cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discovery, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of a Novel Group of Selective Inhibitors of Filoviral Entry

Herein, we report the development of an antifiloviral screening system, based on a pseudotyping strategy, and its application in the discovery of a novel group of small molecules that selectively inhibit the Ebola and Marburg glycoprotein (GP)-mediated infection of human cells. Using Ebola Zaire GP-pseudotyped HIV particles bearing a luciferase reporter gene and 293T cells, a library of 237 small molecules was screened for inhibition of GP-mediated viral entry. From this assay, lead compound 8a was identified as a selective inhibitor of filoviral entry with an IC50 of 30 μM. To analyze functional group requirements for efficacy, a structure−activity relationship analysis of this 3,5-disubstituted isoxazole was then conducted with 56 isoxazole and triazole derivatives prepared using “click” chemistry. This study revealed that while the isoxazole ring can be replaced by a triazole system, the 5-(diethylamino)acetamido substituent found in 8a is required for inhibition of viral-cell entry. Variation of the 3...
A Dynamic Conceptual Framework of Generalized Adaptation to Stressful Stimuli

This paper reviews the currently popular definitions and theoretical arguments of the so-called “stress” perspective with the purpose of integrating this material into one general paradigm. The literature has been concerned primarily with two parallel processes which purport to account for the individual's coping and adaptive behavior, one characterized by the interplay of internal, psychological forces, and the other by external, environmental factors. These two general processes have been integrated in this paper by expanding upon the general models presented by Dohrenwend (7) to include important feedback processes. It is argued that adaptation to stress is a dynamic process and that the failure to adapt is often the result of a continuing process of past failures by the organism effectively to cope with less severe stressful stimuli, each failure feeding back to affect future attempts to cope with new environmental demands. The implications of the approach presented in this paper for future empirical ...
The ontogeny of the onset of drinking and plasma osmotic pressure regulation.

Pertinent behavioral and physiological variables related to the development of the onset of drinking were measured in albino rats of both sexes between 14 and 100 days of age. Under ad libitum conditions all variables studied were found to increase as a function of age. Following a subcutaneous 16% NaCl injection mean latency to drink was found to range from 4.6-9.5 min across ages. Plasma osmolality levels at the initiation of drinking were found to increase as a function of age and were found to be elevated over ad libitum levels by a relatively constant magnitude. The onset of drinking across ages was associated with 2.8-6.6% increase in plasma osmolality. These data suggest that although absolute levels of ad libitum osmolality increase from birth to maturity, the threshold increase in osmolality required for the initiation of drinking remains quite constant.
Expanding the substrate tolerance of biotin ligase through exploration of enzymes from diverse species.

Technologies that enable the site-specific conjugation of chemical probes onto proteins are extremely useful for applications in cell biology and proteomics. We cloned, expressed, and purified biotin ligases from nine different species and screened them for the ability to ligate unnatural analogues of biotin onto the human p67 biotin acceptor domain. We discovered that the biotin ligases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) and Pyrococcus horikoshii could accept alkyne and azide derivatives of biotin, respectively. HPLC, gel-shift, and mass spectrometry assays confirmed that these ligation reactions were ATP- and enzyme-dependent, as well as site-specific. We used the P. horikoshii-catalyzed azide ligation reaction to site-specifically introduce a phosphine probe onto p67 using the Staudinger ligation. These new ligation reactions demonstrate the differential substrate specificities of biotin ligases from different organisms and open the door to novel protein labeling applications.
Concomitant infection with HTLV-I and HTLV-III in a patient with T8 lymphoproliferative disease.

All currently known human retroviruses are T-cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLVs) and primarily infect T4 cells (reviewed by Wong-Staal and Gallo1). HTLV-I immortalizes normal T lymphocytes in vitro, ...
Interaction between the electron beam and the surface wave in a dielectric plate

A model of the traveling-wave tube (TWT) that includes a dielectric plate adjoining a perfectly conducting surface and a metal screen parallel to the plate is considered. The dispersion equation in the presence of a homogeneous electron beam filling the space between the plate and the screen is derived. The method of differentiation of the dispersion equation is used to obtain and calculate coefficients of the TWT characteristic equation and coupling and depression coefficients, i.e., coefficients determining the main properties of the TWT. The considered model is compared with an “impedance” comb structure and a cylindrical helix. Conclusions concerning the prospects of development of a “dielectric” TWT are drawn.
Commentary: risks and benefits, testing and screening, cancer, genes and dollars.

The ability to determine genetic predisposition to cancer represents an opportunity to expand cancer control efforts in a manner that was previously unimaginable. This possibility also forces individual patients, families, health care professionals, and society to confront difficult questions about genetic knowledge. Although genetic testing or screening for cancer risk may hold promise of cancer control benefits, this prospect also raises significant ethical and legal concerns that must inform and shape policy decisions. In “Cancer Genetic Susceptibility Testing,” Benjamin Wilfond and the Cancer Genetic Screening Consortium (CGSC) present a status report and an ambitious agenda for future examination of ethical and policy issues in this embryonic field. The paper provides a provocative and timely discussion of some extremely vexing issues, but it also misses on several critical points.
Iron, Oxidative Stress, and Cell Signaling in the Pathogeneses of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis, Silicosis, and Asbestosis

Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), silicosis, and asbestosis were the most common occupational diseases in the 20 th Century. The passage of the Mine Health and Safety Act in 1968 resulted in reduction of occupational exposures to coal, silica, and asbestos fibers and, thus, decreased incidence of the diseases. However, the most recent data showed that, from the beginning of the 21 st Century, a significant increase in the occurrence and severity of CWP took place in the U.S. This occurrence necessitates a comprehensive review of this issue. Among many factors, cumulative dust exposure (CDE), a product of dust concentration and working tenure, is the most important cause of the disease. The molecular mechanisms mostly center on iron-mediated oxidative stress and cell signaling, leading to inflammation, possibly epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) to fibroblasts, and ultimately fibrotic changes. In order to combat the recent increase in CWP, reducing coal dust levels and decreasing the toxicity of the coal at the work setting are the first practical measures to take. Exposure biomarkers, which are based on iron, and early disease biomarkers in inflammation and EMT can be developed for early detection before the conventional chest x-ray diagnosis is possible. In summary, through dust reduction, delay of mining highly toxic coal, and identification of susceptible workers, CWP is preventable.
Efficient Instrumentation of GPGPU Applications Using Information Flow Analysis and Symbolic Execution

Dynamic instrumentation of GPGPU binaries makes possible real-time introspection methods for performance debugging, correctness checks, workload characterization, and runtime optimization. Such instrumentation involves inserting code at the instruction level of an application, while the application is running, thereby able to accurately profile data-dependent application behavior. Runtime overheads seen from instrumentation, however, can obviate its utility. This paper shows how a combination of information flow analysis and symbolic execution can be used to alleviate these overheads. The methods and their effectiveness are demonstrated for a variety of GPGPU codes written in OpenCL that run on AMD GPU target backends. Kernels that can be analyzed entirely via symbolic execution need not be instrumented, thus eliminating kernel runtime overheads altogether. For the remaining GPU kernels, our results show 5-38% improvements in kernel runtime overheads.
The 9th annual MLSP competition: Second place

The MLSP 2013 Bird Classification Challenge requires participants to predict the set of bird species present in audio clips in a given test set, with the aim of maximizing the micro-AUC score computed from the predictions. This report summarizes the 2nd place solution by team Herbal Candy that achieved a micro-AUC score of 0.95050.
Psilostachyin B, a new sesquiterpene dilactone from Ambrosia psilostachya DC.

Abstract The structure of psilostachyin B, a new sesquiterpene dilactone from Ambrosia psilostachya DC., is shown to be VI. The stereochemical features shown in XV are proposed for psilostachyin B.
Phase‐sensitive black‐blood coronary vessel wall imaging

Black-blood MR coronary vessel wall imaging may become a powerful tool for the quantitative and noninvasive assessment of atherosclerosis and positive arterial remodeling. Although dual-inversion recovery is currently the gold standard, optimal lumen-to-vessel wall contrast is sometimes difficult to obtain, and the time window available for imaging is limited due to competing requirements between blood signal nulling time and period of minimal myocardial motion. Further, atherosclerosis is a spatially heterogeneous disease, and imaging at multiple anatomic levels of the coronary circulation is mandatory. However, this requirement of enhanced volumetric coverage comes at the expense of scanning time. Phase-sensitive inversion recovery has shown to be very valuable for enhancing tissue-tissue contrast and for making inversion recovery imaging less sensitive to tissue signal nulling time. This work enables multislice black-blood coronary vessel wall imaging in a single breath hold by extending phase-sensitive inversion recovery to phase-sensitive dual-inversion recovery, by combining it with spiral imaging and yet relaxing constraints related to blood signal nulling time and period of minimal myocardial motion.
Electrical stimulation of the preoptic area in Eigenmannia: evoked interruptions in the electric organ discharge.

The functional role of the basal forebrain and preoptic regions in modulating the normally regular electric organ discharge was determined by focal brain stimulation in the weakly electric fish, Eigenmannia. The rostral preoptic area, which is connected with the diencephalic prepacemaker nucleus, was examined physiologically by electrical stimulation in a curarized fish. Electrical stimulation of the most rostral region of the preoptic area with trains of relatively low intensity current elicits discrete bursts of electric organ discharge interruptions in contrast to other forebrain loci. These responses were observed primarily as after-responses following the termination of the stimulus train and were relatively immune to variations in the stimulus parameters. As the duration and rate of these preoptic-evoked bursts of electric organ discharge interruptions (approximately 100 ms at 2 per s) are similar to duration and rate of natural interruptions, it is proposed that these bursts might be precursors to natural interruptions. These data suggest that the preoptic area, consistent with its role in controlling reproductive behaviors in vertebrates, may be influencing the occurrence of electric organ discharge courtship signals by either direct actions on the prepacemaker nucleus or through other regions that are connected with the diencephalic prepacemaker nucleus.
China’s foreign language policy on primary English education: What’s behind it?

This paper examines the formulation of China’s foreign language policy on primary English education issued in 2001, specifically exploring factors contributing to the formulation of the policy and problems in its formulation. Drawing upon official documents, newspaper archives, publications, and an interview with an education official, it identifies five contributing factors and six problems in relation to policy formulation. The paper argues that the policy, jointly shaped by social, economic, educational, linguistic, and political forces, was the outcome of top-down, assumption-based, and hasty policymaking. The Chinese case exemplifies the impact of the global spread of English on foreign language policy in non-English speaking countries.
Some effects of novelty and overtraining on the reversal learning of retardates.

Abstract Three experiments were conducted on retardates to assess the effects of the introduction of novel stimuli along an irrelevant dimension during a reversal, of different amounts of training, and of delay of reversal. It was found that the introduction of novel irrelevant stimuli (1) interrupts first-trial perseverative choice responding when Ss have received minimal amounts of training but not when a strong criterion or overtraining is used, and (2) increases the latencies of responses to other stimuli along the relevant dimension. The ORE was found when a 24-hour period intervened between training and reversal but not when reversal immediately followed training.
Schlafen 12 expression modulates prostate cancer cell differentiation.

Abstract Background Schlafen proteins have previously been linked to leukocyte and intestinal epithelial differentiation. We hypothesized that Schlafen 12 (SLFN12) overexpression in human prostate epithelial cells would modulate expression of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), markers of prostatic epithelial differentiation. Materials and methods Differentiation of the human prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 was compared after infection with an adenoviral vector coding for SLFN12 (Ad-SLFN12) or green fluorescent protein (GFP) only expressing virus (control). Transcript levels of SLFN12, PSA, and DPP4 were evaluated by real-time reverse transcription PCR and protein levels by Western blotting. Because mixed lineage kinase (MLK) and one of its downstream effectors (extracellular signal–regulated kinases [ERK]) have previously been implicated in some aspects of prostate epithelial differentiation, we conducted further studies in which LNCaP cells were cotreated with dimethyl sulfoxide (control), PD98059 (ERK inhibitor), or MLK inhibitor during transfection with Ad-SLFN12 for 72 h. Results Treatment of LNCaP or PC-3 cells with Ad-SLFN12 reduced PSA expression by 56.6 ± 4.6% (P Conclusions SLFN12 may regulate differentiation in prostate epithelial cells, at least in part independently of ERK or MLK. Understanding how SLFN12 influences prostatic epithelial differentiation may ultimately identify targets to influence the phenotype of prostatic malignancy.
Brachytherapy as part of the definitive management of squamous cancer of the base of tongue

Between 1981 and 1986, 17 patients were treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with squamous cancer of the base of the tongue whose definitive treatment included brachytherapy. The patient sample consisted of 14 men and 3 women with age range of 35 to 71 years (median = 58). There were four patients with T1 lesions, six with T2, six with T3, and one with T4. In general, treatment consisted of 5000-5400 cGy with external beam radiation and 2000-3000 cGy boost to the base of tongue via an Ir-192 implant using afterloading catheters. Necks were managed with elective radiation alone in the N0 group (n = 5) or with radiation plus neck dissection in the N+ group (n = 12). Five patients who would have required laryngectomy had they undergone primary surgery received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by external beam and implant as part of a larynx preservation study that was being done at our institution (4-T3, 1-T2). The range of follow-up is 8 to 59 months, with median follow-up of 24 months. No patients have been lost to follow-up. Crude local control by T-Stage are as follows: T1-4/4, T2-5/6, T3-5/6, T4-1/1. Actuarial local control at 24 months is 87%. There have been no neck failures. There have been five patients who had soft tissue ulceration (STU) and one patient who had osteoradionecrosis (ORN). All soft tissue ulceration patients have been successfully managed conservatively. The patient with osteoradionecrosis is currently being managed. In 4 of these 6 cases, the implant was the initial therapeutic intervention and the entire tumor bed was implanted. On the other hand, when external beam was the initial treatment, the boost was administered to the smaller volume of residual disease. Overall, 4 of 7 patients who had implant first developed either soft tissue ulceration or osteoradionecrosis, as opposed to 2 of 10 patients who had implant after external beam and/or chemotherapy. The numbers are too small to be statistically significant, but our current policy is to perform brachytherapy after the external beam. In addition, all those with either soft tissue ulceration or osteoradionecrosis were implanted with a non-looping technique. Overall, 6 of 12 patients treated with a non-looping technique developed an injury, whereas none of the five treated with a looping technique has developed one.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Should We Treat According to the SHAPE Guidelines

We were asked to address this simple question: should we treat according to the SHAPE (Naghavi Am J Cardiol 98:2H–15H, 2006) guidelines? It sounds like a simple and direct question and yet there are no direct answers. None that would satisfy every reader, at least. SHAPE sounds like a grandiose attempt at rephrasing priorities, and the approach to the diagnosis and therapy of cardiovascular disease; does it not? Or is it a first honest effort at differing from structured and aligned thinkers? The “evidence seized medicine” of the past several decades may have overlooked a lot of common sense, good indirect evidence and a lot of self evident truth that may need to be readdressed. Among the common things one may have forgotten, is the simple tenet that not all humans are born the same (from the genetic point of view, that is); not all diabetic patients have the same risk of coronary artery disease, not all 60-year old black men have the same degree of renal damage after 10 years of systolic hypertension, not everyone suffers the same degree of complications from various ailments or risk factors. So, it may be worth taking an “outside of the box” look while reviewing the SHAPE guidelines (Am J Cardiol 98:2H–15H, 2006), with an open mind toward alternative values inherent in the proposed approach. That is what we set out to do in this brief chapter.
Sleep and Quality of Life Improvements after Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Background Recent investigation has demonstrated that approximately 75% of patients with medically refractory chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) report abnormal sleep quality, with strong correlation between worse sleep quality and more severe CRS disease severity. It remains unknown whether the treatment effect of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for CRS results in appreciable sleep quality improvements. Methods Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) with a current diagnosis of recalcitrant chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), who voluntarily elected ESS as the next treatment modality (n = 301), were prospectively evaluated within 4 academic, tertiary care centers using treatment outcome instruments: the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index, the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test, the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) both before and after ESS. Results Seventy-two percent (72%) of patients with CRS were found to have poor sleep (PSQI > 5) at baseline with a mean (standard deviation) global PSQI score of 9.4 (4.6). Surgery improved overall mean global PSQI scores (by 2.2 points), and all 7 subdomain scores of the PSQI. Similarly, the odds of good sleep quality (PSQI ≤ 5) in patients treated with sinus surgery increased significantly (odds ratio [OR] 5.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.06 to 11.53; p < 0.001). Stepwise multivariate linear regression found that acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) intolerance (β [standard error], −1.94 [0.93]; 95% CI, −3.77 to −0.11; p = 0.038), history of prior sinus surgery (β [standard error], 1.10 (0.54); 95% CI, 0.03 to 2.16; p = 0.044), and frontal sinusotomy (β [standard error], −1.03 [0.62]; 95% CI, −2.26 to 0.20; p = 0.099) were found to significantly associate with improvement in PSQI sleep scores. Conclusion Among patients with CRS, reduced sleep quality, poor disease-specific quality of life, and greater disease severity were improved following ESS.
A new naturally occurring GABA A receptor subunit partnership with high sensitivity to ethanol

According to the rules of GABAA receptor (GABAAR) subunit assembly, α4 and α6 subunits are considered to be the natural partners of δ subunits. These GABAARs are a preferred target of low, sobriety-impairing concentrations of ethanol. Here we demonstrate a new naturally occurring GABAAR subunit partnership: δ subunits of hippocampal interneurons are coexpressed and colocalized with α1 subunits, but not with α4, α6 or any other α subunits. Ethanol potentiates the tonic inhibition mediated by such native α1/δ GABAARs in wild-type and in α4 subunit–deficient (Gabra4−/−) mice, but not in δ subunit–deficient (Gabrd−/−) mice. We also ruled out any compensatory upregulation of α6 subunits that might have accounted for the ethanol effect in Gabra4−/− mice. Thus, α1/δ subunit assemblies represent a new neuronal GABAAR subunit partnership present in hippocampal interneurons, mediate tonic inhibitory currents and are highly sensitive to low concentrations of ethanol.
CrossTalk proposal: Rotors have been demonstrated to drive human atrial fibrillation

It is our pleasure to debate this important and clinically relevant topic. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a leading cause of hospitalization and death (Calkins et al. 2012), and the need to improve AF therapy is urgent and requires dramatic advances in our mechanistic understanding. Decades of research have not dented the incidence of AF, now at epidemic proportions (Calkins et al. 2012), nor reduced its morbidity and mortality with the laudable exception of antithrombotic therapy (Calkins et al. 2012).
A new Characterization of the non-symmetric Nash solution

A one-step stochastic bargaining procedure is examined which is based on assuming offer-dependent break-down probabilities and that at each step, the players optimize their expected payoffs. It is shown that there is a unique solution of the bargaining process and it reduces to the non-symmetric Nash solution if each player initially offers the disagreement payoff value to the other player. Therefore the one-step bargaining solution is a further generalization of the non-symmetric Nash solution with arbitrary initial offers.
Science, reason and religion: Pedro de Horta and the healing of body and soul in eighteenth-century Mexico

This article examines a document published originally in 1763 by a medical doctor in Puebla, Pedro de Horta, commissioned by the local convent of San Jeronimo to evaluate the possible causes of an outbreak of what appeared to be epileptic seizures that had emerged there among several nuns. Utilizing both the medical and scientific knowledge at his disposal as well as extensive citations of Church fathers and contemporary theologians, Horta constructed an approach for the treatment of epilepsy that attempted to reconcile the varying possible spiritual and scientific explanations for the outbreak. Accordingly, this study of Horta’s work fits into the larger historiography of Enlightenment and scientific thought and its interaction with Church authority and traditional approaches to the treatment of Physical illness. The study also seeks to situate Horta’s report and its conclusions in the context of the wave of convent reforms in New Spain that followed soon after the publication of the document.
Suppression in lung defense responses after bacterial infection in rats pretreated with different welding fumes

Epidemiology suggests that inhalation of welding fumes increases the susceptibility to lung infection. The effects of chemically distinct welding fumes on lung defense responses after bacterial infection were compared. Fume was collected during gas metal arc (GMA) or flux-covered manual metal arc (MMA) welding using two consumable electrodes: stainless steel (SS) or mild steel (MS). The fumes were separated into water-soluble and -insoluble fractions. The GMA-SS and GMA-MS fumes were found to be relatively insoluble, whereas the MMA-SS was highly water soluble, with the soluble fraction comprised of 87% Cr and 11% Mn. On day 0, male Sprague-Dawley rats were intratracheally instilled with saline (vehicle control) or the different welding fumes (0.1 or 2 mg/rat). At day 3, the rats were intratracheally inoculated with 5 x 10(3) Listeria monocytogenes. On days 6, 8, and 10, left lungs were removed, homogenized, cultured overnight, and colony-forming units were counted to assess pulmonary bacterial clearance. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed on right lungs to recover phagocytes and BAL fluid to measure the production of nitric oxide (NO) and immunomodulatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, and IL-10. In contrast to the GMA-SS, GMA-MS, and saline groups, pretreatment with the highly water soluble MMA-SS fume caused significant body weight loss, extensive lung damage, and a dramatic reduction in pulmonary clearance of L. monocytogenes after infection. NO concentrations in BAL fluid and lung immunostaining of inducible NO synthase were dramatically increased in rats pretreated with MMA-SS before and after infection. MMA-SS treatment caused a significant decrease in IL-2 and significant increases in TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-10 after infection. In conclusion, pretreatment with MMA-SS increased production of NO and proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha and IL-6) after infection, which are likely responsible for the elevation in lung inflammation and injury. In addition, MMA-SS treatment reduced IL-2 (involved in T cell proliferation) and enhanced IL-10 (involved in inhibiting macrophage function) after bacterial infection, which might result in a possible suppression in immune response and an increase in susceptibility to infection.
Suppression of Exaggerated Grain Growth During Sintering of Nano-Sized Barium Titanate Powders

Rate controlled sintering (RCS) was used to sinter nano-sized BaTiO3 particles. A distinct shift in temperature slope above 1150-1200°C during RCS implied a change in sintering mechanism, and a corresponding exaggerated grain growth (grain size ∼40-50 μm). By suppression of the exaggerated grain growth by firing a specimen packed in BaCO3, these phenomena were shown to be the result of a shift in phase equilibria from the volatilization of BaO from BaTiO3; the eutectic liquid which formed permitted rapid grain growth by a dissolution and precipitation process.
The terminal tendon of the digital extensor mechanism: Part II, kinematic study.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the anatomy of the terminal tendon (TT) and its relationship to adjacent structures. Materials The extensor tendons of 56 cadaveric digits (52 fresh-frozen and 4 formalin-preserved) underwent anatomic dissection. Results The TT is a segment between the convergence of the lateral bands proximally and the bony insertion in the phalanx distally. The ulnar lateral bands were thicker than the radial bands. The average distance from the TT insertion to the germinal matrix of the nail bed was 1.4 mm. The triangular ligament (TL) is a thin layer of transverse fibers between the lateral bands proximal to the TT. The dimensions of the TT and the TL vary relative to the size of the digit with the largest often occurring in the middle, followed by the ring, index, and small finger. The transverse retinacular ligament (TRL) had a dorsal attachment to the lateral bands and was much more defined and distinct than the oblique retinacular ligament. The ulnar TRL often was thicker than the radial TRL. Conclusions The TT is the primary structure responsible for extending the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint. The function of the adjacent retinacular structures is to provide stability to the TT. The thin nature and proximity of the TT to the nail matrix must be kept in mind during surgery. Knowledge of the TT anatomy is necessary for further study of its kinematics and pathology and for diagnosis and management of its disorders.
RF MEMS switches with sic microbridges for improved reliability

RF MEMS switches which utilize an insulating SiC microbridge as a structural layer have been developed. The MEMS switch with the 500 nm SiC microbridge exhibits good off-state performance but poor on-state characteristics due to the small on-state capacitance of the structure. However the mechanical reliability of the switch is exceptional. The MEMS switch with the 300 nm SiC thick microbridge has outstanding down position (on-state) RF characteristics which is do to the film being 40% thinner then the 500 nm microbridge thus creating a much larger on-state capacitance. Unfortunately the 300 nm thick microbridge does not actuate readily. It is believed that this is due to the stresses within the bridge.
Outpatient inhaled nitric oxide in a patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a bridge to lung transplantation

Inhaled nitric oxide (INO) has been shown to improve oxygenation and decrease intrapulmonary shunt and pulmonary hypertension in various lung diseases. In this study we report a patient with end-stage idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension who received INO after coronary artery bypass surgery, with significant improvement in arterial oxygenation and pulmonary arterial pressure. Using a pulsing delivery system, the patient continued to receive outpatient INO for 30 months while waiting for lung transplantation. Exercise study and two-dimensional echocardiogram, after 3 months of inhaled NO, demonstrated continued benefits of INO for improvement of arterial oxygenation, pulmonary arterial pressure and exercise tolerance.
Some results of geothermal investigations of permafrost in northern Alaska

Frequent, regular thermal measurements in northern Alaska over a six-year period have provided information on many of the problems related to the temperature and distribution of permafrost in the Arctic. The maximum depth of permafrost near Barrow is 1330 ft. The minimum permafrost temperature recorded, below the depth of measurable (0.01° C) seasonal fluctuation (70 to 100 feet), is −10.6° C. The temperature effect of mediumsized (40 by 100 ft) heated buildings resting on permafrost is measurable to depths well below 50 ft. It is doubtful that frozen ground at shallow depths extends outward more than a few tens of feet from the shore of the Arctic Ocean although it may be present at depths greater than 100 ft. Lakes deeper than about seven feet do not freeze to bottom and may have an unfrozen zone approaching several hundred feet in depth beneath them.
DAVID Bioinformatics Resources: expanded annotation database and novel algorithms to better extract biology from large gene lists

All tools in the DAVID Bioinformatics Resources aim to provide functional interpretation of large lists of genes derived from genomic studies. The newly updated DAVID Bioinformatics Resources consists of the DAVID Knowledgebase and five integrated, web-based functional annotation tool suites: the DAVID Gene Functional Classification Tool, the DAVID Functional Annotation Tool, the DAVID Gene ID Conversion Tool, the DAVID Gene Name Viewer and the DAVID NIAID Pathogen Genome Browser. The expanded DAVID Knowledgebase now integrates almost all major and well-known public bioinformatics resources centralized by the DAVID Gene Concept, a single-linkage method to agglomerate tens of millions of diverse gene/protein identifiers and annotation terms from a variety of public bioinformatics databases. For any uploaded gene list, the DAVID Resources now provides not only the typical gene-term enrichment analysis, but also new tools and functions that allow users to condense large gene lists into gene functional groups, convert between gene/protein identifiers, visualize many-genes-to-many-terms relationships, cluster redundant and heterogeneous terms into groups, search for interesting and related genes or terms, dynamically view genes from their lists on bio-pathways and more. With DAVID (http://david. niaid.nih.gov), investigators gain more power to interpret the biological mechanisms associated with large gene lists.
Stress Measurement in Single-Crystal and Polycrystalline Ceramics Using Their Optical Fluorescence

A general methodology is developed for determining the state of stress and the numerical value of the stresses from observed shifts and broadening of optical fluorescence lines. The method is based on the piezospectroscopic properties of single crystals. We present general relationships between the measured fluorescence shifts and the stress state for a number of illustrative cases, pertinent to both polycrystalline and single-crystal ceramics under stress. These include measuring the stresses applied to polycrystalline ceramics, the residual stress distribution due to crystallographically anisotropic thermal expansion, and the stresses applied to single crystals. Using the recently implemented technique of performing the fluorescence measurements in an optical microprobe, we also provide experimental tests of the relationships derived.
A telecommunications quality study using the analytic hierarchy process

An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach that can be used either for the analysis and comparison of the quality of several telecommunications companies, or for the evaluation of alternate technologies in telecommunications is presented. The method is based on pairwise comparison between several factors that affect the quality of service in a hierarchical structure. Two particular formulations are presented and discussed extensively. >
Exposure to Chronic Community Violence: Resilience in African American Children.

In many African American communities, violence and poverty are often part of daily living. As a result, children are at risk for difficulties in all aspect of their lives, particularly their emotional well-being. This study explored the relationship between exposure to chronic community violence and the development of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), a constellation of symptoms that occur as a result of repeated exposure to traumas, in the context of specific African American cultural beliefs and values that are used as coping mechanisms. It was anticipated that the coping mechanisms would act as stress moderators, or buffers, to the development of symptoms of C-PTSD. Participants in the study included 71 African American children between the ages of 9 and 11 years who lived in a high-crime, high-poverty community in Houston, Texas. The results indicated that formal kinship and spirituality, along with high levels of combined supports, demonstrated buffering effects on exposure to violence.
Float Observations of the Southern Ocean. Part I: Estimating Mean Fields, Bottom Velocities, and Topographic Steering

Autonomous Lagrangian Circulation Explorer (ALACE) floats are used to examine mean flow and eddy fluxes at 900-m depth in the Southern Ocean. Mean temperature and dynamic topography from float data are consistent with earlier estimates from hydrographic surveys, although floats imply warmer temperatures and narrower frontal structures than do atlas data. Differences between hydrographic and ALACE dynamic topography suggest the presence of eastward bottom velocities of about 2 cm s 21 below the eastward-flowing jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Flow is steered by bathymetry and can be represented as an equivalent barotropic system with an e-folding depth of about 700 m.
Local analysis technique for the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor fuel defect studies

The safety analysis for the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor (ANSR) required the development of a new analysis technique to determine fuel integrity and to assure avoidance of critical heat flux (CHF) conditions. The ANSR is a research reactor design intended to provide the highest continuous neutron beam intensity of any reactor in the world. Reliance on previous safety analysis techniques such as those used in the High Flux Isotope Reactor would result in a design that would not meet the requirements. A more accurate but still conservative analysis technique was developed for the ANSR safety analyses. This technique, the local analysis technique (LAT), relaxed some of the overly conservative assumptions of previous hot-spot studies by using a large number of detailed analyses. The conditions used in these analyses were spread over the possible distributions found in specific designs. This technique was used to analyze several core designs to produce confidence in the fuel plate integrity that could be damaged by excessive fuel temperatures and avoidance of CHF conditions. This approach can be used for other reactor designs and should allow increases in the operating power levels. Alternatively, the LAT could be used to demonstrate increased safety margins for present operatingmore » conditions.« less
Re-sensing Las Vegas: aesthetic entrepreneurship and local urban culture

AbstractCities are dense, sensory environments that provide various stimuli that require interpretation and representation. The embodied sensuous lived experience of urban life, however, is much more dynamic and fluid than any one representation can encompass. A conflict often emerges between the dominant image of a city and what actually happens in it. As such, this creates a tension about a city’s ‘sense of place.’ I employ the notion of ‘aesthetic entrepreneurship’ to designate the practices of certain individuals who seek to create new senses of place in the face of opposition or in times of social crisis. I explore the ways aesthetic entrepreneurs have used sensory knowledge to create alternative narratives and images of Las Vegas after the economic crash of 2008. Each of the aesthetic entrepreneurs discussed here has actively sought to develop a new sense of place for a city popularly defined by its dominant neon imagery.
VALVULAR DISEASE IN A PATIENT WITH CARCINOID SYNDROME: WHEN TO INTERVENE

Carcinoid syndrome [CS] can result in valvular heart disease, especially tricuspid stenosis [ TS]. Valve replacement can be curative for TS, but in patients with CS, there is risk for recurrence of TS if CS is not eliminated. Timing of valve surgery can be challenging and needs inter-disciplinary
Tunable Low Bandgap Polyisothianaphthene via Oxidative Chemical Vapor Deposition

Despite polyisothianaphthene’s (PITN) desirable properties, complex synthetic routes and lack of solubility have limited its utility, particularly when thin films are required. Here, we report a on...
Feedback Linearization for Nonlinear Systems With Time-Varying Input and Output Delays by Using High-Gain Predictors

This note addresses the problem of feedback linearization for nonlinear systems with time-varying input and output delays. To solve the realization issue of future states, a high-gain-observer is constructed as a predictor. Then, the output feedback predictive control is presented. The stability of the closed-loop system is analyzed by using a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional. It is demonstrated that by designing the observer gain high enough, the closed-loop system recovers the performance of state feedback control with no time delay. However, the gain of the observer is limited by the time delay. Finally, numerical simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control.
Policy and Precinct: Citizen Evaluations and Electoral Confidence

Objective The objective of this research is to evaluate the role of state policy and election precinct evaluations on citizen confidence in individual and nationwide electoral outcomes. Methods Utilizing the 2012 Survey and Performance of American Elections (SPAE) and data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, a series of ordered logistic regression models and probability estimates are presented. Results Evaluations of voting precincts, specifically poll workers, polling locations, and voting machines have an effect on electoral confidence. Confidence, however, is not consistent. Racial identification and partisan affiliation continue to shape citizen confidence in American elections. Voter identification requirements, outside of racial considerations, do not affect confidence in individual or nationwide ballot outcomes. Conclusions The administration of American elections effects citizen confidence in electoral outcomes. Reforms in this area have the capacity to improve citizen confidence, trust, and potentially political participation.
The Occurrence, Drivers, and Implications of Submesoscale Eddies on the Martha’s Vineyard Inner Shelf

AbstractThe occurrence, drivers, and implications of small-scale O(2–5) km diameter coherent vortices, referred to as submesoscale eddies, over the inner shelf south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, are examined using high-frequency (HF), radar-based, high-resolution (400 m) observations of surface currents. Within the 300 km2 study area, eddies occurred at rates of 1 and 4 day−1 in winter and summer, respectively. Most were less than 5 h in duration, smaller than 4 km in diameter, and rotated less than once over their lifespan; 60% of the eddies formed along the eastern edge of study area, adjacent to Wasque Shoal, and moved westward into the interior, often with relative vorticity greater than f. Eddy generation was linked to vortex stretching on the ebb and flood tide as well as the interaction of the spatially variable tide and the wind-driven currents; however, these features had complex patterns of surface divergence and stretching. Eddies located away from Wasque Shoal were related to the movem...
Serum CA-125 in women with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain

Since serum CA-125 concentrations are increased in women with endometriosis, the authors evaluated CA-125 levels to determine whether this serum test would be useful in differentiating between pelvic pain due to endometriosis and other causes. During a 30-month period, 163 women who had had pelvic pain for at least 3 months had a CA-125 level obtained prior to surgery. Serum CA-125 was measured by an immunoradiometric assay. Of the 82 women with endometriosis, 66 (80%) had CA-125 concentrations ≥ 16 U/ml (95% upper limit). The frequencies of elevated levels in minimal, mild, moderate, and severe endometriosis were 52, 86, 100, and 100%, respectively. Of the 81 women without endometriosis, 5 (6%) had elevated concentrations. With the use of serum CA-125 determinations for the detection of endometriosis, the sensitivity was 80%, the specificity was 94%, and the accuracy was 93% when the prevalence of endometriosis was 50%. The authors conclude that determination of CA-125 levels may assist in the evaluation and treatment of women with chronic pelvic pain.
Exposure to air pollution as a potential contributor to cognitive function, cognitive decline, brain imaging, and dementia: A systematic review of epidemiologic research.

Abstract Background Dementia is a devastating condition typically preceded by a long prodromal phase characterized by accumulation of neuropathology and accelerated cognitive decline. A growing number of epidemiologic studies have explored the relation between air pollution exposure and dementia-related outcomes. Methods We undertook a systematic review, including quality assessment, to interpret the collective findings and describe methodological challenges that may limit study validity. Articles, which were identified according to a registered protocol, had to quantify the association of an air pollution exposure with cognitive function, cognitive decline, a dementia-related neuroimaging feature, or dementia. Results We identified 18 eligible published articles. The quality of most studies was adequate to exemplary. Almost all reported an adverse association between at least one pollutant and one dementia-related outcome. However, relatively few studies considered outcomes that provide the strongest evidence for a causal effect, such as within-person cognitive or pathologic changes. Reassuringly, differential selection would likely bias toward a protective association in most studies, making it unlikely to account for observed adverse associations. Likewise, using a formal sensitivity analysis, we found that unmeasured confounding is also unlikely to explain reported adverse associations. Discussion We also identified several common challenges. First, most studies of incident dementia identified cases from health system records. As dementia in the community is underdiagnosed, this could generate either non-differential or differential misclassification bias. Second, almost all studies used recent air pollution exposures as surrogate measures of long-term exposure. Although this approach may be reasonable if the measured and etiologic exposure windows are separated by a few years, its validity is unknown over longer intervals. Third, comparing the magnitude of associations may not clearly pinpoint which, if any, pollutants are the probable causal agents, because the degree of exposure misclassification differs across pollutants. The epidemiologic evidence, alongside evidence from other lines of research, provides support for a relation of air pollution exposure to dementia. Future studies with improved design, analysis and reporting would fill key evidentiary gaps and provide a solid foundation for recommendations and possible interventions.
Rate Processes in Supercritical Fluid Extraction

Rates of supercritical fluid (SCF) extraction with CO2 depend on (a) partitioning of the extract between the natural matrix and the fluid, (b) rate of mass transfer of extract from the interior of the matrix to the fluid, and possibly (c) solubility of the extract in the supercritical fluid. These issues are discussed and illustrated by calculations. Investigations of the decaffeination of coffee beans demonstrate the concepts. Decaffeination was measured as a function of CO2 flow rate, temperature and pressure. Soaking the raw beans in water prior to decaffeination enhanced the rate of extraction. The rate of decaffeination increased with both pressure and temperature. The mathematical model describes the external and intraparticle diffusion resistances and the distribution of caffein between water and supercritical CO2. The partition coefficient for caffeine distributed between water and supercritical CO2 depends on temperature and pressure.
The Effect of Unionization on Productivity: Evidence from a Long Panel of Coal Mines:

The author measures the effect of unionization on productivity based on a panel of West Virginia coal mines from 1897 to 1928. Output and inputs are measured in physical terms, and most of the mine...