cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling solute transport and transient seepage in a laboratory beach under tidal influence

This paper explored numerical techniques to simulate the movement of an applied tracer plume in a laboratory beach subjected to tide. The MARUN model (Boufadel et al., 1999) was used. The movement of the tracer plume in the beach and the development of a transient seepage on the beach surface were modeled. By calibrating the results of the numerical model against the observed data, the laboratory beach was found to have two different zones: a top layer (thickness 9-17cm) with a saturated hydraulic conductivity, K"0, of 0.2cm/s and a lower layer with a K"0 of 0.12cm/s. The simulations revealed that the plume moved seaward during falling tides and downward during rising tides, which is consistent with previous studies. It was also observed that the plume developed a tail that extended in the landward direction, and a freshwater pool became entrapped between the main plume and its extended tail. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of boundary conditions, seepage face development, capillarity, and dispersivity values. It was found that a Dirichlet boundary condition landward of the beach causes the plume of applied tracer to sink deeper into the beach in comparison with a Neumann boundary condition. The suppression of the seepage face by forcing the water table to match the tide level did not have great effects on beach hydrodynamics or on the movement of the tracer, which was probably due to the small slope of the beach (10%). However, seepage flow was around half of the seaward flow leaving the beach through the submerged face. Investigation on the capillarity through the van Genuchten parameter revealed that a decrease in the pore size of the beach greatly affects solute hydrodynamics; we noted that the effects on solute transport increase with depth. Thus, we conclude that using a saturated flow model for tidally influenced beaches should be discouraged, especially for fine textured media (i.e., small @a or strong capillarity). The simulations also showed that dispersivity does not affect the travel time of the peak of solute concentration at a specific location but affects its magnitude.
Solitary internal waves in deep water

A new type of solitary wave motion in incompressible fluids of non-uniform density has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. If a fluid is stratified in such a manner that there are two layers of different density joined by a thin region in which the density varies continuously, this type of wave propagates along the density gradient region without change of shape. In contrast to previously known solitary waves, these disturbances can exist even if the fluid depth is infinite. The waves are described by an approximate solution of the inviscid equations of motion. The analysis, which is based on the assumption that the wavelength of the disturbance is large compared with the thickness, L, of the region in which the density is not constant, indicates that the propagation velocity, U, is characterized by the dimensionless group (gL/U2) In (ρ1/ρ2), where g is the gravitational acceleration and ρ is the density. The value of this group, which is dependent on the wave amplitude and the form of the density gradient, is of the order one. Experimentally determined propagation velocities and wave shapes serve to verify the theoretical model.
Fermi-edge singularities as probes of a two-dimensional electron gas in GaAs heterostructures

In order to develop useful optical probes of a high-mobility 2D electron gas, we have investigated the many-body response of a photoinjected hole with the electron system. In asymmetric GaAs/(Ga, Al)As single quantum wells strong many-body exciton effects, Fermi-edge singularities, are observed, especially under conditions where the electron Fermi level is near the nc = 2 conduction subband. The subband proximity effectively transforms the edge singularity to a many-body exciton at k = 0, where it is strongly coupled to optical fields (photoluminescence). In applied magnetic fields very large 1B periodic amplitude oscillations are seen in the edge singularity, reflecting the changes in the stability of the magnetoexciton depending on the position of the electron Fermi level within the Landau manifold.
Fallibility in formal macroeconomics and finance theory

This note focuses on George Soros's challenge to macroeconomics and finance theory that any valid methodology of social science must explicitly recognize fallibility in a Knightian sense. We use a simple algebraic example to sketch how extant models formalize fallibility. We argue that contemporary theory's epistemological and empirical difficulties can be traced to assuming away fallibility in a Knightian sense. We also discuss how imperfect knowledge economics provides a way to open mathematical models to such fallibility, while preserving economics as an empirical science.
Natural theology and nature's disguises

Henry Walter Bates’s paper on the phenomenon of mimicry in butterflies’ was read at the Linnean Society of London on November 21, 1861-three days short of the second anniversay of Darwin’s publication of On the Origin of Species. In this paper Bates described surprising resemblances among butterfly specimens of different families. He explained these similarities of coloration and pattern on “Mr. Darwin’s principles,” accepting both the general principle of evolution and the mechanism of natural selection. Without equivocation, he wrote, “I believe the case offers a most beautiful proof of the truth of the theory of natural selection. It also shows that a new adaptation, or the formation of a new species, is not affected by great and sudden change, but by numerous small steps of natural variation and selection.“2 According to Bates, natural selection had been acting over a long span of time, allowing for the gradual acquisition of a deceptive appearance in Leptalis butterflies, ordinarily a prey for many insectivorous birds. The mimicking Leptalis looked very much like the Heliconiidae, a family of butterflies which contained a number of species that were distasteful to many birds; Leptalis consequently were spared predation, once birds learned the pattern to avoid. The beautiful analogy of
Security issues and the law of the sea: A general framework

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) focused primarily on the peaceful uses of ocean space. Although security issues were and are involved in many peaceful uses of...
Gender influences cardiac function in the mdx model of Duchenne cardiomyopathy.

Aged mdx mice represent an important model for studying Duchenne cardiomyopathy. Herein we compared the cardiac phenotypes of 22-month-old male and female mdx mice. Surprisingly, only females displayed the characteristic cardiac dilation on pressure–volume loop analysis. Female mdx mice also exhibited lower contractility, larger Q waves, and higher ratios of heart weight to body weight. Our results reveal significant gender disparity in mdx cardiac function. Gender should be considered when using the mdx model for the study of Duchenne cardiomyopathy.
THE EFFECT OF TESTICULAR EXTRACT ON FILTERABLE VIRUSES.

The Reynals factor promotes the pathogenic action of the viruses of herpes, vesicular stomatitis of horses, Borna disease, and vaccinia. The heightening of virulence is revealed in various ways. The effects of the viruses may be accentuated; or a weak strain converted into a strong one, as in the case of the F. strain of herpes virus; or the power acquired to infect resistant species or tissues, as, e.g ., rabbits and the abdominal skin of guinea pigs, with acute vesicular stomatitis. The Reynals factor should serve as an important agent in the study of filterable viruses.
Resonances in Electron Impact on Atoms

Electrons colliding with atoms can form, at well-defined energies, compound states consisting of the target atom plus the incident electron. The compound states, which are also called "resonances" or "temporary negative ions," often dominate electron collision processes. In this review we discuss the experimental methods which are useful for studying these resonances, and review the results obtained by various investigators. We list the energies and the widths of resonances for H, He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Li, Na, Hg, and O. The configurations and other properties of resonances in atoms are discussed. Whenever applicable, results are presented in the form of tables and energy level diagrams.
Cathode Lifetime Issues in Field Emission Displays

Field emission displays are currently undergoing rapid transition from laboratory prototypes into commercial display components. Display lifetime and reliability are critical issues that will determine success of these displays in the marketplace. In this paper, we will summarize issues affecting field emission display lifetime and a roadmap for creating long life field emission display devices.
Sensitization does not alter phasic and tonic responses to carbachol in isolated epithelium-free guinea-pig trachea

An alteration in the handling of Ca2+ has been proposed as the pathogenic mechanism underlying the airway smooth muscle hyperresponsiveness of asthma. The present study tested the hypothesis that the altered responsiveness of receptor operated contraction to carbachol in allergic asthma results from a change in the phasic or tonic components. Using a kinetic approach, the phasic and tonic responses to 10 microM carbachol were quantitated in isolated epithelium-free trachea 21 days after guinea-pigs were sensitized with ovalbumin and aluminum hydroxide (as adjuvant) to generate preferentially IgE-like antibodies. Sensitization was confirmed by challenge of the isolated trachea with ovalbumin. The steady-state and kinetic characteristics of the phasic and tonic responses were the same from sensitized animals and animals treated with saline and aluminum hydroxide (control) and before and after challenge of the trachea from both groups of animals. The present results demonstrate that immunologic sensitization and challenge do not appear to elicit a defect in the phasic or tonic responses of receptor mediated contractions in airway smooth muscle and suggest there is no alteration in the handling of Ca2+ in smooth muscle from sensitized and challenged guinea-pig trachea.
Separable requirements for cytoplasmic domain of PSGL-1 in leukocyte rolling and signaling under flow

In inflamed venules, leukocytes use P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) to roll on P-selectin and E-selectin and to activate integrin αLβ2 (lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1, LFA-1) to slow rolling on intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Studies in cell lines have suggested that PSGL-1 requires its cytoplasmic domain to localize in membrane domains, to support rolling on P-selectin, and to signal through spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk). We generated “ΔCD” mice that express PSGL-1 without the cytoplasmic domain. Unexpectedly, neutrophils from these mice localized PSGL-1 normally in microvilli, uropods, and lipid rafts. ΔCD neutrophils expressed less PSGL-1 on their surfaces because of inefficient export from the endoplasmic reticulum. Limited digestion of wild-type neutrophils with O-sialoglycoprotein endopeptidase was used to reduce the PSGL-1 density to that on ΔCD neutrophils. At matched PSGL-1 densities, both ΔCD and wild-type neutrophils rolled similarly on P-selectin. However, ΔCD neutrophils rolling on P-selectin did not trigger Syk-dependent activation of LFA-1 to slow rolling on ICAM-1. These data demonstrate that the PSGL-1 cytoplasmic domain is dispensable for leukocyte rolling on P-selectin but is essential to activate β2 integrins to slow rolling on ICAM-1.
Microscopic Primordial Black Holes and Extra Dimensions

We examine the production and evolution of microscopic black holes in the early universe in the large extra dimensions scenario. We demonstrate that, unlike in the standard four-dimensional cosmology, in large extra dimensions absorption of matter from the primordial plasma by the black holes is significant and can lead to rapid growth of the black hole mass density. This effect can be used to constrain the conditions present in the very early universe. We demonstrate that this constraint is applicable in regions of parameter space not excluded by existing bounds.
Gene Expression Profiles of Arterial Endothelial Cells in Response to Increased Shear Stress In Vivo

Endothelial cells in vivo are believed to adapt to local hemodynamics in regions with largely unidirectional flow [1] and develop a quiescent phenotype. However, the local shear stress is altered occasionally by changes in global hemodynamic variables, such as heart rate and flow rate. These changes are caused by a number of normal physiologic events, such as exercise, smoking, sleep, stress and digestion. The duration of these changes ranges from minutes to hours, and endothelial cells undergo structural remodeling and phenotypic transformation in order to adapt to the altered shear stress. During the adaptive response, the dynamics of endothelial phenotypic change adds a new dimension to the endothelial response to shear stress.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Surgical Myocardial Revascularization After Acute Infarction

The records of 288 patients undergoing isolated surgical myocardial revascularization between June 1989 and September 1992 were reviewed to determine the relative risk associated with surgery after an acute myocardial infarction (MI). A total of 73 patients (25 percent) were operated on within 30 days of an acute infarction while 215 patients (75 percent) had no history of recent infarction. Patients with an acute infarction were more likely to have regional wall motion abnormalities on ventriculography (mean wall score 6.7 vs 4.9, p = 0.001), require preoperative balloon pumping (15.1 percent vs 5.6 percent, p=0.01), and have recent symptoms of congestive heart failure (23 percent vs 12 percent, p = 0.02). Patients with an acute MI also had higher NYHA functional classification and greater urgency of surgery. Despite these differences, overall mortality was lower in the acute MI group than in the control population (1.4 percent vs 2.3 percent, p=0.623). Weaning from bypass was not appreciably more difficult in patients with an acute MI, nor were there differences in the mean number of hours of balloon pump or inotrope support.
Solution of linear two-point boundary value problems with time-varying coefficients via Taylor series

A method for finding an approximate solution of a linear two-point boundary value problem with time-varying coefficients is proposed. Properties of Taylor series are first briefly presented and the transformation matrix relating the back vector to the current time vector together with the operation matrix of integration for Taylor series are utilized to solve the linear two-point boundary value problems. The method is computationally very attractive and applications are demonstrated through illustrative examples.
The Limitations of Energy Density for Electrochemical Capacitors

Electrochemical capacitors can be divided into two types depending on whether the salt concentration in the electrolyte changes during charging and discharging. In the first type of capacitor, such as double-layer capacitors, the salt concentration in the electrolyte reduces during the charging of the capacitor. The maximum energy density of this type of capacitor will depend not only on the specific capacitance and the operating voltage, but also on the salt concentration of the electrolyte. In this paper, a formula describing the dependence of energy density on specific capacitance, operating voltage, and salt concentration is given based on the optimized weight (or volume) ratio of the electrode material and the electrolyte. It shows that for electrochemical capacitors using nonaqueous electrolytes, the maximum energy density of the capacitor will be limited mainly by the low salt concentrations of the electrolyte. The relationship between the energy density and the mass density of the electrode is also given. The optimum mass density of the electrode can be obtained based on the value of the theoretical energy density for capacitors with different electrolytes. In the second type of capacitor, such as pseudocapacitors with metal oxide electrodes, the salt concentration in the electrolyte remains constant during charging and discharging. The maximum energy density of this type of capacitor will be limited mainly by specific capacitance and operating voltage.
3-D modeling using collaborative evolution

We present an implementation of a framework for creative design based on collaborative interactive genetic algorithms. The hypothesis is that creative designs can be produced if the design search space can be continuously expanded not just by modifying the values of variables but also by adding new ones. The framework presented herein transforms well-formed 3D models by evolving vertex programs, and allows designers to collaborate with peers by injecting solutions from their peers into their own populations. 3D models were created individually and collaboratively, and an evaluation of the individually versus collaboratively evolved 3D models showed that the majority of the evaluation participants rated the collaboratively evolved models as more creative.
Chemotropic responses by pearl millet pollen tubes

The possible existence of a chemotropic factor controlling pearl millet pollen-tube directionality within the ovary was investigated using three approaches: cytochemical analysis of water-soluble components at the micropyle, in vitro testing of various chemicals for chemotropic activity, and an attempt to isolate and characterize an ovarian chemotropic factor. Observations of pollinated pearl millet ovaries by fluorescence microscopy revealed that pollen tubes enroute to the embryo sac exhibit specific directional turns in the regions of the style base/ovary juncture, the basal placenta, and the micropyle. The placenta and the micropylar regions have water-soluble periodic acid Schiff positive-substances as well as protein; this extracellular material and the walls of the micropylar nucellar cells appear to have associated calcium (Chaubal and Reger 1991). In vitro assays of pollen-tube behavior in response to a range of external stimuli revealed that pearl millet pollen tubes exhibit directional turns in response to: (1) diffusate from excised pistil tissues; (2) glucose, but not to several other carbohydrates; (3) calcium (unwashed polygalacturonic acid-calcium gel); (4) an ovarian water soluble, low molecular weight, acidic protein. These results which apparently suggest the presence of at least three different potential chemotropic factors in pearl millet ovaries are discussed in relation to angiosperm chemotropism in general and the difficulties involved in the search for possible in vivo chemotropic factors.
EE at work: On the fast track with the Navy: The government worker's image may be a little tarnished, but working for the Navy has given this EE unmatched responsibility and advancement

An electronics engineer with the US Naval Air Development Center describes his work, building and designing Simulation-Simulation Units (SSU) for the lab that will ultimately simulate the Navy's Lightweight Airborne Multipurpose System (Lamps) Mark (Mk) III helicopter.
What is and what is not ‘Fahr's disease’

Bilateral almost symmetric calcification involving striatum, pallidum with or without deposits in dentate nucleus, thalamus and white matter is reported from asymptomatic individuals to a variety of neurological conditions including autosomal dominant inheritance to pseudo-pseudohypoparathyroidism. While bilateral striopallidodentate calcinosis is commonly referred to as 'Fahr's disease' (a misnomer), there are 35 additional names used in the literature for the same condition. Secondary bilateral calcification is also reported in a variety of genetic, developmental, metabolic, infectious and other conditions. In autosomal dominant or sporadic bilateral striopallidodentate calcinosis no known calcium metabolism abnormalities are known to date. Clinically, parkinsonism or other movement disorders appear to be the most common presentation, followed by cognitive impairment and ataxia. When presence of movement disorder, cognitive impairment and ataxia are present, a computed tomography scan of the head should be considered to rule-in or rule-out calcium deposits. Calcium and other mineral deposits cannot be linked to a single chromosomal locus. Further genetic studies to identify the chromosomal locus for the disease are in progress.
Charge-transfer optical absorption in linear magnetic insulators in a strong electric field

The effect of a strong electric field on the charge-transfer optical absorption is studied in linear narrow-band Mott-Hubbard insulators (or semiconductors) such as alkali-TCNQ's (tetracyanoquinodimethanes) and antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains, using the half-filled-band Hubbard model with strong on-site Coulomb repulsion. It is shown that, for an antiferromagnetic ground state, the main effect of the field is to severely (i.e., nonlinearly with the applied field) squeeze the unperturbed continuum absorption band into a narrower band of unevenly spaced discrete rungs of a Stark ladder. The intensity of the absorption into the Stark-ladder states has exponential tails both above and below the main band, showing a discrete version of the Franz-Keldysh effect. For random and ferromagnetic spin configurations, the absorption profile narrows and the discrete absorption resonances smear into sharp continuum structures.
GCR1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a DNA binding protein whose binding is abolished by mutations in the CTTCC sequence motif.

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, glycolysis enzymes constitute 30-60% of the soluble protein. GCR1 gene function is required for high-level glycolytic gene expression. In gcr1 mutant strains the levels of most glycolytic enzymes are between 2% and 10% of wild type. Binding sites for the global regulatory protein known as repressor activator protein 1 (RAP1)/general regulatory factor 1 (GRF1)/translation upstream factor (TUF) are found in close proximity to one or more CTTCC sequence motifs in the controlling region of GCR1-dependent genes. RAP1/GRF1/TUF-binding sites are known to be essential elements of upstream activating sequences that control expression of many glycolytic genes. In this report, I demonstrate that GCR1 encodes a DNA binding protein whose ability to bind DNA is dependent on the CTTCC sequence motif. This finding, in addition to the work of others, suggests that the GCR1 gene product and the RAP1/GRF1/TUF gene product act in concert to mediate high-level glycolytic gene expression.
Environmental factors affecting global atmospheric methane concentrations

Methane is a greenhouse gas of largely biological origin. Micro-organisms responsible for production of much of the atmospheric methane are directly affected by climate resulting in potential feedbacks between the atmosphere and the biosphere. Our current understanding of the role of methane in the climate system is reviewed in this article, with a brief discussion of biological, chemical, and physical processes responsible for the spatial and temporal distribution of atmospheric methane. The magnitude of most methane sources is highly speculative, and their distributions are qualitatively understood. Most terrestrial source regions have been surveyed, but few have been studied in much detail. The strength of enteric sources is based on laboratory measurements of emissions from a few animals and estimates of global populations. Accuracy of the resulting flux size and distribution is highly suspect. Data available on either magnitude or distribution of non-biogenic methane sources are scarce. Models of the influence of climate on biological methane sources are primarily regressions dependent on measures of heat and water in the environment. Process-based models derived from biological and physical principles are called for in order to address environmental conditions unlike the present.
Energy loss and themalization of low-energy electrons

Various processes involved in the moderation of low-energy electrons (< keV in energy) have been delineated in gaseous and liquid media. The discussion proceeds in two stages. The first stage ends and the second state begins when the electron energy equals the first excitation potential of the medium. The second stage ends with thermalization. Cross sections for electronic excitation and for the excitation (and de-excitation) of sub-electronic processes have been evaluated and incorporated in suitable stopping power and transport theories. Comparison between experiment and theory and intercomparisons between theories and experiments have been provided where possible.
Using the Text Structures of Information Books to Teach Writing in the Primary Grades.

Teaching children in the primary grades the text structures and features used by authors of information text has been shown to improve comprehension of information texts and provide the scaffolding and support these children need in order to write their own information texts. As teachers implement the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they will need support and training on how to meet these increased curricular demands. In this article, we describe how children’s information books can be used as exemplars of well-structured text models to teach young students how to write selected discourse patterns required in the CCSS. As children in the primary grades learn to recognize and use well-structured example information texts as models for their own writing, they will be better prepared to deal with less well-structured, more complex text examples in their reading and writing in the years to come.
Lost opportunities: Modeling commercial building energy code adoption in the United States

Abstract This paper models the adoption of commercial building energy codes in the US between 1977 and 2006. Energy code adoption typically results in an increase in aggregate social welfare by cost effectively reducing energy expenditures. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, I test if relative state funding, a new, objective, multivariate regression-derived measure of government capacity, as well as a vector of control variables commonly used in comparative state research, predict commercial building energy code adoption. The research shows little political influence over historical commercial building energy code adoption in the sample. Colder climates and higher electricity prices also do not predict more frequent code adoptions. I do find evidence of high government capacity states being 60 percent more likely than low capacity states to adopt commercial building energy codes in the following year. Wealthier states are also more likely to adopt commercial codes. Policy recommendations to increase building code adoption include increasing access to low cost capital for the private sector and providing noncompetitive block grants to the states from the federal government.
Growth in children with chronic kidney disease: a report from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Study.

Background Growth failure is common among children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We examined the relationship of growth parameters with glomerular filtration rate (GFR), CKD diagnosis, sex and laboratory results in children with CKD.
Automating and accelerating the additive manufacturing design process with multi-objective constrained evolutionary optimization and HPC/Cloud computing

The ultimate objective of additive manufacturing is the implementation of techniques that can be used throughout the full manufacturing cycle. However, since its introduction, the additive manufacturing process has been used for little more than pre-production prototyping. The goal of some current work at ORNL is to change that reality. ORNL recently completed the first step towards optimizing the final design and manufacture of a component part (a cantilever in this case) using computer-aided design (CAD) tools, finite element analysis and simulations, and internally-developed optimization software. This paper will describe the present design process, the tools used, and the progress made thus far. It will also discuss the recent porting of ORNL's Multi-Objective Constrained Evolutionary Optimization (MOCEO) algorithms to ORNL's high performance computing (HPC) resources and to other resources available for Cloud computing, and the path forward for implementing additive manufacturing designs on these resources.
Paradoxes of Privilege and Participation: The Case of the American Red Cross

This critical discourse analysis of the American Red Cross (ARC) interrogates the discourses of situated ARC stakeholders following their participation in the 2005 hurricane disaster relief efforts. The author uses critical discourse analysis as a guiding theoretical framework and method of analysis to reflect on how the language and practices of the ARC, on a variety of levels, normalizes Whiteness and maintains White privilege. Following this analysis, the author offers a discussion of how communication research, criticism, theory, and practice can contribute to the elimination of the perpetuation of privileged racial ideology and organizational practice.
Sonoporation, anti-cancer drug and antibody delivery using ultrasound

It has been shown experimentally in cell suspensions that sonoporation could be used to deliver the anti-cancer drug Adriamycin hydrochloride (ADR) into Jurkat lymphocytes and that it could also be used to deliver goat anti-rabbit IgG and anti-mouse IgD, antibodies into human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and Jurkat lymphocytes. When ADR was delivered, the delivery efficiency reached 4.80+/-2.04% and control baseline (no ultrasound and no ADR) was 0.17+/-0.14%. When anti-rabbit IgD was delivered, the efficiencies were 34.90+/-1.80% (control baseline was 1.33+/-0.31%) and 32.50+/-4.36% (control baseline was 1.66+/-0.06%) respectively for Jurkat cells and PBMC. When goat anti-rabbit IgG was delivered, the efficiencies were 78.60+/-3.60% (control baseline was 1.60+/-0.00%) and 57.50+/-4.23% (control baseline was 11.30+/-0.81%) respectively for Jurkat cells and PBMC.
Norepinephrine-induced acute renal failure: a reversible ischemic model of acute renal failure.

Several studies have shown that acute renal failure (ARF) can be produced in the dog by infusing norepinephrine (NE) into a renal artery [1, 2]. In these studies the injury appeared to be confined to the infused kidney, with no changes occurring in systemic hemodynamics or in the function of the contralateral kidney. The hemodynamic changes noted in the infused kidney were comparable to those seen in human ARF. A major criticism of these studies, however, is that the renal failure was not shown to be reversible, as it typically is in man. In the present study, we have reexamined the NE-induced model of ARF in the dog with the particular purpose of finding a set condition which would cause ARF and yet allow recovery of renal function within a period of time comparable to that usually seen in the human disease.
Differential effects of colchicine lesions of dentate granule cells on wet dog shakes and seizures elicited by direct hippocampal stimulation

Direct electrical stimulation of either the dorsal or ventral hippocampal formation elicits wet dog shakes and overt seizures. Destruction of dentate granule cells in the dorsal hippocampal formation does not significantly reduce the number of wet dog shakes elicited by ventral hippocampal stimulation. However, destruction of dentate granule cells in the ventral hippocampus virtually eliminates wet dog shaking elicited by dorsal hippocampal stimulation. Destruction of either dorsal or ventral dentate granule cells lowers the threshold for eliciting forelimb clonus with rearing. These results suggest that dentate granule cells in the ventral hippocampus are essential for wet dog shakes elicited by intrahippocampal stimulation. However, dentate granule cells throughout the hippocampal formation appear to play an important inhibitory role in the spread of seizure activity within the hippocampus.
Investigations of the effect of the non-manganese metal in heterometallic-oxido cluster models of the oxygen evolving complex of photosystem II: lanthanides as substitutes for calcium.

We report the syntheses and electrochemical properties of nine new clusters ([LLnMnIV3O4(OAc)3(DMF)n]+ (Ln = La3+, Ce3+, Nd3+, Eu3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, Dy3+, Yb3+, and Lu3+, n = 2 or 3)) supported by a ligand (L3–) based on a 1,3,5-triarylbenzene motif appended with alkoxide and pyridine donors. All complexes were obtained by metal substitution of Ca2+ with lanthanides upon treatment of previously reported LMn3CaO4(OAc)3(THF) with Ln(OTf)3. Structural characterization confirmed that the clusters contain the [LnMn3O4] cubane motif. The effect of the redox-inactive centers on the electronic properties of the Mn3O4 cores was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. A linear correlation between the redox potential of the cluster and the ionic radii or pKa of the lanthanide metal ion was observed. Chemical reduction of the LMnIV3GdO4(OAc)3(DMF)2 cluster with decamethylferrocene, resulted in the formation of LGdMnIV2MnIIIO4(OAc)3(DMF)2, a rare example of mixed-valence [MMn3O4] cubane. The lanthanide-coordinated ligands can...
Studies of elastic e-NH3 collisions.

We report differential and momentum-transfer cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons by NH3 for collision energies from 2.5 to 20 eV. These cross sections were obtained in the fixed-nuclei static-exchange approximation using the Schwinger variational principle. Although fixed-nuclei cross sections for electron–polar-molecule collisions are inherently divergent at small angles, such results can provide useful estimates of the differential cross sections at intermediate and larger angles. The agreement at intermediate and larger scattering angles between the calculated and relative experimental cross sections, which are available at 8.5 and 15 eV, is good. The differential cross sections also show evidence of a weak d-wave enhancement around 8 eV. A significant feature seen in these cross sections, particularly at 15 and 20 eV, is their substantial backward peaking beyond 120°.
Multi-channel cooperative MAC protocol for wireless LANs

Traditional IEEE 802.11-based wireless LANs use only a single channel in order to ensure the connectivity of networks, although multi-channel capability is available to provide higher network throughput by allowing simultaneous multiple transmissions that do not interfere with each other. However, using multiple channels results in several new challenges: finding the receiver, scheduling the next transmission, and balancing the load among channels. This paper proposes a novel and efficient control-channel-based, multi-channel mechanism that uses a single transceiver. Simulation results indicate that the proposed mechanism effectively exploits all available data channels with multiple packet transmissions, provides high network throughput, and requires a low overhead. For example, when we have 13 channels with a 54Mbps data rate, the proposed mechanism provides 349Mbps throughput, while the IEEE 802.11 MAC with a single channel achieves only 13Mbps throughput.
Prolylcarboxypeptidase regulates proliferation, autophagy, and resistance to 4-hydroxytamoxifen-induced cytotoxicity in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells

Endocrine therapy with tamoxifen (TAM) significantly improves outcomes for patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. However, intrinsic (de novo) or acquired resistance to TAM occurs in a significant proportion of treated patients. To identify genes involved in resistance to TAM, we introduced full-length cDNA expression library into estrogen receptor-positive MCF7 cells and exposed them to a cytotoxic dose of 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHTAM). Four different library inserts were isolated from surviving clones. Re-introduction of the genes individually into naive MCF7 cells made them resistant to 4OHTAM. Cells overexpressing these genes had an increase in acidic autophagic vacuoles induced by 4OHTAM, suggesting their role in autophagy. One of them, prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP), was investigated further. Overexpression of PRCP increased cell proliferation, boosted several established markers of autophagy, including expression of LC3-2, sequestration of monodansylcadaverine, and proteolysis of BSA in an ER-α dependent manner, and increased resistance to 4OHTAM. Conversely, knockdown of endogenous PRCP in MCF7 cells increased cell sensitivity to 4OHTAM and at the same time decreased cell proliferation and expression of LC3-2, sequestration of monodansylcadaverine, and proteolysis of BSA. Inhibition of enzymatic activity of PRCP enhanced 4OHTAM-induced cytotoxicity in MCF7 cells. Cells with acquired resistance to 4OHTAM exhibited increased PRCP activity, although inhibition of PRCP prevented development of 4OHTAM resistance in parental MCF7 cells and restored response to 4OHTAM in MCF7 cells with acquired resistance to 4OHTAM. Thus, we have for the first time identified PRCP as a resistance factor for 4OHTAM resistance in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells.
Body height changes with hyperextension

Abstract Objective. To automatize the lumbar physical examination with an acceptable rate of error. Design. An external skin marker method for automatizing the physical examination was developed and its ability to discriminate between normal and abnormal subjects tested in a blind clinical trial. Background. The low reproducibility of clinical findings, even among experienced doctors, has been well documented. This is of particular concern and may explain why there is such a wide variation in surgical rates across the USA (tenfold for disc herniation). Inconsistencies among physicians in the evaluation of benign low back conditions make standardization desirable. Methods. A computerized physical examination was used to evaluate patients with low back pain and compare their results with a normative database obtained from a selection of healthy subjects. A high-resolution motion analysis system tracked the movement of skin markers placed on the midline and pelvis. Surface EMG electrodes placed above L5 collected data from multifidus. From the kinematics of skin markers during flexion-extension with lifts up to 32 kg, and lateral bending with lifts up to 10 kg, the following parameters were estimated: lumbosacral angle and elongation, contribution of each lumbar segment to the lordosis reduction, relative pelvic/spine motion, and trunk velocity. First the average normal value for each estimated parameter was determined using 40 normal subjects. For each subject the difference between his parameter and the normal was processed by an expert system generating a normality index varying from zero (perfect abnormal) to one (perfect normal). To develop the expert system's rules, a preliminary group of 20 very abnormal subjects was used, such that the normality index separated them from the normals. For validation, a set of 29 back-sprain patients and another set of 42 discogram-positive patients were selected. Each subject was tested and his computerized normality index calculated without any clinician's input, then compared with the clinician's evaluation, which was taken to be the gold standard. The receiver operating characteristic technique was used to quantify the discrepancies. Results. The expert system could detect clinically abnormal subjects with accuracy (sensitivity 83–91% and specificity >90%) while providing quantitative information on workers' functional capacities. Conclusions. Once a reference normative database is agreed upon, each patient can be compared with that reference according to the same rules, with the resulting machine classification being independent of the clinician. This eliminates the inter- and intra-clinician variability in patient follow-up. Because of the severity of the selection criteria, this study is based upon a relatively restricted number of subjects, as well as a limited normative database of 40 subjects.
Threading your way to protein function

It is still very difficult to determine the function of a protein from its sequence. One potential solution to the problem combines the concept of enzyme superfamilies with modern methods of protein structure prediction. Active-site templates can be used as search tools to identify new members of the superfamilies.
Compensating Optical Systems. Part 2: Generation of Holograms with Broadband Light

A technique is presented for recording Fresnel holograms with a broad spectral bandwidth light source. The conditions for obtaining an achromatic Fresnel diffraction pattern at the hologram plane are derived, and aberrations resulting from approximate compensation are discussed. Three experimental compensating systems are presented.
Process sequencing and process clustering in process planning using state space search

Process sequencing, as a very important part of process planning, has been the subject of many research reports in the area of process planning, but is usually treated as a feature-sequencing problem. This paper presents a novel algorithm for process sequencing, which considers the feature precedence network, different process candidates, and machine and tool constraints. The algorithm consists of two parts: process clustering and process sequencing. For clustering we used a notion of the same resource usage for different features, while for sequencing we applied the best-first search method algorithm to generate an optimal process sequence. The algorithm has been applied on several examples with realistic complexities, and it showed satisfactory results.
3α-OL-5-β-pregnan-20-one hemisuccinate, a steroidal low-affinity NMDA receptor antagonist improves clinical rating scores in a rabbit multiple infarct ischemia model: Synergism with tissue plasminogen activator

We previously showed that the neuroactive steroid 3alpha-ol-5-beta-pregnan-20-one hemisuccinate (ABHS), a low-affinity NMDA receptor antagonist, improves behavior in rabbits following spinal cord ischemia. The present study assessed whether this also occurs following cerebral ischemia. We used the rabbit small clot embolic stroke model (RSCEM), a model of multiple infarct ischemia, which has a well-defined behavioral endpoint. Quantal analysis for each treatment determines microclots (mg) that produce neurologic dysfunction in 50% of a group of animals (P(50)), with treatment considered beneficial if it increases the P(50) compared to controls. ABHS (25 mg/kg) injected 5 min post-embolization significantly (P = 0.046) increased the P(50) to 2.60 +/- 0.69 mg compared to 1.15 +/- 0.19 mg in controls but was ineffective at longer intervals. For combination studies with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a cumulative control curve (P(50) = 1.18 +/- 0.25 mg) was used for statistical comparisons. Low-dose tPA (0.9 mg/kg) and ABHS, given 60 min post-embolization, improved behavior synergistically (P(50) = 2.44 +/- 0.44 mg), compared to tPA (P(50) = 1.25 +/- 0.25 mg) or ABHS (P(50) = 1.05 +/- 0.24 mg) alone. A standard tPA dose (3.3 mg/kg) significantly increased the P(50) at 60 (2.69 +/- 0.19 mg) but not 180 min (1.28 +/- 0.31 mg) post-embolization. However, when combined with ABHS, an effect was evident even 180 min post-embolization (P(50) = 2.31 +/- 0.48 mg). Although the therapeutic window for ABHS is limited, it significantly enhanced neuroprotection by low-dose tPA and increased the therapeutic window for tPA, suggesting that it may be most useful as a co-therapy with thrombolytics for stroke.
Implications of the patient self-determination act: Guidelines for involving adolescents in medical decision making

Historically, parents have legally been afforded both privacy and discretion in medical decision-making for adolescents (1,2). This tradition is based on the assumptions that parents are the most motivated and capable people to act in minors' best interests, that they often have similar interests to them, and that they are more competent to make medical decisions than adolescents (3). In parental consent situations, parents' interests and values will be applied in decision-making, even when they differ from those of the adolescent patient. Over the last decade there has been growing attention to adolescents' involvement in decisions regarding their own health care, in contexts ranging from family courts (4,5) to behavioral research (6,7), to pediatric practice (8-12). Most states now permit minors to provide autonomous consent for some medical decisions (e.g., psychiatric care, substance use, sexually transmissible diseases, reproductive care) (13-15). There are other situations where they are invited to share decision-making with parents and physicians (e.g., "assent" to therapeutic research trials) (16). Many judges, in a variety of legal contexts (e.g.,
Quasiclassical Trajectory Simulations of OH(v) + NO2 → HONO2* → OH(v`) + NO2: Capture and Vibrational Deactivation Rate Constants

Quasiclassical trajectory calculations are used to investigate the dynamics of the OH(v) + NO2 → HONO2* → OH(v‘) + NO2 recombination/dissociation reaction on an analytic potential energy surface (PES) that gives good agreement with the known structure and vibrational frequencies of nitric acid. The calculated recombination rate constants depend only weakly on temperature and on the initial vibrational energy level of OH(v). The magnitude of the recombination rate constant is sensitive to the potential function describing the newly formed bond and to the switching functions in the PES that attenuate inter-mode interactions at long range. The lifetime of the nascent excited HONO2* depends strongly not only on its internal energy but also on the identity of the initial state, in disagreement with statistical theory. This disagreement is probably due to the effects of slow intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) from the initially excited OH stretching mode. The vibrational energy distribution ...
An outbreak of equine encephalomyelitis, eastern type, in southwestern Louisiana.

SummaryThe virus of eastern equine encephalomyelitis was recovered from the brains of both human and equine fatal cases occurring in an outbreak of encephalomyelitis in southwestern Louisiana. Positive neutralization tests to this virus were obtained with sera of 2 chickens, 1 dog, and 31 human and equine cases and their contacts, while those of 2 chickens, 1 goose, 1 pigeon and 2 cows were only weakly positive. Antibodies to the western equine virus were found in the sera of 1 dog, 8 horses and 19 chickens and to a very slight degree in the sera of 2 humans and 2 cows.