cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationship Between Genomic Risk Scores (GRS) and Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Score: A Pilot Study

Abstract: Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) genomic risk scores (GRS), as FDR202, GRS46K, 1.7M, and MetaGRS, help in assessing cardiovascular related morbidity and mortality. Interventions to adhere to a healthy lifestyle as a means of prevention based on the GRS have a potential to greatly reduce incident CAD event rates. We performed a prospective observational study to see the relationship between GRS and coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring in individuals who are at risk. Methods 104 subjects with mean age 55.1 ± 8.8 years were enrolled and consented and all the participants underwent CAC scoring. 55(53%) were male. CAC score was measured using the Agatston method. Spearman correlation analysis assessed relationships between GRS scores and CAC scores, in the entire sample and in subjects with CAC score greater than zero. Multivariable linear regression analyzed associations while adjusting potential confounding variables. Results Mean + SD CAC score of the study population was 49.0 ± 130. A significant negative correlation was noted between FDR202 Prevalence and total CAC Score in 39 subjects with CAC > 0, r=-0.35, p=0.02. Multivariable analysis shows a significant association between FDR202 prevalence and log adjusted CAC score in subjects with CAC >0 while adjusting age, gender, hypertension and hyperlipidemia (β= -0.2, SE=0.1, p=0.04). No significant correlations were found between GRS46K, 1.7M, and MetaGRS with CAC score. Conclusion Additional research is necessary in a larger population to evaluate the potential role of GRS for the detection of CAD. This allows the individuals to adopt a healthy lifestyle modification to minimize the cardiovascular risk and delays the onset of most diseases of old age to prolong the life.
Feasibility of Data Exchange with a Patient-centered Health Record

A patient-centered health record is a personal health record that is patient-owned, patient-managed, and that represents the health information important to patients in the ways they prefer to represent it. The Patient-centered Health Record (PcHR) was developed to address these needs. Integration with traditional electronic health records adds significant value, and we used a national showcase to demonstrate the feasibility of exchanging health information through document level interoperability with commercial enterprise clinical systems.
Viscosity effect in Landau’s hydrodynamical model of particle production

The ordered velocity distribution of secondary particles has been investigated in the relativistic hydrodynamical model, account being taken of the viscosity. The problem is treated using the analogy with a one-dimensional laminar flow of two films of viscous fluid, alongside and in the opposite direction. The equations of motion are solved in the ultrarelativistic limit for the steady flow. A discussion on the results is presented.
Localization of a Passively Transferred Human Recombinant Monoclonal Antibody to Herpes Simplex Virus Glycoprotein D to Infected Nerve Fibers and Sensory Neurons In Vivo

A human recombinant monoclonal antibody to herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoprotein D labeled with the fluorescent dye Cy5 was administered to mice infected in the cornea with HSV type 1 (HSV-1). The distribution of such antibody in the corneas and trigeminal ganglia of the mice was then investigated by confocal microscopy. The antibody was detected on HSV-infected nerve fibers in the cornea—identified by colocalization with HSV antigens and the neuritic markers neurofilament, GAP-43, synapsin-1, and CNPase—and on the perikarya of sensory neurons in the HSV-1-infected neurons in ipsilateral trigeminal ganglia. Antibodies have been shown to be effective against many neurotropic viruses, often in the absence of obvious cell damage. Observations from experimental HSV infections suggest that antibodies could act in part by interfering with virus expression in the ganglia and/or with axonal spread. The present results provide morphological evidence of the localization of antiviral antibodies at anatomical sites relevant to such putative antibody-mediated protective actions and suggest that viral glycoproteins are accessible to antibodies on infected nerve fibers and sensory neurons.
Model Checking as A Reachability Problem

Model checking is a essentially a graph-searching problem. In automata-theoretic model checking we compose the design under verification with a Buchi automaton that accepts traces violating the specification. We then use graph algorithms to search the product graph for a counterexample trace. The basic theory of this approach was worked out in the 1980s, and the basic algorithms were developed during the 1990s. Both explicit and symbolic implementations, such as SPIN and and SMV, are widely used. It turns out, however, that there are still many gaps in our understanding of the algorithmic issues involved in automata-theoretic model checking. This talk covers the fundamentals of automata-theoretic model checking, reviews recent progress, and outlines areas that require further research.
Type XII collagen. A large multidomain molecule with partial homology to type IX collagen.

Three overlapping cDNAs encoding α1 (XII) collagen have been isolated and sequenced. The DNAs define five sequence domains within the chain. Three domains are nontriple-helical; two are relatively short triple-helical regions. The amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides derived from 16- and 10-kDa pepsin-resistant fragments isolated from tendon extracts are in full agreement with the deduced sequences of the triple-helical regions. Two of the five sequence domains in α1 (XII), one triple-helical and one nontriple-helical, show a high degree of similarity to regions in type IX collagen chains. In addition, examination of seven exons in the α1 (XII) gene shows that the gene is, in part, similar to the structure of type IX collagen genes. Therefore, collagen types IX and XII are partially homologous. The α1 (XII) sequence data predict an asymmetric structure for type XII collagen molecules, fully consistent with the rotary shadowing images. These images show a triple-helical 75-nm tail attached through a central globule to three finger-like structures, each 60 nm long (Dublet, B., Oh, S., Sugrue, S. P., Gordon, M. K., Gerecke, D. R., Olsen, B. R., and van der Rest, M. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 13150-13156).
On the Structural Stability and Solvent Denaturation of Proteins I. Denaturation by the Alcohols and Glycols

Abstract The effects of the water-miscible straight chain and branched alcohols and glycols on the native conformation of sperm whale myoglobin, cytochrome c, and α-chymotrypsinogen have been investigated by spectral, difference spectral, and optical rotatory dispersion methods. Based on the midpoints of the denaturation transitions, that is, the amount of alcohol or glycol required to produce 50% denaturation at 25°, it is concluded that the effectiveness of the alcohols as protein denaturants increases with increasing chain length or hydrocarbon content, in conformance of what is expected of the disorganization of the hydrophobic interior of these proteins revealed by their detailed three-dimensional x-ray structure. As a rule, branching of the hydrocarbon portion of the alcohols tends to reduce their effectiveness as protein denaturants. The glycols are found to be less effective than the corresponding alcohols, suggesting that increased polarity or hydrogen-bonding capacity is of secondary importance when compared with the effects of increasing hydrocarbon content. The theories of Peller and Flory, used to account for the effects of denaturants and salts on the temperature transition of proteins and polypeptides, were extended to the analysis of isothermal denaturation data, with appropriate binding and Setschenow parameters based on free energy of transfer data taken from the literature or calculated from N-acetyl-l-tryptophan ethyl ester solubilities. The denaturation midpoints, Sm, based on the assumption of a hydrophobic mechanism of alcohol-protein side chain interactions, are found to be in satisfactory agreement with the experimentally obtained Sm values. Both the increased hydrophobicity with increasing chain length and the somewhat reduced effectiveness of the alcohols on branching are in most cases correctly predicted. For the straight chain alcohols, fairly satisfactory agreement with the experimental data is also obtained with binding constants based on estimates of free energies of hydrophobic bond formation, obtained by Scheraga and associates using the Nemethy and Scheraga theory of hydrophobic bonding.
Video figure ground labeling

Figure-ground labeling is a classical problem in computer vision in which the goal is to label different parts of the visual input as figural or background. Yet most existing approaches focuses on single image figure-ground labeling with little emphasis on video. We present a method which integrates several cues to achieve figure-ground labeling on video sequences. The method is evaluated on challenging video sequences.
Transition Care to Adult Epilepsy Centers

Epileptologists at University of Toronto and University of Saskatchewan, Canada, evaluated the complexity of epilepsy patients transitioned from child to adult care between tertiary centers compared to patients transferred from the community.
Echocardiogram enhancement using supervised manifold denoising

This paper presents data-driven methods for echocardiogram enhancement. Existing denoising algorithms typically rely on a single noise model, and do not generalize to the composite noise sources typically found in real-world echocardiograms. Our methods leverage the low-dimensional intrinsic structure of echocardiogram videos. We assume that echocardiogram images are noisy samples from an underlying manifold parametrized by cardiac motion and denoise images via back-projection onto a learned (non-linear) manifold. Our methods incorporate synchronized side information (e.g., electrocardiography), which is often collected alongside the visual data. We evaluate the proposed methods on a synthetic data set and real-world echocardiograms. Quantitative results show improved performance of our methods over recent image despeckling methods and video denoising methods, and a visual analysis of real-world data shows noticeable image enhancement, even in the challenging case of noise due to dropout artifacts.
Cell numbers: can they be controlled without programmed cell death?

Mathias Bahr 1xLive or let die — retinal ganglion cell death and survival during development and in the lesioned adult CNS. Bahr, M. Trends Neurosci. 2000; 23: 483–490Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (154)See all References1 states that programmed cell death (PCD) ‘is necessary to control the final cell numbers of neurons and glia in the CNS and PNS’. Although it is obvious that the final number will be influenced by PCD, the implication that without PCD, cell numbers could not be controlled, has often been implicit in discussions of cell death. Does any reader know of evidence for any well defined neuronal population where before the period of cell death, or in the absence of cell death, inter individual variability in cell number is higher than it is in a normal population after PCD? This could provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that cell death is necessary as a method for ‘controlling’ cell numbers.
Making and analyzing games: not as art, but as literature

Despite the common tendency to understand computer games as a medium somewhere between film and traditional software, this paper argues for a more appropriate position amongst literature. This writing explores the opportunities in analogizing digital games not as art, but as literature. Within this framing new opportunities reveal themselves for innovative game design and more manageable archiving of games and their relationships. It should prove useful to media theorists, designers, and game librarians seeking a new way to frame the analysis and production of digital games.
Experimental Study on Strengthening the Structure of Tower of Overhead Transmission Line

Serious damage and collapse of steel towers were easily induced by the ice disaster, the wind disaster and so on. After the disaster, to ensure the overhead transmission line working safely, it is necessary to strengthen the structure of the damaged tower perpetually, but there are few strengthening methods for the tower assembled by angle-shaped members at present. If an identical angle-shaped member is connected on the side of the existing angle-shaped member through bolts, the mechanical performance of the damaged tower can be improved effectively. In this paper several methods for strengthening the angle-shaped tower is proposed, and the mechanical behavior of the strengthened member of the tower is discussed experimentally, and some design suggestions for strengthening the towers are given.
A Note on the Log‐Rank Test in Life Table Analysis with Correlated Observations

Survival data consisting of independent sets of correlated failure times may arise in many situations. For example, we may take repeated observations of the failure time of interest from each patient or observations of the failure time on siblings, or consider the failure times on littermates in toxicological experiments. Because the failure times taken on the same patient or related family members or from the same litter are likely correlated, use of the classical log-rank test in these situations can be quite misleading with respect to type I error. To avoid this concern, this paper develops two closed-form asymptotic summary tests, that account for the intraclass correlation between the failure times within patients or units. In fact, one of these two test includes the classical log-rank test as a special case when the intraclass correlation equals 0. Furthermore, to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the two tests developed here, this paper applies Monte Carlo simulation and notes that they can actually perform quite well in a variety of situations considered here.
“This Earth Was Once a Garden Place”: Millennial Utopianism in Nineteenth-Century Mormon Poetry

Abstract In preparation for Christ’s Second Coming, nineteenth-century Mormons worked tirelessly to build Zion, a holy city where they could weather the latter-days and plan for the Millennium. Among those who contributed their talents to Zion were poets who set their millennial longing in verse. Their body of work shows how early Mormons drew upon the Bible, new Mormon doctrines, and existing poetic forms to create a literary complement to the developing Mormon eschatology. It also shows how the Mormon concept of Zion evolved over time as historical circumstances necessitated doctrinal adaptations that affected the way Mormons envisioned their earthly haven.
Atomic structure of symmetric tilt grain boundaries in NiO

High-resolution electron microscopy shows the coexistence of several distinct core structures for coincident-site lattice boundaries in NiO bicrystals near $\ensuremath{\Sigma}=5, (310)$, and $\ensuremath{\Sigma}=13, (510)$, where $\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ is the reciprocal density of coincident lattice sites. Lattice expansion perpendicular to the $\ensuremath{\Sigma}=5$ grain boundaries is considerably smaller than calculated theoretically. Structural units in boundaries near $\ensuremath{\Sigma}=13, (510)$ exhibit translations normal to the grain-boundary plane, resulting in a rumpling of the interface on an atomic scale. Our observations suggest the presence of a high concentration of Schottky pairs in the grain boundaries.
Remodeling of Engineered Tissue Anisotropy in Response to Altered Loading Conditions

Structural and mechanical anisotropy are critical to the function of many engineered tissues. This study examined the ability of anisotropic tissue constructs to overcome contact guidance cues and remodel in response to altered mechanical loading conditions. Square tissues engineered from dermal fibroblasts and type-I collagen were uniaxially loaded to induce cell and matrix alignment. After an initial time, t*, of 5-72 h, loading was switched from the x-axis to the y-axis. Cell alignment was examined throughout the experiment until a steady state was reached. Before t*, cells spontaneously aligned in the x-direction. After t*, the strength of alignment transiently decreased then increased, and mean cell orientation transitioned from the x- to the y-direction following an exponential time course with a time constant that increased with t*. Collagen fiber orientation exhibited similar trends that could not be explained by passive kinematics alone. Structural realignment resulted in concomitant changes in biaxial tissue mechanical properties. The findings suggest that even highly aligned engineered tissue constructs retain the capacity to remodel in response to altered mechanical stimuli. This may have important functional consequences when an anisotropic engineered tissue designed in vitro is surgically implanted into a mechanically complex graft site.
Middle-ear endoscopy and trans-tympanic drug delivery using an interventional sialendoscope: feasibility study in human cadaveric temporal bones.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using a 1.3 mm, semi-rigid, interventional salivary endoscope for middle-ear endoscopy, and as a trans-tympanic route for delivery of medication, in human cadaveric temporal bones. Study design: Human cadaveric study. Methods: Five temporal bones harvested from human cadavers were examined. A 1.3 mm, interventional sialendoscope was used to make endoscopy-assisted myringotomy incisions in the postero-inferior quadrant (n = 5) and the antero-inferior quadrant (n = 3). Results: Middle-ear examination was successful in all specimens (n = 5). Access to the round window niche and adequate visualisation of the round window were achieved in all five temporal bones (100 per cent). A guide wire could be navigated to the round window niche without difficulty. Other structures identified in all specimens included the incudostapedial joint, stapedius tendon, pyramidal eminence and facial nerve via an extended myringotomy incision. The anterior middle-ear space was also successfully examined through an endoscope-guided anterior myringotomy. The opening to the eustachian tube was visualised and cannulated with a guide wire in all preparations in which this was attempted (n = 3). Conclusions: The 1.3 mm, interventional sialendoscope allowed adequate visualisation of the eustachian tube, middle-ear space and round window niche, with interventional capabilities, in a cadaveric model. Our result validates the feasibility of its use for trans-tympanic drug delivery.
Quantum and Thermal Effects in H2 Dissociative Adsorption: Evaluation of Free Energy Barriers in Multidimensional Quantum Systems

We have evaluated the sticking probability and activation energy for dissociation of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ molecules on a Cu(110) surface by a reversible work formulation of quantum transition state theory. Feynman path integrals are used to describe the two hydrogen atoms and a few of the surface atoms, thereby including quantum effects such as tunneling and zero point energy, as well as thermal averaging. At a temperature below 600 K an onset of a quantum regime is observed as the activation energy drops by 30%.
Determination of calcium, magnesium and strontium in soils by flow injection flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

Abstract Several procedures for the determination of Ca, Mg and Sr in soils have been compared on the basis of the accuracy of analysis of two NIST reference materials (Montana Soils SRM 2710 and SRM 2711). Samples were dissolved in a mixture of hydrofluoric and nitric acids in sealed vessels in a microwave oven and in teflon beakers on a hot plate. The digests obtained from both dissolution methods were evaporated to dryness in an attempt to remove silicon. Boric acid was added to prevent the precipitation of the lanthanum releasing agent (as lanthanum fluoride) and potassium was added as an ionization buffer. Determinations were made by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with both the nitrous oxide–acetylene flame and the air–acetylene flame, with calibration either by standard additions or against external standards matrix matched with respect to nitric acid, boric acid, lanthanum and potassium. The silicon remaining in the solution was also determined by external calibration. A single-line flow injection manifold was used to overcome any problems due to the presence of high dissolved solids. A volume of 300 μl was injected into a water carrier stream flowing at 8 ml min−1. To determine Ca in the air–acetylene flame, it was necessary to remove silicon. Magnesium was determined in either flame without complete removal of the silicon, however, for the determination of Sr, it was necessary to remove the silicon and use the nitrous oxide–acetylene flame. The indicative value for Sr in SRM 2710 was too low: the value determined was 360±30 μg g−1.
Two-dimensional arrangement of CH3NH2 adsorption on Si(001)-2×1

Abstract The adsorption of CH 3 NH 2 on Si(0 0 1)-2 × 1 is investigated using density functional theory slab calculations. When the CH 3 NH 2 coverage is greater than 0.5 ML, we find that the adsorption energetics alter significantly due to a combination of: (i) adsorbate–adsorbate repulsive interactions, (ii) adsorbate-induced electronic structure changes of neighboring dimers, and (iii) hydrogen-bonding interactions. Our calculations show that, among them, adsorbate–adsorbate repulsion plays a major role in determining the two-dimensional ordering of CH 3 NH 2 adsorption at the full coverage of 1.0 ML, leading the zigzag structure to be energetically more favorable than the aligned structure along the dimer row.
Explanatory factors of bank dividend policy: revisited

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dickens et al. model of bank holding company dividend policy. They identified five explanatory factors in a sample of bank holding companies (BHCs). Banking companies typically pay larger dividends and more often than industrial firms. Investors often look at the dividends as being important return variables.Design/methodology/approach – In this study, a sample of 99 firms with 2006 data from governmental reports and Yahoo is used in regression equations to test the relationship of the five identified variables with dividend yields. The analysis is extended to investigate non‐linearities between dividend yield and insider ownership.Findings – The paper finds that the original model is robust, but not all variables keep their significance. Insider holdings have a non‐linear relationship with dividend yields.Practical implications – The significant factors affecting bank dividend policy help dividend seeking investors find BHCs that return higher dividen...
Recollection is a continuous process: Evidence from plurality memory receiver operating characteristics.

Is recollection a continuous/graded process or a threshold/all-or-none process? Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis can answer this question as the continuous model and the threshold model predict curved and linear recollection ROCs, respectively. As memory for plurality, an item's previous singular or plural form, is assumed to rely on recollection, the nature of recollection can be investigated by evaluating plurality memory ROCs. The present study consisted of four experiments. During encoding, words (singular or plural) or objects (single/singular or duplicate/plural) were presented. During retrieval, old items with the same plurality or different plurality were presented. For each item, participants made a confidence rating ranging from “very sure old”, which was correct for same plurality items, to “very sure new”, which was correct for different plurality items. Each plurality memory ROC was the proportion of same versus different plurality items classified as “old” (i.e., hits versus ...
Blind tests of inter-analyst correspondence and accuracy in the identification of cut marks, percussion marks and carnivore tooth marks on bone surfaces

Abstract We show through blind tests that marks inflicted on bone surfaces by carnivore teeth, hammerstone percussion, and metal knife cutting and scraping can be distinguished with near perfect reliability without scanning electron microscopy or consideration of only conspicuous marks. Using low-cost and high-volume hand lens and low-power light microscope techniques, we determined the presence or absence of conspicuous and inconspicuous marks with 97% three-way correspondence, and diagnosed marks of known origin to actor and effector with 99% accuracy. Novices with less than 3 h training on control collections correctly diagnosed 86% of classic but mainly inconspicuous marks. Novices spending several more hours studying control specimens elevated their diagnostic accuracy on morphologically representative marks to near-expert levels of 95%. Our results show that published cautions about mimicry among cut marks, percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks are overstated. All types of marks examined can be identified reliably, regardless of conspicuousness. As such, fully standardized comparisons of mark frequencies can be drawn among assemblages, even those documented by different analysts. However, such robust interpretations can be attained only if analysts base diagnoses on (a) a firm familiarity with bones marked under strictly controlled conditions, (b) the systematic application of published morphological and contextual criteria, and (c) the use of prescribed low-power magnification techniques.
The semantic evolution of Sino character terms for the future in East Asia

Abstract This paper investigates the conceptual change of the dominant Sino-character terms for the future in East Asia. It reveals there has been a shift in the most frequently used terms for the future between pre-modern and modern times in some East Asian countries. Using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, this paper demonstrates how a minor term for the future, primarily used in Buddhist contexts in pre-modern society, has become the dominant term in modern China and Korea. This shift reflects the unique historical experiences of each East Asian country, including its encounters with the West. Finally, this paper examines how the usage of these two terms for the future expresses the hierarchical structure of the East Asian view of the future.
Acquired axonal degeneration and regeneration: Recent insights and clinical correlations

Axonal degeneration is a common feature of traumatic, ischemic, inflammatory, toxic, metabolic, genetic, and neurodegenerative disorders affecting the CNS and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The typical example is Wallerian degeneration (WD), which results from traumatic or ischemic injuries that disconnect the neuronal cell body from the distal segment of the axon. A WD-like degeneration occurs in inflammatory-demyelinating and neurodegenerative diseases associated with interruption of axonal transport and formation of large axonal swelling or spheroids. Dying-back refers to the progressive distal to proximal axonal degeneration that results from metabolic, toxic, or degenerative disorders. Axonal degeneration proceeds via a regulated axonal death program that is independent of the molecular events that control apoptosis or autophagy in the cell body and reflects the convergence of 3 mechanisms: impaired axonal transport, mitochondrial dysfunction, and increase in intra-axoplasmic calcium (Ca2+). WD is no longer considered the consequence of failure to deliver structural components but rather of inability to deliver a putative natural inhibitor of the death program in the axon. The discovery of the mouse WlD s mutant, which has prolonged axonal survival following nerve transection, indicates that axons contain an intrinsic protective mechanism. Retrograde signaling following injury triggers profound changes in transcription and translation in the neuronal cell body, which may drive compensatory axon growth leading to sprouting or, less commonly, axonal regeneration. Axonal regeneration may occur in the PNS but is often incomplete; regeneration is much less likely to occur in the CNS, in part due to the presence of inhibitory molecules from oligodendrocytes and reactive astrocytes. The importance of axonal degeneration as a fundamental mechanism of neurologic disease and therapeutic target for neuroprotection is the focus of many comprehensive reviews.1–16
Focal epileptogenesis after intracortical hemoglobin injection.

Abstract Intracortical injection of purified bovine hemoglobin produced chronic focal spike activity in 89% of rats tested; 50% of the animals evidenced spike activity within 48 h. The lesions produced were pathologically similar to those seen in post-traumatic epilepsy. Evidence is presented suggesting that the neural effect of iron released from hemoglobin may be causally related to the development of a trauma-induced epileptiform focus in humans.
The Candelas-de la Ossa-Green-Parkes formula

Abstract In this note we discuss a recent proof of the formula for the worldsheet instanton prepotential predicted by Mirror Symmetry for the quintics in P 4 . One of the key ingredients in the proof is the equivariant cohomology groups on the so-called linear sigma model moduli spaces. We introduce the notion of admissible data on the equivariant cohomology groups of the linear sigma model. An admissible data may be thought of as a sequence of equivariant classes satisfying certain algebraic conditions. It arises naturally from Kontsevich's stable map compactification of moduli spaces of maps from curves into projective manifolds. The structures of admissible data help reduce many counting problems to checking certain combinatorial structure of a compactification. The mirror transformation of Candelas et al turns out to be a transformation between two admissible data associated respectively to the linear and the non-linear sigma models. As an application, we prove the formula for the worldsheet instanton prepotential in terms of hypergeometric series. At the end we also interprete an infinite dimensional transformation group, called the mirror group, acting on admissible data, as a certain duality group of the linear sigma model.
Integrated Performance Views in Charm++: Projections Meets TAU

The Charm++ parallel programming system provides a modular performance interface that can be used to extend its performance measurement and analysis capabilities. The interface exposes execution events of interest representing Charm++ scheduling operations, application methods/routines, and communication events for observation by alternative performance modules configured to implement different measurement features. The paper describes the Charm++'s performance interface and how the Charm++ Projections tool and the TAU Performance System can provide integrated trace-based and profile-based performance views. These two tools are complementary, providing the user with different performance perspectives on Charm++ applications based on performance data detail and temporal and spatial analysis. How the tools work in practice is demonstrated in a parallel performance analysis of NAMD, a scalable molecular dynamics code that applies many of Charm++'s unique features.
An Experimental and Computational Investigation of a Translating Throat Single Expansion-Ramp Nozzle

A translating throat single expansion-ramp nozzle (SERN) concept was designed to improve the off-design performance of a SERN with a large, fixed expansion ratio. The concept of translating the nozzle throat provides the SERN with a variable expansion ratio. An experimental and computational study was conducted to predict and verify the internal performance of this concept. Three nozzles with expansion ratios designed for low, intermediate, and high Mach number operating conditions were tested in the Jet-Exit Test Facility at the NASA Langley Research Center. Each nozzle was tested with a conclave and convex geometric expansion ramp surface design. Internal nozzle performance, paint-oil flow and focusing Schlieren flow visualization were obtained for nozzle pressure ratios (NPRs) up to 13. The Navier-Stokes code, PAB3D, with a k-epsilon turbulence model was utilized to verify experimental results at selected NPRs and to predict the performance at conditions unatainable in the test facility. Two-dimensional simulations were computed with near static free-stream conditions and at nozzle pressure ratios of 5, 9, and 13 for the concave ramp, low Mach number configuration and at the design NPR of 102 for the concave ramp, high Mach number configuration. Remarkable similarities between predicted and experimental flow characteristics, as well as performance quantities, were obtained.
Predicting metabolic cost of running with and without backpack loads

In the past, a mathematical equation to predict the metabolic cost of standing or walking (Mw) was developed. However, this equation was limited to speeds <2.2 m · s−1 and overestimated the metabolic cost of walking or running at higher speeds. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to develop a mathematical model for the metabolic cost of running (Mr), in order to be able to predict the metabolic cost under a wide range of speeds, external loads and grades. Twelve male subjects were tested on a level treadmill under different combinations of speed and external load. Speed varied between 2.2 to 3.2 m · s−1 using 0.2 m · s−1 intervals and external loads between 0–30 kg with 10 kg intervals. Four of the subjects were also tested at 2 and 4% incline while speed and load remained constant (2.4 m · s−1, 20 kg). The model developed is based on Mw and is proportionately linear with external load (L) carried as follows: $$M_r = M_w - 0.5(1 - 0.01L)(M_w - 15L - 850), (watt)$$
Scanning the pressure‐induced distortion of fingerprints

Fingerprint recognition technology is an important part of criminal investigations it is the basis of some security systems and an important tool of government operations such as the Immigration and Naturalization Services, registration procedures in the Armed Forces, and so forth. After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the importance of reliable fingerprint recognition technology became even more obvious. In the current study, pressure-induced changes of distances between ridges of a fingerprint were measured. Using calibrated silicon pressure sensors we scanned the distribution of pressure across a finger pixel by pixel, and also generated maps of an average pressure distribution during fingerprinting. Emulating the fingerprinting procedure employed with widely used optical scanners, we found that on average the distance between ridges decreases by about 20% when a finger is positioned on a scanner. Controlled loading of a finger demonstrated that it is impossible to reproduce the same distribution of pressure across a given finger during repeated fingerprinting procedures.
Retinoblastoma — a possible defect in decision-making DNA

Abstract Retinoblastoma tumors appear to result from changes in a specific DNA sequencethat happen during a critical period of retinal development. These intraocular tumors are diagnosed in early childhood, usually from birth to four years of age. They are the apparent manifestation of a block in the differentiation of retinal cells, such that the cells keep dividing and may become malignant. Recent genetic studies have implicated a specific region of the human genome in the formation of retinoblastoma, and have elucidated some of the mechanisms by which a retinal cell can lose normal function in this region.
Pyrophosphate myocardial imaging

Technetium-99m pyrophosphate myocardial scintigraphy is a sensitive indicator of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Over 90% of acute myocardial infarctions will result in an abnormal scintigram. The sensitivity is highest for transmural myocardial infarction, reaching levels of 95% or better. The positivity rate for subendocardial infarction ranges from 40% to 88% depending on the criteria used for interpreting the study. The threshold for positivity may be established using the intensity level present within the myocardium, on the presence or absence of localization within a specific wall of the myocardium, or a combination of both. The more stringent the criteria and the higher the threshold for positivity, the greater will be the specificity for acute infarction. The high specificity will, however, be at the expense of a lower sensitivity. Several other pathologic conditions can yield a positive myocardial scintiphotogram. Most commonly these are other forms of coronary artery disease in which frank myocardial infarction is not occurring. The cause of positive scintiphotograms in the absence of acute myocardial infarction is not known. It may be that with ischemia there are small focal areas of necrosis or that pyrophosphate concentration occurs purely on the basis of the ischemia. In the absence of infarction, the pattern of positivity is usually diffuse rather than localized in a specific wall. There are exceptions to this, most notably with ventricular aneurysms; however, the presence of a localized abnormality generally increases the specificity of a positive scintiphotogram for AMI. A positive scintigram in the absence of acute infarction has prognostic value in coronary artery disease for some conditions. A persistently positive study following a remote infarction is associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. Likewise, a positive scintiphotogram before coronary artery bypass surgery portends a higher surgical risk. Other indications for the examination include the diagnosis of perioperative infarction and right ventricular infarction. Less common entities such as metastasis to the myocardium, myocardial trauma, radiation therapy, or any other entity leading to significant myocardial injury or cellular death may result in an abnormal scintiphotogram.
Prospects for Accelerator Technology

Accelerator technology today is a greater than US$5 billion per annum business. Development of higher-performance technology with improved reliability that delivers reduced system size and life cycle cost is expected to significantly increase the total accelerator technology market and open up new application sales. Potential future directions are identified and pitfalls in new market penetration are considered. Both of the present big market segments, medical radiation therapy units and semiconductor ion implanters, are approaching the "maturity" phase of their product cycles, where incremental development rather than paradigm shifts is the norm, but they should continue to dominate commercial sales for some time. It is anticipated that large discovery-science accelerators will continue to provide a specialty market beset by the unpredictable cycles resulting from the scale of the projects themselves, coupled with external political and economic drivers. Although fraught with differing market entry difficulties, the security and environmental markets, together with new, as yet unrealized, industrial material processing applications, are expected to provide the bulk of future commercial accelerator technology growth.
New enzymatic route for the inactivation of angiotensin.

Experiments show that swine kidney and human urine contain a new angiotensinase that breaks the prolylphenylalanine bond In various peptides. The product of this enzymatic hydrolysis—the N-terminal heptapeptide sequence of angiotensin—is biologically inactive.
A novel synthesis of a C-unsubstituted silole

Abstract Flow pyrolysis of 4-allyl-4-methyl-4-silacyclopentene yielded the Diels—Alder dimers of 5-methyl-5-silacyclopentadiene (1-methylsilole) via sequential retro- ene extrusion of propene, 1,5-hydrogen migration to silicon, and dimerization. The monomeric silole is thermally produced in situ, and trapped by maleic anhydride.
Uroporphyria in the uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase-deficient mouse: Interplay with siderosis and polychlorinated biphenyl exposure☆

Several methods have been used to develop rodent models with the hepatic manifestations of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). Acute iron administration or mutations of the hemochromatosis gene (Hfe) have been used to generate hepatic siderosis, a nearly uniform finding in PCT. Heterozygosity for a null mutation at the uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (Uro-D+/-) locus has been developed to mimic familial PCT in humans. This study examines the interplay of these 2 genetic risk factors and their influence, alone and combined with polychlorinated-biphenyl exposure. Neither an Hfe-null mutation nor iron-dextran administration alone or in combination with polychlorinated biphenyl exposure was porphyrinogenic in a 3-week model using mice wild-type at the Uro-D locus. Homozygosity for an Hfe-null mutation significantly elevated hepatic iron but not to the extent seen with parenteral iron-dextran administration. Homozygosity for an Hfe-null mutation but not iron-dextran administration was porphyrinogenic in animals heterozygous for the Uro-D mutation. Polychlorinated biphenyls were also porphyrinogenic in these animals. Uroporphyria in Uro-D+/- animals was exacerbated by combinations of the homozygous Hfe-null mutation and polychlorinated biphenyls and iron-dextran and polychlorinated biphenyls. In all cases in which uroporphyria developed, a greater degree of experimental uroporphyria was seen in female animals. All elevated hepatic uroporphyrin concentrations were accompanied by depressed uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity and the presence of a factor in cytosol that inhibits recombinant human uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase. In conclusion, the expression of the uroporphyric phenotype, dependent on the susceptibility imparted by a genetic mutation, provides a uniquely facile model for dissecting the molecular pathogenesis of the disease.
TIME-DEPENDENT EFFECTS OF CHOLINERGIC STIMULATION ON BETA CELL RESPONSIVENESS

The effects of cholinergic stimulation on beta cell insulin secretory and phosphoinositide (PI) responses were determined in freshly isolated rat islets. Increasing the glucose level perifusing the islet from 5.6 to 8 mM was accompanied by a modest insulin secretory response. The further addition of 10 μM carbachol increased peak first- and second-phase responses by 2.6- and 6.8-fold, respectively. In the presence of 5.6 mM glucose, this low level (10 μM) of carbachol increased insulin release two-to three-fold, a response that was maintained for at least 60 min. In contrast to these acute stimulatory actions in the presence of glucose, chronic 3.5-h exposure of islets to 10 μM carbachol abolished beta cell insulin secretory responses to stimulation, with the combination of 8 mM glucose plus 10 μM carbachol. However, the further addition of 200 μM tolbutamide to these islets increased insulin secretory rates significantly. To establish the role of islet cell PI hydrolysis in these secretory responses, additional studies were conducted with islets whose PI pools were labeled with [3H]inositol. Acute exposure to 10 μM carbachol alone significantly increased inositol phosphate accumulation and the efflux of [3H]inositol, even in the absence of glucose. Including 10 μM carbachol during the labeling period with [3H]inositol resulted in significant impairments in subsequently measured inositol phosphate accumulation and [3H]inositol efflux responses to 8 mM glucose plus carbachol stimulation. Prior long-term exposure to 10 μM carbachol also induced heterologous desensitization: 20 mM glucose-stimulated insulin release and inositol phosphate accumulation were impaired in a parallel fashion. Chronic carbachol exposure had no deleterious effect on the usage of 8 or 20 mM glucose or on the insulin content of the islet. The acute stimulatory effects of carbachol on inositol phosphate accumulation as well as its inhibitory effect on 20 mM glucose-stimulated insulin release after prolonged exposure to the muscarinic agonist were significantly reduced by atropine. These findings demonstrate that changes in PI hydrolysis parallel those observed with insulin secretion and suggest that alterations in phospholipase C activation may account, at least in part, for the insulin secretory responses observed.
The rational recursive sequence xn+1=(βx2n)⧸(1+x2n−1)

We investigate the behavior of solutions of the equation in the title under the hypotheses that β is a positive constant and the initial conditions x−1 and x0 are arbitrary positive numbers.
Distributed algorithms for the computation of noncooperative equilibria

Abstract In this paper, a general class of nonquadratic convex Nash games is studied, from the points of view of existence, stability and iterative computation of noncooperative equilibria. Conditions for contraction of general nonlinear operators are obtained, which are then used in the stability study of such games. These lead to existence and uniqueness conditions for stable Nash equilibrium solutions, under both global and local analysis. Also, convergence of an algorithm which employs inaccurate search techniques is verified. It is shown in the context of a fish war example that the algorithm given is in some aspects superior to various algorithms found in the literature, and is furthermore more meaningful for real world implementation.
Corrigendum to Ferguson and Ponciano ()

The authors of Ferguson and Ponciano (2014) would like to correct the following errors found in the paper and online Supporting Information. These errors, however, do not affect the main analysis or the interpretation of our results in any manner. We would like to thank Michael Barfield for pointing these out. 1. On page 256, the second sentence in the second column should read “A negligible AR term in the simple community is indicative that inter‐ and intraspecific forces are balanced, whereas the presence of all negative AR terms in the complex communities indicates that intraspecific interactions are weaker than the interspecific growth and interaction terms.” 2. In the derivation of the ARMA model in Appendix B [online Supporting Information (SI); revised SI provided with this corrigendum], there is an error in the last term of the derivation of equation B3. This equation should read: X1t=b11−b22X1t−1+b12b21−b11b22X1t−2+e1t−b22e1t−1+b12e2t−1. This error does not propagate through the analysis. 3. The variance term γ 0 given on page B2 (online SI; revised SI provided with this corrigendum) is missing a squared term on b12 and should read: γ0=1+b222σ12t+b122σ22t. This error propagates to the result given in equation (B5); where the term B(t) should now be: Bt=1+b222σ12t+b122σ22t.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL PROBLEMS: A CRITIQUE OF JEFFREY ALEXANDER'S THEORETICAL LOGIC IN SOCIOLOGY*

This article examines Jeffrey Alexander's effort to overcome the impasse of sociology's entrenchment into opposing utilitarian and normativistic camps. The utilitarian and normativistic perspectives are described, and some of the requirements for a successful synthesis are stated. It is shown that Alexander does not actually attempt such a synthesis himself, but is content to present Weber's and Parsons's efforts in this direction. It is argued that his major contribution is to be found not in the promotion of a “multidimensional” synthetic approach, but in the formulation of an epistemological/methodological rationale for the alleged superiority of a multidimensional sociology over one-dimensional versions. An account is given of the claims of this “postpositivist” methodology, and its de facto treatment of the relationship between theory and data is criticized. Since issues of empirical adequacy are not sufficiently addressed, it is concluded that Alexander's advocacy of multidimensionality is less than convincing.