cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of fumonisin B1 on lipid peroxidation in membranes.

Electron spin resonance (ESR)1 spin-label oximetry and spin trapping techniques have been used to study the effect of fumonisin B1 (FB1), an amphipathic mycotoxin on lipid peroxidation in egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC) bilayers. In the study of the interaction between FB1 and lipid bilayers our results show that fumonisin disturbs the ordering of membranes, enhances oxygen transport in membranes, and also increases membrane permeability. In our model system, lipid peroxidations were initiated by extended incubation of the liposomes, or by inducing Fe2+ ions, UV illumination of H2O2 or ultrasound irradiation. As an indication of the rates of lipid oxidation in EYPC, the consumption of molecular oxygen was studied by monitoring the oxygen concentration in the aqueous phases of the liposomes. Lipid-derived free radicals generated during the oxidation process were measured by a spin trapping method. The incorporation of FB1 in the test samples made the membranes highly susceptible to oxidation. Our results provide the first evidence that the fumonisins appear to increase the rate of oxidation, promote the free radical intermediate production and accelerate the chain reactions associated with lipid peroxidation. The disruption of membrane structure, the enlargement of the relative oxygen diffusion-concentration products, as well as the enhancement effects on membrane permeability, thus provide additional insights into potential mechanisms by which the fumonisins could enhance oxidative stress and cell damage.
Diurnal and seasonal trends in the apparent density of ambient fine and coarse particles in Los Angeles

Diurnal and seasonal variations in the apparent density of ambient fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5 and CPM [PM2.5–10], respectively) were investigated in a location near downtown Los Angeles. The apparent densities, determined by particle mass-to-volume ratios, showed strong diurnal and seasonal variations, with higher values during the warm phase (June to August 2013) compared to cold phase (November 2012 to February 2013). PM2.5 apparent density showed minima during the morning and afternoon rush hours of the cold phase (1.20 g cm−3), mainly due to the increased contribution of traffic-emitted soot particles, and highest values were found during the midday in the warm phase (2.38 g cm−3). The lowest CPM apparent density was observed during the morning rush hours of the cold phase (1.41 g cm−3), while highest in early afternoon during the warm phase (2.91 g cm−3), most likely due to the increased wind-induced resuspension of road dust.
Changes in the body's QRS surface potentials produced by alterations in certain compartments of the nonhomogeneous conducting model.

Abstract 1. 1. Extended conceptual models can be made to give useful clinical information of a kind not currently obtainable by any other means. The model considered here in part disposes of the 40-year-old homogeneous models, all of which must still hold a respected place in electrocardiographic interpretations since their introduction in 1927. 2. 2. The six compartments are discussed in isolated changes one at a time to illustrate their effects on body surface potential V 8 . 3. 3. The important equation for a more generalized model may be found in the Appendix together with all elements necessary for programming on a computer, and heretofore to be used for computing body surface potentials by superpositional changes in any one or all of the compartments. 4. 4. Finally, it should be emphasized that changing the geometry or the appropriate resistivity ratio of any one compartment alters the potential at every point within and on the surface of the insulated conducting nonhomogeneous model, as demonstrated in the Appendix.
Methylene blue photooxidation of chymotrypsin using a pulsed laser

Abstract The role of the laser in photocatalysis has neither been fully explored nor appreciated. The subject of this presentation is a study of enzyme chemistry with monochromatic, non-ionizing radiation, i.e. , laser light. Chymotrypsin solutions, with or without .01% methylene blue, buffered at pH 7.0 in 0.05 M borate were lased with a ruby laser. The enzyme repeatedly lased in the presence of MB was inactivated in a first order fashion. When MB chymotrypsin solutions were fired upon with single impacts and increasing energy, the resultant inactivation curve was sigmoidal. Oxygen consumption was investigated and its role in laser mediated photooxidation is discussed.
Tri-reforming of methane: a novel concept for catalytic production of industrially useful synthesis gas with desired H2/CO ratios

Abstract A novel process concept called tri-reforming of methane has been proposed in our laboratory using CO2 in the flue gases from fossil fuel-based power plants without CO2 separation [C. Song, Chemical Innovation 31 (2001) 21–26]. The proposed tri-reforming process is a synergetic combination of CO2 reforming, steam reforming, and partial oxidation of methane in a single reactor for effective production of industrially useful synthesis gas (syngas). Both experimental testing and computational analysis show that tri-reforming can not only produce synthesis gas (CO + H2) with desired H2/CO ratios (1.5–2.0), but also could eliminate carbon formation which is usually a serious problem in the CO2 reforming of methane. These two advantages have been demonstrated by tri-reforming of CH4 in a fixed-bed flow reactor at 850 °C with supported nickel catalysts. Over 95% CH4 conversion and about 80% CO2 conversion can be achieved in tri-reforming over Ni catalysts supported on an oxide substrate. The type and nature of catalysts have a significant impact on CO2 conversion in the presence of H2O and O2 in tri-reforming in the temperature range of 700–850 °C. Among all the catalysts tested for tri-reforming, their ability to enhance the conversion of CO2 follows the order of Ni/MgO > Ni/MgO/CeZrO > Ni/CeO2 ≈ Ni/ZrO2 ≈ Ni/Al2O3 > Ni/CeZrO. The higher CO2 conversion over Ni/MgO and Ni/MgO/CeZrO in tri-reforming may be related to the interaction of CO2 with MgO and more interface between Ni and MgO resulting from the formation of NiO/MgO solid solution. Results of catalytic performance tests over Ni/MgO/CeZrO catalysts at 850 °C and 1 atm with different feed compositions confirm the predicted equilibrium conversions based on the thermodynamic analysis for tri-reforming of methane. Kinetics of tri-reforming were also examined. The reaction orders with respect to partial pressures of CO2 and H2O are different over Ni/MgO, Ni/MgO/CeZrO, and Ni/Al2O3 catalysts for tri-reforming.
The two-domain LysX protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is required for production of lysinylated phosphatidylglycerol and resistance to cationic antimicrobial peptides.

The well-recognized phospholipids (PLs) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) include several acidic species such as phosphatidylglycerol (PG), cardiolipin, phosphatidylinositol and its mannoside derivatives, in addition to a single basic species, phosphatidylethanolamine. Here we demonstrate that an additional basic PL, lysinylated PG (L-PG), is a component of the PLs of Mtb H37Rv and that the lysX gene encoding the two-domain lysyl-transferase (mprF)-lysyl-tRNA synthetase (lysU) protein is responsible for L-PG production. The Mtb lysX mutant is sensitive to cationic antibiotics and peptides, shows increased association with lysosome-associated membrane protein–positive vesicles, and it exhibits altered membrane potential compared to wild type. A lysX complementing strain expressing the intact lysX gene, but not one expressing mprF alone, restored the production of L-PG and rescued the lysX mutant phenotypes, indicating that the expression of both proteins is required for LysX function. The lysX mutant also showed defective growth in mouse and guinea pig lungs and showed reduced pathology relative to wild type, indicating that LysX activity is required for full virulence. Together, our results suggest that LysX-mediated production of L-PG is necessary for the maintenance of optimal membrane integrity and for survival of the pathogen upon infection.
Melatonin modulation of lymphocyte proliferation and Th1/Th2 cytokine expression

Melatonin is hypothesized to play a role in neuroimmunomodulation. This study investigated the in vitro effects of melatonin (10(-12) - 10(-6) M) on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation and T helper type 1 and T helper type 2 (Th1/Th2) cytokine expression. In vitro doses of melatonin significantly increased PBMC proliferation (p<0.05) and decreased IL-10 production in culture supernatants (p<0.05). However, there was no effect of melatonin on the stimulated production of IFN-gamma or on the intracellular accumulation of the activation antigen CD69, IFN-gamma, or IL-10 as measured by flow cytometry. These data support the notion that physiologic doses of melatonin increase lymphocyte proliferation possibly due to decreases in production of the inhibitory cytokine IL-10.
Roles of xyloglucan and pectin on the mechanical properties of bacterial cellulose composite films

Xyloglucan and pectin are major non-cellulosic components of most primary plant cell walls. It is believed that xyloglucan and perhaps pectin are functioning as tethers between cellulose microfibrils in the cell walls. In order to understand the role of xyloglucan and pectin in cell wall mechanical properties, model cell wall composites created using Gluconacetobacter xylinus cellulose or cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) derived there from with different amounts of xyloglucan and/or pectin have been prepared and measured under extension conditions. Compared with pure CNW films, CNW composites with lower amounts of xyloglucan or pectin did not show significant differences in mechanical behavior. Only when the additives were as high as 60 %, the films exhibited a slightly lower Young’s modulus. However, when cultured with xyloglucan or pectin, the bacterial cellulose (BC) composites produced by G. xylinus showed much lower modulus compared with that of the pure BC films. Xyloglucan was able to further reduce the modulus and extensibility of the film compared to that of pectin. It is proposed that surface coating or tethering of xyloglucan or pectin of cellulose microfibrils does not alone affect the mechanical properties of cell wall materials. The implication from this work is that xyloglucan or pectin alters the mechanical properties of cellulose networks during rather than after the cellulose biosynthesis process, which impacts the nature of the connection between these compounds.
Ring-opening metathesis phase-trafficking (ROMpt) synthesis: multistep synthesis on soluble ROM supports.

The use of ring-opening metathesis (ROM) oligomers as soluble supports for a multistep reaction sequence is described. A Mitsunobu reaction followed by an in situ ROMP-mediated phase-trafficking purification is utilized to generate soluble ROM oligomers that are isolated via precipitation with methanol. Once formed, the ROM oligomers serve as soluble supports for further solution-phase reactions, including a ring-closing metathesis. After each step, the support-bound products are isolated by precipitation with a suitable solvent.
Note on Kowalewski's Top in Quantum Mechanics

It is well known that in classical mechanics algebraic integrals of the top equations only exist in the cases of Euler (asymmetric top, no electric moment), of Lagrange (symmetric top, electric moment parallel to the axis of figure) and of Kowalewski. The latter case is that of a symmetric top whose two equal moments of inertia are twice as large as the third ($A=B=2C$) with an electric moment perpendicular to the axis of figure. The quantum mechanical analogue to Euler's and Lagrange's cases being well known, Kowalewski's case was tried. If $\ensuremath{\vartheta}$, $\ensuremath{\psi}$, $\ensuremath{\phi}$ are the Euler angles, ${Q}_{\mathrm{I}}={Q}_{1}+i{Q}_{2}$, ${Q}_{\mathrm{II}}={Q}_{1}\ensuremath{-}i{Q}_{2}$ linear combinations of the momenta around the principal axes and $U={{Q}_{\mathrm{I}}}^{2}+4C\ensuremath{\mu}sin\ensuremath{\vartheta}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}i\ensuremath{\psi}},$ then Kowalewski's integral becomes: $U{U}^{*}+{U}^{*}U+4{h}^{2}({Q}_{\mathrm{I}}{Q}_{\mathrm{II}}+{Q}_{\mathrm{II}}{Q}_{\mathrm{I}})=\mathrm{Diag}.\mathrm{Matrix},$ which differs from the classical result by the symmetrization and by the last term proportional to ${h}^{2}$.
Compressive asynchronous decomposition of heart sounds

Because of the need to control power consumption, in many biomedical applications asynchronous processing of the data is more appropriate. In this paper, we present a scale-based decomposition algorithm for analog signals similar to the wavelet decomposition. Our procedure uses asynchronous sigma delta modulators (ASDMs) to represent the amplitude of a signal using the zero-crossing times of a binary signal. Changing the zero-crossing times into random sequences of pulse widths, it can be shown to be equivalent to an optimal level-crossing sampler using local averages as the quantization levels. Applying the generation of multi-level signals from the output of ASDMs for different scale parameters we are able to obtain a decomposer that in a few stages provides a close representation of the signal. To illustrate the performance of the proposed decomposition, we consider its application to the representation of heart sounds.
Correlation between T c and a calculated force constant in homologous crystal structures

Correlations have been discovered which suggest that phases of the crystal structures A2, A15, C15, and D8b, that have Nb or Mo atoms occupying the chain sites in these structures, belong to a class having a common rigid band shape and having a common electron-phonon coupling mode responsible for T c. The latter is identified as associated with transverse vibrations of atoms situated on sites along close-packed chains in these structures. On the basis of these correlations and known interatomic potentials, optimum T c values may be predicted for hypothetical substances. NbMo2Be is predicted to form an A15 structure and to have an optimum T c = 30K.
Sumoylation modulates a domain in CTCF that activates transcription and decondenses chromatin.

CTCF is a multipurpose transcription factor with activation, repression, and insulator activity. It also participates in regulating chromatin architecture by maintaining open chromatin and mediating long-range chromosomal interactions. Participation by CTCF in such diverse processes suggests that it has multiple functional domains that regulate transcription and modify chromatin structure. Using transient and integrated reporters, we identified a 107-amino-acid domain in CTCF's N-terminal region that is capable of transcriptional activation and chromatin decondensation. This domain demonstrated moderate transactivation when targeted to a promoter proximal position but showed little activity from more distal positions and on a natural promoter. By contrast, the activation domain dramatically decondensed the compact chromatin structure of a large transgene array, in a manner similar to the potent activation domain in VP16. In addition, the activation domain is subject to conjugation by SUMO, which reduced its transcriptional and chromatin opening activity. Moreover, mimicking full sumoylation by fusing Sumo-1 or -3 to the activation domain eliminated its transcriptional activity, but only Sumo-3 fusion prevented chromatin opening. We suggest that the activation domain's limited transactivation, but strong chromatin decondensation allows CTCF to establish and maintain open chromatin without necessarily activating transcription. Sumoylation may contribute to CTCF's enhancer blocking or repression functions by reducing transactivation and chromatin opening. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 665–675, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Exogenous GABA persistently opens Cl- channels in cultured embryonic rat thalamic neurons.

We recorded whole-cell Cl− currents in cultured embryonic rat thalamic neurons by brief applications of GABA or the structural analogue muscimol. In 17 of 141 neurons (12%) the Cl− current persisted for a minute or more after the pipette was removed from the bath. Cl− current never persisted after muscimol exposure even in those cells exhibiting persistent GABA-activated currents (PGC). The half decay times (T50) of PGCs were exponentially and asymptotically related to the duration of GABA exposure and could be interrupted or completely aborted by low-pressure application of saline. PGCs were insensitive to membrane potential, to Tiagabine, a nipecotic acid analogue known to block GABA uptake, and persisted in Cao2+-free medium. Fluctuation analysis revealed that PGCs exhibited inferred Cl− channel properties whose kinetic components and estimated average elementary conductance showed no significant difference from those estimated during GABA exposure. The relative contribution of low frequency components was consistently reduced and that of high frequency components modestly increased during PGC compared to those recorded during GABA exposure. Taken together, the results suggest the existence of a superficial compartment in these embryonic neurons that can momentarily accumulate and release exogenous GABA.
Ordinary, Bayes, empirical Bayes, and non-parametric reliability analysis for the modified Gumbel failure model

Abstract The Gumbel, or double exponential, probability distribution function is modified in order to characterize the failure times of a given system. The maximum likelihood (ML), minimum variance unbiased (MVU), Bayes, empirical Bayes, and non-parametric kernel density estimates of the reliability, failure rate, and cumulative failure rate functions are being studied. We also study target time subject to a specified reliability. Numerical computations are given to illustrate the usefulness of our study.
Cytochrome P450 1A1 induction in rat lymphoid tissues following in vivo and in vitro exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin requires protein kinase C.

Abstract The induction of cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) is one of the most sensitive responses associated with exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds. The mechanisms that underlie this response are not completely understood, particularly in lymphoid tissues that may be used in biomarker studies in humans. CYP1A1 mRNA expression and enzyme activity (ethoxyresorufin- o -deethylase, EROD) were investigated in rat thymus and spleen and isolated thymocytes and splenocytes in culture. Thymus- or spleen-derived microsomes from rats treated in vivo with TCDD showed induced EROD activity after as little as 12 h following a single exposure to TCDD (5 μ g/kg body weight). Resting rat thymocytes in culture had detectable levels of EROD activity and CYP1A1 mRNA expression which increased following in vitro exposure to ≥0.1 nM TCDD for 24 or 48 h. Interestingly, concomitant in vitro exposure of rat thymocytes to TCDD and the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) inhibited the induction of EROD activity, which is in contrast to the response of cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes (Landi et al., 1994; Pharmacogenetics 4, 242–246). Resting rat splenocytes in culture had no detectable EROD activity and CYP1A1 activity could not be induced by in vitro TCDD exposure, in the presence or absence of Con A. These results suggest that the relative maturation state of the cells is important in regulating the expression of CYP1A1, since splenocytes represent a more mature population of B and T lymphocytes. TCDD-induced CYP1A1 expression in cultured rat thymocytes was inhibited by the addition of calphostin C, a specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, suggesting a role for PKC as a second messenger in the CYP1A1 induction pathway. In vivo co-exposure with phorbol-myristate-acetate (PMA) and TCDD also inhibited CYP1A1 induction. Again, suggesting a role for PKC in CYP1A1 induction. Together, these results indicate that relative lymphocyte maturation state and the PKC pathway are important factors in regulating the expression of CYP1A1.
Nested Unobserved Heterogeneity not Orthogonal to Regressors

Many social phenomena are of a nested nature and recordedin hierarchical data, e.g., repeated observations of siblings (individual level) within families(context level). In these phenomena, unobserved heterogeneity can occur at both levels and may becorrelated with the regressors. This article addresses nested unobserved heterogeneity notorthogonal to the regressors, which is rarely discussed in the methodology literature. The articleextends the econometric one-factor fixed-effects approach to handle nested fixed effects.F tests for model comparisons are used to test whether the total heterogeneity exists and whetherthe total heterogeneity consists solely of contextual heterogeneity. It then introduces methods todecompose the two levels of heterogeneity and provides formal tests for each level andtheir relative importance, which are developed from classical ANOVA. To provide a stronger testfor time-varying context-specific heterogeneity, the article develops an estimator using thedifference-in-differences method. An empirical example of a study on child behavior problems isused to illustrate the methods introduced in the article.
Cubicin Outcomes Registry and Experience (CORE) Methodology

The Cubicin Outcomes Registry and Experience (CORE), was designed to retrospectively collect the real-world postmarking experience of patients who received daptomycin. A standardized case report form was used by trained investigators from 45 institutions across the United States. Data on 1,160 patients from November 2003 until December 2004 were collected on demographics, infections, treatments and outcomes at the end of daptomycin therapy. The data from CORE 2004 provide insight into the early clinical use of daptomycin.
Inhibition of experimental lung metastasis by aerosol delivery of PEI-p53 complexes.

Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene and the pathways mediated by the p53 protein are common in many human cancers. Replacement of functional p53 by gene therapy is a potential way of combating these cancers and the associated drug resistance and tumor growth. Aerosol delivery of genes is a noninvasive way of targeting genes to the lung for gene therapy. Here we demonstrate, using a murine melanoma lung metastasis model, that aerosol delivery of polyethyleneimine–p53 (PEI–p53) complexes inhibits the growth of lung metastasis. A significantly reduced number of visible foci were observed in C57BL/6 mice injected with B16-F10 melanoma and treated with PEI–p53 complexes by aerosol for 3 weeks at twice a week. Fifty percent of the mice in the PEI–p53-treated group exhibited no visible tumor foci. There was a significant reduction in the lung weights of p53-treated mice ( P P
Dynamic algorithm transforms for low-power reconfigurable adaptive equalizers

In this paper, we present low-power reconfigurable adaptive equalizers derived via dynamic algorithm transforms (DATs). The principle behind DAT is that conventional signal processing systems are designed for the worst case and are not energy-optimum on average. Therefore, significant energy savings can be achieved by optimally reconfiguring the hardware in these situations. Practical reconfiguration strategies for adaptive filters are presented. These strategies are derived as a solution to an optimization problem. The optimization problem has energy as the objective function and a constraint on the algorithm performance (specifically the SNR). The DAT-based adaptive filter is employed as an equalizer for a 51.84 Mb/s very high speed digital subscriber loop (VDSL) over 24-pair BKMA cable. The channel nonstationarities are due to variations in cable length and number of far end crosstalk (FEXT) interferers. For this application, the traditional design is based on 1 kft cable length and 11 FEXT interferers. It was found that up to 81% energy savings can be achieved when cable length varies from 1-0.1 kft and the number of FEXT interferers varies from 11 to 4. On the average, 53% energy savings are achieved as compared with the conventional worst-case design.
Synthesis and optimization of threshold logic networks with application to nanotechnologies

We propose an algorithm for efficient threshold network synthesis of arbitrary multi-output Boolean functions. The main purpose of this work is to bridge the wide gap that currently exists between research on the development of nanoscale devices and research on thedevelopment of synthesis methodologies to generate optimized networks utilizing these devices. Many nanotechnologies, such as resonant tunneling diodes (RTD) and quantum cellular automata (QCA), are capable of implementing threshold logic. While functionally correct threshold gates have been successfully demonstrated, there exists no methodology or design automation tool for general multi-level threshold network synthesis. We have built the first such tool, ThrEshold Logic Synthesizer (TELS), on top of an existing Boolean logic synthesis tool. Experiments with about 60 multi-output benchmarks were performed, though the results of only 10 of them are reported in this paper because of space restrictions. They indicate that up to 77% reduction in gate count is possible when utilizing threshold logic, with an average reduction being 52%, compared to traditional logic synthesis. Furthermore, thesynthesized networks are well-balanced, and hence delay-optimized.
Surfing the money tides: Understanding the foreign exchange market through metaphors

This study describes metaphorical conceptualizations of the foreign exchange market held by market participants and examines how these metaphors socially construct the financial market. Findings are based on 55 semi-structured interviews with senior foreign exchange experts at banks and at financial news providers in Europe. We analysed interview transcripts by metaphor analysis, a method based on cognitive linguistics. Results indicate that market participants' understanding of financial markets revolves around seven metaphors, namely the market as a bazaar, as a machine, as gambling, as sports, as war, as a living being and as an ocean. Each of these metaphors highlights and conceals certain aspects of the foreign exchange market and entails a different set of implications on crucial market dimensions, such as the role of other market participants and market predictability. A correspondence analysis supports our assumption that metaphorical thinking corresponds with implicit assumptions about market predictability. A comparison of deliberately generated and implicitly used metaphors reveals notable differences. In particular, implicit metaphors are predominantly organic rather than mechanical. In contrast to academic models, interactive and organic metaphors, and not the machine metaphor, dominate the market accounts of participants.
Multidimensional Visualization System for Travel Social Networks

In this paper we provide a multidimensional visualization system for travel social network. This system allows to analyse the structure and the social aggregation of travel networks providing different perspectives according to three dimensions: the space that defines locations connected to the members; the time that defines temporal evolution about tourist interests of the members; and coordinates involving classes of interests that define typologies of tourism chosen by members. Furthermore the system offers location-based tourist services providing a spatial visualization of the services connected to the specific place and sharing information about specific place. Finally in order to evaluate the proposed method, interviews to tourists and stakeholders were carried out after testing of the system.
Genes and respiratory disease: a first step on a long journey

This review highlights the critical importance of phenotype definition in the understanding of the pathogenesis of respiratory disease in horses. The general approach to genetic studies is discussed and comparative studies of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) conditions, such as asthma, described in the context of learning more about equivalent equine conditions. The availability of methods to study genetic tests have previously relied on DNA sequence knowledge from man, laboratory and domesticated animals, but recent data from the horse genome sequence are now available. This should facilitate advances in the identification of specific genes for equine diseases. The review summarises the future potential for such studies and places the report in this issue (p 236) by Jost et al. (2007) of the involvement of IL4RA as a candidate gene in RAO into this context.
Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of Ectopic Breast Tissue of the Vulva

Ectopic breast tissue has been described rarely in the vulva and is known to develop a variety of pathologic changes. Our review of the literature found a total of 11 reported cases of primary infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma arising in ectopic breast tissue of the vulva. We report what we believe is the first case of primary mucinous adenocarcinoma arising in ectopic breast tissue of the vulva diagnosed by characteristic histopathologic features and immunohistochemical stain results. We discuss the criteria used in diagnosis of primary breast carcinoma of the vulva and review previously reported cases.
A Culture of Genius: How an Organization’s Lay Theory Shapes People’s Cognition, Affect, and Behavior

Traditionally, researchers have conceptualized implicit theories as individual differences—lay theories that vary between people. This article, however, investigates the consequences of organization-level implicit theories of intelligence. In five studies, the authors examine how an organization’s fixed (entity) or malleable (incremental) theory of intelligence affects people’s inferences about what is valued, their self- and social judgments, and their behavioral decisions. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors find that people systematically shift their self-presentations when motivated to join an entity or incremental organization. People present their “smarts” to the entity environment and their “motivation” to the incremental environment. In Studies 3a and 4, they show downstream consequences of these inferences for participants’ self-concepts and their hiring decisions. In Study 3b, they demonstrate that the effects are not due to simple priming. The implications for understanding how environments shape cognition and behavior and, more generally, for implicit theories research are discussed.
Atomistic methods in fluid simulation.

Atomistic methods, such as molecular dynamics and direct simulation Monte Carlo, constitute a powerful and growing set of techniques for fluid-dynamics simulation. The more fundamental nature of such methods, which exhibit nonlinear transport effects and small-scale fluctuations, extends their modelling accuracy to a significantly wider range of scales and regimes than the more traditional Navier–Stokes-based continuum fluid-simulation techniques. In this paper, we describe the current state of the art in atomistic fluid simulation, from both a theoretical and a computational standpoint, and outline the advantages and limitations of such methods. In addition, we present an overview of some recent atomistic-simulation results on fluid instabilities and on the physical scaling of atomistic techniques. Finally, we suggest possible avenues of future research in the field.
Mechanisms of two modulatory actions of the channel-binding protein Slob on the drosophila slowpoke calcium-dependent potassium channel

Slob57 is an ion channel auxiliary protein that binds to and modulates the Drosophila Slowpoke calcium-dependent potassium channel (dSlo). We reported recently that residues 1–39 of Slob57 comprise the key domain that both causes dSlo inactivation and shifts its voltage dependence of activation to more depolarized voltages. In the present study we show that removal of residues 2–6 from Slob57 abolishes the inactivation, but the ability of Slob57 to rightward shift the voltage dependence of activation of dSlo remains. A synthetic peptide corresponding in sequence to residues 1–6 of Slob57 blocks dSlo in a voltage- and dose-dependent manner. Two Phe residues and at least one Lys residue in this peptide are required for the blocking action. These data indicate that the amino terminus of Slob57 directly blocks dSlo, thereby leading to channel inactivation. Further truncation to residue Arg16 eliminates the modulation of voltage dependence of activation. Thus these two modulatory actions of Slob57 are independent. Mutation within the calcium bowl of dSlo greatly reduces its calcium sensitivity (Bian, S., I. Favre, and E. Moczydlowski. 2001. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 98:4776–4781). We found that Slob57 still causes inactivation of this mutant channel, but does not shift its voltage dependence of activation. This result confirms further the independence of the inactivation and the voltage shift produced by Slob57. It also suggests that the voltage shift requires high affinity Ca2+ binding to an intact calcium bowl. Furthermore, Slob57 inhibits the shift in the voltage dependence of activation of dSlo evoked by Ca2+, and this inhibition by Slob57 is greater at higher free Ca2+ concentrations. These results implicate distinct calcium-dependent and -independent mechanisms in the modulation of dSlo by Slob.
Persistence of low drug treatment coverage for injection drug users in large US metropolitan areas

Objectives: Injection drug users (IDUs) are at high risk for HIV, hepatitis, overdose and other harms. Greater drug treatment availability has been shown to reduce these harms among IDUs. Yet, little is known about changes in drug treatment availability for IDUs in the U.S. This paper investigates change in drug treatment coverage for IDUs in 90 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) during 1993-2002. Methods: We define treatment coverage as the percent of IDUs who are in treatment. The number of IDUs in drug treatment is calculated from treatment entry data and treatment census data acquired from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, divided by our estimated number of IDUs in each MSA. Results: Treatment coverage was low in 1993 (mean 6.7%; median 6.0%) and only increased to a mean of 8.3% and median of 8.0% coverage in 2002. Conclusions: Although some MSAs experienced increases in treatment coverage over time, overall levels of coverage were low. The persistence of low drug treatment coverage for IDUs represents a failure by the U.S. health care system to prevent avoidable harms and unnecessary deaths in this population. Policy makers should expand drug treatment for IDUs to reduce blood-borne infections and community harms associated with untreated injection drug use.
The Impact of Illegal Peer-to-Peer File Sharing on the Media Industry

Peer-to-Peer networking technology and related innovations have had a major impact on the music and motion picture industries. While digital technology has improved the quality of audio and video recordings and decreased distribution costs, it has also made unauthorized duplication of copyrighted material and its transmission over the Internet easier. The media industry attributes an erosion of its sales after 1999 to the illegal copying and sharing of digital files and has taken steps to tighten copyright laws and prosecute violators. Others attribute the downturn to a lack of innovative products and futile efforts by the industry to retain a business model made obsolete by technological innovation. In the meantime, unauthorized file-sharing via Peer-to-Peer networks continues unabated and its real financial impact on the industry remains unclear. The market perceives illegal file-sharing to be a significant threat to the long-term profitability of the media industry and regards current legal initiatives to protect its intellectual capital as beneficial. This article discusses several strategies and business models that the media industry may consider to respond to the current threat and better cater to changing customer tastes.
Crystal structure of (E)-1,3-dimethyl-2-[3-(3-nitro-phen-yl)triaz-2-en-1-yl-idene]-2,3-di-hydro-1H-imidazole.

The title compound, C11H12N6O2, a π-conjugated triazene, crystallized with two independent mol­ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. Both mol­ecules have an E conformation about the –N=N– bond and have slightly twisted overall conformations. In mol­ecule A, the imidazole ring is inclined to the benzene ring by 8.12 (4)°, while in mol­ecule B the two rings are inclined to one another by 7.73 (4)°. In the crystal, the independent mol­ecules are linked to each other by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming –A–A–A– and –B–B–B– chains along [100]. The chains are linked by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming sheets lying parallel to (001). The sheets are linked by further C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.5243 (5) A; involving the imidazole ring of mol­ecule A and the benzene ring of mol­ecule B], forming a three-dimensional framework structure.
A multi-wavelength thermal imaging system

The design and construction of a four-wavelength digital thermal imager, with additional visible imaging capabilities, has been undertaken. Use of common focusing optics ensures image register and identical perspective at each of the wavelengths. The detector assembly for the multiwavelength system consists of a linear array of MCT photoconductive elements mounted in a single Dewar for liquid nitrogen cooling. Each element possesses an active area of about 0.01 mm, with spacing of approximately 0.25 mm. Each of the detectors samples the image formed by a single set of focusing optics, thereby ensuring uniform image properties among the four channels. >
Striking a New Balance in the Nanometer Era: First-Time-Right and Time-to-Market Demands Versus Technology Challenges

Summary form only given. Today's semiconductor marketplace demands nanometer designs of unprecedented complexity and performance, with uncompromising time-to-market requirements. This drives a focus on predictable, high-quality design results despite the challenges associated with these next-generation technologies. This scenario is complicated even further by the need to address these challenges across a wide spectrum of products, ranging from high-frequency processor designs to extremely complex ASIC designs. In the nanometer era, the common factor for ensuring market leadership across this broad variety of products is achieving single-pass design success to avoid costly re-spins and the loss of market opportunities: design turnaround time must be minimized without compromising design efficiency and first-time-right requirements. Design automation tools must balance both requirements, while providing designers with information that enables them to "design around" potential trouble spots in both today's and tomorrow's environment to ensure an exceptional level of built-in quality. The article highlights some of the innovations IBM is developing, such as variation-aware and statistical timing, faster serial and parallel processing, more highly integrated data models and tools, and concurrent chip and package design, which optimise the competing requirements of simultaneously reducing design turnaround time and achieving single-pass design success, while effectively managing the technical challenges associated with nanometer designs.
Using TLM for exploring bus-based SoC communication architectures

As billion transistor system-on-chips (SoC) become commonplace and design complexity continues to increase, designers are faced with the daunting task of meeting escalating design requirements in shrinking time-to-market windows, and have begun using an IP-based SoC design methodology that permits reuse of key SoC functional components. Since the communication architectures connecting components in these SoC designs significantly impact system performance, it is imperative that designers explore the communication design space efficiently, quickly and early in the design flow. Transaction level modeling (TLM) is an emerging abstraction that facilitates early exploration of SoC architectures. This paper outlines a typical IP-based SoC design flow, and presents the cycle count accurate at transaction boundaries (CCATB) modeling abstraction which is a fast, efficient and flexible approach for exploring bus-based communication architectures in SoC designs. The CCATB models not only take less time to model but are also faster to simulate than existing modeling abstractions for communication architecture exploration such as pin-accurate BCA (PA-BCA) and transaction based BCA (T-BCA). Experimental results on several industrial SoC subsystem case studies show that CCATB models are faster than PA-BCA by as much as 120% on average and by 67% on average when compared to T-BCA, demonstrating the advantages of CCATB-based TLM abstraction for exploring bus-based SoC communication architectures.
Fatty Eggs and Infertility

It is well established that obese women have a higher prevalence of infertility and ovulatory dysfunction than nonobese women. However, the cellular mechanisms for these effects are unknown. Multiple tissues (such as the liver, skeletal muscle, and pancreas) in obese individuals have been shown to be negatively affected by “lipotoxicity”—the ectopic deposition of lipid in nonadipose tissues, which is associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis. Could this phenomenon be occurring in the ovaries of obese women as well? Now, Wu et al . demonstrate that this is indeed the case. First, the investigators examined in a mouse model whether high-fat diet–induced obesity caused lipotoxicity in granulosa cells—hormone-producing somatic cells that are closely associated with the oocyte—and the cumulus-oocyte complex (COC). (Cumulus cells, which are derived from granulosa cells, surround the oocyte to form the COC.) Compared with oocytes of control mice, the oocytes of mice fed the high-fat diet had increased lipid content and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction. The mice fed the high-fat diet also had increased COC expression of ER stress marker genes, increased granulosa and cumulus cell apoptosis, decreased ovulation, and decreased in vivo fertilization rates. Second, the investigators evaluated ER stress markers in granulosa cells and follicular fluid from women with varying body mass indices (BMIs) and found that markers of ER stress positively correlated with BMI and that the expression of ER stress marker genes was significantly increased in granulosa cells from obese women as compared with expression in granulosa cells from moderate or overweight women. By evaluating both mice and humans, Wu et al . identify several cellular defects that occur in the ovary and oocyte in response to obesity, supporting the role of ovarian lipotoxicity in obesity-associated infertility. Maybe a fatty egg isn’t good for a baby after all? L. L.-Y. Wu et al ., High-fat diet causes lipotoxicity responses in cumulus-oocyte complexes and decreased fertilization rates. Endocrinology 22 September 2010 (10.1210/en.2010-0551). [[Abstract]][1] [1]: http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/en.2010-0551v1
A framework for representing microbial decomposition in coupled climate models

Accurate prediction of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations is essential for evaluating climate change impacts on ecosystems and human societies. One major source of uncertainty in model predictions is the extent to which global warming will increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations through enhanced microbial decomposition of soil organic carbon. Recent advances in microbial ecology could help reduce this uncertainty, but current global models do not represent direct microbial control over decomposition. Instead, all of the coupled climate models reviewed in the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report assume that decomposition is a first-order decay process, proportional to the size of the soil carbon pool. Here we argue for the development of a new generation of models that link decomposition directly to the size and activity of microbial communities in coupled global models. This process begins with the formulation and validation of fine-scale models that capture fundamental microbial mechanisms without excessive mathematical complexity. These mechanistic models must then be scaled up through an aggregation process and validated at ecosystem to global scales prior to incorporation into global climate models (GCMs). Parameterizing microbial models at the global scale is challenging because some microbial properties such as in situ extracellular enzyme activities are very difficult to measure directly. New parameter fitting procedures may therefore be needed to infer the values of important microbial variables. Validating decomposition models at the global scale is also a challenge, and has not yet been accomplished with the land carbon models embedded in current GCMs. Fortunately new global datasets on soil carbon stocks and fluxes offer promising opportunities to validate both existing land carbon models and new microbial models. If challenges in scaling, parameterization, and validation can be overcome, a new generation of microbially-based decomposition models could substantially improve predictions of carbon–climate feedbacks in the Earth system. Development of new models structures would also reduce any bias due to the assumption of first-order decomposition across all of the models currently referenced in reports of the IPCC.
Comparison of on-die global clock distribution methods for parallel serial links

This paper presents a comparative study of clock distribution methods for serial links, including inverter chain, CML chain, transmission line, inductive load and capacitively driven wires in regards to delay, jitter and power consumption. Analysis, simulation and design insights are given for each method for 2.5GHz clock propagation by on-die 5mm wire in a 90nm CMOS process. Simulations show the transmission line achieves least jitter and delay, while capacitively driven wire illustrates the best power-jitter and power-delay product.
Quantification of Selected Herbicides and Chlorinated Phenols in Urine by Using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry

We have developed e method for determining selected chlorinated phenols end phenoxy herbicides in urine. The process of preparing the samples includes acid hydrolysis, extraction with benzene, derlvatizatlon with diszoethane, and column chromatography cleanup. We quantify the more volatile compounds by using capillary column gas chromatography/positive chemical ionization/mase spectrometry/mase spectrometry. Less volatile compounds are quantified by using electron capture negative chemical ionization in a single stage mass spectrometry mode. Quality control samples are included in each analytical run, and the results demonstrate that the analytical system is In control. Positive values for the target analytea are determined on the basis of appropriate relative retention time, s signal-to-noise ratio greater than 3:1, and a calculated concentration greater than 1 ppb. We determine the chlorine isotope ratios for each compound to assess the presence or absence of interferences. This analytical method has been applied in a case-control study of 199 individuals to examine exposure to the 12 target analytes.