cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Point-of-care ultrasound facilitates diagnosing a posterior shoulder dislocation.

Abstract Background Posterior shoulder dislocation is an uncommon disruption of the glenohumeral joint. Risk factors include seizure, electric shock, and underlying instabilities of the shoulder joint. Case Report A 27-year-old man with a history of recurrent posterior shoulder dislocation presented to the Emergency Department with sudden shoulder pain and reduced range of motion about the shoulder after abducting and internally rotating his arm. Radiographs did not show fracture or dislocation. The treating physician suspected an occult posterior shoulder dislocation, but wanted to avoid performing a computed tomography scan of the shoulder, as the patient had undergone numerous scans during the evaluation of similar complaints. Instead, a point-of-care ultrasound was performed, demonstrating posterior displacement of the humeral head relative to the glenoid rim, confirming the presence of a posterior shoulder dislocation. The patient received procedural sedation, and the shoulder was reduced with real-time ultrasound visualization. The patient tolerated the procedure well, and had decreased pain and improved range of motion. He was discharged with a sling, swathe, and orthopedic follow-up. Conclusion Point-of-care ultrasound of the shoulder may be used to demonstrate posterior shoulder dislocation. This may have particular utility in the setting of non-diagnostic radiographs.
Genotypic and Histological Evolution of Lung Cancers Acquiring Resistance to EGFR Inhibitors

Lung cancers harboring mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) respond to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, but drug resistance invariably emerges. To elucidate mechanisms of acquired drug resistance, we performed systematic genetic and histological analyses of tumor biopsies from 37 patients with drug-resistant non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) carrying EGFR mutations. All drug-resistant tumors retained their original activating EGFR mutations, and some acquired known mechanisms of resistance including the EGFR T790M mutation or MET gene amplification. Some resistant cancers showed unexpected genetic changes including EGFR amplification and mutations in the PIK3CA gene, whereas others underwent a pronounced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Surprisingly, five resistant tumors (14%) transformed from NSCLC into small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and were sensitive to standard SCLC treatments. In three patients, serial biopsies revealed that genetic mechanisms of resistance were lost in the absence of the continued selective pressure of EGFR inhibitor treatment, and such cancers were sensitive to a second round of treatment with EGFR inhibitors. Collectively, these results deepen our understanding of resistance to EGFR inhibitors and underscore the importance of repeatedly assessing cancers throughout the course of the disease.
Poly(cyclooctene)s with Pendant Fluorescent and Phosphorescent Metal Complexes

Poly(cyclooctene)s with pendant Alq 3 and fac-Ir(ppy) 3 were synthesized. Carbazole-based comonomers were used to increase the solubility of the polymers and to transfer the energy into metal complexes. Excitation spectra of all polymers provided evidence of energy transfer. We established that the polymer backbone does not interfere with the optical properties of the metal complexes. All copolymers retained the optical properties of their small molecule metal complex analogs in solution and the solid state, making these polymers promising materials for potential electro-optical applications.
A probabilistic approach for damage identification and crack mode classification in reinforced concrete structures

Reinforced concrete is subjected to deterioration due to aging, increased load, and natural hazards. To minimize the maintenance costs and to increase the operation lifetime, researchers and practi...
Swelling and swelling resistance possibilities of austenitic stainless steels in fusion reactors

Abstract Fusion reactor helium generation rates in stainless steels are intermediate to those found in EBR-II and HFIR, and swelling in fusion reactors may differ from the fission swelling behavior. Advanced titanium-modified austenitic stainless steels exhibit much better void swelling resistance than AISI 316 under both EBR-II (up to ~120 dpa) and HFIR (up to ~44 dpa) irradiations. The stability of fine titanium carbide (MC) precipitates plays an important role in void swelling resistance for the cold-worked titanium-modified steels irradiated in EBR-II. Furthermore, increased helium generation in these steels can (a) suppress void conversion, (b) suppress radiation-induced solute segregation (RIS), and (c) stabilize fine MC particles, if sufficient bubble nucleation occurs early in the irradiation. The combined effects of helium-enhanced MC stability and helium-suppressed RIS suggest better void swelling resistance in these steels for fusion service than under EBR-II irradiation.
The End of the Chisholm Trail

The Long Drive has captured the popular imagination to an extent almost unmatched by other events in American history. The Chisholm Trail, the Red River, Abilene, and Dodge City are only a few of the names that owe their immortalization to the cattle drives of the two decades after the Civil War; such legendary figures as Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Bat Masterson owe their glorification to the cattle towns of Kansas, which grew up as markets for the millions of Texas Longhorns driven on the hoof as much as a thousand miles from their native ranges. Few today are unaware of the grim gunfighters who once faced each other at high noon on the dusty streets of Dodge City, or of the hardy cowboys who herded Longhorn steers over endless trails fraught with peril.
Critical behavior of transport in sea ice

Abstract Geophysical materials such as sea ice, rocks, soils, snow, and glacial ice are composite media with complex, random microstructures. The effective fluid, gas, thermal, and electromagnetic transport properties of these materials play an important role in the large-scale dynamics and behavior of many geophysical systems. A striking feature of such media is that subtle changes in microstructural characteristics can induce changes over many orders of magnitude in the transport properties of the materials, which in turn can have significant large-scale geophysical effects. For example, sea ice, which mediates energy transfer between the ocean and atmosphere, plays a key role in global climate, and serves as an indicator of climatic change, is a porous composite of ice, brine and gases. Relevant length scales range from microns and millimeters for individual brine structures, to centimeters and meters for connected brine channels across floes, to hundreds of kilometers across an ice pack. Sea ice is distinguished from many other porous composites, such as sandstones or bone, in that its microstructure and bulk material properties can vary dramatically over a relatively small temperature range. The fluid permeability of sea ice ranges over six orders of magnitude for temperatures between 0°C and −25°C. Moreover, small changes in brine volume fraction around a threshold value of about 5%, corresponding to variations in temperature around a critical point of about −5°C, control an important transition between low and high fluid permeability regimes. Below this critical temperature, the sea ice is effectively impermeable, while for higher temperatures the brine phase becomes connected over macroscopic scales, allowing fluid transport through the ice. This transition has been observed to impact a wide range of phenomena such as surface flooding and snow–ice formation, enhancement of heat transfer due to fluid motion, mixing in the upper ocean, melt pool persistence, surface albedo (ratio of reflected to incident radiation) and other optical properties, growth and nutrient replenishment of algal and bacterial communities living in sea ice, and remote sensing of the sea ice pack from space. Recently, we have shown how continuum percolation theory can be used to understand the critical behavior of fluid transport in sea ice. Here we review this application of percolation theory to sea ice, and briefly discuss electromagnetic transport in sea ice, in particular how the geometry and connectivity of the brine microstructure determine its effective complex permittivity.
Evidence-based clinical behavior analysis, evidence-based medicine and the Cochrane collaboration

Abstract Encouraging professionals in training and later to consider practice-related research findings when making important clinical decisions is an on-going concern. Evidenced-Based Medicine (EBM) and the Cochrane Collaboration (CC) provide a source of tools and ideas for doing so, as well as a roster of colleagues who share this interest. Evidenced-based medicine involves integrating clinical expertise with the best available external evidence from systematic research as well as considering the values and expectations of patientsiclients. Advantage can be taken of educational formats developed in EBM, such as problem-based learning and critical-appraisal workshops in which participants learn how to ask key answerable questions related to important clinical practice questions (e.g., regarding effectiveness, accuracy of assessment measures, prediction, prevention, and quality of clinical practice guidelines) and to access and critically appraise related research. The Cochrane Collaboration is a world-wide network of centers that prepare, maintain, and disseminate high-quality systematic reviews on the efficacy of healthcare. These databases allow access to evidence related to clinical practice decisions. Forging reciprocal working relationships with those involved in EBM reciprocal and the CC should contribute to the pursuit of shared goals such as basing clinical decisions on the best-available evidence and involving clients as informed consumers.
Effect of monooxygenase inhibitors on bentazon uptake and metabolism in maize cell suspension cultures

Abstract Maize “black Mexican sweet” (BMS) cell suspension cultures were used to study the effects of various cytochrome P450 monooxygenase inhibitors on the uptake and metabolism of the herbicide bentazon. Maize cells rapidly absorbed bentazon and metabolized it via aryl hydroxylation and glycosylation to a glycosyl conjugate of 6-hydroxybentazon. BMS cells accumulated bentazon to levels approximately 20-fold greater than those in the external medium. When BMS cells were incubated in an external medium containing 25 μ M bentazon, the formation of the glycosyl conjugate (ca. 2 nmol/min/g fresh wt) was rate-limited by aryl hydroxylation. Tetcyclacis, a plant growth retardant, phenylhydrazine, a mechanism-based cytochrome P450 inhibitor, and piperonyl butoxide, an insecticide synergist, inhibited bentazon metabolism with I 50 values of approximately 0.1, 1.0, and 1.0 μ M , respectively. Other mechanism-based cytochrome P450 inhibitors, 3(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-1-propyne and aminobenzotriazole, also inhibited bentazon metabolism but were less effective. The results obtained with selected inhibitors are consistent with the hypothesis that aryl hydroxylation of bentazon is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase.
Biodistribution, PET, and Radiation Dosimetry Estimates of HSV-tk Gene Expression Imaging Agent 1-(2′-Deoxy-2′-18F-Fluoro-β-d-Arabinofuranosyl)-5-Iodouracil in Normal Dogs

FIAU is of interest as a potential reporter probe to monitor herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene expression and bacterial infections. This study investigates the biodistribution, metabolism, and DNA uptake of 1-(2′-deoxy-2′-18F-fluoro-β-d-arabinofuranosyl)-5-iodouracil (18F-FIAU) in normal dogs. Methods: Four normal dogs were intravenously administered 18F-FIAU. A dynamic PET scan was performed for 60 min over the upper abdomen; this was followed by a whole-body scan for a total of 150 min on 3 dogs. The fourth dog was not scanned and was euthanized at 60 min. Blood and urine samples were collected at stipulated time intervals and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography to evaluate tracer clearance and metabolism. Tissue samples collected from various organs were analyzed to evaluate tracer uptake and DNA incorporation. Dynamic accumulation of the tracer in different organs was derived from reconstructed PET images. Nondecay-corrected time–activity curves were used for residence time calculation and absorbed dose estimation. Results: At 60 min after injection, unmetabolized FIAU radioactivity in blood and urine samples was greater than 78% and 63%, respectively, demonstrating resistance to metabolism. The tissue-to-muscle ratio derived from image and tissue analysis showed a slightly higher uptake in proliferating organs (mean tissue-to-muscle values: small intestine, 1.97; marrow, 1.70) compared with nonproliferative organs (heart, 1.07; lung, 1.06). A high concentration of activity was seen in the bile (mean, 23.02), demonstrating hepatobiliary excretion of the tracer. Extraction analysis of tissue samples showed that >62% of the activity in the small intestine, 74% in marrow, and
Multiple self-splicing introns in bacteriophage T4: Evidence from autocatalytic GTP labeling of RNA in vitro

RNA from T4-infected cells yielded multiple end-labeled species when incubated with alpha-32P-GTP under self-splicing conditions. One of these corresponds to the previously identified intron from the td gene of T4, while others appear to represent additional group I introns in T4. Two loci distinct from the td gene were found to hybridize to a mixed alpha-32P-GTP-labeled T4 RNA probe. These mapped in or near the unlinked genes nrdB and nrdC. A fragment from the nrdB region that contains the intron has been cloned and shown to generate characteristic group I splice products with RNA synthesized in vivo and in vitro. Multiple introns, and the prospect that these occur within several genes in the same metabolic pathway, suggest a possible regulatory role for splicing in T4.
Low temperature deposition of Ba1-xSrxTiO3 thin films by ECR plasma-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract The deposition temperature dependence of Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 (BST) thin film physical and electrical properties was investigated. Films were deposited between 250 and 500°C by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasmaenhanced liquid source metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Depositions were carried out in an oxygen plasma using the precursors Ba(thd)2•(polyamine), Sr(thd)2•(polyamine), and Ti(O-i-Pr)2(thd)2. With a constant ECR plasma power, composition and growth rate were independent of temperature within the full range investigated, in contrast to most thermally-driven CVD BST processes. Films grown above 350°C were crystalline as-deposited on Pt, and were (100)-textured. The dielectric properties depended strongly upon BST crystallinity, with a sharp increase in dielectric constant and its field dependence observed above 350°C. For slightly Ti-rich, 800A thick films, dielectric constants of 281 were obtained at 500°C, following a 550°C top electrode anneal in O2. Over the full deposit...
2.4 Gbps, 7 mW All-Digital PVT-Variation Tolerant True Random Number Generator for 45 nm CMOS High-Performance Microprocessors

This paper describes an all-digital PVT-variation tolerant true-random number generator (TRNG), fabricated in 45 nm high-k/metal-gate CMOS, targeted for on-die entropy generation in high-performance microprocessors. The TRNG harvests differential thermal-noise at the diffusion nodes of a pre-charged cross-coupled inverter pair to resolve out of metastability, generating one random bit/cycle. A self-calibrating 2-step tuning mechanism using coarse-grained configurable inverters and fine-grained programmable clock delay generators, along with an entropy-tracking feedback loop provide tolerance to 20% PVT variation-induced device mismatches, enabling lowest-reported energy-consumption of 2.9 pJ/bit with a dense layout occupying 4004 μm2, while achieving: (i) 2.4 Gbps random bit throughput, 7 mW total power consumption with 0.7 mW leakage power component, measured at 1.1 V, 50°C, (ii) random bitstreams that passes all NIST RNG tests with raw entropy/bit measured up to 0.9999999993, (iii) good distribution of 1's with 4-bit entropy of 3.97996 and high-entropy pattern probability of 0.066 (iv) wide operating supply voltage range with robust sub-threshold voltage performance of 14 Mbps, 5.6 μW, measured at 280 mV, 50°C, (v) 12 fine-grained high-entropy settings for the TRNG to dither in during steady-state operation, (vi) <;3% error while using an analytical ergodic Markov chain model for predicting pattern probabilities and (vii) 200x higher throughput and 9x higher energy-efficiency than previously reported implementations. Design modifications for robust operation in 22 nm high-volume manufacturing in the presence of 3σ process variations demonstrate scalability of the all-digital design to future technologies.
Base tilt of poly [d(A)]-poly [d(T)] and poly [d(AT)]-poly [d(AT)] in solution determined by linear dichroism

We have measured the CD, isotropic absorption, and LD of poly[d(A)]–poly[d(T)] and poly[d(AT)]–poly[d(AT)] in the vacuum-uv spectral region. The reduced dichroism (LD divided by isotropic absorption) varied as a function of wavelength and was independent of shear gradient. Thus, the bases are not perpendicular to the helix axis in solution. Since the directions of the transition dipoles are known, the orientations of the bases in the polymers can be calculated from the reduced dichroism spectra. The results show that the base normals are tilted at angles greater than 25°, with respect to the helix axis, and thymine is tilted more than adenine for both polymers. The tilt axes of adenine and thymine are not parallel, indicating a large propeller twist. Space-filling models of poly[d(A)]–poly[d(T)] and poly[(AT)]–poly[d(AT)] are built based on our results, and the conformations of the two (A + T) polymers in solution are discussed.
Spectrum calculations in the lattice Georgi-Glashow model

Abstract Numerical evidence is found for the appearance of a massless vector state, the “photon”, in the broken phase of the lattice Georgi-Glashow model. Data is also presented for the lowest-lying scalar mass in the theory. Our simulations indicate that the transition between symmetric and broken phases is weakly first order for a wide range of couplings.
Design, Total Chemical Synthesis, and X‐Ray Structure of a Protein Having a Novel Linear‐Loop Polypeptide Chain Topology

Original synthetic and structure determination methods were used to make a protein molecule with an unprecedented linear-loop polypeptide chain topology, and to characterize its X-ray structure.
Assumption Trade-Offs When Choosing Identification Strategies for Pre-Post Treatment Effect Estimation: An Illustration of a Community-Based Intervention in Madagascar.

Failure (or success) in finding a statistically significant effect of a large-scale intervention may be due to choices made in the evaluation. To highlight the potential limitations and pitfalls of some common identification strategies used for estimating causal effects of community-level interventions, we apply a roadmap for causal inference to a pre-post evaluation of a national nutrition program in Madagascar. Selection into the program was non-random and strongly associated with the pre-treatment (lagged) outcome. Using structural causal models (SCM), directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and simulated data, we illustrate that an estimand with the outcome defined as the post-treatment outcome controls for confounding by the lagged outcome but not by possible unmeasured confounders. Two separate differencing estimands (of the pre- and post-treatment outcome) have the potential to adjust for a certain type of unmeasured confounding, but introduce bias if the additional identification assumptions they rely on are not met. In order to illustrate the practical impact of choice between three common identification strategies and their corresponding estimands, we used observational data from the community nutrition program in Madagascar to estimate each of these three estimands. Specifically, we estimated the average treatment effect of the program on the community mean nutritional status of children 5 years and under and found that the estimate based on the post-treatment estimand was about a quarter of the magnitude of either of the differencing estimands (0.066 SD vs. 0.26–0.27 SD increase in mean weight-for-age z-score). Choice of estimand clearly has important implications for the interpretation of the success of the program to improve nutritional status of young children. A careful appraisal of the assumptions underlying the causal model is imperative before committing to a statistical model and progressing to estimation. However, knowledge about the data-generating process must be sufficient in order to choose the identification strategy that gets us closest to the truth.
Angiotensin II increased neuronal stem cell proliferation: role of AT2R

Angiotensin II (Ang II), known a potent vasoactive substance in the renin-angiotensin system in the brain, plays a critical role in systemic blood pressure control. However, increasing evidence indicated that the physiological role of Ang II go beyond its vasoactive effect. In the present study, we demonstrated that Ang II type-1 receptor (AT1R) and type-2 receptor (AT2R) were expressed in primary rat hippocampal neuronal stem cells (NSCs). Treatment of rat hippocampal NSCs with Ang II increased cell proliferation. Pretreatment of NSCs with specific AT2R, but not AT1R, antagonist significantly suppressed Ang II-induced cell proliferation. Furthermore, Ang II stimulated ERK and Akt phosphorylation in NSCs. Pretreatment of MEK inhibitor, but not PI3K inhibitor, inhibited Ang II-induced ERK phosphorylation as well as cell proliferation. In addition, stimulation of NSCs with Ang II decreased expression of KV 1.2/KV 3.1 channels and blocked K+ currents which lie downstream of ERK activation. Taken together, these findings underpin the role of AT2R as a novel target that regulates cell proliferation mediated by Ang II with implications for therapeutic intervention for regulation of neurogenesis.
Antioxidative properties of harmane and β-carboline alkaloids

beta-Carboline alkaloids are derived as a result of condensation between indoleamine (e.g. tryptamine) and short-chain carboxylic acid (e.g. pyruvic acid) or aldehyde (e.g. acetaldehyde), a reaction that occurs readily at room temperature. These compounds have been found endogenously in human and animal tissues and may be formed as a byproduct of secondary metabolism: their endogenous functions however, are not well understood. Indoles and tryptophan derivatives exhibit antioxidative actions by scavenging free radicals and forming resonance stabilized indolyl radicals. Harmane and related compounds exhibited concentration-dependent inhibition of lipid peroxidation (measured as thiobarbiturate reactive products) in a hepatic microsomal preparation incubated with either enzymatic dependent (Fe3+ ADP/NADPH) or non-enzymatic dependent (Fe3+ ADP/dihydroxyfumarate) oxygen radical producing systems. Alkaloids with hydroxyl substitution and a partially desaturated pyridyl ring were found to have the highest antioxidative potencies. Substitution of a hydroxyl group by a methoxyl group at the 6-position resulted in a decrease of greater than 10-fold in the antioxidative activities. Harmane showed high efficacy in an enzymatic system but low efficacy in a non-enzymatic system. The antioxidative effects of harmane in the former system may be attributed to its ability to inhibit oxidative enzymes in the microsomal system. These results suggest that beta-carbolines may also serve as endogenous antioxidants.
Primary clear cell sarcoma of bone: a unique site of origin.

Clear cell sarcoma is a rare soft tissue neoplasm, accounting for less than 1% of soft tissue sarcomas. We are presenting a case of a clear cell sarcoma of bone which, to our knowledge, is the only report of a primary clear cell sarcoma of bone.
A novel projection approximation algorithm for the fast and accurate computation of molecular collision cross sections (IV). Application to polypeptides

Abstract One fundamental problem of IMS-MS based structure elucidation is achieving agreement between experimental cross sections and those predicted by theoretical algorithms for candidate structures for the compound of interest. Recently, the projected superposition approximation (PSA) was introduced specifically to yield accurate ion mobility cross sections for complex macroscopic systems with great computational efficiency. Here, the PSA method is shown to give cross sections within experimental error over an extended temperature range for short peptide sequences of unknown structure. The method is robust for structures derived from different levels of theory. The existing trajectory method (TJM) and projection approximation (PA) method were shown sensitive to the level of theory used to derive the candidate structures. The PSA method is much faster than the TJM for the systems measured here. As ion mobility instrumentation improves and becomes increasingly available, cross section measurements and theoretical modeling can become a routine technique for determination of macromolecular structure under a variety of experimental conditions, given the accuracy of the PSA method.
Angiotensin II receptor antagonism: Losartan—sites and mechanisms of action

This review surveys the basic pharmacology of angiotensin II receptors and their antagonism; reviews the existing clinical experience with losartan, the first approved nonpeptide angiotensin II antagonist; suggests other possible clinical areas for angiotensin II receptor antagonism; and compares angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition with angiotensin receptor antagonism.
Polymer-cladded athermal high-index-contrast waveguides

We present a general approach to design temperature-independent high-index-contrast (HIC) waveguides using polymer claddings. Thernial stability has been a significant issue in electronic-photonic integrated circuits because of the heterogeneous heating resulting from integration with electronics. Due to silicons highly temperature-dependent optical properties, athermal performance in silicon-based devices is the critical limitation in device performance. In applications such as wavelength demultiplexing (WDM) and high-resolution spectroscopy, the thermo-optic (TO) effect results in a wavelength shifts and phase shifts in the spectral response peak of each wavelength channel, which limits the wavelength resolution and affects the spectral channel density. Instead of attempting to diminish temperature gradience across the chip, an elegant solution is to design athennal waveguides that are insensitive to ambient temperature. Thermo-optically neutral designs are achieved by choosing a polymer cladding material, whose thermo-optic coefficient is opposite to that of silicon (TO si = +1.8 × 10 -4 K -1 ). We present a comprehensive study of temperature dependence in HIC waveguides, using DuPont's polymers as the cladding materials. We provide general design criteria for athermal HIC waveguides by developing analytical and empirical expressions.
Cleavage of concatemeric DNA at the internal junction of "translocation" mutants of pseudorabies virus and inversion of their L component appear to be linked.

Abstract When pseudorabies virus (PrV) strains are grown in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF), variants (“translocation” mutants) arise in which there is a duplication of the leftmost sequences of the genome and their translocation in inverted orientation next to the internal inverted repeat bracketing the S component. In these variants, the U L becomes bracketed by inverted repeats and is found in two orientations relative to the U S . To study the cis -functions involved in cleavage of concatemeric DNA as well as those involved in inversion of the L component and to ascertain whether the two events are linked in the “translocation” mutants, a viral mutant (vLD68) was constructed in which the terminal 64 bp of the L component (that include sequences with homology to the pac 2 site of HSV) and the 4 terminal by of the S component were deleted from the internal junction. Although revenants that have acquired the 68 by at the internal junction emerge rapidly in populations of vLD68, analysis of the characteristics of this mutant revealed that: (1) the termini derived from both orientations of the L component include the 64 by that have been deleted from the internal junction of vLD68; (2) in contrast to other “translocation” mutants, the internal junction of the vLD68 genome is not a good substrate for cleavage; (3) inversion of the L component of true vLD68 DNA does not occur or is rare; a good correlation exists in the populations of vLD68 between the proportion of revertants that have acquired an intact internal junction and the proportion of genomes with an L component that inverts. These results show that an intact internal junction in “translocation” mutants is necessary for both inversion of their L components and cleavage at their alternative internal junction. Since cleavage at the alternative junction will result in inversion of the L component, we conclude that inversion of the L component of “translocation” mutants of PrV can be attributed to cleavage of concatemeric DNA at the internal alternative junction.
Colossal magnetoresistance in Sol-Gel derived epitaxial thin film of Co-Doped La 1-x Ca x MnO x

Electrical, magnetic, and magnetotransport properties of sol-gel derived epitaxial thin films of Co-doped La1−xCaxMnO3 are reported. The epitaxial thin films, deposited using metal-salt routed sol-gel processing, show excellent quality of epitaxy (FWHM=0.3°). Their surface roughness is about 30A and average grain size is 500A. The thin films exhibit the typical behavior of colossal magnetoresistive oxide, manifesting paramagnetic semiconductor to ferromagnetic metal transition near magnetic transition. The doping of Co reduces electrical conductivity, Curie temperature (Tc) and saturation magnetization (Ms). However, the peak magnetoresistance ratio does not show a monotonous change with increasing Co content. These results are interpreted by spin-disorder scattering, magnetic inhomogeneity, and lattice distortion.
Continuous noninvasive determination of pulsus paradoxus: a pilot study.

Objective: To evaluate two methods of continuous, noninvasive monitoring of pulsus paradoxus (PP). Methods: A single-subject, nonblind assessment was conducted of the ability of noninvasive monitoring techniques to measure experimentally induced PP. Variable degrees of PP were induced in a healthy adult breathing through a oneway valve to which a series of external airway resistances were added. Intra-arterial pressure (IAP), finger arterial blood pressure (FINAP), pulse oximeter pulse waveform, and chest wall motion were continuously recorded. For each resistance, PP was calculated from the IAP (PPIAP) and the FINAP (PPFINAP) recordings. PP was measured manually (PPmanual) in the opposite arm. The percentage pulse waveform decrease on inspiration (%PWDpleth) was derived from the oximeter pulse waveform. These measurements were compared with the PPIAP. Bias was assessed as the mean difference between PP measures. Results: PPFINAP, was highly correlated with PPIAP (r = 0.96; 95% CI 0.93 to 0.98; p < 0.0001). There was a weak correlation between PPmanual and PPIAP (r = 0.27; 95% CI -0.05 to 0.55; p = 0.0963). The %PWDpleth correlated with PPIAP (r = 0.59, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.78; p = 0.0002). Bias was -1.515 ± 5.6 mm Hg between PPIAP and PPFINAP; and -4.508 ± 23.4 mm Hg between PPIAP and PPmanual. Conclusion: An accurate and continuous PP can be measured noninvasively using a FINAP monitor. This method has much better agreement with IAP measurements than do manual measurements. The qualitative information provided by the oximeter pulse waveform is less accurate than that provided by the FINAP monitor, but is a potentially useful screening tool for detection of significant PP.
Multicultural Food Perspectives Strategies for Health Care Providers

Dietary patterns are strongly influenced by cultural background and perspectives. Levels of dietary acculturation need to be considered when talking with immigrants about healthy eating. Lower levels of dietary acculturation are associated with positive health outcomes. Encouraging healthy traditional foods is a positive approach to use with individuals who are at lower levels of dietary acculturation. Questions about languages spoken in different settings and foods most often consumed can help health care practitioners assess levels of dietary acculturation. General intake recommendations of lower saturated fat, more whole grains, more fruits, more vegetables, leaner proteins, and smaller portion sizes (for caloric balance) are general recommendations that can be applied within most cultural food patterns to optimize health outcomes.
Cytotoxicity of cultured macrophages exposed to antimicrobial zinc oxide (ZnO) coatings on nanoporous aluminum oxide membranes.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a widely used commercial material that is finding use in wound healing applications due to its antimicrobial properties. Our study demonstrates a novel approach for coating ZnO with precise thickness control onto 20 nm and 100 nm pore diameter anodized aluminum oxide using atomic layer deposition (ALD). ZnO was deposited throughout the nanoporous structure of the anodized aluminum oxide membranes. An 8 nm-thick coating of ZnO, previously noted to have antimicrobial properties, was cytotoxic to cultured macrophages. After 48 h, ZnO-coated 20 nm and 100 nm pore anodized aluminum oxide significantly decreased cell viability by ≈65% and 54%, respectively, compared with cells grown on uncoated anodized aluminum oxide membranes and cells grown on tissue culture plates. Pore diameter (20–200 nm) did not influence cell viability.
Toward millions of file system IOPS on low-cost, commodity hardware

We describe a storage system that removes I/O bottlenecks to achieve more than one million IOPS based on a userspace file abstraction for arrays of commodity SSDs. The file abstraction refactors I/O scheduling and placement for extreme parallelism and non-uniform memory and I/O. The system includes a set-associative, parallel page cache in the user space. We redesign page caching to eliminate CPU overhead and lock-contention in non-uniform memory architecture machines. We evaluate our design on a 32 core NUMA machine with four, eight-core processors. Experiments show that our design delivers 1.23 million 512-byte read IOPS. The page cache realizes the scalable IOPS of Linux asynchronous I/O (AIO) and increases user-perceived I/O performance linearly with cache hit rates. The parallel, set-associative cache matches the cache hit rates of the global Linux page cache under real workloads.
Characterization of silica-based octyl phases of different bonding density: Part I. Thermal stability studies

Chemically bonded phases for reversed-phase chromatography are often produced via reaction of silica gel with appropriate organosilane. Although this reaction is commonly used and well-documented in literature, little attention has been paid so far to study the postreaction curing process. In the current paper the effect of the curing process on the thermal stability of the synthesized octyl phases has been investigated by means of thermogravimetry and solid-state NMR techniques. The study shows that the postreaction isothermal equilibration of the samples dramatically improves their thermal stability without a substantial mass loss due to thermodesorption of silane. Curing process promotes condensation reaction of surface hydroxyls with hydrolyzed silane molecules increasing surface coverage of the synthesized chemically bonded phases.
Exchange-correlation potentials in density-functional and spin-density-functional theory

Exact expressions for the exchange-correlation potential ${W}_{\mathrm{xc}(\mathrm{r}}$) in density- and spin-density-functional theories are derived under a very general situation where ${W}_{\mathrm{xc}(\mathrm{r}}$) is expressed in terms of two- and three-particle correlation functions. Within the random-phase approximation it is shown that there exist nonlocal contributions to ${W}_{\mathrm{xc}(\mathrm{r}}$) which cannot be reproduced in any ``local-density'' type of approximations (LDA). In the nonmagnetic case, ``nonlocal'' contributions are found to be present only in ${V}_{\mathrm{xc}(\mathrm{q}=0}$), which leads to the famous ``band-gap'' problem. In the magnetic case it is found that nonlocality is present in all components of ${W}_{\mathrm{xc}(\mathrm{r}}$) in general, indicating that the LDA is in general an inadequate approximation for exchange-correlation potentials in magnetic systems. An alternative approximation for ${W}_{\mathrm{xc}(\mathrm{r}}$) is proposed which also includes nonlocality in an approximate way.
Improving the reproducibility of lateral therapy portal placement.

Abstract Lateral therapy treatment portals are vulnerable to significant placement errors when the beam axis position is based on skin marks or measurements from the anterior abdominal wall. Direct measurements from the treatment table top are shown to have an anatomic basis for reliability. An inexpensive simulator accessory is described which greatly simplifies the process of determining distances from the treatment table to structures of interest.
Brand names and unconventional spelling: A two-pronged analysis of the orthographic construction of brand identity

This article explores the creative use of unconventional spelling in brand names. Using insights from the indexical approach to the linguistic construction of identity, it demonstrates how unconventional spelling produces a myriad of effects and meanings, which in turn help construct brand identities. First, it identifies the various strategies of unconventional spelling, investigates their potential to convey distinctiveness, and examines other effects and meanings that they produce. It then presents a case study to further illustrate how unconventional spelling works with other marketing materials to create a unique brand identity. Unconventional spelling, because of its polarizing nature, can be a risky resource for constructing brand identities. Not only does this study contribute to an under-researched area in the sociolinguistics of orthography, but it also broadens the range of identities and linguistic resources examined in the sociolinguistic investigation of identity construction.
Geometric calibration and distortion calibration for CT from scans of unknown objects using complementary rays

To achieve good image quality for computed tomography, it is important to accurately know the geometrical relationship between the X-ray source, the axis of rotation, and all of the detector channels. This usually involves knowing gross parameters such as iso-ray coordinate, detector pixel pitch, and source-to-detector distance, but for some detector types such as distorted arrays, polygonal or tiled arrays, or arrays of irregularly placed sparse detectors, it is beneficial to measure a more detailed description of the individual channel locations. Typically, geometric calibration and distortion calibration are performed using specialized phantoms, such as a pin, an array of pellets, or a wire grid, but these can have their practical downsides for certain applications. A promising recent alternative is to calibrate geometry in a way that requires no particular phantom or a priori knowledge of the scanned object -- these approaches are particularly helpful for high magnifications, large heavy objects, frequent calibration, and retrospective calibration. However, until now these approaches have only addressed gross geometry. In this paper, a framework is given which allows one to calibrate both gross and fine geometry from unknown objects. Example images demonstrate the success of the proposed methods on both real and simulated data.
Nonlinear filters with particle flow induced by log-homotopy

We solve the fundamental and well known problem in particle filters, namely "particle collapse" or "particle degeneracy" as a result of Bayes' rule. We do not resample, and we do not use any proposal density; this is a radical departure from other particle filters. The new filter implements Bayes' rule using particle flow rather than with a pointwise multiplication of two functions. We show numerical results for a new filter that is vastly superior to the classic particle filter and the extended Kalman filter. In particular, the computational complexity of the new filter is many orders of magnitude less than the classic particle filter with optimal estimation accuracy for problems with dimension greater than 4. Moreover, our new filter is two orders of magnitude more accurate than the extended Kalman filter for quadratic and cubic measurement nonlinearities. We also show excellent accuracy for problems with multimodal densities.
Phenyl-Conjugated Oligoene Sensitizers for TiO2 Solar Cells

As highly efficient organic sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells, a series of novel oligoene dyes which have different lengths of methine units, cyano groups and/or carboxylic groups as the electron acceptor units, and amino groups as the electron donor units was designed and synthesized. The bathochromic shift of the absorption spectrum was achieved by expansion of the π-conjugated system by increasing the number of methine units and by introduction of both electron-withdrawing and -accepting groups, which induced charge-transfer-type absorption character. Redox potential of the dyes was also controlled by the substitution of the functional groups. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on the oligoene dyes showed excellent response of incident photon to current conversion efficiency (>80%), leading to good photovoltaic performances up to 6.6% under 1 sun irradiation conditions. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the mid-IR region revealed the very fast electron injection from the ex...
3D object matching on the GPU using spin-image surface matching

Spin-image surface matching is a technique for locating objects in a scene by processing three-dimensional surface information from sources such as light detection and ranging (LIDAR), structured light photography, and tomography. It is attractive for parallel processing on graphics processing units (GPUs) because the two main computational steps - matching pairs of spin-images by correlation, and matching pairs of points between model and scene - are explicitly parallel. By implementing these parallel computations on the GPU, as well as recasting serial portions of the algorithm into a parallel form and structuring the algorithm to limit data exchanges between host and GPU, this project achieved an overall speedup of 20 times or more compared to conventional serial processing. A demonstration application has been developed that allows users to select among a set of models and scenes and then applies the spin-image surface matching algorithm to match the selected models to the scene. It also has several user interface controls for changing parameters. One new parameter is a geometric consistency ratio (GCR) that quantifies the matching performance and provides a measure for discarding low-quality matches. By toggling between GPU- and host-based processing, the application demonstrates the speedup achieved with parallelization on the GPU.
Photon-Induced Beta Decay in Stellar Interiors

Because of the astrophysical importance of beta-decay lifetimes in stellar interiors, we have calculated the rate of photon-induced beta decay ("photobeta" decay). In the photobeta process the photon can be considered to decay virtually into an electron-positron pair, with the positron being absorbed by the nucleus. The photobeta process is in competition with normal beta decay (if energetically possible), excited-state beta decay, and free-positron capture. An infrared divergence problem for exothermic photobeta decay is discussed, although the exothermic photobeta rate is too small to enhance most spontaneous beta decays. Applications are discussed in the driven decay of stable nuclei. As an example, the photobeta lifetime of a nucleus stable by 200 keV drops from 3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{10}$yr at 3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{8}$ \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K, to ${10}^{5}$yr at 1.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{9}$ \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K for a nuclear transition matrix element characterized by log ft=6. The competition between the photobeta process and excited-state beta decay is discussed.
Hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity and inducibility in wild populations of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Microplate fluorometric techniques were used to measure ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity in hepatic microsomes and primary hepatocyte cultures from individual wild double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) embryos. Embryos were collected in 1993 and 1994 from Humboldt Bay and San Francisco Bay (CA, USA) and a reference site in coastal Oregon (USA). Median microsomal EROD activities in embryos collected from San Francisco Bay (in both 1993 and 1994) and from Humboldt Bay (1994) were four- to eightfold higher than the reference site median (Kruskal–Wallis, p < 0.05). This degree of induction suggests that cormorant embryos in the two California locations were exposed to concentrations of dioxinlike compounds that are at the threshold for toxic effects in this species. Substantial variation in the EROD response in cultured hepatocytes was observed between individuals, populations, and the two bird species tested (cormorants and chickens [Gallus gallus]). Although most of the cormorant individuals displayed a consistent dose–response profile, a few individuals were uninducible, showing no appreciable increase over basal activity with increasing dose of inducer. Composite dose–response curves for two cormorant colonies appeared to be divergent in spite of small sample sizes, indicating that inducibility can also vary at the population level. These observations suggest that considerable variability in pollutant metabolism and sensitivity associated with single enzyme systems may exist within wild populations and species.
Minority influence in work teams: The impact of newcomers ☆

Abstract Although initial work on minority influence was spurred by interest in group processes, relevant research has rarely examined interactions between majority and minority factions. In particular, little is known about how current members of work teams respond to newcomers’ efforts to change existing work practices. In this study, three-person teams (a commander and two subordinates) used a computer-based air-surveillance system to monitor planes flying through a simulated airspace. After either choosing or being assigned a task strategy, teams completed a work shift and received feedback that they had either failed or succeeded. One subordinate was then replaced by a confederate (newcomer) who suggested a new strategy for the next shift. As predicted, newcomers were more influential when teams had been assigned rather than chosen their initial strategy and had subsequently failed rather than succeeded. Although newcomers are often portrayed as passive recipients of influence, this study identifies conditions under which they can function as influence agents.