cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical and electrochemical characterization of Bi2O3-doped scandia stabilized zirconia

Abstract Electrolytes based on Sc 2 O 3 –ZrO 2 exhibit the highest ionic conductivity of zirconia based systems, however, stabilization of the electrochemical properties at operational temperatures, 600–1000 °C, are needed before implementation into SOFCs. Trace additions of Bi 2 O 3 are a known sintering aid for zirconia systems. Crystal structures, electrical properties and long-term stability of Bi 2 O 3 -doped 10ScSZ systems were investigated. The addition of more than 1.0 mol% Bi 2 O 3 resulted in suppression of the rhombohedral to cubic phase transformation at 600 °C and cubic phase stabilization at room temperature. The ionic conductivity of 10ScSZ was also improved by Bi 2 O 3 additions. A maximum conductivity of 0.034 S cm −1 at 700 °C was observed in 2 mol% Bi 2 O 3 -doped 10ScSZ sintered at 1300 °C. No phase change was observed in 10ScSZ after annealing at 1000 °C. A certain amount of monoclinic phase, and dramatic conductivity decrease, were observed in Bi 2 O 3 -doped samples sintered below 1200 °C after annealing. However, 10ScSZ and 2 mol% Bi 2 O 3 -doped 10ScSZ sintered at 1300 °C show no significant conductivity degradation with annealing. Samples with more than 1 mol% Bi 2 O 3 and sintered above 1300 °C resulted in good ionic conductivity and stability.
ST-Elevation Alternans and Nonsustained Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia in a Patient With Prinzmetal (Variant) Angina

A 62-year-old man with a prior history of smoking, lung cancer (treated with chest radiation and lobectomy 4 years before admission), and hyperlipidemia presented to our hospital with 4 episodes of substernal chest pressure radiating to his left upper arm. The pain was associated with dyspnea and lightheadedness and resolved after a characteristic period of 10 minutes. The pain was not related to time of day or stress. He performed aerobic exercise regularly without clear precipitation of chest discomfort. His family and social history were unremarkable. His baseline ECG is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. ECG obtained …
Toward an energy ethic

Nationalistic, greedy, myopic, unfeeling, ignorant-these are the words that so frequently enter current dialogs on energy resources. Enter or end them. For often what starts as a dialog ends in an exchange of charges. The issues continue unresolved. Although important topics frequently lead to heated exchanges, for energy resources there is a deeper set of causes at work. There are disagreements as to the nature or even the existence of the problem. There are differences in the types of consequences that are of primary concern. There is no commonly accepted and suitable framework within which to resolve many of the fundamental issues.
A Theory of Physically Distributed Learning: How External Environments and Internal States Interact in Mathematics Learning

— Researchers, teachers, teacher educators, and national organizations espouse the idea that children learn new concepts in concrete contexts and transfer these concepts to abstract situations. Although people can benefit from working with hands-on objects and do tend to solve problems more abstractly as they gain knowledge and experience in a domain, this does not imply that a concrete to abstract shift explains this development. In this article, an alternative theory of physically distributed learning (PDL) is presented. In PDL, learning involves changes in internal and external elements of cognitive systems. These changes occur as the internal and external elements coevolve, or change each other, over time.
Metastability and Constraints: A Study of the Superheated Lennard-Jones Liquid in the Void-Constrained Ensemble

The rigorous study of metastability requires knowledge of the behavior of systems under various constraints. Such constraints, though impossible to impose analytically for realistic systems, are easily applied in computer simulations. We study the superheated Lennard-Jones liquid in the void-constrained ensemble, in which limits are imposed on the maximum size of voids that are allowed to form. The equation of state is sensitive to the severity of the void constraint, the more so the higher the temperature and the larger the degree of superheating. In contrast, the equation of state is insensitive to bounds placed on the magnitude of allowed density fluctuations in which both voids and clusters are restricted. Constraints that truncate the void size distribution, eliminating the large-void tail, lead to artificially high tensions. Over the range of conditions investigated here, this occurs when the size of the maximum allowed void does not exceed one average interparticle separation.
Giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common systemic vasculitis in the elderly. It is characterized by the involvement of the large vessels, predominantly the extracranial branches of the aorta. There is a close relationship with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). The first description of GCA was provided by Sir Jonathon Hutchinson in 1890, who described a patient at the London Hospital who could not wear a hat because of painful red streaks on his head. The painful streaks were thickened temporal arteries with feeble pulsations. The full description of the condition was provided by Bayard Horton in 1932.
Molecular Changes Associated with Proteolysis of Bovine Factor V by Thrombin

Native factor V contains two major polypeptide chains, h and 1. The molecular weights determined by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate and dithiothreitol (125 000 and 73 000) are in reasonable agreement with those obtained by gel filtration in 5 M guanidine-HC1 (125000 and 64000). Exposure of factor V to thrombin results in cleavage of the heavier chain to an altered form with a molecular weight of 87000. The other fragment of this proteolytic reaction appears to be a carbohydrate-rich piece, which migrates abnormally slowly on gel electrophoresis conducted under denaturing and reducing conditions. Both proteolytic cleavage products remain associated with the light chain during the purification of factor V. The 87000-Mr fragment is present in samples of factor V which are isolated by immunoprecipitation of blood obtained from a single animal by venous catheter. This finding suggests that some proteolysis may occur in vivo. In contrast, the molecular weight of the light chain is unaltered after thrombin proteolysis of either purified factor V or thrombin-treated plasma.
Indecorous argument: The use of Madison and Monroe in the election of 1828

During the 1828 political campaign opponents of Andrew Jackson put forth the names of James Madison and James Monroe as electors against their will. This act threatened to thrust the two former Presidents into a role that violated the rules of decorum which had up until that time governed the rhetoric of elder statesmen in America. The manner in which Madison and Monroe declined to serve both reaffirmed the limits for decorous argument and defined the role former Presidents should play in political campaigns.
Demonstration of quadrupedal locomotion over rough terrain using the littledog robot

This video presents work by researchers at The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) on the DARPA funded Learning Locomotion program. This program started in 2005 and finished in 2009.
Wavenumber Calibration of Fourier Transform Spectra

Spectra with a resolution of about 0.06 cm−1 obtained by a Fourier transform spectrometer have been calibrated by the internal standard method. An accuracy of 3 × 10−3cm−1 over intervals of several thousand wavenumbers has been obtained by measuring the lines with a precision of 2 × 10−3cm−1 and by using a large number of standard lines.
Capturing complexity: a typology of reflective practice for teacher education

Abstract Reflection has become an integral part of teacher education, yet its elusive boundaries make it difficult to define and teach. Examining the various facets of reflection with respect to teaching clarifies the concept, making it more accessible to pre-service teachers learning to reflect on their practice. This article explores those facets and provides a typology designed to guide teacher educators in teaching reflection to pre-service teachers.
EXAFS Characterization of Palladium-on-Gold Catalysts Before and After Glycerol Oxidation

Supported precious metal catalysts have been studied extensively for selective oxidation as a means to upgrade glycerol, a low-cost byproduct of biodiesel manufacture. We recently used a model bimetallic catalyst (Au nanoparticles decorated with Pd and immobilized onto carbon, “Pd-on-Au/C”) to study the metal nanostructure effects on glycerol oxidation. In this study, a detailed X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis of Pd-on-Au catalysts before and after glycerol oxidation (60 °C, 0.1 M glycerol, 0.4 M NaOH, and constant O2 flow at 1 atm) is presented. Catalysts with two Pd surface coverages (60 and 150 sc%) with comparable turnover frequency values were studied, along with the less active 4-nm Au/C and 4-nm Pd/C as control samples. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis showed that there was no change to oxidation states and coordination numbers for 60 sc% Pd-on-Au/C and Au/C catalysts after contact with the glycerol reaction medium or after 3 h of glycerol reaction. With a higher fraction of oxidized Pd (~40 %) than 60 sc% Pd-on-Au/C (~25 %), the 150 sc% catalyst showed some variation in oxidized Pd content before and after glycerol reaction. Pd/C grew in Pd particle size and became more oxidized after contacting reaction medium and after 3 h reaction, contributing to its observed catalyst deactivation. Structural stability and catalytic activity are improved for the water-phase oxidation of glycerol and likely other alcohols when Pd is supported on Au, highlighting the potential advantages of using Au as a support for other catalytically active metals.
The discovery of new anesthetics by targeting GABAA receptors

Introduction: Many of the general anesthetics, currently used in clinical practice, work through interactions with GABAA receptors. The last 2 decades has witnessed substantial progress in defining the molecular mechanisms by which general anesthetics interact with GABAA receptor sites. However, despite progress in the basic scientific understanding of the mechanism of action of general anesthetics, introduction of novel general anesthetic agents into clinical practice has proven quite challenging. Areas covered: The focus of this review is on the potential for translating basic science advances into the design of new and improved anesthetics. The authors review general anesthetics in current practice as well as anesthetic drug candidates in development and discuss the potential for novel anesthetic drug development. Expert opinion: Opportunities for the discovery of new anesthetics include: computational-based ligand-design, structure-based design, re-exploration of old structure–activity data, absorptio...
Plasticity of the electric organ discharge waveform of the electric fish Brachyhypopomus pinnicaudatus I. Quantification of day-night changes

The electric organ discharge of the gymnotiform fish Brachyhypopomus pinnicaudatus is a biphasic waveform. The female's electric organ discharge is nearly symmetric but males produce a longer second phase than first phase. In this study, infrared-sensitive video cameras monitored the position of unrestrained fish, facilitating precise measurement of electric organ discharge duration and amplitude every 2 h for 24 h. Males (n = 27) increased electric organ discharge duration by 37 +/- 12% and amplitude by 24 +/- 9% at night and decreased it during the day. In contrast, females (n = 8) exhibited only minor electric organ discharge variation over time. Most of a male's increase occurred rapidly within the first 2-3 h of darkness. Electric organ discharge values gradually diminished during the second half of the dark period and into the next morning. Modulation of the second phase of the biphasic electric organ discharge produced most of the duration change in males, but both phases changed amplitude by similar amounts. Turning the lights off at mid-day triggered an immediate increase in electric organ discharge, suggesting modification of existing ion channels in the electric organ, rather than altered genomic expression. Exaggeration of electric organ discharge sex differences implies a social function. Daily reduction of duration and amplitude may reduce predation risk or energy expenditure.
A Modification of the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Test to Study Hostile Interracial Attitudes

(1947). A Modification of the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Test to Study Hostile Interracial Attitudes. The Journal of Psychology: Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 247-272.
Patients with prior second-trimester loss: Prophylactic cerclage or serial transvaginal sonograms?

Abstract Objective: To compare management with prophylactic cerclage versus serial transvaginal sonograms of the cervix in patients with prior second-trimester loss. Study Design: Singleton pregnancies with prior second-trimester spontaneous loss between 14 and 24 weeks' gestation were retrospectively reviewed. At the obstetricians' discretion, some were managed with prophylactic cerclage and some with serial transvaginal sonograms of the cervix, starting at 14 weeks, and cerclage only if cervical length was 25% before 24 weeks. All cerclages were McDonald. Primary outcome was preterm delivery at Results: Of 177 patients with singleton pregnancies who had prior second-trimester loss identified, 66 received prophylactic cerclage and 111 were followed up with transvaginal sonography, of which 36% (40/111) had therapeutic cerclage because of cervical changes. The two management groups of prophylactic cerclage versus transvaginal sonography of the cervix did not differ in any measure of obstetric outcome, including preterm delivery at Conclusion: In patients with prior second-trimester loss, serial transvaginal sonography of the cervix, with cerclage only if indicated by cervical changes, is a valuable alternative to a policy of uniform prophylactic cerclage. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:747-51.)
A Rapid Adaptive Needs Assessment kit for water quality monitoring in Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Response applications

After natural disasters, communities can be devastated from a lack of clean water. This can lead to death through dehydration, malnutrition, lack of sanitation, and disease propagation. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response efforts by the United States military emphasize short-term options for access to safe drinking water. Typically, in the 72 hours immediately after a disaster, long-term water supply systems are not set-up, so soldiers rely on costly imported bottled water. The United States Army is developing Pre-positioned Expeditionary Assistance Kits, which include mobile water purification units to filter local water sources at disaster sites. This Capstone project, a continuation of a 2010–2011 Capstone project, sponsored by the Systems Engineering Research Center under a grant from the Department of Defense, focuses on evaluating the water quality of a particular source before deploying a water purification system. The Rapid Adaptive Needs Assessment kit performs this task immediately after a natural disaster. The kit measures water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, and pH and transmits the data to a command center where a decision algorithm ranks the water sources. The project's operational success is measured by the system's ability to determine the optimal local water source from multiple sources based on user preferences. This paper outlines the approach used to enhance the kit and describes the physical design, anchoring system, data communications system, decision algorithm, user interfaces, maintenance, and integration of parts into a portable, remote water monitoring system.
The role of CRF2 receptors in corticotropin-releasing factor- and urocortin-induced anorexia.

The experiments presented in this study were designed to assess corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor subtype mediation of CRF- and urocortin (UCN)-induced decrease in food intake. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with antisense and sense oligonucleotides (ON) to CRF2 receptor mRNAs for 36 h and then received an intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of CRF, UCN (3 micrograms) or saline. Antisense treatment significantly attenuated CRF- and UCN-induced suppression in food intake and HPA activation. Administration of CRF1 receptor antagonist did not affect the decrease in food intake or activation of the HPA axis induced by i.c.v. infusion of 3 micrograms CRF. The data suggest that down-regulation of CRF2 receptors selectively attenuates CRF- and UCN-induced anorexia and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical activation in rats.
Lithium enhances growth of human leukaemia cells in vitro

Lithium is known to cause leucocytosis in normal humans, and lithium salts have been used therapeutically in attenuating leucopenia in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Recent reports also described leukaemia development during lithium treatment. We have investigated the effect of lithium chloride on the proliferation of human myeloid, erythroblastic, and T- and B-lymphoblast leukaemia cells in vitro. Colony formation by cells of the myeloid leukaemia lines HL-60 and KG-1 was enhanced by lithium chloride, and maximal stimulation was seen at 5 X 10(-4) M. Lithium also increased the proliferation of KG-1a cells, a subline of KG-1 cells that does not respond to colony-stimulating factor, indicating a direct growth-promoting effect on myeloid leukaemia cells. Lithium was found to enhance colony formation by the T-lymphoblast cell line MOLT 4 and the B-lymphoblast line IM-9 at concentrations between 10(-6) and 10(-3) M. The addition of lithium chloride to murine Friend or human K-562 erythroleukaemia cells also caused an augmentation in colony formation. These observations may have relevance to the therapeutic use of lithium in patients with haematological malignancies.
Nonlinear systems and higher-order statistics with applications

Abstract Linear processes have been used extensively to model various systems. Most of the theories are developed under the Gaussian assumption. With the rapid availability of vast and inexpensive computing power, models which are non-Gaussian, nonlinear, or even nonstationary are being investigated with increasing intensity. Statistical tools used in such investigations usually involve higher-order statistics in addition to the usual first- and second-order statistics which characterize a Gaussian process. In this paper we illustrate the various ways higher-order statistics are used in the analysis of various nonlinear models. When the process under study is known to obey a set of nonlinear equations then the equations can be manipulated to yield relationships which give insight of the process with physical interpretations. The Navier-Stokes equation is used to illustrate the nonlinear interaction of different wave numbers in a homogeneous velocity field. When modeling a system with unknown structure it is necessary to decide whether linear or nonlinear models should be used. Bispectral density function is often used to test the linearity. A hybrid method is used to illustrate the estimation of bispectral density function of a continuous-time stationary process sampled by a random point process. When there are competing models to be used to model a process it is necessary to decide which model is most compatible with the available data. A set of specific nonlinear models are used to demonstrate the use of higher-order statistics to discriminate among competing linear and nonlinear models.
Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma with Renal and Hepatic Metastases in a Degu (Octodon degus)

A primary bronchioloalveolar carcinoma with renal and hepatic metastases was diagnosed in a mature male degu (Octodon degus) that was found dead in a zoological exhibit (Buffalo Zoological Gardens, Buffalo, New York, USA). Grossly, a discrete 0.5 cm diameter nodule was seen in the lung. Smaller, but similar nodules were present scattered in the liver and kidneys. Histologically, nests and sheets of an infiltrating population of cuboidal to low columnar neoplastic epithelial cells partially effaced pulmonary architecture. Vascular invasion was evident. Similar nests and sheets of neoplastic cells were present within the renal cortex and medulla, and a small nest was present within the hepatic parenchyma. This is the first record of this neoplasm in a degu.
Data structures for range minimum queries in multidimensional arrays

Given a d-dimensional array A with N entries, the Range Minimum Query (RMQ) asks for the minimum element within a contiguous subarray of A. The 1D RMQ problem has been studied intensively because of its relevance to the Nearest Common Ancestor problem and its important use in stringology. If constant-time query answering is required, linear time and space preprocessing algorithms were known for the 1D case, but not for the higher dimensional cases. In this paper, we give the first linear-time preprocessing algorithm for arrays with fixed dimension, such that any range minimum query can be answered in constant time.
Performance Change of Mammographic CAD Schemes Optimized with Most-Recent and Prior Image Databases

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The authors evaluated performance changes in the detection of masses on "current" (latest) and "prior" images by computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) schemes that had been optimized with databases of current and prior mammograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS The authors selected 260 pairs of matched consecutive mammograms. Each current image depicted one or two verified masses. All prior images had been interpreted originally as negative or probably benign. A CAD scheme initially detected 261 mass regions and 465 false-positive regions on the current images, and 252 corresponding mass regions (early signs) and 471 false-positive regions on prior images. These regions were divided into two training and two testing databases. The current and prior training databases were used to optimize two CAD schemes with a genetic algorithm. These schemes were evaluated with two independent testing databases. RESULTS The scheme optimized with current images produced areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of (0.89 +/- 0.01 and 0.65 +/- 0.02 when tested with current images and prior images, respectively. The scheme optimized with prior images produced areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.81 +/- 0.02 and 0.71 +/- 0.02 when tested with current images and prior images, respectively. Performance changes for both current and prior testing databases were significant (P < .01) for the two schemes. CONCLUSION CAD schemes trained with current images do not perform optimally in detecting masses depicted on prior images. To optimize CAD schemes for early detection, it may be important to include in the training database a large fraction of prior images originally reported as negative and later proven to be positive.
Location and activity sharing in everyday mobile communication

We present a study on current, real-world communication of location and activity information based on analyzing context-sharing practices in recorded mobile phone calls. In 176 conversations, we found that over 70 percent contain disclosures of location or activity for one of eight main purposes. Based on our observations, we provide implications for the design of new systems for mobile social software.
Modeling Request Routing in Web Applications

For web applications, determining how requests from a web page are routed through server components can be time-consuming and error-prone due to the complex set of rules and mechanisms used in a platform such as J2EE. We define request routing to be the possible sequences of server-side components that handle requests. Many maintenance tasks require the developer to understand the request routing, so this complexity increases maintenance costs. However, viewing this problem at the architecture level provides some insight. The request routing in these web applications is an example of a pipeline architectural pattern: each request is processed by a sequence of components that form a pipeline. Communication between pipeline stages is event-based, which increases flexibility but obscures the pipeline structure because communication is indirect. Our approach for improving the maintainability of J2EE web applications is to provide a model that exposes this architectural information. We use Z to formally specify request routing models and analysis operations that can be performed on them, then provide tools to extract request routing information from an application?s source code, create the request routing model, and analyze it automatically. We have applied this approach to a number of existing applications up to 34K LOC, showing improvement via typical maintenance scenarios. Since this particular combination of patterns is not unique to web applications, a model such as our request routing model could provide similar benefits for these systems.
A Model of Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity

It has been shown that postsynaptic calcium dynamics plays an important role in spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), a process in which changes in synaptic strength are determined by the relative timing of pre- and postsynaptic activity. It has been suggested STDP involves a postsynaptic chemical network with stable states corresponding to long term potentiation (LTP) and long term depression (LTD). It is believed that the switching of this network between these states is driven by the postsynaptic Ca2+ concentration, but the manner in which the Ca2+ dynamics causes the switching to depend on the relative timing of pre- and postsynaptic activity remains unclear. We describe a model of STDP that combines the chemical network model of Pi and Lisman (2008), with a model of Ca2+ dynamics that builds on the work of Shouval and coworkers (2002). Following Shouval and coworkers, we assume that a portion of the influx of postsynaptic Ca2+ is controlled by NMDA receptors that allow an inward Ca2+ current in response to both glutamate binding and a back propagating action potential (BPAP). To this we add a contribution from voltage dependent calcium channels (VDCCs). We show that this model is able to reproduce the observed time dependence of STDP when a single presynaptic pulse is either followed or preceded by a single BPAP. The behavior of the model with triplet pulse protocols, e.g., two presynaptic pulses separated by a BPAP, or two BPAPs separated by a presynaptic pulse, and the incorporation of more sophisticated models of AMPA trafficking are also described.Pi, H. J. and Lisman, J. E. (2008) J. Neurosci 28: 13132-13138.Shouval, H. Z., Bear, M. F., and Cooper, L. N. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99: 10831-10836.
Multiple Mechanisms Regulate Imprinting of the Mouse Distal Chromosome 7 Gene Cluster

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic process that results in the preferential silencing of one of the two parental copies of a gene. Although the precise mechanisms by which genomic imprinting occurs are unknown, the tendency of imprinted genes to exist in chromosomal clusters suggests long-range regulation through shared regulatory elements. We characterize a 800-kb region on the distal end of mouse chromosome 7 that contains a cluster of four maternally expressed genes, H19, Mash2, Kvlqt1, and p57(Kip2), as well as two paternally expressed genes, Igf2 and Ins2, and assess the expression and imprinting of Mash2, Kvlqt1, and p57(Kip2) during development in embryonic and extraembryonic tissues. Unlike Igf2 and Ins2, which depend on H19 for their imprinting, Mash2, p57(Kip2), and Kvlqt1 are unaffected by a deletion of the H19 gene region, suggesting that these more telomeric genes are not regulated by the mechanism that controls H19, Igf2, and Ins2. Mutations in human p57(Kip2) have been implicated in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a disease that has also been associated with loss of imprinting of IGF2. We find, however, that a deletion of the gene has no effect on imprinting within the cluster. Surprisingly, the three maternally expressed genes are regulated very differently by DNA methylation; p57(Kip2) is activated, Kvlqt1 is silenced, and Mash2 is unaffected in mice lacking DNA methyltransferase. We conclude that H19 is not a global regulator of imprinting on distal chromosome 7 and that the telomeric genes are imprinted by a separate mechanism(s).
PKCε Phosphorylates and Mediates the Cell Membrane Localization of RhoA

Protein kinase Ce (PKCe) signals through RhoA to modulate cell invasion and motility. In this study, the multifaceted interaction between PKCe and RhoA was defined. Phosphopeptide mapping revealed that PKCe phosphorylates RhoA at T127 and S188. Recombinant PKCe bound to recombinant RhoA in the absence of ATP indicating that the association between PKCe and RhoA does not require an active ATP-docked PKCe conformation. Activation of PKCe resulted in a dramatic coordinated translocation of PKCe and RhoA from the cytoplasm to the cell membrane using time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. Stoichiometric FRET analysis revealed that the molecular interaction between PKCe and RhoA is a biphasic event, an initial peak at the cytoplasm and a gradual prolonged increase at the cell membrane for the entire time-course (12.5 minutes). These results suggest that the PKCe-RhoA complex is assembled in the cytoplasm and subsequently recruited to the cell membrane. Kinase inactive (K437R) PKCe is able to recruit RhoA to the cell membrane indicating that the association between PKCe and RhoA is proximal to the active catalytic site and perhaps independent of a PKCe-RhoA phosphorylation event. This work demonstrates, for the first time, that PKCe phosphorylates and modulates the cell membrane translocation of RhoA.
Extracellular Interaction of the Voltage-dependent Ca2+ Channel α2δ and α1 Subunits

Abstract The role of the extracellular domain of the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel α2δ subunit in assembly with the α1Csubunit was investigated. Transiently transfected tsA201 cells processed the α2δ subunit properly as disulfide linkages and cleavage sites between the α2 and δ subunits were shown to be similar to native channel protein. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that in the absence of δ subunits, α2 subunits do not assemble with α1 subunits. Furthermore, the transmembrane and cytoplasmic sequences in δ can be exchanged with those of an unrelated protein without any effect on the association between the α2δ and α1 proteins. Extracellular domains of the α2δ subunit are also shown to be responsible for increasing the binding affinity of [3H]PN200-110 (isopropyl-4-(2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)-1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-5-([3H]methoxycarbonyl)-pyridine-3-carboxylate) for the α1C subunit. Investigation of the corresponding interaction site on the α1 subunit revealed that although tryptic peptides containing repeat III of native α1S subunit remain in association with the α2δ subunit during wheat germ agglutinin chromatography, repeat III by itself is not sufficient for assembly with the α2δ subunit. Our results suggest that the α2δ subunit likely interacts with more than one extracellular loop of the α1 subunit.
Treatment-related lymphopenia in patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: This study sought to estimate the severity, etiology, and clinical importance of treatment-related lymphopenia in patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. Methods: Serial lymphocyte counts and survival were analyzed retrospectively in 47 patients accounting for known prognostic factors. Results: Total lymphocyte counts (TLCs) were normal before therapy and did not change following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Following radiation, TLC fell by 67% (median 500 cells/mm3, p <.00001). Multivariate analysis revealed an association between severe TLC and survival (HR 1.70, 95% CI: 0.8–3.6). Conclusions: Rapid and severe lymphopenia occurred in 50% of patients following radiation which was associated with reduced survival.
Mobility management in IVC networks

Inter-vehicle communication, a central component of future in-vehicle Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), will require the development of distributed coordination functions that operate without a fixed communications infrastructure. These functions will be critical for coordination of access to the media, message routing, and security. The stable clustering of nearby nodes is the key for the creation of a scalable network architecture. However, existing clustering algorithms for generic networks do not perform well in a vehicular, environment due to the high speeds and the constraints on vehicle mobility. This paper presents a clustering algorithm that greatly improves cluster stability.
NOTES: A Gastroenterologist's Perspective

Once in a few decades in science or medicine, an idea emerges that is so powerful that it changes forever how we think about the field. Such is the case of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). NOTES has yet to prove its value in patients. However, having challenged one of the most fundamental and deeply entrenched dogmas in surgery and endoscopy, many of us feel that "we will never be the same again." In this article I will discuss the implications of this paradigm shift and suggest strategies for both gastroenterologists and surgeons that will allow us to test its full potential.
Epidemiology of sebaceous carcinoma of the head and neck: implications for lymph node management.

Background. The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence of nodal disease in sebaceous carcinoma and its impact on survival. Methods. Data from the 17 registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was retrospectively collected for sebaceous carcinoma from 1973 to 2007. Information on location, histologic grade, stage of disease, and survival was gathered. Results. One thousand eight hundred thirty-six sebaceous carcinomas were diagnosed during the time period: 633 (34.5%) in the eyelid and 786 (42.8%) in the extraocular head and neck skin. Eyelid sebaceous carcinomas had higher histologic grade compared with tumors in extraocular sites (p < .001). Ocular sebaceous carcinomas had a higher incidence of regional or distant metastases at presentation (4.4%) compared with extraocular head and neck sites (0.9%; p ¼ .03). There was a high incidence of Nþ disease in poorly differentiated ocular sebaceous carcinomas (15.2%). Conclusion. The incidence of nodal disease was higher with eyelid tumors. Sentinel lymph node biopsy can be considered for eyelid tumors, but not for non-eyelid head and neck tumors. V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 34: 1765-1768, 2012 Sebaceous carcinoma is a rare cutaneous tumor that origi- nates from adnexal structures of the skin. It is found pre- dominantly in the head and neck and is commonly found in the eyelid, in association with the meibomian glands, or glands of Zeis. 1 It is the third most common malignant tumor of the eyelids. 2 The incidence of the disease seems to be rising. 3 Risk factors for this disease are advanced age, white race, and genetic predisposition, where Muir-Torre syndrome is associated with sebaceous carcinoma. 3-5 Sebaceous carcinoma has an aggressive potential, with up to 14% to 25% locoregional and distant spread reported. 6 Standard surgical resection with wide margins (10 mm) is a common treatment for sebaceous carcinoma, whereas special care needs to be taken for resections of eyelid tumors. Radiation therapy alone is not recom- mended, and there is limited information regarding its use in the adjuvant setting. 6
On Design, Measurement Tools and Robust Control of Wireless Telecommunication Networks

Over the years a lot of rigorous mathematical analysis has been done by systems and controls communityfor the optimization of multivariable systems with a mathematically rigorous systems theoretic approach. Inparallel, wireless telecommunication industry was working on performance measurement analysis tools achiev-ing demonstrable optimization. This paper will elaborate on the need for finding common grounds these twoapproaches. Some existing measurement tools are also presented.Decision on measurement tools in design of telecommunications networks implies tradeoffs between relia-bility, capacity, and the economics in meeting customer demands. The paper first identifies the parameterswhich can and should be measured to facilitate the optimization for performance of telecommunication net-works. Secondly, there are given available resources on measurements tools for these parameters togetherwith a comparative analysis. Thirdly, the hardware setup for some of these measurements will be explained.Finally, a method to find the robust controller for wireless network is introduced.
Small membrane proteins found by comparative genomics and ribosome binding site models

The correct annotation of genes encoding the smallest proteins is one of the biggest challenges of genome annotation, and perhaps more importantly, few annotated short open reading frames have been confirmed to correspond to synthesized proteins. We used sequence conservation and ribosome binding site models to predict genes encoding small proteins, defined as having 16-50 amino acids, in the intergenic regions of the Escherichia coli genome. We tested expression of these predicted as well as previously annotated genes by integrating the sequential peptide affinity tag directly upstream of the stop codon on the chromosome and assaying for synthesis using immunoblot assays. This approach confirmed that 20 previously annotated and 18 newly discovered proteins of 16-50 amino acids are synthesized. We summarize the properties of these small proteins; remarkably more than half of the proteins are predicted to be single-transmembrane proteins, nine of which we show co-fractionate with cell membranes.
Torture and Religious Practice1

Abstract: This essay explores the connection between religious practices and torture with specific reference to the debate in the USA about ‘waterboarding’ as part of the so-called War on Terror. After isolating some defining features of torture, the essay examines the historical background of waterboarding in the symbolism of Christian baptism and how this symbolism was used during the Inquisition and the Reformation as part of the torture of heretics and others. Mindful of this sordid use of a Christian rite meant to celebrate new life, the essay thereby clarifies Christian responsibility in the political order. That responsibility requires uncovering the religious roots of some forms of torture, resisting their use by the State, and, further, seeking to render current Christian practice both humane and life giving.
An unusual cause of acute anemia in an immunosuppressed patient

Gastrointestinal mucormycosis is an uncommon, invasive, opportunistic fungal infection with a high mortality rate, seen more commonly in immunocompromised patients. This lethal infection has a wide range of presentations, from colonization of peptic ulcers to infiltrative disease and eventually vascular invasion. Here we present a case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in an immunocompromised patient, which was proved to be secondary to gastric involvement by mucormycosis.
BitVault: a highly reliable distributed data retention platform

This paper summarizes our experience designing and implementing BitVault: a content-addressable retention platform for large volumes of reference data -- seldom-changing information that needs to be retained for a long time. BitVault uses "smart bricks" as the building block to lower the hardware cost. The challenges are to keep management costs low in a system that scales from one brick to tens of thousands, to ensure reliability, and to deliver a simple design. Our design incorporates peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies for self-managing and self-healing and uses massively parallel repair to reduce system vulnerability to data loss. The simplicity of the architecture relies on an eventually reliable membership service provided by a perfect one-hop distributed hash table (DHT). Its object-driven repair model yields last-replica recall guarantee independent of the failure scenario. So long as the last copy of a data object remains in the system, that data can be retrieved and its replication degree can be restored. A prototype has been implemented. Theoretical analysis, simulations and experiments have been conducted to validate the design of BitVault.
Unifying annotated discourse hierarchies to create a gold standard

Human annotation of discourse corpora typically results in segmentation hierarchies that vary in their degree of agreement. This paper presents several techniques for unifying multiple discourse annotations into a single hierarchy, deemed a “gold standard” — the segmentation that best captures the underlying linguistic structure of the discourse. It proposes and analyzes methods that consider the level of embeddedness of a segmentation as well as methods that do not. A corpus containing annotated hierarchical discourses, the Boston Directions Corpus, was used to evaluate the “goodness” of each technique, by comparing the similarity of the segmentation it derives to the original annotations in the corpus. Several metrics of similarity between hierarchical segmentations are computed: precision/recall of matching utterances, pairwise inter-reliability scores ( ), and non-crossing-brackets. A novel method for unification that minimizes conflicts among annotators outperforms methods that require consensus among a majority for the and precision metrics, while capturing much of the structure of the discourse. When high recall is preferred, methods requiring a majority are preferable to those that demand full consensus among annotators.
Shifts towards pediatric specialists in the treatment of appendicitis and pyloric stenosis: Trends and outcomes

Abstract Background Little data exists on temporal changes in the care of children with common surgical conditions. We hypothesized that an increasing proportion of procedures are performed at pediatric hospitals over time, and that outcomes are superior at these centers. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Washington State discharge records for children 0–17 years old undergoing appendectomy (n = 39,472) or pyloromyotomy (n = 3,500). Pediatric hospitals were defined as centers with full-time pediatric surgeons. Outcomes were examined for two time periods (1987–2000, 2001–2009). Results From 1987 to 2009, the proportion of procedures performed at pediatric hospitals steadily increased. The percentage for appendectomies increased from 17% to 32%, and that for pyloromyotomies increased from 57% to 99%. For pyloromyotomy, care at a pediatric hospital was associated with decreased risk of postoperative complications (OR = 0.36, p Conclusion There has been a shift towards pediatric hospitals for certain procedures, with a widening disparity in outcomes for younger children. These results suggest that procedures in younger patients may best be performed by providers familiar with these patient populations.
Object orientation in multidatabase systems

A multidatabase system (MDBS) is a confederation of preexisting distributed, heterogeneous, and autonomous database systems. There has been a recent proliferation of research suggesting the application of object-oriented techniques to facilitate the complex task of designing and implementing MDBSs. Although this approach seems promising, the lack of a general framework impedes any further development. The goal of this paper is to provide a concrete analysis and categorization of the various ways in which object orientation has affected the task of designing and implementing MDBSs.We identify three dimensions in which the object-oriented paradigm has influenced this task: the general system architecture, the schema architecture, and the heterogeneous transaction management. Then we provide a classification and a comprehensive analysis of the issues related to each of the above dimensions. To demonstrate the applicability of this analysis, we conclude with a comparative review of existing multidatabase systems.
A dual-channel MAC protocol for mobile ad hoc networks

Recent studies have shown that the widely used IEEE 802.11 MAC is considerably inefficient in multihop networks. The inefficiency is due to the hidden terminal problem, the exposed terminal problem, the receiver blocking problem, and the ultra-flow contention problem. These four problems can lead to "explosion" of control packets and hence poor throughput performance. To address these problems, we propose a novel MAC protocol based upon the IEEE 802.11 MAC. The unique features of the proposed MAC protocol are 1) a system architecture with an out-of-band busy tone and two communication channels, one for control frames and the other for data frames, and 2) a message exchange procedure that provides a comprehensive solution to all the aforementioned four problems. Our studies show that the proposed scheme can simultaneously overcome the four problems, greatly improve spatial reuse, and eliminate the collisions of DATA packets. In addition, the simulation results demonstrate that the new scheme provides a more stable link layer with less control overheads and much less routing failures and significantly improves the throughput, as compared to the IEEE 802.11 MAC.
Leptin Within Healthy and Diseased Human Gingiva

Background: Plasma leptin concentrations are reported to be elevated in patients with inflammatory diseases. There is no consensus concerning the biological mechanism for this phenomenon. To date, tissue leptin concentrations have not been assessed within normal or inflamed gingiva. The purpose of this study was to assess concentrations of human leptin within healthy and diseased gingiva to define its possible role in periodontal disease progression. Methods: Healthy (non-hemorrhagic gingiva adjacent to ≤3 mm gingival sulcus) and inflamed gingiva (hemorrhagic gingiva adjacent to a ≥3 mm periodontal pocket) were studied. Leptin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; to assess potential vascular expansion), and interleukin-6 (IL-6; to assess periodontal disease activity and severity) concentrations were assessed within solubilized gingival biopsies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data were grouped by sulcular depth and compared by factorial analysis of variance, regression analysis, and Scheffe co...
Time-Response Characteristics of a System as Determined by its Transfer Function

In this paper a study is made of the step and impulse responses of systems whose transfer functions have all their poles on the negative real axis. The effects that real zeros of the transfer function have on the system response are evaluated. One result shows that if the transfer function has n finite zeros, all on the positive real axis, then the step response of the system has exactly n zero crossings. These step-response characteristics are studied further to establish upper and lower bounds on the position of the zero crossing for the case n = 1 , and other bounds on the time functions for the cases n = 0 and n = 2 .