cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stigmatising beliefs about Alzheimer's disease: Findings from the Asian American Quality of Life Survey.

Responding to the public health significance of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and lack of information on AD-related issues in Asian Americans, the present study examined the prevalence and predictors of three stigmatising beliefs about AD (beliefs that associate AD with a normal process of ageing, family embarrassment and social avoidance) using a sample of Asian Americans representing diverse ethnic groups (Chinese, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino and other Asians) and a broad age range (18-98). Guided by the Sociocultural Health Belief Model, multivariate regression models of stigmatising beliefs about AD examined the effect of demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, education and ethnicity) and immigration and culture-related variables (proportion of life in the U.S., English proficiency and acculturation). Data came from the 2015 Asian American Quality of Life survey (N = 2,609). Results indicate that the prevalence of stigmatising beliefs about AD varied across ethnicities. More than 63% of Vietnamese associated AD with a normal process of ageing, and about 10% of Chinese reported that they would feel embarrassed if their family member had AD. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that advanced age, male gender, low education and limited English proficiency increased the odds of reporting one or more stigmatising beliefs about AD. The findings suggest varying degrees of AD-related misconceptions and stigmatisation and call attention to the need for culturally sensitive AD education in Asian communities.
Schwarzschild black holes in matrix theory II

We present a crude Matrix Theory model for Schwarzschild black holes in uncompactified dimension greater than 5. The model accounts for the size, entropy, and long range static interactions of black holes. The key feature of the model is a Boltzmann gas of D0 branes, a concept which depends on certain qualitative features of Matrix Theory which have not previously been utilized in studies of black holes.
New Onset, Irreversible, Prolonged QT-Interval Requiring Permanent Biventricular Pacemaker in a COVID-19 Patient

Various electrocardiographic (EKG) manifestations have been reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is growing evidence showing that new onset QT-prolongation is a common EKG finding in COVID-19 patients. In this report, we present a case of a 71-year-old man who was found to have a new onset, irreversible, prolonged QT-interval requiring permanent biventricular pacemaker despite testing negative twice for RT-PCR COVID-19 and correction of all known reversible causes. To date, there are a limited number of reports of irreversible QT-prolongation associated with COVID-19. This case report emphasizes the importance of a physician's clinical judgment in the setting of negative RT-PCR COVID-19 testing. A robust systemic inflammatory state seen in active COVID-19 infection is possibly the key mechanism precipitating the new EKG findings.
A Conspiracy of Silence: Disclosure, Apology, and Restitution

When patients are harmed by their treatment, they want three things from their doctor: they want the doctor to tell them what happened, say they are sorry, and tell them what will be done to keep it from happening to someone else. “What happened” is an acknowledgment that something went wrong, followed by an explanation of why it happened, and some guidance on what the future holds. If they have additional medical expenses or a disability, they also want compensation. Sadly, none of this happens most of the time [1].
Physical Information and the Derivation of Electron Physics

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses physical information and the derivation of electron physics. The chapter discusses that Fisher Information I is one-half of a two-term information concept, called “physical information” I, whose extremization (or zero-root) derives most of the known physical theory. The chapter presents a table on the Lagrangians for the various fields of physics. These disparate Lagrangians have a common term that is quadratic in the field function of interest, in the form of a dot or inner product. This term provides the link to information theory. It is basically Fisher's information I . Hence, Fisher information I occurs, not only in the Lagrangian for the Schrodinger wave equation (SWE), but in most Lagrangians of physics. It provides the unifying concept. The Lagrangians and laws of physics arise out of a parameter measurement-estimation effect—in particular, a gedanken experiment, whereby the mean or ideal value of a parameter is to be estimated from experimental data. This naturally brings in Fisher information I . A second property of the Lagrangians of physics is that most have value zero when evaluated at their extremum solutions. For fields of physics that do not obey this property, the physical information (PI) theory defines alternative Lagrangians that do.
Platelets: a critical link between inflammation and microvascular dysfunction

Inflammation is an underlying feature of a variety of human diseases. An important manifestation of this pathophysiological response is microvascular dysfunction, which includes the activation of vascular endothelial cells, and circulating leucocytes and platelets. While endothelial cells and leucocytes are widely accepted as critical players in the microvascular alterations induced by inflammation, recent attention has focused on the modulatory role of platelets, which act both as effector and target cells in inflamed microvessels. Evidence is presented to demonstrate the capacity for 'cross-talk' between platelets and other cells (endothelial cells, leucocytes) that contribute to an inflammatory response, and to illustrate the pathophysiological consequences of these interactions of platelets with other cells within the microvasculature.
Effect of Cyclic Adenosine 3′ : 5′-Monophosphate on Ribosomal Protein Phosphorylation in Reticulocytes

Abstract We have studied the effects of cyclic adenosine 3' : 5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) on ribosomal protein phosphorylation in rabbit reticulocytes. The phosphoryl groups in the five different ribosomal phosphoproteins turn over intracellularly and become radioactive when the cells are incubated with [32P]orthophosphate. These phosphoproteins are present in highly purified ribosomal subunits which lack messenger ribonucleic acid. Cyclic AMP and N6, O2'-dibutyryl adenosine 3' : 5'-monophosphate stimulate the incorporation of radioactivity into the ribosomal phosphoproteins. This increase in labeling occurs rapidly and is caused by two separable influences. First, cyclic AMP causes an increase in the specific activity of the incorporated phosphoryl groups. Second, cyclic AMP specifically causes increased phosphorylation of one among the ribosomal phosphoproteins. This protein (which we have termed Protein II) has a molecular weight of approximately 27,500 and is located on the smaller ribosomal subunits.
Raman and x-ray absorption spectroscopy characterization of Zr-doped MOCVD YBa2Cu3O6+δ

Metal organic chemical vapor deposited YBa2Cu3O6+ (YBCO) films (about 0.9 m thick) containing varying amounts of added zirconium were examined by Raman microscopy and synchrotron x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The self-field and in-field (1 T, B c) Jc performance of the YBCO films at 77 K (reported by the group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that fabricated the samples) exhibited an increase on going from 0 mol% (m/o) Zr-added to 2.5 m/o Zr-added but then decreased sharply with increasing Zr content. Raman measurements on these films showed that the added Zr had little effect on YBCO cation disorder up to about 7.5 m/o Zr-added. Cation disorder increased while Ba Cu O content remained relatively constant for Zr additions 7.5 m/o. In the region of sharpest descent of Jc with increasing Zr content (2.5 7.5 m/o Zr-added) neither the cation disorder nor the Ba Cu O content showed a systematic variation with Jc. Zirconium K edge x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy revealed that virtually all of the added Zr in each sample was present as a BaZrO3-like phase (BZO). The Jc performance of the Zr-added films showed a high correlation with the variations in the next-nearest-neighbor Zr M (M = Zr, Y) scatteringmore » path amplitude from the extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and the critical temperature over the full range of Zr additions and with cation disorder at the higher Zr-added levels (>7.5 m/o). There was no obvious correlation with the amount of residual barium cuprate or CuO. Approximate ranges for the BZO particle dimensions estimated from the EXAFS data indicated that the mean particle size gets larger with increasing Zr addition.« less
Globin Synthesis on Reticulocyte Membrane-bound Ribosomes

Abstract Evidence is presented that indicates that greater than 95% of the protein synthesized by intact rabbit reticulocytes is globin and that only globin nascent chains are found on the membrane-bound ribosomes from reticulocytes. This result conflicts with reports in the literature that approximately 14% of the protein synthesized by reticulocytes is non-globin and that 86% of the protein synthesized by membrane-bound ribosomes is non-globin (Bulova, S. I., and Burka, E. R. (1970) J. Biol. Chem. 245, 4907). Intact reticulocytes were incubated in the presence of either [3H]tyrosine or [3H]tryptophan, the cells were lysed, and the free ribosomes were sedimented. The postribosomal supernatant was precipitated with acid-acetone, and the precipitated material was chromatographed on a Sephadex G-100 column. Three main regions of protein were found. Bulova and Burka had designated the first two regions eluting from the column as non-globin protein and the third region as globin subunits. Material from each region was combined with uniformly labeled 14C-amino acid, globin that had been partially purified by passage through a DEAE-cellulose column before acid-acetone precipitation, and the mixture was digested with trypsin. Chromatography of the tryptic peptides on Dowex 50-X8 indicated that greater than 95% of the protein in each region is globin. Nascent chains on free ribosomes and membrane-bound ribosomes were prepared from intact reticulocytes incubated in the presence of [3H]tyrosine. Tryptic digestion of the nascent chains on the ribosomes yielded only globin peptides. Plots of the specific activity of tyrosine versus amino acid position in the globin chain declined linearly from the NH2-terminal to COOH-terminal ends of the chain and showed that the peptides had not arisen from free globin bound to the ribosomes. Additional experiments showed that no more than 25% of the radioactivity in the membrane-bound ribosomes could have arisen from contamination by free ribosomes.
Science news stories as boundary objects affecting engagement with science

This paper explores how participating in a program spanning an informal science institution and multiple school sites engaged youth with science in a different way. In particular, teens in the program selected and researched science topics of personal interest, and then authored, revised, and published science news stories about those topics in an authentic publication venue with an outside editor. Through five case studies analyzed according to a sociocultural framework for engagement understood as involving actions, interests and identifications, the authors describe how the news story artifacts became “boundary objects” inhabiting several intersecting social worlds. These boundary objects are often mediated by adults acting as brokers spanning communities. The properties of the news stories that enable them to act as boundary objects include their mutability and shareability as electronic draft documents created in distributed learning environments and responded to by an editor based at a distance, their flexibility in terms of genres for expressing the meaning and importance of science, and their portability across space in the form of print- and web-based publications that are valued by multiple communities. Implications for developing youth identities while fostering participation in critical thinking about science are discussed, along with further research needed on understanding the power of personal connections to health, and the role of brokers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 51: 315–341, 2014
Long-term parenteral nutrition in unrestrained nonhuman primates: an experimental model.

A freely mobile jacket and tether system was developed for the investigation of total parenteral nutrition (TPN)-induced metabolic bone disease and complications of prolonged TPN in 12 Macaca fascicularis nonhuman primates. The animals received TPN for 49 +/- 7 d (means +/- SEM), providing 82 +/- 2 kcal.kg-1.d-1. Serum glucose increased from 3.6 +/- 0.2 mmol/L at baseline to 8.3 +/- 1.9 mmol/L (p less than 0.01) during TPN, and serum albumin decreased from 38 +/- 1 g/L at baseline to 29 +/- 1 g/L (p less than 0.001) during 2.75% amino acid TPN and 30 +/- 2 g/L (p less than 0.01) during 5% amino acid TPN infusion. No significant changes were seen in serum prealbumin, total protein, bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, and 5'-nucleotidase during TPN infusion. Major complications included catheter sepsis, hyperglycemia, diarrhea, and premature death in six animals. Thus, metabolic complications of prolonged TPN support may be investigated in a freely mobile nonhuman primate.
Intra- and interscan reproducibility using Fourier Analysis of STimulated Echoes (FAST) for the rapid and robust quantification of left ventricular twist.

Purpose To assess the intra- and interscan reproducibility of LV twist using FAST. Assessing the reproducibility of the measurement of new MRI biomarkers is an important part of validation. Fourier Analysis of STimulated Echoes (FAST) is a new MRI tissue tagging method that has recently been shown to compare favorably with conventional estimates of left ventricular (LV) twist from cardiac tagged images, but with significantly reduced user interaction time. Materials and Methods Healthy volunteers (N = 10) were scanned twice using FAST over 1 week. On day 1, two measurements of LV twist were collected for intrascan comparisons. Measurements for LV twist were again collected on day 8 for interscan assessment. LV short-axis tagged images were acquired on a 3 Tesla (T) scanner to ensure detectability of tags during early and mid-diastole. Peak LV twist is reported as mean ± SD. Reproducibility was assessed using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and the repeatability coefficient (RC) (95% confidence interval [CI] range). Results Mean peak twist measurements were 13.4 ± 4.3° (day 1, scan 1), 13.6 ± 3.7° (day 1, scan 2), and 13.0 ± 2.7° (day 8). Bland-Altman analysis resulted in intra- and interscan bias and 95% CI of −0.6° [−1.0°, 1.6°] and 1.4° (−1.0°, 3.0°), respectively. The Bland-Altman RC for peak LV twist was 2.6° and 4.0° for intra- and interscan, respectively. The CCC was 0.9 and 0.6 for peak LV twist for intra- and interscan, respectively. Conclusion FAST is a semi-automated method that provides a quick and quantitative assessment of LV systolic and diastolic twist that demonstrates high intrascan and moderate interscan reproducibility in preliminary studies. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2014;39:463–468. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SuperAD: supervised activity discovery

Activity recognition (AR) has become an essential component of many applications present in our everyday lives such as life-logging, fitness tracking, health and wellbeing monitoring. To build an AR system, one needs to first identify a set of activities of interest and collect labeled training data for these activities. However, activities of interest are not often known in advance. For example, a system designed to monitor a user's life style for potential diabetes risk needs to recognize all physical activities a user performs in her daily life. Given the large number of possible human activities, many of them cannot be foreseen during the model training time. In this work, we study the problem of discovering these unknown activities after the system is deployed by asking users to provide additional labels. Our goal is to discover all the unknown activities (i.e., obtain at least one label per class) while minimizing the amount of labels a user needs to provide. We propose SuperAD (Supervised Activity Discovery) approach, which combines active learning, semi-supervised learning and generative modeling to discover new unknown activities. We show that the proposed approach is especially effective when discovering activities with imbalance class distribution.
ICAM-1 is crucial for protection from TMEV-induced neuronal damage but not demyelination

Previous work has suggested that the factors protecting mice from Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV)-induced spinal cord demyelination are distinct from those involved in protection of the brain during the acute encephalitic phase. In this study, we examined the requirement for intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in both of these processes. During the acute phase of infection (days 7 to 10 after intracerebral infection with TMEV), no differences in brain or spinal cord pathology or virus burdens were observed between ICAM-1-knockout mice and the infected immunocompetent control mice of a similar background. Examination of brain pathology later in infection (that is, day 45 post infection [p.i.]) revealed that ICAM-1-deficient mice experienced increased levels of pathology in gray matter regions of the brain. We observed an increase in striatal damage and meningeal inflammation in the brains of TMEV-infected ICAM-1-knockout mice compared to C57BL/6J mice. Despite the increase in brain pathology, no immunoreactivity to viral antigens was detected, suggesting that the virus had been cleared by this time. Resistance to demyelination was similar in both groups, indicating that the resulting immune response was sufficient for protection of the spinal cord white matter.
Relevance versus generalization in cognitive engineering

The purpose of this article is to describe how research at the intersection of cognition, technology, and work can be generalized beyond the source context of scientific inquiry and confirmation. Special emphasis is given to resolve confusion about the use of terms such as “ecological validity” and the “real world.” The ultimate goal is to foster a more productive dialog on the merits of where and how research on important cognitive engineering topics, such as cognitive adaptation to change and uncertainty, should be conducted.
Strategic Parliamentary Dissolution

An important agenda power in parliamentary democracies is the discretion over the dissolution of parliament. We argue that variation in constitutional rules and the political environment will systematically affect the frequency of early elections. We hypothesize that dissolution will be more frequent under single-party governments, when the head of state plays an insignificant role, when neither parliament nor the cabinet can inhibit dissolution, when minority governments are in power, when the head of state can dissolve unilaterally, and later in the constitutional term. Using standard logistic and Cox-proportional hazard techniques, we test these expectations in a pooled time-series setting against observations of most OECD parliamentary democracies for the years 1960–1995. We find that parliamentary dissolutions are more frequent earlier in the constitutional term, under minority governments, when the head of state plays an insignificant role, and when the parliament or the cabinet is not involved.
Oral almotriptan in the treatment of migraine: safety and tolerability.

Objective.—To summarize safety and tolerability data on orally administered almotriptan from premarketing clinical trials. Background.—Almotriptan is a new 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist similar to sumatriptan in mode of action and therapeutic efficacy. In addition, the safety and tolerability profile of almotriptan has been demonstrated in a number of controlled clinical trials. Sumatriptan is generally safe and well tolerated; however, in controlled clinical trials, it has been associated with chest symptoms (pressure, warmth, and other unpleasant sensations) with an incidence of 3% to 5%. Design.—Three phase 1 dose-finding and pharmacokinetic studies in healthy men and women volunteers were reviewed to assess the safety and tolerability of oral almotriptan at single doses ranging from 2 to 200 mg. The objective of one study was to evaluate cardiovascular safety. Two phase 2 trials assessed the safety and tolerability of single doses of 2 to 150 mg in migraine (n=911). Two phase 3 trials assessed the safety and tolerability of a single 12.5-mg oral dose after three attacks (n=910) and repeated doses of 12.5 mg for multiple attacks over the long term (n=747). All studies were conducted in Europe. Data from the United States is currently being analyzed and will be published at a later date. Results.—In phase 2 and 3 trials comprising more than 2500 patients with migraine and 15 000 attacks, adverse events were infrequent and mild. The most common events—dizziness, nausea and vomiting, headache, fatigue, paresthesia, and drowsiness—were reported in fewer than 3% of patients. At the recommended therapeutic dose of 12.5 mg, the adverse events profile was not statistically different from placebo. The incidence of chest symptoms was 0.2% in the phase 3 trials. The long-term safety and tolerability profile after treatment of more than 10 000 attacks was similar to that following the single-dose studies. In all clinical trials, almotriptan demonstrated a very favorable adverse event profile, particularly with respect to nonischemic-related chest symptoms. Conclusions.—Almotriptan was safe and well tolerated in nearly all adult patients with migraine, with and without aura, enrolled in these studies. The incidence of chest symptoms in preclinical studies was substantially lower than that reported for sumatriptan in premarketing studies, indicating that almotriptan may be better tolerated than sumatriptan at clinically anticipated doses. However, any potential difference in cardiovascular safety between almotriptan and sumatriptan cannot be determined or inferred from this data. Cardiovascular risk profiles for all drugs within this class (triptans) should be considered similar. Only extensive postmarketing data, not currently available, can potentially change this recommendation.
Images of Another Tunisia: A Film Trilogy by Moncef Dhouib

This article examines a film trilogy by Moncef Dhouib in light of contemporary image production in Tunisian society. The analysis is based on a relation between the ideological production of the image by the state, on the one hand, and oppositional images of religious and mystical practices, on the other. The ‘ideological’ image is linked to the political situation from Bourguiba until the present time. The secular image is characterised, in content, by a forced visibility of the human body. The films of Moncef Dhouib were selected as an example of an oppositional image that is simultaneously resisting political and religious uses of visuality. Short summaries are provided given the difficulty of viewing the films both inside and outside Tunisia.
INVESTIGATING TEN‐YEAR TRENDS OF LEARNING OUTCOMES AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Community colleges currently enroll about 44% of the undergraduate students in the United States and are rapidly expanding. It is of critical importance to obtain direct evidence of student learning to see if students receive adequate training at community colleges. This study investigated the 10-year trends of community college students' (n = 46,403) performance in reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking, as assessed by the ETS® Proficiency Profile (EPP), an assessment of college-level learning outcomes. Results showed that community college students caught up with and significantly outperformed students from liberal arts colleges by the end of the 10-year period and made significant improvement in critical-thinking skills. An increasing gender gap was observed in mathematics at community colleges. Prevalent ethnic minority and English as a second language (ESL) gaps were noted but gaps between ESL and non-ESL students and between Hispanic and White students were decreasing. Additionally, Asian students at community colleges showed an overall decline in performance. Findings from this study provide significant implications for community college leaders, researchers, and policymakers.
An Alternate Geometry for a Piezoelectric MEMS Microphone, Part I: Design and Analysis

Microphones fabricated using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology are one of the fastest growing applications of MEMS. While most commercial MEMS microphones are sensed capacitively, piezoelectric MEMS microphones require less accompanying electronics and offer increased linearity. Currently, piezoelectric MEMS microphones suffer from high noise levels, limiting their applicability. This paper presents an alternative sensor geometry consisting of a cantilever beam electrostatically clamped to the center of a diaphragm that both favorably concentrates stress from the applied acoustic load and eliminates the deleterious effects of residual stress in the piezoelectric material. A complete analysis of the sensitivity and noise characteristics of the electromechanical design (including the amplifying electronics) is performed and compared to a design employing a piezoelectric layer on a diaphragm. The analysis has shown that the proposed geometry can be used to build microphones sensed via aluminum nitride with noise levels around 48 dBA while similar materials and sizes result in noise levels around 57 dBA using the standard geometry.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Double-walled coated vesicle formation: evidence for massive and transient conjugate internalization of plasma membranes during cerebellar development.

A massive and. transient increase in the formation of double-walled coafed vesicles (DWCVs) from surface membranes during late cerebellar development is reported here. These structures are characterized by an outer vesicle (65 nm in diameter), bearing a 15 nm thick spiny coat, containing an inner vesicle (30 nm in diameter). DWCVs occur free in the cytoplasm or attached to the plasma membranes. In the latter case, the membrane of the outer vesicle can be seen to be an invagination of the plasmalemma of the parent cell process while the membrane of the inner vesicle is an evagination of the plasmalemma of the adjacent cell process. DWCVs were observed in a variety of cellular elements in the granular and molecular layers of immature mouse cerebellum, including axons, dendrites, glia and cell bodies. Morphometric analysis revealed that the number of DWCVs in cerebellar mossy terminals became elevated between 16 and 37 days of age and reached a peak 45–50 times higher at 20 days than at either 10 or 70 days of age. The data suggest that a massive conjugate internalization of apposed plasma membranes occurs during late postnatal development which may serve to remodel neural membranes.
Complex technological capabilities in emerging economy firms: The role of organizational relationships

Abstract Formal organizational relationships are important sources for capability building in emerging economy firms eager to move up the value chain. We examine how access to valuable knowledge available to firms via organizational relationships creates learning opportunities necessary for the development of complex technological capabilities. Using a sample of 852 observations of emerging economy firms from the Indian software industry between 1992 and 2000, we find that developing strong domestic intra-organizational relationships, through affiliation with a moderately diversified business group or operating in a related industry, promote more complex technological capabilities. In the case of foreign inter-organizational relationships, we find that greater foreign client contact enhances the complexity of firm technological capabilities. However, accessing knowledge from domestic inter-organizational relationships appears to hinder the development of firm complex technological capabilities. An interesting result from our research was that having greater access to knowledge from foreign intra-organizational relationships, embedded within foreign subsidiaries, did not lead to the development of complex firm technological capabilities. The results of our study highlight that for emerging economy firms wanting to improve their complex technological capabilities, there may be diminishing benefits to learning from and acquiring knowledge available within specific types of formal organizational relationships.
Activation and angular distribution measurements of 7Li(p, n)7Be(0.0+0.49 MeV) for Ep=25−45 MeV: A technique for absolute neutron yield determination

Abstract Angular distributions of the combined7Li(p, n)7Be reactions to the ground and first excited state of beryllium have been measured at proton energies of 24.8, 35.0 and 45.0 MeV with a typical accuracy of 5%. The total cross section was also obtained at eleven energies between 24 and 45 MeV by activation techniques. The reaction is a potentially convenient source for neutrons, and absolute neutron fluence can be independent of beam current and target thickness measurement if the amount of 7Be(τ1/2 = 53.4d produced in the reaction is measured. Following the proton irradiation the amount of 7 Be produced is determined by observation of the 0.478 MeV gamma rays from a 10.4% branch of 7Be and this information is combined with the total cross sections and angular distributions to give the neutron fluence at the time of irradiation.
Pattern Formation by Interacting Chemical Fronts

Experiments on a bistable chemical reaction in a continuously fed thin gel layer reveal a new type of spatiotemporal pattern, one in which fronts propagate at a constant speed until they reach a critical separation (typically 0.4 millimeter) and stop. The resulting asymptotic state is a highly irregular stationary pattern that contrasts with the regular patterns such as hexagons, squares, and stripes that have been observed in many nonequilibrium systems. The observed patterns are initiated by a finite amplitude perturbation rather than through spontaneous symmetry breaking.
Predicting the dislocation nucleation rate as a function of temperature and stress

Predicting the dislocation nucleation rate as a function of temperature and stress is crucial for understanding the plastic deformation of nanoscale crystalline materials. However, the limited time scale of molecular dynamics simulations makes it very difficult to predict the dislocation nucleation rate at experimentally relevant conditions. We recently develop an approach to predict the dislocation nucleation rate based on the Becker–Doring theory of nucleation and umbrella sampling simulations. The results reveal very large activation entropies, which originated from the anharmonic effects, that can alter the nucleation rate by many orders of magnitude. Here we discuss the thermodynamics and algorithms underlying these calculations in greater detail. In particular, we prove that the activation Helmholtz free energy equals the activation Gibbs free energy in the thermodynamic limit and explain the large difference in the activation entropies in the constant stress and constant strain ensembles. We also discuss the origin of the large activation entropies for dislocation nucleation, along with previous theoretical estimates of the activation entropy.
Thermal decomposition of energetic materials 27. Synthesis, characterization, and thermolysis of Cu(II)-doped “blue RDX”

Abstract A Cu(II) complex was incorporated into RDX with copper at about the 400 ppm level giving distinctly blue crystals of RDX. Despite exhaustive attempts to determine the identity of the Cu(II) species, we were able to conclude only that RDX or an RDX fragment is present in the coordination sphere of the metal. By DSC copper-doped RDX exhibits a small exotherm at 175°C which is below the decomposition temperature of pure RDX. By using high-rate thermolysis and rapid-scan FTIR spectroscopy we found that copper-doped RDX liberates more N 2 O and CH 2 O and less NO 2 than does pure RDX suggesting that, consistent with the DSC data, the extent of condensed phase chemistry is enhanced when the lattice is doped with this Cu(II) species.
Kinetics and activation parameters for oxidations of styrene by Compounds I from the cytochrome P450(BM-3) (CYP102A1) heme domain and from CYP119.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP or P450) enzymes are ubiquitous in nature where they catalyze a vast array of oxidation reactions. The active oxidants in P450s have long been assumed to be iron(IV)−oxo porphyrin radical cations termed Compounds I, but P450 Compounds I have proven to be difficult to prepare. The recent development of an entry to these transients by photo-oxidation of the corresponding iron(IV)−oxo neutral porphyrin species (Compounds II) permits spectroscopic and kinetic studies. We report here application of the photo-oxidation method for production of Compound I from the heme domain of CYP102A1 (cytochrome P450BM-3), and product and kinetic studies of reactions of styrene with this Compound I transient and also Compound I from CYP119. The studies were performed at low temperatures in 1:1 (v:v) mixtures of glycerol and phosphate buffer. Single-turnover reactions at 0 °C gave styrene oxide in good yields. In kinetic studies conducted between −10 and −50 °C, both Compounds I displayed saturation kinet...
Chiral lagrangians and WW scattering

Recently, it has been proposed that the scattering of strongly interacting longitudinal gauge bosons can be studied using chiral perturbation theory. By fitting the energy dependence of the scattering amplitudes in the energy region 0.5 TeV < √s < 1.2 TeV one is sensitive to the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking. This information will be particularly useful if no low-lying resonances are found. We study the feasibility of this approach in pp colliders. We also comment on the qq→WL+WL− process.
Ion Channels and Membrane Potential in Stimulus-Secretion Coupling in Adrenal Medulla Cells

The role of Na+ channels and membrane potential in stimulus secretion coupling in adrenal medulla cell cultures was investigated. Veratridine, aconitine, batrachotoxin (BTX), and scorpion venom, which increase the flux of ions through tetrodotoxin(TTX)-sensitive Na+ channels, all evoke secretion of catecholamines that is blocked by TTX. TTX partially inhibits secretion induced by low concentrations of nicotine in Locke's solution but has no effect on high concentrations of nicotine (20 microM). In Ca2+-sucrose media TTX has no effect on secretion at either high or low concentrations of nicotine. Replacement of Na+ with Li+ in Locke's solution reduces the response to nicotine and to veratridine. Complete replacement of Na+ with hydrazine, diethanolamine, TRIS, and choline completely inhibits the response to nicotine and almost completely inhibits the response to veratridine. Following exposure of cells to 50 mM-100 mM-K+, nicotine does not stimulate catecholamine secretion unless the cells are resuspended in media containing less than 50 mM-K+. Neither dibutyryl-cyclic AMP nor dibutyryl-cyclic GMP evokes secretion. alpha-Bungarotoxin (1 microM) did not inhibit nicotine-induced secretion. These studies indicate that Na+ channels and acetylcholine (ACh) receptor ion channels are independently coupled to the influx of Ca2+. The membrane potential appears to affect nicotine- and veratridine-evoked secretion.
Obese mice incur greater myofiber membrane disruption in response to mechanical load compared with lean mice.

Objective: Obesity is associated with modified transmembrane signaling events in skeletal muscle, such as insulin signaling and glucose transport. The underlying cause of these obesity-related effects on transmembrane signaling is still unknown. In general, the function of membrane proteins responsible for transmembrane signaling is modulated by the biochemical makeup of the membrane, such as lipid composition, in which they are embedded. Any obesity-related alterations in membrane composition would also be predicted to modify membrane biomechanical properties and membrane susceptibility to mechanical load-induced damage. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether obesity influences myofiber membrane susceptibility to mechanical damage in skeletal muscle. Design and Methods: Myofiber membrane damage was compared between 12-week-old obese, hypercholesterolemic (B6.V Lepob/J) and isogenic, normocholesterolemic control (C57BL6/J) male mice following either normal cage activity or strenuous eccentric exercise (downhill running). Myofiber membrane damage was quantified in perfusion-fixed frozen sections of the gastrocnemius muscle via sarcoplasmic concentration of either albumin (cage activity experiment) or a fluorescent marker that had been injected immediately before activity (eccentric exercise experiment). Results: Obese mice exhibited evidence of increased myofiber membrane damage compared with lean mice after both normal cage activity and eccentric exercise indicating that myofiber membranes of obese mice are more susceptible to mechanical damage in general and that eccentric exercise exacerbates this effect. Conclusions: These observations are consistent with the notion that obesity influences the biochemical and biomechanical properties of myofiber membranes.
Contracting race: writing, racism, and education

This article presents the main terms of the racial contract, as they appear in the subcontracts of Mills’ theory, such as the spatial, epistemological, cognitive subcontracts. It is important to keep in mind that these subcontracts are by no means separate and represent analytical moments of the main contract. Furthermore, other than its institutional form, education is not a separate sphere from the racial contract. Finally, I end with the racial contract’s gaps to determine the possibility of its own demise, which requires the active signing off from the terms of the contract. That is, I sketch ideas about ways to counteract (i.e., counter-write) the racial contract as part of a corrective to the history that interpellates people of color as its targets. Both Whites and people of color have a stake in the rewriting of the contract, where in the end they are imagined as neither Black nor White but free. In this last portion, I spend some text on what Whites’ role may look like in signing off the contract...
Generating Mechanism of Oilpan Moan Noises of Diesel Engines

The noise of diesel engines operating at low idle is an important noise evaluation criterion in both commercial vehicles and passenger cars. At low idle, a quiet, pleasant noise is required. Therefore, any unusual noises that occur at low idle represent a serious problem, and the noises must be prevented. This paper presents the characteristics of the moan noise, which is an unusual noise that radiates from the oilpan at low idle, and the mechanism by which the moan noises are generated in a diesel engine. In addition, a means of preventing the moan noises is discussed.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Optimal asymmetric error detecting codes

Some of the properties of codes capable of detecting errors when used on a binary asymmetric (or Z) channel are examined and in fact the maximum cardinality codes are determined. These results are extended to the q-ary asymmetric channel introduced by Varshamov (1973), IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory 19, 92–95) .
Structure and developmental regulation of CONSTANS-LIKE genes isolated from Populus deltoides☆

Abstract Two CONSTANS-LIKE (COL) genes, PdCO1 and PdCO2, were isolated from eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex. Marsh. var. deltoides). PdCO1 is unique among all the characterized CONSTANS-LIKE genes in the plant kingdom in that the deduced protein sequence contains a putative signal peptide with a potential transmembrane helix at the N-terminal end. Current bioinformatics tools suggest that PdCO1 protein may be secreted. Immuno-blot analysis indicated that although the PdCO1 was abundant in leaf, it was not detected in the subtended bud. Temporal mRNA and protein expression of PdCO1 and PdCO2 was determined in the leaf and bud at the ninth node of shoots, where transition from vegetative to floral phase has been observed to occur. The expression of both genes in the leaf increased dramatically from March 30 to April 21 and decreased on May 9. The increased expression coincided with morphological changes occurring in the axillary meristem of the subtended bud and with increased abundance of PdCO1 protein in the leaf. These changes sequentially included (1) the cessation of leaf-primordium formation, (2) the transition of the axillary shoot apical meristem to an inflorescence meristem, (3) and the subsequent formation of bracts and floral meristems in the axils of bracts flanking the inflorescence meristem. The temporal expression of PdCO1 and PdCO2 prior to flower bud development suggests that these genes might be involved in floral induction.
Factors Affecting Prognosis and Conversion in Equine Atrial Fibrillation

Sixty-seven horses presented with atrial fibrillation (AF) from January 1, 1980 to August 1, 1986. All horses were evaluated for the type and severity of the underlying cardiac disease and the probable duration of the arrhythmia. Fifty-two (78%) of the horses were treated with quinidine sulfate and/or digoxin. The response to treatment was assessed in each horse. Horses were followed for periods extending from 8 months to 7 years. Standardbreds, young horses, and males predominated in the study group. There were more male horses (stallions and geldings) than mares. Most horses with AF had no evidence of other cardiac disease (56.7%). All performance horses without other cardiac disease were treated, and return to performance was significantly associated with conversion to sinus rhythm. Horses that did not convert with quinidine sulfate therapy, whose arrhythmia recurred, and that had side effects from quinidine sulfate therapy, had a longer history of poor performance. Tachycardia (heart rate greater than 60 beats/min) was significantly associated with the existence of congestive heart failure. The horses with congestive heart failure had a poor prognosis for life (7.7% survived) and a poor conversion to normal sinus rhythm (23.1%). Mitral regurgitation (19 horses) was the most common underlying cardiac disease. Tricuspid regurgitation (15 horses), aortic regurgitation (3 horses), myocardial dysfunction (3 horses), and atrial septal defect (1 horse) also were diagnosed. Congestive heart failure was common in this group of horses with underlying cardiac disease.
421 EFFECT OF IN VITRO AND SYSTEMIC VITAMIN C (VC) ON THE NEUTROPHIL FUNCTION IN SICK NEWBORNS (NBs)

421 EFFECT OF IN VITRO AND SYSTEMIC VITAMIN C (VC) ON THE NEUTROPHIL FUNCTION IN SICK NEWBORNS (NBs)
Dental erosion: a complication of pervasive developmental disorder.

A young teenage male presenting for a routine check-up reported no health problems. Initial clinical examination revealed some enamel loss on the palatal surfaces of the maxillary incisors. Erosion lesions were suspected. Similar lesions, however, were not found throughout the mixed dentition and radiographic findings were inconclusive. To confirm the diagnosis of these lesions and, more importantly, to disclose the etiology, a thorough and detailed clinical examination of these lesions was conducted. Study models were made, mounted in centric occluding position, and closely screened. In addition, the health history was revisited, by interviewing the patient and his legal guardian. The information gathered led to the conclusion that the lesions in question were erosion lesions with concomitant wear facets that resulted from attrition of the softened enamel surface. An ample light on the possible etiological factors was shed, which assisted in the planning phase for the course of management. It is not unco...
Predisease conditions and serum vitamin D levels in healthy Mexican American adults.

AbstractAims: To elucidate the relationship between low circulating serum vitamin D levels and pre–disease conditions (ie, prediabetes and prehypertension) in healthy Mexican American adults. Methods: Analyses were conducted using data from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001 through 2006. Free–living (ie, community–dwelling, nonimprisoned) adult Mexican American subjects (N = 788; men, n = 443; women, n = 345) who had provided written informed consent and had no history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and/or cardiovascular disease were included in this report. Participants were not ingesting any prescription medications, nor did they exhibit any evidence of malabsorption. Participants were determined to be disease free. Results: The mean serum vitamin D level for Mexican American adults (N = 788) of 50.5 nmol/L was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than the mean of 35.9 nmol/L for non–Hispanic black adults (n = 621), and signi...
Food-habitat relationship of harbour seals and black cormorants in Skagerrak and Kattegat

Comparative studies on the food of the black cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo and the harbour seal Phoca vitulina were carried out in two contrasting habitat types. Both species feed predominantly on bottom-dwelling fish. Black cormorants are able to utilize fish found both on vegetation-covered and naked sea beds at a water depth of less than 10 m, while harbour seals feed mainly on soft sea bottoms above 30 m where vegetation is scarce or lacking. The food overlap of the two piscivores is large in environments where large shallow sea bottoms are available, and small in areas where sea bottoms of soft material is found at greater depth. In areas where the shallow bottoms are covered by vegetation only, cormorants are able to feed on the fish species inhabiting this kind of environment. There is no evidence that these predators make a choice regarding prey species.
High-throughput identification of fucosyltransferase inhibitors using carbohydrate microarrays.

Abstract A noncovalent carbohydrate microarray was used to screen for possible inhibitors to fucosyltransferases, which are critical to the synthesis of inflammation mediators like sialyl Lewis x (SLex). Inhibition was followed by observation of the transferred fucose on the carbohydrate array with the lectin Tetragonolobus purpureas. Of these compounds, four inhibitors with nanomolar Kis were discovered, with three of the top five inhibitors exhibiting a common architecture.
Raman and Infrared Spectra of Amorphous BeO and Be(OH) 2 •2H 2 O

Raman evidence for trace amounts of BeO in wet vitreous BeF2 was found recently, but the Be—(OH) stretching vibration (Be against OH) due to impurity water was not uncovered. Thus, the present Raman and infrared investigation of amorphous BeO and Be(OH)2. 2H2O was begun to obtain more information about the spectrum of BeO, and to locate the Be—(OH) stretching region.
A false sense of security? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's framework for evaluating new supplement ingredients.

Abstract The evidence sufficient to establish the expectation of safety for new ingredients in dietary supplements is an area of considerable controversy. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a sound scientific framework for evaluating the safety of new ingredients. The level of evidence the FDA requires (i.e., in vitro, animal or human testing) hinges on three key factors: (1) documented history of use; (2) the dose and formulation of the new ingredient compared with the historically used ingredient; and (3) the supplement's recommended use (i.e., daily or as needed). Despite its strengths, the framework requires four key modifications to ensure the expectation of safety: (1) historical use should rarely, if ever, be sufficient to replace experimental data; (2) entirely novel ingredients should undergo, at a minimum, a 90-day human testing; (3) manufacturers should be required to submit to the FDA all available data regarding new ingredients, both favorable and unfavorable; and ...