cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A monoclonal antibody to the fibrinogen gamma-chain alters fibrin clot structure and its properties by producing short, thin fibers arranged in bundles.

Summary. Background: We previously reported that hamster monoclonal antibody 7E9, which reacts with the C-terminus of the γ-chain of mouse fibrinogen, inhibits factor (F)XIIIa-mediated cross-linking, platelet adhesion to fibrinogen, and platelet-mediated clot retraction; in addition, it facilitates thrombolysis. Objectives: To understand the mechanism(s) by which 7E9 acts, we have now studied the effect of 7E9 IgG, 7E9 F(ab′)2, and 7E9 Fab on fibrin clot structure using electron microscopy and measurements of clot physical properties. Results: By transmission electron microscopy, 7E9 IgG was found to bind primarily to the ends of the fibrinogen molecule. 7E9 IgG and 7E9 F(ab′)2, both of which are bivalent, were capable of binding to two fibrinogen molecules simultaneously. Scanning electron microscopy of clots formed in the presence of equimolar concentrations of fibrinogen and 7E9 IgG demonstrated the presence of very short and thin fibers (63% reduction in fiber diameter) arranged in unusual bundles, surrounding large pores. Clots formed in the presence of 7E9 demonstrated a marked increase in permeation (approximately 25-fold increase in perfusion rate at constant pressure), an approximately 50% reduction in dynamic storage modulus (G'; a reflection of decreased clot stiffness), and an approximately 38% increase in loss tangent (tan δ; a reflection of the clot's ability to undergo irreversible deformation). These clots also showed decreased absorbance at 350 nm, reflecting the clot structure produced by 7E9 IgG. The effects of 7E9 IgG were not observed with control hamster IgG, 7E9 F(ab′)2, or 7E9 Fab fragments, indicating requirements for both the binding properties and mass of 7E9 IgG. Conclusions: These data indicate that 7E9 antibody affects fibrin clot structure in a way that is consistent with the enhanced fibrinolysis we reported previously. Together with our previous observations, we conclude that 7E9 is directed at a strategically important region of fibrinogen with regard to platelet function, FXIIIa-mediated cross-linking, clot retraction, fibrin structure, and fibrinolysis. Thus targeting this region of fibrinogen may have antithrombotic therapeutic potential.
Study of the effect of sliding velocity on the frictional properties of nonwoven fabric substrates

Frictional properties of nonwoven substrates have been investigated using a sliding friction apparatus. Nonwoven substrates were developed using a modern needle-punching nonwoven technology. The experiment was conducted over a range of applied normal loads. The study was aimed at understanding the effect of testing speeds on the frictional properties of needle-punched nonwoven substrates. Frictional properties were characterized using friction factors, C, n and R. Results indicate that as the speed of the testing increased, frictional resistance increased.
Ankle Arthrodesis: The Simple and the Complex

Ankle arthrodesis is by no means a simple surgery. It requires preoperative planning, meticulous preparation of bony surfaces, cognizance of ankle positioning, and rigidity of fixation. The procedure also requires enough experience on the part of the operating surgeon to recognize important patient factors and to determine which type of ankle arthrodesis is most appropriate for that specific patient.
Ska3 Is Required for Spindle Checkpoint Silencing and the Maintenance of Chromosome Cohesion in Mitosis

The mitotic spindle checkpoint monitors proper bipolar attachment of chromosomes to the mitotic spindle. Previously, depletion of the novel kinetochore complex Ska1/Ska2 was found to induce a metaphase delay. By using bioinformatics, we identified C13orf3, predicted to associate with kinetochores. Recently, three laboratories independently indentified C13orf3 as an additional Ska complex component, and therefore we adopted the name Ska3. We found that cells depleted of Ska3 by RNAi achieve metaphase alignment but fail to silence the spindle checkpoint or enter anaphase. After hours of metaphase arrest, chromatids separate but retain robust kinetochore-microtubule attachments. Ska3-depleted cells accumulate high levels of the checkpoint protein Bub1 at kinetochores. Ska3 protein accumulation at kinetochores in prometaphase is dependent on Sgo1 protein. Sgo1, which accumulates at the centromeres earlier, in prophase, is not dependent on Ska3. Sgo1-depleted cells show a stronger premature chromatid separation phenotype than those depleted of Ska3. We hypothesize that Ska3 functions to coordinate checkpoint signaling from the microtubule binding sites within a kinetochore by laterally linking the individual binding sites. We suggest that this network plays a major role in silencing the spindle checkpoint when chromosomes are aligned at metaphase to allow timely anaphase onset and mitotic exit.
Rates of convergence for increments of Brownian motion

The results of this paper concern rates of convergence for increments of Brownian motion. As a by-product we give some improvements of a result of Bolthausen dealing with Strassen's law of the iterated logarithm.
Pediatric surgical logoscript

Pediatric surgical logoscript (PSL) was developed as a graphico-pictorial approach to the terminology of the specialty. It requires no more than paper, pencil, and imagination. The creation of two alphabetical samplers is shown to illustrate the technique. PSL is effective, widely applicable, and most promising.
Structure and stereochemistry of insecticidal diterpenes from the sea penXXX

Abstract A reinvestigation of the diterpene constituents of the sea pen Ptilosarcus gurneyi was undertaken in order to clarify the stereochemistry of ptilosarcone and ptilosarcenone. In the course of reisolating those two compounds, five new briaran diterpenes were uncovered and identified. The structures and stereochemical assignments in the whole group have been established by spectroanalytical methods. Insecticidal screening of three of the compounds against the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta , revealed either toxicity or a reduction in weight gain.
THE EFFECT OF LONG TERM STIMULATION OF MALE AND FEMALE RATS WITH ESTRONE, ESTRADIOL BENZOATE, AND TESTOSTERONE PROPIONATE ADMINISTERED IN PELLET FORM1

THERE HAVE BEEN numerous studies of the effects of fat'soluble sex hormones on I the genital and endocrine organs of male and female rats (I, 2, 3). These results have been achieved by the use of daily or intermittent injections of the hop mones in solution. Since Deanesly and Parkes (4, 5) described the use of large crystals or compressed tablets, a more suitable method has become available for this type of experimentation. This method has been applied to a study of the process of inactiva-tion of these compounds in the animal body (6). We are especially interested in the efficacy of this mode of administration, and in the past two years have gathered data on the rate of daily absorption and the effect of estrone,3 estra-diol benzoate,4 and testosterone propionate,5 when administered as small compressed pellets.
On the interactions between planetary geostrophy and mesoscale eddies

Abstract Multiscale asymptotics are used to derive three systems of equations connecting the planetary geostrophic (PG) equations for gyre-scale flow to a quasigeostrophic (QG) equation set for mesoscale eddies. Pedlosky (1984) , following similar analysis, found eddy buoyancy fluxes to have only a small effect on the large-scale flow; however, numerical simulations disagree. While the impact of eddies is relatively small in most regions, in keeping with Pedlosky’s result, eddies have a significant effect on the mean flow in the vicinity of strong, narrow currents. First, the multiple-scales analysis of Pedlosky is reviewed and amplified. Novel results of this analysis include new multiple-scales models connecting large-scale PG equations to sets of QG eddy equations. However, only introducing anisotropic scaling of the large-scale coordinates allows us to derive a model with strong two-way coupling between the QG eddies and the PG mean flow. This finding reconciles the analysis with simulations, viz. that strong two-way coupling is observed in the vicinity of anisotropic features of the mean flow like boundary currents and jets. The relevant coupling terms are shown to be eddy buoyancy fluxes. Using the Gent-McWilliams parameterization to approximate these fluxes allows solution of the PG equations with closed tracer fluxes in a closed domain, which is not possible without mesoscale eddy (or other small-scale) effects. The boundary layer width is comparable to an eddy mixing length when the typical eddy velocity is taken to be the long Rossby wave phase speed, which is the same result found by Fox-Kemper and Ferrari (2009) in a reduced gravity layer.
A novel TCAD-based methodology to minimize the impact of parasitic structures on ESD performance

During an ESD event, breakdown of a parasitic bipolar transistor can lead to chip failure. For a variety of ESD protection networks, it is demonstrated that TCAD simulations correctly predict the stress level at which failure occurs due to bipolar breakdown. A procedure to characterize the interaction between any two N-type diffusions and the ESD cells to which they are connected is presented.
Applying Insights from Transaction Cost Economics to Improve Cost Estimates for Public Sector Purchases: The Case of U.S. Military Acquisition

ABSTRACT This article uses Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) to help characterize, explain, and ultimately reduce the cost growth that plagues many of today's major investments in military capabilities. There is mounting evidence of a systematic bias in initial cost estimates of new weapon systems purchased by the U.S. military. Unrealistically low cost estimates result in cost overruns. Fixing cost overruns can substantially impact public budgets and military readiness. Cost estimates serve a dual function: first, as an integral part of the decision-making process to evaluate military purchases/investments, and second, as a baseline for future defense budgets. In the first case, underestimating costs can result in too many new weapon program starts and excessive investments in those systems. In the second case, unrealistically low cost estimates result in overly optimistic budgets. Budgets planned on the basis of optimistic cost estimates create the illusion of more resources available than actually exist...
A novel wide band absorbing boundary condition for FDTD method simulations

A wide band absorbing boundary condition that utilizes the basic relations between transverse fields of a guided travelling wave in the frequency domain is presented for FDTD method simulations. The resultant ABC operator ensures that the outgoing waves on the boundaries can be absorbed over the total frequency band of interest. The exponential approximation is used to recursively implement our ABC in the FDTD simulation, avoiding the need for the complete time history of field components. The numerical experiments are used to demonstrate that the present ABC consistently has a superior absorbing performance over a wide frequency band. >
Tuning a Distributed Simulator Using an Evolutionary Algorithm

Use of an evolutionary algorithm to tune constant values that help control the performance of a distributed discrete event simulator is investigated. Simulator constants are parameters that are often set empirically; the simulator is then used with those constant values indefinitely or for some set of simulations. However, when the simulator is ported to a new environment, the constant values may have to be reset. Using an evolutionary algorithm to guide the setting of these constants can expedite the recalibration process. The empirical results demonstrate the usefulness of this approach.
Do inter-city differences in intra-city wage differentials have any interesting implications?

Abstract Recent research has related characteristics of cities to differences in the distribution of wages across workers with different skill levels. We demonstrate that these differences in wage differentials arise naturally as a compensating variation in Rosen’s theoretical model of inter-city wages. For example, if the income elasticity of demand for housing services is less than unity, cities with higher house prices will have smaller money wage differentials between low and high skill workers. This result has no implications for differences in either absolute or relative real productivity or welfare of unskilled workers. Similarly, changes in the amenity of an urban area may result in changes in relative wages of skilled and unskilled workers with no implications for real productivity or welfare differentials. Empirical tests in which housing cost differentials are added as a determinant of inter-city differences in an intra-urban wage differential model provide empirical confirmation of the theoretical expectations. It appears that intra-urban money wage differentials, differences in the quality of life, and variation in the cost of living in each city are jointly determined variables just as Rosen’s model of inter-city wage differentials predicts.
Peter Brook's King Lear : Aesthetic Achievement or Far Side of the Moon?

In 1965, in an interview in Sight and Sound, Peter Brook eloquently discussed the difficulties of filming Shakespearian plays, decrying the ‘sad history of Shakespeare on the screen’ and denouncing the majority of Shakespearian films as ‘pitiful’ and ‘unspeakably bad’. Speaking at UNESCO's Shakespeare Quatercentenary Celebration in Paris, he said, in essence, that Shakespeare was impossible to film at all. However, the winter of 1968–9 found Brook in Northern Jutland, filming one of Shakespeare's most profoundly intricate tragedies, King Lear. When the film was released in 1970–1, critical reaction ranged from rapture to outrage. Nigel Andrews called Brook's Lear ‘a distinct achievement’, praising the acting, the setting, and, above all, Brook's use of the camera to ‘transcend repre-sentationalism’. Frank Kermode hailed Lear as a ‘fully realized and deeply imagined version of this great work … a masterly conception of the play’. Charles Phillips Reilly cautiously labelled the film ‘a mixed bag’, lauding Paul Scofield's performance as Lear and Brook's understanding of the themes of the play, but criticizing the camera work, especially in the storm sequence. Pauline Kael, the formidable reviewer for The New Yorker, simply said ‘I hated it’, and dismissed the film as ‘gray and cold … the drear far side of the moon’. According to Kael, the concept was ‘second-rate’, the script ‘plotless’, and the actors walking corpses.12 She dubbed the film ‘Peter Brook's “Night of the Living Dead”’.
An approach to implementing a knowledge-based controller

The results of building a knowledge-based adaptive controller for a DC-motor-driven, angular-positioning servo-trainer are presented. The approach used is general in the sense that tools have been built which will support knowledge-based identification, control law calculation, and controller implementation in response to changes in the system plant. However, the implementation is restricted to lead-lag compensation of a single-input, single-output linear, continuous plant and is currently limited by the accuracy of the model identification results. The system is capable of executing the cycle of identification, controller design, and implementation in approximately 10 s for a servo trainer used for classroom laboratory experiments. A significant analytical shortfall exists in that an assessment of the stability of such a system is not possible using currently available techniques. The system is described, and the tools developed for an inference engine to support reasoning about time-sensitive events are discussed. >
The social benefits of homeownership: Empirical evidence from national surveys

Abstract Claims that homeownership is beneficial to both owners and society have not been examined empirically. This article explores evidence from the General Social Survey and the National Survey of Families and Households, supplemented by data from the American National Election Studies and several small but highly relevant researches, to determine whether owners and renters differ in a variety of ways. Strong differences in demographics were found. Small differences were found in some respects: Owners tended to be higher in life satisfaction and self‐esteem and more likely to be members of community improvement groups. On a wide variety of social issues—from political partisanship to ethnocentric views—owners and renters were essentially alike. Thus, it appears that the claims for some social and individual benefits from homeownership are supported, but only weakly. Recognizing that the exploratory analyses presented are not definitive, several strategies for more definitive future research are recomm...
The Influence of Diagnostic Bronchoscopy on Clinical Outcomes Comparing Adult Autologous and Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant Patients

Study objectives To review our experience with diagnostic bronchoscopy in the evaluation of pulmonary infiltrates in adult hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients in the era of Pneumocystis prophylaxis and cytomegalovirus antigen testing. The study focused on diagnostic yields and the influence of bronchoscopic findings on pharmacologic therapy and mortality, comparing allogeneic (allo) HSCT patients to autologous (auto) HSCT patients Design Case series review Setting Tertiary care academic urban medical centers Patients All adult allo-HSCT and auto-HSCT patients undergoing bronchoscopy for the evaluation of pulmonary infiltrates from January 1997 to September 2001 Measurements and results The review identified 169 bronchoscopies that had been performed on HSCT patients, representing 12.5% of all HSCT patients (allo-HSCT patients, 125 bronchoscopies; auto-HSCT patients, 44 bronchoscopies). Bronchoscopy was requested more often in allo-HSCT patients (18.7%) compared to auto-HSCT patients (6.6%). Findings at bronchoscopy provided a specific diagnosis more frequently in allo-HSCT patients (50%) compared to auto-HSCT patients (34%). For both allo-HSCT and auto-HSCT patients, most diagnoses were obtained by BAL alone, whereas transbronchial biopsy (TBBx) provided additional specific information in Conclusions Bronchoscopy may provide clinically useful information in the evaluation of adult allo-HSCT and auto-HSCT recipients with pulmonary infiltrates. The results of testing BAL fluid samples alone suggested an etiology in most cases, whereas the findings of TBBx provided unique diagnoses infrequently. Further studies are warranted to improve the utility of diagnostic bronchoscopy in the evaluation of HSCT patients
Monte carlo methods for managing interactive state, action and feedback under uncertainty

Current input handling systems provide effective techniques for modeling, tracking, interpreting, and acting on user input. However, new interaction technologies violate the standard assumption that input is certain. Touch, speech recognition, gestural input, and sensors for context often produce uncertain estimates of user inputs. Current systems tend to remove uncertainty early on. However, information available in the user interface and application can help to resolve uncertainty more appropriately for the end user. This paper presents a set of techniques for tracking the state of interactive objects in the presence of uncertain inputs. These techniques use a Monte Carlo approach to maintain a probabilistically accurate description of the user interface that can be used to make informed choices about actions. Samples are used to approximate the distribution of possible inputs, possible interactor states that result from inputs, and possible actions (callbacks and feedback) interactors may execute. Because each sample is certain, the developer can specify most of the behavior of interactors in a familiar, non-probabilistic fashion. This approach retains all the advantages of maintaining information about uncertainty while minimizing the need for the developer to work in probabilistic terms. We present a working implementation of our framework and illustrate the power of these techniques within a paint program that includes three different kinds of uncertain input.
Additional Records of Digenetic Trematodes of Birds from Taiwan

43 species of digenetic trematodes of birds are reported from Taiwan. One new family, one new subfamily, two new genera, and nine new species are described: Taiwantrematidae fam. n. Taiwantrema arborophilae gen. et sp. n. from Arborophila crudigularis; Cyclocoelidae, Morishitium taiwanense sp.n. from A. crudigularis; Eucotylidae, Tanaisia (Tamerlania) taiwanensis sp. n. from A. crudigularis; Brachylaimidae, Leucochloridium taiwanense sp. n. from A. crudigularis; Echinostomatidae, Echinostoma taiwanense sp. n. from Zosterops japonica simplex; Dicrocoeliidae, Concinnum taiwanense sp. n. from Pycnonotus taivanus; Lecithodendriidae, Pseudocryptotropa formosae sp. n. from Pycnonotus sinensis formosae; Microphallidae, Promicrophallinae subfam. n. Promicrophallus taiwanensis gen. et sp. n. from A. crudigularis; Opisthorchiidae, Metametorchis taiwanensis sp. n. from the domestic duck.
INFLUENCE OF AN EXTREME HIGH WATER EVENT ON SURVIVAL, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION OF SNAIL KITES IN FLORIDA, USA

Hydrology frequently has been reported as the environmental variable having the greatest influ- ence on Florida snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) populations. Although drought has received the most attention, high-water conditions also have been reported to affect kites. Years of high water generally have been reported to be favorable for nesting, although prolonged high water may be detrimental to sustaining suitable habitat. During 1994 and 1995, southern Florida experienced an extreme high water event. This event enabled us to compare survival, nesting success, number of young per successful nest, and spatial distribution of nesting before, during, and after the event. We found no evidence of an effect (either negative or positive) on survival of adult kites. In contrast, juvenile kites experienced the highest survival during the event, although our data suggest greater annual variability than can be explained by the event alone. We found no evidence of an effect of the high water event on nest success or number of young per successful nest. Nest success was highest during the event in the southern portion of the range but was quite similar to other years, both before and after the event. Our data do indicate a substantial shift in the spatial distri- bution of nesting birds. During the event, nesting activity shifted to higher elevations (i.e., shallower water) in the major nesting areas of the Everglades region. Nesting also occurred in Big Cypress National Preserve during the event, which is typically too dry to support nesting kites. Thus, our data indicate a potential short- term benefit of increased juvenile survival and an expansion of nesting habitat. However, the deterioration of habitat quality from prolonged high water precludes any recommendation for such conditions to be maintained for extended periods.
Early lexical development in English- and Korean-speaking children: language-general and language-specific patterns

The present study examined the composition of the early productive vocabulary of eight Korean- and eight English-learning children and the morpho-syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic characteristics of their caregivers' input in order to determine parallels between caregiver input and early lexical development. Vocabulary acquisition was followed using maternal diary and checklists for the Korean-learning children (from a mean age of 1;6 to 1;9) and for the English-learning children (from a mean age of 1;4 to 1;8). Results showed that both Korean-learning and English-learning children acquired significantly more nouns than verbs at the 50-word mark. However, Korean children learned significantly more verbs than did English-learning children. The relative ease with which Korean learners, as compared to English learners, acquired verbs parallels several differences in the linguistic and socio-pragmatic characteristics of the input addressed to them. Korean-speaking caregivers presented more activity-oriented utterances, more verbs, and more salient cues to verbs than did English-speaking caregivers. These data suggest that both general and language-specific factors shape the early lexicon.
HELPING READERS AT RISK: BEYOND WHOLE LANGUAGE, WHOLE WORD, AND PHONICS

After arguing that the current emphasis on whole language has rekindled the recurring debate between meaning‐based and phonics‐based approaches to teaching reading, five generalizations for instruction are presented. They involve (a) relations with significant others, (b) the role of rereading and daily reading, (c) appropriate materials, (d) interest as a springboard to learning, and (e) the unification of instruction. These instructional generalizations should have application throughout and beyond North America; moreover, if thoughtfully applied, they will enable educators to move beyond rhetoric and fads.
Do Men and Women Differ in their Perceptions of Women’s and Men’s Saying “No” When They Mean “Yes” to Sex?: An Examination Between and Within Gender

The current study examines men’s and women’s perceptions of both men’s and women’s use of token resistance in heterosexual relationships. Three hundred and forty (n = 340) individuals (148 men and 191 women) with an average age of 21.31 years (SD = 4.11) served as participants in an online study at a large, southwestern university. Results indicate that men perceive both men and women as using token resistance more than women do. Specifically, when examining a traditional sexual script in which the man is the sexually proactive partner and the woman is perceived as exercising token resistance, men believe that women engage in token resistance more than women do. In the scenario in which the woman is the sexually proactive partner and the man is the token resistant party, men perceive men using token resistance more than women do. Within gender, men perceive men using token resistance more than women do. Findings are discussed within the context of sexual script theory and the traditional sexual script.
National rural drinking water monitoring: progress and challenges with India's IMIS database

National drinking water programs seek to address monitoring challenges that include self-reporting, data sampling, data consistency and quality, and sufficient frequency to assess the sustainability of water systems. India stands out for its comprehensive rural water database known as Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), which conducts annual monitoring of drinking water coverage, water quality, and related program components from the habitation level to the district, state, and national levels. The objective of this paper is to evaluate IMIS as a national rural water supply monitoring platform. This is important because IMIS is the official government database for rural water in India, and it is used to allocate resources and track the results of government policies. After putting India9s IMIS database in an international context, the paper describes its detailed structure and content. It then illustrates the geographic patterns of water supply and water quality that IMIS can present, as well as data analysis issues that were identified. In particular, the fifth section of the paper identifies limitations on the use of state-level data for explanatory regression analysis. These limitations lead to recommendations for improving data analysis to support national rural water monitoring and evaluation, along with strategic approaches to data quality assurance, data access, and database functionality.
Global Sustainability of Rare Earth Metals and Compounds

Rare earths metals, including yttrium and scandium, are being increasingly used in clean energy technologies, colored phosphors, lasers and high intensity magnets. The commitment to clean energy technologies by governments and the projected growth in power and transportation sectors across the globe ensure that the demand for rare earth metals and compounds would continue to escalate. This demand implies that, to ensure unhindered technological innovation, it is essential to possess secure supply chains for rare earth elements. In order to ensure secure rare earth supply and attenuate supply-demand imbalance post 2014, it is of utmost importance to look at opportunities to process intelligently, recycle and reuse Rare Earth Elements from secondary sources, such as post-consumer and manufacturing process wastes. It is anticipated that China’s control on rare-earth market will drop from over 90% to below 70% by 2017.
28S ribosome degradation in lymphoid cell apoptosis: evidence for caspase and Bcl-2-dependent and -independent pathways

Apoptosis, a physiological form of cell death, is characterized by the activation of a program that kills cells and recycles their constituents. We have used thymoma cell lines to examine the role of Bcl-2 and caspases in ribosomal destruction during apoptosis. Glucocorticoid- and calcium ionophore (A23187)induced apoptosis of S49 Neo cells resulted in both 28S rRNA and DNA degradation. Interestingly, anisomycin, a potent protein synthesis inhibitor, also induced 28S rRNA and DNA fragmentation suggesting that the responsible nucleases are present in the viable cells and become activated during apoptosis. The anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, inhibited both glucocorticoid- and anisomycin-induced DNA and 28S rRNA degradation but could not protect against A23187-induced nucleic acid degradation. We next examined the role of caspase activation in the generation of 28S rRNA degradation through the use of ZVAD, a general caspase inhibitor. Under conditions where ZVAD substantially decreased 28S rRNA degradation induced by glucocorticoid or anisomycin, no decrease was observed when A23187 was used to induce apoptosis. Surprisingly, RNA degradation, like DNA degradation, occurs exclusively in shrunken lymphocytes but not those with normal cell volume despite equivalent exposure of the cells to the apoptotic signals. Together, these findings indicate the ribosome is a specific target for death effectors during apoptosis and that a caspase/Bcl-2-independent pathway exists to activate its destruction. Cell Death and Differentiation (2000) 7, 994 ‐ 1001.
Sweet Regulation of Melanocortin Receptor (MC1R, Mc3r, and MC4R) Transcription Activity

Objective: This study is to understanding the transcription profile of nociception-related melanocortin receptor MC1R, obesity related neural melanocortin receptor Mc3r and MC4R. Methods: For MC1R, Mc3r and MC4R, relative luciferase activity RLA and the distribution of phosphorylation [P], glycosylation sites [G] on transcription factor for promoter model were plotted on the same chart. Results: Within the 3.2 kb upstream of the methionine ATG, for all three receptors, trend lines of RLA with that of [G] or ([P]-[G]), both tend to have negative reciprocal relationship. It brings up the question: for the neural receptors MC1R, Mc3r and MC4R, does the nutrition and obesity related glycosylation regulated the transcriptional activity in a negative reciprocal way? Conclusion: The negative reciprocal relation between trend line of [G] or ([P]-[G]) and that of RLA, give a specific digit evidence for the first time to the theory, which the structure related glycosylation and the signal sensing phosphorylation, exhibit either independently or Interactively on regulation of transcription activity.
A Cognitive Model of Individual Differences, with an Application to Attention

There is virtually universal agreement that people differ in their mental competencies. Such variations are captured under the rubric “intelligence”. But what does this mean? Natural philosophers have speculated about the nature and cause of intelligence for more than two thousand years. (There are explicit references to the concept in the Iliad.) No agreement has been reached. Similarly, over one hundred years of scientific study have failed to provide a generally accepted theory of either the nature or causes of individual difference in mental competence. Why?
Crack Addiction: A Clinical Perspective

The complexity of crack addiction is compounded by the different methods of use, the widespread vulnerability of the general population, and the subtlety of the outward symptoms in the early stages, making detection difficult. This chapter provides an overview of the modes of action of crack cocaine and of the clinical effects of addiction to it.1
Makers of Modern Asia. Edited by Ramachandra Guha. (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014. Pp. 385. $29.95.)

These often‐insightful studies of eleven national leaders in twentieth‐century Asia convey the dramatic processes and turmoil of peoples in the midst of state making and nation building in the afte...
A comparison between corn and grain sorghum fermentation rates, Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles composition, and lipid profiles

The aim of this study was to determine if the compositional difference between grain sorghum and corn impact ethanol yields and coproduct value when grain sorghum is incorporated into existing corn ethanol facilities. Fermentation properties of corn and grain sorghum were compared utilizing two fermentation systems (conventional thermal starch liquefaction and native starch hydrolysis). Fermentation results indicated that protease addition influenced the fermentation rate and yield for grain sorghum, improving yields by 1-2% over non-protease treated fermentations. Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles produced from sorghum had a statistically significant higher yields and significantly higher protein content relative to corn. Lipid analysis of the Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles showed statistically significant differences between corn and sorghum in triacylglycerol, diacylglycerol and free fatty acid levels.
Performance and power implications of decoupling allocation with power gated domains

Gated power delivery network (PDN) system design requires careful decoupling capacitor allocation between ungated and gated loads. This paper illustrates the pros and cons of ungated and gated capacitors to system performance based on impedance and latency characterization. Solution with only ungated decoupling gives power benefits whereas gated decoupling provides optimized performance but larger latency. Simulations of microprocessor packages are used to illustrate challenges and decision factors.
Adsorption and Hydrogenation of Acrolein on Ru(001)

Temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) were used to study the adsorption and hydrogenation of acrolein on Ru(001). At low coverages, acrolein adsorbs on the surface at 90 K mostly via the C═O bond and completely decomposes to CO around 460 K. As the coverage increases, adsorption via the C═C bond predominates and most of the acrolein either desorbs molecularly or decomposes to CO and H2. However, a small amount of the acrolein also self-hydrogenates to yield all the possible hydrogenation products, propanal, 2-propenol, and 1-propanol, with TPRS peak temperatures of 180, 210, and 280 K respectively, with propanal having the highest yield. Co-adsorption with hydrogen enhances the adsorption via the C═C bond and the yield of all the hydrogenation products. The formation of propanal and 1-propanol was also confirmed by RAIRS to occur at approximately the same temperatures as observed with TPRS, with the intensity of the RAIRS peaks indicati...
Foundations of practical parallel programming languages

A practical formulation of parallel programming languages is presented based on an analogy with sequential programming languages. The essential components are a machine model, a programming model and a programming language. For the parallel case, the CTA is used as the machine model, Phase Abstractions are used as the programming model, and the Orca family of languages are used to illustrate language design.
Fertility counseling in young adult patients with cancer.

e20570 Background: In 2008, 450,000 US cancer survivors were of reproductive age (18-45 years). Currently, oncologists receive little training about fertility preservation and counseling for patien...
Dual MEK/EGFR inhibition for advanced, chemotherapy-refractory pancreatic cancer: A multicenter phase II trial of selumetinib (AZD6244; ARRY-142886) plus erlotinib.

4014 Background: Pharmacologic inhibition of MEK leads to enhanced signaling through EGFR with hyperactivation of a parallel oncogenic pathway (PI3K) independent of mutant KRAS, supporting a therap...
Fathers of persons with mental illness : A preliminary study of coping capacity and service needs

Issues faced by fathers coping with the mental illness of an adult child represent an unexplored dimension of service needs. A preliminary exploratory study found that a group of 25 such fathers manifested important indicators of emotional stress that were largely unrecognized and unacknowledged. They also demonstrated typical patterns of healing that were different from those experienced by their wives. The paper reports findings that suggest that fathers employ more isolating strategies, and suggests service approaches that might be more fruitful in responding to these serious needs.
Mutual interactions of phonons, rotons, and gravity

We introduce an effective point-particle action for generic particles living in a zero-temperature superfluid. This action describes the motion of the particles in the medium at equilibrium as well as their couplings to sound waves and generic fluid flows. While we place the emphasis on elementary excitations such as phonons and rotons, our formalism applies also to macroscopic objects such as vortex rings and rigid bodies interacting with long-wavelength fluid modes. Within our approach, we reproduce phonon decay and phonon-phonon scattering as predicted using a purely field-theoretic description of phonons. We also correct classic results by Landau and Khalatnikov on roton-phonon scattering. Finally, we discuss how phonons and rotons couple to gravity, and show that the former tend to float while the latter tend to sink but with rather peculiar trajectories. Our formalism can be easily extended to include (general) relativistic effects and couplings to additional matter fields. As such, it can be relevant in contexts as diverse as neutron star physics and light dark matter detection.
Dental Impression Materials and Techniques

Dental impression making is the process of creating a negative form of the teeth and oral tissues, into which gypsum or other die materials can be processed to create working analogues. Contemporary dentistry generates new information every year and digital dentistry is becoming established and influential. Although dentists should stay abreast of new technologies, some of the conventional materials and time-tested techniques remain widely used. It is important to review the impression-making process to ensure that practitioners have up-to-date information about how to safely and effectively capture the exact form of the oral tissues to provide optimal patient management.
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Increases Histamine H3 Receptor‐Mediated Inhibition of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission in Rat Dentate Gyrus

BACKGROUND We have reported that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE)-induced deficits in dentate gyrus, long-term potentiation (LTP), and memory are ameliorated by the histamine H3 receptor inverse agonist ABT-239. Curiously, ABT-239 did not enhance LTP or memory in control offspring. Here, we initiated an investigation of how PAE alters histaminergic neurotransmission in the dentate gyrus and other brain regions employing combined radiohistochemical and electrophysiological approaches in vitro to examine histamine H3 receptor number and function. METHODS Long-Evans rat dams voluntarily consumed either a 0% or 5% ethanol solution 4 hours each day throughout gestation. This pattern of drinking, which produces a mean peak maternal serum ethanol concentration of 60.8 ± 5.8 mg/dl, did not affect maternal weight gain, litter size, or offspring birthweight. RESULTS Radiohistochemical studies in adult offspring revealed that specific [3 H]-A349821 binding to histamine H3 receptors was not different in PAE rats compared to controls. However, H3 receptor-mediated Gi /Go protein-effector coupling, as measured by methimepip-stimulated [35 S]-GTPγS binding, was significantly increased in cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and dentate gyrus of PAE rats compared to control. A LIGAND analysis of detailed methimepip concentration-response curves in dentate gyrus indicated that PAE significantly elevates receptor-effector coupling by a lower affinity H3 receptor population without significantly altering the affinities of H3 receptor subpopulations. In agreement with the [35 S]-GTPγS studies, a similar range of methimepip concentrations also inhibited electrically evoked field excitatory postsynaptic potential responses and increased paired-pulse ratio, a measure of decreased glutamate release, to a significantly greater extent in dentate gyrus slices from PAE rats than in controls. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that a PAE-induced elevation in H3 receptor-mediated inhibition of glutamate release from perforant path terminals as 1 mechanism contributing the LTP deficits previously observed in the dentate gyrus of PAE rats, as well as providing a mechanistic basis for the efficacy of H3 receptor inverse agonists for ameliorating these deficits.
Sorption-enhanced membrane materials for gas separation: a road less traveled

Solubility and diffusivity constitute two vertically tunable parameters for designing high-performance membrane materials for gas separation. The latter approach has received great attention, yielding a wealth of size-sieving materials reported in the literature. By contrast, this review highlights recent achievements of sorption-enhanced materials with superior gas separation performance, including fluorinated polymers for He/gas and gas/CH4 separations, and polar polymers and mixed-matrix materials comprising metal–organic frameworks for olefin/paraffin separations. The under-valued solubility and solubility selectivity are powerful tools in designing materials with superior separation properties and good resistance to plasticization caused by condensable components in the feed, which, otherwise, would decrease gas selectivity.
Top Five Physical Design Factors Contributing to Fall Initiation.

Purpose:To develop a prioritized list of physical design questions/interventions to reduce patient falls by conducting expanded analysis (Phase II) of data generated from a completed study phase.Background:Patient falls continue to be a critical concern for healthcare providers, patients, and families. While substantial literature exist on intrinsic factors, scientific evidence on the role of the physical environment is scarce.Method:Expanded analysis of data from 180 videos of trials conducted in a physical mock-up of a medical–surgical inpatient room in a previously completed study phase. The odds of subject’s exhibited postures (predictors) on fall initiation (outcome) were examined in a series of generalized linear mixed effects models. Physical design elements and attributes associated with postures exhibiting statistical significance were examined.Results:Turning, pulling, pushing, and bending forward exhibited the highest odds of contributing to fall initiation in the bathroom. Grabbing, pushing, a...
Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes in HST-Producing Fungal Pathogens

Although best known for elaboration of a host-specific toxin, HC-toxin, the fungal maize pathogen Cochliobolus carbonum also produces a large number of cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs) capable of depolymerizing various components of the host cell wall. C. carbonum genes have been cloned that encode endo-polygalacturonase, exo-polygalacturonase, pectin methylesterase, four endo-xylanases, β-xylosidase, cellobiohydrolase, endo-β-1,4 glucanase, two exo-β-1,3-glucanases, two β-1,3-1,4 glucanases, two alkaline proteases and cutinase. Using a transformation-mediated gene disruption strategy, many of these genes have been mutated singly in pathogenic wild-type C. carbonum strains. In every case, the disruption of the CWDE gene and the concomitant loss of CWDE activity did not cause any detectable change in the pathogenicity or virulence of the mutant strain. Strains of C. carbonum that contain multiple mutations in related CWDEs are being constructed in order to examine whether the inability to degrade a particular cell wall component will affect disease development.
Robox: an end-to-end solution to accelerate autonomous control in robotics

Novel algorithmic advances have paved the way for robotics to transform the dynamics of many social and enterprise applications. To achieve true autonomy, robots need to continuously process and interact with their environment through computationally-intensive motion planning and control algorithms under a low power budget. Specialized architectures offer a potent choice to provide low-power, high-performance accelerators for these algorithms. Instead of taking a traditional route which profiles and maps hot code regions to accelerators, this paper delves into the algorithmic characteristics of the application domain. We observe that many motion planning and control algorithms are formulated as a constrained optimization problems solved online through Model Predictive Control (MPC). While models and objective functions differ between robotic systems and tasks, the structure of the optimization problem and solver remain fixed. Using this theoretical insight, we create RoboX, an end-to-end solution which exposes a high-level domain-specific language to roboticists. This interface allows roboticists to express the physics of the robot and its task in a form close to its concise mathematical expressions. The RoboX backend then automatically maps this high-level specification to a novel programmable architecture, which harbors a programmable memory access engine and compute-enabled interconnects. Hops in the interconnect are augmented with simple functional units that either operate on in-fight data or are bypassed according a micro-program. Evaluations with six different robotic systems and tasks show that RoboX provides a 29.4 x (7.3 x) speedup and 22.1 x (79.4 x) performance-per-watt improvement over an ARM Cortex A57 (Intel Xeon E3). Compared to GPUs, RoboX attains 7.8x, 65.5x, and 71.8x higher Performance-per-Watt to Tegra X2, GTX 650 Ti, and Tesla K40 with a power envelope of only 3.4 Watts at 45 nm.
Numerical Studies of Turbulent Swirling Reacting Flows Using LES and URANS

Abstract Numerical studies of turbulent swirling reacting flows are performed using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) approaches. Aiming at the reduction of computational costs, the present research assesses the feasibility of URANS for the computations of turbulent reacting flows. The conserved scalar-mixture fraction-based thermo-chemical variables are described using the steady laminar flamelet model. The Favre-filtered scalars are obtained from the presumed beta probability density function (β–PDF) approach. The flow field exhibits upstream recirculation zone due to the bluff body and a downstream vortex breakdown region induced by the swirling flow. The study reveals that the strength of the vortex decays with the increase of distance from the injection region. The temperature exhibits high values in the region surrounding the flame. The present research shows that in spite of its low computational cost, the URANS approach is quite dissipative when compared with LES. Therefore, LES is a more appropriate approach for the numerical simulation of turbulent combustion, when the solution accuracy is of concern.