cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parametric Random Excitation of Nonlinear Coupled Oscillators

The stochastic bifurcation and response statistics of nonlinear modal interaction under parametric random excitation are studied analytically, numerically and experimentally. Two basic definitions of stochastic bifurcation are first introduced. These are bifurcation in distribution and bifurcation in moments. bifurcation in moments is examined for the case of a coupled oscillator subjected to parametric filtered white noise. The center frequency of the excitation is selected to be close to either twice the first mode or second mode natural frequencies or the sum of the two. The stochastic bifurcation in moments is predicted using the Fokker-Planck equation together with gaussian and non-Gaussian closures and numerically using the Monte Carlo simulation. When one mode is parametrically excited it transfers energy to the other mode due to nonlinear modal interaction. The Gaussian closure solution gives close results to those predicted numerically only in regions well remote from bifurcation points. However, bifurcation points predicted by the non-Gaussian closure are in good agreement with those estimated by numerical simulation. Depending on the excitation level, the probability density of the excited mode is strongly non-Gaussian and exhibits multi-maxima as predicted by Monte Carlo simulation. Experimental tests are carried out at relatively low excitation levels. In the neighborhood of stochastic bifurcation in mean square the measured results exhibit different regimes of response characteristics including zero motion and occasional small random motion regimes. These two regimes are characterized by the phenomenon of on-off intermittency. Both regimes overlap and thus it is difficult to locate experimentally the bifurcation point.
IL-6 induces hybridoma cell growth through a novel signalling pathway.

With the successful cloning of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) (Haegeman et al. 1986; Hirano et al. 1986; Zilberstein et al. 1986), it became evident that a number of diverse physiological responses in different cell lineages were mediated by this single cytokine (for reviews, see (Kishimoto et al. 1988; Wong et al. 1988). IL-6 regulates the proliferation and the terminal differentiation of cells at different stages in the B cell lineage. IL-6 supports the growth of certain murine hybridoma and plasmacytoma cells (Nordan et al. 1986; Van Damme et al. 1987; Van Snick et al. 1986) as well as some human myeloma cells (Kawano et al. 1988) . IL-6 also stimulates activated normal B cells and selected B cell lines to differentiate to immunoglobulin secretion without inducing growth (Hirano et al. 1985; Muraguchi et al. 1988; Raynal et al. 1989).
Application of DNA Topoisomerase-Activated Adapters to Riboprobe Synthesis

Topoisomerase-activated adapters for rapid incorporation of the T7 promoter into PCR products were made by hybridizing synthetic oligonucleotides and activating vaccinia DNA topoisomerase I. The adapters were used to incorporate the T7 promoter sequence into PCR products amplified from cDNA and genomic DNA. Modified PCR products were used as templates to synthesize digoxigenin-labeled sense and cRNA probes by in vitro transcription with phage T7 RNA polymerase. The red/green cones were labeled by the antisense probe, but no specific signal was produced by the sense probe. These results demonstrate that topoisomerase-activated adapters provide a powerful and convenient tool for the rapid modification of PCR products.
Family Development Theory

Family development theory sensitizes users to a variety of family-oriented ideas that provide an organized approach to the pursuit of knowledge about families with adolescents. Great attention is paid to the normal and typical experiences and events contained within this family life cycle stage. The conceptual attractiveness and practical utility of this approach is evidenced in its widespread use in the family science and family therapy literatures. In the present chapter, particular consideration is given to the main theme of boundary flexibility and associated developmental tasks (or second-order changes), as well as the timing of roles and events that take place within this developmental period. Critiques of the family developmental approach are covered as well, including current limitations associated with its empirical utility, as well as questions that have been raised about its generalizability to families with adolescents living both in contemporary Western society and in other cultures.
Librarians as Critical Infrastructure in Data Ecosystems

Across the US and around the world, a growing number of public sector, educational, and nonprofit organizations have been sharing data with one another. These organizations hope to increase transparency, enhance efficiency and service quality, improve communities, encourage public participation, develop new knowledge, and foster civic innovation. While there are many success stories around data sharing, there is a growing awareness that the act of publishing data will not always result in community impact. Data intermediaries are often needed to help people extract value from data, and to help producers make good decisions about what and how they publish. In Pittsburgh, our local civic data ecosystem is unique in that both public and academic librarians are actively involved as data intermediaries, and they work in close collaboration with other intermediaries, data publishers and users in a variety of ways. Librarians play a number of roles, including helping people discover information, building data literacy and technical skills, providing technical assistance in data management and documentation, creating feedback mechanisms to publishers, convening and hosting events, and connecting data users. Our experience shows that libraries and librarians should be key actors in the continuing development of data ecosystems and act as core data intermediaries; their expertise adds value to a wide range of issues that affect both data publishers and users. In this talk, I will share insights gained through the Civic Switchboard project, which aims to develop the capacity of libraries in civic data ecosystems.
Enhancement and Validation of the Productive Engagement Portfolio–Scenario (PEP–S8) Scales

Supporting continued involvement of older adults in productive activities is beneficial to individuals and society-at-large. Meaningful measurement of quality engagement in such activities is there...
Adsorption of amino acids on graphene: assessment of current force fields

We compare the free energies of adsorption (ΔAads) and the structural preferences of amino acids on graphene obtained using the non-polarizable force fields-Amberff99SB-ILDN/TIP3P, CHARMM36/modified-TIP3P, OPLS-AA/M/TIP3P, and Amber03w/TIP4P/2005. The amino acid-graphene interactions are favorable irrespective of the force field. While the magnitudes of ΔAads differ between the force fields, the relative free energy of adsorption across amino acids is similar for the studied force fields. ΔAads positively correlates with amino acid-graphene and negatively correlates with graphene-water interaction energies. Using a combination of principal component analysis and density-based clustering technique, we grouped the structures observed in the graphene adsorbed state. The resulting population of clusters, and the conformation in each cluster indicate that the structures of the amino acid in the graphene adsorbed state vary across force fields. The differences in the conformations of amino acids are more severe in the graphene adsorbed state compared to the bulk state for all the force fields. Our findings suggest that the force fields studied will give qualitatively consistent relative strength of adsorption across proteins but different structural preferences in the graphene adsorbed state.
Keynote Talk #1

Bio:Jeffrey Voas is an innovator. He is currently a computer scientist at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Before joining NIST, Voas was an entrepreneur and co-founded Cigital that is now part of Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS). He has served as the IEEE Reliability Society President (2003-2005, 2009-2010, 2017-2018), and served as an IEEE Director (2011-2012). Voas co-authored two John Wiley books (Software Assessment: Reliability, Safety, and Testability [1995] and Software Fault Injection: Inoculating Software Against Errors [1998]. Voas received his undergraduate degree in computer engineering from Tulane University (1985), and received his M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the College of William and Mary (1986, 1990 respectively). Voas is a Fellow of the IEEE, member of Eta Kappa Nu, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and member of the Washington Academy of Sciences (WAS).
How George Bush Silenced Anita Hill: A Derridian View of the Third Persona in Public Argument

Drawing upon Derrida ‘s concept of differance, this article presences the evocation of specific third persona as an act of public argumentation by President Bush during the 1991 Clarence Thomas Sup...
Book Review—Social and Emotional Learning in Out-of-School-Time: Foundations and Futures

Social and Emotional Learning in Out-of-School Time: Foundations and Futures (Delaney & Moroney, 2018) offers a rich volume of experiences and voices of leadership in social and emotional learning (SEL) in out-of-school time (OST) settings. From various vantage points and with unique voices, the chapters address all stages of intentional SEL programming, including progress made in the field in clarifying and measuring the strength of SEL outcomes and identifying needed professional development. This is an important resource for students and practitioners of positive youth development, SEL, and OST learning environments.
Longitudinal Analysis of Fetal MRI in Patients with Prenatal Spina Bifida Repair

Open spina bifida (SB) is one of the most common congenital defects and can lead to impaired brain development. Emerging fetal surgery methods have shown considerable success in the treatment of patients with this severe anomaly. Afterwards, alterations in the brain development of these fetuses have been observed. Currently no longitudinal studies exist to show the effect of fetal surgery on brain development. In this work, we present a fetal MRI neuroimaging analysis pipeline for fetuses with SB, including automated fetal ventricle segmentation and deformation-based morphometry, and demonstrate its applicability with an analysis of ventricle enlargement in fetuses with SB. Using a robust super-resolution algorithm, we reconstructed fetal brains at both pre-operative and post-operative time points and trained a U-Net CNN in order to automatically segment the ventricles. We investigated the change of ventricle shape post-operatively, and the impacts of lesion size, type, and GA at operation on the change in ventricle shape. No impact was found. Prenatal ventricle volume growth was also investigated. Our method allows for the quantification of longitudinal morphological changes to fully quantify the impact of prenatal SB repair and could be applied to predict postnatal outcomes.
Model-Assisted Analysis of Local Attenuation in Ti-6Al-4V Materials

The nondestructive quantification of microstructure states in polycrystalline materials is an important area of recent research. Mean grain size estimates, for example, have been successfully made in a number of instances using frequency-dependent attenuation measurements and signal inversion theory based on statistically isotropic/equiaxed microstructure states and random crystallographic orientation conditions. In order to have a greater impact on engineering analysis and remaining life predictions, however, nondestructive evaluation estimates of local microstructure state variations are needed. In the present effort, forward ultrasonic models and targeted experiments are used to study and quantify the local statistical variability of microstructure states and ultrasonic signal response behaviors in synthetically generated and realistic Ti-6Al-4V titanium materials. An extension of equiaxed grain states to include extended log-normal grain size distributions is made, where local variations in the volumetric microstructure state, ultrasonic field scattering behavior, and frequency-dependent attenuation are evaluated using model-assisted studies and pulse-echo immersion ultrasound measurements.
Current trends in the management of flail chest and the perceived role of the surgeon

Background: Flail chest injuries typically occur in poly-traumatized patients and are often associated with prolonged hospital stays and high rates of morbidity and mortality. Despite multiple studies showing significantly improved outcomes with surgical fixation, the surgical community has been slow to adopt rib fixation as a part of practice and, as a result, many of these patients never undergo surgical fixation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the percentage of flail chest injuries that are being treated with surgical fixation in the United States. In addition, a survey of orthopedic trauma surgeons was conducted to assess their perception of the role of orthopedics in the treatment of patients with flail chest injuries. Methods: Patients diagnosed with a flail chest injury were identified using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database between 2001 and 2012 and divided into two groups based on whether or not surgical fixation of the chest wall was performed. In addition, we distributed a survey questionnaire to orthopedic trauma surgeons focusing on each individual's experience with rib fracture fixation both in training and practice. Results: A total of 45,202 patients with a flail chest injury were identified using the NIS database between 2001 and 2012. Of these, 2.1% underwent surgical fixation of the chest wall with an increase in rate of fixation from 0.8% to 3.3% over the study period. According to our survey, only 20% of orthopedic trauma surgeons performed any rib fracture fixation cases in training, and only 24% perform rib fracture fixation cases in their practice. Of those who do not perform rib fracture fixation, 72% would consider doing so if they received additional training on the topic. Of all participants surveyed, 60% believed that rib fracture fixation should be a part of the orthopedic residency curriculum and 89% believed that it should be a part of the orthopedic trauma fellowship curriculum. Conclusions: Very few flail chest injuries are being treated with surgical fixation despite the emerging literature showing improved outcomes when compared to nonoperative management. Our survey shows that there is significant interest in incorporating rib fracture fixation into surgeons' training curriculum, as well as providing specialized workshops for practicing surgeons. We hope this work encourages the surgical community to embrace rib fracture fixation as a part of our specialty so that patients with flail chest injuries receive optimal care.
Capsule Network for Predicting Zinc Binding Sites in Metalloproteins

Zinc is an important cofactor for various biological functions in plants and animals, which are usually associated with proteins. Zinc also plays an important role in protein structures to which it binds. Hence, it is important to predict the Zinc binding sites in these proteins to better understand the structures and functions of these proteins. Most of the existing tools developed in this domain are structure-based predictors implementing Support Vector Machines on datasets that are more than a decade old. As there is little work done to explore the use of deep learning frameworks in this problem, we propose ZinCaps, a framework based on the capsule network for predicting zinc binding site using sequence-only information on more recently compiled datasets. ZinCaps outperforms previous tools. Its source codes is freely available for download at https://github.com/clemEssien/ActiveSitePrediction.
Structural dynamics simulation using a novel physics-guided machine learning method

Abstract Physics-guided machine learning (ML) is an emerging paradigm that combines both data-driven ML models and physics-based models together to fully take advantage of the data discovery ability of ML without losing the valuable physics/domain knowledge. This paper proposes a novel physics-guided ML method based on recurrent neural network (RNN) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) for structural dynamics simulation. The key idea is to integrate the underlying physics of structural dynamics into data-enabled ML models to ‘guide’ the training and prediction of ML models. First, structural dynamics formulation and the use of data-driven RNN and MLP for modeling dynamical systems are briefly reviewed, which leads to the development of the proposed physics-guided ML model. Physics-guided ML model contains physics-based layers to encode the known physics and data-driven layers to approximate the unknown relationships. Thus, the data-driven RNN and MLP are augmented with existing physics knowledge for better performance in simulations. Following this, several numerical case studies for structural dynamics are presented to demonstrate the proposed methodology. It is observed that: (1) compared with purely data-driven ML method, the proposed physics-guided ML method has better generalization ability and reduced training costs; (2) compared with physics-based modeling, the proposed method has improved computational efficiency and can handle partially unknown physics. Finally, conclusions and future works are presented based on the proposed study.
Noninvasive Imaging of Cone Ablation and Regeneration in Zebrafish.

Purpose To observe and characterize cone degeneration and regeneration in a selective metronidazole-mediated ablation model of ultraviolet-sensitive (UV) cones in zebrafish using in vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Methods Twenty-six sws1:nfsB-mCherry;sws2:eGFP zebrafish were imaged with OCT, treated with metronidazole to selectively kill UV cones, and imaged at 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, or 56 days after ablation. Regions 200 × 200 µm were cropped from volume OCT scans to count individual UV cones before and after ablation. Fish eyes were fixed, and immunofluorescence staining was used to corroborate cone density measured from OCT and to track monocyte response. Results Histology shows significant loss of UV cones after metronidazole treatment with a slight increase in observable blue cone density one day after treatment (Kruskal, Wallis, P = 0.0061) and no significant change in blue cones at all other timepoints. Regenerated UV cones measured from OCT show significantly lower density than pre-cone-ablation at 14, 28, and 56 days after ablation (analysis of variance, P < 0.01, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, respectively, 15.9% of expected nonablated levels). Histology shows significant changes to monocyte morphology (mixed-effects analysis, P < 0.0001) and retinal position (mixed-effects analysis, P < 0.0001). Conclusions OCT can be used to observe loss of individual cones selectively ablated by metronidazole prodrug activation and to quantify UV cone loss and regeneration in zebrafish. OCT images also show transient changes to the blue cone mosaic and inner retinal layers that occur concomitantly with selective UV cone ablation. Translational Relevance Profiling cone degeneration and regeneration using in vivo imaging enables experiments that may lead to a better understanding of cone regeneration in vertebrates.
Securing unsafe rust programs with XRust

Rust is a promising systems programming language that embraces both high-level memory safety and low-level resource manipulation. However, the dark side of Rust, unsafe Rust, leaves a large security hole as it bypasses the Rust type system in order to support low-level operations. Recently, several real-world memory corruption vulnerabilities have been discovered in Rust's standard libraries. We present XRust, a new technique that mitigates the security threat of unsafe Rust by ensuring the integrity of data flow from unsafe Rust code to safe Rust code. The cornerstone of XRust is a novel heap allocator that isolates the memory of unsafe Rust from that accessed only in safe Rust, and prevents any cross-region memory corruption. Our design of XRust supports both single- and multi-threaded Rust programs. Our extensive experiments on real-world Rust applications and standard libraries show that XRust is both highly efficient and effective in practice.
Correlation between retinal ganglion layer soma and vascular densities measured with adaptive optics: optical coherence tomography

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy characterized by loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons. Glaucoma has a strong vascular component and decreased macular vessel density is known to be associated with glaucomatous damage. Adaptive optics – optical coherence tomography allows for the simultaneous quantification of vascular and ganglion cell densities. We observed a moderately strong correlation between ganglion cell and vessel densities across the macula, as well as some correlation at individual locations. Vascular density may prove to be a useful surrogate biomarker of glaucoma progression and with further study reveal new information on impairment of neurovascular coupling in glaucoma.
p16 is superior to Stathmin-1 and HSP27 in identifying cervical dysplasia.

Author(s): Liou, Sofia; Nilforoushan, Neshat; Kang, Yuna; Moatamed, Neda A | Abstract: BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine how Stathmin-1 and Heat Shock Protein 27 (HSP27) can be used as adjunctive biomarkers to differentiate high-grade dysplasia from benign/reactive lesions in cervical tissues. In addition, we aimed to see if any of these markers can differentiate endometrial from endocervical adenocarcinomas.MethodsFifty cases including benign cervical tissue, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), adenocarcinoma in situ of the endocervix, invasive endocervical adenocarcinoma, and endometrial adenocarcinoma were selected. Stathmin-1 and HSP27 immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed for each case and the results were compared to the previously available p16 IHC stains.Resultsp16 stained positively in 100% of HSIL, endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ, and invasive endocervical cases. Stathmin-1 stained positively in 43% of HSIL and 90% of endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ and all invasive endocervical cases. Stathmin-1 and p16 were negative in all benign cervical samples. Stathmin-1, HSP27, and p16 stained 100% of LSIL cases. HSP27 stained indiscriminately, including 100% of benign cervical tissue. 87% of the endometrial adenocarcinomas stained positively for p16, Stathmin-1, and HSP27.Conclusionp16 remains superior to both Stathmin-1 and HSP27 in differentiating dysplasia from benign, reactive changes of the cervix.
Tumour-to-normal tissue (T/N) dosimetry ratios role in assessment of 90Y selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT).

Objective:The purpose of our work is to assess the role of tumor-to-normal tissue (T/N) dosimetry ratios for predicting response in patients undergoing locoregional therapy to the liver with 90Y mi...
Generalized rank annihilation method

Abstract Qualitative and quantitative analysis of complex mixtures in fast, low-resolution liquid chromatography (LC) with a diode array-UV (DA-UV) spectrometer as a detector, is presented as a direct application of the recently developed “generalized rank annihilation method” (GRAM). GRAm operates on bilinear data, such as LC—DA-UV, and requires the analysis of two samples, e.g., an unknown and a calibration. The samplles may have several components in common, which are the components of interest for the analysis. The chromatograms of the two samples are obtained on the same column, under the same conditions, to insure the best possible match in retention times. A reference compound should be included in both samples to verify reproducibility of the relative retention times. For quantitative analysis, one sample is defined as a calibration mixture. From the two data matrices corresponding to the two samples, GRAM will generate the following information about each shared component, i.e., compounds present in both samples: an extracted spectrum, a resolved chromatogram, and the relative concentration (unknown:calibration).
Systemic Mast Cell Disease

Systemic mastocytosis represents an abnormal accumulation of mast cells in various sites throughout the body. The manifestations of this chronic multifaceted disorder have their origin in mast cell infiltration of organs and the systemic and local effects of the numerous pharmacologic mediators derived from mast cells. The rareness of the disorder and its multiplicity of presentations make it an often overlooked consideration in a differential diagnosis that may include asthma, diarrhoea, urticaria, syncope, peptic ulceration and angina. Keywords: systemic mastocytosis; histamine; basophils; osteosclerosis; c-kit proto-oncogene; stem cell factor; urticaria; pigmentosa
STUDIES IN EXPERIMENTAL SYPHILIS : III. FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF CURE OF SYPHILIS IN THE RABBIT WITH ARSPHENAMINE.

Syphilitic rabbits can be treated with arsphenamine in such a manner as to render the lymph nodes incapable of transmitting the infection to normal rabbits. This can be accomplished if treatment is begun either early or comparatively late in the course of the disease. If treatment is begun early, the animals are almost uniformly susceptible to a second infection, whereas, if it is begun late, they are almost uniformly refractory to a second infection. It is suggested that this refractory state in rabbits may be explained by the existence of an acquired immunity which persists after the abolition of the disease, rather than to the persistence of the first infection. It would appear that it is possible under certain conditions to reinoculate rabbits and produce generalized infection without producing any lesion at the portal of entry.
Weather and wildland fires: firefighting in an age of droughts and urban sprawl

The hundreds of wildland fires that have blazed across the United States landscape in recent years mark the confluence of weather past and present. With much of the West and Southern Plains still i...
Complete revascularisation or culprit artery only in cardiogenic shock: the real shock is the lack of data!

Approximately 40–65% of patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have multivessel disease (MVD). These patients have higher mortality and worse clinical outcomes than patients with STEMI with single vessel disease irrespective of haemodynamic status.1–3 Despite this common clinical scenario, the data available to guide management of these patients is remarkably sparse. The recommendations from the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association (ACCF/AHA) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines have been stronger than the data supporting those guidelines, but that is changing. For patients with STEMI presenting without cardiogenic shock, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) of a non-culprit vessel is currently considered a class III indication, meaning the risk outweighs the benefit and the procedure SHOULD NOT be performed (not helpful and may be harmful). Despite the Class III indication, registries indicate 10–25% of patients with STEMI in fact undergo multivessel PCI. The recent publication of two randomised trials, Preventative Angioplasty in Acute Myocardial Infarction (PRAMI) and Complete Versus culprit-Lesion only PRimary PCI Trial (CvLPRIT), has dramatically changed our thinking for patients with STEMI with MVD and without cardiogenic shock.2 ,3 Both trials found complete revascularisation was associated with a reduction in major adverse cardiac events (MACE) compared with ‘culprit only’ PCI. Following successful primary PCI in the PRAMI trial, 465 patients with MVD were randomised to either ‘preventive PCI’ of all lesions ≥50% during the same setting or ‘culprit only’ PCI. The trial was stopped early due to a significantly lower MACE rate (composite of death from cardiac cause, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) or refractory angina) in the ‘preventive PCI’ arm (9% vs 23% in the ‘culprit only’ arm; p value <0.001). In the CvLPRIT trial, patients with successful PCI and MVD were randomised to PCI of all …
Apolipoprotein B-52 mutation associated with hypobetalipoproteinemia is compatible with a misaligned pairing deletion mechanism

We have identified a nt 4 truncation of apoB in a large kindred with hypobetdipoprt cteinemia that arose by an ambiguous deletion of one of four dilferent groups of base-pairs. Eleven affected members of the kindred had total cholesterols (C) of 114 * 28, LDL-Cs of 46 * 21, and apoBs of 47 * 25 (all in mg/dl, mean * SD). These levels were lower (P < 0.0001) than in 15 unaffected relatives. On Western blotting, apoB-100 and a second major band corresponding to apoB-52 were seen in the affected individuals. The majority of the plasma apoB-52 was associated with a smaller than normal low density lipopro- tein (LDL) particle. The molecular basis for this apoB-52 trun- cation is a 5-bp deletion, converting the sequence between cDNA nucleotide 7276 and 7283 from 5'-AAGTTAAG-3' into the mutant sequence 5'-AAG-3'. This results in a frameshift starting at amino acid residue 2357 and a termination codon at amino acid residue 2362. Deletion of one of four different groups of five consecutive bases, Le., AAGTT, AGTTA, GTTAA, and TTAAG, all result in the same mutant sequence. Thus, the pre- cise deletion is ambiguous. We propose that a misaligned pairing mechanism involving repeat sequences is compatible with this deletion mutation. We have noted similar ambiguous deletions associated with apoB-37, apoB-40, and a number of single base deletions and some may also be explained by a mis- aligned pairing mechanism. Small ambiguous deletions appear to constitute a major proportion of the apoB gene mutation spectrum suggesting that it may be a suitable model for studying the mechanisms of such mutations-Gmenewegen, W. A., E. S. Krul, and G. Schonfeld. Apolipoprotein B-52 mutation associated with hypobetalipoproteinemia is compatible with a misaligned pairing deletion mechanism. J Lipid Res. 1993. 34: 971-981.
A protocol for the in vitro micronucleus test. II. Contributions to the validation of a protocol suitable for regulatory submissions from an examination of 10 chemicals with different mechanisms of action and different levels of activity.

The in vitro micronucleus (IVM) test is currently used as a screen during the early stages of pharmaceutical development to identify chemicals likely to produce positive outcomes in the in vitro chromosome aberration assay. For several reasons, the assay is being considered as an alternative to the aberration assay, but the current screening protocols are not rigorous enough to fully satisfy concerns about genotoxic safety. This manuscript describes the investigation of several protocol parameters to assist with the development of a regulatory guideline for the IVM test. The parameters investigated are: the effect of cytochalasin B on the outcome of the assay when conducted with continually growing cell lines; the need for an extended exposure in the absence of metabolic activation; and the number of cells to be counted for a valid assay. In addition, two statistical procedures for the analysis of data from the test are described. The results of the investigation indicate that cytochalasin B does not effect the outcome of the test, that the extended exposure treatment is not necessary, that counting 2000 cells is preferable to counting 1000, and that the data can be appropriately analyzed using a trend test.
Methods for Protecting Password Transmission

In this paper, we present a secure method for protecting passwords while being transmitted over untrusted networks. We also present a secure method for changing an old password to a new password. The proposed solutions do not require the use of any additional keys (such as symmetric keys or public/private keys) to protect password exchanges. Unlike existing solutions, the proposed schemes do not use any symmetric-key or public-key cryptosystems (such as DES, RC5, RSA, etc.). Our schemes only employ a collision-resistant hash function such as SHA-1.
Microfibril-microvessel connections in the rabbit eye: correlative confocal and electron microscopy.

The connections between elastic tissue and microvessels (arterioles, capillaries, and venules) in the rabbit eye were examined by light and electron microscopy. In particular, confocal scanning laser microscopy of tissue stained with orcein and examined by fluorescence using a rhodamine filter was correlated with electron microscopic observations. The goal was an analysis of the way in which elastic tissue of the uvea (i.e., choroid, ciliary body, and iris) and the optic nerve of the eye connect to the microvessels in these structures. Confocal microscopy revealed these connections advantageously and showed how they link the elastic tissue meshwork in the perivascular tissue spaces with the wall of the blood vessels. Electron microscopy showed that the connections consist of bundles of 10-12 nm diameter microfilaments that insert into vascular basement membranes. These connections may contribute to the vascular response to changes in blood pressure or intraocular pressure in the eye.
Distribution of β‐thalassemia trait and erythrocyte glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in the Markham river valley of New Guinea

Ten villages in or near the Markham Valley, northeastern New Guinea, have provided a sample of 476 males for the ascertainment of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and 810 individuals of both sexes for the investigation of the β-thalassemia trait. An extreme heterogeneity was found in the prevalence of both traits when the villages were analyzed separately (from 1.5% to 18.2% demonstrating G6PD deficiency and from 0 to 22.8% evincing β-thalassemia trait). The latter result counters an earlier report from the same region that β-thalassemia trait frequencies correlated negatively with altitude and (presumably) positively with endemicity of malaria. The present findings, based on a more representative sample, do not necessarily invalidate the relationship between malaria and β-thalassemia trait suggested by earlier studies, but they do make clear that correlation in New Guinea, at least, may be complicated by random genetic drift, although other possibilities are discussed. The heterogeneous distribution of G6PD deficiency in the present study confirms similar earlier findings. The importance of sample provenience and anthropological data in the interpretation of differences in the distribution of genetically determined traits is stressed.
Hormone-Inducible Expression and Metal Affinity Chromatography of Recombinant Proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract An economical method to express recombinant protein in yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) was developed. We combined two principles: Ni 2+ -agarose-based affinity purification of fusion proteins and expression from a cassette regulated by steroid hormones. After induction by desoxycorticosterone, >90% pure protein was obtained after a single round of metal affinity chromatography. Gentle lysis conditions allowed the preservation of enzymatic activity. Average yields of 10 mg protein per liter of culture were obtained at a fraction of the cost of other eukaryotic expression systems.
A domain specific interconnect for reconfigurable computing

Affine Control Loops (ACLs) occur frequently in data- and computeintensive applications. Implementing ACLs directly on dedicated hardware has the potential for spectacular performance improvement in area, time and energy. An important challenge for such direct hardware compilation of ACLs is the interconnection between the different processing elements, which may be non-local as well as dynamic. We propose a generic, reconfigurable interconnection fabric which can realize the data-path of any ACL and be dynamically reconfigured in constant time. We have applied for a patent for this technology.
Intracerebral hemorrhage after carotid endarterectomy: Incidence, contribution to neurologic morbidity, and predictive factors

Abstract Purpose: With a diminishing rate of cardiac and neurologic events after carotid endarterectomy, intracerebral hemorrhage is gaining increasing importance as a cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality. To date, information has been largely anecdotal, and there has been no comparison with a control group of patients. Methods: The records of all patients experiencing symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage after carotid endarterectomy were reviewed and compared with data from 50 randomly selected patients who did not experience intracranial bleeding. Univariate analyses were performed, using the Fisher exact test for dichotomous data and the Student t test for continuous data. Results: During a 6-year period, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage developed in 11 (0.75%) of 1471 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy, accounting for 35% of the 31 total perioperative neurologic events. Hemorrhage occurred a median of 3 days postoperatively (range, 0 to 18 days). Signs and symptoms included hypertension in all 11 patients, headache in 7 conscious patients (64%), and bradycardia in 6 patients (55%). Massive hemorrhage with herniation and death occurred in 4 patients (36%). Moderate hemorrhage developed in 5 patients (45%); 3 of these patients had partial recovery, and 2 had complete recovery. Petechial hemorrhage occurred in the remaining 2 patients (18%), 1 with partial and 1 with complete recovery. In comparison with the control group, there were no differences in respect to sex, indication for operation, smoking or diabetic history, and antiplatelet therapy or perioperative heparin management. Patients with intracranial hemorrhage were, however, younger, more frequently hypertensive, had a higher degree of ipsilateral and contralateral carotid stenosis, and had a higher rate of contralateral carotid occlusion. Conclusion: Intracranial hemorrhage occurs with notable frequency after carotid endarterectomy and accounts for a significant proportion of neurologic morbidity and mortality. Younger patients, hypertensive patients, and patients with severe cerebrovascular occlusive disease appear to be at greatest risk for the complication. (J Vasc Surg 1999;29:82-9.)
Inactivation of macrophage scavenger receptor class B type I promotes atherosclerotic lesion development in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Background— Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) is expressed in macrophages, where it has been proposed to facilitate cholesterol efflux. However, direct evidence that the expression of macro...
Engineering and physical concepts of the wave permittivity

The physical concept and the mathematical formalism of the wave permittivity are introduced and analyzed through the Maxwell stress tensor theory. The concept of the wave permittivity may be proved extremely useful in order to characterize propagation parameters, in terms of stored energy associated with delayed wave formation phenomena such as partial standing waves, which in turn give rise to rapid precursors observable in the time domain. Such phenomena has been observed in air, in the radiating zone, or indispersive media such as waveguides. Engineering applications related to the concept of the wave permittivity are outlined.
The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson

Time, timing, and timelessness all converge in Harry J. Elam's The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson (2004), a major addition to Wilson studies at this profound juncture in the history of American theatre. First, Elam's study offers a sweeping retrospective of Wilson's blending of past and present time in his recently completed cycle of plays. Yet it is the timing of the book's release that affords it an added advantage. Though published in 2004, The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson can easily be regarded as a most fitting tribute to one of the great voices of the American stage. As the nation—indeed the world—mourns the sudden loss of August Wilson, current and future generations of scholars, students, educators, theatre practitioners, and lovers of theatre may find comfort in knowing that the foundation has already been laid for serious and sustained study of his phenomenal legacy and far-reaching influence. Elam's work adds a vital cornerstone to that foundation.
Predicting with intuitive correlations

An experiment in the context of man as intuitive statistician tested ability to produce an intuitive equivalent of simple linear-regression predictions as a function of the correlation between two scaled variables. Matching, rather than optimizing, characterized the resulting prediction behavior. Overmatching was most prominent when cue validity was low.
Process Optimization and Properties of Laser Cladding High Vanadium High Speed Steel Coatings on Nodular Cast Iron

As withstanding very high loads, thermal cycling leading to thermal fatigue, and severe environmental in the steel industry, rolls with long service life are specially required. High speed steel with high vanadium content is a newly-developed wear-resistance material that has been studied and used in some countries for making steel rolls. As a surface treatment technology, laser cladding can fabricate coating to improve the wear resistance of substrate. In this paper, the substrates for laser cladding were nodular cast iron rolls, Nd: YAG solid pulsed laser was used to explore the feasibility of preparation high vanadium high speed steel (HVHSS) coatings. The Nd: YAG laser cladding results that the coated layers combined metallurgically with the substrate with a lot of microcracks. The average microhardness up to 650 HV is more than 2 times as high as that of the substrate. After laser remelting, a fully dense and crack free HVHHS coating with an excellent metallurgical bonding was deposited. The presence of VC in the coating mainly improves the microhardness of coating up to about 650 HV.
Mechanics of tidally driven fractures in Europa's ice shell

Abstract A fracture mechanics model is developed for the initiation and propagation of a crack through a porous ice layer of finite thickness under gravitational overburden. It is found that surface cracks generated in response to a tidally induced stress field may penetrate through the entire outer brittle layer if a subsurface ocean is present on Europa. Such penetration is found to be very unlikely in the absence of an ocean. A cycloidal crack would then form as a sequence of near instantaneous discrete failures, each extending roughly the brittle layer thickness in range, linked with a much lower apparent propagation speed set by the moving tidal stress field. The implications of this porous ice fracture model for ice-penetrating radar scattering loss and seismic activity are quantified.
Adrenergic receptor subtypes in rabbit iris-ciliary body membranes: classification by radioligand studies.

Receptor subclasses in iris-ciliary body cell membranes were determined by direct binding of radioactive dihydroalprenolol (DHA), yohimbine (YOH), WB-4101 (WB) and prazosin (PRZ), classified respectively as β1 + β2, α2, α1, and α1 subtype selective ligands (based on binding to brain adrenergic receptors). Specific binding was defined with appropriate unlabelled agonist and antagonist drugs in each case. Binding data were analysed by library programs of the PROPHET computer system. Subclass specificity was also determined indirectly by binding competition of the labelled ligand (at a three- to 10-fold Kd concentration) with increasing concentrations of ‘cold’ agonist or antagonist. Ligand binding parameters of unlabelled drugs were obtained from Dixon and Scatchard plots of the data. The adrenergic receptor density of iris-ciliary body is approx. 600 fmol mg−1 protein, of which 20–25% are primarily β2 receptors. Three distinct subpopulations of α-receptors, representing 10, 25 and 40–45% of the total, bind PRZ, WB and YOH, respectively, each with high specificity for its corresponding ligand but with 10- to 1000-fold lower specificity for the other two ligands. The majority of α-adrenergic receptors are of the α2-subtype. A small population of receptors are similar to vascular postsynaptic α1-receptors, while a larger subpopulation may have characteristics intermediate between α1- and α2-subtypes.
Revalidation of the Rayleigh resolution and DOF limits

Currently, the fundamental relationships which establish the limits to optical imaging appear useful only as comparative metrics for microlithographic applications. Furthermore, with the continual advances in optical lithography, the validity of such 'rules-of-thumb' become suspect. A set of universal equations would be useful but additional description and expansion beyond the Rayleigh definitions is needed for application to current technologies. Relationships which govern the limits of resolution and focal depth are presented here in order to develop a more complete description for various lithographic imaging situations. Expanded Rayleigh definitions can then allow for insight into fundamental limitations and scaling for conventional partially coherent imaging, imaging with off-axis illumination, and phase-shift masking. Depth of focus relationships are also expanded to describe the distribution of diffraction orders over the lens pupil and are modified to accommodate feature pitch and partial coherence. Such analysis can allow for a more thorough understanding and prediction of performance for a given lithographic technology.
Controlling puff volume without disrupting smoking topography

In studies of the behavioral and physiological effects of cigarette smoking, it is of critical importance to keep the dose of nicotine as constant as possible. This is difficult with smoking, because when the nicotine delivery of a cigarette is increased or reduced, smokers tend to compensate by modifying their smoke intake. In a laboratory study, it is relatively easy to control the number of cigarettes and the number of puffs taken, but it is more difficult to control the volume of each puff. Various procedures have been developed to control puff volume, but they have a disadvantage of disrupting the normal topography of smoking. We have developed an apparatus for delivering fixed volumes of smoke that has given consistent tar and nicotine values needed in studies of the behavioral and physiological effects of cigarette smoking. This method has the distinct advantage of allowing the subject to inhale the smoke in a normal fashion, with a draw resistance comparable to that of a cigarette. The device is inexpensive and easy to make.
Discussions between medical providers and children/caregivers about the benefits of asthma-control medications.

Abstract Objectives To describe the content of discussions between general pediatric providers and children and their caregivers about the benefits of asthma-control medication; describe the extent to which these discussions occur; and examine factors that are associated with medication benefit discussions. Design Cross-sectional secondary analysis of audiotaped medical visits. Setting Five primary care pediatric clinics in North Carolina. Participants 35 pediatric providers and 248 children with persistent asthma and their caregivers. Main outcome measures Presence of discussion about benefits associated with asthma-control medications. Results Providers discussed benefits associated with asthma-control medications during 56% of medical visits. Benefits were more likely to be discussed when the child was younger and when medication adherence was discussed during the visit. When providers discussed benefits of asthma-control medications, they were most likely to ask questions and make statements regarding symptom control/prevention. Conclusion General pediatric medical providers often do not discuss the benefits of asthma-control medications. Pharmacists could fill this information gap by counseling both children and their caregivers about benefits that a child with asthma can expect as a result of treatment.