cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract W P180: Sex Differences in Acute Stroke Evaluation

Introduction: Prompt acute stroke evaluation is essential for optimal treatment. Women may receive delayed evaluation and treatment; consistent data is unavailable. We analyzed sex differences in acute stroke evaluation. Methods: We evaluated consecutive Code Stroke patients from the UCSD SPOTRIAS database, excluding inpatients. Subgroups included acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and IV r-tPA treated patients. Wilcoxon and Fisher’s Exact Test compared baseline variables between sexes. Times from onset to arrival, arrival to: stroke code, neurological exam, brain imaging, laboratory, decision, and treatment were compared between sexes using linear regression, adjusting for pre-specified covariates: age, smoking, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, glucose, baseline NIHSS, pre-stroke mRS, and onset to arrival time. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated 90 day mRS, adjusted as above. (Good outcome: mRS 0-2) Results: Of 3,214 patients (48.3% female), women were older (p<0.0001), with more atrial fibrillation (p<0.01), and higher pre-stroke mRS (p<0.0001) compared to men. Smoking history was more common in men in all analyses (p<0.0001). Evaluation times and 90-day outcomes were similar, except women had longer arrival to neurological exam times (41.5 ± 52.8 min vs. 37.5 ± 68.9 min; p=0.014). In total, 1,476 patients had AIS (45.8% female). Of all women with Code Strokes, 43.5% were diagnosed with AIS while 48.1% of men were diagnosed. In the AIS subset, evaluation times were not significantly different, though women with AIS were more likely to have poor outcome after adjusting for pre-specified covariates (54.5% vs. 39.4%, p=0.017). There were 532 patients diagnosed with AIS and treated with tPA (49.8% female). There were no significant differences in evaluation times or 90-day outcome. Discussion: In this single center experience, evaluation and treatment times did not differ between men and women except for the time from arrival to neurological exam. While any sex based difference is concerning, further multicenter trials are needed to better understand any possible sex based stroke evaluation and treatment bias.
From Recipients to Donors: Why Young Democracies Become Democracy Promoters

Exporting democracy has become a significant element of the foreign policy of many countries and of the operation of many international organizations. Much of our knowledge about democracy promotion, however, comes from studying the activities of a few Western countries. In this paper, I look instead at a group of little-studied but ardent democracy promoters – the Eastern European members of the EU. I ask: What motivates their efforts and what is the logic behind them? In answering this empirical question, I am also interested in what these democracy exporters teach us about democracy promotion in general. Accordingly, I build on existing studies of Western support for democracy abroad to define two distinct approaches to understanding the place of democracy promotion in the foreign-policy process: democracy promotion as a normative commitment and democracy promotion as a strategic commitment. I then examine the activities of Poland and Slovakia – typical cases among the Eastern EU democracy promoters – as new cases against which to test and then refine the two types of previous accounts of democracy promotion. I find that like most Western democracy promotion and despite its reputation as “idealism,” Eastern European democracy promotion is best understood as a strategic commitment - a means to creating a more secure international environment. In Poland, democracy promotion became an element of a geo-political strategy to deter Russian aggression and in Slovakia, democracy promotion emerged as the solution to the political and economic destabilization in the neighboring former Yugoslav and Soviet republics. Moreover, I find that these logics of Eastern European democracy promotion were defined by the norm entrepreneurs who prepared the democratic transitions in these countries and who subsequently also sought to incorporate democracy promotion in their country’s foreign policy by arguing for its strategic benefits. This paper thus suggests that studies of democracy promotion should pay more attention to the role of domestic (civil society) actors in formulating the motivations behind democracy promotion as well as to the interactions of strategic and principled commitments through the deliberate strategic framing of moral causes by these norm entrepreneurs.
Vitamin E protects human aortic endothelial cells from cytotoxic injury induced by oxidized LDL in vitro

Abstract Human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were used to investigate the protective role of vitamin E (α-tocopherol) against oxLDL in vitro. HAEC exposed to oxLDL (200 mg LDL protein/mL) significantly decreased cell viability by 36%. HAEC presupplemented with 14, 28, and 53 μM α-tocopherol in the media dose-dependently increased cell resistance to cytotoxic injury from oxLDL (200 μg protein/mL) as reflected by the number of cells remaining attached to the flask: 3.3 × 10 5 , 3.8 × 10 5 , 4.9 × 10 5 , and 5.2 × 10 5 , respectively, versus 5.1 × 10 5 in control cultures. Prostacyclin (PGI 2 ) produced by HAEC increased after 12-hr incubation with oxLDL, correlating positively with cell damage and negatively with α-tocopherol concentration in the cells. Under the same conditions after a 22-hr incubation, a significant decrease in PGI 2 production was observed only in HAEC pretreated with a high α-tocopherol concentration [unsupplemented HAEC: 839 ± 296 pg/mL versus α-tocopherol supplemented (53 μM): 241 ± 79 pg/mg]. Interleukin-1β production was not detected in HAEC under control conditions or after exposure to oxLDL. HAEC supplemented with α-tocopherol but not exposed to oxLDL maintained significantly higher α-tocopherol concentrations compared with those exposed to oxLDL. Under phase contrast microscopy, HAEC showed a pronounced elongation of their normal cobblestone morphology after oxLDL exposure; this change was reduced by α-tocopherol pretreatment. Thus, supplementation with α-tocopherol protected HAEC by reducing the cytotoxic effect of oxLDL, modulating PGI 2 production without having any effect on IL-1β.
The effects of varying glide durations on diphthong identification.

Traditionally, diphthongs have been described as consisting of an initial steady-state portion, a glide, and a relatively short final steady-state portion. This study investigated the contribution of glides of variable duration, in the presence of steady-state portions of fixed duration, to diphthong identification. The three American English diphthongs /ai/, /au/ and /??/ were synthesized, employing fixed durations for the steady-state portions and varying the duration of the glide from zero (no glide) to approximately 150 msec. Two-vowel sequences, identical to the steady-state portions of the diphthongs and separated by "gaps" of varying durations, were also synthesized. Four different fundamental-frequency values were employed in the synthesis. The stimuli were presented to subjects, who were asked to identify each item as one of the three diphthongs or one of the three possible two-vowel sequences. The glide durations at which identification of the stimuli changed from diphthong to vowel sequence wer...
Rifampicin Inhibition of Ribonucleic Acid and Protein Synthesis in Normal and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid-Treated Escherichia coli

The kinetics of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and protein synthesis in rifampicin-inhibited normal and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-treated Escherichia coli was measured. Approximately 200-fold higher external concentrations of rifampicin were needed to produce a level of inhibition in normal cells comparable to that observed in EDTA-treated cells. The rates of RNA and protein synthesis in both kinds of cells decreased exponentially, after an initial lag phase, at all rifampicin concentrations tested. The lag phase was longer and the final exponential slope less for protein synthesis than for RNA synthesis at a given rifampicin concentration. Below certain rifampicin concentrations, both the lag phase and the subsequent exponential decrease in the rates of RNA and protein synthesis were found to be rifampicin concentration dependent. At greater concentrations only the time of the lag phase was decreased by higher rifampicin concentrations, whereas the slope of the exponential decrease in the rates of RNA and protein synthesis was unaffected. In all cases, the exponential decrease continued to at least a 99.8% inhibition of the original rate of synthesis. These in vivo results are consistent with the mode of rifampicin action determined from in vitro studies; rifampicin prevents initiations of RNA polymerase on deoxyribonucleic acid, but not its propagation, by binding the enzyme essentially irreversibly. The results also indicate the size distribution of messenger RNA molecules in E. coli under our conditions.
Calculated and experimental rotational spectra of 3,3,3-trifluoro- and 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropionyl chloride

Abstract Quantum chemical calculations have been performed on the potential energy surfaces of the two title molecules. The calculations have located the two lowest energy conformations for each molecule. For all four structures, centrifugal distortion constants and chlorine nuclear quadrupole coupling tensor components have been calculated. Analyses of the experimental rotational spectra have yielded the identification of only one conformer for each molecule. These conformers have spectroscopic constants closely matching those of the calculated lowest energy conformers. The chlorine nuclear quadrupole coupling tensor components of the title molecules have been compared with those for propionyl chloride and perfluoropropionyl chloride.
Large Scale Preparation and Characterization of Mucopolysaccharase Contamination Free Heparinase

By a combination of hydroxylapatite chromatography and negative adsorption on QAE-Sephadex at pH 8.3, heparinase (E.C.4.2.2.7) can be successfully isolated from all the other mucopolysaccharase contaminants present in Flavobacterium heparinum. Hydroxylapatite isolates heparinase primarily from chondroitinases, hyaluronidase, and most glycuronidases. QAE-Sephadex chromatography at pH 8.3 further separates heparinase from heparitinases, sulfatases, and the remaining glycuronidases. The heparinase preparation thus obtained contains no statistically significant levels of other contaminating mucopolysaccharases except for heparitinases that are present at an apparent maximum level of 3.4%. Owing to the presence of a crossreaction of heparinase on heparitin sulfate at conditions employed for the assay of heparitinase, the heparitinase level of 3.4% could be misleading because of the action of heparinase on heparitin sulfate. Characterization of this heparinase preparation shows that the enzyme has an optimum salt concentration of 0.08M NaCl, an optimum pH of 6.5, an activation energy of 5 kcal/mol, and a Km of 7.95 X 10(-6) M. These parameters are almost identical to those displayed by a homogeneous heparinase preparation. The method described here is suitable for scale-up purposes using batch chromatographic procedures.
Development of group II borohydrides as hydrogen storage materials

Abstract The group II alkaline-earth metal borohydrides, Mg(BH 4 ) 2 and Ca(BH 4 ) 2 are among the most promising materials for light-weight, high-capacity hydrogen storage. Five years ago, little were known about the potential of these materials for reversible hydrogen storage, except for their high hydrogen content of 14.9 wt% and 11.6 wt% respectively. Theory predicted nearly ideal thermodynamics, but finding competing decomposition pathways with formation of very stable phases which limits cycle life. Solid-state synthesis routes have been developed and crystal structures and decomposition products have been identified as well as methods to improve hydrogen sorption performance including catalysis and nanoscience. Reversibility was demonstrated for both materials at high pressures and temperatures. We will here review recent progress and discuss challenges and future pathways towards applications.
Effectiveness of hydramethylnon and fenoxycarb for control of bigheaded ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an ant associated with mealybug wilt of pineapple in Hawaii.

Amdro (0.88% hydramethylnon) eliminated Pheidole megacephala (F.) from infested pineapple fields within 1 wk. Reinfestation occurred by budding from established colonies along field perimeters. Solitary alate queens were not able to establish colonies within fields without ants. Logic (1% fenoxycarb) significantly reduced the number of foragers but did not eliminate ants from pineapple fields. P. megacephala eventually recovered from the Logic treatment because the 1% formulated commercial bait was partially repellent. Logic acted as an insect growth regulator and caused a caste shift in P. megacephala colonies. Treated colonies began producing males 11 wk after treatment compared with the complete lack of males in control plots. Production of worker pupae decreased significantly in colonies treated with Logic 11 wk after treatment.
Incorporation of a fluorous diazirine group into phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate to illustrate its interaction with ADP-ribosylation factor 1

Phosphatidylinositides are one family of the most versatile signaling molecules in cells, yet how they interact with different proteins to regulate biological processes is not well understood. Towards a general strategy to identify phosphatidylinositide–protein interactions, a fluorous diazirine group has been incorporated into phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2). The modified PIP2 was effectively cleaved by phospholipase C, one signaling protein that utilizes PIP2 as its endogenous substrate. Upon light illumination, the PIP2 probe effectively crosslinks with small GTPase ADP-ribosylation 1 to form a complex, suggesting that the probe might be suitable to identify PIP2-interacting proteins on the proteome level.
Stopping-time resampling and population genetic inference under coalescent models

To extract full information from samples of DNA sequence data, it is necessary to use sophisticated model-based techniques such as importance sampling under the coalescent. However, these are limited in the size of datasets they can handle efficiently. Chen and Liu (2000) introduced the idea of stopping-time resampling and showed that it can dramatically improve the efficiency of importance sampling methods under a finite-alleles coalescent model. In this paper, a new framework is developed for designing stopping-time resampling schemes under more general models. It is implemented on data both from infinite sites and stepwise models of mutation, and extended to incorporate crossover recombination. A simulation study shows that this new framework offers a substantial improvement in the accuracy of likelihood estimation over a range of parameters, while a direct application of the scheme of Chen and Liu (2000) can actually diminish the estimate. The method imposes no additional computational burden and is robust to the choice of parameters.
Modeling the transport of radioactive contaminants in the arctic

Abstract A coupled ice-ocean model, designed by the Naval Research Laboratory, composed of the Cox ocean model coupled to the Hibler ice model is used to simulate the dispersion of radioactive contaminants in the Arctic and its marginal seas. Source locations and estimated inventories of disposed radionuclides are based on those documented in a Russian report referred to as the Yablokov Report. The ocean model is separated from the ice model to investigate only the transport and dispersion of contaminants once they have entered the water column. Several 10-year model simulations are presented using the following sources: (1) low level solid and liquid radioactive wastes dumped in both the Kara and Barents Seas; (2) higher level radioactive wastes, including marine reactors with spent nuclear fuel dumped along the Novaya Zemlya coast in the Kara Sea; (3) river discharge carrying radioactive wastes into the Kara and Barents Seas; and (4) radioactive wastes discharged from the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield in the Irish Sea. Comparison of these model results to data indicates that both the riverine and the Sellafield sources can account for the levels of radioactivity (approximately 10 1 Bq/m 3 ) recently observed in the Kara Sea. When the discarded marine reactors are used as the source in the model, levels of radioactivity are an order of magnitude higher than observed, implying that these radioactive wastes are still well encased and not leaking significantly into the water column.
Incorporation of a Left Ventricle Finite Element Model Defining Infarction Into the XCAT Imaging Phantom

The 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantom was developed to provide a realistic and flexible model of the human anatomy and cardiac and respiratory motions for use in medical imaging research. A prior limitation to the phantom was that it did not accurately simulate altered functions of the heart that result from cardiac pathologies such as coronary artery disease (CAD). We overcame this limitation in a previous study by combining the phantom with a finite-element (FE) mechanical model of the left ventricle (LV) capable of more realistically simulating regional defects caused by ischemia. In the present work, we extend this model giving it the ability to accurately simulate motion abnormalities caused by myocardial infarction (MI), a far more complex situation in terms of altered mechanics compared with the modeling of acute ischemia. The FE model geometry is based on high resolution CT images of a normal male subject. An anterior region was defined as infarcted and the material properties and fiber distribution were altered, according to the bio-physiological properties of two types of infarction, i.e., fibrous and remodeled infarction (30% thinner wall than fibrous case). Compared with the original, surface-based 4D beating heart model of the XCAT, where regional abnormalities are modeled by simply scaling down the motion in those regions, the FE model was found to provide a more accurate representation of the abnormal motion of the LV due to the effects of fibrous infarction as well as depicting the motion of remodeled infarction. In particular, the FE models allow for the accurate depiction of dyskinetic motion. The average circumferential strain results were found to be consistent with measured dyskinetic experimental results. Combined with the 4D XCAT phantom, the FE model can be used to produce realistic multimodality sets of imaging data from a variety of patients in which the normal or abnormal cardiac function is accurately represented.
Air−Water Henry's Law Constants for PCB Congeners: Experimental Determination and Modeling of Structure−Property Relationship

A modified gas-purging technique was used for the determination of Henry's law constants (HLCs) for four non-ortho- and eight mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The method involves measurement of a compound's concentration in only the water phase while that compound is being stripped isothermally from the solution at a known gas flow rate. HLCs were calculated from the slope of a plot of ln(Cn) versus (∑1/V)n, where (Σ1/V)n = 1/V0 + 1/V1 + ... + 1/Vn-1. The HLCs ranged from 5.6 to 21.8 Pa m3/mol, with an average precision of 13%, and they are comparable to values in the literature. Meta-analysis technique and principal component regression (PCR) were applied to model the relationship between experimentally determined HLC values of 94 PCB congeners and the congeners' structures. Cross-validation yields an optimal model with two principal components. Statistical analysis suggests that HLCs of PCBs are primarily affected by meta-chlorine substitution, a relationship which has never been...
Quantitative characteristics of the Feyrter cells and neuroepithelial bodies of the fetal rabbit lung in normoxia and short term chronic hypoxia

We report here quantitative data on the Feyrter (single) cells (APUD cells) and neuroepithelial bodies (grouped Feyrter cells), in the lungs of rabbit fetuses at 26, 27.5 and 29 days gestational age, during normoxia and short term chronic hypoxia. The apparent number of these cells declines during this period; we suggest that this might be due to increased hypoxemia. Moreover, the number of cells in the lungs of fetuses from short term chronically hypoxic mothers is lower than in the normoxic animals. These findings are in agreement with our previous studies in short term chronically hypoxic neonatal rabbits, and suggest that the increased hypoxemia in the fetus, caused by the induction of hypoxia in the mother, constitutes a stimulus for secretory activity of the Feyrter cells and neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs). This in turn could be part of the mechanism responsible for maintaining the pulmonary vasoconstriction due to hypoxemia. Our results from fetuses of normoxic does provide base line data on the chronological importance of the Feyrter cells and NEBs.
Treatment of Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus

Status epilepticus is a neurologic emergency with significant potential morbidity and even mortality. It should be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible, with concurrent rapid identification of the underlying cause. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus can be difficult to diagnose due to its protean manifestations, so a high index of suspicion is vital to prompt diagnosis and effective management. There are several different types and syndromes of nonconvulsive status epilepticus, and appropriate treatment varies according to those types. Some are relatively benign. Others, particularly the nonconvulsive status encountered in sick, hospitalized patients, can be life-threatening. The latter should be treated much more rapidly and aggressively than the former, sometimes even requiring coma-inducing anesthetic agents.
Conditional bias-penalized kriging (CBPK)

Simple and ordinary kriging, or SK and OK, respectively, represent the best linear unbiased estimator in the unconditional sense in that they minimize the unconditional (on the unknown truth) error variance and are unbiased in the unconditional mean. However, because the above properties hold only in the unconditional sense, kriging estimates are generally subject to conditional biases that, depending on the application, may be unacceptably large. For example, when used for precipitation estimation using rain gauge data, kriging tends to significantly underestimate large precipitation and, albeit less consequentially, overestimate small precipitation. In this work, we describe an extremely simple extension to SK or OK, referred to herein as conditional bias-penalized kriging (CBPK), which minimizes conditional bias in addition to unconditional error variance. For comparative evaluation of CBPK, we carried out numerical experiments in which normal and lognormal random fields of varying spatial correlation scale and rain gauge network density are synthetically generated, and the kriging estimates are cross-validated. For generalization and potential application in other optimal estimation techniques, we also derive CBPK in the framework of classical optimal linear estimation theory.
The size of graphs with clique number m and without nowhere-zero 4-flows

Abstract Let G be a 2-edge-connected simple graph on n ⩾24 vertices containng no K m +1. Of |E(G)|⩾( n - 17 - k 2 )+(m - l)( k + 1 2 )+ 33, where ⌊ n −17/ m ⌋, then either G has a nowhere-zero 4-flow, or G can be contracted to the Petersen graph. This is a generalization of a result in [4].
Presence and possible role of C‐ras and nuclear (c‐fos and c‐jun) proto‐oncogene products in preimplantation embryonic development in mice

The presence and possible role of products of nuclear (c-fos and c-jun) and c-ras proto-oncogenes were investigated in preimplantation embryonic development in mice. Polyclonal antibodies to c-fos or c-jun proto-oncogene products did not affect development of in vitro-cultured embryos from two-cell to morula or from morula to late blastocyst stages. However, v-H-ras monoclonal antibody (mAb) to c-ras protein (p21), although it did not inhibit the development of in vitro-cultured embryos from two-cell to morula stages, it significantly (P < .001-.005) inhibited the development of morula to late blastocyst stages in a dose-dependent manner. The effects of v-H-ras mAb were specific, since immunoabsorption with synthetic ras peptide completely blocked inhibitory effects of v-H-ras mAb. Neither c-fos nor c-jun antibodies reacted with specific proteins corresponding to c-fos (62 kDa) and c-jun (39 kDa) products on the Western blots of various murine ova/embryos extracts. However, the c-fos and c-jun antibodies reacted with 62 and 39 kDa protein bands, respectively, on the blot of NIH 3T3 cells extract. The v-H-ras mAb specifically identified 21 +/- 3 kDa protein corresponding to c-ras p21 on the blots of early as well as late blastocyst extracts. The rat control ascites IgG1 did not react with any protein band on the blots of various ova/embryo extracts. The reactions of v-H-ras mAb on the Western blots of blastocyst extracts were specific, since immunoabsorbed antibody was unable to react with any specific band on blots of early or late blastocyst extract. These results were further confirmed by immunoprecipitation procedure utilizing v-H-ras mAb. Again, the v-H-ras mAb immunoprecipitated a 21 kDa band from early as well as late blastocyst extracts. The rat control ascites IgG1 did not react with any band corresponding to p21 in the immunoprecipitation procedure. These results suggest that the specific products of nuclear proto-oncogenes, the c-fos and c-jun, are not detected in murine ova and preimplantation embryos, and the respective antibodies do not inhibit embryogenesis, indicating that they may not play a major role in early embryonic development. On the other hand, the product of c-ras proto-oncogene is specifically expressed in the blastocyst-stage embryos and may have a possible role in preimplantation embryonic development in mice.
Normalized truncated Levy walks applied to the study of financial indices

Abstract This work is devoted to the study of the statistical properties of financial indices from developed and emergent markets. We performed a new analysis of the behavior of several financial indices by using a normalized truncated Levy walk model. We conclude that the truncated Levy distribution describes perfectly the evolution of the financial indices near a crash for both well-developed and emergent markets.
Privileging the Participant: The Importance of Sub-Group Analysis in Social Welfare Evaluations.

This paper analyzes how variation in participant take-up rates affected the impacts of the New Hope project, a random-assignment, anti-poverty program. New Hope offered experimental members four benefits—child care subsidies, wage subsidies, health insurance, and, if needed, a temporary community service job—that were available to families working full time. Take-up of the benefits was far from universal and experimental participants who used one of the benefits rarely used all of them. Clustering and propensity score methods are used to analyze take-up sub-groups and to estimate program impacts within each. The majority of take-up patterns adopted by experimental members were associated with at least one positive program impact. However, the primary beneficiaries were those parents who used the community service jobs. They increased their employment effort, felt less parenting stress, and had children with higher teacher-related academic accomplishment scores. The implication of this method for the evaluation of other multi-benefit programs is discussed.
ULTRASONOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION OF CERVICAL MASSES IN THE DOG AND CAT

The ultrasonographic appearance of clinically undifferentiated neck masses for which a definitive diagnosis was eventually obtained in nineteen dogs and one cat is presented in this report. Multiple lesions were seen ultrasonographically in 4 dogs and no cervical abnormalities were seen in 2 dogs resulting in 22 lesions in 20 annuals. Of 7 benign lesions, there were 2 patients with reactive lymph nodes from a regional inflammatory process, and 1 patient each with primary pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis, arteriovenous malformation, foreign body granuloma, cellulitis, and hematoma. Of 15 malignant lesions, 7 were thyroid carcinomas, 3 were lymphomas with submandibular and cervical lymph node enlargement, 3 were lymph node enlargements associated with regional metastasis of malignant tumors, one was a leiomyosarcoma and one was a carotid body tumor. One dog with a diffuse soft tissue swelling of the ventral cervical region had only slight asymmetry of the thyroid lobes on ultrasound examination and no abnormalities of the neck at post mortem. A second dog examined with ultrasound 4 months after surgical removal of a carotid body tumor had no evidence of tumor recurrence. Ultrasonographic examination provided information regarding the character of the lesions, the tissue or organ of origin, and invasion into other anatomic structures. Ultrasound examination in conjunction with fine needle or tissue biopsy provided a definitive diagnosis in those animals in which biopsies were performed.
Structure of the Human Discs Large 1 PDZ2– Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Cytoskeletal Polarity Complex: Insight into Peptide Engagement and PDZ Clustering

The membrane associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) family member, human Discs Large 1 (hDlg1) uses a PDZ domain array to interact with the polarity determinant, the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) microtubule plus end binding protein. The hDLG1-APC complex mediates a dynamic attachment between microtubule plus ends and polarized cortical determinants in epithelial cells, stem cells, and neuronal synapses. Using its multi-domain architecture, hDlg1 both scaffolds and regulates the polarity factors it engages. Molecular details underlying the hDlg1-APC interaction and insight into how the hDlg1 PDZ array may cluster and regulate its binding factors remain to be determined. Here, I present the crystal structure of the hDlg1 PDZ2-APC complex and the molecular determinants that mediate APC binding. The hDlg1 PDZ2-APC complex also provides insight into potential modes of ligand-dependent PDZ domain clustering that may parallel Dlg scaffold regulatory mechanisms. The hDlg1 PDZ2-APC complex presented here represents a core biological complex that bridges polarized cortical determinants with the dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton.
Thermal considerations of generators in high-speed aircraft

THE PROVISION of electric power in aircraft becomes increasingly difficult as the speed and altitude of flight increases. The relatively large values of electric power generated per pound of equipment in subsonic aircraft are achieved by employing the low-temperature environmental air, directed as a blast through the generator, to remove the generator heat losses and limit the internal temperature. As actual and projected flight speeds increase, the air blast becomes less effective as a cooling medium, because the stagnation temperature of the air approaches and exceeds the allowable temperatures of the insulating materials, bearings, and brushes of the generator. To handle the cooling problem, the present trend in generator design is to introduce new materials which are able to operate at higher temperatures, to employ a circulating coolant such as oil, and an external heat exchanger, and to depend upon the evaporation of liquids for cooling.
Differential Localization of Two Histidine Kinases Controlling Bacterial Cell Differentiation

The bacterium C. crescentus coordinates cellular differentiation and cell cycle progression via a network of signal transduction proteins. Here, we demonstrate that the antagonistic DivJ and PleC histidine kinases that regulate polar differentiation are differentially localized as a function of the cell cycle. The DivJ kinase localizes to the stalked pole in response to a signal at the G1-to-S transition, while the PleC kinase is localized to the flagellar pole in swarmer and predivisional cells but is dispersed throughout the cell in the stalked cell. PleC, which is required for DivJ localization, may provide the cue at the G1-to-S transition that directs the polar positioning of DivJ. The dynamic positioning of signal transduction proteins may contribute to the regulation of polar differentiation at specific times during the bacterial cell cycle.
Performance of Analytic Orbit Propagators on a Hypercube and a Workstation Cluster

Abstract : In this paper we discuss the benefit of parallel computing in propagating orbits of objects. Several analytic methods are now in use operationally. We will discuss three such schemes. We demonstrate the benefit of parallelism by using an INTEL iPSC/2 hypercube and by using a cluster of Unix-based workstations running Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM). The software PVM allows a heterogeneous set of networked workstations to appear as a multicomputer. We will show that one can achieve near 100% efficiency on the hypercube.
Force and torque characteristics for magnetically driven blood pump

Abstract Magnetically driven screw pumps were designed and fabricated for pumping biological fluids. The magnetic field simulations for three different magnetic coupling arrangements were obtained numerically. The force and torque for the three arrangements were computed. The effect of the separation gap between poles and the rotational angle on the force and torque is also presented. The pump characteristics were obtained experimentally.
The green formula and H p spaces on trees

A theory o f H e spaces on (not necessarily homogeneous) trees was developed in [KPT]. These spaces are defined by means of certain maximal or square function operators associated with a nearest neighbour transition operator P which is very regular: i.e., for some 6o with 0 < 60 < 89 we assume the i _ 60 for every pair of neighbours x, y. The regularity bounds 60 < p ( x , y ) < condition yields uniform estimates for transience o f P, and therefore gives a good control over several operators defined on the boundary f2 of T, by means of which one defines the H p spaces. As observed long ago in the homogeneous case [Ta], a nearest neighbour transition operator on an arbitrary tree gives rise to a natural martingale structure on its boundary (see [KPT] for details). This martingale inherits the strong regularity property, which is heavily used in [KPT] to prove that the different definitions of H p are equivalent. The approach of [KPT] is in the same spirit o f the construction o f H p spaces by means of martingales, developed in [BGS] in a very general setting. On the other hand, another independent approach to H p theory in smooth domains (say, the disc or the upper half plane) was established in [FS]. Some of its operators, as the Lusin area integral, are defined in terms of differential operators, and the equivalence between different constructions o f H p is based upon good lambda inequalities. An important tool is the Green formula, which is used to transform the area integral of a harmonic function over smooth compact domains to a line integral over their boundary curves. The method of [FS] has been extended to semisimple symmetric spaces of rank one [Ci].
Heightened North Pacific Storminess during Synchronous Late Holocene Erosion of Northwest Alaska Beach Ridges

A progradational regime of falling sea level and/or high sediment input has produced extensive beach ridge plains in northwest Alaska during the last 4000 yr. Eleven Chukchi Sea beach ridge complexes, oriented at various angles to wind fetch, provide a cumulative history of longshore transport and erosion. Archaeological and geological upper limiting radiocarbon ages (n = 59) allow correlations between depositional units on seven beach ridge complexes. Progradation started 4000 yr B.P. at nearly all complexes, as eustatic sea level stabilized. Two disconformities or truncations are found on most of the complexes, providing time-parallel storm horizons, dated at 3300-1700 and 1200-900 14C yr B.P. Between 1700 and 1200 14C yr B.P. most of the complexes prograded, indicating the predominance of less-stormy conditions. Modern synoptic patterns that produce Chukchi beach ridge erosion are linked to northerly shifts in North Pacific storm tracks. The regionwide beach ridge erosional truncations correlate with records of glacier expansion, heightened precipitation evident in tree-rings, stream flooding, and shelf deposits reworked by storm surges.
AN ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY PREDICTORS OF TEST-WISENESS

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential predictors of test-wiseness, including self-perception of test-taking ability and a test-wiseness score on a multiple-choice test which served as a pretest for subsequent training on guessing strategies. Specific strategies incorporated into the test were (1) midrange, (2) length of option, (3) deduction, and (4) similarity/oppositeness. Five test items for each strategy and five items which were determined to be nonsusceptible to test-wiseness were included. The two predictor measures were administered to experimental (n = 19) and control (n = 22) groups as was a posttest measure similar to the pretest. Analyses indicated that test-wiseness can be predicted from pretest score, grade point average, and subjects' test-taking perceptions. Subjects who had a GPA below 3.5, scored below 70% on the pretest or perceived themselves as poor test-takers benefited the most from the training.
Review: Is lung inflammation associated with microbes and microbial toxins in cigarette tobacco smoke?

Chronic inflammation that has been observed for malignant and non-neoplastic lung diseases of smokers has been attributed to the numerous and diverse particulate (‘tar’)-phase and gas-phase chemicals in mainstream smoke, most of which arise from the burning of tobacco. The primary cell-mediator of lung inflammation is the macrophage. Most probably, inflammation is promoted also from some of the more than 50 other cell types of the lung. Cured tobacco in diverse types of cigarettes is known to harbor a plethora of bacteria (Gram-positive and Gram-negative), fungi (mold, yeast), spores, and is rich in endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide). Reviewed herein are recent observations of the authors’ team and other investigators that support the hypothesis that lung inflammation of long-term smokers may be attributed in part to tobacco-associated bacterial and fungal components that have been identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke.
Dynamics and Active Control of Largely Deflected Active Structures Using the Finite Element Technique

This paper focuses on the vibration, sensing and distributed control of laminated electro/elastic nonlinear plate structures based on newly developed nonlinear shell piezoelastic finite elements. The generic governing electromechanical finite element equations for nonlinear piezoelastic shell structures are developed for the curved hexahedral and triangular piezoelectric shell elements based on the layerwise constant shear angle theory. The nonlinear system equations are linearized to enhance computational feasibility. Equations of electric potential output and feedback control force defined in a matrix from are derived. The modified Newton-Raphson method is adopted for nonlinear dynamic analysis of large and complex piezoelectric/elastic/control structures. A finite element code for vibration sensing and control analysis of nonlinear active piezoelectric structronic systems is developed. Standard structural problems involving geometrical nonlinearity are tested to validate the current finite element code and verify the accuracy of the proposed hexahedral and triangular elements. Vibration control of constant-curvature electro/elastic plate structures is studied. Time-history responses of free and controlled largely deflected nonlinear electro/elastic plate systems are presented and nonlinear effects discussed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Bisphosphonates and nonhealing femoral fractures: is there (a) safety (signal) in numbers?: commentary on an article by Beatrice J. Edwards, MD, MPH, et al.: "bisphosphonates and nonhealing femoral fractures: analysis of the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS) and international safety efforts. a systematic review from the Research on Adverse Drug Events And Reports (RADAR) project".

The widespread use of bisphosphonates for osteoporosis is estimated to have reduced hip fracture rates by as much as 30%1. As more patients have used these drugs for longer durations, it has also been noted that a small number of patients have developed atypical femoral fractures, which were sometimes associated with delayed healing. Negative media attention regarding these rare events has, in one Australian report, resulted in a voluntary decline in bisphosphonate use sufficient to cause a projected seventy additional hip fractures and fourteen deaths in that country alone2. Although an absolute cause-and-effect relationship between atypical femoral fractures and bisphosphonates has not been established, the probability that these events represent rare adverse drug reactions has resulted in safety notifications and requirements for drug label warnings in the United States, Canada, and Australia3-5. In addition, the literature suggests that the incidence of atypical fractures increases with increasing duration of therapy6. It is also possible that lack of awareness and underreporting may mask the true frequency of these fractures7. In their very ambitious article, Edwards et al. attempt not only to come closer to establishing the actual incidence …
Intracerebroventricular administration of human calcitonin and human calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibits meal-stimulated gastric acid secretion in the dog.

This study was designed to assess the central nervous system actions of human calcitonin (hCalc) and human calcitonin gene-related peptide (hCGRP) on meal-stimulated gastric acid secretion in awake beagle dogs. hCalc (0.1–1.0 nmol/kg) and hCGRP (0.01–1.0 nmol/kg) injected into the third cerebral ventricle significantly inhibited gastric acid secretion stimulated by an 8% peptone meal. hCGRP was ten times more potent than hCalc in inhibiting gastric secretion. Neither hCalc nor hCGRP significantly altered plasma gastrin concentrations compared to control values. Truncal vagotomy did not prevent the gastric inhibitory actions of hCalc and hCGRP. Ganglionic blockade with chlorisondamine completely abolished the gastric inhibitory action of hCalc but had no effect on gastric acid inhibition induced by hCGRP. The results of this study indicate that intracerebroventricular administration of hCalc and hCGRP inhibits meal-stimulated gastric acid secretion in awake dogs. Inhibition of gastric acid secretion by hCalc and hCGRP in the dog is not mediated by inhibition of gastrin release or by the vagus nerves. Human Calc but not human CGRP appears to inhibit meal-stimulated gastric acid secretion in the dog by activation of the autonomic (sympathetic) nervous system.
Is a new evaluation always necessary

Abstract Although generalization of evaluation findings from one instance to another is likely to be a matter of degree, the standard rules of statistical inference argue against virtually all generalization. Program providers also frequently reject the notion that evaluated findings of similar programs might apply to their own. An approach to forecasting generalization was applied to the evaluations of home energy audits in two Illinois samples. Generalizability of findings for audit impacts across samples was identified. It is proposed that standard evaluation procedure include assessments of generalizability of findings across the range of contexts, subsamples, and program implementation variations already existing within a study. Such findings will facilitate efforts to forecast generalizability by program providers and will advance theoretical understanding of the processes underlying program effects.
Measurements of electron-impact ionization and dissociation cross sections in a crossed electron-supersonic molecular beam☆

Abstract A new approach is described for obtaining absolute electron-impact cross sections for ionization, including the partial cross sections for multiple charge excitation and ion dissociation. The method benefits from the use of a supersonic molecular beam, pulsed ion source, and multichannel mass detection. The determination of the partial cross sections for the production of Ne+, Ne2+, Ar+, Kr+, and Kr2+ from the neutral atoms, as well as for the production of NH2+, NH2+, and NH+ from rovibrationally cold NH3, are reported and compared with results from other recent work.
Perturbative anyon spectra from bosonic end

Abstract We obtain the second-order perturbative three-anyon energies in closed form starting from the bosonic state configurations E 0 =5 ω ( J =±2) and E 0 =6 ω ( J =±3).
Order-Strengthening in a nickel-base superalloy (hastelloy alloy S)

HASTELLOY* alloy s is a commercial, solid solu* HASTELLOY is a registered trademark of Cabot Corporation tion-strengthened, nickel-base superalloy developed for applications where oxidation resistance, low thermal expansion and retained ductility after long-time exposure at elevated temperatures are prerequisites. Its typical heat treatment consists of annealing at 1340 K (1950 °F) followed by air cooling to produce an essentially single phase material. When specimens from annealed heats were aged at 810 K (1000 °F) for 1000 to 8000 h and then tensile tested at room temperature, it was found that relative to the annealed condition, the 0.2 pct yield strength had nearly doubled while about 70 pct of the tensile elongation was retained. It is the objective of this note to report on the formation of a long-range ordered phase that caused the observed strengthening.
Imaging of Cavernous Sinus: Self-Assessment Module

INTRODUCTION This self-assessment module on imaging of the cavernous sinus has an educational component and a self-assessment component. The educational component consists of three required articles that the participant should read. The selfassessment component consists of 10 multiple-choice questions with solutions. All of these materials are available on the ARRS Website (www.arrs.org). To claim CME and SAM credit, each participant must enter his or her responses to the questions online.
Feyerabend's attack on observation sentences

In a series of articles1 Paul K. Feyerabend has attacked what he calls the standard view of observation sentences, the view that they, together with their descriptive constituents, are invariant in meaning from theory to theory. He also claims that this goes hand in hand with (or perhaps is equivalent to) the view that the ontology of the observational domain is fixed independently of scientific theories. This attack is thus of interest to those2 who, like myself, hold to a principle of acquaintance that serves both as a tool of ontological analysis and as a central constituent of an empiricist epistemology. In this paper I wish to examine both Feyerabend's attack and his own position from the point of view of a proponent of such a principle of acquaintance. Feyerabend's strategy in this series of articles appears to be the follow ing. He specifies criteria for being an observation sentence which are neu tral to the issues of meaning and reference. He then points out that there are sentences which qualify as observation sentences on these criteria but which cannot be understood by one who does not know a particular theory. He infers from this that such observation sentences gain meaning from the theories in whose context they are made. He then attempts to attack the fundamental presuppositions of the standard view which would seek to qualify other sentences that meet his criteria as being epistemolog ically more basic than those which are theory-laden. This is intended to show by elimination that all observation sentences are dependent for their meaning on the theories in whose context they are made. Feyerabend's attack upon the standard view turns upon the following thesis: