cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Correspondence on 'Clinical course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a series of 17 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus under long-term treatment with hydroxychloroquine'.

Mathian et al described the clinical course and heterogeneity of COVID-19 in 17 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.1 SLE subjects could be at higher risk of developing COVID-19, with more severe symptomatology and need for hospitalisation due to multiple underlying risk factors.1 2 Type-I interferons (IFN), including IFNα, play fundamental roles in immunity and are crucial in antiviral responses.3 Defects in IFN signalling pathways, secondary to monogenic inborn errors or to blocking autoantibodies, promote immunodeficiency and recurrent infections.4 5 Dysregulation in type-I IFN pathway also plays key pathogenic roles in SLE.6 A recent report showed association between anti-type-I IFN autoantibodies in 10% of subjects with life-threatening COVID-19 in the general population.7 A comprehensive evaluation of multiple anticytokine autoantibodies showed the presence of anti-type-I IFN autoantibodies in 11% of SLE subjects in the pre-COVID-19 era.8 We hypothesised that SLE patients having anti-IFNα autoantibodies at baseline (prior to 2020) may be at higher risk of developing COVID-19, and that the presence of these autoantibodies may help in guiding management and preventive strategies. Ten SLE females who developed COVID-19 between 1 April and 1 October 2020 were identified among lupus subjects followed at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA under IRB-approved SLE natural history protocol 94-AR-0066 (online supplemental methods, table 1). Seven patients had mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms that were managed at home with supportive care. Three patients had severe symptoms requiring hospitalisation, supplemental oxygen and/or steroids and convalescent …
LC-MS/MS method for quantitation of gemcitabine and its metabolite 2′,2′-difluoro-2′-deoxyuridine in mouse plasma and brain tissue: Application to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study

A simple, sensitive, and relatively fast assay was developed and validated for the quantitation of gemcitabine (dFdC) and its major metabolite 2',2'-difluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (dFdU) in mouse plasma and brain tissue. The assay used a small sample (25 μL plasma and 5 mg brain) for extraction by protein precipitation. After dilution of the supernatant extract, 1 μL was injected into HPLC system for reverse phase chromatographic separation with a total run time of 8 min. Chromatographic resolution of dFdC and dFdU was achieved on a Gemini C18 column (50 × 4.6 mm, 3 μm) utilizing gradient elution. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) with positive/negative ion switching was performed for detection of dFdC and its internal standard (dFdC-IS) in positive ion mode and dFdU and its IS (dFdU-IS) in negative ion mode. Two calibration curves ranging from 5-2000 ng/mL and 250-50,000 ng/mL were generated for dFdC and dFdU in mouse plasma, respectively. For measurement of dFdC and dFdU in mouse brain tissue, another two curves were used ranging from 0.02 to 40 ng/mg and 1-40 ng/mg, respectively. This assay demonstrated excellent precision and accuracy within day and between days for simultaneous measurement of dFdC and dFdU at all the concentration levels in both matrices. The other parameters such as selectivity, sensitivity, matrix effects, recovery, and storage stability were also assessed for both analytes in each matrix. Compared to the previously reported methods, the sample extraction in the current assay was simplified significantly, and the analysis time was greatly shortened. We successfully applied the validated method to the analysis of dFdC and dFdU in mouse plasma, brain, and brain tumor tissue in a preclinical pharmacokinetic study.
Machine Learning Enabled Secure Collection of Phasor Data in Smart Power Grid Networks

In a smart power grid, phasor measurement devices provide critical status updates in order to enable stabilization of the grid against fluctuations in power demands and component failures. Particularly the trend is to employ a large number of phasor measurement units (PMUs) that are inter-networked through wireless links. We tackle the vulnerability of such a wireless PMU network to message replay and false data injection (FDI) attacks. We propose a novel approach for avoiding explicit data transmission through PMU measurements prediction. Our methodology is based on applying advanced machine learning techniques to forecast what values will be reported and associate a level of confidence in such prediction. Instead of sending the actual measurements, the PMU sends the difference between actual and predicted values along with the confidence level. By applying the same technique at the grid control or data aggregation unit, our approach implicitly makes such a unit aware of the actual measurements and enables authentication of the source of the transmission. Our approach is data-driven and varies over time; thus it increases the PMU network resilience against message replay and FDI attempts since the adversary’s messages will violate the data prediction protocol. The effectiveness of approach is validated using datasets for the IEEE 14 and IEEE 39 bus systems and through security analysis.
Are Roundabouts Safe and Economically Viable Replacing Conventional Diamond Interchange Ramp Terminals

Roundabout implementations at traditional intersections have been shown to be effective at reducing severe crashes. Roundabouts have also been implemented at interchange ramp terminals; however, li...
A Gut Feeling: Acute Liver Failure - An Unusual Manifestation of Malignant Catatonia.

We present a rare case in which malignant catatonia led to acute liver failure (ALF). A 19-year-old male was admitted for psychosis and developed ALF with a peak aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase of 5,728 U/L and 7,735 U/L, respectively, and a peak international normalized ratio of 7.1. Liver biopsy showed significant confluent necrosis involving >70% of the liver tissue. He was listed for a liver transplant but was ultimately taken off of because of significant improvement with treatment by N-acetylcysteine infusion. Through our research, we found that symptoms of hepatitis can be seen with psychotic disorders, but ALF is rare.
Dry reforming of methane over Ni supported on LaMnO3 thin films

Abstract Thin films of LaMnO3 were deposited onto MgAl2O4 by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and studied as supports for Ni in the Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM). Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) demonstrated that LaMnO3 covered the support uniformly, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the LaMnO3 films maintained their perovskite structure after 5 redox cycles at 1073 K. The Ni also remained well dispersed after 5 redox cycles at 1073 K. The LaMnO3-supported catalyst was more active than Ni on the unmodified MgAl2O4 and showed superior resistance against coke formation. Finally, the results for Ni on the LaMnO3 films are compared to previous results for Ni on LaFeO3, CaTiO3, SrTiO3, and BaTiO3 films.
UI/UX Automated Designs in the World of Content Management Systems

User Interface and User Experience automated designs in the world of content management systems at present, many tools are used for creating UX designs to fulfill further requirements in website development using HTML, CSS, JS, Bootstrap, React, Angular technologies. This article is about facilitating those raw UX designs automated so that fewer human errors are involved. The designs are dynamic and unique with pixel mappings compared to any other designs where humans need to get involved. Automation of UI/UX designs is the use of software to automatically carry out normal human jobs and tasks with little or no assistance from human experts.
Multichannel Recording to Reveal the “Code” of the Cortex: Spatial Patterns of Amplitude Modulation (AM) of Mesoscopic Carrier Waves

The changes in the state of a system that are the subject of dynamics stem from mechanisms of varying complexity. In the present context I choose to describe five levels of complexity in cortical function. At the first level I assume that a cortical system is stationary and autonomous, so that its operation can be described just by a set of state variables. The state of the system is assumed to be at rest when there is no input, and its change in state is determined by observing its output at a succession of points in time following a specific input. That state is expressed in numbers by measurement of the state variables. The operation of the system is discovered by continuing to collect input-output pairs until there are no more surprises. Then a rule is derived to specify how the system transforms the input to give the output. The rule is stated with a differential equation or its equivalent. The fixed parameters in the equation are evaluated from measurements of the input and output. This is not a causal science. The output is not “caused” by the input but is related to it in accordance with the equation viewed as a rule or law. This level of description is exemplified in Chapters 1 to 3, wherein the input is an electrical stimulus, and the cortical impulse response serves to define a filter, according to which the cortex transforms the input pulse into an oscillation. By linear extrapolation the EEG is described as the response of the filter thus defined to an input of steady state trains of action potentials from a sufficiently large number of neurons to approach white noise.
Chiral discrimination of aliphatic amines and amino alcohols using NMR spectroscopy

Two methods are compared for analyzing the enantiomeric purity of aliphatic amines and amino alcohols using NMR spectroscopy. The first employs (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid as a chiral NMR solvating agent in methanol-d(4) . The second involves a derivatization scheme in which the amine is reacted with naphtho[2,3-c]furan-1,3-dione to form the corresponding amide. The naphthyl amide is then mixed with a chiral calix[4]resorcinarene in deuterium oxide. The crown ether only produces sufficient enantiomeric discrimination to determine enantiomeric purity for three of the nine substrates studied. The system with the naphthyl amide and a calix[4]resorcinarene produces enantiomeric discrimination of sufficient magnitude to determine enantiomeric purity for all nine substrates. The H1 and H4 resonances of the naphthyl ring are especially suitable to monitor for enantiomeric discrimination. The order of the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of the H1 and H4 resonances exhibit specific trends for aliphatic amines and amino alcohols that correlate with the absolute configuration.
The Dilemma of Conflicting Attitudes

This present article investigates conflicting community attitudes and formal survey results. The survey results suggest that patients viewed their physicians' and nurses' competency and care very highly, as well as receiving satisfactory care in specialized departments. The results further suggest that hospital meals were less satisfactory in terms of patient enjoyment of meals and with the services of the dietitian. However, one major area of concern was the low number of survey responses and the recommendations that are made for improving the response rate. Demographic inconsistencies in the survey results are reviewed as evidence of lack of validity lending support to the contrary community perception of low health care quality at the hospital. Suggestions are made for improvement of the survey instrument and procedures to insure greater validity and reliability.
Multiple cost optimization for task assignment in heterogeneous computing systems using learning automata

A framework for task assignment in heterogeneous computing systems is presented in this work. The framework is based on a learning automata model. The proposed model can be used for dynamic task assignment and scheduling and can adapt itself to changes in the hardware or network environment. The important feature of the scheme is that it can work on multiple cost criteria, optimizing each criterion individually. The cost criterion could be a general metric like minimizing the total execution time, or an application specific metric defined by the user. The application task is modeled as a task flow graph (TFG), and the network of machines as a processor graph (PG). The automata model is constructed by associating every task in the TFG with a variable structure learning automaton. The actions of each automaton correspond to the nodes in the PG. The reinforcement scheme of the automaton considered is a linear scheme. Different heuristic techniques that guide the automata model to the optimal solution are presented. These heuristics are evaluated with respect to different cost metrics.
Production and signature of intermediate vector bosons

The front-back asymmetriy of outgoing muons in the inclusive reaction pp-bar..-->..Z (..--> mu../sup +/..mu../sup -/)+ anything is calculated in the framework of the Drell--Yan model. We get very general expressions for the front-back asymmetry and the differential cross section in terms of the weak coupling constants and the parton distributions. Results for W +- production and proton-proton collisions are given. Numerical estimates are made using various parton distributions and the Weinberg-Salam model for definiteness. We comment on the predictions of gauge theories that accommodate the absence of parity violating effects in atomic physics. We also give a new estimate of the inclusive cross section pp-bar or pp..-->..Z (..--> mu../sup +/..mu../sup -/) or W +- (..--> mu../sup plus-or-minusnu/..mu..)+ anything. The effects of asymptotic freedom in the front-back asymmetries and the total cross sections are investigated. We reanalyze results for the purely leptonic reaction e/sup +/e/sup -/..--> gamma..,Z..--> mu../sup +/..mu../sup -/.
The Global Perspective

: [energy, energopolitics, anthropology of energy, nuclear power, energy policy, wind energy, renewable energy source]
SRC-3/AIB1: transcriptional coactivator in oncogenesis

Steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3, also known as NCoA3, AIB1, p/CIP, RAC3, ACTR, and TRAM1), localized on a frequently amplified region, 20q12, has been associated with multiple cancers, including breast, gastric and prostate cancers. Although SRC-3 has been implicated as an oncogene, compelling evidence has only recently emerged implicating it as a causal factor in the genesis of human cancers. Here, we summarize recent evidence that indicates aberrant SRC-3 expression is important in hormone-sensitive and -insensitive human cancers.
Postdeployment resilience as a predictor of mental health in operation enduring freedom/operation iraqi freedom returnees.

Background: Much of the research on the impact of trauma exposure among veterans has focused on factors that increase risk for mental health problems. Fewer studies have investigated factors that may prevent mental health problems following trauma exposure. This study examines resilience variables as factors that may prevent subsequent mental health problems. Purpose: To determine whether military service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq who exhibit higher levels of resilience, including hardiness (encompassing control, commitment, and challenge), self-efficacy, and social support after returning from deployment are less vulnerable to subsequent mental health problems, alcohol, and drug use. Methods: A national sample of 512 service members was surveyed between 3 and 12 months of return from deployment and 6� 12 months later. Data were collected in 2008� 2009 and analyzed in 2013. Regression analyses ascertained whether resilience 3� 12 months after return predicted later mental health and substance problems, controlling for demographic characteristics, mental health, and risk factors, including predeployment stressful events, combat exposure, and others. Results: Greater hardiness predicted several indicators of better mental health and lower levels of alcohol use 6� 12 months later, but did not predict subsequent posttraumatic stress symptom severity. Postdeployment social support predicted better overall mental health and less posttraumatic stress symptom severity, alcohol, and drug use. Conclusions: Some aspects of resilience after deployment appear to protect returning service members from the negative effects of traumatic exposure, suggesting that interventions to promote and sustain resilience after deployment have the potential to enhance the mental health of veterans.
Replacement Therapy in Lactating Thyroparathyroidectomized Rats

Summary Thyroparathyroidectomy was performed in 58 albino rats at Day 4 of lactation. The mother rats lost considerable body weight after the operation due, at least partially, to a reduced food intake. Replacement therapy was started immediately after operation. All animals received daily 3.5 μ g. 1-thyroxine/100g. body weight and graded amounts of parathormone (PH) until Days 13 and 14 of lactation, respectively. Based on the litter weight increase, daily injections of ten, 2×20 and 3×20 U.S.P. units of PH did not restore lactation to average control levels, whereas seven animals with presumed accessory parathyroid tissue reached normal or better than control levels. However, based on the weight of milk obtained on Day 14 of lactation under standardized conditions, expressed as per cent of the litter body weight as a criterion, 3×20 U.S.P. units PH/day resulted in successful replacement therapy in ten animals. Many incidents of tetany were recorded after discontinuing the PH supply and also in excellent lactating animals which were given 2×20 U.S.P. units PH/day. The withdrawal of PH on Day 13 resulted on Day 14 of lactation in a reduced blood calcium level, tetany, nervousness, depressed food intake and body weight, irregular nursing, disturbed lactogenic hormone discharge from the pituitary gland, presumably in an interruption of the let-down mechanism, and in markedly reduced milk yields.
Have(n't) We Been Here Before?: Lessons From Telephone Reference

SUMMARY Telephone reference services have been present in libraries for over seventy-five years. Chat reference services are a very recent addition to library services. Telephone and chat reference share some characteristics and the future of chat reference may be seen through an examination of the history of telephone reference. This article will examine issues of policy, staffing, and technology for telephone and chat reference.
Miscible Blends of Kraft Lignin Derivatives with Low-Tg Polymers

Alkylated and acylated kraft lignins are predominantly composed of well-defined supramacromolecular complexes assembled from thousands of individual components. The integrity of these very high molecular weight species can be compromised as kraft lignin derivatives (which alone are quite brittle) are plasticized when blended with miscible low-Tg polymers. The complexes tend to be dismantled when the intermolecular interactions between the lignin components and low-Tg polymer molecules are strong; this engenders a counterproductive increase in the proportion of polymeric plasticizer required to reach the plasticization threshold. X-ray powder diffraction analyses of the kraft lignin-based materials reveal two broad distributions of separation distances between the aromatic moieties; these are attributable to relative orientations of rings that are more or less edge-on and cofacially offset. Plasticization broadens the former significantly but has less impact on the latter. A similar effect is observed as t...
When the Rules Do not Work: Head Injury Without Loss of Consciousness

p t r. Joshua Easter: Today’s case is a 24-year-old man ho presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with nkle pain and headache after a snowboarding accident he day prior. The patient recalled that he was snowoarding down a slope and caught the opposite edge of is snowboard on the snow, causing him to fall backards, and he hit his helmeted head against the snow. he patient stated that he did not lose consciousness, and e was able to recall the details of the event. He noted mmediate onset of pain in his left ankle, but he was able o bear weight on the slope. About an hour after the ccident, he noticed that he had bitten his tongue and had mild occipital headache; however, he was still able to ontinue snowboarding for 3 more hours. The headache, escribed as mild in nature, persisted until his presentaion to the ED the next day. He denied nausea, vomiting, ethargy, or focal weakness. The pain in his ankle was escribed as severe, sharp, and exacerbated by flexion of he ankle. He denied knee pain or other discomfort. Dr. Jonathan Edlow: Patients with head injury may e unreliable in reporting the details of the injury, paricularly whether there was loss of consciousness. Was his episode witnessed? Dr. Easter: The patient’s snowboarding companion, ho accompanied him in the ED, confirmed that there as no loss or alteration of consciousness after the imact. The companion also confirmed that this was a round-level fall and that the patient appeared normal fter the incident. No abnormal motor activity was noted. Dr. Shamai Grossman: Can you further describe the atient’s headache? Dr. Easter: The headache was dull, generalized, and eveloped gradually in the hours after his accident. There ere no exacerbating or alleviating factors. On examit
Spatial and seasonal variations of Q 10 determined by soil respiration measurements at a Sierra Nevadan Forest

We examined the spatial and seasonal variation of Q10 as an indicator of the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration based on field measurements at a young ponderosa pine plantation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. We measured soil CO2 efflux and soil temperature and moisture in two 20 m × 20 m plots from June 1998 to August 1999. The Q10 values calculated from soil temperature at 10-cm depth ranged spatially from 1.21 to 2.63 among 18 chamber locations in the plots. Seasonally, the Q10 values calculated on the basis of the average soil CO2 efflux and temperature (10 cm) across the sites could vary from 1.05 to 2.3. Q10 and soil temperature are negatively correlated through a simple linear relationship with R2 values of 0.45, 0.40, and 0.54 for soil temperature at 5−, 10−, and 20−cm depth, respectively. However, Q10 and soil moisture are positively correlated with R2 values of 0.81, 0.86, and 0.51 for soil temperature at 5−, 10−, and 20−cm depth, respectively. Q10 values derived from temperatures at different soil depths also showed considerable variation along the vertical dimension. Q10 had a large seasonal variation with the annual minimum occurring in midsummer and the annual maximum occurring in winter. Seasonal values of Q10 depended closely on both soil temperature and moisture. Soil temperature and moisture explained 93% of the seasonal variation in Q10. The spatial variation of Q10 had significant influences on the estimation of soil CO2 efflux of the ecosystem. These variations tended to affect the seasonality of the soil CO2 efflux more than the annual average. The variations of Q10 and its dependence on soil moisture and temperature have important implications for regional and global ecosystem carbon modeling, in particular for predicting the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to future global warming.
Amorphe Potenzen kompakter Räume

A set is amorphous, if it is not a union of two disjoint infinite subsets. The following variants of the Tychonoff product theorem are investigated in the hierarchy of weak choice principles. TA1: An amorphous power of a compactT 2 space is compact. TA2: An amorphous power of a compactT 2 space which as a set is wellorderable is compact. In ZF0TA1 is equivalent to the assertion, that amorphous sets are finite. RT is Ramsey's theorem, that every finite colouring of the set ofn-element subsets of an infinite set has an infinite homogeneous subset and PW is Rubin's axiom, that the power set of an ordinal is wellorderable. In ZF0RT+PW implies TA2. Since RT+PW is compatible with the existence of infinite amorphous sets, TA2 does not imply TA1 in ZF0. But TA2 cannot be proved in ZF0 alone. As an application, we prove a theorem of Stone, using a weak wellordering axiomD 3 (a set is wellorderable, if each of its infinite subsets is structured) together with RT.
Interactions of Lipoxygenase with Paramagnetic Substrate Analogs

How fatty acid substrates and inhibitors enter and reside in the internal cavity of lipoxygenases is still unresolved. A medium-resolution, solution structure of lipoxygenase is obtained by positioning spin labels on a grid of five sites near the protein surface, all 20-30 A distant from iron. Cysteine substitutions, for subsequent spin labeling, are made on a background of soybean lipoxygenase in which serine replaces four native cysteines. Dynamics and solvent exposure of the spin labeled side chains are characterized by solution electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra in the presence and absence of viscogens and fatty acid substrate analogs. Additionally, more detailed structural information is obtained from site directed spin labeling of helix-2 to examine how binding of inhibitors influences the conformation of this critical helix. Examples of changes in separation of outer hyperfine extrema in the EPR spectra when 30% sucrose is added include the following. For helix-2: spin labeled mutants T259C (change=0.17mT); K260C (mobile); F270C (0.11mT); and for grid points: L480C (0.16mT); L541C (0.16mT); and A569C (mobile). This study precedes determining the location of paramagnetic substrate analogs by examining dipolar-determined distances between the protein labeled sites and spin labeled substrate analogs.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Expression of γ-H2AX in melanocytic lesions

Summary γ -H2AX is a marker of activated DNA damage and is overexpressed in many malignancies and their precursor lesions. Previous studies have demonstrated the expression of γ -H2AX in melanoma and dysplastic nevus, but its diagnostic and prognostic utility in a full range of melanocytic lesions has not been fully studied. In the current study, we investigated γ -H2AX expression in a total of 162 melanocytic lesions. We found that γ -H2AX was observed at higher levels (percentage and intensity of staining) in melanoma in situ (12/13), primary cutaneous melanoma (32/33; with the exception of desmoplastic melanoma), and metastatic melanoma (58/62), which was statistically different from that in benign nevus (7/9), dysplastic nevus (6/10), and Spitz nevus (5/9) considered together ( P γ -H2AX staining. The expression of γ -H2AX did not show significant correlation with many melanoma prognostic factors, including Breslow depth, mitotic rate, and sentinel lymph node status. Except for desmoplastic melanoma, no difference in γ -H2AX levels was observed among various melanoma subtypes. The overexpression of γ -H2AX in melanoma as opposed to nevus indicates its possible role in melanomagenesis. Based on the overlap in subsets of nevi and melanomas, the potential clinical utility of this antibody remains uncertain until further studies have been carried out in a larger cohort of melanocytic lesions, including borderline cases.
Classical economics and the Great Irish Famine:A study in limits

The Great Irish Famine resulted from two massive failures: the blight that destroyed the potato crop and the non-interventionism of the English government. The first failure, which also occurred in other European countries, was devastating for the Irish who depended on the potato as their main source of nourishment. The second failure was a human failure because English government policy was instructed by classical economics to let the market clear the surplus population from the land and was reinforced by the anti-Irish racism common in England at the time, even among classical economists, notably Nassau Senior and J.S. Mill.
Fixing the net tuition revenue dilemma: The Dickinson College story

Dickinson College addressed its net tuition revenue problem through effective decision support, marketing and branding approaches, and pricing and financial aid strategies.
Numerical simulation of buoyant, turbulent flow. I: Free convection along a heated, vertical, flat plate

Abstract Two models have been developed for predicting free convection low Reynolds number turbulent flows. The models also apply to mixed convection flows. The first, a k-e model, is based on the notion of eddy diffusivities for momentum and heat. The second, an algebraic stress model, is based on approximations derived for the anisotropic turbulent fluxes by a suitable truncation of their conservation equations. Both formulations apply to variable property flows with high overheat ratios, ΔT T ∞ , and have not required the definition of new model constants. No attempt has been made to modify previously established values of the constants in order to improve agreement between measurements and predictions of the flow investigated. Such an optimization must await the availability of more detailed and reliable experimental measurements of turbulence-related quantities. Fully elliptic forms of the differential transport equations, subject to appropriately specified boundary conditions, have been solved numerically for two flow configurations. Both are two-dimensional. The first corresponds to free convection along a heated vertical flat plate and is the subject of Part I of this study. The second corresponds to free and mixed convection from a heated cavity of arbitrary rectangular cross-section and variable orientation, and is the subject of Part II. For the case of the vertical plate, a comparison between measurements and predictions shows that both models yield fairly accurate results for the mean flow and heat transfer. Near-wall velocity and temperature distributions predicted by both models reveal the 1 3 power-law dependence derived by George and Capp [Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer22, 813–826 (1979)] and confirmed for temperature by Siebers et al [J. Heat Transfer107, 124–132 (1985)]. Values of the constants in the power-law relations for velocity and temperature have been obtained here numerically for high and low ΔT T ∞ . Predictions of the anisotropic Reynolds stress and turbulent heat flux distributions are in good qualitative agreement with the measurements of Miyamoto et al. [Proc. 7th Int. Heat Transfer Conference, Vol. 2, pp. 323–328 (1982)]. In particular, regions of negative buoyant and shear production of turbulent kinetic energy observed experimentally are clearly revealed by the calculations.
Potential role of corticrotropin‐releasing hormone in skin physiology and pathology

Previously, we have demonstrated the expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and related urocortin peptides and their corresponding CRH receptors (CRH-Rs) in the skin and identified new alternatively spliced CRH-R1 isoforms (FASEB J 2001; 15: 1678–1693). These receptors are functional, binding CRH and related urocortin peptides and activating intracellular transduction pathways, to modify skin cell phenotype including proliferation, differentiation and immune activity. Thus, CRH-Rs ligands can act as local growth factors and cytokines. In conjunction with the cutaneous expression of POMC peptides and their receptors as well as the expression of genes coding enzymes of corticosteroidogenic pathway, these observations also demonstrate integrated expression of the regulatory elements of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in mammalian skin (Physiol Rev 2000; 80: 979–1020; Endocrine Rev: 21: 457–487). This cutaneous CRH/POMC system appears to be highly responsive to the common stressor ultraviolet radiation (UVR), cutaneous pathology or physiologic changes such as those associated with the hair cycle. Therefore, we have proposed that this system would be structurally analogous to the central HPA axis, with CRH, urocortin and CRH receptors playing a central role in the regulation of cutaneous reactions. Most recently, we found differential, spatiotemporal selectivity and species-restricted expression of CRH-Rs, suggesting that they may be evolutionary driven to adapt to the species predominant determinant of skin function: human, solar radiation and thermal energy; mice, hair cycle and production of chemical messengers.
A Century of Great Lakes Research at the University of Michigan

The University of Michigan has had a long and productive history of promoting, enhancing, and facilitating research on the Laurentian Great Lakes. This interest in Great Lakes research was evident before the turn of the century under the leadership of Prof. Jacob E. Reighard. Early research was primarily concerned with fish and fisheries. The emphasis on fisheries started to shift to basic limnological research after the 1920s when Prof. Paul S. Welch started a limnology course and wrote his book Limnology. His student, Prof. David C. Chandler, returned to the University in 1953 to chair the Council of the Great Lakes Research Institute, and subsequently became the Director of the Great Lakes Research Division in 1960. The emphasis was and has been on basic and applied research involving a broad spectrum of disciplines. The published contributions include biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, paleolimnology, physical limnology, pollution, radiolimnology, and integrated studies. Among the University's many contributions to furthering Great Lakes research was the origination of the Conferences on Great Lakes Research, started in 1953. Publications of the Proceedings of these conferences provided a valuable reference to research in the 1950s and 1960s. These conferences led to the formation of the International Association for Great Lakes Research and subsequently the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The University acquired several research vessels. The earliest large vessel acquired was the Inland Seas (1960) which was replaced by the Laurentian in 1974. A research submersible was brought into Lake Michigan for evaluation by the Great Lakes Research Division in 1966. At about this time Michigan Sea Grant Program was started in 1969 and the Coastal Zone Laboratory in the 1970s. More recently the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystem Research was created in 1989 as a partnership among the University, Michigan State University, and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Much of the Great Lakes research activity at the University was realigned into several colleges and schools in the late 1980s. Great Lakes research at the University has passed through a number of reorganizations, and now exists as the Aquatic Research Programs of the University of Michigan Biological Station.
Continuous determination of gaseous ammonia in the ambient atmosphere using fluorescence derivatization

Abstract A method for continuous determination of ambient ammonia levels employing o-phthalaldehyde fluorescence derivatization is described. A simplified Venturi scrubber and gas-liquid separator have been employed for reproducible measurements of ⩾ 0.1 ppb ambient ammonia with less than 2 min time resolution. The scrubbing efficiency of the ammonia gas collection system was determined to be 29 ± 1 %. During 4 d in August 1979 ambient ammonia levels at the Brookhaven National Laboratory site averaged about 1.5 ± 1.1 ppb during afternoon daylight hours.
A Multi-institutional Study of Care Given to Patients Dying in Hospitals: Ethical and Practice Implications

Background: Relatively little attention has been paid to how physicians care for dying patients once an initial decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment is made. Objectives: To describe characteristics of patients forgoing treatment, determine the range and sequential process of forgoing treatment, and suggest ethical and practice implications. Methods: Charts of 75 consecutive patients dying at each of 4 hospitals were reviewed for this case series. Two hundred ninety-one (98%) of 297 charts were available for review; 274 patients died in acute care beds and are included in this study. Data collected included patients' diagnoses, mental statuses, lengths of stay, timing of the first decision to forgo treatment, and range and sequence of interventions forgone. Main Outcome Measures: Proportion forgoing life-sustaining treatment, number of interventions forgone and decision times per patient, and ranked order of treatment withdrawal. Results: Two hundred twenty-nine (84%) of 274 patients who died had some intervention forgone before death. Only 35% of patients forgoing life-sustaining treatment were able to participate in decision making. On average, 3.8 interventions were forgone per patient. Resuscitation and/or intubation were generally the first measures withheld; once a patient required ventilatory support, withdrawing ventilatory support was a late decision. Conclusions: The majority of patients dying at these institutions did so after decisions to limit treatment, but few patients were able to participate in these decisions. Forgoing life-sustaining treatment generally occurred in a sequential manner over several days; the rationale for this stepwise retreat is not, however, clinically or ethically obvious. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:2130-2136
Autocrine regulation of mda-7/IL-24 mediates cancer-specific apoptosis

A noteworthy aspect of melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24) as a cancer therapeutic is its ability to selectively kill cancer cells without harming normal cells. Intracellular MDA-7/IL-24 protein, generated from an adenovirus expressing mda-7/IL-24 (Ad.mda-7), induces cancer-specific apoptosis by inducing an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. Secreted MDA-7/IL-24 protein, generated from cells infected with Ad.mda-7, induces growth inhibition and apoptosis in surrounding noninfected cancer cells but not in normal cells, thus exerting an anti-tumor “bystander” effect. The present studies reveal a provocative finding that recombinant MDA-7/IL-24 protein can robustly induce expression of endogenous mda-7/IL-24, which generates the signaling events necessary for bystander killing. To evaluate the mechanism underlying this positive autocrine feedback loop, we show that MDA-7/IL-24 protein induces stabilization of its own mRNA without activating its promoter. Furthermore, this posttranscriptional effect depends on de novo protein synthesis. As a consequence of this autocrine feedback loop MDA-7/IL-24 protein induces sustained ER stress as evidenced by expression of ER stress markers (BiP/GRP78, GRP94, GADD153, and phospho-eIF2α) and reactive oxygen species production, indicating that both intracellular and secreted proteins activate similar signaling pathways to induce apoptosis. Thus, our results clarify the molecular mechanism by which secreted MDA-7/IL-24 protein (generated from Ad.mda-7-infected cells) exerts cancer-specific killing.
Novel Index for Invasively Assessing the Coronary Microcirculation

Background A relatively simple, invasive method for quantitatively assessing the status of the coronary microcirculation independent of the epicardial artery is lacking. Methods and results By using a coronary pressure wire and modified software, it is possible to calculate the mean transit time of room-temperature saline injected down a coronary artery. The inverse of the hyperemic mean transit time has been shown to correlate with absolute flow. We hypothesize that distal coronary pressure divided by the inverse of the hyperemic mean transit time provides an index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) that will correlate with true microcirculatory resistance (TMR), defined as the distal left anterior descending (LAD) pressure divided by hyperemic flow, measured with an external ultrasonic flow probe. A total of 61 measurements were made in 9 Yorkshire swine at baseline and after disruption of the coronary microcirculation, both with and without an epicardial LAD stenosis. The mean IMR (16.9+/-6.5 U to 25.9+/-14.4 U, P=0.002) and TMR (0.51+/-0.14 to 0.79+/-0.32 mm Hg x mL(-1) x min(-1), P=0.0001), as well as the % change in IMR (147+/-66%) and TMR (159+/-105%, P=NS versus IMR % change), increased significantly and to a similar degree after disruption of the microcirculation. These changes were independent of the status of the epicardial artery. There was a significant correlation between mean IMR and TMR values, as well as between the % change in IMR and % change in TMR. Conclusions Measuring IMR may provide a simple, quantitative, invasive assessment of the coronary microcirculation.
Cryosurgery for Malignancies of the Eyelid

Abstract The results of liquid nitrogen spray technique for 310 biopsy-proven eyelid malignancies are reviewed. The raw recurrence rate for basal cell carcinomas of the eyelids with a mean follow-up of almost three years is 4.2%, while the recurrence rate is 6% in 49 cases followed for five years. For all lid malignancies 10 mm or less in diameter, a 2.0% raw recurrence rate was obtained; however, in those lesions larger than 10 mm, this rose to 9.5%. With this form of therapy, basal cell carcinomas with infiltrative, nonelevated, indistinct borders had twice the recurrence rate than those tumors with elevated distinct borders. Twenty-one squamous cell carcinomas treated with cryosurgery with an average follow-up of 21.6 months have yet to show a recurrence. Complications with cryosurgery include permanent loss of eyelashes and depigmentation lasting from six months to over six years. Depending on the extent and location of the tumor, eyelid defects occurred. To date, five plastic reconstructive procedures have been required for ectropion or lid defects; however, no lacrimal outflow surgery has as yet been required.
Dextran structural factors which affect binding to the lectin of Streptococcus cricetus

Abstract Oral bacteria, such as Streptococcus cricetus and S. sobrinus, are aggregated by high molecular weight fractions of the linear α-(1→6) dextran produced by Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The linkage specificity of this interaction with a cell surface lectin of the streptococci is high. As a further probe of factors affecting recognition, we prepared partially methylated samples of dextran of average MW of 2 × 106 and 104. 13C NMR spectroscopy proved to be a convenient method for determining both site and degree of monomethylation and dimethylation of the polymer: relative reactivity of the OH groups was established as 02: 04: 03 = 4.3: 1.7: 1.0. A methylation DS of only 0.17 caused almost complete loss of recognition by the lectin. A structural feature of dextran oligomers is suggested to explain this result.
Cytoplasmic and nuclear pyrimidine ribonucleotide pools in HeLa cells.

Abstract A comparison of the rate of approach to equilibrium U:C labeling for two species of RNA whose base composition is known has been described previously as a method to determine the similarity or difference in the pyrimidine ribonucleotide pools from which the RNA species are synthesized. The procedure is now utilized to examine the pools used for the synthesis of HeLa cell nuclear RNA, mitochondrial RNA and poliovirus RNA. The results indicate that poliovirus RNA molecules derive from a pyrimidine precursor pool indistinguishable from that used for the synthesis of both heterogeneous nuclear RNA and 45 S ribosomal RNA in the nucleus, but that a separate and distinct pool is used for the synthesis of mitochondrial RNA. In addition, a comparison of the radioactivity ultimately found in UMP and CMP in a single species of RNA labeled in the presence or absence of actinomycin D shows that the conversion of uridine to cytidine nucleotides is significantly slowed in the presence of the drug. Direct measurement of the ratios of radioactivity in these RNA precursors in the acid-soluble pool confirm this observation.
Plasma and Silane Surface Modification of SiC/Si: Adhesion and Durability for the Epoxy–SiC System

Gaseous plasma pretreatments and surface derivatization using silane coupling agents (SCA) have been used to enhance the adhesive bonding of an epoxy to SiC-coated Si wafers (SiC/Si). The surface modification approaches included 1) an SCA treatment using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) or 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPS) and 2) an oxygen plasma pretreatment followed by a silane treatment. Durability was evaluated by immersing epoxy-coated SiC/Si samples in aqueous solutions at various pHs at 60°C for selected times. Adhesion durability for the epoxy-coated SiC/Si systems was qualitatively evaluated by visual inspection to identify debonding and quantitatively evaluated with a probe test to determine the critical strain energy release rate, G c . Durability via either test approach varied as a function of surface treatment in this manner: oxygen plasma treatment plus silane modification > silane treated > no treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic characterization of surfaces was carried out...
Characterizations of adjacency on the branching polyhedron

Given two distinct branchings of a directed graph G, we present several conditions which are equivalent to the corresponding incidence vectors of the branchings being adjacent on the branching polyhedron of G. The proof of these equivalences uses a ''shrinking algorithm'' which will determine in O(n^2) time and space whether or not the incidence vectors are adjacent.
Recursive utility and preferences for information

This paper presents an axiomatic foundation for recursive utility that captures the role of the timing of resolution of uncertainty without relying on exogenously specified objective beliefs. Two main representation results are proved. In the first one, future utility enters the recursion through the type of general aggregators considered in Skiadas (1997a), and as a result the formulation is purely ordinal and free of any probabilities. In the second representation these aggregators are conditional expectations relative to subjective beliefs. A new recursive representation incorporating disappointment aversion is also suggested. The main methodological innovation of the paper derives from the fact that the basic objects of choice are taken to be pairs of state-contingent consumption plans and information filtrations, rather than the temporal (objective) lotteries of the existing literature. It is shown that this approach has the additional benefit of being directly applicable to the continuous-time version of recursive utility developed by Duffie and Epstein (1992).
Epigenetic marking of the BDNF gene by early-life adverse experiences

Studies over the past half-century have made it clear that environmental influences in development, particularly stress and traumatic experiences, can remain pervasive across the lifespan. Though it has been hypothesized for some time that the long-term consequences of early-life adversity represent epigenetic influences, it has not been until recently that studies have begun to provide empirical support of experience-driven epigenetic modifications to the genome. Here we focus on this theme, and review current knowledge pertaining to the epigenetics of behavioral development. At the center of our discussion is the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, as abnormal BDNF gene activity is a leading etiological hypothesis by which early-life adverse experiences persistently modify brain and behavioral plasticity.