cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural Performance of a Compressively Loaded Foam-Core Hat-Stiffened Textile Composite Panel

A structurally efficient hat-stiffened panel concept that utilizes a structural foam as a stiffener core material has been designed and developed for aircraft primary structural applications. This stiffener concept is fabricated from textile composite material forms with a resin transfer molding process. This foam-filled hat-stiffener concept is structurally more efficient than most other prismatically stiffened panel configurations in a load range that is typical for both fuselage and wing structures. The panel design is based on woven/stitched and braided graphite-fiber textile preforms, an epoxy resin system, and Rohacell foam core. The structural response of this panel design was evaluated for its buckling and postbuckling behavior with and without low-speed impact damage. The results from single-stiffener and multi-stiffener specimen tests suggest that this structural concept responds to loading as anticipated and has excellent damage tolerance characteristics compared to a similar panel design made from preimpregnated graphite-epoxy tape material.
Missing data in the 2 x 2 table: patterns and likelihood-based analysis for cross-sectional studies with supplemental sampling

Standard measures of crude association in the context of a cross-sectional study are the risk difference, relative risk and odds ratio as derived from a 2× 2 table. Most such studies are subject to missing data on disease, exposure, or both, introducing bias into the usual complete-case analysis. We describe several scenarios distinguished by the manner in which missing data arise, and for each we adjust the natural multinomial likelihood to properly account for missing data. The situations presented allow for increasing levels of generality with regard to the missing data mechanism. The final case, quite conceivable in epidemiologic studies, assumes that the probability of missing exposure depends on true exposure and disease status, as well as upon whether disease status is missing (and conversely for the probability of missing disease information). When parameters relating to the missing data process are inestimable without strong assumptions, we propose maximum likelihood analysis subsequent to collecting supplemental data in the spirit of a validation study. Analytical results give insight into the bias inherent in complete-case analysis for each scenario, and numerical results illustrate the performance of likelihood-based point and interval estimates in the most general case. Adjustment for potential confounders via stratified analysis is also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fully automated liquid extraction‐based surface sampling and ionization using a chip‐based robotic nanoelectrospray platform

A fully automated liquid extraction-based surface sampling device utilizing an Advion NanoMate chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization system is reported. Analyses were enabled for discrete spot sampling by using the Advanced User Interface of the current commercial control software. This software interface provided the parameter control necessary for the NanoMate robotic pipettor to both form and withdraw a liquid microjunction for sampling from a surface. The system was tested with three types of analytically important sample surface types, viz., spotted sample arrays on a MALDI plate, dried blood spots on paper, and whole-body thin tissue sections from drug dosed mice. The qualitative and quantitative data were consistent with previous studies employing other liquid extraction-based surface sampling techniques.
SKY system for az/el telescope control

We control the Keck ten meter telescope with a point-and-click interface called `SKY.' We choose a position either by entering coordinates directly, by reading a star list, or by searching one of two on-line catalogs. Targets can be previewed using current or future sidereal time. SKY provides instrument specific rotator control, usually by finding a guide star within the available annulus and then directing the rotator to the appropriate position angle. All this is done by pointing and clicking, without retyping coordinates and angles. A preview popup displays time-to-limit information. SKY features a stand alone mode for planning and training at the observer's home institution.
Comparison of Narrative and Expository Writing in Students With and Without Language-Learning Disabilities

Purpose Students with language-learning disabilities (LLD) demonstrate difficulties with written language, especially in the areas of productivity, complexity, and grammar. It is not clear how these deficits affect their performance on high-stakes tests, such as those required by the No Child Left Behind Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). This study used writing samples to compare how students with and without LLD scored on analytic writing measures that are typically used in writing research and on a more holistic measure of writing, the six-traits writing rubric (STWR; Education Northwest, 2006), which is used in high-stakes writing assessments. Method Fifty-six 4th and 5th graders with typical development (TD) or LLD produced 1 narrative and 1 expository writing sample. Measures of oral language ability and handwriting accuracy–speed were also obtained. The narrative and expository samples were scored using 5–6 separate analytic measures and 6 separate traits on the STWR. Results On narratives, ...
Three-dimensional structural architecture and evolution of the Eocene pull-apart basin, central Maracaibo basin, Venezuela

Abstract Three-dimensional seismic mapping of interpretative sub-surface time slice sections, incorporating age data and detailed structural observations places constraints on the structural architecture and stratigraphic evolution of the Icotea pull-apart basin in the central Maracaibo basin, Venezuela. All four fault-bounded sides of the Icotea basin, its ∼3-km-thick Eocene basin fill of clastic sediments and faults pre-dating the opening of the basin can be mapped in three dimensions. The development of the Icotea basin provides an excellent observational basis for understanding the structural history of three sets of regionally extensive faults and testing two models for the formation of pull-apart basins in general. Three main fault trends produced at different periods in the formation of the Cretaceous–Recent Maracaibo basin are mapped using 3D seismic data in the central part of the basin: (1) N–NE-striking normal faults, including the Icotea fault; these faults formed originally during Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous rifting and reactivated as left-lateral strike–slip faults during late Paleocene–Eocene convergent deformation between the Caribbean and South American plates; (2) NW striking faults formed by late Paleocene–Eocene overthrusting of the Caribbean plate and downward flexure of the South American plate to create a major foreland basin depocenter; and (3) NE-striking normal faults, of pre-Cretaceous age, were reactivated during late Paleocene–Eocene plate convergence. Three-dimensional architecture of the Icotea basin interpreted from five time slices through the basin and its flank areas supports the simple pull-apart model for the Eocene opening of the Icotea basin. The amount of extension across the suite of normal faults ranges between 0.8 and 2.25 km. This range of offset is consistent with some previous estimates of minor left-lateral displacement along the Icotea fault but is inconsistent with either low-angle or high-angle thrusting during Eocene time, as inferred from previous interpretations of widely spaced two-dimensional seismic lines. The normal faults that formed the pull-apart basin reactivated pre-existing faults due to plate flexure.
Wealth, Stereotypes, and Issues of Prestige: The College Choice Experience of Mexican American Students Within Their Community Context

Utilizing the notion of community cultural wealth, this study focuses on the various forms of capital that Mexican American students from the South Texas Border draw upon within their community to ...
Gardner's syndrome, colon cancer, and sarcoma

Soft tissue involvement is a major component of Gardner's syndrome. While these are frequently skin inclusion cysts, some patients exhibit fibrous dysplasias. These can vary from severe fibrosis, frequently intra-abdominal and causing bowel obstruction, to desmoid tumors and fibrosarcomas, both of which can be progressive and life threatening. This aspect of the syndrome is poorly understood, but must be carefully evaluated in selecting treatment for the associated polyposis coli.
Repurchases of convertible preferred stock and shareholder wealth

Abstract In this paper we provide the first comprehensive examination of the stock price reaction to announcements of convertible preferred stock repurchases over the 1981 to 2005 period. We document a positive and significant average common stock abnormal return of 3.27% around announcements of these repurchases. We test signaling and free cash flow explanations for the observed wealth effects by studying abnormal returns and changes in operating performance around repurchase announcements. We find that abnormal returns are positively related to size of repurchases and managerial ownership. We find no evidence of higher stock price reactions for low-q and high free cash flow firms. In addition, we find significant improvements in accounting profitability subsequent to repurchases, but not for low-q firms. Collectively, our results are most consistent with the signaling hypothesis.
Solubilities of vegetable oils in aqueous ethanol and ethanol-hexane mixtures

The solubility of vegetable oils in aqueous ethanol depends on the concentration of alcohol and temperature of the system. At ordinary temperatures even absolute alcohol is not a good solvent for vegetable oils since the solubility is even less than 10 g. of oil per 100 g. of alcohol. Mowrah, safflower, peanut, and cottonseed oils are soluble in absolute alcohol at 70°C. All the oils investigated are found to be miscible above the boiling point of alcohol even if the concentration is 98%. In 95% ethanol they are miscible between 90° and 100°C. Addition of a good solvent, like n-hexane, increases the solubility of oils, and the solubility temperatures are lowered. From the results obtained by various methods of solubility determination it is found that the apparatus employed in the present work yields more reliable results by eliminating the visual observation of turbidity temperatures, ensuring vigorous stirring and allowing sufficient amount of time to attain equilibrium conditions in determining the solubilities of vegetable oils.
Experiments in Filtration of the Virus of Avian Molluscum.

SummaryBy following the method of Mudd it was found that the virus of Avian molluscum was not obtained in filtrates through Berkfeld V, Nand W types, Mandler, Seitz and neutral plaster filters. In one instance it was obtained in Chamberland LI (bis) filtrates. Adult hens were used in each case as test animals. After tryptic digestion the virus was not found in a filtrate from a Berk-feld V filter. This was also true with collodion membranes which would retain a precipitinogen.
The Elimination of the Bursa of Fabricius and Reduction of Antibody Production in Birds from Eggs Dipped in Hormone Solutions

Abstract IT HAS recently been reported by Meyer (1959) that .63 mg. of 19-nor-testosterone in .1 ml. of corn oil, when injected on the fifth day of incubation into the eggs of chickens will inhibit the development of the bursa of Fabricius. Since the importance of the bursa in antibody production has been revealed in the data of Glick et al. (1956), Glick (1958), and Chang et al. (1957, 1958), we decided to investigate further the effects on the bursa of exposing embryos to sex hormones. Seltzer's (1956) method of introducing these hormones into the egg by dipping the fertile egg into hormonal solution was employed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four hundred and thirty-two and three hundred and sixty New Hampshire eggs were set in trials 1 and 2, respectively. In each trial the eggs were divided into 5 lots of 72 eggs each. The eggs were dipped on the third day …
Donor-derived small cell lung carcinoma in a kidney transplant recipient.

BACKGROUND Transplantation of donor–derived malignancies during organ transplantation fortunately is very rare. Discontinuation of immunosuppressive medications under these circumstances has previously resulted in complete tumor rejection. Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production may result in Cushing syndrome and is not an uncommon paraneoplastic feature of small cell carcinoma of the lung. Theoretically, in the organ transplantation setting, the resulting high cortisol levels could suppress a tumor-rejection immune response. However, to the authors' knowledge, no such a clinical scenario has been described in the literature published to date. METHODS A 25–year–old living related kidney transplant recipient presented with Cushing syndrome 32 months after transplantation. The donor had been diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the lung 22 months earlier. On further evaluation, the kidney recipient was diagnosed with donor–derived small cell lung carcinoma of the transplanted kidney. She was found to have extensive disease involving the liver and retroperitoneum. Despite discontinuation of immunosuppressive medications, the disease progressed and cortisol levels remained elevated during 6 weeks of observation. RESULTS The patient received six cycles of cisplatin and etoposide, which resulted in resolution of her hypercortisolemia and a complete remission of her donor–derived small cell carcinoma. At last follow-up, she was 12 months from completing her therapy and continued in complete remission. CONCLUSIONS Donor–derived small cell carcinoma and ectopic ACTH production can occur in a patient after kidney transplantation. Cancer 2001;92:2429–34. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
Hydronic radiant cooling — preliminary assessment☆

Abstract A significant amount of the electrical energy used to cool non-residential buildings equipped with all-air systems is drawn by the fans that transport the cool air through the thermal distribution system. Hydronic systems reduce the amount of air transported through the building by separating the tasks of ventilation and thermal conditioning. Due to the physical properties of water, hydronic systems can transport a given amount of thermal energy and use less than 5% of the otherwise necessary fan energy. This improvement alone significantly reduces the energy consumption and peak-power requirement of the air conditioning system. Radiant cooling has never penetrated the US markets significantly. The scope of this survey is to show the advantages of radiant cooling in combination with hydronic thermal distribution systems, as compared to the commonly-used all-air systems. The report describes the development, thermal comfort issues, and cooling performance of the hydronic systems. The peak-power requirement is also compared for hydronic systems and conventional all-air systems.
Interaction of gases with lunar materials (12001): Textural changes induced by sorbed water

Abstract The details of the mechanism by which water is sorbed on lunar soils has been further elucidated with a somewhat more detailed examination of an Apollo 12 sample (12001). The generality of the reactions is shown to extend to this sample. The inherent external surface accepts sorbed vapors in a rather classical manner commensurate with the existence of 0.34 m 2 /g. In addition, the water vapor penetrates beyond this surface into inner regions, where an additional 0.63 m 2 /g is generated, whereupon additional water vapor adsorbs. Both the inner and outer area chemisorb water on which additional physisorption occurs. Nitrogen sorption serves as a nonspecific sorbate as an aid in evaluating the geometric changes induced by thermal and/or water reactions. The inner surfaces adsorb nitrogen only when the chemisorbed water is removed. These restricted avenues are envisioned as laminar hydrous alumino-silicate (induced by water vapor incorporation) and/or “ink bottles” formed by water vapor attack along “ion spike” radiation damage tracks. It is relatively certain that the sorbed water has allowed atomic reorganization of the disordered surface regions by one of these mechanisms. The laminar structure, akin to terrestrial clays, seems to be the predominant state for this sample, wherein lies the 2.7-fold increase in sorption capacity. The surface also shows an appreciable affinity for carbon dioxide. This appears to be cooperative phenomena to form a surface bicarbonate specie, involving prechemisorbed water.
Interest groups, campaign contributions, and probabilistic voting

This essay develops a simple model to analyze the impact of campaign contributions on electoral-policy decisions of candidates for office. Interest groups here are firms that select contributions under the assumption that candidates' policies and opposing groups' donations remain unaltered. Candidates, however, recognize that their policy choices affect contributions. Campaign contributions are used by candidates to affect policy-oriented voters' perceptions of candidates' positions. In this framework the introduction of campaign contributions may affect candidates' electoral policies, and if they do then they benefit surely exactly one of the two interest groups.
Chemistry of (cycloheptatrienone)tricarbonyliron and (cycloheptadienone)tricarbonyliron in highly acidic media

Abstract In trifluoroacetic acid, protonation of (2,3,4,5-tetrahapto-cycloheptatrienone)tricarbonyliron is stereoselective and occurs from the exo side of the ring at a coordinated double bond [C(2)]. In sulfuric acid, the protonation is non-stereoselective and probably occurs from either the exo or the endo side of the ring. Hydride transfer from triethylsilane to the protonated species occurs from the exo side of the ring and affords (2,3,4,5-tetrahapto-cycloheptadienone)tricarbonyliron. Protonation of this dienone-Fe(CO)3 complex in either trifluoroacetic or sulfuric acid occurs at the oxygen atom of the ketone group.
Beyond Resistance and Collaboration: Amadu Bamba and the Murids of Senegal

Amadou Bamba Mbacke (1850-1927), heros de la resistance contre les Francais au Senegal, est venere par les musulmans. Il est le fondateur de la fraternite islamique appelee Muriddiyya
A spatial sampling based 13.3 Gs/s sample-and-hold circuit

This paper presents a high-speed sample-and-hold circuit (SHC) for very fast signal analysis. Spatial sampling techniques are exploited with CMOS transmission lines in a 0.13 μm standard CMOS process. The SHC includes on chip coplanar waveguides for signal and clock pulse transmission, a clock pulse generator, and three elementary samplers periodically (L = 7.2 mm) placed along the signal propagation line. The SHC samples at 13.3 Gs/s. The circuit occupies an area of 1660 μm × 820 μm and consumes ∼6 mW at a supply voltage of 1.2 V. The obtained input bandwidth is ∼11.5 GHz.
The Case ∣ Triple acid–base disorder after drug abuse

A 56-year-old male was presented to our medical center after a suicide attempt. His past medical history was significant for type 2 diabetes requiring insulin, depression treated with paroxetine, and previous intravenous drug abuse on methadone maintenance. On the night before admission he had ingested an unknown quantity of 400 mg tablets of quetiapine and 90 mg of methadone. On the way to the hospital, he was given naloxone 0.4 mg and intravenous fluids. At presentation to the hospital, he was afebrile, with blood pressure 96/56 mm Hg, heart rate of 110 per min, and respiratory rate of 40 per min. On physical examination, he was drowsy with dilated pupils, clear lungs, regular heart sounds without murmurs, and decreased bowel sounds. His labs revealed serum sodium 119 mequiv./l, chloride 70 mequiv./l, potassium 3.8 mequiv./l, bicarbonate 28 mequiv./l, calcium 8.2 mg/100 ml, phosphorus 3.7 mequiv./l (subsequently 1.7 mequiv./l), blood urea nitrogen 64 mg/100 ml, and creatinine of 1.8 mg/100 ml (up from 0.8 mg/100 ml the week prior). His anion gap was calculated at 23.5. His arterial blood gas revealed a pH of 7.86, a PCO2 of 14 mm Hg and PO2 178 mm Hg.
Growth, corporate policies and the investment opportunity set

Abstract Gaver and Gaver take on a difficult project with their paper, and succeed in bringing insight to this important and growing area. The paper is somewhat weakend by the failure to distinguish between equity value growth and asset growth, and by a sample segmentation technique that separates firms into growth and nongrowth subsamples, and finds that the growth firms are larger and substantially more profitable. The paper also fails, as do all the papers in this area, to deal with the fundamental simultaneity between the investment opportunity set and corporate policy decisions.
Drug Usage in College Students as a Function of Racial Classification and Minority Group Status.

The reported drug usage of students attending a large southeastern statewide university system was investigated by use of a 112-item questionnaire and analyzed in terms of racial classification. Of the 24,475 student respondents, 84% reported their racial grouping and were included in this study. Many of the results were not congruent with findings of previously reported research. Black students reported significantly lower usage of alcohol, marihuana, stimulants, and hallucinogens when compared to white students, and furthermore, there were significant differences between most racial groups on five other drug usage levels. The group most often having contact with drugs was the American Indian, and the second highest level was reported by those responding “Other” to the racial classification item. The Oriental and white/Caucasian group reportedly used drugs to a much lesser degree. The reported usage levels of the black/Negro group was among the lowest of the five racial groups on most drugs. Blacks attending predominantly white institutions reported higher, albeit slightly, rates of drug usage than blacks attending predominantly black institutions.
Opportunistic transport for stored video delivery over wireless networks: Optimal anticipative and causal approximations

This paper considers the design of application-layer opportunistic transport mechanisms for stored video over a slowly time-varying wireless channel. We focus on two simple key ideas. The first is that video should be transmitted when the channel capacity is high, e.g., exceeds a threshold; by doing so one can exploit temporal diversity in channel variations to reduce the system utilization as well as energy expenditures. Second, such opportunistic transmissions should be coupled with the status of the user's playback buffer to ensure uninterrupted video playback. We explore how to optimize such systems in several scenarios. We start with the single-user anticipative case (i.e. future channel variations are known) and show that a piecewise constant thresholding scheme is optimal, i.e., minimizes the system utilization without playback buffer starvation. This case not only provides a baseline for the best one can do, but may be applicable in cases where users' mobility is known or predictable, allowing the future channel capacity to be anticipated, e.g., based on history or a navigation system. We then study the multiuser case, where one can exploit not only the future temporal but also multiuser diversity. Finally, we consider the multiuser causal scenario(where the future channel is unknown, but statistics might be inferred) and develop a receiver-oriented adaptive opportunistic video transport mechanism using a stochastic approximation approach. Our simulations show that the proposed schemes can achieve an up to 70% reduction in the system utilization.
USA endometrial cancer projections to 2030: should we be concerned?

ABSTRACT Aim: As the incidence of endometrial cancer (EC) increased considerably since 2007, this study aimed to project the burden of EC to the year 2030. Methods: Multivariate linear regression was used to project EC incidence by modeling trends in EC incidence from 1990 to 2013, while accounting for temporal changes in obesity, hysterectomy and smoking. Results: The best-fitting model predicting EC rates included a time effect plus effects for hysterectomy (12-year lag), severe obesity (3-year lag) and smoking (9-year lag). The best-fitting model projected an increase to 42.13 EC cases per 100,000 by the year 2030, a 55% increase over 2010 EC rates. Conclusion: The projected increase of EC over next 16 years indicates the need for close monitoring of EC trends.
Influence of sensitizer spatial distribution on the dissolution mechanism in diazonaphthoquinone resists

The inhibition mechanism in diazonaphthoquinone positive resists has been widely studied. The ability of the photoactive compound to retard the dissolution of the matrix resin has been attributed to both chemical interactions between resist components as well as spatial distribution of sensitizer in a resist film. Our work has focused on understanding the physical distribution of the photoactive compound on the development behavior of this class of positive resists. We have used Langmuir-Blodgett deposition to fabricate resist structures with highly stratified sensitizer distributions. Dissolution measurements using a quartz crystal microbalance have demonstrated that preferential placement of very thin layers of sensitizer both at the surface of a resist film and embedded between two layers of polymeric resin can significantly affect development.
Health-related quality of life outcomes improve after multilevel surgery in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.

Background: Studies evaluating multilevel surgery to treat spastic deformity and functional deficits in cerebral palsy (CP) usually focus on data from instrumented gait analysis and clinical examination without examining functional and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes. Recently, outcome measures for well-being in children with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders have also been validated specifically for CP. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of multilevel surgery on the function and HRQOL in a group of ambulatory children with CP. Methods: In a multicenter prospective trial, 57 ambulatory children with CP, mean age 9.5 years, underwent multilevel soft tissue surgery to correct sagittal imbalance. Validated clinical outcome measures for HRQOL were administered preoperatively and postoperatively with an average follow-up time of 15.2 months. The functional and psychosocial components of the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI), Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (PedsQL), and the Functional Assessment Questionnaire Walking Score were used. Results: Significant improvements in outcome scores occurred postoperatively in the following: PedsQL parent-total (17.6%; P < 0.001) and parent-physical sections (25.0%; P < 0.001), the Functional Assessment Questionnaire Walking Score (15.3%; P < 0.001), and the PODCI sections for transfers and basic mobility (15.8%; P < 0.001), sports and physical function (23.9%; P = 0.012), and global (12.9%; P < 0.001). Improvements also occurred in the PedsQL child-total (8.4%; P = 0.104) and child-physical sections (8.6%; P = 0.189), but these were not statistically significant. There were no significant changes in the PODCI parent-derived pain (-3.2%; P = 0.504) and happiness sections (1.9%; P = 0.645). Conclusions: Multilevel surgery in ambulatory patients with CP improves function and HRQOL. However, improved functional well-being does not imply improved psychosocial well-being, and patients and their families should be counseled accordingly. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Geometry optimization for the cylindrical ion trap: field calculations, simulations and experiments

Abstract Optimization of ion trap geometries for best analytical performance was studied in the specific case of the cylindrical ion trap (CIT). An optimization procedure was developed based on field calculations and simulations of ion motion. The electric field inside the CIT was calculated by using the Poisson/Superfish software package and geometrical effects, specifically the half thickness of the ring electrode ( z b ), the spacing ( d s ) between the ring electrode and the end-cap electrode, and the end-cap hole radius ( r H ), were systematically investigated. Appropriate compensation for higher-order field components, namely octapolar and dodecapolar fields, was achieved by refining the CIT geometry and improved mass resolution in scans using boundary and resonance ejection. Resolution for different CIT geometries was measured in both simulations and experiments and was evaluated from the separation between the major isotope peaks of 1,3-dichlorobenzene at m / z 146 and 148. Optimization of the CIT electric field via simple geometry changes involved exploration of several geometries and simulations using the ion trap simulation program (ITSIM) were used to confirm the results for each geometry and to predict experimental performance. Experiments are reported that confirm the enhanced performance achieved using the CITs optimized using the procedure developed in this study.
Chemical aversion treatment of alcohol dependence. I. Validity of current criticisms

Current criticisms of chemical aversion therapy are delineated and their validity assessed. Data pertaining to the effectiveness, acceptability, in-trusiveness, availability of alternative treatments, cost-effectiveness, and theoretical foundations of chemical aversion therapy are examined. It is concluded that available evidence supports the efficacy of chemical aversion therapy with respect to production of conditioned aversion to alcohol and treatment outcome.
Epidemiology of insulin resistance and its relation to coronary artery disease

The relation of insulin resistance to cardiovascular risk, particularly for coronary artery disease (CAD), has been well established in many prospective studies. The clustering of insulin resistance and/or hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, and low HDL is now considered a feature of the insulin resistance syndrome. However, the association is complex and the pathways by which elevated insulin adversely affects both CAD risk factors and the risk of developing CAD have yet to be elucidated. Postprandial lipemia may be a mechanistic link between insulin resistance and CAD. Hyperinsulinemia appears to be a weak, but positive, independent cardiovascular risk factor. The strongest relations are seen in middle-aged rather than older persons and at higher elevations of plasma insulin levels. Individuals with type 2 diabetes have a risk of myocardial infarction (MI) equivalent to that of nondiabetic persons who have had a previous MI. Given the relatively weak association between duration of diabetes and severity of hyperglycemia and cardiovascular disease, common antecedents may underlie both CAD and type 2 diabetes.
The effects of alternate‐day corticosteroid therapy on delayed hypersensitivity skin responses

Summary Alternate-day corticosteroid therapy has been shown to have a suppressive effect on delayed hypersensitivity skin responses elicited on repeated skin testing in an asthmatic population. While the clinical meaning is not clear, it indicates that alternate-day corticosteroid therapy may have a subtle effect on cellular hypersensitivity responses.
Thermomechanical analysis of the Kishwaukee Bridge from global and local deformation measurements

The Kishwaukee bridge (circa 1979) is a five-span pre-cast post-tensioned segmental concrete box girder bridge. The structure has been under increasingly stringent inspection since extensive cracking adjacent to the piers in the webs was observed. There is limited observational evidence that continued propagation of the cracks has been occurring, and static load testing of the structure in 2000 provided direct indications of locally excessive stresses in the shear reinforcement. Since that time, the authors have developed instrumentation which continuously monitors the bridge. Our previous thermal analyses and modeling based upon the data collected demonstrates that thermal equilibrium is rare for this structure, a situation that undoubtably applies to most bridges of this type. Partly due to this constant disequilibrium, basing alarm criteria on real time measurements is untenable. In this paper we develop a two-step monitoring strategy which can be applied to both global and local deformation data. The strategy is based on preliminary modeling to identify the thermomechanical influences, followed by a second step using a bootstrap comparator.
Identification, purification, and characterization of two forms of serotonin binding protein from rat brain.

: Serotonin binding protein (SBP) is found in synaptic vesicles of mammalian central and peripheral serotonergic neurons. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) is physiologically stored as a complex with SBP in vivo. Two forms of SBP have been detected with apparent molecular weights of 45,000 and 56,000 (45K and 56K). To understand the relationship between the two forms more fully, we purified the two proteins to homogeneity and partially characterized them. Purification steps included (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and chromatography on Sepharose 4-B, Affi-Gel-Blue, hydroxylapatite, and phosphocellulose. The 45K form of SBP was obtained pure, whereas the 56K form of SBP was obtained about 90% pure by these methods. To isolate pure 56K SBP for induction of antibodies, the protein was further purified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis followed by electroelution. The 56K form of SBP was thus isolated, but in a denatured state; its purity was established by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The two forms of SBP (pure 45K and 90% pure undenatured 56K SBP) were similar in their 5-HT binding capacity; the enhancement of 5-HT binding by Fe2+; and inhibition by –SH reagents, chelators, and sodium salts. Antibodies raised against the pure 56K form of SBP cross-reacted with the 45K SBP. The two forms of SBP differed in the following properties: (1) dissociation constants—56K form showed higher affinity for 5-HT (KD1= 0.4 nM; KD2= 32 nM), whereas the 45K form showed lower affinity (KD1= 9.7 nM; KD2= 120 nM); (2) ratio of number of 5-HT binding sites with low affinity to those with high affinity—56K (19:1), 45K (10:1); (3) isoelectric point—the 56K form of SBP is more acidic (5.6 and 5.9) than the 45K form (6.1); (4) binding enhancement by gangliosides and bicarbonate. To establish whether the 45K form of SBP is found in vivo or is produced by proteolysis during isolation, two additional experiments were carried out. (1) We added a mixture of proteolytic enzyme inhibitors to our homogenization buffer; this addition did not change the ratio of the two forms of SBP. (2) We mixed regions of the CNS enriched in the 45K form of SBP (spinal cord) with regions rich in the 56K form of SBP (raphe nuclei) and homogenized them together. Again, this procedure failed to change the ratio of the two forms of SBP as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We suggest that a precursor-product relationship may exist between 45K and 56K SBP and that the two forms may be located within different parts of serotonergic neutrons.
Pulsed wave interconnect

Pulsed wave interconnect is proposed for global interconnect applications. Signals are represented by localized wave-packets that propagate along the interconnect lines at the local speed of light to trigger the receivers. Energy consumption is reduced through charging up only part of the interconnect lines and using the voltage doubling property of the receiver gate capacitances. In a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology case study, SPICE simulations show that pulsed wave interconnect can save up to 50% of energy and /spl sim/30% of chip area in comparison with the repeater insertion method. A proposed signal splitting structure provides reasonable isolations between different receivers. Measured S-parameters of 3.8-mm interconnect lines fabricated through CMOS foundry showed that the distortion and attenuation of a pico second signal are much less serious than the theoretical predictions. Pulsed wave interconnect also enables time division application of a single line to boost its bit rate capacity. The use of nonlinear transmission lines (NLTL) is also proposed to overcome pulse broadening and attenuation caused by dispersion and frequency-dependent losses. Pulsed waves on an NLTL may be generated, transmitted, split and detected with components realizable in bulk and SOI CMOS technologies. Tapered NLTL can be used for pulse compression. NLTL edge sharpening abilities may be applicable for signal rise time control.
Markov clustering of protein interaction networks with improved balance and scalability

Markov Clustering (MCL) is a popular algorithm for clustering networks in bioinformatics such as protein-protein interaction networks and protein similarity networks. An important requirement when clustering protein networks is minimizing the number of big clusters, since it is generally understood that protein complexes tend not to have more than 15--30 nodes. Similarly, it is important to not output too many singleton clusters, since they do not provide much useful information. In this paper, we show how MCL may be modified so as to better respect these two requirements, while also taking the link structure in the graph into account. We design our algorithm on top of Regularized MCL (R-MCL) [16], a previously proposed modification of MCL. Our proposed variation computes a new regularization matrix at each iteration that penalizes big cluster sizes, with the size of the penalty being tunable using a balance parameter. This algorithm also naturally fits in a Multi level framework that allows great improvements in speed. We perform experiments on three real protein interaction networks and show significant improvements over MCL in quality, balance and execution speed.
Stability of DNA Triplexes on Shuttle Vector Plasmids in the Replication Pool in Mammalian Cells

Triple helix-forming oligonucleotides may be useful as gene-targeting reagents in vivo, for applications such as gene knockout. One important property of these complexes is their often remarkable stability, as demonstrated in solution and in cells following transfection. Although encouraging, these measurements do not necessarily report triplex stability in cellular compartments that support DNA functions such as replication and mutagenesis. We have devised a shuttle vector plasmid assay that reports the stability of triplexes on DNA that undergoes replication and mutagenesis. The assay is based on plasmids with novel variant supF tRNA genes containing embedded sequences for triplex formation and psoralen cross-linking. Triple helix-forming oligonucleotides were linked to psoralen and used to form triplexes on the plasmids. At various times after introduction into cells, the psoralen was activated by exposure to long wave ultraviolet light (UVA). After time for replication and mutagenesis, progeny plasmids were recovered and the frequency of plasmids with mutations in the supF gene determined. Site-specific mutagenesis by psoralen cross-links was dependent on precise placement of the psoralen by the triple helix-forming oligonucleotide at the time of UVA treatment. The results indicated that both pyrimidine and purine motif triplexes were much less stable on replicated DNA than on DNA in vitro or in total transfected DNA. Incubation of cells with amidoanthraquinone-based triplex stabilizing compounds enhanced the stability of the pyrimidine triplex.
Great Salt Lake: A selected bibliography with annotations

Explorers began to push into the vast uncharted areas of the West in 1804, when Captains Lewis and Clarke ascended the Missouri River, crossed the Rocky Mountains into the headwaters of the Columbia River, and followed that stream to the Pacific Ocean. The honor of being the first white man to see Great Salt Lake is claimed for a number of explorers and trappers who visited the region in the twenties and thirties of the Nineteenth Century. Among these were Etienne Provot and James Bridger, who were in the region in 1824–25, each quite unaware of the other's activities and discoveries. In 1833 Captain B. L. E. Bonneville dispatched a party from his camp at Green River, Wyoming, for the purpose of exploring Great Salt Lake. This party attempted to make a circuit of the lake, chart its outline, and trap all the streams en route, but the attempt was abandoned because the great barren salt plains west of the lake were so hazardous that the party was in grave danger of perishing.
Individual variation in the duration of territory occupation by males of the dragonfly Perithemis tenera (Odonata: Libellulidae)

In the dragonsy Perithemis tenera Say, males defend territories around oviposition sites and defense of a site is critical for reproductive success. This study Þrst demonstrated that individual males varied consistently in how long they defended a particular territory within a day (their "tenure") and in the quality of the sites they defended. I then investigated a number of factors that may have affected territory tenure and may have led to the observed variation among males. Territory occu- pations that ended "voluntarily" were signiÞcantly longer than those that ended because the male was evicted from his territory. For voluntary desertions, tenure duration was unrelated to age, wing length, the amount of time the male fought that day, or site quality. However, tenure durations were longer for males that arrived earlier in the day than for those that arrived later, and consistent differences existed among males in arrival time. Furthermore, tenure durations were longer when males had successfully mated than when they did not mate; available evidence suggests that this pattern may be because mating success causes them to stay longer. Thus, the results suggest that the problem of explaining tenure duration in P. tenera can be largely broken down into identifying factors that affect a maleOs likelihood of being evicted and his relative arrival time. Overall, males that defended better sites and males that had longer wings were territorial for fewer total days. Of these two factors, site quality seems to have a larger effect than wing length on the number of days, suggesting that males may incur an increased cost by defending sites that are more attractive to other males.
Galileo's Refutation of the Speed‐Distance Law of Fall Rehabilitated

Galileo's refutation of the speed-distance law of fall in his Two New Sciences is routinely dismissed as a moment of confused argumentation. We urge that Galileo's argument correctly identified why the speed-distance law is untenable, failing only in its very last step. Using an ingenious combination of scaling and self-similarity arguments, Galileo found correctly that bodies, falling from rest according to this law, fall all distances in equal times. What he failed to recognize in the last step is that this time is infinite, the result of an exponential dependence of distance on time. Instead, Galileo conflated it with the other motion that satisfies this ‘equal time’ property, instantaneous motion.
The Yeast Adaptor Protein Complex, AP-3, Is Essential for the Efficient Delivery of Alkaline Phosphatase by the Alternate Pathway to the Vacuole

A novel clathrin adaptor-like complex, adaptor protein (AP)-3, has recently been described in yeast and in animals. To gain insight into the role of yeast AP-3, a genetic strategy was devised to isolate gene products that are required in the absence of the AP-3 μ chain encoded by APM3. One gene identified by this synthetic lethal screen was VPS45. The Vps pathway defines the route that several proteins, including carboxypeptidase Y, take from the late Golgi to the vacuole. However, vacuolar alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is transported via an alternate, intracellular route. This suggested that the apm3-Δ vps45 synthetic phenotype could be caused by a block in both the alternate and the Vps pathways. Here we demonstrate that loss of function of the AP-3 complex results in slowed processing and missorting of ALP. ALP is no longer localized to the vacuole membrane by immunofluorescence, but is found in small punctate structures throughout the cell. This pattern is distinct from the Golgi marker Kex2p, which is unaffected in AP-3 mutants. We also show that in the apm3-Δ mutant some ALP is delivered to the vacuole by diversion into the Vps pathway. Class E vps mutants accumulate an exaggerated prevacuolar compartment containing membrane proteins on their way to the vacuole or destined for recycling to the Golgi. Surprisingly, in AP-3 class E vps double mutants these proteins reappear on the vacuole. We suggest that some AP-3–dependent cargo proteins that regulate late steps in Golgi to vacuole transport are diverted into the Vps pathway allowing completion of transfer to the vacuole in the class E vps mutant.
Role of Anagrelide in the Treatment of Thrombocytosis

OBJECTIVE:To review the role of anagrelide in the management of essential thrombocythemia.DATA SOURCES:A MEDLINE search (January 1966–August 1998) was performed using the key terms anagrelide, thrombocytosis, and essential thrombocythemia. In addition, the package insert, product monograph, and patient information pamphlets were reviewed.DATA SYNTHESIS:Recently, there has been a trend toward the use of anagrelide in the management of thrombocythemia. Anagrelide lacks leukemogenic and mutagenic potential and possesses a more favorable adverse effect profile compared with other therapeutic agents. At recommended doses, anagrelide induces thrombocytopenia in thrombocythemic patients with a concomitant reduction in the incidence of disease-related symptoms.CONCLUSIONS:Although the treatment of choice for thrombocythemia is still an area of debate, anagrelide has distinct advantages over alternative therapies. Anagrelide represents an important therapeutic option in the treatment of patients with thrombocythemia.
Hybridization of somatic cells derived from mouse and Syrian hamster: Evolution of karyotype and enzyme studies

Somatic hybrids of drug-resistant mutant hamster and mouse cell lines have been isolated and propagated in long-term culture and have been studied in respect to karyotype and three enzymes. During the course of propagation the long-surviving hybrid clones show progressive loss of telocentric chromosomes associated in at least one case with loss of mouse enzyme. Hybrid clones showed hybrid molecules for malate dehydrogenase (MDH), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) made up by recombination of parental subunits.
Assessment of the Impact of Medication Therapy Management Delivered to Home-Based Medicare Beneficiaries:

Background:Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is a voluntary patient participation program mandated for Medicare Part D sponsors by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for chronically ill beneficiaries with high medication costs/utilization.Objective:To assess the impact of an MTM program on mortality, healthcare utilization, and prescription medication costs and to quantify drug-related problems (DRPs) identified during MTM.Methods:This nonrandomized controlled study was conducted among beneficiaries who were targeted for MTM in 2006. The MTM intervention was designed to identify potential DRPs, educate the patient/caregiver about appropriate medication use, and ensure that the patient was appropriately integrated into clinical services. Data were collected from administrative databases and manual chart abstractions. Study outcomes included all-cause death (primary outcome), hospitalization, and emergency department (ED) visit rates and medication cost changes in the 180 days following MTM ta...