cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Process improvement for a container-filling process with random shifts

Abstract In this paper, we study the efficacy of alternative process improvement strategies for a container-filling production process. Three types of improvement actions to modify process parameters are considered: reducing the process setup cost, reducing the arrival rate of the out-of-control state, and reducing the process variance. It is assumed that these process parameters can be changed with a one-time investment. The concept of a planning horizon is introduced as a means for modeling the investment decision and corresponding process improvement benefit. Models are formulated to determine the optimal process improvement and production parameters that minimize the unit time expected cost across a given planning horizon. Numerical analysis is used to examine relationships among the optimal investment strategy, production policy, and length of the planning horizon.
Minimum specimen size for composite testing at low temperature

Abstract The present article demonstrates analytically the minimum specimen size required to evaluate composite mechanical properties at low temperature. Small specimen size reduces the need to use large amounts of cooling liquid for testing purposes. The solution is general and it is intended to quantify the specimen dimensions and the constrained edge effect on composite mechanical testing. The analysis is based on solving for the Airy stress function of two-dimensional anisotropic bodies with mixed boundary conditions. The results illustrate the effects of specimen geometry and degree of anisotropy of the material on the minimum specimen gauge length. Numerical examples are given using materials with different degrees of anisotropy, e.g. glass-epoxy and boron-epoxy.
U.S. national trends in the use of antipsychotics during office visits, 1998-2002.

Background. There is a paucity of studies on U.S. national trends in the use of antipsychotic medications in the 21st century. This study examined national trends in the prescribing of antipsychotic drugs in office-based physician practices.Methods. National probability sample survey data from 1998–2002 National Ambulatory Medical Surveys were used to analyze the prescribing trends. The weighted visit estimates and percentages were compared across the years using z-test.Results. The number of antipsychotic-related visits was found to increase significantly and nearly two-fold, from 4.6 million in 1998 to 8.6 million in 2002. During the same period, the number of visits for second-generation antipsychotic drugs nearly tripled. The proportion of visits for the second-generation agents, as a percentage of visits for all antipsychotic drugs, rose sharply from about 48% in 1998 to 84% in 2002. Correspondingly, the percentage of visits involving first-generation antipsychotic drugs declined. The growth in the n...
The formation of a blue pigment in the bacterial oxidation of isonicotinic acid.

A pseudomonad was isolated from soil which can utilize isonicotinic acid as its sole carbon source. Growth on this substrate leads to the accumulation of a compound with absorption maxima at 240 and 345 mμ which was isolated and identified as citrazinic acid. Subsequent to citrazinic acid formation a soluble blue pigment is produced. This pigment was crystallized and shown to be identical to one formed by the chemical oxidation of citrazinic acid. The pigment, although similar in properties, is distinct from those arising during the metabolism of 2-hydroxypyridine, nicotinic acid and nicotine by other bacteria. The possible structure of the pigment is discussed and a pathway of its formation from isonicotinic acid is suggested.
Increased Intensity Performance of the Brookhaven AGS

With the advent of H- injection into the Brookhaven AGS, circulating beams of up to 3 × 1013 protons at 200 MeV have been obtained. Rf capture of 2.2 × 1013 and acceleration of 1.73 × 1013 up to the transition energy (? 8 GeV) and 1.64 × 1013 to full energy (? 29 GeV) has been achieved. This represents a 50% increase over the best performance obtained with H+ injection. The increase in circulation beam current is obtained without filling the horizontal aperture. This allows the rf capture process to utilize a larger longitudinal phase space area (? 1 eV sec/bunch vs ? 0.6 eV sec with H+ operation). The resulting reduction in relative longitudinal density partially offsets the increase in space charge effects at higher currents. In order to make the capture process independent of injected beam current, a dynamic beam loading compensation loop was installed on the AGS rf system. This is the only addition to the synchrotron itself that was required to reach the new intensity records. A discussion of injection, the rf capture process, and space charge effects is presented.
Graft copolymerization of ethyl acrylate with γ‐irradiated cotton cellulose I and II

The graft copolymerization of ethyl acrylate from methanol-water solutions with γ-irradiated cotton cellulose I and II was investigated by electron spin resonsance spectroscopy and by the formation of cellulose-poly(ethyl acrylate) copolymer. The rate and extent of graft copolymerization reactions in these heterogeneous systems were dependent on conditions of storage of the irradiated celluloses prior to reaction, the composition of the methanol-water solutions, reaction time, agitation during the reaction, and cellulose crystal lattice type. Agitation of the heterogeneous system during reaction decreased both the rate and extent of copolymerization. From water the extent of copolymerization of ethyl acrylate with irradiated collulose I was greater than with cellulose II; from methanol the extent of copolymerization with irradiated cellulose II was greater than with cellulose I. From methanol(40 vol-%)-water(60 vol-%) maximum extent of copolymerization occurred with both irradiated celluloses; however, the extent of copolymerization was less with irradiated cellulose II than with cellulose I. The extent of copolymerization was directly related to the initial concentration of free radicals in the irradiated cellulose. However, a fraction of the radicals, about 10% of the maximum concentration in cellulose obtained at a dosage of 5.2 × 1019 eV/g, was apparently in the highly ordered regions of the cellulosic structure. These radicals were not scavenged and did not initiate copolymerization reactions.
Gay, Straight, and Who I Am: Interpreting Passing Within the Frames for Everyday Life

Passing, the process whereby individuals conceal stigmatizing attributes, represents an intersection between self-definition, self-presentation, and situational and cultural fluency. Existing research has examined some of these topics separately, but few works have undertaken a cohesive analysis. To address this gap, this study employs frame analysis to examine gay and lesbian individuals’ interpretive accounts of passing. Participants framed their self-presentations within a paradigm of being “who I am,” noted a frame of risk that operated across situations, and described common frames for audiences and settings in their lives—all central to interpreting passing within everyday, routine interaction.
Comparison of Pavlik harness application and immediate spica casting for femur fractures in infants

This retrospective study compares Pavlik harness application versus spica casting for the treatment of children under 1 year of age with a femoral shaft fracture. The clinical and radiographic outcomes of 24 patients treated in a Pavlik harness were compared with 16 patients treated in a spica cast. The average age and weight of the two groups were significantly different, but there were no differences in radiographic outcomes between the Pavlik and spica cast groups. Approximately one third of all spica patients had a skin complication that added an additional risk to the patient. There were no similar complications in the Pavlik group. There were no differences in the outcome of the fractures in the two groups. The authors believe that all children under 1 year of age with a femoral shaft fracture are candidates for treatment with a Pavlik harness.
A sensitive and specific assay for superoxide anion released by neutrophils or macrophages based on bioluminescence of polynoidin.

Abstract Using the luminescent protein polynoidin, present in the bioluminescent system isolated from the marine annelid Harmothoe lunulata , we have developed a new method to measure, specifically, superoxide anion (O 2 − ) released by macrophages or neutrophils. A small quantity of an aqueous crude extract of polynoidin is used to detect O 2 − released by stimulated cells. Light emission is linearly dependent on the number of cells over a wide range (10 3 to 10 7 cells), and the assay is thus more sensitive than either luminol or ferricytochrome c reduction. Luminescence is enhanced 20% by mannitol, 80% by catalase, and is totally quenched by superoxide dismutase. For the same number of cells, neutrophils showed a threefold higher release of O 2 − and a twofold faster first-order light decay than stimulated macrophages, in accordance with data obtained by other methods.
Pyrimidine homeostasis is accomplished by directed overflow metabolism.

Here, the authors identify a previously unknown regulatory strategy used by Escherichia coli to control end-product levels of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway: this involves feedback regulation of the near-terminal pathway enzyme UMP kinase, with accumulation of UMP prevented by its degradation to uridine through UmpH, a phosphatase with a previously unknown function. The control of the concentrations and fluxes of the thousand or so metabolites in a living cell such as Escherichia coli occurs via regulation of enzyme concentrations, activities and substrate occupancies. De novo pyrimidine biosynthesis has been reported to be regulated at the first committed pathway step (catalysed by aspartate transcarbamoylase) and at the previous (carbamoyl phosphate synthetase) step. Here the authors identify a novel regulatory strategy — an overflow pathway from UMP to uracil — that E. coli cells use to avoid the accumulation of an excess of the end products of pyrimidine biosynthesis. The process is analogous to that seen in central carbon metabolism, where excessive sugar catabolism leads to buildup of pyruvate that can be excreted as lactate, ethanol or acetate. Cellular metabolism converts available nutrients into usable energy and biomass precursors. The process is regulated to facilitate efficient nutrient use and metabolic homeostasis. Feedback inhibition of the first committed step of a pathway by its final product is a classical means of controlling biosynthesis1,2,3,4. In a canonical example, the first committed enzyme in the pyrimidine pathway in Escherichia coli is allosterically inhibited by cytidine triphosphate1,4,5. The physiological consequences of disrupting this regulation, however, have not been previously explored. Here we identify an alternative regulatory strategy that enables precise control of pyrimidine pathway end-product levels, even in the presence of dysregulated biosynthetic flux. The mechanism involves cooperative feedback regulation of the near-terminal pathway enzyme uridine monophosphate kinase6. Such feedback leads to build-up of the pathway intermediate uridine monophosphate, which is in turn degraded by a conserved phosphatase, here termed UmpH, with previously unknown physiological function7,8. Such directed overflow metabolism allows homeostasis of uridine triphosphate and cytidine triphosphate levels at the expense of uracil excretion and slower growth during energy limitation. Disruption of the directed overflow regulatory mechanism impairs growth in pyrimidine-rich environments. Thus, pyrimidine homeostasis involves dual regulatory strategies, with classical feedback inhibition enhancing metabolic efficiency and directed overflow metabolism ensuring end-product homeostasis.
Reflections on geomagnetic reversals.

Several investigators have noted that the Earth's magnetic dipole has been decreasing during the last century. Some have indicated that if the trend continues the dipole would be zero within a few thousand years, indicating that a reversal was occurring. Few if any take such suggestions seriously because of the weakness of the conditional if clause. An example of such a “prediction” is taken from the recent series of definitive models and reasons are given describing why such predictions of reversals are quite meaningless. It is known that the Earth's magnetic field, at the surface of the Earth is predominantly Bipolar. From paleomagnetic studies it is also known that this predominantly dipolar field has reversed its direction many times. Some studies indicate that although, at the present time, the dipole of the Earth is decreasing quite rapidly, the total magnetic energy outside the core is remaining nearly constant. This idea is reexamined using the recent definitive models and found to be true. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of relatively simple core sources which can produce the observed predominantly dipolar field and then cause the field to reverse without much loss of the total energy outside the core. A simple source in the outer core cannot produce the outstanding dipolar pattern that is observed. The right combination of many simple sources, the strongest of which must be very deep in the outer core, can create the dipolar pattern as has been shown in several previous studies. A very simple source system deep in the outer core is contrived to illustrate one way in which the main characteristics of a reversal can be realized.
Measurements of absolute temperature below 0.75 K using a Josephson-junction noise thermometer

In order to extend the international temperature scale of 1990, ITS-90, below its lower limit of 0.65 K, we have developed a temperature scale ranging from 6 to 750 mK. Values of absolute temperature are defined on this scale by an R-SQUID noise thermometer. A review is given here of the decade of our experience in the operation of this thermometer and in modeling its systematic errors. The reproducibility of noise temperature values was assessed using superconductive fixed points and the melting curve of3He. To assess the accuracy of the noise thermometer, it was compared with another absolute thermometer (based on nuclear orientation) at the lowest temperatures and with an internationally recognized scale above 0.5 K. The noise thermometer temperatures were used to calibrate two paramagnetic salt thermometers, the result being the construction of a temperature scale that is smooth to approximately 0.01%. On the basis of these comparisons, temperature values defined by the R-SQUID are deemed to be reproducible to within 0.1% and accurate to within 0.3%.
EVEREST+: run-time SLA violations prediction

Monitoring the preservation of QoS properties during the operation of service-based systems at run-time is an important verification measure for checking if the current service usage is compliant with agreed SLAs. Monitoring, however, does not always provide sufficient scope for taking control actions against violations as it only detects violations after they occur.In this paper we describe a model-based prediction framework, EVEREST+, for both QoS predictors development and execution. EVEREST+ was designed to provide a framework for developing in an easy and fast way QoS predictors only focusing on their prediction algorithms implementation without the need for caring about how to collect or retrieve historical data or how to infer models out of collected data. It also provides a run-time environment for executing QoS predictors and storing their predictions.
Plane-strain fracture energy instability and mixed mode crack propagation in polycarbonate at room temperature

A study of crack propagation in double cantilever beam specimens of polycarbonate has revealed a large velocity-dependent instability in the plane-strain fracture energy GIc. At a crack velocity of 10−2 in./min, GIc accords with published values obtained from tensile studies of precracked specimens. Crack propagation in doubly grooved double cantilever beam specimens is unstable at higher velocities. The GIc's during crack jumping and at crack arrest are estimated to be 0.2 and 2%, respectively, of the low crack speed value, based on the amounts of crazing produced at the various crack speeds. Evidence of plane-strain shear deformation at the low speed crack tip is presented. The GIc instability is suggested to arise from differences in the kinetics of shear failure and craze breakdown.
Autocrine Induction of DNA Synthesis by Mechanical Injury of Cultured Smooth Muscle Cells: Potential Role of FGF and PDGF

Abstract To determine whether replication of arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in response to mechanical injury would occur in the absence of serum and other cells, we created an in vitro model in which confluent, growth-arrested cultures of rat SMCs were injured by gentle pressure of a soft plastic tube and then kept in serum-free medium for up to 4 days. Replication of SMCs in and around the injury, as measured by tritiated thymidine incorporation, was noted within 24 hours and peaked at 48 hours after injury, whereas noninjured cells remained quiescent. An increased expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) A mRNA, noted 6 hours after injury, was followed by an increased PDGF AA immunoreactivity in SMCs in and around the zone of injury at 24 and 48 hours after injury. A PDGF A chain antisense oligonucleotide inhibited 87.0±4.0% ( P
University of Wisconsin Solution Extends Lung Preservation After Prostaglandin E1 Infusion

University of Wisconsin (UW) solution has been demonstrated to enhance and extend the preservation of the hepatic, pancreatic, renal, and cardiac allografts. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), which has been used to produce pulmonary vasodilatation, has improved preservation in lung transplantation. Experiments were designed to evaluate their potential role in 24-h preservation of the allografts in lung transplantation. Thirty-six dogs underwent left lung transplantation. The donor lungs (n = 6 in each group) were flushed with UW solution (group 1 and 2) or modified Euro-Collins (EC) solution (group 3) after PGE, infusion (500 μg). In group 1, donor lungs were transplanted immediately. Lung allografts of group 2 and 3 were cold stored (4°C) in the same preservation solution for 24 h in the inflated state and then transplanted. The right pulmonary artery and right main bronchus were ligated 1 h after completion of the transplantation, forcing the recipient dogs to survive with the transplanted left lung. The recipients were ventilated with an inspired oxygen fraction of 0.4 and end-expiratory pressure 10 cm H2O. Two dogs died prematurely in group 3, whereas all dogs in group 1 and 2 survived the experimental period. The arterial oxygen tension and saturation and dynamic lung compliance were significantly higher in dogs of group 1 and 2. Transplanted lungs of group 1 and 2 had significantly lower pulmonary vascular resistance, alveolar-arterial oxygen difference, and wet/dry lung weight ratio. Histologically, pulmonary edema, congestion, sloughing of bronchial mucosa, and peribronchial and peripulmonary arterial hemorrhage were shown in lungs of group 3, but not in those of group 1 and 2. Airway mucosa and pulmonary vascular structure were well preserved in lungs of group 1 and 2. There was no significant difference between group 1 and 2 in lung functions, hemodynamics, or morphologic features. We concluded that PGE1 and UW solution could effectively extend lung preservation up to 24 h in this in vivo canine lung allotransplantation model.
Hepatic steatosis, inflammation, and ER stress in mice maintained long term on a very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet

Low-carbohydrate diets are used to manage obesity, seizure disorders, and malignancies of the central nervous system. These diets create a distinctive, but incompletely defined, cellular, molecular, and integrated metabolic state. Here, we determine the systemic and hepatic effects of long-term administration of a very low-carbohydrate, low-protein, and high-fat ketogenic diet, serially comparing these effects to a high-simple-carbohydrate, high-fat Western diet and a low-fat, polysaccharide-rich control chow diet in C57BL/6J mice. Longitudinal measurement of body composition, serum metabolites, and intrahepatic fat content, using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy, reveals that mice fed the ketogenic diet over 12 wk remain lean, euglycemic, and hypoinsulinemic but accumulate hepatic lipid in a temporal pattern very distinct from animals fed the Western diet. Ketogenic diet-fed mice ultimately develop systemic glucose intolerance, hepatic endoplasmic reticulum stress, steatosis, cellular injury, and macrophage accumulation, but surprisingly insulin-induced hepatic Akt phosphorylation and whole-body insulin responsiveness are not impaired. Moreover, whereas hepatic Pparg mRNA abundance is augmented by both high-fat diets, each diet confers splice variant specificity. The distinctive nutrient milieu created by long-term administration of this low-carbohydrate, low-protein ketogenic diet in mice evokes unique signatures of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and whole-body glucose homeostasis.
Implementation of a gallium arsenide multichip digital circuit operating at 500-1000 MHz clock rates using a Si/Cu/SiO/sub 2/ MCM-D technology

Two different deposited multichip modules (MCMs) were fabricated in nCHIP's nC3000 Si/Cu/SiO/sub 2/ process. The first of these MCMs was a passive test coupon containing a variety of microstrip and stripline transmission line structures, allowing the measurement of dc and ac signal amplitude losses in long conductors, as well as assessments of crosstalk and reflections as functions of line dimensions and spacings. The second MCM incorporated sixteen Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) integrated circuits, all designed to work together at clock rates in the hundreds of MHz; all components were attached, face up, with an aluminum wire bonding process. The design, fabrication, assembly and test processes for these modules will be described, as well as the lessons learned about this MCM process for the design of subsystems up to the high hundreds of MHz clock rates.
Exercise reverses the harmful effects of consumption of a high-fat diet on synaptic and behavioral plasticity associated to the action of brain-derived neurotrophic factor

A diet high in total fat (HF) reduces hippocampal levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a crucial modulator of synaptic plasticity, and a predictor of learning efficacy. We have evaluated the capacity of voluntary exercise to interact with the effects of diet at the molecular level. Animal groups were exposed to the HF diet for 2 months with and without access to voluntary wheel running. Exercise reversed the decrease in BDNF and its downstream effectors on plasticity such as synapsin I, a molecule with a key role in the modulation of neurotransmitter release by BDNF, and the transcription factor cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB), important for learning and memory. Furthermore, we found that exercise influenced the activational state of synapsin as well as of CREB, by increasing the phosphorylation of these molecules. In addition, exercise prevented the deficit in spatial learning induced by the diet, tested in the Morris water maze. Furthermore, levels of reactive oxygen species increased by the effects of the diet were decreased by exercise. Results indicate that exercise interacts with the same molecular systems disrupted by the HF diet, reversing their effects on neural function. Reactive oxygen species, and BDNF in conjunction with its downstream effectors on synaptic and neuronal plasticity, are common molecular targets for the action of the diet and exercise. Results unveil a possible molecular mechanism by which lifestyle factors can interact at a molecular level, and provide information for potential therapeutic applications to decrease the risk imposed by certain lifestyles.
The Adverse Impact of Gradual Temperature Change on Capital Investment

Financial market information can provide an objective assessment of losses anticipated from global warming. In a Merton-type asset pricing model, with asset prices affected by perceived changes in investment opportunities due to global warming, the risk premium is significantly negative and growing over time, loadings for most assets are negative, and asset portfolios in more vulnerable industries have stronger negative loadings on the global warming factor. Average increases in required returns attributed to global warming are 0.11 percent, implying a present value loss of 4.18 percent of wealth. These costs complement previous estimates of the cost of global warming.
Critical residues influence the affinity and selectivity of alpha-conotoxin MI for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

The mammalian skeletal muscle acetylcholine receptor contains two nonequivalent acetylcholine binding sites, one each at the R/‰ and R/A subunit interfaces. R-Conotoxin MI, a 14-amino acid competitive antagonist, binds at both interfaces but has 10 4 higher affinity for the R/‰ site. We performed an "alanine walk" to identify the residues in R-MI that contribute to this selective interaction with the R/‰ site. Electrophysiological measurements with Xenopus oocytes expressing normal receptors or receptors lacking either the A or ‰ subunit were made to assay toxin-receptor interaction. Alanine substitutions in most amino acid positions had only modest effects on toxin potency at either binding site. However, substitutions in two positions, proline-6 and tyrosine-12, dramatically reduced toxin potency at the high-affinity R/‰ site while having comparatively little effect on low-affinity R/A binding. When tyrosine-12 was replaced by alanine, the toxin's selectivity for the high-affinity site (relative to that for the low-affinity site) was reduced from 45 000- to 30-fold. A series of additional amino acid substitutions in this position showed that increasing side chain size/hydrophobicity increases toxin potency at the R/‰ site without affecting R/A binding. In contrast, when tyrosine-12 is diiodinated, toxin binding is nearly irreversible at the R/‰ site but also increases by 500-fold at the R/A site. The effects of position 12 substitutions are accounted for almost entirely by changes in the rate of toxin dissociation from the high-affinity R/‰ binding site.
Benzopyrans as selective estrogen receptor beta agonists (SERBAs). Part 3: Synthesis of cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone intermediates for C-ring modification.

Abstract Benzopyrans are selective estrogen receptor (ER) β agonists (SERBAs), which bind the ER subtypes α and β in opposite orientations. Here we describe the syntheses of cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone intermediates for SAR studies of the C-ring on the benzopyran scaffold. Modification of the C-ring disrupts binding to ERα, thus improving ERβ selectivity up to 100-fold. X-ray cocrystal structures confirm previously observed binding modes.
Correlated satellite measurements of low‐energy electron precipitation and ground‐based observations of a visible auroral arc

A comparison of low-energy charged-particle intensities measured with the low-altitude satellite Injun 5 and a ground-based observation of an auroral arc at Fort Churchill on December 21, 1968, during late local evening has established that an intense precipitation band of electron intensities provides the primary energy influx for the auroral light. This precipitation event was located poleward of and adjacent to the trapping boundary for more energetic electron (above 45 keV) intensities. Proton and electron intensities similar to those in the plasma sheet in the magnetotail were observed in a substantially less-intense zone positioned equatorward of and adjacent to the trapping boundary. The intense precipitation band of electron intensities poleward of the trapping boundary is interpreted as the signature of direct acceleration of magnetosheath electrons into the earth's atmosphere.
Party Competition on the Internet in the United States and Britain

This article examines the prominence of Web sites of major and minor parties in the United States and the United Kingdom, comparing features such as search capabilities, membership forms, information on party organization and issues, characteristics of graphics, and currency of updates as well as their relative quality and sophistication. We also look at the prominence of major and minor parties in newspapers and magazines and in various search engines and sites for political junkies. We find that minor parties have a greater presence on the Web in the United Kingdom than in the United States, but even so, the sites of major parties in both countries are more prominent and sophisticated than those of minor parties, and major parties generally receive more media coverage than minor parties, both on-line and off-line. The data suggest that the established interests dominating most of the communications, transactions, elections, and political processes of advanced industrialized countries are extending their influence to these processes in cyberspace.
Of strategies and chances

Thank you for the wonderful honor of serving as your president during the past year and giving me the special privilege of addressing our members at the annual meeting. I have attended nearly every annual meeting since I was a fellow and owe much of my career to the friends I make, knowledge I gain, and inspiration I experience at the meetings. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is an important organization with tremendous responsibility to its members, patients, and the health of our nation. I deeply enjoyed the opportunity to help lead the Society in making a difference and advancing the education, training, and research that supports our profession. My presidential address included many firsts. I am the first woman president to deliver the address, I shared results of the Society’s first Strategic Plan, and for the first time a patient told his story on stage. My mentors and family sat in the front, my family joined me at the podium so I could acknowledge their support, and my presentation theme was something we do not do in vascular surgeryd take chances. I selected “Chances” because there is a positive aspect about chance that influences our lives. For example, I became president because you gave me the chance to serve and I took that chance. There are chances that we all should be giving to patients, colleagues, trainees, and even people we do not know. Most important, we need to take chances for ourselves.
Shear stress magnitude and directionality modulate growth factor gene expression in preconditioned vascular endothelial cells.

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to simultaneously monitor the transcriptional levels of 12 endothelial growth factor genes in response to alterations in wall shear stress (WSS) under conditions relevant to the development of intimal hyperplasia, a major cause of arterial bypass graft failure. Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were preconditioned in vitro under steady flow (WSS, 15 dynes/cm 2 ) for 24 hours before being subjected to WSS at 25 (Δ = +10), 15 (Δ = 0), 5 (Δ = −10), 2.5 (Δ = −12.5), and 0 (Δ = −15) dynes/cm 2 or low magnitude WSS reversal (−2.5 dynes/cm 2 ) for 6 hours. A focused complementary DNA array was used to simultaneously measure messenger RNA expression levels for END1, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3), platelet-derived growth factor A, platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGFB), acidic fibroblast growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, transforming growth factor-α, transforming growth factor-β, vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, epidermal growth factor, and angiotensin converting enzyme. Results: Preconditioning significantly ( P 2 ) were measured in cells exposed to either constant (Δ = 0) or step decreases (Δ = −10, −12.5, or −15 dynes/cm 2 ) in WSS, marked changes were seen in the group exposed to a step increase in WSS (Δ = +10) or to WSS reversal. Low magnitude retrograde WSS evoked significant ( P 2 ). Conclusion: These results support the implementation of a preconditioning phase for in vitro WSS studies to establish a physiologic baseline. Our findings complement previous macroscale findings and are consistent with a cellular mechanism involving increased END1 and PDGFB levels, but decreased NOS3 levels, leading to intimal hyperplasia at regions of low magnitude reversing WSS. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:182-90.)
Benefits, adverse effects and drug interactionsof herbal therapies with cardiovascular effects

Because the use of herbal therapies in the U.S. is escalating, it is essential to be aware of clinical and adverse effects, doses and potential drug-herb interactions. A consumer poll in 1998 indicated that one-third of respondents use botanical remedies, and nearly one in five taking prescription medications also used herbs, high-dose dietary supplements or both. An estimated 15 million adults are at risk for potential adverse interactions involving prescription medications and herbs or vitamin supplements, yet most practicing physicians have little knowledge of herbal remedies or their effects. Herbal products are marketed without the proof of efficacy and safety that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires of drugs. The Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 allocates responsibility to manufacturers for ensuring safety and efficacy with no specific requirements to submit documentation. Manufacturers may state a product's physiologic effects but may not make claims for the treatment or cure of specific diseases. Consumers and practitioners have little information about product safety, contraindications, interactions or effectiveness and are reliant on manufacturers to provide accurate labeling. Recently, the growing number of foods with herbs has raised concerns at the FDA, which requires evidence that food additives are safe. Considering that the growing appeal of herbal remedies is likely to continue, physicians, particularly cardiologists, must become familiar with the available cardiovascular information on herbs. This review highlights the existing data on the efficacy, adverse effects and interactions for herbal therapies that impact on the cardiovascular system.
Development of tolerance to experimental cardiac allografts in utero: updated in 2001

As Originally Published in 1994: Figure options Download full-size image Download as PowerPoint slide
A quasi‐Monte Carlo approach to efficient 3-D migration: Field data test

The quasi-Monte Carlo migration algorithm is applied to a 3-D seismic data set from West Texas. The field data were finely sampled at approximately 220-ft (67-m) intervals in the in-line direction but were sampled coarsely at approximately 1320-ft (402-m) intervals in the cross-line direction. The traces at the quasi-Monte Carlo points were obtained by an interpolation of the regularly sampled traces. The subsampled traces at the quasi-Monte Carlo points were migrated, and the resulting images were compared to those obtained by migrating both regular and uniform grids of traces. Results show that, consistent with theory, the quasi-Monte Carlo migration images contain fewer migration aliasing artifacts than the regular or uniform grid images. For these data, quasi-Monte Carlo migration apparently requires fewer than half the number of the traces needed by regular-grid or uniform-grid migration to give images of comparable quality. These results agree with related migration tests on synthetic data computed for point scatterer models. Our results suggest that better migration images might result from data recorded on a coarse quasi-random grid compared to regular or uniform coarse grids.
Jogger's toenail.

Sports-related toenail abnormalities result from trauma during specific athletic events. A case is presented of jogger's toenail that developed in a patient who had just begun a running program. The cause, diagnosis, and management of jogger's toenail are discussed. Knowledge of myriad toenail disorders associated with sporting events helps the clinician to avoid misdiagnosis.
Peopling of the Pacific: A Holistic Anthropological Perspective

The human colonization of the Pacific is an enduring problem in historical anthropology. Recent advances in archaeology, historical linguistics, and bioanthropology have coalesced to form a set of models for population movements and interactions in Oceania, which have been tested on independent data sets. Earliest human movements into Near Oceania began about 40,000 years ago, resulting in great cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity in this region. About 4000 years ago, the expansion of Austronesian speakers out of Southeast Asia led to the emergence of the Lapita cultural complex in Near Oceania. The Lapita expansion into Remote Oceania, commencing about 1200 BC, led ultimately to the settlement of the vast eastern Pacific, ending with the colonization of New Zealand about AD 1250. Polynesians probably reached the coast of South America, returning with the sweet potato and possibly the bottle gourd. Polynesian influences on New World cultures remain a topic of debate.
Using Visual Literacy to Teach Science Academic Language: Experiences from Three Preservice Teachers

This original pedagogical study captured three preservice teachers’ experiences using visual literacy strategies as an approach to teaching English language learners (ELLs) science academic language. The following research questions guided this study: (1) What are the experiences of preservice teachers’ use of visual literacy to teach science academic language with ELLs in an elementary classroom? and (2) What are the strengths/limitations of incorporating visual literacy into the classroom with ELLs? Data revealed that preservice teachers recognized the significance and benefits of utilizing visual literacy as a method to teaching science academic language to ELLs. Results also indicated that elementary students employed self-discovery, knowledge, and the contextual use of academic language during three different lessons. Findings from this study suggest that even though there were some limitations to incorporating visual literacy strategies into the science classroom, preservice teachers find the approa...
EGFR isoforms and gene regulation in human endometrial cancer cells

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) constitute a principal growth-promoting pathway in endometrial cancer cells. Pre-clinical studies were undertaken to compare the expression of EGFR isoforms and the downstream effects of activating or blocking EGFR function in Ishikawa H cells, derived from a moderately differentiated type I endometrioid adenocarcinoma, or in Hec50co cells, derived from a poorly differentiated type II adenocarcinoma with papillary serous sub-differentiation. We investigated whether EGFR mutations are present in the tyrosine kinase domain (exons 18-22) of EGFR and also whether EGFR isoforms are expressed in the Ishikawa H or Hec50co cell lines. Sequence of the EGFR tyrosine kinase domain proved to be wild type in both cell lines. While both cell lines expressed full-length EGFR (isoform A), EGFR and sEGFR (isoform D) were expressed at significantly lower levels in Hec50co cells compared to Ishikawa H cells. Analysis of gene expression following EGF vs. gefitinib treatment (a small molecule EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor) was performed. Early growth response 1, sphingosine kinase 2, dual specificity phosphatase 6, and glucocorticoid receptor DNA binding factor 1 are members of a cluster of genes downstream of EGFR that are differentially regulated by treatment with EGF compared to gefitinib in Ishikawa H cells, but not in Hec50co cells. Type I Ishikawa H and type II Hec50co endometrial carcinoma cells both express EGFR and sEGFR, but differ markedly in their responsiveness to the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib. This difference is paralleled by differences in the expression of sEGFR and EGFR, as well as in their transcriptional response following treatment with either EGF or gefitinib. The small cluster of differently regulated genes reported here in these type I vs. type II endometrial cancer-derived cell lines may identify candidate biomarkers useful for predicting sensitivity to EGFR blockade.
Adaptive finite element methods for distributed parameter system identification: applications in fluorescence enhanced frequency domain optical tomography

This article addresses the distributed parameter system identification problem encountered in fluorescence enhanced optical tomography. Adaptive mesh refinement techniques can increase the efficiency of estimation algorithms by reducing the computational storage as well as tailoring the solution strategy to the problem structure. An adaptive refinement based Galerkin finite element scheme for coupled photon diffusion equations is implemented with a simply bound limited memory quasi-Newton algorithm, which is suitable for large scale nonlinear optimization. The efficacy of the proposed scheme is demonstrated on two dimensional test cases.
High-energy seeded optical parametric generation with elliptical beams in quasi-phase-matched crystals

Large-aperture and high-energy seeded operation of optical parametric generators (OPGs) based on quasi-phase-matched crystals is presented. High-quality seeded outputs as evidenced by narrow bandwidth and low divergence are demonstrated with energies up to 12.5 mJ in the signal and the idler. The results of OPG devices operating in a partially seeded regime are also presented to give a general prescription for successful seeding at high energies.
What Motivates Youth Civic Involvement

The topic of youth civic engagement is increasingly popular in social science research; however, the question of why some youth are civically involved while others are not is not well understood. This article addresses the following questions: What motivations and barriers do youth report for civic involvement? How do motivations and barriers differ across school contexts? A qualitative study using in-depth semi-structured interviews with youth (N = 22) was used to identify four categories of motivations and two categories of barriers for civic involvement. Variation emerged in the motivations and barriers for civic involvement both within and across school contexts. Understanding civic motivations in context uncovers new insights about how to structure opportunities to better facilitate youth civic involvement.
Global ischemia-induced increases in the gap junctional proteins connexin 32 (Cx32) and Cx36 in hippocampus and enhanced vulnerability of Cx32 knock-out mice.

Gap junctions are conductive channels that connect the interiors of coupled cells. In the hippocampus, GABA-containing hippocampal interneurons are interconnected by gap junctions, which mediate electrical coupling and synchronous firing and thereby promote inhibitory transmission. The present study was undertaken to examine the hypothesis that the gap junctional proteins connexin 32 (Cx32; expressed by oligodendrocytes, interneurons, or both), Cx36 (expressed by interneurons), and Cx43 (expressed by astrocytes) play a role in defining cell-specific patterns of neuronal death in hippocampus after global ischemia in mice. Global ischemia did not significantly alter Cx32 and Cx36 mRNA expression and slightly increased Cx43 mRNA expression in the vulnerable CA1, as assessed by Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization. Global ischemia induced a selective increase in Cx32 and Cx36 but not Cx43 protein abundance in CA1 before onset of neuronal death, as assessed by Western blot analysis. The increase in Cx32 and Cx36 expression was intense and specific to parvalbumin-positive inhibitory interneurons of CA1, as assessed by double immunofluorescence. Protein abundance was unchanged in CA3 and dentate gyrus. The finding of increase in connexin protein without increase in mRNA suggests regulation of Cx32 and Cx36 expression at the translational or post-translational level. Cx32(Y/−) null mice exhibited enhanced vulnerability to brief ischemic insults, consistent with a role for Cx32 gap junctions in neuronal survival. These findings suggest that Cx32 and Cx36 gap junctions may contribute to the survival and resistance of GABAergic interneurons, thereby defining cell-specific patterns of global ischemia-induced neuronal death.
Identification and site of action of the remaining four putative pseudouridine synthases in Escherichia coli.

There are 10 known putative pseudouridine synthase genes in Escherichia coli. The products of six have been previously assigned, one to formation of the single pseudouridine in 16S RNA, three to the formation of seven pseudouridines in 23S RNA, and three to the formation of three pseudouridines in tRNA (one synthase makes pseudouridine in 23S RNA and tRNA). Here we show that the remaining four putative synthase genes make bona fide pseudouridine synthases and identify which pseudouridines they make. RluB (formerly YciL) and RluE (formerly YmfC) make pseudouridine2605 and pseudouridine2457, respectively, in 23S RNA. RluF (formerly YjbC) makes the newly discovered pseudouridine2604 in 23S RNA, and TruC (formerly YqcB) makes pseudouridine65 in tRNA Ile1 and tRNA Asp . Deletion of each of these synthase genes individually had no effect on exponential growth in rich media at 25 8C, 37 8C, or 42 8C. A strain lacking RluB and RluF also showed no growth defect under these conditions. Mutation of a conserved aspartate in a common sequence motif, previously shown to be essential for the other six E. coli pseudouridine synthases and several yeast pseudouridine synthases, also caused a loss of in vivo activity in all four of the synthases studied in this work.
Using the five practices model to promote statistical discourse

Summary Statistical tasks that can be solved in a variety of ways provide rich sites for classroom discourse. Orchestrating such discourse requires careful planning and execution. Five specific practices can help teachers do so. The five practices can be used to structure conversations so that coherent classroom narratives about solutions to tasks may be formed. In this manuscript, two classroom examples that illustrate the five practices are offered. It is argued that employing the five practices can lead to higher quality classroom discussion than some commonly used arrangements.
Directional dual band distributed power amplifier with composite left/right-handed transmission lines

We present the design of a directional dual band six-cell distributed power amplifier (DPA) that can direct the amplified power to the output ports depending on the input RF frequency. Different from conventional DPA, the dual band DPA implements the composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) structure in the artificial gate line but keeps the conventional transmission line (right-handed) in the drain line. The distributed power amplifier using CRLH TL can output 39 dBm maximum power to one port at 1.5 GHz with 27% PAE and the other at 2.9 GHz with 22% PAE. It acts like an active diplexer (power amplifier plus diplexer). It can potentially reduce the size and cost of the communication system.