cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression: From current state to solutions for the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning patients and colleagues.

Abstract Many of the systemic practices in medicine that have alienated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) individuals persist today, undermining the optimal care for these patients and isolating LGBTQ medical providers from their colleagues. The 2020 Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report recently published by the Society for Vascular Surgery marked the first publication advocating for the inclusion of sexual orientation and sexual identity in the development of initiatives promoting and protecting diversity across vascular surgery. Vascular providers should be aware that it is crucial to cultivate an environment that is inclusive for LGBTQ patients because a large proportion of these patients have reported not self-disclosing their status to medical providers, either out of concern over potential personal repercussions or failing to recognize the potential relevance of LGBTQ status to their medical care. Safe Zone training has provided a standard resource for providers and staff that can be integrated into onboarding and routine training. Clarifying the current terminology for sexual orientation and identity will ensure that vascular providers will recognize patients who could benefit from screening for additional vascular risk factors relevant to this population related to sexual health, social behavior, physical health, and medical therapies. The adoption of gender neutral language on intake forms and general correspondence with colleagues is key to reducing the unintended exclusion of those with LGBTQ identities in both inpatient and outpatient environments. In many locales across the United States, the professional and personal repercussions for openly reporting LGBTQ status persist, complicating efforts toward quantifying, recognizing, and supporting these patients, practitioners, and trainees. Contributing to an inclusive environment for patients and peers and acting as a professional ally are congruent with the ethos in vascular surgery to treat all patients and colleagues with respect and optimize the healthcare of every vascular patient.
Reagan's Nuclear Defense Strategy: Myth and Reality

For nearly a decade now, every new Secretary of Defense has set out to create his own unique strategy for nuclear weapons. A press conference is called, annual "posture statements" issue forth, and op-ed pages and opinion journals debate the "new" strategic policy. And new weapons are built costing billions of dollars. It happened with Melvin Laird to a limited extent, with James Schlesinger much more so, with Donald Rumsfeld and Harold Brown after him and now Caspar Weinberger. The essence of the Weinberger program is, in strategist's parlance, to increase the probability of "escalation control;" in other words, to make it easier to fight a protracted limited nuclear war. Its main elements are to build 100 MX missiles, put them in silos currently holding older missiles, and strengthen those silos to make them more resistant to overpressures of an atomic blast; to build 100 B-1 bombers; to build Trident II missiles for new Trident submarines; and to improve the command-control-communication (C3) systems to make them less vulnerable to nuclear attack and thus make U.S. nuclear weapons easier to control. Secretary Weinberger has estimated that the total program will cost $180 billion over the next five years alone. Little is new in this program. All of it is a logical extension of a nuclear policy that has been in effect for 20 years. To appraise the Weinberger policy, one must first assess the much older strategic framework in which it fits.
Mental Content, Causal Theories of

Theories of mental content seek to explain how mental states are about the world. Causal theories of mind propose to understand mental content in terms of the causal relationships between brain states and the world. Keywords: representation; nomic covariation; disjunction problem; functional role; holism
Purification of a vanadate-sensitive ATPase from clathrin-coated vesicles of bovine brain.

Clathrin-coated vesicle acidification is mediated by an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive, vanadate-resistant proton-translocating ATPase. This enzyme is a 530-kDa hetero-oligomer which catalyzes ATP-dependent proton pumping when reconstituted (Xie, X. S., and Stone, D. K. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 2492-2495). We now report the purification of a second ATPase from bovine brain clathrin-coated vesicles which is inhibited by both N-ethylmaleimide (1 mM) and vanadate (10 microM). Localization of the ATPase to clathrin-coated vesicles was demonstrated by the precipitation of ouabain-resistant, vanadate-sensitive ATPase activity with anti-clathrin antibodies. The enzyme was solubilized with 0.1% polyoxyethylene 9-lauryl ether and has been purified 700-fold to a specific activity of 42 mumol of Pi.mg of protein-1.min-1. A molecular mass of 116 kDa was determined by centrifugation in sucrose gradients prepared in H2O and D2O, by high performance liquid chromatography using gel filtration, and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis performed under reducing conditions. The ATPase is unlike any known mammalian E1E2-type ATPase in that it is not inhibited by ouabain or [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid (EGTA) and it is not activated by Na+, K+, or Ca2+.
On the global controllability structure of nonlinear systems

For nonlinear control systems with bounded control range the existence of control sets which are invariant relative to subsets of the state space is characterized. They allow to describe the common regions of attraction of invariant control sets.
21 cm cosmology in the 21st century

Imaging the Universe during the first hundreds of millions of years remains one of the exciting challenges facing modern cosmology. Observations of the redshifted 21 cm line of atomic hydrogen offer the potential of opening a new window into this epoch. This will transform our understanding of the formation of the first stars and galaxies and of the thermal history of the Universe. A new generation of radio telescopes is being constructed for this purpose with the first results starting to trickle in. In this review, we detail the physics that governs the 21 cm signal and describe what might be learnt from upcoming observations. We also generalize our discussion to intensity mapping of other atomic and molecular lines.
G-Networks: A Unifying Model for Neural Nets and Queueing Networks

We survey results concerning a new stochastic network we have developed [1–7], which was initially motivated by neural network modelling [1], or — as we called it — by queueing networks with positive and negative customers [2, 3]. Indeed, it is well known that signals in neural networks are formed by impulses or action potentials, traveling much like customers in a queueing network. We call this model a G-network because it serves as a unifying basis for diverse areas of stochastic modelling in queueing networks, computer networks, computer system performance and neural networks. In its simplest version, “negative” and “positive” signals or customers circulate among a finite set of units, modelling inhibitory and excitatory signals of a neural network, or “negative and positive customers” of a queueing network. Signals can arrive either from other units or from the outside world. Positive signals are accumulated at the input of each unit, and constitute its signal potential. The state of each unit or neuron is its signal potential (which is equivalent to the queue length), while the network state is the vector of signal potentials at each neuron. If its potential is positive, a unit or neuron fires, and sends out signals to the other neurons or to the outside world. As it does so, its signal potential is depleted. In the Markovian case, this model has product form, i.e. the steady-state probability distribution of its potential vector is the product of the marginal probabilities of the potential at each neuron. The signal flow equations of the network, which describe the rate at which positive or negative signals arrive to each neuron, are non-linear. We discuss the relationship between this model and the usual connectionist (formal) model of neural networks, and present applications to combinatorial optimization and to image texture processing. Extensions of the model to the case of “multiple signal classes”, and to “networks with triggered customer motion” are presented. We also examine the general stability conditions which guarantee that the network has a well-defined steady-state behaviour.
A linear high efficiency doherty amplifier with 40 dBm saturated output power using GaN on SiC HEMT devices

This paper describes the design of a linear high efficiency Doherty power amplifier using TriQuint's 2nd generation Gallium Nitride (GaN) on Silicon Carbide (SiC) T1G6001032-SM. The device was designed for an operating frequency of 3.6 GHz with a 40 dBm saturated output power, and achieves a power added efficiency (PAE) of 60.5% and 52.5% with 6 dB power backed-off (PBO). Advanced Design Systems (ADS) simulation software, in conjunction with Modelithic's active and passive device models, were used throughout the design process and are evaluated against measured results. The use of these device models demonstrates a successful first-pass design, putting less dependence on empirical load-pull analysis, thereby decreasing design-cycle time to market.
Ground State Gamow-Teller Strength in 64 Ni(n,p) 64 Co

An important process occuring in presupernova stars is e- capture on free protons and nuclei.1,2 As e- capture and the charge exchange reaction (n,p) between same initial and final states are both To → To + 1 transitions involving the same nuclear matrix element, the (n,p) reaction can be used to provide the input required to calculate e- capture rates. Specifically, the e- capture rate λ if for a nucleus going from an initial state i to a final state f is proportional to the Gamow-Teller strength Bif(GT)3: $${\lambda ^{if}}\alpha {B^{if}}\left( {GT} \right)$$ Where Bif(GT) is given by4 $${B^{if}}\left( {GT} \right) = \frac{1}{{2{J_i} + 1}}{\left| { } \right|^2}$$ .
Medical Evaluation of Asylum Seekers

An asylum seeker is a refugee who enters the United States without legal status, fleeing persecution or torture. Asylums seekers have suffered physical and/or emotional trauma due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion in their native country. If forced to return to the country they fled, they fear continued harassment, abuse and even death. Every year, thousands of victims seek refuge in the United States; in 2011, of those who applied, nearly 25,000 were given asylum. A medical forensic examination performed by a trained physician or mental health clinician can provide strong support in immigration court, and increase the chances of a successful case. Physicians are uniquely qualified to use their medical training to evaluate scars and other evidence of past torture. In describing these findings in a report or in court testimony, the clinician can provide objective findings of abuse. When asylum is granted, torture survivors are allowed to begin a life in this country free of concern about recurrence of their past suffering. This chapter reviews the process of medical forensic examination of asylum seekers.
Evolution of bilaterally asymmetrical larvae in freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Unionidae)

Bilaterally asymmetrical glochidia (i.e. bivalved parasitic larvae bearing a large marginal appendage on a single valve) have been reported from five Asian freshwater mussel genera belonging to two separate subfamilies, the Gonideinae (i.e. Pseudodon, Solenaia, and Physunio) and Rectidentinae (i.e. Contradens and Trapezoideus). This classification requires that the bilaterally asymmetrical glochidium-bearing mussels are not monophyletic, and suggests that this atypical larval morphology evolved twice in the same geographic region. Although homoplastic glochidium characters are known (e.g. marginal appendages and size), we hypothesized that bilaterally asymmetrical glochidia represent a novel morphological synapomorphy. We tested the monophyly of the mussels bearing bilaterally asymmetrical glochidia using a molecular matrix consisting of representatives from all six freshwater mussel families and three molecular markers (28S, 16S, and COI). Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood, and ancestral state reconstruction were employed to estimate the phylogeny and larval trait transformations. The reconstructed phylogeny rejects the monophyly of the asymmetrical glochidium-bearing mussels and resolves two putative origins of asymmetrical glochidia; however, ancestral state reconstruction supports asymmetrical glochidia as a synapomorphy of only one supraspecific taxon of the Rectidentinae. In the Gonideinae, asymmetrical glochidia were autapomorphic of Pseudodon cambodjensis (Petit, 1865). That is, no other taxa resolved among the Gonideinae had bilaterally asymmetrical glochidia, including other Pseudodon species. We describe how the alleged intrageneric glochidial variation in Pseudodon, and in the other genera of the Gonideinae reported to have asymmetrical glochidia (i.e. Solenaia and Physunio), challenge the resolved convergence of asymmetrical glochidia. Our results are discussed in the context of freshwater mussel larval evolution, patterns in life-history traits, and the classification of freshwater mussels generally. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London
Proximal nerve root spinal hemangioblastomas: presentation of three cases, MR appearance, and literature review.

Abstract Background Hemangioblastomas (HBLs) are relatively uncommon tumors of uncertain histogenesis usually located in the cerebellum or spinal cord. Much less frequently they are identified in extramedullary locations including the filum terminale, proximal nerve roots, or even distal nerves of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). PNS cases not only present diagnostic challenges but also raise interesting questions regarding the common cell of origin for these CNS and PNS neoplasms. Few studies have detailed the neuroimaging characteristics of the rare extramedullary variants. Methods Neuroimaging and intraoperative findings of three recent cases of proximal nerve root HBLs are described. The English language literature on extramedullary HBLs is reviewed and discussed, particularly in regards to magnetic resonance (MR) findings and association with von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome (VHL). Results All 3 of our cases had prominent vessels present within the subarachnoid space on MR scans and all lesions enhanced. All were of intermediate or mildly decreased signal intensity on the T1-weighted images before contrast and were either iso- or hyperintense to spinal cord on the T2-weighted images. Two had probable cystic areas on MR, and all had cystic areas on histologic evaluation. Conclusion These neuroimaging characteristics can serve to distinguish HBLs from the more common benign nerve sheath tumors with which they are most frequently confused. Less than half of all extramedullary HBLs are diagnosed in patients with known VHL. It is important to consider HBLs in the differential diagnosis, as they are vascular and have the propensity for causing significant blood loss at surgery.
Whither Intellectual Diversity in American Political Science? The Case of APSA and Organized Sections

To speak of political science as a "discipline" may be inappropriate. Both in origin and continuing development, the study of politics is perhaps more an amalgam of different approaches and perspectives, sometimes in competition for temporary dominance, than a discipline in any unified sense. It has been subject to the ebb and flow of ideas from a variety of disciplines and fashions. Vernon Van Dyke (1960) documented political science's experimentation with methods pioneered in other disciplines including sociology, geography, psychology, and economics. He noted that, since its founding, the discipline had been characterized by changing fashions in the units of analysis chosen for examination, including variables related to institutions, personal characteristics, law, values, power, group behavior, and decision making. This "looseness" in our field of study is probably not unique to political science and may serve practitioners well, since it inhibits fossilization by preventing too strong a reliance upon any particular method or approach. But it has certainly not produced a unified field of study. As David Easton remarked, "If there is one thing that distinguishes Western political science, it is that it has not yet arrived at a consensus on how to describe its subject matter at the most inclusive level" (1993, 291). Perhaps, more to the point, when assessing their study of political science as a discipline, Farr and Seidelman noted, "Indeed, it is these long-standing debates, not some fundamental agreement on longstanding principles, that give the discipline the identity it now has" (1993, 7). The American Political Science Association has served as a focal
Biochemical properties of arginase in human adult and fetal tissues.

Abstract Data comparing the kinetic, physical, and chemical properties of arginase, ( l -arginine ureahydrolase; EC 3.5.3.1) the last enzyme of the urea cycle, in human adult and fetal liver, kidney, brain, and gastrointestinal tract are reported. The arginases demonstrated similar pH optima in vitro , greater than 9.5; requirement for a metal cofactor, Mn 2+ ; biphasic denaturation curves at 68°C in the absence of MnCl 2 ; exponential denaturation curves at 81°C in the presence of 20 m m MnCl 2 ; and similar K m for arginine, 8–18 m m , and K i s for lysine and ornithine, 1–20 m m . The arginases differed in their electrophoretic mobility in polyacrylamide gels at basic pH (8.6) and acid pH (5.6).
Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfur-Voided Cubanes. Structural Analogues for the MoFe3S3 Subunit in the Nitrogenase Cofactor

A new class of Mo/Fe/S clusters with the MoFe3S3 core has been synthesized in attempts to model the FeMo-cofactor in nitrogenase. These clusters are obtained in reactions of the (Cl4-cat)2Mo2Fe6S8(PR3)6 [R = Et (I), nPr (II)] clusters with CO. The new clusters include those preliminarily reported: (Cl4-cat)MoFe3S3(PEt3)2(CO)6 (III), (Cl4-cat)(O)MoFe3S3(PEt3)3(CO)5 (IV), (Cl4-cat)(Pyr)MoFe3S3(PEt3)2(CO)6 (VI), and (Cl4-cat)(Pyr)MoFe3S3(PnPr3)3(CO)4 (VIII). In addition the new (Cl4-cat)(O)MoFe3S3(PnPr3)3(CO)5 cluster (IVa), the (Cl4-cat)(O)MoFe3S3(PEt3)2(CO)6cluster (V), the (Cl4-cat)(O)MoFe3S3(PnPr3)2(CO)6 cluster (Va), the (Cl4-cat)(Pyr)MoFe3S3(PnPr3)2(CO)6 cluster (VIa), and the (Cl4-cat)(PnPr3)MoFe3S3(PnPr3)2(CO)6 cluster (VII) also are reported. Clusters III−VIII have been structurally and spectroscopically characterized. EPR, zero-field 57Fe-Mossbauer spectroscopic characterizations, and magnetic susceptibility measurements have been used for a tentative assignment of the electronic and oxidation sta...
Science, patriotism, and Mother Veda: Ritual activism in Maharashtra

About a decade ago, 1 found myself watching seventeen priests in an enclosure, enacting a month-long sequence of rites first described nearly three thousand years ago. Around me sat a crowd of local farmers and townspeople who had never seen such a performance before but who had each made a small donation to attend. During lulls in the ritual action, the organizer and other svdmfs (holy men) preached about the meaning and value of the ritual and connected it with better-known devotional traditions in the region and with the principles of science. Attendees circumambulated the enclosure and deposited offerings before pictures of holy men, both legendary and modern. The entire arena was filled with explanatory labels and diagrams, augmented by a display of educational posters. This event seemed to crystallize aspects of the debate about what role Brfihmanical traditions can play in contemporary India. Over the last two centuries, Hindus have sought to come to terms with Western assumptions about what constitutes religion in the modern world. Eady observers considered India benighted in its preoccupation with 'idolatry' and arcane priestly ritual, brutal in its myths of bloodthirsty goddesses and village sacrifices, and medieval in its superstition. These criticisms reflected a broadly Protestant ethos that had earlier rejected the allegedly excessive ritualism of the Roman Catholic church and declared the victory of reason over dogma. In the wake of this critique, English-educated Hindu elites developed a variety of forms of 'ethnic nationalism' (as Anthony Smith [1983, 1998] has defined it): The construction of an idealized Golden Age that embodies the 'essential' features of the indigenous culture as well as those features of the dominant alien (especially colonialist) culture that are deemed to make it 'modern' (and thus powerful and successful). Christophe Jaffrelot (1996), following John Plamenatz (1973), points particu
Glutathione status in constituted physiological fluids containing albumin.

Abstract 1. 1. Glutathione (GSH) and cysteine, added to the constituted incubation medium, rapidly disappeared from the medium in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The major portions of added GSH and cysteine were oxidized. Only a fraction was recovered as cysteine-GSH mixed disulfide in case of GSH. About 15–30% cysteine or GSH were not recovered in the media. 2. 2. The rate of GSH oxidation was linear with time, however, GSH disappearance was not linear with GSH concentrations. 3. 3. Oxidation of GSH to GSSG in the albumin supplemented media was greater under O2 atmosphere, but was significantly decreased under N2 atmosphere. 4. 4. Catalase, a peroxy radical scavenger, but not dimethyl pyroline N-oxide (DMPO), N-tertbutyl-2(-2 sulfophenyl)-nitrone (NTBSPN), mannitol or Superoxide dismutase (SOD), decreased BSA mediated GSH oxidation. 5. 5. GSH oxidation was abolished when mono- or divalent metal ions were absent in the BSA supplemented media. 6. 6. Alkaline pH favored and acidic pH inhibited GSH oxidation. GSH oxidation was maximum above pH 7.4. GSH oxidation was minimal in the media containing boiled BSA. 7. 7. A reaction mechanism involving the mixed GSH-BSA disulfide formation, followed by the reduction of these disulfides by GSH and subsequent release of GSSG is proposed.
Locational stereology performed within sampling fields in rat aortic wall, a polarized tissue.

SUMMARY One-dimensional structural localization on a scale approximating the sizes of the structures themselves is accomplished for polarized tissue by a new microcomputer-based stereological method The tissue of interest is the inner rat aortic wall, viewed by transmission electron microscopy. Particular attention is given to the interface between intima and media. Locational analysis of smooth muscle cells, elastin, collagen and other structures near this interface can be performed. The key to accomplishing the analysis within a reasonable time rests with a microcomputer program which simultaneously records structure codes from the microcomputer keyboard and X, Y-coordinates from an electronic digitizing board. The stereological solution to this problem is applicable to a wide range of situations with polarized geometries.
Nonradiologists as second readers for intraluminal findings at CT colonography.

Rationale and objectives Multiple trials have documented wide interobserver variability between radiologists interpreting computed tomography colonography (CTC) exams. We sought to determine if nonradiologists could learn to interpret intraluminal findings at CTC with a high degree of sensitivity to determine if they could play a role as second readers in interpreting CTC exams. Materials and methods Seven nonradiologists (five medical students, two radiologic technologists) undertook self-directed CTC training using a teaching file of 50 cases; thereafter, each reader blindly interpreted 50 cases with colonoscopic correlation (30 positive, 20 negative). Results were compared with a previously studied cohort of radiologists. The two technologists additionally repeated the exam after 6 weeks of clinical experience. Results The sensitivity of nonradiologists for small (5–9 mm) polyps, large (>9 mm) lesions, and cancers was similar to that of radiologists (0.45 versus 0.63, 0.74 versus 0.71, and 0.80 versus 0.88, respectively). After 6 weeks of clinical experience as second readers, the accuracy of one technologist significantly improved (from 74% to 90%, P = .008), whereas accuracy of the other tended toward improvement (from 74% to 86%%, P = .25). Nonradiologists detected, on average, 6/36 additional polyps (17%) missed by any radiologist, and the sensitivity of 5/7 nonradiologists was significantly greater than at least one of the radiologists (P = .05). Conclusion Nonradiologists can perform similarly to radiologists in interpreting intraluminal findings at CTC, with nonradiologist performance improving even after experience with more than 100 cases. Skilled nonradiologists may play a vital role as a second reader of intraluminal findings or by performing quality control of examinations before patient dismissal.
Influence of scalar fields on the approach to a cosmological singularity

The method of consistent potentials (MCP) is used to explain how a minimally coupled (classical) scalar field can suppress mixmaster oscillations in the approach to the singularity of generic cosmological spacetimes. The MCP predicts the nature of the approach to the singularity by substitution of the velocity term dominated (VTD) solution, obtained by neglecting terms in Einstein's equations containing spatial derivatives, into the neglected terms. If these remain small, the approach to the singularity is predicted to be asymptotically VTD (AVTD). Addition of the scalar field to vacuum Bianchi type IX (mixmaster), vacuum $U(1)$ symmetric, and magnetic Gowdy cosmologies changes the MCP prediction from that for an oscillatory approach to the singularity to one that is AVTD. Numerical simulations are shown to support these predictions.
Photometry of compact galaxies.

Photometric histories of the N galaxies 3C 390.3 and PKS 0521-36. Four other compact galaxies, Markarian 9, I Zw 92, 2 Zw 136, and III Zw 77 showed no evidence of variability. The photometric histories were obtained from an exhaustive study of those plates of the Harvard collection taken with large aperture cameras. The images of all galaxies reported were indistinguishable from stars due to the camera f-ratios and low surface brightness of the outlying nebulosities of the galaxies. Standard techniques for the study of variable stars are therefore applicable.
Potentiometric titration curves of oxidized and reduced horse heart cytochrome c

Potentiometric titration curves of oxidized and reduced horse heart cytochrome c in 0.15M KCl at 20°C have been obtained by timed titration (0.125–0.500 μmol/sec) from the isoionic points (pH 10.2–10.4) to pH 3 and back to the isoionic point. Computer-assisted (PROPHET) data acquisition and blank corrections give curves with good precision with a maximum standard deviation of 0.3 groups for an average error of 1%. The potentiometric titration curve of reduced cytochrome c is reversible within the precision of the method and for the pH range studied. The potentiometric curves for oxidized cytochrome c titrated upscale (pH 3–10) and downscale (pH 10–3) are not reversible. However, they show the same ionization behavior after the initial downscale titration. This is probably the result of a conformational change. Comparison of the data herein reported with the titration curves of oxidized cytochrome c already published by others indicates good agreement on the basis of a normalization of the concentration of protein or on the basis of 25 titrable groups between the acid end point and the isoionic pH. Titration of the 2 μmol imidazole in the upscale or downscale direction gives the correct analytical concentration and pK′ after correction for the solvent titration. Titration of reduced cytochrome c in the presence and absence of an additional equivalent of imidazole gave a difference titration curve, which indicates that a group on the protein shifts from pK′ 5.8 to pK′ 5.3 in the presence of imidazole. The pK′ of imidazole, in the presence of the protein, remains at a nearly normal value of 7.34.
Improvement in asthma control and inflammation in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy

Observational studies suggest that asthma control improves after adenotonsillectomy, but longitudinal studies that correlate the effect of the procedure on the levels of biomarkers associated with airway inflammation are limited. We conducted a longitudinal, observational study on pediatric patients, both with and without asthma, undergoing adenotonsillectomy. Asthma control test (ACT) scores and chitinase activity in the circulation were measured at time of surgery and at 6-mo follow-up. Sixty-six children with asthma and 64 control subjects were enrolled. Mean ACT scores improved by three points (P < 0.001) after 6 mo. 85% of children with poorly controlled asthma demonstrated an increase in ACT score of at least three points or a decrease in emergency department/urgent care visits, oral corticosteroid courses, or rescue short acting bronchodilator usage. Chitinase activity decreased significantly in asthmatics who improved (P < 0.01). Higher chitinase activity levels at baseline were associated with improved asthma control following surgery (P < 0.01). In children with high preoperative circulating chitinase activity levels, asthma control and healthcare utilization were significantly improved after adenotonsillecotmy. Chitinase activity decreased after surgery in children with improved control. This suggests that adenotonsillectomy modulates chitinase activity, affecting airway inflammation and improving airway disease.
Thermal tolerance and specific protein synthesis in Chinese hamster fibroblasts exposed to prolonged hypoxia.

Abstract We have demonstrated that prolonged hypoxia can induce both thermotolerance and the synthesis of heat shock proteins in HA-1 Chinese hamster ovary cells. This tolerance was transient in nature: upon reaeration at 37 °C, HA-1 cells regained their “normal” heat response within 34 h.
Microphase Segregation of PEO−PAMAM Linear−Dendritic Diblock Copolymers

Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray scattering have been used to characterize the microphase segregation of linear−dendritic diblock copolymers in the bulk state. The dendritic block copolym...
Organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis of Rh and Rh-Co mixed metal carbonyl clusters

The reactions of hydrosilane and/or alkyne as well as isonitriles with rhodium and rhodium cobalt mixed metal carbonyl clusters, e.g., Rh4(CO)12 and Co2Rh2(CO)12, are studied. Novel mixed metal complexes, e.g., CoRh(CO)5 (HC≡CBu n ), (R3Si)2Rh(CO) n Co(CO)4, Rh(R−N≡C)4Co(CO)4, Co2Rh2(CO)10(HC≡CR), and Co2Rh2(CO)9(HC≡CBu n ), are synthesized and identified. The catalytic activities of these rhodium and rhodium-cobalt mixed metal complexes are examined in hydrosilyation, silylformylation, and novel silylcarbocyclization reactions. Possible mechanisms for these reactions are proposed and discussed.
First‐generation undergraduate students' social support, depression, and life satisfaction.

First-generation undergraduate students face challenging cross-socioeconomic cultural transitions into college life. The authors compared first- and non-first-generation undergraduate students’ social support, posttraumatic stress, depression symptoms, and life satisfaction. First-generation participants reported less social support from family and friends, more single-event traumatic stress, less life satisfaction, and marginally more depression symptomatology than non-first-generation participants, but significant generation–gender interactions showed first-generation women doing worse and first-generation men doing better than others.
Characterization of microglial responses to Staphylococcus aureus: effects on cytokine, costimulatory molecule, and Toll-like receptor expression

Microglia participate in innate immune responses in the central nervous system (CNS). This work demonstrates that microglia can recognize heat-inactivated Staphylococcus aureus and its cell wall product peptidoglycan (PGN) through the elaboration of numerous proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Microglia also exhibited S. aureus bactericidal activity. Microglia constitutively expressed low levels of Toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1), TLR2, TLR6, and CD14, all of which were enhanced following S. aureus exposure. Activation of resident microglia by S. aureus may serve to amplify the CNS antibacterial immune response through the release of cytokines, chemokines, and induction of bactericidal activity.
Multifunctional roles of enolase in Alzheimer’s disease brain: beyond altered glucose metabolism

Enolase enzymes are abundantly expressed, cytosolic carbon-oxygen lyases known for their role in glucose metabolism. Recently, enolase has been shown to possess a variety of different regulatory functions, beyond glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, associated with hypoxia, ischemia, and Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is an age-associated neurodegenerative disorder characterized pathologically by elevated oxidative stress and subsequent damage to proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, appearance of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques, and loss of synapse and neuronal cells. It is unclear if development of a hypometabolic environment is a consequence of or contributes to AD pathology, as there is not only a significant decline in brain glucose levels in AD, but also there is an increase in proteomics identified oxidatively modified glycolytic enzymes that are rendered inactive, including enolase. Previously, our laboratory identified alpha-enolase as one the most frequently up-regulated and oxidatively modified proteins in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), early-onset AD, and AD. However, the glycolytic conversion of 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate catalyzed by enolase does not directly produce ATP or NADH; therefore it is surprising that, among all glycolytic enzymes, alpha-enolase was one of only two glycolytic enzymes consistently up-regulated from MCI to AD. These findings suggest enolase is involved with more than glucose metabolism in AD brain, but may possess other functions, normally necessary to preserve brain function. This review examines potential altered function(s) of brain enolase in MCI, early-onset AD, and AD, alterations that may contribute to the biochemical, pathological, clinical characteristics, and progression of this dementing disorder.
Trends in the technology and economics of air transport

Abstract The past half-century of developments in air transport are assessed and the current state of air technology and the economics of air transport assessed, particularly the trends since the 1973 ‘oil crisis’. The role of government in the industry in viewed as critical for its future health.
Elementary inversion of the exponential X-ray transform

For the numerical inversion of the exponential X-ray transform, there exist a point-spread function and a transfer function that are piecewise elementary. As the radius of the point-spread function tends to zero, the associated filtered backprojection becomes an alternate exact formula for the inverse transform, the proof of which involves only calculus. Keeping the radius positive but setting the attenuation coefficient equal to zero gives a piecewise elementary formula for Z.H. Cho's (1974) original transfer function in the inversion of the ordinary Radon transform. >
Experimental validation of a prototype ejector designed to reduce throttling losses encountered in transcritical R744 system operation

This study presents experimental results obtained from a transcritical R744 system using a refrigerant ejector. The results were compared to that of a conventional system with an expansion valve. For the test conditions considered, the cooling capacity and COP simultaneously improved by up to 8% and 7%, respectively. Experiments were analyzed to quantitatively assess the effects on system performance as a result of changes in basic ejector dimensions such as motive nozzle and diffuser sizing. Small angles of 5° yielded best results for the static pressure recovery of the high-speed two-phase flow entering the diffuser. Experiments confirmed that like in a conventional transcritical R744 system with expansion valve, the high-side pressure control integrated into the ejector could be used to maximize the system performance. Numerical simulation results helped identifying this basic trend. Due to difficulties in the ejector throat pressure measurements, a more practical performance metric was introduced in order to quantify overall ejector efficiencies. According to this definition, the prototype ejector was able to recover up to 14.5% of the throttling losses.
The house size effect and the referendum paradox in U.S. presidential elections

Abstract Barthelemy et al. (2014), extending the work of Neubauer and Zeitlin (2003), show that some U.S. presidential elections are subject to a ‘House size effect’ in that the winner of the election, i.e., the candidate who wins a majority of electoral votes, depends on the size of the House of Representatives. The conditions for the effect relate to the number of ‘Senate’ versus ‘House’ electoral votes won by each candidate, but the relationship is not straightforward due to ‘locally chaotic’ effects in the apportionment of House seats among the states as House size changes. Clearly a Presidential election that is subject to the House size effect exhibits the referendum paradox, i.e., the electoral vote winner is the popular vote loser, for some House sizes but not for others.
Carnitine Alterations in Spontaneous and Drug- Induced Turkey Congestive Cardiomyopathy

ABSTRACT: Carnitine and acylcarnitines were measured in plasma and tissues of control turkeys, turkeys with an inbred spontaneous cardiomyopathy, and turkeys with furazolidone- induced cardiomyopathy. Heart failure was evident in both types of cardiomyopathy from decreased systemic blood pressure and cardiac dilatation compared to controls. Plasma free carnitine, short-chain acylcarnitine, and long-chain acylcarnitine were significantly elevated by 76 to 614% (p < 0.01) in the two cardiomyopathy models compared to control. The highest carnitine levels were found in the most hypotensive turkeys. Liver free carnitine and short-chain acylcarnitine levels were also elevated by 45 to 537% (p < 0.05) in both types of cardiomyopathy. Free carnitine was elevated by 126% in left ventricle and by 54% in skeletal muscle of the furazolidone-treated turkeys (p < 0.05). We speculate that hepatic synthesis of carnitine may be increased in response to hypotension and progressive cardiac dysfunction in cardiomyopathic turkeys. Such an increase may be useful to promote β-oxidation of fatty acids as a cardiac energy source.
Epidemiology of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

The epidemiology of female pelvic floor disorders, including urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, anal incontinence, and interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome is reviewed. The natural history, prevalence, incidence, remission, risk factors, and potential areas for prevention are considered.
Quasi-elastic neutron scattering study of the hydration of tricalcium silicate

We report on the novel application of quasi-elastic neutron spectroscopy to study the reaction mechanism between tricalcium silicate and water. The in situ data taken at a series of fixed temperatures varying from 10 to 40 °C show that the amount of free water in the system remains relatively constant for an initial period, ranging from 1 h at 40 °C to 16 h at 10 °C. This is followed by an exponential decrease in the amount of free water that crosses over to a diffusion-limited behavior for later times. Fits to an Avrami type behavior allow us to determine an activation energy for the hydration process on the order of 30 kJ/mol.
The Domain Organization of Human Topoisomerase I

Using limited proteolysis, we show that the domain boundaries of human topoisomerase I closely parallel those predicted from sequence comparisons with other cellular Topo I enzymes. The enzyme is comprised of (i) an NH2-terminal domain (~24 kDa), which is known to be dispensable for activity, (ii) the core domain (~54 kDa), (iii) a linker region (~3 kDa), and (iv) the COOH-terminal domain (~10 kDa), which contains the active site tyrosine. The highly conserved core and COOH-terminal domains are resistant to proteolysis, while the unconserved NH2-terminal and linker domains are sensitive. Noncovalent binding of Topo I to plasmid DNA or to short duplex oligonucleotides decreases the sensitivity of the linker to proteolysis by approximately a factor of 10 but has no effect on proteolysis of the NH2-terminal domain. When the enzyme is covalently complexed to an 18 base pair single-stranded oligonucleotide, the linker region is sensitive to proteolysis whether or not duplex DNA is present. The net positive charge of the linker domain suggests that at a certain point in catalysis the linker may bind directly to DNA. Further, we show that limited subtilisin cleavage can generate a mixture of 60-kDa core and ~10-kDa COOH-terminal fragments, which retain a level of topoisomerase activity that is nearly equal to undigested control samples, presumably because the two fragments remain associated after proteolytic cleavage. Thus, despite its potential role in DNA binding, the linker domain (in addition to the NH2-terminal domain) appears to be dispensable for topoisomerase activity. Finally, the limited proteolysis pattern of the human enzyme differs substantially from the limited proteolysis pattern of the vaccinia viral Topo I, indicating that the two enzymes belong to separate eukaryotic topoisomerase I subfamilies.
Accelerated search for biomolecular network models to interpret high-throughput experimental data.

The functions of human cells are carried out by biomolecular networks, which include proteins, genes, and regulatory sites within DNA that encode and control protein expression. Models of biomolecular network structure and dynamics can be inferred from high-throughput measurements of gene and protein expression. We build on our previously developed fuzzy logic method for bridging quantitative and qualitative biological data to address the challenges of noisy, low resolution high-throughput measurements, i.e., from gene expression microarrays. We employ an evolutionary search algorithm to accelerate the search for hypothetical fuzzy biomolecular network models consistent with a biological data set. We also develop a method to estimate the probability of a potential network model fitting a set of data by chance. The resulting metric provides an estimate of both model quality and dataset quality, identifying data that are too noisy to identify meaningful correlations between the measured variables. Optimal parameters for the evolutionary search were identified based on artificial data, and the algorithm showed scalable and consistent performance for as many as 150 variables. The method was tested on previously published human cell cycle gene expression microarray data sets. The evolutionary search method was found to converge to the results of exhaustive search. The randomized evolutionary search was able to converge on a set of similar best-fitting network models on different training data sets after 30 generations running 30 models per generation. Consistent results were found regardless of which of the published data sets were used to train or verify the quantitative predictions of the best-fitting models for cell cycle gene dynamics. Our results demonstrate the capability of scalable evolutionary search for fuzzy network models to address the problem of inferring models based on complex, noisy biomolecular data sets. This approach yields multiple alternative models that are consistent with the data, yielding a constrained set of hypotheses that can be used to optimally design subsequent experiments.
From Droplets to Nanowires: Dynamics of Vapor-Liquid-Solid Growth

Starting with a liquid eutectic droplet on a surface, we calculate its dynamical evolution into an epitaxial nanowire via the vapor-liquid-solid growth process. Our continuum approach incorporates kinetic effects and crystalline anisotropy in a natural way. Some realistic features appear automatically even for an isotropic solid, e.g., the tapered wire base. Crystal anisotropy leads to a richer variety of morphologies. For example, sixfold anisotropy leads to a wire shape having broken symmetry and an intriguing resemblance to the 110-oriented Si wires seen in Au-catalyzed growth on Si (111), while higher symmetry leads to a shape more like Si wires.
On the Formation and Structure of Galactic Halos

The formation and structure of galaxies and clusters, which emerge from a primordial Guassian perturbation (delta) field via gravitational instability, are analytically studied. These bound objects are assumed to be seeded by local maxima of the delta-field. The density profile of these objects is found to depend on (1) the power spectrum of the delta-field, (2) the height of the peaks relative to the rms value of delta, and (3) the value of Omega(0). In particular, it is found that in the cold dark matter case, flat or slightly increasing rotation curves are expected for all acceptable values of Omega(0) and H(0). 21 references.
Rice methylmercury exposure and mitigation: A comprehensive review

Rice cultivation practices from field preparation to post-harvest transform rice paddies into hot spots for microbial mercury methylation, converting less-toxic inorganic mercury to more-toxic methylmercury, which is likely translocated to rice grain. This review includes 51 studies reporting rice total mercury and/or methylmercury concentrations, based on rice (Orzya sativa) cultivated or purchased in 15 countries. Not surprisingly, both rice total mercury and methylmercury levels were significantly higher in polluted sites compared to non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p<0.001). However, rice percent methylmercury (of total mercury) did not differ statistically between polluted and non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p=0.35), suggesting comparable mercury methylation rates in paddy soil across these sites and/or similar accumulation of mercury species for these rice cultivars. Studies characterizing the effects of rice cultivation under more aerobic conditions were reviewed to determine the mitigation potential of this practice. Rice management practices utilizing alternating wetting and drying (instead of continuous flooding) caused soil methylmercury levels to spike, resulting in a strong methylmercury pulse after fields were dried and reflooded; however, it is uncertain whether this led to increased translocation of methylmercury from paddy soil to rice grain. Due to the potential health risks, it is advisable to investigate this issue further, and to develop separate water management strategies for mercury polluted and non-polluted sites, in order to minimize methylmercury exposure through rice ingestion.
Exciton Models in the Alkali Halides

The common models for excitons in the alkali halides are criticized as to their goodness as zero-order models. Some new calculations on energies, oscillator strengths, and charge distributions are made with the models as they are commonly used. It is shown that the customary use of an LCAO (linear combination of atomic orbitals) method with the electron-transfer model gives qualitatively incorrect results, particularly for the wave functions and charge distributions, results which are not even internally consistent with the model. It is argued that the other model, an excitation model, gives at least semiquantitatively correct results, and is a satisfactory zero-order approximation. Finally, it is shown that in the alkali halides the LCAO method must inevitably be an inconvenient one for finding accurate charge distributions and wave functions for localized centers.