cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intron—exon structures of eukaryotic model organisms

To investigate the distribution of intron-exon structures of eukaryotic genes, we have constructed a general exon database comprising all available intron-containing genes and exon databases from 10 eukaryotic model organisms: Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Gallus gallus, Rattus norvegicus, Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Aspergillus, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila. We purged redundant genes to avoid the possible bias brought about by redundancy in the databases. After discarding those questionable introns that do not contain correct splice sites, the final database contained 17 102 introns, 21 019 exons and 2903 independent or quasi-independent genes. On average, a eukaryotic gene contains 3.7 introns per kb protein coding region. The exon distribution peaks around 30-40 residues and most introns are 40-125 nt long. The variable intron-exon structures of the 10 model organisms reveal two interesting statistical phenomena, which cast light on some previous speculations. (i) Genome size seems to be correlated with total intron length per gene. For example, invertebrate introns are smaller than those of human genes, while yeast introns are shorter than invertebrate introns. However, this correlation is weak, suggesting that other factors besides genome size may also affect intron size. (ii) Introns smaller than 50 nt are significantly less frequent than longer introns, possibly resulting from a minimum intron size requirement for intron splicing.
Transient Radiation Transport in Participating Media Within a Rectangular Enclosure

This paper outlines the formulation of the two-dimensional transient radiation transport through a scattering‐ absorbing medium. The P1 approximation in a Cartesian coordinate system is invoked to simplify the transient radiative transfer equation because it is very complicated to solve in its general form. A boundary-driven radiative problem is considered in which the radiation intensities at some areas on a surface are modeled as boundary conditions and maintained at constant values in all angular directions.
A stoichiometric complex of neurexins and dystroglycan in brain.

In nonneuronal cells, the cell surface protein dystroglycan links the intracellular cytoskeleton (via dystrophin or utrophin) to the extracellular matrix (via laminin, agrin, or perlecan). Impairment of this linkage is instrumental in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies. In brain, dystroglycan and dystrophin are expressed on neurons and astrocytes, and some muscular dystrophies cause cognitive dysfunction; however, no extracellular binding partner for neuronal dystroglycan is known. Regular components of the extracellular matrix, such as laminin, agrin, and perlecan, are not abundant in brain except in the perivascular space that is contacted by astrocytes but not by neurons, suggesting that other ligands for neuronal dystroglycan must exist. We have now identified α- and β-neurexins, polymorphic neuron-specific cell surface proteins, as neuronal dystroglycan receptors. The extracellular sequences of α- and β-neurexins are largely composed of laminin-neurexin–sex hormone–binding globulin (LNS)/laminin G domains, which are also found in laminin, agrin, and perlecan, that are dystroglycan ligands. Dystroglycan binds specifically to a subset of the LNS domains of neurexins in a tight interaction that requires glycosylation of dystroglycan and is regulated by alternative splicing of neurexins. Neurexins are receptors for the excitatory neurotoxin α-latrotoxin; this toxin competes with dystroglycan for binding, suggesting overlapping binding sites on neurexins for dystroglycan and α-latrotoxin. Our data indicate that dystroglycan is a physiological ligand for neurexins and that neurexins' tightly regulated interaction could mediate cell adhesion between brain cells.
Dynamic heterogeneity and non-Gaussian behaviour in a model supercooled liquid

We use a recently derived reformulation of the diffusion constant (Stillinger and Debenedetti 2005 J. Phys. Chem. B 109 6604) to investigate heterogeneous dynamics and non-Gaussian diffusion in a binary Lennard-Jones mixture. Our work focuses on the joint probability distribution of particles with velocity v0 at time t = 0 and eventual displacement Δx at time t = Δt. We show that this distribution attains a distinctive shape at the time of maximum non-Gaussian behaviour in the supercooled liquid. By performing a two-Gaussian fit of the displacement data, we obtain, in a non-arbitrary manner, two diffusive length scales inherent to the supercooled liquid and use them to identify spatially separated regions of mobile and immobile particles.
National Transonic Facility model and model support vibration problems

Vibrations of models and model support system were encountered during testing in the National Transonic Facility. Model support system yaw plane vibrations have resulted in model strain gage balance design load limits being reached. These high levels of vibrations resulted in limited aerodynamic testing for several wind tunnel models. The yaw vibration problem was the subject of an intensive experimental and analytical investigation which identified the primary source of the yaw excitation and resulted in attenuation of the yaw oscillations to acceptable levels. This paper presents the principal results of analyses and experimental investigation of the yaw plane vibration problems. Also, an overview of plans for development and installation of a permanent model system dynamic and aeroelastic response measurement and monitoring system for the National Transonic Facility is presented.
Plasma Luteinizing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone and Prolactin During Pregnancy in the Mouse

Concentrations of LH, FSH and prolactin (PRL) were measured by radioimmunoassay throughout pregnancy (day of vaginal plug = day 0) in mice exposed to light for 14 hr (on between 0500–1900 hr). During the preimplantation period an increase in LH occurs, with a peak on day 3. Another peak appears during midpregnancy, with the greatest level of LH appearing on day 10 (37 ± 12 ng/ml). A comparable level was found only on the day of parturition. Levels of FSH were greatest on day 0 and on the day of parturition. FSH concentrations were low (<600 ng/ml) before implantation; after implantation the levels fluctuated between 550–900 ng/ml. Prolactin levels were low on day 0, fluctuated between 161–304 ng/ml from day 1 through 7, and reached their highest level on day 8 (396 ± 28 ng/ml). Levels then decreased to less than 130 ng/ml on days 9 through 16, rose on days 17 and 18, but decreased again on the day of parturition.Placental extracts were also assayed using the RIA for pituitary gonadotropins. Only a PRL-lik...
NONOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF BLADDER PERFORATION WITH SPILLAGE OF FORMALIN AFTER INTRAVESICAL INSTILLATION

The most frequent causes of severe bladder hemorrhage are radiation therapy, unresectable carcinoma of the bladder and cyclophosphamide therapy. Treatments have included vitamin E or estrogen administration, fulguration, urinary diversion, hypogastric artery ligation, 105-aminocaproic acid, hydrostatic pressure balloons, intravesical silver nitrate, aluminum or acetic acid and cystectomy.1 These treatments are often ineffective or associated with major morbidity. Intravesical instillation of formalin was first described by Brown in 1969.2 Since that time, the procedure has been effective in 70% to 100% of the cases, depending on the concentration of formalin used.1 In patients with severe, intractable hematuria formalin instillation is used as a last resort before major surgical intervention or when surgery is not an option. The procedure is generally considered safe and inexpensive but severe complications have been reported. We report a case of bladder perforation with extraperitoneal spillage of formalin after intravesical administration.
Recent developments in scattering theory

Recent progress in the development of curate asymptotic approximations to short-wavelength (semiclassical) scattering is reviewed. Complex angular momentum methods applied to Mie scattering have led to new insights into the diffraction effects associated with the standard critical situations in semiclassical scattering: near-forward diffractive scattering rainbow scattering glory scattering (forward and backward) and orbiting and resonance scauezing. A new diffraction effect near-critical scattering has also been treated. Tunneling plays an important role in all of these effects leading to a new conceptual picture of diffraction. 1.
Load sharing of the phases in 1080 steel during low-cycle fatigue

By means of X-ray diffraction, the stress response of the individual phases in a 1080 steel were measured. Specimens with pearlitic, spheroidal, and tempered martensitic microstructures were subjected to low-cycle fatigue and the stress-strain hysteresis loops were separated into components for the carbide and matrix phases. Calculations of the microstresses formed by differential plastic deformation of the matrix and inclusions accurately model the spheroidite. Measured microstresses in the pearlite are smaller than the predicted values, probably due to yielding of the cementite and limitations on modeling the morphology. Work-hardening rates associated with the microstresses also qualitatively agree with the measurements. The tempered martensite cyclically softens with fatigue loading. The increased plastic strain range in the tempered martensite with cyclic softening is accompanied by an increase in the microstresses. These microstresses are significantly larger than predicted.
PUMP-PROBE PHOTOTHERMAL LENS EXPERIMENT FOR MEASURING THE THERMAL DIFFUSIVITY COEFFICIENT OF ORGANIC SOLVENTS

We report on a pump-probe photothermal lens experiment aimed for the measurement of thermal diffusivity coefficient of organic samples in the CW regime. We show that when the probe beam is collimated and the pump beam is focused the time dependence of the signal does not depend on the sample position. This effect allows simple determination of the thermal diffusivity coefficient and its effective calibration using reference samples. We use this method to determine the thermal diffusivity of distilled water, methanol, chloroform, nitrobenzene and other organic solvents.
Plasma arginine correlations in trauma and sepsis

Arginine (ARG) is an amino acid (AA) with unique properties and with a key-role in the metabolic, immune and reparative response to trauma and sepsis. This study has been performed to characterize the correlations between plasma levels of ARG, of other AA and of multiple metabolic variables in trauma and sepsis. Two-hundred and sixty-three plasma amino-acidograms with a large series of additional biochemical and blood variables were obtained consecutively in 9 trauma patients who developed sepsis, undergoing total parenteral nutrition with dextrose, fat and a mixed AA solution containing 10.4% arginine. ARG was low soon after trauma, then it increased with increasing distance from trauma and with the development of sepsis. ARG was also directly related to the AA infusion rate (AAIR) and for any given AAIR, was lower after trauma than after the development of sepsis. ARG was also related directly to the plasma levels of most of the other AA, the best correlation being that with lysine (r2 = 0.81, p < 0.001). These correlations were often shifted downwards (showing lower ARG for any given level of the other AA) in measurements performed after trauma, compared to those performed after development of sepsis; this effect was more pronounced for the correlations with branched chain AA. Correlations between ARG and non-AA variables were not particularly relevant. The best simultaneous correlates of ARG, among variables involved in plasma ARG availability, were citrulline level, AAIR and urinary 3-methylhistidine excretion (accounting for the effect of endogenous proteolysis) (multiple r2 = 0.70, p < 0.001). Plasma ornithine (ORN), the AA more specifically linked to ARG metabolism, correlated with AAIR better than ARG and, for any given AAIR, was lower after trauma than after the development of sepsis. Correlations of ORN with other AA levels were poorer than those found for ARG, however ORN was directly related to white blood cell and platelet count, fibrinogen, transferrin, cholesterol and many AA clearances. These data show that changes in ARG in trauma and sepsis are correlated with changes in other AA and, within these correlations, reconfirm a tendency to lower ARG in trauma compared to sepsis. The strong correlation with lysine warrants a deeper assessment of the practical implications of interdependency between these two AA. The data also suggest that changes in plasma ORN in trauma and sepsis may reflect adequacy of AA substrate to support acute-phase and other synthetic processes.
A new factor in the Aedes aegypti immune response: CLSP2 modulates melanization

Microbial infections in the mosquito Aedes aegypti activate the newly identified CLSP1 and CLSP2 genes, which encode modular proteins composed of elastase-like serine protease and C-type lectin domains. These genes are predominantly regulated by the immune deficiency pathway, but also by the Toll pathway. Silencing of CLSP2, but not CLSP1, results in the activation of prophenoloxidase (PPO), the terminal enzyme in the melanization cascade, suggesting that CLSP2 is a negative modulator of this reaction. Haemolymph PPO activation is normally inhibited in the presence of Plasmodium parasites, but in CLSP2-depleted mosquitoes, the Plasmodium-induced block of melanization is reverted, and these mosquitoes are refractory to the parasite. Thus, CLSP2 is a new component of the mosquito immune response.
Exploiting ZigBee in Reducing WiFi Power Consumption for Mobile Devices

We present HoWiES, a system that saves energy consumed by WiFi interfaces in mobile devices with the assistance of ZigBee radios. The core component of HoWiES is a WiFi-ZigBee message delivery scheme that enables WiFi radios to convey different messages to ZigBee radios in mobile devices. Based on the WiFi-ZigBee message delivery scheme, we design three protocols that target three WiFi energy saving opportunities in scanning, standby and wakeup respectively. We have implemented the HoWiES system with two mobile devices platforms and two AP platforms. Our real-world experimental evaluation shows that our system can convey thousands of different messages from WiFi radios to ZigBee radios with an accuracy over 98 percent, and our energy saving protocols, while maintaining the comparable wakeup delay to that of the standard 802.11 power save mode, save 88 and 85 percent of energy consumed in scanning state and standby state respectively.
The promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) protein binds DNA in a high molecular weight complex associated with cdc2 kinase

A binding site selection from a CpG island library for the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF) identified two high affinity PLZF binding sites. These sequences also bound RARalpha/PLZF, a fusion protein formed in chromosomal translocation t(11;17)(q23;q21) associated with acute promyelocytic leukemia. PLZF bound DNA as a slowly migrating complex with an estimated mol. wt of 600 kDa whose formation was dependent on the POZ/dimerization domain of PLZF. The PLZF-DNA complex was unable to form in the presence of cdc2 antibodies. A PLZF-cdc2 interaction was further demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation and a biotin-streptavidin pull-down assay. PLZF is a phosphoprotein and immunoprecipi-tates with a cdc2-like kinase activity. The PLZF-DNA complex was abolished with the addition of a phosphatase. These studies suggest that the activity of PLZF, a regulator of the cell cycle, may be modulated by cell cycle proteins. RARalpha/PLZF did not complex with cdc2, this potentially contributing to its aberrant transcriptional properties and potential role in leukemo-genesis.
Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and hepatitis C viral kinetics during antiviral therapy: the null responder.

Our aim was to study the effect of ribavirin on viral kinetics and to study the early patterns of response to antiviral therapy of hepatitis C and their correlation with interferon pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of peginterferon alfa-2a with or without ribavirin in interferon naive patients with HCV genotype 1. HCV RNA levels were measured at frequent intervals during treatment together with serum levels of peginterferon alfa-2a and 2′5′oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS). Of 29 patients treated, 14 had a complete response at day 29 while 15 had a null response (less than 1 log decline in HCV RNA). There were no significant differences between complete and null responders with regard to gender, age, race, body mass index, HCV subtype, baseline HCV RNA levels, serum aminotransferase activities, stage of fibrosis, peak OAS, or interferon levels. Mean serum IFN levels at day 29 and OAS levels at day 3 were no different between complete and null responders (15,525 vs. 30,768 pg/ml and 2,044 vs. 2,323 pM/hr, respectively, P = n.s.). Addition of ribavirin to pegylated IFN did not significantly affect day 29 IFN levels or Day 3 OAS levels. In conclusion, null responders to either peginterferon alone or in combination with ribavirin have little or no decrease in serum HCV RNA early in therapy and rarely go on to achieve sustained virologic response and have no apparent host differences than complete responders, suggesting that interferon resistance in these patients may be virally rather than host-determined. J. Med. Virol. 78:446–451, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Psychosocial aspects of infertility and decisions about reproduction in young cancer survivors: a review.

Background Several types of cancer treatment interfere with male and female fertility or can complicate pregnancy. Rates of birth defects and cancer have also been studied in the offspring of cancer survivors. Little is known, however, about the impact of a history of cancer on survivors' attitudes, anxieties, and choices about having children of their own. Procedure We review the relevant literature on cancer survivor's concerns about infertility and childbearing and propose areas for future research. Results We generate several hypotheses, including that cancer survivors will be more distressed than infertility patients without a major medical disorder, that survivors diagnosed in adolescence will have the most anxieties about parenthood, that women will be more distressed over infertility and more concerned about their children's health than men, that survivors who rate their overall quality of life more negatively will be less concerned about infertility and more apt to decide to forego parenthood, that survivors of inheritable cancer syndromes will have more distress about childbearing issues than other survivors, and that survivors who do have children after treatment will perceive them more positively than do parents who have not confronted cancer. Conclusions Research on the emotional aspects of infertility after cancer and on the factors that influence survivors' decisions about having children assumes increasing importance with the growth in number of survivors of reproductive age. Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 33:53–59, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
History of Bolivian Archaeology: Max Portugal Ortiz

One of the continuing problems for students of the history of our discipline is the tendency for retrospectives to identify and discuss the same ‘big names’ in the field, as if these individuals were the only ‘players’ or ‘actors’ involved. Thus in Bolivia, for example, a list of prominent archaeologists working in the mid-20th century often gets limited to Europeans such as Stig Ryden and Heinz Walter, Americans such as Wendell C. Bennett and Alfred Kidder, and Bolivians such as Arturo Posnansky and Carlos Ponce Sangines. With respect to the in-country, Bolivian contributors, then, one comes away with the impression that the baton passed rather seamlessly from Posnansky to Ponce. There is a vibrant community of young archaeologists in La Paz, Bolivia, who have started new web-sites, new journals, new advanced degree programs, and even pushed through some ‘cultural resource management’ legislation. Two of these scholars, Carlos Lemuz Aguirre and Claudia Rivera Casanovas, are the new editors of the recently revived journal Nuevos Aportes. The first (and for many years only) issue of Nuevos Aportes came out in 1992. There thus has been nearly a fifteen year gap between that premier issue and the current issue No. 2. Utilizing new web-technology, this journal now is wholly a web-based publication, accessible through .
Advances in the Management of Treatment-Resistant Depression

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a prevalent, disabling, and costly condition affecting 1%–4% of the U.S. population. Current approaches to managing TRD include medication augmentation (with lithium, thyroid hormone, buspirone, atypical antipsychotics, or various antidepressant medications), psychotherapy, and ECT. Advances in understanding the neurobiology of mood regulation and depression have led to a number of new potential approaches to managing TRD, including medications with novel mechanisms of action and focal brain stimulation techniques. This review will define and discuss the epidemiology of TRD, review the current approaches to its management, and then provide an overview of several developing interventions.
A New Approach for the Analysis of Hyperspectral Data: Theory and Sensitivity Analysis of the Moment Distance Method

We present the Moment Distance (MD) method to advance spectral analysis in vegetation studies. It was developed to take advantage of the information latent in the shape of the reflectance curve that is not available from other spectral indices. Being mathematically simple but powerful, the approach does not require any curve transformation, such as smoothing or derivatives. Here, we show the formulation of the MD index (MDI) and demonstrate its potential for vegetation studies. We simulated leaf and canopy reflectance samples derived from the combination of the PROSPECT and SAIL models to understand the sensitivity of the new method to leaf and canopy parameters. We observed reasonable agreements between vegetation parameters and the MDI when using the 600 to 750 nm wavelength range, and we saw stronger agreements in the narrow red-edge region 720 to 730 nm. Results suggest that the MDI is more sensitive to the Chl content, especially at higher amounts (Chl > 40 mg/cm2) compared to other indices such as NDVI, EVI, and WDRVI. Finally, we found an indirect relationship of MDI against the changes of the magnitude of the reflectance around the red trough with differing values of LAI.
Suicidal behavior in patients with panic disorder : retrospective and prospective data

This paper examines factors associated with suicidal behavior in patients with anxiety disorders. HARP is a naturalistic, prospective, longitudinal follow-up study. This paper examines 527 subjects with panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia). 9% of the subjects reported past suicidal behavior. Factors associated with suicidal behavior were depressive disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, PTSD and personality disorders as well as having early onset of the first anxiety or depressive disorder. Subjects had a 4.5% P of suicidal behavior during the first 30 months of follow-up. All prospectively recorded suicidal behavior occurred in subjects with depressive disorders. In these panic disorder patients, suicidal behavior rarely occurred in the absence of affective disorders. Certain nondepressive disorders also substantially increased the risks of suicide attempts/gestures.
Simulation of the electroretinographic slow PIII component by injection of K+-free Ringer's solution in the frog retina

The light-induced hyperpolarization of the photoreceptor results in a decrease in extracellular potassium ion concentration, [K+]∘. A decrease in [K+]∘ in the photoreceptor layer was caused by injecting a small amount of K+ -free Ringer's solution in the isolated frog retina, and the distribution of the field potential as induced by K+ -free Ringer's solution was mapped. The depth profile of the response resembled that of the slow PIII component of the electroretinogram. These results support the notion that the slow PIII is generated by the Muller cells as they hyperpolarize in response to a light-induced decrease in [K+]∘ in the photoreceptor layer.
Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling of Heterogeneity in Multiple Contingency Tables: An Application to Behavioral Observation Data

Intervention studies often rely on microcoded data of social interactions to provide evidence of change due to development or treatment. Traditionally these data have been collapsed into small contingency tables. Such an approach can introduce spurious findings. Instead of treating each unit’s contingency table independently, or collapsing the tables into single aggregate table, it is more efficient to analyze associations in all units simultaneously using hierarchical models. This article presents Bayesian hierarchical models to analyze several two-way categorical data with random effects that allow different levels of variation across several events. To illustrate this approach, the authors present an analysis of couples’ interaction data from a recent study investigating how couples cope when one partner has become unemployed.
TRENDS IN PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY IMAGING

Much of the emergency imaging that is performed on infants and children parallels that performed on adults. A variety of conditions that are more common or unique in children must be considered, and in some cases the imaging diagnosis of such conditions requires a different approach. Immature development of the skeleton in children results in different types of injuries, and the incidence of certain types of illness, such as the various causes of abdominal pain and vomiting in children, can differ dramatically from those causing similar symptoms in adults. One must also consider the special challenges of imaging a young child in the emergency setting. This article presents current approaches to some of the common acute care dilemmas in the abdomen, chest, and skeleton of infants and children.
Intracellular bioconjugation of targeted proteins with semiconductor quantum dots.

We demonstrate controlled in vivo bioconjugation of a targeted intracellular protein to semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). Metal-affinity driven coordination of oligohistidine-appended proteins for chelated divalent cations was exploited to facilitate this interaction. Monomeric mCherry red fluorescent protein recombinantly engineered to express an N-terminal hexahistidine sequence was expressed from a eukaryotic plasmid vector following transfection into COS-1 cells. QDs solubilized with a carboxylated polymeric ligand and pretreated with Ni2+ were then microinjected into the mCherry-expressing COS-1 cells. Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the central QD donors and mCherry acceptors specifically coordinated to their surface was utilized to probe and confirm intracellular conjugate formation. We unexpectedly found that mCherry attachment to the QDs also substantially improves its resistance to photobleaching. This proof-of-concept, highlighting targeted intracellular bioconjugation to QDs, ...
Prospects for Pathogen Reductions in Livestock Wastewaters: A Review

Swine, cattle, poultry, and other commercial livestock can be infected by numerous pathogenic enteric microbes that are also infectious for humans. Livestock waste generated by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) therefore may contain human pathogens that can infect humans exposed to them during direct contact with livestock waste or media contaminated with the waste (e.g., surface water, ground water, food crops). This article reviews published literature related to the detection and inactivation of human pathogens in flushed livestock waste (i.e., “wastewater”). Physical, biological, chemical, and energetic treatment technologies are discussed, including research results demonstrating or indicating the potential efficacy of the treatment approaches for pathogen reductions in livestock wastewaters.
Southwestern Internal Medicine Conference: Cigarette Smoking and Lung Disease

Despite major changes in the patterns of cigarette consumption in the United States in the last two decades, cigarette smoking remains a widespread practice. Many studies show a strong association between cigarette smoking and chronic obstructive lung disease, but only recently have mechanisms been elucidated to explain this association, particularly in the case of emphysema. The exact mechanism of chronic bronchitis is less well defined. The mortality rate for lung cancer continues to increase in this country, particularly among women. Compelling evidence associates lung cancer with cigarette smoking, although animal models have not been very successful. Recently, concern has been raised about the effects of passive smoking. There are substantial data available to suggest that passive smoking results in pulmonary infections and abnormal pulmonary function in children of smokers. The data are less clear-cut for pulmonary functional impairment in adults and for lung cancer in the spouses of smokers. Although the concept of "safer" cigarettes has been widely accepted by the American public, these cigarettes may not be as safe as is widely assumed. Clearly, they are far inferior to total smoking cessation. Nevertheless, smoking cessation remains difficult for many Americans, despite a number of methods that have been used to help smokers quit. Nicotine chewing gum, which has recently become available for use in the United States, has shown some efficacy in helping well-motivated, nicotine-dependent smokers quit smoking. Although some inroads have been made into the occurrence of smoking related diseases in the United States, many unnecessary deaths continue to occur.
High-efficiency logarithmic spiral monochromator for X-ray fluorescence

Abstract A spiral mosaic crystal monochromator system has been designed for high-efficiency collection of X-ray fluorescence. This is especially well suited for X-ray holography measurements, where a weak fluorescence signal must be separated from a strong background. Calculations show that pyrolytic graphite curved to a logarithmic spiral has a dramatically increased angular acceptance compared to standard graphite monochromator designs. The collection efficiency per unit area of graphite is improved by a factor of 200 compared to sagittal focusing geometries, while maintaining the intrinsic graphite energy resolution.
Phytate × Calcium/Zinc Molar Ratios: Are They Predictive of Zinc Bioavailability?

The utility of the phytate/zinc and phytate × calcium/zinc molar ratios for predicting zinc bioavailability from processed soybean foods was investigated. Weight gain and bone zinc accumulation in rats fed various soy protein products were plotted against the calculated molar ratios. The phytate × calcium/zinc ratio was a better predictor of zinc bioavailability in similarly processed products than was the phytate/ zinc ratio. However, in some cases the phytate × calcium/zinc ratio was not effective since some processing procedures apparently altered binding of phytic acid to minerals and other food components.
Empirical selection of matching factors in matched-pairs and matched-blocks small-sample research designs

The problems of selection and proper use of factors on which treatment and control groups are to be matched are a matter of concern in all research design to control bias and increase power. In large-sample design, one does not lose by using even nonoptimal matching strategies. In small-sample design, use of factors not highly associated with outcome yields little control of bias, increases difficulties of implementing research, and can reduce power. These points are discussed and empirical strategies presented for aiding the researcher in selection and use of matching factors in small-sample research.
Stability of ferrons in antiferromagnets: the role of zero-point fluctuations

A free carrier of spin (1/2, placed in a Heisenberg antiferromagnet, may form a ferron, which is a quasiparticle in which the free carrier is surrounded by a localized region with a net magnetic moment. Type-I ferrons (core not fully saturated) are unstable in lattices with dimensionality D\ensuremath{\ge}2, although they are stable for Dl2, in mean-field theory. With D=2 in mind, we examine the influence of zero-point spin fluctuations on the stability of ferrons, to find they oppose the formation of type-I ferrons, although scaling relations for various contributions to the binding energy are unaffected. We comment on the possible relevance of these results to the high-${T}_{c}$ superconductors; the ground state for a single hole may be a type-II ferron (saturated core), if this picture is applied to these materials.
The dual pathway model differentiates bulimics, subclinical bulimics, and controls: Testing the continuity hypothesis

Although research suggests that the dual pathway model of bulimia predicts bulimic symptoms, it has not been applied to diagnostic levels of this disorder. This study first tested whether bulimics differed from controls on the variables composing this etiologic model. Second, because there is some debate as to whether the predictors of subclinical and clinical levels of eating pathology differ, this study also tested whether the variables composing the dual pathway model were able to differentiate subclinical bulimics from both controls and bulimics. Female bulimics, subclinical bulimics, and controls were compared on body mass, ideal-body internalization, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, perceived pressure to be thin, and negative affect. Bulimics reported elevated scores on all but one of the variables composing the dual pathway model, and subclinical bulimics differed from both controls and bulimics on most constructs. A discriminant function analysis indicated that the three groups lay along a single continuum. Results suggest that the dual pathway model applies to diagnostic levels of bulimia and support the continuity perspective of eating pathology.
5.0. Interface between mental and computer models

Abstract Mental and computer models are at the foundation of intelligent human decision, and they are intimately related. This section outlines the relation between these models, identifies major approaches to model development, and explores future evolution of model interactions.
Transcaval Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation for Severe Aortic Insufficiency

Transcatheter valve implantation for pure severe native aortic valve insufficiency (AI) without aortic stenosis has recently been described in a small series of inoperable or high-risk patients.1 We describe first transcatheter aortic valve replacement in a man using a novel caval-aortic approach in a high-risk patient with severe AI, who was deemed unsuitable for surgical aortic valve replacement. A 72-year-old man with severely dilated ischemic cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction, 20%) was admitted because of decompensated heart failure. A cardiac catheterization revealed nonobstructive coronary artery disease and severe (>4) AI. His Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 12.4% mainly because of age, low ejection fraction, New York Heart Association class IV, peripheral arterial disease, severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus on insulin, and chronic kidney disease stage 3. Given his aforementioned comorbidities, he was deemed high-risk candidate for surgical valve replacement. Because of severe peripheral arterial disease and maximum subclavian diameter <5 cm, he was not amenable for conventional transfemoral or subclavian arterial approach. He was, therefore, planned for transcaval retrograde transcatheter aortic valve replacement with 31-mm self-expandable Medtronic CoreValve ReValving system (Figures 1 and 2). An informed consent was obtained and the procedure was performed under general anesthesia with unfractionated heparin as anticoagulant. The procedural steps are described in Figures 3 to 5. At 6-month follow-up, echocardiogram showed trace AI with good valve position. The patient remained free from rehospitalization and noted a significant improvement in functional capacity. Figure 1. Preprocedure computed tomographic planning. A , Aortic annulus of 29.3 mm (perimeter 9.2 cm). B , Sinotubular junction of 30.4 mm and aortic root of 40.5 mm. Figure 2. Preprocedural computed tomography to determine caval-aortic entry site. …
What the Controversies Over the Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke Tell Us About the Debates Between Objectivists and Social Constructionists

Some social analyses of scientific knowledge are based on objectivist assumptions, whereas others assume that scientific knowledge is socially constructed. The condemna tion of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) by the antismoking movement affects the life of virtually every American and uncounted millions of others throughout the world. Investigators who argue that ETS causes lung cancer claim the influence, objectivity, and authority of scientific mquiry, whereas critics of the results of the investigations argue that the conclusion that ETS causes lung cancer is unwarranted. The present study uses this fascinating and important sociotechnical controversy to shed light on the debate between objectivists and social constructionists and reaches the conclusion that the condemnation of ETS is a deliberate social construction of an elite social movement that mixes advocacy with alleged objective inquiry. The tobacco industry has moved the dispute into the federal courts, and so the "truth" of the matter will ...
Why the self is empty: Toward a historically situated psychology.

This article presents a contextualized treatment of the current configuration of self, some of the pathologies that plague it, and the technologies that attempt to heal it. Of particular interest is the historical shift from the Victorian, sexually restricted self to the post-World War II empty self. The empty self is soothed and made cohesive by becoming "filled up" with food, consumer products, and celebrities. Its historical antecedents, economic constituents, and political consequences are the focus of this article. The two professions most responsible for healing the empty self, advertising and psychotherapy, find themselves in a bind: They must treat a psychological symptom without being able to address its historical causes. Both circumvent the bind by employing the life-style solution, a strategy that attempts to heal by covertly filling the empty self with the accoutrements, values, and mannerisms of idealized figures. This strategy solves an old problem but creates new ones, including an opportunity for abuse by exploitive therapists, cult leaders, and politicians. Psychology's role in constructing the empty self, and thus reproducing the current hierarchy of power and privilege, is examined.
Georges Bataille’s Laughter: A Poetics of glissement

This article traces back the origins of Georges Bataille’s philosophy to Henri Bergson’s Le Rire. It seeks to demonstrate that Bataille purposely shaped his philosophy into a ‘reader-unfriendly’ paradoxical writing in an effort to recreate the experience — described in Bergson’s book — of a child unsuccessfully trying to retain a wave. Bataille made his philosophy (heterologie) just like Bergson’s laughter: something impossible to grasp, slipping through our fingers like a wave in a child’s hand. To counteract the idea of sovereign truth, Bataille chose a world of glissement where he leads and misleads us, enticing us to fully commit to his words but letting us down the very moment we think we have him.
Current progress on genetic interactions of rice with rice blast and sheath blight fungi

Analysis of genetic interactions between rice and its pathogenic fungi Magnaporthe oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani should lead to a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of host resistance, and the improvement of strategies to manage rice blast and sheath blight diseases. Currently, dozens of rice resistance (R) genes against specific races of the blast fungus have been described. Among them, ten were molecularly characterized and some were widely used for breeding for genetic resistance. The Pi-ta gene was one of the best characterized rice R genes. Following the elucidation of its molecular structure, interaction, distribution, and evolution, user friendly DNA markers were developed from portions of the cloned genes to facilitate the incorporations of the Pi-ta mediated resistance into improved rice varieties using marker assisted selection (MAS). However, rice blast is still a major threat for stable rice production because of race change mutations occurring in rice fields, which often overcome added resistance based on single R genes, and these virulent races of M. oryzae pose a continued challenge for blast control. For sheath blight, progress has been made on the exploration of novel sources of resistance from wild rice relatives and indica rice cultivars. A major quantitative trait locus (QTL), named qSB9-2, was recently verified in several mapping populations with different phenotyping methods, including greenhouse methods. The ability to identify qSB9-2 using greenhouse methods should accelerate the efforts on the qSB9-2 fine mapping and positional cloning.
On the symmetry of L1 algebras of locally compact motion groups, and the Wiener Tauberian theorem

Abstract Let G be a locally compact motion group, i.e., it is a semidirect product of a compact subgroup with a closed abelian normal subgroup, the action of the compact subgroup on the other one being by conjugation. The main result of this paper is that the group algebra of such a group is symmetric. This result is then used to prove that a generalization of the Wiener-Tauberian theorem holds for such groups. Precisely, it is shown that every proper closed two-sided ideal in L1(G) is annihilated by an irreducible unitary representation of G, lifted to L1(G).
BRAF and c-kit gene copy number in mutation-positive malignant melanoma.

Summary Activating mutations in BRAF or c-kit have been reported in malignant melanoma. Because the activating mutations are dominant, it has been assumed that they are heterozygous in the affected tumors. To test this, we have carefully examined the DNA sequencing electropherograms on 43 BRAF mutation–positive and 3 c-kit mutation–positive malignant melanomas to determine the ratio of the normal to mutant allele. Of the 43 BRAF mutation–positive tumors, we classified 26 as presumptive heterozygous. Eight cases were indeterminate. Surprisingly, 9 cases appeared to contain an excess of the mutant allele. BRAF fluorescence in situ hybridization on these 9 cases suggested the increased amount of the mutant BRAF allele was due to amplification (2 cases) or chromosome 7 polysomy (7 cases). We have previously described the presence of the c-kit–activating mutation, L576P, in 2 of 100 malignant melanomas. In this report, we have evaluated an additional 53 cases and found 1 additional case that contained the L576P mutation. Evaluation of the DNA sequencing electropherograms from all 3 cases of L576P mutation–positive melanoma suggests a selective loss of the normal allele. Fluorescence in situ hybridization for c-kit on these 3 L576P mutation–positive tumors indicated that one showed slight amplification of the c-kit gene and the other 2 were present in a nonamplified diploid state. These results have important implications concerning the mechanism of oncogenesis in melanoma as well as in the response of the tumor to anticancer drugs targeting BRAF or c-kit.
The utility of maternal creatine kinase in the evaluation of ectopic pregnancy.

Abstract This investigation was designed to evaluate the utility of maternal creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in predicting the presence of an ectopic pregnancy (EP) in an emergency department (ED) setting. Twenty-one patients with the diagnosis of EP were randomly matched (1:1) with pregnant patients who subsequently ruled-out for EP. Serum CPK values at presentation were compared between the groups using two-tailed ANOVA, odds ratio, and frequency tables were generated using our a priori hypothesis that a serum CPK of > 70 mIU/dL may be useful as a predictor of EP. The mean serum CPK was 118mIU/dL in the EP group and 64 mIU/dL in the non-EP group ( P 70 mIU/dL) as a predictor of EP follows: sensitivity − 100% (80.8 to 100); specificity − 61.9% (38.7 to 81); PV(+) − 72.4% (52.5 to 88.6); PV(−) − 100% (71.7 to 100). We therefore conclude that a CPK level > 70 mIU/dL may serve as an important adjuvant diagnostic tool in ruling-out EP. (Am J Emerg Med 2000;18:695-697.
IMS Meridian Chain Workshop

Earth environment, encompassing the ionosphere, magnetosphere, and solar wind, is filled with dynamically varying plasma through which electric currents are continually flowing. Changes in the state of this system result in changes in its electrical current that can be monitored remotely through the magnetic perturbations they produce. For this reason it is common practice to use geomagnetic data obtained at the earth's surface to diagnose processes occurring in our plasma environment. In the first half of this century the pioneering work of K. Birkeland, soon followed by S. Chapman and H. Alfven, attempted to estimate the electric current system responsible for ground magnetic disturbances. Studies of ground-based magnetic records have been vital in understanding the processes occurring in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system, especially the growth and decay of the three-dimensional current distribution, which consists of ionospheric currents and field-aligned currents. In the past, studies on this subject were primarily based on the statistically obtained, so-called ‘equivalent’ current systems, which can be determined by assuming all currents flow in a spherical shell (i.e., the ionosphere) concentric with the earth. Owing to the significant improvement of the ground magnetic networks, as well as recent direct measurements of the field-aligned currents and electric field by satellites and radars, it is now possible to infer the three-dimensional current system over the polar region during individual magnetospheric substorms with a sufficient time resolution. Meanwhile, various numerical techniques have been developed to analyze global magnetometer data for the purpose of facilitating this inference. It has taken more than half a century to quantify these pioneering concepts of Birkeland, Chapman, and Alfven, although much improvement is still needed for better accuracy.
Systematic study of source mask optimization and verification flows

Source mask optimization (SMO) emerged as powerful resolution enhancement technique (RET) for advanced technology nodes. However, there is a plethora of flow and verification metrics in the field, confounding the end user of the technique. Systemic study of different flows and the possible unification thereof is missing. This contribution is intended to reveal the pros and cons of different SMO approaches and verification metrics, understand the commonality and difference, and provide a generic guideline for RET selection via SMO. The paper discusses 3 different type of variations commonly arise in SMO, namely pattern preparation and selection, availability of relevant OPC recipe for freeform source and finally the metrics used in source verification. Several pattern selection algorithms are compared and advantages of systematic pattern selection algorithms are discussed. In the absence of a full resist model for SMO, alternative SMO flow without full resist model is reviewed. Preferred verification flow with quality metrics of DOF and MEEF is examined.