cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inflammatory signalling regulates eccentric contraction-induced protein synthesis in cachectic skeletal muscle.

BACKGROUND Skeletal muscle responds to eccentric contractions (ECC) with an anabolic response that involves the induction of protein synthesis through the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1. While we have reported that repeated ECC bouts after cachexia initiation attenuated muscle mass loss and inflammatory signalling, cachectic muscle's capacity to induce protein synthesis in response to ECC has not been determined. Therefore, we examined cachectic muscle's ability to induce mechano-sensitive pathways and protein synthesis in response to an anabolic stimulus involving ECC and determined the role of muscle signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) signalling on ECC-induced anabolic signalling. METHODS Mechano-sensitive pathways and anabolic signalling were examined immediately post or 3 h after a single ECC bout in cachectic male ApcMin/+ mice (n = 17; 16 ± 1% body weight loss). Muscle STAT3/NFκB regulation of basal and ECC-induced anabolic signalling was also examined in an additional cohort of ApcMin/+ mice (n = 10; 16 ± 1% body weight loss) that received pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate 24 h prior to a single ECC bout. In all experiments, the left tibialis anterior performed ECC while the right tibialis anterior served as intra-animal control. Data were analysed by Student's t-test or two-way repeated measures analysis of variance with Student-Newman-Keuls post-hoc when appropriate. The accepted level of significance was set at P < 0.05 for all analysis. RESULTS ApcMin/+ mice exhibited a cachectic muscle signature demonstrated by perturbed proteostasis (Ribosomal Protein S6 (RPS6), P70S6K, Atrogin-1, and Muscle RING-finger protein-1 (MuRF1)), metabolic (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), and Cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV (COXIV)), and inflammatory (STAT3, NFκB, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, and P38) signalling pathway regulation. Nonetheless, mechano-sensitive signalling pathways (P38, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, and Protein kinase B (AKT)) were activated immediately post-ECC irrespective of cachexia. While cachexia did not attenuate ECC-induced P70S6K activation, the protein synthesis induction remained suppressed compared with healthy controls. However, muscle STAT3/NFκB inhibition increased basal and ECC-induced protein synthesis in cachectic ApcMin/+ mice. CONCLUSIONS These studies demonstrate that mechano-sensitive signalling is maintained in cachectic skeletal muscle, but chronic STAT3/NFκB signalling serves to attenuate basal and ECC-induced protein synthesis.
Mobility and clustering of barium ions and dications in high-pressure xenon gas

The clustering and drift properties of barium ions in xenon gas are explored theoretically, using density-functional theory and computational ion mobility theory, with the goal of better understanding barium ion transport for neutrinoless double beta decay. We derive the equilibrium conformations, energies, and entropies of molecular ions in the ${\mathrm{Ba}}^{+}$-Xe and ${\mathrm{Ba}}^{2+}$-Xe systems, which yield a predictive model of cluster formation in high-pressure gas. We calculate ion-neutral interaction potential curves for these species and use them to predict effective molecular ion mobilities. Our calculation consistently reproduces experimental data on effective mobility and molecular ion formation for the ${\mathrm{Ba}}^{+}$ system, and predicts strong cluster formation in the ${\mathrm{Ba}}^{2+}$ system, dominated by stable ${[{\mathrm{BaXe}}_{6}]}^{2+},{[{\mathrm{BaXe}}_{7}]}^{2+}$, ${[{\mathrm{BaXe}}_{8}]}^{2+}$, and ${[{\mathrm{BaXe}}_{9}]}^{2+}$ complexes in the range of interest. Some implications for barium tagging in gas-phase neutrinoless double beta decay experiments are discussed, and the first predictions of pressure-dependent mobility of the doubly charged ${\mathrm{Ba}}^{2+}$ species are presented.
Efficacy of limonene nano coatings on post-harvest shelf life of strawberries

Abstract Strawberries are highly demanded fruits because of their color, nutritional values and appearance. The aim of this study was to develop and characterize alginate and limonene liposomes as edible coating materials and to determine their efficacy in shelf life extension and maintaining quality parameters of ‘Chandler’ strawberries. Alginate solution (1.5% w/v) and Limonene liposomes prepared from 80% lecithin and 20% PDA were used as edible coating materials. Fungal decay percentage, total yeast and mold counts, headspace atmosphere analysis, total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, total anthocyanin content and total phenolics were analyzed to assess fruit quality during 14 days at 4 °C of storage. Days of storage was found to be significant in maintaining the quality of the strawberries. Among the coating types, limonene liposomes were found to be significantly more effective in maintaining the lower concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), lower the change in pH (3.9), and had higher total anthocyanin (43.85) content during storage than those without a liposomal coating. Thus, limonene liposomes were found to be useful for extending the shelf life and maintaining quality of strawberry fruits.
Chapter 3 – Tutorial dialogues: from semantic nets to mental models

Publisher Summary This chapter presents two different though constantly interacting themes: (1) the goal of producing tutorial dialogues and (2) an investigation of principles for representing the knowledge to be conveyed. On the one hand, communication strategies are expressed in terms of representational abstractions. On the other hand, the requirements of communication direct research efforts to the nature of domain knowledge and of reasoning mechanisms that can support communication processes. After these themes interact in the context of systems such as SCHOLAR and WHY, the investigation of mental representations predominates. As a practical example of an information-structure-oriented system, Carbonell presented SCHOLAR, which is a tutoring system that can conduct a mixed-initiative dialogue with a student. The chapter also presents the SCHOLAR'S four components. As a generic system for the teaching of knowledge represented with semantic nets, SCHOLAR has not been used widely except for an intelligent online consultant for a text editor called NLS-SCHOLAR. When combined, the studies of natural reasoning and of tutorial dialogues led to research on the Socratic method for teaching reasoning through dialogues. In the Socratic method, the tutor does not teach a subject by direct exposition but leads the student by successive questions to formulate general principles on the basis of individual cases, to examine the validity of the hypotheses, to discover contradictions, and finally to extract correct inferences from the facts known.
Surgical Anatomy of the Pelvis

The author describes the bony constituents of the pelvis and their padding muscles and fasciae and discusses the anatomy of the pelvic colon and rectum from a clinical and surgical point of view. The genitourinary system is presented as it is related to diseases of, and operations on, the colorectum.
Intestinal Spirochetosis: An Obscure Cause of Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Adherence of spirochetes to the apical membrane of the colonic epithelium has been well-described in the literature, but the exact pathogenesis leading to symptomatic clinical manifestations is poorly understood. Most cases are found incidentally on the pathological evaluation of colonic biopsies taken during diagnostic or therapeutic colonoscopies. However, whether the colonization of the intestinal mucosa can be attributed to clinical symptoms is a matter of debate. Here, we present a case of intermittent hematochezia attributed to the overwhelming invasion of the colonic mucosa by intestinal spirochetes.
Exploring stress urinary incontinence outcomes after sling excision for perforation or exposure

OBJECTIVE This study assessed stress urinary incontinence (SUI) outcomes after sling excision for urinary tract perforation or vaginal exposure, and compared the outcomes of concomitant versus staged autologous fascia pubovaginal sling (AFPVS). METHODS A retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent midurethral sling (MUS) excision for urinary tract perforation or vaginal exposure at a tertiary referral center between 2010 and 2015 was performed. Therapeutic strategies were categorized as concomitant AFPVS, staged AFPVS, and no anti-incontinence procedure. RESULTS In all, 32 patients were included for analysis: 13 with vaginal tape exposure (40.6%) and 19 with urinary tract tape exposure (59.4%). In patients who had SUI prior to sling excision (43.8%), the rate of resolved or improved SUI postoperatively was higher in the concomitant AFPVS group than in those who underwent sling excision alone (83.3% vs 12.5%, respectively; P = 0.03). Of 18 patients with no SUI prior to sling excision, 12 experienced recurrent SUI after sling removal (66.7%). The rate of recurrent SUI was lower in patients with vaginal MUS exposure than urinary tract MUS perforation, but this did not reach statistical significance (57.1% vs 72.7%, respectively; P = 0.63). The rates of resolved SUI after AFPVS were comparable in patients with concomitant and staged AFPVS (66.7% vs 71.4%, respectively; P = 0.99). CONCLUSIONS Many patients with MUS perforations or exposures will have SUI at initial presentation or develop SUI after removal of the synthetic sling. The decision to perform a concomitant AFPVS or to stage the surgical management of SUI can be individualized.
Determining Adaptive Loss Functions and Algorithms for Predictive Models

We consider the problem of training models to predict sequential processes. We use two econometric datasets to demonstrate how different losses and learning algorithms alter the predictive power for a variety of state-of-the-art models. We investigate how the choice of loss function impacts model training and find that no single algorithm or loss function results in optimal predictive performance. For small datasets, neural models prove especially sensitive to training parameters, including choice of loss function and pre-processing steps. We find that a recursively-applied artificial neural network trained under \(L_1\) loss performs best under many different metrics on a national retail sales dataset, whereas a differenced autoregressive model trained under \(L_1\) loss performs best under a variety of metrics on an e-commerce dataset. We note that different training metrics and processing steps result in appreciably different performance across all model classes and argue for an adaptive approach to model fitting.
Bias in retrospective analyses of biomarker effect using data from an outcome-adaptive randomized trial.

Background/AimsBiomarker-stratified outcome-adaptive randomization trials, in which randomization probabilities depend on both biomarker value and outcomes of previously treated patients, are recei...
Simple Methods for the Determination of Adsorption Rate and Equilibrium Parameters in the Recovery of Acetic Acid Using GAC and Synthetic Resins

Industrial acetic acid production based on anaerobic fermentation technology is not economically viable at present due to the high cost of product recovery by adsorption or extraction at neutral pH conditions. In this study, kinetics and equilibria of acetic acid sorption onto granular activated carbon and weak base resins were examined at pH < pKa of the acid. Comparative data on equilibrium sorption from a fermentation broth are also reported. It is observed that the weak base resins have higher adsorption capacities and selectivities for the uptake of organic acids from complex mixtures compared to activated carbon. A simple method to estimate intraparticle diffusivities from batch kinetic data using approximations to analytical solutions is developed. Methods for the accurate estimation of isotherm constants and external mass transfer coefficients are discussed and implemented. The estimated coefficients are shown to predict batch kinetic data well. This study will help in the screening of sorbents fo...
Impact of Emergency Department Tele‐intake on Left Without Being Seen and Throughput Metrics

OBJECTIVES More than 2 million patients present to a U.S. emergency department (ED) annually and leave without being seen (LWBS) due to delays in initiating care. We evaluated whether tele-intake at the time of presentation would reduce LWBS rates and ED throughput measures. METHODS We conducted a before-and-after study at an urban community hospital. The intervention was use of a tele-intake physician to triage patients from 11 am to 6 pm, 7 days per week. Tele-intake providers performed a triage history and physical examination, documented findings, and initiated orders in the medical record. We assessed the impact of this program using the domains of the National Quality Forum framework evaluating access, provider experience, and effectiveness of care. The main outcome was 24-hour LWBS rate. Secondary outcomes were overall door to provider and door to disposition times, left without treatment complete (LWTC), left against medical advice (AMA), left without treatment (LWOT), and physician experience. We compared the 6-month tele-intake period to the same period from the prior year (October 1 to April 1, 2017 vs. 2016). Additionally, we conducted a survey of our physicians to assess their experience with the program. RESULTS Total ED volume was similar in the before and after periods (19,892 patients vs. 19,646 patients). The 24-hour LWBS rate was reduced from 2.30% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.0% to 2.5%) to 1.69% (95% CI = 1.51% to 1.87%; p < 0.001). Overall door to provider time decreased (median = 19 [interquartile range {IQR} = 9 to 38] minutes vs. 16.2 [IQR = 7.8 to 34.3] minutes; p < 0.001), but ED length of stay for all patients (defined as door in to door out time for all patients) minimally increased (median = 184 [IQR = 100 to 292] minutes vs. 184.3 [IQR = 104.4 to 300] minutes; p < 0.001). There was an increase in door to discharge times (median = 146 [IQR = 83 to 231] minutes vs. 148 [IQR = 88.2 to 233.6] minutes; p < 0.001) and door to admit times (median = 330 [IQR = 253 to 432] minutes vs. 357.6 [IQR = 260.3 to 514.5] minutes; p < 0.001). We saw an increase in LWTC (0.59% [95% CI = 0.49% to 0.70%] vs. 1.1% [95% CI = 0.9% to 1.2%]; p < 0.001), but no change in AMA (1.4% [95% CI = 1.2% to 1.6%] vs. 1.6% [95% CI = 1.4% to 1.78%]; p = 0.21) or LWOT (4.3% [95% CI = 4.1% to 4.6%] vs. 4.4% [95% CI = 4.1% to 4.7%]; p = 0.7). Tele-intake providers thought tele-intake added value (12/15, 80%) and allowed them to effectively address medical problems (14/15, 95%), but only (10/15, 67%) thought that it was as good as in-person triage. Of the receiving physicians, most agreed with statements that tele-intake did not interfere with care (19/22, 86%), helped complement care (19/21, 90%), and gave the patient a better experience (19/22, 86%). CONCLUSIONS Remote tele-intake provided in an urban community hospital ED reduced LWBS and time to provider but increased LWTC rates and had no impact on LWOT.
Minor Heat Illnesses

A large number of medical conditions fall under the umbrella term of “heat illnesses.” While these conditions span across a spectrum relative to severity, these heat illnesses are in fact independent medical conditions. More severe conditions are discussed in more detail in other chapters within this text. The goal of this chapter is to highlight the pathophysiology, recognition, treatment, and return to activity of several minor conditions that result from heat exposure. These conditions may contribute to the risk for developing more severe heat illnesses, making the understanding of these minor heat illnesses and prevention important. Preventing minor heat illnesses can reduce the risk of developing more severe exertional heat illnesses and can enhance safety and performance during exercise and physical activity in the heat.
Presenting Symptoms and Psychological Treatment Outcomes among First-Generation and Non-First-Generation College Students

The number of first-generation students on college campuses is rising, comprising 20% of new incoming students in higher education. First-generation college students (FGCS) do not access mental hea...
Henry Taube. 30 November 191516 November 2005

Through a lifetime of increasingly broad and significant experiments and discoveries, Henry Taube became the world's premier mechanistic inorganic chemist (one who focuses on reaction pathways and ...
Progressive Failure Analysis of 3D Woven Composites via Multiscale Recursive Micromechanics

Multiscale progressive failure simulations have been performed for a 3D woven composite considering six length scales, spanning from the woven composite repeating unit cell to the matrix material containing voids. The Multiscale Recursive Micromechanics approach, which enables micromechanics models to call other micromechanics models (or themselves recursively) to consider finer and finer length scales, has been employed. The multiscale model uses both the generalized method of cells and Mori-Tanaka micromechanics theories and considers failure and damage at the lowest length scale. A simple subvolume elimination damage model, as well as the crack band model, are employed for the matrix and their predicted composite responses compared with and without a preexisting binder tow disbond. Results are also compared with experimental data for an AS4 carbon fiber/RTM6 epoxy matrix 3D orthogonal woven PMC, with good agreement in terms of global stiffness and global failure stress.
Institutional Trading on Information Diffusion across Fundamentally Related Firms

This paper provides a new explanation to the gradual information diffusion puzzle from the perspective of information asymmetry. I document a strong cross-predictability of stock returns driven by institutional investors' private information about firms' fundamental relations. A value-weighted arbitrage portfolio yields a monthly alpha of 1.65%. Contrary to the limited attention hypothesis, the magnitude of predicted returns increases with firm size, number of institutional shareholders, and institutional trading intensity while not decreasing with analysts following. Further evidence confirm that institutional investors strategically trade a stock in response to shocks to its peers, which subsequently causes lagged permanent price movements.
Mapping annual irrigation from Landsat imagery and environmental variables across the conterminous United States

Abstract Identifying the location of irrigated croplands and how they change over time is critical for assessing and managing limited water resources to navigate such challenges as local to global water scarcity, increasing demands for food and energy production, and environmental sustainability. Although efforts have been made to map irrigated area for the U.S., multi-year nationwide maps at field-relevant resolutions are still unavailable; existing products suffer from coarse resolution, uncertain accuracy, and/or limited spatial coverage, especially in the eastern U.S. In this study, we present an approach to map the extent of irrigated croplands across the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) for each year in the period of 1997–2017. To scale nationwide, we developed novel methods to generate training datasets covering both the western and eastern U.S. For the more arid western U.S., we built upon the methods of Xie et al. (2019) and further developed a greenness-based normalization technique to estimate optimal thresholds of crop greenness in any year based on those in USDA NASS census years (i.e., 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017). For the relatively humid eastern states, we collected data on the current status of center pivot irrigated and non-irrigated fields and extended these sample points through time using various indices and observational thresholds. We used the generated samples along with remote sensing features and environmental variables to train county-stratified random forest classifiers annually for pixel-level classification of irrigated extent each year and subsequently implemented a logic-based post-classification filtering. The produced Lan dsat-based I rrigation D ataset (LANID-US) accurately reconstructed NASS irrigation patterns at both the county and state level while also supplying new annual area estimates for intra-epoch years. Nationwide pixel-level locational assessment further demonstrated an overall accuracy above 90% across years. In the 21-year study period, we found several hotspots of irrigation change including significant gains in the U.S. Midwest, the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, and the East Coast as well as irrigation declines in the central and southern High Plains Aquifer and the southern California Central Valley, Arizona, and Florida. The resulting 30 m resolution LANID-US products represent the finest resolution account of nationwide irrigation use and dynamics across the United States to date. The developed approach, training data, and products are further extendable to other years (either before 1997 or after 2017) for continuous monitoring of irrigated area over CONUS and are spatially applicable to other regions with similar climate and cropping landscapes.
Anatomy and Embryology of the Esophagus

Thorough knowledge of the esophagus and its relationship to surrounding structures is of utmost importance to the practitioner in order to adequately treat disease processes and not cause undue injury during surgery. Additionally, knowledge of the embryologic development of this organ aids our understanding of how pathologies develop and manifest themselves clinically. In this chapter, we first review the anatomy of the esophagus and its relationship to critical structures from a surgical perspective. We then review the current depth of investigative research as it pertains to how the esophagus develops in utero, including separation of the embryonic foregut into the esophagus and trachea, development of a stratified squamous epithelium, and development of the outer smooth muscle layer, including transition of its proximal end from smooth muscle to striated muscle.
Risk factors for opioid-related adverse drug events among older adults after hospital discharge

Background Although opioids are initiated on hospital discharge in millions of older adults each year, there are no studies examining patient- and prescribing-related risk factors for opioid-related adverse drug events (ADEs) after hospital discharge among medical patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study of a national sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older, hospitalized for a medical reason, with at least one claim for an opioid within 2 days of hospital discharge. We excluded patients receiving hospice care and patients admitted from or discharged to a facility. We used administrative billing codes and medication claims to define potential opioid-related ADEs within 30 days of hospital discharge, and competing risks regression to identify risk factors for these events. Results Among 22,879 medical hospitalizations (median age 74, 36.9% female) with an opioid claim within 2 days of hospital discharge, a potential opioid-related ADE occurred in 1604 (7.0%). Independent risk factors included age of 80 years and older (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.05-1.33); clinical conditions, including kidney disease (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.08-1.37), dementia/delirium (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.22-1.56), anxiety disorder (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06-1.36), opioid use disorder (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.39), intestinal disorders (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.15-1.49), pancreaticobiliary disorders (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.09-1.61), and musculoskeletal and nervous system injuries (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.17-1.54); red flags for opioid misuse (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.04-1.80); opioid use in the 30 days before hospitalization (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08-1.34); and prescription of long-acting opioids (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.06-1.70). Conclusions Potential opioid-related ADEs occurred within 30 days of hospital discharge in 7.0% of older adults discharged from a medical hospitalization with an opioid prescription. Identified risk factors can be used to inform physician decision-making, conversations with older adults about risk, and development and targeting of harm reduction strategies.
Histopathology of new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) in adults.

Abstract Objective new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is defined as de novo refractory seizures occurring in previously healthy adults, without a clear underlying etiology. Due to refractory seizures and insufficient understanding of pathophysiology, management of these patients remains challenging and often leads to poor clinical outcomes. Various infectious and autoimmune mechanisms have been proposed but have not been validated and a large number of patients are thus labeled ‘cryptogenic’. Moreover, histopathological findings have rarely been described in NORSE and are usually autopsy evaluations. In this paper, we describe the clinical correlates and histopathological findings in patients presenting with NORSE. Methods A case series of five patients with NORSE who underwent neurosurgical intervention and had histopathological examination during their acute clinical course. Results In all patients,status epileptics was refractory to treatment with antiseizure drugs (ASDs) and anesthetic agents. Autoimmune work-up revealed elevated titer of anti-GAD antibody in one patient but was unremarkable in others. Empiric use of immunomodulation therapy in three patients did not lead to cessation of status epilepticus (SE). Due to failure of prolonged medical management, three patients underwent palliative surgery for resection of epileptogenic tissue whereas the other two had diagnostic brain biopsy. Histopathology obtained during biopsy revealed evidence of vasculitis in one and necrotizing vasculopathy in another. The patient with anti-GAD antibodies had evidence of lymphocytic infiltration in limbic structures. The remaining two had nonspecific histopathological findings. Significance Although our findings are limited by a small number of patients, it adds to the growing premise of NORSE being related to an underlying autoimmune process. Additional studies, especially with histopathological data are needed to better understand this devastating disorder.
Chapter 6 Macro- and Micro-Oxygen Electrode Techniques for Cell Measurement1

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the macro-and micro-oxygen electrode techniques for cell measurement. Until the development of reliable oxygen electrodes, manometry was the method of choice for the study of oxygen uptake or evolution in biological systems. Some of the difficulties inherent in manometric techniques, such as the inability to follow rapid changes, the time necessary to prepare and equilibrate samples, and the problems in measuring differences in oxygen utilization in different parts of biological systems, were eliminated with the advent of rapidly responding oxygen electrodes. This is not to say that manometric techniques are not useful for special types of measurements, but that the oxygen electrode has come to replace manometry because of its ability to give continuous and reliable information with both small and large samples.
Old Suburbs Meets New Urbanism

This essay examines the growing popularity among inner ring suburban communities of new urbanist regulatory tools, including transect zoning and form-based codes. Given the demographic realities facing these communities, the essay raises concerns about the temptation to use legal regulation to "upscale" older suburbs and argues for more-organic, deregulatory approaches to redevelopment. The essay will be included in an edited volume entitled Infinite Suburbia (Alan Berger and Joel Kotkin, eds.).
Cytoplasmic Sensing in Innate Immunity

The innate immune system detects ligands of microbial or endogenous origin by employing a network of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) present on the cell surface or in the cytosol, and mounts an inflammatory response for host defense or wound healing. Here we discuss the major classes of innate sensors that survey the intracellular environment, the mechanistic aspects of their activation and regulation including assembly of multiprotein signaling complexes, spatial relocation to specific subcellular structures, signal integration from multiple PRR pathways, and how this orchestrated set of events is integrated into an immune response.
Emplacement and subsidence of Indian Ocean plateaus and submarine ridges

Ocean Drilling Program, Deep Sea Drilling Project, and industrial borehole results from Indian Ocean plateaus and submarine ridges help to constrain their subsidence histories. I use a simple Airy isostatic model to calculate basement depths at ODP sites in the absence of sediment, and then backtrack these sites using previously determined age-depth relationships for oceanic lithosphere to determine the original depth or elevation of the sites. Resulting subsidence curves for each site were then checked by examining sedimentologic and biostratigraphic evidence for when each site subsided below shelf depths. The analysis suggests that thermal subsidence has been the dominant tectonic process affecting Indian Ocean plateaus and submarine ridges following emplacement. I conclude that large portions of these features were emplaced and began subsiding well above sea level, similar to large igneous provinces (LIPs) worldwide today. This resulted in significant subaerial erosion and redeposition of volcanic material mixed with biogenic sediment, and a gradual development of facies from terrestrial through terrigenous to shallow water and pelagic, resulting in a sedimentary record with both continental and oceanic characteristics.
Logarithmic Profiles and Design Wind Speeds

A simple procedure is presented for determining mean velocity profiles for purposes of structural design. The procedure is based on recent results of atmospheric boundary layer studies, for which a satisfactory theoretical, as well as experimental, foundation exists. It is shown that for high winds, e.g., these of interest to the structural engineer, the logarithmic law is valid up to heights of a few hundred meters. Similarity relations are used, on the basis of which it is possible to calculate wind speeds over built-up terrain if the wind speed over open terrain is known. Experimental data reported in the literature are presented, which confirm the validity of the procedure and suggest that the logarithmic law, widely recognized by meteorologists as an improvement over the power law, may supersede the latter for purposes of structural design.
The AD-MIX protocol for encouraging participation in mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks are autonomous self-organized networks in which each node relies on the other nodes in the network to perform routing on its behalf. Proper functioning of the network is dependent on participation and cooperation of the nodes in routing and packet forwarding. Unfortunately, providing these services may not be in the best interest of a mobile node, since it results in the depletion of the node's resources. Selfish behavior by a node may result in degraded network performance due to denial of service, decrease in network throughput and partitioning of the network. Because it is in a node's interest to not forward traffic, nodes should be given some form of incentive for the services they provide. In this paper, we address the problem of selfishness in mobile ad hoc networks by proposing a protocol called AD-MIX that encourages participation. AD-MIX discourages selfishness by concealing the true destination of packets from intermediate nodes along the path, forcing a node to participate or risk dropping packets destined for itself. Simulation results show that employing AD-MIX encourages participation without a significant increase in overhead. In addition to encouraging participation, AD-MIX also facilitates anonymization and secure communication between nodes.
A generalization of MSK-type signaling based upon input data symbol pulse shaping

Minimum-shift-keying (MSK), which is a special case of continuous phase frequency-shift-keying (CPFSK) with frequency deviation ratio equal to 0.5, is known to be spectrally equivalent to a form of offset quadrature phase-shift-keying (OQPSK) in which the symbol pulse shape is a half-cycle sinusoid rather than the usual rectangular form. Appropriate shaping of the input data symbols allows one to generate an entire class of constant envelope, MSK-type signals, whose spectral properties are in some applications more desirable than those of MSK or OQPSK. The present study derives and presents a set of conditions on the input pulse shaping which in turn describes the class of envelope shapes allowable. The autocorrelation function and power spectral density of this class of signals are then derived, and specific examples are given to illustrate the desirable spectral properties. Such properties are important considerations in system design where interchannel and intersymbol interference degradations must be kept to a minimum.
Challenges and rewards of teaching in a small computer science department

Teaching in a small computing department has many unique challenges and rewards. A committee has started to identify these areas and develop ways to meet these challenges. Over the past 8 months a significant effort (via a survey and panel presentations at conferences in fall of 2002) has been made to get feedback from this community as to what the needs are. The panel will present the results of that work, get more feedback, give an overview of future work, and look to enlist people interested in the project.
secG and Temperature Modulate Expression of Azide-Resistant and Signal Sequence Suppressor Phenotypes of Escherichia coli secA Mutants

SecA is a dynamic protein that undergoes ATP-dependent membrane cycling to drive protein translocation across the Escherichia coli inner membrane. To understand more about this process, azide-resistant (azi) and signal sequence suppressor (prlD) alleles of secA were studied. We found that azide resistance is cold sensitive because of a direct effect on protein export, suggesting that SecA-membrane interaction is regulated by an endothermic step that is azide inhibitable. secG function is required for expression of azide-resistant and signal sequence suppressor activities of azi and prlD alleles, and in turn, these alleles suppress cold-sensitive and export-defective phenotypes of a secG null mutant. These remarkable genetic observations support biochemical data indicating that SecG promotes SecA membrane cycling and that this process is dependent on an endothermic change in SecA conformation.
Arginine Utilization of Young Rats Fed Diets with Simple versus Complex Carbohydrates

We proposed that increasing dietary complex carbohydrates would, by increasing fecal nitrogen loss and thus decreasing urinary nitrogen and the need for urea synthesis, ameliorate the effects of arginine deficiency. Two experiments using male, weanling, Sprague-Dawley rats with ad libitum access to water and isocaloric, isonitrogenous, 19% L-amino acid diets were carried out to test this hypothesis. The first was performed in two identical blocks of a 4 X 4 factorial experiment each with six rats per group. Four levels of arginine were fed: 0.0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2% of diet with four variations in dietary carbohydrates: sucrose alone, replacement of 2/3 of sucrose with dextrin, and 5 g of wheat bran or guar gum added to 100 g of the sucrose-based diets. Varying dietary carbohydrate quality did not influence growth of rats fed the 1.2% arginine diets, however, when added to the diet with 0.0 arginine, guar gum but not dextrin or wheat bran increased growth. This guar gum-induced weight increase was associated with partial reversal of arginine-deficiency-induced liver lipidosis and orotic aciduria and with higher fecal nitrogen and lower urinary nitrogen. The specificity of this guar gum effect was tested in a second experiment in which guar gum was added to diets containing 33% of the control level of arginine, histidine, leucine, methionine or phenylalanine. Only rats fed the diet deficient in arginine showed significant improvement in growth with added guar gum. We conclude that dietary guar gum but not dextrin or wheat bran, by increasing fecal nitrogen loss and decreasing the need for urea synthesis, partially ameliorates the effects of a low arginine intake. The practical application of feeding guar gum to alleviate certain ammonia-toxicity-related medical conditions is discussed.
Giant stromatolites of the Eocene Green River Formation (Colorado, USA)

The Eocene Green River Formation in the Sand Wash Basin, Colorado (United States), contains the largest known lacustrine columnar stromatolites. Spectacular columns, as much as 5.5 m high with diameters of 7 m, occur over a broad area. The stromatolites are composed of laterally continuous centimeter-thick layers that can be traced from the base to the top of the column (synoptic relief), thus these stromatolites stood as much as 5.5 m above the lake floor. The layers consist of one to several different kinds of microbialites, which makes these large columns even more unusual. The giant columns were the result of a combination of factors including the lake transgressing a flooded woodland, in situ tree stumps providing elevated substrates above the lake floor, an abundant supply of calcium-rich spring and surface water that mixed with saline-alkaline lake water, and the subsidence rate of the nearshore lake environment not exceeding the rate at which the stromatolites grew.
Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Consensus Conference statement on postmenopausal bleeding.

nscheduled vaginal bleeding in postmenopausal women (i.e., any bleeding other than that occurring at the expected time in the cycle of a woman receiving sequential hormone replacement therapy [HRT]) is a worrisome symptom, because it may be the presenting symptom of endometrial cancer. (Henceforth, the term “postmenopausal bleeding” [PMB] will be used to refer to unscheduled bleeding.) The frequency of endometrial cancer in women with PMB has been found to be approximately 7%,1,2 although the range of risk estimates in the literature is quite wide. In view of the relationship between PMB and endometrial carcinoma, it is a central tenet of gynecologic practice that diagnostic evaluation should be undertaken in any women with PMB.3,4 Although the need for diagnostic evaluation is clear-cut, the appropriate choice of a test (or tests) is anything but straightforward. In fact, the decision concerning the optimal testing algorithm has become considerably more complex over the last decade, because the range of available tests has expanded to include office biopsy, dilation and curettage, hysteroscopy, transvaginal sonography (TVS), and saline infusion sonohysterography (SIS). There has been no consensus about which of these tests should be performed initially in a woman with PMB or about what (if any) follow-up tests should be performed depending on the result of the initial test. The Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU) should be commended for assembling a multispecialty group of experts to develop a consensus recommendation for the diagnostic evaluation of PMB. As with any consensus panel, however, the reliability of its recommendations is constrained by the quality and statistical power of existing studies. Here I examine how closely the panel came to achieving its stated goals and where the consensus conference statement leaves the practitioner who treats patients with PMB.
Discontinuous automorphisms of the proper Galilei and Euclidean groups

It is shown that discontinuous automorphisms of the proper Galilei and Euclidean groups (i.e., without space inversions) exist in three dimensions, but not in higher dimensions.
Evaluating the effectiveness of inter-regional trade and storage in Malawi’s private sector maize markets

Abstract This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the private sector maize marketing system in Malawi using threshold autoregression models. Two dimensions of maize market performance are evaluated: (1) inter-regional trade and spatial price transmission; and (2) storage and seasonal price relationships. In both cases, threshold autoregression models which account for nonlinearities predicted by economic theory are applied. Results indicate that spatial price transmission and seasonal price patterns in private sector maize markets in Malawi are generally consistent with long-run competitive inter-regional trade and storage behavior, and that in most cases shocks to long-run equilibrium are arbitraged away quickly. This suggests the private sector in Malawi is generally doing a good job of transporting maize from surplus to deficit regions and smoothing maize consumption between harvests.
Steric effects direct the binding of porphyrins to tetramolecular quadruplex DNA

The binding motifs of copper(II) porphyrins with G quadruplex DNA structures vary markedly depending on the steric demands of the ligand and the host structure.
Low temperature synthesis of LnOF rare-earth oxyfluorides through reaction of the oxides with PTFE

Abstract A low temperature solid-state synthesis route, employing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and the rare-earth oxides, for the formation of the LnOF rare-earth oxyfluorides (Ln = Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er), is reported. With the exception of LaOF, which forms in a tetragonal variant, rhomobohedral LnOF is found to be the major product of the reaction. In the case of PrOF, a transition from the rhombohedral to the cubic fluorite phase is observed on heating in air to 500 °C. X-ray diffraction shows the expected lanthanide contraction in the lattice parameters and bond lengths. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show antiferromagnetic-like ordering in TbOF, Tm = 10 K, with a metamagnetic transition at a field μ0Ht = 1.8 T at 2 K. An antiferromagnetic transition, TN = 4 K, is observed in GdOF. Paramagnetic behavior is observed above 2 K in PrOF, NdOF, DyOF, HoOF and ErOF. The magnetic susceptibility of EuOF is characteristic of Van Vleck paramagnetism.
Use of the human monocytic leukemia THP-1 cell line and co-incubation with microsomes to identify and differentiate hapten and prohapten sensitizers

Consumer and medical products can contain leachable chemical allergens which can cause skin sensitization. Recent efforts have been directed at the development of non-animal based tests such as in vitro cell activation assays for the identification of skin sensitizers. Prohapten identification by in vitro assays is still problematic due to the lack of prohapten bioactivation. The present study evaluated the effect of hapten and prohapten exposure on cell surface markers expression (CD86, CD54 and CD40) in the human monocytic leukemia, THP-1, cell line. Upregulation of activation and costimulatory markers are key events in the allergic sensitization process and have been reported to serve as indicators of skin sensitization. Cells were exposed to the prohaptens benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), carvone oxime (COx), cinnamic alcohol (CA) and isoeugenol (IEG) at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 μM for 24 and 48 h. The direct-binding haptens dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), benzoquinone (BQ), hydroxylethyl acrylate (HEA) and benzylbromide (BB) were used as positive controls. Cells were also exposed to the irritants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sulfanilamide (SFA). Bioactivation of prohaptens was achieved by adding aroclor-induced rat liver microsomes (S9) to the cell cultures. Consistent upregulation of surface expressions of CD86, CD54 (ICAM-1) and CD40 was observed in THP-1 cells treated with direct-acting haptens (±S9) or prohapten (+S9). Upregulation of these markers was not observed after exposure to skin irritants or prohaptens in the absence of exogenously added S9. In conclusion, modification of in vitro cell culture assays to include co-incubation with microsomes enhances identification of prohaptens and allows them to be clearly distinguished from direct-binding haptens.
An examination of neuromuscular and metabolic fatigue thresholds

This study examined the relationships among the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWCFT), the power outputs associated with the gas exchange threshold (PGET) and the respiratory compensation point (PRCP), and critical power (CP) to identify possible physiological mechanisms underlying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue. Ten participants (mean ± SD age: 20 ± 1 years) performed a maximal incremental cycle ergometer test to determine the PWCFT, PGET, and PRCP. CP was determined from the 3 min all-out test. The PWCFT (197 ± 55 W), PRCP (212 ± 50 W), and CP (208 ± 63 W) were significantly greater than the PGET (168 ± 40 W), but there were no significant differences among the PWCFT, PRCP, and CP. All thresholds were significantly inter-4 (r = 0.794–0.958). The 17% greater estimates for the PWCFT than PGET were likely related to differences in the physiological mechanisms that underlie these fatigue thresholds, while the non-significant difference and high correlation between the PWCFT and the PRCP suggested that hyperkalemia may underlie both thresholds. Furthermore, it is possible that the 5% lower estimate of the PWCFT than CP could more accurately reflect the demarcation of the heavy from severe exercise intensity domains.
TGF-beta-mediated cell cycle arrest of HPV16-immortalized human ectocervical cells correlates with decreased E6/E7 mRNA and increased p53 and p21(WAF-1) expression.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) suppresses proliferation and potentiates apoptosis of HPV16-immortalized human cervical epithelial cells (ECE16-1). Exposure of ECE16-1 to TGF-beta1 increased expression of p53 and induced cell cycle arrest. We examined, by Western blotting, expression of p53 and related cell cycle regulatory proteins after treatment. p53 levels increased as a function of time and dose. Increased p53 appeared to be active, since TGF-beta1 treatment increased the activity of a p53 transcriptional response element in a luciferase reporter plasmid. Additionally, the proteins of the p53-regulated genes, p21(WAF1), mdm2, and Bax, were increased with similar time and dose responses. We did not observe consistent changes in protein levels of cyclin D, cyclin E, CDK4, CDK6, CDK2, p27(Kip1), p16(INK4a), or RNA levels of p15(INK4b). Activity of CDK4 or 6, measured by phosphorylation of an Rb fragment, remained constant during the response period; however, activity of CDK2 (phosphorylation of histone H1) decreased. Concordantly, increased levels of p21(WAF1) were immunoprecipitated with anti-CDK2 antibodies. During treatment, the phosphorylation state of Rb shifted to a hypophosphorylated form. mRNA for the HPV E6/E7 genes decreased; however, significant changes in the E7 protein were not observed, while increased levels of Rb immunoprecipitated with anti-E7 antibodies were observed. These data are consistent with the following model. In ECE16-1 cells, there exists a fine balance between inhibitory levels of p53 and Rb and the antagonists, E6 and E7. TGF-beta1 treatment decreases steady-state levels of E6/E7 mRNA, which results in a shifted balance (lowered activity of E6) in favor of increased p53 expression, resulting in activation of the cell cycle inhibitory gene, p21(WAF1). This protein binds the cyclin E/CDK2 complex that maintains Rb in a phosphorylated state. Rb shifts to a hypophosphorylated state, resulting in G1 arrest, presumably by binding E2F transcription factors.