cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of digital phantoms and a simulation of the scanning process to evaluate techniques of computer focusing of area scans

Abstract The usefulness of digital phantoms and computer simulation of the scanning process to evaluate computer methods for improving the presentation of scan data is demonstrated. Knowledge of the exact radioactivity distribution, i.e. the digital phantom, producing a given scan allows effective evaluation of computer techniques designed to improve that scan. As an example, the iterative focusing technique of Nagai et al. is analyzed in detail. Long computation time, previously considered to be the most significant limitation of this technique, is less limiting with ordinary line and column spacing factors. This analysis implicates instead other limiting factors as being more significant. The actual degree of focusing or deconvolution achieved, the sensitivity of the method to smoothing techniques, and the stated criterion for a satisfactorily focused result may represent more important limitations than computer time requirements. The criterion for satisfactory solution by a deconvolution technique is basic to all such methods. This work with digital phantoms and scan simulation has indicated possible inadequacies of relying on the similarity of images to infer the same degree of similarity between objects. Work is cited which may permit an investigator to know quantitatively the limitations of such an inference. This application of computer simulation of area scans from digital phantoms suggests the use of similar procedures first to analyze and then to aid in the modification and improvement of digital computer techniques of scan analysis.
Future doctors and brain death: what is the prognosis?

Abstract Objective To evaluate the knowledge and the opinion of medical students at the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo related to the general aspects of donation, organ and tissue procurement, and basic concepts of brain death (BD). Materials and methods Questionnaires of 24 items were distributed among all students related to the concept and diagnosis of BD, personal aspects of tissue and organ donation, and general question concerning organ donation. The answers classified students as good versus bad experts of the concept and the diagnosis of BD. Results Of a total of 580 students, 361 (62.24%) answered the questionnaire. Although the concept of BD was known to 70%, only 35% had a good knowledge of the diagnosis. One percent of the students were opposed to the organ donation and 76% of them were donors. Approximately 90% would authorize organ retrieval from their family members but 27% had never discussed organ donation with their families. Most students were interested in the general aspects of donation and organ procurement (88.36%). Conclusion The majority of the students know the concept of BD. General aspects regarding tissue and organ donation and diagnosis of BD might be improved with the continued education on the subject.
γ-Aminobutyric Acid Induced Conformational Change in GABAAR Measured by Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

The γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs) belong to the Cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. Sharing significant homology between prokaryotic pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pGLIC) whose structure has been determined, GABAARs consists of five homologous subunits arranged pseudo-symmetrically around a central ion pore. Each subunit consists of an extracellular domain, an intracellular domain and a transmembrane domain consisting of a loose bundle of four α helices (M1−M4), with amino acids on one face of each of the five M2 helices forming the lumen of the ion channel. As the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor, the chloride-selective receptors are the targets for benzodiazepines, general anesthetics, anxiolytics and anticonvulsants. In a free-cysteine free background, we substituted a Cys near the top of M3 facing the lipid-protein interface. We expressed the α1β3(M286C) GABAAR in HEK293 cells, and measured the distance between spin labels by pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance using double electron electron resonance (DEER). The α1β3 (M286C) GABAARs were spin labeled when bound to the anti-flag affinity column. Purified receptors were reconstituted into lipid bilayers. The preliminary DEER data yield three distances with broad distributions at 23, 33 and 45 A. The short distance is assigned to nearest neighbor subunits and the long distance to next nearest neighbor subunits. The intermediate distance at 33 A could reflect the presence of energetically degenerate rotameric states at the labeled site. These distances establish the presence of three β-subunits in the oligomer. Upon addition of GABA, the mean long distance increases and the distance distribution narrows, suggesting that there is a decrease in the number of states upon the addition of agonist. These distances are broadly consistent with homology models based on the structure of pGLIC, Supported by GM58448 and GM35215.
Barriers to breast cancer screening participation among Jordanian and Palestinian American women

Abstract Purpose Increasing breast cancer screening (BCS) among diverse women from minority groups is a goal of health care providers and national organizations as a way to help in the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. The purpose of this article is to investigate barriers to BCS encountered by Jordanian and Palestinian women living in the United States (US). Methods Descriptive content analysis of interviews of 107 Jordanian and Palestinian immigrant women provided data on BCS barriers that were thematically analyzed. Results Data revealed 4 barriers that affect Jordanian and Palestinian immigrant women's participation in BCS: (1) culture-specific barriers such as embarrassment, family relationships, fatalism, and traditional healers consultation; (2) immigration-related barriers (citizenship issues and language); (3) general barriers (including nonparticipation in health screening, stigmatization of cancer, fear, and ignorance about BCS); and (4) irrelevant barriers. Conclusions Clinicians should be cognizant of the culture, beliefs and practices of Arab Middle Eastern immigrant women and the influence of these factors on their decision to participate in routine BCS. To increase participation in BCS and knowledge of breast cancer, appropriate language and culturally sensitive educational materials should be created and made available to Arab Middle Eastern immigrant women.
Eddy Modulation of Air–Sea Interaction and Convection

Abstract Eddy modulation of the air–sea interaction and convection that occurs in the process of mode water formation is analyzed in simulations of a baroclinically unstable wind- and buoyancy-driven jet. The watermass transformation analysis of Walin is used to estimate the formation rate of mode water and to characterize the role of eddies in that process. It is found that diabatic eddy heat flux divergences in the mixed layer are comparable in magnitude, but of opposite sign, to the surface air–sea heat flux and largely cancel the direct effect of buoyancy loss to the atmosphere. The calculations suggest that mode water formation estimates based on climatological air–sea heat flux data and outcrops, which do not fully resolve ocean eddies, may neglect a large opposing term in the heat budget and are thus likely to significantly overestimate true formation rates. In Walin’s watermass transformation framework, this manifests itself as a sensitivity of formation rate estimates to the averaging period over...
Successful epicardial pacing in blunt trauma resuscitation

Epicardial pacing wires were used successfully in the resuscitation of a moribund victim of blunt trauma after fluid resuscitation and chemical measures had failed. Application of these wires to treat the bradycardia of shock should be considered in selected patients when standard measures fail.
Human glomerular growth during childhood: a morphometric study

Morphometric measurements of glomerular size were made on renal biopsy specimens obtained from 16 children with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) and 16 with isolated recurrent haematuria (RH), whose ages ranged from 1.8 to 15.2 years. Glomeruli were normal on light and electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence was essentially negative. Tracings were made of the outlines of glomerular capsules, tufts, and individual capillary lumens; using computerized digitometry, the mean areas of each item were determined. The number of capillary lumens per glomerulus was counted automatically. From these data, the mean mesangial area was also calculated. Mesangial cells were counted in at least 100 distal mesangial areas per biopsy. The mean glomerular capsular area (GCA) correlated well with the mean glomerular tuft area (GTA) but frequent capsular artefacts rendered the former measurement less suitable for comparison with diseased glomeruli. The mean GTA correlated significantly with age and body surface area in both MCNS and RH, as did the number of capillary lumens per glomerulus, but the mean capillary lumina area showed no such correlations. The mean mesangial area increased with age in proportion to GTA, whereas mesangial cell counts remained normal. These findings indicate that glomerular growth during childhood is proportional to body growth, and are consistent with capillary subdivision as the mechanism of enlargement.
Clinical assessment of hemodynamically unstable patients.

Purpose of Review Clinical examination of hemodynamically unstable patients provides timely, low risk and potentially useful diagnostic and prognostic information. This review will examine the evidence behind the use of clinical examination findings to drive treatment decisions and predict outcomes in patients with hemodynamic instability. An additional goal of the review is to place the use of clinical examination in context of more invasive techniques to diagnose and treat hemodynamically unstable patients.
Inhibition of TGFβ signaling in cancer therapy

Recent evidence continues to support a central role for TGFβ in tumor maintenance and progression. Although this may involve TGFβ-mediated paracrine effects that modulate the tumor microenvironment and the host immune system, some studies causally implicate autocrine TGFβ in cancer cell motility and survival. Other recent evidence indicates synergy between oncogene and TGFβ signaling in epithelial cell transformation. This suggests opportunities for dissecting molecular mechanisms of cross-talk as well as providing insights into possible combinatorial molecular anticancer therapies that will include TGFβ inhibitors.
Structure, reactivity and microrheology in self-assembled monolayers

Abstract Self-assembled monolayers of thiols on gold surfaces provide convenient systems for modeling adsorption and adhesion. A transverse shear mode (TSM) device was used to determine how octadecanethiol, octadecylamine and tetradecanol mechanically couple to gold. An order—disorder transition was detected for the first time in the chemisorbed thiol monolayer and thin film. No such transition is observed for the physisorbed amine or alcohol films, although melt transitions are observed for both chemisorbed and physisorbed films. These results illustrate both an important property of self-assembling systems, and also the utility of the TSM as a probe of adhesive interactions, interfacial shear and viscosity of very thin films. Surface-enhanced Raman spectra of thiol and disulfide monolayers show definitively that aromatic thiols adsorb on gold with cleavage of the SH bond, and that the SS bond in symmetric aromatic disulfides also cleaves upon adsorption. Aromatic thiol monolayers are apparently more stable than their alkyl counterparts towards oxidation. The first deliberate preparations of oxidized thiol monolayers (sulfinates, sulfonates) are described. The relative adsorptivities of thiolates, sulfinates and sulfonates are explained by frontier orbital theory. Charge transfer interactions are shown to be more important that Coulombic attractions in determining the relative adsorptivities, and ultimately the stability of the monolayers. These experimental and theoretical results contribute to our fundamental understanding of adhesive interactions, and provide a rational basis for designing new adsorbates and adhesives with prescribed surface interactions.
Gray matter axonal connectivity maps.

Structural brain connectivity is generally assessed through methods that rely on pre-defined regions of interest (e.g. Brodmann’s areas), thus preventing analyses that are largely free from a-priori anatomical assumptions. Here, we introduce a novel and practical technique to evaluate a voxel-based measure of axonal projections connecting gray matter tissue (gray matter axonal connectivity map - GMAC). GMACs are compatible with voxel-based statistical approaches, and can be used to assess whole brain, scale-free, gray matter connectivity. In this study, we demonstrate how whole brain GMACs can be generated from conventional structural connectome methodology, describing each step in detail, as well as providing tools to allow for the calculation of GMAC. To illustrate the utility of GMAC, we demonstrate the relationship between age and gray matter connectivity, using voxel-based analyses of GMAC. We discuss the potential role of GMAC in further analyses of cortical connectivity in healthy and clinical populations.
Studies of GH Secretion in Mice by a Homologous Radioimmunoassay for Mouse GH

A sensitive homologous radioimmunoassay for mouse GH capable of measuring concentrations of GH as low as 1 ng/ml of mouse serum has been developed. This assay has been used to study GH secretion in C3H mice under several physiological conditions. Newborn mice possessed very high concentration of GH in serum which persisted for two weeks. Adult male mice had more GH in their pituitary (66.9 μg/mg) and serum (12.0 ng/ml) than comparable females (48.9 μg/mg; 3.4 ng/ml). Ovariectomy in female mice increased pituitary and serum concentrations of GH to male levels whereas stilbestrol administration decreased it. Orchiectomy or stilbestrol treatment of male mice resulted in decreased GH levels. During the estrous cycle, maximum levels of GH were attained during proestrus. Insulininduced hypoglycemia or treatment with L—dopa failed to induce rise in serum concentrations of GH in mice.(Endocrinology 91: 784, 1972)
Diagnosis and Treatment of Disseminated Struma Ovarii with Malignant Transformation

Struma ovarii are specialized teratomas consisting of thyroid tissue. They may demonstrate all pathologic features seen in the thyroid gland. Malignant transformation of thyroid tissue in struma ovarii is uncommon and is rarely recurrent or metastatic. We report the diagnosis and treatment of a recurrent struma ovarii with malignant transformation, and intraperitoneal, retroperitoneal, and hepatic metastases.
Variations in Expression and Release of Botulinum Neurotoxin in Clostridium botulinum Type A Strains

In this study, we characterized the production and release of botulinum neurotoxin during growth of two Clostridium botulinum strains, Hall A and NCTC2916, of distinct gene organizations. The intra- and extracellular fractions of the bacterial cells harvested at various stages of growth were analyzed for the neurotoxin. Both strains exhibited a temporal neurotoxin gene expression; however, these two strains differ in their patterns of growth, toxin production, toxin release, and post-translational nicking. Comparing to the NCTC2916 strain, the Hall A strain showed an extended stationary phase, delayed autolysis, and earlier expression and release of neurotoxin. Understanding the differences between these two toxin-producing strains may provide insights into the toxinogenesis of C. botulinum.
Arc flash evaluation and hazard mitigation for the Colorado School of Mines electrical power distribution system

An arc flash is the release of electrical energy during an arcing fault, which dissipates in the form of heat energy, intense light, blast pressure, severe sound waves, electromagnetic radiation, and toxic gases. The thermal energy, concussive forces, and flying debris can pose serious threats to the safety of personnel working in close proximity to electrical equipment. In order to identify the severity of an arc flash hazard at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), an arc flash hazard evaluation of the electrical power distribution system has been conducted. The arc flash analysis has been performed in accordance with NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, and IEEE 1584: Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. The analysis of the existing system configuration has revealed that many locations on the CSM campus are in the “dangerous” arc flash hazard category, and consequently work cannot be performed on energized equipment at these locations. With an understanding of the thermal energy available, design recommendations, including the selection and coordination of fuses and circuit breakers, were investigated to reduce the severity of arc flash events. Implementation of the selected protective devices can decrease the incident energy levels of CSM locations and eliminate any instances of “dangerous” hazard risk categories. Other hazard mitigation considerations include increasing the working distance, and utilizing arc suppression blankets while performing maintenance. In addition, electrician training to promote safe work practices is strongly encouraged.
Fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers with very low polarization sensitivity.

The sensitivity to input polarization in long-cavity (1 cm to 5 m) and high-finesse (~100) fiber Fabry–Perot interferometers (FFPI’s) is reduced from greater than 20 dB to between 0.2 and 0.6 dB in passband amplitude variation by the use of very-low-birefringence fibers. Furthermore the scanning FFPI’s could allow very-high-resolution measurement of polarization-mode dispersion in short-length low-birefringence fibers.
Growth and DNA synthesis in embryonic chick heart cells, in vivo and in vitro.

Abstract The concept that differentiated cells (cells with specialized structure and function) do not divide is a basic tenet in embryology. The following study suggests that this concept does not apply to the embryonic chick heart. Histochemical and ultrastructural techniques have shown that cultured, glycogen-containing (gly + ) cells derived from the seven day old embryonic chick heart always contain myofibrils and most of these cells beat in culture. These cells are myocytes. Glycogen-lacking cells do not have myofibrils and do not beat in culture. Applying histochemical techniques to the heart in vivo and to heart cells cultured in growth medium for 5 days, the present study shows the following: 1. 1. Differentiated cardiac myocytes in vivo and in vitro undergo DNA synthesis while maintaining their differentiated state; 2. 2. Overgrowth of one cell type by another and not ‘dedifferentiation’ is the phenomenon occurring in heart cell cultures. During the first 2 days in culture, the generation times of gly + (muscle) and gly − (nonmuscle) cells are significantly different as are their labeling indices. Almost the entire proliferative activity during the early culture period is due to division of gly − cells. The DNA synthetic index of gly + cells is low during the first 3 days in culture as compared with the in vivo value of 18.5% for gly + cells in the ventricular myocardium. After the third day in culture, both gly + and gly − cells contribute to the population increase. In vivo and in vitro, gly + cells maintain their glycogen during DNA synthesis. Several lines of evidence indicate that the embryonic heart in vivo grows by proliferation of differentiated myocardial cells, as well as by division of other cell types.
Limitations of generating a secret key using wireless fading under active adversary

Recently, many research studies have explored the use of wireless fading to generate an information-theoretic shared secret key over an open wireless channel. While this line of research is now mature enough to be built into demonstrative working systems for scenarios involving a (limited) passive/eavesdropping adversary model, the case of an active (jamming) adversary has not been sufficiently studied. Under an active adversary, information-bits that need to be exchanged during the process of key setup will not only be subject to eavesdropping, but also message disruptions that could lead to a high communication cost per bit of secret key generated. Measuring efficiency of key exchange as the ratio of communication cost to the size of secret key generated, in this paper, we address the following question: Is generating a secret key by exploiting wireless fading an efficient process? We obtain analytical results that quantify the minimum number of information-bits that must be exchanged to obtain one bit of shared secret key and show that this number rapidly increases with an active adversary's signal power. Thus, through our analysis, we conclude that the effectiveness of generating a secret key from wireless fading is limited when considering active adversaries.
Comparison of Isomerization Rates of the Metal Carbonyl Cluster Cp*IrCp2Co2(CO)3 in Three Oxidation States (47e, 48e, 49e): Dramatic Rate Enhancements in the Odd-Electron Species†

The 48-electron cluster Cp*IrCp2Co2(CO)3 has two known isomers, one with a terminal carbonyl ligand and two edge-bridging carbonyls (1) and the other with three edge-bridging carbonyls (2). The rate of their interconversion is dramatically dependent on the number of electrons in the cluster. NMR studies establish that 2 is the thermodynamically favored isomer and that the isomerization is slow at ambient temperatures in the 48 e- complex (kisom ≈ 10-6 s-1 at 298 K). In contrast, isomerization proceeds very rapidly (kisom = 400 s-1) through the 47-electron monocation as part of an efficient electron-transfer-catalyzed process. Cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry were used to measure the isomerization rate of the monocation. The catalytic nature of the anodically-induced isomerization was diagnosed by theoretical modeling of the electrode responses and by infrared spectroelectrochemistry using a fiber-optic probe of an electrolysis solution. Reductions of the cluster isomers give 49-electron mono...
A data layout optimization framework for NUCA-based multicores

Future multicore architectures are likely to include a large number of cores connected using an on-chip network with Non-uniform Cache Access (NUCA). In such architectures, whether a data request is satisfied from a local cache or a remote cache can make an important difference. To exploit this NUCA property, prior research explored both architectural enhancements as well as compiler-based code optimization strategies. In this work, we take an alternate view, and explore data layout optimizations to improve locality of data accesses in a NUCA-based system. Our proposed approach includes three steps: array tiling, computation-to-core mapping, and layout customization. The first of these tries to identify the affinity between data and computation taking into account parallelization information, with the goal of minimizing remote accesses. The second step maps computations (and their associated data) to cores with the goal of minimizing average distance-to-data, and the last step further customizes the memory layout taking into account the data placement policy adopted by the underlying architecture. We evaluated the success of this three-step approach in enhancing on-chip cache behavior using all application programs from the SPECOMP suite on a full-system simulator. Our results show that the proposed approach improves on average data access latency and execution time by 24.7% and 18.4%, respectively, in the case of static NUCA, and 18.1% and 12.7%, respectively, in the case of dynamic NUCA.
Depression as a risk factor for mortality after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Summary Background Studies that have shown clinical depression to be a risk factor for cardiac events after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery have had small sample sizes, short follow-up, and have not had adequate power to assess mortality. We sought to assess whether depression is associated with an increased risk of mortality. Methods We assessed 817 patients undergoing CABG at Duke University Medical Center between May, 1989, and May, 2001. Patients completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale before surgery, 6 months after CABG, and were followed-up for up to 12 years. Findings In 817 patients there were 122 deaths (15%) in a mean follow-up of 5·2 years. 310 patients (38%) met the criterion for depression (CES-D ⩾16): 213 (26%) for mild depression (CES-D 16–26) and 97 (12%) for moderate to severe depression (CES-D ⩾27). Survival analyses, controlling for age, sex, number of grafts, diabetes, smoking, left ventricular ejection fraction, and previous myocardial infarction, showed that patients with moderate to severe depression at baseline (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2·4, [95% CI 1·4–4·0]; p=0·001) and mild or moderate to severe depression that persisted from baseline to 6 months (adjusted HR 2·2, [1·2–4·2]; p=0·015) had higher rates of death than did those with no depression. Interpretation Despite advances in surgical and medical management of patients after CABG, depression is an important independent predictor of death after CABG and should be carefully monitored and treated if necessary.
Products and Ecological Models: A Population Ecology Perspective

Summary Industrial ecology has used the systems ecology model, with its emphasis on the flows of energy and nutrients, as a tool to find ways to minimize the adverse environmental effects of industrial activity. A second ecosystem model, the population ecology model, emphasizes intra-and inter-specific interactions of many types. When applied to industrial systems, it suggests an increased focus on products. It therefore can provide a useful complement to the systems ecology approach. If industrial processes that are less harmful to the environment are to be successfully implemented, they will have to produce products that can successfully penetrate the marketplace. A number of historical examples are used to illustrate the many product interactions discussed.
Bacteria-surface interactions.

The interaction of bacteria with surfaces has important implications in a range of areas, including bioenergy, biofouling, biofilm formation, and the infection of plants and animals. Many of the interactions of bacteria with surfaces produce changes in the expression of genes that influence cell morphology and behavior, including genes essential for motility and surface attachment. Despite the attention that these phenotypes have garnered, the bacterial systems used for sensing and responding to surfaces are still not well understood. An understanding of these mechanisms will guide the development of new classes of materials that inhibit and promote cell growth, and complement studies of the physiology of bacteria in contact with surfaces. Recent studies from a range of fields in science and engineering are poised to guide future investigations in this area. This review summarizes recent studies on bacteria–surface interactions, discusses mechanisms of surface sensing and consequences of cell attachment, provides an overview of surfaces that have been used in bacterial studies, and highlights unanswered questions in this field.
Breast Disease-Related Educational Outcomes at the University of Florida.

: The purpose of this study was to assess resident knowledge related to breast disease at the University of Florida. In addition, we surveyed graduates of our surgery program regarding the importance of breast disease in their surgical practice and we determined if the completion of postgraduate courses on breast disease influenced patient outcome measures. In the decade of the 1990s, we compared the American Board of Surgery In-Service Training Examination (ABSITE) scores of residents rotating on the breast service in the 6 months immediately prior to examination (June–January) with those residents who had not rotated on the breast service within the 6 months leading up to the ABSITE examination. We also compared ABSITE scores of surgery residents at the University of Florida at Gainesville (breast service) to surgery residents at the University of Florida at Jacksonville (no breast service). Finally, we surveyed graduates of the general surgery program at the University of Florida at Gainesville (1980–1998) to determine the importance of breast disease in their practices and if the completion of postgraduate courses on breast disease influenced rates of breast conservation and immediate breast reconstruction. Residents who rotated on the breast service in the 6 months prior to the ABSITE had significantly fewer incorrect breast-related ABSITE questions than residents who had not rotated on the breast service. Those graduates who had taken postgraduate courses in breast disease responded that they were more likely to perform breast–conserving surgery. There was also a trend for graduates who had completed postgraduate courses on breast disease to respond that they were more likely to perform immediate breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Limiting breast surgery to a single service does not appear to improve resident accumulation and retention of breast disease-related knowledge. Graduates who complete postgraduate courses related to breast disease are more likely to perform breast-conserving surgery and immediate reconstruction following mastectomy. Since the management of breast disease comprises a significant part of general surgical practice, surgical educators must ensure adequate resident education and evaluation with respect to breast disease.
Substrate conduction mechanisms in convectively cooled simulated electronic packages

An analytical model is developed for the conduction from a heated surface element to a conductive substrate or board. The interaction from neighboring components on the board is modeled by modifying the upper board surface temperature. A linear superposition technique is used to demonstrate that the base solution for an isolated component may be used to predict board-level behavior by modification of the driving temperature difference for board conduction. By comparison of the model with data for an array of 1.27 cm cubical elements on a mildly conducting substrate, it is shown that the use of the measured element's adiabatic temperature as a descriptor of the board temperature allows successful correlation of both single-element and surrounded-element conduction heat transfer with two geometric parameters. >
The Contradictory Effects of Work and Family on Political Activism

This paper examines the contradictory effects of occupations and families on political activism. Based on a comparative study of left-wing and right-wing activists from the 1960s, I find that although people maintain their beliefs and values across the life cycle, occupations and family life become competing interests in sustained political involvement. At the same time, careers can serve as an extension of political beliefs; families also act both to nurture and confirm political beliefs as well as pull people away from the world of politics.
Phylogenetic analysis of the freshwater mussel genus Ptychobranchus (Bivalvia: Unionidae)

The phylogenetic relationships of species of the mussel genus Ptychobranchus Simpson, 1900 were examined using the mitochondrial DNA sequences of the ND1 and 16S gene regions. A total of 31 individuals representing the five species are included in this analysis. Outgroups were drawn from other unionid genera previously shown to be closely related to Ptychobranchus. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using Bayesian methods applying several data-partitioning strategies. The results of all analyses support the monophyly of Ptychobranchus, and the interrelationships of its constituent species are consistent across all analyses. Ptychobranchus occidentalis (Conrad, 1836) is recovered as paraphyletic with P. fasciolaris (Rafinesque, 1820). Molecular analyses indicate that Ptychobranchus jonesi van der Schalie, 1934 is a member of the genus, and character state reconstruction predicts that it should possess the complex conglutinate that is found in other species of Ptychobranchus.
Discriminative slot detection using kernel methods

Most traditional information extraction approaches are generative models that assume events exist in text in certain patterns and these patterns can be regenerated in various ways. These assumptions limited the syntactic clues being considered for finding an event and confined these approaches to a particular syntactic level. This paper presents a discriminative framework based on kernel SVMs that takes into account different levels of syntactic information and automatically identifies the appropriate clues. Kernels are used to represent certain levels of syntactic structure and can be combined in principled ways as input for an SVM. We will show that by combining a low level sequence kernel with a high level kernel on a GLARF dependency graph, the new approach outperformed a good rule-based system on slot filler detection for MUC-6.
Angiotensin I converting enzyme.

Many of the properties of angiotensin I converting enzyme or kininase II (ACE) have been discussed in extenso in the literature. The mode of action of ACE inhibitors has been studied in experimental animals and used clinically in millions of patients. The relatively few side effects have also been amply scrutinized. Nevertheless, some of the basic properties of this enzyme remain unexplained. For instance, although ACE was first considered to be a carboxypeptidase-type enzyme (peptidyl dipeptidase or dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase) (1,2) its actions go beyond cleaving dipep-tides from the free C-terminal end of peptide substrates. ACE inactivates substance P in spite of its blocked C-terminus, primarily by releasing the C-terminal tripeptide Gly-Leu-Met-NH2 (3). The blocked C-terminal tripep-tide, Arg-Pro-Gly-NH2, is also released from the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) (A). ACE, surprisingly, also cleaves the protected the N-terminal tripeptide <Glu -His -Trp from LHRH as well. A mechanism has been proposed (3) for the hydrolysis of C-terminal tripeptides from substrates with blocked C-terminal amino acids.
DeCo: a declarative coordination framework for scientific model federations

Program federation is assembling a software system from cooperating but independent application programs. We present DeCo, a declarative approach to creating and coordinating federations, and discuss its application in the domain of scientific computing. DeCo is meant to automate several aspects of the typically manual process of program federation. A federation is expressed in the functional language Haskell, extended with constructs for describing and coordinating the participating programs and data files. The declarative expression of a federation in terms of data flow among the component programs captures synchronization requirements implicitly and exploits the inherent concurrency automatically. Haskell compilation, notably its rigorous type checking, ensures the consistency of the federation. Operation of the coordination framework is demonstrated on a federation of FORTRAN programs that simulate environmental processes in the Neuse River estuary of North Carolina.
Wavelet-based representations for a class of self-similar signals with application to fractal modulation

A potentially important family of self-similar signals based upon a deterministic scale-invariance characterization is introduced. These signals, which are referred to as 'dy-homogeneous' signals because they generalize the well-known homogeneous functions, have highly convenient representations in terms of orthonormal wavelet bases. In particular, wavelet representations can be exploited to construct orthonormal self-similar bases for these signals. The spectral and fractal characteristics of dy-homogeneous signals make them appealing candidates for use in a number of applications. As one potential example, their use in a communications-based context is considered. Specifically, a strategy for embedding information into a dy-homogeneous waveform on multiple time-scales is developed. This multirate modulation strategy, called fractal modulation, is potentially well-suited for use with noisy channels of simultaneously unknown duration and bandwidth. >
The ACE IDEA approach for satellite despinning maneuver

The ACE IDEA (attitude control expressed in the direction of equivalent axis) approach selects a special coordinate frame for the despinning maneuver of a satellite. Within this frame, there is only one equation of motion because the despinning becomes a plane motion. Furthermore, that equation is linear. Numerically, this presents a much easier problem than the three nonlinear Euler equations. The computation time required for the control of the despinning maneuver is also much shorter, since there is only one scalar equation instead of the conventional three equations. >
Emerging Nanostructures and Devices for Diagnostics and Therapeutics

We are combining advances in materials synthesis, microfabrication, biology and engineering to develop multiplexed engineered platforms for bio-diagnostics and non-invasive imaging using nanostructured materials. On one front, we have developed a completely electronic signal transduction scheme for specific biomolecular binding events on microcantilever platform. Such label-and optics-free detection approach for biochemical analytes promises a widely affordable versatile diagnostics system. We are also developing complex multifunctional architecture based on magnetic nanostructures for MR imaging and therapeutics. The core philosophy of our approach is the merger and synergy of physical sciences, engineering and biology, which promise to open new vistas for advanced imaging, diagnostics and therapeutic systems.
Pollutant removal from tannery effluent by electrocoagulation

An electrocoagulation laboratory scale system was studied for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from a wastewater of leather finishing industrial process. In order to obtain optimal values of the system state variables, a fractional factorial 2 3 experimental design was applied. The electrocoagulation process response was evaluated on the basis of chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, total suspended solid, total volatile solid, and elements concentration values. The interactions between initial pH and electrolysis time, as well as between initial pH and current density were significant only for the total chromium removal. The reactor working conditions close to natural effluent pH and electrolysis time in the range of 30–45 min were enough to achieve the cost-effective reduction of COD, turbidity and chromium concentrations. The electrocoagulation method has shown similar pollutant removal efficiencies when compared with the conventional one and can be used successfully for industrial applications. Based on its low operational cost, the electrocoagulation method could be recommended instead of the conventional one. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Comparison of the Compressive Yield Response of Aggregated Suspensions: Pressure Filtration, Centrifugation, and Osmotic Consolidation

The compressive rheological responses of suspensions containing flocculated kaolin, alumina (average particle sizes of 0.2 and 0.5 {micro}m), and hydrous zirconia (average particle sizes of 8, 57, and 139 nm) particles have been measured using three different techniques: pressure filtration, volume fraction profile during centrifugation, and sediment height during centrifugation at multiple spinning speeds. While the volume fraction profile technique appears to be experimentally most robust, equivalent responses are found using the different techniques, indicating that the compressive yield stress is a material property of a given suspension. The compressive yield stress of each suspension increases rapidly with volume fraction but cannot be generally described using simple power-law or exponential fits. The compressive yield stress also increases with the inverse square of particle size. The packing behavior of the suspensions undergoing osmotic consolidation is compared with the mechanical compressive yield response. Some suspensions exhibited the same packing behavior as in the mechanical techniques, while others consistently packed to higher densities during osmotic consolidation. Although equivalent osmotic and mechanical loads do not always result in the same volume fractions, the similar increases in volume fraction with applied driving force suggest that both the osmotic and mechanical techniques are controlled by themore » force needed to rearrange the particle network.« less
Pose-Sensitive Embedding by Nonlinear NCA Regression

This paper tackles the complex problem of visually matching people in similar pose but with different clothes, background, and other appearance changes. We achieve this with a novel method for learning a nonlinear embedding based on several extensions to the Neighborhood Component Analysis (NCA) framework. Our method is convolutional, enabling it to scale to realistically-sized images. By cheaply labeling the head and hands in large video databases through Amazon Mechanical Turk (a crowd-sourcing service), we can use the task of localizing the head and hands as a proxy for determining body pose. We apply our method to challenging real-world data and show that it can generalize beyond hand localization to infer a more general notion of body pose. We evaluate our method quantitatively against other embedding methods. We also demonstrate that real-world performance can be improved through the use of synthetic data.
Use of the ATOP system in the control of an off-peak storage device

An off-peak heat storage device has been installed in Colorado State University Solar House I. The device may be charged with heat during the off-peak hours (10 pm to 6 am) and the heat may then be utilized as required in order to satisfy the building heating requirements that are not satisfied by the solar system. A methodology for determining the amount of heat required to be stored and for determining an optimal charging sequence is presented in this paper. Quantitative results obtained during the past heating season (1978-79) are also presented.
Online Non-clairvoyant Scheduling to Simultaneously Minimize All Convex Functions

We consider scheduling jobs online to minimize the objective ∑ i ∈ [n] w i g(C i − r i ), where w i is the weight of job i, r i is its release time, C i is its completion time and g is any non-decreasing convex function. Previously, it was known that the clairvoyant algorithm Highest-Density-First (HDF) is (2 + e)-speed O(1)-competitive for this objective on a single machine for any fixed 0 < e < 1 [1]. We show the first non-trivial results for this problem when g is not concave and the algorithm must be non-clairvoyant. More specifically, our results include:
Asterless Reduction during Spermiogenesis Is Regulated by Plk4 and Is Essential for Zygote Development in Drosophila

Centrosome reduction is the decrease in centrosomal components during spermatid differentiation (spermiogenesis). It is one of several dramatic subcellular reorganizations that lead to spermatozoa formation common to a wide range of animals. However, the mechanism underlying centrosome reduction is unknown and its functions are unclear. Here, we show that in Drosophila melanogaster spermiogenesis, the quantity of centrosomal proteins is dramatically reduced; for example, Asterless (Asl) is reduced ∼500-fold and is barely detected in spermatozoa. Asl reduction is regulated through a subset of its domains by the master regulator of centriole duplication Plk4 and by the ubiquitin ligase that targets Plk4 for degradation: Slimb. When Asl reduction is attenuated by Asl overexpression, plk4 mutations, Plk4 RNAi, or Slimb overexpression, Asl levels are higher in spermatozoa, resulting in embryos with reduced viability. Significantly, overexpressing Plk4 and Asl simultaneously, or combining plk4 and slimb mutations, balances their opposing effects on Asl reduction, restoring seemingly normal fertility. This suggests that increased Asl levels cause the observed reduced fertility and not other pleotropic effects. Attenuation of Asl reduction also causes delayed development and a failure to form astral microtubules in the zygote. Together, we provide the first insight into a molecular mechanism that regulates centrosome reduction and the first direct evidence that centrosome reduction is essential for post-fertilization development.
El complejo Pseudallescheria/Scedosporium y taxas afines en la rutina del laboratorio micológico clínico

El complejo Pseudallescheria/Scedosporium y taxas relacionados, pertenecientes a un grupo de microhongos con conidios viscosos e integrantes del orden Microascales, se presentan en diversos ambientes comunes asociados a las actividades humanas, ya sea en el suelo como en aguas contaminadas. Actualmente se consideran entre los mayores grupos de hongos filamentosos oportunistas causante de infecciones cutaneas y profundas en el hombre y otros mamiferos. El objetivo principal de este trabajo, consiste en reunir los datos primarios morfofisiologicos mas relevantes, utiles para el micologo medico en el laboratorio, con el aporte adicional de algunos aspectos, biologicos, ecologicos, taxonomicos y moleculares complementarios descritos en la literatura moderna.
Age-related alterations in the circadian rhythms of pulsatile luteinizing hormone and testosterone secretion in healthy men.

The effect of advancing age on the chronobiology of testosterone (T) and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in healthy men was investigated. Twenty young (average age 30.4 yrs) and 14 elderly (average age 70.4 yrs) men underwent 10 min blood sampling for 25 hrs to evaluate the circadian periodicity of LH, LH pulse frequency, and T. Using cosinor regression analysis, young men were found to have a significant (p less than .05) circadian variation in LH pulse frequency, with slowing of LH pulses during the night (maximum slowing at 2230 hr). There was also a tendency for LH pulse amplitude to increase at night (p = .06) in young men. However, no significant circadian pattern in LH pulse frequency or amplitude was detected in the elderly men. Mean LH by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and bioassay did not vary over the 24-hr period in either age group. Both young and elderly men had significant circadian rhythms in serum T, although the rhythm in elderly men was considerably blunted and was shifted in time compared to the young. These data provide evidence for age-related changes in the circadian rhythms of LH pulse frequency and T secretion and suggest that the LHRH pulse generator loses its circadian rhythmicity with normal aging in men.