cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of student reasoning about Michaelis–Menten enzyme kinetics: mixed conceptions of enzyme inhibition

Student understanding regarding topics in upper-division courses, such as biochemistry, is not well represented in the literature. Herein we describe a study that investigated students’ reasoning about Michaelis–Menten enzyme kinetics and enzyme inhibition. Our qualitative study involved semistructured interviews with fourteen second-year students enrolled in an introductory biochemistry course. During the interviews students were provided an enzyme kinetics graph, which they were prompted to describe. Students were asked to look for patterns and trends in the data and interpret the graph to draw conclusions regarding the types of enzyme inhibition observed, providing the opportunity for the students to engage in the science practice analyzing and interpreting data. Findings indicate students were able to attend to the relevant parameters (Vmax and Km) in the graph and subsequently associate changes in Vmax and Km to different types of enzyme inhibitors. However, students expressed difficulty explaining why a specific type of inhibition caused the observed change in the kinetic parameters and there was confusion regarding the distinction between noncompetitive and uncompetitive inhibition. Based on our results, we suggest instruction on enzyme kinetics should emphasize qualitative descriptions of the particulate-level mechanisms related to competitive and noncompetitive inhibition, with less emphasis on discussions of uncompetitive and mixed inhibition in introductory biochemistry courses.
Extramural Competition and Physical Education Activities for College Women

Abstract This article summarizes the findings of a survey of practices, policies and problems in the conduct of extramural participation for women in 230 American colleges and universities. All but a small precentage participate in extramural competition (sports days, play days, etc.) and/or non-competitive activities (symposia, performances, demonstrations). A total of 28 per cent participate in varsity-type competition. The standards of the National Section on Girls and Women's Sports are followed by the great majority of colleges and, in general, practices and policies in varsity-type competition are similar to those followed in other types of extramural participation.
Long-term Forecasting using Higher Order Tensor RNNs

We present Higher-Order Tensor RNN (HOT-RNN), a novel family of neural sequence architectures for multivariate forecasting in environments with nonlinear dynamics. Long-term forecasting in such systems is highly challenging, since there exist long-term temporal dependencies, higher-order correlations and sensitivity to error propagation. Our proposed recurrent architecture addresses these issues by learning the nonlinear dynamics directly using higher-order moments and higher-order state transition functions. Furthermore, we decompose the higher-order structure using the tensor-train decomposition to reduce the number of parameters while preserving the model performance. We theoretically establish the approximation guarantees and the variance bound for HOT-RNN for general sequence inputs. We also demonstrate 5% ~ 12% improvements for long-term prediction over general RNN and LSTM architectures on a range of simulated environments with nonlinear dynamics, as well on real-world time series data.
Review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System Program

AbstractThis study presents the first systematic literature review of academic research on the FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) program. The CRS is a voluntary program created in 1990 as a means ...
Introductory quantum mechanics with MATLAB® for atoms, molecules, clusters and nanocrystals

This slim introduction to the application and use of MATLAB® (Natick, Massachusetts: The MathWorks Inc.) to obtain numerical solutions to multi-atom Quantum Mechanical problems is unusual in severa...
ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST

The incidence of thrombi of the right atrium (RA) is not well defined. Intracardiac thrombi are found in about 10% of cases of pulmonary embolism (PE). An 88-yr female with CAD and HTN presented to ER with shortness of breath and light headedness for 2 days. She was hypotensive (73/44 mmHg) but had
Adverse Pregnancy Conditions Among Privately Insured Women With and Without Congenital Heart Defects

Background In women with congenital heart defects (CHD), changes in blood volume, heart rate, respiration, and edema during pregnancy may lead to increased risk of adverse outcomes and conditions. The American Heart Association recommends providers of pregnant women with CHD assess cardiac health and discuss risks and benefits of cardiac-related medications. We described receipt of American Heart Association-recommended cardiac evaluations, filled potentially teratogenic or fetotoxic (Food and Drug Administration pregnancy category D/X) cardiac-related prescriptions, and adverse conditions among pregnant women with CHD compared with those without CHD. Methods and Results Using 2007 to 2014 US healthcare claims data, we ascertained a retrospective cohort of women with and without CHD aged 15 to 44 years with private insurance covering prescriptions during pregnancy. CHD was defined as ≥1 inpatient code or ≥2 outpatient CHD diagnosis codes >30 days apart documented outside of pregnancy and categorized as severe or nonsevere. Log-linear regression, accounting for multiple pregnancies per woman, generated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for associations between the presence/severity of CHD and stillbirth, preterm birth, and adverse conditions from the last menstrual period to 90 days postpartum. We identified 2056 women with CHD (2334 pregnancies) and 1 374 982 women without (1 524 077 pregnancies). During the last menstrual period to 90 days postpartum, 56% of women with CHD had comprehensive echocardiograms and, during pregnancy, 4% filled potentially teratogenic or fetotoxic cardiac-related prescriptions. Women with CHD, compared with those without, experienced more adverse conditions overall (aPR, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.7-2.1]) and, specifically, obstetric (aPR, 1.3 [95% CI, 1.2-1.4]) and cardiac conditions (aPR, 10.2 [95% CI, 9.1-11.4]), stillbirth (aPR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.1-2.4]), and preterm delivery (aPR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.4-1.8]). More women with severe CHD, compared with nonsevere, experienced adverse conditions overall (aPR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.9]). Conclusions Women with CHD have elevated prevalence of adverse cardiac and obstetric conditions during pregnancy; 4 in 100 used potentially teratogenic or fetotoxic medications, and only half received an American Heart Association-recommended comprehensive echocardiogram.
Influence of External NaCl Salt on Membrane Rigidity of Neutral DOPC Vesicles.

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a very common molecule in biotic and abiotic aqueous environments. In both cases, variation of ionic strength is inevitable. In addition to the osmotic variation posed by such perturbations, the question of whether the interactions of monovalent ions Na+ and Cl-, especially with the neutral head groups of phospholipid membranes are impactful enough to change the membrane rigidity, is still not entirely understood. We investigated the dynamics of 1,2-di-(octadecenoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) vesicles with zwitterionic neutral head groups in the fluid phase with increasing external salt concentration. At higher salt concentrations, we observe an increase in bending rigidity from neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy and an increase in bilayer thickness from small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We compared different models to distinguish membrane undulations, lipid tail motions, and the translational diffusion of the vesicles. All of the models indicate an increase in bending rigidity by a factor of 1.3-3.6. We demonstrate that even down to t > 10 ns and for Q > 0.07 A-1, the observed NSE relaxation spectra are influenced by translational diffusion of the vesicles. For t < 5 ns, the lipid tail motion dominates the intermediate dynamic structure factor. As the salt concentration increases, this contribution diminishes. We introduced a time-dependent analysis for the bending rigidity that highlights only a limited Zilman-Granek time window in which the rigidity is physically meaningful.
Modern Corseting and How We Talk About Today’s Women

This final chapter addresses modern corseting and why the subject matters so much to a twenty-first-century understanding of women and the various discourses in which we participate. In it, Gibson takes the reader from the reform movement to 2019, looking at such things as the move from the corset to the bra/girdle combination and back to modern corseting. Corseting has recently undergone a resurgence in popularity, and Gibson examines this in the lens of body modification, as well as fashion and reenactment styles. She looks at the language we continue to use regarding women, and how that language ties back to the historical practice of corseting. Finally, this chapter revisits the myths about corseting, and looks at the impact those myths have on what women do now within the current instantiation of the hegemonic patriarchy.
Using Curriculum Learning in Pattern Recognition of 3-dimensional Cryo-electron Microscopy Density Maps

Although Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has been successfully used to derive atomic structures for many proteins, it is still challenging to derive atomic structure when the resolution of cryo-EM density maps is in the medium range, e.g., 5-10 A. Studies have attempted to utilize machine learning methods, especially deep neural networks to build predictive models for the detection of protein secondary structures from cryo-EM images, which ultimately helps to derive the atomic structure of proteins. However, the large variation in data quality makes it challenging to train a deep neural network with high prediction accuracy. Curriculum learning has been shown as an effective learning paradigm in machine learning. In this paper, we present a study using curriculum learning as a more effective way to utilize cryo-EM density maps with varying quality. We investigated three distinct training curricula that differ in whether/how images used for training in past are reused while the network was continually trained using new images. A total of 1,382 3-dimensional cryo-EM images were extracted from density maps of Electron Microscopy Data Bank in our study. Our results indicate learning with curriculum significantly improves the performance of the final trained network when the forgetting problem is properly addressed.
Editorial Comment: Diagnosing Mediastinal Lymph Node Involvement in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Noninvasively With Advanced Imaging Markers-Are We There Yet?

This Editorial Comment discusses the following AJR article: Dual-Energy CT-Derived Electron Density for Diagnosing Metastatic Mediastinal Lymph Nodes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Comparison With ...
Expression and function of a novel isoform of Sox5 in malignant B cells (HUM7P.314)

Using a mouse model with the tumor suppressor TRAF3 deleted from B cells, we identified Sox5 as a gene strikingly up-regulated in B lymphomas. Sox5 proteins were not detected in normal or premalignant TRAF3-/- B cells even after treatment with B cell stimuli. We cloned the full-length cDNA of Sox5 from B lymphomas spontaneously developed in 4 different individual B-TRAF3-/- mice. Surprisingly, we found that the sequence of Sox5 expressed in TRAF3-/- B lymphomas represents a novel isoform of Sox5, which has not been previously reported. This new isoform of Sox5, Sox5-BLM, contains a 35 aa deletion in the N-terminal region in front of the leucine zipper domain. Sox5-BLM protein was localized in the nucleus of TRAF3-/- mouse B lymphomas and transduced human multiple myelomas. Overexpression of Sox5 inhibited cell cycle progression, and up-regulated the protein levels of p27 and β-catenin in human multiple myeloma cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that aberrant expression of Sox5 regulates the proliferation of malignant B cells.
Exploring the Concept of Empire in Pacific History: Individuals, Nations, and Ocean Space Prior to 1850

The concept of empire pervades most scholarly discussions of transnational and world history, especially for the 18th and 19th centuries. However, empire as an analytical tool has its limitations for explaining the attitudes and behaviors of individuals in the early modern Pacific Ocean. Drawing on recent scholarship by scholars of the United States, Pacific, and world history, this essay highlights the individualistic activities and motivations of American traders and sailors as they sought profit in the Pacific borderlands prior to 1850.
Identification of serotype 9 human rotavirus by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with monoclonal antibodies

Hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies to VP7, a major neutralizing protein of serotype 9 rotavirus (strain W161), were prepared. One monoclonal antibody, W161-6A1, was shown to neutralize only serotype 9 rotavirus strains and reacted specifically with serotype 9 rotaviruses in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The development of an immunoassay for detection of serotype 9 rotaviruses should facilitate epidemiologic studies.
Effect of dry large-scale vertical motions on initial MJO convective onset

Anomalies of eastward propagating large-scale vertical motion with ~30 day variability at Addu City, Maldives, move into the Indian Ocean from the west and are implicated in Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) convective onset. Using ground-based radar and large-scale forcing data derived from a sounding array, typical profiles of environmental heating, moisture sink, vertical motion, moisture advection, and Eulerian moisture tendency are computed for periods prior to those during which deep convection is prevalent and those during which moderately deep cumulonimbi do not form into deep clouds. Convection with 3–7 km tops is ubiquitous but present in greater numbers when tropospheric moistening occurs below 600 hPa. Vertical eddy convergence of moisture in shallow to moderately deep clouds is likely responsible for moistening during a 3–7 day long transition period between suppressed and active MJO conditions, although moistening via evaporation of cloud condensate detrained into the environment of such clouds may also be important. Reduction in large-scale subsidence, associated with a vertical velocity structure that travels with a dry eastward propagating zonal wavenumbers 1–1.5 structure in zonal wind, drives a steepening of the lapse rate below 700 hPa, which supports an increase in moderately deep moist convection. As the moderately deep cumulonimbi moisten the lower troposphere, more deep convection develops, which itself moistens the upper troposphere. Reduction in large-scale subsidence associated with the eastward propagating feature reinforces the upper tropospheric moistening, helping to then rapidly make the environment conducive to formation of large stratiform precipitation regions, whose heating is critical for MJO maintenance.
Hypnosis and Personality: A Moderator Variable Analysis

One of the central and compelling facts of hypnosis research is the common failure of hypnotic susceptibility to relate to any measurable dimension of personality. That state of affairs is both surprising and disturbing: surprising, because several generations of hypnosis researchers have laboured long and hard on this problem and have been paid very little for their effort; disturbing because hypnotizability is so stable a trait (Hilgard et al.,1961; Hilgard, 1965) that arguments which rely on notions of error variance in measurement seem unconvincing here. After several decades of research, very little of substance has been found. Even when a significant finding does emerge, it is often not replicable. So pervasive is the failure to find relationships and replicate them, that the literature on hypnosis already contains an article which indicts the lack of correlation between measures of personality and hypnotic susceptibility (Hilgard and Lauer, 1962).
Identification of kinase inhibitors that target transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II.

// Jose M. Morachis 1,2 , Ruo Huang 1 , Beverly M. Emerson 1 1 Regulatory Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA 2 Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA Keywords: RNA polymerase II, transcription therapy, core promoters, kinase inhibitors, p53, p21, Fas/APO1 Received: January 21, 2011; Accepted: January 25, 2010; Published: January 27, 2010; Correspondence: Beverly M. Emerson, e-mail: // Abstract Our current understanding of eukaryotic transcription has greatly benefited from use of small molecule inhibitors that have delineated multiple regulatory steps in site-specific initiation and elongation of RNA synthesis by multiple forms of RNA polymerase (RNAP). This class of "transcription" drugs is also of therapeutic interest and under evaluation in clinical trials. However, to date very few small molecules that directly abolish transcription have been identified, particularly those that act at the level of RNAP II initiation. Using a biochemical assay that measures transcription from recombinant, natural p53-responsive promoters and an artificial "super" promoter, we have identified three distinct small molecules that inhibit mRNA synthesis in vitro. Unexpectedly, these are kinase inhibitors, Hypericin, Rottlerin, and SP600125, with known substrates, which we find also strongly impair transcriptional initiation (IC50s = µM range) by targeting specific components of the RNAP II pre-initiation complex. When measured before and during transcription in vitro, one common target of inhibition by all three compounds is modification of the TATA Binding Protein (TBP) within the RNAP II holocomplex as it converts to an active transcribing enzyme. On this basis, by blocking the critical step of TBP modification, transcriptional initiation is effectively abolished even on structurally distinct core promoters.
Recycled IL-7 Can Be Delivered to Neighboring T Cells

IL-7 is a key homeostatic cytokine that provides signals for T cell survival and proliferation in vivo. In this article, we provide evidence that IL-7 utilization is enhanced by a novel mechanism of cytokine "recycling" during which T cells treated with rIL-7 are rapidly induced to express p-STAT5 and are subsequently able to recycle biologically active cytokine for release to neighboring cells in soluble form. Our observations indicate that the ability of cells to recycle IL-7 is dependent on IL-7R α-chain (CD127) and endocytosis, consistent with a model whereby IL-7 is internalized via receptor interactions before recycling. These observations provide evidence of a novel mechanism that enables cells to optimally use IL-7.
Unification of bosonic and fermionic theories of spin liquids on the kagome lattice

Recent numerical studies have provided strong evidence for a gapped ${Z}_{2}$ quantum spin liquid in the kagome lattice spin-1/2 Heisenberg model. A special feature of spin liquids is that symmetries can be fractionalized, and different patterns of symmetry fractionalization imply distinct phases. The symmetry fractionalization pattern for the kagome spin liquid remains to be determined. A popular approach to studying spin liquids is to decompose the physical spin into partons obeying either Bose (Schwinger bosons) or Fermi (Abrikosov fermions) statistics, which are then treated within mean-field theory. A long-standing question has been whether these two approaches are truly distinct, or describe the same phase in complementary ways. Here we show that all $8{Z}_{2}$ spin liquid phases in the Schwinger-boson mean-field (SBMF) construction can also be described in terms of Abrikosov fermions, unifying pairs of theories that seem rather distinct. The key idea is that for ${Z}_{2}$ spin liquid states that admit a SBMF description on the kagome lattice, the symmetry fractionalization of visions is uniquely fixed. Two promising candidate states for the kagome Heisenberg model, Sachdev's ${Q}_{1}={Q}_{2}$ SBMF state and the Lu-Ran-Lee ${Z}_{2}[0,\ensuremath{\pi}]\ensuremath{\beta}$ Abrikosov-fermion state, are found to describe the same symmetric spin liquid phase. We expect these results to aid in a complete specification of the numerically observed spin liquid phase. We also discuss a set of ${Z}_{2}$ spin liquid phases in the fermionic parton approach, where spin rotation and lattice symmetries protect gapless edge states that do not admit a SBMF description.
Fish Consumption Shifts Lipoprotein Subfractions to a Less Atherogenic Pattern in Humans

The effect of fish consumption on plasma lipoprotein subfraction concentrations was studied in 22 men and women (age > 40 y). Subjects were provided an average American diet (AAD, 35% of energy as fat, 14% as saturated fat, and 35 mg cholesterol/MJ) for 6 wk before being assigned to a National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Step 2 high-fish diet (n = 11, 26% of energy as fat, 4.5% as saturated fat, and 15 mg cholesterol/MJ) or a NCEP Step 2 low-fish diet (n = 11, 26% of energy as fat, 4.0% as saturated fat, and 11 mg cholesterol/MJ) for 24 wk. All food and drink were provided to study participants. Consumption of the high-fish NCEP Step 2 diet was associated with a significant reduction in medium and small VLDL, compared with the AAD diet, whereas the low-fish diet did not affect VLDL subfractions. Both diets significantly reduced LDL cholesterol concentrations, without modifying LDL subfractions. Both diets also lowered HDL cholesterol concentrations. However, the high-fish diet significantly lowered only the HDL fraction containing both apolipoprotein (apo) AI and AII (LpAI:AII) and did not change HDL subfractions assessed by NMR, whereas the low-fish diet significantly lowered the HDL fraction containing only apo AI (LpAI) and the large NMR HDL fractions, resulting in a significant reduction in HDL particle size. Neither diet affected VLDL and LDL particle size. Our data indicate that within the context of a diet restricted in fat and cholesterol, a higher fish content favorably affects VLDL and HDL subspecies.
Influence ofOnthophagus gazella on hornfly,Haematobia irritans density in irrigated pastures

Haematobia irritans (L.) breeding in flood irrigated pastures of the lower Colorado Desert of southeastern California continues to remain unacceptably high during warm seasons (>1,000 adult flies per bovine head) despite the presence of moderately abundant populations ofOnthophagus gazella F. This study suggests that densities of > 40–70 adult beetles per dung pad and giving pronounced dung shredding activity, caused fly mortality of 38–56 %. The continued high abundance of adult horn flies on cattle suggests that at > 50% mortality, the pasture environment still produces sufficient flies to saturate cattle, although emigration might be reduced. Additional species of scarabs may be necessary to increase fly mortality. However, the dung drying activity of existingO. gazella significantly could interfere with resident staphylinid beetle breeding, which was significantly lower in pastures whereO. gazella reached densities of 40 per dung pad. Scarab beetle activity might also impede the introduction of superior predatory species for biological control.
Intensities and H2-broadened half-widths of Germane lines around 4.7 μm at temperatures relevant to Jupiter's atmosphere☆

Absolute intensities and H2-broadened half-widths of R(0) and R(1) of Ge-72H4 have been measured at 119.5, 150.3, 199.0, 250.0, and 296.0 K using a tunable diode laser and the sweep integration technique. The combined intensity of the nu3 bands of all of the five isotopic species of GeH4 as well as that of the Q-branches alone have been measured independently at 294 K using the Wilson-Wells-Penner-Weber technique.
Analytical Study of Reachable Workspace for 2-RPR Planar Parallel Mechanisms

In both planar and spatial parallel mechanisms, selection of the structural parameters for a desired workspace generally employs the use of numerical methods. However, using the closed-form solution, if it exists, facilitates workspace-based design and optimization of the mechanism, and may significantly reduce the required time and calculation for finding the workspace of the mechanism. This paper presents a general and comprehensive closed-form solution for the reachable workspace of a 2-RPR planar parallel mechanism. The workspace of the mechanism is analyzed step-by-step in detail and its boundary is derived analytically. Since the solution is closed-form, it has high accuracy and reliability. Furthermore, the provided solution can be employed to solve the workspace of similar mechanisms in a closed-form manner including other n-RPR planar parallel mechanisms.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
HVA and 5HIAA CSF measurements and 5HTP trials in some patients with involuntary movements.

Abstract In 18 patients presenting with abnormal movements, CSF indolamine metabolites, namely homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxy-indolacetic acid (5HIAA) were measured. Statistical analyses were performed on these results, and a trial with 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HTP), the serotonin precursor, was carried out. 5HTP appears to be beneficial in “the syndrome of intention and action myoclonus as a sequel to hypoxic encephalopathy” but may worsen certain other involuntary movements.
Combined medical and psychological treatment of hospitalized children with encopresis.

Sixteen children, all impatients at a state psychiatric hospital, received combined medical and psychological treatment for encopresis. One-year follow-up showed significant improvement. The results suggest that encopresis can be treated in severely emotionally disturbed children with a multifaceted and multidisciplinary approach.
Improved calorimetric method for energy deposition measurement

An improved technique has been developed for the measurement of electron energy deposition versus depth profiles using thin foil calorimeters. A square-wave modulated beam is employed, and the time derivative of the thermocouple signal is measured at a specified time after beam switch. The method and apparatus are described, and results are presented for Al and Ta for 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 MeV normally incident electrons. Data are also presented for the same energies and 60° (relative to normal) incidence in Al. Deposition data in a layered Ta and Al system at 1.0 and 0.5 MeV energy (normal incidence) are also presented.
Studies on the interaction of diphosphopyridine nucleotide analogs with dehydrogenases

Abstract The addition of the reduced acetylpyridine analog of DPN (APDPNH) to liver alcohol dehydrogenase results in a spectral shift similar to that obtained with DPNH. The spectrum of the reduced pyridine-3-aldehyde analog of DPN (Py-3AlDPNH) is also altered in the presence of the liver enzyme. APDPN and Py-3AlDPN also form hydroxylamine complexes with the liver dehydrogenase. Yeast alcohol dehydrogenase shows no spectral shifts with DPNH or the reduced analogs. DPN and APDPN do not form hydroxylamine complexes with yeast alcohol dehydrogenase. However, Py-3AlDPN forms a hydroxylamine complex with the yeast enzyme which is identical to that observed with the liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Beef heart lactic dehydrogenase produces no detectable shift in the spectrum of DPNH at room temperature; however, under the same conditions an appreciable change in the APDPNH spectrum occurs. The lactic dehydrogenase from skeletal muscle does not influence the spectra of either DPNH, APDPNH, or Py-3AlDPNH. APDPN and charcoal-treated muscle triosephosphate dehydrogenase interact to form a product which is characterized by a maximum at 350 mμ; the spectrum of the APDPN enzyme compound is somewhat more distinct than that obtained with DPN under the same conditions. Iodoacetate abolishes completely the absorption due to DPN, but only will partially remove the extinction with APDPN. The analog also reacts readily with yeast triosephosphate dehydrogenase under circumstances in which DPN appears to be less reactive. Spectral evidence has been obtained that Py-3AlDPN can displace DPN from “native” triosephosphate dehydrogenase of rabbit muscle. Data are presented showing the marked inhibitory action of Py-3AlDPN on the oxidation of triose phosphate and the arsenolysis of acetyl phosphate. The effect of DPN analogs on the arsenolysis reaction appears to be related to the activity of these nucleotides as electron acceptors in promoting the oxidation of triose phosphate. The results of this study are discussed with respect to the nature of the binding of pyridine nucleotides to dehydrogenases.
Average mesoscopic persistent current in ballistic microstructures

Abstract We study the average persistent current in billiard systems, which can be realized experimentally in ballistic microstructures. We show that the dependences of the average current on the Fermi velocity and the system size are determined by exponents, which differ for integrable and completely chaotic billiards.
Tubal risk markers for failure to place transcervical sterilization coils

Background There is a growing body of literature on placement rates of the Essure® procedure, yet prior studies have not attempted to identify tubal-associated risk factors for placement failures. The current study examines risk markers associated with the inability to deploy the Essure® coils into the tubal lumen using the new ESS305 design.
Indices of the activation state of glycogen synthase.

Abstract Glucose 6-phosphate dependency relationships, Hill Plots, and apparent A0.5 glucose 6-phosphate values have been computed for mixtures of discrete forms of glycogen synthase. From these calculated values and by inspection of the ensuing graphs an asseessment can be made of the usefulness and limitations of I D relationships and A0.5 values as indices of the activation state of glycogen synthase in extracts of tissues subjected to various physiological stimuli.
Serum ferritin is not a risk factor for coronary artery disease in men and women aged ≥62 years

Abstract Sullivan 1,2 hypothesized that iron overload is a major cause of the greater occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in men than in women. Salonen et al 3 showed that increased serum ferritin levels were associated with an excess risk of acute myocardial infarction in middle-aged Eastern Finnish men. Therefore, we performed a study to correlate serum ferritin levels with the prevalence of CAD in elderly men and women.
Electron arc therapy: Clinical experience with chest and irradiation

In order to overcome the technical problems commonly encountered in fixed field photon and electron beam chest wall irradiation, we have treated the chest wall in 22 breast cancer patients with a moving electron beam that rotates about the patient's thorax. This paper discusses the clinical results of chest wall treatment by electron arc therapy. Twenty-one patients were treated following mastectomy, 16 electively because of high risk for local failure, and 5 because of local recurrence. One patient with advanced local-regional disease was treated primarily. During a median follow-up period of 24 months there has been one chest failure in one of the patients treated for local recurrence. No major complications were observed in skin, lung, soft tissue or esophagus, even in the 7 patients recently or concomitantly treated with multiagent cytotoxic chemotherapy. In 3 patients, small areas of telangiectasia developed in the region of abutment of the electron arc field to a photon field used to irradiate the supraclavicular nodal area. We conclude that the technique as applied to these patients is safe and efficacious. In certain clinical settings it has advantage over standard, fixed field approaches to treat the chest wall.
Could the absence or malfunction of vascular endothelium precipitate the occurrence of vasospasm

The obligatory role of the endothelium in relaxations of isolated coronary arteries to acetylcholine is explained by the release by endothelial cells of a labile vasodilator substance(s), endothelium-derived relaxing factor(s). Other neurohumoral mediators can evoke endothelium-dependent relaxations of coronary arteries. Of particular importance from the clinical point of view are thrombin, serotonin and adenine nucleotides. The latter are chiefly responsible for the endothelium-dependent relaxations evoked by aggregating platelets. The absence or the dysfunction of the endothelium may favour the occurrence of vasospasm.
Effectiveness of percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty in adults with pulmonic valve stenosis.

Abstract In children with congenital pulmonic stenosis (PS), percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty has developed as an excellent treatment modality that can decrease transvalvular gradient and right ventricular pressure with few complications both immediately and during follow-up. 1,2 Less is known about the immediate results and long-term follow-up of this procedure in adults with PS. We evaluated the immediate outcome, complications and course of valvuloplasty in adult patients with PS recorded in a multicenter (M-Heart) balloon valvuloplasty registry.
Exploring the Interactions between a Coiled-Coil Peptide Model System and Metallated Porphyrins towards the Design of Photoelectronically Active Biomaterials

Porphyrin-peptide structures hold great potential for design of environmentally responsive nanowires, and porphyrin metallation may modulate these structures' electronic properties. To better understand these effects, the binding of metallated meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine (TPPS4) to the peptide Cp3K-N was investigated. Cp3K-N is a non-polymerizing model for the polymerizing peptide Cp3K, allowing for quantitative experiments that would be impossible in an aggregating system. Cu(II)TPPS4, Ni(II)TPPS4, Pd(II)TPPS4, and Zn(II)TPPS4 were studied using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy, and sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (SV-AU). CD and UV-Vis titrations of the ratio of Cp3K-N to porphyrin were performed, and binding constants for the complexes were determined. A blue-shifted Soret Band absorbance in the porphyrin, concomitant with induction of Cp3K-N alpha-helicity, was observed for all metals but zinc, which demonstrated a red-shifting of its Soret Band. Such spectroscopic characteristics suggest specific porphyrin-peptide binding. Titration experiments for the copper, nickel, and palladium porphyrins indicated equal peptide:porphyrin stoichiometry, while SV-AU experiments suggest higher order complex formation. These results confirm that metalled TPPS4 can bind Cp3K-N with the specificity and tightness of TPPS4, suggesting that such porphyrins have potential for use in polymerizing systems, towards the goal of designing novel photoelectronically active biomaterials.
Physiologically motivated image fusion using pulse-coupled neural networks

This paper uses a high level vision model to describe the information passing and linking within the primate visual system. Information linking schemes, such as state dependent modulation and temporal synchronization, are presented as methods the vision system uses to combine information using expectation to fill in missing information and remove unneeded information. The possibility of using linking methods derived from physiologically based theoretical models to combine current image processing techniques for pattern recognition purposes is investigated. These image processing techniques are transforms such as (but not limited to) wavelet filters, hit or miss filters, morphological filters, and difference of gausian filters. These particular filters are chosen because they simulate functions that are performed in the primate visual system. To implement the physiologically motivated linking methods, the Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN) is chosen as a basic building block for the vision model which performs linking at the neuronal pulse level. Last, an image fusion network which incorporates information linking based on the PCNN is described, and initial results are presented.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The upper raquette river power project

THE UPPER RAQUETTE RIVER power project is the final phase of a program begun many years ago by the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to harness completely the Raquette River of northern New York State for power production purposes.
Evidence that the S6 segment of the Shaker voltage-gated K + channel comprises part of the pore

Potassium channels are highly selective and allow the rapid flux of potassium ions through their pore. Several studies have implicated the H5 (P or SS1-SS2) segment as part of the pore in voltage-gated ion channels. The proposal that H5 spans at least 80% of the electric potential drop across the K+ channel pore is based on altered internal tetraethylammonium sensitivity arising from mutations of H5 residues that are 100% conserved among K+ channels having differing sensitivity to tetraethylammonium. Here we report that the S6 segment is also involved in K+ ion permeation and in governing the sensitivity to internal tetraethylammonium and barium. Transplanting the S6 segment of NGK2 into Shaker causes this S6 chimaera to adopt the single-channel conductance and sensitivity to internal tetraethylammonium and barium ions from the NGK2 channel. The differences between NGK2 and Shaker in external tetraethylammonium sensitivity, but not single-channel conductance, can be attributed to the differences in their H5 sequences. Three nonconserved S6 residues have been found to affect either single-channel conductance or internal tetraethylammonium sensitivity.
Analysis of carboxymethylated residues in proteins by an isotopic method, and its application to the bromoacetate-ribonuclease reaction

Abstract A method is described for analysis of the alkylated residues in proteins after reaction with bromoacetate or related reagents. Using 14 C-bromoacetate, the labeled carboxymethyl (CM) amino acid products in a hydrolyzate of the protein are separated on an amino acid analyzer column and passed through a flow cell for scintillation counting. Techniques are described for the separation and measurement of the CM-histidines, CM-lysines, CM-cysteine and the breakdown products of CM-methionine sulfonium residues. Application is described to the bromoacetate-ribonuclease reaction where the rate of uptake of 14 C-CM groups was measured, and the products analyzed to determine the residues (two histidine sites, lysine and methionine) alkylated in the pH range 4–7. A number of advantages favor this technique, for some applications, over the ninhydrin detection method.
Structural studies on the carbohydrate units of armadillo submandibular glycoprotein

Abstract The structure of carbohydrate units of the major glycoprotein fraction of armadillo submandibular gland was investigated. Alkaline borohydride reductive cleavage of the glycoprotein resulted in the release of O-glycosidically linked mono- and disaccharide units. The monosaccharide was identified as N -acetylgalactosaminitol, whereas disaccharide contained of N -acetylneuraminic acid and N -acetylgalactosaminitol. Treatment of the native and desialyzed glycoprotein with α - N -acetylgalactosaminidase resulted in the removal of 60% and 96% of N -acetylgalactosamine, respectively. No cleavage of this sugar was affected by the action of β - N -acetylhexosaminidase. Both, N -acetylgalactosamine and N -acetylneuraminic acid were susceptible to oxidation with periodate. Analyses of the partially methylated N -acetylgalactosamine derivatives, obtained from the permethylated native glycoprotein, showed the presence of 3,4,6-tri- O -methyl- N -methylacetamidogalactose and 3,4-di- O -methyl- N -methylacetamidogalactose in a ratio of 1 : 0.4. Only 3,4,6-tri- O -methyl- N -methylacetamidogalactose was found in the hydrolysates of permethylated desialyzed glycoprotein. These results together with our previous data on chemical composition of the glycoprotein suggest that about 30% of the oligosaccharide chains consist of NeuAcα2 → 6GalNAcα1 → O-Thr(Ser) and 70% of GalNAcα → O-Thr(Ser).
Out-of-plane polymer refractive microlens fabricated based on direct lithography of SU-8

To develop integrated free-space micro optical systems, out-of-plane microlenses with principle plane perpendicular to the plane of the substrate are necessary. Most of the reported microlenses are either in plane or hinged lenses fabricated in surface technologies then driven up to the required vertical position electrostatically or electromagnetically. This paper presents a research work to design, fabricate, and test a new type of polymer microlens using direct lithograph of SU-8 resist. The fabrication does not require any assembly process or external driving forces. The microlens fabricated this way has quasi-ball/spherical surface profile, which is very close to a spherical surface in the paraxial area. Lenses with different focuses can be obtained by selecting different diameters for the spherical lithography beams.
Effects of tetrachloroethylene on the viability and development of embryos of the Japanese medaka, Oryzias latipes.

We evaluated the acute toxicity of Tetrachloroethylene (C2Cl4), and investigated its sub-chronic effects on the embryonic development of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). One-day-old eggs/embryos of this fish species were exposed, under static renewal conditions, to serial concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg/L) of C2Cl4 for 96 h (acute) and 10 days (sub-chronic) time periods. The toxic endpoints evaluated included: egg/embryo viability, hatchability, and morphological/developmental abnormalities. The acute toxicity test resulted in a 96 h-LC50 of 27.0 (19.5–32.9) mg/L for egg viability. Exposure of eggs to sub-chronic concentrations (0, 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 25 mg/L) of C2Cl4 significantly reduced hatchability and larval survival, in a concentration dependent manner. At the highest tested concentration (25 mg/L) of the sub-lethal exposure, larval survival was greatly reduced to within three days post-hatch. The lowest tested concentration (1.5 mg/L) produced a significant number of developmental effects to the Japanese medaka, including abnormal development of the circulatory system, yolk-sac edema, pericardial edema, scoliosis, hemorrhaging, blood pooling, and defects in heart morphology. The severity of these abnormalities was concentration-dependent. It can be concluded from these results that tetrachloroethylene is teratogenic to the Japanese medaka.
High-resolution multifluid simulations of the plasma environment near the Martian magnetic anomalies

[1] Three-dimensional high-resolution (∼40 km), multifluid simulations of the solar wind interaction at Mars during the southern hemisphere summer solstice indicate that the region around the magnetic anomalies can be complex and highly structured. The anomalous magnetic field leads to the formation of multiple cusps and a void region where the ionosphere is eroded. Most importantly, the anomalous magnetic field changes the nature of the magnetic pileup layer (MPL) when compared to over unmagnetized regions. While the altitude of the MPL is approximately the same in both the northern and southern hemispheres for this orientation, plasma in the MPL near the magnetic anomalies is cooler, with less solar wind and more of ionospheric origin. The solar wind density is reduced by a factor of 3 in the southern MPL, in comparison to the northern MPL, while the ionospheric density is 10–600 times more dense in the southern MPL, depending on altitude, location, and species.
Predicting cesarean delivery with decision tree models.

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether decision tree–based methods can be used to predict cesarean delivery. Study Design: This was a historical cohort study of women delivered of live-born singleton neonates in 1995 through 1997 (22,157). The frequency of cesarean delivery was 17%; 78 variables were used for analysis. Decision tree rule-based methods and logistic regression models were each applied to the same 50% of the sample to develop the predictive training models and these models were tested on the remaining 50%. Results: Decision tree receiver operating characteristic curve areas were as follows: nulliparous, 0.82; parous, 0.93. Logistic receiver operating characteristic curve areas were as follows: nulliparous, 0.86; parous, 0.93. Decision tree methods and logistic regression methods used similar predictive variables; however, logistic methods required more variables and yielded less intelligible models. Among the 6 decision tree building methods tested, the strict minimum message length criterion yielded decision trees that were small yet accurate. Risk factor variables were identified in 676 nulliparous cesarean deliveries (69%) and 419 parous cesarean deliveries (47.6%). Conclusion: Decision tree models can be used to predict cesarean delivery. Models built with strict minimum message length decision trees have the following attributes: Their performance is comparable to that of logistic regression; they are small enough to be intelligible to physicians; they reveal causal dependencies among variables not detected by logistic regression; they can handle missing values more easily than can logistic methods; they predict cesarean deliveries that lack a categorized risk factor variable. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;183:1198-206.)
Analogues of Ourselves: Who Counts as an Other?

What attributions must any actor make to an other in order to engage in face-to-face interaction with that other? Edmund Husserl's use of “analogues” suggests that actors use their own experiences of themselves as a starting pointin making such attributions. Alfred Schutz and Erving Goffman claim that for face-to-face interaction to occur, an other must be recognized as copresent and reciprocity must be established. I assert here that the means for determining that these conditions have been met will vary. I explore a varietyof actors and in particular their differing identifications of interactionally available others and I take as problematicthe establishment of co-presence and reciprocity. Taking others to be “analogues of ourselves” serves as a useful starting point, but worthy of detailed analysis is howand with whom an actor draws the analogy, under what circumstances it comes in for revision, and the interactional consequences of the decisions made.
Non-Linear Magnetic Ringing of Spin-Ordered Solid He-3

Exact and complete solution is presented on the nonlinear longitudinal magnetic ringing of spin-ordered bcc $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ ensuing on the complete switchoff of a dc magnetic field ${\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{H}}}_{1}$. The theory is based on the set of dynamic equations proposed by Osheroff et al., which neglects relaxation effects. The complete motion is found to be characterized by three principal frequencies, of which only two enter into the ringing behavior of the longitudinal magnetization. An alternative way to prepare the initial state for observing the subsequent nonlinear ringing, viz., by applying an ac magnetic pulse at the zero-field resonance frequency instead of turning off a dc field ${\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{H}}}_{1}$, is also analyzed, and found to be less than ideal, even though the subsequent zerofield ringing behavior is still exactly soluble.