The authors hypothesized that discharge summaries would include information on adverse events, and they developed and evaluated an electronic method for screening medical discharge summaries for adverse events. Design: A cohort study including 424 randomly selected admissions to the medical services of an academic medical center was conducted between January and July 2000. The authors developed a computerized screening tool that searched free-text discharge summaries for trigger words representing possible adverse events. Measurements: All discharge summaries with a trigger word present underwent chart review by two independent physician reviewers. The presence of adverse events was assessed using structured implicit judgment. A random sample of discharge summaries without trigger words also was reviewed. Results: Fifty-nine percent (251 of 424) of the discharge summaries contained trigger words. Based on discharge summary review, 44.8% (327 of 730) of the alerted trigger words indicated a possible adverse event. After medical record review, the tool detected 131 adverse events. The sensitivity and specificity of the screening tool were 69% and 48%, respectively. The positive predictive value of the tool was 52%. Conclusion: Medical discharge summaries contain information regarding adverse events. Electronic screening of discharge summaries for adverse events using keyword searches is feasible but thus far has poor specificity. Nonetheless, computerized clinical narrative screening methods could potentially offer researchers and quality managers a means to routinely detect adverse events.
Functional characterization of cysteine residues in GlpT, the glycerol 3-phosphate transporter of Escherichia coli.

In Escherichia coli, the transporter GlpT enables accumulation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P) (14) by an antiport reaction that uses internal phosphate as a countersubstrate (2, 21). Related G3P transporters are widely spread among eubacteria (3, 24, 27, 31), and GlpT homologs have been reported in a number of eukaryotes, including plants (6), Drosophila melanogaster (1), mice (28), and humans (5). GlpT is also closely related to transporters responsible for the accumulation of hexose phosphates or phosphoglycerates (21) in enteric bacteria. Together, such proteins comprise a distinct family of organophosphate transporters within the major facilitator superfamily (MFS), the largest collection of evolutionarily related secondary transport systems (25). The regulation of expression of GlpT has been well described (20, 30, 35), but there have been fewer structure-function studies of the transporter itself. Thus, while the topology of GlpT conforms to the pattern expected of a member of the MFS (Fig. ​(Fig.1)1) (11; see also reference 9), there has been little work localizing GlpT residues or domains critical for substrate transport. In prior work with a related protein, UhpT, the hexose phosphate transporter of E. coli, cysteine-scanning mutagenesis implicated transmembrane helix 7 (TM7) (32, 33) and TM11 (12, 13) as lining the substrate translocation pathway. The research reported here employed a similar approach to the study of GlpT. The results of experiments using site-specific mutagenesis along with thiol-directed probes in both intact cells and reconstituted preparations led us to conclude that Cys-176, located in GlpT TM5 (Fig. ​(Fig.1),1), lies on the substrate translocation pathway. With regard to members of the MFS, therefore, this work identifies a new domain with the conformational accessibility required for translocation. FIG. 1. The topology of HisGlpT is shown along with the approximate locations of its seven cysteine residues (enlarged circles). Also shown at the extracellular boundary of TM7 is the approximate location of position 290 (square). The N-terminal extension containing ... (Part of this work was submitted by A. Busch to the University of Konstanz in fulfillment of the requirements of a Diplomarbeit.)
1 GSps 11-bit track-and-hold in SiGe BiCMOS

A low noise track-and-hold amplifier was designed and simulated in the Jazz Semiconductor 0.18 mum SiGe BiCMOS process. Compensation techniques were employed in order to meet both the noise and distortion requirements simultaneously. The design incorporates a MOS buffer at the output to enable long hold times without droop. This allows testing by a high-accuracy, off-chip ADC
Do high-voltage pulses cause changes in skin structure?

Dramatic changes in skin properties are caused by high-voltage pulses (e.g., 100 V) of millisecond duration. The exact mechanism by which these changes occur remains unresolved, but may result from alterations of skin structure, possibly involving electroporation of the stratum corneum's intracellular lipid bilayers. The evidence supporting this hypothesis is presented from a range of studies which address molecular transport, electrical impedance, microscopic imaging and theoretical analysis.
A unique subpopulation of murine DNA polymerase alpha/primase specifically interacts with polyomavirus T antigen and stimulates DNA replication.

Abstract Murine cells or cell extracts support the replication of plasmids containing the replication origin (ori-DNA) of polyomavirus (Py) but not that of simian virus 40 (SV40), whereas human cells or cell extracts support the replication of SV40 ori-DNA but not that of Py ori-DNA. It was shown previously that fractions containing DNA polymerase alpha/primase from permissive cells allow viral ori-DNA replication to proceed in extracts of nonpermissive cells. To extend these observations, the binding of Py T antigen to both the permissive and nonpermissive DNA polymerase alpha/primase was examined. Py T antigen was retained by a murine DNA polymerase alpha/primase but not by a human DNA polymerase alpha/primase affinity column. Likewise, a Py T antigen affinity column retained DNA polymerase alpha/primase activity from murine cells but not from human cells. The murine fraction which bound to the Py T antigen column was able to stimulate Py ori-DNA replication in the nonpermissive extract. However, the DNA polymerase alpha/primase activity in this murine fraction constituted only a relatively small proportion (approximately 20 to 40%) of the total murine DNA polymerase alpha/primase that had been applied to the column. The DNA polymerase alpha/primase purified from the nonbound murine fraction, although far more replete in this activity, was incapable of supporting Py DNA replication. The two forms of murine DNA polymerase alpha/primase also differed in their interactions with Py T antigen. Our data thus demonstrate that there are two distinct populations of DNA polymerase alpha/primase in murine cells and that species-specific interactions between T antigen and DNA polymerases can be identified. They may also provide the basis for initiating a novel means of characterizing unique subpopulations of DNA polymerase alpha/primase.
Hybrid forward resampling and volume rendering

The transforming and rendering of discrete objects, such as traditional images (with or without depths) and volumes, can be considered as resampling problem -- objects are reconstructed, transformed, filtered, and finally sampled on the screen grids. In resampling practices, discrete samples (pixels, voxels) can be considered either as infinitesimal sample points (simply called points) or samples of a certain size (splats). Resampling can also be done either forwards or backwards in either the source domain or the target domain. In this paper, we present a framework that features hybrid forward resampling for discrete rendering. Specifically, we apply this framework to enhance volumetric splatting. In this approach, minified voxels are taken simply as points filtered in screen space; while magnified voxels are taken as spherical splats. In addition, we develop two techniques for performing accurate and efficient perspective splatting. The first one is to efficiently compute the 2D elliptical geometry of perspectively projected splats; the second one is to achieve accurate perspective reconstruction filter. The results of our experiments demonstrate both the effectiveness of antialiasing and the efficiency of rendering using this approach.
Effect of expiratory resistive loading on the noninvasive tension-time index in COPD

Expiratory resistive loading (ERL) is used by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients to improve respiratory function. We, therefore, used a noninvasive tension-time index of the insp...
Methamphetamine-Associated Congestive Heart Failure: Increasing Prevalence and Relationship of Clinical Outcomes to Continued Use or Abstinence

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of methamphetamine-associated congestive heart failure (MAC) and to evaluate the relationship between methamphetamine abuse and EF and functional status over time. A retrospective review of records from 2009 to 2014 was carried out. Prevalence of methamphetamine abuse among all patients admitted with CHF was calculated for each of the 6 years of the study (n = 141) and was compared with prevalence of cocaine abuse and alcohol abuse. For patients with two or more admissions during the entire time period, the trajectories of NYHA functional class and EF over time were determined (n = 58). MAC has significantly increased from 1.8 to 5.6 % of total CHF patients admitted (n = 3705). Among patients who stopped using methamphetamine, NYHA functional class significantly improved, while among patients who continued methamphetamine use, NYHA was significantly worsened (p < 0.001). Significantly more patients with improved EF stopped using methamphetamine than continued (p = 0.05). There was a significant increase in the prevalence of MAC during the study period for all CHF patients admitted in our hospital system. Continued methamphetamine use is associated with worsening functional status, while cessation of methamphetamine is associated with improvement in functional status.
Validation of Thermal Analysis of Dry Storage Casks at Diablo Canyon

This paper is a continuation of previous work; it focuses on validating the thermal analysis of a vertical dry storage cask by using the measured temperature data and the results obtained by others in thermal modeling of a HI-STORM 100 storage cask at Diablo Canyon’s independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). The cask chosen for thermal analysis contains a welded canister for 32 pressurized water reactor (PWR) used fuel assemblies in a stainless-steel basket with a total decay heat load of 17.05 kW. An effective thermal conductivity model was used to represent the used fuel assemblies with non-uniform assembly heat loads. The pressure of the canister’s helium fill gas was assumed to be 5 atm, and the ambient temperature was assumed to be 10°C.The results showed reasonably good agreement between the calculated and measured canister axial surface temperatures. The results of ANSYS/FLUENT simulations showed that a tighter convergence criterion yielded slightly better agreement with the data; however, improvement could be obtained by adjusting the assumed ambient temperature value in the simulation. Validating the results of ANSYS/FLUENT simulation against the data (as well as the experience and additional insights gained from the validation exercise) is important to our future simulation and analysis of the thermal performance of dry storage casks, particularly for aging management and monitoring the condition and performance of dry casks during extended long-term storage at ISFSIs.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Abscopal Effects and Yttrium-90 Radioembolization

We present the case of an 80-year-old male with squamous cell carcinoma with bilobar hepatic metastases who underwent targeted Yttrium-90 radioembolization of the right hepatic lobe lesion. Subsequently, there was complete regression of the nontargeted, left hepatic lobe lesion. This may represent the first ever reported abscopal effect in radioembolization. The abscopal effect refers to the phenomenon of tumor response in nontargeted sites after targeted radiotherapy. In this article, we briefly review the immune-mediated mechanisms responsible for the abscopal effect.
Hypercortisolism Manifesting as Severe Weight Loss, Hypokalemia, and Hyperglycemia in the Emergency Department.

Abstract Background The concurrence of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome (ectopic Cushing syndrome) and cancer is uncommon in the emergency department (ED) setting, but a constellation of nonspecific signs and symptoms can suggest the presence of Cushing syndrome. Case Report A 65-year-old woman with diabetes visited the ED complaining of severe weight loss, generalized weakness, and hypokalemia. She was treated for hypokalemia and thrush. She was found to have a lung mass with a large pleural effusion. Upon discovery of the suspected malignancy, the patient was referred to the ED of a comprehensive cancer center, where she was diagnosed with ectopic Cushing syndrome and admitted to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Why Should the Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? The emergency physician should be able to recognize Cushing syndrome in cancer patients so that the paraneoplastic syndrome can be managed to avoid complications during cancer treatment.
Hydraulics of Thin Film Flow

In considering thin-film liquid flow as occurring in a trickling filter, a theoretical expression is developed for the average time of contact of a thin liquid film as it flows steadily around a body of revolution whose axis of symmetry is vertical. Entry at the uppermost and exit at the lowermost points is assumed. The body does not have any sharp corners. Laminar flow is assumed, and surface tension is neglected. Application is made to an ellipsoid of revolution with major axis of major ellipse vertical and to an ellipsoid of revolution with major axis of major ellipse horizontal.
On sublinear inequalities for mixed integer conic programs

This paper studies $$\mathcal {K}$$K-sublinear inequalities, a class of inequalities with strong relations to $$\mathcal {K}$$K-minimal inequalities for disjunctive conic sets. We establish a stronger result on the sufficiency of $$\mathcal {K}$$K-sublinear inequalities. That is, we show that when $$\mathcal {K}$$K is the nonnegative orthant or the second-order cone, $$\mathcal {K}$$K-sublinear inequalities together with the original conic constraint are always sufficient for the closed convex hull description of the associated disjunctive conic set. When $$\mathcal {K}$$K is the nonnegative orthant, $$\mathcal {K}$$K-sublinear inequalities are tightly connected to functions that generate cuts--so called cut-generating functions. In particular, we introduce the concept of relaxed cut-generating functions and show that each $${\mathbb {R}}^n_+$$R+n-sublinear inequality is generated by one of these. We then relate the relaxed cut-generating functions to the usual ones studied in the literature. Recently, under a structural assumption, Cornuejols, Wolsey and Yildiz established the sufficiency of cut-generating functions in terms of generating all nontrivial valid inequalities of disjunctive sets where the underlying cone is nonnegative orthant. We provide an alternate and straightforward proof of this result under the same assumption as a consequence of the sufficiency of $$\mathbb {R}^n_+$$R+n-sublinear inequalities and their connection with relaxed cut-generating functions.
Transcriptional regulation of de novo lipogenesis in liver

The liver is one of the main metabolic organs where de novo lipogenesis (DNL) takes place. DNL in the liver is tightly controlled by insulin and other metabolic hormones, as well as the availability of substrate, i.e., glucose level. In the positive energy balance, high concentration of glucose stimulates insulin secretion, activates ChREBP, and at the same time, provides substrate, which facilitate DNL in the liver. Accurate regulation of lipid levels is critical for cellular and organismal homeostasis, while deregulations in the lipogenic pathway are associated with diverse metabolic syndromes. This chapter will first introduce our current understanding about the DNL regulation by insulin-SREBP-1c pathway and ChREBP pathway, as well as other factors, including PPARγ, AMPK, SIRT1, circadian clock, ER stress and inflammation. At last, we will discuss the deregulation of DNL in metabolic syndromes and cancer, and potential targets for therapy.
William Yale: Witness to Partition in the Middle East, WWI-WWII

In William Yale: Witness to Partition in the Middle East, WWI-WWII, historian Janice Terry tells a tale that will fascinate anyone with even a passing interest in the Middle East. The tale begins i...
Carcinosarcoma (malignant mixed müllerian tumor) of the uterus with a rhabdoid tumor component. An immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and immunoelectron microscopic case study.

A case of uterine carcinosarcoma (malignant mixed mullerian tumor) of the uterus containing a rhabdoid tumor element is described. In addition to a malignant glandular component and anaplastic sarcomatous areas, this tumor had multiple foci with histologic and ultrastructural features of malignant rhabdoid tumor. Vimentin positivity by immunohistochemistry was confirmed by immunoelectron microscopy. Although three malignant rhabdoid tumors of the uterus have been previously described, in addition to rhabdoid differentiation in an endometrial stromal sarcoma, to our knowledge this is the first report of rhabdoid tumor differentiation occurring within a uterine carcinosarcoma.
Diagnosing the heterogametic sex in the Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae): the first sex-linked gene

This paper describes an eye color trait controlled by the first gene identified as mapping to the X chromosome in the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann).
Fact Checking in Heterogeneous Information Networks

Traditional fact checking by experts and analysts cannot keep pace with the volume of newly created information. It is important and necessary, therefore, to enhance our ability to computationally determine whether some statement of fact is true or false. We view this problem as a link-prediction task in a knowledge graph, and show that a new model of the top discriminative meta paths is able to understand the meaning of some statement and accurately determine its veracity. We evaluate our approach by examining thousands of claims related to history, geography, biology, and politics using public, million node knowledge graphs extracted from Wikipedia and SemMedDB. Not only does our approach significantly outperform related models, we also find that the discriminative path model is easily interpretable and provides sensible reasons for the final determination.