cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of intravenous theophylline on exercise-induced myocardial ischemia: II. A concentration-dependent phenomenon

Abstract Objectives . The effects of varying concentrations of theophylline on exercise-induced myocardial ischemia were evaluated in patients with stable coronary artery disease. Background . Theophylline is a competitive antagonist of adenosine and may have potential as an anti-ischemic medication. It is not known whether these effects on myocardial ischemia are concentration dependent. Methods . In a double-blind, randomized, crossover manner, 11 patients received, at 1-week intervals, placebo and each of three theophylline doses by intravenous infusion for 45 min. Graded exercise testing was performed before randomization and immediately after each infusion. Concurrent anti-ischemic medications were withheld for 24 h before each exercise test. Serum theophylline concentrations achieved were 3.9 ± 1.0 mg/liter (low), 8.2 ± 1.8 mg/liter (medium) and 13.2 ± 2.3 mg/liter (high). Results . Compared with placebo, none of the three theophylline infusions produced a significant alteration in rest heart rate, blood pressure, mean frequency or severity of ventricular ectopic activity or noncardiac symptoms. The time to onset of ischemia was progressively increased, with medium and high concentrations achieving statistical significance. Similar patterns were observed for oxygen uptake and the heart rate-systolic blood pressure product at the onset of ischemia. Total exercise duration was significantly prolonged with the medium and high concentrations. Conclusions . It is concluded that administration of varying doses of theophylline before exercise produces a clinically significant and concentration-dependent improvement in the indicators of myocardial ischemia in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease.
Great Lakes Sinkholes: A Microbiogeochemical Frontier

Recent underwater explorations have revealed unique hot spots of biogeochemical activity at several submerged groundwater vents in Lake Huron, the third largest of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Fueled by venting groundwater containing high sulfate and low dissolved oxygen, these underwater ecosystems are characterized by sharp physical and chemical gradients and spectacularly colorful benthic mats that overlie carbon-rich sediments. Here, typical lake inhabitants such as fish and phytoplankton are replaced by communities dominated by microorganisms: bacteria and archaea that perform unique ecosystem functions. Shallow, sunlit sinkholes are dominated by photosynthetic microorganisms and processes, while food webs in deep aphotic sinkholes are supported primarily by chemosynthesis.
Zhuangzi and relativistic scepticism

Abstract Chad Hansen is one of the strongest proponents of the view that the important second chapter of Zhuangzi's Inner Chapters (The Qi Wu Lun) reveals Zhuangzi to be a relativistic sceptidst. Hansen argues that Zhuangzi is a sceptic because he is first and foremost a relativist. Hansen's argument is essentially that Zhuangzi's perspectivism, his belief that one's linguistic and conceptual perspective determines what one claims to know, makes him a thorough going relativist and sceptic. I agree that Zhuangzi is a perspectivist, but disagree with Hansen's portrayal of him as a relativistic sceptic. I first show that there is an important ambiguity in Hansen's argument. I then proceed to argue that important passages in the Qi Wu Lun (in particular the butterfly dream passage,) reveal serious problems with Hansen's interpretation of Zhuangzi's philosophical stance, I maintain that Zhuangzi is neither a sceptic nor a perspectival relativist. He is rather a perspectival realist.
Cardiovascular Effects of dl-1-(2-Acetyl-4-butyramidophenoxy)-2-hydroxy-3-isopropylaminopropane (M & B 17, 803A), a New Cardioselective Beta Adrenoreceptor Blocking Agent

The direct and beta adrenergic blocking effect of M& B 17, 803A was investigated in the isolated supported dog heart preparation (ISHP) in the presence of a constant coronary blood flow. Administration of graded doses of norepinephrine into the coronary arteries produced a dose-dependent increase in the heart rate, myocardial contractile force, left ventricular systolic pressure and coronary artery perfusion pressure. The myocardial oxygen consumption was increased significantly (p<0.05) by each dose of norepinephrine. Pretreatment of the ISHP with 0.3mg/Kg of M & B 17, 803A produced a generalized myocardial depression and an increase in coronary artery perfusion pressure, whereas the smaller dose (0.15mg/Kg) of the blocking agent was without any effect. Both the doses of M & B 17, 803A produced a competitive blockade of the effect of norepinephrine on the myocardial hemodynamics and oxygen consumption. M&B 17, 803A thus appears to be a potent agent that blocks the beta receptors, and has a significant myocardial depressant activity.
Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)‐b‐polyisobutylene‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Triblock Copolymers

The synthesis of poly[(methyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)‐b‐isobutylene‐b‐(methyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)] P(MMA‐co‐HEMA)‐b‐PIB‐b‐P(MMA‐co‐HEMA) triblock copolymers with different HEMA/MMA ratios has been accomplished by the combination of living cationic and anionic polymerizations. P(MMA‐co‐HEMA)‐b‐PIB‐b‐P(MMA‐co‐HEMA) triblock copolymers with different compositions were prepared by a synthetic methodology involving the transformation from living cationic to anionic polymerization. First, 1,1‐diphenylethylene end‐functionalized PIB (DPE‐PIB‐DPE) was prepared by the reaction of living difunctional PIB and 1,4‐bis(1‐phenylethenyl)benzene (PDDPE), followed by the methylation of the resulting diphenyl carbenium ion with dimethylzinc (Zn(CH3)2). The DPE ends were quantitatively metalated with n‐butyllithium in tetrahydrofuran, and the resulting macroanion initiated the polymerization of methacrylates yielding triblock copolymers with high blocking efficiency. Microphase sepa...
An objective approach to exploring skill differences in strategies of computer program comprehension

An experiment was conducted to examine skill differences in the control strategy for computer program comprehension. A computer program along with its hierarchy of program plans was provided to 10 intermediate and 10 novice computer programmers. Each program plan is known as a program segment to the subjects. A random list of plan goals was also provided to the subjects. The subjects were asked to match each program segment with its goal while they were comprehending the program. Several measures of the subjects' performance and control strategy were collected and analysed. The results indicated the use of an overall top-down strategy by both intermediates and novices for program comprehension. Novices' control strategies involved more opportunistic elements than experts' in the overall top-down process of program comprehension. Those differences in the control strategy between intermediates and novices result in better performance in intermediates than novices.
Close triple star systems

Triple star systems, especially those in which one star has very small mass may be more common than has been generally considered. Here is summarized some of the recent evidence supporting this possibility.
Wirelength Prediction for FPGAs

FPGA CAD tools require wirelength predictions to make informed decisions through clustering, placement and routing stages towards power, area or delay based design goals. Unfortunately, there has been minimal work devoted to estimating individual wirelengths early in the CAD flow. Rent's rule can be used to generate a wirelength distribution but cannot be used to predict lengths of individual wires. Hence, this paper explores "structural metrics" that have been found to possess strong predictive qualities in the ASIC domain. To our knowledge this is a first study in the application of these metrics in the FPGA CAD flow. Results show that the studied metrics capture characteristics of placement optimization carried out by VPR, and hence, are good indicators of post-placement wirelengths.
Pathogenicity and pathogenesis of a United States porcine deltacoronavirus cell culture isolate in 5-day-old neonatal piglets.

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) was first identified in Hong Kong in 2009–2010 and reported in United States swine for the first time in February 2014. However, diagnostic tools other than polymerase chain reaction for PDCoV detection were lacking and Koch׳s postulates had not been fulfilled to confirm the pathogenic potential of PDCoV. In the present study, PDCoV peptide-specific rabbit antisera were developed and used in immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry assays to assist PDCoV diagnostics. The pathogenicity and pathogenesis of PDCoV was investigated following orogastric inoculation of 5-day-old piglets with a plaque-purified PDCoV cell culture isolate (3×104 TCID50 per pig). The PDCoV-inoculated piglets developed mild to moderate diarrhea, shed increasing amount of virus in rectal swabs from 2 to 7 days post inoculation, and developed macroscopic and microscopic lesions in small intestines with viral antigen confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining. This study experimentally confirmed PDCoV pathogenicity and characterized PDCoV pathogenesis in neonatal piglets.
A Novel Function for SMN, the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Disease Gene Product, in Pre-mRNA Splicing

Abstract Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common motor neuron degenerative disease that results from reduced levels of, or mutations in, the Survival of Motor Neurons (SMN) protein. SMN is found in the cytoplasm and the nucleus where it is concentrated in gems. SMN interacts with spliceosomal snRNP proteins and is critical for snRNP assembly in the cytoplasm. We show that a dominant-negative mutant SMN (SMNΔN27) causes a dramatic reorganization of snRNPs in the nucleus. Furthermore, SMNΔN27 inhibits pre-mRNA splicing in vitro, while wild-type SMN stimulates splicing. SMN mutants found in SMA patients cannot stimulate splicing. These findings demonstrate that SMN plays a crucial role in the generation of the pre-mRNA splicing machinery and thus in mRNA biogenesis, and they link the function of SMN in this pathway to SMA.
Children Living Without Their Fathers: Population Estimates and Indicators of Educational Well-being

This paper estimates the number of American children in grades K–12 who live without their biological fathers and examines the association of absent-father status with children’s well-being. The 2003 Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (n = 12,426) shows that 28% percent of White students, 39% of Hispanic students, 69% of Black students, and 36% overall live without their fathers. In bivariate comparisons, absent-father status is associated with reduced well-being: worse health, lower academic achievement, worse educational experiences, and less parental involvement in school activities. When socio-economic factors are controlled, father-absence is associated with small deficits of well-being. The findings suggest that the conventional wisdom may exaggerate the detrimental effects of father absence.
The US dollar and the world oil market

Abstract Due to the increasing value of the dollar, world oil prices rose rather than fell relative to the price of OECD exports between 1980 and 1984. The real crude oil price of OECD countries increased by approximately 30% more than its counterpart for the USA. This paper calculates that if OECD oil prices had not risen but followed the trend for US prices, world oil demand in 1984 would have been about 3 million barrels per day — 6.6% higher than otherwise. Two plausible scenarios which assume the same nominal oil price, US inflation rate and OECD growth rate but different values for the dollar are considered. World oil consumption by 1990 could vary by 4 million barrels per day, depending upon shifts in the exchange rates and the value of the dollar. This variation is comparable to the range associated with significant differences in the economic growth rate between now and 1990. The paper shows that shifts in exchange rates could produce changes in oil prices in 1990 comparable to the effects of gradually removing 5 million barrels per day from total oil production by 1990.
The RPI-X system of price capping regulation re-examined

Abstract The overlooked mathematical properties of the apparently straightforward RPI-X system of price-capping regulation mean that its application in practice can have unanticipated results. As X is a simple constant it is effectively impossible to obtain consistent results over time, particularly if the RPI changes sharply. Also, setting the level of X is ultimately an arbitrary exercise as there is no clear measure of what is considered an appropriate target return on capital employed, which can be earned by the regulated company, over the period X is fixed. At privatization X will be set low to ensure the success of the issue; when it is reset X's level will depend on the relative strength of the negotiating positions of the regulator and the regulated.
Translocation of Protein Kinase Cε and Protein Kinase Cδ to Membrane Is Required for Ultraviolet B-induced Activation of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases and Apoptosis *

UV-induced signal transduction may be involved in tumor promotion and induction of apoptosis. The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in UVB-induced signal transduction is not well understood. This study showed that UVB markedly induced translocation of membrane-associated PKCepsilon and PKCdelta, but not PKCalpha, from cytosol to membrane. Dominant negative mutant (DNM) PKCepsilon or PKCdelta inhibited UVB-induced translocation of PKCepsilon and PKCdelta, respectively. UVB-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (Erks) and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNKs) was strongly inhibited by DNM PKCepsilon and PKCdelta, whereas the DNM of PKCalpha was less effective on the UVB-induced phosphorylation of Erks and JNKs. Among the PKC inhibitors used only rottlerin, a selective inhibitor of PKCdelta, markedly inhibited the UVB-induced activation of Erks and JNKs, but not p38 kinases. Safingol, a selective inhibitor for PKCalpha, did not show any inhibitory effect on UVB-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. GF109203X is a stronger inhibitor of classical PKC than novel PKC. Lower concentrations of GF109203X (<10 microM) had no effect on UVB-induced activation of Erks or JNKs. However, at higher concentrations (over 20 microM), GF109203X inhibited UVB-induced activation of JNKs, Erks, and even p38 kinases. Meanwhile, rottlerin and GF109203X markedly inhibited UVB-induced apoptosis of JB6 cells, whereas safingol had little inhibitory effect. DNM-Erk2 cells and PD98059, a selective inhibitor for mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 that directly activates Erks, inhibited UVB-induced apoptosis. DNM-JNK1 cells also blocked UVB-induced apoptosis, whereas SB202190, a specific inhibitor for p38 kinases, did not produce the inhibitory effect. These data demonstrate that PKCdelta and PKCepsilon, but not PKCalpha, mediate UVB-induced signal transduction and apoptosis in JB6 cells through activation of Erks and JNKs.
The Ins(1,3,4)P3 5/6-kinase/Ins(3,4,5,6)P4 1-kinase is not a protein kinase.

Among inositol phosphate kinases, Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase has been considered to be an outsider with disparate sequence, a proclaimed capacity to also phosphorylate proteins and apparent 1-phosphatase activity. Such multifunctionality, coupled with ignorance of its operational domains, complicates any mechanistic rationale behind literature reports that Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase regulates apoptosis, salt and fluid secretion, and transcription. We have expressed poly(His)-tagged human Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase in Sf9 insect cells and purified the enzyme using Ni-agarose chromatography. Protein kinase activity was eluted from the Ni-agarose column, but this did not co-elute with the Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase, indicating that the protein kinase and inositol kinase activities belong to separate proteins. To pursue this conclusion, we prepared catalytically inactive mutants of the Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase by identifying and targeting the ATP-binding site. Our strategy was based on sequence alignments suggesting homology of the Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase with ATP-grasp metabolic enzymes. Individual mutation of four candidate MgATP-binding participants, Lys 1 5 7 , Asp 2 8 1 , Asp 2 9 5 and Asn 2 9 7 , severely compromised Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase activity. Yet, these mutations did not affect the protein kinase activity. We conclude that the Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase is not a protein kinase, contrary to earlier reports [e.g. Wilson, Sun, Cao and Majerus (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 40998-41004]. Elimination of protein kinase activity from the enzyme's repertoire and recognition of its ATP-grasp homology together indicate that structural, functional and catalytic relationships between Ins(3,4,5,6)P 4 1-kinase and other inositol phosphate kinases are closer than previously thought [Gonzalez, Schell, Letcher, Veprintsev, Irvine and Williams (2004) Mol. Cell 15, 689-701].
All-optical TDM-to-WDM data-format conversion in a dynamically reconfigurable WDM network

At any given node within a wide-area WDM network, data from N independent channels can be time-division-multiplexed (TDM) onto a single high-speed signal and then can be transmitted across the large network; such a scenario is advantageous if there are limited available wavelengths or bandwidth. However, since the wavelength determines the final destination in a WDM network, each channel's data within this transmitted TDM packet may need to be encoded onto several different wavelengths in order to be routed to different destinations. Therefore, TDM-to-WDM conversion is highly desirable because it can increase the throughput and utility of a WDM network. Recent work1 has shown a TDM-to-WDM conversion scheme in which a 750-Mbit/s data stream was converted into two 375-Mbit/s WDM channels by using four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA).
Are extrapyramidal symptoms less recognized? Case report of modern practitioners' unfamiliarity with first generation antipsychotics

A case is presented where initial suspicion of lithium toxicity was mistaken. Drug-induced Parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia were present, underscoring the need to improve training of movement disorder assessment.
Introduction to assembly of finite element methods on graphics processors

Recently, graphics processing units (GPUs) have had great success in accelerating numerical computations. We present their application to computations on unstructured meshes such as those in finite element methods. Multiple approaches in assembling and solving sparse linear systems with NVIDIA GPUs and the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) are presented and discussed. Multiple strategies for efficient use of global, shared, and local memory, methods to achieve memory coalescing, and optimal choice of parameters are introduced. We find that with appropriate preprocessing and arrangement of support data, the GPU coprocessor achieves speedups of 30x or more in comparison to a well optimized serial implementation on the CPU. We also find that the optimal assembly strategy depends on the order of polynomials used in the finite-element discretization.
Relation of splenectomy to growth and appetite in the rat

With a view of studying the alleged effect of splenectomy on appetite and growth,1 experiments were carried out on white rats using the standard feeding technic of Osborne and Mendel. The growth was thus accurately measured and the qualitative as well as quantitative aspect of the food intake carefully controlled. Sixteen rats were splenectomized as nearly as possible at the age of 40 days. Of these, five were observed for 34 weeks, three for 43, and the remaining rats, which were the progeny of splenectomized parents, were observed for 23 weeks. In no case was there evidence of an increased appetite nor of variation from the normal growth rate.Erythrocyte count on five of the “second generation” splenectomized rats gave no indication of anemia following the operation.
Pediatric laryngeal granular cell tumor

A female African-American patient in middle childhood presented with findings of laryngeal disease with airway obstruction and had a laryngeal granular cell tumor. A clinical review of granular cell tumors is presented, emphasizing its propensity for subglottic involvement, its imaging features, and differential diagnosis.
Non-neuronal acetylcholine and urinary bladder urothelium.

Abstract Non-neuronal release of acetylcholine (ACh) has been proposed to play a role in urinary bladder function. These studies investigated the expression and function of the non-neuronal cholinergic system in cultured urothelial cells isolated from the rat urinary bladder. Our findings have revealed that urothelial cells express the high-affinity choline transporter (CHT1) and acetylcholine-synthesizing enzymes, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and carnitine acetyltransferase (CarAT). In contrast to neurons, urothelial cells do not express the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) but do express OCT3, a subtype of polyspecific organic cation transporter (OCT) that is thought to be involved in the release of acetylcholine from non-neuronal cells. Following exposure of cultured urothelial cells to 3 H-choline, radioactivity was detected in the cells and increased release of radioactivity into the eternal media was evoked by mechanical stimulation (exposure of the cells to 50% hypotonic Krebs) or chemical stimulation of purinergic receptors by 100 μM ATP. The present experiments did not establish if the evoked release of radioactivity (termed 3 H-ACh release in this paper) was due to release of acetylcholine or choline. 3 H-ACh release was not evoked by application of acetylcholine alone, however pretreatment with the non-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine prior to application of acetylcholine facilitated 3 H-ACh release, suggesting that the acetylcholine released from urothelial cells may participate in a negative feedback mechanism by acting on muscarinic receptors to inhibit its own release in the urothelium. Brefeldin, an agent which disrupts vesicular exocytosis, did not block hypotonic-evoked 3 H-ACh release. These observations indicate that acetylcholine release from urothelial cells is mediated by different mechanisms than those such as vesicular storage and exocytosis that underlie the release of neurotransmitters from nerves.
Managing bog environments for recreational experiences

Bogs are of interest to outdoor recreationists, but little information exists concerning how recreation resource managers might manage these areas to enhance visitor benefits. This study evaluates bog visitor characteristics and experiences, visual preferences, and reasons for visiting. Implications for recreational resource management of bogs include the location and design of boardwalk trails and management of understory vegetation to meet the visual preferences and motives of bog visitors.
Effect of Non–Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus on Myocardial Insulin Responsiveness in Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease

Background —Patients with non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) exhibit poor clinical outcomes from myocardial ischemia. This may reflect an impairment in their cardiac insulin-response system. Methods and Results —We used AV balance and intracoronary infusion techniques to compare the intrinsic cardiac responsiveness to insulin in 26 coronary disease patients with (n=13) and without (n=13) NIDDM. During fasting, NIDDM hearts demonstrated lower fractional extraction of glucose from arterial plasma than controls (1.0±0.5% versus 2.1±0.5%, P <0.05) despite higher circulating insulin levels (26±5 versus 13±4 μU · mL, P <0.05). This was compensated for by higher circulating glucose levels, so that net cardiac glucose uptake in the 2 groups was equivalent (5.2±1.1 versus 5.3±1.1 μmol · min). Intracoronary insulin infusion produced an ≈3-fold increase in fractional extraction and net uptake of glucose across the heart in both groups (to 3.7±0.4% and 18.3±3.5 μmol · min in NIDDM and to 5.4±0.7% and 17.7±4.3 μmol · min in controls) accompanied by an ≈30% increase in net lactate uptake, suggesting preserved insulin action on both glucose uptake and glucose oxidation in the NIDDM heart. In nondiabetics, insulin consistently increased coronary blood flow, but this effect was absent in NIDDM. Conclusions —In contrast to their peripheral tissues and coronary vasculature, the myocardium of patients with NIDDM expresses a competent insulin-response system with respect to glucose metabolism. This suggests that insulin resistance is mediated at the level of individual organs and that different mechanisms are involved in muscle and vascular tissue.
Transparent Large Strain Thermoplastic Polyurethane Magneto-Active Nanocomposites

Organically modified superparamagnetic MnFe(2)O(4)/thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) nanocomposites (0.1-8 wt %) were prepared by solvent mixing followed by solution casting. Linear aliphatic alkyl chain modification of spherical MnFe(2)O(4) provided compatibility with the TPU containing a butanediol extended polyester polyol-MDI. All MnFe(2)O(4)/TPU nanocomposite films were superparamagnetic and their saturation magnetization, σ(s), increased with increasing MnFe(2)O(4) content. All nanocomposite films exhibited large deformations (>10 mm) under a magneto-static field. This is the first report of large actuation of magnetic nanoparticle nanocomposites at low-loading levels of 0.1 wt % (0.025 vol %). The maximum actuation deformation of the MnFe(2)O(4)/TPU nanocomposite films increased exponentially with increasing nanoparticle concentration. An empirical correlation between the maximum displacement, saturation magnetization, and magnetic nanoparticle loading is proposed. The cyclic deformation actuation of a 6 wt % surface modified MnFe(2)O(4)/TPU, in a low magnetic field 151 < B(y) < 303 Oe, exhibited excellent reproducibility and controllability. MnFe(2)O(4)/TPU nanocomposite films (0.1-2 wt %) were transparent and semitransparent over the wavelengths from 350 to 700 nm.
Stalin’s world: dictating the Soviet order

Stalins world: dictating the Soviet order, by Sarah Davies and James Harris, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2014, xiii + 340 pp., US$85.00 (hbk), ISBN 978-0-300-18281-1After the archives of the (former) Soviet Union became ever more accessible during the late 1980s, there has been no shortage of scholarly writing about Stalin. Many of the earlier suspicions already harboured by the more perceptive of his contemporaries and by subsequent scholars have been confirmed by archival evidence (reams of which have been published in Russian as well as in English), a host of memoirs of those surrounding the dictator (such as the much more complete recollections by N. S. Khrushchev; Feliks Chuev's interviews with V. M. Molotov and L. M. Kaganovich; or Dmitrii Shepilov's writings) that came to light after 1989, and Stalin's correspondence with people like Molotov and Kaganovich. Even Stalin's "book of visitors", recording the people who met him in his Kremlin office, has been helpful in understanding the vozhdrs moves. But, given all that, nothing truly astonishing has come to light about the bloody tyrant. Stalin s World, the new book by the fine Stalin-era scholars Sarah Davies and James Harris, proves that case, as the authors themselves admit (3). Both senior lecturers at English universities, Sarah Davies is best known for her excellent Popular Opinion in Stalin's Russia (1997), while James Harris received high praise for his The Great Urals (1999); the two also co-edited, in 2003, a fine collection of essays titled Stalin: A New History. Their new work is based on a great amount of archival research, much of it in Stalin's personal archive, a collection of documents that has only become accessible to scholars in the new millennium (some of the records from this archive likely remain classified, and, alas, others may have become inaccessible again in recent years). In addition, the writers have perused a wide array of published primary sources as well as secondary literature, especially in Russian and English. For any Stalinologist, the book is therefore a must-read. At the same time, this reader came away somewhat underwhelmed, exactly because of the point I made earlier. Perhaps their own conclusion sums it up best: "[Stalin] did shape the era that bears his name. And yet [our] findings have not discredited the arguments of those who sought to observe the limits of Stalin's power" (277). Meanwhile, the authors, despite all their admirable spadework in the archives, did not do as thorough a job in perusing the copious secondary material on the Stalin era that has accumulated over the last quartercentury (which is somewhat masked because of the book's lack of a bibliography). Some novel nuances in our knowledge about Stalin that Davies and Harris discern are not exactly revelatory, such as the vast amount of reading, writing, and editing in which he engaged (274). …
The C. elegans PTEN Homolog, DAF-18, Acts in the Insulin Receptor-like Metabolic Signaling Pathway

An insulin-like signaling pathway, from the DAF-2 receptor, the AGE-1 phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and the AKT-1/AKT-2 serine/threonine kinases to the DAF-16 Fork head transcription factor, regulates the metabolism, development, and life span of Caenorhabditis elegans. Inhibition of daf-18 gene activity bypasses the normal requirement for AGE-1 and partially bypasses the need for DAF-2 signaling. The suppression of age-1 mutations by a daf-18 mutation depends on AKT-1/AKT-2 signaling, showing that DAF-18 acts between AGE-1 and the AKT input to DAF-16 transcriptional regulation. daf-18 encodes a homolog of the human tumor suppressor PTEN (MMAC1/TEP1), which has 3-phosphatase activity toward phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). DAF-18 PTEN may normally limit AKT-1 and AKT-2 activation by decreasing PIP3 levels. The action of daf-18 in this metabolic control pathway suggests that mammalian PTEN may modulate insulin signaling and may be variant in diabetic pedigrees.
Enterprise Modeling Framework for Counterfeit Parts in Defense Systems.

Abstract Increasingly, there is concern about the problem and potential consequences of counterfeit parts in the defense supply chain and defense systems. Counterfeit parts have different performance and failure characteristics than genuine parts and can result in degraded system availability, reliability and performance in the field, not to mention critical safety issues. Thus, there is an imperative to understand counterfeiting and potential ways to prevent or contain it. Today's systems are composed of multitudes of constituents – major sub-systems, which in turn consist of sub-systems, which consist of components, and so on. Likewise, the supply chain consists of multiple tiers of suppliers who provide the constituents. This is a complex environment in which to address the counterfeit parts problem. In addition, counterfeiters can potentially adapt to and overcome anti-counterfeiting measures, and non-counterfeiting actors may adapt to such measures in unanticipated ways, causing secondary effects. This paper presents an enterprise modeling framework for studying the problem. This framework consists of five interacting elements – the exogenous environment, policy, enterprise actors, supply chain flows, and system/constituent behavior and performance. A prototype agent-based simulation model implementing this framework is also presented. The goal is to use such models to determine effective anti-counterfeiting policies.
Medicine and paradigms of embodiment.

This paper suggests that the paradigm of the lived-body developed by Straus , Merleau - Ponty and others has important implications for medical practice and theory. Certain recognized flaws in modern medicine, such as its reductionist tendencies and lack of emphasis on preventive measures are shown to be related to the exclusive use of a Cartesian notion of embodiment . Increased attention to the paradigm of the lived-body emphasizing its unity, purposiveness and " enworldment " could help to beneficially reorient practice. Moreover, this portrayal of the body as an intentional entity may provide a better tool than the traditional view for conceptualizing the psychological and psychosocial components of disease etiology, as well as some newly developed modes of treatment.
Decentralized adaptive neural network state and output feedback control of a class of interconnected nonlinear discrete-time systems

In this paper, novel decentralized controllers are introduced for a class of nonlinear interconnected discrete-time systems in an affine form with unknown internal subsystem and interconnection dynamics. First under the assumption that the state vector of the local subsystem is only measurable, a single neural network (NN)-based decentralized tracking controller is introduced to overcome the unknown internal dynamics as well as the control gain matrix of each subsystem. The NN weights are tuned online by using a novel update law, and thus, no offline training is employed. By using Lyapunov techniques, all subsystems signals are shown to be uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). Next, the tracking problem is considered by using output feedback via a nonlinear NN observer. Lyapunov techniques demonstrate that the subsystems states, NN weight estimation errors, and state estimation errors are all UUB. Simulation results are provided on interconnected nonlinear discrete-time systems in affine form and on a power system with excitation control to show the effectiveness of the approach.
Novel design and fabrication of a microcentrifuge for biomedical and biochemical applications

In this paper, modeling and simulation of a novel micro-centrifuge for biomedical and biochemical applications is described. The micro-centrifuge that we designed can work not only as a shaker but also as a detector of cell growth, which has great potential applications in bioanalysis. The initial design contains four channels for mixing or collecting of samples by centrifugal force. The rotor, the key component of this device, is actuated using electrostatic force. There are four electrodes on the substrate to actuate the micro-centrifuge rotation around the X-axis (lateral in plane) and the Y-axis (vertical in plane) respectively, and eight pairs of comb drives are used to actuate the micro-centrifuge rotation around the Z-axis (perpendicular to the XY plane). The multiple axis actuation design makes it very flexible to control the micro-centrifuge. Because of its small feature size, the cost of the reagent used for the micro-centrifuge will be greatly reduced. An array of micro-centrifuges will be designed to achieve a fast cycling time. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been completed to analyze the static and dynamic performance of the micro-centrifuge, such as the natural frequencies, tilt angle, and driving voltage. A novel fabrication process using SOI technology has been proposed which is now being developed.
The Japanese police system today : a comparative study

1. Overview: Crime in Japan and the United States 2. The Historical and Legal Framework 3. Overview of Police 4. Koban Police 5. Attitudes of the Police toward Their Work 6. The Hokkaido and Okayama Prefectural Police Forces 7. The Investigation of Crime 8. Courts, Corrections and Probation 9. Crime by Foreigners 10. Crisis with Youth 11. The Police and the Community 12. Conclusion
SIMS analysis using ejected CsX+ ions

Abstract A structure consisting of Ge/Pd/GaAs is analyzed with the SIMS technique using a Cs + probe. Comparison is made between the signals of ejected ions X + and ejected diatomics CsX + . It is proposed that CsX + is formed by an ion molecule reaction between emerging sputtered neutral X and surface Cs + . Depth profiles of Ge, Pd, Ga and As monitored by the species CsX + are shown to be free of matrix effects at interfaces and the species exhibit approximately equal detection efficiencies. Use of the CsX + signals to study an annealed Ge/Pd/GaAs structure clearly shows the segregation of Ge to the GaAs interface.
Evidence for the presence of mandelic acid dehydrogenase and benzoyl formate decarboxylase in the american cockroach

Abstract Incubation of benzoyl formate with crude body homogenates of the American cockroach produces a significant release of CO2 above control values. Partial purification of the enzyme by gel filtration removes endogenous substrate but the enzymatic activity is still present. Labelled 14C-carboxy-mandelic acid incubated with NAD+ liberates 14CO2 under similar conditions, which suggests that mandelic acid may be converted to benzoyl formate prior to decarboxylation. The role of the enzymes in the possible conversion of tyrosine to protocatechuic acid, an oothecal tanning agent, is discussed.
Effects of Resolvin D1 on Cell Survival and Cytokine Expression of Human Gingival Fibroblasts

Background: Tissue breakdown in periodontitis is initiated by bacteria, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, and is caused largely by host responses. Resolvins protect the host against acute inflammation by blocking the migration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils to initiate resolution. The effects of resolvins on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) are unknown. This study examines the effects of resolvin D1 on HGF survival and cytokine expression when treated with or without P. gingivalis supernatant.Methods: Cytotoxicity of resolvin D1 on HGFs with or without a toxic level of P. gingivalis supernatant was measured with lactate dehydrogenase assays. Cytokine arrays were performed on HGF-conditioned media treated with or without resolvin D1 and with or without P. gingivalis supernatant.Results: Resolvin D1 had no cytotoxic effects on HGFs at concentrations between 1 and 1,000 nM (all P > 0.05). Resolvin D1 (1,000 nM) significantly inhibited the toxic effects of 13.5% (v/v) P. gingivalis supernatant on HGFs (P =...
Predicting respiratory distress syndrome using gestational age and lamellar body count.

Abstract Objectives To design a predictive model for assessing the risk of developing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) using gestational age (GA) and lamellar body counts (LBC). Design and methods LBCs and patient outcome data was obtained from five medical centers. A total of 223 patients were included in this study; 19 gave birth to infants that developed RDS, 204 gave birth to infants that were unaffected. The absolute risk and odds ratios of an infant developing RDS as a function of GA and LBC were calculated. Logistic analysis was used to model the odds of RDS as a function of GA and LBC. Results The odds of RDS decreased for each increasing week of GA and decreased with increase in the LBC. GA-specific LBC cutoffs are provided for sensitivities between 84 and 100%. The bias adjusted area under the ROC curve for the classification of RDS, based on GA and LBC, was 0.906 using the logistic model and 0.746 using a single cutoff of LBC (50,000/μL) to classify immaturity. Conclusions GA-specific risk assessment and GA-specific cutoffs provide increased sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of fetal lung maturity.
Software analytics: achievements and challenges

A huge wealth of various data exist in the practice of software development. Further rich data are produced by modern software and services in operation, many of which tend to be data-driven and/or data-producing in nature. Hidden in the data is information about the quality of software and services or the dynamics of software development. Software analytics is to utilize a data-driven approach to enable software practitioners to perform data exploration and analysis in order to obtain insightful and actionable information; such information is used for completing various tasks around software systems, software users, and software development process. This tutorial presents achievements and challenges of research and practice on principles, techniques, and applications of software analytics, highlighting success stories in industry, research achievements that are transferred to industrial practice, and future research and practice directions in software analytics.
Biogenesis of Polarized Epithelial Cells During Kidney Development In Situ: Roles of E-Cadherin–mediated Cell–Cell Adhesion and Membrane Cytoskeleton Organization

Organization of proteins into structurally and functionally distinct plasma membrane domains is an essential characteristic of polarized epithelial cells. Based on studies with cultured kidney cells, we have hypothesized that a mechanism for restricting Na/K-ATPase to the basal-lateral membrane involves E-cadherin–mediated cell–cell adhesion and integration of Na/K-ATPase into the Triton X-100–insoluble ankyrin- and spectrin-based membrane cytoskeleton. In this study, we examined the relevance of these in vitro observations to the generation of epithelial cell polarity in vivo during mouse kidney development. Using differential detergent extraction, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence histochemistry, we demonstrate the following. First, expression of the 220-kDa splice variant of ankyrin-3 correlates with the development of resistance to Triton X-100 extraction for Na/K-ATPase, E-cadherin, and catenins and precedes maximal accumulation of Na/K-ATPase. Second, expression of the 190-kDa slice variant of ankyrin-3 correlates with maximal accumulation of Na/K-ATPase. Third, Na/K-ATPase, ankyrin-3, and fodrin specifically colocalize at the basal-lateral plasma membrane of all epithelial cells in which they are expressed and during all stages of nephrogenesis. Fourth, the relative immunofluorescence staining intensities of Na/K-ATPase, ankyrin-3, and fodrin become more similar during development until they are essentially identical in adult kidney. Thus, renal epithelial cells in vivo regulate the accumulation of E-cadherin–mediated adherens junctions, the membrane cytoskeleton, and Na/K-ATPase through sequential protein expression and assembly on the basal-lateral membrane. These results are consistent with a mechanism in which generation and maintenance of polarized distributions of these proteins in vivo and in vitro involve cell–cell adhesion, assembly of the membrane cytoskeleton complex, and concomitant integration and retention of Na/K-ATPase in this complex.
Analytical and experimental studies of the modeling of a class of nonlinear systems

Abstract This paper deals with the identification of complex structural and mechanical systems often encountered in the nuclear industry. Nonparametric identification techniques are used to analyse the response of a class of nonlinear components. Efficient computational algorithms and experimental techniques based on nonparametric system identification methods such as the Wiener-kernel approach and least-squares regression techniques involving the system state-variables are developed and applied to an example system. The variation of system signature with its change in characteristics is studied and the effects of various parameters of the excitation, system, and the computation algorithm on the signature analysis are investigated. The use of the methods for modelling of realistic systems is evaluated and found to be promising. They appear to hold out considerable hope in the damage assessment of critical facilities such as nuclear reactors.
Effects of route of administration on the chronic toxicity of reserpine

W~ST~A~N (1962) initiMly observed that single doses of reserpine were more potent in lowering brain amine levels when given intramuscularly than when administered intraperitoneally. More recently BgAG~T (1964) has reported comparable differences when cardiac amine levels were also studied following various single doses of reserpine. His data clearly demonstrates that both the intramuscular and the subcutaneous routes were more potent than the intraperitoneal route of administration. It has further been demonstrated in these laboratories that the degree of toxicity from chronic reserpine treatment can also be influenced by route of administration. Methods ttOLTZMA~ (Wisconsin) male albino rats were used in this experiment. Reserpine (kindly supplied by CIBA, Inc., Summit, N.J.) was administered daily either subcutaneously or intraperitoneally in the following vehicle: 5% polyethylene glycol 300, 1% benzyl alcohol and 0.25% citric acid. Control rats received 1 ml/kg of this vehicle. Experimental groups were selected randomly and animals were housed two/cage for convenience in estimating food and water consumption. Food and water intake was measured by difference. Each group received 50 g/day of purina rat chow which was placed directly inside the cage. These animals were also presented 125 ml/day H~O via standard water bottles. Due to the high degree of physical deterioration and difficulty in handling chronic reserpinized animals, certain criteria for the duration of any single experiment were used. Drug administration to any experimental group was terminated when either an LD-50 was attained, or when the mean body weight of the group had decreased by more than 30~ .
Analysis of cyclic loading of plane RC structures

Abstract A numerical procedure for cyclic loading response of planar reinforced concrete structures is presented. A nonlinear orthotropic stress strain law for biaxially loaded plain concrete is developed and compared with experimental results for monotonic biaxial loading and uniaxial cyclic loading. The stress-strain law recognizes strength and ductility changes due to biaxial stress, and strength and stiffness degradation with cycles of loading. The stress strain law is incorporated into a finite element computer program which utilizes isoparametric quadrilaterals with extra non-conforming deformation modes. Numerical and experimental results are presented for a monotonically loaded shear wall-frame system and a cyclically loaded shear wall.
Inverse Problems for Obstacles in a Waveguide

In this paper we prove that a particular entry in the scattering matrix, if known for all energies, determines certain rotationally symmetric obstacles in a generalized waveguide. The generalized waveguide X can be of any dimension and we allow either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions on the boundary of the obstacle and on ∂X. In the case of a two-dimensional waveguide, two particular entries of the scattering matrix suffice to determine the obstacle, without the requirement of symmetry.
Observation of visible and uv magnetic dipole transitions in highly charged xenon and barium.

We have observed an unusual transition which is predicted to result in visible and near-uv emission from very highly charged titaniumlike ions spanning the entire upper half of the periodic table. Measurements of the wavelengths of the 3[ital d][sup 4][ital D][sub 2]-[sup 5][ital D][sub 3] transitions in Ba[sup +34] and Xe[sup +32] are in surprisingly poor agreement with [ital ab] [ital initio] calculations. This work was carried out in an electron beam ion trap and demonstrates that such a device can be an important tool for visible spectroscopy of highly charged ions.