cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Screening of Heparin API by Near Infrared Reflectance and Raman Spectroscopy

Near infrared (NIR) reflectance and laser Raman spectra for a set of 69 heparin powder samples obtained from several foreign and domestic suppliers were measured. Both the NIR and Raman spectra of individual heparin API powder samples were correlated with sample compositions determined from response corrected relative peak areas of the capillary electropherograms of the samples using a partial least squares (PLS) regression model. Twenty-eight sample spectra were used to develop PLS models for the three major sample components; heparin, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). The PLS models were then used to successfully predict the compositions of 41 additional heparin samples. The success of these rapid, nondestructive technologies to identify contamination of heparin with OSCS demonstrates the potential of spectroscopy and chemometrics for screening of processed raw materials. These technologies are meant for screening purposes and not meant to replace either of the methods (capillary electrophoresis and NMR) currently required by USP and FDA. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:3540–3547, 2009
Thermal production of superheavy magnetic monopoles in the early universe

Abstract Starting with an initial abundance of zero, we calculate the thermal production of magnetic monopoles by using the monopole-antimonopole annihilation cross section and detailed balance. The final abundance of monopoles depends exponentially upon m/Ti; m is the monopole mass ∼1016 GeV and Ti is the temperature when production commences. For m/Ti ≈35–55 the present monopole to photon ratio is nM/nγ≈10−23−10−38, less than the bound derived from the present mass density, but possibly large enough to be detected. This calculation provides a lower bound on the monopole abundance for a given m/Ti.
Comparative configurational analysis as a two-mode network problem: A study of terrorist group engagement in the drug trade

Abstract We generalize a form of two-mode network analysis to make it applicable to a cases-by-variables data format, and apply our approach for the study of terrorist group engagement in the drug trade, emphasizing the implications of our approach for policy in a study of 395 terrorist organizations. Based on the organizations’ levels of resources, network connectivity to other groups, ideological emphasis, and participation in multiple illicit economies, we identify several distinctive configurations of factors that lead to multiple types of drug activity. We also demonstrate a technique for assessing sampling variability in configurational models.
Impact of antibiotic resistance in the management of ocular infections: the role of current and future antibiotics.

Purpose: This article reviews the effects of the increase in bacterial resistance on the treatment of ocular infections.
Arylphorin from the haemolymph of the larval honeybee, Apis mellifera

Abstract Manduca sexta anti-arylphorin serum was used to detect a cross-reactive protein in the haemolymph of fifth instar Apis mellifera larvae. The honeybee antigen was purified by preparative density gradient ultracentrifugation, gel permeation and ion exchange chromatography. The purified protein ( M r ⋍470,000 ) has a hexameric subunit composition ( M r ⋍74,000 ). The protein has a high percentage of aromatic amino acids, possesses covalently bound carbohydrate and non-covalent lipid. This protein appears to meet all the criteria of the insect serum proteins designated arylphorins and is the first example of this class to be isolated from Hymenoptera.
Neighborhood Age Structure and its Implications for Health

Age structure at the neighborhood level is rarely considered in contextual studies of health. However, age structure can play a critical role in shaping community life, the availability of resources, and the opportunities for social engagement—all factors that, research suggests, have direct and indirect effects on health. Age structure can be theorized as a compositional effect and as a contextual effect. In addition, the dynamic nature of age structure and the utility of a life course perspective as applied to neighborhood effects research merits attention. Four Chicago neighborhoods are summarized to illustrate how age structure varies across small space, suggesting that neighborhood age structure should be considered a key structural covariate in contextual research on health. Considering age structure implies incorporating not only meaningful cut points for important age groups (e.g., proportion 65 years and over) but attention to the shape of the distribution as well.
Testosterone suppresses 8-bromo-adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and gonadotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated luteinizing hormone subunit synthesis.

The major objective of this study was to determine the effects of testosterone (T) on 8-bromo-cAMP (8-br-cAMP)- and GnRH-stimulated LH subunit polypeptide synthesis and glycosylation in cultured male anterior pituitary cells. The anterior pituitaries from 1-week castrate male rats were enzymatically dispersed and incubated for 48 h in steroid-free medium, followed by a 48-h incubation with or without 10 nM T. The cells were then incubated for 12 h in medium containing [35S]methionine ([35S]Met) and [3H]glucosamine ([3H]Gln) with or without 1 mM 8-br-cAMP or 1 nM GnRH, with or without 10 nM T. Incorporation of radiolabeled precursors into LH subunits was determined by specific immunoprecipitation of the LH dimer with subsequent analysis of the individual LH alpha- and beta-subunits by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. LH content was quantified by RIA (iLH). Both 8-br-cAMP and GnRH stimulated iLH release. T suppressed basal and GnRH-induced iLH secretion, whereas it enhanced iLH rel...
Structural biology: Anticancer drug target pictured

Not only is the aromatase enzyme implicated in a common form of breast cancer, but it also catalyses an unusual biochemical reaction. Its crystal structure therefore offers both practical and fundamental insights.
Sparse coding model captures V1 population response statistics to natural movies

Local populations of sensory cortical cells exhibit a diverse range of activity patterns. However, classical approaches have neither fully accounted for nor characterized this heterogeneity, especially in response to natural stimuli. First, classical single cell recordings suffered from sampling bias and favored highly responsive cells [1]. Second, common approaches considered mostly the average activity over different cell classes, without a full description of the statistical distribution over the entire population [2]. Recent studies started to address these issues [3,4]. In this study, we make further inroads by recording simultaneous single unit activities across cortical layers in cat V1 in response to natural movies using a silicon polytrode, and comparing the population statistics to the predictions from a dynamical system implementation of the sparse coding model [5,6], with a linear-nonlinear model as control. We analyzed data sets from two recording sessions in anaesthetized cats viewing natural movies. To quantitatively measure the difference between model predictions and the recording, we used the earth mover's distance [7] to quantify the dissimilarities between the distributions of the recorded response and those predicted by sparse coding and linear-nonlinear model. We show that: (1) The population firing rate distribution is close to exponential in both the recorded data and the sparse coding model in response to natural movies; (2) The response correlation between unit activities is small regardless of the size of receptive field overlap, when using a binning window synced to the movie frame. A similar relationship between the response correlation and receptive field overlap is observed in the sparse coding model; (3) A linear-nonlinear model could predict the exponential firing rate distribution, but not the correlation structure.
BURS automata generation

A simple and efficient algorithm for generating bottom-up rewrite system (BURS) tables is described. A small code-generator generator implementation produces BURS tables efficiently, even for complex instruction set descriptions. The algorithm does not require novel data structures or complicated algorithmic techniques. Previously published methods for on-the-fly elimination of states are generalized and simplified to create a new method, triangle trimming, that is employed in the algorithm. A prototype implementation, burg, generates BURS tables very efficiently.
Sedimentation equilibrium studies on intact and fragmented bacteriophage DNA

The molecular weight calculated from the variance of the gaussian distribution of DNA molecules at equilibrium in a CsCl density gradient appears to be one-half the best estimates of the true molecular weight. This is true for unbroken DNA molecules from T2, T4, T5, P22 and T7 bacteriophages. It follows that, when this factor is taken into account, the calculated molecular weight is a good measure of actual molecular weight for unbroken genetically uniform molecules. This uniform proportionality between calculated molecular weight and the best estimates of the true molecular weight suggests that there is no detectable density heterogeneity in these unbroken molecules, or that there is a contribution by density heterogeneity which increases precisely as 1/ M for these molecules of different origins. This is a rather special requirement which renders this alternative unlikely. Shear-produced fragments of T2 DNA give broader bands than would be expected on the basis of whole molecules of comparable size. The calculated molecular weights of these fragments are approximately one-fourth the best estimates of the true molecular weights. It turns out that the observations are just what one would expect if some of the fragments were slightly richer in GC than others. The magnitude of this compositional heterogeneity, its dependence on fragment size and its possible significance are discussed. The formaldehyde-stabilized polynucleotide chains produced by denaturing the fragments have band-width molecular weights which are two-thirds those of the fragments from which they were derived. This is exactly what would be expected if the two chains of the duplex had the same density and the molecular weight is halved when the duplex fragment is denatured and separated into polynucleotide chains.
Classical and wave-mechanical aspects of magneto-transport fluctuations in ballistic quantum dots

Abstract We examine the magneto-conductance fluctuations in quantum dot structures, for a weak field strength, using both the recursive Green's function technique and a classical simulation of ballistic motion employing semi-classical theory. We analyze the spectral content of the conductance fluctuations by both techniques, where the underlying classical dynamics are regular and chaotic, respectively, by constructing magnetic field conductance correlation functions and compare these with those obtained experimentally. We find that our numerical quantum mechanical correlation function results, for the chaotic dot, are in agreement with the predictions of semiclassical theory and consistent with experimental result.
Coordination compounds of zinc(II) and N-alkylphenothiazines: synthesis and characterization

Abstract Zinc(II) chloride/acetate complexes of title ligands have been synthesized in MeOH water medium. The compounds were characterized by their elemental analyses, molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and spectroscopic data. The molecular formulas of the new complexes were found to be: [(C17H20ClN2S)4ZnCl2]Cl4 where C17H20ClN2S = protonated chlorpromazine; [(C19H25N2S)2ZnCl2]Cl2 where C19H25N2S = protonated ethopropazine; [(C17H21N2S)2ZnCl]Cl3 where C17H21N2S = protonated promethazine; [(C21H27N2S2)2ZnCl2]Cl2 .MeOH and [(C21H27N2S2)ZnCl](OAc)2 where C21H27N2S2 = protonated thioridazine; and [(C21H26F3N3S)ZnCl3]Cl where C21H26F3N3S = diprotonated trifluoperazine. All compounds are diamagnetic and ionic in nature. Structures for the complexes are proposed.
Characterization of Dynamical Instability Using Instantaneous Frequency

Dynamical instability induced by the initiation and advancement of mechanical faults in rotary elements is detrimental to the reliability and operation safety of the entire system. The inherent nonlinearity associated with bifurcation presents itself as difficulties in identifying and isolating features indicative of the presence and progression of faults that could lead to eventual mechanical deterioration. The perturbed and deteriorated states of a bearing-shaft system subjected to the actions of two types of commonly seen mechanical faults, namely, rotor speed and imbalance, are investigated using the basic notion of instantaneous frequency. The presented approach realizes temporal events of both short and long time scales as instantaneous frequencies in the joint time-frequency domain and thus effectively uncouples the harmonic components resulted from the coupling of multitude faults. Examples are given to demonstrate the feasibility of applying the approach to the characterization of various deteriorating bearing states and the identification of parameters associated with various modes of instability and chaotic response.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Infinite products of cyclotomic polynomials

We study analytic properties of certain infinite products of cyclotomic polynomials that generalise some products introduced by Mahler. We characterise those that have the unit circle as a natural boundary and use associated Dirichlet series to obtain their asymptotic behaviour near roots of unity.
Neural Networks to Identify Glaucoma With Structural and Functional Measurements

• Purpose: Neural networks can recognize patterns and classify complex variables. We assessed the ability of neural networks to discriminate between normal and glaucomatous eyes by using structural and functional measurements. • Methods: Several neural network algorithms were tested with a database of 185 eyes of patients with early glaucomatous visual field loss (average mean defect, 4.5 dB) and 54 eyes of age-matched normal control subjects. The information used included automated visual field indices (mean defect, corrected loss variance, and short-term fluctuation) and structural data (cup/disk ratio, rim area, cup volume, and nerve fiber layer height) from computerized image analysis. • Results: A back propagation network with two intermediate layers assigned an estimated probability of being glaucomatous to each eye and correctly identified 88% of all eyes with 90% sensitivity and 84% specificity. The same neural network trained with only structural data correctly identified 80% of the eyes with 87% sensitivity and 56% specificity, and when trained with functional data only, it correctly identified 84% of the eyes with 84% sensitivity and 86% specificity. • Conclusion: Analysis of several optic nerve and visual field variables by neural networks can help identify early glaucomatous damage and assign an estimated probability that early damage is present in individual patients.
The characterization of non-planar graphene nanowires with an Ω shape cross-section

Abstract We report on SEM, AFM, and Raman identification of non-planar several monolayer-thick graphene nanostructures with curved shapes. During mechanical exfoliation we obtained graphene flakes with nanowire/nanotube-like objects (diameters between 8 and 35 nm) with cross-sectional profile reminiscent of the Greek capital letter omega (Ω). The curved shapes of these objects were confirmed by AFM and SEM imaging. Non-planar Ω – nanostructures open up new possibilities for graphene electron energy band engineering.
Shallow Proton Striped GaAlAs Lasers Grown By Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD)

Stripe geometry lasers grown by MO-CVD lasing at 8260 A (-7% Al in the active region) were characterized. Pulsed current thresholds vary little with stripe width for 4, 6, and 8 microns. The lowest pulsed threshold was 31 mA for a 125-µm-long device. This laser with a 6 μm stripe exhibited a kink-free light output vs. current characteristic up to 15 mW/facet and had a differential quantum efficiency nD ≈ 76%. The threshold currents and the increase of laser threshold with increasing cavity length were found to be significantly lower than those of previously-published devices. For 51 lasers that are 200±10 μm long with 4, 6, or 8 μm stripe widths, the average threshold currents were 40.4 mA, 41.1 mA, and 42 mA, respectively, and 37 of these lasers fall within ±1 mA of these averages. External differential quantum efficiencies for these same lasers are 75%, 67%, and 63%, respectively.
Highly stable chemical N-doping of graphene nanomesh FET

N-type doping of graphene with long-term air stability represents a significant challenge for practical application of graphene electronics. This paper reports a reversible doping method that uses SU-8 photoresist as a doping and encapsulating material to enable highly air-stable n-type semiconducting properties of graphene. The SU-8 resist simultaneously serves as an effective electron dopant, a dielectric medium, and an excellent encapsulating layer. The air-stable n-type characteristics of the as-doped graphene were verified by Raman spectra and transport properties. The SU-8 doping has minimum damage to the hexagonal lattice of graphene and can be reversed by removing the uncrosslinked SU-8 resist.
A Comparison of Alternative Measures of Service Quality

Abstract This paper examines two alternative methods of operationalizing perceived service quality with respect to their ability to explain variation in customer satisfaction. A comparison of (1) gap analysis (expectations-performance perceptions) and (2) performance-based analysis suggests that the latter may represent the best approach to measuring service quality because of its ability to explain variation in customer satisfaction. Implications for managers and future research are discussed.
Dynamic Compression in the Presence of TNF-Alpha Differentially Effects Gene Expression in Tibial Plateau Cartilage Covered and Uncovered by the Meniscus

It has been suggested that altered joint loading may be a cause of the cartilage degeneration commonly observed following joint destabilizing events such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury [1]. Changes in the biochemical environment of the joint accompany these changes in joint loading, though, with acute and chronic increases in synovial concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) [2, 3]. TNFα is a potent catabolic factor associated with increased expression [4] and synthesis [5] of matrix proteases in articular cartilage, and therefore may play in important role in the degenerative events following joint injury.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Direct migration of follicular melanocyte stem cells to the epidermis after wounding or UVB irradiation is dependent on Mc1r signaling.

Mayumi Ito and her colleagues show that during skin wounding in mice, melanocyte stem cells in the hair follicle are induced by melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) signaling to migrate towards the epidermis and differentiate into mature pigment-producing cells. This mechanism allows for protection of the healing skin from ultraviolet light–induced damage.
Development of a Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale

Relationships have been found between teacher efficacy and many teaching and learning variables, but few researchers have examined teaching efficacy in physical education. The instrument reported here, the Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale, was developed based on the teaching efficacy literature, existing scales, and National Association for Sport and Physical Education's Teacher Education Standards. Students attending 11 institutions who are majoring in regular and alternate physical education teacher education and who are at different stages of preparation (N = 592) completed the initial survey. Exploratory, followed by confirmatory, factor analysis resulted in a 35-item, 7-factor scale. Factors were Content Knowledge, which were activities one might teach; Applying Scientific Knowledge in Teaching, which reflected academic content; Accommodating Skill Differences; Teaching Students with Special Needs; Instruction, which included management, motivation, and instruction; Using Technology; and As...
The High-Accuracy Logarithmic Receiver

There are numerous applications in electronics for a device which will derive "instantaneously" the logarithm of an applied function. If this operation can be accomplished accurately, the device has wide application in analog computing, for multiplying, dividing, and determining ratios. In addition, whenever compression of a wide dynamic range of signal levels into a restricted presentation range is desired, such a device is in general optimum. This paper shows how any arbitrary number of points distributed uniformly in amplitude may be made to fit a logarithmic response by means of the "successive detection" principle and how the deviation from true logarithmic response between these points can be essentially eliminated by use of the "multiple level detection" technique. The use of dc degeneration in an IF amplifier to stabilize tube characteristics is demonstrated, and three highly precise logarithmic receivers with bandwidths of 1.8 to 9 mc are described.
Potential Effects of Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on the Health of Children

Persistent organic pollutants are lipophilic, man-made chemicals that are highly resistant to degradation. Due to their persistence, they have become distributed in small quantities throughout the world. They bioaccumulate in thefood chain and are stored in fatty tissues. Biomagnifications up the food chain result in potential widespread human exposure to these chemicals. Exposure to persistent organic pollutants has been associated with many adverse human health effects, including impaired neurodevelopment, immune and reproductive function. Many persistent organic pollutants also possess the ability to disrupt the normal functioning of the endocrine system. There is an increasing concern that low-level exposure to these endocrine disrupting chemicals may have adverse health impacts, particularly during fetal, neonatal, and childhood development. Both the nature and severity of health outcomes may depend on the developmental time-period during which chemical exposure occurs. This report summarizes scientific evidence on health effects of low-level exposure to persistent organic pollutants and endocrine disrupting chemicals.
In vivo mucosal tissue imaging using fiber-based two-photon approach

Light delivery by fiber can directly excite the desired region. In recent years a number of methods have been proposed for fiber-based multiphoton microscopy. Of particular interest is the type of fiber used for both excitation with femtosecond pulses and method of collection of emitted fluorescence. In our efforts towards the development of a compact multiphoton microendoscope, we have conducted a study comparing the performance of three types of fibers (single mode fiber, hollow core photonic crystal fiber, and double clad fiber) in order to provide an objective comparison between various excitation approaches. In this study, we have demonstrated the ability of multiphoton microscopy and second harmonic generation microscopy for high resolution intensity and life time imaging of the oral mucosa and submucosa in vivo based on the use of double clad photonic crystal fiber.
Dense single-valuedness of monotone operators

It is shown that the set of points for which a monotone mappingT:X→X * from a separable Banach space into its dual is not single-valued has no interior; if dimX<∞ and intD(T)≠ϕ then the set has Lebesgue measure zero. Moreover, for accretive mappingsT:X→X from a separable Banach space into itself, the dimension of the set of points whose images contain balls of codimension not larger thank does not exceedk. Applications to convexity are given.
Disability and Depression Improve after Lumbar Discectomy, But May Not Change for Other Causes of Back Pain

Dear Editor, The recent article by Farzanegan et al. on the effects of lumbar discectomy on the rates of disability and depression among patients with chronic low back pain is interesting (1). Their study suggests that among patients with more than 3 months of back pain due to a herniated disc, surgical treatment (particularly laminectomy-discectomy) can improve both disability and depression. Their paper highlights 2 important points: first, chronic pain conditions can lead to increased disability and depression, and, second, successful treatment of these conditions can improve the patients’ disability and depression. Their data indicate that an improvement in disability and depression is not observed in all patients. Interestingly, the number of patients scored as moderately, severely, or very severely depressed (14, 7, and 1, respectively) was the same at 6 and 12 months after the operation. This finding suggests that a certain cohort of patients might have a preexisting baseline depression at the onset of disc herniation, and that the depression is not caused by their chronic pain condition. The association between chronic low back pain and depression has been well described previously. Recently, Reme et al. reported that the incidence of psychiatric disorders among a population with chronic low back pain was 31% with a 4% prevalence of major depression (2). Many patients have somatization disorders and back pain is frequently a presenting condition of depression. Thus, it is important to recognize this group of patients because their symptoms may not improve with surgical intervention. Furthermore, the authors only report on a distinct subgroup of patients with chronic low back pain-those with associated disc herniations. These patients have an excellent clinical outcome after surgical intervention and report some of the highest patient satisfaction ratings of all spinal surgeries (3). Surgical treatment of “discogenic” low back pain, however is much less predictable and results in generally poorer outcomes; in fact, outcomes for lumbar procedures vary depending on the underlying diagnosis (4, 5). Therefore, these results cannot be generalized to the entire population of patients with chronic low back pain. Although I commend the authors on reporting these important results from their study, these results must be viewed within the context of the study and may not be widely applicable. While surgical intervention may improve disability and depression among patients with lumbar disc herniation, it may not improve these factors in patients with significant underlying preexisting psychological conditions. Moreover, further research is required to determine the effects of surgery on depression and disability for other pathological conditions associated with chronic back pain.
Preliminary Fluid Inclusion Constraints on Fluid Evolution in the Bayan Obo Fe-REE-Nb Deposit, Inner Mongolia, China

The Bayan Obo Fe-REE-Nb deposit, Inner Mongolia, China, is the world’s largest REE resource and is also exploited as a major Fe oxide deposit. The deposit consists of replacement bodies hosted in dolomite marble and of magnetite, hematite, and REE minerals associated with apatite, aegirine, amphibole, fluorite, calcite, and barite. Fluid inclusions from monazite-(Ce), bastnasite-(Ce), apatite, aegirine, fluorite, and barite were studied from eight samples to provide new constraints on ore genesis. During early disseminated monazite mineralization the fluids are best represented by the system H 2 O-CO 2 -NaCl, with salinities ranging from 1 to 5 wt percent NaCl equiv and X (CO 2 ) values from 0.3 to 0.45, at temperatures of >280° to 330°C and pressures of >0.7 kbar. Fluids in apatite and bastnasite from the main-stage banded ores were initially aqueous, with salinities ranging from 6 to 10 wt percent NaCl equiv. They developed significant CO 2 contents (X (CO 2 ) = 0.1–0.3) due to carbonate dissolution at temperatures of >400° to ~300°C and pressures of >0.9 to 1.4 kbars. Evidence for phase separation from coexisting brine and CO 2 -rich fluid inclusions in vein fluorite indicates pressures of 0.8 to 1.0 kbar during vein formation. These pressures can be used to infer temperatures of 430° to 460°C for aegirine alteration and of 340° to 240°C for apatite, bastnasite, and fluorite vein fill. Fluids responsible for aegirine alteration were dominantly aqueous, with salinities from 5 to 15 wt percent NaCl equiv, whereas those responsible for apatite and bastnasite mineralization had salinities of 1 to 6 wt percent NaCl equiv and X (CO 2 ) values from 0.25 to 0.75. Inclusions in late-stage fluorite and barite have homogenization temperatures from 240° to 150° and 200° to 130°C, respectively. The general salinity trend in these inclusions suggests dilution from around 15 to 5 wt percent NaCl equiv down to very low salinities (<1 wt % NaCl equiv) during barite precipitation. Halite-bearing inclusions may indicate episodes of boiling or aqueous-carbonic fluid immiscibility. These fluids are similar to those in some carbonatitic, alkaline igneous, and other igneous-related REE- and Fe-rich magmatic hydrothermal systems. However, they are different from fluids in igneous-related Fe oxide-Cu-Au-U-REE deposits, which have previously been compared to those at Bayan Obo.
Source scanner identification for scanned documents

Recently there has been a great deal of interest using features intrinsic to a data-generating sensor for the purpose of source identification. Numerous methods have been proposed for different problems related to digital image forensics. The goal of our work is to identify the scanner used for generating a scanned (digital) version of a printed (hard-copy) document. In this paper we describe the use of texture analysis to identify the scanner used to scan a text document. The efficacy of our proposed method is also demonstrated.
Soil Moisture Sensitivity to NRL-Blend High-Resolution Precipitation Products: Analysis of Simulations With Two Land Surface Models

We examine the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) blended satellite (NRL-Blend) High-Resolution Precipitation Product (HRPP) as a proxy for a Global Precipitation Mission (GPM)-era HRPP by using the NRL-Blend for precipitation forcing in land surface models (LSM). We use the existing (late 2008) constellation of low Earth orbiting (LEO) microwave-based satellite platforms as a baseline to examine the impact of omitting several satellite and sensor types from future GPM-era HRPPs. A response of 1-m soil water content (SWC) to different precipitation forcing represented by six NRL-Blend satellite/sensor omission scenarios was investigated using simulations over the central United States with the Noah and Mosaic land surface models (LSM). The LSMs were integrated over a domain encompassing the Arkansas-Red River basin, using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) atmospheric forcing (except for precipitation). Both spatial and temporal statistical properties of the SWC response were examined. Both LSMs predicted a rather consistent geographical response of the 1-m SWC to different precipitation inputs, having positive/negative SWC monthly mean anomalies in western/eastern parts of the domain. The biggest impact was due to the omission of either the crosstrack microwave sounders, or the morning local time crossing satellites. On the other hand, omission of afternoon local time crossing satellites in the NRL-Blend resulted in the smallest impact upon the soil moisture simulated both with the Noah and Mosaic models. Although the relative magnitude of these SWC changes is small, these results suggest the importance of the crosstrack microwave sounders for future GPM constellations.
The prevalence rate of sexual trauma in a primary care clinic.

IltIcllgnnltul: Despite the high prevalence rate of sexual victimizadon in the general populadon, little is known about the characterisdcs of abuse victims in primary care. We studied the prevalence rate of childhood and adult sexual trauma in a primary care clinic, associated psychological distress, and paden.' attitudes about physician inquiry into past sexual victimizadon. Metbotls: Self-report questionnaires were given to 162 women in a primary care clinic inquiring about past episodes of chUdhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and paden.' desire that their physicians be aware of their sexually traumatic experiences. The women also completed the 'a 6:465-471.)
Ideological and Demographic Correlates of Proecology Behavior

Summary Previous studies of the ideological and demographic characteristics of environmentalists have used attitude measures to distinguish persons with a pro-ecology orientation. Concerns about attitude-behavior correspondence, however, have provoked criticism that such ideological and demographic profiles may have little meaning for predicting variation in behavioral commitment to protecting and enhancing environmental quality. In order to examine this issue a survey including measures of sociopolitical ideology and a variety of demographic attributes was administered to residents of a medium-sized New England town. Later, a subsample of 44 men and women was given the opportunity to participate in a series of ecology projects carried out over a five month period. Results indicated that Ss exhibiting high participation were more liberal in their social, economic, and religious philosophies, better educated, and higher in occupational status; the same pattern of attributes previously linked to attitudinal...
Voices from home and abroad New York City's Indo-Caribbean media

This article examines how New York City's Indo-Caribbean media represents and constructs diasporic and transnational identities. Analyzing weekly newspapers, radio programs and websites, it argues ...
1I-6 Characterization of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Fields with a High Spatio-Temporal Resolution

The accurate characterization of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) fields is important for the prediction of thermal and mechanical bio-effects in tissue, as well as for the development of standards for therapeutic systems. At HIFU intensity levels, the combined effects of nonlinearity and diffraction result in the formation of asymmetric shocked waveforms and a corresponding distortion of the spatial distributions of various acoustic parameters that are responsible for different bio-effects. Acoustic probes that are capable of withstanding high pressures and that can measure waveforms with a high spatial and temporal resolution are required to capture the shock fronts and highly localized field structures that can arise at therapeutically relevant treatment regimes. An experimentally validated numerical model can also be an effective tool when direct measurements are not possible. In this work, acoustic measurements using force balance, acoustic holography, broadband fiber optic and PVDF hydrophones, were combined with simulations based on a KZK-type model to demonstrate an effective approach for the calibration of HIFU transducers in water and for derating these results to tissue
Hind Limb Ischemia-Reperfusion in the Leptin Receptor Deficient (db/db) Mouse

Background Diabetic patients have high incidence of peripheral vascular disease and limb loss after acute extremity injury. Experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that acute tissue injury in leptin receptor deficient (Db) diabetic (type2) mice would be more severe than in non-diabetic mice. Methods Db and wild type (Wt) mice were subjected to 3 h of ischemia followed by either 4 or 24 h of reperfusion (3/4 IR, 3/24 IR). Muscle analyzed for tissue viability (mitochondrial activity), cytokines (KC-murine equivalent of human IL-8, TNFα, IL-6), growth factor, and histological evaluation (neutrophils/uninjured muscle fibers). Tissue perfusion was detected during basal and reperfusion conditions using laser Doppler imaging. Results Mitochondrial activity and histological evaluation for tissue injury did not differ in the Db versus Wt mice at the time intervals studied. When compared with their respective sham animals, both Db and Wt mice had similarly increased levels of KC, IL-6, and VEGF after 3/24 IR. TNFα levels increased in Db but not Wt mice after IR. Although absolute increases in TNFα and KC were higher in Db mice, VEGF levels were actually lower in the Db mice. Conclusion The patterns of tissue perfusion, cytokines, and growth factors were different in Db versus Wt mice. At the acute time intervals studied, these differences did not correlate with an expected greater degree of acute muscle injury in Db mice.
Antireflection-enhanced color by a natural graded refractive index (GRIN) structure

Nanostructured materials like graded refractive index (GRIN) structures in moth eyes have inspired the design of novel antireflective coatings. Such structures are more flexible than uniform coatings, but applications have been mainly limited to broadband antireflection in solar cells and LEDs. Here we show that cylindrical pigment granules in two bird species (Polyplectron bicalcaratum and Patagioenas fasciata) form a GRIN that suppresses interference and expands the range of colors produced by a multilayer. These results demonstrate that a GRIN structure can function like a pigment (i.e. through selective, independent wavelength blocking) to generate unique colors and may inspire the design of novel antireflective and structurally colored coatings.
Plastogamy in foraminifera: Glabratella ornatissima (Cushman).

SYNOPSIS. The foraminiferan Glabratella ornatissima (Cushman) undergoes plastogamy during reproduction. In this process, 2 (or rarely more) individuals join together by their apertural sides to mutually exchange gametes. The apertural sides and internal septa are dissolved, forming a single large brood chamber. After the zygotes grow to a 2- or 3-chambered stage, the young foraminifera are liberated from the enclosing parent tests. Scanning electron micrographs and histochemically stained thin sections indicate that the reproductively mature individuals are firmly united by an organic membrane during plastogamy. This membrane is monolamellar, less than 1 μ thick and has minute lumps on its surface. Biochemically it contains a nonsulfated acid mucopolysaccharide, which is unlike the membranes associated with CaCO3 deposition lining the interior of foraminiferal tests. The young foraminifera liberate themselves by secretion of an enzyme which degrades the membrane. The mechanism of plastogamy is interpreted to be an adaptation to life in turbulent waters that would decrease the chance of gamete union or zygote survival were the gametes released and fertilized freely.
Timing-based mutual exclusion

The benefits that can be obtained by using timing information in mutual exclusion algorithms are examined. A simple and efficient timing-based mutual exclusion algorithm is given. This algorithm always guarantees mutual exclusion (i.e. even when run asynchronously) and also avoids deadlock in case certain (realistic) inexact timing constraints are met. The algorithm uses only two shared read/write registers (a total of log n+1 bits), thus overcoming the n register lower bound for asynchronous algorithms. It is proved that the problem cannot be solved with only one shared register, so that this algorithm is optimal in terms of the number of registers. A lower bound is proved for the time complexity of any deadlock-free mutual exclusion protocol, as a function of the number of shared registers it employs. This bound shows that the algorithm described is near optimal, in terms of time complexity. It is shown that two natural ways of weakening the timing assumptions lead (unfortunately) to an n register lower bound. >
Recirculation Patterns in the Initial Region of Coaxial Jets

This experimental study is concerned with the mixing in the initial region of turbulent coaxial streams. The investigation is limited to the low-speed incompressible case with the inner stream of lower velocity than the outer stream. Velocity ratios ranged from infinity to one. The inner to outer stream density ratio was either 4 or 1. Experimental measurements were made with a hot-wire anemometer system, static pressure probes, and shadowgraphy. The data show that a backflow region is formed in this particular apparatus at outer to inner stream velocity ratio of 13 for the homogeneous case and at outer to inner stream velocity ratio of 26 for the heterogeneous case. For higher velocity ratio, a circulating toroidal vortex is established which enhances mixing between the inner and outer streams. This vortex pattern exhibits similarity of velocity with velocity ratio variations.
DRFX: a simple and efficient memory model for concurrent programming languages

The most intuitive memory model for shared-memory multithreaded programming is sequential consistency(SC), but it disallows the use of many compiler and hardware optimizations thereby impacting performance. Data-race-free (DRF) models, such as the proposed C++0x memory model, guarantee SC execution for datarace-free programs. But these models provide no guarantee at all for racy programs, compromising the safety and debuggability of such programs. To address the safety issue, the Java memory model, which is also based on the DRF model, provides a weak semantics for racy executions. However, this semantics is subtle and complex, making it difficult for programmers to reason about their programs and for compiler writers to ensure the correctness of compiler optimizations.We present the DRFx memory model, which is simple for programmers to understand and use while still supporting many common optimizations. We introduce a memory model (MM) exception which can be signaled to halt execution. If a program executes without throwing this exception, then DRFx guarantees that the execution is SC. If a program throws an MM exception during an execution, then DRFx guarantees that the program has a data race. We observe that SC violations can be detected in hardware through a lightweight form of conflict detection. Furthermore, our model safely allows aggressive compiler and hardware optimizations within compiler-designated program regions. We formalize our memory model, prove several properties about this model, describe a compiler and hardware design suitable for DRFx, and evaluate the performance overhead due to our compiler and hardware requirements.
HIS-388, a Novel Orally Active and Long-Acting 11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 Inhibitor, Ameliorates Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose Intolerance in Diet-Induced Obesity and Nongenetic Type 2 Diabetic Murine Models

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is considered a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, we investigated the pharmacological properties of HIS-388 (N-[(1R,2s,3S,5s,7s)-5-hydroxyadamantan-2-yl]-3-(pyridin-2-yl) isoxazole-4-carboxamide), a newly synthesized 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, using several mouse models. In cortisone pellet-implanted mice in which hypercortisolism and hyperinsulinemia occur, single administration of HIS-388 exhibited potent and prolonged suppression of plasma cortisol and lowered plasma insulin levels. These effects were more potent than those achieved using the same dose of other 11β-HSD1 inhibitors (carbenoxolone and compound 544 [3-[(1s,3s)-adamantan-1-yl]-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]azepine]), indicating that HIS-388 potently and continuously suppresses 11β-HSD1 enzyme activity in vivo. In diet-induced obese mice, HIS-388 significantly decreased fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin concentration, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance score, and ameliorated insulin sensitivity. In addition, HIS-388 significantly reduced body weight and suppressed the elevation of blood glucose during the pyruvate tolerance test. In nongenetic type 2 diabetic mice with disease induced by a high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin, HIS-388 also significantly decreased postprandial blood glucose and plasma insulin levels and improved glucose intolerance. The effects of HIS-388 on glucose metabolism were indistinguishable from those of an insulin sensitizer, pioglitazone. Our results suggest that HIS-388 is a potent agent against type 2 diabetes. Moreover, amelioration of diabetic symptoms by HIS-388 was at least in part attributable to an antiobesity effect or improvement of hepatic insulin resistance. Therefore, potent and long-lasting inhibition of 11β-HSD1 enzyme activity may be an effective approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity-associated disease.
Developmental Expression of CYP2B6: A Comprehensive Analysis of mRNA Expression, Protein Content and Bupropion Hydroxylase Activity and the Impact of Genetic Variation

Although CYP2B6 catalyzes the biotransformation of many drugs used clinically for children and adults, information regarding the effects of development on CYP2B6 expression and activity are scarce. Utilizing a large panel of human liver samples (201 donors: 24 fetal, 141 pediatric, and 36 adult), we quantified CYP2B6 mRNA and protein expression levels, characterized CYP2B6 (bupropion hydroxylase) activity in human liver microsomes (HLMs), and performed an extensive genotype analysis to differentiate CYP2B6 haplotypes such that the impact of genetic variation on these parameters could be assessed. Fetal livers contained extremely low levels of CYP2B6 mRNA relative to postnatal samples and fetal HLMs did not appear to catalyze bupropion hydroxylation; however, fetal CYP2B6 protein levels were not significantly different from postnatal levels. Considerable interindividual variation in CYP2B6 mRNA expression, protein levels, and activity was observed in postnatal HLMs (mRNA, ∼40,000-fold; protein, ∼300-fold; activity, ∼600-fold). The extremely wide range of interindividual variability in CYP2B6 expression and activity was significantly associated with age (P < 0.01) following log transformation of the data. Our data suggest that CYP2B6 activity appears as early as the first day of life, increases through infancy, and by 1 year of age, CYP2B6 levels and activity may approach those of adults. Surprisingly, CYP2B6 interindividual variability was not significantly associated with genetic variation in CYP2B6, nor was it associated with differences in gender or ethnicity, suggesting that factors other than these are largely responsible for the wide range of variability in CYP2B6 expression and activity observed among a large group of individuals/samples.
A 60-Year-Old Woman with Pemphigus Vulgaris Refractory to High-Dose Prednisone

A 60-year-old woman weighing 55 kg presented to the clinic with a 4-month history of sores in her mouth and on her chest. Skin biopsy showed a sparse, superficial, perivascular dermatitis with suprabasal acantholysis. Direct immunofluorescence was positive for IgG and C3 in an intercellular pattern. The patient was started on prednisone at 80 mg per day by an outside dermatologist 1 month prior to referral. Her disease flared when she attempted to taper the prednisone below 80 mg per day, with painful erosions that interfered with eating on her left and right buccal mucosa, and on the left side of her mouth, as well as extensive erosions on her chest and back, and some erosions on her legs.