cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lead uptake in brain capillary endothelial cells: activation by calcium store depletion.

The mechanism by which lead crosses the blood-brain barrier is not known. Brain capillary endothelial cells, which form tight junctions with each other, are an important component of the blood-brain barrier. Lead must traverse these cells to reach the brain. In the present study, uptake of lead was followed in primary cultures of bovine brain capillary endothelial cells. Lead uptake into cells was measured by monitoring the fluorescence of cells loaded with indo-1 at a wavelength where indo-1 fluorescence is independent of calcium but quenched by binding of lead. Lead uptake was visualized with digital images recorded with a fluorescence microscope. Lead added to the extracellular medium caused fluorescence quench over time which was reversed upon addition of a membrane permeant heavy metal chelator. Lead uptake by cells in suspension, measured by fluorescence spectroscopy, exhibited time and concentration dependence. Lead uptake was enhanced following depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores by the addition of thapsigargin, cyclopiazonic acid, or tert-butylhydroquinone, inhibitors of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase. SK&F 96365, which blocks store-operated calcium channels, inhibited the stimulation of lead uptake by thapsigargin. These results indicate that indo-1 fluorescence quench is a useful method for investigation of lead uptake in brain capillary endothelial cells. Furthermore, entry of lead into these cells is activated by the depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores and may occur via store-operated cation channels.
Pacemaker alternans terminated by telemetry wand: What is the mechanism?

t T b a p t h p a r W c e t m d u r i i t o d t c t i t c a d c a A ed ase summary 73-year-old man was admitted to the hospital after unergoing right hepatic trisegmentectomy for hepatocellular arcinoma. His cardiac history was notable for coronary rtery disease, status post coronary artery bypass graft, and lacement 2 years prior to admission of an Identity ADx DR odel 5380 dual-chamber pacemaker (St. Jude Medical, St. aul, MN, USA) for symptomatic bradycardia. His postoperative course was complicated by aspiration neumonia leading to septic shock that required intubation and notropic support. Echocardiography showed normal ventricuar size and function. Laboratory values showed no significant lectrolyte abnormalities. During the ICU course, the patient as noted to have ventricular pacing output every other beat Figure 1). The pacemaker was interrogated. His device ettings were as follows.
Evaluation of the sooting properties of real fuels and their commonly used surrogates in a laminar co-flow diffusion flame

Abstract In an effort to help determine the fidelity of simple surrogate fuels to represent real fuel chemistry in computational fluid dynamic simulations of engines, quantitative two-dimensional soot volume fraction measurements were made in a laminar coflow methane–air diffusion flame seeded with approximately 2200 ppm of real and surrogate fuels. A combined laser extinction and laser-induced incandescence (LII) method was used to measure soot volume fraction. Additionally, soot particles were thermophoretically sampled from the flame and soot morphology data were collected with a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Vaporized liquid fuels were seeded at low concentrations to maintain constant thermodynamic conditions for each experiment. In all, 14 different fuels were investigated, including: three real fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel), two alkanes, and a variety of simple surrogate fuels. A toluene reference fuel (TRF) (30% aromatics) and gasoline (28% aromatics) were found to have similar soot volume fractions and soot morphology. The addition of toluene to the long-straight chain of n-tetradecane in similar concentrations (30 vol.%) as the aromatic concentration of diesel (31.1 vol.%) resulted in soot volume fractions that were very similar, although the primary particle size and mass-weighted radius of gyration were both smaller for the surrogate than for the conventional diesel fuel. Finally, the jet-fuel surrogate tested was found to have a lower sooting tendency than the jet-A fuel despite the jet-A fuel having a lower concentration of aromatics than the surrogate. Soot morphology between jet-A and the jet-fuel surrogate were the same within experimental uncertainty. The current work provides an experimental dataset for validation of fuel-surrogate chemistry and soot models.
THE INFLUENCE OF HYPERALIMENTATION SOLUTIONS ON INSENSIBLE WATER LOSS (IWL) IN PREMATURE INFANTS

An indirect technique of multiple weighing on an electronic balance inside an incubator was used to measure IWL in seven infants, 4-21 days old, receiving parenteral nutrition. Birth weight ranged from 960-1900 g (x 1307±321g) and gestational age 26-32 weeks (x 28.4±2 wks). Consecutive three hour Δ weight readings were made on each infant during infusion of four separate solutions while under the same environmental conditions and after allowing a 30-60 minute “washout” period between measurements. Intravenous fluids were infused at a rate of 7.7±1 ml/kg/ hour. There was a highly significant correlation between caloric intake and insensible water loss. This indicates that (1) Parenteral nutrition solutions are rapidly metabolized and the increase in IWL is probably secondary to an elevated metabolic rate; (2) With increasing caloric intake, IWL may alter the fluid requirements of infants during parenteral nutrition.
Novel pharmacotherapies to abrogate postinfarction ventricular remodeling

Ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction is defined as progressive chamber dilation and wall thinning, which leads to functional compromise. Remodeling is mediated by active processes of inflammation, fibrosis, and cardiomyocyte dropout over the weeks and months after infarction, and, therefore, provides a large temporal therapeutic window. In experimental models, interruption of molecular and physiological pathways that contribute to cardiomyocyte loss, and the resulting unfavorable ventricular geometry, can abrogate remodeling and prevent or improve heart failure. Remodeling is multifactorial and involves several parallel cellular pathways, which means many potential therapeutic targets exist. Of late, much attention has been given to the development of cell-based therapies; however, the abundant, promising pharmacotherapeutic developments should not be overlooked. This Review examines developments in pharmacological treatment of ventricular remodeling in preclinical models of myocardial infarction-specifically, disruption of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system through direct renin inhibition and blockade of aldosterone synthesis and/or uptake, enhancement of endothelial nitric oxide synthase synthesis, G-protein receptor kinase inhibition, administration of erythropoietin, and interruption of apoptosis-and highlights the challenge of translating these successes to treatment of human disease. Therapeutic targeting of multiple organ systems involved in recovery after myocardial infarction might prove to be the best approach to improve patients' cardiac outcome.
The triple-stapled colonic anastomosis.

This study reports the preliminary results of a new totally stapled end-to-end colonic anastomosis in 11 dogs. This “triple-stapled” end-to-end anastomosis was performed with one circular staple line and two linear staple lines, eliminating the need for a colotomy or purse-string suture. The fact that the anvil and anvil stem of a new circular stapling device (Premium EEA™) can be detached from the frame of the instrument allows the anvil stem to be brought out through the proximal linear stapled colon. The trocar mounted on the main stem of the circular stapler allows the stem of the main device to be brought out through the distal staple line. Thus, a totally stapled colonic anastomosis is created after mating the anvil stem and main stem of the instrument. The new anastomosis was evaluated radiographically and at necropsy. The use of this technique resulted in no clinically detectable leaks, suggesting that it may facilitate the performance of anterior resections in humans.
The nature of regulation of hexose transport in cultured mammalian fibroblasts: aerobic "repressive" control by D-glucosamine.

Abstract Restrictive control (“repression”) of 3-O-methylglucose transport (or of galactose uptake) in confluent NIL hamster fibroblast cultures was found to be highly pronounced after preconditioning the cultures in medium containing d -glucosamine. The “repression” exerted by glucosamine developed slowly over several hours. The transport “repression” was counteracted by anaerobiosis, by 2,4-dinitrophenol ( H. M. Kalckar, C. W. Christopher, and D. Ullrey, 1979 , Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA76, 6453–6455), and by fluoride as well as by malonate. In “de-repressed” cultures, i.e., in the absence of glucosamine in the medium or by using fructose during preconditioning, malonate did not affect regulation of the hexose transport system. In culture medium deprived of l -glutamine and serum, repressive control of the transport system by glucose as well as by glucosamine was greatly aggravated. However, the simultaneous addition of malonate abolished the severe “repression” by either of the hexoses. In all cases, preconditioning with fructose permitted high (“de-repressed”) transport activity. Unlike glucose, galactose, or glucosamine, fructose was not found to compete in the transport assay. The metabolic inhibitors which prevent the aerobic curtailment of the hexose transport system are all more or less directly interfering with the flow of metabolites through the tricarboxylate cycle, which may therefore play an important role in the “repressive” control of transport.
Enhancing the efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells with photonic nanostructures

We demonstrate that periodic metallic gratings can greatly enhance the optical absorption efficiency of thin-film solar cells. We also introduce aperiodic multilayer structures with highly directional absorptivity for both polarizations for solar thermophotovoltaic systems.
Teaching the medical interview: methods and key learning issues in a faculty development course.

OBJECTIVE To describe the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare’s (AACH) Faculty Development Course on Teaching the Medical Interview and report a single year’s outcomes.
Optical Transmission Properties of Silicon Wafters: Theoretical Analysis

As a nondestructive measurement method, laser scattering has been preliminarily applied to detect subsurface damage in silicon wafers, but the quantitative correlation between scatter images and subsurface damage depth has not been established yet. In order to assess subsurface damage depth in silicon wafers, a systematic study has been carried out. In the authors’ another paper, a detailed experimental investigation on optical transmission percentage of silicon wafers was presented. As a follow up, this paper will describe a method to calculate the “skin depth” of silicon wafers from the experimental data of optical transmission percentage. And also, how to apply this “skin depth” on assessment of subsurface damage depth will be discussed.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Effect of Media on Transport and Recovery of Anaerobic Bacteria

Clinical specimens containing anaerobic bacteria require special handling to enable satisfactory recovery of these important pathogens. Problems relating to inadvertently exposing the bacteria to oxygen can arise at the time of specimen collection, during transport, and during the culture setup process. A considerable variety of transport and culture materials exists for the clinical laboratory, yet not much has been written recently on the optimal utilization of culture media or the maintenance of anaerobiasis to maximize recovery of strict anaerobic bacteria. Comparative studies are needed to define how clinical laboratories can carry out cost-efficient specimen processing for recovery of these pathogens that is timely and medically relevant.
Virtual Detection of a Radial-Ply Tire’s Three-Dimensional Free Vibration Modes Transmissibility

A full nonlinear finite element P205/70R14 passenger car-radial-ply tire model was developed and run on a 1.7-meter-diameter spinning test drum model at a constant speed of 50 km/h in order to investigate the tire transient response characteristics, i.e. the tire three-dimensional free vibration modes transmissibility in X, Y and Z directions. The tire model was constructed in extreme detail with three-dimensional solid, layered membrane, and beam elements. The reactions forces of the tire axle in longitudinal (X axis), lateral (Y axis) and vertical (Z axis) directions were recorded when the tire rolled over a cleat on the test drum, and then the FFT algorithm was applied to examine the transient response information in the frequency domain. The result showed that this tire has clear peaks of 45, 40, and 84 Hz transmissibility in the longitudinal, lateral and vertical directions. This result was validated against previous studies by analytical, experimental, and FEA model approaches and showed excellent agreement. The parameters adopted in this FEA tire model were also compared with experimental work and the extraordinary agreement was also confirmed. The tire three dimensional free vibration modes transmissibility was successfully detected virtually.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Evaluation of an ingestible telemetric temperature sensor for deep hyperthermia applications

We have investigated the potential of an ingestible thermometric system (ITS) for use with a deep heating system. The ingestible sensor contains a temperature-sensitive quartz crystal oscillator. The telemetered signal is inductively coupled by a radiofrequency coil system to an external receiver. The sensors, covered with a protective silicon coating, are 10 mm in diameter and 20 mm long and are energized by an internal silver-oxide battery. Experimental studies were carried out to investigate the accuracy of the system and the extent of reliable operation of these sensors in an electromagnetic environment. Different measurements were repeated for five sensors. Calibration accuracy was verified by comparison with a Bowman probe in the temperature range 30 degrees C to 55 degrees C. Linear regression analysis of individual pill readings indicated a correlation within +/- 0.4 degrees C at 95% prediction intervals in the clinical temperature range of 35 degrees C to 50 degrees C. Further work is required to improve this accuracy to meet the quality assurance guidelines of +/- 0.2 degrees C suggested by the Hyperthermia Physics Center. Response times were determined by the exponential fit of heat-up and cool-down curves for each pill. All curves had correlation coefficients greater than 0.98. Time (mean +/- SE) to achieve 90% response during heat-up was 115 +/- sec. Time to cool-down to 10% of initial temperature was 114 +/- 4 sec. The effect of the external antenna and sensor spacing and the angle of orientation of the sensor relative to the antenna plane were also studied. Electromagnetic interference effects were studied by placing the sensor with a Bowman probe in a cylindrical saline phantom for the tests in an annular phase array applicator. Different power levels at three frequencies--80, 100, and 120 MHz--were used. Accurate temperature readings could not be obtained when the electromagnetic power was on because of interference effects with the receiver. However, the temperatures read with the ITS immediately after the electromagnetic power was switched off correlated well with the Bowman probe readings across the power categories and the three frequencies used. The phantom was heated to steady state, with a Bowman probe placed at the central axis of the cylinder used as control. During the heat-up period and the steady state, the mean difference (+/- SE) between the ITS and Bowman probe was 0.12 degrees C (+/- 0.05 degrees C).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
North Dakota geology school receives major gift

Petroleum geology and related areas of study at the University of North Dakota (UND) received a huge financial boost with the announcement on 24 September of $14 million in private and public partnership funding. The university announced the naming of the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering, formerly a department within the College of Engineering and Mines, in recognition of $10 million provided as a gift by oilman Harold Hamm and Continental Resources, Inc. Hamm is the chair and chief executive officer of Continental, the largest leaseholder in the Bakken Play oil formation in North Dakota and Montana, and he is also an energy policy advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. UND also received $4 million from the Oil and Gas Research Program of the North Dakota Industrial Commission to support geology and geological engineering education and research.
240 INTRAVENOUS GENTAMICIN PHARMACOKINETICS IN THE SMALL PRETERM INFANT

Gentamicin (G) is an aminoglycoside frequently used in the treatment of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. This study reports for the first time the sequential pharmacokinetics of a constant rate one hour intravenous G infusion in 60 small preterm infants during the first week of use. Using a microbiologic technique, the serum G concentration (level) was measured before the 2.5 mg/kg G infusion and 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 hours after the infusion was started. Mean birthweight and gestational age were 1365 grams (700-2000) and 30.5 weeks (24-36). Potentially toxic trough and peak levels were observed in some cases along with a markedly prolonged half life (t½). The peak, 2 hour (hr), and 12 hr (trough) levels were 8.25 (1.7-13.0), 5.76 (.25-13.0), and 2.03 (.25-10.8) μg/ml respectively. Drug accumulation was documented. Increasing peak levels were associated with increased trough levels and decreased volume of distribution (VD). Trough levels increased as dose and day of treatment increased and as VD decreased. Drug disposition was very rapid during the first 4 hrs and slower during the last 8 hrs suggesting a two compartment process. T½ was 12.36 hrs and VD .802 12 μg/ml and trough levels >2 μg/ml while maintaining therapeutic levels of 4-5 μg/ml.
A Data System for High-Voltage DC Test Lines

An automatic data gathering and processing system for ??600-kV direct-current test lines at the National Research Council of Canada is described. The data consist of corona-loss current, radio interference, meteorological information, line voltage, and real time. The system consists of a 16-channel analog multiplexer, an A/D converter, a real-time clock, and a teletypewriter. All data are recorded on magnetic tape in IBM compatible format. A small stored-program digital computer controls the data system. The reasons for choosing the computer-controlled system for this application, a description of instrumentation for measuring the weather variables, and methods for telemetering corona-loss current information across the high-voltage barrier are included.
Craig interpolation for networks of sentences

Abstract The Craig Interpolation Theorem can be viewed as saying that in first order logic, two agents who can only communicate in their common language can cooperate in building proofs. We obtain generalizations of the Craig Interpolation Theorem for finite sets of agents with the following properties. (1) The agents are vertices of a directed graph. (2) The agents have knowledge bases with overlapping signatures. (3) The agents can only communicate by sending to neighboring agents sentences that they know and that are in the common language of the two agents.
Structure, dynamics and interaction with kinase targets: computer simulations of calmodulin

Calmodulin (CaM) is a small protein involved in calcium signaling; among the targets of CaM are a number of kinases, including myosin light chain kinases (MLCK), various CaM-dependent kinases and phosphorylase kinase. We present results of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of 4-ns length for calmodulin in its three functional forms: calcium-free, calcium-loaded, and in complex with both calcium and a target peptide, a fragment of the smooth muscle MLCK. The simulations included explicit water under realistic conditions of constant temperature and pressure, the presence of counterions and Ewald summation of electrostatic forces. Our simulation results present a more complete description of calmodulin structure, dynamics and interactions in solution than previously available. The results agree with a wide range of experimental data, including X-ray, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), fluorescence, cross-linking, mutagenesis and thermodynamics. Additionally, we are able to draw interesting conclusions about microscopic properties related to the protein's biological activity. First, in accord with fluorescence data, we find that calcium-free and calcium-loaded calmodulin exhibit significant structural flexibility. Our simulations indicate that these motions may be described as rigid-body translations and rotations of the N- and C-terminal domains occurring on a nanosecond time scale. Our second conclusion deals with the standard model of calmodulin action, which is that calcium binding leads to solvent exposure of hydrophobic patches in the two globular domains, which thus become ready to interact with the target. Surprisingly, the simulation results are inconsistent with the activation model when the standard definitions of the hydrophobic patches are used, based on hydrophobic clefts found in the X-ray structure of calcium-loaded calmodulin. We find that both experimental and simulation results are consistent with the activation model after a redefinition of the hydrophobic patches as those residues which are actually involved in peptide binding in the experimental structure of the calmodulin-peptide complex. The third conclusion is that the calmodulin-peptide interactions in the complex are very strong and are dominated by hydrophobic effects. Using quasi-harmonic entropy calculations, we find that these strong interactions induce a significant conformational strain in the protein and peptide. This destabilizing entropic contribution leads to a moderate overall binding free energy in the complex. Our results provide interesting insights into calmodulin binding to its kinase targets. The flexibility of the protein may explain the fact that CaM is able to bind many different targets. The large loss of conformational entropy upon CaM:peptide binding cancels the entropy gain due to hydrophobic interactions. This explains why the observed entropic contribution to the binding free energy is small and positive, and not large and negative as expected for a complex with such extensive hydrophobic contacts.
A More Effective Modern Foreign Language Program

Author's Summary— The morale of the modern foreign language teacher has been lowered by the depression and the effectiveness of his teaching has been reduced. The resulting inferiority complex needs treatment, and perhaps old-fashioned remedies are best.
Natural history of experimental coronary occlusion in pigs: A serial cineangiographic study

Abstract In order to evaluate, in vivo, the serial changes of the coronary arteries and the development of collateral circulation during the course of a gradual coronary occlusion, 32 farm pigs were studied with serial selective coronary cineangiograms following placement of an Ameroid constrictor on the left anterior descending coronary artery. Delaved clearance of contrast medium and poststenotic dilatation of the constricted artery appeared by the second to third day; complete occlusion on the sixth to seventh day. Demonstrable collateral vessels developed in most of the surviving animals by the sixth to seventh day. These channels increased in size and number in the subsequent 4 to 5 weeks so that the left anterior descending artery distal to the constrictor again became completely opacified through the collateral channels. In 16 animals that survived longer than 6 days, major collateral channels perfusing the distal portion of the obstructed artery arose proximal to the constrictor in 8, from the left circumflex artery in 11, and from the right coronary artery in 13. Despite the development of such collateral circulation, massive myocardial infarction developed indicating that the rapidity and/or extent of the collateralization was inadequate to prevent myocardial death. These findings also provide the basic information needed for using this preparation as the model for studies of myocardial infarction.
Inheritance of pattern: analysis from phenotype to gene

The form and pattern of multicellular organisms are developmental phenotypes. They are long term processes rather than static structures. They involve myriad events at multiple locations. The efficient encoding of such phenotypes is analyzed here in two stages. First, the complex developmental behavior is broken down so it can be accounted for by cell or tissue rules. The most effective rules have the instantaneous character found in time-based differential equations. When integrated over time and space, the rules produce the behavior. Second, the cytological and nuclear basis of the rules is sought. One thus studies a complex phenotype in terms of its successive antecedent causes, refining understanding as one gets closer to the genome. The approach is applied here to phyllotactic (leaf placement) patterns. Leaves may be alternating in a plane, whorled, or in a helical arrangement. In all three cases a new leaf forms as an arc-like bulge at a site apical to a small number of neighboring leaves. The leaf-forming sites are irregularities in the pattern of cellulose reinforcement in the surface of the apical dome. Two organ-level rules combine to produce new leaf sites. First, each established leaf develops a single reinforcement field, with gently curved reinforcement lines, on the region of the dome just above the leaf. Second, where parts of two or three such fields abut on the dome they combine to make the irregularity for the next leaf. Hence a given reinforcement pattern on the dome produces a leaf; the action of the leaves in turn reestablishes the reinforcement pattern. The cellular basis of generating a reinforcement field appears to be a cytoskeletal response to excessive stretch, brought on by rapid growth of adjacent leaf bases. The large scale patterns are thus traceable to cytoskeletal phenomena and from there to genes involving microtubular behavior.
Inhibition of Retinoic-Acid-Induced Gene Expression by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

Abstract The polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbon 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, commonly referred to as dioxin or TCDD, has been shown to cause cleft palate in mice. TCDD displays an interesting interaction with another cleft palate teratogen, retinoic acid (RA): when mice are treated with TCDD and RA simultaneously, palatal clefts can be observed in 100% of offspring of mothers at dose levels far below those required for either agent to produce clefting if given singly. This synergy strongly suggests that the pathways controlled by these agents converge at one or more points in cells of the developing palate. In this study, we examined the effects of TCDD on induction of the type II cellular retinoic acid binding protein (CRABP-II) and the retinoic acid receptor β(RARβ) by RA in murine embryonic palate mesenchyme (MEPM) cells. While TCDD alone had no effect on basal levels of expression of either gene, the induction of both genes by RA was strongly inhibited by TCDD. These results represent the first evidence for a direct molecular interaction between the RA and TCDD-mediated signaling pathways.
Equivalence of single and incremental subfailure stretches of rabbit anterior cruciate ligament.

Experimental models are often used in the laboratory to produce incomplete soft-tissue injuries simulating those observed clinically. Single and incremental stretch protocols have been utilized. The latter has many advantages over the former. This study was designed to determine if incremental and single ligamentous stretches are biomechanically equivalent. Eleven paired fresh rabbit bone-anterior cruciate ligament-bone preparations were used. One of each pair (single-stretch protocol) was stretched to 88% of the average failure deformation and then stretched to failure. The other ligament (incremental-stretch protocol) was stretched to 55, 66, 77, and 88% of the average failure deformation and then stretched to failure. All stretches were performed at 1.2 m/sec. Stress-relaxation tests were performed before and after the 88% stretch for both stretch protocols. Relaxation curves were parameterized as forces at six time points and were also fitted to a three-element model. Load-deformation curves recorded during stretch to failure were characterized by eight parameters. Each incremental stretch step produced a significant increase in deformation, indicating alteration in the mechanical properties of the ligament. Both groups of ligaments, when intact, exhibited no differences in relaxation curves (p > 0.2). The 88% stretches, produced by each of the two stretch protocols, significantly altered the viscoelastic behavior of the ligaments (p 0.1) or load-deformation (p > 0.1) parameters of the two stretch protocols. In conclusion, the 88% subfailure stretch significantly altered the mechanical properties of ligament, and the incremental and single stretches were biomechanically equivalent.
Blue-fluorescent bovine α-crystallin

Abstract Blue-fluorescent α-crystallin has been isolated from bovine lenses by gel-filtration on Sephacryl S-200 Superfine. The blue fluorescence of this α-crystallin is characterized by fluorescence peaks at about 410 and 435 nm and two excitation peaks at about 350 and 370 nm. This finding suggests the existence of two different blue-fluorescences in bovine α-crystallin. Both low molecular weight α-crystallin and higher molecular weight α-crystallin exhibit similar blue fluorescence. With aging, in the nuclear region of bovine lenses, blue-fluorescent low molecular weight α-crystallin shifts to non-covalently-linked higher molecular weight aggregates which are also blue-fluorescent.
Setting Performance Targets Based on Subsystem Pareto Frontiers in Multilevel Optimization

The design of a complex engineering system typically involves tradeoffs among multiple design criteria or disciplinary performance to achieve the optimal design. The design process is usually an iterative procedure with individual discipline sub-systems designed concurrently to meet target values assigned from the system level. One of the most challenging issues is the large number of iterations in this design process, especially when uncertainty is taken into account. To improve the design concurrency while maintaining preferred tradeoffs at the system level, a new method is developed that identifies proper targets based on disciplinary design capability information while optimizing the design goal at the system level. The design capability of a discipline or criterion is represented by the achievable area bounded by its Pareto frontier. Using target values obtained from this method using Pareto information, the number of design iterations can be reduced in both deterministic and probabilistic design scenarios compared to existing approaches, such as Analytical Target Cascading (ATC). To demonstrate applications and benefits of the developed method this approach is applied to the design of a two-bar truss structure.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Subsurface contaminant bioremediation engineering

Abstract The ability to predict the release and flow of contaminants from the waste source is a critical step in assessing the impact to the environment and designing bioremediation strategies. The contaminant mixtures in the subsurface are subject to simultaneous action of diverse chemical and microbiological processes. Many factors and variables are involved in the migration of contaminants in the subsurface. Some of these factors are the adsorptive capacity of the soil and adsorption of a particular contaminant or mixture of contaminants. The microbial transfer from sorption and adsorption of microorganisms can affect the migration of contaminants. The environmental conditions of the subsurface, such as the availability of oxygen, the pH, and the temperature also can affect migration rates. Predictions of solute transport, chemical identity, and form of constituents originating in the wastes must be made. This article reviews typical engineering considerations for in situ bioremediation focusing on con...
Human cord blood leukocyte innate immune responses to defense collagens

The innate immune system provides critical protection during initial infections before the generation of an appropriate adaptive (antibody or T cell mediated) immune response. These early defense mechanisms may be particularly critical for neonates in whom the adaptive immune system is not fully operational. Pattern recognition molecules target potential pathogens for destruction by the innate immune system, and likely facilitate the initiation of a pathogen-specific immune response. Defense collagens, such as C1q, MBL and SPA, comprise a family of such proteins that, via specific interactions with phagocytic cells, play a role in this first line of defense. To begin to assess the importance of these innate defense mechanisms in neonates, cord blood plasma and leukocytes were isolated, and responses to these components of the innate defense system were assessed. C1q enhanced the phagocytosis of targets suboptimally opsonized with either IgG or complement components, and this enhancement of phagocytosis was blocked by anti-CD93/C1qRP MAb by 57% to 68%. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that neonatal monocytes and neutrophils expressed CD93/C1qRP similarly to adult cells, with several-fold greater expression on monocytes than on neutrophils and essentially no expression on lymphocytes. Superoxide production in response to multivalent C1q by neonatal neutrophils was also comparable to adult cells. We also confirm that C1q and MBL are present in neonate circulation. Thus, the data demonstrate that these recognition and effector mechanisms of the innate system are functional in the newborn and similar to that of adult cells.
Revising the SES: A Collaborative Process to Improve Assessment of Sexual Aggression and Victimization:

The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) assesses victimization and perpetration of unwanted sexual experiences (e.g., Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Revised versions of the SES that resulted from the work of the SES Collaboration are now available. This article reviews weaknesses of the SES that were identified, strengths that were preserved, and methodological considerations in the measurement of unwanted sexual experiences that informed the revisions. The primary changes include: more behavioral specificity; conversion to gender neutrality; full crossing of unwanted acts and coercive tactics; and revised and updated wording for assessing consent, alcohol-related incidents, unwanted acts, and coercive tactics. For illustration, the full text of the revised victimization version and its scoring rules are provided. The article concludes with suggestions for future research. These suggestions aim to involve researchers in a coordinated agenda to develop data that clarify methodological questions and contribute to continued improvement in assessing sexual victimization and perpetration.
Phagocyte Transmigration Modeling Using System Dynamic Controls

Phagocyte transmigration is one of major phagocyte responses which are important in pathogenesis of flbrotic responses to implanted medical devices. Excessive flbrotic responses may lead to the failure of various medical implants. Therefore, better understanding of molecular mechanisms governing phagocyte transmigration is important in the success of development of implanted medical devices. This paper hypothesizes the biological components involved in phagocyte transmigration and the relationship between these components. A mathematical model based on system theory and control theory is built to support the hypothesis, so as to provide the prediction of some un-measured dynamic features in the phagocyte transmigration process. External controls are also supplied by the mathematical model to analogize diverse knockout experiments which contribute the construction of the biological hypothesis. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the mathematical model.
Public school students left behind: Contrasting the trends in public and private school computer science advanced placement participation

Across the United States, interest in computer science as a major is down, as are the number of Bachelor's degrees in computer science. While there are obvious factors like the dot com bust that may explain much of our communal enrollment crash over the last few years, anecdotal reports also suggest that the No Child Left Behind act of 2001 (NCLB), and specifically the fact that computer science is not an area that students are tested on, may be a factor in the decreased presence of computer science at the high school level. But how can we empirically separate the effect of the dot com bust from that of NCLB given the proximity in time of the two events? This paper presents a first attempt to do so: recognizing the fact that private schools are exempt from NCLB, it seems appropriate to compare public school students with their private school counterparts. We present some initial results of our investigation focusing on our home state of New Jersey. This paper discusses these results and further directions of study.
Leveraging Web-Based Information Systems

Internet technologies, including the Web, Web browsers, and search engines, have provided unprecedented opportunities for conducting business online. Together, these technologies enable the creation of Web-based information systems, which are changing market dynamics and the way companies conduct business. This article presents a framework for an internetworked business model using Web-based information systems.
Past decade saw unprecedented warming in the deep ocean

Since 1975 the global surface ocean has shown a pronounced—though wavering—warming trend. Starting in 2004, however, that warming seemed to stall. Researchers measuring the Earth's total energy budget—the balance of sunlight streaming in compared to the amount of light and heat leaving from the top of the atmosphere—saw that the planet was still holding on to more heat than it was letting out. However, with that energy not warming the surface ocean—a traditionally important energy sink—scientists were not sure where it went. It became known, in some circles, as a case of “missing heat.”
Transfer in free-recall learning of overlapping lists of nonsense words

The Ss were required to learn a list of eight nonsense words which was a subset from a total set of 16, and then to learn another subset of eight which contained four words from the original list. Learning difficulty was found to be determined almost entirely by whether the internal structure of the subset was simple or complex. No facilitation in learning the second subset was found. Interference occurred when both the first and second subsets had one simple contingency between two letter positions and both contingencies involved a letter position in common. It is concluded that facilitation will occur only when the total learning task involves a meaningful total set of words, with a structure of the subsets perceived as related to the structure of the total set.
Nuclear matter compressibility from isoscalar giant monopole resonance

We examine the status of the nuclear matter compressibility ${\mathit{K}}_{\mathrm{nm}}$ obtained from experimental data of the strength distribution of the giant monopole resonance in nuclei and employing a least-squares fit to a semiempirical expansion of the nucleus compressibility ${\mathit{K}}_{\mathit{A}}$ in ${\mathit{A}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1/3}$. We present arguments indicating that all the coefficients of this expansion must be determined by a fit to the data. In our analysis we have used the entire data set, correcting for systematic energy differences between data sets measured in different laboratories, and applying the same criteria to all sets in extracting the uncertainties. Contrary to recent statements by Sharma and collaborators, we find that the present complete data set is not adequate to limit the range of ${\mathit{K}}_{\mathrm{nm}}$ to better than about a factor of 1.7 (200 to 350 MeV).
The role of lipid emulsion during advanced cardiac life support for local anesthetic toxicity

Lipid emulsion has recently emerged as a potential antidote for local anesthetic systemic toxicity. This review examines the literature and guidelines for administration of lipid emulsion in the setting of advanced cardiac life support.
Labor history resources in the University of Iowa Libraries, the State Historical Society of Iowa/Iowa city, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library

(1990). Labor history resources in the University of Iowa Libraries, the State Historical Society of Iowa/Iowa city, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Labor History: Vol. 31, No. 1-2, pp. 168-175.
Analysis of a chimeric class-I patatin-GUS gene in transgenic potato plants: High-level expression in tubers and sucrose-inducible expression in cultured leaf and stem explants

Patatin is a family of lipid acyl hydrolases that accounts for 30 to 40% of the total soluble protein in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers. To examine the regulation of the patatin genes, we constructed a chimeric gene containing 2.5 kb of 5′ flanking sequence from the class I patatin genomic clone PS20 transcriptionally fused to β-glucuronidase (GUS) and introduced it into potato plants using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens Tiplasmid vector. While the chimeric gene was expressed at high levels in tubers and in stolons attached to developing tubers, it was not normally expressed in leaves, stems, roots, or in stolons before tuberizatization. However, the expression of the class I patatin-GUS construct was not “tuber-specific” since leaf and stem explants cultured on medium containing 300 to 400 mM sucrose showed GUS activity equal or greater than that of tubers. The sucrose induction of GUS activity in leaf and stem explants was accompanied by the accumulation of patatin protein and large amounts of starch, but not by the morphological changes that normally are associated with tuberization. In contrast, the GUS reporter gene under the control of the 35S promoter of cauliflower mosaic virus showed an essentially uniform pattern of expression in transgenic potato plants and was not induced by sucrose.
Fundamentally Flawed: The CJEU’s Jurisprudence on Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

This Article uses major and recent CJEU labor law case as a springboard to examine and critique the CJEU’s doctrinal frameworks, conceptual constructs and decision-making practice. It analyzes the institutional, legal, political and other consequences of the CJEU’s Viking judgment as a means of critiquing the Court’s increasingly profligate yet systematic approach to fundamental rights and freedoms. The resulting description claims that the European legal order is increasingly characterized by omnipresent layers of powerful judges who explicitly “balance” fundamental rights and freedoms to resolve hotly contested social issues, even when those issues manifest themselves as private law disputes. The Article explains how the imposition of the CJEU’s “fundamentalist” framework impacts powerfully upon, and increasingly threatens, the domestic labor law regimes of Europe. The Article leverages this example to advance several general critiques of the Court’s increasingly dominant “fundamentalist” approach. The Court’s approach fails to treat fundamental rights as fundamental in any meaningful sense. It tramples unnecessarily on important institutional and jurisdictional distinctions, mistakenly redistributing competences not only between Member States and the European Union, but also within the Member States themselves. Finally, the Court’s approach increasingly subsumes all domestic institutions and individuals under a single, undifferentiated and ultimately simplistic normative schema that preempts many of the institutional structures and solutions that might - and in many cases, recently did - skillfully govern significant portions of the European legal field.
D-C Breakdown Strength of Air and of Freon in a Uniform Field at High Pressures

D-c breakdown studies of air in a uniform field have been extended to 1,000 kv. D-c studies of Freon (CCl 2 F 2 ) have been extended to over 350 kv and to 135 pounds per square inch absolute. The departure from Paschen's law at the higher values of pressure times gap is noted. The mechanisms which account for the higher insulating strength of such gaseous compounds as CCl 2 F 2 are outlined and their possibilities and limitations in the insulation of high-voltage apparatus are briefly discussed. Introduction It has long been recognized1 that the insulating strength of air and other gases in a uniform field increases with the pressure. The classical analysis of the voltage-breakdown mechanism and its dependence on pressure and other properties of the gas was made by Townsend in 1903.2 This explanation was based on the ionization of the interelectrode gas by both electron and positive-ion collision — a process which Townsend showed would become cumulative when the positive ions produced by the electrons moving toward the anode under the influence of the field become capable, by their ionizing collisions, of producing an even greater number of new electrons. Since that time, Townsend's second coefficient β has been reinterpreted to include various other mechanisms which contribute regeneratively to the charged particles in the interelectrode space. Among these are photoelectric emission, secondary electron emission due to positive-ion impact at the cathode, photo-ionization in the gas, and ionization by excited atoms and by multiple collisions. In addition, it has become evident that any explanation of high-pressure breakdown must also take into account the several processes of ion removal and the important influence of space charge and the myriads of tiny self-healing electron avalanches in modifying the electric field.3 Recognition of these various ion-producing, ion-removing, and field-modifying mechanisms has clarified the general picture of breakdown in gases but at the same time has shown it to be too intricate for full quantitative description. Because of this complexity, knowledge of gaseous insulation continues to depend to a large extent on the experimental determination of the breakdown strength and pre-breakdown behavior of the various gases as a function of pressure and electrode geometry, and on the investigation — both under simplified and under practical conditions — of the relative importance of the several mechanisms involved in gaseous breakdown. This paper extends d-c break-down studies in air and in Freon 12 (dichlorodifluoromethane) at high pressures and in a uniform field to higher voltages than have been reported previously, and indicates reasons for the observed departures from Paschen's law and for the relatively high insulating strength of the Freon.