cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 260: Identifying cancer drug sensitivity using live cell imaging dynamic BH3 profiling of solid tumor core biopsies

Given the rapid development of new small molecule cancer therapeutics, there is a growing need for predictive diagnostics to match cancer patients with optimal therapies. We previously developed a precision medicine technology with a functional phenotypic readout called dynamic BH3 profiling (DBP). DBP exposes cancer cells to drugs and measures induction of apoptotic cell death signaling after 24 hours ex vivo. Nonetheless, the application of DBP to core biopsies from metastatic tumors or other limited samples remains a technical challenge. Here, we adapt the DBP protocol for use on samples with small numbers of cells such as core biopsies. We maximize information returned per cell by imaging mitochondrial integrity in response to BH3 peptide exposure over time. We first show that the adapted protocol works in limited numbers of cancer cell lines, and in limited cells from the MMTV-PyMT genetically engineered mouse model of breast cancer. Specifically, we show that our ex vivo DBP predictions of the MMTV-PyMT mouse tumor matches known in vivo response. Finally, we apply our modified protocol to patient derived xenografts of colon cancer and primary patient colon tumors. We expect that our adapted protocol will find utility as a clinical biomarker, and as a method to optimize pre-clinical drug testing. Citation Format: Rebecca German, Elizaveta Lavrova, Timothy Hagan, Otari Chipashvili, Ewa Sicinska, James Cleary, Kimmie Ng, Anthony Letai, Patrick Bhola. Identifying cancer drug sensitivity using live cell imaging dynamic BH3 profiling of solid tumor core biopsies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 260.
Sequential Pneumatic Compression in the Arm in Neurocritical Patients with a Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheter: A Randomized Trial.

Peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) are increasingly used for parenteral access in critically ill hospitalized patients, but they increase the incidence of upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UE DVT). Sequential compression devices (SCDs) applied to the legs effectively reduce lower extremity DVT, but have not been tested in the arms. Our objective was to determine whether SCDs applied to the arm may reduce the risk of PICC-associated UE DVT. This was a retrospective study of randomized, single-center, controlled clinical trial on patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit with critical neurological illness who had a PICC and were not receiving anticoagulants. Between January 2014 and October 2016, patients were randomized 1:1 to an intervention group having a custom SCD applied to the arm harboring the PICC or to a control group. The primary endpoint was ultrasound-detected UE DVT. Following randomization of 77 subjects, the study was terminated due to excess DVT in the treatment arm. UE DVT was detected in 18 subjects (29.0%), and it was more frequent among those in the SCD group (13/31 [41.9%] vs. the control group 5/31 [16.1%]; p = 0.049). After accounting for crossovers, the difference was still significant (12/28 [43.0%] vs. 6/34 [17.6%]; p = 0.048). Yet, symptomatic UE DVT (n = 3) and pulmonary embolism without evidence of lower extremity DVT (n = 2) were only observed in patients who were not wearing the SCD on the arm. Although UE DVT is commonly associated with PICC use, the results of this trial do not support the use of SCD on the arm for DVT prevention. Further research on this strategy may nonetheless be justified. This trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT01670188.
A phase II study of fludarabine (F), cyclophosphamide (C), and mitoxantrone (M) plus rituximab (R) (FCM-R) in previously untreated patients (pts) with CLL ≤ 70 years (yrs)

6607 Background: Rituximab plus chemotherapy has demonstrated higher and better quality responses (MRD-negative) than chemotherapy alone. FCR produced overall response rates of 95% and complete rem...
4D N=1 Kaluza-Klein superspace

Motivated by recent efforts to encode 11D supergravity in 4D N=1 superfields, we introduce a general covariant framework relevant for describing any higher dimensional supergravity theory in external 4D N=1 superspace with n additional internal coordinates. The superspace geometry admits both external and internal diffeomorphisms and provides the superfields necessary to encode the components of the higher dimensional vielbein, except for the purely internal sector, in a universal way that depends only on the internal dimension n. In contrast, the N=1 superfield content of the internal sector of the metric is expected to be highly case dependent and involve covariant matter superfields, with additional hidden higher dimensional Lorentz and supersymmetry transformations realized in a non-linear manner.
Meta-analysis on field epidemiological protective efficacy of varicella attenuated live vaccine

Objective To evaluate field epidemiological protective efficacy of varicella attenuated live vaccine so as to provide evidence for optimization of immunization program.Methods The literatures on casecontrol studies of field epidemiological protective efficacy of vericella attenuated live vaccine since 2000 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure database and National Center for Biotechnology Information database.The statistical analysis was performed with RevMan5.1 software.Results Twenty-four studies were included.The vaccine efficacy(VE) of varicella attenuated live vaccine was 69％ (95％ CI:60％-75％).The VE of varicella attenuated live vaccine on preschool children and pupils were 86％ (95％ CI:75％-92％)and 67％ (95％ CI:50％-79％),respectively.Conclusions Varicella attenuated live vaccine has protective efficacy,which will reduce over time. Key words: Chickenpox vaccine; Protective efficacy; Meta-analysis
Black Femininity and Stand Your Ground: Controlling Images and the Elusive Defense of Self-Defense:

Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws are color-blind and gender neutral in language, providing all citizens the right to use deadly force with no obligation to retreat when they experience a “reasonable” t...
Demonstrating the Negligible Contribution of Optical HST ACS Galaxies to Source-subtracted Cosmic Infrared Background Fluctuations in Deep Spitzer IRAC Images

We study the possible contribution of optical galaxies detected with the Hubble ACS instrument to the near-IR cosmic infrared (CIB) fluctuations in deep Spitzer images. The Spitzer data used in this analysis are obtained in the course of the GOODS project, from which we select four independent 10' × 10' regions observed at both 3.6 and 4.5 μm. ACS source catalogs for all of these areas are used to construct maps containing only their emissions in the ACS B,V,i,z bands. We find that deep Spitzer data exhibit CIB fluctuations remaining after removal of foreground galaxies of a very different clustering pattern at both 3.6 and 4.5 μm than the ACS galaxies could contribute. We also find that there are very good correlations between the ACS galaxies and the removed galaxies in the Spitzer maps, but practically no correlations remain with the residual Spitzer maps used to identify the CIB fluctuations. These contributions become negligible on larger scales used to probe the CIB fluctuations arising from clustering. This means that the ACS galaxies cannot contribute to the large-scale CIB fluctuations found in the residual Spitzer data. The absence of their contributions also means that the CIB fluctuations arise at z 6.5 as the Lyman break of their sources must be redshifted past the longest ACS band, or the fluctuations have to originate in the more local but extremely low luminosity galaxies.
Divergence in a stress-associated gene regulatory network underlies differential growth control in the Brassicaceae family

Abstract: The use of marginal lands in agriculture is increasingly necessary to support the global human population. Elevated salinity frequently occurs in degraded soils and hinders their use due to the negative impact salt stress has on plant growth. While the hormonal networks controlling growth have been extensively characterized in stress-sensitive plants, it is unclear how these pathways are rewired in plants that maintain growth in extreme environments. We have compared the physiological and molecular responses of four closely related members of the Brassicaceae family including two salt-tolerant species (Shrenkiella parvula and Eutrema salsugineum) and two salt-sensitive species (Sisymbrium irio and Arabidopsis thaliana) to the salt stress-induced hormone, abscisic acid (ABA). While ABA inhibits root growth in most species, we uncovered substantial growth-promoting effects in Shrenkiella parvula, due to an enhancement in cell elongation. Comparative transcriptomics informed by phylogenetic relationships uncovered lineage and extremophile-specific differences in ABA response. DNA Affinity Purification followed by sequencing (DAP-Seq) was utilized to establish gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in each species for the entire ABA-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING FACTORS (AREB/ABF) clade. Comparative GRN analysis identified relative conservation in the core ABA signaling GRN, while the auxin growth-hormone GRN was highly divergent, revealing how patterns of gain and loss of cis-regulatory elements mediate novel physiological outcomes. Our findings demonstrate that the targets of hormone signaling pathways are highly divergent between species and that diametric inversion of growth regulation is possible, even between closely related species of the same plant family.
Risk Stratification for Subsequent Pregnancy After Prior Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare but serious cardiac complication of pregnancy. Patients with PPCM may not have completed their reproductive years and may desire future pregnancies. This review summarizes the epidemiology and pathophysiology of PPCM and gives an overview of the current knowledge of risk factors that can be used to assess the risk of pregnancy after PPCM. An increasing body of work has been reported on pregnancy outcomes in women with a history of PPCM. The most dominant determinate of poor outcome in subsequent pregnancies (SSP) is left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), where persistently impaired LVEF pertains significant morbidity and mortality associated with future pregnancies. Major society guidelines recommend against SSP in women with PPCM who do not recover their LVEF. However, some experts discourage SSP even among women who normalized their LVEF due to reports of recurrence of heart failure. At present, limited data exists to allow risk stratification in this population; therefore, assessment for the lack of subclinical cardiac dysfunction may provide some reassurance. The care of women with PPCM and reproductive health for women after PPCM can be challenging. Robust data highlights the increased risk for women with persistently depressed LVEF; however, evidence to risk stratify those with normalized cardiac function is limited. Going forward, further studies investigating factors predicting pregnancy outcome will hopefully provide data to allow more accurate understanding of risks and optimal management in this population.
A Study of Wearable Wireless Power Transfer Systems on the Human Body

A study is performed to evaluate the performance of wearable Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) systems on various parts of the human body. Specifically, the effects of the human body on the Power Transfer Efficiency (PTE) of a Conformal Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonance (CSCMR) WPT system is systematically examined. Two CSCMR systems are designed to operate at the 27.12 MHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, one on a 1.5 mm thick FR-4 substrate and one on a 1.5 mm thick ferrite sheet. Simulations and measurements of these two configurations are performed for 26 different placement locations on the human body. Considering our measured data on these 26 locations, it is found that when a CSCMR WPT system with a traditional substrate, such as FR-4, is placed directly on the skin of the human body, its PTE decreases on average by 7.2%. However, when the same system uses a ferromagnetic substrate instead of FR-4, its PTE decreases on average by only 1.6%. Additionally, a study of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for the different placement locations is performed.
Quantile-dependent expressivity of serum C-reactive protein concentrations in family sets.

Background "Quantile-dependent expressivity" occurs when the effect size of a genetic variant depends upon whether the phenotype (e.g., C-reactive protein, CRP) is high or low relative to its distribution. We have previously shown that the heritabilities (h 2) of coffee and alcohol consumption, postprandial lipemia, lipoproteins, leptin, adiponectin, adiposity, and pulmonary function are quantile-specific. Whether CRP heritability is quantile-specific is currently unknown. Methods Serum CRP concentrations from 2,036 sibships and 6,144 offspring-parent pairs were analyzed from the Framingham Heart Study. Quantile-specific heritability from full-sib (βFS, h 2 ={(1 + 8rspouseβFS)0.5 - 1}/(2rspouse)) and offspring-parent regression slopes (βOP, h 2 = 2βOP/(1 + rspouse)) were estimated robustly by quantile regression with nonparametric significance determined from 1,000 bootstrap samples. Results Quantile-specific h 2 (±SE) increased with increasing percentiles of the offspring's age- and sex-adjusted CRP distribution when estimated from βOP (P trend = 0.0004): 0.02 ± 0.01 at the 10th, 0.04 ± 0.01 at the 25th, 0.10 ± 0.02 at the 50th, 0.20 ± 0.05 at the 75th, and 0.33 ± 0.10 at the 90th percentile, and when estimated from βFS (P trend = 0.0008): 0.03±0.01 at the 10th, 0.06 ± 0.02 at the 25th, 0.14 ± 0.03 at the 50th, 0.24 ± 0.05 at the 75th, and 0.53 ± 0.21 at the 90th percentile. Conclusion Heritability of serum CRP concentration is quantile-specific, which may explain or contribute to the inflated CRP differences between CRP (rs1130864, rs1205, rs1800947, rs2794521, rs3091244), FGB (rs1800787), IL-6 (rs1800795, rs1800796), IL6R (rs8192284), TNF-α (rs1800629) and APOE genotypes following CABG surgery, stroke, TIA, curative esophagectomy, intensive periodontal therapy, or acute exercise; during acute coronary syndrome or Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia; or in patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, ankylosing spondylitis, obesity or inflammatory bowel disease or who smoke.
Biopsychosocial factors related to transition among adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease: A systematic review

It is critical to support adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with sickle cell disease (SCD) during transition to adult healthcare. We provide a systematic review of literature related to biopsychosocial influences on transition among AYAs with SCD. Data sources included studies published between January 2010 and May 2020. Forty-four studies were included. Biopsychosocial factors related to improved transition outcomes included older AYA age, greater disease severity, intact neurocognitive functioning, and greater pain coping skills. Financial and insurance barriers were noted. The importance of cultural considerations and provider communication were noted across two qualitative studies. Ten studies assessed efficacy of transition interventions, with 80 % resulting in improvements; however, retention in programs was low and gaps in knowledge and skills remained. Incorporation of early, ongoing assessments of transition readiness and barriers into culturally-tailored interventions aimed at improving transition outcomes is recommended. Examination of longitudinal relationships and interactions across biopsychosocial influences is needed.
Signal Trafficking with Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles

The gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen that causes infection in immunocompromised individuals, including those with the heritable disease cystic fibrosis (CF). Quorum sensing (QS) has been proposed to be important for colonization of the CF lung, and virulence studies indicate that inactivation of QS in P. aeruginosa significantly reduces virulence in mammalian, plant, and insect models. Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) biosynthesis proceeds through a head-to- head condensation of anthranilic acid and β-keto-decanoic acid to form the immediate precursor of PQS, 2-heptyl-4-quinolone (HHQ). This chapter focuses on membrane vesicles (MVs), including their potential use as trafficking vehicles for a variety of cargo, including cell-cell signals. To be utilized as trafficking vehicles, MVs must (i) have the ability to deliver their cargo to other cells and (ii) possess physiologically relevant cargo, necessitating transfer between cells. MVs isolated from P. aeruginosa have significant antimicrobial activity, particularly against gram-positive bacteria. This antimicrobial activity is multifaceted, including both small molecule and protein components. Recent studies using thin sectioning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that MVs were consistently present in the biofilm EPS matrix.
Transcription of a Productively Rearranged Ig VDJCα Does Not Require the Presence of HS4 in the Igh 3′ Regulatory Region

V gene assembly, class switch recombination, and somatic hypermutation are gene-modifying processes essential to the development of an effective Ab response. If inappropriately applied, however, these processes can mediate genetic changes that lead to disease (e.g., lymphoma). A series of control elements within the Ig H chain (Igh) locus has been implicated in regulating these processes as well as in regulating IgH gene transcription. These include the intronic enhancer (Emu) and several elements at the 3' end of the locus (hs1,2, hs3a, hs3b, and hs4) known collectively as the 3' regulatory region. Although it is clear that the Emu plays a unique role in V gene assembly, it has not been established whether there are unique functions for each element within the 3' regulatory region. In earlier studies in mice and in mouse cell lines, pairwise deletion of hs3b and hs4 had a dramatic effect on both class switch recombination and IgH gene transcription; deletion of an element almost identical with hs3b (hs3a), however, yielded no discernible phenotype. To test the resulting hypothesis that hs4 is uniquely required for these processes, we induced the deletion of hs4 within a bacterial artificial chromosome transgene designed to closely approximate the 3' end of the natural Igh locus. When introduced into an Ig-secreting cell line, an Igalpha transcription unit within the bacterial artificial chromosome was expressed efficiently and the subsequent deletion of hs4 only moderately affected Igalpha expression. Thus, hs4 does not play a uniquely essential role in the transcription of a productively rearranged Ig VDJCalpha transcription unit.
Improvements to the Point Halving Algorithm

The focus of this paper is on elliptic curves defined over GF(2 n ). Here we provide enhancements to the elliptic curve point halving algorithm that was introduced in [13]. We discuss a new field square root algorithm which provides significant improvement over other field square root algorithms. We describe techniques to improve performance. Lastly, we develop an improved version of the elliptic curve half for curves with cofactor of 4.
Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business

In this chapter, we provide an introduction to electronic commerce and electronic business. A critical theme is that despite the failure of so many dot-coms, e-commerce is becoming more pervasive. We also argue that impacts on businesses and markets are complex and often counterintuitive. First, we present an overview of the current status of e-commerce and provide a definition that focuses on the commercial exchange of goods, services, and information between buyers and sellers, rather than on internal firm transactions. Next, we trace the development of e-commerce from several predecessors to the Internet that served as prior platforms for electronic commerce. Then, we introduce the notion of a business model, including business-to-consumer and business-to-business models. We note critical flaws in many early models, such as the lack of attention to profits. We extend the business model discussion by overviewing innovative e-commerce marketing strategies, many of which highlight new ways of interacting with customers. We explore the use of the Internet to support consumer-initiated transactions, such as those common on services like eBay and Priceline. One important enabler for e-commerce, electronic payment, is covered next. Then, we introduce several emerging technologies that are likely to extend e-commerce into new arenas. We present an overview of important barriers that have slowed the adoption of e-commerce. In the final section we examine the often counterintuitive results of research on e-commerce impacts on competition and markets. Key themes and conclusions are provided in the final section. Keywords: collaborative e-commerce; dot.coms; e-business; e-commerce; Internet business models; payment systems
Development of 3-D Imaging Systems for Postal Automation

The U.S. Postal Service is sponsoring advanced research in the development of three-dimensional imaging systems for postal automation. Three contractors have successfully designed and constructed ranging systems based on techniques which include structured light triangulation and phase shift detection. Extensive tests are being conducted to evaluate their performance under simulated mail sorting conditions. Both stationary and moving target fields of single and multiple mail pieces have been examined. Initial results indicate that image acquisition is feasible in real time, while a range resolution in the order of less than 10 mills can be achieved. Studies are under way to assess possible applications of these systems in mail sorting operations, such as culling and singulation, and for transfer into cost-effective, deployable devices.
Pathogeneses of respiratory infections with virulent and attenuated vaccinia viruses

Respiratory infection with the neurovirulent vaccinia virus (VV) strain Western Reserve (WR) results in an acute infection of the lung followed by dissemination of the virus to other organs and causes lethality in mice. The mechanisms of lethality are not well-understood. In this study, we analyzed virus replication and host immune responses after intranasal infection with lethal and non-lethal doses of VV using the WR strain and the less virulent Wyeth strain. The WR strain replicated more vigorously in the lung and in the brain than the Wyeth strain. There were, however, no differences between the virus titers in the brains of mice infected with the higher lethal dose and the lower non-lethal dose of WR strain, suggesting that the amount of virus replication in the brain is unlikely to be the sole determining factor of lethality. The WR strain grew better in primary mouse lung cells than the Wyeth strain. Lethal infection with WR strain was associated with a reduced number of lymphocytes and an altered phenotype of the T cells in the lung compared to non-lethal infections with the WR or Wyeth strains. Severe thymus atrophy with a reduction of CD4 and CD8 double positive T cells was also observed in the lethal infection. These results suggest that the lethality induced by intranasal infection with a high dose of the WR strain is caused by the higher replication of virus in lung cells and immune suppression during the early phase of the infection, resulting in uncontrolled virus replication in the lung.
Evolution: The Island of Misfit Mammoths.

Summary The genomes of two woolly mammoths have been sequenced. One of the last survivors had reduced genetic diversity. Although divergent in their mitochondrial genomes, the mammoths had similar nuclear genomes, a finding germane to elephant conservation.
The Tripled Plot and Center of Sula

Toni Morrison's Sula begins and ends with death: The "prologue" to the novel tells of the death of both a neighborhood and its characteristic way of life, and the "epilogue," from which the above is quoted, is set in a cemetery where Nel Wright Greene is finally beginning to mourn the death of her friend Sula Peace, twenty-five years after the fact. These deaths, as Nel's thoughts about the grave markers suggest, are linked to wider scenes of death, to war and to the longing for peace, and, significantly, to freedom through the formal structure of the novel. The untitled prologue describes the settling of the Bottom by a freed slave, thereby calling up associations with the Civil War, and of its destruction a century later in order to make way for a golf course, calling to mind the aftermath of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, which often seemed more like a war on the poor, with its massive urban renewal (removal) projects that displaced many black people. The epilogue is titled "1965," reminding us of both the war in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. The novel's other chapters are also titled with years, with the first, "1919," recalling World War I and the last, "1941," World War II. Each of the ten major chapters includes a death, sometimes metaphoric but more usually actual: "1919" describes the death of a nameless and quite literally faceless soldier in war and Shadrack's founding of National Suicide Day. " 1920" includes
Answering Queries with Database Restrictions

I am a Ph.D. student in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. My main research interests include query reformulation in the database domain. In particular, I work on the problems of how to do query planning and reformulation when relations have limited access patterns [7,9]. That is, the binding patterns of the relations require values to be specified for certain attributes in order to retrieve data from a relation. Most of my work is based on the TSIM-MIS project (http://www-db.stanford.edu/tsimmis/), a data-integration project [2,10,11] at Stanford.
Chapter 12 – Solid Waste

Solid wastes are often called municipal solid wastes (MSW), and consist of all the solid and semisolid materials discarded by a community. The fraction of MSW produced in domestic households is called refuse. The relationship between solid waste and human disease is intuitively obvious but difficult to prove. The quantities of MSW generated in a community may be estimated by one of three techniques: input analysis, secondary data analysis, or output analysis. The solid waste problem has three facets: source, collection, and disposal. The first is perhaps the most difficult. Litter is unsightly, a breeding ground for rats and other rodents, and hazardous to wildlife. Antilitter campaigns and attempts to increase public awareness have been ongoing for many years. The beverage industry is thus forced to rely more heavily on returnable containers, reducing the one-way containers, such as steel cans or plastic bottles. Such a process saves money, materials, and energy, and has the added effect of reducing litter.
Bacterial Adhesion: Considerations Within A Risk-Based Approach To Cleaning Validation

Pharmaceutical manufacturing processes are vulnerable to varying degrees of microbial challenge (hazard) quantifiable as microbial ingress, and microbial retention risks affecting raw materials and inputs to the final product. Control over these risks is exacted by both purposefully designed and incidental (or fortuitous) properties of the manufacturing processes. Within the manufacturing environment, equipment cleaning and hold processes are uniquely prone to microbial challenge yet paradoxically demonstrate the greatest potential for mitigation of these risks. Cognition of those components and contributing factors associated with microbial challenge are necessary to facilitate scientifically sound risk assessments. In the context of equipment cleaning and hold processes, risk assessments are necessary to identify and contrive conditions, which are truly worst case for the validation of the control of microbial challenge. A number of components contribute to the risk of microbial retention, yet the phenomenon of microbial adhesion to surfaces remains one of the most ubiquitous and perplexing. The dual purpose of this review is to primarily pre9cis and provide in a single reference those multi-factorial features and variables contributing to bacterial adhesion, and secondly to provide a guide for interpretation of those considerations for integration into a risk-based approach to cleaning validation.
A smart time-frequency exciser for spread spectrum communications

A smart adaptive time-frequency (ATF) excision algorithm is proposed to perform interference suppression in spread spectrum communications. The ATF exciser has the intelligence of deciding the domain of the excision. Additionally, adaptive subband transforms are utilized for frequency domain excision in order to track the spectral variations of the incoming signal. This adaptive transform approach brings significant performance improvements in spectral resolution. Bit error rate (EER) performance of the novel ATF exciser-based direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) system receiver is compared with other existing transform domain-based DSSS receivers. Time localized or frequency-localized interferer types and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels are considered in the study. In all cases, the smart ATF exciser-based DSSS receiver drastically outperforms the existing competitors. Its robust performance against the variations of the interferers is verified.
An iterative learning method for partially known dynamical systems

An iterative learning method to solve the problem of controlling dynamical systems with partially known dynamics is presented. A projection of the system input and output signals onto a set of orthogonal functions is utilized to generate the control signal at each iteration. A convergence proof of the proposed algorithm is given. Two examples demonstrating the validity of the algorithm are presented. The extension of the proposed algorithm to nonlinear systems is shown. >
Oxidation‐Reduction Physical Chemistry of the Acceptor Quinone Complex in Bacterial Photosynthetic Reaction Centers: Evidence for a New Model of Herbicide Activity

The oxidation-reduction midpoint potential (Em) of the primary quinone (QA) of the acceptor quinone complex of bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers has been measured as a function of pH in the presence and absence of ubiquinone and o-phenanthroline (o-Phen). Reaction centers, isolated from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, were incorporated into egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Contrary to earlier reports, the Em was found to exhibit a pH-dependence very similar to that observed in chromatophores, with a slope of - 60 mV/pH up to a p K for Q−A/Q−A(H+) at pH 9.5–10.0. In the presence of ubiquinone to reconstitute the secondary quinone (QB), the Em/pH curve of QA was shifted to lower potentials, indicating that the binding of Qn (actually QBH2) was suppressed by reduction of QA. o-Phen, an inhibitor of electron transport from QA to QB, raised the pK of Q−A/Q−A(H+) and, at pH-values below but not above this pK, reversed the effects of QB. In the absence of QB, o-Phen lowered the Em of QA above the pK but had no effect below it. These results are discussed in terms of interactions between the binding sites for QA and QB (A- and B-sites). It is suggested that ubiquinone and o-Phen compete for the B-site in a mutually exclusive fashion, and that their relative binding strengths are modulated by the redox and protonation state of QA. In preparations with low quinone content, o-Phen inhibits photochemistry suggesting that it can also compete with ubiquinone at the A-site. Competitive displacement of quinone from the B-site by o-Phen and other inhibitors is suggested as the primary mode of action of a broad class of herbicides active in Photosystem II of plants. The relative binding affinities of the various redox states of QB are also discussed and it is concluded that the order of binding strength is: Q−B → QB → QBH2. This accounts for the atypical stability of the semiquinone and the lower average Em for reduction to the quinol, compared to free ubiquinone in the quinone pool. It may also be significant in the functioning of quinones in communicating reducing equivalents from the reaction center to other electron transport complexes in the intact membrane.
Role of the Atmospheric Mean-state on the Initiation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in a Tropical Channel Model

Tropical channel models, defined as models that are global in the zonal direction but bounded in the meridional direction, are particularly useful for simulating the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) and understanding its physical and dynamical basis. Influences from the extratropics through the lateral boundaries have been found to be essential to the reproduction of the initiation of certain MJO events. This led to a hypothesis that multi-year simulations using a tropical channel model would reproduce reasonable MJO statistics under the influence of prescribed lateral boundary conditions derived from global reanalyses. Interestingly, the MJO statistics in such a multi-year simulation by a high-resolution tropical channel model are not better than those from global climate models. The error in the atmospheric mean state is found to be a possible reason for the poor MJO statistics in the simulation. Nevertheless, even with a large error in the mean state, the multi-year simulation captures two MJO events previously found to be initiated by extratropical influences. However, the model does not reproduce a third event, whose initiation is not directly influenced by the extratropics. This implies that in the absence of dynamical interactions between the MJO and the lateral boundary conditions, the error in the mean state could be sufficient to prevent the MJO initiation. To explore this third MJO event further, a series of sensitivity tests are conducted. These tests show that the simulation of this event is neither critically influenced by the cumulus parameterization employed, nor the initial conditions when the model is integrated 2 weeks prior to the MJO initiation. The model captures this event when the MJO signal is already present in the initial conditions. The use of high-resolution sea surface temperature does not improve the simulation of the third MJO event. A higher-resolution nested domain covering the Indo-Pacific warm pool region and including a cloud-system resolving domain over the Indonesian Maritime Continent has little effect on the MJO initiation over the Indian Ocean. In <2 weeks the error in the simulation is comparable to the climate error. The role of the simulated MJO on the mean state is also explored. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.
Daily variations in plasma follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and progesterone in the normal menstrual cycle.

ABSTRACT Plasma follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were measured daily throughout a single cycle in 21 young women with apparently regular menses. Plasma progesterone levels were determined in aliquots of the same samples in 18 of the women. Plasma FSH levels increased in the early follicular phase, dropped to a preovulatory nadir and then rose to a peak usually coincident with or one day after the midcycle LH peak. The FSH peak averaged 19.6 mlU/ml and the LH peak 76.3 mlU/ml. Luteal phase levels of FSH and LH were lower than the follicular phase levels. Luteal FSH levels declined progressively to a nadir which usually occurred 3 or 4 days prior to the onset of the next menses. A late luteal FSH rise occurred after the luteal nadir. In contrast, luteal LH levels remained stable. In each of 4 women, the luteal rise in progesterone occurred after the midcycle gonadotropin peaks. The interval, however, was variable, ranging from 0 to 4 days.
A Controllable Silver Stain for Nerve Fibers and Nerve Endings

A paraffin section method is described with a yellow-brown-black color range comparable to that of Ranson's pyridine silver block stain. After impregnation with activated protargol and reduction with a fine grain photographic developer, silver nitrate impregnation and reduction are repeated as often as necessary. The procedure is as follows:Place hydrated sections of tissue fixed in chloral hydrate (25 g. in 100 ml. of 50% alcohol) in 1% aqueous protargol (Winthrop Chemical Co.) containing 5-6 g. metallic copper for 12-24 hours. After rinsing in 2 changes of distilled water, reduce 5 to 10 minutes in: Elon (Eastman Kodak Co.) 0.2 g., Na2SO3, dessicated, 10 g., hydroquinone 0.5 g., sodium borate powder 0.1 g., distilled water 100 ml. Wash thoroly in 4 or 5 changes of distilled water and place in 1% aqueous AgNO3 for 10-20 minutes at 28°-50° C. Rinse in 2 or 3 changes of distilled water and reduce in the elon-hydroquinone solution. After thoroly washing in 4 or 5 changes of distilled water, examine under mi...
Tax Reform Unraveling

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was widely heralded as the most significant change in our nation's tax law since the income tax was extended to the masses during World War II. It was the crowning domestic policy achievement of President Ronald Reagan, who proclaimed it "the best antipoverty measure, the best pro-family measure, and the best job-creation measure ever to come out of the Congress of the United States." The law's rate reductions and base broadening reforms were mimicked throughout the countries belonging to the OECD. Even at the time, however, reading the paeans to this legislation was like watching a Tennessee Williams play: something was terribly wrong, but nobody was talking about it. Two decades later, the changes wrought by the 1986 act have proven neither revolutionary nor stable. Tax experts now regard the 1986 act as a promise failed. The public seems to agree, and considerable public support exists for a "flat tax" or a national sales tax to replace the income tax. I shall examine the most important individual and corporate income tax changes since 1986, before turning to proposals for restructuring the nation's tax system.
Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy with a continuum probe

We report 2D Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy obtained in the pump–probe geometry using a continuum probe. An acousto-optic pulse shaper placed in the pump arm of a standard pump-continuum probe experiment permits 2D spectroscopy that probes a broad spectral range. We demonstrate the method on a simple dye system exhibiting vibrational wavepacket dynamics that modulate the peak shapes of the 2D spectra. The broad spectral range of the continuum probe allows us to observe vibronic cross peaks in the 2D spectra.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: valuation and Treatment of Patients at High Risk for Sudden Death

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heritable disease characterized by LV hypertrophy with markedly variable clinical, morphological, and genetic manifestations. It is the most common cause of sudden death in otherwise healthy young individuals. HCM patients often have disabling symptoms and are prone to arrhythmias. Frequently, there is associated LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction, LV outflow obstruction, and myocardial ischemia. Over the past decade, progress has been made in identifying patients who are at high risk for sudden death, in elucidating potential mechanisms of sudden death, and in defining therapeutic algorithms that may improve prognosis. It has also been possible to determine the genetic defect in some of the patients and to correlate clinical findings with the molecular defects. An exciting development has been the use of dual chamber pacemaker as an alternative to cardiac surgery to improve symptoms and relieve LV outflow obstruction.
STUDIES ON ENDEMIC PNEUMONIA OF THE ALBINO RAT II. THE NATURE OF THE CAUSAL AGENT IN EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED MICE

Coccobacilliform bodies, pleuropneumonia-like organisms, or other cultivable pathogenic bacteria were not demonstrable in lung and exudate suspensions from selected adult rats naturally infected with endemic pneumonia or from experimentally infected mice. The specific factor in lung suspensions from mice was identified with an agent which was active on dilution through 10(7). It failed to pass through Berkefeld N filters but was generally present in V filtrates, with a loss in titer up to 1000-fold. It was largely removed from suspension on centrifugation at a speed of 9000 R.P.M. for 30 minutes. Attempts to cultivate the agent in embryonated eggs were uniformly unsuccessful. In fluid suspension it failed to withstand storage at 40 degrees C. for a week but remained viable for at least 3 months in a frozen state under dry ice. The relation of the infective agent to viruses and to pleuropneumonia-like organisms is discussed.
Biomarkers in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Despite recent advances in medical treatment, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) continues to be associated with high morbidity and mortality. While the diagnosis is established via a right heart catheterisation, current non-invasive measures of disease severity and response to treatment used in clinical practice are the 6-min walk distance and the World Health Organization functional class. Although both parameters correlate with disease severity and prognosis, they have significant limitations. A major shortcoming in assessing PAH is lack of standardised, non-invasive, objective parameters that function as biomarkers to help assess the severity and prognosis of disease and to follow patients' response to treatment. In this article, we will review current knowledge on potential biomarkers associated with diagnosis, prognosis and response to treatment of PAH. Most biomarkers are either being evaluated for potential use in clinical practice, or being used as research tools.
Effect of Fungicide on Soybean Growth and Yield

In response to rising input costs and narrowing profit margins, soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] producers are continually looking for ways to increase soybean yield. One approach being promoted is the use of foliar fungicides, for both foliar pathogen control and nonfungicidal plant physiological effects. The objective of this field experiment was to evaluate a strobilurin and a triazole alone or in combination on soybean in the absence of foliar diseases to determine the potential effect on soybean growth and yield. The experiment was conducted in Iowa at one location in 2005 and two locations in 2006 with four soybean cultivars. Triazole (tebuconazole), a curative fungicide and strobilurin (pyraclostrobin), a preventative fungicide, were applied alone and in combination at growth stages R1, R3, and R5. Low levels of foliar diseases were observed. Seed yield for the control treatment averaged 4308 kg ha -1 across all sites. Foliar fungicides did not affect soybean seed yield. Few differences were observed among the treatments in soybean growth and yield components. Total biomass was 10% greater with the pyraclostrobin applied at R3 compared with the control, and was a result of increased stem weight. In this study, fungicides applied in the absence of foliar disease did not produce nonfungicidal physiological effect or associated yield improvement. It was concluded that environmental conditions and assessment of disease levels should be used as a guide for foliar fungicide application on soybean.
Association of Wegener's granulomatosis with HLA-B8.

Abstract An increased frequency of HLA-B8 was found in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis. HLA-B8 positive Wegener's granulomatosis patients did not have clinical characteristics which made them distinct from HLA-B8 negative patients. Since HLA-B8 has been found with increased frequency in certain “autoimmune” diseases, this finding may be important in understanding the pathogenesis of Wegener's granulomatosis.
Adiabatic Compressional Cooling of He 3

By adiabatic compression of a two-phase mixture of liquid and solid ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$, temperatures below 2.5 mK have been obtained. These are in the range expected for nuclear ordering in solid ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$.
Depletion of intestinal phosphate after operative injury activates the virulence of P aeruginosa causing lethal gut-derived sepsis

Background We explored the possibility that the opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa senses low phosphate (Pi) as a signal of host injury and shifts to a lethal phenotype. Methods Virulence expression in P aeruginosa was examined in vitro under low phosphate conditions by assessing expression of the PA-I lectin, a barrier dysregulating protein, pyocyanin, and biofilm production, and PstS, a phosphate scavenging protein. Virulence expression in vivo was assessed using operatively injured mice (30% hepatectomy) intestinally inoculated with P aeruginosa . Results In vitro experiments demonstrated that acute phosphate depletion resulted in an increase ( P = .001) in the expression the PA-I lectin, biofilm, pyocyanin, and PstS. Operative injury caused a depletion (P = .006) of intestinal phosphate concentration and increased mortality (60%) owing to intestinal P aeruginosa , which was prevented completely with oral phosphate supplementation and restoration of intestinal phosphate, neither of which were observed with systemic (IV) administration. PstS gene expression was 32-fold higher in P aeruginosa recovered from the cecum after hepatectomy indicating inadequate intestinal Pi. Conclusions Operative injury-induced intestinal phosphate depletion shifts the phenotype of P aeruginosa to express enhanced virulence in vitro and lethality in vivo. Intestinal phosphate repletion may be a novel strategy to contain pathogens associated with lethal gut-derived sepsis.
UCLA PUNNS --A Neural Network Machine For Computer Vision

The sequential processing paradigm limits current solutions for computer vision by restricting the number of functions which naturally map onto Von Neumann computing architectures. A variety of physical computing structures underlie the massive parallelism inherent in many visual functions. Therefore, further advances in general purpose vision must assume inseparability of function from structure. To combine function and structure we are investigating connectionist architectures using PUNNS (Perception Using Neural Network Simulation). Our approach is inspired and constrained by the analysis of visual functions that are computed in the neural networks of living things. PUNNS represents a massively parallel computer architecture which is evolving to allow the execution of certain visual functions in constant time, regardless of the size and complexity of the image. Due to the complexity and cost of building a neural net machine, a flexible neural net simulator is needed to invent, study and understand the behavior of complex vision algorithms. Some of the issues involved in building a simulator are how to compactly describe the interconnectivity of the neural network, how to input image data, how to program the neural network, and how to display the results of the network. This paper describes the implementation of PUNNS. Simulation examples and a comparison of PUNNS to other neural net simulators will be presented.