cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Smarter bridges, why and how?

Abstract Bridge safety, especially during extreme events, is enhanced by measurement and monitoring of critical bridge components. Enhanced safety, reliability and efficient maintenance can result from improved incident detection and assessment enabled by ‘smarter’ bridges. This article considers the problems, and discusses some solutions being investigated by the US Federal Highway Administration.
Private-Party Gun Sales, Regulation, and Public Safety

In 2007, a total of 12,632 people in the United States were murdered with firearms, and it is estimated that another 48,676 were treated in hospitals for gunshot wounds received in assaults. Guns are frequently used to commit crimes in the United States, partly because they are so easy to get. This ease of access, in turn, is partially attributable to the fact that there are two systems of retail gun commerce in this country, one involving licensed gun retailers and the other based on private-party gun sellers, and only the former of these systems is regulated. Some 85% of . . .
Profiling Complex Systems

The Department of Defense, like other government agencies and indeed the global business community, faces increasingly complex challenges that cannot be met by stand-alone systems. This has led to growing reliance on increasingly interoperable and interdependent systems that combine multiple organizational and functional capabilities to achieve and overarching mission. This is the motivation for developing systems- of-systems, enterprise systems, and even extended enterprise systems. This paper focuses on the engineering of this class of systems: a process that demands consideration of increasing scale, the rapid pace of change of the underlying technologies, the complexity of system interactions, and, perhaps most important, shared ownership and control. We hypothesize that engineering these systems is inherently different from engineering large-scale but essentially deterministic systems. Decisions about the system(s) under development have to consider not only the technical and programmatic dimensions but also the political, operational and economic contexts. This paper presents a diagnostic tool for profiling complexity and uncertainty in large scale system engineering developments and provides some lessons learned from its application. On the basis of these insights, we propose an approach to tailoring engineering and acquisition strategies and practices to the specific circumstances at hand.
Influence of bicarbonate level on iron-chlorosis development and nutrient uptake of the peach rootstock Montclar

Abstract The peach rootstock Montclar [Prunus persica (Batsch) L.] was grown in sand culture supplied with half‐strength nutrient Hoagland No. 1 solution with 10 μM FeEDDHA at seven bicarbonate (HCO3‐) levels: 0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mM. Montclar developed chlorosis only at HCO3‐ levels ≥ 10 mM. Above this level, chlorosis increased as HCO3‐ level was increased. When HCO3‐level increased, the contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Mn decreased; the concentrations of N, P, Ca, and Fe in the new branch growth decreased, but that of Mg and Mn did not change. The partitioning of N, P, Ca, Mg, and Fe to the new branch growth decreased, while the partitioning of K and Mn did not change. The partioning of Fe to the new branch growth decreased more than the partitioning of the other nutrients when the HCO3‐ levels were higher than 10 mM. At low HCO3‐ levels (< 10 mM), active‐Fe content decreased with increasing HCO3 − level, even though no chlorosis was observed. The correlation between chlorosis and Fe concent...
Sustained Engraftment and Resolution of Bleeding Phenotype After Unrelated Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Severe Glanzmann Thrombasthenia

Glanzmann thrombasthenia is a rare, autosomal recessive, qualitative platelet disorder resulting from abnormal platelet surface glycoprotein IIb/IIIa. In phenotypically severe cases, medical management is often challenging. Although definitive hemostasis can be achieved with platelet transfusion, alloimmunization and subsequent platelet refractoriness remain a real risk. To date, only hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been curative; however, suitable donor availability can be a barrier for some patients. We are the first to report the use of umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for Glanzmann thrombasthenia.
Acute fatty liver of pregnancy associated with pancreatitis: A life-threatening complication

Abstract Objective Inadequate data describe pancreatitis as a complication in women with acute fatty liver of pregnancy. Our purpose was to report our experience with this complication, which included maternal and perinatal outcomes. Study design Medical records of patients with acute fatty liver of pregnancy and/or pancreatitis were reviewed over a 15-year period. Records were reviewed for symptoms, laboratory findings, clinical course, and maternal and perinatal outcomes. Results Persistent nausea and vomiting were the symptoms in 10 of 12 patients (83%). The average maternal age was 26.3 years (range, 21-37 years). There were two maternal deaths (17%); one death occurred despite liver transplantation. Maternal morbidity included encephalopathy (50%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (17%), and renal failure (33%) that resulted from acute tubular necrosis (3 cases) and acute cortical necrosis (1 case) that required renal transplantation. Of the 12 patients, 11 patients (91%) had an elevated serum lipase level, and another patient had an elevated serum amylase level (9%). Eight of 12 patients (67%) underwent radiologic studies, of which 7 patients (88%) were diagnostic for pancreatitis. Radiographic and autopsy findings noted pancreatic inflammation (3 cases), pseudocyst formation (3 cases), and hemorrhagic pancreatitis (1 case). The radiographic and serum laboratory abnormalities occurred after the onset of hepatic and renal abnormalities in all cases. Conclusion Pancreatitis is a potentially lethal complication of acute fatty liver of pregnancy, and all patients with this diagnosis should undergo screening for the abnormality. Pancreatic abnormalities typically appear after hepatic and renal dysfunction.
Use Of Adaptive Optics Element For Wavefront Error Correction In The Gemini CO 2 Laser Fusion System

The Gemini two beam CO2 laser fusion system incorporates a complex optical system with nearly 100 surfaces per beam, associated with the generation, transport and focusing of CO2 laser beams for irradiating laser fusion targets. Even though the system is nominally diffraction limited, in practice the departure from the ideal situation drops the Strehl ratio to 0.24. This departure is caused mostly by the imperfections in the large (34 cm optical clear aperture diameter) state-of-the-art components like the sodium chloride windows and micromachined mirrors. While the smaller optical components also contribute to this degradation, the various possible misalignments and nonlinear effects are considered to contribute very little to it. Analysis indicates that removing the static or quasi-static errors can dramatically improve the Strehl ratio. A deformable mirror which can comfortably achieve the design goal Strehl ratio of ≥ 0.7 is described, along with the various system trade-offs in the design of the mirror and the control system.
Effects of riboflavin analogues and diuretics on the spontaneously hypertensive rat heart.

The chronic treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with 7,8-dimethyl-10-(3-chlorobenzyl) isoalloxazine [CBI], 7,8-diethyl-10-aminol isoalloxazine [DEAI], enduron (methyclothiazide) and amiloride were studied for their effects on blood pressure and cardiac contractile protein ATPasc activities. After 35 weeks of treatment all the above antihypertensive agents showed a decrease in blood pressure in the SHR (p<0.01). Chronic treatment with CBI, DEAI, enduron, and amiloride significantly improved the myofibrillar ATPasc activity at all pCa2+ concentrations (p<0.01). Furthermore, CBI, DEAI, enduron, and amiloride drug treatments enhanced actin-activated myosin ATPase activity (p<0.01). The Ca2+-activated myosin ATPase activity was significantly elevated after treating with CBI and DEAI (p<0.01). These results suggest that the antihypertensive agents used in this study helped in reducing the blood pressure with a subsequent increase in myocardial contractile protein ATPase activity.
Uric acid excretion in normal children

Standard values were established for urinary excretion and clearance of uric acid in 95 normal, nonhospitalized children. We found that urinary uric acid excretion and serum uric acid values increase throughout childhood; that in early childhood, fractional excretion and clearance of uric acid are higher than adult norms; and that despite an increasing filtered load of uric acid, there is a progressive decrease in fractional excretion and clearance of uric acid with advancing age. Some tubular maturational change, either decreasing secretion or increasing reabsorption, must account for the progressive decline in fractional excretion and clearance of uric acid.
Fine structure of the rubrospinal terminals in the cervical cord of the cat

Abstract Rubrospinal fibers in cat do not terminate on anterior motor horn cells in the spinal cord but on the interneurons, mostly in the lateral portion of Rexed's lamina of V–VII, the so-called Lateral Basal Region. The ultrastructure of rubrospinal terminals at the cervical cord level (C 8 ) was investigated in 8 adult cats with partial or complete stereotaxic lesions of the red nuclei. Animals were sacrificed from 1 to 7 days after the lesions were made and the earliest forms of degeneration found were infrequent dense preterminal axon changes and clumping and coalescing of synaptic vesicles in the terminals. Multiple dense or polymembranous inclusions were seen in some terminals and these contained vesicular profiles; dense terminal shrinking was seen in others after 24 hours. Neurofilamentous proliferation appeared in some degenerating terminals after 48–72 hours. Degenerating terminals were related to different sized dendrites to determine regional axodendritic specificity for rubrospinal endings on LBR neurons.
Tolerance to biodegraded crude oil in marine invertebrate embryos and larvae is associated with expression of a multixenobiotic resistance transporter.

Abstract The toxicity of water-soluble fractions of biodegraded crude oil (BWSF) to embryos and larvae of two marine invertebrates, the white sea urchin ( Lytechinus anamesus ) and the fat innkeeper ( Urechis caupo ), was studied . Santa Barbara Channel crude oil was artificially weathered and subjected to biodegradation using a mixed microbe culture obtained from natural oil seep sites. The degradation culture inoculated with seep sediment microbes accumulated 43.7 μg/l water-soluble hydrocarbons. In contrast water-soluble fractions from the non-degraded cultures (NWSF) only accumulated 3.05 μg/l. BWSF proved deleterious to Lytechinus embryo development at low concentrations (EC50=0.33 mg/l) but was essentially non-toxic to Urechis embryos/larvae up to 3.0 mg/l. An established mechanism for handling of a wide array of xenobiotics in Urechis embryos is the multixenobiotoic resistance transporter multixenobiotic response (MXR, also known as multidrug resistance, MDR). This mechanism is primarily mediated by ATP-dependent, efflux pumps that extrude a wide array of xenobiotic compounds. In this study, we show that Lytechinus larvae do not appear to express MXR efflux protein nor MXR mediated dye efflux capacity. In contrast, BWSF acts as a competitive inhibitor of MXR transport-mediated dye efflux in Urechis larvae. These results suggest that MXR may be an important mechanism for extrusion of the by-products of crude oil degradation by microbes, and that the level of its expression may determine the susceptibility of organisms to degraded oil hydrocarbons.
Effects of REM sleep deprivation and desipramine on β-adrenergic binding sites in rat brain

Rats were subjected to REM sleep deprivation by the flower pot method for 7 days. Another group of rats received either desipramine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), a tricyclic antidepressant, or saline (i.p.) once daily for 7 days. beta-Adrenergic receptor sensitivity in rat brain cortices was assessed by determining the maximum number of [3H]dihydroalprenolol binding sites by Scatchard analysis. Administration of desipramine caused a 26% reduction in beta-adrenergic receptor density (P less than 0.01) while REM sleep deprivation reduced beta-adrenergic receptor density by 13%, which was not statistically significant.
A simple model for metamagnetic percolation

Abstract An Ising model with both antiferromagnetic and randomly diluted, infinitely strong ferromagnetic interactions is studied on a Bethe lattice. The results are used to interpret recent experimental data on the phase diagram of FexMg1-xCl2.
Spectrofluorometric Determination of Carbidopa [L-(−)-a-Hydrazino-3,4-dihydroxy-a-methylhydrocinnamic Acid] in Plasma

Abstract A spectrofluoromctric assay is described for carbidopa utilizing p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde. The fluorophore is di-methylaminobenzalazine which fluoresces intensely in chloroform saturated with trichloroacetic acid. The assay was applied to the analysis of carbidopa in monkey plasma.
Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition of silicon thin films using cyclohexasilane

We report the deposition of silicon thin films at high rates using atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (AP-CVD) with cyclohexasilane (CHS), a liquid-hydrosilane. A precursor solution of CHS in cyclooctane was aerosolized and subsequently vaporized prior to contacting with the substrate. Using CHS, Si thin films were obtained at temperatures as low as 300 °C. A deposition rate of ∼50 nm/s was observed at 500 °C; while good-quality Si films were realized at 400 °C. Structural analysis of the films indicates a combination of amorphous and nano-crystalline Si phases, withe 2–3 orders of photoconductivity.
Use of p-nitrophenyl phosphate for assay of soil phosphatase activity

Abstract A simple method of assaying soil phosphatase activity is described. It involves colorimetric estimation of the p-nitrophenol released by phosphatase activity when soil is incubated with buffered (pH 6·5) sodium p-nitrophenyl phosphate solution and toluene at 37° C for 1 hr. The method is rapid and precise, and it has significant advantages over methods previously proposed for assay of soil phosphatase activity.
Inhibition of Escherichia coli During the Inverted Tube Test for Salmonella

Abstract A SCREENING procedure for rapidly detecting Salmonella-negative samples of pasteurized dried whole egg was described by Banwart et al. (1968). Their test was based on the fermentation of mannitol by Salmonella that might be present in a sample of food product. It was recognized that organisms, other than Salmonella, are capable of fermenting mannitol. Therefore, the test was limited to food products, such as pasteurized egg, that had been treated to reduce microbial contamination. The inhibition of mannitol fermentation by organisms other than Salmonella would be advantageous since more samples could be classified as Salmonella-negative. Also, the procedure could be adapted to more types of food products. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effect of brilliant green dye on the motility and mannitol fermentation by Escherichia coli and 2 species of Salmonella. MATERIALS AND METHODS Salmonella oranienburg, S. typhimurium and Escherichia coli were grown in nutrient broth for 24…
The Mormyromast Region of the Mormyrid Electrosensory Lobe. II. Responses to Input From Central Sources

This is the second in a series of two papers on the mormyromast regions of the electrosensory lobe (ELL) of mormyrid electric fish. In this study, we examined the effects of artificial stimulation of two of the three major central inputs to ELL on different morphologically identified cell types of ELL. The three major central inputs to ELL are the eminentia granularis posterior, the juxtalobar nucleus, and the preeminential nucleus. We stimulated the juxtalobar and preeminential nuclei. We compared the effects of such stimulation with effects of the electric organ corollary discharge (EOCD) on the same cells to understand the origins of EOCD effects in ELL. Responses to juxtalobar stimulation were different in different cell types and remarkably similar to corollary discharge responses in the same cells. In addition, responses to juxtalobar stimulation were consistently depressed when the stimulus was delivered immediately after the naturally occurring EOCD response. These findings indicate that the juxtalobar nucleus is a major source of the EOCD responses of ELL cells. In contrast, preeminential stimulation evoked similar responses in medium ganglionic cells, and the two types of efferent cells that were quite different from the EOCD responses of these cells, suggesting that the preeminential nucleus is less important than the juxtalobar nucleus in determining the EOCD responses of ELL cells. Preeminential responses of medium ganglionic and efferent cells consisted of a short-latency excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) followed by a long-lasting inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP). Both the EPSPs and IPSPs were facilitated when brief bursts of closely spaced stimuli were delivered.
Shale water as a pressure support mechanism in gas reservoirs having abnormal formation pressure

Abstract One problem often confronting reservoir engineers is an analysis of the reservoir mechanisms involved in the depletion of abnormally high pressure reservoirs. Two mechanisms that have been proposed are: (a) high rock compressibility; and (b) shale water influx. This paper is a study of the shale water influx theory. A literature search was conducted to establish what is known about shale permeability, compressibility, porosity, and water viscoity. The shale properties were used in a calculation of water influx for two actual superpressure reservoirs using a linear diffusivity equation in which permeability and compressibility were a function of pressure. Of the shale parameters, permeability and compressibility have the most influence on water influx. For an initial shale permeability of the order of 10 −5 mD and an initial bulk compressibility of 40 × 10 −6 psi −1 , shale water influx significantly affects the reservoir depletion. For shale permeabilities of the order of 10 −7 mD, shale water influx is insignificant. It was also noted that the pressure distribution in the shale is very steep and only the first few feet of shale contribute materially to the water influx. An approximate method for extrapolating early p / z behavior in superpressure gas reservoirs is also presented.
Complementary and Alternative Medical Reference Software for Personal Digital Assistants: Evidence of Clinical Applicability

To assess the quality and clinical applicability of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) software databases for personal digital assistants (PDAs), a standard challenge of 52 CAM clinical questions was developed. Benchmark answers were identified from standard texts. Aphysician evaluator then used each of 11 PDACAMsoftware programs to answer the challenge questions and assessed the programs for comprehensiveness, accuracy, and ease of use. Breadth of coverage of the challenge questions ranged from 23% to 87% and clinical reliability from 58% to 97%. The two most clearly useful products were the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database and the Natural Standard. None of the programs covered combination substances, and only the Natural Standard provided some information on therapeutic modalities other than the herbal and supplement aspects of CAM. The use of a standard clinical challenge as an evaluation tool may be a good way to assess reference software in this clinical area.
Quantification of αs1-Casein in Goat Milk from French-Alpine and Anglo-Nubian Breeds Using Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Samples of isoelectrically precipitated goat casein from the milks of French-Alpine and Anglo-Nubian breeds were separated into four components in a single run by reversed-phase HPLC. The proportion of alpha s1-casein thus resolved was determined quantitatively. The method uses a reversed-phase C-4 column and a linear gradient from 30 to 50% acetonitrile in 30 min with trifluoroacetic acid constant at .1%. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE was carried out to establish the identity of the isolated components. By a comparison with previously published results for caprine and bovine milk caseins, the four peaks were identified as kappa-, alpha s2-, alpha s1-, and beta-casein. Quantitative variations in the chromatographically resolved alpha s1-casein fraction of goat milk were evident. Some individual goat milks contained high levels of alpha s1-casein (2.70 g/L), but others contained significantly low levels (.12 g/L). There was no statistical difference in the overall means between breeds in alpha s1-casein composition, but cluster analysis statistics showed three distinct categories of alpha s1-producers: high, medium, and low. Interestingly, 6 of 15 French-Alpine goats and only one Anglo-Nubian goat fell into the "low" producer category (.38 +/- .2 g/L). Thus, expression of the alpha s1-component may be genetically regulated but may not be a breed-specific trait.
Bringing Order Out of Chaos: Effective Strategies for Medical Response to Mass Chemical Exposure

An accident or a deliberate terrorism attack releasing hazardous chemicals will create chaos, confusion, and seeming unpredictability that complicates the emergency response. Clinicians are challenged to urgently treat patients needing care, even before a chemical is confirmed. Emergency response planning that focuses on preparing for predictable challenges to the health care system and applies basic toxicologic principles to clinical decision-making can bring a sense of order to the chaos and provide medical care that will be best for the most victims of an incident.
Lactate dehydrogenase isozymes ofXenopus laevis: Factors affecting their appearance during early development

Abstract The electrophoretic patterns of lactate dehydrogenase isozymes in tissue from adult organs and embryos of Zenopus laevis were examined. Nine forms of the enzyme are present in heart, lung, and muscle tissues of adult toads, but only seven forms were found in adult liver. The stage 5 oocyte and early embryos have 4 isozymes of LDH. Five additional isozymes appear at specific times in development. The enzymatic activity of LDH was followed during early development and found to increase shortly before the appearance of the isozyme thought to be associated with the differentiation of functional muscle. The mechanism controlling the synthesis of this isozyme was studied. It is suggested that the template RNA needed for this new molecular form of LDH is presynthesized and stored in the embryo, and the appearance of this isozyme depends on the translation of the RNA into enzyme protein shortly before it appears.
Compact Laser Technology for Monoenergetic Gamma-ray Compton Sources

We describe a novel laser system used in a Compton-scattering based monoenergetic gamma-ray source, commissioned at LLNL. This system consists of a UV laser for electron production and a high power CPA based scattering laser.
Role of postural deficits in oro-ingestive problems caused by globus pallidus lesions.

Abstract There is a large literature demonstrating that rats with globus pallidus lesions have ingestional problems. In an effort to understand the bases of these deficits, the ingestional activity of normal and brain-damaged animals was subjected to scrutiny. Rats were trained to lick a spout recessed behind a Plexiglas wall for 8% sucrose solution. The characteristic interlick interval and lick duration distributions observed in normal animals were severely disrupted by globus pallidus lesions. This disturbance was, in large part, due to an inability to correctly position the mouth with respect to the spout and maintain that position for a burst of licks, activities which normally ensure consistently efficient ingestion. After pallidal lesions, animals often miss the spout altogether. When they do find the spout, only the first few licks are on target. The head then drifts away from the correct position and subsequent licks miss the spout. Animals' ability to continue licking during slow lateral displacement of the spout was also tested. Animals with pallidal lesions showed severe deficits. In addition to problems with head positioning, pallidal animals failed to adapt their body posture to enable licking at different spout locations. In relation to clinical and experimental findings, these data implicate the basal ganglia in feedback-regulated control of axial and proximal muscles.
Nonlinear Development and Secondary Instability of Traveling Crossflow Vortices

Building upon the prior research targeting the laminar breakdown mechanisms associated with stationary crossflow instability over a swept-wing configuration, this paper investigates the secondary instability of traveling crossflow modes as an alternate scenario for transition. For the parameter range investigated herein, this alternate scenario is shown to be viable unless the initial amplitudes of the traveling crossflow instability are lower than those of the stationary modes by considerably more than one order of magnitude. The linear growth predictions based on the secondary instability theory are found to agree well with both parabolized stability equations and direct numerical simulation, and the most significant discrepancies among the various predictions are limited to spatial regions of relatively weak secondary growth, i.e., regions where the primary disturbance amplitudes are smaller in comparison to their peak values. Nonlinear effects on secondary instability evolution are also investigated and found to be initially stabilizing when they first come into play.
Wave functions of 0+ levels in 38Ca

Abstract A simple model of the first three 0+ levels in 38Ca gives a good account of the excitation energies and (3He, n) cross sections. The hamiltonian derived is reasonable and the mixing is similar to that needed for other nearby nuclei.
How many years more will ‘cheap oil’ last?

Abstract Oil prices and exports are not likely to increase in the 1990s. Worldwide demand for oil is not rising sharply and predictions of supply shortages are difficult to substantiate. OPEC has attempted to raise consumers' anxieties in order to gather new capital funding. Its strategy will probably fail.
Preparation of casein using carbon dioxide.

Abstract The effects of pressure, temperature, residence time, and mass of skim milk on some characteristics of casein, prepared by precipitation with high pressure CO 2 , were examined in a batch reactor. For a 500-g milk sample, precipitation occurred at pressures >2760 kPa and temperatures >32°C. Residence time was not significant and was held at 5min. Yields were maximum at 2750 to 5520 kPa and at 38 to 49°C for a 500-g milk sample. The resulting whey had a pH of 6.0. The casein product had an acceptable appearance and had greater solids, ash, and Ca contents than commercial acid caseins. Particle size distribution studies showed that the mean particle size was sensitive to precipitation pressure and temperature and was similar to that of acid caseins produced under laboratory conditions. The HPLC studies of the casein and whey fractions showed that precipitation by CO 2 did not result in fractionation of casein or whey proteins to their component proteins.
Online behaviors affected by spam

Has the continued proliferation of spare caused computer users to alter their online behavior? There are many online behaviors such as online shopping, posting to newsgroups, and visiting chat rooms that are documented to contribute to the increased reception of spam, or commercial e-mail. Has the increased dissemination of spare caused users to reduce or curtail these types of online activities? This study looks at this issue and what methods users have undertaken to reduce the amount of spam received such as antispam e-mail filtering programs and which of these programs users found effective. Finally, this study examines how computer users approach the issue of imposing some type of e-mail tax as a means of removing the financial incentive enjoyed by spammers at being able to send out an almost limitless number of nearly free commercial e-mail ads, and that users are overwhelmingly against any type of e-mail tax.
Genetic Risk Factors for Perinatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke

Abstract The cause of perinatal arterial ischemic stroke is unknown in most cases. We explored whether genetic polymorphisms modify the risk of perinatal arterial ischemic stroke. In a population-based case-control study of 1997-2002 births at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, we identified 13 white infants with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke. Control subjects included 86 randomly selected white infants. We genotyped polymorphisms in nine genes involved in inflammation, thrombosis, or lipid metabolism previously linked with stroke, and compared genotype frequencies in case and control individuals. We tested several polymorphisms: tumor necrosis factor-α −308, interleukin-6, lymphotoxin A, factor V Leiden, methyltetrahydrofolate reductase 1298 and 667, prothrombin 20210, and apolipoprotein E e2 and e4 alleles. Patients with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke were more likely than control subjects to demonstrate at least one apolipoprotein E e4 allele (54% vs 25%, P = 0.03). More patients with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke carried two e4 alleles than did control subjects (15% vs 2%, P = 0.09), although this finding lacked statistical significance. Proinflammatory and prothrombotic polymorphisms were not associated with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke. The apolipoprotein E polymorphism may confer genetic susceptibility for perinatal arterial ischemic stroke. Larger population-based studies are required to confirm this finding.
Development, Dependency, and Devolution: The Anomalous Political Economy of Communist and Postcommunist Societies:

The problem of situating economic transitions from communism to postcommunism within more general theories of comparative political economy has received surprisingly little scholarly attention. In ...
Physical ageing of polypropylene in glassy state

Physical ageing behaviour of a semicrystalline polymer, polypropylene, has been studied at a pressure-temperature state (P=2.5 kbar,T=15° C) for which the amorphous region is in the glassy state. Polypropylene contains 57% crystallinity and its glass transition temperature at atmospheric condition is −20° C. The ageing behaviour was monitored by measuring the Young's modulus (E) from the stress-strain curves as a function of ageing time up to 200 h. The Young's modulus of the rapidly pressure quenched samples increased at 0.4% per ageing hour of the initial value for up to 30 h and tapered off thereafter. The glassy polypropylene also exhibited a memory behaviour when it was given a pressure perturbation.
Path testing of computer programs with loops using a tool for simple loop patterns

SUMMARY The purpose of this paper is to present a method for testing computer programs with iteration loops. Given such programs, we have shown that for classes of program paths, identified as sequences of simple loop paths, there is a characterizing function called a simple loop pattern. The key idea of simple loop patterns is that these special functions form a base set which can represent any path computation in the given program. A software tool called SILOP has been developed to automatically generate these simple loop patterns, and each corresponding sequence of simple loop paths can be considered as a test case. The tester uses each test case, and with knowledge of the application program, can generate corresponding test data. This paper also presents a method for selecting the specific paths and test data to determine the simple loop pattern reliably. The tester can use this selection method to predict the number of tests required. In order to apply this selection method, the given program must be a linear computer program. The SILOP tool and this test selection method have been applied to commercial software; in this paper, this computational experience is reported and several examples are given to demonstrate the approach.
Structural measurements of hydrogen-bonded complexes of perylene with water and methanol

Abstract Rotational coherence experiments have been carried out for 1:1 van der Waals complexes of perylene with water and methanol. The observed inertial properties are consistent with structures corresponding to potential-energy minima calculated via MM2 techniques. The results show that both types of complex involve hydrogen-bonding to π-electrons on the perimeter of the aromatic molecule.
Stream Fish Community Responses to a Gradient of Specific Conductance

We assessed the impacts of a specific conductance gradient attributable to treated coal-mining discharges on the fish communities of a southwestern Pennsylvania stream. Total dissolved solids concentrations were determined from specific conductance values. A total of 10,940 fish representing seven families and 42 species/hybrids were collected from 17 stations over the entire survey. Species richness, density, and the coefficient of community loss (I) showed marked impairment at the two stations directly below the discharges and the downstream recovery was interrupted at one station by untreated discharges from a mine refuse pile. Species richness declined from 28 at the reference site to 7 at the station directly below the treated effluents. This study suggests that the threshold for in-stream conductivity impairment to fish communities in this region is in the range of 3,000–3,500 µS/cm and 2,000–2,300 mg/l of total dissolved solids, respectively.
CENTERS OF DOWN-UP ALGEBRAS OVER FIELDS OF PRIME CHARACTERISTIC

ABSTRACT We consider down-up algebras as defined by Benkart and Roby over ground fields of characteristic p and find the centers of those algebras. The method used here also illustrates a way of computing the center of a down-up over a field of characteristic 0 different from the ones used by Zhao [5] and by Kulkarni [3].
Cycloadditiion of 3-phenylsydnone with cyclooctatetraene

Abstract 3-Phenylsydnone reacts with cyclooctatetraene to give a 2:1-cycloadduct containing the dihydrobullvalene moiety as the major product.
Molecular Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of the Authentic Hyaluronan Synthase from Group C Streptococcus equisimilis

We previously reported the first cloning of a functional glycosaminoglycan synthase, the hyaluronan synthase (HAS) from Group A Streptococcus pyogenes (spHAS) (DeAngelis, P. L., Papaconstantinou, J., and Weigel, P. H. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 19181-19184). Group A spHAS was unrelated to a putative Group C HA synthase reported by others (Lansing, M., Lellig, S., Mausolf, A., Martini, I. , Crescenzi, F., Oregon, M., and Prehm, P. (1993) Biochem. J. 289, 179-184). Here we report the isolation of a bona fide HA synthase gene from a highly encapsulated strain of Group C Streptococcus equisimilis. The encoded protein, designated seHAS, is 417 amino acids long (calculated molecular weight, 47,778; calculated pI, 9.1) and is the smallest member of the HAS family identified thus far. The enzyme migrates anomalously fast in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (approximately 42,000 Da). The seHAS protein shows no similarity ( 7 x 10(6)) in the presence of UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GlcA. The product contained equimolar amounts of both sugars and was degraded by the specific Streptomyces hyaluronidase. Comparison of the two recombinant streptococcal enzymes in isolated membranes showed that seHAS and spHAS are essentially identical in the steady-state size distribution of HA chains they synthesize, but seHAS has an intrinsic 2-fold faster rate of chain elongation (Vmax) than spHAS. seHAS is the most active HA synthase identified thus far; it polymerizes HA at an average rate of 160 monosaccharides/s. The two bacterial HA synthase genes may have arisen from a common ancient gene shared with the early evolving vertebrates.
Decision rules for recycling returned products

Most retail and on-line outlets allow customers to easily return defective or even non-defective products. Due to increasing environmental and sustainable concerns, disposal of returned products is often costly and undesirable. Furthermore, these products contain parts and materials of value that can contribute to the companies' profit. One way to take advantage of these returns is by utilising good returned parts in production of after-market products. Recycling of parts from products at the end of their useful lives has been studied for a long time. Many of these studies, however, are focused on repairs and refurbishing of such products for reuse. This paper addresses recycling of rather new parts recovered from returned products. In this process parts are assembled with other parts recovered from other products to make a complete unit. The main objective of this study is to provide quantitative decision rules for justification of recycling of returned parts. The proposed method consists of a computer-b...
nNOS regulation of skeletal muscle fatigue and exercise performance

Neuronal nitric oxide synthases (nNOS) are Ca2+/calmodulin-activated enzymes that synthesize the gaseous messenger nitric oxide (NO). nNOSμ and the recently described nNOSβ, both spliced nNOS isoforms, are important enzymatic sources of NO in skeletal muscle, a tissue long considered to be a paradigmatic system for studying NO-dependent redox signaling. nNOS is indispensable for skeletal muscle integrity and contractile performance, and deregulation of nNOSμ signaling is a common pathogenic feature of many neuromuscular diseases. Recent evidence suggests that both nNOSμ and nNOSβ regulate skeletal muscle size, strength, and fatigue resistance, making them important players in exercise performance. nNOSμ acts as an activity sensor and appears to assist skeletal muscle adaptation to new functional demands, particularly those of endurance exercise. Prolonged inactivity leads to nNOS-mediated muscle atrophy through a FoxO-dependent pathway. nNOS also plays a role in modulating exercise performance in neuromuscular disease. In the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, defective nNOS signaling is thought to restrict contractile capacity of working muscle in two ways: loss of sarcolemmal nNOSμ causes excessive ischemic damage while residual cytosolic nNOSμ contributes to hypernitrosylation of the ryanodine receptor, causing pathogenic Ca2+ leak. This defect in Ca2+ handling promotes muscle damage, weakness, and fatigue. This review addresses these recent advances in the understanding of nNOS-dependent redox regulation of skeletal muscle function and exercise performance under physiological and neuromuscular disease conditions.
Age-related changes in neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) isoforms in the mouse telencephalon

The concentrations of different polypeptide isoforms of the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM were examined in telencephalic and brainstem-cerebellar tissue from groups of young (3 months) and old (25 months) mice. Antibodies against chick brain NCAM were used in immunoblot analyses to quantify 180 (NCAM180) and 140 (NCAM140) kDa NCAM forms in mouse brain samples containing equal amounts of protein. Telencephalic homogenates from the older group exhibited 37% and 31% less NCAM180 and NCAM140 immunoreactivity, respectively, when compared with homogenates from the younger animals. Brainstem-cerebellar homogenates, however, did not express such age-related changes in the two NCAM isoforms. Age-related changes in isoforms labeled by the anti-NCAM antibodies were not evident in synaptic plasma membranes. NCAM180:NCAM140 ratios were 2- to 3-fold greater in the synaptic membranes vs. homogenates for both age groups. These data suggest that expression levels of NCAM180 and NCAM140 are selectively impaired with aging in the telencephalon, whereas the synaptic contents of these molecules appear to be stably regulated.
Interferon beta inhibits the Th17 cell-mediated autoimmune response in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis

Interferon (IFN)beta has been used over the past decades as an effective first-line therapy against relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR MS), however its in vivo operative mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Current advances in our understanding of the development of the autoimmune response, including its induction by a recently discovered Th17 cell lineage, may allow us to identify the biomarkers of this effective therapy. Our in vitro human studies have characterized IFNbeta's immunoregulatory effects on Th17 cell differentiation. IFNbeta inhibited IL-1beta, IL-23 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta (which induce Th17 cell differentiation), and induced IL-27, IL-12p35 and IL-10 (which suppress it) in dendritic cells (DCs) and B-cells. The effect on IL-1beta, IL-23 and IL-27 production in DCs was mediated by the up-regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)7 and its downstream signaling molecules. IFNbeta's direct effect on naive T-cells suppressed in vitro Th17 differentiation by inhibiting Th17 cell lineage markers (retinoic acid-related orphan nuclear hormone receptor (ROR)c, IL-17A, IL-23R and CCR6), and by inducing IL-10 production by CD4 cells, which constrains Th17 cell expansion. Our results have identified novel therapeutic mechanisms of IFNbeta, which inhibit Th17 cell differentiation in the context of the autoimmune response in MS.
A combined necking and shear localization analysis for aluminum sheets under biaxial stretching conditions

Abstract A combined necking and shear localization analysis is adopted to model the failures of two aluminum sheets, AA5754 and AA6111, under biaxial stretching conditions. The approach is based on the assumption that the reduction of thickness or the necking mode is modeled by a plane stress formulation and the final failure mode of shear localization is modeled by a generalized plane strain formulation. The sheet material is modeled by an elastic-viscoplastic constitutive relation that accounts for the potential surface curvature, material plastic anisotropy, material rate sensitivity, and the softening due to the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of microvoids. Specifically, the necking/shear failure of the aluminum sheets is modeled under uniaxial tension, plane strain tension and equal biaxial tension. The results based on the mechanics model presented in this paper are in agreement with those based on the forming limit diagrams (FLDs) and tensile tests. When the necking mode is suppressed, the failure strains are also determined under plane strain conditions. These failure strains can be used as guidances for estimation of the surface failure strains on the stretching sides of the aluminum sheets under plane strain bending conditions. The estimated surface failure strains are higher than the failure strains of the forming limit diagrams under plane strain stretching conditions. The results are consistent with experimental observations where the surface failure strains of the aluminum sheets increase significantly on the stretching sides of the sheets under bending conditions. The results also indicate that when a considerable amount of necking is observed for a sheet metal under stretching conditions, the surface failure strains on the stretching sides of the sheet metal under bending conditions can be significantly higher.
Theoretical predictions of harmonic generation from submicron ultrasound contrast agents for nonlinear biomedical ultrasound imaging

Submicron ultrasound contrast agents have aroused attention for their significant promise in ultrasonic contrast/molecular imaging, targeted therapy and echo particle imaging velocimetry. However, nonlinear acoustic properties of submicron encapsulated gas bubbles for ultrasonic applications are still not clearly understood. In this paper, nonlinear acoustic emission characteristics from submicron bubbles were examined using a numerical study. The modified RP equation incorporating viscosity, acoustic radiation, thermal effects and encapsulated shell was used to study single bubble dynamics. Further, a size integration method, shown previously to be useful in prediction of backscatter spectra from groups of bubbles, was applied to analyse response from a bubble population. We show that bubbles with radii (200-500 nm) produce significant subharmonic and ultraharmonic components of the backscatter spectrum, while smaller bubbles ( 200 nm) in providing proper contrast-to-tissue signal ratios.
Peers, Drinking, and the Assimilation of Mexican American Youth:

Drinking alcohol, a normative behavior during adolescence in the United States, has significant consequences for health and well-being in adolescence and beyond. Highly social in nature, it is also a domain in which to assess the implications of the assimilation of immigrant youth into American peer culture. Using a Mexican American sample drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 1,034), this study found generational differences in adolescent drinking behaviors, with more recent immigrants less likely to drink or binge drink. It also found generational differences in the social ecology of friendship groups, with first- and second-generation youth in friendship groups with higher concentrations of coethnic and other immigrant youth who engaged in less party behaviors. These differences did not explain generational differences in adolescent drinking behaviors but did condition the drinking behaviors of second-generation Mexican Americans. More specifically, second-generation yout...
Subsumption and indexing in constraint query languages with linear arithmetic constraints

Bottom-up evaluation of a program-query pair in a constraint query language (CQL) starts with the facts in the database and repeatedly applies the rules of the program, in iterations, to compute new facts, until we have reached a fixpoint. Checking if a fixpoint has been reached amounts to checking if any “new” facts were computed in an iteration. Such a check also enhances efficiency in that subsumed facts can be discarded, and not be used to make any further derivations in subsequent iterations, if we use Semi-naive evaluation. We show that the problem of subsumption in CQLs with linear arithmetic constraints is co-NP complete, and present a deterministic algorithm, based on the divide and conquer strategy, for this problem. We also identify polynomial-time sufficient conditions for subsumption and non-subsumption in CQLs with linear arithmetic constraints. We adapt indexing strategies from spatial databases for efficiently indexing facts in such a CQL: such indexing is crucial for performance in the presence of large databases. Based on a recent algorithm by C. Lassez and J.-L. Lassez for quantifier elimination, we present an incremental version of the algorithm to check for subsumption in CQLs with linear arithmetic constraints.
The use of crocetin in experimental atherosclerosis.

L'action preventive de la crocetine de l'apparition de l'arterio-sclerose sur l'aorte du lapin soumis a un regime hypercholesterolemiant est demontree. Par contre le mecanisme d'action de cette substance n'est pas elucide par les experiences relatees.