cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical properties of human α2-macroglobulin following reaction with methylamine and trypsin

Abstract Circular dichroism spectroscopy, sedimentation velocity and ultraviolet difference spectroscopy were used to compare α2-macroglobulin, α2-macroglobulin-trypsin complex and α2-macroglobulin-methylamine complex. The circular dichroic spectrum of native α2-macroglobulin is significantly changed in shape and magnitude following reaction with either trypsin or methylamine. The spectra of α2-macroglobulin-trypsin and α2-macroglobulin-methylamine are, however, indistinguishable. The ultraviolet difference spectrum between α2-macroglobulin-methylamine and native α2-macroglobulin displays a tyrosine blue shift consistent with the exposure of several tyrosine residues to solvent. The conformational change which occurs in α2-macroglobulin during reaction with methylamine follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. T1/2 was 10.5 min for the reaction with 200 mM methylamine at pH 8.0 and 45 min for the reaction with 50 mM methylamine, also at pH 8.0. Reaction of methylamine with α2-macroglobulin results in loss of trypsin-binding activity which appears to be a direct consequence of the conformational change induced by methylamine. A sedimentation coefficient (so20,w) of 20.5 was determined for α2-macroglobulin-methylamine compared to a value of 18.5 for unreacted α2-macrogiobulin. This increase in sedimentation velocity is attributed to a 10% decrease in α2-macroglobulin Stokes radius, α2-Macroglobulin-trypsin complex prepared by reaction of the protease ata 2-fold molar excess with the inhibitor has a so20,w of 203. Although this sedimentation coefficient does reflect compacting of the α2-macroglobulin structure compared to native α2-macroglobulin, it is not large enough to rule out significant protrusion of the proteases from within pockets in the α2-macroglobulin structure.
Motion estimation from points without correspondences from scaled orthographic projections

This paper presents a new method for estimating motion parameters of a set of 3-D points without correspondences between points at two time instants. All point coordinates are given in projections. Three scaled orthographic projections taken before and after the motion are used to determine the scaled translation vector and to recover the 3-D scatter matrix. Once the 3-D scatter matrix is determined at two time instants, we can find the rotation matrix using eigenvector decomposition method. The proposed method requires neither correspondences in projections nor correspondences between two time instants.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A goaling format for national energy security

Abstract A goaling format is outlined for the optimal determination of an oil import fee (and, possibly, an import fee on natural gas as well) designed to keep total imports below some given target figure. The model is built around given supply functions for coal, oil and natural gas, given demand functions for coal, oil, natural gas and electricity by private consumers and industry, and an activity-analysis type linear programming model of the electric utility industry. Prices of internationally traded fuels may not exceed world-market levels. In the integrable case, it is possible to form a (nonlinear) “economic potential function” which peaks at the point of solution of the energy sector model now indicated. Using the well- known technique of goal programming (Charnes and Cooper), it is possible to adjoin goals on the maximal imports of fuels; the Lagrange multiplier of the goaling relation provides information about the optimal import fee that would see to it that these goals are attained. In the nonintegrable case, no optimization formulation of the energy sector model exists; it will instead take the form of a nonlinear complementarity format. Extending the technique of goal programming, one may still insist on the desired targets for the maximal imports of fuels and specify penalties for deviations from these targets. It is now no longer possible to minimize the total sum of penalties, but defining Lagrange multipliers as before, the corresponding conditions of complementary slackness may be written down and adjoined to the nonlinear complementarity format. A numerical example which mimics recorded data for 1982 is presented, and the optimal import fee is determined which would limit total imports of oil to 12,000 million Btu.
The effects of temperature and composition on the complex refractive index of flame soot

Abstract The ‘effective’ real ( n ) and the imaginary ( k ) part of the complex refractive index of soot have been determined as a function of the fuel equivalence ratio of premixed propane/oxygen flames at a wavelength of 0.488 μm, using classical and dynamic laser scattering measurements. The soot refractive indices change not only with the position within a given flame but also with the fuel equivalence ratio. The effects of temperature and composition are also assessed, based on the available dispersion models for the soot optical constants.
Modernization of European data protection law at a turning point

Abstract CLSR welcomes occasional comment pieces on issues of current importance in the law and technology field. In this note Dr Ulrich Wuermeling of Latham & Watkins LLP, Frankfurt offers a personal viewpoint on the EU data protection reform package.
New Roles for Public Health in Cancer Screening

Screening tests for the early detection of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer are prioritized clinical preventive services that can reduce the burden of cancer in the United States. 1 While significant progress has been made in this area, screening rates for breast and cervical cancers have not improved in almost a decade and rates for colorectal cancer are unacceptably low. Lack of insurance has traditionally been the main factor preventing adults from obtaining cancer screening. 2 Components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will help address this through Medicaid expansion, subsidized state insurance exchanges, and the elimination of cost sharing. However, access to health insurance and medical care are not the only factors that limit participation in cancer screening. Many people who currently have health insurance and regular access to medical care are not being screened. Based on 2010 National Health Interview Survey data, among adults aged 50 to 75 years with a regular source of medical care, only 62% were up to date with screening for colorectal cancer and only 75% of women in this age range had received a mammogram within the preceding 2 years. 3 Analyses of national Medicare data revealed that, despite coverage of cancer screening services, only 66% of eligible women had undergone a mammogram within the past 2 years 4 and only 47% of adults had insurance claims documenting adequate screening for colorectal cancer. 5 To realize the full potential of anticipated improvements in access to care, public health must provide leadership to ensure that cancer screening is proactive, organized, and equitable.
Backbone NMR assignments and H/D exchange studies on the ferric azide- and cyanide-inhibited forms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa heme oxygenase.

The 198 amino acid long heme oxygenase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (pa-HO) was studied by multinuclear and multidimensional NMR spectroscopy in its paramagnetic cyanide-inhibited (pa-HO-CN) and azide-inhibited (pa-HO-N3) forms. Nearly complete backbone assignments (>93%) of all non-proline residues have been obtained, with the majority of the nonassigned residues corresponding to the first 10 amino terminal residues. Resonances strongly affected by heme iron paramagnetism were assigned with the aid of selective amino acid labeling and experiments tailored to detect fast relaxing signals, whereas the rest of the polypeptide was assigned using conventional three-dimensional NMR experiments. Amide chemical shift assignments were used to monitor the rate of exchange of backbone protons in hydrogen-deuterium exchange experiments. The polypeptide in the pa-HO-N3 complex was found to be significantly less prone to exchange than the polypeptide in pa-HO-CN, which we interpret to indicate that pa-HO-N3 is conformationally less flexible than pa-HO-CN. The differences in protection factors extend to regions of the protein remote from the heme iron and distal ligand. Mapping the differences in protection factors into the X-ray crystal structure of pa-HO [Friedman, J., Lad, L., Li, H., Wilks, A. Poulos, T. L. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 5239-5345] suggests that the distinct chemical properties imparted by the coordination of azide or cyanide to the heme iron [Zeng, Y. Caignan, G. A., Bunce, R. A., Rodriguez, J. C., Wilks, A., Rivera, M. (2005) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 9794-9807] are transmitted to the polypeptide by a network of structural water molecules extending from the active site to the surface of the enzyme. Finally, while the 1H amide resonance of Gly125 was too broad to detect, the corresponding 15N resonance exhibits a large downfield shift, large line width, steep temperature dependence, and a larger than usual upfield deuterium isotope effect. These properties indicate unpaired spin delocalization from the heme iron into the Gly 15N atom via formation of a hydrogen bond between the coordinated azide nitrogen and the Gly125 N-H.
Development and validation of a survey instrument for assessing prescribers' perception of computerized drug–drug interaction alerts

Objective To develop a theoretically informed and empirically validated survey instrument for assessing prescribers' perception of computerized drug-drug interaction (DDI) alerts. Materials and methods The survey is grounded in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and an adapted accident causation model. Development of the instrument was also informed by a review of the extant literature on prescribers' attitude toward computerized medication safety alerts and common prescriber-provided reasons for overriding. To refine and validate the survey, we conducted a two-stage empirical validation study consisting of a pretest with a panel of domain experts followed by a field test among all eligible prescribers at our institution. Results The resulting survey instrument contains 28 questionnaire items assessing six theoretical dimensions: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, perceived fatigue, and perceived use behavior. Satisfactory results were obtained from the field validation; however, a few potential issues were also identified. We analyzed these issues accordingly and the results led to the final survey instrument as well as usage recommendations. Discussion High override rates of computerized medication safety alerts have been a prevalent problem. They are usually caused by, or manifested in, issues of poor end user acceptance. However, standardized research tools for assessing and understanding end users' perception are currently lacking, which inhibits knowledge accumulation and consequently forgoes improvement opportunities. The survey instrument presented in this paper may help fill this methodological gap. Conclusion We developed and empirically validated a survey instrument that may be useful for future research on DDI alerts and other types of computerized medication safety alerts more generally.
Induction of Transitional Cell Hyperplasia in the Urinary Bladder and Aberrant Crypt Foci in the Colon of Rats Treated with Individual and a Mixture of Drinking Water Disinfection By-Products

Cancer of the urinary bladder and colon are significant human health concerns. Epidemiological studies have suggested a correlation between these cancers and the chronic consumption of chlorinated surface water containing disinfection by-products (DBPs). The present study was designed to determine if exposure to DBPs would cause preneoplastic or neoplastic lesions in the urinary bladder and colon of rats, and what effect a mixture of DBPs would have on these lesions. Male and female Eker rats were treated via drinking water with low and high concentrations of potassium bromate, 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX), chloroform, or bromodichloromethane individually or in a mixture for 10 months. The urinary bladders and colons were examined for the presence of preneoplastic lesions. Cell proliferation in the urothelium was examined using immunohistochemical staining for bromodeoxyuridine. Aberrant crypt foci (ACF), as well as the number of individual crypts in each ACF, were identified and counted microscopically after staining with 0.2% methylene blue. Colon crypt cell proliferation and mitotic index were determined using immunohistochemical staining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Labeling indexes for the urinary bladder and colon were calculated based on the percentage of positively labeled cells. Treatment with the high dose of MX caused transitional epithelial hyperplasia and cell proliferation in the rat urinary bladder, and this effect was diminished in the high dose mixture animals. Treatment with 4 individual DBPs, as well as a mixture of them, caused the development of ACF, the putative preneoplastic lesion of colon cancer.
Blood glucose regulation in diabetics using sliding mode control techniques

Higher order sliding mode control technique, in specific super-twisting algorithm, is used as a better alternative to robustly stabilize the blood glucose concentration level of a diabetic patient in presence of the parameter variations and meal disturbance. The super-twisting algorithm is employed to eliminate the effect of chattering and obtain continuous control. The structure of the proposed sliding mode controller is appropriate in making the insulin delivery pumps in closed loop control of diabetes. A computer simulation is performed to manifest the theoretical analysis. The behavior of the patient's closed loop model in presence of physical disturbances like food intake has been checked via simulations.
Strategies for crowdsourcing social data analysis

Web-based social data analysis tools that rely on public discussion to produce hypotheses or explanations of the patterns and trends in data, rarely yield high-quality results in practice. Crowdsourcing offers an alternative approach in which an analyst pays workers to generate such explanations. Yet, asking workers with varying skills, backgrounds and motivations to simply "Explain why a chart is interesting" can result in irrelevant, unclear or speculative explanations of variable quality. To address these problems, we contribute seven strategies for improving the quality and diversity of worker-generated explanations. Our experiments show that using (S1) feature-oriented prompts, providing (S2) good examples, and including (S3) reference gathering, (S4) chart reading, and (S5) annotation subtasks increases the quality of responses by 28% for US workers and 196% for non-US workers. Feature-oriented prompts improve explanation quality by 69% to 236% depending on the prompt. We also show that (S6) pre-annotating charts can focus workers' attention on relevant details, and demonstrate that (S7) generating explanations iteratively increases explanation diversity without increasing worker attrition. We used our techniques to generate 910 explanations for 16 datasets, and found that 63% were of high quality. These results demonstrate that paid crowd workers can reliably generate diverse, high-quality explanations that support the analysis of specific datasets.
The worlds of homeless white and African American youth in San Francisco, California: A cultural epidemiological comparison

Research to date has given little attention to differences in the experience of youth homelessness by ethnicity. This article provides a comparative descriptive analysis of the effect of differences and similarities in paths to homelessness, self-perception, and survival strategies on health behaviors and consequent health outcomes of African American and white homeless youth in San Francisco, USA. We conducted participant observation and ethnographic interviews with 54 youth primarily recruited from street venues. Hypotheses generated from the ethnographic data were validated in between-group analyses using concurrent epidemiological data collected from a sample of 205 youth. Our samples of unstably housed African American and white youth, though sharing common histories of family dysfunction, differed in both the ethnographic accounts and epidemiological analyses in their experiences of family, access to housing, street survival strategies, self-presentation, health behaviors and service utilization. Our sample of white youth generally identified with the term "homeless," engaged in survival activities associated with such a label, and accessed the services intended to address the needs of homeless youth. In contrast, our sample of African American youth generally did not perceive themselves as "homeless," a stigmatized term, and were thus less likely to utilize, or be accessed by, relevant services.
Rayleigh Friction, Newtonian Cooling, and the Linear Response to Steady Tropical Heating*

A series of studies are performed to examine the response of the tropical atmosphere to a prescribed steady, large-scale, elevated heat source (i.e., a region of persistent precipitation). Special emphasis is placed on the surface wind response in two idealized cases in which dissipation is achieved exclusively by Rayleigh friction or by Newtonian cooling. Starting from the linearized equations on an equatorial beta plane, theoretical arguments are presented that suggest there are qualitative differences in the solutions of these two models. A dry spectral primitive equation model of the atmosphere is employed and confirms the results obtained from the analytical studies. The results from both the analytical study and the numerical simulations are consistent in showing that Rayleigh friction and Newtonian cooling play totally different roles in the tropical atmosphere. Newtonian cooling homogenizes the atmospheric motion in the vertical direction, and a strong, vertically uniform wind is found below the base of the heat source. When Rayleigh friction dominates, the circulation driven by the heat source is confined to the layer where the heat source is located. It is also shown that a strong Hadley circulation is associated with reasonable strong Rayleigh friction, but not with Newtonian cooling alone. Finally, the numerical solution is found for the case where Newtonian cooling acts uniformly in the vertical and Rayleigh friction is included in the lower atmosphere to mimic crudely the dissipation of momentum in the boundary layer. The introduction of the simple boundary layer dramatically reduces the surface circulation that was supported in the Newtonian cooling alone case. Together these results suggest a significant surface circulation is unlikely to be driven by an elevated heat source if it resides above the top of the boundary layer.
Steganalysis of QIM steganography using irregularity measure

This paper presents a nonparametric steganalysis technique to attack quantization index modulation (QIM) steganography and JSteg steganographic tool. The proposed scheme is based on the observation that message embedding using QIM introduces local irregularity (or randomness) in the cover-object. Presented steganalysis technique exploits rich spatial/temporal correlation in the multimedia-objects to estimate local irregularity in the test-object. The underlying density function based on local irregularity in the test-object is estimated in a systematic manner using a kernel density estimate (KDE) method. The Tsallis-divergence, a parametric divergence method, is used to quantify irregularity in the test-object. The Tsallis-divergence between the density function estimated from the test-object and its doubly-quantized version is used to distinguish between the cover and the stego. The impact of the choice of message embedding parameters such as quantization step-size, quality factor, etc. on the accuracy of the steganalysis detection for gray scale images is also evaluated. Simulation results presented for these message embedding parameters show that the proposed method can successfully distinguish between the quantized-cover and the QIM-stego with low false alarm rates. Detection performance of the proposed steganalysis scheme is also evaluated for JSteg steganographic tool.
Elevated atmospheric CO2 lowers leaf litter nutritional quality for stream ecosystem food webs

Up to 99% of the carbon fuelling the food webs of temperate woodland streams is derived from inputs of terrestrial leaf litter. Aquatic bacteria, fungi, and detritivore invertebrates directly utilize these inputs, transferring this energy to other components of the food web. Increases in atmospheric CO2 could indirectly impact woodland stream food webs by chemically altering leaf litter. This study evaluated CO2-induced chemical changes in aspen (Populus tremuloides) leaf litter, and the corresponding effects on stream bacteria, fungi and leaf-shredding cranefly larvae (Tipula abdominalis: Diptera). Leaf litter from plants grown under elevated CO2 had decreased nutritional value to aquatic decomposers and detritivores because of higher levels of structural compounds and lower nitrogen content. Consequently, elevated CO2-grown leaf litter supported 59% lower bacterial production in a stream than litter grown at ambient CO2 levels, while not affecting fungal biomass. Larval craneflies fed elevated CO2-grown microbially colonized leaves consumed less, assimilated less, and grew 12 times slower than their ambient fed counterparts.
Laser vector velocimetry: a 3-D measurement technique

A technique is described which will provide both magnitude and direction of the transverse component of velocity of a remote target. A laser beam is transmitted toward a remote diffuse target, and the backscattered light is collected and mixed with a suitable local oscillator reference field. The method is based on the general spatiotemporal correlation function of the signal currents from two heterodyne detectors. The time derivative of this function, evaluated at zero time delay, is directly proportional to the component of target velocity parallel to the separation of the detector elements. A two-element by two-element detector array can therefore be used to measure the two orthogonal transverse velocity components. Each component is found from the correlation properties of the signals from diagonally opposed pairs of detector elements. Since the radial velocity component can be found from conventional laser Doppler techniques, all three components of the velocity vector can be measured simultaneously. Practical considerations and experimental results are discussed.
Novel Role for CFTR in Fluid Absorption from the Distal Airspaces of the Lung

The active absorption of fluid from the airspaces of the lung is important for the resolution of clinical pulmonary edema. Although ENaC channels provide a major route for Na(+) absorption, the route of Cl(-) transport has been unclear. We applied a series of complementary approaches to define the role of Cl(-) transport in fluid clearance in the distal airspaces of the intact mouse lung, using wild-type and cystic fibrosis Delta F508 mice. Initial studies in wild-type mice showed marked inhibition of fluid clearance by Cl(-) channel inhibitors and Cl(-) ion substitution, providing evidence for a transcellular route for Cl(-) transport. In response to cAMP stimulation by isoproterenol, clearance was inhibited by the CFTR inhibitor glibenclamide in both wild-type mice and the normal human lung. Although isoproterenol markedly increased fluid absorption in wild-type mice, there was no effect in Delta F508 mice. Radioisotopic clearance studies done at 23 degrees C (to block active fluid absorption) showed approximately 20% clearance of (22)Na in 30 min both without and with isoproterenol. However, the clearance of (36)Cl was increased by 47% by isoproterenol in wild-type mice but was not changed in Delta F508 mice, providing independent evidence for involvement of CFTR in cAMP-stimulated Cl(-) transport. Further, CFTR played a major role in fluid clearance in a mouse model of acute volume-overload pulmonary edema. After infusion of saline (40% body weight), the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio increased by 28% in wild-type versus 64% in Delta F508 mice. These results provide direct evidence for a functionally important role for CFTR in the distal airspaces of the lung.
Transformation Toughening in ZrO2‐Containing Ceramics

Transformation toughening in ZrO2-containing ceramics is discussed. Specifically, microstuctures of the three distinct types of ZrO2-toughened ceramics are presented, after which microstructural evolution in MgO-partially-stabilized ZrO2 Mg-PSZ) is reviewed. The mechanical properties of such transformation-toughened ceramics are dominated by “resistance-curve” (R-curve) behavior, wherein the crack resistance increases during the course of crack propagation. Ceramics subject to R-curve behavior require a more detailed failure criterion than those subject to the usual linear elastic fracture mechanics criterion involving a critical stress intensity factor, KIC.R-curve-controlled fracture in ceramics provides a degree of very desirable flaw insensitivity, but can lead to counterintuitive relationships concerning strength, toughness, and initial flaw size. Examples of R curves of Mg-PSZ with different thermal histories are given.
A 10-bit algorithmic A/D converter for cytosensor application

A novel 10-bit algorithmic A/D converter for cytosensor applications is described in this paper. The converter is capable of a conversion rate of 1.5-bits/phase. It has advantages compared with conventional architectures with respect to nonideal effects.
Models for truncated counts

SUMMARY This paper examines a class of maximum-likelihood regression estimators for count data from truncated samples. Estimators for the truncated Poisson and negative binomial distributions are illustrated. Simulation results are given to illustrate the magnitude of the bias that may result from the failure to account for overdispersion in truncated samples. An empirical application based upon the number of recreational fishing trips taken by a sample of Alaskan fishermen is provided. the number of bus trips taken per week and other variables which might be related to that behaviour, such as attitudinal and demographic variables. Given these data we seek to construct a model of the number of weekly bus trips taken as a function of various exogenous variables, some of which are under the control of the public transit authority. Due to the choice-based sampling scheme employed, no observations are made of individuals making zero bus trips, since a criterion for sample inclusion is that at least one bus trip be made. The dependent variable in our model, the number of bus trips taken that week, is truncated at zero, taking on only positive values. More generally, two common types of sampling schemes are likely to give rise to samples of truncated counts: surveys which ask 'participants' about the number of 'participation occasions' and samples drawn from administrative records where inclusion in such a database is predicated on having engaged in the activity of interest. Examples of the first type include on-site sampling plans, surveys of owners of a particular home appliance (e.g. from warranty
Antiplatelet therapy and risk of stroke

Antiplatelet therapy, especially with aspirin, reduces the risks of occlusive vascular disease, including ischemic stroke. In an overview of 25 trials of antiplatelet therapy in patients with prior cardiovascular disease, antiplatelet treatment reduced subsequent nonfatal stroke by 27% (P = 0.0001), nonfatal myocardial infarction by 32% (P = 0.0001), and all vascular deaths by 15% (P = 0.0003), with no evidence that other antiplatelet agents were more effective than aspirin, or that higher aspirin doses (900 to 1500 mg daily) were more effective than 300 mg, the lowest daily dose tested. If begun during the acute phase of myocardial infarction, aspirin reduces nonfatal stroke by 46% (P < 0.01) and vascular deaths by 23% (P < 0.00001) after 5 weeks. In primary prevention, currently available data are inconclusive regarding the effect of aspirin therapy on stroke. However, any potential benefit on ischemic stroke must be weighed against the possibility that aspirin could increase the risk of the less common, but clinically more severe, strokes of hemorrhagic etiology.
1404PCANCER PATTERN IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA: DATA FROM A HOSPITAL-BASED CANCER REGISTRY

ABSTRACT Aim: The first Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) in India was organized in Mumbai in 1963. Subsequently under the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) of Indian Council of Medical Research a few more registries was started in different cities of India such as Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi. The 1st PBCR was organized in Kolkata in Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in 1997. We started our hospital-based cancer registry from 2002, in Kolkata. The PBCR from different cities has shown the distributions of different cancers are different in different cities because of ethnic and dietary differences. The aim of our study was to show the prevailing cancer pattern in the eastern part of India. Methods: From our hospital-based cancer registry we analyzed all the cancer patients, who attended the out patient and in patient departments of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute during the period from August 2004 to July 2013. Results: A total of 10,400 cases were registered. The age distribution was 1 month to 91 years, with mean age of 44.2 years. The male (54%) cancer patients were slightly predominating compared with the female (46%) patients. The most frequent malignancies in males were carcinoma of lung (14%), followed by cancer of the oral cavity (11%) and carcinoma of colon (6%). The most frequent reported malignancy in female was breast (30%), followed by uterine cervix (21%), gallbladder (11%) and ovary (10%). In the paediatric age group the most frequent malignancies were ALL (32.4%), followed by Ewings sarcoma (21.2%), rhabdomyosarcoma (16.1%) and brain tumour (13.6%). Conclusions: The cancer pattern in eastern India is a little different from other parts of India & from that of the World cancer registry, because of lifestyle and dietary habits in this part of the country. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
An Analysis of Alcohol-Related Problems in Black and White Women Drinkers

This study examined prevalence rates and predictors of alcohol-related problems in samples of 635 black and 665 white women drinkers. The analysis showed that although black and white women exhibited very similar rates of alcohol-related problems, heavier drinking and drunkenness, they differed significantly on most social characteristics and in normative attitudes towards alcohol use.A series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that black women were significantly less likely to experience alcohol related problems when drinking behavior, norms and social characteristics were taken into account. Further analysis showed that there was also a significant and negative interaction with race and the frequency of heavier drinking. This finding indicated that increases in heavier drinking were less likely to result in negative consequences among black women than among white women.These results differ from the findings of previous research showing that black women experience higher rates of alcohol-relate...
Modeling Offshore Wind Installation Costs

The costs of offshore wind power exceed onshore wind costs, in part due to added expenses associated with offshore installation. In this chapter, we model the installation costs of offshore wind projects and perform sensitivity analysis to identify the variables most responsible for uncertainty and risk. We adopt a bottom-up engineering approach based on current technologies and expected market conditions for the period 2012–2017 to estimate stage-specific installation costs. The time required for specific installation activities (travel time, loading time, installation time, etc.) is estimated based on empirical data and benchmark studies described in previous chapters. Offshore wind farms are characterized in terms of their nameplate capacity, turbine capacity, and distance to port and shore. The user is required to provide information on vessel selection, installation strategy, and market and contract conditions, and the output is the cost as a function of the model factors. The model is illustrated for three planned US wind farms (Cape Wind, Bluewater Delaware, and Coastal Point Galveston) and costs are estimated to range from $130,000 to $370,000 per MW. Cost is relatively insensitive to distance to port, but unit costs decline significantly with larger turbine capacity and increase with the time required for installation. The limitations of the analysis are described.
The Interactive Effect of Turnover and Task Interdependence on Performance in High Performance Strategic Work Teams: Evidence in the NFL

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the interactive effect of turnover and task interdependence on performance in high performance strategic work teams. Based on pervious research, we contend that turnover will have a negative effect on team performance and this effect will be more pronounced as teams perform highly interdependent tasks. Given the integral role human resources play in the success or failure of a professional sports franchise, this setting provides an ideal opportunity for examining various human resource issues. Using longitudinal data from the National Football League (NFL), we empirically test 1) the effect of player turnover on NFL team performance (i.e., wins and losses in the subsequent year), and 2) the difference in team performance as based on the high/low task interdependence of the team. Findings suggest a negative impact of turnover on organizational performance, regardless of the interdependent nature of high performance strategic work team tasks. In addition, the negative influence of turnover is enhanced by the task interdependence within a team.
Trollope, James, and the International Theme

The last novel in Trollope’s Palliser series, The Duke’s Children, was written in 1876 but put away in a desk drawer by the novelist when its predecessor, The Prime Minister (1875–6), failed dismally with the reading public. James’s Daisy Miller appeared in the Cornhill Magazine in June-July 1878 and his An International Episode, also in the Cornhill Magazine, in December 1878 and January 1879. One many be reasonably sure that Trollope, a voracious consumer of contemporary fiction and himself a former editor of St. Pauls Magazine, read them both. In June 1878 he sold The Duke’s Children to All the Year Round. It did not begin its run, however, until October 1879, and James read it as he was finishing The Portrait of a Lady. Isabel Boncassen, the heroine of The Duke’s Children and an American, does not appear upon the scene until a third of the way through the novel. Since Trollope had the manuscript of The Duke’s Children by him during the three years preceding its publication, we cannot rule out the possibility that his portrait of an American in Europe was suggested in part by James’s stories, even though Trollope himself had already dealt with the “international” subject (in much less depth, to be sure) in He Knew He Was Right (1868–9) and The American Senator (1877).
Abstract 5128: Identification of RhoGEFs within the TWEAK-R (Fn14)-Rac1 signaling pathway that mediate glioblastoma cell invasion

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant primary adult brain tumor. Despite efforts at surgical resection of the glioma mass, invasive cells are always left behind and the tumor will inevitably recur and kill the patient. As such, novel therapeutics targeting pro-invasive factors could improve neurological outcomes and survival for these patients. This requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms driving glioma migration and invasion. We have been investigating whether the multifunctional cytokine tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and its receptor fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) regulate glioma cell invasive activity. We have previously demonstrated that Fn14 expression was elevated in the invasive rim of GBM specimens and migrating glioma cells in vitro. The Fn14 signaling axis is known to drive glioma invasion via Rac1. We have previously reported that Ect2, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rho family GTPases, including Rac1 and Cdc42, is overexpressed in GBM, and that overexpression of Ect2 correlates directly with tumor grade and inversely with patient survival. In this study we show that Ect2 regulates Rac1 activation downstream of Fn14. Depletion of Ect2 by siRNA duplexes abrogates Fn14-induced Rac1 activation and subsequent glioma cell migration and invasion. We also found that Cdc42 activation by TWEAK is directly mediated by Ect2. Interestingly, depletion of Cdc42 expression impairs TWEAK-induced Rac1 activation and also results in a significant reduction of glioma cell migration and invasion. This suggests that Cdc42 is, in part, important for Rac1 activation downstream of the TWEAK-Fn14 signaling pathway and argues that another GEF(s) may be involved in the Fn14-Rac1 signaling axis. Recently, we have identified Trio as an additional GEF that activates Rac1 downstream of Cdc42. It is also known that Trio expression correlates directly with brain tumor grade and inversely with patient survival. siRNA-mediated depletion of Trio inhibits TWEAK-induced Rac1 activation but not TWEAK-induced Cdc42 activation. Therefore, delineating the mechanisms of Fn14-RhoGEF-RhoGTPase signaling pathway, may lead to identification of novel targets that can serve as possible points of therapeutic intervention. (Supported by NIH R01-CA130940) Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5128.
New authority: Hamlet’s politics with (and against) Carl Schmitt

Carl Schmitt’s political thought has attained centrality in contemporary discussions of authority. Despite this, his complicated view of the interaction between religion and politics remains less well explored. We argue that his 1956 essay Hamlet oder Hekuba is essential to an understanding of Schmitt’s thought on authority because it is precisely this nexus of religion and politics which is at stake in his Hamlet reading. Schmitt depicts Shakespeare – through Hamlet – as standing in the unique historical position to see the political problem (or catastrophe) of modernity: the separation of theology from politics. For him, Hamlet depicts the borderland ‘in between’ competing and transforming worlds – or what he terms ‘the barbaric and the political.’ Hamlet must resolve conflicts within himself between politics inspired by Protestant (indebted specifically to Martin Luther) and Roman Catholic religious beliefs. We argue that it is only by attending to the Hamlet of Wittenberg that the point of Schmitt’s e...
Analysis on how to improve the quality and safety of yellow rice wine

Based on the analysis of the environment factors,the raw materials,the package,producing technology,products' storage and transportation,this paper points out that yellow rice wine's quality and safety issues are related to the entire process of raw materials,production,processing,storage and selling.Therefore,it is necessary for the wine producers to do as the following:paying attention to environmental factors so as to timely eliminate the possible environmental risks;strengthening the security checks of raw materials and package materials so as to eliminate the potential dangers;enhancing the products' technical analysis to eliminate the quality-and-safety-affecting factors;noticing the products' safety problems during storage and transportation;laying stress on the publicity for customers' right drinking.Only by fulfilling the above measures,the quality and safety of yellow rice wine can be ensured.
Research and Development Concerning a Device for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Heating Installations with Fluid Heat Transfer Medium Using a New Kind of Calorimetric System

The objective of this project is the conceptual design and construction of a new calorimeter with the necessary laboratory experiments. The operating principle of this calorimeter is based solely on temperature measurements in a heat bridge without moving parts. The new calorimeter is expected to require less servicing and have a longer useful life than currently available devices; also, it is expected to feature a higher measuring accuracy. In the course of the project work it has been found that realising the in fact rather simple physical principle leads to the technical limits of present temperature measurement technology. Experiments with selected temperature sensors Pt-500 and Pt-1000 have shown that temperature differences of 0.1 K can be determined with an accuracy of 1%. At the present stage, the work is concentrated on the development of the electronic measuring and evaluating unit. A laboratory trial in which the interaction of the transducers and the electronic components is to be tested is under preparation. Because of the difficulty of translating the theory into technical practice, in-depth investigations into the various factors that influence the temperature measurements had to be included in the proposed research programme.
Murine Modeling of Human Severe Congenital Neutropenia and Non-Immune Chronic Idopathic Neutropenia.

Severe Congenital Neutropenia (SCN) is a rare hematological disease manifested by a complete block in the maturation of neutrophils. The lack of neutrophils leads to recurrent bacterial and fungal infections. Most SCN patients have mutations in Ela2 , the gene encoding neutrophil elastase; however, introduction of SCN-patient mutations into murine Ela2 or disruption of murine Ela2 does not recapitulate neutropenia in mice. Thus, there are no mouse models of SCN. Gfi1 is a transcriptional repressor leukemia oncoprotein involved in HSC maintenance as well as proper lymphoid and myeloid development. Mice lacking Gfi1 have profound neutropenia. We recently described four patients in which Ela2 was intact but mutant for Gfi1. The heterozygous single aminoacid substitutions were found in zinc finger 5 (N382S) and zinc finger 6 (K403R) correlating to either SCN or Non-immune Chronic Idiopathic Neutropenia of Adults (NICINA) respectively. Given that Gfi1 null mice lack neutrophils, and that people with Gfi1 mutations display SCN or NICINA, we asked whether the human mutations when introduced into murine Gfi1 are sufficient to model neutropenia in mice. To this end, we constructed murine Gfi1 cDNAs containing the SCN and NICINA patient mutations, retrovirally overexpressed them in murine Lin- bone marrow cells, then analyzed them by in vitro differentiation assays. Strikingly, cells overexpressing Gfi1-N382S produced no granulocytic colonies (similar to the profound phenotype of SCN). Whereas, the expression of Gfi1-K403R mutation resulted in a moderate reduction in granulocytic colonies (corresponding to the mild phenotype of NICINA). We have constructed a virtual model of Gfi1 zinc finger/DNA interaction to explore the molecular defect engendered by the N382S mutation. At the meeting, we will discuss the molecular basis of the profound phenotype engendered by Gfi1-N382S expression. These data demonstrate for the first time that human neutropenia can be modeled in murine cultures through the introduction of mutations in Gfi1 found in SCN and NICINA patients.
Teaching infant car seat installation via interactive visual presence: An experimental trial

ABSTRACTObjective: A large portion of child restraint systems (car seats) are installed incorrectly, especially when first-time parents install infant car seats. Expert instruction greatly improves the accuracy of car seat installation but is labor intensive and difficult to obtain for many parents. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of 3 ways of communicating instructions for proper car seat installation: phone conversation; HelpLightning, a mobile application (app) that offers virtual interactive presence permitting both verbal and interactive (telestration) visual communication; and the manufacturer's user manual.Methods: A sample of 39 young adults of child-bearing age who had no previous experience installing car seats were recruited and randomly assigned to install an infant car seat using guidance from one of those 3 communication sources.Results: Both the phone and interactive app were more effective means to facilitate accurate car seat installation compared to the user manual. Ther...
Whence the eigenstate–eigenvalue link?

Abstract David Wallace has recently argued that the eigenstate–eigenvalue (E–E) link has no place in serious discussions of quantum mechanics on the grounds that, as he claims, the E–E link is an invention of philosophers rather than the community of practicing physicists. This raises an historical question regarding the origin of the link. This paper aims to answer this question by tracing the historical development of the link through six key textbooks of quantum mechanics. In light of the historical evidence from these textbooks, it is argued that Wallace provides insufficient grounds for dismissing the E–E link from discussions of quantum mechanics.
Proteomics for early prenatal screening of pregnancy complications: a 2017 perspective.

In modern obstetrics, prenatal screening is routinely offered in the late first trimester of pregnancy for the evaluation of aneuploidy-affected fetuses and the detection of pregnant women at risk ...
The Basic-Region Leucine-Zipper Family of DNA Binding Proteins

Related functions in proteins are commonly mediated by conserved structural motifs. Such motifs are widespread in transcriptional regulatory proteins. In this review, we will focus on the basic-region leucine-zipper or bZip motif, which is involved in dimerization and DNA recognition. Our emphasis will be on the relationship between the sequence and structure of the bZip motif, and the ways in which structural information relates to our understanding of the function of bZip proteins.
DAPK1 Mediates LTD by Making CaMKII/GluN2B Binding LTP Specific.

The death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) is a potent mediator of neuronal cell death. Here, we find that DAPK1 also functions in synaptic plasticity by regulating the Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). CaMKII and T286 autophosphorylation are required for both long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD), two opposing forms of synaptic plasticity underlying learning, memory, and cognition. T286-autophosphorylation induces CaMKII binding to the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) subunit GluN2B, which mediates CaMKII synaptic accumulation during LTP. We find that the LTP specificity of CaMKII synaptic accumulation is due to its LTD-specific suppression by calcineurin (CaN)-dependent DAPK1 activation, which in turn blocks CaMKII binding to GluN2B. This suppression is enabled by competitive DAPK1 versus CaMKII binding to GluN2B. Negative regulation of DAPK1/GluN2B binding by Ca2+/CaM results in synaptic DAPK1 removal during LTP but retention during LTD. A pharmacogenetic approach showed that suppression of CaMKII/GluN2B binding is a DAPK1 function required for LTD.