cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Failure to detect functional transfer of active K-Ras protein from extracellular vesicles into recipient cells in culture.

Exosomes, extracellular nanovesicles that carry nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins, have been the subject of several studies to assess their ability to transfer functional cargoes to cells. We recently characterized extracellular nanovesicles released from glioblastoma cells that carry active Ras in complex with proteins regulating exosome biogenesis. Here, we investigated whether a functional transfer of Ras from exosomes to other cells can initiate intercellular signaling. We observed that treatment of serum-starved, cultured glioblastoma cells with exogenous glioblastoma exosomes caused a significant increase in cellular viability over time. Moreover, we detected fluorescent signal transfer from lipophilic dye-labeled exogenous glioblastoma exosomes into cultured glioblastoma cells. To probe possible signaling from cell-to-cell, we utilized bimolecular luciferase complementation to examine the ability of K-Ras in exosomes to interact with the Raf-Ras Binding domain (Raf-RBD) expressed in a recipient cell line. Although the K-Ras/Raf-RBD interaction was readily detectable upon co-expression in a single cell line, or following lysis of co-cultured cell lines separately expressing K-Ras and RBD, bearing in mind the limitations of our assay, we were unable to detect the interaction in the intact, co-cultured cell lines or upon treatment of the Raf-RBD-expressing cells with exosomes containing K-Ras. Furthermore, HA-Tag-BFP fused to the K-Ras hypervariable region and CAAX sequence failed to be transferred at significant levels from extracellular vesicles into recipient cells, but remained detectable in the cell supernatants even after 96 hours of culture of naive cells with extracellular vesicles. We conclude that if transfer of functional K-Ras from extracellular vesicles into the cytoplasm of recipient cells occurs, it must do so at an extremely low efficiency and therefore is unlikely to initiate Ras-ERK MAP kinase pathway signaling. These results suggest that studies claiming functional transfer of protein cargoes from exosomes should be interpreted with caution.
Impact of cancer therapy on oral care utilization.

e18010Background: Cancer therapy can result in lifelong detrimental changes to oral function. These changes often result in negative effects on patients' quality of life. The primary objective of t...
Non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae bacteremia in an urban academic medical center in the United States.

Abstract Non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae (NOVC) are genetically diverse strains that are generally non-pathogenic in healthy hosts. In immunocompromised patients or those with liver disease, NOVC have been shown to cause gastroenteritis, wound infections or sepsis and are often associated with high mortality rates. We report a case of a patient with liver cirrhosis and chronic venous insufficiency who was found to have NOVC bacteremia. The patient had recently visited Florida, USA but had no seafood consumption or exposure to aquatic environments. The patient was managed with antimicrobials, with a favorable outcome.
Revision of an infected total hip arthroplasty: the need for the adjustment of risk in bundled payment models for revision arthroplasty.

Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in 30-day outcomes between patients undergoing revision for an infected total hip arthroplasty (THA) compared with an aseptic revision ...
Towards Resolving Fiber Crossings with Higher Order Tensor Inpainting

The use of second-order tensors for the modeling of data from Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DW-MRI) is limited by their inability to represent more than one dominant direction in cases of crossing fiber bundles or partial voluming. Higher-order tensors have been used in High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) to overcome these problems, but their larger number of parameters leads to longer measurement times for data acquisition. In this work, we demonstrate that higher-order tensors that indicate likely fiber directions can be estimated from a small number of diffusion-weighted measurements by taking into account information from local neighborhoods. To this end, we generalize tensor voting, a method from computer vision, to higher-order tensors. We demonstrate that the resulting even-order tensor fields facilitate fiber reconstruction at crossings both in synthetic and in real DW-MRI data, and that the odd-order fields differentiate crossings from junctions.
Implantable looprecorders: dollars and sense*

Syncope is a common, often perplexing clinical problem causing emotional stress to patients, their families, and often, the physicians caring for them. In a large, 26-year prospective study of men and women ages 30 to 62 years, 3% of men and 3.5% of women experienced at least one syncopal episode [(
New attacks and defense for encrypted-address cache

Conflict-based cache attacks can allow an adversary to infer the access pattern of a co-running application by orchestrating evictions via cache conflicts. Such attacks can be mitigated by randomizing the location of the lines in the cache. Our recent proposal, CEASER, makes cache randomization practical by accessing the cache using an encrypted address and periodically changing the encryption key. CEASER was analyzed with the state-of-the-art algorithm on forming eviction sets, and the analysis showed that CEASER with a Remap-Rate of 1% is sufficient to tolerate years of attack. In this paper, we present two new attacks that significantly push the state-of-the-art in forming eviction sets. Our first attack reduces the time required to form the eviction set from O (L2) to O(L), where $L$ is the number of lines in the attack. This attack is 35x faster than the best-known attack and requires that the Remap-Rate of CEASER be increased to 35%. Our second attack exploits the replacement policy (we analyze LRU, RRIP, and Random) to form eviction set quickly and requires that the Remap-Rate of CEASER be increased to more than 100%, incurring impractical overheads. To improve the robustness of CEASER against these attacks in a practical manner, we propose Skewed-CEASER (CEASER-S), which divides the cache ways into multiple partitions and maps the cache line to be resident in a different set in each partition. This design significantly improves the robustness of CEASER, as the attacker must form an eviction set that can dislodge the line from multiple possible locations. We show that CEASER-S can tolerate years of attacks while retaining a Remap-Rate of 1%. CEASER-S incurs negligible slowdown (within 1%) and a storage overhead of less than 100 bytes for the newly added structures.
A National Epidemiologic Profile of Physical Intimate Partner Violence, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Supportive Childhood Relationships: Group Differences in Predicted Trends and Associations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common in the USA and associated with multiple health sequelae. Physical intimate partner violence (IPV) is a type of revictimization that some adults with ACEs may be more prone to. Positive and supportive childhood environments may buffer the effects of ACEs, but little is known about the differential associations between physical IPV and ACEs and supportive childhood environments. We sought to illustrate racial/ethnic and gender differences in the adjusted predicted probability of physical IPV across multiple ACE and supportive childhood scores. We used multivariate linear regression to model the predicted probability of experiencing physical IPV across ACE (physical, psychological, sexual, household environment, mother’s abuse) and supportive childhood scores in a national sample (National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III, 2012–2013, n = 35,614). Data analyses were conducted in 2019. American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women demonstrated the highest proportion of experiencing physical IPV (21%). AI/AN men had the highest mean physical ACE score (1.6/4), while AI/AN women had the highest mean scores for all other ACE typologies. ACE scores were positively associated with predicted physical IPV among women, and among AI/AN women in particular. Supportive childhood scores were negatively associated with predicted physical IPV primarily among women. Physical IPV and ACEs are exceedingly high among AI/AN women. A better understanding of differential associations between childhood experiences and IPV is needed to more effectively tailor childhood and family-based health promotion strategies among multiple diverse communities.
Implementing the Clean Clinic Approach Improves Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Quality in Health Facilities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.

Background Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services are cornerstones to providing safe health care services and improving patient satisfaction and care seeking. The Clean Clinic Approach (CCA) uses a 10-step process to support health care facilities (HCFs) in making incremental, effective cleanliness and infection prevention and control (IPC) improvements, without relying on external investments. We piloted the CCA in Guatemala and assessed the extent to which it contributed to quality improvements in WASH for IPC. Methods After developing an assessment tool tailored to the Guatemalan context, we assessed 11 HCFs in 8 technical areas and scored the facilities on 79 criteria with a total of 100 points. We conducted a baseline assessment (September to October 2018), second assessment (January 2019), and final assessment (February to March 2019). Results The 11 HCFs improved their average emergency/general ward scores from 41 points at baseline to 87 points at end line, based on a 100-point scale. For delivery wards, the scores increased from 50 to 91 points and for postnatal wards from 46 to 90 points. Conclusions The CCA process and tools facilitated a systematic way for HCFs to identify, prioritize, make, and measure WASH quality of care improvements. Training facility staff was fundamental to improving quality standards, and involving medical and administration staff in joint analysis, coordination, and planning sessions was key to integration and teamwork. Further work is needed to increase involvement of local government and community members and to further adapt the process and tools.
Point mean beam length, a new concept to enhance the computational efficiency of multidimensional, non-gray radiative heat transfer

A new concept of point mean beam length (PMBL) is introduced. For enclosures with simple geometry, this concept provides a fundamental self-consistent interpretation on the various different defini...
Recreate and retain: how entrance into a campus recreation facility impacts retention.

This study explored the rates of retention among students who entered a campus recreation facility. The purpose of the study was to determine the statistical significance of the rates of retention ...
Engaging patients in population-based chronic disease management: A qualitative study of barriers and intervention opportunities

Abstract Objective Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a leading cause of morbidity in the U.S. Managing CVD risk factors, such as diabetes or hypertension, can be challenging for many individuals. We investigated the barriers experienced by patients who persistently struggled to reach their CVD risk factor control goals. Methods This qualitative study examined patient, clinician, and researcher observations of individuals’ experiences in a chronic disease management program. All participants (n = 332) were enrolled in a clinical trial testing a skills-based group intervention seeking to improve healthcare engagement. Data were analyzed through a general inductive approach and resulting themes were structured along the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior framework. Results Analyses identified care engagement barriers related to participants’ communication skills and activation, care team relationship processes, and emotional factors. Although most participants reported benefitting from skills training, persistent barriers included distrust of their providers, shame about health challenges, and dissatisfaction with care team interactions that were described as impersonal or unresponsive. Conclusions and practice implications Efforts to support engagement in CVD risk factor management programs should address whether patients and their care team have the necessary skills, opportunities and confidence to proactively communicate health needs and engage in non-judgmental interactions for goal-setting, rapport-building, and shared decision-making.
Age Does Matter: COVID-19 Prevalence in a Vaping Adolescent Population: An Observational Study

Background: Currently, there is limited or no data demonstrating that vaping is associated with increased transmission or prevalence of coronavirus disease-2019
Moisture effect investigation on the dynamic fracture behavior of unidirectional and woven carbon fiber/epoxy materials

Abstract The mixed-mode fracture response of weathered unidirectional and woven composites was studied. Composites were hygrothermally aged and dynamically loaded by launching projectiles from a gas gun. Hygrothermal aging was achieved by submerging samples in distilled water at a constant temperature of 65°C until a moisture content of 1.5 wt% was achieved. Ultra-high-speed photography combined with digital image correlation was used to obtain the stress intensity factor histories and dynamic fracture toughness of the samples, thus allowing us to compare the material behavior in both pristine and weathered conditions. The experiments presented in this chapter include a more realistic loading condition compared to pure mode-I or mode-II fracture conditions, as such more complex and less intuitive failure modes will be presented. In particular, mixed-mode loading conditions arising from a mode-I loading scenario, and fracture arrest due to transverse fibers in woven laminates.
Ab initio metadynamics calculations reveal complex interfacial effects in acetic acid deprotonation dynamics

Abstract Acid-base reactions play a central role in solution chemistry, with carboxylic acids being particularly important in atmospheric chemical processes. In this work, we harness metadynamics calculations with Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations to understand deprotonation dynamics of acetic acid (CH3COOH) in both bulk and air-water interfacial environments. Collective variables are carefully chosen in our well-tempered metadynamics simulations to capture the deprotonation process in various aqueous configurations. Our findings show that the free energy barrier for deprotonation of acetic acid at the air-water interface is lower than in the bulk, in accordance with the available experimental data. Furthermore, our well-tempered metadynamics calculations suggest that the variations in free energy are primarily due to intricate solvation shell effects.
Linear Stability-Based Smooth Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes Transition Model for Aerodynamic Flows

The inclusion of transition to turbulence effects in computational fluid dynamics simulations makes it possible to design laminar flow airframes. It also increases the level of physical representat...
Set Theory-An Operational Approach

1. Air Dispersion Modeling 2. Health Risk Assessment 3. Operations and Predicates 4. Replacement 5. Set Induction 6. Applications 7. Set Recursion 8. Ordinals 9. Omega 10. Power-Set and Cardinals 11. Formalization: Classical Logic 12. Formalization: Intuitionistic Logic
Adaptive Filtering: Fundamentals of Least Mean Squares with MATLAB®

Adaptive filters are used in many diverse applications, appearing in everything from military instruments to cellphones and home appliances. Adaptive Filtering: Fundamentals of Least Mean Squares with MATLAB covers the core concepts of this important field, focusing on a vital part of the statistical signal processing areathe least mean square (LMS) adaptive filter. This largely self-contained text: Discusses random variables, stochastic processes, vectors, matrices, determinants, discrete random signals, and probability distributions Explains how to find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix and the properties of the error surfaces Explores the Wiener filter and its practical uses, details the steepest descent method, and develops the Newtons algorithm Addresses the basics of the LMS adaptive filter algorithm, considers LMS adaptive filter variants, and provides numerous examples Delivers a concise introduction to MATLAB, supplying problems, computer experiments, and more than 110 functions and script files Featuring robust appendices complete with mathematical tables and formulas, Adaptive Filtering: Fundamentals of Least Mean Squares with MATLAB clearly describes the key principles of adaptive filtering and effectively demonstrates how to apply them to solve real-world problems.
On objective identifications of structural readjustment of agricultural industry of 21st century in China.

The current key-point of agriculture development lies on readjusting industry structure.How to identify the objects of structural readjustment of agricultural industry oriented 21st century is a crucial issue and imperial task closely concerned to realize sustainable development of rural economy as a whole and agricultural modernization.By the angle of production practice,macro-viewpoints and operation management,this paper illustrates the identifying objects of structure readjustment of agricultural industry oriented 21st century.
Advancement along a career path: the influence of human capital and performance

Following the path metaphor of careers along with signalling and human capital theories, we examine important factors that predict individuals' advancement in a career. With a unique sample of American football players, we tested the influence of individuals' human capital on their performance, value and advancement along a career path. Our findings indicate that individuals' human capital assessed in the first stage of the career path is positively related to individuals' performance in the second stage of the career path and the value placed on individuals in the third stage of the career path. We also found that performance in the second stage mediated the relationship between human capital assessed in the first stage and the value placed on individuals in the third stage of the career path.
Die Grundmaximen der Verfassungsordnung

Wollte man die historische Gestalt der britischen Staatsordnung in einer einzigen „Grundnorm“ ausdrucken, so ware es die Doktrin, das das britische Parlament die Souveranitat — sovereignty oder auch supremacy — besitzt. Dies bedeutet, das der King-in-Parliament — die beiden Hauser also im Zusammenwirken mit der Krone — die hochste und unanfechtbare Entscheidungsmacht innerhalb des britischen Staatsgebietes innehat. Damit ist zweierlei gemeint: Einmal spiegelt die Lehre einen juristischen Grundsatz wieder, den schon Edward Coke in den Institutes of the Law of England (1628–1633) und William Blackstone in the Cornmentaries an the Law of England (1765) aus dem common law abgeleitet hatten; er wurde in der kontinentalen Staatslehre wohl als die „Kompetenz-Kompetenz“ des Parlaments umschrieben werden. Zum anderen aber ist die Maxime der Parlamentssouveranitat ein politisches Glaubensbekenntnis oder Dogma. Paradoxerweise beruht der Grundsatz weder auf einem Parlamentsgesetz noch konnte das Parlament ihn heute in ein Gesetz einkleiden oder gar abschaffen. Wurde letzteres geschehen, so ware an die Stelle der geltenden eine andere, eine neue Verfassungsordnung getreten.
Active power summation for efficient multiband RF energy harvesting

Radio frequency scavenging power supplies targeting ambient and/or intentional sources of energy present a reliability challenge when faced with single-source fading (both geographic and small scale), and this is an impediment to their practical adoption. Recent work has described simultaneous harvesting of power from multiple spectrally separated bands as a method to mitigate single-source fading. The method used for summation of DC output power from each band rectifier is critical in determining efficiency of the multiband harvester. Existing work explores a diode network topology for summation of power, but this network doesn't always provide a benefit over a naive implementation of power summation. This paper characterizes the costs and benefits of existing power summation topologies, and introduces a new intelligent switching method for summation which generally exceeds the performance of prior methods.
An Efficient Inclusion-Based Points-To Analysis for Strictly-Typed Languages

We describe the design and implementation of an efficient inclusion-based points-to analysis for strictly-typed object-oriented languages. Our implementation easily scales to millions of lines of Java code, and it supports language features suchas inheritance, object fields, exceptional control flow, type casting, dynamic dispatch, and reflection. Our algorithm is based on Heintze and Tardieu's Andersen-style pointsto analysis designed originally for C programs. We have improved the precision of their algorithm by tracking the fields of individual objects separately and by analyzing the local variables in a method in a flow-sensitive manner. Our algorithm represents the semantics of each procedure concisely using a sparse summary graphrepresen tation based on access paths; it iterates over this sparse representation until it reaches a fixed point solution. By utilizing the access path and field information present in the summary graphs, along with minimizing redundant operations and memory management overheads, we are able to quickly and effectively analyze very large programs. Our experimental results demonstrate that this technique can be used to compute precise static call graphs for very large Java programs.
Leaky wave excitation on three‐dimensional via‐fed printed interconnects

[1] Leaky wave excitation on three-dimensional, via-fed single and coupled microstrip interconnects is studied. Closed-form asymptotic expressions for the fields associated with the interconnect are derived and are applied in the traveling/standing wave and leaky wave regimes, both of which lead to radiation. The leaky wave beam angle is found to correspond to the usual two-dimensional ray optics leakage angle for long interconnects, as expected, and depends on interconnect length, spacing, and excitation for shorter interconnects. Comparisons with full-wave results are shown for the case of via-fed coupled interconnects.
Not Unmindful of the Future: Some Reflections on Stability and Change

A speech delivered at Opening Convocation, Washington & Lee University, Fall 1994; "[S]ome of us, by temperament or because of metaphysical reflection, tend to prefer stability as more important than change; others will generally prefer change to stability. Some are inclined to see the world through Burke's eyes; others through Rousseau's. Some of us have great faith in theory and in synoptic solutions; others think that truth is more likely to evolve, little by little. Some of us are devoted to codification in the law; others to the common law tradition. In a sense, these are biases or predilections that any of us who has thought seriously about these things is likely to have developed. What I want to suggest is that they are like other biases and predilections; once we are conscious of them, as Aristotle suggested, we need to try and compensate for them. We must try and get past the labels and dig into the nitty-gritty."
Psychological Distress and Perceived Barriers to Care for Rural Lesbians

The purpose of the current study was to examine rural lesbians’ experiences of psychological distress and barriers to mental healthcare compared with their nonrural counterparts. A geographically diverse sample of 716 lesbians from across the United States participated in an online study. Results revealed that compared with their nonrural counterparts, rural lesbians experience higher levels of psychological distress. In addition, after controlling for age, race, and education level, rural lesbians were also more likely to report the following barriers to needed mental healthcare: (1) a lack of coverage/financial limitations, (2) a limited availability of providers in their area, and (3) avoidance of care due to fears of discrimination/unfair treatment by a provider. Rural lesbians appear to face greater mental health related vulnerabilities. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.
Air Current Applied to the Face Improves Exercise Performance in Patients with COPD

Purpose Improving dyspnea and exercise performance are goals of COPD therapy. We tested the hypothesis that air current applied to the face would lessen dyspnea and improve exercise performance in moderate-severe COPD patients.
Surgical Motion Adaptive Robotic Technology (S.M.A.R.T): Taking the Motion out of Physiological Motion

In precision computer and robotic assisted minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as retinal microsurgery or cardiac bypass surgery, physiological motion can hamper the surgeon's ability to effectively visualize and approach the target site. Current day stabilizers used for minimally invasive cardiac surgery often stretch or pull at the tissue, causing subsequent tissue damage. In this study, we investigated novel means of modeling Z-axis physiological motion and demonstrate how these models could be used to compensate for this motion in order to provide a more stable surgical field. The Z-axis motion compensation is achieved by using a fiber-optic laser sensor to obtain precise displacement measurements. Using a weighted time series modeling technique, modeling of rodent chest wall motion and heart wall motion was accomplished. Our computational methods for modeling physiological motion open the door for applications using high speed, high precision actuators to filter motion out and provide for a stable surgical field.
Differential susceptibility of murine T and B lymphocytes to freeze-thaw and hypotonic shock

Abstract Experiments were carried out to determine if thymic-derived lymphocytes (T-cells) could be differentially damaged by hypotonic and/or freeze-thaw stress. The uptake of 3H-thymidine after stimulation of murine spleen cells with phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) or bacterial endotoxin (LPS) was used as an indicator of recovery. Optimal freezing and thawing techniques showed that 100% of LPS-responsive cells could be recovered, compared to 65% of PHA-responsive cells. These differences could be increased by treatment of spleen cells with 0.17 m NH4Cl prior to freezing and thawing. This represented a recovery of 50% of LPS-responsive cells and less than 10% of PHA-responsive cells. A similar effect could be obtained by treating NH4Cl-treated spleen cells with distilled water prior to culture. It is hypothesized that T-cells are more susceptible to osmotic damage than B-cells due to their differences in membrane characteristics.
The antiangiogenic effect of thrombospondin-2 is mediated by CD36 and modulated by histidine-rich glycoprotein.

Abstract Thrombospondins-1 and -2 (TSP-1, TSP-2) are matricellular glycoproteins with potent antiangiogenic activity. We have previously shown that the antiangiogenic activity of TSP-1 is mediated by the interaction of the type I repeats (TSR) with the receptor CD36, although other domains of TSP-1 have also been implicated. We now show that the antiangiogenic activity of TSP-2, which contains three TSRs but, unlike TSP-1, lacks the capacity to activate TGF-β, is similarly dependent on CD36. Using the corneal pocket assay we found that TSP-2 did not inhibit bFGF-induced angiogenesis in CD36 null mice. We then demonstrated that 125 [I]-TSP-2 bound to murine macrophages and that binding was diminished by 70% by anti-CD36 antibody or by using cells from CD36 null animals. Solid-phase binding studies revealed that 125 [I]-TSP-2 bound to CD36/glutathione- S -transferase (GST) fusion proteins encoding the region spanning amino acids 93-120, but not amino acids 298–439. This 93–120 amino acid region, previously identified as the TSP-1 binding site, is homologous to domains on other TSP binding proteins, such as LIMP-2 and histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRGP). Finally, we showed with an immunoabsorbent binding assay that TSP-2 bound HRGP with high affinity and that HRGP blocked the antiangiogenic activity of TSP-2, acting like a “decoy” receptor. These data suggest that modulation of the TSR/CD36 system may play an important role in the regulation of the angiogenic “switch,” and may provide a target for therapeutic interventions.
A theoretical analysis of the effect of fear on the location decisions of urban — suburban residents

Abstract This paper extends Becker's analysis of crime by dealing with group behavior. It introduces two additional points for general consideration: the existence of fear costs, with fear modeled as an undepletable detrimental externality; and the positive utility a criminal, who is a member of a criminal gang or organization, can obtain from determinate prison sentences where parole, probation, and plea bargaining are possible sentences. These points have implications for the control of violent street crime in central cities as well as upon the location decision of urban residents. The possible spread of violent street crime from central cities to the suburbs can generate a subsequent suburban incentive to discriminate against minority races to prevent this spread. This linkage offers a partial explanation of segregated housing patterns in suburban cities of America.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE POLITICAL ACCEPTABILITY OF CONGESTION PRICING.

There is renewed interest in implementing congestion pricing in metropolitan areas throughout the US. This paper reviews changes in the transportation policy environment that have led to this renewed interest and identifies the major interest groups that support congestion pricing. A case study is used to demonstrate that significant barriers to congestion pricing implementation continue to exist. The paper concludes with some suggestions for developing politically acceptable pricing alternatives.
Impact of water volume on operating cost

Sustainable water management relies on the ability to control operating cost which relies in turn on a working knowledge of factors which can affect this ability. The impact of water volume on operating cost is investigated for water utilities using data from the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET) online database. Econometric models are estimated for water utilities located in Albania, Moldova, Brazil, Zambia, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Estimations provide similar quantitative findings and identical qualitative findings across locales. Results suggest that expected operating cost is inelastic with respect to water volume and that operating cost variability increases with water volume. Implications of these findings are that (1) current world-wide strategies to promote water conservation may necessitate an increase in the expected per unit cost of water supply and (2) policies framed as incentives for short-run cost efficiency may need to recognize the difficulty of reducing expected operating cost at existing output levels and that utility managers may face added difficulty in controlling cost if efficiency is pursued by expanding volume.
How the nature of dissolved organic matter might affect the analysis of dissolved organic carbon

Abstract A discrepancy exists between the low concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in seawater measured by ‘standard’ techniques, such as wet-chemical oxidation, UV photo-oxidation, and dry high-temperature combustion, and the relatively high concentrations measured using new catalyzed, high-temperature combustion methods. One of the factors that could help explain this discrepancy is the nature of the DOC being analyzed. Because little is known about the structure of the bulk of DOC, here we will discuss DOC sources, how sources could affect structure, and how structure as well as chemical factors and sampling procedures might affect analysis of DOC. One likely reason for the discrepancy between the standard and new methods is the presence of a fraction of DOC not previously measured by the standard techniques. This ‘new’ DOC could consist of refractory, large, highly cross-linked macromolecular organic material, possibly colloidal in nature. Material that incorporates sulfur or specific organic structures which inhibit wet-chemical oxidation or photo-oxidation could also be present. Other possible materials present that might explain the discrepancy are those that are prone to incomplete oxidation because they form unreactive compounds during standard oxidation procedures.
MRI-guided coronary catheterization and PTCA: A feasibility study on a dog model

The aim of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of MRI-guided coronary artery catheterization and intervention in a dog model. Experiments were performed on 10 healthy dogs. A 9F introducer sheath was placed through a right carotid artery cutdown. A prototype 0.014-inch coronary MRI guidewire, a prototype 7 French MRI-guiding catheter, and two flexible surface coils were connected to a GE 1.5 T CV/i scanner for simultaneous visualization of the guidewire, guiding catheter, and chest anatomy. Images were displayed in real time on an in-room monitor. A nongated, single-slice fast gradient-echo sequence was used to obtain real-time images of the catheters and background anatomy during the intervention. Fifteen selective catheterizations were attempted in the coronary arteries, and all were successful. Selective injection of diluted gadolinium into the MRI-guiding catheter provided dynamic 2D projection coronary angiography in all cases, confirming successful catheterization. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was attempted after two catheterizations, and all attempts were successful. Inflation of the balloon angioplasty catheter was performed successfully in the left anterior and circumflex arteries. Our results indicate that coronary artery catheterization and intracoronary balloon angioplasty are feasible with MRI guidance only. MRI guidance may be used as an alternative to X-ray guidance in coronary artery interventions in the future.
Behavior and Peer Status in Children With ADHD: Continuity and Change

Objective: Children with ADHD experience peer problems that may place them at risk for adverse outcomes. Using a short-term longitudinal design, this study links specific behaviors to peer functioning in groups of previously unfamiliar children with ADHD. Method: The participants were 268 children with ADHD who took part in an intensive summer treatment program. The program used a comprehensive behavioral point system that yielded observational data for 12 behavioral categories. These behavioral categories were used to predict peer acceptance, rejection, and liking assessed at three times during the program. Results: Following activity rules, helping, whining, and attention emerged as best predictors of initial peer status. Subsequent helping behaviors and activity rule following predicted changes in peer status, but their contributions were small. Conclusion: The results indicate that increasing helping and rule- following behaviors may improve peer functioning of children with ADHD in similar settings. ...
Effect of Sintering on the Thermoelectric Transport Properties of Bulk Nanostructured Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 Pellets Prepared by Chemical Synthesis

Considerable research effort has gone into improving the performance of traditional thermoelectric materials such as Bi2−x Sb x Te3 through a variety of nanostructuring approaches. Bottom-up, chemical approaches have the potential to produce very small nanoparticles (≪100 nm) with narrow size distribution and controlled shape. For this study, nanocrystalline powder of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 was synthesized using a ligand-assisted chemical method, and consolidated into pellets with cold pressing followed by sintering in Ar atmosphere. The thermoelectric transport properties were measured from 7 K to 300 K as a function of sintering temperature. Sintering is found to increase ZT and to move the maximum in ZT to lower temperatures due to a reduction in the free charge concentration. Hall mobility studies indicate that sintering increases the electron mean free path more than it increases the phonon mean free path up to sintering temperature of 598 K. A maximum ZT of 0.42 was measured at temperature of 275 K.
Preparation of a soluble progesterone 17α-hydroxylating system

Abstract Examination of differentially centrifuged homogenates of bovine adrenocortical tissue reveals that the steroid 17α-hydroxylating system resides primarily in the particle-free cytoplasm. Preparations are relatively labile. Higher activity is noted in fresh unfrozen glands than from frozen ones. 17-Hydroxylation is inhibited less in higher pH media and in media containing p -chloromercuribenzoate than is 21-hydroxylation.
Phase space and coherence properties of an x-ray FEL source

In recent years, substantial exploratory studies have been conducted on the source properties of idealized Angstrom- wavelength Free-Electron Lasers (FELs) operating in the Self- Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) regime. With the more recent advent of dedicated design studies aimed at developing SASE FEL R&D facilities, attention has focused on developing more realistic descriptions of the FEL source taking into account various anticipated departures of the electron beam from ideality. In this paper we extend prior statistical descriptions of the SASE FEL source to enable the systematic inclusion of the effects of correlated variations of the electron beam's phase-space parameters vs, e.g., longitudinal position in the bunch. Selected practical consequences of incorporating the extended source parameter space in the development or design of coherence-related methods and instruments are discussed.
Analytical solutions for helium bubble and critical radius parameters using a hard sphere equation of state

Abstract Considerable theoretical and experimental work has verified the role of helium-stabilized bubbles as the precursor to void formation in fast neutron irradiated stainless steels. The concept of the critical bubble radius or critical helium number for bubble-to-void conversion has received particular attention. A hard sphere equation of state is used to compute these parameters for a variety of irradiation conditions and the results are compared with those computed using the ideal gas law. Simplified analytical solutions are developed which permit the calculation of the bubble radius and the critical bubble parameters without resorting to iterative techniques and yet retain the accuracy of the hard sphere equation of state. The use of these solutions is illustrated using a rate theory model of void swelling which has been calibrated using fast reactor swelling data.
EB1-Recruited Microtubule +TIP Complexes Coordinate Protrusion Dynamics during 3D Epithelial Remodeling

Summary Background Epithelial remodeling, in which apical-basal polarized cells switch to a migratory phenotype, plays a central role in development and disease of multicellular organisms. Although dynamic microtubules (MTs) are required for directed migration on flat surfaces, how MT dynamics are controlled or contribute to epithelial remodeling in a more physiological three-dimensional (3D) environment is not understood. We use confocal live-cell imaging to analyze MT function and dynamics during 3D epithelial morphogenesis and remodeling of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells that undergo partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in response to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Results We find that HGF treatment increases MT growth rate before morphological changes are evident and that large numbers of MTs grow into HGF-induced cell extensions independent of centrosome reorientation. Using lentivirus-mediated small hairpin RNA, we demonstrate that EB1, an adaptor protein that mediates recruitment of numerous other +TIP proteins to growing MT plus ends, is required for this HGF-induced MT reorganization. We further show that protrusion and adhesion dynamics are disorganized and that vesicular trafficking to the tip of HGF-induced cell extensions is disrupted in EB1-depleted cells. Conclusions We conclude that EB1-mediated interactions with growing MTs are important to coordinate cell shape changes and directed migration into the surrounding extracellular matrix during epithelial remodeling in a physiological 3D environment. In contrast, EB1 is not required for the establishment or maintenance of apical-basal cell polarity, suggesting different functions of +TIPs and MTs in different types of cell polarity.
In vitro cell studies of technetium-99m labeled RGD-HYNIC peptide, a comparison of tricine and EDDA as co-ligands.

Abstract The level of α V β 3 integrins on endothelial cells is elevated in angiogenesis. The high binding specificity to α V β 3 integrins of peptides containing Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) residues suggests that the radiolabeled RGD peptides may be useful as tumor specific imaging agents. In this research, cyclised peptides containing Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) and Arg-Gly-Glu (RGE, as control) residues were conjugated with HYNIC and labeled with 99m Tc. Objective: The goal was to evaluate the influence of co-ligand, either tricine or ethylenediamine- N,N ′-diacetic acid (EDDA) on protein and integrin binding and on cellular uptake in culture. Methods: The n-octanol/water partition coefficient, binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells, and cell lysate distributions of the radiolabeled peptides were evaluated. Results: The co-ligands had a significant effect on the labeling efficiency of the HYNIC conjugates and on certain properties of the 99m Tc complexes. The labeling efficiency with tricine was 10 fold higher and BSA binding was over 8 fold greater compared to EDDA. Both RGD labels showed higher (6 to 28 fold) binding to HUVE cells than that of the RGE labels, indicating binding specificity. After cell-lysis, only a small percentage of the total RGD label that accumulated in the cells was found bound to cellular proteins (9% of RGD/tricine and 5% of RGD/EDDA), implying that over 90% of the radiolabeled peptides were internalized for both radiolabeled RGDs. The number of the RGD molecules bound to proteins was estimated to be approximately three per cell, suggesting that only a small number of α V β 3 integrin proteins are expressed on the cells. Conclusions: Apart from the differences in radiolabeling, the only important effect of substituting EDDA for tricine as co-ligand on the HYNIC-peptides was the lower degree of serum protein binding. In spite of the lower serum protein binding potential, in vivo tumor accumulation of the RGD/EDDA may not be improved compared to RGD/tricine since quantitation of the cell binding results suggests that the number of α V β 3 integrin proteins per cell might be limited.
The Steady-State and Transient Analysis of a Feedback Video Amplifier

A two-stage feedback video amplifier is analyzed on the transient and steady-state bases, and a simplified design procedure is developed for each approach. Using the transient response of the amplifier to a step-voltage input as a basis, design curves have been prepared which allow determination of the necessary amplifier parameters when either the rise time (10 to 90 per cent of final amplitude) and the per cent transient overshoot, or alternatively, the per cent transient overshoot and the net gain, are specified. The effect of changes in-transconductance and resistor values on the output wave form is discussed. The low-frequency distortion of the input wave as a result of the interstage-coupling network is also considered, and a relation for the increase in the effective interstage time constant is derived. The steady-state response of the amplifier is examined in considerable detail, particular emphasis being given to provide an analysis which integrates with the transient study. It is found that an amplifier can be uniquely detemined by means of design curves, provided the overshoot in the steady-state characteristic and the frequency for 3-db attenuation, or alternatively, the midband gain and the overshoot in the steady-state characteristic, are known. In addition, the improvement in steady-state low-frequency response is determined.
Marital assortment for personality dispositions: assessment with three different data sources.

This study examined spouse correlations in a sample of 93 married couples with respect to 16 interpersonal dimensions using three different data sources: self-report, spouse ratings, and independent interviewer-observer ratings. Results across all three sources supported the previously obtained low positive correlations between spouses. Partial correlations using age and hierarchical multiple regressions using length of marriage do not support the alternative hypothesis that obtained spouse correlations are due to age, to cohort, or to convergence over the course of marriage. Initial assortment is implicated as a probable cause of obtained spouse correspondence.
DROPOUT AND THE SOCIAL MILIEU OF THE HIGH SCHOOL: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS*

Three types of school dropouts are described, and teacher predictions for two types are presented. The remainder of the analysis focuses upon intellectually capable dropouts. Twenty-eight capable dropouts and a matched group of non-dropouts are compared with respect to status deprivation, explanations of failure, and differential association with other dropouts.
Lysosomal Integral Membrane Protein II Binds Thrombospondin-1 STRUCTURE-FUNCTION HOMOLOGY WITH THE CELL ADHESION MOLECULE CD36 DEFINES A CONSERVED RECOGNITION MOTIF

LIMPII (lysosomal integral membrane protein II) is one of a family of proteins structurally related to the cell surface glycoprotein CD36. We recently defined a single structural domain on CD36 that mediates binding to adhesive glycoprotein thrombospondin-1 (TSP1). The CD36-TSP1 interaction is known to play a role in platelet-tumor and platelet-monocyte adhesion, angiogenesis, and in monocyte uptake of apoptotic cells. To test whether LIMPII also binds TSP1, a LIMPII peptide corresponding to the TSP1 binding domain of CD36 was expressed as a recombinant glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein. In solid phase binding assays, purified 125I-TSP1 bound to immobilized GST/LIMPII in a time-dependent and saturable manner. Inhibition by excess unlabeled TSP1 or EDTA demonstrated specificity. LIMPII.TSP1 complex formation was specifically blocked by soluble LIMPII fusion protein, by monospecific rabbit IgG directed against the LIMPII peptide and by CD36 fusion proteins containing the TSP1 binding domain. Transfection of Bowes melanoma cells with a chimeric LIMPII cDNA that targets expression to the plasma membrane conferred the ability to bind 125I-TSP1 and to adhere to TSP1-coated surfaces. This study defines a TSP1 binding site conserved between LIMPII and CD36 and suggests that cell surface LIMPII may function in some circumstances as an adhesion receptor for TSP1. Computer-assisted homology searches suggest that the TSP1 recognition motif identified from study of CD36 family members may be widely expressed in nature.