cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methylation-associated Transcriptional Silencing of the Major Histocompatibility Complex-linked hsp70 Genes in Mouse Cell Lines

The MHC-linked hsp70 locus consists of duplicated genes, hsp70.1 and hsp70.3, which in primary mouse embryo cells are highly heat shock-inducible. Several mouse cell lines in which hsp70 expression is not activated by heat shock have been described previously, but the basis for the deficiency has not been identified. In this study, genomic footprinting analysis has identified a common basis for the deficient response of the hsp70.1 gene to heat shock in four such cell lines, viz., the promoter is inaccessible to transcription factors, including heat shock transcription factor. Southern blot analyses reveal extensive CpG methylation of a 1.2-kilobase region spanning the hsp70.1 transcription start site and hypermethylation of the adjacent hsp70.3 gene, which is presumably also inaccessible to regulatory factors. Of four additional, randomly chosen mouse cell lines, three show no or minimal hsp70.3 heat shock responsiveness and CpG methylation of both hsp70 genes, and two of the three lines exhibit a suboptimal hsp70.1 response to heat shock as well. In all three lines, the accessibility of the hsp70.1 promoter to transcription factors is detectable but clearly diminished (relative to that in primary mouse cells). Our results suggest that the tandem hsp70 genes are concomitantly methylated and transcriptionally repressed with high frequency in cultured mouse cells.
Making Learning Fun: Quest Atlantis, A Game Without Guns.

This article describes the Quest Atlantis (QA) project, a learning and teaching project that employs a multiuser, virtual environment to immerse children, ages 9–12, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in commercial gaming environments with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. It allows users at participating elementary schools and after-school centers to travel through virtual spaces to perform educational activities, talk with other users and mentors, and build virtual personae. Our work has involved an agenda and process that may be called socially-responsive design, which involves building sociotechnical structures that engage with and potentially transform individuals and their contexts of participation. This work sits at the intersection of education, entertainment, and social commitment and suggests an expansive focus for instructional designers. The focus is on engaging classroom culture and relevant aspects of student life to inspire participation consistent with social commitments and educational goals interpreted locally.
Effector Kinase Coupling Enables High-Throughput Screens for Direct HIV-1 Nef Antagonists with Antiretroviral Activity

HIV-1 Nef, a critical AIDS progression factor, represents an important target protein for antiretroviral drug discovery. Because Nef lacks intrinsic enzymatic activity, we developed an assay that couples Nef to the activation of Hck, a Src family member and Nef effector protein. Using this assay, we screened a large, diverse chemical library and identified small molecules that block Nef-dependent Hck activity with low micromolar potency. Of these, a diphenylpyrazolo compound demonstrated submicromolar potency in HIV-1 replication assays against a broad range of primary Nef variants. This compound binds directly to Nef via a pocket formed by the Nef dimerization interface and disrupts Nef dimerization in cells. Coupling of nonenzymatic viral accessory factors to host cell effector proteins amenable to high-throughput screening may represent a general strategy for the discovery of new antimicrobial agents.
Importance of HCV genotype 1 subtypes for drug resistance and response to therapy

Summary The treatment for patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 has undergone major changes with the availability of direct-acting antivirals. Triple therapy, containing telaprevir or boceprevir, first-wave NS3 protease inhibitors, in combination with peginterferon and ribavirin, improved rates of sustained virologic response compared with peginterferon and ribavirin alone in patients with HCV genotype 1. However, the development of drug-resistant variants is a concern. In patients treated with telaprevir or boceprevir, different patterns of resistance are observed for the two major HCV genotype 1 subtypes, 1a and 1b. Genotype 1b is associated with a lower rate of resistant variant selection and better response to triple therapy compared with genotype 1a. Similar subtype-specific patterns have been observed for investigational direct-acting antivirals, including second-wave NS3 protease inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors and non-nucleoside NS5B inhibitors. This review explores resistance to approved and investigational direct-acting antivirals for the treatment of HCV, focusing on the differences between genotype 1a and genotype 1b. Finally, given the importance of HCV genotype 1 subtype on resistance and treatment outcomes, clinicians must also be aware of the tests currently available for genotype subtyping and their limitations.
Diagnostic Reliability of Bipolar II Disorder

Background Although the diagnostic reliability of major depression and mania has been well established, that of hypomania and bipolar II (BPII) disorder has not. This remains an important issue for clinicians, especially for those undertaking genetic studies of BP disorder since bipolar I (BPI) and BPII disorders often cluster in the same families. We have assessed our diagnostic reliability of BP disorders, recurrent unipolar disorder, and their constituent episodes (major depression, mania, and hypomania) using interview and best-estimate diagnostic procedures used in a genetic study of families with BPI disorder. Methods Reliability was assessed for (1) co-rated Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia–Lifetime version interviews of 37 subjects including15 with BP disorders; (2) test-retest Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia–Lifetime version interviews of 26 subjects including 13 with BP disorders; and (3) best-estimate diagnoses made by 2 noninterviewing psychiatrists on 524 subjects in a genetic linkage study of BPI disorder. Diagnoses were based on Research Diagnostic Criteria for a Selected Group of Functional Disorders , except that recurrent major depression as well as hypomania was required for a diagnosis of BPII disorder. Results On co-rated interviews, we observed complete agreement between interviewers for diagnosing major depressive, manic, and hypomanic episodes. For test-retest interviews, the Cohen κ coefficients were 0.83 for manic, 0.72 for hypomanic, and 1.0 for major depressive episodes. At the best-estimate level, the Cohen κ coefficients were 0.99 for BPI, 0.99 for BPII, and 0.98 for recurrent unipolar disorder. Conclusion Good interrater reliability for BPII can be achieved when the interviews and best-estimate diagnoses are done by experienced psychiatrists.
Engineering ethics: How to be ethical and survive: Some engineering societies offer aid in a conflict, but competence and confidence can help mitigate trauma and duress

Engineers sometimes find that attempts to practice their profession ethically can lead to conflicts with their managers. Where such conflicts have involved the public safety, dramatic confrontations have resulted. Here are well-known examples: ? In 1972 in San Francisco, a Bay Area Rapid Transit train overran a station and plowed into a sandpile. Immediately questions were raised publicly about the safety of the new system's automatic features. The accident was traced to a crystal oscillator in an operating subsystem that had transmitted the wrong speed to the train. Costly corrective retrofitting and a backup system were ordered, but critics said there were design flaws that should have been caught before the railroad line was built. ? In 1974a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed nine minutes after takeoff from Paris when the jet's rear cargo door flew off at 13 000 feet. The sudden decompression crushed the cabin floor and the plane's hydraulic steering apparatus. In all, 346 persons died. Again, a public controversy erupted, with critics charging that the builders of the craft and even the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration knew that the door design was defective. The latching mechanism and the omission of floor venting were problems that could have been corrected at low cost when recognized during the design phase. The cost rose steeply as designs were converted to production processes and then to airplanes.
Hexamethylphosphoramide solvates of alkali metal salts

Abstract The following hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA) solvates were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, melting point, and i.r. spectra: LiCl. HMPA, LiBr.4HMPA, LiSCN.HMPA, LiSCN.2HMPA, LiClO4.HMPA, LiClO4.4HMPA, LiNO3.HMPA, LiBF4.HMPA, LiC2H3O2.O. 2HMPA, NaI.HMPA, NaSCN. HMPA, NaSCN. 2HMPA, and NaClO4.HMPA.
Robust and resilient finite-time bounded control of discrete-time uncertain nonlinear systems

Abstract Finite-time state-feedback stabilization is addressed for a class of discrete-time nonlinear systems with conic-type nonlinearities, bounded feedback control gain perturbations, and additive disturbances. First, conditions for the existence of a robust and resilient linear state-feedback controller for this class of systems are derived. Then, using linear matrix inequality techniques, a solution for the controller gain and the maximum allowable bound on the gain perturbation is obtained. The developed controller is robust for all unknown nonlinearities lying in a known hypersphere with an uncertain center and all admissible disturbances. Moreover, it is resilient against any bounded perturbations that may alter the controller’s gain by at most a prescribed amount. The paper is concluded with a numerical example showcasing the applicability of the main result.
Integration of Biological and Psychosocial Research on Alcoholism

This paper weights the extent and potential of efforts to integrate biological and psychosocial research on alcoholism. It begins with a review of what is known in five crucial domains--pathophysiology, psychopathology, etiology and course, treatment, and prevention--that could facilitate this integration. It then considers, for the same five domains, the modest additional increments in knowledge that would markedly enhance the effectiveness of these integration efforts. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of how we might proceed from what we know to what we need to know in the further pursuit of biological-psychosocial integration.
Modeling and analysis of time-dependent tritium transport in lithium oxide

Tritium behavior in the solid breeder blanket is one of the key factors in determining tritium self-suAciency, as well as safety, of fusion reactors. Therefore, it is important to understand the tritium transport mechanisms and processes, in order to accurately determine the tritium release and inventory in the blanket. A model has been developed at UCLA to describe the tritium behavior in solid breeder materials, together with a computer code which can predict the tritium release and inventory. However, the model was limited in some cases: for example, it did not include the capability to account for surface to bulk fluxes and for trapping inside the grain which can have major eAects on the tritium transport. The model capabilities have been extended to enable its application over a wide range of experimental conditions. Improvements include: (1) implementing an initial model to account for the general eAect of trapping in the bulk, (2) addition of a dissolution flux which would enable a more accurate modeling of solubility driven by hydrogen partial pressure in the solid breeder porosity, (3) inclusion of more hydrogen isotopes species in the pore, and, (4) modification of the existing computer code to allow for broader application, such as the possibility of accounting for both first order and second order adsorption/desorption. The code was used to analyze experimental data on tritium behavior in Li2O from the BEATRIX-II experiment. ” 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Electrochemistry of conductive polymers VII. Autocatalytic rate constant for polyaniline growth

Abstract We report the results of the determination of the catalytic rate constant determined employing normal pulse voltammetric (NPV) techniques. The enhancement in NPP currents due to the presence of aniline in the electrolyte solution was related to the rate of the catalytic rate in the PA growth reaction by Δ i/nFA = k c [anniline][PA] where n is the number of electrons transferred, F is the Faraday constant, A is the electrode area, and k c is the catalytic rate constant. The degree of enhancement in current was measured as a function of aniline concentration with PA films of a constant thickness on the electrode. Similar measurements were also made in a solution containing constant concentration of aniline with the PA thicknesses varied. The pseudo first order rate constant was 0.47 s −1 at a constant PA thickness of 140 nm, whereas it was 0.48 s −1 in 0.050 M aniline solution.
Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 160

Abstract Nuclear data on nuclides with mass 160 based upon nuclear reactions and radioactive decay studies are presented. It has been attempted to include all experimental information received prior to July 1, 1973. The compilers' discussion of spin assignments, level and gamma-ray properties, and other comments precede the experimental data on each nuclide. For clarity, some of the older data have been omitted. Unless otherwise noted, all energies are in keV. It is hoped that this compilation will encourage new experiments to remove existing inconsistencies and help the experimenter in his study of nuclear structure.
Inferring Aggregation Mechanisms of Polyglutamine Through Quantitative Studies of Phase Behavior

Many proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases are intrinsically disordered, i.e. they lack a stable, folded structure under physiological conditions. It is currently believed that the aggregation of these proteins plays a causative role in neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. Therefore, understanding how and why these proteins aggregate is crucial to understanding and possibly suppressing disease.Proteins are polymers and protein aggregation is akin to phase separation. We employ techniques and theories borrowed from polymer physics to help understand the driving forces and mechanisms of protein aggregation. Our system of interest is polyglutamine, as expansions of polyglutamine are thought to be causally linked to the development of at least nine different neurodegenerative diseases. In this work, we measure the saturation concentrations of aqueous polyglutamine solutions containing 30 and 40 glutamines and either 2 or 4 lysines. We use classical polymer physics theory to construct the entire (soluble-insoluble) phase diagram from the measured saturation concentrations. The low-concentration arm of the phase diagram provides a thermodynamic basis for assessing aggregation propensity. For a given chain length of polyglutamine, we find that aggregation propensity increases with fewer lysines, and, for a fixed number of lysines, the aggregation propensity increases with increasing chain length. Although the phase diagrams are thermodynamic in nature, they still provide insights regarding the kinetic mechanisms of phase separation. For the concentrations used in most in vitro experiments, the phase diagrams predict that intrinsically disordered monomers first form disordered, higher-order oligomers or clusters which then undergo a nucleated structural conversion into an ordered, insoluble form. These predictions are supported by detailed atomic force microscopy studies. This work highlights the prominence of intrinsic disorder even in multimolecular complexes and its role in facilitating conformational conversion to ordered supramolecular aggregates.
System performance with motor-driven exciters

THE MOTOR-DRIVEN exciter set consists of an induction motor directly driving an exciter, with, usually, added flywheel inertia. The exciter set may be one of a number of station auxiliaries on a bus which derives its power from either the main generator terminals through a transformer, from the external system through a transformer, or from a separate house generator (Figure 1). Under normal operating conditions or under emergency conditions resulting from the failure of an auxiliary power supply it may be necessary to transfer the station auxiliaries from one bus to another.
United Nations Human Space Technology Initiative (HSTI)

Abstract The Human Space Technology Initiative was launched in 2010 within the framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications implemented by the Office for Outer Space Affairs of the United Nations. It aims to involve more countries in activities related to human spaceflight and space exploration and to increase the benefits from the outcome of such activities through international cooperation, to make space exploration a truly international effort. The role of the Initiative in these efforts is to provide a platform to exchange information, foster collaboration between partners from spacefaring and non-spacefaring countries, and encourage emerging and developing countries to take part in space research and benefit from space applications. The Initiative organizes expert meetings and workshops annually to raise awareness of the current status of space exploration activities as well as of the benefits of utilizing human space technology and its applications. The Initiative is also carrying out primary science activities including the Zero-Gravity Instrument Project and the Drop Tower Experiment Series aimed at promoting capacity-building activities in microgravity science and education, particularly in developing countries.
Forecasting exchange rate volatility

Abstract Exchange rate volatility forecasts are obtained using a fractionally integrated GARCH model. Gains in forecast accuracy associated with a fractionally integrated model compared to a GARCH or IGARCH model are shown to be substantial in many cases.
Adolescent Civic and Political Engagement: Associations Between Domain‐Specific Judgments and Behavior

Judgments and justifications for different forms of civic involvement and their associations with organized and civic behavior were examined in 312 middle-class primarily White adolescents (M = 17.01 years). Adolescents applied moral, conventional, and personal criteria to distinguish involvement in community service, standard political, social movement, and social gathering activities. Males judged standard political involvement to be more obligatory and important than did females, who judged community service to be more obligatory and important than did males. For each form of civic involvement, greater involvement was associated with more positive judgments and fewer personal justifications. Structural equation modeling indicated that adolescents' judgments about specific types of civic involvement were associated with similar forms of civic behaviors.
Basic FGF and suppression of BMP signaling sustain undifferentiated proliferation of human ES cells

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are routinely cultured on fibroblast feeder layers or in fibroblast-conditioned medium (CM). Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have previously been shown to induce hESC differentiation, in apparent contrast to mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, in which BMP4 synergizes with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) to maintain self-renewal. Here we demonstrate that hESCs cultured in unconditioned medium (UM) are subjected to high levels of BMP signaling activity, which is reduced in CM. The BMP antagonist noggin synergizes with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to repress BMP signaling and sustain undifferentiated proliferation of hESCs in the absence of fibroblasts or CM. These findings suggest a basic difference in the self-renewal mechanism between mouse and human ES cells and simplify the culture of hESCs.
Carboxyhemoglobin Half-life in Carbon Monoxide-Poisoned Patients Treated With 100% Oxygen at Atmospheric Pressure

Study objectives There are large reported differences for the carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) half-life (COHb t 1/2 ) in humans breathing 100% atmospheric O 2 following CO inhalation in tightly controlled experiments compared to the COHb t 1/2 observed in clinical CO poisoning (range, 36 to 131 min, respectively). Other reports have suggested that the COHb t 1/2 may be affected by gender differences, age, and lung function. We wished to test the hypothesis that the COHb t 1/2 might also be influenced by CO poisoning vs experimental CO exposure, by a history of loss of consciousness (LOC), concurrent tobacco smoking, and by Pa o 2 . The purpose of the present study was to measure the COHb t 1/2 in a cohort of CO-poisoned patients and to determine if those listed factors influenced the COHb t 1/2 . Design Retrospective chart review from 1985 to 1995. We calculated the COHb t 1/2 of CO-poisoned patients who were treated with high-flow supplemental atmospheric pressure O 2 delivered by nonrebreather face mask or endotracheal tube. Setting Hyperbaric medicine department of a tertiary-care teaching hospital. Patients Of 240 CO-poisoned patients, 93 had at least two COHb measurements > 2% (upper limit of normal) with recorded times of the measurements, permitting calculation of the COHb t 1/2 . Results The COHb t 1/2 was 74 ± 25 min (mean ± 1 SD) with a range from 26 to 148 min. By stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, the Pa o 2 influenced the COHb t 1/2 ( R 2 = 0.19; p 1/2 was not influenced by gender, age, smoke inhalation, history of LOC, concurrent tobacco smoking, degree of initial metabolic acidosis (base excess), or initial COHb level. Conclusions The COHb t 1/2 of 93 CO-poisoned patients treated with 100% O 2 at atmospheric pressure was 74 ± 25 min, considerably shorter than the COHb t 1/2 reported in prior clinical reports (approximately 130 ± 130 min) and was influenced only by the patient's Pa o 2 .
Predicting fluctuations in widespread interest: Memory decay and goal-related memory accessibility in Internet search trends

Memory and interest respond in similar ways to people’s shifting needs and motivations. We therefore tested whether memory and interest might produce similar, observable patterns in people’s responses over time. Specifically, the present studies examined whether fluctuations in widespread interest (as measured by Internet search trends) resemble two well-established memory patterns: memory decay and goal-related memory accessibility. We examined national and international events (e.g., Nobel Prize selections, holidays) that produced spikes in widespread interest in certain people and foods. When the events that triggered widespread interest were incidental (e.g., the death of a celebrity), widespread interest conformed to memory decay patterns: It rose quickly, fell slowly according to a power function, and was higher after the event than before it. When the events that triggered widespread interest were goal related (e.g., political elections), widespread interest conformed to patterns of goal-related memory accessibility: It rose slowly, fell quickly according to a sigmoid function, and was lower after the event than before it. Fluctuations in widespread interest over time are thus similar to standard memory patterns observed at the individual level due perhaps to common mechanisms and functions.
The Profitability and Equity Financing of Style Groups: 1906-2006

We extend the evidence of Fama and French (1995) on the post-1962 profitability and equity financing of firms in different style groups (small versus big, value versus growth) to 1926-2006. The emphasis is on whether equity-financed investment varies with cashflows and price-to-book ratios in ways that support or violate the pecking order model of Myers (1984) or the Q theory of investment. The long-term perspective from the results for 1926-2006 provides insights into inferences about the pecking order and Q theory drawn from previous work that focuses on shorter, more recent periods.
Place cells and silent cells in the hippocampus of freely-behaving rats

In the present study, nearly two-thirds of all hippocampal pyramidal units isolated under barbiturate anesthesia, which maximizes these cell's activity, were behaviorally silent. These "silent cells" showed no spontaneous firing activity in the awake, freely-behaving rat. Both reanesthetization and antidromic stimulation, however, activated these silent cells. More than 92% of the remaining spontaneously active hippocampal pyramidal cells recorded from freely-behaving rats were place cells; i.e., they exhibited spatially specific changes in firing activity in at least one environment. The firing rates of these place cells varied depending on the animal's location in this environment. Interestingly many of these place cells displayed low or no spontaneous activity and no spatial specificity in other, dissimilar environments; i.e., their lack of firing in some spatial environments mirrored the behavioral silence of the more numerous silent cells reported here. In complex information processing, such as the processing of spatial information by the hippocampus demonstrated here, neural silence may be as important a signal as neural activity.
Lead Poisoning in Children

How does lead usually enter the body and what systems are usually involved? What one symptom above all others should arouse the suspicion of lead poison ing?In follow up of children with lead en cephalopathy, frequently they have a lower I.Q. than their peers. What is the evidence for this?Should the gastro-intestinal tract of chil dren with lead poisoning be cleared of re sidual lead before treatment is instituted?What public health measures are recom mended if a case of lead poisoning is dis covered ?
CAREL: computer aided reliability evaluator for distributed computing networks

An efficient method to compute the terminal reliability (the probability of communication between a pair of nodes) of a distributed computing system (DCS) is presented. It is assumed that the graph model G(V,E) for DCS is given and that the path and/or cut information for the network G(V,E) is available. Boolean algebraic concepts are used to define four operators: compare, reduce, combine, and generate. The proposed method, called CAREL, uses the four operators to generate exclusive and mutually disjoint events. CAREL has been implemented using bit vector representation on an Encore MULTIMAX 320 system. It is shown that CAREL solves large DCS networks (having a pathset on the order of 780 and a cutset on the order of 7300 or more) with a reasonable memory requirement. A comparison with other algorithms reveals the computational efficiency of the method. The proof of correctness of CAREL is included. >
On the Adoption of Formal Methods by Industry: The ACL2 Experience

Formal methods are gradually being adopted by industry. The complexity of industrial designs – often seen as an impediment to the use of formal methods – is actually one of the main arguments in favor of mechanized formal methods. No other tool is as good as mechanized mathematical modeling at capturing the complexity and giving the human designers the facilities for explaining the reasons their designs are correct and controlling the revelation of the relevant complexity.
Intravascular embolization of a cerebellar arteriovenous malformation for treatment of hemifacial spasm.

Hemifacial spasm consists of involuntary contractions of the facial muscles, usually caused by vascular compression of cranial nerve VII , near its exit zone from the brainstem [17]. Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a rare cause of this condition [2, 3]. We report a case of hemifacial spasm caused by an extensive cerebellar AVM , which was success­ fully treated by intravascular embolization.
'Facts Available' Dumping Allegations': When Will Foreign Firms Cooperate in Antidumping Petitions?: A Theoretical Analysis

Foreign firms accused of dumping in the WTO system may face punitive duties if they do not cooperate with domestic investigative authorities. These punitive tariffs are typically based on domestic firms' allegations - so-called "facts available" dumping margins. This paper analyzes a game between two Bertrand Nash competitors: a) domestic petitioner and b) a foreign respondent, as well as an administering authority. Foreign firm cooperation will depend on the interplay between compliance costs and the allegations of the domestic competitor. The final tariff and degree of cooperation will depend on the level of compliance costs chosen by the domestic authority.
LORCA: A high performance USV with applications to surveillance and monitoring

In this paper, we introduce the Lehigh Ocean Research Craft Autonomous (LORCA) — a high performance USV with applications to surveillance and monitoring tasks. Compact (1.2 m), lightweight (5 kg) and robust (one-piece carbon fiber design), LORCA is capable of speeds of 80 kph (50 mph). It was also designed to be capable of operations in ocean waves, with self-righting ability in all sea states. We first review the LORCA design and technical specifications. We then discuss our initial work in trajectory following where an EKF-based approach is employed for localization and a sample based planner for control. Using only the sensing and computational resources available on a 3DR Pixhawk, we demonstrate effective trajectory following in a riverine environment at peak speeds of 48 kph (30 mph). We conclude with discussions on the limitations of the current approach and planned future work.
Single-lumen and multi-lumen poly(ethylene glycol) nerve conduits fabricated by stereolithography for peripheral nerve regeneration in vivo.

Background The use of nerve conduits to facilitate nerve regrowth after peripheral nerve injury is limited to defects less than 3 cm. The purpose of this study is to determine the capability of novel single and multi-lumen poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) conduits manufactured by stereolithography to promote peripheral nerve regeneration. Materials and Methods Eight Sprague Dawley rats with sharp transection injuries of the sciatic nerve were randomly assigned to receive single-lumen or multi-lumen PEG conduits to bridge a 10-mm gap. Sciatic nerve and conduit samples were harvested after 5 weeks, and axon number, myelin thickness, fiber diameter, and g-ratio were analyzed. The contralateral intact nerve was also harvested for comparison. Results Partial nerve regeneration was observed in three out of four single-lumen conduits and one out of four multi-lumen conduits. Axon number in the single-lumen regenerated nerve approached that of the contralateral intact nerve at 4,492 ± 2,810.0 and 6,080 ± 627.9 fibers/mm2, respectively. The percentage of small fibers was greater in the single-lumen conduit compared with the intact nerve, whereas myelin thickness and g-ratio were consistently greater in the autologous nerve. Axon regrowth through the multi-lumen conduits was severely limited. Conclusion Single-lumen stereolithography-manufactured PEG nerve conduits promote nerve regeneration, with regenerating axon numbers approaching that of normal nerve. Multi-lumen conduits demonstrated significantly less nerve regeneration, possibly due to physical properties of the conduit inhibiting growth. Further studies are necessary to compare the efficacy of the two conduits for functional recovery and to elucidate the reasons underlying their differences in nerve regeneration potential.
Trimethylamine oxide accumulation as a function of depth in Hawaiian mid-water fishes

Abstract Trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) is a common osmolyte and counteracting solute. It is believed to combat the denaturation induced by hydrostatic pressure as some deep-sea animals contain higher TMAO levels than their shallow water counterparts. It has also been proposed that TMAO may accumulate passively during lipid storage resulting in a correlation between lipid content and TMAO levels in some groups. Previous research showed that lipid content decreased with depth in species of Hawaiian fishes presenting a novel test of these competing hypotheses. TMAO ranged from 20.4 to 92.8 mmol/kg. Lipid content ranged from 0.50 to 4.7% WW. After completing a comprehensive search for depths available in the literature, provided here, we analyzed TMAO and lipid as a function of average, minimum and maximum depth of occurrence for 27 species of fishes from nine orders. We found that TMAO is positively correlated with all measures of habitat depth (hydrostatic pressure) but the relationship is strongest with average depth. We further showed using phylogenetic independent contrasts that this relationship was not influenced by the evolutionary relatedness of these species. Interestingly, we found that lipid content increased with depth, in direct contrast to previous studies. TMAO is thus also positively correlated with lipid content. While we are unable to distinguish between these hypotheses, we show that TMAO is strongly correlated with depth in mid-water fishes.
Veteran Retribution Guarantee High Quality

The era of electronic media,the status and influence of the veteran reported being squeezed,the impact,but its reliability and forces remain,the dissemination of culture and cultural construction and development can not be taken lightly,and underestimate it.Largest newspaper,is a cultural symbol,it is to do a good job,you must adhere to the cultural quality;major newspaper science must be accurate,scientific.The quality of the image and business cards of the major newspapers,major newspapers can not ignore the delicate,the exact value,when taken to ensure that,to demonstrate their high quality.
HYPOXIA IN ANESTHESIA: A REVIEW.

Hypoxia associated with anesthesia and surgery has an etiology which ranges from simple though rare accidents, such as airway obstruction, to the complicated but common disturbances in the intrapulmonary relation of ventilation to perfusion. Anesthetic agents, properly used, do not give rise to hypoxia; rather, the impaired oxygenation is caused by such factors as pre-existing disease or trauma, the position of the patient, other mechanical interferences with ventilation, a less than optimal pattern of ventilation, and an inadequate oxygen carrying capacity. The response to hypoxia in anesthesia differs from that encountered in the healthy and conscious individual primarily by being tremendously variable. Not only is the response to hypoxia modified by age and disease, but anesthetic agents and a variety of other drugs so interfere with circulatory and ventilatory compensation in hypoxia that no well-defined pattern can be described. The symptoms of hypoxia in anesthesia vary from the “normal” response, consisting primarily in tachycardia and mild hypertension, to the response seen in patients who are unable to provide a compensatory increase in cardiac output and ventilation. Under such circumstances hypoxia will lead to bradycardia and hypotension.
Vascular and uterine responses to dobutamine and dopamine in the gravid ewe

Dopamine, a naturally occurring catecholamine precursor of norepinephrine, has been used in the treatment of cardiogenic shock. Following intravenous administration it increases cardiac output, blood pressure, and renal blood flow. Dobutamine is a directly acting inotropic agent which increases myocardial contractility without significantly changing blood pressure. This study was devised to compare the effects of these two drugs on uterine blood flow (UBF), uterine tonus (UT), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR). Chronically instrumented pregnant ewes near term were infused with different concentrations of dopamine and dobutamine while HR, MAP, UT, and UBF were recorded continuously. Dopamine produced a decrease in UBF and an increase in MAP and UT while the HR response was variable. Dobutamine administration resulted in a marked increase in HR and a decrease in UBF, while MAP and UT remained essentially unchanged. Uterine vascular resistance increased with both drugs during high-dosage administration, but the rise was most pronounced following dopamine infusion. Since dobutamine exhibits less α-adrenergic activity than dopamine this drug would seem to be preferred when an inotropic agent is required for treatment of the pregnant patient.
The Communists Organize For Battle

THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF 1928 had neither a beginning nor an ending for the Communist Party. The nominating convention in May was not its beginning. The counting of the votes in November settled nothing with finality. To a certain extent this is true of all parties; yet with the Communists the situation differed considerably. As William Z. Foster announced in his speech accepting the nomination for President: We are not going into the national election campaign solely for the purpose of getting votes…. We also have other bigger objectives…. Our aim must be to arouse the class-consciousness of the masses in a political sense and to mobilize them for struggle on all fronts. Vote-getting is only one aspect of this general mobilization of the workers.1
Proposed framework to measure the ROI of mobile tele-health solutions in the management of chronic diseases

Significant changes in the distribution of healthcare costs (away from critical care and towards chronic diseases) pose major challenges to existing healthcare systems. Caring for a patient with a chronic disease lasts as long as a person is alive, and medical expenses accumulate unrelentingly. Therefore, new approaches to disease management of chronic diseases are urgently needed, especially in terms of increasing the (currently low) rate of adherence to the patient's prescribed treatment plan. A proposal is advanced to use mobile tele-health systems to enhance the effectiveness of disease management programs. A framework to measure the ROI (return on investment) of these systems is also proposed.
Case Scenario for Fluid Management During Major Spine Surgery

Lumbar spine surgery is becoming a common surgical procedure in the geriatric population. It is associated with the potential for acute and massive blood loss, hypotension, anemia, cardiac ischemia, and increased perioperative complications. Fluid status evaluation and management are the central foci for detecting and treating hypovolemia. This chapter on case management focuses on the perioperative management of a typical 72-year-old man, with cardiac and pulmonary disease, coming for a T7 to pelvis laminectomy with instrumentation. This is his third such procedure. The chapter includes discussion of the importance of intravascular volume assessment and management. It describes fluid monitoring techniques, blood conservation therapies, and the prone surgery risks. The patient is presented in reference to current literature describing the anesthetic management and concerns.
Realtime Classification of Hand-Drum Strokes

Herein is presented a method of classifying hand-drum strokes in real-time by analyzing 50 milliseconds of audio signal as recorded by a contact-mic affixed to the body of the instrument. The classifier performs with an average accuracy of about 95% across several experiments on archetypical strokes, and 89% on uncontrived playing. A complete ANSI C implementation for OSX and Linux is available on the author's website.
Physiology: Gut feeling for food choice

One effect of weight-loss surgery is a change in food preferences. An analysis in rats shows that this is caused by altered nutrient signals in the intestine. These activate the vagus nerve to increase signalling in the brain by the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Carpal tunnel syndrome impairs index finger responses to unpredictable perturbations.

The fine-tuning of digit forces to object properties can be disrupted by carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). CTS’ effects on hand function have mainly been investigated using predictable manipulation tasks; however, unpredictable perturbations are commonly encountered during manual tasks, presenting situations which may be more challenging to CTS patients given their hand impairments. The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle and force responses of the index finger to unpredictable perturbations in patients with CTS. Nine CTS patients and nine asymptomatic controls were instructed to stop the movement of a sliding plate by increasing index finger force following an unexpected perturbation. The electrical activity of the first dorsal interosseous muscle and forces exerted by the index finger were recorded. CTS patients demonstrated 20.9% greater muscle response latency and 12.0% greater force response latency compared to controls (p < 0.05). The duration of plate sliding was significantly different between groups (p < 0.05); the CTS group’s duration was 142.2 ± 5.8 ms compared to the control group’s duration of 133.1 ± 8.4 ms. Although CTS patients had increased muscle and force response durations comparatively, these differences were not statistically significant. Findings from this study suggest CTS-induced sensorimotor deficits interfere with accurate detection, processing and response to unpredictable perturbations. These deficits could be accounted for at multiple levels of the peripheral and central nervous systems. Delayed and decreased responses may indicate inefficient object manipulation by CTS patients and may help to explain why CTS patients tend to drop objects.
Taste Aversion: A Procedural Analysis and an Alternative Paradigmatic Classification

The taste aversion paradigm is often cited as evidence that the laws of conditioning do not apply to more naturalistic settings. In particular, the observations of conditioned aversions at long delays and the differential associability of gustatory Css with various Uss appear to “constrain” existing laws of Cs-Us conditioning. The present paper attempts to show that, along several fronts, the taste aversion paradigm is not as problematic as is currently believed. First, an analysis of the empirical findings reveals that most of the parametric relationships observed in taste aversion parallel those of conditioning. Second, a number of procedural differences exist between taste aversion and Cs-Us conditioning, the most significant being that the taste aversion Cs is actually an appetitive Us. Accordingly, the taste aversion paradigm is more akin to a Usr-Us2 rather than a Cs-Us procedure. A number of these procedural discrepancies may underlie the empirical anomalies listed above; moreover, the necessity for knowing a subject’s species history need not invalidate existing conditioning theories.
Thermodynamics of Indomethacin Adsorption to Phospholipid Membranes

Using second-harmonic generation, we directly monitored adsorption of indomethacin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, to supported lipid bilayers composed of phospholipids of varying phase, cholesterol content, and head group charge without the use of extrinsic labels at therapeutically relevant aqueous concentrations. Indomethacin adsorbed to gel-phase lipids with a high binding affinity, suggesting that like other arylacetic acid-containing drugs, it preferentially interacts with ordered lipid domains. We discovered that adsorption of indomethacin to gel-phase phospholipids was endothermic and entropically driven, whereas adsorption to fluid-phase phospholipids was exothermic and enthalpically driven. As temperature increased from 19 to 34 °C, binding affinities to gel-phase lipids increased by 7-fold but relative surface concentration decreased to one-fifth of the original value. We also compared our results to the entropies reported for indomethacin adsorbed to surfactant micelles, which are used...
An entrepreneurial training model to enhance undergraduate training in biomedical research.

Undergraduate students who are interested in biomedical research typically work on a faculty member’s research project, conduct one distinct task (e.g., running gels), and, step by step, enhance their skills. This “apprenticeship” model has been helpful in training many distinguished scientists over the years, but it has several potential drawbacks. For example, the students have limited autonomy, and may not understand the big picture, which may result in students giving up on their goals for a research career. Also, the model is costly and may greatly depend on a single mentor. The NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative has been established to fund innovative undergraduate research training programs and support institutional and faculty development of the recipient university. The training model at Morgan State University (MSU), namely “A Student-Centered Entrepreneurship Development training model” (ASCEND), is one of the 10 NIH BUILD-funded programs, and offers a novel, experimental “entrepreneurial” training approach. In the ASCEND training model, the students take the lead. They own the research, understand the big picture, and experience the entire scope of the research process, which we hypothesize will lead to a greater sense of self-efficacy and research competency, as well as an enhanced sense of science identity. They are also immersed in environments with substantial peer support, where they can exchange research ideas and share experiences. This is important for underrepresented minority students who might have fewer role models and less peer support in conducting research. In this article, we describe the MSU ASCEND entrepreneurial training model’s components, rationale, and history, and how it may enhance undergraduate training in biomedical research that may be of benefit to other institutions. We also discuss evaluation methods, possible sustainability solutions, and programmatic challenges that can affect all types of science training interventions.
Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection among Children with Intestinal Failure Presenting to the Emergency Department with Fever.

Objectives To determine which factors confer the greatest risk of central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) in children with intestinal failure and fever presenting to an emergency department (ED), and to assess whether a low-risk group exists that may not require the standard treatment of admission for 48 hours on intravenous antibiotics pending culture results. Study design This retrospective cohort study included children with intestinal failure and fever presenting to an ED over a 6-year period. Multivariable models were created using risk factors selected a priori to be associated with CLABSI as well as univariate predictors with P Results Among 81 patients with 278 ED encounters, 132 (47.5%) CLABSI episodes were identified. Multivariable models showed higher initial temperature in the ED (aOR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.25-3.17) and low white blood cell count (aOR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.03-6.79) and platelet count (aOR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.20-5.87) relative to age-specific reference ranges were strongly associated with CLABSI. Among the 63 encounters in which the patient had none of these risk factors, the rate of CLABSI was 25.4%. Conclusions Children with intestinal failure who present to the ED with fever have high rates of CLABSI. Although higher temperature in the ED, lower white blood cell count, and lower platelet count are strongly associated with CLABSI, patients without these risk factors frequently have positive blood cultures as well. Antibiotics should, therefore, be given to all children with intestinal failure and fever until CLABSI is ruled out.
Uniform and nonuniform thermal switching of magnetic particles

The pulse-noise approach to systems of classical spins weakly interacting with the bath has been applied to study thermally activated escape of magnetic nanoparticles over the uniform and nonuniform energy barriers at intermediate and low damping. The validity of approximating a single-domain particle by a single spin is investigated. Barriers for a nonuniform escape of elongated particles for the uniaxial model with transverse and longitudinal field have been worked out. Pulse-noise computations have been done for finite magnetic chains. The linear stability of the uniform barrier state has been investigated. The crossover between uniform and nonuniform barrier states has been studied with the help of the variational approach.