cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A better way to estimate adult patients' weights.

Abstract Objective In the emergency department (ED), adult patients' weights are often crudely estimated before lifesaving interventions. In this study, we evaluate the reliability and accuracy of a method to rapidly calculate patients' weight using readily obtainable anthropometric measurements. We compare this method to visual estimates, patient self-report, and measured weight. Methods A convenience sample of adult ED patients in an academic medical center were prospectively enrolled. Midarm circumference and knee height were measured. These values were input in to equations to calculate patients' weights. A physician and nurse were then independently asked to estimate the patients' weights. Each patient was asked to report his/her own weight before being weighed. Calculated weights using the above equations, visual estimates, and patient reports were compared with actual weights by determining the percentage accurate within 10%. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the estimates with respect to actual weights. Results Weight was determined within 10% accuracy of actual weight in 69% (95% confidence interval, 63-75) of calculated estimates, 54% (48-61) of physician estimates, 51% (44-57) of nurse estimates, and 86% (81-90) of patient estimates. The weight estimation tool calculated weights more accurately in males (74%, 65-82) than females (65%, 56-73). An analysis of errors revealed that when estimates were inaccurate, approximately half were overestimates and half were underestimates. The correlation coefficient between the calculated estimates and actual weights was 0.89. The correlation coefficient of actual weights with respect to physician estimates, nurse estimates, and doctor's estimates were 0.85, 0.78, and 0.95, respectively. Conclusions This technique using readily obtainable measurements estimates weight more accurately than ED providers. The technique correlates well with actual patient weights. When available, patient estimates of their own weight are most accurate.
Comparison of Predictive Models for Bacterial Spore Population Resources to Sterilization Temperatures

Comparisons of characteristics of recent models and the conventional model of bacterial spore populations during thermal sterilization showed the conventional model was inadequate for general representation because it lacks activation of dormant spores. New models accounting for activation differed in other assumptions but obviated heat shock of indicator spores required when using the conventional model in validations of thermal sterilization. Comparisons of rate constants and simulated and experimental responses of models of B. stearother-mophilus spores in constant and dynamic temperatures showed one new model was more general, more accurate and preferred. Arrhenius equations accurately described temperature dependencies of all rate constants of that model.
“The Stuff of Tragedy” Shinseki's Reply to Levin

Damon Coletta's “Courage in the Service of Virtue” accuses General Eric K. Shinseki of publicly challenging administration policy in a way that “improvised in areas such as war-fighting and diplomacy beyond his official purview,” contradicted the combatant commander, aided the French, abetted the Democrats, emboldened Saddam, and damaged American civil–military relations because it dismissed the policy makers' “right to be wrong.” Shinseki did none of these things, including publicly challenging administration policy. This article will provide some historical corrective and context for this debate. It will examine Shinseki's options and argue that, rather than damaging civilian control, Shinseki protected it through acts of commission and omission, through forthrightness and restraint toward both sets of his civilian masters enumerated in the Constitution to control the military, the executive and legislative branches of government.
Probabilistic Model of Ammonia and Toxicity Status for Urban Lake

The development of a probabilistic modeling framework to conduct a priori simulations (forecasts) of the concentration of total ammonia (T-NH3) and status with respect to toxicity standards and criteria is documented for ammonia-polluted Onondaga Lake, Syracuse, N.Y. This framework utilizes a previously tested mass balance nitrogen model, long-term (27 year) simulations, and the Monte Carlo technique. Variability is accommodated, based on long-term records, for several parameters and forcing conditions, including (1) tributary runoff, (2) in-lake vertical mixing, (3) in-lake rate of nitrification, (4) T-NH3 concentration in the effluent of a wastewater-treatment plant, (5) lake pH, and (6) lake temperature. The probabilistic framework performed well in simulating the broad variations in T-NH3 concentrations observed in the lake over a 6-year period (1989–1994). The major sources of the observed interannual variability in the lake's T-NH3 pool are demonstrated to be natural variations in runoff and the irr...
Chromatin remodeling by cell cycle stage-specific extracts from Physarum polycephalum.

Remodeling of chromatin is an essential process allowing the establishment of specific genetic programs. The slime mold Physarum polycephalum presents the attractive advantage of natural synchrony of the cell cycle in several million nuclei. Whole-cell extracts prepared at precise stages during the cell cycle were tested for the ability to induce remodeling in erythrocyte nuclei as monitored by microscopy, protamine competition assays, micrococcal nuclease digestions, and release of histone H5. Extracts derived from two specific cell cycle stages caused opposite types of changes in erythrocyte nuclei. An increase in chromatin compaction was imparted by extracts prepared during S-phase while extracts harvested at the end of G2-phase caused increases in nuclear volume, DNA accessibility, and release of linker histone. We also found that late G2 extracts had the ability to alter the DNase I digestion profile of mononucleosomes reconstituted in vitro in a classical nucleosome remodeling assay. The relevance of these finding to the Physarum cell cycle is discussed.
On the retinal basis of visual adaptation.

Visual Adaptation poses numerous problems: in some situations bleached pigment and background lights exert equivalent effects on the visual threshold, while in other situations they do not. Adaptation in man spans a range of more that 10 log units, yet receptor polarization—if this be considered as a measure of the response—saturates over 3 or 4 log units in various animals, including primates. To resolve problems such as these, a model is proposed for the responses and interactions of retinal cells, especially receptor, horizontal, and bipolar cells. It is postulated that receptors can give an output either in terms of ionic flux and polarization changes or chemical synaptic activity. These can both contribute to retinal thresholds, which will also depend, however, on the level of bleached pigment in receptors, as well as on processes in the neural network of the retina. The horizontal cells transmit a signal only if the “transmission line” is “opened” at each end through synaptic activity. This “opening” of the line occurs in response to light stimuli, as distinct from those due to bleaching. Bipolar cells integrate the receptor output with the surround inhibition of the horizontal cells. The amacrine cells perform a second difference operation with respect to rates of change. It is argued that the model is consistent with experimental data on cellular and membrane responses in the retina and that various psychophysical data can be explained on this basis. The objective of this paper is to try to understand the responses of an organ in terms of cell responses and interactions. Specifically, the organ here is the eye and the cells are the neurons in the retina.
Rethinking Headache Chronification

The objective of this series is to examine several threats to the interpretation of headache chronification studies that arise from methodological issues. The study of headache chronification has extensively used longitudinal designs with 2 or more measurement occasions. Unfortunately, application of these designs, when combined with the common practice of extreme score selection as well as the extant challenges in measuring headache frequency rates (eg, unreliability, regression to the mean), induces substantive threats to accurate interpretation of findings. Partitioning the amount of observed variance in rates of chronification and remission attributable to regression artifacts is a critical yet previously overlooked step to learning more about headache as a potentially progressive disease. In this series on rethinking headache chronification, we provide an overview of methodological issues in this area (this paper), highlight the influence of rounding error on estimates of headache frequency (second paper), examine the influence of random error and regression artifacts on estimates of chronification and remission (third paper), and consider future directions for this line of research (fourth paper).
Influence of halothane genotype and body-weight on myosin heavy chain composition in pig muscle as related to meat quality

Abstract In an effort to understand the relationship between muscle fiber type, live weight, genotype, and PSE development, enzyme-linked immunosorbent analyses were used to evaluate myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform content in the longissimus muscle of pigs differing in halothane gene status (nn, homozygous mutant; Nn, heterozygous; NN, homozygous normal) that were slaughtered at three different weights (100, 120 and 140 kg). Pigs carrying the n gene (Nn and nn) exhibited more IIB MyHC and less slow type I MyHC than those pigs free of the n gene, while NN pigs had greater amounts of IIAX MyHC. The relative abundance of IIB and IIAX MyHC in muscle of all pigs studied was strongly negatively correlated (r=−0.834). Heavier pigs (140 kg) had the greatest amounts of slow and IIA MyHC. Across all genotypes, the relative abundance of IIB MyHC and muscle pH at 45 min postexsanguination (pH45) was negatively correlated (r=−0.418). In addition, the relative amount of slow was positively correlated with pH45 (r=0.386). Because muscle of homozygous nn positive pigs exhibited similar IIB/slow MyHC ratios to that of heterozygous Nn pigs, yet less desirable pH45 values and ultimate meat quality scores argues against a role of MyHC content per se in contributing to PSE development. However, these data do not preclude that those pigs with greater amounts of IIB MyHC are more ‘susceptible’ to adverse pork quality development than those pigs with less IIB MyHC.
Two types of assays for detecting frog sperm chemoattraction.

Sperm chemoattraction in invertebrates can be sufficiently robust that one can place a pipette containing the attractive peptide into a sperm suspension and microscopically visualize sperm accumulation around the pipette1. Sperm chemoattraction in vertebrates such as frogs, rodents and humans is more difficult to detect and requires quantitative assays. Such assays are of two major types - assays that quantitate sperm movement to a source of chemoattractant, so-called sperm accumulation assays, and assays that actually track the swimming trajectories of individual sperm. Sperm accumulation assays are relatively rapid allowing tens or hundreds of assays to be done in a single day, thereby allowing dose response curves and time courses to be carried out relatively rapidly. These types of assays have been used extensively to characterize many well established chemoattraction systems - for example, neutrophil chemotaxis to bacterial peptides and sperm chemotaxis to follicular fluid. Sperm tracking assays can be more labor intensive but offer additional data on how chemoattractancts actually alter the swimming paths that sperm take. This type of assay is needed to demonstrate the orientation of sperm movement relative to the chemoattrractant gradient axis and to visualize characteristic turns or changes in orientation that bring the sperm closer to the egg. Here we describe methods used for each of these two types of assays. The sperm accumulation assay utilized is called a "two-chamber" assay. Amphibian sperm are placed in a tissue culture plate insert with a polycarbonate filter floor having 12 μm diameter pores. Inserts with sperm are placed into tissue culture plate wells containing buffer and a chemoatttractant carefully pipetted into the bottom well where the floor meets the wall (see Fig. 1). After incubation, the top insert containing the sperm reservoir is carefully removed, and sperm in the bottom chamber that have passed through the membrane are removed, pelleted and then counted by hemocytometer or flow cytometer. The sperm tracking assay utilizes a Zigmond chamber originally developed for observing neutrophil chemotaxis and modified for observation of sperm by Giojalas and coworkers2,3. The chamber consists of a thick glass slide into which two vertical troughs have been machined. These are separated by a 1 mm wide observation platform. After application of a cover glass, sperm are loaded into one trough, the chemoattractant agent into the other and movement of individual sperm visualized by video microscopy. Video footage is then analyzed using software to identify two-dimensional cell movements in the x-y plane as a function of time (xyt data sets) that form the trajectory of each sperm.
Fiber optic infrared measurement system for thermal measurement of a Kapton HN sample

A dual-waveband, fiber-optic/infrared (F-O/IR) temperature measurement system was enhanced with incorporated optical chopping and applied to measure the surface temperature of a coated (aluminized) Kapton HN sample. The F-O/IR system provides a non-contact means for accurate membrane temperature measurement without distorting surface contour. An FTIR spectrometer was used to measure the absorptance and reflectance properties of the Kapton HN sample. A long-wave IR scanner was used to validate and enhance results obtained from the spectrometer and predict temperature dependence of optical properties. Data are presented that demonstrate the feasibility to apply the F-O/IR system for non-contact temperature measurement of highly reflective surfaces at low temperatures.
Effect of alcohol consumption on adult and aged bone: Composition, morphology, and hormone levels of a rat animal model

To determine the effect of life-long alcohol consumption on the adult and aged rat model, 4-week-old, female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three diet groups. Alcohol-treated animals were fed a modified Lieber-DeCarli diet ad libitum containing 35% ethanol-derived calories, whereas the pair-fed animals (weight-matched to ethanol rats) received an isocaloric liquid diet in which maltose-dextrin substituted calories supplied by ethanol. Chow animals were fed a standard rat chow ad libitum. Proximal tibiae (primarily cancellous bone) and femora (primarily cortical bone) were removed for analysis after 3, 6, 9, 12, or 18 months on the diets. Serum was collected for analysis of calcium levels, the calcium regulating hormones; parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcitonin, cor-ticosterone, estradiol, testosterone, and IGF-1. Creatinine, SGOT/ AST, and SGPT/ALT levels were measured to determine kidney and liver integrity. Previous studies, with young animals, showed that chronic alcohol consumption during the age of bone development reduced bone density and bone mass in both cortical and cancellous bone. The present study demonstrates that these reductions last throughout life, whereas morphological values, such as length and diameter, attain control levels. Calcium regulating hormones and sex hormones are essentially normal and do not appear to be the primary causative agent for adult alcohol-induced osteopenia, but it appears to be due to a more direct effect of alcohol on bone cells.
Conducting a matched-pairs historical Cohort study with a computer-based ambulatory medical record system

Abstract We describe techniques for using the Computer-Stored Ambulatory Record (COSTAR) at the Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a historical cohort study of the effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on blood pressure control. A query language was used to identify patients satisfying clinical and data-availability criteria, to match these patients with clinically similar patients not exposed to NSAIDs, and to collect data from the COSTAR records of both groups of patients to determine any differences in outcome. We analyzed over 30,000 patient records to select 90 pairs of patients used in the study. This approach to clinical research uses data collected for purposes of patient care and so does not require the separate recording of patient data for clinical research. Using computer-based medical record systems with a query language allows selection and matching of patients using detailed demographic and clinical criteria. The ability to conduct such studies is an advantage of computer-based medical record systems over the paper record system.
A Cross‐Ethnic Study of Adolescents' Depressed Mood and the Erosion of Parental and Peer Warmth During the Transition to Young Adulthood

This 1-year longitudinal study investigated the effects of adolescents' depressed mood on perceived parental and peer warmth during the transition to young adulthood. We hypothesized that ethnicity would moderate such effects. As part of a larger study, 511 adolescents (154 European, 205 Hispanic, and 152 Asian Americans) participated in this research. They were surveyed shortly before their high school graduation and again 1 year later. Analyses based on 2-wave cross-lagged models showed that higher levels of initial depressive symptoms predicted lower levels of subsequent perceived parental and peer warmth for European Americans. For Asian Americans, higher initial depressed mood was significantly associated with lower levels of perceived peer warmth and was marginally associated with lower levels of parental warmth. In contrast, the erosion of parental and peer warmth was not evident for Hispanic Americans. The role of culture in the erosion of parental and peer warmth during life transitions was discussed. © 2009, Society for Research on Adolescence.
A continuous, underway fish egg sampler

We describe a method to sample the highly contagious distribution of pelagic fish eggs. CUFES, the continuous, underway fish egg sampler, consists of a submersible pump, concentrator, electronics and sample collector. This system operates continuously and under nearly all sea conditions, providing a real-time estimate of the volumetric abundance of pelagic fish eggs at pump depth, usually 3 m. CUFES-derived estimates of volumetric abundance agree well with those from nets towed at pump depth and with areal abundance estimated from vertically integrated plankton tows. CUFES has been used successfully to sample the eggs of menhaden, pinfish, sardine, and anchovy off the coasts of the eastern and western United States and South Africa. Two large patches of eggs of the Atlantic menhaden were sampled off North Carolina in winter 1993‐94, had a linear scale of 5‐10 km, and were found in waters between the Gulf Stream and mid-shelf front. Spawning location may be related to bathymetry. CUFES is now being used to estimate spawner biomass by the daily egg production method. An optical plankton counter provided accurate estimates of the number of Atlantic menhaden eggs sample by CUFES.
Salivary Cortisol Levels and Diurnal Patterns in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by significant heterogeneity in functional levels that can reportedly affect stress. This study examined the diurnal patterns and cortisol levels of low-functioning children with ASD, high-functioning children with ASD, and typically-developing children between the ages of 7 and 12 years. Saliva was collected from each participant three times per day (AM, noon, and PM) during two consecutive weekends. Results indicated that all three groups demonstrated the typical diurnal pattern (highest cortisol at AM, followed by noon, and lowest at PM). Although results revealed no significant group x time interaction, significant main effects were found for time and group. These effects indicated that collectively, all three groups demonstrated mean differences in cortisol levels across the day. In addition, the low-functioning ASD group yielded significantly higher mean cortisol levels than the high-functioning ASD and typically-developing groups; the high-functioning ASD and typically-developing groups did not significantly differ.
Estimates of the maximum time required to originate life

Fossils of the oldest microorganisms exist in 3.5 billion year old rocks and there is indirect evidence that life may have existed 3.8 billion years ago (3.8 Ga). Impacts able to destroy life or interrupt prebiotic chemistry may have occurred after 3.5 Ga. If large impactors vaporized the oceans, sterilized the planets, and interfered with the origination of life, life must have originated in the time interval between these impacts which increased with geologic time. Therefore, the maximum time required for the origination of life is the time that occurred between sterilizing impacts just before 3.8 Ga or 3.5 Ga, depending upon when life first appeared on earth. If life first originated 3.5 Ga, and impacts with kinetic energies between 2 x 10 the the 34th and 2 x 10 to the 35th were able to vaporize the oceans, using the most probable impact flux, it is found that the maximum time required to originate life would have been 67 to 133 million years (My). If life originated 3.8 Ga, the maximum time to originate life was 2.5 to 11 My. Using a more conservative estimate for the flux of impacting objects before 3.8 Ga, a maximum time of 25 My was found for the same range of impactor kinetic energies. The impact model suggests that it is possible that life may have originated more than once.
Interpersonal problem solving and parasuicide

This study examined the relationship between interpersonal problem solving and suicidal behavior among psychiatric patients. Subjects were 123 psychiatric inpatients, admitted for current parasuicide, serious suicide ideation, or non-suicide-related complaints. A group of 16 orthopedic surgery patients was included to control for hospitalization trauma and current stress. All subjects completed a revised version of the Means-End Problem Solving Procedure, the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, and a suicide expectancy measure. Psychiatric patients scored lower than the medical control group on the assertive schedule, but no differences were noted as a function of suicidal behavior status. Psychiatric patients expected suicide to solve problems more than did controls. Suicidal patients had higher expectancies than did nonsuicidal patients. Active interpersonal problem solving did not distinguish suicidal and nonsuicidal psychiatric patients but did separate parasuicides from suicide ideators. Among patients without a parasuicide history, less active and greater passive problem solving discriminated first-time parasuicides from suicide ideators and nonsuicidals. Results suggest that assertion deficits may characterize the psychiatric population in general, but suicidal behavior within psychiatric patients may be related to lower active problem solving.
THE CELLULAR AUTOMATA PARADIGM FOR THE PARALLEL SOLUTION OF HEAT TRANSFER PROBLEMS

This paper describes the numerical solution of heat transfer problems using cellular automata. While traditional methods offer high performance on uniprocessor machines, their performance is limited on distributed memory multiprocessors by communication bottlenecks caused by the interdependence of the equations. Using a cellular automata formulation, these bottlenecks can be avoided, and performance greater than that obtained by parallelizing traditional algorithms can be achieved. This paper gives an overview of the cellular automata paradigm and specific examples of solutions to a hyperbolic and a parabolic problem. The accuracy of the method is verified by comparisons of the results with analytical solutions and with results produced by other techniques.
Infrared spectroscopy to probe structure and dynamics in metal ion-molecule complexes

Vibrational spectroscopy measurements are described for mass-selected metal cation-molecular complexes using the technique of infrared resonance-enhanced photodissociation (REPD) spectroscopy. We discuss the mechanism of the REPD process in the infrared and how multiphoton techniques or rare gas tagging can be employed to facilitate dissociation processes in strongly bound complexes. Spectra are reported for Fe+(CO2)n complexes that demonstrate the formation of coordination spheres around the metal cation and for Mg+(CO2)n complexes, where the interaction with theory makes it possible to obtain structures for small clusters. Both of these studies investigate the asymmetric stretch region of CO2. Ni+(C2H2)n complexes are studied in the C-H stretch region, demonstrating evidence for intracluster cyclization reactions. Finally, experiments are described for metal ion-benzene (M = V, Al) complexes excited in the benzene ring distortions and C-H bending region. These experiments confirm the ~ -bonded configura...
Consumers' preferences for the communication of risk information in drug advertising

Research was conducted to identify consumers’ preferences regarding the form, content, and placement of drug side-effect information in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Specific questions expl...
Auditing the truth, or so you thought

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of auditors in the financial crisis and the level of responsibility, if any, that should be placed on audit firms. The paper will analyse the ethical implications of the decisions made by auditors when issuing their audit opinions for their clients. Utilising the ethical paradigms developed by Rushworth Kidder in How Good People Make Tough Choices, this paper will assess the reasoning behind the decisions made by auditors and audit firms as a whole. The auditors did not intentionally choose to commit the wrongdoings the critics have accused them of.
Solution of Stefan problems imposed with cyclic temperature and flux boundary conditions

Abstract Stefan problems imposed with cyclic temperature and flux boundary conditions are solved by using source and sink methods. A source front is associated with a moving freeze front while a sink front is associated with a moving melt front. The solution is expressed in a set of coupled integrodifferential equations, which are solved numerically for interface positions, temperature profiles, and cumulative and instantaneous heat storage and release. The solution methods have been shown to be unique, convergent, stable, and accurate. While they are used to test one cycle each of the temperature and flux conditions, the developed methods are general and applicable to multiple cycles. The numerical results reveal interesting phenomena not previously reported in the literature. Their relevance to energy storage and material processing and treatment is also covered.
A model for semi-quantitative studies of muscle actions

Abstract A determinate scheme for modeling the mechanical effects of muscle contractions in a musculoskeletal system, using the direct-stiffness method of structural analysis, is described. Data concerning skeletal geometries, connective tissue passive mechanical properties, and muscle lines-of-action and cross-sectional areas are incorporated to make the model specific for studies of muscle actions in the human trunk. Several illustrative examples of model trunk responses to muscle contractions are presented and discussed.
Abstract 1767: Targeting prostate cancer osteoblastic progression with VEGF121/rGel, a single agent targeting osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and tumor neovasculature

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Purpose: A hallmark of prostate cancer (PCa) progression is the development of osteoblastic bone metastases, which respond poorly to available therapies. We previously reported that VEGF121/rGel targets osteoclast precursors and tumor neovasculature. Here we tested the hypothesis that targeting non-tumor cells expressing the receptors for VEGF121, namely VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, can inhibit tumor progression in a clinically relevant model of osteoblastic PCa. Experimental Design: We examined the effect of VEGF121/rGel on osteoblast precursors and several PCa cell lines in vitro; on osteoid formation in a mouse calvaria culture assay ex vivo; and on PCa osteoblastic progression in the femurs of mice injected with MDA PCa 118b, a PCa xenograft obtained from a bone metastasis in a patient with castrate-resistant PCa. Results: VEGF121/rGel was cytotoxic in vitro to osteoblast precursor cells. This cytotoxicity was specific as VEGF121/rGel internalization into osteoblasts was VEGF121 receptor driven. Furthermore, VEGF121/rGel significantly inhibited PCa-induced bone formation in a mouse calvaria culture assay. In vivo, systemic administration of VEGF121/rGel significantly inhibited the osteoblastic progression of PCa cells in the femurs of nude mice. Microcomputed tomography analysis revealed that VEGF121/rGel restored the bone volume fraction of tumor-bearing femurs to values similar to those of the contralateral (non-tumor bearing) femurs. VEGF121/rGel significantly reduced the number of tumor-associated osteoclasts but did not change the numbers of peritumoral osteoblasts. Importantly, VEGF121/rGel-treated mice had significantly less tumor burden than control mice did. Our results thus indicate that VEGF121/rGel inhibits osteoblastic tumor progression by targeting angiogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, and bone formation. Conclusions: Targeting VEGFR-1- or VEGFR-2-expressing cells is effective in controlling the osteoblastic progression of PCa in bone. These findings provide the basis for an effective multitargeted approach for metastatic PCa. We believe that VEGF121/rGel in combination with tumor cell-targeting therapies (e.g., chemotherapy) constitutes a novel strategy for advanced PCa. Research conducted, in part, by the Clayton Foundation for Research. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1767. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1767
Spectroscopic Analysis of Hemolymph from the American Lobster (Homarus americanus)

ABSTRACT Hemolymph from the American lobster (Homarus americanus) was analyzed by optical spectroscopy for the concentration of total hemolymph proteins and results were compared with a more traditional technique: refractometry. Absorbance peaks at 280 nm for total hemolymph protein concentration and 334 nm for hemocyanin concentration were studied, compared with equivalent refractometry readings, and correlated to the vitality of the lobster. These spectroscopic measurements constitute engineering data in the design a future noninvasive, field-deployable microinstrument to sort lobster according to their health and long-term viability.
Integration of nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relays with silicon CMOS with functional CMOS-NEM circuit

This paper demonstrates electrical results of an integrated Si CMOS-electrostatically actuated nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relay circuit. This is an initial step towards realizing previously proposed NEM-CMOS hybrid circuits that predict various benefits compared to CMOS-only circuits. In this work, an e-beam patterned laterally actuated Pt NEM relay is fabricated at CMOS-compatible temperatures (≤ 400 °C) on top of CMOS and is driven by an on-chip CMOS inverter at V DD = 6 V.
Lineage segregation and developmental autonomy in expression of functional muscle acetylcholinesterase mRNA in the ascidian embryo

Acetylcholinesterase is a histospecific marker of cell differentiation occurring only in the muscle and mesenchyme tissues of the ascidian embryo. The distribution of functional mRNA coding for this enzyme has been investigated and it is shown here that only cells of muscle and mesenchyme lineages possess such a template. Blastomeres of four cell lineage quadrants were separated microsurgically from eight-cell-stage embryos of Ciona intestinalis and raised in isolation until muscle development was well advanced. Measurement of enzyme activity in the resulting partial embryos revealed that acetylcholinesterase was limited to descendants of one blastomere pair, the B4.1 blastomeres containing muscle and mesenchyme lineages. To study the tissue distribution of acetylcholinesterase mRNA, RNA from partial embryos was translated in Xenopus laevis oocytes. When oocytes were injected with an appropriate template, they synthesized a biologically active acetylcholinesterase that could be selectively immunopurified with an antiserum to the ascidian enzyme. Under the conditions used the quantity of acetylcholinesterase mRNA was directly related to the enzyme activity in immunoprecipitates. Acetylcholinesterase mRNA was found only in B4.1 lineage partial embryos where it occurred in approximately the same amount as in whole embryos of the same age. Since there is a limited period from gastrulation until the middle tail-formation stage when functional acetylcholinesterase mRNA accumulates, the results of our mRNA distribution experiments strongly suggest that the gene for ascidian acetylcholinesterase is active only in muscle and mesenchyme tissues. The histospecific occurrence of this enzyme apparently does not involve selective, cell-specific control of translation.
Impacts of black carbon mixing state on black carbon nucleation scavenging: Insights from a particle‐resolved model

[1] This paper presents an advancement of the recently developed particle-resolved aerosol model PartMC-MOSAIC (Particle Monte Carlo-Model for Simulating Aerosol Interactions and Chemistry) to investigate the impacts of mixing state on cloud droplet formation and to provide a tool for the quantification of errors in cloud properties introduced by simplifying mixing state assumptions. We coupled PartMC-MOSAIC with a cloud parcel model. We initialized the cloud parcel simulation with hourly PartMC-MOSAIC model output from a 48-hour urban plume simulation. The cloud parcel model then explicitly simulated activation and condensational growth of the particles as the parcel underwent cooling at a specified rate and the particles of the aerosol population competed for water vapor. We used this capability to quantify the relative importance of size information versus composition information for the prediction of the cloud droplet number fraction, mass fraction of black carbon that is nucleation-scavenged, cloud droplet effective radius, and relative dispersion of the droplet size distribution by introducing averaging of particle-resolved information within prescribed bins. For the cloud droplet number fraction, both composition averaging and size-bin averaging individually led to an error of less than 25% for all cloud parcel simulations, while averaging in both size bins and composition resulted in errors of up to 34% for the base case cooling rate of 0.5 K/min. In contrast, for the nucleation-scavenged black carbon mass fraction, the results for size-bin averaging tracked the reference case well, while composition averaging, with or without size-bin averaging, led to overestimation of this quantity by up to 600%.
Local failure and margin status in early-stage breast carcinoma treated with conservation surgery and radiation therapy.

Objective The authors determined whether microscopically positive surgical margins are detrimental to the outcome of early stage breast cancer patients treated with conservation surgery and radiation therapy. Summary background data The optimal extent of breast surgery required for patients treated with conservation surgery and radiation therapy has not been established. To achieve breast preservation with good cosmesis, it is desirable to resect as little normal tissue as possible. However, it is critical that the resection does not leave behind a tumor burden that cannot be adequately managed by moderate doses of radiation. It is not known whether microscopically positive surgical margins are detrimental to patient outcome. Methods The records of 259 consecutive women (262 breasts) treated with local excision (complete removal of gross tumor with a margin) and axillary dissection followed by radiation therapy for clinical stage I and II infiltrating ductal breast cancer at Duke University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina between 1983 and 1988 were reviewed. Surgical margins were considered positive if tumor extended to the inked margins; otherwise the margins were considered negative. Margins that could not be determined, either because the original pathology report did not comment on margins, or because the original specimen had not been inked were called indeterminate. Results Of the 262 tumors, 32 (12%) had positive margins, 132 (50%) had negative margins, and the remaining 98 (38%) had indeterminate margins. There were 11 (4%) local failures; 3/32 (9%) from the positive margin group, 2/132 (1.5%) from the negative margin group, and 6/98 (6%) from the indeterminate group. The actuarial local failure rates at 5 years were 10%, 2%, and 10%, respectively, p = 0.014 positive vs. negative, p = 0.08 positive vs. indeterminate (log rank test). Margin status had no impact on survival or freedom from distant metastasis; 63 patients who originally had positive or indeterminate margins were re-excised. Two of 7 with positive margins after re-excision versus 1/56 rendered margin negative had a local recurrence. Conclusions The authors recommend re-excision for patients with positive margins because of improved local control of those rendered margin negative and identification of those patients at high risk for local failure (those who remain positive after re-excision). Because margin status impacts on local control, tumor margins after conservation surgery should be accurately determined in all patients.
Shocked H2O ice: Thermal emission measurements and the criteria for phase changes during impact events

[1] Impact cratering events on icy planetary bodies may produce transient liquid water and vapor. We present the first thermal emission measurements from shocked H2O ice and derive peak and post-shock temperatures. Under shock pressures between 8.2 and 13.6 GPa, initially ∼165 K ice is heated to between 673 and 1055 K. In the time frame of the experiment, the shocked H2O releases to the saturation vapor curve and does not achieve full decompression. The temperature results are used to validate the new 5-Phase H2O model equation of state (EOS). The 5-Phase EOS is used to predict the critical shock pressures required to induce melting and vaporization of ice for a wide range of ambient pressures and temperatures. Impact events with velocities as low as ∼1 km/s will initiate phase changes on icy surfaces. Thus, shock-induced melting and vaporization of ice is a widespread process in the solar system.
Voltage Dependence and pH Regulation of Human Polycystin-2-mediated Cation Channel Activity

Abstract Polycystin-2, the product of the humanPKD2 gene, whose mutations cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, is a large conductance, Ca2+-permeable non-selective cation channel. Polycystin-2 is functionally expressed in the apical membrane of the human syncytiotrophoblast, where it may play a role in the control of fetal electrolyte homeostasis. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms that regulate polycystin-2 channel function. In this study, the role of pH in the regulation of polycystin-2 was assessed by ion channel reconstitution of both apical membranes of human syncytiotrophoblast and the purified FLAG-tagged protein fromin vitro transcribed/translated material. A kinetic analysis of single channel currents, including dwell time histograms, confirmed two open and two close states for spontaneous channel behavior and a strong voltage dependence of the open probability of the channel (Po ). A reduction ofcis pH (pHcis) decreasedPo and shifted the voltage dependence of channel function but had no effect on the single channel conductance. An increase in pHcis, in contrast, increased NPo (channel number timesPo ). Elimination of the H+chemical gradient did not reverse the low pHcis inhibition of polycystin-2. Similar findings confirmed the pH effect on the in vitro translated, FLAG-tagged purified polycystin-2. The data indicate the presence of an H+ ion regulatory site in the channel protein, which is accessible from the cytoplasmic side of the protein. This protonation site controls polycystin-2 cation-selective channel activity.
Perceptions of Accountability in Family Business: Using Accountability Theory to Understand Differences Between Family and Nonfamily Executives

Abstract Family business success rests on implementing a governance system that recognizes a complex nexus of social relationships. While scholars have used existing frameworks such as agency theory to explore the effect of financial incentives on agent behavior and performance, they have not integrated perspectives from psychology and sociology in a way that fully addresses the challenges of effective family business governance. Our research advances current knowledge of governance in family business by examining the implications of accountability theory to explore differences in the perceptions of accountability between family and nonfamily executives as a result of family firm monitoring. We examine the elements and linkages that form the basis of accountability in the context of firm characteristics uniquely common to family business and that are influential in the development of perceptions between executives of contrasting family status. Potential contingencies to the family status–accountability relationship is also considered, as are the implications of effective monitoring for family firm performance.
IGF regulation of neutral amino acid transport in the BeWo choriocarcinoma cell line (b30 clone): evidence for MAP kinase-dependent and MAP kinase-independent mechanisms.

Abstract Objective IGF-1 and IGF-1 receptors are major determinants of fetal growth and are expressed primarily on the maternal-facing surface of the syncytiotrophoblast cell membrane in the human placenta. IGF-1 regulates fetal growth, in part, by regulating amino acid transport across the placenta. The objective of these studies was to study the role of IGF-1 and its signaling pathway in regulating neutral amino acid transport in a human trophoblast cell culture model. Design The regulation of neutral amino acid transport by IGF-1 was studied in cultured BeWo b30 choriocarcinoma cells using the non-metabolizing amino acid analog, [ 3 H]-α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB). Transport in the absence of Na was used to distinguish system L from total AIB transport. Similarly, Na-dependent transport in the presence of excess methyl-AIB (MeAIB) permitted discrimination of systems A (MeAIB-sensitive) and ASC (MeAIB-insensitive). Specific inhibitors of intracellular signaling pathways were then used to determine the signaling pathway utilized by IGFs to regulate each amino acid transport system. Specificity of inhibition was assessed using specific markers of p70 S6 kinase activity and MAP kinase activation. Results Maximal stimulating concentrations of IGF-I (100ng/ml) stimulated AIB transport by 30–40% exclusively through system A. Wortmannin (100nM), an inhibitor of PI-3-kinase activity, inhibited all IGF-I-stimulated transport. Rapamycin (100ng/ml), an inhibitor of p70 S6 kinase, and bisindolylmaleimide, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), had no effect. PD-098059 (50μM), an inhibitor of MAP kinase activation, inhibited 20–30% of basal AIB transport but did not inhibit IGF-I-stimulated transport under the conditions studied. IGF-1 did not increase steady state mRNA levels of the system A transporters, SNAT1 and SNAT2, suggesting IGF-1 stimulates transport via post-transcriptional mechanisms. Conclusions These data demonstrate that IGF-I stimulates neutral amino acid transport system A by a PI3-kinase dependent, post-transcriptional pathway in the BeWo b30 cell line. Additionally, system A activity appear to be sensitive to MAP kinase-dependent pathways not regulated by IGFs.
The analytical equivalence of TEM-mode directional couplers and transmission-line stepped-impedance filters

The coupling of two parallel transmission lines is utilized in directional couplers and filters which are simple to construct and have excellent electrical characteristics from high frequencies to microwave frequencies. The paper establishes the mathematical equivalence of such couplers to transmission-line stepped-impedance filters. It also places new demands on that theory in so far as new insertion-loss functions, having, for instance, equi-ripple characteristics in the stop-band, will be required. A new directional filter circuit, or channel-dropping filter, is suggested.
Amperometric response of circular solid electrodes in thin-layer flow channels

Abstract The amperometric responses are investigated theoretically and experimentally for an electrode with circular geometry on one wall of a thin-layer channel under both steady-state flow conditions and liquid Chromatographic conditions. A solid electrode is treated under conditions of negligible diffusion in the plane of flow. The response of this electrode is predicted to be 84.13% of that for a square solid electrode of the same length and width under steady-state conditions, and experimentally confirmed. The current response model for a solid electrode under liquid Chromatographie conditions derived by Prabhu and Anderson is modified to allow convenient, rapid analysis. Liquid Chromatographic experiments allow facile prediction of the steady-state response and vice versa. The theoretical predictions of current agree well with experimental results.
DNA-Protein Cooperative Binding through Variable-Range Elastic Coupling

Cooperativity plays an important role in the action of proteins bound to DNA. A simple mechanism for cooperativity, in the form of a tension-mediated interaction between proteins bound to DNA at two different locations, is proposed. These proteins are not in direct physical contact. DNA segments intercalating bound proteins are modeled as a worm-like chain, which is free to deform in two dimensions. The tension-controlled protein-protein interaction is the consequence of two effects produced by the protein binding. The first is the introduction of a bend in the host DNA and the second is the modification of the bending modulus of the DNA in the immediate vicinity of the bound protein. The interaction between two bound proteins may be either attractive or repulsive, depending on their relative orientation on the DNA. Applied tension controls both the strength and the range of protein-protein interactions in this model. Properties of the cooperative interaction are discussed, along with experimental implications.