cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology of vomiting in early pregnancy.

Factors associated with early pregnancy vomiting were investigated in 9098 first-trimester registrants in the Collaborative Perinatal Project. Vomiting in the absence of hyperemesis or gastroenteritis was noted in 56% of all women, and was more common among primigravidas (P = .002), younger women (P less than .001), women with less than 12 years of education (P less than .001), nonsmokers (P less than .001), and women weighing 77.1 kg (170 lb) or more (P = .003). Adjustment for confounders did not change these associations. Women reporting vomiting were less likely to experience miscarriage or stillbirth (P = .002) and delivery before 37 weeks' gestation (P = .004), but there was no difference in infant birth weight between mothers with and without vomiting (P = .48). Women who vomit in one pregnancy are more likely to vomit in subsequent pregnancies than are comparable women who did not vomit.
COSMIC ORIGINS SPECTROGRAPH OBSERVATIONS OF TRANSLUCENT CLOUDS: Cyg OB2 8A*

Data from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) are presented for the first highly reddened target (Cyg OB2 8A) under the COS Science Team's guaranteed time allocation. Column densities of ionic, atomic, and molecular species are reported and implications are discussed. Data from Cyg OB2 8A demonstrate the ability to analyze highly reddened interstellar sight lines with the COS that were unavailable to previous UV instruments. Measured column densities indicate that the Cyg OB2 8A line of sight contains multiple diffuse clouds rather than a dominant translucent cloud.
Rapid synthesis of block and cyclic copolymers via click chemistry in the presence of copper nanoparticles

A new method for the rapid and efficient coupling of homopolymers to yield diblock and triblock copolymers as well as cyclic polymers using the 3 þ 2 p Huisgen copper cata- lyzed cycloaddition reaction has been developed. This facile method utilizes commercially available Cu nanoparticles that are tolerant to O2, easily removable and recyclable.
A study on musical conducting robots and their users

Robots have started their adventure in the music conducting world recently, though music conducting is an art that takes years of experience and practice for human conductors. This paper presents our primary study on robotic conductors. This study includes the development of simple and affordable conducting robots, and the investigation of human-robot interaction for the specialized group of orchestra musicians. Our study has shown both encouraging and promising results for the application of conducting robots and robots' interaction with musicians.
Deep convective clouds at the tropopause

Abstract. Data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the EOS Aqua spacecraft each day show tens of thousands of Cold Clouds (CC) in the tropical oceans with 10 μm window channel brightness temperatures colder than 225 K. These clouds represent a mix of cold anvil clouds and Deep Convective Clouds (DCC). This mix can be separated by computing the difference between two channels, a window channel and a channel with strong CO2 absorption: for some cold clouds this difference is negative, i.e. the spectra for some cold clouds are inverted. We refer to cold clouds with spectra which are more than 2 K inverted as DCCi2. Associated with DCCi2 is a very high rain rate and a local upward displacement of the tropopause, a cold "bulge", which can be seen directly in the brightness temperatures of AIRS and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) temperature sounding channels in the lower stratosphere. The very high rain rate and the local distortion of the tropopause indicate that DCCi2 objects are associated with severe storms. Significant long-term trends in the statistical properties of DCCi2 could be interesting indicators of climate change. While the analysis of the nature and physical conditions related to DCCi2 requires hyperspectral infrared and microwave data, the identification of DCCi2 requires only one good window channel and one strong CO2 sounding channel. This suggests that improved identification of severe storms with future advanced geostationary satellites could be accomplished with the addition of one or two narrow band channels.
A reliability study with infrared imaging of thermoelectric modules under thermal cycling

Thermoelectric (TE) modules undergo performance degradation and mechanical failure due to thermal cycling. In the present study, TE modules are subjected to thermal cycling, and the thermoelectric performance is evaluated at periodic intervals. Both the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, and the individual components of ZT are measured at each interval. The thermopower and thermal conductivity are measured using steady state infrared microscopy, and the electrical conductivity and ZT are evaluated using a variation of the Harman technique. These properties are tracked over many cycles until device failure. Critical failure occurred after 45,000 thermal cycles, and the mechanical failure of the TE module is analyzed using high-resolution infrared microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. These results quantify the effect of thermal cycling on a commercial TE module performance and provide insight into the packaging of a complete TE module for reliable operation.
Transformational Learning and Third-Wave Feminism as Potential Outcomes of Participation in Women's Enclaves

The focus of this study is on transformative learning in women's enclaves. Women's enclaves have been shown to be sites of sustaining deep relationships that initiate change in meaning perspective ...
Fluoxetine increases the content of neurotrophic protein S100β in the rat hippocampus

Recent studies indicate that a protracted daily administration of the antidepressant fluoxetine to adult rats increases cell proliferation/neurogenesis in the hippocampus. It has been hypothesized that this action of fluoxetine might be mediated by neurotrophic factors. We hypothesized that glial S100β could be such a factor, and using quantitative Western immunoblotting, we investigated the effect of a 21-day treatment of rats with fluoxetine (5 mg/kg), and found that fluoxetine increases the content of hippocampal S100β.
Access to Medicines and the Transformation of the South African State: Exploring the Interactions of Legal and Policy Changes in Health, Intellectual Property, Trade, and Competition Law in the Context of South Africa's HIV/AIDS Pandemic

Access to essential medicines remains highly contested around the globe and a vital issue in South Africa. At the same time, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the demand for medical services are having important political and social consequences in a society heavily impacted by the pandemic. Legal and institutional changes within the postapartheid state in South Africa are in part a reflection of the interaction of opportunities and constraints both within and across the country's geographical boundaries. The transformation of state institutions in this context has been set in motion and shaped by different policy imperatives: from demands for medical care to the promotion of economic competition and the need to implement international trade commitments, including specific levels of intellectual property protection. Despite a strong commitment to social change, to address the legacies of apartheid, as well as the relative strength and political will of the dominant political party, the African National Congress, the transformation of a number of state institutions was significantly framed by the global environment in which the country found itself. In the context of South Africa's democratic transition and the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic, the state responded to a range of shifting opportunities and constraints, whether real or perceived. As a result, impetus was given to different policies and competing political and economic factions, enabling particular institutions and rules to be embraced, created, reshaped, or simply foregone.
Performance of a K-band superconducting gap-coupled microstrip antenna

Superconducting circular gap-coupled antennas at 26 GHz have been designed and fabricated on lanthanum aluminate substrate using a YBCO high-temperature superconducting thin film. The efficiencies and far-field antenna patterns have been measured and are compared with an identical antenna patterned with gold. The experimental far-field patterns agree well with published models, and efficiency measurements show a maximum improvement of 9% at 20 K in the efficiency of the HTSC antenna when compared to the gold antenna at the same temperature. Surface wave efficiency approximations show that the performance of these antennas is limited by surface wave losses. >
Why Is Visual Search Superior in Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study investigated the possibility that enhanced memory for rejected distractor locations underlies the superior visual search skills exhibited by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We compared the performance of 21 children with ASD and 21 age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children in a standard static search task and a dynamic search task, in which targets and distractors randomly changed locations every 500 ms, precluding the use of memory in search. Children with ASD exhibited overall faster reaction time (RT) relative to TD children, and showed no disruption in search efficiency in the dynamic condition, discounting the possibility that memory for rejected distractors augments their visual search abilities. Analyses of RT x set size functions showed no group differences in slopes but lower intercepts for the ASD group in both static and dynamic search, suggesting that the ASD advantage derived from non-search processes, such as an enhanced ability to discriminate between targets and distractors at the locus of attention. Eye-movement analyses revealed that the ASD and TD groups were similar in the number and spatial distribution of fixations across the search array, but that fixation duration was significantly shorter among children with ASD. Lower intercepts in static search were related to increased symptom severity in children with ASD. In summary, ASD search superiority did not derive from differences in the manner in which individuals with ASD deployed their attention while searching, but from anomalously enhanced perception of stimulus features, which was in turn positively associated with autism symptom severity.
Imaging performance of telescope mirrors for far-ultraviolet astronomy.

We describe image testing, surface metrology, and modeling of telescope mirrors ~0.5 m in diameter, fy4.3! for the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer ~FUSE! satellite. Laboratory image testing of wavelengths in the visible, vacuum, and midultraviolet validated a theoretical analysis by use of the Optical Surface Analysis Code ~OSAC!. Our modeling is based on surface metrology, including measurements of figure, midfrequency error, and microroughness. This combination of metrology, out-of-band performance testing, and modeling verified that the mirrors would meet mission requirements. We use OSAC to predict the FUSE telescope’s far-ultraviolet ~90 ‐120-nm! point-spread function and assess its effect on instrument efficiency. The mirrors have a 90% encircled energy diameter of 1.5 arc sec at l5 100 nm. Including the effects of spacecraft pointing error, the mirrors have a predicted average slit transmission at l5 100 nm of approximately 87% and 96% for the 1.25- and 4-arc sec-wide spectrograph slits, respectively, where the required transmissions are 50% and 95%. © 2000 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 110.6770, 120.4800, 220.4840, 260.7210, 120.3940, 110.2960.
A methodology for fast vector based power supply and substrate noise analyses

Noise injection patterns very much depend on application scenarios. In this paper we propose a CAD methodology for a fast vector based power supply and substrate noise analyses. The proposed flow takes the switching events from a gate-level simulation and computes the time domain power/ground and substrate noise waveforms. The noise signatures are then combined with the respective extracted power supply and substrate network of the chip for a comprehensive analyses. Novel reduction techniques have been explored to achieve faster run times while maintaining good accuracy. Results of the flow can also be used for several other analyses like clock tree jitter, critical paths etc. In the end we present a case study where this method has been applied.
Redefining collaboration through the creation of World Wide Web sites

The paper argues that virtual communication spaces such as the World Wide Web (WWW) offer unique opportunities for collaboration within technical writing classrooms. Three common types of project scenarios are identified, along with the discourse communities and collaborative relationships that are supported and emphasized by each project scenario. A technical writing assignment is described that emphasizes the benefits of students collaborating within the WWW, an emerging, real world discourse community. In describing this assignment, we redefine collaboration to include activities used by WWW site developers and designers.
Highly Accurate Blind Carrier Frequency Offset Estimator for Mobile OFDM Systems

For orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication systems, the orthogonality among subcarriers is lost in mobile applications due to frequency offset resulting from either transmitter-receiver local oscillator differences or Doppler shift caused by mobility. As a direct result, inter-carrier interference (ICI) is observed on each and every subcarrier, leading to significant performance degradation. There are a lot of OFDM carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation schemes classified as data aided estimation and blind estimation. Due to the system power and high bandwidth efficiencies, blind estimators have received a lot of attention recently. Many blind CFO schemes were proposed for OFDM systems, some of which are based on power spectrum smoothing, kurtosis-type cost functions and minimum output variance. In this paper, we propose a novel blind CFO estimator based on Minimum Reconstruction Error (MRE). In contrast to other blind CFO estimators, the proposed technique can be used for any constellation schemes, does not require a large number of blocks to reach acceptable estimation error and provides reliable estimation performance with very low mean square error (MSE). Simulation results in AWGN and multi-path fading channels confirm that performance of the proposed highly accurate blind CFO estimator is superior when frequency offset or time variation occurs in the channel - the proposed technique outperforms most existing blind CFO estimation methods.
Methane dynamics in porous xerogels characterized by small-angle and quasielastic neutron scattering

Abstract The melting behavior of methane adsorbed in a porous silica xerogel has been examined by quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) from 20 to 115 K. The methane dynamics indicate a heterogeneous xerogel surface with a distribution of rotational and translational diffusion barrier heights from 0.17 to 2.1 kJ/mole. The QENS elastic intensity structure factor indicates that rotational diffusion occurs about a C 2 molecular axis for methane adsorbed in the xerogel. Porous silica and aluminosilica xerogels have also been characterized by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and gas adsorption isotherm measurements to determine the porosity, pore size, and tortuosity of the pore network.
Imaging and Spectroscopy of the Helix Nebula: The Ring Is Actually a Disk

The structure and conditions within the Helix Nebula have been determined from emission-line images in Hβ, [O III], and He II and using spectra tracing a radial from the central star almost out to the northern boundary of the optical object. The nebula is approximately like a thick disk, rather than the torus suggested by low-ionization ions. The central region, previously thought to be a cavity, is filled with He+2 with a total gas density comparable to the main ring. The electron temperature in the outer part was determined from [N II] line ratios to be 9400 ± 200 K, while [O III] lines gave 11700 ± 700 K for the bulk of the main ring of intermediate-ionization material. The Hα/Hβ ratio is anomalously low in the central portion, suggesting that the electron temperature there is very high. The likely source of this elevated central temperature is heating by photoelectric electrons from grains mixed in with the nebular gas, since this process depends directly on the distance from the central star and becomes relatively more important than photoionization heating at the low nebular densities that apply for the helix. However, it is unlikely that the two-phase condition that can exist when photoelectric heating dominates has produced the cometary knots that freely populate this nearby planetary nebula.
Automatic determination of topological contacts in the presence of sensing uncertainties

A method for obtaining sufficient topological contact information from the current position/orientation data for the objects and geometric models involved, taking into account sensing uncertainties, is introduced. The information obtained can serve as a basis for further and more accurate extraction of the topological contact data using additional sensing means, such as vision and force/moment sensing. The aim is to achieve automatic recognition of unknown contact situations in spite of uncertainties. The method is discussed in detail for contacts between 2-D polygons and can be extended to 3-D polyhedra. The key idea is to discretize the continuous region of uncertain configurations of an object so that the topological contacts formed at those finite and discrete configurations constitute all possible contact situations taking into account uncertainties. To accomplish this, some general geometric constraints on the objects, which are easy to satisfy, are imposed. >
Assembly of functional CFTR chloride channels

The assembly of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) chloride channel is of interest from the broad perspective of understanding how ion channels and ABC transporters are formed as well as dealing with the mis-assembly of CFTR in cystic fibrosis. CFTR is functionally distinct from other ABC transporters because it permits bidirectional permeation of anions rather than vectorial transport of solutes. This adaptation of the ABC transporter structure can be rationalized by considering CFTR as a hydrolyzable-ligand-gated channel with cytoplasmic ATP as ligand. Channel gating is initiated by ligand binding when the protein is also phosphorylated by protein kinase A and made reversible by ligand hydrolysis. The two nucleotide-binding sites play different roles in channel activation. CFTR self-associates, possibly as a function of its activation, but most evidence, including the low-resolution three-dimensional structure, indicates that the channel is monomeric. Domain assembly and interaction within the monomer is critical in maturation, stability, and function of the protein. Disease-associated mutations, including the most common, DeltaF508, interfere with domain folding and association, which occur both co- and post-translationally. Intermolecular interactions of mature CFTR have been detected primarily with the N- and C-terminal tails, and these interactions have some impact not only on channel function but also on localization and processing within the cell. The biosynthetic processing of the nascent polypeptide leading to channel assembly involves transient interactions with numerous chaperones and enzymes on both sides of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.
BIPARTITE EXPANDER MATCHING IS IN NC

A work-efficient deterministic $\mathcal{NC}$ algorithm is presented for finding a maximum matching in a bipartite expander graph with any expansion factor β > 1. This improves upon a recently pres...
Carbon Activation for Hampering Oligomerization of Phenolics in Multicomponent Systems

The effectiveness of activated carbon sample (Carbonexp) prepared by KOH chemical activation in hampering oligomerization of multicomponent adsorption was systematically examined. Anoxic (absence of molecular oxygen) and oxic (presence of molecular oxygen) adsorption isotherms of single-solute (2,4-dimethylphenol), binary solute (2-methylphenol/2,4-dimethylphenol), and ternary solute (phenol/2-methylphenol/2,4-dimethylphenol) were studied, using Carbonexp and commercial granular activated carbon F400. Both binary solute adsorption and ternary solute adsorption on Carbonexp indicated no impact of the presence of molecular oxygen on the adsorptive capacity. No significant differences between oxic and anoxic environment were noticed for any multicomponent adsorption systems, which indicated the effectiveness of Carbonexp in hampering the oligomerization of phenolic compounds. On the other hand, in F400, which has lower microporosity and acidic functional groups, significant increases in the adsorptive capacity had been observed when molecular oxygen was present.
Swift increase in alcohol metabolism (SIAM): understanding the phenomenon of hypermetabolism in liver

The swift increase in alcohol metabolism (SIAM) is a phenomenon defined as a rapid increase in hepatic respiration and alcohol metabolism after administration of a bolus dose of alcohol. Continuous exposure to alcohol is known to produce adaptive changes in liver alcohol and oxygen metabolism. A considerable burst of hepatic respiration can also occur after administration of a single large dose of alcohol and results in a near doubling of alcohol metabolism, a high demand for oxygen, and downstream or pericentral hypoxia. These dramatic changes in rates of alcohol metabolism and tissue concentrations of oxygen are not due to induced enzyme activity in liver. This phenomenon depends on activation of mitochondrial function, an increase in co-factor supply for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent alcohol metabolism, depletion of glycogen reserves, liberation of fatty acids through activation of an adrenergic response to alcohol providing substrate for catalase, and activation of Kupffer cells, the hepatic resident macrophages responsible for production of cytokines and prostaglandins. An understanding of the mechanisms of hypermetabolism in liver can have vital ramifications for knowledge of both alcohol-related and alcohol-unrelated liver injury because hypoxia that is a result of hypermetabolism can compound effects of pharmaceuticals and environmental agents on the liver. Swift increase in alcohol metabolism is an excellent example of the complexity of cell-cell interactions in liver and extrahepatic regulation of biochemical and molecular events in this organ, and this important phenomenon shall be considered in studies of liver disease and biochemistry.
One-Center Electron Repulsion Integrals for Slater and Gaussian Orbitals

One-center electron repulsion integrals can always be evaluated analytically,1,2 if desired, whether Slater or Gaussian orbitals are used, but the formulas can be put in a number of algebraic forms. While making some modifications in an atomic self-consistent-field program3, I derived integral formulas in an improved form which I had not seen elsewhere.
Incorporation of aged dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by oceanic particulate organic carbon (POC) : An experimental approach using natural carbon isotopes

Incorporation of 14 C-depleted (old) dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on/into particulate organic carbon (POC) has been suggested as a possible mechanism to explain the low D 14 C-POC values observed in the deep ocean [Druffel, E.R.M., Williams, P.M., 1990. Identification of a deep marine source of particulate organic carbon using bomb 14 C. Nature, 347, 172–174.]. A shipboard incubation experiment was performed in the Sargasso Sea to test this hypothesis. Finely ground dried plankton was incubated in seawater samples from the deep Sargasso Sea, both with and without a biological poison (HgCl2). Changes in parameters such as biochemical composition and carbon isotopic signatures of bulk POC and its organic compound classes were examined to study the roles of sorptive processes and biotic activity on POC character. Following a 13-day incubation, the relative abundance of the acid-insoluble organic fraction increased. Abundances of extractable lipids and total hydrolyzable amino acids decreased for both treatments, but by a greater extent in the non-poisoned treatment. The D 14 C values of POC recovered from the non-poisoned treatment were significantly lower than the value of the unaltered plankton material used for the incubation, indicating incorporation of 14 C-depleted carbon, most likely DOC. The old carbon was present only in the lipid and acid-insoluble fractions. These results are consistent with previous findings of old carbon dominating the same organic fractions of sinking POC from the deep Northeast Pacific [Hwang, J., Druffel, E.R.M., 2003. Lipid-like material as the source of the uncharacterized organic carbon in the ocean? Science, 299, 881–884.]. However, the D 14 C values of POC recovered from the poisoned treatment did not change as much as those from the non-poisoned treatment suggesting that biological processes were involved in the incorporation of DOC on/into POC. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Collaborated Online Change-Point Detection in Sparse Time Series for Online Advertising

Online advertising delivers promotional marketing messages to consumers through online media. Advertisers often have the desire to optimize their advertising spending and strategies in order to maximize their KPI (Key performance indicator). To build accurate ad performance predictive models, it is crucial to detect the change-points in historical data and therefore apply appropriate strategies to address the data pattern shift. However, with sparse data, which is common in online advertising, online change-point detection often becomes challenging. We propose a novel collaborated online change-point detection method in this paper. Through efficiently leveraging and coordinating with auxiliary time series, it can quickly and accurately identify the change-points in sparse and noisy time series. Simulation studies as well as real data applications have demonstrated its effectiveness in detecting change-point in sparse time series and therefore improving the accuracy of predictive models.
TACHYCARDIA IN A 60-YEAR-OLD MAN

A 60-year-old man was seen for evaluation of intermittent palpitation. For the preceding three weeks he had noted periods of rapid heartbeat that occurred every few days and lasted most of the day. He had noticed it more often when he was at rest than during activity. He had not had chest pain, dyspnea, or other symptoms.There was no history of heart disease or cardiac symptoms. However, during the preceding Ave years his blood pressure had ranged from 150 to 160 mm Hg systolic and from 85 to 90 mm Hg diastolic, and his total serum cholesterol had ranged from 215 to 235 mg/dL. He was not a smoker.The patient was slightly obese and appeared to be healthy and in no acute distress. His pulse was 147 beats per minute and regular, blood pressure was 165/95 mm Hg, respirations were 18 per minute, and temperature was 37.1°C. His skin was warm and dry. The thyroid was impalpable. The jugular venous pressure was normal, the lungs were clear to percussion and auscultation, and the cardiac examination was unremarkab...
Larvae of Some Arizona Species of Phyllophaga (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Larvae of Phyllophaga (Phyllophaga) beckeri Moser, bilobatata Saylor, ignava Horn, latidens Schaeffer, lenis Horn, lobata Fall, pallida (Horn), sonora Saylor, and vetula Horn are described and figured, all but vetula for the first time. Larvae of 13 species of Phyllophaga (Listrochelus) are placed in a key to the larvae of the known Arizona species on a group basis. Greater diversity is indicated for the larvae of both subgenera than has been reported previously.
Abstract 4730: Exploring the nature of prostate cancer SNP associations: Results from the NCI Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3)

Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 35 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with prostate cancer risk. In order to characterize the associations by disease aggressiveness (stage and tumor grade) and to investigate gene-environment and gene-gene interactions that might increase our understanding of prostate cancer etiology, we genotyped 29 SNPs in 9,067 prostate cancer cases and 9,188 controls from the NCI Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3). We confirmed prostate cancer associations for all SNPs (P-values ranging from 0.03 to 10 −26 ) and found no evidence that the SNPs are differentially associated with aggressive and non-aggressive disease. We further tested each SNP for effect modification by age and family history. One SNP, rs6983267, showed a significant non-multiplicative interaction with age (P=7.3[[Unable to Display Character: ∙]]10 −5 ) where a stronger risk association was observed in younger men. We observed no interaction between SNPs and family history. The prospective nature of cohorts allowed us to explore possible gene-environment interactions with environmental factors such as smoking, alcohol and BMI that have been inconsistently related to prostate cancer, and we hypothesized that hidden gene-environment interactions might explain previous weak associations. We observed no interaction between the SNPs and these factors. In addition, we found no evidence of SNP-SNP interactions (epistasis). Our findings for established prostate cancer SNPs did not differ across prostate cancer clinical subtypes, and we observed no significant gene-environment interactions. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4730.
Spontaneous Reconstitution of Bovine Rhodopsin into Artificial Membranes

Rhodopsin is a canonical G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is responsible for vision in dim light. It has the potential to serve as a high-fidelity, light-sensing molecular switch for a broad range of nanotechnologies. Previous studies revealed that the photoactivity of rhodopsin depends critically on the native lipid bilayer environment surrounding this membrane protein [1-3]. It is not yet clear how artificial membranes in synthetic systems would affect the activity of rhodopsin [4], and recent study suggests that membrane moduli may play important roles [4, 5]. Partially this uncertainty is due to the fact that it is experimentally challenging to prepare rhodopsin-supporting artificial proteomembranes with systematically varied membrane chemistry and physical properties. Here we show that bovine rhodopsin can be spontaneously reconstituted into a series of well-defined artificial membranes, including both lipid-based (i.e., liposome) and polymer-based (i.e., polymersome) membranes, via a charge-interaction-directed reconstitution (CIDR) mechanism [5, 6]. Using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we show that n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside solubilized bovine rhodopsin is reconstituted spontaneously to form 2-D proteomembrane arrays, which in turn are coupled along the trans-membrane direction to form a 3-D multilamellar structure. The lamellar periodicity is ∼5.7 nm, which matches closely the transmembrane dimension of rhodopsin. Using time-resolved UV-visible spectroscopy, we are currently examining the photoactivity of embedded bovine rhodopsin, and its dependency on the surface charge states and membrane moduli of the artificial membrane. [1] M. F. Brown (1997) Curr. Top. Membr. 44, 285-356. [2] A.V. Botelho et al. (2006) Biophys. J. 91, 4464-4477. [3] A.V. Struts et al. (2014) Meth. Mol. Biol. (in press). [4] V. Subramaniam et al. (2005) JACS 127, 5320-5321. [5] L.J. Kuang et al. (2014) ACS Nano 8, 537-545. [6] D.B. Hua et al. (2011) JACS 133, 2354-2357.
Essence and Accident

The notions of essence and accident play important and unobjectionable roles in pre-analytic or pre-philosophical thought and discourse. These roles are familiar, and need no elaboration here. Philosophers cannot ignore them, but must either explain them or (somehow) explain them away. My interest is in explaining them.
Brachytherapy for malignancies of the vagina in the 3D era

Vaginal cancer is an uncommon malignancy and can be either recurrent or primary. In both cases, brachytherapy places a central role in the overall treatment course. Recent technological advances have led to more advanced brachytherapy techniques, which in turn have translated to improved outcomes for patients with malignancies of the vagina. The aim of this manuscript is to outline the incorporation of modern brachytherapy into the treatment of patients with vaginal cancer including patient selection along with the role of brachytherapy in conjunction with other treatment modalities, various brachytherapy techniques, treatment planning, dose fractionation schedules, and normal tissue tolerance.
Migrating spike complex in the small intestine of the fasting cat.

This study characterizes the migrating spike complex (MSC) in the small intestine of the awake fasting cat and compares the MSC with interdigestive activity in the small intestine of other species. Electrical activity in each of 12 cats with implanted electrodes showed MSCs, bands of spike potentials which attenuated slow-wave frequency and amplitude as the MSCs progressed distally. MSCs occurred at variable frequency with intervals ranging from 5 h and averaged 51.2 +/- 2.8 (SE) min. MSCs migrated at 1-8 mm/s, accelerating distally; the duration decreased distally such that the length of the bowel in a burst (2-3 cm proximally) was conserved. The MSC was associated with an intense prolonged contraction of duration similar to that of the MSC. Sometimes the MSCs occurred in close association, and when an MSC period was < 5.7 min, the second MSC propagated at a slower rate than the first. Frequently, a brief series of slow wave-associated spikes preceded an MSC. MSCs were not associated with slow waves. The MSC differs in several respects from the migrating myoelectric complex of other laboratory animals and is more appropriately classified in a category that includes giant migrating spikes, prolonged propagated contractions, power contractions, and migrating action potential complexes.
Predicting the need for prolonged ventilatory support in adult cardiac patients

Forty-nine cardiac surgical patients had ventilatory function tests and measurements of maximum inspiratory (MIP) and maximum expiratory (MEP) pressures preoperatively. The differences between the values of various function tests were compared for patients requiring less than 24 hours of ventilator support and those requiring more than 24 hours. There was a significant difference in the mean values for the two groups in vital capacity (VC) first-second forced expired volume (FEV) midexpiratory flow between 50 and 75 (MMEF50-75) and 75-85 percent of expired volume (MMEF75-85), and MEP. The standard deviations of each of the variables were so large that the clinical usefulness was limited. However, when discriminant analysis was used for more than one variable, the combination of MMEF75-85 and MEP predicted success or failure to wean in 24 hours correctly in 90 percent of instances. On the basis of these simple tests, patients predicted to succeed should be weaned from ventilator support on recovery from anesthesia. Those predicted to fail should be placed on intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) and should be weaned following a planned, logical process.
Vijayanagara: the historical setting

The rulers and institutions of Vijayanagara forged a polity that drew on a two-millennium long tradition of state societies in South Asia. Political forms, sacred institutions, complex systems of production and exchange, and social institutions such as guilds and caste organizations all had a lengthy history in southern India, and any study of Vijayanagara must take into account this historical framework. While pre-existing structures did not limit the possibility for change, they did constrain the forms that changes could take and the range of choices available to individual actors and institutions. Like other domains, specialized craft production also had a long history in South India before the emergence of Vijayanagara. Producers belonged to hereditary occupational groups – castes and subcastes – that also carried enormous social and ideological weight. Many of the relations among craft producers and between producers and state institutions, temples, and merchants that we see as characteristic of the Vijayanagara thus had their roots in earlier developments. In this chapter, I present an historical overview of Vijayanagara – its dynastic history, and the political, economic, ideological, and social structures relevant to the study of Vijayanagara-period craft economies. Throughout the history of the Vijayanagara polity, the territories that the state could claim to rule were far from stable, and often even areas that nominally acknowledged Vijayanagara sovereignty were largely autonomous of its authority.
Tuning the Electronic Structure and Properties of Perylene-Porphyrin-Perylene Panchromatic Absorbers.

Light-harvesting architectures that afford strong absorption across the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared region, namely, panchromatic absorptivity, are potentially valuable for capturing the broad spectral distribution of sunlight. One previously reported triad consisting of two perylene monoimides strongly coupled to a free base porphyrin via ethyne linkers (FbT) shows panchromatic absorption together with a porphyrin-like S1 excited state albeit at lower energy than that of a typical monomeric porphyrin. Here, two new porphyrin–bis(perylene) triads have been prepared wherein the porphyrin bears two pentafluorophenyl substituents. The porphyrin is in the free base (FbT-F) or zinc chelate (ZnT-F) forms. The zinc chelate (ZnT) of the original triad bearing nonfluorinated aryl rings also was prepared. The triads were characterized using static and time-resolved optical spectroscopy. The results were analyzed with the aid of molecular-orbital characteristics obtained using density functional theory calculat...
Neoliberalism as Common Sense in Barack Obama’s Health Care Rhetoric

This essay explores the rhetorical qualities of neoliberalism through an analysis of economic and rhetorical theories of conventional wisdom and common sense. I analyze Barack Obama’s health care advocacy to demonstrate how neoliberal language animated his arguments for reform and frustrated his appeals to community. I argue that neoliberalism maintains its influence on political culture in large part because of its deep embeddedness in political language. The essay concludes with a discussion of how rhetors might operate within a culture marked by this prominent and often problematic discourse.
Illicit Partners and Political Development: How Organized Crime Made the State

Conventional approaches to the relationship between states and criminal groups depict it as one of corruption. However, this overlooks the developmental aspect of some state-criminal group relationships. This paper identifies the types of relationships states and criminal groups can have, and the conditions under which they collaborate to achieve political and economic developmental goals. I first develop a typology of state-criminal group relationships deductively. Then, using archival and secondary sources, I evaluate four cases, each representing a different type of state-criminal group relationship. I find that, though corruption exists to some degree in all cases, when states criminalize markets due to domestic pressure, they are more likely to challenge the criminal groups that emerge as a matter of policy. Furthermore, when states criminalize markets because of international pressure, they are more likely to collaborate with the criminal groups that develop. This collaboration can take the form of economic development or political consolidation. I conclude that criminal groups emerge as a by-product of the statebuilding process, and can be incorporated into that same process later.
Parametric structural shape & topology optimization with a variational distance-regularized level set method

Abstract The signed distance function (SDF) gives the shortest distance from a given point to the boundary, and the sign indicates whether this point is inside or outside the closed boundary or enclosed region. The SDF property is highly preferred in classical level set methods to maintain the numerical stability during the topology optimization process and provide a metric for the distance-based interpolation of different material properties. In conventional level set methods, a common way of achieving a level set function with the signed distance property is to periodically implement the so-called reinitialization scheme by solving an additional Hamilton–Jacobi partial differential equation. However, such reinitialization scheme is implemented outside the optimization loop with the optimization process suspended, which may shift the optimization result and bring convergence issues. In this paper, a double-well potential functional is employed for distance regularization inside the topology optimization loop, which can enforce the signed distance property of the level set function in a narrow band along the design boundaries while keeping the level set function flat in the rest area of the computational domain. The radial basis function (RBF) based parameterization technique is combined with mathematical programming to improve the performance of the proposed distance-regularized topology optimization method in handling problems with non-convex objective functions and multiple constraints. The flatness of the level set function in the material region also enables easy creation of new holes to the design in the topology optimization process. Both 2D and 3D benchmark examples are employed to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.
Temperature-dependent Development of Immature Carcinops pumilio (Coleoptera: Histeridae), a Predator of Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)

The development rates of the immature stages of Carcinops pumilio (Erichson), a predator on eggs and first instar larvae of the house fly, Musca domestica L. were determined at six constant tempera...
Reaction of the lung to air pollutant exposure.

Abstract Urban air pollutants, when administered to laboratory animals, adversely affect pulmonary structure and function. Effects include decrease in airway caliber, changes in lung elasticity, degeneration or destruction of tissue, and impaired pulmonary defense mechanisms. Urban dwellers subjected to pollutant exposures might incur similar health risks. The substances reviewed are: a) reducing pollutants — SO 2 and associated particulates and b) oxidizing (or photochemical) pollutants — NO 2 and O 3 .
Volumetric Structural Rejuvenation for the Male Face

Fillers and toxins are safe, quick, and require no downtime; the immediately visible results can boost a man's self-esteem, confidence, youthfulness, and sense of competitiveness in the personal and professional realms of the world. The approach to using these agents has changed from ironing out the skin to remove wrinkles and lines to a restructuring of the 3-dimensional face. This new strategy, volumetric structural rejuvenation (VSR), relies on intimate knowledge of facial anatomy and the pathophysiology of aging. It is of essence to know the key anatomic differences between the 2 sexes to avoid potential feminization.
On the 3-Kpc Arm: Waves Excited at the Resonance by an Oval Distortion in the Central Region

A relatively minor oval distortion in the central region of the Galaxy, turning at a representative angular pattern speed, can excite outgoing waves at the outer Lindblad resonance of that pattern speed. Associated with the density crest of these waves is fast-expanding gas flow. The physical basis of this phenomenon can be understood through a linear analysis. However, to explain the observed expanding velocity in the “3-kpc arm”, the non-linear theory must be used. In our calculations an oval distortion turning at 118 km s −1 kpc−1 with a perturbation of 10% of the mean gravitational field at the outer Lindblad resonance (located at 3 kpc in the present case) can generate an outgoing velocity of 53 km s−l at the first density crest of the wave (located at 3.6 kpc).
A RAPID AND SENSITIVE IMMUNOLOGICAL METHOD FOR IN SITU GENE MAPPING

ABSTRACT A method for in situ localization of specific DNA sequences has been developed which exploits the interaction between modified nucleotides and antibodies directed against the modification. Cloned sequences of Drosophila melanogaster DNA are nick translated in vitro in the presence of E. coli DNA polymerase I and an analogue of dUTP which contains a biotin molecule covalently linked to the C-5 position of the pyrimidine ring. The nick translated probe, with approximately 1–5% of its nucleotides containing biotin, is hybridized in situ , according to standard protocols, to Drosophila salivary gland chromosomes. After hybridization, the slides are incubated with monospecific rabbit anti-biotin immunoglobulins followed by FITC-goat anti-rabbit IgG. After counterstaining with Evans Blue, fluorescent yellow-green bands, corresponding to the map location of the cloned DNA are seen against a red fluorescent background of the salivary gland chromosomes. Methods for refining the system for use in localization of unique sequences on mammalian metaphase chromosomes are also discussed.
4-Hydroxy-7-oxo-5-heptenoic Acid Lactone Is a Potent Inducer of the Complement Pathway in Human Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells.

We previously discovered that oxidative cleavage of docosahexaenoate (DHA), which is especially abundant in the retinal photoreceptor rod outer segments and retinal pigmented endothelial (RPE) cells, generates 4-hydroxy-7-oxo-5-heptenoate (HOHA) lactone, and that HOHA lactone can enter RPE cells that metabolize it through conjugation with glutathione (GSH). The consequent depletion of GSH results in oxidative stress. We now find that HOHA lactone induces upregulation of the antioxidant transcription factor Nrf2 in ARPE-19 cells. This leads to expression of GCLM, HO1, and NQO1, three known Nrf2-responsive antioxidant genes. Besides this protective response, HOHA lactone also triggers a countervailing inflammatory activation of innate immunity. Evidence for a contribution of the complement pathway to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) pathology includes the presence of complement proteins in drusen and Bruch’s membrane from AMD donor eyes, and the identification of genetic susceptibility loci for AMD in...