cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dissecting Anatomy: Exploring the Perspective of the Repeating First Year Medical Student in Both an Open and Peer Teaching Gross Anatomy Laboratory Format

This qualitative case study examined the experiences and perceptions of repeating first year medical students in two different gross anatomy laboratory formats at the Indiana University School of Medicine—Indianapolis campus. In the fall of 2010, the students experienced the anatomy laboratory as an open laboratory. In the fall of 2011, peer teaching was implemented in the laboratory. This study sought to better understand how each format affected student-learning processes. Individual interviews, focus group discussion, and qualitative data analysis identified four major themes in repeating student perspectives in the gross anatomy laboratory: the loss and reclaiming of confidence; the intensification of accountability towards fellow students and future patients; the struggle for, and equalization of power; and the metamorphosis of "anatomy as parts" into "anatomy as body". The results highlight the complex, multifaceted learning experiences medical students have while dissecting, and in particular, while teaching their peers. Participants' experiences encompassed the intellectual aspects of learning anatomy but also transcended it to provide important perspectives on the educational, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dynamics present in the laboratory.
The application system/400 help facility—philosophy and considerations

The design of the Application System/400™ (AS/400™) system help facility was based on the philosophy that users must be able to quickly access the specific information needed to complete their immediate task. This philosophy, reinforced by experience with help information on earlier IBM systems, resulted in a modular help facility that provides two major types of assistance discussed in this paper. Contextual information based on cursor position is provided for each panel. This contextual help is supplemented by an index of how-to-do-it and what-it-means information that can be searched by users in their own words.
Symbol detection on asynchronous OFDMA mesh networks with timing misalignment

In this work, we declare the new challenge on the synchronization of multipoint to multipoint communication systems based on OFDMA and analyze the effect of timing misalignment on OFDMA mesh networks. In the presence of timing misalignment between multiple pairs, appropriate receiver-side timing adjustment scheme at the receiver is introduced, and new data detection schemes are proposed to cancel out the inter-symbol interference as well as to mitigate multiple-pair interference (MPI). Simulation results are shown that the proposed interference mitigation and data detection schemes effectively eliminate the interference as well as compensate the distortion caused by timing misalignment between multiple pairs on wireless OFDMA mesh networks.
TABLETABILITY OF MALTODEXTRINS AND ACETAMINOPHEN MIXTURES

AbstractTabletability of five types of maltodextrin, a filler/binder excipient, was studied by testing their loading potentials with acetaminophen. The formulations consisted of excipient and acetaminophen at five different ratios and magnesium stearate at a 0.5% concentration. These mixtures were compacted employing an Integrated Compaction Research System at a constant punch velocity of 100 mm/sec. under varying applied pressures from 50 to 450 MPa. Compaction data were evaluated using the total work of compaction vs applied pressure plots whilst the post-compaction tests included the measurements of crushing force, disintegration time, and friability of the resulting tablets. Both the energy involved during the compaction of a formulation and the crushing force values of the resulting tablets decreased as the amount of the maltodextrin in a formulation was reduced. Maltodextrins exhibited adequate binding potential at acetaminophen drug loading levels of only up to twenty-five percent. The disintegrati...
The ANF-RGC gene motif (669)WTAPELL(675) is vital for blood pressure regulation: biochemical mechanism.

ANF-RGC is the prototype membrane guanylate cyclase, both the receptor and the signal transducer of the hormones ANF and BNP. After binding them at the extracellular domain it, at its intracellular domain, signals activation of the C-terminal catalytic module and accelerates production of the second messenger, cyclic GMP. This, in turn, controls the physiological processes of blood pressure, cardiovascular function, and fluid secretion, and others: metabolic syndrome, obesity and apoptosis. What is the biochemical mechanism by which this single molecule controls these diverse processes, explicitly of the blood pressure regulation is the subject of the present study. In line with the concept that the structural modules of ANF-RGC are designed to respond to more than one, yet distinctive signals, the study demonstrates the construction of a novel ANF-RGC-In-gene-669WTAPELL675 mouse model. Through this model, the study establishes that 669WTAPELL675 is a vital ANF signal transducer motif of the guanylate cyclase. Its striking physiological features linked with their biochemistry are that (1) it controls the hormonally-dependent cyclic GMP production in the kidney and the adrenal gland; (3) its deletion causes hypertension, and (3) cardiac hypertrophy; and (4) these mice show higher levels of the plasma aldosterone. For the first time, a mere 7-amino acid encoded motif of the mouse gene has been directly linked with the physiological control of the blood pressure regulation, a detailed biochemistry of this linkage has been established and a model for this linkage has been offered.
A numerical analysis of phase-change problems including natural convection

Fixed grid solutions for phase-change problems remove the need to satisfy conditions at the phase-change front and can be easily extended to multidimensional problems. The two most important and widely used methods are enthalpy methods and temperature-based equivalent heat capacity methods. Both methods in this group have advantages and disadvantages. Enthalpy methods (Shamsundar and Sparrow, 1975; Voller and Prakash, 1987; Cao et al., 1989) are flexible and can handle phase-change problems occurring both at a single temperature and over a temperature range. The drawback of this method is that although the predicted temperature distributions and melting fronts are reasonable, the predicted time history of the temperature at a typical grid point may have some oscillations. The temperature-based fixed grid methods (Morgan, 1981; Hsiao and Chung, 1984) have no such time history problems and are more convenient with conjugate problems involving an adjacent wall, but have to deal with the severe nonlinearity of the governing equations when the phase-change temperature range is small. In this paper, a new temperature-based fixed-grid formulation is proposed, and the reason that the original equivalent heat capacity model is subject to such restrictions on the time step, mesh size, and the phase-change temperature range will alsomore » be discussed.« less
Repeated detection of microbes in beverages dispensed from soda fountain machines and the effect of flushing on microbial density.

Abstract Few studies have examined patterns of microbial contamination in soda fountain beverages. In this study, patterns of microbial contamination in beverages dispensed from soda fountain machines (SFMs) sampled in June 2009 and then again 13 months later were compared. Over 70% of beverages contained microbes in both years, suggesting that contamination of beverages dispensed from SFMs can continue for long periods of time. In addition, the impact of disinfecting the dispensing nozzles and plastic tubing of SFMs, as well as the impact of machine use on microbial contamination was assessed. Managers from 26 establishments (fast-food and convenience stores) were interviewed about their SFM disinfecting practices and no correlation was found between the self-reported disinfecting practices and levels of microbial contamination in beverages dispensed from SFMs. Furthermore, in a direct study of two SFMs with an established disinfecting regimen, CFU/mL in beverages increased significantly immediately after disinfecting of plastic tubing yet returned to pre-disinfecting concentrations within 11 days. These results suggest that disinfecting may disturb microbial communities, resulting in increased planktonic microbes, but not the ultimate removal of communities themselves. Additionally, samples of a sugar and a diet soda were collected from 15 different SFMs before and after dispensing of ~ 0.95 L (the approximate size of a large beverage cup). Samples collected before dispensing this volume had significantly higher microbial counts than those collected after, suggesting that planktonic microbes in the beverage lines had been reduced by flushing. As there are currently no regulations regarding the disinfecting of SFM tubing or periodic inspections of beverages dispensed from SFMs, it would be valuable for consumers to encourage increased surveillance of SFMs, and to dispense some beverage before filling their cups.
Neuropeptides in Cerebrospinal Fluid

Most neuropeptides can now be assayed in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Some, such as beta-endorphin and arginine vasopressin, seem to be secreted directly into CSF. Others may reach CSF from plasma either by passage through the blood-brain barrier or by absorption through the circumventricular organs, which lack a blood-brain barrier. The role of neuropeptides in CSF is still unclear. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone, somatostatin, arginine vasopressin, angiotensin II, substance P, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, beta-endorphin, gastrin, and cholecystokinin are all present in assayable quantities in human CSF. Their functions in this fluid are liable to be as diverse as their functions elsewhere in the body. The release of hypothalamic releasing factors into the CSF may be part of the pathway of pituitary hormone release. Pituitary hormones may function in CSF as part of a feedback loop from the hypothalamus. Other neuropeptides may affect receptors in the central nervous system far away from their release site. Intraventricular neuropeptide injection, anatomical and physiological ablation experiments, receptor studies, and neurobiological techniques now being developed will allow a more complete understanding of CSF neuropeptide function in the future.
Regionality of food consumption

Understanding food consumption patterns around the United States is important for food marketers and researchers. A cluster analysis of the food purchases in 126 categories across 54 markets found 11 market groupings that are quite different from those commonly used in demand studies. These new regions were consistent with the findings from some cultural geographers and explained more of the regional variation in food consumption than the standard set of geographic boundaries. Food marketers could use these clusters to balance experiments, identify local marketing opportunities, and segment the US market into geographies with similar food demand patterns. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The yeast poly(A)-binding protein Pab1p stimulates in vitro poly(A)-dependent and cap-dependent translation by distinct mechanisms

Translation initiation in extracts from Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves the concerted action of the cap-binding protein eIF4E and the poly(A) tail-binding protein Pab1p. These two proteins bind to translation initiation factor eIF4G and are needed for the translation of capped or polyadenylated mRNA, respectively. Together, these proteins synergistically activate the translation of a capped and polyadenylated mRNA. We have discovered that excess Pab1p also stimulates the translation of capped mRNA in extracts, a phenomenon that we define as trans-activation. Each of the above activities of Pab1p requires its second RNA recognition motif (RRM2). We have found that RRM2 from human PABP cannot substitute functionally for yeast RRM2. Using the differences between human and yeast RRM2 sequences as a guide, we have mutagenized yeast RRM2 and discovered residues that are required for eIF4G binding and poly(A)-dependent translation but not for trans-activation. Similarly, other residues within RRM2 were found to be required for trans-activation but not for eIF4G binding or poly(A)-dependent translation. These data show that Pab1p has at least two biochemically distinct activities in translation extracts.
Site-specific DNA cleavage by Chlorella virus topoisomerase II

The DNA cleavage reaction of topoisomerase II is central to the catalytic activity of the enzyme and is the target for a number of important anticancer drugs. Unfortunately, efforts to characterize this fundamental reaction have been limited by the low levels of DNA breaks normally generated by the enzyme. Recently, however, a type II topoisomerase with an extraordinarily high intrinsic DNA cleavage activity was isolated from Chlorella virus PBCV-1. To further our understanding of this enzyme, the present study characterized the site-specific DNA cleavage reaction of PBCV-1 topoisomerase II. Results indicate that the viral enzyme cleaves DNA at a limited number of sites. The DNA cleavage site utilization of PBCV-1 topoisomerase II is remarkably similar to that of human topoisomerase IIalpha, but the viral enzyme cleaves these sites to a far greater extent. Finally, PBCV-1 topoisomerase II displays a modest sensitivity to anticancer drugs and DNA damage in a site-specific manner. These findings suggest that PBCV-1 topoisomerase II represents a unique model with which to dissect the DNA cleavage reaction of eukaryotic type II topoisomerases.
Theory of mind, neurocognition, and functional status in schizotypy

The present study is the first to concurrently examine social cognition, neurocognition, and social functioning in psychometric schizotypes. Screening of 2108 undergraduates with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire–Brief (SPQ-B) identified 52 persons high in schizotypy and 40 persons low in schizotypy. All participants were administered a test battery designed to assess two elements of neurocognition, verbal secondary memory (California Verbal Learning Test) and executive functioning (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test), two elements of social cognition, emotion perception (The Awareness of Social Inference Test—Part 1) and theory of mind (The Awareness of Social Inference Test—Parts 2 and 3), and social functioning (Social Adjustment Scale–Self Report). Although the persons with high schizotypy were impaired in social functioning relative to the persons with low schizotypy, they were not impaired in theory of mind, emotion perception, verbal secondary memory, or executive functioning. Theory of mind and verbal secondary memory were correlated in persons with high schizotypy. The present findings suggest that psychometric schizotypes are not impaired in the domains of social cognition and neurocognition examined.
Elucidation of the Structures of Residual and Dissolved Pine Kraft Lignins Using an HMQC NMR Technique

Comparative studies on the structures of residual and dissolved lignins isolated from pine kraft pulp and pulping liquor have been undertaken using the 1H−13C HMQC NMR technique, GPC, and sugar analysis to elucidate the reaction mechanisms in kraft pulping and the lignin reactivity. A modified procedure for the isolation of enzymatic residual lignins has resulted in an appreciable decrease in protein contaminants in the residual lignin preparations (N content < 0.2%). The very high dispersion of HMQC spectra allows identification of different lignin moieties, which signals appear overlapped in 1D 13C NMR spectra. Elucidation of the role of condensation reactions indicates that an increase in the degree of lignin condensation during pulping results from accumulation of original condensed lignin moieties rather than from the formation of new alkyl−aryl structures. Among aryl−vinyl type moieties, only stilbene structures are accumulated in lignin in appreciable amounts. Benzyl ether lignin−carbohydrate bonds...
Breast-feeding patterns in low-income countries

Breast-feeding is important to infant nutrition, morbidity, and mortality, and to postpartum amenorrhea (hence to birth intervals). Evidence on breast-feeding patterns in low-income countries from nationally representative World Fertility Surveys and secondary sources shows that in all but a few such countries most children are breast-fed for at least a few months. The limited evidence available on trends seems to indicate a decline in the duration of breast-feeding, but in most of Asia and Africa breast-feeding is almost universal during at least the first 6 months. Earlier weaning is common in Latin America.
Atherosclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus: mechanistic basis of the association.

As patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) live longer due to improved therapies and preventive measures, death and disability from cardiovascular events are increasing. Patients with SLE have an increased risk of atherosclerosis that persists even after accounting for traditional cardiac risk factors. Recent studies strongly suggest that the mechanism is due in part to a combination of inflammatory and immune mechanisms. Contributory factors include increased levels of oxidized lipids (such as oxidized LDL and pro-inflammatory HDL), upregulation of adhesion molecules, and upregulation of cytokines such as MCP-1, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1, and IL-12. Autoanitbodies to oxidized lipids and immune complexs may also play a role in the development of atherosclerosis in SLE. As in the pathogenesis of many lupus disease processes, the increased risk of atherosclerosis seen in SLE is likely due to the complex interplay of many of these inflammatory and immune mediators.
Design and characterization of a laser-based instrument with spectroscopic feedback control for treatment of vascular lesions: the “Smart Scalpel”

To improve the effectiveness of microsurgical techniques, we are developing a semi-autonomous robotic surgical tool (called the "Smart Scalpel") as an alternate approach to treatment of vascular lesions. The device employs optical reflectance spectroscopy as part of a line scan imaging system to identify and selectively target blood vessels in a vascular lesion for thermal treatment with a focused laser beam. Our proof-of-concept reported here presents the design and construction of a prototype instrument, initial quantification of imaging system resolution and contrast, and preliminary verification of the imaging and targeting strategies with standard targets and live dermal tissue.
Molecular ions in cluster bombardment: what clues do the molecular dynamics simulations provide?

Molecular dynamics simulations of C 60 bombardment of molecular solids suggest that there is a space-time divide between the fragmentation/ion creation process and the ejection of intact molecules via fluid flow physics. This space-time divide leads to the conclusion that molecular ions are preformed prior to ejection. Consequently, to increase the ion yield significantly, the sample must be altered to create more preformed ions.
Lifetime physical activity and the incidence of proliferative benign breast disease.

Exercise is a modifiable factor that is inversely related to risk for breast cancer. To determine if physical activity has a preventative effect on development of premalignant breast lesions, we examined the association between exercise and the incidence of proliferative benign breast disease. In 1997, the Nurses’ Health Study II cohort reported levels of physical activity during adolescence and adulthood using a validated recall instrument. We followed 40,318 participants free from benign breast disease (BBD) or cancer prospectively for four years and confirmed 232 proliferative benign breast lesions by centralized pathology review. Cox proportional hazards models estimated the age-adjusted and multivariable-adjusted relative risks for physical activity and proliferative benign breast disease. We observed a significant inverse association for walking and incidence of BBD, risk was reduced by 9% per hour of walking (95% CI 0% to 17%), (p trend = 0.05). Despite a small number of cases, risk of columnar cell lesions also suggested an inverse association with strenuous activity (RR for 4 or more hours of strenuous activity per week = 0.62; 0.31–1.22 compared to <1 h per week). This study suggests that exercise may be inversely associated with the risk of developing proliferative benign breast disease, one of the earliest steps in the development of breast cancer.
Dehydration rate measurements for tertiary-butanol in a variable pressure flow reactor.

Fundamentally, the dehydration reaction of tertiary-butanol is frequently used as an internal standard for relative rate studies of other decomposition reactions. We report here a study using radical trappers to isolate this path in tertiary-butanol pyrolysis experiments conducted in the Princeton variable pressure flow reactor between 658 and 980 K. A novel technique that determines the rate constant value by applying a global least-squares fit incorporating all experimental species (tertiary-butanol, isobutene, and water) evolution data is developed and applied to yield six rate constant values at two reaction pressures (6.1 and 18 atm) and at temperatures between 949 and 980 K. Data from previously reported studies are reanalyzed to evaluate their “absolute” uncertainties, and new Arrhenius parameters are derived based upon the present and previous measurements. The recommended rate constant (uncertainties) for the dehydration reaction is k = 2.88(0.91) × 107T2.21(0.10) s–1 exp(−62.4(0.9) kcal mol–1/RT...
High-speed subfailure stretch of rabbit anterior cruciate ligament: changes in elastic, failure and viscoelastic characteristics.

Abstract Objective. To study alterations in the ligament mechanical characteristics due to a subfailure stretch delivered at high speed. Design. An in vitro study of rabbit anterior cruciate ligaments. Background. Although ligamentous sprains occur more frequently than the complete failures, only a few biomechanical studies have investigated the effects of such injuries. Purpose of the study was to document changes in elastic, failure and viscoelastic properties of a ligament that had been subjected to a high-speed subfailure stretch. Methods. Thirteen paired fresh adult rabbit femur-anterior cruciate ligament-tibia preparations were used. One ligament of each pair (control) was subjected to two relaxation tests and then stretched until failure. The other ligament (experimental) was subjected sequentially to relaxation test, subfailure stretch (80% of the failure deformation of the control), relaxation test, and then stretched until failure. Load–deformation curve until failure was characterized by nine parameters, which included failure force, deformation and energy absorbed, and deformations measured at various load values, and stiffness. Relaxation curve was parameterized by five relaxation forces measured at 10, 30, 50, 130, and 180 s. Results. Due to subfailure stretch, there were no changes in failure force and stiffness, while deformations increased, and energy absorbed and relaxation forces decreased. Conclusions. The 80% subfailure stretch delivered at high speed increased the deformations in load–deformation tests, and decreased the forces in relaxation tests. Relevance Incomplete injuries of the ligaments are more prevalent than the complete injuries. The incomplete injury is a subfailure stretch delivered at high speed. The present study provides the results of simulating the incomplete injury using an in vitro ligament model.
Ultra-long single crystalline nanoribbons of tin oxide

Abstract Novel nanoribbons of single crystalline SnO2 have been successfully synthesized by simple thermal evaporation of SnO or SnO2 powders at high temperatures. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that the nanoribbons are structurally perfect and uniform, with widths of 30–200 nm, width-to-thickness ratio of ∼5–10, and lengths of several hundred micrometers to a few millimeters. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis indicate that the nanoribbons have the same crystal structure and chemical composition found in the rutile form of SnO2. Electron diffraction (ED) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveal that the nanoribbons grow along the [101] crystal direction and they are bounded by (010)/(0 1 0) and (10 1 )/( 1 01) crystal facets.
Efficacy and Safety of Stand-Up Irradiation Cubicles with UVA Metal-Halide Lamps (and a New Filter) or UVA Fluorescent Lamps for Photochemotherapy of Psoriasis

Background: Metal-halide lamps (MHLs) and fluorescent lamps (FLs) are widely employed for PUVA therapy of psoriasis, but they have never been compared in a clinical trial.
Flexing of DNA on the nucleosome core particle

The fluorescence anisotropy of ethidium bromide intercalated into the 146 base pairs of DNA on the nucleosoine decays due to a combination of rotational diffusion and torsional flexing motions of the DNA. We characterize the Internal flexing motions el the DNA by fitting the anisotropy to a mathematical model proposed by Schurr through the variation of two parameters: a torsional coeffident and a frictional coefficient. Using data collected 5° C and 20° C in water, and at 5° C in D 2 O, and assuming a model of 146 base pairs clamped at both ends, we have in all cases obtained frictional and torsional coefficients that are higher than the values reported by others.
Behavioral therapy with or without biofeedback and pelvic floor electrical stimulation for persistent postprostatectomy incontinence: A randomized controlled trial

Context Although behavioral therapy has been shown to improve postoperative recovery of continence, there have been no controlled trials of behavioral therapy for postprostatectomy incontinence persisting more than 1 year. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral therapy for reducing persistent postprostatectomy incontinence and to determine whether the technologies of biofeedback and pelvic floor electrical stimulation enhance the effectiveness of behavioral therapy. Design, Setting, and Participants A prospective randomized controlled trial involving 208 community-dwelling men aged 51 through 84 years with incontinence persisting 1 to 17 years after radical prostatectomy was conducted at a university and 2 Veterans Affairs continence clinics (2003-2008) and included a 1-year follow-up after active treatment. Twenty-four percent of the men were African American; 75%, white. Interventions After stratification by type and frequency of incontinence, participants were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: 8 weeks of behavioral therapy (pelvic floor muscle training and bladder control strategies); behavioral therapy plus in-office, dual-channel electromyograph biofeedback and daily home pelvic floor electrical stimulation at 20 Hz, current up to 100 mA (behavior plus); or delayed treatment, which served as the control group. Main Outcome Measure Percentage reduction in mean number of incontinence episodes after 8 weeks of treatment as documented in 7-day bladder diaries. Results Mean incontinence episodes decreased from 28 to 13 per week (55% reduction; 95% confidence interval [CI], 44%-66%) after behavioral therapy and from 26 to 12 (51% reduction; 95% CI, 37%-65%) after behavior plus therapy. Both reductions were significantly greater than the reduction from 25 to 21 (24% reduction; 95% CI, 10%-39%) observed among controls (P = .001 for both treatment groups). However, there was no significant difference in incontinence reduction between the treatment groups (P = .69). Improvements were durable to 12 months in the active treatment groups: 50% reduction (95% CI, 39.8%-61.1%; 13.5 episodes per week) in the behavioral group and 59% reduction (95% CI, 45.0%-73.1%; 9.1 episodes per week) in the behavior plus group (P = .32). Conclusions Among patients with postprostatectomy incontinence for at least 1 year, 8 weeks of behavioral therapy, compared with a delayed-treatment control, resulted in fewer incontinence episodes. The addition of biofeedback and pelvic floor electrical stimulation did not result in greater effectiveness. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00212264
Decoupled compressed cache: exploiting spatial locality for energy-optimized compressed caching

In multicore processor systems, last-level caches (LLCs) play a crucial role in reducing system energy by i) filtering out expensive accesses to main memory and ii) reducing the time spent executing in high-power states. Cache compression can increase effective cache capacity and reduce misses, improve performance, and potentially reduce system energy. However, previous compressed cache designs have demonstrated only limited benefits due to internal fragmentation and limited tags. In this paper, we propose the Decoupled Compressed Cache (DCC), which exploits spatial locality to improve both the performance and energy-efficiency of cache compression. DCC uses decoupled super-blocks and non-contiguous sub-block allocation to decrease tag overhead without increasing internal fragmentation. Non-contiguous sub-blocks also eliminate the need for energy-expensive re-compaction when a block's size changes. Compared to earlier compressed caches, DCC increases normalized effective capacity to a maximum of 4 and an average of 2.2 for a wide range of workloads. A further optimized Co-DCC (Co-Compacted DCC) design improves the average normalized effective capacity to 2.6 by co-compacting the compressed blocks in a super-block. Our simulations show that DCC nearly doubles the benefits of previous compressed caches with similar area overhead. We also demonstrate a practical DCC design based on a recent commercial LLC design.
Carbamyl phosphate synthesis in Neurospora Crassa II. Genetics, metabolic position, and regulation of arginine-specific carbamyl phosphokinase

Abstract The sole demonstrated enzyme of carbamyl phosphate synthesis in Neurospora appears to serve only the arginine pathway. The enzyme is completely absent in arg -3 mutants, which require arginine. While pyrimidine synthesis requires carbamyl phosphate, pyrimidine synthesis is unimpaired in arg -3 mutants. This suggests the existence of a pyrimidine-specific mode of carbamyl phosphate synthesis, and gene interaction experiments in support of this notion are presented. The regulatory behavior of argine and pyrimidine enzymes in mutant strains also reinforces the hypothesis that dual modes of carbamyl phosphate synthesis prevail in this organism.
Blue light signaling through the cryptochromes and phototropins. So that's what the blues is all about.

Sunlight is the ultimate energy source for nearly all life on Earth. Yet, its importance to life extends far beyond a source of energy because it is also a critical information carrier. Plants and animals sample the light environment to gain information about local surroundings, time of day, and
Non-Fourier 3-Omega Method for Thermal Conductivity Measurement

The 3-omega method for thermal conductivity measurement using the hyperbolic heat conduction equation is presented. Mathematical expressions representing the conditions when non-Fourier effects cannot be neglected are formulated. Results obtained from Fourier and hyperbolic heat conduction equations based on parameterized dielectric thermophysical parameters are compared. The analysis is applied to a thin Chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond film and bologna meat and it is shown in these cases that by neglecting the non-Fourier effects one can underestimate the thermal conductivity by 50%.
A mixture model for expression deconvolution from RNA-seq in heterogeneous tissues

Background RNA-seq, a next-generation sequencing based method for transcriptome analysis, is rapidly emerging as the method of choice for comprehensive transcript abundance estimation. The accuracy of RNA-seq can be highly impacted by the purity of samples. A prominent, outstanding problem in RNA-seq is how to estimate transcript abundances in heterogeneous tissues, where a sample is composed of more than one cell type and the inhomogeneity can substantially confound the transcript abundance estimation of each individual cell type. Although experimental methods have been proposed to dissect multiple distinct cell types, computationally "deconvoluting" heterogeneous tissues provides an attractive alternative, since it keeps the tissue sample as well as the subsequent molecular content yield intact.
Circulating current and DC current ripple control in MMC under unbalanced grid voltage

This paper presents a control method for MMC under unbalanced grid voltage condition. The control method regulates the power, line current, and circulating current of a MMC. Under the unbalanced condition, the objective of control is to reduce the negative-sequence line current. Furthermore, the circulating current of a MMC consists not only double-line negative-sequence component, which appears under the balanced condition, but also positive- and zero-sequence double-line components. Thus the controller should be able to eliminate all those components of the circulating current. A proportional-resonant controller (PR controller) is applied to regulate the positive- and negative-sequence components of circulating current. In addition, the zero-sequence component of circulating current is controlled by a dc current controller. The proposed control method is verified in MATLAB/SimPowerSystem.
Automated throughput-driven synthesis of bus-based communication architectures

As system-on-chip (SoC) designs become more complex, it becomes increasingly harder to design communication architectures which satisfy design constraints. Manually traversing the vast communication design space for constraint-driven synthesis is not feasible any more. In this paper we propose an approach that automates the synthesis of bus-based communication architectures for systems characterized by (possibly several) throughput constraints. Our approach accurately and effectively prunes the large communication design space to synthesize a feasible low-cost bus architecture which satisfies the constraints in a design.
Emergence of Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Resistance in the AIDS Era

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is widely used for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia prophylaxis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, but little is known about the effects of this practice on the emergence of TMP-SMX-resistant bacteria. A serial cross-sectional study of resistance to TMP-SMX among all clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and 7 genera of Enterobacteriaceae was performed at San Francisco General Hospital. Resistance among all isolates was <5.5% from 1979 to 1986 but then markedly increased, reaching 20.4% in 1995. This was most prominent in HIV-infected patients: resistance increased from 6.3% in 1988 to 53% in 1995. The largest increases in resistance were in Escherichia coli (24% in 1988 to 74% in 1995) and S. aureus (0% to 48%) obtained from HIV-infected patients. A rapid increase in the use of prophylactic TMP-SMX in HIV disease was also observed during this time in San Francisco and is likely responsible for the increase in TMP-SMX resistance.
Recession and rebalancing: How the housing and credit crises will impact US real activity

Abstract This paper assesses how the current housing and credit crisis will impact US real activity, and how recession interacts with adjustment of global imbalances. A simple real-side model with decreasing returns to factors and non-clearing goods and labor markets is disaggregated into traded and non-traded sectors and three regions (US, EU and Asia). A three region model offers two degrees of freedom and six candidate variables for endogeneity in international accounts. Applying standard income and elasticities approaches as well as a less standard “ Bretton Woods II ” closure in simulations suggests external imbalances can be reduced in the current recession with a mix of fiscal expansion and some Asian real appreciation.
Over the eye of the storm

The force of Hurricane Josephine is clearly evident from the photograph on the cover. The center of the circulation at the surface is located at 33.5°N, 7l.7°W, 400 km east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. When this photograph was taken on October 12, 1984, at 1631:34 UT, the camera was pointing toward the southwest from the orbital subpoint of 34.8°N, 70.1°W. The South Carolina coastline is faintly visible beyond all the clouds in the upper right-hand corner. The south wall of the hurricane eye is practically nonexistent.
Automatic curve reading by phase-modulated analog sampling

Coincidence pulses generated upon sinusoidal scanning of a curve originally recorded optically (e.g., ink-on-paper, photographically) trigger a sample-and-hold circuit having the scanning waveform as an input; a sampled electrical version of the original curve thus results. This principle is readily adaptable to simultaneous multichannel operation for continuous automatic reading of electroencephalograms, seismograms, etc.
Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein Modulates Establishment and Maintenance of Latent Gammaherpesvirus Infection in Peritoneal Cells

Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) is an essential organizer of PML nuclear bodies (NBs), which carry out a variety of activities, including antiviral functions. Herpesviruses from all subfamilies encode proteins that counteract PML NB-mediated antiviral defenses by multiple mechanisms. However, because of the species specificity of herpesviruses, only a limited number of in vivo studies have been undertaken to investigate the effect of PML or PML NBs on herpesvirus infection. To address this central issue in herpesvirus biology, we studied the course of infection in wild-type and PML−/− mice using murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68), which encodes a tegument protein that induces PML degradation. While acute infection in PML−/− mice progressed similarly to that in wild-type mice, the lytic reactivation frequency was higher in peritoneal exudate cells, due to both an increase of MHV68 genome-positive cells and greater reactivation efficiency. We also detected a higher frequency of persistent infection in PML−/− peritoneal cells. These findings suggest that the PML protein can repress the establishment or maintenance of gammaherpesvirus latency in vivo. Further use of the PML−/− mouse model should aid in dissecting the molecular mechanisms that underlie the role of PML in gammaherpesvirus latency and may yield clues for how PML modulates herpesvirus latency in general.
Estimating reliability measures for highly-dependable Markov systems, using balanced likelihood ratios

Over the past several years, importance sampling in conjunction with regenerative simulation has been presented as a promising method for estimating reliability measures in highly dependable Markov systems. Existing methods fail to provide benefits over crude Monte Carlo for analyzing systems that contain important component-redundancies. This paper presents refined importance-sampling techniques that are also based on the regenerative technique. The new methods use an importance-sampling plan that dynamically adjusts the transition probabilities of the embedded Markov chain by attempting to cancel terms of the likelihood ratio within each cycle. Additional improvements are induced by concentrating on events affecting the size of minimum system cuts. These methods have solid theoretical properties and work well in practice, as illustrated by several examples.
The Roles of Experiment

In this paper I examine some of the roles that experiment plays in science. One of its important roles is to test theories, but it can also call for a new theory, either by showing that the accepted theory is incorrect, or by exhibiting a new phenomenon that needs explanation. Experiment can also provide hints toward the structure or mathematical form of a theory. It can also provide evidence for the existence of the entities involved in our theories. Finally, it may also have a life of its own, independent of theory. I will illustrate these roles using episodes from the history of contemporary physics including: 1) the discovery of parity nonconservation; 2) the discovery of Bose-Einstein condensation; 3) the demonstration that the “Fifth Force,” a proposed modification of Newton’s Law of Gravitation, did not exist; and 4) the discovery of the electron by J. J. Thomson. I will also discuss an epistemology of experiment, a set of strategies that provides grounds for reasonable belief in experimental results.
Drug-eluting stents in patients on chronic hemodialysis: paclitaxel-eluting stents vs. limus-eluting stents.

Abstract Background Patients requiring chronic hemodialysis (HD) are at high risk for restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with bare metal stents. Outcome data on drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in HD patients are limited and suggest superiority of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) over limus-eluting stents (LES). Methods In total, 218 consecutive patients were prospectively enrolled. A comparison of post-PCI outcomes up to 2 years was carried out between patients receiving PES (n = 62) and LES (n = 156; SES n = 112, EES n = 44). The primary end point was 2-year major adverse cardiac events [MACE; death, Q-wave myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization (TLR)]. Results Baseline characteristics were comparable. The overall prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 71%. On clinical follow-up to 2 years, MACE rates were similar [PES 32/51 (62.7%) vs. LES 77/132 (58.3%), p = 0.59]; however, clinically-driven revascularization occurred more than twice as frequently in LES patients: TLR [PES 4/36 (11.1%) vs. LES 24/93 (25.8%), p = 0.07] and target vessel revascularization [5/37 (13.5%) vs. 33/96 (34.4%), p = 0.02]. Given that overall mortality was nominally higher for PES patients [31/50 (62.0%) vs. 61/127 (48.0%), p = 0.09], a competing outcome analysis was implemented for TLR against mortality, which demonstrated that the trend for increased TLR with LES was no longer apparent (p = 0.282). On multivariable adjustment, only diabetes mellitus was independently associated with TLR (use of PES was not). Conclusions Patients on chronic HD experience high rates of clinically driven TLR despite DES implantation. Use of PES does not demonstrate a significant advantage over LES in this population.
Diagnosis of TCP overlay connection failures using bayesian networks

When failures occur in Internet overlay connections today, it is difficult for users to determine the root cause of failure. An overlay connection may require TCP connections between a series of overlay nodes to succeed, but accurately determining which of these connections has failed is difficult for users without access to the internal workings of the overlay. Diagnosis using active probing is costly and may be inaccurate if probe packets are filtered or blocked. To address this problem, we develop a passive diagnosis approach that infers the most likely cause of failure using a Bayesian network modeling the conditional probability of TCP failures given the IP addresses of the hosts along the overlay path. We collect TCP failure data for 28.3 million TCP connections using data from the new Planetseer overlay monitoring system and train a Bayesian network for the diagnosis of overlay connection failures. We evaluate the accuracy of diagnosis using this Bayesian network on a set of overlay connections generated from observations of CoDeeN traffic patterns and find that our approach can accurately diagnose failures.
The infinite sites model of genome evolution

We formalize the problem of recovering the evolutionary history of a set of genomes that are related to an unseen common ancestor genome by operations of speciation, deletion, insertion, duplication, and rearrangement of segments of bases. The problem is examined in the limit as the number of bases in each genome goes to infinity. In this limit, the chromosomes are represented by continuous circles or line segments. For such an infinite-sites model, we present a polynomial-time algorithm to find the most parsimonious evolutionary history of any set of related present-day genomes.
Metabolic modulation of visual sensitivity.

Vision is an energy demanding process. Changes in metabolic levels can affect how we see. The earliest evidence for the metabolic modulation of human vision dates back to the pioneering days of aviation when pilots reported darkened visual fields while flying at high altitudes without oxygen masks (McFarland and Evans,1939). Studies at sea level showed that lowering the partial pressure of oxygen decreased visual sensitivity (McFarland and Forbes, 1940) and ingesting glucose reversed the effects of hypoxia (McFarland et al, 1945). Lowering blood glucose under normal oxygen conditions can decrease sensitivity (McCrimmon et al, 1998).
Macronutrient regulation in the Rasberry crazy ant ( Nylanderia sp. nr. pubens )

Animals grow and optimize performance when they collect foods in amounts and ratios that best meet their species-specific nutritional requirements. For eusocial orga- nisms like ants, where only a small fraction of the colony members collect food, increasing evidence demonstrates that strong macronutrient regulation occurs at the colony level. Here, we explored regulation of protein and carbohydrate (p:c) intake in the Rasberry crazy ant, Nylanderia sp. nr. puben. We did this using dry artificial foods (14-42% total macronutrient content) having a range of fixed p:c ratios in a series of choice and no-choice laboratory experiments and used worker mortality to gauge colony-level costs associated with active nutrient regulation. Choice experiments revealed that colonies preferred carbohydrate-rich foods and self- selected a diet having a p:c ratio *1:2. No-choice experi- ments demonstrated that food p:c ratio only moderately affected worker food collection behavior, likely because colonies regulated the intake of only the non-limiting nutrients. Absolute worker mortality was generally high, but lowest in colonies feeding on the food having a p:c ratio of 1:2 (the p:c ratio ants self-selected in the choice experiment), although mortality was not significantly affected by food p:c ratio. The self-selected p:c ratio in our study is consistent with that observed in other recent ant nutrient regulation studies. Taken together, the results from these combined studies reveal emerging commonalities among ants in mac- ronutrient regulation strategies, and similarities in foraging behaviors and costs associated with macronutrient regula- tion. Finally, from a methodological perspective, the high mortality observed in our study, when compared with other recent studies, suggests that ant nutrient regulation studies should be conducted using foods having high moisture and total macronutrient content.
Evaluation of 3/sup rd/ harmonic component effects in 5-phase synchronous reluctance motor drive using time stepping finite element method

It has been reported that interaction of the 3/sup rd/ harmonic magnetic field with the 3/sup rd/ harmonic current in a five-phase synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) can produce additional torque. However, it is still not clear about the SynRM power factor and its impact to the associated power converter because of the 3/sup rd/ harmonic components. Using time stepping finite element method (FEM), a mathematical model of the SynRM, which allows any desired harmonic component in computation, is presented. Performance of the five-phase SynRM with two rotor structures has been computed. The study finds that the contribution of the 3/sup rd/ harmonic current to the output torque depends on the rotor structures. It is also shown that the required terminal voltage to regulate the desired current waveform is substantially increased, a result not reported before.