cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Suppression of cellular immunity by lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Modulation ofin vitro cellular immune responses by the spirocheteBorrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, was demonstrated. When cultured in the presence of sonicatedBorrelia preparation (Bb), the mitogen- or antigen-stimulated proliferative responses of normal lymphocytes were consistently lowered as compared with control values. The degree of the proliferation reduction was directly proportional to both Bb quantity and length of exposure in culture. Bb caused the greatest reduction in both Con A and specific antigen such as BCG-stimulated proliferation, where an almost 100% reduction in proliferation could be achieved. Bb also reduced PHA- or PWM-stimulated PBL proliferation, with the PWM proliferation being the least affected. Also, IL2 production was significantly reduced from Bb-exposed lymphocytes. The entry of Bb-exposed lymphocytes into the proliferating phases of the cell cycle was also shown to be blocked. This regulatory activity was determined to be Bb proteins, sensitive to trypsin treatment and estimated to be 62–100 kDa in molecular weight. Therefore, the presence of spirochetes or their antigens in the hosts may block lymphocyte proliferation and activation, underscoring an important pathogenic mechanism of Lyme disease.
An intracoronal semiprecision retainer for removable partial dentures—The Thompson dowel☆☆☆

Abstract An intracoronal semiprecision retainer for removable partial dentures has been described. The advantages, disadvantages, and indications for use of the semiprecision retainer have been detailed and compared with those of other types of intracoronal retainers. The versatility of design, combined with retention, stressbreaking features, and an effective method of indirect retention, make this semiprecision retainer the one of choice for mesial- and distal-extension removable partial dentures.
Uterine effects of tamoxifen: a prospective study

The purpose of the study was to evaluate tamoxifen-associated changes in the vagina and uterus in postmenopausal breast cancer patients. Between June 1994 and December 1998, 45 patients enrolled in a prospective study before commencing tamoxifen therapy. Patients with endometrial thickness >5 mm or neoplasia were excluded. Transvaginal ultrasonography, vaginal maturation indexes (VMI), and endometrial biopsy were performed at baseline and repeated at 6 months (n= 42), 1 year (n= 39), 2 years (n= 32), 3 years (n= 26), 4 years (n= 19), and 5 years (n= 15). For the 39 patients followed for 1 year, VMI (% parabasal/intermediate/superficial) was 21/71/8 at baseline compared with 1/90/9 at 1 year (P value = 0.0008/0.001/0.78). At baseline, mean endometrial thickness and uterine volume were 2.6 mm and 64 cm3, respectively, compared with 5.8 mm and 84 cm3 at 1 year (P= 0.0002, 0.002). At baseline, 80% of patients had atrophic endometrium and 9% proliferative endometrium compared with 61% and 26% at 1 year, respectively (P= 0.04). No cases of endometrial hyperplasia or adenocarcinoma were detected. Findings observed at 6 months persisted through 5 years of follow-up. Tamoxifen exerts a weak estrogenic effect on the vagina and uterus in highly prescreened postmenopausal women without preexisting endometrial pathology.
Examining the predictors of consumer response to sport marketing via digital social media

Digital technology has had a profound impact on the sport industry over the past few decades. Sport organisations are constantly employing new methods to promote their brand or communicate with fans, and technological innovations are often at the centre of such strategy. Despite the prolific use of such technology in the industry, there is a paucity of scholarly research as to the effectiveness of such tactics in sport marketing. The current study uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a framework for examining predictors of consumer preferences for a particular innovation, namely digital social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter). Results of SEM analyses indicate certain TAM constructs, along with some consumer characteristics, appear to influence individual attitudes toward, and intentions to use social media to follow sport organisations. Future research directions and implications for sport marketers are discussed.
Work in progress - establishing and maintaining successful community college partnerships

Four-year universities exhibit very low two-year retention within engineering fields. Community colleges represent an attractive source to replace those cohort losses with upper division transfer students. The community college system, however, is often used inefficiently by those students, who often find that they have much longer courses of study remaining after they arrive at a university to study engineering. Summer internships that expose community college students to the university environment and to engineering design processes are a valuable tool to ease student transition. Distance education offerings of introductory engineering courses improve curriculum efficiency. Increased student awareness and communication with university faculty and specialized advisors will improve student recruiting and retention through this valuable state resource.
Pulmonary Embolism Thrombolysis Broadening the Paradigm for Its Administration

Recommendations for appropriate administration of thrombolysis in PE have sparked debate and controversy for the past 30 years. Sometimes, those preparing journal symposia or national meetings have successfully enlivened their projects by inviting a “protagonist” and “antagonist” of thrombolysis for PE to pummel each other in public. Such exercises naturally tend to make the debaters focus solely on points that support their assigned positions. As a result, the audience must contend with two extreme views that rarely overlap. In contrast, consensus conferences have been convened to obtain expert opinions and then to issue guidelines on the optimal role of thrombolysis in PE management. Unfortunately, neither debates nor consensus conferences help to advance the field very much because the “take home message” is often swayed more by the articulateness and authority of a particular individual than by literature-based evidence. Ironically, the written or oral debate format and consensus guidelines are often relied on the most when data are sparse and the field of interest is murky. Instead of becoming immolated by the heat of argument, one should pause when considering PE thrombolysis so that several fundamental points can be enumerated. First, PEs present with a wide spectrum of acuity and differ markedly in size and physiological effects. Therefore, optimal management strategies should rely on risk stratification rather than a “one size fits all” approach to treatment.1 Second, PE patients are often cursorily dichotomized as having either hemodynamic instability (with a systolic arterial pressure <90 mm Hg) or “normal hemodynamics.” However, cardiologists especially should further categorize patients as having normal systemic arterial pressure plus normal right ventricular function or normal systemic arterial pressure plus dysfunction of the right ventricle. The latter population, which was the focus of the study by Konstantinides and colleagues2 in this issue of Circulation , may …
Steady state thermal analysis of PWRs by a single-pass procedure using a simplified nodal layout

Abstract A single-pass procedure using a prescribed nodal layout has been developed for steady state PWR core analysis. Recommended nodal patterns for modelling the reactor core by the one stage analysis method have been proposed. By using this one-stage simplified method, DNBR analyses of cores having either one hot subchannel or two equally hot subchannels can be accomplished by a thermal-hydraulic computer code with a capacity of seven or seventeen radial nodes, respectively. The advantages of the simplified method over the other multistage approaches also are discussed and compared.
Activation of macrophages by peroxidases

Peritoneal macrophages from C57BL/6 mice were activated in vitro with various peroxidases and their cytotoxic activity toward 3T12 cells was determined. Destruction of 3T12 cells by macrophages stimulated with horseradish peroxidase, lactoperoxidase, and microperoxidase was observed at peroxidase concentrations as low as 9, 1.6, and 200 nM, respectively. A 50% cytotoxic effect was obtained at peroxidase concentrations of 0.9, 1.6, and 1.5 microM, respectively. The macrophage-stimulating activity of horseradish peroxidase was not destroyed by boiling. This, together with the high activity of microperoxidase, indicates that the macrophage-stimulating activity of the peroxidases is probably associated with the heme portion of the enzymes. On a molar basis the peroxidases are much less potent macrophage activators than interferon (alpha + beta) and endotoxin. Nevertheless, our data clearly indicate that peroxidases are a group of enzymes capable of inducing macrophage activation, resulting in cytostatic and/or cytocidal activity.
Models of the Earth's Core

Combined inferences from seismology, high-pressure experiment and theory, geomagnetism, fluid dynamics, and current views of terrestrial planetary evolution lead to models of the earth's core with the following properties. Core formation was contemporaneous with earth accretion; the core is not in chemical equilibrium with the mantle; the outer core is a fluid iron alloy containing significant quantities of lighter elements and is probably almost adiabatic and compositionally uniform; the more iron-rich inner solid core is a consequence of partial freezing of the outer core, and the energy release from this process sustains the earth's magnetic field; and the thermodynamic properties of the core are well constrained by the application of liquid-state theory to seismic and laboratory data.
Rapid delivery of the dopamine transporter to the plasmalemmal membrane upon amphetamine stimulation

The dopamine transporter, DAT, is a primary regulator of dopamine (DA) signaling at the synapse. Persistent stimulation with the substrate amphetamine (AMPH) promotes DAT internalization. AMPH rapidly elicits DA efflux, yet its effect on DAT trafficking at short times is unknown. We examined the rapid effect of AMPH on DAT trafficking in rat striatal synaptosomes using biotinylation to label surface DAT. Within 30s of treatment with 3 microM AMPH, synaptosomal DAT surface expression increased to 163% of control and remained elevated through at least 1 min before returning to control levels at 2.5 min. The increase in surface DAT was cocaine-sensitive but was not produced by DA itself. A 1-min preincubation with AMPH did not alter [(3)H]DA uptake, but did result in a higher basal DA efflux and efflux elicited in the presence of AMPH as compared to vehicle pretreatment. Reversible biotinylation experiments demonstrated that the AMPH-stimulated rise in surface DAT is due to an increase in the delivery of DAT to the plasmalemmal membrane rather than a reduction of the endocytic process. These studies suggest that AMPH has a biphasic effect on DAT trafficking and acts rapidly to regulate DAT in the plasmalemmal membrane.
Increasing Organizational Evidence Based Practice Capacity Through an Evidence Based Practice Scholars Program

The mission of the Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) is to support its members in their practice. One means of accomplishing this mission is to keep its membership informed of innovative initiatives involving its members that promote evidenced based practice and scholarly work within the larger pediatric healthcare community. The Evidenced Based Practice (EBP) Scholars Program described below provides a model of training that imparts a systematic approach to answering clinical questions relevant to pediatric health professionals. Analytical consumption of current research with the purpose of answering these questions is an arduous process that requires intense training. SPN is pleased to highlight the EBP Scholars Program as an exemplar that can be implemented at other facilities as a means of promoting the development of scholars that are better equipped to develop evidenced based guidelines in pediatric practice.
SOME LIKE IT HOT: CORONAL HEATING OBSERVATIONS FROM HINODE X-RAY TELESCOPE AND RHESSI

We have used Hinode X-Ray Telescope observations and RHESSI upper limits together to characterize the differential emission measure (DEM) from a quiescent active region. We find a relatively smooth DEM curve with the expected active region peak at log T = 6.4. We also find a high-temperature component with significant emission measure at log T approx> 7. This curve is consistent with previous observations of quiescent active regions in that it does not produce observable Fe XIX lines. It is different from that generated with X-Ray Telescope (XRT) data alone-RHESSI rules out the possibility of a separate high-temperature component with a peak of approximately log T = 7.4. The strength and position of the high-temperature peak in this XRT-only analysis was, however, poorly determined; adding RHESSI flux upper limits in the 4-13 keV energy range provide a strong high-temperature constraint which greatly improves the multi-thermal findings. The results of the present work as well as those from a growing number of papers on this subject imply that our previous understanding of the temperature distribution in active regions has been limited. Hot plasma (log T approx 7) appears to be prevalent, although in relatively small quantities as predicted by nanoflare models.more » Other models may need to be adjusted or updated to account for these new results.« less
Labeling of Serum, Liver, and Testicular Lipids Following the Injection Of Arachidonic-1-C14 Acid.∗:

SummaryRats were injected with arachi-donic-1-C14 acid and the serum, liver, and testicular lipids examined at different time periods. The liver, at 1 hour, was found to contain 35% of the injected C14-activity. Arachidonic acid was preferentially incorporated into the liver and testicular phos-pholipids and the serum cholesterol esters. A rapid turnover of liver and serum arachidonic acid was observed (turnover time 18-24 hours). Long chain fatty acids derived from arachidonic acid were present in appreciable amounts only in the testes. The significance of these findings in relation to the metabolism of arachidonic acid is discussed.
Gender and Cell-Type-Specific Effects of the Transcription-Coupled Repair Protein, ERCC6/CSB, on Repeat Expansion in a Mouse Model of the Fragile X-Related Disorders

The repeat expansion diseases are human genetic disorders that arise from the expansion of a tandem-repeat tract. The Fragile X-related disorders are members of this disease group in which the repeat unit is CGG/CCG and is located in the 5′ untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. Affected individuals often show mosaicism with respect to repeat number resulting from both expansion and contraction of the repeat tract; however, the mechanism responsible for these changes in repeat number is unknown. The work from a variety of model systems suggests that transcription-coupled repair (TCR) may contribute to repeat instability in diseases resulting from CAG/CTG-repeat expansion. To test whether TCR could contribute to repeat instability in the Fragile X-related disorders, we tested the effect of mutations in Csb (Cockayne syndrome group B), a gene essential for TCR, in a knock-in mouse model of these disorders. We found that the loss of CSB affects expansions in a gender and cell-type-specific manner. Our data also show an unanticipated gender difference in instability even in Csb+/+ animals that may have implications for our understanding of the mechanism of repeat expansion in the FX mouse model and perhaps for humans as well.
Caspase-mediated Bak activation and cytochrome c release during intrinsic apoptotic cell death in Jurkat cells.

Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and the release of intermembrane space proteins, such as cytochrome c, are early events during intrinsic (mitochondria-mediated) apoptotic signaling. Although this process is generally accepted to require the activation of Bak or Bax, the underlying mechanism responsible for their activation during true intrinsic apoptosis is not well understood. In the current study, we investigated the molecular requirements necessary for Bak activation using distinct clones of Bax-deficient Jurkat T-lymphocytes in which the intrinsic pathway had been inhibited. Cells stably overexpressing Bcl-2/Bcl-xL or stably depleted of Apaf-1 were equally resistant to apoptosis induced by the DNA-damaging anticancer drug etoposide as determined by phosphatidylserine externalization and caspase activation. Strikingly, characterization of mitochondrial apoptotic events in all three drug-resistant cell lines revealed that, without exception, resistance to apoptosis was associated with an absence of Bak activation, cytochrome c release, and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Furthermore, we found that etoposide-induced apoptosis and mitochondrial events were inhibited in cells stably overexpressing either full-length X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) or the BIR1/BIR2 domains of XIAP. Combined, our findings suggest that caspase-mediated positive amplification of initial mitochondrial changes can determine the threshold for irreversible activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.
Compatibilization of syndiotactic polystyrene and a thermotropic liquid‐crystalline polymer blend with a zinc salt of a sulfonated polystyrene ionomer

A zinc salt of a lightly sulfonated (4.5 mol %) polystyrene ionomer was used to compatibilize a 3/1 (w/w) blend of syndiotactic polystyrene and a wholly aromatic thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer (TLCP). The addition of the ionomer significantly reduced the dispersed TLCP domain size and improved the tensile strength, ultimate elongation, and flexural toughness of the blend. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 564–568, 2003
Building a Vessel Wall With Notch Signaling

See related article, pages 466–475 Blood vessel walls are built and maintained by 2 interdependent cell types, endothelial cells and mural cells. Signals exchanged between these 2 cell types control the formation, maturation, remodeling, and function of microvascular networks. Mural cells are either pericytes in the microvasculature or smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in larger vessels. Interactions between endothelial cells and mural cells serve to stabilize nascent capillary vessels, provide endothelial cell survival factors, inhibit endothelial cell proliferation, promote mural cell differentiation, and guide vascular network remodeling.1,2 Yet precisely how endothelial cells recruit mural cells to form a functional vessel wall is still incompletely understood. The initial steps in this process of vessel wall formation, called investment, involve the establishment of cell-cell contacts between endothelium and incoming mural cells, which triggers a self-reinforcing mechanism to maintain the contacts and initiate the next phase of vessel wall maturation. N-cadherin appears to be important for heterotypic cell-cell adhesion between endothelial cells and nascent SMCs in the embryonic day 12.5 dorsal aorta.3 As vascular development proceeds, an iterative investment sequence is set into motion, as is evident by the multilayered structure of the tunica media that is produced in large vessels. In the microvasculature, communication between endothelial cells and mural cells prevents vascular regression and promotes maturation processes in both cell types.2 Investment of microvessels with pericytes is a reversible process that is highly responsive to changes in the rate and direction of blood flow.4 Although these basic steps of vessel wall investment have been known for many years, the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for morphogenesis of this structure are still not well understood. In this issue of Circulation Research , a report by Liu et al begins to identify some of the key early players in this …
Maternal Methyl Supplements in Mice Affect Epigenetic Variation and DNA Methylation of Offspring

This study was designed to determine if maternal dietary methyl supplements increase DNA methylation and methylation-dependent epigenetic phenotypes in mammalian offspring. Female mice of two strains were fed two levels of dietary methyl supplement or control diet prior to and during pregnancy. Offspring of these mice vary in phenotype, which is epigenetically determined and affects health and 2-y survival. Phenotype and DNA methylation of a long terminal repeat (LTR) controlling expression of the agouti gene were assayed in the resulting offspring. Methyl supplements increase the level of DNA methylation in the agouti LTR and change the phenotype of offspring in the healthy, longer-lived direction. This shows that methyl supplements have strong effects on DNA methylation and phenotype and are likely to affect long-term health. Optimum dietary supplements for the health and longevity of offspring should be intensively investigated. This should lead to public policy guidance that teaches optimal, rather than minimal, dose levels of maternal supplements.
Statistics of subgrid-scale stress states in homogeneous isotropic turbulence

Two parameters are introduced that uniquely characterize the state of a third-order symmetric tensor. We show that the proposed parameters arise from the uniform metric in the matrix space; thus the joint PDF of these parameters can be used to determine the geometrical statistics of any third-order symmetric tensor. We use this joint PDF to describe the states of the subgrid-scale stress, which is of central interest in large-eddy simulation. Direct numerical simulation of forced isotropic turbulence is used in our a priori tests. With the proposed parameterization we can also assess the most probable flow configuration at the scales of motion just above the Kolmogorov scale. We test four different subgrid-scale models in terms of how well they predict the structure, or state, of the subgrid-scale stress. It is found that models based on truncated Taylor series do not produce an adequate distribution of states, even if augmented by a turbulent viscosity term. On the other hand, models based on the scale-similarity assumption predict a distribution of states that is close to actual.
Theoretical analysis and FDTD simulation of GaAs nonlinear transmission lines

The GaAs nonlinear transmission line (NLTL), a monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuit consisting of a high-impedance transmission line loaded by reverse-biased Schottky diodes, is studied in detail in this paper. A distributed model of the NLTL is successfully developed through the use of the microwave network theory. This model is more accurate than the lumped-element model that has been widely used before. The application of the NLTL for picosecond pulse generation, including shock-wave formation, is explained in detail based on the distributed model. Finally, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique is used to simulate the NLTL's for the first time. The simulation results show good agreement with the experiment results, FDTD is more accurate than SPICE in the simulation of NLTL's.
Q-TAT production and CIM systems for the packaging process within IC fabrication

The time required for the processes from die bonding through molding could be reduced to less than half a day by introducing improved production systems, new processes, and the CIM system. Thus, a CIM line capable of flexible small-lot production of multiple product variations could be constructed. In addition, the time required for input to the packaging process through packing was reduced to half that of the conventional system, thus achieving a QTAT line. Productivity was also enhanced to 1.5 times that of the conventional system.
New Techniques for the Nanostructural Characterization of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Using Combined Focused Ion Beam and Transmission Electron Microscopy Techniques

We describe novel techniques which extend the range of available nanostructural characterization capability for semiconductor materials and devices. These techniques combine high spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopy using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy. Specific capabilities described include nanoscale imaging of dopant distributions, ultra-high resolution secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and tomographic image reconstruction.
Biolistic transformation: microbes to mice

A new design of the Biolistic device allows the in-situ transformation of animal tissue and improved efficiencies of transformation of plants and microbes.
Hash-Based Sequential Aggregate and Forward Secure Signature for Unattended Wireless Sensor Networks

Unattended Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) operating in hostile environments face great security and performance challenges due to the lack of continuous real-time communication between senders (sensors) and receivers (e.g., mobile data collectors, static sinks). The lack of real-time communication forces sensors to accumulate the sensed data possibly for long time periods, along with the corresponding signatures for authentication purposes. Moreover, non-real-time characteristic of UWSNs makes sensors vulnerable especially to active adversaries, which compromise sensors and extract all data stored in them. Hence, it is critical to have forward security property such that even if the adversary can compromise the current keying materials, she cannot modify or forge authenticated data generated before the node compromise. Forward secure and aggregate signatures are cryptographic primitives developed to address these issues. Unfortunately, existing forward secure and aggregate signature schemes either impose substantial computation and storage overhead, or do not allow public verifiability, thereby impractical for resource-constrained UWSNs. In order to address these problems, we propose a new class of signature schemes, which we refer to as Hash-Based Sequential Aggregate and Forward Secure Signature (HaSAFSS). Such a scheme allows a signer to sequentially generate a compact, fixed-size, and publicly verifiable signature at a nearly optimal computational cost. We propose two HaSAFSS schemes, Symmetric HaSAFSS (Sym-HaSAFSS) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) based HaSAFSS (ECC-HaSAFSS). Both schemes integrate the efficiency of MAC-based aggregate signatures and the public verifiability of bilinear map based signatures by preserving forward security via Timed-Release Encryption (TRE). We demonstrate that our schemes are secure under appropriate computational assumptions. We also show that our schemes are significantly more efficient in terms of both computational and storage overheads than previous schemes, and therefore quite practical for even highly resource-constrained UWSN applications.
Efficient integrated response generation from multiple targets using weighted finite state transducers

In this paper, we describe how language generation and speech synthesis for spoken dialog systems can be efficiently integrated under a weighted finite state transducer architecture. Taking advantage of this efficiency, we show that introducing flexible targets in generation leads to more natural sounding synthesis. Specifically, we allow multiple wordings of the response and multiple prosodic realizations of the different wordings. The choice of wording and prosodic structure are then jointly optimized with unit selection for waveform generation in speech synthesis. Results of perceptual experiments show that by integrating the steps of language generation and speech synthesis, we are able to achieve improved naturalness of synthetic speech compared to the sequential implementation.
Double-couple earthquake source: symmetry and rotation

SUMMARY We consider statistical analysis of double-couple (DC) earthquake focal mechanism orientation. The symmetry of DC changes with its geometrical properties, and the number of 3-D rotations one DC source can be transformed into another depends on its symmetry. Four rotations exist in a general case of DC with the nodal-plane ambiguity, two transformations if the fault plane is known and one rotation if the sides of the fault plane are known. The symmetry of rotated objects is extensively analysed in statistical crystallographic texture studies, and we apply their results to analysing DC orientation. We consider theoretical probability distributions which can be used to approximate observational patterns of focal mechanisms. Uniform randomrotationdistributionsforvariousDCsourcesarediscussed,aswellastwonon-uniform distributions:therotationalCauchyandvonMises–Fisher.Wediscusshowparametersofthese rotations can be estimated by a statistical analysis of earthquake source properties in global seismicity. We also show how earthquake focal mechanism orientations can be displayed on the Rodrigues vector space.
The effect of uplink fading on the pointing and tracking system of the Mars lasercom terminal

We study the effect of atmospheric fading on the pointing and tracking system of the Mars lasercom terminal. We show system performance with varying atmospheric turbulence. Algorithms to mitigate errors caused by fading are demonstrated.
Defoliation of a monodominant rain-forest tree by a noctuid moth in Gabon

Relatively little is known of the relationships between many lepidopteran species and their larval food plants in tropical rain forests, compared with temperate ecosystems. Species are often known only from the adult form, and the larvae and aspects of ecology, host plant, etc. are unknown (Williams 1971). Many species in the moth genus Achaea sometimes occur at high enough population densities to be defoliators, and several species are associated especially with forest trees: some are agricultural pests on groundnuts and castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) (Pinhey 1975, M. Shaw, pers. comm.). Achaea catocaloides occurs from West Africa through Uganda to East Africa (Seitz 1925) and has been recorded in interactions with ants in Cameroon (Dejean et al. 1991).
DIMENSIONLESS GROUPS FOR THE EQUILIBRIUM SORPTION OF POLYSULFONATED ACID DYES BY POLYAMIDES

The equations of a Donnan model for equilibrium sorption of ions by polymers are expressed in dimensionless form and extended to cover the sorption of polysul fonated acid dyes by polyamide fibers. New expressions for key dimensionless groups are developed, and these groups are used to describe and analyze the equilibrium sorption of CI Acid Blue 45 by polyamide fibers. Improved estimates of key sorption parameters are obtained. This extension of the dimensionless group approach makes possible its application to the simulation and control of practical dyeing processes for ionic dyes.
Better leakage reduction by exploiting the built-in MOSFET-Vth characteristics

Leakage has become one of the most dominant factors of power management and signal integrity of nanometer scale integrated circuits. Recently, power gating structures has proven to be effective in controlling leakage. In this paper an alternative dual-Vth reduced power gating structure is proposed for better reduction of leakage currents, especially for low-power, high-performance portable devices. The proposed technique maintains an intermediate power saving state as well as the conventional power cut-off state. Experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed technique can significantly reduce leakage current and associated power consumptions during the hold and cut-off power saving modes. It has also been demonstrated that the proposed technique significantly reduces ground bounce due to power mode transition.
Primary adenocarcinoma in a donor lung: evaluation and surgical management

We report a case of primary non-small cell cancer diagnosed in the donor lung 33 months after bilateral pulmonary transplantation. The tumor was treated surgically. A lingular sparing left upper lobe bisegmental lung resection was performed.
Beyond Black and Red: African–Native Relations in Colonial Latin America

Beyond Black and Red: African–Native Relations in Colonial Latin America. Matthew Restall, ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005. 303 pp.
Granzyme B Proteolyzes Receptors Important to Proliferation and Survival, Tipping the Balance toward Apoptosis

Granzyme B is critical to the ability of natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes to induce efficient cell death of virally infected or tumor cell targets. Although granzyme B can cleave and activate caspases to induce apoptosis, granzyme B can also cause caspase-independent cell death. Thirteen prospective granzyme B substrates were identified from a cDNA expression-cleavage screen, including Hsp70, Notch1, fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1), poly-A-binding protein, cAbl, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H', Br140, and intersectin-1. Validation revealed that Notch1 is a substrate of both granzyme B and caspases, whereas FGFR1 is a caspase-independent substrate of granzyme B. Proteolysis of FGFR1 in prostate cancer cells has functionally relevant consequences that indicate its cleavage may be advantageous for granzyme B to kill prostate cancer cells. Therefore, granzyme B not only activates pro-death functions within a target, but also has a previously unidentified role in inactivating pro-growth signals to cause cell death.
Lubiprostone: chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

Lubiprostone is a bicyclic fatty acid metabolite analogue of prostaglandin E1. The FDA has approved lubiprostone for the treatment of chronic constipation in men and women and the treatment of women with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). Lubiprostone specifically activates type-2-chloride channels on the apical membrane of epithelial cells. Lubiprostone acts locally within the intestinal tract, is rapidly metabolized and has very low systemic bioavailability. Animal studies have demonstrated that lubiprostone increases gastrointestinal fluid secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Clinical studies performed in men and women with chronic constipation using 24 microg of lubiprostone twice-daily demonstrated objective improvement in stool frequency and consistency, as well as symptoms of straining and incomplete evacuation. A multi-center study of patients with IBS-C found that 8 microg of lubiprostone twice-daily improved both global and individual symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Lubiprostone is generally well tolerated and serious adverse events are rare. The most common reported side effects are nausea, headache and diarrhea. This monograph provides a brief overview on chloride channel function in the gastrointestinal tract, describes the structure, function, and pharmacokinetics of lubiprostone, and discusses the safety and efficacy of this new medication for the treatment of chronic constipation and IBS-C.
A Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Mechanism for Seismic Faulting

The elastic buckling of the walls of a fault line during rapid slip is shown, under certain circumstances, to create conditions that could lead to a significant reduction in frictional resistance to further slippage. This paper examines a mechanism through which some of the kinetic energy of the sliding rock mass is converted to potential energy in the form of a `standing internal wave' along the fault line. The internal wave will force the fault walls to buckle or undulate within a certain range of wavelengths. Under favourable conditions for the excitation of these waves, it will be shown that the net energy loss to friction due to these waves is negative definite, that there is a net gain, not loss, of energy from friction. Physically, this means that the wave will regain some of the lost energy to friction due to uniform sliding, and thus the frictional resistance to sliding will be reduced. This mechanism is offered as a possible triggering mechanism for large-magnitude earthquakes, and may also offer a plausible explanation to the well-known heat-flow paradox of the San Andreas fault.
Assessing search term strength in spoken term detection

Spoken term detection (STD) is an extension of text-based searching that allows users to type keywords and search audio files containing recordings of spoken language. Performance is dependent on many external factors such as the acoustic channel, the language and the confusability of the search term. Unlike text-based searches, the quality of the search term plays a significant role in the overall perception of the usability of the system. In this paper, we present a system that predicts the strength of a search term from its spelling that is based on an analysis of spoken term detection output from several spoken term detection systems that participated in the NIST 2006 STD evaluation. We show that approximately 57% of the correlation can be explained from the search term, but that a significant amount of the confusability is due to other acoustic modeling issues.
Brain dynamics in the genesis of trust as the basis for communication by representations

A theory of brain dynamics is proposed according to which brains construct external representations by actions into the world for communication. The prior brain patterns constitute meanings, not representations of meanings. The representations have no meaning in themselves. They are shaped in accordance with meaning inside transmitting brains, and they can elicit the construction of meaning inside receiving brains, provided that trust has been established between the transmitters and the receivers through appropriate neurochemical changes.
DARGENT, Eduardo, 2014, Technocracy and Democracy in Latin America: The Experts Running Government, Nueva York, Cambridge University Press. 216 pp.

Se reseno el libro: Technocracy and Democracy in Latin America: The Experts Running Government .
Phospholipases in the Macrophage

It is well established that the synthesis of prostaglandins and leukotrienes is dependent on the availability of free arachidonic acid, which is normally found esterified in the sn-2position of phospholipids. The controlling step of this production has been suggested to be at the level of arachidonic acid release from membrane phospholipids. A likely mechanism for this control is the activation of a phospholipase, probably one localized in the membranes of cells. The phospholipases comprise a widespread and abundant class of enzymes in biological systems (Dennis, 1983). They are defined by their positional specificity on the phospholipid backbone, as shown in Fig. 1. Many phospholipases have been suggested as possible modulators of arachidonic acid release. Figure 2 summarizes the various possible routes by which arachidonic acid can be released. The numerous enzyme sequences that lead to arachidonic acid release begin with one of three enzymes: phospholipase A 1 phospholipase A2, or phospholipase C. The phospholipase A2 route would be the simplest and most direct source of arachidonic acid. The second route would begin with a phospholipase A1 followed by a lysophospholipase. The last begins with a phospholipase C followed by any number of other enzymes. A number of these enzymatic systems have been detected in a variety of circulating cell types including the platelet, polymorphonuclear leukocyte, and macrophage (Bell et al., 1979; Billah et al., 1981; Kroner et al., 1982; Lanni and Franson, 1981; Wightman et al., 1981a,b, 1982).
Feedstock analysis sensitivity for estimating ethanol production potential in switchgrass and energycane biomass

Summary Efficient ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass requires highly degradable feedstock; therefore, there is a similarity between forage crop production for ruminant animals and ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. Feed value analysis techniques may be used to estimate lignocellulosic biomass quality. Because lignin and its derivatives in cell walls are major compounds interrupting biomass degradation, fiber analysis and in vitro incubation tests were conducted with switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and energycane (Saccharum spp.) biomass collected at 100 and 120 g lignin (acid detergent lignin) kg−1 DM (dry matter). Mean NDF (neutral detergent fiber) in switchgrass was consistently greater than that of energy cane regardless of lignin levels, while ADF (acid detergent fiber) did not differ. Mean of energycane in vitro true digestibility and digestible neutral detergent fiber were greater than those of switchgrass. The ADF and ruminal fermentation rate averaged by lignin levels differed, while most of the analysis results did not. Based on ADF and NDF concentrations, switchgrass contained a greater concentration of hemicellulose than energycane, while cellulose concentration was similar. Fermentability of energycane was consistently greater than that of switchgrass. Fermentation gas volume was positively correlated with cellulosic biomass degradation for ethanol production. Consequently, fermentation gas kinetic parameters obtained from biomass fermentation with rumen fluid or with yeast indicate that the fermentable pool size is the parameter most closely correlated to ethanol production potential across the species. Results obtained from feed value analyses demonstrate fermentation variability and meaningful relationships between fermentation gas parameters and ethanol production. Thus, the ruminal fermentation process is useful as a screening tool for ethanol production potential of biofuel feedstock. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of the particles of purified kappa-casein: trypsin as a probe of surface-accessible residues.

κ-Casein as purified from bovine milk exhibits a rather unique disulfide bonding pattern as revealed by SDS–PAGE. The disulfide-bonded caseins present range from dimer to octamer and above and preparations contain about 10% monomer. All of these heterogeneous polymers, however, self-associate into nearly spherical particles with an average diameter of 13 nm at pH 8.0, as revealed by negatively stained transmission electron micrographs and dynamic light scattering. The weight-average molecular weight of the aggregates at pH 8.0, as judged by analytical ultracentrifugation, is 648,000. Trypsin digestion at pH 8.0 was used to probe the surface groups of the κ-casein A polymers. The reaction with trypsin was rapid and the peptides liberated were identified by separation with reverse-phase HPLC, amino acid analysis, and protein sequencing. The most rapidly released peptides (t 1/2 < 30 sec) were from cleavage at Arg 97 and Lys residues 111 and 112. These results suggest a surface orientation for these residues, and the data are in accord with earlier proposed 3D predictive models for κ-casein. It is speculated that Arg 97, together with adjacent His residues (98 and 100) and Lys residues 111 and 112, form two positively charged clusters on the surface of the otherwise negatively charged casein. These clusters bracket the neutral chymosin cleavage site (whose hydrolysis triggers a well-known digestive process) and so these clusters may facilitate docking of the substrate caseins with chymosin.
What's in a Word? “Class” and Its Evolution in the Eighteenth Century

(1992). What's in a Word? “Class” and Its Evolution in the Eighteenth Century. Romance Quarterly: Vol. 39, Studies in Spanish Literature, 1750–1915, pp. 7-16.
Variables Affecting Sales of Family-Branded Products

Family-branding policies are frequently discussed in marketing textbooks. These texts have suggested that under certain conditions it is advantageous for the seller to follow a family-branding policy for a group of products rather than individually marketing these products under separate brands. Based upon theories of stimulus generalization and assimilation, family-branding assumes that the consumer transfers a favorable or unfavorable image from one product to others with the same brand [1, 3, 4, 6]. The purpose of this study was to investigate in more detail the variables which influence the family-branding effect. One obvious variable is the shelf arrangement of family-branded products: whether family-branded products are displayed together or all brands of a product are grouped together, which is a product class arrangement. It was hypothesized since the familybrand arrangement displays a variety of products together, it would yield the highest measure of the family-branding effect. A second variable studied was the influence of price variations among competitive brands on the familybranding effect. Fry found that where price differentials among brands remained constant for several product classes, the family-branding effect was greater than where price differentials varied [1]. The present study attempted to substantiate Fry's findings and investigated interaction between price and arrangement. It was hypothesized that the family-branding effect would be stronger with a constant price differential between brands across products. The final variable dealt with was the influence of
380 B-TYPE NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE: THE MOST SENSITIVE CLINICAL MARKER AFTER NORWOOD I?

Background Literature reports limited experience with serial brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, as a clinical marker, in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease either preoperatively or postoperatively. Objective To validate the clinical usefulness of rapid, serial BNP level monitoring in patients with complex congenital heart disease. Methods We describe an infant whose elevated BNP levels were the most sensitive marker of ventricular overload after Norwood I. Case An asymptomatic 3.3 kg male infant, delivered vaginally at term with an uncomplicated prenatal history, underwent echocardiography within 24 hours of age for cardiac murmur evaluation. Echocardiographic findings were consistent with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, including situs solitus, a 2.5 mm ascending aortic root, moderate tricuspid valve insufficiency, a 5 mm interatrial communication, normal pulmonary venous return, and a restrictive patent ductus arteriosus. After neonatal stabilization, the patient underwent a classic Norwood I operation using bovine pericardial arch augmentation and a 3.5 mm Gore-Tex systemic-to-pulmonary artery shunt. During follow-up, echocardiography showed normal systemic right ventricular systolic function, moderate tricuspid valve insufficiency, no neoaortic valve insufficiency, pulsatile abdominal aorta Doppler flow profile, a peak Doppler flow velocity of 400 pg/mL). The patient was scheduled for cardiac catheterization to evaluate the aortic arch repair and determine suitability for early cavopulmonary anastomosis. Discussion History, physical examination, pulse oximetry, electrocardiography, and echocardiography are the “gold standard” methods for outpatient management of complex congenital heart disease. In this case, the lack of congestive heart failure resulted in a negative medical history. In addition, the echocardiogram demonstrated good systemic ventricular function and no significant Doppler flow disturbance at the site of the arch repair. Elevated BNP levels, however, suggested systemic ventricular overload. Such monitoring proved to be the most sensitive indicator of ventricular overload.