cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Herb and vitamin supplementation use among a general ophthalmology practice population.

Purpose To survey comprehensive ophthalmology patients about their use of vitamins and herbal supplements. Design Cross-sectional survey. Methods A survey instrument was developed and distributed to 397 patients presenting to a main campus university-based comprehensive ophthalmology clinic and to an off-site comprehensive ophthalmology clinic. Information gathered included demographics, use of prescription medications, use of vitamin and herbal supplements, the reasons for using these supplements, perceived benefits of these products, where the information regarding them was gathered, and with whom patients had discussed their use. Results Fifty-eight percent of patients reported nearly daily use of vitamins. Multivitamins were the most common vitamin and were used by 46% of the patients. Eight percent of patients used herbal products on a daily basis. Twenty-six percent learned about vitamins from their primary care physician (PCP), and just 2% from their ophthalmologists, while 35% discussed their actual use with a PCP, and 5% with their ophthalmologists. Just 2% of these patients learned of herbs from a PCP, and Conclusions Vitamins and herbs are used by a significant number of patients in a comprehensive ophthalmology setting. Given the prevalence of vitamin and herbal use, ophthalmologists should systematically inquire about their use.
Rescue transcatheter embolectomy following complicated transluminal extraction atherectomy of a coronary vein graft

Transluminal extraction catheter atherectomy of a saphenous vein graft to the right coronary artery was performed in a 72-year-old female and was complicated by distal embolization. A successful transcatheter aspiration of the embolic plaque was achieved. The usefulness of this technique as a coronary intervention is discussed.
Modeling handheld usability for military-based devices

Handheld devices are a ubiquitous part of life for individuals in the armed services. Unfortunately, developing mobile devices for military applications is a challenge. Developers have many factors to consider, such as performance, efficiency, and safety. Adoption rates for mobile military devices are slow as soldiers are reluctant to use a new and untested interface when life critical decisions are being made. Whereas civilian devices have the luxury to sacrifice usability over other attributes, a poor interface in the military domain can cost lives. It is therefore paramount to measure, prototype, and understand the interface design early in a military project life-cycle to insure user acceptance and optimize user performance. The problem is that usability evaluation can be expensive in terms of time and human resources. While guidelines and standards do exist in the military domain, they are usually only considered as the product is built, not during the design phase. Military devices typically do not receive rigorous user testing until after they are deployed to the field. Modeling usability is therefore a promising way to augment the existing life-cycle with minimal impact to cost and a greater improvement to the end product. This paper presents an approach to usability modeling and evaluation in the military environment through the use of a simulation tool to mimic the real-world usage of these devices. This virtualization tool will allow developers to easily see what the product will look like, how a soldier might interact with it, and how well it conforms to existing guidelines and standards.
Two-dimensional C5G7 MOX fuel assembly benchmark calculations using the FEM-PN code EVENT

Abstract This paper discusses the application of the general-purpose finite-element-sphericalharmonics code EVENT to the solution of the two-dimensional version of the C5G7 benchmark. This benchmark has been devised to provide a point of comparison against which to evaluate the capabilities of transport codes to treat reactor core problems without spatial homogenization. Using the reference results for the eigenvalue and pin power distribution for the problem (obtained with Monte Carlo), a detailed analysis was conducted with respect to space-angle resolution and its effect on eigenvalue percentage error. The comparisons indicate that EVENT is capable of dealing with the geometrical complexity of the problem, and that its underlying methodology is capable of producing accurate solutions. The numerical exercise also provided valuable pointers for the computational effort required for the solution of detailed geometrical configurations.
803-1 Osteonectin and Osteocalcin mRNA are Expressed in Human Atherosclerotic Lesions and Upregulated Following Balloon Angioplasty

Matrix proteins such as osteonectin and osteocalcin play an active role in mineralization, cell adhesion and migration. Osteocalcin is chemoattractive for monocytes and mesenchymal cells; its synthesis is vitamin K-dependent and it is associated with mineralization. Osteonectin binds to calcium and is abundant in platelets and remodeling tissue. We studied the expression of ON and OC mRNA in coronary arteries obtained at autopsy in patients who underwent balloon angioplasty (PTCA). Primary atherosclerotic and PTCA sections were hybridized with 35 S-labelled oligonucleotides derived from sense and antisense sequences. Sense controls were negative and signal was rarely detected in segments without atherosclerosis. In arteries that had PTCA performedm, abundant signal was found in the organizing thrombus and in the adventitia, with increased abundance of mRNA detected over time after PTCA. In uninjured segments of atherosclerotic artery, OC and ON were detected in the plaque and extensively throughout the adventitia and associated with calcified areas. We suggest: 1) Expression of OC and ON mRNA occurs in human atherosclerotic arteries and is associated with calcification; 2) OC and ON mRNA expression is not confined to plaque and is present extensively in the adventitia; 3) Following PTCA, upregulation of OC and ON mRNA in the adventitia may regulate the reparative and remodeling response to vascular injury.
Identification of a functional domain in a GADD45-mediated G2/M checkpoint.

Cell cycle checkpoints are essential for the maintenance of genomic stability in response to DNA damage. We demonstrated recently that GADD45, a DNA damage-inducible protein, activates a G2/M checkpoint induced by either UV radiation or alkylating agents. GADD45 can interact in vivowith the G2 cell cycle-specific kinase, Cdc2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and the cell cycle kinase inhibitor p21 waf1 . The ability of GADD45 to induce a G2/M arrest may be caused in part by the inhibition of Cdc2 kinase activity. Here, we report the identification of a region of GADD45 that is involved in this G2/M checkpoint. Mutants of GADD45 that lacked either the first 35 or the last 80 residues still retained an ability to induce G2/M arrest. A mutant with a deletion of the central region (residues 50–76), which is conserved in the family members GADD45β and GADD45γ, lacked such activity. This mutant also lacked an ability to bind to Cdc2, PCNA, and p21 waf1 in vivo. Consistently, either GADD45β or GADD45γ bind to Cdc2 in vivo. However, unlike GADD45, neither GADD45β nor GADD45γ inhibited the Cdc2 kinase or induced G2/M arrest. The unique effect of GADD45 may be caused by the presence of a region containing DEDDDR residues. Alanine substitutions in the region abolished GADD45 induction of a G2/M arrest and its inactivation of the Cdc2 kinase but not its binding to Cdc2, PCNA, or p21 waf1 . Therefore, the binding of GADD45 to Cdc2 was insufficient to induce a G2/M arrest, and additional activity contributed by the DEDDDR residues may be necessary to regulate the G2/M checkpoint.
Variability in Demand for Special Education Teachers: Indicators, Explanations, and Impacts.

After decades of growth, the number of special education teachers (SETs) has begun to decline. In 2009, U.S. schools employed 13% fewer SETs than in 2006. The number of annual new hires of SETs also dropped dramatically in some states. The onset of these declines predated the economic downturn of 2008 and resulted in part from a steady decline since 2005 in the number of students with disabilities (SWD) served. We consider factors that may be contributing to declining demand for SETs, among them the number of SWD, service delivery, the economic downturn, and present supporting evidence. We also consider the potential impact of reduced demand on SET supply, teacher education, equitable distribution of teachers, and, most importantly, outcomes for SWD. We call for vigilance and monitoring of SET employment data to assure that all students receive the appropriate education to which they are entitled.
Clustering of “active” walkers in a two-component system

Abstract This paper investigates the agglomeration of active walkers (component A) on a two- dimensional surface, described by a potential U(r,t), that determines the motion of the walkers. The walkers are able to change U(rt) locally by producing a second component B, that decreases U(r,t) and which can diffuse and decompose. The nonlinear feedback between the spatio-temporal density distributions of both components results in a clustering of the walkers. The analytic description is based on a set of Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations for the active walkers, coupled by a reaction-diffusion equation for the component B. We investigate the stability of homogeneous solutions, the selection equation and an effective diffusion coefficient, which is negative in the case of the agglomeration process. Computer simulations demonstrate the time evolution of the surface potential at two different time scales: the scale of independent growth and of competition of the attraction regions. They also show the time-dependent distribution of the active walkers and spatio-temporal development of the effective diffusion coefficient.
Life‐Cycle Assessment in the Service Industries

Summary Despite the dominant role service industries play in modern society, those industries have by and large not been involved in the strong efforts underway to create environmentally responsible operations. Part of the reason is that the role of these industries as driving factors in resource flows has not been recognized. Perhaps more important, no common framework for assessing the environmental responsibility of service industries has been established. This article provides such a framework and applies it to a generic service industry: automotive repair. Among the results are that evaluation must take different forms for different types of services, and that the approaches of service industries to the use of buildings and equipment will require innovative solutions quite unlike those advocated for the “greening” of manufacturing operations.
Structural studies of lanthanide and yttrium metallocene oxides

Abstract Examination of the chemistry of sterically crowded (C5Me4R)3Ln complexes has provided access to a series of [(C5Me4R)2Ln]2(μ-O) complexes: [(C5Me5)2La]2(μ-O), [(C5Me5)2Nd(NC5H4NC4H8)]2(μ-O), [(C5Me4iPr)2Sm]2(μ-O), [(C5Me4Et)2Gd]2(μ-O), and [(C5Me5)2Sm(NC5H5)]2(μ-O). X-ray crystallographic data on these complexes provide information on the effect of metal and cyclopentadienyl ring size on LnO bond distances and LnOLn angles, which vary between 173 and 180° in these complexes.
Correction for Gopalakrishnan and Kumar, Opposing Roles for Two Molecular Forms of Replication Protein A in Rad51-Rad54-Mediated DNA Recombination in Plasmodium falciparum

Volume 4, no. 3, doi:[10.1128/mBio.00252-13][1]. In [Fig. 3A][2] (panels I and II), the wrong images were inadvertently included. This error did not alter results or scientific conclusions as previously presented and discussed. [Figure 3A][2] (panels I and II) should appear as indicated below. ![
Socio/Psycholinguistics of the Cultural Revolution: An Empirical Study

Summary.-Sample analyses ace provided to show how political terms in vogue during China's Cultural Revolution developed colloquial meanlngs ar variance with the official "dictionary." Responses to these terms of subjects, most of whom were at that time in Kwangtung and Fukien Provinces, constirute the empirical data. A methodology with anthropological overtones is developed to meet the exigencies of handling such data. With few exceptions (Chuang, 1967) the linguistic topography of the Cultural Revolution has not been the focus of enquiry in studies of the period although aspects of the problem have been occasionally noted. Where attention has been directed to the language characteristics of the movement, their exarnination has involved descriptive, analytic, or historical procedures employing, in the main, printed sources (Lee, 1975 ). Obviously overlooked by the researcher is the person who articulates that language and who, as he accepts it, modifies it in the transactional context of the Cultural Revolution. The involvement of the individual user of language compels, however, an empirical orientation. The present study is, therefore, empirically based, deriving its data primarily from individuals who were in China during the Cultural Revolution. The aims of this study are (1) to discern the ways in which the political vernacular of the Cultural Revolution came to be understood by the general populace and (2) to detect the semantic proliferation exhibited by some of the terminology in vogue at that time.
A micrographic study of bending failure in five thermoplastic-carbon fibre composite laminates

The local deformation and failure sequences of five thermoplastic matrix composites were microscopically observed while bending the samples in a small fixture attached to a microscope stage. The themoplastics are polycarbonate, polysulfone, polyphenylsulfide, polyethersulfone, and polyetheretherketone. Comparison was made to an epoxy matrix composite, 5208/T-300. Laminates tested are (0/90) sub 2S, with outer ply fibers parallel to the beam axis. Four point bending was used at a typical span-to-thickness ratio of 39:1. It was found that all of the thermoplastic composites failed by abrupt longitudinal compression buckling of the outer ply. Very little precursory damage was observed. Micrographs reveal typical fiber kinking associated with longitudinal compression failure. Curved fracture surfaces on the fibers suggest they failed in bending rather than direct compression. Delamination was suppressed in the thermoplastic composites, and the delamination that did occur was found to be the result of compression buckling, rather than visa-versa. Microbuckling also caused other subsequent damage such as ply splitting, transverse ply shear failure, fiber tensile failure, and transverse ply cracking.
Automated potentiometric procedure for studying dissolution kinetics of acidic drugs under sink conditions

An automated potentiometric procedure was used for studying in vitro dissolution kinetics of acidic drugs. Theoretical considerations indicated that the pH-stat method could be used to establish approximate sink conditions or, possibly, a perfect sink. Data obtained from dissolution studies using the pH-stat method were compared with data obtained from known sink and nonsink conditions. These comparisons indicated that the pH-stat method can be used to establish a sink condition for dissolution studies. The effective diffusion layer thicknesses for benzoic and salicylic acids dissolving in water were determined, and a theoretical dissolution rate was calculated utilizing these values. The close agreement between the experimental dissolution rates obtained under pH-stat conditions and the theoretical dissolution rates indicated that perfect sink conditions were established under the experimental conditions used.
Estimation of heterogeneous within-herd variance components using empirical Bayes methods: a simulation study.

Abstract Genetic evaluation using BLUP can accommodate heterogeneous variances if the necessary variance components are known; this may require estimation of variance components within each heterogeneous subclass. Properties of sire and residual variance estimates obtained by an empirical Bayes approach, which combines within-herd and prior estimates, were examined via simulation. Prior estimates were obtained using REML across herds, as if variances were homogeneous. Convergence was improved by incorporation of prior information such that variance component estimates could be obtained in within-herd situations for which a REML algorithm failed to converge. Accuracy of sire variance estimates was greatest when both within-herd and prior information were used, but improvement in accuracy of residual variance estimates associated with incorporation of prior information was minimal. Correlations between sires' standardized true transmitting abilities and PTA that used empirical Bayes variance estimates were larger than those obtained when heterogeneity was ignored. Proportions of sues selected, based on standardized PTA, from environments with differing genetic and residual variances became more uniform as the relative weight placed on within-herd data in variance estimation increased. Thus, useful variance component estimates can be obtained within individual herds by using empirical Bayes methods with across-herd estimates as prior information; this may allow prediction of breeding values that are less influenced by heterogeneous variances.
Management support organizations and university partnership in nonprofit education, training and consultation

Over the last decade there has been a tremendous growth in the nonprofit sector. Local community centers and foundations are developing Leadership Institutes to educate and assist the burgeoning no...
Colchicine-induced cholinergic denervation of the hippocampus elicits sympathetic ingrowth.

Sympathetic neurons from the peripheral nervous system invade the hippocampus following destruction of its septal inputs. It is thought that sympathetic ingrowth is due to the loss of cholinergic innervation since damage to the medial septum-diagonal band complex (MSDB) or its major efferent bundle, the fimbria-fornix, is required to induce ingrowth. The MSDB provides the major source of cholinergic fibers projecting to the hippocampus; however, non-cholinergic (e.g. GABAergic) neurons are also present in the MSDB and project to the hippocampus. Thus, the role of cholinergic denervation in sympathohippocampal sprouting cannot be directly tested by non-specific lesion techniques. In the present study, colchicine, which has been demonstrated to be specifically toxic to cholinergic neurons in the medial septum, was injected into each lateral ventricle of female Sprague-Dawley rats. Following colchicine-induced degeneration of cholinergic septohippocampal neurons, coarse, branched fibers immunoreactive for dopamine-β-hydroxylase were observed predominantly in the dentate gyrus, on both sides of the granule cell layer, with increasing density as survival time increased. These results support the hypothesis that the invasion of the hippocampal formation by sympathetic fibers results from cholinergic denervation.
Action mechanism of antitubercular isoniazid. Activation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG, isolation, and characterization of inha inhibitor.

Abstract Activation of the antitubercular isoniazid (INH) by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG produces an inhibitor for enoyl reductase (InhA). The mechanism for INH activation remains poorly understood, and the inhibitor has never been isolated. We have purified the InhA-inhibitor complex generated in the M. tuberculosis KatG-catalyzed INH activation. The complex exhibited a 278-nm absorption peak and a shoulder around 326 nm with a characteristicA 326/A 278 ratio of 0.16. The complex was devoid of enoyl reductase activity. The inhibitor noncovalently binds to InhA with a K d < 0.4 nm and can be dissociated from denatured InhA for chromatographic isolation. The free inhibitor showed absorption peaks at 326 (e326 6900 m −1cm−1) and 260 nm (e260 27,000m −1 cm−1). The inactive complex can be reconstituted from InhA and the isolated inhibitor. The InhA inhibitor from the KatG-catalyzed INH activation was identical to that from a slow, KatG-independent, Mn2+-mediated reaction based on high pressure liquid chromatography analysis and absorption and mass spectral characteristics. By monitoring the formation of the InhA-inhibitor complex, we have found that manganese is not essential to the INH activation by M. tuberculosis KatG. Furthermore, the formation of the InhA inhibitor in the KatG reaction was independent of InhA.
"Memory Pressed Flat into Text": The Importance of Print in Steven Hall's The Raw Shark Texts

The fear of obliteration obsessed the societies of early modern Europe. To quell their anxiety, they preserved in writing traces of the past, remem- brances of the dead, the glory of the living, and texts of all kinds that were not supposed to disappear. Stone, wood, fabric, parchment, and paper all served as substrates on which the memory of events and men could be inscribed. In the open space of the city or the seclusion of the library, in majesty in books or in humility on more ordinary objects, the mission of the written was to dispel the obsession with loss. This was no easy task in a world where writing could be erased. . . .
Forecasting Cell Death Dose-Response from Early Signal Transduction Responses In Vitro

The rapid pharmacodynamic response of cells to toxic xenobiotics is primarily coordinated by signal transduction networks, which follow a simple framework: the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cycle mediated by kinases and phosphatases. However, the time course from initial pharmacodynamic response(s) to cell death following exposure can have a vast range. Viewing this time lag between early signaling events and the ultimate cellular response as an opportunity, we hypothesize that monitoring the phosphorylation of proteins related to cell death and survival pathways at key, early time points may be used to forecast a cell's eventual fate, provided that we can measure and accurately interpret the protein responses. In this paper, we focused on a three-phased approach to forecast cell death after exposure: (1) determine time points relevant to important signaling events (protein phosphorylation) by using estimations of adenosine triphosphate production to reflect the relationship between mitochondrial-driven energy metabolism and kinase response, (2) experimentally determine phosphorylation values for proteins related to cell death and/or survival pathways at these significant time points, and (3) use cluster analysis to predict the dose-response relationship between cellular exposure to a xenobiotic and plasma membrane degradation at 24 h post-exposure. To test this approach, we exposed HepG2 cells to two disparate treatments: a GSK-3β inhibitor and a MEK inhibitor. After using our three-phased approach, we were able to accurately forecast the 24 h HepG2 plasma membrane degradation dose-response from protein phosphorylation values as early as 20 min post-MEK inhibitor exposure and 40 min post-GSK-3β exposure.
Investigation of bump crack and deformation on Pb-free flip chip packages

The demand for die to package interconnects free of Pb in the next generation flip chip packages requires a flux and underfill solution that meets package reliability requirements. Bump cracks and bump deformation were observed during temperature cycling on large body, full Pb-free ceramic flip chip BGA packages during initial package development. The phenomenon is considered unique in terms of its nature and failure mechanism. Traditional bump crack issues are concentrated at or near the silicon and underfill interfaces. In this case, cracks occurred within the bulk solder away from either silicon or substrate interface. Failed bumps also showed severe deformation. In addition, morphology differences in the underfill material surrounding the affected bumps provided important clues as to the nature of the failure mechanism. An extensive investigation to understand the root cause of the unique bump crack issue in the bulk solder, which covered both process and material-related factors, resulted in a clear understanding of the failure mechanism and the implementation of an effective solution to the problem. This manuscript describes the relationship of the flux residue-underfill interaction, the localized change in underfill properties due to the flux residues, and eventually the impact of this change on the bump integrity during package stressing. These findings made it possible to establish a good flux-underfill selection methodology to achieve a robust Pb-free package solution that is being implemented in next generation flip chip products.
Demonstration of a linear optical true-time delay device by use of a microelectromechanical mirror array.

We present the design and proof-of-concept demonstration of an optical device capable of producing true-time delay(s) (TTD)(s) for phased array antennas. This TTD device uses a free-space approach consisting of a single microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror array in a multiple reflection spherical mirror configuration based on the White cell. Divergence is avoided by periodic refocusing by the mirrors. By using the MEMS mirror to switch between paths of different lengths, time delays are generated. Six different delays in 1-ns increments were demonstrated by using the Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device® as the switching element. Losses of 1.6 to 5.2 dB per bounce and crosstalk of -27 dB were also measured, both resulting primarily from diffraction from holes in each pixel and the inter-pixel gaps of the MEMS.
Sodium Motion in Phase‐Separated Sodium Silicate Glasses

The thermally stimulated polarization and depolarization current (TSPC/TSDC) technique was used to study Naplus; ion motion in phase-separated silicate glasses containing between 10.3 and 20 mol% Na2O. Generally, two TSDC peaks and a high-temperature background (HTB) current were observed. The two TSDC peaks were attributed to different types of Naplus; motion, i.e. a short-range reorientation process and a longer-range translational motion. Changes in the microstructure affected only the size of the larger TSDC peak located at higher temperatures.
In vitro and in vivo reconstitution and stability of vertebrate chromosome ends

Telomeres are essential repetitive sequences at the ends of chromosomes that prevent chromosome fusion and degradation. We have successfully recapitulated these two protective functions in vivo and in vitro by incubating blunt-end DNA constructs having vertebrate telomeric ends in Xenopus eggs and egg extracts. Constructs with telomeric ends are stable as linear molecules; constructs with non-telomeric ends undergo intramolecular fusion. In extracts, 99.8% of the telomeric constructs from 78 to 700 bp in length are assembled into 'model telomeres' in 3.5 years. Non-telomeric constructs circularize with first order kinetics and a half-life of 4 h. In living eggs the telomeric constructs are protected from fusion and degradation. The stability of the telomeric constructs is not due to covalent processing. Extract can protect approximately 100 pM telomeric ends (equivalent to 1.7 x 10(7) ends/egg) even in the presence of a 20-fold excess of double-stranded telomeric DNA, suggesting that protection requires end-specific factors. Constructs with (TTGGGG) n repeats are unstable, suggesting that short tracts of this and other telomere-like sequences found within human telomeres could lead to genome instability if exposed by partial telomere erosion during aging.
"Crimes which startle and horrify": Gender, Age, and the Racialization of Sexual Violence in White American Newspapers, 1870-1900

R a p e i s a t r o u b l i n g a n d e l u s i v e s u b j e c t . As a crime it has been defined in Anglo-American law as the carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will (and, until recently, by a man other than her husband). Conflicting accounts of “force” and “will,” however, make rape a prime example of the difficulty of fixing “truth” in light of multiple perspectives on an event. As feminist theorist Sharon marcus has argued, rape is as much a linguistic as a physical act. The history of rape, then, consists in large part of tracking the changing cultural narratives that define which women may charge which men with the crime of forceful, unwanted sex and whose accounts will be believed. These rape narratives also have political import. In the late nineteenth-century United States, they served to shore up white male privilege through constructions of dependent women and dangerous African Americans, groups that remained excluded from full citizenship rights because of their alleged incapacity for self-government. The abundant reports of rape, outrage, ravishment, and seduction in nineteenth-century American newspapers offer rich cultural clues to the popular dissemination of these narratives of sexual violence. While recent studies of criminal justice records reveal racial patterns of prosecution and
Clinical Empathy and Narrative Competence: The Relevance of Reading Talmudic Legends as Literary Fiction

The “curative potential” in almost any clinical setting depends on a caregiver establishing and maintaining an empathic connection with patients so as to achieve “narrative competence” in discerning and acting in accord with their preferences and best interests. The “narrative medicine” model of shared “close reading of literature and reflective writing” among clinicians as a means of fostering a capacity for clinical empathy has gained validation with recent empirical studies demonstrating the enhancement of theory of mind (ToM), broadly conceived as empathy, in readers of literary fiction. Talmudic legends, like that of Rabbi Judah’s death, are under-appreciated, relevant sources of literary fiction for these efforts. The limitations of narrative medicine are readily counterbalanced by simultaneously practiced attention to traditional bioethical principles, including—especially—beneficence, non-maleficence, and autonomy.
Optical design of CCAT

The Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT) is a 25m-class sub-millimeter radio telescope capable of operating from 300GHz up to 1.5 THz. The CCAT optical design is an f/8 Ritchey-Chretien (RC) system in a dual Nasmyth focus configuration and a 20 arc-min FOV (diffraction limited imaging performance better than 0.31" at the edge of the field). The large FOV is capable to accommodate up to 1200x1200 (Nyquist Sampled) Pixels at 200 microns, with better than 96% Strehl ratio. The telescope pedestal assembly is a counterbalanced elevation over azimuth design. The main reflector surface is segmented and actively controlled to attain diffraction-limited operation up to 200 microns. A flat Mirror located behind the main reflector vertex provides the optical path relay to either of the two Nasmyth platforms and to a bent-Cassegrain focus for surface calibration. We present the imaging characteristics of the CCAT over the 20arc-min FOV at 200 microns at the Nasmyth focal plane, as well as the positioning sensitivity analysis of CCAT's 3.2m-diameter sub-reflector given in terms of the telescope optical performance, antenna pointing requirements and sub-reflector chopping characteristics.
Dual Role of Protein Phosphorylation in DNA Activator/Coactivator Binding

Binding free energies are calculated for the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated complexes between the kinase inducible domain (KID) of the DNA transcriptional activator cAMP response element binding (CREB) protein and the KIX domain of its coactivator, CREB-binding protein (CBP). To our knowledge, this is the first application of a method based on a potential of mean force (PMF) with restraining potentials to compute the binding free energy of protein-protein complexes. The KID:KIX complexes are chosen here because of their biological relevance to the DNA transcription process and their relatively small size (81 residues for the KIX domain of CBP, and 28 residues for KID). The results for pKID:KIX and KID:KIX are −9.55 and −4.96 kcal/mol, respectively, in good agreement with experimental estimates (−8.8 and −5.8 kcal/mol, respectively). A comparison between specific contributions to protein-protein binding for the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated complexes reveals a dual role for the phosphorylation of KID at Ser-133 in effecting a more favorable free energy of the bound system: 1), stabilization of the unbound conformation of phosphorylated KID due to favorable intramolecular interactions of the phosphate group of Ser-133 with the charged groups of an arginine-rich region spanning both α-helices, which lowers the configurational entropy; and 2), more favorable intermolecular electrostatic interactions between pSer-133 and Arg-131 of KID, and Lys-662, Tyr-658, and Glu-666 of KIX. Charge reduction through ligand phosphorylation emerges as a possible mechanism for controlling the unbound state conformation of KID and, ultimately, gene expression. This work also demonstrates that the PMF-based method with restraining potentials provides an added benefit in that important elements of the binding pathway are evidenced. Furthermore, the practicality of the PMF-based method for larger systems is validated by agreement with experiment. In addition, we provide a somewhat differently structured exposition of the PMF-based method with restraining potentials and outline its generalization to systems in which both protein and ligand may adopt unbound conformations that are different from those of the bound state.
Spontaneous recovery of an escape response

Rats in a shuttle box were reinforced by shock termination on 60 training trials. On the day following the end of training, 30 massed extinction trials were given on which shock termination was delayed for 20 sec following the shuttling response. To test for spontaneous recovery, five additional extinction trials were given after recovery intervals of 5 min, 15 min, 60 min, or 24 h. The results showed spontaneous recovery to be a negatively accelerated monotonic function of the recovery interval. Only a very slight increase in spontaneous recovery was observed when the recovery interval was increased from 60 min to 24 h.
Sediment diffusion during overbank flows

Distinctive overbank sediments deposited since European settlement on the floodplain of the Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania, are used to calibrate and test a diffusion model of overbank deposition. The predictions of the model can be calibrated to reproduce the topography of the post-settlement lithosome with an average error of 7%. The model also correctly predicts the decrease in mean grain size away from the channel. The model greatly underestimates the ability of floodwaters to transport sand away from the channel. Apparently, sand is transported across the floodplain by bedload transport and by advective suspended sediment transport as well as by diffusion. If flow duration data for 1912–1981 and the present rating curve for the Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, are assumed to apply throughout the post-settlement period, the model may be used to estimate palaeohydraulic characteristics of post-settlement floods. Calculations indicate that 212 post-settlement floods covered the floodplain to an average depth of 1.6 m, transported an average excess suspended sediment concentration of 6200 ppm, and deposited an average thickness of 1.4 cm of sediment on levees next to the channel.
In Search of the Confucian Family: Interviews With Parents and Their Middle School Children in Guangzhou, China

This article presents findings from interviews with 16 middle school students and their parents in Guangzhou, China, about parent-adolescent relationships. Themes revealed from the conversations suggested that adolescents were generally pleased with the good relationships with their parents, that they enjoyed the respect their parents had for them as their parents tended to use peaceful reasoning to communicate parental expectations, and that they themselves cared a lot about academic attainment because it would lead to good jobs in the future. In addition, working-class parents expressed a sense of inadequacy while holding on to the high hopes and expectations for their children, whereas middle-class parents and parents who had middle-class experiences either in their occupation or in their education tried to raise well-rounded children apart from emphasis on academic achievement. In sum, these parents and adolescents represented a generation that was influenced by a myriad of social forces in modern China, including Confucianism, Socialism, and Capitalism, instead of simply and solely by classical Confucianism. In other words, Confucianism, along with the lifestyle that supported it, was far less salient than assumed in a lot of research on Chinese families and parent-child relationships.
Abrupt Early to Mid-Holocene climatic transition registered at the equator and the poles

Paleoclimatic records from equatorial East Africa, Antarctica, and Greenland reveal that atmospheric circulation changed abruptly at the early to mid-Holocene transition to full postglacial conditions. A climatic reorganization occurred at all three sites between 8200 and 7800 years ago that lasted 200 years or less and appears to have been related to abrupt transitions in both marine and terrestrial records around the world.
Gliomas: advances in molecular analysis and characterization.

Abstract Background Gliomas represent the most common primary brain tumor. Despite recent advances in diagnostic imaging, neurosurgical technique, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, significant advances in accurate prognosis and improved survival have not been achieved. Nevertheless, new developments in molecular biology could have potential impact on the clinical management of patients with these brain tumors. This review will describe the technological advances being used to enrich the classification of gliomas, present specific studies that have successfully used the new technologies to identify molecular subtypes of glioblastoma, and discuss the implications of such enhanced classification and molecular characterizations for the prediction of therapeutic response and the design of future brain tumor therapies. Results Innovative techniques using complementary DNA and oligonucleotide microarrays (gene chips), tissue microarrays (tissue chips), and differential immunoabsorption have provided high throughput and potentially comprehensive approaches for the molecular characterization of human gliomas. Alterations of several tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes have already been identified as being critical to glioma transformation and progression. These approaches have led to the subclassification of glioblastoma multiforme into distinct subtypes based on the molecular signatures of the tumors. Conclusions Classifications of gliomas can now be enhanced with new techniques for comprehensive molecular characterization. Improved and efficient molecular profiling of brain tumors is advancing diagnosis/prognosis and identifying targets for novel and rational therapeutic approaches. Neurosurgeons and neuro-oncologists should be aware of these new developments so they can better advise and treat their patients.
How to use: amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG)

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is a method for continuous monitoring of brain activity that is increasingly used in the neonatal intensive care unit. In its simplest form, aEEG is a processed single-channel electroencephalogram that is filtered and time-compressed. Current evidence demonstrates that aEEG is useful to monitor cerebral background activity, diagnose and treat seizures and predict neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm and term infants. This review aims to explain the fundamentals behind aEEG and its clinical applications.
Best-case results for nearest-neighbor learning

Proposes a theoretical model for analysis of classification methods, in which the teacher knows the classification algorithm and chooses examples in the best way possible. The authors apply this model using the nearest-neighbor learning algorithm, and develop upper and lower bounds on sample complexity for several different concept classes. For some concept classes, the sample complexity turns out to be exponential even using this best-case model, which implies that the concept class is inherently difficult for the NN algorithm. The authors identify several geometric properties that make learning certain concepts relatively easy. Finally the authors discuss the relation of their work to helpful teacher models, its application to decision tree learning algorithms, and some of its implications for experimental work. >
Genetic variation in 12S and 16S mitochondrial rDNA genes of four geographically isolated populations of Gulf Coast ticks (Acari: Ixodidae).

ABSTRACT Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis was examined in a 303-bp region of the 16S and 12S mitochondrial rDNA genes to study haplotype frequencies among populations of Gulf Coast ticks collected from Refugio Co., TX, Payne Co., OK, and two sites in Osage Co., KS. Seven haplotypes were identified from the 16S rDNA gene fragment, whereas only two haplotypes were detected from the 12S fragment. Only the results from the 16S rDNA fragment are discussed. Haplotype diversity was greatest in Kansas (site 1), where three of the four haplotypes detected were unique to this site. All Gulf Coast tick populations shared the fourth haplotype. Two haplotypes were determined for Texas and Oklahoma populations, one of which appeared only in Texas, whereas the other was shared. Nei's haplotype diversity (h) indicated that the Texas population was relatively homogeneous (15%), whereas the remaining populations were heterogeneous (42–59%), although the Bonferroni confidence interval found no signifi...
Nanotechnology: Simulation and design

A faculty team from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biology and Physics have developed three 300-level general education lecture courses in nanotechnology and a 400/500-level supporting laboratory with NSF support. This paper focuses on one of these courses: ECE/SCI 383U Nanotechnology: Simulation and Design. The course is open to science/engineering majors and students from non-technical fields alike, with minimal pre-requisites, and qualifies as a general education course for most of these. It includes four components: • A qualitative lecture course in nanoelectronics • A lab course in nanoelectronics simulation with LTspice • A reading and discussion course in nanotechnology generally, but focused on nanoelectronics, and • A technical writing course using laboratory reports as exercises. The paper reports on the background and structure, and experiences to date.
Modeling the Solvation of Nonpolar Amino Acids in Guanidinium Chloride Solutions

It is common to denature proteins by using high temperatures or by adding guanidinium chloride (GdmCl). However, the physical mechanism of denaturation is not well understood. Based on extensive experimental data, we developed a thermodynamic binding-polynomial model for the process of transferring nonpolar amino acids from water into GdmCl solutions, as a function of temperature and GdmCl concentration. To mimic nonpolar amino acids, we utilized the model compound, N-acetyl-tryptophanamide (NATA). We find that all nonpolar amino acids behave like NATA, with a scale factor linearly dependent on the surface area. Our model with three thermodynamic parameters fully captures the nonlinear dependencies on both the temperature and GdmCl concentration: binding the first guanidinium ion (Gdm(+)) to NATA has favorable entropy and unfavorable enthalpy of desolvation (ΔS = +11.7 cal/mol, ΔH = +3.9 kcal/mol), while cooperativity of binding a second Gdm(+) has a small contribution (K = 0.032 ± 0.003). This model may be useful for a better understanding of protein denaturation by temperature and GdmCl.
MECHANISM OF DEVELOPMENT OF TOLERANCE TO B-DIETHYLAMINOETHYL DIPHENYLPROPYLACETATE (SKF 525-A) IN THE RAT.

SummaryData presented here substantiate the early finding of Cook et al(1) that a tolerance develops to the hexobarbital prolonging effects of SKF 525-A in the rat. It is further shown that the biochemical correlates of this tolerance are an increased biosynthesis of ascorbic acid and an increased liver protein (enzyme) synthesis, which can be blocked by simultaneous administration of DL-ethionine. These observations are consistent with the action of several agents having the ability to stimulate drug metabolism (5). The mechanism of the tolerance, then, may be attributed to an induced metabolic alteration or adaptation to prolonged administration of SKF 525-A. Increased biosynthesis of ascorbic acid in animals repeatedly administered SKF 525-A indicates that impairment of ascorbic acid biosynthesis is not a related factor in the mechanism of action of this drug metabolism inhibitor.
A Quantitative Spectrophotometric Assay to Monitor the tRNA-Dependent Pathway for Lipid Aminoacylation In Vitro

The transfer RNA (tRNA)-dependent pathway for lipid aminoacylation is a two-step pathway composed of (1) a tRNA aminoacylation step catalyzed by an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, forming a specific aa-tRNA, and (2) a tRNA-dependent transfer step in which the amino acid acylating the tRNA is transferred to an acceptor lipid. The latter step is catalyzed by a transferase located within the cytoplasmic membrane of certain bacteria. Lipid aminoacylation modifies the biochemical properties of the membrane and enhances resistance of some pathogens to various classes of antimicrobial agents and components of the innate immune response. Lipid aminoacylation has also been linked to increased virulence of various pathogenic bacteria. Inhibition of this mechanism would render pathogens more susceptible to existing drugs or to natural defenses of a host organism. Because lipid aminoacylation is widespread in many bacterial genera and absent from eukaryotes, and because the tRNA aminoacylation step of this pathway is also used in protein biosynthesis (a process essential for bacterial life), this pathway represents an attractive target for drug design. We have reconstituted the lipid aminoacylation pathway in vitro and optimized it for high-throughput screening of libraries of compounds to simultaneously identify inhibitors targeting each step of the pathway in a single assay.
The active monomeric form of macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha interacts with high- and low-affinity classes of receptors on human hematopoietic cells

Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha) and its human homologue GOS19.1/LD78 are members of the C-C chemokine/intercrine family of secreted proteins. They have proinflammatory properties and also inhibit cell cycle progression of hematopoietic stem cells. Characterization of MIP-1 alpha receptor(s) has been confused because of its reported aggregation to inactive forms. Using a defined monomeric form of MIP-1 alpha that is biologically active for stem cell inhibition and induction of oxidative metabolism in polymorphonuclear cells, we report the detection of high- and low-affinity receptor classes on human leukemic CD34+ blast cells, promyelocytic cells, monocytes, peripheral blood neutrophils, and T cells. Both high- and low-affinity classes are expressed simultaneously in promyelocytes and neutrophils. The calculated kd for high-affinity receptors correlates with the concentrations of MIP-1 alpha required to induce a biologic effect on stem cells and neutrophils. Cross-linking studies show that MIP-1 alpha associates with two cell surface proteins with apparent molecular masses of 92 kD and 52 kD. Direct competition binding studies combined with studies on the inhibition of stem cells show that human and murine MIP-1 alpha have different receptor-binding and biologic properties.
Cost-Benefit and Cost-Effective Analysis in Surgery

Cost-benefit analysis and cost-effective analysis are formal analytical methods to provide a rational, objective means of comparing total costs with total benefits or of comparing effects in the selection of competing programs for financial support. The use of these techniques in the medical field is a relatively recent development and can aid in future cost containment.