cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Elsa Triolet: The politics of a committed writer

Abstract Elsa Triolet (1896–1970) was an important literary and political figure on the Left in Europe. The first woman to win the Prix Goncourt, she was also a decorated heroine of the French Resistance and a peace activist in the post-war era. She was a journalist, a biographer, a translator of Russian prose and poetry, a theater critic and, most important, a novelist whose books are a unique blend of political engagement, humor and fantasy. Unfortunately, the politics of the Cold War have obscured Triolet's many achievements. Married to Louis Aragon, member of the Central Committee of the French Communist Party, she herself was inevitably identified as a communist writer and therefore, could be safely ignored by the non-communist critics. Yet, she never conformed to the dictates of Socialist Realism and was far too intellectually independent to have the approval of the Party. Thus, she was neglected by the Left as well. But today, the radical and feminist themes of many of her novels have sparked a renewed interest in her work.
Quality assurance of picture archiving communication systems with laser film digitizers

A comprehensive quality assurance (QA) program should be implemented for all teleradiology and picture archival and communications (PACS) systems. In this report, we summarize our QA experience with a teleradiology system that includes a laser digitizer for x-ray film. A key component required for the evaluation of laser film scanners is an appropriate test patterns; digitizers should be evaluated with enhanced test patterns specifically designed for this purpose. The phantom pattern should measure high-contrast resolution, low-contrast discrimination, gray scale linearity, geometric distortion, and noise. In addition, a uniformly exposed sheet of film (approximately 0.3 optical density) serves as a good phantom for testing screen nonuniformities of viewing station monitors. It is also suggested that clinical images should be included in a QA program. Finally, it is recommended that any discrepancies in the interpretation of teleradiology images should be monitored and investigated.
Fourier Analysis Reveals Increased Trabecular Spacing in Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia may expand marrow spaces in the jaws. Fourier analysis is well-suited to the analysis of trabecular spacing in radiographs. We hypothesize that individuals with sickle cell anemia demonstrate increased intertrabecular spacing. Periapical radiographs of 18 African Americans with sickle cell disease and 18 controls were examined by one-dimensional discrete Fourier analyses in both jaws for measurement of the spatial frequency distribution of repeating trabecular structures. A strut analysis of trabeculae was also performed and the results compared. Trabecular structures in individuals with sickle cell anemia revealed increased intertrabecular distance compared with controls. Strut analysis revealed significant reductions in trabecular complexity. Fourier analysis allows for the classification of subjects with 94% sensitivity and specificity. Fourier analysis of dental radiographs is a more effective method of identifying individuals with sickle cell anemia than strut analysis.
Immunogenicity of hepatitis A vaccine in decompensated liver disease.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis A can cause decompensation and death in patients with previous liver injury. The hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for patients with chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to screen, immunize, and measure the safety and antibody response of the hepatitis A vaccine in liver failure and liver transplant patients. METHODS: This was a prospective immunization trial at a referral center for liver disease and liver transplantation. A total of 193 patients with severe chronic liver disease were screened and 24 patients were vaccinated. Sixteen end stage liver disease patients were compared with eight liver transplant patients. Hepatitis A vaccinations using 1440 ELISA units were given at 0 and 2 months. Serum hepatitis A antibody titers were measured after each vaccine dose. An antibody response ≥33 mIU/ml was considered protective. RESULTS: Screening seropositive rate was 70 of 193 (36%) and 24 patients were available for vaccination. The median antibody titer was markedly lower in liver transplant patients, 0.0 mIU/ml compared to liver failure patients 34.7 mIU/ml (p < 0.001). Liver transplant recipients did not respond to the vaccine (0 of eight patients) compared with seven of 14 liver failure patients (seroconversion rate 50%, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Liver failure significantly reduces the antibody response to hepatitis A vaccine, and liver transplant recipients were unable to respond to the vaccine. Although this study was small, immunization should be considered early for susceptible patients with chronic liver disease because the development of liver failure may blunt the immunogenicity of the vaccine.
Resistance, object-usage, and human relatedness.

(1995). Resistance, Object-Usage, and Human Relatedness. Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 173-191.
Staff Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Family Visitation After Implementation of a Formal Visitation Policy in the PACU

A quality improvement project was created to examine staff attitudes and beliefs regarding visitation after implementation of a formal visitation policy in the PACU. A 10-item questionnaire was distributed and collected from each staff member in the PACU after implementation of the formal policy. Results showed that although 83.7% of staff would want the option to visit their family member in the PACU, only 47% of staff believe that families should have the option to visit in their own PACU. The perceived barriers reported by staff were staffing issues, the possibility of exposure to infection, privacy issues, staff anxiety, the possibility of visitors witnessing resuscitation, and lack of education of families. The survey results show that more existing education is needed. Consequently, the current policy is posted in all waiting areas for families, and a mandatory in-service was created and presented to staff on how to communicate effectively with family members.
Genomewide markers as cofactors for precision mapping of quantitative trait loci

In composite interval mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL), subsets of background markers are used to account for the effects of QTL outside the marker interval being tested. Here, I propose a QTL mapping approach (called G model) that utilizes genomewide markers as cofactors. The G model involves backward elimination on a given chromosome after correcting for genomewide marker effects, calculated under a random effects model, at all the other chromosomes. I simulated a trait controlled by 15 or 30 QTL, mapping populations of N = 96, 192, and 384 recombinant inbreds, and NM = 192 and 384 evenly spaced markers. In the C model, which utilized subsets of background markers, the number of QTL detected and the number of false positives depended on the number of cofactors used, with five cofactors being too few with N = 384 and 20–40 cofactors being too many with N = 96. A window size of 0 cM for excluding cofactors maintained the number of true QTL detected while decreasing the number of false positives. The number of true QTL detected was generally higher with the G model than with the C model, and the G model led to good control of the type I error rate in simulations where the null hypothesis of no marker–QTL linkage was true. Overall, the results indicated that the G model is useful in QTL mapping because it is less subjective and has equal, if not better, performance when compared with the traditional approach of using subsets of markers to account for background QTL.
Ice cover, landscape setting, and geological framework of Lake Vostok, East Antarctica

Abstract Lake Vostok, located beneath more than 4 km of ice in the middle of East Antarctica, is a unique subglacial habitat and may contain microorganisms with distinct adaptations to such an extreme environment. Melting and freezing at the base of the ice sheet, which slowly flows across the lake, controls the flux of water, biota and sediment particles through the lake. The influx of thermal energy, however, is limited to contributions from below. Thus the geological origin of Lake Vostok is a critical boundary condition for the subglacial ecosystem. We present the first comprehensive maps of ice surface, ice thickness and subglacial topography around Lake Vostok. The ice flow across the lake and the landscape setting are closely linked to the geological origin of Lake Vostok. Our data show that Lake Vostok is located along a major geological boundary. Magnetic and gravity data are distinct east and west of the lake, as is the roughness of the subglacial topography. The physiographic setting of the lake has important consequences for the ice flow and thus the melting and freezing pattern and the lake’s circulation. Lake Vostok is a tectonically controlled subglacial lake. The tectonic processes provided the space for a unique habitat and recent minor tectonic activity could have the potential to introduce small, but significant amounts of thermal energy into the lake.
Renal clearance and isolated kidney perfusion techniques

Renal clearance techniques are in essence measurements of input—output relationships of endogenous or exogenous substances in the kidney. When judiciously applied and interpreted, clearance techniques measure whole kidney functions and, therefore, are useful to assess the effects of systemic factors or substances on total kidney function. As such, they are still an indispensable tool in the armamentarium of renal physiologists, pharmacologists, nephrologists, and clinical investigators. In addition, earlier investigators in the decades spanning the 30s to the 60s applied renal clearance techniques to gain insights as to nephron sites and mechanisms of renal transport processes [11. Some of the most brilliant inferences in our field come from such early application of the clearance techniques, and they still serve as inspiration for many of the research efforts of present day investigators. With the advent of more direct techniques at the tubular, cell, membrane and molecular levels, such indirect use of clearance techniques rightfully lost some of its appeal. Nevertheless, because of their simplicity and power, clearance techniques are still useful, on the one hand, to direct the application of more modern technologies and, on the other hand, to integrate the information obtained with the latter into a coherent description of whole kidney function. In the first part of this article, I will present some of the issues regarding the definition, application, and interpretation of clearance techniques without an attempt to cover the field. For a detailed analysis of clearance techniques, the reader is referred to the excellent review articles by Levinsky and Levy [21 and by Schuster and Seldin [31, which also contain extensive bibliographical references. The first issue to be addressed is the definition of the term "renal clearance". The term was defined by Moller, McIntosh, and Van Slyke [4], Holten and Rehberg [51, and Homer W. Smith [6], as the ratio of U, . V P, where U, and P,, are the urine and plasma concentrations of a substance and V is the urine flow rate. Conceptually, textbooks also use the two descriptive definitions by Homer W. Smith: "clearance is the volume of plasma required to supply the quantity x excreted in urine each minute time" or "clearance is the virtual volume of plasma completely cleared of that substance in one minute's time" [6]. The clearance equation and the first of the above
Sexual Harassment: The Global and the Local

Abigail Saguy’s What Is Sexual Harassment and Kathrin Zippel’s The Politics of Sexual Harassment are both concerned with how global social movements are refracted through national cultural and legal systems. Both find that new norms spread across countries, in this case originating in the United States and then spreading through feminists to Europe. But both find diffusion models wanting. The wider importance of these studies is hard to overestimate. In recent decades sociologists, political scientists, and economists have studied the diffusion of cultural and legal norms around the world: democratization, women’s rights, labor rights, cultural, and racial religious rights—a whole host of things going by the name of political liberalization. But they have also studied privatization, trade liberalization, antitrust, “good” corporate governance, stock markets, and central bank independence—a whole host of things going by the name of economic liberalization. Sexual harassment is an instance of a wider trend that has swept the globe. And this period of globalization is not the first. Before this, there was colonization, decolonization, mercantilism, the gold standard, Keynesianism, and emancipation. The many studies of this new wave show the spread of nominally similar policies, but they do not show what happens within countries. Many
A neuroendocrine factor essential for cuticular melanization in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta

Abstract The decline in juvenile hormone before the head capsule slippage stage during the moult is essential for cuticular melanization in Manduca sexta larvae. Yet when larvae were allatectomized 15–16 h before head capsule slippage, then 10 h later ligated anterior to the 5th abdominal segment, only the posterior portion melanized. The ligation had no effect on dopa decarboxylase activity in the epidermis in either portion. By contrast, no premelanin granules containing phenoloxidase were deposited in the anterior portion. Injection of an extract of the ventral nerve cord prior to head capsule slippage induced the deposition of these granules followed by melanization, but purified melanization and reddish colouration hormone (MRCH) was not effective. When the integuments of larvae at the head capsule slippage stage were cultured in vitro, no deposition of premelanin granules occurred, although the epidermis synthesized the granular phenoloxidase. Addition of either a nerve cord extract and/or haemolymph was ineffective. Implantation of the integument into allatectomized larvae, however, induced melanization of the implants. Thus, both a factor from the ventral nerve cord and another unidentified humoral factor are important for the deposition of premelanin granules.
Arcuate Nucleus and Preoptic Area Involvement in Beta-Endorphin-lnduced Release of Prolactin in Conscious Ovariectomized Rats†

Abstract The ability of ss-endorphin (ss-END) to release prolactin and the ability of naloxone to block prolactin's release when delivered to specific hypothalamic areas via push-pull perfusion was studied in unrestrained, conscious, Ovariectomized rats. Perfusion of either the arcuate nucleus or the preoptic area with ss-END for 15 to 30 min caused a large, brief increase in plasma prolactin levels. Perfusion for a longer time period (120 min) resulted in peak prolactin levels at 60 min, with a return to baseline by 120 min, suggesting that ss-END primarily acts to induce a sequence of events that culminates in prolactin release, but other factors are needed to maintain this release over long periods of time. Perfusion of the arcuate nucleus for two 15-min periods 90 min apart resulted in two surges of prolactin. When naloxone, the opiate receptor antagonist, was added to the perfusate, ss-END was not capable of stimulating prolactin release. These results provide a model to answer whether endogenous ss-END has a role in the neuroendocrine regulation of prolactin surges and what the location is of the opiate neurons involved in this neuronal pathway.
End-User Satisfaction and Design Features of Public Agencies:

This study relates end-user satisfaction to three design features of public agencies that provide services. The research connects the discussion on public participation in administrative processes ...
Effects of maternal diabetes on the levels, synthetic rates and activities of synthetic enzymes of surface-active phospholipids in perinatal rat lung.

Abstract Streptozotocin-induced maternal diabetes in the rat has been found to reduce selectively the content and synthetic rates of disaturated phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine in the lungs of term fetuses. Furthermore, the elevations in these parameters which occur during normal pulmonary maturation between the final gestational day and the first neonatal day are abolished or markedly curtailed, resulting in significantly reduced levels and synthetic rates of surfactant and its immediate precursor in the neonatal lung. In addition, complete or partial inhibition of the perinatal developmental rise in the activities of key enzymes catalyzing de novo phosphatidylcholine synthesis in the lung, viz., cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase and cholinephosphotransferase and of enzymes catalyzing reacylation of unsaturated to disaturated phospholipid, viz., lysophosphatidic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferases, has been observed, resulting in reduced activities of these enzymes in the neonate. The observed reductions in surface-active phospholipid synthesis in the lungs of offspring of diabetic mothers may be related to these lowered enzyme activities, as well as to deficiencies in carbohydrate precursors available for phospholipid synthesis, as reported in previous studies. It is suggested that the hyperinsulinemia manifested in fetuses of diabetic mothers opposes the tendency of corticosteroids to enhance surface-active phospholipid synthesis, resulting in pulmonary surfactant deficiency and thus the propensity for neonatal respiratory distress.
A unified approach to network survivability for teletraffic networks: models, algorithms and analysis

Addresses the problem of network survivability by presenting a unified approach where the wide-area circuit-switched teletraffic network and the underlying transmission facility network are considered simultaneously. The author assumes the backbone circuit-switched teletraffic network to be nonhierarchical with dynamic call routing capabilities. The transmission facility network is considered to be sparse (as is observed for emerging fiber optic networks) and is assumed to be two-arc connected. The approach addresses the network survivability objective by considering two grade-of-service parameters: one for the traffic network under normal operating condition and the other for affected part of the network under a network failure. The author presents unified mathematical models and develops heuristic algorithms. The author then presents computational results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the unified approach. >
Assessment of resistance to paclitaxel of murine tumors by 99mTc-MIBI/201Tl dual-radionuclide imaging

This study investigated P-glycoprotein (Pgp) expression by murine tumors with and without resistance to paclitaxel and the role of (99m)Tc-2-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI)/(201)Tl imaging in predicting the effect of paclitaxel. Antitumor effect of paclitaxel and biodistribution of the radiopharmaceuticals were evaluated in mice bearing four tumor types. Pgp expression did not correlate with the antitumor efficacy of paclitaxel. Although the absolute uptake of (99m)Tc-MIBI did not correlate with Pgp expression, (99m)Tc-MIBI could predict paclitaxel sensitivity by its higher uptake.
High winding density micro coils for magnetic actuators

A high winding density micro coil technology is reported here which has been used to reduce the power requirements of several classes of micro actuators. [Christenson (1995)] Actuator design sets the required magnetic field and power. At low frequencies coil design translates these requirements to a total winding conductor cross-sectional area. The winding fill fraction of the coil technology sets the final coil size. Using the design equations, coil technologies may be compared.
Low-energy and threshold calculations using effective field theory

Abstract We present a set of rules to be observed in the calculation of light-field, low-momentum processes using the method of effective field theory when minimal subtraction renormalization is employed. The concept of invariant charge, and its relevance to the problem of decoupling in theories renormalized by minimal subtraction, is discussed. These rules are applied to the calculation of the invariant charge and its associated beta function in a non-abelian gauge theory with both massless and massive fermions. The threshold behavior of the beta function appropriate to the invariant charge is displayed and analyzed.
The human bone marrow as an immunoregulatory organ.

It was 45 years ago that in a virtual revolution in thinking in immunology there developed the acceptance and the subsequent expansion of two new dogmas: (1) that to eliminate toxins and pathogens as the major mode of defense, individual immune cells were, in their ontogeny of differentiation, internally programmed to react singly and then clonally against the virtually limitless individual stimuli of the outside world (1–3); (2) that before this programming was manifested the immune system would fail to recognize any antigenic stimulus as foreign, thereby not differentiating non-self from self-recognition. This allowed for non-self-antigens, if introduced in this early stage, to be immunologically tolerated on subsequent testing. In the chronology of the evolution of these two dogmas, there were the earlier descriptions of specific immunological paralysis and unresponsiveness to certain defined polysaccharides and haptens demonstrated in adult mice and guinea pigs respectively by Felton (4) and Chase (5). It remained for Medawar and his colleagues (6) in allotransplantation experiments to clearly define “acquired specific immunological tolerance” as an ontogenic concept involving the lack of maturation or differentiation were tolerance to be evoked. As early as 1953, Billingham, Brent, and Medawar demonstrated that allogeneic donor bone marrow-derived cells could confer such a specifically acquired tolerant state to the immune system of the murine recipient before self versus non-self recognition occurred in immune ontogeny, the test being subsequent acceptance of skin allografts from the same donors. The developmental processes of positive versus negative selection only a decade later began to be demonstrated to predominantly involve the thymus gland in maturational events of cells of the recipient immune system in studies first performed in neonatal rodents (7). By experimental manipulation of the immune system predominantly involving immunoablation by whole body x-irradiation, these findings of specific immunological tolerance as a result of the infusion of bone marrow-derived cells could be extended to adult animals as the system regenerated from stem cells in the bone marrow of either that of the donor (8), the recipient (9), or both (10). Nonetheless, except in the setting of clinical bone marrow transplantation using major (lethal) immunoablation followed by the salvage and replacement of the recipient immunohematopoietic system with donor cell lineages and only in the context of little or no donor-recipient MHC disparity, with few exceptions (11–15), to date, specific immunological tolerance in organ transplantation in humans has not been possible.
Economic Incentives and Residential Waste Management in Taiwan: An Empirical Investigation

This paper presents an empirical study of how three waste management policies have affected residential waste generation and recycling behavior in Taiwan over the past decade. The three policies are unit-pricing of garbage in Taipei, a mandatory recycling program in Kaohsiung, and a nationwide policy of charging for plastic bags. We estimate policy effects on total waste, total recycling, and recycling of four specific materials, all measured by weight per capita. Unlike prior work, we find that unit-pricing and mandatory recycling policies lead to significant increases in recycling of most materials, as well as increased levels of total recycling and garbage reduction. The “plastic bag” policy is generally found to lower material-specific and total recycling rates, as well as total garbage volumes.
Women’s Work and the Built Environment: Lessons from the Slums of Calcutta, India

Abstract Using a theoretical framework that reveals the interconnections between spatial categories and gender needs, this paper addresses the issue of spatial confinement and spatial segregation as it relates to employment opportunities for women in the slums of Calcutta, India. Based on a qualitative study of the lives of 63 women living in five settlements in Calcutta, this study analyzes women’s wage-work, and the factors shaping women’s productive work choice. Grounded in the understanding gained from this study, this paper concludes with some policy recommendations which have relevance to the development of women centered programs across a range of developing countries.
N-Cadherin Dependent Collective Cell Invasion of Prostate Cancer Cells Is Regulated by the N-Terminus of α-Catenin

Cancer cell invasion is the critical first step of metastasis, yet, little is known about how cancer cells invade and initiate metastasis in a complex extracellular matrix. Using a cell line from bone metastasis of prostate cancer (PC3), we analyzed how prostate cancer cells migrate in a physiologically relevant 3D Matrigel. We found that PC3 cells migrated more efficiently as multi-cellular clusters than isolated single cells, suggesting that the presence of cell-cell adhesion improves 3D cell migration. Perturbation of N-cadherin function by transfection of either the N-cadherin cytoplasmic domain or shRNA specific to N-cadherin abolished collective cell migration. Interestingly, PC3 cells do not express α-catenin, an actin binding protein in the cadherin complex. When the full-length α-catenin was re-introduced, the phenotype of PC3 cells reverted back to a more epithelial phenotype with a decreased cell migration rate in 3D Matrigel. Interestingly, we found that the N-terminal half of α-catenin was sufficient to suppress invasive phenotype. Taken together, these data suggest that the formation of N-cadherin junctions promotes 3D cell migration of prostate cancer cells, and this is partly due to an aberrant regulation of the N-cadherin complex in the absence of α-catenin.
Systolic architecture for discrete wavelet transform

The wavelet transform provides a new method for signal/image analysis where high frequency components are studied with finer time resolution and low frequency components with coarser time resolution. It decomposes a scanned signal into localized contributions for multiscale analysis. This paper presents a systolic architecture which can compute the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) in an efficient manner. When the number of data points windowed in the input is N equals 2m, our DWT systolic architecture is composed of m layers of identical 1-dimensional arrays, which compute the high-pass and the low-pass filtered components simultaneously. Input data string can enter and be processed 'on-the-fly' continuously at the rate of one data point per clock period T. The computation time for a large number of successive DWT problems is NT per DWT.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Development of a computerized laboratory alerting system

The role of the clinical laboratory is primarily to provide physicians with patient data for use in clinical decision-making. Studies have shown that laboratory test results are the data most frequently used by physicians in decision-making [1,2]. For such decision-making to be effective, the clinical laboratory must provide accurate laboratory test results in a timely fashion, and physicians must identify and utilize important test results in making appropriate patient care decisions. Factors which make it difficult to achieve these goals are 1) problems in data communication, 2) unavailability of the attending physician, 3) information overload, and 4) human imperfectibility 3].
A Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell-Derived Growth Factor(s)

• Proliferation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, fibroblasts, and glial cells has been implicated in the pathogenesis of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. In this study, we demonstrate that RPE cells in culture produce a factor(s) that stimulates the growth of each of these cell types. After 48 hours of incubation with RPE-conditioned media, cell number is increased over that of controls by 110% for RPE cells, 105% for astrocytes, and 360% for corneal fibroblasts. Thymidine incorporation demonstrates that this increase is due to a stimulation of DNA synthesis. Preliminary characterization of the RPE growth-promoting activity demonstrates that it is heat stable, stable to extremes of pH, nondialyzable, and partially trypsin sensitive. These data suggest that RPE cells in culture produce a growth factor(s) targeted primarily at fibroblasts, but that can also stimulate their own growth and that of astrocytes.
THE USE OF CORTISONE IN POSTINFECTION ENCEPHALITIS.

Abstract A case of chicken pox encephalitis treated with cortisone is reported. Although it cannot be said that this substance aided recovery, it evidently produced no detrimental effect. Considerable evidence suggests that postinfection encephalitis is allergic in nature, the changes representing an altered tissue reaction. The rationale for the use of ACTH and cortisone is discussed.
Shared Antigenic Epitopes and Pathobiological Functions of Anti-p185her2/neu Monoclonal Antibodies

Abstract We have studied two anti-p185 antibodies: the monoclonal antibody 7.16.4 and rhuMAb 4D5, which were raised against the the ectodomain of rat (p185 neu ), and the human (p185 her2/neu ) homolog, respectively. Studies on the structure of these two antibodies indicate that they share structural similarity in the variable region, especially the CDR3 region, which determines the antibody–antigen interaction. Further studies by flow cytometry revealed that 7.16.4 can compete with rhuMAb4D5 for binding to the cell surface p185 her2/neu , suggesting that these two antibodies share an epitope on the p185 receptor. Furthermore, 7.16.4 can also inhibit proliferation and transformation caused by p185 her2/neu . Moreover the rhuMAb 4D5 binds to the rat p185 neu . With the observation that 7.16.4 positively stains human breast cancer tissues that overexpress p185 her2/neu , 7.16.4 may be useful for the pathological diagnosis and therapy of human tumors.
Age 13 Language and Reading Outcomes in Late-Talking Toddlers

Language and reading outcomes at 13 years of age were examined in 28 children identified at 24 to 31 months as late talkers, all of whom came from middle- to upper-class socioeconomic status (SES) ...
The use of the Smith chart in classical frequency response analysis of control systems

Because they are conformal maps of applicable equations, and because of the geometric properties of those maps, Smith charts can be used to represent the complex-valued plots of the frequency response of both the open- and closed-loop gains of a single-input single-output system on the same graph, inside the unit circle. The plots thus obtained may be used, often better than polar plots or Nichols charts, in any classical frequency response design or analysis procedure of which the author is aware, and present many advantages.
Infrared Light Curves and the Detectability of Close-In Extrasolar Giant Planets

We compute theoretical infrared light curves for several known extrasolar planets. We have constructed a set of routines to calculate the orbital parameters for a given planet and integrate over the planetary disk to determine the total flux density of the planet as it orbits the parent star. We have further developed a spectral synthesis routine to calculate theoretical spectra of extrasolar giant planets from 3–24 $\mu$ m. The code requires a temperature-pressure profile as input, calculated by solving the radiative transfer equation; it then calculates continuous opacities and line opacities for water, carbon monoxide, and methane, and finally integrates over the layers of the atmosphere to determine the emergent flux. By integrating the theoretical spectrum over the bandpass of a particular instrument and including realistic instrument noise, we produce a set of multi-wavelength, infrared light curves. Using these light curves, we predict whether a particular known planet can be observed and characterized using the Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as other proposed space-based instruments, such as the Fourier-Kelvin Stellar Interferometer (FKSI) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Modeling of composite fibrous porous diffusion media

Abstract To engineer the desired properties of fibrous porous media, a parametric modeling approach is needed to support the rational design of the materials before the fabrication. In this study, we propose a methodology that enables the accurate representation of three-dimensional (3D) microstructures of fibrous porous media and prediction of their transport properties. Toray TGP-H-060 gas diffusion layer (GDL) is selected as an example to demonstrate the feasibility of the suggested design methodology. The detailed microstructure of the GDL with the inclusion of locally distributed binder is constructed using an extended periodic surface (PS) modeling technique. A 3D morphological approach is taken to create the binder distribution within the fibrous microstructure. Transport properties including permeability, relative diffusivity, and tortuosity and local structure characteristics of the generated microstructure, under different binder loading are calculated. It is shown that the detailed model of the fiber-binder composite has a strong influence on the predicted properties.
Transcriptional regulation of Arabidopsis thaliana phytochelatin synthase (AtPCS1) by cadmium during early stages of plant development.

Transcriptional regulation of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. phytochelatin synthase (AtPCS1) by cadmium (Cd) was analyzed at various stages of plant development using transgenic Arabidopsis and wild-type plants. Histochemical analysis of β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity in transgenic lines carrying a uidA gene driven by a 2.0-kb AtPCS1 promoter revealed higher GUS activities in 5-day-old seedlings subjected to 50 µM Cd treatment for 5 days, beginning at seed germination, than in non-treated plants. This high level of GUS activity gradually decreased as plants continued their growth until no differences were observed between Cd-treated and non-treated transgenic plants. The observed GUS activity due to Cd treatment during the early stage of plant development corresponded with induction of AtPCS1 mRNA as confirmed by RNA blot analysis of wild-type Arabidopsis. The steady-state level of AtPCS1 mRNA increased by 2-fold in 5-day-old Cd-treated wild-type Arabidopsis compared to non-treated seedlings. Moreover, AtPCS1 protein levels increased following Cd treatment as observed in western blot analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis lines carrying a C-terminal FLAG-tagged AtPCS1 genomic DNA driven by a 2.0-kb AtPCS1 promoter. The transcriptional regulation of AtPCS1 by Cd during the early stage of seedling development seemed to be correlated with a higher Cd sensitivity in cad2, an Arabidopsis mutant deficient in phytochelatin synthesis, during early stages of plant development. This was supported by our finding that Cd sensitivity in cad2 was reduced as plants continued their growth, and was comparable to that of wild-type plants.
An Obesity Dietary Quality Index Predicts Abdominal Obesity in Women: Potential Opportunity for New Prevention and Treatment Paradigms

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01-HL-60700, R01-HL-54776); Department of Family Medicine and the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine; National Institutes of Health (N01-HC-25195)
Molecular dynamics simulations indicate an induced-fit mechanism for LSD1/CoREST-H3-histone molecular recognition

Background Lysine Specific Demethylase (LSD1 or KDM1A) in complex with its co-repressor protein CoREST catalyzes the demethylation of the H3 histone N-terminal tail and is currently one of the most promising epigenetic targets for drug discovery against cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Models of non-covalent binding, such as lock and key, induced-fit, and conformational selection could help explaining the molecular mechanism of LSD1/CoREST-H3-histone association, thus guiding drug discovery and design efforts. Here, we quantify the extent to which LSD1/CoREST substrate binding is consistent with these hypothetical models using LSD1/CoREST conformational ensembles obtained through extensive explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.
Dimerization of cGMP-dependent protein kinase 1α and the myosin-binding subunit of myosin phosphatase: role of leucine zipper domains

Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrovasodilators induce vascular smooth muscle cell relaxation in part by cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGK)-mediated activation of myosin phosphatase, which dephosphorylates myosin light chains. We recently found that cGMP-dependent protein kinase 1α binds directly to the myosin-binding subunit (MBS) of myosin phosphatase via the leucine/isoleucine zipper of cGK. We have now studied the role of the leucine zipper domain of MBS in dimerization with cGK and the leucine/isoleucine zipper and leucine zipper domains of both proteins in homodimerization. Mutagenesis of the MBS leucine zipper domain disrupts cGKIα-MBS dimerization. Mutagenesis of the MBS leucine zipper eliminates MBS homodimerization, while similar disruption of the cGKIα leucine/isoleucine zipper does not prevent formation of cGK dimers. The MBS leucine zipper domain is phosphorylated by cGK, but this does not have any apparent effect on heterodimer formation between the two proteins. MBS LZ mutants that are unable to bind cGK were poor substrates for cGK. These data support the theory that the MBS leucine zipper domain is necessary and sufficient to mediate both MBS homodimerization and binding of the protein to cGK. In contrast, the leucine/isoleucine zipper of cGK is required for binding to MBS, but not for cGK homodimerization. These data support that the MBS and cGK leucine zipper domains mediate the interaction between these two proteins. The contribution of these domains to both homodimerization and their specific interaction with each other suggest that additional regulatory mechanisms involving these domains may exist.
International law as a moral theory of state territory

Current states face challenges from other states and secessionist movements, and no moral theory exists to evaluate these conflicting claims. One step towards a theory is to evaluate international law on territory, specifically as articulated through decolonisation. I argue that international law does not provide a plausible moral theory of territory because the principles of territorial integrity and uti possidetis cannot coherently coexist with the principle of self‐determination. I suggest that philosophers must choose between viewing territory as an expression of national self or as a property right, or else develop a third view from sources beyond current international law.
First‐pass metabolism via UDP‐glucuronosyltransferase: a barrier to oral bioavailability of phenolics

Glucuronidation mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) is a significant metabolic pathway that facilitates efficient elimination of numerous endobiotics and xenobiotics, including phenolics. UGT genetic deficiency and polymorphisms or inhibition of glucuronidation by concomitant use of drugs are associated with inherited physiological disorders or drug-induced toxicities. Moreover, extensive glucuronidation can be a barrier to oral bioavailability as the first-pass glucuronidation (or premature clearance by UGTs) of orally administered agents usually results in the poor oral bioavailability and lack of efficacies. This review focused on the first-pass glucuronidation of phenolics including natural polyphenols and pharmaceuticals. The complexity of UGT-mediated metabolism of phenolics is highlighted with species-, gender-, organ- and isoform-dependent specificity, as well as functional compensation between UGT1A and 2B subfamily. In addition, recent advances are discussed with respect to the mechanisms of enzymatic actions, including the important properties such as binding pocket size and phosphorylation requirements. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 100:3655–3681, 2011
A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled pilot trial of extended IV lidocaine infusion for relief of ongoing neuropathic pain.

Objectives: To determine the dose-response effect and safety of IV lidocaine at different dose infusion rates on spontaneous ongoing neuropathic pain. Methods: In this double-masked, placebo-controlled, parallel study conducted in an outpatient clinical research center, patients with peripheral neuropathic pain received a 6-hour infusion of three doses (1, 3, and 5mg/kg) of lidocaine or placebo. The main outcome measure was relief of pain intensity (percentage pain intensity difference [PID %]). Other measures were responder rate, adverse events, and correlation between lidocaine levels and PID %. Results: There was a significant difference in the median PID % between the group treated with lidocaine 5mg/kg/h (-34.60) and the placebo group (- 11.96, P = 0.012). Such effect began 4 hours after the onset of treatment and lasted until the end of the study. Lidocaine at lower infusion rates was no better than placebo in relieving pain. A modest but significant correlation was found between methylethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) levels and pain relief (R 2 = 0.60). There were no serious adverse events, but in two patients lidocaine was stopped prematurely. Conclusions: Lidocaine at 5mg/kg/h was more effective than placebo at relieving neuropathic pain. The effect started 4 hours after the onset of treatment and continued for at least 4 hours after the end of the infusion. Additional research is needed using higher infusion rates with larger sample sizes to confirm these results and to explore the role of MEGX in the relief of neuropathic pain.
Conflict? What work–life conflict? A national study of future public relations practitioners

Abstract Using a national random sample of PRSSA members ( N = 464), this study explored public relations students’ perceptions of work–life conflict and yielded findings suggesting: (1) students anticipated moderate levels of work–life conflict at their future jobs; (2) family-supportive organizational work environment was perceived to be instrumental in reducing work–life conflict; (3) strain-based work–life conflict reduces projected salary.
Rank-frequency distribution of accident statistics

A generalized power model is proposed as a description of the relationship between the frequencies of different classes of accidents and their rank order. In order to test the validity of this model, empirical analyses have been made of reported statistics for total accidents and home accidents as well as for occupational injury or illness. On the basis of these analyses, the proposed frequency-rank relationship appears to be an appropriate empirical model, which provides highly respectable fits to the great majority of the analyzed data. Two of the model parameters account for the frequency variations between ranks and are related to the notion of accident variety (diversity) for which some quantitative measures are proposed. The values of the variety measures are calculated for each set of accident data and some explanations and interpretations are offered.
Non-premixed hydrocarbon ignition at high strain rates

We report on the results of numerical-simulation investigations of ignition characteristics of hydrocarbon-fuel blends expected from thermal cracking of typical jet fuels, at conditions relevant to high-Mach-number, air-breathing propulsion. A two-point-continuation method was employed, with a detailed description of molecular transport and chemical kinetics, focusing on the effects of fuel composition, reactant temperature, additives, and imposed strain rate. It captured the entire S-curve that describes the processes of vigorous burning extinction, and ignition. The results demonstrate that ignition of such fuel blends is dominated by the synergistic behavior of CH_4 and C_2H_4. A fuel temperature of T_(fuel)=950 K was employed throughout. At higher air temperatures (T_(air)=1200 K), addition of small amounts of CH_4 to C_2H_4 molerately inhibits C_2H_4 ignition, while at lower T_(air)=1050 K, CH_4 promotes ignition. Large amounts of CH_4, however, inhibit C_2H_4 ignition at all T_(air)s. Ignition promotion was also investigated through the independent addtion of H_2 and F_2 in the reactant streams. H_2 addition (e.g., 2–10%) produces a two-stage ignition and sustains higher ignition strain rates. Small amounts of F_2 (1%) result in F-radical production, contributing to efficient fuel consumption, enhancing ignition characteristics. Ignition strain rates of σign≅4000 s^(−1), as compared to σ_(ign) ≅ 250 s^(−1) for pure C_2H_4, can be attained with such additives at lower temperatures (T_(air)=1050 K).
Genetic diversity of hydrothermal-vent barnacles in Manus Basin

Abstract We evaluated mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I genetic diversity of two barnacle species ( Eochionelasmus ohtai manusensis , Vulcanolepas cf. parensis ) at three sites in Manus Basin (Solwara 1, South Su, Solwara 8). There was no evidence for within-site or between-site genetic differentiation for either species. While E. ohtai manusensis showed limited genetic variation, V. cf. parensis showed greater variation, with sequences distributed between two divergent groups. Assuming the cytochrome oxidase I gene is not under selection, significantly negative Tajima′s D in E. ohtai manusensis is consistent with a recent population expansion due to a bottleneck or founder effect, whereas V. cf. parensis (combined groups) did not depart from a stable effective population size. Considering the groups separately, V. cf. parensis Group 1 (but not Group 2) showed a negative Tajima′s D , indicating these groups may have encountered different historical demographic conditions. Data reported here are part of a baseline study against which recovery of genetic diversity following mineral extraction at Solwara 1 can be measured.
Income, Occupation, and Preferences for Redistribution in the Developing World

Much of the theoretical work on preferences for redistribution begins with the influential Melzer–Richard model, which makes predictions derived both from position in the income distribution and the overall level of inequality. Our evidence, however, points to limitations on such models of distributive politics. Drawing on World Values Survey evidence on preferences for redistribution in 41 developing countries, we find that the preferences of low-income groups vary significantly depending on occupation and place of residence, union members do not hold progressive views, and inequality has limited effects on demands for redistribution and may even dampen them.