cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automated Trimethyl Sulfonium Hydroxide Derivatization Method for High-Throughput Fatty Acid Profiling by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Fatty acid profiling on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) platforms is typically performed offline by manually derivatizing and analyzing small batches of samples. A GC–MS system with a fully integrated robotic autosampler can significantly improve sample handling, standardize data collection, and reduce the total hands-on time required for sample analysis. In this study, we report an optimized high-throughput GC–MS-based methodology that utilizes trimethyl sulfonium hydroxide (TMSH) as a derivatization reagent to convert fatty acids into fatty acid methyl esters. An automated online derivatization method was developed, in which the robotic autosampler derivatizes each sample individually and injects it into the GC–MS system in a high-throughput manner. This study investigated the robustness of automated TMSH derivatization by comparing fatty acid standards and lipid extracts, derivatized manually in batches and online automatically from four biological matrices. Automated derivatization improved reproducibility in 19 of 33 fatty acid standards, with nearly half of the 33 confirmed fatty acids in biological samples demonstrating improved reproducibility when compared to manually derivatized samples. In summary, we show that the online TMSH-based derivatization methodology is ideal for high-throughput fatty acid analysis, allowing rapid and efficient fatty acid profiling, with reduced sample handling, faster data acquisition, and, ultimately, improved data reproducibility.
Assessing Observer Effects on the Fidelity of Implementation of Functional Analysis Procedures

Instructing and training others to implement functional analysis (FA) procedures can be a cumbersome and time-consuming task. Students and practitioners are required to learn all of the various components to establish conditions and analyze results while also learning to conduct the sessions. The current study assessed the fidelity of individuals implementing FA conditions after observing and rating the fidelity of videos models, using a multiple-baseline design across FA conditions. Video models of each condition were provided throughout; however, participants were only asked to provide fidelity ratings for one video. Results demonstrated the intervention was successful in increasing participant performance above baseline levels for 16 of 17 participants, with 7 participants requiring an additional intervention in which they were asked to observe their own performance. Further research should evaluate the degree to which this procedure may effectively prepare individuals working with non-confederate chil...
Estimating Cost Savings for Aviation Fuel and CO2 Emission Reductions Strategies

Achieving reductions in aviation greenhouse gas emissions while growing the aviation industry is both a national and a global challenge. This paper discusses and summarizes the suggestions for reducing emissions, and both the short-term and long-term emissions goals for three aviation industry groups, the European Union and United States aviation regulatory agencies, and the United Nations specialized agency for civil aviation. Reducing fuel consumption affects an air carrier’s bottom line by reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions. Investments may be required in aircraft or procedural changes to reduce demand for fuel by reducing consumption while still providing the same level of air service. Investing in reducing fuel consumption is not only important to comply with any emission trading scheme, but will also become a major factor for survival in the present competitive air transportation market. A general method to estimate cost savings is developed that presents a comparison method independent of the specific type of fuel reduction method. This method uses the percentage of fuel reduced to analyze cost savings using a range of fuel prices and non-discounted payback period. Analysts may use this method for calculating the savings specific methods of reducing fuel consumption.
Lorente de Nó: The Electrophysiological Experiments of the Latter Years

Among the truly prominent figures of 20th century neuroscience it is difficult to identify anyone who can approach the breadth and versatility of Rafael Lorente de No. In recent years there has been a strong revival of interest in the anatomical studies of his early youth, especially the Golgi stain analyses of the cerebral cortex. He remained interested in this for the remainder of his extraordinary career, but shortly after his arrival in the United States, working at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, he was inevitably caught up in the excitement generated by the newly emerging electrophysiological methods used with such impressive success by Erlanger, Bishop, Gasser, Heinbecker, O’Leary and others in that vibrant era at Washington University. Expressing a life long penchant for originality, Lorente soon seized upon the application of electrophysiology to the problem of synaptic integration in the central nervous system. He was particularly enamored of the idea of reverberating circuits and was certain that he would find a role for the ubiquitous interneurons in the production of prolonged electrical events that must underlie the enhancement of reflexes.
Assessment of Neurohormonal Parameters in Congestive Heart Failure: Determination of Sodium and Water Regulation

The term “neurohormonal” has arisen as a simplified means to identify the wide array of chemical mediators of central and peripheral nervous system activity, and a diverse group of structurally different hormones, that mediate a variety of homeostatic mechanisms in man. The importance of these neurohormones in congestive heart failure, is not a recent discovery; their contribution to the pathophysiology of heart failure has been studied over several decades yet these substances have been more aggressively evaluated in the last ten years. This is due primarily to two factors: first, the availability of accurate radioimmunoassay and radioenzymatic techniques, and second, the ability to pharmacologically inhibit a variety of these pathways with relatively specific probes. For instance, the use of Captopril to specifically inhibit the renin angiotensin system has become the paradyme of these inhibitors, providing not only physiologic information, but also a potent new approach to therapy.
Cartographies of Friendship, Desire, and Home; Notes on surviving neoliberal security regimes

In this auto-ethnographic essay I shed light upon processes of racialiazation and sexualization which work to construct the figure of the disabled, diseased, alien. The paper argues disability based immigration policies, along with neoliberal notions of productivity and enterprise operate as technologies of power, excluding queer HiV positive migrant subjects from the gates of the US nation-state. I shed light upon HIV based immigration policies, disability and sexuality rights activism, pre and post 9/11 US national security practices by retracing lived experiences of mine from Kolkata, India and post 9/11 New York City. The narrative journeys to spaces such as HIV clinics, S&M chambers, and hospital rooms in hopes of understanding collective claims to life being made by those occupying the interstitial shadow spaces between nation-states, perverse/ normal, ability/disability, and ultimately life/death.
Global challenges: Equity among nations?

This chapter, like the last, is speculative. Since 1960, income disparity among nations has increased worldwide: The richest nations have experienced an increase in their share of world gross national product (GNP), while the poorest nations have experienced a decrease in their share of world GNP. Between 1960 and 1991, the richest fifth of all nations had its share of world income rise from 70% to 85%, while the poorest fifth of all nations had its share fall from 2.3% to 1.4%. In a UN press release reported by CNN Interactive (16 July 1996), income disparity was indicated to have widened both within and among countries in the last few years. This trend toward greater inequality gives every indication of continuing into the next millennium as the underlying factors show no signs of abating. Will increasing world inequality worsen or alleviate global conflicts? Furthermore, will increased inequality make these conflicts easier or more difficult to address in the future? This chapter examines these questions. At the outset, I must emphasize that there are no simple answers. An increase in worldwide inequality may worsen some problems through its impact on international trade and development, while it may lessen other problems through the underlying incentives for the rich to provide crisis-averting public goods to the world at large. Some global challenges are better handled with increased global inequality, while others are not.
Consonant harmony via correspondence: Evidence from Chumash

Hansson (2001), Rose & Walker (2004), and Walker (2000a, 2000b) have recently proposed that long-distance consonant assimilation is accomplished via segmental correspondence rather than autosegmental linking. The phonology of the feature [anterior] in Chumash supports this idea: linking of the feature [anterior] is forbidden across morpheme boundaries, but long-distance [anterior] harmony is allowed across morpheme boundaries. The Chumash evidence therefore shows that assimilation can occur without autosegmental spreading.
Consider Only General Superpositions in Completion Procedures

Superposition or critical pair computation is one of the key operations in the Knuth-Bendix completion procedure and its extensions. We propose a practical technique which can save computation of some critical pairs where the most general unifiers used to generate these critical pairs are less general than the most general unifiers used to generate other joinable critical pairs. Consequently, there is no need to superpose identical subterms at different positions in a rule more than once and there is also no need to superpose symmetric subterms in a rule more than once. The combination of this technique with other critical pair criteria proposed in the literature is also discussed. The technique has been integrated in the completion procedures for ordinary term rewriting systems as well as term rewriting systems with associative-commutative operators implemented in RRL, Rewrite Rule Laboratory. Performance of the completion procedures with and without this technique is compared on a number of examples.
Changes in arterial, mixed venous and intraerythrocytic ion concentrations during prolonged exercise

Summary Reasons for performing study: Prolonged equine exercise can cause hypochloraemic alkalosis and hypokalaemia secondary to the loss of hypertonic sweat. Movement of ions in and out of erythrocytes during exercise may help regulate acid-base balance and changes in plasma ion concentrations. The extent to which this happens during prolonged equine exercise has not been reported. Objectives: To measure changes in blood gases and major plasma and intraerythrocytic (iRBC) ion concentrations of horses undergoing prolonged submaximal exercise. Methods: Six horses were trotted at ∼30% VO2max on a treadmill for 105 min. Arterial (a) and mixed venous (v) blood samples were collected every 15 min, and pre- and post exercise. Blood gases and plasma (pl) concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride and protein were measured and their iRBC concentrations calculated and compared (P<0.05). Results: PaCO2 decreased in all horses. pl[Cl-]v decreased and [HCO3-]v increased. Due to the exhalation of CO2 and chloride shifting, [HCO3-]a pl[Cl-]v and iRBC[Cl-]a iRBC[K+]v. Conversely, iRBC[Na+]a<iRBC[Na+]v. pl[Na+]a<pl[Na+]v and [TP]a<[TP]v. Conclusions: Significant arteriovenous differences in iRBC and plasma concentrations of chloride, potassium and sodium reflect the role that movement of ions across erythrocyte cell membranes play in regulating acid-base balance and plasma concentrations of these ions. Exhalation of CO2 has a major influence on this ion flux.
Epidemiology of colonic symptoms and the irritable bowel syndrome

Abstract Functional gastrointestinal disease is believed to be very common, but reports of its prevalence have not usually evaluated random community samples, and validated questionnaires have not been used to elicit symptoms. The prevalence of specific colonic symptoms and the irritable bowel syndrome among representative middle-aged whites was determined from a defined population, and the impact of these symptoms on presentation for medical care was measured. An age-and sex-stratified random sample of 1021 residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, aged 30–64 years, was obtained. All subjects were mailed a valid self-report questionnaire that identified gastrointestinal symptoms and functional gastrointestinal disorders. The response rate was 82% (n = 835). The age-and sex-adjusted prevalence of abdominal pain (more than six times in the prior year) was 26.2 per 100 (95% confidence interval, 23.1–29.2). The prevalence of chronic constipation (hard stools and straining and/or 25% of the time) was 17.4 (95% confidence interval, 14.8–20.0), whereas the prevalence of chronic diarrhea (loose watery stools, and/or > 3 stools per day > 25% of the time) was 17.9 (95% confidence interval, 15.3–20.5). The prevalence of abdominal pain and disturbed defecation was similar in women and men, except that infrequent defecation and straining at stool were more common in women. Using the Manning symptom criteria to identify irritable bowel syndrome (≥ 2 of 6 symptoms in those with abdominal pain more than six times in the prior year), the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome was 17.0 per 100 (95% confidence interval, 14.4–19.6). Overall, 71 persons (9%) reported visiting a physician for abdominal pain or disturbed defecation in the prior year; a subset of variables related to pain severity were the best predictors of health care seeking after adjustment for age and gender. However, these accounted for only 22% of the log likelihood. In conclusion, more than one third of an unselected middle-aged population reported chronic abdominal pain or disturbed defecation, and more than one in six had symptoms compatible with the irritable bowel syndrome. Only a minority had presented for medical evaluation; moreover, the characteristics of the abdominal complaints did not explain the seeking of health care in most cases.
Isolation and characterization of bacteriophages specific to hydrogen-sulfide-producing bacteria.

The objectives of this study were to isolate and characterize bacteriophages specific to hydrogen-sulfide-producing bacteria (SPB) from raw animal materials, and to develop a SPB-specific bacteriop...
Detecting cancer biomarkers in blood: challenges for new molecular diagnostic and point-of-care tests using cell-free nucleic acids

As we move into the era of individualized cancer treatment, the need for more sophisticated cancer diagnostics has emerged. Cell-free (cf) nucleic acids (cf-DNA, cf-RNA) and other cellular nanoparticulates are now considered important and selective biomarkers. There is great hope that blood-borne cf-nucleic acids can be used for ‘liquid biopsies’, replacing more invasive tissue biopsies to analyze cancer mutations and monitor therapy. Conventional techniques for cf-nucleic acid biomarker isolation from blood are generally time-consuming, complicated and expensive. They require relatively large blood samples, which must be processed to serum or plasma before isolation of biomarkers can proceed. Such cumbersome sample preparation also limits the widespread use of powerful, downstream genomic analyses, including PCR and DNA sequencing. These limitations also preclude rapid, point-of-care diagnostic applications. Thus, new technologies that allow rapid isolation of biomarkers directly from blood will permit s...
Periodicity and Chaos in Coupled Nonlinear Oscillators

A system of coupled tunnel diode relaxation oscillators shows a variety of complex periodic states as the external voltage is varied. The existence of chaotic or nonperiodic states is more dependent on the nature of the coupling than on the number of degrees of freedom. A simple but accurate numerical model shows many of the phenomena observed experimentally.
Open-label, prospective trial of olanzapine in adolescents with subaverage intelligence and disruptive behavioral disorders.

ABSTRACT Objective: Olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic, has been shown to be efficacious for treatment of psychotic and mood disorders in adults. This prospective, open-label study was conducted to examine the safety and usefulness of olanzapine in treating disruptive behavior disorders in adolescents with subaverage intelligence. Method: Sixteen adolescents (ages 13-17 years) with borderline to moderate mental retardation and disruptive behavior were enrolled in an 8-week olanzapine trial (5-20 mg/day). Dependent measures included the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, Conners Parent Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impressions, and two side effects scales. Results: Statistically significant improvement (p Conclusion: Olanzapine may be useful in treating disruptive behavior in adolescents with subaverage intelligence. However, side effects, especially weight gain, are a significant issue. Future double-blind, placebo-controlled studies need to confirm these findings and assess long-term safety and outcome of olanzapine treatment.
PLD regulates myoblast differentiation through the mTOR-IGF2 pathway

A mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is essential for the differentiation of cultured skeletal myoblasts in response to growth factor withdrawal. Previously, phospholipase D (PLD) has been found to play a role in cell growth regulation and mitogenic activation of mTOR signaling. However, a role for PLD in the autocrine regulation of myoblast differentiation is not known. Here we show that upon induction of differentiation in mouse C2C12 satellite cells, the expression of both PLD1 and PLD2 is upregulated. C2C12 differentiation is markedly inhibited by 1-butanol, an inhibitor of the PLD-catalyzed transphosphatidylation reaction, and also by the knockdown of PLD1, but not PLD2. Further investigation has revealed that PLD1 is unlikely to regulate myogenesis through modulation of the actin cytoskeleton as previously suggested. Instead, PLD1 positively regulates mTOR signaling leading to the production of IGF2, an autocrine factor instrumental for the initiation of satellite cell differentiation. Furthermore, exogenous IGF2 fully rescues the differentiation defect resulting from PLD1 knockdown. Hence, PLD1 is critically involved in skeletal myogenesis by regulating the mTOR-IGF2 pathway.
Analysis Of Mirror Supports For The University Of California Ten Meter Telescope

The design of the University of California Ten Meter Telescope requires supporting 36 individual hexago-nal mirrors; these 36 mirror segments constitute the primary mirror of the telescope. Each segment is axially supported by a set of whiffletrees, which applies forces at 36 points on the back of the segment. Because these mirror segments are thin (1.8 m diameter, 7.5 em thick), the optimization of the location and magnitude of the supporting forces is a crucial part of the design. We have analyzed this problem by using the finite element method. Careful testing of a finite element model and the associated computer programs is required before the results can be trusted. We began by analyzing the deflection of a thin, flat, circular plate, since this can be calculated independently and then compared with the results of the finite element method. The factors of curvature of the mirror segment, shear, and hexagonal shape were then included one at a time, in order to arrive at the final model. The optimization of the support forces was based on minimizing the r.m.s. surface error, with a design goal of 0.010 Am or less. This is a surface error roughly one hundred times smaller than that resulting from an unoptimized support. The optimization calculations were performed on a large minicomputer. Practical con-siderations required that the physical symmetries of the problem be taken into account, in order to reduce the number of independently optimized variables to a manageable size. The use of the finite element method pro-duced a solution that met the design requirements, and it gave useful information about the sensitivity of mirror deformations to variations in the support structure.
Effects of amygdaloid lesions on reversal learning in the deermouse

Abstract Electrolytic lesions were placed in the basolateral, cortical or medial amygdaloid nuclear groups in male deeermice using the stereotaxic atlas for this species. Sham-operated and intact control groups were also included in the study. After allowing the animals a two-week recuperative period, they were tested in a black sheet metal T-shaped water maze especially constructed for mice. Following habituation to the water maze, all animals were run through original learning and four reversal learning stages. Results indicate that a decrement of learning occurred in animals with lesions in the cortical or basolateral amygdaloid nuclear groups while those animals with lesions in the medial amygdaloid area did not exhibit any significant changes when compared to either the sham-operated or intact control groups.
Strain solitons and topological defects in bilayer graphene

Bilayer graphene has been a subject of intense study in recent years. The interlayer registry between the layers can have dramatic effects on the electronic properties: for example, in the presence of a perpendicular electric field, a band gap appears in the electronic spectrum of so-called Bernal-stacked graphene [Oostinga JB, et al. (2007) Nature Materials 7:151–157]. This band gap is intimately tied to a structural spontaneous symmetry breaking in bilayer graphene, where one of the graphene layers shifts by an atomic spacing with respect to the other. This shift can happen in multiple directions, resulting in multiple stacking domains with soliton-like structural boundaries between them. Theorists have recently proposed that novel electronic states exist at these boundaries [Vaezi A, et al. (2013) arXiv:1301.1690; Zhang F, et al. (2013) arXiv:1301.4205], but very little is known about their structural properties. Here we use electron microscopy to measure with nanoscale and atomic resolution the widths, motion, and topological structure of soliton boundaries and related topological defects in bilayer graphene. We find that each soliton consists of an atomic-scale registry shift between the two graphene layers occurring over 6–11 nm. We infer the minimal energy barrier to interlayer translation and observe soliton motion during in situ heating above 1,000 °C. The abundance of these structures across a variety of samples, as well as their unusual properties, suggests that they will have substantial effects on the electronic and mechanical properties of bilayer graphene.
Protein restriction in hepatic encephalopathy: necessary evil or illogical dogma?

See Article, pages 38 –43 The clinical course of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in chronic liver disease can be divided into three phases. The first is the period during which the neurological abnormality progresses to its zenith of severity. The second is a period of recovery from an episode of HE (usually completed within 2 weeks). Finally, there is a period after recovery when measures are contemplated to prevent further episodes of HE. The initial phase of HE is often precipitated by identifiable precipitating factors [1]. Correction of these precipitating factors alone can lead to recovery from an episode of HE. Often additional measures are employed to hasten or assure recovery. These, in large part, are designed to limit the generation or absorption of ammonia from the gut. An empirical approach has been developed to achieve this goal. Either singly or in combination, gut lavage, nonabsorbable disaccharide catharsis, luminal antibiotics and restriction of oral protein are employed. The latter strategy is the focus of this discussion. Many physicians despite advice from experts in the field [2,3] feel protein restriction is desirable during the treatment
Redundant information in an authorization mechanism

Abstract Decentralized authorization mechanisms are a popular technique for controlling the users' privileges for manipulating a database. In such a mechanism, a user may grant a privilege to another user and he may optionally permit the grantee to also grant the privilege. The potential for useless grant information in a timestamp based mechanism (such as SQL's) is characterized and an algorithm for removing such grants is given. Even though the algorithm is sufficient for many situations, the problem is shown to be NP -complete. These results are then extended for mechanisms that limit privileges to specified intervals of time.
Haemonchus contortus infection in ewes: Blastogenic responses of peripheral blood leukocytes to third stage larval antigen

Abstract Ewes were infected weekly with infective third-stage Haemonchus contortus larvae until parturition (1–16 doses of infective larvae). Peripheral blood leukocytes from these ewes were tested for in vitro blastogenic responses to phytohemagglutinin, to a non-helminth antigen the purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD), and to third-stage larval H. contortus antigen during pregnancy, parturition and lactation. Fecal egg counts were determined on a weekly basis for all ewes. Parturient lactating ewes showed a peri-parturient rise in fecal egg counts while barren ewes or parturient, nonlactating ewes did not. Blastogenic responses of a majority of parturient lactating ewes indicated an inverse relationship to fecal egg counts. In contrast, blastogenic responses of barren or nonlactating ewes did not demonstrate this inverse relationship. It is suggestive that hormonal factors or other serum factors affect antigen-induced blastogenesis during parturition and lactation in the sheep.
The rhetoric of embodiment

T his paper deals with the embodiment in Cicero's De Oratore of a particular rhetorical method. The method is referred to by the Romans as controversia and by the Sophists before them as antilogic and involves the conduct of argument by placing two or more opposing claims in juxtaposition. I will argue that instead of discussing controversia in a formal manner, by abstracting its general nature and detailing its logical parts (diaeresis), Cicero chooses to dramatize controversia in order to transcend abstract principles and allow his students direct access to argument in action. In a word, Cicero chooses to perform the subject, and in so doing to give substance or body to theory and pedagogy. In the process, he also pursues his own most cherished philosophical objective, which is to bring res and verba, the thing and the word into synthesis. I will further suggest that the rhetoric of embodiment which Cicero develops in De Oratore is replete with interesting pedagogical implications. Like much of Cicero's published work, De Oratore was intended to serve as a model for imitation by others (see Axer 59). In this case, the text models both a particular set of rhetorical principles and a distinctive pedagogical stance for teaching them. I am particularly interested in what the pedagogy of De Oratore has to say to us today about an appropriate approach to the teaching of argumentation.' But before I begin with Cicero, De Oratore, antilogic, controversia, and the rhetoric of embodiment, I would go back even further in history, from Rome to the eastern Mediterranean, from the eloquence of Cicero to the arguments of Odysseus, that other man famous for dealing with contention (Odyssey 1.2). You will recall that when Odysseus leaves Calypso after seven years as a captive on her paradisal island, he sails away on a log raft which breaks up in a large storm sent by Poseidon. When it looks as though he is doomed to drown, he laments that all he has accomplished on his way home will perish with him. Would that I had died on the fields of Troy, he cries, where all my deeds would have been noted, praised, and preserved (5.306-12). What Odysseus is concerned with here is his kleos: his fame, honor, stature, renown, that standard heroic obsession that one's reputation will ring out under heaven (8.74f; cf. Thalmann 60-69). Instead of a life of adventure marked by kleos, however, Odysseus in Book V is faced with death at sea, a death "unmarked and lonely" (5.312). What is notable for us in this episode is that kleos appears only to exist in the reports on one's life; i.e. it requires discourse to give it substance, enough substance to transcend the event itself. Consequently, when Odysseus arrives on land and is taken by Nausikaa to the Phaiakian court, he acts the part of a poet as well as a hero (11.68-69) by recounting his adventures and in the process giving form to his kleos. Discursive enactment, therefore, becomes the only way in which the unforgettable experi-
Dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction induced by pericardial tamponade during acute anterior myocardial infarction.

evidence that diffuse coronary vasoconstriction can occur in the early minutes of acute myocardial infarction. In animal models, severe coronary stenoses with associated endothelial injury commonly cause cyclic reductions in coronary blood flow that are related to platelet aggregation and leukocyte and red blood cell accumulation at the stenotic site.3 Local platelet activation at these sites may cause vasoconstriction of large epicardial coronary arteries, which can be relieved with specific inhibitors of thromboxane A2 and serotonin but not with nitroglycerin or diltiazem.‘j It is attractive to speculate that platelet activation caused a similar sequence of events in our patient. Although the observations in our patient suggest that dynamic coronary vasoconstriction may play an important role in the early pathogenesis of acute infarction, several limitations leave some important questions unanswered. It would have been interesting to have observed the effects of intracoronary nitroglycerin on arterial patency immediately after demonstrating the right coronary occlusion. However, the hemodynamic collapse exhibited by the patient mandated definitive therapeutic measures. Furthermore, it would have been interesting to have obtained simultaneous aortic and coronary sinus samples for measurements of transcardiac levels of potential platelet mediators such as serotonin. Again, the urgency of the situation prohibited appropriate investigative preparations. Clinical studies with specific inhibitors of thromboxane AZ, serotonin, and other possible mediators of coronary tone may offer further insights into the pathophysiology of the early moments of acute myocardial infarction, and may provide more effective preventive and therapeutic measures for the treatment of acute ischemic syndromes.
Enhancement of Deficient T-Cell Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis by Tolmetin Sodium

: The in vitro effect of tolmetin on deficient T-lymphocytes from patients with autoimmune diseases was tested using a mitogen-stimulation assay. For comparison, levamisole was also tested on T-cells in the same assay system in this group of patients. Tolmetin and levamisole both showed enhancement of T-cell function and normalization of mitogenesis in vitro. To evaluate the relevance of these in vitro findings to treatment of disease, four patients who had active rheumatoid arthritis and who had displayed repeated deficiency in vitro of T-cell mitogenesis were studied. After baseline studies, the patients were started on tolmetin at an oral dose of 800 mg/day in divided doses. If no significant enhancement of T-cell function was observed by four weeks, the dose of tolmetin was increased to 1600 mg/day. The results of the clinical study confirmed that tolmetin enhanced T-cell function in vivo as well as in vitro in a manner similar to that which has been reported for levamisole. This normalization of T-cell function by tolmetin was associated with clinical improvement.
Polyester-polystyrene block copolymers and their influence on phase morphology and mechanical properties in polymer blends

New block copolymers of polystyrene with polyesters have been synthesized and investigated as compatibilizing agents. The addition of block copolymers in immiscible blends of polybutylene terephthalate and (i) polystyrene, (ii) polystyrene/poly(2,6-dimethyl 1,4-phenylene oxide) as well as (iii) high impact polystyrene drastically reduced the dimensions of the dispersed phase and stabilized the phase growth with annealing time. Stress-strain curves for the binary blends indicate brittle behavior. The addition of more than 10 wt% of block copolymers transforms their brittle characteristics to ductile behavior.
Verifying Fingerprint Match by Local Correlation Methods

Most fingerprint matching algorithms are based on finding correspondences between minutiae in two fingerprints. In this paper we present a modification of minutiae matching method, which utilizes correlation scores between the local neighborhood areas of corresponding minutiae pairs and the edges that connect neighboring matched minutiae pairs. Minutiae based matching approach considers the overall minutiae distribution pattern between the two fingerprints. Neighborhood correlation score represents the local similarity between the matched pair of minutiae. Edge correlation score gives the resemblance of areas that in between the two corresponding minutiae pairs. Thus, both the global minutiae distribution structure and the local matching similarity between the two fingerprints are considered for final decision. The described matching approach has been tested on FVC2002's DB1 and DB3 database. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of combining matching scores of different origin - minutia matching score and local correlation matching scores.
Synthesis of fluorometallates in methanol. The solid solution NH4MnF3 − NH4ZnF3☆

Abstract Solid solutions of anhydrous ammonium fluorometallates can be prepared from methanol solution by reaction of ammonium fluoride with a solution of mixed bromides, prepared by direct bromination of the metal mixture in methanol. Solid solutions in the series NH 4 MnF 3 - NH 4 ZnF 3 have been prepared and characterized. X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, thermal decomposition, and infrared spectra have been studied as functions of composition.
Using Lasers to Demonstrate the Concept of Polarizability: Variations in the Refractive Indices of the O-Halobenzenes

Using a simple 633-nm He/Ne or diode laser, the variation of the refractive indices of four ortho-substituted dihalogenated benzenes can be obtained, demonstrating the phenomenon of polarizability. In addition, this exercise is an excellent display of the correspondence between the properties of a chemical system on the macroscopic level and the characteristics of the molecule on a microscopic scale.
“Bad Girls Rule”: An Interdisciplinary Feminist Commentary on the Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls

Feminist, critical, and postmodern scholars have long recognized sexuality as a site of power relations. The recently released Report of the APA (American Psychological Association) Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls is a welcome addition to ongoing feminist and activist conversations on how to intervene on issues of sexuality in the name of girls' and women's health. This article offers a critical interdisciplinary analysis of this influential APA report, expanding on and challenging several of its main claims. This article critiques the report as over-determining the negative impact of sexualization; offers other literatures as critical additions including feminist literature on media, consumer culture, gender, and the body, and earlier “pro-desire” feminist psychology scholarship; and critiques the task force's conflations of objectification and sexualization. The article concludes with a call for broadening feminist scholarship and activism across disciplinary boundaries to emphasize girls' and ...
Incidence of responses at the lower audiometric limits.

Purpose To put forward a symbol extension, consisting of an upward arrow added to current symbols, to denote that a patient continued to respond at the audiometric limit (i.e., –10 dB HL). Also, to...
Prevention of in vitro sickling of human erythrocytes by monofunctional amidination

Abstract Treatment of sickle erythrocytes with the monoimidate, ethylacetimidate, prevented anoxia-induced sickling in vitro. Hemoglobin isolated from amidated erythrocytes exhibited an increase in the minimum gelling concentration compared to untreated preparations. Although the prevention of sickling did appear to involve chemical modification of hemoglobin S, an increase in the oxygen affinity was not a requisite for the antisickling activity of the imidates. Our results suggest that substitution of amidino for amino groups prevents the aggregation of deoxyhemoglobin S. Furthermore, comparison of monoimidates with bifunctional reagents indicates that molecular crosslinking is not essential for antisickling activity.
A software design technique for client-server applications

Software design is the process of mapping software functional requirements into a set of modules for implementation. In this paper, a new design technique called the concurrent software design technique (CSDT) is proposed. CSDT extends software design techniques, which are based on structured analysis and design, by identifying independent concurrent tasks for implementation in multiprocessing, multitasking and the C/S environment. A case study on re-engineering a large legacy system, implemented on mainframes as a sequential system, to a C/S environment is presented next in order to highlight the benefits of the CSDT. Finally, this paper concludes with a comparison of CSDT with other existing approaches and the lessons learned from the experience with this technique. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Natural history of hepatocellular adenoma formation in glycogen storage disease type I.

Glycogen storage disease type I (GSD I) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by defects in the glucose-6-phosphatase complex. Deficient activity of the glucose-6-phosphatase-α (G6Pase) catalytic unit characterizes glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia), whereas type Ib (GSD Ib) is characterized by defects in the glucose-6-phosphate transporter protein. Over 81 mutations in the G6PC gene on chromosome 17q21 have been described.(1) This key enzyme in glucose homeostasis catalyzes the final step for glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, and all endogenous glucose synthesis is impaired in affected individuals. In addition, defective activity of G6Pase manifests with metabolic derangements including hypertriglyceridemia, hyperuricemia, and hyperlactatemia due to shunting of glucose-6-phosphate into alternative pathways. The mainstay of treatment remains dietary therapy with uncooked cornstarch as a low glycemic index carbohydrate to prolong periods of euglycemia and ameliorate metabolic abnormalities.(2) With the introduction of continuous glucose therapy in 1971 and uncooked cornstarch in 1982, the prognosis for children and adults with GSD I has improved dramatically. Despite advancements in therapy, hepatic pathology continues to occur frequently in the setting of GSD Ia. Disordered glucose metabolism results in marked hepatomegaly due to glycogen deposition and accumulation of lipids. Hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) formation is a common sequela of GSD Ia, with reported prevalence rates up to 75%.(3) Notably, the incidence of adenoma formation has not significantly changed over the past three decades despite improvement in survival and decreasing rates of other complications. Management of HCA includes serial imaging and surgical resection of concerning lesions to avoid risks of bleeding and/or malignant transformation to hepatocellular carcinoma. Our goal for this study is to clarify the role of metabolic control in HCA formation and propose further hypotheses for the pathophysiology of adenoma development.
PREPARATION OF THICK SECTIONS FOR CYTOCHEMISTRY AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY BY A NON-FREEZING TECHNIQUE.

AT present thick (∼ 50µ) frozen sections of fixed tissues are commonly utilized for cytochemistry and electron microscopy1–3 despite the fact that freezing and thawing are known to cause disruption of fine structure and loss of enzymatic activity even in fixed tissues3,4. These disadvantages have been tolerated since use of sections not exceeding 50µ is necessary to ensure even penetration of incubation media1,2, and no alternative sectioning method has been available.
Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy of the lowest triplet state of thymine and thymidine.

Abstract Vibrational spectra of the lowest energy triplet states of thymine and its 2′-deoxyribonucleoside, thymidine, are reported for the first time. Time-resolved infrared (TRIR) difference spectra were recorded over seven decades of time from 300 fs to 3 μs using femtosecond and nanosecond pump-probe techniques. The carbonyl stretch bands in the triplet state are seen at 1603 and ∼1700 cm −1 in room-temperature acetonitrile- d 3 solution. These bands and additional ones observed between 1300 and 1450 cm −1 are quenched by dissolved oxygen on a nanosecond time scale. Density-functional calculations accurately predict the difference spectrum between triplet and singlet IR absorption cross sections, confirming the peak assignments and elucidating the nature of the vibrational modes. In the triplet state, the C4 O carbonyl exhibits substantial single-bond character, explaining the large (∼70 cm −1 ) red shift in this vibration, relative to the singlet ground state. Femtosecond TRIR measurements unambiguously demonstrate that the triplet state is fully formed within the first 10 ps after excitation, ruling out a relaxed 1 n π ∗ state as the triplet precursor.
Structure and distribution of organelles and cellular location of calcium transporters in Neurospora crassa

We wanted to examine the cellular locations of four Neurospora crassa proteins that transport calcium. However, the structure and distribution of organelles in live hyphae of N. crassa have not been comprehensively described. Therefore, we made recombinant genes that generate translational fusions of putative organellar marker proteins with green or red fluorescent protein. We observed putative endoplasmic reticulum proteins, encoded by grp-78 and dpm, in the nuclear envelope and associated membranes. Proteins of the vacuolar membrane, encoded by vam-3 and vma-1, were in an interconnected network of small tubules and vesicles near the hyphal tip, while in more distal regions they were in large and small spherical vacuoles. Mitochondria, visualized with tagged ARG-4, were abundant in all regions of the hyphae. Similarly, we tagged the four N. crassa proteins that transport calcium with green or red fluorescent protein to examine their cellular locations. NCA-1 protein, a homolog of the SERCA-type Ca2+-ATPase of animal cells, colocalized with the endoplasmic reticulum markers. The NCA-2 and NCA-3 proteins are homologs of Ca2+-ATPases in the vacuolar membrane in yeast or in the plasma membrane in animal cells. They colocalized with markers in the vacuolar membrane, and they also occurred in the plasma membrane in regions of the hyphae more than 1 mm from the tip. The cax gene encodes a Ca2+/H+ exchange protein found in vacuoles. As expected, the CAX protein localized to the vacuolar compartment. We observed, approximately 50 to 100 μm from the tip, a few spherical organelles that had high amounts of tagged CAX protein and tagged subunits of the vacuolar ATPase (VMA-1 and VMA-5). We suggest that this organelle, not described previously in N. crassa, may have a role in sequestering calcium.
Flexible multiphysics simulation of porous electrodes: Conformal to 3D reconstructed microstructures

Abstract The rate of many chemical and energy transformation processes depends on the kinetics of charge and mass transfer in porous electrodes, but rational design of efficient nanostructured electrodes is hindered by an inability to quantify effects of micro/nano-structures of real devices. Here we report a framework for detailed simulations conformal to 3D micro/nano-scale reconstructions of porous structures, obtained from phase-sensitive x-ray nanotomography, using COMSOL and iso2mesh packages coordinated with custom code for automated feature recognition, meshing, refinement, equation assignment, and solution. This computational framework is illustrated in visualizing 3D surface activity of an operating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrode under low and high bias along two important transport pathways (bulk and surface), showing the effect of local nanostructured morphology on global electrochemical response and demonstrating cathodic activation of bulk La1−xSrxMnO3±δ (LSM). The methodology is flexible with possibilities for superimposition of mechanical, thermal, and other processes and for incorporation of inputs from multi-scale calculations. It has potential to serve as a platform for rational design of complex nanostructured hetero-foam devices with desired functionalities.
Two steps forward, one step back?: Bias in the 2008 presidential election

The candidates running during the 2008 presidential campaign were the most diverse in America’s history. Prior to this historic election, female and minority candidates had little success in pursuing the presidency. Barack Obama’s victory signals a decline in those barriers. Yet some groups, especially religious ones, continue to face barriers, including Atheists, Mormons and Muslims. The paper takes a close look at bias in presidential voting. This examination will provide an opportunity to consider new hypotheses about why barriers remain, shedding light on the nature and extent of bias within the American public. We consider social desirability, ideology, social contact, and group threat explanations. To test our ideas, we rely on list experiments using national representative samples in 2007 and in 2008. These data provide a unique opportunity to advance our understanding of the 2008 election, in particular, and the role of bias, in general. The results also offer some insight into future presidential elections.
Spanglish, Bilingualism, Culture and Identity in Latino Children’s Literature

This paper examines the ways in which Latino children’s literature portrays cultural models of bilingualism and identity affiliations based on language and cultural practices. We focus attention the messages in seven children’s books about practices of and attitudes toward Spanglish, standard Spanish, and individual and societal bilingualism. In addition, we analyze how characters construct their cross-cultural identit(ies), based their language use and engagement in local and transnational cultural themes. Using assertions based on cultural model analyses, we show how portrayals evident in these books inform and are informed by larger cultural models of being bilingual and belonging to Latino bilingual communities in the U.S.
Search for superconducting phases with broken time-reversal symmetry in d-wave grain boundary junctions and interfaces

Abstract We are carrying out experiments designed to test for the onset of subdominant superconductor phases induced by scattering from surfaces in d-wave superconductors. Phases with complex order parameters d x 2 − y 2 + i s is or d x 2 − y 2 + i d x y have been predicted to arise from the suppression of the d-wave order parameter by Andreev reflection from the anisotropic order parameter. We have measured the critical current modulation in grain boundary junctions fabricated from pure and magnetically-doped cuprate films, searching for signatures of a phase transition to a secondary order parameter state. We have also imaged the magnetic field distribution in fabricated superconductor thin films using Scanning SQUID Microscopy, searching for spontaneous circulating currents along the film edges arising from the onset of superconducting phases with broken time-reversal symmetry. Preliminary results show no evidence for complex secondary phases at (110)-surfaces in YBCO.