cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diseases of captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus): Results of the cheetah research council pathology survey, 1989–1992

Knowledge of the diseases of cheetahs is essential to prevent and treat conditions that can modulate fertility and longevity. Toward this aim, a comprehensive pathology survey was conducted under a directive from the Cheetah Species Survival Plan. To date, 31 adult cheetahs and nine cubs from 16 zoological parks have been evaluated. Also, liver biopsies from 67 female cheetahs from 22 zoological parks were examined. Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) affected 82% of deceased cheetahs and 51% of live female cheetahs, and was the cause of death in nine cheetahs. Glomerulosclerosis and nephrosclerosis affected 84% and 39% of the population, respectively, and caused renal failure in eight cheetahs. The severity of VOD and glomerulosclerosis increased with age, and was not associated with infertility. Chronic gastritis was noted in 91% of the study population, and 95% of these cases also had spiral bacteria. Feline infectious peritonitis caused the death of two cheetahs. Male cheetahs had testicular degeneration, atrophy, and/or spermatogenic arrest, but these cheetahs also had severe systemic illness. Most females did not have reproductive tract lesions that would cause infertility, including those with parovarian cysts. Ovarian histology suggested that infertile cheetahs were not ovulating. Most cubs died from pneumonia or other systemic infections. The results of this study indicate that serious diseases are prevalent in the North American cheetahs, but these diseases do not appear to be the cause of infertility in the population. However, these diseases do limit the life span and well-being of cheetahs in captivity. Further research is needed to elucidate the causes of these diseases. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
QT prolongation and the antiarrhythmic efficacy of amiodarone

Amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic agent known to cause prolongation of action potential duration which is reflected in the electrocardiogram as a prolongation of the QT interval. Prolongation of the QT interval in patients dying suddenly was compared with that in patients who remained alive to determine whether a difference existed between these two groups. The electrocardiogram and amiodarone levels were evaluated in 33 patients who presented with cardiac arrest and symptomatic ventricular tachycardia in whom no other antiarrhythmic agent was found effective in preventing induction of ventricular tachycardia during electrophysiologic studies. There were 30 men and 3 women (mean age 62 ± 10 years). Twenty-three are alive after a mean follow-up period of 12 ± 7 months. Ten died: six suddenly, three of non-cardiac causes and one of congestive heart failure. Using a two-way analysis of variance, the percent change in QT, QTc, JT and JTc intervals before and after amiodarone therapy was analyzed. Marked prolongation in the QT interval was present in patients who remained alive with amiodarone therapy: A significant difference in percent QT prolongation was seen between the latter patients and those who died suddenly (p
Protective effects of IL-1Ra or vIL-10 gene transfer on a murine model of wear debris-induced osteolysis

The current study evaluated the protective effects of anti-inflammatory cytokine gene transfer on osteolysis provoked by orthopedic biomaterial particles using a murine model of inflammatory bone loss. A section of bone was surgically implanted into an air pouch established on a syngeneic recipient mouse. Inflammation was provoked by introduction of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) particles into the pouch, and retroviruses encoding for interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (hIL-1Ra), viral interleukin-10 (vIL-10), or LacZ genes were injected. Pouch fluid and tissue were harvested 7 days later for histological and molecular analyses. The results indicated that IL-1Ra or vIL-10 gene transfer significantly inhibited IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) expression at both mRNA and protein levels. There were significantly lower mRNA expressions of calcitonin receptor and cathepsin K in RNA isolated from hIL-1Ra- or vIL-10-transduced pouches than LacZ-transduced and virus-free controls. Both anti-inflammatory cytokine gene transfers significantly reduced the mRNA expression of M-CSF (70–90%) and RANK (>65%) in comparison with LacZ- and virus-free controls. Histological examination showed that hIL-1Ra or vIL-10 gene transfer dramatically abolished UHMWPE-induced inflammatory cellular infiltration and bone pit erosion compared to LacZ-transduced and virus-free controls. Histochemical staining revealed significantly fewer osteoclast-like cells in samples treated with IL-1Ra or vIL-10 gene transfer. In addition, bone collagen content was markedly preserved in the groups with anti-inflammatory cytokine gene transfers compared with the other two groups. Overall, retrovirus-mediated hIL-1Ra or vIL-10 gene transfer effectively protected against UHMWPE-particle-induced bone resorption, probably due to the inhibition of IL-1/TNF-induced M-CSF production and the consequent osteoclast recruitment and maturation.
Pressure dependence of instabilities in perovskite PbZrO3

We have computed the frequencies of selected normal modes in perovskite PbZrO3 (PZ) as a function of lattice parameter using local density-functional theory variational linear response. The harmonic instabilities of the perovskite structure which freeze in to give the orthorhombic antiferroelectric (AFE) phase in PZ and the low-temperature rhombohedral ferroelectric (FE) phase in PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) all become more unstable under pressure. The most unstable AFE Σ3 mode destabilizes more rapidly under pressure than the unstable zone center polar mode. This provides an explanation for the observed FE–AFE transition in (modified) Zr-rich PZT under applied pressure.
Flux-Flow and Fluctuation Effects in Granular Superconducting Films

Results are reported on the flux-flow state in granular aluminum films. Anomalously small values of depinning current are reported and attributed to the fact that the temperature-dependent coherence length is appreciably larger than the grain size in these films. Near ${T}_{c}$, the energy dissipated in vortex flow $D (D\ensuremath{\propto}\frac{d{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{f}}{\mathrm{dH}}$, where ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{f}$ is the flow resistivity) was found to vary exponentially with temperature. This anomalous temperature dependence suggests that the major source of energy dissipation in this regime is the interaction of the vortex current fields with thermodynamic fluctuations. For sufficiently large values of $\frac{{R}_{\ensuremath{\square}}^{N}}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}$ [${R}_{\ensuremath{\square}}^{N}=\mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{l}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{e}$ resistance per square and $\ensuremath{\epsilon}=\frac{({T}_{c}\ensuremath{-}T)}{{T}_{c}}$], the ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{f}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{v}\mathrm{s}\ensuremath{-}H$ curves were found to be non-linear in a manner not reported before in conventional flux-flow experiments. This curvature is attributed to the above-mentioned interaction between the vortices and fluctuations.
Design of Bessel-type transimpedance preamplifiers for lateral-effect photodiodes

A series of design guidelines is introduced for Bessel-type (maximally flat delay) transimpedance preamplifiers for optimum position detection using a lateral-effect photodiode. A distributed parameter network model for the lateral-effect photo-diode and a one-pole model for the preamplifiers are used in a complete analysis of the sensor. The analysis yields the necessary unity gain bandwidth of the preamplifiers for a given transimpedance gain and positioning resistance and junction capacitance of the detector such that constant group delay is achieved within the prescribed bandwidth. This criterion ensures that the position of edges is not affected by the response of the preamplifiers. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the technique for video and quasi-video bandwidths. The analysis is complemented by the derivation of equations for the temperature drift and the noise level of the combined lateral-effect photo-diode and preamplifiers. These equations clearly show the presence of crosstalk...
RENAL PRESERVATION DESPITE 35 DAYS OF PARTIAL BLADDER OBSTRUCTION IN THE FETAL LAMB

AbstractTo determine whether the increase in renal blood flow and preservation of renal function that we demonstrated after 10 days of chronic partial bladder obstruction in the third trimester fetal lamb also occur after earlier longer obstruction, we modified our preparation and studied the effects of 35 days of obstruction begun during the second trimester. Partial bladder obstruction was created in 10 fetal lambs at 90 days of gestation (term equals 147 days). At repeat surgical intervention 28 days later vascular catheters and a left renal artery flow transducer were placed, and catheters were externalized. We then studied renal blood flow and function at gestational ages 120 days and 125 days after 30 days and 35 days of obstruction, respectively. Tissue was obtained for histology at the time of sacrifice. Eight control fetal lambs without obstruction were studied in a similar way.Bilateral hydroureteronephrosis was noted in all fetal lambs after partial obstruction, whereas the kidneys and bladders...
Self-injurious behaviours in people with and without intellectual delay: implications for the genetics of suicide.

Self- injurious behaviors (SIBs) occur in both people at risk of suicide and in people with intellectual delay, and it may be that the underlying pathologies are shared, at least in part. Genes identified as causative in people with intellectual delay that show SIBs may be the same genes that have an effect on suicide outcome in people without intellectual delay that self-injure.
Bolaamphiphile Nanotube-Templated Metallized Wires

This paper introduces a new method to produce metal-coated nanowires using self-assembled bolaamphiphile nanotubes as templates. Electroless Ni and Cu coatings on the bolaamphiphile nanotubes were achieved in Ni and Cu baths with reducing agents. Raman microscopic analysis indicates that non-hydrogen-bonded amide groups of the bolaamphiphile nanotubes capture metal ions and form stable metal−amide complexes. These complexes seem to become efficient nucleation sites and produce metallic coatings around the bolaamphiphile nanotubes. This method may therefore be applied to construct nano-electric circuits since the metal-coated bolaamphiphile nanotubes can grow on Au electrodes via self-assembled carboxylic acid thiol monolayers.
Self-concept of Young Children with Special Needs: Perspectives for School and Clinic

Young children are consistently faced with problems that are beyond their limited range of experiences. These problems range from abuse and neglect to frightening uncertainty about the future. One method for reducing the negative consequences associated with these threats to normal development is the enhancement of young children's self concepts. Contemporary researchers have suggested that school and clinic personnel view self-concept as a self-descriptive behavior that is observable, measurable, and situation-specific. Two (perceptual and operational) models have dominated the debate on the construct of self-concept and a logical extension of both is that self-concept can be operationally enhanced. In this article, the authors discuss the self-concept of young children with special needs and delineate operational self-concept enhancement strategies that school and clinic personnel will find helpful in planning interventions for them.
SIRT1 Deacetylates and Positively Regulates the Nuclear Receptor LXR

Summary The NAD + -dependent deacetylase Sir2 regulates life span in lower eukaryotes. The mammalian ortholog SIRT1 regulates physiological processes including apoptosis, fat metabolism, glucose homeostasis, and neurodegeneration. Here we show that SIRT1 is a positive regulator of liver X receptor (LXR) proteins, nuclear receptors that function as cholesterol sensors and regulate whole-body cholesterol and lipid homeostasis. LXR acetylation is evident at a single conserved lysine (K432 in LXRα and K433 in LXRβ) adjacent to the ligand-regulated activation domain AF2. SIRT1 interacts with LXR and promotes deacetylation and subsequent ubiquitination. Mutations of K432 eliminate activation of LXRα by this sirtuin. Loss of SIRT1 in vivo reduces expression of a variety of LXR targets involved in lipid metabolism, including ABCA1, an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter that mediates an early step of HDL biogenesis. Our findings suggest that deacetylation of LXRs by SIRT1 may be a mechanism that affects atherosclerosis and other aging-associated diseases.
Africa's Struggles for Decolonization: From Achebe to Mandela

This essay commemorates the large historical lives of Chinua Achebe and Nelson Mandela, both of whom died in 2013. It is noted that the nature of African and world reactions to the deaths of the two men undoubtedly reflected their different biographies, the relative valuations of the political and the artistic in the popular imagination, the oscillation of ideas and action in the praxis and political economy of social struggle, and the assorted demands and terms of literary and political combat. It is argued that underlying the different remembrances were the thick braids of the twists and turns of modern African history, of the continent's struggles for the triple dreams of African nationalism—decolonization, democracy, and development—that intersected the lives of the two men. Achebe's and Man- dela's significance arises out of the manner in which their stories embodied and bore witness to Africa's protracted drama for historical and human- istic agency, for the reclamation, reconstitution, reaffirmation, and self- representation of Africa and its peoples from the existential, economic, and epistemic violence of Europe that began with the depravities of the Atlantic slave trade and intensified with the depredations of colonialism. Also, their lifetimes reflected the profound complexities, contradictions, and changes of colonial and postcolonial Africa, the development of African worlds—its cultures, arts, polities, economies, societies, and ecologies—out of the inter- connections, intersectionalities, and intertextualities of Africa and Europe, as well as Africa and the world mediated by the diaspora and globalization. The essay explores the historical journeys and meanings of Achebe's and Mandela's lives placed in the expansive context of African nationalism. In this intriguing story, their two countries bookend each other.
Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea in a Patient With Spinal Muscle Atrophy

Patients with spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) who survive to adulthood experience a slow, continuous loss of motor function but typically have a normal life expectancy. These patients, however, require vigilance on the part of their health-care providers to reverse treatable disorders to maintain a satisfactory quality of life. We report on a patient with obstructive sleep apnea and type 3 SMA. The treatment of his sleep-disordered breathing resulted in the resolution of symptoms that were initially attributed to his neuromuscular disease.
Validation of the nurturance scale of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule.

Nursing personnel (50 females, 13 males) in a state mental hospital were rated by supervisors as to their degree of nurturant behavior on the job. There was a correlation of —.30 between these ratings and the nurses' Nurturance scores on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. It was suggested that the Edwards Nurturance scale does not reflect nurturant behavior unless the scale is reverse-scored.
The Possibility of Enhanced Hg202 as a Source of Monochromatic Light

Electromagnetically enhanced Hg202, as a source material for highly monochromatic radiation, is discussed briefly with relation to the effects of the isotopic impurities. A Fabry-Perot interferogram showing line purity in the 98.06 percent Hg202 is reproduced.
A trans-Pacific Asian dust episode and its impacts to air quality in the east coast of U.S.

Abstract The transport of an intense trans-Pacific Asian dust episode to the Northeast United States (U.S.) is studied using a synergistic suite of observations and models including a ground-based lidar, AERONET-sunphotometer, satellite measurements and global aerosol transport model for New York City (40.821°N, 73.949°W). During the dust intrusion on March 17–19, 2010, the multi-wavelength lidar observations indicate dense dust plumes (∼80% of total column AOD) located between 3 and 9 km altitudes with the lower layer mixing toward the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The column AOD shows a significant increase from 0.08 to 0.38 at 532-nm while the Angstrom exponent indicates a decrease from 1.3 to 0.7. The linear particle depolarization ratio is estimated to be 0.1–0.15 and the single-scattering-albedo shows the dust-like spectral dependence with the value of 0.9–0.95 at 440-nm. The NOAA-NCEP reanalysis and HYSPLIT model indicate that this long-range transport is driven by the strong western jets and travels for 6 days to arrive the U.S. east coast versus the western and northern U.S. Both the NAAPS aerosol transport model and satellite CALIPSO observations for multiple orbits clearly illustrate the dust-dominated aerosol along the transport path. In addition, coincident increase of both particulate matter (PM) and fine soil concentrations indicate the potential impact of transported dust on the air quality that is found to be associated with a large area of sinking air along the U.S. east coast.
Identifying psychological problems in young children: How do mothers compare with child psychiatrists?

Abstract Children (N=115) in a randomly selected nonclinic sample were evaluated by their mothers (using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, or CBCL) and a child psychiatrist (who conducted a clinical interview and observation) when they were 2 and 5 years old. Compared to psychiatrists, mothers tended to overreport externalizing problems and underreport internalizing problems (particularly separation anxiety) at age 2. Mothers' reports, however, were predictive of children's social and language abilities and problems assessed at later ages and by fathers. Psychiatrists' reports added to the predictability of child functioning beyond mothers' reports, particularly for problems reported by teachers when the children were 4 and 5 years old. Mothers' and psychiatrists' reports of children's problems at age 5 were more similar than at age 2, and there was no “value added” by psychiatrists' evaluations. Both mothers' and psychiatrists' reports of children's problems were related to risk factors of attachment insecurity and poor parenting, but mothers' reports, relative to psychiatrists', were more closely related to difficult temperament and mothers' own dysphoric functioning, whereas psychiatrists' reports were more closely related to child's gender.
Differential effects of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane analogs, chlordecone, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on establishment of pregnancy in the hypophysectomized rat.

AbstractMany of the organochlorine pesticides have been shown to elicit estrogenic responses in laboratory animals. Two estrogenic actions, initiation of implantation and maintenance of pregnancy, were examined in progesterone-primed, delayed-implanting, hypophysectomized rats exposed to several polychlorinated hydrocarbons. The insecticide P,P′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was nearly devoid of estrogenic activity for initiating implantation, as was a dichloro analog, 1.1-dichloro-2-[p-chlorophenyl],2-[o-chlorophenyl]ethane (O,P′-DDD), but another such analog, 1,1-dichloro-2-(p-chlorophenyl),2-(o-chlorophenyl)ethylene (O.P′-DDE), was nearly as estrogenic as the O,P′-DDT isomer of DDT and the methoxylated analog methoxychlor. The latter three compounds not only initiated implantation, but maintained pregnancy when given in large (200 mg/kg) and repeated doses. Another insecticide, chlordecone (Kepone) was more estrogenic than any of the DDT analogs and maintained pregnancy with a single dose of 50...
Algorithm and Data Optimization Techniques for Scaling to Massively Threaded Systems

A study of the implementation patterns among massively threaded applications for many-core GPUs reveals that each of the seven most commonly used algorithm and data optimization techniques can enhance the performance of applicable kernels by 2 to 10× in current processors while also improving future scalability.
Planning,Climate Change, and Transportation: Thoughts on Policy Analysis

According to a politician, writer and commentator, there is nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos. Despite that commonsense warning, the author’s comments are partly intended to find the middle ground that is supported by theory and empirical evidence. More importantly the author wants to clarify concepts that were unclear or misused in previous articles in this edition. In doing so the author offers insights into what research and planning can contribute to the climate change with regards to the transportation policy debate. The authors views on climate change, vehicle miles of travel and greenhouse gases are also discussed.
PHOTOSYNTHETIC CHLORELLA MUTANTS

PARTICULARLY SUITED to the study of physiological genetics and the pathways of biosynthesis is the method of producing mutations which result in the loss of the ability of the organism to effect the synthesis of essential cellular constituents. The method was introduced by Beadle and Tatum (1941) and represents one of the more recent approaches in studying biosyntheses. By this method we have not only gained a keener insight of the genetic control of biochemical reactions but have also increased our knowledge of the biosynthesis of vitamins and amino acids. Since biochemical reactions of molds and bacteria have been studied successfully with this method the question arose whether it could also be adapted for the study of photosynthesis. If by the p\roduction of mutations, blocks could be produced in the photosynthetic mechanism of a green plant, it is possible that compounds involved in photosynthesis could be identified. The work reported here deals with the isolation of Chlorella mutants which require a source of reduced carbon for growth, and experiments to find ifthey are blocked in the photosynthetic mechanism. A brief summary of this work was published previously (Davis, 1948). PRODUCTION AND ISOLATION OF MUTANT STRAINS. -Cultures of the green alga Chlorella sp. were obtained from Dr. Hempstead Castle of Yale University who isolated the organism and obtained it in pure culture from a single cell. Cell suspensions in quartz tubes were irradiated with ultraviolet light while being shaken. The irradiation time was varied from 1-30 min. The medium, to be referred to as the complete medium, in which the cells were irradiated had the following formula: NH4NO3, 0.1 g.; KH2PO4, 0.04 g.; MgSO4, 0.04 g.; CaCl2, 0.02 g.; microelement solution (Burkholder and Moyer, 1943), 0.5 ml.; glucose, 10 g.; tryptone, 4.5 g.; yeast extract, 0.36 g.; vitamin solution (Beadle and Tatum, 1945), 5 ml.; distilled water, to make 1 liter. Complete medium dilution plates were made of the irradiated suspeinsions and placed under continuous light. Colonies were picked from plates containing 0.1 per cent of the number of colonies on non-irradiated control plates and transferred to complete medium slants. Four hundred and fifty-nine isolates were made. After cultures were established transfers were made to an inorganic nutrient solution (minimal medium). This solution contained the inorganic compornents of the complete medium at the concentrations listed. Inability to grow in the minimal me-
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein complementary deoxyribonucleic acid from human HEP G2 hepatoma cells: predicted protein sequence suggests an IGF binding domain different from those of the IGF-I and IGF-II receptors.

The primary structure of an insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein produced by human HEP G2 hepatoma cells has been deduced from the cDNA sequence. The 234 amino acid protein has a predicted molecular mass of 25,274 and contains a single, distinctive cysteine-rich region. The N-terminal sequence of this protein is quite similar to the limited sequence data available for a rat IGF binding protein produced by BRL-3A cells and suggests a common ancestral origin. In contrast, the HEP G2 IGF binding protein sequence bears no similarity to the N-terminal 15 amino acids of a 53 kilodalton binding protein purified from human plasma. Comparison of full-length protein sequences for the IGFI and IGF-II receptors with that of the HEP G2 IGF binding protein also fails to demonstrate any significant similarities among these three proteins, and suggests that each contains a unique binding domain for the IGF peptides.
Libra: Tailoring SIMD Execution Using Heterogeneous Hardware and Dynamic Configurability

Mobile computing as exemplified by the smart phone has become an integral part of our daily lives. The next generation of these devices will be driven by providing an even richer user experience and compelling capabilities: higher definition multimedia, 3D graphics, augmented reality, games, and voice interfaces. To address these goals, the core computing capabilities of the smart phone must be scaled. However, the energy budgets are increasing at a much lower rate, requiring fundamental improvements in computing efficiency. SIMD accelerators offer the combination of high performance and low energy consumption through low control and interconnect overhead. However, SIMD accelerators are not a panacea. Many applications lack sufficient vector parallelism to effectively utilize a large number of SIMD lanes. Further, the use of symmetric hardware lanes leads to low utilization and high static power dissipation as SIMD width is scaled. To address these inefficiencies, this paper focuses on breaking two traditional rules of SIMD processing: homogeneity and static configuration. The Libra accelerator increases SIMD utility by blurring the divide between vector and instruction parallelism to support efficient execution of a wider range of loops, and it increases hardware utilization through the use of heterogeneous hardware across the SIMD lanes. Experimental results show that the 32-lane Libra outperforms traditional SIMD accelerators by an average of 1.58x performance improvement due to higher loop coverage with 29% less energy consumption through heterogeneous hardware.
Sex-Role Orientation and Fear of Failure in Women

155 female students in introductory psychology responded to a modified TAT, a role-orientation scale, and a level-of-aspiration task to test the utility of the Birney, Burdick, and Teevan (1969) model of fear-of-failure motivation in predicting the behavior of females who accept culturally-defined, masculine achievement goals as personally relevant. Subjects were classified as high or low in fear-of-failure motivation, as traditional or nontraditional in sex-role orientation, and as having either defensive or nondefensive level-of-aspiration goals. Contrary to hypothesis, no difference was found between high fear-of-failure traditional and nontraditional females in setting defensive goals.
Life history migrations of the amphidromous river shrimp Macrobrachium ohione from a continental large river system

Abstract The hypothesis of an amphidromous life history pattern, with a female hatching migration from the river to an estuary, larval development in saltwater, and a return upriver migration by postlarvae (juveniles) was tested in the river shrimp Macrobrachium ohione in the Atchafalaya River, Louisiana, U.S.A. in 2006. A possible female migration from the river to the Atchafalaya Delta estuary (AD) to hatch incubated embryos was tested by comparing reproductive status of females sampled monthly from stations 146 km (Butte La Rose = BLR), 42 km (Berwick = BR), and 0 km from AD. Females only occurred in traps at AD only during the reproductive season (March to August) but were present throughout the year at other stations. The highest percentages of prehatching females occurred at the AD and BR stations while prehatching females were relatively rare at the upriver BLR station. Salt water requirements for larval development were tested by incubating first stage larvae from individual hatches in freshwater ...
The NASA-Goddard Multi-scale Modeling Framework-Land Information System: Global land/atmosphere interaction with resolved convection

The present generation of general circulation models (GCM) use parameterized cumulus schemes and run at hydrostatic grid resolutions. To improve the representation of cloud-scale moist processes and land-atmosphere interactions, a global, Multi-scale Modeling Framework (MMF) coupled to the Land Information System (LIS) has been developed at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. The MMF-LIS has three components, a finite-volume (fv) GCM (Goddard Earth Observing System Ver. 4, GEOS-4), a 2D cloud-resolving model (Goddard Cumulus Ensemble, GCE), and the LIS, representing the large-scale atmospheric circulation, cloud processes, and land surface processes, respectively. The non-hydrostatic GCE model replaces the single-column cumulus parameterization of fvGCM. The model grid is composed of an array of fvGCM gridcells each with a series of embedded GCE models. A horizontal coupling strategy, GCE @? fvGCM @? Coupler @? LIS, offered significant computational efficiency, with the scalability and I/O capabilities of LIS permitting land-atmosphere interactions at cloud-scale. Global simulations of 2007-2008 and comparisons to observations and reanalysis products were conducted. Using two different versions of the same land surface model but the same initial conditions, divergence in regional, synoptic-scale surface pressure patterns emerged within two weeks. The sensitivity of large-scale circulations to land surface model physics revealed significant functional value to using a scalable, multi-model land surface modeling system in global weather and climate prediction.
Coupling Specificity between Somatostatin Receptor sst2A and G Proteins: Isolation of the Receptor-G Protein Complex with a Receptor Antibody

Somatostatin initiates its actions via a family of seven-transmembrane domain receptors. Of the five somatostatin receptor genes cloned, sst2 exists as two splice variants with the sst2A isoform being predominantly expressed. This receptor is widely distributed in endocrine, exocrine, and neuronal cells, as well as in hormonally responsive tumors, and leads to inhibition of secretion, electrical excitability, and cell proliferation. To investigate the specificity of signal transduction by the sst2A receptor, we developed antibodies against two overlapping peptides located within the C terminus of the receptor protein: peptide 2C(SG), containing amino acids 334-348, and peptide 2C(ER), containing amino acids 339-359. Although antibodies to both peptides bound the inducing antigen with high affinity, only the antibodies against peptide 2C(ER) precipitated the receptor. The best antibody, R2-88, precipitated about 80% of the sst2A receptor-ligand complex solubilized from transfected CHO cells and was specific for the sst2A receptor isotype. Addition of GTPgammaS (10 microM) to the immunoprecipitated ligand-sst2A receptor complex markedly accelerated ligand dissociation, indicating that G proteins remained functionally associated with the receptor in the immunoprecipitate. Analysis of the G proteins coprecipitated with the sst2A receptor by immunoblotting with G protein antibodies showed that both G(alpha) and G(beta) subunits were bound to the hormone-receptor complex. Immunoprecipitation of the receptor was not affected by the presence of bound ligand. However, G protein subunits were coprecipitated only with the hormone-occupied receptor. Thus, the unoccupied receptor has low affinity for G proteins, and hormone binding stabilizes the receptor-G protein complex. Use of subtype-specific G protein antisera further showed that G alpha(i1), G alpha(i2), and G alpha(i3) were complexed with the sst2A receptor whereas Galpha(o), G alpha(z), and G alpha(q) were not. Together, these studies demonstrate that the sst2A receptor interacts selectively with G alpha(i) proteins in a hormone-dependent manner. The finding that this receptor couples to all three G alpha(i) subunits may help explain how somatostatin can regulate multiple signaling pathways.
On 3D modeling of seismic wave propagation via a structured parallel multifrontal direct Helmholtz solver

We consider the modeling of (polarized) seismic wave propagation on a rectangular domain via the discretization and solution of the inhomogeneous Helmholtz equation in 3D, by exploiting a parallel multifrontal sparse direct solver equipped with Hierarchically Semi-Separable (HSS) structure to reduce the computational complexity and storage. In particular, we are concerned with solving this equation on a large domain, for a large number of different forcing terms in the context of seismic problems in general, and modeling in particular. We resort to a parsimonious mixed grid finite differences scheme for discretizing the Helmholtz operator and Perfect Matched Layer boundaries, resulting in a non-Hermitian matrix. We make use of a nested dissection based domain decomposition, and introduce an approximate direct solver by developing a parallel HSS matrix compression, factorization, and solution approach. We cast our massive parallelization in the framework of the multifrontal method. The assembly tree is partitioned into local trees and a global tree. The local trees are eliminated independently in each processor, while the global tree is eliminated through massive communication. The solver for the inhomogeneous equation is a parallel hybrid between multifrontal and HSS structure. The computational complexity associated with the factorization is almost linear in the size, n say, of the matrix, viz. between O(nlogn )a ndO(n 4/3 logn), while the storage is almost linear as well, between O(n )a ndO(nlogn). We exploit the use of a regular (Cartesian) mesh common in many seismic applications.
An autonomous cooperative system for high speed sorting systems

In a high speed sorting system, the ability of the control system to optimally utilize the available resources and to react to changes in a timely manner determines the economic viability of that system. An Autonomous Cooperative System (ACS) for flexible control of high speed sorting systems is presented. Each section of the sorting system is provided with sufficient intelligence and autonomy to flexibly control the operations of the physical equipment. Control is carried out while the overall operation of the system is optimized through cooperation among the controlled sections. The operation of the sorting system is observed during conditions of normal operation and equipment failures. The results show how an ACS can be used to reduce the impact of perturbations in sorting systems.
Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Native American Women Inter‐Tribal Heart Project Participants

Objective To examine cardiovascular disease risk factors among adult Native American women Inter‐Tribal Heart Project participants. Design A secondary analysis used controllable risk factors identified by the American Heart Association as the framework to examine cardiovascular disease risk factors in this population. Setting Three Native American Reservations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Participants 866 adult Native American women who participated in the Inter‐Tribal Heart Project cardiovascular health research study. Main outcomes measures Descriptive, correlational, bivariate, and multivariate analysis provided findings on cardiovascular disease risk factors in this population. Results Cardiovascular disease risk factors are high among this population. For every additional risk factor, the odds of self‐reported cardiovascular disease increases 1.2 times(95% confidence interval: 1.1‐1.3). Participants who self‐reported cardiovascular disease were older, less educated, employed less, and reported more Indian ancestry(higher blood quantum) and had higher prevalence rates of diabetes, higher systolic blood pressure, and body mass index in comparison to women who self‐reported an absence of cardiovascular disease. Conclusions A key to decreasing cardiovascular disease lies in preventing and controlling cardiovascular disease risk factors with concerted efforts specific to the culture and life ways of the Native American woman.
Characterizing a Complex J2EE Workload: A Comprehensive Analysis and Opportunities for Optimizations

While past studies of relatively simple Java benchmarks like SPECjvm98 and SPECjbb2000 have been integral in advancing the server industry, this paper presents an analysis of a significantly more complex 3-Tier J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) commercial workload, SPECjAppServer2004. Understanding the nature of such commercial workloads is critical to develop the next generation of servers and identify promising directions for systems and software research. In this study, we validate and disprove several assumptions commonly made about Java workloads. For instance, on a tuned system with an appropriately sized heap, the fraction of CPU time spent on garbage collection for this complex workload is small (<2%) compared to commonly studied client-side Java benchmarks. Unlike small benchmarks, this workload has a rather "flat" method profile with no obvious hot spots. Therefore, new performance analysis techniques and tools to identify opportunities for optimizations are needed because the traditional 90/10 rule of thumb does not apply. We evaluate hardware performance monitor data and use insights to motivate future research. We find that this workload has a relatively high CPI and a branch misprediction rate. We observe that almost one half of executed instructions are loads and stores and that the data working set is large. There are very few cache-to-cache "modified data" transfers which limits opportunities for intelligent thread co-scheduling. We note that while using large pages for a Java heap is a simple and effective way to reduce TLB misses and improve performance, there is room to reduce translation misses further by placing executable code into large pages. We use statistical correlation to quantify the relationship between various hardware events and an overall system performance. We find that CPI is strongly correlated with branch mispredictions, translation misses, instruction cache misses, and bursty data cache misses that trigger data prefetching. We note that target address mispredictions for indirect branches (corresponding to Java virtual method calls) are strongly correlated with instruction cache misses. Our observations can be used by hardware and runtime architects to estimate potential benefits of performance enhancements being considered
Gouging and Fracture of Engine Containment Structure under Fragment Impact

This paper presents a numerical study of the failure response of an aircraft engine containment panel obliquely impacted by a titanium turbine fragment. A three-branch Bao-Wierzbicki fracture criterion is first calibrated for the target material (2219-T851 aluminum alloy) by performing tensile tests on round bars and upsetting tests on short cylinders. With this fracture model, the finite-element simulation of the impact test successfully captures the formation of an indentation/gouging channel on the proximal surface of the panel and the growth of a crack on the distal surface. An extensive parametric study is conducted on the effect of fracture criteria, mesh size, projectile pitch angles, and finite-element codes. Deficiencies of the Johnson-Cook and the constant critical strain fracture model are identified. It is found that the numerically predicted residual thickness and mass loss of the panel are sensitive to the magnitude of the pitch angle of the projectile. A large difference in calculated energ...
Elaborated Reichardt detectors

The elaborated Reichardt detector (ERD) proposed by van Santen and Sperling [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. A1, 451 ( 1984)], based on Reichardt’s motion detector [ Z. Naturforsch. Teil B12, 447 ( 1957)], is an opponent system of two mirror-image subunits. Each subunit receives inputs from two spatiotemporal filters (receptive fields), multiplies the filter outputs, and temporally integrates the product. Subunit outputs are algebraically subtracted to yield ERD output. ERD’s can correctly indicate direction of motion of drifting sine waves of any spatial and temporal frequency. Here we prove that with a careful choice of either temporal or spatial filters, the subunits can themselves become quite similar or equivalent to the whole ERD; with suitably chosen filters, the ERD is equivalent to an elaborated version of a motion detector proposed by Watson and Ahumada [NASA Tech. Memo. 84352 (1983)]; and for every choice of filters, the ERD is fully equivalent to the detector proposed by Adelson and Bergen [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. A2, 284– 299 ( 1985)]. Some equivalences between the motion detection (in x, t) by ERD’s and spatial pattern detection (in x, y) are demonstrated. The responses of the ERD and its variants to drifting sinusoidal gratings, to other sinusoidally modulated stimuli (on–off gratings, counterphase flicker), and to combinations of sinusoids are derived and compared with data. ERD responses to two-frame motion displays are derived, and several new experimental predictions are tested experimentally. It is demonstrated that a system containing ERD’s of various sizes can solve the correspondence problem in two-frame motion of random-bar stimuli and shows the predicted phase dependencies when confronted with displays composed of triple sinusoids combined either in amplitude modulation phase or in quasi-frequency modulation phase. Finally, it is shown that, while the ERD may in some instances give larger responses to nonrigid than to rigid displacements, the subunits (and hence the ERD) are especially well behaved with continuous movement of rigid or smoothly deforming objects.
Departures from Gibrat's law, discontinuities and city size distributions

Cities are complex, self-organising, evolving systems and the emergent patterns they manifest provide insight into the dynamic processes in urban systems. This article analyses city size distributions, by decade, from the south-eastern region of the US for the years 1860—1990. It determines if the distributions are clustered into size classes and documents changes in the pattern of size classes over time. A statistical hypothesis test was also performed to detect dependence between city size and growth using discrete probability calculations under the assumption of Gibrat's law. The city size distributions for the south-eastern region of the US were discontinuous, with cities clustering into distinct size classes. The analysis also identified departures from Gibrat's law, indicating variable growth rates at different scales.
Experimental optimization of confined air jet impingement on a pin fin heat sink

A variety of nozzle configurations were tested to characterize and optimize the performance of confined impinging air jets used in conjunction with a pin-fin heat sink. Four single nozzles of different diameters and two multiple-nozzle arrays were studied at a fixed nozzle-to-target spacing, for different turbulent Reynolds numbers (5000/spl les/Re/spl les/20000). Variations in the output power level of the heat source and nozzle-to-target spacing were found to have only modest effects on heat transfer at a fixed Reynolds number. Enhancement factors were computed for the heat sink relative to a bare surface, and were in the range of 2.8-9.7, with the largest value being obtained for the largest single nozzle (12.7 mm diameter). Average heat transfer coefficients and thermal resistance values are reported for the heat sink as a function of Reynolds number, air flow rate, pumping power, and pressure drop, to aid in optimizing the jet impingement configuration for given design constraints.
MULTIPLE PRIMARY MALIGNANCIES IN RENAL CELL CARCINOMA

AbstractPurpose: We determine the incidence and nature of multiple primary malignancies in patients with renal cell carcinoma, and whether these patients have an increased risk of a second primary malignancy.Materials and Methods: Between July 1989 and January 1997, 551 patients underwent an operation for renal cell carcinoma. The incidence of other primary malignancies was determined and classified as antecedent, synchronous or subsequent. The observed number of subsequent malignancies after diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma was compared to the expected number based on age, race and sex specific 1990 to 1994 incidence rates from the United States Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data using the Poisson test.Results: The number of primary malignancies, including cutaneous malignancies, was at least 1 in 148 patients (26.9%), at least 2 in 34 (6.2%), at least 3 in 6 (1.1%) and 4 in 1 (0.2%). Other malignancies were antecedent in 85 cases (45.0%), synchronous in 74 (39.4%) and subsequent in 30 (16....
Kobayashi, Carathéodory and Sibony metric

In this article, we estimate the boundary behaviour of the Sibony metric near a pseudoconcave boundary point. We show that the metric blows up at a different rate than the Kobayashi metric.
Antihypertensive Therapy with Once-daily Administration of Terazosin, a New Alpha1-adrenergic-receptor Blocker

The antihypertensive activity of terazosin, an investigational alpha1-adrenergic-receptor blocker, and its effect on blood lipids were compared with placebo in a double-blind study. After a 3-week placebo baseline period, patients were randomized to receive terazosin (n = 22) or placebo (n = 16). The dose of terazosin was titrated over 2 weeks to a maintenance dosage of 10 mg once daily for 4 weeks. Antihypertensive efficacy was assessed: (1) at the end of the 24-hour dosing interval by comparing the average blood pressure (BP) after 3 and 4 weeks of maintenance therapy to the average BP after 2 and 3 weeks of placebo therapy, and (2) for 3 hours after drug ingestion at the final visit in comparison to the predose BP at that visit. At the end of the 24-hour dosing interval, 10 mg of terazosin reduced the mean supine systolic BP from 155.6 to 152.2 mm Hg and mean supine diastolic BP from 101.9 to 99.0 mm Hg (p < 0.05). During the 3 hours after drug ingestion, mean supine systolic and diastolic pressures decreased maximally from 151.8 to 142.7 mm Hg (p < 0.05) and from 99.5 to 91.0 mm Hg (p < 0.05) respectively. No supine BP reduction differed significantly from the placebo response. During terazosin therapy there was a nonsignificant increase in mean body weight of 1.4 ± 2.9 kg and no change in blood lipids. Thus the drug demonstrated greater antihypertensive activity 1–3 hours after ingestion than at the end of the 24-hour dosing interval. The role of terazosin 10 mg once daily in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension remains to be established.
Single-phase PFC control using PWM-based multipliers

This paper presents a control design for single-phase power-factor-correction (PFC) converters using PWM-based multipliers. Multiplication between the input voltage and the output voltage compensator output is usually required for generating a reference for the input current in single-phase PFC control. Conventional PFC control ICs use linear multiplier circuits that have very limited operation range and are sensitive to noise. The proposed multiplier design converts the sensed input voltage into a constant-frequency pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal. The voltage compensator output is then integrated by an integrator with a reset switch controlled by the PWM signal, producing a sampled-data output which is proportional to the required multiplication of the two signals. The method can be applied to different PFC control methods and provides a more cost-effective implementation than digital control. The proposed design is demonstrated on a 500 W dual-boost single-phase PFC converter using nonlinear average current control.