cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The detection of multiply charged dyes using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for the forensic examination of pen ink dyes directly from paper.

: Laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) is emerging as a technique for questioned document examination. Its use is limited to detecting ink dyes that are neutral or singly charged. Several inks contain dyes that are multiply charged and LDMS cannot be employed for their identification. We have successfully detected >20 polyionic dyes that can be used in the manufacture of inks using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) MS, directly from paper, with the matrix, 2-(4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzoic acid (HABA), and the additive, diammonium hydrogen citrate (DAHC). For example, Acid Violet 49, a charged dye containing one positively-charged site and two negatively charged sulfonate groups, cannot be detected by LDMS, but forms intact, singly charged ions in the MALDI MS experiment. The method described is also useful for identifying multiply charged dye mixtures that are used in modern pen inks.
Secondary hypocapnia fails to protect “whole body” intracellular pH during chronic HCl-acidosis in the dog

Studies have demonstrated that the protective effect of secondary hypocapnia on plasma acidity during chronic HCl-acidosis is undermined by a renal-mediated decrement in plasma bicarbonate concentration induced by the hypocapnia itself. The present study was designed to assess whether the protection of "whole body" intracellular pH (pHi) is similarly undermined by this maladaptive response of the kidney. Whole body pHi was estimated by the 5,5 dimethyl-2,4-oxazolidinedione (DMO) method in seven unanesthetized dogs under each of three conditions: control, chronic HCl-acidosis (10 mEq H+/kg/day) with spontaneous secondary hypocapnia, and chronic HCl-acidosis with a normal level of carbon dioxide tension (maintained by the use of an environmental chamber). pHi was 6.71 +/- 0.02 during control, and 6.57 +/- 0.03 and 6.57 +/- 0.02 during the two acidosis periods, respectively. These results indicate that sustained secondary hypocapnia fails to render the intracellular compartment less acidic because of a maladaptive reduction in intracellular bicarbonate concentration.
Condensed-phase properties of n-alkyl-amines from molecular dynamics simulations using charge equilibration force fields

Abstract Charge equilibration force fields are applied to molecular dynamics simulations of liquid straight-chain alkyl-amine systems—methylamine, ethylamine, and n-propylamine. The models used are based on the CHARMM charge equilibration force field developed for methylamine and applied here to simulations for larger n-alkyl amines. The effects of the parameter set used for extension to larger systems, and the importance of defining the extent of molecular charge transfer via judicious selection of charge normalization units are considered and evaluated. Condensed-phase properties including molecular volumes, enthalpy of vaporization, isothermal compressibility, isobaric heat capacity, dielectric constants, and self-diffusion constants are calculated for each system. Molecular volumes are predicted to within 2.3–18.0% of the experimental values, where the error increases with the size of the molecule. Enthalpy of vaporization is predicted to be within 2.5–24.4% of experiment. Dielectric constants are calculated within 0.5–17.3% of experimental values. Properties of ethylamine and n-propylamine (to which the original charge equilibration force field was not calibrated/fitted) calculated using parameters from an alkane model outperformed those from a lysine model in most cases by up to a 16% reduction in error from experiment. Compared to previous MD simulations [T. Kosztolanyi, I. Bako, and G. Palinkas, Hydrogen Bonding in Liquid Methanol, Methylamine, and Methanethiol Studied by Molecular-Dynamics Simulations. Journal of Chemical Physics, 2003. 118(10): 4546–4555.], the radial distribution functions (RDF) of methylamine showed reduced values of the first maximum and minimum position by up to 8.2% for N–N and 12.4% for N–H. The need for careful treatment of charge transfer schemes is suggested by the significant difference in condensed-phase and single-molecule properties when charge transfer was normalized in a partitioned n-propylamine molecule as opposed to normalization over the whole molecule. The partitioned normalization reduced the error from experiment nearly 15% for molecular volume and 10% for enthalpy of vaporization. The influence of various applied normalization schemes on condensed-phase and select gas-phase properties (gas-phase dipole moment) was greater than the effects of different parameterizations, indicating the importance of a proper selection of charge normalization unit in the application and parameterization of charge equilibration force fields for small molecules to larger biological assemblies.
Comparison of the crystal structure of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme at low, medium, and high ionic strengths

Crystals of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme used for structural studies are routinely grown from concentrated phosphate solutions. It has been found that crystals in the same space group can also be grown from solutions containing 0.05 M imidazole chloride, 0.4 M sodium choride, and 30% polyethylene glycol 3500. These crystals, in addition, can also be equilibrated with a similar mother liquor in which the sodium chloride concentration is reduced to 0.025 M. The availability of these three crystal variants has permitted the structure of T4 lysozyme to be compared at low, medium, and high ionic strength. At the same time the X-ray structure of phage T4 lysozyme crystallized from phosphate solutions has been further refined against a new and improved X-ray diffraction data set. The structures of T4 lysozyme in the crystals grown with polyethylene glycol as a precipitant, regardless of the sodium chloride concentration, were very similar to the structure in crystals grown from concentrated phosphate solutions. The main differences are related to the formation of mixed disulfides between cysteine residues 54 and 97 and 2-mercaptoethanol, rather than to the differences in the salt concentration in the crystal mother liquor. Formation of the mixed disulfide at residue 54 resulted in the displacement of Arg-52 and the disruption of the salt bridge between this residue and Glu-62. Other than this change, no obvious alterations in existing salt bridges in T4 lysozyme were observed. Neither did the reduction in the ionic strength of the mother liquor result in the formation of new salt bridge interactions. These results are consistent with the ideas that a crystal structure determined at high salt concentrations is a good representation of the structure at lower ionic strengths, and that models of electrostatic interactions in proteins that are based on crystal structures determined at high salt concentrations are likely to be relevant at physiological ionic strengths.
Inhibition of metamorphosis in Ambystoma tigrinum by prolactin.

Abstract Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) larvae were injected intraperitoneally with either thyrotropic hormone (TSH) alone or TSH and ovine prolactin. The prolactin-injected animals showed metamorphic stasis while the TSH controls completed metamorphosis. Prolactin-thyroid antagonism appears to be a general phenomenon in Amphibia.
Polypeptide composition of acetylcholine receptor purified from teleost and Elasmobranch electroplax membranes

Abstract Acetylcholine receptor (AcChR) was solubilized and purified from membranes derived from electric organs of the marine fish Torpedo marmorata, Torpedo nobiliana, Narcine brasliensis , and of the freshwater eel, Electrophorus electricus , using techniques originally developed for Torpedo californica ( 27. , 28. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 49 , 572–578; 1973, Biochemistry 12 , 852–856. The conditions used were identical in each case and the goal was to determine the degree of similarity between receptors from each source since conflicting reports have appeared with regard to polypeptide composition. The Torpedo and Narcine preparations were of high specific activity and exhibited four polypeptide components of apparent molecular weights 64, 59, 50, and 40 × 10 3 upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Two components were observed upon gel electrophoresis in sodium cholate or upon sucrose density gradient centrifugation, representing monomeric and dimeric forms. Eel acetylcholine receptor exhibited three major subunits of apparent molecular weights 57, 49, and 40 × 10 3 . The amino acid and neutral sugar composition of the purified receptor preparations have been determined. The results support the contention that the receptor is composed of several types of polypeptide.
Small mammals: !Kung San utilization and the production of faunal assemblages

Abstract Analysis of !Kung San utilization of small mammals—springhare and porcupine and two antelope species, steenbok and common duiker—serves to focus paleoan-thropological attention on this generally ignored size group. Data on the hunting, butchering, and consumption of these easily obtained animals which tend to have small territories and a general pattern of year round birthing provides the basis for speculation on the role such species played in the development of hominid hunting. They also allow examination of the logic which underlies processing decisions and the extent to which this matches assumptions which faunal analysts often employ. The study demonstrates that subtle distinctions in bone size, conformation, and robusticity as well as perceived value may have major effects on how bones are treated both within and across species and that a concept of “style”, defined from an etic perspective, may prove useful in the archaeological analysis of faunal remains. Conformance to stylistic rules varies greatly by element and is determined by perceived value. The data also suggest that greater ethnoarchaeological attention should be focused on the final stages of the butchering and consumption process.
Continuous nimodipine treatment attenuates cortical infarction in rats subjected to 24 hours of focal cerebral ischemia

Focal cerebral infarction and edema were measured in rats (Wistar, Fisher 344, and spontaneously hypertensive strains) pretreated with nimodipine (2 micrograms/kg/min i.v.) or its vehicle and subjected to the tandem occlusion of the middle cerebral and common carotid arteries. Animals awoke from anesthesia 10-15 min after onset of ischemia and continued to receive treatment over a 24-h survival period. Cortical infarction and edema were quantified by image analysis of frozen brain sections processed for histology. Nimodipine-treated rats developed 20-60% smaller cortical infarct volumes than controls (p less than 0.002). Cortical edema was reduced proportionately to the decrease in infarct volume and constituted approximately 36% of the infarct volume. Nimodipine caused a mild hypotensive response that did not aggravate ischemic brain damage. The results indicate that continuous nimodipine treatment, started before induction of focal cerebral ischemia, can attenuate ischemic brain damage and edema as late as 24 h after the onset of ischemia.
A fast iterative solver for scattering by elastic objects in layered media

We developed a fast iterative solver for computing time-harmonic acoustic waves scattered by an elastic object in layered media. The discretization of the problem was performed using a finite element method with linear elements based on a locally body-fitted uniform triangulation. We used a domain decomposition preconditioner in the iterative solution of the resulting system of linear equations. The preconditioner was based on a cyclic reduction type fast direct solver. The solution procedure reduces GMRES iterates onto a sparse subspace which decreases the storage and computational requirements essentially. The numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for two-dimensional domains that are hundreds of wavelengths wide and require the solution of linear systems with several millions of unknowns.
The Influence of Crystalline Fields on the Susceptibilities of Salts of Paramagnetic Ions. I. The Rare Earths, Especially Pr and Nd

The paramagnetic susceptibilities of the salts of the rare earth elements Pr and Nd are considered on the assumption that it is permissible to represent the potential of the electric field of the atoms surrounding the metallic ion by a Taylor's expansion. This amounts to applying to the whole crystal the method of the "self-consistent field," and consequently neglects exchange effects between different crystal atoms. Hund has calculated the susceptibilities on the assumption that the ion can be regarded as free and that the multiplet intervals are so large compared with $\mathrm{kT}$ that only the lowest level need be considered. The introduction of an electric field causes a splitting of the levels and a redistribution of magnetic moment, with a consequent change in the susceptibility. The theoretical interpretation of the Curie-Weiss law $\ensuremath{\chi}=\frac{C}{(T+\ensuremath{\Delta})}$ is considered. At temperatures so high that $\mathrm{kT}$ is large compared with the splitting produced by the crystal field, the susceptibility can be expanded in the form of a series of inverse powers of $T$. It is shown that the susceptibility of a crystal powder, or the average susceptibility over all directions in a single crystal is of the form $\ensuremath{\chi}=\frac{C}{T}+\frac{{C}_{2}}{{T}^{3}}+\ensuremath{\cdots}$ the term in $\frac{1}{{T}^{2}}$ vanishing rigorously. Thus at sufficiently high temperatures, the susceptibility of a crystal powder obeys the simple Curie law up to and including terms in $\frac{1}{{T}^{2}}$. However, the curious result emerges that at ordinary temperatures $\mathrm{kT}$ is of the same order as the energy separations produced by the crystal field, and the behaviour of the susceptibility actually simulates the Curie-Weiss law closely over a large range of temperatures. The hydrated sulphates of Pr and Nd are considered in detail. Excellent agreement is obtained with the experimental results of Gorter and de Haas for the variation of susceptibility with temperature on the assumption that the crystal field has cubic symmetry, and can be represented by a potential $D({x}^{4}+{y}^{4}+{z}^{4})$. In this connection the matrix elements of the squares and fourth powers of the coordinates for a many-electron system are given. The over-all splitting produced by this field in the hydrated sulphates is 389 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ for Pr and 834 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ for Nd, the detailed appearance of the energy spectrum being shown in Fig. 1. A comparison of the constant $D$ in the two cases gives a value for Nd nearly four times that for Pr.
Syntheses and cytotoxicity of syringolin B-based proteasome inhibitors

The concise and modular total synthesis of the bacterial natural product and irreversible proteasome inhibitor syringolin B has been achieved. This synthesis has enabled the ready preparation of three diverse, structurally modified syringolin derivatives. The actions of these compounds in inhibiting the proliferation of neuroblastoma cell lines was evaluated, and significant enhancements in potency compared to the natural product were realized.
Credit rationing and endogenous monetary policy

The implication of credit rationing models states that the effect of monetary policy on output may be stronger when credit conditions are tight than when they are loose. Therefore, there may be a threshold effect on the relation between real money supply and output. Existing empirical studies on testing threshold effects ignore the fact that the monetary policy which follows optimal rules is endogenous. This article provides a test of threshold effects when monetary policy is endogenous and finds that the US aggregate data cannot provide substantial evidence of a threshold effect on the relation between money and output.
The pancreatic islet-specific glucagon G3 transcription factors recognize control elements in the rat somatostatin and insulin-I genes.

The rat glucagon gene 5′-flanking region contains a pancreatic islet-specific enhancer-like element, G3. It has been shown previously that G3-binding and transactivating proteins are present in islet cell lines expressing the glucagon, somatostatin, and insulin genes, but not in several nonislet cell lines. The present study now shows that the glucagon G3 transcription factor binds to DNA sequences within cis-acting elements of the rat somatostatin and rat insulin-I genes that have been defined by others as pancreatic islet-specific transcriptional enhancers. In addition, when fused to glucagon or somatostatin minimal promoters in reporter plasmids, these enhancer elements of the three islet hormone-producing genes functionally activate transcription when transfected into islet cell lines producing glucagon, insulin, or somatostatin. The enhancer elements of the three different islet polypeptide hormone genes define a potential consensus motif that binds islet cell type-specific transcription factors.
Environments of Northeast U.S. Severe Thunderstorm Events from 1999 to 2009

AbstractAn investigation of the environments and climatology of severe thunderstorms from 1999 through 2009 across the northeastern United States is presented. A total of 742 severe weather events producing over 12 000 reports were examined. Given the challenges that severe weather forecasting can present in the Northeast, this study is an effort to distinguish between the more prolific severe-weather-producing events and those that produce only isolated severe weather. The meteorological summer months (June–August) are found to coincide with the peak severe season. During this time, 850–500- and 700–500-hPa lapse rates, mixed layer convective inhibition (MLCIN), and downdraft convective available potential energy (DCAPE) are found to be statistically significant in discriminating events with a large number of reports from those producing fewer reports, based on observed soundings. Composite synoptic pattern analyses are also presented to spatially characterize the distribution of key meteorological varia...
Protective Role of Cys-178 against the Inactivation and Oligomerization of Human Insulin-degrading Enzyme by Oxidation and Nitrosylation

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), a 110-kDa metalloendopeptidase, hydrolyzes several physiologically relevant peptides, including insulin and amyloid-β (Aβ). Human IDE has 13 cysteines and is inhibited by hydrogen peroxide and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), donors of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, respectively. Here, we report that the oxidative burst of BV-2 microglial cells leads to oxidation or nitrosylation of secreted IDE, leading to the reduced activity. Hydrogen peroxide and GSNO treatment of IDE reduces the Vmax for Aβ degradation, increases IDE oligomerization, and decreases IDE thermostability. Additionally, this inhibitory response of IDE is substrate-dependent, biphasic for Aβ degradation but monophasic for a shorter bradykinin-mimetic substrate. Our mutational analysis of IDE and peptide mass fingerprinting of GSNO-treated IDE using Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer reveal a surprising interplay of Cys-178 with Cys-110 and Cys-819 for catalytic activity and with Cys-789 and Cys-966 for oligomerization. Cys-110 is near the zinc-binding catalytic center and is normally buried. The oxidation and nitrosylation of Cys-819 allow Cys-110 to be oxidized or nitrosylated, leading to complete inactivation of IDE. Cys-789 is spatially adjacent to Cys-966, and their nitrosylation and oxidation together trigger the oligomerization and inhibition of IDE. Interestingly, the Cys-178 modification buffers the inhibition caused by Cys-819 modification and prevents the oxidation or nitrosylation of Cys-110. The Cys-178 modification can also prevent the oligomerization-mediated inhibition. Thus, IDE can be intricately regulated by reactive oxygen or nitrogen species. The structure of IDE reveals the molecular basis for the long distance interactions of these cysteines and how they regulate IDE function.
Variational inequalities for Φ-pseudo-contractive mappings

Abstract Usually, results on ϕ -strongly accretive operators involve various assumptions on the function ϕ , such as continuity, being positive, and/or being strictly increasing. However, by redefining this function, we are able to eliminate all these additional assumptions, and leave only the positiveness condition: ϕ ( t ) > 0 for t > 0 . This fact allows us to extend a theorem of Deimling and obtain a general result for the solvability of a variational inequality for ϕ -strongly pseudo-contractive mappings.
Complications in patients having heart surgery

WrIDESPREAD ALTERATIONS in organ function commonly accompany anesthesia and cardiac surgery. Most patients tolerate these physiological changes well and have a smooth, uneventful recovery, whereas some experience significant organ dysfunction and go on to develop complications of varying severity. Multiple factors may be contributory. These include preoperative organ dysfunction and the physiological derangement associated with anesthesia, the surgical procedure, and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). If anything separates the cardiac anesthesiologist from the generalist, it is familiarity with the pathophysiological effects of CPB and their contribution to perioperative complications. Patients presenting for cardiac surgery frequently have multiple comorbid conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, obstructive pulmonary disease, and advanced peripheral vascular disease. These conditions frequently contribute to postoperative complications.
Impact of falls on early mortality from severe traumatic brain injury

The causes of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) vary by age and other demographic characteristics. Mortality after trauma is higher for elderly than younger patients. This study is based on 2779 patients with severe TBI treated at 24 trauma centers enrolled in a New York State quality improvement program. The prospectively collected database includes information on age, sex, mechanism of injury, initial Glasgow Coma Scale score, blood pressure, pupillary assessment, and CT scan findings. This multi-center study was conducted to explore the impact of falls on early mortality from severe TBI among the elderly. After exclusion criteria were applied, a total of 2162 patients were eligible for analysis. Falls contributed to 21% of all severe TBI, 12% occurring from > 3 meters and 9% from < 3 meters. Two-week mortality ranged from 18% due to injuries other than falls to 31% due to falls from < 3 meters (p =< 0.0001). Mortality after a severe TBI is much greater among older people, reaching 58% for people 65 years and older sustaining a fall from < 3 meters. Among those 65 and older, falls contributed to 61% of all injuries and resulted in especially high mortality among individuals experiencing low falls. Preventive efforts directed toward older people to avoid falls from < 3 meters could have a significant impact on mortality.
Activation energy and sub grain size-creep rate relations in sodium chloride

Abstract It is shown that the activation energy for creep, Qc, of single-crystal sodium chloride is equal to the activation energy for lattice self-diffusion of chlorine ions only when the temperature dependence of the elastic modulus of sodium chloride is taken into account. Both values equal 2·1 ± 0·1 e.V. Drop in stress tests suggest that sub grains strongly influence the creep strength of polycrystalline sodium chloride.
Caregivers' perceptions of clothing for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities

This exploratory study inquires into the role fashionable clothing plays in the normalization process and others' perceptions of people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. The research was conducted with a sample of 10 caregivers. Fashionable clothing and attention to grooming are perceived to aid the normalization process and help facilitate positive perceptions from others. Poor grooming and clothing that is ill-fitting, out of fashion, or dirty hinder the normalization process and likely influence negatively others' perceptions of persons with severe and profound intellectual disabilities.
A Retrospective Analysis of Erb's Palsy Cases and Their Relation to Birth Weight and Trauma at Delivery

Brachial plexus injury is assumed to be associated with the traumatic delivery of a macrosomic fetus in the vast majority of cases. This study was undertaken to examine the relationship of brachial plexus injury to birth weight and trauma at delivery, to compare our incidence to the incidence in other populations, and to examine how the incidence of brachial plexus injury has changed in our institution over the last 30 years. A retrospective analysis of 14,358 births from January 1, 1987, to June 30, 1991, identified 15 cases of brachial plexus injury (all Erb's palsy, incidence 0.10%). Maternal and neonatal charts were reviewed. There were 14 cases of Erb's palsy out of 11,484 vaginal deliveries (0.12%) and one case of Erb's palsy out of 2,874 cesarean deliveries. There was birth trauma (i.e., shoulder dystocia) noted at the time of delivery in eight cases (53.3%). However, a surprising finding was that in the other seven cases (46.7%) there was no evidence of shoulder dystocia at delivery. In the group in which Erb's palsy occurred and trauma was noted at the time of delivery, the average birth weight was 4,265 +/-480 g (range 3,550-5,110 g), with seven out of eight (88%) being large for gestational age (LGA). In the group in which Erb's palsy occurred but no trauma was noted at the time of delivery, the average birth weight was 2,906 +/- 745 g (range 1,590-3,950 g), with one out of seven (14%) being LGA. The infants without recognizable trauma weighed significantly less (P = 0.0009). In the group with trauma noted at delivery one out of eight (13%) received pitocin, and in the group without trauma noted at delivery one out of seven (14%) received pitocin. There was no significant difference in 5 min Apgar scores < 7 (3/8 vs. 0/7), umbilical cord pH (7.27 +/- 0.07 vs. 7.24 +/- 0.10), or base excess (-3.1 +/- 1.6 vs. -5.3 +/- 3.3) between those with recognizable trauma and those without recognizable trauma. The incidence of brachial plexus injury in this institution from 1987 to 1991 was 0.10%, which was unchanged from the incidence of 0.12% from 1954 to 1959, even though the cesarean rate rose from 5% to 20% during this period. The appearance of Erb's palsy in the newborn may not be as closely linked to birth weight and recognizable birth trauma as has previously been thought. In this study half the cases of Erb's palsy occurred in normal-sized infants without trauma noted at delivery. The incidence of Erb's palsy in our population is similar to that of other reported studies and has remained unchanged over the past 30 years, even as our cesarean rate has risen from 5% to 20%.
Machine learning based prediction for peptide drift times in ion mobility spectrometry

Motivation: Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has gained significant traction over the past few years for rapid, high-resolution separations of analytes based upon gas-phase ion structure, with significant potential impacts in the field of proteomic analysis. IMS coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) affords multiple improvements over traditional proteomics techniques, such as in the elucidation of secondary structure information, identification of post-translational modifications, as well as higher identification rates with reduced experiment times. The high throughput nature of this technique benefits from accurate calculation of cross sections, mobilities and associated drift times of peptides, thereby enhancing downstream data analysis. Here, we present a model that uses physicochemical properties of peptides to accurately predict a peptide's drift time directly from its amino acid sequence. This model is used in conjunction with two mathematical techniques, a partial least squares regression and a support vector regression setting. Results: When tested on an experimentally created high confidence database of 8675 peptide sequences with measured drift times, both techniques statistically significantly outperform the intrinsic size parameters-based calculations, the currently held practice in the field, on all charge states (+2, +3 and +4). Availability: The software executable, imPredict, is available for download from http:/omics.pnl.gov/software/imPredict.php Contact: [email protected] Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The association between vital signs and major hemorrhagic injury is significantly improved after controlling for sources of measurement variability.

Purpose: Measurement error and transient variability affect vital signs. These issues are inconsistently considered in published reports and clinical practice. We investigated the association between major hemorrhagic injury and vital signs, successively applying analytic techniques that excluded unreliable measurements, reduced transient variation, and then controlled for ambiguity in individual vital signs through multivariate analysis. Methods: Vital sign data from 671 adult prehospital trauma patients were analyzed retrospectively. Computer algorithms were used to identify and exclude unreliable data and to apply time averaging. An ensemble classifier was developed and tested by cross-validation. Primary outcome was hemorrhagic injury plus red cell transfusion. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC AUCs) were compared by the test of DeLong et al. Results: Of initial vital signs, systolic blood pressure (BP) had the highest ROC AUC of 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.78). The ROC AUCs improved after excluding unreliable data, significantly for heart rate and respiratory rate but not significantly for BP. Time averaging to reduce temporal variability further increased AUCs, significantly for BP and not significantly for heart rate and respiratory rate. The ensemble classifier yielded a final ROC AUC of 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.80-0.89) in cross-validation. Conclusions: Techniques to reduce variability in vital sign data can lead to significantly improved diagnostic performance. Failure to consider such variability could significantly reduce clinical effectiveness or confound research investigations.
Optical dispersion monitoring technique using double sideband subcarriers

A technique for measuring the accumulated dispersion affecting a digital optical signal without recovering the baseband was developed and experimentally demonstrated. This technique allows measurement of the accumulated dispersion independently of the data origin and transport history. The technique employs an amplitude-modulated double-sideband subcarrier applied to the signal at the transmitter and monitored at an arbitrary point in a link or network using a novel suppressed-sideband optical-tap technique. The phase difference between the upper and lower sidebands of the subcarrier signal is measured and used to compute the dispersion. A combined coarse and fine measurement realizes high accuracy and large dynamic-range dispersion monitoring.
Discovery and characterization of three new Escherichia coli septal ring proteins that contain a SPOR domain: DamX, DedD, and RlpA

SPOR domains are ∼70 amino acids long and occur in >1,500 proteins identified by sequencing of bacterial genomes. The SPOR domains in the FtsN cell division proteins from Escherichia coli and Caulobacter crescentus have been shown to bind peptidoglycan. Besides FtsN, E. coli has three additional SPOR domain proteins—DamX, DedD, and RlpA. We show here that all three of these proteins localize to the septal ring in E. coli. The loss of DamX or DedD either alone or in combination with mutations in genes encoding other division proteins resulted in a variety of division phenotypes, demonstrating that DamX and DedD participate in cytokinesis. In contrast, RlpA mutants divided normally. Follow-up studies revealed that the SPOR domains themselves localize to the septal ring in vivo and bind peptidoglycan in vitro. Even SPOR domains from heterologous organisms, including Aquifex aeolicus, localized to septal rings when produced in E. coli and bound to purified E. coli peptidoglycan sacculi. We speculate that SPOR domains localize to the division site by binding preferentially to septal peptidoglycan. We further suggest that SPOR domain proteins are a common feature of the division apparatus in bacteria. DamX was characterized further and found to interact with multiple division proteins in a bacterial two-hybrid assay. One interaction partner is FtsQ, and several synthetic phenotypes suggest that DamX is a negative regulator of FtsQ function.
On scattering by large conducting bodies

Two sets of sources, equivalent in the sense that they produce the same field as does an illuminated conductor, are discussed. Both representations are suggestive of approximation. Crude approximations are made, yielding what are called "the physical optics solution," and the "image induction solution." It is shown that these two solutions are reciprocal to each other. This means that, given a source and an observer, the solution by one method is equal to the solution by the other method with the source and observe interchanged. Both solutions are amenable to further refinement if more accurate solutions are desired.
Exploiting the Quantum Zeno effect to beat photon loss in linear optical quantum information processors

We devise a new technique to enhance transmission of quantum information through linear optical quantum information processors. The idea is based on applying the Quantum Zeno effect to the process of photon absorption. By frequently monitoring the presence of the photon through a QND (quantum non-demolition) measurement the absorption is suppressed. Quantum information is encoded in the polarization degrees of freedom and is therefore not affected by the measurement. Some implementations of the QND measurement are proposed.
Segmentation of Arabic Handwriting Based on both Contour and Skeleton Segmentation

We propose a new algorithm for segmentation of off-line handwritten Arabic words. The algorithm segments the connected letters to smaller segments each of which contains no more than three letters. Each letter may be segmented to at most five pieces. In addition to improving the recognition of Arabic words, another potential application of the proposed segmentation method is to build lexicon of small size, consisting of no more than three letter combinations. Generally, it is very hard to generate lexicon for recognition of unconstraint handwritten Arabic documents due to the large number of words of Arabic language.The algorithm has been tested on over 6300 words from 45 different documents written by 18 writers. The system is able to segment more than 93% of the words into segments, each containing at most one letter, 6% of the words into segments that contains two letters and 3% of the words into segments that contains three letters.
Role of Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Meningiomas and Vestibular Schwannomas

Intracranial meningiomas and vestibular schwannomas (VS, aka acoustic neuromas) are typically benign, slow-growing, non-invasive neoplasms. The imaging and radiobiologic characteristics of these tumors make them good candidates for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), a technique that has been in use for over three decades. Patient selection is critical for successful SRS: small- to moderate-sized tumors can be effectively treated with SRS if the patient does not have symptoms related to mass effect. Factors related to tumor control in meningioma SRS include histology, history of prior surgery, and volume. Tumor control rates after SRS is significantly lower for patients with WHO grade II or III meningiomas compared to patients with WHO grade I meningiomas. The risk of radiation-related complications is higher for patients with larger tumors and tumors located over the convexities or along the falx. Patients with small-volume non-operated skull base or tentorial WHO grade I meningiomas typically have the best outcomes after SRS. Radiosurgery of sporadic VS provides a high tumor control rate (92–95 %), with less than a 5 % risk of facial weakness. Hearing preservation progressively declines for 10 years or more after SRS, and the primary factors related to long-term preservation of useful hearing are tumor size and pre-SRS hearing class. Radiosurgery remains an important option for patients with neurofibromatosis type 2, but tumor control is lower and the risk of cranial nerve deficits is greater when compared to patients with sporadic VS.
Declining Industries and the Persistence of Government Support Programs: The Quiet Decline of Gum Naval Stores Production in the United States

Understanding industrial decline is important from both historical and policy perspectives. The United States was the world's leading producer of gum naval stores in the early twentieth centuiy, but by the late 1970s production had all but ceased. Evidence presented here indicates that changing relative prices induced forest owners, the key stakeholders, to shift production towards other forest products. Nevertheless, the federal government continued to provide transfers to this industry even as political support for it vanished. The demise of this once-great American industry lends support to the received notion that once instituted, transfer programs tend to persist.
Atomic Oxygen in the Polar Winter Mesosphere

Abstract Kellogg's hypothesis that the winter warmth of the polar mesosphere is due to the chemical energy released by the formation of molecular oxygen from atomic oxygen is examined. Reactions involving O, O2, and O3 are considered. Computations reveal that slow rates of subsidence (∼0.2 cm sec−1) are clearly sufficient to provide the required energy at the proper heights, when considered in association with published infrared cooling rates due to CO2. The possibility that the released energy is lost to the atmospheric region of concern due to radiation in the Kaplan-Meinel or infrared atmospheric bands of O2 is considered. If collisional deactivation by an atom-atom interchange is the predominant deactivating mechanism at the level of maximum energy release, then most of the energy released will appear as sensible beat.
State Support of Rural Settling to the Early 20th Century

Farming began in Norway in the Bronze Age. Some of the places settled then still exist and are identifiable by names including vin. Thereafter, through the Iron Age and the period of the Sagas, the development of new farms took place slowly. But the utmarka (hill or forest pastures) remained largely unoccupied and eventually became state land, the King’s commons. Then, in the 12th century, extensive settling started. This lasted for 250 years, during which utmarka were occupied, in part because of a law of 1274 which exempted a homesteader from public obligations for three years. This exemption was not automatic, however, because a new settler had to prove intent of permanence and undergo inspection at the end of the third year. By the mid-14th century farms were widely distributed in Norway although most were of the small subsistence type and only a few were large estates, called herregarder.
Presumed Disloyal: Executive Power, Judicial Deference, and the Construction of Race Before and After September 11

The article compares the legal response to the September 11 terrorist attacks to episodes in Asian American legal history, particularly the investigation of American nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee and the World War II internment of Japanese Americans. In those cases, military and executive decisions raised questions about racial bias. The courts gave great deference to the executive's actions, however. The courts justified this deference by accepting racial stereotypes about Asian Americans' disloyalty as executive assessments about national security. Congress and the public concurred in the deference. The courts, however, did not simply defer to institutional competence and the separation of powers. They also gave an official stamp of approval to the underlying racial assumptions and contributed to the general expansion of government power at the expense of civil rights and civil liberties. Since September 11, the process has been repeating itself in the "war on terrorism," with the stereotype of Arab Americans as terrorists standing in for the stereotype of Asian Americans as traitors. While judicial and political deference in these cases begins with racial stereotyping, its significance does not end there. In the war on terrorism, for example, the executive has played upon fears of Arab terrorism to pursue larger goals of increasing police powers and silencing domestic dissent. In addition to infringing upon the rights of minorities, the executive, with judicial compliance, exploits racial fears as a justification to expand its power and reduce judicial oversight generally.
Kvikk Foto Holding Corporation

Troubled photo processing company must decide whether to buy a major new piece of equipment and how to finance the acquistion.
Three-dimensional echocardiography based evaluation of right ventricular remodeling in patients with pressure overload

Although 3D echocardiography (3DE) allows imaging of right ventricular (RV) morphology, regional RV remodeling has not been evaluated using 3DE. We developed a technique to quantify regional RV shape and tested its ability to characterize RV shape in normal subjects and in patients with RV pressure overload.
The effect of titanium oxide substrate on the film morphology and photoluminescence properties of organometal halide perovskites

We have investigated the film morphology and photoluminescence properties of spin-coated CH3NH3PbI3-xClx films on mesoporous and compact TiO2 substrates. We observe that the perovskite film deposited on the mesoporous substrate composed of 20 nm TiO2 nanopaticles exhibits relatively uniform grain size, while the films deposited on the compact TiO2 substrate and the mesoporous substrate with large TiO2 nanoparticles (200 nm) show highly heterogeneous film morphology. The heterogeneity of film morphology has significant effect on the photoluminescence spectra and lifetime of the perovskite films. The result of time-resolved confocal microscopy unveils the relation between film structure and photoluminescence properties.
Enhancement in cellular Na+K+ATPase activity by low doses of peroxynitrite in mouse renal tissue and in cultured HK2 cells

Abstract In the normal condition, endogenous formation of peroxynitrite (ONOOˉ) from the interaction of nitric oxide and superoxide has been suggested to play a renoprotective role. However, the exact mechanism associated with renoprotection by this radical compound is not yet clearly defined. Although ONOOˉ usually inhibits renal tubular Na + K + ATPase (NKA) activity at high concentrations (micromolar to millimolar range [ μ M–mM], achieved in pathophysiological conditions), the effects at lower concentrations (nanomolar range [nM], relevant in normal condition) remain unknown. To examine the direct effect of ONOOˉ on NKA activity, preparations of cellular membrane fraction from mouse renal tissue and from cultured HK2 cells (human proximal tubular epithelial cell lines) were incubated for 10 and 30 min each with different concentrations of ONOOˉ (10 nmol/L–200 μ mol/L). NKA activity in these samples ( n = 5 in each case) was measured via a colorimetric assay capable of detecting inorganic phosphate. At high concentrations (1–200 μ mol/L), ONOOˉ caused dose‐dependent inhibition of NKA activity (−3.0 ± 0.6% and −36.4 ± 1.4%). However, NKA activity remained unchanged at 100 and 500 nmol/L ONOOˉ concentration, but interestingly, at lower concentrations (10 and 50 nmol/L), ONOOˉ caused small but significant increases in the NKA activity (3.3 ± 1.1% and 3.1 ± 0.6%). Pretreatment with a ONOOˉ scavenger, mercaptoethylguanidine (MEG; 200 μ mol/L), prevented these biphasic responses to ONOOˉ. This dose‐dependent biphasic action of ONOO − on NKA activity may implicate that this radical compound helps to maintain sodium homeostasis either by enhancing tubular sodium reabsorption under normal conditions or by inhibiting it during oxidative stress conditions.
Evaluating analogy-based story generation: an empirical study

Evaluation is one of the major open problems in computational narrative. In this paper, we present an empirical study of SAM, an analogy-based story generation (ASG) algorithm, that was created as part of our Riu interactive narrative system. Specifically, our study focuses on SAM''s capability to retrieve and generate short non-interactive stories. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods from different disciplines, the methodology in this study can be extended to evaluating other computational narrative systems.
THE MILK OF SALVATION: REDEMPTION BY THE MOTHER IN LATE ANTIQUITY AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY

In their recovery and interpretation of the evidence for women's religious involvement in antiquity, feminist historians of religion employ terms like "image," "reflection," and "symbol" as constants in their vocabulary3 This terminology indicates the importance feminist scholars attach to the ways in which women's activities are presented and the ways in which they are interpreted. Interpretation becomes the more difficult as one approaches the religions of the ancient Mediterranean world, not only because of the relative paucity and elusive nature of the evidence for women's participation in these religions, but also because the two great bodies of canon in the West the literary artifacts of the Greco-Roman world and the canon of biblical literature reflect a dual process of "canonization." Certain cultural constructs and dominant metaphors have become embodied in the text themselves, while a tradition of "canonized conventions" has been modeled by these metaphors to "evaluate a priori what we see."2 The interaction of conceptualization, representation, and inteIpretation of appearance, moreover, is such that there cannot be an "inno
Eagle Buddies: An Evaluation of a Peer Mentoring Program

The present study evaluated a peer mentoring program (Eagle Buddies) in a rural K-12 school to assess its effects on the academic achievement of student participants. Several types of data were collected: standardized ELA and Math scores were obtained over time, the students were interviewed about their experiences, and teachers were surveyed for suggestions of ways to improve the program. Results showed that academic scores significantly increased over time and the overall opinion of the program from both students and teachers was positive. Several limitations of the design of this program evaluation will be discussed.