cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atomic level architecture of group I introns revealed.

Twenty-two years after their discovery as ribozymes, the self-splicing group I introns are finally disclosing their architecture at the atomic level. The crystal structures of three group I introns solved at moderately high resolution (3.1‐3.8 A ˚ ) reveal a remarkably conserved catalytic core bound to the metal ions required for activity. The structure of the core is stabilized by an intron-specific set of long-range interactions that involves peripheral elements. Group I intron structures thus provide much awaited and extremely valuable snapshots of how these ribozymes coordinate substrate binding and catalysis.
Preparation of phenols by phthaloyl peroxide-mediated oxidation of arenes.

Dionicio Siegel et al. provide detailed instructions on implementing their facile, scalable, catalyst-free and functional group–tolerant approach to hydroxylating arenes.
Glamour and Honor: Going Online and Reading in West African Culture

In the fragile reading cultures of the developing world, will people abandon print as they embrace the Internet? Whether media compete or collaborate depends on place-specific factors. West Africans insert online practices into a local context of material circumstances, social roles, and cultural values. In Nigeria and Ghana these include (1) unreliable electricity and execrable telephone service; (2) overworked women, jobless young men, scammers, and ambitious teenagers; and (3) a reading culture of limited penetration but enormous prestige. Internet access via cybercafes has intensified personal communications, reinforced gender inequality, and enabled petty crooks to go global. It has not, however, encroached on reading's all-but-sacred status. Both netsavvy youth and the adult “reading class” protect reading practices through spatial and temporal separation, time management, and functional differentiation. These preserve the honored position of reading despite West Africans' enthusiasm for the glamour of going online.
The explanatory power of local miracle compatibilism

Local miracle compatibilists claim that we are sometimes able to do otherwise than we actually do, even if causal determinism obtains. When we can do otherwise, it will often be true that if we were to do otherwise, then an actual law of nature would not have been a law of nature. Nevertheless, it is a compatibilist principle that we cannot do anything that would be or cause an event that violates the laws of nature. Carl Ginet challenges this nomological principle, arguing that it is not always capable of explaining our inability to do otherwise. In response to this challenge, I point out that this principle is part of a defense against the charge that local miracle compatibilists are committed to outlandish claims. Thus it is not surprising that the principle, by itself, will often fail to explain our inability to do otherwise. I then suggest that in many situations in which we are unable to do otherwise, this can be explained by the compatibilist’s analysis of ability, or his criteria for the truth of ability claims. Thus, the failure of his nomological principle to explain the falsity of certain ability claims is no strike against local miracle compatibilism.
In vitro functional characterization of bacterially expressed human fibroblast tropomyosin isoforms and their chimeric mutants.

At least eight tropomyosin isoforms (hTM1, hTM2, hTM3, hTM4, hTM5, hTM5a, hTM5b, and hTMsm alpha) are expressed from four distinct genes in human fibroblasts. In order to elucidate isoform properties, we have subcloned hTM3 and hTM5 full-length cDNAs, as well as their chimeric cDNAs into the bacterial expression pET8C system. Bacterially expressed tropomyosin isoforms (called PEThTM3, PEThTM5, PEThTM5/3, and PEThTM3/5) were purified and characterized. Under optimal binding conditions, the binding of PEThTM5 isoform to F-actin was stronger than the PEThTM3 isoform. However, analysis of actin-binding by the McGhee and von Hippel equation revealed that PEThTM3 exhibits higher cooperativity in binding than PEThTM5 does. Furthermore, the chimera PEThTM5/3 which possessed the N-terminal fragment of hTM5 fused to the C-terminal fragment of hTM3 had even stronger actin binding ability. The reverse chimera PEThTM3/5 which possessed the N-terminal fragment of hTM3 fused to the C-terminal fragment of hTM5 demonstrated greatly reduced affinity to actin filaments. In addition, both chimeras had different KCl requirements for optimal binding to F-actin than their parental tropomyosins. A bacterially made C-terminal fragment of human fibroblast caldesmon (PETCaD39) and native chicken gizzard caldesmon were both able to enhance the actin-binding of these bacterially expressed tropomyosins. However, PETCaD39's enhancement of binding to F-actin was greater for PEThTM5 than PEThTM3. Under 30 mM KCl and 4 mM MgCl2, the low M(r) isoform PEThTM4 appeared to be able to amplify the actin-activated HMM ATPase activity by 4.7 fold, while the high M(r) isoform PEThTM3 stimulated the activity only 1.5 fold. The higher enhancement of ATPase activity by PEThTM5 than by PEThTM3 suggested that the low M(r) isoform hTM5 may be more involved in modulating nonmuscle cell motility than hTM3. These results further suggested that different isoforms of tropomyosin might have finite differences in their specific functions (e.g., cytoskeletal vs. motile) inside the cell.
Relation Between Refractive Index and Density of a Glass at Constant Temperature

Data are presented on the changes in the room-temperature refractive index and density of a borosilicate crown glass produced by different heat-treatments. Measurements on a large number of samples with widely varying thermal history show that the refractive index is a single-valued function of the density. The increase in refractive index for a given density change is smaller than that calculated by the Lorentz-Lorenz theory; the apparent contribution of the induced polarization to the local electric field is very small. This may be due to a reduction in the ionic polarizabilities that accompany the density increase; alternatively, the Lorentz-Lorenz form of the theory may not be valid in solid materials such as glass. Data of other investigators are shown to agree with the data reported here.
Genomic Prognostic Models in Early-Stage Lung Cancer

Patients with early-stage lung cancer demonstrate significant recurrence rates and lower-than-expected survival rates after surgical resection, indicating that our current staging methods do not adequately predict outcome. Since the last revision of the TNM staging system, a number of genomic models have been proposed which more accurately predict prognosis in patients with early-stage lung cancer. A variety of prognostic genomic models based on gene-expression profiling and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are able to stratify patients with early-stage lung cancer into high- and low-risk groups with respect to disease-free and overall survival. In the future, clinical application of these models may ultimately dictate both the use of adjuvant therapy as well as the choice of surgical procedure in patients with early-stage lung cancer. An effort to develop a robust genomic model for use in the clinical setting should be prompted by encouraging results obtained by the use of a quantitative PCR-based genomic signature in the field of breast oncology.
Reduction of diabetic macular edema by oral administration of the kinase inhibitor PKC412.

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of PKC412, an orally administered kinase inhibitor, in subjects with diabetic macular edema. METHODS This was a randomized (1:1:1:1), multicenter, double-masked, parallel-group study in which subjects (n = 141) received placebo or PKC412 (50, 100, or 150 mg/d) for up to 3 months. Subjects were 18 to 85 years of age and had retinal thickening that met predefined criteria and best corrected visual acuity of 55 letters or more. Efficacy was based on changes in retinal thickening measured by grading of fundus photographs and optical coherence tomography (OCT) and changes in visual acuity. RESULTS Grading of fundus photographs showed a statistically significant decrease in the area of greatest retinal thickening in patients receiving 150 mg/d of PKC412 (P = 0.032). OCT demonstrated that the two higher doses of PKC412 caused a significant decrease in thickening in the region of greatest thickening and in the fovea (P < or = 039), with response in the high-dose group significantly different from that in the placebo group (difference = -66.69 micro m [95.2% CI: -128.57 to -4.81]; P = 0.030). Retinal volume for all locations also showed a significant decrease from baseline in the 100- and 150-mg/d PKC412 groups (P < or = 004), and the 150-mg/kg group showed significantly less retinal volume than the placebo group at 3 months (difference = -0.46 mm(3) [95.2% CI: -0.86-0.06]; P = 0.019). There was a small (4.36 letters), but significant (P = 0.007), improvement in visual acuity at 3 months compared with baseline in the 100-mg/d PKC412 group. Gastrointestinal side effects (diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting) were the most common adverse events attributed to the drug. Dose-related effects were observed for tolerability, glycemic control, and liver toxicity. CONCLUSIONS Orally administered PKC412 at doses of 100 mg/d or higher may significantly reduce macular edema and improve visual acuity in diabetic subjects. However, concern regarding liver toxicity with systemic therapy makes local delivery an appealing approach.
Al-26 and circumstellar envelopes

The effects of the radioactive decay of Al-26 on the circumstellar envelopes of asymptotic giant branch stars are analyzed. The gamma-rays emitted by the product nucleus Mg-26 escape most envelopes, but the beta-decay positrons are stopped and can ionize and heat the gas. The ionization may produce observable effects in C-rich circumstellar envelopes, particularly if the photospheric Al-26 abundance is as large as inferred from measurements of live Al-26 in the primitive solar nebula or the observations of interstellar 1.8 MeV gamma-rays. For the nearby carbon star IRC +10216, the measured abundance of the molecular ion HCO(+) provides an upper limit of about 4 x 10(exp -3) for the photospheric Al-26/Al-27 ratio, consistent with presolar SiC grains with about the same C-12/C-13 ratio.
Inventory and spatial pattern of in a pond: a comparison of two survey methods

Abstract The sediments of Pond A, a former Savannah River Site cooling pond for R-reactor, were contaminated with 137 Cs between 1954 and 1964. Pond A is unique because it is very shallow and contains an extremely high density of aquatic vegetation and old, undecomposed tree stumps which modify normal sedimentation processes and cause special radiological characterization challenges. To determine the most efficient technique for estimating inventory and spatial patterns of 137 Cs , we measured exposure rates at 124 sediment surface locations with two types of thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and compared them to estimates calculated from 137 Cs measured in 58 extracted sediment cores. The mean net exposure rate (±1SEM) measured at the sediment water interface with a UD-802 multi-element TLD (differentially shielded lithium borate and calcium sulfate) was 40±4 μR h−1, while the corresponding value measured with a CaF2 TLD was 64±10 μR h−1. Both sets of TLD measurements were found to correlate well with each other ( R 2 =0.88, p ), and moderately well with theoretical calculations derived from 137 Cs activity concentrations measured in sediment cores ( R 2 >0.50 ). The corresponding mean exposure rate calculated from the sediment data, 69±10 μR h−1, was likely an over-estimate resulting from the core sampling bias created by the large number of tree stumps. Overall, peak 137 Cs activity occurred at ∼2–4 cm depth in the sediment cores, with >99% in the top 20 cm of sediment. The total 137 Cs inventory of Pond A was estimated as 4.1±0.5×1010 Bq, with most activity located in the deeper portions. Approximately 1% of the 137 Cs activity thought to have been released by R-Reactor can be accounted for in Pond A, with an additional 53% estimated from other work to be in the much larger Pond B, and Par Pond, located further down the drainage. However, the mean deposition in Pond A (7.9×109 Bq ha−1) was higher than either Pond B (4.0×109 Bq ha−1), or Par Pond (1.4×109 Bq ha−1). It was concluded that, although the TLD method was more efficient and could employ more sampling locations to estimate spatial pattern, a reasonable amount of coring was essential to determine depth distribution, radionuclide composition, and to interpret the TLD data. Optimal estimation and characterization efficiency can benefit from simultaneous application of both techniques.
Condensation of Fluids Confined in Non-rigid Nanopores: With a Little Help from the Substrate

Fluids adsorbed in nanopores exert a force on the substrate that produces a compression or expansion of the host. Although this effect has been observed experimentally and computationally, an overwhelming majority of the theoretical studies have assumed that the environment provides a fixed, static potential in which the adsorbate moves. In a recent paper (H.-Y. Kim, S.M. Gatica, G. Stan and M.W. Cole, J. Low Temp. Phys. (this issue) 2009) we showed that the relaxation of the substrate is not limited to affecting the capacity of uptake, but has dramatic consequences on the physical properties of the adsorbates, like phase transitions and the energetics in low dimensions. For example, 3He in a rigid 1D pore is a gas, and in a non-rigid carbon nanotube is a liquid. In this paper we explore more situations involving classical and quantum fluids in slit pores and in bundles of carbon nanotubes. We find that, due to the cooperation of the relaxing substrate, confined classical gases condense at higher temperatures compared to extremely rigid substrates and 3He has a cohesive energy of up to 9.5 K when confined within a narrow non-rigid slit pore. We observe that a compression of a bundle of nanotubes of less than 0.02% gives rise to changes of up to 9% in the critical temperature.
Estimation of Dry Deposition of Inorganics Using Filter Pack Data and Inferred Deposition Velocity

Low-volume filter packs were used at several sites in Minnesota to measure weekly averaged concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitric acid vapor, and selected inorganic components of the small particles (SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, Ca, Mg, Na, K, and Cl). Hourly dry deposition velocities (Vd) were inferred using a multiple-layer canopy resistance model developed by the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory. Annual mean deposition velocities in centimeters per second (cm/s) for the years 1991−1993 ranged from 0.83 to 1.46 for HNO3, from 0.28 to 0.42 for SO2, and from 0.09 to 0.15 for small particles. Deposition velocities were distinctly cyclical, both annually and diurnally, with maximum values in the summertime and at midday for all species. Weekly averaged deposition velocities were multiplied with the low-volume filter pack measurements of air concentrations to obtain dry deposition fluxes. Dry deposition of all substances was generally highest in and near the Minneapolis−St. Paul metropolitan area and decreased with inc...
Novel identities involving coefficients of fractional parentage

Abstract Certain weighted sums of coefficients of fractional parentage can be reduced to strikingly simple expressions. These identities find use in atomic or molecular spectroscopy.
How does the presence of predators influence the persistence of antipredator behavior

We developed a virtual world to study the effect of predators on predator recognition. We trained a neural network to discriminate between the shapes of simulated aerial and terrestrial predators and non-predators. Then, the network's weighting values were fixed into the genomes of a set of autonomous agents. These animats were required to eat, avoid death due to starvation, and avoid predation, by fleeing from approaching predators. We systematically varied the predator's lethality, the mutation rate, the cost of fleeing a predator, and the presence or absence of aerial and terrestrial predators. We used ANOVA to analyse the average recognition ability (a measure of directional selection) and the standard deviation of recognition ability (a measure of relaxed selection) after 500 generations of selection. Mutation rate and the cost of flight had the greatest effect on both the average and standard deviation of recognition abilities. The loss of all predators relaxed selection on predator recognition abilities. The loss of specific predators had complex effects on recognition abilities. Persistence is largely influenced by escape costs.
Resting-state functional connectivity in the baboon model of genetic generalized epilepsy.

Summary Objective The baboon provides a natural model of genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE). This study compares the intrinsic connectivity networks of epileptic and healthy control baboons using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and data-driven functional connectivity mapping. Methods Twenty baboons, matched for gender, age, and weight, were classified into two groups (10 epileptic [EPI], 10 control [CTL]) on the basis of scalp electroencephalography (EEG) findings. Each animal underwent one MRI session that acquired one 5-min resting state fMRI scan and one anatomic MRI scan—used for registration and spatial normalization. Using independent component analysis, we identified 14 unique components/networks, which were then used to characterize each group's functional connectivity maps of each brain network. Results The epileptic group demonstrated network-specific differences in functional connectivity when compared to the control animals. The sensitivity and specificity of the two groups' functional connectivity maps differed significantly in the visual, motor, amygdala, insular, and default mode networks. Significant increases were found in the occipital gyri of the epileptic group's functional connectivity map for the default mode, cingulate, intraparietal, motor, visual, amygdala, and thalamic regions. Significance This is the first study using resting-state fMRI to demonstrate intrinsic functional connectivity differences between epileptic and control nonhuman primates. These results are consistent with seed-based GGE studies in humans; however, our use of a data-driven approach expands the scope of functional connectivity mapping to include brain regions/networks comprising the whole brain.
Polypharmacy: A Case Report and New Protocol for Management

Background: Polypharmacy is an important issue in primary care, yet few data are available concerning its prevalence, complications, and management in clinical medicine. The following case illustrates the clinical perils of polypharmacy and serves as a point for critical discussion. Methods: MEDLINE was searched, using the key word "polypharmacy," from 1994 to the present. A case report of polypharmacy is described, and a novel protocol for the management of polypharmacy is proposed. Results: Polypharmacy can lead to unnecessary expense, wasted time, and embarrassment on the part of the patient and confusion and mismanagement on the part of the physician. The literature reveals controversy surrounding the definition of polypharmacy and reflects the considerable morbidity and expense associated with polypharmacy. Finally, the SAIL protocol shows that physicians need to keep in mind simplicity, adverse effects, indications, and a precise list of all medications to manage appropriately a patient's drug regimen. Conclusions: Polypharmacy is associated with morbidity and iatrogenic complications. The SAIL protocol can be a useful tool in the management of this entity. More research needs to be done on the prevalence, complications, and management of polypharmacy. 0 Am Board Fam Pract 1998;11:140-4.) Polypharmacy is a major problem in clinical prac­ tice,1-6 yet clinically relevant data regarding its prevalence, complications, and treatment are scarce/ell Even the definition of polypharmacy is controversial 12 and varies from study to study, which further complicates the translation of re­ search results into useful information for the practicing primary care physician. Methods Using the key word "polypharmacy," the medical literature was searched through MEDLINE for reports of polypharmacy and to review defini­ tions, possible complications, and interventions. A case report describes a patient in whom poly­ pharmacy led to misdiagnosis, unnecessary test­ ing, and inappropriate treatment. Finally, a pro­ tocol for appropriate prescribing based on the SAIL acronym is proposed.
Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

Abstract In the selection of multicultural literature for children and young adults, educators and researchers focus on two main controversial issues—authority and authenticity—that the authors portray in their writing. What type of author can accurately portray realistic pictures of minority cultures in multicultural literature for young adults? Must it be written by a member of that particular ethnic group? Does it become something different if it is written by an outsider of the group?
Reconfigurable and Adaptive Antennas Using Materials with Variable Conductivity

This paper demonstrates the use of materials with variable conductivity in antenna design. These materials vary their conductivity in response to an electrical stimulus. Making part of an antenna from a variable conductive material provides some control over the resonant behavior of the antenna. This capability is useful for dynamically changing the operating frequency of the antenna or turning elements on and off for an adaptive array.
Remarks on “Measuring Ambiguity in the Evidence Theory”

In a recent paper, a functional AM (ambiguity measure) is introduced and an attempt is made to show that this functional qualifies as a measure of total aggregated uncertainty in the Dempster-Shafer theory. We show that this attempt fails due to a particular error in the proof of one of the principal theorems in the paper. Some additional remarks are made regarding recent research pertaining to the subject of the discussed paper.
Algorithms for active vibration isolation on spacecraft using a Stewart platform

This paper presents the recent development in algorithms for active vibration isolation on spacecraft using a Stewart platform. The multiple error least mean square (LMS) algorithm and the clear box algorithm have been implemented on these platforms and several enhancements have been made to the clear box algorithm. Based on experimental results, it is concluded that the multiple error LMS algorithm is preferred for vibration isolation when a disturbance correlated signal is available. In the absence of such a signal, the clear box algorithm is the method of choice. Among the implementations of the clear box algorithm, the sine/cosine method is preferred for handling time-invariant disturbance frequencies, the adaptive method for rapidly varying disturbance frequencies, and the frequency-domain method for a large number of time invariant disturbance frequencies.
An efficient approach of fast motion estimation and compensation in wavelet domain video compression

Motion estimation and compensation combined with wavelet transformation has been beneficially applied to improve video compression efficiency and accuracy. Based on the similar motion structures between the decomposed subimages, wavelet domain video compression can be improved by means of the simplifications in motion field refinement as well as in motion vector representation. Although the utilization of the motion field correlations between the same orientational subbands can achieve better compression performance than that between the approximation subbands, the computational load has to be traded off. Since most of the energies are concentrated in the low resolution subbands while decreased in the high resolution subbands, by considering both the accuracy and complexity, an efficient approach, called level-refined motion estimation and subband compensation (LRSC) method is proposed. It realizes low-entropy coding in the subbands, while keeping low computational load in motion estimation, thus to achieve both temporal compression quality and computational simplicity.
Uncertainty in the potential of a reference interface in liquid/liquid measurements

Electrochemical research on interfaces between two immiscible electrolytes often relies on establishing the so-called reference interface. This interface is formed by two immiscible solvents, each with a dissolved electrolyte. The electrolytes are chosen such that the two solvents share one common ion. The potential of the interface is then determined by a calculation. In this study, it is shown that this ionsensitive interface does not always have the commonly accepted potential value. Reasons for this and corrective actions are given.
Effect of Glucocorticoids on Chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection and HIV Promoter-Mediated Transcription

Corticosteroids are used in treatment of a variety of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related disorders. Preliminary reports of a temporal relationship between administration of these drugs to viral carriers and development of AIDS raised the possibility that they can modify the course of HIV infection. Because glucocorticoids can alter specific gene expression in at least one immunosuppressive murine retrovirus, mammary tumor virus, we explored the ability of dexamethasone (DXM) to upregulate chronic HIV replication or to alter transcription at the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). A clone of promonocytic cells chronically infected with HIV-1 could be converted to a productive state of replication by phorbol ester or halogenated pyrimidine exposure, yet was unperturbed by DXM used over broad concentrations (10(-4) to 10(-9) mol/L) and time intervals (24 to 96 hours). This unresponsiveness corresponded to the lack of a positive effect of DXM on HIV associated trans-activation in both monocytic and CD4+ T cells. These cells possessed the appropriate steroid receptors, as DXM downregulated Fc gamma type-I receptors in both normal and HIV- infected promonocytic cells. In addition, DXM could block the transcriptional enhancement of an HIV-LTR-linked reporter gene by phorbol ester, while leaving basal levels of HIV-LTR-directed transcription unperturbed. These data are discussed in the context of clinical reviews of short-term steroid use in HIV-infected individuals.
Sloppier copier DNA polymerases involved in genome repair.

Abstract When chromosomal replication is impeded in the presence of DNA damage, members of a newly discovered UmuC/DinB/Rev1/Rad30 superfamily of procaryotic and eucaryotic DNA polymerases catalyze translesion synthesis at blocked replication forks. Although these polymerases share sequence elements essentially unrelated to the standard replication and repair enzymes, some of them (such as the SOS-induced Escherichia coli pol V) catalyze ‘error-prone’ translesion synthesis leading to large increases in mutation, whereas others (an example being the Xeroderma pigmentosum variant gene product XPV pol η) carry out aberrant, yet nonmutagenic translesion synthesis. Ongoing studies of these low fidelity polymerases could provide new insights into the mechanism of somatic hypermutation, a key element in the immune response.
Physiological effects of whole cottonseed in the diet of lactating dairy cows.

Abstract With 32 lactating Holstein cows we evaluated physiological effects of gossypol and cyclopropenoid fatty acids in diets containing 18.5% whole cottonseed (dry matter) based on corn, corn silage, and soybean meal. All cows consumed a control diet for the first 2 wk of lactation and then were assigned to either control or whole cottonseed diet for the remainder of their lactation. Milk production, milk fat and protein percentages, and daily dry matter intake were measured. Dry matter intakes were less for cows consuming the whole cottonseed diet, but net energy intake was similar for all diets. Milk fat from cows consuming whole cottonseed contained detectable concentrations of cyclopropene fatty acids. Total lipid in plasma, total serum cholesterol, serum gossypol, and apparent liver gossypol concentrations were greater in cows fed whole cottonseed. Gossypol and cyclopropenoid fatty acids appeared to be absorbed from the gut of cows fed whole cottonseed. Small amounts of gossypol in serum and liver tissue and small amounts of cyclopropene fatty acids in adipose tissue lipids and milk fat indicate a need to elucidate the significance of these physiologically active compounds in the human diet and their biological effects on lactating dairy cows.
The rhetoric and reality of gap closing: when the "have-nots" gain but the "haves" gain even more .

Many forms of intervention, across different domains, have the surprising effect of widening preexisting gaps between disadvantaged youth and their advantaged counterparts—if such interventions are made available to all students, not just to the disadvantaged. Whether this widening of gaps is incongruent with American interests and values requires an awareness of this gap-widening potential when interventions are universalized and a national policy that addresses the psychological, political, economic, and moral dimensions of elevating the top students—tomorrow’s business and science leaders—and/or elevating the bottom students to redress past inequalities and reduce the future costs associated with them. This article is a first step in bringing this dilemma to the attention of scholars and policymakers and prodding a national discussion.
Treatment of hypertension from volume to vasoconstriction: The ACE up your sleeve.

Control of hypertension in the vascular patient is clearly a priority. However, these patients often will have significant co-morbidities that may influence the choice of medication, a decision that also may be affected by cost or Health Plan directives. Wherever possible, monotherapy should be attempted first, although in select circumstances combination therapy may be more appropriate. The 5 main categories of drugs used in the initial treatment of hypertensioe vascular diseases are (1) diuretics, (2) β-adrenergic blockers, (3) calcium channel blockers, (4) angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and (5) angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). There are also other less commonly used drugs. Each of the antihypertensive agents is roughly equally effective, producing a good antihypertensive response in 40% to 60% of cases. Some anti hypertensives, especially ACE and ARBs, also may have beneficial effects on the vascular and metabolic systems separate from their blood pressure lowering effects, which suggests they may be beneficial even if blood pressure is well maintained with other agents. This report covers the basic information required for the vascular surgeon to become familiar with the various medications and their indications, dosage, and side effects. It also provides some guidelines in selecting relevant anti hypertensive treatment regimens for the elderly patient with arterial vascular disease.
Live Debugging of Distributed Systems

Debugging distributed systems is challenging. Although incremental debugging during development finds some bugs, developers are rarely able to fully test their systems under realistic operating conditions prior to deployment. While deploying a system exposes it to realistic conditions, debugging requires the developer to: (i) detect a bug, (ii) gather the system state necessary for diagnosis, and (iii) sift through the gathered state to determine a root cause. In this paper, we present MaceODB, a tool to assist programmers with debugging deployed distributed systems. Programmers define a set of runtime properties for their system, which MaceODB checks for violations during execution. Once MaceODB detects a violation, it provides the programmer with the information to determine its root cause. We have been able to diagnose several non-trivial bugs in existing mature distributed systems using MaceODB; we discuss two of these bugs in this paper. Benchmarks indicate that the approach has low overhead and is suitable for in situ debugging of deployed systems.
Genomic convergence: identifying candidate genes for Parkinson's disease by combining serial analysis of gene expression and genetic linkage

We present a multifactorial, multistep approach called genomic convergence that combines gene expression with genomic linkage analysis to identify and prioritize candidate susceptibility genes for Parkinson's disease (PD). To initiate this process, we used serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to identify genes expressed in two normal substantia nigras (SN) and adjacent midbrain tissue. This identified over 3700 transcripts, including the three most abundant SAGE tags, which did not correspond to any known genes or ESTs. We developed high-throughput bioinformatics methods to map the genes corresponding to these tags and identified 402 SN genes that lay within five large genomic linkage regions, previously identified in 174 multiplex PD families. These genes represent excellent candidates for PD susceptibility alleles and further genomic convergence and analyses.
Iodinated and fluorinated steroid 2′-aryl-[3,2-c] pyrazoles as potential glucocorticoid receptor imaging agents

Abstract We have synthesized several halogenated steroids as potential glucocorticoid receptor mediated imaging agents. These compounds are analogs of aryl-pyrazolo steroids, similar to the potent glucocorticoid, cortivazol. Compounds containing the halogens, iodine, bromine, and fluorine, as well as the E- and Z-iodovinyl side chain at the para position of 2′-phenyl-11β,17,21-trihydroxy-16α-methyl-20-oxo-pregn-4-eno[3,2-c] pyrazole were prepared. They were tested as ligands for the glucocorticoid receptor by competition for the binding of [ 3 H]dexamethasone and for glucocorticoid potency by the induction of alkaline phosphatase in HeLa cells. None of the iodinated steroids were good ligands for the glucocorticoid receptor or potent glucocorticoids. The bromo analog was only slightly better than the iodinated steroids as a ligand, and it had a potency in the HeLa cell assay about half that of dexamethasone. The fluoro analog showed good binding to the glucocorticoid receptor and was a very potent glucocorticoid, approximately seven times that of dexamethasone. Consequently, it appears that the fluoro steroid, 2′-(4-fluorophenyl)-11β,17,21-trihydroxy-16α-methyl-20-oxo-pregn-4-eno[3,2-c] pyrazole, when labeled with 18 F, would make an excellent glucocorticoid receptor-mediated imaging agent for positron emission tomography.
Dopamine Modulates the Response of the Human Amygdala: A Study in Parkinson's Disease

In addition to classic motor signs and symptoms, Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by neuropsychological and emotional deficits, including a blunted emotional response. In the present study, we explored both the neural basis of abnormal emotional behavior in PD and the physiological effects of dopaminergic therapy on the response of the amygdala, a central structure in emotion processing. PD patients and matched normal controls (NCs) were studied with blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a paradigm that involved perceptual processing of fearful stimuli. PD patients were studied twice, once during a relatively hypodopaminergic state (i.e., ≥12 hr after their last dose of dopamimetic treatment) and again during a dopamine-replete state. The imaging data revealed a robust bilateral amygdala response in NCs that was absent in PD patients during the hypodopaminergic state. Dopamine repletion partially restored this response in PD patients. Our results demonstrate an abnormal amygdala response in PD that may underlie the emotional deficits accompanying the disease. Furthermore, consistent with findings in experimental animal paradigms, our results provide in vivo evidence of the role of dopamine in modulating the response of the amygdala to sensory information in human subjects.
Ralph Burhoe and Teilhard De Chardin: an Affinity in Mysticism?

Religious experience is conditioned and influenced by our understanding of reality, and scientific knowledge contributes to that understanding. Spirituality will be related to knowledge of nature in that experience of God will be mediated in and through a relation to the universe and out of the fulfillment of the creation. Thus a mystical knowledge of God is experienced in and out of a developing evolution of nature, society, and culture. Ralph Burhoe and Teilhard de Chardin share a vision of mystical unity with God as arising out of an integration involving the systems of nature and society.
Experimental vaccines against potentially pandemic and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses

Influenza A viruses continue to emerge and re-emerge, causing outbreaks, epidemics and occasionally pandemics. While the influenza vaccines licensed for public use are generally effective against seasonal influenza, issues arise with production, immunogenicity, and efficacy in the case of vaccines against pandemic and emerging influenza viruses, and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in particular. Thus, there is need of improved influenza vaccines and vaccination strategies. This review discusses advances in alternative influenza vaccines, touching briefly on licensed vaccines and vaccine antigens; then reviewing recombinant subunit vaccines, virus-like particle vaccines and DNA vaccines, with the main focus on virus-vectored vaccine approaches.
Deeper Search, More Agents

The 2D and 3D problems considered in this chapter involve more agents with more sophisticated moving abilities than the problems considered in Chapters 3 and 4. Most importantly, solutions to these problems are longer and, thus, they can be obtained only by employing a very deep search which is intractable for conventional approaches.
Electrical stimulation of the auditory system in children deafened by meningitis.

Twenty-five children deafened by meningitis were compared with 10 congenitally deaf children on cochlear implant performance. All subjects had met the audiologic criterion of profound deafness as required for implant surgery. Twenty subjects in the meningitis group had some degree of ossification at the round window, and drilling was required for electrode insertion into the scala tympani. In six of these subjects, bone completely filled the scala. There was a significant relationship between extensive ossification and the etiologic pathogen Diplococcus pneumoniae, as determined by radiologic and surgical reports. Postoperative results revealed that all subjects could be electrically stimulated, except for one with extensive bone formation. On implant performance, the meningitis group demonstrated sound-field thresholds comparable to those of the group with congenital deafness but required significantly higher voltage settings. These findings suggest that even with extensive labyrinthine ossification caus...
Bauschinger Effect Response of Automotive Sheet Steels

In a study of the Bauschinger effect, data were collected from three sources in the published literature. Quantitative stress-strain data were taken from these papers, and the results re-analyzed. The resulting database has 44 lots of sheet steels, including drawing quality, interstitial free, bake hardening, HSLA (and related grades), dual phase, TRIP, recovery annealed, and martensitic grades. In analyzing the data, it is found that use of the 0.05% yield strength on reversal instead of the conventional 0.2% yield strength provides more generality in explaining the results. In this analysis, the Bauschinger effect is characterized by a term (BE), which is the difference between the steel strength just prior to reversal and the 0.05% yield strength on reversal normalized by the strength just prior to reversal. An initial prestrain of 2% is needed to establish a dislocation morphology that can be generalized across many of the steel grades. For steels with a predominantly ferrite microstructure and no added interstitial elements, BE exhibits a single monotonic trend line with respect to the strength just prior to reversal. For the bake hardenable grades, the 0.05% yield strength on reversal is slightly greater than the trend line. For the DP980, TRIP, and martensite grades, the 0.05% yield strength on reversal is considerably greater than the trend line. These steel grades either initially or after deformation have a greater volume fraction of martensite. The recovery annealed steels, which possess a much greater dislocation density, also exhibit 0.05% yield strengths that are significantly greater than the trend line. For steels with a predominantly ferrite microstructure over a wide range of strength, the single characteristic curve indicates that the initial reverse yield strength can be determined from the strength at the point just prior to the reversal. For modelers of sheet forming processes, the relationship between strength and yield on reversal can be used in material constitutive equations.
Pension Reforms and the Incentives to Save: Lessons from Mexico

This paper investigates the effect of the introduction of tax free retirement accounts on the savings behavior of Mexican households. The paper contributes empirical evidence to the debate about whether preferential tax treatment is an effective policy tool to encourage household savings.The empirical strategy of the paper is a difference-in-difference approach that utilizes an arguably exogenous change in access to tax free accounts for a well-defined set of workers. The data provide evidence of heterogeneous effects across demographic subgroups and across quantiles of the savings distribution that accord with predictions of a standard model of savings behavior. In particular, the data show an increase in the savings rate of treated workers in the year following the introduction of the accounts. The effect is driven by prime age workers and by high income workers. Among prime age workers, the lower savers experience the largest effects of the policy change. I perform multiple robustness checks on these findings, including propensity score matching models and tests for potential confounding factors such as changes in retirement accounts returns or fees, or changes in workers income.
Elastic Distortion of Dislocations in Deforming FCC Crystals

A computational technique is developed to predict the statistics of internal elastic fields of three-dimensional dislocation systems in deforming crystals. The internal elastic fields are computed based on 3D dislocation realizations generated by the method of dislocation dynamics simulation. Preliminary results are presented for the statistical characteristics of the elastic strain, lattice rotation and dislocation density tensor fields. The importance of the current analysis is discussed in the context of direct comparison of simulations with spatially resolved 3D X-ray microscopy measurements of lattice rotation and the dislocation density tensor.
Abstract 619: Flavokawain A inhibits urinary bladder carcinogenesis in the UPII-SV40T transgenic mouse bladder cancer model.

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL The UPII-SV40T transgenic model of the mouse bladder reproduces a precursor to recurrent and invasive Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC): carcinoma in situ (CIS). This model therefore is useful for testing the potential of agents for preventing bladder cancer recurrence. Flavokawain A is the predominant chalcone identified from the kava plant. We have recently shown that flavokawain A exhibited strong growth inhibitory effects on human bladder cancer cell lines both in vitro in cell cultures and in vivo in a xenograft mouse model. In this study, we examine whether flavokawain A can also inhibit bladder cancer development in the UPII-SV40T transgenic model. The transgenic mice were identified through genotyping using Southern blotting analysis. Both heterozygous and homozygous UPII-SV40T mice were fed orally with vehicle control or 6 g flavokawain A /kg food for 9 months starting at 6 weeks of age. More than 54% control food- fed male mice died of ureter obstruction and nephrohydrosis within 10.5 months of age, while more than 67% of mice fed with 6g flavokawain A /kg food survived beyond 10.5 months of age. The mean bladder weight of male transgenic mice that were fed with 6g flavokawain /kg food for 9 months decreased by about 46% compared to those fed with vehicle control diet (mean bladder weights for vehicle control versus flavokawain A treatments are 0.2031±0.016 versus 0.1108±0.02565, P=0.0037). The mean bladder weights of female transgenic mice that were fed with 6g flavokawain /kg food for 9 months decreased by 31% compared to those fed with vehicle control diet (mean bladder weights for vehicle control versus flavokawain A treatments are 0.0466±0.0052 versus 0.03225±0.004689, p=0.0556). Mouse pathology analysis revealed that vehicle control treated mice exhibited poorly differentiated transitional cell carcinoma in the bladder, while that flavokawain A treated mice presented well differentiated tumors in the bladder. The bladder tissues from flavokawain A treated mice showed a decreased number of Ki67 positive cells compared to those in vehicle control treated mice, which suggested that flavokawain A inhibited cell proliferation in vivo in bladder tumors. These results suggested a potential of flavokawain A in preventing the recurrence of non-muscle invasive urinary bladder cancer by treating CIS. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 619. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-619
Acceptance standard investigation of vacuum tightness of direct air cooling generating unit

Along with the commissioning of the first 200 MW and following 300 MW 600MW, capacity size direct air cooling units, it isimminent to solve the acceptance standard of vacuum tightness of direct air cooling generating unit. This paper probes into the relevantproblems of vacuum tightness from the practice and theory angles, and puts forward the opinions and suggestions on the acceptance standardof vacuum tightness of direct air cooling units.
STUDY ON WAIST CAMBERING OF DOG-BONE SHAPED BLANK DURING VERTICAL ROLLING FOR WIDTH REGULATION

The possible waist cambering of dog-bone shaped blank by vertical rolling is analyzed in the paper.The effect of vertical rolling and critical conditions of cambering waist have been obtained in a simulation vertical rolling experiment with lead pieces.
Water Management Lessons from Nature for Applications to Buildings

Water management and regulation in buildings have been facing real challenges with the increasing environmental awareness during the last decades. Current concerns of shortage in water resources increase the demands to enhance water management strategies. In this respect, buildings should be able to gain, conserve, transport, and lose water adequately. Efficient water management solutions can be extracted from strategies found in nature. Here, we classify a basic array of strategies for water management; discuss morphological features and active means; and list corresponding examples from nature, to facilitate the search for and the selection of strategies from the large database of nature, and inspire new design solutions.
Changes in lipolytic sensitivity following repeated epinephrine infusion in humans

The lipolytic response to epinephrine is increased in lean but not obese subjects during conditions of increased circulating catecholamines such as starvation and critical illness. We evaluated the...