cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of low level laser therapy on ventilator-induced lung injury in mice (Conference Presentation)

Although mechanical ventilation (MV) is necessary to support gas exchange in critically ill patients, it can contribute to the development of lung injury and multiple organ dysfunction. It is known that high tidal volume (Vt) MV can cause ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) in healthy lungs and increase the mortality of patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Low level laser therapy (LLLT) has demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory effects. We investigated whether LLLT could alleviate inflammation from injurious MV in mice. Adult mice were assigned to 2 groups: VILI+LLLT group (3 h of injurious MV: Vt=25-30 ml/kg, respiratory rate (RR)=50/min, positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP)=0 cmH20, followed by 3 h of protective MV: Vt=9 ml/kg, RR=140/min, PEEP=2 cmH20) and VILI+no LLLT group. LLLT was applied during the first 30 min of the MV (810 nm LED system, 5 J/cm2, 1 cm above the chest). Respiratory impedance was measured in vivo with forced oscillation technique and lung mechanics were calculated by fitting the constant phase model. At the end of the MV, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed and inflammatory cells counted. Lungs were removed en-bloc and fixed for histological evaluation. We hypothesize that LLLT can reduce lung injury and inflammation from VILI. This therapy could be translated into clinical practice, where it can potentially improve outcomes in patients requiring mechanical ventilation in the operating room or in the intensive care units.
165 THE 24-HOUR URINE CREATININE CLEARANCE PREDICTS SUCCESSFUL DISCONTINUATION OF CONTINUOUS RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN ACUTE RENAL FAILURE.

Purpose Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is increasingly used to manage acute renal failure (ARF) in the intensive care unit (ICU). There are no specific guidelines to help determine the optimal time for discontinuation of CRRT. The decision to stop CRRT has traditionally been based on an increase in the urine output in conjunction with an improving hemodynamic profile; however, an adequate urine output is not always accompanied by improved solute clearance. Ideally, CRRT should be discontinued when sufficient intrinsic renal recovery has occurred. Unwarranted CRRT increases the cost of ICU care and risk for complications, including bleeding, hypotension, and catheter-related sepsis. We evaluated the utility of a 24-hour urine collection for creatinine clearance (CrCl), obtained while on CRRT, as a means to guide discontinuation of therapy. Methods We retrospectively evaluated ICU patients who had a 24-hour urine CrCl performed when they became nonoliguric while on CRRT. CRRT discontinuation was deemed successful if patients maintained adequate metabolic and volume status for at least 2 weeks following removal of CRRT. Results A total of 23 patients were identified. All patients had a baseline creatinine of 15 mL/min prior to CRRT discontinuation, whereas 14 had a 24-hour urine CrCl 15 mL/min and CrCl 15 mL/min group successfully remained off RRT for at least 2 weeks following CRRT discontinuation, whereas only 4 of 14 (29%) patients in the CrCl 15 mL/min for remaining off CRRT is 89%; the negative predictive value of a 24-hour urine CrCl 15 mL/min predicts successful discontinuation of CRRT. Conclusion Our data suggest that a 24-hour urine CrCl > 15 mL/min, collected while on CRRT, predicts renal recovery and may help guide cessation of CRRT.
A Synthesis of Dynamic Traffic Assignment Theories

Dynamic traffic assignment can describe the typical dynamic traffic flow characteristics such as the congestion of network traffic flows,the randomness of route choices,as well as the time-varying nature of traffic demands,and thus it presents obvious advantages over a static traffic assignment.With introducing the important components of dynamic traffic assignment,the six typical characteristics of dynamic traffic assignment are summarized,including causality,first-in-first-out,link state function,link exit function,link performance function and path cost function.A synthesis study of the classification of dynamic traffic assignment models from different four aspects is provided.The pros and cons of different models are further analyzed,and the prospective research direction of dynamic traffic assignment theories is finally summarized.
Detection and analysis of sulfite residue in dry fruits.

Objective To know sulfite residue in dry fruits,in order to strengthen management on use of sulfite and propose reasonable suggestion for daily detection.Methods Samples were tested by means of GB/ T 5009.34 -2003 parafuchsin hydrochloride.Results Totally 120 samples were investigated,including 85 samples according with national sanitary standard and 35 samples over the standard.Conclusions There are high detection rate and low qualified rate of sulfite residue in dry fruits on market.
Nonlinear model reduction of unconfined groundwater flow using POD and DEIM

Abstract Nonlinear groundwater flow models have the propensity to be overly complex leading to burdensome computational demands. Reduced modeling techniques are used to develop an approximation of the original model that has smaller dimensionality and faster run times. The reduced model proposed is a combination of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and the discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM). Solutions of the full model (snapshots) are collected to represent the physical dynamics of the system and Galerkin projection allows the formulation of a reduced model that lies in a subspace of the full model. Interpolation points are added through DEIM to eliminate the reduced model's dependence on the dimension of the full model. POD is shown to effectively reduce the dimension of the full model and DEIM is shown to speed up the solution by further reducing the dimension of the nonlinear calculations. To show the concept can work for unconfined groundwater flow model, with added nonlinear forcings, one-dimensional and two-dimensional test cases are constructed in MODFLOW-OWHM. POD and DEIM are added to MODFLOW as a modular package. Comparing the POD and the POD-DEIM reduced models, the experimental results indicate similar reduction in dimension size with additional computation speed up for the added interpolation. The hyper-reduction method presented is effective for models that have fine discretization in space and/or time as well as nonlinearities with respect to the state variable. The dual reduction approach ensures that, once constructed, the reduced model can be solved in an equation system that depends only on reduced dimensions.
Nuclear Data Processing at Los Alamos National Laboratory

This document is used to educate students about nuclear data programming and offers recruitment materials for programs available through the LANL.
Purification of a Single Peptide with Vitamin K Epoxide to Vitamin K and Vitamin K to Vitamin KH2 Activity.

More than 21 million prescriptions for warfarin are written yearly in the US. Yet, in spite of its importance, vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR), the target of warfarin, has resisted purification since its identification in 1972. We report the first successful purification and reconstitution of activity of a recombinant human vitamin K epoxide reductase. A series of detergents were screened to determine that best for solubilization of VKOR from microsomes. Detergents tested that were effective in solubilization of VKOR also led to loss of measurable activity. This loss of activity supports our previous prediction that VKOR is embedded in and requires a membrane environment for enzymatic activity. The short-chain phospholipid, DHPC (1,2-Dihexanoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine) was the detergent of choice to efficiently extract VKOR from the microsomes, even though this reagent completely inhibited enzyme activity. Partial reconstitution was achieved on-column by washing with 0.4 % dioleoylphosphatidylcholine/0.4% deoxycholate. Complete recovery of activity was achieved by removing the deoxycholate through dialysis in the presence of the reducing reagent, THP (Tris(hydroxypropyl)phosphine). During dialysis, the solution became cloudy indicating the formation of membrane-like structure. Purified recombinant VKOR is ~21 kDa (~18.5 kDa + tag); fully active; and over 93% pure. The concentration of warfarin for 50% inhibition is the same for purified protein and microsomes. It has been reported and assumed that VKOR is a multi-subunit enzyme. Our results, however, suggest that a single peptide can accomplish the reaction. The trace amounts of contaminating proteins were identified by mass spectrometry; however, none are apparently relevant to the VKOR reaction. Moreover, the turn-over number of purified VKOR (0.25 sec-1 is approximately two-fold higher than microsomes and about 10 fold higher than the turnover number of gamma-glutamyl carboxylase for CO2 addition. In addition to the vitamin K epoxide to vitamin K reaction, our results also indicate that VKOR can efficiently convert vitamin K to vitamin K epoxide. Our results suggest that ancillary proteins (other than a thioredoxin-like enzyme) are not necessary for full VKOR activity. This purification will allow further characterization of VKOR in relation to other components of the vitamin K cycle and should facilitate its structural determination.
MR Imaging for Incidental Adnexal Mass Characterization

Incidentally detected adnexal masses are common, and the overwhelming majority of them are benign. As many of these adnexal masses are considered indeterminate at CT or US, a large number of benign oophorectomies occur. Of the malignant adnexal masses, high-grade primary ovarian neoplasms with fast doubling times and early dissemination are the most common. Due to their aggressive behavior, diagnosis of malignancy by interval growth on surveillance imaging represents an undesirable option. Immediate MR characterization allows for a decreased rate of benign oophorectomies and expedited triage of patients to definitive treatment when malignancy is suspected.
Comparing and Ordering Fractions

This chapter focuses on a set of activities that took place on November 10, 1993 during the fifteenth session of a yearlong study of how fourth-grade students build fraction ideas. The first activity of the session challenges the students to compare and order unit fractions and is followed by students placing the unit fractions as well as proper fractions and mixed numbers on a line segment between zero and one that is later extended to the interval between zero and two.
Analytical High-resolution Electron Microscopy Reveals Organ-specific Nanoceria Bioprocessing:

This is the first utilization of advanced analytical electron microscopy methods, including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping to characterize the organ-specific bioprocessing of a relatively inert nanomaterial (nanoceria). Liver and spleen samples from rats given a single intravenous infusion of nanoceria were obtained after prolonged (90 days) in vivo exposure. These advanced analytical electron microscopy methods were applied to elucidate the organ-specific cellular and subcellular fate of nanoceria after its uptake. Nanoceria is bioprocessed differently in the spleen than in the liver.
Nutritional influences on brain development.

There is increasing evidence from pre-clinical and human studies that nutrition in the late fetal and early neonatal period has a significant impact on neurodevelopment across the lifespan. Certain nutrients have particularly large effects in this time period, and their deficits cause greater long-term risk. The mechanisms by which nutrients influence early brain growth and the sensitive periods for when certain nutrients should be provided are being elucidated. Assessments of nutritional status that index brain growth and predict long-term development are important to assess the efficacy of early life nutritional therapies. Conclusion Optimizing nutrition during fetal and early postnatal life is a golden opportunity to impact neurodevelopment and brain function across the lifespan.
Heat and Acid Tolerance Responses of Listeria monocytogenes as Affected by Sequential Exposure to Hurdles during Growth

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the level and sequence of hurdles, applied during growth, on the subsequent heat and acid tolerances of a 10-strain composite of Listeria monocytogenes. Individual strains were grown in glucose-free tryptic soy broth with 0.6% yeast extract (TSBYE-G). Then cultures were mixed and inoculated in fresh TSBYE-G (0.5% NaCl, pH 7.42; control), TSBYE-G that was supplemented with 3% NaCl (3.5% NaCl in total), or TSBYE-G with pH adjusted to 6.01 or 5.04 with lactic acid and incubated at 30 degrees C for 24 h. Furthermore, the culture composite was exposed to the following five combinations of double sequential hurdles (12 h in each at 30 degrees C): NaCl then pH 6.01, NaCl then pH 5.04, pH 7.42 then NaCl, pH 5.04 then NaCl, and pH 6.01 then NaCl. The heat and acid tolerances of the culture were assessed at 57 degrees C (for 2 h) and at pH 3.5 (for 7 h), respectively, in TSBYE-G. No significant (P > or = 0.05) differences in thermotolerance were observed among cultures exposed to various stresses. In contrast, the acid resistance followed the order: pH 6.01 = NaCl > NaCl then pH 5.04 > pH 6.01 then NaCl = pH 5.04 > pH 5.04 then NaCl > pH 7.42 then NaCl > control. The results suggest that exposure of L. monocytogenes to NaCl and low pH during growth may not affect its heat (57 degrees C) tolerance, but it may increase its acid (pH 3.5) resistance, depending on the sequence and intensity of the applied stresses.
A Uniform Logic of Information Dynamics

Unlike standard modal logics, many dynamic epistemic logics are not closed under uniform substitution. A distinction therefore arises between the logic and its substitution core, the set of formulas all of whose substitution instances are valid. The classic example of a non-uniform dynamic epistemic logic is Public Announcement Logic (PAL), and a well-known open problem is to axiomatize the substitution core of PAL. In this paper we solve this problem for PAL over the class of all relational models with infinitely many agents, PAL-K_omega, as well as standard extensions thereof, e.g., PAL-T_omega, PAL-S4_omega, and PAL-S5_omega. We introduce a new Uniform Public Announcement Logic (UPAL), prove completeness of a deductive system with respect to UPAL semantics, and show that this system axiomatizes the substitution core of PAL.
Schmerzsyndrome bei AIDS

Das Symptom Schmerz stellt ein quantitativ und qualitativ wichtiges, aber stark vernachlassigtes Problem bei AIDS-Patienten dar. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit besteht darin, die unterschiedlichen Schmerzsyndrome bei AIDS-Patienten darzustellen, und ihre symptomatische Behandlung zu diskutieren. Die haufigsten Schmerzsyndrome bei AIDS-Patienten sind Kopfschmerzen, Schmerzen in der Mundhohle, Dysphagien, Thoraxschmerzen, Bauchschmerzen und Schmerzen, die durch periphere Neuropathien hervorgerufen werden. Symptomatische Schmerztherapie sollte bereits begonnen werden, wahrend nach einer Diagnose fur die Schmerzsymptomatik gesucht wird, damit der Patient nicht leidet. Da bei AIDS-Patienten verschiedene Organe gleichzeitig befallen sein konnen, was zu unterschiedlichen Schmerzsymptomatiken fuhren kann, die oft parallel auftreten und unterschiedliche Schmerzbehandlungen erfordern, ist es wichtig, Interaktionen und Nebenwirkungen von verschiedenen Medikamenten zu bedenken. Angst vor der Komplexitat der Schmerzbehandlung bei AIDS-Patienten sollte nicht dazu fuhren, das diese Patientengruppe, die von einer Krankheit befallen ist, fur die es mit heutigen Moglichkeiten keine Heilung gibt, die Schmerzbehandlung vorenthalten wird. Eine multidisziplinare Schmerzbehandlung, wie auch bei Krebs-Patienten, ist anzustreben.
Substance Use and School Characteristics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual High School Students.

BACKGROUND Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) high school students as well as related environment and school-level risk and protective factors were examined. METHODS Data was acquired from the 2015 CDC's Youth Behavior Risk Survey for Kentucky (N = 2577). Prevalence of substance use was calculated for all high school respondents by reported sexual orientation. Multivariate analyses estimated the relationship between school and environmental-level factors (eg, having an adult to talk to) and tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use via logistic regressions. Sexual orientation, gender, age, and race/ethnicity were covariates. RESULTS LGB students used tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs more frequently than their heterosexual counterparts. More LGB teens report facing school risk factors (eg, 37% LGB vs 20% heterosexual bullied at school, p ≤ .001; 17% LGB vs 5% heterosexual ever threatened or injured at school, p < .001; 13% LGB vs 7% heterosexual involved in a school fight, p = .001). Adjusting for school related risk factors, having an adult to talk to was associated with a reduced likelihood of daily smoking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.73), past 30-day alcohol use (aOR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.50-0.95), and ever marijuana use (aOR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.50-1.00). CONCLUSION Innovative strategies are needed to create safe, supportive school environments. These strategies are particularly needed in predominately rural states like Kentucky.
Abstract A102: pHLIP technology for targeting acidity at surface of tumor cells and extracellular and intracellular delivery of imaging and therapeutic agents

pH-Low Insertion Peptides (pHLIP® peptides) are a platform technology for targeting of acidity at the surface of individual cells within tumors. Most proteins that are located across membranes have one or more helical segments that cross the lipid bilayer, and studies of these membrane proteins revealed pHLIPs, which could fold from disorganized (unstructured) states outside of a membrane to form a helix across the membrane in response to local acidity. Because tumor cell surfaces are acidic as a result of their active metabolism, versions of pHLIP® peptides were extensively investigated and tested as possible tumor targeting agents. Our studies showed that an extensive variety of cargoes can be targeted to cell surfaces and that a surprising range of cargoes can be delivered across membranes into cells if their surfaces are acidic, creating opportunities to detect and treat tumors. pHLIP® peptides can be used to target and tether cargo molecules to the surfaces of cells in low pH environments of acidic diseased tissues. The cargo can be an optical marker, a PET, a SPECT, or a MR imaging agent, or an antigen or a protein delivered to induce certain cellular or immune responses. We are translating pHLIP®-based imaging agents to the clinic for diagnostic PET imaging, fluorescence-guided surgical procedures and photo-acoustic pre-operative imaging. pHLIP® peptides can also be used for the intracellular delivery of payloads, facilitating the translocation of therapeutic cargoes across the membranes of cells with low extracellular pH, such as those cells found in acidic diseased tissue. These payloads are conjugated to the membrane-inserting end of pHLIP® peptide, typically via a link that is unstable inside the cell. Thus, pHLIP® peptide targets a payload to acidic diseased cells and flips the cargo across the plasma membrane, releasing it in the cytoplasm. Therapeutic cargoes may include toxins, metabolic activators/inhibitors, chemotherapeutic agents, or agents to alter gene expression. *YKR, OAA, and DME are founders of pHLIP, Inc. and have financial interests in the company. Citation Format: Yana K Reshetnyak, Oleg A Andreev, Donald Engelman. pHLIP technology for targeting acidity at surface of tumor cells and extracellular and intracellular delivery of imaging and therapeutic agents [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2019 Oct 26-30; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2019;18(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A102. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.TARG-19-A102
Optical Interconnects for large scale computing: How Do We Get Beyond the Cost & Power Wall?

Bandwidth demands for datacenter networks continues as performance increases and AI and new HPC workloads explode. Managing power and costs will require a range of solutions from new network architectures to co-packaging.
Spherical harmonic shape descriptors of nodal force demands for quantifying spatial truss connection complexity

The connections of a spatial truss structure play a critical role in the safe and efficient transfer of axial forces between members. For discrete connections, they can also improve construction efficiency by acting as registration devices that lock members in precise orientations. As more geometrically complex spatial trusses are enabled by computational workflows and the demand for material-efficient spanning systems, there is a need to understand the effects of global form on the demands at the connections. For large-scale structures with irregular geometry, customizing individual nodes to meet exact member orientations and force demands may be infeasible; conversely, standardizing all connections results in oversized nodes and a compromise in registration potential. We propose a method for quantifying the complexity of spatial truss designs by the variation in nodal force demands. By representing nodal forces as a geometric object, we leverage the spherical harmonic shape descriptor, developed for applications in computational geometry, to characterize each node by a rotation and translation-invariant fixed-length vector. We define a complexity score for spatial truss design by the variance in the positions of the feature vectors in higher-dimensional space, providing an additional performance metric during early stage design exploration. We then develop a pathway towards reducing complexity by clustering nodes with respect to their feature vectors to reduce the number of unique connectors for design while minimizing the effects of mass standardization.
Methods to Determine the Deformation of the Irve Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator

Small resonant targets used in conjunction with a microwave reflectometer to determine the deformation of the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) during reentry are investigated. The reflectometer measures the distance to the targets and from this the HIAD deformation is determined. The HIAD is used by the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) which investigates the use of inflatable heat shields for atmospheric reentry. After several different microwave reflectometer systems were analyzed and compared it was determined that the most desirable for this application is the Frequency Doubling Target method.
Speciation and Bacterial Phylospecies

This chapter begins by discussing animal and plant speciation followed by bacterial speciation. First, the species concept is important in understanding the speciation process in that it provides the constraint necessary for evaluating the fulfillment of the speciation event. Three different mechanisms of speciation are known in animals and plants: allopatric speciation, parapatric speciation, and sympatric speciation. This process is thought to be the most common speciation process for plants and animals. An important aspect of speciation in plants and animals is that it does not necessarily involve dramatic changes in the genome. The concept of the species is of paramount importance when considering the process of speciation as illustrated for plants and animals. Like plants and animals, a bacterial species has a monophyletic ancestry. Bacteriologists who are interested in speciation need to look at this process at the level of strains. The term phylospecies is coined to describe those microorganisms, in particular Bacteria and Archaea, that, according to the phylogenetic species concept, form a monophyletic clade at a fundamental level and that are occupying, living, and evolving in a specific niche. The chapter discusses the environmental factors that may drive the speciation of an organism, and then treats the intrinsic responses of the organism in its environment that affect a speciation event.
Adenosine Receptors and Autonomic Regulation

Adenosine interacts with the autonomic nervous system at different levels. In peripheral efferent noradrenergic fibers adenosine inhibits norepinephrine release via A1 receptors. Centrally, adenosine has a neuroexcitatory action in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarii similar to glutamate, which results in inhibition of sympathetic tone. Adenosine also has been proposed to have excitatory actions in various afferent fibers, including arterial chemoreceptors (which probably explains the increased in ventilation observed during intravenous administration of adenosine), renal afferents (resulting in an increase in blood pressure in animal models), sensory afferents (possible related to cardiac ischemic pain), and skeletal muscle afferents (that trigger the exercise pressor reflex). We propose that the excitatory actions of adenosine and ATP work in tandem with their inhibitory effects to provide local protection against ischemia, even at the expense of the rest of the organism. Furthermore, we propose that adenosine (and ATP) provides a link between local mechanisms of blood flow autoregulation and systemic mechanisms of autonomic cardiovascular regulation, heretofore thought to work independent from each other.
James Buchanan's contributions to social and economic thought: Citation counts, self-assessment, and peer review

This paper demonstrates James Buchanan's impact on socio-economic thought through citation analysis of his published works, a discussion of Buchanan's own views of what his work means and is, and summary discussions of the assessments of other scholars. Thus the central themes of his work are illuminated as well. These themes include a deep distrust of government interference in the economy and in the personal lives of members of the polity, and his absolute conviction that collective decisionmaking should take place only within the framework of a contractual agreement, the fundamental principles of which have been derived through near unanimity.
Advanced graphics application development with OpenGL

Do you want to make your graphics course a little more entertaining for your students? This workshop is designed to introduce advanced graphics topics that can be incorporated into an undergraduate level graphics course that teaches OpenGL. Specifically, participants will learn how to add lighting, textures, fog, picking, billboards, sound (using DirectX), and joystick input (using GLUT) to their OpenGL applications. Participants will develop a "dungeon crawl" game during the workshop that illustrates these concepts. Some prior C++ and OpenGL experience is required.
Characterization and Localization of Mitochondrial Uncoupler Binding Sites with an Uncoupler Capable of Photoaffinity Labeling

Abstract 2-Azido-4-nitrophenol (NPA) is a potent, water-soluble uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. It is photochemically active and capable of covalent labeling of the mitochondrial components presumably concerned with the uncoupling process. Acrylamide gel electrophoresis of NPA-labeled mitochondria digested with sodium dodecyl sulfate and mercaptoethanol showed that 40% of NPA radioactivity was associated with protein bands in the molecular weight region of 20,000 to 30,000. Equilibrium binding studies with NPA, under nonphotolytic conditions, have shown that bovine heart mitochondria contain 0.56 ± 0.13 nmole of a uniformly reacting uncoupler binding site per mg of protein. The binding of NPA to these sites is competitively inhibited by other uncouplers, but not by antimycin A, rutamycin, valinomycin, or arsenate. The uncouplers tested against NPA were sodium azide, 2,4-dinitrophenol, pentachlorophenol, carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, and 5-chloro-3-t-butyl-2'-chloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide. The uncoupler binding sites are located in the inner membrane, and do not appear to involve F1 (ATPase). They are unaffected with respect to NPA binding by changes in the respiratory state or the energization state of mitochondria. Data regarding dissociation constants and the uncoupler potencies of NPA, 2,4-dinitrophenol, and azide have suggested that the uncoupler binding sites of mitochondria are functionally involved in the act of uncoupling.
Lung Tissue Viscoelasticity

The viscoelastic properties of connective tissues play fundamental roles in the functioning of many organs and organisms as well as in the interactions of these macroscopic biosystems with the complex environment they live in. An emerging view exists that the viscoelastic properties of the extracellular matrix of the lung reflect, to a large extent, the underlying complexity of its structure. This chapter summarizes the phenomenological description of lung tissue viscoelasticity and its relation to tissue composition and structure. In particular, it is shown that the constitutive equation and, hence, the stress relaxation of the lung tissue follows a power law functional form. The constituents of the connective tissue mainly determine the proportionality constants, whereas the complex structural organization of the tissue is responsible for the power law and the numerical value of the exponent. It is argued that the power law constitutive equation develops from the complexity of the structure and the interactions among the components. A concise mathematical description of the constitutive equation of the lung tissue can be based on fractional calculus, which is related to the fractal properties of the collagen-elastin fiber network embedded in the proteoglycan matrix. Keywords: stress relaxation; collagen; elastin; fiber-network; proteoglycans
Inhibition of Replication Gap Closure in Escherichia coli by Near-Ultraviolet Light Photoproducts of l-Tryptophan

Near-ultraviolet photoproducts of l-tryptophan (TP) differentially inhibited deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication in wild-type cells and uvrA, polA1, and recA recB double mutants of Escherichia coli. Wild-type cells labeled in their DNA with [3H]thymidine in the presence of TP produced small pieces of DNA (7 × 106 daltons), which corresponded in size to late replicative intermediates of discontinuous DNA synthesis. Moreover, when TP was present, it took five times longer to chase the low-molecular-weight DNA pieces into high-molecular-weight DNA. The observation of replicative intermediates in the presence of TP, and their slow chase into high-molecular-weight DNA in the presence of TP, is strong evidence that TP stabilizes replication gaps in E. coli DNA. Although TP slowed DNA replication in wild-type cells, this effect was transient and DNA synthesis eventually resumed at a normal rate. However, in polA1 and recA recB mutants, DNA synthesis was completely inhibited. Determinations of size and total counts of cells incubated in TP suggested that TP uncouples cell division from DNA replication in recA recB mutants, whereas these processes remain coupled in wild-type cells and in uvrA and polA1 mutants. The slow chase of TP-stabilized pieces of DNA in the presence of TP suggested that the selective effect of TP on DNA synthesis and viability in repair-deficient mutants is a result of TP inhibition of replication gap closure.
The Role of Schwann Cells in the Repair of Glial Cell Deficits in the Spinal Cord

The occurrence of Schwann cells in the central nervous system (CNS) of humans has been recognized for many years. These Schwann cells and peripheral-type myelin have been reported by some to represent regenerative processes (Klintworth 1964, Druckman 1955) to be associated with destructive lesions within the CNS (Payan and Levine 1965, Hughes and Brownell 1963, Bernstein et al. 1973) and to occur in the absence of any known lesion (DeMyer 1965, Adelman and Aronson 1972, Sung et al. 1981). Compression of the spinal cord owing to abnormalities of the vertebral column such as intervertebral disc protrusion (Druckman and Mair 1953, Mair and Druckman 1953) or to tumor (Druckman and Mair 1953) is also associated with intraspinal Schwann cells. Finally, axons myelinated by Schwann cells are often present in plaques in multiple sclerosis (Feigin and Popoff 1966, Feigin and Ogata 1971, Ghatak et al. 1973, Itoyama et al. 1983, Ogata and Feigin, 1975). The papers cited here are more selective than exhaustive in order to point out that in the human being the presence of Schwann cells within the CNS is a rather nonspecific response, as suggested by Koeppen and colleagues (1968), and may represent a reaction to both mechanical and metabolic injury (Adelman and Aronson 1972).
Regulating the regulator: MicF RNA controls expression of the global regulator Lrp

Studies on the regulatory RNA MicF in Enterobacteriaceae reveal a pivotal role in gene regulation. Multiple target gene mRNAs were identified and, importantly, MicF RNA regulates the expression of the global regulatory gene lrp (Holmqvist et al., 2012; Corcoran et al., 2012). Thus MicF RNA is a central factor in a regulatory network that regulates bacterial cell physiology.
Elimination of drugs and toxins during cardiopulmonary bypass

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) creates a myriad of pharmacological and physiological changes. Some of these changes have been studied in isolated in vitro studies. Integrating an in vitro system into an in vivo process is so complicated that many pharmacological studies simply avoid the bypass period. For the most part, the studies that do examine the bypass period deal with a single drug, reporting how it does or does not produce a predicted concentration on initiation, maintenance and termination of CPB. Based on the isolated results of these studies, this review hypothesizes a model that explains how different substances interact with the CPB system. A summary of the review's findings include the following: 1) drugs with a smaller volume of distribution are more likely to be effected; 2) the pharmacokinetic effects of lipophilic drugs undergo more alterations than hydrophilic drugs; and 3) protein binding minimizes alterations of lipophilic drugs and increase alterations of hydrophilic drugs.
Consumer responses for tenderness and overall impression can be predicted by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, Meullenet–Owens razor shear, and Warner–Bratzler shear force

Abstract Beef ribeye rolls ( n = 40) from Select, low Choice, top (upper 2/3) Choice, and Prime quality grade carcasses were used to determine the relationship of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VNIR) reflectance, Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and Meullenet–Owens razor shear (MORS) with consumer responses for tenderness and overall impression. Steaks (2.54 cm) were cut and assigned to either 14 or 28 d aging ( n = 4/aging period). Reflectance in the VNIR spectrum was measured 1 d from the box-date no less than 30 min after cutting, and prior to aging. The steak used for VNIR measurement was designated for WBSF and MORS measurement, whereas three adjacent steaks were cooked for evaluation by a consumer panel ( n = 240 members). Steaks from the Select-grade ribeye rolls had the greatest ( P = 0.06) WBSF values and lower ( P P
Arginine induced growth hormone release after clomiphene treatment.

ABSTRACT Amino acid infusion in healthy females is followed by variable increases in plasma growth hormone which may be dependent upon the stage of the menstrual cycle in which the test is performed. The augmented growth hormone response seen immediately preovulatory may be due to the level of plasma estrogen at that time. When clomiphene citrate is administered prior to arginine infusion at midcycle, plasma growth hormone concentrations are blunted.
Stalking the Private Company: How Good Is Dun and Bradstreet's Third Volume?

For years, stalking the elusive private company was at least as hard as stalking the wild asparagus. Not constrained by the Securities and Exchange Commission or by state “blue sky laws” to disclose information about themselves, few private companies have volunteered the information. Given the cost of analyzing and disseminating data, together with the possibility that any information given out might help the competition, it would hardly have been in their best interest to do so. Librarians have long known of unpublished sources of information — the internal document a company employee can lay hands on, the annual report one's rich, old, stockholding aunt might share, or the inside dope that a customer or supplier might be willing to divulge. The trouble is, no one privy to such information comes asking a librarian for help. The rest of us, no matter how prettily we ask, are not likely to be granted access to it.
Post-litho line edge/width roughness smoothing by ion implantations

Solving the issue of line edge/width roughness (LER/LWR) in chip manufacturing is becoming increasingly urgent as the feature size continues to decrease. Several post-lithography processing techniques have been investigated by the semiconductor industry, but they were often proved to be inadequate in one area or another. In this study, a near isotropic ion implantation process, called Plasma Ribbon Beam Technology, was tuned for photoresist treatment and used to reduce LER/LWR by >30% while minimizing loss in the critical dimension (CD). Different implantation chemistries were evaluated and process parameters including energy, angle, beam current, and dose, were optimized. The LER/LWR measurement was performed on an SEM system designed for CD metrology. SEM images with resist lines of 3μm long were taken to capture more low frequency data. The results showed that, with Ar implantation on 193/193i photoresists, a 27-37% before-etch reduction in LER/LWR was achieved on 65nm and 45nm half-pitch lines whereas the CD change was controlled under ±1%. Preliminary test results on EUV photoresists have demonstrated similar trend. Compared to untreated photoresist, the LER/LWR power spectral density (PSD) data showed more than a half decade improvement in both the mid-frequency and low-frequency range. The significant low-frequency improvement affords this technique a unique advantage over other competing approaches. Pattern transfer of the LER/LWR improvements has been successfully demonstrated on 193/193i resists using both inorganic and organic ARC (anti-reflective coating).
Vibrational spectroscopy and medicine: an alliance in the making

Both infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy are emerging as powerful probes of biomedically relevant properties of tissue and biological fluids. From tentative first steps, this field of endeavor is now beginning to mature as the central conceptual and technical issues come into focus. Using representative examples mainly from our own research, the aim of the present article is to provide the reader with a brief overview of progress to date.
Rapid Bridge Deck Replacement Construction Techniques: State of the Practice

Rapid bridge deck replacement (RBDR) is the method of replacing a bridge deck using innovative, alternative deck systems to perform needed repair under an accelerated construction schedule. Through employing RBDR techniques, state highway agencies (SHAs) can meet current transportation challenges by repairing the nation's bridges while minimizing construction-related impacts. SHAs in the United States were surveyed on their experience with RBDR projects. Survey results are divided into the following categories: decision-making factors, construction schedules, construction techniques, contractual methods, costs, and innovations in safety or technology employed. Of the 52 responding agencies, 24 have experience with RBDR; 54% have less than 5 years of experience, and 63% have completed fewer than five RBDR projects, suggesting that the practice is new and most agencies are inexperienced. The strongest factors influencing decision making are traffic volume, critical bridge, safety, and impact on local busine...
Serum metabolites from walnut-fed aged rats attenuate stress-induced neurotoxicity in BV-2 microglial cells

The shift in equilibrium towards excess reactive oxygen or nitrogen species production from innate antioxidant defenses in brain is a critical factor in the declining neural function and cognitive deficit accompanying age. Previous studies from our laboratory have reported that walnuts, rich in polyphenols, antioxidants, and omega fatty acids such as alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, improve the age-associated declines in cognition and neural function in rats. Possible mechanisms of action of these effects include enhancing protective signaling, altering membrane microstructures, decreasing inflammation, and preventing accumulation of polyubiquitinated protein aggregates in critical regions of the brain. In the current study, we investigated whether the serum collected from aged animals fed with walnut diets (0, 6, and 9%, w/w) would enhance protection on stressed BV-2 microglia in vitro. In the growth medium, fetal bovine serum was substituted with the serum collected from 22-month-old rats fed per...
Creation of entanglement in a scalable spin quantum computer with long-range dipole-dipole interaction between qubits

Creation of entanglement is considered theoretically and numerically in an ensemble of spin chains with dipole-dipole interaction between the spins. The unwanted effect of the long-range dipole interaction is compensated by the optimal choice of the parameters of radio-frequency pulses implementing the protocol. The errors caused by (i) the influence of the environment, (ii) nonselective excitations (iii) influence of different spin chains on each other, (iv) displacements of qubits from their perfect locations, and (v) fluctuations of the external magnetic field are estimated analytically and calculated numerically. For the perfectly entangled state the z component M of the magnetization of the whole system is equal to zero. The errors lead to a finite value of M. If the number of qubits in the system is large, M can be detected experimentally. Using the fact that M depends differently on the parameters of the system for each kind of error, varying these parameters would allow one to experimentally determine the most significant source of errors and to optimize correspondingly the quantum computer design in order to decrease the errors and |M|. Using our approach one can benchmark the quantum computer, decrease the errors, and prepare the quantum computer for implementation ofmore » more complex quantum algorithms.« less
Arabistan or Khuzistan

The region between the lower course of the Tigris and its joint estuary with the Euphrates on the west, the head of the Persian Gulf on the south, and the Zagros Mountains on the east and north was known in classical Islamic sources as Khuzistan. The tenth-century geographer Ibn klawqal described the province in a separate chapter of his Kitab surat al-ard and included a map--"1Sfrat KhtizistTn."11 In the thirteenth century, Yaqut reserved a detailed entry for "Khuzistan" in his compendium MuCjam al-buldan.2
A logical foundation for the minimal sufficient cause model

Rothman's minimal sufficient cause model can be systematically developed as a method for discussing and evaluating causation. The simplest model in terms of binary factors is developed here, including issues of parametrization, which lead to Sheps' measure of excess occurrence. Two examples show how the ideas apply in concrete cases. The notion of alternative realities is used to link population-specific equations to general causal constraints.
Evidence for a similar receptor site for binding of [3H]leukotriene E4 and [3H]leukotriene D4 to the guinea-pig crude lung membrane

To determine whether the action of leukotriene E4 is mediated by its cross reaction with leukotriene D4 receptor sites, we compared [3H] leukotriene E4 and [3H]leukotriene D4 binding activities in selected tissues as well as their competition results in the guinea-pig crude lung membrane. We demonstrated good correlation of [3H]leukotriene E4 and [3H]leukotriene D4 binding activities among the tissues studied. A significant correlation was demonstrated between the ability of leukotriene C4, D4 and E4, FPL-55712 and arachidonic acid to inhibit lung [3H]leukotriene E4 and [3H]leukotriene D4 binding. These correlations suggest that leukotriene E4 binds to a site which is similar to or close to the leukotriene D4 receptor.
The guanylation of transfer RNA: An enzymatic reaction

Abstract 1. 1. Reticulocytes of rabbits, sheep and humans but not those of rats or mice incorporate guanine into tRNA after the transcription of the polynucleotide chain is completed. 2. 2. The reaction is heat labile and is inhibited by iodoacetate, iodoacetamide and 8-azaguanine. 3. 3. No other purine is similarly incorporated into tRNA. 4. 4. The incorporated guanine is recovered as a single oligonucleotide after digestion of the guanylated tRNA with T1 ribonuclease and the incorporated guanine is present at the 3′ end of that oligonucleotide. 5. 5. The rate of guanylation in reticulocytes is concentration dependent within limits; and an apparent K m for guanylation of 2.2 · 10−5 M has been obtained. The K m for guanosine is 5.8 · 10−6 M. 6. 6. These findings point to an enzymatic mechanism for guanylation.
Microstructural abnormalities in language and limbic pathways in orphanage-reared children: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

This study utilized diffusion tensor imaging fiber tractography to examine the miscrostructural integrity of limbic and paralimbic white matter tracts in thirty-six children (Mean age=124 months) with histories of early deprivation, raised from birth in orphanages and subsequently adopted into the United States, compared to 16 age-matched typically developing children. We found increased mean diffusivity bilaterally in the arcuate fasciculus, and increased mean diffusivity and reduced fractional anisotropy bilaterally in the uncinate fasciculus and cingulum in children with early deprivation. Microstructural integrity of the left arcuate fasciculus and right cingulum was related to language and behavioral functioning, respectively. White matter abnormalities were also associated with length of deprivation and time in the adoptive home. Our findings suggest that white matter pathways, connecting limbic and paralimbic brain regions is abnormal in children with histories of early deprivation; with some pathways appearing more susceptible to early deprivation than others.
Monitoring the performance of occupational health laboratories.

To monitor the performance of occupational health laboratories analyzing workplace air, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), with assistance from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, has established four national quality assurance programs. They are the Proficiency Analytical Testing (PAT) Program, the AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Program, the Asbestos Analysts Registry, and the Bulk Quality Assurance Program. This paper focuses on the PAT program, a quality audit program that provides samples of asbestos, silica, metals, and solvents to laboratories quarterly. PAT data for asbestos, silica, and lead were examined for trends in precision. Simple graphs of coefficient of variation during the 18-yr history of the program provide evidence of improved agreement among laboratories performing these analyses. The improvement took place in spite of growth in the number of laboratories and decreases in the levels being analyzed. The improvement is attributed to several factors...