cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P45 Hydrogen sulfide protects coronary artery vasospasm after myocardial infarction and eliminates myocardial infarction zone by promoting to growth new vessels

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) has recently been identified as a regulator of various physiological events including vasodilation, angiogenesis, antiapoptotic, and cellular signaling. H 2 S leads to down-regulation of inflammatory responses and provides myocardial protection during acute myocardial infarction (MI). We previously reported that H 2 S inhibits antiangiogenic factors such as endostatin and angiostatin, leading to development of new vessels. We have shown that coronary vessels elicited vasoconstriction to acetylcholine (Ach) and revealed a phenomenon of vasospasm; we examined the role of hyperhomocysteinemia in coronary endothelial dysfunction, vessel wall thickness, and lumen narrowing, which leads to acute/chronic coronary vasospasm. We hypothesize that H 2 S eliminates vessel damage and improves endothelial function, which causes the elimination of coronary vaso-constriction. To verify this, MI was created in wild-type mice, which were treated with sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, H 2 S donor) in drinking water and compared with untreated control mice. The echocardiography in mice treated with H 2 S showed improvement of heart function compared to untreated mice. The X-ray and Doppler blood flow measurements showed enhancement of cardiac-angiogenesis in mice treated with H 2 S. This observed cardio-protection was associated with an inhibition of anti-angiogenic proteins and stimulation of angiogenic factors. The endothelium-impaired arteries from MI mice were constricted in response to Ach, and this vasoconstriction was mitigated with NaHS supplementation. The level of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was lower in coronary artery in MI than of MI + NaHS mice. Treatment with NaHS increased the levels of Ach-induced NO generation in the coronary artery of MI mice. The results suggest that Ach induced coronary vasoconstriction in MI mice and this vasoconstriction was ameliorated by NaHS treatment. The mechanisms for the impairment of vascular function and therapeutic effects of NaHS may be related to the regulation of eNOS expression, NO availability and tissue homocysteine. We established that administration of NaHS at the time of MI ameliorated infarct size and preserved LV function during development of MI in mice, which also improved coronary endothelial function and promoted new vessel growth.
Perspectives on history: Military dietetics in Europe during World War I

Abstract The histories of dietetics and the US military have been intertwined since the late 19th century. Born in the turbulent year of 1917 in an effort to make significant contributions to the United States as it prepared to enter World War I, The American Dietetic Association rapidly became a viable organization of dedicated, professional women who were committed to improving the nutritional health of the nation. Even before the organization was formed, however, dietitians were needed by the military in the United States and Europe to support the medical needs of the troops. This article also focuses on the recruitment of dietitians by the American Red Cross, the dietitians' response, and the conditions under which they worked in Europe. Several individuals, including Mary Pascoe (later Huddleson), Marjorie Hulsizer (later Copher), Mary de Garmo (later Bryan), and Lenna Frances Cooper, are featured. These military predeces ors and professional leaders served our country with dedication and honor during a critical hour of need.
Ecdysone-induced change in cellular commitment of the epidermis of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, at the initiation of metamorphosis.

In Manduca, during the first release of ecdysone that initiates metamorphosis, the epidermal cells become committed to pupal differentiation. Thereafter, if exposed to ecdysone and juvenile hormone (JH) as during a larval molt, they form only pupal cuticle. Although considerable α-ecdysone is present at this time, it is neither synergistic with β-ecdysone nor effective by itself in causing this change. When larval epidermis was exposed to 1 μg/ml of β-ecdysone in vitro, the complete change to pupal commitment was found to take 17 hr for 50% of the pieces. After 9 hr of exposure to β-ecdysone, 50% of the pieces were unresponsive to the addition of JH. A comparison of these data and those of Mitsui and Riddiford (1978, Develop. Biol., 62, 193–205) led to the conclusion that the change to pupal commitment occurs in a three-step sequence: (1) the acquisition of the competence to form pupal cuticle in response to ecdysone, (2) the loss of responsiveness to JH, (3) the loss of the ability to produce larval cuticle.
Jovian electron propagation out of the solar equatorial plane - Pioneer 11 observations

Jovian electron intensity in the energy range 2-7 MeV was measured along the trajectory of Pioneer 11 up to 16 deg heliographic latitude. These electrons have crossed the average direction of the interplanetary magnetic field, propagating normal to the solar equatorial plane, and their intensity continues to be modulated by corotating interaction regions over this latitude range. From these data, the electron diffusion coefficient perpendicular to the equatorial plane (K2 = 2 x 10 to the 20th sq cm/s) was derived to within a factor 2 using a three-dimensional diffusion-convection model and the values of the parallel and perpendicular diffusion coefficients in the solar equatorial plane (Ky = 5 x 10 to the 22nd sq cm/s, K2 = 10 to the 21st sq cm/s, respectively), which had previously successfully described Jovian electron propagation near the equatorial plane from 1 to about 10 AU. These results indicate that the Jovian electron intensity may be very low at high solar latitudes.
The adrenals and the regulatory nature of running wheel activity.

Abstract The role of the adrenal cortex in spontaneous running wheel activity was examined. Adrenalectomy reduced activity levels and replacement therapy with corticosterone returned running levels to those of intact animals. Of the physiological measures related to intermediary metabolism which were taken, only the correlation of activity level and per cent fat in the carcass was significant. It was hypothesized that: (1) activity be included in that class of behaviors termed regulatory behaviors; (2) that running serves the organism in the regulation of body fat levels; and (3) that this regulation is, at least in part, accomplished by concomitant variations in the levels of adrenocortical functioning.
Reducing the failure risk of interdisciplinary healthcare teams

Interdisciplinary healthcare teams have become the new model for patient care delivery in today's complex healthcare environment of increased specialization and disciplinarity of healthcare providers. Research to support the efficacy of this model has been problematic because of poorly conceptualized interdisciplinary teams as well as methodological problems conducting the research. Findings from organizational studies and healthcare interdisciplinary research can be integrated into a theory-based model to design an educational workshop to develop team members. Development of team members is proposed as a means to enhance collaboration among team members and therefore reduce the risk of team failure.
Magnetic resonance imaging of oscillating electrical currents

Functional MRI has become an important tool of researchers and clinicians who seek to understand patterns of neuronal activation that accompany sensory and cognitive processes. However, the interpretation of fMRI images rests on assumptions about the relationship between neuronal firing and hemodynamic response that are not firmly grounded in rigorous theory or experimental evidence. Further, the blood-oxygen-level-dependent effect, which correlates an MRI observable to neuronal firing, evolves over a period that is 2 orders of magnitude longer than the underlying processes that are thought to cause it. Here, we instead demonstrate experiments to directly image oscillating currents by MRI. The approach rests on a resonant interaction between an applied rf field and an oscillating magnetic field in the sample and, as such, permits quantitative, frequency-selective measurements of current density without spatial or temporal cancellation. We apply this method in a current loop phantom, mapping its magnetic field and achieving a detection sensitivity near the threshold required for the detection of neuronal currents. Because the contrast mechanism is under spectroscopic control, we are able to demonstrate how ramped and phase-modulated spin-lock radiation can enhance the sensitivity and robustness of the experiment. We further demonstrate the combination of these methods with remote detection, a technique in which the encoding and detection of an MRI experiment are separated by sample flow or translation. We illustrate that remotely detected MRI permits the measurement of currents in small volumes of flowing water with high sensitivity and spatial resolution.
The effects of prolyl-leucyl-glycine amide on drug-induced rotation in lesioned rats.

Abstract 1. 1. The effects of l -prolyl- l -leucyl-glycine amide (PLG) on drug-induced rotational behavior were studied in rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of the substantia nigra. 2. 2. Although PLG alone was found to be ineffective at inducing rotation in these animals, pretreatment with PLG at various doses was found to enhance both amphetamine and apomorphine-induced rotation. 3. 3. This response proved to be biphasic with loss of activity in the higher dose ranges. 4. 4. The pattern of effects observed suggests that PLG may act postsynaptically at a non-striatal site.
Improving operative performance using a laparoscopic hernia simulator

Background: Traditionally, the acquisition of surgical skill has occurred entirely in the operating room. To meet the expanding challenges of cost containment and patient safety, novel methods of surgical training utilizing ex-vivo workstations are being developed. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of a laparoscopic training curriculum on surgical residents’ operative performance. Methods: Twenty-one surgery residents completed baseline laparoscopic total extraperitoneal (TEP) hernia repairs. Operative performance was evaluated using a validated global assessment tool. Each resident was then randomized to a control group or a trained group. A CD ROM, video, and simulator were used for training. At the end of the study, each resident’s operative performance was again evaluated. Results: Improvement was significantly greater in the trained group in five of the eight individual global assessment areas as well as the composite score (P <0.05). Questionnaire data suggested that training resulted in improved understanding of the TEP hernia repair (P = 0.01) and an increased willingness to offer the operation to patients with nonrecurrent unilateral hernias (P = 0.02). Conclusions: A multimodality laparoscopic TEP hernia curriculum improves residents’ knowledge of the TEP hernia repair and comfort in performing the procedure, and may also improve actual operative performance.
Elementary Science Students’ Motivation and Learning Strategy Use: Constructivist Classroom Contextual Factors in a Life Science Laboratory and a Traditional Classroom

The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of constructivist classroom contextual factors in a life science laboratory and a traditional science classroom on elementary students’ motivation and learning strategy use. The Constructivist Teaching Inventory was used to examine classroom contextual factors. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was used to examine student motivation and learning strategies. A Wilcoxon nonparametric test determined that constructivist teaching practices were found to occur more often in the life laboratory than in the regular classroom. Although constructivist teaching practices increased at each observation time in both the regular classroom and in the life laboratory, a Friedman test determined that they were not statistically significant increases. Paired sample t tests determined that student motivation and learning strategies were higher in the life laboratory than in the regular classroom overall as well as at each survey time except for learning strategies at Post 1. A 2 × 4 between 3 within repeated measure ANOVA determined that student MSLQ motivation and learning strategy scores in the regular classroom varied statistically significantly by teacher. Student MSLQ motivation and learning strategy scores in the life laboratory varied statistically significantly by teacher. To triangulate data, individual interviews of students were conducted at the end of the semester and revealed students regard the life laboratory as an asset to their science study; however, students do appreciate and value working in the learning environment that the regular classroom provides.
CONTROL OF THE RESIDUAL TIBIA IN TRANSTIBIAL AMPUTATION

Eight transtibial amputees had localized unremitting discomfort and pain in the distal anterior residual limb during prosthetic wear while weightbearing. Modification of the prosthetic socket did not change this pain. It was not consistent with "phantom limb" or causalgia/reflex sympathetic dystrophy-type etiologies. Thirteen randomly selected, pain-free, transtibial amputees were selected for comparison. The subjects in both groups used similar total-contact, "patellar tendon-bearing" prosthetic sockets fabricated and aligned with similar technique. The angles formed between the femur and tibia, femur and prosthetic socket, and tibia and socket were measured. Significant differences were found at each angle measurement between those patients who experienced pain and those who did not. The variable of tibia length had no effect. We conclude that bone alignment within the transtibial total-contact prosthetic socket may be partially dependent on surgical technique and not solely on prosthetic socket configuration.
Peptide Cysteine Thiyl Radicals Abstract Hydrogen Atoms from Surrounding Amino Acids: The Photolysis of a Cystine Containing Model Peptide

Peptide cysteine thiyl radicals were generated through UV-photolysis of disulfide precursors, in order to follow intramolecular reactions of those radicals with neighboring amino acids. When reactions were carried out in D(2)O, there was a significant incorporation of deuterium specifically into the C(alpha)-H bonds of glycine residues in positions i+1 and i-1 to the Cys residue, indicating a fast reversible H-atom transfer. This H-atom transfer occurred prior to the formation of final, nonradical products including free thiol, thioaldehyde, and aldehyde. Such fast H-atom transfer is relevant to biologic conditions of oxidative stress and to the stabilization of proteins against oxidation, where the formation of carbon-centered radicals in proteins may lead to fragmentation, intramolecular cross-linking, aggregation and/or epimerization.
Acceleration of production process for petroleum pitch

1. An accelerated method has been developed for producing petroleum pitch. It has been shown that the thermocondensation of the raw material at temperatures of 460–500°C, with subsequent distillation of the volatile fractions, will reduce the required time for pitch production by a factor ranging from 5 to 20, in comparison with the time required under conventional conditions (400–420°C). 2. The introduction of the proposed method for pitch production is feasible in existing thermal-cracking units after appropriate reconstruction.
Association between a history of childhood sexual abuse and subsequent, adolescent psychoactive substance use disorder in a sample of HIV seropositive men

Purpose: Examine whether an association exists between having a sexual abuse history and having a psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD) history in a population of HIV seropositive men. Methods: Survey study of 95 HIV seropositive men. Sociodemographic and sexual abuse histories obtained before administration of the Standardized Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID-NP-HIV)—used to identify PSUD. Results: Nineteen (20%) subjects had sexual abuse histories. Sexual abuse occurred early (mean age: 8.1 years). Ten (53%) subjects reported oral ( n = 4) and/or anal ( n = 9) penetration by perpetrator. Comparing men with histories of sexual abuse to men without, the odds ratio (OR) for subsequent injection drug use was 5.4 (1.5, 19.6), and for subsequent early (before age 20) injection drug use was 21.6 (3.4, 224.5). Adjusted ORs were 2.4 (0.55, 10.6) and 12.2 (1.7, 90.3), respectively. Conclusions: In this sample of HIV seropositive men, an association between having been sexually abused and subsequently initiating injection drug use during adolescence exists. Future studies that more rigorously evaluate the possible causal nature of this association are indicated.
A double-labeling method for AChE and fluorescent retrograde tracers

Abstract Staining for the degradative enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an important tool in studying central cholinergic/cholinoceptive systems. AChE staining has also been useful in identifying the projections of AChE-containing neurons and codistribution of AChE with other neurotransmitters. The intensity and opacity of conventional AChE histochemical reaction products, however pose problems for such double-labeling studies. Here, we have successfully combined a modified version (37) of the Koelle-Friedenwald AChE reaction with retrograde transport of the fluorescent tracer, Fluoro-Gold (FG). By omitting the final intensification steps of the Koelle-Friedenwald reaction, a translucent, light-stable reaction product is created. Viewed under darkfield illumination, this precipitate is of similar intensity and sensitivity to that produced by conventional AChE histochemical processing. Prior administration of an AChE-inhibitor yields preferential staining of AChE-positive neuronal somata. This n onintensified d arkfield AChE (NIDA) histochemical method was compatible with visualization of retrogradely transported FG in AChE-positive neurons, allowing unambiguous identification of the projections of AChE-containing neurons.
Applying technology assessment in the multi-product company

Abstract With the Technology Assessment Act becoming law in the USA, a mechanism was set into motion which will have wide repercussions in every industry: any major innovation has to be appropriately evaluated before it can be introduced on the US market. In this article, technological assessment is approached from a manufacturing company viewpoint and seen as a specific application of technological forecasting techniques. The author presents a detailed account of a typical TA procedure composed of three separate assessments—economic, ecological and consumer—of a single product.
Immigration and the challenge of education: a social drama analysis in South Central Los Angeles

Those of us who conduct education research that explores relationships between school and society can find ourselves at odds with perspectives that privilege the contents of school experiences over...
A Flavonoid, Luteolin, Cripples HIV-1 by Abrogation of Tat Function

Despite the effectiveness of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) against HIV-1, evidence indicates that residual infection persists in different cell types. Intensification of cART does not decrease the residual viral load or immune activation. cART restricts the synthesis of infectious virus but does not curtail HIV-1 transcription and translation from either the integrated or unintegrated viral genomes in infected cells. All treated patients with full viral suppression actually have low-level viremia. More than 60% of treated individuals also develop minor HIV-1 –associated neurocognitive deficits (HAND) due to residual virus and immune activation. Thus, new therapeutic agents are needed to curtail HIV-1 transcription and residual virus. In this study, luteolin, a dietary supplement, profoundly reduced HIV-1 infection in reporter cells and primary lymphocytes. HIV-1inhibition by luteolin was independent of viral entry, as shown by the fact that wild-type and VSV–pseudotyped HIV-1 infections were similarly inhibited. Luteolin was unable to inhibit viral reverse transcription. Luteolin had antiviral activity in a latent HIV-1 reactivation model and effectively ablated both clade-B- and -C -Tat-driven LTR transactivation in reporter assays but had no effect on Tat expression and its sub-cellular localization. We conclude that luteolin confers anti–HIV-1 activity at the Tat functional level. Given its biosafety profile and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, luteolin may serve as a base flavonoid to develop potent anti–HIV-1 derivatives to complement cART.
A Hybrid Adaptive and Robust Control Strategy for a Class of Linear Systems

This paper presents a hybrid control strategy to avoid the basic trade-off between performance and robustness for individual controllers. The hybrid control strategy utilizes a robust controller for guaranteed robustness and adequate performance when the plant model is not well known and/or in the presence of significant disturbances, and employs an adaptive controller for high performance after sufficient system information has been collected. Based on traditional dwell-time approaches, a coordinated dwell-time approach is developed and incorporated into the hybrid control strategy, which guarantees the global stability of the hybrid system for a class of linear systems, as well as combine the benefits of robust control and adaptive control.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Software framework for inverse modeling and uncertainty characterization

Estimation of spatial random fields (SRFs) is required for predicting groundwater flow, subsurface contaminant movement, and other areas of environmental and earth sciences modeling. This paper presents an inverse modeling framework called MAD# for characterizing SRFs, which is an implementation of the Bayesian inverse modeling technique Method of Anchored Distributions (MAD). MAD# allows modelers to "wrap" simulation models using an extensible driver architecture that exposes model parameters to the inversion engine. MAD# is implemented in an open source software package with the goal of lowering the barrier to using inverse modeling in education, research, and resource management. MAD# includes an intentionally simple user interface for simulation configuration, external software integration, spatial domain and model output visualization, and evaluation of model convergence. Four test cases are presented demonstrating the novel functionality of this framework to apply inversion in order to calibrate the model parameters characterizing a groundwater aquifer. An inverse modeling framework for characterizing spatial random fields.A novel plugin method for integrating 3rd party model and tools.Four case studies demonstrate the system for groundwater assessment.
Socioeconomic characteristics of rural urbanization in Southern Jiangsu, China

Rural urbanization in China has been discussed by many scholars since the 1980s. In this paper, Wuxi and Jiangyin, two counties in China’s most developed area of southern Jiangsu, were selected as target areas. Four characteristics of rural urbanization, namely, multilevel transfer of rural population into urban population; dispersed spatial pattern; urbanization lagging behind industrial development; and important role of towns in rural urbanization, were analyzed. Through an analysis of the socioeconomic development of Wuxi and Jiangyin, three trends in future development of rural urbanization can be predicted: rural population will continue to progress from lower to higher level and from incomplete to complete form; small towns will continue to develop rapidly and differentially; and rural migrants in regional cities will gradually increase.
Synchronous fluorescence spectra of natural waters: tracing sources of dissolved organic matter

Abstract The fluorescence of North Carolina river samples observed simultaneously by scanning excitation and emission wavelengths at a fixed wavelength difference of 25 nm produced synchronous spectra characteristic of each sample's dissolved organic matter. Examination of the spectra of two river samples for pH, copper, magnesium and ferric iron effects revealed that the metals affect only fluorescence intensity whereas pH alters both intensity and spectral shape. Mixtures of up to four rivers were resolved using linear regression analysis and the synchronous spectrum of each component in the mixture. A similar analysis of field samples may be useful for tracing the source, circulation and mixing of dissolved organic matter in coastal waters, lakes or estuaries.
Clinical prospects for neural grafting therapy for hippocampal lesions and epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: Hippocampal lesions and epilepsy may be potential clinical targets for neural grafting. We hypothesized that neural grafting could be a restorative therapy either acutely, adding unformed neural elements, or chronically, treating postiesioning epilepsy. The goal of this review was to assess the clinical reality of this hypothesis of neural grafting and to determine the problems that remain to be resolved before grafting can be applied clinically. METHODS: We quantitatively defined graft integration within the host, on a cellular basis, by directly assessing survival of the transplanted neurons, graft cell dispersion and migration, neuronal differentiation and development, and establishment of appropriate local and long-distance synaptic connectivity. RESULTS: Embryonic hippocampal suspension grafts demonstrate excellent survival rates (20-80%). Embryonic axons exhibit extensive, appropriate, local and long-distance conectivity, can facilitate reconstruction of excitatory and inhibitory cortical circuitry, and can prevent the formation of aberrant circuitry. immature neural stem cells demonstrate lesser degrees of integration, likely becuases of a paucity of positional cues in the lesioned brain for the differentiation of stem cells into region-specific neuronal phenotypes. Labeled grafted cells may be selectively and noninvasively removed from the host with triggerable stealth toxins, for the late treatment of unanticipated graft problems. CONCLUSION: Neural grafting with appropriate embryonic neurons may provide significant clinical benefits. However, embryonic cell availability is severely limited, and alternative sources of cells, such as stem cells, require significant additional research into the induction and maintenance of neuronal commitment and the ability of the cells to form functional synaptic connections in vivo.
Effect of the implementation of an enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record on productivity in the Veterans Health Administration.

Since 1995, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has had an ongoing process of systems improvement that has led to dramatic improvement in the quality of care delivered. A major component of the redesign of the VHA has been the creation of a fully developed enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record (EHR). VHA’s Health Information Technology was developed in a collaborative fashion between local clinical champions and central software engineers. Successful national EHR implementation was achieved by 1999, since when the VHA has been able to increase its productivity by nearly 6 per cent per year.
Molecular biology: The tug of DNA repair

The transcription enzyme RNA polymerase stalls at DNA lesions, hindering their repair. Accessory factors dislodge the enzyme by pushing it forwards, but a study finds that pulling it backwards may also be effective. See Article p.372 Damaged bases that result from exposure to ultraviolet light interfere with transcription, causing RNA polymerase to stall. UvrD, a DNA helicase required for nucleotide excision repair, can remove such lesions, but its exact role was unknown. Evgeny Nudler and colleagues now show that UvrD is a transcription elongation factor that binds RNA polymerase and promotes its backwards movement when it becomes stalled at a lesion. NusA, another elongation factor, assists in promoting backtracking and helps UvrD to target other nucleotide excision repair factors to the exposed lesion.
Acyclovir Topical Therapy of Cutaneous Herpes Simplex Virus Infection in Guinea Pigs

• The chemotherapeutic efficacy of acyclovir was evaluated by observing the potential of topical acyclovir to reduce the severity of herpes viral lesions and to control the multiplication of this virus in the experimentally induced primary cutaneous infection of guinea pigs. Topical acyclovir showed a substantially high therapeutic efficacy when treatment was initiated after the development of clinically overt skin lesions. The therapeutic response was dose dependent and clearly evident even when the treatment was initiated on day 2 after inoculation. Our results indicate that topical acyclovir treatment improved the cutaneous herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infectious process by inhibiting multiplication of HSV-1 in the skin of guinea pigs. ( Arch Dermatol 116:672-675, 1980)
Verdins in photodynamic therapy of squamous cell carcinoma

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a relatively new treatment modality employing photoactive drugs in combination with light to destroy malignant tissue. Porphyrins (ie, hematoporphyrin derivative and dihematoporphyrin ether) have been the most thoroughly investigated photoactive drugs. The primary limitation of the use of porphyrins in PDT is the shallow depth of effective tumor kill. Each photoactive drug is activated maximally by light of a particular wavelength, and longer wavelengths are able to penetrate tissue to a greater depth. Hematoporphyrin derivative and its semipurified form, dihematoporphyrin ether, are activated by light at 630 nm, which penetrates tissue to a maximum of 8 mm. The search for more effective photosensitizers is under way. Verdins, photoactive compounds in the class of chlorins, have recently been synthesized with activating wavelengths near 700 nm. This longer activation wavelength should theoretically allow a greater depth of tumor kill. Verdins have been shown to be effective photosensitizers in a urothelial carcinoma model in rats. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of these compounds on squamous cell carcinoma in the hamster cheek pouch model.
Development of surrogate lung systems with controlled thermodynamic environments to study hygroscopic particles : air pollutants and pharmacologic drugs

ABSTRACT An objective of this text is to demonstrate advantages of interdisciplinary efforts, specifically, applications of engineering technology to health effects issues. The work describes the development of surrogate systems of the human lung for use in studies of hygroscopic growth kinetics and related deposition of inhaled particles. The models have become increasingly more physiologically realistic. Notable accomplishments are the successful simulations of in vivo environmental conditions, namely: (1)temperature and relative humidity atmospheres;(2)airstream profiles and thermodynamic processes; and,(3)lung morphology. Measurements of hygroscopic characteristics of a laboratory aerosol (NaCl) and bronchodilator drugs used in aerosol therapy were made using one of the models and are reported herein. The data clearly demonstrate the respective effects of respiratory tract geometry and particle chemical composition upon the behavior of inhaled substances. The surrogate lungs, offering unique research ...
Chief information officers and technical communication

This paper examines the role of the chief information officer (CIO) in large, technology-dependent organizations and argues that technical communication is an indispensable component of the training and experience required to fulfil this role. This is demonstrated by examining the nature of the systems that the CIO is responsible for and the importance of technical communication skills and perspectives to fulfilling this responsibility. At the level of the CIO, the systems being managed are complex, dynamic and "open", with issues like "system integration" being far more about balancing cross-organizational perspectives and tensions than they are about technical issues. The CIO's office provides the glue that integrates the many facets and perspectives of an enterprise-wide ICT system, and the fundamental skills of the CIO include communication, facilitation, team-building, and creative use of information tools - central skills of technical communicators.
The prevalence of borderline personality among primary care patients with chronic pain

This study was designed to explore the prevalence of borderline personality disorder among primary care patients (N=17) with various pain syndromes. All participants completed two self-report measures [Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R); Self-Harm Inventory (SHI)] and a semi-structured interview [Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB)] for the assessment of borderline personality disorder. According to study measures, 8 (47.1%), 5 (29.4%), and 8 (47.1%) participants scored positively on the PDQ-R, SHI, and DIB, respectively. Nearly 25% of the sample scored positively on two measures, and 18% scored positively on all three measures. In this sample, the prevalence of BPD was substantial. Chronic pain may be a manifestation of a self-regulatory disturbance among some patients with BPD.
12.4% efficient freestanding 30µm ultra-thin silicon solar cell using a-Si/c-Si heterostructure

With 18 μs bulk lifetime and surface recombination velocity ∼ 84 cm/sec, we demonstrate an improved understanding of surface passivation properties and loss mechanisms in free-standing 30 µm ultra-thin silicon devices. It is demonstrated that even low quality silicon substrates can be used for fabrication of thin silicon solar cells without strict requirements of high bulk minority carrier lifetimes as required in thick solar cells. The use of a-Si/c-Si structure on very thin wafers allows low surface recombination velocities, low temperature processing and reduced structural and electronic interface defects, thus making them ideal for very thin, wafer-based solar cells.
Abigail Adams: A Writing Life. By Edith B. Gelles. New York: Routledge, 2002

Abigail Adams: A Writing Life is Edith B. Gelles’s second biography of Abigail Adams, arguably America’s most famous woman of the Revolutionary period. Though the outlines of Abigail’s life provide...
Portability testing of scientific computing software systems

Software testing is considered to be the ultimate obstacle before software can be released. Traditional approaches to testing the software revolves around capabilities of a system using various types of testing (e.g., black-box) at various level of software development process. Testing the software for system-wide qualities such as portability is very rare. The research work in this area is very limited. In this work, we discuss the importance of portability testing and attempt to explore a testing approach to test the portability of Scientific Computing (SC) software using different platforms. The main incentive for testing of SC software is that this class of software is challenging because of the elements such as computing environment, computational mathematics, languages, optimization; these elements play significant roles in success or failure of these systems.
Efficient fingerprint-based user authentication for embedded systems

User authentication, which refers to the process of verifying the identity of a user, is becoming an important security requirement in various embedded systems. While conventional solutions for user authentication have relied on password-based mechanisms, they are increasingly being replaced by biometric technologies such as fingerprint, face, and voice recognition, which are known to provide higher levels of security for user authentication. This paper investigates the problem of supporting efficient fingerprint-based user authentication in embedded systems. For improving the performance of fingerprint-based authentication, we propose hardware/software enhancements that include a generic set of custom instruction extensions to an embedded processor's instruction set architecture, a memory-aware software re-design, and fixed-point arithmetic. We believe that the custom instruction set extensions proposed in this work are generic enough to speed up many fingerprint matching algorithms and even other biometric algorithms. Our experiments with an open-source, high-fidelity fingerprint authentication algorithm and a testbed featuring a commercial extensible processor show that performance is improved by a factor of 10.4X when using the proposed enhancements, while incurring modest overheads.
On exploiting diversity and spatial reuse in relay-enabled wireless networks

Relay-enabled wireless networks (eg. WIMAX 802.16j) represent an emerging trend for the incorporation of multi-hop networking solutions for last-mile broadband access in next generation wireless networks. The adoption of more sophisticated access technologies such as OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) coupled with the relay-induced two-hop nature, provides two key benefits to these networks in the form of diversity and spatial reuse gains. However, leveraging these benefits calls for more sophisticated solutions, among which, user scheduling forms a key component.We consider the specific problem of scheduling users with finite buffers on the multiple OFDM carriers (channels over the two hops of the relay-enabled network. We propose scheduling algorithms that help leverage diversity and spatial reuse gains from these networks. We show that even the scheduling problem to exploit diversity gains alone is NP-hard and provide both theoretically and practically efficient polynomial-time algorithms with approximation guarantees. Building on the diversity solutions, we also propose an efficient polynomial-time scheduling algorithm for exploiting both spatial reuse as well as diversity. The proposed solutions are evaluated to highlight the relative significance of diversity and spatial reuse gains with respect to varying network conditions.
Visual, cruise formation flying dynamics

In order to develop a performance baseline for future cooperative, dual aircraft operations, an experimental evaluation of pilot-in-the-loop, dual aircraft system dynamics in visual meteorological conditions (VMC) was undertaken to examine pilot response time and system frequency response characteristics. Stanford University flew a Beechcraft Queen Air and a Cessna Caravan in cruise formation flights to gather system data. Using this data along with system identification tools, models have been created to quantify the human-in-the-loop performance of cooperative dual aircraft flight as a function of lead aircraft attitude and initial separation.
Linear response time for implicate and implicant queries

Knowledge bases can be represented as propositional Formulas. A query of such a theory typically has the form, Is a clause an implicate of the theory? Answering such queries can require exponential time. In Kautz and Selman (Proceedings of the international workshop on processing declarative knowledge (PDK), Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1991), knowledge compilation was proposed as a solution to this problem: Pay the exponential penalty once by compiling the knowledge base into a target language that would guarantee fast response to queries. The reduced implicate trie (ri-trie), introduced in Murray and Rosenthal (Proceedings of the international conference TABLEAUX 2005—analytic tableaux and related methods, Koblenz, Germany. Lecture notes in artificial intelligence, vol 3702. Springer, Berlin, pp 231–244, 2005), may be used as a target language for knowledge compilation. It has the property that a query is processed in time linear in the size of the query, regardless of the size of the compiled knowledge base. In this paper, structures dual to ri-tries, the reduced implicant tries are investigated, and the dual problem—determining the implicants of a formula—is considered. The main result is that, for a given formula, the two structures can be merged into a single reduced implicate/implicant trie that can serve dual roles, representing both implicates and implicants. Furthermore, rii-tries can be computed directly, without separately computing and then merging the dual structures.
Transmural heterogeneity of repolarization and Ca2+ handling in a model of mouse ventricular tissue.

Mouse hearts have a diversity of action potentials (APs) generated by the cardiac myocytes from different regions. Recent evidence shows that cells from the epicardial and endocardial regions of th...
Characterization of the Highly Divergent U2 RNA Homolog in the Microsporidian Vairimorpha necatrix

An RNA homologous to U2 RNA and a single copy gene encoding the RNA homolog have been characterized in the microsporidian, Vairimorpha necatrix. The RNA which is 165 nucleotides in length possesses significant similarity to U2 RNA, particularly in the 5' half of the molecule. The U2 homolog contains the highly conserved GUAGUA branch point binding sequence seen in all U2 RNAs except those of the trypanosomes. A U2 RNA sequence element implicated in a U2:U6 RNA intermolecular pairing is also present in the U2 homolog. The V. necatrix U2 RNA homolog differs at positions previously found to be invariant in U2 RNAs and appears to lack an Sm binding site sequence. The RNA can be folded into a secondary structure possessing three of the four principal stem-loops proposed for the consensus U2 RNA structure. A cis-diol containing cap structure is present at the 5' end of the U2 homolog. Unlike the cap structures seen in U-snRNAs and mRNAs it is neither 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine, gamma-monomethyl phosphate, nor 7-methylguanosine.
Technical Note: Adherence of Sulfide Mineral Layers Produced by Corrosion of Copper Alloys

Abstract Sulfiding corrosion of copper alloys can occur from microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) mechanisms involving sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) or from exposure to bulk waters containin...
Optimal contact map alignment of protein–protein interfaces

The long-standing problem of constructing protein structure alignments is of central importance in computational biology. The main goal is to provide an alignment of residue correspondences, in order to identify homologous residues across chains. A critical next step of this is the alignment of protein complexes and their interfaces. Here, we introduce the program CMAPi, a two-dimensional dynamic programming algorithm that, given a pair of protein complexes, optimally aligns the contact maps of their interfaces: it produces polynomial-time near-optimal alignments in the case of multiple complexes. We demonstrate the efficacy of our algorithm on complexes from PPI families listed in the SCOPPI database and from highly divergent cytokine families. In comparison to existing techniques, CMAPi generates more accurate alignments of interacting residues within families of interacting proteins, especially for sequences with low similarity. While previous methods that use an all-atom based representation of the interface have been successful, CMAPi's use of a contact map representation allows it to be more tolerant to conformational changes and thus to align more of the interaction surface. These improved interface alignments should enhance homology modeling and threading methods for predicting PPIs by providing a basis for generating template profiles for sequence–structure alignment. Contact:bab@mit.edu; jbienkowska@gmail.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at http://theory.csail.mit.edu/cmapi
Alternative approaches to high-performance metacomputing

Software frameworks for high-performance computing have long attempted to deal with the dichotomy between parallel programming on tightly-coupled platforms and the benefits of aggregating distributed heterogeneous resources. Solutions will inevitably involve compromise, but middleware architectures can alleviate the discord. The Harness project has approached high-performance distributed computing via a design philosophy that leverages dynamic reconfigurability – in terms of resources, capabilities, and communication fabrics. We provide an overview of Harness, and position its goals in the context of recent and current metacomputing systems. We then describe the salient features of the H2O framework, a core subsystem in the Harness project, and discuss its alternative approach to high-performance metacomputing. H2O is based on a “pluggable” software architecture to enable flexible and reconfigurable distributed computing. A key feature is the provisioning of customization capabilities that permit clients to tailor provider resources as appropriate to the given application, without compromising control or security. Through the use of uploadable “pluglets”, users can exploit specialized features of the underlying resource, application libraries, or optimized message passing subsystems on demand. H2O is supplemented by subsystems for event handling and fault-tolerant naming services, thereby providing a comprehensive suite of software subsystems for robust and large scale metacomputing. The current status of the H2O subsystem and the overall Harness framework, recent experiences with its use, and planned enhancements are discussed.
Vera Basch Moreen. In Queen Esther's Garden: An Anthology of Judeo-Persian Literature . Yale Judaica Series. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. xxiv, 392 pp.

This book is, without a doubt, a major contribution in the field of Judeo-Persian Studies. Judeo-Persian literature, which extends for about eight centuries, has been severely neglected except for the work of a small number of scholars. There are only four scholars in the United States who have dealt with any aspect of this field, and not many more elsewhere. The existing Judeo-Persian texts are a vast collection of all sorts of material and deserve much more attention. Vera Basch Moreen has made a great step forward by providing translation of a wide variety of literary texts. Especially valuable are her commentaries, explanations, and bibliography.
Geometry of the Katok examples

We consider examples of Finsler metrics symmetric or not) on Sn, Pnℂ, Pnℍ, and P2Ca with only finitely many closed geodesies or with only few short closed geodesies. The number of closed geodesies in these examples and properties of the closed geodesies are considered.
Associations between respiratory illnesses and secondhand smoke exposure in flight attendants: A cross-sectional analysis of the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Survey

Background Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is associated with increased risk of respiratory illness, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Prior to smoking bans on airlines in the late 1980s, flight attendants were exposed to a significant amount of SHS. In the present study, we examine associations between flight attendant SHS exposure and development of respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular disease.