cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a commercial Monte Carlo dose calculation algorithm for electron treatment planning.

The RayStation treatment planning system implements a Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm for electron dose calculations. For a TrueBeam accelerator, beam modeling was performed for four electron energies (6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV), and the dose calculation accuracy was tested for a range of geometries. The suite of validation tests included those tests recommended by AAPM's Medical Physics Practice Guideline 5.a, but extended beyond these tests in order to validate the MC algorithm in more challenging geometries. For MPPG 5.a testing, calculation accuracy was evaluated for square cutouts of various sizes, two custom cutout shapes, oblique incidence, and heterogenous media (cork). In general, agreement between ion chamber measurements and RayStation dose calculations was excellent and well within suggested tolerance limits. However, this testing did reveal calculation errors for the output of small cutouts. Of the 312 output factors evaluated for square cutouts, 20 (6.4%) were outside of 3% and 5 (1.6%) were outside of 5%, with these larger errors generally being for the smallest cutout sizes within a given applicator. Adjustment of beam modeling parameters did not fix these calculation errors, nor does the planning software allow the user to input correction factors as a function of field size. Additional validation tests included several complex phantom geometries (triangular nose phantom, lung phantom, curved breast phantom, and cortical bone phantom), designed to test the ability of the algorithm to handle high density heterogeneities and irregular surface contours. In comparison to measurements with radiochromic film, RayStation showed good agreement, with an average of 89.3% pixels passing for gamma analysis (3%/3mm) across four phantom geometries. The MC algorithm was able to accurately handle the presence of irregular surface contours (curved cylindrical phantom and a triangular nose phantom), as well as heterogeneities (cork and cortical bone).
First case report of inducible heart block in Lyme disease and an update of Lyme carditis

Lyme disease (LD), is the most common vector-borne illness in the US and Europe, with predominantly cutaneous, articular, cardiac and neuro-psychiatric manifestations. LD affects all layers of the heart and every part of the conducting system. Carditis is a less common manifestation of LD. Heart block (HB) as the initial and sole manifestation of LD is rare. Inducible HB has never been reported in LD. We report a case of heart block (HB) inducible with exercise and reversible with rest. A 37-year-old male presented to the emergency department after experiencing two episodes of syncope while at work. He presented, with a heart rate of 57 bpm, and the ECG showed sinus bradycardia with first degree AV block. The PR interval was 480 ms (NL 120–200 ms). Physical exam was unremarkable. The cardiologist’s initial impression was vaso-vagal attack. He developed high degree AV block during a stress test for the initial work up, which resolved on cessation of exercise. A similar episode while walking in the hallway, resolved at rest. The high degree AV block appeared inducible with exercise and reversible with rest. His Lyme serology was strongly positive. He was treated with ceftriaxone and doxycycline. After completing treatment, the patient had a normal ECG and returned to work without limitations, doing manual labor. Manifestations of Lyme carditis (LC) vary from asymptomatic and symptomatic electrocardiographic changes and heart block (HB) reversible with treatment, to sudden death. HB as the sole and initial presentation of LC is rare. There have been no reports of inducible HB in LD. Here we present a case of inducible and reversible high degree HB in a case of LC and an update of literature. Exercise and stress testing should be avoided in suspected cases of LC until resolution of carditis. Lyme carditis should be suspected in individuals with cardiac manifestations in an endemic area, particularly in the younger patients with no other etiology evident.
Extracting Biological Insights from the Project Achilles Genome-Scale CRISPR Screens in Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract One of the main goals of the Cancer Dependency Map project is to systematically identify cancer vulnerabilities across cancer types to accelerate therapeutic discovery. Project Achilles serves this goal through the in vitro study of genetic dependencies in cancer cell lines using CRISPR/Cas9 (and, previously, RNAi) loss-of-function screens. The project is committed to the public release of its experimental results quarterly on the DepMap Portal (https://depmap.org), on a pre-publication basis. As the experiment has evolved, data processing procedures have changed. Here we present the current and projected Achilles processing pipeline, including recent improvements and the analyses that led us to adopt them, spanning data releases from early 2018 to the first quarter of 2020. Notable changes include quality control metrics, calculation of probabilities of dependency, and correction for screen quality and other biases. Developing and improving methods for extracting biologically-meaningful scores from Achilles experiments is an ongoing process, and we will continue to evaluate and revise data processing procedures to produce the best results.
THE BODY METRIC TENSOR FIELD

To describe mathematically the rheological properties of a viscoelastic liquid or the deformation of an elastic solid, it is reasonable and convenient to treat them as continuous bodies that fill a region of space at each instant. The appropriate theories are, therefore, field theories in the sense that various dependent variables that describe the properties of the materials and that are functions of time and of position variables are to be dealt with. As with other field theories in physics, for example, electromagnetic theory and relativity theory, it is convenient to introduce coordinate systems to label the points of the continuous manifolds involved; the coordinate systems should be used in such a way that the field theory equations express the intrinsic properties of the materials in a manner that contains no unwanted dependence on the choice of coordinate system, because this is essentially arbitrary. It is well known that the natural tool for such a situation is general tensor analysis. This chapter describes body tensor fields and general space tensor fields.
Chapter 13 – Metallacarboranes of the Transition and Lanthanide Elements

Metallacarboranes (carboranes incorporating one or more metal atoms in the cage framework, alternatively described as metal-carborane complexes), comprise a huge family of compounds of which thousands have been prepared and characterized. This chapter presents a detailed summary of this area in its many facets, including methods of synthesis, molecular and electronic structures, physical properties, and reactivity. An overview of general synthetic approaches is followed by a review of the preparation, structures, and properties of the smaller (6- and 7-vertex) metallacarboranes, intermediate-sized 8-11 vertex clusters, the 12-vertex icosahedral systems, and finally the supraicosahedral (13- to 15-vertex) cages.
Disparities in Care: The Role of Race on the Utilization of Physical Restraints in the Emergency Setting.

OBJECTIVE Race-based bias in health care occurs at organizational, structural, and clinical levels and impacts emergency medical care. Limited literature exists on the role of race on patient restraint in the emergency setting. This study sought to examine the role of race in physical restraint in an emergency department (ED) at a major academic medical center. METHODS Retrospective chart analysis was performed, querying all adult ED visits over a 2-year period (2016-2018) at Massachusetts General Hospital. The associations between race and restraint and selected covariates (sex, insurance, age, diagnosis, homelessness, violence) were analyzed. RESULTS Of the 195,092 unique ED visits by 120,469 individuals over the selected period, 2,658 (1.4%) involved application of a physical restraint by health care providers. There was a significant effect of race on restraint (p < 0.0001). The risk ratio (RR) for Asian patients compared to white patients was 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.55 to 0.92, p = 0.009). The RR for Black patients compared to white patients was 1.22 (95% CI = 1.05 to 1.40, p = 0.007). Visits with patients having characteristics of male sex, public or no insurance, younger age, diagnoses pertaining to substance use, diagnoses pertaining to psychotic or bipolar disorders, current homelessness, and a history of violence were more likely to result in physical restraint. CONCLUSIONS There was a significant effect of race on restraint that remained when controlling for sex, insurance, age, diagnosis, homelessness, and history of violence, all of which additionally conferred independent effects on risk. These results warrant a careful examination of current practices and potential biases in utilization of restraint in emergency settings.
Deep learning for the next generation (highly sensitive and reliable) ECLSS fire monitoring and detection system

Fire detection is a critical component of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) on board space habitats and remains an important research area with considerable practical relevance. Significant advances have occurred over the years in ECLSS design and automation, and its operation has become more complex and requires ever more effective environmental monitoring systems in the space habitat. In this work, we develop a novel fire detection method using deep Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks and variational autoencoder (VAE) to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of fire detection for future space habitats in terms of sensitivity and reliability. To examine the performance of our method, termed Deep Learning for Environmental Monitoring (DeLEM), and specialized for Fire Detection in this work (DeLEM-FD), we develop a series of computational experiments using a high-fidelity fire simulator. We evaluate and compare the performance results of our proposed fire detection with alternative methods, including the standard LSTM, cumulative sum control chart (CUSUM), exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA), and two currently used fixed-temperature heat detectors. The simulation-based results indicate that the DeLEM-FD robustly outperforms the other detection methods with statistically significant shorter alarm time lags, no missed detection, and no false alarms. In future work, we propose to examine the performance of our detection method on real-fire experiments conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Continuous and automated slug flow nanoextraction for rapid partition coefficient measurement

Octanol–water partition coefficients (log Kow) are widely used in pharmaceutical and environmental chemistry to assess the lipophilicity of compounds. Traditionally log Kow is determined using a shake-flask method that uses milliliters of sample and solvent and requires hours for preparation, extraction, and analysis. Here, we report an automated system for rapid log Kow determination for an array of compounds using slug flow nanoextraction (SFNE) enabled by a microfluidic chip. In the method, an autosampler is used to introduce 1 μL of sample into a microfluidic device that segments the injected volume into a series of 4 nL slugs that are each paired to an adjacent octanol slug. Each octanol–water phase pair is compartmentalized by an immiscible fluorous carrier fluid. During flow, rapid extraction occurs at each octanol–water interface. The resulting linear array of slugs flows into an online UV absorbance detector that is used to determine concentrations in the phases, allowing the log Kow to be measured. The microfluidic device allows toggling between two-phase “aqueous plug” generation (aqueous sample separated by fluorous carrier fluid) and three-phase “phase pair” generation. In this way, online calibration for detection in the aqueous phase can be achieved. The method is applied to determining log Kow for a panel of seven pharmaceutical compounds, including complete calibration curves, at three different pHs in under 2 h using 5 μL of extraction standard and 2.9 μL of octanol per extraction standard analyzed.
Proteomic Analysis of Exosomes during Cardiogenic Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Efforts to direct the specification of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to therapeutically important somatic cell types have focused on identifying proper combinations of soluble cues. Yet, whether exosomes, which mediate intercellular communication, play a role in the differentiation remains unexplored. We took a first step toward addressing this question by subjecting hPSCs to stage-wise specification toward cardiomyocytes (CMs) in scalable stirred-suspension cultures and collecting exosomes. Samples underwent liquid chromatography (LC)/mass spectrometry (MS) and subsequent proteomic analysis revealed over 300 unique proteins from four differentiation stages including proteins such as PPP2CA, AFM, MYH9, MYH10, TRA2B, CTNNA1, EHD1, ACTC1, LDHB, and GPC4, which are linked to cardiogenic commitment. There was a significant correlation of the protein composition of exosomes with the hPSC line and stage of commitment. Differentiating hPSCs treated with exosomes from hPSC-derived CMs displayed improved efficiency of CM formation compared to cells without exogenously added vesicles. Collectively, these results demonstrate that exosomes from hPSCs induced along the CM lineage contain proteins linked to the specification process with modulating effects and open avenues for enhancing the biomanufacturing of stem cell products for cardiac diseases.
Fast Self-Reduction Algorithms for Combinatorical Problems of VLSI-Design

In a recent series of papers [FL1, FL2, FL3], we have proven the existence of decision algorithms with low-degree polynomial running times for a number of well-studied VLSI layout, placement and routing problems. These results make use of the powerful Robertson-Seymour theorems on the well-partial-ordering of graphs under both the minor and immersion orders. In the present paper, we study the complexity of construction versions of these problems, focusing on efficient self-reduction strategies. We introduce a notion of fast self-reduction in this setting and develop a general technique, which we term scaffolding, that is useful in the design of fast self-reduction algorithms.
Mechanisms of photochemical reactions in solution

Abstract The carbon—magnesium bond is a chromophore exhibiting a molar extinction coefficient of ϵ ≈ 1000 1 mol −1 cm −1 at 254 nm. Grignard compounds in which the carbon ligand is 3-phenyl-1-propyl or 1-phenyl-2-propyl undergo fragmentation on irradiation in ethyl ether with a low pressure mercury lamp into a terminal olefin and HMgX, which disproportionates into MgH 2 and MgX 2 . The quantum yield for this process is Φ ≈ 0.1. From α-deuterated compounds and a product analysis, it is concluded that the mechanism proceeds by a β-elimination of HMgX with some small probability for a γ- and an ϵ-elimination to form cyclic products ( Benzylmagnesium halides, which have no β-hydrogen, show an extraordinarily high stability towards ultraviolet light. Ether cleavage and coupling occur with low quantum yield.
A Fable of Financial Contracts: A Guide for the Perplexed

The term "financial contracts" is often used but frequently with little understanding. Some have asserted that the use or at least the misuse of complex financial contracts such as derivatives and swaps contributed to the financial crisis that began in 2008. Others have observed that financial contracts have contributed greatly to the efficiency of the financial markets by increasing the availability of credit and reducing its cost.Financial contracts have received special treatment under the Bankruptcy Code since its enactment in 1978. Since then Congress has expanded the scope of what amounts to exemption from the strictures of the automatic stay, the power to assume executory contracts, and scope of fraudulent conveyance attack. Freedom from the effects of bankruptcy increases the utility of financial contracts to the contract counterparties but at the cost of undermining a debtor's ability to reorganize.This piece is a short article that was published in a professional journal. Its goal was to present the basic vocabulary of financial contracts and some of their fundamental uses in the context of a story. The article goes on to address how the basic building blocks of financial contracts fare in bankruptcy. It should prove useful to students who approach financial contracts and bankruptcy without prior knowledge of either subject.
PURIFICATION OF A SOLUBLE UMUD'C COMPLEX FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI : COOPERATIVE BINDING OF UMUD'C TO SINGLE-STRANDED DNA

The Escherichia coli UmuD' and UmuC proteins play essential roles in SOS-induced mutagenesis. Previous studies investigating the molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis have been hindered by the lack of availability of a soluble UmuC protein. We report the extensive purification of a soluble UmuD'C complex and its interactions with DNA. The molecular mass of the complex is estimated to be 70 kDa, suggesting that the complex consists of one UmuC (46 kDa) and two UmuD' (12 kDa) molecules. In contrast to its inability to bind to double-stranded DNA, UmuD'C binds cooperatively to single-stranded DNA as measured by agarose gel electrophoresis and confirmed by steady-state fluorescence depolarization. A Hill coefficient, n = 3, characterizes the binding of UmuD'C to M13 DNA and to a 600 nucleotide DNA oligomer, suggesting that at least three protein complexes may interact cooperatively when binding to DNA. The apparent equilibrium binding constant of UmuD'C to single-stranded DNA is approximately 300 nM. Binding of the complex to a short, 80 nucleotide, DNA oligonucleotide was detectable by fluorescence depolarization, but it did not appear to be cooperative. Binding of UmuD'C to single-stranded M13 DNA causes an acceleration of the protein-DNA complex, suggesting that the longer DNA may undergo compaction. The UmuD'C complex associates with RecA-coated DNA, and the UmuD'C complex remains bound to DNA in the presence of RecA.
The economics of tuition and fees in American higher education

Abstract Tuition and fee policies in higher education vary widely across countries and, in some countries, widely across academic institutions within the country. This article focuses on one country, the United States. Readers interested in policies in other nations can consult the website of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, which provides a comprehensive listing of international higher education journals and has numerous working papers dealing with the subject.
Comets and Three-Dimensional Solar Wind Structure

The principal ways in which the study of comets can contribute to knowledge of three-dimensional solar wind structure are briefly reviewed. Calibration of the cometary results should be considered an important scientific goal of space probes sent to high heliocentric latitudes.
Inhibition of β-Glucuronidase by Cholesterol and Retinol

Abstract The relatively specific inhibition of β-glucuronidase by cholesterol and retinol (vitamin A alcohol) has been studied. Both hydrolysis and transfer reactions are inhibited. The hydrolysis reaction is inhibited 70% by 1 x 10-4 m retinol and by 7.8 x 10-5 m cholesterol. Inhibition increases with concentration and approaches an asymptotic maximum. β-Glucuronidases tested from a wide variety of mammalian and nonmammalian sources were inhibited. Among known β-glucuronidase activators, deoxyribonucleic acid reversed inhibition about 50% while proteins had less effect. Inhibition was constant with time, was reversible upon dilution, was uncompetitive, and the inhibitions of retinol and cholesterol were not additive. Addition of α-tocopherol or ubiquinone did not affect inhibition. Glutamate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase, known to be inhibited by steroid hormones, were tested. Glutamate dehydrogenase is inhibited 50 and 64%, respectively, by cholesterol and retinol at 1 x 10-4m; and pyruvate kinase is not inhibited. Blood serum inhibits the enzyme and inhibition is correlated with serum levels of cholesterol found in normal and abnormal serum standards. It is suggested that the previously reported "anti-glucuronidase" of blood serum may be cholesterol and that inhibition of β-glucuronidase by cholesterol may occur in vivo.
Loss of pediatric kidney grafts during the "high-risk age window": Insights from pediatric liver and simultaneous liver-kidney recipients

Pediatric kidney transplant recipients experience a high-risk age window of increased graft loss during late adolescence and early adulthood that has been attributed primarily to sociobehavioral mechanisms such as nonadherence. An examination of how this age window affects recipients of other organs may inform the extent to which sociobehavioral mechanisms are to blame or whether kidney-specific biologic mechanisms may also exist. Graft loss risk across current recipient age was compared between pediatric kidney (n = 17,446), liver (n = 12,161) and simultaneous liver-kidney (n = 224) transplants using piecewise-constant hazard rate models. Kidney graft loss during late adolescence and early adulthood (ages 17-24 years) was significantly greater than during ages 24 (aHR = 1.11, 95%CI = 1.03-1.20, p = 0.005). In contrast, liver graft loss during ages 17-24 was no different than during ages 24 (aHR = 1.18, 95%CI = 0.98-1.42, p = 0.1). In simultaneous liver-kidney recipients, a trend towards increased kidney compared to liver graft loss was observed during ages 17-24 years. Late adolescence and early adulthood are less detrimental to pediatric liver grafts compared to kidney grafts, suggesting that sociobehavioral mechanisms alone may be insufficient to create the high-risk age window and that additional biologic mechanisms may also be required.
Glucose Determination by Automatic Chemical Analysis

A method of automatic chemical analysis has been improved by stabilizing the temperature of the dialyzing unit. With this addition the automatic analyzer has been shown to have greater precision and accuracy than a manual method.
Characterization of interactions among the Cef1p-Prp19p-associated splicing complex.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Sp) Cdc5p and its Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) ortholog, Cef1p, are essential components of the spliceosome. In S. cerevisiae, a subcomplex of the spliceosome that includes Cef1p can be isolated on its own; this has been termed the nineteen complex (Ntc) because it contains Prp19p. Components of the Ntc include Cef1p, Snt309p, Syf2p/Ntc31p, Ntc30p/Isy1p, Ntc20p and at least six unidentified proteins. We recently identified ;30 proteins that copurified with Cdc5p and Cef1p. Previously unidentified S. pombe proteins in this purification were called Cwfs for complexed with five and novel S. cerevisiae proteins were called Cwcs for complexed with Cef1p. Using these proteomics data coupled with available information regarding Ntc composition, we have investigated protein identities and interactions among Ntc components. Our data indicate that Cwc2p, Prp46p, Clf1p, and Syf1p most likely represent Ntc40p, Ntc50p, Ntc77p, and Ntc90p, respectively. We show that Sc Cwc2p interacts with Prp19p and is involved in pre-mRNA splicing. Sp cwf2 + , the homolog of Sc CWC2, is allelic with the previously identified Sp prp3 + . We present evidence that Sp Cwf7p, an essential protein with obvious homologs in many eukaryotes but not S. cerevisiae, is a functional counterpart of Sc Snt309p and binds Sp Cwf8p (a homolog of Sc Prp19p). Further, our data indicate that a mutation in the U-box of Prp19p disrupts these numerous protein interactions causing Cef1p degradation and Ntc instability.
I. Loss of lipids during preparation of amoebae for electron microscopy.

Abstract 1. 1. Amoebae were fixed in glutaraldehyde, potassium permanganate or osmium tetroxide, alone or in combination, and extracted with ethanolic solutions, propylene oxide and embedding solution as in preparation for electron microscopy. The lipid that was extracted by each solvent was measured chemically (ester and phosphorus analyses) and by radioactive analysis using amoebae grown in the presence of [ 3 H]-palmitic acid. The extracted lipids were fractionated by silicic acid chromatography into neutral lipids and phospholipids and the fatty acid composition of each was determined. 2. 2. After fixation in glutaraldehyde, the lipids were unchanged and were almost completely extracted by ethanol during the dehydration procedure. After perman-ganate fixation, all of the neutral lipid and about 25% of the phospholipid were extracted by the fixative and ethanol. Following fixation in osmium tetroxide, most of the neutral lipid and some of the phospholipid were extracted by ethanol and the embedding medium. Osmium tetroxide destroyed the unsaturated fatty acids. 3. 3. It is concluded that autoradiographic studies of lipid metabolism at the electron microscopic level are not possible if the usual methods of fixation and dehydration are employed. Also, structures visualized in the cell after fixation in glutaraldehyde alone probably do not contain lipid at the time of observation.
Multi-target photoacoustic molecular imaging of cardiovascular inflammatory biomarkers using bioconjugated gold nanorods

Multiple cardiovascular inflammatory biomarkers were simultaneously imaged in vivo using antibody conjugated gold nanorods (GNRs) injected into a mouse model of vascular injury stimulated by a photochemical reaction of Rose Bengal dye to green light. Mixed solutions of ICAM-1 antibody conjugated GNRs (715 nm) and E-selectin antibody conjugated GNRs (800 nm) were injected to bind to their respective inflammatory markers on the luminal surface of the inferior vena cava of a mouse. Photoacoustic intensity was measured by a commercial ultrasound probe synchronized to a pulsed laser (10-18 mJ/cm 2 ) at 715 nm or 800 nm clearly identified the upregulation of targeted biomarkers. Histopathology on the harvested tissues confirmed inflammation. The feasibility of simultaneous photoacoustic molecular imaging of inflammation responses in cardiovascular system using a commercial ultrasound system has been demonstrated in vivo.
Porcine inhibin: initial fractionation as a high molecular weight complex

A high molecular weight complex or aggregate of inhibin was obtained by chromatography of porcine follicular fluid in Fractogel TSK65F. Recovery of activity was good (usually 80-100%), but only 30-60% was recovered as a high molecular weight complex (greater than 160,000) free of albumin and gamma globulin (the two major proteins in follicular fluid). The balance of the activity was distributed in the gamma globulin-albumin region of the chromatogram (i.e., 160,000 down to 65,000 daltons). Distribution in this region of the chromatogram in part reflected the prior processing of the sample (e.g., it was augmented by ethanol or acetone precipitation prior to chromatography). The utility of Fractogel chromatography lies in its ability to resolve a large portion of the inhibin activity from the major proteins (albumin and gamma globulin), plus an efficient recovery of activity.Maximum purification on the Fractogel chromatograms was approximately 20-fold. This product and the other Fractogel fractions were tes...
An Experimental Study of Heat and Mass Transfer During Drying of Packed Beds

An experimental study has been conducted to provide a data base for drying packed beds of granular, nonhygroscopic materials. Experimental results for drying rate, saturation distribution, temperature distribution, and surface saturation are reported for drying glass beads under carefully documented drying conditions. Capillary pressure for both imbibition and drainage was measured for the glass beads, whose size ranged from 65[mu]m to 450[mu]m. The drying results demonstrate that, contrary to available model predictions, porous materials do not necessarily exhibit saturation gradients that always increase with distance form the drying surface. Under certain conditions the capillary potential is sufficient to create an internal drying front. The measurements of surface saturation are the first to be reported. They are utilized to speculate on the reasons for the failure of drying models to compare well with experiment without adjusting the convective heat or mass transfer coefficients.
Human DNA Repair Excision Nuclease: ANALYSIS OF THE ROLES OF THE SUBUNITS INVOLVED IN DUAL INCISIONS BY USING ANTI-XPG AND ANTI-ERCC1 ANTIBODIES

Human DNA repair excision nuclease removes DNA damage by incising on both sides of the lesion in a precise manner. The activity requires participation of 16-17 polypeptides. Of these, the XPF•ERCC1 complex and XPG were predicted to carry the nuclease active sites based on studies with the recombinant proteins and the yeast homologs of these proteins. Furthermore, recent work with model (undamaged) substrates have led to predictions of the roles of these proteins in incising 5′ or 3′ to the lesion. We have used damaged DNA substrates and antibodies to XPG and ERCC1 to test these predictions. Our results reveal that anti-XPG antibodies change the site of 3′ incision and at high concentration inhibit the 3′ incision without significantly affecting the 5′ incision, indicating that XPG makes the 3′ incision and further that under this condition 5′ incision can occur without 3′ incision. In contrast, anti-ERCC1 antibodies inhibit both the 3′ and 5′ incisions. Using a defined system for excision repair we also demonstrate that the 3′ incision can occur without the 5′ incision, leading us to conclude that under certain conditions the two incisions can occur independently.
Comparison of sublingually and orally administered triazolam for premedication before oral surgery

Abstract Objectives. This study evaluated sublingual administration of triazolam for preoperative sedation in dental outpatients. Study design. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared 0.25 mg sublingual triazolam, 0.25 mg oral triazolam, and placebo administered 1 hour before oral surgery. Results. Sublingual triazolam resulted in significantly less anxiety and pain at 15 minutes intraoperatively than both oral triazolam and placebo (p Conclusions. These results indicate that sublingual triazolam results in greater anxiolytic activity and less pain perception than oral administration as a result of greater plasma drug levels and may be useful as an alternative for nonparenteral outpatient sedation.
Measurement of elastic constants of monoclinic nickel-titanium and validation of first principles calculations

Polycrystalline, monoclinic nickel-titanium specimens were subjected to tensile and compressive deformations while neutron diffraction spectra were recorded in situ. Using these data, orientation-specific and macroscopic Young's moduli are determined from analysis of linear-elastic deformation exhibited by 13 unique orientations of monoclinic lattices and their relationships to each macroscopic stress and strain. Five of 13 elastic compliance constants are also identified: s11 = 1.15, s15 = −1.10, s22 = 1.34, s33 = 1.06, s35 = −1.54, all × 10−2 GPa−1. Through these results, recent atomistic calculations of monoclinic nickel-titanium elastic constants are validated.
Mammalian teratogenesis and radio-frequency fields

Evidence of teratogenesis after exposure to radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic (EM) fields has been sought in investigations of several species. This review summarizes reports of teratogenic effects in mammals. Investigations performed on the laboratory mouse and rat have revealed that exposure to intense RF fields can result in reduced body mass, in specific anatomical abnormalities (especially exencephaly), and in an increase in resorptions of the fetus. The small number of investigations and clinical reports on human subjects is inconclusive. Whether the reported teratogenesis in infrahuman mammals is derived primarily from thermal stress or results from interactions involving field specific effects and heating has not been determined. The data to date do indicate that there is a marked dose-response relation such that only intense fields that result in significant heating are associated with reliable induction of teratogenesis.
Powerful emotions: symbolic power and the (productive and punitive) force of collective feeling

This article argues that emotions can be a medium of social power. Using qualitative interview material from American Jews discussing anti-Semitism and its relationship to contemporary politics, it engages recent scholarship on emotions and political contention and shows how emotions make effective the various forms of symbolic exclusion by which group members exercise what Bourdieu calls symbolic power. It also explores the emotional connections to group membership by which some “excluded” members can engage in symbolic struggle over “the principles of vision and division” Bourdieu (Sociological Theory 7(1), 14–25, 1989) that define the group. Finally, it shows how emotions work to incite discipline in some group members, inspiring them to conform to dominant definitions of group membership so as to avoid both symbolic struggle and exclusion.
ATR-FTIR Study of the Structure and Orientation of Transmembrane Domains of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae α-Mating Factor Receptor in Phospholipids†

The structures of seven synthetic transmembrane domains (TMDs) of the α-factor receptor (Ste2p) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied in phospholipid multilayers by transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopies. Peptide conformation assumed in multilayers depended on the method of sample preparation. Amide proton H/D exchange experiments showed that 60−80% of the NH bonds in these TMDs did not exchange with bulk water in 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) multilayers. FTIR results showed that peptides corresponding to TMDs one, two, and seven were mostly α-helical in DMPC multilayers. Peptides corresponding to TMDs three and six assumed predominantly β-sheet structures, whereas those corresponding to TMDs four and five were a mixture of α-helices and β-sheets. ATR-FTIR showed that in DMPC the α-helices of TMDs two and five oriented with tilt angles of 34° and 32°, respectively, with respect to the mu...
PREDATION OF EGGS OF SITONA HISPIDULUS (COL. : CURCULIONIDAE) IN ALFALFA

The predation on egg populations ofSitona hispidus (Fabricius) [Col.: Curculionidae] in a stand of alfalfa was evaluated in 1982 and 1983. By using pitfall traps, catches of reproductive adults ofS. hispidulus were correlated with catches of carabid species, and potential egg predators were identified for further evaluation. Results indicated that predators removed 28 % of eggs under field conditions.Amara aenea DeGeer was found to be particularly efficient on eggs ofS. hispidulus under caged-field conditions.
The relationship between indecisiveness and eye movement patterns in a decision making informational search task

Indecisiveness is a trait-related general tendency to experience decision difficulties across a variety of situations, leading to decision delay, worry, and regret. Indecisiveness is proposed (Rassin, 2007) to be associated with an increase in desire for information acquisition and reliance on compensatory strategies—as evidenced by alternative-based information search—during decision making. However existing studies provide conflicting findings. We conducted an information board study of indecisiveness, using eye tracking methodology, to test the hypotheses that the relationship between indecisiveness and choice strategy depends on being in the early stage of the decision making process, and that it depends on being in the presence of an opportunity to delay choice. We found strong evidence for the first hypothesis in that indecisive individuals changed shift behavior from the first to the second half of the task, consistent with a move from greater to lesser compensatory processing, while the shift behavior of decisive individuals suggested lesser compensatory processing over the whole task. Indecisiveness was also related to time spent viewing attributes of the selected course, and to time spent looking away from decision information. These findings resolve past discrepancies, suggest an interesting account of how the decision process unfolds for indecisive versus decisive individuals, and contribute to a better understanding of this tendency. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Origins of the Mother-Child Relationshp-A Review

Evidence is mounting that the relationship of a women with her child is initiated during pregnacy as the women begins to develop her maternal role. The nature of this begining relationship, referred to as materanl attachment to the fetus, is reviewed togather with the research into factor which enhance or impede it. Evidence for the continuum and issues of reliability and validity are raised. Areas for further research and the clinical urgency of discovering successful interventions are discussed.
Role of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Cataplexy

Narcolepsy is characterized by chronic sleepiness and cataplexy, episodes of profound muscle weakness that are often triggered by strong, positive emotions. Narcolepsy with cataplexy is caused by a loss of orexin (also known as hypocretin) signaling, but almost nothing is known about the neural mechanisms through which positive emotions trigger cataplexy. Using orexin knock-out mice as a model of narcolepsy, we found that palatable foods, especially chocolate, markedly increased cataplexy and activated neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Reversible suppression of mPFC activity using an engineered chloride channel substantially reduced cataplexy induced by chocolate but did not affect spontaneous cataplexy. In addition, neurons in the mPFC innervated parts of the amygdala and lateral hypothalamus that contain neurons active during cataplexy and that innervate brainstem regions known to regulate motor tone. These observations indicate that the mPFC is a critical site through which positive emotions trigger cataplexy.
Tissue compatibility in regenerating explants from the colonial marine hydroid Hydractinia echinata (Flem.).

Artificially maintained colonies of the colonial marine hydroid Hydractinia echinata are endogenously limited in lateral growth and usually develop in a circular pattern with a closed periderm. Further lateral growth consists of free stolons. Preliminary studies of tissue compatibility in regenerating explants indicate that fusion generally fails to occur if the opposing explants are of differing sex, from different individuals of the same sex, or if peripheral explant contact occurs after free stolons have begun to form. Of the three aforementioned causes of fusion failure, the most important factor appears to be the timing of peripheral explant contact. If regenerating explants contact each other before the endogenous circular growth pattern is achieved, fusion will occur regardless of sex and/or individuality. Incompatibility between explants from the same individual may be because of periderm development inhibition in some instances. However, the failure of free stolon fusion between explants from the same individual suggests the development of “temporal specificity” once the endogenous limit of lateral growth is achieved.
Jurassic submarine arc-apron deposits and associated magma/wet-sediment interaction, northern Sierra Nevada, California

Abstract Jurassic metavolcanic rocks of the Northern Sierra terrane in northern California are part of an extensive Triassic–Jurassic arc constructed along the western margin of North America. In the English Mountain area, Nevada and Sierra Counties, a well-exposed volcaniclastic sequence 3.6 km thick records Jurassic island-arc activity in a submarine environment. In the lower part of the sequence, thinly bedded andesitic volcanic sandstone turbidites and mudstones of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Sailor Canyon Formation were deposited below storm wave base in a long-lived marine basin. This unit is overlain conformably by the Middle Jurassic Tuttle Lake Formation, which records rapid accumulation of coarse-grained, calc-alkaline volcanic debris in the proximal parts of a submarine apron around a major volcano that developed within the earlier Sailor Canyon basin. The formation consists primarily of massively bedded, matrix-supported, polymict, basaltic to andesitic volcanic breccias deposited from submarine debris flows. Intercalated pillow-hyaloclastite breccias formed during local extrusion of lavas on the seafloor. Numerous intrusions cut the sequence and are petrographically and chemically identical to clasts in the debris-flow deposits. Peperite occurs along intrusion margins and as abundant isolated pockets, indicating intrusion of magma into wet, unconsolidated sediments. Elongate intrusive pods to 13.6 m in length are associated with smaller intrusive pillows and are inferred to represent a network of feeder tubes that extended from larger, coherent intrusions and supplied magma to complex zones of magma/wet-sediment interaction at shallow levels beneath the seafloor. Syndepositional intrusive activity of this type, including formation of abundant peperite, probably is a characteristic feature of submarine volcaniclastic sequences developed in proximal island-arc settings.
GENp1-1: Properties of Codes with the Rank Metric

In this paper, we study properties of rank metric codes in general and maximum rank distance (MRD) codes in particular. For codes with the rank metric, we first establish Gilbert and sphere-packing bounds, and then obtain the asymptotic forms of these two bounds and the Singleton bound. Based on the asymptotic bounds, we observe that asymptotically Gilbert-Varsharmov bound is exceeded by MRD codes and sphere-packing bound cannot be attained. We also establish bounds on the rank covering radius of maximal codes, and show that all MRD codes are maximal codes and all the MRD codes known so far achieve the maximum rank covering radius.
Measurement and Modeling of Pacific AC Intertie Response to Random Load Switching

In recent years spectral analysis of system response to random load changes has become a standard engineering tool at the Bonneville Power Administration. Analysis of random fluctuations in power on the Pacific AC Intertie has provided information about the influence of system operating conditions upon the effectiveness of Pacific HVDC Intertie modulation, and about dynamic behavior of the western power system generally. This technique has also been used to estimate the required size for a superconducting electromagnetic storage device which will provide backup to HVDC Modulation, and has detected a major system mode 6 months before it was first observed in a transient disturbance
Using a single transducer ultrasonic imaging method to eliminate the effect of thickness variation in the images of ceramic and composite plates

This article describes a single transducer ultrasonic imaging method based on ultrasonic velocity measurement that eliminates the effect of thickness variation in the images of ceramic and composite plate samples. The method is based on using a reflector located behind the sample and acquiring echoes off the sample and reflector surfaces in two scans. As a result of being thickness-independent, the method isolates ultrasonic variations due to material microstructure. Its use can result in significant cost savings because the ultrasonic image can be interpreted correctly without the need for precision thickness machining during nondestructive evaluation stages of material development. Velocity images obtained using the thickness-independent methodology are compared with apparent velocity maps and c-scan echo peak amplitude images for monolithic ceramic (silicon nitride), metal matrix composite and polymer matrix composite materials having thickness and microstructural variations. It was found that the thickness-independent ultrasonic images reveal and quantify correctly areas of global microstructural (pore and fiber volume fraction) variation due to the elimination of thickness effects. A major goal achieved in this study was to move the thickness-independent imaging technology out of the lab prototype environment and into the commercial arena so that it would be available to users worldwide.
Comments on Bulterman-Bos: The Dysfunctional Pursuit of Relevance in Education Research:

Responding to Bulterman-Bos (2008), the author argues that the effort to make education research more relevant is counterproductive. Teachers and researchers have different orientations toward education that arise from different institutional settings, occupational constraints, daily work demands, and professional incentives. These are not dysfunctional differences to be resolved by creating the proposed composite role of the clinical researcher but useful alternative perspectives, with each providing what the other is lacking. Relevance is a tricky quality to define because it is easier to recognize in retrospect than in prospect, and efforts to make research more relevant can make it useless or misleading. Scholarly work that neither arises from a quest for relevance nor demonstrates any particular utility at the time it is carried out may turn out to be highly useful at a later time and in a different place.
The combined sound attenuation of earplugs and earmuffs

Abstract This research was conducted to measure the attenuation that may be achieved by wearing an earplug and an earmuff in combination. The specific aims were to delineate the relative contributions of each type of device to the outcome and to test various mathematical models of the process. Two plugs (E-A-R expandable foam and Bilsom Soft) and two muffs (E-A-R 3000 and Bilsom 2315) were tested both singly and in the four possible muff/plug combinations in 16 normal-hearing subjects. Hearing thresholds were measured with the ears unoccluded, and fitted with each of the eight protector alternatives at seven one-third octave noise bands with centre frequencies ranging between 500 Hz and 8000 Hz. For each subject, attenuation scores for each device or combination of devices were obtained by substracting the unoccluded from the protected outcome within frequency. The results showed that the combined attenuation fell short of the sum of the attenuation scores achieved with each device worn separately. For frequencies below 2000 Hz, there was a significant gain in wearing double protection. However, the amount of benefit was determined exclusively by the choice of plug. For frequencies at and above 2000 Hz, the outcome was no better than the limit imposed by bone conduction of sound to the cochlea.
Ubiquitin chained and crosslinked.

Polyubiquitin chains are assembled onto proteins destined for degradation. The target protein is then unfolded by the proteasome and translocated through a channel leading from the unfolding site to an internal chamber of the enzyme for hydrolysis. A recent paper illuminates the long-elusive polyubiquitin chain recognition step that initiates this sequence of events at the proteasome.