cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A laboratory study to determine the effects of universal and rotating ultrasonic inserts on wrist movement and scaling time efficiency of dental hygienists.

: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if differences existed in range of wrist movements and scaling time efficiency of dental hygienists using a rotating ultrasonic insert when compared with a standard universal insert. Methods: A convenience sample of 32 consenting experienced dental hygienists who met inclusion criteria was invited to participate. Using a cross-over research design, the 32 participants were randomly assigned to one of the two subgroups. Subgroup A (n = 16) used the rotating universal ultrasonic insert on a typodont, rested for 15 min and the standard universal insert on a different typodont. Subgroup B (n = 16) used the standard universal ultrasonic insert on a typodont, rested for 15 min and the rotating universal ultrasonic insert on a different typodont. Each participant used the rotating and standard universal ultrasonic scaling inserts to remove 2 cm3 artificial calculus from two different typodonts for up to 15 min per insert. Scaling time efficiency was determined using a Modified Volpe–Manhold Calculus Index, measuring the amount of artificial calculus remaining after ultrasonic scaling. While scaling, each participant wore the WristSensorTM goniometry gloves, which determined changes in wrist movements (flexion and extension and ulnar and radial deviations), measured as a deviation from the neutral position. Results: A paired t-test (P = 0.05) using 30 subjects with useable data, revealed no statistically significant differences between the two different inserts in terms of wrist movements and scaling time efficiency. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no statistically significant differences in the percentage of time dental hygienists were in high, medium or low-risk posture categories while using the rotating ultrasonic insert compared with the standard universal insert. Based on the results of this laboratory study, dental hygienists using a rotating ultrasonic insert appear to experience no ergonomic advantage in terms of wrist postures or timesavings over a standard insert.
Adaptive noise subspace construction for harmonic retrieval

Thompson [1980] showed that the eigenvector analysis required of Pisarenko's method of harmonic retrieval can be achieved on-line without explicit eigendecomposition. His method utilizes a unit-norm constrained adaptive filter to find and track a single vector that lies in the noise subspace. By tracking this vector without explicit formulation of the sample covariance matrix R or its eigendecomposition, the algorithm maintains a low computational cost. In this paper, Thompson's method is extended using a penalty method. The new algorithm seeks an orthonormal basis that spans the noise subspace. The computational complexity of the algorithm is then reduced to a more desirable level through the use of a relaxation technique. Once the noise subspace is constructed, one can compute the MUSIC power spectrum for an improved spectral estimate.
NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 27: Knowledge diffusion and US government technology policy: Issues and opportunities for sci/tech librarians

Federal involvement in simulating economic growth through the development and application of technology policy is currently the subject of serious debate. A recession and the recognition that an internationally competitive economy is a prerequisite for the attainment of national goals have fostered a number of technology policy initiatives aimed at improving the economic competitiveness of American industry. This paper suggests that the successful implementation of U.S. technology policy will require the adoption of a knowledge diffusion model, the development of user oriented information products and services, and a more 'activist' approach on the part of sci/tech librarians in the provision of scientific and technical information (STI). These changes will have a dramatic impact on the sci/tech library of the future and the preparation of sci/tech librarians.
ACB‐PCR measurement of spontaneous and furan‐induced H‐ras Codon 61 CAA to CTA and CAA to AAA mutation in B6C3F1 mouse liver

Furan is a rodent liver carcinogen, but the mode of action for furan hepatocarcinogenicity is unclear. H-ras codon 61 mutations have been detected in spontaneous liver tumors of B6C3F1 mice, and the fraction of liver tumors carrying H-ras codon 61 CAA to AAA mutation increased in furan-treated mice. Allele-specific competitive blocker PCR (ACB-PCR) has been used previously to quantify early, carcinogen-induced increases in tumor-associated mutations. The present pilot study investigated whether furan drives clonal expansion of pre-existing H-ras mutant cells in B6C3F1 mouse liver. H-ras codon 61 CAA to CTA and CAA to AAA mutations were measured in DNA isolated from liver tissue of female mice treated with 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 mg furan/kg body weight, five days per week for three weeks, using five mice per treatment group. Spontaneous levels of mutation were low, with two of five control mice having an H-ras codon 61 CTA or AAA mutant fraction (MF) greater than 10(-5) . Several furan-treated mice had H-ras codon 61 AAA or CTA MFs greater than those measured in control mice and lower bound estimates of induced MF were calculated. However, no statistically-significant differences were observed between treatment groups. Therefore, while sustained exposure to furan is carcinogenic, at the early stage of carcinogenesis examined in this study (three weeks), there was not a significant expansion of H-ras mutant cells.
A Method for the Quantitative Modification and Estimation of Carboxylic Acid Groups in Proteins

A method for the rapid modification under mild conditions of carboxyl groups in proteins has been developed. The method involves the activation of the carboxyl group by a water-soluble carbodiimide and the subsequent reaction of the activated carboxyl group with a nucleophile such as glycine methyl ester. The kinetics of the reaction indicates that there are limits to the variation of carbodiimide and nucleophile when quantitative modification is desired, but that a wide variety of reagents can be used if quantitative reaction is not essential. Thus, variation in the structure of the carbodiimide can affect the carboxyl groups activated, and variation in the charge, size, and chemical and spectral properties of the nucleophile can alter the type of modification at a specific carboxyl group. The reaction proceeds equally well in high concentrations of urea or guanidine hydrochloride. The method appears to be of wide utility for analytical purposes and structure-function correlations.
Approximate Frequent Itemset Mining In the Presence of Random Noise

Frequent itemset mining has been a focused theme in data mining research and an important first step in the analysis of data arising in a broad range of applications. The traditional exact model for frequent itemset requires that every item occur in each supporting transaction. However, real application data is usually subject to random noise or measurement error, which poses new challenges for the efficient discovery of frequent itemset from the noisy data. Mining approximate frequent itemset in the presence of noise involves two key issues: the definition of a noise-tolerant mining model and the design of an efficient mining algorithm. In this chapter, we will give an overview of the approximate itemset mining algorithms in the presence of random noise and examine several noise-tolerant mining approaches.
A comparative procedure for evaluating antimicrobial activity of gaseous agents.

A dynamic method for comparison of the antimicrobial activities of gaseous agents is proposed. Specially designed apparatuses for multiple exposure and growth of organisms have been described and the validity of the method has been disussed. Three gases, ethylene oxide, methyl bromide, and formaldehyde, and five bacteria, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus licheniformis, and Staphylococcus aureus, have been tested and compared; typical data were presented to demonstrate the results. Application of this dynamic method for the investigation of the mechanism of action of gas sterilization has been suggested.
Abstract LB-087: A facilitative role for caspase 3 in promoting genetic instability and carcinogenesis

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA Apoptosis and apoptotic caspases are generally considered tumor-suppressive since there are involved in the elimination of unwanted or damaged cells. However, the relationship between caspases and carcinogenesis has not been thoroughly examined. In this study, we sought to determine the role of caspase 3 in chemical- and radiation-induced genetic instability and carcinogenesis. By use of a non-invasive caspase 3 reporter, we found that that a significant fraction of mammalian cells treated with ionizing radiation could survive, despite caspase 3 activation. Moreover, this sublethal activation of caspase 3 promoted persistent DNA damage, chromosome aberrations and oncogenic transformation. In addition, chemically-induced skin carcinogenesis was significantly reduced in mice genetically deficient in caspase 3. We provided strong evidence that activated caspase 3 can indeed promote oncogenic transformation in human cells and in mice by inducing persistent genetic instability. Since a wide array of environmental and endogenous stressors can trigger caspase 3 activation, our findings suggest that rather than acting as a broad inhibitor of carcinogenesis, caspase 3 activation may contribute to genome instability and play a pivotal role in tumor formation following damage. Citation Format: XINJIAN LIU, Fang Li, Chuan-yuan Li. A facilitative role for caspase 3 in promoting genetic instability and carcinogenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-087. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-087
MDCT and MR Urogram Spectrum of Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract Diagnosed in Adulthood

OBJECTIVE. Congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) encompass a spectrum of anomalies that result from genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and molecular signal aberrations at key stages of urinary tract development. CAKUT can be seen incidentally on cross-sectional imaging of the abdomen or can be a cause for adult-onset chronic kidney disease, posing new challenges for nephrologists, urologists, and radiologists. CONCLUSION. Awareness of CAKUT and familiarity with their imaging findings permit optimal patient management and thorough workup to prevent hypertension and progression from CAKUT to renal failure. The purpose of this article is to review the cross-sectional imaging findings of CAKUT that may present in adulthood.
Timing of Anticonvulsant Administration in Status Epilepticus

Investigators from the Pediatric Status Epilepticus Research Group studied the time elapsed from onset of pediatric convulsive status epilepticus (SE) to administration of antiepileptic drugs (AED).
Branchiomerism and the theory of head segmentation

The summary of this paper is as follows: 1 A critical review of the developmental evidence shows that the branchial pouches are formed in cephalocaudal sequence subsequently to the segmentation of the dorsal mesoderm. 2 The pouches interrupt a continuous sheet of mesoderm to form the branchial arches. 3 The arches when formed do not correspond topographically to the dorsal somites. 4 Branchiomerism does not therefore coincide with somitic metamerism. 3 The branchial structures do not support the theory of head segmentation. 3 The nervi trigeminus, facialis, glossopharyngeus, and vagus cannot be regarded as segmental nerves. 3 There is no evidence that branchial pouches or arches have been elided from the series. 3 The problem of meristic homology is briefly discussed.
Rapid real-time PCR assay for culture and tissue identification of Geomyces destructans: the etiologic agent of bat geomycosis (white nose syndrome).

Geomyces destructans is the etiologic agent of bat geomycosis, commonly referred to as white nose syndrome (WNS). This infection has caused severe morbidity and mortality in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and has also spread to other bat species with significant decline in the populations. Currently, G. destructans infection is identified by culture, ITS–PCR, and histopathology. We hypothesized that a real-time PCR assay would considerably improve detection of G. destructans in bats. The 100 bp sequence of the Alpha-L-Rhamnosidase gene was validated as a target for real-time PCR. The assay sensitivity was determined from serial dilution of DNA extracted from G. destructans conidia (5 × 10−1–5 × 107), and the specificity was tested using DNA from 30 closely and distantly related fungi and 5 common bacterial pathogens. The real-time PCR assay was highly sensitive with detection limit of two G. destructans conidia per reaction at 40 PCR cycles. The assay was also highly specific as none of the other fungal or bacterial DNA cross-reacted in the real-time PCR assay. One hundred and forty-seven bat tissue samples, suspected of infection with G. destructans, were used to compare the real-time PCR assay to other methods employed for the detection of G. destructans. Real-time PCR was highly sensitive with 80 of 147 (55%) samples testing positive for G. destructans DNA. In comparison, histopathology examination revealed 64/147 (44%) positive samples. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS)–PCR yielded positive amplicon for G. destructans from 37 tissue samples (25%). The least sensitive assay was the fungal culture with only 17 tissue samples (12%) yielding G. destructans in culture. The data suggested that the real-time PCR assay is highly promising for rapid, sensitive, and specific identification of G. destructans. Further trials and inter-laboratory comparisons of this novel assay are recommended to improve the diagnosis of bat geomycosis.
Selective inhibition of human 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 as a potential treatment for breast cancer.

Abstract Human 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/isomerase type 1 (3β-HSD1) is a critical enzyme in the conversion of DHEA to estradiol in breast tumors and may be a target enzyme for inhibition in the treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Human 3β-HSD2 participates in the production of cortisol and aldosterone in the human adrenal gland in this population. In our recombinant human breast tumor MCF-7 Tet-off cells that express either 3β-HSD1 or 3β-HSD2, trilostane and epostane inhibit the DHEA-induced proliferation of MCF-7 3β-HSD1 cells with 12–16-fold lower IC50 values compared to the MCF-7 3β-HSD2 cells. Trilostane and epostane also competitively inhibit purified human 3β-HSD1 with 12–16-fold lower Ki values compared to the noncompetitive Ki values measured for human 3β-HSD2. Using our structural model of 3β-HSD1, trilostane was docked in the active site of 3β-HSD1, and Arg195 in 3β-HSD1 or Pro195 in 3β-HSD2 was identified as a potentially critical residue. The R195P-1 mutant of 3β-HSD1 and the P195R-2 mutant of 3β-HSD2 were created, expressed and purified. Kinetic analyses of enzyme inhibition suggest that the high-affinity, competitive inhibition of 3β-HSD1 by trilostane may be related to the presence of Arg195 in 3β-HSD1 versus Pro195 in 3β-HSD2. In addition, His156 in 3β-HSD1 may play a role in the higher affinity of 3β-HSD1 for substrates and inhibitors compared to 3β-HSD2 containing Try156. Structural modeling of the 3β-HSD1 dimer identified a possible interaction between His156 on one subunit and Gln105 on the other. Kinetic analyses of the H156Y-1, Q105M-1 and Q105M-2 support subunit interactions that contribute to the higher affinity of 3β-HSD1 for the inhibitor, epostane, compared to 3β-HSD2. Article from the Special issue on Targeted Inhibitors.
Efficient Microwave Imaging Algorithm Based on Hybridization of the Linear Sampling and Level Set Methods

A hybridized algorithm based on the linear sampling method and the level set technique is presented. The level set technique has shown the capability of accurate reconstruction of the shapes of unknown targets of different materials and arbitrary shapes but with significant computational time. The linear sampling method has shown comparatively rapid estimation of the targets' shapes. The presented algorithm retains the accuracy of the level set algorithm with significantly reduced computational time due to the hybridization of the level set method and the linear sampling method. Reconstruction results of Fresnel Institute experimental data are obtained using the hybridized algorithm.
Analysis and Testing for Rotordynamic Coefficients of Turbulent Annular Seals With Different, Directionally-Homogeneous Surface-Roughness Treatment for Rotor and Stator Elements

A theory is presented, based on a simple modification of Hirs' turbulent lubrication equations, to account for different but directionally-homogeneous surface roughness treatments for the rotor and stator of annular seals. The theoretical results agree with von Pragenau's predictions that a damper seal which uses a smooth rotor and a rough stator yields more net damping than a conventional seal which has the same roughness for both the rotor and stator. Experimental results for four stators confirm that properly-designed roughened stators yield higher net damping values and substantially less leakage than seals with smooth surfaces. The best seal from both damping and leakage viewpoints uses a round-hole-pattern stator. Initial results for this stator suggest that, within limits, seals can be designed to yield specified ratios of stiffness to damping.
Fractionation of isolated mammalian metaphase chromosomes

Abstract Isolated metaphase chromosomes from HeLa cells, mouse L cells, and Syrian hamster embryonic fibroblast cells have been fractionated on the basis of size by linear sucrose density gradient centrifugation. At present, this technique only permits a partial separation of the chromosomes into several size groups and has not yet proved sensitive enough to permit the fractionation of one specific type or group of chromosomes from all other chromosomes.
The Psychotherapy Dose Effect in Naturalistic Settings Revisited: Response to Gray

Gray's response (this issue) to Hansen, Lambert, & For-man (2002) suggests that, due to a number of limitations that exist in the original paper, the effectiveness of psychotherapy in naturalistic settings may be underestimated. This response to Cray addresses three of the limitations raised, including: (1) using clinical significance, it is difficult to adequately capture treatment gains made by people who are already within the functional range on an outcome instrument when they initiate treatment; (2) the end point data used to assess treatment outcome in the Hansen et al. (2002) paper does not fall at the end of the last session of treatment; and (3) for people beginning treatment in the most severely dysfunctional range on an outcome instrument, the effect size for treatment is quite large. In this response we demonstrate that, even if these limitations are accounted for, the amounts of treatment delivered and the subsequent response to treatment clearly lags what is observed in clinical trials research.
Vertically oriented internal auditory canal in an 8-year-old with hearing loss

To report a unique orientation of the internal auditory canal and possible association with congenital hearing loss. Retrospective chart review of an 8-year-old Hispanic male with a mixed hearing loss. Uniquely abnormal orientation of the internal auditory canal in a patient with apparently normal cochleovestibular structures and a mixed hearing loss. A vertically oriented IAC is a rarely described anatomical anomaly of the temporal bone that may have associations with congenital hearing loss.
Reduction energy of 1 M aqueous ruthenium(III) hexaammine in the gas phase: a route toward establishing an absolute electrochemical scale.

The internal energy deposited into gas-phase Ru(NH3)6(H2O)n3+ when reduced by thermal electrons is investigated as a function of cluster size. For n ≥ 40, reduction results exclusively in the loss ...
A New Vector System with Inducible E2a Cell Line for Production of Higher Titer and Safer Adenoviral Vectors

Adenoviral vectors have been used in gene therapy and for vaccination. The major concerns with using adenoviral vectors are the pathogenic potential of the virus backbone and the generation of replication-competent adenovirus that may replicate in an uncontrolled manner, especially in immunocompromised patients. It is important to develop new vectors that are safer for clinical trials while maintaining high titer and efficient transduction. A new adenovirus vector production system was developed, which includes several vector backbone plasmids deleted for E2a and a new cell line expressing both E1 and E2a. The new cell line with the tTA-inducible E2a expression cassette can significantly increase the titer of E1/E2a-deleted vectors by four to five orders of magnitude upon withdrawal of tetracycline. Furthermore, there is no sequence overlap between the vector and the cellular DNA within the E2a open reading frame and downstream, making the generation of virus with wild-type E2a through homologous recombination substantially less likely. The new vector system may improve the safety of vectors for vaccination and cancer therapy and may also provide safer backbones for further vector development, such as helper-dependent and hybrid vectors.
Luminosity and abundance correlations in a carefully-studied sample of PNe

We have searched for correlated trends in He/H, N/H, O/H, Ne/H, Ar/H, Cl/H, and S/H abundances with their luminosities, Peimbert types, galactocentric radius, emission-line luminosities, diameters, morphologies, surface brightnesses among Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) using a database of 119 PNe with well measured properties. We report selected highlights.
Three Points Do Not Determine a (Pseudo-) Plane

Abstract An example is given of an arrangement of eight pseudoplanes, i.e., topological planes, in P 3 , and three points which do not lie in any pseudoplane compatible with the arrangement; this provides a counterexample to the “Levi enlargement lemma” in dimension > 2.
The 3-D, Electromagnetic, Particle-In-Cell Code, QUICKSILVER

Charged-particle simulations in three dimensions are now performed routinely in the Pulsed Power Sciences Directorate at Sandia with the QUICKSILVER suite of codes. QUICKSILVER is a multitasked, finite-difference, three-dimensional, fully relativistic, electromagnetic, particle-in-cell code developed at Sandia. It is targeted for use on current and near-term supercomputers, such as the Cray Y-MP/864 or the Cray X-MP/416, which are characterized by large, shared central memories and multiple processors. QUICKSILVER has already been used to simulate ion diodes, magnetically insulated transmission lines, microwave devices, and electron beam propagation. Before describing the suite in detail, it is worthwhile to highlight some salient architectural features of the QUICKSILVER simulation code. All grid-related quantities (electromagnetic fields and current density, for example) are stored in central memory and particle information may be stored out of memory if there is not sufficient central memory. In order to minimize the use of central memory, large conductor volumes in which fields are always zero must not be stored. This necessitates constructing the simulation region from blocks'' logically connected along arbitrary planes. The overhead required to accomplish this block connection in the field-solving routines uses a very small percentage of the total processing time. After the grid-related arrays have beenmore » allocated in memory, additional central memory is used to cache particle information. When this cache is full, it is necessary to shuffle particle information in and out of the memory cache and onto disk or other out-of-memory storage. 8 refs.« less
Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy study of chemisorption on the Ni(001)-c(2×2)Si surface

Abstract Infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy has been used to study the oxidation chemistry of Si atoms adsorbed on Ni(001) in a c(2 × 2) structure. Water (H 2 O, D 2 O) and oxygen ( 16 O 2 , 18 O 2 ) were used as the oxidizing species and the effects of variation coverage (from the c(2 × 2) value of 0.5 monolayers) and of annealing, following adsorption near 300 K, were investigated. H 2 O adsorbs dissociatively, giving SiOH stretching and SiOH bending modes at 1015 and 800 cm −1 , respectively. There are, howe no detectable Si-H vibrations for exposure either to H 2 O or to H 2 excited by a hot filament.The SiOH stretch lies about 230 cm −1 higher in energy on c(2 × 2)Si than on elemental Si, indicating a substantial influence of the metallic environment on the SiOH bond. O 2 exposure leads to two types of bridging species — one giving bands at about 1090 and 830 cm −1 and another giving a band at about 990 cm −1 . Based in part on the correlation between Si coverage and band relative intensities, these are assigned to SiOS and SiONi bridges, respectively. Annealing leads to structural rearrangement of the surface layers, ultimately giving a spectrum resembling that for a thin SiO 2 film on a metal.
Improving mispronunciation detection using adaptive frequency scale

Systems based on automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology can provide important functionality in computer assisted language learning applications. This is a young but growing area of research motivated by the large number of students studying foreign languages. Here we propose a Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based method to detect mispronunciations. Exploiting the specific dialog scripting employed in language learning software, HMMs are trained for different pronunciations. New adaptive features have been developed and obtained through an adaptive warping of the frequency scale prior to computing the cepstral coefficients. The optimization criterion used for the warping function is to maximize separation of two major groups of pronunciations (native and non-native) in terms of classification rate. Experimental results show that the adaptive frequency scale yields a better coefficient representation leading to higher classification rates in comparison with conventional HMMs using Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients.
A new platform for NCN dimethylamino pincer complexes: Synthesis and structural studies

Abstract The reaction of 2,6-(2-{Me2NCH2}C6H4)2C6H3I (2) with Pd2(dba)3 produced the NCN diamine pincer complex [2,6-(2-Me2{NCH2}C6H4)2C6H3PdI] (3) by an oxidative addition route. The structural analysis of ligand precursor 2 revealed a syn-conformation in the solid state. Single crystal X-ray analysis of complex 3 revealed a conventional square planar geometry about the palladium center and a global C2 symmetric structure. Variable temperature and concentration NMR spectroscopic studies of complex 3 suggest an equilibrium between 3 and the dinuclear species [{2,6-(2-{Me2NCH2}C6H4)2C6H3Pd}2μ2-I]I in CDCl3 solution. An unusual carbonate complex [{2,6-(2-{Me2NCH2}C6H4)2C6H3Pd}3μ3-CO3]I3 (4) was also structurally characterized as a minor product during synthesis of 3.
Consumer-focused data collection in prevention program evaluation. Rationale and illustrations.

This article presents a rationalefor consumer-focused data collection at multiple points in the process ofprevention program evaluation. Recommended procedures include data collection on consumer responses to various recruitment strategies and consumer preferences for specific program delivery features. Following the general rationale for use of these procedures, a summary description of their relationship with existing approaches to program evaluation is presented. Finally, illustrations of consumer-focused data collection procedures applied during several phases of an ongoing program evaluation project are provided.
An Assessment of Non-Intrusive Probabilistic Methods for Turbomachinery Problems

The ability to quantify the impact of uncertainty on performance is an important facet of engineering design. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) studies during the design cycle typically utilize estimates of boundary conditions, geometry and model constants, all of which have uncertainty that could lead to variations in the estimated performance of the design. Traditionally, engineering environments have relied on Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations to obtain probabilistic estimates. But MC methods have poor convergence rate leading to prohibitive computational requirements when used in conjunction with medium to high fidelity computational tools. In this study, we will use an alternate probabilistic approach. We assume that the uncertainties in our computational system can be modeled as random variables with known/prescribed distributions, use CFD solvers to estimate the performance measures and then use a psuedo-spectral probabilistic collocation technique to determine regression/interpolation fits. The psuedo-spectral discrete expansion uses the orthogonal polynomials from the Askey-Wiener basis and finds the coefficients of the expansion [1]. We will restrict our attention to problems with one random variable and hence can without ambiguity choose the Gauss quadratures as the optimal choice to obtain statistical data (mean, variance, moments etc.) of the performance measures. The computational frame-work will be first validated against Monte-Carlo simulations to assess convergence of pdfs. It will then be used to assess the variability in compressor blade efficiency and turbine vane loss due to uncertainty in inflow conditions. The results will be used to answer the following questions. Do we need new probabilistic algorithms to quantify the impact of uncertainty? What is the optimal basis for standard performance metrics in turbomachinery? What are the computational and accuracy requirements of this probabilistic approach? Are there alternate (more efficient) techniques? We believe that the answers to the above questions will provide a quantitative basis to assess the usefulness of non-intrusive (and possibly intrusive) probabilistic methods to analyze variability in engineering designs.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
A novel mutation (R97C) in the neurophysin moiety of prepro-vasopressin-neurophysin II associated with autosomal-dominant neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus.

Autosomal-dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (adFNDI) is caused by heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding vasopressin-neurophysin II (AVP-NPII) on chromosome 20p13. We analyzed the AVP-NP II gene in a family with adFNDI by direct sequencing. A novel C to T transition (289C-->T in the cDNA, resulting in the substitution of Arg 97 by Cys (R97C) in the prepro-AVP-NPII precursor molecule) was identified in the gene region encoding neurophysin II in the index patient. This amino acid change is thought to result in the formation of an incorrectly folded hormone precursor, which may lead to chronic neurotoxicity and explain the dominant inheritance of the disease.
Hopf algebra extensions of monogenic Hopf algebras

Abstract William M. Singer has described a cohomology theory of connected Hopf algebras which classifies extensions of a cocommutative Hopf algebra by a commutative Hopf algebra in much the same way as the cohomology of groups classifies extensions of a group by an abelian group. We compute these cohomology groups for monogenic Hopf algebras, construct an action of the base ring on the cohomology groups in the case of trivial matched pairs, and use these results to further study Singer's cohomology.
The topological design of sculptural and architectural systems

In my work over the past 12 years I have consistently created systems with an approach which I will describe as topological design. I have tried to capture the spirit of this work in my film, "The Ron Resch Paper and Stick Thing Film," which will be shown elsewhere in the conference. I would like to present here, and in a color slide presentation, the concept of topological design using examples from my work for clarity. I will show how the conception and fabrication of designed objects have a topological and a geometric aspect. Currently, these objects may be characterized as emphasizing the geometric aspect, by limiting an entire class of objects to be a unique one. Finally, I will show where the introduction of the computer into design and production process makes possible the topological aspect, so that the automation of custom made objects might replace a series of identical 'ready mades.'
Cardiovascular responses to intra-hippocampal dynorphin A-(1-8) in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Abstract Previous studies by us established that dynorphin A-(1–8) concentration in the hippocampal formation of spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) brain was much less than in the hippocampus of normotensive controls. The connection between low dynorphins and SHR hypertension was unclear. The object of the present study was to determine (1) whether microinjections of dynorphin A-(1–8) into the hippocampus of anesthetized SHR would produce centrally mediated effects on arterial pressure and heart rate and (2) whether these responses would differ qualitatively or quantitatively from those elicited in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) or Sprague-Dawley rats. A statistically significant elevation of arterial pressure was observed in SHR at 8, 12 and 16 weeks compared to WKY and Sprague-Dawley controls at similar ages. There were no significant changes in heart rate of SHR compared to WKY and Sprague-Dawley rats. Intra-hippocampal dynorphin A-(1–8) caused a dose-dependent (0.05, 0.5, 5.0 and 50.0 nmol) hypotension and bradycardia in all strains, and ages but the responses were quantitatively larger in SHR than in the normotensive strains. Nor-binaltorphimine, a selective antagonist for κ-opioid receptor, pretreated into the hippocampus caused a significant blockade of the dynorphin A-(1–8) responses in all strains. The results established that (1) intra-hippocampal dynorphin A-(1–8) lowered the arterial pressure and heart rate by a central mechanism, in all strains, at all ages tested and (2) the responses were quantitatively greater in SHR than in WKY and Sprague-Dawley strains. The responses appear to involve activation of a κ receptor in the hippocampus. The findings support our earlier suggestion that the hippocampal-dynorphin system may be somehow involved in central cardiovascular regulation and that this regulation is compromised in SHR.
On the uses of expert judgment on complex technical problems

The authors place in perspective the role and uses of expert judgment in examining complex technical and engineering problems. Specifically, they indicate how expert judgements are usually used in analyzing technical problems, how to improve the use of expert judgments, and how to interpret judgments in analysis. The value of quantifying expert judgments to complement the expert's qualitative thinking and reasoning is stressed. The relationships between procedures to quantify judgments and the general principles of engineering are discussed. >
The Limits of De Novo DNA Motif Discovery

A major challenge in molecular biology is reverse-engineering the cis-regulatory logic that plays a major role in the control of gene expression. This program includes searching through DNA sequences to identify “motifs” that serve as the binding sites for transcription factors or, more generally, are predictive of gene expression across cellular conditions. Several approaches have been proposed for de novo motif discovery–searching sequences without prior knowledge of binding sites or nucleotide patterns. However, unbiased validation is not straightforward. We consider two approaches to unbiased validation of discovered motifs: testing the statistical significance of a motif using a DNA “background” sequence model to represent the null hypothesis and measuring performance in predicting membership in gene clusters. We demonstrate that the background models typically used are “too null,” resulting in overly optimistic assessments of significance, and argue that performance in predicting TF binding or expression patterns from DNA motifs should be assessed by held-out data, as in predictive learning. Applying this criterion to common motif discovery methods resulted in universally poor performance, although there is a marked improvement when motifs are statistically significant against real background sequences. Moreover, on synthetic data where “ground truth” is known, discriminative performance of all algorithms is far below the theoretical upper bound, with pronounced “over-fitting” in training. A key conclusion from this work is that the failure of de novo discovery approaches to accurately identify motifs is basically due to statistical intractability resulting from the fixed size of co-regulated gene clusters, and thus such failures do not necessarily provide evidence that unfound motifs are not active biologically. Consequently, the use of prior knowledge to enhance motif discovery is not just advantageous but necessary. An implementation of the LR and ALR algorithms is available at http://code.google.com/p/likelihood-ratio-motifs/.
Basal serum immunoglobulin levels

Two congenic strains of mice were identified that differ in their serum immunoglobulin levels. The strains were crossed, the F1 progeny were intercrossed, and the serum immunoglobulin levels of the F1 and F2 progeny were analyzed. The F1 mice have serum immunoglobulin levels like that of the high parent, and the low-immunoglobulin phenotype segregates in the F2 population. Six other inbred strains of mice were also characterized for basal serum levels of five classes of immunoglobulin.
The wharf rats: A preliminary examination of alcoholics anonymous and the grateful dead head phenomena∗

The Grateful Dead are a San Francisco rock band. Their fans, commonly referred to as “Deadheads”, are considered to be among the most loyal group of rock fans in the history of this musical genre. Deadheads nomadic lifestyle, tastes in clothing, normative values and belief in drug use have strong links to the hippie subculture of the 1960's. In recent years a group of recovering alcoholic Deadheads, called the Wharf Rats, have organized themselves around the principles of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Wharf Rats organization now supports a mailing list of over 3000 names. More recently a splinter group has organized around the Narcotics Anonymous program. The split from the Wharf Rats parallels the split between the more traditional A.A. and N.A. organizations. This paper will compare the Wharf Rats organization with more traditional A.A. groups in terms of intergroup communications, public information and spirituality, which is central to 12 steps programs. The split between the Wharf Rats an...
THE SYNTHESIS OF HIGHLY ORIENTED POLYTHIOMETHYLENE DIRECTLY BY THE RADIATION POLYMERIZATION OF CRYSTALLINE TRITHIANE

Experimental conditions are reported for the successful radiation polymerization of crystalline trithiane to yield highly oriented polythiomethylene. It is noted that the sharp orientation spots of polythiomethylene form definite layer lines corresponding to a spacing along the axis of orientation of the polymer of 5.10 A, quite close to the spacing of trithiane in this direction of 5.25 A. An analysis of the x-ray reflections of polythiomethylene, distinguishable from those of trithiane indicates a possible orthorhombic space group for the polymer with a = 12.7, b = 12.0, and c = 5.10 A. A list of the polymer reflections and their, Miller indexes, assuming the orthorhombic unit cell is given. (P.C.H.)
Papilla (nipple) development during female puberty

The purpose of this study was to compare breast papilla (nipple) development to the established criteria of secondary sexual maturation. One hundred and sixty-eight girls (100 black and 68 white) ranging in age from 2–21 years had their papilla diameter measured and their Tanner stage assessed. Minimal nipple development occurred from stages PH1–PH3 (2.91–4.08 mm) and B1–B3 (2.75–3.96 mm) or premenstrually (3.61 mm). Significant growth occurred beyond stages PH3, B3 (PH4—7.22 mm, PH5—9.36 mm, B4—7.74 mm, B5—9.47 mm) and near or after menarche(7.82 mm for girls 0–2 years post-menarche, 9.23 mm for girls 2–4 years post-menarche and 9.65 mm for girls more than four years after menarche). A more objective definition for breast stages B4 and B5, based on nipple diameter, may now be feasible, thus enhancing the precision with which physiologic events occurring toward the close of puberty can be studied.
Enhancements through design transformations: a retroactive case study

A formal approach to software design in the form of transformations is shown to be useful for the redesign of existing systems. A design transformation maps a given design into an alternative design. Transformations are based on a model that consists of program blocks and the input and output data of these blocks. The result of a transformation may be a rearrangement of the blocks, splitting of blocks or a combination of existing blocks. Typically, software design concepts are applicable to designs that stem from specifications, they are less capable when applied to existing systems. A transformational scheme is inherently iterative. The redesign of existing systems is, therefore, the application of transformations starting from an iteration that happens to be the existing system. A real-life example, in which a function in a distributed system was first designed and then redesigned, both intuitively, is the basis of the case study. We show that the redesign process that was undertaken in order to enhance a function can be achieved with the design transformations proposed. Through the example, we demonstrate that the transformational scheme is not difficult to apply, precise, and capable of reusing program components not affected by the redesign.
Cardiac myocyte adenosine receptors and caveolae.

Abstract The purine nucleoside adenosine exerts numerous effects in the mammalian heart, the most well-recognized being regulation of coronary blood flow and cardiac conduction. These effects are mediated via activation of G protein linked adenosine receptor subtypes, A 2a and A 1 receptors, located primarily on vascular cells and cardiac myocytes, respectively. Although adenosine A 1 receptors are also expressed in ventricular myocytes, adenosine exerts no significant direct effects in these cells. A recent report from our laboratory indicates that ventricular myocyte A 1 receptors are concentrated in caveolin enriched plasma membrane microdomains referred to as caveolae. This review focuses on these recent findings and their relevance to subcellular compartmentalization of A 1 receptor signaling in ventricular myocardium.
Exploring binge drinking and drug use among American Indians: data from adolescent focus groups.

Background: Risk factors for binge substance use and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are similar, suggesting the importance of exploring how binge substance use and self-injury interrelate. Objectives: To gain insight from a sample of American Indian (AI) adolescents regarding how binge drinking and drug use function in their lives, including as overlapping forms of self-injury, and to identify community-based ideas for dual prevention strategies. Methods: A total of N = 58 White Mountain Apache (Apache) adolescents participated in ten mixed gender (n = 33 males, 55.9%) focus group discussions. Results were interpreted and categorized by Apache researchers and compared to Nock’s behavioral model of NSSI. Results: Participants reported substance use most commonly with “family” and “friends,” “at a house,” or “around the community.” Substance use was not confined to a particular time of day, and often occurred “at school.” Commonly endorsed reasons fell into two main categories: “to avoid problems” or “to r...
Cervical carcinoma with glandular differentiation: Histological evaluation predicts disease recurrence in clinical stage I or II patients☆☆☆

Pathologists confront questions concerning the clinical implications of the more complex, evolving histopathologic classification in cervical carcinoma with glandular differentiation (CCGD) and the associated precursor intraepithelial lesions. Pseudoneoplastic pitfalls, such as microglandular hyperplasia, constitute the subject of recent reports, but the extent of misinterpretation for CCGD is unknown. To address these issues, we retrospectively reviewed all the histopathologic material for 67 patients treated for early clinical stage (I or II) CCGD. Two patients (3%) had pseudoneoplastic glandular lesions (two microglandular hyperplasias). The remaining 65 CCGDs included 35 pure adenocarcinomas (18 mucinous, six serous, five endometrioid, five clear cell, and one adenoid cystic), 26 adenosquamous carcinomas (17 showed > or = 50% and nine showed > 10% but < 50% squamous differentiation-all nonkeratinizing; four were predominantly glassy cell type, and the others showed the following adenocarcinoma component differentiation: 11 mucinous, eight serous, and three endometrioid) and four villoglandular papillary adenocarcinomas (all four were mucinous). In situ carcinoma was identified in 54%. The two patients with pseudoneoplastic lesions were disease free (after 96 and 108 months). Twenty-one patients with CCGD had recurrent disease at 4 to 144 months (mean, 45; median, 18) including three local recurrences, 10 with distant metastasis, and eight with both. Thirty-five patients with CCGD were disease free at 12 to 216 months follow-up (mean, 80.6; median, 65). Adenosquamous (P < .0002, predictive value [PV] = .68) and serous differentiation (P < .05, PV = .61) were the only histological types associated with disease recurrence. Vascular space invasion (P < .0002, PV = .7), deeper invasion (P < .0005), nuclear grade (P = .002, PV = .51), larger tumors on clinical exam (P < .01) or pathological evaluation (P < .01), and presence of pelvic lymph node metastasis at surgery (P < .05, PV = .7) are additional features associated with recurrent disease. A combination of adenosquamous or serous differentiation and vascular space invasion maximized PV for recurrent disease at a level of .75. Mucinous, endometrioid, or clear cell histological types, architectural grade, or the distinction between clinical stages I and II were not associated with recurrent disease. None of the four patients with villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma exhibited recurrent disease, but confirmation of this histological subtype's prognostic value was hindered by the small number of cases identified (P = .16). Adenosquamous and serous differentiation, nuclear grading, pathological evaluation of vascular space and lymph node involvement, and recognition of pseudoneoplastic glandular lesions helped predict recurrent disease in low clinical stage CCGD in this retrospective study.