cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating the Area Under ROC Curve When the Fitted Binormal Curves Demonstrate Improper Shape

Rationale and Objectives The “binormal” model is the most frequently used tool for parametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The binormal ROC curves can have “improper” (non-concave) shapes that are unrealistic in many practical applications, and several tools (eg, PROPROC) have been developed to address this problem. However, due to the general robustness of binormal ROCs, the improperness of the fitted curves might carry little consequence for inferences about global summary indices, such as the area under the ROC curve (AUC). In this work, we investigate the effect of severe improperness of fitted binormal ROC curves on the reliability of AUC estimates when the data arise from an actually proper curve. Materials and Methods We designed theoretically proper ROC scenarios that induce severely improper shape of fitted binormal curves in the presence of well-distributed empirical ROC points. The binormal curves were fitted using maximum likelihood approach. Using simulations, we estimated the frequency of severely improper fitted curves, bias of the estimated AUC, and coverage of 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In Appendix S1 , we provide additional information on percentiles of the distribution of AUC estimates and bias when estimating partial AUCs. We also compared the results to a reference standard provided by empirical estimates obtained from continuous data. Results We observed up to 96% of severely improper curves depending on the scenario in question. The bias in the binormal AUC estimates was very small and the coverage of the CIs was close to nominal, whereas the estimates of partial AUC were biased upward in the high specificity range and downward in the low specificity range. Compared to a non-parametric approach, the binormal model led to slightly more variable AUC estimates, but at the same time to CIs with more appropriate coverage. Conclusions The improper shape of the fitted binormal curve, by itself, ie, in the presence of a sufficient number of well-distributed points, does not imply unreliable AUC-based inferences.
Abstract TP68: Recanalization of Large Vessel Occlusion in the Golden Hour of IV tPA Administration for Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: Intracranial large vessel occlusions (LVO) are responsible for approximately 45% of ischemic strokes and the cause of detrimental ischemic strokes associated with poor outcome and high mortality. Little data exist about rates of LVO recanalization with ultra-early administration of IV tPA. Hypothesis: IV tPA given within the first, so called "golden hour", of symptom onset increases recanalization rates in LVO. Methods: Retrospective chart review of all patients who received tPA and were subsequently treated in our health system in 2014. We identified patients that had occlusion of internal carotid artery (ICA) , M1 middle cerebral artery (MCA), A1 segment anterior cerebral artery (ACA), or basilar artery on CTA, MRA, or angiography and compared recanalization rates within 6 hours after administration of IV tPA between those that received tPA ultra-early (≤ 1 hour after symptom onset) versus those that received tPA beyond 1 hour. Results: In 2014, 168 patient received IV tPA of which 35 had LVO. Of these, 9 patients received tPA within one hour of symptom onset while the remaining 26 patients were treated after one hour. Both groups did not differ in regards to age, gender, initial NIHSS, and occluded vessel. Table 1 summarizes the results. Conclusions: Ultra-early IV tPA administration within the "golden hour" appears to have higher LVO recanalization rates as compared to later treatment. Further studies of reperfusion rates in LVO strokes with ultra-early thrombolysis are warranted.
The effects of enterprise risk management on firm performance

We study the effect of adoption of enterprise risk management (ERM) principles on firms’ long-term performance by examining how financial, asset and market characteristics change around the time of ERM adoption. Using a sample of 106 firms that announce the hiring of a chief risk officer (an event frequently accompanied by adoption of enterprise risk management), we find that some firms adopting ERM experience a reduction in earnings volatility. In general, however, we find little impact from ERM adoption on a wide range of firm variables. While our results could be due to lower power tests, they also raise the question of whether ERM is achieving its stated goals. Overall, our results fail to find support for the proposition that ERM is value creating, although further study is called for, in particular the study of how ERM success can be measured.
Social Media as a Tool Connecting with Library Users in Disasters: A Case Study of the 2015 Catastrophic Flooding in South Carolina

Libraries have been playing important roles in disaster preparedness and recovery according to related literature. With the increasing popularity of social media, one specific value libraries can o...
Repurposing N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMA), a Pharmaceutical Excipient, as a Prototype Novel Anti-inflammatory Agent for the Prevention and/or Treatment of Preterm Birth.

Background Preterm birth (PTB), or birth that occurs before 37 weeks of gestation, accounts for the majority of perinatal morbidity and mortality. As of 2016, PTB has an occurrence rate of 9.6% in the United States and accounts for up to 18 percent of births worldwide. Inflammation has been identified as the most common cause of PTB, but effective pharmacotherapy has yet to be developed to prevent inflammation driven PTB. Our group has discovered that N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), a readily available solvent commonly used as a pharmaceutical excipient, rescues lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced timed pregnant mice from PTB. Methods We have used in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro approaches to investigate this compound further. Results Interestingly, we found that DMA suppresses cytokine secretion by inhibiting nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). In ongoing work in this exciting line of investigation, we are currently investigating structural analogs of DMA, some of them novel, to optimize this approach focused on the inflammation associated with PTB. Conclusion Successful development of pharmacotherapy for the prevention of PTB rests upon the pursuit of multiple strategies to solve this important clinical challenge.
The Effects of Stereotype Threat on Standardized Mathematics Test Performance and Cognitive Processing

Although research has extensively documented sources for differential item functioning and stereotype threat—especially among women and black college students—little is known about group differences in test-taking strategies among black adolescent students. In this article, Arbuthnot presents findings from two studies that seek to explore how stereotype threat affects standardized test performance in mathematics among black eighth-grade students. The author contextualizes the studies in a discussion of prior research and presents findings from an analysis of black students' test performances on standardized mathematics exam questions that do and do not include differential item functioning. Arbuthnot complements this work by exploring the strategies test-takers use to process test items. Findings from the two studies suggest that stereotype threat may have a negative impact on black adolescent students' test-taking strategies and achievement on mathematics standardized tests. The author concludes the arti...
Deep Impact: How a Job-Embedded Formative Assessment Professional Development Model Affected Teacher Practice

This study supports the work of Black and Wiliam (1998), who demonstrated that when teachers effectively utilize formative assessment strategies, student learning increases significantly. However, the researchers also found a “poverty of practice” among teachers, in that few fully understood how to implement classroom formative assessment. This qualitative case study examined a series of voluntary workshops offered at one middle school designed to address this poverty of practice. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews. These research questions framed the study: (1) What role did a professional learning community structure play in shaping workshop participants’ perceived effectiveness of a voluntary formative assessment initiative? (2) How did this initiative affect workshop participants’ perceptions of their knowledge of formative assessment and differentiation strategies? (3) How did it affect workshop participants’ perceptions of their abilities to teach others about formative assessment and differentiated instruction? (4) How did it affect school-wide use of classroom-level strategies? Results indicated that teacher workshop participants experienced a growth in their capacity to use and teach others various formative assessment strategies, and even non-participating teachers reported greater use of formative assessment in their own instruction. Workshop participants and non-participating teachers perceived little growth in the area of differentiation of instruction, which contradicted some administrator perceptions.
Lower-Extremity Thromboembolectomy

Lower-extremity thromboembolectomy is performed for patients with acute limb ischemia secondary to a thromboembolic disease to the lower extremity. This chapter describes indications, essential steps, variations, and complications of this procedure. It provides a detailed template operative note for the procedure.
Graphical Methods for Visualizing Comparative Data on Phylogenies

Phylogenies have emerged as central in evolutionary biology over the past three decades or more, and an extraordinary expansion in the breadth and sophistication of phylogenetic comparative methods has played a large role in this growth. In this chapter, I focus on a somewhat neglected area: the use of graphical methods to simultaneously represent comparative data and trees. As this research area is theoretically very broad, I have concentrated on new methods developed by me, or techniques devised by others and implemented by me as part of my R phylogenetics package, phytools. I describe a variety of methods in this chapter, including approaches that can be used to map reconstructed discrete or continuous character evolution on trees; techniques for projecting phylogenetic trees into morphospace; and methods for visualizing phylogenies in the context of a global or regional geographic map. In this chapter, my intention is not merely to showcase new methods that I have developed. Rather, I have also dedicated considerable attention to detailing the algorithms and computational techniques required for these approaches with the hope that this chapter will become a resource or jumping-off point for researchers interested in building new, more advanced approaches and methods in this area.
Non-recurrent Mobility Models

We have introduced the kinetic data structures that have emerged as the powerful mechanisms for representing the mobility of the data objects. We have described how the mobility can be explicitly as polynomial of time with non-recurrent mobility patterns in KDS. In addition, we have explained the concept of soft kinetic data structures as another approach that captures unpredictable mobility. The KDS and SKDS mechanisms along with algorithms are discussed for representing the movements of the mobile nodes, moving structures of the communicating nodes in the MANET topology, proximity structures in MANET such as the closest pair, the nearest neighbor, Euclidean minimum spanning trees, and Voronoi/Delaunay diagrams.
Platelet-associated complement C3 in immune thrombocytopenic purpura.

Platelet-associated C3 (PA-C3) was measured with a quantitative immunofluorescence assay. With this assay, PA-C3 levels were determined for 78 normal volunteers, 30 patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and 20 patients with nonimmune thrombocytopenias. Platelet-associated IgG (PA-IgG) levels were also measured with our standard quantitative immunofluorescence assay. All patients with nonimmune thrombocytopenias and ITP in remission had normal PA-C3 levels. Twenty-four patients with active ITP were classified into 3 groups: 9 (38%) with increased PA-IgG and normal PA-C3 levels, 10 (42%) with elevated PA-C3 and PA-IgG levels, and 5 (20%) with increased PA-C3 values only. A direct correlation was found between PA-C3 and PA-IgG levels. PA-IgG levels were higher in the group of patients with elevated PA-C3 levels than in those with normal values. Platelet survival studied showed reduced survival times of 1.5--2.5 days for the 5 patients with elevated PA-C3 levels only. Elevated PA-C3 levels returned to normal in 7 ITP patients whose platelet counts increased in response to corticosteroid therapy or to splenectomy. Therefore, PA-C3 and PA-IgG assays can be used to identify patients with ITP, to follow their response to therapy, and to classify them into immunologic subgroups similar to red cell classification by Coombs'testing in immune hemolytic anemia.
Characterization of the Hypergolic Ignition Delay of Ammonia Borane

Hypergolic hybrid motors have the potential to improve the safety, reliability, and versatility of rocket systems. They may also serve as a viable replacement for highly toxic liquid fuels (for exa...
Now there is, now there is not: the disappearing silent revolution of AKP as re-entrenchment

Based on a continuous and relational understanding of state-formation, as conceptualized by Charles Tilly, and inspired by Gramsci’s formulation of ‘war of position’, AKP regime in Turkey can be id...
Spatial frequency domain analysis of a commercially available digital dental detector

Abstract X-ray detectors are used in medical imaging for the representation of diagnostic information. Digital detector performance is evaluated through appropriate parameters in the spatial domain (i.e. contrast, noise or resolution) and in the frequency domain. Dental radiography is a domain of medical imaging. The purpose of this work is the examination of a commercially available digital dental imaging detector through spatial frequency domain parameters. The available detector was a commercially available image receptor SCHICK CDR, working in indirect mode that is a scintillator coupled to a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) photoreceptor. The detector was irradiated at an X-ray system with 60 kVp and 70 kVp tube voltages utilized in intraoral radiography. The detector linearity, Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), Normalized Noise Power Spectrum (NNPS) and Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) were measured according to literature. The Entrance Surface Air Kerma (ESAK) was measured with an RTI PIRANHA X-ray multimeter. The images were evaluated as presented to the dentist by the detector software, in 12bit format. The resolution of the detector was found better than 100 μm. The DQE curves suggested optimum exposure conditions below 133 μGy.
Range-extending Optical Transceiver Structure for Underwater Vehicles and Robotics

An underwater optical communication link provides high-speed data transfer between water surface buoys/ships and underwater vehicles for robotics applications. However, currently such optical links are severely limited by the coverage range due to the high attenuation of light in the water environment as well as by the scattering problem. A new optical transceiver structure is proposed in this work to significantly extend the coverage range by several folds, targeting to solve this coverage bottleneck problem for high-speed data transfer. The proposal is a new optical transceiver structure with hybrid nonlinear pulse position modulation and time-frequency spreading. This new scheme is able to boost the range coverage by several folds, and was verified via thorough computer simulations using realistic models tailored for the optical channel propagation environments. The proposed structure can be integrated into the existing underwater vehicles and robots to enable the next-generation range-extended and high-speed optical links for oceanic explorations.
A Systematic Review of Health Dialog Systems

Background Health dialog systems have seen increased adoption by patients, hospitals, and universities due to the confluence of advancements in machine learning and the ubiquity of high-performance hardware that supports real-time speech recognition, high-fidelity text-to-speech, and semantic understanding of natural language. Objectives This review seeks to enumerate opportunities to apply dialog systems toward the improvement of health outcomes while identifying both gaps in the current literature that may impede their implementation and recommendations that may improve their success in medical practice. Methods A search over PubMed and the ACM Digital Library was conducted on September 12, 2017 to collect all articles related to dialog systems within the domain of health care. These results were screened for eligibility with the main criteria being a peer-reviewed study of a system that includes both a natural language interface and either end-user testing or practical implementation. Results Forty-six studies met the inclusion criteria including 24 quasi-experimental studies, 16 randomized control trials, 2 case–control studies, 2 prospective cohort studies, 1 system description, and 1 human–computer conversation analysis. These studies evaluated dialog systems in five application domains: medical education (n = 20), clinical processes (n = 14), mental health (n = 5), personal health agents (n = 5), and patient education (n = 2). Conclusion We found that dialog systems have been widely applied to health care; however, most studies are not reproducible making direct comparison between systems and independent confirmation of findings difficult. Widespread adoption will also require the adoption of standard evaluation and reporting methods for health dialog systems to demonstrate clinical significance.
Home/Bodies: Challenging Gendered Work Roles in Dorothy Canfield’s The Home-Maker

Dorothy Canfield’s popular 1924 novel The Home–Maker opens with its central female character on her hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor while her husband is at work, fulfilling his role as ...
Is thyroid cancer prognosis affected by solid organ transplantation

Abstract Background Thyroid nodules discovered incidentally during transplant may prolong time to transplantation. Although data suggest that incidence of thyroid cancer increases after solid organ transplantation, the impact on prognosis in differentiated thyroid cancer is not well characterized. Methods We performed a retrospective review of patients with history of thyroid cancer and solid organ transplantation at our institution. Results A total of 13,037 patients underwent solid organ transplantation of which there were 94 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (0.7%). Of these, 50 patients (53%) had cancer pre–solid organ transplantation, whereas 44 patients (47%) developed cancer post–solid organ transplantation. Papillary histology was most common (88%), followed by follicular (3%), Hurthle cell (3%), and medullary (2%) carcinomas. One patient in the post-transplant cohort died from metastatic thyroid cancer 11.8 years after transplantation. There were 5 patients in the pre-transplant group and 4 patients in the post-transplant group who had recurrent thyroid disease. There were no patients treated for differentiated thyroid cancer pre–solid organ transplantation that experienced disease recurrence after transplantation. Disease-free survival at 5 and 10 years was 95.8% and 92.1% (confidence interval 84.9–99.2%, 80.0–97.4%) in the pre–solid organ transplantation group vs 89.7% and 84.4% in the post (confidence interval: 80.0–96.3% and 79.0–93.1%, P = .363), respectively. Conclusion Survival outcomes and recurrence rates in patients with thyroid cancer are not significantly affected by solid organ transplantation. A history of thyroid cancer or discovery of thyroid nodules during transplant screening should not be a contraindication for transplant listing.
Object Synthesis by Learning Part Geometry with Surface and Volumetric Representations

Abstract We propose a conditional generative model, named Part Geometry Network (PG-Net), which synthesizes realistic objects and can be used as a robust feature descriptor for object reconstruction and classification. Surface and volumetric representations of objects have complementary properties of three-dimensional objects. Combining these modalities is more informative than using one modality alone. Therefore, PG-Net utilizes complementary properties of surface and volumetric representations by estimating curvature, surface area, and occupancy in voxel grids of objects with a single decoder as a multi-task learning. Objects are combinations of multiple parts, and therefore part geometry (PG) is essential to synthesize each part of the objects. PG-Net employs a part identifier to learn the part geometry. Additionally, we augmented a dataset by interpolating individual functional parts such as wings of an airplane, which helps learning part geometry and finding local/global minima of PG-Net. To demonstrate the capability of learning object representations of PG-Net, we performed object reconstruction and classification tasks on two standard large-scale datasets. PG-Net outperformed the state-of-the-art methods in object synthesis, classification, and reconstruction in a large margin.
The second fifty years: A history of the American College Health Association.

Objective: On the occasion of the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) 100th anniversary, this article seeks to explore the second fifty years of its organizational history, as well as many...
Dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane allografts for myelomeningocele and wound reconstruction

A growing body of literature demonstrates the clinical promise of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM), a cryopreserved tissue product derived from placental amniotic membrane, to enhance post-operative wound healing. The purpose of this study is to review the potential of dHACM to facilitate post-surgical and myelomeningocele wound repair. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed was conducted to identify studies investigating dHACM use in pediatric and surgical wound care published from inception to October 2020. For each study, patient characteristics, wound characteristics, and outcomes following dHACM application were documented and assessed. Of the 190 articles reviewed, 15 publications were included in the final analysis. Results demonstrated that the average wound healing time varied across clinical indications (e.g., 14 days for trauma reconstruction to 116 days for Moh’s surgery repair). Across indications, pediatric patients had shorter healing periods compared to adults (P four weeks old) were documented in both adult (n = 3) and pediatric (n = 2) wound repair publications; all chronic surgical wounds demonstrated complete wound closure with dHACM. No complications from dHACM use were reported. Advantages of dHACM included increased patient satisfaction, cost-savings, and faster wound healing. We then present two cases of myelomeningocele wound repair facilitated successfully by dHACM. Overall, dHACM proves to successfully expedite wound repair in pediatric patients with chronic or complicated wounds such as those from myelomeningocele repair. It is important for surgeons to consider wound duration, size, and patient age to better predict graft success in enhancing wound repair.
Apnea Documentation for Determination of Brain Death in Children

Discontinuing ventilatory support for determination of respiratory drive is a recognized means of assessing clinical brain death. Methodology must include a means for assuring adequate oxygenation during the test as well as providing sufficient duration for appropriate hypercarbia. Nine patients with other findings of clinical brain death were prospectively assessed with a standardized apnea test protocol. None demonstrated spontaneous respirations. Whereas adequate oxygenation was maintained in each case, wide variability was evident in degree of hypercarbia and acidosis.
A Comparison of Different Conceptual Structures Projection Algorithms

Knowledge representation (KR) is used to store and retrieve meaningful data. This data is saved using dynamic data structures that are suitable for the style of KR being implemented. The KR allows the system to manipulate the knowledge in the data by using reasoning operations. The data structure, together with the contents of the transformed knowledge, is known as the knowledge base (KB). An algorithm and the associated data structures make up the reasoning operation, and the performance of this operation is dependent on the KB. In this paper, the basic reasoning operation for a query-answer system, projection, is explored using different theoretical algorithms. Within this discussion, the associated algorithms will be using different KBs for their Conceptual Graph (CG) knowledge representation. The basic projection algorithm defined using the CG representation is looking for a graph morphism of a query graph onto a graph from the KB. The overall running time for the projection operation is known to be a NP class problem; however, by modifying the algorithm, taking into account the associated KB, the actual time needed for discovering and creating the projection/s can be improved. In fact, a new projection algorithm will be defined that, given a typical query onto a carefully defined KB, presents a running time for the actual projection that only grows with the number of projections present.
PHOBOS in the LHC era

Abstract The PHOBOS experiment ran at the RHIC collider from 2000 to 2005, under the leadership of Wit Busza. These proceedings summarize selected PHOBOS results, highlighting their continuing relevance amidst the wealth of new results from the lead–lead program at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Synthesis of (+)-fragolide and (−)-pereniporin B via vinylsilane terminated cationic cyclization

Abstract Enantioselective syntheses of (+)-fragolide and (−)-pereniporin B are detailed. Marino's lactone annulation method was employed to establish relative and absolute stereochemistry at carbon in the bicyclization substrate. Regio- and stereoselective oxidations of tricyclic drimane precursors are described.
Algorithm for determining printability and colouring of a target layout for double patterning

An algorithm is presented which performs a model-based colouring of a given layout for double patterning. The algorithm searches the space of patterns which can be printed with a particular wavelength and numerical aperture, and seeks to find a pair of patterns which combine to produce the desired target layout. This is achieved via a cost function which encodes the geometry of the layout and allowable edge placement tolerances. If the layout is not printable by double patterning, then the algorithm provides a closest solution and indicates hotspots where the target is not feasible.
MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF CHAIN MOLECULES IN CONFINED ENVIRONMENTS

The conformational and thermodynamic properties of lattice chain molecules in confined environments have been studied by Monte Carlo simulations. In the case of homopolymers with purely repulsive interactions with the walls the scaling laws proposed by Daoud and deGennes for the free energy of confinement, from three dimensions to one dimension and for two dimensions to one dimension, have been confirmed. The number of self‐avoiding walks (SAW) of a chain with n segments for each film thickness d has been found to follow an effective relationship of the form NSAW(d)∝zeffn (d)nγ (d)−1, where zeff (d) is a thickness dependent effective lattice coordination number and γ (d) is the d dependent enhancement exponent. In the case of triblock copolymers in which the segments of the end blocks have attractions with the walls of the confined media it was found that for strong enough attractive interactions there is a minimum in the effective interactions between parallel walls. The distance at which the interaction...
Current mode class AB second order filter

A general method for designing class AB translinear filters is proposed. The approach is based on the current mode ‘log filters’ recently introduced by Frey, and combines the idea suggested by Seevinck. The class AB filters are shown to consist of current splitters which inherently map the inputs logarithmically, producing the needed inputs to a pair of log filters, whose exponentiated outputs can be subtracted to obtain the final output.
The Choices Before Us: An Administrator's Perspective on Faculty Staffing and Student Learning in General Education Courses

The only real leverage available to secure the resources needed to improve compensation and other conditions for part-time, contingent faculty will be our ability to demonstrate persuasively that student learning outcomes are improved as a result.
Microwave spectrum, conformation, and dipole moment of 4-thiacyclohexanone

Abstract The microwave spectra of 4-thiacyclohexanone in the ground state and eight vibrationally excited states have been studied in the frequency region 18.0–40.0 GHz and the corresponding rotational constants have been determined. The following values of the ground-state rotational constants (MHz) were obtained from the analysis of the a -type transitions: A = 3935.149 (0.031), B = 1829.444 (0.001), and C = 1364.609 (0.001). Analysis of the Stark effect gives for the dipole components (in Debye units) μ a = 1.409 (0.002), μ c = 0.391 (0.064). These data are consistent with a chair conformation for the ring. A phisically reasonable set of structural parameters which reproduce the ground-state rotational constants has been derived. A qualitative estimate of the low-frequency vibrational modes was obtained from relative-intensity measurements. The lowest vibrational frequency is believed to be a ring-bending mode and it occurs at 77 ± 22 cm −1 while the ring-twisting mode is at 204 ± 27 cm −1 .
Response of Fusarium thapsinum to Sorghum brown midrib Lines and to Phenolic Metabolites

Abstract Sorghum lines were bred for reduced lignin for cellulosic bioenergy uses, through the incorporation of brown midrib (bmr)6 or -12 into two backgrounds (RTx430 and Wheatland) as either single or double-mutant lines. When these lines were assessed for resistance to Fusarium thapsinum stalk rot, a cause of lodging, they were as resistant to F. thapsinum as the near-isogenic wild type. Peduncles of newly identified bmr lines from an ethyl-methanesulfonate-mutagenized population, inoculated with F. thapsinum, were as resistant as the wild-type line, BTx623. One bmr line (1107) had significantly smaller mean lesion lengths than BTx623, suggesting that a mutation is associated with reduced susceptibility. Growing F. thapsinum on medium with ferulic, vanillic, sinapic, syringic, and caffeic acids (phenolic compounds derived from the lignin pathway and elevated in different bmr lines) indicated that F. thapsinum was tolerant to these compounds. When eight other sorghum fungi were tested for response to th...
Raman microprobe investigation of oxygen and carbon dioxide dissolution from bubbles in silicate glasses containing antimony oxide

The effect of addition of antimony oxide and/or sodium nitrate to silicate glass compositions upon the changes in the relative concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide in their bubbles from heat treatment was investigated using the Raman microprobe technique. The addition of antimony oxide to these glasses increased the relative rates of oxygen dissolution from their bubbles with respect to glasses containing no refining agents. These increases were closely related to the absolute amounts of Sb3+ ions that were present in the glasses. The relative rates were faster for glasses containing antimony oxide than for glasses containing the same molar amounts of arsenic oxide. The higher Sb3+/Sb5+ ratios for glasses containing antimony oxide with respect to the As3+/As5+ ratios for glasses containing arsenic oxide caused the relative rates of oxygen dissolution to be dramatically greater for the former glasses. In contrast to an earlier investigation with silicate glasses containing arsenic oxide, the addition of sodium nitrate to glasses containing antimony oxide using a similar glass preparation did not significantly change their relative rates of oxygen dissolution.
The N-Terminal Actin Binding Domain of Dystrophin is in a Closed Conformation in Solution and When Bound to F-Actin

Deficiency of the vital muscle protein dystrophin triggers Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy. Dystrophin stabilizes muscle cells against forces associated with muscle contraction and stretch. It interacts with F-actin using its N-terminal actin-binding domain (N-ABD), which is comprised of tandem calponin-homology (CH) domains. A previously determined X-ray crystal structure indicated that the N-ABD is a domain-swapped dimer, with each monomer adopting an ‘open’ conformation in which the two CH domains do not interact. This structure is controversial as it contradicts known structures of similar domains in other muscle proteins. Here we investigated the conformation of dystrophin N-ABD in solution using pyrene excimer fluorescence. Our results clearly indicate that it is a monomer in solution and is in a ‘closed’ conformation in which the two CH domains appear to interact. Upon binding to F-actin, this domain transitions into a more compact closed conformation. This study demonstrates for the first time the conformational transition of a dystrophin domain during function, and suggests that such structural dynamics play important role in controlling dystrophin function.
Song Sharing in the Brown‐headed cowbird (Molothrus ater)

and Summary Songs were recorded from two separate populations of brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). High levels of song sharing were found in each and, in one population, paired males shared more song types than did the remainder of the population. Song learning, in conjunction with low dispersal, is thought to contribute heavily to song sharing in this species. Zusammenfassung Mannliche Kuhstarlinge (Molothrus ater) teilen viele ihrer Gesangstypen mit Nachbarn. Zwei weit voneinander entfernte Populationen haben vollig verschiedene Gesangstypen. Wiederfange beringter Individuen belegen, das die Jungen wie die Erwachsenen heimattreu sind. Das und die Tendenz, die Gesange fruh im Leben zu lernen, scheint sich auf den Grad der Gesangsubereinstimmung auszuwirken. Die Folgen der Gesangsubereinstimmung in dieser Art sind unbekannt.
Origin of olivine at Copernicus

The central peaks of Copernicus are among the few lunar areas where near-infrared telescopic reflectance spectra indicate extensive exposures of olivine. Other parts of Copernicus crater and ejecta, which were derived from highland units in the upper parts of the target site, contain only low-Ca pyroxene as a mafic mineral. The exposure of compositionally distinct layers including the presence of extensive olivine may result from penetration to an anomalously deep layer of the crust or to the lunar mantle. It is suggested that the Procellarum basin and the younger, superposed Insularum basin have provided access to these normally deep-seated crustal or mantle materials by thinning the upper crustal material early in lunar history. The occurrences of olivine in portions of the compositionally heterogeneous Aristarchus Region, in a related geologic setting, may be due to the same sequence of early events.
Inhibition of pantothenate synthesis by streptomycin.

SummaryThe results of studies on the growth response of S. fragilis to pantothenic acid and its precursors, beta-alanine and pantoyl lactone, in the presence of streptomycin, are interpreted to suggest that this antibiotic somehow interferes with the synthesis of pantothenate.
Super-ion-beam accelerator for the ignition of thermonuclear reactions

A pulsed, multi-stage, high-voltage accelerator is proposed which should be capable of producing intense ion beams of many million amperes and many million volts. Super ion beams produced by this type of accelerator can exceed the limiting Aifven current for light ions, typically 107 A, at which beam pinching occurs. The beam pinching of these super-beams permits them to be precisely focused onto a thermonuclear target. With such an accelerator it seems to be possible to reach a beam voltage of 108 V with a beam current of 107 A. The resulting beam power of 1015 W should be more than sufficient to ignite a DT thermonuclear microexplosion. By the formation of a stable ion beam superpinch within a thermonuclear target, such a large beam power in conjunction with the strong self-magnetic field of the beam may even lead to the ignition of the DD and perhaps HB11 thermonuclear reactions.
Expression of gax, a Growth Arrest Homeobox Gene, Is Rapidly Down-regulated in the Rat Carotid Artery during the Proliferative Response to Balloon Injury (∗)

gax is a recently described homeobox gene whose expression in the adult is largely confined to cardiovascular tissues. gax has been shown to be rapidly down-regulated in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) upon stimulation by serum or platelet-derived growth factor. The temporal profile of gax expression in vitro matches that of two families of growth arrest genes: the gas genes and the gadd genes. All of these genes are expressed at their highest levels in quiescent cells and are down-regulated following mitogen activation. Here we report that gax is also down-regulated in vivo in the vascular wall in response to endothelial denudation by balloon angioplasty. The reduction in steady state levels of gax mRNA is transient and occurs with a similar time course to that seen in vitro. The down-regulation of gax in response to balloon injury mirrors the up-regulation seen in a number of early response genes such as c-myc and c-fos. This report is the first to document the in vivo expression of a growth arrest gene which regulates proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. In addition, in contrast with previous reports which have demonstrated up-regulation of several genes following balloon injury and/or angioplasty, the present report demonstrates the down-regulation of a regulatory gene within hours of balloon injury. The characteristics of gax suggest it may be required to maintain the gene expression of proteins in VSMC that are associated with the nonproliferative or contractile phenotype in smooth muscle cells.
Identification and purification of storage proteins in tissues of the greater wax moth Galleria Mellonella (L.)

Abstract Four high mol. wt storage proteins have been identified in Galleria mellonella (L.) larvae using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These proteins initially accumulated in haemolymph of final instar larvae and later in development comprised the bulk of the proteins found in fat body from late larvae and pharate pupae. Three of the four proteins have been purified to homogeneity and their peptide patterns immunochemical identity compared. Three of the four proteins were found to contain conjugated carbohydrate on the basis of lectin-agarose chromatography and biosynthetic incorporation of radiolabelled N- acetylglucosamine . One of the polypeptides also contained lipid.
Textiles from Hallstatt: Weaving Culture in Bronze Age Salt Mines. Textilien aus Hallstatt: Gewebte Kultur aus dem bronze- und eisenzeitlichen Salzbergwerk

Karina Gromer, Anton Kern, Hans Reschreiter and Helga Rosel-Mautendorfer, eds. Textiles from Hallstatt: Weaving Culture in Bronze Age Salt Mines. Textilien aus Hallstatt: Gewebte Kultur aus dem bro...
Endogenous presenilin-1 targets to endocytic rather than biosynthetic compartments.

Abstract Presenilin-1 (PS1), which is linked to familial Alzheimer's disease, participates in the proteolytic processing of Notch and amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) by an unknown mechanism. Reports of PS1 localization to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus have focused attention on the early biosynthetic pathway as the site of PS1 function. However, it is unclear how Notch cleavage and APP processing events which occur at or near the cell surface are influenced by PS1. In contrast to some earlier studies, examination of endogenously expressed PS1 in PC12 cells by subcellular fractionation and immunofluorescence microscopy revealed a distribution distinct from that of ER and Golgi markers. Rather, PS1 colocalized with transferrin receptor, a marker for early endosomes. In addition, electron microscopic examination of intact vesicles immunoisolated with PS1 antibodies allowed visualization of endocytic tracer in endosomes. These findings identify an early endosomal pool of PS1 and suggest alternative mechanisms for PS1 interactions with APP and Notch.
Association of endocrine disruptors and obesity: perspectives from epidemiological studies

Although changes in diet and physical activity are undoubtedly key causal factors related to the increase in obesity, there is growing interest in the possibility that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may affect obesity-related pathways by altering cell signalling involved in weight and lipid homeostasis. Proposed mechanisms that could underlie associations between EDCs and obesity include effects on thyroid and steroid hormones, and activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, which play a major role in adipocyte differentiation and energy storage. Most evidence supporting the hypothesis that EDCs affect obesity comes from laboratory studies. We summarize the limited epidemiological literature on the topic, including prospective studies of human prenatal exposure to EDCs. We also present findings from a cross-sectional study of levels of six phthalate metabolites and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), using data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We found positive associations between BMI and WC among adult males for most phthalate metabolites. For example, in males aged 20-59, the adjusted mean BMI across quartiles of mono-benzyl phthalate was 26.7, 27.2, 28.4, 29.0 (p-trend = 0.0002). In females, BMI and WC increased with quartiles of mono-ethyl phthalate in 12-19 year olds (adjusted mean BMI = 22.9, 23.8, 24.1, 24.7, p-trend = 0.03), and a similar but less strong pattern was seen in 20-59 year olds. By contrast, higher levels of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate were associated with lower BMI in adolescent girls and females aged 20-59. This exploratory analysis found several associations between phthalate metabolites and obesity, including notable differences by gender. However, the cross-sectional data are a limitation. Additional prospective studies of the association between exposures to EDCs, especially during development, and obesity are warranted. As this field of research advances, there are challenging methodological questions that must be considered by both epidemiologists and toxicologists.
Stable computation of high order Gauss quadrature rules using discretization for measures in radiation transfer

Abstract The solution of the radiation transfer equation for the Earth's atmosphere needs to account for the reflectivity of the ground. When using the spherical harmonics method, the solution for this term involves an integral with a particular measure that presents numerical challenges. We are interested in computing a high-order Gauss quadrature rule for this measure. We show that the two classical algorithms to compute the desired Gauss quadrature rule, namely the Stieltjes algorithm and the method using moments are unstable in this case. In their place, we present a numerically stable method to compute Gauss quadrature rules of arbitrary high order. The key idea is to discretize the measure in the integral before computing the recurrence coefficients of the orthogonal polynomials which lead to the quadrature rule. For discrete measures, one can use a numerically stable orthogonal reduction method to compute the recurrence coefficients. Refining the discretization we arrive at the nodes and weights of the Gauss quadrature rule for the continuous case in a stable fashion. This technique is completely general and can be applied to other measures whenever high-order Gauss quadrature rules are needed.
A framework for requirements engineering method selection

There are many requirements engineering (RE) methods that assist in elicitation, analysis and management of requirements. Each providing benefits enabling teams to control the inefficiencies associated with the application of a ‘one size fits all’ process. In a time-to-market driven (or rapid) development environment the challenges of applying these methods to system requirements management is extremely complex. This paper provides a comparative analysis of some common RE methods based on the IEEE 1233 standard. IEEE 1233 was selected in presenting this methodology since it provides excellent guidance in developing requirements and as a result strengthens the most crucial aspects of the frontend of system development. In this paper, the authors have proposed a framework called ‘Eff-REM QChar’ (an effective RE method framework based on quality requirement characteristics) for selection of the RE method best suited for the development situation and environmental constraints.
HPLC-UV method for nicotine, strychnine, and aconitine in dairy products

The toxic nitrogen alkaloids nicotine, strychnine, and aconitine were quantitated in whole milk, skim milk, and cream using solid-phase extraction cleanup and HPLC-UV with dual wavelength detection. Samples were extracted in McIlvaine's buffer with EDTA and then partitioned with aqueous acetonitrile and hexane. The aqueous phase was concentrated and passed through an OASIS HLB column. The column was eluted with methylene chloride/ammonium hydroxide, 1 mL/1 microL, v/v. The eluent was acidified with hydrochloric acid and evaporated. The sample was diluted for HPLC with acetonitrile/phosphate buffer pH 7.4. Chromatography was performed on an Xterra RP-18 column using a gradient of acetonitrile and ammonium bicarbonate buffer at pH 9.8. Nicotine and strychnine were monitored at 260 nm; aconitine was monitored at 232 nm. Calibration curves were generated from external standards in the range 0.2-10 microg/mL using 1/x weighting. Mean recoveries in whole milk spiked between 0.1 and 10 ppm were the following: nicotine 89.2%, strychnine 75.7%, and aconitine 85.1%. Mean recoveries in skim milk spiked between 0.1 and 10 ppm were the following: nicotine 72.1%, strychnine 78.2%, and aconitine 82.9%. Mean recoveries in cream spiked between 0.2 and 20 ppm were the following: nicotine 87.9%, strychnine 76.9%, and aconitine 82.0%. Relative standard deviations of recovery were less than 20% in each case.
Transient compression of a MOT and high intensity fluorescent imaging of optically thick clouds of atoms

Abstract We describe a way to compress Cs atoms in a MOT to temporarily reach spatial densities of 10 12 atoms/cm 3 . The method entails starting off with more atoms than will ultimately be used, and then changing parameters so the atoms rush toward the trap center. For some time during the compression, collisional losses at the center are more than offset by newly arriving atoms. We monitor the compression with a high intensity fluorescent technique that is well suited to providing accurate number and density measurements for large dimension clouds that are very optically thick.
A Khinchin Sequence

We prove that the geometric and harmonic means of the sequence Z 2 of positive integers proposed by Bailey, Borwein, and Crandall converge to the corresponding Khinchin Constants.
Glas — eine ständige Herausforderung an die Chemie

Dieser Uberblick uber die moderne Glaschemie zeigt, das Silicatglaser auserst reaktive Substanzen sein konnen. Zusammensetzungen, Phasen, Oberflachen und Strukturen lassen sich in endloser Vielfalt variieren. Ein Ende des Nutzens der Forschung auf diesem Gebiet ist damit nicht in Sicht.