cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Towards a Unified Modeling and Verification of Network and System Security Configurations

Systems and networks access control configuration are usually analyzed independently although they are logically combined to define the end-to-end security property. While systems and applications security policies define access control based on user identity or group, request type and the requested resource, network security policies uses flow information such as host and service addresses for source and destination to define access control. Therefore, both network and systems access control have to be configured consistently in order to enforce end-to-end security policies. Many previous research attempt to verify either side separately, but it does not provide a unified approach to automatically validate the logical consistency between both of them. In this paper, we introduce a cross-layer modeling and verification system that can analyze the configurations and policies across both application and network components as a single unit. It combines policies from different devices as firewalls, NAT, routers and IPSec gateways as well as basic RBAC-based policies of higher service layers. This allows analyzing, for example, firewall polices in the context of application access control and vice versa providing a true end-to-end configuration verification tool. Our model represents the system as a state machine where packet header, service request and location determine the state and transitions that conform with the configuration, device operations, and packet values are established. We encode the model as Boolean functions using binary decision diagrams (BDDs). We used an extended version of computational tree logic (CTL) to provide more useful operators and then use it with symbolic model checking to prove or find counter examples to needed properties.
P63: The antidotal action of nitrites toward cyanide intoxication: An example of medicine disguised as quackery

Sodium nitrite ameliorates sub-lethal cyanide toxicity in mice when given from ∼1 h before until 20 min after the toxic dose as demonstrated by the recovery of righting ability. In most experiments nitrite was given intraperitoneally, but may also be administered as an inhaled aqueous vapor-contrary to recommended EMR protocols, it is not necessary to infuse the antidote intravenously and the co-administration of adjuvants (specifically thiosulfate) is unnecessary. Intraperitoneally administered nitrite rapidly produces NO in the bloodstream as judged by the dose-dependent appearance of EPR signals attributable to nitrosylhemoglobin and methemoglobin. However, the commonly held belief that the antidotal mechanism of nitrites involves the scavenging of cyanide anion by methemoglobin is firmly contraindicated by recent evidence. Intriguingly, the FDA-approved and clinically tested cyanide scavenger cobalamin has, in fact, rather indifferent binding affinity for cyanide anion. It follows that the clinical usefulness of cobalamin may be dependent on endogenous nitric oxide displacing the cyanide from the active site of cytochrome c oxidase to facilitate the cyanide-scavenging action of cobalamin. Antagonism of cyanide inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase by NO appears to be the crucial antidotal activity rather than any methemoglobin-forming action of nitrite. Concomitant addition of sodium thiosulfate to nitrite-treated blood results in the production of sulfidomethemoblobin as detected by EPR spectroscopy. Sulfide is a product of thiosulfate hydrolysis and, like cyanide, is known to be a potent inhibitor of cytochrome c oxidase; the effects of the two inhibitors being essentially additive under standard assay conditions, rather than dominated by either one. The findings afford a plausible explanation for an observed detrimental effect in mice associated with the use of the standard nitrite-thiosulfate combination therapy at sub-lethal levels of cyanide intoxication. Isoamyl nitrite, given intraperitoneally in equimolar amounts to sodium nitrite, is comparatively less effective at restoring the righting recovery of cyanide-challenged mice. The results of investigations with the hydrolysis products of isoamyl nitrite, isoamyl alcohol and nitrite anion, suggest that the toxicity of isoamyl alcohol renders the organic nitrite a less desirable antidotal agent than sodium nitrite. Disclosure Supported by the CounterACT Program, National Institutes of Health Office of the Director (NIH OD), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Grant No. NS063732 to J.P and L.L.P and Bruce R. Pitt.
New Limit on the e+γ Decay Mode of the Muon

Limits for the decay mode mu yields e + gamma are studied usIng spark chamber techniques. A rate of less than 1.9 x 10/sup -7/ of the normal decay rate is the upper limit. (L.N.N.)
Selective Immortalization of Tumor-Specific T Cells to Establish Long-Term T-Cell Lines Maintaining Primary Cell Characteristics

Antigen-specific T cells play a key role in cellular immune response against cancer. The ability to isolate, maintain, and characterize tumor-specific T cells is a prerequisite to studying anticancer immune response and developing novel strategies for cancer immunotherapy. However, the life span of human T cells in vitro is usually short and is limited by the onset of cellular senescence. To establish long-term, antigen-specific T-cell lines and clones, we selectively immortalized antigen-responsive T cells from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). PBMCs were stimulated with antigens, and then infected with a murine leukemia virus-based retroviral vector carrying an immortalizing gene, the human telomerase-reverse transcriptase gene. Since such vectors can only integrate in dividing cells, only antigen-activated T cells are efficiently transduced. Using this approach, we generated immortalized T-cell lines that maintained strictly IL-2-dependent growth and MHC-restricted, antigen-specific responsiveness, some of which have been in continuous culture for longer than 1 year, far in excess of the survival of parallel control nonimmortalized cultures. These lines showed antigen-specific proliferation with induced cytokine and chemokine production, and, in the case of CD8+ T-cell lines, antigen-specific cytolytic activity. When applied to the tumor antigen-specific T cells, the approach provides a convenient, reproducible means for generating a stable, continuously renewable source of antigen-specific T lymphocytes for a variety of studies on anticancer immunity.
A general synthesis of β-aryl and heteroarylpyrroles by palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of β-tributylstannylpyrrole with aryl and heteroaryl halides

Abstract Several β-aryl and heteroarylpyrroles have been synthesized by palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of β-tributylstannylpyrroles with aryl and heteroaryl halides in 62–89% yields. These precursors may be readily converted into β-aryl and heteroaryl substituted porphyrins for the study of the oxophlorin to oxaporphyrin conversion in heme catabolism, catalyzed by heme oxygenase.
Location of Violent Crime Relative to Trauma Resources in Detroit: Implications for Community Interventions.

Author(s): Clery, Michael J.; Dworkis, Daniel A.; Sonuyi, Tolulope; Khaldun, Joneigh S.; Abir, Mahshid | Abstract: Introduction: Detroit, Michigan, is among the leading United States cities for per-capita homicide and violent crime. Hospital- and community-based intervention programs could decrease the rate of violent-crime related injury but require a detailed understanding of the locations of violence in the community to be most effective.Methods: We performed a retrospective geospatial analysis of all violent crimes reported within the city of Detroit from 2009-2015 comparing locations of crimes to locations of major hospitals. We calculated distances between violent crimes and trauma centers, and applied summary spatial statistics.Results: Approximately 1.1 million crimes occurred in Detroit during the study period, including approximately 200,000 violent crimes. The distance between the majority of violent crimes and hospitals was less than five kilometers (3.1 miles). Among violent crimes, the closest hospital was an outlying Level II trauma center 60% of the time.Conclusion: Violent crimes in Detroit occur throughout the city, often closest to a Level II trauma center. Understanding geospatial components of violence relative to trauma center resources is important for effective implementation of hospital- and community-based interventions and targeted allocation of resources.
Residential Water Quality and the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States

Sanitation and hygiene practices to limit the spread of COVID-19 require ample water supply, and communities with poor or untrusted residential water infrastructure rely on bottled water retrieved from outside the home. Thus ability to adhere to sanitation and shelter-in-place recommendations may be limited for households lacking a safe, reliable, and trustworthy piped water source. Consistent with this hypothesis, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has grown faster in counties with lower-quality residential water infrastructure. These findings suggest that, in the short run, distribution of potable water to water-poor households may help slow the spread of COVID-19 or ameliorate community health consequences, and in the long run, investment in residential water infrastructure may increase resilience to future pandemics.
State Congressional Delegations and the Distribution of Federal Funds

Most scholarship on U.S. distributive politics either focuses on the abilities of individual representatives and senators to bring home the bacon or highlights the role the president plays in influ...
State-by-State Analysis of Child Fatality Reporting: a 21-Year Review

Online reports published by Child Fatality Review Boards (CFRBs) for all 50 of the USA across 21 years, from 1998 to 2018, were downloaded and analyzed to determine the nature of the information available to the public about the causes of child fatalities. A modified coding system based on the Life Events Checklist (LEC) system of the National Center for PTSD was used to identify contexts of children’s fatal injuries. Child death due to inflicted injury by other persons is the most frequently reported context category in the 21 years surveyed. The LEC-based system captured 80% of the published fatality context data. A lack of consensus was found among the states in regard to the kinds of information reported online, how the information is organized and presented, and the frequency of reporting. These inconsistencies encumber the development of national data trends and analyses. Individual case reports with specific details about child injury context and causation, child protection history, and child protection interventions were infrequent, and when present often highly redacted.
Drug Overdose and Suicide Among Veteran Enrollees in the VHA: Comparison Among Local, Regional, and National Data.

Background Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, primarily from drug overdose. In 2017, 67.8% of drug overdoses were with prescription opioids. The rate of opioid use disorder among patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is 7 times higher than that of non-VHA enrollees. This study compares the incidence of overdose and suicide across facility, regional, and national levels in the VHA system in the context of a multispecialty opioid risk reduction program at the North Florida/South Georgia Veteran Health System (NF/SGVHS). Methods This retrospective study used fiscal years 2012 to 2016 overdose and suicide aggregate data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Support Service Center medical diagnosis cube and VA Suicide Prevention Program. Overdose data were aggregated by facility and fiscal year, and overdose rates (per 1,000 individuals) were calculated. Results The average annual rate of overdose diagnosis at NF/SGVHS during the study period was slightly higher (16.8 per 1,000) compared with its region (16.0 per 1,000), and VHA national (15.3 per 1,000) rates. The NF/SGVHS had the lowest average annual rate of suicide (9.1 per 100,000) during the study period, which was one-quarter of the VHA national rate. Conclusions NF/SGVHS developed and implemented a biopsychosocial model of pain treatment that includes primary care integrated with mental health and addiction services. The presence of this program during a period when the facility was tapering opioid prescriptions could explain the relative reduced suicide rate.
Turbulent Flame-Vortex Dynamics of Bluff-Body Premixed Flames

Abstract To better understand the coupled dynamics of turbulence and premixed flames, this study experimentally investigates the effects of turbulence on reacting vorticity dynamics. In this investigation, a bluff-body stabilized, turbulent, premixed flame is analyzed in a high-speed combustor. A custom-designed turbulence generator is used to vary the inflow turbulence conditions and understand the subsequent impacts on the flame-flow field. The turbulent reacting flow-field is measured using simultaneous high-speed particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) and CH* chemiluminescence. A Lagrangian tracking method is implemented to study flame-vortex dynamics. Lagrangian fluid elements are tagged from the experimental data and are tracked as they convect through the flame, from reactants to products. The components of the vorticity transport equation are decomposed along the Lagrangian trajectories to determine their relative balance under various turbulence conditions. The results confirm that altering the turbulence intensity influences flame-vortex interactions and the relative balance of the vorticity components. At high turbulence intensities, the baroclinic torque and dilatation decrease, while the magnitude of viscous diffusion increases, and vortex stretching dominates the reacting flow field. These results suggest that increasing the turbulence intensity alters the dominant physical processes in the reacting domain as the combustion-driven phenomena become less significant.
On Optical Attacks Making Logic Obfuscation Fragile

The backside of modern Integrated Circuits (ICs) is becoming an open backdoor for malicious hardware attackers to take advantage of. Aided by new Failure Analysis (FA) optical techniques, e.g., Photon Emission Analysis (PEA), optical probing, and Laser Fault Injection (LFI), hackers pose a serious threat to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive information on a chip. In addition, optical backside attacks can risk semiconductor intellectual property (IP) protection mechanisms, such as logic locking. In this work, we review some of these failure analysis techniques through the lens of Optical Attack. We also review combinational and sequential Logic Locking, and then focus on corresponding state space obfuscation methodology. Attack procedures are then described on how to break into these obfuscation systems, and finally, existing countermeasures and their limitations are discussed.
Design of a High-Speed Prosthetic Finger Driven by Peano-HASEL Actuators

Current designs of powered prosthetic limbs are limited by the nearly exclusive use of DC motor technology. Soft actuators promise new design freedom to create prosthetic limbs which more closely mimic intact neuromuscular systems and improve the capabilities of prosthetic users. This work evaluates the performance of a hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) soft actuator for use in a prosthetic hand. We compare a linearly-contracting HASEL actuator, termed a Peano-HASEL, to an existing actuator (DC motor) when driving a prosthetic finger like those utilized in multi-functional prosthetic hands. A kinematic model of the prosthetic finger is developed and validated, and is used to customize a prosthetic finger that is tuned to complement the force-strain characteristics of the Peano-HASEL actuators. An analytical model is used to inform the design of an improved Peano-HASEL actuator with the goal of increasing the fingertip pinch force of the prosthetic finger. When compared to a weight-matched DC motor actuator, the Peano-HASEL and custom finger is 10.6 times faster, has 11.1 times higher bandwidth, and consumes 8.7 times less electrical energy to grasp. It reaches 91% of the maximum range of motion of the original finger. However, the DC motor actuator produces 10 times the fingertip force at a relevant grip position. In this body of work, we present ways to further increase the force output of the Peano-HASEL driven prosthetic finger system, and discuss the significance of the unique properties of Peano-HASELs when applied to the field of upper-limb prosthetic design. This approach toward clinically-relevant actuator performance paired with a substantially different form-factor compared to DC motors presents new opportunities to advance the field of prosthetic limb design.
Cross-Sectional Relationship between Regular Bedtime and Weight Status and Obesity-Related Behaviors among Preschool and Elementary School Children: TX CORD Study.

Background: This study examines the relations between a regular weekday bedtime with weight status, diet quality, physical activity, wellbeing, and parental rules among children 2 to 12 years of ag...
Runaway accretion of metals from compact discs of debris on to white dwarfs

It was recently proposed that metal-rich white dwarfs (WDs) accrete their metals from compact discs of debris found to exist around more than a dozen of them. At the same time, elemental abundances measured in atmospheres of some WDs imply vigorous metal accretion at rates up to 1011 g s−1, far in excess of what can be supplied solely by Poynting–Robertson drag acting on such discs of debris. To explain this observation we propose a model, in which rapid transport of metals from the disc on to the WD naturally results from interaction between this particulate disc and a spatially coexisting disc of metallic gas. The latter is fed by evaporation of debris particles at the sublimation radius located at several tens of WD radii. Because of pressure support the gaseous disc orbits the WD slower than the particulate disc. Resultant azimuthal drift between them at speed ≲1 m s−1 causes aerodynamic drag on the disc of solids and drives inward migration of its constituent particles. Upon reaching the sublimation radius, particles evaporate, enhancing the density of the metallic gaseous disc and leading to positive feedback. Under favourable circumstances (low viscosity in the disc of metallic gas and efficient aerodynamic coupling between the discs) a system evolves in a runaway fashion, destroying the discs of debris on time-scale of ∼105 yr, and giving rise to high metal accretion rates up to g s−1, in agreement with observations.
Surgical Techniques for Lower Esophageal Diverticula

An epiphrenic diverticulum is a relatively rare condition typically associated with esophageal motility disorders. These diverticula are found in the distal 10 cm of the esophagus and due to an outflow obstruction at the gastroesophageal junction. Patients present with a range of symptoms that include epigastric pain, reflux, and dysphagia. Workup of these patients should include upper endoscopy, manometry, and barium esophagram. In symptomatic patients, surgical treatment is considered standard of care. The optimal surgical approach in these patients is debatable, but it is typically done using minimally invasive techniques. This may include laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, or robotics. Depending on the technique chosen, the same technical principles apply when treating these patients: diverticulectomy, concurrent myotomy, and a prophylactic antireflux operation. It is important to follow these principles to ensure optimal outcomes.
The Effect of Mutual Monitoring on Effort in Tournament Contracts

This study investigates experimentally how mutual monitoring affects effort when individuals are compensated via rank-order tournaments. We predict that the effect depends on whether the tournament is framed as a bonus or penalty contract. We manipulate whether participants can or cannot mutually monitor competitor's effort as well as whether economically-equivalent tournaments are framed as bonus or penalty contracts. We find that mutual monitoring results in higher effort when the tournament is framed as a bonus contract and (eventually) lower effort when the tournament is framed as a penalty contract. Mutual monitoring facilitates both competitiveness and collusiveness, resulting in a disordinal interaction between mutual monitoring and contract frame.
Making common sense of cyberlibertarian ideology: The journalistic consecration of John Perry Barlow

This study critiques the way in which journalism and other media used John Perry Barlow, an early Internet enthusiast, as a source to make common sense of cyberlibertarian ideology as the Internet ...
Remdesivir and EIDD-1931 Interact with Human Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporters 1 and 2: Implications for Reaching SARS-CoV-2 Viral Sanctuary Sites .

Equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) are present at the blood-testis barrier (BTB), where they can facilitate antiviral drug disposition to eliminate a sanctuary site for viruses detectable in semen. The purpose of this study was to investigate ENT-drug interactions with three nucleoside analogs, remdesivir, molnupiravir, and molnupiravir’s active metabolite, β-d-N4-hydroxycytidine (EIDD-1931), and four non-nucleoside molecules repurposed as antivirals for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study used three-dimensional pharmacophores for ENT1 and ENT2 substrates and inhibitors and Bayesian machine learning models to identify potential interactions with these transporters. In vitro transport experiments demonstrated that remdesivir was the most potent inhibitor of ENT-mediated [3H]uridine uptake (ENT1 IC50: 39 μM; ENT2 IC50: 77 μM), followed by EIDD-1931 (ENT1 IC50: 259 μM; ENT2 IC50: 467 μM), whereas molnupiravir was a modest inhibitor (ENT1 IC50: 701 μM; ENT2 IC50: 851 μM). Other proposed antivirals failed to inhibit ENT-mediated [3H]uridine uptake below 1 mM. Remdesivir accumulation decreased in the presence of 6-S-[(4-nitrophenyl)methyl]-6-thioinosine (NBMPR) by 30% in ENT1 cells (P = 0.0248) and 27% in ENT2 cells (P = 0.0054). EIDD-1931 accumulation decreased in the presence of NBMPR by 77% in ENT1 cells (P = 0.0463) and by 64% in ENT2 cells (P = 0.0132), which supported computational predictions that both are ENT substrates that may be important for efficacy against COVID-19. NBMPR failed to decrease molnupiravir uptake, suggesting that ENT interaction is likely inhibitory. Our combined computational and in vitro data can be used to identify additional ENT-drug interactions to improve our understanding of drugs that can circumvent the BTB. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study identified remdesivir and EIDD-1931 as substrates of equilibrative nucleoside transporters 1 and 2. This provides a potential mechanism for uptake of these drugs into cells and may be important for antiviral potential in the testes and other tissues expressing these transporters.
The Precarious Labor Employer

Who are these rascals who are guilty of offering precarious jobs to their employees? Before we can answer this question, we must clarify what precarious employment is in the first place. This term refers to any and all jobs other than those that call for the standard fare of Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (or any other fixed 8 hour day), with 2, 3, or 4 weeks vacation per year, depending upon seniority. What falls into this large category? Part-time work certainly does. And why, in turn, are there so many jobs featuring 39 or fewer hours per week? One reason is due to the fact that when this barrier is reached, all sorts of additional requirements (healthcare, retirement, etc.) befall the employer. Another reason is seasonality. The skiing industry does more business in the winter than in the summer. The very opposite occurs in places like Cape Cod, and Seattle, where numerous people spend their summer vacations. Fishing season, too, must be served. Then there are those rainy days when the car wash industry is idled, along with the employer. There is also contract work, for jobs of limited duration. Once completed, all subcontractors are released. There is also temporary work, on a day to day basis, when the employer finds it difficult to predict the pattern of demand. Nor can we avoid cases where the impetus for this sort of thing stems from the employee not the employer side of the ledger. For example, a teenager may be saving up to purchase a motorcycle. When he has sufficient funds for this purpose, he downs tools without any by-your-leave from anyone. It is no accident that fast food purveyors such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, have over 100% employee turnover every year.
Processes and Contaminant Generation in Welding Shops

Industrial facilities discussed in this Guide include those which house operations relying on welding, cutting, brazing, and joining processes, e.g., automotive plants, shipbuilding and repair wharfs, maintenance, and repair shops.
YouTube™ as a Source of Instructional Videos on Bowel Preparation: a Content Analysis

Instructional videos on bowel preparation have been shown to improve bowel preparation scores during colonoscopy. YouTube™ is one of the most frequently visited website on the internet and contains videos on bowel preparation. In an era where patients are increasingly turning to social media for guidance on their health, the content of these videos merits further investigation. We assessed the content of bowel preparation videos available on YouTube™ to determine the proportion of YouTube™ videos on bowel preparation that are high-content videos and the characteristics of these videos. YouTube™ videos were assessed for the following content: (1) definition of bowel preparation, (2) importance of bowel preparation, (3) instructions on home medications, (4) name of bowel cleansing agent (BCA), (5) instructions on when to start taking BCA, (6) instructions on volume and frequency of BCA intake, (7) diet instructions, (8) instructions on fluid intake, (9) adverse events associated with BCA, and (10) rectal effluent. Each content parameter was given 1 point for a total of 10 points. Videos with ≥5 points were considered by our group to be high-content videos. Videos with ≤4 points were considered low-content videos. Forty-nine (59 %) videos were low-content videos while 34 (41 %) were high-content videos. There was no association between number of views, number of comments, thumbs up, thumbs down or engagement score, and videos deemed high-content. Multiple regression analysis revealed bowel preparation videos on YouTube™ with length >4 minutes and non-patient authorship to be associated with high-content videos.
Sulfheme Proteins I. OPTICAL AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF SULFMYOGLOBIN AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Abstract Ferrous sulfmyoglobin was prepared from the higher oxidation state of myoglobin (Mbiv) by reaction at pH 8 with a 1.5-fold molar excess of (NH4)2S. The purity (g90%) was greater than any previously reported. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of the ferric protein at low pH resembles that of ferric myoglobin, where the heme iron is high spin and is in a nearly axial environment. At high pH, the heme iron gives a low spin EPR signal, attributed to the hydroxide derivative, which is distinct from that of ferric myoglobin hydroxide. Acid-base titration of ferric sulfmyoglobin in the visible and near infrared gives a pK of 8.45 ± 0.05 while similar titration of ferric myoglobin yields a pK of 8.9 to 9.0. A computer analysis of the titration data for both compounds confirmed the pK for ferric sulfmyoglobin and, coupled with EPR data, has been used to determine the purity of the preparation. Evidence is presented that the small amount of impurity in the ferrous sulfmyoglobin preparation is present as oxymyoglobin. A computed spectrum of pure ferrous sulfmyoglobin is given, and has been used to re-evaluate the purity of preparations described in previous publications. Fluoride binding to ferric sulfmyoglobin was established by EPR. The low spin ferric cyanide and azide derivatives were studied by optical and EPR spectroscopy. An analysis of the EPR spectra of low spin derivatives of ferric sulfmyoglobin leads us to believe that the electronic distribution at the heme is different from that of ferric myoglobin and, combined with an analysis of optical properties, supports the hypothesis of a structure in which the elements of H2S add across a β—β double bond of a pyrrole and thereby disrupt the porphyrin conjugation and form a chlorin type structure.
Conformational Studies on Modified Proteins and Peptides IV. CONFORMATION OF LYSOZYME DERIVATIVES MODIFIED AT TYROSINE OR AT TRYPTOPHAN RESIDUES

Abstract Conformational investigations have been carried out on derivatives of lysozyme in which tyrosines 20 and 23 were nitrated (NT2-lysozyme), or in which the nitrotyrosine residues had been reduced to aminotyrosine (AT2-lysozyme). Also, a derivative modified at the 6 tryptophan residues by reaction with 2-nitrophenyl sulfenyl chloride (NPS6-lysozyme) was studied. In optical rotatory dispersion measurements, NT2-lysozyme and AT2-lysozyme showed equal rotations at the negative 233-nm minima and at the positive 199-nm maxima. Also, they had identical b0 values. These two derivatives were more rotatory than lysozyme. On the other hand, NPS6-lysozyme showed an appreciable degree of unfolding evidenced by a decrease of all its optical rotatory dispersion parameters. Measurements of the reduced molar ellipticities showed that the present three derivatives, like lysozyme, give a negative circular dichroism band at 208 nm and a shoulder around 220 nm. Results were in agreement with optical rotation measurements. The rotatory behavior of lysozyme and the derivatives showed no change in the pH range 7 to 3. The conformational changes revealed by optical rotatory dispersion and circular dichroism measurements were also shown by increase in disulfide reducibility. Both NT2-lysozyme and AT2-lysozyme exhibited appreciable disulfide reducibility (one bond) relative to lysozyme (0.03 bond), and the great unfolding in NPS6-lysozyme was also confirmed by the large increase in accessibility of its disulfide bonds (2½ bonds). Changes in conformation obtained on binding of each of these proteins with sodium dodecyl sulfate were monitored by disulfide accessibility. It was shown that NT2-lysozyme and AT2lysozyme assume ‘relaxed’ conformation with identical disulfide accessibility (two bonds). The conformation of lysozyme also became ‘relaxed’, although to a lesser extent than the tyrosyl derivatives, on binding with sodium dodecyl sulfate. In contrast to these, NPS6-lysozyme, assumed a ‘constrained’ conformation on binding with sodium dodecyl sulfate. It was concluded that conformational changes take place upon modification of the tyrosine or tryptophan residues and that NT2-lysozyme and AT2-lysozyme had identical conformations. From these results and the previously reported immunochemical behaviors of these derivatives, it may be concluded that one (or both) of tyrosines 20 and 23 is located in an antigenic reactive site in lysozyme. The results also indicated that, although the antigenic reactivity of native proteins is highly influenced by changes in conformation, not every conformational change will exert an effect on the antigenic reactivity. This should be dependent on the protein and the nature of the conformational change.
DeAlmas Latinas (The Souls of Latina Women)

Abstract This project explored how die collaborative creation of a psychospiritual group process that is culturally relevant can empower U.S. born Latinas in their lives and begin the process of soul reclamation and healing for this population of women. This article examines how spiritual work grounded in the socio-cultural context is therapeutic and healing when working with Latinas. The Latino/a cultural world view speaks to the effectiveness of homogenous group work within this community. The different spiritual traditions that exist within the Latino/a diaspora and the role of women in these traditions are discussed to inform the reader of the inherent therapeutic tools within Latino/a spirituality that encourage wholeness. There were five U.S. born Latinas, between the ages of 23-26, of different backgrounds who participated in this group process. Eight group sessions of 3 hours were conducted over a period of eight weeks. Topics of discussion chosen by the members of this group included Family, Rela...
Issues for reactive power and voltage control pricing in a deregulated environment

This paper addresses issues related to reactive power, voltage support and transmission losses as dictated from a certain class of electric loads. Specifically, it addresses the impact of predominantly induction motor loads on voltage support, reactive power requirements, and transmission losses. These issues are examined with a model which explicitly models the induction motor mechanical load. Simulation results on a simplified electric power system are presented. The results are utilized to propose a pricing structure for voltage and reactive power support. The basic assumption of the paper is that, in a deregulated environment, the expense of the incremental requirements for voltage control should be charged to the member causing the additional requirements. Alternatively, the results can be used to justify long term pricing agreements between suppliers and customers.
Multimedia security: the good, the bad, and the ugly

In this talk I will described issues related to securing multimedia content. In particular I will discuss why tradition security methods, such as cryptography, do not work. I believe that perhaps too has been promised and not enough has been delivered with respect to multimedia security. I will overview research issues related to data hiding, digital rights management systems, media forensics, and describe how various applications scenarios impact security issues.
The Syncretistic Theory: Bridging Composition and Literature through Immersions

eviewing my students' essays at the completion of my freshman composition course several years ago, I found yet another yearly batch of papers that seemed to be missing the elusive "something" that we tend to call "good writing." The students' writing lacked vitality of thought, of expression. They had mechanically produced prose with grudging adherence to form. If Janet Emig is correct and "all writing emanates from the expressive impulse" (37), then I had not tapped into my students' wealth of inner voices nor inspired them to reflect more on the issues that concerned them.
Modernism and Time: The Logic of Abundance in Literature, Science, and Culture, 1880-1930

Introduction: Post-Enlightenment modernism and the experience of time Part I. Post-Enlightenment Apprehension: 1. The Enlightenment, abundance, and postmodernity 2. Temporal allegories: George Eliot, Walter Benjamin, and the redemption of time 3. The second industrial revolution: history, knowledge, and subjectivity Part II. Logics of Abundance: 4. The natural history of time: mathematics and meaning in Einstein and Russell 5. Analogy and example: Heisenberg, linguistic negation, and the language of quantum physics 6. The global aesthetics of genre: Mikhail Bakhtin and the borders of modernity.
Delivering Telemonitoring Care to Digitally Disadvantaged Older Adults: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Design Recommendations

Although telemonitoring has promise in improving care delivery and reducing unnecessary health care costs, the recent years have witnessed growing interest in identifying and resolving barriers to engagement, participation, and spreading of telemonitoring service programs among digitally disadvantaged populations. Based on a review of three key conceptual perspectives relevant to the problem of the digital divide, specific issues concerning technological acceptance, human resources development, and collaboration with service systems are described. Major strategies and policy implications are discussed with regard to HCI design considerations for telemonitoring of medical and aging conditions of the target population, integration of the telemonitoring service into the existing clinical and social context, and development of reimbursement policy that supports not only service use but also access to technology services and additional training for effective use of the technology.
A Jewish perspective on the refusal of life-sustaining therapies: culture as shaping bioethical discourse.

Cochrane's excellent target article (2009) is based on a few ethical and legal assumptions that are currently accepted as “bedrock” principles in Western medicine and bioethics, such as patient aut...
Scaled vapor-to-liquid nucleation in a Lennard-Jones system.

Scaling of the homogenous vapor-to-liquid nucleation rate, $J$, is observed in a model Lennard-Jones (LJ) system. The model uses Monte Carlo simulation--generated small cluster growth to decay rate constant ratios and the kinetic steady-state nucleation rate formalism to determine $J$ at four temperatures below the LJ critical temperature, ${T}_{c}$. When plotted vs the scaled supersaturation, $\mathrm{ln}﻿S/[{T}_{c}/T\ensuremath{-}1{]}^{3/2}$, the values of $\mathrm{log}﻿J$ are found to collapse onto a single line. A similar scaling has been observed for the experimental nucleation rate data of water and toluene.
Orthodoxy and nation-building: Nichifor Crainic and religious nationalism in 1920s Romania

This article uses the early career of Nichifor Crainic (1889–1972) to show why Orthodox Christianity became a central element of Romanian ultra-nationalism during the 1920s. Most Romanian nationalists were atheists prior to the First World War, but state-sponsored nation-building efforts catalyzed by territorial expansion and the incorporation of ethnic and religious minorities allowed individuals such as Crainic to introduce religious nationalism into the public sphere. Examining Crainic's work during the 1920s shows how his nationalism was shaped by mainstream political and ideological currents, including state institutions such as the Royal Foundations of Prince Carol and the Ministry of Cults and of Art. Despite championing “tradition,” Crainic was committed to changing Romanian society so long as that change followed autochthonous Romanian models. State sponsorship allowed Crainic to promote religious nationalism through his periodical Gândirea. Crainic's literary achievements earned him a chair in t...
Modeling and forecasting U. S. mortality

Abstract Time series methods are used to make long-run forecasts, with confidence intervals, of age-specific mortality in the United States from 1990 to 2065. First, the logs of the age-specific death rates are modeled as a linear function of an unobserved period-specific intensity index, with parameters depending on age. This model is fit to the matrix of U.S. death rates, 1933 to 1987, using the singular value decomposition (SVD) method; it accounts for almost all the variance over time in age-specific death rates as a group. Whereas e 0 has risen at a decreasing rate over the century and has decreasing variability, k(t) declines at a roughly constant rate and has roughly constant variability, facilitating forecasting. k(t), which indexes the intensity of mortality, is next modeled as a time series (specifically, a random walk with drift) and forecast. The method performs very well on within-sample forecasts, and the forecasts are insensitive to reductions in the length of the base period from 90 to 30 ...
Practical implementation of tetrahedral mesh reconstruction in emission tomography

This paper presents a practical implementation of image reconstruction on tetrahedral meshes optimized for emission computed tomography with parallel beam geometry. Tetrahedral mesh built on a point cloud is a convenient image representation method, intrinsically three-dimensional and with a multi-level resolution property. Image intensities are defined at the mesh nodes and linearly interpolated inside each tetrahedron. For the given mesh geometry, the intensities can be computed directly from tomographic projections using iterative reconstruction algorithms with a system matrix calculated using an exact analytical formula. The mesh geometry is optimized for a specific patient using a two stage process. First, a noisy image is reconstructed on a finely-spaced uniform cloud. Then, the geometry of the representation is adaptively transformed through boundary-preserving node motion and elimination. Nodes are removed in constant intensity regions, merged along the boundaries, and moved in the direction of the mean local intensity gradient in order to provide higher node density in the boundary regions. Attenuation correction and detector geometric response are included in the system matrix. Once the mesh geometry is optimized, it is used to generate the final system matrix for ML-EM reconstruction of node intensities and for visualization of the reconstructed images. In dynamic PET or SPECT imaging, the system matrix generation procedure is performed using a quasi-static sinogram, generated by summing projection data from multiple time frames. This system matrix is then used to reconstruct the individual time frame projections. Performance of the new method is evaluated by reconstructing simulated projections of the NCAT phantom and the method is then applied to dynamic SPECT phantom and patient studies and to a dynamic microPET rat study. Tetrahedral mesh-based images are compared to the standard voxel-based reconstruction for both high and low signal-to-noise ratio projection datasets. The results demonstrate that the reconstructed images represented as tetrahedral meshes based on point clouds offer image quality comparable to that achievable using a standard voxel grid while allowing substantial reduction in the number of unknown intensities to be reconstructed and reducing the noise.
Automated protocol validation: One chain of development

Abstract The progress of one research effort in computer-automated protocol validation is summarized in this paper. It brings together in one place the results of a number of studies, some published and some to be published but all widely scattered in the literature. Described are a formal representation, the “duologue”, “phase-diagram”, and “state-pertubation” methods. These are discussed on the basis of a common example. Sample results from the validation of the CCITT X.21 interface are explained as an indication of what these techniques can achieve.
Adolescent and Adult Alcohol Attitudes in a High Alcohol Consumption Community.

The study examines alcohol-related attitudes among adolescents and adults in a high consumption community, exploring whether adolescents and adults hold similar or different views regarding adolescent drinking. Data were gathered from adults in a Midwestern city via random telephone survey of 487 adults (30% with children under the age of 21). Students in grades 6-12 (n = 558) also completed a youth version of the survey in classrooms. Results indicated that becoming a parent was associated with more restrictive attitudes about adolescent alcohol use, regardless of the age of their children. Adolescents aged 14 to 17 had the least restrictive attitudes. Adults aged 18 to 24 (who were not parents) reported values similar to older adolescents. Younger adolescents, while similar to older adolescents in perception of community alcohol problems, were more like parents and older adults in attitudes about adolescent drinking. Both adolescents and adults greatly overestimated actual amounts of community adolescent binge drinking.
Human α2-macroglobulin is composed of multiple domains, as predicted by homology with complement component C3

Human α2M (α2-macroglobulin) and the complement components C3 and C4 are thiol ester-containing proteins that evolved from the same ancestral gene. The recent structure determination of human C3 has allowed a detailed prediction of the location of domains within human α2M to be made. We describe here the expression and characterization of three α2M domains predicted to be involved in the stabilization of the thiol ester in native α2M and in its activation upon bait region proteolysis. The three newly expressed domains are MG2 (macroglobulin domain 2), TED (thiol ester-containing domain) and CUB (complement protein subcomponents C1r/C1s, urchin embryonic growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein 1) domain. Together with the previously characterized RBD (receptor-binding domain), they represent approx. 42% of the α2M polypeptide. Their expression as folded domains strongly supports the predicted domain organization of α2M. An X-ray crystal structure of MG2 shows it to have a fibronectin type-3 fold analogous to MG1–MG8 of C3. TED is, as predicted, an α-helical domain. CUB is a spliced domain composed of two stretches of polypeptide that flank TED in the primary structure. In intact C3 TED interacts with RBD, where it is in direct contact with the thiol ester, and with MG2 and CUB on opposite, flanking sides. In contrast, these α2M domains, as isolated species, show negligible interaction with one another, suggesting that the native conformation of α2M, and the consequent thiol ester-stabilizing domain–domain interactions, result from additional restraints imposed by the physical linkage of these domains or by additional domains in the protein.
Lower-body function, neighborhoods, and walking in an older population.

Background Poor lower-body capacity is associated with reduced mobility in older populations. Purpose This study sought to determine whether neighborhood environments (e.g., land-use patterns and safety) moderate that association. Methods The study is based on a cross-sectional sample of 884 people aged ≥65 years identified through service organizations in Alameda County CA, Cook County IL, Allegheny County PA, and Wake and Durham counties NC. In-person interviews focused on neighborhood characteristics, physical and cognitive function, and physical activity and walking. Functional capacity was tested using measures of lower-body strength, balance, and walking speed. The main outcome was time spent walking in a typical week ( Results Living in a residential area, compared to a mixed-use or commercial area, was associated with less time spent walking ( Conclusions Neighborhood type is associated with walking among older people, as it is among the general adult population. In individuals with poor lower-body function, no association was found between residence in a less-compact area and walking. For those people, the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and walking requires further study.