cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Primary eosinophilic disorders: A concise review

Primary eosinophilic disorders include hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES); chronic eosinophilic leukemia, not otherwise categorized (CEL-NOC); platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)-rearranged myeloid neoplasms; and other myeloid malignancies associated with prominent blood eosinophilia. According to the World Health Organization consensus criteria, the diagnosis of HES requires the absence of clonal cytogenetic or molecular markers of an underlying myeloid or lymphoid neoplasm. CEL-NOC constitutes an HES-like phenotype associated with an abnormal karyotype or excess blasts in blood (> 2%) or bone marrow (> 5%). HES and CEL-NOC are considered distinct from molecularly defined eosinophilic disorders, such as those associated with activating mutations of PDGFR (PDGFRA and PDGFRB) and fibroblast growth factor receptor-1. This is an important distinction because PDGFR-mutated but not other eosinophilic neoplasms are effectively treated with imatinib. Current management in HES includes observation only for asymptomatic patients with no evidence of organ damage, systemic corticosteroid therapy for acute control of symptoms, and interferon-alfa-2a or hydroxyurea as steroid-sparing agents. In patients with HES who are refractory to usual therapy and have life-threatening disease complications, the use of investigational drugs such as alemtuzumab or mepolizumab might be considered, but data on long-term efficacy and safety are limited.
Reduction of thermal induced pattern loading and device sensitivity by various rapid thermal processing models

Beyond 65nm node, pattern loading effect (PLE) in conventional RTP (front-side heating) has been emerged as a major yield killer. Different pattern and deposited film property strongly influence thermal absorption and emission at the integration stage of the spike anneal (e.g., STI, poly, and nitride spacers) lead to significant temperature differences across each die. Several methods for reducing the temperature variation have been reported, such as layout modifications and the application of absorption layers. By using these methods, significant improvements can be obtained, but the limitation is layout flexibility and increasing extra cost. The present study provides a simple way to mitigate the PLE problem by various RTP models (A: front-side heating; B: back-side heating; C: dual-side heating). A remarkable Ion distribution improvement can be achieved for 40nm & 28nm technology (15%∼20% intra-die variation reduction). In addition, we also find out the correlation between RTP thermal profile & device sensitivity (Ion, DIBL, Cov, etc.): shorter residence time reduces ∼50% device Ion sensitivity. It also helps to understand the device variation from different thermal conditions.
Partial agonistic activity of two irreversible β-adrenergic receptor ligands, bromoacetylated derivatives of alprenolol and pindolol

Our data demonstrate that the irreversible beta-adrenergic receptor probes BAAM and BIM are partial agonists. They should be used with caution until the impact of this finding on estimates of agonist affinity, non-linear receptor-effector coupling and receptor metabolism can be more precisely defined.
Direct delivery of MIF morpholinos into the zebrafish otocyst by injection and electroporation affects inner ear development

In recent years, electroporation has become a popular technique for in vivo transfection of DNA, RNA, and morpholinos into various tissues, including the eye, brain, and somites of zebrafish. The advantage of electroporation over other methods of genetic manipulation is that specific tissues can be targeted, both spatially and temporally, for the introduction of macromolecules by the application of electrical current. Here we describe the use of electroporation for transfecting mif and mif-like morpholinos into the tissues of the developing inner ear of the zebrafish. In past studies, mif morpholino injected into embryos at the 1- to 8-cell stage resulted in widespread morphological changes in the nervous system and eye, as well as the ear. By targeting the tissues of the inner ear at later stages in development, we can determine the primary effects of MIF in the developing inner ear, as opposed to secondary effects that may result from the influence of other tissues. By using phalloidin and acetylated tubulin staining to study the morphology of neurons, neuronal processes, and hair cells associated with the posterior macula, we were able to assess the efficacy of electroporation as a method for targeted transfection in the zebrafish inner ear. The otic vesicles of 24hpf embryos were injected with morpholinos and electroporated and were then compared to embryos that had received no treatment or had been only injected or electroporated. Embryos that were injected and electroporated showed a decrease in hair cell numbers, decreased innervation by the statoacoustic ganglion (SAG) and fewer SAG neurons compared with control groups. Our results showed that direct delivery of morpholinos into otocysts at later stages avoids the non-specific nervous system and neural crest effects of morpholinos delivered at the 1-8 cell stage. It also allows examination of effects that are directed to the inner ear and not secondary effects on the ear from primary effects on the brain, neural crest or periotic mesenchyme.
Induction of uridine kinase in rat peripheral blood lymphocytes: dependence on mitogen specificity and effect of pyrimidine analogs.

Abstract A study was made of the differential induction of uridine kinase in rat peripheral blood lymphocytes stimulated to undergo blast transformation by mitogens specific either for T lymphocytes or for B lymphocytes; the effect of uridine and pyrimidine analogs on the induction was also tested. The finding that uridine kinase is inducible in T cells but not B cells is in accordance with other recent evidence of defective uridine metabolism in the latter. Conversely, the results support the specificities recently assigned to several mitogens. In contrast to other tissues previously examined, the pyrimidine nucleoside analogs inhibited the phytohemaglutinin-stimulated induction of uridine kinase in the lymphocyte system.
Interdisciplinary Nutritional Screening

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To develop an interdisciplinary nutritional screening program that meets JCAHO requirements and appropriately identifies high risk patients. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires that every patient admitted to a hospital be screened for nutritional risk. Traditionally, nutritional screening has been the role of the Clinical Nutrition staff. In order to properly evaluate a patient's nutritional risk, it is vital to obtain a nutrition history which entails a chart review and patient interview. This process is time consuming and labor intensive. With decreasing patient days and staff reductions, the opportunity presents itself to redesign the nutritional screening process. An interdisciplinary approach was taken to conduct a nutritional screening upon admission utilizing the nursing admission history. A task force of nursing and clinical nutrition personnel developed the procedure. Upon admission the patient answers nutrition questions of which an answer of yes indicates a nutritional risk and is weighted with a numeric score. The admitting nurse totals the score and enters it in the hospital information system. This timely evaluation ( Several barriers have been resolved to improve staff support and timely completion and intervention. This tool has been adapted to achieve the same goal in various clinical settings.
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOME NON-PARAMETRIC GENERALIZATIONS OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS

It is clear that a p-variate body of data arranged in a q-way classification will formally look llke a (p+q)-dimensional contingency table, but a distinction can be made between a 'variate' and a ‘way of classification’ in that along the direction of a 'variate' the marginal frequencies are supposed to be stochastic variates while along a 'way of classification' the marginal frequencies are supposed to be fixed. When, along certain directions, the marginals are fixed, an approach based on a conditional probability argument has been used. In the present paper (i) the conditional probability approach is abandoned and we start either from a single multinomial distribution or a product of an appropriate number of different multinomial distributions according as, with multi-way frequency data, all ways are 'variates' or some are 'variates' and some are 'ways of classification'. (ii) Also the hypotheses that are posed are of different kinds altogether according as we have a 'multivariate analysis' situation or an 'analysis of variance' situation. The hypotheses that are meaningful for one situation would not be too meaningful for the other and vice versa. Since the conditional probability approach is altogether abandoned, the mathematical theorems to which appeal is made are the two theorems as stated and proved by Cramer (1946, chapter 30) and a number of other such theorems which have been proved the same way and which, between them, take care of all the hypotheses discussed in this paper. When all ways are 'variates' the hypotheses are analogous to those in the usual multivariate analysis, and when some ways are 'variates' and some are 'ways of classification' the hypotheses are analogous to those in the analysis of variance. The general methods discussed in this paper arose out of an attempt to analyse a large mass of categorical data. The analysis has been carried out, and a few typical cases (together with the numerical analysis) illustrating different parts of the theoretical development will be presented in a subsequent paper. In this paper only the large-sample tests are considered. How 'large' the sample size has to be for the validity of the use of these asymptotic techniques, or in other words, some results on the nature of the approximation involved will also be discussed in a later paper.
A General Data and Acknowledgement Dissemination Scheme in Mobile Social Networks

In this paper, a general data and acknowledgement dissemination mechanism is proposed in mobile social networks (MSNs). Most existing dissemination schemes in MSNs only consider data transmission. However, receiving acknowledgement has many potential applications in MSNs (e.g., mobile trade and incentive mechanism). Challenging problems thus arise due to this type of mixed messages (i.e., data and acknowledgement) dissemination problem. The buffer constraint and time constraint for data and acknowledgement make this problem even harder to handle in a practical scenario. In order to maximize the research objective (e.g., low delay and high delivery ratio), we have to identify the priority of each message in the network. We propose a general priority-based compare-split routing scheme to solve the above buffer exchange problem. During each contact opportunity, first, nodes compare their abilities to send data and acknowledgements based on two types of criteria. They are the contact probability and the social status, which estimate the nodes' direct and indirect relationship with destinations respectively. Nodes then decide which message to exchange, and thus maximize the combined probability. Second, an adaptive priority-based exchange scheme is proposed within each type of message, and so is the relative priority between two types of messages, as to decide the order of exchange. The message with a high priority will be forwarded first, and thus maximize the research objectives. The effectiveness of our scheme is verified through the extensive simulations in synthetic and real traces.
Prediction of Vapor Pressures from Self-Solvation Free Energies Calculated by the SM5 Series of Universal Solvation Models

The SM5.4, SM5.2R, and SM5.0R solvation models are applied to calculate the vapor pressure of 156 molecules. This provides a test of the solvation models, buteven more soit provides a useful scheme for estimating the vapor pressure at 298 K of any organic molecule for which a few standard descriptors are known or can be estimated.
Assessing Dynamic Breast Cancer Screening Policies

Questions regarding the relative value and frequency of mammography screening for premenopausal women versus postmenopausal women remain open due to the conflicting age-based dynamics of both the disease (increasing incidence, decreasing aggression) and the accuracy of the test results (increasing sensitivity and specificity). To investigate these questions, we formulate a partially observed Markov chain model that captures several of these age-based dynamics not previously considered simultaneously. Using sample-path enumeration, we evaluate a broad range of policies to generate the set of “efficient” policies, as measured by a lifetime breast cancer mortality risk metric and an expected mammogram count, from which a patient may select a policy based on individual circumstance. We demonstrate robustness with respect to small changes in the input data and conclude that, in general, to efficiently achieve a lifetime risk comparable to the current risk among U.S. women, screening should start relatively early in life and continue relatively late in life regardless of the screening interval(s) adopted. The frontier also exhibits interesting patterns with respect to policy type, where policy type is defined by the relationship between the screening interval prescribed in younger years and that prescribed later in life.
Racial differences in survival of women with endometrlal cancer

The hypothesis that white women with endometrial cancer survive longer than black women with this disease was evaluated in a retrospective analysis of a population-based, prospective cohort study. All female residents of metropolitan Atlanta with a first diagnosis of primary endometrial cancer from 1978 through 1982 were eligible for inclusion. The 628 white and 105 black women were followed up through June. 1984 to determine survivorship. Race was evaluated as a prognostic factor, with univariate, multivariate, and excess death rate analyses. Overall, an estimated 89.2% of whites and 61.6% of blacks survived 3 years from the time of diagnosis. Although black women tended to have more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis and a higher proportion of undifferentiated malignancies, the racial difference in survival persisted after adjustment for these factors. When initial therapy was considered, race remained a significant prognostic determinant among women who did not receive radiation therapy.
Evidence that carbon monoxide is an obligatory intermediate in anaerobic acetyl-CoA synthesis

Carbon monoxide is produced by several biological reactions. It is proposed to act as an intracellular signaling molecule and can serve as the carbon and electron source for certain bacteria. Direct evidence for a new biological role for CO is presented here. The results strongly indicate that CO is produced as an obligatory intermediate during growth of the acetogenic bacterium Clostridium thermoaceticum on glucose, H2/CO2, or aromatic carboxylic acids. Our results are consistent with earlier hypotheses of the intermediacy of CO during growth of acetogenic bacteria on CO2 and hexoses [Diekert, G., & Ritter, M. (1983) FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 17, 299−302] and methanogenic Archaea on CO2 [Stupperich, E., Hammel, K. E., Fuchs, G., & Thauer, R. K. (1983) FEBS Lett. 152, 21−23]. Therefore, CO production is a key step in the Wood−Ljungdahl pathway of acetyl-CoA synthesis. The carbonyl group of acetyl-CoA is shown to be formed from the carboxyl group of pyruvate by the following steps. (i) Pyruvate undergoes decar...
A simple technique for viewing cultured cells from the side by light microscopy

Cultured cells are grown on flexible plastic substrates (e.g., Formvar, polycarbonate, Teflon) which can be folded to form a cell-lined edge. Once folded, the substrate is incubated in growth medium within a simple viewing chamber constructed from a glass slide and a cover slip. By examining the folded edge with a light microscope, one can image, with good resolution, large numbers of cell profiles.
Surface science with aerosols

Abstract Experimental surface science with aerosol particles under atmospheric conditions is becoming a realistic possibility. The first part of this critical review focuses on nano-scopic aerosols generated in combustion of organic fuels at ambient pressures. The bizarre shape of soot agglomerates resists a simple definition of size and surface area. Yet a measure of the size known as the mobility diameter can be extracted from the mobility of the particles in their carrier gas. The total surface area must be divided into an active and a passive part. At the active surface, mass, energy, and momentum is exchanged with the molecules of the carrier gas. The active surface thus determines the dynamical properties of the particles. The passive surface is the surface enclosed in the interior as well as the surface in bays or cracks or, with larger particles, in the dead point of the laminar flow; it determines particle properties on a longer time scale. Simple automatic portable sensors measure the number density of airborne particles, their “size” and a characteristic fingerprint of the surface chemistry, making it possible to determine the source from which the particle was emitted. The response time of the sensors is ∼1 s, hence one can monitor dynamical changes of the particles such as adsorption of water in the atmosphere. In the second part we examine a number of surface science techniques that have been used to characterize surfaces important to atmospheric chemistry in more detail, in particular the uptake of water and the influence of surfactants. We illustrate the application of these techniques to the investigation of alkali halide surfaces as a function of relative humidity. Finally we give first examples on how infrared spectroscopy and synchrotron-based ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been used to study more realistic aerosol particles, under conditions of ambient humidity. These examples show that in situ chemical analysis of the particles is possible with third generation synchrotron X-ray sources. In the near future, X-ray lasers might reveal the fast dynamics of chemical processes as well. Thus it is within reach to study aerosols under the conditions of the stratosphere. Stratospheric aerosols can reduce the insolation of the earth and may become one of the last resorts of humanity to counteract the effects of global warming.
Anguilliform fish propulsion of highest hydrodynamic efficiency

It is hypothesized that steady anguilliform swimming motion of aquatic animals is purely reactive such that no net vortex wake is left downstream. This is versus carangiform and tunniform swimming of fish, where vortex streams are shed from tail, fins, and body. But there the animal movements are such to produce partial vortex cancellation downstream in maximizing propulsive efficiency. In anguilliform swimming characteristic of the eel family, it is argued that the swimming motions are configured by the animal such that vortex shedding does not occur at all. However, the propulsive thrust in this case is higher order in the motion amplitude, so that relatively large coils are needed to produce relatively small thrust; the speeds of anguilliform swimmers are less than the carangiform and tunniform, which develop first order thrusts via lifting processes. Results of experimentation on live lamprey are compared to theoretical prediction which assumes the no-wake hypothesis. Two-dimensional analysis is first performed to set the concept. This is followed by three-dimensional analysis using slender-body theory. Slender-body theory has been applied by others in studying anguilliform swimming, as it is ideally suited to the geometry of the lamprey and other eel-like animals. The agreement between this new approach based on the hypothesis of wakeless swimming and the experiments is remarkably good in spite of the physical complexities.
Oxygen Therapy Use in Older Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Rationale Oxygen therapy improves survival and function in severely hypoxemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients based on two landmark studies conducted over 40 years ago. We hypothesize that oxygen users in the current era may be very different. We examined trends and subject characteristics associated with oxygen therapy use from 2001–2010 in the United States. Methods We examined Medicare beneficiaries with COPD who received oxygen from 2001 to 2010. COPD subjects were identified by: 1) ≥2 outpatient visits >30 days apart within one year with an encounter diagnosis of COPD; or 2) an acute care hospitalization with COPD as the primary or secondary discharge diagnosis. Oxygen therapy and sustained oxygen therapy were defined as ≥1 and ≥11 claims for oxygen, respectively, in the durable medical equipment file in a calendar year. Primary outcome measures were factors associated with oxygen therapy and sustained oxygen therapy over the study period. Results Oxygen therapy increased from 33.7% in 2001 to 40.5% in 2010 (p-value of trend <0.001). Sustained oxygen therapy use increased from 19.5% in 2001, peaked in 2008 to 26.9% and declined to 18.5% in 2010. The majority of subjects receiving oxygen therapy and sustained oxygen therapy were female. Besides gender, factors associated with any oxygen use or sustained oxygen therapy were non-Hispanic white race, low socioeconomic status and ≥2 comorbidities. Conclusions Any oxygen use among fee-for service Medicare beneficiaries with COPD is high. Current users of oxygen are older females with multiple comorbidities. Decline in sustained oxygen therapy use after 2008 may be related to reimbursement policy change.
Interaction among workers from different colonies of sweat bees (Hymenoptera, Halictidae)

Summary Lasioglossum versatum , a bee whose colonies occur in small, dense aggregations, shows tolerance and some interactions among individuals of different colonies and thus social activity at a level above that usual among social insects. Guards admit individuals from any colony. Burrows made by different colonies sometimes interconnect. Most or all workers are attached primarily to one colony but often enter others. When they do so, they frequently leave immediately but may remain and may leave pollen loads, probably being stimulated to do so by cues such as they would encounter in their own nests. The result must be a certain degree of cooperative interaction among colonies. However, advantages of such interaction are not obvious and visits to wrong nests probably result from errors in nest recognition.
The first examples of triply bonded dirhenium(II) complexes that contain β-diketonate ligands

Abstract The reaction of Re 2 Cl 4 ( μ-dppm ) 2 ( dppm = Ph 2 PCH 2 PPh 2 ) with Tl(acac) affords the bis-acetylacetonate complex Re2Cl2(acac)2(μ-dppm)2 (1) via the intermediacy of Re2Cl3(acac)(μ-dppm)2 (2). These are the first examples of β-diketonate complexes of the electron-rich triple bond. Solutions of 1 in non-aqueous solvents slowly convert to 2, which in the presence of an oxygen source decomposes to Re2(μ-O)(O)2Cl4(μ-dppm)2 and Re2(μ-O)2(O)2Cl4(μ-dppm)2 (3). The single crystal X-ray structures of 1–3 have been determined; the Re–Re distances (in A) are 2.2968(3), 2.2542(5) and 3.1415(7), respectively.
Low-dose chymotrypsin treatment inhibits neutrophil migration into sites of inflammation in vivo: Effects on Mac-1 and MEL-14 adhesion protein expression and function

Abstract Antibody blocking studies in the mouse suggest that the MEL-14 antigen is involved in neutrophil-endothelial cell interactions and may be important in neutrophil extravasation to sites of inflammation in vivo . We recently showed that chemotactic factor activation causes a rapid (within minutes) shedding of a large fragment of the MEL-14 antigen from the surface of neutrophils. We report here that chymotrypsin, at low doses (0.1 units/1 × 10 6 cells), but not trypsin, elastase, or collagenase, causes an activation-independent rapid loss (>90%) of the MEL-14 antigen from the surface of murine neutrophils. Under the same treatment conditions chymotrypsin has no effect on the expression of four other neutrophil surface antigens, including the Mac-1 adhesion protein. Chymotrypsin treatment has no effect on neutrophil adhesion to plastic, migration to C5a, or regulation of the Mac-1 antigen, but causes a greater than 95% reduction in neutrophil binding to high endothelial venules (HEV) in peripheral lymph nodes measured in the ex vivo frozen section HEV binding assay. The level of inhibition of neutrophil adhesion to HEV was comparable to that seen with the MEL-14 antibody. This experimental system allows us for the first time to specifically examine the consequences of removing the MEL-14 antigen from the surface of neutrophils on function in vivo . We show that treatment with chymotrypsin blocks >85% of the ability of neutrophils injected back into the animal to home to the inflamed peritoneum. In similar in vivo experiments the MEL-14 antibody blocks neutrophil homing by 60–70%. These results further support the importance of the MEL-14 antigen in neutrophil extravasation in vivo and indicate that chymotrypsin could be useful in examining the molecular mechanisms involved in extravasation of leukocytes into a variety of diverse tissue sites of inflammation.
Ribosomal RNA from the yeast and mycelial phases ofHistoplasma capsulatum

Purified yeast and mycelial phase rRNA fromHistoplasma capsulatum was heat-formaldehyde deantured and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. An average difference of 6.9% was seen in electrophoretic migration between the yeast and mycelial phase denatured 17 S rRNAs that was not apparent for the native 17 S rRNAs. This difference was statistically significant and could not be accounted for by random variation among gels electrophoresed in parallel. A significant difference was not found between the 25 S rRNAs of yeast and mycelial phase cells. Molecular weights of 1.28 × 106 for both the yeast and mycelial phase 25 S rRNA, and 0.79 × 106 and 0.73 × 106 for the yeast and mycelial phase 17 S rRNA, were estimated by using denaturing conditions which minimize conformational contributions to electrophoretic migration in polyacrylamide gels. In addition, we find that both the yeast and mycelial phase 17 S and 25 S rRNAs ofH. capsulatum are smaller than their respective counterparts inS. cerevisiae. The results indicate that a structural difference may exist, at least between the 40 S subunits ofH. capsulatum yeast and mycelial phase ribosomes.
Controls on solute transport in large spring‐fed karst rivers

The spring-fed rivers of North Florida flow across a karst plain, leading us to predict significant hyporheic transient storage within the secondary porosity of the carbonate media. They also span a gradient of submerged macrophyte cover and density, offering an opportunity to investigate reach-scale vegetation effects on dispersion and transient storage. Conservative tracer tests using Rhodamine WT were conducted on nine rivers spanning the extant range of vegetative and geomorphologic characteristics. A one-dimensional advection-dispersion-storage model with variable configurations of storage zones was fit to tracer breakthrough curves to determine optimal model coefficients as well as storage-zone configuration (i.e., single, two in parallel, two in series). In most cases, two zones in series best fit the observed breakthrough curves. Moreover, fitted storage-zone attributes were significantly correlated across springs with field-measured analogs (i.e., vegetation area for storage zone 1, sediment area for zone 2), supporting inference that this model configuration physically represents the river systems. While the hyporheic zone area was large, its effect on transient storage was not, presumably because low-hydraulic-conductivity sediments and weak hydraulic gradients limit exchange with the secondary porosity of karst matrix; tracer mass recovery uniformly near 100% underscores the absence of significant hydraulic turnover. Vegetation was a significant predictor of transient storage, mean velocity, and mean residence time, suggesting that plant beds exert important controls on reach-scale hydraulics in these systems.
Synchronous digital hierarchy byte pointer justification versus VC‐12 payload bit justification effects

Four contributors to Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) network desynchronizer buffer fill variations are the justification bits in the VC-12 payload, the irregular spacing of the data in the VC-12 payload, the irregular spacing of the data in the SDH frame, and the pointer activity which contains byte activity as opposed to the bit activity in the VC-12 itself. These phenomena result in a variation of the rate at which bits arrive at a desynchronizer in a SDH network. Modeling and understanding of these processes is required in order to be able to propose advanced pointer processor algorithms as well as advanced jitter reduction techniques in SDH de-synchronizers. This paper examines the relative effects of bit justifications in VC-12 payloads in conjunction with the corresponding byte justifications in SDH networks in order to determine the dynamics of SDH network plesiochronous desynchronizer buffers.
Demography and the demand for housing A reinterpretation of the Mankiw-Weil demand variable

Abstract This paper argues that the Mankiw-Weil forecast of a 47% decline in house prices over the period to 2007 is based on a serious misinterpretation of their demand variable. In a time-series context this variable, which comes from a cross-section regression of house values against the age of occupants, is a measure of the adult population, not the demand for housing services or the stock of houses. Econometric work suggests that in addition to adult population, real income, relative prices and real interest rates are important factors determining the aggregate demand for housing. To be credible, forecasts of house prices need to integrate information on demand with information on cost factors and the supply of new houses.
Flow in an Electric Field: Conduction

To this point, the discussion has focused on the transport of molecules simply by the random process of diffusion. What events change when the system is placed under the external force of an electric field? This is an extremely important aspect of cellular systems, because so many biologically active chemical species, including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and ions, carry a net charge and will respond with a net flow of current to the electric fields that are ever present in cellular systems. The focus in the following derivation will be on the net movement of charge in solutions of inorganic ions, because the majority of charge transfer in solution is accounted for by these ions.
Ribosomal proteins of the dimorphic fungus, Mucor racemosus

Ribosomal proteins of the dimorphic fungus Mucor racemosus were isolated and characterized by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Proteins from ribosomes of the yeast and mycelial phase were compared, and were found to be qualitatively indistinguishable. The only consistant difference in the patterns of proteins was in a protein of the 40S subunit, S-6. This protein was phosphorylated in yeast and hyphae forms, but not in asexual sporangiospores. Studies on protein S-6 showed that it contained 3 phosphate residues per molecule of protein when maximally phosphorylated. In this form 3 different tryptic peptides were shown to contain a single phosphoserine. The S-6 protein also existed in forms containing 1 or 2 phosphates per molecule, depending on growth conditions.
Paleomagnetic and radiometric age determination of (Permian) pegmatites in the Middletown district (Connecticut)

Abstract Presently available paleomagnetic poles for the Permian of North America are derived mainly from sediments. The occurrence of radiometrically dated pegmatites in Connecticut with sufficient magnetic mineral contents provided a possibility of obtaining paleomagnetic poles for a more narrow time interval in the Permian. The new poles fall essentially in the same cluster as those obtained from redbeds in West Virginia and eastern Canada. Emplacement of the pegmatites (258 ± 1 my) occurred in a period of tectogenesis and thermal activity that may have marked the initial phase of the Permo-Triassic eastdrift of North America.
Amyloid burden and neural function in people at risk for Alzheimer's Disease

To determine the relationship between amyloid burden and neural function in healthy adults at risk for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), we used multimodal imaging with [C-11]Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography, [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose, positron emission tomography , and magnetic resonance imaging, together with cognitive measurement in 201 subjects (mean age, 60.1 years; range, 46-73 years) from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention. Using a qualitative rating, 18% of the samples were strongly positive Beta-amyloid (Aβ+), 41% indeterminate (Aβi), and 41% negative (Aβ-). Aβ+ was associated with older age, female sex, and showed trends for maternal family history of AD and APOE4. Relative to the Aβ- group, Aβ+ and Aβi participants had increased glucose metabolism in the bilateral thalamus; Aβ+ participants also had increased metabolism in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus. Aβ+ participants exhibited increased gray matter in the lateral parietal lobe bilaterally relative to the Aβ- group, and no areas of significant atrophy. Cognitive performance and self report cognitive and affective symptoms did not differ between groups. Amyloid burden can be identified in adults at a mean age of 60 years and is accompanied by glucometabolic increases in specific areas, but not atrophy or cognitive loss. This asymptomatic stage may be an opportune window for intervention to prevent progression to symptomatic AD.
Abundance and distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in breast tissue.

Abstract Many environmental chemicals accumulate in human tissues and may contribute to cancer risk. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are associated with adverse health effects, but relationships between PCB exposure and breast cancer are unclear. In this study, we sought to determine whether bioaccumulation of PCBs differs within regions of the human breast and whether PCB levels are associated with clinical and pathological characteristics in breast cancer patients. Tissue sections (n=245) were collected from breast quadrants from 51 women with a diagnosis ranging from disease-free to metastatic breast cancer. Ninety-seven PCB congeners were assayed by high resolution gas chromatography. ANOVA was used to examine PCB distribution within the breast and relationships with clinical/pathological variables. Pearson product-moment correlations assessed relationships between age at mastectomy and PCB levels. PCBs were abundant in breast tissues with a median concentration of 293.4 ng/g lipid (range 15.4–1636.3 ng/g). PCB levels in breast tissue were significantly different (p
Longitudinal evaluation of health care utilization and costs during the first three years after a new diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

AbstractObjective:To evaluate health care resource utilization and costs 1 year before and 3 years after a fibromyalgia (FM) diagnosis.Methods:This retrospective cohort analysis used claims from Humana to identify newly diagnosed FM patients ≥18 years of age based on ≥2 medical claims for ICD-9 CM code 729.1 and 729.0 between June 1, 2002 and March 1, 2005. Prevalence of comorbidities, as well as utilization and costs of pharmacotherapy and health care services were examined for 12 months preceding (pre-diagnosis) and 36 months following (post-diagnosis) the date of first FM diagnosis. These periods were subdivided into 6-month blocks to better observe patterns of change.Results:We identified 2613 FM patients who had a mean age at diagnosis of 58.5 ± 15.3 years and a mean Charlson Comorbidity Index of 0.48 ± 1.05. Of those, 73% were female. The use and costs of pain-related medications rose from pre-diagnosis and remained stable after the 6-month post-diagnosis period, while the use of non-pain-related me...
A General Stationary Stochastic Regression Model for Estimating and Predicting Beta

A beta regression model is proposed where the coefficients follow a general class of stationary stochastic processes. The procedure identifies the process and estimates the parameters of the model simultaneously from the information contained in the return series. The returns of each of the Dow Jones 30 securities are examined. Betas of 5 of the securities are nonstationary and do not appear to follow a particular form of nonstationarity. Conclusions of many earlier studies may be suspect since they are based on procedures tailored to adoption of a specific form of beta nonstationarity and, thereby, based on an erroneous a priori assumption regarding such form. The ordinary least squares model is also found to be quite robust, providing reliable beta and intercept estimates not materially different from the more complex procedure with 25 of the return series.
Fuel gain exceeding unity in an inertially confined fusion implosion

Ignition is needed to make fusion energy a viable alternative energy source, but has yet to be achieved. A key step on the way to ignition is to have the energy generated through fusion reactions in an inertially confined fusion plasma exceed the amount of energy deposited into the deuterium-tritium fusion fuel and hotspot during the implosion process, resulting in a fuel gain greater than unity. Here we report the achievement of fusion fuel gains exceeding unity on the US National Ignition Facility using a 'high-foot' implosion method, which is a manipulation of the laser pulse shape in a way that reduces instability in the implosion. These experiments show an order-of-magnitude improvement in yield performance over past deuterium-tritium implosion experiments. We also see a significant contribution to the yield from α-particle self-heating and evidence for the 'bootstrapping' required to accelerate the deuterium-tritium fusion burn to eventually 'run away' and ignite.
Time-resolved FTIR studies of the photodissociation of pyruvic acid at 193 nm

Abstract Infrared emission from carbon dioxide produced in the 193 nm photolysis of pyruvic acid vapor has been investigated using time-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as a probe. A broad feature, strongly red-shifted from the antisymmetric stretching fundamental (ν 3 ) of CO 2 , dominates the early spectrum. A statistical model using a linear surprisal is shown to provide good agreement with the observed spectral contour, but only if the energy available to the photofragments corresponds to the direct formation of acetaldehyde along with CO 2 .
Spanish Declaimers in the Elder Seneca

Abstract As a child in Corduba, a Romanized city in southern Spain, the Elder Seneca was heavily influenced by Roman society and literary tastes. He left his home and his family, for long periods of time as an adult, to experience the talents of professional declaimers in Rome. From his memory of the controversiae and suasoriae of these declaimers, he wrote the Oratorum et rhetoruni sententiae, divisiones, colores. In his collection, along with various Roman and Greek declaimers, are several Spanish declaimers. Seneca claims he included them “not out of excess of enthusiasm for them, but on the basis of considered judgement” (Con. 10.pr.16). Here, I examine how Seneca presents these Spanish declaimers and their distinguishing characteristics, in comparison with Roman declamatory standards, and consider his purpose in doing so.
Accurate electromagnetic modeling of melting hail

Analysis of electromagnetic scattering from hailstones has conventionally been done using the T-matrix method. This method, which reduces exactly to the Lorenz-Mie scattering theory when the scattering particle is a homogeneous or layered piecewise homogeneous sphere, worked well so far when we tried to understand the measurements. However the measurements have become fairly sophisticated with many decades of multiple polarization measurements and the current models are not able to explain many of the nuances in the measurements, because the current model is not well suited for analysis of arbitrarily shaped and non-layered particles.
Processing of fiber architecture data for finite element modeling of 3D woven composites

Abstract An efficient procedure to process the textile simulation data and generate realistic finite element meshes of woven composites is proposed. The textile topology data in point cloud format is used to identify individual yarns, interpolate their cross-sectional contours, and generate smooth yarn surfaces. A robust algorithm to repair possible interpenetrations between yarn surfaces is developed and implemented in MATLAB. A 3D finite element mesh of the unit cell of composite material is generated based on the obtained yarn surfaces. The anisotropic material properties of the constituents are assigned with proper orientations. The procedure is successfully applied to generate four finite element models with 1–10 million degrees of freedom. The models are used to predict effective elastic properties of an orthogonal 3D woven composite. The sensitivity of results to the level of finite element discretization is investigated.
Role of nutritional status in predicting quality of life outcomes in cancer – a systematic review of the epidemiological literature

Malnutrition is a significant factor in predicting cancer patients’ quality of life (QoL). We systematically reviewed the literature on the role of nutritional status in predicting QoL in cancer. We searched MEDLINE database using the terms “nutritional status” in combination with “quality of life” together with “cancer”. Human studies published in English, having nutritional status as one of the predictor variables, and QoL as one of the outcome measures were included. Of the 26 included studies, 6 investigated head and neck cancer, 8 gastrointestinal, 1 lung, 1 gynecologic and 10 heterogeneous cancers. 24 studies concluded that better nutritional status was associated with better QoL, 1 study showed that better nutritional status was associated with better QoL only in high-risk patients, while 1 study concluded that there was no association between nutritional status and QoL. Nutritional status is a strong predictor of QoL in cancer patients. We recommend that more providers implement the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) guidelines for oncology patients, which includes nutritional screening, nutritional assessment and intervention as appropriate. Correcting malnutrition may improve QoL in cancer patients, an important outcome of interest to cancer patients, their caregivers, and families.
The relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms: The mediating role of rumination

Maladaptive perfectionism is associated with both rumination and depressive symptoms (Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990). In the current study we tested whether rumination, as well as the rumination components of reflective pondering and brooding, mediates the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms. College students (N = 96) completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Frost (Frost et al., 1990) and retrospectively reported levels of rumination on the Response Styles Questionnaire (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991) and depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) following a disappointing exam. Consistent with our model, rumination mediated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms. Brooding, a component of rumination, also mediated this relationship whereas reflective pondering was a partial mediator. Results support a model whereby students who score high on maladaptive perfectionism report higher depressive symptoms through a mechanism of rumination.
Dimensional metrology with the NIST calibrated atomic force microscope

AFMs are increasingly used in the semiconductor industry as tools for sub-micrometer dimensional metrology. The scale of an AFM must be calibrated in order to perform accurate measurements. We have designed and developed the calibrated AFM (C-AFM) at the NIST to calibrate standards. Specifically, our primary calibrations are expected to be of combined pitch/height, or 3D magnification standards for AFM. THe C-AFM has metrology traceable to the International System of Units meter for all three axes. This is accomplished through the integration of a flexure x-y translation stage, heterodyne laser interferometers, and a z-axis piezoelectric actuator with an integrated capacitance sensor. Our first pitch measurements for an outside customer were recently compete, in which we were able to report relative expanded uncertainties as low as 1 percent on sub- micrometer pitches. The uncertainty budget for these measurements includes the effect of sample non-uniformity, which is the dominant contribution for some of the reported uncertainties. Four samples were measured - two with grid patterns and two with grid recently made considerable improvements in our uncertainty budget for step height measurements. For example, we recently achieved 0.2 nm expanded uncertainty on a 20 nm step, and achieved 0.008 nm expanded uncertainty in the measurement of the approximately 0.3 nm single atom step on Si. We also participated in the recently competed first round of the NIST linewidth correlation project, in which linewidht measurements obtained from different methods are compared. In this paper, we will report on the current status of the C-AFM, and on our plans for further development.
The association of alcohol consumption with the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Purpose: To investigate the association of alcohol consumption with the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: The population consisted of a cohort of adult younger-onset (diagnosis received before 30 years of age and taking insulin, n=439) and older-onset (diagnosis received after 30 years of age, n=478) persons with diabetes examined from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1990 to 1992. The outcomes were incidence of retinopathy, progression, and progression to proliferative retinopathy. Retinopathy was determined by grading of stereoscopic color fundus photographs. Alcohol consumption was determined by questionnaire and summarized as average or recent consumption. The proportion of heavier drinkers was small, 6% of younger-onset and 4% of older-onset persons. Results: In the younger-onset group, progression of retinopathy occurred in 62%, 51%, 61 %, and 71 % of nondrinkers, light, moderate, and heavier drinkers, respectively, based on average intake ( P = 0.28). Based on recent intake, 55%, 46%, 63%, and 69% of nondrinkers, light, moderate, and heavier drinkers, respectively, progressed ( P = 0.10). A similar trend is seen for incidence of retinopathy, but the sample sizes are small. No association is seen with progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. After controlling for age, sex, and glycemia in a logistic regression model, alcohol intake is not associated with progression of retinopathy. In the older-onset group, alcohol intake is not related to the incidence or progression of retinopathy. Conclusion: Alcohol consumption in moderation (≤ oz/day) does not appear to affect the occurrence of diabetic retinopathy.