cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NISLucYFP/wt knock-in mouse model for studying in vivo transcriptional regulation of Na+/I- symporter

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA LB-86 Na+/I- symporter (NIS) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that mediates active iodide uptake in thyroid follicular epithelial cells. NIS is also expressed in non-thyroid tissues, such as salivary gland, stomach and lactating mammary gland. NIS-mediated iodide uptake is the basis for targeted radionuclide imaging and ablation of tumors expressing NIS. Thus, it is of clinical significance to selectively increase NIS expression in thyroid or breast tissue to facilitate NIS-mediated radionuclide imaging and therapy in patients with thyroid cancer or breast cancer. In addition, it is also desired to selectively decrease NIS expression in non-targeted tissues to eliminate unwanted side effects of NIS-mediated radionuclide therapy. To examine NIS transcriptional regulation in vivo, we engineered a NISlucYFP/wt knock-in mouse, in which expression of the reporter gene, luciferase-YFP fusion gene, is driven by endogenous NIS promoter. Dual reporter gene, the firefly luciferase gene fused with YFP gene, was inserted into NIS locus at the upstream of NIS start codon by homologous recombination. Targeted ES cells were screened by Southern blot assay, and NISLucYFP/wt knock-in heterozygous mice were screened by PCR. IVIS imaging of the NISlucYFP/wt knock-in mouse showed that luciferase is expressed in thyroid, salivary gland, as well as mammary gland, indicating that NIS expression in these tissues are mainly controlled at transcriptional level. We also found that luciferase expression is further increased in thyroid tissues of animals supplemented with low-iodine diet and in lactating mammary gland. Taken together, IVIS imaging of cells derived from NISLucYFP/wt knock-in mouse will greatly facilitate high throughput screening for factor(s) selectively increase/decrease NIS expression in tissues of interest.
Sustaining multistakeholder alliances.

BACKGROUND Multistakeholder alliances that bring together diverse organizations to work on community-level health issues are playing an increasingly prominent role in the U.S. health care system. Yet, these alliances by their nature are fragile. In particular, low barriers to exit make alliances particularly vulnerable to disruption if key stakeholders leave. What factors are linked to the sustainability of alliances? One way to approach this question is to examine the perceptions of alliance participants, whose on-going involvement in alliances likely will matter much to their sustainability. PURPOSE This study addresses the question: "Under what conditions do participants in alliances consider that their alliances are well positioned for the future, will perform well over time, and will be able to deal effectively with future challenges?" METHODS We draw on cross-sectional survey data collected in the summer of 2015 from a total number of 638 participants in 15 alliances that participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Aligning Forces for Quality program. RESULTS Results from regression analyses indicate that alliance participants are more likely to view their alliances as sustainable when they (a) share a common vision, goals, and strategies for the alliance and (b) perceive that the alliance has performed effectively in the past. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Leaders of multistakeholder alliances may need to ensure that alliances are collective efforts that build success one step at a time: to the extent that participants believe they share a vision and strategies and have had some prior success working together, the more likely they are to view the alliance as sustainable.
Chitosan microbeads with MNP on printed electrodes for electric stimulus responsive drug delivery

Over the last few decades, various drug delivery systems (DDS) have been fabricated to overcome limitations of direct drug administration like solubility, short circulation lifetime, low tissue specificity, etc. Several of these DDS are also capable of controlling the passive drug release profile in response to a stimulus. This work describes a novel stimuli responsive DDS that alters its normal elution profile to release a higher drug amount when electric pulses are provided as excitation. The DDS is in form of microbeads made from chitosan cross linked with polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, containing magnetite nanoparticles and vancomycin as the drug of interest. Silver (Ag) Inter-Digitated Electrodes (IDE) on Polyimide films were printed using a material printer and placed on the DDS. Two separate stimuli, each of 30 s duration were applied to the DDS via the IDE. The stimulated groups showed vancomycin release increased by 75% and 51% after the first and second stimuli respectively, in comparison to samples that were not stimulated. This preliminary work shows promising mechanism of a multiple- stimuli responsive DDS.
Nonparametric independence screening via favored smoothing bandwidth

Abstract We propose a flexible nonparametric regression method for ultrahigh-dimensional data. As a first step, we propose a fast screening method based on the favored smoothing bandwidth of the marginal local constant regression. Then, an iterative procedure is developed to recover both the important covariates and the regression function. Theoretically, we prove that the favored smoothing bandwidth based screening possesses the model selection consistency property. Simulation studies as well as real data analysis show the competitive performance of the new procedure.
Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis associated with zonisamide

This report highlights zonisamide as a potential cause of serious cutaneous reactions as well as its cross-reactivity with other sulfonamides. Here, we present a case of SJS-TEN due to zonisamide, which was effectively treated with IVIg. Subsequently, the patient was transitioned to levetiracetam for seizure control.
“This Is a White Space”: On Restorative Possibilities of Hospitality in a Raced Space

In a restorative classroom inspired by a vision of racial equity, race consciousness is a necessity and a restorative outcome is conceptualized in terms of a sustainable interdependent right-relation, a species of racial justice. Yet, regardless of intent, the constructed space is white. Race-based inequity is reproduced as White students get more of everything from class than do students of Color. What made the space white? How might hospitality affect the restorative possibilities of and in the space? I explore these questions and reconceptualize right-relation as that which necessitates hospitality.
Genetic Susceptibility to Infection and Sepsis

It is well accepted that an individual’s genetic background plays an influential role in determining the susceptibility to, and outcome from, a variety of chronic illnesses. This is particularly true of many malignancies in which the precise relationships between genetic abnormalities and clinical manifestations have been abundantly described. In contrast, while intensivists have long appreciated that acutely ill individuals display enormous inter-patient variability in response to uniform insults, the possibility that genetic differences may be responsible for these individualized responses has largely been ignored. In this review, we will discuss recent studies that examine the clinical manifestations of acute illness in the context of genetic variants of the inflammatory and coagulation cascades. Ultimately, this gene-based approach will be essential to furthering our understanding of critical illness, identifying new therapeutic targets, and developing novel treatment strategies.
Combinatorial Chemistry and its Applications in Agriculture and Food

Combinatorial chemistry has become a major focus of research activity in the pharmaceutical industry for development new therapeutic compounds. The same techniques could be potentially applied to benefit agricultural and food research. This article reviews the various procedures used in combinatorial chemistry, outlines some of the strengths and limitations of the various methods, and proposes potential areas in agriculture and food that could be benefited by this technology. These areas include developing new antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, and other additives, creating antigen-binding molecules for the detection or removal of food pathogens or toxicants, engineering food proteins and enzymes for specific functions, and modifying biosynthetic pathways for the production of novel natural products.
On regular handicap graphs of order $n \equiv 0$ mod 8

A handicap distance antimagic labeling of a graph G = ( V , E ) with n vertices is a bijection f : V → {1, 2, …, n } with the property that f ( x i ) = i , the weight w ( x i ) is the sum of labels of all neighbors of x i , and the sequence of the weights w ( x 1 ), w ( x 2 ), …, w ( x n ) forms an increasing arithmetic progression. A graph G is a handicap distance antimagic graph if it allows a handicap distance antimagic labeling. We construct r -regular handicap distance antimagic graphs of order $n \equiv 0 \pmod{8}$ for all feasible values of r .
Abstract 044: Purinoceptor-Dependent Regulation of Sodium Excretion is Sexually Dimorphic

Premenopausal women have a lower risk of hypertension compared to age-matched men. Recently, prominent roles have been assigned to P2Y2 and P2Y4 purinoceptor subtypes in promoting Na+ excretion, im...
Chapter 3 Manipulations of Neural Crest Cells or Their Migratory Pathways

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the manipulations of neural crest cells or their migratory pathways. The formation of the embryo involves intricate cell movements, cell proliferation, and differentiation. The neural crest has long served as a model for the study of these processes, because neural crest cells undergo extensive migrations and give rise to many diverse derivatives. Neural crest cells arise from the dorsal portion of the neural tube. Several unique properties of these cells make the neural crest an ideal system for studying cell migration and differentiation. First, these cells migrate extensively along characteristic pathways. Second, they give rise to diverse and numerous derivatives, ranging from pigment cells and cranial cartilage to adrenal chromaffin cells and the ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. In addition, their characteristic position of premigratory neural crest cells within the dorsal portion of the neural tube makes them accessible to surgical and molecular manipulations during the initial stages in their development.
Analysis and remedy of negativity problem in hybrid stochastic simulation algorithm and its application

The hybrid stochastic simulation algorithm, proposed by Haseltine and Rawlings (HR), is a combination of differential equations for traditional deterministic models and Gillespie’s algorithm (SSA) for stochastic models. The HR hybrid method can significantly improve the efficiency of stochastic simulations for multiscale biochemical networks. Previous studies on the accuracy analysis for a linear chain reaction system showed that the HR hybrid method is accurate if the scale difference between fast and slow reactions is above a certain threshold, regardless of population scales. However, the population of some reactant species might be driven negative if they are involved in both deterministic and stochastic systems. This work investigates the negativity problem of the HR hybrid method, analyzes and tests it with several models including a linear chain system, a nonlinear reaction system, and a realistic biological cell cycle system. As a benchmark, the second slow reaction firing time is used to measure the effect of negative populations on the accuracy of the HR hybrid method. Our analysis demonstrates that usually the error caused by negative populations is negligible compared with approximation errors of the HR hybrid method itself, and sometimes negativity phenomena may even improve the accuracy. But for systems where negative species are involved in nonlinear reactions or some species are highly sensitive to negative species, the system stability will be influenced and may lead to system failure when using the HR hybrid method. In those circumstances, three remedies are studied for the negativity problem. The results of different models and examples suggest that the Zero-Reaction rule is a good remedy for nonlinear and sensitive systems considering its efficiency and simplicity.
Use of Human Placenta-Derived Cells in a Preclinical Model of Tendon Injury

Background:Emerging data suggest that human cells derived from extraembryonic tissues may have favorable musculoskeletal repair properties. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the injection of human placenta-derived mesenchymal-like stromal cells, termed placental expanded cells (PLX-
DSS-induced colitis produces inflammation-induced bone loss while irisin treatment mitigates the inflammatory state in both gut and bone.

Chronic pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) leads to lack of bone accrual, bone loss, and increased fractures. Presently there is no cure, and many IBD treatments incur negative side effects. We previously discovered treatment with exogenous irisin resolved inflammatory changes in the colon, gut lymphatics, and bone in a mild IBD rodent model. Here we assess irisin treatment in severe IBD induced via dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). Male Sprague Dawley rats (2-mo-old) were untreated (Con) or given 2% DSS in drinking water. In week two, half of each group (Con + Ir and DSS + Ir) received injections of recombinant irisin (i.p., 2x/wk). After 4 weeks, gut inflammation was associated with declines in bone mineral density and cancellous bone volume. Furthermore, elevated osteocyte TNF-α, interleukin-6, RANKL, OPG, and sclerostin corresponded with higher osteoclast surfaces and lower bone formation rate in DSS animals as well as lower ultimate load. While irisin treatment improved colon inflammation, there were no improvements in bone density or bone mechanical properties; however, irisin elevated bone formation rate, decreased osteoclast surfaces, and reduced osteocyte pro-inflammatory factors. These data highlight the negative impact of chronic gut inflammation on bone as well as the therapeutic potential of irisin as an anti-inflammatory treatment.
A Kangaroo Care Pathway for NICU Staff and Families: The Proof Is in the Pouch.

Background Kangaroo care (KC) improves bonding and neonatal health outcomes worldwide. However, concerns for patient safety, interrupted workflow, and parent readiness continued to impede KC in a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Its current policy did not recommend using more than 1 staff member during patient transfer. In addition, NICU staff and parents lacked skills training and education regarding the feasibility of routine KC. Purpose A KC pathway was developed and integrated within a multifaceted, champion-based, simulated educational training program for NICU staff and families to promote earlier and more frequent KC by increasing their knowledge and comfort with this practice. Methods Patient data collected before and after the study determined the frequency, timing, and mode of respiratory support during KC. Pre- and posttest surveys evaluated nurses' knowledge and comfort level with KC. Results The frequency of KC occurred 2.4 times more after the intervention. The percentage of KC episodes for intubated patients nearly doubled. The posttest survey scores for nursing knowledge and comfort level also markedly improved. Implications for practice The KC pathway ameliorated feelings of discomfort by depicting criteria and instructions for safe practice. Multidisciplinary champions were invaluable in assisting the nursing staff with patient transfer during KC. Implications for research More dose-response studies are needed to maximize the clinical benefits of KC in developed countries.
Cleaning Mechanism to Improve Efficiency and Sustainability of Desert Solar Plant

This paper proposes a design for the improvement in the efficiency of Quaid-e-Azam solar power plant using a robust cleaning system based on regional challenges and available resources. The deposition of sand on the panels impact the overall output and solutions have been prepared in many designs. With the environmental constraints and regional prospects, the right choice of such solution is essential given the economic and social viability in a developing country. The proposed design recycles the water that is used, under temperature conditions and dust type. The 100MW system has been assessed on techno-economic feasibility for the statistical difference of economic benefits of the solution using the proposed design. Bahawalpur region is a desert environment which has an adverse effect on the solar power plant due to dust deposition and utilizes a lot of water for cleaning purpose. Moreover, the design is also proposed keeping in view the water scarcity of the region thereby saving water to a significant extent and providing sustainability.
Probabilistic Super Resolution for Mineral Spectroscopy

Earth and planetary sciences often rely upon the detailed examination of spectroscopic data for rock and mineral identification. This typically requires the collection of high resolution spectroscopic measurements. However, they tend to be scarce, as compared to low resolution remote spectra. This work addresses the problem of inferring high-resolution mineral spectroscopic measurements from low resolution observations using probability models. We present the Deep Gaussian Conditional Model, a neural network that performs probabilistic super resolution via maximum likelihood estimation. It also provides insight into learned correlations between measurements and spectroscopic features, allowing for the tractability and interpretability that scientists often require for mineral identification. Experiments using remote spectroscopic data demonstrate that our method compares favorably to other analogous probabilistic methods. Finally, we show and discuss how our method provides human-interpretable results, making it a compelling analysis tool for scientists.
Effectiveness of Physical Therapy Interventions in Reducing Fear of Falling Among Individuals With Neurologic Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Abstract Objective To summarize the effectiveness of physical therapy interventions to reduce fear of falling (FOF) among individuals living with neurologic diseases. Data Sources PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, and SportDiscuss were searched from inception until December 2019. Study Selection Clinical trials with either the primary or secondary aim to reduce FOF among adults with neurologic diseases were selected. Data Extraction Potential articles were screened for eligibility, and data were extracted by 2 independent researchers. Risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials and the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for pre-post studies. A meta-analysis was performed among trials presenting with similar clinical characteristics. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to rate the overall quality of evidence. Results Sixty-one trials with 3954 participants were included in the review and 53 trials with 3524 participants in the meta-analysis. The included studies presented, in general, with a low to high risk of bias. A combination of gait and balance training was significantly more effective compared with gait training alone in reducing FOF among individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) (mean difference [MD]=11.80; 95% CI, 8.22-15.38; P Conclusions Gait with lower limb training combined with balance training is effective in reducing FOF in individuals with PD. Also, home-based or leisure exercise is effective among individuals with MS. However, because of several limitations of the included studies, further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of FOF intervention among individuals with neurologic diseases.
Heterotopic ossification post COVID-19: Report of two cases

Heterotopic ossification is often associated with trauma and surgery, and infrequently reported with immobilization due to critical illness. We present 2 patients who developed heterotopic ossification following severe COVID-19 infection. Both patients were middle-aged females who were hospitalized for one month or greater due to COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation. Both developed shoulder pain and/or stiffness a few months after discharge, with imaging studies clearly illustrating development of heterotopic ossification around the shoulders. The etiology is unclear, with immobilization and hypoxia being the primary considerations. Physical examination and radiography are essential to diagnosis. Awareness of this complication and early diagnosis may help minimize functional impairment.
A glomerular transcriptomic landscape of APOL1 in Black patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Abstract Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1)-associated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is the dominant form of FSGS in Black people. There are no targeted therapies for this condition, in part because the molecular mechanisms underlying APOL1’s pathogenic contribution to FSGS are incompletely understood. Studying the transcriptomic landscape of APOL1 FSGS in patient kidneys is an important way to discover genes and molecular behaviors that are unique or most relevant to the human disease. With the hypothesis that the pathology driven by the high-risk (HR) APOL1 genotype is reflected in alteration of gene expression across the glomerular transcriptome, we compared expression and co-expression profiles of 15,703 genes in 16 Black FSGS patients with a HR vs 14 with a low-risk (“LR”) APOL1 genotype. Expression data from APOL1-inducible HEK293 cells and normal human glomeruli were used to pursue genes and molecular pathways illuminated in these studies. We discovered (1) increased expression of APOL1 in HR and nine other significant differentially expressed genes, including stanniocalcin (STC1), which has a role in mitochondrial and calcium-related processes, (2) differential correlations between HR and LR APOL1 and metabolism pathway genes, but similar correlations with extracellular matrix- and immune-related genes, (3) significant loss of co-expression of mitochondrial genes in HR FSGS, and (4) an NF-κB -down-regulating gene, NKIRAS1, as the most significant hub gene with strong differential correlations with NDUF family and immune-related genes. Overall, differences in mitochondrial gene regulation appear to underlie many differences observed between HR and LR FSGS. All data are available for secondary analysis through the “APOL1 Portal” (http://APOL1portal.org).
Designing antimalarials that break into cells to lock down parasites.

A once in a century new viral outbreak, COVID-19, has caused unfathomable numbers of deaths, toward 4 million. Yet an ancient disease, malaria, endemic to the residents of more than half of Earth, is even more devastating than this pandemic over time: It caused about 12 million deaths in the last 20 y alone, with estimates of tens of millions of deaths in the preceding three decades (1). Arguably the “most successful human pathogen,” the unicellular malaria parasites of the Plasmodium species are a medical and socioeconomic scourge in the zones of their transmission by female Anopheles mosquitoes, mostly sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and South America. Considering the number of people at risk to contract malaria, even a highly efficient vaccine would take years to roll out in these countries, during which time unvaccinated people would contract billions of new infections with millions of deaths. In addition, parasites escaping immune block in vaccinated people must be stopped by drug treatment shortly after initiation of the erythrocytic cycle of replication, the part of the parasite life cycle causing malaria, which is capable of killing people within 1 d to 2 d after appearance of symptoms. Continuous attempts at vaccine development are going on, now mostly to block parasites before they ever reach erythrocytes (2). The surge in deaths cited above can be traced to the development of parasite resistance to the affordable drug chloroquine (3). Artemisinin, a newer, powerful, and affordable antimalarial drug, seemed promising at first, but resistant strains now abound (4). Thus, the search for new antimalarial drugs will be a perpetual task until multitargeted drug mixtures are joined by vigorous antimosquito efforts and efficient, affordable, and heat-resistant vaccines identified by the World Health Organization to eliminate malaria. The impressive research reported by Lidumniece et al. (5), “Peptidic boronic … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: Glushaks{at}nih.gov. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Workers and Politics in the Immigrant City in the Early Twentieth-Century United States

A consideration of workers and politics in the early twentieth-century United States must take into account a variety of changes that confronted the working class in this era: the fashioning of a new national state role, the remaking of politics, and finally the remaking of the working class itself. Analysis of American politics in this particular era has been dominated by the paradigm of "The System of 1896" and the model of urban "machine politics." These two concepts represent a widely accepted framework of analysis that demonstrates the integration of the working class into the political system and the consequent muting of class concerns within that system. Our task is to investigate these concepts to measure their useful ness in explaining working-class consciousness and its impact on politics. Specifically, the investigation must examine the dynamics of local-level politics, where working-people's activities had their greatest strength and resonance. This essay will examine these ideas and suggest an alternative understanding of the politics of workers, and especially of immigrants, in this era. At the turn of the century, the United States had recovered from the economic and political turmoil of the 1890s depression and entered three decades of political stability known as the "System of 1896." This system emerged after the 1896 defeat of the Democratic-Populist fusion by the Republican party. As defined by E. E. Schattschneider and Walter Dean Burnham, it was characterized by the national hegemony of the Republi can party (outside the Democratic "Solid South"); the narrowing of politi cal debate; and a diminished party vitality, which was replaced by an ex panding administrative state. In addition, as revealed in declining rates of turnout for national elections, the electoral system of 1896-1928 was one of demobilization of an alarmingly large portion of the potential electorate in the United States.1 This shrinking of the American electorate has been attributed to a combination of an extreme one-party dominance in both the North and South and the cumulative impact of institutional change and changes in the rules of the game for voters. Republican hegemony in the North and Dem ocratic hegemony in the South went hand in hand with what Burnham has called "the decomposition of political parties as action instrumentalities."2 One-party rule deprived voters of meaningful choices, thus leading to a decline in voter turnout. Moreover, as Burnham argued, interest groups had taken over the political functions of bringing issues to bear on the
Neuropsychological Assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Adults

Assessment of current neuropsychological status is an essential component in the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) diagnostic process. Because assessment and diagnosis of children with FASD has been occurring routinely for nearly 50 years now, psychometric measures that address this disability in children are fairly well established. By contrast, testing protocols for adults with possible FASD are less well described. The following chapter addresses the body of neuropsychological research in adults with FASD. Based upon this research and formal training in FASD as well as neuropsychology, I describe specific tests found to be sensitive to the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. The chapter includes specific suggestions for presenting neuropsychological data in reports and testimony in order to make findings more understandable to legal professionals, which includes comparing individual performance to diagnostic guidelines and the FASD empirical literature.
Extended Lifetime of CubeSats in the Lower Thermosphere with Active Attitude Control

A wide variety of missions could be enabled by extended orbital flight in extreme low Earth orbit, defined as an altitude range of 150–250 km. This study investigates the feasibility of a nanosatel...
DNA Damage Regulates Translation through β-TRCP Targeting of CReP.

The Skp1-Cul1-F box complex (SCF) associates with any one of a number of F box proteins, which serve as substrate binding adaptors. The human F box protein βTRCP directs the conjugation of ubiquitin to a variety of substrate proteins, leading to the destruction of the substrate by the proteasome. To identify βTRCP substrates, we employed a recently-developed technique, called Ligase Trapping, wherein a ubiquitin ligase is fused to a ubiquitin-binding domain to “trap” ubiquitinated substrates. 88% of the candidate substrates that we examined were bona fide substrates, comprising twelve previously validated substrates, eleven new substrates and three false positives. One βTRCP substrate, CReP, is a Protein Phosphatase 1 (PP1) specificity subunit that targets the translation initiation factor eIF2α to promote the removal of a stress-induced inhibitory phosphorylation and increase cap-dependent translation. We found that CReP is targeted by βTRCP for degradation upon DNA damage. Using a stable CReP allele, we show that depletion of CReP is required for the full induction of eIF2α phosphorylation upon DNA damage, and contributes to keeping the levels of translation low as cells recover from DNA damage.
Estudio de la Usabilidad de Dispositivos Médicos Mediante la Investigación del Factor Humano: Caso Monitores de Glicemia

Diverse studies in adverse medical events evidence a connection between the problems of usability and the errors in the use of medical devices. The objective of this work is to study the usability of medical devices using the Human Factor engineering analysis. This work is focused on the creation of evaluation tools for medical devices. Specifically, developing a methodology for the analysis of the usability of medical devices, based on the application of the Human Factor engineering to the tasks carried out by the user when interacting with a blood glucose monitor. This way, we determine which medical device is safer for the user’s health through comparative analysis between three different manufacturers. The results show that this kind of analysis allows us to compare medical devices from another perspective, detecting important differences between them.
Cell Biology of Enterovirus Infection

Poliovirus, coxsackievirus, and echoviruses are cytopathic in most cell types, and the cytopathic effect (CPE) of enteroviral infection has been frequently described. This chapter discusses alterations in chromatin structure and transcription, rearrangement of cytoskeleton, accumulation of membranous vesicles, inhibition of protein secretion, and eventual lysis of cells infected with cytopathic enteroviruses. Wherever possible, the known or suspected viral proteins involved in these processes are identified, and the evidence for their involvement is presented. The chapter first discusses nuclear effects of enteroviral infection. While many changes in the cell biology of infected cells may result directly from the inhibition of cellular translation, it is also true that several preexisting proteins in the infected cell are specifically degraded during infection by poliovirus. The cell cytoskeleton is composed of three distinct but interconnected filament systems: actin microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. A variety of findings support the hypothesis that the synthesis of viral RNA is membrane associated. First, subcellular fractions of poliovirus-infected cells that contain virus-induced membranes are able to synthesize viral RNA. Second, a complex of proteins containing the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase was shown to be membrane associated: when such complexes were isolated from poliovirus-infected cells under conditions that disrupted the membranes, many proteins, including the RNA polymerase, associated spontaneously with liposomes in vitro. Third, membranous complexes isolated from poliovirus-infected cells contain all of the viral proteins thought to be involved in RNA replication.
A Common Factors View of Counseling Supervision Process

Abstract This paper offers a common factors view of counseling supervision process. This approach is based on (a) a common factors conceptualization of counseling supervision parallel to those which exist in counseling, and (b) an eclectic approach to supervision methods selection similar to those which exist in counseling. Such an approach not only allows a view of supervision in the broader context of change-inducing interactions, but also the incorporation of theoretical and empirical findings from the related fields of counseling and education.
Gender and Legislative Behavior in Post-Communist Ukraine

A significant number of gender scholars focus on the substantive effects of women’s representation. A good portion of this literature focuses on whether female legislators behave in ways that foster women’s representation. We argue one area that needs more research is to understand the relationship between female legislators and their parties. Through an analysis of party discipline in the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada between 1994 and 2007, we show how party discipline varies by gender within different electoral and partisan contexts.
Biological and clinical relevance of stem cells in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Cancer stem cells (CSC) have been identified in a growing number of human malignancies. CSC are functionally defined by their ability to self-renew and recapitulate tumors in the ectopic setting, and a growing number of studies have shown that they display other functional characteristics, such as invasion and drug resistance. These unique functional properties implicate a role for CSC in clinical consequences, such as initial tumor formation, relapse following treatment, metastasis, and resistance, suggesting they are a major factor in directing clinical outcomes. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a highly-aggressive disease with a propensity for early metastasis and drug resistance. Tumorigenic pancreatic cancer cells have been identified using the cell surface antigens CD44, CD24, and CD133, as well as the high expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that ALDH- and CD133-expressing pancreatic CSC have a greater propensity for metastasis, and ALDH-expressing CSC have been shown to be resistant to conventional chemotherapy. In clinical samples from patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the presence of ALDH-expressing CSC was associated with worse overall survival. The development of CSC-targeting therapies might be important in changing the clinical outcomes of patients with this disease, and others and we have begun to identify novel compounds that block CSC function. This review will discuss the biological and clinical relevance of CSC in pancreatic cancer, and will discuss novel therapeutic strategies to target them.
Imaging Nanoscale Electromagnetic Near-Field Distributions Using Optical Forces

We demonstrate the application of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for mapping optical near-fields with nanometer resolution, limited only by the AFM probe geometry. By detecting the optical force between a gold coated AFM probe and its image dipole on a glass substrate, we profile the electric field distributions of tightly focused laser beams with different polarizations. The experimentally recorded focal force maps agree well with theoretical predictions based on a dipole-dipole interaction model. We experimentally estimate the aspect ratio of the apex of gold coated AFM probe using only optical forces. We also show that the optical force between a sharp gold coated AFM probe and a spherical gold nanoparticle of radius 15 nm, is indicative of the electric field distribution between the two interacting particles. Photo Induced Force Microscopy (PIFM) allows for background free, thermal noise limited mechanical imaging of optical phenomenon over wide range of wavelengths from Visible to RF with detection sensitivity limited only by AFM performance.
An Automata-Theoretic Decision Procedure for Future Interval Logic

Graphical Interval Logic (GIL) is a temporal logic in which all reasoning is done by means of diagrammatic formulae. It is a discrete linear-time modal logic in which the basic temporal modality is the interval. Future Interval Logic (FIL) provides the logical foundation for GIL. In this paper we present an automata-theoretic decision procedure for FIL with complexity DTIME\((2^{O(n^k )} )\), where n is the size of the formula and k is the depth of interval nesting. For formulae with bounded depth but length unbounded, the satisfiability problem for FIL is shown to be PSPACE-complete. We believe that this is the first result giving a direct decision procedure of elementary complexity for an interval logic. We also show that the logic is transparent to finite stuttering over the class of ω-sequences, a feature that is useful for composition and refinement.
Polarization in High-Growth U.S. House Districts

Geographic clustering has been linked to contemporary political polarization by journalists and other researchers in recent years, most recently and notably by Bishop and Cushing (2008). In these accounts, clustering is motivated, in part, by shared tastes for combinations of place attributes that attract individuals with interrelated values and similar characteristics or skillsets. In this paper, I examine the relationships between migration, polarization, and sorting in the U.S. House of Representatives in elections covering the 1990’s and 2000’s, using population growth as a proxy for inbound domestic migration. I also apply the definitions of polarization and sorting found in McCarty Poole Rosenthal (2009). I find little evidence of electoral sorting across congressional districts, but I find that districts with high growth rates contribute disproportionately to House polarization among members, as measured by DW-NOMINATE first dimension scores.
The case for informed transport protocols

Wide-area distributed applications are frequently limited by the performance of Internet data transfers. We argue that the principle cause of this effect is the poor interaction between host-centric congestion control algorithms and the realities of today's Internet traffic and infrastructure. In particular when the duration of a network flow is short, then using end-to-end feedback to determine network conditions will be extremely inefficient. We propose an incremental approach to the problem, in which congestion information is shared among many co-located hosts and transport protocols make informed congestion control decisions. We argue that the resulting system can potentially improve the performance experienced by each network user as well as the overall efficiency of the network.
Examining Mechanisms of Change in a Yoga Intervention for Women: The Influence of Mindfulness, Psychological Flexibility, and Emotion Regulation on PTSD Symptoms

Objective This study explored possible mechanisms through which symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were reduced in a randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of a yoga intervention with an assessment control. Method We examined whether changes in psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and emotion regulation strategies (expressive suppression and reappraisal) were associated with posttreatment PTSD symptoms for 38 women with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition full or subthreshold PTSD. Results Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that expressive suppression significantly decreased for the yoga group relative to the assessment control. Psychological flexibility increased significantly for the control but not yoga group. However, increases in psychological flexibility were associated with decreases in PTSD symptoms for the yoga but not control group. Conclusion Preliminary findings suggest that yoga may reduce expressive suppression and may improve PTSD symptoms by increasing psychological flexibility. More research is needed to replicate and extend these findings.
Origin of Neointimal Cells in Arteriovenous Fistulae: Bone Marrow, Artery, or the Vein Itself?

To elucidate the source of neointimal cells, experimental fistulas were created in Lewis wild-type (WT) and transgenic rats that constitutively expressed the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in all tissues. Arteriovenous fistula (AVFs) were created by anastomosing the left renal vein to the abdominal aorta. The contribution of bone marrow (BM)-derived cells to the AVF neointima was examined in lethally irradiated WT rats that had been rescued with GFP BM cells. Neointimal cells in these chimeric rats were mostly GFP negative indicating the non-BM origin of those cells. Then, the contribution of arterial cells to the AVF neointima was assessed in a fistula made with a GFP aorta that had been implanted orthotopically into a WT rat. Most of the neointimal cells were also GFP negative demonstrating that AVF neointimal cells are not derived from the feeding artery. Finally to study local resident cells contribution to the formation of neointimal lesions, a composite fistula was created by interposing a GFP vein between the renal vein and the aorta in a WT recipient rat. GFP neointimal cells were only found in the transplanted vein. This study suggests that neointimal cells originate from the local resident cells in the venous limb of the fistula.
Integrating Target Costing into Perception-Based Concept Evaluation of Complex and Large-Scale Systems Using Simultaneously Decomposed QFD

In the conceptual design phase, engineers may need to perceptually screen and prioritize feasible design concepts by their potential to fulfill both customer and financial requirements. This paper presents a system design methodology that integrates perception-based concept evaluation and target costing of complex and large-scale systems. The methodology decomposes a system into modules and evaluates each module concept with its target requirements and cost. This method proposes the decomposition of quality function deployment matrices simultaneously for both requirements and structure in order to allocate the worth and target cost of the modules in a system. Developed from module concepts that satisfy their target requirements and cost, this new system should better satisfy both customer and financial requirements.
One Angry Man? A New Look at an Old Film

In this satire written from the perspective of the fictional defendant in the film 12 Angry Men, the arguments used by the dissenting juror to prove the possibility that the defendant is innocent are explained in ways that actually support his guilt.
Characteristics of Blood Toxins in DDT-Poisoned Cockroaches

The blood of DDT-poisoned cockroaches has been known to contain a neurotoxin which is independent of the DDT content of the blood. This toxin was found to increase in quantity as symptoms of poisoning progressed. Sufficent was present in early stages to cause marked increases in the spontaneous activity of nerve cords excised from unpoisoned individuals, while in late stages of poisoning the toxin could suppress spontaneous activity completely in such cords. Treatment of the sixth abdominal ganglion with the toxin resulted in multiple discharges in giant fibers when cereal nerves were faradically stimulated, and also caused synaptic block. The toxin was found to be dialyzable, and though unstable in whole blood, it was stable in the dialysate.
Vinblastine-induced blockage of orthograde and retrograde axonal transport of protein in retinal ganglion cells.

Abstract The right eyes of adult, albino rats were injected intravitreally with 0.1–30 μg of vinblastine sulfate, and the left eyes were similarly injected with saline. Twenty-four hours later, both eyes were injected with H3-proline and both superior colliculi with horseradish peroxidase. After 24 hr, the animals were killed and brains and retinae processed both for radioautography and the demonstration of peroxidase. Doses of 0.5 μg or more of vinblastine produced blockage of rapid orthograde transport of radioactively labeled protein within optic nerve axons without causing a significant decrease in protein synthesis in ganglion cells of the retina. A higher dose of vinblastine (10 μg or more) was required to block retrograde axonal transport of peroxidase from the superior colliculus to the ganglion cell somata. This suggests vinblastine-sensitive mechanisms for both orthograde and retrograde axonal transport of protein which may involve microtubules or free tubulin within the axoplasm, since vinblastine in low concentration binds specifically to tubulin.
Transvenous Devices for the Management of Pulmonary Embolism

When anticoagulant treatment of pulmonary embolism is contraindicated or fails, interruption of blood flow through the inferior vena cava offers an alternative method for preventing further embolic episodes. In the past this required abdominal surgery, but currently several clot-capturing devices have been designed for insertion into the human inferior vena cava indirectly via a jugular or femoral venotomy. Another device is being developed for percutaneous delivery through a standard angiographic catheter. In addition to variations in the delivery methods, the form, mechanical effectiveness, and complications of these differ markedly. A suction-cup device is also available for the transvenous removal of pulmonary emboli.
Shopping Behaviors of Low-income Families during a 1-Month Period of Time.

Abstract Objective To explore food shopping behaviors among low-income families over the course of the month. Design Two researchers conducted 13 90-minute focus groups. Setting Two community organizations serving low-income populations and a university campus. Participants Low-income adults (n = 72) who were the primary household food shoppers and who had at least 1 child less than 18 years old. Variables Measured Shopping behavior changes during 1 month. Analysis Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded independently by 2 researchers. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate sociodemographic variables such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and participation in food assistance programs. Results Economics played a key role in participants’ food shopping behaviors and influenced food availability throughout the month. To overcome economic barriers, participants used food and emergency assistance programs and engaged in menu planning, price matching, storing food, using credit cards, and receiving financial assistance from family members and/or neighbors. Conclusions and Implications Low-income families made strategic decisions to maintain a food supply throughout the month. These results suggest limited economics throughout the month may hinder families’ ability to consume a varied, nutrient-rich diet, which may have an impact on future health status.