cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structure—Activity Correlations of Selected Azaarenes, Aromatic Amines, and Nitroaromatics

Quantitative chemical structure — biological activity relationships between the molecular descriptors 1-octanol/water partition coefficient (log Kow), the 1Xv (one-chi-V) molecular connectivity index and (log Kow)2 and the biological response measured as population growth impairment to the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis were investigated for a series of 21 nitrogen substituted aromatic molecules. The test molecules included seven each of the azaarenes, primary aromatic amines and nitroaromatics including single, double and triple ring compounds. Nitro-containing homologs are the most active followed by amino-containing ones and azaarenes. Within each analog series activity increases with alkyl substitution and ring addition. The QSAR model: log BR = 0.8255(log Kow) - 1.6334 was determined to be an excellent predictive model which accounted for 86.9% of the variability in the observed biological activity. This model is thought to express non-specific toxicity due to membrane perturbation.
Assessing Spatial Data Quality in Large Data Sets, Such as Master Facility Lists: Identification of Five Data Anomalies to Speed and Simplify the Process

With the increased ease of the collection of geographic data coordinates, and the desire for accurate country Master Facility Lists, comes the need for tools and methods with which to rapidly assess the quality of large spatial datasets. Global health professionals who have had limited training in the use of geographic information systems may need guidance in assessing spatial data. Identifying data quality issues in data sets of this size is challenging because of the complex relationship between the spatial components and the attributes of the data. Informed by spatial data quality literature, the article presents a framework for assessing common issues with spatial data and identifies five specific potential data anomalies which can be identified and further investigated to increase the quality of a spatial dataset such as a master facility list. Focusing on these five anomalies will provide quantifiable results, which help in planning a practical, effective strategy for corrections. This approach not only provides a list of which locations need to be corrected, but also gives specific feedback on what may be wrong with the data.
Multivariate Analysis of Data Sets with Missing Values: An Information Theory-Based Reliability Function

Missing values in complex biological data sets have significant impacts on our ability to correctly detect and quantify interactions in biological systems and to infer relationships accurately. In this article, we propose a useful metaphor to show that information theory measures, such as mutual information and interaction information, can be employed directly for evaluating multivariable dependencies even if data contain some missing values. The metaphor is that of thinking of variable dependencies as information channels between and among variables. In this view, missing data can be thought of as noise that reduces the channel capacity in predictable ways. We extract the available information in the data even if there are missing values and use the notion of channel capacity to assess the reliability of the result. This avoids the common practice-in the absence of prior knowledge of random imputation-of eliminating samples entirely, thus losing the information they can provide. We show how this reliability function can be implemented for pairs of variables, and generalize it for an arbitrary number of variables. Illustrations of the reliability functions for several cases are provided using simulated data.
Cell-Nonautonomous Regulation of Proteostasis in Aging and Disease

The functional health of the proteome is determined by properties of the proteostasis network (PN) that regulates protein synthesis, folding, macromolecular assembly, translocation, and degradation. In eukaryotes, the PN also integrates protein biogenesis across compartments within the cell and between tissues of metazoans for organismal health and longevity. Additionally, in metazoans, proteome stability and the functional health of proteins is optimized for development and yet declines throughout aging, accelerating the risk for misfolding, aggregation, and cellular dysfunction. Here, I describe the cell-nonautonomous regulation of organismal PN by tissue communication and cell stress-response pathways. These systems are robust from development through reproductive maturity and are genetically programmed to decline abruptly in early adulthood by repression of the heat shock response and other cell-protective stress responses, thus compromising the ability of cells and tissues to properly buffer against the cumulative stress of protein damage during aging. While the failure of multiple protein quality control processes during aging challenges cellular function and tissue health, genetic studies, and the identification of small-molecule proteostasis regulators suggests strategies that can be employed to reset the PN with potential benefit on cellular health and organismal longevity.
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in Eyes With Pigment Epithelial Detachments Due to Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose To investigate fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in neovascular AMD and pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs). Methods A total of 46 eyes with PEDs (>350 μm) as well as age-matched healthy controls were included in this study. We found 28 eyes showed neovascular AMD (nvAMD), and 17 had nonneovascular (dry) AMD (dAMD). The Heidelberg Engineering FLIO excited fluorescence at 473 nm. Fluorescence decays were detected in two spectral channels (498-560 nm; 560-720 nm) to determine fluorescence lifetimes of endogenous fluorophores in their specific spectral emission ranges. Mean fluorescence lifetimes (τm) were investigated. Multimodal imaging was reviewed by two ophthalmologists who circumscribed and classified PEDs as either serous (n = 4), hemorrhagic (n = 4), fibrovascular (n = 16), drusenoid (n = 17), or mixed (n = 5). Blood samples from a healthy subject and a patient with PED were investigated in a quartz cuvette. Results Eyes with nvAMD show similar FLIO patterns to dAMD: ring-shaped prolongations of τm 3 to 6 mm from the fovea. Different PED-forms show characteristic τm, while serous and hemorrhagic PEDs exhibit shortened τm, drusenoid PEDs show prolonged τm, and τm in fibrovascular PEDs is variable. Areas corresponding to sub-/intraretinal fluid display shortened τm. Ex vivo studies of blood also show short τm. Conclusions The previously described dAMD-related FLIO pattern is also present in nvAMD. Short τm in serous, fibrovascular, and hemorrhagic PEDs as well as sub/intraretinal fluid may disrupt this pattern. FLIO appears to differentiate between PEDs, hemorrhage, and fluid. Additionally, ex vivo studies of human blood help to better interpret FLIO images.
Optimal decay rates for a chemotaxis model with logistic growth, logarithmic sensitivity and density-dependent production/consumption rate

Abstract We consider a Keller-Segel type chemotaxis model with logistic growth, logarithmic sensitivity and density-dependent production/consumption rate. It is a 2 × 2 reaction-diffusion system describing the interaction of cells and a chemical signal. We study Cauchy problem for the original system and its transformed system, which is one of hyperbolic-parabolic balance laws. Our initial data are generic perturbations of a constant ground state, i.e. the initial mass of perturbation is non-zero. In the case of non-diffusive chemical, we obtain optimal L 2 time decay rates for the solution with finite initial data. In the case of diffusive chemical, optimal L 2 rates are also obtained with additional assumption on the smallness of the initial amplitude but still allowing large oscillation.
Examining the Criterion Validity and Diagnostic Specificity of Self-Report Measures of Narcissism and Mania:

We examined the validity of self-report measures of narcissism and mania by relating them to interview-based ratings of psychopathology. Narcissism scales were taken from the Narcissistic Personali...
Insulin resistance and reduced cardiac autonomic function in older adults: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study

Prior studies have shown insulin resistance is associated with reduced cardiac autonomic function measured at rest, but few studies have determined whether insulin resistance is associated with reduced cardiac autonomic function measured during daily activities. We examined older adults without diabetes with 48-h ambulatory electrocardiography (n = 759) in an ancillary study of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Insulin resistance, the exposure, was defined by quartiles for three indexes: 1) the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), 2) the triglyceride and glucose index (TyG), and 3) the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C). Low heart rate variability, the outcome, was defined by <25th percentile for four measures: 1) standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN), a measure of total variability; 2) root mean square of successive differences in normal-to-normal R-R intervals (RMSSD), a measure of vagal activity; 3) low frequency spectral component (LF), a measure of sympathetic and vagal activity; and 4) high frequency spectral component (HF), a measure of vagal activity. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals weighted for sampling/non-response, adjusted for age at ancillary visit, sex, and race/study-site. Insulin resistance quartiles 4, 3, and 2 were compared to quartile 1; high indexes refer to quartile 4 versus quartile 1. The average age was 78 years, 66% (n = 497) were women, and 58% (n = 438) were African American. Estimates of association were not robust at all levels of HOMA-IR, TyG, and TG/HDL-C, but suggest that high indexes were associated consistently with indicators of vagal activity. High HOMA-IR, high TyG, and high TG/HDL-C were consistently associated with low RMSSD (OR: 1.68 (1.00, 2.81), OR: 2.03 (1.21, 3.39), and OR: 1.73 (1.01, 2.91), respectively). High HOMA-IR, high TyG, and high TG/HDL-C were consistently associated with low HF (OR: 1.90 (1.14, 3.18), OR: 1.98 (1.21, 3.25), and OR: 1.76 (1.07, 2.90), respectively). In older adults without diabetes, insulin resistance was associated with reduced cardiac autonomic function – specifically and consistently for indicators of vagal activity – measured during daily activities. Primary prevention of insulin resistance may reduce the related risk of cardiac autonomic dysfunction.
Efficient transcriptome profiling across the malaria parasite erythrocytic cycle by flow sorting

Abstract Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent and widespread of the human malaria parasite species. This parasite has a complex life cycle that involves sexual replication in a mosquito vector and asexual replication in a human host. During the 48-hour intraerythrocytic developmental cycle (IDC), parasites develop and multiply through the morphologically distinct ring, trophozoite and schizont stages. Stage-specific transcriptomic approaches have shown gene expression profiles continually change throughout the IDC. Cultures of tightly synchronized parasites are required to capture the transcriptome specific to a developmental stage. However, the most commonly used synchronization methods require lysis of late stages, potentially perturbing transcription, and often do not result in tightly synchronized cultures. To produce complete transcriptome profiles of the IDC a synchronous culture requires frequent sampling over a 48-hour period, this is both time consuming and labor intensive. Here we develop a method to sample the IDC densely by isolating parasites from an asynchronous culture with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). We sort parasites in tight windows of IDC progression based on their DNA/RNA abundance. We confirmed the tight synchronization and stage specificity by light microscopy and RNAseq profiling. We optimized our protocol for low numbers of sorted cells allowing us to rapidly capture transcriptome profiles across the entire IDC from a single culture flask. This methodology will allow malaria stage-specific studies to perform experiments directly from asynchronous cultures with high accuracy and without the need for labor-intensive time-course experiments.
Training Preservice School Psychologists to Conduct a Stimulus Preference Assessment.

There is limited research evaluating behavioral skills training (BST) in university classrooms to teach stimulus preference assessments. We evaluated the effects of BST on three preservice school psychologists’ performance with the multiple-stimulus without-replacement preference assessment. A single BST session improved performance across participants, and improvements were maintained 1 week after BST. Limitations, directions for future research, and suggestions for maximizing the efficiency of BST in university classrooms are discussed.
Patient Ergonomics in Hospital and Community Settings

Patient ergonomics is, simply put, the science (and design) of patient work. Patient work is the effortful, goal-driven, and consequential health-related activity performed by patients, families, and others independently or in concert with healthcare professionals. Patient work is hard work, occurs in context, unfolds as a journey, is a team effort, is distributed, goes beyond disease, can be invisible, and is not experienced invariably. Patient work, whether occurring in hospitals, homes, communities, or other settings, can benefit from the application of cognitive, physical, and organizational human factors theories and methods.
Corporate Governance and LGBT-Supportive HR Policies from CSR, Resource-based, and Agency Perspectives

Corporate boards are responsible for ensuring that managers enact policies that are in shareholders’ best interests, and managers are responsible for implementing strategies that are not only profitable, but responsive to changing legal and societal demands and the resource needs of the firm. In this paper, we use the theoretical lenses of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the resource-based view (resource-based view), and agency theory to investigate the relationship between corporate governance structure and the implementation of supportive lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) policies. We analyze 10,233 firm-year observations and 1,594 unique firms, and our results demonstrate that LGBT-supportive policies are positively associated with firm performance. We also offer new insight into why not all firms adopt such policies. We exploit the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as an exogenous shock that increased board independence, and our difference-in-difference estimation shows that firms forced to raise board independence in 2002 were less likely to invest in LGBT-supportive policies. Results suggest that HRM policies can be guided by CSR and resource-based view in pursuit of wealth maximization, but agency conflict may also be a concern for external majority boards. We discuss implications for HRM research practice, and corporate governance regarding LGBT policies in organizations.
A Full-Stack Application for Detecting Seizures and Reducing Data During Continuous Electroencephalogram Monitoring.

Continuous electroencephalogram monitoring is associated with lower mortality in critically ill patients; however, it is underused due to the resource-intensive nature of manually interpreting prolonged streams of continuous electroencephalogram data. Here, we present a novel real-time, machine learning-based alerting and monitoring system for epilepsy and seizures that dramatically reduces the amount of manual electroencephalogram review. METHODS We developed a custom data reduction algorithm using a random forest and deployed it within an online cloud-based platform, which streams data and communicates interactively with caregivers via a web interface to display algorithm results. We developed real-time, machine learning-based alerting and monitoring system for epilepsy and seizures on continuous electroencephalogram recordings from 77 patients undergoing routine scalp ICU electroencephalogram monitoring and tested it on an additional 20 patients. RESULTS We achieved a mean seizure sensitivity of 84% in cross-validation and 85% in testing, as well as a mean specificity of 83% in cross-validation and 86% in testing, corresponding to a high level of data reduction. This study validates a platform for machine learning-assisted continuous electroencephalogram analysis and represents a meaningful step toward improving utility and decreasing cost of continuous electroencephalogram monitoring. We also make our high-quality annotated dataset of 97 ICU continuous electroencephalogram recordings public for others to validate and improve upon our methods.
eIF2A-knockout mice reveal decreased life span and metabolic syndrome

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2A (eIF2A) is a 65 kDa protein that functions in minor initiation pathways, which affect the translation of only a subset of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNAs), such as internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-containing mRNAs and/or mRNAs harboring upstream near cognate/non-AUG start codons. These non-canonical initiation events are important for regulation of protein synthesis during cellular development and/or the integrated stress response. Selective eIF2A knockdown in cellular systems significantly inhibits translation of such mRNAs, which rely on alternative initiation mechanisms for their translation. However, there exists a gap in our understanding of how eIF2A functions in mammalian systems in vivo (on the organismal level) and ex vivo (in cells). Here, using an eIF2A-knockout (KO) mouse model, we present evidence implicating eIF2A in the biology of aging, metabolic syndrome and central tolerance. We discovered that eIF2A-KO mice have reduced life span and that eIF2A plays an important role in maintenance of lipid homeostasis, the control of glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and also reduces the abundance of B lymphocytes and dendritic cells in the thymic medulla of mice. We also show the eIF2A KO affects male and female mice differently, suggesting that eIF2A may affect sex-specific pathways. Interestingly, our experiments involving pharmacological induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress with tunicamycin did not reveal any substantial difference between the response to ER stress in eIF2A-KO and wild-type mice. The identification of eIF2A function in the development of metabolic syndrome bears promise for the further identification of specific eIF2A targets responsible for these changes.
Tool Wear Monitoring Using Machine Learning

Monitoring tool wear conditions and estimating tool lives are crucial for automatic metal cutting manufacturing processes. Accurate estimation of tool wear status can optimize tool usage and tool replacement, which in turn leads to improvement of product quality and reduction of downtime and costs. Various methods have been proposed to evaluate tool wear conditions using multiple sensory signals during the cutting process. However, because the signal-to-noise ratio is extremely low in the machining process, the accuracy of tool wear evaluation still needs to be improved. In this paper, machine learning methods were explored to estimate the tool wear conditions based on the experimental data provided by the 2010 PHM society conference data challenge. A self-organizing map was designed to identify the tool wear conditions into 16 levels. According to the correlation coefficients between sensory datasets and the tool wear levels, 14 features were selected for tool wear estimation. A feedforward backprop neural network and a support vector machine with the fine Gaussian kernel were constructed for tool wear estimation. The testing results showed that the root mean square for neural network model was 0.9866 and for the support vector model was 1.4985.
Predicting small business demise after a natural disaster: an analysis of pre-existing conditions

Few studies of small businesses have addressed demise in post-disaster environments, and the factors that lead to business demise after natural disasters are not well understood. This study explored demise by interviewing a random sample of small business owners whose businesses survived or met demise following Hurricane Katrina. The goal of this study was to determine whether businesses that met demise could be predicted based on pre-existing characteristics of those businesses and their owners. Findings indicated that businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans were more likely to meet demise. Owners with more industry experience and older businesses were less likely to meet demise, along with larger businesses (number of employees) and service-based businesses. Businesses that had prior disaster experience and prior cash flow problems were also less likely to meet demise post-Katrina, suggesting that prior experiences with some type of adversity may provide knowledge and insight that aid small business owners during subsequent experiences during disaster preparation, response, and recovery periods. Home-based businesses were also less likely to meet demise, whereas businesses located in coastal counties were more likely to meet demise.
The Application of Recombinant DNA Technology in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery

Drug discovery is usually a long and arduous process. However, pharmaceutical industries are making a significant progress in simplifying certain aspects of drug discovery process, especially in the area of target discovery, validation, and lead-compounds discovery. Advances in recombinant DNA technology are intimately connected with the explosion of newly identified pharmaceutically important targets, and an understanding of how these targets function to regulate biological processes of interest. This is providing new and exciting opportunities for therapeutic intervention in diseases including those diseases that were thought to be untreatable a few years back. In this chapter we describe how each stage of drug discovery, from target identification to lead generation and even clinical trials, have benefited from the tools of recombinant DNA technology. Keywords: medicinal chemistry; drug discovery; recombinant DNA technology; protein engineering; site-directed mutagenesis
Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases in Cancer

Our understanding of the biological function of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) has significantly evolved from an initial focus on the extracellular matrix (ECM) to a much broader function that includes a regulatory role on cell growth, survival and transformation. The bases for this larger role of TIMPs are several. 1. The group of proteins proteolytically altered by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that TIMPs control, includes many non-ECM proteins. 2. TIMPs not only target MMPs but also non-matrix metalloproteinases involved in growth factors and cytokines activation and processing. 3. TIMPs have a direct effect on cell growth and survival independent of their anti-MMP activity. It is therefore not surprising that the effects of TIMPs in cancer are complex and include tumor suppressor as well as tumor promoting activities. In this chapter the complexity of the biological activities of TIMPs is reviewed, and how it brings light to some paradoxical effects of TIMPs reported in cancer is discussed. The lesson from the review of these data is that our perspective on cancer must include the role of the extracellular environment in which TIMPs are integral contributors.
Metabolic influences of pregnancy and acidosis on bone electrolytes.

Abstract 1. 1. The bone content of sodium, potassium, chloride, and water was unchanged by pregnancy. 2. 2. Pregnancy increased the bone content of calcium in normal rats by 8.7 per cent. 3. 3. Salt depletion and acidosis secondary to intraperitoneal dialysis evoked a mobilization of sodium from the bone of pregnant and nonpregnant rats. 4. 4. Pregnant rats responded differently to salt depletion and acidosis; the corrected bone sodium of pregnant animals remained unchanged while the corrected bone sodium of the nonpregnant was decreased.
DESIGN CRITERIA RECOMMENDED FOR MARINE FENDER SYSTEMS

This paper summarizes the world-wide effectiveness of marine-fender systems A design criteria is recommended as a result of an extensive research and development program executed at the U S Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, Port Hueneme, California, under the sponsorship of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pertinent information includes analytical treatment and experimental investigation of the effects of berthing impact on the design of berthing structures, definition, function, and types of fender systems, advantages and disadvantages of various fender systems, cost-effectiveness and design procedures for different marine environment and exposure conditions. The energy absorption characteristics, berthing velocity, and virtual mass of ship are discussed in detail Energy capacity requirements for marine fender systems are illustrated in both graph and monograph forms. This paper is intended to provide guidelines to coastal engineers who may be involved in design of fender systems for waterfront and offshore structures.
Monoclonal Antibody Analyses of Microsomal Human Drug Metabolism and Multifunctional Cytochrome P450

Monoclonal antibody (MAb)-based methods are ideal reagents for cytochrome P450 (P450) research. The properties and molecular diversity of P450s make them extraordinarily suitable for investigation with MAbs. The P450s are present in multiple forms. Defining the role of each P450 isoform for drug metabolism in human liver microsomes (HLM) in vitro requires a method that is both highly specific and highly inhibitory to P450 activity and thus can identify and quantitate the contribution of single or several P450 isoforms that metabolize the drug. MAbs have been isolated that are inhibitory and specific to 13 human P450s. The MAbs may also be used to determine the role of each P450 isoform for a variety of nondrug metabolizing activities such as mutagenesis carcinogen S9 activation and binding to DNA and others described in the text. Keywords: monoclonal antibodies; P450; polymorphism; metabolism; human liver microsomes
CORPP: commonsense reasoning and probabilistic planning, as applied to dialog with a mobile robot

In order to be fully robust and responsive to a dynamically changing real-world environment, intelligent robots will need to engage in a variety of simultaneous reasoning modalities. In particular, in this paper we consider their needs to i) reason with commonsense knowledge, ii) model their nondeter-ministic action outcomes and partial observability, and iii) plan toward maximizing long-term rewards. On one hand, Answer Set Programming (ASP) is good at representing and reasoning with commonsense and default knowledge, but is ill-equipped to plan under probabilistic uncertainty. On the other hand, Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs) are strong at planning under uncertainty toward maximizing long-term rewards, but are not designed to incorporate commonsense knowledge and inference. This paper introduces the CORPP algorithm which combines P-log, a probabilistic extension of ASP, with POMDPs to integrate commonsense reasoning with planning under uncertainty. Our approach is fully implemented and tested on a shopping request identification problem both in simulation and on a real robot. Compared with existing approaches using P-log or POMDPs individually, we observe significant improvements in both efficiency and accuracy.
Modulation of TNF-α Gene Expression by IFN-γ and Pamidronate in Murine Macrophages: Regulation by STAT1-Dependent Pathways

Aminobisphosphonates are drugs used in the treatment of hypercalcemia, Paget's disease, osteoporosis, and malignancy. Some patients treated with aminobisphosphonates have a transient febrile reaction that may be caused by an increased serum concentration of proinflammatory cytokines. Aminobisphosphonates induce the production of certain proinflammatory cytokines in vitro, especially in cells of monocytic lineage. A unique feature of aminobisphosphonates is that they bind the Vgamma2Vdelta2 class of T cells, which are found only in primates, and stimulate cytokine production. The effects of aminobisphosphonates on other cells, including macrophages, are incompletely understood. We show in this study that treatment of murine macrophages with pamidronate, a second generation aminobisphosphonate, induces TNF-alpha production. Furthermore, pretreatment of murine macrophages with pamidronate before stimulation with IFN-gamma significantly augments IFN-gamma-dependent production of TNF-alpha. This pamidronate-mediated augmentation of TNF-alpha production results in sustained phosphorylation of the tyrosine residue at position 701 of STAT1 after IFN-gamma treatment. Our data suggest that this sustained phosphorylation results from inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatase activity. We also show that pamidronate treatment increases TNF-alpha production in vivo in mice. Pamidronate-augmented TNF-alpha production by macrophages might be a useful strategy for cytokine-based anticancer therapy.
Detection and Quantification Capabilities and the Evaluation of Low-Level Data: Some International Perspectives and Continuing Challenges

The minimum amounts or concentrations of an analyte that may be detected or quantified by a specific measurement process (MP) represent fundamental performance characteristics that are vital for planning experiments and designing MPs to meet external specifications. Following many years of conceptual and terminological disarray regarding detection and quantification limits, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC, 1995) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO, 1997) developed a harmonized position and documents that provide a basis for international consensus on this topic. During the past year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed a TECDOC on Quantifying Uncertainty in Nuclear Analytical Measurements that treats "Uncertainty in Measurements Close to Detection Limits" from the perspective of the IUPAC and ISO recommendations. The first part of this article serves as a review of these international developments during the last quinquennium of the twentieth century. Despite the achievement of international consensus on these contentious matters, many challenges remain. One quickly discovers this in the practical world of high stakes, ultra-trace analysis, where complications are introduced by the nature and distribution of the blank, the variance function (σ vs. concentration), non-linear models, and hidden algorithms and data evaluation/reporting schemes. Some of these issues are illustrated through a multidisciplinary case study of fossil and biomass burning aerosol at extremely low levels in the polar atmosphere and cryosphere, and by biased reporting practices for "non-detects."
A general purpose sub-keV X-ray facility at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory

Abstract We describe the design, implementation, and initial performance of the Beam Line VIII sub-keV X-ray facility at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL). It consists of two general purpose beam lines branching from the same bending magnet on the Stanford Positron Electron Asymmetric Ring (SPEAR) storage ring. Each branch has appropriate focusing optics, featuring a cooled SiC first mirror, a grating monochromator with three interchangeable ion-etched gratings, a refocusing mirror, and filter and beam diagnostic sections, all operating in ultra-high vacuum. Each monochromator has sine-bar driven grating rotation, fixed in and out beam directions, and moveable exit slits. The toroidal grating monochromator (TGM) optical design is based on proven 6-m TGMs used by the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory and at the University of Wisconsin Synchrotron Radiation Center. Subtending 12 mrad of bending-magnet radiation, the high-throughput TGM branch provides continuously tunable radiation in the 8–190 eV range. The slit-to-slit spherical grating monochromator (SGM) optics are based on a new design featuring gratings of 55 m radius. Subtending effectively 4 mrad, the SGM branch covers the 60–1200 eV range with good resolution and intensity. These SR beam lines, along with our BL-X wiggler line, have been designed to serve the varied scientific research needs of a participating research team formed by the University of California and the Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories.
Amyloid-β diurnal pattern: possible role of sleep in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline that is a growing public health crisis with a prevalence projected to more than double in the next 20 years. Sleep is frequently impaired in individuals with AD. Further, recent studies have linked numerous age-related sleep disturbances such as poor sleep efficiency and sleep apnea, to future risk of cognitive impairment. Aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) into extracellular plaques in the brain is a key step in AD pathogenesis and likely begins 20 years before the onset of dementia. Aβ concentrations in both humans and mouse models show Aβ concentrations rise during wakefulness and fall during sleep, that is, an Aβ diurnal pattern. There is evidence in animal models that changes in sleep time alter Aβ deposition, suggesting that sleep may play a role in AD pathogenesis. A hypothetical model for the role of sleep and the Aβ diurnal pattern in AD pathogenesis is proposed.
The design of a scalable, fixed-time computer benchmark

By using the principle of fixed time benchmarking, it is possible to compare a very wide range of computers, from a small personal computer to the most powerful parallel supercomputer, an a single scale. Fixed-time benchmarks promise far greater longevity than those based on a particular problem size, and are more appropriate for grand challenge'' capability comparison. We present the design of a benchmark, SLALOM{trademark}, that scales automatically to the computing power available, and corrects several deficiencies in various existing benchmarks: it is highly scalable, it solves a real problem, it includes input and output times, and it can be run on parallel machines of all kinds, using any convenient language. The benchmark provides a reasonable estimate of the size of problem solvable on scientific computers. Results are presented that span six orders of magnitude for contemporary computers of various architectures. The benchmarks also can be used to demonstrate a new source of superlinear speedup in parallel computers. 15 refs., 14 figs., 3 tabs.
Estimation of Seemingly Unrelated Regressions with Vector Autoregressive Errors

Abstract We derive an asymptotically efficient method of estimating the coefficients of systems of seemingly unrelated regression equations when a first-order vector autoregressive error specification is hypothesized. This error specification is shown to contain several commonly used specifications as special cases. A Monte Carlo experiment was performed to examine the finite sample performance of our estimator in comparison with several other estimators. The general results were that the new estimator performed relatively well.
Family history, environmental exposures in early life, and childhood asthma.

Asthma is a major public health problem in industrialized nations and incurs significant health care costs. Asthma is a complex disease influenced by interactions among insufficiently characterized genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. Because a significant number of cases of asthma are diagnosed in childhood, 1 early-life exposures are likely to influence its pathogenesis. 2,3 Identification of such exposures is thus important and could lead to better means of asthma prevention, particularly among children at high risk (eg, those with a positive family history). In this issue of the JACI, Kuiper et al 4 report a modification of the effect of family history of asthma on respiratory morbidity in Dutch infants by environmental exposuresinearlylifeasfollows:postnatalparentalsmoking and high indoor dust mite allergen levels accentuated the increased risk of wheeze associated with a positive family history, whereas breast-feeding attenuated the increased risk of tonsillitis and otitis media associated with a positive family history. A major strength of this study isitsassessmentoffamilyhistory(definedasanasthmadiagnosis in at least 1 first-degree relative of a participating child) by review of records from general practitioners (GPs) and not exclusively by parental report. As acknowledgedbytheauthors,athoroughassessmentoftheinteraction between family history and environmental exposures on asthma pathogenesis was not possible because of the limited follow-up of study participants (up to age 2 years), which precludes a confident diagnosis of asthma and/or an adequate assessment of wheeze phenotypes. 5
Toward selection of internalizing antibodies from phage libraries.

Abstract Antibodies which bind cell surface receptors in a manner whereby they are endocytosed are useful molecules for the delivery of drugs, toxins, or DNA into the cytosol of mammalian cells for therapeutic applications. Traditionally, internalizing antibodies have been identified by screening hybridomas. For this work, we studied a human scFv (C6.5) which binds ErbB2 to determine the feasibility of directly selecting internalizing antibodies from phage libraries and to identify the most efficient display format. Using wild-type C6.5 scFv displayed monovalently on a phagemid, we demonstrate that anti-ErbB2 phage antibodies can undergo receptor-mediated endocytosis. Using affinity mutants and dimeric diabodies of C6.5 displayed as either single copies on a phagemid or multiple copies on phage, we define the role of affinity, valency, and display format on phage endocytosis and identify the factors that lead to the greatest enrichment for internalization. Phage displaying bivalent diabodies or multiple copies of scFv were more efficiently endocytosed than phage displaying monomeric scFv and recovery of infectious phage was increased by preincubation of cells with chloroquine. Measurement of phage recovery from within the cytosol as a function of applied phage titer indicates that it is possible to select for endocytosable antibodies, even at the low concentrations that would exist for a single phage antibody member in a library of 10 9 .
Coding considerations for high-bandwidth analog optical signal processing applications based on spectral holography

The pattern matching for fingerprints requires a large amount of data and computation time. Practical fingerprint identification systems require minimal errors and ultrafast processing time to perform real time verification and identification. By utilizing the two-dimensional processing capability, ultrafast processing speed and noninterfering communication of optical processing techniques, fingerprint identification systems can be implemented in real time. Among the various pattern matching systems, the joint transform correlator (JTC) has been found to be inherently suitable for real time matching applications. Among the various JTCs, the fringeadjusted JTC has been found to yield significantly better correlation output compared to alternate JTCs. In this paper, we review the latest trends and advancements in fingerprint identification system based on the fringeadjusted JTC. Since all pattern matching systems suffer from high sensitivity to distortions, the synthetic discriminant function concept has been incorporated in fringe-adjusted JTC to ensure distortion-invariant fingerprint identification. On the other hand a novel polarization-enhanced fingerprint verification system is described where a polarized coherent light beam is used to record spatially dependent response of the scattering medium of the fingerprint to provide detailed surface information, which is not accessible to mere intensity measurement. It is shown that polarization-enhanced database improves the accuracy of the fingerprint identification or verification system significantly. Keywords: Fringe-adjust joint transform correlation, finger print identification, polarization, synthetic discriminant function
Solubility and diffusivity of sulfur dioxide in latex paint films

Sorption of SO2 in latex paint films is measured as a function of time. This data is used to extract the solubility (S) and the diffusion coefficient (D) for SO2 in these films. The solubility of SO2 in each of the samples follows Henry's law behavior. Sorption occurs only in the polymer, with the inorganic pigment particles acting as impenetrable fillers. The diffusion of SO2 is Fickin with an exponential dependence upon the concentration of SO2. This data is used to calculate the permeabilities of the paint samples to SO2, at levels typically found in the atmosphere.
Comet Halley O(1D) and H2O production rates

Ground-based dual-etalon Fabry-Perot spectrometer observations have been made of Comet Halley's forbidden O I 6300 A emission. The 0.2 A resolution of the spectral scans was sufficient to resolve the O I forbidden line emissions from both nearby cometary NH2 and telluric emissions. On the basis of these measurements, the production rate Q of O(1D) was determined; it is then found, by taking into account the photodissociation of H2O and OH as sources of O(1D), that the ratio of H2O/O(1D) production rates is of the order of 6.
PREDICTION OF EARLY SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

This study compares observations embedded during a health procedure (START), a developmental screening test (DDST), and an IQ test (Stanford-Binet) as preschool predictors of school performance. The START procedure is a method in which standard vision acuity procedures are altered so that the approach to testing can be modified based on the child's level of understanding and so that behavioral responses can be quantified without prolonging the procedure itself. Our previous research has consistently demonstrated that prediction of concurrent developmental status is as good or better than that achieved by extensive developmental tests designed exclusively for assessing development. We have also demonstrated that the strictly visual acuity component is more cost-effective than standard acuity screening apart from consideration of the developmental data obtained. A county-wide cohort of prekindergarten children (N=382) were screened using START and a parent report (GD-45). A stratified sample, (N=120) based on the GD-45 results with oversampling of low scores, was recalled and tested with the DDST and the Stanford-Binet. Followup school data were obtained for all children in K and 1st grade. START screening was found to correlate with achievement testing (.50 to .58) better than the Stanford-Binet (.35 to .37). Clinical indices predicting poor school outcome (failure and/or special placement and/or achievement test results <20th %ile) were all slightly better from START than from the DDST and substantially better than obtained from IQ scores: (e.g. sensitivity of .64, .57, and .37 respectively).
Measuring interfacial and adhesion forces between bacteria and mineral surfaces with biological force microscopy

Interfacial and adhesion forces between living, unmodified bacterial cells ( Escherichia coli) and mineral surfaces (muscovite, goethite, and graphite) have been directly measured in aqueous solution using a force microscope. Native cells are linked to a force-sensing probe that is used to characterize interactions as a mineral surface approaches, makes contact with, and withdraws from bacteria on the probe. Attractive and repulsive interfacial forces were detected at ranges up to 400 nanometers separation, the magnitude and sign depending on the ionic strength of the intervening solution and the mineral surface charge and hydrophobicity. Adhesion forces, up to several nanoNewtons in magnitude and exhibiting various fibrillation dynamics, were also measured and reflect the complex interactions of structural and chemical functionalities on the bacteria and mineral surfaces. Copyright © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd
Integrated optic device for biochemical sensing

A novel immunosensor concept monitors antigen-antibody binding on the surface of a planar single-mode waveguide. The concept can be used as the basis for a label-free homogeneous immunoassay because only changes in the thickness and refractive index of the antigen-antibody layer are monitored by observing small changes in the effective index of the waveguide. BSA +anti- BSA binding was examined theoretically using a four-layer model and effective index measurements were obtained which agreed with the calculated values. Analysis indicated that the small effective index changes can possibly be measured with high sensitivity and at low cost using an integrated optic interferometer format.
Quantitative Connections Between Resonance Raman And Electronic Emission Spectra

The purpose of this paper is to show the connections between resonance Raman and electronic emission and absorption spectra.The time -dependent theory of Heller is used throughout this paper because both the physical interpretation and the mathematicalcalculations emphasize the connections.1-4 First, the time- dependent theory of electronic spectroscopy is introduced. Next, the time -dependent theory of resonance Raman spectroscopy is discussed and the intensities of fundamentals are examined. The theory is then
Retinoic acid enhances colony-stimulating factor-induced clonal growth of normal human myeloid progenitor cells in vitro☆

Abstract We studied the effect of vitamin A and its analogues (retinoids) on the clonal growth in vitro of normal human myeloid progenitor cells. Normal human bone marrow cells were cultured in soft gel in the presence of a source of colony-stimulating factor (CSF), and various retinoids, and the number of granulocyte-macrophage colonies (CFU-GM) were scored. The addition of 3 × 10 −8 to 3 × 10 −6 M retinoic acid to culture plates containing CSF markedly increased the number of myeloid colonies as compared with culture plates containing CSF alone. Maximal stimulation occurred at a concentration of 3 × 10 −7 M retinoic acid which increased the mean number of colonies by 213 ± 8 % (±S.E.) over plates containing CSF alone. Retinal or retinyl acetate was less potent than retinoic acid, and retinol (vitamin A) had no effect on colony growth. Retinoic acid had no direct CSF activity nor did it stimulate CSF production by the cultured bone marrow cells. Our studies show for the first time that retinoids can stimulate granulopoiesis in vitro and we suggest that this stimulation may be mediated by increased responsiveness of the granulocyte-macrophage progenitors to the action of CSF.
An abbreviated form of the portland digit recognition test

Abstract The Portland Digit Recognition Test (PDRT) has been standardized and validated as a forced-choice measure of exaggeration of memory deficit. An abbreviated form of the PDRT, useful for patients who are not showing evidence of motivation to perform poorly, is described. Use of the abbreviated form reduces PDRT administration time significantly.