cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What can the structures of enzyme-inhibitor complexes tell us about the structures of enzyme substrate complexes?

Proteinases perform many beneficial functions that are essential to life, but they are also dangerous and must be controlled. Here we focus on one of the control mechanisms: the ubiquitous presence of protein proteinase inhibitors. We deal only with a subset of these: the standard mechanism, canonical protein inhibitors of serine proteinases. Each of the inhibitory domains of such inhibitors has one reactive site peptide bond, which serves all the cognate enzymes as a substrate. The reactive site peptide bond is in a combining loop which has an identical conformation in all inhibitors and in all enzyme–inhibitor complexes. There are at least 18 families of such inhibitors. They all share the conformation of the combining loops but each has its own global three-dimensional structure. Many three-dimensional structures of enzyme–inhibitor complexes were determined. They are frequently used to predict the conformation of substrates in very short-lived enzyme–substrate transition state complexes. Turkey ovomucoid third domain and eglin c have a Leu residue at P1. In complexes with chymotrypsin, these P1 Leu residues assume the same conformation. The relative free energies of binding of P1 Leu (relative to either P1 Gly or P1 Ala) are within experimental error, the same for complexes of turkey ovomucoid third domain, eglin c, P1 Leu variant of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor and of a substrate with chymotrypsin. Therefore, the P1 Leu conformation in transition state complexes is predictable. In contrast, the conformation of P1 Lys+ is strikingly different in the complexes of Lys18 turkey ovomucoid third domain and of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor with chymotrypsin. The relative free energies of binding are also quite different. Yet, the relative free energies of binding are nearly identical for Lys+ in turkey ovomucoid third domain and in a substrate, thus allowing us to know the structure of the latter. Similar reasoning is applied to a few other systems.
Propagation of uncertainty analysis of CO2 transfer velocities derived from the COARE gas transfer model using satellite inputs

A propagation of uncertainty method is developed to describe gas transfer uncertainties for carbon dioxide (CO2) using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (NOAA-COARE) gas transfer model (COAREG). The uncertainty model assesses the impact uncertainties in satellite inputs to COAREG have on the resulting carbon dioxide gas transfer velocities. The model impact of 10 m temperature, 10 m specific humidity, 10 m wind speed, sea surface temperature, longwave and shortwave downward surface flux are investigated. Nine years of gas transfer velocities and their uncertainties were constructed and analyzed. The climatological mean transfer velocities were found to have standard errors of less than 15%. Spatial and temporal variations of the uncertainties from these inputs are presented and the percentage variance explained for each input was dominated by uncertainties in wind speed. Uncertainty due to the covariance between air temperature and wind speed and the uncertainties in the 10 m air temperature at low wind speed conditions were found to be significant. Additionally, the likelihood air temperature uncertainties affect the gas transfer uncertainty is greatest in regions where air temperature exceeds sea surface temperature. Buoyancy-driven transfer in COAREG increases gas transfer velocities uncertainties under these conditions. These conditions most typically occur in regions along the equatorial cold tongue region east of South America and in the North Pacific and North Atlantic.
Islands as miniature continents: Another look at the land-ocean lightning contrast

[1] Numerous observations substantiate a pronounced contrast in lightning activity between continents and oceans. The traditional explanation for continental dominance is based on a contrast in thermal properties of land and sea. A more recent idea is based on the contrast in boundary layer aerosol concentration between land and sea. This study makes use of islands as miniature continents of varying area to distinguish between these two hypotheses. Scaling law analysis is used to predict transitional island areas for the two hypotheses. NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite observations provide a uniform data set on island activity. The island area dependences of lightning activity are more consistent with the thermal hypothesis than the aerosol hypothesis, but this conclusion must be tempered with the extreme simplification of the theoretical predictions.
Stark-hyperfine measurements in K = 0 and K = 1 states of NH3☆

Abstract High-resolution Stark-hyperfine transition measurements have been made on the J = 1, K = 0 and J = 1, K = 1 levels of ammonia using molecular beam electric resonance spectroscopy. The dipole moments measured are μ(J = 1, K = 0) = 1.47149(15) D and μ(J = 1, K = 1) = 1.47179(15) D. The polarizability anisotropy was found to be positive and hyperfine properties for both states were accurately measured.
Synthesis, 13C NMR spectrum and crystal structure of 10-phenylpyrido[3,2-b][1,4]benzothiazine 5-oxide

The compound 10-phenylpyrido[3,2-b][1,4]benzothiazine 5-oxide, 1, has been obtained in nearly quantitative yield oxidation of 10-phenylpyrido[3,2-b][1,4]benzothiazine with oxygen in dioxane solution. The 13C nmr chemical shift assignments of 1 are reported. Its structure has been determined by X-ray single crystal methods. The crystals of 1 are monoclinic, space group P21/n. There are four molecules in a unit-cell of dimensions a = 12.347(3), b = 12.947(3), c = 8.987(1)A, β = 106.73(1)° and V = 1375.8(5) A3. The central ring is in a boat conformation and the sulfoxide oxygen atom occupies the axial position. The folding angle between the planes of the pyrido and the benzo planes is 161.55(9)°.
A Bayesian Approach to the Two-period Style-goods Inventory Problem with Single Replenishment and Heterogeneous Poisson Demands

This paper presents a model of the two-period style-goods inventory problem for a firm which stocks many hundreds of distinctive items having heterogeneous Poisson demands. The model uses a Bayesian procedure for forecast and probability revisions based on an aggregation-by-items scheme. These revised forecasts are then incorporated into a model which is used to derive the optimal inventory-stocking policies which maximize expected profit during the season. The model is illustrated using an actual case study of inventory planning for unframed poster art.
Binarization effects in a correlator with noisy input data

Correlations of binarized data and gray-scale data in the presence of additive noise are compared using two performance criteria (mean ratio and peak-to-sidelobe ratio). General expressions are provided to evaluate these performance measures as a function of input data length, bandwidth, and signal-to-noise ratio. We find that binarized correlators outperform gray-scale correlators when the input SNR(i) exceeds a threshold level that depends on input bandwidth and sequence length.
John coltrane’s style of jazz and the improvisational lives of profeminist black men

I use a nonconven t iona l analogy, the saga of jazz legend John Coltrane, models of adu l t persona l i ty change, and feminist theore t ica l perspectives to descr ibe and analyze research f ind ings on p ro femin is t 1 Black 2 men. Many peop le have shaped the course of jazz. However, I focus on Col t rane because his cont r i bu t ions radical ly af fected bo th jazz's evo lu t ion and his personal l ife evo lu t ion. A l t h o u g h Col t rane w o u l d no t be descr ibed as a p ro femin is t Black man, he is a jazz icon, in part , because beh ind his music was a spir i tual approach to life wh ich inc luded a deep mystical sense of love and a sense of c o m m u n i t y fo r humank ind (Cole, 1976). 3 Profemin is t Black men also e m b o d y this sense of love and sense of communi ty . John Wi l l iam Col t rane (1926-1967) was an Afr ican Amer i can jazz composer and saxophonist . A t one po in t in his life, alcohol ism and a hero in add ic t ion led to many personal prob lems
In their own words: Adolescent views on ADHD and their evolving role managing medication

Abstract Objective Up to 90% of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remain functionally impaired, yet less than half continue to take medication. The objective of this study was to gain a detailed understanding of how adolescents with ADHD contribute to medication treatment decisions. Methods Forty-four adolescents with ADHD aged 13 to 18 years old participated in 1 of 7 focus groups. An experienced facilitator used a semi-structured focus group guide to prompt discussion which was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We coded transcripts using an inductive approach. Thematic saturation was reached after the seventh focus group. Results Adolescents assumed increased responsibility for managing medication as they matured and developed insight into the functional impact of ADHD and medication on their lives. Insights were often formed by contrasting time spent on and off medication. ADHD impacted functioning in the following domains: academics, social interactions and relationships, creativity, and driving skills. Select domains were relevant for some adolescents but not others. Adolescents described different roles that they played in managing medication as well as strategies they used to exert autonomy over medication use. Side effects were common and contributed to negative feelings toward medication. Some adolescents had begun to use medication selectively. Many expressed uncertainty about future use of medication. Conclusions Adolescents assume an increasing role in managing medication for ADHD. Well-structured and coordinated trials stopping medication and measuring outcomes relevant to adolescents, parents, teachers, doctors, and/or other stakeholders may help ensure a developmentally appropriate transition from family to self-management of ADHD.
Chronic fluoxetine administration increases the serotonin N-acetyltransferase messenger RNA content in rat hippocampus

Abstract Background: It has been proposed that up-regulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein is a common action of chronic antidepressant treatments that may regulate specific target genes in the hippocampus. We hypothesized that the serotonin N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT; EC 2.3.1.87) gene is one such target. AA-NAT leads to formation of N-acetylserotonin from serotonin, and in the pineal gland, to melatonin synthesis. We investigated whether hippocampal AA-NAT expression can be modified by chronic administration of fluoxetine to rats. Methods: Male Brown-Norway rats were administered 5 mg/kg fluoxetine or its vehicle either once (acute) or once daily for 21 days (chronic). They were sacrificed 18 hours after the last injection, and their hippocampi were processed for a quantitative reverse-transcription/polymerase-chain reaction assay of AA-NAT and cyclophilin (cyc) messenger (m)RNAs. The results are expressed as AA-NAT/cyc ratios. Results: Chronic but not acute fluoxetine administration resulted in about a fivefold increase in hippocampal AA-NAT mRNA. Conclusions: Up-regulation of extrapineal, e.g., hippocampal, AA-NAT expression may play a role in mediating the therapeutic action of antidepressant drugs.
Direct-write pulsed laser processed silver nanowire networks for transparent conducting electrodes

Metal nanowire networks are promising alternatives for transparent conducting layers in flexible electronics. However, the inverse relationship between transparency and conductivity limits their viability in many critical applications. In this work, we demonstrate a direct-write refining technique in which a solution-processed nanowire network, deposited by spin coating, is exposed to monochromatic UV pulsed laser processing near a plasmonic resonance. Our results exhibit a 75 % reduction in surface resistance along with marginal improvements in optical transparency. The local nature of the laser technique enables direct-write or large area processing on a variety of substrates including flexible, and organic materials.
Protein A24 lyase is an isopeptidase

Chromosomal protein A24 was first described by its electrophoretic mobility on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels [I]. It was identified as a conjugated chromatin protein composed of histone 2A [2] and a ubiquitin moiety [3-51 which was linked by an isopeptide bond from a carboxyl terminal glycylglycine to the e-NH2 of lysine 119 of histone 2A [6-81. Protein A24 has been found to be an integral component of a subset of chromatin nucleosome core particles [9-l I]. Levels of protein A24 markedly decreased during nucleolar hypertrophy [12-l 41 and in some active chromatin fractions where free ubiquitin was found [15-l 71. Cleavage of the ubiquitin-histone 2A bond may be involved in some transcription systems [IS]. Moreover, in chromatin the ubiquitin portion of protein A24 turns over throughout interphase [18,19]. Recently, an enzyme, protein A24 lyase, was described which cleaved both free and nucleosomal protein A24 and analysis of the products by gel electrophoresis implied that the enzyme catalyzed a deconjugation [20]. This report is the carboxyl-terminal sequence analysis of the ubiquitin released from purified protein A24 by the lyase. Inasmuch as the lyase released ubiquitin with an intact glycylglycine terminus. The results indicate that the site of cleavage in protein A24 is at the isopeptide linkage between the carboxyl terminal dycine residue 76 of ubiquitin and the e-amino group of lysine residue 119 of histone 2A.
SU-E-I-164: Maternal Magnetocardiographic Interference Cancellation Using Splined Independent Component Subtraction

Purpose: Signal distortion is commonly observed when using independent component analysis (ICA) to remove maternal cardiac interference from the fetal magnetocardiogram(fMCG). This can be seen even in the most conservative case where only the independent components dominated by maternal interference are subtracted from the raw signal, a procedure we refer to as independent component subtraction (ICS). Distortion occurs when the subspaces of the fetal and maternal signals have appreciable overlap. To overcome this problem, we propose a new method for reducing the signal distortion. Methods: we employed splining to remove the fetal signal from the maternal source component. The maternal source components were downsampled and then interpolated to their original sampling rate using a cubic spline. The splined maternal source components were projected back onto the magnetic field measurement space and then subtracted from the raw signal. The method was evaluated using data from 24 subjects. We compared the results of conventional, i.e. unsplined, ICS with our method, splined ICS, using matched filtering as a reference. Correlation and subjective assessment of the P‐wave and QRS complex were used to assess the performance. Results: Using ICS, we found that the P‐wave was adversely affected in 7 of 24 (29%) subjects, all having correlations less than 0.8. Splined ICS showed negligible distortion and improved the signal fidelity to some extent in all patients. We also demonstrate that maternal T‐wave interference can be problematic when the fetal and maternal heartbeats are synchronous. In these instances, splined ICS is more effective than matched filtering. Conclusions: Splined ICS overcomes the problem of ICA signal distortion that has limited its utility for assessment of fetal rhythm. The method is very simple to implement and is suitable for routine processing of fMCG recordings. NIH grant R01 HL63174.
Light scattering by bubbles in liquids: comments and application of results to circularly polarized incident light

Recently published Mie theoretic computations of the scattering of linearly polarized light from a bubble in water also apply, in certain cases, to the scattering of circularly polarized incident light. A correction to the labeling of one of the figures in the paper by Marston, Langley, and Kingsbury is noted.
Exaggerated shading for depicting shape and detail

In fields ranging from technical illustration to mapmaking, artists have developed distinctive visual styles designed to convey both detail and overall shape as clearly as possible. We investigate a non-photorealistic shading model, inspired by techniques for carto-graphic terrain relief, based on dynamically adjusting the effective light position for different areas of the surface. It reveals detail regardless of surface orientation and, by operating at multiple scales, is designed to convey detail at all frequencies simultaneously.
Petrological constraints on seismic anisotropy

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlations between anisotropic parameters for different orientations and mineralogies for realistic mineralogical and petrological models of the upper mantle. Such correlations make it possible to reduce the number of independent parameters required in seismic modelling of the upper mantle. The variation with depth and with degree of random orientation is also investigated. It is shown that the anisotropic combinations involved in an equivalent transversely isotropic medium (azumithally averaged velocities) with a vertical symmetry axis are strongly correlated but the combinations involved in azimuthal anisotropy are more weakly correlated. Comparison with available seismic data does not yet allow discrimination, based on anisotropy, between different petrological models. It is shown that, even if a proportion of random orientation is introduced, it should be possible to achieve petrological discrimination from seismic data for some orientation configurations, if the inverse problem is well-posed, i.e., takes account of the correlations between anisotropic parameters. These correlations are incorporated in an inversion process to show that it is possible to explain the dataset used to derive the PREM, by alternative anisotropic models for the uppermost 220 km.
Natural products: Getting a handle on peptides.

Enhancing the structural diversity of peptide natural products relies on synthetic modifications that are typically not chemo- or regioselective. A nonribosomal peptide synthetase has now been engineered to incorporate a non-natural amino acid containing a reactive bio-orthogonal handle.
Lattice Theory of Third-Order Elastic Constants of Nonprimitive, Nonpiezoelectric Lattices

Expressions for the third-order elastic constants of nonprimitive lattices are derived from lattice theory by the method of homogeneous deformation. The interlattice displacements are obtained as a power series in the strains from the condition that the strain energy is a minimum with respect to these displacements. For third-order elastic constants these displacements need to be known only to the first order in strain. The expressions for the elastic constants are verified by deriving the equation for wave propagation in a homogeneously strained crystal and comparing it with the equation from continuuum mechanics. The expressions given here are valid only for nonpiezoelectric crystals.
Polymorphism and crystal structure identification in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone)s

Poly(aryl ether ketone ketone)s (PEKKs) are prepared via a Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction with diphenyl ether and terephthalic acid (T) and/or isophthalic acid (I). The crystal structure, polymorphism and morphology of three PEKK homopolymers have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) experiments. The PEKKs studied consist of either all para-phenylene linkages [PEKK(T)], one meta-phenylene linkage [PEKK(I)] or alternating T and I isomers [PEKK(T/I)]. PEKK(T) and PEKK(T/I) show crystalline polymorphism depending upon the crystallization conditions and methods. In PEKK(T) two forms (I and II) can be observed, and their unit cell dimensions and symmetry groups are determined via ED experiments. A possible epitaxial relationship between these two forms is proposed when they coexist. PEKK(I) possesses only one crystal unit cell which belongs to the same category as the form I structure in PEKK(T). The c-axis dimension of the unit cell has been determined as three phenylenes having a zig-zag conformation, with the meta-phenylene lying on the backbone plane. PEKK(T/I) shows a complicated polymorphism. In addition to forms I and II, as in the case of PEKK(T), a possible form III is also observed.
Evaluation of an alkane yeast (Candida sp.) as a substitute for fish meal in Oregon Moist Pellet: Feeding trials with coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)☆

Abstract Up to 40% of the fish meal portion of the Oregon Moist Pellet (OMP) was replaced with up to 40% alkane yeast single cell protein (22% of dietary protein) in diets fed to rainbow trout in fresh water, and up to 100% of the fish meal portion was replaced with alkane yeast (54% of dietary protein) in OMP diets fed to coho salmon in salt water. Salmon diets were supplemented with DL-methionine to correct for a suspected deficiency in this essential amino acid. Alkane yeast was an acceptable substitute for fish meal at all levels tested in trout. Only 25% yeast substitution was judged to be acceptable in the OMP diet for marine-cultured coho salmon, causing less than 4% reduction in growth. In marine-cultured coho salmon, growth was depressed further at fish meal substitution levels greater than 25%, while supplementation with DL-methionine enhanced growth and feed conversion only slightly.
Ehrenfest order of transitions in Bi-based superconductors

Abstract We discuss the consequences of a third-order phase transition in the Ehrenfest classification. We also discuss the applicability of these ideas to transitions in Bi-based superconductors.
Automatic documentation inference for exceptions

Exception handling is a powerful and widely-used programming language abstraction for constructing robust software systems. Unfortunately, it introduces an inter-procedural flow of control that can be difficult to reason about. Failure to do so correctly can lead to security vulnerabilities, breaches of API encapsulation, and any number of safety policy violations.We present a fully automated tool that statically infers and characterizes exception-causing conditions in Java programs. Our tool is based on an inter-procedural, context-sensitive analysis. The output of this tool is well-suited for use as human-readable documentation of exceptional conditions.We evaluate the output of our tool by comparing it to over 900 instances of existing exception documentation in almost two million lines of code. We find that the output of our tool is at least as good as existing documentation 85% of the time and is better 25% of the time.
Uptake of Labeled Long Chain Fatty Acids in Vivo and in Vitro by Different Phospholipids in Milk

Abstract Intramammary infusion of 1- 14 C linoleic and 1- 14 C linolenic acids revealed that the infused fatty acids were preferentially incorporated into phosphatidyl choline. However, the incubation of fresh raw milk with 1- 14 C linolenic or 1- 14 C palmitic acids overnight showed that these acids were preferentially incorporated into phosphatidyl ethanolamine. Pasteurization at 72C for 30sec or heating at 85C for two minutes had no effect on the pattern of labeling of phospholipids when the milk was incubated with the labeled fatty acids. However, these heat treatments had a pronounced effect on the chromatographic behavior of some of the phospholipids, especially phosphatidyl choline when chromatographed on a thin-layer plate.
Probability Weighting of Spatial Filters

The optimum spatial filter for the detection of randomly located patterns is discussed. When the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio is low, the optimum filter is described by the product of the Fourier transform of the probability distribution describing the signal location and the conjugate of the signal spatial spectrum divided by the noise spectral density. The fabrication of such a filter is described. Other cases discussed are those of high S/N ratio and uniform probability distribution.
Pinhole x-ray cameras for imaging small-scaled auroral structures

A balloon-borne x-ray pinhole camera has been developed to detect and image auroral x rays in the energy range 20 to 120 keV. We have flown this camera on four different occasions and have imaged bremsstrahlung x rays from precipitated energetic electrons in the auroral zone and from a circumpolar navigating balloon in Antarctica. The images, which include several dynamic precipitation temporal forms, show that auroral x rays persistently include small spatial structures of ≈2O km (at ionospheric heights). The x-ray energy spectral information as a function of space and time shows that electron precipitation often includes two energy components that can be fit by exponential functions. Typical e-folding energies of these spectra are a few kilo-electron-volts and several tens of kilo-electron-volts. The x-ray camera remote senses characteristics of energetic electron sources in the distant magnetosphere that cannot be achieved by any other means.
Attribution of psychological characteristics from masked and unmasked conversations.

Abstract A specific contribution of this study was the development of a procedure for separating the semantic and physical parameters of conversation. This procedure permits testing of the hypothesis that coverbal dimensions of conversation, that is, patterns of sounds and silence, convey information to independent listeners about the psychological states of speakers engaged in conversation. The masking procedure destroyed intelligibility of the conversation, but not the sequences of sounds and silences. Listeners rated speakers on three dimensions—warmth, anxiety, and dominance—under two conditions—masked and unmasked. Significant correlations were found between the ratings under both masked and unmasked conditions and between the ratings and a number of physical parameters of speech.
Radiation stability of nanoclusters in nano-structured oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels

Nanostructured oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels are considered candidates for nuclear fission and fusion applications at high temperature and dose. The complex oxide nanoclusters in these alloys provide high-temperature strength and are expected to afford better radiation resistance. Proton, heavy ion, and neutron irradiations have been performed to evaluate cluster stability in 14YWT and 9CrODS steel under a range of irradiation conditions. Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography were used in this work to analyze the evolution of the oxide population.
ASCA OBSERVATIONS OF THE T TAURI STAR SU AURIGAE AND THE SURROUNDING L1517 DARK CLOUD

We present the results of a approximately equals 40 ks pointed Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) observation of the L1517 star-forming region, centered on the X-ray-bright T Tauri star SU Aurigae. This star has the highest X-ray luminosity of any classical T Tauri star in the Taurus-Auriga region, and its optical spectra show evidence for both mass inflow and outflow. Strong X-ray emission was detected from SU Aur (L(sub x) = 10(exp 30.9) ergs s(exp -1)) as well as weaker emission from five other pre-main-sequence stars. Although no large-amplitude flares were detected, the X-ray emission of SU Aur showed clear variability in the form of a slow decline in count rate during the 1.3 day observation. We provide the first direct comparison of the coronal differential emission measure (DEM) distribution of a classical T Tauri star with that of a young main-sequence star of similar spectral type. The DEM distributions of SU Aur (G2; age 3 Myr) and the young solar-like star EK Draconis (GO V; age 70 Myr) are qualitatively similar, with both showing a bimodal temperature distribution characterized by a cool plasma component peaking at approximately 8-9 MK and a hot component peaking at approximately 20-21 MK. However, there is a striking difference in the relative proportion of plasma at high temperatures in the two stars, with hot plasma (>20 MK) accounting for approximately equals 80% of the volume emission measure of SU Aur, compared to only approximately equals 40% in EK Dra. These results provide new insight into the changes that will occur in the corona of a T Tauri star as it descends onto the main sequence. A sharp decline in the fraction of coronal plasma at flarelike temperatures will occur during the late-T Tauri and post-T Tauri phases, and other recent X-ray studies have shown that this decline will continue after the young solar-like star reaches the main sequence.
Priorities in space for the USA

Abstract This article follows the story of Shuttle development, in the context of the history of the US space programme from Apollo to the Space Station. The Shuttle was chosen as one of a series of ‘space spectaculars’ and has proven to be prohibitively expensive and unreliable, practical only for a very limited number of specialized missions. The Space Station, too, cannot be economically supplied, even if the USA could afford to build it. The author concludes that NASA should cancel the Space Station and the replacement orbiter for Challenger, and engage on a major programme of launch vehicle development, independent of the US military. The aim should be a dramatic reduction of launch vehicle costs, making spaceflight practical, and a truly independent NASA which could restore the USA to space preeminence.
SYNTHESIS OF RELATIONAL WEB SERVICES

Although widely addressed, automatically composing a web service from existing services is still a difficult problem. This paper focuses on the service synthesis problem for relational services. It considers answering complex queries using a set of available relational services collectively with a two step solution. The method guarantees to find a solution if there is one, and its time complexity is polynomial.
Abstract 639: The effect of grapefruit intake on endogenous serum estrogen levels in postmenopausal women

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL The inhibitory effect of grapefruit juice on the intestinal cytochrome P450 3A4 system interacts with more than 60% of orally administered drugs leading to elevation of their serum concentrations. While grapefruit has been shown to lead to elevated serum levels of estrogens when hormones are administered orally, there are no published data on the effect of grapefruit intake on endogenous levels. To begin to address that data gap, we conducted a dietary intervention study among healthy postmenopausal volunteers to determine whether endogenous estrogen levels are significantly affected by grapefruit consumption. We tested 4 grapefruit products: whole fresh grapefruit, fresh squeezed juice “not from concentrate,” shelf-stable juice from concentrate, and grapefruit soda. The majority of volunteers were recruited through the Love/Avon Army of Women. The six-week study consisted of a run-in period of three weeks, a two-week period of grapefruit consumption, and a one-week wash-out period. Eight fasting blood samples were collected during the study. An additional 5 samples drawn at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 hours after initial grapefruit intake were collected during an acute-phase study. Serum assays for estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estrone-3- sulfate (E1S), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were conducted. Sixty-two women participated in the study, 10 of whom also participated in the acute phase. Only the whole grapefruit had statistically significant effects on endogeneous estrogen levels. The largest increases were seen in the women with the highest BMI. The changes were evident at 24 hours and remained relatively constant over the 2 week period. With whole grapefruit at the average BMI of 26.6 kg/m2, E1S increased overall by 10.6% (p=0.031), and at a BMI of 30 kg/m2 this increased to 16.4% (p=0.003). Approximately double the effects were seen around 10 hours after whole grapefruit consumption. The effects of fresh juice consumption were around 25% of these increases but were not statistically significant. Small increases in E1 were seen with whole grapefruit, but no increase was seen in E2. The findings of the present study suggest an important interaction between grapefruit consumption and serum levels of endogenous E1S. The increase in E1S is difficult to interpret in term of risk of breast cancer as we found only a small increase in E1 and failed to find any increase in E2. More detailed studies are needed to gain an understanding how the increased levels of E1S are not reflected in similar increases in E1 and E2, and whether the increased E1S levels are reflected in an increase in E1 and E2 levels in the breast itself. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 639. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-639
Dating-Skills Groups for the Developmentally Disabled: Social Skills and Problem-Solving Versus Relaxation Training

Efficacy of three different group treatment strategies for teaching dating skills to the developmentally disabled was examined for 41 outpatient adults. Clients were randomly assigned to one of thr...
Long-term outcome in women less than 30 years of age with breast cancer

Background and Objectives: Young age at diagnosis is associated with poor prognosis in female breast cancer, but few studies report long-term outcome in women less than 30 years of age. We evaluated 30-year survival in this patient population. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of 29 women less than 30 years of age who were diagnosed with breast cancer between the years 1953 and 1983. All but two patients were followed either until death or for a minimum of 30 years. Results Actuarial 30-year survival was 19% for the entire group and 10% for women with invasive ductal carcinoma. Twenty-two (92%) of 24 deaths were due to metastatic breast cancer, including three deaths occurring after disease-free intervals of more than 12 years. Conclusions Breast cancer in our study population of women less than 30 years of age was a highly lethal disease, particularly in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma. The phenomenon of late death after a long disease-free interval is important in the interpretation of data reflecting newer forms of breast cancer treatment. J. Surg. Oncol. 1998;68:193–198. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Seismic reflectors and unconformities at passive continental margins

Vail and co-workers1–3 have recently suggested, based on seismic reflection data available to Exxon, that more than 25 global unconformities occur in Mesozoic–Tertiary age passive continental margins around the world. These data have been used to subdivide the stratigraphical record into several cycles, each of which is controlled by oscillatory changes in sea-level. The resulting scheme has been used as a basis to predict the stratigraphy of passive margins where there is little or no well control4 or where few reflector terminations can be found5. We report here four difficulties with this scheme: (1) during times of minimal continental ice cover changes in the relative rate of sea-level are generally not sufficient to cause unconformities, except in old, slowly subsiding, margins; (2) seismic and biostratigraphical resolution restricts the identification of unconformity-bounded stratigraphical sequences to relatively few in continental shelves; (3) sequence boundaries appear to be best defined on slopes or in regions of active tectonic tilting; and (4) limitations in the sequence analysis technique preclude its use in predictive stratigraphy, especially in shelf and slope regions of margins.
A twin study of generalized anxiety disorder and major depression

Previous analyses with a sample of female twins sampled from the general population in Virginia have suggested that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depression (MD) share their genetic determinants but have partly different environmental determinants. The goal of this report is to examine whether these findings apply to samples that include male as well as female twins and contain high proportions of subjects who had been hospitalized for MD. The subjects were ascertained through two different sources: (i) index probands were ascertained through the Swedish Psychiatric Twin Registry for a diagnosis of unipolar or bipolar affective illness; (ii) control twin probands were ascertained through the Swedish Twin Registry. Subjects were sent questionnaires for the assessment of lifetime history of GAD and MD. Positing multinormal distribution of the liability for GAD and MD, we fitted bivariate models to examine the sources of comorbidity. The full model included additive genetic effects, shared environment and individual-specific environment, as well as scalar and non-scalar sex limitations and different thresholds across genders. The best-fitting model included: (i) a genetic correlation of unity; (ii) no common environment; (iii) an individual-specific environmental correlation of 0.28; (iv) different thresholds across genders, but neither scalar nor non-scalar sex-limitations. A model that included additive and dominant genetic effects and individual-specific environment, with correlation of unity for both additive and dominant genetic effects, provided an equivalent fit. These analyses confirm that GAD and MD share the same genetic factors but that their environmental determinants are mostly distinct. Moreover, the present report supports the feasibility of combining clinical ascertained and general-population samples into a single bivariate analysis.
Similarity-based approaches to natural language processing

Statistical methods for automatically extracting information about associations between words or documents from large collections of text have the potential to have considerable impact in a number of areas, such as information retrieval and natural-language-based user interfaces. However, even huge bodies of text yield highly unreliable estimates of the probability of relatively common events, and, in fact, perfectly reasonable events may not occur in the training data at all. This is known as the sparse data problem. Traditional approaches to the sparse data problem use crude approximations. We propose a different solution: if we are able to organize the data into classes of similar events, then, if information about an event is lacking, we can estimate its behavior from information about similar events. This thesis presents two such similarity-based approaches, where, in general, we measure similarity by the Kullback-Leibler divergence, an information-theoretic quantity. Our first approach is to build soft, hierarchical clusters: soft, because each event belongs to each cluster with some probability; hierarchical, because cluster centroids are iteratively split to model finer distinctions. Our clustering method, which uses the technique of deterministic annealing, represents (to our knowledge) the first application of soft clustering to problems in natural language processing. We use this method to cluster words drawn from 44 million words of Associated Press Newswire and 10 million words from Grolier's encyclopedia, and find that language models built from the clusters have substantial predictive power. Our algorithm also extends with no modification to other domains, such as document clustering. Our second approach is a nearest-neighbor approach: instead of calculating a centroid for each class, we in essence build a cluster around each word. We compare several such nearest-neighbor approaches on a word sense disambiguation task and find that as a whole, their performance is far superior to that of standard methods. In another set of experiments, we show that using estimation techniques based on the nearest-neighbor model enables us to achieve perplexity reductions of more than 20 percent over standard techniques in the prediction of low-frequency events, and statistically significant speech recognition error-rate reduction.
Laser-induced shock waves in condensed matter: some techniques and applications

Laser-induced shock waves in condensed matter have important applications in dynamic material studies and high pressure physics. We briefly review some techniques in laser-induced shock waves, including direct laser drive, laser-launched flyer plate, quasi-isentropic loading, point and line imaging velocity interferometry, transient X-ray diffraction, spectroscopy and shock recovery, and their applications to study of equation of state, spallation, and phase transitions.
Combined effects of noise and neomycin. Cochlear changes in the guinea pig.

Cochlear damage resulting from the combination of neomycin with acoustic overstimulation was investigated in guinea pigs. Four groups of animals received subcutaneous injections and exposure to broad band noise daily for 7 days, as follows: I. Neomycin (200 mg/kg) followed by 10 hours of noise at 115 dB SPL; II. Saline followed by 115 dB noise: III. Neomycin followed by low intensity noise (45 dB as an acoustic control); or IV. Saline followed by 45 dB noise. After a 30 day stabilization period, each ear was examined electro-physiologically and histologically. Measures of cochlear integrity included AC cochlear potentials from 100 Hz through 20 kHz as well as outer hair cell (OHC) counts. A marked interaction leading to augmentation of damage was found when neomycin was combined with 115 dB noise (Group I). Losses in cochlear sensitivity, averaged across all frequencies, amounted to 62 dB in Group I, whereas the averaged losses for Groups II and III were only 16 dB and 17 dB respectively. Loss of OHC's wa...
The Aeneid and The Virginian: copywriting, origin myths and their consumption

Literary art is often embraced by a people because it provides answers to life’s questions and showcases idealized heroes who function as respected role models. By analyzing the popularity of universally loved literary masterpieces, it becomes possible to gain a greater understanding of how a specific people respond in uniform fashion to symbolic communications. In order to examine this phenomenon, parallels between Virgil’s The Aeneid (which was addressed to ancient Romans just as the Empire was being established) and Owen Wister’s The Virginian (which provided a symbolic hero for the USA at exactly the time when that country was emerging as an industrialized world power) will be compared. Significantly, in many cases, almost all members of a culture react to stimuli in parallel, universal, or identical ways. This tendency is important for marketers who seek to influence a wide and diverse market in similar ways. The implications of this analysis are of value to strategic planners who want to understand how consumers respond to symbolically charged products.
Mechanisms of in utero overgrowth.

D'Ercole AJ. Mechanisms of in utero overgrowth. Acta Paediatr 1999; Suppl 428: 31–6. Stockholm. ISSN 0803–5326 Determination of the mechanisms that lead to in utero overgrowth has proved elusive. Recently, however, our knowledge has significantly expanded as a result of the generation of experimental mouse models, engineered to disrupt the expression of one or more genes (knockout mice), and by detailed molecular and genetic analyses of infants and children with overgrowth syndromes. Studies of knockout mice have largely defined the essential roles of the insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II), insulin and their receptors in embryonic and fetal growth, and have provided compelling evidence that increased IGF-II gene expression and/or abundance can stimulate excessive fetal somatic growth. The IGF-II gene is usually expressed only by the paternally derived allele; however, when this imprinting is erased and IGF-II expression is biallelic, fetal overgrowth ensues. Such increased IGF-II expression would appear to explain the overgrowth in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Using the information gathered from knockout mice as a guide to human studies, detailed genetic investigations are likely to unravel the mechanisms behind other human overgrowth syndromes. □Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, gene expression, imprinting, insulin, insulin-like growth factors, insulin-like growth factor receptors, insulin receptor, overgrowth syndromes
Poly(propylene)/Carbon Nanofiber Nanocomposites: Ex Situ Solvent-Assisted Preparation and Analysis of Electrical and Electronic Properties

CNF-reinforced PP nanocomposites were fabricated from CNFs dispersed in a boiling PP/xylene solution. Their thermal properties were characterized by TGA and DSC and shown to exhibit improved thermal stability and higher crystallinity. They were further processed into thin films by compression molding. The electrical conductivity and dielectric property of the PP/CNF nanocomposite thin films were studied. Both electric conductivity and real permittivity increased with increasing fiber loading. Electrical conductivity percolation is observed between 3.0 and 5.0 wt.-% fiber loading. The rheological behavior of the nanocomposite melts were also investigated. It was found that a small fiber concentration affects the modulus and viscosity of PP melt significantly.
Protein adsorption to poly(ether urethane ureas) modified with acrylate and methacrylate polymer and copolymer additives

To understand better blood interactions with poly(ether urethane urea) (PEUU) materials, a radioimmunoassay and whole or diluted human plasma were used to characterize the presence of fibrinogen, immunoglobulin G, factor VIII/von Willebrand factor, Hageman factor on (factor XII), and albumin on a PEUU formulation and on PEUU formulation modified with the amphiphilic additive Methacrol 2138F (co[diisopropylaminoethyl methacrylate (DIPAM)/decyl methacrylate] [3/1]), or with hydrophobic acrylate or methacrylate polymer or copolymer additives. The protein adsorption assay showed that PEUU films loaded or coated with Methacrol 2138F (Methacrol) or homopoly-DIPAM (h-DIPAM) adsorbed significantly lower amounts of the studied proteins than did either the base PEUU formulations or the PEUUs loaded with th more hydrophobic acrylate or methacrylate polymer additives. Experiments with Methacrol-loaded PEUUs, where the loading of Methacrol was varied from 0.25 wt% to 20.0 wt% showed that the adsorption of each of the characterized proteins did not vary significantly throughout the Methacrol loading range, and that all Methacrol-loaded PEUU formulations adsorbed significantly lower amounts of the studied proteins than did the unloaded PEUU. Phase separation within the additive loaded PEUUs was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solubility parameters of the additives, as well as of the base PEUU, were calculated and used to interpret differences in phase separation of the additive modified PEUUs. The analysis showed that additives of lower solubility parameter phase-separated into fewer large microdroplets within the PEUU matrix. SEM analysis also showed that additive microdroplets were not present on the air side surface of loaded PEUUs. To explain the differences in protein adsorption to the air side of additive loaded PEUUs when compared to the base PEUU, it was assumed that the additives near this region of the solvent swollen PEUU matrix may have migrated to, at or near the PEUU–air interface during film formation, creating an additive enriched PEUU surface region. Once at this surface region, it was suggested that dynamic surface reorientation in response to an aqueous medium ensured that the additives were able significantly to influence protein adsorption behavior only if they interacted with aqueous media more favorably than the PEUU. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.