cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How can we better inform our patients about post-heart transplantation survival? A conditional survival analysis.

Background Conditional survival (CS) is a dynamic method of survival analysis that provides an estimate of how an individual's future survival probability changes based on time post-transplant, individual characteristics, and post-transplant events. This study sought to provide post-transplant CS probabilities for heart transplant recipients based on different prognostic variables and provide a discussion tool for the providers and the patients. Methods Adult heart transplant recipients from January 1, 2004, through October 18, 2018, were identified in the UNOS registry. CS probabilities were calculated using data from Kaplan-Meier survival estimates. Results CS probability exceeded actuarial survival probability at all times post-transplant. Women had similar short-term, but greater long-term CS than men at all times post-transplant (10-year CS 1.8-11.5% greater [95% CI 1.2-12.9]). Patients with ECMO or a surgical BiVAD had decreased survival at the time of transplant, but their CS was indistinguishable from all others by 1-year post-transplant. Rejection and infection requiring hospitalization during the first year were associated with a persistently decreased CS probability. Conclusions In this study, we report differential conditional survival outcomes based on time, patient characteristics, and clinical events post-transplant, providing a dynamic assessment of survival. The survival probabilities will better inform patients and clinicians of future outcomes.
Acutely increased workload is correlated with significant injuries among national basketball association players

BackgroundParticularly at the level of professional athletics, injury prevention is of critical importance. We hypothesized that elevated in-game statistics over a period of 3-10 games places incre...
Endovascular Treatment of Intracranial Stenosis and Vasospasm

This chapter discusses techniques for intracranial angioplasty and stenting for atherosclerotic arterial stenosis, and angioplasty and intra-arterial drug infusion for cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal SAH. Complication avoidance and management are covered.
Abstract 14717: Endocrine Mechanisms against Ischemic Cardiomyocyte Calcification

Myocardial infarction causes cardiomyocyte calcification or deposition of hydroxyapatite crystals, structures disrupting cardiomyocytes and intensifying myocardial injury. While cardiomyocyte calcification is well recognized, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive and few treatment strategies have been established. Here, we test the hypotheses that annexins (ANXs), intracellular Ca++ carriers associated with the plasma membrane, contribute to ischemic cardiomyocyte calcification and the endocrine protein trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) is upregulated and released from the liver in ischemic myocardial injury, protecting ischemic cardiomyocytes from annexin-dependent calcification. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in 129s1/sv Imj mice caused translocation of ANXs A2, A3, A4, A5, and A7 from the cardiomyocyte membrane to α actin filaments in association with hydroxyapatite deposition to α actin filaments prior to cardiomyocyte death from 1 to 10 days. siRNA-mediated silencing of the ANX A2, A3, A4, A5, and A...
Route compaction for directional route discovery in MANETs

Route discovery in reactive routing protocols for MANETs use flooding to disseminate route requests. Such operations rely on MAC level broadcasts to reach all nearby nodes without prior knowledge of their identity. For networks with directional antennas, this creates the following challenge: only neighbors in omni-directional range are discovered, leading to long paths and suboptimal operation. To address this problem sweeping directional MAC broadcasts are often used. Sweeping broadcasts have a high overhead; in addition, we observe that they can cause suboptimal route discovery, especially under high loads. To address these shortcomings, we propose a new directional route discovery approach called route compaction. Route compaction relies on enhanced version of omni-directional route discovery to find paths, avoiding the problems with sweeping broadcast. Route compaction then attempts to compact routes by replacing multiple hops with a single directional hop whenever possible. Our experiments show that this approach provides excellent directional route discovery capability at a lower overhead than sweeping broadcast.
Directing the Winds of Change: Using Organizational Culture to Reform Indigent Defense

The single-most important factor to an organization's success is the cultural environment that defines it. Business schools have taught future business leaders this lesson for twenty-five years. While business leaders have worked to manage the culture of their corporations, leaders in the indigent defense arena have often failed to understand the concept of culture. As a result, rather than public defenders defining the culture of indigent defense, the culture of indigent defense has defined the public defender, most often to the detriment of the client. In few places was this more apparent than in Pre-Katrina New Orleans. This article looks at indigent defense in Pre-Katrina New Orleans and argues that cultural factors were largely responsible for an exceedingly low standard of representation provided to indigent defendants there. It then looks to lessons that can be gleaned from business, sociology, and anthropology regarding the importance of culture to the success of an organization and explores a theory of cultural transformation. Finally, using hypothetical scenarios based on the Pre-Katrina experience, this article applies organizational culture theory to suggest methods to overcome the cultural crisis facing indigent defense nationally.
Throughput gains with limited feedback in cooperative relay networks

In this work, we consider delay-constrained systems in cooperative relay networks, and derive methods to maximize the throughput when a limited feedback link to the transmitter nodes exist. We derive the optimal rate control policy, and show that with just a few hits of feedback, most of the gains of the perfect feedback rate control policy are achievable. We maximize the throughput for popular methods of transmission in a network such as relaying, routing, and direct transmission. It is observed that for a finite rate of feedback, the throughput maximizing outage probability can be relatively high. This suggests using higher rate codes, and allowing some outages in an effort to increase the overall throughput. Interestingly, for large average power constraints, power control is unnecessary to maximize the throughput. On the other hand, for small average power constraints, we show that power control is more important than rate control.
A study of intraoral radiographic errors made by dental students.

Abstract Individual evaluation of 5,578 periapical radiographs made by seventy-two dental students revealed 47 per cent technical errors when the students applied the bisecting-angle technique with a Snap-A-Ray film holder. Evaluation of 1,112 bitewing radiographs showed 48 per cent technical errors. When interpolated for a full-mouth survey, the average number of errors was 7.8 per full-mouth examination.
SU-FF-J-74: Validation of Bony Anatomy Based (2D-2D) Image Registration

Purpose:Image‐guided daily localization is becoming standard of care in radiation therapy. The purpose of this work is to validate the accuracy of bony landmarks based image‐registration of the Acculoc software, Isoloc's (v7.0). This provides daily patient localization ability on linear accelerators which don't have on‐board kV‐imager for 2D‐2D matching or cone‐beam CT.Methods and materials: The image‐registration accuracy can be compromised by the image quality. In order to test the bony anatomy based image‐registration accuracy, a blind study was conducted with two individuals; first person to off‐set the anthropomorphic phantom and the second person for alignments. Anthropomorphic phantoms representing head‐and‐neck, thorax and pelvis were used in this study. All three phantoms were CT‐scanned and treatment plans were generated using Pinnacle (v8.0). Orthogonal {anterior‐posterior (AP) and right‐lateral (RLAT)} setup beams were added for each isocenter and digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) were generated for each beam. At the treatment machine, both AP and RLAT portal images were obtained using Portal‐Vision software. Portal images and their respective DRRs were imported into the Isoloc software for the alignments. Several blind translational off‐sets followed by the image‐registration were made for each site. Furthermore, in order to simulate obese patients, the pelvic phantom was wrapped with around 10 cm bolus and checked the accuracy of the software to align the phantom based on bony landmarks. Results: The image quality was acceptable for all three sites and we were able to align the head and neck phantom with ±2 mm accuracy in each direction. Accuracy for aligning thorax and pelvis phantoms were within ±3 mm. Conclusion: 2D image‐registration based on bony landmarks using Isoloc 7.0 software has been validated and the image‐registration accuracy was found to be within ±3 mm.
Determinants of dental service utilization among 2 to 11-year-old California children.

Objective The 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) was designed to elicit population-based estimates about health care access and insurance coverage. This study aimed to determine factors associated with dental service utilization among children ages 2 to 11 years in California. Methods CHIS was a random digit dialing telephone survey. Interviews were conducted with the adult in the household that was most knowledgeable about the child's care, and information was collected on the child's last dental visit. Results Data on dental visits were collected on 10,569 children ages 2-11 years. In 2001, 73.5 (+/- 0.6)% of children had a dental visit, 58.2 (+/- 0.6)% a preventive dental visit, while 18.3 (+/- 0.5)% had never visited the dentist. Nearly 1 million children had never visited the dentist, primarily children ages 2-5 years. Overall, 76.3 (+/- 0.6)% of children had dental insurance. Children with a past-year dental visit were likely to be school age, insured and from high-income households. Other predictors of utilization were the responding adult's age and educational attainment. Conclusion Dental service utilization is determined by a mix of parental, child and household factors.
Joining and Processing in Engineering Ceramics to Metallic Materials, in Biomorphic SiC Ceramics, and in Bioactive and Bioinert Ceramics

The need for improved efficiency in energy producing processes requires utilization and development of new advanced ceramic materials. Such materials must be capable to withstand considerably higher temperatures in more demanding environments. Moreover, many of these components cannot be built as large monolithic pieces or complex shapes; they can only be fabricated by joining smaller pieces together. Under certain circumstances some joints include dissimilar materials. The joints must also be capable to resist these stringent conditions. Joints fabricated using metallic filler materials, can only be bonded if the liquid metal reacts with the ceramic substrate, but the extent of these reactions will impact the quality and performance of the joint. Silicon carbide brazes produced with CuAgSnTi filler metal foils showed that the higher the processing temperature the greater the ceramic/metal interaction and the greater the tendency for the ceramic substrate to degrade. However when ceramic joints are made with compatible filler materials do not show degradation.
Homology and heterochrony: the evolutionary embryologist Gavin Rylands de beer (1899–1972)

The evolutionary embryologist Gavin Rylands de Beer can be viewed as one of the forerunners of modern evolutionary developmental biology in that he posed crucial questions and proposed relevant answers about the causal relationship between ontogeny and phylogeny. In his developmental approach to the phylogenetic phenomenon of homology, he emphasized that homology of morphological structures is to be identified neither with the sameness of the underlying developmental processes nor with the homology of the genes that are involved in the development of the structures. De Beer's work on developmental evolution focused on the notion of heterochrony, arguing that paedomorphosis increases morphological evolvability and is thereby an important mode of evolution that accounts for the origin of many taxa, including higher taxa. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 306B, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Commentary: The Rationale for an International Liposome Society

AbstractThere is a considerable interest in establishing a liposome society for enhancing the scholarly exchange within our field, and with scientists in other relevant disciplines. In this respect we consider liposomes as a field of interest that includes a variety of lipid assemblies including stabilized emulsions, DNA-cationic lipid complexes, lipid micelles, as well as the lipid bilayer bounded particles referred to as liposomes. In this article I will develop the rationale for forming such a society.
X-ray structure refinement of CsHSO4 in phase II

An accurate room temperature structure refinement of CsHSO_4 in phase II, the thermodynamically stable phase at temperatures below 414 K, is reported. The compound is monoclinic, space group P2_1/c, with lattice parameters a = 7.781(2), b = 8.147(2), c = 7.722(2) A, and β = 110.78(1) °, as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. There are four formula units per unit cell and seven atoms in the asymmetric unit. The compound, comprised of zigzag chains of SO_4 groups alternating with zigzag rows of Cs atoms, is isostructural to CsDSO_4 A.V. Belushkin, W.I.F. David, R.M. Ibberson, L.A. Shuvalov, Acta Crystallogr. B 47 (1991) 161-166. The single, crystallographically distinct proton forms a "symmetry-free" hydrogen bond between O(1) and O(2). The S-O bond lengths are consistent with the presence of this bond. The hydrogen bond geometries in the protonated and deuterated compounds are within experimental error of one another, after taking due account of the difference in proton (or deuterium atom) positions as measured by X-ray and neutron diffraction.
Retzius cells retain functional membrane properties following ablation by the neurotoxin 5,7-DHT

Abstract The neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) is generally believed to selectively ablate serotonergic neurons. Serotonin-containing Retzius cells (RZ) in the leech appear ablated by 5,7-DHT treatment. However, these brown, mis-shapen, non-fluorescent neurons retain their synaptic inputs, action potentials, electronic outputs, a membrane receptor, and axonal projections.
Normokinesia adjacent to left ventricular aneurysm: a differential risk for sudden cardiac death.

Background: Following myocardial infarction, the ejection fraction (EF) is an indiscriminate predictor of both non-sudden cardiac death (NSCD) and sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, development of a left ventricular aneurysm (LVA) confers independent risk only for SCD. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that mechanical factors, other than the global left ventricular performance, are causally related to SCD in the presence of LVA. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted from a longitudinal, prospective, long-term follow-up cohort study of 66 patients with LVA (diastolic eccentricity and systolic dyskinesia) diagnosed by ventriculography. The left ventricular contour was divided into five segments and contractility scores for the residual myocardium and the segments adjacent to the aneurysm were allocated along with assessment of the EF. A normal adjacent segment was considered present when at least one segment adjacent to the aneurysm exhibited normokinesia. Presence of ventricular tachycardia was documented by Holter recording. Results: At a 5.2-year median follow-up, there were 12 NSCD and 8 SCD. The EF was lower among patients who died vs. survivors (31.5% vs. 39.7%, P-0.01). Patients with NSCD and SCD, exhibited similar EF but disparate residual contractility scores (3.0 vs. 4.1, P<0.004). Among cardiac deaths, a decreasing residual contractility score differentially predicted NSCD (odds ratio-17.06, P<0.03), while a normokinetic adjacent segment differentially predicted SCD (odds ratio-21, P<0.02). Albeit a predictor of both NSCD and SCD, ventricular tachycardia increased markedly the model significance (P<0.004) only when tested with a normokinetic adjacent segment vis-a-vis SCD. Conclusions: In the presence of LVA, the contractility of the non-aneurysmal myocardium is a differential predictor of death from pump failure. In contrast, a normal segment adjacent to LVA constitutes an independent and discriminate predictor of SCD, possibly through an arrhythmic substrate linked to the motion discordance between the expanding aneurysm and a normokinetic adjacent myocardium.
A general failure criterion for spot welds under combined loading conditions

Abstract The circumferential failure mode of spot welds is investigated under combined loading conditions. Failure mechanisms of spot welds under different loading conditions are first examined by the experimental observations and a plane stress finite element analysis. An approximate limit load analysis for spot welds is then conducted to understand the failure loads of spot welds under combinations of resultant forces and resultant moments with consideration of the global equilibrium conditions only. The approximate limit load solution for circumferential failure is expressed in terms of sheet thickness, nugget diameter and combinations of loads. Failure contours are generated for spot welds under opening and shear loading conditions. The results indicate that failure contours become smaller when the ratio of the sheet thickness to the nugget diameter increases. Based on the approximate limit load solution, a general quadratic failure criterion for spot welds under combined three resultant forces and three resultant moments is proposed with correction factors determined by fitting to the experimental results of spot welds under combined loading conditions. The failure criterion can be used to characterize the failure loads of spot welds with consideration of the effects of sheet thickness, nugget diameter and combinations of loads. Experimental spot weld failure loads under combined opening and shear loading conditions and those under combined shear and twisting loading conditions are shown to be characterized well by the proposed failure criterion. Finally, a simplified general failure criterion for spot welds under three resultant forces and three resultant moments is proposed by neglecting the coupling terms of the resultant forces and moments for convenient use of the failure criterion for engineering applications.
The engineer and the clinician: Understanding the work output and troubleshooting of the HeartMate II rotary flow pump

The HeartMate II (Thoratec, Pleasanton, Calif) left ventricular assist device has been implanted in more than 10,000 patients worldwide. It has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for both destination and bridge-totransplant therapy. The design has changed from the original HeartMate XVE, a volume-displacement (VD) pump, to the current continuous, axial, and rotary pump. The pump has a high-speed, axially oriented, impeller with a helical vane geometry driven by a 3-phase, direct current electrical motor. Device flows are not measured directly but rather are inferred from pump speed and pump power consumption according to the known relationship among speed, power, and flow. Clinicians are accustomed to thinking in terms of the human heart, a VD pump. The heart converts the chemical energy of adenosine triphosphate into mechanical energy at the level of the sarcomere. The muscle contracts, generating pressure work (work 1⁄4 pressure [P] 3 change in volume [dV]/change in time [dT]). VD pumps generate pressure and thus flow in inverse proportion to the vascular resistance. As resistance increases, cardiac work increases. In contrast, in a rotary pump (whether axial or centrifugal), as resistance increases, the work (and hence power [power 1⁄4 work/time]) decreases. This seems paradoxical to a clinician who envisions the pump ‘‘pushing against resistance’’ and therefore, similar to a VD pump, doing more work. This concept is incorrect, but to an engineer, the fact that decreased flow means less work is intuitive. The trouble-shooting algorithms for the HeartMate II are determined from an analysis of pump power (consumption) and speed. Therefore, a more intuitive understanding of rotary flow pump dynamics is needed. Wewill attempt to clarify the differences between VD and rotary flow (RF) pumps with respect to fluid dynamics and work. VD pumps are particularly good at generating pressure against resistance. Examples include the Abiomed 5000 left ventricular assist device, the original HeartMate XVE (which generated the data for the Randomized Evaluation
Imperial Mobility: The Colonial Worlds of Sir Anthony and Lady Jeanie Musgrave

Mobility—of people, products, and capital—is a common trope of the contemporary globalized world. Yet, mobility is not only a current phenomenon, but has an integral role in the constitution of past empires. In particular, the governance of empire requires the mobility of administrators and their families: people who, in the service of empire, travel between metropole and periphery, and even more typically, in the multiple circuits between peripheries. The life of Sir Anthony Musgrave, a colonial administrator who served in posts in the Caribbean, Canada, South Africa, and Australia, exemplifies the movement which empire demands. In their travels around the British world of the late nineteenth century, the Musgraves—Sir Anthony, his American-born wife Lady Jeanie, and their three sons—engaged with empire in ways both physical and conceptual. In this essay, I explore how the Musgraves’ mobility contributed to a sense of overlapping colonial worlds that were supported and challenged by the rise of communica...
Rubber elasticity models for finite element analysis

Abstract The existence of multiple solutions in the problems of rubber elasticity of Mooney-Rivlin type is discussed for pure homogeneous deformations. The problems of a cube under symmetrical loading and a sheet under symmetrical biaxial loads, in the states of plane stress and plane strain, are analyzed and the stability of the solutions is analytically investigated. A finite element solution to the plane stress problem of a sheet is also presented and it is shown that, under symmetric load, the nonsymmetric mode of deformations can be obtained by perturbation of the symmetric loading. The plane strain problem of a sheet of nearly incompressible material is also analyzed.
De novo acute myeloid leukemia with monocytoid blasts and erythrophagocytosis

Key Clinical Message Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8:16) is an infrequent acute leukemia subtype. It can occur de novo or more frequently therapy-related. The presence of blasts with monocytoid morphology and erythrophagocytosis suggest the presence of the t(8;16).
Fe/Pd second-order superlattices

Abstract We report the structural and magnetic properties of a new class of Fe/Pd second-order superlattices, formed by alternating two bilayers with different repeat periods. Chemical and structural characterization were obtained using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and several x-ray diffraction techniques, respectively. The properties of the collective spin wave spectrum were studied by Brillouin scattering.
Relationship of College Attendance to Personality Characteristics and Earlier Delinquent Behavior

Follow-Up studies of 4,000 children tested with the MMPI in the ninth grade indicate that severity of delinquency and frequency in its occurrence are notably less among those who went on to college; that there is a marked difference in means and variances of the MMPI scales between the college group and those who dropped out of school or did not go on to college; and that the mean MMPI scale scores that discriminate the college group from the noncontinuing group are higher, in general, for the latter.
Evolution of CC chemokines in teleost fish: a case study in gene duplication and implications for immune diversity

Chemokines are a superfamily of cytokines responsible for regulating cell migration under both inflammatory and physiological conditions. CC chemokines are the largest subfamily of chemokines, with 28 members in humans. A subject of intense study in mammalian species, the known functional roles of CC chemokines ligands in both developmental and disease conditions continue to expand. They are also an important family for the study of gene copy number variation and tandem duplication in mammalian species. However, little is known regarding the evolutionary origin and status of these ligands in primitive vertebrates such as teleost fish. In this paper, we review the evolution of the teleost fish CC chemokine gene family, noting evidence of widespread tandem gene duplications and examining the implications of this phenomenon on immune diversity. Through extensive phylogenetic analysis of the CC chemokine sets of four teleost species, zebrafish, catfish, rainbow trout, and Atlantic salmon, we identified seven large groups of CC chemokines. It appeared that several major groups of CC chemokines are highly related including the CCL19/21/25 group, the CCL20 group, CCL27/28 group, and the fish-specific group. In the three remaining groups that contained the largest number of members, the CCL17/22 group, the MIP group, and the MCP group, similarities among species members were obscured by rapid, tandem duplications that may contribute to immune diversity.
Effects of Adsorbent Properties on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Line Widths of Adsorbates

Abstract An analytical NMR spectrometer has been used to measure line widths of molecules adsorbed on silica so as to investigate the capabilities and limitations of such measurements. Comparisons of line widths with transverse relaxation times (T 2) for the same samples showed that the observed resonance lines were inhomogeneously broadened. Consequently, line widths are not a reliable way of obtaining T 2 values or activation energies. The porosity of silica appeared to be an important factor governing adsorbate line widths, the narrowest lines being observed with adsorbents having the largest pore diameters. The narrow resonance lines observed for molecules adsorbed at low coverages on pyrogenic silica have been attributed to the nonporous surface, small particle size, and high purity of that adsorbent. Broadening of lines at high surface coverages on pyrogenic silica appeared to be due to slow exchange of molecules between surface and bulk states having different chemical shifts. Potential application...
Grassland responses to three years of elevated temperature, CO2, precipitation, and N deposition

Global climate and atmospheric changes may interact in their effects on the diversity and composition of natural communities. We followed responses of an annual grassland to three years of all possible combinations of experimentally elevated CO 2 (1300 mL/L), warming (180 W/m 2 , 1;18C), nitrogen deposition (17 g N·m 22 ·yr 21 ), and precip- itation (150%). Responses of the 10 most common plant species to global changes and to interannual variability were weak but sufficiently consistent within functional groups to drive clearer responses at the functional group level. The dominant functional groups (annual grasses and forbs) showed distinct production and abundance responses to individual global changes. After three years, N deposition suppressed plant diversity, forb production, and forb abundance in association with enhanced grass production. Elevated precipitation en- hanced plant diversity, forb production, and forb abundance but affected grasses little. Warming increased forb production and abundance but did not strongly affect diversity or grass response. Elevated CO2 reduced diversity with little effect on relative abundance or production of forbs and grasses. Realistic combinations of global changes had small di- versity effects but more marked effects on the relative dominance of forbs and grasses. The largest change in relative functional group abundance (150% forbs) occurred under the combination of elevated CO2 1 warming 1 precipitation, which will likely affect much of California in the future. Strong interannual variability in diversity, individual species abundances, and functional group abundances indicated that in our system, (1) responses after three years were not constrained by lags in community response, (2) individual species were more sensitive to interannual variability and extremes than to mean changes in en- vironmental and resource conditions, and (3) simulated global changes interacted with interannual variability to produce responses of varying magnitude and even direction among years. Relative abundance of forbs, the most speciose group in the community, ranged after three years from .30% under elevated CO2 1 warming 1 precipitation to ,12% under N deposition. While opposing production responses at the ecosystem level by different func- tional groups may buffer responses such as net primary production (NPP) change, these shifts in relative dominance could influence ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling and NPP via differences between grasses and forbs in tissue chemistry, allocation, phe- nology, and productivity.
A Comparison of Preservice Elementary Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics and Teaching Mathematics: 1968 and 1998.

The study replicates Collier's (1972) work. It focuses on the beliefs of a large sample of elementary education students at four stages of teacher preparation, about both the nature of and the teaching of mathematics. The instrument measures what Collier termed a “formal-informal” dimension of belief. The data suggest that initially the 1998 students held significantly more informal (constructivist) beliefs than did their 1968 counterparts. In both years, students moved toward more informal beliefs during the course of their programs, with the most significant changes occurring in their beliefs about how mathematics should be taught. However, apparent contradictions in belief structures were observed both at the start and at the end of their programs. Thus, it appears that though many students acquired new, more informal beliefs during the course of their programs, they did not develop robust, consistent philosophies of mathematics education.
Identification of two forms of progesterone receptor from chick oviduct cytosol using non-denaturing gel electrophoresis☆

Non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and non-denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis have been used to resolve [3H]R5020-binding components from chick oviduct cytosol. From both gel systems 2 peaks of bound radioactivity are resolved which display these properties of authentic progesterone receptor: binding of R5020: steroid specificity, saturability, and restriction to target tissues. The two peaks are approximately equal in magnitude, and there is no evidence for interconversion of the 2 peaks. The presence or absence of 10-20 mM sodium molybdate during cytosol preparation had no effect on the magnitude or mobility of either peak. Neither peak contains salt-dissociable components which affect its electrophoretic properties, suggesting a possible alteration of native receptor forms during electrophoresis.
Agonistic behaviour influenced by strangeness, crowding and heredity in female domestic fowl (Gallus gallus)☆

Abstract Effects of strangeness, crowding and heredity on agonistic behaviour in the female domestic fowl were investigated. Strains differentiated for social dominance ability within each of two breeds were used. Significant differences were found between flocks within strain-treatment groups for several criteria of agonistic behaviour, indicating a critical need for adequate replication in such studies. Strangeness and crowding were associated with higher frequencies of social interaction than found in socially undisturbed and uncrowded flocks. Results suggested, however, that individual rates of social interaction were reduced by crowding. Distances between nearest neighbours, compared to distances expected with random distribution, were greater for crowded than for uncrowded flocks. Social interaction frequencies and variances of social tension indexes were greater within socially dominant strains indicating higher levels of social stress. A large breed difference in behavioural response to changing flock membership was found. However, strains within breeds failed to show differential responses in social interaction frequency, when subjected to changing flock membership or crowding.
In vivo functional analysis of the Dicistroviridae intergenic region internal ribosome entry sites

Some viral and cellular messages use an alternative mechanism to initiate protein synthesis that involves internal recruitment of the ribosome to an internal ribosome entry site (IRES). The Dicistroviridae intergenic regions (IGR) have been studied as model IRESs to understand the mechanism of IRES-mediated translation. In this study, the in vivo activity of IGR IRESs were compared. Our analysis demonstrates that Class I and II IGR IRESs have comparable translation efficiency in yeast and that Class II is significantly more active in mammalian cells. Furthermore, while Class II IGR IRES activity was enhanced in yeast grown at a higher temperature, temperature did not affect IGR IRES activity in mammalian cells. This suggests that Class II IRESs may not function optimally with yeast ribosomes. Examination of chimeric IGR IRESs, established that the IRES strength and temperature sensitivity are mediated by the ribosome binding domain. In addition, the sequence of the first translated codon is also an important determinant of IRES activity. Our findings provide us with a comprehensive overview of IGR IRES activities and allow us to begin to understand the differences between Classes I and II IGR IRESs.
Recent advances of conductive adhesives as a lead-free alternative in electronic packaging: Materials, processing, reliability and applications

Abstract Tin–lead solder alloys are widely used in the electronic industry. They serve as interconnects that provide the conductive path required to achieve connection from one circuit element to another. There are increasing concerns with the use of tin–lead alloy solders in recognition of hazards of using lead. Lead-free solders and electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) have been considered as the most promising alternatives of tin-lead solder. ECAs consist of a polymeric resin (such as, an epoxy, a silicone, or a polyimide) that provides physical and mechanical properties such as adhesion, mechanical strength, impact strength, and a metal filler (such as, silver, gold, nickel or copper) that conducts electricity. ECAs offer numerous advantages over conventional solder technology, such as environmental friendliness, mild processing conditions (enabling the use of heat-sensitive and low-cost components and substrates), fewer processing steps (reducing processing cost), low stress on the substrates, and fine pitch interconnect capability (enabling the miniaturization of electronic devices). Therefore, conductive adhesives have been used in liquid crystal display (LCD) and smart card applications as an interconnect material and in flip–chip assembly, chip scale package (CSP) and ball grid array (BGA) applications in replacement of solder. However, no currently commercialized ECAs can replace tin–lead metal solders in all applications due to some challenging issues such as lower electrical conductivity, conductivity fatigue (decreased conductivity at elevated temperature and humidity aging or normal use condition) in reliability testing, limited current-carrying capability, and poor impact strength. Considerable research has been conducted recently to study and optimize the performance of ECAs, such as electrical, mechanical and thermal behaviors improvement as well as reliability enhancement under various conditions. This review article will discuss the materials, applications and recent advances of electrically conductive adhesives as an environmental friendly solder replacement in the electronic packaging industry.
Mapping of impact and heat transfer regimes of water drops impinging on a polished surface

Still and high-speed photographic techniques were used to record the impact behavior of water droplets on a hot aluminum surface. Drop velocity and surface temperature were two important parameters governing both the impact behavior and ensuing heat transfer. Droplet Weber numbers of 20, 60 and 220 identified three major classes of impact behavior, while surface temperatures ranging from 280 to 100°C were used to define heat transfer regimes corresponding to film boiling, transition boiling, nucleate boiling, and film evaporation. Temperatures corresponding to the critical heat flux and the Leidenfrost point showed little sensitivity to both droplet velocity and impact frequency. The photographic results and heat transfer measurements were used to construct droplet impact regime maps which identify the various boiling regimes for each of the three Weber numbers. These maps serve as a new useful foundation for understanding droplet impact behavior as well as future analytical or numerical modeling of droplet and spray heat transfer.
A bidirectional enhancer cloning vehicle for higher plants

We have constructed an enhancer cloning vehicle for higher plants, which is based on Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA-mediated transformation of Nicotiana tabacum leaf disk segments. The binary vector plasmid, pROA97, contains two genes in a divergent transcription pattern, which are separated by a unique Bg/II cloning site. Both genes carry abbreviated TATA regions from the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter region. The neomycin phosphotransferase (NPT II) gene is used as a selectable marker in callus tissue cultured cells. Expression from the other gene encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS) can be monitored in regenerated plant tissues by fluorimetric and histochemical assays. Here we describe the transformation properties of the empty vector and control constructs with either the 35S enhancer or the nopaline synthetase promoter region inserted into the unique Bg/II site. A construct carrying the 35 S − 46 to + 8 TATA region is incapable of allowing callus production on selectable media; a construct carrying the 35 S −90 to + 8 TATA region linked to the NPT II gene coding sequence is sufficient to give transformed callus cells and regenerated transgenic plants. There is a high correlation between expression levels of the two genes in this bidirectional system. The vectors were designed so that the enhancer sequences could be rescued from the plant genome by a rapid marker rescue protocol.
Video-rate near-infrared optical tomography using spectrally encoded parallel light delivery

A novel parallel source implementation approach to near-infrared tomography is demonstrated through spectral encoding of the light delivery. This new technique allows many sources to be input into the tissue at the same time, and a high-resolution spectrometer is used to spatially spread out the signals from each spectrally encoded source. The parallel sampling of all sources at all detection locations renders rapid imaging. Acquisition of complete tomographic data sets at a video rate of 35? frames?s is achieved for imaging of a 6.35 mm diameter inclusion with an absorption coefficient of 0.01?mm?1 and a reduced scattering coefficient of 1.5?mm?1 that is moving along a circular path inside a 1% Intralipid solution.
Neutrinos, supernovae, molybdenum, and extinct 92Nb

Abstract Alpha-rich freezeouts in matter near the mass cut in supernovae, aided by neutrino-induced reactions, can strongly produce the light p-isotopes 92,94 Mo, whose provenance is currently not well understood. If such alpha-rich freezeouts are responsible for the bulk of the solar system's supply of these isotopes, then they also robustly produce radioactive 92 Nb, which would lead to a steady-state ratio of 92 Nb 93 Nb in the interstellar medium higher than inferred to have been present in the early solar system. Such a result would place 92 Nb in the same category as the short-lived r-process chronometers 107 Pd, 129 I, and 244 Pu, which were also less abundant in the early solar system than steady-state expectations would suggest.
Effect of dietary phytic acid and cadmium on the availability of cadmium, zinc, copper, iron, and manganese to rats.

The main route of cadmium intake for general population, both human and animal, is via ingestion. The intestinal absorption of cadmium is relatively low, 6% of a single oral dose for humans and less than 2% for various animal species. However, due to poor excretion, accumulation of cadmium occurs, primarily in kidney. The chronic exposure even to low levels of dietary cadmium can lead to the development of renal disturbances. Fox (1988) suggests that phytic acid might be a dietary component capable to influence the intestinal absorption of cadmium. Phytic acid naturally occurs as the major phosphorus storage constituent of most cereals, legumes, and oilseeds. At physiological pH, phytic acid is ionized and has a strong affinity for divalent cations. The potential of phytic acid to decrease the availability of Zn has been for long time of concern for nutritionists. Phytic acid has also been reported to decrease the availability of other trace metals. For nonessential elements, reduced availability of lead has been observed. The experimental data concerning the effect of dietary phytic acid on the availability of dietary cadmium are limited to the work of Rose and Quarterman (1984). The objective of this experiment was to examine: (1) themore » effect of dietary phytic acid on the availability of cadmium under conditions of chronic dietary exposure of rats to cadmium, and (2) the effect of dietary phytic acid and of chronic dietary exposure to cadmium on the availability of zinc, copper, iron, and manganese to rats. 19 refs., 4 tabs.« less
Nanoscale biosensor chip

In this report, we demonstrate a nanoscale biosensor required for in field and fast detection. This sensor utilizes the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) property of the gold nanorods of aspect ratio 5 to amplify the bio detection whose response is captured by three different photodiodes fabricated by the TSMC 0.18µm. Pinned photodiode yielded 176% and 80% higher response current than N+ diffusion/ P substrate (N+/psub) and N well/P substrate (NW/psub) diodes respectively. However NW/psub diode exhibited 1.5 and 6.7 times more sensitivity to 20nm shift in gold nanorod spectrum when compared to pinned and N+/psub diodes respectively.
Chemical effects on the activity of eight enzymes: A review and a discussion relevant to environmental monitoring

Abstract The effects of selected water pollutants and other chemicals on the activity of eight enzymes (in vitro) are summarized. The information may give insight into the mechanism of action of toxic chemicals and have application in the development of a rapid screening procedure involving enzymes as biomonitors in analyzing water quality.
A Charged-Particle Scintillation Spectrometer with Large Geometric Factor

A charged particle scintillation spectrometer with a geometric factor of 350 cm2 sr has been built and flown in polar orbit aboard the Air Force STP 72-1(1972-076B) Satellite. The primary purpose of the sensor is to measure low-intensity solar proton fluxes over the polar caps, in the energy range of 1-15 MeV. Incorporated in the circuitry is a pulse-shape discrimination scheme enabling the instrument to differentiate between protons and electrons. A second pulse shape discriminator prevents analysis of signals produced by particles which penetrate the primary (CsI (T1) Scintillator and produce light in a backing layer of fast scintillating plastic.
Constitutional Negotiations Political Contexts of Judicial Activism in Post-Soviet Europe

This chapter examines how and why constitutional courts have become such an important part of the political landscape in modern democratic regimes by focusing on two new constitutional courts. Since the changes of 1989 (in East Central Europe) and 1991 (in the former Soviet Union), law has changed immensely in the countries formerly governed by socialist legality. In both Hungary and Russia, strong forms of judicial activism have apparently met somewhat different fates. The first law passed by the first post-Communist parliament in Hungary extended the statute of limitations for all crimes not prosecuted in the Soviet time, for political reasons, and was named after its sponsors Zsolt Zetenyi and Imre Takacs. In Yeltsin’s eyes, the Russian Constitutional Court persistently sided with the Communist-controlled parliament against the reform-minded president. The court's need for delimitations comes from limitations on its powers built into the Constitutional Court Act of 1994.Keywords: Hungarian constitutional court; Imre Takacs; judicial activism; modern democratic regime; political reconstruction; post-soviet Europe; Russian Constitutional Court; Yeltsin; Zsolt Zetenyi
Ultramicrotomy: A unique method for preparation of composite solder for transmission electron microscopy

Ultramicrotomy was successfully implemented for sectioning solder/Cu and composite solder/Cu samples for TEM. Solder/Cu joints, approximately 10 mm by 2 mm by 3 mm, were carbon coated and dipped in cyanoacrylate ester before being embedded into an epoxy mount. The mounted samples were trimmed in a series of steps to obtain a pyramid-shaped, embedded sample with a flat, trapezoidal face of exposed metal for sectioning. Thin sections were sliced directly from the bulk sample using an ultramicrotome and a diamond knife. Once sectioned, the samples were placed on Formvar and carbon coated copper grids for examination by TEM. Solder/Cu joints made with eutectic (63Sn/37Pb) solder and several composite solders, including Cu, Ni, and Cu6Sn5, were examined. For the first time, it was possible to image simultaneously each phase in the material using a single TEM sample. The various phases present in the solder joints, including the Pb-rich and Sn-rich solder phases, the Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn intermetallic phases, and Cu were identified using selected area electron diffraction. Artifacts due to sectioning, such as knife marks, intermetallic tearing, and brittle phase extraction, were observed. These artifacts were minimized by controlling the sectioning conditions.
Random and fixed two-trial sequences of reward magnitudes

Albino rats were trained in a straight runway for 110 days, two trials/day, with an inter-trial interval of 3-5 min. One trial each day ended in large reward (10 standard Noyes pellets for one group, 1 ml of 30% sucrose solution for another) and the other trial ended with small reward (1 pellet or 3% sucrose). The daily sequence of reward magnitudes, either small-large (SL) or large-small (LS), was determined by pseudorandom orders, so that a block of 8 days contained 4 SL and 4 LS days. For 20 days following this random-sequence training, all rats received fixed sequences, always SL or always LS, with the same reward type (standard pellets or sucrose solutions) as that used during random-sequence training. Differential running for different reward magnitudes (patterning) did not develop during random-sequence training with either reward type. The fixed-sequence training generated patterning on Trial 2 but not on Trial 1. The data are discussed in the light of several possible sources of the stimulus control of patterning, and implications of the data for a sequential account of the successive negative contrast effect are briefly considered.