cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The factorial structure study on parental rearing scale(EMBU)in adolescents

Objective To explore the factorial structure of Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppforstran(EMBU)in adolescents. Methods Totally 1 077adolescents were investigated by using Chinese version of EMBU revised by YUE Dong-mei.The 50%sample was used for exploratory factor analysis and the other 50%for confirmatory factor analysis.Results The factorial structure defined by YUE Dong-mei was not so stable.The new scale yielded by exploratory factor analysis,including three-factor model(emotional warmth,punishment and overprotection),19items and explained 50.8%of total variance on father and 51.4% on mother form.Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the three-factor model to the data.The value of Cronbach'sαwas 0.65-0.85,and the correlation coefficients between each scale and total scale were 0.34-0.65.Conclusion The new revised EMBU scale shows better validity and reliability and can be applied to adolescents.
The kinetic mechanisms of monoamine oxidases A and B

Introduction Questions raised by the existence of two forms of monoamine oxidase (MAO) with overlapping distribution, substrate specificities and inhibitor sensitivities has fascinated pharmacologists and biochemists for several decades (for recent reviews, see [l-31). It is now known that the flavin sites are identical [4] and, indeed, that the two enzymes show 71% sequence homology [2]. The differences must lie in the substrate binding site, but they affect not just the substrate specificity but also the kinetics of the oxidation process. Early steady-state kinetic studies using a wide variety of substrates and both purified and crude (membrane bound) preparations of the enzyme obtained double reciprocal plots with the parallelline pattern indicating a ping-pong (double displacement) mechanism (e.g. [S-71) in which the enzyme forms only binary complexes with the substrates and products. However, as demonstrated for other flavoprotein oxidases [8], parallel lines can be obtained in double reciprocal plots even when a ternary complex exists, if some of the terms in the rate equation are very small. The rate equations for the two mechanisms are given below:
People Who Choose Time Over Money Are Happier

Money and time are both scarce resources that people believe would bring them greater happiness. But would people prefer having more money or more time? And how does one’s preference between resour...
Atorvastatin did not prevent cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes.

Source Citation Knopp RH, d’Emden M, Smilde JG, Pocock SJ. Efficacy and safety of atorvastatin in the prevention of cardiovascular end points in subjects with type 2 diabetes: the Atorvastatin Stud...
Critical Engagement: The Role of Ada Louise Huxtable in the Evolution of 2 Columbus Circle

Ada Louise Huxtable is widely acknowledged to be among the most influential architectural critics of the last century. Her recent death was followed by numerous assessments of the many achievements of her long, pioneering career. Although Huxtable wrote about countless works of architecture, evidence of her enduring influence may be found in the circumstances surrounding the evolution of a single building—the Gallery of Modern Art in New York City—which became inextricably intertwined with Huxtable's critique of it. The story of Huxtable's engagement with this building serves as a case study of the potential impact of the cultural critic and how architectural criticism intersects with practice and politics.
Gastrointestinal Bowel Obstruction in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes in a U.S. Nationwide Analysis of 3,998,667 Hospitalizations

Objective The prognosis from acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is worsened by poststroke medical complications. The incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of gastrointestinal bowel obstruction (GIBO) in AIS are not known. Methods We queried the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2002-2011) to identify all patients with a primary diagnosis of AIS and subsets with and without a secondary diagnosis of GIBO without hernia. Multivariable analysis was utilized to identify risk factors for GIBO in AIS patients and the association between GIBO, in-hospital complications, and outcomes. Results We identified 16,987 patients with GIBO (.43%) among 3,988,667 AIS hospitalizations and 4.2% of these patients underwent surgery. In multivariable analysis, patients with 75+ years of age were two times as likely to suffer GIBO compared to younger patients ( P P P P P Conclusion GIBO is a rare but burdensome complication of AIS, associated with complications, disability, and mortality. The risk factors identified in this study aim to encourage the monitoring of patients at highest risk for GIBO. The predominant form of stroke-related GIBO is nonmechanical obstruction, although the causative relationship remains unknown.
Cardiac Progenitor Cells Enhance Neonatal Right Ventricular Function After Pulmonary Artery Banding.

Background C-kit + cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have been shown to be safe and effective in large-animal models and in an early-phase clinical trial for adult patients with ischemic heart disease. However, CPCs have not yet been evaluated in a preclinical model of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction, which is a salient feature of many forms of congenital heart disease. Methods Human c-kit + CPCs were generated from right atrial appendage biopsy specimens obtained during routine congenital cardiac operations. Immunosuppressed Yorkshire swine (6 to 9 kg) underwent pulmonary artery banding to induce RV dysfunction. Thirty minutes after banding, pigs received intramyocardial injection into the RV free wall with c-kit + CPCs (1 million cells, n = 5) or control (phosphate-buffered saline, n = 5). Pigs were euthanized at 30 days postbanding. Results Banding was calibrated to a consistent rise in the RV-to-systemic pressure ratio across both groups (postbanding: CPCs = 0.76 ± 0.06, control = 0.75 ± 0.03). At 30 days postbanding, the CPCs group demonstrated less RV dilatation and a significantly greater RV fractional area of change than the control group ( p = 0.002). In addition, measures of RV myocardial strain, including global longitudinal strain and strain rate, were significantly greater in the CPCs group at 4 weeks relative to control ( p = 0.004 and p = 0.01, respectively). The RV free wall in the CPCs group demonstrated increased arteriole formation ( p p = 0.02). Conclusions Intramyocardial injection of c-kit + CPCs results in enhanced RV performance relative to control at 30 days postbanding in neonatal pigs. This model is important for further evaluation of c-kit + CPCs, including long-term efficacy.
Combined Salt and Caloric Restrictions: Potential Adverse Outcomes.

BackgroundWe hypothesized that caloric restriction (CR) and salt restriction (ResS) would have similar effects on reducing cardiovascular risk markers and that combining CR and ResS would be synerg...
Use of ketamine for acute suicidal ideation in a patient with chronic pain on prescribed cannabinoids.

Ketamine is a standard anaesthetic drug that has been studied as a possible treatment for acute suicidal ideation. Aside to the potential psychotropic effects of ketamine, a Cochrane review reported that available studies suggest a modest effect of ketamine for chronic pain months to years after surgical intervention. We present a patient with acute suicidal ideation who required immediate inpatient psychiatric admission in the setting of concurrent chronic pain on cannabinoids which could not be prescribed within our inpatient hospital setting. This presented a clinical dilemma to rapidly reverse the patient’s suicidality while substituting the patient’s prescribed cannabinoid products with an alternative pain regimen. Since there is emerging support in the use of ketamine in suicidality and chronic pain, we administered ketamine while withholding cannabinoid products and found evidence to support its use in rapid reversal of suicidal ideation and temporary chronic pain relief.
Effective Recruitment of Schools for Randomized Clinical Trials: Role of School Nurses.

In school settings, nurses lead efforts to improve the student health and well-being to support academic success. Nurses are guided by evidenced-based practice and data to inform care decisions. Th...
Noninvasive in vivo characterization of erythrocyte motion in human retinal capillaries using high-speed adaptive optics near-confocal imaging

The flow of erythrocytes in parafoveal capillaries was imaged in the living human eye with an adaptive optics near-confocal ophthalmoscope at a frame rate of 800 Hz with a low coherence near-infrared (NIR) light source. Spatiotemporal traces of the erythrocyte movement were extracted from consecutive images. Erythrocyte velocity was measured using custom software based on the Radon transform. The impact of imaging speed on velocity measurement was estimated using images of frame rates of 200, 400, and 800 Hz. The NIR light allowed for long imaging periods without visually stimulating the retina and disturbing the natural rheological state. High speed near-confocal imaging enabled direct and accurate measurement of erythrocyte velocity, and revealed a distinctively cardiac-dependent pulsatile velocity waveform of the erythrocyte flow in retinal capillaries, disclosed the impact of the leukocytes on erythrocyte motion, and provided new metrics for precise assessment of erythrocyte movement. The approach may facilitate new investigations on the pathophysiology of retinal microcirculation with applications for ocular and systemic diseases.
Monoclonal Antibodies to Human Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors

Monoclonal antibodies directed against the hormone-binding forms of human estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) have been used to develop quantitative and histochemical immunoassays for these proteins in reproductive tissues and related cancers (Greene and Press, 1987; Greene and Jensen, 1982; King and Greene, 1984; King et al, 1985; Nolan et al, 1984; Press and Greene, 1984). Such assays make use of very specific and sensitive probes that do not depend upon the ability of receptor protein to bind its cognate radiolabeled hormone in tissue extracts. In addition, these antibodies can be used to detect and quantify ER and PR directly in fixed tissue sections and cell dispersions, thereby permitting an evaluation of the type, proportion and distribution of cells that contain immunoreactive ER and/or PR. For metastatic breast cancer, a major potential clinical application of receptor immunoassays is the prediction of response to endocrine therapy and assessment of prognosis (disease-free interval and survival). The clinical utility of ER and PR steroid-binding assays (SBA) for evaluating these parameters in patients with advanced breast cancer has been well documented (DeSombre et al, 1979; DeSombre, 1984; Osborne et al, 1981).
Harnessing Medium Anisotropy To Control Active Matter.

ConspectusActive matter is a wide class of nonequilibrium systems consisting of interacting self-propelled agents transducing the energy stored in the environment into mechanical motion. Numerous examples range from microscopic cytoskeletal filaments and swimming organisms (bacteria and unicellular algae), synthetic catalytic nanomotors, colloidal self-propelled Janus particles, to macroscopic bird flocks, fish schools, and even human crowds. Active matter demonstrates a remarkable tendency toward self-organization and development of collective states with the long-range spatial order. Furthermore, active materials exhibit properties that are not present in traditional materials like plastics or ceramics: self-repair, shape change, and adaptation.A suspension of microscopic swimmers, such as motile bacteria or self-propelled colloids (active suspensions), is possibly the simplest and the most explored realization of active matter. Recent studies of active suspensions revealed a wealth of unexpected behavi...
Does performing Computed Tomography Angiography following abnormal gastrointestinal bleeding scans benefit patients

1673 Objectives We have noticed that after some positive gastrointestinal bleeding scans (GIBS), a Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) is ordered instead of proceeding directly to intervention. We sought to investigate the diagnostic yield of the CTA in this setting since CTA adds cost, radiation, and time to patient management. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all positive GIBS over a two year period from September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2014. For each of these patients, we identified if a CTA of the abdomen and pelvis was subsequently performed and compared the CTA results to the GIBS findings. CTA’s performed more than 48 hours after the positive GIBS result were excluded. The time between the GIBS result and CTA result was also examined. Results Two-hundred ninety-four patients with positive GIBS were identified. In 244/294 (83%) of cases the GIBS localized the bleeding site and in 50/294 (17%) the GI bleeding site could not be localized. In patients with localized GIBS, 220/244 (90%) did not have a CTA done and 25/244 (10%) had a CTA performed; the CTA was negative in 16/25 (64%) and positive for bleeding in 9/25 (36%). All 9 of the positive CTA’s agreed with the GI bleeding site identified on GIBS. In patients with positive GIBS but bleeding site was not localized, 46/50 (92%) did not have a CTA and 4/50 (8%) had a CTA all of which were negative. Overall, the CTA’s added a mean of 13.1 hours to patient management. Conclusions Performing CTA following positive GIBS does not assist in localizing the site of bleeding, is often falsely negative in patients in whom bleeding has already been demonstrated, and may unnecessarily delay management in actively bleeding patients.
Genetic mutation of Kcnj16 identifies Kir5.1-containing channels as key regulators of acute and chronic pH homeostasis

Acute and chronic homeostatic pH regulation is critical for the maintenance of optimal cellular function. Renal mechanisms dominate global pH regulation over longer time frames, and rapid adjustments in ventilation compensate for acute pH and CO2 changes. Ventilatory CO2 and pH chemoreflexes are primarily determined by brain chemoreceptors with intrinsic pH sensitivity likely driven by K+ channels. Here, we studied acute and chronic pH regulation in Kcnj16 mutant Dahl salt-sensitive (SS Kcnj16-/-) rats; Kcnj16 encodes the pH-sensitive inwardly rectifying K+ 5.1 (Kir5.1) channel. SS Kcnj16-/- rats hyperventilated at rest, likely compensating for a chronic metabolic acidosis. Despite their resting hyperventilation, SS Kcnj16-/- rats showed up to 45% reduction in the ventilatory response to graded hypercapnic acidosis vs. controls. SS Kcnj16-/- rats chronically treated with bicarbonate or the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor hydrochlorothiazide had partial restoration of arterial pH, but there was a further reduction in the ventilatory response to hypercapnic acidosis. SS Kcnj16-/- rats also had a nearly absent hypoxic ventilatory response, suggesting major contributions of Kir5.1 to O2- and CO2-dependent chemoreflexes. Although previous studies demonstrated beneficial effects of a high-K+ diet (HKD) on cardiorenal phenotypes in SS Kcnj16-/- rats, HKD failed to restore the observed ventilatory phenotypes. We conclude that Kir5.1 is a key regulator of renal H+ handling and essential for acute and chronic regulation of arterial pH as determinants of the ventilatory CO2 chemoreflex.-Puissant, M. M., Muere, C., Levchenko, V., Manis, A. D., Martino, P., Forster, H. V., Palygin, O., Staruschenko, A., Hodges, M. R. Genetic mutation of Kcnj16 identifies Kir5.1-containing channels as key regulators of acute and chronic pH homeostasis.
Kinetics of the γ–δ phase transition in energetic nitramine-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine

The solid, secondary explosive nitramine-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7 or HMX has four different stable polymorphs which have different molecular conformations, crystalline structures, and densities, making structural phase transitions between these nontrivial. Previous studies of the kinetics of the β-δ HMX structural transition found this to happen by a nucleation and growth mechanism, where growth was governed by the heat of fusion, or melting, even though the phase transition temperature is more than 100 K below the melting point. A theory known as virtual melting could easily justify this since the large volume difference in the two phases creates a strain at their interface that can lower the melting point to the phase transition temperature through a relaxation of the elastic energy. To learn more about structural phase transitions in organic crystalline solids and virtual melting, here we use time-resolved X-ray diffraction to study another structural phase transition in HMX, γ-δ. Again, second order kinetics are observed which fit to the same nucleation and growth model associated with growth by melting even though the volume change in this transition is too small to lower the melting point by interfacial strain. To account for this, we present a more general model illustrating that melting over a very thin layer at the interface between the two phases reduces the total interfacial energy and is therefore thermodynamically favorable and can drive the structural phase transition in the absence of large volume changes. Our work supports the idea that virtual melting may be a more generally applicable mechanism for structural phase transitions in organic crystalline solids.
Survival rates after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) for testicular seminoma.

534Background: RPLND as first-line treatment for testicular seminoma is less well defined than for testicular nonseminomas. Furthermore, RPLND performed in the post-chemotherapy (PC) setting for se...
Building a Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Data Registry: Quality Improvement Through Measurement

The notion of data analytics and its use in clinical care of patients continues to accelerate in healthcare whereby providers and facilities alike are migrating from a pay-for-procedure to a pay-for-performance framework. Measurement of data against peer groups is of utmost importance because quality improvement efforts are predicated on the notion that we cannot improve what we do not measure. Successful metabolic and bariatric surgery programs must be supported by a rich data registry as a basis for their local quality improvement efforts which seek to standardize care for the patients they serve. The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) collects prospective data and performs risk adjustment following a uniform set of definitional principles regarding patient demographics, comorbidities, and postoperative events. Due to the inherent rigor in this process, programs can feel confident that they are measured equitably among their peers. The use of standardized data collection promotes immeasurable value for patients, as the data used at both the local and national level supports principles which seek to improve efficiency, quality, and complication rates.
Genome Sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis Strain MW, a Freshwater Isolate.

ABSTRACT Bacillus thuringiensis is an agriculturally significant bacterium and common biological pesticide. B. thuringiensis strain MW was isolated from a freshwater stream in Mont Vernon, NH, and sequenced. A draft genome assembly of 5,935,630 bp with a G+C content of 34.86% and an N50 value of 1,154,949 bp was generated.
Attitudes Toward Advocacy Do Not Match Actions: A Cross-sectional Survey of Residents and Fellows.

Background/objective We sought to determine baseline physician advocacy knowledge and attitudes of resident and fellow trainees at our institution to inform future graduate medical education (GME) activities. Methods A cross-sectional survey was developed and administered to all house staff in 2014 at Lifespan Hospitals, affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Results The response rate was 24% (134/558). Eighty-eight percent reported voting in the 2012 presidential election, with lower participation in regional elections. Less than 25% felt comfortable explaining the Affordable Care Act, communicating with media, or influencing legislation on a health care issue. The majority (94%) agreed that "as a physician I have a duty to advocate." Few reported receiving adequate advocacy training in medical school (18%) or residency (12%). Conclusions House staff agreed that physicians have a duty to advocate, but this did not translate into knowledge or action. GME should increase curricular efforts for trainees in the health care advocacy domain.
A Psychometric Network Perspective on the Validity and Validation of Personality Trait Questionnaires

This article reviews the causal implications of latent variable and psychometric network models for the validation of personality trait questionnaires. These models imply different data generating ...
The benefits of live court date reminder phone calls during pretrial case processing

The aims of this study are to test the effectiveness of court date reminders on failure to appear (FTA) and to test their effectiveness based on demographics and case characteristics. Randomized controlled trial with four treatment groups: (1) no call; (2) reminder call made 3 days in advance of the appearance; (3) reminder call made the same day of the appearance; and (4) reminder call made both 3 days in advance and the same day. Participants included individuals released before their first appearance (arraignment) for which the provider had a phone number at which to make a reminder attempt. Some demographic information is available (race, sex, and age) and some case characteristics are available (the time from arrest to arraignment, and charges). Using an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis, reminders reduced the FTA rate by 37%. The results suggest the timing of the reminders was not important. People of color benefited from the reminders more than white participants. Participants with a longer time between the arrest and the arraignment benefited more than participants with a shorter time between the arrest and arraignment. Court-date reminders may reduce racial disparities in FTA rates. Future research should attempt to include measures of perceptions of procedural justice and other measures of socioeconomic status. The current study is limited by small disparities in intended and attempted treatment, and lack of data on perceptions of procedural justice, and socioeconomic status.
Complex pattern generation for swarm robotic systems using spatial-temporal logic and density feedback control

With the emergence of AI and robotics, controlling thousands of networked robots simultaneously becomes foreseeable in the near feature, which poses significant challenges to control theory. The last decade has seen increasing research activities in this area, where major efforts followed a bottom-up philosophy with predefined local coordination and control laws, e.g., the nearest neighbor control law. However, the key challenge is how to design these local coordination and control laws to guarantee a desired global specification. This motivates us to pursue a top-down approach, and propose a provable design framework for the complex pattern generation problem of a swarm of robots. Specifically, we use a spatial-temporal logic to specify the global configuration, which is capable of describing a wide range of time-varying and complex spatial patterns. Synthesis is performed by first generating a sequence of probability density functions (pdf) that fulfill the spatial- temporal requirements, and then using a partial differential equation (PDE)-based density feedback control strategy to track the reference pdf sequence. The density feedback control law is proved to be exponentially stable and thus can efficiently track the desired pdf sequence. The effectiveness of the proposed control framework is verified using agent-based simulations.
The perceived reality and environment of the mid-career nurse scientist

Abstract Background/Purpose A qualitative study was designed to explore facilitators and barriers to success from the perspectives of self-identified mid-career nurse scientists. Methods Data were collected from 84 respondents using open-ended items as part of an electronic survey of self-identified mid-career nurse scientists who were members of regional nursing research societies. Discussion/Conclusion Two main themes emerged: “Perceived Realities” and “What's Needed to Achieve Career Success.” Mid-career nurse scientists experience both joy from teaching and research roles and dissatisfaction with research support; difficulty balancing heavy teaching workload, administrative responsibilities, and research, and ineffective mentoring. Based on the challenges in their environment, respondents identified numerous ways to enhance career success including (1) increasing or enhancing release time for research activities, (2) formal infrastructure to support research activities, and (3) targeted, effective mentoring by senior scientists.
Risk Tolerance: Don’t Ask Me, I’m in a Bad Mood

The purpose of this poster is to describe a study that was undertaken to determine if an individual’s mood is associated with the individual’s responses to a set of CRRA questions. It was thought that if such an association exists, then it is likely that Loewenstein et al.’s (2001) “risk-as-feelings” hypothesis may be a more appropriate description of the way investors formulate risk preferences compared to a purely analytical model. Further, if an association between mood and CRRA does exist this means that financial planners should take care to evaluate measures of client CRRA in light of client emotional characteristics.
A Big-Data Approach to Contemporary French Politics

Mixing the methods of machine learning and those of French cultural studies, this article explores recent trends in French politics. We analyze a large data set from Twitter (over a hundred and fif...
In the Shadow of the Thucydides Trap: International Relations Theory and the Prospects for Peace and U.S.-China Relations

Rising powers and the consequent shifts in the balance of power have long been identified as critical challenges to the international order. What is the likelihood that China and the United States will fall into the Thucydides Trap, meaning that the two countries will fight a major war during a potential power transition? This article creates a framework of seven variables, derived from dominant international relations theories and Graham Allison's "twelve clues for peace," that predict the likelihood of major conflict between a rising and an established power: degree of economic interdependence, degree of institutional constraints, domestic political system, nature of relevant alliances, nature of nuclear weapons programs, the sustainability of the rising power's growth, and its level of dissatisfaction. It then evaluates the values of these variables in the context of the U.S.-China relationship to determine whether pessimism about the prospects of peace is warranted. This analysis leads to more mixed conclusions about the prospects of peace than liberal international relations theory and Allison's twelve clues would suggest. This research further operationalizes power transition theory and has practical implications for U.S. policy toward China.
Main Trends and Conclusions in Russian Economy in March 2018

Escalating tension and uncertainty fits well into the description of events unfolding over the past two weeks in the conventional borderland between economics and politics.
Complexity in Arikara mortuary practice.

Traditionally, Arikara mortuary practice has been described as direct interment soon after death in wood-covered pits. This interpretation explains most of the ethnohistorical and archeological dat...
Hydrocolloid versus saline-gauze dressings in treating pressure ulcers: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

The cost effectiveness of using hydrocolloid dressings versus nonsterile saline-gauze wet-to-moist dressings for treatment of pressure ulcers in a long-term care setting was evaluated. During 21 months, 39 subjects were enrolled, and treatment was randomly assigned. Eighty-nine percent of the hydrocolloid subjects and 86% of the saline-gauze subjects healed. Median healing time was shorter for the hydrocolloid group (nine days) than for the saline-gauze group (11 days), although the difference did not reach statistical significance (p = .12). Presence of exudate at baseline was associated with a prolonged time to healing. For the hydrocolloid treatment, the median nursing time was one eighth that of the saline-gauze treatment, but its materials cost was 3.3 times higher. Using local nursing wages, median total cost for treatment with hydrocolloid dressing was $15.58; for the saline gauze, it was $22.65. Using national nursing wages, these costs were $15.90 and $25.31, respectively. The cost savings of the hydrocolloid treatment using local wages did not reach statistical significance. However, using national wages, the cost of the hydrocolloid treatment was significantly less expensive. Nursing home treatment of pressure ulcers was inexpensive overall. Consequently, the absolute cost savings of using hydrocolloid dressings instead of nonsterile saline-gauze dressing, although real, was relatively modest. Physicians can use local nursing wages to calculate the magnitude of savings in their area.
Design of Visualizations for Urban Modeling

Urban planning experts often use Computer models to help evaluate alternative land use policies, particularly as they interact with transportation and environmental decisions. The greatly increased data volume provided by new land use models makes their effective use difficult without suitable visualization tools. We present Urban View, a visualization system for urban modeling, and describe a user study to determine appropriate visualizations for the urban modeling domain.
Control Circuits for Determination and Transdetermination: Interpreting Positional Information in a Binary Epigenetic Code

Positional information in an embryo requires interpretation to guide spatially ordered differentiation. Evidence, from dtermination and transdetermination among imaginal disc derivatives in Drosophila, suggests the interpretative commitment, or determination, is carried by entities possissing only two alternate states each. This hypothesis correctly predicts pairs of classes of mutants affecting complementary subsets of imaginal discs. Four such complementary pairs define four boundaries separating the various imaginal discs on the fate map of the egg. Crossing any boundary corresponds to a change in state of the associated determination circuit. Using these boundaries, the model makes 43 predictions about relative transdetermination frequencies. Thirty-four appear correct. This has an a priori probability of less than 10- minus 4. False predictions appear to reflect incompleteness in the theory. The four boundaries on the fate map presumably correspond to threshold levels of spatial gradients constituting positional information; on one side of a threshold one circuit state occurs, on the other, the second state. The last four cleavage divisions in Drosophila melanogaster occur as four mitotic waves with geometries similar to the four boundaries. Disc determination happens at about this time. These waves may be, or reflect, the signalling system carrying positional information. Focus on the interpretive machinery, the determination circuits, suggests two slightly new concepts: (1 the set of possible combinations of states of determination circuits constitutes an epigenetic code, thus raising familiar coding questions concerning redundancy or nonsense words; (2) each circuit may respond to its own gradient or positional signal distributed in two or three dimensions.
Duration and specificity of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in chronic active hepatitis

Abstract To determine the duration and specificity of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in hepatitis B surface antigen-negative chronic active hepatitis, sera from 19 patients seropositive by enzyme immunoassay were assessed by recombinant immunoblot assay Only 12 of the 19 patients were reactive by immunoblot assay (63%). Patients nonreactive by immunoblot assay had lower signal-cutoff ratios by enzyme immunoassay (1.3 ± 0.2 vs. 6.5 ± 0.1; P P P
A more effective C/sub EFF/

Precise chip-level timing requires careful modeling of the interaction between logic drivers and interconnect. Existing static-timing analysis methodologies generate models for drivers with lumped capacitive loads. This necessitates the translation of the actual loading and interconnect parasitics into a single effective capacitance. Existing approaches to perform that translation are either iterative in nature or involve iterative procedure to solve non-closed form equations and thus costly in CPU time. This paper presents a new accurate and simple closed form approach to deal with effective capacitance.
Conflict of Laws in Massachusetts, Part I: Current Choice-of-Law Theory

This article is a survey of conflict of laws principles in Massachusetts. It explains the historical and current Massachusetts approach to conflict of laws issues, and then applies that methodology to a variety of substantive and procedural topic areas. It concludes with recommendations for ways that Massachusetts courts can improve their analysis of these problems to promote fair and consistent outcomes.
Coase's Twin Towers: The Relation Between The Nature of the Firm and The Problem of Social Cost

Ronald Coase's The Nature of the Firm (The Firm) may well be the second most cited article in law and economics. Usually, calling something second best is a backhanded compliment. But in this case the praise is sincere, for Coase also wrote the most cited article, The Problem of Social Cost (Social Cost). Much ink has been spilled over each article. Both are justly famous, and together they make Coase a richly deserving recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.The Firm, published in 1937, is most often studied by corporate law or industrial organization specialists (although we should remember Coase's lament that until the 1970s it was "often cited, and little used"). The 1960 Social Cost article — and the Coase Theorem it spawned — has a wider following. Often, then, the two articles are not examined together. But insights can be had by viewing them as responses to the same basic inquiry.The two articles are linked thematically. Both emphasize the centrality of transaction costs in studying markets and market alternatives. Despite the similarities in theme, the reception of the two articles within law and economics has been quite different. The Firm has been criticized by free-market advocates as flawed or misleading, and many find it contrary to modern conceptions of the firm as a "nexus of contracts." Social Cost and its Coase Theorem, on the other hand, has been applauded and defended by this same school. The attacks on the Coase Theorem largely come from outside law and economics, particularly by "leftists."Coase has said he does "not wish to discuss why these two articles, using so similar an approach, should have been received so differently." This essay will begin that discussion.
Involvement of the gapA- and epd(gapB)-Encoded Dehydrogenases in Pyridoxal 5′-Phosphate Coenzyme Biosynthesis in Escherichia coli K-12

We show that epd (gapB) mutants lacking an erythrose 4-phosphate (E4P) dehydrogenase are impaired for growth on some media and contain less pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) and pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate (PMP) than their epd+ parent. In contrast to a previous report, we found that gapA epd double mutants lacking the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and E4P dehydrogenases are auxotrophic for pyridoxine. These results implicate the GapA and Epd dehydrogenases in de novo PLP and PMP coenzyme biosynthesis.
ELSI: A Medical Equipment Diagnostic System

A case-based reasoning system for diagnosing medical equipment, called ELSI, has been in use by the GE corporation since 1994. When a customer or field engineer calls the service center for help with a problem, the equipment's error log is automatically downloaded. In ninety seconds or less, ELSI displays a sorted list of the best-matching logs in a case base of previous known problems, shows the fix, service notes, explains which sections of the log match, and which fixes each section predicts. This diagnostic information allows the service center engineer to recommend a temporary work-around or remote fixes to a customer, or helps a field engineer show up on site with the right parts the first time.
Concealed arch incision: A cosmetic incision for pelvic surgery in girls

Summary Introduction The concealed arch incision is a new cosmetic incision used in pediatric urology to access the lower urinary tract. This study explores the varieties of procedures that can be performed through this new incision on girls. Materials and methods The varieties of lower urinary tract operations performed in 27 girls were evaluated. Results Ureteral reimplantation procedures performed in the Cohen technique, Glenn-Anderson and Lich as well as ureteral tapering and ureteroureterostomy were performed through this new incision without difficulty. Conclusions Many lower urinary tract procedures can be performed through this new concealed arch incision with excellent cosmetic results.
Check‐up time

Purpose – Draws parallels between individuals and organizations, and notes the importance of having regular, periodic organizational checks to avoid incurring serious problems.Design/methodology/approach – Suggests collecting and analyzing appropriate data, and getting a second opinion when necessary, as a strategy to better understand an organization's health.Findings – Being clear about one's purpose, strategic initiatives, and/or goals – what one intends to learn, and how one plans to use the findings – is of uppermost importance.Originality/value – Outlines the order in which data should be collected and how to use the information found.
Persistence Without Pathology in Phosphoglycan-Deficient Leishmania major

Leishmania infections involve an acute phase of replication within macrophages, typically associated with pathology. After recovery parasites persist for long periods, which can lead to severe disease upon reactivation. Unlike the role of host factors, parasite factors affecting persistence are poorly understood. Leishmania major lacking phosphoglycans (lpg2-) were unable to survive in sand flies and macrophages, but retained the ability to persist indefinitely in the mammalian host without inducing disease. The L. major lpg2- thus provides a platform for probing parasite factors implicated in persistence and its role in disease and immunity.
tert-Butyl (2S)-2-{3-[(R)-bis-(tert-but-oxy-carbon-yl)amino]-2-oxopiperidin-1-yl}-3-methyl-butano-ate.

The title compound, C24H42N2O7, is a chiral lactam-constrained amino acid with a six-membered ring backbone and isopropyl and tert-butyl ester side chains. The conformation of the six-membered ring can be described as a half chair, with two CH2 C atoms lying 0.443 (1) and −0.310 (1) A out of the best plane of the other four atoms (mean deviation = 0.042 A). Both N atoms are sp 2 hybridized, lying 0.0413 (9) and 0.067 (1) A out of the planes defined by the three C atoms bonded to them. The absolute configuration was determined, based on resonant scattering of light atoms in Cu Kα radiation.
Membrane estrogen receptors activate the metabotropic glutamate receptors mGluR5 and mGluR3 to bidirectionally regulate CREB phosphorylation in female rat striatal neurons

Along with its ability to directly regulate gene expression, estradiol influences cell signaling and brain functions via rapid, membrane-initiated events. In the female rat striatum, estradiol activates membrane-localized estrogen receptors to influence synaptic neurotransmission, calcium channel activity, and behaviors related to motor control. Yet, the mechanism by which estradiol acts to rapidly affect striatal physiology has remained elusive. Here we find that membrane estrogen receptors (ERs) couple to the metabotropic glutamate receptors mGluR5 and mGluR3, providing the framework to understand how membrane estrogen receptors affect striatal function. Using CREB phosphorylation as a downstream measure of ER/mGluR activation, membrane-localized estrogen receptor α (ERα) activates mGluR5 signaling to mediate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent CREB phosphorylation. Further, ERα and estrogen receptor β (ERβ) activate mGluR3 to attenuate L-type calcium channel-dependent CREB signaling. Interestingly, while this fundamental mechanism of ER/mGluR signaling was initially characterized in hippocampal neurons, estrogen receptors in striatal neurons are paired with a different set of mGluRs, resulting in the potential to functionally isolate membrane-initiated estrogen signaling across brain regions via use of specific mGluR modulators. These results provide both a mechanism for the rapid actions of estrogens within the female striatum, as well as demonstrate that estrogen receptors can interact with a more diverse set of surface membrane receptors than previously recognized.
Clarifying the Coaching Roles: Principal, Department Head, Teacher.

Here's a look at three levels of "coaching" in the school, and how those levels relate to similar roles in the world of sports.
Biogeochemistry of sulfur in wetland peat following 3.5 y of artificial acidification (HUMEX)

Abstract Peat sulfur biogeochemistry changed in several important ways as the result of a catchment-scale acidification manipulation experiment (HUMEX) from June 1990 (immediately before onset of acidification) to June 1994. Porewater sulfate increased markedly at the experimental sites compared to the control, based on measurements immediately after acidification events. Nitrate, which was added in artificial precipitation along with sulfate, was not observed in porewater, even on the acidified side of the catchment. Total S (TS) and reduced inorganic S (RIS) were unchanged at the control site. TS increased significantly at one experimental site and was unchanged at the other. RIS increased significantly at both experimental sites. All of these changes were consistent with increased net dissimilatory sulfate reduction at the experimental sites in response to elevated sulfate deposition. The increase in TS pools at one site was sufficient to account for most of the S deposition at the site over the 3.5 y of the experiment. Analysis of stable S isotopes confirmed trends observed in S pool sizes. Further, the S stable isotope data suggested that, despite stimulation of overall dissimilatory activity by increased S deposition, sulfate reducers at the experimental site were limited by sulfate.
Mutual (isothermal) diffusion in binary hard-sphere mixtures: The effects of the Onsager reciprocity relations

Abstract The mutual diffusion coefficients of the Revised Enskog Theory of van Beijeren and Ernst and the Standard Theory of Thorne are compared. The former theory is consistent with the Onsager Reciprocity Relations while the latter is not. The diffusion constant of the Revised Theory is found to be as much as 30% larger than that predicted by the Standard Theory.
Specific Function of the Met-Tyr-Trp Adduct Radical and Residues Arg-418 and Asp-137 in the Atypical Catalase Reaction of Catalase-Peroxidase KatG

Catalase activity of the dual-function heme enzyme catalase-peroxidase (KatG) depends on several structural elements, including a unique adduct formed from covalently linked side chains of three conserved amino acids (Met-255, Tyr-229, and Trp-107, Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG numbering) (MYW). Mutagenesis, electron paramagnetic resonance, and optical stopped-flow experiments, along with calculations using density functional theory (DFT) methods revealed the basis of the requirement for a radical on the MYW-adduct, for oxyferrous heme, and for conserved residues Arg-418 and Asp-137 in the rapid catalase reaction. The participation of an oxyferrous heme intermediate (dioxyheme) throughout the pH range of catalase activity is suggested from our finding that carbon monoxide inhibits the activity at both acidic and alkaline pH. In the presence of H2O2, the MYW-adduct radical is formed normally in KatG[D137S] but this mutant is defective in forming dioxyheme and lacks catalase activity. KatG[R418L] is also catalase deficient but exhibits normal formation of the adduct radical and dioxyheme. Both mutants exhibit a coincidence between MYW-adduct radical persistence and H2O2 consumption as a function of time, and enhanced subunit oligomerization during turnover, suggesting that the two mutations disrupting catalase turnover allow increased migration of the MYW-adduct radical to protein surface residues. DFT calculations showed that an interaction between the side chain of residue Arg-418 and Tyr-229 in the MYW-adduct radical favors reaction of the radical with the adjacent dioxyheme intermediate present throughout turnover in WT KatG. Release of molecular oxygen and regeneration of resting enzyme are thereby catalyzed in the last step of a proposed catalase reaction.
Evaluation of the Forrester-Hepburn Mechanism as an Artifact Source in ESR Spin-Trapping

Nitrone spin traps such as 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) are commonly used for free radical detection. Though proven examples are rare, artifact formation must be considered. For example, the Forrester-Hepburn mechanism yields the same radical adduct as formed by genuine radical trapping. A hydroxylamine is formed by nucleophilic attack of the substrate to DMPO and subsequently oxidized to the respective nitroxide radical. One potential candidate for this artifact is the sulfur trioxide radical adduct (DMPO/·SO3−), as detected in spin-trapping experiments with horseradish peroxidase and sulfite. It has previously been shown by NMR experiments that the hydroxylamine intermediate does indeed form, but no direct proof for the ESR artifact has been provided. Here we used isotopically labeled DMPO with horseradish peroxidase and ferricyanide to test for the Forrester-Hepburn artifact directly in a spin-trapping experiment. Besides sulfite, we investigated other nucleophiles such as cyanide, cysteine and glutathione. Neither sulfite nor biological thiols produced detectable spin-trapping artifacts, but with cyanide the relatively weak signal originated almost entirely from the nucleophilic reaction. The hydroxylamine intermediate, which is more abundant with cyanide than with sulfite, was identified as cyano-hydroxylamine by means of 2D NMR experiments. Although our study found that spin trapping provided authentic free radical signals with most of the substrates, the occurrence of the Forrester Hepburn mechanism artifact with cyanide emphasizes the importance of isotope measurements with nucleophile substrates.
Surface modification of a ceramic membrane by the SPCP-CVD method suitable for enzyme immobilization

Abstract A novel method of surface modification of ceramic membrane using surface corona discharge-induced plasma chemical process-chemical vapor deposition (SPCP-CVD) was developed to introduce functional groups on a surface (e.g., for enzyme immobilization) as a gas-phase method. In this study, aminopropyl group was used as a model functional group to be introduced. In the experiments, effects of various conditions of surface modification on the introduced amount of aminopropyl groups were examined. As a result, it was confirmed that the amount of introduced amino groups can be controlled with the surface modification conditions such as adsorption time of the ingredient, discharge time in the SPCP reaction and the number of surface modification treatments. Additionally, an application of the surface modified ceramic membrane was tried for the supports of enzyme immobilization. As a result, it was confirmed that the enzyme was immobilized on the modified surface by using the introduced amino groups effectively. After the immobilization, the enzyme had a sufficiently high activity compared to the usual case of the covalent bonding.