cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Preservation of Bone Cell Viability in a Human Femoral Head through a Perfusion Bioreactor

Current methods for drug development and discovery involve pre-clinical analyses that are extremely expensive and time consuming. Animal models are not the best precedent to use, when comparing to human models as they are not synonymous with the human response, thus, alternative methods for drug development are needed. One of which could be the use of an ex vivo human organ where drugs could be tested and the effects of those drugs could be observed. Finding a viable human organ to use in these preliminary ex vivo studies is difficult due to the availability, cost, and viability. Bone tissue and marrow contain a plethora of both bone and stem cells, however, these cells need constant perfusion to be viable over a longer time range. Here we maintain bone cell sustainability in an ex vivo model, through the use of human femoral heads in a novel bioreactor. This bioreactor was designed to directly perfuse cell culture media (DMEM) through the vasculature of a femoral head, providing ideal nutrients and conditions required for maintaining organ viability. We show, for the first time, that cells within a femoral head can stay alive up to 12 h. Further development could be used to determine the effects of drugs on a human organ system and could aid in the understanding of the progression of bone diseases and pathologies.
Alkene and Alkyne Addition and Substitution Reactions

The organic moiety in organomercurials can be made to add to carbon—carbon double or triple bonds or to substitute olefinic or acetylenic hydrogens thereby greatly expanding the limited number of approaches described in the previous chapter for the alkylation of organomercurials. While few organomercurials will add directly to carbon—carbon multiple bonds, such reactions can be effected via generation of free radical or organopalladium intermediates readily available from organomercurials. These synthetically valuable reactions will be discussed in detail in this chapter.
Physiological impact of flame resistant clothing: managing heat stress

Abstract: First responders are required to wear protective ensembles constructed of flame-retardant materials. While these ensembles protect against external hazards, they also impose a physiological burden on the wearer primarily due to the nature of the materials (e.g., low vapor permeability, highly insulated) that create a hot and humid microenvironment inside the ensemble. The normal avenues of heat transfer from the body to the environment are blocked resulting in physiological heat strain. This chapter addresses the physiological responses to wearing flame-retardant materials and some potential solutions to mitigating the physiological strain imposed by the ensemble.
Regression Estimates Versus Separate Estimation at Individual Test Conditions

The quality control engineer is often faced with the following problem. An estimate of mean product performance is required at some specified operating condition, e.g., 100 degrees C. Data are available both at 100 degrees C and at other temperatures. I..
ESSENTIAL-ATTENDING’s Knowledge Exerciser Program

Implementing an expert computer system in a real-world domain is a formidable task, even if a restricted domain is chosen. A major problem is “validating” the system’s knowledge, assuring that it is accurate, consistent, and complete.
Optimizing pain treatment interventions (OPTI): A pilot randomized controlled trial of collaborative care to improve chronic pain management and opioid safety-Rationale, methods, and lessons learned.

Veterans seeking care in VA medical facilities have high rates of chronic pain, which often co-occur with mental health and substance use disorders, including prescription opioid misuse. The overall goal of the Optimizing Pain Treatment Interventions (OPTI) study was to pilot a 12-week Collaborative Care intervention to improve opioid safety, chronic pain disability, and use of non-pharmacological pain management strategies in veterans in VA primary care. Between November 2014 and January 2017, 100 veteran patients with chronic pain and high-risk prescription opioid use (e.g., high-dose therapy, early refills, etc.) were enrolled and completed an initial one-hour study visit with a primary care provider (PCP) within 4 weeks of enrollment. Study PCPs were guided by a web-based opioid management decision support program and templated notes in the VA electronic medical record. After assessment and education, study PCPs used Shared Decision-Making to formulate a Pain Care Plan aligned with a participant's personal values and goals. After the initial visit, patients randomized to Collaborative Care received one Motivational Interviewing (MI) session with a Care Manager followed by 3 Care Manager-delivered brief telephone MI sessions at 6, 8, and 12 weeks to reinforce Pain Care Plans; patients randomized to an Attention Control condition met with a Care Manager briefly, followed by 3 brief scripted telephone psychoeducation sessions at 6, 8, and 12 weeks. Masked evaluators assessed outcomes at baseline, end of intervention (12 weeks), and after eight weeks of no contact (20 weeks). We present study rationale, detailed methods, preliminary results and lessons learned.
The Drink Embodied: Theorizing an Integrated Bioarchaeological Approach to the Investigation of "Chicha de Maíz" Consumption

Past and present Andean feasts regularly involve the consumption of chicha de maiz (corn beer). Archaeologically, the presence and distribution of brewing and drinking vessels, iconographic representations, and paleoethnobotanical remains have been used to identify the preparation and consumption of chicha at the site level. However, these data cannot tell us if everyone imbibed. Given the social and political importance of chicha, gender, age, status, ethnicity, or other social distinctions in consumption were likely important in the construction of networks and the practices of power. In this article, we theorize a model for investigating chicha consumption at the individual level using a suite of bioarchaeological methods. We suggest that data generated using this model and analyzed in conjunction with traditional archaeological data can help us better understand the social, political, and economic role of chicha. The “chicha signature” we propose includes co-patterning of oral health indicators, isotopic signatures, and the presence of diagnostic microfossils in dental calculus. The intent of this article is to call bioarchaeologists working throughout the Andes and in other regions where beer was culturally important to collect these data with the explicit goal of testing this approach. Las fiestas andinas en el pasado y en el presente incluyen regularmente el consumo de chicha de maiz. La presencia y distribucion de envases de cerveza y refrescos, representaciones iconograficas y restos paleoetnobotanicos, se han utilizado para identificar la fabricacion de cerveza y el consumo de chicha en sitios arqueologicos. Sin embargo, estos datos no pueden decirnos si todos estan bebidos. Debido a la importancia social y politica de la chicha, el genero, la edad, el estatus, la etnicidad u otras distinciones sociales en el consumo fueron probablemente importantes en la construccion de redes y practicas de poder. En este trabajo, teorizamos un modelo para investigar el consumo de chicha a nivel individual utilizando un conjunto de metodos bioarqueologicos. Sugerimos que cuando se analizan junto con los datos arqueologicos tradicionales, los datos generados con este modelo pueden ayudarnos a comprender mejor el papel social, politico y economico de la chicha. La “firma chicha” que proponemos incluye patrones coordinados de indicadores de salud oral, firmas isotopicas y la presencia de diagnosticos de microfosiles en el calculo dental. El proposito de este documento es llamar a los bioarqueologos que trabajan en toda la region andina y en otras regiones donde la cerveza era culturalmente importante, a recopilar estos datos con el proposito expreso de probar este metodo.
Curvature-Driven Migration of Colloids on Tense Lipid Bilayers

Inspired by proteins that generate membrane curvature, sense the underlying membrane geometry, and migrate driven by curvature gradients, we explore the question: Can colloids, adhered to lipid bilayers, also sense and respond to membrane geometry? We report the migration of Janus microparticles adhered to giant unilamellar vesicles elongated to present spatially varying curvatures. In our experiments, colloids migrate only when the membranes are tense, suggesting that they migrate to minimize membrane area. By determining the energy dissipated along a trajectory, the energy field is inferred to depend on the local deviatoric curvature, like curvature driven capillary migration on interfaces between immiscible fluids. In this latter system, energy gradients are larger, so colloids move deterministically, whereas the paths traced by colloids on vesicles have significant fluctuations. By addressing the role of Brownian motion, we show that the observed migration is analogous to curvature driven capillary mi...
The Structure of Baroclinic Modes in the Presence of Baroclinic Mean Flow

AbstractThis contribution seeks to understand the vertical structure of linearized quasigeostrophic baroclinic modes when they are modified by the presence of a baroclinic mean flow and associated ...
Opiate Receptors: A) Functional Heterogeneity Demonstrated with an Apparently Irreversible Naloxone Derivative: B) Regulation by Guanine Nucleotides

ABSTRACT 3H-Opiate binding to receptor sites can be resolved into separate high and low affinity sites. Only the high affinity 3H-agonist site is affected by sodium, which essentially abolishes it. Naloxazine, an hydrazine derivative of naloxone, lowers opiate receptor binding markedly in extensively washed membranes up to 24 hrs following its administration to intact animals. Naloxazine administration in vivo abolishes high affinity binding with no influence on low affinity sites. Sixteen hours after its in vivo administration, naloxazine still prevents the analgesic effects of morphine at a time when effects of naloxone have dissipated. These findings indicate that high affinity sites are responsible for these pharmacological opiate actions. Opiate agonist binding is inhibited selectively by guanine nucleotides. While GTP, Gpp(NH)p and GDP are effective, GMP and adenine nucleotides are ineffective. The influence of guanine nucleotides is manifested with several opiate agonists but not with antagonists.
Perfluoroalkyl Substances Increase Susceptibility of Northern Leopard Frog Tadpoles to Trematode Infection

Per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are contaminants of emerging concern that can impair immune function, yet few studies have tested whether exposure increases infection risk. Using laboratory experiments, we found that exposure to 10 ppb of perfluorohexanesulfonic acid increased trematode (Echinoparyphium lineage 3) infections in larval northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens). However, there was no effect of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Our results demonstrate that PFAS can potentially enhance infection risk in natural systems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:689-694. © 2020 SETAC.
Solving Partial Differential Equations

A partial differential equation is “…a differential equation that contains unknown multivariable functions and their partial derivatives,” according to Wikipedia [1]. There are many PDE applications in physics, engineering, and computer science. For example, PDEs are employed to formulate various phenomena, such as heat transfer, machine dynamics, wave propagation, elasticity, fluid dynamics, and many more.
Protein conformations à la carte, a step further in de novo protein design

Proteins perform a spectrum of functions inside the cell, ranging from energy utilization to enzymatic activity to signaling, as well as structural and mechanical roles, among many others. Substantial research efforts throughout the years have focused on understanding these phenomena at the molecular level as well as the evolutionary processes that influenced their development. Part of these efforts include the elucidation of the fundamental principles that give shape to protein structures. Since function is encoded in the three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of proteins, identifying the principles of protein folding, structure, and dynamics has been a priority for research in protein science for many years. Inscribed on the last blackboard of Richard Feynman is the phrase “What I cannot create, I cannot understand” (1). This way of thinking has inspired scientists to not be satisfied with revealing fundamental principles but to apply them to create novel proteins with desired properties. The work of Wei et al. (2) in PNAS is a relevant example of such efforts to demonstrate understanding of biophysical principles of protein structure and dynamics by designing a protein that can change its shape under specific solution conditions. The field of protein design is challenged by the enormous space of potential protein sequences and their folds. Because of this, most efforts have been focused on studying the extant plethora of sequences and structures found in nature that were the result of millions of years of evolutionary history. Using natural proteins and their sequences as templates to engineer new proteins provides a key reduction of search space and a basis for both structural features and functional behavior. This concept has been explored successfully both experimentally and theoretically in the field of directed evolution (3) and computational template-based modeling of protein structure (4). Such has been the impact of the use of … [↵][1]1Email: faruckm{at}utdallas.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Modeling Loop Composition and Ion Concentration Effects in RNA Hairpin Folding Stability

The ability to accurately predict RNA hairpin structure and stability for different loop sequences and salt conditions is important for understanding, modeling, and designing larger RNA folds. However, traditional RNA secondary structure models cannot treat loop-sequence and ionic effects on RNA hairpin folding. Here, we describe a general, three-dimensional (3D) conformation-based computational method for modeling salt concentration-dependent conformational distributions and the detailed 3D structures for a set of three RNA hairpins that contain a variable, 15-nucleotide loop sequence. For a given RNA sequence, the new, to our knowledge, method integrates a Vfold2D two-dimensional structure folding model with IsRNA coarse-grained molecular dynamics 3D folding simulations and Monte Carlo tightly bound ion estimations of ion-mediated electrostatic interactions. The model predicts free-energy landscapes for the different RNA hairpin-forming sequences with variable salt conditions. The theoretically predicted results agree with the experimental fluorescence measurements, validating the strategy. Furthermore, the theoretical model goes beyond the experimental results by enabling in-depth 3D structural analysis, revealing energetic mechanisms for the sequence- and salt-dependent folding stability. Although the computational framework presented here is developed for RNA hairpin systems, the general method may be applied to investigate other RNA systems, such as multiway junctions or pseudoknots in mixed metal ion solutions.
Towards Efficiency-Preserving Round Compression in MPC

Reducing the rounds of interaction in secure multiparty computation (MPC) protocols has been the topic of study of many works. One popular approach to reduce rounds is to construct round compression compilers. A round compression compiler is one that takes a highly interactive protocol and transforms it into a protocol with far fewer rounds. The design of round compression compilers has traditionally focused on preserving the security properties of the underlying protocol and in particular, not much attention has been given towards preserving their computational and communication efficiency. Indeed, the recent round compression compilers that yield round-optimal MPC protocols incur large computational and communication overhead.
The Science of Computing: Virtual Memory

In the March-April issue, I described how a computer's storage system is organized as a hierarchy consisting of cache, main memory, and secondary memory (e.g., disk). The cache and main memory form a subsystem that functions like main memory but attains speeds approaching cache. What happens if a program and its data are too large for the main memory? This is not a frivolous question. Every generation of computer users has been frustrated by insufficient memory. A new line of computers may have sufficient storage for the computations of its predecessor, but new programs will soon exhaust its capacity. In 1960, a longrange planning committee at MIT dared to dream of a computer with 1 million words of main memory. In 1985, the Cray-2 was delivered with 256 million words. Computational physicists dream of computers with 1 billion words. Computer architects have done an outstanding job of enlarging main memories yet they have never kept up with demand. Only the shortsighted believe they can.
Early Cold War Spies: The Soble-Soblen Case: Last of the Early Cold War Spy Trials

T he spy trials of the late 1940s and early 1950s fo cused on the theft of sensitive government information. Top secret documents, atomic espionage, and military technology had been stolen. The accused had held important government positions with knowledge of internal U.S. policy deliberations or had access to highly sensitive technological and military secrets, and the public was transfixed by the trials and their aftermath. The spy cases of the latter half of the 1950s drew less attention. The defendants had little to do with stealing significant government secrets, although that was not for lack of trying and in part reflected successful American counterespionage. Instead, the spies in the last cases had chiefly participated in the Soviet Union's clandestine campaign to suppress or discredit exiled Russian dissidents and other ideological enemies of the USSR. In many cases their actions were not strictly illegal under American law of that day but several of those involved had the blood of dissident Russians on their hands. And like the Rosenberg case, the Soble-Soblen spy trials featured siblings turning on each other. Jack Soble, Robert Soblen, and their confederates were tried for espionage against the United States, but the history of their apparatus goes back to Europe and Joseph Stalin's rivalry with Leon Trotsky. A brilliant writer and Marxist theoretician, Trotsky became one of the Bolshevik heroes of the Russian Revolution by organizing the Red Army into an efficiently merciless military force and leading it to victory in the Russian Civil War.
Grafted Skin and Skin Flaps

The ultimate goal of many in vitro and in vivo drug and xenobiotic percutaneous absorption studies in animals is to predict penetration in humans. The optimal approach would be a quantitative one that not only would precisely predict chemical disposition in humans but also would allow one to determine the effect of different formulation, environmental, and dermatological variables on the rate and extent of dermal penetration. Knowledge of these effects and of the overall source of variability in dermal penetration is especially important when designing transdermal delivery systems for drugs with “narrow” therapeutic windows. In toxicological applications, if the chemicals to be tested are either very toxic or of unknown toxic potential in man, in vitro or animal testing is required. With the current societal emphasis on minimizing the use of animals in biological research, in vitro approaches are being stressed.
Estimation and Optimal Control of Models of Dynamic Games

An outstanding problem in the optimal control literature is the statistical estimation of the parameters of the objective function.
A G-Box-Binding Protein from Soybean Binds to the E1 Auxin-Response Element in the Soybean GH3 Promoter and Contains a Proline-Rich Repression Domain

The E1 promoter fragment (-249 to -203) is one of three auxin-response elements (AuxREs) in the soybean (Glycine max L.) GH3 promoter (Z.-B. Liu, T. Ulmasov, X. Shi, G. Hagen, T.J. Guilfoyle [1994] Plant Cell 6: 645–657). Results presented here further characterize and delimit the AuxRE within the E1 fragment. The E1 fragment functioned as an AuxRE in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants, as well as in transfected protoplasts. The AuxRE within E1 contains a G-box, and this G-box was used to clone a G-box-binding factor (GBF) from soybean (SGBF-2). This 45-kD GBF contains an N-terminal proline-rich domain and a C-terminal basic/leucine zipper DNA-binding domain. Gel-mobility shift assays were used to characterize the binding specificity of SGBF-2. Antiserum raised against recombinant SGBF-2 was used to further characterize SGBF-2 and antigenically related GBFs in soybean nuclear extracts. Co-transfection assays with effector and reporter plasmids in carrot (Daucus carota L.) protoplasts indicated that the N-terminal proline-rich domain of SGBF-2 functioned as a repression domain in both basal and auxin-inducible transcription.
Abstract 17652: Application of Pediatric and Adult Lipid Treatment Guidelines to U.S. Adolescents Transitioning to Young Adulthood

Introduction: Current pediatric and adult lipid treatment guidelines differ in their approach to pharmacologic treatment of cholesterol in adolescents and young adults. We hypothesized that a greater proportion of young people ages 17-21 would meet criteria for statin treatment under the pediatric guidelines compared to adult guidelines, but that overall eligibility for statin treatment would be low in this age group. Methods: We applied treatment algorithms from the 2011 NHLBI Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents and the 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults to participants in the 1999-2011 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys who were 17-21 years of age and had an LDL level measured (n=2,652). We extrapolated the results to a population of 11.2 million individuals ages 17-21 years living in the US. Results: Almost 2% of participants (n=50, 1.9%) qualified for statin treatment under the pediatric guidelines, but only 0.7% (n=18) met treatment criteria under the adult guidelines. Participants who met pediatric criteria had lower mean LDL levels but were more likely to have other cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, and obesity (Table 1). Despite the relatively low percentage of participants reaching LDL treatment thresholds under either guideline, 258,816 U.S. young people would be eligible for statin treatment under the pediatric guidelines and 84,651 would be eligible for treatment under the adult guidelines. Conclusions: Providers who care for adolescents transitioning to adulthood are faced with incongruent lipid guidelines. Application of pediatric guidelines, which use a life course approach and consider additional cardiovascular risk factors beyond age, may result in statin treatment for more young people.
Reduction of functional N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in neurons by RNase P-mediated cleavage of the NR1 mRNA.

One approach to studying the functional role of individual NMDA receptor subunits involves the reduction in the abundance of the protein subunit in neurons. We have pursued a strategy to achieve this goal that involves the use of a small guide RNA which can lead to the destruction of the mRNA for a specific receptor subunit. We designed a small RNA molecule, termed ‘external guide sequence’ (EGS), which binds to the NR1 mRNA and directs the endonuclease RNase P to cleave the target message. This EGS has exquisite specificity and directed the RNase P-dependent cleavage at the targeted location within the NR1 mRNA. To improve the efficiency of this EGS, an in vitro evolution strategy was employed which led to a second generation EGS that was 10 times more potent than the parent molecule. We constructed an expression cassette by flanking the EGS with self-cleaving ribozymes and this permitted generation of the specified EGS RNA sequence from any promoter. Using a recombinant Herpes simplex virus (HSV), we expressed the EGS in neurons and showed the potency of the EGS to reduce NR1 protein within neurons. In an excitotoxicity assay, we showed that expression of the EGS in cortical neurons is neuroprotective. Our results demonstrate the utility of EGSs to reduce the expression of any gene (and potentially any splice variant) in neurons.
Doppler Systolic Signal Void in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Apical Aneurysm and Severe Obstruction without Elevated Intraventricular Velocities.

Background In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), akinetic apical aneurysms are associated with ventricular tachycardia, heart failure, apical thrombus, and mortality. The cause of apical aneurysms remains unresolved, and there is controversy about prevalence and significance of mid–left ventricular (LV) obstruction, often present in these patients. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that low velocities in patients with aneurysms are due to near complete cessation of mid-LV flow, characteristically marked by a Doppler signal void. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of 39 patients with HCM with segmental hypertrophy of the mid left ventricle and complete systolic emptying at the mid-LV level. The severity of dynamic obstruction was evaluated by measuring the time during which cross-sectional mid-LV cavity area was 2 . Presence or absence of an LV Doppler midsystolic signal void was determined. Results Akinetic apical aneurysms were present in 21 patients. The duration of two-dimensional mid-LV short-axis complete emptying was longer in patients with akinetic apical aneurysms (194 ± 45 vs 148 ± 63 msec, P = .013), nearly 50% of systole. Midsystolic signal voids were seen only in patients with akinetic apical aneurysms ( P 2 ( r = 0.704; P = .001). Complete emptying 2 for ≥38% of systole was associated with akinetic aneurysm (odds ratio, 9.35; P Conclusion Patients with akinetic apical aneurysm HCM have near complete cessation of flow across severe dynamic mid-LV obstruction for nearly 50% of systole. This explains how the adverse effects of obstruction may occur without high velocities on echocardiography.
Large-scale incremental processing using distributed transactions and notifications

Updating an index of the web as documents are crawled requires continuously transforming a large repository of existing documents as new documents arrive. This task is one example of a class of data processing tasks that transform a large repository of data via small, independent mutations. These tasks lie in a gap between the capabilities of existing infrastructure. Databases do not meet the storage or throughput requirements of these tasks: Google's indexing system stores tens of petabytes of data and processes billions of updates per day on thousands of machines. MapReduce and other batch-processing systems cannot process small updates individually as they rely on creating large batches for efficiency.We have built Percolator, a system for incrementally processing updates to a large data set, and deployed it to create the Google web search index. By replacing a batch-based indexing system with an indexing system based on incremental processing using Percolator, we process the same number of documents per day, while reducing the average age of documents in Google search results by 50%.
Statistically accurate estimation of hormone concentrations and associated uncertainties: methodology, validation, and applications

We describe a data reduction procedure to assign statistically accurate estimates of unknown hormone concentrations, with associated uncertainties, based on experimental uncertainties in sample replicates and the fitted calibration curve. Three mathematical calibration curve functions are considered. The one providing optimal statistical characterization of reference calibrators is chosen for unknown evaluation. Experimental error is addressed by assigning and propagating uncertainty estimates for each measured response (including zero-dose responses) by an empirically determined discrete uncertainty profile and by propagating calibration curve uncertainty. Discrete uncertainty profiles account for both response precision (replicability) and accuracy (deviation from predicted calibration curves) without relying on assumed theoretical response variance-assay response relations. The validity of assigning variable response weighting by this procedure was assessed by Monte Carlo simulations based on chemiluminescence growth hormone calibration curves. Much-improved accuracy and estimated precision are achieved for unknown hormone concentrations, particularly extremely low concentrations, by using this variable response weighting procedure.
Inclusion vs. Seclusion: A Review of Looking after Louis by Lesley Ely

This review focuses on the messages embedded within both images and text in children's picture books. It includes a thorough analysis of Looking after Louis by Lesley Ely, detailing how its illustrations and text sometimes contradict each other, creating a complicated representation of integrated education. "Inclusion vs. Seclusion" argues that while the book attempts to offer a positive portrayal of disability in the elementary classroom, its images and text convey a negative portrayal of disability, distancing a child with a disability from his/her peers. By comparing this picture book with another closely related text, this review examines the possible effects Looking after Louis might have on young readers.
Carbon nanotube-conductive additive-space durable polymer nanocomposite films for electrostatic charge dissipation

Thin film membranes of space environmentally stable polymeric materials possessing low color/solar absorptivity (α) are of interest for potential applications on Gossamer spacecraft. In addition to these properties, sufficient electrical conductivity is required in order to dissipate electrostatic charge (ESC) build-up brought about by the charged orbital environment. One approach to achieve sufficient electrical conductivity for ESC mitigation is by the incorporation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). However, when SWNTs are dispersed throughout the polymer matrix, the nanocomposite films tend to be significantly darker than the pristine material resulting in a higher α. The incorporation of conductive additives in combination with a decreased SWNT loading level is one approach for improving α while retaining conductivity. Taken individually, the low loading level of conductive additives and SWNTs was insufficient in achieving the percolation level necessary for electrical conductivity. When added concurrently to the film, conductivity was achieved. The chemistry, physical and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite films will be presented.
Effect of basal medium, growth regulators and Phytagel concentration on initiation of embryogenic cultures from immature zygotic embryos of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.).

Low initiation frequency is one of the main barriers in applying somatic embryogenesis to the clonal production of Pinus species. Factors affecting initiation, including basal medium, plant growth regulators, and Phytagel concentration, have been investigated in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). BM1 basal medium proved superior to DCR1 and LP (LP basal salts plus BM1 organic nutrients). No extrusion from megagametophytes was exhibited on LP medium. The combination of 3 mg/l 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 0.5 mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) resulted in a higher extrusion frequency than that of 11 mg/l 2,4-D, 4.5 mg/l BA and 4.3 mg/l kinetin. Phytagel at 1 g/l resulted in the highest explant browning, but the lowest extrusion frequency, while 4 g/l Phytagel induced some dry embryogenic extrusions. Phytagel at 2 g/l was regarded as the best level for initiation of embryogenic cultures.
Implementation of a physician\pharmacist model to improve blood pressure control in a diverse population

0.22-0.30) cohorts were less likely to be adherent compared to patients in the single-pill cohort. Increasing age and male gender were associated with higher adherence. Patient adherence to anti-hypertensive therapy significantly decreased with regimen complexity. Single pill combinations lessen pill burden and may have a positive impact on adherence and patient outcomes.
Investigating a Mechanism for Transgranular Stress Corrosion Cracking on Buried Pipelines in Near-Neutral pH Environments

Abstract Buried carbon steel fuel transmission pipelines, protected by external coatings and cathodic protection, are known to experience transgranular stress corrosion cracking (TGSCC). Failure an...
Substitution of oxygen by fluorine in the GdSr_2AlO_5:Ce^3+ phosphors: Gd_1-xSr_2+xAlO_5-xF_x solid solutions for solid state white lighting

Solid solutions between two isotypic host compounds: GdSr2AlO5 and Sr3AlO4F; Gd1-xSr2+xAlO5-xFx:Ce3+ (GSAF:Ce3+), have been prepared across the complete solid solution range x. Depending on x, the series display considerable optical tunability of emission wavelengths in the range 574 nm to 474 nm, which is attributed to the decreased crystal field splitting arising from increased host ionicity with fluorine addition. Applying the GSAF:Ce3+ phosphors on InGaN LEDs (λmax=405 nm and 450 nm) permits white lighting sources to be prepared. The characteristics of these are reported.
Growth curve and yield of tobacco mosaic virus in tobacco callus cells

Abstract Callus cells of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L. var. Havana 38) were inoculated by mechanical dispersion with 12 μg/ml of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and were washed and incubated in a modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium. Infectivity assays showed loss in cell-associated titer 10 hr after inoculation, followed by a sharp rise to 48 hr. Virus titer was maximal after 144 to 192 hr and thereafter declined. Maximal titer of cell-associated virus was 650 times that at 0 time and 1000 times that after 10 hr of inoculation. The amount of virus released by cells into the medium was greatest at 240 hr and represented 0.15% of cell-associated virus. Yields of virus, purified by differential centrifugation and estimated spectrophotometrically, were higher in cells incubated on agar than in suspension. Virus yields from inoculated cells incubated 7 days on agar were equal to those obtained from leaves of tobacco plants grown in soil. Cultured cells inoculated with 12 and 83 μg of TMV/ml yielded 1.27 and 2.20 mg virus per gram fresh weight of callus, respectively, or 1.0 to 1.7 × 10 7 virus particles per cell. Titers attained in a green-pigmented cell line were twice those attained in the ordinary, nonpigmented callus. Suspension-grown cells, inoculated by cell dispersion and incubated on agar yielded a titer 367% greater than agar-grown cells inoculated without cell dispersion and incubated in liquid medium. It is likely that cell dispersion causes nonvital injury to cells allowing virus particles avenues of entry. Probable sites of entry are ruptured plasmodesmatal connections.
Movement disorders associated with the use of gabapentin

Summary: Purpose: We report two cases of unusual movement disorders associated with the use of gabapentin (GBP) in patients being treated for epilepsy who were otherwise neuro-logically intact. Methods: We describe two cases of unusual movement disorders associated with the use of GBP. Results: There were significant differences in the clinical findings between the two cases. In the first case, movements were very pronounced and the patient was in oculogyric crisis. Movements in the second case were quite subtle but nonetheless problematic for the patient. In each case, discontinuation of GBP led to rapid resolution of the movements, although a single dose of lorazepam was used in the first case. Conclusions: Although formal electrophysiologic studies have not been performed, the movements associated with GBP use appear to be dystonic or myoclonic. Discontinuation of GBP led to rapid resolution of the movements. In severe cases, as in patients with oculogyric crisis, small doses of a benzodi-azepine (BZD) appear to be efficacious and safe.
THE RATIO OF SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE TO LEFT VENTRICULAR END DIASTOLIC PRESSURE PREDICTS SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

To examine a novel marker for predicting major adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients presenting with non-ST elevation (NSTEMI) and ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In this retrospective cohort study, all patients presenting to a single tertiary care institution between January 1,
Chemical composition of the floral essential oil of Randia matudae from Monteverde, Costa Rica

The floral essential oil of Randia matudae Lorence & Dwyer (Rubiaceae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica, was isolated by hydrodistillation in a yield of 0.0243%. The chemical composition of the floral oil was determined by GC–MS. The most abundant essential oil components were linalool (21.0%), benzyl alcohol (18.4%), α-terpineol (13.3%), trans-methyl isoeugenol (12.6%) and trans-isoeugenol (8.8%). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Timing, Carrier, and Frame Synchronization of Burst-Mode CPM

In this paper, we propose a complete synchronization algorithm for continuous phase modulation (CPM) signals in burst-mode transmission over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. The timing and carrier recovery are performed through a data-aided (DA) maximum likelihood algorithm, which jointly estimates symbol timing, carrier phase, and frequency offsets based on an optimized synchronization preamble. Our algorithm estimates the frequency offset via a one-dimensional grid search, after which symbol timing and carrier phase are computed via simple closed-form expressions. The mean-square error (MSE) of the algorithm's estimates reveals that it performs very close to the theoretical Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) for various CPMs at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) as low as 0 dB. Furthermore, we present a frame synchronization algorithm that detects the arrival of bursts and estimates the start-of-signal. We simulate the performance of the frame synchronization algorithm along with the timing and carrier recovery algorithm. The bit error rate results demonstrate near ideal synchronization performance for low SNRs and short preambles.
Physical Activity and Pregnancy: Past and Present Evidence and Future Recommendations.

Purpose. In this review, we provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of the physical activity and pregnancy literature to promote prenatal physical activity, improve measurement, further elucidate the role of activity in reducing maternal health complications, and inform future research. Method. We examined past and present physical activity and pregnancy studies and highlight key papers with a focus on maternal health outcomes to best inform physical activity promotion efforts. Results. We discuss: (a) historical overview of prenatal physical activity relative to the physical activity guidelines, how they have changed over time, and how evidence of the effect of prenatal activity on maternal/fetal health outcomes has affected clinical recommendations; (b) existing tools and challenges associated with measuring prenatal physical activity; (c) empirical evidence on multilevel determinants of prenatal activity to guide future intervention work; (d) empirical evidence of prenatal activity on ad...
Formalizing context-based reasoning: A modeling paradigm for representing tactical human behavior

This paper formally describes the context-based reasoning (CxBR) paradigm. CxBR can be used to represent tactical human behavior in simulations or in the real world. In problem solving, the context can be said to inherently contain much knowledge about the situation in which the problem is to be solved and-or the environment in which it must be solved. This paper discusses some of the issues involved in a context-driven representation of human behavior and introduces a formal description of CxBR. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Debates as a pedagogical learning technique: empirical research with business students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance knowledge on debates as a pedagogical learning technique.Design/methodology/approach – This empirical research was conducted in a northeastern university in the USA on graduate and undergraduate business students taking human resource management (HRM) classes. This research was conducted in the spring summer, and fall semesters of 2009. A total number of 68 completed student surveys from both graduate and undergraduate students were collected over the entire year. This empirical paper provides the null and alternate hypotheses for understanding the relationship between debates and short‐ and long‐term learning outcomes. This study uses the Pearson's correlations and significance levels to reject or accept the hypotheses. The means, SD, and percentages of students' responses with their open‐ended comments are also provided to enhance understanding of the subject.Findings – This research suggests there are positive correlations between debates and short‐ and...
Overview of Neutrino Mass Measurements

We review the results of searches for neutrino mass from beta spectra, double beta decay and neutrino oscillations.
The Role of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Susceptibility to Autoimmune/Inflammatory Disease

Abstract The central nervous system (CNS) affects the immune system through endocrine, paracrine, and neuronal mechanisms. The immune system in turn communicates with the CNS through many of the same mechanisms. Evidence that this bidirectional communication plays a vital role in susceptibility to inflammatory and infectious disease is derived largely from animal models in which the communication has been interrupted or reconstituted surgically, pharmacologlcally, or on a preexisting genetic basis. The advantage of animal models for studying the pathophysiologic relevance of such connections is that the systems can be manipulated at several levels and at different times in relation to development of the inflammatory disease and the outcome of the manipulation can be quantified. While in vitro studies may be used to further define the subcellular and molecular mechanisms of these interactions, only an intact organism, in which the central nervous system is connected to the immune system, can be used to fully define the nature of these interconnections. This review describes approaches to studying CNS-immune system interactions, using relatively inflammatory-susceptible and inflammatory-resistant Lewis and Fischer rats as models for evaluating the role of the HPA axis in susceptibility to inflammatory disease.
A Riemann Roch Theorem for infinite genus Riemann surfaces

In this article we prove a Riemann Roch Theorem for a class of holomorphic line bundles over Riemann surfaces of infinite genus. The theorem shows that the space of holomorphic sections satisfying a pointwise asymptotic growth condition has finite dimension and it provides a formula for this dimension. The gluing functions describing the surface and the transition functions defining the line bundle have to satisfy some asymptotic bounds. The theorem applies to holomorphic line bundles associated to divisors of infinite degree that assign one point to every handle on the surface. Applications of this Riemann Roch Theorem to the description of the Kadomcev Petviashvilli flow were provided in the author’s doctoral thesis.
A novel traffic analysis for identifying search fields in the long tail of web sites

Using a clickstream sample of 2 billion URLs from many thousand volunteer Web users, we wish to analyze typical usage of keyword searches across the Web. In order to do this, we need to be able to determine whether a given URL represents a keyword search and, if so, which field contains the query. Although it is easy to recognize 'q' as the query field in 'http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=music', we must do this automatically for the long tail of diverse websites. This problem is the focus of this paper. Since the names, types and number of fields differ across sites, this does not conform to traditional text classification or to multi-class problem formulations. The problem also exhibits highly non-uniform importance across websites, since traffic follows a Zipf distribution.We developed a solution based on manually identifying the query fields on the most popular sites, followed by an adaptation of machine learning for the rest. It involves an interesting case-instances structure: labeling each website case usually involves selecting at most one of the field instances as positive, based on seeing sample field values. This problem structure and soft constraint - which we believe has broader applicability - can be used to greatly reduce the manual labeling effort. We employed active learning and judicious GUI presentation to efficiently train a classifier with accuracy estimated at 96%, beating several baseline alternatives.
Nucleosides and Nucleotides. 108. Synthesis and Optical Properties of Syn-Fixed Carbon-Bridged Pyrimidine Cyclonucleosides

6, 1'-Propanouridine (10), a carbon-bridged cyclouridine fixed in the syn-conformation, was synthesized from D-fructose. Two additional carbon-units were introduced at the 1'-position of 1'-hydroxymethyl-O2, 2'-anhydrouridine 13 and inversion of the 2' hydroxyl group was achieved by sequential oxidation-reduction reactions. Finally, the spiro-carbon bridge was constructed by radical cyclization of the 1'-iodopropyl derivative of 5-chlorouridine. Dehydrochlorination followed by deprotection gave the desired 10. The circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of 10 showed a negative Cotton effect ([θ]=-6100) at the main absorption region, whereas 5'-O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-2', 3'-O-isopropylidene-6, 1'-propanouridine (30) showed almost no Cotton band at the same absorption region. These results suggest that the critical region in which the CD Cotton effect changes from negative to positive is present in the syn region where 10 is located. Correlation of the magnitude and the direction of the sign of the CD Cotton effect and the torsion angle (χ) is also discussed.
Multi-level interconnects for heterojunction bipolar transistor integrated circuit technologies

Heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) are mesa structures which present difficult planarization problems in integrated circuit fabrication. The authors report a multilevel metal interconnect technology using Benzocyclobutene (BCB) to implement high-speed, low-power photoreceivers based on InGaAs/InP HBTs. Processes for patterning and dry etching BCB to achieve smooth via holes with sloped sidewalls are presented. Excellent planarization of 1.9 {micro}m mesa topographies on InGaAs/InP device structures is demonstrated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, SEM cross sections of both the multi-level metal interconnect via holes and the base emitter via holes required in the HBT IC process are presented. All via holes exhibit sloped sidewalls with slopes of 0.4 {micro}m/{micro}m to 2 {micro}m/{micro}m which are needed to realize a robust interconnect process. Specific contact resistances of the interconnects are found to be less than 6 {times} 10{sup {minus}8} {Omega}cm{sup 2}. Integrated circuits utilizing InGaAs/InP HBTs are fabricated to demonstrate the applicability and compatibility of the multi-level interconnect technology with integrated circuit processing.
Pregnancy, brain death, and posthumous motherhood: a provisional policy proposal.

Fifteen years ago I was the ethicist involved in a case of a 20-year-old woman who had a stroke, and who was discovered in the emergency room to be 16 weeks pregnant on the same day she was declare...