cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human papillomavirus gene sequences in washed human sperm deoxyribonucleic acid

The present study demonstrated the presence of HPV gene sequences in Percoll-washed sperm cells using polymerase chain reaction primers targeting smaller gene regions. Up to 64% of the sperm specimens were shown to contain gene sequences indicative of the presence of HPV. Human papillomavirus type 16 was detected about twice as often as HPV type 18. The results suggest the possible role of sperm as a vector for HPV.
Ultrahigh photorefractive sensitivity in AlGaAs/GaAs MQWs

The quantum-confined Franz-Keldysh effect in semiconductor MQWs represents a large resonant enhancement of electro-optical (EO) properties for photon energies dose to the exciton transition energies. This quadratic EO effect is 400 times larger than the linear EO effect in GaAs for an applied electric field of 104 V/cm.1 Because of the quadratic dependence of the refractive index on electric field, the photorefraetive gains of the QWs are therefore potentially 800 times larger than the gains in bulk semiconductors at this field strength, assuming a phase shift of 90° of the refractive-index grating relative to the intensity grating.
Cold hardiness and influences of hibernaculum conditions on overwintering survival of American dog tick larvae.

Abstract Understanding how ticks survive the multitude of stresses experienced during winter is integral to predicting population dynamics and transmission of tick-borne pathogens. The American dog tick ( Dermacentor variabilis ), a predominant vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, overwinters in any of its post-egg life stages. In this study, we characterized the cold tolerance of larval D. variabilis and examined the effect of various acclimatory conditions on cold hardiness. Cold-shock survival during 2 h exposure to various subzero temperatures was assessed and a lower lethal temperature of −20 °C and a 50% mortality temperature near −16 °C was established. Larvae exposed to −5 °C showed high survival (∼70%) after 14 d and near 50% for up to 56 d at −5 °C. Larvae cycled between supra- and subzero temperatures showed better long-term survival than at constant −5 °C. The temperature of crystallization (T c ) was ∼−23 °C and no larvae survived freezing after reaching their T c . Larvae exposed to inoculative freezing survived brief, mild treatments (70% survival of −5 °C for 2 h) but survival was reduced compared to larvae cooled in the absence of ice. Reduced photophase, rapid cold hardening, dehydration, and long-term thermal acclimation all improved larval cold hardiness to varying degrees. Survival data were compared to measurements of hibernacula conditions, and we conclude that larvae face little threat from cold-induced mortality but inoculative freezing does pose a risk, and the geographic distribution of D. variabilis is only minimally influenced by the ability of larvae to survive low temperature exposure.
The effects of construal level and small wins framing on an individual's commitment to an environmental initiative

Organizations are increasingly focused on improving the environmental sustainability of their operations, products, and services. To implement sustainability initiatives, organizations often seek commitment from their members to volunteer discretionary time and effort toward reaching the initiative's goals. This research sought to understand whether construal level and small wins strategy might affect goal commitment toward a sustainability initiative. Using a scenario-based 2 × 2 factorial design experiment with 133 university students, we manipulated construal level and small wins strategy while measuring participants' environmental concern, perceptions of organizational efficacy, and goal commitment. Goal difficulty, gender, and age were included as control variables. Individuals with higher environmental concern had higher commitment to the organization's initiative, but this relationship was moderated, with both a high level of construal and the use of small wins strategy strengthening that relationship. Perceived organizational efficacy was also found to increase goal commitment, and women exhibited greater goal commitment than men.
The Role of Primary Repair in Pediatric Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Over the last decades, the incidence of ACL injuries in the pediatric population has significantly increased, and more pediatric patients are undergoing ACL reconstruction. ACL reconstruction, however, is a relatively morbid procedure and has several disadvantages for the pediatric population, such as high failure rates for young patients, damage to the growth plate with potential growth disturbances, and high incidence of osteoarthritis. As a result, a recent resurgence of interest in ACL preservation surgery, and especially primary repair, has been noted.
Poster: Which Similarity Metric to Use for Software Documents?: A Study on Information Retrieval Based Software Engineering Tasks

Information Retrieval (IR) plays a key role in diverse Software Engineering (SE) tasks. Similarity metric is the core component of any IR techniques whose performance differs for various document types. Different SE tasks operate on different types of documents like bug reports, software descriptions, source code, etc., that often contain non-standard domain-specific vocabulary. Thus, it is important to understand which similarity metrics are suitable for different SE documents. We analyze the performance of different similarity metrics on various SE documents including a diverse combination of textual (e.g., description, readme), code (e.g., source code, API, import package), and a mixture of text and code (e.g., bug reports) artifacts. We observe that, in general, the context-aware IR models achieve better performance on textual artifacts. In contrast, simple keyword-based bag-of-words models perform better in code artifacts.
Intelligent Modeling Essential to Get Good Results: Container Storage Inside a Container Terminal

The first steps in solving a decision making problem optimally are to construct an appropriate mathematical model for it, and then select an algorithm for solving that model. We will illustrate this with work on a project carried out at HIT (Hong Kong International Terminals) in Hong Kong Port which has won the Edelman Finalist Award from CPMS (College for the Practice of Management Science) of INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and Management Science) in 2004. But first we provide an account of how I became interested in “optimization.”
The effect of thioridizine on the automatic clinical analyzer serum tricyclic anti-depressant screen

A patient who had ingested thioridizine and flurazepam was brought to the authors’ emergency department. Initial laboratory evaluation included a positive result for a serum screening test for tricyclic anti-depressants performed with the DuPont® Automatic Clinical Analyzer. This false positive test result caused considerable unnecessary treatment and expense for the patient. The authors have found that a serum thioridizine concentration of 125 ng/mL (within the usual therapeutic range for this drug) will produce a false positive automatic clinical analyzer serum tricyclic anti-depressant screen result. Because thioridizine is the most widely used phenothiazine and is prescribed more frequently than the most widely used tricyclic anti-depressant, it is important to recognize this cause of a false positive result.
The Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center

The Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center (FHBPTC) is one of the first hospital-based proton therapy (PT) facilities. Its development was the natural evolution of several decades of PT experience of the Massachusetts General Hospital treating patients at the Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory. The operations of the FHBPTC reflect the combined missions of patient care, clinical and physics research, technological developments, and education. This chapter will discuss aspects of the history, evolution, and performance of this unique PT center.
Ischemic preconditioning: From basic mechanisms to clinical applications

When the heart is subjected to a transient nonlethal period of ischemia, it quickly adapts itself to become resistant to infarction from a subsequent ischemic insult. This adaptation is called preconditioning. This cardioprotection has been shown to be mediated by stimulation of receptors linked to protein kinase C (PKC) (adenosine, bradykinin, opioids, etc.), and these receptors protect by activating PKC. PKC appears to be the first element of a complex kinase cascade that is activated during the prolonged ischemia in the preconditioned heart. Recent studies imply that p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase carries the signal from PKC to the mitochondrial K(ATP) channels, causing them to open and thus protect the heart. The cardioprotection of preconditioning occurs in all species tested to date, and possibly also humans. It is expected that as the mechanism of preconditioning is more thoroughly understood, pharmacological preconditioning will become practical for clinical use.
Linked open data-based framework for automatic biomedical ontology generation

Fulfilling the vision of Semantic Web requires an accurate data model for organizing knowledge and sharing common understanding of the domain. Fitting this description, ontologies are the cornerstones of Semantic Web and can be used to solve many problems of clinical information and biomedical engineering, such as word sense disambiguation, semantic similarity, question answering, ontology alignment, etc. Manual construction of ontology is labor intensive and requires domain experts and ontology engineers. To downsize the labor-intensive nature of ontology generation and minimize the need for domain experts, we present a novel automated ontology generation framework, Linked Open Data approach for Automatic Biomedical Ontology Generation (LOD-ABOG), which is empowered by Linked Open Data (LOD). LOD-ABOG performs concept extraction using knowledge base mainly UMLS and LOD, along with Natural Language Processing (NLP) operations; and applies relation extraction using LOD, Breadth first Search (BSF) graph method, and Freepal repository patterns. Our evaluation shows improved results in most of the tasks of ontology generation compared to those obtained by existing frameworks. We evaluated the performance of individual tasks (modules) of proposed framework using CDR and SemMedDB datasets. For concept extraction, evaluation shows an average F-measure of 58.12% for CDR corpus and 81.68% for SemMedDB; F-measure of 65.26% and 77.44% for biomedical taxonomic relation extraction using datasets of CDR and SemMedDB, respectively; and F-measure of 52.78% and 58.12% for biomedical non-taxonomic relation extraction using CDR corpus and SemMedDB, respectively. Additionally, the comparison with manually constructed baseline Alzheimer ontology shows F-measure of 72.48% in terms of concepts detection, 76.27% in relation extraction, and 83.28% in property extraction. Also, we compared our proposed framework with ontology-learning framework called “OntoGain” which shows that LOD-ABOG performs 14.76% better in terms of relation extraction. This paper has presented LOD-ABOG framework which shows that current LOD sources and technologies are a promising solution to automate the process of biomedical ontology generation and extract relations to a greater extent. In addition, unlike existing frameworks which require domain experts in ontology development process, the proposed approach requires involvement of them only for improvement purpose at the end of ontology life cycle.
Veterans and Bipartisanship

Scholars and media outlets that cover the U.S. Congress devote substantial attention to the rise in partisanship and polarization over the past few decades. The steady increases in partisanship and...
Costs of epilepsy: The impact of comorbidities

Abstract Although there have been many studies looking into the cost of epilepsy in the general epilepsy population, studies examining the impact of comorbidities on epilepsy costs are scarce. Further, there have not been any studies evaluating the potential impact of preventing or treating comorbidity in epilepsy (e.g., medical, neurological, or psychiatric) from a public health perspective. This chapter will review basic concepts of cost of illness in epilepsy and the impact of comorbidities on the cost of epilepsy.
Fighting racism in Turkey: Kurdish homeownership as an anti-racist practice

This article focuses on the housing experiences of Kurdish migrants/working classes in a Turkish-dominated working-class district of Zeytinburnu in Istanbul since the 1990s. Drawing on ethnographic...
Biografías ilustradas y construcción del canon autorial (entre España y Europa): de Pacheco a Sedano

En torno a dos obras espanolas destacadas, el Libro de retratos (1599-1644) de Pacheco y el Parnaso espanol (1768-1778) de Lopez de Sedano, se plantea la consideracion generica de la hibridacion de biografias y retratos con una muestra textual antologica, los antecedentes de su aplicacion a los escritores, su dimension europea y su funcion en los procesos de institucionalizacion de la literatura y de construccion de la subjetividad autorial.
WordBlender: principles and tools for generating word blends

Combining text and images is a powerful strategy in graphic design because images convey meaning faster, but text conveys more precise meaning. Word blends are a technique to combine both elements in a succinct yet expressive image. In a word blend, a letter is replaced by a symbol relevant to the message. This is difficult because the replacement must look blended enough to be readable, yet different enough to recognize the symbol. Currently, there are no known design principles to find aesthetically pleasing word blends. To establish these principles, we run two experiments and find that to be readable, the object should have a similar shape as the letter. However, to be aesthetically pleasing, the font should match some of the secondary features of the image: color, style, and thickness. We present WordBlender, an AI-powered design tool to quickly and easily create word blends based on these visual design principles. WordBlender automatically generates shape-based matches and allows users to explore combinations of color, style, and font that improve the design of blends.
An Ultra-Efficient DC Hybrid Circuit Breaker Architecture Based on Transient Commutation Current Injection

Safety and protection against circuit faults represent a major technical challenge in emerging DC transmission and distribution power networks. This paper proposes a new DC hybrid circuit breaker (HCB) architecture that relies on a switching-mode Transient Commutation Current Injector (TCCI) circuit instead of the prior-art Load Commutation Switch (LCS). The TCCI in the electronic path remains in a standby mode with near zero power loss under normal conditions but can rapidly generate a pulse current matching the fault current, and therefore facilitate current commutation from the mechanical to the electronic path. It completely eliminates the conduction power loss associated with the LCS, and delivers an ultrahigh transmission efficiency. The TCCI circuit provides a near-zero voltage and a small high-frequency AC ripple current condition for the mechanical contacts to separate arclessly. A 600V/20A HCB prototype based on a dual-input current source buck converter topology experimentally demonstrates that a fault current of 40A is commutated within 10µs, and only a small, high frequency AC ripple current is maintained through the mechanical switch afterwards.
Abstract SP159: EMT

During metastasis, epithelial tumor cells dissociate from each other, disseminate into the systemic circulation, and then establish secondary tumors in distant sites. A developmental program termed Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is implicated in promoting the dissemination of single carcinoma cells during metastasis. Our recent studies aim to understand how EMT is dynamically regulated in response to signals from the tumor microenvironment and from the intracellular machineries to impact EMT and tumor metastasis. Specifically, I will present a mechanotransduction pathway that senses and transmits mechanincal cues from stiff matrix in the tumor microenvironment to promote EMT and invasion during tumor progression. Breast tumors are often detected due to their apparent “hardness” compared to normal tissues, and increasing matrix stiffness correlates with distant metastasis and poor survival in breast cancer patients. These observations raise the question of how mechanical forces generated by the rigid tumor ECM impact tumor progression and metastasis. In a hydrogel coupled with 3D Matrigel overlay culture system that recapitulates the range of physiological stiffness from normal mammary glands to breast tumors, increased ECM stiffness triggers Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis. We previously reported that the transcription factor Twist1 is an essential mechano-mediator that promotes EMT and metastasis in response to ECM stiffness. High matrix stiffness promotes Twist1 nuclear localization through phosphorylation-dependent regulation of its interaction with cytoplasmic anchor G3BP2. Using kinase screening and protein affinity purification, we identified a novel mechanoresponsive protein complex including an ephrin receptor and a Src-family kinase that promotes Twist1 phosphorylation and subsequent nuclear translocation in response to high matrix rigidity. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of this mechanotransduction pathway blocks ECM stiffness-induced EMT and invasion in vitro and inhibits metastasis in human breast tumor xenografts. Our findings reveal a novel mechanotransduction pathway that responds to mechanical signals from the tumor microenvironment to drive EMT, invasion, and metastasis. Citation Format: J Yang. EMT [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr SP159.
Economics in a Crisis: A Cautious Approach to Being Relevant

While this may appear to be a good opportunity to bring real-life examples into the classroom and show how economics applies during a global pandemic, we advocate instead for a more cautious approach. One of the joys of teaching economic is that it can be applied to “everyday life,” but there are some moments in life where caution may be warranted.
Preventing PICS with the ABCDEF Bundle

Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is a complex constellation of cognitive, physical, and psychological impairments that impact survivors of critical illness, leading to disability, frailty, and poor quality of life. Numerous interventions have been studied to reduce the impact of the syndrome. A coordinated and synergistic bundle of care, called the ABCDEF bundle, has been shown to improve mortality and reduce many of the complications of critical illness including ICU readmissions and discharges to nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. The bundle combines evidence-based and refined processes of care in sedation and analgesia management, weaning protocols from mechanical ventilation, delirium prevention and treatment, early mobilization, and family engagement to improve outcomes and reduce the burden of PICS amongst ICU survivors.
Effectiveness of Self-customized Refresher and Just-In-Time-Training for Mechanical Repair Task Performance

Future space exploration missions are expected to increase in duration with timelines as long as three years. Applying the current training paradigm to support longer duration missions reveals a substantial skill decay risk and an untenable training to mission ratio. The aim of this research is to address these issues by investigating customized interventions applied immediately before task execution for both previously trained and novel tasks. For previously trained tasks, we investigated the efficacy of self-made refresher videos, which are customized by the individual, versus the standard practice of simply reviewing task procedures. For novel tasks, we investigated the efficacy of customizable procedures versus standard procedures when used for just-in-time training. Two experiments were performed investigating the effectiveness of these interventions. The results were not statistically significant, but they suggest that there may be benefits to the interventions. Further research is required to quantify the results of the customizations and provide recommendations for training practices more accurately.
Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation for Chronic Pain: Hypothesized Mechanisms of Action

Abstract Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGS) is a neuromodulation therapy for chronic pain that is refractory to conventional medical management. Currently, the mechanisms of action of DRGS-induced pain relief are unknown, precluding both our understanding of why DRGS fails to provide pain relief to some patients and the design of neurostimulation technologies that directly target these mechanisms to maximize pain relief in all patients. Due to the heterogeneity of sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), the analgesic mechanisms could be attributed to the modulation of one or many cell types within the DRG and the numerous brain regions that process sensory information. Here, we summarize the leading hypotheses of the mechanisms of DRGS-induced analgesia, and propose areas of future study that will be vital to improving the clinical implementation of DRGS. Perspective This article synthesizes the evidence supporting the current hypotheses of the mechanisms of action of DRGS for chronic pain and suggests avenues for future interdisciplinary research which will be critical to fully elucidate the analgesic mechanisms of the therapy.
A visuomotor microcircuit in frontal cortex.

Visually guided behavior begins with inputs to sensory cortices, but the decision to initiate actions engages the frontal cortex. A new study dissects a microcircuit for visual-to-motor transformation in the anterior cingulate cortex of the mouse with implications for impulsivity and disease states.
Laboratory investigations of gas flow behaviors in tight anthracite and evaluation of different pulse-decay methods on permeability estimation

Abstract Permeability evolution in coal is critical for the prediction of coalbed methane (CBM) production and CO2-enhanced-CBM. The anthracite, as the highest rank coal, has ultra-tight structure and the gas flow dynamics is complicated and influenced by multi-mechanistic flow components. Gas transport in anthracite will be a nonlinear multi-mechanistic process also including non-Darcy components like gas as-/desorption, gas slippage and diffusion flow. In this study, a series of laboratory permeability measurements were conducted on an anthracite sample for helium and CO2 depletions under both constant stress and uniaxial strain boundary conditions. The different transient pulse-decay methods were utilized to estimate the permeability and Klinkenberg correction accounting for slip effect was also used to calculate the intrinsic permeability. The helium permeability results indicate that the overall permeability under uniaxial strain condition is higher than that under constant stress condition because of larger effective stress reduction during gas depletion. At low pressure under constant stress condition, CO2 permeability enhancement due to sorption-induced matrix shrinkage effect is significant, which can be either clearly observed from the pulse-decay pressure response curves or the data reduced by Cui et al.'s method. But within the same pressure range, there is almost no difference between Brace's method and Dicker & Smits's method. Gas slippage effect is also significant at low pressure for low permeability coal based on the obtained experimental data.
Differential 9-cis-Retinoic Acid-dependent Transcriptional Activation by Murine Retinoid X Receptor (RXR) and RXR ROLE OF CELL TYPE AND RXR DOMAINS

Abstract The 9-cis-retinoic acid (9cRA)-inducible enhancer of the rat cellular retinol-binding protein type II gene (CRBP II) was shown to be differentially regulated by the murine retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) as compared with RXRβ. Transient transfection assays performed in NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells demonstrated that RXRα yielded a high level of 9cRA-dependent transcription of a reporter gene linked to the CRBP II enhancer, when compared with RXRβ. This effect was cell type-dependent, since both receptors elicited comparable transcriptional activation of the same reporter in P19 embryonal carcinoma cells. To further explore the structural determinants responsible for the differences between these two receptors, a series of chimeric receptor constructs were made. Co-transfection assays utilizing these chimeras demonstrated that both the N terminus and the hinge region connecting the DNA binding domain with the ligand binding domain of RXRα were responsible for the high level of 9cRA-dependent transcription observed in NIH 3T3 cells. Furthermore, the hinge region of RXRα was shown to be necessary to repress, in the absence of hormone, the transcriptional activation function located in the N-terminal domain of RXRα. These results stress the importance of functional links between different RXR domains and suggest an RXR subtype and cell type-dependent specificity in the control of the 9cRA response.
Armor Development and Fitness

The fitness of stickleback fish that develop different numbers of external bony plates varies between oceanic and freshwater environments.
The Search for Virtue

ABSTRACT Sixty accredited MSW programs were surveyed to determine whether there were significant differences between those programs offering discrete ethics courses and those not doing so on a number of ethics education related variables. Results suggest virtually no significant differences on the variables examined, with the exception that programs offering discrete courses more often expose students to literature on the broad topic of moral philosophy. Also examined was the extent to which all of the programs surveyed were following the pedagogical recommendations of the ethics education literature reviewed. The results suggest that many MSW programs are not following these recommendations in a number of respects. The implications of these findings are discussed, and specific suggestions are offered for those faculty concerned with the ethics component of their course offerings.
Site-directed mutagenesis in Bacillus stearothermophilus fructose-6-phosphate 1-kinase: Mutation at the substrate-binding site affects allosteric behavior

Arg252 of fructose-6-phosphate 1-kinase (PFK) from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been proposed to be involved in the binding of the substrate Fru-6-P. We demonstrate here that mutation of this residue to alanine converts the enzyme to a form with characteristics similar to those of its allosterically tight form. The mutant enzyme exhibits a high affinity for its inhibitor phosphoenolpyruvate (a 68-fold difference compared to wild type) and a dramatically decreased Fru-6-P affinity (1500-fold increase in Km). It is more sensitive to inhibition by high ATP concentrations than the wild type, and this inhibition is relieved by ADP, GDP, or higher Fru-6-P concentrations. In contrast, mutation of Arg252 to lysine increases the affinity of the enzyme for P-enolpyruvate by only 2-fold and increases its Km for Fru-6-P by only 50-fold. Sigmoidal kinetics with respect to Fru-6-P in the presence of P-enolpyruvate were observed with Hill numbers of 2.2, 2.4, and 1.7 for wild-type B. stearothermophilus PFK and the Arg252 to lysine and to alanine mutations, respectively. Unlike fructose-6-phosphate 1-kinase from Escherichia coli, in the absence of P-enolpyruvate, B. stearothermophilus PFK exhibits a hyperbolic profile with respect to Fru-6-P concentration. B. stearothermophilus PFK is sensitive to inhibition by high ATP concentrations and competitively inhibited by GDP or ADP. Our data indicate that Arg252 of B. stearothermophilus PFK plays a major role in both Fru-6-P binding and allosteric interaction between the subunits. However, this residue does not seem to participate directly in the catalytic process.
Multiple access capacity for ultra-wide band radio with multi-antenna receivers

We propose the use of multiple receive antennas for ultra-wide band impulse radio systems, using pattern code modulation (PACM). We show that we can obtain a linear growth in transmission capacity if we use multiple receivers, provided that these receivers are separated sufficiently. To analyze such a channel capacity of the impulse radio system, we model the multiple access interference as a filtered Poisson shot noise process. We use a convolution formula to study the amplitude distribution, and therefore find the probability of false and miss detection of a CDMA pattern. We find the capacity bounds and give some example, we can see that they converge and the bound are quire tight. Using the formula we get, we continue to show that we can increase the multiple access capacity linearly with the number of receive antennas.
Methyl Group Metabolism in the Pancreas of Folate-Deficient Rats

Several studies have suggested that the metabolism of one-carbon compounds may have a special role in the function of the exocrine pancreas. An amino acid-defined diet was used to produce folate deficiency in a group of male rats. These rats were compared with a group of rats pair-fed the same diet supplemented with adequate folate and with a third group fed the folate-supplemented diet with ad libitum access. Pancreatic folate concentrations were already severely depleted after 4 wk of feeding the deficient diet (0.95 +/- 0.10, 5.81 +/- 0.29 and 4.58 +/- 0.30 nmol/g for the deficient, pair-fed control and ad libitum-fed control groups, respectively). The level of folate present in the pancreas of nondeficient animals was second only to that reported for liver. Urinary amylase excretion by animals in the deficient group was higher than that by the other groups (245.5 +/- 21.9, compared with 181.9 +/- 14.5 and 195.3 +/- 10.9 units/mg creatinine for the deficient, pair-fed control and ad libitum-fed control groups, respectively) after 4 wk. The ratio of S-adenosylmethionine to S-adenosylhomocysteine was 18.6 +/- 1.6 and 14.5 +/- 1.0 after 4 wk for the ad libitum-fed control and pair-fed control groups, respectively, but was significantly lower at 6.3 +/- 1.1 for the deficient group. These results indicate a profound effect of folate deficiency upon methyl group metabolism of the pancreas and suggest that this may result in decreased pancreatic function.
Information Theory of Modulation Codes and Waveforms

The fundamental problem of communication is the conveying of information (which may take several different forms) from a generating source through a communication medium to a desired destination. This conveyance of information, invariably, is achieved by transmitting signals that contain the desired information in some form and that efficiently carry the information through the communication medium. We refer to the process of superimposing an information signal onto another for efficient transmission as modulation. 1 Introduction 2 Analog Modulation 3 Digital Modulation Keywords: analog modulation; digitally modulated signal; binary modulation; baseband pulse-amplitude modulation; quadrature amplitude modulation; continuous-phase modulation
Insulin Regulation of Lipoprotein Lipase in Cultured Isolated Rat Adipocytes

The cellular regulation of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase by insulin was investigated using cultured isolated rat adipocytes. Evidence for sustained cell viability over 3 days included stability of specific [125I]insulin binding and adipocyte number. Lipoprotein lipase was measured in three functional compartments: 1) enzyme activity secreted into the culture medium, 2) activity releasable from cell suspensions by heparin, and 3) activity extractable from cells (after maximal heparin release) in deoxycholate and detergent. One day after preparation, these activities stabilized and were 1.3 +/- 0.2, 1.4 +/- 0.2, and 7.7 +/- 0.9 neq/10(6) cells X min, respectively (n = 24, mean +/- SEM). Insulin, added the day after preparation, produced a dose-dependent (1-400 ng/ml) increase in lipoprotein lipase releasable from cells by heparin at 2, 4, and 24 h. Insulin also increased intracellular enzyme measured as deoxycholate-detergent-solubilized activity extracted from previously heparin-released cells. However, insulin-mediated increases in culture medium enzyme only occurred subsequent to cellular effects. All insulin-mediated effects were prevented by cycloheximide (1 microgram/ml). Thus, insulin increased two cellular pools of adipocyte lipoprotein lipase in a dose-dependent manner, but had no direct effect on enzyme secretion. Overall, cultured isolated rat adipocytes appear to be a valuable system for the study of lipoprotein lipase regulation at the level of the adipocyte.
Automatic Classification of Financial Accounting Concepts

Information and standards overload are part of the current business environment. In accounting, this is exacerbated due to the variety of users and the evolving nature of accounting language. This ...
The Molecular Genetic Basis for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a relatively common disease, is diagnosed clinically by unexplained cardiac hypertrophy and pathologically by myocyte hypertrophy, disarray, and interstitial fibrosis. HCM is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the young and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly. Hypertrophy and fibrosis are the major determinants of morbidity and SCD. More than 100 mutations in nine genes, all encoding sarcomeric proteins have been identified in patients with HCM, which had led to the notion that HCM is a disease of contractile sarcomeric proteins. The beta -myosin heavy chain (MyHC), cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and myosin binding protein-C (MyBP-C) are the most common genes accounting for approximately 2/3 of all HCM cases. Genotype-phenotype correlation studies suggest that mutations in the beta -MyHC gene are associated with more extensive hypertrophy and a higher risk of SCD as compared to mutations in genes coding for other sarcomeric proteins, such as MyBP-C and cTnT. The prognostic significance of mutations is related to their hypertrophic expressivity and penetrance, with the exception of those in the cTnT, which are associated with mild hypertrophic response and a high incidence of SCD. However, there is a significant variability and factors, such as modifier genes and probably the environmental factors affect the phenotypic expression of HCM. The molecular pathogenesis of HCM is not completely understood. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that mutations impart a diverse array of functional defects including reduced ATPase activity of myosin, acto-myosin interaction, cross-bridging kinetics, myocyte contractility, and altered Ca2+ sensitivity. Hypertrophy and other clinical and pathological phenotypes are considered compensatory phenotypes secondary to functional defects. In summary, the molecular genetic basis of HCM has been identified, which affords the opportunity to delineate its pathogenesis. Understanding the pathogenesis of HCM could provide for genetic based diagnosis, risk stratification, treatment and prevention of cardiac phenotypes.
Culture shock and a peace corps field mental health program

The Peace Corps has developed a unique mental health guidance program to facilitate the selection and training of volunteers. It is pointed out, however, that there are some limitations in this overall program. The Peace Corps staff physician acts as the activator of preventive and curative psychiatric resources in the field. Culture shock provides the focal point for nearly all overseas adjustment problems. The author devised a field mental health program upon group therapy precepts in order to minimize the effects of adjustment dilemmas. A preliminary evaluation of this type of program with the Bolivian Peace Corps contingent indicates it is effective.
Turbopump options for nuclear thermal rockets

Several turbopump options for delivering liquid nitrogen to nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) engines were evaluated and compared. Axial and centrifugal flow pumps were optimized, with and without boost pumps, utilizing current design criteria within the latest turbopump technology limits. Two possible NTR design points were used, a modest pump pressure rise of 1,743 psia and a relatively higher pump pressure rise of 4,480 psia. Both engines utilized the expander cycle to maximize engine performance for the long duration mission. Pump suction performance was evaluated. Turbopumps with conventional cavitating inducers were compared with zero NPSH (saturated liquid in the tanks) pumps over a range of tank saturation pressures, with and without boost pumps. Results indicate that zero NSPH pumps at high tank vapor pressures, 60 psia, are very similar to those with the finite NPSHs. At low vapor pressures efficiencies fall and turbine pressure ratios increase leading to decreased engine chamber pressures and or increased pump pressure discharges and attendant high-pressure component weights. It may be concluded that zero tank NSPH capabilities can be obtained with little penalty to the engine systems but boost pumps are needed if tank vapor pressure drops below 30 psia. Axial pumps have slight advantages inmore » weight and chamber pressure capability while centrifugal pumps have a greater operating range. 10 refs.« less
Otitis Media and the Social Behavior of Day-Care-Attending Children

Research has suggested that young children who experience chronic middle ear disease (otitis media) in early childhood may display some initial developmental delays in language development as well as later problems in school. This association between otitis media and developmental problems is hypothesized to be linked to the hearing loss that accompanies frequent or long bouts of otitis media. Recent interest has focused on whether otitis media may be linked to behavioral changes in children, making them less responsive to the environment even when well. This study examined the relation between early otitis media in day-care-attending children and their subsequent behavior in the day-care classroom when the children were well. Findings suggest that day-care-attending children with chronic otitis media in the first 3 years of life play more often alone and have fewer positive and fewer negative verbal interactions with peers than nonchronic children in day-care. There were no differences between chronic and nonchronic otitis media children in their nonverbal behavior. Results may also contribute to our understanding of the development of the socially withdrawn child.
Attenuated amplitude of circadian and sleep-dependent modulation of electroencephalographic sleep spindle characteristics in elderly human subjects

Sleep spindles are 12-15 Hz electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations characteristic of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Sleep EEG recordings (total 252 episodes; duration, 9 h 20 min each) distributed across the circadian cycle were analyzed in eight young and eight elderly human subjects. In the young subjects, sleep spindle amplitude, frequency, duration and incidence displayed significant circadian modulation, with the highest spindle incidence and amplitude and the lowest spindle frequency coincident with circadian phases associated with times of habitual sleep. In the elderly subjects, overall amplitude, duration, and incidence were reduced, and only spindle frequency exhibited a detectable circadian modulation. The results demonstrate that a circadian process modulates sleep spindle characteristics and that the strength of this circadian modulation is reduced with age.
Risk factors and services for child maltreatment among infants and young children

Abstract Objectives Child maltreatment (CM) causes injury in large numbers of U.S. children. This study uses a large, multi-state dataset of child protective services reports for infants and young children under five years of age to examine risk factors and the effects of services in confirmed maltreatment investigations and recurrence over five years. Methods The Child Files of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for 2003–2007 were used to study confirmed CM reports to child protective services (CPS) using regression models and survival analysis among a cohort of children first reported during 2003. Results There were 1.2 million confirmed maltreatment reports to state child protective services agencies in 22 states during 2003–2007 in NCANDS, including 177,568 infants and young children under five years. 19.3% had a second confirmed CM report within 5 years. White race, inadequate housing and receiving public assistance were associated with significantly increased risk of CM recurrence. Infants and young children received more services and had less recurrence than did older children. Conclusions Infants and young children have different risk factors and receive different services than do older children in the CPS system. We need additional research to further assess and better target services for the special needs of infants, young children and their families if we are to protect them and reduce future child maltreatment.
Measurements of the effect of rain on the L-band sea surface brightness temperature for the Aquarius instrument

The effect of rain on the measurements acquired by this newly launched satellite has yet to be assessed. This project is employing coincident and collocated rain measurements from NEXRAD and SSM/I to examine the changes in the L-band radiometric brightness temperatures and changes in the sea surface radar cross section, for both polarizations. Also include is consideration of the local wind speed and direction, the sea surface temperature and the nominal sea surface salinity.
Amino-acid containing metallomonomers copolymerized into porous organic polymers: applicability to allylic alkylation catalysis

Abstract This paper reports the synthesis of a polymerizable dppe-derivative with eight pendent styrenyl units linked to the dppe core through four tyrosine residues. This diphosphine ligand was utilized in the synthesis of a series of P2PdX2 complexes (X2=(R)-BINOL, (S)-BINOL, Cl2 and π-1,3-Ph2-allyl+). The compounds were used as comonomers for the synthesis of porous organic polymers (poly EDMA). Molecular imprinting effects on X2-ligand removal were investigated. Overall, the presence of a cavity of significant size was found to be beneficial to the rate of the allylic alkylation reaction, however, chiral BINOL shaped cavities did not influence the enantio-selectivity of the reaction.
Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Abstract versus Concrete Information

Summary In a study of the differential weighting of concrete and abstract information the following hypotheses were made: (a) crimes described in detail would have greater impact upon decision making than crimes simply named, (b) information about persons would have greater impact than statistical data, and (c) information involving the local setting would have greater impact than information about events that occurred some distance away. With the use of 152 male and female undergraduates enrolled at an American midwestern university written information about crime was randomly presented in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. After the reading of the information, all Ss responded to a questionnaire concerning their attitudes about crime. The effect of the detail manipulation was clearly demonstrated. Person versus statistical information seemed to interact with the details of the information in producing its effect. The effect of the distance manipulation produced results in the direction opposite to that predi...
Deformations of Quasi-Homogeneous Surface Singularities

Let A = ~ A~ be a finitely generated normal graded domain over (E, so that i=0 V= Spec A has an isolated singularity. We say V is a quasi-homogeneous singularity, or admits a good IE*-action, or is defined by weighted homogeneous polynomials. We are concerned with two questions about the deformations of V. There are two natural notions of "equisingular deformation" of V. First, one has deformations of weight > 0; that is, one perturbs the defining equations of Vby terms of weight at least as big. To make a good notion out of this, Dock Sang Rim observed one is really deforming A and the weight filtration {Ij}, where Ij = ~ Ai ;
Quenching fire with fat: phosphatidylinositides as putative regulators of pain.

Abstract A novel mechanism has been proposed by which diverse inflammatory mediators might regulate thermally- or chemically-evoked pain. The constitutive repression of vanilloid receptor activity by phospholipid binding and its reversal by phospholipase C activation could explain how bradykinin, nerve growth factor and other agents augment pain sensation in the context of tissue injury.
Decadal variability of the tropical Atlantic Ocean surface temperature in shipboard measurements and in a global ocean-atmosphere model

Sea surface temperature (SST) variability was investigated in a 200-yr integration of a global model of the coupled oceanic and atmospheric general circulations developed at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). The second 100 yr of SST in the coupled model's tropical Atlantic region were analyzed with a variety of techniques. Analyses of SST time series, averaged over approximately the same subregions as the Global Ocean Surface Temperature Atlas (GOSTA) time series, showed that the GFDL SST anomalies also undergo pronounced quasi-oscillatory decadal and multidecadal variability but at somewhat shorter timescales than the GOSTA SST anomalies. Further analyses of the horizontal structures of the decadal timescale variability in the GFDL coupled model showed the existence of two types of variability in general agreement with results of the GOSTA SST time series analyses. One type, characterized by timescales between 8 and 11 yr, has high spatial coherence within each hemisphere but not between the two hemispheres of the tropical Atlantic. A second type, characterized by timescales between 12 and 20 yr, has high spatial coherence between the two hemispheres. The second type of variability is considerably weaker than the first. As in the GOSTA time series, the multidecadal variability in the GFDL SST time series has approximately opposite phases between the tropical North and South Atlantic Oceans. Empirical orthogonal function analyses of the tropical Atlantic SST anomalies revealed a north-south bipolar pattern as the dominant pattern of decadal variability. It is suggested that the bipolar pattern can be interpreted as decadal variability of the interhemispheric gradient of SST anomalies. The decadal and multidecadal timescale variability of the tropical Atlantic SST, both in the actual and in the GFDL model, stands out significantly above the background 'red noise' and is coherent within each of the time series, suggesting that specific sets of processes may be responsible for the choice of the decadal and multidecadal timescales. Finally, it must be emphasized that the GFDL coupled ocean-atmosphere model generates the decadal and multidecadal timescale variability without any externally applied force, solar or lunar, at those timescales.