cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dieldrin induces apoptosis by promoting caspase-3-dependent proteolytic cleavage of protein kinase Cδ in dopaminergic cells: Relevance to oxidative stress and dopaminergic degeneration

We previously reported that dieldrin, one of the potential environmental risk factors for development of Parkinson's disease, induces apoptosis in dopaminergic cells by generating oxidative stress. Here, we demonstrate that the caspase-3-dependent proteolytic activation of protein kinase Cdelta (PKCdelta) mediates as well as regulates the dieldrin-induced apoptotic cascade in dopaminergic cells. Exposure of PC12 cells to dieldrin (100-300 microM) results in the rapid release of cytochrome C, followed by the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The superoxide dismutase mimetic Mn(III)tetrakis(4-benzoic acid)porphyrin chloride significantly attenuates dieldrin-induced cytochrome C release, indicating that reactive oxygen species may contribute to the activation of pro-apoptotic factors. Interestingly, dieldrin proteolytically cleaves native PKCdelta into a 41 kDa catalytic subunit and a 38 kDa regulatory subunit to activate the kinase. The dieldrin-induced proteolytic cleavage of PKCdelta and induction of kinase activity are completely inhibited by pretreatment with 50-100 microM concentrations of the caspase inhibitors benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK) and benzyloxycarbonyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone (Z-DEVD-FMK), indicating that the proteolytic activation of PKCdelta is caspase-3-dependent. Additionally, Z-VAD-FMK, Z-DEVD-FMK or the PKCdelta specific inhibitor rottlerin almost completely block dieldrin-induced DNA fragmentation. Because dieldrin dramatically increases (40-80-fold) caspase-3 activity, we examined whether proteolytically activated PKCdelta amplifies caspase-3 via positive feedback activation. The PKCdelta inhibitor rottlerin (3-20 microM) dose-dependently attenuates dieldrin-induced caspase-3 activity, suggesting positive feedback activation of caspase-3 by PKCdelta. Indeed, delivery of catalytically active recombinant PKCdelta via a protein delivery system significantly activates caspase-3 in PC12 cells. Finally, overexpression of the kinase-inactive PKCdelta(K376R) mutant in rat mesencephalic dopaminergic neuronal cells attenuates dieldrin-induced caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation, further confirming the pro-apoptotic function of PKCdelta in dopaminergic cells. Together, we conclude that caspase-3-dependent proteolytic activation of PKCdelta is a critical event in dieldrin-induced apoptotic cell death in dopaminergic cells.
Proteomic Protease Substrate Profiling of tPA Treatment in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Step Toward Individualizing Thrombolytic Therapy at the Bedside

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only FDA-approved medical therapy for acute ischemic stroke. But as a serine peptidase, intravenous tPA can affect the expression of other proteases that may be implicated in blood–brain barrier breakdown. Such parallel cascades of cell signaling may be involved in intracranial hemorrhage, the major side effect of tPA. Here, we describe an initial attempt in proteomic substrate profiling, i.e., degradomics in human plasma within the context of acute stroke. Plasma from acute stroke patients were analyzed pre- and post-intravenous tPA using tandem mass spectrometry and protein array profiling to identify substrates and proteases of interest. In non-tPA-treated stroke plasma, degradomic patterns indicated a rapid induction of protease activity within 3 h of stroke onset that mostly stabilized by 24 h. But in tPA-treated patients, pre- and post-tPA samples from the same patient demonstrated distinct degradomic patterns that persisted even up to 3–5 days after stroke onset. Matching control patients without strokes had little change in degradomic profiles over time. Our findings demonstrate that tPA treatment changes the plasma degradomic profiles in acute stroke patients. These composite proteolytic profiles may provide a glimpse of the pleiotropic effects of tPA on cellular signaling cascades at the bedside. This study supports the feasibility of performing pharmacoproteomics at the bedside, which may ultimately allow us to dissect mechanisms of thrombolysis-related therapeutic efficacy in stroke.
Nonlinear adaptive parameter estimation algorithms for hysteresis models of magnetostrictive actuators

Increased control demands in applications including high speed milling and hybrid motor design have led to the utilization of magnetostrictive transducers operating in hysteretic and nonlinear regimes. To achieve the high performance capabilities of these transducers, models and control laws must accommodate the nonlinear dynamics in a manner which is robust and facilitates real-time implementation. This necessitates the development of models and control algorithms which utilize known physics to the degree possible, are low order, and are easily updated to accommodate changing operating conditions such as temperature. We consider here the development of nonlinear adaptive identification for low order, energy-based models. We illustrate the techniques in the context of magnetostrictive transducers but they are sufficiently general to be employed for a number of commonly used smart materials. The performance of the identification algorithm is illustrated through numerical examples.
Suppression of the Contrast of Ribs in Chest Radiographs by Means of Massive Training Artificial Neural Network

We developed a method for suppression of the contrast of ribs in chest radiographs by means of a massive training artificial neural network (MTANN). The MTANN is a trainable highly nonlinear filter that can be trained by using input chest radiographs and the corresponding teacher images. We used either the soft-tissue image or the bone image obtained by use of a dual-energy subtraction technique as the teacher image for suppression of ribs in chest radiographs. When the soft-tissue images were used as the teacher images, the MTANN directly produced a "soft-tissue-image-like" image where the contrast of ribs was suppressed. When the bone images were used as the teacher images, the MTANN was able to produce a "bone-image-like" image, and then was subtracted from the corresponding chest radiograph to produce a bone-subtracted image where ribs are suppressed. Thus, the two kinds of rib-suppressed images, i.e., the soft-tissue-image-like image and the bone-subtracted image, could be produced by use of the MTANNs trained with two different teacher images. We applied each of the two trained MTANNs to non-training chest radiographs to investigate the difference between the processed images. The results showed that the contrast of ribs in chest radiographs almost disappeared, and was reduced to less than 10% in both processed images. The contrast of ribs was reduced slightly better in the soft-tissue-image-like images than in the bone-subtracted images, whereas soft-tissue opacities such as lung vessels and nodules were maintained better in the bone-subtracted images. Therefore, the use of the bone images as the teacher images for training the MTANN has produced better rib-suppressed images where soft-tissue opacities were substantially maintained. A method for rib suppression using the MTANN would be useful for radiologists as well as CAD schemes in detection of lung diseases such as nodules in chest radiographs.
X-ray absorption studies of manganese valence and local environment in borosilicate waste glasses

Abstract X-ray absorption data were collected and analyzed to characterize the manganese environments in borosilicate glass formulations to be used for immobilization of nuclear wastes. Mn can become a significant constituent in some radioactive wastes, because of the use of Mn-compounds in waste pretreatment processes. Sixteen borosilicate glasses were investigated, which were synthesized to simulate the Mn environments in the anticipated waste glasses, where MnO concentrations range from 0.4 to 13.6 wt%. The X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) for all glasses investigated indicate that most of the manganese within these samples is divalent. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis results for the glasses show average Mn–O distances near 2.07 A, coordination numbers between 4.3 and 5.2, and large first-shell Debye–Waller factors. The EXAFS findings indicate that Mn2+ in borosilicate glass is most likely within a distribution of environments that include 4- and 5-coordinated sites. EXAFS data and fitting results also show that the average manganese environments in these glasses are statistically invariant with respect to composition as well as to synthesis conditions.
Families, Schools, and Major Demographic Trends in the United States.

The ability of schools to serve young people may be jeopardized if their approaches to parental involvement do not evolve to reflect the growing diversity of their students brought on by long-term demographic changes.
Pressure Broadening as a Prototype of Relaxation

The theoretical results of Baranger, Kolb, and Griem on pressure broadening are rederived by a more compact and flexible procedure directly applicable to other relaxation processes. Pressure broadening is worked out to first order in the pressure, including previously disregarded corrections. The procedure adapts the concepts and techniques of scattering theory to the Liouville representation of density matrices. Its key quantity is a frequency-dependent relaxation operator $〈{M}_{c}(\ensuremath{\omega})〉$ introduced by Zwanzig.
FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

The receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 is an important regulatory molecule in hematopoiesis and is expressed on the blasts in most cases of acute leukemia. Activating mutations of this receptor are present in roughly 30% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and are associated with a distinctly worse clinical outcome. Efforts to target this mutation and improve outcomes in this subgroup of AML patients have led to the investigation of several novel small-molecule FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These compounds derive from a wide variety of chemical classes and differ significantly, both in their potency and in their selectivity. In this review, we discuss the results of preclinical, clinical, and correlative laboratory studies of FLT3 inhibitors in demonstrating how this field represents a truly translational enterprise with multiple ongoing interactions between the laboratory and the clinic.
Effect of Irradiation on the Inhibition of Clostridium botulinum Toxin Production and the Microbial Flora in Bacon

The effect of irradiation (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 Mrad) on the microbiological safety and stability of temperature-abused (27°C, 60 days) bacon cured with' 1.5% NaCl, 0.25% sucrose, 0.3% Na5P3O10 0.055% Na-erythorbate, with or without NaNO2 (40 μg/g) was determined. Unioculated bacon (120 μG/g NaNO2/g) had a sour odor within 13 days, and, if inoculated with ca. 2 C. botulinum spores/g, 73% of the samples became toxic within 60 days. Irradiation with 0.5 Mrad prevented spoilage of uninoculated bacon by virtue of reducing the aerobic plate count to <1.0/g; irradiation with 1.0 Mrad sterilized bacon. Pouches of bacon, inoculated with C. botulinum spores (2 spores/g), swelled and became toxic; development of swelling and toxicity was delayed by incorporation of NaNO2 (40 μg/g) or by irradiation with 0.5 Mrad. Irradiation with 1.0 Mrad decreased the number of swollen and toxic pouches. Irradiation with 1.5 Mrad prevented swelling and toxicity of bacon inoculated with 2 spores/g.
A MODIFIED APPROACH IN THE SYNTHESIS OF 5- AND 6-METHYLBENZ[a]ANTHRACENES

(1982). A MODIFIED APPROACH IN THE SYNTHESIS OF 5- AND 6-METHYLBENZ[a]ANTHRACENES. Organic Preparations and Procedures International: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 169-175.
Valence-Band Density of States of InP and GaSb as Determined by X-Ray Photoemission

The entire valence-band density of states has been measured for both InP and GaSb by x-ray-induced photoemission using the 1253.6-eV $\mathrm{Mg}K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ x rays. The spectra consist of three main peaks extending downward from the valence-band edge. The two upper peaks are compared with theoretical density-of-states distributions calculated for the $p$-like bands of these compounds. In addition, several of the observed features, including the measured difference in width between the $s$-like peaks, are found to be in good agreement with general density-of-states studies for tetrahedrally bonded semiconductors.
Graduation outcomes for truant students: An evaluation of a school-based, court-engaged community truancy board with case management

Abstract The present study evaluated school completion outcomes (i.e., graduation versus dropout) as they related to the implementation of a truancy reduction intervention. The intervention was characterized by the coupling of a school-based, court-engaged community truancy board and an approach to case management known as Check and Connect . The methodology involved comparing school outcomes of students with a history of truancy exposed to the intervention and a matched comparison group not exposed to the intervention. Preliminary analyses revealed the groups to be comparable with respect to characteristics of schools attended and individual demographic background and social risk factors. Results revealed higher graduation and GED attainment for children exposed to the intervention. Discussion focuses on the promise of programs that utilize school-court-community partnerships within a restorative justice/social support framework to respond to truancy.
Couples and the male birth control pill: A future alternative in contraceptive selection

Contraceptive decision making is likely to become more complex when male oral contraceptives are marketed and as sex‐role preferences become more egalitarian. A mailed survey of 47 married couples selected from a newspaper “Birth Listing” column in Columbus, Ohio was used to contrast spouses' views, to assess levels of actual and perceived consensus among partners, and to identify predictors of greater stated likelihood of male pill usage. Modest support was found for the hypothesis that more egalitarian sex‐role preferences are positively related to a greater belief in contraception as a shared responsibility, wives: r = .35, p < .01, husbands: r = .21, p < .10. No support was found, however, for the hypothesis that beliefs in shared contraceptive responsibility would lead to greater acceptance of a male pill. Wives were also more accurate, r = .57, p < .001, than husbands, r = .21, p < .08, in perceiving then‐spouse's attitudes toward male pill adoption. Results suggest that researchers need to focus on...
Mode selection and resonant phase locking in unstable axisymmetric jets

This paper presents experimental results on the nonlinear phase locking present in the resonant growth of unstable modes in the shear layer of an axisymmetric jet. The initial instability modes scale with the exiting shear layer and grow convectively with downstream distance. Because of the special condition at the exit lip of the jet, the initial growth of modes is very sensitive to local unsteady pressure fields. A part of the unsteady field is stochastic in nature. To a larger extent, the pressure field at the lip of the jet contains the imprint of the downstream-developing instability modes, in particular the first unstable axisymmetric mode and its subharmonic. These are felt at the lip of the jet as a result of the energetic processes of the first vortex rollup and vortex pairing. As a result, a resonant feedback exists which under special conditions makes the initial region of this flow in some sense absolutely unstable. The features of this process are brought out by the normalized crossbispectrum or cross-bicoherence between the instantaneous unsteady pressure at the lip of the jet and velocity time series measured at the same azimuthal position for different downstream locations. These give a measure of the nonlinear phase locking between the principle modes and their sum and difference modes. Analysis of these show a perfect nonlinear phase locking at the fundamental axisymmetric and subharmonic frequencies between the pressure field at the lip and the velocity field at the downstream locations corresponding to the energy saturations of the fundamental and subharmonic modes. This resonance process can be suppressed or enhanced by low-amplitude axisymmetric mode forcing at the natural preferred frequency of slightly detuned cases. Contrasted to this is the behaviour of the fundamental m = ± 1 helical mode. This mode was found to have the same spatial growth rate as the axisymmetric mode and a streamwise frequency approximately 20 % higher, in agreement with theoretical predictions. However, short-time spectral estimates showed that these two fundamental modes do not exist at the same time or space. This suggests that each is a basin of attraction which suppresses the existence of the other. The apparent non-deterministic switching observed between these modes is probably the result of the response of the jet to stochastic input of axisymmetric or non-axisymmetric disturbances. This scenario may lead to a low-dimensional temporal model based on the interaction between these two modes which captures most of the early random nature seen in our experiments.
Geometry optimization using symmetry coordinates

The use of symmetry coordinates (SC) in geometry optimization is discussed. A computer program incorporating the use of sc, together with analytical calculation of the gradient and quadratic acceleration, is described. Also reported are careful test results on a series of small molecules and typical results with a long series of molecules up to quite large size (40–60 atoms).
Edible dry bean consumption (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) modulates cardiovascular risk factors and diet-induced obesity in rats and mice.

Pulses are grain legumes that have sustained the civilisations of the world throughout their development; yet this staple food crop has fallen into disuse, particularly in Westernised societies, and decreased consumption parallels increased prevalence of CVD. The objective of the present study was to identify mechanisms that account for the cardioprotective activity of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), one of the four primary pulse crops, which is widely produced and consumed globally. Laboratory assays that can be used for in vivo screening of dry beans and other pulses to identify those with the greatest potential to benefit human health are also reported. Sprague‐Dawley rats and a diet-induced obesity model in C57Bl/6 mice were used to assess the effect of cooked dry bean incorporated into a purified diet formulation on plasma lipids and hepatic proteins involved in the regulation of lipid biosynthesis. In both animal species, short-term feeding of a bean-containing diet reduced plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol without affecting HDL-cholesterol or total TAG. Mechanisms associated with cholesterol catabolism and excretion are the likely targets of the bean effect. Unexpectedly, bean-fed obese mice experienced weight loss as well as an improved plasma lipid profile within a 12 d time frame. These findings support the use of short-term (7‐14 d) assays to investigate mechanisms that account for the cardioprotective and weight regulatory effects of dry bean and to screen dry bean germplasm resources for types of bean with high protective activity. These same assays can be used to identify the bioactive components of bean that account for the observed effects.
Estimation of a Hedonic Pricing Model for Medigap Insurance

While Medicare benefits are extensive, the program has deductible and coinsurance requirements as well as limitations on payments to providers. For many Medicare beneficiaries, the financial risk introduced by out-of-pocket requirements is considerable. On average, basic Medicare benefits cover 45 percent of the personal health care expenditures of aged beneficiaries in the United States (Kaiser Family Foundation 2005). Because of these gaps in coverage, many beneficiaries are also covered by supplemental policies provided by employers or purchased individually. About 89 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have some form of supplemental insurance; with 23 percent of beneficiaries covered by individually purchased Medigap plans (Laschober 2004). Despite the importance of supplemental insurance to Medicare beneficiaries, little is known about the premiums charged for individual Medigap coverage. Chulis, Eppig, and Poisal (1995) used Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) data and found that premiums increase with age, are higher for women than men, are slightly higher for those with functional limitations, but show no relationship with health status. While premiums are expected to increase with age for most plans, the gender difference is unexpected. However, it is unclear whether the higher premiums for women indicate the purchase of plans with greater benefits, that women with Medigap plans are older than men, or that insurers charge women more for the same benefits. In a report to Congress, the GAO (2001) reported on the availability of Medigap plans and average premiums. The report noted substantial variation in premiums across states, and suggested this variation “may in large part reflect geographic differences in use and costs of health care services” (GAO 2001, p. 14). This paper uses a unique database to examine premiums paid by beneficiaries for Medigap supplemental coverage. Marginal prices for Medigap benefits are estimated using hedonic price regressions. In addition, the paper considers how additional policy characteristics and geographic differences in the use and cost of medical care affect premiums.
A baseband processor for pulsed ultra-wideband signals

This paper presents a baseband processor for pulsed ultrawideband signals. It consists of an analog to digital converter (ADC), a clock generation system and a digital back-end. The FLASH interleaved ADC provides four bit samples at 1.2 GSPS. The back-end uses parallelization to process these samples and to reduce the signal acquisition time to 70 /spl mu/s. The baseband processor was implemented in the same 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS chip as a part of a complete transceiver. A complete 193 kbps wireless link is demonstrated.
Findings in Historical Control Harlan RCCHanTM: WIST Rats from 4-, 13-, 26-Week Studies

Vehicle control Harlan RCCHan™: WIST rats were examined to provide control data for subsequent studies. Sixty male and 60 female rats were sacrificed after 4, 13, and 26 weeks (360 animals total) of daily oral gavage dosing with reverse osmosis water. At necropsy, body weights, organ weights, and macroscopic findings were recorded, and tissues were collected for histopathology. Mean terminal body and organ weight data demonstrated expected age-related trends. Macroscopic findings occurred sporadically, generally at singular or at very low incidence, and with no observable age-related trend. The most frequent observation was discoloration of the stomach mucosa. Neoplastic microscopic findings were uncommon (one endometrial stromal polyp; one hepatocellular adenoma; one C-cell adenoma; and one sarcoma, NOS). The most common and/ or notable nonneoplastic microscopic findings included basophilic tubules and mononuclear cell infiltration in the kidney, macrophage infiltration in pulmonary alveoli, and mononuclear infiltration in the liver of males and females, and myocardial degeneration/necrosis and mononuclear cell infiltration in the heart of males. Female reproductive tracts were staged to establish a representative baseline distribution. Diestrus, proestrus, estrus, and metestrus were diagnosed 45.8% ,1 1.9% ,3 0.5% ,a nd 11.9%, respectively, at 4 weeks and 27.6% ,1 3.8% ,5 0.0% ,a nd 8.6%, respectively, at 13 weeks.
Supply and Demand Interaction in Integrated Econometric and Input-Output Models:

Integrated input-output and econometric models are often claimed to be superior to either input-output or econometric models alone by virtue of capturing supply and demand interactions. This claim is examined by considering the structure of existing integrated models. It was found that existing integrated models do not offer supply and demand interaction. This is because neither of the major components of the integrated models offer an adequately specified supply side. Integrating two demand-driven models does not produce a model with supply and demand interaction. The prospects that integrated models will improve on this score, particularly at the subnational level, are not high. Rather, it is suggested that the integrated modeling strategies be skipped over and a computable general equilibrium modeling strategy be adopted.
State dependence and heterogeneity in fishing location choice

To explore the distinction between state dependence and heterogeneity in repeated decisions, this paper combines a Mixed Logit model with a state dependence parameterization from the marketing literature to study fishing location choices of commercial sea urchin divers in California. It examines implications of ignoring either effect and finds in all cases that true state dependence is an important determinant of location choice. Consequently, spatial policies like marine reserves can lead to differences in the short- and long-run behavioral responses of the fishing fleet. Under some specifications, random preference parameters are statistically significant when state dependence is excluded from the model, but when it is included, random preference parameters are not significant. In other specifications, including state dependence only dampens the variability in preference parameters. These results highlight the importance of gathering and analyzing diary-type data for commercial fisheries as well as for similar choice problems in recreation demand.
Gynecologic oncology group strategies to improve timeliness of publication.

BackgroundThe Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) is a multi-institution cooperative group funded by the National Cancer Institute to conduct clinical trials encompassing clinical and basic scientific research in gynecologic malignancies. These results are disseminated via publication in peer-reviewed journals. This process requires collaboration of numerous investigators located in diverse cancer research centers. Coordination of manuscript development is positioned within the Statistical and Data Center (SDC), thus allowing the SDC personnel to manage the process and refine strategies to promote earlier dissemination of results. A major initiative to improve timeliness utilizing the assignment, monitoring, and enforcement of deadlines for each phase of manuscript development is the focus of this investigation.PurposeDocument improvement in timeliness via comparison of deadline compliance and time to journal submission due to expanded administrative and technologic initiatives implemented in 2006.MethodsMaj...
Lifetime drinking patterns of elders from a general population survey

A telephone survey was conducted of 2325 residents of Erie County, New York, over age 59. Late-onset heavy drinking proved to be relatively rare. Most who were heavy drinkers when younger had attenuated their drinking. Drinking patterns from earlier in life were the best predictors of current drinking, with health- oriented lifestyle showing some effect. Stress was not related to drinking among older persons.
Three-dimensional forward scattering particle image velocimetry applied to a microscopic field-of-view

We have completed a model to predict the three-dimensional position of a spherical particle from the image formed by a high numerical aperture microscope. Although this information may be exploited in a number of different ways, we are particularly interested in determining the three components of velocity for seed particles following a flow. The basis of the model is to use Mie theory to determine the complete electromagnetic field scattered by a spherical particle and then to propagate the scattered field across the interface between sample and air and then through a high aperture microscope and ultimately to a detector.
Targeting multiple angiogenic pathways simultaneously: experience with nintedanib in non-small-cell lung cancer

ABSTRACT: Angiogenesis plays a major role in the growth and progression of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and there is increasing interest in the development of therapies that block this particular aspect of tumorigenesis. Bevacizumab was the first US FDA-approved inhibitor of angiogenesis after demonstrating improved progression-free survival and overall survival in combination with chemotherapy in treating NSCLC. However, the benefit of bevacizumab is only modest and transient as the tumors inevitably develop resistance to this particular treatment. Therefore, new therapies are being developed that attempt to inhibit angiogenesis through several different pathways. One promising new drug, nintedanib, is an oral triple angiokinase inhibitor that acts by blocking not only VEGFR, but also FGFR and PDGFR, which are involved in the development of resistance to bevacizumab. This article discusses the rationale for this approach and summarizes the clinical trial data on nintedanib, including the two most...
Cumulative balance testing of logic circuits

We present a new test response compression method called cumulative balance testing (CBT) that extends both balance testing and accumulator compression testing. CBT uses an accumulated balance signature, and it guarantees very high error coverage (over 99%) for various error models. We demonstrate that the single stuck-line (SSL) fault coverage of CBT for many of the ISCAS 85 combinational benchmark circuits is 100%, and for all but one circuit, the fault coverage is over 99.5%. To make processor circuits self-testing, any existing accumulators and counters can be exploited to implement CBT. Its ease of implementation, provably high error coverage, and exceptionally high SSL fault coverage, even with reduced (nonexhaustive) test sets, make CBT suitable for the built-in self testing of processor circuits that require a guaranteed level of test confidence. >
Conservation of plasmid-encoded dibenzothiophene desulfurization genes in several Rhodococci

The cloned sulfur oxidation (desulfurization) genes (sox) for dibenzothiophene (DBT) from the prototype Rhodococcus sp. strain IGTS8 were used in Southern hybridization and PCR experiments to establish the DNA relatedness in six new rhodococcal isolates which are capable of utilizing DBT as a sole sulfur source for growth. The ability of these strains to desulfurize appears to be an exclusive property of a 4-kb gene locus on a large plasmid of ca. 150 kb in IGTS8 and ca. 100 kb in the other strains. Besides a difference in plasmid profile, IGTS8 is distinguishable from the other strains in at least the copy number of the insertion sequence IS1166, which is associated with the sox genes.
Does the Inclusion Criterion of Women’s Aggression as Opposed to Their Victimization Result in Samples That Differ on Key Dimensions of Intimate Partner Violence?:

This study is among the first attempts to address a frequently articulated, yet unsubstantiated claim that sample inclusion criteria based on women's physical aggression or victimization will yield different distributions of severity and type of partner violence and injury. Independent samples of African American women participated in separate studies based on either inclusion criterion of women's physical aggression or victimization. Between-groups comparisons showed that samples did not differ in physical, sexual, or psychological aggression; physical, sexual, or psychological victimization; inflicted or sustained injury. Therefore, inclusion criterion based on physical aggression or victimization did not yield unique samples of "aggressors" and "victims."
KINETICS OF DISTRIBUTION OF RADIOACTIVE LABELLED MUSCLE RELAXANTS IV:URINARY ELIMINATION OF A SINGLE DOSE OF 14C-GALLAMINE

SUMMARY The urinary elimination and the kinetics of distribution of gallamine were investigated in dogs by intravenous administration of a single trace dose of radioactive (14C) labelled gallamine. Although some aspects of the distribution of gallamine remain to be studied, the data of the present study suggest certain general conclusions of practical interest. Gallamine is eliminated in the urine at a higher rate than other muscle relaxants. The molecule of gallamine is eliminated intact. The duration of the muscle-paralyzing effect of gallamine coincides with a rapid distribution and with a limited urinaryelimination. The role of urinary elimination becomes important during the phase following the muscular paralysis when the drug slowly disappears from plasma and from the extravascular compartment. Gallamine does not cross the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. However, once injected into the subarachnoid space, it can easily diffuse into blood. Arterial hypotension, shock, hypoxia and hypercapnia decrease urinary elimination of gallamine. Diuresis—as per Ringer-lactate infusion—seems to correct the decreased urinary elimination during generalized arterial hypotension. Renal insufficiency, though probably not affecting the clinical response to a single dose of gallamine, might cause prolonged recovery from subsequent maintenance doses.
Work in progress - transforming college teaching courses into more authentic experiences

Authentic achievement requires learners to engage in disciplined inquiry to produce knowledge that has value in their lives beyond simply proving their competence. While college teaching courses provide an important role in preparing future faculty in STEM disciplines, a more authentic experience was the goal of one already successful course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Similar to other courses across the nation, students write a teaching philosophy, design a syllabus and learning plans, and complete a microteaching experience. While the micro-teaching experience is continually ranked as the most valuable, the instructors are experimenting with making the micro-teaching more authentic. In so doing, they are piloting a "micro-course" in which students identify real students, rather than their peers, to teach. This "working-progress" describes the authentic microcourse, the experience of students in the pilot of this innovation, results from this "teaching as research" experiment, and the current situation of this evolving learning experience for both students and teachers
Many Minds, One Heart: SNCC's Dream for a New America by Wesley C. Hogan

Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press (2007) ISBN 0807830747 463 pp., Hardbound, $34.95. Scholars, journalists, and even former movement activists have not accurately portrayed the le...
What Is Shared in Shared Decision Making? Complex Decisions When the Evidence Is Unclear

Patient involvement in decisions is central to patient-centered care. Yet many important decisions must be made in complex, ambiguous clinical situations in which all possible options cannot be known, evidence is inadequate to inform patients' preferences fully, and/or patients are unclear about their desired level of involvement. In these situations, preferences are shaped by affect, framing, and "collaborative cognition" among clinicians, patients, and their families; thus, decisions are often relational, dynamic, iterative, provisional, and/or conditional. Clinicians can help patients achieve greater autonomy by engaging both intuitive and deliberative decision-making processes ("whole mind") and involving others in exploring, clarifying, and co-constructing patients' preferences ("shared mind"). Clinical and interpersonal relationships can promote effective decision making through developing a shared attentional focus, tailoring information, and identifying conditions under which provisional preferences might change. Information technology and health systems offer untapped potential to deepen the relationships and conversations within which decisions are made.
Climate Model Sensitivity, Paleoclimate and Future Climate Change

Radiatively active trace gases such as CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons warm the surface-troposphere system by increasing the infrared opacity of the atmosphere. Climate models have been used to estimate the warming associated with future increases in these gases. An important issue is the sensitivity, or the amount of climate response associated with a given amount of radiative forcing. Models currently used for climate change studies differ substantially in their sensitivity, and these differences contribute prominently to the uncertainty in estimating the magnitude and rate of future climate change. The observed climate record can be used to calibrate the sensitivity of climate models. Calibration based on the instrumental record (the last ~100 years) has the advantage of using direct observations of climatic parameters with relatively dense spatial coverage, but suffers from uncertainties about sources of climate forcing other than greenhouse gases and the possibility that natural climate variability may be comparable in magnitude to the greenhouse gas-induced change. In contrast, calibration using paleoclimate data from the late Quaternary involves larger changes in forcing, most of which are relatively well-documented, but is subject to the inherent uncertainties of reconstructing past climate from a variety of sometimes sparsely-distributed proxy data. While better monitoring of ongoing changes in climate forcing and response may be the best way to calibrate climate model sensitivity, paleoclimate information can provide much-needed insights into climate model performance, particularly as improvements occur in the quantity and quality of paleoclimate data.
Contact area difference (CAD): a robust measure to evaluate accuracy of protein models

A simple unified measure to evaluate the accuracy of three-dimensional atomic protein models is proposed. This measure is a normalized sum of absolute differences of residue-residue contact surface areas calculated for a reference structure and a model. It employs more rigorous quantitative evaluation of a contact than previously used contact measures. We argue that the contact area difference (CAD) number is a robust single measure to evaluate protein structure predictions in a wide range of model accuracies, from ab initio and threading models to models by homology, since it reflects both backbone topology and side-chain packing, is smooth, continuous and threshold-free, is not sensitive to typical crystallographic errors and ambiguities, adequately penalizes domain and/or secondary structure rearrangements and protein plasticity, and has consistent linear and matrix representations for more detailed analysis. The CAD quality of crystallographic structures, NMR structures, models by homology, and unfolded and misfolded structures is evaluated. It is shown that the CAD number discriminates between models better than Cartesian root-mean-square deviation (cRMSD). Structural variability of the NMR structures was found to be three times larger than deformations of crystallographic structures in different packing environments.
“Serials at Warp Speed: Navigating Transitions,” the 2007 North Carolina Serials Conference

Reports on four major serials conferences, the 2007 North Carolina Serials Conference, the 2007 meeting of the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians, the Canadian Library Association’s 2007 Pre-Conference, and the 2007 North American Serials Interest Group Conference.
Midtrimester abortion produced by intra-amniotic prostaglandin F2α augmented with intravenous oxytoxin

Abstract Prostaglandin F 2α was administered by a single intra-amniotic injection of either 10 or 15 mg. in combination with continuous intravenous infusion of oxytocin to produce second-trimester abortion. Eight of the 10 patients aborted in less than 20 hours. The only toxicity encountered was a brief episode of vomiting in one patient.
A Markov-perfect equilibrium model of the impacts of price controls on the performance of the pharmaceutical industry

I introduce a computable dynamic equilibrium model of the pharmaceutical industry, parameterize it using industry facts, and use it to predict what happens if the United States adopts price controls or one or more non-U.S. countries abandon their controls. The model generates implications for firm value, research and development (R&D), the flow of new drugs, and consumer welfare. I highlight the sensitivity of the results to alternative assumptions about R&D costs, market size, technological opportunities, consumer heterogeneity, the extent to which choices internalize prices, barriers to entry in R&D, the extent to which R&D outcomes are correlated, and the nature of the controls.
An Open-System Model of the Corporation

Traditionally, the large business corporation has been conceptually regarded as a relatively closed system. Although such organizations—like all living systems—must conduct various exchanges with their environment to survive [l], the prevailing form of corporate behavior is based upon a financial accounting model which excludes the many “social” transactions that are implicitly involved in corporate activities. The following two prominent examples are cited for illustration.
Congenital Heart Disease: Exercise and Sports Participation

Athletes born with congenital heart disease may have previously undetected cardiac lesions that first come to medical attention during sports participation evaluation.
Local photocarrier dynamics in CdTe solar cells under optical and electron beam excitations

We compare local carrier dynamics in n-CdS / p-CdTe solar cells, where the electron-hole pairs are generated by either near-field optical illumination or highly focused electron beam excitation. An ion beam milling process was used to prepare a smooth surface of cross-sectional devices. The spatially resolved photocurrent images confirm high carrier collection efficiency at grain boundaries. An analytical model was used to extract material parameters at the level of single grains. We find that the minority carrier diffusion lengths extracted from both local measurements are in excellent agreement, but are smaller than the values determined from macro-scale measurements.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC PENGUIN CONTRIBUTION TO epsilon-prime / epsilon FOR LARGE TOP QUARK MASS

We investigate the electromagnetic penguin contribution to /epsilon//prime///epsilon/ when the top quark mass is large. We find it depends sensitively on the top quark mass. 6 refs., 2 figs.
101+ Careers in Gerontology (2nd ed.) By C. Joanne Grabinski: New York, NY: Springer, 2015. 281 pages, $30.00 (soft cover), ISBN 978-0-8261-2008-3

Prior to the publication of the 2007 first edition of 101 careers in gerontology, when asked about careers in aging, I relied on a wonderful chart by Hooyman and Kiyak (1996) titled What do Geronto...
Epidemic Analysis of Notifiable Infectious Diseases in Lulong County of Qinhuangdao City in 2006

[Objective]To conduct epidemic analysis on notifiable infectious diseases in lulong county of qinhuangdao city in 2006,and provide evidence for epidemical prevention and treatment.[Methods] Method of descriptive epidemiology was applied to analyze notifiable infectious diseases report data of lulong county of qinhuangdao city.[ Results]No class A infectious disease case was reported;568 cases of 10 kinds of class B infectious disease were reported with report incidence rate of 135.52/100 000 and no death case;217 cases of 5 kinds of class C infectious disease were reported with report incidence rate of 51.78/100 000 and no death case.Tuberculosis(80.97/100 000),viral hepatitis(32.39/100 000),epidemic hemorrhagic fever(14.72/100 000),dysentery(7.61/100 000) and gonorrhea(0.98/100 000) ranked the first five places.Infectious diarrhea(42.45/100 000) took the first place of class C infectious disease,followed by mumps(7.85/ 100 000).Respiratory infectious disease accounted for 59.15% of class B infectious disease,blood-borne infectious diseases and sexually transmitted diseases accounted for 18.31%,intestinal infectious disease accounted for 11.44%,natural focal disease and arbo infectious disease accounted for 11.09%;class C infectious disease occupied 27.64%(217/785) of total cases.[Conclusion] Prevention and control of tuberculosis,viral hepatitis and epidemic hemorrhagic fever should be strengthened,propaganda and education on disease prevention knowledge among focus groups should be strengthened too.
Substrate recognition by the Cdh1 destruction box receptor is a general requirement for APC/CCdh1-mediated proteolysis.

The anaphase-promoting complex, or cyclosome (APC/C), is a ubiquitin ligase that selectively targets proteins for degradation in mitosis and the G1 phase and is an important component of the eukaryotic cell cycle control system. How the APC/C specifically recognizes its substrates is not fully understood. Although well characterized degron motifs such as the destruction box (D-box) and KEN-box are commonly found in APC/C substrates, many substrates apparently lack these motifs. A variety of alternative APC/C degrons have been reported, suggesting either that multiple modes of substrate recognition are possible or that our definitions of degron structure are incomplete. We used an in vivo yeast assay to compare the G1 degradation rate of 15 known substrates of the APC/C co-activator Cdh1 under normal conditions and conditions that impair binding of D-box, KEN-box, and the recently identified ABBA motif degrons to Cdh1. The D-box receptor was required for efficient proteolysis of all Cdh1 substrates, despite the absence of canonical D-boxes in many. In contrast, the KEN-box receptor was only required for normal proteolysis of a subset of substrates and the ABBA motif receptor for a single substrate in our system. Our results suggest that binding to the D-box receptor may be a shared requirement for recognition and processing of all Cdh1 substrates.
Selection of Optimum Neutron Source Size for Neutron Capture Gamma Ray Borehole Analysis

High-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers using 252Cf neutron sources are useful tools for mineral exploration by capture gamma-ray analysis in boreholes.1–2 When initiating an exploration program, one needs to know the optimum source size. Intuition suggests that the optimum source is the largest possible source that will not cause excessive paralysis of the counting circuits.
Be Computer Literate, Keep Up with Advances, and Without Bragging Have Your Technical Skills Noted

Computer literacy and high technical skills are essential for functionality and promotions.