cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-modal image sharpening in fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy

Mid-infrared Spectroscopic Imaging (MIRSI) provides spatially-resolved molecular specificity by measuring wavelength-dependent mid-infrared absorbance. Infrared microscopes use large numerical aperture objectives to obtain high-resolution images of heterogeneous samples. However, the optical resolution is fundamentally diffraction-limited, and therefore wavelength-dependent. This significantly limits resolution in infrared microscopy, which relies on long wavelengths (2.5 μm to 12.5 μm) for molecular specificity. The resolution is particularly restrictive in biomedical and materials applications, where molecular information is encoded in the fingerprint region (6 μm to 12 μm), limiting the maximum resolving power to between 3 μm and 6 μm. We present an unsupervised curvelet-based image fusion method that overcomes limitations in spatial resolution by augmenting infrared images with label-free visible microscopy. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by fusing images of breast and ovarian tumor biopsies acquired using both infrared and dark-field microscopy. The proposed fusion algorithm generates a hyperspectral dataset that has both high spatial resolution and good molecular contrast. We validate this technique using multiple standard approaches and through comparisons to super-resolved experimentally measured photothermal spectroscopic images. We also propose a novel comparison method based on tissue classification accuracy.
TieBrush: an efficient method for aggregating and summarizing mapped reads across large datasets

SUMMARY Although the ability to programmatically summarize and visually inspect sequencing data is an integral part of genome analysis, currently available methods are not capable of handling large numbers of samples. In particular, making a visual comparison of transcriptional landscapes between two sets of thousands of RNA-seq samples is limited by available computational resources, which can be overwhelmed due to the sheer size of the data. In this work we present TieBrush, a software package designed to process very large sequencing datasets (RNA, whole-genome, exome, etc) into a form that enables quick visual and computational inspection. TieBrush can also be used as a method for aggregating data for downstream computational analysis, and is compatible with most software tools that take aligned reads as input. AVAILABILITY TieBrush is provided as a C ++ package under the MIT License. Pre-compiled binaries, source code and example data are available on GitHub (https://github.com/alevar/tiebrush). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Hemiballismus

Hemiballismus is the most dramatic movement disorder seen in clinical practice. Its emergence points to a structural lesion or metabolic dysfunction in the region of the subthalamic nucleus, its afferent or efferent pathways, or interconnected deep brain nuclei, usually on the side contralateral to the movements. Any focal process may be to blame, but elderly sufferers generally have had vascular events, whereas the etiology is infectious or inflammatory in younger patients. Severe nonketotic hyperglycemia is another important cause of hemiballismus in the elderly. Hemiballismus patients require treatment both for the underlying etiology of the movement and for the movements themselves. There are no large controlled clinical trials to guide anti-ballismus therapy. However, dopamine receptor blocking agents have an established track record in suppressing choreic and ballistic movements, and are first-line agents for acute treatment. Standard neuroleptics such as haloperidol and perphenazine are started at low doses and titrated as tolerated until the movements are controlled. Atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone and clozapine have been used in small series and may have a reduced risk of extrapyramidal side effects. Catecholamine-depleting agents such as reserpine and tetrabenazine may be considered when longterm therapy is required. Other pharmacologic agents have met with varying success. The course of hemiballismus may be complicated by exhaustion, injury, or metabolic disorders, but with good supportive care, acute survival is good, and long-term survival reflects the prognosis of the underlying etiology. In time, the ballistic movements themselves tend to subside allowing withdrawal of drugs in many cases. When movements persist, stereotactic functional neurosurgical procedures may be considered in good surgical candidates.
Investigating mindfulness influences on cognitive function: On the promise and potential of converging research strategies

Research investigating the effects and underlying mechanisms of mindfulness on cognitive functioning has accelerated exponentially over the past two decades. Despite the rapid growth of the literature and its influential role in garnering public interest in mindfulness, inconsistent methods in defining and measuring mindfulness have yielded variable findings, which contribute to the overall dearth of clear generalizable conclusions. The focus of this article is to address the lack of cohesion in the collective methodologies used in this domain by providing a new perspective grounded in classic cognitive and experimental psychology principles. We leverage the concept of converging operations to demonstrate how seemingly disparate research strategies can be integrated towards a more unified and systematic approach. An organizing taxonomic framework is described to provide useful structure in how mindfulness can be operationalized, measured, and investigated. We illustrate the rationale and core organizing principles of the framework through a selective review of studies on mindfulness and cognitive control. We then demonstrate the utility of the approach by showing how it can be applied to synthesize extant methodologies and guide the development of future research. Specific suggestions and examples pertaining to experimental design and statistical analysis are provided.
A Novel Code Team Leader Card to Improve Leader Identification.

Prompt and clear code team leader identification is vital in effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and pediatric trainees often have limited experience in these scenarios. This project sought to develop a tangible object that provided clear leader identification and assisted in code team management and simulated team training. A Code Team Leader Card (CTLC) was designed to provide clear leader identification while simultaneously providing a cognitive aid via integration of pediatric advanced life support (PALS) algorithms. Additionally, CTLC served to occupy the leader’s hands to limit their ability to intervene on procedural tasks. The CTLC was incorporated into pediatric resident simulation training, and pre- and postintervention survey data were analyzed. Analysis particularly focused on whether “a leader was clearly identified by all team members.” The relationship between CTLC implementation and consistent leader recognition was evaluated using chi-squared test, and secondary qualitative data were obtained via debriefing sessions. Pediatric residents completed 131 surveys prior to CTLC implementation and 41 surveys after implementation. Consistent code team leader recognition increased significantly from 61.8% (81 of 131) pre-CTLC to 80.5% (33 of 41) after introduction of CTLC (P=0.027). Participants commented on the benefits of CTLC during debriefing sessions. Use of a CTLC significantly improved leader recognition during simulated CPR. Inclusion of PALS algorithms led to normalization and increased utilization of these adjunct materials. The CTLC provided a secondary benefit of occupying the leader’s hands, thereby allowing that person to focus on overseeing the team rather than assisting with procedural tasks.
Cost-effective lightweight mirrors for aerospace and defense

The demand for high performance, lightweight mirrors was historically driven by aerospace and defense (A&D) but now we are also seeing similar requirements for commercial applications. These applications range from aerospace-like platforms such as small unmanned aircraft for agricultural, mineral and pollutant aerial mapping to an eye tracking gimbaled mirror for optometry offices. While aerospace and defense businesses can often justify the high cost of exotic, low density materials, commercial products rarely can. Also, to obtain high performance with low overall optical system weight, aspheric surfaces are often prescribed. This may drive the manufacturing process to diamond machining thus requiring the reflective side of the mirror to be a diamond machinable material. This paper summarizes the diamond machined finishing and coating of some high performance, lightweight designs using non-exotic substrates to achieve cost effective mirrors. The results indicate that these processes can meet typical aerospace and defense requirements but may also be competitive in some commercial applications.
US Urban Water Resources Infrastructure

The US National Council on Public Works Improvement’s report on the Nation’s water resources infrastructure is reviewed as background. The report reviews navigation/transportation, flood control, urban drainage, dam safety, irrigation, agriculture drainage, erosion, hydropower, recreation, and fish and wildlife created infrastructure needs. Wastewater and water supply, covered by separate Council reports, will also be more briefly reviewed for common themes and prospective actions. Capital spending by all US levels of government for water resources has fallen by 60 percent from the late 1960s to 1984. Conversely, operation expenditures have increased. The water resources category was judged by the Council to have met past and current needs more successfully than other infrastructure categories. However, the study still recommends improvements focusing on improving intergovernmental coordination, financing, and user pay issues as well as several functional areas of special concern. The wastewater and water supply studies received slightly lower ratings by the Council. Recommendations in these categories also identify improved financial management and full cost pricing, regional and integrated water quality/quantity planning and management, more flexible regulation recognizing cost, and research and technology transfer improvements to varying degrees as common themes.
Transition Metal-Hydrogen Interactions

In the early sixties, Vaska and Deluzio discovered that a well defined, soluble square planar iridium (I) complex can reversibly take up one molecule of hydrogen: $$trans-\left[{IrCl\left({CO}\right){{({{\left({{C_6}{H_5}} \right)}_3}P)}_2}}\right]+{H_2}\rightleftharpoons\left[{{H_2}IrCl\left({CO}\right){{\left({{{\left({{C_6}{H_5}}\right)}_3}P}\right)}_2}}\right]$$ (2.1)
Thawing Frozen Capital Markets and Backdoor Bailouts: Evidence from the Fed's Liquidity Programs

During the subprime crisis, the Federal Reserve introduced several emergency liquidity programs as supplements to the discount window: TAF, PDCF, and TSLF. Using data on loans to large commercial banks and primary dealers, we find that the programs were used by relatively few institutions and had modest effects on the liquidity of short-term debt markets. Instead, our evidence suggests that the decision to borrow and to prepay loans was more closely related to each firm’s financial health. Our results suggest that healthy banks found the terms of the loans expensive relative to private market funds, while banks closer to insolvency generally did not.
On guaranteeing passivity and performance with a human controller

While designing controllers that guarantee the passivity of a closed loop system has a long history, much less attention has been paid to the situation when the control actions are performed by a human. We consider as an example a human who is driving a car. The behavior of human controllers as drivers has been modeled in the literature as a linear time invariant system cascaded with a time delay. We show that such a human model is not passive. In order to guarantee passivity of a closed loop system with a human controller, we use a passivation method. Through an appropriate design of the passivation parameters, positive passivity indices can be guaranteed for the closed loop system. The passivation parameters can be selected by solving an optimization problem such as minimizing the tracking error. To validate our theory, we provide simulation results in CarSim and Simulink.
Housing the Stranger in the Mediterranean World: The transition from Byzantium to the Dār al-Islām

As the Byzantine cities of the Near East came under Muslim rule, much of their urban infrastructure and their institutions, including the pandocheion , were absorbed into the new Muslim context. Many aspects of early Muslim urban administration and architecture were based on Byzantine prototypes and modified to suit the needs of the new Islamic milieu. Umayyad caliphs and their regional governors followed a program of incorporation, reform, and innovation. They initially worked with the Byzantine bureaucratic and fiscal institutions already in place in Syria and Egypt, then gradually initiated changes as the process of creating a Muslim polity continued. By the early eighth century, this shift was well under way, with a vigorous program of building projects, tax reforms, changes in coinage, and other economic and administrative innovations, especially during the reigns of the Umayyad caliphs ʿAbd al-Malik (685–705) and Hishām (724–743). Over time, an Arabic institutional vocabulary emerged, often employing older and familiar terms for Islamic structures that resembled but did not, in fact, exactly reproduce earlier forms. Funduqs , which appear in Arabic texts by the ninth century, were among a number of institutions adopted and adapted from an earlier Greek model. These hostels shared many functional characteristics with pandocheions , as well as a cognate name, but they also evolved their own identity. The funduq would continue to change over time, shifting to suit the needs of period and place, yet preserving continuities in name and many basic features.
Inheritance Law, Lawmaking Hierarchy and the Problem of Doctrinal Change

This article addresses the problem of doctrinal change. More specifically, the article explores the question of how the existence of a pyramidal legal system -- lower courts below appellate ones, below a legislative body at the pinnacle -- affects the process, and even the course, of the evolution of legal doctrines. We are used to thinking of the mechanism of doctrinal change as a simple process of overruling (or modifying), or of superseding by statute, rules previously in force. And so it is, when a lawmaking body engineering a change-of-law decides to revise its own rule, or the rule of a subordinate lawmaking body. On the other hand, when the acting lawmaking body confronts a rule previously established by a superior lawmaker, but which the subordinate body deems nonetheless to be obsolescent, the mechanism of overruling is unavailable. Subordinate lawmakers must instead choose among a number of less simple, but more interesting, options. One option is for the subordinate lawmaker to continue to apply the superior rule and to await its reconsideration by higher authorities. Typically in such a case, the subordinate endeavors to signal to higher authorities its dissatisfaction with the rule at issue. At the other extreme, the subordinate lawmaker may undertake to revise the rule surreptitiously, by construing it to mean something different from its previous interpretation. Finally, the subordinate lawmaker may endeavor neither to apply nor to reformulate the rule, but rather to circumvent the rule. In that case, the lawmaker seeks to develop some other rule over which it does hold sway in a manner serving to avoid or to neutralize the troublesome superior rule which the lawmaker continues formally to observe. The article probes this trio of alternative moves, with particular emphasis on the third one, which has received insufficient attention in the jurisprudential literature. The article highlights the structural earmarks of rules-circumventing-superior-rules, as well as their structural ramifications. And the article considers the dilemma faced by a subordinate lawmaker: To wit, which of the three options at its practical disposal constitutes the most effective response to legal obsolescence? Inheritance law provides a case study of this problem.
Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Geographic Research Questions and Agendas

Abstract The analysis of contemporary terrorism and related policy prescriptions both suffer from a lack of geographical understanding. This short article engages terrorist studies by outlining: (1) the importance of geohistorical context in understanding the causes of contemporary terrorism, especially the role of the United States as hegemonic power; (2) the spatiality of terrorist networks; and (3) the potentially negative efficacy of existing counterterrorist policies given the interaction of terrorist networks and state sovereignty. Finally, a call is made for comparative studies of terrorism and greater interaction between political geography and peace and conflict studies. *Thanks to Lorraine Dowler and Ian Oas for their comments and conversations, as well as Susan Cutter, Doug Richardson, Tom Wilbanks, and the rest of the participants in the AAG/NSF workshop “The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism.” Thank you, too, to the reviewers. Of course, the burden of responsibility for errors and omission...
Optical and far infrared properties of a 60µm flux limited sample of IRAS galaxies

The optical luminosity function (OPLF) of a 60µm flux-limited sample of IRAS galaxies is determined and compared to that of an optically selected sample. Of the 92 IRAS sources considered, 7 have no or more than one possible optical within the position error ellipse. The most luminous object is a quasar with an interacting host galaxy system.
The Individual, The State and the Corporation

This essay explores the extent to which Noam Chomsky's theories of various human faculties interact with his political views. Chomsky is opposed to transposing normative judgments from his scientific inquiries: the existence or non-existence of a "language organ" within the brain does not mandate any particular political ideological conclusion. More importantly, we know very little about how or why individuals make particular decisions or about "human nature" in any complex sense beyond our growing understanding of certain cognitive skills. Nevertheless, he believes/ hopes that all healthy human beings have in common a Cartesian common sense, a Humean moral sense, and an "instinct for freedom," all of which provide intimations for his political assumptions that all people ought to be treated decently and that all authority must be justified. Chomsky is wary of the state, much less the private corporations that predominately control governmental policies. This coalition has developed an ideology placing private power, immediate self-interest, and consumption above the common good. Workers are under tremendous pressure to perform monotonous jobs that corrode their natural gifts in exchange for some income and perhaps the right to participate in an election between two parties that appear to differ significantly but actually represent the affluent and influential. For example, the tax rates of the very rich decreased under the Clinton and the second Bush administration. This alliance of public and private power creates a dilemma for Chomsky, who is a "libertarian socialist" with strong anarchistic inclinations. He understands that the state is not just necessary to resolve disputes and provide protection, but also is the best vehicle for combating the totally illegitimate private corporations, which he has described as totalitarian. Societies need to foster new productive institutions that do not make profit the exclusive goal, but include the needs of interests of their workers, the community, and the environment.
Pathophysiology of peritoneal transport.

The peritoneal membrane has the surface area similar to the body surface area. It consists of mesothelial cells, interstitium, connective tissue fibers, blood vessels, and lymphatics. Solutes of var
Biochemical studies on adenovirus multiplication: XV. Transcription of the adenovirus type 2 genome during productive infection☆

The viral genome is transcribed sequentially in adenovirus type 2-infected KB cells. About one-fifth of the viral genome is transcribed prior to DNA synthesis by 6 hours after infection (“early” virus-specific RNA). All early virus-specific RNA sequences are present “late” after infection (18 hours). Early cytoplasmic RNA, labeled during a 30-min pulse with 32P-labeled orthophosphate, has a lower G + C content (52–54% G + C) than early nuclear virus-specific RNA (58–59% G + C). Moreover, the cytoplasm contains only a portion of the virus-specific nucleotide sequences synthesized in the nucleus at 6 hours after infection. Late after infection, pulse-labeled nuclear and cytoplasmic virus-specific RNA possess the same base composition and the same nucleotide sequences. These findings suggest that the regulation of viral gene expression early after infection involves both transcription and translation controls.
Modeling the longitudinal variation in wood specific gravity of planted loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) in the United States

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) is a major plantation species grown in the southern United States, producing wood having a multitude of uses including pulp and lumber production. Specific gravity (SG) is an important property used to measure the quality of wood produced, and it varies regionally and within the tree with height and radius. SG at different height levels was measured from 407 trees representing 135 plantations across the natural range of loblolly pine. A three-segment quadratic model and a semiparametric model were proposed to explain the vertical and regional variations in SG. Both models were in agreement that a stem can be divided into three segments based on the vertical variation in SG. Based on the fitted models, the mean trend in SG of trees from the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain and Gulf Coastal Plain was observed to be higher than in other physiographical regions (Upper Coastal Plain, Hilly Coastal Plain, northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, and Piedmont). Maps showing the regional var...
Effects of intracoronary calcium chloride on the postischemic heart in pigs

Whether calcium chloride (CaCl2) should be used to reverse myocardial dysfunction during cardiac operations remains a controversial issue. Calcium chloride may reduce, rather than increase, myocardial contractility and may produce exaggerated vasoconstriction in postischemic vessels in which the endothelium has been damaged. These possibilities were investigated in an open-chest porcine model that allowed control of systemic hemodynamics. Incremental doses of CaCl2 (1, 3, and 10 mg/min) were infused directly into a coronary artery before and after 10 or 15 minutes of ischemia followed by 15 minutes of reperfusion. Calcium chloride increased regional contraction, coronary blood flow, and oxygen consumption before ischemia, whereas oxygen and lactate extraction were unchanged. After ischemia and reperfusion, contraction was impaired and lactate extraction was reduced, but a similar response to CaCl2 was observed. Contraction returned to baseline values promptly after CaCl2. Thus, CaCl2 exerts a positive inotropic effect both in normal and in postischemic myocardium. Calcium chloride does not cause direct coronary constriction nor does it worsen myocardial stunning after a short period of normothermic myocardial ischemia.
Uncommon manifestations of histiocytosis X

Histiocytosis X is a group of disorders of uncertain etiology with a variety of manifestations that are usually related to the age of the patient. Treatment consists of local curettage, irradiation and chemotherapy. The prognosis depends on the systems involved. The oral and perioral tissues are occasionally involved and often lead to the diagnosis. We report a case with spinal cord involvement and a case of facial nerve paralysis secondary to involvement of the petrosal bone. Also included is a case of involvement of the mandibular condyle.
Chronic ethanol consumption leads to destabilization of rat liver β-galactoside α2,6-sialyltransferase mRNA

Chronic ethanol consumption in rats is accompanied by decreased levels of Galβ1,4GlcNAc α2,6-sialyltransferase (2,6-ST) activity in the liver. Our previous studies have shown that there is a concomitant decrease in the levels of 2,6-ST mRNA. In this study, the alteration in the regulation of 2,6-ST expression by chronic ethanol consumption was assessed by Northern hybridization, nuclear run-on experiments, and 2,6-ST mRNA stability studies. 2,6-ST downregulation was found at 4 weeks of feeding an ethanol diet (36% of calories from ethanol) and remained up to 8 weeks. The decrease in 2,6-ST mRNA levels was found to be dose-dependent, with lower dose of ethanol (12% and 24% of total dietary calories from ethanol) being ineffective and the effects being manifested only when 36% of the dietary calories were from ethanol. The effects of chronic ethanol feeding could be completely reversed within 1 week after ethanol consumption was stopped, when 2,6-ST mRNA levels were restored to normal. The downregulation was not sensitive to actinomycin D, indicating that the regulation was not affected at the transcriptional level but at the posttranscriptional level. This was confirmed by nuclear run-on experiments showing that the rate of 2,6-ST mRNA transcription was unaffected by ethanol. Finally, mRNA stability experiments showed that the half-life of 2,6-ST mRNA was reduced 50% in ethanol-fed rat livers compared with control rat livers. Taken together, the results show that 2,6-ST mRNA is regulated at the posttranscriptional level and chronic ethanol intake downregulates 2,6-ST expression by destabilizing its mRNA.
A study of the frequency modulation distortion due to multi-path in the land-mobile environment

Radio signals in the land-mobile environment experience distortion due to reflections off of various obstacles. One method that is commonly used to characterize this distortion is to observe the resulting amplitude and frequency modulation as separate distortion components. This paper reviews the characteristics of the frequency modulation distortion and presents the results of measuring this distortion in the Fort Worth, Texas area. The results indicate that, most of the time, the distortion in the 160 MHz and 460 MHz bands is Rician rather than Rayleigh.
Three-photon contributions in optically pumped lasers

A signal flow graph representation of the density matrix equations appropriate to a serial three-wave interaction is introduced, from which perturbation theory and AC Stark shift information may be extracted. The conditions for a large interaction cross section for the three-photon transition are deduced and applied to selected experimental situations with the main conclusion being that the effect may be present in a large number of CW and pulsed experiments.
NP-completeness and the coevolution of exact set covers

Recent success with a simple type of coevolution, resource defined fitness sharing (RFS), involving only pairwise interactions among species, has inspired some static analysis of the species interaction matrix. Under the assumption of equilibrium (w.r.t. selection), the matrix yields a set of linear equations. If there exists a subset of species that exactly cover the resources, then its characteristic population vector is a solution to the equilibrium equations. And if the matrix is non-singular, a solution to the equilibrium equations specifies an exact cover of the resources. This polynomial-time reduction of exact cover problems to linear equations is used in this paper to transform certain exact cover NP-complete problems to certain linear equation NP-complete problems: 0-1 Integer Programming, Minimum Weight Positive Solution to Linear Equations. While most of these problems are known to be in NP-complete, our new proof technique introduces a practical, polynomial-time heuristic algorithm for solving large instances of them.
Malondialdehyde modification of proteins in vitro is enhanced in the presence of acetaldehyde.

To test the hypothesis that the cardioprotective effect of alcohol is related to the inhibition of malondialdehyde (MDA) modification of proteins by acetaldehyde (AA), we studied the effect of AA on MDA modification of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in vitro. BSA was incubated simultaneously with a fixed concentration of MDA (70 mM) and different concentrations of AA (120, 60, 30, 10, or 0 mM) for 24 h at 37°C. The MDA-modified or AA-modified BSA was quantitated with immunoblotting by using specific anti-MDA and specific anti-AA protein antisera, respectively. In another set of experiments, BSA was incubated sequentially, first with different concentrations of AA and then with 70 mM of MDA. In both incubation protocols, the presence of AA and AA modification of BSA enhanced MDA binding. These in vitro observations suggest that the putative cardioprotective effects of alcohol or wine cannot be ascribed to AA-mediated reduction in MDA protein formation, a possible biochemical pathway of accelerated atherosclerosis.
Exploring New Avenues for Leading Community Colleges: The Paradox of Participatory Models

The author reviews the literature on leadership models for academic institutions and presents the results of an in-depth case study that focused on the participatory leadership environment at an urban community college. Using interviews, document analysis, observations at campus activities, and an analysis of the physical environment, the author gathered data over a six-month period that included interviews with 24 faculty and 12 administrators selected using sequential sampling strategy. This report summarizes the categorical and componential analysis of the faculty interviews, which revealed multiple personal definitions of leadership and multiple views of campus leadership. Those interviewed provided evidence that the participatory model had not overcome a singularly defined view of leadership: Faculty identified fit or alignment issues, silencing of divergent viewpoints, and organizational miscommunication.
The Conscious Brain: How Attention Engenders Experience

Jesse J. Prinz's The Conscious Brain argues for a unified theory of consciousness with two key features: all consciousness is perceptual, and such contents become conscious when and only when media...
Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia in Patients without HIV Infection

ABSTRACT Pneumocystis carinii is an important, but sporadic, opportunistic pulmonary pathogen in immu- nosuppressed HIV seronegative persons. Historically, patients at highest risk for P carinii pneumonia are included infants with severe malnutrition, children with primary immunodeficiencies, patients with hematological malignancies, and recipients of solid organ or bone marrow transplants. Recently, solid tumor patients, in particular those receiving high-dose corticosteroids for brain neoplasms, and patients with inflammatory or collagen-vascular disorders, especially patients with Wegener granulomatosis receiving immunosuppressive therapy, have been identified as subgroups at increased risk for P carinii pneumonia. Other factors associated with P carinii pneumonia include the intensity of the immunosuppressive regimen and tapering doses of corticosteroids. Because P carinii pneumonia is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, it is important to identify high-risk patient populations to administer effective chemoprophylactic agents, such as trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole
Widespread venting of methane-rich fluids in Late Cretaceous (Campanian) submarine springs (Tepee Buttes), Western Interior seaway, U.S.A.

From New Mexico to Montana, Campanian shales contain abundant submarine spring and seep deposits aligned along early Laramide basement faults. From spring conduit to sea floor, characteristic lithofacies are (a) a vuggy pelletoid micrite core to 30 m height, 5 m width; (b) lucinoid bivalve coquina in pelletoid micrite or grainstone; (c) carbonate slump breccias in shale; (d) concretion-bearing shale; and (e) organic-rich shale. Stable isotope analyses of early, zoned, marine core rock cements suggest (a) an oxidized methane source for the carbonate carbon, (b) venting of methane-charged fluids along active fracture zones, and (c) methanogenesis in older and coeval organic carbon–rich muds. Six consistently zoned foraminifer and macrofaunal communities suggest a strong environmental stress gradient over a few metres from spring vents to the adjacent sea floor. These methane springs and their biotas were dynamic and episodically active over a 1.25 m.y. time span.
Impact of Postprostatectomy Prostate-Specific Antigen Nadir on Outcomes Following Salvage Radiotherapy

Objectives. To evaluate the relationship between the postprostatectomy prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir and the outcome of patients treated with salvage radiotherapy. Methods. Seventy-eight patients received definitive external beam radiation for recurrence following radical prostatectomy (RP). The PSA nadir was undetectable in 41 patients (less than 0.05 ng/mL). All patients received salvage radiotherapy (median dose 66 Gy) for a median of 19 months (range 2 to 149) following prostatectomy. The median follow-up time was 25 months (range 1 to 59) from the date of completion of radiation. Results. Among patients having an undetectable or detectable postoperative PSA, 78% and 68% were free of disease, respectively, at the last follow-up. At 3 years, the disease-free survival rates were 65% and 60%, respectively (P = 0.6). Overall, the disease-free survival rate at 3 years was 78% in patients with a PSA level 2 ng/mL or less at the time of radiotherapy compared to 31% with a PSA greater than 2 ng/mL (P < 0.0001). Conclusions. Many patients who never achieve an undetectable postprostatectomy PSA level may still be salvaged with therapeutic radiotherapy. The best predictor of a favorable outcome is a low (2 ng/mL or less) PSA level at the time of radiation.
Sufficient conditions for an inverse relationship between productivity and employment

Abstract This study examines the relationship between the competitive firm 's response to technological advances that improve labor productivity and the firm's degree of risk aversion when output price is uncertain. One of the investigated cases reveal that when the firm's degree of risk aversion is sufficiently large, a technological advance leads to a fall in optimal employment while optimal output rises. The results provide an explanation for the known inconsistency between the deterministic theory and empirical observations regarding employment and output effects of technological advances.
Modeling of void formation and removal in liquid composite molding. Part II: Model development and implementation

The objective of this Part II is to model void formation and their removal in LCM. From the micro-scale flow pattern and void formation mechanisms observed by flow visualization, a phenomenological model based on the multi-phase Darcy's law was developed to simulate the void formation during LCM mold filling. Results from Part I were used to determine several important parameters of the model. The model was able to predict macro-void fractions with flow rates and liquid properties. A criterion for the movement of trapped voids was also developed.
Ultrafine polyacrylonitrile/silica composite fibers via electrospinning

Abstract Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/silica composite nanofibers, in the diameter of 200–300 nm, were prepared by a one-step electrospinning method. The PAN/silica nanofibers were characterized by SEM, TEM, ATR–FTIR and DSC. SEM and TEM images show that beads are formed and silica nanoparticles start to aggregate when the silica content is higher than 2 wt.% in nanofibers. ATR–FTIR spectra and DSC results indicate that there may exist interactions between silica nanoparticles and PAN. The addition of silica nanoparticles also changes the thermal properties of PAN/silica nanofibers.
Phosphorylation-Dependent 14-3-3 Binding to LRRK2 Is Impaired by Common Mutations of Familial Parkinson's Disease

Background Recent studies show that mutations in Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the cause of the most common inherited and some sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenic role of LRRK2 mutations in PD remains unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings Using affinity purification and mass spectrometric analysis, we investigated phosphorylation sites and binding proteins of LRRK2 purified from mouse brain. We identified multiple phosphorylation sites at N-terminus of LRRK2 including S910, S912, S935 and S973. Focusing on the high stoichiometry S935 phosphorylation site, we developed an anti-pS935 specific antibody and showed that LRRK2 is constitutively phosphorylated at S935 in various tissues (including brain) and at different ages in mice. We find that 14-3-3 proteins (especially isoforms γ and η) bind LRRK2 and this binding depends on phosphorylation of S935. The binding of 14-3-3, with little effect on dimer formation of LRRK2, confers protection of the phosphorylation status of S935. Furthermore, we show that protein kinase A (PKA), but not LRRK2 kinase itself, can cause the phosphorylation of LRRK2 at S935 in vitro and in cell culture, suggesting that PKA is a potential upstream kinase that regulates LRRK2 function. Finally, our study indicates that the common PD-related mutations of LRRK2, R1441G, Y1699C and G2019S, decrease homeostatic phosphorylation levels of S935 and impair 14-3-3 binding of LRRK2. Conclusions/Significance LRRK2 is extensively phosphorylated in vivo, and the phosphorylation of specific sites (e.g. S935) determines 14-3-3 binding of LRRK2. We propose that 14-3-3 is an important regulator of LRRK2-mediated cellular functions. Our study suggests that PKA, a cAMP-dependent kinase involved in regulating dopamine physiology, is a potential upstream kinase that phosphorylates LRRK2 at S935. Furthermore, the reduction of phosphorylation/14-3-3 binding of LRRK2 due to the common familial PD-related mutations provides novel insight into the pathogenic mechanism of LRRK2-linked PD.
Distributed shared memory: a survey of issues and algorithms

An overview of distributed shared memory (DSM) issues is presented. Memory coherence, design choices, and implementation methods are included. The discussion of design choices covers structure and granularity, coherence semantics, scalability, and heterogeneity. Implementation issues concern data location and access, the coherence protocol, replacement strategy, and thrashing. Algorithms that support process synchronization and memory management are discussed. >
Hydraulic transience and the role of bedding fractures in a bedrock aquitard, southeastern Wisconsin, USA

[1] Hydraulic heads in a dolomitic shale bedrock aquitard in Wisconsin, USA, are apparently not in equilibrium with drawdown in the underlying aquifer system caused by pumping for municipal supply over the last century. Measurements of head with depth, downhole geophysical logs, and estimates of hydraulic conductivity indicate very low vertical hydraulic diffusivity, and show that high horizontal permeability within the aquitard due to bedding-plane fracture zones can allow lateral groundwater flow. Unlike the hydrogeological conceptual models used in many investigations, flow in aquitards cannot always be inferred to be primarily one-dimensional and vertical. Failure to account for transient conditions and lateral flow in similar settings of intensive groundwater pumping could lead to error in estimates of aquitard leakage and underlying aquifer properties.
Mutual coherence function based on a bump spectrum for refractive index fluctuations

Expressions are derived for the mutual coherence function (MCF) for a Gaussian beam wave using a bump spectral model for refractive-index fluctuations with inner scale parameter but assuming infinite outer scale. The analysis is based on both weak and strong fluctuation theories, and comparisons are made between theories where possible. The presence of a bump in the spectrum is shown to slightly increase the beam spread and reduce implied spatial coherence length.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Streptococcus bovis

Evidence suggests a trend for a higher fecal carriage rate of Streptococcus bovis in adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study defines the fecal carriage rate of S. bovis among children with IBD compared to controls. Subjects with IBD were prospectively enrolled from the patient population of a pediatric gastroenterology practice. Stool samples from IBD patients as well as controls were analyzed within 24 hr for the presence of S. bovis. The study enrolled 47 patients with IBD and 34 controls. Among the 47 IBD patients, 3 had a positive stool culture for S. bovis (6%) and 1 had an equivocal result between S. bovis and S. salivarius. Including this equivocal result, 8.5% of IBD patients were S. bovis carriers. Among the 34 controls, 3 (9%) were found to be fecal carriers of S. bovis. Assuming that the equivocal stool was indeed S. bovis, these groups are not statistically different as determined by Fisher's exact test (P=0.6). We conclude that the fecal carriage rate of S. bovis is not increased among pediatric patients with IBD compared with controls.
Volume changes of cerebrospinal fluid in Squalus acanthias during carbonic anhydrase inhibition

Abstract 1. 1. Ventricular fluid (CSF) volume was measured by fluid withdrawal and by Blue Dextran 2000 and 3 H-inulin dilution in control and carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibited (intravenous methazolamide) dogfish ( Squalus acanthias ). 2. 2. The CSF volume measured by dextran dilution averaged 1·7 ml for control and 1·2 ml for CA inhibited fish; the inulin data yielded averages of 1·4 ml and 1·1 ml for control and methazolamide treated animals, respectively. 3. 3. These results suggest that CA inhibitors decrease CSF volume in S. acanthias by about 25% and that CSF volume is not as closely regulated in elasmobranchs as in mammals.
LBNL four-side buttable CCD package development

We have developed a precision, 4-side buttable CCD package for 2kx2k and 2kx4k format devices with minimal mechanical stress on the CCD, excellent thermal properties, reliable electrical connectivity, and shim-free mounting. We report on the package design, assembly and quality assurance procedures, measurements of packaged device flatness and flatness excursions when cooled from room temperature to 140 K, package performance and plans for future development.
SU‐E‐T‐508: First Clinical Commissioning of a Dynamic Gating Interface for an Electromagnetic Tracking System

Purpose: Electromagnetic tracking has been used to continuously monitor intra‐fraction prostate motion. We report on the commissioning of a clinical electromagnetictracking system with linear accelerator gating (DynamicEdge™GatingInterface, Calypso Medical Technologies, WA). Methods: Routinely, the motion of the Varian Respiratory Position Management(RPM) block, an external surrogate, is used for gating. With the Dynamic Gating Interface(DGI), the positions of the internal transponders implanted in the tumor are used for gating. The gating limits, defined as +/− thresholds in all three axes around the machine isocenter, define the beam on/off boundary, with a beam hold when the limit is exceeded. An in‐house developed 4D stage and a fixture containing three radiofrequency transponders were used for measurements. Beam stability, IMRT dose verification and latency were measured. The 4D stage was set to move in a repetitive sinusoidal pattern with peak amplitude of 1cm at 15 cycles per minute. For beam stability, the charge for non‐gated vs gated beam delivery was compared. For IMRT dose verification, a solid water phantom with films sandwiched between planes was used. A gating window (±0.2cm) was set for all five IMRT plans and gated dosimetric accuracy compared to static delivery. For latency measurements, a series of gated lateral MV integrated images were taken at an acquisition rate of 1fps. By knowing the actual motion trajectory measured with electromagnetic tracking, one can compare the trajectory of the gated integrated image to obtain latency. Results: The output stability for gated vs non‐gated fields was within 1%. For IMRT fields, on average 90% of the points passed the 3% dose, 3mm DTA criteria. The average system latency was measured to be within 281ms. Conclusions: The DGI has been commissioned and is being used clinically for prostate cancer patients to manage intra‐fraction motion. The latency may not currently be optimized for tumor sites exhibiting respiratory motion.
Metabolic fate of gossypol: the metabolism of14C-gossypol in rats

Balance studies designed to obtain information concerning the metabolic fate of gossypol in rats were carried out utilizing two groups of animals. One was fed a basal diet and the other the same diet plus 500 ppm of iron as FeSO4. Single doses of 5 mg each of14C-labeled gossypol (spec. act. 19.8 μCi/mmole) were administered. The animals were maintained in metabolic cages and killed after various periods of time. The data indicate that gossypol was poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and rapidly eliminated from the animal body. Although the main route for gossypol elimination from the animal was by fecal excretion in both treatments, the percentage of the total activity eliminated via the feces varied and depended on the level of iron supplied in the diet. The results demonstrate that gossypol was least excreted via urine and that urinary excretion of radioactivity was diminished by iron supplementation to the diet. Most of the radioactivity retained was found in the contents of different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Tissues, the liver, muscle, kidney and blood had the highest radioactivity, with the liver having the highest specific activity. The data also demonstrate that addition of iron to the ration diminishes14C radioactivity in the animal body. This effect might be attributed to the formation of chelates that could not be absorbed through the small intestine. Catalysis of the decarbonylation of gossypol by iron also appears to be a factor.
Mechanisms of muscular hypertrophy

The effects of synergist tenotomy have been studied on rat soleus muscles after denervation and after interference with sciatic axoplasmic flow with colchicine. The results suggest that neural, as well as muscular, factors cause compensatory hypertrophy (CH) of soleus. The myogenic factor may be mild depolarization of the muscle membranes by passive stretch, as a result of which Ca++ ions enter and stimulate metabolism.
CONGENITAL SYPHILIS: A LAID GHOST WALKS.

After 6 years, when no example of florid congenital syphilis was seen in a hospital service with 10,000 live births annually, 7 babies with congenital syphilis were admitted within a year. This experience undoubtedly reflects an increased incidence of acquired syphilis in this area. Since several “generations” of pediatric residents had never seen florid congenital syphilis, this entity was not considered in the differential diagnosis at admission. With the use of case protocols of some of these infants, the common problems presented by infantile congenital syphilis are discussed.
Calcium Signaling: Pyruvate and CRAC Meet at the Crossroads

Receptor-evoked Ca 2+ influx is mediated by store-operated Ca 2+ channels, such as the CRAC channel, which mediates the I crac current. Recent work reveals that pyruvate, the precursor substrate for the Krebs cycle, regulates I crac to prolong Ca 2+ influx into the cell, thereby coupling oxidation of glucose and its own metabolism in the mitochondria to Ca 2+ influx by the CRAC channel.