cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulation of rat adrenal dopamine β-hydroxylase. II. Receptor interaction in the regulation of enzyme synthesis and degradation

Rat adrenal gland dopamine beta-hydroxylase is under neuronal regulation from the splanchnic nerve and hormonal control via adrenal cortical glucocorticoids. The regulatory systems act in different ways; neuronal stimuli induce dopamine beta-hydroxylase synthesis while hormonal stimulation inhibits enzyme degradation. Despite these mechanistic differences, both systems require a normally innervated cholinergic receptor to exert their effect. The enzyme response to either neural stimulation or ACTH administration is blocked by splanchnic denervation. Glucocorticoid stimulation of dopamine beta-hydroxylase, however, can occur after adrenal denervation, suggesting that ACTH acts on a receptor which requires splanchnic innervation, but glucocorticoids act distal to the receptor. Similar results were obtained when the effect of these manipulations were studied on phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase, another enzyme in the catecholamine biosynthetic pathway. A model attempting to unify these and earlier findings is presented, in which the splanchnic nerve is involved in regulating both adrenal cortical glucocorticoidogenesis (by allowing ACTH to act on glucocorticoid synthesis) and adrenal medullary catecholamine biosynthesis (by induction of enzyme synthesis.).
From behavioral description to a pattern-based model for intelligent tutoring systems

Intelligent Tutoring Systems are software applications capable of complementing and enhancing the learning process by providing direct customized instruction and feedback to students in various disciplines. Although Intelligent Tutoring Systems could differ widely in their attached knowledge bases and user interfaces (including interaction mechanisms), their behaviors are quite similar. Therefore, it must be possible to establish a common software model for them. A common software model is a step forward to move these systems from proof-of-concepts and academic research tools to widely available tools in schools and homes. The work reported here addresses: (1) the use of Design Patterns to create an object-oriented software model for Intelligent Tutoring Systems; (2) our experience using this model in a three-year development project and its impact on facets such as creating a common language among stakeholders, supporting an incremental development, and adjustment to a highly shifting development team; and (3) the qualities achieved and trade-offs made.
Automatic Genre Classification of TV Programs Using Audio and Face Processing

In this paper we present a new system to classify TV programs into predefined categories based on the analysis of their audio and video contents. This is very useful in intelligent display and storage systems that can select channels and record or skip contents according to the consumer's preference. Distinguishable patterns exist in different categories of TV programs in terms of human faces and audio. In this paper four categories divided into news, cartoon, variety and sport are of interest. News and variety have differences between frames less than sport and cartoon. For audio feature, we apply short time energy, zero crossing, spectral centroid and short time Fourier transform for feature extraction. For face feature, in the first step, Haar like feature is employed for face detection and eigenface is then applied for feature extraction. Then, neural network is implemented for classification. From experimental results, classification rate of 95% accuracy which is better than the other paper is achievable.
Passive optimal control of an antisymmetric angle-ply laminate

Using the maximum principle of Ref. 1, a procedure to find numerical solutions of certain optimal control problems is given. As an application of this procedure, the optimal control of an antisymmetric angle-ply laminate is worked out in detail. Numerical solutions are given in the form of graphs.
Web-based interventions for weight loss and weight maintenance among rural midlife and older women: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Weight loss is challenging and maintenance of weight loss is problematic among midlife and older rural women. Finding effective interventions using innovative delivery methods that can reach underserved and vulnerable populations of overweight and obese rural women is a public health challenge. Methods/Design: This Women Weigh-In for Wellness (The WWW study) randomized-controlled trial is designed to compare the effectiveness of theory-based behavior-change interventions using (1) website only, (2) website with peer-led support, or (3) website with professional email-counseling to facilitate initial weight loss (baseline to 6 months), guided continuing weight loss and maintenance (7-18 months) and self-directed weight maintenance (19-30 months) among rural women ages 45-69 with a BMI of 28-45. Recruitment efforts using local media will target 306 rural women who live within driving distance of a community college site where assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months by research nurses blinded to group assignments. Primary outcomes include changes in body weight, % weight loss, and eating and activity behavioral and biomarkers from baseline to each subsequent assessment. Secondary outcomes will be percentage of women achieving at least 5% and 10% weight loss without regain from baseline to 6, 18, and 30 months and achieving healthy eating and activity targets. Data analysis will use generalized estimating equations to analyze average change across groups and group differences in proportion of participants achieving target weight loss levels. Discussion: The Women Weigh-In for Wellness study compares innovative web-based alternatives for providing lifestyle behavior-change interventions for promoting weight loss and weight maintenance among rural women. If effective, such interventions would offer potential for reducing overweight and obesity among a vulnerable, hardto-reach, population of rural women. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01307644
Kinematics of reaching and implications for handedness in rhesus monkey infants

Kinematic studies of reaching in human infants using two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) recordings have complemented behavioral studies of infant handedness by providing additional evidence of early right asymmetries. Right hand reaches have been reported to be straighter and smoother than left hand reaches during the first year. Although reaching has been a popular measure of handedness in primates, there has been no systematic comparison of left and right hand reach kinematics. We investigated reaching in infant rhesus monkeys using the 2-D motion analysis software MaxTRAQ Lite+ (Innovision Systems). Linear mixed-effects models revealed that left hand reaches were smoother, but not straighter, than right hand reaches. An early left bias matches previous findings of a left hand preference for reaching in adult rhesus monkeys. Additional work using this kind of kinematic approach will extend our understanding of primate handedness beyond traditional studies measuring only frequency or bouts of hand use.
Panic attacks in schizophrenia.

Objective: To determine the association between panic attacks and comorbid mental disorders, psychiatric symptomotology, service utilization, and suicidality among individuals with schizophrenia in the community. Method: Data were drawn from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study (n=20, 291). Differences in comorbid mental disorders, symptomotology, service use, and suicidality were determined between individuals with schizophrenia, with and without panic attacks. Results: Panic attacks (lifetime) were common among almost half (45%) of those with schizophrenia. Individuals with schizophrenia and panic attacks had significantly elevated rates of co-occurring mental disorders, psychotic symptoms, suicidality, and mental health service utilization compared with individuals with schizophrenia who did not suffer from panic attacks. Conclusions: Panic attacks are common among individuals with schizophrenia in the community and are associated with higher rates of other co-occurring mental disorders, service utilization and suicidality. These results suggest that concurrent treatment for both panic and schizophrenia may be indicated for optimal outcomes. Future research is needed to determine the direct and indirect cost benefit in providing mental health treatment for panic among individuals with schizophrenia in the community.
Production and decay of 43Ar and 44Ar

Abstract Investigation of the protoproduction of isotopes of geochemical and oceanographic interest has resulted in the production of two previously unreported isotopes of argon. Calcium oxide, enriched to 97.16% 48 Ca, was irradiated with thick target bremsstrahlung at end-point energies of 39, 46 and 55 MeV. Production of previously unreported 44 Ar with a half-life of 14.0±1.5 min by the 48 Ca(γ, α) 44 Ar reaction was confirmed by the growth of 44 K. Spectral evidence indicating the presence of 43 Ar was also found. Relative photonuclear yields were measured. The energy of the observed gamma ray from the decay of 44 Ar was measured as 1886.5±0.8 keV. A gamma ray with an energy of 975.6±1.1 keV and a half-life of 6.5±1.8 min was tentatively attributed to 43 Ar.
Quinone interactions with the chloroplast cytochrome b6-f complex

Abstract The requirements for reconstitution of electron transfer activity with a plastoquinone (PQ)-depleted cytochrome b 6 - f complex from spinach have been considered. Full restoration of activity measured as plastocyanin reduction with either duroquinol in the dark or Photosystem II (PSII) in the light requires both PQ-9 and phospholipid. However, a substantial dark activity can be observed with duroquinol and phospholipid in the absence of any added PQ-9. PSII, with its associated PQ molecules, can also donate electrons in the light to the cytochrome complex which has been depleted of plastoquinone. Electron donation by duroquinol in the dark to the PQ-depleted cytochrome complex is stimulated by PSII, and this stimulation is dependent on the presence of the two PQ molecules in the PSII preparation. Measurements of proton translocation with the PQ-depleted complex indicate this quinone is not required for the observed H + e − ratio of 2. Studies of cytochrome b 6 kinetics with the free and liposome-incorporated PQ-depleted complex show this cytochrome undergoes redox reactions similar to those of a control complex which contains PQ. These results indicate the PQ that copurifies with the cytochrome complex is not essential for any of the measured activities. These findings are considered in relation to a quinone binding site(s) in the cytochrome complex which is not specific to PQ but can bind other quinones, such as duroquinol, in a lipid-dependent process.
Human Capital in Large Metropolitan Areas in the United States

The evidence indicates that human capital is an increasingly important determinant of where firms and households locate in the United States. Further, large metropolitan areas have been shown to have an advantage in attracting and producing highly skilled workers. The research in this study provides new information on the relationship between specific large metropolitan areas and educational attainment. The effects of metropolitan areas on educational attainment are separated out from the effects of demographic and family background, household location at age sixteen, and migration. It is shown that metropolitan areas either have no effect or very modest effects on attainment with a few exceptions. Data from the National Opinion Research Center's "General Social Survey" (GSS) are used. The GSS is a large cross-sectional national sample of respondents who are at least eighteen years old and live in a non-institutional setting. It has been taken either annually or biannually since 1972. Data are used for samples from 1993 to 2008 so that the paper has a contemporary focus.
Effect of combined testosterone and estradiol‐17β treatment on the metabolism of E2 in the prostate and liver of noble rats

BACKGROUND Long-term treatment of Noble (NBL) rats with testosterone (T) and estradiol-17β (E2) induces dysplasia in the dorsolateral lobe (DLP) but not in the ventral lobe (VP) of the rat prostate. The aim of this study was to determine whether metabolic conversion of E2 to catechol estrogens (CEs), which are potentially genotoxic, is a mechanism of estrogen carcinogenicity in this tissue. METHODS Male NBL rats were treated simultaneously with T and E2, or left untreated, for 16 weeks after which time the liver, VP, and DLP were excised for microsomal preparations. 3H-E2 metabolites generated in microsomal incubates were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by coelution with known E2 metabolites. RESULTS 2- and 4-hydroxyestrogens were detected at high levels in hepatic microsomal incubates, and at extremely low levels in prostatic microsomal incubates. T + E2 treatment of rats did not increase the formation of these prostatic and hepatic metabolites. CONCLUSIONS These results do not support CE formation as a mediating step in estrogen-induced tumorigenesis in the rat prostate. Prostate 30:256–262, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Xenon gas flow patterns evaluated by high-speed multi-row detector CT

Regional lung ventilation can be measured via Xenon-enhanced computed tomography (Xe-CT) by determining washin (WI) and washout (WO) rates of stable Xe. It has been assumed that WI = WO, ignoring Xe solubility in blood and tissue and then other geometric isssues. We test this by measuring WO-WI in lung by Xe-CT. Also, we investigate the effect of tidal volume (TV) and end inspiratory (EI) vs end expiratory (EE) scan gating on WO and WI measurements. 3 anesthetized, supine sheep were scanned using multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). Imaging was gated to both EE and EI during a WI (33 breaths) and WO (20 breaths) maneuver using 55% Xe for WI and room air for WO. Time constants (TCs) of Xe WI and WO were obtained by exponential fitting. WO and WI TCs were compared: 1) apex and base 2) dependent, middle, and nondependent 3) EE and EI 4) three TVs. The vertical gradient of WO-WI showed WO > WI in dependent vs non-dependent regions. WO-WI in both dependent and nondependent region at the lung base and apex was larger when measured at EE compared to EI. As TV increases, the global WO-WI difference decreased. TV showed greater influence on WO than WI. Xe WO was longer than WI possibly reflecting Xe solubility in blood and tissue. Higher TVs and gating to EE provided greater effects on WO than WI TCs which may relate to the number of partial volumed conducting airways contributing to the regional voxel-based measures. We conclude that WO mode is more susceptible to errors caused by either xenon solubility or tidal volume than WI mode and EE scanning may more accurately reflect alveolar ventilation.
Conformational dynamics in loop swap mutants of homologous fibronectin type III domains.

Fibronectin type III (FN-III) domains are autonomously folded modules found in a variety of multidomain proteins. The 10th FN-III domain from fibronectin (fnFN10) and the 3rd FN-III domain from tenascin-C (tnFN3) have 27% sequence identity and the same overall fold; however, the CC′ loop has a different pattern of backbone hydrogen bonds and the FG loop is longer in fnFN10 compared to tnFN3. To examine the influence of length, sequence, and context in determining dynamical properties of loops, CC′ and FG loops were swapped between fnFN10 and tnFN3 to generate four mutant proteins and backbone conformational dynamics on ps-ns and μs-ms timescales were characterized by solution 15N-NMR spin relaxation spectroscopy. The grafted loops do not strongly perturb the properties of the protein scaffold; however, specific effects of the mutations are observed for amino acids that are proximal in space to the sites of mutation. The amino acid sequence primarily dictates conformational dynamics when the wild-type and grafted loop have the same length, but both sequence and context contribute to conformational dynamics when the loop lengths differ. The results suggest that changes in conformational dynamics of mutant proteins must be considered in both theoretical studies and protein design efforts.
The function of consciousness.

I read with interest the article by Baars entitled `Metaphors of consciousness and attention in the brain'[1xSee all References][1]. I am a neophyte in the field of studies of consciousness, so forgive me if I have overlooked a well developed literature, but it seems to me that an issue concerning the understanding of consciousness has been neglected. I refer to the question, `What is the function of consciousness?'Baars certainly begins to address this issue in his discussion of the hypothesis that consciousness creates access to unconscious knowledge. However, Dennett[2xSee all References][2]has suggested that it might be `a risky oversimplification' even to ask this question. But addressing the question, what is and what isn't conscious, and more essentially, what can and what cannot be brought into consciousness by focusing attention, should further our understanding of both the functioning and the function(s) of consciousness. A specific arena in which this question might be fruitfully addressed is consciousness of bodily function, of visceral activity, so-called interoception. Why, for example, are we able under some circumstances to be aware of our cardiac, respiratory and gastrointestinal activity, when we are never aware of the functions of our liver or spleen? If this ability has a function, and is not just an evolutionary accident, knowing what that function is would be likely to increase our understanding of consciousness in general.
Impact of postharvest treatments, chlorine and ozone, coupled with low-temperature frozen storage on the antimicrobial quality of lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Abstract The additive antimicrobial influence of low-temperature frozen storage and oxidation treatments was investigated using 100 mg/L chlorine or 1 mg/L aqueous ozone sprays applied to lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) destined for individually quick frozen (IQF) markets. Following a 60 s contact time with either oxidant, treated berries were blast frozen at −30 °C and stored at −18 ± 2 °C for up to 12 months. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) between treatment effectiveness at time 0 were not observed among all populations evaluated (mesophilic bacteria, yeast, and mold), although ozone treatments resulted in the greatest log reductions in each population. In contrast, after 12-months of frozen storage, the greatest microbial reductions in all populations were observed on chlorine-treated berries. Results suggest a significant impact (p ≤ 0.05) of low-temperature frozen storage on microbial counts of both treated and non-treated blueberries yet, chlorine-treated berries stored for up to 12 months exhibited significantly greater reductions (p ≤ 0.05) in bacterial and yeast counts compared to non-treated controls and ozone-treated berries. Study results suggest an additive effect between freezing and chlorine pre-treatments in altering microbial integrity and survival on blueberries.
Parallel hidden Markov models for American sign language recognition

The major challenge that faces American Sign Language (ASL) recognition now is to develop methods that will scale well with increasing vocabulary size. Unlike in spoken languages, phonemes can occur simultaneously in ASL. The number of possible combinations of phonemes after enforcing linguistic constraints is approximately 5.5/spl times/10/sup 8/. Gesture recognition, which is less constrained than ASL recognition, suffers from the same problem. Thus, it is not feasible to train conventional hidden Markov models (HMMs) for large-scab ASL applications. Factorial HMMs and coupled HMMs are two extensions to HMMs that explicitly attempt to model several processes occuring in parallel. Unfortunately, they still require consideration of the combinations at training time. In this paper we present a novel approach to ASL recognition that aspires to being a solution to the scalability problems. It is based on parallel HMMs (PaHMMs), which model the parallel processes independently. Thus, they can also be trained independently, and do not require consideration of the different combinations at training time. We develop the recognition algorithm for PaHMMs and show that it runs in time polynomial in the number of states, and in time linear in the number of parallel processes. We run several experiments with a 22 sign vocabulary and demonstrate that PaHMMs can improve the robustness of HMM-based recognition even on a small scale. Thus, PaHMMs are a very promising general recognition scheme with applications in both gesture and ASL recognition.
An evaluation of the asthma intervention of the New York State Healthy Neighborhoods Program.

Background. The Healthy Neighborhoods Programs (HNP) are funded by the Federal Preventive Health and Health Services block grants and administered by the New State Department of Health (NYSDOH). Eight county and local health departments are funded for 3 years for a total of $1.25 million per year to target households at risk for environmental health and safety hazards. The HNP asthma intervention uses home visits to identify asthmatics, assess asthma morbidity and management, and identify environmental asthma triggers. Outreach workers provide education about asthma, referrals, and controls for asthma triggers. The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the impact of the HNP asthma intervention for the 1997–1999 funding cycle and for the first year of the 2000–2002 funding cycle. Because of changes in reporting requirements across the funding cycles, the findings for 1997–1999 and 2000 were analyzed separately. Methods. We analyzed one final outcome measure, the rate of self‐reported hospitalizations (a...
Studying Thermal Management for Graphics-Processor Architectures

We have previously presented Qsilver, a flexible simulation system for graphics architectures. In this paper we describe our extensions to this system, which we use - instrumented with a power model and HotSpot - to analyze the application of standard CPU static and runtime thermal management techniques on the GPU. We describe experiments implementing clock gating, fetch gating, dynamic voltage scaling, multiple clock domains and permuted floor-planning on the GPU using our simulation environment, and demonstrate that these techniques are beneficial in the GPU domain. Further, we show that the inherent parallelism of GPU workloads enables significant thermal gains on chips designed employing static floorplan repartitioning
A Preliminary Evaluation on the Use of Dogs to Recover Bat Fatalities at Wind Energy Facilities

Abstract I assessed the ability of dog–handler teams to recover dead bats (Chiroptera) during fatality searches typically performed at wind energy facilities to determine fatality rates for birds and bats. I conducted this study at the Mountaineer and Meyersdale Wind Energy Centers in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, USA, respectively. Dogs found 71% of bats used during searcher-efficiency trials at Mountaineer and 81% of those at Meyersdale, compared to 42% and 14% for human searchers, respectively. Dogs and humans both found a high proportion of trial bats within 10 m of the turbine, usually on open ground (88% and 75%, respectively). During a 6-day fatality search trial at 5 turbines at Meyersdale, the dog–handler teams found 45 bat carcasses, of which only 42% (n = 19) were found during the same period by humans. In both trials humans found fewer carcasses as vegetation height and density increased, while dog–handler teams search efficiency remained high. Recommendations for evaluating the biases and e...
Rates of Femicide in Women of Different Races, Ethnicities, and Places of Birth: Massachusetts, 1993-2007

To describe the epidemiology of intimate partner violence (IPV) homicide in Massachusetts, an IPV mortality data set developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health was analyzed. The rates of death were estimated by dividing the number of decedents over the aged-matched population and Poisson regression was used to estimate the contribution of race, ethnicity, and foreign-born status to the risk of dying from IPV. Out of the total 270 women whose deaths were associated with IPV, 239 (89%) were killed by a male partner. Black women had a risk of dying from IPV of 16.2 per 1,000,000 person-years. Hispanic women also had a higher risk of dying from IPV than non-Hispanic women; incidence risk ratio of 9.7 (Poisson regression 95% confidence interval 6.8-13.8). IPV femicide disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic women. Agencies must consider the importance of providing culturally appropriate services to IPV survivors and their community.
Determination of the cleavage specificity of Streptomyces griseus protease B in the presence of guanidinium chloride

Streptomyces griseus protease B (SGPB), a Pronase enzyme, has been shown to be stable and active in the presence of 6.0 M guanidinium chloride (Siegel, S. et al. (1972) J. Biol. Chem. 247, 4155-4159). In order to determine the cleavage specificity of this unusual enzyme under denaturing conditions, 12 peptides of known amino acid sequence were hydrolyzed by SGPB in the absence and presence of 6.0 M guanidinium chloride. The new N-terminal amino acids produced by the action of SGPB were dansylated and quantitatively identified by reverse phase HPLC. The results indicate that SGPB retained its cleavage specificity for phenylalanyl, tyrosyl, tryptophanyl, and leucyl peptide bonds in the presence of 6.0 M guanidinium chloride. Of these peptide bonds, SGPB exhibited a greater cleavage preference for phenylalanyl and tryptophanyl bonds, which was relatively unaffected by the presence of the denaturant. The SGPB-catalyzed cleavages of the leucyl peptide bonds examined (Leu-Met, Leu-Arg, Leu-Val, Leu-Thr, and Leu-Ile) were substantially decreased under denaturing conditions, while Leu-Gly bond cleavage by SGPB was virtually unaffected by denaturant. The demonstrated predictability of the catalytic preference of this unusual protease for phenylalanyl, tyrosyl, tryptophanyl, and leucyl-glycine peptide bonds under denaturing conditions enhances its utility in the site-specific proteolysis of insoluble or otherwise proteolysis-resistant polypeptide substrates.
Characterizing process variation in nanometer CMOS

The correlation of a statistical analysis tool to hardware depends on the accuracy of underlying variation models. The models should represent actual process behavior as measured in silicon. In this paper, we present an overview of test structures for characterizing statistical variation of process parameters. We discuss the test structure design and characterization strategy for calibrating random and layout dependent systematic components of process variation. We also show measurement results from several fabricated structures in 65-nm CMOS technologies.
Acute coronary syndrome unmasking a puzzling coronary anatomy: role of multimodality anatomic and functional imaging

A 57-year-old hypertensive female with lateral wall STEMI and cardiac arrest underwent cardiac catheterization which revealed a single right coronary ostium giving rise to the right coronary artery (RCA) and the left main (LM) coronary artery. The LM and left anterior descending (LAD) had moderate stenosis (50–70%), whereas the left circumflex (LCX) was totally occluded …
Improved Smoothing for N-gram Language Models Based on Ordinary Counts

Kneser-Ney (1995) smoothing and its variants are generally recognized as having the best perplexity of any known method for estimating N-gram language models. Kneser-Ney smoothing, however, requires nonstandard N-gram counts for the lower-order models used to smooth the highest-order model. For some applications, this makes Kneser-Ney smoothing inappropriate or inconvenient. In this paper, we introduce a new smoothing method based on ordinary counts that outperforms all of the previous ordinary-count methods we have tested, with the new method eliminating most of the gap between Kneser-Ney and those methods.
Robust convex quadratically constrained programs

In this paper we study robust convex quadratically constrained programs, a subset of the class of robust convex programs introduced by Ben-Tal and Nemirovski [4]. In contrast to [4], where it is shown that such robust problems can be formulated as semidefinite programs, our focus in this paper is to identify uncertainty sets that allow this class of problems to be formulated as second-order cone programs (SOCP). We propose three classes of uncertainty sets for which the robust problem can be reformulated as an explicit SOCP and present examples where these classes of uncertainty sets are natural.
Bile salt inhibits acid-promoting feeding tube occlusion.

Occlusion of feeding tubes is a common and costly complication of enteral feeding. Although the composition of feeding formulas, the size, design, and material of the feeding tube, and the rate of delivery have been considered as factors that determine the rate of tube occlusion, little information is available on the effect of the luminal content of the gut on tube occlusion. Enteral feeding tubes are placed either in the stomach or postpylorically, in the small intestine. The chemical composition of these regions including acidity and bile salt concentration may vary. Since acidity has been shown to promote tube occlusion and bile salts have detergent-like properties, these chemical differences in the luminal environment may be important to tube occlusion. To test the idea that bile salt inhibits acid-promoted occlusion of feeding tubes, in an in vitro study, we compared the time-to-complete occlusion of four groups of formula-filled feeding tubes (six tubes in each group) immersed in an acidic solution (pH 3.0) containing 0 (control), 10, 20, or 40 mM of taurocholate. We found that although 33% of the feeding tubes were occluded within 12 hours in the absence of exposure to bile salt, none were occluded when 20 or 40 mM of taurocholate was added to the acidic solution. After 24 hours, 40 mM of taurocholate inhibited acid-promoted occlusion of 67% of the feeding tubes. Thus 0 to 40 mM of taurocholate still inhibited acid-promoted tube occlusion in a dose-dependent fashion (p < .05). Acidity and the concentration of bile salt may work together, but in opposite directions, as luminal factors that determine the rate of occlusion of feeding tubes.
Oxidized LDL Promotes Peroxide-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Cell Death in Human Macrophages A Caspase-3–Independent Pathway

Several studies suggest that macrophage death and subsequent lysis contribute to the development of advanced atherosclerotic lesions. Although oxidized LDL (OxLDL) is thought to contribute to lesion formation and induces macrophage apoptosis, the mechanisms underlying macrophage lysis have not been well defined. To determine if induction of apoptosis in human macrophages also promotes cell lysis, we studied caspase-3 activation by OxLDL and activating anti-Fas antibodies. We found that Fas-induced activation of caspase-3 does not promote macrophage lysis and caspase-3 activation is not required for OxLDL-induced macrophage lysis. OxLDL induces the formation of peroxides, but not superoxide, and decreases mitochondrial membrane potential. Scavengers of peroxyl radicals restore mitochondrial membrane potential and prevent macrophage lysis, implicating peroxyl radicals in both mitochondrial dysfunction and macrophage lysis induced by OxLDL. We conclude that macrophage death induced by OxLDL results in cell lysis, but it does not require activation of Fas or caspase-3. The full text of this article is available at http://www.circresaha.org.
Distributed simulation of power systems using real-time digital simulator

The simulation of power system behavior, especially transient behavior, helps in the analysis and planning of various power systems phenomenon. However, power systems are usually highly complex and distributed, thus system partitioning has to be used to allow for sharing resources in simulation. At Mississippi State University, researchers are developing distributed simulations of power system models using an electromagnetic transient simulator, namely RTDS. The goal is to demonstrate and assess the feasibility of both non-real-time and real-time simulations using the RTDS in a geographically distributed scenario. RTDS has the capability of sending and receiving digital data in a local area network using a special interface known as GTNET. In this work the RTDS is used in a wide area network for sending and receiving data. The different protocols and options used in the RTDS communication between power system models will be studied and analyzed.
A computer tutor for logic semantics

The authors report on a computer tutor for the semantics of the Prolog subset of predicate calculus. It gives students statements in English to represent in a single line of Prolog, parses their answers, and compares the parses to the parses of correct answers. The tutor focuses on the correct choice of predicates, variables and link between expressions. Students seem to learn predicate calculus better using the tutor than with paper and pencil exercises.
Bistability and thresholding by a new photoconductor-twisted nematic liquid crystal device with optical feedback.

A new design for obtaining optical bistability in two dimensions is reported in this paper. This design uses optical feedback on a photoconductor-twisted nematic liquid crystal (PC-TNLC) device with a new structure. The PC-TNLC device is essentially a 2-D array of optically controlled light values. The device structure with a new arrangement of the photoconductor, the liquid crystal film, and a patterned transparent electrode gives better control over its input–output (I–O) response, which is important in obtaining bistable operation. A theoretical analysis is carried out to determine the conditions under which bistability occurs. A sharp transition from the off to on state in the I–O response suggests that the thresholding operation on gray scale input images can be performed. Experimentally, an 8 × 8 PC-TNLC device with optical feedback was demonstrated to have bistable behavior. The on:off ratio of 50:1 was obtained in the output. This device was also used to perform thresholding operation on a gray scale image with eight levels. The observed value of γ for the thresholding operation was 8. Such a bistable device was shown to have potential applications in digital optical processing.
Intrinsic viscosity and the electrical polarizability of arbitrarily shaped objects

The problem of calculating the electric polarizability tensor ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{e}$ of objects of arbitrary shape has been reformulated in terms of path integration and implemented computationally. The method simultaneously yields the electrostatic capacity C and the equilibrium charge density. These functionals of particle shape are important in many materials science applications, including the conductivity and viscosity of filled materials and suspensions. The method has been validated through comparison with exact results (for the sphere, the circular disk, touching spheres, and tori), it has been found that ${10}^{6}$ trajectories yield an accuracy of about four and three significant figures for C and ${\mathbf{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}_{\mathbf{e}},$ respectively. The method is fast: For simple objects, ${10}^{6}$ trajectories require about 1 min on a PC. It is also versatile: Switching from one object to another is easy. Predictions have also been made for regular polygons, polyhedra, and right circular cylinders, since these shapes are important in applications and since numerical calculations of high stated accuracy are available. Finally, the path-integration method has been applied to estimate transport properties of both linear flexible polymers (random walk chains of spheres) and lattice model dendrimer molecules. This requires probing of an ensemble of objects. For linear chains, the distribution function of C and of the trace $({\mathbf{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}_{\mathbf{e}}),$ are found to be universal in a size coordinate reduced by the chain radius of gyration. For dendrimers, these distribution functions become increasingly sharp with generation number. It has been found that C and ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{e}$ provide important information about the distribution of molecular size and shape and that they are important for estimating the Stokes friction and intrinsic viscosity of macromolecules.
A Female Therapist's Perspective on Growing Older

As an older woman therapist, I find that my life experience grounds me in my work with people of all ages and backgrounds as they deal with life crises, aging issues, and loss. People with whom I work in therapy appreciate the fact that I am older and have had varied life experiences. Gender issues are still central to my work with clients whether I am working with a man or a woman. I am an integrative therapist, with a background in cognitive-behavioral therapy and gestalt therapy. Therapists need to help clients to identify less with their aging bodies and our culture's view of attractiveness, shifting instead to a paradigm that values life experience and the cultivation of wisdom. We need to find ways of embracing what we have learned about life instead of extolling youthful values. As I get older, I more fully appreciate a constructivism framework and life-cycle perspective, focusing on making sense of clients' life narratives. Storytelling and memoirs have both provided a framework for working with clients on coping with the many changes and challenges of life that bring them to therapy and added another layer to my integrative therapeutic work.
ELECTROAUGMENTATION OF VENTRICULAR PERFORMANCE AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION BY REPETITIVE APPLICATION OF PAIRED ELECTRICAL STIMULI.

When a depolarizing stimulus is delivered to the ventricle immediately following the refractory period, little extrasystolic contraction occurs and repetitive paired stimulation then results in a marked and sustained improvement of ventricular performance which has been termed electroaugmentation. The present study characterizes this augmentation and its effects on myocardial oxygen consumption (MVOO2). In 45 experiments on 14 dogs in which mean aortic pressure and stroke volume were held constant by right heart bypass, a change from single to paired stimulation at identical contraction rates markedly increased the performance of the left ventricle as evidenced by shortening of ejection time increase in left ventricular dp/dt, stroke power, and peak ejection rate, and sometimes a fall in end diastolic pressure. Similar resul were obtained after administration of resepine or nethalide. In 15 experiments on 11 dogs the stroke volume of the left ventricle was varied during single and paired stimulation. Impr...
Experiments on the Storage of Vitamin A by Growing Turkeys

Abstract VITAMIN A deficiency in turkeys was studied by Hinshaw and Lloyd (1934), who commented on the probable occurrence of the deficiency among turkeys kept on dry range. Vitamin A is known to be stored in the liver of various species, so that it is possible to postpone vitamin A deficiency in experimental animals, such as pigs, by administering a single large dose which supplies a reserve of the vitamin (Guilbert, Miller, and Hughes, 1937; Foot and co-workers, 1938). In these experiments the reserve was supplied by feeding a single dose of shark liver oil, following which the effect of depletion were noted. EXPERIMENTAL Gelatin capsules containing 0.792 gm. of shark liver oil were used to supply single doses of vitamin A. Each capsule supplied 92,000 U.S.P. units of vitamin A. The term “capsule” used below refers to these capsules. Turkeys of various crosses and varieties, with the Bronze variety predominating . . .
Analysis of CP-122,288 at femto-molar levels from human plasma using solid-supported extraction and HPLC column switching

A sensitive and specific method for the analysis of CP-122,288 in plasma has been developed and validated using column-switching HPLC with fluorescence detection. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges (Chem-Elut) are used to extract analyte and internal standard from human plasma samples. The extracts are analysed by heart-cutting from one analytical HPLC column to a second column with fluorescence detection using excitation and emission wave-lengths of 225 and 350 nm respectively, after post column UV irradiation at 254 nm. The method has a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 10 pgmL−1 and is linear over a fifty-fold range, up to 500 pg mL−1. An internal standard (CP-122,638) is used which is a close chemical analogue of the compound. This validated method has been used extensively for the analysis of CP-122,288 in plasma samples from clinical trials.
Mortality, Culling by Sixty Days in Milk, and Production Profiles in High- and Low-Survival Pennsylvania Herds

The objectives were to describe culling patterns and reasons for culling across lactation, estimate mortality and the proportion of cows leaving from 21 d before an expected calving date through 60 d in milk (DIM; CULL60) for Pennsylvania (PA) dairy herds, and to describe production measures for herds with high and low mortality and CULL60. Weekly culling frequencies and reasons for culling from 3 wk before a reported expected calving date through >or= 100 wk of lactation were calculated for all PA cows with at least 1 Dairy Herd Improvement test in 2005. It was estimated that at least 5.0% of PA dairy cows died in 2005, and that at least 7.6% were culled by 60 DIM. The majority of cows exiting the herd by 60 DIM either died (35.1%) or had a disposal code of injury/other (29.9%). A total of 137,951 test-day records from 20,864 cows in herds with high mortality (>8.0%) and CULL60 (>12.0%) and 136,906 test-day records from 12,993 cows in herds with low mortality ( or= 6 (-0.7 +/- 0.32 kg/d) and had higher SCS (+0.24 +/- 0.02), more change in early-lactation fat percentage (-1.77% vs. -1.59%), and a greater frequency of fat-protein inversions (3.6 +/- 0.3%). There is an opportunity to manipulate management practices to reduce mortality and early-lactation culling rates, which will improve cow welfare and the efficiency of dairy production by capturing a greater proportion of potential lactation milk yield, increasing cow salvage values, and reducing replacement costs.
Semiconductor single-photon emitters with tunable polarization output

Semiconductor quantum dot based single photon emitters are a critical component for quantum cryptography. In this work, we show a scalable single-photon emitter structure using site-controlled elliptical quantum dots with a controllable and tunable output polarization.
Effect of TiO2 on Initial Sintering of Al2O3

Alpha alumina with additions of TiO2 sintered more rapidly than “pure” alumina. The rate of initial sintering increased approximately exponentially with titania concentration up to a percentage beyond which the rate of sintering remained approximately constant or decreased slightly with additional titania. The concentration which produces the maximum rate of sintering is thought to be the solubility limit of TiO2 in Al2O3. For alumina particles larger than about 2 μm, the kinetic process was mainly grain-boundary diffusion. With smaller particles, volume diffusion increased. The “solubility limit” increased with decreasing particle size, indicating an excess surface concentration of TiO2. The data may be interpreted in terms of a region of enhanced diffusion at the grain boundary that increases with TiO2 concentration. With small alumina particles, this region is large enough to become a significant portion of the volume of the particle, and the small particles appear to sinter by volume diffusion kinetics, but the diffusion coefficient corresponds to an enhanced diffusion coefficient.
Constraints on the bulk composition and root foundering rates of continental arcs: A California arc perspective

[1]Garnetpyroxenites are the most common deep lithospheric xenolith assemblages found in Miocene volcanic rocks that erupted through the central part of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Elemental concentrations and isotope ratios are used to argue that the Sierra Nevada granitoids and the pyroxenite xenoliths are the melts and the residues/cumulates, respectively, resulting from partial melting/fractional crystallization at depths exceeding 35-40 km. The estimated major element chemistry of the protolith resembles a basaltic andesite. Effectively, at more than about 40 km depth, batholith residua are eclogite facies rocks. Radiogenic and oxygen isotope ratios measured on pyroxenites document unambiguously the involvement of Precambrian lithosphere and at least 20-30% (mass) of crustal components. The mass of the residual assemblage was significant, one to two times the mass of the granitic batholith. Dense garnet pyroxenites are prone to foundering in the underlying mantle. An average removal rate of 25-40 km 3 /km Myr is estimated for this Cordilleran-type arc, although root loss could have taken place at least in part after the cessation of arc magmatism. This rate is matched by the average subcrustal magmatic addition of the arc (∼23-30 km 3 /km Myr), suggesting that the net crustal growth in this continental arc was close to zero. It is also suggested that in order to develop a convectively removable root, an arc must have a granitoid melt thickness of at least 20-25 km. Residues of thinner arcs should be mostly in the granulite facies; they are not gravitationally unstable with respect to the underlying mantle.
The Plant Proteome Folding Project: Structure and Positive Selection in Plant Protein Families

Despite its importance, relatively little is known about the relationship between the structure, function, and evolution of proteins, particularly in land plant species. We have developed a database with predicted protein domains for five plant proteomes (http://pfp.bio.nyu.edu) and used both protein structural fold recognition and de novo Rosetta-based protein structure prediction to predict protein structure for Arabidopsis and rice proteins. Based on sequence similarity, we have identified ~15,000 orthologous/paralogous protein family clusters among these species and used codon-based models to predict positive selection in protein evolution within 175 of these sequence clusters. Our results show that codons that display positive selection appear to be less frequent in helical and strand regions and are overrepresented in amino acid residues that are associated with a change in protein secondary structure. Like in other organisms, disordered protein regions also appear to have more selected sites. Structural information provides new functional insights into specific plant proteins and allows us to map positively selected amino acid sites onto protein structures and view these sites in a structural and functional context.