cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A group I metabotropic glutamate receptor controls synaptic gain between rods and rod bipolar cells in the mouse retina

The canonical mGluR6-Trpm1 pathway that generates the sign-inverting signal between photoreceptors and ON bipolar cells has been well described. However, one type of ON bipolar cell, the rod bipolar cell (RBC), additionally is thought to express the group I mGluRs whose function is unknown. We examined the role of group I mGluRs in mouse RBCs and here provide evidence that it controls synaptic gain between rods and RBCs. In dark-adapted conditions, the mGluR1 antagonists LY367385 and (RS)-1-Aminoindan-1,5-dicarboxylic acid, but not the mGluR5 antagonist 2-Methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine hydrochloride reduced the light-evoked responses in RBCs indicating that mGluR1, but not mGluR5, serves to potentiate RBC responses. Perturbing the downstream phospholipase C (PLC)-protein kinase C (PKC) pathway by inhibiting PLC, tightly buffering intracellular Ca2+ , or preventing its release from intracellular stores reduced the synaptic potentiation by mGluR1. The effect of mGluR1 activation was dependent upon adaptation state, strongly increasing the synaptic gain in dark-, but not in light-adapted retinas, or in the presence of a moderate background light, consistent with the idea that mGluR1 activation requires light-dependent glutamate release from rods. Moreover, immunostaining revealed that protein kinase Cα (PKCα) is more strongly expressed in RBC dendrites in dark-adapted conditions, revealing an additional mechanism behind the loss of mGluR1 potentiation. In light-adapted conditions, exogenous activation of mGluR1 with the agonist 3,5-Dihydroxyphenylglycine increased the mGluR6 currents in some RBCs and decreased it in others, suggesting an additional action of mGluR1 that is unmasked in the light-adapted state. Elevating intracellular free Ca2+ , consistently resulted in a decrease in synaptic gain. Our results provide evidence that mGluR1 controls the synaptic gain in RBCs.
Design criteria for minimalist mimics of protein-protein interface segments.

Small molecules that can interrupt or inhibit protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are valuable as probes in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, but they are also notoriously difficult to develop. Design of non-peptidic small molecules that mimic amino acid side-chain interactions in PPIs (“minimalist mimics”) is seen as a way to fast track discovery of PPI inhibitors. However, there has been little comment on general design criteria for minimalist mimics, even though such guidelines could steer construction of libraries to screen against multiple PPI targets. We hypothesized insight into general design criteria for minimalist mimics could be gained by comparing preferred conformations of typical minimalist mimic designs against side-chain orientations on a huge number of PPI interfaces. That thought led to this work which features nine minimalist mimic designs: one from the literature, and eight new “hypothetical” ones conceived by us. Simulated preferred conformers of these were systematically aligned with >240 000 PPI interfaces from the Protein Data Bank. Conclusions from those analyses did indeed reveal various design considerations that are discussed here. Surprisingly, this study also showed one of the minimalist mimic designs aligned on PPI interface segments more than 15 times more frequently than any other in the series (according to uniform standards described herein); reasons for this are also discussed.
The Design of Transport Block-Based ROHC U-Mode for LTE Multicast

One important issue that confronts multicast service is multiple-user satisfaction under dynamic channel conditions over cellular networks. In practical Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, a key mechanism that affects the transmission efficiency and robustness for each user is RObust Header Compression (ROHC). In this work, we improve the transmission performance of multicast aiming at satisfying all the users with a trans-layer design scheme. We first establish a practical system model for trans-layer multicast networks, with transport blocks (TBs) as the transmission units. Focusing on the optimization of ROHC, we formulate a novel trans-layer control framework in terms of partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) to maximize the total number of successfully received payload bits among all users in one Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS). To address the complexity issue of the rigorous POMDP formulation, we further develop an Instantaneous Marginal Belief (IMB) policy algorithm to handle multiple-user. Our numerical results demonstrate substantial improvements by the proposed policy.
Tryptophan and kynurenines in neurodegenerative disease

There is mounting evidence that there exists a connection between abnormal tryptophan metabolism and neurodegenerative diseases. The relationship between tryptophan and kynurenines in 48 age-matched normal and Alzheimer’s disease human brain tissues was investigated using label-free fluorescence spectroscopy.
The Quest for Greener Pastures: Evaluating the Livelihoods Impacts of Providing Vegetation Condition Maps to Pastoralists in Eastern Africa

Abstract Pastoral households are faced with making migration decisions under increasing uncertainty about resource availability and limited coping strategies due to mounting socioeconomic and climatic stressors. We assess the potential of providing vegetation condition maps to support the migration decisions of pastoralists in Ethiopia and Tanzania and the impact of map usage on their herd condition and size. The maps were generated from remotely sensed data using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a proxy for vegetation condition and overlain with pastoralists' preferred grazing areas. We surveyed pastoralists before maps were distributed (baseline), and approximately a year (midline), and two years (endline) after map distribution began. Map adopters in both countries reported an overwhelmingly positive experience and stated the maps were accurate and helpful. However, the use of maps for migration decisions was low in the follow-up periods, partly due to challenges in map distribution (26% and 2% in Ethiopia; and 35% and 29% in Tanzania at midline and endline respectively). Map usage was associated with improved animal condition in Tanzania, but we find no causal evidence that map usage affected herd size in the randomized controlled trial in Ethiopia.
A Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Surgical Site Infections in Patients Undergoing Delayed Sternal Closure After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Sternal wound infections (SWI) in delayed sternal closure (DSC) patients are a healthcare burden after congenital heart surgery. There are no guidelines specific for pediatric DSC patients to prevent this costly complication. The hypothesis was that the modifications to a bundled approach for DSC patients would decrease the SWI rate. For this prospective cohort study, DSC patients were postoperatively admitted to a pediatric cardiac care unit from February 2017 to January 2018. Using a modified protocol for prevention of SWI, the infection rates pre- and post-modified protocol were compared. The primary outcome measure was SWI. Secondary outcome measures were compliance with modifications. Retrospective review of cases in pre-protocol modification era from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016 showed 377 pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass cases and 39 (10.4%) underwent DSC. During the post-protocol modification era, there were 129 cardiopulmonary bypass cases and 17 (13%) DSC cases. The SWI rate in DSC were 7.7% and 0% for pre-intervention and post-intervention, respectively (p = 0.52). The Bayesian confidence interval with Jeffreys prior gives a 95% confidence interval of 1.5% to 18.3% for pre-intervention and 0 to 13.5% for post-intervention. Compliance with the protocol bundle during the post protocol era was 93-100%. Although preliminary results are not statistically significant due to cohort size, the economic burden and increased LOS for each SWI is clinically significant. The early results of reduced infections for DSC patients using a modified bundle approach appear promising. Continued study and a multicenter project would be beneficial.
Forward-Viewing Ultrasound Imaging with Concentric-Ring Arrays for Registration-Free Needle Intervention

Current standard workflow of ultrasound (US)-guided needle insertion is complicated due to a separation of functionalities of localization and needle manipulation. This requires physicians to manage a hand-eye coordination between the needle and US image in their mind to perform safe and accurate needle insertions. Although there are commercial navigation systems for the US-guided intervention, recovery of the positional relationship requires the usage of external tracking systems and image-based tracking algorisms that may involve the registration error. For developing an US-guided needle insertion device that allows for the intuitive and simple intervention to physicians without any registration process, this paper serves the forward-viewing US imaging with the concentric-ring array. For optimizing the configuration of the concentric-ring array, we investigated that the design parameters of the number of ring-layer causes the image quality. In addition, we implemented the apodization weight for Delay-and-Sum beamforming with the ring-array configuration to reduce side-lobe artifacts. The performance of the concentric-ring arrays was evaluated with the Field II simulated and experimental data. The results demonstrated the successful visualization of cyst phantom and showed that the CNR was improved by increasing the number of ring layers and applying the proposed apodization weight.
Prediction With Mixed Effects Models: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study.

Oftentimes in many fields of the social and natural sciences, data are obtained within a nested structure (e.g., students within schools). To effectively analyze data with such a structure, multile...
Alloy thermodynamics via the Multi-cell Monte Carlo (MC)2 method

Abstract From the Bronze Age to the Iron Age to the modern era, alloys have been closely tied to human civilization. Alloy design is still one of the most active fields of materials research to respond to the ever-changing needs of the modern global society. At the heart of designing new alloys, is the knowledge of phase equilibria and the underlying thermodynamics. Most of the modern alloys have more than two or three components, but the phase diagrams for multicomponent systems either do not exist or are partially explored. Here, we discuss how a computational approach can help fill this knowledge gap. We present a review of our Monte-Carlo-based method which allows, for the first time, the direct simulation of coexisting phases in many-component crystalline systems. It is universally applicable across materials classes and enables a wide range of applications.
Effect of Pharmacological Inhibition of Fat-Mass and Obesity-Associated Protein on Nerve Trauma-Induced Pain Hypersensitivities

Genetic knockout or knockdown of fat-mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO), a demethylase that participates in RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in injured dorsal root ganglion (DRG), has been demonstrated to alleviate nerve trauma-induced nociceptive hypersensitivities. However, these genetic strategies are still impractical in clinical neuropathic pain management. The present study sought to examine the effect of intrathecal administration of two specific FTO inhibitors, meclofenamic acid (MA) and N-CDPCB, on the development and maintenance of nociceptive hypersensitivities caused by unilateral L5 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) in rats. Intrathecal injection of either MA or N-CDPCB diminished dose-dependently the SNL-induced mechanical allodynia, heat hyperalgesia, cold hyperalgesia, and spontaneous ongoing nociceptive responses in both development and maintenance periods, without altering acute/basal pain and locomotor function. Intrathecal MA also reduced the SNL-induced neuronal and astrocyte hyperactivities in the ipsilateral L5 dorsal horn. Mechanistically, intrathecal injection of these two inhibitors blocked the SNL-induced increase in the histone methyltransferase G9a expression and rescued the G9a-controlled downregulation of mu opioid receptor and Kv1.2 proteins in the ipsilateral L5 DRG. These findings further indicate the role of DRG FTO in neuropathic pain and suggest potential clinical application of the FTO inhibitors for management of this disorder.
Supervisory Technology & Dodd-Frank: Evaluation of Industry Experience for Applications of Supervisory Technology used by US Regulators to Evaluate the Risks of Large Financial Institutions

This paper aims to outline the layman's understanding of technology within the financial services industry and its uses for compliance and monitoring with federal and state regulation, as an example of achieving financial stability through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protect Act. This paper explains different applications of supervisory technology used by US regulatory agencies to evaluate US domestic financial services firms through industry analysis of BSA/AML, OFAC, and USA PATRIOT Act compliance hypothetical requests from regulatory exams Foreign Banking Organizations (FBO). Finally, this paper evaluates the challenges and feasibility of modernizing supervisory practices through advanced technologies to allow regulatory agencies to improve their monitoring capability to assess the risks posed to the overall financial system from large financial institutions' activities.
Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Disease and Long-term Kidney Outcomes.

Rationale & Objective Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury often leads to acute kidney disease (AKD), predisposing patients to long-term complications such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), kidney failure with replacement therapy (KFRT), or mortality. Risk stratification of patients with AKD represents an opportunity to assist with prognostication of long-term kidney complications. Study Design Single-center retrospective cohort. Setting & Participants 6,290 critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit with severe sepsis or septic shock. Patients were separated into cohorts based on incident acute kidney injury or not, and survivors identified who were alive and free of KFRT up to 90 days. Predictors AKD stage (0A, 0C, or≥1) using the last serum creatinine concentration available by discharge or up to 90 days postdischarge. Outcome Time to development of incident CKD, progression of CKD, KFRT, or death. Analytical Approach Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. Results Patients surviving kidney injury associated with sepsis often fail to return to baseline kidney function by discharge: 577/1,231 (46.9%) with stage 0C or 1 or greater AKD. AKD stage was significantly associated with the composite primary outcome. Stages 0C AKD and 1 or greater AKD were significantly and progressively associated with the primary outcome when compared with stage 0A AKD (adjusted HR [aHR], 1.74; 95% CI, 1.32-2.29, and aHR, 3.25; 95% CI, 2.52-4.20, respectively). Additionally, stage 1 or greater AKD conferred higher risk above stage 0C AKD (aHR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.44-2.43). CKD incidence or progression and KFRT, more so than mortality, occurred with greater frequency in higher stages of AKD. Limitations Retrospective design, single center, exclusion of patients with KFRT within 90 days of discharge, potential ascertainment bias, and inability to subclassify above AKD stage 1. Conclusions Risk stratification using recommended AKD stages at hospital discharge or shortly thereafter associates with the development of long-term kidney outcomes following sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.
A 128/spl times/128-pixel standard CMOS image sensor with electronic shutter

A 128/spl times/128-pixel image sensor with a 20 s-10/sup -4/ s electronic shutter has been integrated in a 1.2-/spl mu/m digital CMOS technology. The pixel cell consists of four PMOS transistors and a photodiode with antiblooming suppression. Each pixel measures 24 /spl mu/m by 24 /spl mu/m and has a fill factor of 25%. Current is used to transfer pixel signals to the column readout amplifiers in order to minimize voltage swings on the highly capacitive column lines. Correlated double sampling is used to reduce intracolumn fixed pattern noise. The saturation voltage is 470 mV. The peak output signal to noise ratio is 45 dB, and the optical dynamic range is 56 dB. The frame transfer rate is 1.7 ms per frame.
Granulation and nearest neighborhoods: rough set approach

"Nearest" neighborhoods are informally used in many areas of AI and database. Mathematically, a "nearest" neighborhood system that maps each object p a unique crisp/fuzzy subset of data, representing the "nearest" neighborhood, is a binary relation between the object and data spaces. "Nearest" neighborhood consists of data that are semantically related to p, and represents an elementary granule(atoms) of the system under consideration. This paper examines "rough set theory" of these elementary granules. Applications to databases, fuzzy sets and pattern recognition are used to illustrate the idea.
Combined optimal retail rate restructuring and value of solar tariff

Net Energy Metering (NEM) is the most common form of compensation for distributed PV and currently 46 states and the District of Columbia have NEM policies. This “easy to understand and implement” policy allows customers with distributed generation to be compensated at the retail electricity rate for any excess generation fed into the grid. However, NEM has recently come under strong criticism from consumer advocates and utilities alike for being unfair. The underlying issue is that current residential rates bundle generation, transmission and distribution costs into a single “per kilowatt-hour” charge. Thus, NEM customers provide generation but avoid generation, transmission and distribution costs. Because this can lead to unfair cost shifting, some are calling for the implementation of value of solar tariffs (VOST). Unlike NEM, a VOST credits PV based on the actual value it contributes to the utility. In this paper, we propose a methodology to co-optimize the retail rate structure with the VOST such that network, societal, and policy objectives are fully considered. We test the proposed method on a prototypical utility in Washington State. The resulting retail rate has minimal negative customer impact, while the VOST maintains the simplicity of NEM, but also ensures that PV is only credited for the benefits it provides.
A Review of “The National Security Doctrines of the American Presidency: How They Shape Our Present and Future”

The National Security Doctrines of the American Presidency is a two-volume work which includes over 350 pages of text and notes and an even greater number of pages devoted to primary-source documen...
HOW TO SURVIVE A GRADUATE CAREER

It is important to be reminded how sharing our stories and expressing our vulnerability can be a method of survival. Vulnerability can form new expressions of solidarity, imagine new ways of working and living, and remind us of how much we can learn from one another. I see this essay, and the genre of writing it represents, as belonging to a line of personal critical narrative shared by figures like Ann Cvetklovich, Michael Taussig, and Avery Gordon.
The use and ultimate validity of invariance principles

Let me first mention the three fundamental concepts of physics of which the invariance principle is one: initial conditions, laws of nature, invariance principles or symmetries. All of them underwent enormous changes in our century, the invariance principles perhaps least. The separation of initial conditions and laws of nature was made with great clarity by Newton and I consider this his greatest accomplishment, perhaps even greater than the discovery of his gravitational law. The symmetries seem to have been discovered and well formulated first by Galileo, perhaps independently by Newton. Some of them are obvious from everyday life, such as the laws of both space and time displacement invariances. If it would require a different kind of effort to pick up this pencil in this room from that of picking it up in the next room, or if had to be done in a different way tomorrow from the way it can be done today, our whole life would be different — if at all possible. But the invariance with respect to a uniform motion along a straight line does not manifest itself in everyday life — Aristotles’ laws of physics surely deny it and the lack of its recognition led to much of the opposition to railroads. Perhaps I mention also that the assumption of the existence of ether also led to questioning this invariance even by rather recent outstanding scientists. Since the days of Galileo and Einstein the only significant change in the invariance principles was Einstein’s introduction of the relativity theories.
Prior frozen storage enhances the effect of edible coatings against Listeria monocytogenes on cold‐smoked salmon during subsequent refrigerated storage

Aims: Listeria monocytogenes is a major safety concern for ready-to-eat foods. The overall objective of this study was to investigate whether prior frozen storage could enhance the efficacy of edible coatings against L. monocytogenes on cold-smoked salmon during subsequent refrigerated storage. Methods and Results: A formulation consisting of sodium lactate (SL, 1·2–2·4%) and sodium diacetate (SD, 0·125–0·25%) or 2·5% Opti.Form (a commercial formulation of SL and SD) was incorporated into each of five edible coatings: alginate, κ-carrageenan, pectin, gelatin and starch. The coatings were applied onto the surface of cold-smoked salmon slices inoculated with L. monocytogenes at a level of 500 CFU cm−2. In the first phase, the slices were first frozen at −18°C for 6 days and stored at 22°C for 6 days. Alginate, gelatin and starch appeared to be the most effective carriers. In the second phase, cold-smoked salmon slices were inoculated with L. monocytogenes, coated with alginate, gelatin or starch with or without the antimicrobials and stored frozen at −18°C for 12 months. Every 2 months, samples were removed from the freezer and kept at 4°C for 30 days. Prior frozen storage at −18°C substantially enhanced the antilisterial efficacy of the edible coatings with or without antimicrobials during the subsequent refrigerated storage. Conclusions: Plain coatings with ≥2 months frozen storage and antimicrobial edible coatings represent an effective intervention to inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes on cold-smoked salmon. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the conjunct application of frozen storage and edible coatings to control the growth of L. monocytogenes to enhance the microbiological safety of cold-smoked salmon.
Differing Neurophysiologic Mechanosensory Input From Glabrous and Hairy Skin in Juvenile Rats

Sensory afferents in skin encode and convey thermal and mechanical conditions, including those that threaten tissue damage. A small proportion of skin, the glabrous skin of the distal extremities, is specialized to explore the environment in fine detail. Aside from increased innervation density, little is known regarding properties of mechanosensory afferents to glabrous skin in younger animals that explain the exquisite precision and high contrast in rapidly sampling physical structures, including those that threaten injury. To assess this, we obtained intact neuronal intracellular recordings in vivo from 115 mechanosensitive afferent neurons from lumbar and thoracic dorsal root ganglia in juvenile rats. Two characteristics were unique to glabrous skin: a threefold higher proportion of fast-conducting to slow-conducting afferents that were high-threshold mechanosensitive nociceptors compared with hairy skin and a twofold faster conduction velocity of fast-conducting nociceptors compared with hairy skin. Additionally differences were found in mechanical thresholds between glabrous skin and hairy skin for each fiber type. These differences reflect and help explain the rapid response of skin specialized to explore the physical environment. Additionally, these results highlight potential limitations of using passive electrical properties and conduction velocity alone to characterize primary afferents without knowledge of the skin type they innervated.
Nurse caring behaviors for persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome/human immunodeficiency virus

The purpose of this study was to identify nurse caring behaviors desired by patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive. Forty-six adults with either a diagnosis of AIDS or HIV-seropositive participated in the study. Subjects indicated "treat me as an individual" as the highest scoring item. Themes derived from the data included acceptance, respect, treatment of the person as an individual, and nonjudgmental attitudes of the nurse toward the person with AIDS/HIV.
Light Scattering by Fractal Aggregates: A Review

This paper presents a review of scattering and absorption of light by fractal aggregates. The aggregates are typically diffusion limited cluster aggregates (DLCA) with fractal dimensions of D
Effects of Prolonged Exposure to Gratuitous Media Violence on Provoked and Unprovoked Hostile Behavior1

On 4 consecutive days, respondents were exposed to gratuitously violent or nonviolent intact feature films. They rated the entertainment value of these films. One day after exposure to the last film of the series, respondents participated in ostensibly unrelated research on emotion recognition. As they performed a test, they were neutrally or abusively treated by a research assistant. Thereafter, they were put in a position to harm this assistant. Both provocation and exposure to violent films were found to foster markedly increased hostile behavior. These effects were noninteractive. Moreover, these effects were uniform for respondent gender. Compared to men, women exhibited less hostility overall, however. The findings thus show that prolonged exposure to gratuitously violent films is capable (a) of escalating hostile behavior in provoked men and women, and (b) perhaps more importantly, of instigating such behavior in unprovoked men and women.
Neurophysiological techniques as an aid to surgical treatment of primary brain tumors

We describe a method of cortical stimulation for localizing functional areas of brain before operation for primary brain tumors that was carried out in 14 patients. The method is unique in that the stimulation is done over several days using chronically indwelling subdural electrode arrays. In addition to cortical stimulation findings, somatosensory evoked potentials were helpful in locating the sensorimotor strip. The neurophysiological data have allowed an aggressive neurosurgical attack without producing a functional deficit.
“Living Our Faith:” The Lenten Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of Malawi and the Shift to Multiparty Democracy, 1992–1993

From 1964 to 1993, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda ruled the nation of Malawi by a singular mixture of terror and ritualized paternalism, relying on religious institutions to bolster his own moral authority. In the changing global and regional political context of the early 1990s, however, it was the Roman Catholic bishops of Malawi who challenged the prevailing culture of silence. In the lenten pastoral letter entitled “Living Our Faith,” the seven bishops reproached the Banda regime for its authoritarianism. Relying on New Testament images of Christians as inherently free, the bishops ultimately contributed to the development of representative democracy. Acting not as biased proponents of specific political groups but rather as the champions of government accountability and human dignity, Malawan Catholic clerics and the external rituals and symbols of their faith have attained (at least in the short term) a greater prestige and popular appeal in a religiously heterodox nation.
SELECTING MAPPING RULES AND RESPONSES IN MIXED COMPATIBILITY FOUR-CHOICE TASKS

Four-choice reaction tasks with a mixture of compatible and incompatible mappings were used to examine implications of the views that response selection occurs (a) in two stages (selection of the appropriate mapping rule, followed by application of the rule) and (b) by means of a second, direct route when the mappings for all possible stimuli are known to be compatible. All experiments showed, consistent with the two-stage view, that responses were faster and compatibility effects smaller when the mapping distinction corresponded to the left-right or inner-outer locations for the stimulus-response ensemble than when it did not. Moreover, precuing benefits tended to be larger when the cued responses had the same mapping than when they did not. There was an added benefit when both precued responses were compatible, rather than incompatible, consistent with the view that selection between compatible responses can proceed along a direct route.
Photoluminescence and Raman studies of CdS films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on Si{111} substrates

Abstract CdS epitaxial films grown using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on Si{111} substrates at growth temperatures ranging from 270 to 325 °C have been characterized using photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. Out of all the samples the best optical behavior is obtained from that grown at the lowest temperature. Samples grown at the lowest temperature exhibited increased intensity of the bound excitonic peaks and reduced emission at the defect-related luminescence region. The Raman spectra were compatible with the film surface being normal to the c axis, indicating a preferred growth orientation.
Nutrition-sensitive food systems: from rhetoric to action

Action to improve the nutrition sensitivity of food systems -- and thereby increase the nutritional value of food for people around the world -- offers substantial but underused opportunities. The rhetoric about such opportunities brought about by the global food crisis in 2007-08 has not resulted in much new action for at least two reasons. First goals other than improved nutrition are pursued by strong economic and political interests in both the agricultural sector and the post-harvest value chain. Farmers and other economic agents in food systems aim to make money subject to reasonable levels of risk and governments pursue policies that are compatible with the interests of politically powerful stakeholder groups. Malnourished populations are rarely among these interests. The very high value of improved nutrition to societies should be supported by alignments to create compatibility between nutrition and economic goals for farmers and processors and political momentum has to be created to foster policy interventions that make food systems nutrition sensitive. (Excerpt)
Fusion of reverse-oriented Ds termini following abortive transposition in Arabidopsis : implications for the mechanism of Ac/Ds transposition

We studied the products of alternative transposition reactions that utilize reverse-oriented Ds termini as substrates. In this configuration, Ds transposition can generate genome rearrangements including deletions, inversions, and reciprocal translocations. In approximately half of the transposition products recovered in Arabidopsis, the termini of the reversed ends Ds element were ligated together. The sequences at these fused-end junctions suggest that the excised transposon termini form covalently closed hairpin structures. These results shed new light on the mechanism of Ac/Ds transposition.
Site selection and its influence on the design of a lunar-based telescope

A variety of parameter studies that relate to site selection for the Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Experiment (LUTE) is presented. The moon's motion and orientation is described. Sky coverage is determined for various telescope fields-of-view and site locations. Sunlight and earthshine interference on UV measurements necessitates a light shade whose shape, size, and weight is site dependent. This light shade is also constrained by volume and weight limits of the delivery launch vehicle. The times that LUTE can operate while free from sunlight or earthshine interferencc was determined for both a solar powered LUTE arid an RTG powered LUTE. Using an RTG allows operation during the lunar night resulting in considerably more operation time. The desigri of the focal plane sensor depends on site latitude for a zenith-pointing LUTE or, more generally, on viewing declination. The focal plane sensor, conventionally consisting of an array of CCD's, requires precise alignment to properly record the curved tracks of the star images. The results indicate that the design of a lunar-based telescope is significantly influenced by the selection of the lunar site from which i t will operate.
Homo and Hetero Dimerization of Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases

Many cell-signaling events are regulated through reversible tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins, which is controlled by the counterbalanced actions of two key enzyme families: Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). Interestingly, both families include transmembrane receptor-like enzymes, namely the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and the receptor-like PTPs (RPTPs). While the regulation and actions of many RTKs are well characterized, the mechanisms controlling the enzymatic activity of RPTPs and how they interact with their substrates remain to be fully explained. Thus, understanding how these receptors function and interact will give fundamental insights into how tyrosine phosphorylation is finely tuned in cells, and how it can be modulated.Homo-dimerization has been shown to regulate the activity of several RPTPs. Even though the transmembrane (TM) and the juxtamembrane (JM) domains have been proposed to be involved in this process, there is no clear structure-based proposal for the role of these regions. Moreover, several RPTPs have been identified as candidate regulators of RTKs. For instance, the phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is reduced upon expression of PTPRK or PTPRJ. Particularly, EGFR was shown to physically interact with PTPRJ and PTPRK at the cell surface. However, the contact interface between these receptors is unknown.Here, using a dominant-negative transcriptional activator-based assay (DN-AraTM), and mutagenesis, we show that: (1) several RPTPs have a tendency to homo- and heterodimerize, (2) PTPRJ heterodimerizes with EGFR through TM-TM interactions, and (3) these interactions are mediated by specific residues. This work represents the first structure-function study of RPTP-RTK interaction.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy in patients with heart failure enrolled in a managed care organization: effect on costs and probability of hospitalization.

Study Objective. To evaluate the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy on risk of hospitalization and resource utilization in patients with heart failure enrolled in a managed care organization. Design. Retrospective medical and pharmacy claims analysis. Patients. One thousand five hundred seventy-three patients with heart failure enrolled in a managed care organization. Measurements and Main Results. Medical and pharmacy claims from January 1, 1997-December 31, 1999, from a managed care organization covering approximately 350,000 individuals were analyzed. Patients aged 35 years or older with a diagnostic code for heart failure and 18 months of continuous eligibility were selected. From this group (1573 patients), two cohorts were selected based on exposure to an ACE inhibitor. Dependent variables of interest were all-cause hospitalization and total direct medical costs during the 12-month study period. A logistic regression model and an ordinary least-squares model adjusting for patient demographics, comorbidities, and concomitant drug therapy were used to analyze the risk of all-cause hospitalization and total direct medical costs, respectively. Therapy with an ACE inhibitor for 180 days was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause hospitalization (odds ratio 0.65, p<0.0001) and lower total costs (mean $2397, p<0.001) compared with no ACE inhibitor therapy. Conclusion. In patients with a diagnosis of heart failure, exposure to ACE inhibitor therapy is associated with fewer hospitalizations and lower total costs than no ACE inhibitor exposure.
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis of the Uterus Simulating High-Stage Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma

Symptomatic uterine lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) simulating high-stage uterine sarcoma in a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex is reported. A 49-year-old female presented with abdominal pain and anemia. Preoperative workup revealed a uterine mass and a large amount of peritoneal free fluid and possible metastatic implant along the lateral edge of the liver. The patient also had a large right pleural effusion. A fungating anterior uterine fundal mass with apparent perforation and intraabdominal hemorrhage was found on laparotomy. A portion of the mass was excised and initially interpreted as an endometrial stromal sarcoma. Microscopic examination revealed multiple vascular epithelioid smooth muscle proliferations in the uterus and serosal surface of the fallopian tube and periaortic lymph node lymphangioleiomyomas. The uterine, fallopian tube, and nodal lesions were positive for smooth muscle actin, desmin, and HMB-45, findings characteristic of LAM. Additional examination of the patient revealed stigmata of tuberous sclerosis complex. Although uterine LAM is uncommon, it may be associated with pelvic and/or abdominal symptoms and may simulate a primary uterine mesenchymal neoplasm.
Origins for Everyone

The origin of life on Earth remains a mystery, but the question can still be approached with scientific rigor. Identifying life’s origins requires the definition of life itself, which has been described as a self-sustaining system capable of Darwinian evolution, although it's also possible that there is no good scientific definition. All known living systems contain linear strings of information based on DNA, a molecule that makes Darwinian evolution possible through replication and mutation. This review explains the scientific concepts and issues underlying the origin of life, possible mechanisms of origins, and the features of living systems that can arguably be viewed as an inevitable consequence of the earliest molecules.
Congruent Evolution of Fitness and Genetic Robustness in Vesicular Stomatitis Virus

Quasispecies theory is a case of mutation-selection balance for evolution at high mutation rates, such as those observed in RNA viruses. One of the main predictions of this model is the selection for robustness, defined as the ability of an organism to remain phenotypically unchanged in the face of mutation. We have used a collection of vesicular stomatitis virus strains that had been evolving either under positive selection or under random drift. We had previously shown that the former increase in fitness while the latter have overall fitness decreases (I. S. Novella, J. B. Presloid, T. Zhou, S. D. Smith-Tsurkan, B. E. Ebendick-Corpus, R. N. Dutta, K. L. Lust, and C. O. Wilke, J. Virol. 84:4960–4968, 2010). Here, we determined the robustness of these strains and demonstrated that strains under positive selection not only increase in fitness but also increase in robustness. In contrast, strains under drift not only decreased in fitness but also decreased in robustness. There was a good overall correlation between fitness and robustness. We also tested whether there was a correlation between fitness and thermostability, and we observed that the correlation was imperfect, indicating that the fitness effects of mutations are exerted in part at a level other than changing the resistance of the protein to temperature.
Motion by Nearby Players Biases Perception but Not Action in Judgments of Baseball Destination

In this research, the influence of irrelevant reference frames on estimates of ball destination was examined. In 3 experiments, confederate base runners and fielders served as distractor stimuli while balls were rolled from home plate to random locations along a barrier hidden under an elevated tarp between first and second base. Stationary participants estimated the position that the ball would exit from under the tarp if there were no barrier, whereas running participants ran along the back edge of the barrier and touched the top of the tarp above where they believed the ball would exit. Estimates of ball destination were significantly biased in the direction opposite to the confederates' motion for stationary participants, but were accurate for running participants. These findings are consistent with other perception-action dissociations, and show that relative motion effects can occur in a naturalistic setting.
Area postrema/nucleus of the solitary tract ablations: Analysis of the effects of hypophagia

The effect of hypophagia following lesions of the area postrema and caudal-medial aspect of the nucleus of the solitary tract AP/cmNTS) on body-weight, water intake and preference for palatable diets was examined. Following AP/cmNTS ablation, rats reduced pelleted-food intake to a degree which was sufficient to account for the weight loss and increased water:food ratios observed. Restricting food intakes of intact rats to levels taken by lesioned animals resulted in similar weight losses and increased water:food ratios. When offered both pelleted food and milk, lesioned rats took more calories as milk than did previously food-restricted intact rats. Thus, the hypophagia of AP/cmNTS lesioned rats does not account for their increased preference for milk diets. Lesioned rats ate less high-fat diet than did intact or sham-lesioned controls and did not increase their intakes when this diet was sweetened. At autopsy, retroperitoneal and epididymal fat-pad weights accounted for less of the total body weight of lesioned animals than controls suggesting that body-fat levels are reduced following AP/cmNTS ablation.
Backyards, NIMBYs, and Incinerator Sitings: Implications for Social Movement Theory

Arguing for the usefulness of an analytic distinction between equity and technology movements, this paper examines two siting disputes involving modern incinerators and asks why one was eventually built and the other defeated. Relevant variables for the analysis are identified from the contemporary social movement literature and a special industry report. After an initial focus on surveys of “backyard” residents and “NIMBYs” at the two proposed sites, an explanation of the different outcomes is proposed. Additional micro-, meso-, and macrolevel variables are discussed, suggesting that technology movements are especially influenced by an interaction of factors which figure less prominently in equity movements.
SAK, A New Polo-Like Kinase, Is Transcriptionally Repressed by p53 and Induces Apoptosis upon RNAi Silencing

Chip profiling of a p53 temperature-sensitive tumor model identified SAK (Snk/Plk-akin kinase), encoding a new member of polo-like kinases (PLKs), as a gene strongly repressed by wild-type p53. Further characterization revealed that SAK expression was downregulated by wild-type p53 in several tumor cell models. Computer search of a 1.7-kb SAK promoter sequence revealed three putative p53 binding sites, but p53 failed to bind to any of these sites, indicating that SAK repression by p53 was not through a direct p53 binding to the promoter. Transcriptional analysis with luciferase reporters driven by SAK promoter deletion fragments identified SP-1 and CREB binding sites, which together conferred a two-fold SAK repression by p53. However, the repression was not reversed by cotransfection of SP-1 or CREB, suggesting a lack of interference between p53 and SP-1 or CREB. Significantly, p53-mediated SAK repression was largely reversed in a dose-dependent manner by Trichostatin A, a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, suggesting an involvement of HDAC transcription repressors in SAK repression by p53. Biologically, SAK RNA interference (RNAi) silencing induced apoptosis, whereas SAK overexpression attenuated p53-induced apoptosis. Thus, SAK repression by p53 is likely mediated through the recruitment of HDAC repressors, and SAK repression contributes to p53-induced apoptosis.
The effects of D-amphetamine and related drugs on colonic temperatures of rats kept at various ambient temperatures.

Abstract The effects of D-amphetamine on the colonic temperature of the rat vary markedly with the ambient temperature. At fixed relative humidities, D-amphetamine causes a dose-dependent hyperthermia among animals placed in warm environments (20–37°C), and hypothermia among rats placed in the cold (4–15°C). The changes in colonic temperature that follow the administration of chlorpromazine, reserpine, tyramine, fenfluramine, or pimozide also depend upon the ambient temperature. Since tyramine treatment mimics the hyperthermic, but not the hypothermic, effects of D-amphetamine, and since D-amphetamine-induced hypothermia is blocked by pimozide, this hypothermia may involve central dopaminergic neurons.
Managing university technology development using organizational control theory

How can the development and commercialization of university-based technology be managed more effectively? In approaching this question, the paper utilizes organizational control theory (OCT) to analyze the effects of organizational controls on performance at each stage of a generic university-industry technology transfer (UITT) process. The paper contributes to the literature by providing a conceptual framework that is useful for explaining major issues found in the largely empirical literature on UITT. The analysis also elucidates the most effective controls, which vary across stages. As such, the paper also contributes to the literature by taking a longitudinal perspective on OCT in the UITT process. Managers and researchers of UITT may benefit from utilizing an organizational controls perspective when managing and studying the UITT phenomenon. Managerial and research implications are discussed in order to improve UITT management and drive future conceptually-grounded research in the area.
Duodenal MALT Lymphoma Presenting With Obstructive Jaundice: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The most common site for MALT lymphoma is the stomach. We are reporting a case of a 57-year-old man who presented with obstructive jaundice and was found to have duodenal MALT lymphoma. Unlike gastric MALT lymphoma which is responsive to Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy, duodenal MALT lymphoma does not have a definitive treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a duodenal MALT lymphoma presenting clinically as obstructive jaundice. We describe this case to alert physicians to consider this disease in the differential diagnosis of obstructive jaundice.
The evolution of transdermal therapy for overactive bladder

Oxybutynin chloride has been effectively used for treating overactive bladder syndrome for more than three decades. The evolution of different delivery systems led first to intravesical administration, anal suppositories, and then to the commercial development of an extended-release oral formulation of oxybutynin chloride to improve its tolerability while maintaining efficacy. These modes of delivery were associated with decreased antimuscarinic side effects and N-desethyloxybutynin serum levels by avoiding first-pass metabolism in the upper gut and liver. The development of transdermal delivery has carried this evolution even further, with serum levels of desethyloxybutynin ≤ oxybutynin and dry mouth rates of 7%, with little constipation. The new development of a transdermal oxybutynin gel has decreased these application site reactions to low levels while maintaining good efficacy.