cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of toxicity and enzyme-repressing activity ofp-dioxane by chlorination: Stereoselective effects

The acute toxicity of p-dioxane may be enhanced up to 1000-fold by chlorination of the compound. The effect was stereoselective. Of the stereoisomers tested, tetrachloro-p-dioxane, isomer I (2r, 3t, 5t, 6c) was over 80 times more toxic than isomer II (2r, 3c, 5t, 6t). The latter compound was also a potent repressor of hepatic dimethylnitrosamine-demethylase I (DMN-d) and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH).
Oral fluconazole therapy for patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and cryptococcosis: experience with 22 patients

Purpose Cryptococcus neoformans causes infections in up to 10 percent of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Nearly 50 percent of AIDS patients with previously treated cryptococcal meningitis will experience a relapse within six months. To reduce the likelihood of relapse, a maintenance regimen of amphotericin B is often administered weekly. However, the drug's intravenous route of administration and considerable toxicity have led to a search for alternative antifungal agents. In this report, we document our experience with fluconazole, a new oral triazole antifungal agent. Patients and methods Twenty-two patients with AIDS and various forms of cryptococcosis were treated in an open-label study with 50 to 400 mg/day of fluconazole. The following laboratory studies were done on a monthly basis: complete blood cell count, liver function tests, serum creatinine level, serum cryptococcal antigen level, and serum fluconazole level. Lumbar puncture was performed in patients with meningitis every four to eight weeks to evaluate cerebrospinal fluid cryptococcal antigen, India ink preparation findings, fungal culture, fluconazole level, and protein, glucose, and cell count. Results Of seven patients with active culturepositive infections, four showed clinical and microbiologic responses (three of four with meningitis, one of three with extraneural cryptococcosis). Fifteen patients who had already undergone successful amphotericin B therapy for either meningitis (n = 14) or pneumonia (n = 1) received fluconazole as prophylaxis against relapse. Fourteen patients remained free of infection during 11 to 64 weeks of suppressive therapy; one patient with meningitis experienced relapse after 26 weeks of treatment. Adverse reactions were limited to increases in hepatic enzyme levels in four patients. Conclusion These results appear sufficiently encouraging to warrant further trials of this oral agent in the suppression of chronic cryptococcosis and perhaps in the treatment of acute infection.
Microcomputer Fundamentals for Embedded Systems Education

Traditional computer architecture/computer engineering curricula emphasize the hardware and software fundamentals suitable to general purpose computing. However, there is a growing realization that special purpose embedded systems computing requires a different educational emphasis than general purpose computing. The foundation cornerstone in a curriculum emphasizing embedded systems is the microcomputers class. Regardless of the microprocessor platform chosen, certain topics must be emphasized when building embedded systems. Because microprocessors in embedded systems are typically used for control applications, one emphasis must be on communications protocols with other devices such as RS-232, SPI, IIC, or CAN. Similarly, for interactions with the non-digital world, another emphasis must be on analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion. Because so many control applications are time-critical, another emphasis must be on timing and interrupts. The role of this class and laboratory is presented in the context of its impact on Embedded Systems education throughout the Computer Engineering curriculum at The University Of Alabama. Specific examples bridging the microcomputers class to the remainder of the curriculum are provided. Discussion includes a description of the assessments used to gauge this impact.
Coupled transcription and translation in mammalian and avian cell-free systems.

Abstract In cell-free extracts of mouse L cells and of primary chick embryo cells, purified vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) directed coupled transcription and translation of the viral genes. The proportions of virus and cell extract were equivalent to a multiplicity of infection of about 20 PFU per cell. The reactions, which continued for at least 8 hr, resulted in the synthesis of polypeptides which resembled the authentic viral polypeptides N, NS, and M by the criteria of their sizes and tryptic peptide fingerprints. In addition, a minor protein product of the cell-free systems yielded tryptic peptides characteristic of the viral G protein, although its apparent size was slightly less than that of authentic G protein. No product corresponding to the viral L protein was detected. The RNA products of the coupled system were characterized by affinity chromatography on oligo(dT)-cellulose and by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Four size classes of poly(A)-containing RNA were detected, with apparent molecular weights of 2.15, 0.74, 0.55, and 0.3 × 10 6 . These contained the messenger RNAs for the viral L, G, N, and NS + M proteins, respectively. At later times during transcription in vitro , synthesis occurred of increasing amounts of four species of RNA which lacked poly(A), and which had correspondingly lower apparent molecular weights. These species were synthesized de novo , rather than by cleavage of the poly (A) tracts from the RNA made at early times. No RNA corresponding in size to the viral genome was synthesized. The remarkable longevity of the cell-free protein synthesis prompted a study of the structural and functional stability of the VSV messenger RNAs synthesized in the L-cell system. Chase experiments showed that the poly(A)-containing and poly(A)-lacking RNA species were degraded at approximately the same rate, with half-lives of about 12 hr. The methyl groups in the 5′-terminal cap structures of the poly(A)-containing messenger RNAs had a similar half-life. Moreover, preformed VSV messenger RNA added exogenously to the cell-free system at the same concentration as in the coupled system showed a similar rate of degradation. The functional stability of the messenger RNA was investigated by assaying protein synthesis after the addition of S-adenosylhomocysteine to the coupled system to inhibit the synthesis of further translatable messenger RNA. The results showed that the pronounced stability of messenger RNA at low concentration, rather than its continued synthesis, accounted for the longevity of protein synthesis in this system.
Halo-Shaped Flowing Atmospheric Pressure Afterglow: A Heavenly Design for Simplified Sample Introduction and Improved Ionization in Ambient Mass Spectrometry

The flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) is a promising new source for atmospheric-pressure, ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. However, problems exist with reproducible sample introduction into the FAPA source. To overcome this limitation, a new FAPA geometry has been developed in which concentric tubular electrodes are utilized to form a halo-shaped discharge; this geometry has been termed the halo-FAPA or h-FAPA. With this new geometry, it is still possible to achieve direct desorption and ionization from a surface; however, sample introduction through the inner capillary is also possible and improves interaction between the sample material (solution, vapor, or aerosol) and the plasma to promote desorption and ionization. The h-FAPA operates with a helium gas flow of 0.60 L/min outer, 0.30 L/min inner, and applied current of 30 mA at 200 V for 6 W of power. In addition, separation of the discharge proper and sample material prevents perturbations to the plasma. Optical-emission c...
Testing & quantifying ERP usability

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system benefits the business, although the typically complex interface can challenge end users whose errors can undermine the benefits of real-time automation. Many prior studies of ERP users measured attitudes rather than use of the ERP. In contrast, this research involved testing users as they worked with PeopleSoft™ to complete an inventory procedure. An experiment measured success and time while users completed a task using the multi-screen default interface and a simplified single-screen version. Complexity of the interfaces was quantified with two models. GOMS-KLM described the interface in cognitive terms and a visual model described the design. The default complex screens required almost twice as many steps to navigate seven times the number of on-screen elements. Trends and participant comments validated the importance of interface usability, although complexity was a significant variable only for time spent working on the task, not success. Task success was dependent on each user scanning and verifying data before submitting it, an observed behavior. In this paper two studies are presented from a larger effort blending human factors and empirical methods to assess ERP usability and to demonstrate the importance of measuring usability and actual use, not just attitudes about an ERP.
Vibrational exciton cluster states, percolation and pairwise interactions: Benzene A2u band☆

pairs, etc.) up to about 55% mole. Static percolation sets in at about 50%. resulting in an extended exciton band. The line positions, line intensities and the percolation concentration all aBee quantitatively with an effective Z-dimensionaf sqtuzre lartice exciton inferactiozz topokz~~. This means that very short range, nearest neighbor interchange equivalent, excitation exchange interactions dominate over the long range transition-dipole type terms even in this most intense, dipole allowed IR band. These results fully support our recent picture of the umbrella mode exciton baitd, in both solid and liquid benzene. Similarities between these solid and liquid exciton bands are pointed out. The existence of pseudolocalized states, in the middle of the energy band of the extended states, is illustrated.
System software for persistent memory

Emerging byte-addressable, non-volatile memory technologies offer performance within an order of magnitude of DRAM, prompting their inclusion in the processor memory subsystem. However, such load/store accessible Persistent Memory (PM) has implications on system design, both hardware and software. In this paper, we explore system software support to enable low-overhead PM access by new and legacy applications. To this end, we implement PMFS, a light-weight POSIX file system that exploits PM's byte-addressability to avoid overheads of block-oriented storage and enable direct PM access by applications (with memory-mapped I/O). PMFS exploits the processor's paging and memory ordering features for optimizations such as fine-grained logging (for consistency) and transparent large page support (for faster memory-mapped I/O). To provide strong consistency guarantees, PMFS requires only a simple hardware primitive that provides software enforceable guarantees of durability and ordering of stores to PM. Finally, PMFS uses the processor's existing features to protect PM from stray writes, thereby improving reliability.Using a hardware emulator, we evaluate PMFS's performance with several workloads over a range of PM performance characteristics. PMFS shows significant (up to an order of magnitude) gains over traditional file systems (such as ext4) on a RAMDISK-like PM block device, demonstrating the benefits of optimizing system software for PM.
Geometric permutations of high dimensional spheres

We prove the maximum number of geometric permutations, induced by line transversals to a set of n pairwise disjoint congruent spheres in Rd with d g 3, is no more than 4 when n is sufficiently large, achieving the best known upper bound for this problem. We also prove the maximum number of geometric permutations of a set of n noncongruent spheres of bounded radius ratio in Rd, d g 3, is at most 2[√2M]+1, where M is the ratio or the largest radius and the smallest radius. Our result settles a conjecture in combinatorial geometry.
Ab initio molecular dynamics with equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory: electronic absorption spectrum of ethylene

Abstract The equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOM-CCSD) method has been combined with the full multiple-spawning (FMS) method to include dynamic electron correlation effects in ab initio excited state dynamics. We use a quasi-diabatic scheme to follow adiabatic states, demanding smooth variation of the EOM-CCSD energy and oscillator strength. The potential energy surfaces computed ‘on-the-fly’ are used in the simulation of electronic absorption spectra. We compute absorption spectra of ethylene for the Rydberg π→3s and valence π→π * states, and compare directly to experimental results. Good agreement is obtained in the 50 000–70 000 cm −1 range.
Adenovirus-specific human T cells are pervasive, polyfunctional, and cross-reactive

Pre-existing immunity to adenovirus (Ad) reduces the efficacy of Ad-based vaccines. The goal of this study was to define the prevalence, magnitude, functionality and phenotype of Ad-specific human T cells directly ex vivo. To study the magnitude of T-cell responses to Ad, we developed a highly reproducible whole Ad vector stimulation assay for use with polychromatic flow cytometry. Ad-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cells were detected in all 17 human subjects tested and were capable of proliferating upon restimulation. Ad5-specific CD4(+) T cells were primarily monofunctional CD4(+) T cells that produced IL-2, IFN-gamma or TNFalpha and expressed the memory markers CD27 and CD45RO. In contrast, Ad5-specific CD8(+) T cells were more polyfunctional, expressing effector-like combinations of IFN-gamma, MIP1alpha and perforin, and generally lacked CD27 and CD45RO expression. Ad-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses against chimpanzee-derived AdC6 and AdC7 were found in all subjects, indicating the commonality of cross-serotype reactivity of Ad-specific T cells. This cross-reactivity is due in part to extensive CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell recognition of hexon regions conserved between multiple Ad serotypes. The prevalence, cross-reactivity and effector-like functions of Ad-specific T cells in humans may affect the efficacy of Ad vector-based vaccines by eliminating vector infected cells even when rare serotype Ad vectors are employed.
Production-based effective vertical permeability for a horizontal well

The presence of a stochastic distribution of impermeable shale sheets strongly affects the production performance of a horizontal well. Oil recovery is drastically reduced, and its uncertainty is dramatically increased for a reservoir with high shale density and long correlation range. Construction of a probability distribution of the oil recovery based on many stochastic images requires extensive work and computation time. However, that probability distribution can be approximated easily if a single ranking parameter is assigned to each realization. Conventional effective vertical permeability, k{sub eV}, which is based on vertical single-phase flow, was tested first because it governs horizontal-well productivity. This attempt was unsuccessful because of the inappropriate representation of inner and outer boundary conditions applied to the domain. Production-based effective vertical permeability, k{sub eV,p}, which honors both inner and outer boundary conditions, was tried next. It successfully ranked each realization in terms of oil recovery after 10 years with excellent accuracy. The correlation between k{sub eV,p} and recovery is independent of the shale density or correlation range. This study shows that honoring the appropriate boundary conditions to obtain a representative permeability is extremely important. The conventional permeability renormalization technique, in which either no-flow or constant-pressure boundaries are applied tomore » coarse grids, fails for this reason.« less
Ethnic differences in childhood and adolescent sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy.

This report of a comparative study on the effect of ethnicity on sexual abuse experience and adolescent pregnancy opens with a review what is known about teenage pregnancy in the US, the sexual abuse of children and adolescents, and links between sex abuse and teenage pregnancy. Data for the current study, part of a larger study of adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and childhood victimization, were gathered using a 20-page questionnaire administered over 16 months beginning in the fall of 1993 to 1937 women aged 18-22 recruited from 44 urban and rural sites in a southwestern state. The sample included 785 Whites, 549 Hispanics, 283 Blacks, and 320 American Indians. It was found that higher levels of educational attainment led to increased age at first adolescent pregnancy. While 60% of the women had never married, over 54% of those who were separated, divorced, or widowed had become pregnant during their teenage years. Minority teenagers were more likely than Whites to become pregnant at younger ages. Almost 36% of the women reported at least one form of sexual abuse before age 18. Analysis of adolescent pregnancy by severity of sexual abuse (contact molestation, coercion into sex, attempted rape, and rape) revealed that nonabused Whites had the lowest percentage of teenage pregnancies but that, in all groups, experience of sexual abuse led to increased adolescent pregnancy rates. Minority teenagers who were coerced into sex were more likely than nonabused peers to become pregnant during adolescence as were White teenagers who had been raped. Additional studies are required to explore the interrelated factors that contribute to sexual abuse and adolescent pregnancy and to provide girls at greatest risk of teenage pregnancy with educational enhancement opportunities. Language: en
Modelling Heat Transfer Performance of a Thin Bi-Porous Evaporator for a Heat Pipe

The evaporator of a heat exchanger is made with a porous, capillary, structure. In the past researchers [7] noticed that the heat flux limits of a bi-porous capillary structure is much greater than that of a mono-porous capillary structure and will be the focus of this work. There are three distinct stages in the heat transfer process in a bi-porous wick. Each of the stages is explored in turn. In the first stage, heat is transferred from the wall across the saturated wick by pure conduction to the evaporating front located on the top of the bi-porous wick. When the boiling limit is reached, bubbles begin to nucleate and the second stage begins. The boiling becomes more and more intensive as the heat flux is increased until all of the liquid from big pores is evaporated, and only small pores remain wetted with liquid. The point reached here is called the capillary limit, which is basically the limit at which the capillary forces are still sufficient to provide the liquid for evaporation into the big pores. The modelling of the different thermal physical processes determining heat transfer within each of the three stages for a bi-porous heat wick are modelled and significant improvement in achievable heat flux is observed. Comparison with experiment is found to be reasonable. Optimal selection of the bi-porous wick characteristics is shown to yield very high heat fluxes.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Simulation of ball bonding on various bond pad structures

Various integrated circuit bond pad structures in aluminum-silicon dioxide (Al-SiO2) metallization are modeled, with ball bonding stresses applied in static or dynamic simulations. This work follows from our EPTC 2012 paper. Of special interest is the apparent stress reduction in bond pads that mitigates top SiO2 film cracking during wirebond of ON Semiconductor's more robust and circuit under pad (CUP) structures having thin top metal. Both gold (Au) and copper (Cu) materials are simulated as bond ball types. Static simulations are helpful to indicate the stress locations, while the dynamic simulations reveal how bonding stress values are affected by bond pad structures. Film thickness decrease directly increases stress coupling into bond pad sub-layers, making SiO2 cracks more likely during bonding. Dynamic simulations indicate that Al CUP features surrounded by SiO2 result in more stress reduction than removing the Al features of the first sub-layer. Bond pad stress increases more than 2 times when changing from gold (Au) to copper (Cu) ball bond, due to the materials properties change alone, not considering the increased ultrasonic power required for Cu bonding.
Hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics of magnesium nano-nickel composites synthesized by dry particle coating technique

Abstract Dry particle coating technique was utilized for coating nano-nickel on magnesium particles. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of the nanocatalyst (Ni) on the hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics of the Mg-based composite (Mg–Ni). Hydrogen absorption curves plotted as a function of time showed that composites processed for longer periods of time exhibited significantly higher hydrogen absorption rates. With increased coating time, the catalyst was more evenly distributed over the Mg surface, resulting in the formation of a composite with increased hydrogen capacity and kinetics. Meanwhile, no significant morphology change in the composites was observed. A change in the hydrogen absorption rate as a function of time was observed. This change in rate implies a change in the rate limiting mechanism from chemical absorption on the Mg particle to diffusion into the Mg particle. TGA results showed that lower coating speeds resulted in lower initial desorption temperatures as well as steeper desorption rates. Higher heating rates resulted in faster reaction rates and therefore reduced hydrogen absorption time and increased hydrogen storage capacity.
All-CVD graphene field-effect transistors with h-BN gate dielectric and local back gate

We have demonstrated operation of locally backgated graphene gFETs with CVD-grown h-BN and graphene, and the results provide important insights into the impact of h-BN on the transport and interfacial properties of these devices.
Essential role of the TNF-TNFR2 cognate interaction in mouse dendritic cell–natural killer cell crosstalk

Dendritic cells (DCs) and natural killer (NK) cells are essential components of the innate immune system and have a central role in initiation and regulation of adaptive immune responses. During the early critical immune activities, DCs and NK cells interact and reciprocally regulate each other via cell-cell contact. The molecular mediators of the DC–NK-cell crosstalk are largely undefined. In the present study, we show in mice that DC stimulation of NK-cell IFN-γ secretion requires DC membranebound but not secreted products; is increased by augmenting the expression of DC transmembrane tumor necrosis factor (tmTNF) and NK-cell transmembrane TNF receptor type 2 (tmTNFR2); is inhibited by blocking TNF or TNFR2 but not TNFR1; is impaired by knocking out DC Tnf or NK-cell Tnfr2 but not DC Tnfr1 or Tnfr2 and NK-cell Tnf or Tnfr1; and is restored in TNF-deficient DCs by reconstituting tmTNF, but cannot be mimicked by soluble TNF. We also demonstrate that DC TNF and NK-cell TNFR2 are required for DC-mediated NK-cell proliferation and amplification of cytotoxic activity. These novel findings provide the first evidence that DC–NK-cell crosstalk mediates enhancement of NK-cell functions via triggering NK-cell tmTNFR2 by DC tmTNF.
Parkinson’s disease: Surgical options

Surgical therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been a treatment option for over 100 years. Advances in the knowledge of basal ganglia physiology and in techniques of stereotactic neurosurgery and neuroimaging have allowed more accurate placement of lesions or “brain pacemakers” in the sensorimotor regions of target nuclei. This, in turn, has led to improved efficacy with fewer complications than in the past. Currently, bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) is the preferred option (and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration) for the surgical treatment of PD. The most important predictors for outcome for DBS for PD are patient selection and electrode location. Patients should have a documented preoperative improvement from dopaminergic medication of at least 30% in the patient’s Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale motor disability scores. A levodopa challenge may be needed to document the best “on” state. Dementia or active cognitive decline must be excluded. Active psychiatric disease should be treated preoperatively. Patients should be motivated, with good support systems, and committed to the postoperative management of DBS therapy. Deep brain stimulation should be considered when the patient begins to experience dyskinesia and on-off fluctuations despite optimal medical therapy. Deep brain stimulation is not a good option at the final stages of the disease because of the increased incidence of dementia and severe comorbidity. The DBS electrode should be placed in the sensorimotor region of the GPi or STN. Subthalamic nucleus and GPi DBS can improve all motor aspects of PD, as well as predictable “on” time, without dyskinesia or fluctuations. On average, STN DBS results in a greater reduction of dopaminergic medication compared with GPi DBS. Because of the smaller size of the target region, the pulse generator battery life is longer with STN then with GPi DBS. Deep brain stimulation programming is a skill that is readily learned and may be required of all neurologists in the future. Emerging surgical therapies are restorative, and they aim to replace or regenerate degenerating dopaminergic neurons. These include embryonic mesencephalic tissue transplantation, human embryonic stem cell transplantation, and gene-derived methods of intracerebral implantation of growth factors and dopamineproducing cell lines. It will be important to determine whether DBS, if performed before the onset of motor response complications to medical therapy, may prevent this stage of disease altogether or delay it for a significant period of time. The same question applies to the future with restorative therapy.
Z' = 4 structure without obvious pseudosymmetry: implications for the formation of solid-state compounds

Crystals of 4-chloro-2′-biphenylol grown at 263 K and studied at both 293 and 142 K are loosely packed and contain OH⋯O bonded tetramers composed of four crystallographically independent molecules (Z′ = 4). Approximate symmetry relationships between independent molecules are apparent in many, perhaps even most, structures with Z′ > 1, but are not obvious in this structure. The inefficient crystal packing, the surprisingly large value of Z′ and the absence of pseudosymmetry reflect the difficulty of finding a dense molecular arrangement that also allows for hydrogen-bond formation. Impediments to good packing are the steric congestion around the ortho hydroxyl groups and the difficulty in filling space with significantly twisted biphenyl fragments. The packing arrangement adopted is strongly reminiscent of the structure type found for eight simple 4,4′-biphenyl derivatives, but one of the four independent 4-chloro-2′-biphenylol molecules has an orientation that is significantly different from the orientations of the other three and that does not fit the 4,4′-XPhPhY pattern. It is suggested that molecules that crystallize with Z′ > 1 are good candidates for solid-state compound formation.
Role of CXC chemokine ligand 13 in oral squamous cell carcinoma associated osteolysis in athymic mice.

Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) are malignant tumors with a potent activity of local bone invasion; however the molecular mechanisms of tumor osteolysis are unclear. In this study, we identified high level expression of chemokine ligand, CXCL13 and RANK ligand (RANKL) in OSCC cells (SCC1, SCC12 and SCC14a). OSCC cell conditioned media (20%) induced osteoclast differentiation which was inhibited by OPG in peripheral blood monocyte cultures indicating that OSCC cells produce soluble RANKL. Recombinant hCXCL13 (10 ng/ml) significantly enhanced RANKL stimulated osteoclast differentiation in these cultures. Trans-well migration assay identified that CXCL13 induces chemotaxis of peripheral blood monocytes in vitro which was inhibited by addition of anti-CXCR5 receptor antibody. Zymogram analysis of conditioned media from OSCC cells revealed matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity. Interestingly, CXCL13 treatment to OSCC cells induced CXCR5 and MMP-9 expression suggesting an autocrine regulatory function in OSCC cells. To examine the OSCC tumor cell bone invasion/osteolysis, we established an in vivo model for OSCC by subcutaneous injection of OSCC cells onto the surface of calvaria in NCr-nu/nu athymic mice, which developed tumors in 4–5 weeks. μCT analysis revealed numerous osteolytic lesions in calvaria from OSCC tumor-bearing mice. Histochemical staining of calvarial sections from these mice revealed a significant increase in the numbers of TRAP-positive osteoclasts at the tumor-bone interface. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed CXCL13 and MMP-9 expression in tumor cells. Thus, our data implicate a functional role for CXCL13 in bone invasion and may be a potential therapeutic target to prevent osteolysis associated with OSCC tumors in vivo.
Clifford Theory for Cyclic Quotient Groups

Abstract We describe in detail the Clifford theory for cyclic quotient groups. We pay particular attention to the field of definition of the characters involved, as well as their Schur indices.
Efficacy and safety of N-acetylprocainamide in long-term treatment of ventricular arrhythmias.

Four patients with chronic ventricular arrhythmias, shown to respond over the short term to N-acetylprocainamide (NAPA), were treated for between 3 and 4 yr with NAPA, and 24-hr ambulatory ECGs were obtained monthly to monitor their responses. When the patients were ambulatory and receiving NAPA, the mean frequency of premature ventricular complexes averaged 70% (range 60% to 82%) below that recorded at 6-mo intervals when the patients were hospitalized and receiving placebo. Analysis of variance showed that NAPA exerted an antiarrhythmic effect in these patients and that tolerance to this effect did not develop with long-term therapy. Plasma NAPA concentrations required to achieve this level of response averaged 21 µg/ml (12 to 35 µg/ml) and were roughly twice as high as those which appeared to be maximally effective when the patients were hospitalized for their initial evaluation. NAPA therapy was associated with positive antinuclear antibody titers in only one patient and seems less prone to cause drug-induced lupus erythematosus than procainamide, but NAPA shares the gastrointestinal and other side effects of procainamide. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1983) 33, 565–576; doi:10.1038/clpt.1983.77
The rate of convergence of the virial and related series

Abstract A comparative study of the rate of convergence of twelve different virial-type series, interrelating the pressure, density, and activity of a fluid, is presented. Several model fluids are used to analyze the effects of the temperature, of the long- or short-range character of the intermolecular forces, and of the dimensionality of the fluid on the rate of convergence of such series. It is found that the rates differ greatly from one sries form to another. The use of the appropriate series form can improve the convergence behavior even beyond that of other techniques of acceleration such as the Pade approximants. Particularly, the series expansion of the logarithm of the fugacity coefficient, or of the logarithm of the compressibility factor, converges much faster than the more conventional expansions of the fugacity and of the pressure, respectively.
Manifold learning for compression and generalization of Euclidean invariant signatures of surface shapes

We introduce an approach to the efficient recognition of families of surface shapes in range images. This builds upon earlier work on Tripod Operators (TOs), a method for extracting small sets of N points from 3D surface data in a canonical way such that coordinate independent shape descriptions can be efficiently generated and compared. Using TOs, a specific surface shape generates a signature which is a manifold of dimension ≤ 3 in a feature space of dimension d = N - 3. A runtime application of a TO on surface data generates a d-vector whose distance from the signature manifold is closely related to the likelihood of a match. Ordnance identification is a motivating application. In order to use TOs for recognizing objects from large sets of known shapes, and families of shapes, we introduce the use of manifold learning to represent the signature manifolds with piecewise analytic descriptions instead of discrete point sets. We consider the example of generalizing the signatures of several artillery shells which are qualitatively the same in shape, but metrically different. This can yield a signature that is only slightly more complex than the originals, but enables efficient recognition of a continuous family of shapes.
On the subfamily Astatinae. Part IV. The South American species in the genus Astata Latreille

Ten South American species of Astata are keyed; all are described, discussed, and their relationships evaluated. A. alpaca , A. cosquin , A. bola , and A. vaquero are new to science. A. dimidiata Taschenberg and A. dispar Reed are synonymized under A. chilensis Saussure, and A. strigosa Kohl is synonymized under A.gigas Taschenberg.
Thermoelastic effects in brakes

Abstract A one-dimensional thermoelastic analysis is applied to the results of brake dynamometer experiments. The object is to determine if such an analysis can be used to predict the appearance of hot spots on the wheel surface. The results indicate that while the theory explains some of the experimental results, it is still far from quantitatively predicting the onset of hot spot behavior.
Sex differences in knee abduction during landing: a systematic review.

Background: Females suffer injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament at rates significantly higher than males. Frontal plane knee motion and load have been identified as major risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injury and in turn have been examined extensively.Methods: A systematic review of MEDLINE, CINHAL, and SportDISCUS was performed (1982–June 2010). Criteria for inclusion were the use of 3-dimensional analyses of frontal plane knee motion and moments during landing between males and females.Results: Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Sixty-three percent of included studies identified sex differences in knee abduction when landing across a variety of landing conditions.Conclusions: Females appear to land with increased knee abduction motion compared with males in most biomechanics studies.
Polymorphic radiation sensitivity of human natural killer activity: possible role of DNA strand breakage.

Abstract Natural killer (NK) activity of human mononuclear cells is sensitive to inhibition by radiation, under the control of polymorphic X linked genes. In order to define the mechanism of this inhibition, we have evaluated the ability of treatments known to damage DNA to inhibit NK activity. The alkylating agents streptozotocin (SZ) and N -methyl- N ′-nitro- N -nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were potent inhibitors of NK activity. Further, a specific competitive inhibitor of adenosine diphosphoribosyl polymerase (ADPRP), 3-aminobenzamide, was able to prevent inhibition by γ-radiation, UV radiation, and the two alkylating drugs, SZ and MNNG, suggesting the ADPRP, known to be activated by DNA strand breakage, mediates the inhibition by these treatments. NK activity of radioresistant subjects was somewhat more resistant to inhibition by SZ or UVR when compared to radiosensitive NK activity but neither of these treatments gave the clear phenotypic distinction of γ-radiation, suggesting that chemical strand breakage does not precisely model γ-radiation and also that the mechanism of UVR inhibition may differ from that of γ-radiation. These results indicate a role for activation of ADPRP in the inhibitory effect of UV and γ-radiation on human NK activity and suggest that the biochemical basis for polymorphism in the sensitivity of NK activity to γ-radiation will be found in the sensitivity to ADPRP activation or the level of activation of this enzyme, known to be the key to DNA repair.
Soundscape evaluations in two critical healthcare settings with different designs.

Intensive care units (ICUs) have important but challenging sound environments. Alarms and equipment generate high levels of noise and ICUs are typically designed with hard surfaces. A poor sound environment can add to stress and make auditory tasks more difficult for clinicians. However few studies have linked more detailed analyses of the sound environment to nurse wellbeing and performance. This study is aimed at understanding the relationships between objective acoustic measures and self-reported nurse outcomes. Two 20-bed ICUs with similar patient acuity and treatment models were tested: A recently built neurological ICU and a 1980s-era medical-surgical ICU. The medical-surgical ICU was perceived as louder, more annoying, and having a greater negative impact of noise on work performance, health outcomes, and anxiety as compared to the neurological ICU. Surprisingly, there were little differences between two ICU sound environments based on traditional overall noise measures. The objective differences b...
Branding the elite professional athlete through use of new media and technology: an interview with Ash De Walt

Current research in the area of sport marketing has provided new insight into the discussion concerning athlete brands. No longer are athletes simply of interest in areas of product endorsements; many are now considered powerful brands in their own right. Due to the relatively short careers of athletes, branding agencies specialising in the development and management of athlete brands have begun to market exclusive athlete branded content and entertainment. While superstars throughout the entertainment world have been of particular interest for some time, the extant literature on this topic has focused almost exclusively on the role of the athlete. However, very little is known about the role of the agency. This research adopts an expert interview methodology to explore the strategies employed by FusionSports, a marketing group specialising in digital athlete branding, in its effort to monetise the value of an athlete brand.
Step current response and the damping constant of an IMPATT diode

The transient characteristic of an IMPATT diode is described. Based on the results obtained, it can be shown that the damping constant of the diode can be easily determined from the characteristic of the dc response.
Developmental field defects: Coming together of associations and sequences during blastogenesis

We report on two patients with an unusual combination of multiple congenital anomalies including holoprosencephaly, encephalocele, and additional defects commonly observed in the VACTERL and schisis “associations.” One of the infants had a chromosome abnormality characterized by partial duplication and deletion of chromosome 18. VACTERL association was characterized recently as a primary developmental field defect (DFD) [Martinez-Frias et al., 1998: Am J Med Genet 76:291–296]. In some cases, sequences may also represent uncomplicated DFDs. We suggest that findings in both of these cases represent abnormalities of blastogenesis involving the primary field resulting in holoprosencephaly and VACTERL and schisis anomalies, and show that similar primary DFDs are causally heterogeneous. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Isolation and structure of the symmetrical disteroidal alkaloids cephalostatin 12 and cephalostatin 13

Abstract Re-examination of a Western Indian Ocean worm Cephalodiscus gilchristi has led to discovery of cephalostatins 12 and 13. Cephalostatin 12 ( 2 ) proved to be the first example of a symmetrical disteroidal alkaloid. Both new cephalostatins significantly inhibited growth of animal and human cancer cell lines.
Observer variability of tibial plateau slope measurement in 40 dogs with cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifle joints

Objective— To determine (1) the inter- and intraobserver variability in measurement of tibial plateau angle (TPA), (2) whether this inter- and intraobserver variability is related to the characteristics of the dog (age, size, and amount of degenerative joint disease [DJD]) and the experience level of the observer, and (3) the extent of any relationship between interobserver variability of TPA and the variability of the observers' selection of the specific cranial and caudal points along the tibial plateau. Study Design— Examination of tibial radiographs of 40 dogs clinically affected with a cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL)-deficient stifle joint. Methods— Eleven different observers, divided into 3 groups based on their level of experience with the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) technique, measured the TPA on all 40 radiographs on 5 different occasions. The degree of DJD present in the stifle joint was independently graded as an overall measure and then again as it specifically related to the cranial and caudal points along the tibial plateau. The total observed variabilities of the TPA were assessed with reference to interobserver differences, intraobserver differences, and among the groups of observers with respect to the different dog characteristics. Finally, the specific points selected on the radiographs were reexamined to determine whether any variability was present in cranial and caudal point selection. Results— The interobserver standard deviation of the TPA measurements for each dog was 0.8°, and the intraobserver standard deviation was 1.5°. The TPA measurements obtained by the 11 observers differed significantly from each other (P < .001); however, there was no significant difference of TPA among the different groups of observers (P= .67). There was no significant correlation observed between either the inter- or intraobserver variability and the dog characteristics. Specific point data and their relationship to the various variables of dog characteristics and inter- and intraobserver TPA variability revealed significant correlations only to the amount of DJD present at the caudal point (P= .001). Conclusions— Interobserver variation, but no significant group variation, was present. Overall DJD did not appear to be related to the variability in TPA angle measurement. Most of the interobserver variability was attributable to variability in horizontal point selection at both the cranial and caudal points and vertical point selection at the caudal point. It appears that degenerative changes that specifically obscure the points on the tibial plateau, especially at the caudal point, are responsible for most of the interobserver variation. Clinical Relevance— The desired postoperative TPA of 5° is dependent on a precise initial measure of TPA preoperatively. This study indicates that there is statistically significant interobserver variability with measurement of TPA, which, therefore, can result in a similar amount of variability with the final tibial plateau slope obtained postoperatively.
Separation of mixed red cell populations by using microbead columns

The methods available for separating mixed populations of red blood cells (RBCs) are not completely satisfactory. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of microbead columns for the separation of mixtures of RBCs of different blood groups. Suspensions of RBCs positive for nine different blood group antigens were mixed with RBCs lacking the antigen so that 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, or 25% of the antigen-positive RBCs were represented. After agglutination by the appropriate antiserum, the antigen-positive RBCs were separated from the antigen-negative RBCs by using microbead columns. The average recovery of the antigen-negative RBCs in the effluent of the columns of the 135 mixtures of RBCs tested was 83% ± 5% (mean ± SD). The absence of contaminating antigen-positive RBCs was established serologically and by flow cytometry. The procedure was effective in removing as little as 1% of antigen-positive cells from a mixture. Microbead columns offer a simple and efficient method for separating mixtures of RBCs for biochemical, clinical, and serologic studies.
Efficient Plasma Production in Low Background Neutral Pressures with the M2P2 Prototype

Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (M2P2) seeks the creation of a large-scale (10 km radius) magnetic wall or bubble (i.e. a magnetosphere) by the electromagnetic inflation of a small-scale (20 cm radius) dipole magnet. The inflated magnetosphere will intercept the solar wind and thereby provide high-speed propulsion with modest power and fuel requirements due to the gain provided by the ambient medium. Magnetic field inflation is produced by the injection of plasma onto the dipole magnetic field eliminating the need for large mechanical structures and added material weight at launch. For successful inflation of the magnetic bubble a beta near unity must be achieved along the imposed dipole field. This is dependent on the plasma parameters that can be achieved with a plasma source that provide continuous operation at the desired power levels of 1 to 2 kilowatts. Over the last two years we have been developing a laboratory prototype to demonstrate the inflation of the magnetic field under space-like conditions. In this paper we will present some of the latest results from the prototype development at the University of Washington and show that the prototype can produce high ionization efficiencies while operating in near space like neutral background pressures producing electron temperatures of a few tens of electron volts. This allows for operation with propellant expenditures lower than originally estimated.
Polymeric nanoparticles containing conjugated phospholipase A2 for nonviral gene delivery.

Polyethylenimine (PEI) was conjugated to phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in an effort to improve transfection efficiency. PLA2 was conjugated to PEI using EDC as a coupling reagent. The activity of enzyme in the conjugate was measured. DNA condensation ability of the conjugate to polymer was determined. The resultant nanoparticles were characterized by dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering. Two reporter genes were used to evaluate transfection efficiency in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) and human hepatoma (HepG2) cell lines. Conjugate was shown to retain PLA2 activity and its ability to condense plasmid DNA, resulting in nanoparticles of a similar size to native PEI. The results demonstrated at N/P ratios of 15 and 20 showed 13- and 8-fold increase in transfection efficiency, respectively, compared to the maximum transfection efficiency of PEI (N/P ratio of 5) in the whole range of N/P ratios tested, from 5 to 60 in HepG2 cells. Toxicity studies in HepG2 cells showed uncomplexed conjugate had similar tox...
Screening for Developmental Needs in Pediatric Populations: An Assessment of Primary Care Physicians in Northeast Ohio

Screening for Developmental Needs in Pediatric Populations: An Assessment of Primary Care Physicians in Northeast Ohio