cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Threshold photoelectron spectrum of CO by electron attachment (TPSA)

Abstract The threshold photoelectron spectrum of CO is reported in the photon energy range from 14.0 eV (photoionization threshold) to 21 eV. The technique used is threshold photoelectron spectroscopy by electron attachment (TPSA). Vibrational levels of the X 2 Σ + state are observed up to high quantum numbers (ν′⋍ 12) and their population is found to be enhanced by resonant autoionization. Levels in the A 2 Π and B 2 Σ + states are also observed. Here, the measured vibrational populations more closely follow Franck—Condon intensities, so that for these states direct photoionization is more important. Qualitative molecular-orbital arguments are given to make plausible the enhancements observed in CO + and in previous measurements on N 2 + .
Ab Initio Study of M+:18-Crown-6 Microsolvation

The effect of aqueous microsolvation on the relative binding affinities of 18-crown-6 for the alkali metal cations (Li+−Cs+) was studied using second-order perturbation theory and polarized basis sets augmented with diffuse functions to minimize basis set superposition error. A cation exchange reaction involving the replacement of potassium in a cation/crown complex with a different alkali cation contained within a cation/water cluster served as the basis for modeling binding preferences in liquid water. Up through four crown ether waters of solvation (six for Li+ and K+) were considered, in conjunction with cation/water complexes including as many as nine waters. The principal impact of the added waters on the K+ ↔ M+ exchange reaction was to sharply reduce the spread in binding enthalpies among the different elements, narrowing the discrepancy between the theoretical gas phase cluster results and experimental findings obtained in aqueous solutions.
Macroscopic Stiffness of Breast Tumors Predicts Metastasis

Mechanical properties of tumors differ substantially from normal cells and tissues. Changes in stiffness or elasticity regulate pro-metastatic behaviors of cancer cells, but effects have been documented predominantly in isolated cells or in vitro cell culture systems. To directly link relative stiffness of tumors to cancer progression, we combined a mouse model of metastatic breast cancer with ex vivo measurements of bulk moduli of freshly excised, intact tumors. We found a high, inverse correlation between bulk modulus of resected tumors and subsequent local recurrence and metastasis. More compliant tumors were associated with more frequent, larger local recurrences and more extensive metastases than mice with relatively stiff tumors. We found that collagen content of resected tumors correlated with bulk modulus values. These data establish that relative differences in tumor stiffness correspond with tumor progression and metastasis, supporting further testing and development of tumor compliance as a prognostic biomarker in breast cancer.
Inhibiting transthyretin amyloid fibril formation via protein stabilization

Transthyretin (TTR) amyloid fibril formation is observed systemically in familial amyloid polyneuropathy and senile systemic amyloidosis and appears to be the causative agent in these diseases. Herein, we demonstrate conclusively that thyroxine (10.8 microM) inhibits TTR fibril formation efficiently in vitro and does so by stabilizing the tetramer against dissociation and the subsequent conformational changes required for amyloid fibril formation. In addition, the nonnative ligand 2,4,6-triiodophenol, which binds to TTR with slightly increased affinity also inhibits TTR fibril formation by this mechanism. Sedimentation velocity experiments were employed to show that TTR undergoes dissociation (linked to a conformational change) to form the monomeric amyloidogenic intermediate, which self-assembles into amyloid in the absence, but not in the presence of thyroxine. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using small molecules to stabilize the native fold of a potentially amyloidogenic human protein, thus preventing the conformational changes, which appear to be the common link in several human amyloid diseases. This strategy and the compounds resulting from further development should prove useful for critically evaluating the amyloid hypothesis--i.e., the putative cause-and-effect relationship between TTR amyloid deposition and the onset of familial amyloid polyneuropathy and senile systemic amyloidosis.
The Decline of Innocence

The criminological positivists at the turn of the century started a good deal of creative rethinking about the criminal law. Some of their proposals have gained widespread acceptance in the criminal law as we know it today. Others made no headway at all. One particular proposal, and a very fundamental one indeed, began a controversy which has ebbed and flowed regularly since. That is the proposal to eliminate from the criminal law the whole apparatus of substantive principles, or at least some of them, such as the legal insanity defence, which owe their presence to the law's traditional concern for distinguishing the guilty and the innocent in terms of their blameworthiness. The essence of the proposal is that innocence in this sense, moral innocence, if you will, should not disqualify a person from the consequences of the penal law. Moral innocence should, it is urged, give way to social dangerousness as the basis for a criminal disposition.
Intra-amygdalar okadaic acid enhances conditioned taste aversion learning and CREB phosphorylation in rats

Protein phosphatases (PPs) regulate many substrates implicated in learning and memory. Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) learning, in which animals associate a novel taste paired with a toxin and subsequently avoid the taste, is dependent on several serine/threonine phosphatase substrates and the PP1-binding protein spinophilin. In order to examine the effects of PP1/2A blockade on CTA acquisition and extinction, rats received bilateral infusions of okadaic acid (OA) (100 nM, 1 μl/hemisphere) or vehicle (0.15 M NaCl) into the amygdala either 5 min prior to, or 5 min after, a single pairing of sodium saccharin (0.125%, 10-min access) and LiCl or NaCl (0.15 M, 3 ml/kg i.p.). Two-bottle, 24-h preference tests were conducted for 13 days to measure CTA expression and extinction. Rats conditioned with saccharin and LiCl showed a decreased preference for saccharin, and OA administered before (but not after) the pairing of saccharin and LiCl resulted in a significantly stronger CTA that did not extinguish over 13 days. The enhancement of the CTA was not due to aversive effects of OA, because rats given OA and a pairing of saccharin and NaCl did not acquire a CTA. Finally, OA administration increased levels of phosphorylated CREB immunoreactivity following a CTA trial. Together, these results suggest a critical role for PP1/2A during normal CTA learning. Because CTA learning was enhanced only when OA was given prior to conditioning, phosphatase activity may be a constraint on learning during the taste-toxin interval but not during acquisition and consolidation processes that occur after toxin administration.
Predictive Validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for Hispanic Bilingual Students

This study examines the effect of bilingual background on standardized testing among middle-class Hispanic students in South Florida Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and college GPA after four semesters were compared for 220 Hispanic and 892 non-Hispanic White students at the University of Miami. SAT scores accounted for a similar percentage of the variance in college GPA for the two groups, but mean SATs were significantly lower for the Hispanic students (about 45 points on average, both verbal and math), despite equivalent college grades. A given SAT score predicted a slightly higher GPA for the Hispanic student. In view of this finding, affinrmative action policies that recommend different interpretations of standardized scores with minority groups may represent not a lowering of academic standards but, rather, a fairer prediction for that group.
Understanding the Internet as an innovation

Organizations are rapidly embracing the Internet. Managers are trying to gain an immediate understanding of the importance of and place for the Internet in their organization. One way to consider the possibilities is to look at the Internet as a technology innovation and attempt to gain insights from existing information technology (IT) literature. Since studies based on traditional innovation diffusion theory have not yet appeared, explores the appropriateness of looking at the Internet from the perspectives of traditional diffusion research. Using a case study, relates the Internet to previously identified innovation dimensions, and discusses problems with the various dimensions. Suggests that the concept of cluster innovations holds promise for better understanding the Internet as an innovation. Concludes with suggestions for managers drawn from results of the analysis.
Mid‐latitude wind stress: the energy source for climatic shifts in the North Pacific Ocean

Analyses of atmospheric observations in the North Pacific demonstrate extensive decadal-scale variations in the mid-latitude winter surface wind stress. In the decade after 1976 winter, eastward wind stress doubled over a broad area in the central North Pacific and the winter zero wind stress curl line was displaced about 6° southward. This resulted in increased southward Ekman transport, increased oceanic upwelling, and increased turbulent mixing as well as a southward expansion of the area of surface divergence. All these factors contributed to a decadal winter cold anomaly along the subtropical side of the North Pacific Current. In summer the cold anomaly extended eastward, almost reaching the coast of Oregon. The increased gradient in wind stress curl and southward displacement of the zero curl line also resulted in an increase in total North Pacific Current transport, primarily on the Equator side of this Current. Thus, surface water entering the California Current was of more subtropical origin in the post-1976 decade. Southward (upwelling favourable) wind stress and sea surface temperature (SST) in the area off San Francisco exhibit at least three different types of decadal departures from mean conditions. In association with the 1976 climatic shift, marine fishery production in the Oyashio, California and Alaska Currents altered dramatically, suggesting that these natural environmental variations significantly alter the long-term yields of major North Pacific fisheries.
Double-outlet right ventricle with origin of right pulmonary artery from a right-sided ductus arteriosus

Abstract A patient with double-outlet right ventricle is reported with the heretofore unreported association of a right pulmonary artery arising from a persistent right ductus arteriosus. The patient also had an infracrista ventricular septal defect, a secundum atrial septal defect, severe bicuspid valvular pulmonary stenosis, and a right-sided aortic arch.
Age-related variations in evoked potentials to auditory stimuli in normal human subjects

Auditory evoked potentials were recorded from 47 subjects ranging in age from 6 to 76 years in order to assess the effects of maturation and aging on the evoked (N1 and P2) and event-related (N2 and P3) components. Because of clear differences in the effects of age on the event-related components between children (less than 15 years of age) and adults the subjects were divided into two populations for analysis. For adults there was a systematic increase in the latency and decrease in amplitude of each component with age. Also the rate of the age-related increase in latency was proportional to the latency of the component. The scalp distributions of both the stimulus-evoked and event-related components were found to vary with age yielding a more nearly equipotential distribution for older subjects. For children the latencies of the event-related components decreased with age. The stimulus-evoked components had latencies which were not significantly different from those predicted from the adult data. In contrast to the adult data, age affected the scalp distributions of the stimulus-evoked components differently than the event-related components. These results suggest an aging process is relfected in the auditory evoked potential which is not the simple inverse of maturational processes.
Proton-transfer dynamics in the activation of cytochrome P450eryF.

Molecular dynamics simulations are combined with quantum chemistry calculations of instantaneous proton-transfer energy profiles to investigate proton-transfer events in the transient pathway of cy...
Universal And Local Knowledge

For those of us who have struggled to have non-Western knowledge systems recognized as a legitimate topic in Science and Technology Studies, Turnbull’s Masons, Tricksters, and Cartographers is a exciting demonstration for the viability of these interdisciplinary hybrids. But the text is far more than just vindication for indigenous technoscience: his reason for juxtaposing these more traditional anthropological case studies with their complimentary Western STS examples is to map out a path to Enrique Dussel’s new category, the ‘transmodern’. In Turnbull’s account, modernist and postmodernist frameworks both have failings which render them inadequate to the task of guiding us to a ‘technoscience that does not dominate nature but is compatible with it, that does not exploit and demean people but enhances their lives’ (p. 3). Moreover he finds these failings are complimentary; we simultaneously need the advantages of both— ‘the joint preservation of the liberatory elements of the enlightenment project and a wide diversity of other knowledge traditions’ (p. 14). Turnbull’s path to the transmodern is similarly complimentary in structure. He has two primary goals: to show that putative local knowledge is more mobile than we commonly assume, and to show that putative universal knowledge is more local than we commonly assume. The main method for both demonstrations is the ‘assemblage’—a term he equates with ‘Foucault’s epistemes, Kuhn’s paradigms, Callon, Law and Latour’s actor-networks, Hacking selfvindicating constellations, Fujimora and Star’s … boundary objects and Knorr-Cetina’s reconfigurations’ (p. 44). Though a bit all-encompassing for someone who champions the partial and in
Statistical analysis of wound-healing rates for pressure ulcers

To establish a functional model for determining wound-healing rates to use in the evaluation of efficacy of wound therapies, a review was conducted of statistical analysis methods from past wound-healing studies. Because most wounds do not usually close within the period of observation, that is, 12 weeks, evaluating time to 100% closure is not practical. Thus, a new, practical model for statistical analysis was formulated. A Gompertz-like function was applied to wound-healing rates of pressure ulcers, in the context of repeated measures for a nonlinear model. Photographing the wounds weekly, tracing their area with planimetry, and applying this new statistical model allows for the calculation of the expected rate of healing as a function of time. This approach yields a model useful for identifying prognostic factors, evaluating treatments, and improving our understanding of the variables that affect the wound-healing process.
SU‐FF‐J‐131: Improving Quantitation in Serial PET/CT with Improved Image Registration and Intra‐Patient Metabolic Correction

Purpose: The goal of this study is to explore the use of deformable image registration in conjunction with an internal metabolic reference to improve quantitative treatment response assessment using F18‐FDG PET/CT. Method and Materials: To account for anatomic and positional changes, pre‐ and post‐radiotherapy (RT) PET/CT studies were aligned with a deformable image registration technique to the planning CT (PCT). Consequently, both CT‐ and PET‐based regions‐of‐interest on all co‐registered image sets can be used to determine uptake for the same anatomic volumes. The brainstem, contoured on PCT, was selected as an internal metabolic normalization structure to correct for study dependent variations; particularly, inconsistent injection‐to‐imaging time. The mean SUV was calculated using a threshold contour (40% of maximum) method, created on the pre‐RT PET/CT images. Student's t‐tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed for metabolically corrected (uptake ratio of tumor to brainstem) and uncorrected mean and maximum SUV. Results: A statistically detectable separation was improved between responding and non‐responding patients using the corrected post‐RT mean SUV for the threshold contour (P=0.017 vs. P=0.00); while no worsening was seen for the maximum SUV (P<0.00 vs. P<0.00). Reduction of uptake the between pre‐ and post‐RT images was only significant for the maximum SUV (P=0.033) and subsequently improved when corrected with the metabolic reference (P=0.012). Finally, ROC analysis of the maximum corrected post‐RT SUV showed improvement in specificity (94% vs. 85%) and similar results for the sensitivity (83% vs. 83%) level. However, ROC analyses of corrected and uncorrected mean post‐RT SUV derived from the threshold contour did not show improvement. Conclusions: Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that correction of SUV with an internal metabolic reference may improve the quantitative potential of F18‐FDG PET/CT. Conflict of Interest: Research sponsored by Varian Medical Systems.
Functional Outcomes in Children with Abusive Head Trauma Receiving Inpatient Rehabilitation Compared with Children with Nonabusive Head Trauma

Objective To compare clinical features and functional outcomes of age- and sex-matched children with abusive and nonabusive head trauma receiving inpatient rehabilitation. Study design Children with abusive head trauma (n = 28) and age- and sex-matched children with nonabusive head trauma (n = 20) admitted to an inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit from 1995-2012 were studied. Acute hospitalization and inpatient rehabilitation records were retrospectively reviewed for pertinent clinical data: initial Glasgow Coma Scale score, signs of increased intracranial pressure, neuroimaging findings, and presence of associated injuries. Functional status at admission to and discharge from inpatient rehabilitation was assessed using the Functional Independence Measure for Children. Outcome at discharge and outpatient follow-up were described based on attainment of independent ambulation and expressive language. Results Children with abusive and nonabusive head trauma had similar levels of injury severity, although associated injuries were greater in those with abusive head trauma. Functional impairment upon admission to inpatient rehabilitation was comparable, and functional gains during inpatient rehabilitation were similar between groups. More children with nonabusive than with abusive head trauma attained independent ambulation and expressive language after discharge from rehabilitation; the difference was no longer significant when only children aged >12 months at injury were examined. There was variability in delay to obtain these skills and in the quality of gained skills in both groups. Conclusions Despite more associated injuries, children with abusive head trauma make significant functional gains during inpatient rehabilitation, comparable with an age- and sex-matched sample with nonabusive head trauma. Key functional skills may be gained by children in both groups following discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.
Kinetics of fomepizole in pregnant rats.

Context/objectives. Fomepizole has been utilized with remarkable success for ethylene glycol and methanol poisonings in children and adults. However, very little information is available regarding the safe and effective use of fomepizole in pregnancy. The goal of this research was to utilize an animal model to investigate the kinetics of fomepizole in pregnancy. Materials/methods. Male and pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats, which were obtained at 19 days gestation, were administered fomepizole 15 mg/kg intraperitoneally. The animals were anesthetized and blood, liver, kidney, and fetus samples were collected at 1–24 hours post administration. Tissue samples were homogenized, deproteinized and prepared by solid phase extraction. Fomepizole concentrations from tissue and serum samples were analyzed using high pressure liquid chromatography. Results. Between males and pregnant females, tissue and serum fomepizole levels were similar. Fomepizole concentrations in whole fetal tissue were similar to those in the mat...
Kinetic Isolation and Characterization of the Radical Rearrangement Step in Coenzyme B12-Dependent Ethanolamine Ammonia-Lyase

The transient decay reaction kinetics of the 1,1,2,2-(2)H(4)-aminoethanol generated Co(II)-substrate radical pair catalytic intermediate in ethanolamine ammonia-lyase (EAL) from Salmonella typhimurium have been measured by using time-resolved, full-spectrum X-band continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in frozen aqueous solution over the temperature range of 190-207 K. The decay reaction involves sequential passage through the rearrangement step [substrate radical --> product radical] and the step [product radical --> diamagnetic product] that involves hydrogen atom transfer (HT) from carbon C5' of the adenosine moiety of the cofactor to the product radical C2 center. As found for the (1)H-substrate radical [Zhu, C.; Warncke, K. Biophys. J. 2008, 95, 5890], the decay kinetics for the (2)H-substrate radical over 190-207 K represent two noninteracting populations (fast decay population: normalized amplitude = 0.44 +/- 0.07; observed rate constant, k(obs,f) = 5.3 x 10(-5)-1.1 x 10(-3) s(-1); slow decay population: k(obs,s) = 6.1 x 10(-6)-2.9 x 10(-4) s(-1)). The (1)H/(2)H isotope effects (IE) for the fast and slow decay reactions are 1.4 +/- 0.2 and 0.79 +/- 0.11, respectively. The IE on the fast phase is uniform over the temperature interval, and the value is consistent with an alpha-secondary hydrogen kinetic IE, which arises from changes in the force constants of the C-H bonds in the substrate radical structure, upon passing from the substrate radical state to the rearrangement transition state. Therefore, we propose that k(obs,f) represents the rate constant for the radical rearrangement and that this step is the rate-determining step in substrate radical decay. The Arrhenius activation energy for the (1)H-substrate radical rearrangement (13.5 +/- 0.4 kcal/mol) is consistent with values from quantum chemical calculations performed on simple models. The results show that the core, radical rearrangement reaction is culled from the catalytic cycle in the low-temperature system, thus establishing the system for detailed transient kinetic and spectroscopic analysis of protein structural and dynamic contributions to EAL catalysis.
TOTAL-BODY MAGNESIUM EXCESS IN CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE

Abstract Soft tissue and bone (cortical and trabecular) in thirty-three uraemic patients and eleven non-uraemic controls were analysed for magnesium to determine body stores. The mean magnesium concentration in myocardium, lung, and skin was significantly higher in the uraemic group. Skeletal-muscle and liver-magnesium concentration was not different in the two groups. Tissues containing the most consistently raised magnesium levels in uraemic patients were red blood-cells and bone. Redblood-cell magnesium levels were above the normal range in nineteen of the twenty-two uraemic patients studied. The magnesium content of both cortical and trabecular bone was increased by 66%. The mean cortical-bone magnesium (in meq. per kg. ashed weight) was 586 in the uraemic group and 340 in the controls. This study shows that patients with chronic renal failure have increased total-body magnesium, with bone being the major reservoir.
Optical properties of cells with melanin

The optical properties of pigmented lesions have been studied using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in a noninvasive configuration on optically thick samples such as skin in vivo. However, it is difficult to un-mix the effects of absorption and scattering with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques due to the complex anatomical distributions of absorbing and scattering biomolecules. We present a device and technique that enables absorption and scattering measurements of tissue volumes much smaller than the optical mean-free path. Because these measurements are taken on fresh-frozen sections, they are direct measurements of the optical properties of tissue, albeit in a different hydration state than in vivo tissue. Our results on lesions from 20 patients including melanomas and nevi show the absorption spectrum of melanin in melanocytes and basal keratinocytes. Our samples consisted of fresh frozen sections that were unstained. Fitting the spectrum as an exponential decay between 500 and 1100 nm [mua = A*exp(-B*(lambda-C)) + D], we report on the fit parameters of and their variation due to biological heterogeneity as A = 4.20e4 +/- 1.57e5 [1/cm], B = 4.57e-3 +/- 1.62e-3 [1/nm], C = 210 +/- 510 [nm] , D = 613 +/- 534 [1/cm]. The variability in these results is likely due to highly heterogeneous distributions of eumelanin and pheomelanin.
Multifunctionality of PAI-1 in fibrogenesis: evidence from obstructive nephropathy in PAI-1-overexpressing mice.

Multifunctionality of PAI-1 in fibrogenesis: Evidence from obstructive nephropathy in PAI-1–overexpressing mice. Background Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease based on its up-regulated expression and on the beneficial effects of PAI-1 inhibition or depletion in experimental models. PAI-1 is a multifunctional protein and the mechanisms that account for its profibrotic effects have not been fully elucidated. Methods The present study was designed to investigate PAI-1–dependent fibrogenic pathways by comparing the unilateral ureteral obstruction model (UUO) (days 3, 7, and 14) in PAI-1 –overexpressing mice ( PAI-1 tg) to wild-type mice, both on a C57BL6 background. Results Following UUO, total kidney PAI-1 mRNA and/or protein levels were significantly higher in the PAI-1 tg mice ( N = 6 to 8/group) and fibrosis severity was significantly worse (days 3, 7, and 14), measured both as Sirius red–positive interstitial area (e.g., 10 ± 3.2% vs. 4.5 ± 1.0%) (day 14) and total kidney collagen (e.g., 11.1 ± 1.7 vs. 6.2 ± 1.3 μg/mg) (day 14). By day 14, the expression of two normal tubular proteins, E-cadherin and Ksp-cadherin, were significantly lower in the PAI-1 tg mice (3.2 ± 0.5% vs. 11.7 ± 5.9% and 2.6 ± 1.6) vs. 6.2 ± 0.8%, respectively), implying more extensive tubular damage. At least four fibrogenic pathways were differentially expressed in the PAI-1 tg mice. First, interstitial macrophage recruitment was more intense ( P P P Conclusion These data provide further evidence that PAI-1 is directly involved in interstitial fibrosis and tubular damage via two primary overlapping mechanisms: early effects on interstitial cell recruitment and late effects associated with decreased urokinase activity.
Hybrid fuzzy controller designs that use pattern recognition and neural networks

The author shows one of many ways to build a hybrid model for fuzzy control that uses fuzzy clustering and CNNs as tools. Neither fuzzy control nor CNNs are well-aged, but they are mature enough to bear fruit. Hybrid models can and will have properties that their progenitors do not possess. Not all hybrids will be good, so many testing and evaluation will be necessary.
Remission of clinical angina pectoris: The Framingham study

The anginal status of the Framingham cohort was ascertained in a uniform manner during 20 years of follow-up studies. There were 74 men and 84 women with newly acquired angina that was not complicated with other manifestations of coronary heart disease. Remission of new angina pectoris for at least 2 years occurred in 32 percent of the men and 44 percent of the women. In angina that had persisted for several years, the subsequent remission rates were lower (14 percent for men and 19 percent for women). The similarity of coronary risk attributes of subjects with transient or persistent angina supports the hypothesis that both conditions may be true manifestations of coronary artery disease. Persistence of symptoms seems to indicate a more severe form of the disease characterized by nonspecific S-T segment or T wave abnormalities. It is associated with a greater incidence of myocardial infarction and death than in subjects with transient angina. The generally high remission rates must be taken into account in considering drastic surgical or medical remedies for clinical angina pectoris. Also, other possible causes for the chest pain should be sought.
Impairment of the antifibrotic effect of hepatocyte growth factor in lung fibroblasts from African Americans: possible role in systemic sclerosis.

Objective To compare the composition of cytokines in African American and Caucasian patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) and in healthy individuals, particularly the expression and function of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Methods Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples were analyzed using cytokine array techniques. HGF in plasma and cell culture medium samples was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), type I collagen expression, and c-Met receptor phosphorylation were studied by immunoblotting. Results Overall greater expression of cytokines in BAL fluid from African American patients as compared with Caucasian patients was observed. Significant increases in HGF concentrations were detected in BAL fluid, plasma, and fibroblast culture medium from Caucasian SSc patients. In contrast, African American SSc patients did not demonstrate an increase in HGF. Recombinant HGF readily abolished CTGF expression and collagen accumulation in lung fibroblasts isolated from Caucasian SSc patients. Pretreatment of lung fibroblasts with neutralizing anti–c-Met antibody abolished the effects of HGF on CTGF expression and collagen accumulation, suggesting that the antifibrotic activity of HGF is mediated via c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase. Whereas recombinant HGF rapidly induced c-Met receptor phosphorylation in lung fibroblasts from Caucasian patients, c-Met receptor phosphorylation was significantly reduced in lung fibroblasts from African American subjects. Moreover, recombinant HGF failed to prevent CTGF expression and collagen accumulation in lung fibroblasts derived from African American subjects. Conclusion Ethnic differences exist in terms of antifibrotic HGF expression in lung fibroblasts derived from Caucasian and African American subjects. Reduced levels of HGF as well as a deficiency in c-Met receptor function appear to be present in African American patients with SSc. These findings may explain in part the greater disease severity and worse prognosis observed in African Americans with SSc.
Ram accelerator operating characteristics at elevated fill pressures

An experimental investigation of the starting and operational characteristics of a 38-mm bore ram accelerator with propellant fill pressures greater than 5 MPa is in progress. Successful starts with 60 - 124 gm projectiles have been achieved using methane/oxygen/nitrogen propellants at fill pressures ranging from 6 to 15 MPa. At fill pressures of 8.5 MPa and above, it was found that projectiles having the nominal throat diameter (29 mm) required a minimum entrance velocity of 1250 m/s, which is about 100 m/s faster than the minimum needed to successfully start the ram accelerator at fill pressures below 7.5 MPa. Projectiles with a reduced throat diameter (25 mm) and a solid magnesium nose cone were successfully started at fill pressures up to 15 MPa with entrance velocities around 1300 m/s. The average accelerations achieved using high pressure stages were in general less than predicted for thermally choked operation by the Boltzmann equation of state.
Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Technology Maturation: Establishing a Foundation for a Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM)

As part of U.S. National Space Policy, NASA is seeking an innovative path for human space exploration, which strengthens the capability to extend human and robotic presence throughout the solar system. NASA is laying the groundwork to enable humans to safely reach multiple potential destinations, including asteroids, Lagrange points, the Moon and Mars. In support of this, NASA is embarking on the Technology Demonstration Mission Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (TDM CPST) Project to test and validate key cryogenic capabilities and technologies required for future exploration elements, opening up the architecture for large cryogenic propulsion stages (CPS) and propellant depots. The TDM CPST project will provide an on-orbit demonstration of the capability to store, transfer, and measure cryogenic propellants for a duration which is relevant to enable long term human space exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Recognizing that key cryogenic fluid management technologies anticipated for on-orbit (flight) demonstration needed to be matured to a readiness level appropriate for infusion into the design of the flight demonstration, the NASA Headquarters Space Technology Mission Directorate authorized funding for a one-year (FY12) ground based technology maturation program. The strategy, proposed by the CPST Project Manager, focused on maturation through modeling, studies, and ground tests of the storage and fluid transfer Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) technology sub-elements and components that were not already at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5. A technology maturation plan (TMP) was subsequently approved which described: the CFM technologies selected for maturation, the ground testing approach to be used, quantified success criteria of the technologies, hardware and data deliverables, and a deliverable to provide an assessment of the technology readiness after completion of the test, study or modeling activity. This paper will present the testing, studies, and modeling that occurred in FY12 to mature cryogenic fluid management technologies for propellant storage, transfer, and supply, to examine extensibility to full scale, long duration missions, and to develop and validate analytical models. Finally, the paper will briefly describe an upcoming test to demonstrate Liquid Oxygen (LO2) Zero Boil- Off (ZBO).
Calibration and Field Deployment of Low-Cost Fluid Flow-Rate Sensors Using a Wireless Network

Low-cost networked fluid flow velocity sensors are needed for high-density sampling in environmental research and other applications requiring automated fluid flow velocity mapping. The flow sensor in this paper is the “target” type consisting of a flap that deflects in the flow, changing the resistance of a strain gauge. A highly compliant flexible resistor promises to reduce costs by serving as the flow target and by eliminating the signal amplification circuitry needed for conventional strain gauges. However, we show that the individual calibration of these resistive sensors is critical for recovering the stream flow velocity. A wireless network is used for the mass calibration of multiple sensors in a test flume. After individual sensor calibrations are obtained, the same wireless network can be used to collect flow velocity data in the sensor application. A modular connection system enables the user to reconfigure quickly the system's physical layout for calibration or deployment purposes. The results are reported on an outdoor deployment of the flow sensors for logging stream flow data in environmental research.
Global self-localization for autonomous mobile robots using self-organizing Kohonen neural networks

An approach to global self-localization for autonomous mobile robots has been developed using self-organizing Kohonen neural networks. This approach categorizes discrete regions of space using mapped sonar data corrupted by noise of varied sources and ranges. Our approach is similar to optical character recognition (OCR) in that the mapped sonar data can, over time, assume the form of a character unique to that room. Hence, it is believed that an autonomous vehicle can be capable of determining which room it is in based on mapped sensory data ascertained by wandering through and exploring that room. With some pre-processing and a robust explore routine, the solution becomes time-, translation- and rotation-invariant.
Endoscopic surgery of the Achilles tendon

The value of endoscopic surgery as a minimally invasive treatment is well recognized and includes less perioperative pain, less scarring, minimal blood loss, and faster recovery. While open surgery on the Achilles tendon is notorious for wound complications, the tendon is situated in a well-formed tunnel allowing surgical procedures to be performed endoscopically. Various endoscopic techniques have been successfully applied to the treatment of non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy, Haglund’s syndrome, Achilles tendon rupture, and equinus contracture. Although the evidence is currently limited, results from authors acquainted with the techniques have been encouraging. Both an understanding of surgical anatomy of the hindfoot and familiarity in soft tissue endoscopy are required to achieve successful outcomes while minimizing complications.
Computers and mathematics education

Abstract The two main arguments of this paper are: first, that it is important for our society of the near future that every educated person understand some of the principles on which computers operate; and second, that there is an important relationship between mathematics education and computers, both in the sense that the mathematics curriculum can contribute significantly towards teaching students about computers, as well as in the sense that computers have a role to play in mathematics education. The latter point is shown by several examples which are discussed in detail. It is also argued that high school mathematics teachers can obtain the required knowledge to use computers effectively in their teaching by taking two one-semester courses as part of an in-service training program.
Prediction of protein-protein binding free energies.

We present an energy function for predicting binding free energies of protein–protein complexes, using the three-dimensional structures of the complex and unbound proteins as input. Our function is a linear combination of nine terms and achieves a correlation coefficient of 0.63 with experimental measurements when tested on a benchmark of 144 complexes using leave-one-out cross validation. Although we systematically tested both atomic and residue-based scoring functions, the selected function is dominated by residue-based terms. Our function is stable for subsets of the benchmark stratified by experimental pH and extent of conformational change upon complex formation, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.61 to 0.66.
High capacitance density thin film integrated tantalum pentoxide decoupling capacitors

The process development and analysis of a multilayered thin film integrated capacitor is presented. Thin film integrated capacitors show great promise as IC power supply decoupling capacitors. Their low intrinsic inductance allows them to deliver fast switching high currents to the IC. However, current thin film capacitors are limited in capacitance due to the limitation of substrate area in boards or packages. Generally, there is not enough area available to produce the capacitance needed so that integrated capacitors can completely replace discretes. In this paper a multilayer thin film integrated capacitor design was discussed. The details of the multilayer process was described, as well as process challenges and preliminary results of the research. Currently capacitance densities in the range of 0.4 /spl mu/P/cm/sup 2/ have been obtained with a two layer process.
Energetic consequences of repeated and prolonged dehydration in the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica.

Larvae of the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, routinely face periods of limited water availability in their natural environments on the Antarctic Peninsula. As a result, B. antarctica is one of the most dehydration-tolerant insects studied, surviving up to 70% loss of its body water. While previous studies have characterized the physiological effects of a single bout of dehydration, in nature larvae are likely to experience multiple bouts of dehydration throughout their lifetime. Thus, we examined the physiological consequences of repeated dehydration and compared results to larvae exposed to a single, prolonged period of dehydration. For the repeated dehydration experiment, larvae were exposed to 1–5 cycles of 24 h dehydration at 75% RH followed by 24 h rehydration. Each bout of dehydration resulted in 30–40% loss of body water, with a concomitant 2- to 3-fold increase in body fluid osmolality. While nearly 100% of larvae survived a single bout of dehydration, <65% of larvae survived five such cycles. Larvae subjected to multiple bouts of dehydration also experienced severe depletion of carbohydrate energy reserves; glycogen and trehalose content decreased with each successive cycle, with larvae losing 89% and 48% of their glycogen and trehalose, respectively, after five cycles of dehydration/rehydration. Larvae exposed to prolonged dehydration (99% RH for 10 d) had 26% less water, 43% less glycogen, and 27% less lipid content than controls, but did not experience any mortality. Thus, both repeated and prolonged dehydration results in substantial energetic costs that are likely to negatively impact fitness.
Whole-Genome rVISTA: a tool to determine enrichment of transcription factor binding sites in gene promoters from transcriptomic data

Summary: We have developed a web-based query tool, WholeGenome rVISTA (WGRV), that determines enrichment of transcription factors (TFs) and associated target genes in sets of co-regulated genes. WGRV enables users to query databases containing pre-computed genome coordinates of evolutionarily conserved transcription factor binding sites in the proximal promoters (from 100 bp to 5 kb upstream) of human, mouse and Drosophila genomes. TF binding sites are based on position-weight matrices from the TRANSFAC Professional database. For a given set of co-regulated genes, WGRV returns statistically enriched and evolutionarily conserved binding sites, mapped by the regulatory VISTA (rVISTA) algorithm. Users can then retrieve a list of genes from the query set containing the enriched TF binding sites and their location in the query set promoters. Results are exported in a BED format for rapid visualization in the UCSC genome browser. Flat files of mapped conserved sites and their genomic coordinates are also available for analysis with standalone software. Availability: http://genome.lbl.gov/cgi-bin/WGRVistaInputCommon.pl.
Clinical tumor sequencing: An incidental casualty of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommendations for reporting of incidental findings

In 2013, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) issued recommendations for reporting incidental findings, defined as results of potential medical utility that are not related to the indication for ordering the sequencing test, in a panel of 56 disease-associated genes when performing clinical exome and genome sequencing.1 Given the increasing use of clinical sequencing for characterization of both germline and tumor genomes in diverse clinical settings, these recommendations reflect careful consideration of the complex issues related to these tests. Unsurprisingly, they have provoked vigorous discussion and debate regarding issues of patient autonomy and the ethics of returning results for pediatric patients.2–6 Although there has been comparatively little discussion of the impact of these recommendations on testing of tumor specimens,7 the scope of these recommendations does extend beyond germline genetic testing into the realm of tumor-focused testing with the statement that “incidental variants should be reported for the normal sample of a tumor-normal sequenced dyad.”
A novel method for measuring phase and group delay of mixers without a reference mixer

Making phase and group delay response measurements on mixers and frequency converters has traditionally been a difficult and complicated process, requiring either modulated-signals (and demodulation), two-tone signals (a special form of modulation) or a system with a reference or re-converting mixer. This paper presents a method to measure the phase response of a mixer on a VNA using a novel phase-measurement method which can measure the input and output phase response independently, computing the transfer response directly. This method relies on a VNA system which utilizes swept-frequency phase-coherent sources and receivers to maintain a common phase reference. A software phase-locking method allows it to operate on frequency converters which have an in-accessible embedded LO, along with a well established method of calibration.
Strong enhancement of magnetic dipole emission in a multilevel electronic system

The Purcell effect is commonly used to increase light emission by enhancing the radiative decay of electric dipole transitions. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the opposite effect, namely, the inhibition of electric dipole transitions, can be used to strongly enhance light emission via magnetic dipole transitions. Specifically, by exploiting the differing symmetries of competitive electric and magnetic dipole transitions in trivalent europium, we demonstrate a fourfold enhancement of the far-field emission from the 5D0→7F1 magnetic dipole transition in trivalent europium. We show that this strong enhancement is well predicted by a three-level model that couples the individual Purcell enhancement factors of competitive transitions from the same excited state.
Migraine prevalence, socioeconomic status, and social causation

Objective: To determine whether the known higher prevalence of migraine in lower household (HH) income groups is explained by a higher incidence rate or a lower remission rate. Methods: We used data from the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study, a US national sample of 132,674 females (with a 64.3% response rate) and 124,665 males (with a 62.0% response rate) 12 years of age and older. Data were previously collected on migraine symptoms, onset age, and demographics. Previously validated methods applied to the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study data were used to simulate a cohort study. Incidence and remission rates were estimated within 3 sex-specific HH income groups ( 2 test was used to determine whether the incidence or remission rates differed by HH income group as an explanation for differences in migraine prevalence by HH income. Results: Migraine prevalence increased as HH income decreased for females (χ 2 , p 2 , p 2 , p 2 , p Conclusions: The higher incidence of migraine in lower HH income groups is compatible with the social causation hypothesis. Once initiated, migraine remission is independent of HH income. Onset and remission may have etiologically distinct causes.