cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pott's Disease in a Patient with Subtle Red Flags.

Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is now rare in developed countries; however, it is an important diagnosis for the Emergency Physician to be able to make. Classically thought of as a respiratory disease, TB can present in other ways, making it more challenging to recognize. Case Report We report the case of a 41-year-old woman who presented to the Emergency Department with a 4-week history of back pain. A diagnosis of T12 osteomyelitis and right psoas muscle abscess was made after magnetic resonance imaging. The concurrent finding raised concern for TB as psoas muscle abscess is usually found along with spinal TB. A computed tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration confirmed the diagnosis. This patient's social history was negative for many of the classic predisposing factors associated with TB: immunosuppression, personal travel, crowded living conditions. Repeated investigation into the patient's history revealed a visit several months prior from a family member from Vietnam who had been treated for TB. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? It is important for Emergency Physicians to be aware of the relatively high incidence of TB as a cause for concurrent psoas abscess and vertebral osteomyelitis.
Application of RT-PCR for the Detection of Enteric Viruses in Oysters

Oyster samples processed by adsorption-elution-precipitation were seeded with poliovirus 1 and HAV, and cleaned and concentrated by Freon extraction (2X), PEG precipitation and chloroform extraction. Freon extraction resulted in recoveries of 63-76% for polio and 42-52% for HAV. PEG precipitation/chloroform extraction gave recoveries of 47-50% for polio and 15-19% for HAV. Treated extracts inhibited RT-PCR at 10 −2 dilutions. Inhibitors were removed by treatment with the cationic detergent CTAB or Pro-Cipitate/UF adsorption-elution-concentration. Both treatments resulted in samples on which direct RT-PCR was possible. The CTAB procedure was able to detect 78 pfu of polio and 295 pfu of HAV. The Pro-Cipitate procedure was able to detect 70 pfu polio and 2.1×10 3 pfu HAV.
Innovatives Schadenmanagement in Versicherungen

Die Deregulierung der Versicherungsmarkte hat die Kapitalgewinne der Assekuranz- Unternehmen deutlich geschmalert. Profitabilitat kann nicht (mehr) ausschlieslich uber Volumen erzielt werden. Der Wettbewerb hat spurbar an Harte zugenommen. Die Herausforderung fur die Versicherungsunternehmen besteht darin, sich vom Konkurrenzumfeld zu differenzieren und gleichzeitig Kostenbelastungen zu senken.
Spin density stabilization of local distortions induced by a monovacancy in δ -Pu

Density functional theory calculations elucidate crystallographic and electronic structural responses of the fcc delta phase of plutonium (\ensuremath{\delta}-Pu) to point defects. Discussed in this paper are responses that vary from a defect exhibiting a local structural instability common in fcc metals to an unusual defect structure that mimics properties similar to the monoclinic \ensuremath{\alpha} phase. In the prior case, the existence of a self-vacancy when ionic relaxation is allowed induces in the fcc lattice a local tetragonal instability in nearest-neighbor atoms, slight electronic charge increase, and a spin-density decrease. However, in the latter case, after ionic relaxation, the defect is not recognizable as the structure of a vacant site common to many simple fcc metals, but is a complex extended defect involving neighboring atoms to collectively exhibit loss of lattice symmetry through formation of short Pu-Pu bonds and associated narrow bands at the Fermi energy. Partial density of states (PDOS) indicates that these narrow bands form as spectral weighting from the less energetic $6d$ electronic states is shifted to the $5f$ electronic states by means of the spin density, which occupies states at the Fermi energy. The PDOS of a $5f$ system exhibiting narrow bands at the Fermi energy is associated with the formation of an unusual defect structure in the lattice.
An Extended Query Performance Prediction Framework Utilizing Passage-Level Information

We show that document-level post-retrieval query performance prediction (QPP) methods are mostly suited for short query prediction tasks; such methods perform significantly worse in verbose (long and informative) query prediction settings. To address the prediction quality gap among query lengths, we propose a novel passage-level post-retrieval QPP framework. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that, those QPP methods that utilize passage-level information are much better suited for verbose QPP settings. Moreover, our proposed predictors, which utilize both document-level and passage-level information provide a more robust prediction which is less sensitive to query length.
The Effects of Amantadine on the Progression of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) (P6.068)

Objective: To examine amantadine’s effect on the progression of PSP. Background: A number of small case series report benefits of amantadine in PSP but results are not dramatic or consistent. To explore if amantadine could be beneficial in slowing disease progression we looked at a convenience sample from a study of davunetide in PSP. Design/Methods: This is a supplementary analysis using data from a study that did not show benefit with 52 weeks of davunetide treatment on PSP symptom progression. 55 of 313 randomized participants were on amantadine. We examined the change in outcome measures over the course of the study in those on and not on amantadine. The primary outcome measures were the PSP rating scale (PSPRS) and Schwab and England Activities of daily living (SEADL). We corrected for baseline PSPRS ( 40), coenzyme Q10 (yes or no), and age ( 70); which were used for randomization in the initial study. Results: Before any corrections subjects on amantadine saw a significant one year reduction in SEADL score of 12.5 point compared to 17.6 points(t=−2.02, p=0.046) in the other subjects. There was also a non-significant difference in the PSPRS score with a change of 9.6 points in the amantadine group versus 11.3 points in non-amantadine subjects (t=1.18, p=0.24). When correcting for age, baseline PSPRS, and coenzyme Q10 use the only significant difference between groups was more improved performance in a secondary outcome measure, phonetic fluency (p=0.042), in the amantadine group. With corrections the p value became non-significant at 0.091 for the SEADL data. Conclusions: Amantadine may show beneficial effects with respect to quality of life. Less clear is if amantadine has an effect on progression of PSP symptoms. There are clear limitations of this data, but a randomized trial directly assessing amantadine in PSP may be justified. Study Supported by: Data is from the Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Davunetide for the Treatment of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy performed by the AL-108-231 investigators. Disclosure: Dr. Hiller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Murchison has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nichols has nothing to disclose. Dr. Quinn has nothing to disclose.
Iterative screen optimization maximizes the efficiency of macromolecular crystallization

Advances in X-ray crystallography have streamlined the process of determining high-resolution three-dimensional macromolecular structures. However, a rate-limiting step in this process continues to be the generation of crystals that are of sufficient size and quality for subsequent diffraction experiments. Here, iterative screen optimization (ISO), a highly automated process in which the precipitant concentrations of each condition in a crystallization screen are modified based on the results of a prior crystallization experiment, is described. After designing a novel high-throughput crystallization screen to take full advantage of this method, the value of ISO is demonstrated by using it to successfully crystallize a panel of six diverse proteins. The results suggest that ISO is an effective method to obtain macromolecular crystals, particularly for proteins that crystallize under a narrow range of precipitant concentrations.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND RISK OF HYPERTENSION

Epidemiological studies have established the association between excessive alcohol consumption and hypertension (HTN). However, there are conflicting reports of the association of mild to moderate alcohol consumption with HTN. We studied 17059 participants (mean age = 46 yrs, 53% women) from the
An Emotion Recognition–Awareness Vulnerability Hypothesis for Depression in Adolescence: A Systematic Review

In this systematic review, we examined the evidence for an adolescent emotion recognition-awareness vulnerability to depression. The current review provided a qualitative synthesis of the emotion recognition (26 studies) and emotion awareness (38 studies) literatures for adolescent depression and was grounded within the framework of affective social competence (Halberstadt et al. in Soc Dev 10:79-119, 2001). It was hypothesized that deficits or difficulties in recognizing emotions in others and in being aware of emotions within the self would increase vulnerability to depression for adolescents. There was limited evidence to support a general emotion recognition vulnerability due to heterogeneous research designs and inconsistencies across studies; however, three emerging trends in specific recognition deficits associated with adolescent depression were identified: sensitivity to sadness, under-perceiving happiness, and over-perceiving anger. In contrast, there was robust support for an emotion awareness vulnerability to depression from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and longitudinal onset studies. When recognition and awareness are considered together, this review indicated that deficits in emotion awareness may exacerbate difficulties with emotion recognition during stressful or emotionally evocative contexts. This review highlighted the need for future investigations into emotion recognition and emotion awareness deficits in relation to adolescent depression using methodological innovations and longitudinal, clinical designs.
AbundantOrganic Dye as an Anolyte for Aqueous Flow Battery with MultielectronTransfer

Organic redox flow batteries have the potential to surpass the challenges posed by inorganic electrolytes commonly used in flow batteries, thus achieving high performance and a sophisticated storag...
Evolution of surface and bulk carbon species derived from propylene and their influence on the interaction of hydrogen with palladium

Abstract The evolution of carbon species on the surface and in the bulk of palladium (Pd) foils during exposure to C3H6/H2/N2 gas mixtures is quantitatively analyzed in this work as a function of temperature (300–500 °C), C3H6 concentration (5–20% in 80% H2/balance N2), and C3H6 exposure time (0–16 h) by temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) of the carbonaceous deposits. The influence of these carbonaceous deposits on the interaction of H2 with Pd is analyzed by measurements of H2 fluxes across the Pd foils during exposure to C3H6/H2/N2 gas mixtures in the 300–500 °C range with C3H6 concentrations in the 5–20% range (in 80% H2 with balance N2). TPO results indicate that there are at least four different carbon species that are deposited onto the Pd foil during C3H6 exposure, which we hypothesize are associated with (1) a surface-adsorbed CxHy species, (2) a sub-surface C species, (3) a bulk solid solution C species, and (4) a bulk carbidic C species. The bulk C species are not observed at low temperatures (300–400 °C) due to the large activation barrier for C diffusion in the bulk of Pd (~123 ± 7 kJ/mol). The carbonaceous deposits inhibit hydrogen permeation across the Pd foils to an extent that increases with increasing temperature and increasing C3H6 concentration. There is a particularly strong correlation between the TPO peak temperature associated with the surface-adsorbed CxHy species and the H2 flux across the Pd foil. As the TPO peak temperature associated with the surface-adsorbed carbonaceous species increases with increasing C3H6 exposure time, C3H6 concentration, and C3H6 exposure temperature, the H2 flux across the membrane decreases. This could indicate that surface-adsorbed CxHy species are primarily responsible for inhibiting H2 permeation, and their structure evolves to become a more potent poisoning species with increasing C3H6 exposure time, C3H6 concentration, and C3H6 exposure temperature. This is an important step towards a molecular-level understanding of how different carbon species control the distribution of H atoms on the surface and in the bulk of Pd, which is important for many Pd-based H2 technologies.
Description of Technique and Short-Term Outcomes of Radial Artery Access for Vascular Disease

Objectives:Radial artery access is widely utilized in coronary angiography with reported lower rates of vascular complications and better patient comfort. There is limited data in the literature re...
Creation Care: A Call to Christian Educators and Church Leaders:

Based upon the biblical mandate to care responsibly for creation, Christian educators and church pastors are in a unique position to influence their respective communities by developing and teachin...
A 3.2GHz 405fs rms jitter -237.2dB-FoM JIT ring-based fractional-N synthesizer using two-step quantization noise cancellation and piecewise-linear nonlinearity correction

Serial I/O interfaces consist of many SerDes cores integrated on a single ASIC to meet the data throughput demands of modern digital computer systems. The narrow lane spacing between the tightly integrated SerDes cores causes inevitable electromagnetic (EM) coupling between the inductors used in LC oscillators, which becomes more pronounced when the adjacent lanes are operating at slightly different data rates. In such scenarios, ring-oscillator (RO) based synthesizers become very attractive as they offer many advantages over their LC-oscillator counterparts. They provide wide tuning range, occupy smaller area, provide multi-phase clocks, and are less susceptible to EM coupling. While these attributes are appealing, their poor phase noise performance has precluded their usage in high data rate applications.
AFA: Computationally efficient Ancestral Frequency estimation in Admixed populations: the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

We developed a computationally efficient method, Ancestral Frequency estimation in Admixed populations (AFA), to estimate the frequencies of bi-allelic variants in admixed populations with an unlimited number of ancestries. AFA uses maximum likelihood estimation by modeling the conditional probability of having an allele given proportions of genetic ancestries. It can be applied using either global or local proportions of genetic ancestries. Simulations mimicking admixture demonstrated the high accuracy of the method. We implemented the method on data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), an admixed population with three predominant continental ancestries: Amerindian, European, and African. Comparison of the European and African estimated frequencies to the respective gnomAD frequencies demonstrated high correlations, with Pearson R2=0.97-0.99. We provide a genome-wide dataset of the estimated three ancestral allele frequencies in HCHS/SOL for all available variants with allele frequency between 5%-95% in at least one of the three ancestral populations.
The Invisible MAN: William Blaikie

(1976). The Invisible MAN: William Blaikie. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 47, No. 7, pp. 36-37.
Killing of Nucleated Cells by Antibody and Complement

The ability of antibody-antigen complexes to fix complement (C) has been known since the end of the last century. Up to and including the recent past, complement has been used mainly as a very sensitive indicator to detect the interaction of antibody with antigen. With the development of refined immunochemical methods it has been possible to analyze what complement is and to study its interaction with antigen-antibody complexes and with the surface of the cell (Muller-Eberhard, 1968; Rapp and Borsos, 1970; Humphrey and Dourmashkin, 1965, 1969).
Role of bulge cells in wound healing: possible implications for hidradenitis suppurativa

The hair follicle bulge harbors a cluster of quiescent epithelial stem cells, which generate the new lower hair follicle during follicle cycling. The role of bulge cells for maintenance of the hair follicle and epidermis during normal homeostasis and after wounding remains controversial. To address these questions, we targeted the suicide gene, thymidine kinase (TK), or CrePR recombinase to hair follicle bulge cells using a K15 promoter. Administration of ganciclovir to K15-TK mice caused their death due to gastrointestinal injury. We then treated immunodeficient mice carrying K15-TK skin grafts with ganciclovir. This resulted in injury of bulge cells within several days. Loss of hair and permanent injury to hair follicles ensued. Dermal scarring was also present. The epidermis without follicles survived for several months. To further assess the contribution of bulge cells to epidermis, we used double transgenic K15-crePR1, R26R mice. After 5 days of treatment with RU-486 (time 0), bulge cells and a small fraction of epidermal cells expressed LacZ under control of the ROSA promoter. To determine whether bulge cells moved into the epidermis under normal homeostatic conditions, we counted labeled epidermal basal cells at times 0, 30 days, and 180 days. We found that the percentage of labeled epidermal basal cells (approximately 1%) remained constant, indicating an absence of cell movement from the bulge to the epidermis. After punch wounding, bulge progeny were detected in a radial pattern in the re-epithelialized area. Radial streaks of bulge cell progeny emanated from the hair follicles at the wound edge. Bulge cell progeny proliferated and expressed normal epidermal differentiation markers such as keratin 10 and loricrin. Overall, these results indicate that follicular stem cells in the bulge are necessary for hair follicle survival and that these cells functionally contribute to epidermal regeneration in response to wounding; however, the epidermis self-renews autonomously of the bulge under normal conditions. The role of bulge cells in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is not known; however, pathological studies suggest aberrant proliferation of the hair follicle may accompany HS and inappropriate stem cell activation and differentiation could be a component of this disorder. The K15-crePR1 transgenic mouse will serve as a powerful tool for evaluating the role of hair follicle stem cells in mouse models of HS. Studying hair follicle stem cells with recently defined markers for these cells will be useful for evaluating stem cell behavior in HS lesions.
ASAP: amplification, sequencing & annotation of plastomes.

Availability of DNA sequence information is vital for pursuing structural, functional and comparative genomics studies in plastids. Traditionally, the first step in mining the valuable information within a chloroplast genome requires sequencing a chloroplast plasmid library or BAC clones. These activities involve complicated preparatory procedures like chloroplast DNA isolation or identification of the appropriate BAC clones to be sequenced. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is being used currently to amplify the chloroplast genome from purified chloroplast DNA and the resulting products are sheared and cloned prior to sequencing. Herein we present a universal high-throughput, rapid PCR-based technique to amplify, sequence and assemble plastid genome sequence from diverse species in a short time and at reasonable cost from total plant DNA, using the large inverted repeat region from strawberry and peach as proof of concept. The method exploits the highly conserved coding regions or intergenic regions of plastid genes. Using an informatics approach, chloroplast DNA sequence information from 5 available eudicot plastomes was aligned to identify the most conserved regions. Cognate primer pairs were then designed to generate ~1 – 1.2 kb overlapping amplicons from the inverted repeat region in 14 diverse genera. 100% coverage of the inverted repeat region was obtained from Arabidopsis, tobacco, orange, strawberry, peach, lettuce, tomato and Amaranthus. Over 80% coverage was obtained from distant species, including Ginkgo, loblolly pine and Equisetum. Sequence from the inverted repeat region of strawberry and peach plastome was obtained, annotated and analyzed. Additionally, a polymorphic region identified from gel electrophoresis was sequenced from tomato and Amaranthus. Sequence analysis revealed large deletions in these species relative to tobacco plastome thus exhibiting the utility of this method for structural and comparative genomics studies. This simple, inexpensive method now allows immediate access to plastid sequence, increasing experimental throughput and serving generally as a universal platform for plastid genome characterization. The method applies well to whole genome studies and speeds assessment of variability across species, making it a useful tool in plastid structural genomics.
Chapter 3 Redox properties of the flavin cofactor of monoamine oxidases A and B and their relationship to the kinetic mechanism

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the redox properties of the flavin cofactor of monoamine oxidases (MAO) A and B and their relationship to the kinetic mechanism that they follow. The purified enzyme preparations used in this study were the human liver MAO A expressed in yeast and bovine liver MAO B. The redox potentials in the absence of substrate were determined by the method developed by Massey. The redox potentials of cysteinyl-FAD in unliganded MAO A and B have been determined. The spectral changes were observed in a mixture of MAO B and a reference dye, indigo disulfonate. Reduction of the dye is characterized by the disappearance of the peak at 610 nm observed for the oxidized dye and the appearance of an equally prominent peak at 370 nm for the reduced dye. These changes are superimposed on the decrease at 456 nm observed for the reduction of cysteinyl-FAD from the oxidized form to a semiquinone. The redox potentials of the cysteinyl-FAD in unliganded MAO A and B are close to that for free flavin. It has been concluded that the redox potential in an enzyme-substrate complex is positively shifted towards the potential of an amine substrate. This shift is different for each substrate. The values for the redox potentials for MAO in the presence of physiological substrates remain to be determined. The rate of reduction of the flavin by substrate correlates with the redox potential—that is, an increase in the potential of the flavin favors electron transfer from amine to flavin.
Academic Freedom versus Quality Assurance

There are a number of new and innovative ways to teach software engineering. These include extended learning, distance learning, and Internet (Mosaic-based) learning. While each of these methods has merit, these are certainly drifting from traditional department-based techniques for assuring and maintaining the levels of quality in the classroom. Traditionally faculty have been reticent to allow monitoring of their approach and technique in the classroom. This has been justified under the framework of academic freedom. It is not unreasonable to expect that this attitude will carry over to the new methods as well. If, however, classes are in a new and fairly untested format it would seem beneficial to allow a great deal of structure and material to be imposed on the instructor.
Prognathism corrected by open oblique sliding osteotomy of the mandibular rami: Fourteen-year follow-up of a case

Abstract A 14 1 2 - year follow-up has been presented of the first reported case in which prognathism was corrected by open oblique osteotomy of the rami. Changes in the procedure since its introduction have been described.
Over-estimation of glucose-6-phosphatase activity in brain in vivo. Apparent difference in rates of [2-3H]glucose and [U-14C]glucose utilization is due to contamination of precursor pool with 14C-labeled products and incomplete recovery of 14C-labeled metabolites.

Significant dephosphorylation of glucose 6-phosphate due to glucose-6-phosphatase activity in rat brain in vivo was recently reported (Huang, M., and Veech, R.L. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 11358-11363). The evidence was an apparent more rapid 3H than 14C loss from the glucose pool and faster [2-3H]glucose than [U-14C]glucose utilization following pulse labeling of the brain with [2-3H,U-14C]glucose. Radiochemical purity of the glucose and quantitative recovery of the labeled products of glucose metabolism isolated from the brain were obviously essential requirements of their study, but no evidence for purity and recovery was provided. When we repeated these experiments with the described isolation procedures, we replicated the results, but found that: 1) the precursor glucose pool contained detritiated, 14C-labeled contaminants arising from glucose metabolism, particularly 2-pyrrolidone-5-carboxylic acid derived from [14C]glutamine; 2) [14C]glucose metabolite were not quantitatively recovered; 3) the procedure used to isolate the glucose itself produced detritiated, 14C-labeled derivatives of [2-3H,U-14C]glucose. These deficiencies in the isolation procedures could fully account for the observations that were interpreted as evidence of significant glucose 6-phosphate dephosphorylation by glucose-6-phosphatase activity. When glucose was isolated by more rigorous procedures and its purity verified in the present studies, no evidence for such activity in rat brain was found.
Chapter 4 Modeling and Simulation

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the modeling approaches that have a practical application for simulation of the process at three key length scales. Modeling and simulation approaches for chemical–mechanical polishing (CMP) are essential to support a variety of needs ranging from exploration and understanding of physical mechanisms to process optimization, process integration, and manufacturing control of CMP. The modeling of polishing effects in CMP begins with two key issues: (1) identification of the process-related dependencies in the rate of removal of exposed surface material during polishing and (2) factors responsible for the dependence of polish of wafer-scale uniformity. The extent of each component is not well known, although several hypotheses exist for both metal and dielectric CMP.
Third-Party Tracking Cookies and Data Privacy

Public discourse these days is replete with concerns about data security and information privacy. One of the major themes of these conversations is the concept of waiver and what rights to privacy are actually waived when engaging with parties over the internet. A significant mode of this theme involves the use of “cookies” which are surreptitiously installed on users’ computer hard drives during common internet transactions. While cookie-use plays a substantial role in making web-based transactions more efficient, even for the user, the concern about cookies focuses on the fact that third parties to the transaction are often able to use the information collected from cookies and aggregate it. Aggregated data can then be used to construct a highly informative profile of the individual user or consumer which would be highly difficult, if not impossible, to get from any other source. In spite of the fact that most internet users are aware of the technological times in which we live, many users would not believe that such data collection is reasonable given the context in which the collection takes place. Online advertisers increasingly use consumers' collected personal data to design more individually relevant purchasing experiences. Often, this takes place through third-party tracking “cookies.” Website visitors, usually without their knowledge, provide third-parties with invasive, identifiable personal information like consumer and web-browsing history. In the name of a providing a better buying experience, these advertisers compile digital profiles of users and exploit this information to their advantage. However, what constitutes a reasonable expectation of privacy in e-commerce should be redefined, starting with establishment of default rules that favor consumers' data privacy. This paper argues that the presumption going forward regarding third-party tracking should be that, in addition to default “opt-out” rules, a combination of government and industry forces needs to come together in order to achieve comprehensive regulation that meets the needs of individual data privacy and successful commerce.
Managing trust in distributed agent systems

Software agent technology has attracted much attention for developing various distributed systems, composed of autonomous agents interacting with one another using particular mechanisms and protocols. Such systems provide high-level reconfigurability, flexibility and robustness in dynamic environments, and have applications in many areas. However, the great advantages of distributed agent systems are often overshadowed by the challenges of providing flexible and consistent security management for agent interactions in the dynamic and heterogeneous computing environments. Trust, which is the belief of an agent that the other agent will act or intend to act beneficially, is a basis for secure distributed agent systems.In this paper, various major research issues of managing trust among various entities are identified, and the approaches in dealing with them are discussed. A framework for managing trust among various entities in distributed agent systems is presented.
Serum cholesterol, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, and hepatic hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activities of lean and obese Zucker rats☆

Serum cholesterol concentrations, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), and hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activities of lean and obese Zucker rats were compared. The excess serum cholesterol of the female obese rat is found to be mainly free cholesterol associated with very low-density lipoproteins, whereas that of the male obese rat is carried as cholesterol esters associated with high-density lipoproteins. The high level of serum free cholesterol in the female obese rat is not due to a deficiency in lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activity. This enzyme activity is found to be elevated in the male obese rat. Hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity declines as rats mature; this observation is most apparent in obese male rats. Lean rats exhibit the normal diurnal rhythm, but mature obese rats show little diurnal variation in HMG-CoA reductase activity. Obese female rats maintain high reductase activities, but the activities of obese male rats remain low at all times. Starvation suppresses liver HMG-CoA reductase and serum cholesterol in both lean and obese female rats. Thus, an increase in hepatic cholesterol synthesis may contribute to hypercholesterolemia in the obese female Zucker rat. On the other hand, factors such as nonhepatic synthesis or a decreased cholesterol catabolism may play more important roles in maintaining high serum cholesterol in the obese male Zucker rat.
Internet Use by Illinois Hunters: Ten Years After

Recruitment, often defined by the creation of new members, is necessary to preserve a population and a species. In the case of hunter recruitment, state wildlife agencies are concerned with increas...
Targeted capture and massively parallel sequencing of 12 human exomes

Genome-wide association studies suggest that common genetic variants explain only a modest fraction of heritable risk for common diseases, raising the question of whether rare variants account for a significant fraction of unexplained heritability. Although DNA sequencing costs have fallen markedly, they remain far from what is necessary for rare and novel variants to be routinely identified at a genome-wide scale in large cohorts. We have therefore sought to develop second-generation methods for targeted sequencing of all protein-coding regions ('exomes'), to reduce costs while enriching for discovery of highly penetrant variants. Here we report on the targeted capture and massively parallel sequencing of the exomes of 12 humans. These include eight HapMap individuals representing three populations, and four unrelated individuals with a rare dominantly inherited disorder, Freeman-Sheldon syndrome (FSS). We demonstrate the sensitive and specific identification of rare and common variants in over 300 megabases of coding sequence. Using FSS as a proof-of-concept, we show that candidate genes for Mendelian disorders can be identified by exome sequencing of a small number of unrelated, affected individuals. This strategy may be extendable to diseases with more complex genetics through larger sample sizes and appropriate weighting of non-synonymous variants by predicted functional impact.
Application of FRBR to existing MARC data: A comparison of outcomes

This poster examines the outcomes of the application of FRBR algorithmic approaches for conversion of existing MARC datasets. The source data in this research includes the records from a medium sized academic library and consist of 1.6 Million records. The conversion is compared with other FRBR approaches. The authors utilized the OCLC FRBR work-set algorithm to create programs in the Python platform to generate match fields. These match points were loaded into a MySQL database and compared to generate match points. This poster presents the outcomes of the first comparisons of this data based primarily on the OCLC algorithm. It documents the process of creating the programs and discusses next steps in both formalizing the code for deployment and refinement to enable more complete matching of FRBR keys.
Evidence against the hypothesis of right hemisphere language dominance in the Native American Navajo.

Abstract The hypothesis that the Native American Navajo possess a reverse (right hemisphere) language function dominance was tested, using the Lateralized Object Naming Latency Task as a measure of hemispheric language specialization. Navajo performances were indistinguishable from those of “Anglo” university students. The Navajo appear no less consistently left hemisphere dominant for language than other neurologically-normal right-handed persons.
Recognizing and Treating Secondary Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Associated With Lymphoproliferative Disorders

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a condition of low platelets, can occur from primary causes, often referred to as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or secondary to an underlying disease, such as an autoimmune disorder or an infection. Secondary ITP can also occur with lymphoproliferative malignancies, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Hodgkin's disease (HD), and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). ITP associated with lymphoproliferative disorders has the same mechanism of platelet destruction as in idiopathic or primary ITP. The current treatment paradigm for secondary ITP varies according to the underlying condition. Standard treatments for primary ITP, which include corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), anti-D, and splenectomy, are often successful in secondary ITP. However, in most situations with secondary ITP, treatment should focus on resolving the underlying disorder before treating the shortage of platelets, and, in the circumstances of ITP developing in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders, responses are frequently linked to remission of the primary malignancy.
Enhanced Optical Property with Tunable Band Gap of Cross-linked PEDOT Copolymers via Oxidative Chemical Vapor Deposition

Highoptical transmittance conjugated-polymers with electrical conductivity are garnering much attention for the applications in organic optoelectronic devices including organic fi eld-effect-transistors and solar cells. Polymers based on PEDOT are particularly promising candidates with high conductivity, uniform surface planarity and excellent ductility. In this work, homopolymer PEDOT deposited using oxidative chemical-vapordeposition(oCVD) show the maximum conductivity of ≈3500 S/cm. However, their utility is limited due to the relatively low transmittance and abrupt decrease near the red edge in the visible regime. Here, the signifi cantly improved optical properties achieved via tuning the bandgap of cross-linked PEDOT copolymers using oCVD, offering a single-step process for the synthesis and deposition of copolymer fi lms, is reported. The crosslinking monomers of biphenyl or anthracene are simultaneously evaporated with EDOT monomer and an oxidant(FeCl3) during the deposition. Poly(anthracene-co-EDOT)[p(ANTH-co-EDOT)] shows the superior transmittance (≈93%) to homopolymer PEDOT (≈80%) and poly(biphenyl-co-EDOT)[p(BPH-co-EDOT)] (≈88%). Additionally, copolymers show no transmission decay in the red edge regime unlike homopolymer PEDOT that presents an abrupt transmission falloff. An improvement in optical transmittance is in agreement with an increase in bandgap of materials (p(ANTH-co-EDOT), ≈2.3eV vs PEDOT, ≈1.8 eV). oCVD-processed bandgap-tunable PEDOT copolymers with enhanced transmittance may, therefore, have applications in organic optoelectronic devices that require high optical transparency.
Bacteriophage lytic enzymes: novel anti-infectives

Bacteriophage lytic enzymes, or lysins, are highly evolved molecules produced by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) to digest the bacterial cell wall for bacteriophage progeny release. Small quantities of purified recombinant lysin added to Gram-positive bacteria causes immediate lysis resulting in log-fold death of the target bacterium. Lysins have now been used successfully in animal models to control pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria found on mucosal surfaces and in blood. The advantages over antibiotics are their specificity for the pathogen without disturbing the normal flora, the low chance of bacterial resistance to lysins and their ability to kill colonizing pathogens on mucosal surfaces, capabilities that were previously unavailable. Thus, lysins could be an effective anti-infective in an age of mounting antibiotic resistance.
A Modification of Hoyt's Analysis of Variance Reliability Estimation Procedure:

Given a set of n individuals and k test items, Hoyt's analysis of variance procedure for estimating reliability assumes that the residual mean square estimates error variability. Based on the assumption that an individual's true score should be allowed to vary across items (rather than remain constant), the present author argues that the residual mean square estimates two components—error and interaction—and hence Winer's modification of Hoyt's formula, (MSexam - m'MS res)/MSexam, underestimates the reliability of the test. Tukey's procedure for partitioning MSres into nonadditive and error components is discussed, with the recommendation made that MSbalance be used in place of MSres in the Hoyt formula.
The Meaning of Academic Life.

This address reports the findings of a survey of higher education colleagues on the degree of happiness associated with personal definitions of “meaning of life” and “purpose in life.” Using a unique sliding scale, the survey draws items from the Oxford Happiness Project among other sources and began with all ASHE members (N = 1,904) with a final response rate of 38%. The highestscoring responses were “serving others” and having meaningful relationships. Responses from graduate students and emeriti faculty/administrators showed particularly interesting patterns. The article includes the original survey so that those who did not participate initially can still take the survey and calculate their own ratings.
Controlling Porosity in Bridged Polysilsesquioxanes through Elimination Reactions

The retro Diels-Alder reaction was used to modify porosity in hydrocarbon-bridged polysilsesquioxane gels. Microporous polysilsesquioxanes incorporating a thermally labile Diels-Alder adduct as the hydrocarbon bridging group were prepared by sol-gel polymerization of trans-2,3-bis(triethoxysilyl)norbornene. Upon heating the 2,3-norbornenylene-bridges polymers at temperatures above 250 C, the norbornenylene-bridging group underwent a retro Diels-Alder reaction losing cyclopentadiene and leaving behind a ethenylene-bridged polysilsesquioxane. Less than theoretical quantities of cyclopentadiene were volatilized indicating that some of the diene was either reacting with the silanol and olefinic rich material or undergoing oligomerization. Both scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen sorption porosimetry revealed net coarsening of pores (and reduction of surface area) in the materials with thermolysis.
Beyond Self-report: Brain Imaging at the Threshold of Odor Perception

Odorants exert their effects at many levels. Most often, these stimuli are well above detection threshold and allow the investigator to use self-report or behavioral techniques to evaluate odor effects. There are, however, considerable data demonstrating effects for odor stimuli that are below sensory thresholds or are undetected by subjects. In these cases, self-report is of little use, and brain imaging has been very effective in helping to explain these findings. This paper reviews the problem of low-intensity odors and the application of a wide variety of brain imaging techniques to research on this phenomenon. Finally, a model of undetected odor effects and brain imaging is presented to help simplify the variations in nomenclature that are used to describe this field.
Sequence of a yeast DNA fragment containing a chromosomal replicator and the TRP1 gene.

Abstract The DNA sequence of a 1.45 kb Eco RI fragment from the yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae) TRP1 region has been determined. The fragment contains the TRP1 gene and a yeast chromosomal replicator. The TRP1 gene has been located on the fragment by analysis of potential initiation and termination codons in the DNA sequence. This location has been confirmed by subcloning portions of the fragment. Both the 5′ and 3′ noncoding regions of the TRP1 gene contain sequence homologies with analogous areas surrounding other yeast genes. The yeast replicator has been localized in a region near the 3′ end of the TRP1 gene. The DNA sequence in this region contains several structural features which may be involved in the initiation of DNA replication.
Fructose induced deactivation of antioxidant enzymes: Preventive effect of pyruvate

Glycation initiated changes in tissue proteins, which are triggered by the Schiff base formation between the sugar carbonyl and the protein -NH2, have been suggested to play an important role in the development of diabetes-related pathological changes such as the formation of cataracts. While the initial reaction takes place by the interaction of >C=O of the parent sugars with the -NH2 of proteins, reactive oxygen species (ROS) dependent generation of more reactive dicarbonyl derivatives from the oxidation of sugars also plays a significant role in these changes, altering the structural as well as functional properties of proteins. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the activities of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) could be affected by the high levels of fructose prevalent in diabetic lenses. Incubation of the enzymes with this sugar led to a significant loss of their activities. GAPDH was inactivated within a day. This was followed b...
Interactive analysis of magnetic field data

The development of an interactive graphics system for speeding up the identification and analysis of magnetic field data received from spacecraft is described. A flat file system was designed with a standard header file which contained space for user notes. The system featured a minicomputer with the capacity to handle up to 20 remote terminal requests simultaneously. Time series of vector field analyses were displayed and analyzed using the B-analysis (BANAL) program, while TANAL was devised to handle trajectory analyses. BANAL permits calculations of rotations, hodograms, and power spectra, and TANAL features time series, altitude profile, and vector trajectory plots. Subsequent programs for cross-correlations and filtering are indicated.
Vibrational spectroscopy of bacteriorhodopsin mutants: light-driven proton transport involves protonation changes of aspartic acid residues 85, 96, and 212

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectra have been obtained for the bR----K, bR----L, and bR----M photoreactions in bacteriorhodopsin mutants in which Asp residues 85, 96, 115, and 212 have been replaced by Asn and by Glu. Difference peaks that had previously been attributed to Asp COOH groups on the basis of isotopic labeling were absent or shifted in these mutants. In general, each COOH peak was affected strongly by mutation at only one of the four residues. Thus, it was possible to assign each peak tentatively to a particular Asp. From these assignments, a model for the proton-pumping mechanism of bR is derived, which features proton transfers among Asp-85, -96, and -212, the chromophore Schiff base, and other ionizable groups within the protein. The model can explain the observed COOH peaks in the FTIR difference spectra of bR photointermediates and could also account for other recent results on site-directed mutants of bR.
Torque-actuated valves for microfluidics.

This paper describes torque-actuated valves for controlling the flow of fluids in microfluidic channels. The valves consist of small machine screws (≥500 μm) embedded in a layer of polyurethane cast above microfluidic channels fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The polyurethane is cured photochemically with the screws in place; on curing, it bonds to the surrounding layer of PDMS and forms a stiff layer that retains an impression of the threads of the screws. The valves were separated from the ceiling of microfluidic channels by a layer of PDMS and were integrated into channels using a simple procedure compatible with soft lithography and rapid prototyping. Turning the screws actuated the valves by collapsing the PDMS layer between the valve and channel, controlling the flow of fluids in the underlying channels. These valves have the useful characteristic that they do not require power to retain their setting (on/off). They also allow settings between “on” and “off” and can be integrated into po...
Adjective Check List Scales and the Five-Factor Model

Correlations of Adjective Check List (ACL; Gough & Heilbrun, 1965, 1983) scales with measures of the five-factor model of personality provide a basis for reinterpreting ealier studies and construing new ACL scales in terms of a common conceptual framework
Computer Assisted Simulation of 13C Nuclear Magnetic Spectra of Monosaccharides

Mathematical models are developed that relate the structures of monosaccharides to their 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The data set of monosaccharides consists of 55 monosaccharides in the six-membered ring configuration and 56 monosaccharides in the five-membered ring configuration. The structural environment of each carbon atom in the data set is encoded using numerical atom-based descriptors which are then used to develop linear regression models relating the 13C chemical shift to the structural features. The atom-based descriptors used in this study encode topological, geometric, and electronic information about the carbon atoms in monosaccharides. Multiple linear regression analysis is used to develop an 11-descriptor model to predict the chemical shifts of pyranoses and pyranosides and an eight-descriptor model to predict the chemical shifts of furanoses and furanosides. The models are then submitted to computational neural networks, giving improved results with final training set rms erro...