cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dysfunctional Conformational Dynamics of Protein Kinase a from R14 Deletion of Phospholamban

Protein Kinase A (PKA) is a ubiquitous signaling enzyme responsible that mediates a myriad of cellular signaling events. A target of PKA during regulation of muscle contraction is Phospholamban (PLN). PLN phosphorylation reverses its inhibitory effect on the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA), increasing SERCA's affinity for Ca2+ ions and augmenting diastole. A deletion at the P-2 site of PLN recognition sequence (R14del) found in humans reduces PLN phosphorylation levels, leading to dilated cardiomyopathy. In this study we utilize solution state NMR, isothermal titration calorimetry, and MD simulations to elucidate the molecular mechanism of aberrant substrate recognition. Here, we show that this single substrate deletion affects the structural conformation and dynamics of the PKA/PLN complex, causing dysfunctional conformational fluctuations throughout the enzyme, disrupting binding and reducing enzymatic efficiency. These results unveil a crucial role of kinase substrates for the formation of the catalytically-competent conformation and intramolecular allosteric signaling. These findings illuminate a molecular mechanism for the pathophysiology of R14del and aberrant Ca2+ signaling, underscoring the importance of a well-tuned structural and dynamic interplay between enzyme and substrate to achieve physiological phosphorylation levels for normal cardiac function.
An Interpretation of the Philippine Election of 1953

Conditions for the successful operation of the democratic form of government have not been present in the Orient. Democracy requires a people who have confidence in themselves, in their leaders, and in the democratic processes, and who have the means for operating democratic institutions. Included in the tools that make democracy work are literacy, a willingness to abide by the rules of the game, and a rapid means of communication and transportation. In the Orient a fatalistic view regarding government is widespread. People in the lower income groups feel that government is an institution of the few, by the few, and for the few. Vote buying, spoils politics, favoritism, nepotism, grafting, the squeeze, the hold up, the percentage are all taken for granted. As one Filipino senator put it, “Graft and corruption are inherent in human nature.” The Orient also suffers from the primitive character of means of transportation and communications. Roads are bad, newspapers have limited circulations, telephones and telegraph stations are few, radios are scarce, and travel is often complicated by hazards of water, mountainous terrain, bandits, and wild animals.The Philippine elections of November 10, 1953 show that the difficulties that have hindered the growth of democracy in the Orient can be overcome. Before the elections apprehension was widespread that extensive use might be made of fraud and terror to defeat the free expression of the popular will.
Investigation on The Aggregation of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection among Medical Workers

[Objective]To investigate the pathogen and antibody in medical worker with upper respiratory tract infection,and provide evidence for developing protective measure.[Methods]The pathogenic bacteria in the secretion of patient's respiratory tract and samples of external environment were detected by charcoal yeast extract agar culture,blood plate and medium for quick detecting mycoplasma.The IgM,1~7 IgG against Legionella pneumophila in blood serum were determined by ELISA.Antigen of SARS and Avian influenza virus in secretion of respiratory tract were detected by multiplex PCR.And the pathogen gene fingerprint atlas was determined with automatic genetic fingerprinting system for microorganism.[Results]Legionella pneumophila,epidemic meningitis and micrococcus pneumoniae were not detected in first patient and the other 15 medical workers' respiratory tract secretion by serological examination.Samples of 6 patients were mycoplasma positive detected by rapid culture.Pasteurella was discovered in the water used by the first patient.1~7 lgG against Legionella pneumophila of 1 person of patient and close contacts increased to 4 times.The antigen of SARS and avian influenza virus were not detected in the respiratory tract secretion from died patient.[Conclusion]The first case who died of severe pneumonia was excluded human-avian influenza,SARS and meningitis by laboratory test,but probably infected by Legionella pneumophila.The evidence of homologous infection does not exist between 15 patients with gathering upper respiratory infection and the first case.
Two Cases of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease with Neurologic Manifestations

【Hand-Foot-Mouth disease, which has a various enanthem-exanthem complex at the tongue, buccal mucosa, hands and feets and buttock area with febrile illness, is usually caused by Coxscakie virus type A(16). Generally, this disease shows self limited course and good prognosis without neurologic manifestations. However, enterovirus 71, which was newly discovered and reported in 1974, can cause the striking features of Hand-Foot-Mouth disease outbreaks and has neuropathogenic potentials of polio-like paralytic illness including aseptic meningitis, meningoencephalitis and respiratory disease. We experienced a case of Hand-Foot-Mouth disease with polyradiculitis manifestations, and a case of Hand-Foot-Mouth disease with meningoencephalitis. Therfore, we report these cases with brief review of related literatures.】
Investigation of sperm transport failures in ewes administered synthetic progestagen.

An investigation of sperm transport failures in ewes administered sy nthetic progestagen is presented. The numbers of sperm cells in the reproductive tracts of control ewes at 24 hours postbreeding were compared with the numbers in ewes treated with progestagen orally or treated with intravaginal sponges with and without progestagen. Mature parous ewes received 60 mg medroxyprogesterone (MAP)/day or 300 mcg melengestrol acetate (MGA)/day from Day 8-25 of the estrous cycle treated with an intravaginal sponge impregnated with MAP from Days 8 to 25 treated with a blank sponge or served as controls. The controls were inseminated artifically at a natural estrus progestagen-fed and blank sponge ewes were inseminated at the estrus following treatment and MAP sponge ewes were inseminated 48 hours after removal of the sponge. The ewes were sacrificed 24 hours postbreeding and each reproductive tract segment was flushed to count the numbers of intact sperm. No detrimental effect on numbers of sperm was caused by blank sponges. MAP sponge reduced sperm numbers significantly in the oviducts (p less than or = .01) uterus (p = .05) cervix (p less than .01) and vagina (p less than .01). The feeding of synthetic progestagen reduced the number of intact sperm cells in the oviducts and uterus suggesting inhibition of sperm transport mechanisms.
ADHD: current concepts on etiology, pathophysiology, and neurobiology.

As cognitive neuroscience and developmental neurobiology advance, it is important that these advances be applied to the study of children and childhood disorders. Basic and pathophysiologic studies of the many forms of ADHD and possible causes, and studies of genes and gene environment interactions, are critical for an adequate understanding of this heterogenous disorder. To date, most studies seem to have implicitly assumed that ADHD was immutable and all inborn, perhaps in part because of the high heritabilities. It is hoped that the next generation of research and researchers will tackle these formidable challenges, undertake the necessary longitudinal studies of early attention development and regulation, and link these studies to basic neuroscience research in animal models using the new tools available through molecular genetics and neuroimaging.
Herpesviruses of Birds

Avian herpesviruses comprise a relatively large number of infectious agents, but only a few have been studied in detail, namely those that have a significant economic impact on poultry production. By far the most important members of this group of viruses in this respect are gallid herpesviruses 1 and 2 (GaHV-1 and GaHV-2). GaHV-1 is the etiological cause of an endemic upper airway infection of chickens, infectious laryngotracheitis, which is easily transmitted from animal to animal. GaHV-2, better known as Marek's disease virus, causes a peracute to chronic disease in chickens that classically presents with paralysis and widespread T-cell lymphoma, but is more recently characterized by neurological symptoms and rashes that are either transient or result in the acute and peracute death of affected animals. In this article, we discuss the characteristics of several avian herpesviruses and concentrate on the pathogenesis induced by those viruses and the control measures developed to combat two of the most important infectious diseases of domestic poultry worldwide.
Dispersion relation analysis of e (ω) data for H 2 O

A numerical dispersion relation analysis of a collection of “experimental data” representing the real and imaginary parts of the relative dielectric permittivity e(ω) = e r (ω) + iei(ω) of triply-distilled H 2 O from ω = 0 to ultraviolet frequencies (ω ∼ 2 × 108 r/s) reveals that the Hilbert transform pair relationship that they must satisfy is only approximately satisfied. A set of artificial data that closely approximates the experimental data and satisfies the Hilbert transform relations is presented.
The case for semi-automated design of microfluidic very large scale integration (mVLSI) chips

In recent years, significant interest has emerged in the problem of fully automating the design of microfluidic very large scale integration (mVLSI) chips, a popular class of Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) devices that can automatically execute a wide variety of biological assays. To date, this work has been carried out with little to no input from LoC designers. We conducted interviews with approximately 100 LoC designers, biologists, and chemists from academia and industry; uniformly, they expressed frustration with existing design solutions, primarily commercially available software such as AutoCAD and Solidworks; however, they expressed limited interest and considerable skepticism about the potential for “push-button” end-to-end automation. In response, we have developed a semi-automated mVLSI drawing tool that is designed specifically to address the pain points elucidated by our interviewees. We have used this tool to rapidly reproduce several previously published LoC architectures and generate fabrication ready specifications.
Delineating CSR and social change: Querying corporations as actors for social good:

This article seeks to delineate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social change and asks the important question of whether and how corporations may serve as agents ...
Thermal and microstructural analysis of laser-based directed energy deposition for Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 625 deposits

Abstract Accurate temperature measurements based on careful experimentation and microstructural analysis were conducted for Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 625 alloys deposited using the laser-based directed energy deposition process. In the case of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy, thermal measurements were made in the first layer during the first and four subsequent deposits to ascertain microstructural evolution during the heating and cooling cycles. Four energy densities were utilized during deposition of the Inconel 625 alloy to alter cooling rates and determine the impact of processing conditions on solidification morphology. The precise experimental measurements enabled a comprehensive analysis of the solid state reactions for Ti-6Al-4V, and the solidification phenomena to be elucidated for Inconel 625. The results for the Ti-6Al-4V alloy indicated that the measured thermal response could be used to anticipate initial microstructure based on cooling rates from the β-transus, and subsequent thermal cycles could be utilized to define potential transformations between α, α′, and β. Analysis of the measured thermal cycles from the liquid through solidification for the Inconel 625 alloy showed that processing parameters could be linked to factors governing the solidification process and microstructural features. Using these relationships, an accurate processing map for laser-based directed energy deposition for Inconel 625 was constructed to enable the identification of solidification morphology and microstructural scale based on critical processing parameters.
Stationary Filming Techniques

Now it is time to capture the footage that you will use in your films! You might have a budget that affords the services of a professional videographer. However, let’s progress as though the filming responsibilities fall on your shoulders. Whether you are filming within a factory, a scripted scene in a city, or mountain landscape , it is advantageous to learn how to take shots that capture the appropriate information, communicate the right tone, and won’t leave you hanging when you are editing down the road. This chapter will focus on basic techniques for filming with a tripod . Stabilization gives you greater control over how you frame a scene and how elements within your shot interrelate. You might be surprised how much impact you can have by making small changes in the geometry of a scene. Framing and interaction is called composition . Understanding the intricacies of composition can empower you to add dimensionality and greater impact to your film. The concepts that I share come from a blend of personal experiences and advice from other video professionals.
What Became of the Building Cycle

Publisher Summary This chapter describes building cycles, Kuznets cycles, and business cycles and discusses the housing model. The concept of a long building cycle figures prominently in the pre-World War II literature on economic fluctuations. The contraction phases of these long cycles consisted of prolonged and deep declines in the absolute level of new building construction. The long cycles were dominated by residential construction, but other types of building participated as well. Wardwell and Kuznets established the existence of secondary secular movements in detrended production and price series that had been smoothed to attenuate the influence of business cycles, and Burns showed that the existence of such trend-cycles was so widespread among individual industries as to strongly suggest the existence of long swings in the growth rate of aggregate economic activity. The long swings in building activity and economic growth are closely related historically. The average duration of each is about 17–18 years, they are in one-to-one correspondence, and they bear a similar relationship to ordinary business cycles. The housing model consists of four behavioral equations and five identities. The first two behavioral equations relate to the demand and supply for the total stock of dwelling units in the economy and together determine the level of rent and the number of households or occupied dwelling units. The second pair of behavioral functions is concerned with the construction of new dwelling units. One of them is a builder's production decision equation to determine the number of new private dwelling units started, whereas the other predicts the value of construction per new start. The various identities serve to relate the number and value of new housing starts to the stock of dwelling units and its value in constant dollars.
A psychosocial model of the victim-to-patient process. Implications for treatment.

Drawing on their earlier research into the link between abuse and psychiatric illness, the authors provide a theoretical explanation of the process through which some, but not all, victims become mentally ill. Central to this explanation is the decontextualization of abuse, in which victims attempt to protect themselves by disconnecting the experiences of abuse from the original affects, meanings, memories, and context. Treatment necessarily involves identification of this transformation of abuse and recontextualization of the trauma.
Taking a Knee, Making a Stand: Social Justice, Trump America, and the Politics of Sport

This essay analyzes the role of sport protest under the current United States presidential administration. Protest has long been a feature of sporting rituals; social unrest in this realm is not ne...
An accurate and powerful method for copy number variation detection.

Motivation Integration of multiple genetic sources for copy number variation detection (CNV) is a powerful approach to improve the identification of variants associated with complex traits. Although it has been shown that the widely used change point based methods can increase statistical power to identify variants, it remains challenging to effectively detect CNVs with weak signals due to the noisy nature of genotyping intensity data. We previously developed modSaRa, a normal mean-based model on a screening and ranking algorithm for copy number variation identification which presented desirable sensitivity with high computational efficiency. To boost statistical power for the identification of variants, here we present a novel improvement that integrates the relative allelic intensity with external information from empirical statistics with modeling, which we called modSaRa2. Results Simulation studies illustrated that modSaRa2 markedly improved both sensitivity and specificity over existing methods for analyzing array-based data. The improvement in weak CNV signal detection is the most substantial, while it also simultaneously improves stability when CNV size varies. The application of the new method to a whole genome melanoma dataset identified novel candidate melanoma risk associated deletions on chromosome bands 1p22.2 and duplications on 6p22, 6q25 and 19p13 regions, which may facilitate the understanding of the possible roles of germline copy number variants in the etiology of melanoma. Availability and implementation http://c2s2.yale.edu/software/modSaRa2 or https://github.com/FeifeiXiaoUSC/modSaRa2. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Varieties of the Cruelty-Based Objection to Factory Farming

Timothy Hsiao defends industrial animal agriculture (hereafter, factory farming) from the “strongest version of the cruelty objection” (J Agric Environ Ethics 30(1):37–54, 2017). The cruelty objection, following Rachels (in: Sapontzis S (ed) Food for thought: the debate over eating meat, Prometheus, Amherst, 2004), is that, because it is wrong to cause pain without a morally good reason, and there is no morally good reason for the pain caused in factory farming (e.g., people do not need to eat meat in order to live healthy, flourishing lives), factory farming is morally indefensible.In this paper, I do not directly engage Hsiao’s argument for the moral permissibility of factory farming, which has been done by others (Puryear et al. in J Agric Environ Ethics 30(2):311–323, 2017). Rather, my aim is to assess whether Hsiao’s criticism of one version of the cruelty-based objection is a criticism of all versions of the cruelty-based objection, or objections to factory farming that appeal to the harm or suffering experienced by farm animals. I argue that there are, at least, four distinct kinds of cruelty-based objections to factory farming, distinguishable by their different moral principles or moral observations, and that Hsiao’s criticism of one kind of cruelty-based objection does not generalize to the others.
Buprenorphine implants: a model for expedited development and approval of new drugs.

Regulations for new drug approvals require stringent safety testing and efficacy trial programs. The approval process for generic drugs, however, is significantly streamlined. Bioavailability data can substitute for new rounds of efficacy trials, thereby decreasing both time to approval as well as reducing the costs required for new studies. This regulatory choice has not been available when generic drugs are offered in a controlled release format such as a subcutaneous depot, transdermal patch, or implant. The purpose of this review is to suggest that the approval of generic drugs in inert controlled release envelopes should be eligible for similar regulatory relief. Proof for this concept is provided by the example of the numerous controlled release buprenorphine products. Buprenorphine is a generic opioid used since the 1980s in tablet form to treat pain and to treat opioid addiction. Long-acting, inert delivery vehicles for the drug have become available for the same indications. Safety and bioavailability profiles of the long-acting products are the same or improved over the parent product. A review of the long-acting drugs provides compelling evidence to recommend that generic drug-controlled release products may be eligible for alternative regulatory programs.
IoT-enabled Knowledge Extraction and Edge Device Sustainability in Smart Cities

Internet of Things (IoT) deployments are becoming the backbone of all future Smart City (SC) environments. They can, therefore, act as massive crowd-sourced data aggregators, driven by device-to-device interactions with SC users' mobile devices and their wireless interfaces. Provided that, our research focuses on developing probabilistic and machine learning models to (a) enable knowledge discovery from passive user interactions with the wireless IoT infrastructure and (b) apply the collected intelligence to increase the energy-efficiency and resiliency of the Smart City's IoT network. In this extended abstract we elaborate on the motivation behind our work, and the related challenges, while pointing to the solutions developed so far.
Fokker—Planck Study of Parameter Dependence on Write Error Slope in Spin-Torque Switching

This paper analyzes write errors in spin-torque switching due to thermal fluctuations in a system with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Prior analytical and numerical methods are summarized; a physics-based general 2-D Fokker–Planck equation (FPE) is solved numerically. Due to its computational efficiency and broad applicability to all switching regimes and system symmetries, the 2-D FPE has been used to study the relation between write error slope and material parameters as well as some emerging switching schemes.
Development of the CECER-DLL child and family questionnaire: a new tool for documenting the language and literacy experiences of Latino/a dual language learners

As the number of dual language learners (DLLs) increases globally, it is critical that well-developed questionnaires are available to researchers and educators that capture the characteristics and ...
Dielectric spectroscopy of red blood cells in sickle cell disease.

Hypoxia-induced polymerization of sickle hemoglobin and the related ion diffusion across cell membrane can lead to changes in cell dielectric properties, which can potentially serve as label-free, diagnostic biomarkers for sickle cell disease. This article presents a microfluidic-based approach with on-chip gas control for the impedance spectroscopy of suspended cells within the frequency range of 40 Hz to 110 MHz. A comprehensive bioimpedance of sickle cells under both normoxia and hypoxia is achieved rapidly (within ∼7 min) and is appropriated by small sample volumes (∼2.5 μL). Analysis of the sensing modeling is performed to obtain optimum conditions for dielectric spectroscopy of sickle cell suspensions and for extraction of single cell properties from the measured impedance spectra. The results of sickle cells show that upon hypoxia treatment, cell interior permittivity and conductivity increase, while cell membrane capacitance decreases. Moreover, the relative changes in cell dielectric parameters are found to be dependent on the sickle and fetal hemoglobin levels. In contrast, the changes in normal red blood cells between the hypoxia and normoxia states are unnoticeable. The results of sickle cells may serve as a reference to design dielectrophoresis-based cell sorting and electrodeformation testing devices that require cell dielectric characteristics as input parameters. The demonstrated method for dielectric characterization of single cells from the impedance spectroscopy of cell suspensions can be potentially applied to other cell types and under varied gas conditions.
Michael R. Strain's The American Dream Is Not Dead

It is common to hear that working-class wages have stagnated; that many prime-age workers today are worse off than their parents were; and that the economy is rigged for all but those at the very top. In a new book titled The American Dream Is Not Dead (But Populism Could Kill It), Michael R. Strain provides a much-needed corrective. He shows that living standards have not stagnated in America. To the contrary, most prime-age workers today are better off than their parents were. There are real economic and social problems, which policymakers should address. But the economy is not rigged for all but those at the very top.
COVID-19 Vaccination in Children and University Students

Strategies for the use of COVID-19 vaccines in children and young adults (in particular university students) are hotly debated and important to optimize. As of late August 2021, recommendations on the use of these vaccines in children vary across different countries. Recommendations are more uniform for vaccines in young adults, but vaccination uptake in this age group shows a large range across countries. Mandates for vaccination of university students are a particularly debated topic with many campuses endorsing mandates in the USA in contrast to European countries, at least as of August 2021. The commentary discusses the potential indirect impact of vaccination of youth on the COVID-19 burden of disease for other age groups and societal functioning at large, estimates of direct impact on reducing fatalities and nonlethal COVID-19-related events in youth, estimates of potential lethal and nonlethal adverse events from vaccines and differential considerations that may exist in the USA, European countries and nonhigh-income countries. Decision-making for deploying COVID-19 vaccines in young people is subject to residual uncertainty on the future course of the pandemic and potential evolution towards endemicity. Rational recommendations would also benefit from better understanding of the clinical and sociodemographic features of COVID-19 risk in young populations and from dissecting the role of re-infections and durability of natural vs. vaccine-induced immunity.
Coagulation Profile Changes Due to Thromboprophylaxis and Platelets in Trauma Patients at High-Risk for Venous Thromboembolism

We hypothesize there are coagulation profile changes associated both with initiation of thromboporphylaxis (TPX) and with change in platelet levels in trauma patients at high-risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). A total of 1203 trauma intensive care unit patients were screened with a VTE risk assessment profile. In all, 302 high-risk patients (risk assessment profile score ≥ 10) were consented for weekly thromboelastography. TPX was initiated between initial and follow-up thromboelastography. Seventy-four patients were analyzed. Upon admission, 87 per cent were hypercoagulable, and 81 per cent remained hypercoagulable by Day 7 (P = 0.504). TPX was initiated 3.4 ± 1.4 days after admission; 68 per cent received unfractionated heparin and 32 per cent received low-molecular-weight heparin. The VTE rate was 18 per cent, length of stay 38 (25-37) days, and mortality of 17.6 per cent. In all, 76 per cent had a rapid clotting time at admission versus 39 per cent at Day 7 (P < 0.001); correcting from 7.75 (6.45-8.90) minutes to 10.45 (7.90-15.25) minutes (P < 0.001). At admission, 41 per cent had an elevated maximum clot formation (MCF) and 85 per cent had at Day 7 (P < 0.001); increasing from 61(55-65) mm to 75(69-80) mm (P < 0.001). Platelets positively correlated with MCF at admission (r = 0.308, R(2) = 0.095, P = 0.008) and at Day 7 (r = 0.516, R(2) = 0.266, P < 0.001). Change in platelet levels correlated with change in MCF (r = 0.332, R(2) = 0.110, P = 0.005). In conclusion, hypercoagulability persists despite the use of TPX. Although clotting time normalizes, MCF increases in correlation with platelet levels. As platelet function is a dominant contributor to sustained trauma-evoked hypercoagulability, antiplatelet therapy may be indicated in the management of severely injured trauma patients.
MO-FG-210-03: Intraoperative Ultrasonography-Guided Positioning of Plaque Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Choroidal Melanoma

Ultrasound (US) is one of the most widely used imaging modalities in medical practice. Since US imaging offers real-time imaging capability, it has becomes an excellent option to provide image guidance for brachytherapy (IGBT). (1) The physics and the fundamental principles of US imaging are presented, and the typical steps required to commission an US system for IGBT is provided for illustration. (2) Application of US for prostate HDR brachytherapy, including partial prostate treatments using MR-ultrasound co-registration to enable a focused treatment on the disease within the prostate is also presented. Prostate HDR with US image guidance planning can benefit from real time visualization of the needles, and fusion of the ultrasound images with T2 weighted MR allows the focusing of the treatment to the specific areas of disease within the prostate, so that the entire gland need not be treated. Finally, (3) ultrasound guidance for an eye plaque program is presented. US can be a key component of placement and QA for episcleral plaque brachytherapy for ocular cancer, and the UCLA eye plaque program with US for image guidance is presented to demonstrate the utility of US verification of plaque placement in improving the methods and QA in episcleral plaque brachytherapy. Learning Objectives: 1. To understand the physics of an US system and the necessary aspects of commissioning US for image guided brachytherapy (IGBT). 2. To understand real time planning of prostate HDR using ultrasound, and its application in partial prostate treatments using MR-ultrasound fusion to focus treatment on disease within the prostate. 3. To understand the methods and QA in applying US for localizing the target and the implant during a episcleral plaque brachytherapy procedures.
My Suicide Returns to Me Each Year

My suicide returns to me each year Bearing less and less resemblance. He is fat with rumors. My suicide Is laughable and fat, mumbles Latin into a cramped hole. Over anything that doesn't move He pauses, moves and then reflects, thin as doubt. "Fool," I say. My suicide returns. He doesn't know me. He says he has learned The ingredients. "Idiot," I say. Fat with what he does not eat, He moves beneath his movements, gestures From within. I identify myself By falling through the slot. Without my thinking it is winter, it is winter. All by itself it will be spring.
Equilibrium Versus the Invisible Hand

Twentieth century equilibrium modeling depicts an end state toward which an economy tends, whereas the invisible hand, as Adam Smith depicted it, suggests an economy continually progressing as an increased division of labor is produced by growing markets. Thus, there is an inherent tension between the concepts of an equilibrium outcome versus the invisible hand process. The paper discusses different concepts of equilibrium, and relates entrepreneurship to the invisible hand. The paper concludes that the invisible hand concept provides a more fruitful framework for economic analysis than the twentieth century equilibrium framework.
Implementation of a 2-D Fast Fourier Transform on an FPGA-Based Custom Computing Machine

The two dimensional fast Fourier transform (2-D FFT) is an indispensable operation in many digital signal processing applications but yet is deemed computationally expensive when performed on a conventional general purpose processors. This paper presents the implementation and performance figures for the Fourier transform on a FPGA-based custom computer. The computation of a 2-D FFT requires O(N2log2N) floating point arithmetic operations for an NxN image. By implementing the FFT algorithm on a custom computing machine (CCM) called Splash-2, a computation speed of 180 Mflops and a speed-up of 23 times over a Sparc-10 workstation is achieved.
Chapter 2.1 - Novel CRF family peptides and their receptors: an evolutionary analysis

Abstract: During the last decade, the availability of genomic databases has provided a resource where biological questions can be addressed in an unprecedented manner. Based on searches of homologous sequences, paralogous † genes from individual species or orthologous † genes from different species can be identified. The function of paralogous or orthologous genes can be inferred or predicted based on their degree of similarity to known genes, thereby augmenting our understanding of the gene functions that coevolved during evolution. Recent studies on human genomic sequences have led to the discovery of novel type 2 corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor-selective agonists that are related to CRF by structural and functional characteristics. In addition, analysis of vertebrate genomes showed that the CRF peptide family in mammals includes four distinct genes, CRF, Urocortin 1, Urocortin 3/stresscopin (SCP), and Urocortin 2/stresscopin-related peptide (SRP). Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the origin of each of these peptides predated the separation of tetrapods and teleosts. It is likely that CRF family genes in modern vertebrates evolved from an ancestor gene that gave rise to the CRF/Urocortin 1 and Urocortin 3(SCP)/Urocortin 2(SRP) branches through a gene duplication event. These two ancestor genes then gave rise to additional paralogs through a second round of gene duplication. Each of these four genes is tightly conserved ranging from the > 96% identity found for CRF to the > 55% for Urocortin 3/SCP, thus suggesting that these peptides played essential signaling roles over the 550 million years of vertebrate evolution. The finding of type 2 CRF receptor-selective Urocortin 3/SCP and Urocortin 2/SRP not only provided an opportunity to understand the physiology regulated by these novel ligands but also that of related peptides. The present review focuses on the recent findings of selective CRF receptor ligands, the evolution of signaling molecules associated with the CRF pathway as well as the implications of a complete inventory of CRF family ligands, receptors, and binding proteins in genomes of different organisms. In addition, new findings on CRF receptor subtype-dependent functions derived from studies using Urocortin 3/SCP and Urocortin 2/SRP are discussed. Instead of the traditional analysis of single-gene function in endocrine research, the complete assembly of CRF-associated signaling molecules throughout evolution can provide an integrated view for understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of all CRF family peptides and their receptors, thereby providing new therapeutic approaches for the pathology associated with stress.
Deletion mutants of herpesvirus saimiri define an open reading frame necessary for transformation.

Abstract Analysis of a 5,549-base-pair sequence at the left end of herpesvirus saimiri unique (L-) DNA revealed two open reading frames and genes for five small nuclear U RNAs (herpesvirus saimiri U RNAs). Replication-competent deletion mutants were constructed in order to assess the importance of these genetic features for transformation by this oncogenic herpesvirus. Although not required for replication, one of the open reading frames was found to be required for immortalization of marmoset T lymphocytes into continuously growing cell lines. The protein predicted by this reading frame (STP; saimiri transformation-associated protein) has a highly hydrophobic stretch of 26 amino acids sufficient for a membrane-spanning domain near its carboxy terminus; this domain is immediately preceded by a sequence appropriate for formation of a metal-binding domain (His X2 His X6 Cys X2 Cys, where Xs are other amino acids). One of two poly(A)+ RNAs that could encode STP is bicistronic, while the other has a long 5' untranslated region (approximately 1.5 kilobases). Although some analogies can be drawn between STP and LMP (lymphocyte membrane protein) of Epstein-Barr virus, STP is not related in sequence to LMP.
Glycolysis mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mutants have been isolated in S. cerevisiae with the phenotype of growth on pyruvate but not on glucose, or growth on rich medium with pyruvate but inhibition by glucose. Screening of mutagenized cultures was either without an enrichment step, or after enrichment using the antibiotic netropsin (Young et al. 1976) or inositol starvation ( Henry, Donahue and Culbertson 1975). One class of mutants lacked pyruvate kinase (pyk), another class had all the enzymes of glycolysis, and one mutant lacked phosphoglucose isomerase (pgi, Maitra 1971). Partial reversion of pyruvate kinase mutants on rich medium containing glucose gave double mutants now also lacking hexokinase (hxk ), phosphofructokinase (pfk), or several enzymes of glycolysis (gcr). In diploids the mutations were recessive. pyk, pgi, pfk , and gcr segregated 2:2 from their wild-type alleles. PYK hxk, PYK pfk, and PYK gcr segregants grew on glucose.
Inflation Circa 1983

The hot big bang cosmology provides a reliable accounting of the evolution of the Universe from ti 0.01 s after ‘the bang’ until the present (10–20 Byr after ‘the bang’). This is a truly impressive achievement. There are, however, a handful of very fundamental ‘cosmological facts’ which the model by itself fails to elucidate. They include: the large-scale homogeneity, the isotropy, the small-scale inhomogeneity, the near critical expansion rate, the predominance of matter, the ‘monopole problem’, and the extremely tiny value of the present cosmological term. The inflationary Universe scenario proposed by Guth and recently modified by Linde, and Albrecht and Steinhardt (new inflation) offers the possibility of explaining all but the last of these puzzling facts as the result of an early epoch of exponential expansion driven by a large vacuum energy. Inflation makes the present state of the observable Universe virtually insensitive to the initial state of the Universe. Unfortunately, at present there is no model of new inflation which both resolves the cosmological puzzles and leads to sensible particle physics. A general prescription for the cosmologically-desirable Higgs potential does exist.
CONTINUUM MODEL FOR STABILITY ANALYSIS OF CARBON NANOTUBES UNDER INITIAL BEND

Stability analysis of carbon nanotubes (CNT) under initial bend is conducted using continuum elastic beam models for both single wall nanotube (SWNT) and double wall nanotube (DWNT). A discrete beam model is proposed for simulating the mechanism of kink instability, a local buckling phenomenon, of CNTs. Theoretical analysis of the critical axial load for kink instability is carried out with the elastic beam model. Based on the theoretical analysis, the size effect of CNTs on the critical axial force is studied. By setting the initial bend to be zero, the current model can be used to predict the buckling load of a straight CNT as well.
Review of Yunus Tuncel, Agon in NietzscheMilwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2013, pp. 293. ISBN: 978-0-87462-823-4

Agon in Nietzsche is among the recent trend of works that consider agon a central concept of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy (the other is Christa Davis Acampora’s Contesting Nietzsche1). In this ...
Hydrides of intermetallic compounds: A review of stabilities, stoichiometries and preferred hydrogen sites

Numerous attempts have been made to explain the observed stabilities, stoichiometries and preferred hydrogen atom sites in hydrides of intermetallic compounds. The stabilities of some of these hydrides have been shown to correlate with cell volume or hole size or elastic properties or heat of formation for the intermetallic compound itself. It appears that each of these factors may influence the stability, but none plays the dominant role for all systems. The development of qualitative and quantitative models (based on the concept of imaginary binary hydrides) that have been used to rationalize observed hydrogen atom site occupancies is critically reviewed. The basis of these models is empirical and thus the successes reported for them may possibly be fortuitous. The example of LaNi5H6.5 is used to demonstrate a geometric model that uses only a minimum hole radius (0.40 A) and a minimum H-H distance (2.10 A) in the development of a rationale for the observed stoichiometries in hydrides of intermetallic compounds. This review emphasizes the need for theoretical treatment leading to fundamental understanding of such systems.
EVALUATION OF HPLC SYSTEMS FOR THE SEPARATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF ARSENIC COMPOUNDS FROM APPLE EXTRACTS

Several different high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems were evaluated for the applicability for the determination of trace level arsenic compounds from extracts of freeze-dried apple samples. Various gradients using ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC were explored. Gradient anion-exchange HPLC, as well as a simple isocratic system, were also evaluated in this study. Two extraction procedures were used. Simple sonication by a common laboratory ultrasonic cleaner using a 50/50 (v/v) water/methanol solvent mixture and a two step procedure using initial overnight treatment with α-amylase enzyme followed by sonication with a 60/40 (v/v) acetonitrile/water solvent mixture were evaluated. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometric (ICP-MS) detection was used to measure the arsenic compounds contained within the apple extracts. The three most abundant arsenic compounds found in the extracts were arsenite (As III), arsenate (As V) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA).
AMINE REMOVAL FROM WASTE WATER BY LIGAND EXCHANGE

Abstract Ligand exchange is a process in which a substance is removed from solution by complexing with a metal ion held on an ion exchange resin. This paper presents basic data on separation of ethanolamine and butyl amine from dilute aqueous solution by complexing with copper(II) ion held on a carboxylic acid type resin. Experimental equilibrium curves and ligand exchange breakthrough curves are presented for the two amines. The equilibrium curves are satisfactorily represented by an empirical Langmuir isotherm. The breakthrough curves are successfully modelled by the Thomas mathematical formulation using a mass transfer controlled rate mechanism. The ligand exchange process may be useful commercially for removal of amines from aqueous waste streams.
The lure of molecular computing: While marketable products seem decades away, researchers are crystallizing theories and devices that will give biological organisms the power to compute

The basic principles of molecular computing are described and two approaches are outlined: the biological, which seeks to duplicate the powerful information processing capabilities of biological systems; and the digital, which seeks to create a molecular electronics that would lead to a smaller, faster, less-expensive digital computer with increased memory density. The problem of exploiting geometry-recognition capabilities of enzyme to process nontactile input signals, like photons or electric pulses, is examined. Design approaches and simulation tools are discussed. A brief review is given of progress in the supporting technologies, with a discussion of how they might be used to fabricate a tactilizing processor simpler than a biological cell, yet capable of performing useful pattern processing.
Measuring acceptances in a family planning program: the decomposition of rates by eligibility criteria.

Acceptance rates in family planning programs can be broken into components useful in analyzing programs and in evaluating success. In almost any program some couples can be defined as “ineligible” on the basis of alternative criteria. (Sterilized couples are an obvious example.) Then, the total acceptance rate can be initially separated into two components—the proportion eligible and the acceptance rate among the eligible. If some of those initially defined as ineligible become acceptors, there is a third component—the ratio of all acceptances to acceptances among the eligible only. These various components can be used to analyze the basis for varying acceptance rates between different strata of a population.
Data management of a pneumonia screening algorithm in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

The Veterans Affairs External Peer Review Program (EPRP) reviews patient care episodes in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) across the United States. This review process uses screening algorithms, followed by peer review, to identify deviations in the care provided by the VAMCs. A schematic model of the case selection, data acquisition at each VAMC, data flow between the VAMCs and the West Virginia Medical Institute (WVMI), data processing at WVMI, and the peer review process are given. A model pneumonia clinical practice guideline was generated by an expert panel of physicians external to the VAMCs. This guideline identifies benchmark criteria that reflect the clinical standards for diagnosing and treating hospitalized pneumonia patients. A screening algorithm was then designed, tested, and implemented to identify deviations in the quality of care delivered by VAMCs to hospitalized pneumonia patients.
Isaak Named 2009 Computer Society President-Elect

The IEEE Computer Society recently elected James D. Isaak to serve as president-elect for 2009. In addition, new Board of Governors members and vice presidents also have been selected.
Epidemiology of fungal infections in solid organ transplant patients

: The epidemiology of fungal infection in solid organ transplant patients is of concern due to the high mortality associated with this complication. Rates of fungal infections vary by type of transplant recipient. Most of these infections occur two to six months after transplantation. Liver transplant recipients are more likely to have early fungal infection which is often due to Candida species. Exogenous and endogenous Candida infection may occur in the immunosuppressed patient in the intensive care unit. Patients with chronic rejection are more likely to have late infection (after six months) which may be due to Aspergillus or endemic fungi such as Cryptococcus. Lung and heart–lung transplant recipients are more predisposed to infection with Aspergillus and other filamentous fungi, due to exposure of the transplanted organ to the external environment. Preventative measures such as environmental controls and chemoprophylaxis may be beneficial in high-risk patients. Emerging fungal pathogens such as the dematiaceous fungi may cause skin or soft tissue infection, or more serious systemic infections. Fungal infection should be ruled out in the solid organ transplant patient with early brain abscess. Characteristic risk factors in high-risk types of solid organ transplant recipients should be recognized for early diagnosis and treatment of these infections associated with high morbidity and mortality.