cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
X- AND $gamma$-RADIOLYSIS OF SOME TRYPTOPHAN DIPEPTIDES.

SummaryIrradiation of the dipeptides tryptophyl-glycine, -alanine, -leucine, -tryptophan, -tyrosine, and -phenylalanine in aerated solution gave essentially the same products in each case. The major products are those known to arise from the radiolysis of tryptophan, which is therefore proposed as the initial product of hydroxyl radical attack on the α-carbon atom adjacent to the peptide nitrogen.The presence of an aromatic ring in the C-terminal acid (try-tyr, try-phe) results also in hydroxyl radical attack on this ring. Results agree qualitatively with the mechanisms proposed for peptide radiolysis by Liebster and Kopoldova (1966) and Garrison (1968).
Novel wide-bandwidth matching technique for laser diodes

A low-loss microstrip matching circuit with large bandwidth for connecting a laser diode that has a nominal impedance of 2 Omega to a 50 Omega system is described. The technique utilizes a microstrip Chebyshev transformer without very wide line widths to obtain the match at a center frequency of 10.5 GHz with a bandwidth of 9 GHz, an insertion loss of less than 1.5 dB, and a reflection coefficient of better than -10 dB. >
Therapeutic ERCP: Spectrum of procedures performed in 60 consecutive patients

Therapeutic applications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) have increased dramatically, and endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) is the cornerstone of these techniques. Indications include treatment of retained biliary duct stones, papillary stenosis, benign and malignant strictures, and acute cholangitis and pancreatitis. We reviewed our recent experience to assess the spectrum of procedures done and their results. Medical records and radiographic examinations in 60 consecutive patients undergoing therapeutic ERCP were studied. Patients were placed into one of three treatment groups; Group 1, ES alone (N=21); Group 2, ES plus stone retrieval (N=15); and Group 3, ES plus stent placement (N=24). In Group 1, all of eight patients with ductal stones had spontaneous passage. In 11 patients with papillary stenosis, nine had relief of symptoms following ES. Two patients with pancreatitis improved after ES. In Group 2, all 15 patients with ductal stones had successful retrieval. In Group 3, patients were treated for biliary stricture alone (4), retained stones (7), pancreatitis (5), neoplasms (6) and papillary stenosis (2). In these 24 patient, 21 (88%) were treated successfully or had palliation of their symptoms. In our series, a wide variety of therapeutic applications of ERCP was used to manage simple and complex biliary disease. ES alone or in combination with other techniques was done in all patients. Overall, 55 (92%) of 60 interventional procedures were successful as defined by removal of stones and relief or palliation of symptoms.
Complexity in the atmosphere

Two complexity measures, mutual information and statistical complexity, were applied to two types of atmospheric turbulence data sets. One data set is time series measurements of ocean surface winds. The other is a time-height, Doppler lidar image of vertical winds in the atmosphere. High values of complexity are seen where they might be expected: in the time series data in wind regimes where statistical models of turbulence perform poorly and in the time-height Doppler lidar images at the top of the boundary layer, where the atmosphere is undergoing a transition from an unstable to a stable flow regime. Finite-state machines known as "epsilon machines", were constructed to model the information flow in the data. The results are a step toward establishing new, unbiased, modeling frameworks for atmospheric turbulence that will make optimal use of the computational resources being applied to sensing, data management, and numerical modeling of the atmosphere.
MRI of soft tissue abnormalities: a primary cause of sickle cell crisis.

The early manifestations of sickle cell crisis in soft tissues are important to recognize, though rarely manifest on radiographs and difficult to evaluate on computed tomography and bone scans. Documentation is critical, however, if appropriate judgments as to emergency treatment versus conservative measures are to be made. Seventeen adults seen in the emergency room or hospitalized in presumed sickle cells crisis underwent magnetic resonance imaging within 24–72 h of presentation. Results indicate that magnetic resonance imaging is a sensitive modality for documenting early soft tissue pathology which may be the predominant or sole cause of sickle cell crisis.
Outcomes Among Hypertensive Patients With Concomitant Peripheral and Coronary Artery Disease Findings From the INternational VErapamil-SR/Trandolapril STudy

Hypertension is a common risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Guidelines suggest treating PAD patients to a blood pressure <130/80 mm Hg; therefore, our objective was to explore whether attainment of this target blood pressure is associated with improved outcomes. We performed a post hoc analysis of the INternational VErapamil-SR/Trandolapril STudy, a randomized clinical trial, which included hypertensive patients with concomitant PAD and coronary artery disease. There were 2699 PAD patients followed for a mean of 2.7 years (60 970 patient-years). The primary outcome, all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke, occurred in 16.3% of PAD patients versus 9.2% without PAD (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.26 [95% CI: 1.13 to 1.40]; P<0.0001). The primary outcome occurred least frequently among PAD patients treated to an average systolic blood pressure of 135 to 145 mm Hg and an average diastolic blood pressure of 60 to 90 mm Hg. PAD patients displayed a J-shape relationship with systolic blood pressure and the primary outcome, although individuals without PAD did not. PAD patients may require a different target blood pressure than those without PAD.
Phenotypic mixing of host range and serological specificities in bacteriophages T2 and T4.

Abstract Crosses between h 2+ (T2 host range) and h 4+ (T4 host range) phage produce progeny which are phenotypically h 2+ , h 4+ , or h 2+ h 4+ . The proportions of genetically h 4+ and h 2+ particles belonging to any one phenotypic class are similar. The host range and serological specificities which are controlled by one genetic locus are also linked phenotypically. It is suggested that the materials responsible for these specificities are produced in a pool and become randomly associated with the genetic material of phage during maturation.
Genetic network identification using convex programming

Gene regulatory networks capture interactions between genes and other cell substances, resulting in various models for the fundamental biological process of transcription and translation. The expression levels of the genes are typically measured as mRNA concentration in micro-array experiments. In a so-called genetic perturbation experiment, small perturbations are applied to equilibrium states and the resulting changes in expression activity are measured. One of the most important problems in systems biology is to use these data to identify the interaction pattern between genes in a regulatory network, especially in a large scale network. The authors develop a novel algorithm for identifying the smallest genetic network that explains genetic perturbation experimental data. By construction, our identification algorithm is able to incorporate and respect a priori knowledge known about the network structure. A priori biological knowledge is typically qualitative, encoding whether one gene affects another gene or not, or whether the effect is positive or negative. The method is based on a convex programming relaxation of the combinatorially hard problem of L O minimisation. The authors apply the proposed method to the identification of a subnetwork of the SOS pathway in Escherichia coli , the segmentation polarity network in Drosophila melanogaster , and an artificial network for measuring the performance of the method.
An existence theorem for weak solution of a nonlinear dam problem

In this paper, it is shown that the well known p-harmonic equation in the theory of quasi-conformal mappings also describes some porous medium flows. A weak formulation is made for a free boundary problem with a dam domain. An existence theorem is established for this problem which points the way to a computational approach to the solution.
Carbohydrate composition of honey from different floral sources and their influence on growth of selected intestinal bacteria: An in vitro comparison

Abstract Five human intestinal Bifidobacterium spp. (B. longum, B. adolescentis, B. breve, B. bifidum, and B. infantis) and intestinal microorganism (Bacteriodes thetaiotaomicron, Clostridium perfringens, Eubacterium aerofaciens, and Enterococcus faecalis) were cultured in De Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) medium or thioglycollate medium supplemented (5% w/v) with different unifloral honeys (sourwood, alfalfa, or sage). Inoculated samples were incubated anaerobically at 37 °C for 48 h. Samples were collected at 12 h intervals and examined for specific growth rate. Levels of fermentation end products (lactic and acetic acids) produced by Bifidobacterium spp. were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Growth of intestinal microorganisms co-cultured with Bifidobacterium spp. in the presence of different unifloral honeys were also examined. All three honeys enhanced (p
Understanding How Surface Morphology and Hydrogen Dissolution Influence Ethylene Hydrogenation on Palladium

We prepared model supported nanoporous Pd catalysts grown via ballistic deposition with an unprecedented catalytic activity for ethylene hydrogenation. Extremely high conversion of ethylene to ethane (50%) exceeding that observed in prior studies by over an order-of-magnitude was achieved. Model Pd(111)/Pt(111) and Pd-decorated Pd(111)/Pt(111) and FeO(111)/Pt(111) thin film catalysts were employed to examine how the reactivity evolves with creation of catalytically active Pd sites. The origin of enhanced reactivity is shown to be due to the presence of highly reactive Pd sites and the absence of surface hydrogen depletion due to dissolution into the bulk. Collectively these studies present an enhanced and unified understanding of the catalytic behavior of various Pd samples employed in prior studies.
Influence of Seeding Rate and Herbicide Treatments on Weed Control, Yield, and Quality of Spring-Seeded Glyphosate-Resistant Alfalfa

Field trials were conducted in 2005 and 2006 in central and southwest Missouri to investigate the effect of seeding rate and herbicide programs on weed control, forage quality, and yield within the year of establishment in spring seeded glyphosate-resistant (GR) alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). In all experiments, EPTC (4.4 kg ha -1 ), 2,4-DB plus sethoxydim (1.1 plus 0.21 kg ha -1 ), imazamox (0.043 kg ha -1 ) and glyphosate (0.86 kg ae ha -1 ) were applied to GR alfalfa that was seeded at 4.5, 8.9, 13.5, and 18 kg ha -1 . Across all locations, the glyphosate application provided good control of weeds regardless of alfalfa seeding rate. When applied at the same timing, imazamox provided similar levels of annual broadleafweed control as glyphosate, while 2, 4-DB plus sethoxydim provided similar levels of annual grass and broadleafweed control as glyphosate. Neither glyphosate nor the conventional herbicide treatments reduced alfalfa stem density between the first and last annual harvests, but 2, 4-DB plus sethoxydim resulted in the most visual injury to seedling alfalfa stands and lowered initial yields at all locations. In addition, alfalfa annual yields were similar or higher in the glyphosate treatment compared to the other herbicide programs. Harvested forage in the herbicide treatments generally had greater crude protein (CP) content than the untreated control forage. Application of glyphosate resulted in similar or higher forage CP content compared to conventional herbicide treatments. In vitro true digestibility of the harvested GR alfalfa ranged from 750 to 860 g kg -1 DM at all locations with few differences across herbicide treatments.
A direct numerical solution to forward kinematics of general Stewart–Gough platforms

This paper presents a simple numerical method for forward kinematics of general Stewart–Gough platforms, which can generate a unique solution directly. This method utilizes the trivial nature of the inverse kinematics of parallel manipulators, and derives a straightforward linear relationship between the small change in joint variables (leg lengths) and the resulting small motion of the platform. The solution to the forward kinematics is then achieved through a series of small changes in joint variables. Numerical examples validate and confirm the efficiency of the method.
Change in Titania Structure from Amorphousness to Crystalline Increasing Photoinduced Electron-Transfer Rate in Dye-Titania System

Thin titania gel films containing well-dispersed fluorescein dye were prepared by the sol−gel method and treated with steam to promote crystal growth of the titania particles. It is known that steam treatment converts the titania structure from amorphousness to crystalline. In the present study, such change is found to increase the rate of the photoinduced electron transfer from and to dispersed fluorescein dye molecules.
Role of ve-cadherins, beta-1 integrins and endothelin-1 in endothelial dysfunction after cardiac transplantation

Abstract Introduction: Endothelial dysfunction is a major cause of chronic allograft vasculopathy in cardiac transplantation. The dysfunction of the endothelium in coronary vasculature can be due to the loss of endothelial contacts with the extracellular matrix, endothelial cell-to-cell contact. We investigated the expression of VE-cadherins, integrins and endothelin-1 in a heart transplant model in mice to determine if endothelial dysfunction is from the underexpression of these endothelial specific molecules. Methods: Nonvascularised neonatal heart allografts from C57 BL/6 (H-2b) were transplanted to ear pinna of Balb/c (H-2d) recipient mice. Isografts from C57 BL/6 (H-2b) mice were performed as control. Allo and isografts were harvested at P.O day 1,3,5,7 & immunostaining for endothelin-1, VE-cadherin and Beta-1 integrin was performed with monoclonal antibodies specific for each molecules. Results: In normal neonatal hearts, VE-cadherin and Beta-1 integrin were detected in endothelial cells only, while ET-1 was detected in both endothelial and myocardial cells. Following transplantation, VE-cadherin became undetectable until P.O day 7 in isografts and P.O.day 5 in allografts at which time it became detectable at low levels on endothelial cells. Beta-1 integrin showed a pattern similar to VE-cadherin, except that it became barely detectable in either iso or allografts after transplantation. ET-1 did not show any detectable changes in either allo or isografts after transplantation. Conclusion: VE-cadherin and Beta-1 integrin expression on endothelial cells is diminished after cardiac transplantation, while ET-1 expression continues after transplantation. These data provide molecular insights into the loss of vascular endothelial integrity in cardiac allografts.
Spam mitigation using spatio-temporal reputations from blacklist history

IP blacklists are a spam filtering tool employed by a large number of email providers. Centrally maintained and well regarded, blacklists can filter 80+% of spam without having to perform computationally expensive content-based filtering. However, spammers can vary which hosts send spam (often in intelligent ways), and as a result, some percentage of spamming IPs are not actively listed on any blacklist. Blacklists also provide a previously untapped resource of rich historical information. Leveraging this history in combination with spatial reasoning, this paper presents a novel reputation model (PreSTA), designed to aid in spam classification. In simulation on arriving email at a large university mail system, PreSTA is capable of classifying up to 50% of spam not identified by blacklists alone, and 93% of spam on average (when used in combination with blacklists). Further, the system is consistent in maintaining this blockage-rate even during periods of decreased blacklist performance. PreSTA is scalable and can classify over 500,000 emails an hour. Such a system can be implemented as a complementary blacklist service or used as a first-level filter or prioritization mechanism on an email server.
Human T lymphocytes reactive with whole myelin recognize predominantly myelin basic protein

Abstract Human T-cell lines and clones reactive with whole human myelin were isolated from three normal subjects by in vitro sensitization techniques. The CD4+ T-cell lines were maintained in long-term culture by periodic antigen restimulation with myelin and use of interleukin-2. Although myelin basic protein (MBP) represents only about 10% of the dry weight of myelin and the myelin-reactive T-cell populations were never exposed to purified MBP, each of the three cell lines responded to in vitro stimulation with both MBP and whole myelin. Seventeen of 18 T-cell clones dervied from the myelin-reactive cell lines also responded to MBP. One myelin-reactive T-cell clone did not recognize MBP or the major myelin lipids but responded to delipidated myelin proteins suggesting that this clone recognized another myelin protein antigen. These results indicate that MBP is the predominant antigen in whole myelin recognized by human T cells under the culture conditions described. However, there is at least one additional protein antigen in myelin that is also immunogenic.
Interpreting and Enforcing Section 2 of the Capper-Volstead Act

Based upon legislative intent, court holdings, and economic theory, undue price enhancement is associated with the exercise of market power. Consequently, a necessary condition for an agricultural marketing cooperative to be in violation of Section 2 is the ability to prevent members from overproducing if market power is exercised. Investigations of undue price enhancement should first determine the extent to which a cooperative possesses potential market power. If such potential exists, the theory of workable competition provides the framework for determining whether price enhancement has become "undue."
Hume on Development: the First Volumes of the History of England

IT IS often said that we do not understand development, the manner in which less developed countries (LDCs) are transformed into nations with prosperous economies and stable political institutions. If we glance at nations such as Panama or the Philippines today we see stagnant economies plagued by cronyism, inflation, and a radical insecurity of property, aggravated by insurgencies which threaten what little stability exists. Private armies are common and in some places seem to afford the only security. Development economists recommend massive infusions of foreign aid, which is supposed to help build the capital infrastructure for a modern economy, but often the major result is wasteful spending together with large dollar accounts in foreign banks for the politically influential and their cronies. Our puzzlement over development, in short, was summed up a dozen years ago by a distinguished economist and political scientist who wrote:
Discrete approximations for complex Kac–Moody groups

Abstract We construct a map from the classifying space of a discrete Kac–Moody group over the algebraic closure of the field with p elements to the classifying space of a complex topological Kac–Moody group and prove that it is a homology equivalence at primes q different from p . This generalizes a classical result of Quillen, Friedlander and Mislin for Lie groups. As an application, we construct unstable Adams operations for general Kac–Moody groups compatible with the Frobenius homomorphism. Our results rely on new integral homology decompositions for certain infinite dimensional unipotent subgroups of discrete Kac–Moody groups.
Asymmetric Group Sequential Designs under Fractional Brownian Motion

Group sequential designs are important tools for clinical trials with interim monitoring plans. Recently, asymmetric group sequential designs with non binding rules are applied to clinical trials of many disease areas including oncology. In this article, we study boundary calculations and sample size determination for these designs with interim statistics under both standard Brownian motion (BM) and fractional Brownian motion (FBM). Power family spending functions, including Pocock and O'Brien-Fleming design types, are considered for these calculations. We use clinical trial examples to show how to design such trials under BM and FBM for efficacy and futility monitoring.
In the Beginning Was the Familiar Voice Personally Familiar Voices in the Evolutionary and Contemporary Biology of Communication

The human voice is described in dialogic linguistics as an embodiment of self in a social context, contributing to expression, perception and mutual exchange of self, consciousness, inner life, and personhood. While these approaches are subjective and arise from phenomenological perspectives, scientific facts about personal vocal identity, and its role in biological development, support these views. It is our purpose to review studies of the biology of personal vocal identity-the familiar voice pattern-as providing an empirical foundation for the view that the human voice is an embodiment of self in the social context. Recent developments in the biology and evolution of communication are concordant with these notions, revealing that familiar voice recognition (also known as vocal identity recognition or individual vocal recognition) has contributed to survival in the earliest vocalizing species. Contemporary ethology documents the crucial role of familiar voices across animal species in signaling and perceiving internal states and personal identities. Neuropsychological studies of voice reveal multimodal cerebral associations arising across brain structures involved in memory, emotion, attention, and arousal in vocal perception and production, such that the voice represents the whole person. Although its roots are in evolutionary biology, human competence for processing layered social and personal meanings in the voice, as well as personal identity in a large repertory of familiar voice patterns, has achieved an immense sophistication.
Backward looking and forward looking solutions to monetary models of inflation with rational expectations

Abstract We show that an indeterminacy problem, noted by Blanchard, concerning monetary models of inflation with rational expectations may be resolved by requiring solutions for real variables in such models to be invariant to the choice of accounting unit.
Nutrient fluxes within a small north temperate salt marsh

The water exchange between a small (4.1 hectare) salt marsh adjoining the Great Bay Estuary system of New Hampshire, USA was sampled during 16 tidal cycles between July, 1976 and November, 1977. Tidal amplitude, temperature, salinity, nutrient concentrations (ammonia-N, nitrate-N, nitrite-N, orthophosphate-P, total-P, silicates) and suspended particulates were measured. Conspicuous tidal hydrographic patterns were observed. Mean concentrations of nitrate-N and silicates varied with season. The tidal information, combined with volume determinations, was extrapolated to determine the net flux of hydrographic parameters on monthly and yearly bases. Ammonia-N showed a pronounced seasonality of net exchange by regression analyses. Ammonia-N and suspended particulates had a statistically significant import into the marsh. However, the net fluxes of the other materials were not statistically different from O.
Ethical decision-making in research: identifying all competing interests. Commentary on "Six Domains of Research Ethics"

Ethical dilemmas are the result of conflicts between potential benefits or harms for two or more competing interests. Therefore, ethical decision-making implies a responsibility to identify those interests, harms, and benefits. For this purpose, researchers have responsibilities to the research, the subjects of research, other researchers, the institution, society, the environment, and self.
A finite difference scheme for the incompressible advection-diffusion equation

Abstract A representation of continuum space by a second order grid system is proposed. A new finite difference scheme for the two-dimensional incompressible advection-diffusion equation is derived for the model. The difference scheme is flux conserving and contains no spatial truncation error with respect to the model except through approximation of the local velocity. It contains no false diffusion and preserves the sign of positive definite quantities. It is simple to program and is subject only to the usual diffusion and Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy stability conditions. It is stable at all grid mesh sizes or cell Reynolds numbers. A sample one-dimensional problem is presented and comparison made with the standard central difference and “upwind” difference schemes.
Residuals management and environmental quality

Abstract Residuals management comprises an important part of effective environmental quality management, and the assimilative services provided by the natural environment are essential inputs into Man's production and consumption activities. The failure to appreciate the external effects of residual discharges, however, has led to excessive uses of environmental assimilative capacity. The policy choices for environmental quality management involve decisions about the wisest use of common-property environmental resources, as balanced against other social needs and the production of goods and services. Ecosystems management provides opportunities for beneficial use based upon intelligence, rather than default.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Graphene Oxide Frameworks

We use quantum mechanical calculations to develop a full set of force field parameters in order to perform molecular dynamics simulations to understand and optimize the molecular storage properties inside graphene oxide frameworks (GOFs). A set of boron-related parameters for commonly used empirical force fields is determined to describe the nonbonded and bonded interactions between linear boronic acid linkers and graphene sheets of GOF materials. The transferability of the parameters is discussed and their validity is quantified by comparing quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical structural and vibrational properties. The application of the model to the dynamics of water inside the GOFs reveals significant variations in structural flexibility depending on the linker density, which is shown to be usable as a tuning parameter for desired diffusion properties.
How Can One Piece Together Emotion when a Crucial Piece Is Missing

Attempts to explain emotion typically emphasize the interaction of evolutionary and socialization processes. However, in describing this interplay the role of the person is typically underemphasized or unaccounted for. This paper lays out empirical and theoretical rationale for considering the person as a major contributor to emotion generation and development.
Molecular tools to reestablish progestin control of endometrial cancer cell proliferation

Abstract Objective: Endometrial cancers often arise in a setting of estrogen stimulation unopposed by the differentiating effects of progesterone. Our laboratory and others have previously shown that progesterone receptor down-regulation or perturbation of progesterone receptor isoform A or B expression is associated with the development of poorly differentiated endometrial cancers that are not growth inhibited by progestins. The purpose of these studies was to reestablish high progesterone receptor isoform A and B gene expressions in such endometrial cancer cells and to examine the effects of progestin treatment on cell growth and metastatic potential after this transformation. Study Design: To induce high levels of expression of the progesterone receptor isoforms in KLE and Hec50 endometrial cancer cells, adenoviral vectors encoding the genes for progesterone receptor isoforms A and B were created. The characteristic ability of cancer cells to grow independently of anchorage to the surrounding solid matrix was measured by counting colony formation on soft agar for 8 to 14 days. Cell proliferation in response to a time course of progestin treatment was tested with flow cytometry. Results: After treatment with a control vector without a progesterone receptor–encoding insert, no effect of progestin treatment on cell proliferation was found; after treatment with vectors encoding progesterone receptor isoform A or B, however, progestin treatment resulted in significant inhibition of cell growth. The anchorage-independent cell growth on soft agar assay showed that by 8 to 14 days the number of cell colonies was reduced by 50% relative to control preparations in the presence of progesterone receptor isoform A plus progestin ( P P P =.001, Hec50 cells; P Conclusion: In poorly differentiated endometrial cancer cells that are resistant to progestin therapy, adenovirus-induced expressions of progesterone receptors A and B reestablish progestin control of endometrial cancer cell proliferation. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:790-7.)
Root Quantification by Edge Discrimination Using a Desktop Scanner

Root characterization methods are constrained by one or more of the following factors : cost, limited resolution, or time of analysis. Most length-determination methods are based on the line-intersect principle. An alternate method using a flatbed scanner and a microcomputer was developed. Algorithms were developed to estimate root area, length, and diameter (mean root width). Two-dimensional area is estimated by summing the number of pixels representing a single or group of gray scales. Length and width are calculated as a function of the area, the number of edge pixels, and the number of pixels on diagonal edges (...)
Inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity in the corneal epithelium by anti-inflammatory steroids

Abstract Adenylate cyclase activity in bovine corneal epithelial or rat kidney particulate fractions was completely inhibited by clinically employed levels of anti-inflammatory steroids. Dose-response studies using several steroids showed that dexamethasone phosphate was the most potent enzyme inhibitor, followed respectively by prednisolone phosphate and hydrocortisone phosphate. Enzyme inhibition occurred regardless of the level or mechanism of adenylate cyclase activation, although agonist-stimulated activity was more sensitive to inhibition than fluoride-stimulated activity. Steroids appear to cause a direct, reversible and non-competitive inhibition of adenylate cyclase, affecting both the apparent substrate affinity and maximum velocity of the enzyme. Application of high levels of anti-inflammatory steroids may block the reported cyclic AMP-mediated effects of increased epithelial wound closure rates and stimulated epithelial basement membrane protein synthesis in a healing cornea.
Microwave ablation in a hepatic porcine model: correlation of CT and histopathologic findings

Background. Thermal ablative techniques have gained increasing popularity in recent years as safe and effective options for patients with unresectable solid malignancies. Microwave ablation has emerged as a relatively new technique with the promise of larger and faster burns without some of the limitations of radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Here we study a new microwave ablation device in a living porcine model using gross, histologic, and radiographic analysis. Materials and methods. The size and shape of ablated lesions were assessed using six pigs in a non-survival study. Liver tissue was ablated using 2, 4, and 8 min burns, in both peripheral and central locations, with and without vascular inflow occlusion. To characterize the post-ablation appearance, three additional pigs underwent several 4 min ablations each followed by serial computed tomography (CT) imaging at 7, 14, and 28 days postoperatively. Results. The 2 and 4 min ablations resulted in lesions that were similar in size, 33.5 cm3 and 37.5 cm3, respectively. Ablations lasting 8 min produced lesions that were significantly larger, 92.0 cm3 on average. Proximity to hepatic vasculature and inflow occlusion did not significantly change lesion size or shape. In follow-up studies, CT imaging showed a gradual reduction in lesion volume over 28 days to 25–50% of the original volume. Discussion. Microwave ablation with a novel device results in consistently sized and shaped lesions. Importantly, we did not observe any significant heat-sink effect using this device, a major difference from RFA techniques. This system offers a viable alternative for creating fast, large ablation volumes for treatment in liver cancer.
Optimizing Star Join Queries for Data Warehousing in Microsoft SQL Server

As mainstream data warehouses are growing into the multi-terabyte range, adequate performance for decision support queries remains challenging for database query processors. Proper choice of query plan is essential in data warehouses where fact tables often store billions of rows. This paper discusses query optimization and execution strategies that Microsoft SQL Server employs for decision support queries in dimensionally modeled relational data warehouses. Our approach is based on pattern matching to detect typical star query patterns. When matching the pattern, the optimizer generates additional query plan alternatives specifically optimized for data warehouse performance. For high selectivity queries, the plans use nested loops joins and seeks. Medium selectivity queries in turn rely on right-deep hash joins with bitmap filters. Bitmap filters perform semi-join reductions to efficiently prune out non-qualifying rows early. Final plan choice is left for cost-based optimization which also compares the data warehouse specific plans against conventional query plans. We conducted an extensive experimental investigation using both synthetic workloads and several customer workloads. As our results show, the new plan shapes and execution strategies yield significant performance improvements across the targeted workloads as compared to earlier versions of Microsoft SQL Server.
Use of living radical polymerizations to study the structural evolution and properties of highly crosslinked polymer networks

Crosslinked polymer networks are used in a wide variety of applications. To use these materials effectively, a fundamental understanding of their structural evolution and the relationship between material properties and structure is essential. In this article, a novel technique employing “iniferters,” i.e., living radical polymerizations, to photopolymerize these networks is utilized to study the property and structural evolution of these highly desirable materials. Living radical polymerizations are used in this work since this technique avoids the problem of carbon radical trapping encountered while using conventional initiators. Dynamic mechanical measurements are performed on highly crosslinked methacrylate networks to glean information regarding their structural heterogeneity. By performing these measurements on homopolymerized samples at various stages of the reaction and on copolymerized samples of multifunctional methacrylates, the mechanical properties are characterized as a function of double bond conversion and comonomer composition. From such analyses, with respect to both temperature and frequency, quantitative conclusions regarding the structure of the networks are drawn. This effort is aimed at exploiting the living radical polymerizations initiated by p-xylylene bis(N,N-diethyl dithiocarbamate) (XDT), to study the mechanical property evolution and structural heterogeneity of crosslinked polymers which is nearly impossible otherwise. Polymers examined in this study include networks formed by homopolymerization of diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA) and polyethylene glycol 600 dimethacrylate (PEG600DMA) as well as copolymers of DEGDMA and PEG600DMA. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 2297–2307, 1997
An Improved Umbilical Model for the Active Rack Isolation System

This paper is an extension of the recent vvork published in “A ‘Kane’s Dynamics’ Model for the Active Rack Isolation System [ARKS],” by Hampton and Beech. As proposed in that work, Kane’s Method is used to develop the contributions to the generalized active force equations (GAFs) for ARIS that are due to the umbilicals. Two approaches for modeling the umbilicals and their GAF contributions are developed. In the first approach. the umbilicals are considered to act individually (rather than together as a unit) benveen the International Space Station (ISS) and an ARISisolated International Standard Payload Rack (,ISPR). In the second (to which the first reduces as a simplification), all the individual umbilicals are modeled as one effective umbilical. Although treating the umbilicals individually is more mathematically involved than treating them collectively, it provides a model of greater fidelity than is otherwise afforded.
Robert Carl Schlant, MD, 1929–2002

Dr Robert Schlant’s professional career at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, spanned almost half a century, from 1958 to 2002. He rapidly rose through the faculty ranks to become Professor of Medicine in 1967. He was Director of the Division of Cardiology from 1962 to 1988 and Chief of Cardiology at Grady Memorial Hospital until 1998. As director of one of the largest cardiology training programs in the nation, he imbued 3 generations of young cardiologists with his love of learning, his passion for excellence, his advocacy of research, and his dedication to patient care. Decades before the contemporary emphasis on evidence-based medicine, he challenged colleagues and trainees alike to seek and apply such evidence. When this was lacking, he designed and implemented research studies to accumulate data and was an active participant in many of the early landmark multicenter coronary and cardiovascular clinical trials as investigator, steering committee member, and publication committee member, to name a few. He was the consummate teacher, equally skilled at bedside rounds, formal lectures, journal article …
HD1: design and fabrication of a 16 Tesla Nb/sub 3/Sn dipole magnet

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Superconducting Magnet Group has completed the design, fabrication and test of HD1, a 16 T block-coil dipole magnet. State of the art Nb/sub 3/Sn conductor was wound in double-layer racetrack coils and supported by an iron yoke and a tensioned aluminum shell. In order to prevent conductor movement under magnetic forces up to the design field, a coil pre-stress of 150 MPa was required. To achieve this level without damaging the brittle conductor, the target stress was generated during cool-down to 4.2 K by exploiting the thermal contraction differentials between yoke and shell. Accurate control of the shell tension during assembly was obtained using pressurized bladders and interference load keys. An integrated 3D CAD model was used to optimize magnetic and mechanical design and analysis.
DYNAMICS OF A TRANSGRESSIVE PRODELTAIC SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE WITHIN A PENNSYLVANIAN INTRACRATONIC BASIN, COLORADO, U.S.A.

Detailed sedimentological analysis of a prodeltaic turbidite unit within the Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation provides insight into the nature of fan-delta deposition, and allows reconstruction of paleogeographic and paleoclimatic conditions within a tectonically active cratonic basin. The formation, a thick succession of fan-delta deposits, exhibits a complex stratigraphic architecture of alluvial, fluvial, and deltaic fithofacies that were deposited in the Central Colorado Basin (CCB), U.S.A., a fault-bounded depression within the Ancestral Rockies. An ~ 20 to 35-m-thick, regionally extensive, unconformity-bounded prodelta unit was deposited during a large eustatic sea-level rise that temporarily interrupted coarsegrained fluvial-deltaic deposition. The unit consists of dark-green shale and sandstone event beds with tool marks produced by abundant plant debris. The sandstone event beds were previously interpreted as turbidites because they contain current ripples, parallel lamination, and sole marks consistent with deposition from turbidity currents in the absence of storm-generated surface gravity waves. We have found, however, that proximal prodeltaic deposits contain evidence for combined oscillatory and unidirectional flow (i.e., asymmetric hummocky cross stratification (HCS), quasi-planar lamination, and combined-flow ripple stratification), indicating deposition under large waves in relatively shallow water. Paleohydraulic calculations indicate that formation of the HCS beds requires a fetch of at least 75 km to generate the necessary wave periods. Given the position of the CCB in the lee of the ancestral Front Range relative to the prevailing trade winds, and the narrow seaway to the south, storms either tracked across the Cordilleran seaway from the west or formed in situ within the CCB. The former hypothesis is consistent with paleoclimate models that purport the development of summer monsoonal circulation patterns over western equatorial Pangea during the late Paleozoic, and regional observations of southeastward eolian bedform migration directions.
A Chicken Embryo Eye Model for the Analysis of Alphaherpesvirus Neuronal Spread and Virulence

We describe use of developing chicken embryos as a model to study neuronal spread and virulence of pseudorabies virus (PRV). At embryonic day 12, β-galactosidase-expressing PRV strains were injected into the vitreous humor of one eye, and virus replication and spread from the eye to the brain were measured by β-galactosidase activity and the recovery of infectious virus from tissues. The wild-type PRV strain, Becker, replicated in the eye and then spread to the brain, causing extensive pathology characterized by edema, hemorrhage, and necrosis that localized to virally infected tissue. The attenuated vaccine strain, Bartha, replicated in the eye and spread throughout specific regions of the brain, producing little to no overt pathology. Becker mutants lacking membrane proteins gE or gI replicated in the eye and were able to spread to the brain efficiently. The pathology associated with replication of these mutants in the brain was intermediate to that induced by Becker or Bartha. Mixed infection of a gE deletion mutant and a gI deletion mutant restored the pathogenic phenotype to wild-type levels. These data indicate that the replication of virus in embryonic brain tissue is not sufficient to induce the characteristic pathological response and that the gE and gI gene products actively affect pathological responses in the developing chicken brain.
When does adaptive performance lead to higher task performance

Summary Adaptive performance is a facet of performance that reflects acquiring enhanced competencies in response to change. Micro-level researchers have assumed that adaptive performance is beneficial for task performance. Similarly, macro-level researchers have suggested that organizations need to attend to, monitor, and respond to contingencies in their environments for adaptive performance to be beneficial for firm performance. Drawing from the attention-based theory of the firm and resource theory, we suggest that perceptions of organizational politics and individual differences in conscientiousness constitute contingencies of the adaptive performance–task performance relationship. In a sample of 92 call center employees, we found that adaptive performance is positively associated with task performance but that conscientiousness and organizational politics jointly influence the adaptive performance–task performance relationship. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gender influence on nursing education and practice at Aga Khan university school of nursing in Karachi, Pakistan

Summary Purpose The purpose of this study was three fold: (1) increase the understanding of gender sensitivity in nursing education and practice; (2) explore male and female nursing student and faculty perceptions on effective classroom and clinical teaching; and (3) clarify the necessity of both bedside teaching and role modeling in a Pakistani nursing program. Design Five successive focus groups were held to explore perceptions and views of twenty undergraduate, four graduates, and five Pakistani faculty members through guided interviews. Thematic analysis of transcribed data from observation and shorthand notes reached saturation after two rounds of transcription. Triangulated thematic analysis corroborated faculty and student perceptions. Findings Data extracted two major categories and four themes. The classroom teaching themes emerged as (1) feeling misplaced and disapproved, and (2) gendered teaching style. The clinical teaching themes were identified as (1) feeling bewildered, and (2) preferences for bedside teaching and role modeling. Discussion and conclusion The findings highlighted the need for gender sensitivity and cultural awareness in teaching and practice of nursing. Innovative teaching strategies can effectively resolve the contributing barriers to learning among nursing students. Implication for practice Awareness of gender differences among the students in addition to faculty enthusiasm communicates positive professional attitudes. Role modeling at bedside requires balancing essential cultural issues in nursing education and practice.
The extended two-sample problem: nonparametric case

Abstract The classical two-sample problem is extended here to the case where the distribution functions of the observable random variables are specified functions of unknown distribution functions and the null hypotheses to be tested or the parameters to be estimated relate to these unknown distributions. Various properties of the proposed rank tests and derived estimates are studied.
From Urban Social Space to Social and Environmental Justice: Observations on Laurence Ma's Essay

A senior American specialist on China and noted geographer evaluates the merits of an essay by an equally prominent specialist who advocates reflexive activism as a method designed to generate more relevant studies of the country. The author of the evaluation stresses the value of empirically based work, noting a number of contributions by geographers to the study of China's transition from doctrinaire communism to "socialism with Chinese characteristics." While not denying the need for geographical research focused on deficiencies in social and environmental justice, he is not in favor of excessive activism that may overlook advances in economic development and related accomplishments of China's governing regime. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P30. 24 references.
Seasonal, not annual precipitation drives community productivity across ecosystems

Understanding drivers of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) has long been a goal of ecology. Decades of investigation have shown total annual precipitation to be an important determinant of ANPP within and across ecosystems. Recently a few studies at individual sites have shown precipitation during specific seasons of the year can more effectively predict ANPP. Here we determined whether seasonal or total precipitation better predicted ANPP across a range of terrestrial ecosystems, from deserts to forests, using long-term data from 36 plant communities. We also determined whether ANPP responses were dependent on ecosystem type or plant functional group. We found that seasonal precipitation generally explained ANPP better than total precipitation. Precipitation in multiple parts of the growing season often correlated with ANPP, but rarely interacted with each other. Surprisingly, the amount of variation explained by seasonal precipitation was not correlated with ecosystem type or plant functional group. Overall, examining seasonal precipitation can significantly improve ANPP predictions across a broad range of ecosystems and plant types, with implications for understanding current and future ANPP variation. Further work examining precipitation timing relative to species phenology may further improve our ability to predict ANPP, especially in response to climate change.