cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
537 AEROBIC EXERCISE AND ATHEROSCLEROTIC RISK FACTORS IN ADOLESCENTS

The effect of a 7 week aerobic exercise program on atherosclerotic risk factors was assessed in 65 adolescent white males (mean age 15.8 yrs). Each subject was evaluated before and after the program for body weight, body mass index (BMI) (wgt/ ht2), % fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, maximum oxygen consumption (MVO2), exercise duration (ED) and fasting plasma lipids (cholesterol (CHL), triglyceride (TGL), high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-C)). Mean weight (± SD) was 70.7 ± 16.5 kg before and 71 ± 16.5 after training (p NS). BMI was 23.2 ± 4.6 and 23.2 ± 4.7 (p NS). % fat decreased by 7.9% from 20.3 ± 6.9 to 18.7 ± 6.3% (p <0.001). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure remained unchanged, MVO2 increased by 10.8% from 45 ± 6.5 to 49.9 ± 7.8 ml/kg-min−1 (p < 0.0001) and ED increased from 20.5 ± 2.6 to 21.1 ± 2.5 min (p < 0.01). Plasma lipids (mg/dl) were similar pre and post exercise-CHL 154 ± 32 and 152 ± 31, TGL 87 ± 46 and 92 ± 40, HDL-C 46 ± 12 and 45 ± 9 and LDL-C 90 ± 21 and 88 ± 27. These results demonstrate that with the exception of obesity, atherosclerotic risk factors are not modified by an effective aerobic training program in adolescent males. This is at variance from that reported in adults undergoing aerobic training.
Quantum-field-theoretic analysis of inflation dynamics in a (2+1)-dimensional universe.

We reexamine inflationary scenarios based on slow-rollover transitions, which occur under various initial conditions of the inflation-driving scalar field. We examine inflation dynamics using a recently developed calculational technique for studying a quantum-field-theoretic system in an external environment that is itself changing with time. This method, based on the functional Schr\"odinger picture, uses a self-consistent Gaussian approximation that, unlike ordinary perturbation theory, reflects some of the nonlinearities of the full quantum theory. Our treatment is confined to planar universes, where the approximation techniques do not suffer from well-known problems associated with scalar field self-interactions in four-dimensional space-time. However, for these toy models we can present concrete and explicit results.
SU-GG-T-131: A Linear Metric of Knowledge-Based IMRT Treatment Plan Quality for the Prostate

Purpose: In prostate IMRTtreatment planning, the variation in patient anatomy makes it difficult to a priori estimate the maximum extent of dose reduction possible to rectum and bladder. Such an estimation would greatly aid treatment planning by letting clinicians adjust PTV margins to satisfy their dose sparing requirements. This work provides a Mutual Information‐based framework for estimating rectal and bladder sparing, developed using an existing database of treatment plans. Method and Materials: The database consists of 100 prostate patients, previously planned with IMRT. Beam's Eye View images were created for seven standard gantry angles, with each projection showing bladder, rectum, PTV and all possible overlaps. The summed mutual information between patients in the database for the seven gantry angles were correlated against the DVH results (at specific constraint cutpoints) from the IMRT plans. A linear relationship between the Mutual Information and DVH reductions was established. Results: Initial results of 13 patients, compared against a total of 74 known plans, show a strong linear correlation of a set of DVH‐cutpoints to a weighted MI, that is fit using individual weights for every possible region of overlap. The initial unweighted R2 correlation of DVH quality to MI was 0.46, and after fitting the correlation was 0.84. Conclusion: This study shows the potential to extract from a large enough data bank, information about the structural importance of the various critical structures of the prostate region and the PTV. The increase of the R2 correlation indicates that the fit is good, and that the value of this weighted MI better indicates treatment plan quality.
Computational requirements of customized Newton‐Euler algorithms

To reduce the computational requirements of the Newton-Euler (N-E) algorithm for real-time applications, we customize the algorithm for specific manipulator designs. We analyze the computational requirements of the algorithm for designs incorporating practical kinematic and dynamic parameter simplifications. We illustrate our approach by customizing the N-E algorithm for the CMU direct drive arm II (DD Arm II). Our customized algorithm reduces the computational requirements of the general-purpose N-E algorithm by 56 percent. We describe the hardware implementation of our customized algorithm on a Marinco array processor. Our prototype computes in 1.2 ms the inverse dynamic torques for each trajectory set-point.
Mitochondrial division and fusion in metabolism

Mitochondria govern many metabolic processes. In addition, mitochondria sense the status of metabolism and change their functions to regulate energy production, cell death, and thermogenesis. Recent studies have revealed that mitochondrial structural remodeling through division and fusion is critical to the organelle's function. It has also become clear that abnormalities in mitochondrial division and fusion are linked to the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Here, we discuss the current understanding of the mechanisms of mitochondrial dynamics and their role in cellular and organismal metabolism.
Sulfation of tibolone and tibolone metabolites by expressed human cytosolic sulfotransferases

Tibolone is an important therapeutic agent used in the treatment of menopausal symptoms in many countries and has beneficial effects on menopausal and postmenopausal vasomotor, bone, vaginal and mood symptoms without affecting the endometrial, breast or cardiovascular systems. The rapid metabolism of tibolone to active metabolites including 3alpha-OH-tibolone, 3beta-OH-tibolone and Delta(4)-tibolone may be important in its tissue-specific effects. Sulfation also has a major role in the metabolism and regulation of the tissue-specific activity of tibolone and its metabolites. The ability of seven major expressed human sulfotransferase (SULT) isoforms to sulfate tibolone and its three metabolites was examined. Expressed human SULT2A1 was capable of sulfating tibolone and all three metabolites with the highest affinity for 3alpha-OH-tibolone. SULT1E1 conjugated both 3-OH-tibolone metabolites and tibolone itself slightly. SULT2B1b sulfated both 3-OH metabolites but not tibolone or Delta(4)-tibolone. SULT isoforms 1A1, 1A3, 1B1 and 1C1 did not demonstrate detectable activity. Sulfation of tibolone and its metabolites by human tissue cytosols was analyzed to determine whether the pattern of tibolone sulfation corresponded to the known expression of SULT isoforms in each tissue. The tissue-specific effects of tibolone may be regulated in part by the inactivation of tibolone and its metabolites by specific human SULT isoforms.
Semiconductor pattern analysis with induced polarization

Image contrast enhancement, resolution improvement and accurate height information are obtained by near-field induced polarization imaging using a solid immersion lens (SIL) microscopy. A semiconductor PC processor is investigated by this imaging technology. With 520nm linear polarization illumination, around 100nm feature size is resolvable, and topographical information is also achieved from this induced polarization image. We demonstrate this near-field induced polarization imaging is a fast acquisition, large field and high resolution metrology solution.
Astroid plotter for thin magnetic films

The rotational astroid of uniaxial thin films may be obtained from the cross-field loop m_{x} , h_{y} graphically or electronically by assuming Slenczewski's tangent rule. The graphical construction by means of the tangent rule is demonstrated. The derivation of the transformation to obtain the astroid electronically is given, and a comparison is made with astroids obtained graphically as well as those obtained by direct static measurements. An astroid plotter has been constructed using standard analog computer components in conjunction with a Kerr apparatus. The resulting displays give the entire rotational astroid and completely avoid wall switching and blocking phenomena. Examples are shown of applications of the astroid plotter with particular emphasis on obtaining the influence of bit geometry for all orientations of magnetization.
Discharge Measurements in Shallow Urban Streams Using a Hydroacoustic Current Meter

Hydroacoustic current-meter measurements were evaluated in small urban streams under a range of stages, velocities, and channel-bottom materials. Because flow in urban streams is often shallow, conventional mechanical current-meter measurements are difficult or impossible to make. The rotating-cup Price pygmy meter that is widely used by the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies should not be used in depths below 0.20 ft and velocities less than 0.30 ft/s. The hydroacoustic device provides measurements at depths as shallow as 0.10 ft and velocities as low as 0.10 ft/s or less. Measurements using the hydroacoustic current meter were compared to conventional discharge measurements. Comparisons with Price-meter measurements were favorable within the range of flows for which the meters are rated. Based on laboratory and field tests, velocity measurements with the hydroacoustic cannot be validated below about 0.07 ft/s. However, the hydroacoustic meter provides valuable information on direction and magnitude of flow even at lower velocities, which otherwise could not be measured with conventional measurements.
Bathymetric species-diversity patterns and boundary constraints on vertical range distributions

Abstract A system where a set of species is randomly distributed within two spatial boundaries produces parabolic species diversity patterns, where diversity is lowest in the vicinity of the boundaries, and highest in the mid-zone between the boundaries. We demonstrate this phenomenon using simulated data. We tested whether parabolic depth trends in species diversity (Rex, 1981, 1983) can be explained by invoking only this phenomenon. We analyzed data sets for northwest-Atlantic gastropods and polychaetes previously used to document parabolic diversity patterns. Data sets are matrices of species’ abundance where rows index depth, and columns species. Simulations where species vectors were randomly rearranged within the shallowest and deepest stations generally produced parabolic diversity patterns, with higher diversity at intermediate zones, and lowest diversity closest to the shallowest and deepest stations. For the gastropods, the location of the peaks for the observed and randomly rearranged taxa coincided at similar depths. Random rearrangements, however, did not match the original patterns in curvature (peakedness of the diversity curve) or in magnitude (height of the diversity peak). Highest values were for observed taxa, implying that the original distribution of species is highly non-random and that other factors not assumed in the simulation influence bathymetric species-diversity patterns. For the polychaetes, randomly rearranged data sets matched the magnitude of the observed data set. The original parabolic diversity curve, however, peaked at a shallower location than the random rearrangements, and the magnitude of the peak was higher for the observed taxa. Overall, we find that the random rearrangements cannot explain most characteristics of the parabolic diversity patterns of gastropods and polychaetes. We also explored the influence of species with large vertical range in influencing parabolic species diversity patterns. Removal “experiments”, where a portion of the species with the largest vertical range was removed, also removed parabolic bathymetric diversity patterns, for both observed and simulated taxa, suggesting that species with large vertical range are disproportionally important in determining such patterns.
Ultrafast solid–liquid–vapor phase change of a gold film induced by pico- to femtosecond lasers

Melting, vaporization and resolidification processes of thin gold film irradiated by a femtosecond pulse laser are studied numerically. The nonequilibrium heat transfer in electrons and lattice is described using a two-temperature model. The solid–liquid interfacial velocity, as well as elevated melting temperature and depressed solidification temperature, is obtained by considering the interfacial energy balance and nucleation dynamics. An iterative procedure based on energy balance and gas kinetics law to track the location of liquid–vapor interface is utilized to obtain the material removal by vaporization. The effect of surface heat loss by thermal radiation was discussed. The influences of laser fluence and duration on the evaporation process are studied. Results show that higher laser fluence and shorter laser pulse width lead to higher interfacial temperature, deeper melting and ablation depths.
Kinetics of Crystallization and Crystal Growth of Nanocrystalline Anatase in Nanometer-Sized Amorphous Titania

The kinetics of crystallization and crystal growth of nanocrystalline anatase in amorphous titania (2.5−3 nm) samples in the temperature range 300−400 °C was studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A kinetic model adopting the Smoluchowski coagulation formulation, combined with our phenomenologically derived model kernels, was used to quantitatively interpret the observed kinetic data. It was revealed that the transformation in the amorphous titania comprises four steps: interface nucleation of anatase on contact areas of amorphous particles, with an activation energy of 147 kJ/mol; crystal growth of anatase by redistribution of atoms from either amorphous particles or smaller anatase crystals onto nanocrystal surfaces, both with an activation energy of 78 kJ/mol; and oriented attachment of adjacent anatase particles that are in appropriate orientations, which is less temperature dependent.
Turbulent flow and pressure losses behind oblique high-drag heat exchangers

Abstract A theoretical study is made of the flow downstream of very high-drag porous plates aligned obliquely to the ultimate flow direction, representing common oblique heat-exchanger arrangements in dry cooling towers, for example. Following a brief discussion of the flow between parallel porous plates, the flow in a V-shaped region formed by porous plates is analyzed. It is argued that eddy viscosity increases linearly with distance from the apex, permitting a self-similar solution. Pressure becomes infinite in the apex, and a concentrated jet appears on the centerline; turbulence acts near the centerline to limit the jet velocity there. Downstream of the V-opening, a narrowing of the flow occurs as it becomes parallel to the centerline, and finally, the velocity profile is fully diffused by turbulence. The velocity profiles, streamline patterns, pressures, and total head losses are fully described for this sequence of flow processes. It is shown that total-head losses can be eliminated by introducing a uniform cascade of airfoils just behind the plates.
Intraperitoneal injections of nanogram CCK-8 doses inhibit feeding in rats.

Abstract The satiating effect of intraperitoneal injections of synthetic cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was tested in non-deprived and 17 h-deprived male and female Sprague-Dawley rats that were maintained on pelleted diet and offered evaporated milk test meals. At the midpoint of the 12-h diurnal period, 40–160 ng/kg CCK-8 elicited a dose-related decrease in meal size. At midnight, CCK-8's thrshold for inhibiting feeding was increased to 80–160 ng/kg in nondeprived and deprived rats, respectively. These doses are 25–50 times less than typically required to significantly decrease food intake after intraperitoneal injection. No CCK-8 dose stimulated nocturnal feeding and no consistent sex difference was observed in CCK-8's effect. Intraperitoneal injection of ng amounts of CCK-8 may mimic a paracrine action of endogenous gut cholecystokinin to signal satiety.
Antiviral Activity in Sera of Patients with Crohn’s Disease

Abstract Sera from patients with Crohn’s disease were tested for antiviral activity using a microtiter assay with end points showing 50% reduction of cytopathic effects. Patients were significantly more likely to have serum antiviral activity equivalent to interferon levels of 20 or more units/ml than were control subjects. The mean antiviral activity in the patients’ sera (34 ± 20 (s.d.) units/ml) was significantly greater than that in the control subjects’ sera (0.6 ± 1.7 (s.d.) units/ml). Following acidification the mean antiviral activity of the patients’ sera (28 ± 17 (s.d.) units/ml) had not changed significantly while heat inactivation resulted in significant loss of activity (7.5 ± 2.7 (s.d.) units/ml). These findings are suggestive of the presence of circulating leucocyte interferon in the sera of patients with Crohn’s disease.
Mobile health: medication abuse and addiction

Prescription medication abuse is a major healthcare problem and can lead to addiction syndrome, higher healthcare cost, and serious harm to patients. Mobile health can play a major role in addressing prescription medication abuse. This is due to the ability to (a) monitor patient's health conditions anywhere anytime, (b) monitor patient's medication consumption, and (c) connect with healthcare professionals and utilize suitable interventions in time. More specifically, medication behavior can be monitored using smart medication systems, specialized wearable sensors or mobile devices with patient-entered consumption data. This data can then be analyzed for certain patterns to detect medication abuse. The goal is to design and develop an advance warning system based on the patterns of medication use to alert healthcare professionals and/or family members. Such system will utilize additional contextual knowledge of patient's condition and past history, current use, and information on abuse and addictive potential of medications. In this paper, we present medication related challenges and a preliminary design of a system to monitor and analyze the patterns of medication use, and utilize an analytical model for performance evaluation. The known patterns are utilized to estimate probability of near-future addiction. Our results show that medication adherence can be estimated and probabilities of multi-dosing and super adherence (>100% medication adherence) can be computed based on thresholds supplied by healthcare professionals. The work applies to m-health analytics and decision support systems.
The What, when, and How of Dispositional Inference: New Answers and New Questions

The articles in this issue address three sets of questions: How do percievers draw dispositional inferences? What is being inferred? And when do perceives engage in dispositional inference? 'How "questions concern process issues, such as the encoding of behavioral data, the inferential calculi applied to the data, and, more generally, the different ways in which dispositional inferences can be made. 'What" questions concern content issues, such as whether perceivers conceive of dispositions as causal entities or mere descriptors of behavior, as temporally stable or unstable, as context dependent or independent, and as entailing an interpersonal or an intrapersonal standard of comparison. 'When " questions concern the condition under which perceivers engage in dispositional inference: Do perceivers spontaneously engage in dispositional inferences? To what extent do perceivers' informational goals and their conceptions of dispositions influence the likelihood of engaging in dispositional inferences?
Effects of Storage of Blood at Room Temperature on Hematologic Parameters Measured on Sysmex XE-2100

Blood specimens are frequently delivered to the clinical laboratory after a significant postcollection interval. On weekends, this interval may exceed 72 hours. When such a specimen arrives, the laboratory must decide whether to accept or reject the specimen. If accepted, the laboratory must then decide whether to perform all of the tests ordered or only those deemed appropriate given the age of the specimen, and what comments should be appended to the reported results regarding the reliability or limitations of the analysis. Storage of K2-EDTA-anticogulated blood at room temperature for up to 4 days caused changes in some but not all hematologic parameters measured on Sysmex XE-2100 analyzer. Specifically, the WBC, RBC, HGB, and PLT were found to be stable for up to 3 days. Retic % and #, but not the IRF, were stable for the duration of the study. Diff results may be unreliable or voted out by the analyzer on specimens that are 2 day old or older. The NRBC counts changed little on the average but revealed consistently wide 95% confidence intervals throughout.
Update on the Center for Recombinant Gamete Contraceptive Vaccinogens

The overall goal of the Center for Recombinant Gamete Contraceptive Vaccinogens is to develop a contraceptive vaccine which will induce antibodies in the female reproductive tract at sufficient levels to block fertilization. It is envisioned that antibodies developed by this vaccine will act to agglutinate, immobilize or coat either the egg or the sperm in the oviduct, uterus, cervix or vagina. Thus, the vaccine will exert its effects before the fertilization event, as a "prefertilization contraceptive." The Center has focused its activities over the past 4 years on four areas: 1) sperm antigens: the identification and characterization of novel sperm surface molecules which are attractive candidates for inclusion in a vaccine; 2) zona antigens: the identification of synthetic peptides derived from the zona pellucida which possess contraceptive potential without adverse pathology; 3) oral vaccine delivery: the development of live Salmonella vectors which deliver vaccine antigens through the oral route and which will stimulate secretory immunity in the female reproductive tract; and 4) animal testing: the testing of vaccine formulations in in vitro fertilization models, in small animals, in monkeys and in baboons. In addition, preparations for human testing are underway through preparation of an Investigational New Drug Application to begin Phase I human trials of a LDH-C4 peptide vaccine.
Polycystic ovaries in Hirsute women with normal menses.

Abstract Purpose Hirsute women with normal ovulatory menstrual function are often diagnosed as having idiopathic hirsutism. We prospectively evaluated 62 hirsute ovulatory women to determine if they had a subtle form of polycystic ovary syndrome, and if they exhibited any of the metabolic abnormalities commonly associated with classic polycystic ovary syndrome. Methods Baseline hormonal profiles, ovarian responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, and ovarian morphology by ultrasound were compared in the hirsute women and two groups of ovulatory controls. Results Among 62 women, only 8 (13%) had normal androgen levels and were considered to have idiopathic hirsutism. Twenty-four (39%) had characteristic polycystic ovaries on ultrasound, an exaggerated response of 17-hydroxyprogesterone to leuprolide, or both, suggesting ovarian hyperandrogenism and the diagnosis of mild polycystic ovary syndrome. The remaining 30 women (48%) were considered to have unspecified hyperandrogenism. Age, body weight, and androgen level were similar among the hyperandrogenic subgroups. However, when compared with both normal and overweight controls and with patients with idiopathic hirsutism, the women who had mild polycystic ovary syndrome had higher fasting insulin levels [ P P P P P P P Conclusion These data suggest that mild polycystic ovary syndrome is more common than idiopathic hirsutism, and it is also associated with subtle metabolic abnormalities.
The effects of attentional focus and partner arousal on sexual responding in functional and dysfunctional men.

Abstract The effects of attentional-focus instructions (self vs partner focus) and level of partner arousal (high, low and ambiguous) on sexual responding, both objectively and subjectively measured, were examined with sexually-functional (N = 8) and sexually-dysfunctional (N = 8) men. These instructional sets were delivered just before the subjects viewed an erotic film depicting a heterosexual couple in which they identified with the male. When both groups were focusing on themselves rather than their partner, higher tumescence was observed when their partner was displaying low arousal. When the partner's level of arousal was ambiguous, highest tumescence was achieved during partner attentional focus. When the partner was displaying high sexual arousal, functional subjects reached highest levels of tumescence during partner focus, while dysfunctional subjects reached highest levels of tumescence during self focus. In fact, high partner arousal seemed to inhibit dysfunctional subjects' tumescence under partner focus. Examination of self-report of arousal data as measured by a subjective lever revealed interesting group differences. Results are discussed in light of possible maintaining factors in sexual dysfunction and their treatment implications.
Leveraging Conflict for Social Justice: How “Leadable” Moments Can Transform School Culture:

It is not a question of whether conflict within a school will occur, but rather when it will manifest and by whom. Often times, conflict occurring between key stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and students is looked upon as tainting school culture or sabotaging change strategies. However, conflict may also serve as a catalyst for larger discussions of deficit thinking or shifts in the educational practice of a school. Capitalizing on these instances of conflict as “leadable” moments, school leaders are situated to leverage conflict for social justice aims. This case centers on an elementary school principal who encounters an instance of conflict with multiple constituencies. She is challenged in her resolution of a classroom incident while recognizing that it also represents larger, school- and district-wide issues. Responding to a teacher’s approach in addressing racist and bigoted language, a parent’s frustration with her child’s schooling experience, and a district official’s concern over diversi...
A positive future for double-negative metamaterials

Metamaterials (MTMs), which are formed by embedding inclusions and material components in host media to achieve composite media that may be engineered to have qualitatively new physically realizable response functions that do not occur or may not be easily available in nature, have raised a great deal of interest in recent years. In this paper, we highlight a large variety of the physical effects associated with double- and single-negative MTMs and some of their very interesting potential applications. The potential ability to engineer materials with desired electric and magnetic properties to achieve unusual physical effects offers a great deal of excitement and promise to the scientific and engineering community. While some of the applications we will discuss have already come to fruition, there are many more yet to be explored.
Acalvaria and hydrocephalus: a case report and discussion of the literature.

Acalvaria is a rare congenital defect characterized by complete absence of the membranous neurocranium, dura mater, and associated scalp muscles in the presence of a normal skull base, facial bones, and scalp.1‐3 Acalvaria is usually associated with a closed NTD (e.g., hydrocephalus, holoprosencephaly). We report a case of acalvaria and hydrocephalus initially identified by abdominal ultrasonography and later confirmed by transvaginal ultrasonography and fetal pathologic examination. The prenatal sonographic findings are distinctive but may resemble exencephaly, anencephaly, osteogenesis imperfecta type II, or perinatal lethal hypophosphatasia. The diagnostic features are compared with the three other reported cases, and the sonographic differential is discussed. An effort is made to clarify the nomenclature of neurocranial defects that may be confused with acalvaria.
Modeling shock layers in ion-exchange displacement chromatography

In ideal displacement chromatography (systems with infinite mass-transfer kinetics), various solutes are separated by sharp discontinuities. In real systems, however, the shocks are eroded into shock layers because of the finite rates of mass transfer. The thickness of these shock layers, which can reduce the yields achievable in these systems, depend on the flow rate, particle diameter and the “difficulty” of these separations. The steric mass action formalism of ion-exchange chromatography was used in concert with a solid film linear driving force model to describe the effects of flow rate, particle diameter, and the degree of difficulty of the separation on ion-exchange displacement systems. Simple pulse techniques are employed to estimate the thermodynamic and mass-transfer parameters. The simulations are then compared to experimental results over a range of conditions. The results demonstrate that this relatively simple modeling approach can be employed to describe the behavior of these nonideal displacement systems.
Effects of AT1 receptor-mediated endocytosis of extracellular ang II on activation of nuclear factor-κB in proximal tubule cells

Angiotensin II (Ang II) exerts powerful proinflammatory and growth effects on the development of Ang II-induced hypertensive glomerulosclerosis and tubulo-interstitial fibrosis. The proinflammatory and growth actions of Ang II are primarily mediated by activation of cell surface type 1 receptors (AT(1)) and the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). However, binding of cell surface receptors by extracellular Ang II also induces receptor-mediated endocytosis of the agonist-receptor complex in renal cells. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether AT(1) receptor-mediated endocytosis of extracellular Ang II is required for Ang II-induced NF-kappaB activation and subsequent proliferation of rabbit renal proximal tubule cells. Expression of AT(1) (primarily AT(1a) or human AT(1)) receptors in these cells was confirmed by Western blot, showing that transfection of a human AT(1) receptor-specific 20-25 nucleotide siRNA knocked down more than 70% of AT(1) receptor protein (P 55%, P < 0.01), an index of cell proliferation and DNA synthesis, and the effect was also attenuated by coadministration of losartan and colchicine (P < 0.01). Our results therefore suggest that AT(1) receptor-mediated endocytosis of extracellular Ang II may be required for Ang II-induced NF-kappaB activation and subsequent cell proliferation in renal proximal tubule cells.
Stability of secondary structural elements in a solvent-free environment. II: The β-pleated sheets

The stability of single β-strands and multistrand β-pleated sheets as elements of secondary structure is examined in the absence of intermolecular interactions. Such experimental conditions (e.g., complete removal of solvent molecules and counterions) are achieved by placing the peptide ions in the gas phase. The metastable multiply- charged peptide ions produced by electrospray ionization undergo unimolecular dissociation. Intercharge repulsion within the precursor ions gives rise to the elevated kinetic energy of fragment ions, which is measured using Mass-analyzed Ion Kinetic Energy (MIKE) spectrometry. Intercharge distances calculated based on these measurements are compared to the numbers derived from molecular mechanics calculations with charge site assignments based on relative proton affinities. Evidence is presented suggesting that single β-strands form collapsed structures in the absence of solvents, while multistrand β-pleated sheets are likely to retain “native-like” secondary structures under the same conditions. These results indicate that intramolecular hydrogen bonds are the major factor determining the three-dimensional arrangements of polypeptides in the gas phase, compensating both long- and short-range electrostatic repulsions. This is in good agreement with our earlier findings (Proteins 27:165–170, 1997) concerning stability of helical conformation of melittin in the absence of solvent. Proteins Suppl. 2:22–27, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Traumatic injury induces differential expression of cell death genes in organotypic brain slice cultures determined by complementary DNA array hybridization.

Abstract The expression of a large panel of selected genes hypothesized to play a central role in post-traumatic cell death was shown to be differentially altered in response to a precisely controlled, mechanical injury applied to an organotypic slice culture of the rat brain. Within 48 h of injury, the expression of nerve growth factor messenger RNA was significantly increased whereas the levels of bcl-2, α-subunit of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, cAMP response element binding protein, 65,000 mol. wt isoform of glutamate decarboxylase, 1β isoform of protein kinase C, and ubiquitin messenger RNA were significantly decreased. Because the expression levels of a number of other messenger RNAs such as the neuron-specific amyloid precursor protein, β 2 microglobulin, bax, bcl xl , brain-derived neurotrophic factor, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, receptor tyrosine kinase A, and receptor tyrosine kinase B were unaffected, these selective changes may represent components of an active and directed response of the brain initiated by mechanical trauma. Interpretation of these co-ordinated alterations suggests that mechanical injury to the central nervous system may lead to disruption of calcium homeostasis resulting in altered gene expression, an impairment of intracellular cascades responsible for trophic factor signaling, and initiation of apoptosis via multiple pathways. An understanding of these transcriptional changes may contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies to enhance beneficial and blunt detrimental, endogenous, post-injury response mechanisms.
The Bear Went Through the Mountain: Russia Appraises its Five-Day War in South Ossetia

The August 2008 Russian-Georgia conflict was the first Russian full-scale use of force against a former member of the Soviet Union. This paper looks at the August conflict solely from the vantage point of the Russian press, in particular the views of military officers or military journalists. The findings offer insights into the information war conducted in the Russian press, the continued suspicion of Russia about US actions in the area, and the strengths and weaknesses of Russia's armed forces. Russia's rational for supporting South Ossetia, that “if Georgia can break away from the Soviet Union, why can't South Ossetia break away from Georgia?” indicates that this may not be the last development of its kind that Russia supports. The Crimea and Transdniester come immediately to mind.
Evaluation of plasma fentanyl concentrations in infants during cardiopulmonary bypass with low-volume circuits.

Objective : The purpose of the study was to measure changes in plasma fentanyl concentrations during infant cardiac surgery using a bypass circuit with low priming volume and to examine the relation of plasma fentanyl concentration and temperature to Bispectral Index (BIS) as an index of conscious level during infant cardiac surgery. Design : Prospective cohort study. Setting : Tertiary care, academic children’s hospital. Participants : Fifteen neonates and infants undergoing cardiac surgery with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Interventions : Patients were anesthetized with fentanyl, receiving a 30 μg/kg bolus for induction immediately followed by continuous infusion of 0.3 μg/kg/min until skin closure. Measurements and main results : Intraoperative data and total plasma fentanyl concentration were measured at preinduction; 30 minutes postinduction; sternotomy; aortic cannulation; at 4, 30, and 60 minutes on CPB; and at 1 and 30 minutes off CPB. At the onset of CPB, fentanyl declined from 15 ± 6 to 11 ± 5 ng/mL (p Conclusions : There was minimal variability in the plasma fentanyl concentration using a low-volume bypass circuit and constant infusion of fentanyl during surgery. There appears to be minimal utility for using BIS during infant cardiac surgery with no relationship between fentanyl concentration, temperature, and BIS established.
THE CROSS-SECTIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAM IN CLINICAL CARDIOLOGY: APPLICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE M-MODE TECHNIQUE.

SUMMARY Until recently M-mode echocardiography has been the standard in clinical practice. Although the M-mode systems provide rapidly acquired, high resolution data concerning regional cardiac interface position and motion, the limited area encompassed by the narrow M-mode beam and failure to provide spatial orientation may be a significant limitation in selected clinical areas. Cross-sectional echocardiography expands the area of the heart which is available for study and displays the acoustic images in a dynamic spatially oriented format allowing the moving cross-sectional anatomy of the heart to be visualized. This variation in method of display provides more extensive information concerning valvular heart disease by permitting analysis of the morphology and motion patterns of the cardiac valves, direct visualization of valvular orifices, and appreciation of valvular movement in relationship to surrounding cardiac chambers. In patients with ischemic heart disease the cross-sectional systems increase the area of the ventricle which is available for ultrasonic study by adding the cardiac apex and the medial and lateral walls of the ventricle to the recorded data. In addition the systems permit localized distortion in left ventricular shape and function to be evaluated. Finally, in congenital heart disease the cross-sectional systems permit the orientation of the great vessels and cardiac chambers to be determined. In this report we have presented examples of the applications of cross-sectional echocardiography in each of these areas in the hope that the reader can gain from these isolated examples an overall appreciation of the potential of this type of instrumentation and its relationship to be more conventional M-mode display.
Overexpression of human carcinoma-associated antigen in esophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor lesions

The expression of human carcinoma-associated antigen (HCA), a mucin-type glycoprotein, was assessed in 50 esophagogastrectomy specimens. Areas, each from different cases, of Barrett esophagus (n = 36), low-grade dysplasia (n = 38), high-grade dysplasia/carcinoma in situ (n = 26), and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC; n = 34) were examined by immunohistochemical stains to 2 anti-HCA monoclonal antibodies, G1 and HAE3. These two antibodies showed similar staining patterns. HCA was overexpressed significantly in EAC and high-grade dysplasia/carcinoma in situ compared with benign esophageal mucosa (P .1). The results suggest that overexpression of HCA might help in diagnosing esophageal dysplasia and cancer. The correlation of HCA with the grade of esophageal dysplasia suggests its possible involvement in the pathogenesis of EAC. HCA also might provide a target for immunotherapy.
TALK score: Development and validation of a prognostic model for predicting larynx preservation outcome.

Objectives/Hypothesis: To develop and validate a simple prognostic tool that would help predict larynx preservation outcome. Study Design: A retrospective review of 3 prospective studies. Methods: We reviewed consecutive chemotherapy/radiation protocols for patients (n = 170) with advanced, resectable, squamous cell, larynx, or pharynx cancer treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 1988 to 1995 with larynx preservation intent. The outcome was successful larynx preservation. Model validation used data from U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs larynx preservation study. Results: The developed model added one point for each poor prognostic covariate present (show in parentheses) and was given the acronym TALK: T stage (T4), albumin (<4 g/dL), maximum alcohol/liquor use (≥6 drinks/day or heavy drinking), and Karnofsky performance status (<80%). The 3-year larynx preservation rates by TALK score were 65% (0), 41% (1–2), and 6% (3–4), P < .0001; on validation, the TALK 3–4 group was particularly well demarcated. Conclusions: The TALK score is an easily applied and valid tool that should assist treatment selection.
Current safety and tolerability issues in men with erectile dysfunction receiving PDE5 inhibitors

Summary Aims: Treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) has been greatly advanced by the advent of phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE5) inhibitors. Upon the introduction of these agents, their cardiovascular (CV) safety was a major concern, mainly due to their vasodilatory effects. We conducted an electronic literature review of data concerning the safety and tolerability issues of men with ED receiving PDE5 inhibitors. Results: Although safety concerns have been raised, evaluation of CV safety and related adverse events in clinical trials has not revealed any atypical safety issues. Discussion: No causal association has been established to date between non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and PDE5 inhibitors. In addition, there are established guidelines which provide recommendations for the safe and effective use of these agents in treating men with ED and associated comorbidities. Conclusions: Clinical trial and postmarketing surveillance data confirm the safety and tolerability profile of the PDE5 inhibitors, even in patients with endothelial dysfunction-associated comorbidities.
A novel method for initial rotor position estimation for IPM synchronous machine drives

Novel methods for initial position estimation during start-up are presented for interior permanent magnet synchronous machine drives. The magnet cavities in the IPMSM rotor create a sizable difference in the inductances of the two orthogonal rotor axes. This spatial saliency based on the rotor position makes it possible to use persistent, rotating or pulsating vector, carrier frequency image tracking techniques to reliably identify and track the orientation of the d and q axes even when the rotor is at standstill. However, additional details in the saliency image must be used to identify the polarization of the magnets in order to distinguish the north and south poles. The magnet polarity is identified by using magnetic saturation effects on the saliency image to uniquely identify the magnet pole polarity being tracked. Carrier currents for both rotating and pulsating voltage carrier injection are derived by using IPM machine model including saturation and verified by measured carrier current components. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms are capable of reliable and fast initial position estimation including the polarity at standstill.
Integration of Satellite-Retrieved Soil Moisture Observations with a Global Two-Layer Soil Moisture Model

Global estimates of soil moisture are a large component of crop yield fluctuations provided by the US department of agriculture (USDA) Production estimation and crop assessment division (PECAD). The current system utilized by PECAD estimates soil moisture from a 2-layer water balance model based on daily precipitation and temperature data. However, many regions of the globe lack climate observations at the temporal and spatial resolutions required by PECAD. This study integrates NASA's soil moisture remote sensing product provided by the EOS advanced microwave scanning radiometer (AMSR-E) into the U.S. Department of agriculture crop assessment and data retrieval (CADRE) decision support system. An Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) has been designed to optimally merge the AMSR-E observations with the PECAD soil moisture outputs when available. A methodology of system design and an evaluation of the system performance over the Conterminous United States (CONUS) is presented.
Comparison of clustering approaches for summarizing large populations of images

This paper compares the efficacy and efficiency of different clustering approaches for selecting a set of exemplar images, to present in the context of a semantic concept. We evaluate these approaches using 900 diverse queries, each associated with 1000 web images, and comparing the exemplars chosen by clustering to the top 20 images for that search term. Our results suggest that Affinity Propagation is effective in selecting exemplars that match the top search images but at high computational cost. We improve on these early results using a simple distribution-based selection filter on incomplete clustering results. This improvement allows us to use more computationally efficient approaches to clustering, such as Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) and Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM), while still reaching the same (or better) quality of results as were given by Affinity Propagation in the original study. The computational savings is significant since these alternatives are 7–27 times faster than Affinity Propagation.
L 1 adaptive output feedback controller for non strictly positive real Multi-input Multi-output systems in the presence of unknown nonlinearities

This paper presents an extension of the L 1 adaptive output feedback controller to Multi-input Multi-output (MIMO) systems in the presence of nonlinear time-varying uncertainties without restricting the rate of their variation. As compared to earlier results in this direction, a new piece-wise continuous adaptive law is introduced along with a low-pass filtered control signal that allows for achieving arbitrarily close tracking of the input and the output signals of a reference system, the transfer function of which is not required to be strictly positive real (SPR). Stability of this reference system is proved using small-gain type argument. The performance bounds between the closed-loop reference system and the closed-loop L 1 adaptive system can be rendered arbitrarily small by appropriate selection of the underlying filter and by reducing the time-step of integration. Simulations verify the theoretical findings.
No) Support for a New Principal in an Urban District A Case Study

A large, urban public school district has been engaged in high school reform over several years. The reform involves creating small learning communities (SLC) from large underperforming neighborhood high schools. In many cases, brand new principals have been chosen to found and lead the SLC schools into reform. The district has had some difficulty with providing support to principals in these roles. This case is designed to highlight issues of providing support and mentoring in a structured way to individuals new to the principalship. The case can be used in courses on the principalship as well as courses that prepare central office leaders.
Amino-Acid Imbalances: What is their Significance in Relation to Protein Deficiency?

The term amino-acid imbalance is used to characterise an experimental condition in which the rate of growth of an experimental animal is depressed by a supplement of an amino acid or acids other than the one(s) that is most limiting in the diet, with the proviso that none of the amino acids in the supplement is present in an amount that can be considered toxic. Amino-acid imbalances are most readily created in diets that are low in protein, and the growth depression due to an amino-acid imbalance is readily and completely prevented by a supplement of the growth-limiting amino acid.