cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Tool for Internet Chatroom Surveillance

Internet chatrooms are common means of interaction and communications, and they carry valuable information about formal or ad-hoc formation of groups with diverse objectives. This work presents a fully automated surveillance system for data collection and analysis in Internet chatrooms. The system has two components: First, it has an eavesdropping tool which collects statistics on individual (chatter) and chatroom behavior. This data can be used to profile a chatroom and its chatters. Second, it has a computational discovery algorithm based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to locate hidden communities and communication patterns within a chatroom. The eavesdropping tool is used for fine tuning the SVD-based discovery algorithm which can be deployed in real-time and requires no semantic information processing. The evaluation of the system on real data shows that (i) statistical properties of different chatrooms vary significantly, thus profiling is possible, (ii) SVD-based algorithm has up to 70-80% accuracy to discover groups of chatters.
Epistemic Universalism and the Shortcomings of Curricular Multicultural Science Education.

This paper identifies both epistemic and political shortcomings in the portrayal of science found in curricular multicultural science education. It is argued that this approach denies the unique characteristics of western science as it ignores the particular strengths of other systems of thought. This epistemic weakness has the unexpected political effect of reaffirming scientism. Drawing on parallels from writing instruction, it is argued that curricular forms of multicultural science education operate to limit student agency and potential. Finally, an example of a pedagogical alternative that meets the needs of diverse student populations is discussed.
Deterministic and Monte Carlo modeling and analyses of YALINA-THERMAL subcritical assembly.

The YALINA thermal facility of the Joint Institute for Power & Nuclear Research – SOSNY, Belarus consists of a subcritical assembly driven by a californium, deuteriumdeuterium, or deuterium-tritium neutron source. This study analyzes the YALINA thermal assembly using deterministic and Monte Carlo calculation methodologies. In the deterministic analyses, the DRAGON computer program has been used to generate the macroscopic cross sections starting from the WIMSD nuclear data library with 69 energy groups. The WIMSD nuclear data library has been modified by adding few isotopes describing the polyethylene material, some impurity nuclides, and the uranium nuclides without delayed neutrons for calculating the effective delayed neutron fraction by the k-ratio method and the Bell and Glasstone spatial correction factor. The data added to the WIMSD library have been generated by the NJOY computer program using the ENDF/B nuclear data files. The macroscopic cross sections generated by DRAGON computer program describe more than sixty different zones of the subcritical assembly; in these zones, whenever necessary, the materials have been homogenized. The macroscopic cross sections generated by the DRAGON computer program have been then used in the PARTISN computer program, which modeled the YALINA thermal facility in details. In order to facilitate the coupling between the DRAGON and PARTISN computer programs, a new interface computer program (DRAGON2PARTISN) has been developed. For the time-dependent calculations, the PARTISN computer program has been modified to speed up the computing time. Some of the deterministic results have also been confirmed by the TORT computer program. In addition, the YALINA thermal facility was modeled without any geometrical homogenization by two independent Monte Carlo computer programs, MONK and MCNP/MCNPX. The MONK computer program has nuclear data libraries, which are different from the libraries of MCNP/MCNPX computer programs. The Deterministic and Monte Carlo analyses of the YALINA thermal assembly investigated: the neutron multiplication factor (keff), the neutron source multiplication factor, the effective delayed neutron fraction, the prompt neutron lifetime and generation time, the spatial neutron flux profile, the neutron spectrum, and the He(n,p), U(n,f), Au(n,γ), In(n,γ), and Mn(n,γ) reaction rates profiles, the time dependent He reaction rate from the pulsed deuterium-deuterium or the deuterium-tritium neutron source, and the Bell and Glasstone correction factors for the measured reactivity values. The analytical results have been compared with experimental measurements. This report presents the computational models and the obtained results. The comparison of the deterministic and Monte Carlo results shows an excellent agreement with the experimental measurements.
Cellular differentiation in the thymus. IV. Response of rat thymic subpopulations to anti-thymus serum and other nonspecific mitogens.

Abstract Rat thymocytes underwent blast transformation when exposed in culture to pokeweed mitogen (PWM), or antisera against thymus antigens (ATS). After separation on interrupted BSA density gradients, the lighter fractions, A + B, and C, responded to PWM; these appeared to be the same cells responsive to PHA. ATS also stimulated, principally, cells in these fractions but was also able to stimulate a small response in D, a numerically much larger fraction. Cells of the pellet, P, responded to neither mitogen. After partial lysis with ATS and complement, the response to PHA and PWM was greatly reduced. It was concluded that competent cells in the thymus mostly differ from peripheral T lymphocytes in possessing RTA, and that the silent cells in D and P either are defective in their ability to initiate macromolecular synthesis or are nonviable.
Automatic interpretation of regional short period seismic signals using CUSUM-SA algorithms

Several simple methods for the automatic interpretation of short period regional seismogram were tested. Because of the emergent nature of most regional arrivals, the onsets of seismic phases are associated with gradual, rather than sudden, changes in the autoregressive models and mean square amplitudes. We have found that amplitude contrasts between windows containing the seismic phase and the noise (background prior to the arrival) can be enhanced by filtering making use of autoregressive models and thus in the further analysis we utilize only the enhanced amplitude changes for defining onset times.
Psychological Determinants of Public Opinion

Harriet Martineau’s observation, made in 1837, that “the worship of Opinion is, at this day, the established religion of the United States,” could easily have been asserted today. Politicians consult public opinion polls when running for office, when building their political agendas, and often before deciding to act. President Clinton, for example, even ran a White House poll to test the public’s reaction to possible responses he might give—including confessing—to the original allegations of his entanglement with Monica Lewinsky. Overnight polls conducted by various news agencies similarly have a profound effect on how policy makers react to various issues like cutting social security, raising the minimum wage, or whether they should take steps to impeach a president. In a democracy, public opinion speaks very loudly, and politicians who ignore it, do so at their peril. Given the importance of public opinion in swaying how policy makers arrive at decisions, and the impact these decisions often have on the everyday lives of citizens, understanding how people come to form their opinions on the issues of the day remains vitally important.
Processing of Bottom-up and Top-Down Information by Skilled and Average Deaf Readers and Implications for Whole Language Instruction

To explicate the competence of skilled deaf readers, this study compared groups of high- and average-ability, secondary-level, deaf readers on five indicators of cognitive processes used during reading. Two indicators focused on fluency in processing visual information; three measured readers' application of higher-level processes. Results indicated significant differences between the groups on the measures of fluency. However, intergroup similarities on the indexes of higher-level processing suggest that these components do not determine the reading superiority of the skilled readers. The findings suggest that whole language instructional practices, increasingly popular in deaf education, need to address the development of processing fluency in deaf readers.
On Models and Methods for Studying Polymerase Translocation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the methods for studying polymerase translocation. In the model for polymerase translocation the polymerase can slide on the template over a range that restricts it to primarily occupy two positions: the pre-translocated position, in which the 3´-nt of the RNA occupies the site, which is bound by the substrate NTP during catalysis, and the post-translocated position, in which the RNA has cleared the NTP binding site. This model has been tested both by developing and evaluating its kinetic implications, and by monitoring the position of the polymerase during transcript elongation with exonucleases. Kinetic effects rarely allow for unambiguous interpretation of mechanism, therefore it is important to use a direct probe of polymerase position to test models for translocation mechanism. Exonucleases may be of more use than area foot printing reagents in this respect because a single nucleotide shift in the position of a diffuse footprint that extends over 20 or 30 nucleotides can be difficult to observe, while a similar shift in the position at which digestion by an exonuclease is blocked is readily detected.
Selective arylation of cysteine-237 of rabbit muscle aldolase with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan.

Abstract At pH 7.0 and 25°C, NBF-Cl (4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan) reacts rapidly with rabbit muscle aldolase ( d -fructose-1,6-bisphosphate d -glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-lyase, EC 4.1.2.13) to yield a product with an absorption maximum at 402 nm, which is shifted to 422 nm upon acid denaturation. The reaction involves arylation of a single cysteine residue per subunit of tetrameric aldolase, as shown by the molar absorptivity of NBF-aldolase and by titration of sulfhydryl groups of the enzyme with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), DTNB. The site of arylation appears to be Cys-237, which is the cysteine residue that reacts most rapidly with DTNB, and which is not essential for aldolase activity. Arylation of the enzyme is 13-20-times more rapid than that of model compounds. The relatively high rate of arylation is not due to medium effects, to an anomalously low pKa of Cys-237, or to the presence of a binding site for NBF-Cl, and is tentatively assigned to acid-base catalysis by other functional groups in the vicinity of the reactive sulfhydryl group. The NBF-Cl reaction provides the most efficient means of titrating Cys-237 residues in rabbit muscle aldolase.
Mixed agreement, the person feature, and the index/concord distinction

In mixed agreement, different agreement targets show different values for the same controller. This paper offers an explanation for the existence of mixed agreement that accounts for the following Polite Plural Generalization: universally, any second person ‘polite plural’ pronouns (e.g. French vous), used honorifically for a single addressee, control syntactic (plural) agreement on all person targets, while non-person-agreeing targets such as predicate adjectives vary across languages, between syntactic and semantic number agreement. Following Wechsler and Zlatic (The Many Faces of Agreement, CSLI Publications, 2003), person features exist only as features of referential indices (Index phi features), never as grammatical head features of the sort that are involved in adjective-noun concord (Concord phi features). Mixed agreement arises if the ‘polite plural’ or other pronominal controller is underspecified for Concord phi features. But a pronoun has a referential Index, which is necessarily marked with phi features, so any Index agreement targets will appear in the second person plural form. A diachronic explanation is offered for this bifurcation of agreement targets into Index and Concord targets: the former descend from incorporated pronouns while the latter have other sources.
Food Variety as a Predictor of Nutritional Status Among Children with Autism

The frequency of selective eating and nutritional deficiency was studied among 22 children with autism and an age matched typically developing control group. Children with autism ate fewer foods on average than typically developing children. (33.5 vs. 54.5 foods, P < .001) As compared to typical controls, children with autism had a higher average intake of magnesium, and lower average intake of protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. Selective eaters were significantly more likely than typical controls to be at risk for at least one serious nutrient deficiency (P < .001).
The efficacy of “right” as a function of its relationship with reinforcement

Abstract The effects of the relationship between the presentation of a verbal stimulus (“right”) and an established reinforcer (M&Ms) on the reinforcement efficacy of the verbal stimulus was tested with three groups of retarded boys. Blocks of training and test trials alternated. During training of the Discriminative Group, “right” reliably preceded candy. For the Contiguous Group, “right” accompanied candy, and for the Random Group “right” and candy were programmed independently. “Right” promoted learning in the Discriminative Group but did not in the latter two groups. The results support Cairns' analysis of the often found failure of approval to be an effective reinforcer in laboratory tasks.
Damage assessment of the truss system with uncertainty using frequency response function based damage identification method

A novel vibration-based damage identification methodology for the truss system with mass and stiffness uncertainties is proposed and demonstrated. This approach utilizes the damaged-induced changes of frequency response functions (FRF) to assess the severity and location of the structural damage in the system. The damage identification algorithm is developed basing on the least square and Newton-Raphson methods. The dynamical model of system is built using finite element method and Lagrange principle while the crack model is based on fracture mechanics. The method is synthesized via numerical examples for a truss system to demonstrate the effectiveness in detecting both stiffness and mass uncertainty existed in the system.
Expression and regulation of IL-22 by bovine peripheral blood γ/δ T cells

IL-22 is a novel T and NK cell cytokine that belongs to the IL-10 cytokine family. Here we report the identification of a bovine IL-22 ortholog that is expressed by mitogen activated bovine peripheral blood gamma/delta T cells. The full-length bovine IL-22 cDNA contained a 68 bp 5'-untranslated region (UTR), a 570-bp open reading frame, and a 480-bp 3'-UTR. The deduced pre-IL-22 has 190 amino acid residues containing a secretory signal peptide from amino acids 1-33 and several potential N-glycosylation sites. The mature protein is predicted to be a secreted, alpha-helical molecule. The bovine IL-22 gene is approximately 7.5 kb in length and is comprised of five introns and six exons, and the first exon is non-coding. Computer analysis and gel shift assay showed that the -1132 and -879 region in the 5' upstream gene sequence contained putative transcription factor binding sites for STATx, Sox-5/9, Sp1, Ik-1, and AREB6. Mutagenesis of STATx and Sox5/9 binding sites decreased promoter functionality by approximately 50%, suggesting their importance in transcription regulation of IL-22. Expression of IL-22 transcripts induced by various mitogens indicated existence of two regulatory control pathways in gamma/delta T cells; IL-2 or PMA treatment induced a slow accumulation of IL-22 mRNA without affecting the maximum induction pathway, whereas ConA treatment rapidly induced a limited amount of IL-22 transcripts. Similar maximal levels of IL-22 transcripts could be induced in gamma/delta T cells and alpha/beta T cells. We conclude that bovine gamma/delta T cells are important sources of IL-22 and suggest a role for this cytokine in regulating immune responses at mucosal surfaces, including the gut.
Evolving policy reforms and experiences for addressing downstream impacts in World Bank water resources projects

The systematic integration of environmental flow requirements (EFR) in water resources management decision-making and policy reforms is a complex task and still a developing field, on which agreement does not yet exist, even in industrialized countries. The complexity is compounded by lack of data and weak institutional capacity. In addition, environmental flow assessments, i.e. the process of determining EFR, can be costly and may yield uncertain results with limited utility to decision-makers. This paper focuses on the evolving policy reforms and operational experiences within the World Bank to mainstream EFR into water resources management. It includes a brief discussion of the context of environmental flows in the World Bank's work, and looks at the evolution of the World Bank's policies related to the integration of environmental flow considerations in its activities. Five case studies illustrate the World Bank's varied involvement in environmental flow issues. The paper concludes with recommendations for improving the integration of environmental flow considerations into water resource development and management.
INTERPERSONAL CONTROL IN STRUCTURAL AND MILAN SYSTEMIC FAMILY THERAPY

The structural and Milan systemic approaches were compared in order to determine the extent to which their major proponents behave in ways that are consistent with theory. The focus was on interpersonal control dynamics between therapist and family system. Three published transcripts of each treatment were intensively studied using the Family Relational Communication Control Coding System (Friedlander & Heatherington, 1989; Heatherington & Friedlander, 1987), a systemically based instrument that identifies interpersonal control patterns in naturally occurring language. Results were generally congruent with theory and reflected hypothesized differences in the approaches. Whereas therapists in both approaches engage heavily in complementary transactions in which they are “one-up” and the family members are “one-down,” a number of other relational indices show considerable divergence. The implications of these results for an integration of the two approaches are discussed.
The Nogo Receptor NgR1 Mediates Infection by Mammalian Reovirus

Neurotropic viruses, including mammalian reovirus, must disseminate from an initial site of replication to the central nervous system (CNS), often binding multiple receptors to facilitate systemic spread. Reovirus engages junctional adhesion molecule A (JAM-A) to disseminate hematogenously. However, JAM-A is dispensable for reovirus replication in the CNS. We demonstrate that reovirus binds Nogo receptor NgR1, a leucine-rich repeat protein expressed in the CNS, to infect neurons. Expression of NgR1 confers reovirus binding and infection of nonsusceptible cells. Incubating reovirus virions with soluble NgR1 neutralizes infectivity. Blocking NgR1 on transfected cells or primary cortical neurons abrogates reovirus infection. Concordantly, reovirus infection is ablated in primary cortical neurons derived from NgR1 null mice. Reovirus virions bind to soluble JAM-A and NgR1, while infectious disassembly intermediates (ISVPs) bind only to JAM-A. These results suggest that reovirus uses different capsid components to bind distinct cell-surface molecules, engaging independent receptors to facilitate spread and tropism.
Noncoherent trellis-coded quantization for massive MIMO limited feedback beamforming

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques are regarded as a potential breakthrough in cellular network design, with transmit precoding to multiple downlink users playing a central role in the projected capacity gains. Most prior work assumes that the channel estimates required for precoder design are obtained by exploiting reciprocity in time division duplexed (TDD) systems. However, most cellular networks today are frequency division duplexed (FDD), for which reciprocity based channel side information (CSI) is not available, hence explicit channel feedback from mobiles to base station is required for downlink precoding. Conventional “limited feedback” approaches, based on quantizing the channel coefficients based on a predefined vector quantization codebook, do not scale to massive MIMO because of computational complexity and lack of flexibility. We propose a novel noncoherent trellis-coded quantization (NTCQ) which uses the duality between noncoherent sequence detection and vector quantization for maximizing beamforming gain. The advantages of NTCQ include linear complexity in the number of transmit antennas, with vector quantization accomplished using an off-the-shelf Viterbi algorithm, and flexibility in adjusting the feedback overhead to support a variable number of transmit antennas without changing the structure of the quantizer.
Neuropeptide Regulation of Fear and Anxiety: Implications of Cholecystokinin, Endogenous Opioids, and Neuropeptide Y

The neural circuitry of fear likely underlies anxiety and fear-related disorders such as specific and social phobia, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The primary pharmacological treatments currently utilized for these disorders include benzodiazepines, which act on the GABAergic receptor system, and antidepressants, which modulate the monamine systems. However, recent work on the regulation of fear neural circuitry suggests that specific neuropeptide modulation of this system is of critical importance. Recent reviews have examined the roles of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis neuropeptides as well as the roles of neurotrophic factors in regulating fear. The present review, instead, will focus on three neuropeptide systems which have received less attention in recent years but which are clearly involved in regulating fear and its extinction. The endogenous opioid system, particularly activating the μ opioid receptors, has been demonstrated to regulate fear expression and extinction, possibly through functioning as an error signal within the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray to mark unreinforced conditioned stimuli. The cholecystokinin (CCK) system initially led to much excitement through its potential role in panic disorder. More recent work in the CCK neuropeptide pathway suggests that it may act in concordance with the endogenous cannabinoid system in the modulation of fear inhibition and extinction. Finally, older as well as very recent data suggests that neuropeptide Y (NPY) may play a very interesting role in counteracting stress effects, enhancing extinction, and enhancing resilience in fear and stress preclinical models. Future work in understanding the mechanisms of neuropeptide functioning, particularly within well-known behavioral circuits, are likely to provide fascinating new clues into the understanding of fear behavior as well as suggesting novel therapeutics for treating disorders of anxiety and fear dysregulation.
Real-time construction and rendering of three-dimensional occupancy maps

This paper describes a preliminary sensory system for real-time sensor-based navigation in a three-dimensional, dynamic environment. Data from a laser range camera are processed on an iWarp parallel computer to create a 3-D occupancy map. This map is rendered using raytracing. The construction and rendering consume less than 800 milliseconds.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Age differences in managing response to sadness elicitors using attentional deployment, positive reappraisal and suppression

The current study investigated age differences in the use of attentional deployment, positive reappraisal and suppression while regulating responses to sadness-eliciting content. We also tested to what extent these emotion regulation strategies were useful for each age group in managing response to age-relevant sad information. Forty-two young participants (Mage = 18.5, SE = .15) and 48 older participants (Mage = 71.42, SE = 1.15) watched four sadness-eliciting videos (about death/illness, four to five minutes long) under four conditions—no-regulation (no regulation instructions), attentional deployment (divert attention away), positive reappraisal (focus on positive outcomes) and suppression (conceal emotional expressions). We assessed negative emotional experience, expression, skin conductance level (SCL) and visual fixation duration while participants watched the emotional clips and followed the instructions for each condition. Results suggest that older adults were more successful than younger adults ...
L-edge x-ray absorption resonances in palladium silicides and palladium metal

The $\mathrm{Pd}{L}_{2,3}$ white line absorption has been measured for Pd metal, ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{2}$Si, and PdSi to probe the variations in occupation of the $\mathrm{Pd}4d$ states due to the rehybridization of the $d$ band in the silicides. A reduction of the density of occupied states of $d$ character in ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{2}$Si and PdSi with respect to Pd metal is found, in agreement with partial-density-of-states calculations for the hybrid-bonded silicides.
Two New Species of Phyllopodopsyllus (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) From Bermuda 1)

[Deux especes nouvelles de Phyllopodopsyllus sont decrites du meiobenthos des Bermudes. L'une, P. paraxenus, ressemble a P. xenus (Kunz), mais trois caracteres morphologiques les distinguent. La seconde, P. chavei, parait etre un divergent allopatrique de P. parabradyi Lang. La comparaison des setations indique que P. chavei a l'armature complete pour ce genre sur l'exopodite de la troisieme patte nageuse., Deux especes nouvelles de Phyllopodopsyllus sont decrites du meiobenthos des Bermudes. L'une, P. paraxenus, ressemble a P. xenus (Kunz), mais trois caracteres morphologiques les distinguent. La seconde, P. chavei, parait etre un divergent allopatrique de P. parabradyi Lang. La comparaison des setations indique que P. chavei a l'armature complete pour ce genre sur l'exopodite de la troisieme patte nageuse.]
Endothelial progenitor cells for cancer gene therapy

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are promising for cancer therapy because they specifically target tumors. They have the capacity to home to, invade, migrate within and incorporate into tumor structures. They are easily expanded and can be armed with therapeutic payloads protected within the progenitor cells. Once in the tumor, armed EPCs can be triggered to induce cell death in surrounding tumor cells while being transiently protected from premature demise. In preclinical studies, therapeutic EPCs attenuated tumor growth and increased survival. Enhancing homing, self-protection and collateral tumor cell damage will increase the efficacy of EPCs for cancer gene therapy.
A review of post-GWAS prioritization approaches

In the recent decade, high throughput genotyping and next generation sequencing platforms have enabled genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of many complex human diseases. These studies have discovered many disease susceptible loci, and unveiled unexpected disease mechanisms. Despite these successes, these identified variants only explain a small proportion of the genetic contributions to these diseases and many more remain to be found. This is largely due to the small effect sizes of most disease associated variants and limited sample size. As a result, it is critical to leverage other information to more effectively prioritize GWAS signals to increase replication rates and better understand disease mechanisms. In this review, we introduce the biological/genomic features that have been found to be informative for post-GWAS prioritization, and discuss available tools to utilize these features for prioritization.
The effects of a modeling film on social isolation in preschool children: a methodological investigation.

Children in a Headstart program N=113) were assessed on two occasions using a naturalistic observation system and peer sociometric measures. Thirtytwo children were selected by O'Connor's (1969, 1972) convergent criteria of teacher rankings and being below 15% peer interaction frequency. Half of the children saw an experimental modeling film designed to teach children how to initiate entry into peer groups and half of the children saw a control film. The present investigation included methodological elements left uncontrolled in previous investigations. Results indicated no significant multivariate Fratios for treatment main effects, sociometric main effects, or treatment by sociometric interactions. This failure to replicate previous results with the O'Connor film raises serious methodological criticisms of previous work with socially withdrawn children.
Publication Trends in JPSP: Stability and Change in Topics, Methods, and Theories Across Two Decades

Content analyses of a sample consisting of approximately 30% of the articles published in the journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1968 and in 1988 are reported. The proportion of articles classified in the section Attitudes and Social Cognition has shown little change, whereas the proportion classified in Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes has decreased and the proportion in Personality Process and Individual Differences has increased over the two-decade period. Examination of several characteristics of research methodology indicates that both gains and losses have occurred and that the judged difficulty of conducting single studies has not changed Gender representative ness of subjects, but not authors, has improved. More qualitative observations suggest that theory in social psychology may have become less integrative. Issues in statistical analysis in the field are addressed The authors' mixed picture of progress in personality and social psychology is contrasted with the more opti...
Role of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Bone Tissue Engineering Applications: Current Status and Future Prospects

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been demonstrated as an attractive cell source for tissue-engineering applications because of their ability to be easily isolated and expanded from adult bone marrow aspirates and their versatility for pluripotent differentiation into mesenchymal tissues. This review highlights advances and progress in bone reconstruction techniques for both the repair of site-specific bone defects and the attenuation of musculoskeletal disease symptoms associated with osteoporosis and osteogenesis imperfecta. Despite the enormous potential benefits of MSCs within these approaches, conventional tissue culture methods limit the clinical utility of these cells because of the gradual loss of both their proliferative and differentiation potential during ex vivo expansion. Novel strategies to overcome these limitations are discussed including cultivation in the presence of basic fibroblastic growth factor 2, induction of ectopotic telomerase expression, and ex vivo expansion on various collagenous biomaterials. In addition, this review also outlines mechanistic theories on the potential role of MSC-extracellular matrix interactions in mediating the retention of MSC proliferative and differentiation capacity after ex vivo expansion on collagenous biomaterials.
A computer model of hole-pressure measurement in Poiseuille flow of visco-elastic liquids

Liquid-filled holes used for pressure measurements of visco-elastic liquids give rise to systematic hole pressure ‘errors’.Tanner andPipkin have presented an analysis for flows of a second-order fluid in which they derive a simple relation between the first normal-stress difference and the hole pressure for flow situations where Reynolds numbers are very small. Implicit in the analysis is the assumption that the streamlines are symmetric about the hole center line. In this paper, using a numerical solution, we investigate the relationship between the hole pressure and the first normalstress difference for a range of Reynolds numbers where inertial effects are not negligible. The ratio of hole pressure to first normal-stress difference is found to vary from 0.25 to 0.16 as the Reynolds number is varied from 1 to 10. Streamline patterns are presented for Poiseuille flow of a second-order fluid over a slot cut into one wall of an otherwise straight channel. Various geometries are considered. The results naturally include those for an incompressible Newtonian liquid at non-zero Reynolds numbers.
Preoperative Multiparametric MRI Accurately Predicts for Extracapsular Extension in a Diverse Patient Population Undergoing Prostatectomy

literature. The model was internally validated to demonstrate overall survival outcomes closely correlated to the source data. Oneand two-way sensitivity analyses were performed to determine the thresholds at which PCI with HA would be preferred. A 10-year time horizon using a cycle length of 3 months was employed and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were discounted at a rate of 3%. Results: The results of this analysis demonstrate that in the reference scenario, PCI with HA is associated with improved QALE (3.56 versus 3.49 QALYs). Sensitivity analyses demonstrate that PCI with HA is the preferred treatment approach provided that the relative risk of developing brain metastases is not increased by >11.9%. HA with PCI is also the preferred treatment approach provided that relative rates of NCD are reduced by at least 21.4% compared to PCI without HA. Conclusions: This model suggests that PCI with HA is associated with improved quality-adjusted-life expectancy. Results of the present study can inform the statistical design of a future phase 3 study examining the relative merits of PCI with or without HA. Author Disclosure: M.V. Mishra: None. A.V. Louie: None. V. Gondi: None. M.P. Mehta: G. Consultant; Elekta, Phillips. N. Stock Options; Accuray.
Groundwater flow across spatial scales: importance for climate modeling

Current regional and global climate models generally do not represent groundwater flow between grid cells as a component of the water budget. We estimate the magnitude of between-cell groundwater flow as a function of grid cell size by aggregating results from a numerical model of equilibrium groundwater flow run and validated globally. We find that over a broad range of cell sizes spanning that of state-of-the-art regional and global climate models, mean between-cell groundwater flow magnitudes scale with the reciprocal of grid cell length. We also derive this scaling a priori from a simple statistical model of a flow network. We offer operational definitions of ?significant? groundwater flow contributions to the grid cell water budget in both relative and absolute terms (between-cell flow magnitude exceeding 10% of local recharge or 10?mm?y?1, respectively). Groundwater flow is a significant part of the water budget, as measured by a combined test requiring both relative and absolute significance, over 42% of the land area at 0.1? grid cell size (typical of regional and mesoscale models), decreasing to 1.5% at 1? (typical of global models). Based on these findings, we suggest that between-cell groundwater flow should be represented in regional and mesoscale climate models to ensure realistic water budgets, but will have small effects on water exchanges in current global models. As well, parameterization of subgrid moisture heterogeneity should include the effects of within-cell groundwater flow.
Kinetics of desorption of water from the rutile surface

Abstract The rate of desorption of water from the rutile TiO 2 surface was measured at 25°, 40°, 60°, 80°, and 100°C. by means of a quartz reed microbalance. The Elovich equation was modified so that the rate of desorption approached zero as the reversible water on the surface approached zero. By analogy to classical first-order kinetics, a rate coefficient k was developed in terms of two constants, m and P , and the surface concentration, A : k = m / A [exp ( PA ) − 1]. Application of the modified Elovich equation to the rate data showed that one set of constants was sufficient to describe the rate process, as opposed to the Elovich equation, which required at least two sets of constants. The Arrhenius equation was applied to calculated values of the rate coefficient at different temperatures and at constant surface coverage in order to obtain the heat of desorption, qd . The heat of desorption varied from 8.0 to 5.9 kcal./mole with decreasing surface coverage.
Perturbations of locomotor activity rhythms following suprachiasmatic bungarotoxin infusion.

Abstract The actions of intracranial injections of alpha bungarotoxin (BTX) on locomotor activity rhythms were examined in male rats. The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic region is known to be a locus of high affinity BTX binding although the potential roles of this receptor system are unknown. Rats were stereotaxically implanted with cannulae aimed just dorsal to the SCN (or cortex for control injections). Free-running locomotor activity rhythms in darkness were constantly monitored. seventy-eight percent (78%) of the animals injected with BTX in the SCN region had phase shifts that were outside the 99% confidence limits of control animals. Infusion of either saline (into the SCN) or BTX into cortex were without effects. Doses of BTX varied from 125 fmol to 600 pmol. At the highest dose a substantial fraction of the animals showed both period changes and loss of rhythmicity as well as phase shifts. Although nearly all of the animals injected with BTX experienced phase shifts the direction of the shifts were not consistently correlated with the circadian time of injection. However, the sensitivity of the animals varied systematically with the smallest shifts resulting after injection at CT12 and CT16. These results argue that BTX does not influence the SCN pacemaker as an entraining signal but does potently perturb the circadian system.
Immunogenicity of Ld+ transgenic mouse hearts***

Background. C57BL/6 mice transfected with the L d gene coupled to the α-myosin heavy chain promoter result in transgenic mice with L d antigen expressed only on cardiac tissue. These transgenic animals allow the examination of immune reactivity against cardiac L d by self or by adoptively transferred L d specific 2C cells, and the response of nontransgenic C57BL/6 mice to the transplanted L d+ heart. Methods. Naive cardiac L d+ transgenic mice were examined for evidence of L d autoimmunity. Forty million fresh 2C cells or 2C cells sensitized in vitro for 7 days against Balb/c (L d+ ) + interleukin-2 were also given intravenously to L d+ transgenic mice. At 5 and 12 days after injection, heart-infiltrating lymphocytes were analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The L d+ transgenic hearts were also transplanted to syngeneic L d- nontransgenic C57BL/6 to evaluate the heart's immunogenicity. Results. Naive L d+ transgenic mice did not exhibit any evidence of lymphocytic infiltration on histologic examination. Adoptive transfer of either fresh or in vitro sensitized 2C cells was also unable to reject the native L d+ heart in transgenic mice (100% of the mice survived long term [more than 60 days]). Sensitization of the L d+ transgenic mice with a Balb/c skin graft and interleukin-2 pump infusion (7 days) beginning 1 day before 2C cell injection also did not promote rejection of the native L d+ heart. However, fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis did reveal that a significantly greater number of in vitro sensitized 2C cells homed to the L d+ , but not L d- , heart after both 5 and 12 days (P <.01, P <.001). In contrast, C57BL/6 mice rejected the L d+ (C57BL/6 background) transgenic heart in a mean survival time of 17 ± 9.7 days (P <.01), whereas a syngeneic C57BL/6 heart transplant was accepted indefinitely. Lymphocytic infiltration consistent with rejection was present in all animals receiving an L d+ transgenic heart transplant, whereas no infiltrate was present in those receiving a syngeneic C57BL/6 heart transplant. Conclusions. Although the class I L d transgene is not recognized in its native host, its immunogenicity is shown by the homing of anti-L d 2C cells to the heart in situ and rejection of L d+ heart grafts when transplanted into syngeneic C57BL/6 mice.
Characterization of Wnt gene expression in murine skin : possible involvement of epidermis-derived Wnt-4 in cutaneous epithelial-mesenchymal interactions

Wnt glycoproteins mediate short range intracellular communication that facilitates morphogenesis and, in some settings, promotes tumor formation. Although the involvement of the Drosophila homolog wingless in ectodermal patterning is well established, the role that Wnt genes play in mammalian skin biology is not defined. We detected Wnt-4 and Wnt-10b mRNA in adult murine epidermis using degenerate primers and reverse transcriptase PCR, and confirmed expression by RNase protection. Normal murine keratinocytes and a melanocyte cell line (melan-A) propagated in vitro also contained Wnt-4 mRNA, whereas dermal fibroblasts and Langerhans cell-like dendritic cells did not. Because Wnt-4 mRNA was more abundant than Wnt-10b mRNA in epidermis and Wnt-10b trancripts were not detected in cells propagated in vitro, additional studies emphasized Wnt-4 exclusively. Wnt-4 mRNA levels were increased in cultured keratinocytes as they approached confluence and were strikingly downregulated by mitogenic growth factors. Although Wnt-4 mRNA levels were not modulated during calcium-induced keratinocyte differentiation in vitro, assessment of Wnt-4 transcripts in keratinocyte cell lines suggested that loss of Wnt-4 gene expression was associated with a less differentiated, more malignant, phenotype. Despite this, epidermal abnormalities were not identified in newborn Wnt-4 null (-/-) skin, or in full-thickness -/- skin that was engrafted to nude or athymic mice and allowed to mature for as long as 3 months. However, histologic examination of newborn Wnt-4 null skin did reveal fibroplasia involving the dermis with increased accumulation of type I collagen fibrils. These results indicate that several Wnt genes are expressed in adult murine epidermis and suggest that Wnt-4 proteins may be involved in epidermal-dermal interactions in mammalian skin.
Colorectal adenocarcinoma in patients less than 40 years of age

From 1973 to 1985, 105 patients under 40 years of age were treated for colorectal adenocarcinoma at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. There were 51 males and 54 females. The mean age was 32 years. The majority of patients were treated for left colon or rectal carcinomas. Ninety-seven of 105 patients underwent surgical resection of their primary cancer, 70 (67 percent) of which were potentially curative. Twenty-seven patients underwent palliative resections. Dukes' A or B lesions were not seen in patients less than 20 years old, whereas these early lesions were seen in 11 percent of patients 20 to 29 years old and in 26 percent of patients greater than 30 years of age. The mean survival for patients between 20 and 29 years was 39 months and 46 months for patients 30 years and older.
Comparison of the effects of pindolol and atenolol on hemodynamic function in systemic hypertension.

A randomized double-blind study was performed on a group of mild hypertensive patients (WHO class I) to compare the hemodynamic effects of pindolol and atenolol. Blood pressure (BP) was monitored with a mercury gauge sphygmomanometer, while cardiac function and peripheral arterial flows were measured by the noninvasive technique of bioelectric impedance. After a 2-week washout period, patients with a diastolic BP > 95 mm Hg but < 114 mm Hg were randomized into the pindolol (29 patients) or atenolol (28) treatment groups. Patients were treated with 1 of the 2 drugs in an incremental fashion for 12 weeks. Cardiovascular function was measured after the washout period and at the end of the 12-week treatment period. Baseline hemodynamics were similar in both groups. The 2 drugs were equally effective in lowering both systolic and diastolic BP. Hemodynamically, pindolol lowered BP by decreasing total peripheral resistance (−406 ± 145 dynes · s · cm−5) while atenolol decreased cardiac index (−0.2 ± 0.1 liters/min/m2) associated with a decrease in heart rate (−12 ± 2 beats/min). Regarding peripheral vascular beds, pindolol lowered arm vascular resistance (−198 ± 72 mm Hg/liter/min) and leg vascular resistance (−73 ± 25 mm Hg/liter/min), especially when subjects who did not respond to pindolol were excluded from the analysis. Both arm (5.5 ± 5.4% increase above baseline) and leg (1.2 ± 4.4% increase above baseline) arterial flow indexes were maintained with pindolol. Conversely, atenolol decreased the arm arterial flow index (−9.8 ± 5.6% decrease below baseline), but not significantly and with no change in resistance (+54 ± 62 mm Hg/liter/min). In the leg, atenolol did not significantly change the flow index (−1.9 ± 5.3% decrease below baseline) or vascular resistance (−19 ± 27 mm Hg/liter/min). These data confirm prior studies with other technologies which demonstrated that pindolol decreases Mood pressure by reducing vascular resistance while atenolol decreases cardiac function.
Parametric precedence relations in single machine scheduling

The paper provides a theoretical background to solve a variety of single machine scheduling problems with quadratic separable functions of completion times including waiting time and due date models. The approach is based on a parametric ordering as well as an adjacent precedence matrix concept. Rules are presented to decompose the problem into separate subproblems. Those rules are incorporated in a branch and bound procedure that also utilizes other properties of the precedence matrix. Necessary optimality conditions are given for two common due date models where lower bounds are not yet available.
Falsification and Grünbaum's Duhemian theses

This paper is a detailed critical study of Adolf Grunbaum's work on the Duhemian thesis. I show that (a) Grunbaum's geometrical counterexample to the (D1) subthesis is unsuccessful, even with minimal claims made for what the counterexample is supposed to show, and (b) the (D2) subthesis is not a reasonable one (and cannot correctly be attributed to Duhem). The paper concludes with an argument about the relation between the Duhemian thesis, concerning component hypotheses of a scientific theory, and the view that it is impossible to falsify entire theories conclusively.
Comparison of VGF and trk mRNA distributions in the developing and adult rat nervous systems

The vgf gene encodes a neuronal secretory-peptide precursor that is rapidly induced by neurotrophic growth factors and by depolarization in vitro. To gain insight into the possible functions and regulation of VGF in vivo, we characterized the expression of VGF messenger RNA (mRNA) by in situ hybridization, during development and in adult brain, and directly compared it to the distributions of mRNAs encoding neurotrophin receptors TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC. Overlap in VGF and trk mRNA expression exists, and though no trk mRNA was exclusively colocalized with VGF message, the best correlation was found between the distributions of the VGF and trkB kinase mRNAs.