cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Magnetic effects on the dynamics of organic triplets in the level anti-crossing region

A fast magnetic field sweep (2.0 × 105 T s−1) is applied to probe the spin dynamics in the level anti-crossing (LAC) region of the photo-excited triplet states of pentacene-h 14 in p-terphenyl (PHPT) and pentacene-d 14 in p-terphenyl (PDPT) systems. From the pulsed zero-field FID (ZF FID) EPR measurements of the triplet signal at room temperature, the crossing is found to be a non-adiabatic passage at such a high jumping rate. Detailed examination of the initial population of the photo-excited triplet states of these two systems indicates that the non-adiabatic state mixing is the dominant mechanism for the polarization transfer (electron-nuclear spins) in the LAC region. The time dependent Schrodinger equation is applied to calculate the non-adiabatic transition probabilities, and to simulate the observed triplet population profiles with fast field sweeping.
Studies of IscR reveal a unique mechanism for metal-dependent regulation of DNA binding specificity

The bacterial metalloregulator IscR possesses the unusual ability to direct differential gene expression via specific recognition of two distinct operator motifs in an Fe-S–dependent manner. New work shows that Fe-S binding displaces a residue required for sequence discrimination at the DNA binding interface, revealing a conditional, ligand-mediated mechanism regulating sequence-specific recognition.
Retrograde amnesia effects of intravenous diazepam in endoscopy patients

The presence of a retrograde amnesia, when caused by medications given prior to a medical procedure, can pose the medicolegal question of informed consent. This study investigated the retrograde amnesic effects of intravenous diazepam administered prior to gastrointestinal endoscopy. No significant retrograde amnesia was found in case subjects when compared with controls.
Evaluation of suspected interferents for TNT detection by ion mobility spectrometry.

Abstract The use of ion mobility spectrometry systems to detect explosives in high security situations creates a need to determine compounds that interfere and may compromise accurate detection. This is the first study to identify possible interfering air contaminants common in airport settings by IMS. Seventeen suspected contaminants from four major sources were investigated. Due to the ionization selectivity gained by employing chloride reactant ion chemistry, only 7 of the 17 compounds showed an IMS response. Of those seven compounds, only 4,6-dinitro-o-cresol (4,6DNOC) was found to have a similar mobility to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) with K o values of 1.55 and 1.50 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , respectively. Although baseline resolution between TNT and 4,6DNOC was not achieved, the drift time for TNT was still easily identified. Alkyl-nitrated phenols, due to acidic fog, responded the strongest in the IMS. The effect of contamination on TNT sensitivity was investigated. Charge competition between TNT and 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4DNP) was found to occur and to effect TNT sensitivity.
Studies of von Willebrand Factor: Effects of Different Kinds of Carbohydrate Oxidases, SH‐Inhibitors and some other Chemical Reagents

The effects of several kinds of carbohydrate oxidase, SH-inhibitors and some other chemical reagents on the activities of von Willebrand factor, factor VIII procoagulant and factor VIII-related antigen were studied. Factor VIII procoagulant and von Willebrand factor activities were both inhibited by galactose oxidase, p-hydroxymercuribenzoic acid, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzensulfonic acid and sodium periodate. α-mannosidase, N-ethylmaleimide and phospholipase C inactivated factor VIII procoagulant but not von Willebrand factor activity. Dithiothreitol had little effect on factor VIII procoagulant activity but reduced significantly that of von Willebrand factor. It is suggested that galactose and the thiol and α-aminogroup groups of lysine may play an important role in both factor VIII procoagulant and von Willebrand factor activity. Mannose may be responsible for the factor VIII procoagulant activity but not for the von Willebrand factor activity. The Laurell rocket heights of factor VIII-related antigen rose with increasing concentration of galactose oxidase, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid or sodium periodate. Gel filtration experiments showed that factor VIII-related antigen may be dissociated into subunits by galactose oxidase but not by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid or sodium periodate.
Comments on "Input-output stability of interconnected systems"

In this note it is shown that the conventional stability criterion for multiple input-multiple output systems (MIMO systems) obtained via the small gain theorem is a special case of the stability criterion established in the above paper. This fact was not noticed by the authors of the paper.
Sequence homology of polymorphic AFLP markers in garlic (Allium sativum L.).

Linkage mapping and genetic diversity studies with DNA markers in plant species assume that comigrating bands are identical, or at least that they have homologous sequences. To test this assumption...
A test of fluctuating asymmetry in Bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque) as a measure of pH-related stress.

Abstract Fluctuating asymmetry of bilateral anatomical characters, previously proposed as an indicator of stress induced by agents affecting the calcium metabolism of fishes, was measured in bluegills ( Lepomis macrochirus ) from eleven Wisconsin lakes. The fluctuating asymmetries of three meristic characters—numbers of pored lateral line scales, pectoral fin rays and gill rakers on the outer arch—were either unrelated or only marginally related to either lake pH or waterborne calcium concentration. The asymmetry variance of gill raker counts was negatively correlated with both lake pH and waterborne calcium concentration; however, the overall asymmetry mean of gill raker counts in bluegills from five low pH lakes only slightly exceeded that in bluegills from six lakes with circumneutral pH. Fluctuating asymmetry in adult fishes was judged to be insensitive as a potential measure of pH-related stress.
National utilization of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in the United States

Background The substantial increase in the utilization of shoulder arthroplasty in the United States during the past decade is partly attributable to the growing acceptance of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). This study compared the national utilization of and indications for shoulder hemiarthroplasty, total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA), and RSA. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to identify shoulder arthroplasty procedures performed in the United States in 2011. Indicating diagnoses, demographics, and hospital characteristics were identified for each shoulder arthroplasty procedure. Multivariable regression identified factors associated with long hospital stays. Results An estimated 66,485 shoulder arthroplasty procedures were identified (33% RSA, 44% TSA, and 23% hemiarthroplasty). Common diagnoses for RSA were rotator cuff tear and arthritis (80%) and proximal humerus fracture (10%). TSA was performed for osteoarthritis in 93% of cases. Hemiarthroplasty was performed for osteoarthritis (45%) and proximal humerus fracture (38%). One quarter of proximal humerus fractures treated with arthroplasty received RSA compared with 69.8% that underwent hemiarthroplasty. Mortality occurred in 0.08% of patients with atraumatic diagnoses but in 0.53% of patients with proximal humerus fractures ( P Conclusions RSAs accounted for one third of all shoulder arthroplasty procedures in the United States in 2011. Whereas the majority of RSAs are performed for rotator cuff tear arthropathy, one quarter of proximal humerus fractures are treated with RSA, suggesting the strong uptake of this relatively new procedure in the United States.
Child health insurance outreach through the emergency department: a pilot study.

UNLABELLED In 1997 the U.S. government funded the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but the 48 billion dollars initiative has had limited success in finding and enrolling uninsured children. While such children are more likely to receive care in emergency departments (EDs), no national initiative has targeted EDs for child health insurance outreach. OBJECTIVE As a pilot study for a national multicenter study, this study evaluated the effectiveness of child health insurance outreach in an ED setting. METHODS This was a prospective observational study of the outreach efforts of a single case manager from August 1998 to July 1999, performed at Foote Hospital ED in Jackson, Michigan (45,000 visits/year). All patients <or=18 years old presenting during the duty-hours of the intervention worker were eligible. The case manager approached the parent of all uninsured children and provided information and an application for government-sponsored health insurance. She followed up with a brief phone interview of each parent to determine whether the targeted child had received the insurance, and whether the new coverage was due to the ED referral. Missing information was confirmed from state insurance records. Data were analyzed with frequency tabulations and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS Seventy-eight children participated (median age 7 years; 55% male; 87% white). Forty-four percent (95% CI = 32% to 55%) of families referred for government-sponsored child health insurance successfully obtained it; 31% (95% CI = 21% to 42%) could be traced directly to intervention efforts by interview (n = 17) or by state records (n = 7). Nineteen percent (95% CI = 11% to 30%) got other private insurance. Of those who got government-sponsored insurance due to the intervention, all but one were covered by Medicaid. CONCLUSIONS The ED may be an important outreach site for child health insurance programs. National efforts to address the lack of insurance among children should include partnerships with the ED.
The Influence of Hearing Aids on the Speech and Language Development of Children With Hearing Loss

IMPORTANCE Hearing loss (HL) in children can be deleterious to their speech and language development. The standard of practice has been early provision of hearing aids (HAs) to moderate these effects; however, there have been few empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of this practice on speech and language development among children with mild-to-severe HL. OBJECTIVE To investigate the contributions of aided hearing and duration of HA use to speech and language outcomes in children with mild-to-severe HL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An observational cross-sectional design was used to examine the association of aided hearing levels and length of HA use with levels of speech and language outcomes. One hundred eighty 3- and 5-year-old children with HL were recruited through records of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and referrals from clinical service providers in the general community in 6 US states. INTERVENTIONS All but 4 children had been fitted with HAs, and measures of aided hearing and the duration of HA use were obtained. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Standardized measures of speech and language ability were obtained. RESULTS Measures of the gain in hearing ability for speech provided by the HA were significantly correlated with levels of speech (ρ179 = 0.20; P = .008) and language: ρ155 = 0.21; P = .01) ability. These correlations were indicative of modest levels of association between aided hearing and speech and language outcomes. These benefits were found for children with mild and moderate-to-severe HL. In addition, the amount of benefit from aided hearing interacted with the duration of HA experience (Speech: F4,161 = 4.98; P < .001; Language: F4,138 = 2.91; P < .02). Longer duration of HA experience was most beneficial for children who had the best aided hearing. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The degree of improved hearing provided by HAs was associated with better speech and language development in children. In addition, the duration of HA experience interacted with the aided hearing to influence outcomes. These results provide support for the provision of well-fitted HAs to children with HL. In particular, the findings support early HA fitting and HA provision to children with mild HL.
Characterisation of Waste in Two Military Hospital Foodservice Operations

Abstract The purpose of this study was to characterize waste composition in two military hospital foodservice operations and identify factors influencing waste generation. Waste stream analyses were conducted for 14-day periods in the summer of 1997. The weight, volume, collapsed volume, and specific weight were calculated for each waste category on a per-meal-equivalent basis. Both sites operated conventional food production systems. Sites 1 and 2 served 374 and 538 meal equivalents per day, respectively. Two-sample t-tests were used to compare the weights, volumes, collapsed volumes, and specific weights of the food and packaging wastes at each site. The average weights of wastes per meal equivalent at Site 1 and Site 2 were 1.32 and 1.13 lb, respectively. Site 1 generated significantly more food wastes and total wastes by weight than Site 2. The average volumes of uncollapsed wastes per meal equivalent for Site I and Site 2 were 1.46 and 1.49 gal, respectively. Collapsing the wastes significantly reduced the total volumes of wastes at both sites. Only the specific weight of food wastes and uncollapsed paper wastes at both sites and of metal cans at Site 2 were within the ranges previously reported. Means of all wastes for random 7-day and continuous 14-day periods were not significantly different. Waste generation was affected by purchasing practices, food preparation, use of convenience foods, quality of produce, type of food packaging, and availability of disposable carry-out food containers. Patient waste was affected by type of menu, insulated tray systems, and acuteness of illness. Quantifying waste generation can provide valuable information to foodservice managers for developing waste management programs and controlling operational costs.
Determination of the Peltier coefficient of germanium in a vertical Bridgman-Stockbarger furnace

The Peltier effect is the fundamental mechanism that makes interface demarcation through current pulsing possible. If a method for calculating the necessary current density for effective demarcation is to be developed, it will be necessary to know the value of the Peltier coefficient. This study determined experimentally the value of the Peltier coefficient for gallium-doped germanium by comparing the change in average growth rates between current-on and current-off periods. Current-on and current-off layer thickness measurements were made using differential interference contrast microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the Joule and Thomson effects could not be neglected. Peltier coefficients calculated from the experimental data with an analysis that accounts for Joule, Thomson, and Peltier effects yielded an average value for the Peltier coefficient of 0.076 ± 0.015 V.
Surrendering to Diabetes: An Embodied Response to Perceptions of Diabetes and Death in the Gila River Indian Community

The Pima Indians of southern Arizona have the highest reported incidence and prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in the world. Age-adjusted mortality rates are 40 to 50 pe...
Digital foreground calibration methods for SAR ADCs

New foreground digital calibration methods are proposed for successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) to reduce the performance loss due to digital-to-analog converter (DAC) mismatch. A set of calibration coefficients which represent the actual weights of the specified patterns is obtained during foreground calibration, and then used during normal operation to correct the SAR ADC output using only a few multiplexers and an accumulator. The simulation results of a 10-bit SAR ADC with the proposed calibration methods show almost 10 effective number of bits (ENOB) with up to 0.5 % binary-weighted DAC mismatch, and more than 12 dB SNDR improvement for even larger DAC mismatch, compared to that without calibration.
A simple construction of a Fortin operator for the two dimensional Taylor–Hood element

Abstract A Fortin operator is constructed to verify the discrete inf–sup condition for the lowest order Taylor–Hood element and its variant in two dimensions. The approach is closely related to the recent work by Mardal et al. (2013). That is based on the isomorphism of the tangential edge bubble function space to a subspace of the lowest order edge element space. A more precise characterization of this subspace and a numerical quadrature are introduced to simplify the analysis and remove the mesh restriction. The constructed Fortin operator is stable in both H 1 and L 2 norm for general shape regular triangulations.
A low-complexity, compact antenna for mitigating frequency-selective fading

This demonstration presents the results of a study addressing an issue that has constrained the effectiveness of wireless sensor network deployments to date, namely, connectivity. A physically compact, diversity antenna has been developed that is low in complexity and therefore suitably controlled using resource-limited wireless sensor hardware. Herein, this prototype antenna is demonstrated utilizing an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant, Freescale-based platform.
The effects of sampling conditions on sentence production in normal, reading-disabled, and language-learning-disabled children.

This study explored the effects of contextual support, discourse genre, and the listener’s knowledge of information on syntactic and phonologic production and fluency. Subjects were language-learni...
Trusting smartphone Apps? To install or not to install, that is the question

Smartphones are becoming the mobile hubs of information for many people and companies. What started as a way to provide users with the flexibility of installing small software components called Apps to enhance the usability of their phone has grown into a global market with hundreds of thousands of applications built by thousands of developers. However, while there are plenty of well established companies developing useful applications or entertaining games there is no easy way to differentiate them from companies that put users at risk or worse are directly distributing malware or spyware. One attribute that is often used in distinguishing “good” Apps from “bad” ones are their ratings. Nevertheless, research has shown that this can prove to be an unreliable metric, especially in cases with low rating counts. Reviews are also supposed to provide the user with an assessment of an App's trustworthiness by real people. However, fake reviews written by collaborators of the developer or the developer himself are common to boost an App's ranking. How is the average user able to distinguish between real and fake reviews? Finally, Apps run inside a security sandbox and need permissions to interact with the smartphone and the data stored on it. The problem is that users are usually not aware of what specific permissions mean or why they need to be granted. In this paper we present a trustworthiness assessment model for Apps that takes into consideration these factors as well as others to provide the user with an indication of whether an App can be trusted and if so why. Furthermore, the model incorporates various relations between Apps and we discuss whether or not they should have an impact on the individual App's assessment. The research demonstrates that in order to make a decision to install an App one has to consider more than just App information and look into its associated meta data as well.
Metabolites of hydrocortisone and cortisone in synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis.

It Has been demonstrated that several tissues have the capacity to effect chemical transformations of added steroid hormones in vitro. Two recent reviews (1, 2) summarize much of the work pointing to the liver as a major site of catabolic changes, and to the kidney as also active in this respect. Other tissues appear to act on specific steroid compounds (3–8). When endocrine tissues transform added steroids to the characteristic active hormones of these tissues (6, 8) the process may be classed as biosynthetic rather than catabolic. The biosynthesis of adrenocortical hormones from inactive precursors by adrenal tissue has been amply demonstrated by the Worcester group and others (1, 9).
Modeling and prediction of hole profile in drilling, Part 1: modeling drill dynamics in the presence of drill alignment errors

A dynamic deflection model that incorporates the effect of the alignment errors that arise when a drill is held in the spindle assembly has been developed. The drill is modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli beam with clamped-free end conditions. Thrust and radial forces were applied at the free end of the beam. The mechanistic model used to predict these forces has been enhanced to incorporate the effect of the alignment errors and drill vibrations. A method has been outlined to measure these alignment errors. The mechanistic model demonstrates the ability to predict the drill vibrations and the radial forces within 6 percent of the measured vibrations and forces. The effect of these alignment errors on the drill vibrations and the radial forces has also been studied.
Phenomenology of prolonged febrile seizures Results of the FEBSTAT study

Background: Febrile status epilepticus (FSE) has been associated with hippocampal injury and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis and temporal lobe epilepsy. However, little is known about the semiology of FSE. Methods: A prospective, multicenter study of the consequences of FSE included children, aged 1 month through 5 years, presenting with a febrile seizure lasting 30 minutes or more. Procedures included neurologic history and examination and an MRI and EEG within 72 hours. All information related to seizure semiology was reviewed by three epileptologists blinded to MRI and EEG results and to subsequent outcome. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by the κ statistic. Results: Among 119 children, the median age was 1.3 years, the mean peak temperature was 103.2°F, and seizures lasted a median of 68.0 minutes. Seizure duration followed a Weibull distribution with a shape parameter of 1.68. Seizures were continuous in 52% and behaviorally intermittent (without recovery in between) in 48%; most were partial (67%) and almost all (99%) were convulsive. In one third of cases, FSE was unrecognized in the emergency department. Of the 119 children, 86% had normal development, 24% had prior febrile seizures, and family history of febrile seizures in a first-degree relative was present in 25%. Conclusions: Febrile status epilepticus is usually focal and often not well recognized. It occurs in very young children and is usually the first febrile seizure. Seizures are typically very prolonged and the distribution of seizure durations suggests that the longer a seizure continues, the less likely it is to spontaneously stop. GLOSSARY: ED = emergency department; FS = febrile seizures; FSE = febrile status epilepticus; HHV = human herpesvirus; ILAE = International League Against Epilepsy; IQR = interquartile range; MTLE = mesial temporal lobe epilepsy; MTS = mesial temporal sclerosis.
Considerations for Verticillium Wilt Resistance Evaluation in Potato.

ABSTRACT Verticillium wilt (Vw), caused by the soilborne fungi Verticillium dahliae and V. albo-atrum, is an important disease of potato (Solanum tuberosum). Host plant resistance is a promising method of Vw control. Culture-based methods that quantify the pathogen in host tissue often are used for Vw resistance screening. To evaluate the processing time, accuracy, and precision of these methods, 46 clones were planted in a field naturally infested with V. dahliae to collect data on visual disease symptoms, pathogen colonization, and yield. In 2002, disease severity explained 4.34% of the variability of yield loss, but the linear relationship between stem colonization and yield loss was not significant. In 2003, stem colonization explained 57.5% of the variability of yield loss, whereas disease severity explained 1.7% of the variability of yield loss. Correlations comparing clone ranks from repeated pathogen measurements indicated that culturing sap from individual stems or bulked stems generated more rep...
Dyad dominance composition effects, nonverbal behaviors, and influence

Abstract The effects of dyad composition on interactive behaviors and the relation of interactive behaviors to social influence were examined. Videotapes of the discussions of 34 pairs of white college men matched by age and FIRO-B control scale were scored for talking time per minute, successful interruptions per minute, relaxation, and visual dominance ratio. These behaviors were related to a measure of social influence in a discussion task based on changes from individual to dyadic solutions for the NASA Moon Survival Problem. MANOVA results show that the speaking time per minute and look-speak ratio of moderate men varied significantly with the dominance rank of the partner. Multiple regression indicated that successful interruptions and postural relaxation predicted personality dominance scores, explaining 13.4% of the trait variance. The personality measure of dominance was correlated to the visual dominance ratio and influence.
Somatic embryogenesis in avocado ( Persea americana Mill.) in vitro

A tissue culture procedure was developed for the regeneration of somatic embryos from callus cultures of the avocado,Persea americana. Immature zygotic embryos, 0.6–0.8 mm long, were used as original explants. Addition of 0.1 mg/l picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) to culture medium appeared critical for callus initiation. Development of somatic embryos was accomplished in picloram concentrations of 0.01 to 0.1 ml/l. A few well developed embryos produced green shoots. Attempts to induce a higher incidence of germination were unsuccessful.
Polycarbonate-polystyrene block copolymers and their application as compatibilzing agents in polymer blends

The synthesis of a block copolymer with polystyrene (PS) and polycarbonate (PC) segments is described. It is produced by anionic polymerization of the styrene and endcapping with a hydroxyl group followed by subsequent reaction with phosgene and bisphenol-A. The polystyrene/polycarbonate block copolymer was used as a compatibilizing agent for blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(p- phenylene oxide) (PPO). The block copolymer reduced the dimensions of the dispersed phase. The uniaxial mechanical properties of the compatibilized blends were improved by 5 to 10 wt% loadings of the copolymer.
Frequency and Specificity of Referents to Violence in News Reports of Anti-gay Attacks

Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses that: (1) news reports of anti-gay attacks would use fewer and vaguer referents to the violence than similar stories about attacks against straight persons; and (2) this milder use of referents would cause readers to perceive less harm done and to blame the perpetrator less. A content analysis of two newspapers found that one used far fewer, less specific nominals to refer to anti-gay than to anti-straight violence, whereas the other, based in a more gay-friendly community, did not differentiate significantly by sexual orientation. An experimental study in which frequency and specificity of referents were systematically varied in mock newspaper stories found that greater referent frequency, but not specificity, caused readers to perceive greater harm to victims. The results are interpreted in terms of cognitive processing and within the context of the use of linguistic variation to encode and enforce power differences.
A Sequencing Problem with Release Dates and Clustered Jobs

This paper considers a one-machine scheduling problem where the objective is to minimize the sum of weighted completion times subject to release dates. A polynomial time algorithm is developed for the case when the jobs are clustered. The jobs in each cluster must be processed sequentially and the clusters are ordered. The insights developed are used in an efficient heuristic for the weighted completion time problem without clusters. Also, a class of release date problems is described for which the heuristic finds an optimal solution.
Isocitrate lyase from Pseudomonas indigofera: pH dependence of catalysis and binding of substrates and inhibitors.

Abstract The maximal velocity, V, for isocitrate cleavage by isocitrate lysase from Pseudomonas indigofera was dependent on two dissociable groups (pKa's of 6.9 and 8.6). The pH dependence of the pKi for succinate, a product of isocitrate cleavage, implied that a dissociable group (pKa of 6.0) on the enzyme functions in binding succinate. The pKi's for maleate and itaconate (succinate analogs) were similarly pH dependent. The pKi for oxalate, an analog of glyoxylate which is also a product of isocitrate cleavage, was pH independent. In contrast the pKi's of the four-carbon dicarboxylic acid inhibitors, fumarate and meso-tartrate, both of which affect the glyoxylate site, were dependent on a dissociable group on the enzyme-inhibitor complex. Comparison of the pH dependence of the pKm for isocitrate and the pKi for succinate (and succinate analogs) indicated that the binding of isocitrate was dependent on an acidic dissociable group on the enzyme (pKa of 5.8). The pH dependence of the pKi for homoisocitrate was similar. In addition the Ki for succinate and Km for isocitrate were dependent upon Mg2+ concentration. Inhibition by phosphoenolpyruvate, which binds to the succinate site and may regulate isocitrate lyase from P. indigofera, was twice as pH dependent as that for succinate. Two dissociable groups, one on the enzyme (pKa of 5.8) and one on phosphoenolpyruvate (pKa of 6.35), contributed to the pH dependence observed with phosphoenolpyruvate.
Brownian dynamics of interactions between aldolase mutants and F‐actin

Previous Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations (Ouporov IG, Knull HR and Thomasson KA 1999. Biophys. J. 76: 17-27) of complex formation between rabbit aldolase and F-actin have identified three lysine residues (K288, K293 and K341) on aldolase and acidic residues (DEDE) at the N-terminus of actin as important to binding. BD simulations of computer models of aldolase mutants with any of these lysine residues replaced by alanine show reduced binding energy; the greatest effect of a single substitution is for K341A, and replacement of all three lysines greatly reduces binding. BD simulations of wild-type rabbit aldolase vs altered F-actin show that binding is decreased if any one of the four N-terminal acidic residues is replaced by alanine and binding is greatly reduced if three or more of the N-terminal acidic residues are replaced; none of the four actin residues appear more critical for binding than the others.
Experimental and numerical investigation of shock response in 3.5 and 2.5 in. form factor hard disk drives

The shock performance of the head/disk interface (HDI) of 3.5 and 2.5 in. hard disk drives (HDDs) is investigated. The displacement of the actuator arm, the suspension, and the disk due to linear shock loads is studied experimentally for both non-operating and operating states of the disk drive. A finite element model of the disk drive was developed to simulate the shock response. Numerical simulation results and experimental results are compared and presented.
Establishing Early Enteral Nutrition With the Use of Self-Advancing Postpyloric Feeding Tube in Critically Ill Children

Introduction: Early nutrition support is an integral part of the care of critically ill children. Early enteral nutrition (EN) improves nitrogen balance and prevents bacterial translocation and gut mucosal atrophy. Adequate EN is often not achieved as gastric feeds are not tolerated and placing postpyloric feeding tubes can be difficult. Spontaneous transpyloric passage of standard feeding tubes without endoscopic intervention or use of anesthesia can range from 30%−80%. The authors report on their experience with a 14Fr polyurethane self-advancing jejunal feeding tube in a pediatric population. These tubes have been used in the adult population with success, but to the authors’ knowledge, there have been no reports of its use in the pediatric age group. Case Series: The authors present 7 critically ill patients 8–19 years old, admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, in whom prolonged recovery, inability to tolerate gastric feeds, and dependence on ventilator were predicted at the outset. The jejun...
Symptomatic delayed reocclusion after initial successful revascularization in acute ischemic stroke.

Background Endovascular stroke therapy is used for patients with ischemic stroke after failed intravenous thrombolysis or in patients not eligible for thrombolytics. With increasing experience, acute reocclusion has been described and likely worsens clinical outcomes. We assessed the rates and outcomes of delayed symptomatic reocclusion after endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke. Methods Patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular procedures at out institutions from January 2008 to August 2008 were reviewed. In all, 107 consecutive acute stroke interventions were performed. Four patients (3.5%) experienced delayed symptomatic reocclusion detectable by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Results The 4 patients (age 45-79 years) had baseline NIHSS score ranging from 8 to 24. Three had right middle cerebral artery occlusions and one had a left middle cerebral artery occlusion. Successful recanalization (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction score 2-3) occurred in all cases after initial treatment. All patients improved postprocedure (NIHSS score 5-10). Clinical deterioration (NIHSS score 14-22) occurred 12 to 18 hours postprocedure. Successful recanalization was achieved in each patient, with improvement in NIHSS score (range 6-13) but not to a lower level compared with after the initial intervention. Conclusions Delayed symptomatic reocclusion after initial endovascular stroke therapy can lead to sudden clinical deterioration and impact outcomes. The entity may be missed as many patients present with large clinical deficits at presentation thus requiring careful assessments of patients treated via endovascular methods.
Calibration and Validation of Earth-Observing Sensors Using Deployable Surface-Based Sensor Networks

Satellite-based instruments are now routinely used to map the surface of the globe or monitor weather conditions. However, these orbital measurements of ground-based quantities are heavily influenced by external factors, such as air moisture content or surface emissivity. Detailed atmospheric models are created to compensate for these factors, but the satellite system must still be tested over a wide variety of surface conditions to validate the instrumentation and correction model. Validation and correction are particularly important for arctic environments, as the unique surface properties of packed snow and ice are poorly modeled by any other terrain type. Currently, this process is human intensive, requiring the coordinated collection of surface measurements over a number of years. A decentralized, autonomous sensor network is proposed which allows the collection of ground-based environmental measurements at a location and resolution that is optimal for the specific on-orbit sensor under investigation. A prototype sensor network has been constructed and fielded on a glacier in Alaska, illustrating the ability of such systems to properly collect and log sensor measurements, even in harsh arctic environments.
Does transpiration control stomatal responses to water vapour pressure deficit

Three types of observations were used to test the hypothesis that the response of stomatal conductance to a change in vapour pressure deficit is controlled by whole-leaf transpiration rate or by feedback from leaf water potential. Varying the leaf water potential of a measured leaf by controlling the transpiration rate of other leaves on the plant did not affect the response of stomatal conductance to vapour pressure deficit in Glycine max. In three species, stomatal sensitivity to vapour pressure deficit was eliminated when measurements were made at near-zero carbon dioxide concentrations, despite the much higher transpiration rates of leaves at low carbon dioxide. In Abutilon theophrasti, increasing vapour pressure deficit sometimes resulted in both decreased stomatal conductance and a lower transpiration rate even though the response of assimilation rate to the calculated substomatal carbon dioxide concentration indicated that there was no ‘patchy’ stomatal closure at high vapour pressure deficit in this case. These results are not consistent with stomatal closure at high vapour pressure deficit caused by increased wholeleaf transpiration rate or by lower leaf water potential. The lack of response of conductance to vapour pressure deficit in carbon dioxide-free air suggests that abscisic acid may mediate the response.
Possible Folate Deficiency With Postsurgical Infection

A 51-year-old obese woman was transferred to our hospital for management of a complicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy accompanied by fever and malaise. A liver abscess was discovered. On postoperative day 52 it was noted that the patient's tongue was magenta and sore and that she had altered taste, pallor, severe weight loss, diarrhea, and poor appetite and mood. A dermatology consult suggested that her tongue abnormalities were most likely nutrition-related, and a hematologic blood smear was suggestive of folate deficiency. Premorbidly, the patient had consumed a diet chronically low in folate and had received estrogen therapy for 15 years. Throughout the patient's hospitalization, she had bouts of fever and received numerous antibiotics. Within a month of initiating nutrition support and vitamin/mineral supplements, her nutritional status improved dramatically. This patient's poor diet, long-term estrogen use, surgical stress, infection, and lack of early nutrition support may have contributed to her possible folate deficiency and her prolonged hospital stay.
Fabrication of a fully integrated electrospray array with applications to space propulsion

A fully integrated MEMS planar electrospray array intended for space propulsion applications is reported. An extractor electrode, electrical insulation, liquid barriers and assembly clips are integrated into a single silicon and Pyrex component, fabricated with deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), laser micromachining and wafer bonding technology. An electrospray emitter head assembles by hand to the clips using a reversible high-precision hand-assembly method, allowing many emitters types to be tested with minimal fabrication effort. Externally-wetted emitters were formed using an alternation of DRIE and isotropic SF6 plasma etching. A simple model is reported allowing the prediction of emitter geometry from mask geometry and etching steps. The fabricated thruster weighing 5 g was successfully fired with a 502 emitters array, and was shown to operate in the pure ion emission regime using the ionic liquid EMI-BF4. Starting voltages as low as 500 V were observed, though the device was tested up to 5 kV without damage.
Probing the extracellular release site of the plasma membrane calcium pump.

The plasma membrane Ca2+ pump is known to mediate Ca2+/H+ exchange. Extracellular protons activated 45Ca2+ efflux from human red blood cells with a half-maximal inhibition constant of 2 nM when the...
Effects of artemisinin-tagged holotransferrin on cancer cells

Artemisinin reacts with iron to form free radicals that kill cells. Since cancer cells uptake relatively large amount of iron than normal cells, they are more susceptible to the toxic effect of artemisinin. In previous research, we have shown that artemisinin is more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells. In the present research, we covalently attached artemisinin to the iron-carrying plasma glycoprotein transferrin. Transferrin is transported into cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis and cancer cells express significantly more transferrin receptors on their cell surface and endocytose more transferrin than normal cells. Thus, we hypothesize that by tagging artemisinin to transferrin, both iron and artemisinin would be transported into cancer cells in one package. Once inside a cell, iron is released and can readily react with artemisinin close by tagged to the transferrin. This would enhance the toxicity and selectivity of artemisinin towards cancer cells. In this paper, we describe a method to synthesize such a compound in which transferrin was conjugated with an analog of artemisinin artelinic acid via the N-glycoside chains on the C-domain. The resulting conjugate ('tagged-compound') was characterized by MALDI-MS, UV/Vis spectroscopy, chemiluminescence, and HPLC. We then tested the compound on a human leukemia cell line (Molt-4) and normal human lymphocytes. We found that holotransferrin-tagged artemisinin, when compared with artemisinin, was very potent and selective in killing cancer cells. Thus, this 'tagged-compound' could potentially be developed into an effective chemotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment.
Design considerations for a pyramidal cellular logic processor

A massively parallel pyramid processor for performing low-level image processing is discussed. The processor is designed from the ground up with the goal of providing a set of single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) pyramid operations useful to programs written in a high-level language for eventual feature extraction. The approach begins with a consideration of the operations required to support typical vision operations and embeds these operations in the C programming language as parallel constructs. A compiler for this extended C (called HCL, for hierarchical cellular logic) defines the set of low-level pyramid operations required for a pyramidal cellular processor. This instruction set defines the microarchitecture of the processor elements and the capabilities of the controller. A study of mid-level processing algorithms and the properties of edges in an image results in the definition of fast parallel hardware for searching edge maps in order to create graph structures for high-level processing. >
Cytosolic Heat Shock Protein 60, Apoptosis, and Myocardial Injury

Background— Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are well known for their ability to “protect” the structure and function of native macromolecules, particularly as they traffic across membranes. Considering the role of key mitochondrial proteins in apoptosis and the known antiapoptotic effects of HSP27 and HSP72, we postulated that HSP60, primarily a mitochondrial protein, also exerts an antiapoptotic effect. Methods and Results— To test this hypothesis, we used an antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide to effect a 50% reduction in the levels of HSP60 in cardiac myocytes, a cell type that has abundant mitochondria. The induced decrease in HSP60 precipitated apoptosis, as manifested by the release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase 3, and induction of DNA fragmentation. Antisense treatment was associated with an increase in bax and a decrease in bcl-2 secondary to increased synthesis of bax and degradation of bcl-2. A control oligonucleotide had no effect on these measurements. We further demonstrated that c...
Availability and disposition of hydroxyl groups on surfaces of crystalline cellulose II

The relative availabilities of hydroxyl groups at C(2), C(3), and C(6) on the D-glucopyranosyl units of a particular, highly ordered hydrocellulose II have been studied by means of the reaction of N,N-diethylaziridinium chloride, which introduces 2-(diethyl-amino)ethyl substituents. The hydrocellulose II was formed by hydrolysis of fibrous cotton cellulose II during 40 min reflux in 2.5M hydrochloric acid and is designated EHC-II (exemplar hydrocellulose II) because it represents the most highly ordered (crystalline) particles in a series of hydrocelluloses. The deviation in the distribution of substituents among the 2-O-, 3-O-, and 6-O- positions of the D-glucopyranosyl units in EHC-II from that in a disordered cellulose, in which the three types of hydroxyl groups are equally available, is the basis for estimated availabilities of the three types of hydroxyl groups on the surfaces of elementary fibrils in EHC-II. The experimental values of relative availabilities of O(2)H:O(3)H:O(6)H for EHC-II were 1.0:0.26:0.72 compared to estimated values of 1.0:0.0:.075 for surfaces of elementary fibrils of an idealized, perfectly ordered cellulose II, a model that is based on intensities of x-ray diffraction peaks.
Competing Masculinities: Fraternities, Gender and Nationality in the German Confederation, 1815–30

Immediately after the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon (1815), university students, particularly the nationalist fraternity, the Burschenschaft, sought to connect the German nation with martial values. They practised gymnastics, duelled and commemorated veterans of the Napoleonic wars. The era after the Wars also illustrates greater mediation in the discourse of masculinity than has generally been acknowledged, however. University students never achieved consensus on what masculine identity or German identity entailed. By applying enlightened principles to notions of honour and the practice of the duel, Burschenschafter also articulated a new, more moral vision of the German man, one based more on rationality and self-discipline than on martial values.
Creation and manipulation of common functional groups en route to a skeletally diverse chemical library

We have developed an efficient strategy to a skeletally diverse chemical library, which entailed a sequence of enyne cycloisomerization, [4 + 2] cycloaddition, alkene dihydroxylation, and diol carbamylation. Using this approach, only 16 readily available building blocks were needed to produce a representative 191-member library, which displayed broad distribution of molecular shapes and excellent physicochemical properties. This library further enabled identification of a small molecule, which effectively suppressed glycolytic production of ATP and lactate in CHO-K1 cell line, representing a potential lead for the development of a new class of glycolytic inhibitors.
Environmentally Responsible Behavior: Teaching and Promoting It Effectively

The most serious long-term threat facing the world is the danger that human actions are producing irreversible harmful changes to the environmental conditions that support life on Earth. If this problem is not overcome, there may be no viable world for our descendants to inhabit. Enormous changes to human lifestyles and cultural practices may be required to reach the goal of a sustainable level of impact on the environment-i.e., one that can be maintained indefinitely. Social science courses can aid in reaching this goal by teaching about environmentally responsible behavior. Such teaching should provide sound information and strengthen motivation and behavioral skills that are necessary to make the needed changes in behavior and lifestyles. This paper discusses major obstacles to the goal of sustainability, describes a variety of motivational approaches toward accomplishing it, and proposes that we should view the achievement of sustainable living patterns as a superordinate goal-a war against the common enemy of an uninhabitable world.
Sensitive Questions, Truthful Answers? Modeling the List Experiment with LISTIT

Standard estimation procedures assume that empirical observations are accurate reflections of the true values of the dependent variable, but this assumption is dubious when modeling self-reported data on sensitive topics. List experiments (a.k.a. item count techniques) can nullify incentives for respondents to misrepresent themselves to interviewers, but current data analysis techniques are limited to difference-in-means tests. I present a revised procedure and statistical estimator called LISTIT that enable multivariate modeling of list experiment data. Monte Carlo simulations and a field test in Lebanon explore the behavior of this estimator.