cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Normal tissue dose and risk estimates from whole and partial breast radiation techniques

PURPOSE To compare radiation dose to organs at risk in patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with lumpectomy and intraoperative radiation therapy with CT-guided HDR brachytherapy (precision breast IORT; PB-IORT) and those treated with external beam whole breast irradiation (WB-DIBH) or partial breast irradiation (PB-DIBH) with deep inspiratory breath hold. METHODS We retrospectively identified 52 consecutive patients with left-sided breast cancers treated with either PB-IORT (n = 17, 76% outer breast) on a phase I clinical trial, adjuvant PB-DIBH (n = 18, 56% outer breast, 6% cavity boost), or WB-DIBH (n = 17, 76% outer breast, 53% with lumpectomy cavity boost). Conventional (2 Gy/fraction) or moderate hypofractionation (2.66 Gy/fraction) was prescribed for the external beam cohorts and 12.5 Gy in 1 fraction to 1 cm from the balloon surface was prescribed to the HDR brachytherapy cohort. CT-based planning was used for all patients. Organ at risk doses and excess risk ratios (ERR) for secondary lung cancers, contralateral breast cancers, and cardiac toxicity were compared between treatment techniques. RESULTS Compared to WB-DIBH and PB-DIBH, PB-IORT resulted in lower ipsilateral lung V5, V10, V20, mean, and max dose (P < .05). Mean ipsilateral lung BED3Gy was as follows: 1.32 Gy for PB-IORT, 4.33 Gy for WB-DIBH, 3.35 Gy for PB-DIBH. The ERR for lung cancer was lowest for PB-IORT (P < .001). There was significantly higher contralateral breast max dose but lower mean BED3Gy for WB-DIBH compared with PB-IORT (P = .012, P = .011, respectively). Mean contralateral breast BED3Gy was as follows: 0.10 Gy for PB-IORT, 0.06 Gy for WB-DIBH, and 0.08 Gy for PB-DIBH. The ERR for contralateral breast cancer was low for all breast techniques, but WB-DIBH showed lower ERR compared to PB-IORT (P = .019). Mean heart BED2Gy was higher with PB-IORT at 1.26 Gy compared to 0.48 Gy and 0.24 Gy for WB-DIBH and PB-DIBH, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with PB-IORT and with tissue-sparing external beam techniques all received low organ at risk doses, but PB-IORT resulted in far lower ipsilateral lung dose compared with external beam techniques. Our data indicate the lowest mean contralateral breast BED in the WB-DIBH group, likely due to the simplicity of the field design in low-risk patients using tangential whole breast radiation. External beam using DIBH results in lowest heart dose, but all techniques were well within recommended heart constraints.
Attainment of multidimensional poverty target of sustainable development goals: a preliminary study

Using recent data, this study compares observed rates of decline in multidimensional poverty headcount with the rates required to reduce the headcount by one-half as envisaged in SDG Target 1.2. It...
Validation of an Electrochemical Sensor to Detect Cortisol Responses to the Trier Social Stress Test.

Recent advances in sensor technology allow for the detection of salivary cortisol levels in real-time, yet studies are needed to test their reliability in clinically at-risk populations. This study examined whether a new electrochemical sensor reliably detected cortisol patterns, compared to a conventional immunoassay test (i.e., ELISA), among women and men with low and high depressive symptoms who participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; a laboratory-based stressor). Results demonstrated that women and those with high depressive symptoms showed lower cortisol levels throughout the TSST overall compared to men and those with low depressive symptoms. The cortisol sensor was highly reliable when compared to the ELISA immunoassay in detecting cortisol responses to the TSST for both women and men and for participants with low and high depressive symptoms. These results suggest that the sensor is a promising tool for assessing real-time cortisol responses to laboratory stressors in at-risk populations.
Getting locked up to get free in colonial Cuba

This essay examines the histories of two enslaved Africans living in Cuba and sent to prison in the mid-nineteenth century, to consider the ways in which prison represented a path to freedom within...
The precision of macroscale mechanical measurements is limited by the inherent structural heterogeneity of human stratum corneum.

Abstract Biological tissues are structurally heterogenous mosaics at cellular and sub-cellular length scales. Some tissues, like the outermost layer of human skin, or stratum corneum (SC), also exhibit a rich topography of microchannels at larger mesoscopic length scales. Although this is well understood, modern studies continue to characterize the mechanical properties of biological tissues, including the SC, using macroscale techniques that assume these materials are homogenous in structure, thickness, and composition. Macroscale failure testing of SC is commonly associated with large sample to sample variability. We anticipate that microscale heterogeneities play an important role in defining the global mechanical response of the tissue. To evaluate the validity of the prevailing paradigm that macroscopic testing techniques can provide meaningful information about failure in soft heterogenous tissues, the macroscale work of fracture in isolated human SC samples is measured using conventional macroscale testing techniques and compared with the energy cost of creating new crack interfaces at the microscale, measured using a modified traction force microscopy technique. Results show that measured micro- and macroscale energy costs per unit crack path length are highly consistent. However, crack propagation is found to be guided by microscale topographical features in the tissue. This correlation reveals that macroscale mechanical sample to sample variability is caused by notable differences in crack propagation pathways. Statement of significance Although designed to test homogeneous materials, macroscopic uniaxial tensometry is currently the gold standard for measuring the mechanical properties of biological tissues. All tissues, including human stratum corneum are structurally heterogeneous at the microscale and mechanical measurements are commonly highly variable, even for specimens from the same source. This study explores the fundamental causes of this disparity and evaluates the prevailing paradigm that macroscopic testing techniques can provide meaningful information about failure in soft heterogeneous tissues. Results conclude that the cause of large variability in mechanical work of fracture is due to inherent structural heterogeneities governing crack propagation pathways and altering the total crack length. Structural heterogeneities in tissue therefore limits the precision of macroscale biomechanical testing.
Earth’s Human Carrying Capacity: The Basics

The Earth’s carrying capacity is best defined as the maximum population size of a species that an area (environment, ecosystem) can support without reducing its ability to support the same species in the future (indefinitely). The Earth has limits to the life it can support, it’s true carrying capacity for the intertwined relations among humans, animals, and plants in the varying ecosystems they inhabit. The basic limitations are: water and food for all life forms, soil, water, and sunlight to grow food for all life forms, and viability of ecosystems with natural resources that help sustain human, animal, and vegetation populations.
I/O-optimal categorical 3-sided skyline queries

Abstract The skyline of a set of two-dimensional points is the subset of points not dominated by any other point. In this paper, we consider a set of two-dimensional points (in rank space) that are assigned an additional category, or color. The goal is to preprocess these points so that given a three-sided region of the form [ a , b ] × [ τ , ∞ ] we can return the set of distinct colors on the skyline of the queried region. We approach this problem in the external memory model and present an I/O-optimal data structure that answers a query using O ( 1 + k B ) I/Os and requires O ( n log ⁎ ⁡ n ) words of space, where n is the number of points, k is the size of the solution, and B is the block size. Additionally, we provide a space-time trade-off by presenting a data structure that answers a query using O ( ( log ⁎ ⁡ n ) 2 + k B ) I/Os and requires O ( n ) words of space.
Does a relationship between handgrip strength and coincidence anticipation timing exist among young adults: A pilot study?

AbstractThis purpose of this investigation was to observe if a strong to moderate relationship existed between maximal handgrip strength best score and best coincidence anticipation timing (CAT) score in young adults. Handgrip strength has demonstrated a strong relationship with high levels of activities of daily living (ADLs) and reduced injury potential. A one-shot case study design was selected for this investigation. 23 female and 1 male volunteered for this investigation (age yr. 22.29 ± 4.71, height 63.78 ± 6.22 cm, mass 56.66 ± 8.25 kg) from a local higher education institution. Participants (n = 24) utilized the Bassin anticipation timing device (Lafayette Instruments, Lafayette, IN.) and a Camry digital hand dynamometer (Model EH101) during the same time and recorded all scores. A Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r = -0.413; p = 0.04) indicated a medium effect relationship between best maximal handgrip strength and best coincidence anticipation timing score.
Chapter 21 Potassium Adataptation in Mammalian Colon

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on potassium (K) adaptation in mammalian colon. Previous studies under in vitro conditions in several species in the absence of an electrical gradient demonstrated either no evidence of active K transport, or small, but statistically significant net and presumably active K movement. K secretion in the mammalian colon is modulated by a potential dependent mechanism via the paracellular shunt pathway and by a potential independent mechanism as net secretion is demonstrable in the absence of an electrical gradient. Active K secretion indicates a transcellular route for transfer across the epithelium. The composition of cytosol, characterized by a low sodium (Na) concentration and high concentration of K, is regulated by Na + , K + -ATPase situated in the basolateral cell membrane. This feature indicates that cell uptake of K takes place primarily across the cell surface facing the interstitial fluid compartment. In the steady state of metabolizing cells, the constant level of intracellular K requires that K leaves the cell as rapidly as it enters. The direction and rate of a K leak from the cell depends on the electrochemical gradient for passive diffusion and K conductances of the apical and basolateral cell membranes, and possibly other carrier-mediated processes involving K transport in the two asymmetrical cell surfaces. The role of aldosterone and K in the induction of K adaptation are also discussed in the chapter.
Web-Based Touch Display for Accessible Science Education

Inaccessibility of instructional materials, media, and technologies used in science, engineering, and mathematics education severely restricts the ability of students with little or no sight to excel in these disciplines. Curricular barriers deny the world access to this pool of potential talent, and limit individuals' freedom to pursue technical careers. Immersion has developed a low-cost force-feedback computer mouse. This haptic display technology promises fundamental improvements in accessibility at mass-market prices (sub-$100). This paper presents the results of an investigation into the potential benefits of incorporating haptic feedback into software intended for college and high school physics curricula.
Structural analysis of the TPX vacuum vessel for the conceptual design

This paper presents an analysis summary of the Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX) vacuum vessel conceptual design. The analyses considered dead weight, shielding water/steam pressure, atmospheric pressure, and engineering plasma disruption forces. Two finite element models were used in the analysis due to the lack of vessel symmetry. Static and dynamic analyses were performed. The major response of the vessel is due to shielding and atmospheric pressure and that of the interior is due to electromagnetic forces.
Progress on crossing number problems

Crossing numbers have drawn much attention in the last couple of years and several surveys [22], [28], [33], problem collections [26], [27], and bibliographies [40] have been published. The present survey tries to give pointers to some of the most significant recent developments and identifies computational challenges.
Factors influencing scores on the social responsiveness scale

Background: The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) is a parent-completed screening questionnaire often used to measure autism spectrum disorders (ASD) severity. Although child characteristics are known to influence scores from other ASD-symptom measures, as well as parent-questionnaires more broadly, there has been limited consideration of how non-ASD-specific factors may affect interpretation of SRS scores. Previous studies have explored effects of behavior problems on SRS specificity, but have not addressed influences on the use of the SRS as a quantitative measure of ASD-symptoms. Method: Raw scores (SRS-Raw) from parent-completed SRS were analyzed for 2,368 probands with ASD and 1,913 unaffected siblings. Regression analyses were used to assess associations between SRS scores and demographic, language, cognitive, and behavior measures. Results: For probands, higher SRS-Raw were associated with greater non-ASD behavior problems, higher age, and more impaired language and cognitive skills, as well as scores from other parent report measures of social development and ASD-symptoms. For unaffected siblings, having more behavior problems predicted higher SRS-Raw; male gender, younger age, and poorer adaptive social and expressive communication skills also showed small, but significant effects. Conclusions: When using the SRS as a quantitative phenotype measure, the influence of behavior problems, age, and expressive language or cognitive level on scores must be considered. If effects of non-ASD-specific factors are not addressed, SRS scores are more appropriately interpreted as indicating general levels of impairment, than as severity of ASDspecific symptoms or social impairment. Additional research is needed to consider how these factors influence the SRS’ sensitivity and specificity in large, clinical samples including individuals with disorders other than ASD. Keywords: Social Responsiveness Scale, autism spectrum disorder, behavior problems, age, language level.
BENCHMARK RESULTS FOR THE NON-EQUILIBRIUM MARSHAK DIFFUSION PROBLEM

Abstract As an extension of previous work in the literature, this paper considers a particular one-dimensional, halfspace, non-equilibrium Marshak wave problem. The radiative transfer model employed is a one-group diffusion approximation with Marshak boundary condition, where the radiation and material fields are out of equilibrium. An analytic solution for the distribution of radiative energy and material temperature as a function of space and time to this problem is given and tables of numerical results are generated. These benchmark results, together with the previously published results, are useful as a reference for validating time-dependent radiation diffusion computer codes. A comparison with a finite difference solution is presented which shows excellent agreement when a fine spatial mesh and small time steps are used.
Effects of electron-electron interactions on the ground state of quantum Hall edge states

Abstract We study the effects of electron-electron interactions on the ground states of integral and fractional quantum Hall edge states. We introduce a realistic model of a mesa-etched sample edge and solve it within an electrostatic approximation. Applying the Hartree-Fock approximation to integral quantum Hall edge states, we show that, in the absence of Zeeman splitting, the outermost edge state undergoes a spontaneous transition between spin-unpolarized and spin-polarized ground states at a confining-potential-dependcnt critical value of the bulk filling νcbulk. We apply these general results to our model of mesa-etched sample edges and obtain νcbulk as a function of model parameters, with νcbulk≈ 4. The relatively abrupt appearance, in the spin-polarized state, of a sizable (about a magnetic length) separation between edge states of opposite spin should make this transition accessible to a range of magneto-transport experiments. For a 2DEG in the fractional quantum Hall regime we use our electrostatic model to obtain the widths of the fractional quantum Hall strips separating the conducting edge states from each other and from the conducting bulk. This allows us to estimate the quasi-particle scattering rate and the corresponding equilibration length between the edge states and the bulk. We compare these estimates with measurements of non-local resistance.
Climatic forcing before, during, and after the 8.2 Kyr B.P. global cooling event

This paper attempts at full characterization of the unique global 8.2 Kyr B.P. cooling event. Significant atmospheric cooling started during 9.5–8.5 Kyr B.P. when the Sun was extremely quiet during three periods of ∼ 50–100 years. The flood of melt water in the N. Atlantic from glacial lakes during the demise of the Laurentide ice sheet, starting at ∼ 8.5 Kyr B.P., adds to the atmospheric cooling. Climatic forcing events occurred at 8.5 Kyr B.P., at 8.2 Kyr B.P. and finally at 8.06 Kyr B.P., leading to concurrent increases or decreases in the atmospheric Δ14C levels, completely consistent with the climatic forcing proposed here.
Mechanical and kinetic effects of cathodic hydrogen charging of copper and of CuAl alloys

Abstract The hydrogen-defect interaction depends strongly on the stacking fault energy in the CuAl binary system. Plastic deformation gradients produced by indentation were surveyed by both microhardness and (much more sensitively) by positron annihilation measurements. The cathodic charging of hydrogen into copper with an existing gradient of plastic deformation causes a general increase in both the positron “peak-to-wings” parameter P/W and the microhardness. This is evidently due to a predominance of new defect generation (on charging) over proton pinning of dislocations since the latter also results in screening effects of the dislocations from positrons and a decrease in P/W. Aluminum additions to copper rapidly lower the stacking fault energy and, for these alloys, similar gradients of plastic deformation, when hydrogen charged, show increases in P/W in the lightly deformed region but either no increase or a decrease in P/W close to the indentation center although the microhardness increases in all regions. This is explained by increased resistance to new defect formation in the already highly deformed region together with enhanced proton screening of dislocations in that region. If the sequence of events is reversed, i.e. if deformation follows charging, even higher P/W values result. This is thought to be due to the interaction of gliding dislocations with charging generated dislocation loops. Determinations of the parameter R indicate that in both sequences of events the main defect type is the dislocation. Annealing studies of copper and of copper alloys with 4 or 8 wt.% Al indicate that hydrogen trapping started around 60°C and up to about 100°C and that detrapping occurred from 110°C and above, independent of composition; this suggested a similar hydrogen-defect binding energy for all three materials.
An alternative look at temporary workers, their choices, and the growth in temporary employment

We examine temporary workers (temps), their choices, and growth in temporary employment. We find that some people choose a temporary job because they desire greater schedule flexibility, particularly students and women with children. For most, however, weaker permanent job opportunities drive them into temporary positions. Using the 1995 and 1997 Current Population Surveys (CPS) we find that both the percentage of the work force in temporary jobs and the absolute number of temps declined when applying a new CPS-based measure of temporary. This is in stark contrast to the rising percentage found in several previous studies when looking only at workers in personnel supply services and clearly questions prior claims and concerns about growth in the temporary work force.
Numerical Study of Approximate Inverse Preconditioner for Two-Dimensional Engine Inlet Problems

Abstract The method of moments has been widely used in the analysis of electromagnetic scattering problems. Recently, significant advances in the development of fast and efficient techniques for solving large problems have been reported. In such methods, iterative matrix solvers are preferred by virtue of their speed and low memory requirements. But for near resonant and strong multiple scattering problems, e.g., involving an aircraft engine inlet, a large number of iterations is required for convergence. In this paper, an efficient approximate inverse based preconditioner is used to reducing this number of iterations. By using the matrix partitioning method, the computational cost for obtaining the approximate inverse is reduced to O(N). We apply this preconditioner to an O(N log N) algorithm, the multilevel fast multipole algorithm, for the aircraft engine inlet problem. The numerical results show the efficiency of this preconditioner.
Multiscale computations of thin films in multiphase flows

In multiphase flows thin films are often encountered when fluid masses collide. These films can become very thin and in direct numerical simulations (DNS) it is often impractical to resolve their thickness fully, even with adaptive grid refining. Here we examine the collision of a fluid drop with a wall and develop a multiscale approach to compute the flow in the film between the drop and the wall. By using a semi-analytical model for the flow in the film we capture the evolution of films thinner than the grid spacing reasonably well.
Olfactory Function in Huntington's Disease Patients and at-Risk Offspring

Odor identification ability and detection threshold sensitivity were measured in 25 probands with Huntington's disease, 12 at-risk offspring, and 37 unrelated controls. Relative to controls and at-risk offspring, HD patients exhibited significant impairment on both measures of olfactory function. By contrast, at-risk offspring did not evidence any olfactory impairment relative to controls. Thus, impaired olfactory function does not aggregate in the family members of HD patients, and does not serve as an indicator of genetic vulnerability to the disorder.
Analysis on Dynamic Characteristics of CNC Machine Tool and Experiment with Influence of Rolling Guide Joint Considered

The 3D finite element model of CAKxxx CNC machine tool is established and the static/dynamic characteristics of the machine tool are analyzed with finite element method when the influence of the linear rolling guide (LRG) joint is considered or neglected. The lowest five natural frequencies and vibration modal shapes are obtained in both cases. It shows that when considering the influence of the LRG joint, each of the lowest five natural frequencies is 14 Hz smaller than the results of neglecting the influence, and the vibration modal shapes are more stable. The modal experiment shows that the results of considering the influence of the LRG joint are closer to the actual situation. It also proves that LRG joint has great influence on the dynamic characteristic of the machine tool. It provides an important reference for accurate modeling and dynamic design of machine tool.
Gastric motor response to sympathetic nerve stimulation.

Abstract This study evaluated the effect of electrical stimulation of the greater splanchnic nerve on gastric motility in pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs. The majority of stimulations produced contractions of the gastric body, proximal and distal antrum. Relaxation was also noted in the body and antrum with some stimulations. Stimulation of the thoracic sympathetic chain identified the gastric motor response as arising distally to level T-6. The excitatory motor response to stimulation was unaffected by cervical vagosympathectomy, thoracic vagotomy, or adrenalectomy. Administration of phentolamine, propranolol, or hexamethonium and pretreatment with reserpine each failed to affect the contractile or relaxation responses. Following atropine administration, contractions due to splanchnic nerve stimulation were abolished in the gastric antrum and were either reduced or abolished in the gastric body. Tetrodotoxin abolished all components of the gastric motor response. The greater splanchnic nerve contains nonadrenergic pathways for contraction and relaxation of the gastric body and antrum. The pathways to the antrum were entirely cholinergic.
Small-sample degrees of freedom for multi-component significance tests with multiple imputation for missing data

SUMMARY When performing multi-component significance tests with multiply-imputed datasets, analysts can use a Wald-like test statistic and a reference F-distribution. The currently employed degrees of freedom in the denominator of this F-distribution are derived assuming an infinite sample size. For modest complete-data sample sizes, this degrees of freedom can be unrealistic; for example, it may exceed the complete-data degrees of freedom. This paper presents an alternative denominator degrees of freedom that is always less than or equal to the complete-data denominator degrees of freedom, and equals the currently employed denominator degrees of freedom for infinite sample sizes. Its advantages over the currently employed degrees of freedom are illustrated with a simulation.
RAD6 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a protein containing a tract of 13 consecutive aspartates.

Abstract The RAD6 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for postreplication repair of UV-damaged DNA, for induced mutagenesis, and for sporulation. We have mapped the transcripts and determined the nucleotide sequence of the cloned RAD6 gene. The RAD6 gene encodes two transcripts of 0.98 and 0.86 kilobases which differ only in their 3' termini. The transcribed region contains an open reading frame of 516 nucleotides. The rad6-1 and rad6-3 mutant alleles, which we have cloned and sequenced, introduce amber and ochre nonsense mutations, respectively, into the open reading frame, proving that it encodes the RAD6 protein. The RAD6 protein predicted by the nucleotide sequence is 172 amino acids long, has a molecular weight of 19,704, and contains 23.3% acidic and 11.6% basic residues. Its most striking feature is the highly acidic carboxyl terminus: 20 of the 23 terminal amino acids are acidic, including 13 consecutive aspartates. RAD6 protein thus resembles high mobility group proteins HMG-1 and HMG-2, which each contain a carboxyl-proximal tract of acidic amino acids.
1α-Hydroxylase transactivation by γ-interferon in murine macrophages requires enhanced C/EBPβ expression and activation

Abstract γ-Interferon [γ-IFN] induction of macrophage 1α-hydroxylase mRNA and activity causes severe hypercalcemia in granulomatous disorders. These studies demonstrate transcriptional regulation. γ-IFN induces the activity of the murine 1α-hydroxylase [−1651; +22] promoter in the murine macrophage cell line Raw 264.7 only after a 24 h exposure. This slow kinetics is incompatible with classical γ-IFN-mediated transactivation. In fact, γ-IFN response mapped to the minimal [−85; +11] promoter, which lacks GAS or ISRE sites but contains a putative C/EBPβ site. C/EBPβ is a γ-IFN inducible gene and a novel mediator of γ-IFN-regulated transcription. As expected for a C/EBPβ-driven transcription, ectopic C/EBPβ expression was sufficient to increase 1α-hydroxylase activity, enhance minimal promoter activity and potentiate the induction of this promoter by γ-IFN. Importantly, the dominant negative C/EBPβ isoform antagonized C/EBPβ-transcriptional activity. γ-IFN induction of C/EBPβ expression is not sufficient for γ-IFN induction of minimal promoter activity. There is also a cell-specific induction of C/EBPβ-transcriptional activity by γ-IFN. In Raw cells, specific inhibition of γ-IFN induction of endogenous-C/EBPβ phosphorylation by MEKK1 markedly reduced basal promoter activity and the response to γ-IFN. We conclude that γ-IFN-induction of C/EBPβ expression and activation by phosphorylation contributes to γ-IFN-transcriptional control of 1α-hydroxylase expression in murine macrophages.
The effect of abnormal position, scrotal repositioning, and human gonadotropic hormone on the developing puppy testis☆

Abstract There are at least three hypotheses as to the cause of the abnormal function resulting from cryptorchism and/or its treatment: (1) The undescended testis has an inherent biological abnormality which accounts for the poor functional results from surgery and the increased tendency to malignant change; (2) The early development in a cryptorchid testis is normal, and the germinal epithelium is then altered by the ectopic position and the stimulus of anterior pituitary hormones; (3) An undescended testicle goes through its full development and then regresses by not being in the scrotum and yet having gonadotropic stimulus applied to it. While the first is beyond the scope of this research, the intent of this experimental design was to look into the second and third in puppies and adult dogs by seeking to answer the following questions: (1) What effect does an inguinal or abdominal position have on the development of the testis? (2) Does repositioning of a cryptorchid testis in the scrotum permit it to recover architecture and function? (3) What is the effect of gonadotropic hormone (HCG) administration on the testis under normal, cryptorchid, and replaced conditions?
Beetle Inspired Electrospray Vapor Chamber

We present the proof-of-concept for a biomimetic electrospray vapor chamber (BEVAC) which can potentially eliminate the wick structures and thermal interface materials used in conventional vapor chambers, and enable direct cooling of the backside of a microprocessor. This vapor chamber has a beetle-inspired superhydrophobic condenser with hydrophilic bumps on which condensate of the working fluid accumulates. The condensate is returned to the evaporator by electrostatic forces (electrospray atomization). We have demonstrated this novel liquid return mechanism with an open-system BEVAC prototype in which an external voltage is applied between a wickless evaporator and a microfabricated condenser with hybrid wettability.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Site-directed mutagenesis of the GTP-binding domain of β-tubulin

Abstract Tubulin binds guanine nucleotides with high affinity and specificity. GTP, an allosteric effector of microtubule assembly, requires Mg2+ for its interaction with β-tubulin and binds as the MgGTP complex. In contrast, GDP binding does not require Mg2+. The structural basis for this difference is not understood but may be of fundamental importance for microtubule assembly. We investigated the interaction of β-tubulin with guanine nucleotides using site-directed mutagenesis. Acidic amino acid residues have been shown to interact with nucleotide in numerous nucleotide-binding proteins. In this study, we mutated seven highly conserved aspartic acid residues and one highly conserved glutamic acid residue in the putative GTP-binding domain of β-tubulin (N-terminal 300 amino acids) to asparagine and glutamine, respectively. The mutants were synthesized in vitro using rabbit reticulocyte lysates, and their affinities for nucleotide determined by an h.p.l.c.-based assay. Our results indicate that the mutations can be placed in six separate categories on the basis of their effects on nucleotide binding. These categories range from having no effect on nucleotide binding to a mutation that apparently abolishes nucleotide binding. One mutation at Asp224 reduced the affinity of β-tubulin for GTP in the presence but not in the absence of Mg2+. The specific effect of this mutation on nucleotide binding is consistent with an interaction of this amino acid with the Mg2+ moiety of MgGTP. This residue is in a region sharing sequence homology with the putative Mg2+ site in myosin and other ATP-binding proteins. As a result, tubulin belongs to a distinct class of GTP-binding proteins which may be evolutionarily related to the ATP-binding proteins.
Examples, counterexamples, and measuring fuzzy associations

This paper examines the measurement of the degree to which tuples in a database support a relation among attributes based on a comparison of the number of examples and counterexamples of the relation. In particular, we are concerned with associations that represent imprecise constraints placed upon the value of one attribute by those of other attributes. Associations of this form may be described by fuzzy rules and the analysis requires an assessment of the degree to which a tuple satisfies the imprecise constraint specified by the rule. Standard measures of rule validity are extended to fuzzy associations based on the degree that the tuples are examples, counterexamples, or irrelevant to imprecise relations. A scaling of the relevance of a tuple is proposed to minimize the impact of the accumulation of small membership values on the confidence-based validity measures.
Karel universe drag & drop editor

Karel Universe is a drag and drop editor integrated with the Karel J Robot [1] simulator system. It is intended for those students who wish to learn Java with the absolute minimum of syntax. The editor permits the student to create classes, objects, and programs by dragging syntactically correct program fragments from one pane to another. The resulting programs may be then executed in the Karel J Robot simulator.
Mitogenomic data resolve basal relationships among passeriform and passeridan birds

Passerine birds compose over half of avian species diversity and exhibit an impressive array of phenotypic variation of interest to evolutionary biologists. Although this group has long been the focus of comparative study, many phylogenetic relationships within the group remain unresolved, despite an impressive number of molecular phylogenetic studies. Much of this uncertainty involves “transitional” groups potentially related to the ancestrally Australasian “core Corvoidea” and the primarily extra-Australasian Passerida, as well as basal relationships among Passerida. In this study data from mitochondrial genome sequences (mitogenomes) are brought to bear on higher-level passerine relationships. This paper reports analyses of new mitogenomes from 15 taxa carefully selected to address basal passeridan relationships, along with 110 previously-published passerine mitogenomes (most deriving from two intra-familial studies). These data corroborate many relationships previously established by multilocus nuclear data, as well as resolving several novel clades, including basal relationships of Passerida and relationships of that clade to several “transitional” forms. Although passerine mitogenomes pose significant analytical challenges (most notably substitutional saturation and base compositional heterogeneity), they appear to retain important information that should contribute to current and future understanding of passerine phylogeny.
Precision Temperature Control for Optics Manufacturing

The principles of precision temperature control are presented in this paper. Emphasis is placed on the use of heat exchangers with large flowrates of coolant. Design considerations for such systems are highlighted. In particular, the selection of system components appropriate to the desired level of performance is discussed. Several feedback control techniques are also presented.
Event localization in bulk scintillator crystals using coded apertures

Abstract The localization of radiation interactions in bulk scintillators is generally limited by the size of the light distribution at the readout surface of the crystal/light-pipe system. By finding the centroid of the light spot, which is typically of order centimeters across, practical single-event localization is limited to ~2 mm/cm of crystal thickness. Similar resolution can also be achieved for the depth of interaction by measuring the size of the light spot. Through the use of near-field coded-aperture techniques applied to the scintillation light, light transport simulations show that for 3-cm-thick crystals, more than a five-fold improvement (millimeter spatial resolution) can be achieved both laterally and in event depth. At the core of the technique is the requirement to resolve the shadow from an optical mask placed in the scintillation light path between the crystal and the readout. In this paper, experimental results are presented that demonstrate the overall concept using a 1D shadow mask, a thin-scintillator crystal and a light pipe of varying thickness to emulate a 2.2-cm-thick crystal. Spatial resolutions of ~1 mm in both depth and transverse to the readout face are obtained over most of the crystal depth.
Pregnancy outcome in women with preterm labor symptoms without cervical change

Abstract Objective: This study was undertaken to determine pregnancy outcome in women who have preterm labor symptoms without cervical change according to fetal fibronectin status. Study Design: Patients who were examined at the obstetric emergency department with symptoms of preterm labor but without cervical change underwent fetal fibronectin collection. Pregnancy outcome and fetal fibronectin results were analyzed after delivery. Results: Of the 235 patients sampled, 20% (n = 48) had positive fetal fibronectin results. The mean ± SD gestational age at delivery was lower in women with positive fetal fibronectin results (34.2 ± 4.1 vs 37.7 ± 2.3 weeks; P P P =.003), were more likely to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (42% vs 14%; P P Conclusion: Patients with symptoms of preterm labor but without cervical change who have negative fetal fibronectin results are less likely to deliver preterm. Therefore in women with symptoms but without cervical change fetal fibronectin should be considered for risk assessment. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:1004-7.)
Left-sided gastroschisis

Abstract The clinical course and anatomic findings of a baby girl born with left-sided gastroschisis are described.
Gene Expression of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines and Neuropeptides in Diabetic Wound Healing

The interaction between neuropeptides and cytokines and its role in cutaneous wound healing is becoming evident. The goal of the present study is to investigate the impact of diabetes on peripheral cytokine and neuropeptide expression and its role in diabetic wound healing. To achieve this goal, the effect of diabetes on wound healing, along with the role of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) secreted in the wound microenvironment, and neuropeptides such as substance P (SP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY), secreted from peripheral nerves is monitored in non-diabetic and diabetic rabbits. Rabbits in the diabetic group received alloxan monohydrate (100mg/kg i.v.). Ten days after diabetic induction, four full thickness circular wounds were created in both ears using a 6mm punch biopsy. Wound healing was monitored over 10 d and gene expression of cytokines and neuropeptides was assessed in the wounds. Compared with the non-diabetic rabbits, wounds of diabetic rabbits heal significantly slower. Diabetic rabbits show significantly increased baseline gene expression of IL-6 and IL-8, their receptors, CXCR1, CXCR2, GP-130, and a decrease of prepro tachykinin-A (PP-TA), the precursor of SP, whereas the expression of prepro-NPY (PP-NPY), the precursor of NPY is not different. Similarly, baseline protein expression of CXCR1 is higher in diabetic rabbit skin. Post-injury, the increase over baseline gene expression of IL-6, IL-8, CXCR1, CXCR2, and GP-130 is significantly less in diabetic wounds compared with non-diabetic wounds. Although there is no difference in PP-TA gene expression between non-diabetic and diabetic rabbits post-injury, the gene expression of PP-NPY is reduced in diabetic rabbits. In conclusion, diabetes causes dysregulation in the neuropeptide expression in the skin along with a suppressed focused inflammatory response to injury. This suggests that the chronic inflammation in the skin of diabetic rabbits inhibits the acute inflammation much needed for wound healing.
Experimental validation of a transport-based imaging method in highly scattering environments

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a transport-based reconstruction method for imaging in highly scattering environments. Experimentally measured wave energy data in the micro-wave regime are used to reconstruct extended inclusions buried in scattering media or hidden behind non-penetrable obstacles. The performance of the imaging method is illustrated under various circumstances, via a set of electromagnetic experiments.
A review of streamline coordinate approach for inviscid flows

A simplified approach to the streamline based coordinates for the solution of inviscid flows is considered. The fundamental shortcomings of some of the existing methods usually employed in the computations of turbomachinery flows are removed and correct general forms of the equations are derived. Several new formulations are also presented which for incompressible flows simplifies the solution of flow problem to simple algebraic equations. Some preliminary results for two and three-dimensional flows are also considered.
Differential geometry of proteins: a structural and dynamical representation of patterns.

Abstract This is an essay on the applications of the differential geometry of curves and surfaces to the analysis of the spatial patterns of proteins. Differential geometry is the natural mathematical tool when a protein molecule is represented as a space curve passing through its α-carbons. We suggest a unifying and natural description of the three-dimensional conformation of proteins. In particular, we argue that the regular secondary structures correspond to geodesics on minimal surfaces, and that the tertiary structures result from the energetically best packing of these minimal surfaces. The a-helices and the strands of the β-barrels lie, respectively, on the conjugate minimal surfaces of the helicoid and the catenoid. These two surfaces can be transformed into each other isometrically, and the intermediate stages in the transformation model the various β-twisted sheets found in proteins. The geometry of these protein curves and surfaces is studied in detail, and biological interpretations are given along with analytic expressions. Attention is paid to the relationship between local and global properties in both mathematical and biological terms. Implications for the morphogenetic process of protein folding are outlined. The problem of the prediction of three-dimensional structures from amino acid sequence is also addressed. These turn out to be best formulated in terms of a dynamical analysis of vector fields on proteins. Modern differential geometry centres its attention on manifolds, which are generalizations of curves and surfaces, and which behave locally like Euclidean spaces. From the theory of manifolds arises the notion of a fibre space. Fibre spaces are the mathematical objects used in Robert Rosen's unified approach to pattern generation. Since the spontaneous folding of proteins into native conformations is a prototype biological example of pattern generation, the abstract formalism of fibre spaces provides an appropriate general setting in which to further the study of the mathematical biology of proteins.
The feasibility of alternative IMF-type stabilization programs in Mexico, 1983–1987

Abstract In November 1982, Mexico announced an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a program to ease the country's large foreign debt. Mexico may recieve nearly $4 billion worth of credit if the government reduces the deficit, raises taxes and curbs imports. This article investigates whether an IMF program like this can work in Mexico without a serious and immediate economic contraction. A model is constructed to examine the impact of government fiscal activity under alternative stabilization programs. The analysis suggests a critical element for success is the ability and willingness to raise tax revenues.
Differential Effects of Opioids on the Proliferation of a Macrophage Cell Line, Bac 1.2F5

Abstract Chronic treatment of mice with morphine selectively abrogates the terminal differentiation of committed bone marrow progenitor cells to form macrophage colony forming units. To understand the molecular mechanisms involved in morphine-mediated suppression of myeloid cell differentiation, we investigated the use of a macrophage cell line, Bac 1.2 F5.In vitroproliferation of this cell line is dependent on the exogenous supply of macrophage colony stimulating factor. Treatment of Bac 1.2F5 cellsin vitrowith morphine showed a dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation which was associated with morphological changes. Characterization of the binding site revealed that the binding site for morphine on these cells is different from the classical opioid receptors described in the brain. In addition to the putative novel class of morphine receptors, Bac 1.2F5 cells also expressed the delta opioid receptors as determined by RT-PCR analyses. These studies show that Bac 1.2F5 cells are suitable for the molecular characterization of opioid effects on the proliferation and differentiation of myeloid progenitor cells.
Stress-inducible synthesis of proline in transgenic rice confers faster growth under stress conditions than that with constitutive synthesis

Abstract Proline accumulation has been shown to correlate with tolerance to drought and salt stresses in plants. Our goal was to compare the growth rate of transgenic rice plants in which the expression of a mothbean Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (p5cs) cDNA was driven separately with a constitutive and a stress-inducible promoter. We found that both constitutive expression and stress-inducible expression of the p5cs cDNA in transgenic rice have led to the accumulation of p5cs mRNA and proline. Third-generation (R2) transgenic rice seedlings showed significantly higher tolerance to stress produced by high levels of NaCl or water deficiency as judged by faster growth of shoots and roots in comparison with non-transformed plants. However, stress-inducible expression of the P5CS transgene showed significant advantages over the constitutive expression in increasing the biomass production of transgenic rice grown in soil under stress conditions.