cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Role of Food in the Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Introduction to a Manuscript Series

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are characterized by the presence of chronic or recurrent symptoms that are felt to originate from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which cannot be attributed to an identifiable structural or biochemical cause. Food is associated with symptom onset or exacerbation in a significant proportion of FGID patients. Despite this, the role of food in the pathogenesis of the FGIDs has remained poorly understood. For this reason, diet has largely played an adjunctive rather than a primary role in the management of FGID patients. In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion in our understanding of the role of food in GI function and sensation and how food relates to GI symptoms in FGID patients. In a series of evidence-based manuscripts produced by the Rome Foundation Working Group on the role of food in FGIDs, comprehensive reviews of the physiological changes associated with nutrient intake, and the respective roles of carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and fats are provided. The series concludes with a manuscript that provides guidance on proper clinical trial design when considering the role of food in FGIDs.
Galectin-4-mediated transcytosis of transferrin receptor

Some native epithelia, for example, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and kidney proximal tubule (KPT), constitutively lack the basolateral sorting adaptor AP-1B; this results in many basolateral plasma membrane proteins being repositioned to the apical domain, where they perform essential functions for their host organs. We recently reported the underlying apical polarity reversal mechanism: in the absence of AP-1B-mediated basolateral sorting, basolateral proteins are shuttled to the apical plasma membrane through a transcytotic pathway mediated by the plus-end kinesin KIF16B. Here, we demonstrate that this apical transcytotic pathway requires apical sorting of basolateral proteins, which is mediated by apical signals and galectin-4. Using RPE and KPT cell lines, and AP-1B-knockdown MDCK cells, we show that mutation of the N-glycan linked to N727 in the basolateral marker transferrin receptor (TfR) or knockdown of galectin-4 inhibits TfR transcytosis to apical recycling endosomes and the apical plasma membrane, and promotes TfR lysosomal targeting and subsequent degradation. Our results report a new role of galectins in basolateral to apical epithelial transcytosis.
Soil Compaction and Soybean Seedling Emergence

Soil compaction can cause nonuniform emergence and poor field stands. The effect of soil compaction on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seedling emergence in controlled (greenhouse or growth chamber) environments was evaluated using seed lots from six cultivars with high standard germination but variable seed vigor (accelerated aging test). Soil compaction treatments providing a range of compactive efforts (CE) were imposed after planting in near-cylindrical containers. As compaction increased from low (4.6 kJ m -3 CE) to high (22.9 kJ m-3 CE), emergence declined; however, high-vigor seed consistently emerged better than low-vigor seed. Emergence of high-vigor seed lots remained >80% until compaction increased to 13.7 kJ m -3 CE, while low-vigor seed lots had low emergence (<50%) even at the lowest compaction (4.6 kJ m-3 CE) level. Three seeds per container (spaced 3.81 cm apart) had consistently higher seedling emergence in compacted soil than one seed; however, seed size had no effect on emergence at any level of compaction. Seeds that did not emerge either germinated but remained under the soil crust or were dead (occurred more frequently in low-vigor seed lots). Seedling emergence at 15 or 20°C in the growth chamber was less than at 25°C, and the effect of compaction was enhanced at lower temperatures. Seed lots with high vigor provided adequate seedling emergence following moderate levels of soil compaction (4.6 and 9.2 kJ m-3 CE). Thus, planting high-vigor seed would be advantageous on soils that are susceptible to compaction.
Concealed target detection using augmented reality with SIRE radar

The Synchronous Impulse Reconstruction (SIRE) forward-looking radar, developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), can detect concealed targets using ultra-wideband synthetic aperture technology. The SIRE radar has been mounted on a Ford Expedition and combined with other sensors, including a pan/tilt/zoom camera, to test its capabilities of concealed target detection in a realistic environment. Augmented Reality (AR) can be used to combine the SIRE radar image with the live camera stream into one view, which provides the user with information that is quicker to assess and easier to understand than each separated. In this paper we present an AR system which utilizes a global positioning system (GPS) and inertial measurement unit (IMU) to overlay a SIRE radar image onto a live video stream. We describe a method for transforming 3D world points in the UTM coordinate system onto the video stream by calibrating for the intrinsic parameters of the camera. This calibration is performed offline to save computation time and achieve real time performance. Since the intrinsic parameters are affected by the zoom of the camera, we calibrate at eleven different zooms and interpolate. We show the results of a real time transformation of the SAR imagery onto the video stream. Finally, we quantify both the 2D error and 3D residue associated with our transformation and show that the amount of error is reasonable for our application.
Child Murder by Parents: A Psychiatric Review of Filicide

The author reviews 131 cases of child murder and proposes a new classification of filicide by apparent motive: altruistic, acutely psychotic, unwanted child, accidental, and spouse revenge. The high frequency of altruistic motives distinguishes filicide from other homicides. The psychodynamics of the filicidal impulse are explored: displacement of the murderer's original aggression from his parents, spouse, or sibling is documented. The author offers some considerations for prevention.
Electrical and mechanical properties of hot-pressed versus sintered LiTi2(PO4)3

Abstract The electrical and mechanical properties of hot-pressed versus sintered LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 were investigated. The hot-pressed LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 had a higher density and larger average grain size than the sintered material. As a result of these microstructural differences the hot-pressed material exhibited a higher total ionic conductivity and lower hardness. The electronic conductivity of both materials was the same and increased by a factor of about 10 7 when the hot-pressed and sintered materials were heated under a reducing atmosphere.
Radicals in the Reaction between Peroxynitrite and Uric Acid Identified by Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

Peroxynitrite is a reactive oxidant produced in vivo in response to oxidative and other stress by the diffusion-limited reaction of nitric oxide and superoxide. This article is focused on the identification of free radical intermediates of uric acid formed during its reaction with peroxynitrite. The experimental approach included the ESR spin trapping of the radical generated from the reaction between uric acid and peroxynitrite at pH 7.4 and mass spectrometry studies of the trapped radicals. Using PBN (N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone) as the spin trapping agent, a six-line ESR spectrum was obtained and its hyperfine coupling constants, a(N)=15.6 G and a(H)=4.4 G, revealed the presence of carbon-based radicals. Further structural identification of the PBN-radical adducts was carried out using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. After comparison with the control reactions, two species were identified that correspond to the protonated molecules (M+1) at m/z 352 and 223, respectively. The ions of m/z 352 were characterized as the PBN-triuretcarbonyl radical adduct and the m/z 223 ion was identified as the PBN-aminocarbonyl radical adduct. Their mechanism of formation is discussed.
Sensory aphasia after closed head injury

A 51-year-old, right-handed male injured his head when drunk. After an initial mute state lasting for several hours, he exhibited fluent aphasia, impaired word finding, some verbal paraphasia and impaired verbal comprehension. A CT scan revealed a contusion in the left anterior temporal lobe. He was treated conservatively, and at the follow-up 6 months later, his sensory aphasia had recovered well. The relationship between closed head trauma and aphasia is reviewed with special attention to its nature and clinical course.
Familial Autoimmunity: Maternal Parent-of-Origin Effect in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is an autoimmune (AI) disease characterized by chronic arthritis in children. Children with JIA have increased prevalence of other AI diseases. Furthermore, relatives of children with JIA have been shown to have an increased prevalence of AI diseases. Our objective was to determine if there were differences in the prevalence of AI diseases among maternal and paternal relatives of children with JIA. Information about AI diseases among all living first- and second-degree relatives was collected by structured interviews with families of 121 simplex JIA families, 23 multiplex JIA families, and 45 control families. Overall, the prevalence of AI diseases was significantly increased among maternal second-degree relatives of cases compared to that of maternal second-degree relatives of controls [14% vs. 4.3%; p < 0.001]. The prevalence of AI diseases among mothers of JIA cases was three times that of fathers [32.3% vs. 11.4%; p < 0.0001]. The prevalence of AI diseases among all maternal second-degree relatives of children with JIA was significantly higher than that of all paternal second-degree relatives [14% vs. 7.9%; p < 0.004]. Although additional paternal effects cannot be excluded, together these results demonstrate that maternal relatives of children with JIA have an increased prevalence of autoimmunity compared to paternal relatives, suggesting that there might be a maternal parent-of-origin effect in JIA.
A specific inhibitor of apoptosis decreases tissue injury after intestinal ischemia-reperfusion in mice☆☆☆

Abstract Purpose: Apoptosis is a stereotypical pathway of cell death that is orchestrated by a family of cysteine endoproteases called caspases. This study examined the effect of apoptosis inhibition with a specific caspase inhibitor on murine intestinal viability after ischemia-reperfusion (IR). Methods: C57Bl6 X SV129 mice underwent segmental small bowel ischemia by vascular isolation of 10 cm of terminal ileum. In separate experiments, the ischemic time was varied from 30 to 130 minutes with a reperfusion interval of 6 hours. The degree of small bowel injury was quantified from 1 to 5 (increasing severity) by standardized, blinded histologic grading. The degree of apoptosis was assessed with a specific assay (terminal deoxyamcleotydil transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling [TUNEL]) and quantified by calculating the apoptotic index (apoptotic cells/10 high-power fields). To evaluate for activation of interleukin-1β converting enzyme we measured tissue mature interleukin-1β levels using a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To evaluate the effect of apoptosis inhibition on intestinal viability after IR, mice received 3.0 mg of the caspase inhibitor ZVAD (N-benzyloxycarbonyl Val-Ala-Asp-Ome-fluoromethylketone) subcutaneously before and after IR in five divided doses (n = 11), the same dose of ZFA (N-benzyloxycarbonyl Phe-Ala fluoromethylketone), a structurally similar molecule with no anticaspase activity (n = 9), or sham operation (n = 6). Results: A linear relationship existed between ischemic interval and histologic grade ( r = 0.69, P P = .05). Ischemic bowel was measured to have an average of 57.3 ± 7.8 pg/mL whereas normal bowel had an average of 1.8 ± 0.5 pg/mL of mature interleukin-1β present. Mice tolerated multiple injections of ZVAD and ZFA without signs of toxicity. Animals treated with ZVAD (apoptosis inhibitor) had little injury after 50 minutes of ischemia and 6 hours of reperfusion (injury grade 1.8) compared with sham controls (injury grade 1.2, P = .7) and had significantly less injury than mice treated with ZFA (placebo) (injury grade 3.0, P Conclusions: Increasing ischemic interval in a segmental small bowel murine IR model is associated with increased histologic injury and augmented apoptosis as evidenced by increased TUNEL staining and interleukin-1β converting enzyme activation. Inhibition of apoptosis with a specific caspase inhibitor significantly diminishes the degree of small bowel injury. (J Vasc Surg 1999;30:752-60.)
Population Genetics of Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) Subspecies along the Gulf of Mexico

Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) along the Gulf of Mexico are currently recognized as four subspecies, including taxa in Florida (A. m. juncicola and A. m. peninsulae) and southern Texas (Ammodramus m. sennetti), plus a widespread taxon between them (A. m. fisheri). We examined population genetic structure of this “Gulf Coast” clade using microsatellite and mtDNA data. Results of Bayesian analyses (Structure, GeneLand) of microsatellite data from nine locations do not entirely align with current subspecific taxonomy. Ammodramus m. sennetti from southern Texas is significantly differentiated from all other populations, but we found evidence of an admixture zone with A. m. fisheri near Corpus Christi. The two subspecies along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida are significantly differentiated from both A. m. sennetti and A. m. fisheri, but are not distinct from each other. We found a weak signal of isolation by distance within A. m. fisheri, indicating this population is not entirely panmictic throughout its range. Although continued conservation concern is warranted for all populations along the Gulf Coast, A. m. fisheri appears to be more secure than the far smaller populations in south Texas and the northern Florida Gulf Coast. In particular, the most genetically distinct populations, those in Texas south of Corpus Christi, occupy unique habitats within a very small geographic range.
Nonlinear Traveltime Inversion of Cross-Well Seismics A: Minimum Structure Approach

This work introduces a method for performing nonlinear traveltime inversion of cross-well seismic data using a minimum structure approach. Nonlinear inversion reconstructs a velocity model which satisfies the observed data (in this case, first arrival times) in a physically meaningful way, i.e. the traveltimes are fit over minimum time ray paths through the reconstructed model. The term “minimum structure” refers to the manner in which the model is constrained, or regularized. Instead of choosing a coarse model parameterization to provide for a well-constrained problem, we apply Tikhonov regularization to constrain its spatial roughness. Computationally, we bring together standard nonlinear programming techniques, a fast and efficient ray tracing scheme, and a straightforward implementation of these algorithms to a parallel (MIMD) computer architecture. Instead of posing the nonlinear inversion as a series of linearized inversions, we employ a quasi-Newton method directly in the solution, affording better convergence properties. Single-source/multiple-receiver ray tracing, in which each source is mapped to a processor in the hypercube, comprises the bulk of the computation. Using synthetic first arrival times we demonstrate several aspects of the nonlinear inversion, including the regularizing effects of the minimum structure inversion and its insensitivity to the model sampling. We have also begun to apply this algorithm to traveltimes picked from MIT’s Michigan field data.
Influence of particle size on the vibration of plates loaded with granular material

Acoustic methods of land mine detection rely on the vibrations of the top plate of the mine in response to sound. For granular soil (e.g., sand), it is expected that particle size will influence the mine response. This hypothesis is studied experimentally using a plate loaded with dry sand of various sizes from hundreds of microns to a few millimeters. For low values of sand mass, the plate resonance decreases and eventually reaches a minimum without particle size dependence. After the minimum, the frequency increase with additional mass includes a particle-size effect. Analytical continuum models for granular media applied to this problem do not accurately capture the particle-size effect. In addition, a continuum-based finite element model (FEM) of a two-layer plate is used with the sand layer replaced by an equivalent elastic layer. For a given thickness of the sand layer and corresponding experimental resonance, an inverse FEM problem is solved iteratively. The effective Young's modulus and bending stiffness of the equivalent elastic layer that match the experimental frequency are found for every layer thickness. Smaller particle sizes are shown to be more compliant in bending. The results clarify the importance of particle size on acoustic detection methods.
A method of resolving data into two maximally smooth components

An algorithm is described which resolves data into maximally smooth components given some knowledge of the relative behavior of these components. The algorithm is used to analyze the specific problem of resolving frequency-domain scattering data from a complex target into two components associated with different areas of the target. The resulting matrix problem is not only well conditioned but also amenable to extremely rapid solution.
Computations of sheaves associated to the representation theory of sl2

Abstract We explicitly compute examples of sheaves over the projectivization of the spectrum of the cohomology of sl 2 . In particular, we compute ker Θ M for every indecomposable M and we compute F i ( M ) when M is an indecomposable Weyl module and i ≠ p . We also give a brief review of the classification of sl 2 -modules and of the general theory of such sheaves in the case of a restricted Lie algebra.
Response variability for a structure with soil-structure interactions and uncertain soil properties

Abstract A non-classical modal analysis based formulation is used to quantify the effect of uncertain soil-foundation properties on structural response in seismically excited soil–structure interacting (SSI) systems. This formulation allows the response of the interacting system to be represented as a superposition of the responses of uncoupled modal equations which include an additional random vector to represent the system uncertainties. The method is implemented by an effective Gaussian quadrature integration method to find the frequency-domain stochastic response properties of the SSI systems. Numerical examples of MDOF SSI systems illustrate that the main effect of uncertain soil properties on such SSI systems is to alter the magnitudes of modal response near the system resonant frequencies, rather than to shift the resonant frequencies. When the uncertainty of soil-foundation properties is not negligible, there may be significant variations of the transfer functions for modal response and significant uncertainty about the spectral density of structural response may occur near the system’s resonant frequencies.
Reconfigurable computing for learning Bayesian networks

Learning the structure of Bayesian networks(BNs) is known to be NP-complete and most of the recent work in the field is based on heuristics. Many recent approaches to the problem trade correctness and exactness for faster computation and are still computationally infeasible, except for networks with few variables. In this paper we present a software/hardware co-design approach to learning Bayesian networks from experimental data that is scalable to very large networks. Our implementation improves the performance of algorithms that are traditionally developed based on the Von Neumann computing paradigm by more than four orders of magnitude. Through parallel implementation and exploitation of the reconfigurability of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) systems our design enables scientists to apply BN learning techniques to large problems such as studies in molecular biology where the number of variables in the system overwhelms any state of the art software implementations. We describe how we combine Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling with Bayesian network learning techniques as well as supervised learning methods in a parallel and scalable design. We also present how our design is mapped and customized to run on the Berkeley Emulation Engine 2 (BEE2) multi-FPGA system. Experimental results are presented on synthetic data sets generated from standard Bayesian networks as well as a real life problem in the context of systems biology
Reactions of the A-frame-like monocarbonyl complexes Re2(μ-X)(μ-dppm)2X3(CO) (X = Cl or Br; dppm = Ph2PCH2PPh2) with trimethylphosphine and trialkylphosphite ligands. The structural characterization of [Re2(μ-Cl)(μ-CO)(μ-dppm)2Cl2(PMe3)2]Cl

Abstract The 1:1 carbonyl adduct Re2Cl4(dppm)2(CO) reacts with PMe3 in CH2Cl2 at room temperature to afford the green diamagnetic complex [Re2Cl3(dppm)2(CO)(PMe3)2]Cl. When similar reactions are carried out in the presence of NaBPh4 or TlPF6, with THF or CH2Cl2 as the reaction solvents, respectively, the salts [Re2Cl3(dppm)2(CO)(PMe3)2]X (X = BPh4 or PF6) are produced. Similar procedures have been used to prepare the bromo-derivative [Re2Br3(dppm)2(CO)(PMe3)2]PF6, and the phosphite complexes {Re2Cl3(dppm)2(CO)[P(OR)3]2}PF6 (R = Me or Et). IR spectroscopy shows that the CO ligand is bridging the two metal centres (ν(CO) ca 1635 cm−1 for the PMe3 complexes and ca 1680 cm−1 for the P(OR)3 derivatives). This conclusion has been confirmed by a crystal structure determination on [Re2Cl3(dppm)2(CO)(PMe3)2]Cl·1/2CH2Cl2. The crystallographic data are as follows: triclinic space group P1, a = 13.261(1), b = 19.246(2), c = 11.860(2) A, α = 97.57(1), β = 98.98(1), γ = 79.08(1)°, V = 2919(1) A3 and Z = 2. The structure was refined to R = 0.043 (Rw = 0.056) for 5949 data with I > 3.0σ(I). The dirhenium cation has the structure of an edge-shared bioctahedron with virtual C2ν symmetry. There is a trans disposition of bridging dppm ligands. The equatorial plane contains a bridging carbonyl and a bridging chloride ligand. The three chloride ligands are in an all-cis arrangement to one another on one side of this plane; the two PMe3 ligands are cis to the μ-CO ligand. The ReRe distance is 2.602(1) A.
Deletion diagnostics for generalised estimating equations

SUMMARY Deletion diagnostics are proposed for generalised estimating equations. The diagnostics consider leverage and residuals to measure the influence of a subset of observations on the estimated regression parameters and on the estimated values of the linear predictor. Computational formulae are provided which correspond to the influence of a single observation and of an entire cluster of correlated observations. Additionally, diagnostics are given which approximate the effect of deletion of an arbitrary subset of observations under a model with general covariance structure and arbitrary link function, extending Proposition 3 of Christensen, Pearson & Johnson (1992). The proposed measures are applied to medical data.
Health as Human Capital and its Impact on Economic Performance

Health is a key component of an individual’s welfare and standard of living. Sickness and ill health, and the risk of death, are central issues in shaping human capabilities and behavior. There is therefore a strong argument for health spending on the grounds that it has a direct effect on human wellbeing and happiness. The market for health is special and the provision of health often requires a large element of involvement by government. Infectious diseases have obvious externalities that create a large public interest in their control. In addition, the uncertainty of the occurrence of ill health, and the large medical bills that it may lead to, creates a need for insurance or borrowing to finance health expenditures. However, market failure is common in health, insurance and credit markets, often due to differences in information between the market provider and the customer. Government regulation and intervention in health, in an effort to overcome these market failures, is widespread. When individuals purchase goods they make a trade-off between the benefits they receive and the cost of the good. One drawback of government provision is that it must decide on the right level of spending on health, though it often lacks direct knowledge of health benefits. In developing countries the most effective methods of improving health require public sector involvement. In developing countries the main cause of ill health and premature mortality are infectious diseases. These can be tackled effectively through the provision of clean water and sanitation systems and wide scale vaccination programs. Such preventative public health measures can have a very large impact on the transmission of infectious disease, in many cases leading to the eradication of the disease. However, developing countries have limited budgets and there are many sectors in which there is a need for government spending. In particular, there is a strong case that poorer countries should concentrate their government spending on investment that leads to economic growth; spending on current consumption may lead to welfare gains today but does nothing to cure the long-term problems of poverty. Government spending on education, transport and communication infrastructure, and on legal institutions that ensure personal security and property rights can be shown to have a positive impact on economic growth. It can be argued that spending on health delays such investments and so hampers economic growth.
Anxiety sensitivity and worry

Abstract Anxiety sensitivity (AS), the fear of one’s response to anxiety provoking stimuli, has been correlated with anxiety disorders and has been theorized to be a risk factor in the development of anxiety disorders. Consistent with prior research ( Dugas, Gosselin, & Ladouceur, 2001 ) it was hypothesized that AS and varying levels of worry share an underlying feature of anxiety specifically related to a perceived lack of control over future events, with a resultant emphasis on negative potential outcomes. In this study, the association between AS, overall distress, pathological worry, and non-pathological worry was investigated in a sample of 342 undergraduate volunteers. Results indicated that AS was significantly correlated with the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the Worry Domain Questionnaire, and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised. AS was a significant predictor of worry, even after factoring out overall distress, although the incremental amount of explained variance was small. Thus, AS and worry have more in common than distress. We speculate that the common element is a tendency to focus on the uncertainty of the future.
Variations in myelin and oligodendrocyte-related gene expression across multiple brain regions in schizophrenia: A gene ontology study

Large-scale gene expression studies in schizophrenia (SZ) have generally focused on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Studies of other brain regions have been less frequent and have rarely been performed in the same subjects. We analyzed postmortem gene expression in multiple cortical regions (Brodmann areas 8, 10, 44, 46, 23/31, 24/32, 20, 21, 22, 36/28, 7 and 17, respectively) as well as in the hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and putamen of 13 SZ and 13 control subjects using Affymetrix GeneChip(R) microarrays. The superior temporal cortex (BA22) and cingulate cortices (BA24/32, 23/31) of subjects with SZ demonstrated more profound alterations of gene expression than other brain regions compared to controls [Katsel, P., Davis, K.L., Gorman, J.M., Haroutunian, V., in press. Variations in differential gene expression patterns across multiple brain regions in schizophrenia. Schizophr. Res.]. Functional categorization of genes whose expression was altered revealed multiple gene ontology classes that included oligodendrocyte/myelin-related genes. These myelin-related ontologies were among the top scored categories in temporal and cingulate gyri and in the hippocampus relative to other brain regions. The most altered transcripts in SZ were those encoding for proteins involved in determination of glial differentiation, myelin structure and adhesion proteins participating in axoglial contacts. Hierarchical clustering demonstrated that these myelin-related gene expression abnormalities in SZ were most pronounced in the hippocampus, superior temporal and cingulate cortices. The high representation of abnormally expressed oligodendrocyte/myelin genes in brain regions with the largest numbers of abnormally expressed genes in SZ confirmed their involvement in the disease process and suggested that the integrity of axon-myelin interaction may be impaired in SZ.
Ca2+-Induced Ca2+ Release in the Pancreatic β-Cell: Direct Evidence of Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ Release

The role of the Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release channel (ryanodine receptor) in MIN6 pancreatic beta-cells was investigated. An endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-targeted "cameleon" was used to report lumenal free Ca(2+). Depolarization of MIN6 cells with KCl led to release of Ca(2+) from the ER. This ER Ca(2+) release was mimicked by treatment with the ryanodine receptor agonists caffeine and 4-chloro-m-cresol, reversed by voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel antagonists and blocked by treatment with antagonistic concentrations of ryanodine. The depolarization-induced rise in cytoplasmic Ca(2+) was also inhibited by ryanodine, which did not alter voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel activation. Both ER and cytoplasmic Ca(2+) changes induced by depolarization occurred in a dose-dependent manner. Glucose caused a delayed rise in cytoplasmic Ca(2+) but no detectable change in ER Ca(2+). Carbamyl choline caused ER Ca(2+) release, a response that was not altered by ryanodine. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release augments cytoplasmic Ca(2+) signals in pancreatic beta-cells.
Irreconcilable Narratives and Overlapping Consensus The Jewish State and the Palestinian Right of Return

The Israeli demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and the Palestinian demand that Israelis recognize the Palestinian refugees’ moral right to return express the two peoples’ need to have their respective causes affirmed by the “other side.” Yet, the two causes are irreconcilable as are the core political narratives that give them meaning. The question then arises as to whether an end to the conflict can even be conceptualized, let alone implemented, with the two peoples adhering to their core narratives and expecting affirmation of their respective causes. This paper’s argument is that John Rawls’ later work contains resources that allow for such a conceptualization. An overlapping consensus over a list of common acknowledgments is possible between adherents to the two peoples’ core narratives. In that list, which is proposed in the paper, each of the two peoples can see its cause implicitly affirmed and its need for recognition met, without having to abandon i...
A Social Interaction Model For Crime Hot Spots

A common feature of mapped crime patterns is a strong spatial and temporal clustering into crime “hot spots”. In this paper we explore a social interaction model for the evolution of the attractiveness of the crime environment for criminal activity. We see how hot spots may arise when the idiosyncratic attractiveness of the environment is not encouraging for criminal activity. The stability of these hot spots is determined to depend on both the size of the hot spot and the social interaction function itself.
A closer look at attention to detail

Beyond communications, interpersonal, and leadership skills, there's another `non-technical skill' fundamental to success in IT.
Ga-68-DOTATOC: Feasibility of high throughput screening by small animal PET using a clinical high-resolution PET/CT scanner

As radio peptide tracers have been developed in recent years for the high sensitive detection of neuroendocrine tumors, still the broad application of other peptides to breast and prostate cancer is missing. A rapid screening of new peptides can, in theory, be based on in vivo screening in animals by PET/CT. To test this hypothesis and to asses the minimum screening time needed per animal, we used the application of Ga-68-DOTATOC PET/CT in rats as test system. The Ga-68-DOTATOC yields in a hot spot imaging with minimal background. To delineate liver and spleen, we performed PET/CT of 10 animals on a SIEMENS Biograph 16 LSO HIGHREZ after intravenous injection of 1.5 MBq Ga-68-DOTATOC per animal. Animals were mounted in an ‘18 slot’ holding device and scanned for a single-bed position. The emission times for the PET scan was varied from 1 to 20 min. The images were assessed first for ‘‘PET only’’ and afterwards in PET/CT fusion mode. The detection of the two organs was good at emission times down to 1 min in PET/CT fusion mode. In the ‘‘PET only’’ scans, the liver was clearly to be identified down to 1 min emission in all animals. But the spleen could only be delineated only by 1 min of emission in the PET/CT-fusion mode. In conclusion the screening of ‘‘hot spot’’ enriching peptides is feasible. ‘‘PET only’’ is in terms of delineation of small organs by far inferior to PET/CT fusion. If animal tumors are above a diameter of 10 mm small, animal PET/CT using clinical high resolution scanners will enable rapid screening. Even the determination of bio-distributions becomes feasible by using list mode tools. The time for the whole survey of 18 animals including anesthesia, preparation and mounting was approximately 20 min. By use of several holding devices mounted simultaneously, a survey time of less than 1 h for 180 animals can be expected. r 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.
A methodology for evaluating range image segmentation techniques

This paper describes a definition of the range image segmentation (of polyhedral scenes) problem, a data set to use in evaluation, a method for specifying ground truth, and a set of metrics to classify segmentation results against ground truths. >
Mitigating the effect of noise in the hybrid input-output method of phase retrieval.

Here a modification to the hybrid input–output (HIO) method of phase retrieval is presented which aides in mitigating the negative effects of low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Various type of interferometers measure diffraction patterns which are used to determine the Fourier transform modulus of an objective. Interferometry often suffers from very low SNRs making phase retrieval difficult because of the sensitivity of most phase retrieval algorithms to local minima. Here we analyze the effect of noise on the HIO method. The result is used as a rationale for the proposed modification to the HIO method. The algorithm presented here introduces a filtering scheme which removes much of the Fourier modulus noise. Examples are shown and the results are compared to the HIO method with and without the proposed modification. Comparisons are also made to other methods of filtering the Fourier modulus noise.
Urethral afferent nerve activity affects the micturition reflex; implication for the relationship between stress incontinence and detrusor instability.

AbstractPurpose: A causative relationship between stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and detrusor instability has been suspected but never proven. Many women with mixed incontinence have resolution of detrusor instability after surgical correction of SUI. We sought experimental support that stimulation of urethral afferent nerves can induce or change reflex detrusor contractions.Materials and Methods: Urethral perfusion pressure and isovolumetric bladder pressure were measured with catheters inserted through the bladder dome in urethane anesthetized female S.D. rats (250 to 300 grams; n = 12). The catheter assembly was seated securely in the bladder neck to block passage of fluid between the bladder and urethra without affecting the nerve supply to the organs. The external urethra was not catheterized. Responses were examined in the control state at a urethral saline perfusion speed of 0.075 ml. per minute. Intraurethral drugs were administered following blockade of striated sphincter activity with intrave...
Insm1 promotes the transition of olfactory progenitors from apical and proliferative to basal, terminally dividing and neuronogenic

Background Insm1 is a zinc-finger transcription factor transiently expressed throughout the developing nervous system in late progenitors and nascent neurons. Insm1 is also highly expressed in medulloblastomas and other neuroendocrine tumors.
Water droplet calibration of the Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP) and in-flight performance in liquid, ice and mixed-phase clouds during ARCPAC

Abstract. Laboratory calibrations of the Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP) sample area and droplet sizing are performed using water droplets of known size, generated at a known rate. Although calibrations with PSL and glass beads were consistent with theoretical instrument response, liquid water droplet calibrations were not, and necessitated a 2 μm shift in the manufacturer's calibration. We show that much of this response shift may be attributable to a misalignment of the optics relative to the axis of the laser beam. Comparison with an independent measure of liquid water content (LWC) during in-flight operation suggests much greater biases in the droplet size and/or droplet concentration measured by the CDP than would be expected based on the laboratory calibrations. Since the bias in CDP-LWC is strongly concentration dependent, we hypothesize that this discrepancy is a result of coincidence, when two or more droplets pass through the CDP laser beam within a very short time. The coincidence error, most frequently resulting from the passage of one droplet outside and one inside the instrument sample area at the same time, is evaluated in terms of an "extended sample area" (SAE), the area in which individual droplets can affect the sizing detector without necessarily registering on the qualifier. SAE is calibrated with standardized water droplets, and used in a Monte-Carlo simulation to estimate the effect of coincidence on the measured droplet size distributions. The simulations show that extended coincidence errors are important for the CDP at droplet concentrations even as low as 200 cm−3, and these errors are necessary to explain the trend between calculated and measured LWC observed in liquid and mixed-phase clouds during the Aerosol, Radiation and Cloud Processes Affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC) study. We estimate from the simulations that 60% oversizing error and 50% undercounting error can occur at droplet concentrations exceeding 400 cm−3. Modification of the optical design of the CDP is currently being explored in an effort to reduce this coincidence bias.
Syphilis as a Cause of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm.

In 2009, we described morphologic findings in 22 patients having resection of an ascending aortic aneurysm in the previous 11 years at the Baylor University Medical Center, and histologic examination of the aneurysmal wall disclosed classic findings of syphilitic aortitis. The major purpose of that extensively illustrated report was to describe the characteristic gross features of the aneurysm such that syphilitic aortitis might be better recognized at operation and appropriate antibiotics administered postoperatively. The aim of the present study was to emphasize that syphilis remains a major cause of ascending aortic aneurysm. From January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2014, we studied additional 23 patients who had resection of an ascending aortic aneurysm that again histologically had classic features of syphilitic aortitis. All 23 patients were found to have syphilitic aortitis grossly and histologically. The aneurysm involved the ascending portion of aorta in all 23, the arch portion in 12, and the descending thoracic portion in 10. In conclusion, syphilis has far from disappeared. It remains a major cause of ascending aortic aneurysm.
Revaluing Social Work in Home Care: Lessons From Innovators, Rebels, and Hospice:

The Medicare and Medicaid home health benefits are extensive programs covering more than 4 million persons, costing $13 billion annually. However, these benefits have limited social work coverage, representing only 1% to 2% of all Medicare and Medicaid home health visits, and social work is not a required service under Medicaid. There has been limited research addressing home care social workers' frustrations with unmet patient needs but no research on coping strategies social workers use to deal with the devalued status of social work in home care. This article presents the results of an interview-based pilot study of the topic, using a convenience sample of 14 home care social workers in New York City interviewed in 2006. Policy makers and practitioners should take guidance from the innovator and rebel social work types and from the Hospice Medicare Benefit and create a more robust social work—based psychosocial care component in Medicare and Medicaid home health care.
Fast Maximum Likelihood Sequence Detection Over Vector Intersymbol Interference Channels

We consider the communication system that transmits a sequence of binary vector symbols over a vector intersymbol interference (ISI) channels subject to additive white Gaussian noise. Conventionally, maximum likelihood (ML) sequence is computed using the Viterbi algorithm (VA), whose complexity scales exponentially in both the symbol vector length and the number of ISI channel taps. We show that, as the signal to noise ratio (SNR) goes to infinity, the ML sequence can be obtained with an asymptotic complexity scaling linearly in the number of channel taps and quadratically in the symbol vector length.
Egg parasitoids of Megamelus spp. (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) in Argentina

 ABSTRACT. Egg parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae, Mymaridae, and Platygastridae) of Megamelus spp. (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) in Argentina are reviewed and keyed. Four new species are described: Anagrus (Anagrus) empanadus Triapitsyn, sp. nov. (Mymaridae, parasitoid of M. scutellaris Berg feeding on water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Martius) Solms-Laubach, Aprostocetus (Ootetrastichus) riverplaticus Triapitsyn, sp. nov. (Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae, parasitoid of M. bellicus Marino de Remes Lenicov & Sosa), A. (Ootetrastichus) yerbamatei Triapitsyn, sp. nov. (parasitoid of M. bellicus, M. scutellaris and Megamelus sp.), all from Buenos Aires Province (A. (Ootetrastichus) yerbamatei also occurs in Formosa Province), and Parascelio sabcli Triapitsyn, sp. nov. (Platygastridae: Scelioninae, parasitoid
Axial mitochondrial myopathy in a patient with rapidly progressive adult-onset scoliosis

Axial myopathy can be the underlying cause of rapidly progressive adult-onset scoliosis; however, the pathogenesis of this disorder remains poorly understood. Here we present a case of a 69-year old woman with a family history of scoliosis affecting both her mother and her son, who over 4 years developed rapidly progressive scoliosis. The patient had a history of stable scoliosis since adolescence that worsened significantly at age 65, leading to low back pain and radiculopathy. Paraspinal muscle biopsy showed morphologic evidence of a mitochondrial myopathy. Diagnostic deficiencies of electron transport chain enzymes were not detected using standard bioassays, but mitochondrial immunofluorescence demonstrated many muscle fibers totally or partially deficient for complexes I, III, IV-I, and IV-IV. Massively parallel sequencing of paraspinal muscle mtDNA detected multiple deletions as well as a 40.9% heteroplasmic novel m.12293G > A (MT-TL2) variant, which changes a G:C pairing to an A:C mispairing in the anticodon stem of tRNA LeuCUN. Interestingly, these mitochondrial abnormalities were not detected in the blood of either the patient or her son, suggesting that the patient’s rapidly progressive late onset scoliosis was due to the acquired paraspinal mitochondrial myopathy; the cause of non-progressive scoliosis in the other two family members currently remains unexplained. Notably, this case illustrates that isolated mitochondrial myopathy can underlie rapidly-progressive adult-onset scoliosis and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the primary axial myopathy.
Single-agent parallel window search

Parallel window search is applied to single-agent problems by having different processes simultaneously perform iteration of Iterative-Deepening-A* (IDA*) on the same problem but with different cost thresholds. This approach is limited by the time to perform the goal iteration. To overcome this disadvantage, the authors consider node ordering. They discuss how global node ordering by minimum h among nodes with equal f=g+h values can reduce the time complexity of serial IDA* by reducing the time to perform the iterations prior to the goal iteration. Finally, the two ideas of parallel window search and node ordering are combined to eliminate the weaknesses of each approach while retaining the strengths. The resulting approach, called simply parallel window search, can be used to find a near-optimal solution quickly, improve the solution until it is optimal, and then finally guarantee optimality, depending on the amount of time available. >
Familial cavernous angiomas: Natural history and genetic study over a 5‐year period

In a kindred of 122 individuals we found 5 individuals with cerebral vascular malformation, 3 representing typical cavernous angiomas. The condition was inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with variable expressivity. Forty-three relatives were examined prospectively by cranial computed tomography (CCT) and lesions were found in 15; 7 were followed prospectively with CCT scans for 5 years. Angiography in 5 of these cases failed to demonstrate the lesion. In 3 patients with previously normal CCT scans a change in blood volume or membrane permeability allowed visualization of the lesion on contrast scans. In 2 individuals, both parents of affected children, a normal CCT scan was found. This emphasizes the limitations of CCT in detecting this disorder. Biochemical and red blood cell immunological genetic linkage studies were done in 36 persons. No linkage was found with any of the markers. The natural history of this disorder, characterized by marked clinical and radiographic variation in site of lesion, and the timing and severity of intracranial hemorrhage, make it a useful model for investigating contributing factors and consequences of intracranial hemorrhage in general. For at-risk and affected patients early and sequential CCTs are necessary. Familial cavernous angioma should be included in the differential diagnosis of all young persons presenting with cerebrovascular impairment, seizures, intracranial calcifications or hemorrhage.
Mechanisms for conduction via low-frequency noise measurements of high-T/sub c/ thin-film microbridges

We have investigated possible mechanisms for conduction in high-T/sub c/ thin-film microbridges biased into the voltage state via the low-frequency noise properties. Measurements on thinned YBCO microbridges indicate that the voltage noise power spectral density S/sub V/(f) is proportional to the DC voltage . >