cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
'Fixing That': Lines at the Polling Place

“I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. [Pause.] By the way, we have to fix that.” With that ad-lib on Election Night, 2012, President Barack Obama put excessive wait times at the polls back onto the policy agenda. Lines stretched to ten hours in 2004, eleven hours in 2008, and seven hours in 2012; while most voters’ experience was relatively speedy, the system is visibly failing others. We need not wait any longer to ensure that we need not wait any longer. This short symposium piece adapts lessons from queuing theory, long applied to private-sector customer service and public-sector transportation problems, to present a brief overview of the possible means to adjust the three primary causes of excessive bottlenecks. This short review is offered not as an endorsement of any particular intervention, but rather as the ready elaboration of a policy menu for reducing wait time.
Structure and function of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some aspects of neuronal acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), reviews some of the recent studies of the mechanism by which chronic exposure to nicotine affects aα4β2 AChRs, and describes some of the pharmacological properties of neuronal AChRs, especially the differences between α7 and α8 AChRs and the usefulness of epibatidine (exo-2-(6-chloro-3-pyridyl)-7-azabicyclo-[2.2.l]-heptane) as a ligand for many types of neuronal AChRs. The basic homologies in structure of receptors in this superfamily have been illustrated in the chapter. Homologies in overall domain relationships are demonstrated by showing that functional mosaics could be made in which the large N-terminal extracellular domain of α7 AChRs could be grafted just before the first transmembrane domain to the C-terminal part of 5HT 3 receptors. This resulted in receptors with acetylcholine-gated cation channels having the ion selectivity of 5HT 3 receptors. Close similarities in the overall structures of the ion channels are demonstrated by showing that changing only three amino acids in the sequence lining the cation-specific channel of excitatory α7 neuronal AChRs to amino acids typical of the anion-specific channels of inhibitory glycine or GABA A receptors changed the ion selectivity of the mutated a7 AChR channels from cations to anions
Distances, angles, and their standard uncertainties

Methods for calculating distances and angles and the standard uncertainties in these quantities using the techniques of tensor analysis are described. A Fortran program showing how this tensor formulation can be adapted to computer languages is also given.
Differentiating Cueing From Reasoning in Agenda-Setting Effects

This study differentiates two explanations of agenda-setting effects: agenda cueing (the influence of the mere fact of news coverage) and agenda reasoning (the influence of reasons for problem importance in the content of news stories). We isolate the two using a report summarizing recent news coverage as the experimental stimulus, instead of actual news coverage, allowing independent manipulation of agenda cue exposure and agenda reason exposure. A key moderator in both processes is gatekeeping trust, or trust in the media to base coverage decisions on problem importance judgments. Specifically, pure cues (without agenda reasons) are more influential on those with higher gatekeeping trust, and among those with low gatekeeping trust, cues are more influential when backed by agenda reasons.
An interior point method for growing connected resistive networks

We consider the problem of growing connected networks of resistors where effective resistance is used as a performance metric. This problem can be cast as a semidefinite program by introducing an l l regularization into the optimal control formulation. For small networks this problem can be solved via standard interior point method solvers (e.g., SeDuMi or SDPT3). In this paper, we develop a primal-dual interior point algorithm that is well-suited for large-scale problems. The search direction is obtained using the direct method based on Cholesky factorization and iterative method based on the preconditioned conjugate gradient. We illustrate that both of these significantly outperform general-purpose solvers.
Behavioral Mechanisms, Elevated Depressive Symptoms, and the Risk for Myocardial Infarction or Death in Individuals With Coronary Heart Disease: The REGARDS (Reason for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) Study

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine whether behavioral mechanisms explain the association between depressive symptoms and myocardial infarction (MI) or death in individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD). Background Depressive symptoms are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in individuals with CHD, but it is unclear how much behavioral mechanisms contribute to this association. Methods The study included 4,676 participants with a history of CHD. Elevated depressive symptoms were defined as scores ≥4 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression 4-item Scale. The primary outcome was definite/probable MI or death from any cause. Incremental proportional hazards models were constructed by adding demographic data, comorbidities, and medications and then 4 behavioral mechanisms (alcohol use, smoking, physical inactivity, and medication non-adherence). Results At baseline, 638 (13.6%) participants had elevated depressive symptoms. Over a median 3.8 years of follow up, 125 of 638 (19.6%) participants with and 657 of 4,038 (16.3%) without elevated depressive symptoms had events. Higher risk of MI or death was observed for elevated depressive symptoms after adjusting for demographic data (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15 to 1.72) but was no longer significant after adjusting for behavioral mechanisms (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.93 to 1.40). The 4 behavioral mechanisms together significantly attenuated the risk for MI or death conveyed by elevated depressive symptoms (−36.9%, 95% CI: −18.9 to −119.1%), with smoking (−17.6%, 95% CI: −6.5% to −56.0%) and physical inactivity (−21.0%, 95% CI: −9.7% to −61.1%) having the biggest explanatory roles. Conclusions Our findings suggest potential roles for behavioral interventions targeting smoking and physical inactivity in patients with CHD and comorbid depression.
Importance of the "atrial kick" in determining the effective mitral valve orifice area in mitral stenosis.

Abstract Atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response in patients with mitral stenosis (MS) is often accompanied by pulmonary congestion and reduced cardiac output owing to a diminished diastolic filling period and the loss of the end-diastolic left ventricular (LV) pressure increment. To test the hypothesis that loss of atrial contraction (atrial kick) also results in a decrease in effective mitral valve orifice area, 6 patients with pure, isolated MS were studied in sinus rhythm during atrial pacing and simultaneous atrioventricular pacing. Atrial pacing at 140 beats/min caused no significant change from baseline in cardiac output or mitral valve area, but there was a decrease in LV end-diastolic volume and ejection fraction as well as an increase in left atrial pressure and mean diastolic gradient. Simultaneous atrioventricular pacing (to eliminate atrial kick) induced a decrease in cardiac output (4.4 ± 0.9 vs 5.2 ± 0.8 liters/min at 110 beats/min, 4.2 ± 0.9 vs 5.1 ± 0.9 liters/min at 140 beats/min; p
Resolution of strongly overlapped responses in square-wave voltammetry by using the Kalman filter

Abstract Various approaches have been proposed for resolving overlapped voltammograms. Such methods have become incresingly important since the advent of small computers and commercial electrochemical instrumentation capable of rapid-scan techniques. The combination of high-resolution, rapid-scan square-wave voltammetry and a linear, recursive estimator known as the Kalman filter is described. Results of the application of this combination to mixtures of thallium(I) and lead(II) in 0.9 M nitric acid are shown. Practical considerations for filter usage such as the choice of models, variances, and initial guesses are discussed, as are limits to the filter. With the Kalman filter, it was possible to quantify thallium in solutions containing as much as a 30-fold excess amount of lead, and it was possible to quantify lead in solutions containing a 60-fold excess amount of thallium. The filter is thus a useful tool for use with empirical models in multicomponent quantitation.
Modern techniques in measuring elasticity of Earth materials at high pressure and high temperature using ultrasonic interferometry in conjunction with synchrotron X-radiation in multi-anvil apparatus

In the past 6 years, state-of-the-art techniques have been developed for the studies of elastic properties of polycrystalline and single-crystal materials using simultaneous ultrasonic and X-ray diffraction techniques at high pressures and temperatures in multi-anvil apparatus. The capability of these techniques is illustrated using recent data for mantle phases such as forsterite, wadsleyite, CaSiO3 perovskite, and (MgFe)O ferripericlase. Adaptation of the X-radiography technique enables direct measurements of sample length at high pressures and temperatures, enabling studies of unquenchable phases, liquids, and multi-phase aggregates. The use of dual-mode transducers produces P and S wave data at the same pressure and temperature conditions in a single acoustic experiment, thereby eliminating the uncertainties caused by the need for interpolating travel-time data to calculate the elastic wave velocities, and bulk and shear moduli at high pressure and temperature. Implementation of the transfer function method for travel-time measurements opens new opportunities for studying time-dependent processes using ultrasonic measurements, such as phase transformations and plastic deformation.
Recent advances in understanding the molecular basis of primary congenital hypothyroidism

Primary congenital hypothyroidism is characterized by low levels of circulating thyroid hormones and raised levels of thyrotropin at birth. It can be either permanent or transitory. Most permanent cases (80-85%) result from alterations in the formation of the thyroid gland during embryogenesis (thyroid dysgenesis), and several were shown recently to be produced by mutations in genes responsible for the development of thyroid follicular cells (TITF1, TITF2, PAX8 and TSHR). Less frequently, congenital hypothyroidism is determined by defects in thyroid hormone synthesis (hormonogenesis defects). The latter are usually associated with goiter. Recently, the molecular mechanisms of two forms of hormonogenesis defects (iodine transport defects and Pendred syndrome) were elucidated.
ACR Appropriateness Criteria® on Headache-Child

In a pediatric patient with an isolated headache or a classic migraine unaccompanied by neurologic signs, presence of a seizure, or supporting historical data, an imaging workup is usually not indicated. For a sudden severe headache or a headache with positive neurologic signs or symptoms or supporting historical data, MRI or CT should be considered. For the acute severe (thunderclap) headache, CTA, MRA, or catheter angiography may be appropriate.
Methane gas in lake bottom sediments quantified using acoustic backscatter strength

Freshwater lakes and reservoirs can produce substantial quantities of methane (CH4) within bottom sediments. Due to its low solubility in water, CH4 forms bubbles that accumulate within bottom sediments and are released from sediments when buoyant forces exceed viscous, frictional, and inertial forces. Methane ebullition can enhance internal loading of nutrients and hasten release of other sediment-associated contaminants while also exporting a significant amount of C out of the lake basin and delivering a potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. The purpose of this study was to evaluate use of hydroacoustic measurements to remotely sense the CH4 content of sediments in lakes. The acoustic signatures of bottom sediments measured using a BioSonics DT-X echosounder at 38, 201, and 430 kHz were compared with gas volumes of surficial sediments determined using a displacement method. Measurements were made on three lakes in southern California, USA that varied in depth, productivity, and other features. The maximum volume backscatter strength of bottom echoes at 201 kHz was highly correlated with gas content (r 2 = 0.93) and, with suitable ground-truthing, can quantify the concentration and spatial distribution of CH4 gas in soft cohesive sediments of lakes and reservoirs. As an application of this technique, the spatial distribution of CH4 within bottom sediments of Lake Elsinore was determined from a hydroacoustic survey conducted in June 2010. Results are also presented from a transect on Lake Hodges demonstrating high levels of CH4 in this eutrophic lake. Hydroacoustic measurements of the maximum volume backscatter strength of soft organic sediments at 201 kHz provide a way to remotely estimate the volume of methane and other gases present in bottom sediments of lakes and reservoirs.
Cruel Calculus: Why Saving Premature Babies Is Better Business Than Helping Them Thrive

How one academic medical center added lucrative neonatal intensive care beds—but drew the line at poorly paid services for NICU graduates.
Directing Data Center Traffic

The widespread adoption of cloud computing has led to the construction of large-scale data centers hosting applications serving millions of users. Underpinning these data centers are tens to hundreds of thousands of servers that communicate internally with each other at high server-to-server bandwidths that are orders of magnitude greater than their connections to end users. Today's data centers consist of racks of 20 to 40 discrete servers, each configured with 8 to 16 CPU cores, hundreds of gigabytes of memory, and potentially tens of terabytes of storage. To meet cost and energy scaling requirements, a new data center design will be required in which a rack of multiple, discrete servers, including the top-of-rack network switch, is integrated into a single chip (see the figure). These integrated “rack-on-chips” will be networked, internally and externally, with both optical circuit switching (to support large flows of data), and electronic packet switching (to support high-priority data flows).
Site of cleavage of γ-globulins by papain☆

Abstract Limited cleavage of γ-globulins of several species by a variety of proteolytic enzymes yields 3.5-S fragments apparently representing adjoining structural moieties of the parent molecules. The locus, specificity, and stoichiometry of the peptide bonds involved have been studied by N-terminal group assay. Sulfhydryl-activated plant proteases such as papain, bromelain, ficin, and chymopapain all cleave similar bonds in human γ-globulin and form similar 3.5-S fragments. The γ-globulins of different species vary in susceptibility to papain; rabbit γ-globulin and pathological human proteins are most readily cleaved. Ficin and papain yield indistinguishable fragments from rabbit γ-globulin, namely Fractions I and II, and Fraction III. The latter can be resolved into three subfractions, IIIA, B, and C. In general, the sensitive bond involves a branched-chain amino acid, usually leucine. However, a transient threonyl N-terminal group is liberated in early stages of the cleavage of normal γ-globulin later being replaced by leucine. Both peptide-bond rupture and disulfide-bond reduction are requisite for the formation of 3.5-S fragments, but the cleavage is apparently initiated by the proteolysis which exposes a critical disulfide bond. However, no structure common to the γ-globulins of the various species can yet be formulated because they differ in the nature and apparent number of N-terminal groups and do not yield the same number or types of 3.5-S fragments on cleavage by papain.
Bovine viral diarrhea virus as a surrogate model of hepatitis C virus for the evaluation of antiviral agents

The identification and development of new antiviral agents that can be used to combat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been complicated by both technical and logistic issues. There are few, if any, robust methods by which HCV virions can be grown in vitro. The development of HCV RNA replicons has been a great breakthrough that has allowed for the undertaking of significant screening efforts to identify inhibitors of HCV intracellular replication. However, since replicons do not undergo a complete replication cycle, drug screening programs and mechanism of action studies based solely on these assays will not identify compounds targeting either early (virion attachment, entry, uncoating) or late (virion assembly, egress) stages of the viral replication cycle. Drugs that negatively affect the infectivity of new virions will also not be identified using HCV RNA replicons. Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) shares a similar structural organization with HCV, and both viruses generally cause chronic long-term infections in their respective hosts. The BVDV surrogate model is attractive, since it is a virus-based system. It is easy to culture the virus in vitro, molecular clones are available for genetic studies, and the virus undergoes a complete replication cycle. Like HCV, BVDV utilizes the LDL receptor to enter cells, uses a functionally similar internal ribosome entry site (IRES) for translation, uses an NS4A cofactor with its homologous NS3 protease, has a similar NS3 helicase/NTPase, a mechanistically similar NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and a seemingly equivalent mechanism of virion maturation, assembly and egress. While the concordance between drugs active in either BVDV or HCV is largely unknown at this time, BVDV remains a popular model system with which drugs can be evaluated for potential antiviral activity against HCV and in studies of drug mechanism of action.
Testing a Structural Equation Model of Language-based Cognitive Fitness

Abstract Development of language is taken for granted by most. Problems with language development can result in stress for the individual and family; there is a challenge in that the contemporary education system assumes children have appropriate skills when they begin school. The purpose of the study is to test a theoretical model oflanguage readiness, noted as language-based cognitive fitness, which includes measures associated with structural concepts of language involving receptive language, expressive language, spontaneous narrative speech, and writing fluency. The sample includes students from a private school who receive an extensive battery of tests at admission and annually thereafter. Scores from a variety of cognitive measures will be used in a structural equation modeling framework to test the model. Results demonstrate language-based cognitive fitness to be an interplay of verbal reasoning abilities, visual synthesis, and active analysis broadly representing receptive language, expressive language, spontaneous narrative expression, and writing fluency but not in the proposed hierarchical structure. The model was able to predict student achievement for students of challenged and average cognitive profiles. Implications for positive social change include an improved understanding of the language structures responsible for language deficits and how these relate to overall cognitive fitness; interventions can be provided to help children more quickly make up language deficits.
The maltose transport system of Escherichia coli displays positive cooperativity in ATP hydrolysis.

Abstract Maltose transport across the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli is catalyzed by a periplasmic binding protein-dependent transport system and energized by ATP. The maltose system, a member of the ATP-binding cassette or ABC transport family, contains two copies of an ATP-binding protein in a complex with two integral membrane proteins. ATP hydrolysis by the transport complex can be assayed following reconstitution into proteoliposomes in the presence of maltose binding protein and maltose. Mutations in the transport complex that permit binding protein-independent transport render ATP hydrolysis constitutive so that hydrolysis can also be assayed with the transport complex in detergent solution. We have used both of these systems to study the role of two ATP binding sites in ATP hydrolysis. We found that both the wild-type and the binding protein-independent systems hydrolyzed ATP with positive cooperativity, suggesting that the two ATP binding sites interact. Vanadate inhibited the ATPase activity of the transport complex with 50% inhibition occurring at 10 μM vanadate. In detergent solution, the degree of cooperativity in the binding protein-independent complex decreased with increasing pH. The loss of cooperativity was accompanied by a decrease in ATPase activity and a decrease in sensitivity to vanadate. Because reconstitution of the complex into a lipid bilayer prevented the loss of cooperativity, we expect that ATP hydrolysis is cooperative in vivo. The mutations leading to binding protein-independent transport do not significantly alter the affinity, cooperativity, vanadate sensitivity, or substrate specificity of the ATP binding sites during hydrolysis. These results justify the use of the binding protein-independent system to investigate the mechanism of transport and hydrolysis.
A new complete language for DSPACE(log n )

Abstract An important open problem relating sequential and parallel computations is whether the space complexity on Turing machines is linearly related to the depth complexity on uniform circuits. Some graph problems have been successfully proved to be complete for DSPACE (log n ) under (log n )-depth Turing reducibility [3]. In this paper, we discuss (log n )-depth many-one reducibility which is proved to be weaker than (log n )-depth Turing reducibility. A new complete language for DSPACE (log n ) under our reducibility is presented.
Edmund Wilson, violence, the Civil War, and me. A conversation and reverie

To practice history is to converse with the past. Yet historians, many of whom readily admit to intimate relations with their subjects, prefer to conceal the dialogue. Other than Erik H. Erikson, who in a 1969 book openly addressed Mohandas Gandhi, few scholars have laid bare the interaction between present and past, studier and the studied. History is crafted in such exchanges with the evidence. This article begins to probe the lessons, frustrations, and revelations of a historian's dialogue with the dead. Here, a conversation with Edmund Wilson, the famed American literary critic and unacknowledged student of violence, is wrought from his writings. Together historian and subject probe the bounds of American violence and the Civil War to understand how violence shapes the past and how the past shapes understandings of violence.
The Mechanism of the Lateral Sense Organs of Fishes

For a long time after their discovery in the seventeenth century the lateral-line canals of fishes were considered to be mucus-secreting organs. In 1850 Leydig described sense organs in the lateral-line canals, and this discovery stimulated a keen interest in the investigation of both the morphological and functional features of the lateral-line system. Morphological studies have yielded a thorough understanding of the structure of these organs (Ewart and Mitchell 1892; Cole 1896; Johnson 1917; von Woellwarth 1933). Physiological studies, though numerous, have been less fruitful. An account of the older work was given by Baglioni (1913), and the more recent work is reviewed by Dykgraaf (1933). The only technique until recently available has been the elimination of the sensory system by nerve section and cauterization, and the comparison of the behaviour of intact and operated fishes in response to various stimuli. With so diffuse a structure as the lateral-line system, receiving its nerve supply from the fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth cranial nerves, this method is particularly inadequate, and involves a violent mutilation of the animal. When one considers the crudity of many of these operations, it is not the uncertainty of the results which is remarkable, but rather that some of the conclusions reached should remain valid to-day in the light of far more penetrating experimental analysis. This method of organ elimination could yield at best only an indication of the kind of stimulus that is effective in evoking the excitation of lateral-line receptors. In current textbooks the conclusion of Parker (1904) that the effective stimulus for the lateral line is low-frequency vibration, and that of Hofer (1907) that it is movement of water (i. e. local currents) have received most notice. The observations of Dykgraaf (1933), who employed the more refined methods of von Frisch’s futterdressur technique, support Hofer’s conclusion, and to some extent also Parker’s. Dykgraaf considers the lateral-line system to be an organ of Ferntastsinn , and if this is taken to mean a mechanoreceptor of such sensitivity that it can function both as a touch organ and as a receptor for disturbances coming from a distance, it is undoubtedly a true description, for it is fully confirmed by the direct electrophysiological studies of Hoagland (1933 a, b, c and d ) and of Schriever (1935). The latter, apparently unacquainted with Hoagland’s work, did little more than to confirm several of his observations.
Post-cesarean delivery infectious morbidity: Focus on preoperative antibiotics and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Background Randomized controlled trials show that administering preoperative antibiotics prior to cesarean delivery (CD) significantly reduces the incidence of post-CD infectious morbidity. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become prevalent in obstetrics and gynecology. The objective of this trial is to examine infectious morbidity in a clinical setting before versus after implementation of a preoperative antibiotic policy and, further, to describe the organisms cultured from CD wound infections. Methods We used a retrospective chart review of women delivering by CD before and after implementation of preoperative antibiotic policy. Results Prior to instituting the preoperative antibiotic policy, the incidence of post-CD infectious morbidity was 20.7% and dropped to 8.5% after the policy was established ( P P > .05) in several risk factors for infection. MRSA was the most common organism isolated from post-CD wound infections (18/34, 53%). Endomyometritis accounted for the majority of post-CD infections (143/191, 74.9%), and most infections occurred within 7 days of CD (170/191, 89.0%). Conclusion The incidence of post-CD infectious complications decreased after a policy of administering preoperative antibiotics was instituted. MRSA was the most common organism isolated from post-CD wound infections. Further studies into the benefit of MRSA coverage in CD preoperative antibiotic regimens are needed.
Allergenic impact of inhaled arthropod material.

We have reviewed a number of aeroallergens, derived from arthropods, that can induce allergic respiratory illnesses. The insects and acarids responsible often are easily overlooked or, if evident, have allergenic impacts that are not well recognized. Use of techniques such as RAST, RAST inhibition, and assays of mediators from both passively sensitized lung and basophil-rich leukocyte suspensions has facilitated identification of these new allergens and their sources. Direct skin and inhalation challenge testing have provided clinical correlations in vivo, emphasizing the potential importance of these agents. The high prevalence and intensity of type 1 responses to environmental arthropods (eg, cockroaches, house dust mites, moths, and butterflies) suggests that their significance as causes of persistent airway diseases may, at times, exceed that of pollens. Further investigation clearly is warranted, and it is our opinion that arthropod allergies must be considered and investigated seriously in all patients with respiratory allergy that is not otherwise readily explained, particularly bronchial asthma. Such an enlightened approach offers both a fuller understanding of disease causation and, we believe, a means to achieve improved patient care.
Glycogen-containing neuroblastoma with clinical and histopathologic features of Ewing's sarcoma

The differential diagnosis is difficult in cases of metastatic neuroblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma, lymphoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma, the common so-called small round cell tumors of childhood. The distinction between Ewing's sarcoma and neuroblastoma in bone with no soft tissue mass in the adolescent is especially difficult. Ewing's tumor is usually characterized by its content of glycogen, neuroblastoma by its absence. A case of glycogen-containing neuroblastoma initially misdiagnosed as Ewing's tumor is presented. Diagnostic implications, including the role of electron microscopy in diagnosis, are discussed. Glycogen alone is unreliable as a diagnostic aid due to 1) its presence in several tumors other than Ewing's including neuroblastoma, and 2) its absence in some cases of Ewing's sarcoma.
Subarachnoid Injections of Lysed Blood Induce the hsp70 Stress Gene and Produce DNA Fragmentation in Focal Areas of the Rat Brain

Background and Purpose Most experimental studies of subarachnoid hemorrhage have demonstrated little histological evidence of injury. In the present study we examined both the expression of the hsp70 heat-shock gene, a molecular marker of reversible neuronal injury, and DNA fragmentation, a marker of irreversible cell injury and death. Methods Lysed blood, whole blood, oxyhemoglobin, bovine serum albumin, and saline were injected into the cisterna magna of adult rats. The induction of hsp70 mRNA and HSP70 heat-shock protein was assessed with the use of in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Fragmentation of genomic DNA was studied by DNA nick end-labeling with the use of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and biotinylated dATP. Results Expression of the hsp70 gene was not induced in the brains of rats injected with whole blood, oxyhemoglobin, bovine serum albumin, or saline. Lysed blood injections, however, induced hsp70 mRNA at 6 and 24 hours in the cerebellar hemispheres and in focal regions of the basal forebrain. HSP70 protein was induced by 24 hours and persisted for at least 4 days in the same regions. HSP70 protein was localized to patches of glial cells and occasional neurons in the forebrain. In the cerebellum HSP70 was localized to Bergmann glial cells, granule cells, molecular layer stellate cells, and occasional Purkinje cells. DNA nick end-labeling showed patches of labeled cells in the basal forebrain that occurred in the same regions that hsp70 mRNA was induced. Conclusions The results demonstrate focal stress gene induction and DNA fragmentation after subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is hypothesized that the focal areas of hsp70 induction may reflect ischemic injury due to vasospasm produced by lysed blood and/or injury mediated by direct toxic effects of the lysed blood. The hsp70 induction and DNA nick end-labeling in the same regions suggests that lysed blood produces a spectrum of injury from HSP70 protein-labeled, reversibly injured cells to dead cells with fragmented DNA. Induction of the hsp70 stress gene and DNA nick end-labeling may be useful for evaluating the causes of injury, the spectrum of injury, and potential pharmacological therapies in experimental models of subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Allergy: The Development of Bronchial Asthma in Infancy

Peripheral blood eosinophils, nasal eosinophils, serum immunoglobulin G,A,M,E, allergic skin tests, RAST tests, viral antibody and secretory IgA levels were studied in one hundred asthmatic children who had had their first asthma attack before 24 months of age. Viral and bacterial infections were detected in 26 of 79 episodes of attacks. Parainfluenza was most frequently associated, and next in frequency were respiratory syncycial virus, mycoplasma pneumoniae and measles. The serum IgE and IgM level was higher than the normal range for age. In 16.9% serum IgA showed a lower level than in normal children. The allergic skin test by scratch method was positive in 47.6% to egg white, 39.7% to house dust, 44.1% to Dermatophagoides farinae. The RAST test showed similar results. Secretory IgA in saliva was examined by the method of enzyme linked immunoassay. Secretory IgA in infants with egg allergy was lower than in normal healthy children. The predisposition to the development of atopic disease with, maturationally related decreases in secretory IgA could be explained by the ingress of allergic materials.
FT-IR Analysis Of Oil Emulsions Used In The Cold Rolling Of Steel

In the cold rolling of steel sheet, oil-in-water emulsions are used to provide lubrication and cooling. Both the concentration and the quality of the oil involved must be carefully controlled in order to produce an acceptable product. Current analytical procedures usually involve separation of the oil from the water, followed by analysis of the different components by various wet chemical and instrumental methods. In principle, attenuated total reflection FT-IR spectroscopy offers the possibility of obtaining much or all of the required information from one measurement made directly on the emulsion. This paper describes some preliminary results involving the use of ATR spectroscopy to determine the percentage of oil in a clean emulsion. Although the use of ATR for aqueous solutions is well known, its applicability to emulsions has been less widely studied. In particular, the heterogeneous nature of emulsions could cause problems not encountered with aqueous solutions.© (1989) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Observation of a One-Dimensional Adsorption Site on Carbon Nanotubes: Adsorption of Alkanes of Different Molecular Lengths

Three well-defined adsorption sites have been found on opened single-wall carbon nanotubes by temperature-programmed desorption measurements for several alkanes. A series of linear chain alkanes from pentane to nonane, as well as a branched alkane molecule, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, were used to elucidate the effect of molecular length on the capacity of the adsorption sites. The two highest-energy adsorption sites were assigned as the nanotube interior sites and groove sites on the outside of the nanotube bundles. Hybrid Monte Carlo simulations were performed to probe the molecular-level details of adsorption. Both in experiments and in the simulation, the groove sites were seen to behave as one-dimensional adsorption space, demonstrating an inverse dependence of capacity on the length of the adsorbed molecule. In contrast, the capacity of the internal sites was found to depend inversely on the volume occupied by the molecule.
Lipoxygenation of docosahexaenoic acid by the rat pineal body.

: Based on the inhibitor profile, production rate, and stereochemical purity of the hydroxylated products, it was demonstrated that lipoxygenation in rat brain occurs only in the pineal. Both positional and stereochemical specificities of the hydroxylation were observed only in pineal, clearly indicating that only the pineal is capable of lipoxygenating polyunsaturated fatty acids among the rat brain regions examined. Cerebral cortex also produced hydroxy products; however, they were racemic mixtures, indicating that peroxidation was responsible for their production. Rat pineal homogenate, obtained after the brain was perfused, metabolized [14C]docosahexaenoic acid ([1–14C]22:6n3) to monohydroxy derivatives, primarily by the 12-and, to a lesser extent, by the 15-lipoxygenase (LO) reaction. The resulting metabolites were 14(S)-and 17(S)-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (HDoHE), as determined by reversed-phase HPLC, chiral-phase HPLC, thermospray liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Because blood was removed by perfusion of the brain before incubation, it was clear that the observed LO activity was not due to contamination with blood cell components. The production rate of 17-HDoHE from 22:6n3 was higher than that of 15-hydroxyperoxy-5,8,11,13-eicosatetraenoic acid from 20:4n6, whereas 12-LO activity toward these two substrates was comparable. These monohydroxy metabolites were also detected in the pineal body lipid extract using negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. This is the first observation of endogenous production of hydroxylated compounds in pineal. The ratio of endogenous 15-LO to 12-LO products was considerably higher than that of the in vitro production from exogenous substrate. In some cases, 15-LO products were the major LO metabolites present in the lipid extract of pineal body for both 20:4n6 and 22:6n3. Both 12-and 15-LO activities were recovered mainly in the microsomal plus cytosolic fraction. In addition to monohydroxy products, epoxy, hydroxy derivatives were formed from 22:6n3 by the pineal. The major isomer was identified as 12-hydroxy-13, 14-epoxy-22:5n3. Key Words: Lipoxygenation-Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n3)—Pineal—Rat brain—Hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid—Hepoxilin-like compound.
The Institute of Medicine.

IN 1863 the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was established by federal charter to advise the government on scientific matters. Almost 100 years later, in 1971, the Academy created the Institute of Medicine within the NAS to focus on health-related problems and issues. Today the IOM has a program budget of about $13 million, which includes both private and government funds, and is regarded as a leading center for health policy research. After briefly explaining the structure and general goals of IOM, this article describes several new or anticipated projects as well as some recently completed reports that have a strong ethical component. THE IOM The IOM's distinguished membership is made up of health care professionals of all sorts, scientists working in health-related disciplines, and lawyers, economists, and others knowledgeable in and involved with policies and activities associated with health issues. It is organized around eight working groups or divisions: Health Sciences Policy; Health Care Services; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, including AIDS activities; International Health; Biobehavioral Sciences and Mental Disorders; the Food and Nutrition Board; the Medical Follow-up Agency; and the Health Policy Fellowship Programs. Each of these divisions is assisted by an oversight board that provides advice on its activities. It is important to know at the outset that IOM has decided that each of the divisions will include consideration of human values and ethical issues in their activities. Therefore, no separate locus was established within the IOM to deal with these matters. I am director of the Division of Health Sciences Policy, which is the only division that has made ethics a priority in its work, and it is the focus of this article.
Correlating Transition Region Explosive Events with Extreme-Ultraviolet Brightenings

Frequent small-scale reconnection events have been proposed as a possible mechanism to heat the solar corona. It has not yet been demonstrated, however, that the smallest reconnection events can heat the plasma to coronal temperatures. In this Letter, we use explosive events in the spectral line C IV λ1548 observed by the Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation instrument flown aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory to locate areas of reconnection in Active Region 8536 on 1999 May 13. We then examine coaligned Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) 171 A images for a response to the reconnection. We find that short-term (<5 minute) fluctuations are on average 2.2 times larger in regions of reconnection than in comparison (nonevent) regions. These fluctuations are statistically significant (3 σ above the mean intensity fluctuation in the nonevent regions) in 35% of the reconnection regions. We find two possible explanations for the 171 A intensity fluctuations: (1) the explosive event plasma could be heated to 1 MK, or (2) the emission measure of the O VI λ172 line could increase because of a surge of transition region material that would, in turn, increase the 171 A intensity. The latter explanation would imply that not all transient brightenings in the TRACE data are associated with plasma at coronal temperatures.
Bidirectional function of coronary collateral channels in conscious dogs

Study objective – The aim was to investigate the bidirectional functional adequacy of collateral perfusion in conscious dogs. Design – Left circumflex coronary artery (LCCA) occlusions of 1 or 2 min duration were repeated to stimulate the development of collateral perfusion to the LCCA area, and the left anterior descending coronary artery (lad) was occluded once daily to evaluate the development of retrograde LCCA-LAD flow. Subjects – 7 male mongrel dogs were used, weight 25-28 kg. Measurements and main results – Coronary collateral flow from the LCCA to the LAD perfusion area was measured as the abrupt decrease in the LCCA flow (implanted Doppler transducer) upon release of a brief LAD occlusion. Measurements were repeated daily during the development of collaterals induced by repeated, brief occlusions of the LCCA. After 35(SD17) days of such occlusions, there was no sustained reduction in LCCA regional myocardial function during an LCCA occlusion, and reactive hyperaemic repayment following the occlusion was negligible. Before and after collateral development, the LCCA to LAD collateral flow increased from 1.1(0.2) to 8.6(5.1) cm·s−1. LAD systolic segment shortening during the LAD occlusion increased from 2.1(2.0)% (first occlusion) to 19.3(8.6)% (last occlusion). Conclusions – LAD to LCCA collaterals serve as functionally significant bidirectional perfusion conduits, and monitoring of collateral perfusion development is practical by measuring the step reduction in LCCA flow upon abrupt release of an LAD occlusion.
Generation of microwave signals from a laser diode coupled to an external cavity

This article describes a technique by which a laser diode coupled with an external cavity is used in an interferometric system resulting in a direct envelope modulation of the optical carrier. The laser output is fed to a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in which the time delay associated with the path imbalance is adjusted to half the time period Tm of the modulating sawtooth current. The two signals are heterodyned to simulate an envelope modulated optical signal.
CoMFA-based prediction of agonist affinities at recombinant D1 vs D2 dopamine receptors

We have previously shown that using agonist affinity at recombinant receptors selectively expressed in clonal cells as the dependent variable in three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship studies (3D-QSAR) presents a unique opportunity for accuracy and precision in measurement. Thus, a comparison of affinity's structural determinants for a set of compounds at two different recombinant dopamine receptors represents an attainable goal for 3D-QSAR. A molecular database of bound conformations of 16 structurally diverse agonists was established by alignment with a high-affinity template compound for the D1 receptor, 3-allyl-6-bromo-7,8-dihydroxy-1-phenyl-2,3,4, 5-tetrahydro-1H-benzazepin. A second molecular database of the bound conformations of the same compounds was established against a second template for the D2 receptor, bromocriptine. These aligned structures suggested three-point pharmacophore maps (one cationic nitrogen and two electronegative centers) for the two dopamine receptors, which differed primarily in the height of the nitrogen above the plane of the catechol ring and in the nature of the hydrogen-bonding region. The ln(1/KL) values for the low-affinity agonist binding conformation at recombinant D1 and D2 dopamine receptors stably expressed in C6 glioma cells were used as the target property for the CoMFA (comparative molecular field analysis) of the 16 aligned structures. The resulting CoMFA models yielded cross-validated R2 (q2) values (standard error of prediction) of 0. 879 (1.471, with five principal components) and 0.834 (1.652, with five principal components) for D1 and D2 affinity, respectively. The simple R2 values (standard error of the estimate) were 0.994 (0.323) and 0.999 (0.116), respectively, for D1 and D2 receptor. F values were 341 and 2465 for D1 and D2 models, respectively, with 5 and 10 df. The predictive utility of the CoMFA model was evaluated at both receptors using the dopamine agonists, apomorphine and 7-OH-DPAT. Predictions of KL were accurate at both receptors. Flexible 3D searches of several chemical databases (NCI, MDDR, CMC, ACD, and Maybridge) were done using basic pharmacophore models at each receptor to determine the similarity of hit lists between the two models. The D1 and D2 models yielded different lists of lead compounds. Several of the lead compounds closely resembled high-affinity training set compounds. Finally, homology modeling of agonist binding to the D2 receptor revealed some consistencies and inconsistencies with the CoMFA-derived D2 model and provided a possible rationale for features of the D2 CoMFA contour map. Together these results suggest that CoMFA-homology based models may provide useful insights concerning differential agonist-receptor interactions at related receptors. The results also suggest that comparisons of CoMFA models for two structurally related receptors may be a fruitful approach for differential QSAR.
PRMT8, a New Membrane-bound Tissue-specific Member of the Protein Arginine Methyltransferase Family

Protein arginine methylation is a common post-translational modification that has been implicated in signal transduction, RNA processing, transcriptional regulation, and DNA repair. A search of the human genome for additional members of the protein arginine N-methyltransferase (PRMT) family of enzymes has identified a gene on chromosome 12 that we have termed PRMT8. This novel enzyme is most closely related to PRMT1, although it has a distinctive N-terminal region. The unique N-terminal end harbors a myristoylation motif, and we have shown here that PRMT8 is indeed modified by the attachment of a myristate to the glycine residue after the initiator methionine. The myristoylation of PRMT8 results in its association with the plasma membrane. The second singular property of PRMT8 is its tissue-specific expression pattern; it is largely expressed in the brain. A glutathione S-transferase fusion protein of PRMT8 has type I PRMT activity, catalyzing the formation of omega-NG-monomethylated and asymmetrically omega-NG,NG-dimethylated arginine residues on a recombinant glycine- and arginine-rich substrate. PRMT8 is thus an active arginine methyltransferase that is membrane-associated and tissue-specific, two firsts for this family of enzymes.
Elastic Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Axial and Transverse Directions: A First Principles Study

A first principles approach has been employed to study the elastic properties of ten zigzag and seven armchair types of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with the diameter varied from 0.551 to 1.358 nm. The linear elastic behavior of the SWNTs when subject to small deformation is studied by four virtual mechanical experiments: uniaxial strain, uniaxial stress, in-plane pure shear, and in-plane bi-axial tension tests. Assuming that a SWNT be transversely isotropic, a strain energy approach is used to calculate the Young’s moduli in axial and transverse directions, major Posson’s ratio, plain strain bulk, and in-plane shear moduli of the carbon nanotubes. It is found that the elastic constants are insensitive to the tube size, but show a slight dependence upon the helicity. However, the differences in the elastic moduli between zigzag and armchair nanotubes are within 10%.Copyright © 2005 by ASME