cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optics for the National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192 beam, 1.8 megajoule laser currently under construction at LLNL. The laser requires approximately 7,500 meter class optical components including 3,000 phosphate laser glass slabs, 2,500 fused silica lenses and windows, 1,400 BK-7 mirror and polarizer substrates with hafnia/silica multilayer coatings, and 600 KDP and deuterated KDP (DKDP) nonlinear crystals, each component with a 40 cm square aperture. These optics will be produced between 2000 and 2003 following pilot production campaigns to prove the technologies in 1999. The specifications of these large optics are challenging, with a typical wavefront gradient of Xi90/cm RMS,and damage thresholds of 14 J/cm2 (351 nm) and 20 J/cm2 (1053 nm) for 3 ns pulses. The cost goals for producing each of these optics vary, but on average are approximately three-times lower than we paid for Beamlet and Nova optics.
GOD'S VELVETEEN RABBIT

This article lays out a central argument of Wolterstorff’s book, which I call the Argument from Under-Respect. That argument, I contend, is central to Wolterstorff’s thought about wrongs and human rights. Close attention to the argument raises questions about whether Wolterstorff’s account of rights can explain what a theory of rights must include: why violating rights wrongs the rights-bearer.
Etch-stop characteristics of heavily B/Ge-doped silicon epilayer in KOH and TMAH

Abstract This paper describes the characterization of a heavily boron/germanium (B/Ge)-doped silicon layer as an etch-stop in tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH). We investigated the etch rate variation of heavily B/Ge-doped silicon epilayer as a function of varying temperature and/or concentration of the etchants. To facilitate the investigation, we described etch-stop performance by the etch-rate ratio of lightly phosphorous-doped and heavily boron/germanium-doped 〈1 0 0〉silicon. Results show that the etch-stop performance of boron/germanium-doped silicon is not as good as the heavily boron-only doped silicon with a similar boron doping level. However, the heavily B/Ge-doped silicon still exhibits good etch-stop performance. Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is recommended as an etchant of choice when B/Ge-doped silicon layer is used as an etch-stop layer. Specifically, experimental conditions with low concentrations and temperatures of TMAH lead to a good etch-stop ratio on the heavily B/Ge-doped silicon.
Pretreatment alcohol drinking goals are associated with treatment outcomes.

Background A large subset of patients who enter treatment for alcohol dependence report nonabstinent drinking goals (e.g., reduction in drinking) rather than abstinence, and this pretreatment goal choice may be associated with drinking outcomes and alcohol-related problems. Methods An analysis of the 16-week Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions (COMBINE) study was conducted to determine the association between self-reported pretreatment drinking goal and drinking outcomes and alcohol-related problems. Participants who reported a nonabstinent drinking goal (n = 340) were matched with participants who reported an abstinent drinking goal (n = 340) on 3 variables believed to contribute to treatment outcomes: COMBINE experimental group, gender, and number of prebaseline heavy drinking days. Results Analyses revealed no interaction between the COMBINE experimental group and drinking goal on outcome measures, so results were collapsed and examined as a function of drinking goal group. Participants who chose an abstinent drinking goal had significantly more weeks with no drinking or no heavy drinking, reported fewer heavy drinking days, reported fewer days with >1 drink, and were more likely to have a ≥50% decrease in drinks per day between baseline and week 16 of the intervention. However, both groups reported reductions over time in percent drinking days, mean drinks per day, number of heavy drinking days, and number of drinking days per week, and participants in both groups experienced significant reductions in alcohol-related problems and improvements in psychosocial functioning. Conclusions Results replicate and expand upon previous studies examining the association between drinking goal and treatment outcome. These data also provide support for the standard inclusion of drinking treatment goal as a stratification variable in study interventions or as a covariate in outcome analyses and highlight several areas that warrant additional research regarding patients who enter alcohol treatment with a nonabstinent drinking goal.
Teen pregnancy and parenting: A qualitative study into attitudes and behaviours of teenaged long-term Hispanics in New Mexico.

Introduction:Teen pregnancy in Hispanic youth is a poorly understood phenomenon with numerous and overlapping sociocultural influences. Hispanics have had the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Un...
Effects of Music on Physiological Response

For this study the heart rates of twenty-two members of a college-level music appreciation class were recorded while students listened to the first movement of Beethoven's fifth symphony. The measu...
Autonomic motor neuron migration and expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced diaphorase are dependent upon peripheral target

Interactions of developing neurons with their postsynaptic targets play a significant role in neuronal differentiation. The goal of the present study was to determine if target contact affected the migration or differentiation of autonomic motor neurons (AMNs) in developing rat spinal cord. The peripheral targets of AMNs were excised microsurgically from histotypic spinal slices before the arrival of AMN axons. The migration of AMNs was assessed in DiI retrogradely labeled preparations, and the differentiation of these cells was evaluated by beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry. In target-deprived specimens, NADPH-d expression in AMNs was virtually eliminated. In addition, DiI-labeled AMNs were scattered throughout the intermediate spinal gray matter instead of being aggregated in the intermediolateral nucleus as in control slices. This observation indicated that migration of AMNs had occurred, but that it had been disorganized significantly by target removal on embryonic day 13 (E13). In sham, "incision-only" specimens from which peripheral target tissue was not removed, AMNs expressed NADPH-d and migrated normally, indicating that axotomy alone was not sufficient to disrupt AMN development. Previous studies have shown that target removal after the arrival of AMN axons at their postsynaptic targets on E14 has no affect on the organized migration of AMNs (Barber et al. [1993] J. Neurosci. 13:4898-4907). This observation together with the present results indicate that initial target contact is necessary for both the differentiation and directed migration of AMNs, and that this contact does not need to be sustained for these developmental events to progress normally.
Very sharp/unsharp, unpeace/firm peace: Morphemic ambiguity in Beowulf

Beowulf is very much a poem where opposed valencies haunt its language as Grendel haunts Heorot. Editing Beowulf has involved, among other things, a search for a firm meaning for individual words, with the tacit assumption that an aggregate of individually valent words will generate a poem whose meaning is sure. Recent developments in literary theory, of course, call these assumptions into question. To put it into other words ones rather playfully used by Jacques Derrida we have been seeking presence where there is only trace, the silence attending polyvalency (Neel 100-177). Lest by this I invite charges ranging from anachronism to trendiness, let me briefly indicate how pervasive medieval skepticism over the valency of language was. The tifth-century Syrian monk who stole a name from the Bible and appended it to his Neoplatonic theological treatises, Pseudo-Dionysius, posited in his Divine Names that words simultaneously signify and fail to signify (for a discussion of the Dionysian oeuvre, see Hathaway, Stiglmayer, Boularand, Rorem, and Ladner). God may in one respect be termed “good,” for instance, because it says so in the Bible, and thus the word is a signifier that proceeds to us from the deity through revelation. Yet when we apply the term to God, that is, in the mind’s return to God seeking knowledge of him it becomes inadequate. That is, God is far above anything signified by our linite word “good.” Thus Pseudo-Dionysius coins the term unknowing, familiar to students of Middle English prose through the translations of his texts and adaptations of his ideas by the author of the treatise, The Cloud oj Unknowing.* It is, of cause, a word beginning with the same ambiguous morpheme that is the subject of this article. Pseudo-Dionysius writes:
Carpe Diem: Overcome Misconceptions in Community College Distance Learning

ABSTRACT This paper makes note of the vast opportunities for growth and expansion available to community colleges through online distance education. While many community colleges have taken advantage of these opportunities, continued success may be in jeopardy because of the high drop-out rates in online courses of study relative to courses offered as traditional, face-to-face classroom instruction. The reason for this may be that the “digital divide” still exists between students of the 21st century and faculty who were educated long ago in the 20th century, including even those faculty who have stepped forward to offer online courses. Perception of up-to-date concepts of distance learning is a major issue, and only when the gap is bridged between distance learner and instructor will online learning reach its potential. The literature available on distance learning has numerous suggestions for bridging this gap between students and faculty. The authors of this article recommend that community colleges ma...
The Engines of Biomolecular Motors

The majority of biomolecular motors are powered by nucleoside triphosphate (NTP), especially adenosine triphosphate (ATP). These motors consist of a β-sheet with highly conserved motifs and the nucleotide binding domain around it. The highly conserved protein folds are the engines of these motors, which convert the energy of NTP hydrolysis cycle to mechanical work. Although functions of molecular motors are widely diverse, (including cargo movement, DNA unwinding, protein degradation, ion pumping, etc), the nucleotide binding domains are very similar. In the binding site, NTP undergoes a hydrolysis cycle E+NTP⇄E·NTP⇄E•NTP⇄ E•NDP•Pi⇄E•NDP+Pi⇄ E+NDP+Pi where E is the enzyme (motor protein), the small dot represents the docking of NTP, and the large dot represents the tightly-bound states. The hydrogen bond network formed in the NTP binding step, as shown in Figure 1 [1], deforms the β-sheet and adjacent structures. The local deformation propagates to conformational changes of functional residues to do mechanical work or to change the affinity to the substrate [2]. For multimeric motor proteins, we must also consider the stress paths among subunits which control the sequence and the activity of the protein. Stress trajectories emanating from a binding site either passes through a circumferential stress loop or a stress loop through the substrate.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Terrigenous Organic Matter Sources and Reactivity in the North Atlantic Ocean and a Comparison to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans

Abstract Lignin phenol concentrations and compositions in suspended particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM and DOM) were determined in samples from several locations and depths in the western North Atlantic Ocean. POM lignin phenol concentrations were ∼2-fold lower than previous measurements in the Pacific Ocean, but represented up to 28% of the total lignin phenols in the water column. Carbon-normalized yields of lignin phenols and δ13C measurements of POM indicate that up to half of the suspended material in deep water is of terrigenous origin and appears to enter the ocean via atmospheric deposition. This finding emphasizes the need for future research into aerosol compositions and fluxes into the oceans. In contrast to POM, DOM lignin phenol concentrations were ∼2-fold higher in the Atlantic, with more than two thirds in the high-molecular weight (HMW; > 1 kDa) fraction. Elevated concentrations of dissolved lignin phenols in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) indicated that 10–16% of annual fluxes of terrigenous DOM from Arctic rivers could be entrained during NADW formation. The percentage of lignin phenols in the HMW fraction decreases progressively from the Arctic to Atlantic to Pacific Oceans, reflecting an increasing diagenesis of terrigenous DOM. The average residence time of lignin phenols in the Atlantic is ∼ 35 years. Terrigenous DOC accounts for 1–2% of the DOC in surface and deep waters of the North Atlantic.
Percutaneous iliac screws for minimally invasive spinal deformity surgery.

Introduction. Adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgeries carry significant morbidity, and this has led many surgeons to apply minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques to reduce the blood loss, infections, and other peri-operative complications. A spectrum of techniques for MIS correction of ASD has thus evolved, most recently the application of percutaneous iliac screws. Methods. Over an 18 months 10 patients with thoracolumbar scoliosis underwent MIS surgery. The mean age was 73 years (70% females). Patients were treated with multi-level facet osteotomies and interbody fusion using expandable cages followed by percutaneous screw fixation. Percutaneous iliac screws were placed bilaterally using the obturator outlet view to target the ischial body. Results. All patients were successfully instrumented without conversion to an open technique. Mean operative time was 302 minutes and the mean blood loss was 480 cc, with no intraoperative complications. A total of 20 screws were placed successfully as judged by CT scanning to confirm no bony violations. Complications included: two asymptomatic medial breaches at T10 and L5, and one patient requiring delayed epidural hematoma evacuation. Conclusions. Percutaneous iliac screws can be placed safely in patients with ASD. This MIS technique allows for successful caudal anchoring to stress-shield the sacrum and L5-S1 fusion site in long-segment constructs.
Dentin bond strength after ablation using a CO(2) laser operating at high pulse repetition rates.

Pulsed CO2 lasers show great promise for the rapid and efficient ablation of dental hard tissues. Our objective was to demonstrate that CO2 lasers operated at high repetition rates can be used for the rapid removal of dentin without excessive thermal damage and without compromising adhesion to restorative materials. Human dentin samples (3x3mm2) were rapidly ablated with a pulsed CO2 laser operating at a wavelength of 9.3-µm, pulse repetition rate of 300-Hz and an irradiation intensity of 18-J/cm2. The bond strength to composite was determined by the modified single plane shear test. There were 8 test groups each containing 10 blocks: negative control (non-irradiated non-etched), positive control (non-irradiated acid-etched), and six laser treated groups (three etched and three non-etched sets). The first and second etched and non-etched sets were ablated at a speed of 25 mm/sec and 50 mm/sec with water, respectively. The third set was also ablated at 50 mm/sec without application of water during laser irradiation. Minimal thermal damage was observed on the dentin surfaces for which water cooling was applied. Bond strengths exceeded 20 MPa for laser treated surfaces that were acid-etched after ablation (25-mm/sec: 29.9-MPa, 50-mm/sec: 21.3-MPa). The water-cooled etched laser groups all produced significantly stronger bonds than the negative control (p<0.001) and a lower bond strength than the positive control (p<0.05). These measurements demonstrate that dentin surfaces can be rapidly ablated by a CO2 lasers with minimal peripheral thermal damage. Additional studies are needed to determine if a lower bond strength than the acid-etched control samples is clinically significant where durability of these bonded restoration supersedes high bond strength.
Distribution of Ganglioside GM1 in l-α-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine/Cholesterol Monolayers: A Model for Lipid Rafts1

The distribution of low concentrations of ganglioside GM1 in L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and DPPC/cholesterol monolayers supported on mica has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The monolayers studied correspond to a pure gel phase and a mixture of liquid-expanded (LE) and liquid-condensed (LC) phases for DPPC and to a single homogeneous liquid-ordered phase for 2:1 DPPC/cholesterol. The addition of 2.5-5% GM1 to phase-separated DPPC monolayers resulted in small round ganglioside-rich microdomains in the center and at the edges of the LC domains. Higher amounts of GM1 (10%) give numerous filaments in the center of the LC domains and larger patches at the edges. A gel phase DPPC monolayer containing GM1 showed large domains containing a network of GM1-rich filaments. The addition of GM1 to a liquid-ordered 2:1 DPPC/cholesterol monolayer gives small, round domains that vary in size from 50 to 150 nm for a range of surface pressures. Larger amounts of GM1 lead to coalescence of the small, round domains to give longer filaments that cover 30-40% of the monolayer surface for 10 mol % GM1. The results indicate that biologically relevant GM1 concentrations lead to submicron-sized domains in a cholesterol-rich liquid-ordered phase that is analogous to that found in detergent-insoluble membrane fractions, and are thought to be important in membrane microdomains or rafts. This demonstrates that AFM studies of model monolayers and bilayers provide a powerful method for the direct detection of microdomains that are too small for study with most other techniques.
The bantam MicroRNA Is a Target of the Hippo Tumor-Suppressor Pathway

Summary Background The Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway has emerged as a key signaling pathway that controls tissue size in Drosophila . Hippo signaling restricts tissue size by promoting apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest, and animals carrying clones of cells mutant for hippo develop severely overgrown adult structures. The Hippo pathway is thought to exert its effects by modulating gene expression through the phosphorylation of the transcriptional coactivator Yorkie. However, how Yorkie regulates growth, and thus the identities of downstream target genes that mediate the effects of Hippo signaling, are largely unknown. Results Here, we report that the bantam microRNA is a downstream target of the Hippo signaling pathway. In common with Hippo signaling, the bantam microRNA controls tissue size by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. We found that hippo mutant cells had elevated levels of bantam activity and that bantam was required for Yorkie-driven overgrowth. Additionally, overexpression of bantam was sufficient to rescue growth defects of yorkie mutant cells and to suppress the cell death induced by Hippo hyperactivation. Hippo regulates bantam independently of cyclin E and diap1 , two other Hippo targets, and overexpression of bantam mimics overgrowth phenotypes of hippo mutant cells. Conclusions Our data indicate that bantam is an essential target of the Hippo signaling pathway to regulate cell proliferation, cell death, and thus tissue size.
Dynamic focus window selection using a statistical color model

We previously showed the necessity of utilizing dynamic methods to select focus window for passive autofocus in digital imaging systems. One possibility is to track the photographer's pupil through a modified viewfinder so that the region of interest in a target image can be determined, as previously described. Yet this assumes that a user is on site and he/she looks through the viewfinder, which is less and less practiced as a result of the availability of liquid crystal displays (LCD) on most consumer digital imaging systems. An alternative is to use pattern recognition to select focus windows when the imaging targets are known in advance and can be extracted from their background. In this paper, one of such cases, where the imaging targets are humans, is discussed in detail. The theoretical basis for dynamic focus window selection is briefly reviewed. And an example is given to demonstrate the effects of different focus windows on the imaging results. Then the focus window selecting technique using a statistical model of human skin colors is described in detail. The incoming target image in RGB color space is transformed into 2-dimension (r, g) space. Each pixel is binarized according to the relationship between its (r, g) value and the skin color distribution. Thus skin regions in the image are extracted. Morphological operations are then applied to the resultant binary image to reduce the number and irregularity of the skin regions. A rectangle can be fitted to the extracted skin region and used as the focus window. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.
β-Lactoglobulins A and B: The environment of the asp/gly difference residue☆

Abstract The environment of the aspartic acid-glycine substitution has been examined. A pair of peptides of differing mobility, showing the known asp-gly substitution of the native variants, has been isolated from tryptic digests of S -sulfonated β-lactoglobulins A and B. The amino acid composition of the peptides shows a large concentration of carboxylic residues in the neighborhood of the difference amino acid. Comparison with the physicochemical properties of the variants indicates that this area of the primary structure is probably implicated in the low-temperature aggregation, since differences between the two species in degrees of this reaction correlate with the density of carboxyl groups in the vicinity of the substitution.
Amplitude- versus frequency-modulated pumping light for coherent population trapping resonances at high buffer-gas pressure

Coherent population trapping (CPT) signals can be optimized with amplitude-modulated pumping light. As shown theoretically and experimentally in this paper, the optimum wave forms produce strong CPT signals at both low buffer-gas pressures, where the hyperfine structure (HFS) splitting of the optical absorption lines is well resolved, and also at high buffer-gas pressures, where the HFS is no longer optically resolved due to pressure broadening. On the other hand, CPT resonances from frequency-modulated waves are severely degraded for these high-pressure conditions. High buffer-gas pressures may offer advantages for miniature frequency standards and magnetometers, including suppression of diffusion losses in miniature cells, suppression of light shifts, and less stringent requirements for frequency stability of the pumping light sources.
ON THE q-COMPLETENESS OF CERTAIN HOLOMORPHICALLY SPREADABLE SPACES

Let X be a ${\mathbb C}$-analytic space which is not necessarily of finite dimension and let us assume that X is holomorphically spreadable. In this paper, we prove that, in this situation, X is q-complete (resp. cohomologically q-complete) if and only if X is q-convex (resp. cohomologically q-convex) for any integer q≥1. Also, analogous problems within the framework of holomorphically convex spaces will be discussed.
Entrainment and Diffusion in a Gulf Stream Cyclonic Ring

Abstract The mixing and entrainment processes present in a cyclonic ring are investigated by means of a parametric model which is fitted to serial temperature data for a North Atlantic ring. The physical model assumes an axially symmetric ring in which the temperature is presumed to be governed bywhere KA and KZ are the horizontal and vertical eddy diffusivity coefficients and J(ψT) is the (r,z) Jacobian of the transverse streamfunction ψ and the temperature T. Data from two cruises during the 1967 observation of a ring by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution provided estimates of the derivatives of the temperature. Regression analysis was used to determine the coefficients for polynomial representations of ψ(r,z) for selected combinations of Kh and Kz. The study indicates upper bounds on the order of magnitude for the diffusivities (Kh,Kz)=(105,10) cm2 s−1 based upon near-minimum least-squares error estimates from the regression analysis. An important result is that little differentiation exists betw...
Solution structure of the sixth LDL-A module of the LDL receptor.

The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) is the primary mechanism for uptake of plasma cholesterol into cells and serves as a prototype for an entire class of cell surface receptors. The amino-terminal domain of the receptor consists of seven LDL-A modules; the third through the seventh modules all contribute to the binding of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs). Here, we present the NMR solution structure of the sixth LDL-A module (LR6*) from the ligand binding domain of the LDLR. This module, which has little recognizable secondary structure, retains the essential structural features observed in the crystal structure of LDL-A module five (LR5) of the LDLR. Three disulfide bonds, a pair of buried residues forming a hydrophobic “mini-core”, and a calcium-binding site that serves to organize the C-terminal lobe of the module all occupy positions in LR6* similar to those observed in LR5. The striking presence of a conserved patch of negative surface electrostatic potential among LDL-A modules of known struct...
OSCILLATING FLUID FLOW ACTIVATION OF GAP JUNCTION HEMICHANNELS INDUCES ATP RELEASE FROM MLO-Y4 OSTEOCYTES

Mechanical loads are required for optimal bone mass. One mechanism whereby mechanical loads are transduced into localized cellular signals is strain-induced fluid flow through lacunae and canaliculi of bone. Gap junctions (GJs) between osteocytes and osteoblasts provides a mechanism whereby flow-induced signals are detected by osteocytes and transduced to osteoblasts. We have demonstrated the importance of GJ and gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) in intracellular calcium and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) increases in response to flow. Unapposed connexons, or hemichannels, are themselves functional and may constitute a novel mechanotransduction mechanism. Using MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts and MLO-Y4 osteocytes, we examined the time course and mechanism of hemichannel activation in response to fluid flow, the composition of the hemichannels, and the role of hemichannels in flow-induced ATP release. We demonstrate that fluid flow activates hemichannels in MLO-Y4, but not MC3T3-E1, through a mechanism involving protein kinase C, which induces ATP and PGE(2) release.
9-Diazomethylanthracene as a new fluorescence and ultraviolet label for the spectrometric detection of picomole quantities of fatty acids by high-pressure liquid chromatography.

Abstract 9-Diazomethylanthracene reacts with carboxyl groups to give an ester derivative which can be used as either a fluorescence or ultraviolet label for fatty acid analysis by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The limit of detection by ultraviolet spectroscopy was demonstrated to be approximately 150 pg/μl of the individual fatty acid esters. Fluorescence detection showed a limit of approximately 15 pg/μl. The fluorescence detector response was linear from 0.49 to 14.2 pmol/μl. Thus, derivatization of fatty acids with 9-diazomethylanthracene provides a new and very sensitive method for the quantification of picomole quantities of fatty acids by high-pressure liquid chromatographic techniques using either ultraviolet or fluorescence detection.
A distributed approach to verification and validation of electronic structure simulation data using ESTEST

Abstract We present a Verification and Validation (V&V) approach for electronic structure computations based on a network of distributed servers running the ESTEST (Electronic Structure TEST) software. This network-based infrastructure enables remote verification, validation, comparison and sharing of electronic structure data obtained with different simulation codes. The implementation and configuration of the distributed framework is described. ESTEST features are enhanced by server communication and data sharing, minimizing the duplication of effort by separate research groups. We discuss challenges that arise from the use of a distributed network of ESTEST servers and outline possible solutions. A community web portal called ESTEST Discovery is introduced for the purpose of facilitating the collection and annotation of contents from multiple ESTEST servers. We describe examples of use of the framework using two currently running servers at the University of California Davis and at the Centre Europeen de Calcul Atomique et Moleculaire (CECAM).
Surgical outcomes and their relation to the number of prior episodes of diverticulitis

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the relationship between the number of prior episodes of diverticulitis and outcomes of sigmoid colectomy. Methods: After institutional review board approval, a retrospective review was undertaken based on records of patients who underwent sigmoid resection with anastomosis for diverticulitis between 4 May 2007 and 29 February 2012. Patients were divided into two groups: 0–3 attacks (group 1) and ≥4 attacks (group 2). Statistical analyses were performed to determine whether the groups differed on demographic, intra-operative and postoperative variables. Results: We identified 247 patients who underwent sigmoid colectomy for diverticulitis (45 open, 202 laparoscopic). The two groups did not differ significantly in age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, past surgical history, body mass index, length of stay, use of a stoma or number of prior hospitalizations for diverticulitis. Group 1 had a higher rate of abscesses (30.6 vs 6.8%, P < 0.001) and fistulas (19.4 vs 0.9%, P < 0.001); a longer operative time (190.1 vs 166.3 min, P = 0.0024); and higher rates of postoperative complications (45.8 vs 23.3%, P < 0.001) and conversion (17.1 vs 4.4%, P = 0.0091). The most common surgical complications in groups 1 and 2 were wound infection (35 vs 10) and ileus (20 vs 8). Based on multivariate regression analysis, ≥4 attacks were independently correlated with a lower complication rate (odds ratio = 0.512, 95% confidence interval = 0.266–0.987, P = 0.046). Conclusions: Patients who had ≥4 previous attacks of diverticulitis had fewer postoperative complications.
Modifications of the Lipoamide-containing Mitochondrial Subproteome in a Yeast Mutant Defective in Cysteine Desulfurase

Comparison and identification of mitochondrial matrix proteins from wild-type and cysteine desulfurase-defective (nfs1-14, carrying a hypomorphic allele of NFS1) yeast strains, using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry analyses, revealed large changes in the amounts of various proteins. Protein spots that were specifically increased in the nfs1-14 mutant included subunits of lipoamide-containing enzyme complexes: Kgd2, Lat1, and Gcv3, subunits of the mitochondrial α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and glycine cleavage system complexes, respectively. Moreover the increased protein spots corresponded to lipoamide-deficient forms in the nfs1-14 mutant. The increased proteins migrated as separate, cathode-shifted spots, consistent with gain of a lysine charge due to lack of lipoamide addition. Lack of lipoylation of these proteins was further validated using an antibody specific for lipoamide-containing proteins. In addition, this antibody revealed a fourth lipoamide-containing protein, probably corresponding to the E2 component of the branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase complex. Like the lipoamide-containing forms of Kgd2, Lat1, and Gcv3, this protein also showed decreased lipoic acid reactivity in the nfs1-14 mutant. Cysteine desulfurases, such as yeast NFS1, are required for sulfur addition to iron-sulfur clusters and other sulfur-requiring processes. The results demonstrate that Nfs1 protein is required for the proper post-translational modification of the lipoamide-containing mitochondrial subproteome in yeast and pave the road toward a thorough understanding of its precise role in lipoic acid synthesis.
Pre-Characterization Free, Efficient Power/Performance Analysis of Embedded and General Purpose Software Applications

This paper presents a novel approach for an efficient, yet accurate estimation technique for power consumption and performance of embedded and general purpose applications. Our approach is adaptive in nature and is based on detecting sections of code characterized by high temporal locality (also called hotspots) in the execution profile of the benchmark being executed on a target processor. The technique itself is architecture and input independent and can be used for both embedded, as well as for general purpose processors. We have implemented a hybrid simulation engine which can significantly shorten the simulation time by using on-the-fly profiling for critical sections of the code and by reusing this information during power/performance estimation for the rest of the code. By using this strategy, we were able to achieve up to 20X better accuracy compared to a flat, non-adaptive sampling scheme and a simulation speed-up of up to 11.84X with a maximum error of 1.03% for performance and 1.92% for total energy on a wide variety of media and general purpose applications.
Evaluation of the WM architecture

This report describes the results of studies of the WM architecture—its performance, the values of some of its key architectural parameters, the difficulty of compiling for it, and hardware implementation complexity. The studies confirm that, with comparable chip area and without heroic compiler technology, WM is capable of outperforming traditional scalar architectures by factors of 2-9. They also underscore the need to devise higher bandwidth memory systems.
Fuzzy associative memories: identification and control of complex systems

Fundamental properties of fuzzy associative memories (FAMs), which form a class of fuzzy neural networks, are examined. Fuzzy neural networks combine notions of conventional neural networks and fuzzy set theory, which has been proved suitable for coping with system uncertainty. Atomic and composite FAMs are defined, and their recall behavior is studied. The recall process is recognized as a reasoning process. An approximate FAM is defined on the basis of the l/sup p/-distance of two fuzzy subsets to provide a quantitative measure of the recall process. Fuzzy neural networks are applied to problems which possess high complexity and uncertainty. The FAM implementation issue is addressed in terms of three functional units: a min-net which performs fuzzy conjunction operations, a max-net which performs fuzzy disjunction operations, and a learning unit which adjusts the connection coefficients whenever necessary. >
Optimal adaptive transmission for a cognitive radio with sensing

We propose a randomized transmission scheme for minimizing a time-averaged cost metric in a cognitive radio. We assume that a single cognitive radio (i.e., a transmitter and receiver) hops over N orthogonal channels, each occupied by a primary user whose ON- OFF activity is modeled by a two-state Markov chain. We assume that the cognitive radio senses the activity in each channel at the beginning of every symbol period, and that a usage cost is assigned to each channel that depends on the channel's physical-layer characteristics and the sensing outcome. We fully characterize the transmission scheme that minimizes the time-averaged cost, subject to interference constraints imposed by the primaries. Finally, we evaluate the performance for two special cases of the cost: the bit error rate and (lower and upper bounds on) the channel capacity.
In vivo veritas: probing brain function through the use of quantitative in vivo biochemical techniques.

An invitation to write a Prefatory Chapter for the Annual Review of Physiologyis an honor one cannot refuse, but I undertake it with uneasiness. For almost 50 years in biomedical research my writing has been in the traditional style of scientific articles that are supposed to be impersonal and concerned only with scientific content. According to this tradition, probably more idealistic than real, only accuracy and documentation and not people count. In this review of my life in science I must rely on memory, and recalled memory is often more imaginative than real. Nevertheless, I shall do my best to relate the events in my life that shaped my career with as little distortion of the truth and as much freedom from self-serving bias as I can achieve. The title of this chapter is slightly modified from one selected by my colleagues for a symposium held at the National Institutes of Health in recognition of my 75th birthday. They believed it summarized the course of my research career. I agree that it does reflect the major themes in my research life.
Large-scale Boolean matching

We propose a methodology for Boolean matching under permutations of inputs and outputs (PP-equivalence checking problem) --- a key step in incremental logic design that identifies large sections of a netlist that are not affected by a change in specifications. Finding reusable sections of a netlist reduces the amount of work in each design iteration and accelerates design closure. Our approach integrates graph-based, simulation-driven and SAT-based techniques to make Boolean matching feasible for large circuits. Experimental results confirm scalability of our techniques to circuits with hundreds and even thousands of inputs and outputs.
A Cultural Look at Information and Communication Technologies in Eastern Education

The Eastern cultural tradition, together with other social factors, has shaped a group-based, teacher-dominated, and centrally organized pedagogical culture. Drawing upon this cultural perspective, this article reviews the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Eastern schools, including ICT planning and man- agement, hardware infrastructures, software resources and services, professional devel- opment, and ICT-supported educational practices. It highlights the impact of the pedagogical culture on technology use, as well as the role of technology in pedagogical change. The review suggests a number of critical challenges Eastern educators need to address.
Effects of body size and thermal acclimation on parvalbumin concentration in white muscle of striped bass

Parvalbumin from anaerobic white skeletal muscle of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) was characterized and the hypothesis tested that parvalbumin concentration varies with body size and thermal acclimation. Two parvalbumin isotypes (molecular weights 8.7 and 10.3 kDa, with pIs of 4.63 and 4.90, respectively) were identified from whole-muscle extracts by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), immunoblotting with a monoclonal antibody specific for parvalbumin, and two-dimensional PAGE of heat-treated supernatants. Total concentrations of parvalbumin were exceptionally high, ranging from 5.2 to 12.3 mg·g−1 wet wt. or 0.55 to 1.29 millimoles per kg wet wt. of tissue. There was a significant inverse relationship between body size and total parvalbumin titer in white muscle (r = −0.89, P 2 kg). However, only concentration of the 8.7 kDa isotype varied between animals of different size. Given that parvalbumin can bind two calcium ions with high affinity, the higher titer of parvalbumin in muscles of small fish may be partially responsible for a higher tail-beat frequency and faster rate of muscle relaxation than in larger animals. Lower titers of parvalbumin also may prolong the active state of muscle contraction in large striped bass and promote higher muscle force production than in small animals. In contrast to the effects of body size on parvalbumin content, thermal acclimation at cold termperature (5°C) for 8–10 weeks did not change the concentration of parvalbumin in white muscle. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Evaluation of sediment dynamics in coastal systems via short-lived radioisotopes

The Neuse and Pamlico River Estuaries are shallow, dynamic systems that have been plagued with symptoms of eutrophication over the past two decades. Extensive research has been conducted over the last 5–10 years to better understand the complex nutrient dynamics of these systems. However, most of these studies have concentrated on nutrient cycling in the water column. Only recently have studies focused on the benthic environment, and most sediment studies have neglected the dynamic nature of the benthos, focusing instead on diffusion as the dominant transport process delivering nutrients to the water column. Although diffusion of nutrients across the sediment–water interface may be important during quiescent periods of sediment deposition and short-term storage, wind events associated with storms throughout the year will resuspend newly deposited sediments resulting in the advective transport of sediment porewater, rich with nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, into the water column. Sediment resuspension may increase water column nutrient concentrations, and therefore present estimates of nutrient and carbon inputs from the sediments may be too low. This study evaluated short-term sediment dynamics of natural resuspension events and deposition rates in these two estuaries with the use of short-lived radioisotopes, 7Be, 137Cs, and 234Th. Sediment cores at nine sites in the estuaries have been collected at least bimonthly since May 2001. In general, tracers indicate a depositional environment with minimal episodes of removal. The largest sediment removal occurred in August 2001 in the Neuse River where an estimated 2.2 cm of sediment were removed over the previous 6-week period. This removal mechanism essentially advects porewater nutrients into the water column. Calculated advective fluxes of ammonium and phosphate based on this resuspension event were approximately six times greater than the average diffusive flux measured in the same general area of the river. Longer-term deposition rates, using 137Cs, ranged from 1.4 to greater than 5 mm year−1, comparable to earlier studies in the area and agree well with the interpretation of the short-lived tracers. In addition, meteorological (wind speed and direction), turbidity, and bottom current data were collected and indicated that these resuspension events occur when passing fronts developed wind speeds in excess of 4 m s−1 with rapid shifts in direction. Currents exhibited estuarine flow reversals associated with wind events and apparently have some control over the sediment removal processes.
Kinetic lattice Monte Carlo simulations of silicon and germanium epitaxial growth on the silicon (100) surface

We present kinetic lattice Monte Carlo simulations of epitaxial growth of Si and Ge films on the Si (100) surface. Our simulations take into account surface reconstruction, in particular, how it makes the diffusion properties of ad-dimers and adatoms on the surface depend on the direction of motion and whether they are moving over a row or a trough. In the case of Ge expitaxial growth, when dealing with growth of Ge films, we incorporated the effect of Ge-Si exchange through a mechanism involving the ad-dimers. This results in a significant fraction of the first epitaxial layer containing Si, with an abrupt increase at one monolayer of coverage.
Differential reponses to paraquat‐induced oxidative injury in a pea (Pisum sativum) protoplast system

Antioxidant response to varying degrees of paraquat stress in freshly isolated photosynthesizing pea (Pinsum sativum L.) protoplasts from cultivars Progress and Nugget were studied. Leaves of comparable maturity were used for protoplast isolation. Nugget protoplasts were more resistant to paraquat in the micromolar range under our conditions. In nugget, a non-bleaching paraquat concentration (10 μM) inhibited CO 2 -dependent O 2 evolution ca 50% during the first 40 min, remaining at that rate (coping behavior) for up to 100 min. In contrast, Progress protoplasts treated with the same concentration of paraquat did not exhibit coping behavior. Antioxidant enzyme activities were unaltered throughout the time course of the experiment in treated protoplasts from Nugget and in chloroplasts isolated from them. Thus, the coping behavior of Nugget protoplasts cannot be attributed to changes in activities of the three antioxidant enzymes tested. Paraquat treatment did not affect antioxidant enzyme activities in Progress protoplasts nor in chloroplasts isolated from them. When higher doses of paraquat were used (12 h, 0.1 mM paraquat), protoplasts from both cultivars were rapidly bleached and total protein decreased to ca 30% of pre-stress levels. Glutathione reductase (GR, EC 1.6.4.2) activity dropped in protoplasts from both cultivars under the severe stress conditions in concert with declines in protein levels. However, superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) activity remained contant over the first 9 h of the time course, increasing to ca 150% of original levels by the final, 12-h time point. The activity of the plastid Cu,Zn isoform, expressed as a percentage of total SOD activity, declined over the time course of the experiment while that of mitochondrial MnSOD appeared to increase. This change in activity of MnSOD correlated with cell decline, therefore, and was not correlated with protection. These data are in agreement with some earlier reports and are compatible with the hypothesis that SOD activity levels increase in response to reactive oxygen species levels, even under conditions leading to cell death.
Localization of the PAK1-, WASP-, and IQGAP1-specifying Regions of Cdc42

Abstract The Rho family small GTPase Cdc42 transmits divergent intracellular signals through multiple effector proteins to elicit cellular responses such as cytoskeletal reorganization. Potential effectors of Cdc42 implicated in mediating its cytoskeletal effect in mammalian cells include PAK1, WASP, and IQGAP1. To investigate the determinants of Cdc42-effector specificity, we utilized recombinant Cdc42 mutants and chimeras made between Cdc42 and RhoA to map the regions of Cdc42 contributing to specific effector p21-binding domain (PBD) interaction. Site-directed mutants of the switch I domain and neighboring regions of Cdc42 demonstrated differential binding patterns toward the PBDs of PAK1, WASP, and IQGAP1, suggesting that switch I provides essential determinants for the effector binding, but recognition of each effector by Cdc42 involves a distinct mechanism. Differing from Rac1, the switch I domain and the surrounding region (amino acids 29 to 55) of Cdc42 appeared to be sufficient for specific binding to PAK1, whereas determinants outside the switch I domain, residues 157–191 and 84–120 in particular, were necessary and sufficient to confer specificity to WASP and IQGAP1, respectively. In addition, IQGAP1, but not PAK1 nor WASP, required the unique “insert region,” residues 122–134, of Cdc42 to achieve high affinity binding. Microinjection of the constitutively active Cdc42/RhoA chimeras into serum-starved Swiss 3T3 cells showed that although preserving PAK1- and WASP-binding activity could retain the peripheral actin microspike (PAM)-inducing activity of Cdc42, interaction with PAK1 or WASP was not required for this activity. Moreover, IQGAP1-binding alone by Cdc42 was insufficient for PAM-induction. Thus, Cdc42 utilizes multiple distinct structural determinants to specify different effector recognition and to elicit PAM-inducing effect.