cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexual dimorphism in laryngeal muscle fibers and ultrasonic vocalizations in the adult rat.

Objective The human voice is sexually dimorphic in obvious ways, such as differences in fundamental frequency and gross laryngeal anatomy, but also in less apparent ways, such as in the prevalence and types of voice disorders and the manifestation of voice changes in advanced age. Differences between males and females are rarely explored, however, in mechanistic animal studies. The goal of this study was to explore sexual dimorphism in laryngeal function and structure in adult rats by examining ultrasonic vocalization acoustics and muscle fiber size and type in the thyroarytenoid muscle. Study Design Animal group comparison. Methods Spontaneous ultrasonic vocalizations from 10 male adult rats and 10 female adult rats were recorded, classified, and acoustically analyzed. Cross-sections of the thyroarytenoid muscle were stained and imaged for analysis of muscle fiber size and type. Acoustic and muscle parameters were statistically compared between sexes. Results Male rats had a lower mean frequency of short ultrasonic vocalizations. Male rats also had a larger mean fiber size in the external division of the thyroarytenoid and larger overall muscle area in both the vocalis and external divisions of the thyroarytenoid. However, muscle fiber type compositions were similar between sexes in both the vocalis and external division of the thyroarytenoid muscles. Conclusion Functional and structural laryngeal differences exist between adult male and female rats; therefore, the rat model can be used to further study sexual dimorphism of the voice. Level of Evidence NA. Laryngoscope, 127:E270–E276, 2017
Labor Market Restructuring in Europe and the United States

Over the past two decades, labor market conditions in many advanced industrial societies have dramatically changed. The relatively low levels of unemployment of the 1960s have been replaced by the high and, for the most part, persistent levels of unemployment of the 1980s.
The Influence of Role Models on Students' Decisions to Pursue the IS Major.

The purpose of this study was to understand the influence of role models on students’ decisions to major in Information Systems (IS). Based on social cognitive career theory, we derived and tested a theoretical model to explain how role models influence students’ academic choices. Results indicate that role models do not have a direct effect on students’ aspirations to major in IS. The effects of role models on academic choices are channeled indirectly through other factors. More specifically, role models boost students’ confidence in their own abilities to successfully perform as an IS major and raise their expectations of the positive outcomes that will be received by majoring in this discipline. Encouragement and stimulation from role models also inspire students to be inquisitive about IS majors and careers, which in turn elevates students’ aspirations to pursue the IS major. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Ultraviolet photovoltaics: Share the spectrum

Electrically controlled windows require power to switch between transparent and tinted states. Now, an ultraviolet light-harvesting solar cell can power smart windows without compromising their control over heat and light.
Spa therapy was effective for low-back pain

Source Citation Guillemin F, Constant F, Collin JF, Boulange M. Short and long-term effect of spa therapy in chronic low back pain. Br J Rheumatol. 1994 Feb;33:148-51.
The Absence of an Ideal Observer: Why Some Clinical Trials May Not Be What We Think They Are.

According to Richard Firth Green, a major change occurred in our conceptualization of the truth during the reign of Richard II of England in the late 14th century.1 Before then, “trouthe” was an ethical concept that resided within individuals; afterward, truth became an objective reality that existed outside ourselves.1,2 If so, who could be trusted with identifying the truth? Green proposed the “ideal observer”; ie, we can know that “ x is better than y ” if this judgment were made by an observer who was “fully informed and vividly imaginative, impartial, in a calm frame of mind and otherwise normal.”3 It is interesting to note that Green never claimed that any ideal observers actually existed. The ideal observer theory is appealing. We believe that investigators can describe an external reality that exists independently of their ethical compasses. We assume that stringent experimental conditions can reveal an unbiased truth. But does the scientific method always yield valid results? Before we answer, we should ask: when we execute a large-scale clinical trial, is there an ideal observer who is impartial, knowledgeable, rational and calm? A large clinical trial typically involves a leadership committee, a sponsor, numerous geographically dispersed investigators, and a group responsible for operational functions. The leadership committee helps to define the trial hypotheses and the methods by which they are tested; however, its members personally make no observations and may not know exactly how observations are made. The sponsor invests substantial sums of money, without assurance that the hypothesis is valid and …
Network Scheduling for Secure Cyber-Physical Systems

Existing design techniques for providing security guarantees against network-based attacks in cyber-physical systems (CPS) are based on continuous use of standard cryptographic tools to ensure data integrity. This creates an apparent conflict with common resource limitations in these systems, given that, for instance, lengthy message authentication codes (MAC) introduce significant overheads. We present a framework to ensure both timing guarantees for real-time network messages and Quality-of-Control (QoC) in the presence of network-based attacks. We exploit physical properties of controlled systems to relax constant integrity enforcement requirements, and show how the problem of feasibility testing of intermittently authenticated real-time messages can be cast as a mixed integer linear programming problem. Besides scheduling a set of real-time messages with predefined authentication rates obtained from QoC requirements, we show how to optimally increase the overall system QoC while ensuring that all real-time messages are schedulable. Finally, we introduce an efficient runtime bandwidth allocation method, based on opportunistic scheduling, in order to improve QoC. We evaluate our framework on a standard benchmark designed for CAN bus, and show how an infeasible message set with strong security guarantees can be scheduled if dynamics of controlled systems are taken into account along with real-time requirements.
Impact of measles supplementary immunisation activities on utilisation of maternal and child health services in low-income and middle-income countries

Background Measles supplementary immunisation activities (SIAs) are an integral component of measles elimination in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite their success in increasing vaccination coverage, there are concerns about their negative consequences on routine services. Few studies have conducted quantitative assessments of SIA impact on utilisation of health services. Methods We analysed the impact of SIAs on utilisation of selected maternal and child health services using Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys from 28 LMICs, where at least one SIA occurred over 2000–2014. Logistic regressions were conducted to investigate the association between SIAs and utilisation of the following services: facility delivery, postnatal care and outpatient sick child care (for fever, diarrhoea, cough). Results SIAs do not appear to significantly impact utilisation of maternal and child services. We find a reduction in care-seeking for treatment of child cough (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.95); and a few significant effects at the country level, suggesting the need for further investigation of the idiosyncratic effects of SIAs in each country. Conclusion The paper contributes to the debate on vertical versus horizontal programmes to ensure universal access to vaccination. Measles SIAs do not seem to affect care-seeking for critical conditions.
Performing socialist Hungary in China: ‘modern, Magyar, European’

This paper reconstructs the ways in which the Hungarian People’s Army Performing Arts Ensemble arranged its repertoire to perform socialist Hungary in the autumn of 1956, during the Ensemble’s tour...
Tissue kallikrein-kinin therapy in hypertension and organ damage.

Tissue kallikrein is a serine proteinase that cleaves low molecular weight kininogen to produce kinin peptides, which in turn activate kinin receptors to trigger multiple biological functions. In addition to its kinin-releasing activity, tissue kallikrein directly interacts with the kinin B2 receptor, protease-activated receptor-1, and γ-epithelial Na channel. The tissue kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) elicits a wide spectrum of biological activities, including reducing hypertension, cardiac and renal damage, restenosis, ischemic stroke, and skin wound injury. Both loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies have shown that the KKS plays an important endogenous role in the protection against health pathologies. Tissue kallikrein/kinin treatment attenuates cardiovascular, renal, and brain injury by inhibiting oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, hypertrophy, and fibrosis and promoting angiogenesis and neurogenesis. Approaches that augment tissue kallikrein-kinin activity might provide an effective strategy for the treatment of hypertension and associated organ damage.
Super Learning for Right-Censored Data

The super learner was introduced in Chap. 3 as a loss-based estimator of a parameter of the data-generating distribution, defined as the minimizer of the expectation (risk) of a loss function over all candidate parameter values in the parameter space. This chapter demonstrates how the super learner framework can also be applied to estimate parameters such as conditional hazards or survival functions of a failure time, given a vector of baseline covariates, based on right-censored data. We strongly advise readers to familiarize themselves with the concepts presented in Chap. 3 before reading this chapter, as we assume the reader has a firm grasp of that material.
Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory: Clinical Interpretation of Summary Scores Using Rasch Rating Scale Methodology

This article summarizes the development of the PEDI and the clinical interpretation of the normative standard scores, scaled scores, changes in scaled scores, and goodness-of-fit statistics. Examples are given to illustrate the correspondence between the summary scores and the underlying hierarchic item scale. The authors believe that the Rasch Rating Scale model provides a methodology to assist the clinician in the proper interpretation and use of summary scores derived from the PEDI.
An XPS and SEM Study of Polyurethane Surfaces: Experimental Considerations

Polyetherurethanes (PEU’s) are possibly the only class of polymeric material with mechanical properties which make them suitable for long-term application in an implanted total artificial heart. Evidence suggests that the surface composition of PEU’s influences, in a predictable manner, their interaction with blood (1, 2). Both attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) (3, 4) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) (2,5,6,7,8) have shown that the surface compositions of these materials can differ considerably from the bulk, a surface excess of polyether segment being indicated. Since relationships between surface structure and blood compatibility have been established, an understanding of the factors which influence the nature of PEU surfaces might be used to fabricate PEU’s with improved blood compatibility. In this paper, a new method for calculating and presenting quantitative depth profiles of atomic composition derived from angular dependent XPS studies is considered. The method is based upon fitting angular XPS profiles, calculated employing a novel algorithm, to experimental data. Results have been obtained for a series of PEU compositions, with casting solvent and extraction as additional variables.
Evolutionary Ideas and Contemporary Naturalism

As I was thinking about the rise of evolutionary ideas in twentieth century science, I remembered a passage in which the celebrated N.R. Campbell shows his attachment to an old metaphysics of time. It provides a telling measure of how bizarre and unexpected our present ideas must have initially been2.
Synthesis of Cardanol-Based Polyols via Thiol-ene/Thiol-epoxy Dual Click-Reactions and Thermosetting Polyurethanes Therefrom

Two novel bio-based polyols were synthesized from cardanol via thiol-ene/thiol-epoxy dual click-reactions. Compared with the cardanol-based polyols synthesized by the thiol-ene reaction, the cardanol-based polyols synthesized by thiol-ene/thiol-epoxy dual reactions have a higher hydroxyl number due to the additional secondary hydroxyl group generated from the thiol-epoxy reaction. The synthesized polyols were formulated with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) trimers to prepare cardanol-based thermosetting polyurethane (PU) films. Thorough thermal and mechanical characterizations of the prepared PU films were carried out to study the structure–property relationship. An UV-aging test was conducted to characterize the color retention of the cardanol-based PU films. The thermal stability of cardanol-based PU films was improved after converting the phenolic hydroxyl to aliphatic hydroxyl. With increasing the hydroxyl number of cardanol-based polyols, the cross-link density, glass transition temperature, elastic...
Combined Primary Cleft Lip and Palate Repair: Is It Safe?

BACKGROUND Single-stage primary cleft lip and palate (PCLP) repair is controversial in the United States, and most patients are treated with a staged approach. In this study, early postoperative complications of the single-stage approach as compared to primary cleft lip (PCL) or primary cleft palate (PCP) alone were evaluated. This study represents the largest cohort of patients undergoing combined cleft lip and palate repair. METHODS The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric database was used to identify patients undergoing single-stage PCLP, PCL, or PCP repairs. Preoperative factors and postoperative outcomes were compared between the 3 groups, as well as within the PCLP group between patients with and without complications. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS A TOTAL OF:: 181 patients were included in the single-stage PCLP group, 1007 in the PCP group and 783 in the PCL group. There was no difference in the rates of early complications between the 3 groups. Within the PCLP group, cardiac risk factors (β = 35.19; 95% confidence interval [CI] 7.88-75.21; P = 0.04) and complications (β = 77.31; 95% CI 35.82-118.79; P < 0.001) were significant risk factors for longer operative time. CONCLUSION Analysis of a national database showed that single-stage PCLP repair is not associated with increased risk of early postoperative complications as compared to primary lip or palate repair alone. In-depth long-term analyses of craniofacial morphology, fistulae rate, speech, and dental outcomes are essential for a comprehensive assessment of the effects of combined cleft lip and palate repair.
An experimental investigation on the dynamic glaze ice accretion process over a wind turbine airfoil surface

Abstract Icing events, particularly under precipitation-icing conditions in which high-liquidity glaze ice tends to form, could pose significant threats to the safe and effective operations of wind turbines in cold and wet environments. During the glaze ice accretion process, the wind-driven unfrozen water was coupled with the growth of ice structures and difficult to be quantified and characterized. In the present study, we introduced a Digital Image Projection (DIP) technique to quantitatively measure the unsteady water runback behaviors and dynamic ice accretion process under typical glaze icing conditions over a highly-cambered wind turbine airfoil surface, i.e., the pressure-side surface of DU91-W2-250 airfoil, in the Icing Research Tunnel at Iowa State University (ISU-IRT). DIP measurement results were found to be able to successfully capture the time-resolved three-dimensional information of the water transport behaviors over the ice accreting surface of the airfoil model during the glaze icing processes. The stumbling motions of the rivulet flows were observed during the icing processes, coupled with an increasing fluctuations induced by the underneath ice roughness. The forces acting on the rivulet flows were analyzed, and a theoretical model based on the force balance was built to predict the rivulet flows. The effects of the incoming airflow velocity on the glaze icing process over the airfoil surface were also studied, and it was found that, as the incoming flow velocity increased, the runback rivulet flows would move farther downstream and became thinner and narrower due to the increased aerodynamic stress acting on them. The rivulet bulged shape was found to have an inverse relationship with the inflow velocity squared. In addition, the ice accreted over the airfoil surface during an icing process was quantitatively decoupled from the unfrozen wind-driven water, and the quantitative results can be used to validate and optimize current ice accretion models.
Menopausal Estrogen-Alone Therapy and Health Outcomes in Women With and Without Bilateral Oophorectomy.

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) included a large-scale, randomized trial of estrogen-alone therapy in women aged 50 to 79 years with prior hysterectomy. It is still uncertain whether the risks ...
CHARACTERIZATION OF AN INFLUENZA VIRUS-RESISTANT MDBK CELL VARIANT

I. ABSTRACT We have established an influenza virus-resistant cell line which was obtained from cultures of MDBK cells that were initially persistently infected with the WSN strain of influenza A and subsequently lost the ability to produce virus. These variant cells are now almost completely refractory to influenza virus infection but retain the ability to support the growth of several other viruses including VSV, Sindbis virus, adenovirus and herpes simplex virus. All evidence indicates that this resistant cell variant was in fact derived from the completely permissive MDBK line. In view of these properties, we have termed these cells MDBK/IV to denote both their origin and their resistance to influenza virus. We have taken several approaches to investigate the biochemical block that these cells have established to specifically prevent the replication of influenza virus. To this end, we are investigating (i) influenza virus binding and biochemical properties of the plasma membrane, (ii) the production of influenza virus-specific positive and negative strand RNA, (iii) the ability of the cells to accurately and efficiently translate influenza virus specific mRNA, and (iv) the possibility that virus-specific information is integrated into the cell genome. Our experiments showed that MDBK/IV cells bound 80% less influenza virus than did the parental line and that this difference could not fully account for the lack of virus production. We have also detected the synthesis of virus-specific polyadenylated positive strand RNA in these cells and are currently characterizing this RNA and investigating its ability to be translated in vivo and in vitro.
Role of Taurine Transporter in the Retinal Uptake of Vigabatrin.

Vigabatrin (VGB) is a first-line drug used for treatment of infantile spasms. On therapeutic dose, VGB accumulates in the retina causing permanent peripheral visual field constriction. The mechanism involved in retinal accumulation of VGB is ambiguous. In the present study, mechanism of VGB transport into retina was evaluated. VGB uptake into retina was studied in vitro using human adult retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells as a model for outer blood retinal barrier. The VGB cell uptake studies demonstrated saturation kinetics with Km value of 13.1 mM and uptake was significantly increased at pH 7.4 and hyperosmolar conditions indicating involvement of carrier-mediated Na+–Cl−-dependent transporter. In the presence of taurine transporter (TauT) substrates (taurine and GABA) and inhibitor guanidinoethyl sulfonate (GES), the uptake of VGB decreased significantly demonstrating contribution of TauT. The VGB retinal levels in rats were decreased by 1.5- and 1.3-folds on chronic administration of GES and taurine, respectively. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the TauT involvement in VGB uptake and accumulation in retina.
"McGirt V. Oklahoma" On Native Rights

What started as a dispute over jurisdiction in a murder prosecution has become an influential case about who controls the rightful government of Eastern Oklahoma. 40% of the state, including the city of Tulsa, comprises the historic reservations of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations. These tribes were forcibly removed from the eastern United States in the 1830s—including along the infamous Trail of Tears—and promised their new land in perpetuity. Since then, parts of that land have slowly been allotted, seized, or sold, so they are no longer part of the reservation. Or are they? According to the original treaties the petitioners are asking the Court to uphold, those lands are still under the government of the tribes. While this case is specifically about land in Oklahoma, it has broad ramifications for reservation land and Native rights throughout the United States.
Campaign Finance Levels as Coordinating Signals in Three‐way, Experimental Elections

If (often costly) election campaigns are simply advertising, they do not increase social welfare directly. Given this, should we limit campaign expenditures? We propose that costly campaigns can inform voters about the strength of candidates. This may increase welfare indirectly by helping voters avoid coordination failures. In laboratory elections, we study campaign finance levels as coordinating signals and compare them with our earlier work on polls. Both coordinate majority voters effectively, allowing them to stop Condorcet losers from winning. Finance levels were rational in that the total benefits of coordination exceeded the costs. Further, benefits of typical incremental contributions exceeded costs ex-post, while the next typical increment's benefits would not have.
Communicating clocks shape circadian homeostasis

Circadian clocks temporally coordinate physiology and align it with geophysical time, which enables diverse life-forms to anticipate daily environmental cycles. In complex organisms, clock function originates from the molecular oscillator within each cell and builds upward anatomically into an organism-wide system. Recent advances have transformed our understanding of how clocks are connected to achieve coherence across tissues. Circadian misalignment, often imposed in modern society, disrupts coordination among clocks and has been linked to diseases ranging from metabolic syndrome to cancer. Thus, uncovering the physiological circuits whereby biological clocks achieve coherence will inform on both challenges and opportunities in human health.
Efficient separation of small organic contaminants in water using functionalized nanoporous graphene membranes: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract Small organic molecules, and specifically micropollutants, pose known hazards to human health, but their removal is particularly challenging in water treatment. Our work demonstrates promising single-layer nanoporous graphene (NPG) membranes with high water permeability and varying degrees of selectivity against common organic contaminants, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Seven target organic molecules are considered—including methanol, urea, ethanol, 2-propanol, n-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), pyrrole, and phenol—to understand the molecular parameters that govern organic removal. We systematically study molecular transport dynamics and energetics through membranes having varying sizes of pores with hydrophobic (hydrogenated) and hydrophilic (hydroxylated) functionalizations. We find that NPG membranes with smaller, hydroxylated pores offer higher water/organic permselectivity compared to those with larger, hydrogenated pores, as they impede the transport of organics while facilitating the transport of water. Molecular size is the primary organic parameter that controls transport. Larger organic molecules have a greater affinity for the membrane and pore groups (interfacial-affinity sieving), but they are more hindered from entering the pore (pore-size sieving). There is a net decrease in transport with increased molecular size, which suggests that pore-size sieving is the governing mechanism for most of the molecular separations. We further find that traditional measures of organic hydrophobicity are not strong predictors of transport, as they correlate poorly with interfacial affinity, and the contribution of dehydration to the energy barrier of permeation is limited, though non-negligible. Finally, our simulations show that organic-pore interactions are not pressure independent: as flow rate is decreased, the effects of interfacial-affinity sieving become more pronounced. In short, this study establishes a comprehensive understanding of membrane and molecular parameters to guide the design of effective NPG membranes for organic contaminant removal, particularly in desalination and wastewater reuse.
The transnational routes of white and Hindu nationalisms

The targeting of social difference by the extreme right is no longer on the fringes of the nation-state. Instead, the far right provides the contours of national community while also dominating the...
Leading by Example, Lighting the World: Open Government, Transparency, and Soft Power in Obama’s National Security Policy

Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama promoted open government and transparency at home and abroad as instruments of American soft power. President Obama sought to improve the American people’s c...
„Die Entstehung der deutschen Sprache, in groben Strukturen. Ein, zwei Stunden“ – Einstellungen von Lehrkräften zu Sprachgeschichte und Sprachwandel

Die Forderung in die Geschichte zu blicken, um daraus Nutzen fur die Gegenwart zu ziehen, wird vielfach bemuht. Dies gilt fur die allgemeine Geschichtsforschung ebenso wie fur Sprachwissenschaft und Sprachdidaktik. Auch dort wird mit einer gewissen Regelmasigkeit – und mitunter einem kulturpessimistischen Unterton – gefordert, in der Schule den Blick wieder starker auf die Geschichte der deutschen Sprache zu richten (vgl. Ziegler 2010: 4ff.). Gemas dem aktuellen Diktum „Auf den Lehrer kommt es an!“ geraten dabei insbesondere dessen Kompetenzen in den Fokus.
A 10–100-GHz Double-Ridged Horn Antenna and Coax Launcher

The design, fabrication, and measurement of a coax to double-ridged waveguide launcher and horn antenna is presented. The novel launcher design employs two symmetric field probes across the ridge gap to minimize spreading inductance in the transition, and achieves better than 15 dB return loss over a 10:1 bandwidth. The aperture-matched horn uses a half-cosine transition into a linear taper for the outer waveguide dimensions and ridge width, and a power-law scaled gap to realize monotonically varying cutoff frequencies, thus avoiding the appearance of trapped mode resonances. It achieves a nearly constant beamwidth in both E- and H-planes for an overall directivity of about 16.5 dB from 10–100 GHz.
Immediate puerperal death

Abstract 1. 1. Three hundred and eighteen (33 per cent) of 937 maternal deaths after the twenty-eighth week of gestation occurred within twenty-four hours of delivery. 2. 2. Two hundred and ninety-two (92 per cent) of these 318 deaths were obstetric deaths. 3. 3. Of the 292 obstetric deaths, 71 per cent were caused by postpartum hemorrhage, shock, eclampsia, placenta previa, placenta abruptio, and inversion of the uterus. 4. 4. Of the 292 obstetric deaths, 171 (58 per cent) were judged preventable. 5. 5. The preventability of these 171 obstetric deaths were assigned to the physician in 132 (77 per cent) and to the patient in 39 (23 per cent). 6. 6. Since 12,000 women die from all puerperal causes in each year in this country, should a similar ratio of preventability obtain as occurred in this study, the elimination of the immediate puerperal preventable deaths from the standpoint of the physician's education or skill would save 1,000 lives annually.
Chapter 1 Gene rearrangements in thyroid cancer

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses gene rearrangements in thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is an epithelial neoplasm that is characterized by chromosomal rearrangements as a common genetic abnormality. This is unusual since large-scale rearrangements are typically found in lymphomas/leukemias and certain types of sarcomas, but not in epithelial tumors. One feature shared by thyroid cancer and other rearrangement-prone neoplasms is that all of them have ionizing radiation listed as a well-established etiologic factor. In thyroid tumors, rearranged in transformation/Papillary thyroid carcinomas (RET/PTC) and PAX8–PPARγ rearrangements are most common, and the frequency of both is significantly higher in tumors associated with radiation exposure. It points towards radiation as a possible factor directly involved in the induction of tumorigenic chromosomal rearrangements in human cells. However, overall, most thyroid tumors harboring these genetic aberrations arise in patients with no apparent history of irradiation. This raises the possibility of either unnoticed radiation exposure in many such individuals or the existence of other factors acting in a similar way to promote the rearrangement.
Structure of Materials: Ceramic structures II: high-temperature superconductors

Mercury has passed into a new state, which on account of its extraordinary electrical properties may be called the superconductive state. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, (1853–1926) Ceramic superconductors, discovered in 1986, form a particularly interesting class of layered ceramic. In this chapter, we illustrate several important high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) crystal structures, and we analyze them in terms of stacking sequence as well as the individual building blocks that make up these complex structures. The HTSC field has its own nomenclature and short hand notation for these structures, and we explain this notation in detail. Introductory remarks about superconductivity The discovery of high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) was a major scientific achievement. Superconductivity was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911 with the observation that at 4K, Hg exhibited no resistance at all (Onnes, 1911). Superconductivity is the phenomenon by which free electrons form Cooper pairs , which move cooperatively below a temperature called the superconducting transition temperature, T c . Paired electrons can correlate their motion to avoid scattering off of the vibrating crystalline lattice (Bardeen et al. , 1957). This phase transition from a normal conductor (> T c ) to a superconductor (≤ T c ) is accompanied by an abrupt loss of electrical resistivity, perfect conductivity , and the exclusion of magnetic flux, the Meissner effect (Meissner and Ochsenfeld, 1933).
ATP- and polyphosphate-mediated stimulation of pp60c-src kinase activity in extracts from vascular smooth muscle.

Recently, we reported that pp60c-src kinase activity was present in adult bovine coronary arterial smooth muscle and showed that the activity of the enzyme in in vitro immunoprecipitation assays was stimulated 20-60-fold by ATP (Di Salvo, J., Gifford, D., and Kokkinakis, A. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 153, 388-394). In the present study, ATP-mediated stimulation of activity was also demonstrated in extracts from aortic vascular smooth muscle. In contrast, no stimulation was apparent in extracts from brain. Stimulation of activity in vascular preparations was also induced with beta,gamma-imidoadenosine 5'-triphosphate (AMP.PNP), a nonmetabolizable analog of ATP, and with several other polyphosphates including ADP and sodium pyrophosphate. No stimulation occurred in response to monophosphates such as AMP or KH2PO4. As expected, the specific activity of pp60c-src in brain extracts did not change when the amount of extracted protein included in immunoprecipitation mixtures was increased. Unexpectedly, however, the specific activity of the vascular enzyme decreased markedly as the amount of extracted protein subjected to immunoprecipitation was increased. Following stimulation of pp60c-src in vascular extracts with ATP, the enzyme behaved in a fashion similar to pp60c-src extracted from brain. That is, the enhanced specific activity of the stimulated vascular enzyme did not decrease with increasing amounts of extracted protein. Moreover, mixing experiments in which vascular smooth muscle extracts were added to brain extracts showed that the muscle extracts contained a factor which inhibited pp60c-src kinase activity. This inhibition was blocked when the mixed extracts were immunoprecipitated in the presence of ATP, or when inhibitory extract was treated with trypsin. Taken together, these data suggest that pp60c-src kinase activity in vascular tissue may be subject to a novel regulatory mechanism involving an inhibitory protein factor which can be nullified by polyphosphates.
The neuropathology of parkinsonism.

Publisher Summary A variety of disorders of the nervous system results in parkinsonian symptoms. Virtually all of them involve damage to various components of the basal ganglia (BG). This chapter reviews the neuropathologic features of many of these conditions. The chapter focuses on the neuropathologic findings in cases of Parkinson's disease—the prototype condition. Although the presence of Lewy bodies is required to make a diagnosis of sporadic Parkinson's disease, Lewy bodies are encountered in association with a number of other conditions. There are other rare forms of genetically based Parkinson's disease that may or may not demonstrate Lewy body formation. The conjugation of ubiquitin on virtually all such protein aggregates is reviewed and it is suggested that dysfunction of the ubiquitin–proteosome machinery underlies a basic inability to clear specific damaged proteins, leading to their accumulation.
A Comparative Meta-Analysis of Tick Paralysis in the United States and Australia

Context. Tick paralysis is a neurotoxic envenoming that mimics polio and primarily afflicts children, especially in hyperendemic regions of the Western United States of America (US) and Eastern Australia. Objective. To compare the epidemiology, clinical and electrodiagnostic manifestations, and outcomes of tick paralysis in the US versus Australia. Methods. A comparative meta-analysis of the scientific literature was conducted using Internet search engines to identify confirmed cases of tick paralysis in the US and Australia. Continuous variables including age, time to tick removal, and duration of paralysis were analyzed for statistically significant differences by unpaired t-tests; and categorical variables including gender, regional distribution, tick vector, tick attachment site, and misdiagnosis were compared for statistically significant differences by chi-square or Fisher exact tests. Results. Tick paralysis following ixodid tick bites occurred seasonally and sporadically in individuals and in more...
Fast, area-efficient CMOS parity generation

High-performance CMOS parity generator cells are described. Their enhanced speed is derived principally from a combination of exclusive-or and equivalence gate circuits. The circuits realize these logic functions in a single gate level using a combination of fully restoring and pass-transistor gate topology in a semirestoring configuration. The circuits are suitable for the gate forest realization. These parity generator cells neither consume DC power nor require complementary input signals, and are approximately three to five times faster than the conventional dual-level logic implementation. When these circuits are cascaded, the noise margin degradation problems typically associated with nonrestoring logic families are improved. The simplicity of this approach provides significant area savings compared to conventional implementations of various types. >
Stretch sensitivity of mechanoreceptor neurons in rat hairy skin

1. Cutaneous mechanoreceptor neurons were recorded in a preparation of isolated rat skin while the skin was stretched with an apparatus that allowed the parameters of tensile stress and strain to be controlled. 2. SA2 afferents were strongly directionally selective in response to stretch. Their responses were correlated most strongly with the tensile stress along the unit's preferred direction and were related poorly to strain variables. Threshold tensile stresses required to activate SA2s were low, on the order of 5 kPa. 3. C-mechanoreceptors were stretch activated. They lacked directional selectivity and had tensile stress thresholds similar to SA2s. 4. Hair afferents had only dynamic responses to stretch. SA1 afferents were not stretch activated.
MULTICOMPONENT WAVE PROPAGATION: ATTAINMENT OF COHERENCE FROM ARBITRARY STARTING CONDITIONS†

The method of characteristics is used to prove the coherence principle, namely, that an arbitrary starting variation embedded between sufficiently large regions of constant state is resolved into c...
Constitutive relations for the interaction force in multicomponent particulate flows

Abstract In the mechanics of multiphase (or multicomponent) mixtures, one of the outstanding issues is the formulation of constitutive relations for the interaction force. In this paper, we give a brief review of the various relations proposed for this interaction force. The review is tilted toward presenting the works of those who have used the mixture theory (or the theory of interacting continua) to derive or to propose a relationship for the interaction (or diffusive) force. We propose a constitutive relation which is general and frame-indifferent and thus suitable for use in many flow conditions. At the end, we provide an alternative approach for finding the drag force on a particle in a particulate mixture. This approach has been used in the non-Newtonian fluid mechanics to find the drag force on surfaces.
Radiation induces upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein in PC-3 cells

Purpose: To investigate the impact of γ-irradiation on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and its enzymatic activity in PC-3 cells. Cell cycle redistribution, viability, and apoptosis were quantitated in control and irradiated cells with or without the COX-2 inhibitor NS-398. Methods and Materials: Western blot analysis was used to assess COX-2 protein expression. Prostaglandin (PGE2) was measured after addition of arachidonic acid (AA) using a Monoclonal Immunoassay Kit. Cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed using flow cytometry. Results: We observed a dose-dependent increase in COX-2 of 37.0%, 79.7%, and 97.5% following irradiation with 5, 10, and 15 Gy, respectively. The PGE2 level of irradiated cells was higher than in controls (1512 ± 157.5 vs. 973.7 ± 54.2 ρg PGE2/mL; p < 0.005, n = 4) while cells irradiated in the presence of NS-398 had reduced PGE2 levels (218.8 ± 80.1 ρg PGE2/mL; p < 0.005; n = 4). We found no differences in cell cycle distribution or apoptosis between cells irradiated in the presence or absence of NS-398. Conclusions: COX-2 protein is upregulated and enzymatically active after irradiation, resulting in elevated levels of PGE2. This effect can be suppressed by NS-398, which has clinical implications for therapies combining COX-2 inhibitors with radiation therapy.
Learning data transformation rules through examples: preliminary results

A key problem in many data integration tasks is that data is often in the wrong format and needs to be converted into a different format. This can be a very time consuming and tedious task. In this paper we propose an approach that can learn data transformations automatically from examples. Our approach not only identifies the transformations that are consistent with all examples, but also recommends the transformations that most likely transform the rest of unseen data correctly. The experimental results show that in six transformation scenarios our approach produces good results.
Lipoprotein synthesis. I. rat plasma lipoprotein composition and synthesis from radioactive precursors.

The in vivo synthesis of rat plasma lipoproteins was studied by the use of isotopic protein and lipid precursors. Labelled amino acids, palmitic acid and tripalmitin were administered by stomach tube and the radioactivity in the plasma lipoproteins was determined following preparative ultracentrifugal isolation at densities of 1.006, 1.019, 1.063 and 1.21 g/ml.
Comparative Approaches for Assessing Network Vulnerability

A common theme in analysis and evaluation of network-based critical infrastructure is the assessment of system vulnerability. Graph theoretic, simulation, and optimization-based techniques have played a significant role in examining potential network vulnerabilities given the insights they can provide for mitigating facility loss and prioritizing fortification efforts. Central to these approaches is the concept of facility (arc—node) importance or criticality to system survivability. Assessments of network vulnerability can dramatically differ based on how facility importance is characterized. In this review, various approaches for assessing facility importance and network vulnerability are examined. The key differences in these approaches are the ways in which a facility's role in maintaining network operability is evaluated given arc—node disruption. Comparative results suggest significant differences exist among measures of facility importance and network performance. Furthermore, the subsequent incong...
Progressive dopamine neuron loss in Parkinson's disease: the multiple hit hypothesis

Animal models have been an essential tool for researchers and clinicians in their efforts to study and treat Parkinson's disease (PD). Thus, the various ways 6-hydroxydopamine is employed, the use of MPTP in rodents and nonhuman primates, the prenatal exposure to bacterial endotoxin, the postnatal exposure to environmental toxins such as paraquat and rotenone, the assessment of dopamine (DA) neurons in genetic knockout mouse, and even the behavioral analysis of fruit flies and worms have added significantly to our knowledge base of PD--or have they? Are these animal models manifesting a true model of PD? Have the 7786 published studies (to date) on PD with animal models led to a clearer understanding of its etiology, treatment, or progression? In this review we critically assess this question. We begin with a succinct history of the major contributions, which have led to the current animal models of PD. We then evaluate the primary issue of the progressive loss of DA neurons, which, except for a few studies, has not been addressed in animal models of PD, even though this is the major pathological characteristic of the disease. Lastly, we discuss the possibility that more than one risk factor for PD may be necessary to develop an animal model that shows synergy--the progressive loss of DA neurons. Thus, the multiple hit hypothesis of PD-that is, the effect of more then one risk factor-may be the start of new era in animal models of PD that is one step closer to mimicking the pathology of PD in humans.
Methamphetamine acutely inhibits voltage-gated calcium channels but chronically up-regulates L-type channels.

In neurons, calcium (Ca2+) channels regulate a wide variety of functions ranging from synaptic transmission to gene expression. They also induce neuroplastic changes that alter gene expression following psychostimulant administration. Ca2+ channel blockers have been considered as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of methamphetamine (METH) dependence because of their ability to reduce drug craving among METH users. Here, we studied the effects of METH exposure on voltage-gated Ca2+ channels using SH-SY5Y cells as a model of dopaminergic neurons. We found that METH has different short- and long-term effects. A short-term effect involves immediate (<5 min) direct inhibition of Ca2+ ion movements through Ca2+ channels. Longer exposure to METH (20 min or 48 hr) selectively upregulates the expression of only the CACNA1C gene, thus increasing the number of L-type Ca2+ channels. This upregulation of CACNA1C is associated with the expression of the CREB (cAMP responsive element binding protein), a known regulator of CACNA1C gene expression, and the MYC gene, which encodes a transcription factor that putatively binds to a site proximal to the CACNA1C gene transcription initiation site. The short-term inhibition of Ca2+ ion movement and later, the upregulation of Ca2+ channel gene expression together suggest the operation of CREB- and C-MYC-mediated mechanisms to compensate for Ca2+ channel inhibition by METH. Increased Ca2+ current density and subsequent increased intracellular Ca2+ may contribute to the neurodegeneration accompanying chronic METH abuse.
Linear stability analysis of spherically propagating thermal frontal polymerization waves

Spherically propagating frontal polymerization (FP) waves were observed for the first time in condensed media. After a brief period of ignition in a spherical domain by an external UV source, the front began to expand radially. Once the front attained a critical size, it became unstable, resulting in so-called ‘spin modes’. These spin modes are manifested as slightly raised regions that travel on the surface of the expanding spherical front. The onset of these instabilities from a stable, uniformly propagating spherical front can be described by a linear stability analysis. The bifurcation parameter is the Zeldovich number which is related to the activation energy of the reaction. A basic solution was constructed which describes a spherically symmetric outward propagating front of radius R. An asymptotic analysis was then employed under the assumption that R is large. This corresponds to the case where the conditions of ignition do not affect front propagation. It was found to leading order that the front propagates at a constant velocity and corrections to velocity due to curvature have been determined. The linear stability analysis shows that for the Zeldovich number in a certain range, there exists a situation in which the sphere will be unstable but will recover its stability in time as it expands.
Infant male circumcision in the public square: applying the public reason of John Rawls

John Rawls is perhaps the most influential political philosopher of the twentieth century. His philosophy is based on the idea of justice as fairness and emphasizes the importance of basic liberties, including the right to bodily integrity and the use of rationality in making ethical determinations. His political philosophy addressed the challenges a secular society faces when its citizens adhere to a variety of comprehensive doctrines and religious beliefs yet requires social cooperation for the benefit of all. Public policy is determined through ‘public reason’ in which reasonable proposals are considered and compromises made. Using the decisional approaches that Rawls developed, this article explores how the process of public reason would consider the reasonableness of surgically altering the genitals of male minors for non-therapeutic ends. It will incorporate the issues of the basic liberties of minors and the weaknesses of a utilitarian defense of this practice.