cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Minimal evidence for consistent changes in maize DNA methylation patterns following environmental stress

DNA methylation is a chromatin modification that is sometimes associated with epigenetic regulation of gene expression. As DNA methylation can be reversible at some loci, it is possible that methylation patterns may change within an organism that is subjected to environmental stress. In order to assess the effects of abiotic stress on DNA methylation patterns in maize (Zea mays), seeding plants were subjected to heat, cold, and UV stress treatments. Tissue was later collected from individual adult plants that had been subjected to stress or control treatments and used to perform DNA methylation profiling to determine whether there were consistent changes in DNA methylation triggered by specific stress treatments. DNA methylation profiling was performed by immunoprecipitation of methylated DNA followed by microarray hybridization to allow for quantitative estimates of DNA methylation abundance throughout the low-copy portion of the maize genome. By comparing the DNA methylation profiles of each individual plant to the average of the control plants it was possible to identify regions of the genome with variable DNA methylation. However, we did not find evidence of consistent DNA methylation changes resulting from the stress treatments used in this study. Instead, the data suggest that there is a low-rate of stochastic variation that is present in both control and stressed plants.
Output buffer impedance control and noise reduction using a speed-locked loop

This paper presents a digital speed-locked loop (SLL) which controls the output buffer drive strength in an Ethernet controller chip. The SLL automatically determines the chip speed and adjusts the output buffer drive strength so that buffer impedance and switching noise remain within narrow limits over all process, voltage, and temperature conditions.
Phenomenological Concept of Intentionality

According to the phenomenological concept of intentionality, every mental process is aware of something other than itself. Mental life is aware of objects in many ways. Intentional objects can be real or unreal, emotionally colored, and acted upon. Understanding the structure of conscious mental processes reveals the nature of our preobjective worlds, including how we experience space, time, and ourselves. A great deal of phenomenological work in clinical psychology has involved methods for understanding the experiences of others, especially clients. Keywords: intentionality; lived body; lived space; lived time; mental life; phenomenology
Radiation from microstrip transmission lines

The radiation properties of a microstripline configuration are investigated. The electric field produced by a microstripline on a printed circuit board is calculated analytically using the magnetic vector potential and numerically using the method-of-moments technique, for comparative purposes. To simplify the calculations the microstripline is replaced by an open-wire transmission line. A frequency of 100 Hz, which is in the range known to cause problems with FCC compliance of digital products, is used. The objective is to calculate the electric field one would expect to measure at a test site used for FCC compliance measurements, as opposed to the free-space results obtained when ground reflections are not considered. It is shown that replacing the microstrip structure with a two-wire transmission line for the calculations, although not rigorous, provides suitable accuracy for EMC applications. >
BT PropNet — a commercial property trading service for the Internet

The UK commercial property market has a large number of stakeholders which can hinder identification and analysis of key information. By using the latest Internet technology, this information can be made available to the desktop to significantly enhance the property trading business. This paper provides an overview of the recently launched BT PropNet, a trial property trading service for the UK commercial market, and describes its system infrastructure.
Closing the Loop: Mount Sinai Neurology Resident Clinical Acumen Assessment Project (S30.006)

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: To characterize cases seen by on-call neurology residents and assess accuracy of their initial diagnostic impressions, identifying both individual and systemic educational needs. DESIGN/METHODS: From July 2010 to June 2013 all patients independently assessed and presented by on-call junior residents during daily morning report were captured in a caselog. We recorded the encounter venue and resident9s initial diagnostic impression; we “closed the loop” by later revisiting each case after reviewing the final diagnosis. We categorized cases as having a final diagnosis of a primary neurological condition or as “non-neurological” (medical, psychiatric, ophthalmologic, other). Neurological cases were sorted into CNS/PNS localizations and further cataloged by etiology. We compared residents9 initial diagnostic impression to the final diagnosis to assess whether the initial impression was accurate, partially accurate, or inaccurate. RESULTS: 834 cases were presented in total; 604 (74.1%) carried a final diagnosis of being primarily neurological. Of these, 521 (86.1%) localized to the CNS and 84 (13.9%) to PNS. Of the 211 non-neurological cases, 135 (64.0%) were medical, 48 (22.7%) psychiatric, and 4 (1.9%) ophthalmologic. 607 cases were seen in the Emergency Department, 165 on inpatient floors, and 57 were transfers from outside institutions. Residents’ overall initial diagnostic impressions were accurate in 67.9% of cases and inaccurate in 27.4%. Resident accuracy was 70.9% in neurological cases (71.2% for CNS and 70.9% for PNS), and 59.8% for cases ultimately deemed “non-neurological.” Highest accuracy was in ischemic stroke (82.3%) and seizure (75.6%), which were the most frequent diagnoses presented (n = 121 and 59, respectively). CONCLUSION: This project presents a novel educational initiative to assess and improve neurology resident clinical acumen. Diagnostic accuracy varied widely across disorders, though was similar for CNS vs. PNS cases. Accuracy was highest in CNS diagnoses with most frequent clinical exposure but can be improved across-the-board. Disclosure: Dr. Zubkov has nothing to disclose. Dr. Brandstadter has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hannigan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Krieger has received personal compensation for activities with Acorda Therapeutics, Bayer Healthcare, Biogen Idec, Genzyme Corporation, Questcor, and Teva Neuroscience. Dr. Krieger has received research support from Bayer Healthcare.
Consistency and signal strength of respiratory neuronal activity

The concerns of this study are taxonomic. We demonstrate a defining characteristic of respiratory neuronal activity. This characteristic is the degree or size of the respiratory component in the activity of a respiratory cell. The essential feature of respiratory activity is that it occurs in phase with some portion of the respiratory cycle. Therefore, neuronal activity can be arranged within a matrix in which the columns are fractions of the respiratory cycle and the rows are breaths and, as Netick and Orem (10) have shown, this matrix can be analyzed with an analysis of variance to determine whether the activity contains a respiratory component. However, the analysis of variance indicates nothing about the size of a statistically significant respiratory component. We hypothesized that the size of the respiratory component in the activity of different respiratory cells differed among cells but was a stable characteristic of any given cell. The index used to quantify the degree of respiratory activity was eta 2, the proportion of the total variance of the activity of a respiratory neuron consisting of the variance occurring across fractions of the respiratory cycle. This index theoretically depends on a) the range of activity levels across a respiratory cycle and the dispersion of activity levels over this range (parameters signifying the strength of the respiratory signal) and b) the variability in the activity of the cell across breaths (a parameter signifying the consistency of the respiratory activity). Theoretically, eta 2 values can vary from 0.0 to 1.0 indicating, respectively, that none or all of the variability in the activity of a cell across breaths is accounted for by a respiratory effect. eta 2 was used to analyze the size of the respiratory component in the activity of 32 medullary respiratory neurons recorded during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in chronic cats. These different respiratory cells had activity patterns with eta 2 values ranging from 0.1 to 0.9. However, the activity of a given cell produced eta 2 values that were consistent from sample to sample. Therefore, the eta 2 value of the activity of a cell was a defining, stable characteristic of that cell. The eta 2 values of the activity of the cells were strongly correlated with the consistency of their discharge pattern from breath to breath (r x,y = 0.975).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
In vitro metabolism of EPN and EPNO by mouse liver

Abstract The in vitro metabolism of EPN (O-ethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonothionate) and EPNO (O-ethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonate) in mouse liver was studied. EPNO was metabolized faster than EPN, and the highest metabolic activity was found in the 10,000g supernatant in the presence of both NADPH and glutathione. Liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH metabolize EPN to its oxygen analog, EPNO and p-nitrophenol. With the 100,000g supernatant only slight metabolism of EPN occurred in the presence of GSH. Metabolism of EPNO by liver microsomes increased upon the addition of NADPH. p-Nitrophenol was the only metabolite isolated in the presence of microsomes, whereas, with the addition of NADPH, both p-nitrophenol and desethyl EPNO were formed. Quantitative studies showed that there was little, if any, oxidative dearylation of EPNO by liver microsomes. The 100,000g supernatant was found to actively degrade EPNO, and this increased upon addition of glutathione. The initial rate of p-nitrophenol formation as a result of incubation of EPN and EPNO with liver microsomes was found to be higher with EPN than EPNO.
Climate and heat-related emergencies in Chicago, Illinois (2003–2006)

Extreme heat events are responsible for more deaths in the United States than floods, hurricanes and tornados combined. Yet, highly publicized events, such as the 2003 heat wave in Europe which caused in excess of 35,000 deaths, and the Chicago heat wave of 1995 that produced over 500 deaths, draw attention away from the countless thousands who, each year, fall victim to nonfatal health emergencies and illnesses directly attributed to heat. The health impact of heat waves and excessive heat are well known. Cities worldwide are seeking to better understand heat-related illnesses with respect to the specifics of climate, social demographics and spatial distributions. This information can support better preparation for heat-related emergency situations with regards to planning for response capacity and placement of emergency resources and personnel. This study deals specifically with the relationship between climate and heat-related dispatches (HRD, emergency 911 calls) in Chicago, Illinois, between 2003 and 2006. It is part of a larger, more in-depth, study that includes urban morphology and social factors that impact heat-related emergency dispatch calls in Chicago. The highest occurrences of HRD are located in the central business district, but are generally scattered across the city. Though temperature can be a very good predictor of high HRD, heat index is a better indicator. We determined temperature and heat index thresholds for high HRD. We were also able to identify a lag in HRD as well as other situations that triggered higher (or lower) HRD than would typically be generated for the temperature and humidity levels, such as early afternoon rainfall and special events.
Prognosis in schizophrenia: individual differences in psychological response to a test dose of antipsychotic drug and their relationship to blood and saliva levels and treatment outcome.

Abstract Plasma and saliva CPZ concentrations and their relationships to psychometric change following a single test dose of drug were studied in schizophrenic patients. There were great individual differences: in some cases performance was improved, in others it was reduced. In general, psychometric change followed CPZ plasma levels but with a definite time lag. Nevertheless, the relationship was neither simple nor direct. CPZ levels and drug effects on psychometric parameters did not proceed hand in hand: curves in individual cases may be offset or there may be no effect on one measure, even though the others change. Disappointingly, there was no significant relationship between test dose performance and the eventual outcome of a course of drug treatment. These observations imply that it is unlikely that there is a simple relationship between therapeutic change and plasma levels. We conclude from our test dose research, so far, that the most fruitful predictors of therapeutic outcome may be early plasma and saliva levels of drug, early clinical response, and the patient's initial subjective response to the drug effect.
Concepts about the capabilities of computers and robots: a test of the scope of adults' theory of mind

We have previously demonstrated that people apply fundamentally different concepts to mechanical agents and human agents, assuming that mechanical agents engage in more location-based, and feature-based behaviors whereas humans engage in more goal-based, and category-based behavior. We also found that attributions about anthropomorphic agents such as robots are very similar to those about computers, unless subjects are asked to attend closely to specific intentional-appearing behaviors. In the present studies, we ask whether subjects initially do not attribute intentionality to robots because they believe that temporary limits in current technology preclude real intelligent behavior. In addition, we ask whether a basic categorization as an artifact affords lessened attributions of intentionality. We find that subjects assume that robots created with future technology may become more intentional, but will not be fully equivalent to humans, and that even a fully human-controlled robot will not be as intentional as a human. These results suggest that subjects strongly distinguish intelligent agents based on intentionality, and that the basic living/mechanical distinction is powerful enough, even in adults, to make it difficult for adults to assent to the possibility that mechanical things can be fully intentional.
Simulation-Based Methodology for Developing Performance-Related Specifications for Pavement Preservation Treatments

AbstractCurrent materials and construction specifications for pavement preservation treatments are predominantly prescriptive and rarely correlate the initial quality of the treatment to its future performance. As a result, it is difficult for highway agencies to account for the performance lost or gained due to differences between the as-designed treatment and as-constructed treatment. Also, these specifications may not incentivize contractors to focus on factors that affect the treatment’s long-term performance. To account for these limitations, this paper provides a simulation-based performance-related specification (PRS) methodology for pavement preservation treatments, with application to thin hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlays. Through performance prediction models and lifecycle cost analysis, this methodology determines pay factors based on the probability distributions of the total lifecycle costs of the as-designed and as-constructed treatments and the unit bid price. The developed PRS methodology wa...
Acidification of Earth: An assessment across mechanisms and scales

In this review article, anthropogenic activities that cause acidification of Earth’s air, waters, and soils are examined. Although there are many mechanisms of acidification, the focus is on the major ones, including emissions from combustion of fossil fuels and smelting of ores, mining of coal and metal ores, and application of nitrogen fertilizer to soils, by elucidating the underlying biogeochemical reactions as well as assessing the magnitude of the effects. These widespread activities have resulted in (1) increased CO2 concentration in the atmosphere that acidifies the oceans; (2) acidic atmospheric deposition that acidifies soils and bodies of freshwater; (3) acid mine drainage that acidifies bodies of freshwater and groundwaters; and (4) nitrification that acidifies soils. Although natural geochemical reactions of mineral weathering and ion exchange work to buffer acidification, the slow reaction rates or the limited abundance of reactant phases are overwhelmed by the onslaught of anthropogenic acid loading. Relatively recent modifications of resource extraction and usage in some regions of the world have begun to ameliorate local acidification, but expanding use of resources in other regions is causing environmental acidification in previously unnoticed places. World maps of coal consumption, Cu mining and smelting, and N fertilizer application are presented to demonstrate the complex spatial heterogeneity of resource consumption as well as the overlap in acidifying potential derived from distinctly different phenomena. Projected population increase by country over the next four decades indicates areas with the highest potential for acidification, so enabling anticipation and planning to offset or mitigate the deleterious environmental effects associated with these global shifts in the consumption of energy, mineral, and food resources.
Second harmonic generation and two-photon luminescence in the exciton region of CuCl

Abstract The wavelength dependence of second harmonic generation and two-photon induced luminescence in the region of the first and second exciton absorption peaks in CuCl has been measured to determine the variation of the nonlinear optical susceptibility in that region.
Micro-energy markets: The role of a consumer preference pricing strategy on microgrid energy investment

Abstract The fragility of the modern electrical grid is exposed during random events such as storms, sporting events and often simply routine operation. Even with these obvious flaws large utilities and governments have been slow to create robust solutions due to the need of large capital investments required to address the issues. In this light creative economic and engineering solutions are desired to finance the needed upgrades. Driven by the requirement to have uninterrupted power that meets customers desires this research focuses on linking consumer preferences to a type of energy source in order to best fulfill stakeholder priorities. This approach is in contrast to the current and prevalent lowest cost methods to producing and consuming energy. This research yields a preliminary ‘micro-energy market’ that consists of an energy network architecture, pricing methodology and mathematical template which quantifies potential economic inefficiencies. If exploited these inefficiencies could be used to fund investment into various energy sources that provide unmet needs such as reduced carbon footprint, renewable, quality, and local production. These inefficiencies can be best exploited within the structure of a microgrid. Identification of opportunities on this smaller scale can provide an incentive for producers to develop a robust set of production facilities of varying size and characteristics to meet the consumer preferences. A stochastic optimization model of a microgrid implementation for a small military installation is used to evaluate the effects of this pricing methodology. The energy production of the resulting microgrid would be optimized to meet consumer preferences and minimize economic inefficiency.
Structural evidence for a dominant role of nonpolar interactions in the binding of a transport/chemosensory receptor to its highly polar ligands.

The receptor, a maltose/maltooligosaccharide-binding protein, has been found to be an excellent system for the study of molecular recognition because its polar and nonpolar binding functions are segregated into two globular domains. The X-ray structures of the “closed” and “open” forms of the protein complexed with maltose and maltotetraitol have been determined. These sugars have ∼3 times more accessible polar surface (from OH groups) than nonpolar surface (from small clusters of sugar ring CH bonds). In the closed structures, the oligosaccharides are buried in the groove between the two domains of the protein and bound by extensive hydrogen bonding interactions of the OH groups with the polar residues confined mostly in one domain and by nonpolar interactions of the CH clusters with four aromatic residues lodged in the other domain. Substantial contacts between the sugar hydroxyls and aromatic residues are also formed. In the open structures, the oligosaccharides are bound almost exclusively in the doma...
Effects of strong coupling on pairing fluctuations in layered superconductors

The influence of short inelastic lifetimes due to strong coupling of fermionic quasiparticles to bosons on superconducting fluctuation effects aboveTc is calculated. Considering a strong-coupling model for a layered superconducting metal, it is shown that pairing fluctuation corrections to the spin-lattice relaxation rate in weak coupling and very strong coupling are qualitatively different if the pairing fluctuation spectrum has s-wave symmetry. For weak coupling the corrections are positive, whereas for very strong coupling γ = 2ƒ d ω α2F(ω)/ω > 2 the corrections are negative. In contrast, the Pauli spin susceptibility is insensitive to strong-coupling corrections.
Increase in Pullet Egg Size with Age

Abstract INTRODUCTION IT WAS concluded by Bohren, Rapp and Arvidson (1952) that no genetic differences in rate of egg size increase existed during the early fall months among the families and breeds studied. In addition, the regression of egg weight on weeks of age appeared to approach linearity. In view of these and other observations it was proposed that egg weights be taken at one time in the early part of the laying year and that a linear correction factor based on the linear regression of egg weight on age be used to approximate the egg weights of pullets at a common age. The remaining difference in egg weight between the pullets was then considered to be a reasonable estimate of the genetic difference in egg size to be used in the selection of breeders. The purpose of this study was to further consider these observations with a larger quantity of…
Complex formation between oxidized lipids and egg albumin

The nature of the reactions leading to the formation of complexes between oxidized lipids and proteins is little understood. Complexes were formed between thermally oxidized and thermally polymerized corn oils and egg albumin. The results indicated that the thermally oxidized oil was much more reactive than the thermally polymerized oil. The nature and extent of oxidative groups in the lipid were varied and reacted withegg albumin. The keto and epoxy groups seemed to have a pronounced influence on complex formation while the hydroxy and hydroperoxide groups were observed to be less reactive. Acetylation of egg albumin did not significantly decrease its complexing ability with thermally oxidized corn oil. Further confirmation that the reactive groups in the protein were not covalently tied up to the lipid was obtained by estimating these groups in the original protein and in the complexed protein. IR analyses of oxidized lipid-alumina, oxidized lipid-egg albumin and fatty acid-urea complexes indicated that the characteristic absorption was due to bonded O-H stretching vibration in the first two complexes and the bonded N-H stretching vibration in the two latter complexes.
Controlled domain wall motion in micron-scale permalloy square rings

Domain configurations and magnetization reversal processes of two-micron size permalloy square rings are investigated. We demonstrate that such rings display a few distinct domain structures that can be transformed into each other via controlled domain wall displacement. In order to selectively control the movement of separate domain walls, we fabricated rectangular dots adjacent to the ring structure. We show that the magnetic field originating from these dots determines the evolution of the domain configurations.
Maintenance of neurite contacts at junctional regions of cultured individual muscle fibers from aged rats is correlated with the presence of a synapse-associated protein, gelasmin

Abstract When adult skeletal muscle is denervated as a result of injury or disease, it can usually be reinnervated [1–5]. Throughout the life of an animal, some skeletal muscles are thought to undergo cycles of denervation and reinnervation with concomitant remodeling of the neuromuscular junction, even in the absence of injury or disease [6–8]. In old animals, this reinnervation process may be faulty and may not occur at all in some aged muscle fibers, leaving them permanently denervated [6–8]. In general, the former endplate is the preferred site of reinnervation [4,5,9], which had led to the speculation that specific molecular cues persist, particularly in the basal lamina of this region, that may mediate endplate reinnervation [4,5,9,10]. Although these molecular cues are as yet unidentified, one candidate is gelasmin, a 93 kD glycoprotein we have isolated and characterized from preparations of rat synaptic extracellular matrix [11,12]. Because studies of reinnervation of aged muscle in vivo are extremely difficult to perform, we have devised a tissue culture model system of muscle reinnervation composed of isolated individual aged (17–26 months old) or young adult (3–5 months old; control) rat skeletal muscle fibers and embryonic (day 13 in utero ) ventral spinal cord explants. We found that (1) gelasmin was present at all sites of nerve-muscle contact on muscle fibers from both young adult and aged animals over a 10-day culture period, that (2) twice as many aged (88%) as young adult fibers (41%) had neurite contacts in the former junctional region at 10 days and (3) gelasmin was found on significantly more aged (95%) than young adult fibers (60%) grown without nerve explants. Furthermore, although no extrajunctional contacts were found on young adult fibers by the end of the 10-day culture period, substantial numbers of extrajunctional contacts were seen on aged fibers; gelasmin was present at all of these contact sites. These results are consistent with the idea that gelasmin, which is made by muscle fibers [12], may act to mediate or stabilize the contacts made by reinnvervating nerve and that aged muscle fibers may regulate gelasmin or similar molecules differently from young adult muscle fibers.
Hole gratings for laser damage testing.

The use of hole gratings in small-spot laser damage testing is discussed. If the intensity loss due to the transmission of the grating and due to the production of several spots can be tolerated, a hole grating is shown to increase the ease of establishing a damage threshold by the production of spots with a wide range of intensities whose ratios are well understood. It allows the investigation of defect-related damage since several regions are illuminated with equal intensities, and it permits the investigation of the effects of several closely spaced simultaneous illuminations. Several types of arrays of circles and ellipses are investigated, and the effects of hole size, hole spacing, hole shape, and elliptical hole orientation are discussed. The effects of apertures of the grating are also discussed. Two methods of suppression of diffraction spots lying outside the Airy disk are described and illustrated which utilize distributions of either circular hole sizes or of elliptical hole orientations. Two arrays are used in damage tests of metal surfaces to illustrate their use.
Clarifying Performance Appraisal Criteria

Abstract A policy-capturing and clustering procedure was used to describe the performance rating behavior of the supervisor and subordinates in an intact work group. Twenty subjects rated a series of hypothetical performance profiles. Regression analysis of these ratings were employed to define a statistical rating policy for each subject. A clustering procedure was utilized to group raters on the basis of policy similarity. Results indicated that (a) subjects were very consistent in making their ratings, (b) meaningful differences in rating orientations existed, and (c) the methodology can be very useful in objectively examining the criteria used in making performance evaluations.
Fluorescence from the Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer Compound Bis(4,4′-dimethylaminophenyl)sulfone in Ethanol/CO2: A Probe of Local Solvent Composition

Fluorescence spectra and decays of bis(4,4'-dimethylaminophenyl)sulfone (DMAPS) in mixed ethanol/CO2 supercritical fluid solution have been examined in order to evaluate the local solvent polarity of the mixed fluid solvents. Solvatochromic shifts and band intensities have been determined by nonlinear regression analysis, and are compared with shifts and intensities observed in liquid n-alcohols. The spectral parameters of DMAPS in the mixed supercritical fluid solvents have been used to estimate enrichment of the local solvent composition in the polar modifier, under the assumption that the increase in solvent polarity over that calculated for the bulk fluid is the result of augmentation of the fluid composition in the region immediately surrounding the solute molecule. The analysis indicates that the local composition is enriched by a factor of five to ten over the bulk composition.
A fourier transform infrared study of the repulsive interactions and orientation of 1-butene and isobutylene on Ag(110)

Abstract Temperature programmed desorption spectroscopy (TPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to investigate the origin of the repulsive interactions and the multiple desorption states for 1-butene and isobutylene on Ag(110). The orientation of the alkenes on Ag(110) at various coverages was determined from the observed vibrational modes by use of the dipole selection rule. It was found that isobutylene lies flat on the surface. Unlike isobutylene, only three of the carbons in 1-butene are in a plane parallel to the surface; the methyl group was found to tilt 110° ± 10° from the surface plane, with the other three carbon atoms lying in a plane parallel to the surface, indicative of a gauche conformer. To verify the mode assignments for 1-butene, 1,1-d2-1-butene vibrational spectra were obtained. Both alkenes bond to the surface with the carbon-carbon double bond parallel to the surface plane. The repulsive interactions manifested by the coverage dependence of the activation energy for desorption do not give rise to reorientation of the adsorbate for θ ≤ 0.3 ML. Furthermore, the absence of frequency shifts of the vibrational modes in the adsorbed species with increasing coverage indicates that repulsive interactions apparent in desorption are not due to static dipole-dipole interaction. It appears that the forces that lead to the preferred orientation of the double bond in the alkenes leads to an increase in the repulsive pairwise potential between alkenes, leading to the decrease in the activation energy with increasing alkene coverage. The emergence of a second desorption state, β, at coverage ≥ 0.3 ML and a corresponding abrupt shift in the vibrational frequencies of the = CH2 and CH=CH wagging modes suggests that all adsorbed alkene species reorient at this coverage.
Existence of Two L Photointermediates of Halorhodopsin from Halobacterium salinarum, Differing in Their Protein and Water FTIR Bands†

FTIR difference spectra were recorded for the photoreactions of halorhodopsin from Halobacterium salinarum at 170 and 250 K. Obvious differences at the two temperatures were noted in neither the visible spectra nor the FTIR bands of the chromophore. However, perturbation of Asp141 is observed in the L intermediate at 250 K but not at 170 K. We named these photoproducts La (at 170 K) and Lb (at 250 K). The spectrum of Lb is distinct from that of La also in the different shifts of water O−H stretching bands, and larger changes in the bands from the protein backbone with different sensitivities to varying the halide. These results suggest that the photocycle of halorhodopsin contains two L states, La and Lb, in which the structure of protein and internal water molecules is different but chloride stays at the same site close to the Schiff base.
Renal and urologic manifestations of pediatric condition falsification/Munchausen by proxy.

Renal and urologic problems in pediatric condition falsification (PCF)/Munchausen by proxy (MBP) can pose frustrating diagnostic and management problems. Five previously unreported victims of PCF/MBP are described. Symptoms included artifactual hematuria, recalcitrant urinary infections, dysfunctional voiding, perineal irritation, glucosuria, and “nutcracker syndrome”, in addition to alleged sexual abuse. Falsifications included false or exaggerated history, specimen contamination, and induced illness. Caretakers also intentionally withheld appropriately prescribed treatment. Children underwent invasive diagnostic and surgical procedures because of the falsifications. They developed iatrogenic complications as well as behavioral problems stemming from their abuse. A PCF/MBP database was started in 1995 and includes the characteristics of 135 PCF/MBP victims examined by the first author between 1974 and 2006. Analysis of the database revealed that 25% of the children had renal or urologic issues. They were the presenting/primary issue for five. Diagnosis of PCF/MBP was delayed an average of 4.5 years from symptom onset. Almost all patients were victimized by their mothers, and maternal health falsification and somatization were common. Thirty-one of 34 children had siblings who were also victimized, six of whom died. In conclusion, falsifications of childhood renal and urologic illness are relatively uncommon; however, the deceits are prolonged and tortuous. Early recognition and intervention might limit the harm.
Twenty-one hormones fail to inhibit the brain to blood transport system for Tyr-MIF-1 and the enkephalins in mice.

— Tyr-MIF-1 (Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-amide) and methionine enkephalin are transported intact across the blood-brain barrier by a saturable, stereospecific system. This system has been found to be modulated by a few non-peptide substances and by certain conditions such as ageing and some stresses. We investigated the possibility that hormones structurally unrelated to Tyr-MIF-1 and the enkephalins might also be capable of modulating this transport. Twenty-one hormones were tested including steroids, proteins, glycoproteins, peptides, and thyroid hormones, in doses ranging from 0.01 pmol to 1 nmol/mouse by injecting each hormone directly into the lateral ventricle simultaneously with [125I]Tyr-MIF-1. No clear effect on transport could be established for any of the substances at the doses tested. None of these substances seemed able to act as competitive inhibitors, to share their respective transport systems with Tyr-MIF-1, or to modulate immediately the saturable transport system.
Abstract B9: Cost effectiveness of gene expression profiling for tumor site origin

Background: Gene expression profiling (GEP) reliably supplements traditional clinicopathological information on the tissue of origin (TOO) in metastatic or poorly differentiated cancer. A cost-effectiveness analysis of GEP TOO testing versus usual care was conducted from a third-party payer perspective in the United States. Methods: A retrospective, observational study examined treatment changes in patients whose physicians had received the GEP TOO test results to help diagnose the tissue-site of their patient9s malignancy and to guide appropriate therapy. Changes in planned chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, added blood tests, imaging investigations, and referral to hospice care before and after the GEP TOO test results were recorded. The effect of changes in chemotherapy on survival were based on randomized controlled trials informing appropriate use of chemotherapy cited in National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and Up-to-Date guidelines. Drug and administration costs were based on average doses reported in NCCN guidelines. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fee schedules were used to obtain other unit costs. Quality-of-life weights were obtained from literature sources. Changes in overall survival, costs, and cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained were estimated using bootstrap methods. Results: Use of chemotherapy regimens consistent with guidelines for the final tumor-site diagnosis increased significantly from 42% to 65% (net difference 23%; p Conclusions: GEP TOO testing significantly altered clinical practice patterns for treating metastatic cancer of uncertain primary. It is projected to increase overall survival, QALYs, and costs, resulting in an expected cost per QALY of less than $50,000.
Scaling loudness over short ranges: a reply to Poulton.

Poulton (1984) has recently reopened an old debate about the form of the function relating loudness to the sound-pressure level of the signal. Despite the large body of evidence developed on this subject by S. S. Stevens and his associates showing that a power function provides a good description of loudness judgment both for tones and, to a less exact degree, for noise, Poulton now raises again the Fechnerian idea that loudness is proportion~l to the logarithm of sound intensity or, in the terms of hIS title, that loudness judgments are linear with decibels. In our view, however, the evidence offered to support this claim is unconvincing. Two sets of data are presented. One set, published for the first time, concerns numerical judgments of loudness for a set of six intensities of white noise ranging from 80 to 85 dB(A) in steps of 1 dB. After two repetitions, intended to familiarize the subjects with the stimulus set, each stimulus was presented following the 80-dB stimulus, designated as the standard and assigned the value of 10 on the scale of loudness. The set was presented to all subjects in the same fixed irregular order three times in succession. Before considering the results Poulton obtained, it is useful to consider what outcomes are to be expected given both the power law and the logarithmic rule proposed by Poulton. First, assume a power function with an exponent of 0.7 (a value consistent with both Poulton's data and those reported by R. Teghtsoonian and M. Teghtsoonian [1978] for the same range of intensities, but using 3-kHz tones). If the standard is called 10, the succeeding five should be called 10.84, 11.75, 12.74, 13.80, and 14.96, and since, as Baird and Noma (1975), as well as Poulton and others, have noted, unpracticed subjects are inclined to restrict themselves to integral values in the region of numbers near 10, the expected judgments for the full set of six are simply 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. By comparison, Poulton's proposal that the average subject adds one unit of loudness for every decibel ~e~ns that beginning with a standard called 10, the remammg values will be called 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. It belabors the obvious to note that the two predictions are identical. The numerical example simply makes concrete a well-
Does The Nile Reflect Solar Variability

Historical records of the Nile water level provide a unique opportunity to investigate the possibility that solar variability influences the Earth's climate. Particularly important are the annual records of the water level, which are uninterrupted for the years 622-1470 A.D. These records are non-stationary, so that standard spectral analyses cannot adequately characterize them. Here the Empirical Mode Decomposition technique, which is designed to deal with nonstationary, nonlinear time series, becomes useful. It allows the identification of two characteristic time scales in the water level data that can be linked to solar variability: the 88 year period and a time scale of about 200 years. These time scales are also present in the concurrent aurora data. Auroras are driven by coronal mass ejections and the rate of auroras is an excellent proxy for solar variability. Analysis of auroral data contemporaneous with the Nile data shows peaks at 88 years and about 200 years. This suggests a physical link between solar variability and the low frequency variations of the Nile water level. The link involves the influence of solar variability on the North Annual Mode of atmospheric variability and its North Atlantic and Indian Oceans patterns that affect rainfall over Eastern Equatorial Africa where the Nile originates.
Circuit Interfaces and Optimization for Resistive Nanosensors

Carbon nanotube and semiconductor nanowires could potentially usher in a new era in chemical detection for environmental, biomedical, and security applications by providing highly sensitive detection at very low cost. For wireless sensor networks and implantable biomedical sensing devices, system power consumption is a critical factor in determining volume, operating lifetime, and circuit performance. We describe several key circuit challenges related to interfacing variable resistance nanosensors to digital integrated circuits through analog-to-digital data conversion. These challenges include drift in nanosensor baseline resistance due to fabrication variances and incomplete chemical desorption, various sensor and circuit noise sources, and integrated sensor and circuit area and power tradeoffs. We describe and evaluate the potential of several circuit techniques to address these issues, including self-test, self-calibration, and noise cancellation. Simulations indicate that +/- 40% variations in fabricated baseline resistance can be reduced to +/- 2% with a 25% increase in sensing area using a configurable sensor design. Based on these results, we explore potential A/D converter architectures for their use as low power nanosensor interfaces. Finally, we discuss resolution limits to miniaturization of nanosensor interface circuits.
Preoperative liver function tests and hemoglobin will predict complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Previous studies identified an association between dilated pancreatic and biliary ducts and lower rates of pancreatic leak after pancreaticoduodenectomy, but it remains unclear whether elevated liver function tests are also associated with lower rates of complications. The purpose of this study was to determine if preoperative liver function tests are associated with postoperative complications. We identified 452 patients who received a pancreaticoduodenectomy from 1990–2007. Clinicopathological data was collected for each patient, and regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of postoperative complications. Of the patients studied, 289(64%) experienced no postoperative complications. In univariate analysis, patients with a low or normal preoperative aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.03) or alkaline phosphatase(p = 0.03), had higher rates of complications. Multivariate analysis confirmed an elevated alkaline phosphatase was associated with a lower incidence of complications (OR = 0.56, p = 0.02), while preoperative anemia was found to be a predictor of complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy(OR = 2.01, p = 0.02). Anemic patients and those with normal liver function tests were more likely to experience complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy. This may represent extent of disease and tumors not causing biliary or pancreatic dilatation, respectively. Precautions, such as intraoperative ductal stents, should be considered when operating on this group of patients to minimize complications.
Diabetes and fracture risk in older U.S. adults.

Abstract Objective We examined the diabetes–fracture relationship by race/ethnicity, including the link between pre-diabetes and fracture. Research design and methods We used Medicare- and mortality-linked data for respondents aged 65 years and older from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) and NHANES 1999–2004 for three race/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic whites (NHW), non-Hispanic blacks (NHB), and Mexican Americans (MA). Diabetes was defined as diagnosed diabetes (self-reported) and diabetes status: diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes (positive diagnosis or hemoglobin A1c (A1C) ≥ 6.5%); pre-diabetes (no diagnosis and A1C between 5.7% and 6.4%); and no diabetes (no diagnosis and A1C Results The diabetes–fracture relationship differed significantly by race/ethnicity (pinteraction Conclusions The diabetes–fracture relationship was stronger in MA and NHB. Pre-diabetes was not significantly associated with higher fracture risk, however.
Photochemical Cleavage and Release of Para-Substituted Phenols from α-Keto Amides

In aqueous media α-keto amides 4-YC6H4OCH2COCON(R)CH(R‘)CH3 (5a, R = Et, R‘ = H; 5b, R = iPr, R‘ = Me) with para-substituted phenolic substituents (Y = CN, CF3, H) undergo photocleavage and release of 4-YC6H4OH with formation of 5-methyleneoxazolidin-4-ones 7a,b. For both 5a,b quantum yields range from 0.2 to 0.3. The proposed mechanism involves transfer of hydrogen from an N-alkyl group to the keto oxygen to produce zwitterionic intermediates 8a−c that eliminate the para-substituted phenolate leaving groups. The resultant imminium ions H2CC(OH)CON+(R)C(R‘)CH3 9a,b cyclize intramolecularly to give 7a,b. The quantum yields for photoelimination decrease in CH3CN, CH2Cl2, or C6H6 due to competing cyclization of 8a,b to give oxazolidin-4-one products which retain the leaving group 4-YC6H4O- (Y = H, CN). A greater tendency to undergo cyclization in nonaqueous media is observed for the N,N-diethyl amides 5a than the N,N-diisopropyl amides 5b. With para electron releasing groups Y = CH3 and OCH3 quantum yields f...
Experimental study on an impact vibration absorber

This paper investigates the effects of mass ratio, clearance, and excitation amplitude on system dynamics and impact vibration absorber (IVA) effectiveness. The experimental studies were carried out for both free and forced vibrations. For free vibrations, the effects of system parameters on the rate of decay of vibrations were shown. Constant frequency and frequency sweep experiments were conducted to study the dynamics of the system under forced vibration. Optimum system parameters were extracted, for which the vibration absorption and absorber efficiency is greatest. It was also shown that phase plots and coherence, between the forcing function and the primary system response, offered an insight in the effectiveness of the IVA.
Systems Biology and New Technologies Enable Predictive and Preventative Medicine

Systems approaches to disease are grounded in the idea that disease-perturbed protein and gene regulatory networks differ from their normal counterparts; we have been pursuing the possibility that these differences may be reflected by multiparameter measurements of the blood. Such concepts are transforming current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to medicine and, together with new technologies, will enable a predictive and preventive medicine that will lead to personalized medicine.
THE GEOPOLITICS OF INCEST: SEX, GENDER AND VIOLENCE IN THE FOURTH BRANCH OF THE MABINOGI

(2002). THE GEOPOLITICS OF INCEST: SEX, GENDER AND VIOLENCE IN THE FOURTH BRANCH OF THE MABINOGI. Exemplaria: Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 271-316.