cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
L-alpha-acetylmethadol-induced tissue alterations in mice.

ABSTRACTSingle oral dosages of the synthetic narcotic analgesic, L-Ot-acetylmethadol (LAAM) increased serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) levels throughout a two-day observation period and produced a persistent depletion of hepatic and renal glutathione (GSH) levels. These LAAM-induced changes demonstrated dose-and time-dependence within that dosage range producing mortality. Histological evaluation of livers from LAAM-treated mice revealed cytoplasmic and nuclear changes in centrilobular hepatocytes. Interestingly, neither the LAAM-induced histopathological changes nor the depression of hepatic GSH were altered by the induction of hepatic metabolism following pretreatment with either pheno-barbital or 3-methylcholanthrene; however, the induction of hepatic drug metabolism did abate the four-day mortality and SGPT elevations.
A Framework for Optimizing the Use of Systems Engineering on Proposals

Abstract Organizations that execute contracts must capture them to survive. Systems engineering often leads the technical activities in the proposal process. Therefore, it is important that systems engineering be applied effectively on proposals. This paper introduces a framework for developing models to find an optimal use of systems engineering on proposals. Optimization models developed using the framework can maximize an objective function of interest such as the probability of contract award on a proposal by leveraging data from previous proposal efforts. These optimization models provide recommendations as to how much budget to invest in systems engineering on proposals and how to allocate that budget across various systems engineering activities and to contributors with various skill levels. This paper describes the framework and provides guidance for how to develop an optimization model using the framework that is customized for a particular proposal effort of interest. The validation of the framework is also described.
Differences in circulating gluconeogenic substrates during short-term fasting in men, women, and children

Abstract To determine whether the differences in fasting glucose responses of men, women and children could be related to differences in glucoregulatory hormone secretion or availability of circulating gluconeogenic substrates, 20 adults (10 men and 10 women) were fasted for 86 hr and 15 children (6.1 ± 0.8 yr, mean ± SE) were fasted for 30 hr. Circulating concentrations of glucose, ketone bodies, potential gluconeogenic substrates and glucoregulatory hormones were determined at frequent intervals. In the postprandial state (1–14 hr fasting), substrate and hormone concentrations were similar in all groups with the exception of plasma glutamine concentrations which were higher in men (640 ± 20 μM) than in women or children (490 ± 20 μM and 480 ± 50 μM, respectively, p p p r > 0.92). Although plasma cortisol concentrations were higher in women and children when compared to those of the men, no differences in growth hormone, glucagon, or insulin concentrations were observed among the three groups studied. Differences in plasma substrate responses to fasting among the groups studied may reflect differences in glucose requirements among men, women and children, as well as the relative availability of both gluconeogenic substrate and ketone bodies.
Hydrogen peroxide formation in cultured rose cells in response to UV-C radiation.

Suspension-cultured rose (Rosa damascena Mill. cv. Gloire de Guilan) cells irradiated with UV-C (254 nm. 558 J m−2) showed a transient production of H2O2 as measured by chemiluminescence of luminol in the presence of peroxidase (EC 1.1 1.1.7). The peak concentration of H2O2, which occurred at about 60–90 min after irradiation, was 8–9 μM. The time course for the appearance of H2O2 matched that for UV–induced K+ efflux. Treatments that inhibited the UV-induced efflux of K+, including heat and overnight incubation with cycloheximide and diethylmaleate, also inhibited the appearance of H2O2. The converse was not always true, since catalase (EC 1.11.1.6. and salicylhydroxamic acid, which inhibited luminescence, did not stop K+ efflux. We conclude that H2O2 synthesis depends on K+ efflux. Because H2.O2 in the extracellular space is required for lignin synthesis in many plant tissues, we suggest that the UV–stimulated production of H2O2 is an integral part of a defensive lignin synthesis.
Shortcomings of an Objective Analysis Scheme

Abstract A currently used objective analysis scheme was tested by comparing a known function to an objective analysis of its values at the locations of radiosonde observing stations. A surface spherical harmonic of wavenumber 2 produced little spectral distortion, and 87% of the input amplitude squared appeared in wavenumber 2 in the objectively analyzed field. In contrast, only 13% of the input amplitude squared for a function of wavenumber 12 survived the analysis to appear in wavenumber 12. These results raise the possibility that spectral analyses of the kinetic energy in the atmospheric wind field may more properly be described by a less steep drop-off rate, for example, −2 rather than the −3 power law value measured from spectra derived from objectively analyzed date.
Why we will miss Ye, Teddy

In this commentary, written by senior commentator and presidential advisor Michael Sommer, who served all three Kennedy brothers, the author argues that the dying Senator Ted Kennedy has always truly fought for all Americans, has opponents but no enemies, that the world knows it, and that his liberalism is “the best American political philosophy” that America has. The author maintains that the Senator “represents the best that is in Americans, what America really stands for,” and that the world recognizes that, too. The author believes that President-elect Obama will once again vigorously show the world the same Kennedy-like enabling vision, hope, great leadership and true American spirit, that the world has tragically missed from America for the past eight years. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Contingency Management to Reduce Substance Use in Individuals Who are Homeless with Co-Occurring Psychiatric Disorders

Homeless shelters provide a unique opportunity to intervene with occupants who have substance abuse problems, as not addressing these issues may lead to continuation of problems playing a contributing role in homelessness. Attempts to implement Contingency Management (CM) with this population have often been complex, costly, and not straightforward to replicate in community settings. We conducted a randomized trial evaluating a simple, low-cost 4-week CM program for 30 individuals seeking shelter in a community-based homeless shelter who had both current substance and psychiatric disorders. Behavioral assessments were performed at baseline, weekly, and termination of the study. Overall retention in the trial was high; participants assigned to CM reduced their cocaine and alcohol use more than those in assessment-only. This pilot trial suggests that application of low-cost CM procedures is feasible within this novel setting and may decrease substance use.
Nonlinear subpicosecond electron-bunch compressor

Abstract The minimum bunch length achievable using a magnetic bunch compression system is related to the nonlinear dispersion of the compressor and the nonlinear energy-phase correlation of the bunch's longitudinal phase space. For electron bunches with medium or high charge (on the order of 1 nC, or higher), the longitudinal wakefields in the accelerating structure cause a large nonlinearity in the initial energy-phase correlation. Specific nonlinearities in the dispersion of the bunch compressor must then be introduced in order to maximally compress the bunch length, which is done by a chicane-style compressor by increasing the bend angle. This nonlinear dispersion actually decreases the rms longitudinal-beam emittance, by compensating for the nonlinearities in the beam's energy-phase correlation. In this paper, we report on the compression theory, design, and operation of such a compressor. For this compressor, introducing nonlinear dispersion reduced the minimum compressed bunch length by about a factor of 5, resulting in measured FWHM bunch lengths of 2 3 ps for bunch charges as large as 1 nC.
Exploiting data lineage for parallel optimization in extensible DBMSs

Extensibility and high query performance are important requirements of advanced large scale information systems since complex data analysis often requires the use of application-specific operations that have to be introduced by the user issuing the query. Towards the goal of supporting automatic parallelization of queries containing complex user-defined evaluators in an extensible DBMS, we devised a relevance window model to capture the inherent data lineage characteristics of evaluators on multidimensional data sets. Informally, the relevance window of an evaluator defines the scope of influence input data records have on the value of records in the output data space. An evaluator's relevance window constrains the data partitioning opportunities available for an evaluator.
A report on the eighth international conference on transport theory

Abstract The eighth in a series of biennial transport theory conferences was held in Blacksburg, on the Virginia Tech campus, March 24-26, 1983. This report is only the sixth in a series published in this journal since the first two conferences were not reported (however, proceedings were published. See Ref. 1 for previous reports and Ref. 2 for previous conference proceedings; the proceedings of the eighth conference are currently being planned a special issue of this journal.)
A microfluidic nanostructured fluorescence sensor for biomolecular binding detection

This paper reports a new fluorescence sensor with integrated micropatterned anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) inside a microfluidic device for immunoassay for the first time. The micropatterned AAO serves as an enhancer for fluorescent signals. The binding between Protein A and rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) labeled by fluorescent dye FITC is used as a model for the immunoassay. Experiments show the sensor can detect rabbit IgG at concentration of ~13 nM without any device optimization using a conventional fluorescence microscope. Given the simple and inexpensive fabrication process of the micropatterned AAO inside a microfluidic chip, a highly sensitive and disposable microfluidic fluorescence sensor can be developed for a variety of fluorescence related applications.
REGULATION OF APOPTOSIS IN UTERINE LEIOMYOMATA

Tumors developing from hormone-dependent tissues, such as the breast and prostate, have been successfully treated in the clinic by methods of hormone ablation, and the resulting tumor regression has been shown to occur at least in part by the process of apoptosis. The growth of leiomyomas arising from uterine smooth muscle cells is similarly modulated by circulating steroid hormones and has been associated with periods of increased estrogen secretion. The inhibition of ovarian hormone production by endocrine therapy often results in the regression of these tumors, but the role of apoptosis in this process has not been elucidated. Using cell lines derived from the Eker rat model of uterine leiomyoma, we have investigated the mechanism of growth inhibition by estrogen deprivation. Estrogen-depleted medium and the antiestrogen tamoxifen significantly reduced cell numbers in culture and arrested cell proliferation, but did not induce apoptosis. However, the presence of an intact apoptotic pathway was demonstr...
Are women residency supervisors obligated to nurture

Scholars in medical education have been increasingly aware over the last few decades of issues of women in medicine, particularly the ways in which women move through medical school and residency, and eventually become faculty. Much of the literature has focused on ways in which women are at a disadvantage in a male-dominated medical culture. But how can they overcome this disadvantage? Should women act like the men around them, emulating their practice patterns, research endeavours and teaching styles? Or do women need to behave differently from men in order to succeed? Isn’t this an outrageously stereotyped way to think about the dilemma? Unfortunately, there may still be embedded gender stereotypes in academic medical centres, particularly in teaching relationships. How can we understand these stereotypes and overcome them?
Impedance measurements on purified silver chloride crystals using ionic vs. electronic contacts

Abstract Impedance measurements are made on purified silver chloride crystals covering thicknesses from 0.064 cm to 0.400 cm at temperatures from 293 K to 310 K using constant ionic strength solution contacts with varying silver ion concentrations. Results characterize the macroscopic transport properties from 10 kHz to 0.01 Hz and at d.c. Electrical relaxation times, τel, are independent of crystal thickness and bathing solution composition, but dependent on temperature. The resistive component of the impedance, R∞, is linear with crystal thickness, δ, and the geometric capacitance, Cg, linear with δ−1. In agreement with Macdonald's theory, R∞ is equal to the d.c. resistance, R0. This indicates rapid ion exchange at the surface and no Warburg diffusion. The dimensionless dielectric constant, calculated from Cg and the crystal dimensions, is 15.4. An average activation energy of 0.298 eV, indicative of vacancy transport is found. The parameter α in the equivalent non-ideal Cole-Cole representation is 0.96 indicating a narrow distribution of time constants. These results are compared with the electronic contact measurements typical to solid state physics. Higher values of resistivity and lower values of Cg and conductivity are found with graphite and vapor deposited silver. These differences were as large as 10%. Calculated dielectric constants at 10 kHz were 14.8 and 13.5, respectively, while the most recent published value is 11.14. These differences suggest that ionic solution contact measurements may give more reliable values because surface coverage is more nearly uniform on the molecular level.
Exploring Mount Erebus by walking robot

Abstract Dante is a tethered walking robot capable of climbing steep slopes. In 1992 it was created at Carnegie Mellon University and deployed in Antarctica to explore an active volcano, Mount Erebus. The Dante project's robot science objectives were to demonstrate a real exploration mission, rough terrain locomotion, environmental survival, and self-sustained operation in the harsh Antarctic climate. The volcano science objective was to study the unique convecting magma lake inside Mount Erebus' inner crater. The expedition demonstrated the advancing state-of-art in mobile robotics and the future potential of robotic explorers. This paper details our objectives, describes the Dante robot, overviews what happened on the expedition and discusses what did and didn't work.
Activated Charcoal Preparations -Relative Antidotal Efficacy

(1974). Activated Charcoal Preparations -Relative Antidotal Efficacy. Clinical Toxicology: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 97-108.
Imaging current spine hardware: part 1, cervical spine and fracture fixation.

OBJECTIVE. The goals of this article are to review the indications for use, the materials, and the designs of hardware more commonly used in the cervical spine; to discuss alternatives for each of the different types of hardware; to review normal postoperative imaging findings; to describe the appropriateness of different imaging modalities for postoperative evaluation; and to illustrate examples of hardware complications. This article will also review vertebral body fracture fixation. CONCLUSION. Stabilization and fusion of the spine with intervertebral disk replacement, artificial ligaments, spinous process distraction devices, plate-and-rod systems, dynamic posterior fusion devices, and implants composed of new types of material are increasingly more common in the contemporary surgical practice. These spinal hardware devices will be seen more often in radiology practice. Successful postoperative radiologic evaluation of spinal hardware necessitates an understanding of the fundamental design of the hard...
Preelection Selective Exposure Confirmation Bias Versus Informational Utility

The glut of media coverage prior to a presidential election requires individuals to selectively expose themselves to some messages and not others. The study involves a two-session online quasi-experiment with 205 participants that was conducted before the 2008 presidential election. Hypotheses on confirmation bias and information utility driving selective exposure prior to an election are tested. Results confirm that information utility can override a confirmation bias and motivate exposure if a government change is likely and the favored party is likely to lose the election. Moreover, participants with frequent habitual online news use do not exhibit a confirmation bias. However, participants whose favored party was likely to win the election and participants with infrequent online news consumption show a significant confirmation bias.
Extraordinary Experiences of the Bereaved and Adaptive Outcomes of Grief

A multiple case questionnaire/interview study was used to investigate Extraordinary Experiences (EEs) reported by bereaved individuals. Its purpose was to describe the grief processes of 12 bereave...
Application of pharmacological approaches to plant-mammal interactions.

The dominant theory in the field of mammalian herbivore-plant interactions is that intake, and therefore tolerance, of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) is regulated by mechanisms that reduce absorption and increase detoxifi- cation of PSMs. Methods designed by pharmacologists to measure detoxification enzyme activity, metabolite excretion, and most recently, drug absorption, have been successfully applied by ecologists to study PSM intake in a variety of mam- malian study systems. Here, we describe several pharmacological and molecular techniques used to investigate the fate of drugs in human that have potential to further advance knowledge of mammalian herbivore-plant interactions.
Fabrication and mechanical characterization of glass fiber reinforced UV‐cured composites from epoxidized vegetable oils

Novel fiberglass-reinforced composites were fabricated by the ultraviolet and visible (solar) irradiation of epoxidized vegetable oils in the presence of onium salt cationic photoinitiators. A variety of layup techniques and experimental conditions were explored to optimize composite fabrication. It was demonstrated that composites prepared by wet layup techniques containing up to five plies of glass cloth could be cured by a direct, 25-min exposure to solar irradiation. A series of composite samples were prepared using mixtures of epoxidized vegetable oils and synthetic epoxy resins, and their mechanical properties were evaluated. Based on these measurements, it may be concluded that photochemical routes to the fabrication of composites derived from epoxidized vegetable oils provide a simple, direct, and inexpensive route to the fabrication of composites with many potential low-performance applications. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 2073–2087, 1997
Quantum Control of Nuclear Spins

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has proven to be a facile means of achieving small-scale demonstrations of quantum information processing. This was in large part made possible by the sophisticated methods of quantum control that have been developed by the NMR community over a span of more than 50 years. The traditional control methods, already perhaps the most complex examples of open-loop control available, were nevertheless designed primarily to assist in identifying the physical parameters of the underlying spin system, rather than to control the system with high precision. We have therefore extended the traditional methods in a variety of ways so as to achieve precise control, by taking advantage of prior knowledge of the physical parameters as determined by traditional methods. Due to the experimental challenges of real-time control, these developments relied upon our ability to simulate the evolution of the system under the action of radio-frequency control fields with essentially arbitrary precision, subject only to the available computing power. This talk will present an overview of our work in quantum control together with some of the on-going challenges still facing us.
Spatial Profiles of Electrical Mismatch Determine Vulnerability to Conduction Failure Across a Host–Donor Cell Interface

Background— Electrophysiological mismatch between host cardiomyocytes and donor cells can directly affect the electrical safety of cardiac cell therapies; however, the ability to study host–donor interactions at the microscopic scale in situ is severely limited. We systematically explored how action potential (AP) differences between cardiomyocytes and other excitable cells modulate vulnerability to conduction failure in vitro. Methods and Results— AP propagation was optically mapped at 75 μm resolution in micropatterned strands (n=152) in which host neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (AP duration=153.2±2.3 ms, conduction velocity=22.3±0.3 cm/s) seamlessly interfaced with genetically engineered excitable donor cells expressing inward rectifier potassium (Kir2.1) and cardiac sodium (Nav1.5) channels with either weak (conduction velocity=3.1±0.1 cm/s) or strong (conduction velocity=22.1±0.4 cm/s) electrical coupling. Selective prolongation of engineered donor cell AP duration (31.9–139.1 ms) by low-dose BaCl2 generated a wide range of host–donor repolarization time (RT) profiles with maximum gradients (∇RTmax) of 5.5 to 257 ms/mm. During programmed stimulation of donor cells, the vulnerable time window for conduction block across the host–donor interface most strongly correlated with ∇RTmax. Compared with well-coupled donor cells, the interface composed of poorly coupled cells significantly shortened the RT profile width by 19.7% and increased ∇RTmax and vulnerable time window by 22.2% and 19%, respectively. Flattening the RT profile by perfusion of 50 μmol/L BaCl2 eliminated coupling-induced differences in vulnerability to block. Conclusions— Our results quantify how the degree of electrical mismatch across a cardiomyocyte–donor cell interface affects vulnerability to conduction block, with important implications for the design of safe cardiac cell and gene therapies.
The need for extensive undermining in face-lifting operations

Abstract The need for wide undermining in face-lifting operations is stressed and the author's technique detailed.
Micro air vehicle endurance versus battery size

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) operate with many inter-related constraints, including size, weight, power, processing, and communications bandwidth. Basic equations can be used to provide initial estimates of subsystem parameters that are consistent with the targeted size and related parameters. For most current MAVs, the power source of choice is batteries, and the choice of battery type and size will determine the maximum duration of a flight. In this study, first order models for both rotary wing MAVs and crawling ground platforms are used to determine the optimum battery size for maximum endurance, given typical parameter values for a 15-cm scale robotic platform. Results indicate that most micro robotic platforms use battery sizes significantly different than optimum.
Monotone sensitivity of nonlinear uniform RC transmission lines, with application to timing analysis of digital MOS integrated circuits

Recent work by Rubinstein, Penfield, and Horowitz [1] gives simple delay bounds for linear RC ladder networks-used to model polysilicon and diffusion interconnect in MOS integrated circuits. This paper presents a theorem that justifies applying these bounds to more realistic interconnect models incorporating nonlinearities. The main result applies to unbranched lines.
Viral Movement Proteins as Probes for Intracellular and Intercellular Trafficking in Plants

The ability of viruses to cross the cellulosic cell wall to propagate infection throughout a plant has been a long-standing puzzle in plant cell biology and virology. Contemplated from the perspective of the topology of the plant cell and the plant as an integrated structure of the differentiated
Mathematical foundation for hormone-inspired control for self-reconfigurable robotic systems

In this paper, we present a general mathematical foundation of hormone-inspired control for the self-reconfigurable robotic system. Problem considered here is the lack of a mathematical description to analyze and explain the dynamic behavior of self-reconfigurable robots. In the global level, the idea of virtual disconnection is developed to abstract the low level module control away from the high level synchronization for both cyclic and acyclic robot configuration. In the module layer, the linear space model is developed to describe each module's internal state, input-output hormone transformation, and its action selection. As a combination of hormone and modern control theory, the approach in this paper gives more features, such as predictability and stability analysis etc, to hormone-inspired control, and makes it applicable to self-reconfigurable systems in general. Simulation and experimental results show the capacity of our method
Open mappings on spheres

In this paper we study open mappings of the sphere, S n , onto itself. In particular, sufficient conditions are given that such a mapping be a homeomorphism. For the cases n ≦ 2 many of the results could be obtained from the work of G. T. Whyburn [7], [8], and [10]. For the cases n ≦ 3 the useful results of A. V. Cernavskii, [1], [4], proved to be sufficient. An application is made concerning a finite to one open mapping of one n cell onto itself. It is interesting to note that for n ≦ 2 that we could use similar proofs to show that certain quasi-monotone mappings of S n onto S n are necessarily monotone mappings.
Drained Shear Strength Parameters for Analysis of Landslides

This paper presents recommendations for selecting the type and magnitude of drained shear strength parameters for analysis of landslides. In particular, the importance, existence, and use of the cohesion shear strength parameter is reviewed. For slope stability analyses, it is recommended that the shear strength be modeled using a stress dependent failure envelope or a friction angle that corresponds to the average effective normal stress acting on the slip surface passing through that particular material instead of using a combination of cohesion and friction angle to represent soil shear strength. Other recommendations for stability analyses include using an effective stress cohesion of zero for residual and fully softened strength situations. To facilitate selection of shear strength parameters for landslide analyses, empirical relationships for the drained residual and fully softened strengths are updated from the previous empirical relationships presented by Stark and Eid. Finally, the paper presents torsional ring shear test results that indicate that pre-existing shear surfaces exhibit self-healing that results in increased shear resistance. The magnitude of healing appears to increase with increasing soil plasticity, and this increase could have implications for the size, timing, and cost of landslide remediation.
Generating a Variable from the Tail of the Normal Distribution

(1964). Generating a Variable from the Tail of the Normal Distribution. Technometrics: Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 101-102.
The Modified Quadrilateral Discretization Model for the Topology Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms

The modified quadrilateral discretization model for the topology optimization of compliant mechanisms is introduced in this paper. The design domain is discretized into quadrilateral design cells. There is a certain location shift between two neighboring rows of quadrilateral design cells. This modified quadrilateral discretization model allows any two contiguous design cells to share an edge whether they are in the horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction. Point connection is completely eliminated. In the proposed topology optimization method, design variables are all binary and every design cell is either solid or void to prevent grey cell problem that is usually caused by intermediate material states. Local stress constraint is directly imposed on each analysis cell to make the synthesized compliant mechanism safe. Genetic algorithm is used to search the optimum and avoid the need to select the initial guess solution and conduct sensitivity analysis. No postprocessing is needed for topology uncertainty caused by point connection or grey cell. The presented modified quadrilateral discretization model and the proposed topology optimization procedure are demonstrated by two synthesis examples of compliant mechanisms.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Higher Dimensional Affine Registration and Vision Applications

Affine registration has a long and venerable history in computer vision literature, and extensive work have been done for affine registrations in ℝ2 and ℝ3. In this paper, we study affine registrations in ℝ m for m > 3, and to justify breaking this dimension barrier, we show two interesting types of matching problems that can be formulated and solved as affine registration problems in dimensions higher than three: stereo correspondence under motion and image set matching. More specifically, for an object undergoing non-rigid motion that can be linearly modelled using a small number of shape basis vectors, the stereo correspondence problem can be solved by affine registering points in ℝ3n . And given two collections of images related by an unknown linear transformation of the image space, the correspondences between images in the two collections can be recovered by solving an affine registration problem in ℝm, where m is the dimension of a PCA subspace. The algorithm proposed in this paper estimates the affine transformation between two point sets in ℝm. It does not require continuous optimization, and our analysis shows that, in the absence of data noise, the algorithm will recover the exact affine transformation for almost all point sets with the worst-case time complexity of O(mk 2), k the size of the point set. We validate the proposed algorithm on a variety of synthetic point sets in different dimensions with varying degrees of deformation and noise, and we also show experimentally that the two types of matching problems can indeed be solved satisfactorily using the proposed affine registration algorithm.
Analysis of subunit assembly of the Na-K-ATPase

The Na-K-ATPase, or sodium pump, is comprised of two subunits, alpha and beta. Each subunit spans the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. This review summarizes our efforts to determine how the two subunits interact to form the functional ion transporter. Our major approach has been to observe the potential for subunit assembly when one or both subunits are truncated or present as chimeras that retain only a limited region of the Na-K-ATPase. DNAs encoding these altered subunit forms of the avian Na-K-ATPase are expressed in mammalian cells. Monoclonal antibodies specific for the avian beta-subunit are then used to purify newly synthesized avian beta-subunits, and the presence of accompanying alpha-subunits indicates that subunit assembly has occurred. The ectodomain of the beta-subunit (approximately residues 62-304) is sufficient for assembly with the alpha-subunit, and a COOH-terminal truncation of the beta-subunit that lacks aminoacyl residues beyond 162 will assemble inefficiently. A maximum of 26 aminoacyl residues of the alpha-subunit are necessary for robust assembly with the beta-subunit, when this sequence replaces the COOH-terminal half of the loop between membrane spans 7 and 8 in the SERCA1 Ca-ATPase. This region of the Ca-ATPase faces the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. These findings encourage study of other related questions, including whether there is preferential assembly of certain subunit isoforms and how various P-type ATPases are targeted to their appropriate subcellular compartments.
Postharvest fungal decay control chemicals: Treatments and residues in citrus fruits

Fresh citrus fruit is a most appealing and healthful food that many people pay a premium to enjoy. Most consumers take for granted the availability of fresh, high quality grapefruit, oranges, and specialty fruits. The per capita consumption of fresh citrus fruit in the United States in 1983 was 14.4 kg (Florida Crop and Livestock Reporting Service 1984)
Expansion microscopy with conventional antibodies and fluorescent proteins

Expansion microscopy is a technique in which fluorophores on fixed specimens are linked to a swellable polymer that is physically expanded to enable super-resolution microscopy with ordinary microscopes. We have developed and characterized new methods for linking fluorophores to the polymer that now enable expansion microscopy with conventional fluorescently labeled antibodies and fluorescent proteins. Our methods simplify the procedure and expand the palette of compatible labels, allowing rapid dissemination of the technique.
Creating Alternative Realities at Work: The Quality of Work Life Experiment at FoodCom

This article presents a review of the book “Creating Alternative Realities at Work: The Quality of Work Life Experiment at FoodCom,” by Michael K. Moch and Jean M. Bartunek.
VIRUS-INDUCED INTRANUCLEAR ANTIGEN IN CELLS TRANSFORMED BY PAPOVAVIRUS SV40.

SummaryHamsters bearing virus-free tumors induced by cells transformed in vitro or in vivo by papovavirus SV40 produce circulating antibody capable of reacting with intranuclear antigens synthesized by SV40-transformed cells. The reaction is particulate and does not involve the nucleolus. All cells in transformed cultures, regardless of whether they are of hamster or of human origin, synthesize the antigen.We wish to acknowledge the able technical assistance supplied by Myron Katz.
Regulation of urea production by glucose infusion in vivo

We have investigated the acute in vivo regulation of urea production in normal postabsorptive volunteers by administering a primed constant infusion of 15N2-urea to measure urea production during the constant intravenous infusion of equivalent molar quantities of exogenous nitrogen, given as alanine or glutamine, either with or without a simultaneous infusion of glucose at 4 mg.kg-.min-1. These responses were compared with the response to the infusion of glucose alone. Both amino acid infusions elicited significant (P less than 0.05) and identical (26%) increases in urea production over 4 h. When the glucose infusion was added to the amino acid infusions, urea production remained constant, despite the comparable increases in plasma total nonessential amino nitrogen, as were observed with the amino acid infusions alone. Glucose infused alone elicited a significant (P less than 0.05) reduction (18%) in urea production but no corresponding change in plasma total amino nitrogen. We conclude that 1) infused glucose or its hormonal response suppresses urea production by blunting the normal hepatic ureagenic response to a fixed nitrogen load, 2) this suppressive effect is not mediated via a reduction in substrate (nitrogen) supply, and 3) the inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis from amino acids represents one component of this suppressive effect, and direct suppression of urea cycle activity probably represents another component.
Discussion on HVDC Thyristor Recovery Protection and RP Test

Thyristor is the core element of DC power transmission system.The research on its protection is very important.If the thyristor withstands active voltage suddenly in the closing process,partial overheat would be appeared because of the partial conduction and the thyristor would be damaged.In order to avoid this phenomenon,recovery protection firing is used.This function can send a firing impulse to the thyristor and the thyristor can be conducted uniformly In thu paper,the positive recovery time is introduced,The working theory and the shortcoming of existed recovery protection is analyzed.Suggestions are proposed modify the sensitivity and reliability of the protection action.
Differences in erect sitting and natural sitting spinal alignment—insights into a new paradigm and implications in deformity correction

Abstract Background Context Sitting spinal alignment is increasingly recognized as a factor influencing strategy for deformity correction. Considering that most individuals sit for longer hours in a "slumped" rather than in an erect posture, greater understanding of the natural sitting posture is warranted. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the differences in sagittal spinal alignment between two common sitting postures: a natural, patient-preferred posture; and an erect, investigator-controlled posture that is commonly used in alignment studies. Design/Setting This is a randomized, prospective study of 28 young, healthy patients seen in a tertiary hospital over a 6-month period. Patient Sample Twenty-eight patients (24 men, 4 women), with a mean age of 24 years (range 19–38), were recruited for this study. All patients with first episode of lower back pain of less than 3 months' duration were included. The exclusion criteria consisted of previous spinal surgery, radicular symptoms, red flag symptoms, previous spinal trauma, obvious spinal deformity on forward bending test, significant personal or family history of malignancy, and current pregnancy. Outcome Measures Radiographic measurements included sagittal vertical axis (SVA), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracolumbar angle (TL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), and cervical lordosis (CL). Standard spinopelvic parameters (pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt [PT], and sacral slope) and sagittal apex and end vertebrae were also measured. Methods Basic patient demographics (age, gender, ethnicity) were recorded. Lateral sitting whole spine radiographs were obtained using a slot scanner in the imposed erect and the natural sitting posture. Statistical analyses of the radiographical parameters were performed comparing the two sitting postures using chi-squared tests for categorical variables and paired t tests for continuous variables. Results There was forward SVA shift between the two sitting postures by a mean of 2.9 cm (p Conclusions In a natural sitting posture, the lumbar spine becomes kyphotic and contributes to a single C-shaped sagittal profile comprising the thoracic and the lumbar spine. This is associated with an increase in CL and PT, as well as a constant SVA. These findings lend insight into the body's natural way of energy conservation using the posterior ligamentous tension band while achieving sitting spinal sagittal balance. It also provides information on one of the possible causes of proximal junctional kyphosis or proximal junctional failure.
Improved walk-correction method for timing measurements in PET detector

For Time-of-Flight (TOF) PET detectors the timing resolution is one of the critical parameters for improving image quality. One of the effects degrading the timing resolution is the statistical fluctuation of the number of scintillation photons. The timing degradation is introduced by leading edge discriminator (LED) because the time of crossing the comparator threshold is signal-dependent. It is still possible to correct for this effect by measuring the total number of optical photons and this method is known as walk correction. When the threshold of LED is set very low to achieve the best timing resolution, the energy walk depends on the emitted light in the first ns of scintillation, but not the total integrated number of photons. There is a correlation between the integrated and initial numbers of photons, but the latter number is more significant for energy walk at low threshold. We describe an improved walk correction approach by measuring the rise time at the beginning of the pulse and then compensating the delay variation based on this value, thus improving the timing resolution with a minor increase of the complexity of readout electronics.
Efficient multi-sensor exploration using dependent observations and conditional mutual information

In search and rescue scenarios, it is important to find survivors and map their locations quickly and efficiently. This paper presents a multimodal exploration and mapping approach that extends an occupancy grid map formulation to incorporate conditionally dependent sensor observations from multiple sensors and enables reasoning about uncertainty to select maximally informative actions. Temperature from a simulated thermal camera and range from a simulated time-of-flight camera provide updates to spatial and thermal dense voxel maps. The information gain is computed as the sum of the Mutual Information between the depth sensor and spatial map and Conditional Mutual Information between the multimodal sensor and map. Formulating multimodal exploration and mapping in this way results in selecting actions that drive the robot to collect thermal observations of occupied regions and reduce the uncertainty of both the occupancy state and temperature state of the environment. The performance of the proposed methodology is evaluated through simulations with an aerial robot exploring an office room and compared to state-of-art information-theoretic exploration techniques.
Clinical Reasoning: Acute onset facial droop in a 36-year-old pregnant woman.

A 36-year-old woman, G1P0, 22 weeks pregnant, presented to the emergency department for evaluation of acute onset facial droop. Her medical history included ulcerative colitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and heterozygosity for the prothrombin G20210A mutation. She was on 10,000 units of subcutaneous heparin twice daily for a previous deep vein thrombosis secondary to her prothrombin mutation; she was noncompliant with prescribed aspirin.
Design and preliminary assessment of Vanderbilt hand exoskeleton

This paper presents the design of a hand exoskeleton intended to enable or facilitate bimanual activities of daily living (ADLs) for individuals with chronic upper extremity hemiparesis resulting from stroke. The paper describes design of the battery-powered, self-contained exoskeleton and presents the results of initial testing with a single subject with hemiparesis from stroke. Specifically, an experiment was conducted requiring the subject to repeatedly remove the lid from a water bottle both with and without the hand exoskeleton. The relative times required to remove the lid from the bottles was considerably lower when using the exoskeleton. Specifically, the average amount of time required to grasp the bottle with the paretic hand without the exoskeleton was 25.9 s, with a standard deviation of 33.5 s, while the corresponding average amount of time required to grasp the bottle with the exoskeleton was 5.1 s, with a standard deviation of 1.9 s. Thus, the task time involving the paretic hand was reduced by a factor of five, while the standard deviation was reduced by a factor of 16.
Cities in the age of the Anthropocene: Climate change agents and the potential for mitigation

Abstract Cities are human creations where many of the emissions causing climate change originate. Every aspect of daily life in cities, which spans buildings, transit, food, energy, and water, relies on fossil fuels that materially contribute to climate change. This paper explores the need for research to better uncover the processes driving urbanization in order to develop novel ways to mitigate climate impacts on Earth. Areas of fruitful research include better quantification of teleconnections between cities and their hinterlands and coupling those to the socio-economic drivers and organization of those relationships; the financialization of much urban policy; understanding where cities fit in the global economic order and their role in generating economic growth, and the ways in which they are also seen as leaders of sustainability and climate actions, but constrained in so-doing by the nested and tiered layers of institutions they operate within. This paper concludes by outlining ways for cities to transition toward nurturing human well-being and reducing their impacts on planetary processes resulting in the proposed new Earth epoch – the Anthropocene.
BAP1: case report and insight into a novel tumor suppressor.

BRCA1-Associated-Protein 1 (BAP1) is a dynamic tumor suppressor which, when mutated, has been associated with an increased risk of uveal melanoma, cutaneous melanoma, mesothelioma, and several other cancers. Germline BAP1 mutations have been extensively studied, where they have been found to cause hereditary cancer susceptibility. However, their sporadic counterparts, tumors that display a loss of BAP1 expression due to somatically arising mutations in the BAP1 gene, remain a poorly described entity. Here we present the case of a 49-year-old female who presented with an asymptomatic dome-shaped pink papule on the dorsal foot which was found on biopsy to be deficient in the BAP1 tumor suppressor. While the patient’s family history did not suggest the presence of a familial cancer syndrome, germline genetic testing was performed and was negative. The patient underwent surgical excision of this sporadically appearing “BAPoma” by Mohs surgery. Given the relatively banal clinical appearance of these dome-shaped neoplasms, sporadic BAPomas may often be overlooked by clinicians and dermatologists. In addition to providing a representative case, here we also provide a synopsis of the current understanding of these neoplasms, both in terms of the histopathological features, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying BAP1 function and its ability to prevent tumorigenesis.
Evaluation of the Use of Novel Biomarkers to Augment Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Activities

As antimicrobial stewardship increasingly receives worldwide attention for improving patient care by optimizing antimicrobial therapy, programs are evaluating new tools that may augment antimicrobial stewardship activities. Biomarkers are objective, accurate, and reproducible measures that provide information about medical conditions. A systematic literature search using PubMed/MEDLINE databases was performed to evaluate the use of novel biomarkers as additions to the antimicrobial stewardship armamentarium. Procalcitonin may help clinicians discriminate between bacterial and viral infections, help with antimicrobial discontinuation decisions, and predict mortality. β-d-glucan, Candida albicans germ tube antibody, and galactomannan are useful in suspected fungal infections and may reduce inappropriate antifungal use. Adrenomedullin and soluble triggering receptor on myeloid cells-1 may be useful for mortality prediction and the determination of a need for empiric antibacterials. Although studies evaluating these biomarkers are promising, these biomarkers are not without limitations and should be used in combination with clinical signs, symptoms, or other biomarkers. For successful implementation of biomarker use, stewardship programs should consider the populations most likely to benefit, without using them indiscriminately in all patients. Antimicrobial stewardship programs should facilitate education of clinicians through institutional guidelines to ensure the appropriate use and interpretation of these biomarkers.