cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bead movement by single kinesin molecules studied with optical tweezers

Kinesin, a mechanoenzyme that couples ATP hydrolysis to movement along microtubules, is thought to power vesicle transport and other forms of microtubule-based motility. Here, microscopic silica beads were precoated with carrier protein, exposed to low concentrations of kinesin, and individually manipulated with a single-beam gradient-force optical particle trap ('optical tweezers') directly onto microtubules. Optical tweezers greatly improved the efficiency of the bead assay, particularly at the lowest kinesin concentrations (corresponding to approximately 1 molecule per bead). Beads incubated with excess kinesin moved smoothly along a microtubule for many micrometres, but beads carrying from 0.17-3 kinesin molecules per bead, moved, on average, only about 1.4 microns and then spontaneously released from the microtubule. Application of the optical trap directly behind such moving beads often pulled them off the microtubule and back into the centre of the trap. This did not occur when a bead was bound by an AMP.PNP-induced rigor linkage, or when beads were propelled by several kinesin molecules. Our results are consistent with a model in which kinesin detaches briefly from the microtubule during a part of each mechanochemical cycle, rather than a model in which kinesin remains bound at all times.
Photoreceptors in Mya arenaria, with special reference to their distribution, structure, and function

Experimental studies on the responses to light in Mya arenaria L. indicate that photosensitive tissue is located somewhere near the inner surface of the siphon and that the siphon is sensitive throughout its entire length. A histological study of the siphon shows cells of a special type in the photosensitive region, which are most abundant where the inner surface of the siphon is most sensitive. They are found throughout the length of the siphon, just beneath the inner epithelial layer, around both the incurrent and excurrent siphons. They receive nerve elements from branches of sixteen large nerves. Each cell contains a characteristic inner structure, the optic organelle, composed of a rather large hyaline structure, the lens, which is surrounded by a network of nerve fibrillae, the retinella. Light rays, reflected from a flat mirror through the lens in these cells, are brought to a focus in the region of the retinella, irrespective of the direction of the rays. The cells are similar in structure and function to visual cells in leeches and photoreceptors in the earthworm. Available data indicate that they function as photoreceptors and that the fibrillae of the retinella are direct receptors of light stimuli. Pigment spots found in considerable number on the distal third of the siphon, and thought by some to be eyespots, are, owing to simulation of the background, probably protective in nature, rather than functional in photoreception.
FROM WEDTECH AND IRAN-CONTRA TO THE RIOTS AT OAKDALE AND ATLANTA: ON THE ETHICS AND PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF EDWIN MEESE III

ABSTRACT This paper examines the complex relationship between ethical behavior and organizational effectiveness through a case study of former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III. Meese's ethical record was studied through official documents, published research and news releases; his public performance was assessed through official and journalistic accounts of Meese's management of the Oakdale/Atlanta prison riots of 1987, as well as interview data obtained from inmates who were involved in negotiations with Meese during these riots. The analysis suggests, but does not “prove,” that Edwin Meese's ethics undermined his ability to deliver effectively the public policies required by his office at a time when the lives of some 130 hostages were being held in the balance.
Constitutive Relations for a Planar, Simple Shear Flow of Rough Disks,

Abstract Stresses developed in a rapid simple shear flow of disks are quantified. Collisional momentum transfer is considered to be the dominant stress generating mechanism. The disks are inelastic and frictional. The restitution coefficient and the coefficient of friction together determine the transfer of momentum and dissipation of energy during a collision. The frictional coefficient generates and maintains a rotational motion of disks. The total fluctuation motion of disks consists of two translational modes and one rotational mode. The rotational mode is found to depend on both the restitution and the friction coefficient. Equipartition of energy among all modes of motion is absent. The mean rotation depends only on the mean flow gradient. The analysis assumes fluctuation modes all have constant magnitudes. Comparison with a computer simulated disk flow shows good agreement. This implies that the distribution of velocity magnitude may not be crucial to the quantification of stresses.
The synthesis of radiolabeled Irbesartan using N,N‐dimethyl[14C]formamide as a source of carbon‐14 isotope

Irbesartan (Avapro™) is in clinical use as an antihypertensive drug. It is a nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist. A radiolabeled version of this drug, intended for use in environmental fate studies, was prepared from N,N-dimethyl[14C]formamide. Our method of synthesis gave 18% overall yield and a radiochemical purity of 98.22%. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prophage curing and partial characterization of temperate bacteriophages from thermolytic strains of Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris

Abstract The thermolytic response observed in two strains (SK11 and US3) of Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris was investigated. Lysis was induced 2 to 2.5h after either strain was transferred from 30 to 37°C or exposed to mitomycin C. The temperature shift resulted in slow, incomplete lysis. Temperate phages were isolated following mitomycin C induction from both strains SK11 (SK11-T1) and US3 (US3-T1). Restriction patterns of DNA isolated from these phages were indistinguishable upon agarose gel electrophoresis. In total genomic DNA preparations, phage DNA bands developed 1.5 to 2h after mitomycin C treatment. No phage DNA bands were observed during lysis induced by the temperature shift. Analysis of concentrated phage samples by transmission electron microscopy showed a multitude of intact US3-T1 phage from mitomycin C induction of US3. In samples from temperature inductions of US3, only a few intact bacteriophage particles with a different appearance were observed. A prophage-cured derivative of strain US3, designated US3-12, was obtained after exposure to UV irradiation. US3-12 continued to lyse in the presence of both mitomycin C and increased temperature; however, its mitomycin C lysis curve then resembled its lysis curve induced by the temperature shift.
Lagrangian predictability assessed in the East China Sea

Abstract A group of 30 surface drifters, launched over a 4 day period as part of a US Navy exercise in early October 2007, are used to assess the predictability of trajectories in a confined geographic region at the northwestern edge of the Kuroshio north of Taiwan. Model trajectories were computed from archives of hourly hindcast velocities from the US Navy East Asian Seas (EAS16) model with 1/16° horizontal resolution. Three metrics are defined for comparing observed and modeled trajectories. All three metrics indicated that model trajectories separated from observations by roughly 15 km after the first 24 h on average. Because of the unique launch strategy for these drifters, with six repetitions of launches from four locations, the dependence of predictability on both launch time and launch location could be assessed separately. Predictive skill displayed only modest dependence on launch time, likely influenced by the passage of a typhoon near the experiment area a few days prior to the first drifter launch. Launch location was a much more reliable indicator of predictive skill, with trajectories for launches closest to the edge of the Kuroshio typically hardest to predict, and those for launches on the shelf, where currents tended to be weaker, predicted more accurately. Comparisons of skill metric statistics for modeled trajectories from hindcasts with and without tides suggested that tidal currents have only a small impact on predictive skill. The influence of archive time and space resolution was also studied using sets of model trajectories computed from hindcast archives that were systematically subsampled separately in space and time. Coarsening by up to a factor of eight in either space or time had little impact on predictive skill. Further coarsening degraded trajectory predictions, particularly when coarsening in time leads to an archive time step too large to adequately resolve the tides. While accurate trajectory predictions remain challenging for ocean models, skill assessments like the one presented here are important for developing error estimates for users of trajectory forecasts and for gaining new insight into potential sources of model errors.
Hormonal blockade modifies post-traumatic protein catabolism

Protein catabolism following injury is associated with elevated levels of the stress hormones cortisol, glucagon, and the catecholamines. To study the effect of hormonal blockade on catabolic responses to surgery, 16 dogs underwent general anesthesia, a standard abdominal operation, and implantation of aortic and caval catheters. Five received phentolamine and propranolol continuously, at doses which block catecholamine effects. To prevent the rise in both catecholamines and cortisol, 6 received a high epidural anesthetic (T4-S3), started preoperatively and continued for 24 hr. Five dogs served as controls. Hindquarter amino acid flux was measured at 6 and 24 hr post-op. Pre- and post-op skeletal muscle biopsies were analyzed for amino acids. Urinary nitrogen was measured over 24 hr. Urinary nitrogen excretion was unaffected by treatment, but urinary creatinine fell from 0.039 ± 0.002 g/24 hr · kg for controls to 0.03 ± 0.002 for the epidural group and 0.031 ± 0.001 for α and β blockade (P < 0.05). Hindquarter amino acid nitrogen efflux was decreased from −19.05 ± 4.06 μmole/min · kg in controls to −8.98 ± 0.86 in the epidural and −6.89 ± 1.21 in the α- and β-blockade groups (P < 0.05). The urinary nitrogen loss, glutamine efflux, and fall in muscle glutamine produced by the operation were not prevented by either form of hormonal blockade, but hindquarter nitrogen efflux was diminished. Hormonal blockade inhibits net skeletal muscle protein catabolism without altering whole-body nitrogen loss. Hormones and other factors must be responsible for the increased ureagenesis that occurs following injury.
Marginal vote seeking in multi member districts

Differences in the number of seats that similar vote shares can deliver make some votes more marginal than others. In multi-member district systems, high-marginal-return votes are very volatile and research has assumed that parties do not go after them. This paper rejects this assumption, introducing a theory of marginal vote seeking across multi-member districts. By leveraging a novel mathematical algorithm and a cross sectional data set, we find evidence that parties seek marginal votes in these systems despite their volatility. In the case of the poverty alleviation programs used here, their use to attempt to secure marginal votes overwhelms the program’s poverty alleviation goals. Estimates suggest that a district’s share of a program’s budget can increase by as much as 8% simply because of this district’s likelihood of delivering marginal votes.
A flavoprotein in Phycomyces blakesleeanus with short fluorescence lifetime

— The photoreceptor system for the blue-light-induced phototropism in the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus includes one or more flavin chromophores, probably located in the plasma membrane of the sporangiophore. From a plasma-membrane fraction of short synchronous sporangiophores, we have enriched, by column chromatography, specific proteins with covalently bound flavins. These flavoproteins were analyzed by a fluorescence lifetime assay. Flavoproteins with fluorescence lifetimes significantly less than 5 ns have been predicted to be involved in blue-light reception. We studied samples from a wild type strain and from the night-blind mutant LI. (genotype madC). For the enriched flavoprotein samples, we found predominant fluorescent components with lifetimes of 1.5 ns (74%) for wild type and 1.8 ns (83%) for LI. According to this assay, one or both of these flavoproteins are likely components of the blue-light photoreceptor system in P. blakesleeanus.
Modified displacement chromatography cycles for gas systems

Abstract Three displacement chromatography processes were experimentally studied for gas mixtures. Process A is standard displacement chromatography applied to gases. Process B involves the column being initially saturated with the most weakly adsorbed species in the feed instead of using a carrier gas. Process C uses the most strongly adsorbed component in the feed as the desorbent. Processes B and C are novel. The gas system studied consists of a 50% 50% methane/ethane feed mixture in Processes A and B and a 50%/30%/20% methane/ethane/propane feed mixture in Process C. Propane is used as the desorbent in all three processes. Hydrogen or helium is used as the presaturant in Process A. The adsorbent used was zeolite 5A. Processes A, B, and C were all found to produce bands of pure components when the appropriate feed time was used. The amount of ethane input into the column was crucial to obtain good separations. A local equilibrium theory was developed and predictions from the theory were compared with experimental results.
The phonon-plasmon mechanism of high Tc

Abstract New results describing further developments of the phonon-plasmon mechanism of high T c , proposed earlier by the authors, are discussed. According to our approach, high T c in the oxides is due to the coexistence of strong electron-phonon coupling and the plasmon mechanism connected with the formation of the unusual low-lying acoustic plasmon branches of these layered systems. It is shown that the importance of the phonon-plasmon mechanism (PPM) is connected with uniquely small values of E F and V F . For the lattice dynamics we consider phonon anharmonicity and the effect of hybridization of acoustic and optical branches. In addition, the existence of double well potentials for certain modes is discussed. Both effects lead to strong electron-phonon coupling. We also comment on the isotope effect. The non-monotonic dependence of T c on the carrier concentration is explained within our model. A novel method based on the special feature of electron loss spectroscopy is proposed, namely its temperature dependence, which allows the determination of the presence of the low frequency plasmon branch.
Scale transform signal processing for optimal ultrasonic temperature compensation

In structural health monitoring, temperature compensation is an important step to reduce systemic errors and avoid false-positive results. Several methods have been developed to accomplish temperature compensation in guided wave systems, but these techniques are often limited in computational speed. In this paper, we present a new methodology for optimal, stretch-based temperature compensation that operates on signals in the stretch factor and scale-transform domains. Using these tools, we demonstrate three algorithms for temperature compensation that show improved computational speed relative to other optimal methods. We test the performance of these algorithms using experimental guided wave data.
PII signal transduction proteins

PII proteins, found in Bacteria, Archaea and plants, help coordinate carbon and nitrogen assimilation by regulating the activity of signal transduction enzymes in response to diverse signals. Recent studies of bacterial PII proteins have revealed a solution to the signal transduction problem of how to coordinate multiple receptors in response to diverse stimuli yet permit selective control of these receptors under various conditions and allow adaptation of the system as a whole to long-term stimulation.
Photoinduced grating-based optical fiber sensors for structural analysis and control

Optical fiber sensor-based instrumentation has been shown to be extremely attractive for the in situ health monitoring, diagnostics and control of civil infrastructure. This paper presents the design, fabrication and implementation of long-period grating (LPG) based optical fiber sensors for the nondestructive evaluation of smart structure systems. The LPG sensors, fabricated in standard SMF-28 Corning fiber, were attached to pieces of rebar and cyclically loaded from no-load through 35 kN loads; sensor performance was monitored using an optical spectrum analyzer. A mechanical extensometer was collocated with the LPG sensor for comparison. Short-period optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were also tested under similar conditions. Sensor performance for both the LPG and the FBG was found to be consistent with strain measurements using the extensometer.
Effects of substituted nitroguanidine seed treatments on the potato variety Superior

In earlier reports, foliar applications of AC 243,654, a substituted benzyl nitroguanidine with cytokinin-like activity, increased yields of larger tubers and altered plant morphology of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in greenhouse tests. AC 243,654 was applied as seed tuber treatments to the potato variety Superior. Applications were 0.2 to 10% active ingredient (ai) dusts and 0.04 to 5% ai dips. All seed treatments increased the number of sprouts per tuber. The higher concentrations of seed treatments decreased stem height, and increased stem/branch number, plant dry weight and the number of tubers. Dust and dip treatments of 0.2 and 1% increased the yield (11 to 33%) of tubers 2% ai increased yields while greater application rates decreased yields.
Analysis of simulated and actual airborne remote sensing imagery for characterization of surface water wave spectra

Simulated and airborne imagery demonstrate the ability to see manmade and natural objects below the water wave surface. Traditional photogrammetric imagery and airborne digital imagery both suffer from a loss in image clarity due to a number of factors, including the forward motion of the airborne platform. Blurring due to this effect can be calculated and an opto-mechanical system has been designed in order to help remove this effect. Forward motion blur can be shown to occur on the order of a several centimeters and calculation results are presented. The system is described and imagery is shown to demonstrate image blurring. Preliminary results obtained from an improved Monte Carlo model is also used to show expected results and to begin developing image correction methods in order to remove the blur due to water wave influences. Limitations to the hardware method suggest that the opto-mechanical system designed may lead to additional blur due to nonuniform focal plane focusing issues. The techniques have unique opportunities to help improve hyperspectral pushbroom sensors in addition to large frame mapping cameras that are in use today or being developed for future use.
DNA Microarrays: Sample Quality Control, Array Hybridization and Scanning

Microarray expression profiling of the nervous system provides a powerful approach to identifying gene activities in different stages of development, different physiological or pathological states, response to therapy, and, in general, any condition that is being experimentally tested1. Expression profiling of neural tissues requires isolation of high quality RNA, amplification of the isolated RNA and hybridization to DNA microarrays. In this article we describe protocols for reproducible microarray experiments from brain tumor tissue2. We will start by performing a quality control analysis of isolated RNA samples with Agilent's 2100 Bioanalyzer "lab-on-a-chip" technology. High quality RNA samples are critical for the success of any microarray experiment, and the 2100 Bioanalyzer provides a quick, quantitative measurement of the sample quality. RNA samples are then amplified and labeled by performing reverse transcription to obtain cDNA, followed by in vitro transcription in the presence of labeled nucleotides to produce labeled cRNA. By using a dual-color labeling kit, we will label our experimental sample with Cy3 and a reference sample with Cy5. Both samples will then be combined and hybridized to Agilent's 4x44 K arrays. Dual-color arrays offer the advantage of a direct comparison between two RNA samples, thereby increasing the accuracy of the measurements, in particular for small changes in expression levels, because the two RNA samples are hybridized competitively to a single microarray. The arrays will be scanned at the two corresponding wavelengths, and the ratio of Cy3 to Cy5 signal for each feature will be used as a direct measurement of the relative abundance of the corresponding mRNA. This analysis identifies genes that are differentially expressed in response to the experimental conditions being tested.
Simulation and optimization of HPC job allocation for jointly reducing communication and cooling costs

Abstract Performance and energy are critical aspects in high performance computing (HPC) data centers. Highly parallel HPC applications that require multiple nodes usually run for long durations in the range of minutes, hours or days. As the threads of parallel applications communicate with each other intensively, the communication cost of these applications has a significant impact on data center performance. Energy consumption has also become a first-order constraint of HPC data centers. Nearly half of the energy in the computing clusters today is consumed by the cooling infrastructure. Existing job allocation policies either target improving the system performance or reducing the cooling energy cost of the server nodes. How to optimize the system performance while minimizing the cooling energy consumption is still an open question. This paper proposes a job allocation methodology aimed at jointly reducing the communication cost and the cooling energy of HPC data centers. In order to evaluate and validate our optimization algorithm, we implement our joint job allocation methodology in the structural simulation toolkit (SST) – a simulation framework for large-scale data centers. We evaluate our joint optimization algorithm using traces extracted from real-world workloads. Experimental results show that, in comparison to performance-aware job allocation algorithms, our algorithm achieves comparable running times and reduces the cooling power by up to 42.21% across all the jobs.
Water and Electrolyte Pharmacodynamics of Aspirin.

Summary And ConclusionAspirin (10 mg/kg) administered per os to influenza-infected and non-infected mice reduced urinary excretion of Na+, K+ and water. This evidence indicates that aspirin is not adrenal corticoid in nature. In the infected animal aspirin also decreased the thiocyanate space which thus precludes a direct renal action for the urinary changes observed. Evidently aspirin activates mechanisms favoring expansion of intracellular fluid volume at the expense of extracellular fluid.
Further results on the maximum size of a hole in an incomplete t‐wise balanced design with specified minimum block size*

Kreher and Rees 3 proved that if h is the size of a hole in an incomplete balanced design of order υ and index λ having minimum block size , then, They showed that when t = 2 or 3, this bound is sharp infinitely often in that for each h ≥ t and each k ≥ t + 1, (t,h,k) ≠(3,3,4), there exists an ItBD meeting the bound. In this article, we show that this bound is sharp infinitely often for every t, viz., for each t ≥ 4 there exists a constant Ct > 0 such that whenever (h − t)(k − t − 1) ≥ Ct there exists an ItBD meeting the bound for some λ = λ(t,h,k). We then describe an algorithm by which it appears that one can obtain a reasonable upper bound on Ct for any given value of t. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 10: 256–281, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10014
Diversity combining with discrete power loading over fading channels

This paper studies a system with diversity reception combining and adaptive discrete power of transmission based on an idea presented by J. F. Haves (February 1968) wherein he showed that feedback information improves the performance significantly in a Rayleigh multipath medium. We first have an alternative look at the system considered by J. F. Haves (February 1968) by providing slightly modified and compact results. We then consider the practical implementation of this system by proposing an optimum discrete power loading scheme. The problem in its discrete fashion is to minimize the average bit error rate for a given total energy constraint resulting in an optimum discrete power loading as a function of channel status. This discrete scheme also makes the system more robust against imperfect and/or outdated channel estimates and does not need to feedback the instantaneous channel status but instead the index of the adaptation region.
The effect of two antipodal fluorine-induced sugar puckers on the conformation and stability of the Dickerson-Drew dodecamer duplex [d(CGCGAATTCGCG)]2

UV thermal melting studies, CD and NMR spectroscopies were employed to assess the contribution of antipodal sugar conformations on the stability of the canonical B-DNA conformation of the Dickerson-Drew dodecamer duplex [[d(CGCGAATTCGCG)]2, (ODN 1)]. Different oligodeoxynucleotide versions of ODN 1 were synthesized with modified thymidine units favoring distinct sugar conformations by using a 3'- endo (north) 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl thymine (1) or a 2'- endo (south) 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyarabinofuranosyl thymine (2). The results showed that two south thymidines greatly stabilized the double helix, whereas two north thymidines destabilized it by inducing a more A-like conformation in the middle of the duplex. Use of combinations of north and south thymidine conformers in the same oligo destabilized the double helix even further, but without inducing a conformational change. The critical length for establishing a detectable A-like conformation in the middle of a B-DNA ODN appears to be 4 bp. Our results suggest that manipulation of the conformation of DNA in a sequence-independent manner is possible.
Studies on the vinyl polymerization photoinitiated by p-benzoylperoxybenzoic acid tert-butylester

p-Benzoylperoxybenzoic acid tert-butylester (BPE) undergoes an efficient photodecomposition producing cleavage of the peroxy bond. The excited triplet benzophenone carbonyl group of the perester is quenched by vinyl monomers (the degree of which depends on the type of monomer used) thus reducing the rate of decomposition of BPE when it is used as a photoinitiator. Radicals generated from the decomposition of BPE are highly efficient in initiating vinyl polymerization. The benzophenone-containing end groups of the polymer chain can be estimated and the carbonyl function is useful for polymer modification.
ADP-ribosyl-acceptor hydrolase 3 regulates poly (ADP-ribose) degradation and cell death during oxidative stress

Poly (ADP ribose) (PAR) formation catalyzed by PAR polymerase 1 in response to genotoxic stress mediates cell death due to necrosis and apoptosis. PAR glycohydrolase (PARG) has been thought to be the only enzyme responsible for hydrolysis of PAR in vivo. However, we show an alternative PAR-degradation pathway, resulting from action of ADP ribosyl-acceptor hydrolase (ARH) 3. PARG and ARH3, acting in tandem, regulate nuclear and cytoplasmic PAR degradation following hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) exposure. PAR is responsible for induction of parthanatos, a mechanism for caspase-independent cell death, triggered by apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) release from mitochondria and its translocation to the nucleus, where it initiates DNA cleavage. PARG, by generating protein-free PAR from poly-ADP ribosylated protein, makes PAR translocation possible. A protective effect of ARH3 results from its lowering of PAR levels in the nucleus and the cytoplasm, thereby preventing release of AIF from mitochondria and its accumulation in the nucleus. Thus, PARG release of PAR attached to nuclear proteins, followed by ARH3 cleavage of PAR, is essential in regulating PAR-dependent AIF release from mitochondria and parthanatos.
A School-Located Vaccination Adolescent Pilot Initiative in Chicago: Lessons Learned

Background. Many adolescents underutilize preventive services and are underimmunized. Methods. To promote medical homes and increase immunization rates, we conceptualized and implemented a 3-year, 8-school pilot school-located vaccination collaborative program. We sought community, parent, and school nurse input the year prior to implementation. We selected schools with predominantly Medicaid-enrolled or Medicaid-eligible students to receive Vaccines For Children stock vaccines. Nurses employed by a mass immunizer delivered these vaccines at participating schools 3 times a year. Results. Over 3 years, we delivered approximately 1800 vaccines at schools. School administrators, health centers, and neighboring private physicians generally welcomed the program. Parents did not express overt concerns about school-located vaccination. School nurses were not able to participate because of multiple school assignments. Obtaining parental consent via backpack mail was an inefficient process, and classroom incentives did not increase consent form return rate. The influenza vaccine had the most prolific uptake. The optimal time for administering vaccines was during regular school hours. Conclusions. Although school-located vaccination for adolescents is feasible, this is a paradigm shift for community members and thus accompanies challenges in implementation. High principal or school personnel turnover led to a consequent lack of institutional memory. It was difficult to communicate directly with parents. Because we were uncertain about the proportion of parents who received consent forms, we are exploring Internet-based and back-to-school registration options for making the consent form distribution and return process more rigorous. Securing an immunization champion at each school helped the immunization processes. Identifying a financially sustainable school-located vaccination model is critical for national expansion of school-located vaccination.
Efficient cost measures for motion compensation at low bit rates

We make a case that, even with severe efficiency constraints, taking the number of bits to code each motion vector into account when estimating motion for video compression results in significantly better performance at low bit rates, using simulation studies on established benchmark image sequences. In particular, we examine an algorithm that differs from a "vanilla" implementation of the H.261 standard by choosing motion vectors to minimize a cost function of prediction error and the number of bits to code a particular motion vector, where the coefficients of the cost function are adapted on-line using the Widrow-Hoff (1960) rule. We show that this algorithm performs comparably to a variety of more idealized, computationally intensive methods we examined in earlier papers and substantially better than the original "vanila" method, which ignores the number of bits to code the motion vector when choosing it.
Response of a two-level atom to a frequency-modulated optically coherent pulse train

We present an analytical expression for the response of a two-level atom to a frequency-modulated optically coherent pulse train. The optical beam has sinusoidal frequency modulation and is chopped to have a square-wave envelope. We assume that the laser pulses are short compared with the atomic-decay time, the pulse-repetition time, and the modulation period. With this short-pulse assumption we are able to use a method similar to Temkin’s [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B10, 830–839 (1993)] and solve the optical Bloch equations in closed form.
Transcription Mapping and Expression Patterns of Genes in the Major Immediate-Early Region of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus

Abstract Viral immediate-early (IE) genes are the first class of viral genes expressed during primary infection or reactivation from latency. They usually encode regulatory proteins that play crucial roles in viral life cycle. In a previous study, four regions in the KSHV genome were found to be actively transcribed in the immediate-early stage of viral reactivation in primary effusion lymphoma cells. Three immediate-early transcripts were characterized in these regions, as follows: mRNAs for ORF50 (KIE-1), ORF-45 (KIE-2), and ORF K4.2 (KIE-3) (F. X. Zhu, T. Cusano, and Y. Yuan, 1999, J. Virol. 73, 5556–5567). In the present study, we further analyzed the expression of genes in these IE regions in BC-1 and BCBL-1 cells. One of the immediate-early regions (KIE-1) that encompasses ORF50 and other genes was intensively studied to establish a detailed transcription map and expression patterns of genes in this region. This study led to identification of several novel IE transcripts in this region. They include a 2.6-kb mRNA which encodes ORF48/ORF29b, a family of transcripts that are complementary to ORF50 mRNA and a novel K8 IE mRNA of 1.5 kb. Together with the IE mRNA for ORF50 which was identified previously, four immediate-early genes have been mapped to KIE-1 region. Therefore, we would designate KIE-1 the major immediate-early region of KSHV. In addition, we showed that transcription of K8 gene is controlled by two promoters, yielding two transcripts, an immediate-early mRNA of 1.5 kb and a delayed-early mRNA of 1.3 kb.
Climb of a bore on a beach Part 2. Non-uniform beach slope

The shoreward travel of a bore into water at rest on a beach of uniform slope is studied to elucidate why, in a class of problems—mainly gas-dynamical ones involving non-uniform shock propagation—similarity solutions seem to act like magnets attracting other solutions. For the shallow-water problem, the real magnet is shown to be the shore singularity of the governing differential equations. The shore singularity of the solution is shown to be a directional singularity of the water acceleration, for a fairly wide range of conditions, and a rather detailed asymptotic approximation for the bore development near shore is deduced.
Conventional left atrial versus superior septal approach for mitral valve replacement.

Abstract Background. This study was designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the superior septal approach for routine mitral valve replacement. Methods. One hundred forty-six consecutive patients undergoing mitral valve replacement at our institution were randomly assigned to undergo the procedure using either the conventional left atriotomy or the superior septal approach. Postoperatively and during the follow-up, 12-lead electrocardiography, 24-hour Holter monitoring, and transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography were performed in all patients. Results. The cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamp times were significantly higher in the superior septal group. No significant difference in blood loss was found between the two groups, and no residual atrial septal defect was found in patients in whom we used the superior septal approach. The maintainance of sinus rhythm at late follow-up and the incidences of postoperative arrhythmias and newly developed atrioventricular block were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions. The use of the superior septal approach to the mitral valve is not associated with a greater incidence of rhythm disturbances or other complications. Because this approach provides optimal exposure of the valve and the subvalvular apparatus, it has been routinely adopted for use in patients undergoing mitral valve replacement at our institution. (Ann Thorac Surg 1997;63:1123–7)
Assessing the Impact of Oversight and Procedural Justice on the Attitudes of Individuals Who File Police Complaints

This article uses the procedural justice perspective and anonymous mailed surveys to examine the effect the implementation of a new citizen oversight agency in one mid-sized Western city had on levels of satisfaction among citizens who filed complaints against police officers. The results indicate that the implementation of the oversight agency improved levels of satisfaction with certain parts of the complaint process, such as the quality of communication and the thoroughness of the process. However, the new citizen agency had no statistically significant direct effect on levels of satisfaction with either the complaint process as a whole or with complaint outcomes.
Eosinophil Activation in Wegener's Granulomatosis: A Harbinger of Disease Progression?

Purpose: To investigate the relation between eosinophil activation in tissue from patients with an active, limited form of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) affecting the eye and subsequent systemic disease activity. Methods: Analysis of ocular specimens obtained from 10 patients was performed. Sections were probed with antibodies to assess the presence of major basic protein (MBP) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). Results: Four of the 10 specimens demonstrated the presence of MBP and ECP. WG progressed to the complete form in two of these patients, who received no or inadequate treatment. The other two, treated with cyclophosphamide for one year, did not progress to the complete form of WG during observation after therapy. Conclusions: Activated eosinophils in sclera or conjunctiva of patients with ocular limited WG may predict progression to complete WG.
Global Optimization With Quantum Walk Enhanced Grover Search

One of the significant breakthroughs in quantum computation is Grover’s algorithm for unsorted database search. Recently, the applications of Grover’s algorithm to solve global optimization problems have been demonstrated, where unknown optimum solutions are found by iteratively improving the threshold value for the selective phase shift operator in Grover rotation. In this paper, a hybrid approach that combines continuous-time quantum walks with Grover search is proposed. By taking advantage of quantum tunneling effect, local barriers are overcome and better threshold values can be found at the early stage of search process. The new algorithm based on the formalism is demonstrated with benchmark examples of global optimization. The results between the new algorithm and the Grover search method are also compared.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Versus Adjuvant Therapy for Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Decision Analysis

Neoadjuvant therapy-based protocols for potentially resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) have not been directly compared with adjuvant protocols in large prospective randomized trials. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of neoadjuvant versus adjuvant therapy-based management by using a formal decision analytic model. A decision analytic model was created with a Markov process to compare neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemo- and/or chemoradiation therapy-based strategies for simulated cohorts of patients with potentially resectable PAC. Base-case probabilities were derived from the published data of 21 prospective phases 2 and 3 trials (3708 patients) between 1997 and 2014. The primary outcome measures determined in an intent-to-treat fashion were overall and quality-adjusted survival rates. One- and two-way sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the effects of model uncertainty on outcomes. The median overall survival and 2-year survival rates for the patients in the standard adjuvant therapy arm of the study were 20 months and 42.2 % versus 22 months and 46.8 % for those in the neoadjuvant strategy arm. Quality-adjusted survival was 18.4 and 19.8 months, respectively. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that when recurrence-free survival after completion of neoadjuvant therapy and resection is less than 13.9 months or when the rate for progression of disease precluding resection during neoadjuvant therapy is greater than 44 %, the neoadjuvant strategy is no longer the favored option. The decision analytic model suggests that neoadjuvant therapy-based management improves the outcomes for patients with potentially resectable pancreatic cancer. However, the benefits in terms of overall and quality-adjusted survival are modest.
A Brief History of Work in Transmission Lines for EMC Applications

A brief chronology of the application of transmission line theory to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) applications is presented. Transmission line studies in EMC began in the 1950s and 1960s with the frequency-domain analysis of crosstalk in cables. Nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) concerns in the 1970s caused an increasing emphasis on the study of incident field excitation of the lines. The advent of digital technology in the 1980s moved the research emphasis toward the analysis of the transmission lines in the time domain. Early work concentrated on lossless lines whose solutions are very simple. After the 1980s, the impact of high-speed digital technology has driven much of the research toward the study of ways to incorporate line losses (particularly, frequency-dependent losses as with skin effect) into the solutions. In addition, the increasingly complex digital systems have resulted in the study of how to optimize the representation and solution of large interconnected networks of transmission lines. This paper attempts to put the historical evolution of the study of transmission lines in EMC in a chronological perspective.
Survival in the academic arena: advice for women faculty

The author gives statistics on women in engineering, examines the stereotypes of women at work, and outlines the special problems of professional women. It is noted that women in engineering education programs, both as students and faculty, report relative isolation in educational institutions, as well as in the workplace. It is argued that, to reduce this isolation, institutions and industries should recognize gender-based social standards and stereotypes so that their effects will not influence workplace productivity and worker satisfaction. Since role models for women in engineering can be found in academe, the focus is on that of women faculty in educational institutions. >
Theorizing Children's Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence Using Johnson's Typology

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is known to negatively affect children in a variety of psychosocial domains. Nevertheless, the literature on children's exposure has remained rather unsophisticated despite tremendous advances in the adult IPV literature. Although Johnson's typology of IPV has been widely utilized and validated in the adult literature, there are no exposure studies to date that apply Johnson's typology or the concept of coercive control. To address this gap in the literature, I applied Johnson's typology to 27 studies of children's exposure based on different sampling approaches, dimensions of physical violence, and potential indicators of coercive control. Future research that explicitly measures coercive control and other contextual factors is needed to better understand the impact of IPV exposure. Language: en
Composite ferromagnetic photoresist for the fabrication of microelectromechanical systems

This paper describes a simple method for the microfabrication of mechanically compliant, magnetically-responsive microstructures. These microstructures were fabricated in one step by using a ferromagnetic photoresist, which, in turn, was prepared by suspending nickel nanospheres in a negative photosensitive epoxy (SU8). The nominal diameter of the nickel nanospheres was 80–150 nm, that is, much smaller than the wavelength of the UV light (365 and 405 nm) used to expose the photoresist. Diffraction and scattering of light from the nanospheres allowed for full exposure of the photoresist, even after the incorporation of nanospheres at levels at which it became opaque. The ferromagnetic photoresist was cross-linked after exposure and development, and yielded a stable, compliant, ferromagnetic pattern. The paper characterizes the effect of the weight density of the nickel nanospheres on the transmittance of films made by this technique at wavelengths from 330 nm to 610 nm. It also describes a number of microstructures made with the photoresist: examples include lines, posts and meshes. As a demonstration, the procedure was applied to the microfabrication of a set of magnetically-actuated micromirrors. These micromirrors achieved large deflections: deflection at the tip of a 12 mm long, 250 µ mw ide and 70 µm thick cantilever of the ferromagnetic photoresist exceeded 1.4 mm, when actuated by a NbFeB permanent magnet with field strength ∼120 mT. The cantilever maintained its mechanical properties after cycling ∼10 6 times. S This article has online supplementary material
The coalescence of combustion-sprayed ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer

A design of experiments approach was employed to study the coalescence of combustion-sprayed ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer (EMAA). The powder feed rate, stand-off distance, substrate temperature, propane flow rate, and compressed air flow rate were studied by using a 25-1 factorial design matrix. Empirical models were developed to predict coating surface roughness, coating temperature and splat elongation ratio. Such methods allow process optimization, estimation of interactions among parameters, and the determination of the factors which influence the coalescence of ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer coatings.
Presence of c-KIT-positive mast cells in obliterative bronchiolitis from diverse causes.

Abstract Context.—The mechanism of fibrosis is not clear in patients with obliterative bronchiolitis after a remote injury. Immune-mediated progression may be a reason. c-KIT (CD117)–positive mast cells have been associated with chronic fibrosing diseases and may potentially be treated with imatinib (Gleevec), a c-KIT blocker. Objective.—To evaluate the role of mast cells in fibrosis associated with obliterative bronchiolitis. Design.—Four cases of obliterative bronchiolitis (household cleaner exposure, ammonia exposure, idiopathic, and posttransplantation) were compared with asthma/emphysema. Small and large airways were stained for CD20, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD117, CD34, CD25, stem cell factor (c-KIT ligand) and with toluidine blue, hematoxylin-eosin, and trichrome. c-KIT (CD117)–stained slides were digitally scanned with Aperio ScanScope and stained cells within the epithelium and subepithelium of small and large airways were counted (per millimeter of basement membrane). Results.—Mast cells were concentrate...
CHARACTERIZATION OF DYE‐SENSITIZED PHOTOOXIDATION OF MUSHROOM TYROSINASE

Dye-sensitized photooxidation was investigated as a nonthermal means to inactivate food quality-related enzymes, using mushroom tyrosinase as a model. Illumination of tyrosinase in the presence of either rose bengal or riboflavin resulted in an apparent first-order destruction of enzyme activity. Both dye and light were required, and photoinactivation was favored by increasing levels of dissolved oxygen. The rose bengal-sensitized photooxidation was generally more rapid than that caused by riboflavin (at 0.01% dye), with ki values ranging from 0.74 to 1.66 h−1 and 0.25 to 1.23 h−1, respectively. First-order rate constants for photoinactivation decreased with decreasing temperatures (Ea was 8.4 to 12.2 kcal mol−1 between 20° and 50°C), increasing protein concentration (0.175 to 1.40 mg−1 ml), increasing sodium phosphate buffer concentration (10 to 200 mM) and increasing ionic strength (0.02 to 0.20). The dependence of enzyme photoinactivation rates on pH (between 6.0 and 9.0) resembled a titration curve with a pK of 7.5, and maximal rates were observed at pH 8.0–9.0.