cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dislocation reduction in AlGaN grown on patterned GaN

Abstract Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy was used to grow 15 μm of Al 0.26 Ga 0.74 N on GaN that was patterned with trenches 10 μm wide and 1 μm deep. The top of the AlGaN showed 4-μm-wide areas on either side of the trench centerline that had low threading dislocation densities, measured to be less than ∼1.5×10 8 cm −2 . Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy showed that in the early stages of growth, AlGaN grew at an angle from the corners of the trench and eventually coalesced over the center. These laterally propagating growth sections overgrew the vertical growth in the trench bottom, with the result that low dislocation-density areas formed at the top of the AlGaN. Detailed examination showed that the vertical dislocations from the trench bottom were bent by the angled growth toward the center of the trench where they annihilated with other dislocations, allowing the low dislocation-density areas to form above. Elemental analysis showed that the angled growth sections had slightly lower Al content. The low dislocation-density areas are sufficiently wide to permit optically emitting devices to be grown.
In-plane vascular imaging: Pulse sequence design and strategy

Magnetic resonance (MR) angiography is a noninvasive method of obtaining images without contrast agents. Recent developments in sequence design have allowed images of moving spins to be obtained without a loss of signal by rephasing the spins with three or four gradient pulses to compensate for constant velocity or acceleration, respectively. At longer echo times (TE), this approach allowed for low readout gradients and high signal-to-noise ratios. Angiograms with a resolution of 300 micron were obtained. With additional sequences that allow some dephasing but minimal signal loss, separate images of arteries and veins were obtained. Phase information was used to estimate flow velocity. Application of the rephasing scheme to gradient-echo sequences allowed for ungated, fast MR angiograms. Acceleration correction was important for long TE sequences, but velocity-corrected, gradient-echo sequences with a very short TE were comparable to velocity- and acceleration-corrected, gradient-echo sequences with sligh...
Mathematical control theory of couple PDEs

Mathematical Control Theory of Coupled PDEs is based on a series of lectures that are outgrowths of recent research in the area of control theory for systems governed by coupled PDEs. The book develops new mathematical tools amenable to a rigorous analysis of related control problems and the construction of viable control algorithms. Emphasis is placed on the key role played by two interweaving features of the respective dynamical components: (1)propagaton of signularities and exceptional "sharp" regularity of the traces of the solutions of the hyperbolic component of the structure, and (2) analyticity of the solutions to the parabolic component of the structure, its propagation, and related analytic semigroup (singular) estimates.
Teachers' Attitudes and Beliefs About Bullying: Two Exploratory Studies

Two exploratory studies were conducted to investigate U.S. teachers' attitudes and beliefs about bullying. Although most teachers believed they were doing a good job at preventing bullying, results indicate that some teachers hold beliefs that are at odds with current best practices in bullying prevention and intervention. First-year teachers would like more training in bullying despite reported confidence in their abilities to handle bullying, and report they did not receive such training either in teacher preparation programs or in-service training.
Applications of infrared band model correlations to nongray radiation

Various correlations for the total absorptance of a wide band are presented. These are employed in two physically realistic problems (radiative transfer in gases with internal heat source and heat transfer in laminar flow of absorbing-emitting gasses between parallel plates) to study their influence on final radiative transfer results.
A Spectroscopic Study of Gaseous Products of Soot-Oxides of Nitrogen/Water Reactions

The simultaneous evolution of CO, CO2, N2O, and NO, detected and estimated by both infrared spectroscopy and chemiluminescence during the reaction of soot and NO2/N2O4 over a range of temperatures, suggests that, in addition to the previously described chemisorption reaction, there also is a redox process occurring in the initial stages of the reaction. Estimations of these gases suggest that the redox reaction also includes reactive components other than the olefinic segment of soot, and occurs under all conditions examined. Infrared studies show that gaseous NO, produced immediately on the introduction of NO2/N2O4 into a reactor containing soot and water vapor, subsequently decreases with the accompanying formation of N2O.
The modular n -queens problem in higher dimensions

Abstract Let M ( n , d ) denote the maximum number of queens on a d -dimensional modular chessboard such that no two attack each other. We show that if gcd( n , (2 d - 1)!) = 1 then M ( n , d ) = n . We also prove that if gcd( n , (2 d - 1)!) > 1 then there are no complete linear solutions, and if gcd( n , (2 d - 1)!) > 1 then M ( n , d ) n . Moreover, if n ⩽ 2 d - 1 we show M ( n , d ) = 1.
Acute Themal Stressors and Synthesis of Antibodies in Chickens

Three experiments utilizing 368 chickens were conducted to determine the effect of acute heat and cold stress on antibody (Ab) production to sheep red blood cells (SRBC). All birds were injected with 1 ml of a 7% suspension of SRBC within 24 hr of initiation of the thermal stress. Each experiment used the same heat and cold stress regimen: four 30-min exposures to thermal treatments during four consecutive hours. In the first experiment, 40 five-week-old Hubbard broilers were either heat-stressed at an air temperature of 42 C or held at an ambient temperature of 24 C. While no differences (P greater than .10) were observed, antibody titers (log2: mean +/- SE) on day 5 after antigen injection were 10.12 +/- .24 and 9.41 +/- .24 for the control and heat-stressed birds, respectively. In the second experiment, 41 nine-week-old Hubbard broilers were held at air temperatures of 42 C or 26 C. No differences (P greater than .10) were observed in either total titers, 2-mercaptoethanol (ME) sensitive, or ME-resistant Ab titers. In Experiment 3, 72 chicks from each of the Athens Randombred, New Hampshire and White Leghorn breeds, and Hubbard broilers were acutely heat-stressed (41 C), cold-stressed (6 C), or maintained at 24 C. There were no differences (P greater than .10) in Ab titers among treatment groups. In contrast to previous reports, these data indicate that an acute, intermittent heat, or cold stress does not significantly alter the ability of several commercially available breeds of chickens to synthesize antibodies to sheep red blood cells. The effect of chronic themal stressors on the immune system of poultry remains unknown.
Hemorrhagic macular detachment in the Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome is characterized by bilateral uveitis, exuda­ tive retinal detachment, dysacousia, alo­ pecia, poliosis, and signs of central ner­ vous system involvement including headache and increase in pressure and cel­ lular content of the cerebrospinal fluid. The disease usually occurs in young adults and its cause is unknown. The prognosis for vision is variable, and per­ manent visual loss from severe iridocyclitis, glaucoma, cataract and phthisis bulbi has been reported. Recently we saw a patient with the Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome who developed a hemorrhagic detachment of the macular retina. To our knowledge there is no previously pub­ lished report of this complication as a cause of loss of vision in the VogtKoyanagi-Harada syndrome.
Deletion of residues 485-599 from the human insulin receptor abolishes antireceptor antibody binding and influences tyrosine kinase activation.

We have studied insulin and antireceptor antibody binding to mutated human insulin receptors deleted of residues 485-599 in the alpha-subunit by site-directed mutagenesis. Both normal and mutated receptors were expressed in rat HTC hepatoma cells. Cells expressing either the normal receptor or the mutated receptor retained the ability to bind insulin. In contrast to the normal receptor, however, the mutated receptor failed to interact with antireceptor alpha-subunit antibodies. The inability of the mutated receptor to interact with various antireceptor antibodies was further documented by photoaffinity labeling studies. In intact HTC cells expressing mutated receptors, basal insulin receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation was 2-fold elevated when compared to cells expressing normal receptors. In these cells, however, the response of this function to insulin was blunted. When receptors were isolated from these cells and assayed for both autophosphorylation and phosphotransferase activities toward the synthet...
Thyrotoxic hypokalaemic periodic paralysis: a rare presentation of Graves' disease in a Hispanic patient.

A 26-year-old Hispanic man with no significant medical history presented to our emergency room with gradual onset weakness of his lower extremities. He was haemodynamically stable and examination revealed loss of motor function in his lower limbs up to the level of hips. Laboratory data revealed hypokalaemia. The patient was started on potassium supplementation and he recovered his muscle strength. Differential diagnosis included familial hypokalaemic periodic paralysis and thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP). Further investigations revealed a low thyroid-stimulating hormone and high free thyroxine levels. Radio iodine 123 scan revealed an enhanced homogeneous uptake in the thyroid suggesting Graves’ disease. Thyroid stimulating antibodies were also found to be elevated. The patient was started on methimazole and propranolol and he never had another attack of TPP even at 1 year follow-up.
Chemical Bonding between Phenolic Resins and Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS) in Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Nanocomposites

Three classes of inorganic–organic hybrid phenolic resin/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanocomposites were synthesized. Multifunctional dichloromethylsilylethylheptaisobutyl-POSS (POSS-1), trisilanolheptaphenyl-POSS (POSS-2), and poly(phenylsilsesquioxane) uncured POSS (POSS-3) were employed. Nonfunctional POSS-4 (octaisobuty1-POSS) was blended into the uncured phenolic resin and cured under the same conditions used for the other three nanocomposite classes. Weight ratios of 99/1, 97/3, 95/5 and 90/10 were prepared for the POSS-1, 2 and 4 series and 99/1, 97/3 and 95/5 ratios for the POSS-3 nanocomposites. POSS-1 incorporation into this phenolic resin network increases T g and broadens the tan $$\delta$$ peak (DMTA) range. T g and E′ values at T>T g both increase with higher POSS-1 content. In contrast, incorporating 5 wt% of POSS-2 into the phenolic resin network lowers T g to 193 from 213°C for the neat phenolic resin. All values of E′ for POSS-2 composites were higher, than those of the phenolic control in both glassy and rubbery regions. The T g values of the 1 and 10% POSS-2 systems were higher. Incorporating 10 wt% of POSS-1 or POSS-2 improved the heat distorsion temperature and moduli (E′=123 and 201 GPa at 265°C, respectively, versus 56 GPa for the pure phenolic resin). Increases in E′ for T>T g and T<T g were also observed for all POSS-3 nanocomposites. However, the E′ at T>T g and the T g values of the POSS-4 composites were lower than those of the control resin. Octaisobutyl POSS-4 cannot form chemical bonds to the resin and could be extracted from its composites with THF. POSS derivatives were not present in residues extracted by THF from the phenolic resins containing POSS-1, 2 or 3, because each of these derivatives were chemically bound within the phenolic resin. Subsequent heating cycles produce much larger increases in T g and E′ values in the rubbery region for the POSS-1, 2 and 3 composites than for the neat phenolic resin or for the POSS-4 systems.
Statistical investigation of the fracture behaviour of inhomogeneous materials in tension and three-point bending

Abstract Development of damage in heterogeneous materials submitted to tensile tests and flexural tests is analysed using finite element analysis and considering statistical distribution of material strength. Materials are assumed to have a brittle local behaviour and fracture stresses are distributed randomly through test specimens. Also, the analysis considers that it exists a dimension which is characteristic of damage growing, depending on the fracture processes induced. A simulation procedure for evaluating damage development through test specimens is next implemented and the influence of the scattering width of the fracture stress distributions is analysed.
Establishment of the Dorso-ventral Axis in Xenopus Embryos Is Presaged by Early Asymmetries in β-Catenin That Are Modulated by the Wnt Signaling Pathway

Eggs of Xenopus laevis undergo a postfertilization cortical rotation that specifies the position of the dorso-ventral axis and activates a transplantable dorsal-determining activity in dorsal blastomeres by the 32-cell stage. There have heretofore been no reported dorso-ventral asymmetries in endogenous signaling proteins that may be involved in this dorsal-determining activity during early cleavage stages. We focused on beta-catenin as a candidate for an asymmetrically localized dorsal-determining factor since it is both necessary and sufficient for dorsal axis formation. We report that beta-catenin displays greater cytoplasmic accumulation on the future dorsal side of the Xenopus embryo by the two-cell stage. This asymmetry persists and increases through early cleavage stages, with beta-catenin accumulating in dorsal but not ventral nuclei by the 16- to 32-cell stages. We then investigated which potential signaling factors and pathways are capable of modulating the steady-state levels of endogenous beta-catenin. Steady-state levels and nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin increased in response to ectopic Xenopus Wnt-8 (Xwnt-8) and to the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3, whereas neither Xwnt-5A, BVg1, nor noggin increased beta-catenin levels before the mid-blastula stage. As greater levels and nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin on the future dorsal side of the embryo correlate with the induction of specific dorsal genes, our data suggest that early asymmetries in beta-catenin presage and may specify dorso-ventral differences in gene expression and cell fate. Our data further support the hypothesis that these dorso-ventral differences in beta-catenin arise in response to the postfertilization activation of a signaling pathway that involves Xenopus glycogen synthase kinase-3.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy--how big of a miracle?

This review examines the clinical benefit of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with severe heart failure symptoms and interventricular conduction delay. The magnitude of CRT effects on exercise duration, quality of life, and reversal of adverse remodeling are compared to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy and combined β-blocker/ACE inhibitor therapy. Overall, CRT delivers substantial improvement in clinical well-being to an extent similar to or greater than what would be expected with neurohormonal intervention alone.
Cost of illness studies: what is good about them?

The article by Currie et al is highly critical of cost of injury studies, stating that “ . . . such studies are not helpful in the context of setting priorities for resource allocation and research activities”.1 The authors postulate that cost of injury studies add little to what is already known, such as deaths from motor vehicle crashes, hospital admissions, and emergency department visits. These routinely collected data, they say, provide direct and meaningful information about the size of the problem, if that is what is needed by decision makers for setting priorities for resource allocation and research activities. So, why spend additional resources and research time to describe the burden of motor vehicle crash injuries when the problem is adequately quantified? They conclude that research funds would be better spent by estimation of the effectiveness, costs, and benefits associated with different injury prevention strategies. Cost of illness studies abound in the US. Are they all useless, as suggested by the authors? What do they measure? How are they used? When choices are made about the allocation of resources, who is affected? On whose behalf are decisions made? The answers to these questions define the perspective of cost studies. For example, costs or losses to industry or business due to a disease focus on the impact of absenteeism and lost productivity2,3; costs to public programs are accountable for their beneficiaries4; and costs to society take a comprehensive approach to estimating direct and indirect health and other related costs associated with an illness, disease, or injury.5,6 Cost of illness studies are typically divided into two major categories: (1) core costs are those resulting directly from the illness and (2) other related costs include non-health costs of the illness. Within each category, there …
Prediction and Prevention of Patient Falls

Falls are a major cause of injury in hospitalized patients. To date, the focus of research has been on developing risk profiles to predict fallers and developing interventions to prevent falls. This paper presents and critiques these efforts. The authors conclude that (a) no high-risk profiles have yet been developed with adequate sensitivity and specificity to be useful as predictive instruments; (b) current fall interventions are rarely research-based; and (c) the few intervention studies conducted to date seem to reduce falls primarily through consciousness raising rather than specific changes in practice.
Examining the Relationship Between Adolescents' Orthographic Knowledge and Overall Reading Ability

A conceptualization of reading as an interaction of constrained and unconstrained skills formed the theoretical basis for this correlational analysis of adolescents' orthographic knowledge. We hypothesized that orthographic development (as measured by spelling ability) would serve as a link between constrained and unconstrained reading skills in adolescents who scored below proficient on a state reading test. Findings revealed that orthographic knowledge appears to manifest as a competency linking constrained and unconstrained skills, meaning that orthographic knowledge requires mastery of constrained skills in order to successfully transition away from those skills and move toward unconstrained competencies.
Recent Estuarian and Marine Sediments, Coos Bay Area, Oregon: ABSTRACT

Coos Bay, the estuary of Coos River, is located on the southern coast of Oregon. Although Coos River is one of the smaller rivers draining the Oregon Coast Range, its estuary is one of the largest along the Oregon Coast. The estuary occupies a structural depression and has been formed by drowning of the river mouth following rise of sea-level in late Pleistocene time. The outer part of the bay has been developed by the southward prolongation of North Spit by longshore drift. This estuary opens onto a narrow continental shelf, which, in this vicinity, ranges in width between 10 and 15 miles. Texture and mineralogy of sediment samples taken along the 12-mile length of Coos Bay suggest derivation of the estuarian sediments from two sources: (1) sediment in the inner bay is chiefly fine sand and is similar to the detritus carried by Coos River; (2) sediment in the outer bay is mostly medium-grained sand, with an increase in grain size toward the bay mouth. This sand is most closely related mineralogically to sands along the coast north of Coos Bay. Thus, it appears that although sediment in the inner bay has been brought to it by Coos River, sediment in the outer bay has been derived chiefly from the influx of beach and dune sands carried over North Spit by the prevailing westerly winds and into the mouth of the estuary by tidal currents. Sediment samples from the continental shelf and adjacent to Coos Bay, between the mouths of the Umpqua and Coquille Rivers, range in median diameter from medium sand to silt, and from very well sorted to moderately sorted. They display a general decrease in grain size and degree of sorting in a seaward direction. However, a band of fine, well sorted, glauconitic sand lies along the outer margin of the continental shelf. The location and mineralogy of this sand suggest that it is relict sediment (Emery, 1952) related to a lower sealevel during Pleistocene time that has not yet been covered by modern sediment. End_of_Article - Last_Page 263------------
Intersection of online social networking with medical professionalism: can medicine police the facebook boom?

To the Editor:—Dr. Thompson and colleagues present original data1 about the use of Facebook among residents and medical students. Importantly, they argue that medical education needs to address the burgeoning world of online, publicly-available personal information exemplified by Facebook accounts. We argue, however, that it is insufficient to address the issue through medical schools and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME); this is a larger issue that needs the attention of medicine as a culture and a profession. The authors’ data suggest that Facebook accounts may soon become prevalent among a large number of medical students, residents of all years, and attending physicians. Thompson et al. show that 20% to 30% of all medical students and first through third year residents have a Facebook account. Only in the more senior residency years does the prevalence of Facebook accounts fall off: 10% in fourth year residents and ultimately 0% in sixth year residents. Although possible, it is unlikely that residents had Facebook accounts early in their training, but then closed their accounts later in residency. Instead, the relative absence of Facebook accounts in senior years of residency is likely a cohort effect. Facebook, which began in 2004 as a way for college students to communicate, has grown rapidly to more than 90 million active users2. By nature of being a social network embedded in colleges and active for only the last four years, more senior residents likely do not have accounts simply because they were too old to be caught in Facebook’s rise in popularity. A reasonable prediction is that as junior residents advance in training, we will see an increased prevalence of Facebook accounts in senior residents, presumably as high as the 20 to 30% seen in medical students. If the current trend holds true, the large prevalence of Facebook users will soon include young faculty and junior attendings. As the authors conclude, there is a role for medical schools, residency programs, and the ACGME in providing trainees with sound advice around the use of social networking sites. However, the increasing incidence of Facebook usage among all physicians calls for a broader discussion across medicine’s organizing and accrediting bodies. Organizations such as the AMA should facilitate a national conversation and the production of general guidelines for all physicians to draw upon when posting and sharing personal information on online social network sites.
Magnetic resonance imaging of pineal region tumours

Objectives Pineal lesions can present as a heterogeneous collection of benign and malignant disease conditions. Pineal lesions include germ cell tumours, neoplasms arising from the pineal parenchyma, as well as other pineal region masses.
The Palmer Drought Severity Index: Limitations and Assumptions

Abstract The structure of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), which is perhaps the most widely used regional index of drought, is examined. The PDSI addresses two of the most elusive properties of droughts: their intensity and their beginning and ending times. Unfortunately, the index uses rather arbitrary rules in quantifying these properties. In addition, the methodology used to standardize the values of the PDSI for different locations and months is based on very limited comparisons and is only weakly justified on physical or statistical grounds. Under certain conditions, the PDSI values are very sensitive to the criteria for ending an “established” drought and precipitation during a month can have a very large effect on the PDSI values for several previous months. The distribution of the PDSI conditioned on the value for the previous month may often be bimodal. Thus, conventional time series models may be quite limited in their ability to capture the stochastic properties of the index.
Roles of Atox1 and p53 in the trafficking of copper-64 to tumor cell nuclei: implications for cancer therapy

Owing to its cytotoxicity, free copper is chelated by protein side chains and does not exist in vivo. Several chaperones transport copper to various cell compartments, but none have been identified that traffic copper to the nucleus. Copper-64 decays by β + and β − emission, allowing positron emission tomography and targeted radionuclide therapy for cancer. Because the delivery of 64Cu to the cell nucleus may enhance the therapeutic effect of copper radiopharmaceuticals, elucidation of the pathway(s) involved in transporting copper to the tumor cell nucleus is important for optimizing treatment. We identified Atox1 as one of the proteins that binds copper in the nucleus. Mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, positive and negative for Atox1, were used to determine the role of Atox1 in 64Cu transport to the nucleus. Mouse embryonic fibroblast Atox1+/+ cells accumulated more 64Cu in the nucleus than did Atox1−/− cells. HCT 116 colorectal cancer cells expressing p53 (+/+) and not expressing p53 (−/−) were used to evaluate the role of this tumor suppressor protein in 64Cu transport. In cells treated with cisplatin, the uptake of 64Cu in the nucleus of HCT 116 p53+/+ cells was greater than that in HCT 116 p53−/− cells. Atox1 expression increased in HCT 116 p53+/+ and p53−/− cells treated with cisplatin; however, Atox1 localized to the nuclei of p53+/+ cells more than in the p53−/− cells. The data presented here indicate that Atox1 is involved in copper transport to the nucleus, and cisplatin affects nuclear transport of 64Cu in HCT 116 cells by upregulating the expression and the nuclear localization of Atox1.
Frequency of long-term lower limb ischemia associated with intraaortic balloon pump use.

Abstract Lower limb ischemia is a frequent complication of intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) use. The incidence and risk factors for acute ischemia have been well-defined, but little is known about long-term ischemic complications. This prospective study evaluated the incidence, nature, progression and predisposing factors for long-term lower limb ischemia in 151 patients who were previously treated with the IABP. These persons were interviewed and their lower extremities examined 12 to 20 months after undergoing IABP counterpulsation. Limb ischemia, characterized primarily by ipsilateral discomfort and diminished pulses, occurred in 18% of those evaluated. Evidence of ischemia worsened over time in 14%. Logistic regression analysis, which was based on variables found to be significant in bivariate analysis, revealed that the occurrence of limb ischemia acutely, cardiogenic shock as an indication for IABP insertion, and smoking (at the time of hospitalization or having quit
A contractile vacuole complex is involved in osmoregulation in Trypanosoma cruzi

Acidocalcisomes are dense, acidic organelles with a high concentration of phosphorus present as pyrophosphate and polyphosphate complexed with calcium and other cations. Acidocalcisomes have been linked to the contractile vacuole complex in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Dictyostelium discoideum, and Trypanosoma cruzi. A microtubule- and cyclic AMP-mediated fusion of acidocalcisomes to the contractile vacuole complex in T. cruzi results in translocation of aquaporin and the resulting water movement which, in addition to swelling of acidocalcisomes, is responsible for the volume reversal not accounted for by efflux of osmolytes. Polyphosphate hydrolysis occurs during hyposmotic stress, probably increasing the osmotic pressure of the contractile vacuole and facilitating water movement.
Characterization of a superoxide dismutase mimic prepared from desferrioxamine and MnO2

The physicochemical properties of a soluble green complex obtained from the reaction of MnO2 and desferrioxamine have been investigated. The superoxide dismutase mimetic activity of this complex has been previously reported [D. Darr et al. (1987) Arch. Biochem. Biophys.258, 351–355]. Optical spectra, titration experiments, and metal analyses are consistent with the presence of one gram-atom Mn3+ per mole of desferrioxamine. At least one of the hydroxamate groups is oxidized in the green complex. Reaction of Desferal with MnO2 in the presence of ascorbate yields a more active, pink complex. This pink complex is more stable toward EDTA, suggesting that in it all three hydroxamate groups are intact and ligated to the manganese. The physicochemical properties of these complexes were examined and structures are suggested.
Anthrax protective antigen: prepore-to-pore conversion.

PA63, the active 63 kDa form of anthrax protective antigen, forms a heptameric ring-shaped oligomer that is believed to represent a precursor of the membrane pore formed by this protein. When maintained at pH ≥8.0, this “prepore” dissociated to monomeric subunits upon treatment with SDS at room temperature, but treatment at pH ≤7 (or with β-octylglucoside at pH 8.0) caused it to convert to an SDS-resistant pore-like form. Transition to this form involved major changes in the conformation of loop 2 of domain 2 (D2L2), as evidenced by (i) occlusion of a chymotrypsin site within D2L2 and (ii) excimer formation by pyrene groups linked to N306C within this loop. The pore-like form retained the capacity to bind anthrax toxin A moieties and cell surface receptors, but was unable to form pores in membranes or mediate translocation. Mutant PA63 in which D2L2 had been deleted was inactive in pore formation and translocation but, like the prepore, was capable of forming heptamers that converted to an SDS-resistant f...
Purification and characteristics of hydrophobic membrane protein(s) required for DCCD sensitivity of ATPase in mycobacterium phlei

The energy-transducing N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-sensitive (DCCD-sensitive) ATPase complex consists of two parts, a soluble catalytic protein (F1), and an intrinsic membrane protein (F0). The bacterial coupling factor complex, BCF0-BCF1, has recently been purified from Mycobacterium phlei, and used to reconstitute oxidative phosphorylation in detergent-extracted membranes. The BCF0 moiety has been purified by being recovered from the purified BCF0-BCF1 complex by affinity chromatography. BCF0 is a lipoprotein or lipoprotein complex with an approximate molecular weight of 60,000. The preparation contained 0.15 mg of phospholipid per milligram protein. There appear to be three polypeptides, with approximate molecular weights of 24,000, 18,000, and 8,000 as determined by sodium dodecylsulfate a crylamide gel electrophoresis. Purified BCF0 conferred DCCD sensitivity on a purified BCF1 preparation. Reconstitution of oxidative phosphorylation was achieved after incubation of detergent-extracted membranes with purified BCF0 and purified BCF1.
Fast algorithms for IR voltage drop analysis exploiting locality

Closed form expressions and related algorithms for fast power grid analysis are proposed in this paper. The IR voltage drop at an arbitrary point in a power distribution network is determined. Two algorithms are described for non-uniform voltage supplies and non-uniform current loads distributed throughout a power grid. The principle of spatial locality is exploited to accelerate the proposed power grid analysis method. Analysis of the non-uniform power grids utilizes the principle of spatial locality. Since no iterations are required for the proposed IR drop analysis, the proposed algorithms are over 70 times faster for smaller power grids composed of less than five million nodes and over 180 times faster for larger power grids composed of more than 25 million nodes as compared to existing methods. The proposed method exhibits less than 0.5% error.
Mifepristone and vaginal misoprostol on the same day for abortion from 50 to 63 days’ gestation

In a previous study of 40 women up to 49 days' gestation, our research center demonstrated that mifepristone 200 mg followed on the same day by misoprostol 800 microg vaginally produced abortion at rates similar to standard regimens which administer the two drugs 24 or 48 h apart. We performed this study to evaluate the same regimen in women with pregnancies at 50 to 63 days' gestation. Forty women from 50 to 56 days' gestation (Group 1) and 40 women from 57 to 63 days' gestation (Group 2) inserted misoprostol vaginally 6 to 8 h after taking mifepristone. Participants were instructed to return 24 +/- 1 h after using misoprostol for an evaluation that included transvaginal ultrasonography. Subjects who had not aborted received a second dose of misoprostol to administer 48 h after the mifepristone. All participants were to return 2 weeks later. Ultrasound examinations were performed in those who required a second dose of misoprostol to confirm the abortion was successful. At 24 h after receiving misoprostol, 37/40 (93%, 95% CI 80, 98%) and 36/40 (90%, 95% CI 76, 97%) women from Groups 1 and 2, respectively, had expelled the pregnancy. By follow-up 2 weeks after taking mifepristone, all 40 women in Group 1 (100%, 95% CI 91,100%) and 39/40 women in Group 2 (98%, 95% CI 87,100%) had complete abortions. One woman in the latter group who aborted within the first 24 h had an incomplete abortion treated by suction curettage. This pilot study suggests that mifepristone 200 mg, followed on the same day by misoprostol 800 microg vaginally, effects abortion in women 50 to 63 days' gestation at rates comparable to regimens using longer dosing intervals between medications. Though this regimen is promising, larger randomized trials comparing it to standard regimens are needed before widespread use.
Profiles of Serial Changes in Cardiac Troponin T Concentrations and Outcome in Ambulatory Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine whether different profiles of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) values assessed over time would yield incremental prognostic information on clinically stable outpatients with heart failure (HF). Background cTnT levels were used to estimate prognosis in HF; however, most studies evaluated hospitalized patients using single measurements. Methods A cohort of 172 New York Heart Association functional class III to IV outpatients was prospectively studied with serial cTnT measurements collected every 3 months over a 2-year period. The primary end point was death or cardiac transplantation, and secondary end points included HF hospitalization. Results Of the 172 patients, 22 (13%) died or underwent transplantation during the first year. Therefore, 150 patients were included in the second-year analysis of 3 pre-determined groups: 1) no serial cTnT elevations (defined as Conclusions Elevations in cTnT, even using a low threshold of 0.01 ng/ml, detected during routine clinical follow-up of ambulatory patients with HF, are highly associated with an increased risk of events, particularly with frequent or persistent cTnT elevations of ≥0.01 ng/ml. Therefore, the ability to monitor clinical change through serial cTnT measurements may add to risk assessment in the ambulatory HF population.
Sensitization induced receptive field plasticity in the auditory cortex is independent of CS-modality.

Abstract Sensitization training with an auditory stimulus produces a general increase in response magnitude across the entire receptive field (RF) of neurons in the primary auditory cortex of the guinea pig (Bakin, J.S. and Weinberger, N.M., Brain Res. , 536 (1990) 271–286). To determine if this effect reflects an auditory system-specific process or is caused by a process independent of the training stimulus modality. RFs in primary auditory cortex were characterized before and immediately after adult guinea pigs were given sensitization training with either an auditory or a visual training stimulus. General increases in auditory response magnitude across the RF were observed in 7 out of 7 auditory sensitization cases and 4 out of 5 visual sensitization cases. There were no statistical differences between the effects of auditory and visual sensitization training. These findings indicate that the general increases observed following sensitization training are the result of processes independent of CS modality, in contrast to the highly specific RF modifications that are caused by classical conditioning. The findings suggest that the 2 forms of RF plasticity, CS-specific re-tuning due to associative conditioning and polymodal general increases in gain due to non- associative sensitization, may reflect neural mechanisms involved in selective attention and vigilance, respectively.
High Surface‐Area Ceria Aerogel

Ceria (CeO2) aerogels with high surface area and high porosity have been prepared. Ce-methoxyethoxide diluted in excess methoxyethanol was slowly hydrolyzed to yield a gel, which was then supercritically dried in CO2. Both as-synthesized and annealed aerogels were examined by X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and BET surface area and pore-size analyses. Thermal analysis of the as-synthesized gel showed it to contain only ∼5 wt% residual organics, which were removed by 300°C under oxygen. The unheated ceria aerogel was crystalline and exhibited a specific surface area of 349 m2/g with average pore diameter of ∼21.2 nm and 90% porosity. Heat treatment led to a reduction of porosity and pore size, as would be expected, but the extremely narrow pore-size distribution of the aerogel was retained.
Stagflationary effects of monetary stabilization policies : a quantitative analysis of South Korea

This paper presents a macro-model of the Korean economy that focuses on short-run macro-economic adjustment and, more in particular, on the transmission channels of monetary policy between the financial and the real sector of the economy. In addition to the usual link between monetary policy and aggregate demand via investment, the link between monetary policy and the supply side of the economy via the financing of working capital with borrowed funds is incorporated. This link can potentially reverse the short-run impact of tight money on inflation and aggregate the impact on output. Both export prices and domestic prices show a significant sensitivity to cost of financing working capital. This credit-supply side link gives a stagflationary bias to restrictive credit policies. The empirical relevance of this phenomenon is strongly supported by the simulation results derived with the model. Structurally, section 2 of the paper focuses on the real sector part of the model; section 3 discusses the financial sector. In section 4 different monetary stabilization packages are simulated using the model presented in sections 2 and 3, and alternative policy measures are discussed; the simulation runs show strong short-run stagflationary effects of tight money policies.
Neoplastic angioendotheliosis: Ultrastructural study and review of the literature

Neoplastic angioendotheliosis is a rare disorder characterized by progressive multifocal neurological deficit and dementia. The principal pathological findings are multiple infarcts in the brain and spinal cord and the microscopical demonstration of proliferated neoplastic cells, primarily within the lumens of arteries, arterioles, and capillaries. Vessels of the central nervous system are the most severely affected and appear to be the primary site of neoplastic proliferation. Systemic intravascular and focal extravascular proliferation can also be identified. The endothelial origin of the neoplastic cell with a gradation of changes from normal to neoplastic is demonstrated by the electron microscopical study of involved meningeal vessels. Our patient and those reported in the literature all demonstrate involvement of the central nervous system. In addition, an elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein level is present in all patients for whom that information is available, and fever and renal involvement are frequently present. Steroid therapy is generally ineffective. If the disease is suspected clinically, our studies suggest that meningeal biopsy is the diagnostic procedure of choice to help determine whether chemotherapy should be instituted.
Therapy with felony-convicted male juvenile offenders.

Crime among youth is one of America's fastest growing problems. Crimes of violence and aggression against persons and property are increasingly disturbing to the American public. Frequently, these problems are dealt with from a judicial perspective only, without regard for underlying problems. There is little or no access to health care, especially mental health cure, for these troubled youths and their families. The role of the juvenile justice system was established on the basis of the philosophical principle of “parens patriae.” This concept establishes the state as the higher or the ultimate parent of all within its borders. Unfortunately, this system falls short of fulfilling that obligation. Thus, these children are not accorded the protection that is given to adults nor the care and rehabilitation recommended for children. The purpose of this paper is to describe one program that combines the judicial needs of the state with comprehensive mental health services for juvenile offenders on intensive p...
Floor response spectra with structure-equipment interaction effects by a mode synthesis approach

A mode synthesis-based direct approach is presented to calculate seismic response of equipment supported on structures. The approach incorporates the effect of the dynamic interaction between the equipment and the supporting structure. The modal properties of the combined structure–equipment system are obtained by synthesizing the modal properties of the individual structures. The seismic input defined in terms of smoothed ground response spectra can be directly utilized in this approach. Both heavy and light equipment can be considered by the approach equally effectively. Numerical examples demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach are presented.
High-voltage SiC and GaN power devices

The recent progress in the development of high-voltage SiC and GaN power switching devices is reviewed. The experimental performance of various rectifiers and transistors, which have been demonstrated, is discussed. Material and processing challenges and reliability concerns on SiC and GaN power devices are also described. The future trends in device development and commercialization are pointed out.
Orthonormal Basis Function Based Transient Modeling for Boring Tool Degradation Monitoring

This paper presents the investigation of modeling the interaction between the boring tool and work-piece using orthonormal basis function method. The transient response during such interaction can be considered as step response of a higher order system with lightly damped modes. The response profile changes throughout the life span of a boring tool. Obtaining a parametric model will be the base for the model-based diagnosis and prognosis for the boring tool. Two basic orthonormal function kernels, Kautz and Laguerre, have been studied. The steepest descent method was applied to search for the pole determination. The least mean square method was used to find the optimal model coefficients. The modeling results showed that Kautz and Laguerre function kernels are viable for modeling the transient response for boring tool vibration. The obtained model can be further for applying the parametric methods of fault diagnosis and remaining-life prediction.
Uniform stability of switched linear systems: extensions of LaSalle's Invariance Principle

This paper addresses the uniform stability of switched linear systems, where uniformity refers to the convergence rate of the multiple solutions that one obtains as the switching signal ranges over a given set. We provide a collection of results that can be viewed as extensions of LaSalle's Invariance Principle to certain classes of switched linear systems. Using these results one can deduce asymptotic stability using multiple Lyapunov functions whose Lie derivatives are only negative semidefinite. Depending on the regularity assumptions placed on the switching signals, one may be able to conclude just asymptotic stability or (uniform) exponential stability. We show by counter-example that the results obtained are tight.
Automated error diagnosis using abductive inference

When program verification tools fail to verify a program, either the program is buggy or the report is a false alarm. In this situation, the burden is on the user to manually classify the report, but this task is time-consuming, error-prone, and does not utilize facts already proven by the analysis. We present a new technique for assisting users in classifying error reports. Our technique computes small, relevant queries presented to a user that capture exactly the information the analysis is missing to either discharge or validate the error. Our insight is that identifying these missing facts is an instance of the abductive inference problem in logic, and we present a new algorithm for computing the smallest and most general abductions in this setting. We perform the first user study to rigorously evaluate the accuracy and effort involved in manual classification of error reports. Our study demonstrates that our new technique is very useful for improving both the speed and accuracy of error report classification. Specifically, our approach improves classification accuracy from 33% to 90% and reduces the time programmers take to classify error reports from approximately 5 minutes to under 1 minute.
Coarse-coding applied to HONNs for PSRI object recognition

Summary form only given, as follows. It is noted that a higher-order neural network (HONN) can be easily designed for position, scale, and rotation invariant (PSRI) object recognition. Invariances are built directly into the architecture of a HONN and do not need to be learned. Fewer training passes and a smaller training set are therefore required to learn to distinguish between objects. The size of the input field is limited, however, because of the memory required for the large number of interconnections in a fully connected HONN. By using coarse coding, the input field size can be increased to allow the larger input scenes required for practical object recognition problems. Using coarse coding, the size of the input field was increased to 127*127 pixels and a third-order neural network was trained to distinguish between a 'T' and a 'C' independent of distortions in translation, in-plane rotation, or scale up to a factor of four. In addition, the same network achieves invariance between a number of other objects, including distinguishing between an F18 aircraft and a Space Shuttle Orbiter. In each case, the network is trained on just one view of each object and learns to distinguish between the two objects in fewer than ten passes through the training set. >