cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The MHC class I genes of zebrafish

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules play a central role in the immune response and in the recognition of non-self. Found in all jawed vertebrate species, including zebrafish and other teleosts, MHC genes are considered the most polymorphic of all genes. In this review we focus on the multi-faceted diversity of zebrafish MHC class I genes, which are classified into three sequence lineages: U, Z, and L. We examine the polygenic, polymorphic, and haplotypic diversity of the zebrafish MHC class I genes, discussing known and postulated functional differences between the different class I lineages. In addition, we provide the first comprehensive nomenclature for the L lineage genes in zebrafish, encompassing at least 15 genes, and characterize their sequence properties. Finally, we discuss how recent findings have shed new light on the remarkably diverse MHC loci of this species.
Double public et complicité enfants-adultes dans le théâtre et le roman de Jasmine Dubé

ResumeDramaturge, metteure en scene et interprete, Jasmine Dube a joue, des le debut des annees 1980, un role de premier plan dans l'evolution du theâtre quebecois pour la jeunesse. La prise en compte d'un double public, les enfants et «leurs» adultes, est au coeur de sa demarche theâtrale. Elle a egalement publie une serie de romans destines aux enfants de sept a neuf ans, les «Nazaire» (1994-1999). L'analyse des dialogues de cette serie montre que Dube transpose a l'ecriture romanesque sa conception de l'ecri- ture theâtrale, offrant, pour une lecture conjointe de l'enfant et de l'adulte parent, une mise en mots des situations delicates de la vie familiale.
Tunneling Phase Gate for Neutral Atoms in a Double-well Lattice

We propose a two-qubit phase gate for ultracold atoms in a tilted double-well optical lattice. Such a lattice is capable of confining pairs of atoms in a two-dimensional array of double-well potentials where both the barrier height and the energy difference of the minima of the two wells (known as the ``tilt'') can be controlled. The four lowest single-particle motional states can be used to form spatially separated qubits. We present a time-dependent scheme to manipulate the tilt to induce tunneling oscillations which produce a collisional phase gate. Numerical simulations demonstrate that this gate can be performed with high fidelity.
Gastric and small intestinal motility in health and disease

Although symptoms possibly related to motor dysfunction appear to be common, primary disorders of the foregut motor apparatus, defined on the basis of a discrete myoneural pathology, are notably rare. This phenomenon may as much reflect the relatively primitive nature of diagnostic methods as the true rarity of such disorders. Although diagnostic methodologies increase in sophistication and availability, their clinical impact has been limited by an imperfect relationship between symptoms and dysfunction and by a relatively poor ability of such tests to predict response to available therapeutic strategies. An ever-increasing understanding of the complex, often interrelated motor and sensory phenomena that contribute to symptoms, together with the development of consensus on the use and interpretation of motility tests and the more widespread application of sophisticated histologic, immunologic, biochemical, and molecular biologic methodologies to the study of these disorders, should lead, in the years to come, to much needed progress in this area.
Friction of polymer films. III. Migration of lubricants

The migration of the lubricant stearamide to the surface of vinylidene chloride–acrylonitrile copolymer coatings on regenerated cellulose film was studied by measuring the effect of heating the coatings on friction and critical surface tension. The surface quantity of stearamide was maximum at a heating temperature of 65°C. Above this temperature stearamide was lost from the surface. Up to 65°C the migration of lubricant obeyed first-order kinetics and the activation energy was calculated. Below 65°C diffusion to the surface appears to be the controlling process, while above 65°C evaporation from the surface is probably the controlling process.
Interfaces of ZnO Nanowires Grown on Semiconducting Surfaces

The large direct band gap of ZnO makes it an important semiconductor. ZnO can be grown in the form of nanowires on various substrates, which makes it a potential candidate for nanoparticle-based device applications such as heterojunction solar cells. Aligned nanowires of ZnO can be grown on semiconductor surfaces to make p–n junctions. The characteristics and performance of devices are critically dependant on the alignment, distribution and the nanowire–substrate interface character. While various methods to control the alignment and distribution of ZnO nanowire on different surfaces have been reported in the literature [1], the structure of the interface between the ZnO nanowire and the semiconducting surface is almost unknown. The motivation of this work is to characterize the interface of ZnO nanowires grown on a Si surface.
Uranium-thorium-protactinium dating systematics

Abstract With precise 234U, 230Th, and 231Pa data available, 230Th and 231Pa ages can now be tested rigorously for concordancy. If the material is not concordant, the isotopic characteristics of this material may be examined in some detail. Here, models similar to those used to describe the U-Pb system are evaluated for use in U-Th-Pa studies, for the case in which initial 230Th and 231Pa concentrations are effectively zero. The systematics of concordia plots in relation to models of variation in δ234U, episodic U loss or gain, continuous U loss or gain, and continuous 234U, 230Th and 231Pa gain or loss are considered for the case in which initial U concentration is significant (for example, in many carbonate deposits). We also examine linear U uptake models for the case in which initial U concentration is effectively zero (for example, in teeth and bones). Such models should prove useful in interpreting data from materials that have behaved as open-systems. In particular, these models may help constrain the nature of diagenetic processes, and in some situations it may be possible to determine or constrain true ages with materials that have behaved as open-systems.
Impaired maturation of myeloid progenitors in mice lacking novel Polycomb group protein MBT-1

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins participate in DNA-binding complexes with gene-repressing activity, many of which have been highlighted for their involvement in hematopoiesis. We have identified a putative PcG protein, termed MBT-1, that is associated with Rnf2, an in vivo interactor of PcG proteins. MBT-1 structurally resembles the H-L(3)MBT protein, whose deletion is predicted to be responsible for myeloid hematopoietic malignancies. The human MBT-1 gene is located on chromosome 6q23, a region frequently deleted in leukemia cells, and shows a transient expression spike in response to maturation-inducing stimuli in myeloid leukemia cells. MBT-1−/− myeloid progenitor cells exhibit a maturational deficiency but maintain normal proliferative activities. This results in the accumulation of immature myeloid progenitors and hence, a marked decrease of mature myeloid blood cells, causing the MBT-1−/− mice to die of anemia during a late embryonic stage. Together, we conclude that MBT-1 specifically regulates the maturational advancement of myeloid progenitor cells during transitions between two developmental stages. We also show that MBT-1 appears to influence myelopoiesis by transiently enhancing p57KIP2 expression levels.
The role of myogenic mechanisms in human cerebrovascular regulation

Key points • The autoregulatory capacity of the cerebral vasculature allows for maintenance of relatively stable blood flow in the face of fluctuating arterial pressure to protect neural tissue from wide swings in oxygen and nutrient delivery. • We recently found that neurogenic control plays an active role in autoregulation. Although myogenic pathways have also been hypothesized to play a role, previous data have not provided an unequivocal answer. • We examined cerebral blood flow responses to augmented arterial pressure oscillations with and without calcium channel blockade, and characterized autoregulation via a robust non-linear method. • Blockade significantly altered the non-linearity between pressure and flow, particularly at the slowest fluctuations, and the same rate of change in pressure elicited a larger change in flow than at baseline. • These results show that myogenic mechanisms also play a significant role in cerebrovascular regulation, and help us better understand physiological mechanisms that underlie cerebral autoregulation in humans. Abstract Although myogenic mechanisms have been hypothesized to play a role in cerebrovascular regulation, previous data from both animals and humans have not provided an unequivocal answer. However, cerebral autoregulation is explicitly non-linear and most prior work relied on simple linear approaches for assessment, potentially missing important changes in autoregulatory characteristics. Therefore, we examined cerebral blood flow responses to augmented arterial pressure oscillations with and without calcium channel blockade (nicardipine) during blood pressure fluctuations (oscillatory lower body negative pressure, OLBNP) across a range of frequencies in 16 healthy subjects. Autoregulation was characterized via a robust non-linear method (projection pursuit regression, PPR). Blockade resulted in significant tachycardia, a modest but significant elevation in mean arterial pressure, and reductions in mean cerebral blood flow and end-tidal CO2 during OLBNP. The reductions in flow were directly related to the reductions in CO2 (r= 0.57). While linear cross-spectral analysis showed that the relationship between pressure–flow fluctuations was preserved after blockade, PPR showed that blockade significantly altered the non-linearity between pressure and flow, particularly at the slowest fluctuations. At 0.03 Hz, blockade reduced the range of pressure fluctuations that can be buffered (7.5 ± 1.0 vs. 3.7 ± 0.8 mmHg) while increasing the autoregulatory slope (0.10 ± 0.05 vs. 0.24 ± 0.08 cm s−1 mmHg−1). Furthermore, the same rate of change in pressure elicited a change in flow more than twice as large as at baseline. Thus, our results show that myogenic mechanisms play a significant role in cerebrovascular regulation but this may not be appreciated without adequately characterizing the non-linearities inherent in cerebrovascular regulation.
Success, Failure, and Conformance: An Alternative Approach to Planning Evaluation

Understanding why planning succeeds should be one of the main occupations of planning theoretical and empirical inquiry. Yet developing a clearer understanding of planning success seems an implausi...
Oxygen- and strontium-isotopic investigations of subduction zone volcanism: the case of the Volcano Arc and the Marianas Island Arc

Abstract Recent, fresh, volcanic rocks of the intra-oceanic Mariana and Volcano Arcs were analyzed for O and Sr isotopic compositions in order to determine the source of these magmas. Fresh, non-arc, volcanic rocks from the regions surrounding the Mariana-Volcano Arcs and some DSDP sediments were also analyzed for comparison. The oxygen isotopic ratios of the arc lavas (5.5–6.8‰) exhibited a small inter-island variation that cannot be entirely explained by fractional crystallization. The Sr isotopic composition of the arc lavas is remarkably uniform (0.70332–0.70394 for the Marianas). Three models are considered in order to explain the observed isotopic characteristics: (1) bulk mixing and melting of MORB-type mantle with (a) subducted sediments, and (b) subducted oceanic crust (excluding sediments); (2) melting of a mixture of sediment-derived fluids and MORB-type mantle; and (3) melting of a mixture of sediment-derived fluids and oceanic island or “hot-spot” type mantle. The last model fits the data best. The conclusion that very small, and variable, amounts of sediment-derived fluid (⩽ 1%) are required to explain the observed inter-island O isotopic variation, is consistent with that of other workers who used different isotopic and trace element methods. The generation of magmas in the Mariana-Volcano Arcs involves very little sediment and the source region of Mariana lavas is isotopically indistinguishable from that of hot-spot basalts.
SAXS Investigations on Uniaxially Drawn Fibers Obtained from Polyethylene Reactor Powder

The polyethylene powders studied were synthesized by both slurry and gas-phase processes at temperatures ranging between 30 and 85 °C. Fibers were drawn from these nascent powders under identical processing conditions. The maximum achievable draw ratio was found to be strongly dependent on synthesis conditions. Highest ductilities are obtained for samples synthesized by a slurry process at 85 °C. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were performed on fibers coextruded from reactor powders at a draw ratio of 6. No interferential effects were detected in the equatorial profiles. In contrast, the meridional SAXS patterns display interference peaks whose intensities bear definite relationships to both ductility and synthesis conditions. Fibers obtained from samples synthesized by a slurry process at 85 °C display a well-defined interference peak along the meridional direction. Fibers obtained from samples synthesized in the other conditions show only an ill-defined broad shoulder. Results of peak ...
Decision Models for the Location of Community Corrections Centers

Community corrections centers (CCCs, or ‘halfway houses’) represent a community-based justice strategy intended to reintegrate offenders into civil society. Site selection for these facilities is complicated by negative perceptions of CCC impacts on the part of potential host communities. I solve the CCC-location problem through the use of a framework based on value-focused thinking and quantitative decision models. The first of two mathematical models for CCC location is a novel integer programming formulation that incorporates neighborhood characteristics and equity considerations; the second is a straightforward application of the analytic hierarchy process. These models are applied to a case study in the city of Pittsburgh, PA. In contrast to traditional dispersion models, the mathematical programming model identifies sites in high-amenity neighborhoods which are argued to be associated with beneficial CCC client outcomes. Also, I find that sites selected using multicriteria decision models are relati...
Origin of Friable Sandstone-Calcareous Sandstone Rhythms in the Upper Lias of England

ABSTRACT The diachronous Upper Lias Sands of southern England are comprised of small scale rhythmic alternations of friable, yellow sandstone and firm, gray, calcareous sandstones. In general, the alternating layers are parallel to bedding and to one another; exceptions occur where the calcareous sandstones mark out the bases of erosional structures. Individual carbonate-rich or deficient horizons cannot be correlated between outcroups 2-3 miles apart, but within a single outcrop they preserve a remarkable uniformity in vertical sequence. Petrographic studies demonstrate that original textural relationships are retained in the calcareous sandstones, while the friable sandstone interbeds have undergone compaction effects. Field evidence indicates that the calcareous sandstones were lithified be ore the deposition of more than 6 inches of superimposed sediment. Such lithification is estimated to have taken approximately 150 years. The alternations are considered to be the result of fluctuating rates of detrital deposition: the calcareous sandstones representing temporally, and spatially restricted locales characterized by little or no detrital deposition, and the sandstone interbeds representing contiguous areas of more rapid detrital deposition. Within the Upper Lias Sands a gradual increase is observed in the relative proportions of CaCO3 to detritals. This is believed to reflect the southerly lateral migration of the wave of maximum terriginous sedimentation. This process established conditions suitable for deposition of the succeeding limestone sequences an environment foreshadowed by the calcareous sandstones of the Upper Lias Sands.
Osmium's Debye temperature

Abstract Osmium's Debye characteristic temperature Θ D remains uncertain. We tabulate 20 reported values that average 411±94 K, for a property that one should know within about 1%. We report a new value derived from low-temperature monocrystal elastic-constant measurements extrapolated to 0 K: Θ D =477±2 K. Our value disagrees with all previous reports except one specific-heat measurement. It agrees with Mendeleev-table expectations and with an a priori calculation.
Effects of prehypertension on admissions and deaths: a simulation.

Background The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure recently released new clinical practice guidelines that target systolic blood pressure and identify persons with “prehypertension” (systolic blood pressure, 120-139 mm Hg), previously considered normal, as being at elevated risk and in need of intervention. Methods We used a simulation model, fitted to longitudinal data from the first NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) Epidemiologic Followup Study, to estimate the effects of prehypertension and residual hypertension (systolic blood pressure, ≥140 mm Hg). The term residual hypertension recognizes that many people with hypertension have lowered their pressures through treatment, but not to less than 140 mm Hg. We applied the model to a representative sample of US adults aged 25 to 74 years from NHANES III. Results Except for women aged 25 to 44 years, more than a third of each age group in NHANES III had prehypertension. Approximately two thirds of persons aged 45 to 64 years and 80% of persons aged 65 to 74 years had prehypertension or residual hypertension. Together, prehypertension and residual hypertension accounted for 4.8% of hospital admissions per 10 000 adults aged 25 to 74 years, 9.9% of nursing home admissions, and 13.0% of deaths. Prehypertension alone accounted for 3.4% of hospitalizations, 6.2% of nursing home stays, and 8.5% of deaths. Numbers of events attributable to prehypertension are greatest for men aged 45 to 64 years and persons aged 65 to 74 years. Conclusions Our results confirm the substantial public health consequences of prehypertension. If prehypertension were eliminated, hospitalizations, nursing home admissions, and premature deaths could decline substantially.
Age-related odontometric changes of human teeth.

Abstract Objective. The number of older patients requiring restorative treatment are likely to increase due to improvements in oral health and increased longevity. However, aging odontometric data are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine possible changes in pulp cell density, pulp area, and dentinal thickness with age. Study Design. Incisors (50), canines (39), premolars (51), and molars (7) extracted from 60 patients aged between 10 and 59 years, were analyzed histomorphometrically for cell density (odontoblasts, subodontoblasts, and pulp core fibroblasts) and dentinal thickness. Results. With increasing patient age, in both crown and root aspects of teeth, dentinal thickness increased (P
Perhaps there can be too much freedom

Abstract Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott have proposed a policy reform, called stakeholder grants (stakes), they argue will increase the amount of real freedom held by United States residents. Philippe Van Parijs has also proposed a policy reform, called the basic income, that he's justified by reference to its ability to increase real freedom. Ackerman and Alstott, although very sympathetic to the basic income, nevertheless prefer stakes to a basic income because they believe stakes, if enacted, would promote real freedom to a greater extent than would a basic income. This paper raises questions about this point of view. I argue that upon consideration of some pretty common decision making patterns it may be reasonable to conclude that putting appropriate constraints on freedom may be more real freedom promoting than otherwise and that such a conclusion may ground a preference for the basic income over stakes.
Predictors of cardiovascular damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: data from LUMINA (LXVIII), a multiethnic US cohort.

Objective. To determine the features predictive of atherosclerotic cardiovascular damage in patients with SLE. Methods. SLE LUMINA (LUpus in MInorities: NAture vs nurture) patients (n ¼ 637), aged 516 years, disease duration 45 years at baseline (T0), of African–American, Hispanic and Caucasian ethnicity were studied. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular damage was defined by the following items of the SLICC Damage Index (SDI) cardiovascular domain: angina or coronary artery by pass surgery, myocardial infarction and/or congestive heart failure; factors associated with its occurrence were examined by univariable and multivariable regression analyses.
Clinical, serologic, and histopathologic characterization of experimental Borna disease in ponies.

Borna disease was originally described as an equine neurologic syndrome over 200 years ago, although the infectious etiology of the disorder was unproven until the early 20th century. Borna disease virus (BDV) was finally isolated from horses dying of the disorder, and that virus has been used to experimentally reproduce Borna disease in several species of laboratory animals. However, BDV has never been inoculated back into horses to experimentally and etiologically confirm the classic clinical, pathologic, and serologic characteristics of the disease in that species. Three ponies were intracerebrally inoculated with different amounts of BDV and were evaluated clinically, serologically, and neurohistopathologically. All 3 animals developed the clinical signs characteristically described for naturally occurring Borna disease, including ataxia, torticollis, postural unawareness, rhythmic repetitive motor activities, muscle fasciculation, and cutaneous hyperesthesia and hypoesthesia over several body surfaces. Two ponies died after rapid onset of these signs 28-30 days postinoculation. The third animal made a nearly complete clinical recovery. Seroconversion occurred only after the onset of signs and to a marked degree only in the convalescent animal. Virus was recovered postmortem from 2 of the 3 ponies, and a BDV-specific nucleic acid sequence was detectable in all 3 animals using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction procedure. Gross neural lesions were absent, but histopatho- logically there was generalized intense mononuclear perivascular cuffing, glial nodule formation, and astrocy- tosis in all 3 brains. Confirming a diagnosis of Borna disease is difficult and perhaps best accomplished using a combination of the clinical, serologic, and histopathologic indicators of this unusual disease supported by positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction findings.
A programmable boundary scan technique for board-level, parallel functional duplex march testing of word-oriented multiport static RAMs

A framework for integrating boundary scan (IEEE 1149.1) with board-level self-testing of word-oriented, multiport static RAM chips is proposed. Innovative parallel versions of functional duplex march tests (FDMs) for detecting complex couplings are developed. This approach produces significantly smaller cycle-time penalty during normal operation than built-in self-testing (BIST). It produces two orders of magnitude test acceleration as compared to pure boundary scan testing without BIST (i.e., by using EXTEST and SAMPLE/PRELOAD instructions only).
Grassroots Associations Versus Larger Nonprofits: New Evidence from a Community Case Study in Arts and Culture

Very small nonprofit organizations are typically omitted from sector accounts, because neither the IRS nor the Bureau of Census collect data on these groups. Arguably, this may not pose a major problem. Prevailing economic theories in the nonprofit field direct attention to larger and more formal service-providing organizations. From an economic point of view, very small and informal organizations are of lesser importance. However, social capital and civil society arguments have focused renewed attention on informal, voluntaristic groups, many of which are likely small in scale and thus being missed in existing data sources. This article presents data from a community study of cultural organizations, comparing small-scale groups to larger organizations to contribute to our understanding of the economic dimensions of the nonprofit sector's grassroots base.
Antibiotics alone instead of percutaneous drainage as initial treatment of large diverticular abscess

There are limited data assessing the effectiveness of antibiotics as sole initial therapy in patients with large diverticular abscess. The aim of our study was to compare outcomes of selected patients treated with initial antibiotics alone versus percutaneous drainage. All patients with diverticular abscess ≥3 cm in diameter treated in our institution in 1994–2012 with percutaneous drainage or antibiotics alone followed by surgery were identified from an institutional diverticular disease database. Groups were compared based on patient and disease characteristics, treatment failures and postoperative outcomes. Thirty-two patients were treated with antibiotics alone because of either technically impossible percutaneous drainage (n = 15) or surgeon preference (n = 17) while 114 underwent percutaneous drainage. Failure of initial treatment required urgent surgery in 8 patients with persistent symptoms during treatment with antibiotics alone (25 %) and in 21 patients (18 %) after initial percutaneous drainage (p = 0.21). Reasons for urgent surgery after percutaneous drainage were persistent symptoms (n = 16), technical failure of percutaneous drainage (n = 4) and small bowel injury (n = 1). Patients treated with antibiotics had a significantly smaller abscess diameter (5.9 vs. 7.1 cm, p = 0.001) and shorter interval from initial treatment to sigmoidectomy (mean 50 vs. 80 days, p = 0.02). The Charlson comorbidity index, initial treatment failure rates, postoperative mortality, overall morbidity, length of hospital stay during treatments, and overall and permanent stoma rates were comparable in the two groups. Postoperative complications following antibiotics alone were significantly less severe than after percutaneous drainage based on the Clavien–Dindo classification (p = 0.04). Selected patients with diverticular abscess can be initially treated with antibiotics without adverse consequences on their outcomes.
Heat Transfer in an Electromagnetic Bearing

An exact solution for two-dimensional, full transient, and steady periodic heat conduction in an electromagnetic bearing is obtained. Classical methods are used to obtain an analytical expression for the temperature distribution that arises from power dissipated in the pole windings. Among the key findings is the need for cooling in the immediate neighborhood of the bearing support due to the relatively large thermal resistance of the supporting structure. The results presented prove the existence of large temperature gradients in the bearing in both the radial and circumferential directions. This demands the need for a fine mesh when performing the commonly used nodal-network thermal analysis. Conditions are described under which the temperature distribution is independent of the frequency of the time-dependent current supplied to the poles. For these cases the problem reduces to steady state, and the solution is given. A peak circumferential temperature difference of about 55°C in the bearing is possible under certain conditions that are discussed. Attention to proper thermal design is critical to reduce the dimensional distortion of the bearing caused by thermal expansion. The effects of thermal expansion can range from catastrophic, should the shaft come in contact with the bearing, to an undesirable change in the force and dynamic control characteristics caused by a variation in the critical shaft-to-bearing clearance, which is of the order of a fraction of a millimeter.
Detection of Androgen Receptor Mutations in Circulating Tumor Cells: Highlights of the Long Road to Clinical Qualification

There is evidence that androgen receptor ( AR )4 gene function not only is necessary for the growth and differentiation of the healthy prostate gland but also may contribute critically to treatment failure in progressive stages of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)5 (1–3). The mechanisms include AR overexpression, AR gene amplification, an increase in the levels of the androgen synthetic machinery leading to increased intratumoral androgens, ligand-independent activation, and gain-of-function mutations in the gene itself (2). The clinical importance of these findings has been validated in trials of the novel androgen receptor antagonist MDV3100, which was developed in a cell-based screen for activity in cells with overexpressed AR, and of abiraterone acetate, a 17,20 lyase inhibitor that blocks androgen synthesis in the testis, the adrenals, and the tumor (3, 4). The development and validation of reliable, reproducible protocols to accurately assess functional status, frequency, and functional relevance of mutations in AR could then be critical for the successful development and clinical implementation of novel targeted strategies for patients with advanced stages of prostate cancer, particularly those with progressive CRPC. Although a recent study on the integrative genomic profiling of human prostate cancer was limited by the interrogation of only a modest number of genes and patient samples, the reported data strongly suggested that the overall rate of mutations may be low in prostate cancer (5). In particular, mutations were infrequent among common, broadly mutated oncogenes, such as PIK3CA (phosphoinositide-3-kinase, catalytic, alpha polypeptide), KRAS (v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog), and BRAF (v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1). Importantly, however, the study reported a higher frequency of AR mutations. Alterations in AR , including mutations, gene …
A comparison of electrochemiluminescence and flow cytometry for the detection of natural latex-specific human immunoglobulin E

In vitro correlates of type 1 hypersensitivity to natural latex (NL) proteins continue to be limited by both sensitivity and specificity. Methods which have detection limits in the picogram range, namely, radioallergosorbent assays (RAST) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), are inadequate for the identification of NL hypersensitivity in certain at-risk groups, such as health care workers. A flow cytometry assay (FCA), previously shown to be comparable to RAST and ELISA in the identification of NL-sensitized pediatric patients with spina bifida, was compared with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) in the evaluation of pediatric patients with spina bifida and NL-sensitized adult health care workers. As with RAST and ELISA, ECL is capable of detecting picogram amounts of specific analyte. The ECL assay detected NL-specific immunoglobulin E (NL-IgE) in three of six health care workers with strong histories of NL hypersensitivity. All six patients were negative by FCA. Further, 2 of 11 spina bifida patients found to be NL-IgE negative by FCA were NL-IgE positive by ECL. These findings suggest that in sensitivity the ECL assay is an improvement over the FCA for the identification of NL-sensitive individuals.
A new test for monopoly with limited cost data

Abstract The test’s intuition is that demand estimates in isolation may diverge from demand estimates under joint estimation with cost if the monopoly null hypothesis is false. Simulations indicate that the test can have substantial power using duopoly data.
The peoples of Southern Mozambique: an historical survey

The purpose of this article is to attempt to clarify some of the outstanding controversies in the historical and ethnographic literature on southern Mozambique. It contends that by the eighteenth century, three distinct ethnic groups— the Tsonga, Chopi, and Tonga—lived in the area. It seeks to demonstrate how and why these groups differed from each other, and how these differences affected the ethnographic map. It argues that state formation among the Tsonga began at an early date, largely because of influences emanating from the adjacent western plateau regions of south-central Africa. Most of the neighbouring Tonga peoples, however, were shielded from these influences, and did not evolve political units larger than the village authority. The exception to this generalization occurred in the south of the Tonga-speaking region, where peoples were subject to an invasion by groups of Shona origin. The resultant differences between the two Tonga-speaking groups were to be of extreme importance when both subsequently would be invaded by peoples of Tsonga origin. In the south the arrival of Tsonga speakers resulted in the formation of the Chopi; in the north Tsonga speakers absorbed and assimilated the Tonga, who might have disappeared as a distinct cultural entity had other factors not intervened before the process had been completed.
Lateral expansion of preferential flow paths in sands

The stability and persistence of preferential flow paths in sands can determine the flow paths of subsequent infiltration events. We have measured the evolution of preferential flow paths in a slab of sandy soil using an array of tensiometers and light transmission. The pressure and water content measurements show that the nonuniform moisture content exists even when the potentials are equalized horizontally and that then are the result of hysteresis in the soil's pressure-saturation relationship. The equalization of potential takes place over several days, if at all, and is consistent, initially, with estimates of vapor transport out of the finger cores. Once the soil is wet enough, the remainder of water movement takes place in liquid films. Hysteresis produces another interesting situation when the pack is drained. We find that the wetter portions of the soil can be at a lower potential than the drier portions, resulting in a horizontal driving force for a flow of water from the drier to the wetter soil.
Differential development of angiotensin II receptor subtypes in the rat brain.

Angiotensin II receptors in selected brain areas were characterized into two distinct subtypes by displacement with specific antagonists. The receptor subtypes had different developmental patterns. Type-1 receptors, selectively displaced by the specific angiotensin antagonist DuP-753, were predominant in adult (8- weeks-old) rats. Type-2 receptors were selectively displaced by CGP 42112 A and were expressed remarkably in young (2-weeks-old) rats.
On the modeling of integrally actuated helicopter blades

This paper presents an asymptotical formulation for preliminary design of multi-cell composite helicopter rotor blades with integral anisotropic active plies. It represents the first attempt in the literature to asymptotically analyze such active structure. The analysis is broken down in two parts: a linear two-dimensional analysis over the cross-section, and a geometrically non-linear (beam) analysis along the blade span. The cross-sectional analysis revises and extends a closed form solution for thin-walled, multi-cell beams based on the variational-asymptotical method, accounting for the presence of active fiber composites distributed along the cross-section of the blade. The formulation provides expressions for the asymptotically correct cross-sectional stiffness constants in closed form, facilitating design-trend studies. These stiffness constants are then used in a beam finite element discretization of the blade reference line. This is an extension of the exact intrinsic equations for the one-dimensional analysis of rotating beams considering small strains and finite rotations, and now taking account of the presence of distributed actuators. Subject to external loads, active ply induced strains, and specific boundary conditions, the one-dimensional (beam) problem can be solved for displacements, rotations, and strains of the reference line. Analytical and numerical studies are presented to compare the proposed theory against the previously established analytical models. Discrepancies are found for general blade cross-section and discussed herein in details, especially for the piezoelectric actuation components. Direct results of the present formulation are also compared with experimental data.
Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of strain-compensated a-plane InGaN/AlGaN superlattices

Strain-compensated InGaN/AlGaN structures can enable the growth of thick layers of InGaN epitaxial films far beyond the critical thickness for InGaN grown pseudomorphically to GaN. In this paper, we demonstrate the epitaxial growth of high-quality strain-compensated a-plane In0.12Ga0.88N/Al0.19Ga0.81N superlattices up to 5 times thicker than the critical thickness on free-standing a-plane GaN substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). The superlattices consist of 50 to 200 periods of 10 nm thick In0.12Ga0.88N and 6 nm thick Al0.19Ga0.81N layers. The structures are characterized using a double crystal X-ray diffractometer, asymmetric reciprocal space mapping, and atomic force microscopy. We use X-ray diffraction to determine the strain, composition, degree of relaxation, and superlattice period of our samples. The structural characteristics of periodic structures containing from 50 to 200 periods are compared to single layer, uncompensated In0.12Ga0.88N films. A 100 period structure exhibited only 15% relaxation compared to 69% relaxation for the bulk In0.12Ga0.88N film grown with the same total InGaN thickness but without strain-compensating layers. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Disulfide structures of highly bridged peptides: a new strategy for analysis.

A new approach is described for analyzing disulfide linkage patterns in peptides containing tightly clustered cystines. Such peptides are very difficult to analyze with traditional strategies, which require that the peptide chain be split between close or adjacent Cys residues. The water-soluble tris-(2-carboxyethyl)-phosphine (TCEP) reduced disulfides at pH 3, and partially reduced peptides were purified by high performance liquid chromatography with minimal thiol-disulfide exchange. Alkylation of free thiols, followed by sequencer analysis, provided explicit assignment of disulfides that had been reduced. Thiol-disulfide exchange occurred during alkylation of some peptides, but correct deductions were still possible. Alkylation competed best with exchange when peptide solution was added with rapid mixing to 2.2 M iodoacetamide. Variants were developed in which up to three alkylating agents were used to label different pairs of thiols, allowing a full assignment in one sequencer analysis. Model peptides used included insulin (three bridges, intra- and interchain disulfides; -Cys.Cys- pair), endothelin and apamin (two disulfides; -Cys.x.Cys- pair), conotoxin GI and isomers (two disulfides; -Cys.Cys- pair), and bacterial enterotoxin (three bridges within 13 residues; two -Cys.Cys- pairs). With insulin, all intermediates in the reduction pathway were identified; with conotoxin GI, analysis was carried out successfully for all three disulfide isomers. In addition to these known structures, the method has been applied successfully to the analysis of several previously unsolved structures of similar complexity. Rates of reduction of disulfide bonds varied widely, but most peptides did not show a strongly preferred route for reduction.
The generalized multiplexing gain region of the slow fading MIMO interference channel and its achievability with limited feedback

The generalized multiplexing gain region (GMGR) of the slow-fading MIMO interference channel is obtained under the assumption of perfect channel state information at the transmitters (CSIT) in the general case where there are an arbitrary number of antennas at each of the four nodes. It is shown that a simple Han-Kobayashi (HK) linear Gaussian superposition coding scheme with a public/private message split at each transmitter can achieve the GMGR of the channel if the covariance matrices associated with the private and public sub-message codewords at each transmitter are certain functions of the null-space of the respective cross-link channel matrix. Moreover, in such a coding scheme, the multiplexing gains of the sub-messages can be chosen without any CSIT. Building on this result, and with M i and N i denoting the numbers of transmit and receive antennas at the ith transmitter and receiver, respectively, it is shown that at transmitter i an approximate version of the associated null-space expressed in terms of N j (M i -N j )+ log(INR ij ) bits per channel realization is sufficient to achieve the perfect CSIT GMGR of the channel, where INR ij is the interference-to-noise ratio at receiver j. Furthermore, under the assumption of no CSIT, the GMGR is characterized for two sub-classes of MIMO ICs.
Audiograms, gap detection thresholds, and frequency difference limens in cannabinoid receptor 1 knockout mice

The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) is found at several stages in the auditory pathway, but its role in hearing is unknown. Hearing abilities were measured in CB1R knockout mice and compared to those of wild-type mice. Operant conditioning and the psychophysical Method of Constant Stimuli were used to measure audiograms, gap detection thresholds, and frequency difference limens in trained mice using the same methods and stimuli as in previous experiments. CB1R knockout mice showed deficits at frequencies above 8 kHz in their audiograms relative to wild-type mice. CB1R knockouts showed enhancements for detecting gaps in low-pass noisebursts relative to wild-type mice, but were similar for other noise conditions. Finally, the two groups of mice did not differ in their frequency discrimination abilities as measured by the frequency difference limens task. These experiments suggest that the CB1R is involved in auditory processing and lay the groundwork for future physiological experiments.
Early Childhood Adversity and Pregnancy Outcomes

Objectives To examine the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and pregnancy outcomes; to explore mediators of this association including psychiatric illness and health habits. Methods Exposure to ACEs was determined by the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report Short Form; psychiatric diagnoses were generated by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview administered in a cohort of 2303 pregnant women. Linear regression and structural equation modeling bootstrapping approaches tested for multiple mediators. Results Each additional ACE decreased birth weight by 16.33 g and decreased gestational age by 0.063. Smoking was the strongest mediator of the effect on gestational age. Conclusions ACEs have an enduring effect on maternal reproductive health, as manifested by mothers’ delivery of offspring that were of reduced birth weight and shorter gestational age.
Affective temperaments and suicidal ideation and behavior in mood and anxiety disorder patients

Abstract Background Clinical characteristics proposed to be associated with suicidal risk include affective temperament types. We tested this proposal with two methods in a large sample of subjects with mood and anxiety disorders. Methods We assessed consecutive, consenting subjects clinically for affective temperament types and by TEMPS-A self-ratings for associations of temperament with suicidal ideation and acts, using standard bivariate methods, and multivariate logistic regression models. Results Among 2561 subjects (major depressive, 1171; bipolar, 919, anxiety disorders, 471), temperament-types and TEMPS-A (39-item Italian version) subscale scores differed by risk of suicidal acts or ideation. Suicidal acts and ideation were most associated with cyclothymic and dysthymic, and less with hyperthymic temperaments. These associations were sustained by multivariate modeling that included diagnosis, age, sex, and diagnosis. Limitations Not all subjects completed TEMPS-A self-ratings; clinical assessments of temperaments were not standardized, and long-term stability of temperament assessments was not tested. Conclusions The findings support and extend associations of cyclothymic-dysthymic temperaments with suicidal acts and ideation, whereas hyperthymic temperament may be protective.
Statistical Thermodynamics of Phase Transitions in Surfactant Monolayer Films

A lattice statistical mechanical method has recently been developed and used to predict structural and thermodynamic properties of fluid phases of surfactant monolayer films of uniform chain length. This mean-field approach is extended here to examine films of mixed chain length. As in the earlier work, a fluid-fluid (LC-LE) phase transition is predicted to occur at high surface densities. This transition is found to exhibit non-ideal mixing behavior, ranging from positive azeotropy to phase separation (in the LC phase) as the difference in chain lengths increases. In contrast, the phase diagram in the liquid-gas (LEG) transition region is predicted to exhibit almost ideal behavior, with a nearly linear bubble-point curve.
Reform Resolution of Computer Supervision and Control System for Hydropower Plants

The application and development trend on the computer supervision and control system for hydropower plants is introduced.The principle for organizing technical reform is Abstracted.Three reform schemes for the computer supervision and control system are highlighted.By comparative analysis,advantages and disadvantages and selection criteria of the above schemes are identified.
Regulation of Hormones to the Grain Filling of Inter - subspecific Hybrid Rice

Grain plumpness of inter-subspecific hybrid rice is generally low, which is related to a great extent upon its endogenous hormones metabolism. This review focuses on the effect of phytohormones and its interaction on the grain filling from capacities of photosynthate supplement, phloem transportation and sink absorbing and assimilating photosynthate which are closely related with courses of the grain filling. Some interrelationship between the grain filling and phytohormones need further research and some studing ways are presented.
Why we Don’t Understand the Arts Consumer

Despite the increased emphasis by marketers on the needs of nonprofit organizations, artistic/cultural organizations typically do not know how to market themselves, and tend to demonstrate an anti-marketing bias (Levy and Czepiel 1975; Raymond and Greyser 1978). While there are a number of reasons for this state of affairs, the most important is a basic lack of understanding of the artistic/cultural consumer, despite hundreds of audience studies to date. This paper is a summation of ten major shortcomings in extant efforts to research consumer behavior toward the arts.
A Si-Ge HBT Technology for the Wireless Marketplace

This review presents the fundamentals of IBM's epi-base SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) technology which is optimized for use in high performance analog and mixed signal applications. SiGe HBT device design, optimization, and integration into a manufacturable technology with 12 support devices is discussed. We will review circuits which have been fabricated in this technology operating at up to 23 GHz. This demonstrates the extension of this technology into a performance range not previously thought possible in silicon.