cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A preliminary report on dopamine system reactivity in PKU: acute effects of haloperidol on neuropsychological, physiological, and neuroendocrine functions

Classic phenylketonuria (PKU) is due to an inborn error of metabolism resulting in an inability to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. To avoid mental retardation, affected individuals observe a phenylalanine-restricted diet. When dietary control is poor, deficits in prefrontally mediated cognitive functions have been observed. It has been suggested that these deficits are due to disruptions in the mesocortical dopamine system that projects to the prefrontal cortex. In this study, dopamine system reactivity was examined in individuals with PKU, relative to age-matched controls, using the non-specific DA antagonist haloperidol, in a repeated measures placebo-controlled design. Outcome variables included neuroendocrine, physiological, and cognitive measures. Regardless of drug condition, PKU participants differed from control participants in their blood phenylalanine and tyrosine levels, and in their times to complete measures of attention and working memory. Also, relative to placebo, haloperidol influenced several variables irrespective of group status, including serum prolactin secretion, times to complete attention and working memory tasks, and accuracy of working memory performance. An interaction between group and drug condition was observed for the digit span task, where PKU participants exhibited greater relative impairments on haloperidol. When composite indices of impairment were derived, PKU participants demonstrated selective disruption in executive function on haloperidol relative to control subjects. Findings are consistent with the presence of frontostriatal dysfunction in PKU but are less consistent with the notion that PFC dopamine function is specifically affected.
Effects of High Dietary Iron as Ferrous Carbonate on Performance of Young Dairy Calves

Abstract Eighty female Holstein calves were used to examine the effects of high amounts of added dietary Fe as ferrous carbonate on performance of young dairy animals. Experimental starters containing either 0, 500, 1000, 2000, or 4000 ppm supplemental Fe as ferrous carbonate were fed for 8 wk beginning at 1 wk of age. The control starter contained 170 ppm Fe, all of which came from the major feed ingredients. The calves were fed limited amounts of whole milk for the first 5 wk. Weight gains and feed consumption were not consistently reduced at the higher amounts of supplemental Fe, but the lowest average values were at 2000 ppm added Fe. However, during wk 7 and 8, when no milk was fed, calves fed 2000 or 4000 ppm had reduced feed intakes and weight gains. Feed efficiency and health of the calves were not affected by supplemental Fe. The results of this study indicate that the performance of calves was not affected appreciably by 4000 ppm supplemental Fe as ferrous carbonate from a pure lenses of siderite ore. This is a higher tolerance than shown previously for ferrous sulfate Fe.
Synthesis of 6‐chloro‐3‐((2‐(S)‐azetidinyl)methoxy)‐5‐(2‐[18F]fluoropyridin‐4‐yl)pyridine ([18F]NIDA 522131), a novel potential radioligand for studying extrathalamic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by PET

6-Chloro-3-((2-(S)-azetidinyl)methoxy)-5-(2-[18F]fluoropyridin-4-yl)pyridine ([18F]NIDA 522131), a potential radioligand for studying extrathalamic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by positron-emission tomography, was synthesized via no-carrier-added nucleophilic [18F]fluorination of 6-chloro-3-((1-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-(S)-azetidinyl)methoxy)-5-(2-iodopyridin-4-yl)vinyl)pyridine, followed by acidic deprotection. The overall radiochemical yield of the radiosynthesis was 4–8% (non-decay-corrected), the specific radioactivity was in the range of 167–335 GBq/µmol (4500–9000 mCi/µmol) and the radiochemical purity was greater than 99%. Preparation of [18F]NIDA522131 via corresponding bromo-derivative 2 is also described. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lessons learned about design, monitoring and evaluation process definition and information management for international development programmes

This paper discusses a multi-year project that analysed the World Vision International (WVI) Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning (LEAP) transformational programme design, monitoring and evaluation (DME) model and developed LEAP Manager's WorkBench, a prototype web-based automated environment for LEAP. The LEAP framework is WVI's approach to programme-wide design, monitoring and evaluation. The primary purpose of this paper is to illustrate lessons learned about DME method definition and automation based on the prototype implementation. The paper begins by reviewing related work on DME models, definitions and automation. The paper identifies development issues to be examined in defining and automating DME models. The WVI LEAP model is briefly described and the knowledge management and organisational learning aspects of the LEAP framework are highlighted. Key principles used in developing an automated environment for LEAP are highlighted along with a brief overview of the LEAP Manag...
Randomized experiments in correctional context: legal, ethical, and practical concerns.

Abstract Increased concern with rights of prisoners and a growing interest in evaluative research that uses experimental design have led to renewed efforts to overcome ethical, legal,and practical concerns involved in the use of randomized experiments in correctional context. The article surveys the difficulties that issues of equal treatment, “just deserts,” and presumed and relative deprivations may present in the use of randomization in a criminal justice setting and discusses ways to overcome the problems or mitigate the resultant harm. Practical concerns are also presented and discussed.
New treatments addressing the pathophysiology of hereditary angioedema

Hereditary angioedema is a serious medical condition caused by a deficiency of C1-inhibitor. The condition is the result of a defect in the gene controlling the synthesis of C1-inhibitor, which regulates the activity of a number of plasma cascade systems. Although the prevalence of hereditary angioedema is low – between 1:10,000 to 1:50,000 – the condition can result in considerable pain, debilitation, reduced quality of life, and even death in those afflicted. Hereditary angioedema presents clinically as cutaneous swelling of the extremities, face, genitals, and trunk, or painful swelling of the gastrointestinal mucosa. Angioedema of the upper airways is extremely serious and has resulted in death by asphyxiation.
The role of alpha1 (connexin-43) gap junction expression in adrenal cortical cell function.

To investigate the relationship between adrenal cell function and gap junction expression, a bovine adrenal cell line (SBAC) was studied. Western blot and immunocytochemical techniques were used to demonstrate gap junction expression in SBAC cell populations. Cells expressedα 1 (connexin 43) gap junction protein at points of cell-to-cell contact. Gap junction number and size increased in populations treated with ACTH (40 mU/ml) or dibutyryl cAMP (DbcAMP, 1.0 mm). Treatment with either ACTH or DbcAMP increased steroid production and cAMP levels. SBAC cell number, however, decreased in ACTH- or DbcAMP-treated populations. The number of cells increased in cultures transfected with α1-antisense complementary DNA. Neither ACTH nor DbcAMP treatment decreased cell number or increased steroidogenesis in α1-antisense complementary DNA-transfected cell populations. However, cell populations in which gap junctions were inhibited retained the capacity to increase cAMP production in response to ACTH (40 mU/ml) treatme...
Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum

(2011). Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum. Design and Culture: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 243-244.
An ADSL2 and VDSL2 CPE System-on-Chip with Integrated Voice over IP Capabilities for Residential Gateway Applications

This paper describes an SoC design for ADSL2/VDSL2 CPE residential gateways. The chip enables triple play: data, voice and video over DSL along with bridging/routing capabilities. This 90 nm CMOS technology chip integrates high speed data converters, DSL PHY, 4-VOIP channel voice subsystem, MIPS based broadband controller and a range of networking peripherals.
Micellar control of intramolecular excimer formation of bound substrates

Excimer formation of bic(arylmethyl)ammonium chlorides can be facilitated or inhibited in aqueous micelles, depending on their binding geometry.
The LI and LII X-ray emission edges in lanthanum metal and lanthanum hydrides

Abstract Further studies of the lanthanum L X-ray emission edges in lanthanum metal and its hydrides, oxide and fluoride are reported. A weak peak was detected at the LII emission edge in lanthanum metal and assigned to transitions involving conduction band electrons. The regular decrease in the intensity of this peak with increasing hydrogen content and the close similarity of the emission edge of LaH2·90 to that of La2O3 support the view that hydride ions form at the expense of the lanthanum conduction band population. In agreement with the prediction of selection rules, no peak corresponding to transitions from the conduction band to the lanthanum LI level was detected at the LI emission edges. In general, these results confirm the assignments and conclusions reached in an earlier study of the LIII emission edge.
Robust unsupervised segmentation of degraded document images with topic models

Segmentation of document images remains a challenging vision problem. Although document images have a structured layout, capturing enough of it for segmentation can be difficult. Most current methods combine text extraction and heuristics for segmentation, but text extraction is prone to failure and measuring accuracy remains a difficult challenge. Furthermore, when presented with significant degradation many common heuristic methods fall apart. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian generative model for document images which seeks to overcome some of these drawbacks. Our model automatically discovers different regions present in a document image in a completely unsupervised fashion. We attempt no text extraction, but rather use discrete patch-based codebook learning to make our probabilistic representation feasible. Each latent region topic is a distribution over these patch indices. We capture rough document layout with an MRF Potts model. We take an analysis by synthesis approach to examine the model, and provide quantitative segmentation results on a manually labeled document image data set. We illustrate our model's robustness by providing results on a highly degraded version of our test set.
Molecular Basis for the Current Lung Cancer Classification

Morphologic classification is the mainstay of pathologic classification. This approach has yielded reproducible classes of lung carcinoma, including small cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. New insights into the molecular biology of lung cancer has allowed for greater understanding of the strengths and limitations of morphologic classification. The overlay of molecular pathology, ranging from immunohistochemistry to whole genome approaches has enriched but not replaced morphologic classification.
Negotiating Landscapes, Survival, and Modernity: Goats, Migration, and Gender in the Arid Lands of Northern Peru

This paper explores the role of gender, cultural change, and market dynamics affecting the resilience of adaptive livelihoods in arid landscapes in Northern Peru for families who lack access to irrigation and rely on goat herding in a context of cyclical droughts. Based on interviews conducted in the community of Salas in 1982, 1983, and 2007, the analysis shows that better access to formal education and/or migratory experience can facilitate cultural change that supports economic diversification and larger herds. However, market dynamics keeps “traditional” ways instrumental to reduce costs of goat herding and livelihoods, therefore it reinforces the persistence of “traditional” cultural elements in daily life. The article shows the structural limits of adaptation for established families and how access to high school for younger generations of men and women seem to accelerate their emigration as they cannot find stable employment in Salas.
Characterization of heavy-ice deposition-thickness on flat metal targets for deuteron ion acceleration

Summary form only given. Heavy ice constitutes a source of deuteron ions that are accelerated by the target-normal-sheath-acceleration mechanism to energies in excess of 1 MeV1. The thickness of cryogenically-cooled, heavy-ice deposits on the rear surface of laser-irradiated flat metal foils is inferred by a method of ratios. The relationship between the ice thickness and the injected heavy water volume has been established. This relationship is used to determine the injection volumes that are required for sub-micron layering. Known volumes of heavy water at vapor pressure (~17.5 torr at 20 degrees) are injected into the vacuum chamber, nominally held at 10-5 torr, and onto the foil through a 3mm diameter nozzle. Liquid nitrogen lines, non-rigidly coupled to the foil, cool the foil down to around -150 °C. The heavy ice deposition is observed in real time using a Mitutoyo 10× infinity corrected microscope objective that provides around 2 um of spatial resolution. Experiments to characterize the spectrum and brightness of ions accelerated from the heavy ice will be carried out using the GHOST laser facility at the University of Texas at Austin.
Systemic delivery of Salmonella typhimurium transformed with IDO shRNA enhances intratumoral vector colonization and suppresses tumor growth.

Generating antitumor responses through the inhibition of tumor-derived immune suppression represents a promising strategy in the development of cancer immunotherapeutics. Here, we present a strategy incorporating delivery of the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium (ST), naturally tropic for the hypoxic tumor environment, transformed with a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) plasmid against the immunosuppressive molecule indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (shIDO). When systemically delivered into mice, shIDO silences host IDO expression and leads to massive intratumoral cell death that is associated with significant tumor infiltration by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). shIDO-ST treatment causes tumor cell death independently of host IDO and adaptive immunity, which may have important implications for use in immunosuppressed patients with cancer. Furthermore, shIDO-ST treatment increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by infiltrating PMNs and, conversely, PMN immunodepletion abrogates tumor control. Silencing of host IDO significantly enhances S. typhimurium colonization, suggesting that IDO expression within the tumor controls the immune response to S. typhimurium . In summary, we present a novel approach to cancer treatment that involves the specific silencing of tumor-derived IDO that allows for the recruitment of ROS-producing PMNs, which may act primarily to clear S. typhimurium infection, but in the process also induces apoptosis of surrounding tumor tissue resulting in a vigorous antitumor effect. Cancer Res; 72(24); 6447–56. ©2012 AACR .
Teaching medical students diagnostic sonography.

Objective The purpose of this pilot project was to train medical students in sonography. Methods Thirty-three medical students participated in a pilot sonography course, which included exposure to ultrasound physics, knobology of a compact ultrasound scanner, training in scanning and anatomy of the aorta and right kidney, and reading assignments in these areas. Pretraining and posttraining examinations were given in these areas to analyze the degree of knowledge gained by these methods. Results Nearly all of the medical students increased their basic knowledge of sonography and improved their scanning skills. The improvement was statistically significant in all areas. Conclusions Training in sonography for medical students could be used as a foundation for later, more specialty-specific training to improve the overall medical sonography skills for all physicians.
Tissue blood perfusion measured using the thermal pulse decay (TPD) method

The temperature pulse decay method is discussed as a thermal method for the measurement of local tissue blood perfusion. It is based on the classic bio-heat equation proposed by Pennes (1948). For online measurements, a series solution of the theoretical model enables a fast evaluation of tissue perfusion. The small size of the thermistor bead used to deposit the heat pulse and measure the subsequent temperature decay reduces the errors due to the inexact formulation structure of the theoretical model while also minimizing the trauma caused to the tissue. Experiments performed in the liver and the kidney cortex of several animal species demonstrate that the TPD method provides realistic estimates of blood perfusion. >
Shaping of annular laser intensity profiles and their thermal effects for optical trepanning

Laser drilling is very important in many industries such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, and materials processing. It can be used to produce critical components with novel hole geometry for advanced systems. Percussion drilling and trepanning are two laser drilling methods. In the conventional trepanning method, a laser beam is scanned along a circular or spiral orbit to remove material to achieve a desired hole shape. These orbits generally trace a circular path at the inner wall of the holes. This suggests that an annular beam can be used to accomplish trepanning, a technique we refer to as optical trepanning. The ray-tracing technique of geometrical optics is employed in this paper to design the necessary optics to transform a Gaussian laser beam into an annular beam of different intensity profiles. Such profiles include uniform intensity within the annulus, full Gaussian with maximum intensity, and half Gaussian with maximum intensities at the inner and outer surfaces of the annulus.
EFFECTS OF SUBSTRATE RELIEF ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PERIPHYTON IN LABORATORY STREAMS. II. INTERACTIONS WITH IRRADIANCE1

Laboratory streams were used in a 42-day experiment designed to investigate how the spatial and temporal distribution of lotic periphyton created by current flow over cobble-size substrates is a affected by irradiance. The streams contained 22.5 × 22.5 × 4 cm substrate blocks and were exposed to either 385, 90 or 20 μE·m−2·s−1. We monitored periphyton succession in fast current regimes on top of blocks and in slower current regimes on surfaces recessed between blocks. The absolute differences in AFDW algal biomass between top and recessed substrates were significantly affected by irradiance and time. At the end of the experiment, biomass in streams exposed to 385 μE·m−2·s−1. was approximately 2 and 8 times greater than in streams exposed to 90 and 20 μE·m−2·s−1, respectively. Differences in biomass were greater between irradiance levels than between top and recessed substrates within an irradiance level. Irradiance also had a greater effect than current regime on the taxonomic composition of assemblages. Oscillatoria agardhii Gomont and Navicula minima Grun. characterized assemblages at 20 μE·m−2·s−1, whereas Fragilaria vaucheriae (Kutz.), Nitzschia oregona Sov., Navicula arvensis Hust. and Stigeoclonium tenue (Ag.) Kutz. were more abundant at the two higher irradiances. Detrended correspondence analysis indicated that the rate of succession was relatively high for assemblages at high irradiance and in the slow current regimes between blocks. The results suggested that in natural streams, periphyton patches produced by large differences in irradiance should have a greater effect on periphyton heterogeneity than substrate-induced patches. Moreover, the heterogeneity of algal patches produced by hydrologic differences over a substrate is constrained by irradiance level.
The ligament system in the neck of Rhea americana and its implication for the bifurcated neural spines of sauropod dinosaurs

Abstract The Extant Phylogenetic Bracket approach is applied to infer the kind of soft tissue that would have been associated with the bifurcated neural spines of the cervical vertebrae of sauropods. A median ligament (“ligamentum nuchae” or lig. supraspinale) extends along the tips of the neural spines and attaches to them in the cervical region of extant avian and non-avian diapsids, thus enabling a parsimonious inference that a homologous ligament would also have attached to the same sites in extinct diapsids, including sauropods. In the extant ratite bird, Rhea americana, “lig. nuchae” splits ventrally into two halves as the neural spines become bifurcated in the posterior cervical region, thereby maintaining its connection to both tips of each bifurcated neural spine. This shows the conservative nature of the connection between “lig. nuchae” and its osteological correlate. Furthermore, this ligament and the notches of the bifurcated neural spines enclose another ligament, lig. elasticum interspinale,...
The functional role and female perception of male song in Zebra Finches

The song of male Zebra Fincheshas been thefocus of decades of behavioural, developmental, neurobiological and, increasingly, genomic research. Zann was the first to summarise the immense and integrative research effort in a landmark synthesis of field and laboratory studies of Zebra Finches, which paralleled his own championing work on the sociality and vocal behaviour of estrildid finches in the wild and in captivity. The study of the production and perception of Zebra Finch song has driven theoretical, empirical and technological advances in behavioural ecology, endocrinology and neuroethology, and led to a greater understanding of the evolution of animal communication systems in general. A survey of the literature shows that there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the responses of non-singing females to male sexual displays, including song. We focus on recent insights into the features andfunctionsofmalesongthatshapefemalechoice,regardingbothbehaviouralandneurobiologicalmeasuresofselectivity. This review underscores the need for continued research into the biological mechanisms underlying the perception of male song by female Zebra Finches and confirms this system as a valuable and productive model for research on animal communication.
Recent developments in common pressure vessel nickel hydrogen battery technology at Johnson Controls Inc

The standard nickel/hydrogen technology is composed of individual cells, each contained in its own Inconel pressure vessel. The Johnson Controls Incorporated (JCI) common pressure vessel (CPV) design varies from this individual pressure vessel (IPV) standard by incorporating multiple cells in a single vessel. Although the potential advantages of the CPV concept had been recognized for some time, practical application was inhibited by several design issues. Parallel design efforts at JCI have overcome these issues while maintaining, and in several areas improving upon, the low cost features required for terrestrial applications and the high reliability design required for aerospace application. A series of aerospace prototype CPV cells and batteries have been fabricated and tested. Both low-earth-orbit (LEO) and geosynchronous-Earth-orbit (GEO) designs are being evaluated. Four 2 kWh terrestrial CPV batteries were fabricated for delivery. These batteries are being evaluated for terrestrial photovoltaic applications. >
Semblances of Sovereignty: The Constitution, the State, and American Citizenship

1. Introduction 2. The Sovereignty Cases and the Pursuit of an American Nation-State 3. The Citizen-State: From the Warren Court to the Rehnquist Court 4. Commonwealth and the Constitution: The Case of Puerto Rico 5. The Erosion of American Indian Sovereignty 6. Indian Tribal Sovereignty beyond Plenary Power 7. Plenary Power, Immigration Regulation
NMR structure of the calflagin Tb24 flagellar calcium binding protein of Trypanosoma brucei

Flagellar calcium binding proteins are expressed in a variety of trypanosomes and are potential drug targets for Chagas disease and African sleeping sickness. The flagellar calcium binding protein calflagin of Trypanosoma brucei (called Tb24) is a myristoylated and palmitoylated EF-hand protein that is targeted to the inner leaflet of the flagellar membrane. The Tb24 protein may also interact with proteins on the membrane surface that may be different from those bound to flagellar calcium binding proteins (FCaBPs) in T. cruzi. We report here the NMR structure of Tb24 that contains four EF-hand motifs bundled in a compact arrangement, similar to the overall fold of T. cruzi FCaBP (RMSD = 1.0 A). A cluster of basic residues (K22, K25, K31, R36, and R38) located on a surface near the N-terminal myristoyl group may be important for membrane binding. Non-conserved residues on the surface of a hydrophobic groove formed by EF2 (P91, Q95, D103, and V108) and EF4 (C194, T198, K199, Q202, and V203) may serve as a target protein binding site and could have implications for membrane target recognition.
Standardized treatment planning methodology for passively scattered proton craniospinal irradiation

As the number of proton therapy centers increases, so does the need for studies which compare proton treatments between institutions and with photon therapy. However, results of such studies are highly dependent on target volume definition and treatment planning techniques. Thus, standardized methods of treatment planning are needed, particularly for proton treatment planning, in which special consideration is paid to the depth and sharp distal fall-off of the proton distribution. This study presents and evaluates a standardized method of proton treatment planning for craniospinal irradiation (CSI). We applied our institution’s planning methodology for proton CSI, at the time of the study, to an anatomically diverse population of 18 pediatric patients. We evaluated our dosimetric results for the population as a whole and for the two subgroups having two different age-specific target volumes using the minimum, maximum, and mean dose values in 10 organs (i.e., the spinal cord, brain, eyes, lenses, esophagus, lungs, kidneys, thyroid, heart, and liver). We also report isodose distributions and dose-volume histograms (DVH) for 2 representative patients. Additionally we report population-averaged DVHs for various organs. The planning methodology here describes various techniques used to achieve normal tissue sparing. In particular, we found pronounced dose reductions in three radiosensitive organs (i.e., eyes, esophagus, and thyroid) which were identified for optimization. Mean doses to the thyroid, eyes, and esophagus were 0.2%, 69% and 0.2%, respectively, of the prescribed dose. In four organs not specifically identified for optimization (i.e., lungs, liver, kidneys, and heart) we found that organs lateral to the treatment field (lungs and kidneys) received relatively low mean doses (less than 8% of the prescribed dose), whereas the heart and liver, organs distal to the treatment field, received less than 1% of the prescribed dose. This study described and evaluated a standardized method for proton treatment planning for CSI. Overall, the standardized planning methodology yielded consistently high quality treatment plans and perhaps most importantly, it did so for an anatomically diverse patient population.
Dynamics of signaling between Ca(2+) sparks and Ca(2+)- activated K(+) channels studied with a novel image-based method for direct intracellular measurement of ryanodine receptor Ca(2+) current.

Ca2+ sparks are highly localized cytosolic Ca2+ transients caused by a release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum via ryanodine receptors (RyRs); they are the elementary events underlying global changes in Ca2+ in skeletal and cardiac muscle. In smooth muscle and some neurons, Ca2+ sparks activate large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (BK channels) in the spark microdomain, causing spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) that regulate membrane potential and, hence, voltage-gated channels. Using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fluo-3 and a high speed widefield digital imaging system, it was possible to capture the total increase in fluorescence (i.e., the signal mass) during a spark in smooth muscle cells, which is the first time such a direct approach has been used in any system. The signal mass is proportional to the total quantity of Ca2+ released into the cytosol, and its rate of rise is proportional to the Ca2+ current flowing through the RyRs during a spark (ICa(spark)). Thus, Ca2+ currents through RyRs can be monitored inside the cell under physiological conditions. Since the magnitude of ICa(spark) in different sparks varies more than fivefold, Ca2+ sparks appear to be caused by the concerted opening of a number of RyRs. Sparks with the same underlying Ca2+ current cause STOCs, whose amplitudes vary more than threefold, a finding that is best explained by variability in coupling ratio (i.e., the ratio of RyRs to BK channels in the spark microdomain). The time course of STOC decay is approximated by a single exponential that is independent of the magnitude of signal mass and has a time constant close to the value of the mean open time of the BK channels, suggesting that STOC decay reflects BK channel kinetics, rather than the time course of [Ca2+] decline at the membrane. Computer simulations were carried out to determine the spatiotemporal distribution of the Ca2+ concentration resulting from the measured range of ICa(spark). At the onset of a spark, the Ca2+ concentration within 200 nm of the release site reaches a plateau or exceeds the [Ca2+]EC50 for the BK channels rapidly in comparison to the rate of rise of STOCs. These findings suggest a model in which the BK channels lie close to the release site and are exposed to a saturating [Ca2+] with the rise and fall of the STOCs determined by BK channel kinetics. The mechanism of signaling between RyRs and BK channels may provide a model for Ca2+ action on a variety of molecular targets within cellular microdomains.
Hydrogen distributions in marine sediments1,2

Hydrogen concentrations have been measured in sulfate-reducing sediments of a British Colum- bian fjord and in Skan Bay, Alaska, as well as in the hemipclagic sediments of the eastern north tropical Pacific off the Mexican coast. In the sediments of both the Mexican shelf and Canadian fjord, hydrogen levels were lowest near the surface, increased with depth and reached a maximum pore-water concentration of about 25-35 nM before sulfate was totally depleted. Deeper in the sediments, H, levels decreased again. In Skan Bay sediments, concentrations of pore-water hydrogen increased almost linearly with depth to a maximum level of 60 nM. Measured rates of hydrogen production in Skan Bay sediments varied little with depth (about 200 nM d-l), and in Skan Bay the hydrogen pool had a turnover time of, at most, several hours. Model-predicted net rates of hydrogen production in Skan Bay are not significantly different than zero. These results are con- sistent with the hypothesis of interspecies hydrogen transfer between hydrogen-producing and -consuming bacterial populations, which predicts low ambient hydrogen concentrations and tight coupling between production and consumption. Carbon remineralization in anoxic envi- ronments proceeds through a series of bac- terially catalyzed redox reactions using var- ious inorganic compounds as electron acceptors. In agreement with thermody- namic predictions, oxygen is largely deplet- ed before nitrate reduction begins. In turn, nitrate reduction is followed by manganese dioxide, iron oxide, and sulfate reduction, and finally by reduction of carbon dioxide to methane (Froelich et al. 1979; Klinkham- mer 1980; Wilson et al. 1985). The molec- ular pathways, reaction rates, and processes controlling organic carbon remineralization are the subject of much research (see Ree- burgh 1983). Our work has focused on the distribution and cycling of hydrogen in sedimentary an- oxic systems. Molecular hydrogen (HZ) is an important intermediate in anaerobic carbon degradation because it can serve both as an electron source (2H+ + H2 + 2e-) or sink (HZ + 2e- 4 2H-I) during bacterially cata- lyzed redox reactions (Thauer et al. 1977). Some fermentation reactions which degrade
Proprietary and Open Systems Adoption in E-Procurement: A Risk-Augmented Transaction Cost Perspective

We present an economic model that enables the study of incentives for business-to-business (B2B) e-procurement systems investments that permit inventory coordination and improved operational control. We focus on the information technology adoption behavior of firms in the presence of transaction costs, agency costs and information uncertainty. We conclude that it is appropriate to rethink the prior theory and develop an extended transaction-cost theory perspective that incorporates the possibility of shocks. We distinguish among three kinds of B2B e-procurement systems platforms. Proprietary platform procurement systems involve traditional electronic data interchange (EDI) technologies. Open platform procurement systems are associated with e-market Web technologies. Hybrid platforms involve elements of both. We specify an analytical model that captures the key elements of our perspective, including the conditions under which strong conclusions can be made about the likely observed equilibrium e-procurement solutions of the firms. Our results explain the coexistence of both proprietary and open platforms, showing that larger firms tend to adopt costlier procurement technology solutions, such as proprietary EDI, which provides greater supply certainty. Smaller firms adopt less costly procurement technologies that entail greater supply uncertainties, such as open platform procurement systems. Two guidelines emerge for practitioners: (1) adoption of standard e-procurement platforms needs to be understood in terms of the controllable risk tradeoffs that are offered to small and large firms, and (2) gauging the business value impacts of exogenous shocks is critical to decision-making.
Social Justice in the Classroom: Never Forget Our Students Are Watching

© 2013 by the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors. All rights reserved. Presented as the Ron Federico Memorial Lecture at the 30th Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Myrtle Beach, SC, 2013. Eleanor Pepi Downey, MSW, PhD, is professor at LewisClark State College in Lewiston, ID. Social Justice in the Classroom: Never Forget Our Students Are Watching
Incentives in Large Random Two-Sided Markets

Many centralized two-sided markets form a matching between participants by running a stable matching algorithm. It is a well-known fact that no matching mechanism based on a stable matching algorithm can guarantee truthfulness as a dominant strategy for participants. However, we show that in a probabilistic setting where the preference lists on one side of the market are composed of only a constant (independent of the size of the market) number of entries, each drawn from an arbitrary distribution, the number of participants that have more than one stable partner is vanishingly small. This proves (and generalizes) a conjecture of Roth and Peranson [1999]. As a corollary of this result, we show that, with high probability, the truthful strategy is the best response for a random player when the other players are truthful. We also analyze equilibria of the deferred acceptance stable matching game. We show that the game with complete information has an equilibrium in which, in expectation, a (1−o(1)) fraction of the strategies are truthful. In the more realistic setting of a game of incomplete information, we will show that the set of truthful stratiegs form a (1+o(1))-approximate Bayesian-Nash equilibrium for uniformly random preferences. Our results have implications in many practical settings and are inspired by the work of Roth and Peranson [1999] on the National Residency Matching Program.
44 EFFECT OF CRYOPROTECTANT AGENTS IN EQUINE OVARIAN BIOPSY FRAGMENTS

Studies on ovarian tissue preservation in horses are scarce, and only one research group (Devireddy et al. 2006 Mol. Reprod. Develop. 73, 330–341) has tested the effect of the cryoprotectant agents in equine ovarian tissue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate (1) the effect of cryoprotectant agents in the morphology of equine preantral follicles (PAF) and structure of the ovarian tissue, (2) the relationship between ovarian stromal cell density and PAF density, and (3) the association of ovarian stromal cell density with PAF morphology after exposure to cryoprotectant agents. Three independent experiments with identical methodologies were performed in this study. Each experiment was composed by one cryoprotectant agent (dimethyl sulfoxide, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol) performed in 3 replicates. Ovarian biopsy fragments (1.5 × 1.5 × 10 mm) were harvested from 6 mares and submitted to 4 times of exposure (0, 10, 15, 20 min) at room temperature in a solution of α-minimal essential medium (MEM)+ and one cryoprotectant (dimethyl sulfoxide, ethylene glycol, or propylene glycol) at a concentration of 1.5 M. The cryoprotectant removal was performed by a 3-step (5 min each) equilibration process using (1) α-MEM + 0.5 M sucrose, (2) α-MEM + 0.25 M sucrose, and (3) α-MEM alone after each time of exposure. All fragments were fixed in Bouin’s solution for histological analysis. Data were analysed by ANOVA, Fisher’s exact test, Spearman’s rank correlation, and power test. The PAF density, stromal cell density, and area of the fragments were not affected (P > 0.05) by any of the cryoprotectant agents throughout the time of exposure. However, the morphology of the PAF was affected (P 0.05) throughout the times of exposure. Strong correlations (range, 0.57 to 0.77; power, 96 to 99%) were identified between PAF density and stromal cell density in all experiments. When stromal cells were classified into groups of density (i.e. low, 25.67–34.66; medium, 34.67–43.66; and high, 43.67–52.67 cells/2500 μm2), only the high stromal cell density was positively correlated (P < 0.001) with the PAF density; however, no correlation between stromal cell density and PAF morphology was observed. In conclusion, (1) ethylene glycol seems to be a less harmful cryoprotectant agent to equine PAF, (2) exposure to cryoprotectant agents did not affect the cell density and area of ovarian fragments, (3) PAF density was positively correlated with stromal cell density, and (4) stromal cell density did not affect the morphology of PAF.
Incidence of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy After Renal Graft Catheter Arteriography Using Iodine-Based Contrast Medium.

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to assess the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), dialysis, and graft loss after direct intraarterial infusion of iodine-based contrast medium (CM) in renal allograft recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS. One hundred patients underwent renal graft catheter arteriography between 2006 and 2014. CIN was defined as an increase in serum creatinine value of 0.5 mg/dL or more above the creatinine value before arteriography. CIN could be assessed in 37 patients with creatinine levels obtained before arteriography and 24–72 hours after arteriography. Dialysis requirement and renal allograft loss at 30 days after the procedure were recorded in all 100 patients. RESULTS. In the 37 patients who could be assessed for CIN, three patients (8%) met the criteria for CIN. In a subgroup analysis, there was an increased incidence of CIN in patients undergoing angiography alone (25%) compared with those in the angioplasty and stenting group (0%) (p = 0.028). At 30 days after...
Analyzing the Moving Parts of a Large-Scale Multi-label Text Classification Pipeline: Experiences in Indexing Biomedical Articles

Medical subject headings (MeSH) is a controlled hierarchical vocabulary used by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to index biomedical articles. In the 2014 version of MeSH terminology there are a total of 27,149 terms. Librarians at the NLM tag each biomedical article to be indexed for the Pub Med search system with terms from MeSH. This means the human indexers look at each article's full text and index it with a small set of descriptors, 13 on average, from over 27,000 descriptors available in MeSH. There have been many recent attempts to automate this process focused on using the article title and abstract text to predict MeSH terms for the corresponding article. There has also been an open automated biomedical indexing challenge, BioASQ, that started in 2013. The best general supervised learning framework in these challenges has been a pipeline with four different components: 1. Pre-processing and feature extraction, 2. Employing the binary relevance and/or nearest neighbor approaches to select a set of candidate terms, 3. Ranking these candidate terms using corresponding informative features, and 4. Applying label calibration to dynamically predict the number of top terms to be included in the final selection for the input instance. The specific details in how each of these components is implemented determines the performance variations of various entries in the challenge. In this paper, we analyze these moving parts of the MeSH indexing multi-label classification pipeline with experiments involving different combinations. Our best combination achieves approximately a#x2248; 1% increase in micro F-score compared with the top performing team across the five weeks of the final batch of the BioASQ 2014 challenge. The main take away from our efforts is that small improvements/modifications to different components of the pipeline can offer moderate improvements to the overall performance of the method. Our experiences show that, at least thus far, top performances have resulted mostly due to these improvements rather than drastic changes of the core methodology.
Primary Amyloidosis with Diffuse Splenic Infiltration Presenting as Fulminant Pneumococcal Sepsis

This case illustrates a unique clinical presentation of primary systemic amyloidosis, namely, overwhelming pneumococcal sepsis. Although there exists a well-established association between hyposplenism and overwhelming bacterial infection, amyloid replacement of the spleen as a primary cause of the hyposplenism has not been reported. Functional hyposplenism in regard to the effect of the spleen on erythrocytes has been reported in cases of diffuse splenic amyloid infiltration. The patient described had a fulminant course and associated disseminated intravascular coagulation, two clinical features more commonly seen in pneumococcemia occurring in asplenic patients as opposed to patients with normal splenic function. He had no predisposing factors, other than amyloid replacement of the spleen, to account for the development of overwhelming pneumococcemia. The immunologic function of the spleen in protection against overwhelming bacterial infection is briefly discussed.
VARIATION IN CONTRIBUTIONS OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION TO THE GENETIC STRUCTURE OF POPULATIONS OF THE SEA ANEMONE METRIDIUM SENILE.

Northeastern North American populations of the sea anemone Metridium senile show marked differences in levels of genotypic diversity. Comparisons with expectations generated by computer simulation show that some populations are genotypically as diverse as expected for sexually reproducing populations with free recombination, whereas others are significantly less diverse than expected, despite efforts to avoid collecting clonemates. These reductions in diversity are not attributable to the Wahlund effect; they probably result from extensive clonal reproduction. Reduced genotypic diversity may be produced by low rates of recruitment of planktonic larvae, followed by asexual proliferation. The resulting founder effect may account for previously documented random allele-frequency variation between adjacent populations. It is presently uncertain whether the few genotypes found in some populations are particularly well-adapted to local conditions.
Modeling The Microwave Frequency Dielectric Properties of Thermoplastic Composite Materials

Mixture models were studied in an effort to predict the microwave frequency permittivities of unidirectional-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic-matrix composite materials as a function of fiber volume fraction, fiber orientation relative to the electric field, and temperature. The permittivities of the constituent fiber and plastic materials were measured using a resonant cavity perturbation technique at 9.4 GHz and at 2.45 GHz. The permittivities of the composite specimens were measured using a reflection cavity technique at 9.4 GHz and at 2.45 GHz. Simple “rule-of-mixtures” models that use the fiber and plastic permittivities have been found to approximate the complex dielectric properties of the composite for varied fiber volume fractions. The permittivities of oriented composites were modeled using a tensor rotation procedure. Composite permittivities were modeled with temperature up to the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic matrix.
Assessing the correlation of student clinical encounters and PANCE performance

INTRODUCTION Teaching institutions strive to prepare physician assistant (PA) students for their careers through rigorous academics and a comprehensive range of clinical experiences. The first year establishes the foundation of medical knowledge, through didactic studies focused largely on anatomy and the pathology of diseases as well as patient care skills including history taking, physical examination, differential diagnoses, treatment, and prevention. The second year comprises clinical encounters commonly structured in 4to 6-week clinical rotation experiences. The focus of the clinical year is to allow students to interact with patients and employ their newly developed clinical skills. In our program, students are required to log each of their clinical encounters on a daily basis in order to document the various clinical scenarios they experienced and the procedures performed. Currently, no research has been performed to determine whether there is a statistically significant correlation between the numbers of clinical encounters and performance on the PANCE. Since clinical encounters comprise the entire second year (and third year at some programs), and are a fundamental aspect of the way PAs are trained, research is needed to determine the impact of clinical encounters related to PANCE scores.
Alliance Norms and WarA New Piece in an Old Puzzle

The relationship between alliance aggregation and war is one of the most perplexing research questions within the field of international relations. We propose that by measuring the degree to which international norms support binding treaty obligations, a macroindicator of alliance commitment can be devised that is grounded in the cultural attributes of the international system, and that can be used in conjunction with indicators based on structural attributes to account for the onset of war. Based on the results from tests conducted on the European great power system of 1820–1914 and the central power system of 1820–1939, we conclude that peace is best preserved when there is a moderate amount of flexibility in the structure of alliances, and when alliance commitments are considered binding by prevailing international norms.