cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tailoring systematic reviews to meet critical priorities in maternal health in the intrapartum period

Summary Health care practitioners and researchers commonly call for greater reliance on evidence as a means to achieve improvement in quality of care. Systematic reviews provide a means to accelerate the use of evidence-based clinical interventions and public health practices. The extent to which these time- and resource-intensive systematic reviews currently address critical maternal health priorities in the intrapartum period is unclear. This analysis summarises key maternal health and research priorities, maps these priorities to existing reviews, identifies gaps in the literature that can be addressed with systematic reviews, and highlights key methodological concerns in conducting systematic reviews. The analysis draws on published data on maternal morbidities and an overview of 108 systematic reviews in Medline in the past 5 years using the MeSH terms ‘Delivery, Obstetric,’ to draw the links between health priorities, research priorities, existing evidence and missing evidence. Key causes of morbidity during labour and delivery in the United States include haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, obstetric trauma and infection. Analyses of maternal morbidity and mortality suggest that key concerns include racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes and the prevention of adverse events. Systematic reviews, however, generally tend to focus on the reduction of harms associated with interventions, are frequently limited to randomised designs, and do not address issues of health disparities. The results suggest that advances in evidence-based care in maternal health require that systematic reviews address issues of prevention of adverse events, include a larger variety of study designs when necessary and pay closer attention to health disparities.
Activator protein-1 signalling pathway and apoptosis are modulated by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 in experimental colitis.

SUMMARY Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is activated in response to DNA injury in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells and has been implicated in intestinal barrier dysfunction during inflammatory bowel diseases. In this study we investigated whether PARP-1 may regulate the inflammatory response of experimental colitis at the level of signal transduction mechanisms. Mice genetically deficient of PARP-1 (PARP-1 –/– ) and wild-type littermates were subjected to rectal instillation of trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS). Signs of inflammation were monitored for 14 days. In wild-type mice, TNBS treatment resulted in colonic ulceration and marked apoptosis, which was associated with decreased colon content of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, whereas the proapoptotic Bax was unchanged. Elevated levels of plasma nitrate/nitrite, metabolites of nitric oxide (NO), were also found. These inflammatory events were associated with activation of c-Jun-NH2 terminal kinase (JNK), phosphorylation of c-Jun and activation of the nuclear transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1) in the colon. In contrast, PARP-1 –/– mice exhibited a significant reduction of colon damage and apoptosis, which was associated with increased colonic expression of Bcl-2 and lower levels of plasma nitrate/nitrite when compared to wild-type mice. Amelioration of colon damage was associated with a significant reduction of the activation of JNK and reduction of the DNA binding of AP-1. The data indicate that PARP-1 exerts a pathological role in colitis possibly by regulating the early stress-related transcriptional response through a positive modulation of the AP-1 and JNK pathways.
Anion and diluent stabilization of tributyl phosphate and tris-ethylhexyl phosphate complexes in the extraction of HAuCl4, HReO4, HI, and HBr☆

Abstract The extraction of HAuCl4, HReO4, HI, and HBr by dilute solutions (⪕0·4 M) of tributyl phosphate and tris-ethylhexyl phosphate in isooctane, CCl4, benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane was examined. From acid distribution data and i.r. spectra of the organic phases, it was concluded that the extraction of strong acids fit the hydronium-ion-core model. It was demonstrated that, in addition to the influence of the diluent, the acid anion also played a role in determining the ratio of the step-wise complexes, with the more basic anions (I−, Br−) favoring lower trialkyl phosphate solvation numbers. Differences between TBP and TEHP in solvating the (hydrated) hydronium cation also were demonstrated.
Use of in‐situ atomic force microscopy to monitor the biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

Thin films of a co-polymer mixture of poly 3-hydroxybutyrate and poly 3-hydroxyvalerate P(3HB-3HV) were spun-cast onto glass slides resulting in 35 nm thick layers with a spherulitic microstructure. An untyped strain of Streptomyces sp. bacteria was isolated from soil samples, and it's PHA depolymerase was used to degrade the P(3HB-3HV) thin films. Both ex-situ and in-situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) biodegradation studies were performed to determine the kinetics of the biodegradation over the course of three hours at room temperature. Ex-situ AFM was performed in Tapping Mode and in-situ AFM was performed in the PHA depolymerase using contact mode AFM in the liquid cell, allowing for the real-time analysis of P(3HB-3HV) biodegradation. Biodegradation is observed uniformly throughout the surface, and can be observed within 30 min. of depolymerase exposure. In-situ AFM analysis yields a linear degradation rate as a function of time, while the ex-situ study suggests a more complex kinetics.
An Exploratory Investigation of Computer Simulations, Student Preferences, and Performance

Abstract Previous studies have found no correlation between general student performance (GPA, exam performance) and performance on computer-based simulations. Additionally, there have been only limited examinations of how student learning preferences affect their performance. This exploratory study found a correlation between exam performance and simulation performance. In other words, students who performed well by traditional standards (exams) also performed well on the simulation. In addition, better performing students had a higher preference for learning by reading. A negative correlation between student preference for working with others and both exam and simulation performance was found. Possible implications of these findings are that simulations may not provide an opportunity to demonstrate better performance for traditionally poorer performing students. In addition, better students performed better on simulations and exams and had a low preference for working with others.
Concerning the T = 1, J = 1− states in O16

Abstract The particle-hole excitations with T = 1, J = 1− in O16 are studied for finite shell-model potentials which permit the excited particle to escape into the continuum. Besides the energies of the excited states and their dipole widths, one can also calculate particle widths, differential and total cross sections for photodisintegration and furthermore investigate the influence of direct transitions on angular distributions and the shape of the resonances. The results are discussed and compared with experiment.
Plasma lipid and apoprotein levels following plasmapheresis in a subject homozygous for familial hypercholesterolemia.

Plasma apoprotein levels return to levels near the baseline more rapidly than plasma cholesterol levels following plasmapheresis.
Parenteral magnesium sulfate fails to control electroshock and pentylenetetrazol seizures in mice.

Magnesium sulfate has been used as an anticonvulsant in the treatment of eclampsia, but efficacy of magnesium in other types of seizure disorders is poorly documented. We examined the effects of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) on seizures produced in mice by maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), MgSO4 injection (6.7 mEq/kg i.p.) caused weakness in all animals. With suprathreshold electroshock, 10/10 controls and 11/12 treated animals had seizures with tonic hind limb extension (P = NS). Electroshock threshold was unaltered by magnesium treatment (n = 48; P = 0.47). PTZ induced clonic seizures in 12/12 controls and 5/14 treated animals (P less than 0.05). This difference was likely due to muscular weakness because frequency of EEG spikes was the same in PTZ and PTZ + MgSO4 groups. Mean serum magnesium levels were 2.3 +/- 0.3 mEq/l in animals not given MgSO4; 10.9 +/- 1.4 mEq/l and 12.8 +/- 2.2 mEq/l in treated animals with and without seizures (P = NS). We conclude that magnesium sulfate had no significant anticonvulsant activity in mouse MES and PTZ models for epilepsy. The relevance of these findings to the possible efficacy of magnesium sulfate in eclamptic seizures and other types of epilepsy remains to be determined.
Solvent effects on model d(CG.G)7 and d(TA.T)7 DNA triple helices.

Using free energy molecular mechanics, we find that the molecular effects of solvent are critical in determining relative stabilities in DNA triple helices or triplexes. The continuum solvent model is unable to differentiate the thermodynamics reflecting the basic solvation differences around the occupied major groove in triplexes. In order to avoid the local minimum problem, which is a major limitation of any modeling study, we started our computations with multiple structures rather than relying on the optimization of a single reference structure. By constructing triplex models with different initial helical twists, helical rises, and sugar-pucker permutations, we explore the potential surface and the structural preference with respect to these variations. We find that in order to accommodate a third strand in triplex formation, the backbone geometry of the B-DNA duplex target has to be adjusted into A-DNA-like form with a deep major groove. This is achieved by concerted adjustment in torsions β, e, and ζ around the phosphate groups. However, the sugar pucker displays a more rich variation, resulting in conformations not usually associated with the canonical duplex structures. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
In vivo binding of 2,3,6,2′,3′,6′-hexachlorobiphenyl and 2,4,5,2′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl to mouse liver macromolecules

The role of metabolic activation in the binding of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to cellular macromolecules was investigated in vivo by comparing the relative binding of 2,4,5,2′,4′,5′-[U-14C]hexachlorobiphenyl (2,4,5), a slowly metabolized PCB, with that of 2,3,6,2′,3′,6′-[U-14C]hexachlorobiphenyl (2,3,6), a rapidly metabolized PCB, and the appropriate controls. Each hexachlorobiphenyl was administered to mice, orally for 5 days (7.28 mg/kg/day). Following the dosing schedule, animals were killed at 1, 5 and 8 days. The concentration of each PCB was determined in liver, muscle and kidney and in purified macromolecules isolated from those tissues. The concentration of 2,4,5 was consistently higher than the concentration of 2,3,6 in all tissues studied. However, the amount of 2,3,6 bound to the purified macromolecules was consistently at least one order of magnitude greater than that of 2,4,5. The greatest binding was observed in RNA followed by protein and DNA, respectively. The purity of the macromolecules and the presence of PCB-derived radioactivity at the monomer level were confirmed. This is the first report of 14C-labeled PCB being bound to purified RNA, DNA, and proteins isolated from the tissues of animals treated in vivo. The binding is thought to be covalent and to be the result of metabolic activation.
Relationship between Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformed hairy roots and intact, uninfected nicotiana plants

Hairy root cultures were obtained following infection of a range of Nicotiana species with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Such cultures synthesized alkaloids in amounts which closely reflected, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, the biosynthetic capacity of roots from the uninfected parent species or variety. Cultures also released alkaloids from the roots into the growth medium. Such release was not however correlated with the ability of intact plants to mobilize alkaloids from the roots to aerial parts. The predictable nature of many aspects of secondary product synthesis in hairy roots should be advantageous to the development of biotechnological processes.
Time-dependent approach to slow ion-atom collisions for systems with one active electron.

Starting with the equations for the total molecular wave function that describe the self-consistent coupling of electrons and nuclei over time, we consider the case of one active electron outside closed shells and apply the formalism to ion-atom collisions. We discuss the need for electron translation factors, basis set type and size, and the choice of effective potentials in the calculation of the total integral cross section, the state-to-state integral cross section, and the differential cross sections for electron transfer and excitation. Atomic orbital alignment is considered here as well. We concern ourselves with the H{sup +}-H and He{sup 2+}-H systems and the lower end of collision energies, 10 keV and below, down to several eV. We emphasize the study of time-dependent populations and properties to provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics of slow ion-atom collisions. Numerical results for cross sections and polarization parameters are in good agreement with other theories and experiments. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
The Story Underground

Much experimentation in the twentieth-century novel has concentrated on diminishing the importance of narrative. In part this course of action reflects the artistic necessity to do things differently, but more significantly it represents artistic response to the intellectual currents of the time. Specifically, philosophical and scientific challenges to traditional concepts of chronology, of cause-and-effect, of the limits of powers of perception, of the relationship between conscious and unconscious states of knowing have made discernible impressions on the novelist's management of his materials. The total effect has been to enhance his sense of being master of the world he creates, a gamesman for whom not truth or even verisimilitude is of first importance but the delight of the game, the pleasure in virtuosity.
Intubating conditions after pipecuroniurn bromide: The influence of dose and time

Abstract Study Objective : To determine the incubating conditions following the administration of pipecuronium bromide in doses of two (0.07 mg/kg) or three (0.1 mg/kg) times ED 95 (average dose that gives 95% block of the first twitch). Design : To compare intubating conditions at 1 tl2 and 21/2 minutes in 41 patients receiving balanced anesthesia. Setting : Surgical patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Patients : Forty-one patients undergoing surgical procedure who received general anesthesia. Interventions : After obtaining a stable baseline of train-of f our (TOF), 41 patients r randomly received either 0.07 mg/kg or 0.1 mg/kg of pipecuronium as a single intravenous (IV) bolus dose, and the trachea was intubated either at 112 or 212 minutes. minutes. Measurements and Main Results : Intubating conditions at 212 minutes appeared significantly better than those at 12 minutes, regardless of the pipecuronium dose. The mean time for TI (first twitch of TOF) to reach 50% and 90% suppression was 1.36 ± 0.51 minutes and 2.29 ± 0.8 minutes, respectively, for the 0.07 mg/kg dose and 1.07 ± 0.27 minutes and 1.72 ± 0.45 minutes, respectively, for the 0.1 mglkg dose. This did not make a significant difference in intubating conditions at either time. The time to 25% recovery of TI was 68.2 ± 22 minutes for the 0.07 mg/kg dose and 121.5 ± 49 minutes for the 0.1 mg/kg dose. In patients who had spontaneous recovery of T1 to between 10% and 25% of control, administration of neostigmine or edrophonium resulted in identical recovery in 10 minutes. However, in patients with less than 10% spontaneous recovery of T1, neostigmine appeared to be superior to edrophonium. Conclusion : Pipecuronium has a relatively rapid onset. The trachea could be intubated successfully in 112 minutes with a dose of either 0.07 mg/kg or 0.1 mg/kg. If the clinical situation requires perfect relaxation with no movement or bucking, we recommend waiting at least 212 minutes.
Effect of Boiling Treatment of Soymilk on the Composition, Yield, Texture and Sensory Properties of Tofu

Abstract Soymilk was boiled for 0, 12, 30 and 60 min before coagulation with CaSO4 to make tofu, and a texture profile analysis was performed on the product obtained. Hardness and gumminess increased slightly up to 12 min of boiling but decreased significantly after 30 min and 60 min of boiling the soymilk. Chewiness decreased significantly after 30 min and 60 min of boiling. Springiness was not affected by boiling. Cohesiveness increased slightly after 12 min boiling and then decreased slightly but not significantly after 30 min and 60 min of boiling. Composition and sensory qualities of tofu were not significantly affected by the length of time soymilk was boiled prior to coagulation.
Biosynthesis of elastin by an endothelial cell culture

Summary An established endothelial cell culture line synthesizes and secretes into the medium a soluble protein of molecular weight approximately 75, 000 that has other properties (e.g., hydroxyproline and valylproline dipeptide contents and solubility in propanol-butanol) identifying it as elastin. This protein is extractable from the washed cell layer. It is found in the medium in lower concentration together with characteristic lower molecular weight degradation products. No insoluble elastin could be detected.
Design for manufacturing: application of collaborative multidisciplinary decision-making methodology

Design for manufacturing is often difficult for mechanical parts, since significant manufacturing knowledge is required to adjust part designs for manufacturability. The traditional trial-and-error approach usually leads to expensive iterations and compromises the quality of the final design. The authors believe the appropriate way to handle product design for manufacturing problems is not to formulate a large design problem that exhaustively incorporates design and manufacturing issues, but to separate the design and manufacturing activities and provide support for collaboration between engineering teams. In this article, the Collaborative Multidisciplinary Decision-making Methodology is used to solve a product design and manufacturing problem. First, the compromise Decision Support Problem is used as a mathematical model of each engineering teams’ design decisions and as a medium for information exchange. Second, game-theoretic principles are employed to resolve couplings or interactions between the tea...
Heat of hydrolysis of trimetaphosphate

Abstract An enzyme extract of yeast has been prepared which hydrolyzed inorganic trimetaphosphate to orthophosphate. The highest rate of enzymic hydrolysis has been observed at pH 7. Among divalent kations magnesium and manganese have been found to be the best activators. Fluoride, cyanide, and, to a lesser degree, azide inhibited the enzyme. By the addition of glycerol the activity of the enzyme at 33°C was much better preserved as compared to a water solution. The heat effect of enzymic hydrolysis of trimetaphosphate, 19,300 ± 900 cal/mole, was measured with the isothermal constant-flow calorimeter of Ohlmeyer ; an estimate of the decrease in enthalpy yielded 18,600 cal/mole for the ionization states of reactants and products at pH 7 and 33°C; likewise, the decrease in free energy was estimated at more than 21,000 cal/mole. Thus, the “high energy” content of the P-O-P bond of trimetaphosphate has been demonstrated.
Site and Host Factors Affecting the Sitka Spruce Weevil, Pissodes strobi , in Western Washington

Adult Pissodes strobi activity and brood production were compared at spruce plantations with high and low weevil infestation levels. During 2 years of observation, weevil activity started ca. 30 days earlier at the heavily infested plantation. Caging adults on terminals at both sites showed that the subsequent brood mortality was significantly higher at the plantation with low weevil damage. Poor brood survival was attributed mainly to resinosis.
Leaf Hydraulic Conductance for a Tank Bromeliad: Axial and Radial Pathways for Moving and Conserving Water

Plants in the Bromeliaceae known as tank bromeliads essentially lack stems and absorptive roots and instead take up water from reservoirs formed by their overlapping leaf bases. For such plants, leaf hydraulic conductance is plant hydraulic conductance. Their simple strap-shaped leaves and parallel venation make them suitable for modeling leaf hydraulic conductance based on vasculature and other anatomical and morphological traits. Plants of the tank bromeliad Guzmania lingulata were investigated in a lowland tropical forest in Costa Rica and a shaded glasshouse in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Stomatal conductance to water vapor and leaf anatomy related to hydraulic conductance were measured for both groups. Tracheid diameters and number of veins were used with the Hagen-Poiseuille equation to calculate axial hydraulic conductance. Measurements of leaf hydraulic conductance using the evaporative flux method were also made for glasshouse plants. Values for axial conductance and leaf hydraulic conductance were used in a model based on leaky cable theory to estimate the conductance of the radial pathway from the vein to the leaf surface and to assess the relative contributions of both axial and radial pathways. In keeping with low stomatal conductance and density, low vein density, and narrow tracheid diameters, leaf hydraulic conductance for G. lingulata was quite low in comparison with most other angiosperms. Using the predicted axial conductance in the leaky cable model, the radial resistance across the leaf mesophyll was predicted to predominate; lower, more realistic values of axial conductance resulted in predicted radial resistances that were closer to axial resistance in their impact on total leaf resistance. Tracer dyes suggested that water uptake through the tank region of the leaf was not limiting. Both dye movement and the leaky cable model indicated that the leaf blade of G. lingulata was structurally and hydraulically well-suited to conserve water.
A comparison of the efficacy and complication rates of low dose-rate versus high dose-rate brachytherapy in the treatment of uterine cervical carcinoma

Abstract Purpose: To compare the outcome and complication rates for treatment of uterine cervical carcinoma with low dose-rate (LDR) vs. high dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy at the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center (UWCCC). Methods and Materials: One-hundred ninety-eight evaluable patients with cervical carcinoma, Stages 1B to IIIB, treated with curative intent with a combination of megavoltage teletherapy and LDR brachytherapy from 1977 to 1988 were the subject of an initial review. In 1989, a HDR treatment program was initiated where all patients with cervical carcinoma. were subsequently treated with a combination of HDR brachytherapy and teletherapy. Using the linear-quadratic model (LQ), the dose and schedule of HDR brachytherapy and teletherapy were designed to give similar tumor control and late effects as LDR therapy. Technically, the HDR schedule required meticulous attention to treatment geometry to limit severe late effects. Forty patients treated with the HDR program with 2–4 year follow-up were reviewed and compared to the previous LDR patient group. The LDR and HDR treatment groups were comparable with regards to age, weight, stage distribution, bulk of disease, and histology. Results: No significant difference in survival was found between the LDR and HDR groups with 3-year actuarial overall survival being 66% and 77%, respectively. Three-year actuarial pelvic control rates were similar at 80% and 77% for the LDR and HDR groups, respectively. No significant difference in late treatment complications requiring hospitalization or surgery was found between the two treatment groups with a complication rate of 10% (20/198) for the LDR patients and 2.5% (1/40) for the HDR patients. Conclusion: As predicted by our LQ calculations, treatment results for LDR and HDR brachytherapy were similar with respect to survival, pelvic control and late complications in the treatment of cervical carcinoma. The HDR brachytherapy program at the UWCCC appears to be a safe and effective alternative to LDR therapy in the treatment of cervical carcinoma.
Relationship between vitamin D status and bone mineralization, mass, and metabolism in children with osteogenesis imperfecta: histomorphometric study.

The effect of low vitamin D levels in children with bone fragility disorders has not been examined in detail. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between vitamin D status and parameters of skeletal mineralization, mass, and metabolism in a group of pediatric osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) patients. This retrospective study consisted of 71 patients with a diagnosis of OI type I, III, or IV (ages 1.4 to 17.5 years; 36 girls) who had not received bisphosphonate treatment before iliac bone biopsy. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels ranged from 13 to 103 nmol/L and were less than 50 nmol/L in 37 patients (52%). None of the OI patients had radiologic signs of rickets or fulfilled the histomorphometric criteria for the diagnosis of osteomalacia (ie, elevated results for both osteoid thickness and mineralization lag time). Serum 25(OH)D levels were negatively correlated with age and serum parathyroid hormone levels but were not correlated with any parameter of bone mineralization (ie, osteoid thickness, mineralization lag time, or bone-formation rate per bone surface) or bone mass (ie, lumbar spine areal bone mineral density, iliac bone volume per tissue volume, or iliac cortical width). We found no evidence that serum 25(OH)D levels in the range from 13 to 103 nmol/L were associated with measures of bone mineralization, metabolism, or mass in children with OI. © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
A Solution for Flux Contamination by Mesoscale Motions With Very Weak Turbulence

In weak wind stable conditions, eddy-correlation fluxes calculated using conventional averaging times of 5 min or longer to define the perturbations are severely contaminated by poorly sampled mesoscale motions. A method is developed to identify the averaging time for each individual data record that captures the turbulence while excluding most of the mesoscale motions. The method is based on multiresolution decomposition of the heat flux, and provides an objective procedure for selecting the averaging time for calculating eddy-correlation fluxes. Eddy-correlation data collected in weak turbulence conditions over grass, snow, a pine forest and the ocean are used to demonstrate the approach.
Ion-pair extraction of alkali metal nitrate salts by lipophilic, benzo-substituted 24-crown-8 ethers

Abstract The extraction of alkali metal nitrate salts by 24-crown-8 ethers bearing multiple benzo substituents has been surveyed in 1,2-dichloroethane diluent at 25 °C. The results reveal that the addition of benzo-substituents onto the 24-crown-8 increases both the extraction efficiency and the selectivity for the larger cations. Substitution of branched alkyl groups onto the benzo rings of 24-crown-8 ethers has a relatively small influence on their extraction properties.
Novel One-step Mechanism for tRNA 3′-End Maturation by the Exoribonuclease RNase R of Mycoplasma genitalium

Mycoplasma genitalium is expected to metabolize RNA using unique pathways because its minimal genome encodes very few ribonucleases. In this work, we report that the only exoribonuclease identified in M. genitalium, RNase R, is able to remove tRNA 3′-trailers and generate mature 3′-ends. Several sequence and structural features of a tRNA precursor determine its precise processing at the 3′-end by RNase R in a purified system. The aminoacyl-acceptor stem plays a major role in stopping RNase R digestion at the mature 3′-end. Disruption of the stem causes partial or complete degradation of the pre-tRNA by RNase R, whereas extension of the stem results in the formation of a product terminating downstream at the new mature 3′-end. In addition, the 3′-terminal CCA sequence and the discriminator residue influence the ability of RNase R to stop at the mature 3′-end. RNase R-mediated generation of the mature 3′-end prefers a sequence of RCCN at the 3′ terminus of tRNA. Variations of this sequence may cause RNase R to trim further and remove terminal CA residues from the mature 3′-end. Therefore, M. genitalium RNase R can precisely remove the 3′-trailer of a tRNA precursor by recognizing features in the terminal domains of tRNA, a process requiring multiple RNases in most bacteria. Background: Mycoplasma genitalium lacks known ribonucleases for tRNA 3′-processing. The only identified exoribonuclease, RNase R, can carry out this function. Results: RNase R processes the tRNA 3′-end depending on the acceptor stem, discriminator, and CCA terminus. Conclusion: RNase R can process tRNA by recognizing features within the tRNA. Significance: M. genitalium may process tRNA 3′-end employing a unique single-step exonucleolytic pathway.
Dynamic holography in a broad-area optically pumped vertical GaAs microcavity

A broad-surface-area vertical GaAs microcavity was operated as an adaptive holographic film. The cavity mirrors were transparent to high-energy (millijoules per square centimeter) hologram writing pulses at a wavelength of 730 nm that generated optically pumped gain gratings in a 1-µm-thick active layer of GaAs. The gain gratings were probed with a low-intensity (mW) tunable laser at wavelengths near the GaAs band edge in the high-reflectance bandwidth of the cavity Bragg mirrors. When the structure was designed with low mirror reflectances [(R1R2)1/2=90%] to operate below the lasing threshold, the cavity resonance bandwidth was sufficiently broad to permit homogeneous hologram readout over a large (several square millimeters) area. Diffraction efficiencies of approximately 10% were predicted and approached experimentally. These results represent a first step toward the realization of a holographic vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser structure.
THE ECONOMICS OF ILLUSION

When individuals choose not only goods, but also how to process information, there is a bias: people tend to process information so that they feel good about themselves. This bias is particularly important in voting behavior, where agents have almost no individual effect on public choice outcomes, and therefore almost no incentive for unbiased use of information. Two examples are given. In one example, an adaptation of the classic overdepletion problem, the public chooses not to counteract externalities by appropriate tax policy. In the second example public policy follows the choices of experts, contrary to the interest of the public.
Complex Analysis of Flutter and Buckling of Beams under Rotational and Transverse Spring Constraints

The flutter and buckling analysis of a beam, subjected to a follower force, is studied theoretically. The beam is constrained by a pair of transverse and rotational springs at one end and fixed at the other end. The effects of the transverse and rotational spring stiffnesses are studied to obtain the transition condition differentiating two distinct types of instability that co-existed in the beam. The critical follower force is derived for both flutter and buckling of the beam. In addition, the variations of the parametric curves for the critical follower force are analyzed, and the abrupt drop or rise points in the curve are taken as the indicators of the transition between different types of instability. The research discussed in this paper may be used as a benchmark for the flutter and buckling analysis of beams. Moreover, this work may provide an accurate model in dealing with the flutter and buckling analysis and design of general beams.
A priori formal coverage analysis for protocol properties

Protocol compliance verification is a key component of the overall SOC verification process. Formal techniques have been applied to achieve high confidence in such verification, but the quality of the protocol properties themselves is not subjected to this rigor of verification. Determining the formal coverage of the protocol properties with respect to an implementation is not sufficient, because it may not have captured the full scope of the protocol. We propose a technique to solve this important problem, by formally covering a protocol's properties independent of the implementation. The coverage is determined with respect to the protocol specification (i.e. its semantics), which is captured as a state transition graph (STG). Developing an STG for a complex protocol is a non-trivial task; in this paper we also propose techniques to efficiently model complex protocol features like pipelining and threading. Results for OCP and AHB are shown to illustrate our approach.
Developing a user‐process model for designing menu‐based interfaces: An exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to organize menu items based on a user-process model and implement a new version of current software for enhancing usability of interfaces. Dervin & Nilan's time-line method is used to develop a user-process model for user interface design. We developed a user-process model drawn from actual users' understanding of their goals and strategies to solve their information needs by using Dervin's Sense-Making Theory with sense-making interviews. Six experienced subjects were recruited for the sense-making interviews. Each subject went through a learning/exploration session, and was asked to recall and describe specific information needs throughout the activity (situation). The data obtained from the interviews were then analyzed inductively based on Dervin's Sense-Making theory. The events, gaps, and uses (help/hurt) elicited from each subject were then chronologically ordered within each user's situation, and merged across all subjects to yield a master timeline matrix illustrating the use of the features of the software. The master timeline guided changes to the initial traditional menu for the product producing a reorganized, user-process driven interface. The new interface was implemented for usability testing.
Flexural Strength and Fracture Toughness of Dicor Glass-ceramic after Embedment Modification

Previous studies on the surface properties of Dicor castable glass-ceramic have shown the formation of a specific crystalline phase at the glass-ceramic/embedment interface. If this phase is not removed by grinding, it leads to an undesirable strength decrease. The aims of this study were: (1) to determine the nature of this surface layer, (2) to promote the formation of a different crystalline phase at the surface with the intention of improving the properties of the glass-ceramic, by modification of the composition of the Dicor ceramming embedment, and (3) to evaluate the fracture toughness and flexural strength of Dicor glass-ceramic after embedment modification. Modifications were made to the embedment by incorporation of 2.5 wt% of lithium fluoride and ceramming at various temperatures. X-ray diffraction was used to determine the crystalline nature of the surface layer. Fracture toughness was investigated by the indentation technique. The maximum bi-axial stresses were calculated after the samples were fractured in water on a ball-on-ring fixture at 0.5 mm/min. With the recommended embedment and ceramming cycle, the crystalline phase constituting the ceram layer was a calcium magnesium silicate CaMg(SiO3)2 (diopside). The crystalline composition of the ceram layer was successfully modified by addition of 2.5 wt% lithium fluoride to the embedment. This promoted the crystallization of mica in the ceram layer and increased the fracture toughness of the glass-ceramic when the ceramming temperature was 950 or 975 degrees C. The flexural strength was significantly increased when the ceramming temperature was 1000 degrees C.
AIDS and the gastroenterologist.

Over the next several decades the gastroenterologist practicing anywhere in the world will be confronted with patients with AIDS-related gastrointestinal disorders. Universal body substance isolation precautions should be practiced, however, in dealing with all patients, including those outside traditional ‘risk’ groups for AIDS. Principal among these precautions are using gloves for personnel involved in procedures and high-level disinfection or sterilization for all endoscopy equipment. Endoscopic procedures should be planned well in advance with special attention to endoscope selection and transport media availability. Organ-associated symptoms are reviewed, especially dysphagia, odynophagia, hemorrhage, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Opportunistic infections and malignancies often present characteristic endoscopic appearances such as that seen for cytomegalovirus ulceration or Kaposi's sarcoma. AIDS-related biliary disorders should also be recognized, principally sclerosing cholangitic or papillary ste...
The shape-shifting quasispecies of RNA: one sequence, many functional folds.

E Unus pluribum, or “Of One, Many”, may be at the root of decoding the RNA sequence-structure–function relationship. RNAs embody the large majority of genes in higher eukaryotes and fold in a sequence-directed fashion into three-dimensional structures that perform functions conserved across all cellular life forms, ranging from regulating to executing gene expression. While it is the most important determinant of the RNA structure, the nucleotide sequence is generally not sufficient to specify a unique set of secondary and tertiary interactions due to the highly frustrated nature of RNA folding. This frustration results in folding heterogeneity, a common phenomenon wherein a chemically homogeneous population of RNA molecules folds into multiple stable structures. Often, these alternative conformations constitute misfolds, lacking the biological activity of the natively folded RNA. Intriguingly, a number of RNAs have recently been described as capable of adopting multiple distinct conformations that all perform, or contribute to, the same function. Characteristically, these conformations interconvert slowly on the experimental timescale, suggesting that they should be regarded as distinct native states. We discuss how rugged folding free energy landscapes give rise to multiple native states in the Tetrahymena Group I intron ribozyme, hairpin ribozyme, sarcin–ricin loop, ribosome, and an in vitro selected aptamer. We further describe the varying degrees to which folding heterogeneity impacts function in these RNAs, and compare and contrast this impact with that of heterogeneities found in protein folding. Embracing that one sequence can give rise to multiple native folds, we hypothesize that this phenomenon imparts adaptive advantages on any functionally evolving RNA quasispecies.
Free does not mean affordable: maternity patient expenditures in a public hospital in Bangladesh

Objective This study investigated a) the amount and types of out-of-pocket expenditures by patients for nominally free services in a large public hospital in Bangladesh, b) the factors influencing these expenses, and c) the impact of these expenses on household income.
The α‐gal epitope and the anti‐Gal antibody in xenotransplantation and in cancer immunotherapy

The alpha-gal epitope (Galalpha1-3Galbeta1-(3)4GlcNAc-R) is abundantly synthesized on glycolipids and glycoproteins of non-primate mammals and New World monkeys by the glycosylation enzyme alpha1,3galactosyltransferase (alpha1,3GT). In humans, apes and Old World monkeys, this epitope is absent because the alpha1,3GT gene was inactivated in ancestral Old World primates. Instead, humans, apes and Old World monkeys produce the anti-Gal antibody, which specifically interacts with alpha-gal epitopes and which constitutes approximately 1% of circulating immunoglobulins. Anti-Gal has functioned as an immunological barrier, preventing the transplantation of pig organs into humans, because anti-Gal binds to the alpha-gal epitopes expressed on pig cells. The recent generation of alpha1,3GT knockout pigs that lack alpha-gal epitopes has resulted in the elimination of this immunological barrier. Anti-Gal can be exploited for clinical use in cancer immunotherapy by targeting autologous tumour vaccines to APC, thereby increasing their immunogenicity. Autologous intact tumour cells from haematological malignancies, or autologous tumour cell membranes from solid tumours are processed to express alpha-gal epitopes by incubation with neuraminidase, recombinant alpha1,3GT and with uridine diphosphate galactose. Subsequent immunization with such autologous tumour vaccines results in in vivo opsonization by anti-Gal IgG binding to these alpha-gal epitopes. The interaction of the Fc portion of the vaccine-bound anti-Gal with Fcgamma receptors of APC induces effective uptake of the vaccinating tumour cell membranes by the APC, followed by effective transport of the vaccinating tumour membranes to the regional lymph nodes, and processing and presentation of the tumour-associated antigen (TAA) peptides. Activation of tumour-specific T cells within the lymph nodes by autologous TAA peptides may elicit an immune response that in some patients will be potent enough to eradicate the residual tumour cells that remain after completion of standard therapy. A similar expression of alpha-gal epitopes can be achieved by transduction of tumour cells with an adenovirus vector (or other vectors) containing the alpha1,3GT gene, thus enabling anti-Gal-mediated targeting of the vaccinating transduced cells to APC. Intratumoral delivery of the alpha1,3GT gene by various vectors results in the expression of alpha-gal epitopes. Such expression of the xenograft carbohydrate phenotype is likely to induce anti-Gal-mediated destruction of the tumour lesion, similar to rejection of xenografts by this antibody. Opsonization of the destroyed tumour cell membranes by anti-Gal IgG further targets them to APC, thus converting the tumour lesion, treated by the alpha1,3GT gene, into an in situ autologous tumour vaccine.
Degradation of a poly(ester urethane) elastomer. I. Absorption and diffusion of water in Estane® 5703 and related polymers

In preparation for studying the hydrolytic degradation of Estane® 5703 and related poly(ester urethane) elastomers, the absorption (solubility) and diffusion of water in these polymers have been examined experimentally and modeled theoretically. Weight gain and loss experiments have been carried out. The amount of water absorbed per gram of sample was linear at low relative humidities (RHs) but curved upward at higher RHs. This curvature was not fit by Henry's law or the Flory–Huggins equation but was easily fit by a water-cluster model. Diffusion coefficients were determined by fitting the time dependence of the sample weights, and the diffusion appeared Fickian to within experimental uncertainty. The similarity of related polymers was used to determine the approximate temperature dependence of the absorption. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 181–191, 2002
The Impact of Caregiver Distress on the Longitudinal Development of Child Acute Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Pediatric Injury Victims

Objective The present study prospectively examined the development of child PTSD symptoms (PTSS) and the impact of caregiver PTSS on child PTSS following injury. Methods One hundred and eighteen ED patients and their caregivers were interviewed in-hospital and 2- and 6-weeks posttrauma. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear regressions examined the development of PTSS. Results A model combining child and caregiver 2-week PTSS into one latent family PTSS variable provided the best fit to the data. Child in-hospital avoidance symptoms predicted higher levels of 2-week family PTSS. Two-week family PTSS predicted child 6-week PTSS. Post hoc analyses revealed an interaction between in-hospital caregiver avoidance symptoms and child reexperiencing symptoms in predicting 6-week child PTSS. Conclusions Results highlight the dynamic development of child PTSS. Different symptom clusters may be related to higher PTSS at differing times posttrauma and may inform the development of time-sensitive methods of assessment and intervention for injury victims.
$L^1$ -Norm Convergence Properties of Correlogram Spectral Estimates

This paper establishes the following results concerning the estimation of the power spectrum of a single, deterministic, infinitely long signal. a) If S x is the signal's power spectral density, correlogram spectral estimates obtained from increasingly longer signal segments tend to S x * ? x/2p in the L 1-norm, where ? is the Fourier transform of the window used to generate the estimates. b) The L 1-norm of S x - S x * ? x/2p can be made arbitrarily small by an appropriate choice of window. It is further shown that the accuracy of the spectral estimates generated by a given window is related to a newly introduced function, termed the windowing error kernel and that this function yields bounds on the asymptotic error of the estimates. As an example, correlogram spectral estimates are used to analyze spectral regrowth in an amplifier.
Combined photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in cancer using HER-2 targeted PLGA nanoparticles

We previously reported on the synergistic effects of hyperthermia and chemotherapy using doxorubicin (DOX) and Indocyanine Green (ICG). In a previous study we also explored the potential use of simultaneous entrapment of optical/imaging and chemotherapeutic agents into PLGA nanoparticles. The aim of the present study is to further decorate their surface with tumor specific monoclonal antibodies in order to achieve simultaneous therapy and diagnosis in a targeted manner. Thus, ICG was selected as an imaging agent due to its wide clinical applications and since it can also serve as hyperthermia agent. DOX was selected as the chemotherapeutic agent since it is used clinically for a large spectrum of tumors.
Is extinction forever

Mistrust of science has seeped into public perception of the most fundamental aspect of conservation—extinction. The term ought to be straightforward, and yet, there is a disconnect between scientific discussion and public views. This is not a mere semantic issue, rather one of communication. Within a population dynamics context, we say that a species went locally extinct, later to document its return. Conveying our findings matters, for when we use local extinction, an essentially nonsensical phrase, rather than extirpation, which is what is meant, then we contribute to, if not create outright, a problem for public understanding of conservation, particularly as local extinction is often shortened to extinction in media sources. The public that receives the message of our research void of context and modifiers comes away with the idea that extinction is not forever or, worse for conservation as a whole, that an extinction crisis has been invented.