cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Axillary staging using ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy in locally advanced breast cancer

Abstract Background: Axillary lymph node status is important for staging and planning therapy prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancers (LABC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of axillary ultrasonography coupled with fine needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) to determine lymph node status prior to initiation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: Patients with a LABC, defined as a breast cancer clinically larger than 3.0 cm or a cytology positive axillary lymph node, were evaluated by clinical examination followed by ultrasonographic evaluation. Lymph nodes were categorized as suspicious for malignancy based on size >1.0 cm, decrease in the fatty hilum, or parenchymal echogenicity. US-FNAB was performed on all patients. Most patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by definitive surgery. Axillary surgery consisted of axillary lymph node dissection. Axillary status by clinical examination and US-FNAB was compared with that obtained by axillary node dissection. Results: From January 1998 to May 2001, 26 patients (27 axillae) presented with LABC to our institution. The median age of these patients was 48 years. The sensitivity and specificity of US-FNAB for evaluating axillary metastatic disease in patients with LABC were 100% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions: In patients with locally advanced breast cancer, axillary ultrasonography coupled with fine needle aspiration biopsy can accurately stage the axilla. It is particularly useful and should be used more frequently in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The use of ultrasonography to stage the axilla in patients who present with small breast cancers should be explored.
Modulation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in isolated pancreatic islets.

Abstract Culture of isolated rat islets at either 5.5 or 11 mM glucose for up to 6 days was associated with significant time-dependent increases in glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PD) activity of islet homogenates compared with freshly isolated islet G3PD activity. In addition, after 6 days of culture of islets at 11 mM glucose, there was a significant increase in G3PD activity compared with the enzyme activity of islets cultured at 5.5 mM glucose. Culture of islets at 5.5 mM glucose for 2 days in the presence of forskolin, 3-isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), and 8-bromo-cyclic AMP also significantly increased G3PD activity compared with control islets, although there was no change in enzyme activity after only 1 day of culture with forskolin. Treatment with forskolin was associated with an increase in the Vmax of G3PD, but no change was observed in the apparent Km with NAD. IBMX and 8-bromo-cyclic AMP also increased G3PD activity in islets cultured at 11 mM glucose for 2 days. 8-Bromo-cyclic AMP did not affect or inhibit G3PD activity when added directly to islet homogenates. Islets cultured with 8-bromo-cyclic GMP for 2 days at 5.5 or 11 mM glucose did not show changes in G3PD activity. Increases in G3PD activity did not correlate with significant changes in islet glucose utilization. Thus, G3PD activity is modulated by the duration of glucose stimulation in cultured islets, and cyclic AMP may mediate changes in G3PD activity in islet cells.
Activation of wheat germ acetyl CoA carboxylase by potassium and rubidium

Abstract Wheat germ acetyl CoA carboxylase requires certain alkali cations to exhibit maximal activity. Maximal activation results when 60 mM K+ or Rb+ are included in the assay mixture, whereas only marginal activation occurs in the presence of similar concentrations of Li++ and Na++. Cs++ activates, but less effectively than K+ or Rb+. Since it is also possible to activate the enzyme maximally using 20 mM potassium isocitrate, but not 20 mM sodium isocitrate, activation of the wheat germ enzyme is due to a cation effect and not to citrate anion.
A Simulation Study Of Tsypkin's Optimum, Adaptive Quantizer For Unknown Data Processes

AbstractTsypkin's algorithm for optimum, adaptive, recursive quantization of data processes with a prioriunknown statistics was simulated. Gaussian and random sinewave data types were used. It is shown in this paper how to choose the initial conditions and gain factors, which Tsypkin left incompletely specified inhis English reports, so that the algorithm produces quantizers close to the known optimum quantizers. The cases of 2, 4, and 8 levels are demonstrated. To the author's knowledge, this is the first report on anapplication of the Tsypkin algorithm in the literature. Further study of Tsypkin's algorithm is recommended.Introduction Many data processing tasks require quantization of continuous amplitude data to produce discrete amplitude data. Even though an irreducible error results because of this truncation, the error may be madesmall in some agreed -upon sense. The design of quantizers that produce "small" errors is well understoodwhen the input data are drawn from a known, or at least parametric, distribution. (1) For some importantapplications, however, the input distribution is unknown a priori, and conventional optimization techniques
TU‐FF‐A4‐06: Variation in Dual‐Energy Chest Radiography Among Systems Using Identical Digital Flat Panel Detectors

Purpose: To study the variation of dual‐energy chest radiographysystems by measuring Spectral Quality Factor (SQF) and subtracted‐image Noise Quality Factor (NQF) defined by Alvarez, Seibert, and Thompson (2004)1. SQF depends on the x‐ray energy spectrum and detector DQE. NQF is a measure of noise in the subtracted image, which depends on SQF and detected signal levels. Method and Materials: Stepwedges of aluminum and polycarbonate duplicating the original work and a 4.8 mm thick acrylic slab were radiographed in dual energy chest mode at 120 and 60 kVp using 15 systems (XQ/i, XR/d, and XR/dII; GE Medical Systems; Milwaukee, WI). Exposure levels of approximately 16, 24, 47, and 57 mR were measured free‐in‐air, corrected to the surface of the acrylic slab. SQF was calculated from effective linear attenuation coefficients, slopes of logarithm of pixel values behind each step relative to an uncovered area versus step thickness from raw images of each stepwedge at low and high energy. NQF was the slope of SNR2 in the soft‐tissue image of the smallest step of the polycarbonate stepwedge versus entrance exposure. Results: Alvarez, et al. compared three dual‐energy detector technologies, reporting results in relative terms, including variation of ±5% in SQF for an individual unit like ours. Our SQF was approximately 1.2×10−8 mm−2 ±14%. They reported NQF of 0.18 mR−1 estimated from Fig.10 using images subtracted by their own algorithm. Our NQF was approximately 0.16 mR−1 ±9% using images subtracted by the clinical system.Conclusions: SQF and NQF are useful indicators of dual energy system performance that can be determined in a practical setting with clinical systems. Values for our flat panel systems are in general agreement with previous reports.
Accretion of the Franciscan Complex attending Jurassic–Cretaceous geotectonic development of northern and central California

Scattered igneous activity marks the Triassic margin of California, but an Andean volcanic-plutonic arc began to form in the Sierra Nevada–White-Inyo Range and Klamath Mountains at ca. 170 Ma during underflow of the oceanic lithosphere. This calc-alkaline belt supplied volcanogenic erosional debris to the Mariposa-Galice proximal overlap sequence by ca. 165–160 Ma. Transpression also generated high-pressure–low-temperature basaltic eclogites, garnet-blueschists, and amphibolites along the Middle and Late Jurassic convergent plate junction at ca. 170–155 Ma; most of these returned surfaceward as tectonic blocks only during the mid-Cretaceous. The high-grade metamafic (metamorphosed mafic) blocks that formed during construction of the emergent arc and derived Mariposa-Galice strata predate the onset of Franciscan trench deposition. Near the end of Jurassic time, the Klamath salient evidently migrated ∼200 km westward. An earliest Cretaceous westward stepout of the convergent junction apparently formed directly offshore from the Klamath imbricate orogen, but to the south, preexisting oceanic crust–capped lithosphere was trapped landward as the Coast Range ophiolite. Andean arc detritus began to accumulate on this ophiolitic basement within the Great Valley forearc and outboard Franciscan oceanic trench at ca. 145–140 Ma. Because earliest Cretaceous, relatively continuous Great Valley strata were deposited on the stable North American plate, protected from both surface and subcrustal erosion, forearc terrigenous sedimentation also signaled coeval deposition in the outboard trench ∼10–25 m.y. after Middle and Late Jurassic initiation of the continental margin calc-alkaline arc. Voluminous sedimentation and the accretion of Franciscan and San Joaquin sections of Great Valley rocks took place during mid- and Late Cretaceous time after a flare-up in igneous arc activity at ∼125–120 Ma. The youngest Sierran granites have ca. 85 Ma ages, reflecting extinction of the magmagenic zone beneath northern and central California, and presumably reflecting subhorizontal oceanic plate underflow attending the Laramide orogeny. Feebly zeolitized Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary Franciscan Coastal belt rocks, derived from the now-inactive arc, underwent only low-pressure burial metamorphism. Reflecting shallow offloading and/or large-scale transpression, they were not appreciably subducted. Although Coastal belt units are members of the Franciscan lithotectonic assemblage, their origin contrasts with the rest of the subduction complex.
A systematic exploration of the influence of the protein stability on amyloid fibril formation in vitro

There are a number of diseases in which normally soluble proteins associate into regular, insoluble amyloid fibrils. The development of in vitro model systems in which detailed structural, kinetic, and thermodynamic characterization are feasible is of critical importance to our understanding of the amyloid fibril phenomenon. The formation of amyloid fibrils by proteins that are not associated with disease has been recently described, suggesting that this may be a common property of many proteins and not only of the few proteins associated with amyloidoses. The B1 Ig-binding domain of protein G (β1) is an extremely well-characterized model system. We have found that under certain experimental conditions, some variants of β1 form fibrils with high reproducibility. By controlling the stability of the protein—either by mutations or by changing experimental conditions—we are able to modulate the ability of the protein to form fibrils. For all of the variants, we find that the key requirement for fibril formation is to choose conditions in which the population of intermediate conformations present during the unfolding transition is maximized.
Liquid crystal television (LCTV) as an optics education tool

In this paper, it is shown that twisted nematic liquid crystal television display panels (LCTV's) can be used as programmable optical elements to demonstrate basic optical phenomena (e.g., interference and diffraction) in the student optics laboratory. The LCTV'S considered are pixelated with gray levels appropriately manipulated to generate an optical element by electrically addressing the LCTV using image processing software. Programmable optical elements such as single or multiple apertures and slits, gratings (amplitude and phase), apertures with programmable shape and size, phase objects (wavefronts), and programmable pupil functions such as anamorphic lenses, lenslet arrays, and spherical lenses with programmable size, focal length, and generalized pupil functions that include wavefront aberration functions are discussed and the methods used to generate them are described. It is demonstrated that the LCTV combines the merits of discrete optical elements and graphic user interface based software tools to provide a simple and inexpensive means to study optical elements.
Stereoscopic augmented reality for da Vincii™ robotic biliary surgery.

INTRODUCTION New laparoscopic techniques put distance between the surgeon and his patient.
Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Paper as a Sorbent for Organic Vapor Preconcentration

Single-walled carbon nanotubes were examined as an adsorptive material for a thermally desorbed preconcentrator for organic vapors. The nanotubes were processed into a paper form and packed into a metal tube for flow-through sampling. Adsorbed vapors were released by a temperature-programmed desorption method and detected downstream with a flexural plate wave vapor sensor. The tested vapors, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, and dimethyl methylphosphonate, were released from the packed column at different temperatures. The vapors were retained more strongly than previously observed for the widely used Tenax porous polymer, indicating a significant affinity of the single walled nanotubes for organic vapors.
Translation of histone messenger RNA by homologous cell-free systems from synchronized HeLa cells.

Cell-free systems have been prepared from HeLa cells synchronized in S phase and from the same cells treated with cytosine arabinoside to inhibit DNA synthesis. Translation of HeLa cell histone mRNA by these cell-free systems is equally efficient. The cell-free systems have been characterized for K+ and Mg2+ optima which are similar to those of the mouse ascites cell-free system. One major difference between these two cell-free systems is the reduced efficiency of initiation of the HeLa system. This can be overcome by the addition of rabbit reticulocyte initiation factors, which stimulate 4–5-fold translation of histone mRNA. The possibility that a translational inhibitor of histone synthesis is lost during the preincubation of the HeLa extracts has been tested by using cell-free systems prepared with non-preincubated extracts. In addition, it has been established that nuclear HeLa cell histones inhibit protein synthesis in a non-specific way; when added to an ascites or HeLa cell-free system they do not inhibit specifically the translation of histone mRNA and thus cannot act as specific translational repressors.
Writing When Everything Has Been Said: The History of American Higher Education following Laurence Veysey's Classic

I wandered into the history of universities through a side door. I went to graduate school to study intellectual history. In my second year, I decided to write a seminar paper on changing ideas about the nature of religion but wanted to avoid the abstractness of traditional history of ideas. Looking for some more "concrete" way of documenting change in ideas than the analysis of individual thinkers allowed, I decided somewhat arbitrarily to "ground" my study in the history of universities. I do not recall even thinking about universities as related to the production of knowledge but rather viewed them as a convenient social institution in which one could find changing practices of religion. Since its not a central part of the canon of American history, I had read very little about the history of higher education at that point. But I had read Laurence R. Veysey's The Emergence of the American University, a book well known among historians as the definitive account of the subject. I learned from Veysey's book that piety had dominated the American college before the Civil War, but that a group of reformers had revolutionized the university in the late nineteenth century, unmooring it from its religious roots. To the extent religion survived, Veysey saw it as a remnant of older times or a nod to convention and respectability. Based on this, I decided that the new universities founded around 1890 would be an interesting place to look at religion. I did not expect to find a great deal of focus on religion at these institutions. Indeed, I anticipated that I would be writing about the meaning of absence. Writing this seminar paper, I found much more attention to religion than I had expected and developed a real curiosity about the history of universities, a curiosity that led to my dissertation and my book, The Making of the Modern University. I sent my dissertation proposal to Laurence Veysey,
CEREBRAL HCG SECRETING TUMER-RESPONSE TO CHEMOTHERAPY

A 9-year-old white male with bitemporal vision loss and sexual precocity, had optic atrophy and panhypopituitarism(Peak hGH response to arginine/insulin -3.5ng/ml, cortisol response to hypoglycemia -5μg/ml). The T4 was 1.6ng/100ml and morning urine specific gravity 1.001. His FSH was 5.5mIU/ml but hLF was >100m IU/ml. Tim testosterone was 1, 644ng/100ml. ENI scan was negative. The air study and carotid angiogram revealed a large avascular suprasellar mass. The greatly elevated hLH level and panhypopituitarism suggested hCG of tumor origin which was confirmed at a level of 884ng/ml. The parents refused surgery or radiotherapy on religious grounds. Three months later he was readmitted with signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. Repeat ENI scan revealed a large suprasellar nass with central calcification and obstructive hydrocephalus. A (R) V-A shunt was performed and the patient was started on Methotrexate 3mg/kg every two weeks for six weeks. During this time, he deteriorated to a state of dementia, stupor, blindness, and spasticlty. In the seventh post-op week, triple therapy of Vincrlstine, Actinomycin D, and Cytoxan was initiated. By the 8th week of triple therapy he was a happy, alert, articulate, ambulatory boy. His optic atrophy, and panhypopituitarism persist. By the llth week, the hCG level was <4ng/ml and by the 14th week, his ENI scan revealed a narked reduction in tumor size.
Low-coordinate and neutral nitrido complexes of vanadium.

Two neutral and four-coordinate vanadium(V)-nitrido complexes have been prepared via the thermolysis of metastable vanadium(III)-azido precursors. All complexes have been fully characterized by multinuclear NMR, FT-IR, isotopic labeling, and, in most instances, single crystal X-ray diffraction. On the basis of activation parameters, N2 extrusion to form the V≡N moiety is proposed to occur via an ordered and early transition state having three- or four-triazametallacycle frameworks. In addition, we demonstrate the nitrido ligand to undergo incomplete N-atom transfer to CO and CN{2,6-Me2-C6H3) to form the bent V—N═C═X (X = O, N{2,6-Me2-C6H3}) ligands with concomitant 2e− reduction at the vanadium center.
Effects of Heart Rate and Pulmonary Artery Pressure on Doppler Pulmonary Artery Acceleration Time in Experimental Acute Pulmonary Hypertension

Chronic pulmonary hypertension in humans is characterized by shortening of the pulmonary artery acceleration time as measured by Doppler echocardiography, such that the higher the pulmonary artery pressure, the shorter the pulmonary acceleration time. Increases in heart rate are also known to produce decreases in the pulmonary artery acceleration time. To explore the relationship between mean pulmonary artery pressure, heart rate, and Doppler pulmonary artery acceleration time, experimental acute pulmonary hypertension was created in nine Duroc swine, either by infusion of Sephadex beads with embolization of the pulmonary arterial circulation or by partially occluding the main pulmonary artery 8 to 10 cm distal to the pulmonic valve. Pulmonary artery Doppler flow velocity recordings and invasive pressure measurements were made at baseline and at paced atrial rates ranging from 60 to 160 beats per minute, in 20-beat increments. The results in this acute animal model reveal that increases in heart rate produced significant decreases in Doppler pulmonary artery acceleration time at mean pressures below 25 mm Hg. However, with mean pulmonary artery pressures greater than 25 mm Hg, both heart rate and increases in pulmonary artery pressure had no significant effect on acceleration time. (Chest 1991; 100:470-73)
Overexpression and Mechanistic Analysis of Chromosomally Encoded Aminoglycoside 2′-N-Acetyltransferase (AAC(2′)-Ic) fromMycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract The chromosomally encoded aminoglycosideN-acetyltransferase, AAC(2′)-Ic, of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has a yet unidentified physiological function. Theaac(2′)-Ic gene was cloned and expressed inEscherichia coli, and AAC(2′)-Ic was purified. Recombinant AAC(2′)-Ic was a soluble protein of 20,000 Da and acetylated all aminoglycosides substrates tested in vitro, including therapeutically important antibiotics. Acetyl-CoA was the preferred acyl donor. The enzyme, in addition to acetylating aminoglycosides containing 2′-amino substituents, also acetylated kanamycin A and amikacin that contain a 2′-hydroxyl substituent, although with lower activity, indicating the capacity of the enzyme to perform bothN-acetyl and O-acetyl transfer. The enzyme exhibited “substrate activation” with many aminoglycoside substrates while exhibiting Michaelis-Menten kinetics with others. Kinetic studies supported a random kinetic mechanism for AAC(2′)-Ic. Comparison of the kinetic parameters of different aminoglycosides suggested that their hexopyranosyl residues and, to a lesser extent, the central aminocyclitol residue carry the major determinants of substrate affinity.
Cellular-indecomposable subnormal operators III

A bounded operatorT is called cellular-indecomposable ifL ∩M ≠ {0} wheneverL andM are nonzero invariant subspaces forT. We prove that a cyclic subnormal operator is cellular-indecomposable if and only if it is quasi-similar to an analytic Toeplitz operator whose symbol is a weak-star generator ofH ∞. This completes our previous work [5], [6].
Cautions on the Use of Multiple Imputation When Selecting Between Latent Categorical versus Continuous Models for Psychological Constructs

Clinical psychology researchers studying adolescents and young adults long have been interested in characterizing the latent categorical (classes/profiles) versus continuous (factors) nature of psychological syndromes. To inform this debate, researchers sometimes compare the fit of finite mixture versus factor analysis models to symptom data. This study explains and evaluates how missing data handling methods can impact results of this important model fit comparison. Via simulation, we assess three missing data-handling methods previously recommended to researchers fitting these models: multiple imputation using a saturated multivariate normal imputation model, multiple imputation using a hypothesized model, or full information maximum likelihood using the EM algorithm (FIML-EM). Results show that, under certain conditions, the method used to handle missing data can interfere with clinical psychologists' ability to accurately discriminate latent classes from continua. For instance, certain imputation meth...
Ketamine plus midazolam, a most effective paediatric oral premedicant

Healthy children, 1.5 to seven years old, were divided into three groups of 20 each. Group 1 received midazolam 0.5 mg.kg-1, Group 2, ketamine 6 mg.kg-1 and Group 3 a mixture of midazolam 0.4 mg.kg-1 + ketamine 4 mg.kg-1. Each dose was mixed with atropine 0.02 mg.kg-1 plus an equal volume of cherry syrup and was given orally 20 to 30 min prior to surgery. A grade of 1 (asleep, difficult to arouse), 2 (asleep, easily aroused), 3 (awake, calm), 4 (awake, anxious, occasional cry), or 5 (crying, agitated), was assigned at the time of parental separation and again when mask induction was begun. A grade of 1-3 was considered successful. For parental separation, the mixture of ketamine+midazolam was 100% successful, ketamine 90% and midazolam 75%. Successful mask induction for the mixture of ketamine+midazolam was 85%, midazolam 65% and ketamine 42%. This study indicates that a mixture of ketamine+midazolam is the most effective.
Electron microscopic evidence for neurotoxicity in the basal ganglia

The dopaminergic projection from the substantia nigra to the neostriatum is vulnerable to several neurotoxins including 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), amphetamine, and 5-hydroxydopamine. We have treated rats or mice with these agents and examined various regions of their brains with a combination of Fink-Heimer, immunohistochemical, serial-section electron microscopic, and three-dimensional reconstruction methods. In addition to degenerating or swollen axons, we found darkened glial processes and some damage to postsynaptic cells and dendrites. The particular effects observed critically depend on experimental variables such as dose, time, species and strain and raise questions about the correlation of light and electron microscopic results. These studies provide the basis for a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of an ultrastructural examination of the effects of neurotoxins.
Yield Distributions of Spaced Plants within Pensacola Bahiagrass Populations Developed by Recurrent Restricted Phenotypic Selection

Pensacola bahiagrass (Pb), Paspalum notatum Flugge var. saure Parodi, is a warm season perennial sward grass grazed by livestock on more than a million hectares in the southeastern USA. This research was designed to evaluate the 5-yr effect of recurrent restricted phenotypic selection (RRPS) on the average yield and the distribution of spaced plant yield (SPY) components within broad-based Population A and narrow-based Populations B and E. RRPS Cycles 0, 9, and 18 in Population A, and Cycles 0, 5, and 10 in Population B produced 5-yr average spaced-plant-population progress (SPPP) yields of 364, 1014, 1767, 823, 1158, and 1427 g plant -1 , respectively. The average SPY increase in Population A proceeded at the same rate from RRPS Cycles 16 to 22 as from 0 to 16 previously reported. The average SPY increase proceeded at a faster rate at RRPS Cycles 5, 6, and 7 for very narrow based Population E than for Populations A and B. Comparison of SPYs from different cycles in the 5-yr SPPP tests revealed that RRPS increased the number of high yielding plants and reduced the number of low yielding plants in successive cycles. RRPS Cycle 18 of Population A that produced two plants yielding 4540 g in the SPPP test had 27 plants weighing only 454 g. Seven, 14, and 22 cycles of RRPS were required to create plants with SPYs yielding 4086 g in 100-plant populations of E, B, and A, respectively.
Focality, stochasticity and neuroanatomic propagation in ALS pathogenesis.

Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) phenotypes such as limb ALS, bulbar ALS, primary lateral sclerosis and primary muscular atrophy are highly heterogeneous and exist on a continuum. These are largely determined by the neuroanatomy of the underlying pathological changes, which can be clinically imputed. Deconstructing these early in disease, before temporal–spatial summation induces complexity, shows that ALS begins focally at a seemingly random location and progresses contiguously. This suggests that focality and anatomic propagation of pathology are significant parts of pathogenesis—disease propagates over space as well as progresses over time. Focality and neuroanatomic propagation can explain how dominant genetic traits manifest with heterogeneous phenotypes, since the anatomic site of outbreak is a prime determinant of phenotype. Focality and neuroanatomic propagation can also explain why frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a neurodegeneration closely related to ALS, has heterogeneous phenotypes, since here too the anatomic site of the outbreak is a prime determinant of phenotype. There are two distinct types of neuroanatomic propagation: contiguous propagation, which occurs side-to-side regionally through the extracellular matrix independent of synaptic connection; and network propagation, which occurs end-to-end dependent on synaptic connections and axonal transmission in connected neuronal networks. The molecular basis of neuroanatomic propagation is unknown, although prion-like misfolding and templating of pathogenic proteins is a compelling unifying hypothesis.
A video-based rendering acceleration algorithm for interactive walkthroughs

We present a new approach for faster rendering of large synthetic environments using video-based representations. We decompose the large environment into cells and pre-compute video based impostors using MPEG compression to represent sets of objects that are far from each cell. At runtime, we decode the MPEG streams and use rendering algorithms that provide nearly constant-time random access to any frame. The resulting system has been implemented and used for an interactive walkthrough of a model of a house with 260,000 polygons and realistic lighting and textures. It is able to render this model at 16 frames per second (an eightfold improvement over simpler algorithms) on average on a Pentium II PC with an off-the-shelf graphics card.
Purification and properties of glutamine synthetase from Nocardia asteroides

Glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2) from Nocardia asteroides was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-150, and DEAE-Sepharose chromatography. The native molecular weight of the purified enzyme was determined to be 720 kDa. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified preparation revealed a single band corresponding to 59 kDa, indicating the possible presence of 12 identical subunits. The divalent cations Mn2+ and Mg2+ were found to be essential for optimal transferase and biosynthetic activity, respectively. The optimal pH and temperature for both activities of the enzyme were found to be 7.2 and 50 degrees C. Amino acids such as L-alanine, glycine, and aspartate inhibited the GS activity. The Km values for the substrates of the biosynthetic reaction ATP, glutamate, and ammonium chloride were found to be 400 microM, 7.7 mM, and 200 microM, respectively. Addition of ammonium chloride to the nitrogen-limited culture resulted in a decrease of GS transferase and biosynthetic activities. Phosphodiesterase treatment of the extract from ammonia-shocked cultures showed an increase in GS transferase activity. The results indicate the possible regulation of GS by covalent modification.
In vivo deamination of cytosine-containing cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in E. coli: a feasible part of UV-mutagenesis.

Abstract We have estimated in vivo deamination rates for cytosines in cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD or Py Py) in UV-irradiated E. coli deficient in uracil DNA glycosylase. The protocol consisted of UV-irradiation, holding in buffer to allow for deamination of cytosines in CPDs and photoreversal (PR) to establish uracils where cytosines in CPD deaminated. The deamination rate at T C photoproducts targeting glutamine tRNA suppressor mutations was estimated from the increase in the mutation frequency after PR (MF PR ) that developed as UV-irradiated cells were held before PR. Evidence suggested that an earlier study with this protocol under-estimated the deamination rate at sites producing the same mutations in an E. coli B/r strain. With a K12 strain, where the targeting apparently is principally by CPD and not (6–4) photoproducts, a larger rate of k = 0.0091 min −1 at 42 °C resulted. The dark assay for MF also increased significantly with time for deamination consistent with a model for efficient mutation by translesion synthesis at uracil-containing CPD. In addition, we used a strain constructed by Cupples and Miller in which β-galactosidase was inactive because -GGG- was at codon 461 and would revert to Lac + only when replaced by -GAG- or -GAA- for glutamate. C C photoproducts at this target site in the opposite DNA strand could reveal effects of first and second deaminations in the same CPD. MF PR for Lac + mutations increased and then decreased as a function of deamination time (at six temperatures 36–48 °C). Fitting an approximate model equation that distinguished two different deamination rates to these data suggested a first deamination producing Lac + at a rate about eight-fold less than a second deamination restoring the Lac − phenotype. We conclude that deamination, changing a cytosine-containing CPD to a uracil-containing CPD, could be an integral part of UV-induced C-to-T mutations.
Helical Crystal Assemblies in Nonracemic Chiral Liquid Crystalline Polymers: Where Chemistry and Physics Meet†

Chirality transfer (or amplification) in soft materials is an important topic for understanding how chiral assemblies develop from the atomic level to macroscopic objects. This is an interdisciplinary area which is critically associated with the evolution from asymmetric chemistry to asymmetric physics, and, more specifically, in biomaterials, liquid crystals, and polymers. In this review, we discuss our recent studies on the conditions for chirality transfer across different length scales. We observed that the formation of helical structures in different length scales is a typical process in chirality transfer. This is illustrated by a series of nonracemic chiral main-chain liquid crystalline (LC) polyesters, PETs(R*-n). The polymers contained a different number of methylene units in the chain backbone (from 7 to 11). All of the PETs(R*-n) macroscopically exhibited an LC chiral smectic C (SC*) phase, a chiral smectic A (SA*) phase, and a twist grain boundary smectic A (TGBA*) phase with increasing temper...
The spaces C (X)

Banach spaces of the form C (X), where X denotes a compact Hausdorff space, have already appeared on numerous occasions (see, in particular, Example 11F). In this chapter we develop some special information regarding these spaces that constitutes an essential part of the general theory of normed spaces. Our first project is to find the dual of such a space, and to this end we employ the material of Chapter 10.
Impact of Bordetella pertussis exposures on a Massachusetts tertiary care medical system.

OBJECTIVE. To assess the impact of outbreaks of Bordetella pertussis infection on a tertiary care medical system. DESIGN. Retrospective study. SETTING. Academic tertiary care medical center and affiliated ambulatory care settings. SUBJECTS. All patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) who were in close contact with patients with laboratory-confirmed cases of B. pertussis infection from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. INTERVENTION. Direct and indirect medical center costs were determined, including low and high estimates of time expended in the evaluation and management of exposed patients and HCWs during outbreak investigations of laboratory-confirmed cases of B. pertussis infection. RESULTS. During this period, 20 primary and 3 secondary laboratory-confirmed cases of B. pertussis infection occurred, with 2 primary pertussis cases and 1 secondary case occurring in HCWs. Outbreak investigations prompted screening of 353 medical center employees. Probable or definitive exposure was identified for 296 HCWs, and 287 subsequently received treatment or prophylaxis for B. pertussis infection. Direct medical center costs for treatment and prophylaxis were $13,416 and costs for personnel time were $19,500-$31,190. Indirect medical center costs for time lost from work were $51,300-$52,300. The total cost of these investigations was estimated to be $85,066-$98,456. CONCLUSIONS. Frequent B. pertussis exposures had a major impact on our facility. Given the impact of exposures on healthcare institutions, routine vaccination for HCWs may be beneficial.
High-spin ground states via electron delocalization in mixed-valence imidazolate-bridged divanadium complexes

The field of molecular magnetism has grown tremendously since the discovery of single-molecule magnets, but it remains centred around the superexchange mechanism. The possibility of instead using a double-exchange mechanism (based on electron delocalization rather than Heisenberg exchange through a non-magnetic bridge) presents a tantalizing prospect for synthesizing molecules with high-spin ground states that are well isolated in energy. We now demonstrate that magnetic double exchange can be sustained by simple imidazolate bridging ligands, known to be well suited for the construction of coordination clusters and solids. A series of mixed-valence molecules of the type [(PY5Me(2))V(II)(micro-L(br)) V(III)(PY5Me(2))](4+) were synthesized and their electron delocalization probed through cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry. Magnetic susceptibility data reveal a well-isolated S = 5/2 ground state arising from double exchange for [(PY5Me(2))(2)V(2)(micro-5,6-dimethylbenzimidazolate)](4+). Combined modelling of the magnetic data and spectral analysis leads to an estimate of the double-exchange parameter of B = 220 cm(-1) when vibronic coupling is taken into account.
Errors in Plasma Volume Measurement from Adsorption Losses of Albumin-I131.

SummaryAdsorption losses of albumin-I131 to volumetric glassware may be sufficient to cause significant underestimates of plasma volume. Some factors affecting these losses are examined and methods of minimizing their effects are described.
Strangers Headed to a Strange Land? A Pilot Study of Using a Transition Coordinator to Improve Transfer from Pediatric to Adult Services

Objective To compare the impact of a transition coordinator on outcomes for pediatric liver transplant recipients vs a historical comparison group. Study design To examine the utility of a transition coordinator, medication adherence, as measured by SDs of tacrolimus blood levels (Tacrolimus SD), was compared between the “transition coordinator group” (20 transplant recipients transferred between 2007 and 2012) and comparison group for 1 year before and after transfer. Measures of health care management, quality of life, and acceptability were administered to the transition coordinator group as well. Results A repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare adherence values between the transition coordinator group and the comparison group. During the year before transfer, for the transition coordinator group, Tacrolimus SD was 1.98 (SD = 1.05) vs 3.25 (SD = 1.19) for comparison patients, F(1,25) = 4.77, P = .04. After transfer, levels remained stable for the transition coordinator group, Tacrolimus SD = 1.88 (SD = 1.57), but increased for comparison patients, Tacrolimus SD = 4.36 (SD = 0.99), F(1,25) = 6.99, P = .01. Psychosocial outcomes remained stable during the transfer period and acceptability was high. Conclusions Our findings, although limited by a small sample size, suggest that a transition coordinator is a promising method to improve this process.
Effects of Training for Manuscript Handwriting on Generalization to Cursive Handwriting

A multiple baseline design across subjects was employed to study the effects of training for manuscript handwriting on cursive letter formation. Ten first grade students received training to increase their accuracy in manuscript writing. Following training, all 10 students demonstrated increased accuracy in untrained cursive letter formation. Cursive letters were practiced but untrained in that no feedback on correctness was given at any session.
Semantic knowledge for famous names in mild cognitive impairment.

Person identification represents a unique category of semantic knowledge that is commonly impaired in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), but has received relatively little investigation in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The current study examined the retrieval of semantic knowledge for famous names from three time epochs (recent, remote, and enduring) in two participant groups; 23 aMCI patients and 23 healthy elderly controls. The aMCI group was less accurate and produced less semantic knowledge than controls for famous names. Names from the enduring period were recognized faster than both recent and remote names in both groups, and remote names were recognized more quickly than recent names. Episodic memory performance was correlated with greater semantic knowledge particularly for recent names. We suggest that the anterograde memory deficits in the aMCI group interferes with learning of recent famous names and as a result produces difficulties with updating and integrating new semantic information with previously stored information. The implications of these findings for characterizing semantic memory deficits in MCI are discussed.
Hydrostatic Adjustment in Nonhydrostatic, Compressible Mesoscale Models

Abstract The ability of various numerical techniques used in compressible, nonhydrostatic models to handlehydrostatic adjustment is intercompared. The exact solution of a linearized model of an isothermal, compressible, nonrotating atmosphere is compared against those from finite-differenced versions of the samemodel. For the semi-implicit scheme, the scheme traps acoustic waves near the point of excitation but haslittle effect on gravity waves. The time-splitting scheme captures hydrostatic adjustment well.
Extending depth of field by intrinsic mode image fusion

Here, a versatile data-driven application independent method to extend the depth of field is presented. The principal contribution in this effort is the use of features extracted by empirical mode decomposition, namely Intrinsic Mode Images, for fusion. The input images are decomposed into intrinsic mode images and fusion is performed on the extracted oscillatory modes, by means of weighing schemes that allow emphasis of focused regions in each input image. The fused image unifies information from all focal planes, while maintaining the verisimilitude of the scene. In order to validate the fusion performance of our method, we have compared our results with those of region-based and multiscale decomposition based fusion techniques. Several illustrative examples and objective comparisons are provided.
Functional conservation between structurally diverse ribosomal proteins from Drosophila melanogaster and Saccharomyces cerevisiae: fly L23a can substitute for yeast L25 in ribosome assembly and function

The proposed Drosophila melanogaster L23a ribosomal protein features a conserved C-terminal amino acid signature characteristic of other L23a family members and a unique N-terminal extension [Koyama et al. (Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase interacts with novel Drosophila ribosomal proteins, L22 and l23a, with unique histone-like amino-terminal extensions. Gene 1999; 226: 339-345)], absent from Saccharomyces cerevisiae L25 that nearly doubles the size of fly L23a. The ability of fly L23a to replace the role of yeast L25 in ribosome biogenesis was determined by creating a yeast strain carrying an L25 chromosomal gene disruption and a plasmid-encoded FLAG-tagged L23a gene. Though affected by a reduced growth rate, the strain is dependent on fly L23a-FLAG function for survival and growth, demonstrating functional compatibility between the fly and yeast proteins. Pulse-chase experiments reveal a delay in rRNA processing kinetics, most notably at a late cleavage step that converts precursor 27S rRNA into mature 25S rRNA, likely contributing to the strain's slower growth pattern. Yet, given the essential requirement for L23(a)/L25 in ribosome biogenesis, there is a remarkable tolerance for accommodating the fly L23a N-terminal extension within the structure of the yeast ribosome. A search of available databases shows that the unique N-terminal extension is shared by multiple insect lineages. An evolutionary perspective on L23a structure and function within insect lineages is discussed.
ZINC IN WHEAT GRAIN AS AFFECTED BY NITROGEN FERTILIZATION AND AVAILABLE SOIL ZINC

Abstract Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to determine the influence of nitrogen (N) fertilization and DTPA‐extractable soil zinc (Zn) on Zn concentration in wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Pioneer 2375) grain. Application of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) in the range of 0 to 8 mg Zn kg‐1 increased linearly DTPA‐extractable Zn in an incubated calcareous soil from 0.3 to 5.0 mg kg‐1. Application of these rates of ZnSO4 to the same soil under greenhouse conditions increased Zn concentration of wheat grain from 26 to 101 mg kg‐1. The influence of 134 kg urea‐N ha‐1 on Zn concentration in wheat grain at eight field sites, with DTPA‐extractable soil Zn levels ranging from 0.3 to 4.9 mg kg‐1, was studied. Nitrogen fertilizer increased wheat‐grain yields in four of the eight experiments but had little effect on grain‐Zn concentration. Grain‐Zn concentration ranged from 31 to 45 mg kg‐1 in N‐fertilized plots at the various sites and was related (r=0.74*) to DTPA‐extractable soil Zn.
Semi‐empirical, squeeze flow and intermolecular diffusion model. I. Determination of model parameters

This article reviews the development of molecular healing models that couple squeeze flow and intermolecular diffusion. Historically there are a few studies that combine these processes for fusion bonding of thermoplastic composites. The motivation of this work was to develop similar models for welding of polymer films and films to substrates. These models are theoretically developed and experimentally verified. It was found that the time dependence for squeeze flow is of the same order of magnitude as that for intermolecular diffusion, making models for these processes indistinguishable experimentally, and therefore, they were assumed to occur simultaneously. Furthermore, it was found that healing of the weld can be better defined as a function of time and temperature instead of temperature alone, as historically done for welding applications. Comparison of the weld strength predictions with experimental data for impulse welds showed that the developed models were able to predict weld strength over a wide range of parameters. In Part 2, moving heat source heat transfer models together with the coupled squeeze flow and intermolecular diffusion model are used to predict healing during laser microwelding. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Local extrema in genus-stratified graphs

Beyond the obvious organization of all the orientable imbeddings of a graph according to the genus of the imbedding surface, there are several seemingly natural ways to ascribe proximity of imbeddings. One of these is to stipulate that two imbeddings are adjacent if one imbedding can be obtained from the other by moving one end of an edge in its rotation. If one associates “altitude” with genus, then one might hope to construct algorithms for minimum genus and maximum genus by descent and ascent, respectively. This investigation of the structure of the system of orientable graph imbeddings reveals that although there may occur arbitrarily deep traps among the local minima, there cannot exist any strict local maxima. These new discoveries seem consistent with a known contrast in the computational complexity of the maximum genus and minimum genus problems. That is, whereas Furst, Gross, and McGeoch have devised a polynomial-time algorithm to find the maximum genus of an arbitrary graph, Thomassen has proved that the problem of finding the minimum genus is NP-complete.
The Design of Wheelchair Based on SEMG Control

Based on mechanical and control system design, this paper presents an electric wheelchair which could be controlled by SEMG signal. This kind of wheelchair is reconstructed from an ordinary one with motor drive devices on both sides; and as to the control system, the controller's SEMG signal is sampled, amplified and filtered, and after processing, the output signal could be used to control the movement of the wheelchair. This low cost wheelchair shows us another way to control wheelchair, and even the handicapped without arms can also control the wheelchair as will.