cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lectin and immunolabeling of microvascular endothelia

A number of recently developed localization techniques are beginning to be applied in the study of endothelial cells and their structural components. In this article we will review a number of these cytochemical approaches as well as their advantages and disadvantages and their applications. The methods will be presented for processing tissues for either L.R. White embedding or semi-thin and thin frozen sections followed by subsequent lectin and immunolabeling for fluorescence and electron microscopic examination. These techniques are easily applied in the localization of perfused exogenous proteins and of endogenous endothelial-associated proteins. The results that can be obtained from such studies are presented and discussed.
Gender Differences in Occupational Labor Market Structure

This research attempts to assess the validity of occupational labor market typologies utilized in the extant theoretical and empirical literature. Whereas previous studies only presume the general form and composition of occupational labor markets, the present study generates an empirically based typology using cluster analytic techniques. Analyses of occupational characteristics from 1970 U.S. Census Bureau data for males and females indicates occupational labor markets may be more differentiated and complex than suggested in the dual labor market literature. The findings also indicate that previous occupational labor market classification schemes have misspecified the correct labor market location of many detailed occupations. Additional analyses indicate the existence of separate and distinct occupational labor markets for males and females rather than the single isomorphic occupational structure commonly assumed in the literature.
Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Tears in the Setting of Multiligament Knee Injuries Rarely Cause Patellar Instability

Background:Multiligament knee injuries (MLKIs) can also involve the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL), but there is a paucity of information regarding prevalence and relevance of MPFL involvement in this setting.Purpose:(1) To identify the prevalence of MPFL injury in MLKIs, (2) to determine whether an MPFL tear results in symptomatic patellar instability, and (3) to report clinical and functional outcomes of patients with and without MPFL tears after MLKI surgical reconstruction.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:The records of all patients who underwent surgical reconstruction of MLKI (defined as a grade 3 injury of ≥2 ligaments) at a single institution from 2007 to 2010 were reviewed. Age, sex, knee dislocation classification (according to Schenck), and MRI findings were documented. All preoperative MRI scans were reviewed by an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist to determine the presence or absence of MPFL involvement. If an MPFL tear was present, its anatomic location an...
Surfactant turbulent drag reduction in an enclosed rotating disk apparatus

An enclosed rotating disk apparatus (RDA) with rotational speed up to 5,500 rpm and with temperature control from −5 to 55°C was designed to screen the turbulent drag reducing effectiveness of small samples of newly synthesized drag reducing additives. First, the rotating disk was calibrated with water using both logarithmic and power law models. Then experiments were carried out to measure the frictional torque reduction for a drag reducing aqueous cationic surfactant system (5 mM Ethoquad O12 with 12.5 mM sodium salicylate) over a range of Re. The maximum drag reduction at 30°C was about 47% at Re = 1.90 × 106. For the first time, results with the RDA were compared with those in a circular pipe flow system. They showed similar trends indicating it is a useful screening device for small samples, giving conservative estimates of surfactant effectiveness compared with pipe flow.
Changes in dissolved organic matter fluorescence and disinfection byproduct formation from UV and subsequent chlorination/chloramination.

Abstract Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is being increasingly used to help drinking water utilities meet finished water quality regulations, but its influence on disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors and DBP formation is not completely understood. This study investigated the effect of medium pressure (MP) UV combined with chlorination/chloramination on the fluorescent fraction of dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolated from a United States surface water with median total organic carbon content. Parallel factor analysis was used to understand how UV may alter the capacity of DOM to form DBPs of potential human health concern. The production of chloral hydrate and cyanogen chloride from MP UV followed by chlorine or chloramine, respectively, correlated with a decrease in fluorescence intensity of a protein/tryptophan-like component ( R 2 = 0.79–0.99) and a humic-like component ( R 2 = 0.91–1.00). This suggests that the UV-induced precursors to these compounds originated from DOM with similar characteristics to these components. The fluorescent DOM components identified in this study are similar to reoccurring components that have been previously identified in a range of raw and treated waters, and this work demonstrates the value of using fluorescence analysis of DOM to understand the relationships between DOM source and DBP formation under a range of treatment conditions.
Analysis of zinc fingers optimized via phage display: evaluating the utility of a recognition code.

Cys2His2 zinc finger proteins are composed of modular DNA-binding domains and provide an excellent framework for the design and selection of proteins with novel site specificity. Crystal structures of zinc finger-DNA complexes have shown that many Cys2His2 zinc fingers use a conserved docking arrangement that juxtaposes residues at key positions in the “recognition helix” with corresponding base positions in the three to four base-pair subsite. Several groups have proposed that specificity can be explained with a zinc finger-DNA recognition code that correlates specific amino acids at these key positions in the α-helix with specific bases in each position of the corresponding subsite. Here, we explore the utility of such a code through detailed studies of zinc finger variants selected via phage display. These proteins provide interesting systems for detailed analysis since they have affinities and specificities for their sites similar to those of naturally occurring DNA-binding proteins. Comparisons are facilitated by the fact that only key DNA-binding residues are varied in each finger while leaving all other regions of the structure unchanged. We study these proteins in detail by (1) selecting their optimal binding sites and comparing these binding sites with sites that might have been predicted from a code; (2) by examining the “evolutionary history” of these proteins during the phage display protocol to look for evidence of context-dependent effects; and (3) by reselecting finger 1 in the presence of the optimized finger 2/finger 3 domains to obtain further data on finger modularity. Our data for optimized fingers and binding sites demonstrate a clear correlation with contacts that would be predicted from a code. However, there are enough examples of context-dependent effects (not explained by any existing code) that selection is the most reliable method for maximizing the affinity and specificity of new zinc finger proteins.
Microbiological degradation of pentane by immobilized cells of Arthrobacter sp.

The increasing production of several plastics such as expanded polystyrene, widely used as packaging and building materials, has caused the release of considerable amounts of pentane employed as an expanding agent. Today many microorganisms are used to degrade hydrocarbons in order to minimize contamination caused by several industrial activities. The aim of our work was to identify a suitable microorganism to degrade pentane. We focused our attention on a strain of Arthrobacter sp. which in a shake-flask culture produced 95% degradation of a 10% mixture of pentane in a minimal medium after 42 days of incubation at 20 °C. Arthrobacter sp. cells were immobilized on a macroporous polystyrene particle matrix that provides a promising novel support for cell immobilization. The method involved culturing cells with the expanded polystyrene in shake-flasks, followed by in situ growth within the column. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed extensive growth of Arthrobacter sp. on the polymeric surface. The immobilized microorganism was able to actively degrade a 10% mixture of pentane, allowing us to obtain a bioconversion yield of 90% after 36 h. Moreover, in repeated-batch operations, immobilized Arthrobacter sp. cells were able to maintain 85–95% pentane degradation during a 2 month period. Our results suggest that this type of bioreactor could be used in pentane environmental decontamination.
Factors Associated With Advance Care Planning Among Older Adults in Southwest Florida

As the nation's population continues to age, many older adults will face care needs that can be anticipated in advance. However, little is known about older adults' advance care plans and the chara...
Transequatorial Loops in the Solar Corona

Using X-ray coronal images, full-disk longitudinal magnetograms, and vector magnetograms of active regions, we study active regions connected across the solar equator. We survey the Yohkoh data set between 1991 October and 1998 December and find 87 transequatorial loop systems (TLSs). We classify these loops in four different categories and study a separation between regions, their rotation rates, and the sign of the current helicity (chirality) of the magnetic fields. We find that approximately one-third of all active regions on the Sun exhibit transequatorial loops. The fraction of TLSs is solar-cycle independent. Transequatorial loops may develop between existing active regions or between mature regions and new magnetic flux shortly after flux emergence. Observations suggest, however, that formation of TLSs is not a random process—a connection between two areas may exist well before the reconnection takes place. We find that the reconnected regions have approximately the same rotation rate and tend to appear on certain longitudes, similar to the complexes of activity. In most cases transequatorial interconnected regions have the same handedness of their magnetic field.
A need for the syllable in contrastive analyses

This study attempts to show that the comparison of the competing phonological systems in a contrastive analysis requires the use of the syllable as an additional prime. In this experiment Ss were forced to break orally into syllables words presented as visual stimuli. The Ss' assignments of intervocalic consonants to the preceding or following syllables were recorded. The results proved conclusively that, in American English, /ž/ always occurs syllable-final but that /ž/ occurs syllable-initial, thus creating interference and facilitating transfer, respectively, when these sounds occur word-initial in a target language. These predictions would not be possible on the basis of the use of the word as the only prime above the phoneme. Suggestions for further research are made on the basis of the observations that “checked vowels” did occur in syllable-final; that affricates were treated as single-unit phonemes; and that, except for [ž], only word initial allophones occur in syllable initial.
Cardiovascular and subjective effects of repeated smoked cocaine administration in experienced cocaine users

Abstract Studies using rodents have shown that behavioral responses to a stimulant are enhanced when the stimulant is given within the same context as previous stimulant administrations; this increase in effect related to context is often referred to as sensitization. We examined the role of environmental stimuli in modulating the subjective and cardiovascular effects of cocaine in humans (1) within a daily “binge” and (2) after cocaine abstinence. Ten non-treatment seeking users of smoked cocaine were admitted to the hospital for 17 consecutive days. Participants smoked cocaine (25 mg/dose) under two counterbalanced conditions: paired stimuli (same stimuli presented each session) and unpaired stimuli (varied stimuli presented each session). Under each stimulus condition, participants had cocaine test sessions for three consecutive days, no sessions for the next 3 days, then another cocaine test session on the following day, for a total of eight test days. Stimulus condition had no effect on cardiovascular or subjective effects so data were analyzed as a function of repeated cocaine administration over 2 weeks. Maximal ratings on “good drug” and “drug rating” subjective effects clusters decreased over days of repeated cocaine exposure. In contrast, baseline and peak heart rate and systolic pressure increased over days of repeated cocaine administration. Thus, repeated administration of smoked cocaine to experienced cocaine users resulted in increases in baseline blood pressure and heart rate and modest decreases in positive subjective effects. These data indicate modest tolerance rather than sensitization to the positive subjective effects of cocaine with repeated exposure.
International Geographics: Looking Out in Ishtiyaq Shukri's The Silent Minaret

This essay examines Ishtiyaq Shukri’s novel The Silent Minaret (2005) in order to understand the changes that have taken place in South African Indian fiction after nearly a decade of democracy, particularly the shift in focus to a transnational aesthetic based on the intersection of South and Southeastern Asia, South Africa, England, and the Islamic world. The Silent Minaret is exemplary of a certain “turn” in South African Indian literature that reveals a reorienting of the inward glance of apartheid-era fiction to a gazing at other worlds in order to position Indians and Indian writing globally as well as locally.
Mixing Identities with Ease

Anonymous credential systems are a key ingredient for a secure and privacy protecting electronic world. In their full-fledged form, they can realize a broad range of requirements of authentication systems. However, these many features result in a complex system that can be difficult to use. In this paper, we aim to make credential systems easier to employ by providing an architecture and high-level specifications for the different components, transactions and features of the identity mixer anonymous credential system. The specifications abstract away the cryptographic details but they are still sufficiently concrete to enable all features. We demonstrate the use of our framework by applying it to an e-cash scenario.
Survey of hepatitis B exposure and vaccination in volunteer dentists

Results of this 2-year study tracking the increase in vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the incidence of natural exposure to HBV from serum samples taken from volunteer dentists at the 1983, 1984, and 1985 ADA annual sessions are discussed. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) serum markers were surveyed at the 1983, 1984, and 1985 ADA annual sessions, beginning the first year after the hepatitis B vaccine became available to the dental profession. Results from serum samples from 2,776 dentists in regard to increase in vaccination against HBV and the incidence of natural exposure to HBV during the 2-year study are discussed; data addressing the development of surface antibody after administration of the three-inoculation vaccine are presented.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the breast for cancer diagnosis and staging.

Gadolinium-enhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is optimally suited for the diagnosis and assessment of breast cancer. The complete breast MRI examination, which includes select nonenhanced sequences, yields abundant information about the nature and stage of disease. In this article, we will explore cancer diagnosis by examining the main imaging features of breast malignancy as well as the assessment of surrounding structures. We will then discuss current ideas in the use of breast MRI in breast cancer, including high-risk screening, evaluation of extent of disease, role in surgical planning, and the use of MRI in the patient receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Breast MRI plays an important role in the assessment of patients with breast malignancy—a role that is yet to be fully defined and used. By understanding the strengths and weakness of this imaging method in cancer evaluation, we hope to highlight the appropriate uses of the technique.
Characterization of Mutants Deficient in the l,d-Carboxypeptidase (DacB) and WalRK (VicRK) Regulon, Involved in Peptidoglycan Maturation of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 2 Strain D39

Peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolases play critical roles in the remodeling of bacterial cell walls during division. PG hydrolases have been studied extensively in several bacillus species, such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, but remain relatively uncharacterized in ovococcus species, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). In this work, we identified genes that encode proteins with putative PG hydrolytic domains in the genome of S. pneumoniae strain D39. Knockout mutations in these genes were constructed, and the resulting mutants were characterized in comparison with the parent strain for growth, cell morphology, PG peptide incorporation, and in some cases, PG peptide composition. In addition, we characterized deletion mutations in nonessential genes of unknown function in the WalRK(Spn) two-component system regulon, which also contains the essential pcsB cell division gene. Several mutants did not show overt phenotypes, which is perhaps indicative of redundancy. In contrast, two new mutants showed distinct defects in PG biosynthesis. One mutation was in a gene designated dacB (spd_0549), which we showed encodes an L,D-carboxypeptidase involved in PG maturation. Notably, dacB mutants, similar to dacA (D,D-carboxypeptidase) mutants, exhibited defects in cell shape and septation, consistent with the idea that the availability of PG peptide precursors is important for proper PG biosynthesis. Epistasis analysis indicated that DacA functions before DacB in D-Ala removal, and immunofluorescence microscopy showed that DacA and DacB are located over the entire surface of pneumococcal cells. The other mutation was in WalRK(Spn) regulon gene spd_0703, which encodes a putative membrane protein that may function as a type of conserved streptococcal shape, elongation, division, and sporulation (SEDS) protein.
Some irregular verbs. The past perfect tense. Use of tenses

Following are a few verbs both strong and weak which do not fit into any of the classes given.
Cellular positioning and dendritic field size of cholinergic amacrine cells are impervious to early ablation of neighboring cells in the mouse retina

We have examined the role of neighbor relationships between cholinergic amacrine cells upon their positioning and dendritic field size by producing partial ablations of this population of cells during early development. We first determined the effectiveness of L-glutamate as an excitotoxin for ablating cholinergic amacrine cells in the developing mouse retina. Subcutaneous injections (4 mg/g) made on P-3 and thereafter were found to produce a near-complete elimination, while injections at P-2 were ineffective. Lower doses on P-3 produced only partial reductions, and were subsequently used to examine the effect of partial ablation upon mosaic organization and dendritic growth of the remaining cells. Four different Voronoi-based measures of mosaic geometry were examined in L-glutamate-treated and normal (saline-treated) retinas. Partial depletions of around 40% produced cholinergic mosaics that, when scaled for density, approximated the mosaic geometry of the normal retina. Separate comparisons simulating a 40% random deletion of the normal retina produced mosaics that were no different from those experimentally depleted retinas. Consequently, no evidence was found for positional regulation in the absence of normal neighbor relationships. Single cells in the ganglion cell layer were intracellularly filled with Lucifer Yellow to examine the morphology and dendritic field extent following partial ablation of the cholinergic amacrine cells. No discernable effect was found on their starburst morphology, and total dendritic field area, number of primary dendrites, and branch frequency were not significantly different. Cholinergic amacrine cells normally increase their dendritic field area after P-3 in excess of retinal expansion; despite this, the present results show that this growth is not controlled by the density of neighboring processes.
Oxygen: Inorganic Chemistry

The present review will provide a systematic and complete coverage of the formation, chemical properties, and reactivity of a wide range of common oxygen-containing species. These include dioxygen, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, oxide, superoxide, and hydroxide, as well as the radical forms of most of these species. Keywords: oxidation; radical; oxygen; ozone; oxide; peroxide; superoxide; hydroxide
Phase Behavior in the Sm‐B System

Phase equilibria in the samarium-boron system were investigated by X-ray and metallographic techniques. Melting behavior and temperatures, or limits for these temperatures, were determined and used in constructing a temperature-composition phase diagram. Four intermediate binary phases were found: SmBx (x=2.0±0.6), SmB4, SmB6, and SmB66. The tetra- and hexaborides were well known, and phases isomorphous with SmB66 have been reported, but the SmBx phase gives an X-ray diffraction pattern different from that of any known boride. Lattice constants were calculated for the 3 phases with known structures; the composition dependence of the values for the tetra- and hexaborides indicates that both phases have measurable composition ranges. Measured Vickers’microhardness values increase markedly for phases with increasing boron content. The SmBx phase is very soft compared to most boride phases.
Whole Genome Amplification for Sequencing and Applications in Conservation Genetics

We describe a method for rapidly amplifying whole genomes via a Phi29 DNA polymerase-mediated strand displacement reaction (SDR). Genomic amplification products derived from the SDR reaction resulted in high quantities of DNA suitable for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of mitochondrial genomes. Control region sequences of DNA derived directly from PCR amplicons of extracted DNA were identical to those derived from PCR amplification of SDR genomic DNA. Effective SDR amplification and subsequent sequencing was successful across tissues sources ranging in age from 1 year to 19 years. Strand replacement reaction genomic amplification offers a means of obtaining large quantities of DNA from small amounts of tissue.
Japanese popular art as text advertising's clues to understanding the consumer

Abstract We must be concerned with our choices of methodology when we are trying to understand a culture. Art, because it is a way of expressing collective values and norms, is available for researchers attempting to gain an understanding of a culture. Thus art becomes text — conveying a message regarding the culture. Japanese art is used to assist in the understanding of the often surprising phenomenon of a greater than expected use of sex and violence in Japanese advertising and other popular visual art forms. It is posited that, consistent with what is reflected in the woodblock printings of the Tokugawa period, there is still a frustration with the restrictive political and social system, that is reflected in present day popular visual arts and advertising.
Characterization of Homologous DNA Recombination Activity in Normal and Immortal Mammalian Cells

Homologous DNA recombination levels were measured in normal and spontaneously immortalized murine and human fibroblasts, and in a number of primate and murine established fibroblast cell lines. Immortal cell lines and tumor-derived clones homologously recombined extrachromosomal plasmid substrates at frequencies approximately 100-fold higher than did normal cells. To further explore the mechanism responsible for this phenotype, homologous recombination frequency was measured using nuclear extracts derived from normal and immortalized murine and human fibroblasts. Extracts prepared from immortal cells catalyzed high levels of homologous recombination, whereas very little recombination activity was detected in extracts prepared from normal fibroblasts. Similarly, only extracts derived from immortal cells contained strand-transferase activity as measured by the recently described pairing-on-membrane assay. Mixing experiments indicated that a recombination enhancing factor or factors present in immortal cells, rather than a recombination inhibitor in normal cells, was responsible for the enhanced homologous recombination activity observed using extracts derived from the former.
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF AN ACTIVE CONTROL MECHANISM IN A SPRAY-FIRED RIJKE TUBE: ITS IMPACT ON COMBUSTION

An active control mechanism was developed and used to either attenuate or enhance acoustic oscillations in a spray-fired Rijke-tube pulse combustor. The effects of the following three parameters on the active control mechanism was studied as a function of controller performance: (a) flame location inside the Rijke combustor; (b) pressure sensor location in the acoustic field; (c) speaker location on the combustor. Spray flames are different than gaseous flames with respect to flame length and self excitability of a defined acoustic field inside the Rijke-tube combustor in agreement with the Rayleigh criterion. The spray flame without control excites a broadband noise signal with no significant tonal component. Spray size and velocity distribution were measured using a two-component phase-DoppIer technique. The results show that the effectiveness of the controller is dependent on the location of the flame front inside the combustor. Location of the pressure sensor and the actuator with respect to the flame front is significant for the optimal performance of the control mechanism. Analysis of the visual photographs show a frequency component attached to the flame structure. Measurements of the heat transfer from the combustor showed an increase of 69.3, 43.1, and 59.4 % for the first, second and third longitudinal oscillating modes over the steady values, respectively. The FFT analysis of the spray axial velocity component showed a preferred frequency component corresponding to the frequency of the combustor.
The rich and the sensitive: diverse fungal communities change functionally with the warming Arctic

Fungi are very abundant and functionally pivotal in Arctic terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, our understanding of their community composition, diversity and particularly their environmental drivers is superficial at the very best. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Timling et al. (2014) describe perhaps one of the most comprehensive and geographically ambitious molecular studies on Arctic fungal communities to date. The results highlight the potential sensitivity of the fungal communities to plant communities, environmental conditions and therefore to environmental change. Thus, these studies lay a foundation to educated speculation on the fungal community migration northwards as a result of predicted climate change.
Regulation of RNA Polymerase II Transcription by Sequence-Specific DNA Binding Factors

In eukaryotes, transcription of the diverse array of tens of thousands of protein-coding genes is carried out by RNA polymerase II. The control of this process is predominantly mediated by a network of thousands of sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factors that interpret the genetic regulatory information, such as in transcriptional enhancers and promoters, and transmit the appropriate response to the RNA polymerase II transcriptional machinery. This review will describe some early advances in the discovery and characterization of the sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factors as well as some of the properties of these regulatory proteins.
Online auctions with re-usable goods

This paper concerns the design of mechanisms for online scheduling in which agents bid for access to a re-usable resource such as processor time or wireless network access. Each agent is assumed to arrive and depart dynamically, and in the basic model require the resource for one unit of time. We seek mechanisms that are truthful in the sense that truthful revelation of arrival, departure and value information is a dominant strategy, and that are online in the sense that they make allocation decisions without knowledge of the future. First, we provide two characterizations for the class of truthful online allocation rules. The characterizations extend beyond the typical single-parameter settings, and formalize the role of restricted misreporting in reversing existing price-based characterizations. Second, we present an online auction for unit-length jobs that achieves total value that is 2-competitive with the maximum offline value. We prove that no truthful deterministic online mechanism can achieve a better competitive ratio. Third, we consider revenue competitiveness and prove that no deterministic truthful online auction has revenue that is constant-competitive with that of the offline Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism We provide a randomized online auction that achieves a competitive ratio of O(log h), where h is the ratio of maximum value to minimum value among the agents; this mechanism does not require prior knowledge of h. Finally, we generalize our model to settings with multiple re-usable goods and to agents with different job lengths.
Viewing and rendering processor for a volume visualization system

The architecture and the hardware realization of the 3D Viewing and Rendering Processor is presented. This processor is a component of the Cube architecture, developed primarily for volume visualization. The processor generates 2D shaded orthographic, parallel, and perspective projections of the volumetric image of n3 voxels in O(n2log n) time. This performance is attributed to a unique skewed memory organization, a special ray projection bus, an extended viewing architecture, and a new congradient shading technique. A reduced-resolution prototype has been realized in hardware using printed circuit board technology and has been running in true real time. Currently, a VLSI version of the prototype is being tested.
Functional Significance of MMP3 and TIMP2 Polymorphisms in Cleft Lip/Palate

Evidence from biological and human studies strongly supports a role for MMP and TIMP genes as candidate genes for non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P). We previously showed the association of promoter polymorphisms in MMP3 (rs3025058 and rs522616) and TIMP2 (rs8179096) with NSCL/P. In this study, we examined the functional significance of these polymorphisms. A specific DNA-protein complex for MMP3 rs522616 A was detected, and this allele by itself showed greater promoter activity than the G allele. However, the effect of rs522616 was ultimately regulated by the rs3025058 allele on the background. For TIMP2 rs8179096, the T allele showed a 2.5-fold increase in promoter activity when compared with allele C, whereas both C and T alleles were found to bind to nuclear factor kappa B. Our results provide new evidence that promoter polymorphisms in MMP3 and TIMP2 are functional and may affect gene transcription with possible effects on craniofacial development leading to NSCL/P.
Scalable and robust data dissemination in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are appealing in obtaining fine-granular observations about the physical world. Due to the fact that WSNs are composed of a large number of low-cost but energy-constrained sensor nodes, along with the notorious time-varying and error-prone nature of wireless links, scalable, robust, and energy-efficient data disseminating techniques are requisite for the emerging WSN applications such as environment monitoring and surveillance. To meet this challenging demand, we propose a hybrid data dissemination framework for WSNs in this paper. In particular, we conceptually partition a whole sensor field into several functional regions and apply different routing schemes to different regions in order to provide better performance in terms of reliability and fair energy usage. For this purpose, we also propose a novel zone flooding scheme, essentially a combination of geometric routing and flooding techniques. Our scheme features low overhead, high reliability, good scalability, and notable flexibility. Simulation studies are carried out to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our scheme.
Learning Statistical Structure for Object Detection

Many classes of images exhibit sparse structuring of statistical dependency. Each variable has strong statistical dependency with a small number of other variables and negligible dependency with the remaining ones. Such structuring makes it possible to construct a powerful classifier by only representing the stronger dependencies among the variables. In particular, a semi-naive Bayes classifier compactly represents sparseness. A semi-naive Bayes classifier decomposes the input variables into subsets and represents statistical dependency within each subset, while treating the subsets as statistically independent. However, learning the structure of a semi-naive Bayes classifier is known to be NP complete. The high dimensionality of images makes statistical structure learning especially challenging. This paper describes an algorithm that searches for the structure of a semi-naive Bayes classifier in this large space of possible structures. The algorithm seeks to optimize two cost functions: a localized error in the log-likelihood ratio function to restrict the structure and a global classification error to choose the final structure. We use this approach to train detectors for several objects including faces, eyes, ears, telephones, push-carts, and door-handles. These detectors perform robustly with a high detection rate and low false alarm rate in unconstrained settings over a wide range of variation in background scenery and lighting.
Cardiac magnetic resonance parallel imaging at 3.0 Tesla: technical feasibility and advantages.

Purpose To quantify changes in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), specific absorption rate (SAR), RF power deposition, and imaging time in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging with and without the application of parallel imaging at 1.5 T and 3.0 T. Materials and Methods Phantom and volunteer data were acquired at 1.5 T and 3.0 T with and without parallel imaging. Results Doubling field strength increased phantom SNR by a factor of 1.83. In volunteer data, SNR and CNR values increased by factors of 1.86 and 1.35, respectively. Parallel imaging (reduction factor = 2) decreased phantom SNR by a factor of 1.84 and 2.07 when compared to the full acquisition at 1.5 T and 3.0 T, respectively. In volunteers, SNR and CNR decreased by factors of 2.65 and 2.05 at 1.5 T and 1.99 and 1.75 at 3.0 T, respectively. Doubling the field strength produces a nine-fold increase in SAR (0.0751 to 0.674 W/kg). Parallel imaging reduced the total RF power deposition by a factor of two at both field strengths. Conclusions Parallel imaging decreases total scan time at the expense of SNR and CNR. These losses are compensated at higher field strengths. Parallel imaging is effective at reducing total power deposition by reducing total scan time. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;19:291–297. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Washington Online Virtual Campus: Infusing culture in dispersed Web-based higher education

Started in 1997, WashingtonOnline Virtual Campus (WAOL) consists of a consortium of 34 community colleges around Washington State to provide asynchronous online learning. WAOL bears many of the features of a loosely coupled organization with its geographically dispersed frontline instructors, fragmented external environment, modularity of courses and supervision, and its use of enhanced leadership and technology to communicate a culture. Recent surveys of its administration, instructors, and staff found disparities in various constituencies’ perspectives on the organization’s culture, decision-making, values, brand or reputation, communications, and WAOL’s authorizing environment. Research suggests that WAOL benefits from some aspects of loose coupling: greater adaptive abilities and responsiveness to the State’s college system; “fast” course development and launching; and isolated breakdowns. There is, however, a persistent difficulty in conveying a cohesive culture. There is a perception of WAOL’s invisibility among its varied constituencies. This organization is at a crossroads, with the threat of colleges disconnecting from this consortium. WAOL should redefine its direction and purpose, such as coupling with local universities to provide not only associates degrees but full Baccalaureate and/ or Masters degrees. It may strengthen its position by improving learner supports, publicizing its decisions, creating a stronger sense of virtual community among the instructors (as in its recent creation of an online community for instructors), increased participative decision-making and use of line faculty and staff insights, and greater course varieties.
Affinity purification of proteins using ligands derived from peptide libraries.

Peptide libraries can be used to identify ligands that bind specifically to a desired protein. These peptides may have significant advantages as specific ligands for affinity chromatography separations. This article describes the use of one of such peptide, Try-Asn-Phe-Glu-Val-Leu, as a ligand for the purification of S-protein using affinity chromatography. General strategies for peptide immobilization are discussed and the conditions for peptide immobilization to Emphaze™ gel are optimized. The effects of peptide orientation and peptide densities on protein binding are studied. Results indicate that the peptide affinity is not affected by the orientation of the peptide during immobilization, but association constants can be reduced by one order of magnitude when compared with the values in solution.With increased peptide density, the protein binding capacity of the gel increases, but both the percentage of peptide utilization and apparent binding constant between immobilized peptide and S-protein decrease. S-protein is separated from a mixture with BSA via affinity chromatography using specific elution with the peptide in solution.Finally, direct purification of S-protein from an enzymatic digestion mixture of ribonuclease A is demonstrated.© 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Methyl (E)‐4‐Phenyl‐2‐diazo‐3‐butenoate

[119987-21-2] C11H10N2O2 (MW 202.21) InChI = 1S/C11H10N2O2/c1-15-11(14)10(13-12)8-7-9-5-3-2-4-6-9/h2-8H,1H3/b8-7+ InChIKey = NXULHXVLCPCRRN-BQYQJAHWSA-N (carbenoid precursor for cyclopropanation, CH insertion reactions, and other related transformations) Physical Data: red solid. Solubility: soluble in common organic solvents. Form Supplied in: not commercially available. Analysis of Reagent Purity: IR (neat) cm−1 2960, 2168, 2088 (CN2), 1706, 1626, 1492, 1449, 1438, 1405, 1364, 1318, 1286, 1243, 1194, 1113, 1010, 950, 752, 734, 692; 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.30–7.37 (4H, m), 7.20 (1H, t, J = 7.5 Hz), 6.49 (1H, d, J = 16.0 Hz), 6.20 (1H, d, J = 16.0 Hz), 3.86 (3H, s);13C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl3) δ 165.0, 136.5, 128.4, 126.8, 125.6, 122.8, 111.0, 52.1. Preparative Method: from 2-carboxyethyltriphenylphosphonium chloride in a three-step sequence involving a Wittig reaction with benzaldehyde, an O-alkylation, and a diazo transfer.1 Purification: purified by column chromatography with pentane:diethyl ether as the eluent. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: the product should be stored at 0 °C and immediately purified by chromatography before use if stored for more than 2 days as it will slowly undergo an electrocyclization reaction to form a pyrazole. The pyrazole is observed as a white crystalline solid and, unless it is removed, will poison the catalyst when the title compound is used in rhodium-catalyzed carbenoid reactions. All diazo compounds should be handled carefully as they have the potential to decompose violently with release of nitrogen gas. However, in the absence of catalyst, the only thermal decomposition pathway exhibited by the title compound is electrocyclization to the pyrazole.
HEADSTARTING AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL: A CASE STUDY OF THE PLAINS GARTERSNAKE

The use of headstarting and related techniques as management tools for threatened and endangered species remains controversial, due in part to a lack of empirical data on their effectiveness. Here, we present data on pre-natal mortality, growth, and survival during headstarting as well as growth, survival, and reproduction following release for an unprotected population of plains gartersnakes. We combine these data with data on growth and survival of comparably sized wild-caught snakes to provide an overall evaluation of the potential effectiveness of headstarting. Depending on rearing conditions, proportions of live births varied from 0.79 (‘worst-case’) to 0.94 (‘best-case’), survival during headstarting ranged from 0.74 (‘worst-case’) to 0.88 (‘best-case’), and second-year survival following release ranged from 0.11 (‘worst-case’) to 0.40 (‘best-case’). In comparison, survival of free-ranging snakes was 0.16 in their first year and 0.40 in their second year. Assuming the proportion of live births in na...
Control Problems for Parabolic Equations with State Constraints and Unbounded Control Sets

Using nonlinear programming theory we derive a version of Pontryagin’s maximum principle for abstract parabolic equations that includes state constraints and allows unbounded control sets. The results are shown to apply to parabolic distributed parameter systems and to the Navier-Stokes equations.
Decision-Making Role and Information Processing

While in the 1950's motivational researchers sought to uncover unconscious motives for consumers' purchases, lately marketers have been more concerned with the rational methods people use to process marketing information. For example, some researchers have established a series of buying decision rules [1, 3, 4, 11] and others have focused on cognitive structure-the interrelationship or overall structure of beliefs, values, ideas, and expectancies. One application of the cognitive structure approach has been to use the relationships among various product attributes or values to predict a person's attitudes toward a particular brand or product [2, 5, 9, 10, 12]. Another way of employing the cognitive structure approach is to study the influence of potential buyers' expectancies on the processing of product information. For example, a potential buyer may have certain expectancies regarding information flow depending on his role in the decision process. This study tested the proposition that because of differential expectancies about information flow, decision makers and non-decision makers process information differently. Specifically, this study explored the applicability of cognitive tuning theory in explaining such differences, since the theory posits that people activate different cognitive structures under different conditions of anticipating dealing with information.
The effect of comprehensive nursing intervention in children cases with severe hand-foot-mouth disease complicated with encephalitis

Objective To investigate the application effect of comprehensive nursing care for severe hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD) complicated with encephalitis. Methods A total of 70 children cases with severe HFMD complicated with encephalitis induced by enterovirus 71 infection admitted in our hospital from May 2012 to August 2013 were divided into observation group 35 cases and control group 35 cases. The control group was given symptomatic care,the observation group was given comprehensive nursing intervention. The fever and herpes subsided time,fatigue and limb shaking disappearance time,the average length of stay in hospital and the rate of complications were compared between two groups. Results The fever and herpes subsided time,fatigue and limb shaking disappearance time,the average hospitalization time in the observation group were shorter than the control group statistically(P0.05 or P0.01),hospitalization time of the observation group was significantly shorter than the control group(P0.01). The occurrence of complications in the observation group were reduced in the observation group compared to the control group(P0.01). Conclusion Comprehensive nursing intervention in children cases with severe type of HFMD complicated with encephalitis,combined with regular treatment,can reduce the incidence of complications and promote disease recovery.
The Management of Superficial Bladder Tumors and Carcinoma in situ with Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin

AbstractA phase II study was performed to assess the role of bacillus Calmette-Guerin as a prophylaxis against recurrent stages O and A bladder tumors, and in the treatment of existing superficial bladder tumors and carcinoma in situ. Tice strain bacillus Calmette-Guerin (1 vial, 2 to 8 times 108 organisms in 60 cc saline) was instilled intravesically without cutaneous inoculation. Instillations were given weekly for 6 weeks and then monthly or until recurrence in 22 patients with a history of recurrent tumors, while 22 with existing stages O and A transitional cell carcinoma, and 19 with carcinoma in situ were treated weekly for 8 weeks and then monthly for 12 months or until failure. Complications included cystitis in 88 per cent of the patients (severe in 20 per cent), fever in 15 per cent, a flu-like syndrome in 13 per cent, edema and pruritis in 1.5 per cent, and ureteral stenosis in 1.5 per cent. Twelve patients (19 per cent) did not complete the study owing to toxicity. Of the patients in the proph...
Transureteroureterostomy: 25-Year Experience with 100 Patients

AbstractDuring the last 25 years 100 patients have been subjected to transureteroureterostomy. In 2 cases postoperative death was attributable to other pathologic processes. We treated 94 donor units successfully in this manner. An additional 2 units, normal for several years after transureteroureterostomy, had periureteral fibrosis and stricture owing to the inferior mesenteric artery syndrome and required another definitive surgical procedure. Ninety-seven recipient kidneys remained normal after the procedure.
The Complement System and Coagulation

Severe trauma, commonly followed by substantial blood loss and sepsis, represents a major cause of mortality and morbidity in emergency and intensive care units. Massive activation of the hemostatic and complement systems is a common denominator of trauma and sepsis. While local activation of these proteolytic cascades contributes to the host defense, their uncontrolled systemic activation has major tissue-damaging effects that lead to multiple organ failure and death. This chapter reviews the molecular pathways of complement activation and the regulatory mechanisms controlling the formation of the terminal cytolytic complex C5b-9, and the signaling events triggered by the complement-derived anaphylatoxins. The cross talk between complement and coagulation and the contribution of these pathways to the integrated host response to vascular injury and sepsis are discussed.
Molecular Testing in Cutaneous Mesenchymal Tumors

Mesenchymal tumors can be difficult to diagnose, with those manifesting in the skin presenting unique challenges. Part of the difficultly comes from the rarity of these tumors, in comparison to epithelial and melanocytic tumors. In addition, there are over 50 subtypes of mesenchymal tumors, each with a range of appearances that can histologically overlap with each other, including some benign and malignant entities.