cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microbial Symbionts: A Potential Bio-Boom

The large and rapidly growing human population and climatic changes are challenges for world food security. For human food security, a significant increase in crop production is needed to avoid humanitarian crises in the future. In modern history, significant increasesin crop production have been achieved via agrochemicals, classical breeding and genetically modified crops. However, based on progress achieved by these methods, further significant increases in crop production will require both current and novel multi disciplinary approaches. Microbial symbionts have great potential to help increase crop production to meet future demand. Microbial symbionts in crop production are a safe and sustainable technology that will be heavily incorporated in future agricultural systems. This review highlights briefly the role of various methods used to improve crop productivity and the possible role of microorganisms in agriculture.
Turbine blade fixture design using kinematic methods and genetic algorithms

The design of fixtures for turbine blades is a difficult problem even for experience toolmakers. Turbine blades are characterized by complex 3D surfaces, high performance materials that are difficult to manufacture, close tolerance finish requirements, and high precision machining accuracy. Tool designers typically rely on modified designs based on experience, but have no analytical tools to guide or even evaluate their designs. This paper examines the application of kinematic algorithms to the design of six-point-nest, seventh-point-clamp datum transfer fixtures for turbine blade production. The kinematic algorithms, based on screw coordinate theory, are computationally intensive. When used in a blind search mode the time required to generate an actual design is unreasonable. In order to reduce the computation time, the kinematic methods are combined with genetic algorithms and a set of heuristic design rules to guide the search. The kinematic, genetic, and heuristic methods were integrated within a fixture design module as part of the Unigraphics CAD system used by Pratt and Whitney. The kinematic design module was used to generate a datum transfer fixture design for a standard production turbine blade. This design was then used to construct an actual fixture, and compared to the existing production fixture for the same part. The positional accuracy of both designs was compared using a coordinate measurement machine (CMM). Based on the CMM data, the observed variation of kinematic design was over two orders-of-magnitude less than for the production design resulting in greatly improved accuracy.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Computer Creativity in the Automatic Design of Robots

This article demonstrates the possibility that robotic systems can automatically design robots with complex morphologies and tightly adapted control systems at a low cost. These automatic designs are inspired by nature and achieved through an artificial coevolutionary process to adapt the bodies and brains of artificial life-forms simultaneously through interaction with a simulated reality. Through the use of rapid manufacturing, these evolved designs can be transferred from virtual to true reality. The artificial evolution process embedded in realistic physical simulation can create simple designs often recognizable from the history of biology or engineering. This paper provides a brief review of three generations of these robots, from automatically designed LEGO structures, through the GOLEM project of electromechanical systems based on “truss” structures, to new modular designs that make use of a generative, DNA-like representation.
Axisymmetric Inclusion in a Half Space

This new approach involves the application of the Hankel transformation method for the solution of prismatic dislocation loops and Eshelby's solution for ellipsoidal inclusions. Existing solutions by other methods for the inclusion with pure dilatational misfit in a half space are shown to be special cases of the present, more general solution
Lipoteichoic acid and M protein: dual adhesins of group A streptococci

The roles of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and M protein in the adherence of group A streptococci to human cells were investigated. Both M+ and M- streptococci bound to pharyngeal and buccal epithelial cells in similar numbers. Streptococcal attachment was inhibited by LTA, but not by the pepsin-extracted, amino-terminal half of M protein (pep M), suggesting that M protein does not mediate attachment to these cells. However, a purified, recombinant, intact M protein did block attachment of streptococci to buccal cells. Using synthetic peptides, the inhibitory domain was localized to a region of intact M protein that is within or near the bacterial cell wall. Evidence is presented to suggest that on the surface of streptococci this region of the M protein is probably not accessible for interactions with host cell receptors and that M protein does not mediate attachment to buccal or pharyngeal cells. In contrast, approximately 10-times more M+ streptococci bound to Hep-2 cells than did M- streptococci and pep M protein blocked binding of streptococci to Hep-2 cells. The data suggest that at least two streptococcal adhesins, LTA and M protein, are involved in the adherence of streptococci to certain cells and that the relative contributions of these adhesins to the attachment process depends on the type of host cells used to study adherence.
Functional equivalence between liquidity costs and the utility of money

We demonstrate a functional equivalence between using real balances as an argument of the utility function and entering money into liquidity costs which appear in the budget constraint. The liquidity costs can be approximately derived from conventional models of money demand, such as the transactions and precautionary models. We also propose a general class of liquidity cost functions and show an exact duality between it and a broad class of utility functions which include real balances. There is a tendency for the cross-derivative between real balances and the consumption good to be non-negative, though this result will not hold for utility functions which are sufficiently concave.
Assessment of soot particle vaporization effects during laser-induced incandescence with time-resolved light scattering.

Although laser-induced incandescence (LII) has been successfully used for soot volume fraction and particle size measurements, uncertainties remain regarding issues of soot vaporization leading to mass loss and morphological changes occurring in soot due to intense heating. Prompt LII detection schemes are often based on the assumption that the associated time scale is shorter than the time scale of soot vaporization or sublimation. The validity of such assumptions is the focus of the current study. Time-resolved light-scattering measurements were made in combination with LII measurements to quantify soot particle vaporization effects resulting from the LII laser pulse. The light-scattering measurements revealed a sharp decrease in total soot particle mass during the time course of the 25 ns full-width LII laser pulse for fluences in the range of 0.5 J/cm2. Light-scattering theory was used to invert the scattering data, revealing ≈80%–90% reductions in the soot particle volume for LII fluences of 0.47 and 0.61 J/cm2. In addition, the time-resolved scattering measurements show that the time scale of soot vaporization is completely confined to the LII laser pulse itself. Light scattering revealed no soot vaporization only for fluences of ∼0.1 J/cm2, which is consistent with recent work on low-fluence LII. Possible mechanisms for soot vaporization are discussed, notably for near-threshold fluences.
Towards a realistic testbed for wireless network reliability and security performance studies

This paper will describe our research on the creation of a wireless ad-hoc network testbed where ad hoc network applications can be tested in real radio environments. The testbed will be easy to use and modular enough to allow users to quickly adapt the testbed to their own use. To study and test 'reliability' performance, a light-weight transport protocol and an on-demand routing protocol will be built in the emulator, and ensure that its performance allows real tests to be carried out in real time. To study and test 'security' performance, a symmetric-key-based cryptology will be built in the emulation platform.
Molecular Determinants for Cyclic Nucleotide Binding to the Regulatory Domains of Phosphodiesterase 2A

Binding of cGMP to the GAF-B domain of phosphodiesterase 2A allosterically activates catalytic activity. We report here a series of mutagenesis studies on the GAF-B domain of PDE2A that support a novel mechanism for molecular recognition of cGMP. Alanine mutations of Phe-438, Asp-439, and Thr-488, amino acids that interact with the pyrimidine ring, decrease cGMP affinity slightly but increase cAMP affinity by up to 8-fold. Each interaction is required to provide for cAMP/cGMP specificity. Mutations of any of the residues that interact with the phosphate-ribose moiety or the imidazole ring abolish cGMP binding. Thus, residues that interact with the pyrimidine ring collectively control cAMP/cGMP specificity, whereas residues that bind the phosphate-ribose moiety and imidazole ring are critical for high affinity binding. Similar decreases in binding were found for mutations made in a bacterially expressed GAF-A/B plus catalytic domain construct. Because these constructs had very high catalytic activity, it appears that these mutations did not cause a global denaturation. The affinities of cAMP and cGMP for wild-type GAF-B alone were ∼4-fold greater than for the holoenzyme, suggesting that the presence of neighboring domains alters the conformation of GAF-B. More importantly, the PDE2A GAF-B, GAF-A/B, GAF-A/B+C domains, and holoenzyme all bind cGMP with much higher affinity than has previously been reported. This high affinity suggests that cGMP binding to PDE2 GAF-B activates the enzyme rapidly, stoichiometrically, and in an all or none fashion, rather than variably over a large range of cyclic nucleotide concentrations.
Examining methods used in extracting long-term thermospheric density trends

Abstract Numerous density trend studies have shown that thermospheric density is decreasing, and the declining trends were attributed to the increase of anthropogenic gas emissions in the lower atmosphere. Since solar variations are of much larger magnitude and on a time scale that is, relatively speaking, comparable to the time range of available data (~40 years), extracting the trends is not trivial. A model is constructed to investigate if the methods were effective to remove or minimize solar influences in their trend analysis. The phase and amplitude of the solar cycle and the time range of available data are the three parameters considered in our model. It is found that the amplitude of density variation due to solar influence affects the trend results the most and that the Difference and the Ratio method can deduce a reliable trend when there is small uncertainty or variation in the three parameters. Our error propagation analysis shows that the Ratio method would yield smaller propagated errors than the Difference method. We applied the two methods to deduce the trend in the mass densities derived from satellite drag measurements and found that they yielded the same trend. However, it is noted that the Difference method yielded a larger trend than the Ratio method when the first 100 data points were excluded. This indicates that data selection for trend analysis also affects the trend result.
Methylmercury inhibits dopaminergic function in rat pup synaptosomes in an age-dependent manner

Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmental neurotoxicant that is especially harmful during brain development. Previously, we found greater sensitivity to MeHg-induced oxidative stress and greater loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in synaptosomes from early postnatal rats than in synaptosomes from older rat pups and adults. Here, we determine whether MeHg exposure also leads to greater changes in dopamine (DA) levels and dopamine transporter (DAT) function in synaptosomes from early postnatal rats. We report that MeHg exposure leads to DAT inhibition, and increases the levels of released DA compared to control; further, the effects are much greater in synaptosomes prepared from postnatal day (PND) 7 rats than in synaptosomes from PND 14 or PND 21 animals. In addition to the effects of MeHg in young rats, we observed age-dependent differences in dopaminergic function in unexposed synaptosomes: synaptosomal DA levels increased with age, whereas medium (released) DA levels were high at PND 7 and were lower in PND 14 and PND 21 synaptosomes. DAT activity increased slightly from PND 7 to PND 14 and then increased more strongly to PND 21, suggesting that higher DA release, in addition to the lower DAT activity seen in PND 7 animals, was responsible for the age differences in levels of released DA. These results demonstrate that MeHg affects the dopaminergic system during early development; it thus may contribute to the neurobehavioral effects seen in MeHg-exposed children.
Alteration of lung lipids in ozone exposed rats.

Abstract Exposure of adult male rats to 1.1 ± 0.3 ppm of ozone gave a 10-fold elevation of arachidonic acid in the lipid of the endobronchial washings. Arachidonate and linoleate increased in the cholesteryl esters from 6.5% to 55.5% and 4.7% to 20.4%, respectively. Similar changes also occurred in the composition of phosphatidyl choline. Serum lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) activity was increased by exposure to ozone and returned to normal levels upon reexposure to an atmosphere of uncontaminated air. The results suggest that the lipid enzyme systems are strongly influenced by ozone exposure.
Phase behavior of polycarbonate blends with selected halogenated polymers

Bisphenol A polycarbonate is shown to be miscible with a vinylidene chloride based polymer containing 13.5% by weight of vinyl chloride. On the other hand, polycarbonate is found to be immiscible with poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinylidene fluoride), and polyepichlorohydrin.
2009 Special Issue: Error-probability noise benefits in threshold neural signal detection

Five new theorems and a stochastic learning algorithm show that noise can benefit threshold neural signal detection by reducing the probability of detection error. The first theorem gives a necessary and sufficient condition for such a noise benefit when a threshold neuron performs discrete binary signal detection in the presence of additive scale-family noise. The theorem allows the user to find the optimal noise probability density for several closed-form noise types that include generalized Gaussian noise. The second theorem gives a noise-benefit condition for more general threshold signal detection when the signals have continuous probability densities. The third and fourth theorems reduce this noise benefit to a weighted-derivative comparison of signal probability densities at the detection threshold when the signal densities are continuously differentiable and when the noise is symmetric and comes from a scale family. The fifth theorem shows how collective noise benefits can occur in a parallel array of threshold neurons even when an individual threshold neuron does not itself produce a noise benefit. The stochastic gradient-ascent learning algorithm can find the optimal noise value for noise probability densities that do not have a closed form.
A glycine hinge for tRNA-dependent translocation of editing substrates to prevent errors by leucyl-tRNA synthetase.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases often rely on a proofreading mechanism to clear mischarging errors before they can be incorporated into newly synthesized proteins. Leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) houses a hydrolytic editing pocket in a domain that is distinct from its aminoacylation domain. Mischarged amino acids are transiently translocated ∼30 A between active sites for editing by an unknown tRNA-dependent mechanism. A glycine within a flexible β-strand that links the aminoacylation and editing domains of LeuRS was determined to be important to tRNA translocation. The translocation-defective mutation also demonstrated that the editing site screens both correctly and incorrectly charged tRNAs prior to product release.
Overcoming the prejudice against establishing a national health care system.

Our health care system has been very successful in providing the most technologically advanced medical care in the world to affluent and well-insured segments of society. Pride in this accomplishment has contributed to a success-induced blind spot. Our society overlooks and fails to adequately respond to the most significant shortcomings of our health care system, namely, social inequality in access to health care and escalating health care costs.1-6 Our country spends the highest percentage of gross national product on health care and, yet, 37 million uninsured Americans have limited access to medical care7,8; 11 million of these Americans are children, 7 million of whom go without regular medical care. In contrast, all other western democracies implicitly or explicitly used the moral ideal, "health care as a human right," to establish different types of national health care systems (NHCS). These systems provide health care to all citizens regardless of
Oxygenation/ventilation of transported intubated adult patients: a national survey of organizational practices

Abstract Introduction: Transporting intubated patients is common among ground and air crews, and providing adequate oxygenation/ventilation through transport ventilators (TV) or manual ventilation (MV) is clinically challenging. However, very little data chronicle service or practice patterns of oxygenation/ventilation within the industry. Methods: During February 1998, a national sample of 250 air transport agencies was surveyed regarding activities and services surrounding this population of transported patients. One-hundred-ninety-three surveys (77%) were returned. Results: Approximately 40% of responding agencies use rotor-wing transportation only. Various combinations of rotor-, fixed-wing, and critical care ground transport were reported among the sample. Crew configuration consisted primarily of RN/EMT-P (75%). For prehospital intubated patients, MV alone (37.3%), TV alone (10.9%), or a combination of MV and TV (43.5%) was used, depending on transport circumstances. Programs not involved in prehospital transports accounted for 8.3% of returned surveys. Interfacility transports used MV (6.8%), TV (39.4%), and a combination (53.4%). One respondent did not answer the question, accounting for 0.4% of the returned surveys. More than 75% of programs monitored oxygenation/ventilation during transport. Usually some combination of pulse oximetry and CO2 monitoring was used. More than half (59%) of reporting agencies transport more than 80 intubated adults each year. Conclusion: Considerable variation exists in practices involving the transport of intubated patients.
Serum Procollagen Type III N‐Terminal Peptides and Laminin P1 Peptide in Alcoholic Liver Disease

The appearance of perivenular fibrosis on liver biopsy reflects the beginning of the fibrotic process that ultimately results in liver cirrhosis. To examine whether the fibrogenic activity can be detected by blood tests, we evaluated whole antibody radioimmunoassay (RIA) of procollagen type III N-terminal peptides (P-III-P), RIA of these peptides using Fab fragments (Fab-P-III-P), and RIA of the laminin P1 peptide in alcoholics within 1 week of alcohol abstinence. The Fab-P-III-P levels in subjects with perivenular fibrosis were significantly higher than those in patients with simple fatty liver. Values in 63% of subjects with perivenular fibrosis exceeded the upper limit of the fatty liver group. Patients with simple fatty liver had significantly lower values than nonalcoholic controls. Serum levels of P-III-P and laminin were elevated in patients with alcoholic hepatitis and correlated well with the degree of inflammation. With abstinence, Fab-P-III-P levels increased in all alcoholics. P-III-P values increased in patients with normal P-III-P values on admission. By contrast, the values of laminin decreased during abstinence. Therefore, to interpret serum levels of Fab-P-III-P, P-III-P, and laminin, the duration of abstinence must be taken into consideration. P-III-P, Fab-P-III-P and laminin measurements in the serum within 1 week of abstinence can contribute to the detection of alcoholic liver disease and the determination of its stage.
Histopathological study on temporal bone and eustachian tube in trisomy 22

Two temporal bone-eustachian tube (ET) specimens, one from a 34-gestational week-old male newborn and the other from a 3-month-old female infant, both with trisomy 22, were studied histopathologically. Both cases demonstrated severe inner-ear anomalies including hypoplastic cochlea, atrophy of the saccular macula, and dislocated endolymphatic sac and vestibular aqueduct. In addition, they had several anomalies in the ET including widely developed medial lamina of the ET cartilage, undeveloped lateral lamina of the ET cartilage, and absence of attachment of the tensor veli palatini muscle to the ET cartilage. We discuss the implications of the observed anomalies with regard to developmental and clinical issues.
Biomathematical model of aneurysm of the circle of willis, i: the duffing equation and some approximate solutions

Abstract Various physical models of saccular aneurysms of the circle of Willis provide evidence of a nonlinear pressure-volume relationship within the aneurysm. When an electric analogue of the model aneurysm and its parent vessel is analyzed, a form of the Duffing equation results, namely: V +λv− βv 2 +γv 3 =A cos ωt+B where V = velocity of blood flow in the aneurysm, and (Acosωt + B) represents the pulse rate and pressure. An approximate solution in the form of a Fourier series and graphical analysis is developed, which suggests the danger of either a high pulse rate or increased pressure in leading to critical jump phenomena and increased turbulence of flow within the aneurysm.
Relative determination of 14C on spent ion-exchange resins by resin regeneration and sample combustion

Two techniques were tested for the recovery and analysis of carbon-14 in ion-exchange resins from nuclear power plants. Such determinations are necessary to classify spent resins before they are shipped and disposed of as low-level radioactive waste. Combustion/oxidation was used in the first method; the second used resin regeneration to evolve 14C0, for selective absorption in a scintillation cocktail. The resin regeneration procedure proved to be simple and somewhat more reproducible than the combustion/ oxidation procedure for measuring 14C on resin wastes from nuclear power plants. The resin regeneration procedure provided a recovery of 85 * 7% as compared to 63 + 9% for the combustion procedure.
Characean charasome-complex and plasmalemma vesicle development

We report on an unusual phenomenon which occurs in some characean algae as a normal plasma membrane activity and also in association with charasome formation. The phenomenon of formation of coated invaginations of the plasma membrane was observed in twoChara and 6Nitella species. These invaginations are coated on their cytoplasmic surface, are 50–60 nm in diameter and rarely exceed 60 nm in length. They are abundant in the young cells ofChara andNitella and also occur in mature cells, but at a lower frequency.N. translucent is an exception in that coated invaginations were few in the young cells and absent in mature cells. Coated vesicles (50–60 nm diameter) were closely associated with these invaginations. Our observations suggest the vesicles may be derived from the invaginations by endocytosis. A close relationship was noted between the development of charasomes (plasmalemma modifications) and coated invaginations. Numerous coated invaginations are seen along the membranes of young charasomes; these invaginations appear to be associated with growth of the charasomes. Coated vesicles were not associated with the coated invaginations of the charasome membrane. The tubular network of cytoplasm and wall space seen in the mature charasome may be formed by fusion of coated invaginations of the developing charasomes, leaving cytoplasmic strands between the fused portions. Coated invaginations were not present along charasomes of the mature cells.
Angular dependence of the sputtering yield from a cylindrical track

The dependence of the sputtering yield on the incident angle, Θ, is determined using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for a cylindrical track produced by a fast ion. For a `small' spike radius and for the mean energy in the track, Eexc, smaller than the binding energy, U, a (cosΘ)−1.7 dependence is found, close to the linear collision cascade (LCC) result and to some thermal spike models. On the other hand, when Eexc>U, the incident angle dependence is (cosΘ)−1. For a larger spike radius we obtain a ∼(cosΘ)−1.6 dependence for both high and low energy densities. Analytic spike models based on diffusive transport are shown not to give satisfactory results. In addition, at low energy densities we see correlated atom ejection ignored in analytic models. Applying the MD results to the experimental data for electronic sputtering of solid O2 at large excitation densities suggests that the effective spike radius is larger than the initial Bohr adiabatic radius indicating that energy is rapidly transported from the initially narrow track.
Effect of including distillers dried grains with solubles in the diet, with or without antimicrobial regimen, on the ability of growing pigs to resist a Lawsonia intracellularis challenge.

A disease challenge experiment was conducted to determine if including 10% dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) in the diet, with or without antimicrobial supplementation, reduces the incidence or severity, or both, of intestinal lesions in growing pigs after an Lawsonia intracellularis challenge. One hundred 17-d-old weaned pigs were blocked by sex, ancestry, and BW and randomly allotted to 1 of 5 treatment groups: negative control, unchallenged, corn-soy diet; positive control, challenged, corn-soy diet; 10% DDGS diet, challenged; positive control with antimicrobial regimen, challenged; and 10% DDGS diet with antimicrobial regimen, challenged. For antimicrobial-supplemented treatments, diets contained 33 ppm bacitracin methylene disalicylate throughout the experiment, with chlortetracycline (Aureomycin) pulsed at 550 ppm from d 3 prechallenge to d 11 postchallenge. Challenged pigs were orally inoculated with 8.0 x 10(8) L. intracellularis organisms after a 4-wk prechallenge period. On d 21 postchallenge, pigs were euthanized, lesions of intestinal mucosa were evaluated, and ileal tissue samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry to determine the presence and proliferation rate of L. intracellularis. Compared with other dietary treatments, feeding a diet containing 10% DDGS reduced ileum and colon lesion length and prevalence (P 0.15), but fecal shedding of L. intracellularis was reduced on d 14 postchallenge (P 0.10). The proportion of cells infected with L. intracellularis was reduced when DDGS (P = 0.05) or antimicrobial (P = 0.10) diets were fed. Under the conditions of this experiment, dietary inclusion of 10% DDGS appears to provide some benefit to growing pigs subjected to a moderate L. intracellularis challenge, similar to those of a currently approved antimicrobial regimen.
High‐temperature kinetics of the reactions of SO2 and SO3 with atomic oxygen

A nozzle-beam-skimmer sampling system is used to measure species concentration profiles for a lean one-dimensional premixed COO2Ar flame, into which small amounts of sulfur dioxide are introduced. The net formation rate for sulfur trioxide is obtained from the flux fraction profile for this species. The kinetic scheme is then utilized, along with the measured temperature profiles, to evaluate the rate coefficients k1 and k2 over the temperature range of 1435–1850 K. The most satisfactory agreement between the measured net formation rate for SO3 and that calculated on the basis of reactions (1) and (2) is obtained with the rate coefficients Reactions (1) and (2) are found to be nearly balanced in a substantial region of the flame. Here the data are more sensitive to the difference in activation energies, as opposed to a particular value for either. Implications of this observation on the uncertainty of the deduced temperature dependence for each reaction are discussed, as are some of the procedures used in the data analysis.
On heart rate variability and autonomic activity in homeostasis and in systemic inflammation.

Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a promising diagnostic technique due to the noninvasive nature of the measurements involved and established correlations with disease severity, particularly in inflammation-linked disorders. However, the complexities underlying the interpretation of HRV complicate understanding the mechanisms that cause variability. Despite this, such interpretations are often found in literature. In this paper we explored mathematical modeling of the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and the heart, incorporating basic mechanisms such as perturbing mean values of oscillating autonomic activities and saturating signal transduction pathways to explore their impacts on HRV. We focused our analysis on human endotoxemia, a well-established, controlled experimental model of systemic inflammation that provokes changes in HRV representative of acute stress. By contrasting modeling results with published experimental data and analyses, we found that even a simple model linking the autonomic nervous system and the heart confound the interpretation of HRV changes in human endotoxemia. Multiple plausible alternative hypotheses, encoded in a model-based framework, equally reconciled experimental results. In total, our work illustrates how conventional assumptions about the relationships between autonomic activity and frequency-domain HRV metrics break down, even in a simple model. This underscores the need for further experimental work towards unraveling the underlying mechanisms of autonomic dysfunction and HRV changes in systemic inflammation. Understanding the extent of information encoded in HRV signals is critical in appropriately analyzing prior and future studies.
Bootstrap with larger resample size for root-n consistent density estimation with time series data

We consider finite-order moving average and nonlinear autoregressive processes with no parametric assumption on the error distribution, and present a kernel density estimator of a bootstrap series that estimates their marginal densities root-n consistently. This is equal to the rate of the best known convolution estimators, and is faster than the standard kernel density estimator. We also conduct simulations to check the finite sample properties of our estimator, and the results are generally better than corresponding results for the standard kernel density estimator.
Role of GTP Hydrolysis in Fission of Caveolae Directly from Plasma Membranes

Caveolae are specialized invaginated cell surface microdomains of undefined function. A cell-free system that reconstituted fission of caveolae from lung endothelial plasma membranes was developed. Addition of cytosol and the hydrolysis of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) induced caveolar fission. The budded caveolae were isolated as vesicles rich in caveolin and the sialoglycolipid GM1 but not glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins. These vesicles contained the molecular machinery for endocytosis and transcytosis. In permeabilized endothelial cells, GTP stimulated, whereas GTPgammaS prevented, caveolar budding and endocytosis of the cholera toxin B chain to endosomes. Thus, caveolae may bud to form discrete carrier vesicles that participate in membrane trafficking.
A photochemical model of the martian atmosphere

The factors governing the amounts of CO, O_2, and O_3 in the martian atmosphere are investigated using a minimally constrained, one-dimensional photochemical model. We find that the incorporation of temperature-dependent CO_2 absorption cross sections leads to an enhancement in the water photolysis rate, increasing the abundance of OH radicals to the point where the model CO abundance is smaller than observed. Good agreement between models and observations of CO, O_2, O_3, and the escape flux of atomic hydrogen can be achieved, using only gas-phase chemistry, by varying the recommended rate constants for the reactions CO + OH and OH + HO_2 within their specified uncertainties. Similar revisions have been suggested to resolve discrepancies between models and observations of the terrestrial mesosphere. The oxygen escape flux plays a key role in the oxygen budget on Mars; as inferred from the observed atomic hydrogen escape, it is much larger than recent calculations of the exospheric escape rate for oxygen. Weathering of the surface may account for the imbalance. Quantification of the escape rates of oxygen and hydrogen from Mars is a worthwhile objective for an upcoming martian upper atmospheric mission. We also consider the possibility that HO_x radicals may be catalytically destroyed on dust grains suspended in the atmosphere. Good agreement with the observed CO mixing ratio can be achieved via this mechanism, but the resulting ozone column is much higher than the observed quantity. We feel that there is no need at this time to invoke heterogeneous processes to reconcile models and observations.
Measuring Complex Dielectric Permittivity From GPR to Estimate Liquid Water Content In Snow

Summary The primary source of water for much of the semi-arid western U.S. is snow stored in mountain basins. Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) is critical in water resource management. There are currently no methods to accurately measure SWE over large lateral distances. Groundpenetrating radar (GPR) is a tool that can potentially provide laterally continuous measurements. Previous studies have shown that measurements of GPR velocity can provide accurate estimates of SWE in dry snow. However,
Production of Soluble and Cell-Associated Fibronectin by Cultured Keratinocytes

Fibronectin has been demonstrated in epithelial cell types in culture, but published studies of keratinocytes have shown patterns of fibronectin produced by cells grown in medium with serum, which contains fibronectin. Since plasma fibronectin can bind to cells in vitro, cells grown in serum-supplemented media could show artifactual patterns of cell-associated fibronectin. To study insoluble fibronectin produced by keratinocytes, we plated cells in the absence of feeder layers in medium lacking fibronectin. Medium conditioned by metabolically labeled keratinocytes was studied by immunoprecipitation and by extraction with gelatin-Sepharose. Cells grown in fibronectin-free medium were labeled using affinity-purified anti-fibronectin antibody and fluorescein-conjugated antirabbit IgG. Keratinocytes produced soluble fibronectin, since both immunoprecipitation and adsorption to gelatin-Sepharose detected 35S-methionine-labeled material which comigrated with human plasma fibronectin on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. Demonstration of insoluble, cell-associated fibronectin was enhanced in Triton X-100extracted cells and was seen in subcellular fibrillar arrays at both physiologic and reduced Ca++ concentrations, but in intracellular locations only at physiologic Ca++ concentrations. When cells grown in 1.1 mM Ca++ were removed with Triton X-100, diffusely distributed fibrillar fibronectin remained on the surface of the coverslip. Asymmetric "tracks" of fibronectin left by sparsely plated cells suggested movement. Fibronectin is deposited by keratinocytes on the culture surface and may be modulated by culture conditions.
Role of protein kinase C in attachment, spreading, and migration of human endothelial cells.

Abstract Attachment, spreading, and migration of vascular endothelial cells (EC) are necessary for angiogenesis, reendothelialization of an injured artery, or seeding of a prosthetic graft. However, little is known about the signaling pathways that mediate these effects. Protein kinase C (PKC) is a ubiquitous intracellular messenger which we have previously shown to be necessary for EC proliferation (Kentet al.,1995,Circ. Res.77, 231–238). In this study, we investigate whether activation of PKC is necessary for EC attachment, spreading, and migration. Using human umbilical vein EC, we found that direct activation of PKC with the phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate enhanced all three processes. Inhibition of PKC by the selective agent, chelerythrine, markedly diminished the ability of EC to attach, spread, and migrate. Depletion of intracellular PKC by downregulation (prolonged exposure of EC to phorbol ester) reduced EC attachment and migration; however, downregulation had no effect on endothelial spreading. PKC is a family of isotypes, each of which may control specific cellular functions. By Western blotting, we identified PKC alpha, beta, delta, epsilon, eta, theta, and zeta isotypes in human EC. Downregulation led to a significant reduction in the quantity of PKC alpha and epsilon. These data demonstrate that activation of PKC is both necessary and sufficient for attachment, spreading, and migration of human EC. An isotype of PKC that is susceptible to downregulation (either alpha and/or epsilon) is at least partially responsible for attachment and migration. Pharmacological activation of PKC may be used as a method to enhance reendothelialization.
An evaluation of rating scales utilized for deep brain stimulation for dystonia

The objective of this study was to examine globus pallidus internus deep brain stimulation (GPi-DBS) outcomes in primary and secondary dystonia, derived from blinded ratings using two scales and two raters. Twenty-five patients with variable presentations of dystonia were evaluated with videotaped standardized dystonia rating scales at preoperative baseline and at 6 and 12 months following GPi-DBS implantation. These 75 examination videos were retrospectively evaluated, independently and in random order, by two movement disorder neurologists who were blinded to the treatment status. Both neurologists scored each videotaped evaluation using the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale-motor part (BFMDRS-M) and the Unified Dystonia Rating Scale (UDRS). A final score for each video was assigned by averaging the raters' scores. An intra-class correlation coefficient was used to calculate inter-rater reliability. A linear mixed model was fitted to investigate the time effect and its interaction with type of dystonia (primary versus secondary) for each rating scale. Inter-rater reliability was excellent. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.994 to 0.997 for both scales at baseline, 6 and 12 months. The average motor improvement scores after GPi DBS for the entire heterogeneous group of dystonia patients after 6 and 12 months of stimulation was 21.32% (p = 0.0010) and 28.95% (p = 0.0017), respectively, when the UDRS score was used. Similar levels of improvement 20.46% (p = 0.0055) at 6 months and 27.39% (p = 0.00197) at 12 months were found using the BFMDRS-M score. Analysis using unblinded scores from our database revealed a 32.99 and 37.27% UDRS improvement at 6 and 12 months, and an improvement in UDRS score of 38.5 and 43.7% when the analysis was limited to only primary dystonia. If the data were further segregated to include only cases of DYT-1 primary generalized dystonia, the UDRS benefit increased to 48.24%. Our primary dystonia group was diluted by the presence of both old- and young-onset patients, as well as focal, segmental and generalized dystonia. In conclusion, (1) evaluating motor outcomes of DBS therapy for dystonia using independent, randomized retrospective rating by blinded raters' results in lower improvement scores than when outcomes are rated by unblinded treating neurologists. Blinded methodology may be superior and might produce a more realistic assessment of motor outcomes after DBS in patients with dystonia; (2) outcomes were similar whether the BFMDRS-M or UDRS was utilized; (3) GPi-DBS was effective in treating sustained involuntary motor co-contractions in medication refractory dystonia patients, more so in primary dystonia.
Planar imaging thermometry in gaseous flows using upconversion excitation of thermographic phosphors

Temperature measurement in gaseous flows is of significant practical importance for determining convection coefficients for heat transfer calculations, validating computation fluid dynamic simulations, and understanding the fundamentals of turbulent mixing and transport in flows. Here, we report on a new diagnostic technique for measuring temperature in gaseous flows which relies upon upconversion luminescence from inorganic phosphors. The phosphor used for the study consists of erbium (Er3+) and ytterbium (Yb3+) ions doped into a yttrium oxysulfide host material. The theoretical background behind the upconversion diagnostic is presented and spectral emission data taken using upconversion excitation are used to design a temperature diagnostic which is quite sensitive for temperatures ranging from approximately 300–600 K. Demonstration temperature measurements were performed in an air jet heated to temperatures ranging from 295–523 K. Single-shot images of temperature were obtained with a temperature precision of approximately ±5 K (1 standard deviation basis). This is the first known application of upconversion excitation to imaging temperatures in gaseous flows.
Area, perimeter and derivatives of a skin curve

The body defined by a finite collection of disks is a subset of the plane bounded by a tangent continuous curve, which we call the skin. We give analytic formulas for the area, the perimeter, the area derivative, and the perimeter derivative of the body. Given the filtrations of the Delaunay triangulation and the Voronoi diagram of the disks, all formulas can be evaluated in time proportional to the number of disks.
Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) evaluation of pleural effusions in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian carcinoma can influence the primary management choice for these patients.

Abstract Objectives To assess the utility of thoracoscopy in defining the extent of intrathoracic disease and survival outcomes in patients with moderate to large pleural effusions at the time of diagnosis of advanced ovarian carcinoma. Methods We reviewed the records of all patients with untreated advanced ovarian carcinoma and moderate to large pleural effusions who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) our institution between 6/01 and 10/08. Demographic, clinicopathologic and outcome data were collected for all patients with a final diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma. Results Forty-two patients met eligibility criteria, with a median age of 58 years; median CA-125 level of 1747 U/mL; and medium serum albumin of 3.9 g/dl. VATS was performed for right-sided effusions in 30 patients (71%). Macroscopic pleural disease was found in 29 patients (69%). Of the 11 patients with negative cytology, macroscopic pleural disease was found in 4 (36%). Intrathoracic cytoreductive surgery was performed in 6 (33%) of the 18 patients with intrathoracic disease >1 cm. After VATS, 29/42 (69%) patients underwent attempted primary abdominal surgical debulking. Thirteen patients (31%) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Twelve (92%) of these patients underwent interval cytoreductive surgery. Patients who were directed after VATS to neoadjuvant chemotherapy instead of primary surgical cytoreduction had a 2-year PFS rate of 22% compared to 42% for the primary cytoreductive group ( P =0.36). Conclusions Overall, management was altered based on VATS findings in 43% of cases. Further investigation is needed to define the prognostic significance of VATS evaluation of the burden of pleural disease.
A technique for measuring the heat transfer coefficient inside a Bridgman furnace

Knowledge of the amount of heat that is conducted, advected and radiated between an ampoule and the furnace is important for understanding vertical Bridgman crystal growth. This heat transfer depends on the temperature, emissivities and geometries of both the furnace and ampoule, as well as the choice of ambient gas inside the furnace. This paper presents a method which directly measures this heat transfer without the need to know any physical properties of the furnace, the ampoule, or the gaseous environment. Data are given for one specific furnace in which this method was used.
The Role of Erythropoietin in the Anemia of Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Although erythropoietin (EPO) deficiency is not responsible for the anemia of myelodysplasia, pharmacologic doses of recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO, epoetin alfa) and epoetin beta have been studied extensively as treatment of anemia in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). When an epoetin is used as a single growth factor in patients with MDS, clinically meaningful responses occur in only a small minority of patients (16%). Patients who are transfusion-dependent are less likely to respond than patients who are transfusion-independent. Serum EPO level has a weak association with response rate and cannot be used to select or exclude patients from empirical trials of epoetins. The dose schedule commonly used as initial treatment 40,000 U/week, is consistent with clinical observations, but an optimal dose schedule has not been determined. The combination of an epoetin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) produces a higher erythroid response rate (36%) than the regimen of epoetin alone, but we have found no randomized trial data to support this point. However, the design of the clinical trials, which included adding G-CSF after epoetin alone had failed, supports the hypothesis that combined use of growth factors, rather than just higher doses of epoetin, is responsible for the high response rate observed with the combination of epoetin and G-CSF. Unfortunately, as in the case of epoetin alone, patients who are transfusion-dependent (> or =2 U red blood cells/month) are less likely to respond to combined growth factor therapy. Although the ability of patients with MDS to show an erythroid response to epoetin is of biologic interest, because of high costs and the limited response rate in transfusion-dependent patients, epoetin therapy, with or without G-CSF, cannot be regarded as a definitive therapy for the anemia of MDS.
Real-Time Vibration Control of Steel Strip Immersed in Fluid for a Continuous Hot-Dip Galvanizing Line

A method of combining theoretical analysis with numerical simulation is presented to achieve real-time vibration control of steel strip immersed in fluid during continuous hot-dip galvanizing process. Theoretical and numerical methods are employed to investigate inherent properties of strip and immersed strip, respectively. Multivariate quadratic regression is adopted to fit the ratio of natural frequencies. Keeping inherent frequencies far from excitations is taken as optimization objective, based upon field testing results. Real-time vibration control of immersed strip near the air knife box is carried out by varying production parameters. The results reveal that width, thickness, tension and molten zinc have noticeable and highly nonlinear effect on inherent properties of steel strip. Axial speed of strip is negligible in calculations of natural frequencies. Wind load of air knife moving relative to strip is the principal source of vibration. The approach of combining theory with numerical computation can meet the requirement of real-time vibration control of alloy strip.