cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Purification and characterization of proteins, including procollagen type III, in salt extracts of fetal bovine skin

Abstract The nature of high-molecular-weight proteins in salt extracts of fetal bovine skin was investigated. A series of DEAE cellulose ion-exchange columns separated the mature collagen from the high molecular weight proteins and also separated the high molecular weight proteins from each other. The following proteins were isolated: (a) a very high molecular weight protein which appears to be aggregated mature collagen; (b) two high molecular weight proteins of slightly faster mobility on SDS polyacrylamide gels, one of which is collagen-like and one of which is not; and (c) a type III procollagen, purer than those previously reported in the literature. These latter three proteins were characterized by amino acid analysis, SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic mobility, collagenase sensitivity, and CNBr peptide patterns from SDS-PAGE.
Combination of Alfuzosin and Sildenafil is Superior to Monotherapy in Treating Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract Objectives This pilot study was undertaken to assess the efficacy and safety of the α 1 -blocker alfuzosin 10mg once daily (OD), the PDE-5 inhibitor sildenafil 25mg OD, and the combination of both on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and erectile dysfunction (ED). Material and methods Men aged 50–76 yr with previously untreated LUTS and ED were randomized to receive alfuzosin ( n =20), sildenafil ( n =21), or the combination of both ( n =21) for 12 wk. Changes from baseline in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), voiding diary, maximum urinary flow rate (Q max ), postvoid residual urine (PVRU) volume, and erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) were assessed at week 12. Results Improvement of IPSS was significant with the three treatments but greatest with the combination (−24.1%) compared with alfuzosin (−15.6%) and sildenafil (−16.9%) alone ( p max were significantly improved with alfuzosin only and the combination. Improvement in IIEF was slight with alfuzosin (16.7%), marked with sildenafil (49.7%), and greatest with the combination (58.6%). Likewise, increases in the frequency of penetration (Q3) and of maintained erection (Q4) were greater with the combination therapy (65.2% and 68.2%, respectively) than with sildenafil (41.7% and 59.1%, respectively) and alfuzosin (27.3% and 33.3%, respectively) alone. All three treatments were well tolerated. Conclusions In this pilot study, the combination of alfuzosin 10mg OD and sildenafil 25mg OD is safe and more effective than monotherapy with either agent to improve both voiding and sexual dysfunction in men with LUTS suggestive of BPH.
A brillouin scattering study of the evolution of the frequency spectrum in acoustoelectric domains in n-GaAs

Abstract Brillouin scattering measurements of the intensity, growth rate, and frequency distribution of the amplified flux in acoustoelectric domains in n-GaAs, provide evidence for parametric down-conversion within the spectrum, which initially grows in accord with small-signal theory.
Economic incentives for clean coal technology deployment

Abstract Clean coal technologies (CCTs) hold great promise for abating acid rain at low or zero incremental cost. They also represent a useful tactic in promoting energy security. Yet adoption of these technologies in the USA has been slow, and circumstances indicate continued inertia. The US government has a major programme to subsidize CCT demonstration projects but has done little to stimulate their adoption. This paper examines several fiscal incentives and finds their costs to be rather modest, especially in the light of the non-market benefits that widespread CCT adoption would reap.
Cones block signals from rods.

Abstract Incremental thresholds were measured against four kinds of background light that had identical effects on rods: blue or red light entering the pupil near its edge or near its center. The match of scotopic luminance for each subject was based on his own absolute rod threshold for the two colors. Data from dark adaptation curves and the Stiles-Crawford effect show that only the rod system could detect the test flash. Yet, the threshold was either 0.3 or 0.5 log units higher against the red background than against the scotopically matched blue background, depending upon whether the red background light entered the pupil near its edge or near its center, respectively. The rods were shown to be indifferent to the loci at which the background light entered the pupil. The incremental threshold rose by more than a log unit when the test flash was presented at the same time as the change of locus at which the red background light entered the pupil. It follows that excitation of cones can prevent detection of a test flash by the rod system.
Agar Analysis, nuclear genome quantification and characterization of four agarophytes ( Gracilaria ) from the Mexican Gulf Coast

DNA reassociation kinetics were used to determine nuclear genome organization and complexity in four species of Gracilaria (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). In Gracilaria tikvahiae, G. caudata, G. cervicornis and G. divaricata, results indicate the presence of three second order components corresponding to fast, intermediate and slow fractions. Repetitive sequences varied from 13–46% and unique DNA ranged from 45–78%, Thermal denaturation (Tm) indicated guanine + cytosine (G + C) levels of 41.9–46.0 mol % G + C. Microspectrophotometry with the DNA-localizing fluorochrome DAPI was used to quantify nuclear DNA content. Comparisons of mean nuclear DNA (If) values to chicken erythrocytes (RBC) resulted in an estimate of 0.37–0.40 pg/2C genomes for the four Gracilaria species. Total agar content following alkaline pretreatment ranged from 7–15% dry weight. Gel strengths were generally below commercial levels, ranging from 40–260 g cm−2 Nuclear genome profiles developed from information for genome size, organization and complexity are compared with data for agar quantity and quality. Gel quality and quantity do not appear to be correlated with either large repetitive fraction DNA or a high degree of genome complexity as previously speculated.
Multiplicity distributions of squeezed isospin states.

Multiplicity distributions of neutral and charged particles arising from squeezed coherent states are investigated. Projections onto global isospin states are considered. We show how a small amount of squeezing can significantly change the multiplicity distributions. The formalism is proposed to describe the phenomenological properties of neutral and charged particles anomalously produced in hadronic and nuclear collisions at very high energies. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Two-dimensional forces and atomic motion in a sub-Doppler limit

A theoretical analysis is given of the interaction of a laser field consisting of two orthogonal, linearly polarised, low-power standing waves, with an ensemble of J=1/2 ground-state atoms. The atoms are assumed to move with velocities below the Doppler limit of laser cooling. The two-dimensional light-induced atomic force is calculated for the specific case when the field polarisation directional differ by π/2. The effective optical-pumping time is shown to increase strongly near the nodes of the laser field, leading to a force that can be much larger than that in the one-climensional case
Nonlinear optical processing: Nonmonotonic halftone cells and phase halftones

The halftone screen process has proven to be a useful, flexible technique for achieving general nonlinear functions in coherent optical systems. The two steps to the process involve making a binary pulse-width modulated copy of the continuous-level input using a halftone screen and spatial filtering of single diffraction orders of the image to produce the nonlinearly transformed output. The halftone screens are usually monotonic nondecreasing functions; thus the fundamental sampling periodicity of the screen is maintained. This paper describes some generalizations of the process using nonmonotonic periodic halftone screens. With this new type of screen, functions with an arbitrary number of slope changes can be obtained in the first diffraction order. A detailed synthesis algorithm for specifying the screen shape is given, along with examples and experimental realization of irradiance notch filter and quantization functions. A technique for making the halftone process more resistant to line blooming is described, and a binary phase system made by bleaching ordinary halftoned input is analyzed.
Risk of Imbalance in Elderly People with Impaired Hearing or Vision

We evaluated the effect of impaired hearing and vision on balance in a sample of 977 elderly people residing in the community. Of the sample, 21% reported balance problems, 27% vision problems, and 30% hearing problems. The increased relative risk for balance problems was 1.7 for each 10-year age increment. Women were 1.7 times more likely to report balance problems than were men. The relative risk of imbalance with impaired vision decreased with age from 2.8 in those aged 65-69 years to 1.0 in those over 85 years. There was no age-hearing interaction, the relative risk for impaired hearing is 1.6. It appears that impaired vision and hearing are important risk factors for imbalance and perhaps falls and injury. Language: en
Contributions of parental attachments to view of self and depressive symptoms among early adolescents.

Three causal models, examining the relationship of parental attachment to view of self and level of depressive symptoms, were examined for a sample of eighth-grade girls (n = 92) and boys (n = 115)...
Translation of Messenger RNA from Rat Epididymis and Identification of Poly(A)RNA Coding for Acidic Epididymal Glycoprotein

Different proteins are secreted by the various regions of rat epididymis. We have examined the messenger RNA dependence of this varied gene expression by cell-free translation of poly(A)RNA extracts from initial segment, caput plus corpus, and cauda. Labeled translation products were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Poly(A)RNA from initial segment coded for several unique bands of labeled protein, including a 23,000 MW protein that may correspond to an initial segment protein reported previously to be regulated by testicular fluid factors. Messenger RNA encoding 20,000 MW protein believed to be alpha-lactalbumin, was most abundant in caput but also present in initial segment. Acidic epididymal glycoprotein (AEG) was identified previously by immunoperoxidase staining in epithelial cells of caput, corpus, and cauda. AEG was not readily identified on electrophoresis of total translated proteins, but when concentrated by immunoprecipitation with purified AEG antibody prior to electrophoresis, AEG appeared in both caput plus corpus, and in cauda poly(A)RNA translations.
A security analysis of the NTP protocol version 2

The network time protocol (NTP) is being used throughout the Internet to provide an accurate time service. The author examines the security requirements of such a service, analyzes version 2 of the NTP protocol to determine how well it meets these requirements, and suggests improvements where appropriate. Five types of security attacks on a time service are possible. An attacker could cause a nontime server to impersonate a time server (masquerade), an attacker could modify some (or all) time messages sent by a time server (modification), an attacker could resend a time server's time messages (replay), an attacker could intercept a time server's time messages and delete them (denial of service), and an attacker could delay the time messages by, for example, deliberately flooding the network, thereby introducing large transmission delays (delay). >
Baroceptor Function in Chronic Renal Hypertension

The results of these experiments indicate that the carotid and aortic baroceptor mechanisms are reset to the hypertensive pressure levels of animals with chronic perinephritic hypertension. Thus, seemingly, the buffer reflexes tend to maintain, rather than prevent, the chronic phase of renal hypertension and are, presumably, an important component in the mechanism of chronic renal hypertension.
Waste Characteristics of the Former S-3 Ponds and Outline of Uranium Chemistry Relevant to NABIR Field Research Center Studies

The Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was awarded the first Naturaland Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program, Field Research Center (FRC) based upon the recommendation of a review panel following a competitive peer-reviewed proposal process. The contaminated FRC site at ORNL is centered on groundwater plumes that originate from the former S-3 Waste Disposal Ponds located at the Y-12 Plant and the Y-12 Bone Yard/Bum Yard. Proposals for individual science research projects at the FRC were submitted in the spring of 2000 in response to a solicitation issued by the Department of Energy (DOE). Proposals selected for funding began work in Fiscal Year 2001 (October 1, 2000). The FRC staff have initiated several characterization efforts intended to support, inform, and educate individual FRC investigators, NABIR principal investigators (PIs), and the broader community of the specific conditions, opportunities, and challenges of this site. These efforts include both physical site characterization as well as numerical simulation (modeling) studies. Geochemical modeling has been conducted with the goal of: (1) providing a baseline understanding of the geochemical behavior of uranium (U); (2) examining the interaction of geochemistry and uranium transport in the subsurface; (3) elucidating some potential pitfalls for researchers with respect to manipulating subsurface environments for the purpose of demonstrating bacterially induced U immobilization. The geochemical modeling effort focused on using existing data and resources and did not involve the collection of new data or samples from the field site. Specifically, the following three tasks have been performed to date. (1) Searching for information on the wastes disposed in to the S-3 ponds. These data are typically found in internal technical reports at the labs and are rarely published in the peer-reviewed literature; thus, this information can be very difficult for the scientific community to access. Therefore, these searches may provide a nontrivial resource to investigators. To that end, some analytical data have already been located and the search for more data will continue. (2) Critical evaluation of thermodynamic data that are needed in the modeling calculations. (3) Generating model simulations to illustrate important aspects of U geochemistry and transport behavior in idealized solutions. This report summarizes the results of the geochemical modeling efforts.
Serum Cytokine Profiles Associated with Specific Adjuvants Used in a DNA Prime-Protein Boost Vaccination Strategy

In recent years, heterologous prime-boost vaccines have been demonstrated to be an effective strategy for generating protective immunity, consisting of both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses against a variety of pathogens including HIV-1. Previous reports of preclinical and clinical studies have shown the enhanced immunogenicity of viral vector or DNA vaccination followed by heterologous protein boost, compared to using either prime or boost components alone. With such approaches, the selection of an adjuvant for inclusion in the protein boost component is expected to impact the immunogenicity and safety of a vaccine. In this study, we examined in a mouse model the serum cytokine and chemokine profiles for several candidate adjuvants: QS-21, Al(OH)3, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) and ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvant, in the context of a previously tested pentavalent HIV-1 Env DNA prime-protein boost formulation, DP6-001. Our data revealed that the candidate adjuvants in the context of the DP6-001 formulation are characterized by unique serum cytokine and chemokine profiles. Such information will provide valuable guidance in the selection of an adjuvant for future AIDS vaccine development, with the ultimate goal of enhancing immunogenicity while minimizing reactogenicity associated with the use of an adjuvant. More significantly, results reported here will add to the knowledge on how to include an adjuvant in the context of a heterologous prime-protein boost vaccination strategy in general.
Activation of the immune system incurs energetic costs but has no effect on the thermogenic performance of house sparrows during acute cold challenge

Trade-offs between the immune system and other condition-dependent life-history traits (reproduction, predator avoidance and somatic growth) have been well documented in both birds and mammals. However, no studies have examined the impact of immune activation on thermoregulatory performance during acute cold exposure. Because of their high surface-area-to-volume ratios, small birds incur high energetic costs associated with thermoregulation during cold exposure. Consequently, we predicted that the immune system and the thermoregulatory system would compete for energetic resources. To test this, we immunologically challenged adult house sparrows (Passer domesticus) with 5 mg kg(-1) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce an acute phase response and measured both resting (RMR; minimum metabolic rate) and summit ( ; maximal metabolic rate during cold exposure) metabolic rates. We found that birds injected with LPS had significantly higher RMR and than birds injected with phosphate-buffered saline, indicating that LPS-treated birds were able to support the cost of both immune activation and thermoregulation under conditions eliciting maximal thermogenic performance. These results suggest that, in the absence of a pathogen, birds that experience short-term activation of the immune system have higher energetic costs during cold exposure, but immune activation does not compromise maximum thermoregulatory performance.
Huntington's Quadrilateral—A Critical Study

Over one hundred years have passed since the conception in 1865 of what became known as the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. This statement of Episcopalian, ecumenical principles was conceived by William R. Huntington (1838–1909), acknowledged leader of the denomination's House of Deputies, liturgical scholar, and “first presbyter” of his generation. 1 Huntington was inspired by the national disunity of the Civil War years and by the reunion of the states in 1865 to seek some means of uniting the country's churches. At the same time he recognized that the Episcopal church stood in need reform if it were to serve in any way whatever as an agent of reconciliation. The result was the famous Quadrilateral. Its author designed his proposal both as a statement of “the true Anglican position” and as a basis for church unity, soon to be expressed, it was hoped, in a comprehensive, national church for America.
Survival of Sprouting Shrubs Following Summer Fire: Effects of Morphological and Spatial Characteristics

Efficacy of fire in reducing shrub density is low in plant communities where most woody plants resprout from stem bases and crowns following fire. Our objective was to determine the relationship of shrub mortality and recovery from summer fire to prefire shrub structural characteristics. A randomized, complete block design with two treatments (burned and control) and three blocks was used in the experiment. Within each block and treatment combination, we randomly selected 40 individuals each of brasil (Condalia hookeri M. C. Johnst.), huisache (Acacia farnesiana [L.] Willd.), and spiny hackberry (Celtis ehrenbergiana [Klotzsch] Liebm.). We estimated height, canopy diameter, number of stems, stem diameter, and distance to the nearest shrubs before ignition of fires. Fires were ignited during July and August 2001. Survival, sprout number, height, and total plant height were estimated 47–52 wk postburn. Mortality of brasil was 26 times greater on burned sites than on control sites, but mortality of huisache and spiny hackberry was negligible. Mortality of brasil varied from 0% to 68% among blocks. Postburn height and number of sprouts increased with preburn shrub height and number of stems, indicating that longer intervals of time between fires that allow shrub growth facilitate more rapid postfire recovery. Factors other than the preburn shrub structural characteristics we measured appear to influence postfire shrub survival most strongly, although these characteristics are useful in predicting postfire sprout production and shrub height.
Dynamics of Postural Control in the Child with Down Syndrome

We examined the development of neural control processes underlying stance balance in both developmentally normal children and children with Down syndrome to test the hypothesis that motor deficiencies in children with Down syndrome are associated with deficits within the automatic postural control system. We compared children with Down syndrome and developmentally normal children in two age groups (1-3 and 4-6 years) by using displacements of a platform and measuring electromyograms from leg muscles. The automatic muscle response pattern in both normal children and children with Down syndrome were directionally specific, although the pattern were more variable than in adults. Responses in children with Down syndrome showed no adaptive attenuation to changing task conditions. Onset latencies of responses in children with Down syndrome were significantly slower than in normal children. Presence of the monosynaptic reflex during platform perturbations at normal latencies suggests that balance problems in children with Down syndrome do not result from hypotonia, which researchers have defined as decreased segmental motoneuron pool excitability and pathology of stretch reflex mechanisms, but rather result from defects within higher level postural mechanisms.
Allergic Contact Dermatitis to Synthetic Rubber Gloves: Changing Trends in Patch Test Reactions to Accelerators

Background Rubber gloves are one of the most frequent causes of occupational allergic contact dermatitis, especially in health care workers. Observations We describe 23 patients with allergic contact dermatitis due to rubber accelerators in rubber gloves, some with disseminated dermatitis, treated during a 2-year period. Three had IgE-mediated latex allergies. Sixteen were health care workers from a single institution whose dermatitis was temporally related to the switch to latex-safe gloves. Each had positive patch test reactions to 1 or more rubber accelerators, including carbamates, thiurams, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, and 1,3-diphenylguanidine. Chemical analysis of 6 glove samples identified 2-mercaptobenzothiazole in 4 and zinc diethyldithiocarbamate in 1. There were discordances between patch test results for glove chemicals and glove swatches and between available information on chemicals used during glove production and chemicals detected during glove analysis. Although these factors may complicate the search for culprit and alternative gloves, dermatitis cleared in each of 9 patients with follow-up data and for whom alternative gloves were provided based on published information of glove composition. Conclusions Allergic contact dermatitis due to synthetic rubber gloves occurs even with the use of latex-safe products. More knowledge about chemicals present in these gloves, to which the skin is exposed during use, is necessary to prevent and treat allergic contact dermatitis.
Fermentation Characteristics of Heterolactic Acid Bacteria in Green Bean Juice

Green bean juice was fermented with 10 species (14 strains) of heterofermentative and two homofermentative lactic acid bacteria to select organisms which might be used to carry out a complete fermentation. Lactobacillus cellobiosus was the only organism to remove all fermentable sugars from bean juice with or without 2.5% NaCI. Nine other cultures used from 75–95% of the sugars. Lactobacillus cellobiosus also produced the lowest final pH among the 14 strains. A complete analysis of the major fermentation substrates and products was done for each of the organisms. Fermentation balance calculations showed a range from 74–132% carbon recovery. These bacteria showed considerable variation in the ability to degrade malic acid and to form mannitol and acetic acid.
The Last Instance: Are Institutions the Primary Cause of Economic Development?

“That institutions affect the performance of economies is hardly controversial. That the differential performance of economies over time is fundamentally influenced by the way institutions evolve is also not controversial.” (North 1990, p. 3)
Demo: I am a smartphone and i can tell my user's walking direction

This paper describes WalkCompass, a system that exploits smartphone sensors to estimate the direction in which a user is walking. We find that several smartphone localization systems in the recent past, including our own, make a simplifying assumption that the user's walking direction is known. In trying to relax this assumption, we were not able to find a generic solution from past work. While intuition suggests that the walking direction should be detectable through the accelerometer, in reality this direction gets blended into various other motion patterns during the act of walking, including up and down bounce, side-to-side sway, swing of arms or legs, etc. Moreover, the walking direction is in the phone's local coordinate system (e.g., along Y axis), and translation to global directions, such as 45 degree North, can be challenging when the compass is itself erroneous. WalkCompass copes with these challenges and develops a stable technique to estimate the user's walking direction within a few steps. Results drawn from 15 different environments demonstrate median error of less than 8 degrees, across 6 different users, 3 surfaces, and 3 holding positions. While there is room for improvement, we believe our current system can be immediately useful to various applications centered around localization and human activity recognition.
How infants grasp two adjacent objects: effects of perceived display composition on infants' actions

In this research, 12.5- and 9.5-month-old infants’ use of information about the composition of a display to guide their actions on the display was examined. The display was composed of two pieces that were either glued together (the oneobject display) or not (the two-object display). At the beginning of the session, the composition of the display was revealed to the infant and then the display was placed on the table within the infant’s reach. When resting on the table, these two versions of the display were indistinguishable. The results showed that the 12.5-month-old infants reached with one hand after they had experience with the display as a single object, and with two hands if they had experience with the display as two separate objects. The 12.5-month-old infants also placed their grasps differently depending upon the experienced composition: infants who experienced a single object tended to distribute their reaches evenly along the display, whereas infants who experienced two separate objects placed their reaches toward the outer ends of the display, avoiding the boundary between the two pieces. In contrast, the 9.5-month-old infants reached with one hand for both the one-object and the two-object displays, and their reaches did not show a difference in the distribution pattern that could be traced back to the infants’ prior experience with the composition of the display they were grasping.
Digital Image Compression Based on Visual Perception and Scene Properties

Digital compression techniques have made impressive progress in recent years. Frequently, a reader of a paper on compression is left with the impression that one is getting something for nothing; however, compression can only be achieved by leaving out unnecessary information about the image. A compression ratio of 20:1 simply means that 95% of the information in the original image has been eliminated. There are only two types of information that can be removed without seeing degradation in image quality: information that can be accurately predicted or information that the human visual system cannot see. This article will discuss present compression techniques in terms of these two factors and show how even further compression can be obtained by developing a complete understanding of scene properties and those of visual perception. From an analysis based on present knowledge of visual perception and scene statistics, compression ratios in excess of 50:1 should be achievable without perceptible degradation.
TAK1 regulates SOX9 expression in chondrocytes and is essential for postnatal development of the growth plate and articular cartilages

TAK1 is a MAP3K that mediates non-canonical TGF-β and BMP signaling. During the embryonic period, TAK1 is essential for cartilage and joint development as deletion of Tak1 in chondro-osteo progenitor cells leads to severe chondrodysplasia with defects in both chondrocyte proliferation and maturation. We have investigated the role of TAK1 in committed chondrocytes during early postnatal development. Using the Col2a1-CreER(T2); Tak1(f/f) mouse model, we induced deletion of Tak1 at postnatal day 7 and characterized the skeletal phenotypes of these mice at 1 and 3 months of age. Mice with chondrocyte-specific Tak1 deletion exhibited severe growth retardation and reduced proteoglycan and type II collagen content in the extracellular matrix of the articular cartilage. We found reduced Col2a1 and Acan expression, but increased Mmp13 and Adamts5 expression, in Tak1-deficient chondrocytes along with reduced expression of the SOX trio of transcription factors, SOX9, SOX5 and SOX6. In vitro, BMP2 stimulated Sox9 gene expression and Sox9 promoter activity. These effects were reduced; however, following Tak1 deletion or treatment with a TAK1 kinase inhibitor. TAK1 affects both canonical and non-canonical BMP signal transduction and we found that both of these pathways contribute to BMP2-mediated Sox9 promoter activation. Additionally, we found that ATF2 directly binds the Sox9 promoter in response to BMP signaling and that this effect is dependent upon TAK1 kinase activity. These novel findings establish that TAK1 contributes to BMP2-mediated Sox9 gene expression and is essential for the postnatal development of normal growth plate and articular cartilages.
INDUSTRY MOMENTUM IN AN EARLIER TIME: EVIDENCE FROM THE COWLES DATA

Virtually all evidence on the efficacy of momentum strategies arises from the post-1962 era, and momentum returns across different markets and asset classes are highly positively correlated. We examine industry momentum in an earlier time, and find these strategies would have earned returns over the 1871-1925 and 1871-1938 periods that are moderately similar to those in the modern era. We also show that the market state dependence of industry momentum strategies is similar between the two eras. Overall, our findings confirm that both the profitability and statedependence of momentum strategies are pervasive and unlikely to be due solely to data-mining.
School Violence Gangs and a Culture of Fear

Recent media coverage of isolated acts of violence committed by students on school property has increased concern about school violence. Reports documenting higher levels of school violence in the face of a general decline in crime rates, together with several high-profile cases, have resulted in a reactive preventive security response. Congress has passed several initiatives aimed at reducing levels of school violence. Gangs and gang activity within our nation's schools are often linked to increased levels of school violence, but little explanation has been offered for this increase. Greater security measures have been taken by school administrations in response to the problem, and, while these may reduce levels of school violence in some communities, they can also help to perpetuate a culture of fear that has been created by intense media coverage of such violence. The presence of security officers, metal detectors, and security cameras may deter some students from committing acts of violence, but this ...
Why we need gigabit networks

Gigabit networks are but one element of technological revolution, albeit a particularly important one as they will provide the glue that allows the other pieces to interact. The applications of gigabit networks that will have the widest impact will be those that rely on visual information in one form or another, in part because such applications require the higher bandwidths that gigabit networks can provide and in part because they will make the new technology useful to a much wider population of users. There are many applications of such networks that can readily be envisioned, but this technology will certainly enable many applications that cannot yet be foreseen. >
Energy-Efficient Subthreshold Processor Design

Subthreshold circuits have drawn a strong interest in recent ultralow power research. In this paper, we present a highly efficient subthreshold microprocessor targeting sensor application. It is optimized across different design stages including ISA definition, microarchitecture evaluation and circuit and implementation optimization. Our investigation concludes that microarchitectural decisions in the subthreshold regime differ significantly from that in conventional superthreshold mode. We propose a new general-purpose sensor processor architecture, which we call the Subliminal Processor. On the circuit side, subthreshold operation is known to exhibit an optimal energy point (Knin)- However, propagation delay also becomes more sensitive to process variation and can reduce the energy scaling gain. We conduct thorough analysis on how supply voltage and operating frequency impact energy efficiency in a statistical context. With careful library cell selection and robust static RAM design, the Subliminal Processor operates correctly down to 200 mV in a 0.13-mum technology, which is sufficiently low to operate at Vmin . Silicon measurements of the Subliminal Processor show a maximum energy efficiency of 2.6 pJ/instruction at 360 mV supply voltage and 833 kHz operating frequency. Finally, we examine the variation in frequency and Vmin across die to verify our analysis of adaptive tuning of the clock frequency and Vmin for optimal energy efficiency.
Local Drug Delivery via a Coronary Stent With Programmable Release Pharmacokinetics

Background— Fixed drug release kinetics and vessel wall partitioning may limit the effectiveness of drug-eluting stents. We report preliminary experience using a new coronary stent with programmable pharmacokinetics. Methods and Results— A newly designed metallic stent contains honeycombed strut elements with inlaid stacked layers of drug and polymer. In vitro studies evaluated recipes for loading paclitaxel to establish the parameters for controlling drug release. Manipulation of the layers of biodegradable polymer and drug allowed varying of the initial 24-hour burst release of paclitaxel from 69% to 8.6% (P<0.0001). Late release of drug could be adjusted dependently or independently of early burst release. A biphasic release profile was created by the addition of blank layers of polymer within the stack. In the 30-day porcine coronary model (n=17 pigs), there was a 70% reduction in late loss (0.3±0.5 versus 1.0±0.5 mm, P=0.04), a 28% increase in luminal volume (132±12 versus 103±21 mm3, P=0.02), and a ...
Lake metabolism: Relationships with dissolved organic carbon and phosphorus

Recent literature has suggested that for many lakes and rivers, the respiratory breakdown of organic matter (R) exceeds production of organic matter by photosynthesis (gross primary production [GPP]) within the water body. This metabolic balance (GPP , R; ‘‘heterotrophy’’) implies that allochthonous organic matter supports a portion of the aquatic ecosystem’s respiration. Evidence that many lakes are heterotrophic comes from diverse approaches, and debate remains over the circumstances in which heterotrophy exists. The methods used to estimate GPP and R and the limited extent of lake types studied, especially with respect to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, are two reasons for differing conclusions. We deployed O2 and CO2 sondes to measure diel gas dynamics in the surface waters of 25 lakes. From these data, we calculated GPP, R, and net ecosystem production (NEP 5 GPP 2 R). Over the broad range in TP and DOC among the lakes, diel CO2 and O2 changed on a near 1 : 1 molar ratio. Metabolism estimates from the two gases were comparable, except at high pH. Most lakes in our data set had negative NEP, but GPP and R appeared to be controlled by different factors. TP correlated strongly with GPP, whereas DOC correlated with R. At low DOC concentrations, GPP and R were nearly equal, but, at higher DOC, GPP and R uncoupled and lakes had negative NEP. Strong correlations between lake metabolism and landscape related variables suggest that allochthonous carbon influences lake metabolism.
Sources and levels of progesterone during pregnancy in the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans.

Although it is commonly assumed that corpora lutea (CL) in live-bearing reptiles function as endocrine glands during pregnancy, it remains to be shown that CL of snakes or other live-bearing reptiles contain and secrete progesterone at this time. To test the latter possibilities, progesterone concentrations in CL of 66 viviparous garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans) were measured throughout pregnancy using gas phase chromatography and electron capture detection. In addition, 101 viviparous garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans) were bled throughout pregnancy or before and after luteectomy, sham luteectomy, ovariectomy, placentectomy, or adrenalectomy; and plasma progesterone levels were quantitated by radioimmunoassay. Concentrations of progesterone in the CL and plasma were correlated with luteal histology. Average concentrations of 1.1–2.0 ng of progesterone/mg of CL and 1.8–2.8 ng/ml of plasma were recorded during the first trimester of pregnancy, at which time the thecal layers were prominent and the luteal tissue was invaded by blood vessels. Lutein cell nuclei were characteristically round or oval and their cytoplasm vesicular. Progesterone concentrations were highest during the second trimester of pregnancy in the CL (2.6 ng/mg) and plasma (6.2 ng/ml), at which time the thecal layers began compaction. The luteal tissue was conspicuously vascular, lutein cell cytoplasm vesicular, and nuclei of lutein cells were irregular in shape. Progesterone concentrations in the CL fell during the third trimester of pregnancy and were nondetectable 1 wk postpartum. During this time the plasma progesterone levels declined steadily to a mean of 1.0 ng/ml at parturition, and remained low (approx 1.2 ng/ml) for 2 wk postpartum. Nuclei of lutein cells appeared darker and pronounced vacuolation of lutein cell cytoplasm was often observed during this time. Following luteectomy, plasma progesterone levels were approximately equal to those of nonpregnant snakes (1.1 ng/ml) but fell to nondetectable levels following ovariectomy. Progesterone levels were nondetectable after adrenalectomy, but ovariectomy of nonpregnant females produced only a modest decline. Placentectomy or sham surgical treatments did not significantly alter plasma progesterone levels. We conclude that CL are the major source of plasma progesterone during pregnancy, but that nonluteal portions of the ovary also contribute small quantities of progesterone at this time.
Subcellular and cell-cycle expression profiles of CDK-inhibitors in normal differentiating myeloid cells.

A central question in hematopoiesis is how cell-cycling behavior changes during the emergence of the differentiated state. To further understand what genetic regulators might couple proliferation status to differentiation, we studied the expression of the cell-cycle inhibitors p21 and p27 during the in vitro differentiation of normal CD34 + blast cells along the myeloid lineage. We find p27 but not p21 to be expressed in freshly harvested resting CD34 + cells. Thereafter, p21 levels peak concurrent with cellular proliferation and then decline in expression as cells undergo terminal differentiation. In contrast, p27 levels are fairly constant but the subcellular localization of p27 changes from nuclear expression to predominantly cytoplasmic expression and finally to perinuclear localization at progressive stages of differentiation. This report discusses the implications of these findings.
New syndrome in three affected siblings.

A previously undescribed syndrome is reported. Major features include: (1) poorly mineralized calvarium, (2) dysmorphic facies (cleft lip and palate, micrognathia, upturned nares, apparent ocular hypertelorism), and (3) extracranial musculoskeletal anomalies (absence of cervical vertebrae and clavicles, talipes equinovarus, and soft tissue syndactyly). Autosomal recessive inheritance is the most likely mode of transmission. Prenatal diagnosis via ultrasonography was successful in two fetuses at risk.
Optimizing 18F-FDG Uptake Time Before Imaging Improves the Accuracy of PET/CT in Liver Lesions.

18F-FDG PET/CT has emerged as one of the fastest-growing imaging modalities. A shorter protocol results in a lower target-to-background ratio, which can increase the challenge of identifying mildly 18F-FDG–avid lesions and differentiating inflammatory or physiologic activity from malignant activity. The purpose of this study was to determine the delay between radiotracer injection and imaging that optimizes target-to-background ratio while maintaining counts high enough to ensure scan sensitivity. Methods: The study included 140 patients (66 male and 74 female; age range, 42–95 y) with suspected hepatic lesions as seen on an 18F-FDG PET scan. SUV was determined as region-of-interest activity/(dose/total body weight). Results: The mean injected dose was 610 ± 66.6 MBq (16.5 ±1.8 mCi), with a mean glucose level of 107 ± 26.6 mg/dL (standardized to 90 mg/dL). The uptake time before imaging ranged from 61 to 158 min, with a mean of 108.8 ± 24.8 min. The P values for the correlation of SUV to time were 0.004, 0.003, and 0.0001 for malignant lesions, benign lesions, and background hepatic tissue, respectively. Conclusion: An approximately 90-min time window from 18F-FDG injection to PET imaging would significantly improve target-to-background ratio and, thus, quantitation and visual interpretation. This benefit outweighs the minimal loss in patient throughput.
High-performance 6-Axis MEMS inertial sensor based on Through-Silicon Via technology

In this paper, we present the first Fairchild 6-Axis MEMS inertial sensor, FIS-1100, which combines a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer in a single MEMS die. The MEMS device utilizes an industry first Through-Silicon Via (TSV) technology, with a thick single-crystal Silicon device layer bonded between a TSV layer and a cap layer under vacuum. Due to the 60µm thick device layer and high aspect ratio device etch, FIS-1100 achieves significantly higher sense signals and lower noise, better shock and stiction resistance.
The effect of dietary sodium and potassium upon blood pressure and catecholamine excretion in the rat.

SummaryMale Sprague-Dawley derived rats fed a moderately high sodium diet became hypertensive by the 6th dietary month. After the 12th dietary month, the urinary excretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine was moderately increased in this group. The inclusion of a small dietary supplement of potassium in the diet had an ameliorating effect upon the development of hypertension and resulted in lower excretion rate for catecholamines.
Clinical Therapeutic Efficacy of Montelukast on Cough Variant Asthma

Objective To evaluate the clinical therapeutic effect of montelukast on cough variant asthma.Methods After diagnostic therapy,86 children with cough variant asthma were randomly divided into therapy group (treated with oral montelukast,n=46) and control group (treated with inhaled fluticasone,n=40).Cough relaxation was observed during 6 months treatment.All patients were followed up 6 months after therapy to observe the relapse,evaluate the treatment efficiency,and count the days that patients had symptoms before treatment.The relapse rate after 6 months treatment was followed up.Results There were 40 effective patients and 6 ineffective patients (4 patients’ cough relaxation was observed after inhaling fluticasone) in therapy group,with the effective rate of 86.9%.There were 35 effective patients and 5 ineffective patients (cough relaxation was observed after receiving oral montelukast) in control group,with the effective rate of 87.5%.All patients were followed up 6 months after therapy.There were 4 patients of therapy group and 4 patients of control group recurred.No statistically significant difference was found in effective rate and relapse rate between the two groups (P0.05).The days that patients had symptoms before treatment in effective patients were significantly less than those in ineffective patients (P0.05).Conclusions The therapeutic effects of the two groups are similar,but it is more convenient to use montelukast.The therapeutic efficacy is correlated with the duration of the disease.Some patients need combined drugs,perhaps not only related with leukotriene,but also with many factors.
Bio-inspired Computation Approach for Tumor Growth with Spatial Randomness Analysis of Kidney Cancer Xenograft Pathology Slides

In this paper, we analyze digitized images of Hematoxylin-Eosin (H&E) slides equipped with tumorous tissues from patient derived xenograft models to build our bio-inspired computation method, namely Personalized Relevance Parameterization of Spatial Randomness (PReP-SR). Applying spatial pattern analysis techniques of quadrat counts, kernel estimation and nearest neighbor functions to the images of the H&E samples, slide-specific features are extracted to examine the hypothesis that existence of dependency of nuclei positions possesses information of individual tumor characteristics. These features are then used as inputs to PReP-SR to compute tumor growth parameters for exponential-linear model. Differential evolution algorithms are developed for tumor growth parameter computations, where a candidate vector in a population consists of size selection indices for spatial evaluation and weight coefficients for spatial features and their correlations. Using leave-one-out-cross-validation method, we showed that, for a set of H&E slides from kidney cancer patient derived xenograft models, PReP-SR generates personalized model parameters with an average error rate of 13.58%. The promising results indicate that bio-inspired computation techniques may be useful to construct mathematical models with patient specific growth parameters in clinical systems.