cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Release of heat shock proteins (Hsps) and the effects of extracellular Hsps on neural cells and tissues.

Hsps were long thought to be cytoplasmic proteins with functions restricted to the intra-cellular compartment. However, an increasing number of observations show that they can be released into the extra-cellular space and can then have a wide variety of affects on other cells. The mechanism of release remains unknown, but may involve the shedding of exosomes, which are vesicles containing cytoplasmic constituents. In the nervous system, it appears that glial cells can release the 70 kD Hsps and that neurons exposed to extra-cellular Hsps are more likely to survive injury than their naive counterparts. These phenomena have great potential significance in the development of neuroprotective therapeutic strategies utilizing the heat shock protein response.
The Adolescent Parent: One Approach to Teaching Child Care and Giving Support

To answer the need for more sensitive support and better child cure teaching for adolescent mothers, a project of maternal-child health care, education, und day-care facilities serving a metropolitan high school was implemented. The author discusses the national and local situations that demonstrated the need for such services, the development and organization of the services in the specific content, and some of the results that were observed in that context.
Rare occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in oocyte donors.

Objectives: To define the incidence and severity of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) occurring in oocyte donors. Methods: Women (n = 149) aged 31.3 ± 4.8 years (mean ± S.D., range 21–41 years) participated as designated oocyte donors and underwent 400 consecutive cycles of controlled ovarian stimulation using human menopausal gonadotropin following pituitary downregulation with gonadotropin-releasing agonist. Patients were monitored by serial transvaginal ultrasound examinations and serum estradiol (E2) determinations. Oocytes (15.6 ± 7.5 per aspiration; range 2–57) were harvested by ultrasound-directed transvaginal follicle aspiration 36 h following the intramuscular injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Follow-up examination occurred 1 and 2 weeks post-aspiration. Results: On the day of hCG injection E2 levels ranged from 512 to 13 502 pg/ml (mean 2902.7 ± 1486.9 pg/ml). Over the next few weeks the degree of hyperstimulation in donors was staged: mild 65% (grade I, n = 98; grade II, n = 162); moderate 33.5% (grade III, n = 120; grade IV, n = 14); severe 1.5% (grade V, n = 6; grade VI, n = 0). Associated preaspiration E2 levels were: grade I, 1120 ± 424 pg/ml; grade II, 2084 ± 613 pg/ml; grade III, 3785 ± 1713 pg/ml; grade IV, 5370 ± 1264 pg/ml; grade V, 4286 ± 1100 pg/ml. Worsening OHSS was associated with increasing levels of E2. There were no serious complications and hospitalization was not required. All symptoms resolved within 30 days of aspiration, disappearing by the time of the first menstrual flow in women of grade-III or lower stage. Conclusion: Although oocyte donors commonly experienced exaggerated levels of serum E2 they rarely (<2%) developed severe OHSS. This may be attributable to their lack of embryo transfer which avoids exacerbating the illness.
Gastric epithelial dysplasia: The Western perspective

The need for early diagnosis of gastric cancer is emphasized by the fact that gastric cancer remains the second most common cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. The aggressive surveillance and definite therapy for low and high-grade dysplasia, which can be achieved endoscopic means, remains the cornerstone of clinical management. Although the precursor status of dysplasia is not contested, its classification is controversial and fraught with marked inter-observer variations. Most cases of gastric dysplasia have an "intestinal" phenotype referred to as adenomatous dysplasia. Hyperplastic (type II dysplasia) is another less common variant. The progression of dysplasia to carcinoma is paralleled by a stepwise accumulation of multiple, but yet uncertain, genetic abnormalities. There are no immunohistochemical or molecular assays that can stratify with certainty the risk of progression to cancer. Given the low rate of transformation of low-grade dysplasia, annual endoscopic surveillance with re-biopsy is advocated. A diagnosis of indefinite for dysplasia should also prompt endoscopic surveillance. A diagnosis of high-grade dysplasia is more ominous, since it progress to cancer in most cases. However, the novel imaging and endoscopic modalities have modified management strategies with mucosal lesions amenable to endoscopic resection, while surgical resection is reserved to invasive adenocarcinoma with submucosal invasion.
Risk factors for developing thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy among individuals with Graves disease.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this longitudinal cohort study, all beneficiaries 18 years of age or older with newly diagnosed GD who were continuously enrolled in a large nationwide US managed care network and who visited an eye care professional 1 or more times from 2001 to 2009 were identified. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification billing codes were used to identify those who developed manifestations of TAO. Multivariable Cox regression was used to determine the hazard of developing TAO among persons with newly diagnosed GD, with adjustment for sociodemographic factors, systemic medical conditions, thyrotropin levels, and medical and surgical interventions for management of hyperthyroidism. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Manifestations of TAO measured by hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs. RESULTS Of 8404 patients with GD who met the inclusion criteria, 740 (8.8%) developed TAO (mean follow-up, 374 days since initial GD diagnosis). After adjustment for potential confounders, surgical thyroidectomy, alone or in combination with medical therapy, was associated with a 74% decreased hazard for TAO (adjusted HR, 0.26 [95% CI, 0.12-0.51]) compared with radioactive iodine therapy alone. Statin use (for60 days in the past year vs <60 days or nonuse) was associated with a 40% decreased hazard (adjusted HR, 0.60 [CI, 0.37-0.93]). No significant association was found for the use of nonstatin cholesterollowering medications or cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors and the development of TAO. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE If prospective studies can confirm our finding that a thyroidectomy and statin use are associated with substantially reduced hazards for TAO among patients with GD, preventive measures for this burdensome manifestation of GD may become a reality.
Towards a social network e-government agenda?: measuring participation 2.0 in the Arab world

Inspired by the reported use of Web 2.0-based applications to stir national revolutions in the Arab World, and the potential of this technology to increase transparency and engage citizens in decision-making processes as documented by research in e-government, this study explores to what extent Arab League nations are using "democratic" features in their government websites and how citizens have responded to these initiatives. It does this by comparing (1) the information access and opportunities for participation offered in their portals with non-Arab countries, (2) and the traffic to governmental websites and number of citizens (viewers, fans, followers) engaged by their social media applications. For this purpose, 160 websites from 82 different countries were examined. Results show that although non-Arab countries allow users to get access to more information and present more social media applications with a higher number of citizens participating on them as viewers, fans, and followers, surprisingly no differences were found in terms of participatory features and local traffic rank in governmental websites. Six countries were selected as case studies to lend evidence to the results.
Materials for future lithography (Invited Paper)

The demands for high resolution and issues of line edge roughness require a reconsideration of current resist design strategies. In particular, EUV lithography will provides an opportunity to examine new resist concepts including new elemental compositions and low molar mass resists or molecular resists. In the former case, resist compositions incorporating elements such as silicon and boron have been explored for EUV resists and will be described. In an example of the latter case, molecular glass resists have been designed using synthetic architectures in globular and core-arm forms ranging from one to multiple arms. Moreover, our studies include a series of ring and irregularly shaped small molecules modified to give imaging performance. These materials have been explored to improve line edge roughness (LER) compared to common polymer resists. Several examples of polymeric and molecular glass resists will be described. Several compositions showed high glass transition temperatures (T g ) of ∼ 120°C and possessed no crystallinity as seen from XRD studies. Negative-tone molecular glass resists with a T-shaped phenolic core structure, 4-[4-[1,1-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]]-α,α-dimethylbenzylphenol, have demonstrated feature sizes as small as 50mn. Similarly, negative-tone images made using spiro-based compounds showed feature size as small as 60nm in lines/space patterns using e-beam lithography. Most recently we have demonstrated that fully and partially tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-Boc) protected calix[4]resorcinarene derivatives can be successfully studied as a positive-tone resist using EUV and E-beam lithography. Resolution as low as 35nm was obtained by EUV exposure.
Inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts in Fresh Apple Cider by UV Irradiation

This study evaluated the efficacy of UV irradiation on the inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in fresh apple cider. Cider was inoculated with oocysts and exposed to 14.32 mJ of UV irradiation/cm2. Oocyst viability was assessed with the gamma interferon gene knockout (GKO) mouse and infant BALB/cByJ mouse models. All GKO mice challenged with UV-treated cider demonstrated no morbidity or mortality, and infant BALB/c mice challenged with treated cider were negative for the presence of C. parvum. In contrast, the GKO mice challenged with non-UV-treated inoculated cider died and the parasite was detected in the ileums of all challenged infant mice. This study shows that UV irradiation can be used to inactivate C. parvum in fresh apple cider.
The interpersonal and psychological functioning of women who experienced childhood physical abuse, incest, and parental alcoholism

Questionnaires assessing childhood physical abuse (CPA), childhood incest (CI), and parental alcoholism (ACOA) were completed by 253 college women from introductory psychology classes at a large midwestern university. The relationship between these variables and the level of depression, self-esteem and involvement with physically abusive, sexually assaultive, sexually coercive, and chemically dependent partners was assessed. Support was found for an additive model of trauma that predicted a relationship between number of childhood traumas and adult outcomes. Limited support was found for a specificity model of trauma that predicted that specific childhood trauma would be predictive of parallel negative adult outcomes.
Number Fluxes in Equilibrium Raindrop Populations: A Markov Chain Analysis

Abstract Four raindrop distributions at equilibrium are studied using a Markov chain model adapted from the cloud parcel model of Young. The model uses collisional drop breakup as specified by Low and List. The shape of the equilibrium distributions is determined by the birth and death fluxes of drops, the expected lifetimes of the drops, and at diameters greater than 1.5 mm, by the net flux of drops from size to size. The shape of the distributions is sensitive to the fraction of mass lost by the colliding drops in sheet breakup.A proposition inspired by Marshall and Palmer, that exponential spectra result from increasing chances of drop identity loss with increasing diameter, is found to be incomplete. Of greater importance is an exponential decrease with diameter of drop births. A constant N0 among observed raindrop distributions may result from the different stage of evolution each distribution represents. At low liquid-water contents (LWCs), distributions are far from equilibrium and reflect the clou...
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: The first century 1869–1969

[first paragraph of article] Thank you so much, Professor Yacoub. It’s a great honor for me to participate in this conference. I thank you for your vision and your tremendous energy and for everything that you have and are and will accomplish in cardiovascular surgery and science. I’m going to talk about the first century of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and will emphasize my experience during the last decades of this century. Few people realize that the first patient with HCM was described in 1869, during the reign of Queen Victoria. The great physician, William Osler, was four years old. Winston Churchill had not yet been born. The electrocardiogram and cardiac catheterization were 35 and 60 years in the future, respectively. But, in the Medical Gazette of Paris, a paper appeared, which was entitled Cardiac Sub-Aortic Stenosis by Henri Liouville [1] and which described a 75-year-old woman who developed worsening dyspnea over several days. On physical examination, she had a systolic heart murmur. She died shortly after presentation.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Trumbull Advocacy and Protective Network: A Formative Evaluation

The Trumbull Advocacy and Protective Network (TAPN) in Ohio is a county network of agencies in social services, government, medicine, law enforcement, and housing that coordinates and integrates services and programs for seniors with extraordinary needs. The purpose of this study was to assess the strengths and weaknesses of TAPN and make recommendations for improving its effectiveness. Seventeen TAPN member agencies participated in this formative evaluation in Phase 1, whereas 19 participated in Phase 2. The fact that mean scale scores for the TAPN Accomplishment Scale increased significantly over time was revealed by t tests. The most important changes were in addressing the special needs of older adults being served by more than one agency, advocating for the efficient and effective allocation of resources, enabling agencies to better serve their clients, and offering a “single focus location” for advocacy. Important future activities and functions of TAPN were identified, and the lessons learned were ...
Globalizacija. Opasnosti i mogućnosti za politiku rada u Europi

Globalizacija je pojam o kojem se danas raspravlja ne samo u ekonomskoj i politickoj teoriji, vec se ona vrlo cesto spominje u svakodnevnom životu, ali u vrlo razlicitim kontekstima i znacenjima. Razumijevajuci globalizaciju kao najvažniji drustveni proces suvremenog svijeta, autori rasclanjuju razlicite aspekte odvijanja globalizacije, tj. njene ambivalentne sastavnice. Ovakva analiza pokazuje da se unutar procesa globalizacije mogu pronaci prostori djelovanja sindikata, kako unutar nacionalnoga tako i unutar europskog konteksta. Sindikati ce, vjerojatno, morati uvažiti potrebu redefinicije dosadasnjih standarda rajnskog kapitalizma kako bi, s druge strane, ocuvali europske proizvodne pogone te socijalno djelovali na ekonomski održiv nacin. Osnovni je preduvjet tome koordiniranost nacionalnih sindikalnih politika u Europi.
Neuronal Interconnection as a Function of Brain Size

The effect of increasing brain size upon the degree of interconnection between neurons is analyzed. An explicit model suggests that as the brain is scaled up there must be a corresponding fall in perc
Tailored Taylor vortices

The stability of circular Couette flow in discontinuous axisymmetric geometries is investigated using numerical simulations and physical experiments. By contouring the geometry of the inner cylinder, Taylor vortices can be made to appear in discrete sections along the length of the cylinder while adjoining sections remain stable. The disparate flows are connected by transition regions that arise from the stability of the axially nonuniform base flow state. The geometry of the inner cylinder can be tailored to produce the simultaneous onset of Taylor vortices of different wavelength in neighboring sections. In another variant, a stack of inner cylinders of common radius are made to rotate independently to produce adjacent regions of stable and unstable flow.
The association of Fanconi's anemia and squamous cell carcinoma

Fanconi's anemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder which manifests itself in early childhood, presenting as pancytopenia, pigmentation changes, skeletal deformities, small statures and chromosomal aberrations. Most patients ultimately die from sepsis as a result of their hematologic abnormalities, however, some patients live long enough to develop malignancies such as leukemia, hepatocellular carcinomas and squamous cell carcinoma. The association of Fanconi's anemia and squamous cell carcinoma is examined with a report of a patient with Fanconi's anemia and squamous cell carcinoma of the pyriform sinus and hypopharynx.
Fox factors fight over T cell quiescence

The transcription factor Foxp1 helps maintain the quiescence of naive T cells by inhibiting IL-7Rα expression and diminishing signaling by the kinase Erk.
Polaritons in a spatially dispersive dielectric half space

An exact microscopic theory of volume and surface polaritons is developed for a spatially dispersive dielectric half space. No dielectric function is postulated; instead a collection of terms which is designated such arises naturally in the course of solving the microscopic equations that describe the response of the molecules to an external driving field. The excited states of the crystal are assumed to be Frenkel excitons which are treated in the tight-binding approximation. All intermolecular interactions are assumed to be of the point-dipole type. Formulas are derived for the reflection of $s$- and $p$-polarized light from the dielectric at arbitrary angle of incidence. Formulas are also given for the reflection of light inside a prism separated from the dielectric by a small gap as in attenuated-total-reflection experiments used to detect surface modes. Model calculations, using ZnSe parameters, exploring the effect of spatial dispersion on the optical properties are described.
Positive solutions of a nonlinear elliptic equation

We prove that positive solutions of the nonlinear Dirichlet problem where Ω is a ball or an annulus in and is a polynomial with nonnegative coefficients, have alternating power series representations at the origin. We also obtain several existence and nonuniqueness results for certain functions of the form with the critical exponent, where We give lower bounds for R in terms of the initial value u(0), where R is the radius of the ball Ω, an upper bound for u(r) for all 0<r<R, and an upper bound for|′(R)|. We also give several results for multiple solutions of this problem, showing that two such solutions must cross in (0,R), and give lower bounds for R in terms of the value of the crossover in this situation, as well as a nonexistence result.
Properties of low residual stress silicon oxynitrides used as a sacrificial layer

Low residual stress silicon oxynitride thin films are investigated for use as a replacement for silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}) as sacrificial layer in surface micromachined microelectrical-mechanical systems (MEMS). It is observed that the level of residual stress in oxynitrides is a function of the nitrogen content in the film. MEMS film stacks are prepared using both SiO{sub 2} and oxynitride sacrificial layers. Wafer bow measurements indicate that wafers processed with oxynitride release layers are significantly flatter. Polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) cantilevers fabricated under the same conditions are observed to be flatter when processed with oxynitride rather than SiO{sub 2} sacrificial layers. These results are attributed to the lower post-processing residual stress of oxynitride compared to SiO{sub 2} and reduced thermal mismatch to poly-Si.
First and Second Order Rotatability of Experimental Designs, Moment Matrices, and Information Surfaces.

We place the well-known notion of rotatable experimental designs into the more general context of invariant design problems. Rotatability is studied as it pertains to the experimental designs themselves, as well as to moment matrices, or to information surfaces. The distinct aspects become visible even in the case of first order rotatability. The case of second order rotatability then is conceptually similar, but technically more involved. Our main result is that second order rotatability may be characterized through a finite subset of the orthogonal group, generated by sign changes, permutations, and a single reflection. This is a great reduction compared to the usual definition of rotatability which refers to the full orthogonal group. Our analysis is based on representing the second order terms in the regression function by a Kronecker power. We show that it is essentially the same as using the Schlaflian powers, or the usual minimal set of second order monomials, but it allows a more transparent calculus.
Trials to recreate floristically-rich vegetation by plant introduction in the Northern Pennines, England

Abstract British upland vegetation is widely regarded as floristically-impoverished owing to sheep-grazing. An account is given of the first 15 years of trials in which grazing has been removed at four contrasting grassland sites and about 30 species of plants having restricted ranges have been introduced. Vigorous growth by grasses suppressed many of the herbaceous plants, but at one site dwarf-shrubs are now increasing. Nevertheless, several of the introduced species that do not occur locally under natural conditions, have become well established, including Alchemilla alpina, Salix arbuscula, S. reticulata, and Saussurea alpina, whilst Draba incana, Polygonum viviparum, Potentilla crantzii, and Thalictrum alpinum, which occurred naturally but infrequently, have spread. Grazing is felt to be important in controlling some of these species, but Alchemilla alpina is shown to be vulnerable to competition from a dense sward of tall grasses. There is as yet little indication of which type of vegetation is climax above the tree-line; dwarf Salix scrub on the damper sites is a possibility. The effect, on the floristic richness of a site, of removing grazing, is not necessarily beneficial; but, where a whole area is grazed, increasing the number of ungrazed sites will enhance overall diversity.
The Development of Spelling Skills: From First Grade through Eighth Grade.

The purposes of this study were to identify the types of misspellings made in student writing during the first eight years of school, to determine at what grade level these problems emerged, and to...
Creep, Stable Sliding, and Premonitory Slip

The current status of laboratory investigations into creep, stable sliding and premonitory slip is reviewed and some new material is presented. It is postulated that pre-cut rocks and those with simulated gouge layers undergo a transition with increasing confining pressure from (1) stable sliding to stick-slip, to (2) sliding along the pre-cut with deformation of the country rock, to (3) homogeneous flow of the specimen without slip along the pre-cut. Stick-slip behavior is not always present. Decreasing displacement rates are found to enhance stick-slip. Mixtures of gouge are found to be significant in controlling the behavior of sliding with 10–20 percent of anhydrite mixed with quartz or clays mixed with anhydrite shifting the sliding mode from stable stick-slip or stick-slip to stable sliding, respectively. Premonitory slip may be one of the most significant short term precursors of earthquakes. Although widely recognized in the laboratory, little systematic work has been completed. Variations in pore pressure, resistivity and seismic velocities have been investigated. Clearly much work needs to be done into these topics before a clear understanding is achieved.
Constraining the influence of natural variability to improve estimates of global aerosol indirect effects in a nudged version of the Community Atmosphere Model 5

Natural modes of variability on many timescales influence aerosol particle distributions and cloud properties such that isolating statistically significant differences in cloud radiative forcing due to anthropogenic aerosol perturbations (indirect effects) typically requires integrating over long simulations. For state-of-the-art global climate models (GCM), especially those in which embedded cloud-resolving models replace conventional statistical parameterizations (i.e., multiscale modeling framework, MMF), the required long integrations can be prohibitively expensive. Here an alternative approach is explored, which implements Newtonian relaxation (nudging) to constrain simulations with both pre-industrial and present-day aerosol emissions toward identical meteorological conditions, thus reducing differences in natural variability and dampening feedback responses in order to isolate radiative forcing. Ten-year GCM simulations with nudging provide a more stable estimate of the global-annual mean net aerosol indirect radiative forcing than do conventional free-running simulations. The estimates have mean values and 95% confidence intervals of −1.19 ± 0.02 W/m2 and −1.37 ± 0.13 W/m2for nudged and free-running simulations, respectively. Nudging also substantially increases the fraction of the world's area in which a statistically significant aerosol indirect effect can be detected (66% and 28% of the Earth's surface for nudged and free-running simulations, respectively). One-year MMF simulations with and without nudging provide global-annual mean net aerosol indirect radiative forcing estimates of −0.81 W/m2 and −0.82 W/m2, respectively. These results compare well with previous estimates from three-year free-running MMF simulations (−0.83 W/m2), which showed the aerosol-cloud relationship to be in better agreement with observations and high-resolution models than in the results obtained with conventional cloud parameterizations.
Dietary borage oil alters plasma, hepatic and vascular tissue fatty acid composition in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Dietary borage oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) has been shown to lower blood pressure in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). A potential mechanism for this effect may be attributed to changes in metabolism of GLA to dihomogamma-linolenic (DGLA) and arachidonic acids (AA). We investigated the effects of dietary borage oil on fatty acid composition in the plasma, liver and vascular tissue in WKY and SHR. The diet significantly increased the levels of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. GLA and DGLA levels in the plasma, liver, aorta and renal artery tissues increased in SHR (P < 0.001) and WKY (P < 0.001). AA levels were also increased in both plasma and liver of SHR (P < 0.05) and WKY (P < 0.05) fed the borage oil enriched diet. The results demonstrate that dietary borage oil produces marked changes in the metabolism of GLA which may contribute to its blood pressure lowering effect in WKY and SHR.
INTERMEDIATE TERM FAILURE OF PUBOVAGINAL SLINGS USING CADAVERIC FASCIA LATA: A CASE SERIES

Purpose: The pubovaginal sling procedure using autologous fascia has become the gold standard for treating intrinsic sphincter deficiency and stress urinary incontinence in women. A recent modification has been the use of cadaveric fascia as the sling material. We recently reported similar results for cadaveric fascia lata in 121 women and autologous fascia lata in 46 at a mean followup of 12 months. We have now identified 8 patients who experienced intermediate term failure at 4 to 13 months using cadaveric fascia lata.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 8 of 121 patients who received a pubovaginal sling using cadaveric fascia lata between February 1997 and June 1999 and had recurrent stress incontinence after 4 to 13 months. We reviewed the type of fascia, surgical technique, preoperative and postoperative urodynamics, surgical history and medical co-morbidities.Results: We identified 8 patients who underwent a pubovaginal sling using cadaveric fascia lata and had recurrent...
Parasitic infection improves survival from septic peritonitis by enhancing mast cell responses to bacteria in mice.

Mammals are serially infected with a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria and parasites. Each infection reprograms the immune system's responses to re-exposure and potentially alters responses to first-time infection by different microorganisms. To examine whether infection with a metazoan parasite modulates host responses to subsequent bacterial infection, mice were infected with the hookworm-like intestinal nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, followed in 2–4 weeks by peritoneal injection of the pathogenic bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae. Survival from Klebsiella peritonitis two weeks after parasite infection was better in Nippostrongylus-infected animals than in unparasitized mice, with Nippostrongylus-infected mice having fewer peritoneal bacteria, more neutrophils, and higher levels of protective interleukin 6. The improved survival of Nippostrongylus-infected mice depends on IL-4 because the survival benefit is lost in mice lacking IL-4. Because mast cells protect mice from Klebsiella peritonitis, we examined responses in mast cell-deficient KitW-sh/KitW-sh mice, in which parasitosis failed to improve survival from Klebsiella peritonitis. However, adoptive transfer of cultured mast cells to KitW-sh/KitW-sh mice restored survival benefits of parasitosis. These results show that recent infection with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis protects mice from Klebsiella peritonitis by modulating mast cell contributions to host defense, and suggest more generally that parasitosis can yield survival advantages to a bacterially infected host.
NO and angiogenesis

Angiogenesis requires the elaboration of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO). Angiogenic factors induce the release of NO from endothelial cells, which mediates a multiplicity of processes involved in angiogenesis. These NO-modulated processes include endothelial cell survival, proliferation, migration, and interaction with the extracellular matrix. Derangements of the NO synthase pathway impair angiogenesis. Accordingly, the competitive inhibitor of the NOS pathway asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) acts as an endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis. By contrast, agents which increase NO synthesis, such as low dose statins, enhance angiogenesis. Modulation of the NO synthase pathway could become a new therapeutic avenue for angiogenesis-related disorders.
Improving patient acceptance and adherence in diabetes management: a focus on insulin therapy

Maintaining tight glycemic control is an important issue for patients with type 2 diabetes. Empowering patients to be actively involved in the management of their diabetes can improve glycemic control through education, communication, and the use of patient-friendly insulin regimens. The primary care physician plays an important role in helping patients manage their disease by encouraging initiation of treatment with insulin analogs, which are more convenient, more predictable, and better tolerated than traditional human insulin therapies. Modern insulin delivery devices, such as insulin pens, may also help improve patient acceptance of insulin therapy.
Postbuckling response of laminated plates under uniaxial compression

Abstract A postbuckling analysis procedure for simply supported, symmetrically laminated, rectangular plates under uniaxial compression based on a Marguerre-type energy method is presented. The out-of-plane displacement is assumed as a truncated Fourier sine series. A system of non-linear algebraic equations for the unknown parameters in the deflection is obtained from the principle of minimum potential energy. In the postbuckling load range, plates are allowed to change their buckled form. The magnitudes of the total potential energy for deformed shapes associated with different buckling modes are compared to determine the actual deformed shape. The effect of bending-twisting coupling terms on the postbuckling behavior of anisotropic laminates is also investigated. Several numerical examples for isotropie, orthotropic, and anisotropic plates are considered to demonstrate the present analysis procedure.
Kid Tools: Self-Management, Problem- Solving, Organizational, and Planning Software for Children and Teachers

This article provides an overview of KidTools, an electronic performance software system designed for elementary and middle school children to use independently on classroom or home computers. The software system contains 30 computerized research-based strategy tools that can be implemented in a classroom or home environment. Through the research-based intervention strategies and corresponding computerized templates in KidTools, children are given tools to help them gain control of problem behaviors. A brief description of the software, how to use it, resources available for teachers and parents, and two classroom examples are offered.
Stress-induced diffusion and defect chemistry of La0.2Sr0.8Fe0.8Cr0.2O3−δ: Part 3. Defect-chemistry-based modeling

Abstract A model based on defect chemistry has been developed to describe the creep behavior of La 0.2 Sr 0.8 Fe 0.8 Cr 0.2 O 3− δ . The model is based on partial clustering of divalent B site cations and oxygen vacancies. According to the model, the increased strain rates at low p O 2 are due to increased mobility of B site cations in linked clusters. The cluster concentration is proportional to the oxygen partial pressure, p O 2 m with m =−1/2 in accordance with the creep data. The model describes the creep behavior in the entire p O 2 range used in the measurements. Models based on random non-interacting defects or including ambipolar diffusion, strontium segregation or partial decomposition cannot give the observed p O 2 dependence of the creep behavior.
Distinct Serum Cytokines in AIDS-Related Skin Diseases

ABSTRACT To determine whether common skin diseases associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were distinguishable based on the pattern of serum cytokine expression, we studied patients with psoriasis, pruritus, and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) for levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-10, and IL-4. Thirty-two HIV-positive (HIV+) patients including 8 with KS, 11 with psoriasis, and 13 with pruritus along with 16 HIV-negative subjects with psoriasis were studied. IFN-γ levels were highest in sera of HIV+ patients with psoriasis (p = 0.040). By contrast, TNF-α and IL-10 levels were highest in sera of HIV+ patients with pruritus (p = 0.012). Detectable levels of all cytokines in these patients were remarkably higher than for healthy adults. These results suggest that common skin diseases associated with HIV infection and AIDS can be distinguished by the production of unique cytokines.
Optimal and Robust Control of Fluid Flows: Some Theoretical and Computational Aspects

In this article, we review from the mathematical and numerical points of view some of the recent progresses in the area of flow control.
Effect of albuterol treatment on subsequent dialytic potassium removal

End-stage renal disease patients presenting with severe hyperkalemia are frequently treated with albuterol to lower their plasma potassium acutely, until emergent hemodialysis can be initiated. Such treatment stimulates potassium shifts from the extracellular to the intracellular fluid compartments. The resulting reduction of potassium concentration gradient between the blood and dialysate may potentially attenuate the efficacy of potassium removal during the ensuing hemodialysis treatment. To evaluate the effect of prior albuterol treatment on dialytic potassium removal, seven chronic hemodialysis patients were studied prospectively on two separate occasions. In one study the patients received 20 mg nebulized albuterol 30 minutes before dialysis; in the control study, albuterol treatment was omitted. Plasma potassium decreased 30 minutes after albuterol treatment (-0.84 +/- 0.06 mmol/L; P < 0.001) and remained unchanged in the corresponding period of the control experiment. Plasma potassium decreased during dialysis in both experimental protocols, but was significantly lower throughout dialysis in the albuterol study, as compared with the control study. Cumulative dialytic potassium removal was significantly lower following albuterol pretreatment compared with the control experiment (29.0 +/- 5.7 mmol v 49.6 +/- 7.0 mmol; P < 0.001). These observations suggest that acute albuterol therapy in patients with end-stage renal disease may substantially decrease potassium removal in the ensuing hemodialysis session. This may lead to rebound hyperkalemia several hours after the dialysis treatment.
Automated segmentation, classification, and tracking of cancer cell nuclei in time-lapse microscopy

Quantitative measurement of cell cycle progression in individual cells over time is important in understanding drug treatment effects on cancer cells. Recent advances in time-lapse fluorescence microscopy imaging have provided an important tool to study the cell cycle process under different conditions of perturbation. However, existing computational imaging methods are rather limited in analyzing and tracking such time-lapse datasets, and manual analysis is unreasonably time-consuming and subject to observer variances. This paper presents an automated system that integrates a series of advanced analysis methods to fill this gap. The cellular image analysis methods can be used to segment, classify, and track individual cells in a living cell population over a few days. Experimental results show that the proposed method is efficient and effective in cell tracking and phase identification.
Amplitude and time measurement ASIC with analog derandomization: first results

We describe a new amplitude specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for accurate and efficient processing of high-rate pulse signals from highly segmented detectors. In contrast to conventional approaches, this circuit affords a dramatic reduction in data volume through the use of analog techniques (precision peak detectors and time-to-amplitude converters) together with fast arbitration and sequencing logic to concentrate the data before digitization. In operation the circuit functions like a data-driven analog first-in, first-out (FIFO) memory between the preamplifiers and the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Peak amplitudes of pulses arriving at any one of the 32 inputs are sampled, stored, and queued for readout and digitization through a single output port. Hit timing, pulse risetime, and channel address are also available at the output. Prototype chips have been fabricated in 0.35 micron CMOS and tested. First results indicate proper functionality for pulses down to 30 ns peaking time and random input rates up to 1.6 MHz on a single channel. Amplitude accuracy of the peak detect and hold circuit is 0.3% (absolute). TAC accuracy is within 0.3% of full scale. Power consumption is less than 2 mW/channel at the maximum counting rate. Compared with conventional techniques such as track-and-hold and analog memory, this new ASIC will enable efficient pulse height measurement at 20 to 300 times higher rates.
Learning from Popular Culture: The “Politics” of Competitive Reality Television Programs

Reality television programming has become a pervasive part of popular culture. Although such programming may seem to be mindless entertainment, it can serve as a tool to introduce political lessons in the classroom. This article examines how the concepts of alliance behavior and strategic voting can be explored by using the television program Survivor. An analysis reveals that contestants often behave strategically when forming alliances and voting, in ways that are similar to the strategic behavior of nation-states and individuals residing in democracies, respectively. This article does not suggest that reading political science texts should be replaced with viewing reality television, but rather that instructors can introduce abstract concepts to undergraduate students through popular culture. Such a technique can spark students' interest in politics and demonstrate the broad relevance of political concepts, leaving students with the desire to delve more deeply into the investigation of political phenomena.
Can exercise-related improvements in immunity influence cancer prevention and prognosis in the elderly?

Cancer incidence increases with advancing age. Over 60% of new cancers and 70% of cancer deaths occur in individuals aged 65 years or older. One factor that may contribute to this is immunosenescence - a canopy term that is used to describe age-related declines in the normal functioning of the immune system. There are multiple age-related deficits in both the innate and adaptive systems that may play a role in the increased incidence of cancer. These include decreased NK-cell function, impaired antigen uptake and presentation by monocytes and dendritic cells, an increase in 'inflammaging', a decline in the number of naive T-cells able to respond to evolving tumor cells, and an increase in functionally exhausted senescent cells. There is consensus that habitual physical exercise can offer protection against certain types of cancer; however the evidence linking immunological mechanisms, exercise, and reduced cancer risk remain tentative. Multiple studies published over the last two decades suggest that exercise can mitigate the deleterious effects of age on immune function, thus increasing anti-cancer immunity. The potential ameliorative effect of exercise on these mechanisms include evidence that physical activity is able to stimulate greater NK-cell activity, enhance antigen-presentation, reduce inflammation, and prevent senescent cell accumulation in the elderly. Here we discuss the role played by the immune system in preventing and controlling cancer and how aging may retard these anti-cancer mechanisms. We also propose a pathway by which exercise-induced alterations in immunosenescence may decrease the incidence of cancer and help improve prognosis in cancer patients.
Toxic response as a quantitative function of body size

Abstract Lethal response (96-hr) studies were conducted exposing mature male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in lots representing different weight classes to ambient concentrations of six discrete toxicants: dieldrin, potassium pentachlorophenate, potassium cyanide, and copper, zinc, and nickel chlorides. Linear regressions with high correlation coefficients were defined for each toxicant by the equation, Y = a − b log ( M W h ) , where Y = % mortality as probits, M = mean toxicant concentration, W = weight of each lot, and h = an exponent of weight. The computed value of h was 0.81 for dieldrin, 0.72 for pentachlorophenate, cyanide, and copper, 0.67 for nickel, and 0.30 for zinc. Additional lethal response studies were conducted exposing mature females of different size, juveniles of different size, and newborn guppies of similar size to dieldrin. The dose-response functions of each age group were found to incorporate the weight factor previously computed for adult males, i.e., W0.81. Discrete, parallel regressions represented each life stage and sex. When compared on a weight factor basis, guppies became progressively more susceptible to dieldrin with each successive age class. Comparing adults only, males were more resistant than females. Evidence was gathered from the literature to show that the above equation applies furthermore to dose-response studies in which animals of varying size are given known amounts of toxicant, toxin, or drug. Consequently, the above equation may be generally employed to empirically establish the character of the relationship between dose and response when the size of the animals differ. Relative measures of toxic potency, e.g., LD50 and LC50, representing different sizes of an animal may be derived from the above equation and expressed in the useful form, LD50 = XWh, where X is the antilog of the abscissal value of log ( M W h ) corresponding to the 50% response level. This latter equation may also be derived from the commonly used function log LD50 = log a + b log W.
Two Theorems Concerning the Quadrupole Applicable to Electrocardiography

The first part of the paper discusses various representations for the electric scalar potential, and develops a procedure for determining the magnitude of the quadrupole term of the multipole expansion from a knowledge of its five components. The terms in the multipole expansion for an equivalent cardiac generator depend on the location in the heart region chosen as the origin. In the second part of the paper, an optimum dipole location is defined as the point where the dipole term alone gives the best fit to the potential on a least squares basis. If the heart is well represented by a dipole plus quadrupole, with the z-axis chosen to coincide with the dipole moment p, the optimum dipole location is given by
Detection of macrocyclic trichothecene mycotoxin in a caprine (goat) tracheal instillation model

This study demonstrates the detection and dynamics of macrocyclic trichothecene mycotoxin (MTM) tissue loading using a commercially available assay in a goat model. The detection of MTMs has been d...
Restriction endonuclease analysis discriminates Bordetella bronchiseptica isolates.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a common respiratory pathogen in a number of animal species. It is an etiologic agent of swine atrophic rhinitis and bronchopneumonia, canine tracheobronchitis, and bronchopneumonia in laboratory and companion animals. In rare instances, B. bronchiseptica has been reported to infect humans; a majority of these infections have occurred in patients with underlying conditions such as cystic fibrosis, AIDS, Hodgkin's disease, or leukemia (2, 3, 8, 23). The types of infections seen in these patients have included pneumonia, tracheobronchitis, sinusitis, peritonitis, meningitis, and septicemia (2, 3, 8, 23). Until recently, there has been a lack of a simple and reliable method for typing of B. bronchiseptica isolates for classification. Ribotyping has been utilized to characterize B. bronchiseptica isolates from several animal species and was shown to provide a basis for grouping these organisms into distinct types (13–15). Keil and Fenwick (5) utilized random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting and ribotyping to evaluate the genetic diversity among 26 canine B. bronchiseptica isolates. Methods such as restriction enzyme analysis (REA) of chromosomal DNA may also have power in discriminating among B. bronchiseptica strains. In fact, REA and ribotyping have been utilized in molecular epidemiologic studies of other bacterial species (1, 4). We have previously reported that REA and ribotyping could be utilized to discriminate Bordetella avium and Bordetella hinzii isolates (17). In the present experiments, REA was utilized as a method for characterizing B. bronchiseptica isolates previously grouped on the basis of ribotyping. This study represents the first examination of the potential usefulness of REA as a method of classifying B. bronchiseptica isolates from several host species.
Harmonic Functions on Half-Spaces

In this chapter we study harmonic functions defined on the upper half-space H. Harmonic function theory on H has a distinctly different flavor from that on B. One advantage of H over B is the dilation-invariance of H. We have already put this to good use in the section Limits Along Rays in Chapter 2. Some disadvantages: ∂H is not compact and Lebesgue measure on ∂H is not finite.