cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Making connections: Teaching anthropology of the third world in New Mexico

Abstract Teaching about women in social-science classes can stimulate interest in both women and the subject matter if students become involved in the issues and begin to consider them from positive perspectives. For classes on the Third World, it is important to raise questions about students' attitudes and values and to elicit their apprehensive and positive feelings about the lives of women outside their own settings. Students need to be given the feeling that positive changes are possible even in what they often perceive as no-win situations. The use of case studies presented by ethnographic films which show women taking charge of situations and using their energies and abilities to solve Third World problems has proved very successful. This strategy also allows students to make connections between their own way of life and that of people in the Third World by illustrating how the economies of the world are tied to one another and how historical events in both areas are related.
Fairchild Semiconductor’s 10 ways to identify “intrapreneurs”

Steven Willison, senior HR associate at Fairchild Semiconductor International, provides 10 tips for making the most of your company’s talent, suggesting useful ways to nurture those ideas into fruition.
Effects of age and parity on mammary gland lesions and progenitor cells in the FVB/N-RC mice.

The FVB/N mouse strain is extensively used in the development of animal models for breast cancer research. Recently it has been reported that the aging FVB/N mice develop spontaneous mammary lesions and tumors accompanied with abnormalities in the pituitary glands. These observations have a great impact on the mouse models of human breast cancer. We have developed a population of inbred FVB/N mice (designated FVB/N-RC) that have been genetically isolated for 20 years. To study the effects of age and parity on abnormalities of the mammary glands of FVB/N-RC mice, twenty-five nulliparous and multiparous (3–4 pregnancies) females were euthanized at 16–22 months of age. Examination of the mammary glands did not reveal macroscopic evidence of mammary gland tumors in either aged-nulliparous or multiparous FVB/N-RC mice (0/25). However, histological analysis of the mammary glands showed rare focal nodules of squamous changes in 2 of the aged multiparous mice. Mammary gland hyperplasia was detected in 8% and 71% of the aged-nulliparous and aged-multiparous mice, respectively. Epithelial contents and serum levels of triiodothyronine were significantly higher in the experimental groups than the 14-wk-old control mice. Immuno-histochemical staining of the pituitary gland pars distalis showed no difference in prolactin staining between the control and the aged mice. Tissue transplant and dilution studies showed no effect of age and/or parity on the ability of putative progenitor cells present among the injected mammary cells to repopulate a cleared fat pad and develop a full mammary gland outgrowth. This FVB/N-RC mouse substrain is suitable to develop mouse models for breast cancer.
Issuance Decisions and Strategic Focus: The Case of Long-Term Care Insurance

Increasing costs of long-term care are placing ever greater burdens on state and federal budgets, yet private long-term care insurance remains a relatively minor financing vehicle. Although many researchers provide rationales for the limited private market, some life-health insurers have forged ahead into this relatively new and risky line of business. We investigate what makes these insurers different and whether managers are following a diversification or strategic focus strategy. We find that strategic focus is a consistently important factor and that managers' participation and volume decisions are made independently.
On the differential market reaction to dividend initiations

Abstract The finance literature documents substantial positive stock price reaction to dividend initiations. Most dividend initiation studies focus on the average positive reaction; however, 40 percent of the firms that initiate dividends experience negative abnormal returns at announcement. This paper focuses on the apparent heterogeneity in the stock price reaction to dividend initiation. I find that the observed negative market reaction reflects the market’s economic assessment of the impact of the event on these firms, and that it is not caused by anticipation or confounding events. The result is also supported by the fact that the market reaction to dividend initiation for these firms is negatively related to initial dividend yield. Both the positive and negative observed reactions are consistent with conventional arguments regarding the information content of dividends, and their role in mitigating agency problems.
How SNARE Assembly and Folding may Drive Membrane Fusion

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE)-mediated membrane fusion is driven by the assembly of the four-helix bundle of the SNARE complex. Three SNARE proteins form the SNARE complex that is responsible for rapid exocytosis of synaptic vesicles at presynaptic membranes of neurons: synaptobrevin (or VAMP) 2 is the single vesicle SNARE and syntaxin 1A together with synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) forms the acceptor SNARE complex on the presynaptic plasma membrane. While synaptobrevin and syntaxin are single helix-spanning integral membrane proteins, SNAP-25 is a palmitylated soluble protein. We have solved the monomeric prefusion structures of membrane-anchored synaptobrevin and syntaxin by solution NMR methods and studied their membrane association with site-directed spin-label EPR spectroscopy. Contrary to the common notion that the soluble portions of SNAREs are completely disordered prior to assembly, we found that certain regions have higher propensities to prefold into helical segments and exchange with the membrane surface than other regions. Supported by fluorescence interferometric measurements in supported membranes, we propose a mechanism of SNARE assembly that could provide the energy to drive tight membrane docking (by formation of a partially folded trans-SNARE complex) to membrane fusion (by formation of the completely folded cis-SNARE complex).
Characterization of a Brain-enriched Chaperone, MRJ, That Inhibits Huntingtin Aggregation and Toxicity Independently

Molecular chaperones are involved in a wide range of cellular events, such as protein folding and oligomeric protein complex assembly. DnaK- and DnaJ-like proteins are the two major classes of molecular chaperones in mammals. Recent studies have shown that DnaJ-like family proteins can inhibit polyglutamine aggregation, a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease (HD). Although most DnaJ-like proteins studied are ubiquitously expressed, some have restricted expression, so it is possible that some specific chaperones may affect polyglutamine aggregation in specific neurons. In this report, we describe the isolation of a DnaJ-like protein MRJ and the characterization of its chaperone activity. Tissue distribution studies showed that MRJ is highly enriched in the central nervous system. In an in vitro cell model of HD, overexpressed MRJ effectively suppressed polyglutamine-dependent protein aggregation, caspase activity, and cellular toxicity. Collectively, these results suggest that MRJ has a relevant functional role in neurons.
Trade-off Modeling for Product and Manufacturing Process Design for the Environment

Summary This article presents a method for integrating pollution prevention and concurrent engineering (simultaneous design of products and the manufacturing processes used to produce them). The central issue is unavoidable trade-offs, such as those among pollution, manufacturing cost, and quality. The probabilistic nature of the manufacturing process is exploited as an opportunity for pollution preventi0n.A decision tool in the form of a mathematical model is presented, which can be used by engineers and others with whom these trade-offs must be negotiated, Specifically, the method integrates statistical manufacturing process control into a mubobjective design optimization formulation. First, the framework of a multiattribute utilty function is developed to determine which objectives are both relevant and negotiable. Then, a statistical manufacturing process control experiment is conducted to formulate some of the constraints that prevent all objectives from being maximized. Simultaneously, information obtained from the experiment is also used to fine-tune the upper and lower bounds in the utility functions. The results of an industrial case study of a floor tile manufacturer are presented, from the manufacturer's viewpoint. The material choice and manufacturing process settings that result in the best combination of the conflicting objectives of product quality (measured in terms of scrap rate), air pollution, and manufacturing cost are determined. The analysis also reveals the irony that for this manufacturer; efforts to reduce solid waste through greater use of scrap materials increase air pollution levels
Energy and wear analysis in lubricated sliding contact

Abstract Lubricants are used to control friction and minimize wear in a variety of tribological applications. When lubricants are used at the contact interface of two sliding surfaces the material loss due to wear and the energy consumption due to friction are reduced by several orders of magnitude. In railroad applications, lubricants are routinely applied to the side of the rails to reduce friction and wear that occur between the flange part of the wheel and the gauge side of the rail on curved tracks. A standardized method has been developed to measure the railroad gauge side lubricant performance (A. Alp, Energy and wear analysis in lubricated sliding and rolling/sliding contacts, M.S. Thesis, Illinois Institute of Technology, August 1991). This method correlates the amount of energy saved up to lubricant breakdown and stabilization points and lubricant breakdown duration to lubricant performance.
On the conformation of 6-ketononanolide and 1,4-cyclohexanedione in solution by dipole moment studies

Abstract The dipole moments of 6-ketononanolide (1) and its 2,4,7 and 8-Me derivatives (2–5) are found to be 1·8 – 1·9±0·2 D. Utilizing the known solid-state geometry of 1, a dipole moment of 1·6 D is calculated by the INDO quantum mechanical method. Thus the conformation of 1 in solution does not differ much from its solid-state conformation which is diamond-lattice derived with the CO groups 174° apart and in “Type III” positions. However, the IR spectrum of 1 in solution shows differences from that in the solid state (Nujol or KBr). The dipole moment of 1,4-cyclohexanedione (10) is calculated to be 1·2 D for the experimental 156° twist boat conformation (found in the solid-state). This is in excellent agreement with the experimental value found by several groups. 1,6-Cyclodecanedione (6), however, is found to have an experimental dipole moment of 0·7 D, as contrasted with a calculated value of 0 D for 180° opposed carbonyls.
The Velten Mood Induction Procedure and cognitive manipulation: Our response to Clark (1985)

Abstract Clark (1985) makes several thoughtful points about studies using the Veiten Mood Induction Procedure (VMIP; Veiten, 1968). We still disagree with his position, and interpret the evidence as supporting that the VMIP is a cognitive manipulation. Furthermore, our cognitive priming position may offer a more parsimonious and coherent explanation of the VMIP findings on mood induction, memory and other mood-linked behaviors.
Addressing the 100% of Heart Failure: A Call for Complete Care of All Ages

During the past several years, the nation’s health systems and providers have frantically put into place programs to reduce readmission rates for heart failure (HF) and other conditions. Through public reporting or pay for performance initiatives focused on readmissions, hospital administrators now focus on care beyond the hospital doors. The basis for improving readmission rates largely rests on Medicare data showing wide variation and attributable costs of early readmissions among elderly Americans. Given that this population is the highest payer of the nation’s $1.6 trillion in hospital bills,1 the rationale to focus on Medicare beneficiaries is understandable. Certainly, Medicare must focus on resource-intensive conditions with poor outcomes like HF. Historically, other payers like Medicaid have had other areas in which to focus quality improvement efforts. With a predominantly younger population, maternal and neonatal stays account for 50% of all hospitalizations;2 however, the state of affairs may soon change for Medicaid plans. In 2014, states may opt to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act—a landmark legislation that promises to expand coverage across the spectrum of health and disease. As a result, it is important to understand the impact of a condition like HF, which has high morbidity and mortality, on Medicaid programs. Furthermore, we must begin to define what may drive inefficiencies or poor quality of care for this population. Article see p 672 In this issue of Circulation: Heart Failure , Allen et al help us to understand the other 20% to 30% of HF that is unrepresented by previous studies profiling Medicare beneficiaries.3 Using administrative data from …
THE EFFECTIVE ELECTRON-NUCLEUS HAMILTONIAN WITH DISTORTED ELECTRON WAVES

The interaction of non-relativistic nucleons with relativistic electrons is expressed by the Hamiltonian expanded in a power series of the inverse nucleon mass keeping interaction terms up to second order in the coupling constant e and retaining up through terms of order M-3. The effective Hamiltonian, describing the interaction of the electron wave distorted by the nucleus with the nucleon is obtained. This Hamiltonian describes the distortion of electron waves and allows one to calculate its effect. Using this Hamiltonian for the description of (e,e′p) and (e,e′NN) reactions for medium and heavy nuclei, the off-shell transition matrix elements can be calculated.
User selection schemes for maximizing throughput of multiuser MIMO systems using Zero Forcing Beamforming

The performance of a multiuser MIMO broadcast system depends highly on how the users being served are selected from the pool of users requesting service. Though dirty paper coding can obtain the optimal capacity of multiuser MIMO Broadcast systems, the computational complexity is high. We examine this problem in the context of systems using Zero Forcing Beamforming (ZFBF) which have low complexity and reasonable throughput. The channels of the selected users may not be orthogonal to each other resulting in harmful interference and reduction in the performance of the system. This work identifies and thoroughly investigates the main factors affecting the performance and proposes some mitigating schemes to fully exploit multiuser diversity. In particular, we develop improved user selection schemes designed to maximize the sum rate that offer a range of complexity to performance tradeoff. Simulation results show that the selection schemes developed compare favorably with existing techniques.
Autoradiographic techniques and the localization of estrogen, androgen, and glucocorticoid in the pituitary and brain

SYNOPSIS. Autoradiographic techniques are reviewed which have been recommended. for the localization of diffusible substances, such as steroid hormones. Advancement in techniques, including low temperature tissue sectioning, section freeze-drying, and dry-mounting of sections, led to the development of the dry-mount autoradiographic technique. This progress in technique has enabled the cellular and subcellular topotgraphic localization of steroid hormones in peripheral and central target tissues, including the identification of hormone target cells in the pituitary and mapping of hormone neurons in the brain. In the pituitary, tritiated estrogen, androgen, and glucocorticoid are concentrated and retained in nuclei of certain anterior lobe cells. In the brain, estrogens, androgens, and glucocorticoids are attracted by and concentrated in nuclei of certain neurons located mainly within the phylogenetically old periventricular brain. In view of the widespread distribution of sex steroids in different brain areas, the generally held concept of a topographically confined single or dual “sex center” is challenged. While estrogen and androgen neurons in the hypothalamus, in the preoptic-septal-parolfactory region, and in the amygdala overlap, or are even identical in part, glucocorticoid neurons are more heavily concentrated in the gyrus dentatus, hyppocampus, indusium griseum, dorsal nuclei septi lateralis and medialis, as well as in the piriform cortex and portions of the amygdala. It is conceptualized that the steroid hormone neurons are hypophysiotropic neurons, being involved in the neurosecretion of releasing factors, and that they represent sought for hormone “feedback” areas in the brain. This challenges the generally held view of the “hypophysiotrophic area” in the hypothalamus as the anatomical site where releasing factors are produced.
Octave tunable lumped-element notch filter

A new lumped-element notch filter architecture with uniform attenuation characteristics over an octave tuning range is described. The approach is demonstrated by a 20 to 55 MHz varactor-tuned two-resonator notch filter with minimum notch attenuation of 40dB, 3dB bandwidths of ∼2.5 MHz, tuning times of less than 3 µs, control voltages below 5V, and passband insertion loss less than 0.2dB from 18 to 60 MHz.
Low-Frequency Shielding Effectiveness of Nonuniform Enclosures

This paper presents a quasi-static approximate solution to the magnetic shielding of several nonuniform enclosures using the integral form of Maxwell's equations and insight gained from other approaches. The solution is called quasi-static as the assumptions made are from physical arguments based on low-frequency cases where the enclosure size is much less than a wavelength. The integral form of Maxwell's equations is used to obtain a first order correction to the static solution to obtain induced currents in the time-varying case. A cylindrical shell immersed in an axial magnetic field is used to illustrate the method, which is then extended to derive a formula for a similarly excited rectangular enclosure. These shields are seen to behave like a low-pass filter. Although the enclosure dimensions are small compared to the wavelength, the skin depth effects in the walls cannot be neglected even for relatively thin material as usually encountered in an enclosure. These skin effects are included in the analysis and experimental checks performed on a variety of enclosure sizes and materials, excited by a Helmholtz coil show agreement within two decibels over the 4-octave frequency range examined. No one can say whether this method offers a better solution to the shielding problem, as all solutions are approximate, but the author attempts to present an alternative formulation that aids in understanding the physical processes involved in the shielding effectiveness of an enclosure and fills some of the gaps between the plane-wave analysis and circuit approaches presently used.
Structure-Based View of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Regulation

High-resolution X-ray crystal structures determined in the past six years dramatically influence our view of ligand-induced activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Ligand binding to the extracellular region of EGFR promotes a major domain reorganization, plus local conformational changes, that are required to generate an entirely receptor-mediated dimer. In this activated complex the intracellular kinase domains associate to form an asymmetric dimer that supports the allosteric activation of one kinase. These models are discussed with emphasis on recent studies that add details or bolster the generality of this view of activation of this family of receptors. The EGFR family is implicated in several disease states, perhaps most notably in cancers. Activating tumor mutations have been identified in the intracellular and extracellular regions of EGFR. The impact of these tumor mutations on the understanding of EGFR activation and of its inhibition is discussed.
Distributed Data Access Control for Lean Product Information Sharing in Collaborative Design

Efficient, effective, and trustworthy collaboration in design is vital to maintain organizational competence. Conventional access control methods are too coarse in inter-organizational lean and secure data exchange. In this paper, a Scheduled Role-Based Distributed Data Access Control Model is described to support data security management in a distributed environment. The model allows for fine-grained data access control at both the server and client sides, thus securing different levels of design information dissemination for intellectual property protection purposes. Common interface for heterogeneous data is built based on XML.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Who helps whom in older parent-child families

While previous research has assumed that older persons who live with adult children do so because of their poverty or disability, some recent evidence suggests that many of these extended households primarily benefit the child. This article attempts to provide a better understanding of the relative contributions of parents and adult children who live together through detailed analysis of data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). We find unmarried children tend to benefit more from and contribute less to extended households than married children. Similarly, unmarried parents benefit more from living with children than married parents. Results of logistic regression show that financial need and need for assistance with activities of daily living wre important determinants of coresidence for both unmarried children and unmarried parents. Controlling need, racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to live in extended families than non-Hispanic Whites.
PAR Proteins Regulate Microtubule Dynamics at the Cell Cortex in C. elegans

Abstract Background: The PAR proteins are known to be localized asymmetrically in polarized C. elegans , Drosophila , and human cells and to participate in several cellular processes, including asymmetric cell division and spindle orientation. Although astral microtubules are known to play roles in these processes, their behavior during these events remains poorly understood. Results: We have developed a method that makes it possible to examine the residence time of individual astral microtubules at the cell cortex of developing embryos. Using this method, we found that microtubules are more dynamic at the posterior cortex of the C. elegans embryo compared to the anterior cortex during spindle displacement. We further observed that this asymmetry depends on the PAR-3 protein and heterotrimeric G protein signaling, and that the PAR-2 protein affects microtubule dynamics by restricting PAR-3 activity to the anterior of the embryo. Conclusions: These results indicate that PAR proteins function to regulate microtubule dynamics at the cortex during microtubule-dependent cellular processes.
Darwinian biophysics: Electrostatics and evolution in the kinetics of molecular binding

At the molecular level of biology, the competition for favorable outcomes has been shaped by evolution, just as in more familiar examples from ecological biology. At both levels, this competition is often based on raw speed. There are differences, of course. Most notably, a race between molecules is more often determined by diffusional dynamics than by inertial dynamics. The driving forces on molecules typically comprise electrostatic nudges rather than thundering hooves digging into soil. Electrostatic interactions can be surprisingly effective, however. The rate of degradation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by the synaptic enzyme acetylcholinesterase is known to be increased by a factor of up to a few hundred as a result of “electrostatic steering” of the positively charged acetylcholine molecule toward the predominantly negative active-site region of the enzyme (1). This tends to optimize the clearing and resetting of neuromuscular junctions and other cholinergic synapses, which offered a clear competitive advantage to our successful ancestors, relative to more sluggish individuals of their species who faced the same predators. Such selective pressures are also recorded in proteins at the next level of a hierarchy, in some of the venom molecules of snakes such as the green mamba that prey on small mammals in sub-Saharan East Africa. The green mamba toxin fasciculin-2 is a small protein whose positively charged surface is attracted to, and clamps down on, the active-site entrance of acetylcholinesterase, causing muscular activity of the unfortunate rat or other prey to cease. Here, again, the binding involves electrostatically steered diffusion, and the binding speed is increased by a factor of up to a few hundred by the electrostatic attraction between the proteins (1). Many other examples of electrostatically steered, diffusion-controlled processes are now known, including such familiar ones as the polymerization of actin (2, 3). In a recent issue of PNAS, a new article by Qin and Zhou greatly deepens our insight into these important processes, and extends the range of analysis to include reactions in which the rates may be influenced by events following the initial diffusional encounter (4).
Individual differences in eyewitness memory and suggestibility: examining relations between acquiescence, dissociation and resistance to misleading information

The purpose of this study was to investigate relations between acquiescence, dissociation, and resistance to misleading information. A total of 111 participants took part in a series of staged events and then completed both the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). The participants returned to the lab 1 week later and were questioned about the details of their experiences during the previous session. As predicted, acquiescence as measured by the True Response Inconsistency Scale (TRIN scale) of the MMPI-2 was found to be significantly related to errors on misleading questions and repeated questions, but was not related to errors on non-suggestive specific and open questions. Scoring on the DES was found not to be related to acquiescence as measured by the TRIN scale, or errors on misleading, specific, or repeated questions. However, pathological dissociation was found to be related to both errors on misleading questions and indiscriminant variable responding as measured by the Variable Response Inconsistency Scale (VRIN scale) of the MMPI-2. These findings add to our developing understanding of factors that contribute to suggestibility in the interrogative context.
Oxygen isotope systematics of chondrules in the Allende CV3 chondrite: High precision ion microprobe studies

The oxygen three-isotope systematics of 36 chondrules from the Allende CV3 chondrite are reported using high precision secondary ion mass spectrometer (Cameca IMS-1280). Twenty-six chondrules have shown internally homogenous Δ 17 O values among olivine, pyroxene, and spinel within a single chondrule. The average Δ 17 O values of 19 FeO-poor chondrules (13 porphyritic chondrules, 2 barred olivine chondrules, and 4 chondrule fragments) show a peak at −5.3 ± 0.6‰ (2SD). Another 5 porphyritic chondrules including both FeO-poor and FeO-rich ones show average Δ 17 O values between −3‰ and −2‰, and 2 other FeO-poor barred olivine chondrules show average Δ 17 O values of −3.6‰ and 0‰. These results are similar to those for Acfer 094 chondrules, showing bimodal Δ 17 O values at −5‰ and −2‰. Nine porphyritic chondrules contain olivine grains with heterogeneous Δ 17 O values as low as −18‰, indicating that they are relict olivine grains and some of them were derived from precursors related to refractory inclusions. However, most relict olivine grains show oxygen isotope ratios that overlap with those in homogeneous chondrules. The Δ 17 O values of four barred olivine chondrules range from −5‰ to 0‰, indicating that not all BO chondrules plot near the Terrestrial Fractionation line as suggested by previous bulk chondrule analyses. Based on these data, we suggest the presence of multiple oxygen isotope reservoirs in local dust-rich protoplanetary disk, from which the CV3 parent asteroid formed. A compilation of 225 olivine and low-Ca pyroxene isotopic data from 36 chondrules analyzed in the present study lie between CCAM (carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous mineral) and Young and Russell lines. These data define a correlation line of δ 17 O = (0.982 ± 0.019) × δ 18 O - (2.91 ± 0.10), which is similar to those defined by chondrules in CV3 chondrites and Acfer 094 in previous studies. Plagioclase analyses in two chondrules plot slightly below the CCAM line with Δ 17 O values of -2.6‰, which might be the result of oxygen isotope exchange between chondrule mesostasis and aqueous fluid in the CV parent body.
Predicting the Outcome of Construction Litigation Using an Integrated Artificial Intelligence Model

An integrated prediction model (IPM) was used to predict the outcome of construction litigation with the hope that it will generate a higher prediction rate than the rates obtained by using artificial neural networks (ANN), case-based reasoning (CBR), and boosted decision trees (BDTs) in earlier studies. These studies were conducted by using the same 132 Illinois circuit court cases (with slight variations in the case of the BDT and IPM studies) filed between 1992 and 2000. A prediction rate of 91.15% was obtained, higher than the 66.67% in the ANN study, 83.33% in the CBR study, and 89.59% in the BDT study. IPM involves four processes, namely, data consolidation, attribute selection, prediction using hybrid classifiers, and assessment. The performance of IPM is compared with the performance of ANN, CBR, and BDT. If the outcome of construction litigation can be predicted with reasonable accuracy and reliability, all parties involved in the construction process could save considerable money and time.
Comments on Weiner, Resnick and Scientific Debate

Lois Weiner (2003) and Lauren Resnick (2003) have advanced substantially different views of the success of the reforms undertaken by Community School District Two (CSD2) in New York city. Weiner's position vis a vis District Two has probably conferred a greater measure of objectivity to her views. Criticisms of scholarly work, even when sharply worded, are neither personal nor unscientific; indeed they are quite common in all the sciences.
Antagonism of airway tolerance by endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide through promoting OX40L and suppressing antigen-specific Foxp3+ T regulatory cells

Respiratory exposure to allergens can lead to airway tolerance. Factors that antagonize tolerance mechanisms in the lung might result in susceptibility to diseases such as asthma. We show that inhalation of endotoxin/LPS with Ag prevented airway tolerance and abolished protection from T cell-driven asthmatic lung inflammation. Under conditions leading to tolerance, adaptive Ag-specific CD4+Foxp3+ T regulatory cells (Treg) were generated following exposure to intranasal Ag and outnumbered IL-4- and IFN-γ-producing CD4 T cells by 100:1 or greater. Inhaled LPS altered the ratio of Treg to IL-4+ or IFN-γ+ T cells by concomitantly suppressing Treg generation and promoting effector T cell generation. LPS induced OX40L expression on dendritic cells and B cells that resulted in a synergistic activity between TLR4 and OX40 signals, leading to production of IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-6, which blocked Treg development. Furthermore, inhibiting OX40/OX40L interactions prevented LPS from suppressing tolerance, and resulted in the generation of greater numbers of adaptive Treg. Thus, cooperation between TLR4 and OX40 controls susceptibility to developing airway disease via modulating the balance between adaptive Treg and IL-4+ or IFN-γ+ T cells. Targeting OX40L then has the potential to improve the efficacy of Ag immunotherapy to promote tolerance.
Risk adjusted identification of a class of nonlinear systems

This paper addresses the problem of identification of a class of nonlinear systems from a set-membership standpoint. Specifically we consider structures consisting of the interconnection of a linear time invariant plant and a sector bound static nonlinearity. This structure includes as special cases, Hammerstein, Wiener and Hammerstein-Wiener systems. Our main result shows that, by pursuing a risk-adjusted approach, the problem can be reduced to a convex LMI optimization form that can be efficiently solved. In addition we provide a convergence analysis that points to an intrinsic limitation of any interpolatory algorithm. These results are illustrated with a simple example.
Fire Injury Reduces Inducible Defenses of Lodgepole Pine against Mountain Pine Beetle

We examined the effect of wildfire injury on lodgepole pine chemical defenses against mountain pine beetle. We compared the constitutive phloem chemistry among uninjured, lightly-, moderately-, and severely-injured trees, and the induced chemistry elicited by simulated beetle attack, among these same categories. We also compared the entry rates of caged female beetles into trees of these categories. The volatiles we studied included thirteen monoterpene hydrocarbons, four allylic monoterpene alcohols, one ester, and one phenyl propanoid, of which the monoterpene hydrocarbons always comprised 96% or more of the total. Fire injury reduced the total concentration of these compounds in the induced but not constitutive phloem tissue of lodgepole pines. Fire injury also affected the relative composition of some volatiles in both induced and constitutive phloem. For example, increased fire injury reduced 4-allylanisole, a host compound that inhibits mountain pine beetle aggregation. Increased fire injury also increased (−) α-pinene, which can serve as precursor of pheromone communication. However, it also reduced myrcene and terpinolene, which can serve as stimulants and synergists of pheromone communication. Beetle entry did not show statistical differences among fire injury categories, although there was a trend to increased entry with fire injury. These results suggest that the reduced ability of trees to mobilize induced chemical defenses is an important mechanism behind the higher incidence of attack on fire-injured trees in the field. Future studies should concentrate on whether beetles that enter fire-injured trees are more likely to elicit aggregation, based on the differences we observed in volatile composition.
Properties of Yellow (Orange)-Pigmented Strains of Soft Rot Bacteria in the Genus Xanthomonas, Pseudomonas, Cytophaga, and Erwinia

Four strains of yellow (orange)-pigmented bacteria, respectively identified as Xanthomonas campestris, Pseudomonas sp., Cytophaga sp., and Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc), were pectolytic and able to cause soft rots of potato slices and other detached plant parts but differed in their ability to degrade starch, chitin, cellulose, protein, and Tween 80. The Cytophaga strain and the Xanthomonas strain were characteristic for their respective ability to produce chitinase and lipases. The orange-pigmented Erwinia strain, a derivative of Ecc (SR319), retained properties of the parent (white) strain including ability to secrete protease and cellulase. The yellow-pigmented Pseudomonas strain could be differentiated from P. viridiflava by its failure to liquefy gelatin, to induce tobacco hypersensitivity, and to utilize sorbitol and erythritol.
Pulmonary Organogenesis and Developmental Abnormalities

Lung organogenesis involves the emergence of the lung anlage from the anterior foregut, laryngeal and tracheoesophageal morphogenesis and septation, tracheal bifurcation, patterning of the major bronchi, lobation of the lungs, branching morphogenesis of approximately 23 generations of airways, and formation of alveoli.1 In the third week of gestation, the lung begins to develop as a ventral outpouching on the floor of the primitive foregut.2 The lung’s development may be divided into five phases: the embryonic, pseudoglandular, acinar or canalicular, saccular, and alveolar phases.2, 3, 4 A variety of factors influence normal lung development, including normal fetal breathing movements, adequate intrathoracic space, appropriate volumes of extra- and intrapulmonary fluid, pulmonary blood flow, as well as maternal factors such as nutrition and smoking.3 The foregut endoderm differentiates into epithelial cell types that line the developing lung and trachea, whereas lungmesenchyme originates from the lateral plate mesoderm and develops into several lung components, including connective tissue, smooth muscle surrounding airways and medium- and small-sized blood vessels, endothelial cell precursors, lymphatics, tracheal cartilage, and pleura.5
Women's Sex-Related Dissociation: The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication, Attentional Control Instructions, and History of Childhood Sexual Abuse

This study examined influences of alcohol intoxication, attentional control, and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) severity on sex-related dissociation. Sex-related dissociation is defined here as dissociation (e.g., feeling as if the world is unreal and feeling disconnected from one's body) during sexual activity or in the presence of sexual stimuli. Women (N = 70) were randomized to a 2 (alcohol condition: none,.10% peak breath alcohol concentration) X 2 (attentional control instructions: none, "relax and maximize" sexual arousal) experiment and exposed to sexual stimuli. Alcohol intoxication was positively associated with sex-related dissociation. CSA severity and sex-related dissociation were positively associated in the no-instruction condition but not in the "relax and maximize" condition. For some women, efforts to relax and maximize sexual arousal may buffer the association between CSA and sex-related dissociation.
Tobacco-free but not tobacco industry free

In recent years a movement has spread across the USA to designate colleges 100% tobacco-free in an effort to reduce tobacco use and exposure to tobacco marketing among college students. As of January 2016, there are over 1000 tobacco-free campuses within the US.1 Although federal policies restrict tobacco companies from marketing their products to those under 18 years of age, tobacco industry documents show that they actively target young adults aged 18 years, their youngest legal demographic, through a variety of methods.2 Despite the efforts of advocates to eliminate the presence of tobacco on college campuses, one area of tobacco control that often gets overlooked is the …
Congenital Variants of Gastrointestinal Rotation Found at Resection of Hepatopancreatobiliary Tumors: A Case Series with Review of the Literature.

Abstract Background: Gastrointestinal malrotation arises from intrauterine events that occur early in the first trimester of gestation, and can result in a midgut volvulus that classically presents in the neonatal period with bilious emesis. Gastrointestinal malrotation can present clinically with symptoms such as chronic abdominal pain or bowel obstruction, or remain completely asymptomatic only to be discovered as an incidental finding much later in life during surgical exploration for other diseases. We sought to identify the prevalence of gastrointestinal malrotation in patients undergoing surgical exploration for hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) malignancy and describe the operative considerations of these cases. Case Presentation: We performed a retrospective review of our prospectively acquired HPB surgery database from January 1, 2006, to December 1, 2013. We identified three cases of gastrointestinal malrotation out of a total of 1220 HPB cases reviewed, which represents 0.2%. We found two cases of g...
Quality Control of Public Health Emergencies

Public health emergencies of public health will produce great threat, through scientific and timely inspection,can timely response, and maximum reduce the effects of public health emergencies. In this article, firstly introduces the meaning of the public health emergency inspection, based on this, puts forward the public health emergency measures of quality control inspection, to really improve the quality of inspection, give play to the important role of test.
Sperm Preparation for Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) by Swim-Up Method

Preparation of the sperm for IUI combines sperm washing with swim-up to remove seminal plasma and concentrate the most motile spermatozoa in a very small volume of sperm wash media (HTF).
Uncompensated Care Decreased At Hospitals In Medicaid Expansion States But Not At Hospitals In Nonexpansion States

One pillar of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was its expected impact on the growing burden of uncompensated care costs for the uninsured at hospitals. However, little is known about how this burden changed as a result of the ACA’s enactment. We examine how the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s coverage expansions affected uncompensated care costs at a large, diverse sample of hospitals. We estimate that in states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, uncompensated care costs decreased from 4.1 percentage points to 3.1 percentage points of operating costs. The reductions in Medicaid expansion states were larger at hospitals that had higher pre-ACA uncompensated care burdens and in markets where we predicted larger gains in coverage through expanded eligibility for Medicaid. Our estimates suggest that uncompensated care costs would have decreased from 5.7 percentage points to 4.0 percentage points of operating costs in nonexpansion states if they had expanded Medicaid. Thus, while the ACA decreased the variation i...
Engineered Acetylcholine Binding Proteins for Structure-guided Design of Safer Insecticides

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are the biological target of the fastest-growing class of insecticides worldwide — the neonicotinoids. This class of insecticide is known to affect of...
DIII-D: Recent Physics Results, Implemented and Planned Hardware Upgrades

During the last two years, the DIII-D tokamak has been operated for a total of 34 run weeks, during which significant advances have been achieved in many areas of plasma physics. This progress was only possible because of the improvements in the tools available to the DIII-D program to control and manipulate the plasma core and edge conditions. The important systems in this effort include the electron cyclotron (EC) system, the fast wave system (restarted after being sidelined for four years), 12 new internal coils, an upgraded plasma control system and a comprehensive set of turbulence diagnostics. The EC system's versatility was demonstrated by the various roles it played in the physics research program. It was used as a probe to demonstrate the "hybrid" plasmas are regulated by m/n=3/2 tearing modes, it was used to suppress the m/n=2/1 Neoclassical Tearing Mode, which allowed the plasma pressure to be raised to new heights, and in an active feedback mode EC power was used to control the q-profile using real-time equilibrium reconstructions based upon motional Stark effect data. The fast wave system was used in conjunction with the EC system for current profile experiments. The internal control coil system was used to investigate suppression of the resistive wall modes and reduction and/or elimination of ELMs. During this year, the DIII-D facility will implement major changes and upgrades to expand the frontiers in several of the areas of tokamak plasma physics research. One of the four neutral beams will be rotated from the co-to the counter-injection mode so that heated plasmas with little or no rotation can be studied. The present lower divertor will be removed and a new extended shelf divertor will be installed to provide the capability of pumping high triangular double null plasmas. Three new long pulse one MW class gyrotron systems will be brought on line, which will double the long pulse capability of the EC system. Two of the three aging cooling towers will be replaced with two new high efficiency towers that can handle the higher heat loads expected in the future from 10 s pulse operation. These and other improvements to the facility will be discussed and presented
Emerging themes in heterotrimeric G-protein signaling in plants

Heterotrimeric G-proteins are key signaling components involved during the regulation of a multitude of growth and developmental pathways in all eukaryotes. Although the core proteins (Gα, Gβ, Gγ subunits) and their basic biochemistries are conserved between plants and non-plant systems, seemingly different inherent properties of specific components, altered wirings of G-protein network architectures, and the presence of novel receptors and effector proteins make plant G-protein signaling mechanisms somewhat distinct from the well-established animal paradigm. G-protein research in plants is getting a lot of attention recently due to the emerging roles of these proteins in controlling many agronomically important traits. New findings on both canonical and novel G-protein components and their conserved and unique signaling mechanisms are expected to improve our understanding of this important module in affecting critical plant growth and development pathways and eventually their utilization to produce plants for the future needs. In this review, we briefly summarize what is currently known in plant G-protein research, describe new findings and how they are changing our perceptions of the field, and discuss important issues that still need to be addressed.
Postmodern Policy Analysis in the Premodern West: Problem Definition in the Yellowstone Bison Case

AbstractResponding to calls for revised pedagogical strategies this article highlights the use of postmodern techniques in applied policy analysis. Focusing on the crucial role of problem definition in the Yellowstone National Park bison controversy of 1996-97, a postmodern approach is briefly examined and then applied in the form of a narrative analysis. An analysis of original survey data, newspaper articles, letters to the editors, public speeches, and public texts producedfive narratives: 1) “Hidden Agendas and Heroes,” 2) “Winter Ghost Towns and a Hobson’s Choice,” 3) “Two Goliaths and Little (David) Montana,” 4) “Blue Ribbons, a Mercy Harvest, and Anti-Recreationist Conspirators,” and 5) “Wild Bison and Wild Bureaucrats.” The article touches on language, power, democracy, and the relationship between positivism and postmodemism. It is argued that postmodem techniques can move from the realm of theory to the realm of practice and make significant contributions to applied policy analysis.
From Oral History to Intellectual History (and the Unintended Autobiography)

This paper provides an interpretation of the Bengali Intellectuals Oral History Project as a new archive for studying the intellectual history of South Asia. It explains that an important outcome o...