cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New functions for a vertebrate Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor in ciliated epithelia.

Human ARHGEF11, a PDZ-domain-containing Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (RhoGEF), has been studied primarily in tissue culture, where it exhibits transforming ability, associates with and modulates the actin cytoskeleton, regulates neurite outgrowth, and mediates activation of Rho in response to stimulation by activated Gα12/13 or Plexin B1. The fruit fly homolog, RhoGEF2, interacts with heterotrimeric G protein subunits to activate Rho, associates with microtubules, and is required during gastrulation for cell shape changes that mediate epithelial folding. Here, we report functional characterization of a zebrafish homolog of ARHGEF11 that is expressed ubiquitously at blastula and gastrula stages and is enriched in neural tissues and the pronephros during later embryogenesis. Similar to its human homolog, zebrafish Arhgef11 stimulated actin stress fiber formation in cultured cells, whereas overexpression in the embryo of either the zebrafish or human protein impaired gastrulation movements. Loss-of-function experiments utilizing a chromosomal deletion that encompasses the arhgef11 locus, and antisense morpholino oligonucleotides designed to block either translation or splicing, produced embryos with ventrally-curved axes and a number of other phenotypes associated with ciliated epithelia. Arhgef11-deficient embryos often exhibited altered expression of laterality markers, enlarged brain ventricles, kidney cysts, and an excess number of otoliths in the otic vesicles. Although cilia formed and were motile in these embryos, polarized distribution of F-actin and Na+/K+-ATPase in the pronephric ducts was disturbed. Our studies in zebrafish embryos have identified new, essential roles for this RhoGEF in ciliated epithelia during vertebrate development.
SEP topographies elicited by innocuous and noxious sural nerve stimulation. III. Dipole source localization analysis

The dipole source localization method was used to determine which of the brain areas known to be involved in somatosensation are the best candidate generators of the somatosensory evoked potential evoked by sural nerve stimulation. The ipsilateral central negativity and contralateral frontal positivity which occurred between 58 and 90 msec post stimulus (stable period 1) were best represented by a single source located in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). The symmetrical central negativity and bilateral frontal positivity which occurred between 92 and 120 msec post stimulus (stable period 2) was best represented by 3 sources. One of these sources was located in SI and the other 2 were located bilaterally in either the frontal operculum or near the second somatosensory cortex (SII). The widespread negativity whose minimum was located in the contralateral fronto-temporal region and which occurred between 135 and 157 msec post stimulus (stable period 3) was also best represented by 3 sources. Two of these sources may be located bilaterally in the hippocampus. We cannot, however, eliminate the possibility that multiple sources in the cortex overlying the hippocampus (e.g., SII and frontal cortex) are responsible for these potentials. At innocuous stimulus levels the third source for stable period 3 was located near the vertex, possibly involving the supplementary motor cortex, whereas at noxious levels this source appears to be located in the cingulate cortex. We were unable to achieve any convincing source localization for the widespread positivity which occurred between 178 and 339 msec post stimulus (stable periods 4-6). Available evidence suggests that more sources were active during this interval than the three we could reliably test under these conditions.
Ethynylestradiol-17β D-ring glucuronide conjugates are potent cholestatic agents in the rat

17 alpha-Ethynylestradiol-17 beta (beta-D-glucuronide) [EE217 beta (beta G)], a metabolite of 17 alpha-ethynylestradiol (EE2) identified in urine of women taking EE2 in oral contraceptives, and its synthetic anomer, 17 alpha-ethynylestradiol-17 beta (alpha-D-glucuronide), [EE217 beta (alpha G)], were administered intravenously to female rats in order to determine their effects on bile flow. Both agents induced an immediate, profound and dose-dependent decrease in bile flow which returned to control levels within 1-8 hr. The logarithm of the dose vs the cholestatic response curves for the two anomers were not parallel. EE217 beta (alpha G) was significantly more potent than EE217 beta (beta G) such that the doses inhibiting bile flow by 50% were 1.25 and 11 mumol/kg for the alpha-and beta-anomer respectively.
Barrier matching for programs with textually unaligned barriers

Barriers, a common synchronization primitive in SPMD-style programs, are used to partition a program into a sequence of parallel phases. Popular parallel programming models, such as MPI and OpenMP, allow barriers to be textually unaligned. Textually unaligned barriers make it difficult for the programmer to understand the synchronization phases in the program, and they can easily lead to synchronization errors. In this paper, we present an interprocedural analysis for matching barriers in a program in order to detect synchronization errors, or, if no such errors exist, to determine the synchronization phases of the program. Our analysis uses a combination of path expressions and interprocedural program slicing to match synchronizing barrier statements. If the barrier matching succeeds, the analysis determines the sets of barrier statements that synchronize together. A matching failure indicates the presence of a synchronization error and the analysis constructs a counter example to illustrate the error. We have implemented the analysis in an MPI checker tool for programs written in C and successfully analyzed the synchronization structure of several MPI benchmarks.
A robotic exoskeleton for overground gait rehabilitation

Every year, stroke significantly affects thousands of individuals who require rehabilitation to regain lost movements and return to a normal life. Exoskeletons are becoming a very powerful tool to help therapists in this rehabilitation process. This work presents a robotic exoskeleton designed to assist overground gait training for stroke survivors with deficits in gait coordination despite conventional rehabilitation. The device is a bilateral exoskeleton with six degrees of freedom and is designed to implement two control strategies. An adaptive trajectory control has been developed to guide the patient's limb within a desired path, allowing a deviation based on torque of interaction between the user and the exoskeleton. An admittance control strategy allows the robotic platform to capture the user's movements during assistive training and to replicate it during active training. Experimental results show that the exoskeleton can adapt a pre-recorded gait pattern for the gait pattern of a specific user. Future investigations will evaluate the device in the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered from stroke and make a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of different robotic therapies.
Hypoglycemia, stress and growth hormone release: blockade of growth hormone release by drugs acting on the central nervous system.

The influence of some central nervous system (CNS) active drugs on pituitary growth hormone (GH) content and on insulininduced GH release was investigated. GH was assayed by the “tibia test” method. Chlorpromazine (CPZ), reserpine and α-ethyltryptamine (Monase) were able to suppress the release of GH induced by 2 U/kg of insulin. High doses of reserpine induced GH release. Other CNS-active drugs, i.e., pentobarbital, morphine, desmethylimipramine, d-amphetamine and iproniazid, were unable to block the release of GH induced by insulin. Increase of pituitary GH was noticed after administration of D-amphetamine. The suppressive action of CPZ and reserpine appeared to be exerted on CNS and not on the pituitary, since rats pretreated with these drugs showed a normal depletion of pituitary GH content after administration of rat hypothalamic extracts. The block of insulin-induced GH release effected by CPZ, reserpine and Monase drugs with marked stressinhibitory activity suggested that insulin might act as a str...
On the robustness of the predictive distribution for sampling from finite populations

Abstract Let π N be the prior distribution on the number of items belonging to each of K (⩾2) categories in a population of size N . It is shown that the marginal probability distribution of an ordered sample of items selected without replacement does not depend on N , provided the distributions { π N } satisfy a simple relationship. This relationship holds for prior distributions in the multivariate Polya–Eggenberger family. This distribution is also the same as that of an iid sample with the limit of π N as prior. Thus one has non-dependence of the predictive distribution on the population size and one can quantify the sensitivity of the predictive to uncertainty about the prior.
Catecholamine-binding protein in mouse brain: Isolation and characterization

Abstract A protein fraction having a high binding affinity to catecholamine was isolated from mouse brain. This purified brain protein was prepared by extraction with pH 7.3 Tris-phosphate buffer, ultracentrifugation, 30–50% saturated ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The effect of various physicochemical treatments on the specific binding activity of the brain protein to [3Hnorepinephrine was determined. Enzymatic digestion with trypsin, pronase or neuraminidase, heating at 56°C and treatment with EDTA or nucleotides significantly diminished the binding activity. The purified brain protein had a molecular weight of 78,000. A Scatchard plot indicated that it contained two binding sites with apparent dissociation constants of2.34 × 10−8 Mand4.74 × 10−7 M. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic pattern of the brain protein revealed two distinct fractions A and B. Protein fraction A had a stronger affinity for binding norepinephrine; it was markedly inhibited by neuraminidase and trypsin but not by phenoxybenzamine and propranolol, while protein fraction B was markedly inhibited by propranolol but not by neuraminidase.
Personalized entity recommendation: a heterogeneous information network approach

Among different hybrid recommendation techniques, network-based entity recommendation methods, which utilize user or item relationship information, are beginning to attract increasing attention recently. Most of the previous studies in this category only consider a single relationship type, such as friendships in a social network. In many scenarios, the entity recommendation problem exists in a heterogeneous information network environment. Different types of relationships can be potentially used to improve the recommendation quality. In this paper, we study the entity recommendation problem in heterogeneous information networks. Specifically, we propose to combine heterogeneous relationship information for each user differently and aim to provide high-quality personalized recommendation results using user implicit feedback data and personalized recommendation models. In order to take full advantage of the relationship heterogeneity in information networks, we first introduce meta-path-based latent features to represent the connectivity between users and items along different types of paths. We then define recommendation models at both global and personalized levels and use Bayesian ranking optimization techniques to estimate the proposed models. Empirical studies show that our approaches outperform several widely employed or the state-of-the-art entity recommendation techniques.
• FUNCTIONAL ENDONASAL SINUS SURGERY IN CHILDREN: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Functional endonasal sinus surgery in children has proven safe and effective. The general principles and theoretical aspects are essentially identical to those of adult functional endonasal sinus surgery. This surgery in children is generally performed under general anesthesia and almost always requires at least two stages before healing.
Hepatitis A and B immunization in persons being evaluated for sexually transmitted diseases.

Sexual transmission accounts for the majority of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in industrialized countries. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) can be transmitted by sexual practices that involve fecal-oral exposure. Both infections are disproportionately frequent in men who have sex with men (MSM). Routine immunization against HBV is recommended for MSM and for persons being evaluated or treated for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HAV immunization is advised for MSM and for other persons at risk who are commonly seen in STD care settings, such as users of illegal drugs. However, numerous attitudinal and structural barriers interfere with routine immunization in persons at risk for sexual acquisition of HAV and HBV. Substantial success has been documented in vaccinating persons at risk in public STD clinics and other settings; however, at a national level, efforts to achieve desired immunization rates have largely failed. Until universal childhood immunization produces a largely immune adult population, the universal vaccination of adults—as a supplement to the current risk-based approaches—may be worthwhile to achieve immunization of persons at risk for sexual transmission of HBV.
Cross-phase modulation in semiconductor optical amplifier

Cross-phase modulation in a semiconductor optical amplifier has been demonstrated by using copropagating pump and probe pulse trains of different wavelengths. The relative time delay between the pump and probe pulses was varied and the effect on the spectral distortion is described.
Multivariate dynamic information

This paper develops measures of information for multivariate distributions when their supports are truncated progressively. The focus is on the joint, marginal, and conditional entropies, and the mutual information for residual life distributions where the support is truncated at the current ages of the components of a system. The current ages of the components induce a joint dynamic into the residual life information measures. Our study of dynamic information measures includes several important bivariate and multivariate lifetime models. We derive entropy expressions for a few models, including Marshall-Olkin bivariate exponential. However, in general, study of the dynamics of residual information measures requires computational techniques or analytical results. A bivariate gamma example illustrates study of dynamic information via numerical integration. The analytical results facilitate studying other distributions. The results are on monotonicity of the residual entropy of a system and on transformations that preserve the monotonicity and the order of entropies between two systems. The results also include a new entropy characterization of the joint distribution of independent exponential random variables.
Elimination of harmonics in a multilevel converter with nonequal DC sources

Eliminating harmonics in a multilevel converter in which the separate dc sources vary is considered. That is, given a desired fundamental output voltage, the problem is to find the switching times (angles) that produce the fundamental while not generating specifically chosen harmonics. Assuming that the separate dc sources can be measured, a procedure is given to find all sets of switching angles for which the fundamental is produced while lower order harmonics are eliminated. This is done by first converting the transcendental equations that specify the elimination of the harmonics into an equivalent set of polynomial equations. Then, using the mathematical theory of resultants, all solutions to this equivalent problem can be found. Experimental results are presented to validate the theory.
An electron energy loss study of the epitaxial growth of iron on Cu(100)

Abstract Iron was deposited under ultrahigh vacuum conditions on a clean Cu(100) surface followed by observation of the LEED patterns and EELS measurements. The LEED patterns showed a (1×1) structure with iron deposition indicative of epitaxial growth. Considerable changes in electron energy loss structures were observed with iron coverage. For low Fe coverages (
Inverse Problems in Ecology

Abstract The question of describing interactions of populations is studied. From observations of population growths, parameters in models may be estimated. This concept is illustrated by an example of two interacting species. The sensitivity of the parameters to the accuracy of the observations is computationally investigated, using the technique of quasilinearization.
Fast two-stream method for computing diurnal-mean actinic flux in vertically inhomogeneous atmospheres

Based on a derivation of the two-stream daytime-mean equations of radiative flux transfer, a method for computing the daytime-mean actinic fluxes in the absorbing and scattering vertically inhomogeneous atmosphere is suggested. The method applies direct daytime integration of the particular solutions of the two-stream approximations or the source functions. It is valid for any duration of period of averaging. The merit of the method is that the multiple scattering computation is carried out only once for the whole averaging period. It can be implemented with a number of widely used two-stream approximations. The method agrees with the results obtained with 200-point multiple scattering calculations. The method was also tested in runs with a 1-km cloud layer with optical depth of 10, as well as with aerosol background. Comparison of the results obtained for a cloud subdivided into 20 layers with those obtained for a one-layer cloud with the same optical parameters showed that direct integration of particular solutions possesses an 'analytical' accuracy. In the case of the source function interpolation, the actinic fluxes calculated above the one-layer and 20-layer clouds agreed within 1%-1.5%, while below the cloud they may differ up to 5% (in the worst case). The ways of enhancing the accuracy (in a 'two-stream sense') and computational efficiency of the method are discussed.
Statins in epilepsy: Prime time? Not yet

The incidence of epilepsy has 2 peaks: early in life and after the age of 50.1 The causes of epilepsy in older adults are not well-established, but include cerebrovascular disease,2 brain tumors, and Alzheimer disease. The National General Practice Study of Epilepsy found that vascular disease accounted for 15% of newly diagnosed epilepsy in all participants, but nearly 50% in older age groups.3 That study predated the MRI era; in more recent research, more than 1 in 10 asymptomatic elderly have covert cerebral infarcts,4 suggesting an underestimate of vascular pathology in late-life epilepsy. Risk factors for seizures after ischemic stroke include the severity of neurologic disability, cortical stroke location, and hippocampal damage, with less certainty about risk factors after hemorrhagic stroke.5 Statins, blockbuster drugs for hyperlipidemia, may lower the incidence of stroke, prompting Etminan and colleagues,6 in this issue of Neurology ®, to explore a novel hypothesis, that statins reduce the risk of developing epilepsy in the elderly. The biologic plausibility of this idea has been tested in rodent models: high-dose atorvastatin reduced the frequency of clonic …
The evolution of technology management practice in developing economies: findings from Northern China

In this paper, we present the results of a survey of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, that all have foreign equity investors and are located in Northern China. Our findings are: that firms have changed their market focus from an export-oriented market to competing both locally and abroad; and that Wholly Foreign Owned Subsidiaries that serve export markets are shifting from a competitive advantage based on low cost labour to developing competitive advantage based on firm specific competencies.
Neurotensin selectively alters ethanol-induced anesthesia in LS/Ibg and SS/Ibg lines of mice.

Neurotensin (NT) differentially altered ethanol-induced anesthesia as measured by duration of loss of righting response or by blood ethanol levels producing loss of righting response in mice (LS and SS) which were selectively bred for differences in response to ethanol. At doses of 5-500 ng i.c.v., NT increased ethanol sensitivity in SS mice, but not in LS mice, as measured by blood ethanol concentrations at loss of righting response. At higher doses, 0.5-10 micrograms i.c.v., NT enhanced the sensitivity of both SS and LS mice to ethanol-induced anesthesia. The hypothermic effect of ethanol determined at loss of righting response was not altered in either LS or SS mice at low doses of NT, but at higher doses NT enhanced ethanol-induced hypothermia in both lines of mice. The altered anesthetic sensitivity was specific for ethanol in that NT did not alter pentobarbital-induced sleep time in either LS or SS mice and halothane anesthesia was altered slightly only in LS mice. NT analogues, N-acetyl-NT8-13, and [D-Trp11]-NT but not NT1-8 enhanced the anesthetic action of ethanol in SS mice. Bombesin, cholecystokinin sulfate, substance P, [D-Trp8, D-Cys14]-somatostatin and corticotropin releasing hormone (CRF) were not effective in enhancing ethanol-induced anesthesia in LS or SS mice. CRF appeared to decrease ethanol sensitivity in LS but not in SS mice. Beta-Endorphin (beta-END) markedly increased the ethanol sensitivity of SS and to a lesser extent of LS mice at relatively high doses, e.g. 0.5-1.0 micrograms i.c.v. The results of the present study indicate that differences in brain sensitivity of LS and SS mice to ethanol may be mediated by genetic differences in NT systems. Likewise, NT, and probably beta-endorphin, may interact with other neurochemical processes that are involved in the mechanism of ethanol-induced anesthesia and that differ genetically in LS and SS mice.
Morphology of In Vitro generated ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene wear particles as a function of contact conditions and material parameters

Osteolysis in total joint replacements has been linked to ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear particles. Although the biological response to these UHMWPE particles is poorly understood at present, it has been demonstrated that particle size and morphology are important factors in such a response. The goal of the present study was twofold: to develop a comprehensive set of particle size and shape descriptors, and to use these descriptors to analyze the effects of different contact conditions and material parameters during the wear process on the size and morphology of UHMWPE wear debris. The three parameters studied were average contact stress (6.9 and 13.8 MPa), macromolecular orientation of the UHMWPE with respect to the wear direction (0 degrees , 45 degrees , and 90 degrees ), and UHMWPE initial surface roughness (Ra = 1 and 3 microm). Tests were performed using pin on disk or cylinder on plate systems for 3 million cycles each. The results indicated that the initial surface roughness of the UHMWPE test samples had no effect on the morphology of UHMWPE wear particles. However, particle size and morphology were a function of the average contact stress and molecular orientation of the UHMWPE.
DISPERSAL, DENSITY DEPENDENCE, AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF A FUNGAL MICROBE ON LEAF SURFACES

Despite the ubiquity and importance of microbes in nature, little is known about their natural population dynamics, especially for those that occupy terrestrial habitats. Here we investigate the dynamics of the yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans (Ap) on apple leaves in an orchard. We asked three questions. (1) Is variation in fungal population density among leaves caused by variation in leaf carrying capacities and strong density-dependent population growth that maintains densities near carrying capacity? (2) Do resident populations have competitive advantages over immigrant cells? (3) Do Ap dynamics differ at different times during the growing season? To address these questions, we performed two experiments at different times in the growing season. Both experiments used a 2 x 2 factorial design: treatment 1 removed fungal cells from leaves to reveal density-dependent population growth, and treatment 2 inoculated leaves with an Ap strain engineered to express green fluorescent protein (GFP), which made it possible to track the fate of immigrant cells. The experiments showed that natural populations of Ap vary greatly in density due to sustained differences in carrying capacities among leaves. The maintenance of populations close to carrying capacities indicates strong density-dependent processes. Furthermore, resident populations are strongly competitive against immigrants, while immigrants have little impact on residents. Finally, statistical models showed high population growth rates of resident cells in one experiment but not in the other, suggesting that Ap experiences relatively "good" and "bad" periods for population growth. This picture of Ap dynamics conforms to commonly held, but rarely demonstrated, expectations of microbe dynamics in nature. It also highlights the importance of local processes, as opposed to immigration, in determining the abundance and dynamics of microbes on surfaces in terrestrial systems.
Interface trap passivation for SiO2∕(0001¯) C-terminated 4H-SiC

Interface trap passivation at the SiO2∕carbon-terminated (0001¯) face of 4H-SiC utilizing nitridation and hydrogenation has been evaluated. The SiO2∕SiC interface, created by dry thermal oxidation on the C face, shows appreciably higher interface state density near the conduction band compared to the (0001) Si face. A postoxidation anneal in nitric oxide followed by a postmetallization anneal in hydrogen results in dramatic reduction of the trap density by over an order of magnitude near the conduction band. The electrical measurements have been correlated with the interfacial chemistry.
Laminitis and the Equine Metabolic Syndrome

Although much has been written about laminitis in the context of its association with inflammatory processes, recognition is growing that most cases of laminitis examined by veterinarians in private practice are those associated with pasture grazing, obesity, and insulin resistance (IR). The term 'endocrinopathic laminitis' has been adopted to classify the instances of laminitis in which the origin seems to be more strongly associated with an underlying endocrinopathy, such as either IR or the influence of corticosteroids. Results of a recent study suggest that obesity and IR represent the most common metabolic and endocrinopathic predispositions for laminitis in horses. IR also plays an important role in the pathogenesis of laminitis that develops when some horses or ponies are allowed to graze pastures at certain times of the year. The term equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) has been proposed as a label for horses whose clinical examination results (including both physical examination and laboratory testing) suggest heightened risk for developing laminitis as a result of underlying IR.
National transplantation pregnancy registry : Report on outcomes in cyclosporine-treated female kidney transplant recipients with an interval from transplant to pregnancy of greater than five years

Successful renal transplantation enables previously infertile females to conceive and carry a pregnancy. Much of the reported data on posttransplantation pregnancy accrued before the advent of cyclosporine, when steroids and azathioprine were the mainstays of maintenance immunosuppression. One factor affecting pregnancy outcome in kidney recipients is the length of time from transplantation to conception or transplant interval. It has been recommended that patients wait at least 2 years posttransplantation to conceive, as transplant intervals of shorter duration have had less favorable outcomes. Some have suggested that extended transplant intervals (> 5 years) paradoxically result in adverse outcomes. We have extracted data on cyclosporine-treated recipients with transplant intervals longer than 5 years from the National Transplantation Pregnancy Registry, and report 17 pregnancies from 15 recipients (transplant interval, 5.9 +/- 0.9 years). There were 13 live births (76.5%) and four spontaneous abortions (23.5%). The mean gestational age was 37.7 +/- 2.04 weeks and mean birth weight was 2,753 +/- 679 g. Prematurity occurred in 30.8%, low birth weight in 15.4%, very low birth weight in 7.7%, and neonatal complications in 15.4%. There were no maternal or neonatal deaths. The mean serum creatinine before pregnancy was 1.31 mg/dL, and there was no significant change during or after pregnancy. There were no rejections during or up to 3 months postpartum. Graft survival at 2 years was 100%. We conclude that most pregnancy outcomes in cyclosporine-treated recipients with transplant intervals greater than 5 years are favorable for the newborn, recipient, and graft.
Axis formation: squint comes into focus.

Gene products provided by the mother to the embryo determine the body axes in most animals. A recent study in zebrafish proposes that the TGFs signal Squint is one such factor.
Epidemiology of Lyme disease in Virginia.

ABSTRACT Prior to January 1986, only one case of Lyme disease was reported from Virginia. In 1986–87, however, the Virginia Department of Health observed an increase in reports of suspected Lyme disease by physicians, despite the fact that Ixodes dammini is not highly prevalent in the Virginia tick population. Twenty-eight cases of Lyme disease were identified in Virginia, of which eight cases occurred in 1986 and 20 in 1987. Lyme disease appears to be increasing in frequency in Virginia and moving southward along the Eastern Atlantic Seaboard.
Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) for enzyme immobilization: impact on activity and stability of horseradish peroxidase

On the basis of their versatile structure and chemistry as well as tunable mechanical properties, polymer brushes are well-suited as supports for enzyme immobilization. However, a robust surface design is hindered by an inadequate understanding of the impact on activity from the coupling motif and enzyme distribution within the brush. Herein, horseradish peroxidase C (HRP C, 44 kDa), chosen as a model enzyme, was immobilized covalently through its lysine residues on a N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbonate-activated poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) brush grafted chemically onto a flat impenetrable surface. Up to a monolayer coverage of HRP C is achieved, where most of the HRP C resides at or near the brush-air interface. Molecular modeling shows that lysines 232 and 241 are the most probable binding sites, leading to an orientation of the immobilized HRP C that does not block the active pocket of the enzyme. Michaelis-Menten kinetics of the immobilized HRP C indicated little change in the K(m) (Michaelis constant) but a large decrease in the V(max) (maximum substrate conversion rate) and a correspondingly large decrease in the k(cat) (overall catalytic rate). This indicates a loss in the percentage of active enzymes. Given the relatively ideal geometry of the HRPC-PHEMA brush, the loss of activity is most likely due to structural changes in the enzyme arising from either secondary constraints imposed by the connectivity of the N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbonate linking moiety or nonspecific interactions between HRP C and DSC-PHEMA. Therefore, a general enzyme-brush coupling motif must optimize reactive group density to balance binding with neutrality of surroundings.
Empowerment through seamfulness: smart phones in everyday life

In this paper, we describe research into use of multifunctional mobile phones by working adults and posit the device as a plausible realization of ubiquitous computing. We investigate how users actively adapt and adopt the different functions in smart phones to suit their needs and lifestyles. Through an interview and diary study, we discover how the smart phone is used in pragmatic and seamful ways, regardless of the interface of the specific phone selected or the particular features available. Users used phones in highly individual manners; mixed and adapted existing functions to meet their own priorities; added some functions and ignored others to create their own portfolio; and blended their use with the specifics of their everyday lives. While these data challenge some assumptions of human---computer interaction and ubiquitous computing, it also presents new research potential in terms of understanding how users take advantage of the multiple features in smart phone devices and how they utilize seamfulness in everyday smart phones practices.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Vitamin D Deficiency Are Associated with Shorter Telomere Length among African Americans: A Case-Control Study

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects African American females. The causes of SLE are unknown but postulated to be a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental triggers. Vitamin D deficiency is one of the possible environmental triggers. In this study we evaluated relationships between vitamin D status, cellular aging (telomere length) and anti-telomere antibodies among African American Gullah women with SLE. The study population included African American female SLE patients and unaffected controls from the Sea Island region of South Carolina. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured using a nonchromatographic radioimmunoassay. Telomere length was measured in genomic DNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by monochrome multiplex quantitative PCR. Anti-telomere antibody levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Patients with SLE had significantly shorter telomeres and higher anti-telomere antibody titers compared to age- and gender-matched unaffected controls. There was a positive correlation between anti-telomere antibody levels and disease activity among patients and a significant correlation of shorter telomeres with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in both patients and controls. In follow-up examination of a subset of the patients, the patients who remained vitamin D deficient tended to have shorter telomeres than those patients whose 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were repleted. Increasing 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in African American patients with SLE may be beneficial in maintaining telomere length and preventing cellular aging. Moreover, anti-telomere antibody levels may be a promising biomarker of SLE status and disease activity.
Renormalization group approach to two-dimensional Coulomb interacting Dirac fermions with random gauge potential

We argue that massless Dirac particles in two spatial dimensions with $1/r$ Coulomb repulsion and quenched random gauge field are described by a manifold of fixed points which can be accessed perturbatively in disorder and interaction strength, thereby confirming and extending the results of arXiv:0707.4171. At small interaction and small randomness, there is an infra-red stable fixed curve which merges with the strongly interacting infra-red unstable line at a critical endpoint, along which the dynamical critical exponent $z=1$.
Studies of solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum

Abstract The non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 solubilizes most of the protein and phospholipid from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit skeletal muscle. The calcium dependent ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum is found in the soluble fraction whereas the basic ATPase activity remains insoluble in Triton X-100. Analytical ultracentrifugation and disc electrophoresis indicate that the solubilized material consists of particles having a molecular weight of approximately 80,000 daltons. These particles have a strong tendency to aggregate.
Isolation of Cannabisativine, an Alkaloid, from Cannabis sativa L. Root

An ethanol extract of the root of a Mexican variant of Cannabis sativa L. (marijuana) afforded, after partitioning and chromatography, the new spermidine alkaloid cannabisativine.
Enhancing photoresist performance with an adhesion promoting photo-acid generator

Concentration gradients of photoacid generator through the thickness of the photoresist film can profoundly affect the material's performance. To engineer the acid concentration through resist thickness, we have developed a new type of resist adhesion promoting layer that incorporates photo acid generator chemistry. These adhesion promoting photo acid generators, called as a class "APPAG" enhance acid concentration at interface between the resist and the substrate. We will provide an overview on the preparation and characterization of two siloxane based APPAG materials along with a performance comparison of commercial DUV, EUV and E-beam photoresists on APPAG. Nonaflate analog (APPAG 6) with shorter acid diffusion length was found to have a mild impact on 250nm node DUV lithography. However the triflate analog (APPAG 9), owing to the larger acid diffusion length, was shown to provide a greater influence. APPAG 9 was found to give nearly a 50% improvement in depth of focus. For EUV lithography, both APPAG 6 and APPAG 9 will be shown to substantially improve performance envelope for 100nm dense lines and spaces and at reduced post exposure bake (PEB) temperatures. This indicates that this approach can be used to gain margin at reduced PEB which is desirable to minimize thermally driven diffusion effects. Thus the materials represent an important new approach to extending photoresist performance margins.
Complicated grief associated with hurricane Katrina.

Background: Although losses are important consequences of disasters, few epidemiological studies of disasters have assessed complicated grief (CG) and none assessed CG associated with losses other than death of loved one. Methods: Data come from the baseline survey of the Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group, a representative sample of 3,088 residents of the areas directly affected by Hurricane Katrina. A brief screen for CG was included containing four items consistent with the proposed DSM-V criteria for a diagnosis of bereavement-related adjustment disorder. Results: Fifty-eight and half percent of respondents reported a significant hurricane-related loss: Most-severe losses were 29.0% tangible, 9.5% interpersonal, 8.1% intangible, 4.2% work/financial, and 3.7% death of loved one. Twenty-six point one percent respondents with significant loss had possible CG and 7.0% moderate-to-severe CG. Death of loved one was associated with the highest conditional probability of moderate-to-severe CG (18.5%, compared to 1.1-10.5% conditional probabilities for other losses), but accounted for only 16.5% of moderate-to-severe CG due to its comparatively low prevalence. Most moderate-to-severe CG was due to tangible (52.9%) or interpersonal (24.0%) losses. Significant predictors of CG were mostly unique to either bereavement (racial-ethnic minority status, social support) or other losses (prehurricane history of psychopathology, social competence.). Conclusions: Nonbereavement losses accounted for the vast majority of hurricane-related possible CG despite risk of CG being much higher in response to bereavement than to other losses. This result argues for expansion of research on CG beyond bereavement and alerts clinicians to the need to address postdisaster grief associated with a wide range of losses. Depression and Anxiety, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Language: en
Beyond hegemony: Reappraising the history of philanthropy and African-American higher education in the nineteenth century

This historiographic essay urges a reappraisal of the revisionist view of philanthropy and African-American higher education in the nineteenth century as hegemonic by adopting agency as a theoretical framework to excavate the institutional histories and other primary sources on the northern black colleges – specifically Wilberforce University – for examples of active fundraising and benevolent giving by African Americans themselves. It concludes by offering lessons from history for advancement practitioners at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The influence of cell cycle kinetics on the radiosensitivity of Down's syndrome lymphocytes.

Abstract In agreement with previous work, [ 60 Co]γ-irradiation shortly after phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation, induces higher frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in trisomy 21 lymphocytes compared to normal controls. However, equal frequencies of chromatid aberrations are induced in fully-stimulated trisomy 21 and normal lymphocytes by irradiation during G 2 . We have observed that trisomic lymphocytes respond more rapidly to PHA stimulation than normal lymphocytes. Furthermore, we have observed that chromosomal radiosensitivity increases as a function of time after PHA stimulation in normal lymphocytes. When normal lymphocytes are irradiated 8 h after PHA stimulation, the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations induced are comparable to those induced in trisomy 21 lymphocytes irradiated 30 min after PHA stimulation.
Medicare reimbursement changes and the practice of oncology: Understanding of the past is a key to the future

Previous Medicare payment changes have led to changes in the way oncology practices are structured. Understanding the complexities of oncology care is thus key for the success of newer reimbursement methods.
Evaluation of a dual flow continuous culture system for estimating bacterial fermentation in vivo of mixed diets containing various soya bean products

Abstract A dual flow continuous culture system was evaluated for its ability to simulate rumen fermentation in vivo. Soya bean meal, whole soya beans and whole soya beans extruded at 132 or 149° C, provided 50% of total crude protein in diets comprised of 52% grain mix, 36% maize silage and 12% alfalfa hay (dry matter basis). These four diets had previously been studied with four ruminal and intestinal cannulated lactating Holstein cows in a trial of 4 × 4 Latin square design. To conform with the results of this trial, fermenters were maintained at a liquid dilution rate of 0.096 h−1, solids dilution rate of 0.055 h−1 and pH of 6.25. There were three experimental periods, each lasting 8 days with effluent collected on the last 3 days. A Bonferroni t-test was used to compare results obtained in vitro with those obtained in vivo. Results from the two studies were similar in true organic matter digestibility and crude protein and amino acid degradability. Individual amino acid flows were higher with the diets containing heat treated (extruded) soya beans in both studies. Results indicate that the dual flow continuous culture system can provide a reasonable estimate of rumen fermentation.
Thermoreflectance of CuI

Abstract The thermoreflectance spectrum of CuI in the 4–7 eV region is reported. New structure in the E O ′ region has been assigned to the spin-orbit split triplet between the first valence band and the second conduction band at k=0. The magnitude of the splitting indicates an inverted order in the second conduction band and a large d-state mixture in the valence band.
Variants of contextual fear conditioning are differentially impaired in the juvenile rat by binge ethanol exposure on postnatal days 4-9.

Abstract Neonatal ethanol exposure in the rat is known to partially damage the hippocampus, but such exposure causes only modest or inconsistent deficits on hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks. This may reflect variable sensitivity of these tasks or residual function following partial hippocampal injury. The context preexposure facilitation effect (CPFE) is a variant of context conditioning in which context exposure and immediate shock occur on successive occasions. During testing, preexposed rats freeze more than non-preexposed controls. The CPFE is more sensitive to anterograde hippocampal injury than standard contextual fear conditioning (e.g., Rudy JW, O’Reilly RC. Conjunctive representations, the hippocampus, and contextual fear conditioning. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 2001;1:66–82). We report that rats exposed to a high binge dose of ethanol (5.25 g/kg/day) over postnatal days [PD] 4–9 failed to demonstrate the CPFE when preexposed to the conditioning context on PD31, relative to sham-intubated and undisturbed controls (Experiment 1). Neonatal alcohol disrupted conditioned freezing to a much lesser extent relative to controls when context preexposure was followed by a standard context conditioning trial rather than immediate shock (Experiment 2). Fear conditioning to a discrete auditory cue (tone) was unaffected by neonatal alcohol exposure ruling out possible performance effects (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that the CPFE is an especially sensitive task for detecting hippocampal injury produced by neonatal alcohol. Mixed results with other tasks may reflect residual hippocampal function and/or the use of alternate neurobehavioral systems or “strategies” following alcohol-induced brain damage.
A comparison of hydrogen with alternate energy forms from coal and nuclear energy

Abstract Alternate energy forms that can be produced from coal and nuclear energy have been analyzed on efficiency, economic and end-use grounds. These forms include hydrogen, methane, electricity, and EVA-ADAM, a “chemical heat-pipe” approach to energy transmission. The EVA-ADAM system for nuclear heat appears to be economically competitive with the other energy carriers except over very large distances. The cost of hydrogen derived from coal is approximately equal to that of methane derived from the same source when compared on an equal BTU basis. Thermochemically derived hydrogen from nuclear energy shows a break-even range with hydrogen derived from coal at coal costs of from $33–80/ton depending on the cost of nuclear heat. Electricity and electrolytically derived hydrogen are the most expensive energy carriers and electricity's use should be limited to applications involving work rather than heat. Continued work in thermochemical hydrogen production schemes should be supported as an energy option for the future.
Basaltic island sand provenance

The Hawaiian Islands are an ideal location to study basaltic sand provenance in that they are a series of progressively older basaltic shield volcanoes with arid to humid microclimates. Sixty-two sand samples were collected from beaches on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai and petrographically analyzed. The major sand components are calcareous bioclasts, volcanic lithic fragments, and monomineralic grains of dense minerals and plagioclase. Proportions of these components vary from island to island, with bioclastic end members being more prevalent on older islands exhibiting well-developed fringing reef systems and volcanic end members more prevalent on younger, volcanically active islands. Climatic variations across the island of Hawaii are reflected in the percentage of weathered detritus, which is greater on the wetter, northern side of the island. The groundmass of glassy, basaltic lithics is predominantly black tachylite, with lesser brown sideromelane; microlitic and lathwork textures are more common than holohyaline vitric textures. Other common basaltic volcanic lithic fragments are holocrystalline aggregates of silt-sized pyroxene or olivine, opaque minerals and plagioclase. Sands derived from alkalic lavas are texturally and compositionally indistinguishable from sands derived from tholeiitic lavas. Although Hawaiian basaltic sands overlap in composition with magmatic arc-derived sands in terms ofmore » their relative QFL, QmPK and LmLvLs percentages, they are dissimilar in that they lack felsic components and are more enriched in lathwork volcanic lithic fragments, holocrystalline volcanic lithic fragments, and dense minerals.« less