cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Subject Matter Knowledge in a Master of Arts in Teaching Program: Ensuring Candidates' Content Knowledge through an Arts and Sciences/Education Collaboration.

All teacher education programs face the challenge of ensuring that their graduates know their subject matter and can teach it effectively. For graduate level teacher education programs, whose candidates may complete their education in the content area at various institutions, this challenge is even greater. The following article describes one institution’s system of assessing candidates’ content knowledge and efforts to incorporate additional content coursework into a Master of Arts in Teaching program. Also provided is information on a set of courses that the arts and sciences and education faculty team teach, with the course for prospective English teachers described in detail.
Observational evidence supports the role of tropical cyclones in regulating climate

Tropical cyclones are relatively rare weather events, yet they consistently rank among the world’s deadliest and costliest natural hazards. In the United States, tropical cyclones account for nearly $10 billion annually in economic damages (1), and damages from Hurricane Sandy (2012) are estimated to be over $50 billion. Understanding the role of these events within Earth’s climate system is of paramount importance to improving climate change projections and for constructing sound hazard assessments and adaptation strategies (2).
Efficacy of propentofylline, a glial modulating agent, on existing mechanical allodynia following peripheral nerve injury

Increasing evidence points to a role for spinal neuroimmune dysregulation (glial cell activation and cytokine expression) in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. Suppression of astrocytic and microglial activation with the methylxanthine derivative, propentofylline, pre-emptively attenuates the development of nerve injury-induced allodynia. Currently, we investigated the ability of systemic propentofylline to reverse existing, long-term allodynia after nerve injury--a clinically relevant paradigm. Rats received L5 spinal nerve transection or sham surgery and the development of mechanical allodynia was assessed daily for 2 weeks, at which time injured rats exhibited robust responses to non-noxious von Frey filaments. On days 14-27, rats received either saline or 101 mg/kg propentofylline by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection. On day 28 or 42 (after a 14-day drug washout period), lumbar spinal cord sections were processed for assessment of astrocytic glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and microglial OX-42 (antibody against CR3/CD11b). Propentofylline treatment to nerve injured rats resulted in significant reversal of allodynia that lasted throughout the 14-day washout period. Spinal microglial activation was observed at days 28 and 42 post-injury at the protein level, in the absence of mRNA level changes. Less robust increases in GFAP immunoreactivity were observed at days 28 and 42 post-transection. Interestingly, propentofylline treatment suppressed microglial activation at both time points in this paradigm. Taken together, our results highlight the clinical potential of the glial modulating agent, propentofylline, for the treatment of neuropathic pain as well as a role for microglia in the long-term maintenance of allodynia.
KWIC: a widefield mid-infrared array camera/spectrometer for the KAO

This grant covered a one year data analysis period for the data we obtained with the Kuiper Widefield Infrared Camera (KWIC) on the KAO during CY94 and CY95. A fairly complete list of scientific papers produced, or soon to be produced under this award is contained at the end of this report. Below we summarize some of the highlights of the work we did under this grant. KWIC Imaging of the Orion Nebula. KWIC was successfully developed under the KAO grants program (NASA grant NAG2-800). First funding arrived in November of 1992, and we flew our first two flights in February of 1994 -just 15 months later. These flights were very successful. We imaged the Orion Nebula in the 37.7 micron continuum and [SiII] 35 micron line and imaged M82 and Arp299 in the 37.7 micron continuum. Our Orion image demonstrates that the 37.7 micron continuum arises in the warm dust associated with the photodissociated surfaces (photodissociation regions, or PDRs) of molecular clouds. We use the brightness and color temperature distribution to ascertain the morphology of the Orion PDR. The [SiII] image of Orion encompassed the entire Orion A HII region and its enveloping PDR. Most of the emission in the PDR regions of the map appears to coincide very well with our 37.7 micron continuum map indicating a PDR origin for the [SiII] in agreement with theoretical predictions. The [SiII] line emission is very clumpy in the PDR directly imaging the clump spectrum indirectly ascertained by examining the distribution and flux ratios of [CII] and [0I] far-IR fine structure line, and high J CO emission. We also detected very strong [SiII] line emission from the embedded BN-KL star formation region tracing the morphology and physical conditions of the high velocity shock from these very young stars.
Methotrexate and misoprostol when surgical abortion fails

Objective: To describe the use of methotrexate and misoprostol to induce abortion in pregnancies up to 8 weeks when uterine or cervical anomalies make suction curettage difficult or impossible. Methods: Four consecutive women, 8 weeks pregnant or less and with failed suction curettage, were given methotrexate 50 mg per square meter intramuscularly followed by a misoprostol 800-μg vaginal suppository 72 hours later. A repeat dose of a misoprostol 800-μg suppository was administered on day 4 if there was no bleeding, and an additional dose was given if the repeat β-hCG titer had not decreased by at least 50%. Subjects were followed-up with serum or urine hCG assays. Complete abortion was defined by vaginal bleeding and a negative urine pregnancy test. Subjects completed a daily symptom log and a satisfaction questionnaire when the abortion was complete. Results: The four women referred after failed suction curettage had the following anatomic problems: a uterus bicornis bicollis, a bicornuate uterus, uterine leiomyomas, and cervical stenosis resulting from previous laser surgery. All subjects had a complete abortion from methotrexate and misoprostol. Mild gastrointestinal side effects were reported by all four subjects: nausea (two subjects), vomiting (two), and diarrhea (two). The satisfaction questionnaire revealed that all subjects agreed with the statements that “Overall, the procedure went well” and “I would recommend this procedure over a surgical abortion.” Conclusion: Methotrexate and misoprostol can induce an abortion when uterine or cervical anomalies make suction curettage difficult or impossible.
Cancer systems biology of TCGA SKCM: efficient detection of genomic drivers in melanoma.

We characterized the mutational landscape of human skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) using data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. We analyzed next-generation sequencing data of somatic copy number alterations and somatic mutations in 303 metastatic melanomas. We were able to confirm preeminent drivers of melanoma as well as identify new melanoma genes. The TCGA SKCM study confirmed a dominance of somatic BRAF mutations in 50% of patients. The mutational burden of melanoma patients is an order of magnitude higher than of other TCGA cohorts. A multi-step filter enriched somatic mutations while accounting for recurrence, conservation and basal rate. Thus, this filter can serve as a paradigm for analysis of genome-wide next-generation sequencing data of large cohorts with a high mutational burden. Analysis of TCGA melanoma data using such a multi-step filter discovered novel and statistically significant potential melanoma driver genes. In the context of the Pan-Cancer study we report a detailed analysis of the mutational landscape of BRAF and other drivers across cancer tissues. Integrated analysis of somatic mutations, somatic copy number alterations, low pass copy numbers and gene expression of the melanogenesis pathway shows coordination of proliferative events by Gs-protein and cyclin signaling at a systems level.
Management of Occupational Exposures to HIV: Updated Guidelines for Postexposure Prophylaxis

Healthcare workers remain at risk for occupational HIV transmission. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1998), a healthcare worker is defined as “any person (e.g., an employee, student, contractor, attending clinician, public-safety worker, or volunteer) whose activities involve contact with patients or with blood or other body fluids from patients in a health-care or laboratory setting” (p. 2). An occupational exposure is defined as “a percutaneous injury (e.g., a needlestick or cut with a sharp object), contact of mucous membrane or nonintact skin (e.g., when the exposed skin is chapped, abraded, or afflicted with dermatitis), or contact with intact skin when the duration of contact is prolonged (i.e., several minutes or more) or involves an extensive area, with blood, tissue or other body fluids” (CDC, 1998, p. 3). In addition, any direct contact without a barrier protection to concentrated HIV, such as in research facilities, is considered an exposure. Exposure to body fluids such as saliva, tears, sweat, and nonbloody urine or feces does not constitute an occupational exposure. Human breast milk has been associated with perinatal transmission of HIV but not with occupational transmission of HIV. The risk of occupational HIV transmission remains relatively low; however, the risk must be considered a consistent and substantial risk for healthcare workers. The average risk of HIV transmission after a percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is about 0.3%, whereas the average risk of HIV transmission after a mucous membrane exposure is 0.09% (CDC, 1998). The majority of individuals exposed to HIV seroconvert to HIV positive within 6 months of the exposure. There are three documented cases of HIV healthcare worker seroconversion after the 6-month postexposure period but within the 12-month postexposure period. A total of 54 documented cases of occupational HIV transmission have occurred as of December 1997 (CDC, 1997). Nurses represent the healthcare workers with the largest number of documented occupational HIV transmission cases. Table 1 presents occupational HIV transmission according to healthcare worker occupations. A total of 132 possible cases of occupational HIV transmission have occurred in healthcare workers as of December 1997 and are under investigation by the CDC. Of these 132 possible cases of
ESTIMATION OF LEFT VENTRICULAR VOLUME AND EJECTION FRACTION BY TWO-DIMENSIONAL TRANSOESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY: COMPARISON OF SHORT AXIS IMAGING AND SIMULTANEOUS RADIONUCLIDE ANGIOGRAPHY

We have compared short axis images of the left ventricle (LV) obtained with transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) to assess LV size and function with those obtained by radionuclide angiography (RNA). Simultaneous TOE and RNA images were attempted in 14 patients and results obtained in 12 patients undergoing repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms. The area of the LV cavity seen in the short axis images at a mid-papillary muscle level at end-systole (ESA) and end-diastole (EDA) were compared with volumes measured by RNA at end-systole (ESV) and end-diastole (EDV). An area ejection fraction (AEF) calculated from the TOE images (AEF = EDA−ESA/EDA) was compared with the RNA ejection fraction (EF) where EF=EDV−ESV/EDV. Good correlations were found between TOE log EDA and RNA log EDV (r = 0.86), TOE log ESA and RNA log ESV (r = 0.92) and TOE AEF and RNA EF (r = 0.96). This suggests that TOE short axis imaging at a mid-papillary muscle level is generally adequate for monitoring LV function during operation.
Dogmatism, age, and educational level as correlates of feminism for males and females

Male and female subjects completed a dogmatism scale and a feminism scale and provided information about their age, amount of education, and present occupation. The variables correlating with feminism depended upon the sex of the respondent. The more dogmatic individuals of both sexes supported feminism less than the less dogmatic individuals, with the effect being somewhat stronger for the males. The older female supported feminism less than the younger female. Age was unrelated to feminism for the males. The poorly educated female supported feminism less than the better-educated female, but the effect was diminished when dogmatism and age were held constant. Educational level was unrelated to feminism for males. The differences between the sexes are discussed in the context of perceptions of issues and situational ambiguity.
Vaginal bleeding and early pregnancy outcome in an infertile population

Objective: Our purpose was to determine the prognostic value of vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy outcome as well as to analyze the role of cardiac activity in predicting pregnancy viability in the presence of vaginal bleeding. Study Design: This was a cohort study of pregnancies obtained using either assisted reproductive technology (ART) or routine infertility treatment (RIT). Two hundred twenty-eight pregnant women were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of vaginal bleeding. Successive measurements of β-hCG levels were obtained every 2 days, starting on day 14 after ovulation or embryo transfer. All pregnancies underwent weekly transvaginal ultrasound (UTZ) examinations beginning on day 21. The occurrence of vaginal bleeding was monitored weekly. Results: Seventy of the 228 patients (31%) had bleeding in early pregnancy, resulting in 31 (44%) pregnancy losses. Only 22 pregnancy losses (14%) were observed in 158 patients who did not have bleeding (P<0.001). The abortion rate for the bleeding versus nonbleeding groups was 35 and 9%, respectively (P<0.001). Vaginal bleeding was associated with a higher abortion rate in pregnancies following RIT than ART (51 vs 8%; P<0.001). Fetal cardiac activity was noted by vaginal ultrasound in 189 patients. In this subpopulation, bleeding was also associated with a higher abortion rate than that in the nonbleeding group (17 vs 4%; P<0.001). However this higher incidence was observed only in pregnancies following RIT, not ART (28 vs 5%; P<0.001). Conclusions: Although bleeding significantly decreased the chance of a normal pregnancy outcome, more than 50% of the pregnancies did progress to term. The presence of cardiac activity in this population as a sign of fetal viability offered a better pregnancy prognosis. However, the predictive value of fetal cardiac activity was reduced in the presence of vaginal bleeding in an infertile population treated with RIT.
Risky Sexual Behavior in American White College Women: The Role of Sex Guilt and Sexual Abuse:

Ninety-five sexually active White American female college students participated in a questionnaire study about their sexual behavior in the past 12 months. A path model was tested in order to assess specific hypothesized predictors of risky sexual behavior. As predicted, participants with greater sex guilt reported using condoms more and having had fewer sexual partners. The findings of this study suggest that White American female college students are at some degree of risk due to risky sexual behavior. Taking into account attitudes about sexuality and past sexual abuse along with the requisite training in condom use self-efficacy may enhance the success of interventions designed to reduce risky sexual behavior among White American female college students.
The measurement of partial specific volumes and sedimentation coefficients by sucrose density centrifugation.

Abstract The method of Martin and Ames (1961, J. Biol. Chem.236, 1372) gives good estimates of the s20,w of proteins when the SW40 rotor is used with a sucrose gradient. Viscosities of sucrose in D2O were measured, and the data were used in computer simulations to test alternate approaches to estimating v and s20,w values by comparisons with standards. The method of Meunier et al. (1972, FEBS Lett.24, 63) for v was shown to be optimal. For s20,w estimations, substantial errors were found with the methods of Bon et al. (1973, Eur. J. Blochem.35, 372) and especially Meunier et al. When standards and unknowns have the same v , and the gradient is made up in water or dilute buffer, the simple ratio method of Martin and Ames gives most accurate results for s20,w. For all other cases, an alternative procedure is described.
Risk stratification in patients with chest pain

in primary care medicine today. The two main objectives of such an evaluation are to establish a working diagnosis and to estimate the prognosis. The process begins with an initial clinical examination, may lead to either noninvasive or invasive diagnostic testing or both, and, ultimately, results in the selection of a therapeutic strategy. This article reviews the role of exercise testing in the assessment of patients with suspected coronary disease. To accomplish this, we consider four major topics: the general concept of risk stratification, estimating outcomes using data from the initial evaluation of the patient, diagnostic assessment with the exercise test, and prognostic assessment with the exercise test. This review concentrates on the standard treadmill exercise test. Descriptions of specific protocols and methodology of testing have been provided in other articles in this issue. The use of imaging techniques along with exercise electrocardiography (ECG) is covered in a subsequent article.
Ageism in the American Workplace

When I wrote an article on age discrimination last year, I couldn't believe the response: countless emails and at least five phone calls a week for several months. These communications weren't comi...
Comparative public opinion and knowledge on global climatic change and the Kyoto Protocol: the US versus the world?

Using a variety of public opinion polls over a number of years and from a number of countries this paper revisits the questions of crossnational public concern for global warming first examined over a decade ago. Although the scientific community today speaks out on global climatic change in essentially a unified voice concerning its anthropogenic causes and potential devastating impacts at the global level, it remains the case that many citizens of a number of nations still seem to harbor considerable uncertainties about the problem itself. Although it could be argued that there has been a slight improvement over the last decade in the public’s understanding regarding the anthropogenic causes of global warming, the people of all the nations studied remain largely uniformed about the problem. In a recent international study on knowledge about global warming, the citizens of Mexico led all fifteen countries surveyed in 2001 with just twenty‐six percent of the survey respondents correctly identifying burning fossil fuels as the primary cause of global warming. The citizens of the U.S., among the most educated in the world, where somewhere in the middle of the pack, tied with the citizens of Brazil at fifteen percent, but slightly lower than Cubans. In response to President Bush’s withdrawal of the Kyoto Protocol in 1991, the U.S. public appears to be far more supportive of the action than the citizens of a number of European countries where there was considerable outrage about the decision.
The modified Mueller-Hillis maneuver in predicting abnormalities in second stage labor

Abstract Objective: To assess prospectively the utility of a modification of the Mueller-Hillis maneuver in predicting abnormalities of the second stage of labor. Methods: The Mueller-Hillis maneuver was modified by limiting its use to the second stage of labor during a contraction. The maneuver was performed by one examiner; descent of 1 cm or more was deemed a positive maneuver. Descent less than 1 cm was deemed a negative maneuver. Labor outcomes were analyzed according to the results of this maneuver. Resuls: Seventy patients were enrolled in this study. Fifty-one (72.9%) had ≥1 cm descent maneuver and 19 (27.1%) had ≤1 cm descent. A descent ≥1 cm was significantly predictive of vaginal delivery (100%) and a descent s 1 cm was significantly associated with an increased cesarean section rate (P = 0.001), prolonged second stage of labor (P = 0.001), abnormal position (P = 0.01) and higher station (P = 0.001). Conclusions: A positive modified Mueller-Hillis maneuver in second stage labor had a high predictive value for vaginal delivery, whereas a negative maneuver was significantly associated with high operative delivery rate, prolonged second stage labor and abnormal position. These results indicate that this modification of the Mueller-Hillis maneuver needs to be considered for its utility in second stage labor.
Vesicularity of basalt erupted at Reykjanes Ridge crest

Average vesicularity of basalt drilled at three sites on the west flank of the Reykjanes Ridge increases with decreasing age. This change apparently records concomitant decrease in water depth at the ridge crest where the basalt was erupted and suggests substantial upward growth of the crest during the past 35 Myr.
Static Forces, Structure and Flow Properties of Complex Fluids in Highly Confined Geometries

The Surface Forces Apparatus has been successfully used to measure the static and dynamic forces between surfaces across ultra-thin films of water and aqueous electrolyte solutions, and—more recently—polyelectrolyte-coated and articular cartilage surfaces in various solutions including hyaluronan, lubricin, and synovial fluid. The results give new insights into the lubricating action of biological lubricants such as synovial fluid and hyaluronan (a polysaccharide in synovial fluid), and biological surfaces such as phospholipid bilayers and cartilage surfaces. Contrary to earlier indications of long-range water-structuring at biological surfaces, more recent measurements clearly show that the viscosity of physiologically concentrated water (saline) is bulk-like beyond the first 1 or 2 layers from a single surface, and beyond 4–6 layers in thin films between two surfaces (the structure and forces may, however, be affected to larger distances). This implies that most structural, interaction force, and viscosity-related phenomena are determined—not only by the properties of the solvent (water) per se—but also by the surfaces and the water, ions, solutes, and macromolecules (proteins, polymers) exposed or adsorbed at the surfaces and, to a lesser degree, dissolved in the solvent. However, sometimes it is difficult to make a clear differentiation, e.g., one could consider hydration or surface-bound ‘structured’ water as part of the surface or as part of the intervening water between the two surfaces.
Impacts of heterogeneous organic matter on phenanthrene sorption: equilibrium and kinetic studies with aquifer material.

Sediment organic matter heterogeneity in sediments is shown to impact the sorption behavior of contaminants. We investigated the sorptive properties as well as the composition of organic matter in different subsamples (mainly grain size fractions) of the Canadian River Alluvium (CRA). Organic petrography was used as a new tool to describe and characterize the organic matter in the subsamples. The samples studied contained many different types of organic matter including bituminous coal particles. Differences in sorption behavior were explained based on these various types of organic matter. Subsamples containing predominately coaly, particulate organic matter showed the highest Koc, the highest nonlinearity of sorption isotherms and the slowest sorption kinetics. Soil subsamples with organic matter present as organic coatings around the quartz grains evidenced the lowest Koc, the most linear sorption isotherms and the fastest sorption kinetics, which was not limited by slow intraparticle diffusion. Due to...
Toward a Critical Race Pedagogy: A Research Note.

This article explores the connectivity of research and theories of African American emancipatory pedagogy to Critical Race Theory (CRT). In doing so, the guiding principles and maxims of CRT as an ...
Abstract 3136: Sample specific outlier kinase expression identified by RNA-Seq provide targets for precision therapy.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Protein kinases represent a most effective class of therapeutic targets in cancer cells, and potent inhibitors of oncogenic kinases including ABL, AKT, ALK, AURKs, BRAF, CDKs, EGFR, ERBB2, FGFRs, KIT, MAPKs, MET, PIK3CA, PLKs, RET, SRC, S6Ks, and VEGFR are in clinical use, trials, or development. Presence of activating mutations, gene fusions or copy number amplification of many of these kinases predict responsiveness to specific inhibitors, for example, imatinib for BCR-ABL-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, trastuzumab and lapatinib for ERBB2-amplified breast cancers, gefitinib for lung cancers with kinase domain mutations in EGFR, and crizotinib for lung cancers with ALK gene fusions. However, tumors with defined kinase aberrations represent a very small proportion of all cancers, and we hypothesize that potentially most, if not all, cancers are dependent on specific kinases, and that “Outlier Expression” of specific kinases in individual samples may be indicative of selection during clonal evolution, and thus may represent a therapeutic avenue. To explore this hypothesis, we analyzed RNA-sequencing data from a compendium of 482 cancer and benign samples belonging to 25 different tissue types to define sample-specific ‘kinome’ expression profiles. Comparing the expression of kinases within a sample and across sample sets, we identified distinct ‘outlier kinases’ in individual samples, defined as genes showing the highest statistically significant levels of absolute and differential expression. Frequently observed outlier kinases included known therapeutic targets like ERBB2 and FGFR4 in breast cancer, distinct from MET, AKT2, and PLK2 in pancreatic cancer. Outlier kinases imparted sample-specific dependencies in various cell lines as assessed by siRNA knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Outlier expression of polo-like kinases (PLKs) observed in a subset of KRAS-dependent pancreatic cancer cell lines conferred increased sensitivity to the PLK inhibitor BI 6727. Together, our results suggest that outlier kinases represent effective personalized therapeutic targets that are readily identifiable through RNA-sequencing of tumors. Next, to help translate these observations into treatment options, we are attempting to establish 3D tumoroid cultures from tumor samples that can be used to optimize combinations of therapeutics including outlier kinase inhibitors. Citation Format: Chandan Kumar-Sinha, Vishal Kothari, Iris Wei, Sunita Shankar, Shanker Kalyana-Sundaram, Lidong Wang, Linda W. Ma, Pankaj Vats, Catherine Grasso, Dan Robinson, Yi-Mi Wu, Xuhong Cao, Diane M. Simeone, Arul M. Chinnaiyan. Sample specific outlier kinase expression identified by RNA-Seq provide targets for precision therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3136. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3136
Human papillomavirus 16 E6 expression disrupts the p53-mediated cellular response to DNA damage

Infection with certain types of human papillomaviruses (HPV) is highly associated with carcinomas of the human uterine cervix. However, HPV infection alone does not appear to be sufficient for the process of malignant transformation, suggesting the requirement of additional cellular events. After DNA damage, normal mammalian cells exhibit G1 cell-cycle arrest and inhibition of replicative DNA synthesis. This mechanism, which requires wild-type p53, presumably allows cells to undertake DNA repair and avoid the fixation of mutations. We directly tested whether the normal response of cervical epithelial cells to DNA damage may be undermined by interactions between the E6 protein expressed by oncogenic HPV types and wild-type p53. We treated primary keratinocytes with the DNA-damaging agent actinomycin D and demonstrated inhibition of replicative DNA synthesis and a significant increase in p53 protein levels. In contrast, inhibition of DNA synthesis and increases in p53 protein did not occur after actinomycin D treatment of keratinocytes immortalized with HPV16 E6/E7 or in cervical carcinoma cell lines containing HPV16, HPV18, or mutant p53 alone. To test the effects of E6 alone on the cellular response to DNA damage, HPV16 E6 was expressed in the carcinoma cell line RKO, resulting in undetectable baseline levels of p53 protein and loss of the G1 arrest that normally occurs in these cells after DNA damage. These findings demonstrate that oncogenic E6 can disrupt an important cellular response to DNA damage mediated by p53 and may contribute to the subsequent accumulation of genetic changes associated with cervical tumorigenesis.
Molecular dynamics simulations of grain size stabilization in nanocrystalline materials by addition of dopants

Molecular dynamics simulations of bulk nanocrystalline Cu with dopant atoms segregated in the grain boundary regions were performed to investigate the impediment to grain growth caused by the dopants during annealing at constant temperature of 800 K. In this parametric study, the concentration and atomic radii mismatch between the dopants and the host atoms were systematically varied to determine how to most effectively retard grain growth. It is found that samples with positive excess enthalpy (ΔH) underwent various degrees of grain growth; however, when ΔH was negative, no coarsening occurred. Also, ΔH varied linearly with dopant concentration with the slope equal to the enthalpy of segregation, in agreement with previous theoretical work.
Cooperative synthesis of control and display augmentation in approach and landing

Application of the cooperative methodology to synthesize control/display augmentation systems for the piloted longitudinal landing task with a modern, statically unstable, fighter aircraft is considered. Starting with a control augmentation law that yields augmented vehicle dynamics that meet level I handling qualities specifications, the effect of time delay in the head-up display is studied using model-based criterion. This evaluation showed that even with "good" conventional dynamics, a realistic value of display time delay will cause significant deterioration in pilot workload and piloted-system performance. Application of the cooperative methodology to control augmentation alone resulted in augmented vehicle dynamics which provide direct control of the flight path from the pilot stick. Analytical evaluation of these dynamics indicates that such dynamics might lead to improved pilot ratings over conventional vehicle dynamics, especially in the presence of time delays in the system. Also, application of the methodology to simultaneous synthesis of control augmentation and flight director laws revealed that it might be advantageous to consider the control/display tradeoff in the early design stages.
Optimizing mobile computational offloading with delay constraints

Computation Offloading, sending computational tasks to more resourceful servers, is becoming a widely-used approach to save limited resources on mobile devices like battery life, storage, processor, etc. Given an application that is partitioned into multiple tasks, the offloading decisions can be made on each of them. However, considering the delay constraint and the extra costs on data transmission and remote computation, it is not trivial to make optimized decisions. Existing works have formulated offloading decision problems as either graph-partitioning or binary integer programming problems. The first approach can solve the problem in polynomial time but is not applicable to delay constraints. The second approach relies on an integer programming solver without a polynomial time guarantee. We provide an algorithm, DTP (Deterministic delay constrained Task Partitioning), to solve the offloading decision problem with delay constraints. DTP gives near-optimal solution and runs in polynomial time in the number of tasks. Going beyond prior work on linear delay constraints that apply only to serial tasks, we generalize the delay constraints to settings where the dependency between tasks can be described by a tree. Furthermore, we provide another algorithm, PTP (Probabilistic delay constrained Task Partitioning), which gives stronger QoS guarantees. Simulation results show that our algorithms are accurate and robust, and scale well with the number of tasks.
Simple physical interventions such as handwashing and wearing masks can reduce spread of epidemic respiratory viruses.

Commentary on: T Jefferson, MC Del, L Dooley, et al.. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses: systematic review. BMJ2009;339:b3675.
Large‐scale screening of yeast mutants for sensitivity to the IMP dehydrogenase inhibitor 6‐azauracil

Mutations in several genes encoding components of the RNA polymerase II elongation machinery render S. cerevisiae cells sensitive to the drug 6-azauracil (6AU), an inhibitor of IMP dehydrogenase and orotidylate decarboxylase. It is thought that a reduction in nucleotide levels following drug treatment causes transcriptional elongation to be more dependent on a fully functional RNA polymerase. To gain insight into the basis of the 6AU-sensitive phenotype and discern its specificity, we screened almost 3000 deletion mutants for growth in the presence of drug; 42 (1.5%) were reproducibly sensitive to the drug. The sensitive mutants included several missing known transcription elongation factors, but the majority were in genes involved in other cellular processes. Not all of the 6AU-sensitive strains displayed cross-sensitivity to mycophenolic acid (MPA), another drug that inhibits IMP dehydrogenase and has been employed as a screening agent for elongation mutants, showing that these two drugs are mechanistically distinct. Several of the mutants were tested for the ability to induce transcription of IMP dehydrogenase-encoding genes, in response to 6-AU and MPA treatment. As expected, mutants defective in transcriptional elongation factors were unable to fully induce IMPDH expression. However, most of the 6AU-sensitive strains had normal levels of IMPDH expression. Thus, although 6AU-sensitivity often results from defects in the elongation machinery, mutations that compromise processes other than transcription and induction of IMPDH also lead to sensitivity to this drug.
Location of the creatine phosphokinase binding site of myosin.

Summary The interaction of myosin and its subfragments with creatine phosphokinase (CPK) was studied by the method of steady state fluorescence depolarization. Perrin plots showed that CPK labeled with a sulfhydryl specific dye binds to the rod portion of the myosin molecule, and that this interaction is specific for CPK and myosin.
A Theorem on Hyperhypersimple Sets

Let be the class of recursively enumerable (r.e.) sets with infinite complements. A set M ϵ is maximal if every superset of M which is in is only finitely different from M . In [1] Friedberg shows that maximal sets exist, and it is an easy consequence of this fact that every non-simple set in has a maximal superset. The natural question which arises is whether or not this is also true for every simple set (Ullian [2]). In the present paper this question is answered negatively. However, the main concern of this paper is with demonstrating, and developing a few consequences of, what might be called the “density” of hyperhypersimple sets.
Self-care behaviors and glycemic control in type I diabetes.

This study investigated the degree of adherence to different aspects of the diabetic treatment regimen (insulin injections, glucose testing, diet, and exercise), the consistency of adherence across different regimen areas, and relationships between adherence and glycemic control. A predominantly adult community sample of 93 insulin dependent outpatients participated in the prospective study that involved two series of home interviews separated by a 6-month interval. Multiple measures of adherence (e.g. self-report, interview/recall, self-monitoring, and objective indices) were collected for each regimen area. Results indicated that the degree of adherence was higher for medication taking and glucose testing than for regimen tasks requiring greater lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise; there were few strong relationships between subjects' adherence to one area of the regimen and the extent to which they adhered to other regimen tasks; and no clear relationship between adherence and glycemic control could be demonstrated through either bivariate or multivariate analyses. It is recommended that regimen adherence be considered in the context of other factors that may influence glycemic control (e.g. stress, individual metabolic factors, appropriateness of regimen prescriptions) rather than assuming a one-to-one relationship between adherence and control.
Synthesis of Nickel−Nitrilotriacetic Acid Coupled Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Directed Self-Assembly with Polyhistidine-Tagged Proteins

Nickel−nitrilotriacetic acid-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes have been synthesized for the directed, reversible self-assembly of polyhistidine-tagged macromolecules onto the nanotube surface. Carbon nanotubes were first covalently functionalized with 4-carboxybenzene diazonium salt, which rendered them water-soluble. The acid moieties on the carbon nanotube were covalently reacted with Nα,Nα-bis(carboxymethyl)-l-lysine hydrate, forming amide bonds to the nanotube complex. The nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) moiety of the Nα,Nα-bis(carboxymethyl)-l-lysine was complexed with Ni2+ and used to specifically bind a polyhistidine-tagged photosynthetic reaction center (RC) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides as a model system. We demonstrate that the histidine-tagged RC protein (RC-His) specifically binds to SWNT-NTA-Ni in a reversible manner. The free RC-His in solution can be removed through histidine binding to Ni-NTA-agarose resin and purified by filtration. This approach allows for both positional and ori...
The potential use of artificially produced monozygotic twins for comparative experiments.

The uniformity of twins has been examined by assembling estimates of the intraclass correlation coefficient (rho(I)) available in the literature for a variety of parameters studied in cattle monozygotic twins and human dizygotic and monozygotic twins. The values of rho(I) vary considerably between parameters. In human monozygotic twins rho(I) is always larger compared to that found in dizygotic twins. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether artificial monozygotic twins are more uniform than natural monozygotic twins. A new measure of twin uniformity, given by T (3) = 1 (1-rho (I)) , is introduced. In practice 2T(3) gives the number of animals chosen at random that one member of a twin pair can replace without loss of statistical efficiency. A useful class of experimental designs for the exploitation of twin uniformity is incomplete block designs. These designs are defined by (v, k, b), where v is the number of treatments to be compared, k = 2, and b is the number of twin pairs. Each design has an associated efficiency (E). Provided rho(I)>1-E, an incomplete block design will be advantageous. In general, when only a few twin pairs are available, this relation will only hold for monozygotic and not dizygotic twins. Suitable arrangements of treatment comparisons for designs (3,2,8), (4,2,9), (5,2,10), (6,2,11) are presented.
A town called nobody: Violence, nationalism, and witch‐burning

Summary A decade ago, when South Africa was undergoing dramatic political, cultural, and social changes, newspapers began to print stories on a curious phenomenon ‐ the burning of so‐called witches in rural areas. Although this trend had probably been on the rise since the mid‐1980s, this particular moment was riddled with issues that found resonance in the witch‐burnings. Complex intersections of new politics, old customs, and extreme violence formed the basis for the press reports, which often attempted to draw clear lines between modern and traditional, legal and unauthorised, and secular and sacred, despite their overlaps. This paper seeks to investigate the phenomenon of witch‐burning and its representations. The very discourse of witchcraft, with its simultaneous resonances of atavistic witch doctors and historical witch trials, demands interrogation. Discussions of witch‐burning emphasise the historical moment of the early 1990s ‐ the last death throes of apartheid and the emotional transition into...
Staff Preferences in Children with Mental Retardation

Staff at a residential facility for children with mental retardation rated their most‐preferred and least‐preferred children on a list of child characteristics. Staff‐perceived characteristics that differed significantly between the most‐ and least‐preferred children were subjective traits involving physical attributes, mood, behaviour, and social qualities. The remaining characteristics comprised objective developmental traits that did not differentiate the two groups. Small children were more likely to be rated most‐preferred, and large children least‐preferred. Staff tended to discount positive traits in their least‐preferred children and tolerate negative attributes in their most‐preferred children. Some children were rated as both most‐ and least‐preferred by different caregivers. These findings add to the understanding of staff perceptions and attitudes and have implications for intervention.
A Marketing Systems View of the US Housing Crisis

The US housing market involves a network of specialized actors servicing the buying and selling of homes. In the years leading to the housing bubble, this network underwent a significant evolution in response to environmental changes. Prior to the bubble, traditional actors such as local banks, savings and loans, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac predominated. During the bubble, new actors such as mortgage brokers, investment banks, and institutional investors came to displace the traditional ones. Attention is drawn to the activities of new players in the housing market, to the changed roles of traditional players, and to inactivity among regulators. This article presents an overview of system dynamics in terms of the market actors involved and their interrelationships, which culminated in the bursting of the housing bubble. Although many features of this case are unique, some general lessons for marketing systems can be drawn. Marketing systems can come to be dominated by actors formerly in supporting roles; ...
Kriging with large data sets using sparse matrix techniques

A major impediment to kriging with large data sets is the need to solve matrix equations with the large matrices that result from using variogram-based kriging equations. This is expensive both in computing time and memory. When the range of the variogram is small, use of covariance-based kriging equations and sparse matrix techniques can allow the kriging equations to be solved very efficiently. By fitting the variogram model and then using this to derive the covariance matrix, we keep the better estimation properties of the variogram, and can exploit the sparseness of the covariance matrix. We compare the relative efficiency of variogram-based and covariance-based kiiging, using both real and simulated data. We also comment on the use of sparsity in kriging
The Voltage Breakdown Characteristics of Miniature XLPE Cables Containing Water Trees

This paper presents the results of 60 Hz, dc, and impulse voltage breakdown tests on miniature XLPE cables containing water trees. To produce the water trees, the cables were immersed in water and subjected to high voltage at a frequency of 1 kHz for periods up to 1000 h. The dc and impulse breakdown voltages of virgin cable were similar and about twice the peak value of the ac breakdown voltage. The breakdown voltages decreased by up to 90% of their original values with time of ageing and also with ageing voltage. For well-developed water trees in the insulation, the ac and dc breakdown strengths were similar. The number and lengths of the water trees also increased with time of ageing and voltage. The breakdown voltages were almost independent of the tree density but decreased significantly with increasing tree length. The effects of ageing temperature and drying out of the cable prior to breakdown testing are also reported.
Fiber Optic Gradient Hydrophone

A laboratory study has been made of the characteristics of an interferometric type optical fiber pressure gradient hydrophone. The optical system is configured as an all fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer excited by a single mode gallium arsenide diode laser. A pair of identical fiber coils, one in each arm of the interferometer, forms the sensing portion of the gradient hvdrophone. Each coil consists of 10 meters of polyethylene jacketed, single mode fiber, wound in a toroidal element of mean diameter 4 cm and thickness 3 mm. A standing wave type acoustic calibrator was constructed and used to determine the sensitivity of each individual coil. The pair then was aligned coaxially and separated by 10 cm to operate as a pressure gradient device. Details of the construction of the system, calibration procedure, and hydrophone sensitivity data are presented.
Phenotypic analyses of lymphokine-activated killer cells that release interferon γ and tumor necrosis factor α

We recently reported that interleukin-2(IL-2)-activated peripheral blood lymphocytes and CD3+, lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell clones release tumor necrosis factor α(TNFα) and interferon γ (IFNγ) when stimulated with K562 erythroleukemia cells. We examined the phenotype of IL-2-activated peripheral blood leukocytes that secrete TNFα and IFNγ when stimulated with K562 cells and demonstrated that TNFα secretion is not due to the presence of contaminating mononuclear phagocytes. Further, we demonstrate that IL-2-activated natural killer (NK) cells release only IFNγ when stimulated with K562 cells while T lymphocytes exposed to monoclonal anti-CD3 and K562 cells secrete both TNFα and IFNγ. However, T cells stimulated only with K562 cells did not release IFNγ or TNFα while the admixture of these T cells with NK cells, when stimulated with K562 cells, released levels of TNFα comparable to those produced by the unseparated cells. At present it is unclear whether only one or both effector cell types respond to K562 by releasing TNFα or why the presence both cell types is needed.
Illicit drug, ischemic bowel.

h m 2 PRESENTATION In the young adult or middle-aged patient with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea, a history of cocaine abuse is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis, as illustrated in this case. A 44-year-old male construction worker presented to our general medicine clinic reporting 1 year of recurrent, sharp, left-sided abdominal pain associated with frequent loose stools. For a few days before presentation, he had been unable to sleep because of the pain. The painful episodes were associated with some rectal bleeding and a documented weight loss of 40 lb but no nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, food intolerance, or change in appetite. The patient denied urinary problems (hematuria, frequency, urgency, dysuria) and fever. His medical and surgical history were unremarkable except for an appendectomy 15 years previously; he had never had a colonoscopy. His social history was significant for smoking (20 pack-years) and occasional alcohol use. He denied use of illicit drugs.