cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of cessation of growth on protein synthesis in a mutant of Chinese hamster ovary cells with a temperature-sensitive leucyl-tRNA synthetase

Abstract A temperature-sensitive mutant of Chinese hamster ovary cells with an altered leucyl-tRNA synthetase fails to grow and to incorporate amino acids into protein properly at or near the non-permissive temperature. This mutant was used to determine whether cessation of growth at the elevated temperature affected elongation factor EF-1, since the activity of EF-1 is markedly lower in non-growing cells in stationary phase than in rapidly-growing cells in exponential phase. Cell-free extracts prepared from cells maintained at 39°C for 24 h showed a marked decrease in the ability to translate natural mRNAs, compared to cells incubated at 34°C. However, the ability to translate poly(U), which requires elongation factor EF-1 (and EF-2), was not affected. Analyses of activities involved in the initiation of protein synthesis and in the activation of amino acids revealed that, with the exception of leucyl-tRNA synthetase, the rest of the components required for translation also appeared to be relatively stable even after 24 h at the elevated temperature. The effects of elevated temperature on cell-free extracts were also investigated. The results were similar to those obtained with intact cells; that is, except for leucyl-tRNA synthetase which was rapidly inactivated in vitro at 39°C, other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and translational components involved in chain initiation and elongation were relatively stable. Thus, no change in EF-1 activity was detected as a result of arrested cell growth, an inherent lability of the elongation factor, or metabolic degradation as a consequence of a rapid turnover rate in the absence of protein synthesis.
Quantification of Electrical Activity in the Phrenic Nerve in the Study of Ventilatory Control

The reason for wishing to use electrical signals to represent the output of the respiratory control system is that the traditional measurement, ventilation, is often unsatisfactory for this purpose. The basic problem is that ventilation is too far removed from the central controller, by a number of variable transformation steps, to satisfactorily represent its output. Abnormalities in neuromuscular transmission or muscular function will affect the control output-ventilation relationship. Changes in the mechanical properties of lungs, airways or chest wall will change respiration for a given respiratory drive.'-' Even an alteration in absolute lung volume (ie, end-expiratory level) will, by changing the precontraction length of the inspiratory muscles and the radius of curvature of the diaphragm, affect the resultant tidal volumes even though the same respiratory drive exi~ts.~ Another problem in studying respiratory control is that the system is a closed servo-loop. When one studies stimuli other than carbon dioxide in a ventilating subject, the change in ventilation causes a change in C0,H+ which is negatively fed back through the chemoreceptors to the input of the system. This prevents an accurate analysis of the effects of such a non-CO, stimulus. Although it is possible to maintain more or less isocapnic conditions in the steady-state despite increasing ventilation, the technique is not possible during hypoventilation and does nothing to solve the problem of mechanical or lung volume alterations. If the recording of electrical activity of respiratory muscle or nerve could represent respiratory output, it would entirely avoid the mechanical linkage to ventilation and in the presence of muscle paralysis would allow the chemical servo-loop to be opened. This report concerns studies in which various processings of electrical activities of phrenic nerve or external intercostal muscles (ICM) were correlated with tidal volumes or airway occlusion pressures. It shows that with the proper type of processing, one can obtain a satisfactory electrical index which appears to be related to changes in respiratory output. 'From the Departments of Medicine and Physiology Universitv of North Carolina School of Medicine. cham\ Hill. supported by U.S. Public Health Service rants ~e03224, NSII458, and HLI8689.
Long-term outcomes of allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients after calcineurin inhibitor-induced neurotoxicity

Summary. Calcineurin inhibitor-induced central nervous system toxicities are uncommon and often resolve after discontinuation of the offending drug. The long-term outcome of these patients is, however, unknown. Resolution of symptoms occurred in 70% of 30 allografted recipients who developed calcineurin inhibitor-induced neurotoxicity. When patients were rechallenged with the same or a different calcineurin inhibitor, symptoms recurred in 41%, leading to permanent discontinuation of the drug. De novo or progressive acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was observed in 54% of patients at a median of 7 d (range 1–70 d) after initial onset of neurotoxicity. The prognosis was grim, with 24 (80%) of these patients dying a median 33 d after the onset of neurotoxicity (range 2–594 d). GVHD and/or infection occurred in 54% and were the most common primary causes of death. We conclude that calcineurin inhibitor-induced neurotoxicity is frequently reversible but associated with a poor prognosis.
A simplified ratcheting limit method based on limit analysis using modified yield surface

Abstract Two effective approaches for obtaining ratchet boundaries of a structure undergoing cyclic loads are presented. The approaches use limit analysis of a structure whose yield surface is modified according to the cyclic load. In the first approach, Uniform Modified Yield (UMY) surface is used. UMY approach reduces the Mises-based cylindrical yield surface by Mises stress of the cyclic stress amplitude. UMY method was slightly conservative, and sometimes overly conservative, especially at high ratio of cyclic load to primary steady load. Conservatism, caused by the assumption that the modified yield surface remains isotropic, is eliminated by considering anisotropic Load Dependent Yield Modification approach, LDYM. This approach reduces yield strength based on relative orientation of steady primary and cyclic stress tensors. This work assumed elastic perfect plastic material behavior, with no strain hardening for both original and modified yield surfaces. Ratchet boundaries of several structures, published in literature, were obtained using UMY and LDYM approaches and verified against published data and results of conventional methods. Numerical procedures for UMY and LDYM approaches are extremely fast relative to conventional numerical schemes, and are not restricted by complex geometry or loading.
DETERMINATION OF ERGOTAMINE AND ERGOTAMININE IN PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS.

Ergotamine and its diastereoisomer, ergotaminine, are separated from each other and from other ingredients by column chromatography. The isolated fractions are then assayed by the classical van Urk method. Identity and purity of the fractions are confirmed by paper chromatography. A number of commercial products were analyzed successfully.
Review of cardiovascular risk factors in women.

Background: Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women in the United States, a knowledge gap persists regarding the mechanisms and management of CVD in women. Before treatment can be optimized, the role of cardiovascular risk factors must be elucidated. Objective: This review provides an updated assessment of cardiovascular risk factors in women, with a focus on cardiometabolic risk. Methods: MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases, and statistics from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the American Heart Association, were searched from 1990 to September 2008 using the following terms: cardiovascular risk factors, women, gender, cardiometabolic risk, abdominal obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Publications were classified as English-only original data, reviews, and clinical guidelines. Nonpublished data were excluded. Data were extracted by 2 reviewers independently. Results: Investigators performing multivariable predictive models have estimated that traditional risk factors account for ~70% of the variance in estimating cardiovascular events. However, substantial sex differences exist in the prevalence of traditional risk factors as well as in cardiovascular outcomes. Hypertension is more prevalent in men until the age of 59 years, but then contributes to greater morbidity in older women. Low levels of high-density lipoprotein and elevated triglyceride levels pose more of a threat to women, yet high levels of low-density lipoprotein pose equal risk for women and men. The CVD mortality rate is -3 times greater in people with diabetes than in those without diabetes. Among diabetic individuals, CVD mortality is slightly higher in women compared with men. Conclusions: Increased knowledge of gender-specific risks for CVD has led to national campaigns to educate women. In addition to traditional risk factors, cardiometabolic risk is an important consideration in women. Controversy exists regarding the exact definitions and usefulness of the term metabolic syndrome, but it is clear that the presence of certain factors contributes to increased morbidity and mortality in affected individuals. Abdominal obesity links insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension through complex endocrine pathways. Current research is identifying gene × gender interactions, and continued research is necessary to explore the relationship of sex steroids and cardiovascular risk in both men and women.
A rapid spectrophotometric method for determining the linoleic and linolenic acid components of soybean oil

A reagent of 11% KOH-glycerol was satisfactory for isomerizing soybean oil at 180°C. in open bottles in a forced-draft air-oven. A rapid means of analyzing soybean oil for linolenic and linoleic acid was developed. The optical densities of methanol solutions were measured at 268 mµ and 233 mµ in special cells with quartz windows and short light paths, and the percentages were calculated by means of a nomograph.
Tbr2 Is Required to Generate a Neural Circuit Mediating the Pupillary Light Reflex

There are ∼20 types of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in mice, each of which has distinct molecular, morphological, and physiological characteristics. Each RGC type sends axon projections to specific brain areas that execute light-dependent behaviors. Here, we show that the T-box transcription factor Tbr2 is required for the development of several RGC types that participate in non-image-forming circuits. These types are molecularly distinct, project to non-image-forming targets, and include intrinsically photosensitive RGCs. Tbr2 mutant mice have reduced retinal projections to non-image-forming nuclei and an attenuated pupillary light reflex. These data demonstrate that Tbr2 acts to execute RGC type choice and/or survival in a set of RGCs that mediates light-induced subconscious behaviors.
Early predictors of incomplete recovery in children with Guillain-Barré polyneuritis

Case histories of 47 children with strict criteria for Landry-Guillain-Barre-Strohl polyneuritis admitted to a rehabilitation facility from late 1959 through 1972 were analyzed retrospectively. The children were followed to full recovery (good to normal strength in all muscle groups) or for three years without full recovery. The data were then compared statistically for possible predictive indicators of recovery or lack of recovery within three years. The most significant early predictor of incomplete recovery was the time interval between the greatest weakness and beginning improvement; a period longer than 18 days of plateau before gains are evident is indicative of incomplete recovery within limits of 99% confidence.
Structures and Dynamics of Drosophila Tpr Inconsistent with a Static, Filamentous Structure

Here we report immunofluorescence localizations of the Drosophila Tpr protein which are inconsistent with a filament-forming protein statically associated with nuclear pore complex-associated intranuclear filaments. Using tissues from throughout the Drosophila life cycle, we observe that Tpr is often localized to discontinuous, likely granular or particulate structures in the deep nuclear interior. These apparent granules have no obvious connectivity to pore complexes in the nuclear periphery, and are often localized on the surfaces of chromosomes and to the perinucleolar region. Most strikingly, after 1 h of heat shock, the great majority of the Tpr in the deep nuclear interior accumulates at a single heat shock puff, while Tpr in the nuclear periphery appears unchanged. This heat shock puff, 93D, is a known repository for many components of pre-mRNA metabolism during heat shock. Although we do not observe Tpr at sites of transcription under normal conditions, the 93D heat shock result leads us to favor a role for Tpr in mRNA metabolism, such as the transport of mRNA through the nuclear interior to nuclear pore complexes. Consistent with this, we observe networks of Tpr containing granules spanning between the nucleolus and the nuclear periphery which are also decorated by an anti-SR protein antibody. Since we also observe Drosophila Tpr in reticular or fibrous structures in other nuclei, such as salivary gland polytene nuclei, these results indicate that Tpr can exist in at least two structural forms, and suggest that Tpr may relocalize or even change structural forms in response to cellular needs.
Factors in Information Literacy Education

Information literacy has long been discussed in the field of library science but is only recently becoming applied in specific academic disciplines. This article assesses student learning of information literacy skills analyzing data collected from three semesters of the Introduction to Comparative Politics course. Variables such as major discipline, gender, class year, and grades on several performance indicators are used to identify key patterns in successful information literacy learning among students. Questions that drive this research include: How do major disciplines approach information literacy differently. Is information literacy discipline specific? Does gender affect information literacy aptitude? Do upper-division students still need information literacy education? Which students are most deficient in their pretest knowledge of information literacy? What types of exercises are effective in teaching information literacy? Through analysis of our data, we address these questions and isolate the ...
Assessing medical students' and surgery residents' clinical competence in problem solving in surgical oncology.

Background: We sought to determine the competence of medical students and surgery residents in evaluating clinical problems (using both real and simulated patients) in surgical oncology.
Stopping power and energy loss spectrum of a dense medium of bound electrons

We have derived the dielectric function ϵ(k, ω) in the Lindhard approximation for a medium consisting of electrons individually bound by harmonic forces. This function is expressible in terms of a hypergeometric series and approaches well-known results in the limits of negligible binding, large momentum transfer, and long wavelength, respectively. The stopping power of the medium for a moving point charge scales very well with the shifted resonance frequency α0 = (ω02 + ωp2)12 (ω0 = oscillator frequency; ωp = plasma frequency) that follows from classical dispersion theory. The discrete excitation levels of an isolated harmonic oscillator are increasingly shifted and broadened with increasing density of the medium. The results for both the excitation spectrum and the stopping power differ noticeably from free-electron behavior even at a rather high electron density.
The permissive effect of cortical steroids on the induction of brain ornithine decarboxylase by nerve growth factor.

Abstract The intraventricular administration of nerve growth factor causes a marked increase in the activity of ornithine decarboxylase in rat brain. This increase is much smaller in adrenalectomized rats. Dexamethasone and corticosterone, administered either systemically or intraventricularly, are able to restore the ability of nerve growth factor to induce ornithine decarboxylase. The steroids must be given at least three hours before the nerve growth factor to be fully effective.
The use of software quality metrics in the materiel release process experience report

The US Army's Tank-Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center's Next Generation Software Engineering Life Cycle Support Activity (NextGen) is responsible for determining the suitability of software for release to the field. Determining the software is suitable for materiel release includes ensuring the software is safe, operationally suitable, and logistically supportable. The-Next Generation Team incorporates a thorough and well-defined process for evaluating software for materiel release that includes a detailed review of all documentation, a walk-through of a representative sample of source code, and the automated collection of several source code metrics using AdaSTATT, a commercially available software metrics tool for Ada. The metrics collected include source lines of code, cyclomatic and essential complexity, Halstead measures, and a maintainability index. Taken together, these metrics provide a valuable indication of the overall maintainability and supportability of the software. The metrics are presented using a Kiviat analysis, which provides a graphical display of the state of a module with respect to predefined limit values.
A comparison of three direct sampling techniques

We describe numerical techniques that might be used as alternatives to heterodyning for the processing of ultra wideband radar data. Also discussed are techniques for the measurement of the central or "carrier" frequency of an ultra wideband signal waveform.
Replication and Propagation of Attenuated Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Vectors In Vivo: Vector Spread Correlates with Induction of Immune Responses and Persistence of Genomic RNA

Live-attenuated vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vectors expressing foreign antigens induce potent immune responses and protect against viral diseases in animal models. Highly attenuated (VSV-CT1) or single-cycle VSV (VSVΔG) vectors induce immune responses lower than those generated by attenuated wild-type VSV vectors when given intranasally. We show here that reduced spread of the more highly attenuated or single-cycle vectors to other organs, including lymph nodes, correlates with the reduction in the immune responses. A reverse transcription, real-time PCR assay for VSV genomic RNA (gRNA) sequences showed long-term persistence of gRNA from replicating vectors in lymph nodes, long after viral clearance. Such persistence may be important for induction of potent immune responses by VSV vectors.
Waiting for daybreak: a survivor's account of theft and recovery

This performance narrative is an exploration of the trauma after the trauma: the days and weeks following a sexual assault I experienced in college. As an assault victim, I encountered the initial ...
Comparison and detection of total and available soil carbon fractions using visible/near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

article Available carbon (C), measured as hot water extractable carbon (HC), has been suggested as an indicator to assess management effects on soil C fractions, transformations among C fractions, and carbon sequestration potential. Their upscaling to coarser scales has been hampered due to the cost and labor to measure C fractions. With the advent of visible/near-infrared-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VNIR-DRS) to infer on soil C fractions, new opportunities exist to combine sensor-based and geostatistical methods to estimate them across landscapes. Our research objectives were to (i) assess the accuracy of VNIR-DRS for estimating available C (HC) in soil, and (ii) compare interpolated HC estimates derived from laboratory measurements and VNIR-DRS derived estimates. The study site was within the Rio Grande floodplain in Quemado, Texas with mixed acreage of Arundo donax L. and Cynodon dactylon (L.) pers. Soil samples were taken in 10-cm depth increments from 0- to 50-cm depth, at 125 locations across a 34.5 ha field. Total C (TC, dry combustion), inorganic C (IC, modified pressure calcimeter), and HC (extraction at 80 °C) were measured and organic C (OC) was calculated by difference (TCIC). Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and boosted regression tree (RT) were used to relate TC, HC, IC, and OC to VNIR-DRS spectra. Ordinary kriging was used to interpolate HC derived from analytical measurements and the values derived from the best spectral estimation model (PLSR). All four C pools were estimated well using VNIR-DRS and PLSR (R
Variations in vitamin D receptor transcription factor complexes associated with the osteocalcin gene vitamin D responsive element in osteoblasts and osteosarcoma cells

Vitamin D responsive transcription of the bone-specific osteocalcin gene differs markedly in osteosarcoma cells and normal diploid osteoblasts. In osteoblasts the osteocalcin gene is transcribed, and upregulated by Vitamin D, only in post-proliferative cells, but in osteosarcoma cells expression is constitutive. This distinction in transcriptional regulation of the osteocalcin gene correlates with striking differences in the relative representation of two principal Vitamin D-dependent protein/DNA complexes designated V1 and V2 at the Vitamin D responsive element in the osteocalcin promoter. Formation of both complexes is Vitamin D dependent and they contain the Vitamin D receptor as well as an RXR related protein. Pore size exclusion and sedimentation velocity analyses suggest that the V1 and V2 complexes represent oligomeric protein assemblies (respectively, tetramers and trimers), and reflect primarily DNA-directed association of the monomeric protein components at the osteocalcin Vitamin D responsive element. UV crosslinking and methylation interference analyses of the V1 and V2 complexes at the osteocalcin Vitamin D responsive element indicate differences in protein/DNA recognition. For example, the V1 complex interacts with both steroid half-elements, whereas the V2 complex appears to recognize the proximal half-element. Our findings suggest variations in protein/protein and protein/DNA interactions of the VDR and RXR related complexes V1 and V2 at the osteocalcin Vitamin D responsive element that reflect unique properties of the osteosarcoma and normal diploid osteoblast phenotype.
Reversible Inhibition of Spore Germination by Alcohols

Low levels of alcohols have been found to inhibit the process of spore germination. The extent of germination is dependent upon the concentration of alcohol present in the germinating medium. This inhibition is reversible since removal of the alcohol from the spore environment allows germination to proceed.
Release the constraints: Solving the problems of export financing in troublesome times

Export growth is seen by governments as being a key to economic recovery. In the United States, the Obama Administration pledged to double exports by the year 2015. To gain greater insights into exporting as an engine for growth, we look to export lenders to understand the contextual changes in export lending, as well as priorities in evaluating exporters. Findings from a study of export lenders on the lender referral list of the Export-Import Bank of the United States suggest that changes in the financial industry's structure over the last two decades, coupled with the economic recession, have motivated policy-—at both the lending firm and governmental level-—that hampers the ability of exporting to contribute to economic recovery. Further, the findings suggest that current lender policy encourages a focus on short-term returns rather than an exporter's long-term strategic position in the market. Lender preferences, in addition to governmental policies increasing regula- tion of the financial sector, place significant constraints on economic recovery. Thus, we call for key lender and governmental policy changes that could release industry constraints and unleash the export engine for economic recovery. # 2012 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.
File-sharing costs and quality-of-service

The presence of high-volume file-sharing activity on the Internet has caused reconsideration of purely flat-rate pricing for bandwidth in some access networks through the use of dynamic differential service priorities for protocol-agnostic (application-neutral) congestion control. We study how BitTorrent-style file-sharing depends on flat-rate pricing. A simple deterministic game-model of BitTorrent incentives is formulated focusing on relative uplink bandwidth allocations for transactions (block swaps) between leecher peers. Our cost model for uplink allocation is a ramp function, where one leecher's ramp has a larger interval of zero cost (the limited “flat-rate” region) than that of a leecher with a tendency to allocate less uplink bandwidth. For some simple cases, how the game converges to the boundary stationary (Nash equilibria) region is shown.
Improving Part-Time Faculty Instruction.

Both general and focussed improvement in teaching occurred following feedback and teacher/consultant interaction.
Vision modules for a multi-sensory bridge monitoring approach

This work presents the use of multiple sensor modalities in order to perform traffic analysis for health monitoring of transportation infrastructure. In particular, testbeds containing video and seismic sensors giving complementary information about vehicles are described. Computer vision algorithms are used to detect and track the vehicles and extract their properties. This information is combined with the data from seismic sensors for robust classification of vehicles. Experimental results obtained with our testbeds are described.
Photo- and Thermal Annealing-Induced Processes in Carbon Nanotube Transistors

Photoinduced conductivity changes and effects of thermal annealing in carbon nanotube transistors have been examined. Low-intensity ultraviolet light significantly reduces the p-channel conductance while simultaneously increasing the n-channel conductance. A combination of optical absorption and electron transport measurements reveals that these changes occur without variations in dopant concentrations. Measurements with different metals reveal that UV induces oxygen desorption from the electrodes rather than from nanotubes. In Ti-nanotube contact where the Schottky barrier plays an important role, photodesorption of oxygen mainly occurs from the native oxide of Ti electrodes. Decrease in the p-channel conductance arises from the metal work function change which causes larger hole Schottky barrier. Non-Schottky Pd-contacted nanotube transistors do not show photodesorption effects with low intensity UV. Thermal annealing of nanotube transistors with Ti/Au electrodes also leads to the disappearance of the photodesorption effects. However, a noticeable p-doping is observed to upon air exposure after thermal annealing.
Cancer in Illinois construction workers: A study

A series of case-control studies using subjects from the Illinois State Cancer Registry have been conducted. Logistic regression was used to control for age and history of tobacco and alcohol use. Construction workers were consistently found to be younger than other subjects and to have used alcohol and tobacco more often. Significant positive associations between cancer of the stomach and welding (odds ratio [OR] = 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09, 4.09), lung cancer and employment in the construction industry (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.26), and lung cancer and welding (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.76) were found. Significant negative associations between cancer of the colon and welding (OR = .54, 95% CI = .29, 1.00), cancer of the prostate and employment in the construction industry (OR = .76, 95% CI = .65, .89), cancer of the prostate and plumbing (OR = .44, 95% CI = .38, .50), cancer of the prostate and metal working (OR = .43, 95% CI = .19, .93), and bladder cancer and employment as an electrician (OR = .60, 95% CI = .36, 1.00) suggests that construction workers did not consistently experience excesses of cancers known to be associated with tobacco use, and an overall excess of sites not known to be related to tobacco use may have occurred.
Delay-Throughput Performance of the Deep-Space Ka-band Link

In this paper, performance of a first-in, first-out (FIFO), selective retransmission scheme for the deep-space Ka-band link is presented and compared to the performance of a comparable X-band link. In this analysis, 16 months of water vapor radiometer (WVR) and advanced water vapor radiometer (AWVR) data from the three Deep Space Network (DSN) Communication Complexes (DSCC) were used to emulate weather effects on X-band and Ka-band links from Mars. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) X-band and Ka-band telecommunications parameters were used for spacecraft telecommunications capabilities. One pass per week per complex was selected from MRO's Deep Space Network (DSN) schedule from April 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007 for a total of 207 passes (69 passes per complex) for this analysis. For each pass both X-band and Ka-band links were designed using at most two data rates so that the expected pass capacity would be maximized subject to a minimum availability requirement (MAR). In conjunction with the WVR/AWVR data, elevation profiles of the selected passes and models for the performance of the antennas in the DSN were used to emulate the performance of both links. It was assumed that the retransmission of the data takes place not on the same pass as the original transmission but during subsequent passes. The data collected before a pass was assumed to be a fraction of the expected capacity of the pass as calculated through the link design process. Infinite spacecraft storage was assumed to obtain an upper bound on the spacecraft storage requirement. The independent parameters of this analysis were MAR and the ratio of data collected before a pass to the expected pass capacity. Since the selected passes did not occur at regular intervals, the delay in this analysis was measured in terms of number of passes. The throughput was measured in terms of number of bits received successfully on the ground. The results indicate that reasonable delay performance could be achieved with very high throughput for relatively low MAR values for data collection to expected pass capacity ratio of around 97% for Ka-band. The results indicate that, except for very low average delay requirements, the Ka-band link provides more than twice the throughput of the X-band link for the same amount of power consumed by the spacecraft. In addition, the results indicate that the required storage onboard the spacecraft is not prohibitive and good performance could be achieved by using a buffer size less than three times the maximum amount of data collected before a pass.
Outcomes in females hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia are worse than in males

There is little recent information on sex-specific outcomes of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The objective of this study was to determine whether female sex is associated with better clinical outcomes in hospitalised patients with CAP. A secondary analysis was conducted by the Community Acquired Pneumonia Organization regarding male and female patients with CAP from 80 hospitals in 17 countries from June 1, 2001 to August 2, 2011. Outcomes were time to clinical stability, length of stay and in-hospital and 28-day mortality. Propensity-adjusted, multivariate regression models were used to predict the probability of occurrence of each of the study outcomes. There were 6718 patients in this study, of whom 40% were female. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for time to clinical stability was 0.91 (95% CI 0.85-0.97; p=0.005). The adjusted HR for length of stay was 0.94 (95% CI 0.88-1.01; p=0.089). The adjusted risk ratio for in-hospital mortality was 1.04 (95% CI 0.86-1.24; p=0.717), and for 28-day mortality was 1.15 (95% CI 1.02-1.30; p=0.018). This study demonstrates that the epidemiology of CAP may be changing, and that females have worse outcomes for CAP than males. They are more likely to take longer to reach clinical stability, have longer hospital stays and are 15% more likely to have died after 28 days. Current pneumonia scoring systems may need to be revised regarding female mortality risk.
Toward Self-Managed Media Stream Processing Service Overlays

On-demand media stream processing service provisioning on top of a service overlay network (SON) has emerged as a promising approach to providing quality-aware and failure-resilient media streaming services. Although previous work has addressed different problems in media streaming, it is still an open problem to manage SON under dynamic stream environments. In this paper, we propose a novel model-based adaptive SON management framework that can achieve better QoS-aware media stream processing services than unmanaged SONs. We first describe a statistical SON model that can capture the popularity of different service functions and the interaction patterns between different services. We then present the model-based SON management framework and use the SON topology manager as a case study to illustrate the main idea. We are implementing a prototype of the self-managed SON framework and our initial experimental evaluation shows promising results of our approach.
Cigarette smoke condensate inhibits transepithelial chloride transport and ciliary beat frequency.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Although the pathophysiology leading to rhinosinusitis is complex, evidence indicates that decreased mucociliary clearance (MCC) is a major contributing feature. Normal respiratory epithelial MCC is an important host defense mechanism that is dependent on proper ciliary beating and the biological properties of the airway surface liquid (ASL). The role that tobacco smoke exposure plays as an inhibitor of MCC has yet to be elucidated. The present study investigates the consequences of cigarette smoke exposure on ciliary function and transepithelial chloride (Cl - ) secretion, a major determinant of ASL. Study Design: In vitro investigation. Methods: Well-characterized primary murine nasal septal epithelial (MNSE) and human sinonasal epithelial (HSNE) cultures were exposed to cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) and compared to control cultures. Effects on ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and Cl - secretion were investigated using pharmacologic manipulation. Results: Change in forskolin-stimulated current (ΔI SC ), representing transepithelial Cl - secretion, was significantly decreased in CSC exposed MNSE (14.97 ± 1.2 μA/cm 2 vs. control, 19.1 ± 1.56 μA/cm 2 [P = .04]) and HSNE (2.68 ± 0.79 μA/cm 2 vs. control, 10.8 ± 1.73 μA/cm 2 ) cultures (P = .001). Forskolin-stimulated CBF was also significantly reduced when acutely exposed to CSC (5.64 ± 0.06 Hz vs. control 7.15 ± 0.18 Hz). Conclusions: The present study provides direct evidence that tobacco smoke diminishes two major components of MCC. This links tobacco smoke as a potential contributing and/or exacerbating factor in exposed individuals with chronic rhinosinusitis.
Chaos-assisted tunneling in the whispering-gallery resonators

We show that lifetimes and emission patterns of the whispering gallery modes in asymmetric dielectric microlasers are strongly affected by chaos assisted tunneling, and develop the theory of this effect
COAMPS -LES: MODEL EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF SECOND-AND THIRD-MOMENT VERTICAL VELOCITY BUDGETS

The Naval Research Laboratory Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®) has been extended to perform as a large-eddy simulation (LES) model. It has been validated with a series of boundary-layer experiments spanning a range of cloud nighttime, and includes a nighttime stratocumulus case, a trade wind cumulus layer, shallow cumulus convection over land, and a mixed regime consisting of cumulus clouds under broken stratocumulus. COAMPS-LES results are in good agreement with other models for all the cases simulated. Exact numerical budgets for the vertical velocity second $$(\overline{w^{'2}})$$ and third moment $$(\overline{w^{'3}})$$ have been derived for the stratocumulus and trade wind cumulus cases. For the $$\overline{w^{'3}}$$ budget in the stratocumulus, the buoyancy contribution from the updraughts and downdraughts largely cancel each other due to their similar magnitudes but opposite signs. In contrast, for the cumulus layer, the negative buoyancy contribution from the environmental downdraughts is negligible and the positive contribution from the updraughts completely dominates due to the conditional instability in the environment. As a result, $$\overline{w^{'3}}$$ is significantly larger in the cumulus than in the stratocumulus layer.
The effect of prior exposure to predator cues on chemically-mediated defensive behavior and survival in the wolf spider Rabidosa rabida (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Summary Adults of the wolf spider Pardosa milvina are intraguild predators of spiderlings of the larger co-occurring wolf spider Rabidosa rabida. We examined the effect of prior exposure to various Pardosa cues (visual, vibratory, and chemical) on predator-naive Rabidosa spiderling activity and survival. Each trial consisted of a pre-exposure movement test, 24-h exposure to one of five sensory treatments, a post-exposure movement test and finally a predation experiment with live Pardosa and associated chemical cues to assay the effectiveness of the spiderling’s response. The five 24-h sensory treatments were (N = 20/treatment): (1) Pardosa visual and vibratory cues, (2) Pardosa chemical cues only (silk and excreta), (3) visual, vibratory and chemical Pardosa cues, (4) chemical cues from a cricket (Acheta domesticus) and (5) no 24-h exposure to any Pardosa cues but chemical cues during the post-exposure movement test and during the predation experiment. In a sixth treatment we also measured spiderling movement and survival without any prior experience and no chemical cues from a predator. Rabidosa significantly reduced activity after 24-h exposure for all sensory treatments except the cricket and two no experience control groups. Treatments involving 24-h exposure to Pardosa chemical cues resulted in increased survival in the predation portion of the experiment relative to other sensory treatments. We conclude that (1) Rabidosa innately responds to Pardosa silk and excreta, (2) extended exposure to predator chemical cues enhances Rabidosa antipredator response and survival and (3) predator recognition is influenced more strongly by chemical rather than visual or vibratory predator cues.
EGFR and ADAMs Cooperate to Regulate Shedding and Endocytic Trafficking of the Desmosomal Cadherin Desmoglein 2

Regulation of classic cadherins plays a critical role in tissue remodeling during development and cancer; however, less attention has been paid to the importance of desmosomal cadherins. We previously showed that EGFR inhibition results in accumulation of the desmosomal cadherin, desmoglein 2 (Dsg2), at cell–cell interfaces accompanied by inhibition of matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-dependent shedding of the Dsg2 ectodomain and tyrosine phosphorylation of its cytoplasmic domain. Here, we show that EGFR inhibition stabilizes Dsg2 at intercellular junctions by interfering with its accumulation in an internalized cytoplasmic pool. Furthermore, MMP inhibition and ADAM17 RNAi, blocked shedding and depleted internalized Dsg2, but less so E-cadherin, in highly invasive SCC68 cells. ADAM9 and 15 silencing also impaired Dsg2 processing, supporting the idea that this desmosomal cadherin can be regulated by multiple ADAM family members. In contrast, ADAM10 siRNA enhanced accumulation of a 100-kDa Dsg2 cleavage product and internalized pool of Dsg2. Although both MMP and EGFR inhibition increased intercellular adhesive strength in control cells, the response to MMP-inhibition was Dsg2-dependent. These data support a role for endocytic trafficking in regulating desmosomal cadherin turnover and function and raise the possibility that internalization and regulation of desmosomal and classic cadherin function can be uncoupled mechanistically.
Risky Business: Three Political Cartooning Lessons from Indonesia during Suharto's Authoritarian Rule

The recent international uproar caused by the publication of the “Muhammad Cartoons” has had the useful side effect of stimulating thought about the roles newspaper editors and editorial cartoonists ought to play in our increasingly globalized world. This symposium article is based on my 10-year study of cartoons related to watershed changes in the Indonesian political system. This article draws on previous articles by the author. See the References section.
A system for conducting flow‐through toxicity tests with larval fish

We report here on an inexpensive, easily constructed, flow-through system for toxicant exposure of small organisms. Data are presented to illustrate the capacity of the system to maintain uniform toxicant concentrations relative to static renewal methods.
The future of gross anatomy teaching

A survey of U.S. departments of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry shows that 39% of the respondent anatomy departments reported declines in the numbers of graduate students taking the human gross anatomy course. Similarly, 42% of the departments reported decreases in the numbers of graduate students teaching human gross anatomy. These decreases were greater in anatomy than in physiology and in biochemistry. The percentages of departments reporting increases in students taking or teaching their courses was 6% for human gross anatomy and 0% to 19% for physiology and biochemistry courses. To reverse this trend the establishment of specific programs for the training of gross anatomy teachers is advocated. These new teachers will be available as the need for them is increasingly recognized in the future.
Blood pressure control and factors predicting control in a treatment-compliant male veteran population.

Study Objective. To estimate blood pressure control and identify treatment variables predicting control in treatment-compliant, hypertensive, male veterans. Setting. Outpatient clinic of a Veterans Affairs medical center. Design. Retrospective review of computerized patient records over a 12-month period for demographics, comorbidities, patient-specific blood pressure goals, blood pressure history, antihypertensive therapy, and refill history. Patients. Two hundred fifty hypertensive men aged 39–90 years whose antihypertensive regimen remained unchanged over 12 months. Measurements and Main Results. The proportion of patients with blood pressures below 160/90 mm Hg was 86%; only 34.8% had pressures below 140/90 mm Hg. Blood pressure control was less common with advancing age (42.1%, 33.7%, and 29.4% for patients aged 75 yrs, respectively, p=0.057 for trend). Treatment intensity was highest in obese men, those aged 60–75 years, and those with a history of chronic heart failure or angina, and lowest in men older than 75 years or with a history of stroke. Blood pressure control was independently associated with therapy with β-blockers (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–10.2, p=0.005), loop diuretics (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.6–12.1, p=0.005), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2–8.2, p=0.025), and long-term simvastatin therapy (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.9–7.4, p=0.0001), and with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.35–7.69, p=0.009). The relationship between simvastatin therapy and blood pressure control persisted after controlling for the higher treatment intensity in patients taking the drug. Factors predicting poor control included a history of stroke (OR for control 0.36, 95% CI 0.19–0.69, p=0.002), age over 75 years (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.18–0.98, p=0.046), highest low-density lipoprotein tertile (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.17–0.80, p=0.013), highest body mass index tertile (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.21–1.00, p=0.05), and therapy with two or fewer antihypertensives (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04–0.61, p=0.009). Conclusion. In a compliant veteran population, control of blood pressure appeared inadequate but was significantly more likely in those receiving at least three antihypertensive agents. Long-term therapy with simvastatin was independently associated with increased odds of control.
A scalable orthogonal multiprocessor architecture

The author proposes a multiple bus architecture capable of supporting a large number of processors to handle large amounts of data. This architecture has an orthogonal bus structure which maximizes bus bandwidth while reducing contention and arbitration overhead. Each processor is fully connected to memory through isolated buses. It has a low latency compared with other multiprocessor architectures which can support the same number of processors. The cache coherence is maintained easily on each bus. This architecture is a shared memory multiprocessor system, and is modular and scalable. >
Pitch and Tempo Discrimination in Recorded Orchestral Music among Musicians and Nonmusicians

Pitch and tempo discriminations within a musical context were investigated. Two hundred musicians and two hundred nonmusicians heard ten excerpts of relatively familiar orchestral music. Excerpts were presented in pairs in order to test the ability of subjects to discriminate how an altered excerpt differed in pitch and/or tempo from its unaltered presentation. Pitch levels and tempi of the excerpts independently or in combination increased, decreased, or remained constant compared to unaltered versions. Consistent with previous research, subjects identified correctly the examples of decreased pitch levels significantly more than pitch increase examples. It is surprising, however, that tempo increase examples, rather than tempo decreases, were identified more accurately. Additional study regarding listener discrimination of the elements of music and related preferences appears advisable, since these conceivably influence music instruction as well as the performance of music.
Juvenile cobalamin deficiency in a 17-year-old child with autonomic dysfunction and skin changes.

We report a rare case of juvenile cobalamin deficiency who presented at the age of seventeen years. He was underweight and had skin changes, normocytic anemia and autonomic dysfunction which lead to adynamic ileus and acute post-renal failure. The expected macrocytosis was masked by an underlying alpha thalassemia trait. The patient had an excellent response to parenteral cobalamin treatment.
Cellulose-based fibers from liquid-crystalline solutions. II: Processing and morphology of acetate/butyrate esters

Fibers were spun from isotropic and anisotropic DMAc solutions of cellulose esters. Take-up speeds of the dry jet/wet spinning process varied. Water served as the coagulant. The mechanical properties of the fibers increased as spinning progressed from the isotropic to the anisotropic state of the solution. A trade-off in solubility and fiber properties was noted as the butyryl acetyl ratio decreased. Whereas high butyryl content enhances both overall solubility and the formation of liquid-crystalline solutions at lower concentration, it results in lower fiber modulus and strength