cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Speaker Information on Attitudes Toward (ING)

Speakers build linguistic styles by combining elements of existing styles, a process known as bricolage , which results in stylistic resources appearing across multiple styles. Although speakers’ ability to construct and deploy styles across situations has been documented repeatedly, little perceptual work has been done on how linguistic cues function across styles. This study used a matched guise experiment to examine the impact of the English variable (ING) on social perceptions of speakers presented as professors, political candidates, or experienced professionals. As predicted, profession shifted the impact of (ING) on perceived knowledgeability, such that professors were seen as more knowledgeable when using -ing, whereas experienced professionals were more knowledgeable in their -in guises. Use of -in also made all speakers sound less caring and created a positive relationship between political progressiveness and caring in perceptions of political candidates.
Body proportions of circumpolar peoples as evidenced from skeletal data: Ipiutak and Tigara (Point Hope) versus Kodiak Island Inuit.

Given the well-documented fact that human body proportions covary with climate (presumably due to the action of selection), one would expect that the Ipiutak and Tigara Inuit samples from Point Hope, Alaska, would be characterized by an extremely cold-adapted body shape. Comparison of the Point Hope Inuit samples to a large (n > 900) sample of European and European-derived, African and African-derived, and Native American skeletons (including Koniag Inuit from Kodiak Island, Alaska) confirms that the Point Hope Inuit evince a cold-adapted body form, but analyses also reveal some unexpected results. For example, one might suspect that the Point Hope samples would show a more cold-adapted body form than the Koniag, given their more extreme environment, but this is not the case. Additionally, univariate analyses seldom show the Inuit samples to be more cold-adapted in body shape than Europeans, and multivariate cluster analyses that include a myriad of body shape variables such as femoral head diameter, bi-iliac breadth, and limb segment lengths fail to effectively separate the Inuit samples from Europeans. In fact, in terms of body shape, the European and the Inuit samples tend to be cold-adapted and tend to be separated in multivariate space from the more tropically adapted Africans, especially those groups from south of the Sahara. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Diagnostic steps, imaging, and electrophysiology

The patient with a peripheral nerve tumor can present with a variety of signs and symptoms, including pain, motor weakness, sensory deficit, a palpable mass, and even as an asymptomatic incidental finding. Although most tumors that arise from nerve are solitary tumors associated with a single nerve, they may also be associated with global diseases, such as neurofibromatosis type I (von Recklinghausen's), in which case, there maybe multiple masses involving several nerves. Most peripheral nerve tumors are histologically benign; however, they may experience malignant degeneration, especially in the setting of neurofibromatosis. Treatment in the form of gross total surgical removal is therefore indicated in most nerve tumors for histologic diagnosis as well as for relief of symptoms. The goals of the initial diagnostic steps, imaging and electrophysiology, are to determine baseline clinical neurologic function, define anatomic location and extent of the tumor, and record baseline electromyographic parameters. Once these elements are defined, the surgeon may proceed to the operating room with a level of confidence as to how to approach the lesion and remove it safely. Biopsy of peripheral nerve tumors is to be discouraged over gross total removal, and this can be avoided by proper preoperative diagnostic workup.
Ultra-compact reconfigurable silicon optical devices using micron-scale localized thermal heating

Novel design of a compact low-loss and high-efficiency micro-heater is demonstrated for silicon photonic wire ultra-compact reconfigurable devices. Highly localized heating enables reduced thermal crosstalk for densely packed, individually addressable cascaded devices.
Galanin in Normal and Hyperplastic Anterior Pituitary Cells: From Pituitary Tumor Cell Lines to Transgenic Mice

Studies on the regulation of galanin expression in the epithelial cells of the anterior pituitary gland have provided a wealth of insight into the cellular and molecular biology of this unique peptide. Galanin is localized within subpopulations of specific pituitary cell types, and hypothalamic as well as gonadal factors including dopamine, somatostatin, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), estrogen, and progesterone dynamically regulate its expression and release. Galanin gene expression and peptide secretion are markedly increased in estrogen-induced prolactinomas, wherein galanin serves as both an autocrine and paracrine hormone regulating prolactin secretion. Galanin mRNA and peptide levels are also dramatically elevated in somatotroph adenomas of human GHRH transgenic mice. Moreover, galanin secretion is increased from the hyperplastic somatotrophs of hGHRH transgenic mice. However, not all pituitary adenomas are associated with increased galanin gene expression; galanin synthesis is repressed in 131I-induced thyrotroph adenomas. Thus, galanin acts locally to regulate pituitary hormone secretion and appears to act as a mitogenic factor to increase the proliferation of pituitary cells in a cell-type specific manner.
Activity, Reproduction and Overwintering Behavior of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata) in the Nebraska Sandhills

Abstract Activity, reproduction and overwintering behavior were investigated in a radio-telemetry study of ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata) in the Sandhills region of Nebraska between 1997 and 1999. Based on 477 radio-locations where activity of turtles was known, turtles were active at 20% and inactive at 80%. We located one nest in 1997 and seven in 1998. Eggs were deposited in underground nests between 28 May and 12 June. Mean clutch size in nests was 2.6 eggs. Hatchlings in some nests overwintered under the nest cavities, whereas hatchlings in other nests may have emerged in the fall. Adult turtles spent winters buried underground. Overwintering sites were located and excavated to determine depth to overwintering turtles; mean depth in late March/early April was 54.2 cm. All nests and 17 of 18 overwintering sites were located in upland prairies; one overwintering site was located in a lowland meadow.
Chronic Splenic Torsion in Two Dogs

A 5 yr old spayed female poodle (case 1) was presented with a 4 mo history of lethargy, inappetence, and nonregenerative anemia. A 5 yr old castrated male French bulldog (case 2) was presented with a 2 wk history of mild abdominal pain, dyschezia, and intermittent anorexia. Both dogs were diagnosed with chronic splenic torsion based on changes in splenic position, echogenicity, and/or echotexture identified on B-mode abdominal ultrasonography, as well as either decreased or absent splenic blood flow on color-flow Doppler ultrasonography. Both dogs underwent splenectomy and had full resolution of clinical signs. Presentation of chronic splenic torsion is variable, and clinical signs can be nonspecific. Abdominal ultrasound with Doppler evaluation is an important diagnostic step that can lead to appropriate surgical intervention and good long-term prognosis.
When close is not close enough: a comparison of endogenous and recombinant biomarker stability samples

Dr Stephanie Fraser is an Associate Research Fellow in the Pharmocokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism department at Pfizer, Groton, Connecticut. Since 2010 she has led a small but ambitious group of scientists that provide ligand-binding and immunoassay-based support to clinical biomarker programs across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Pfizer, Stephanie spent 5 years in preclinical toxicology at Charles River Laboratories where she managed a flow cytometry laboratory. She received her PhD in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999 and has since focused on biomarker development and fit-for-purpose bioanalytical assays. Stability for biomarkerassays should be established during method validation using actual samples. Due to contradictory reference papers and a near absence of biomarker guidance documents actual samples are commonly replaced with spiked validation samples. This practice often fails to identify the stability of the endogenous biomarker. Spiked QC...
A saddle point least squares approach to mixed methods

We investigate new PDE discretization approaches for solving variational formulations with different types of trial and test spaces. The general mixed formulation we consider assumes a stability LBB condition and a data compatibility condition at the continuous level. We expand on the Bramble-Pasciak's least square formulation for solving such problems by providing new ways to choose approximation spaces and new iterative processes to solve the discrete formulations. Our proposed method has the advantage that a discrete inf - sup condition is automatically satisfied by natural choices of test spaces (first) and corresponding trial spaces (second). In addition, for the proposed iterative solver, a nodal basis for the trial space is not required. Applications of the new approach include discretization of first order systems of PDEs, such as div - curl systems and time-harmonic Maxwell equations.
Microbial diversity associated with copepods in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre

Patchiness of marine microbial communities has an important influence on microbial activities in the ocean, particularly in the oligotrophic open ocean where bioavailable nutrients are otherwise scarce. Such spatial heterogeneity is present in associations with dead and living particles, including zooplankton. The microbial community composition of mesozooplankton was investigated from the Sargasso Sea using 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing. Zooplankton microbiomes were studied on the copepods Undinula vulgaris, Pleuromamma spp., Sapphirina metalina, Pseudocalanus spp. and Tigriopus sp., and an amphipod, Phrosina semilunata. The overall richness was lower in the zooplankton than in the seawater, and zooplankton-specific bacterial communities were distinct from the communities in seawater. Gammaproteobacteria dominated in all zooplankton studied, with Vibrio spp. highly represented. Firmicutes were detected in all copepods, providing evidence for anaerobic conditions present on the copepods. Bacterial groups known to grow on concentrated organic substrates or to prevent biofouling were highly represented in association with copepods, suggesting they benefit from copepod-derived nutrients or carbon. The described copepod microbiome has similarities to communities previously described in coastal copepods, suggesting some aspects of the copepod microbiome are not habitat specific. The communities are distinct of that in seawater, demonstrating significant microbial patchiness in association with marine zooplankton in the oligotrophic open ocean.
Combining sensor monitoring and ethnography to evaluate household latrine usage in rural India

This paper advances research on methods used to evaluate sanitation usage and behavior. The research used quantitative and qualitative methods to contribute to new understanding of sanitation practices and meanings in rural India. We estimated latrine usage behavior through ethnographic interviews and sensor monitoring, specifically the latest generation of infrared toilet sensors, Portland State University Passive Latrine Use Monitors (PLUMs). Two hundred and fifty-eight rural households in West Bengal (WB) and Himachal Pradesh, India, participated in the study by allowing PLUMs to be installed in their houses for a minimum of 6 days. Six hundred interviews were taken in these households, and in others, where sensors had not been installed. Ethnographic and observational methods were used to capture the different defecation habits and their meanings in the two study sites. Those data framed the analysis of the PLUM raw data for each location. PLUMs provided reliable, quantitative verification. Interviews elicited unique information and proved essential to understanding and maximizing the PLUM data set. The combined methodological approach produced key findings that latrines in rural WB were used only for defecation, and that low cost, pit latrines were being used sustainably in both study areas.
Computer Software: Does Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code Apply?

The question addressed by this article is whether article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (hereinafter U.C.C.) applies to computer software. The applicability of article 2 to software depends upon two determinations. First, software must be a good as defined by article 2. Second, software must be either sold or supplied via a non-sale transaction which is determined to be within the domain of article 2. Disagreement exists about whether software is a good because of the confusing and contradictory usage of terminology in the computer industry. Confusion between the intellectual property aspects of software and the physical medium containing the software have also created uncertainty about whether software is a good. Additionally, the recognition that software represents a culmination of an abstract idea transformed into a physical medium embodying the software has raised questions about the status of software as a good. Despite disagreement among commentators, a careful analysis indicates general judicial agreement that software is a good. An examination of the tangible and intangible property aspects of software plus a comparison of software with typical article 2 goods further supports the conclusion that software is a good. The extension of article 2 to software transactions which typically involve licensing in lieu of sales will be explored. In addition, the article will analyze whether the U.C.C. is a code or a statute, and examine the general treatment of lease, bailment, and hybrid transactions. A comparison of these types of transactions with software transactions, coupled with the determination that the U.C.C. is a code leads to the conclusion that software transactions are within the domain of article 2.
cAMP promotes gap junctional coupling in T84 cells

The effect of intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) on dye and electrical coupling was studied in T84 cells, a cell line often used as a model for epithelial cell fluid secretion. Injections of lucifer yellow (LY) into single cells within a cluster of control cells resulted in LY localization to 1.3 +/- 0.2 (mean +/- SE) cells within a cluster. Twenty-six percent of control T84 cell pairs were electrically coupled as assayed by the dual patch-clamp technique. Treatment of cells with agents that either increase intracellular cAMP and/or activate protein kinase A (PKA) increased dye localization to 3.8 +/- 0.6 cells and the proportion of electrically coupled cell pairs to 65%. No electrical coupling was observed in the presence of the Rp diastereomer of adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate (Rp-cAMPS), a PKA antagonist. Excess of Rp-cAMPS prevented cell coupling elicited by 20 microM of the Sp diastereomer of adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate. Expression of connexin 32 mRNA, but not of connexins 26, 43, or 45, was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. These results suggest that communication between T84 cells is modulated by PKA, providing a mechanism for regulating multicellular activity, such as fluid secretion.
An Outlier Detection Methodology with Consideration for an Inefficient Frontier

In the use of peer group data to assess individual, typical or best practice performance, the effective detection of outliers is critical for achieving useful results, particularly for two-stage analyses. In the DEA-related literature, prior work on this issue has focused on the efficient frontier as a basis for detecting outliers. An iterative approach to deal with the potential for one outlier to mask the presence of another has been proposed but not demonstrated. This paper proposes using both the efficient frontier and the inefficient frontier to identify outliers and thereby improve the accuracy of second stage results in two-stage nonparametric analysis. The iterative outlier detection approach is implemented in a leave-one-out method using both the efficient frontier and the inefficient frontier and demonstrated in a two-stage semi-parametric bootstrapping analysis of a classic data set. The results show that the conclusions drawn can be different when outlier identification includes consideration of the inefficient frontier.
Effect of CD34 " Selection and Various Schedules of Stem Cell Reinfusion and Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Priming on Hematopoietic Recovery After High-Dose Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

We evaluated the effects of various schedules of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) reinfusion, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF ) priming, and CD34+ enrichment on hematopoietic recovery in 88 patients with advanced breast cancer treated with high-dose chemotherapy, consisting of cisplatin 250 mg/m2, etoposide 60 mg/kg, and cyclophosphamide 100 mg/kg. PBSC (≥7.5 × 108 nucleated cells/kg) were collected following priming with G-CSF and were either immediately cryopreserved (48 patients; cohorts A and B) or were first processed for CD34+ enrichment (40 patients; cohorts C and D). Patients in cohorts A and C received PBSC on day 0; patients in cohorts B and D received 25% of their nucleated cells on day −2 and 75% on day 0 (split reinfusion). Patients in cohorts A, B, and C were primed with G-CSF 10 μg/kg, subcutaneously (SC), once a day; patients in cohort D were primed with 5 μg/kg G-CSF, SC, twice daily (bid). Bid administration of G-CSF yielded 2.3 to 4.7 × higher numbers of CD34+ cells in the PBSC product than the same total dose given once a day ( P = .002). Reinfusion of 25% of unselected PBSC on day −2 (median, 2.26 × 108/kg nucleated cells [range, 1.7 to 3.3 × 108/kg]) with the remaining cells reinfused on day 0 resulted in earlier granulocyte recovery to ≥500/μL when compared with reinfusion of all stem cells on day 0 (group B, median of 8 days [range, 7 to 11] v group A, 10 days [range, 8 to 11], P = .0003); no schedule-dependent difference was noted in reaching platelet independence (group B, 11.5 days [range, 5 to 21]; group A, 12 days [range, 8 to 24], P = not significant). Split schedule reinfusion of CD34+-selected PBSC did not accelerate granulocyte recovery. In groups D and C, the median number of days to granulocyte recovery was 12 (range, 8 to 22) and 11.5 (range, 9 to 13); patients became platelet independent by day 15 (range, 6 to 22) and 14 (range, 12 to 23), respectively. CD34+-selected PBSC rescue decreased the incidence of postreinfusion nausea, emesis, and oxygen desaturation in comparison to unselected PBSC reinfusion ( P ≤ .005 for each). Hematopoietic recovery may be accelerated by earlier reinfusion of ≈ 2.26 × 108/kg unselected nucleated cells. Earlier recovery may be triggered by components other than the progenitors included in the CD34+ cell population. Sustained hematopoietic recovery can also be achieved with CD34+-selected PBSC alone. Dosing of G-CSF on a bid schedule generates higher CD34+ cell yield in the leukapheresis product. Whether even earlier “sacrificial” reinfusion of approximately 2 × 108/kg unselected nucleated cells concomitant with the administration of high-dose chemotherapy would reduce the duration of absolute granulocytopenia further while initiating sustained long-term hematopoietic recovery will require further investigation.
A Review of “El teatro de Argentina y Chile: Globalización, resistencia y desencanto”

This study of late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century Argentine and Chilean theatre brilliantly demonstrates how neoliberal globalization and its discontents provide Latin American playwrigh...
A Fractional Slot Concentrated Winding (FSCW) configuration for outer rotor squirrel cage induction motors

Fractional Slot Concentrated Windings (FSCW) or tooth windings have been proved to be very beneficial for synchronous and permanent magnet (PM) motors. However, the abundance of space harmonics in the air gap flux have rendered FSCW configurations unsuitable for induction motors. This paper proposes the use of a multi-layer FSCW wound around two layers of stator slots that eliminates sub (a fraction of fundamental) and higher order space harmonics and provides a non-overlapping winding arrangement. This winding configuration has several advantages like high torque density, shorter end-winding length and easier manufacturability for outer rotor squirrel cage induction motors for pumps, fans and in-wheel hub drives. A design comparison is performed between the proposed winding configuration and a conventional distributed winding.
Enhanced local and systemic anti-melanoma CD8+ T cell responses after memory T cell-based adoptive immunotherapy in mice

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) melanoma immunotherapy typically employs acutely activated effector CD8+ T cells for their ability to rapidly recognize and clear antigen. We have previously observed that effector CD8+ T cells are highly susceptible to melanoma-induced suppression, whereas memory CD8+ T cells are not. Although memory T cells have been presumed to be potentially advantageous for ACT, the kinetics of local and systemic T cell responses after effector and memory ACT have not been compared. B16F10 melanoma cells stably transfected to express very low levels of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) peptide GP33 (B16GP33) were inoculated into syngeneic C57BL/6 mice. Equal numbers of bona fide naive, effector, or memory phenotype GP33-specific CD8+ T cells were adoptively transferred into mice 1 day after B16GP33 inoculation. The efficacy of ACT immunotherapy was kinetically assessed using serial tumor measurements and flow cytometric analyses of local and systemic CD8+ T cell responses. Control of B16GP33 tumor growth, persistence of adoptively transferred CD8+ cells, intratumoral infiltration of CD8+ T cells, and systemic CD8+ T cell responsiveness to GP33 were strongest after ACT of memory CD8+ T cells. Following surgical tumor resection and melanoma tumor challenge, only mice receiving memory T cell-based ACT immunotherapy exhibited durable tumor-specific immunity. These findings demonstrate how the use of non-expanded memory CD8+ T cells may enhance ACT immunotherapeutic efficacy.
Abstract 3989: IQGAP2 inhibits cell proliferation and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma

While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, the signaling pathways involved are not fully understood and treatment of advanced disease still represents an area of high unmet medical need. We previously reported that IQ-motif-containing GTPase-activating-like proteins IQGAP1 and IQGAP2 play opposing roles in hepatic carcinogenesis. IQGAP2 was identified as a novel tumor suppressor linked to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in HCC. In this study, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) isolated from Iqgap2−/- mice displayed higher proliferation and migration rates compared to wild-type MEFs as evident by MTT proliferation assay and wound healing assay. In contrast to HepG2, the SK-Hep1 and SNU387 HCC cell lines are characterized by low expression of IQGAP2 and relatively high levels of IQGAP1. Migration assay using blind well chambers with polycarbonate filters revealed 2-fold increased motility for both SK-Hep1 and SNU387 compared to HepG2 (p Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3989. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3989
Drug-Induced Photosensitivity and the Major Culprits:

Photosensitivity is a condition that occurs when sunlight or artificial forms of radiation interact with a medication to produce an adverse cutaneous drug eruption. This adverse reaction may increase the incidence of skin cancer and can be prevented with proper counseling. There are 2 major types of photosensitivity: phototoxic reactions, which occur when an individual is exposed to both high doses of medication and radiation, and photoallergic reactions, which require an immune-mediated response. Several classes of drugs are commonly implicated in photosensitivity reactions, including tetracyclines, floroquinolones, sulfonamides, diuretics, phenothiazine antipsychotics, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This review will discuss photosensitivity reactions, the most commonly reported photosensitizing agents, and treatment and prevention measures for the condition.
Preparing and justifying the budget for new or improved services

The process of preparing and justifying the budget for a new or improved hospital pharmacy service is described. Factors that influence the justification process include the rationale for the new service, facts needed for the decision-making process, the political process within the hospital, timing, and salesmanship. Steps preliminary to preparing the proposal include identifying hospital and departmental goals, relating the proposed service to those goals, assessing the odds of new service approval, and establishing priority for development of the proposal. The components of a formal proposal are discussed, including the budget that describes the financial feasibility of the service. A sample proposal is presented. Prospective pricing does not necessarily eliminate the opportunity for development of new hospital pharmaceutical services. However, the need, cost, revenue, and benefits of such services must be thoroughly justified on a hospital-specific basis.
ON THE STRUCTURAL IDENTIFICATION (INVERSE) PROBLEM FOR ILLNESS-DEATH PROCESSES

Publisher Summary A natural question that arises in the context of inverse problems is whether or not the unknown parameters can be uniquely identified. This is the so-called structural identification problem. This chapter discusses the necessary and sufficient conditions for structural identification with a view toward application to illness–death processes. An illness–death process may be described in terms of a continuous Markov model with n illness states, each having only one transfer into a death state. The chapter also discusses a Bellman–Astrom theorem that states that a single-input, completely controllable system is identifiable from the values of its impulse response obtained on an interval [0,T] if the output matrix is the identity. This theorem does not apply to all illness–death processes. Another Bellman–Astrom theorem states that a single-output, completely observable system is identifiable from the values of its impulse response on a finite interval [0,T] if the input matrix is the identity. This theorem applies to illness–death processes if m ≥ 0.
Evaluating the necessity of PCR duplicate removal from next-generation sequencing data and a comparison of approaches

Analyzing next-generation sequencing data is difficult because datasets are large, second generation sequencing platforms have high error rates, and because each position in the target genome (exome, transcriptome, etc.) is sequenced multiple times. Given these challenges, numerous bioinformatic algorithms have been developed to analyze these data. These algorithms aim to find an appropriate balance between data loss, errors, analysis time, and memory footprint. Typical analysis pipelines require multiple steps. If one or more of these steps is unnecessary, it would significantly decrease compute time and data manipulation to remove the step. One step in many pipelines is PCR duplicate removal, where PCR duplicates arise from multiple PCR products from the same template molecule binding on the flowcell. These are often removed because there is concern they can lead to false positive variant calls. Picard (MarkDuplicates) and SAMTools (rmdup) are the two main softwares used for PCR duplicate removal. Approximately 92 % of the 17+ million variants called were called whether we removed duplicates with Picard or SAMTools, or left the PCR duplicates in the dataset. There were no significant differences between the unique variant sets when comparing the transition/transversion ratios (p = 1.0), percentage of novel variants (p = 0.99), average population frequencies (p = 0.99), and the percentage of protein-changing variants (p = 1.0). Results were similar for variants in the American College of Medical Genetics genes. Genotype concordance between NGS and SNP chips was above 99 % for all genotype groups (e.g., homozygous reference). Our results suggest that PCR duplicate removal has minimal effect on the accuracy of subsequent variant calls.
Marked Sexual Dimorphism in the Role of the Ryanodine Receptor in a Model of Pain Chronification in the Rat.

Hyperalgesic priming, an estrogen dependent model of the transition to chronic pain, produced by agonists at receptors that activate protein kinase C epsilon (PKCe), occurs in male but not in female rats. However, activation of second messengers downstream of PKCe, such as the ryanodine receptor, induces priming in both sexes. Since estrogen regulates intracellular calcium, we investigated the interaction between estrogen and ryanodine in the susceptibility to develop priming in females. The lowest dose of ryanodine able to induce priming in females (1 pg) is 1/100,000(th) that needed in males (100 ng), an effect dependent on the activation of ryanodine receptors. Treatment of female rats with antisense to estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), but not beta (ERβ), mRNA, prevented the induction of priming by low dose ryanodine, and the ERα agonist, PPT, induced ryanodine receptor-dependent priming. In vitro application of ryanodine in low concentration (2 nM) to small DRG neurons cultured from females, significantly potentiated calcium release via ryanodine receptors induced by caffeine. This effect was only observed in IB4+ neurons, cultured in the presence of β-estradiol or PPT. Our results demonstrate a profound regulatory role of ERα in ryanodine receptor-dependent transition to chronic pain.
Environmental preferences and consumer behavior

Abstract This paper demonstrates that environment-conscious consumers have lower gasoline retail (tax-exclusive) price and excise tax elasticities, suggesting that they are less sensitive to changes in prices and taxes than their less environmental counterparts. These results on an American state-year dataset are robust to the use of two environmental proxies and to the instrumentation of gasoline retail prices. These findings support the existence of heterogeneous environmental preferences by demonstrating that certain consumers incorporate environmental ideology into their utility functions distinctly from income considerations. The implication that environmental preferences contribute to differential responsiveness to pecuniary signals has repercussions for the forecasting of consumer behavior and for the ease of implementation of environmental policy.
Impact of Poverty and Sickle Cell Disease on the Health-Related Quality of Life of Children.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that poverty is associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQL). Children with sickle cell disease have been shown to have poor HRQL. The impact that poverty and sickle cell disease have on the HRQL of children has not been well delineated. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of poverty and sickle cell disease on the HRQL of children with and without sickle cell disease. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Parents of children with sickle cell disease and parents of children without sickle cell disease (controls) who presented to the clinic (ages 2 to 18 years) were asked to complete the PedsQL questionnaire. Detailed demographic information on total family income and family size was collected to classify family income based on the federal poverty threshold. The primary outcome measured was HRQL. An impaired HRQL, a score similar to that of children with chronic disease, is defined as any score that is less than the population mean -1 standard deviation (Varni, et al. 2003). Three HRQL summary scores were assessed: total, physical and psychosocial summary scores. Poverty level and sickle cell disease were the independent variables of interest. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were used to look for significant differences. An ordinal multinomial regression model was used to look at the independent effects of income and disease on the HRQL of children. A total of 104 children with sickle cell disease and 74 control patients participated in the study. Approximately half of the study population was female, 98% of the cases and 78% of the controls were African-American. Approximately half (58%) of the controls and 42% of the cases with sickle cell disease had a family income at poor or near poor (100% or 100–124% of the federal poverty threshold). There were 15% of the controls and 25% of the cases that had a low family income (125–200% of the federal poverty threshold). The remainder in each group were considered as middle/high income (greater than 200% of the federal poverty threshold). The median HRQL was significantly worse in the children with sickle cell disease compared to the control group in all summary scores, p Predicted Probabilities of Poor Physical Health Score (PHS) (based on multinomial regression model) Group Income Level Pr (PHS ≥ 63.28)* 95% Confidence Interval Control Poor/Near Poor 0.23 0.14–0.36 Low 0.24 0.12–0.41 Middle/High 0.10 0.04–0.22 Sickle Cell Disease Poor/Near Poor 0.49 0.37–0.61 Low 0.49 0.34–0.64 Middle/High 0.26 0.14–0.42 *Denotes probability that PHS is≤ 1 standard deviation below the population mean reported by Varni et al. 2003
Representations of moral violations: Category members and associated features.

I present a novel way to conceptualize Turiel and colleaguesâ€™ Social Domain Theory (SDT), and Haidt and colleaguesâ€™ Moral Foundations Theory (MFT), as theories of how concepts of moral violations are mentally represented. I argue that SDT is best viewed as a theory of the features that are associated with concepts of moral violations, including wrongness, generalizability across cultures, and intrinsic harmfulness, and that MFT, in contrast, is best viewed as a theory of individual differences in what kinds of acts are categorized as moral violations (i.e., of category membership). This perspective generates a novel prediction: the same individual difference variables that predict variation in moral values according to MFT should predict ascription of the features predicted by SDT. That is, judgments of wrongness, generalizability, and intrinsic harmfulness should covary with the same predictors as do endorsed moral values, specifically, political orientation and analytic thinking. Three studies supported this hypothesis.
Reflexes that control cardiovascular function.

Realistically, most professional and general physiologycourses will have only one or two lecture hoursdevoted to cardiovascular reﬂexes. Therefore, it isimportant to choose carefully the points you considerthe most important and focus your lecture(s) to stressthese points. In writing this article, I have tried tohighlight the concepts that, in my opinion, are the mostimportant. I have geared the discussion to a presentationof one to two lecture hours, and have indicated areas thatmay be covered in more depth if time is available.When teaching autonomic reﬂexes that control thecardiovascular system, I focus on the arterial barore-ﬂex. This topic should be presented after the studentshave learned about the autonomic nervous system andbasic hemodynamics. As a brief introduction, it ishelpful to review the autonomic innervation of thecardiovascular system (Fig. 1) and the relationshipsbetween mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output(CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), heart rate(HR), and stroke volume (SV): MAP 5 CO 3 TPR andCO 5 HR 3 SV. The major point to make is that thesympathetic nervous system can rapidly increase MAPby constricting arterioles, or by increasing heart rateor stroke volume. The predominant effect of activa-tion of the parasympathetic nervous system is a rapiddecrease of heart rate, which will inﬂuence cardiacoutput.Thisreviewofthecardiovasculareffectsofactivat-ingtheefferentlimboftheautonomicnervoussystemsetsthestagefordiscussinghowefferentoutﬂowiscontrolledby afferent input from sensory receptors.
Teaching and Learning of Nature of Scientific Knowledge and Scientific Inquiry: Building Capacity through Systematic Research-Based Professional Development.

This study provides an example of a systematic professional development project designed to build capacity for the teaching of nature of science and scientific inquiry, while not sacrificing the learning of more traditional science subject matter. Specifically, this project examined the impact of a 5-year professional development project called Inquiry, Context, and Nature of Science (ICAN) on K-12 science teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, and their students’ knowledge, related to nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry (SI). For 5 years a total of 236 science teachers in K-12 participated in the project and over 23,000 students were affected by the project. During each year of Project ICAN teachers engaged in science internships, NOS and SI activities, model lessons, curriculum development, microteaching presentations, and assessment practices related to NOS/SI. The pre- and post-test results from the Views of Nature of Science, Form D (VNOS-D), and the Views of Scientific Inquiry (VOSI) instruments indicated that teachers and their students significantly improved their understandings of NOS/SI. In addition, analysis of teachers’ microteaching lessons showed that there was a developmental continuum of teaching NOS/SI from implicit to didactic to explicit teaching as teachers progressed through the program.
Sensitivity Analysis Method to Address User Disparities in the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Decision makers often face complex problems, which can seldom be addressed well without the use of structured analytical models. Mathematical models have been developed to streamline and facilitate decision making activities, and among these, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) constitutes one of the most utilized multi-criteria decision analysis methods. While AHP has been thoroughly researched and applied, the method still shows limitations in terms of addressing user profile disparities. A novel sensitivity analysis method based on local partial derivatives is presented here to address these limitations. This new methodology informs AHP users of which pairwise comparisons most impact the derived weights and the ranking of alternatives. The method can also be applied to decision processes that require the aggregation of results obtained by several users, as it highlights which individuals most critically impact the aggregated group results while also enabling to focus on inputs that drive the final ordering of alternatives. An aerospace design and engineering example that requires group decision making is presented to demonstrate and validate the proposed methodology.
Behavioral time scale synaptic plasticity underlies CA1 place fields

Learning is primarily mediated by activity-dependent modifications of synaptic strength within neuronal circuits. We discovered that place fields in hippocampal area CA1 are produced by a synaptic potentiation notably different from Hebbian plasticity. Place fields could be produced in vivo in a single trial by potentiation of input that arrived seconds before and after complex spiking. The potentiated synaptic input was not initially coincident with action potentials or depolarization. This rule, named behavioral time scale synaptic plasticity, abruptly modifies inputs that were neither causal nor close in time to postsynaptic activation. In slices, five pairings of subthreshold presynaptic activity and calcium (Ca2+) plateau potentials produced a large potentiation with an asymmetric seconds-long time course. This plasticity efficiently stores entire behavioral sequences within synaptic weights to produce predictive place cell activity.
Characterization of 90Y-SPECT/CT self-calibration approaches on the quantification of voxel-level absorbed doses following 90Y-microsphere selective internal radiation therapy

PURPOSE 90 Y-microsphere selective internal radiation therapy (90 Y-SIRT or 90 Y-radioembolization) is used in the management of unresectable liver tumors. 90 Y-SIRT presents a unique situation where the total 90 Y activity inside the liver can be determined with high accuracy (> 95%). 90 Y bremsstrahlung single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) can be self-calibrated to provide quantitative images that facilitate voxel-level absorbed dose calculations. We investigated the effects of different approaches for 90 Y-SPECT self-calibration on the quantification of absorbed doses following 90 Y-SIRT. METHODS 90 Y bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT images of 31 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, collected following 90 Y-SIRT, were analyzed, yielding 48 tumor and 31 normal liver contours. We validated the accuracy of absorbed doses calculated by a commercial software against those calculated using Monte Carlo-based radiation transport. The software package was used to analyze the following definitions of SPECT volume of interest used for 90 Y-SPECT self-calibration: (a) SPECT field-of-view (FOV), (b) chest-abdomen contour, (c) total liver contour, (d) total liver contour expanded by 5 mm, and (e) total liver contour contracted by 5 mm. Linear correlation and Bland-Altman analysis were performed for tumor and normal liver tissue absorbed dose volume histogram metrics between the five different approaches for 90 Y-SPECT self-calibration. RESULTS The mean dose calculated using the commercial software was within 3% of Monte Carlo for tumors and normal liver tissues. The tumor mean dose calculated using the chest-abdomen calibration was within 2% of that calculated using the SPECT FOV, whereas the doses calculated using the total liver contour, expanded total liver contour, and contracted total liver contour were within 68%, 47%, and 107%, respectively, of doses calculated using the SPECT FOV. The normal liver tissue mean dose calculated using the chest-abdomen contour was within 1.3% of that calculated using the SPECT FOV, whereas the doses calculated using the total liver contour, expanded total liver contour, and contracted total liver contour were within 73%, 50%, and 114%, respectively, of doses calculated using the SPECT FOV. CONCLUSIONS The mean error of < 3% for commercial software can be considered clinically acceptable for 90 Y-SIRT dosimetry. Absorbed dose quantification using 90 Y-SPECT self-calibration with the chest-abdomen contour was equivalent to that calculated using the SPECT FOV, but self-calibration with the total liver contour yielded substantially higher (~70%) dose values. The large biases revealed by our study suggest that consistent absorbed dose calculation approaches are essential when comparing 90 Y-SIRT dosimetry between different clinical studies.
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) primary tumor shrinkage on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy (TT): A pooled analysis.

629Background: Cytoreductive nephrectomy (CRN) is an important treatment modality in patients (pts) with advanced RCC, however the role and timing in the context of VEGF-TT remains under investigat...
Conduction and convection heat transfer in a dense granular suspension

Abstract Flow and heat transfer in a suspension down an inclined plane is studied; non-linear constitutive relations for the stress tensor and the heat flux vector are used. The (material) coefficients appearing in these constitutive relations are assumed to be functions of the volume fraction. Different thermal boundary conditions including radiation boundary condition at the free surface are used and a parametric study is performed to study the impact of the dimensionless numbers on the flow and heat transfer. The dimensionless forms of the governing equations are solved numerically, and velocity, volume fraction and temperature fields are obtained.
Drug Prevention Research for High-Risk Youth

Indicated prevention research with youth at high risk has the potential for extending the empirical base for preventive interventions that lead to accepted, sustained, and effective programs. Such research has great potential for directly improving public health and decreasing the enormous social costs incurred from drug abuse and its impact on the leading causes of death among our youth. The need for these programs is substantial: approximately 25% of adolescents lead high-risk lifestyles and fit the criteria for indicated drug abuse prevention efforts. Combining school, peer, and parent approaches appear to be necessary to reconnect high-risk youth to school and halt the progression from drug involvement to drug abuse and addiction. The goal of indicated prevention trials is to produce proven programs that reduce the occurrence and extent of drug abuse among high-risk youth. Much work remains to be done in this field. It will take concerted efforts, funding for preintervention studies, and complex, methodologically sound, indicated prevention efficacy trials to make reaching this goal possible.
INTRODUCTION OF T4 ENDONUCLEASE V INTO FROZEN AND THAWED MAMMALIAN CELLS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF REMOVAL OF UV INDUCED PHOTOPRODUCTS

ABSTRACT The reduction of DNA single strand molecular weight by T4 endonuclease V has been used to evaluate removal of pyrimidine dimers in mammalian cells in which the endonuclease is introduced directly through permeabilization of the cellular membranes by two cycles of rapid freezing and thawing. In V79 Chinese hamster cells the number of nicks introduced by T4 endo is a linear function of UV dose measured up to 5 J/m2. Comparisons of the molecular weights so obtained with the number of pyrimidine dimers, measured chromatographically, show that about 50% of the dimers are T4 endo sensitive sites in this assay. DNA isolated from permeabilized cells exposed to T4 endo was shown to contain the expected number of additional sites. The method described has also been used to show that T4 endo sites do occur in DNA synthesized at early times following UV irradiation, but not at late times.
Liver abscess due to Eikenella corrodens, Prevotella meloninogenica, and Lactobacillus spp. following pancreatoduodenectomy: Case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Liver abscess may be a complication after pancreatectomy. Eikenella corrodens is a rare pathogen associated with sepsis and endocarditis among other infections. METHODS: We report on a patient who developed a polymicrobial liver abscess with three unusual pathogens three months following pylorus preserving pancreatoduodenectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. A review of the literature with regard to liver abscesses caused by the rare pathogens was performed. RESULTS: The eight cm pyogenic liver abscess, which grew Eikenella corrodens, Prevotella melaninogenica, and Lactobacillus spp., was successfully treated with percutaneous drainage and antibiotic therapy using piperacillin/tazobactam followed by ertapenem. Literature review for previously reported cases of liver abscesses due to these organisms revealed that most were percutaneously drained and had good outcome. Eikenella corrodens (n = 10) and Prevotella (n = 8) liver abscesses were typically polymicrobial, whereas Lactobacillus (n = 6) liver abscesses were more commonly monomicrobial. CONCLUSIONS: Uncommon organisms such as Eikenella corrodens causing uncommon infections such as liver abscesses must be considered after pancreatic resection with adjuvant chemotherapy. Following species diagnosis, favorable outcome can be achieved.