cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Seattle Alzheimer's disease data set

Forty families submitted to Genetic Analysis Workshop 8 are described. These are the families in the Seattle data set which have been typed for at least one genetic marker from the centromeric region of chromosome 21 or the q arm of chromosome 19. Thirteen of these families have average ages of onset below age 61 and are therefore considered to be early onset families. Seven of the families are of Volga German descent. Thirty-four of the families have autopsy documented Alzheimer's disease, including all 13 of the early onset pedigrees. The data set includes both the clinical and pedigree information available on the portions of the pedigrees used in the linkage analyses, genotype data on three loci on chromosome 19 and four loci on chromosome 21, and more extended family data on individuals who have not been included in the linkage analyses.
Rationalizing Complete Preemption after Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson: A New Rule, a New Justification

This article provides a thorough account of the complete preemption doctrine. Courts and commentators tend either to accept complete preemption as a strange but inevitable part of the federal jurisdictional landscape or to criticize it as an unjustified departure from an otherwise coherent set of jurisdictional rules. Complete preemption is traditionally conceived of as an exception that allows claims based entirely on state law to be removed to federal court on the basis of federal question jurisdiction where they involve a subject on which Congress has legislated with particular preemptive force. In Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson, the Supreme Court not only addressed complete preemption for the first time in more than a decade, but also changed the doctrine in important ways. Under Anderson, a state-law claim may be removed only if it is preempted by an exclusively federal statutory cause of action.I begin with a detailed examination of what came before Anderson and reach some perhaps surprising conclusions. I argue that the Supreme Court's canonical complete preemption decisions do not, in fact, create a rule of removal that is different from more familiar jurisdictional principles. I thus argue that Anderson is the first case to apply the 'complete preemption' label to an actually distinct jurisdictional rule. I then argue that the rule of removal created in Anderson is justified because it promotes judicial economy and is consistent with other, more fundamental jurisdictional principles. Finally, in addressing Anderson’s implications for judicial federalism; I conclude that Anderson’s removal rule, and others like it, may in fact promote the basic values that underwrite the system of jurisdictional allocation between state and federal courts.
Loss of the tumorigenic phenotype with in vitro, but not in vivo, passaging of a novel series of human bronchial epithelial cell lines: possible role of an alpha 5/beta 1-integrin-fibronectin interaction.

Abstract We established an immortalized, nontumorigenic human bronchial epithelial cell line by transfection with the origin of replication-defective SV40 large T plasmid. This line spontaneously became tumorigenic at passage 184 (NL20T), although subsequent passages (passages 189, 200, and 205) failed to form tumors. The tumorigenic cell line NL20T was reinoculated back into athymic nude mice, and the two subsequently derived cell lines (NL20T-A and NL20T-B) have been passaged 85 times in vitro and remain tumorigenic. However, late-passage NL20T cells consistently lose their tumorigenicity when passaged in vitro on tissue culture plastic dishes (NL20T-n cells). Thus, two of the cell lines, NL20 and NL20T, reverted to the nontumorigenic phenotype reproducibly and spontaneously following serial passage on plastic tissue culture plates, whereas cells passaged in mice (NL20T-A and -B) did not. We used these nontumorigenic (NL20 and NL20T-n) and tumorigenic (early passage NL20T, NL20T-A, and NL20T-B) cells to study the role of the α5/β1-integrin and attachment to fibronectin in tumorigenicity. The two nontumorigenic cell lines (NL20 and NL20T-n) attached slower to fibronectin-coated plates than the two tumorigenic cell lines in a cellular-extracellular matrix adhesion assay. Attachment was abrogated by exposure to a blocking antibody to the α5/β1-integrin, the fibronectin receptor, in the two tumorigenic cell lines. Cell surface expression of the α5/β1 cell surface protein by flow cytometry was highest in the tumorigenic NL20T and NL20T-A cells. NL20T-A cells were cultured with an antibody to α5/β1 and inoculated s.c. into athymic nude mice; tumorigenicity of the NL20T-A cells was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Tumorigenicity was also inhibited partially with monoclonal antibodies to either α5 or β1. A mixture of 10% tumorigenic NL20T-A cells and 90% nontumorigenic NL20 cells was cultured on plastic, type IV collagen, laminin, and fibronectin for 9 weeks. Only cells cultured on fibronectin formed tumors when inoculated s.c. into athymic nude mice. We conclude that these data are consistent with the hypothesis that neoplastic transformation in our original cell line arose from in vivo selection of a small mutant clone, which had arisen in culture and was selected subsequently in vivo but was lost with in vitro culture in NL20 cells, and that α5/β1-integrin interaction with the extracellular matrix may play a role in tumorigenicity in our system.
Counting with the crowd

In this paper, we address the problem of selectivity estimation in a crowdsourced database. Specifically, we develop several techniques for using workers on a crowdsourcing platform like Amazon's Mechanical Turk to estimate the fraction of items in a dataset (e.g., a collection of photos) that satisfy some property or predicate (e.g., photos of trees). We do this without explicitly iterating through every item in the dataset. This is important in crowd-sourced query optimization to support predicate ordering and in query evaluation, when performing a GROUP BY operation with a COUNT or AVG aggregate. We compare sampling item labels, a traditional approach, to showing workers a collection of items and asking them to estimate how many satisfy some predicate. Additionally, we develop techniques to eliminate spammers and colluding attackers trying to skew selectivity estimates when using this count estimation approach. We find that for images, counting can be much more effective than sampled labeling, reducing the amount of work necessary to arrive at an estimate that is within 1% of the true fraction by up to an order of magnitude, with lower worker latency. We also find that sampled labeling outperforms count estimation on a text processing task, presumably because people are better at quickly processing large batches of images than they are at reading strings of text. Our spammer detection technique, which is applicable to both the label- and count-based approaches, can improve accuracy by up to two orders of magnitude.
Nearby Ethnography from the American Heartland

Scipio Storytelling: Talk in. Southern Indiana Community. Margaret Read MacDonald. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1996. 246 pp. Following Old Fencelines: Tales from Rural Texas. Lee Winniford. College Station: Texas. &. University Press, 1998.262 pp. Tobacco Culture: Farming Kentucky's Burley Belt. John van Willigen and Susan C. Eastwood. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1998. 223 pp. Living with the Adirondack Forest: Local Perspectives on Land Use Conflicts. Catherine Henshaw Knott. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998. 314 pp.
Biochemical studies of isolated hamster tracheal epithelium.

Abstract The epithelial lining of respiratory air passageways is a primary target tissue for toxicity and carcinogenesis in man and in animal models of human disease. The importance of this target tissue was the basis for development of methods to study its biochemistry, and with this information to distinguish the unique properties of this tissue from properties common to all cell types. Biochemical methods employed labeling of macromolecules in isolated hamster treacheas during brief (less than 4 hr) incubation in vitro. Studies of RNA metabolism in isolated tracheas demonstrated a pattern of maturation of ribosomal RNA like that shown for other cell types. Alterations in RNA metabolism were observed in isolated tracheas obtained from vitamin A-deficient hamsters and hamsters previously treated by intratracheal administration of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) plus ferric oxide (Fe2O3) in vivo. Studies with toyocamycin, actinomycin D, and alpha-amanitin, all inhibitors of RNA metabolism, were performed to characterize the class of RNA molecules with a decreased proportion of labeling in tracheas from vitamin A deficient hamsters. In another series of experiments, BP was shown to bind to DNA in epithelial cells of isolated tracheas. The quantity of BP binding was increased by prior intratracheal treatment of hamsters with BP plus Fe2O3 in vivo, this induced binding was inhibited by addition of 7,8-benzoflavone to the incubation medium. Increased BP binding was also observed in isolated tracheas from hamsters believed to be in states of increased susceptibility to respiratory carcinogenesis in vivo. The results show that biochemical studies are feasible with this tissue. Furthermore, a number of questions of importance with regard to this target epithelium are best studied directly in its constituent cells.
A new technique for generating capacity reliability evaluation

Abstract This paper presents a new approach to generating capacity reliability evaluation using a six-parameter probability distribution. This distribution is a weighted composite of three gamma distributions. The relationships for determining the distribution parameters from the generating unit parameters are derived. The distribution is easily integrated and the assumption of an integer shape parameter makes the calculations simpler without compromising the accuracy. This distribution has been tested on three systems over a wide range of forced outage rates. The distribution is simple and appears to be a good approximation to the exact discrete model.
An Overview of Research at NBS Using Synchrotron Radiation at SURF-II

The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF-II) is used in conjunction with several high throughput monochromators to study the interaction of vacuum ultraviolet photons with solids and gases. Recent work has been concerned with the photon stimulated desorption of atomic and molecular ions from surfaces, with the effect of electric fields on molecular photoabsorption and with the study of molecular photoionization by angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. These research programs yield new information about molecular bonding at surfaces, molecular dynamics near ionization thresholds, and the coupling of the electronic and nuclear motion near resonances in molecules. In addition to these programs in basic research SURF-II is used for the calibration of transfer standard detectors over a photon energy range 20-250 eV. Calibration of monochromator systems is achieved over the photon energy range 5-250 eV by using the now calculable spectral intensity radiated by the electrons, which are confined in a nearly circular orbit.
Nonsocial behavior of captive infant gorillas.

Frequencies of eight nonsocial behaviors (object contact, environmental exploration, mouthing, self-directed behavior, display behavior, solitary behavior, rest, and locomotion) were obtained for 20 infant lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) between 14 and 36 months of age. They lived in 13 groups in 10 zoological collections. Approximately 12 hours of one-zero data were collected on each animal. Behavioral data were analyzed with regard to the following independent variables: rearing history of the focal animal (mother-reared vs. human-reared), time of day (a.m. vs. p.m.), sex of the focal animal, age of the focal animal, and complexity of the physical and social environment. Results indicated significant differences in the frequency of behaviors within each independent variable, including selfdirected behavior, rest, environmental exploration, and display behavior with rearing history. Additional significant differences in the frequencies of behavior were also found, including mouthing behavior and locomotion with infant age.
Excess volumes, enthalpies, and Gibbs free energies for mixtures of benzene + p-xylene

Excess thermodynamic properties of benzene + p-xylene have been obtained at 288.15, 298.15, and 313.15 K. VE was obtained with a Sodev vibrating-tube densimeter, HE with a Picker flow microcalorimeter, and GE was calculated from solid + liquid phase equilibria measurements. Measurements were also made of the heat capacity of liquid p-xylene as a function of temperature using the heat-capacity unit of the Picker flow microcalorimeter.
776-3 Regulation of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Gene Expression in Rat Cardiac Microvascular Endothelial Cells and Adult Ventricular Myocytes

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been shown to stimulate protein synthesis in adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVM) and DNA synthesis in microvascular endothelial cells (CM EC). To determine whether Angiotensin 11 (All) and Endothelin I (ET-1), known as peptides affecting myocyte growth, regulate bFGF gene expression in the myocardium we examined the effects of these two peptide autacoids on bFGF mRNA abundance in both cardiac cell types. Baseline levels for bFGF mRNA in freshly isolated ARVM were 4 to 5 fold lower than in CMEC in RNase protection assays. All (10 -6 – 10 -8 M) and ET-1 (10 -8 – 10 -10 M) increased bFGF mRNA abundance in CMEC and in ARVM in a dose dependent manner that was maximal 4–8 hours after treatment. This effect of All was abolished after coincubation with the angiotensin II receptor antagonist (AT-1) losartan (10 -6 M), and the ET-1 response was inhibited by the peptide endothelin type A (ET A ) antagonist BO-123 (10 -6 M). To determine whether bFGF itself autoregulates bFGF mRNA abundance, ARVM and CMEC were treated with rh bFGF (20ng/ml). A ninefold increase in bFGF mRNA was detected, thus indicating positive autoregulation. A marked induction of atrial natriuretic peptide mRNA, known as a molecular marker of phenotype dedifferentiation in hypertrophy, was observed after 24 and 48 hrs incubation with rh bFGF in ARVM. Finally, the inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1 β (rh IL-1 β ) upregulates bFGF gene expression in ARVM, a response that could be amplified by interferon γ (rm IFN- γ ). Thus, bFGF gene expression in ARVM and CMEC from rat heart is regulated by All and ET-1 through the AT-1 receptor and (ET A ) receptor subtypes. The upregulation of bFGF gene transcription in response to various stimuli known to affect myocyte and endothelial growth suggest a role for bFGF as a signalling peptide in the hypertrophic response of adult ventricular myocytes and cardiac microvascular endothelial cells.
Flow injection analysis at μl/min flow rates

The characteristics of knitted open tube (KOT) figure eight reactors and coil reactors at μl/min flow rates were compared using plate height (H) calculations and peak height measurements. Peak broadening independent of flow rate was seen for the figure eight KOT but not the coil at flow rates of 150–300 μl/min. Below 150 μ/min, the plate height values of both reactors were inversely proportional to flow rate. It was concluded that a 0.5-m KOT figure eight reactor is the most effective way to introduce delay time for a 1 μ1 injection size and tubing of 0.3 mm I.D. Enhancement of peak height response was particularly pronounced at flow rates less than 100 μl/min.
Egypt–EU commodity trade and the J–Curve

Due to data availability, most theories in international economics are tested by using data from developed countries. The J–Curve phenomenon, which summarises the short–run response of the trade balance to currency depreciation, is no exception. Egypt has kept close track of its commodity trade with her major trading partner, the European Union (EU). We use such trade data and test the J–Curve phenomenon for each of the 59 industries that trade between the two regions. Using quarterly data over the period 1994I–2007IV and the bounds testing approach we find support for the phenomenon in 24 out of the 59 industries.
What Teachers Need to Know About the “New” Nonfiction

The features of recent children's nonfiction picture books, a genre that is exploding in both quality and quantity, are described in this article. Recent nonfiction books were analyzed, and three trends were found: an emphasis on the visual; an emphasis on accuracy; and an engaging writing style. Suggestions are included for choosing and using nonfiction picture books in the classroom. في هذه المقالة تتم وصفة معالم كتب الأطفال الواقعية المصورة التي نشرت مؤخرا وهو نوع أدبي ينفجر من حيث الكمية والنوعية. وقد تم تحليل الكتب الواقعية المنشورة مؤخرا وقد وجدت ثلاث نزعات: تركيز على البصريات وتركيز على الدقة وأسلوب الكتابة الشيق. وتشمل المقالة اقتراحات لاختيار كتبا مصورة واستخدامها في غرفة الصف. 本文介绍近今非小说图画书的特征，这类型的书籍无论在质与量上都在迅猛发展中。本文作者分析近今的非小说图画书后，发现三个趋势：强调视觉、强调准确性及引人入胜的写作风格。作者亦提供一些有关如何选择及如何在教室使用非小说图画书的建议。 On decrit dans cet article les caracteristiques des livres illustres qui ne sont pas des livres de fiction, un genre qui explose tant en qualite qu'en quantite. Apres avoir analyse les livres qui ne sont pas des livres de fiction, trois tendances apparaissent: accent mis sur les aspects visuels; accent mis sur la precision; et style d'ecriture incitatif. On inclut des suggestions relatives au choix de ces livres et pour leur utilisation en classe. В статье описаны особенности жанра, который становится все популярнее – детской нехудожественной литературы с иллюстрациями. Анализ выявил три тенденции последнего времени: упор на визуальный ряд, на достоверность содержания и на привлекательные для детского восприятия форму и стиль. Предложены рекомендации по выбору и использованию таких книг в учебном процессе. En este articulo se describen los elementos de un genero que ha surgido recientemente con gran fuerza tanto en su cantidad como en su calidad: libros dibujados que no son novelescos dirigidos a ninos. Se identificaron tres tendencias al analizar tales libros: un enfasis en el dibujo; un enfasis en la fidelidad; y un estilo atractivo de escribir. Se incluyen sugerencias sobre como escoger y usar tales libros en el aula.
Two-Bubble Acoustic Tweezing Cytometry for Biomechanical Probing and Stimulation of Cells

The study of mechanotransduction relies on tools that are capable of applying mechanical forces to elicit and assess cellular responses. Here we report a new (to our knowledge) technique, called two-bubble acoustic tweezing cytometry (TB-ATC), for generating spatiotemporally controlled subcellular mechanical forces on live cells by acoustic actuation of paired microbubbles targeted to the cell adhesion receptor integrin. By measuring the ultrasound-induced activities of cell-bound microbubbles and the actin cytoskeleton contractile force responses, we determine that TB-ATC elicits mechanoresponsive cellular changes via cyclic, paired displacements of integrin-bound microbubbles driven by the attractive secondary acoustic radiation force (sARF) between the bubbles in an ultrasound field. We demonstrate the feasibility of dual-mode TB-ATC for both subcellular probing and mechanical stimulation. By exploiting the robust and unique interaction of ultrasound with microbubbles, TB-ATC provides distinct advantages for experimentation and quantification of applied forces and cellular responses for biomechanical probing and stimulation of cells.
Beta-adrenergic receptor involvement in the mediation of learned taste aversions.

Drug-induced stimulation or blockade of beta-adrenergic receptors in the lateral hypothalamus has been reported to enhance or reduce, respectively, the normally supressive affect of quinine adulteration on sweet milk consumption in rats. Subsequently, it was hypothesized that the beta-receptors may function analogously in the mediation of learned taste aversions. In order to test this hypothesis we conditioned rats to avoid a preferred aqueous solution of saccharin (0.1% w/v) by pairing it with a toxic injection of 0.4 molar lithium chloride (10 ml/kg i.p.). Three days later the rats were re-exposed to saccharin water 30 min after receiving a ventricular injection of either the beta-adrenergic agonist dl-isoproterenol hydrochloride (18 Μg) or the beta adrenergic antagonist dl-4-[2 hydroxy-3-isopropylaminopropoxy]-indole (32 Μg). As predicted, the beta-agonist further enhanced the avoidance of saccharin among animals already conditioned to avoid it, while the blocking agent attenuated the learned aversion. However, the influence of the drugs on drinking was similar among unconditioned control animals suggesting that their affects were independent of prior learning.
Strong carbon nanofibers from electrospun polyacrylonitrile

Abstract Strong carbon nanofibers with diameters between 150 nm and 500 nm and lengths of the order of centimeters were realized from electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Their tensile strength reached a maximum at 1400 °C carbonization temperature, while the elastic modulus increased monotonically until 1700 °C. For most carbonization temperatures, both properties increased with reduced nanofiber diameter. The tensile strength and the elastic modulus, measured from individual nanofibers carbonized at 1400 °C, averaged 3.5 ± 0.6 GPa and 172 ± 40 GPa, respectively, while some nanofibers reached 2% ultimate strain and strengths over 4.5 GPa. The average tensile strength and elastic modulus of carbon nanofibers produced at 1400 °C were six and three times higher than in previous reports, respectively. These high mechanical property values were achieved for optimum electrospinning parameters yielding strong PAN nanofibers, and optimum stabilization and carbonization temperatures, which resulted in smooth carbon nanofiber surfaces and homogeneous nanofiber cross-sections, as opposed to a previously reported core–shell structure. Turbostratic carbon crystallites with average thickness increasing from 3 to 8 layers between 800 °C and 1700 °C improved the elastic modulus and the tensile strength but their large size, discontinuous form, and random orientation reduced the tensile strength at carbonization temperatures higher than 1400 °C.
Surface Composition and Catalytic Evolution of AuxPd1―x (x = 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75) Nanoparticles Under CO/O2 Reaction in Torr Pressure Regime and at 200 °C

Au x Pd1−x (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) nanoparticle (NP) catalysts (8–11 nm) were synthesized by a one-pot reaction strategy using colloidal chemistry. XPS depth profiles with variable X-ray energies and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analyses show that the as-synthesized Au x Pd1−x (x = 0.25 and 0.5) bimetallic NPs have gradient alloy structures with Au-rich cores and Pd-rich shells. The evolution of composition and structure in the surface region corresponding to a mean free path of 0.6–0.8 nm (i.e., 2–3 layers to the bulk from the particle surface) was studied with ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) under CO/O2 reaction in the Torr pressure regime. Under the reaction conditions of 80 mTorr CO and 200 mTorr O2 at 200 °C, the surface region of Au0.75Pd0.25 NP is Au-rich (~70% by Au). All Au x Pd1−x (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) NP catalysts have higher turnover rates for the model CO/O2 reaction than pure Pd and pure Au NPs. The Pd-rich Au0.25Pd0.75 NPs show the highest turnover rates and the Pd-rich Au0.5Pd0.5 NPs the lowest turnover rates at 200 °C. Interestingly, the Au-rich Au0.75Pd0.25 NPs exhibit steady-state turnover rates which are intermediate to those of the Pd-rich bimetallic nanoparticles.
Assessment of global coronary heart disease risk in overweight and obese African-American women

Objective: To examine, with the use of national guidelines, coronary heart disease (CHD) risk with increasing BMI for primary prevention in urban African-American women. Research Methods and Procedures: Participants were recruited for CHD risk factor screening from 20 churches as part of a larger study of nutrition and fitness (Project Joy). All participants had a demographic, smoking and medical history assessment, and the following measurements were taken: weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid levels, and glucose. Three methods of defining risk, the Framingham Point Scoring System, a count of risk factors, and the presence of the multiple metabolic syndrome, based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III Report and BMI classes established by the Clinical Guidelines, were used. Results: A total of 396 women were eligible. Participants were 40 to 80 years of age and had marked excess prevalence of overweight and obesity (84%); 55% were obese. There was a linear increase in risk factors as BMI increased. Lipids did not differ significantly among BMI classifications. Seventeen percent of women had multiple metabolic syndrome. Eight percent and 16% of women in the normal and overweight BMI classes, respectively, had two or more modifiable risk factors. There was no difference in number of modifiable risk factors among the obese classes. The Framingham Point Scoring System assigned a <10% risk of a hard CHD event in 10 years to 97% of the women. Discussion: National risk assessment guidelines for primary prevention of CHD may not be adequate for overweight and obese urban African-American women and require further study.
Elementary Teachers' Epistemological and Ontological Understanding of Teaching for Conceptual Learning.

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which elementary teachers applied their understanding of conceptual learning and teaching to their instructional practices as they became knowledgeable about conceptual change pedagogy. Teachers' various ways to interpret and utilize students' prior ideas were analyzed in both epistemological and ontological dimensions of learning. A total of 14 in-service elementary teachers conducted an 8-week-long inquiry into students' conceptual learning as a professional development course project. Major data sources included the teachers' reports on their students' prior ideas, lesson plans with justifications, student performance artifacts, video-recorded teaching episodes, and final reports on their analyses of student learning. The findings demonstrated three epistemologically distinct ways the teachers interpreted and utilized students' prior ideas. These supported Kinchin's epistemological categories of perspectives on teaching including positivist, misconceptions, and systems views. On the basis of Chi's and Thagard's theories of conceptual change, the teachers' ontological understanding of conceptual learning was differentiated in two ways. Some teachers taught a unit to change the ontological nature of student ideas, whereas the others taught a unit within the same ontological categories of student ideas. The findings about teachers' various ways of utilizing students' prior ideas in their instructional practices suggested a number of topics to be addressed in science teacher education such as methods of utilizing students' cognitive resources, strategies for purposeful use of counter-evidence, and understanding of ontological demands of learning. Future research questions were suggested. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1292–1317, 2007
Canonical Wnt Signaling Dynamically Controls Multiple Stem Cell Fate Decisions during Vertebrate Body Formation

The vertebrate body forms in an anterior-to-posterior progression, driven by a population of undifferentiated cells at the posterior-most end of the embryo. Recent studies have demonstrated that these undifferentiated cells are multipotent stem cells, suggesting that local signaling factors specify cell fate. However, the mechanism of cell fate specification during this process is unknown. Using a combination of single cell transplantation and newly developed cell-autonomous inducible Wnt inhibitor and activator transgenic zebrafish lines, we show that canonical Wnt signaling is continuously necessary and sufficient to specify mesoderm from a bipotential neural/mesodermal precursor. Surprisingly, we also find that Wnt signaling functions subsequently within the mesoderm to specify somites instead of posterior vascular endothelium. Our results demonstrate that dynamic local Wnt signaling cues specify germ layer contribution and mesodermal tissue type specification of multipotent stem cells throughout the formation of the early vertebrate embryonic body.
Specific-locus mutation rates in the mouse following inhalation of ethylene oxide, and application of the results to estimation of human genetic risk

Abstract Male (101 × C3H)F 1 mice were exposed in an inhalation chamber to ethylene oxide (EtO) in air at a concentration of (generally) 255 ppm. After accumulating total exposures of 101 000 or 150 000 ppm.h in 16–23 weeks, the males were mated to T-stock females for a standard specific-locus mutation-rate study in which 71 387 offspring were observed. The spermatogonial stem-cell mutation rate at each exposure level, as well as the combined result, does not differ significantly from the historical control frequency. At the lower and higher exposure levels, the results rule out (at the 5% significance level) an induced frequency that is, respectively, 0.97 and 6.33 times the spontaneous rate; the combined results rule out a multiple of 1.64. The relationship between mouse spermatogonial stem-cell mutation rates and EtO-induced testis ethylations was compared with the relationship between Drosophila post-stem-cell mutation rates and sperm ethylations (Lee, 1980). The comparison does not rule out equal mutability per ethylation; but it cannot prove parallelism. An assessment of the mouse-Drosophila relationship will require a more efficient alkylator than EtO and the use of comparable germ-cell stages. More meaningful conclusions may be drawn by utilizing the data for direct estimation of human risk by expressing the induced mutation frequency that is ruled out (at the 5% significance level) as a multiple of control rate and extrapolating to human exposure levels. The probable absence of major stem-cell killing (and thus, possibly, cell selection) by EtO indicates that such extrapolation probably does not produce an underestimate. For a human exposure concentration of 0.1 ppm on working days during the reproductive lifespan, the mouse experimental results rule out (at the 5% significance level) an induced spermatogonial stem-cell gene mutation rate greater than 8% of the spontaneous rate; for 1.0 ppm, they rule out an induced rate roughly equal to the spontaneous rate. The induced rate for any one poststem-cell stage would have to be about 3 orders of magnitude higher than that for stem cells to constitute an equivalent risk.
The evidence for seasonal variations of testosterone in men

Ample evidence exists to support the concept of diurnal variations in testosterone levels; however, substantiation for seasonal fluctuations is sparse and inconsistent. Since circadian disparities exist, laboratory screening for hypogonadism has traditionally been conducted using serum testosterone levels obtained in the early morning. Should circannual variability of testosterone be confirmed, it would make the monitoring of testosterone levels more difficult while forcing the development of seasonal reference standards to allow for comparison. Moreover, decisions to begin treatment and adjustment of practice patterns would likely follow. This review thoroughly explores all of the available evidence concerning seasonal variations in testosterone levels. The impacts of melatonin, vitamin D, sleep-wake cycles, light exposure, physical activity, BMI, and waist circumference are also discussed. Current research suggests that while some evidence exists to support the notion of seasonal testosterone variations, the discussed inconsistencies preclude the incorporation of this concept into current clinical standards.
Sequential factorial probing designs for identifying and estimating non-negligible factorial effects for the 2m experiment under the tree structure

Consider a 2m factorial experiment. Let A (2m × 1) be the vector of ‘factorial effects’. Let θ be a v × 1 subvector of A. Then θ is said to have a ‘tree structure’ if it is such that if A(i1,…,ik) (which, for all k, denotes the k-factor interaction between factors i1,…,ik, where 1≤i1<i2< ik≤m) belongs to θ, then at least one (k−1)-factor interaction A(j1,hellip;,jk−1) (where the set (j1,hellip;,j k−1) is a subset of (i1,…,ik)), also belongs to θ. Now, suppose that an element of A is non-negligible if and only if it belongs to θ. Suppose further that θ is unknown (except that it is known to have a tree structure, and also that v is known). In this paper, for m≤4, we obtain sequential designs for identifying and estimating θ (denoted later as L∗). We employ the intersection sieve and other tentative decision rules introduced in Srivastava (1987). Note that the earlier work deals only with single stage search designs, or with optimal balanced designs or designs of the parallel flats types, the latter two being meant for estimating a given subset of A (under the assumption that the elements of A not in the subset are negligible). Thus, the present work is at a level of generality higher than ever attempted before. Also, it will be useful in signal processing.
Detecting high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in the cervix with quantitative spectroscopy and per-patient normalization

This study develops a spectroscopic algorithm for detection of cervical high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs). We collected reflectance and fluorescence spectra with the quantitative spectroscopy probe to measure nine spectroscopic parameters from 43 patients undergoing standard colposcopy with directed biopsy. We found that there is improved accuracy for distinguishing HSIL from non-HSIL (low grade SIL and normal tissue) when we “normalized” spectroscopy parameters by dividing the values extracted from each clinically determined suspicious site by the corresponding value extracted from a clinically normal squamous site from the same patient. The “normalized” scattering parameter (A) at 700nm, best distinguished HSIL from non-HSIL with sensitivity and specificity of 89% and 79% suggesting that a simple, monochromatic instrument measuring only A may accurately detect HSIL.
Race and Women's Income Trajectories: Employment, Marriage, and Income Security over the Life Course

This article examines the contribution of employment and marriage to the income security of women as they age, and assesses differences in the process of building income security for African American and white women. Using hierarchical linear modeling and data from the National Longitudinal Survey's Mature Women Cohort, I focus on individual-level trajectories of income over time, their determinants, and how they differ across subgroups. The results demonstrate the complexity of change in women's income security over the life course and the important role that race plays in structuring trajectories of income security. Regardless of marital history, employment history, the type of job, or level of education, black women were anchored with substantially lower average adjusted household income and had significantly less growth in this income over time. As they aged, black women experienced less decay in household income; however, their income did not have nearly as far to drop. The pathways that lead from marriage and employment to income security are different for white and black women. The two mechanisms do not operate the same for all women, with white women gaining more security from marriage and black women gaining more security from “good jobs” –those with fringe benefits–to which they often lack access.
Necessary Conditions for Constrained Optimization Problems in Smooth Banach Spaces and Applications

We derive necessary optimality conditions for constrained minimization problems with lower semicontinuous inequality constraints, continuous equality constraints, and a set constraint in smooth Banach spaces. Then we apply these necessary optimality conditions to derive subdifferential characterizations of singular normal vectors to the epigraph and the graph of a function, subdifferential calculus, and necessary optimality conditions for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints.
Pulsed memory mode for gas discharge displays

A pulsed-voltage waveform was used to provide stable operation of an array of gas discharge display cells with the electrodes in direct contact with the plasma and without resistors in series with the individual cells. Memory in excess of the dc memory can be obtained with this technique.
Revisiting the mine/thine problem: A sensitizing exercise for clinic, classroom, and attributional research.

Objective Two studies revisit a sensitivity exercise designed to heighten awareness of the social psychology of disability. The "mine/thine problem" (Wright, 1975) is an imagination exercise where one's own (self-defined) disability is paired with a different disability. Participants imagine whether they would prefer to retain their disability or to exchange it for the other. Method Study 1 (N = 52) was a conceptual replication, while Study 2 (N = 50) paired participants' own disabilities with one independently rated as more or less severe. Study 2 participants also completed the Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (SADP; Antonak & Livneh, 1988) 3 times: 1 week before participation, immediately after, and 2 weeks later. Results Replicating Wright (1975), participants retained their own disabilities (78% in Study 1, 90% in Study 2); varying the paired disabilities' severity had no effect on preference in Study 2, where, compared with pretest scores, participants expressed more favorable attitudes on the 2 posttest assessments of the SADP. Conclusions The exercise sensitizes participants to insider (people with disabilities) and outsider (nondisabled) perspectives, leading to more favorable attitudes toward disability. Rehabilitation psychologists will benefit by revisiting and using this perspective-broadening exercise in clinic, classroom, and research settings.
FLC Usage Among California Growers under IRCA: An Empirical Analysis of Farm Labor Market Risk Management

Recent immigration reform efforts have been ineffective at controlling the flow of illegal immigration. Concurrently, a structural change occured in the agricultural sector as farm labor contractor (FLC) usage expanded. The FLC sector is, arguably, evolving due to the tighter regulatory and risk environment faced by producers. Using probit analysis of survey data from California growers, this study analyzes labor contracting patterns. Differences are found among regions, commodities, and several grower characteristics. However, the significant role of risk perceptions and management attitudes are of greatest interest given the absence of labor issues in agricultural risk management programs.
Potentially inappropriate medication prescribing in outpatient practices: prevalence and patient characteristics based on electronic health records.

Abstract Background : Some older adults receive potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), increasing their risk for adverse events. A literature search did not find any US multicenter studies that measured the prevalence of PIMs in outpatient practices based on data from electronic health records (EHRs), using both the Beers and Zhan criteria. Objectives : The aims of the present study were to compare the prevalence of PIMs using standard drug terminologies at 2 disparate institutions using EHRs and to identify characteristics of elderly patients who have a PIM on their active-medication lists. Methods : This cross-sectional study of outpatients' active-medication lists from April 1, 2006, was conducted using data from 2 outpatient primary care settings: Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah (center 1), and the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio (center 2). Data were included from patients who were aged ≥65 years at the time of the last office visit and had ≥2 documented clinic visits within the previous 2 years. The primary end point was prevalence of PIMs, measured according to the 2002 Beers criteria or the 2001 Zhan criteria. Results : Data from 61,251 patients were included (36,663 women, 24,588 men; center 1: 37,247 patients; center 2: 24,004). A total of 8693 (23.3%) and 5528 (23.0%) patients at centers 1 and 2, respectively, were documented as receiving a PIM as per the Beers criteria; this difference was not statistically significant. Per the Zhan criteria ( P Conclusions : In this analysis of data from elderly patients at 2 outpatient centers, a small set of 8 medications accounted for the majority of PIMs at both centers, irrespective of geographic and demographic variations. Female sex, polypharmacy, and number of primary care visits were significantly associated with PIM prescribing. In this analysis of data from elderly patients at 2 outpatient centers, a small set of 8 medications accounted for the majority of PIMs at both centers, irrespective of geographic and demographic variations.
Narcissism, self-evaluations, and partner preferences among men who have sex with men

Abstract Larger or more prominent male body attributes—increased muscularity, penis size, height, etc.—may be associated with differences in narcissism in men who have sex with men (MSM). This may be due, in part, to physical appearance, which tends to be disproportionately revered by MSM. An Internet survey ( N = 649) was employed to test this and other hypotheses. Our results indicated that MSM who reported being taller, more muscular, and having large erect penises were more likely to be narcissistic. Such narcissistic men also reported wanting partners with these attributes. Finally, narcissistic MSM were significantly more likely to reject partners on body attribute criteria. Among MSM, appearance may play some role in the development and maintenance of narcissistic attitudes. Alternatively, narcissism may drive some MSM to overestimate body attributes that are positive or attractive. Regardless of explanation, the strength of narcissistic attitudes seems to influence men’s romantic and sexual attractions towards other men and may ultimately guide partner selection.
REGγ: A Shortcut to Destruction

Destruction of intact cellular proteins is largely orchestrated by ATP-dependent ubiquitination and subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. The REG-20S proteasome, however, only degrades short peptides. In this issue of Cell, Li et al. (2006) challenge this notion by revealing that the proteasomal activator REGγ directs degradation of the steroid receptor coactivator SRC-3 by the 20S proteasome in an ATP- and ubiquitin-independent manner.
Type of Dietary Fluoride Source may be Associated with Varied Fluoride Consumption Levels

Article Title and Bibliographic Information Dietary fluoride intake by children receiving different sources of systemic fluoride. Rodriques MH, Leite AL, Arana A, Villena RS, Forte FD, Sampaio FC, Buzalaf MA, et al. J Dent Res 2009;88(2):142-5. Reviewer Jonathan D. Shenkin, DDS, MPH Purpose/Question To determine fluoride intake of preschool children from traditional sources of systemic fluoride. Source of Funding Foundation support was from the Borrow Foundation, Hampshire, UK. Type of Study/Design Cross-sectional study Level of Evidence Level 3: Other evidence Strength of Recommendation Grade Not applicable
Targeting ischemic memory.

Long-chain free fatty acids and glucose account for the vast majority of ATP production in the heart. An alteration of fatty acid oxidation is considered to be a sensitive marker of ischemia and myocardial damage. Recently, several radiolabeled fatty acid analogs have been introduced to assess myocardial cellular function. The use of such analogs has enabled the analysis of cardiac metabolism and led to the identification of prior ischemic events, termed ‘ischemic memory’. Such advances will find use in the clinical setting for the diagnosis and treatment of subclinical or progressive cardiovascular disorders, as in acute coronary syndrome, that often remain elusive with traditional imaging approaches.
Design of image-adaptive quantization tables for JPEG

The rate-distortion trade-off in the discrete cosine transform- based coding scheme in ISO/JPEG is determined by the quantization table. To permit a different quality to be selected by a user, a common practice is to scale the standard quantization tables that have been empirically determined from psychovisual experiments. In this paper, an algorithm is presented to generate a quantization table that is optimized for a given image and for a given distortion. The computationalcomplexity of this algorithm is reduced compared to other techniques. The optimized, image-adaptive quantization table typically yields an improvement of 15% to 20% in bit rate compared to the use of standard, scaled quantization tables. Once an optimized quantization table has been generated for a specific image, it can also be applied to other images with similar content with a small sacrifice in bit rate.
Effect of finite εβp on the ion temperature gradient mode in a tokamak

The ion temperature gradient (ITG) driven mode (or ηi mode) is studied for a tokamak where the pressure gradient is sufficiently large (βρ ~ 1) to modify the local shear and the gradient of the magnetic field strength. It is found that these two diamagnetic modifications of the plasma equilibrium have a stabilizing effect on the ITG mode. This could contribute to the good edge confinement observed in the H-mode and the improvement of ion energy confinement in a second stability regime tokamak.
Cooperation between an intrinsically disordered region and a helical segment is required for ubiquitin-independent degradation by the proteasome

The 26 S proteasomal complex, which is responsible for the bulk of protein degradation within the cell, recognizes its target substrates via covalently linked polyubiquitin moieties. However, a small but growing number of proteasomal substrates are degraded without a requirement for ubiquitinylation. One such substrate is the pyrimidine biosynthetic enzyme thymidylate synthase (EC 2.1.1.45), which catalyzes the synthesis of TMP and is the sole de novo source of TTP for DNA replication and repair. Previous work showed that intracellular proteolysis of human thymidylate synthase is directed by a degron at the polypeptide's N-terminal end, composed of an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) followed by a highly conserved amphipathic α-helix (hA). In the present report, we show that the hA helix does not function simply as an extension or scaffold for the IDR; rather, it provides a specific structural component that is necessary for degradation. Furthermore, its helical conformation is required for this function. We demonstrate that small domains from heterologous proteins can substitute for the IDR and the hA helix of human thymidylate synthase, indicating that the degradation-promoting function of these regions is not sequence-specific. The results, in general, indicate that cooperation between intrinsically disordered domains and α-helical segments is required for ubiquitin-independent degradation by the proteasome. There appears to be little sequence constraint on the ability of these regions to function as degron constituents. Rather, it is the overall conformation (or lack thereof) that is critical.