cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stimulation of glucagon secretion by scorpion toxin in the perfused rat pancreas.

Toxin from the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus was used to release norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve endings in the perfused rat pancreas. Addition of toxin, 10μg./ml., to perfusate containing 0.3 mg./ml. glucose caused a large increase in release of norepinephrine and glucagon. Glucagon secretion was suppressed by perfusate containing 3.0 mg./ml. glucose but still responded to stimulation with scorpion toxin. Atropine, 10 μM, had no effect on either norepinephrine or glucagon release in response to scorpion toxin. The release of glucagon was blocked by 100 μM propranolol, 10 μM phentolamine, or 30 μM phenoxybenzamine. Somatostatin, 55 nM, did not affect the release of norepinephrine by scorpion toxin but totally inhibited the glucagon response. These results suggest that pharmacologic stimulation of the adrenergic nerve endings in the rat pancreas can elicit a rapid release of glucagon. This response can be prevented by appropriate concentrations of either alpha or beta adrenergic blocking agents or somatostatin.
Emergency cricothyrostomy—Technique and anatomical considerations

Abstract Cricothyrostomy is the procedure of choice for emergency airway control when nasotracheal and endotrachealintubation are not possible or contraindicated. A vertical skin incision followed by a horizontal incision in the cricothyroid membrane are used. A number 6 tracheostomy tube should be used due to the anatomic size of the cricothyroid space. Using this technique, complications are rare.
Schwinger-Dyson equations in the background field gauge

Abstract The Schwinger-Dyson equations in the background field formalism are generated, and their relation to the equations in the conventional approach is illustrated. In the case of gauge theories the propagator equation generates the correct low-order perturbation expansion.
Astrocyte-released cytokines induce ramification and outward K+ channel expression in microglia via distinct signalling pathways

Differentiation of microglial cells is characterized by transformation from ameboid into ramified cell shape and up-regulation of K+ channels. The processes of microglial differentiation are controlled by astrocytic factors. The mechanisms by which astrocytes cause developmental changes in morphological and electrophysiological properties of microglia have remained unclear. We show here that the cytokines transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) are released by astrocytes at concentrations sufficient to induce ramification and up-regulation of delayed rectifier (DR) K+ channels in microglia. Transformation from ameboid into ramified morphology induced in microglia by exposure to astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) was inhibited by neutralizing antibodies against TGF-beta, M-CSF or GM-CSF, whilst ACM-induced DR channel expression was exclusively inhibited by antibodies against TGF-beta. Although both ramification and DR channel up-regulation occurred simultaneously, DR channel blockade by charybdotoxin failed to inhibit microglial ramification. The ACM-induced ramification of microglia was inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein, whereas DR channel up-regulation did not occur in the presence of the serine/threonine kinase inhibitor H7. Our data suggest that astrocytes modulate processes of microglial differentiation in parallel but via distinct signalling pathways.
Evolving internal length scales in plastic strain localization for granular materials

A numerical model in the Cosserat continuum for strain localization phenomena in granular materials is developed and proposed in this paper. The model assumes a constant internal length scale that is used to describe the shear band thickness. However, it is observed that the internal length scales need to change to accommodate the possible change in the contact surface between the particles, damage of the particles or/and any change in the local void ratio within the domain, which will change the shear band thickness. The mathematical formulations used in the present numerical model were equipped with evolution equations for the length scales through the Micropolar theory, those formulations are proposed and discussed in this paper. The evolution equations of the internal length scales describe any possible change in the contact surface between the particles, damage of the particles if exists and/or any change in the local void ratio within the domain. Hence, the strain localization described by the enhanced model with evolving internal length scales is more accurate and closer to the real solution. The solution for the shear bands thickness shows more accurate correlation with the experimental results and less dependency on the mesh size when such evolution equations are used. Moreover, the shear band thickness and inclination evolve during the deformation process.
Modeling Discriminative Global Inference

Many recent advances in complex domains such as natural language processing (NLP) have taken a discriminative approach in conjunction with the global application of structural and domain specific constraints. We introduce LBJ, a new modeling language for specifying exact inference systems of this type, combining ideas from machine learning, optimization, first order logic (FOL), and object oriented programming (OOP). Expressive constraints are specified declaratively as arbitrary FOL formulas over functions and objects. The language's run-time library translates them to a mathematical programming representation from which an exact solution is computed. In addition, the compiler leverages an existing OOP language: objects and functions are grounded as the OOP objects and methods that encapsulate the user's data.
Capacitor coupled converter (C/sup 3/) for high power DC conversion

The bang-bang controlled capacitor coupled converter (C/sup 3/) is described in this paper. Due to the converter's inherent commutating property, the C/sup 3/ can accommodate thyristors as well as high-power gate turn-off switches, due to zero-current switching transitions. The zero-current switching is achieved at no current stress increase, therefore, the topology is considered appropriate for high-power processing. DC and small signal AC models are derived for the bang-bang controlled C/sup 3/, a design procedure is proposed, and simulation results are discussed. Finally, oscillograms from a proof of principle prototype circuit are presented. >
Inability of 2-3 Dithiopropanol∗ (BAL) to Protect the Liver Against Toxic Action of Uranium Nitrate

ConclusionIn the doses employed (15 mg per kg, twice daily for 8 days), 2-3 dithiopropanol was ineffective in protecting the liver of dogs against uranium nitrate in the amounts administered.
A comparison of melodic database retrieval techniques using sung queries

Query-by-humming systems search a database of music for good matches to a sung, hummed, or whistled melody. Errors in transcription and variations in pitch and tempo can cause substantial mismatch between queries and targets. Thus, algorithms for measuring melodic similarity in query-by-humming systems should be robust. We compare several variations of search algorithms in an effort to improve search precision. In particular, we describe a new frame-based algorithm that significantly outperforms note-by-note algorithms in tests using sung queries and a database of MIDI-encoded music.
Beneath the Salt Marsh Canopy: Loss of Soil Strength with Increasing Nutrient Loads

Although the broadly observed increase in nutrient loading rates to coastal waters in the last 100 years may increase aboveground biomass, it also tends to increase soil metabolism and lower root and rhizome biomass—responses that can compromise soil strength. Fourteen different multiyear field combinations of nutrient amendments to salt marshes were made to determine the relationship between soil strength and various nitrogen, phosphorus, and nitrogen+phosphorus loadings. There was a proportional decline in soil strength that reached 35% in the 60- to 100-cm soil layer at the highest loadings and did not level off. These loading rates are equivalent to those in the flow path of the Caernarvon river diversion, a major wetland restoration project near New Orleans; 12% of the wetlands in the flow path were converted to open water in 2005. The increased nutrient loading from the Mississippi River watershed this century has also driven the formation of the low oxygen zone (the "Dead Zone") that forms off the Louisiana-Texas shelf each summer. These results suggest that improving water quality in the watershed will aid the restoration of both offshore waters and coastal wetland ecosystems.
Robust Determination of Liquidated Damage Rates for State Highway Agencies

Liquidated damages (LDs) in highway construction contracts are daily monetary rates meant to compensate the owning agency for additional costs incurred because a project did not meet its completion date because of contractor delay. When LD provisions are challenged in court, provisions that lack proper documentation outlining the procedure used to determine rates have been deemed a penalty and unenforceable. This research effort sought to develop a methodology for developing a schedule of LD rates to be adopted by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). The procedure outlined is to be used periodically to review and update the LD rates found in ALDOT's standard specifications for highway construction contracts, since their current schedule and review procedure has come under legal scrutiny. A statistically justifiable procedure was developed to calculate LD rates using historical project cost accounting data to create a traditional provision based on FHWA guidelines with the LD rates stipulated ...
Open-channel fluorescence imaging of atoms in high-gradient magnetic fields

A method of imaging distributions of cold atoms under the presence of large trapping-field-induced level shifts is investigated. By utilizing a probe laser tuned to an open transition, the fluorescence yield per atom is largely fixed throughout the trap volume, independent of the trapping field. This enables a reliable conversion of fluorescence images into atomic-density profiles. The method is applied to measure distributions of 87Rb atoms in a high-gradient (2.7 kG/cm) magnetic atom guide. We characterize the parameters for which the open-channel imaging method performs best. Results of quantum Monte Carlo simulations verify the underlying assumptions of the method.
Forging Diaspora: Afro-Cubans and African Americans in a World of Empire and Jim Crow

Frank Andre Guridy, Forging Diaspora: Afro-Cubans and African Americans in a World of Empire and Jim Crow (2010), xiv + 270 (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, $59.95, paperback $22.9...
Characterization of Helicobacter pyloriσ54 promoter-binding activity

Several Helicobacter pylori flagellar genes require sigma(54) for their transcription. Predicted H. pylori sigma(54)-dependent promoters display a preference for A at position -23 instead of C or T as occurs in promoters from most other bacteria. Substitution of the A at position -23 of the H. pylori flaB promoter with a C did not effect expression of a flaB'-'xylE reporter gene in H. pylori, whereas T or G substitutions at this position drastically reduced expression. Results of gel mobility shift assays that used DNA probes corresponding to core promoter sequences and a H. pylori sigma(54) protein fused to the Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein suggested that H. pylori sigma(54) has a higher affinity for promoters with an A at the -23 position. The failure to observe an effect on expression for the flaB mutant promoter with the A to C substitution at the -23 position indicates that sequences flanking the core promoter region may assist binding of H. pylori sigma(54) to the mutant flaB promoter. Alternatively, H. pylori RNA polymerase or the sigma(54)-dependent activator FlgR may compensate for the reduced affinity of sigma(54) for the mutant flaB promoter.
Pastoral response to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair in conservative and liberal churches.

The study examined what factors led pastors to say something either negative or positive about former President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky for a sample from "Middletown." There was no significant difference between three Protestant categories (Holiness/Pentecostal, white conservative Protestant, and mainline Protestant) in whether ministers said something or not. Analysis for those who said something indicated that the ministers who made the most critical statements in their sermons were from the most conservative/orthodox of our category of churches, i.e., Holiness/Pentecostal congregations, from the strictest churches and from churches with the greatest number of Republicans (betas were .30, .26, and .19, respectively). Also, members of Holiness/Pentecostal churches were more likely to be working class but not more Republican. Possible explanations are discussed.
Coping motives as a moderator of daily mood-drinking covariation

Objective: The current study examines the extent to which college students' reports of drinking to cope (DTC) with negative affect moderate the daily covariation between specific types of negative mood (sadness, fear, hostility, shyness and boredom) and alcohol use. Method: Participants were full-time college students, aged 18-20, attending a large Southeastern university (N = 72; 50% male). These individuals completed an experience-sampling protocol over a 1-month interval, to assess daily mood and alcohol use. Results: A series of Hierarchical General Linear Models found that individuals who reported low motives to cope through drinking showed an expected absence of daily mood and drinking covariation. For those reporting high coping motives, a complex and somewhat counterintuitive series of findings were found; students high in DTC drank less on days in which they experienced greater sadness. Analyses on the quadratic effects of mood revealed that when experiencing moderate to high levels of fear and s...
Subject classification of research papers based on interrelationships analysis

Finding scientific papers and journals relevant to a particular area of research is a concern for many people including students, professors, and researchers. A subject classification of papers facilitates the search process. That is, having a list of subjects in a research field, we try to find out to which subject(s) a given paper is more related. This task can be done manually by, for example, asking authors to assign one or more categories at submit time. However, categorizing a large collection of resources manually is a time consuming process. In automatic methods, a naive strategy is to do a keyword-based search for the subject term in paper's title, keywords, and even its fulltext. Nonetheless, this approach fails for resources employing semantically equivalent terms but not exactly the same subject words. Besides, processing the whole text of a paper takes a long time. In this paper, we introduce a novel supervised approach for subject classification of scientific articles based on analysis of their interrelationships. We exploit links such as citations, common authors, and common references to assign subject to papers. Our experimental results show that our approach works well especially when the graph of relationships is dense enough, i.e., there are significant number of links among papers.
On discovery and learning of models with predictive representations of state for agents with continuous actions and observations

Models of agent-environment interaction that use predictive state representations (PSRs) have mainly focused on the case of discrete observations and actions. The theory of discrete PSRs uses an elegant construct called the system dynamics matrix and derives the notion of predictive state as a sufficient statistic via the rank of the matrix. With continuous observations and actions, such a matrix and its rank no longer exist. In this paper, we show how to define an analogous construct for the continuous case, called the system dynamics distributions, and use information theoretic notions to define a sufficient statistic and thus state. Given this new construct, we use kernel density estimation to learn approximate system dynamics distributions from data, and use information-theoretic tools to derive algorithms for discovery of state and learning of model parameters. We illustrate our new modeling method on two example problems.
Spatiotemporal conditional inference and hypothesis tests for neural ensemble spiking precision

The collective dynamics of neural ensembles create complex spike patterns with many spatial and temporal scales. Understanding the statistical structure of these patterns can help resolve fundamental questions about neural computation and neural dynamics. Spatiotemporal conditional inference (STCI) is introduced here as a semiparametric statistical framework for investigating the nature of precise spiking patterns from collections of neurons that is robust to arbitrarily complex and nonstationary coarse spiking dynamics. The main idea is to focus statistical modeling and inference not on the full distribution of the data, but rather on families of conditional distributions of precise spiking given different types of coarse spiking. The framework is then used to develop families of hypothesis tests for probing the spatiotemporal precision of spiking patterns. Relationships among different conditional distributions are used to improve multiple hypothesis-testing adjustments and design novel Monte Carlo spike resampling algorithms. Of special note are algorithms that can locally jitter spike times while still preserving the instantaneous peristimulus time histogram or the instantaneous total spike count from a group of recorded neurons. The framework can also be used to test whether first-order maximum entropy models with possibly random and time-varying parameters can account for observed patterns of spiking. STCI provides a detailed example of the generic principle of conditional inference, which may be applicable to other areas of neurostatistical analysis.
Book Review: Apology and Sympathy: On the Importance of ‘Training in Moral Discomfort’

This article is a book review of Danielle Celermajer, “The Sins of the Nation and the Ritual of Apologies” and Nir Eisikovits, “Sympathizing with the Enemy."
Smiling When Distressed: When a Smile Is a Frown Turned Upside Down

This research tested self-regulation and self-presentation as psychological mechanisms that motivate smiling when distressed. In Study 1, participants viewed moderately and intensely distressing, amusing, and neutral videos in social or nonsocial conditions. Smiling when distressed was most prevalent in conditions in which participants reported the greatest emotional distress. Specifically, while viewing distressing videos, men reported experiencing greater overall distress and also smiled more than women, especially in social conditions and while viewing intensely (as opposed to moderately) distressing stimuli. In general, smiling was related to more negative affect while viewing distressing videos but to more positive affect after viewing such stimuli. Study 2 explored raters' social perceptions of participants from Study 1, confirming that people judge distressed smilers as less socially appropriate and less likable than nonsmilers. Findings suggest that although distressed smiling serves a probable self-regulatory function, it may also bear some negative social consequences.
Radial growth response and vegetative sprouting of aspen following release from competition due to insect-induced conifer mortality

Abstract Eruptive bark beetle outbreaks such as the recent mountain pine beetle epidemic in western North America often result in substantial changes to species composition, abiotic factors, and a highly altered fuel complex. Little is known about the implications of these outbreaks to non-host species, such as aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), which may be beneficiaries due to release from competition. We investigated radial growth response in aspen following mountain pine beetle-induced conifer mortality in north-central Colorado through dendrochronological analysis using the percent growth change method based on 5-year and 10-year running medians, and we quantified regeneration responses in these areas compared to areas where beetle activity was largely absent. We hypothesized that growth in mature aspen would increase, expressed through wider annual growth rings, while vegetative regeneration (i.e. resprouting from the parent root system) would not increase in forests affected by bark beetles. Results showed a clear radial growth release in mixed aspen-conifer stands that were subject to extensive conifer mortality but not in forests that remained largely unaffected by beetles. Comparison of extent of suckering showed no significant differences, supporting our hypotheses and suggesting that additional resources due to release from competition were allocated towards radial growth rather than initiation of sucker growth, potentially indicating a trade-off between maintenance of existing stems and regeneration. Results from this study provide the first account of radial release detection in aspen following beetle-induced conifer mortality and help predict aspen persistence and future stand composition in these forests. Additional research, with a higher sample size and more time between sampling and bark beetle disturbance is highly recommended to confirm our findings and optimize release detection methods in aspen.
FLEX: load balancing and management strategy for scalable Web hosting service

FLEX is a new scalable "locality aware" solution for achieving both load balancing and efficient memory usage on a cluster of machines hosting several Web sites. FLEX allocates the sites to different machines in the cluster based on their traffic characteristics. This aims to avoid the unnecessary document replication to improve the overall performance of the system. The desirable routing can be done by submitting the corresponding configuration files to the DNS server since each hosted Web site has a unique domain name. FLEX can be easily implemented on top of the current infrastructure used by Web hosting service providers. Using a simulation model and a synthetic trace generator, we compare the Round-Robin based solutions and FLEX over the range of different workloads. For generated traces, FLEX outperforms Round-Robin based solutions 2-5 times.
Dirty pages of logarithm tables, lifetime of the universe, and subjective (fuzzy) probabilities on finite and infinite intervals

To design data processing algorithms with the smallest average processing time, we need to know what this "average" stands for. At first glance, it may seem that real-life data are really "chaotic", and no probabilities are possible at all: today, we may apply our software package to elementary particles, tomorrow - to distances between the stars, etc. However, contrary to this intuitive feeling, there are stable probabilities in real-life data. This fact was first discovered in 1881 by Simon Newcomb who noticed that the first pages of logarithm tables (that contain numbers starting with 1) are more used than the last ones (that contain numbers starting with 9). To check why, he took all physical constants from a reference book, and counted how many of them start with 1. An intuitive expectation is that all 9 digits should be equally probable. In reality, instead of 11 %, about 30% of these constants turned out to be starting with 1. In general, the fraction or constants that start with a digit d can be described as ln(d + 1) - ln(d). We describe a new interval computations-related explanation for this empirical fact, and we explain its relationship with lifetime of the Universe and with the general problem of determining subjective (fuzzy) probabilities on finite and infinite intervals.
Chiral pole model and nonleptonic weak interactions

We employ chiral symmetry in quark and in hadron language to show why theCP-conserving KL-KS mass difference ΔmLS is about one-half of the KS total decay rate Γs
Research on the Management of Innovation

The article reviews the book “Research on the Management of Innovation,” edited by A.H. Van de Ven, H.L. Angle, and M.S. Poole.
Medical Nutrition Therapy in the Hospital

Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is an integral component of diabetes management and of diabetes self-management education. It is usually best provided in an outpatient and home setting; however, a hospital admission provides an excellent opportunity to review, reinforce, and educate both the patient and family regarding appropriate dietary choices.
John Dique: dialysis pioneer and political advocate

John Dique (1915-1995) epitomized the internationalism of medicine, the intellectual and manual dexterity of many pioneers of dialysis, and the social concern evinced by many nephrologists. Born in Burma of French, German, British and Indian ancestry; educated in India; an Anglo-Indian who described himself as British without ever having visited Britain; he moved to Australia in 1948 to escape the murderous inter-ethnic conflict that befell multicultural India as it and Pakistan became independent. Settling in Brisbane, he pioneered several novel medical techniques. After inventing some simple equipment to facilitate intravenous therapy, he established a neonatal exchange blood transfusion programme. Then, between 1954 and 1963, he personally constructed and operated two haemodialysis machines with which to treat patients suffering from acute renal failure, the first such treatment performed in Australasia. His patients survival results were, for the era, remarkable. He subsequently helped found the Royal Australasian College of Pathologists and went on to establish a successful private pathology practice. The latter years of his life, however, saw him become a social and political advocate. He fiercely opposed the emerging ideologies of multiculturalism and social liberalism that, he predicted, would seriously damage the national fabric of Western society. Public vilification ensued, his medical achievements disregarded. It does seem likely, however, that in none of the areas that he touched - whether medical, social, or political - has the last word yet been said.
Analysis of the Physical Properties of the N2 c′ 1Σ+u(0)-X 1Σ+g(0) Transition

A high-resolution, 33 mA (FWHM), optically thin emission study of the N2 c' 1Σ(0)-X 1Σ(0) band transition has been performed with electron impact at 100 eV. Recently measured line oscillator strengths and lifetimes have been examined by comparing model spectra with the observed emission. Good agreement between model and data indicates consistency between the measured lifetimes and oscillator strengths. Predissociation yields for various Jj levels are estimated. The calculated predissociation yield is in the range 0.2-0.5 for Jj = 4-23 and negligible for Jj = 0-2.
The Perils and Pitfalls of Marital Agreements in Multiple Legal Systems

This article reviews Dr. Jens Scherpe's book: Marital Agreements and Private Autonomy in Comparative Perspective.
Clinical Utility of Bronchoalveolar Lavage in the Assessment of Interstitial Lung Disease

Bronchoalveolar lavage is a new bronchoscopie technique which permits assessment of changes in the cellular traffic in the alveolar spaces. One hundred and fourteen patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage at the Mayo Clinic during a 16-month period. Whereas control subjects had a predominance of alveolar macrophages (93 ± 1%) with few lymphocytes (5 ± 1%), 35 subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis had a marked increase in the number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (17 ± 2%), and 32 subjects with sarcoidosis had a marked increase in the number of lymphocytes (26 ± 2%). Further identification of these lymphocytes by the immunofluorescent detection of cell-surface antigens revealed the lymphocytes, in all 13 cases of sarcoidosis examined, to be from the T-helper subclass. Bronchoalveolar lavage represents an easy method to monitor the “alveolitis” in these disorders, and offers promise as a quantitative means by which to assess disease “activity” as well as the response to therapy.
Sterile Conks of Polyporus Glomeratus and Associated Cankers on Beech and Red Maple

In 1930 Hirt 1 reported sterile conks on beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart.), which were associated with a normal fruiting body of Fomes Everhartii (Ellis & Gall.) Schrenk. During the summer of 1938 another type of sterile conk, with or without associated cankers, was found commonly on beech in the Green Mountain National Forest. These sterile conks, except for their smaller size, resembled those on birch recently reported by Campbell and Davidson 2 to be a sterile form of a Poria (probably Poria obliqua). Because of this resemblance and because P. obliqua or a similar Poria had been collected on beech in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, it was originally thought that the sterile conks might be the sterile form of it. However, pure cultures of Polyporus glomeratus Peck, described by the writers,3 were isolated from the sterile conks and the associated decay. In addition, P. glomeratus fruited on down beech on which there were sterile conks and cankers. Later in the season a number of red maples (Acer rubrum Linn.) on the Gale River Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, were found to be badly cankered and decayed. Sterile fungus material characteristic of P. glomeratus was associated with the cankers and pure cultures from this material and from the decay confirmed the
Current applications of endoscopic suturing

Endoscopic suturing had previously been considered an experimental procedure only performed in a few centers and often by surgeons. Now, however, endoscopic suturing has evolved sufficiently to be easily implemented during procedures and is more commonly used by gastroenterologists. We have employed the Apollo OverStitch suturing device in a variety of ways including closure of perforations, closure of full thickness defects in the gastrointestinal wall created during endoscopic full thickness resection, closure of mucosotomies during peroral endoscopic myotomy, stent fixation, fistula closure, post endoscopic submucosal dissection, endoscopic mucosal resection and Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery defect closures, post-bariatric surgery gastrojejunal anastomosis revision and primary sleeve gastroplasty.
In-situ deposition of sacrificial layers during ion implantation: concept and simulation

The retained dose of implanted ions is limited by sputtering. It is known that a sacrificial layer deposited prior to ion implantation can lead to an enhanced retained dose. However, a higher ion energy is required to obtain a similar implantation depth due to the stopping of ions in the sacrificial layer. It is desirable to have a sacrificial layer of only a few monolayers thickness which can be renewed after it has been sputtered away. We explain the concept and describe two examples: (i) metal ion implantation using simultaneously a vacuum arc ion source and filtered vacuum arc plasma sources, and (ii) Metal Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation and Deposition (MePIIID). In MePIIID, the target is immersed in a metal or carbon plasma and a negative, repetitively pulsed bias voltage is applied. Ions are implanted when the bias is applied while the sacrificial layer suffers sputtering. Low-energy thin film deposition – repair of the sacrificial layer – occurs between bias pulses. No foreign atoms are incorporated into the target since the sacrificial film is made of the same ion species as used in the implantation phase.
An interdisciplinary clinical training program for dietitians New primary care functions

The authors report a new approach in teaching clinical skills to dietetic interns and students. The emphasis is on development of personalized clinical dietetic performance in longterm care calling for major dietary change by client.
Inhibition of Botulinum Toxin Formation in Bacon by Acid Development.

Lactobacillus plantarum , as a producer of lactic acid, and sucrose as a fermentable carbohydrate were evaluated for use in lowering the amount of or eliminating sodium nitrite in bacon. This work was limited to effect on antibotulinal properties. Organoleptic effects were not considered. Slices of bacon were inoculated with spores of Clostridium botulinum types A and B with or without simultaneous inoculation with a culture of L. plantarum , vacuum-packaged and incubated at 27 C. Samples were taken after various periods of incubation and assayed for botulinal toxin. We found that (a) sodium nitrite alone, at 120 ppm, did not give bacon extended protection against development of botulinum toxin if a fermentable carbon source (sucrose in these instances) was not present; (b) without added lactic acid bacteria, the effectiveness of 120 ppm of sodium nitrite plus sugar was variable and depended upon growth of naturally contaminating bacteria and (c) lactic acid bacteria with an adequate amount of sucrose gave good protection against development of botulinal toxin. Upon temperature abuse, acid was produced and growth of C. botulinum was inhibited. Because the protective properties against development of botulinal toxin in the sugar-lactic acid bacteria system were not dependent on the presence of nitrite, nitrite can be lowered to the level necessary to make organoleptically acceptable products without sacrificing safety, thus less nitrosamine formation may be achieved.
The Allure of Metallic Stripes: Single-Sized Narrow Ribbons of Graphene

Cutting-edge synthesis is gradually delivering new types of graphene nanoribbons, enabling comparison of their properties to theoretical predictions. In this issue of Chem , Wu and coworkers describe oligomers of N = 5 armchair graphene nanoribbons possessing near-metallic ( E g = 0.21 eV) behavior.
Phosphorylation of the MCT-1 Oncogene Protein by p42/44 MAPK Is Required for Transformation.

Abstract The MCT-1 oncogene has been shown to decrease cell doubling time, dramatically shorten the duration of G1 transit time and/or G1-S transition, as well as transform NIH3T3 fibroblasts. We subsequently demonstrated that there are significantly increased levels of MCT-1 protein in a subset of primary diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) as well as some T-cell lymphomas compared with normal lymphoid tissue. We have mapped MCT-1 to chromosome Xq22-24, a region that has been previously shown to contain amplified DNA in a variety of primary B-cell lymphoid neoplasms using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Recent data has shown that MCT-1 is involved in protection against serum-starvation induced apoptosis involving enhanced AKT activity. Phosphorylation is one potential mechanism by which the activity of molecules involved in cell cycle regulation/survival is rapidly modulated. The RAS/MEK/ERK signal transduction cascade plays a prominent role in the regulation of cell growth and proliferation. The MCT-1 protein is predicted to have several putative phosphorylation sites including, a p42/p44 MAPK and cyclinB/cdc2 kinase substrate site. These cdc2 and MAPK phosphorylation sites have been mutated through site-directed mutagenesis and expressed in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) in order to examine the role of these kinase sites on cell growth and transformation. We demonstrated that the phosphorylation of MCT-1 by p42/p44 MAPK is critical for its ability to stimulate cell proliferation as well as cellular transformation. Our data suggest that targeting the RAS/MEK/ERK signal transduction cascade may be a useful therapeutic approach in those lymphomas and related disorders overexpressing MCT-1.
Multivariate models for predicting glacier termini

Concerns over the rapid retreat rates of mountain glaciers have been rising as global temperatures have continued to increase. The extent of variation in the retreat of mountain glaciers can provide information about changes to different climatic conditions. Assessing the retreat rates of glaciers is crucial to assess the continuing existence of mountain glaciers and the ramifications of those retreats on water security for human societies. Therefore, mathematical and statistical models for the quantification of glacier dynamics in response to climate change are in high demand. In this research, we propose a multivariate regression model that estimates glacier change and predicts the location of glacier terminus over time, based on observed climate factors. The proposed method is applied to temporal sequences of ground observations for a number of glaciers around the globe. This model can potentially be used for monitoring glacier systems using climatic factors.
Design and analysis of dual helix liquid metal antenna

The goal of this paper is to expand on previously researched Eutectic Gallium-Indium (EGaIn) alloy liquid metal antennas to create an antenna that can change both polarization and frequency to meet the users needs. This concept is described through analytical models of helix antennas, simulations performed in FEKO, and measured results of a proof-of-concept dual frequency L-band GPS-focused hardware model. Although ongoing work is being performed to more efficiently feed this proof-of-concept liquid metal antenna, the overall realized gain of the helix aligned well with theoretical models.
Unveiling the Effects of Linker Substitution in Suzuki Coupling with Palladium Nanoparticles in Metal–Organic Frameworks

The establishment of structure–property relationships in heterogeneous catalysis is of prime importance but remains a formidable challenge. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) featuring excellent chemical tunability are emerging as an auspicious platform for the atomic-level control of heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we encapsulate palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) in a series of isoreticular mixed-linker MOFs, and the obtained MOF-Pd NPs catalysts were used to unveil the electronic and steric effects of linker substitution on the activity of these catalysts in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. Significantly, m-6,6′-Me2bpy-MOF-Pd exhibits a remarkable enhancement in the activity compared to non-functionalized m-bpy-MOF-Pd and m-4,4′-Me2bpy-MOF-Pd. This study unambiguously demonstrates that the stereoelectronic properties of linker units are crucial to the catalytic activity of nanoparticles encapsulated in MOFs. More interestingly, the trend of activity change is consistent with our previous work on catalytic sites generated in situ from Pd(II) coordinated in MOFs bearing the same functional groups, which suggests that both MOF-Pd NPs and MOF-Pd(II) catalysts generate similar active centers during Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions. This work paves a new avenue to the fabrication of advanced and tunable MOF-based catalysts through rational linker engineering. We encapsulate palladium nanoparticles in a series of isoreticular mixed-linker MOFs, and the obtained Pd-doped MOFs catalysts were used to unveil the electronic and steric effects of linker substitution on the activity of these catalysts in the context of Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. Impressively, m-6,6′-Me2bpy-MOF-Pd exhibits a remarkable enhancement in the activity compared to non-functionalized m-bpy-MOF-Pd and m-4,4′-Me2bpy-MOF-Pd, thus implementing atomic-level controls of heterogeneous catalysis.
Size Matters: Ryanodine Receptor Cluster Size Affects Arrhythmogenic Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Release

Background Ryanodine receptors (RyR) mediate sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium (Ca2+) release and influence myocyte Ca2+ homeostasis and arrhythmias. In cardiac myocytes, RyRs are found in clusters of...
The Carbamate Reaction with Proteins: Observation by 13C-NMR and Evaluation of Structural Consequences

The classical studies of Bohr et al. (1904) and Christiansen et al. (1914) led to the first recognition of the general nature and importance of carbamate formation from the reaction of CO2 with amino groups (Henriques, 1928). The general importance of the reaction has been stressed by Neuberg et al. (1955) and Edsall and Wyman (1958), and its importance in CO2 homeostasis by Hastings (1970), Morrow et al. (1974b), Morrow and Gurd (1975), Wittebort et al. (1978), and Gurd et al. (1979). Since the carbamino derivatives are rarely the dominant form of the total CO2 present in a system, they have been intensively studied in relatively few cases whose interest was recognized early (Stadie and O’Brien, 1937; Roughton, 1964).
Spectroscopic Studies of Drug-Nucleic Acid Interactions

At a preceding Jerusalem Symposium I had the pleasure of presenting the initial results of our development of the use of oligonucleotides as models to study the interaction of drug-nucleic acid complexes (Krugh, 1974). The main thrust of this early work was the study of the sequence preferences observed in the interaction of actinomycin D with deoxydinucleotides as studied by visible absorption spectroscopy (Krugh, 1972) and the determination of the geometry of the complexes formed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (Krugh and Neely 1973a,b). Several interesting developments have occurred in our understanding of drug-nucleic acid complexes during the past few years: some of these will be discussed below. Figure 1 shows the chemical structures of actinomycin D (1a), ethidium bromide (1b), daunorubicin and adriamycin (1c) and actinomine (1d). Actinomycin D, daunorubicin and adriamycin are important drugs in the area of cancer chemotherapy (e.g. see Meienhofer and Atherton, 1973, and Sartorelli, 1976, ethidium bromide is a trypanocidal drug (e.g. see LePecq et. al., 1974), while actinomine is an analog of actinomycin in which the uncharged cyclic pentapeptides are replaced by the positively charged (at neutral pH) groups shown in Figure 1d.
Regional Anaesthesia for Thoracic Surgery

Thoracic operations include a wide variety of different operative approaches. Most procedures are performed under general anaesthesia since controlled one-lung ventilation (OLV) is usually required. Analgesia strategies involving regional anaesthetic techniques are usually instituted prior to or during surgery in anticipation of postoperative pain. Different incisions are associated with varying degrees of postoperative pain. In general, the lateral thoracotomy incision is considered the most painful, median sternotomy less so, and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) the least painful. In addition to the skin incision, disruption of intercostal nerves, inflammation of the chest wall, diaphragm and pleura, and the number and sites of chest drainage tubes all influence pain. Patients also experience pain at non-incisional sites, particularly ipsilateral shoulder pain, which often follows thoracotomy and VATS procedures.
Quantum Transport Formalisms

This chapter introduces some popular quantum transport formalisms such as the scattering matrix formalism, the Landau–Vlasov equation (which can be viewed as a quantum-mechanical equivalent of the collisionless BTE), the nonequilibrium Green’s function approach, the Wigner distribution function, the Tsu–Esaki formalism, and the Landauer–Buttiker approach for linear response transport. Applications of these formalisms are presented in Chap. 9.
CONVENIENT PRODUCTION, RESOLUTION, AND ISOTOPE LABELING OF CYTOCHALASIN CONGENERS

ABSTRACT Efforts to improve small-scale yields of useful cytochalasins by fermentation resulted in selection of an enriched aflatoxin medium which increased yields by fivefold over those reported in the earlier literature. With Helminthosporium dematoideun and Zygosporium masonii in stationary culture for 3 weeks, cytochalasins B and D were obtained in quantities approaching 700 and 500 mg/liter, respectively. It appears that the critical components are factors associated with whole wheat. By using these procedures coupled with improvements in isolation, supplementation with two radioactive phenylalanine species readily produced [ 14 C]-or [ 3 H]cytochalasin B. Oxidation with MnO 2 of carrier-free radioactive cytochalasin B to cytochalasin A also provided this labeled congener. Resolution of oxidation reaction products was effected by HPLC. The isotopic conversion of precursor to crystalline products which met analytical criteria ranged from 2 to 4% of the administered radioactivity. Cytochalasins so isolated and resolved inhibited gelation in a cell-free contractile model system obtained from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells at 10 –7 –10 –9 M. KEYWORDS Cytochalasins A, B, D; production; biosynthetic labeling; HPLC separation; biological activity vs. cell-free contractility.
ADXS11-001 immunotherapy in squamous or non-squamous persistent/recurrent metastatic cervical cancer: Results from stage I of the phase II GOG/NRG0265 study.

5516Background: There is no approved treatment with a survival benefit for persistent/recurrent metastatic cervical cancer (PRmCC) patients (pts) who have progressed after ≥ 1 line of systemic-dose...
Data collected by the electronic health record is insufficient for estimating nursing costs: An observational study on acute care inpatient nursing units

Abstract Introduction As the electronic health record becomes more sophisticated, commensurate advances in cost accounting have risen as a top priority for hospital leaders. This study explored: 1) the average time to complete common nursing tasks documented in the electronic health record, 2) nursing-related tasks that remain undocumented, 3) the association between observation data and actual nursing documentation, and 4) considerations for model development and report design to be used for activity based cost accounting in nursing. Methods This was an observational study completed on acute care inpatient nursing units at a large academic medical center. During a five-week period, 63 nurses from 25 units were observed for over 250 h. Results Nearly 60% of the observed nursing activities did not fit into categories readily available in, and easily abstracted from, the electronic health record. The undocumented activities accounted for over half of the observation tasks and equated to nearly 130 h, in which over 40 h were spent on the activity of documentation/charting itself. Furthermore, nearly 36 h were spent on communication, followed by 13.5 h on monitoring/surveillance, two critical tasks in nursing which cannot be overlooked. Conclusions Using the electronic health record for cost accounting in nursing is a novel approach. In addition to the electronic health record, supplementary sources of data must be included to accurately capture nursing work and associated costs. Findings and lessons learned from this study will be used to guide future work and develop a model that determines the cost of nursing care and improved value in hospitalized patients.
Abstract WP296: Access to Comprehensive Stroke Centers in Los Angeles County

Introduction: In 2018, the Los Angeles County (LAC) model for routing of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) transports of suspected large vessel occlusion stroke patients changed from transport to the...
Breaking Amide C-N Bonds in an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory.

An undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory experiment involving the breakage of amide C–N bonds is reported. Whereas amides are typically considered stable species due to well-established resonance effects, this experiment allows students to cleave the amide C–N bond in a nickel-catalyzed esterification process. Moreover, students perform the experiment on the benchtop using a commercially available paraffin wax capsule containing the necessary nickel precatalyst and N-heterocyclic carbene ligand. The laboratory procedure introduces students to several modern topics in organic chemistry that are not otherwise well-represented in typical undergraduate organic chemistry curricula, such as amide bond cleavage, transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, and nonprecious-metal catalysis.