cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinically applicable GABA receptor positive allosteric modulators promote ß-cell replication

A key goal of diabetes research is to develop treatments to safely promote human s-cell replication. It has recently become appreciated that activation of γ-aminobutyric acid receptors (GABA-Rs) on s-cells can promote their survival and replication. A number of positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) that enhance GABA's actions on neuronal GABAA-Rs are in clinical use. Repurposing these GABAA-R PAMs to help treat diabetes is theoretically appealing because of their safety and potential to enhance the ability of GABA, secreted from s-cells, or exogenously administered, to promote s-cell replication and survival. Here, we show that clinically applicable GABAA-R PAMs can increase significantly INS-1 s-cell replication, which is enhanced by exogenous GABA application. Furthermore, a GABAA-R PAM promoted human islet cell replication in vitro. This effect was abrogated by a GABAA-R antagonist. The combination of a PAM and low levels of exogenous GABA further increased human islet cell replication. These findings suggest that PAMs may potentiate the actions of GABA secreted by islet s-cells on GABAA-Rs and provide a new class of drugs for diabetes treatment. Finally, our findings may explain a past clinical observation of a GABAA-R PAM reducing HbA1c levels in diabetic patients.
Interminable Parade Rest: The Impossibility of Establishing Service Connection in Veterans Disability Compensation Claims when Records Are Lost, Destroyed, or Otherwise Unavailable

Problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been widely reported in the news and have perhaps contributed to the growth of law school veterans clinics and veterans law scholarship. By statute, veterans are eligible for disability compensation benefits for illness or injury connected to the veteran’s service in the armed forces. The process of seeking benefits is intended to be non-adversarial requiring VA to assist veterans in developing their claims. Unfortunately, VA’s nagging problems including poor management and a lack of accountability produce well-documented and devastatingly negative effects on veterans. These effects are not limited to veterans receiving disability benefits, but extends to veterans who never make it past the claim stage because their claims are denied. Typically, service medical records are used to establish service-connection. When those records are unobtainable, there are alternative sources of medical or lay evidence that can be used to establish service-connection. However, when service medical records are lost or destroyed and there is no other contemporaneous medical evidence, the veteran likely suffers an absolute bar to receiving a favorable decision about service-connection. Any decision made without service medical records is necessarily based on a lack of evidence rather than an evaluation of the evidence. My article responds to this problem by proposing administrative, statutory, and judicial remedies to give the veteran a presumption of service-connection. This presumption would require the veteran to provide two forms of alternative evidence, including the veteran’s own statements, to support service-connection. The government would then have the opportunity to rebut the presumption by proving impossibility of the existence of the event, injury, or disease.
Skeptics and ‘The White Stuff’: Promotion of Cows’ Milk and Other Nonhuman Animal Products in the Skeptic Community as Normative Whiteness

This article discusses a dairy advertising campaign featuring skeptic Derren Brown. I explore the various health claims made in the ads as well as a report Brown featured on his website that claimed consumption of cow’s milk is linked to longevity. I discuss how dairy consumption is largely linked to race and ethnicity. It is a practice enjoyed primarily by European whites as most nonwhites are lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is a normal biological process associated with weaning, but it is medicalized and made deviant because it is not part of the white experience. I also mention comments made by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins that normalize Western diets with unsubstantiated claims. This article takes a critical look at skeptic leaders who have failed to address misleading information perpetuated by exploitative animal product industries.
A second gene for resistance to race 4 of Fusarium wilt in chickpea and linkage with a RAPD marker

Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum Schlechtend.: Fr f. sp. ciceris (Padwick) Matuo & Sato is a devastating disease of chickpea. The current study was conducted to determine the inheritance of the gene(s) for resistance to race 4 of fusarium wilt and to identify linked RAPD markers using an early wilting line, JG-62, as a susceptible parent. Genetic analysis was performed on the F1s, F2s and F3 families from the cross of JG-62 × Surutato-77. The F3 families were inoculated with a spore suspension of the race 4 wilt pathogen and the results were used to infer the genotypes of the parent F2 plants. Results indicated that two independent genes controlled resistance to race 4. Linkage analysis of candidate RAPD marker, CS-27700, and the inferred F2 phenotypic data showed that this marker locus is linked to one of the resistance genes. Allelism indicated that the two resistance sources, Surutato-77 and WR-315, shared common alleles for resistance and the two susceptible genotypes, C-104 and JG-62, carried alleles for susceptibility. The PCR-based marker, CS-27700, was previously reported to be linked to the gene for resistance to race 1 in a different population which suggested that the genes for resistance to races 1 and 4 are in close proximity in the Cicer genome.
Static strands: Safely exposing dependence chains for increasing embedded power efficiency

Modern embedded processors are designed to maximize execution efficiency—the amount of performance achieved per unit of energy dissipated while meeting minimum performance levels. To increase this efficiency, we propose utilizing static strands, dependence chains without fan-out, which are exposed by a compiler pass. These dependent instructions are resequenced to be sequential and annotated to communicate their location to the hardware. Importantly, this modified application is binary compatible and functionally identical to the original, allowing transparent execution on a baseline processor. However, these static strands can be easily collapsed and optimized by simple processor modifications, significantly reducing the workload energy. Results show that over 30p of MediaBench and Spec2000int dynamic instructions can be collapsed, reducing issue logic energy by 20p, bypass energy 19p, and register file energy 14p. In addition, by increasing the effective capactity of pipeline resources by almost a third, average IPC can be improved up to 15p. This performance gain can then be traded in for a lower clock frequency to maintain a basline level of performance, further reducing energy.
Justice and Righteousness on Old Testament Prophets in Relation to Insecurity in Nigeria

This research attempts to find a solution to the incessant security challenges in Nigeria in the message of the prophets of eighth century Israel regarding justice and righteousness. During this time, the wealth of the nation was concentrated in the hands of the upper class that marginalised others, dispossessing them of their property. In their criticisms of the oppressors, the prophets predicted Godâ€™s judgment in terms of social disorder, anarchy and captivity. But all these could be averted if the leaders would uphold justice and righteousness; the warnings were not heeded and the predictions came true. As in ancient Israel, Nigeria has been witnessing many security challenges, and one major factor for this is the marginalisation of the citizenry by government and politicians. Due to corruption and negligence on the part of Nigerian leaders, society is made volatile for insecurity. One way of solving the problem of insecurity in Nigeria is by applying the principles of justice in all aspects of governance.
Spirals, Jets, and Pinches

It remains an open question in the mathematical and physical understanding of homogeneous, incompressible, three-dimensional fluids whether a singularity can form dynamically from smooth initial data. However, when a fluid system is multiphase, that is, composed of two immiscible fluids separated by an interface under a surface tension, then our everyday experience tells us the answer; we commonly observe the formation of drops and bubbles through mixing of two fluids, the formation of spray from a crashing wave, or the break-up into droplets of a falling stream of water. The pinching off of a droplet means that the bounding interfaces of the fluid have collided at a finite time. Such events are true fluid singularities, at least in continuum descriptions such as the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations, as the bounding interfaces are also material surfaces, and their collision implies that the fluid velocity gradients must diverge. From another perspective, these singularities occur usually at a single point in the fluid, yet are the mediating events through which the global structure of a fluid can be reorganized. And finally, since such collisions involve arbitrarily small length and time scales, they can bring into play molecular processes, such as viscosity or slight miscibility, and so illuminate the limitations of standard continuum models.
Measuring customer satisfaction with online travel.

Currently, very little research exists to guide travel businesses in understanding customer satisfaction with travel agent Websites. In particular, no current study provides a comprehensive methodology for evaluating travel Websites with a customer satisfaction focus. To this end, the purposes of this study were to identify the potential attributes of customer satisfaction with travel Websites, and subsequently test a structural base model of customer satisfaction with travel Websites. The evidence of validity (convergent, discriminant, and nomological) and reliability reported confirmed the construct validity of the 24-item E-SAT instrument for measuring customer satisfaction with travel Websites.
Biodiversity monitoring, earth observations and the ecology of scale.

Human activity and land-use change are dramatically altering the sizes, geographical distributions and functioning of biological populations worldwide, with tremendous consequences for human well-being. Yet our ability to measure, monitor and forecast biodiversity change - crucial to addressing it - remains limited. Biodiversity monitoring systems are being developed to improve this capacity by deriving metrics of change from an array of in situ data (e.g. field plots or species occurrence records) and Earth observations (EO; e.g. satellite or airborne imagery). However, there are few ecologically based frameworks for integrating these data into meaningful metrics of biodiversity change. Here, I describe how concepts of pattern and scale in ecology could be used to design such a framework. I review three core topics: the role of scale in measuring and modelling biodiversity patterns with EO, scale-dependent challenges linking in situ and EO data and opportunities to apply concepts of pattern and scale to EO to improve biodiversity mapping. From this analysis emerges an actionable approach for measuring, monitoring and forecasting biodiversity change, highlighting key opportunities to establish EO as the backbone of global-scale, science-driven conservation.
The Effects of Deer and an Invasive Shrub, Lonicera maackii, on Forest Understory Plant Composition

Overabundant generalist ungulates and invasive plants negatively impact forest plants, but few studies have investigated how these stressors interact. We tested the impacts after 5–6 years of exclusion vs. access of white-tailed deer and the presence or removal of an invasive shrub, Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle), on forest understory plant composition in Ohio, USA. Exclusion of deer resulted in increased tree seedling density and species richness, and increased shrub basal area, but decreased species richness of the forest floor layer, as well as decreased cover of bare ground and annual plants. The removal of L. maackii resulted in impacts on a broader range of understory plants, including greater species richness and cover of the forest floor layer, and greater cover of graminoids and vines specifically. There were also interaction effects between deer and L. maackii. Where deer were excluded and L. maackii was removed, there was greater cover of tree seedlings, vines, and spring perennials, and a tendency for greater native species richness. These findings reveal that deer and invasive shrubs have synergistic effects on forest understories, indicating that management of both is warranted.
Digitizing the Geniza

Research on the documentary Geniza originally had to rely on the spadework done by S. D. Goitein. With the coming of the digital age, research could use data allowing word searches. The earliest project along these lines was the Princeton Geniza Project, a searchable collection of keyboarded Geniza documents. The newest is the comprehensive collection of digitized images in the Friedberg Genizah Project. Arabic papyrologists have recently discovered the value of the Geniza and particularly the digitized tools now available.
Baseline data for distribution of contaminants by natural disasters: results from a residential Houston neighborhood during hurricane Harvey flooding.

Abstract Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas August 25, 2017, bringing massive rains and flooding that impacted soils in a residential neighborhood in East Houston. Trace elements, organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ether fire retardants (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in 24 soil samples. The highest concentrations found in soils were total PAHs, which ranged from 1,310 μg/kg to 85,700 μg/kg with a mean of 12,600 μg/kg. Analysis of specific PAH ratios indicate the source of the PAHs were dominated by pyrogenic rather than petrogenic sources. Chlordanes were detectable in the area where the likely local source is for ant control. The trace metal concentrations were below any environmental health concern concentrations but As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Se, Ag, Zn were enriched over the crustal abundance. While Hurricane Harvey was responsible for the redistribution of many contaminants, the large volume of rain and floodwater likely transported contaminants from the land areas and into the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay. The findings from this study will serve as baseline data for determining the mobilization of contaminants caused by natural disasters.
Christa Wolf’s Richard Neutra: Architecture, Psychoanalysis, and Southern California in Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud

AbstractChrista Wolf’s novel Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud has spawned an impressive amount of scholarly attention in less than a decade. However, two of the major themes of the no...
Determination of appendix K conservatisms for Westinghouse pressurized water reactors using TRAC-PD2/MOD1

A 200% cold-leg break accident in a Westinghouse four-loop RESAR-3S plant has been analyzed using the best-estimate code TRAC-PD2/MOD1/Version 27 with updates. Three TRAC calculations have been performed. The first calculation used the best-estimate or realistic initial and boundary conditions and scenarios and the other two calculations, one with and one without locked rotor resistance, used the licensing conditions. These calculations produced the peak cladding temperatures (PCTs) of 800.5, 1072, and 1153 K, respectively. Comparison of these results with the Westinghouse licensing calculations performed in accordance with the guidelines in Appendix K of 10CFR50 shows an overall safety margin of 663 K, of which 352.5 K is due to the conservative initial and boundary conditions and scenario. The remaining 310.5 K is due to conservative physical models. The locked rotor resistance contributed --81 K to PCT.
Elucidating the role of ethanol in aqueous phase hydrodechlorination of trichloroethylene over Pd catalysts supported on swellable organically modified silica (SOMS)

Abstract In this study, effect of ethanol on the performance of Pd supported on swellable organically modified silica (SOMS) for hydrodechlorination (HDC) of trichloroethylene (TCE) is investigated. SOMS is a hydrophobic material that swells to 3–4 times its original volume when contacted with organic solvents. Catalytic HDC of TCE suffers from inhibition due to HCl which is worsened by the slow removal of HCl from the hydrophobic pores of SOMS. Addition of ethanol resulted in swelling of SOMS matrix causing expansion of pores, thereby facilitating the removal of HCl. The inhibitory effect of HCl was alleviated by ethanol, without altering the HDC reaction pathway. Characterization using near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure showed the effect of ethanol on swellability and HCl removal, respectively. Lastly, a mechanism has been proposed for the uninhibited reaction, which exhibited first order kinetics with respect to TCE.
Impediments to Understanding Seagrasses’ Response to Global Change

Uncertainties from sampling biases present challenges to ecologists and evolutionary biologists in understanding species sensitivity to anthropogenic climate change. Here, we synthesize possible impediments that can constrain research to assess present and future seagrass response from climate change. First, our knowledge of seagrass occurrence information is prevalent with biases, gaps and uncertainties that can influence inferences on species response to global change. Second, research on seagrass diversity has been focused on species-level metrics that can be measured with data from the present - but rarely accounting for the shared phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary distinctiveness of species despite species evolved and diversified from shared ancestors. Third, compared to the mass production of species occurrence records, computational tools that can analyze these datasets in a reasonable amount of time are almost non-existent or do not scale well in terms of computer time and memory. These impediments mean that scientists must work with incomplete information and often unrepresentative data to predict how seagrass diversity might change in the future. We discuss these shortfalls and provide a framework for overcoming the impediments and diminishing the knowledge gaps they generate.
Passive Transfer of Antibodies in Pregnant Cattle Following Vaccination with Bovi-Shield®

Prior research has shown that neonatal calves have various levels of immunoglobulins (IgG) following passive antibody transfer from the dam. Variability in neonate serum IgG is related to the dam's prior vaccination history, the interval from vaccination to parturition, and type of vaccine administered. Strategic vaccination could improve passive transfer and positively impact neonatal morbidity and mortality.
Fenestrated endovascular repair with large device diameters (34- to 36-mm) is associated with type 1 and 3 endoleak and reintervention.

OBJECTIVES Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms undergoing EVAR with larger device diameters (34- to 36-mm) have worse outcomes due to proximal fixation failure and need for reintervention. We examine outcomes relating to standard fenestrated repair (FEVAR) with larger device diameters, and investigate whether a similar relationship exists. MATERIAL AND METHODS Retrospective review of a prospectively maintained, single institution database of patients treated with the Cook ZFEN device between 2012-2017. Outcomes were stratified by device diameter into normal-diameter (ND,≤ 32 mm) and large-diameter (LD,34-36 mm). Primary endpoints were need for reintervention and composite type I/III endoleak. RESULTS 100 consecutive patients treated were identified for inclusion. Overall mean age was 73.6 years and mean aortic diameter was 59.1 mm. Mean follow-up was 22 months. A total of 26 (26%) patients were treated with LD devices. Number of target vessels per patient was 2.8 in both groups. Infrarenal neck length and diameter were significantly different in the LD and ND patients, respectively (2.6 mm vs 4.7 mm (P<.01) and 30.1 mm vs 23.4 mm (P<.01)). Percent graft oversizing was lower in the LD cohort (19% vs 24%; P=.006). No difference was seen in overall mortality at 30-days (0% vs 2%; P=.4) or at latest follow up (6% vs 14%; P=.6). Reinterventions were not significantly different at 30 days, but were significantly higher over the follow-up period in the LD cohort (46.2 vs. 17.6%; P=.002). LD diameter was associated with reintervention on univariate (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04-1.37), but not multivariate analysis. The composite endpoint of type I/III endoleak was higher in the LD cohort (15.4% vs. 2.7%; P=.004). CONCLUSION FEVAR requiring 34- or 36-mm device diameters is associated with an increased risk of composite type I/III endoleak and reintervention. Patients undergoing fenestrated repair requiring LD devices should be closely monitored, with consideration for proximal or open repair.
Mechanisms for Microwave to Acoustic Energy Conversion

Research have shown that a cascade of events takes place when a beam of microwave pulses is aimed at a human or animal subject’s head. Absorption of pulsed microwave energy creates a rapid expansion of brain matter and launches an elastic wave of pressure that travels inside the head to the inner ear. There, it activates the nerve cells in the cochlea and the neural signals are then relayed through the central auditory system to the cerebral cortex for sound perception. The microwave thermoelastic theory is widely recognized as the mechanism of interaction for the microwave auditory effect. This chapter discusses the mechanisms that have been suggested whereby auditory responses might be induced by pulse-modulated microwave radiation and is followed by detailed description of the thermoelastic theory.
The Context of Educational Program Evaluation in the United States

The focus of this chapter is on the evaluation of educational programs, and in particular on how practice has developed in the United States over the past four decades of the 20th century. The Year 1963 is of particular significance since it saw the beginning of a new, federally supported, national thrust to reform public education, as well as the first nationwide requirement that schools evaluate federally funded programs. Ensuing federal requirements for evaluation greatly accelerated the practice of program evaluation in school districts and stimulated the development of new evaluation approaches. The chapter is intended to help readers consider how the present context in the U.S. influences the evaluation of educational programs. Such consideration is important when designing evaluations of school district programs. They are also important when one is considering whether or not to apply U.S. evaluation approaches in other national settings. In addition to looking at the current U.S. context, some key historical events will be identified to help the reader appreciate how the American educational system reached its present state.
The Epidemiology of Pediatric Open Brain Surgery in the United States. (P4.329)

Objective: To estimate the burden and leading reasons for pediatric craniotomy and craniectomy (CC) performed in U.S. hospitals. Background: An improved understanding of the overall burden of pediatric CC by indication is important for resource allocation. Design/Methods: Persons aged 0-19 years who underwent primary CC were selected from the 2003, 2006 and 2009 Kids’ Inpatient Database. We describe patient characteristics, hospitalization rates, mortality and inflation-adjusted total charges based on the indication for CC: injury, non-injury-related acquired disorder or congenital anomaly. Results: Of a total of 21,201,175 hospitalizations, 8,590 involved pediatric CC (40.5 per 100,000 hospitalizations). The most common indication for CC was head injury (20.3 per 100,000), followed by acquired disorders (15.6 per 100,000) and congenital anomalies (4.6 per 100,000). Among patients undergoing injury-related CC, basal skull fracture (30.0%) was the most common diagnosis. Common mechanisms of head injuries include motor vehicle collisions (MVC) (41.7%), falls (30.0%) and firearms and/or other intentional assaults (16.6%). Males underwent CC more frequently than females for injury, acquired disorders and congenital anomalies (male/female ratio: 2.9, 1.1 and 1.4 respectively, P<0.001), and median age of CC patients was higher following an injury compared to patients treated for acquired disorders or congenital anomalies (13 years, Interquartile range [IQR]=6-17 vs. 11, IQR=5-15 and 3.5, IQR=0-10 respectively; P<0.001). The majority of injury-related CC patients (96.0%) were admitted emergently, compared to 34.8% with acquired disorders and 19.5% with congenital anomalies. Average length of stay (LOS) was 7.8 days, vs. 5.6, and 7.7 (P<0.001); in-hospital mortality was 6.9% vs. 0.3% and 1.6% (P<0.001); and median total charges were $50,871 vs. $41,091 and $40,043 (P<0.001) for injury-related CC compared to acquired disorders and congenital anomalies, respectively. Conclusion: More than half CC surgeries took place following head injury. Injury-related CC resulted in higher mortality, longer LOS and higher charges. Pediatric head injury prevention measures can potentially assist in avoiding the majority of pediatric CC in the U.S. Disclosure: Dr. Selvarajah has nothing to disclose. Dr. Carchedi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hammond has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cerullo has nothing to disclose. Dr. Asemota has nothing to disclose. Dr. Canner has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schneider has nothing to disclose.
Migration of isogenic cell lines quantified by dynamic multivariate analysis of single-cell motility.

Cell migration is essential in many physiological and pathological processes. To understand this complex behavior, researchers have turned to quantitative, in vitro, image-based measurements to dissect the steps of cellular motility. With the rise of automated microscopy, the bottleneck in these approaches is no longer data acquisition, but data analysis. Using time-lapse microscopy and computer-assisted image analysis, we have developed a novel, quantitative assay that extracts a multivariate profile for cellular mo-tility. This technique measures three dynamic parameters per single cell: speed, surface area, and an in-dex of cell expansion/contraction activity (DECCA). Our assay can be used in combination with a variety of extracellular matrix components, or other soluble agents, to analyze the effects of the microenviron-ment on cellular migration dynamics in vitro. Our application was developed and tested using A431 and HT-1080 cell lines plated on laminin-332 or fibronectin substrates. Our results in...
Abiotic stresses induce different localizations of anthocyanins in Arabidopsis

Anthocyanins are induced in plants in response to abiotic stresses such as drought, high salinity, excess light, and cold, where they often correlate with enhanced stress tolerance. Numerous roles have been proposed for anthocyanins induced during abiotic stresses including functioning as ROS scavengers, photoprotectants, and stress signals. We have recently found different profiles of anthocyanins in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants exposed to different abiotic stresses, suggesting that not all anthocyanins have the same function. Here, we discuss these findings in the context of other studies and show that anthocyanins induced in Arabidopsis in response to various abiotic stresses have different localizations at the organ and tissue levels. These studies provide a basis to clarify the role of particular anthocyanin species during abiotic stress.
Glycemic effect and satiating capacity of potato chips and milk chocolate bars in diabetic teenagers

(IDDM). Fourteen teenagers, four girls and ten boys, attending the diabetic clinic at our hospital participated in the study. All had passed the initial remission. They had a diabetes duration of > 1 y and an insulin dose of > 0.5 lU/kg body weight. The subjects were between 13 and 19 y old. Their mean diabetes duration was between 3 and 15 y (mean 8.6 y). Their glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAic) concentrations ranged from 6.3% to 9.4% (mean 7.9%, reference value < 5.6%) at the time of the tests. The teenagers were receiving three or four insulin doses/d, with a mean of 1.0
Trace View: A Trace Visualization Tool

Although incorporating significant performance detail, the generation of large trace files poses problems for performance interpretation. The potential need to compare multiple traces, possibly produced by different means (e.g., measured execution or simulation), exacerbates the difficulties in building general trace analysis and display solutions. This paper describes a trace visualization tool, TraceView, that provides a convenient, general purpose environment for trace manipulation and display. TraceView manages trace visualization sessions that the user constructs, handling functions such as trace file I/O, view specification, and display selection. TraceView can be applied in several trace contexts. Examples are given using traces generated from measured application execution on a Cray X-MP and simulated application execution to determine maximum parallelism. The TraceView tool can be extended, particularly in the addition of new display methods.
Physiological Functions of Cyclic ADP-Ribose and NAADP as Calcium Messengers

Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) are two Ca(2+) messengers derived from NAD and NADP, respectively. Although NAADP is a linear molecule, structurally distinct from the cyclic cADPR, it is synthesized by similar enzymes, ADP-ribosyl cyclase and its homolog, CD38. The crystal structure of the cyclase has been solved and its active site identified. These two novel nucleotides have now been shown to be involved in a wide range of cellular functions including: cell cycle regulation in Euglena, a protist; gene expression in plants; and in animal systems, from fertilization to neurotransmitter release and long-term depression in brain. A battery of pharmacological reagents have been developed, providing valuable tools for elucidating the physiological functions of these two novel Ca(2+) messengers. This article reviews these recent results and explores the implications of the existence of multiple Ca(2+) messengers and Ca(2+) stores in cells.
Automated classification and visualization of fluorescent live cell microscopy images.

Robotic, high-throughput microscopy is a powerful tool for small molecule screening and classifying cell phenotype, proteomic and genomic data. An important hurdle in the field is the automated classification and visualization of results collected from a data set of tens of thousands of images. We present a method that approaches these problems from the perspective of flow cytometry with supporting open-source code. Image analysis software was created that allowed high-throughput microscopy data to be analysed in a similar manner as flow cytometry. Each cell on an image is considered an object and a series of gates similar to flow cytometry is used to classify and quantify the properties of cells including size and level of fluorescent intensity. This method is released with open-source software and code that demonstrates the method's implementation. Accuracy of the software was determined by measuring the levels of apoptosis in a primary murine myoblast cell line after exposure to staurosporine and comparing these results to flow cytometry. © 2013 Royal Microscopical Society.
Urban Redevelopment as Contingent Process: Implicating Everyday Practices in Berlin’s Renewal:

In this article, we generate a “middle–ground” perspective to interrogate the range of interactions between political economic processes and everyday practices in the study of urban redevelopment. ...
A third course of indomethacin.

The efficacy and the side effects of a third course of indomethacin in the treatment of persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) were examined by Sangem et al. [6], and the results are presented in this issue of Pediatric Cardiology. In a retrospective analysis of 259 infants of gestational age \34 weeks with a PDA, one course of indomethacin resulted in closure in 76% of the patients. A second course of indomethacin in the remaining 61 infants with PDA caused closure in 42% of the patients. Of the remaining 38 patients with PDA, 11 were referred for surgical ligation of the PDA and 26 were treated with a third course of indomethacin. A total of 43% of the patients treated with a third course of indomethacin had closure of their PDA. Comparing patients treated with two courses of indomethacin to those treated with three courses, all measures of morbidity were similar except for an increased trend (p = 0.06) in periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) in patients treated with three courses. The authors of this study conclude that a prospective study comparing the effect of multiple courses to ligation in the treatment of persistent PDA should be performed.
Characterization and anatomical distribution of selective long-term potentiation in the olfactory forebrain.

Abstract High-frequency stimulation of the granule cell layer of the olfactory bulb (OB) has previously been shown to result in a form of long-term potentiation in the piriform cortex (PC) that is selective to late components of the potential evoked in the PC58. This phenomenon was explored in male Long-Evans rats with chronically implanted electrodes by recording potentials evoked in the OB and in various sites in the ipsilateral and contralateral PC before and after repeated high-frequency stimulation of the OB. Recording at all sites exhibited a gradually developing potentiation that was selective to late components of the evoked potential. In the OB and ipsilateral PC this potentiation had an overt long-term component that lasted for days, and all sites exhibited a latent potentiation that enabled the reestablishment of substantial levels of potentiation by mild patterns of stimulation that had no effect in control animals. No potentiation of the population EPSP representing input from the lateral olfactory tract to the PC was seen. Available evidence concerning the neuronal elements activated by the stimulation and the neuronal events likely to underlie the potentiated components of the evoked potentials suggests that this potentiation may represent an enhancement of inhibitory interactions within the PC and between the PC and OB.
Inflight Evaluation of Four Measures of Pilot Workload

Four measures of pilot workload were tested in the NASA C-141 Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The measured included a communications analysis, subjective ratings of workload, subjective ratings of additional factors related to workload, and heart rate. Data were collected for 11 flights, each of which lasted approximately seven hours. Heart rate was found to be significantly higher for the pilot who was flying than for the pilot who was not flying and it varied significantly across flight segments, peaking during landing and take off, particularly for the pilot in the left seat who was resonsible for aircraft control. For both left and right seats, the subjective assessment of stress rather than the subjective assessment of workload was significantly correlated with variation in heart rate. Frequencies of different types of communications varied significantly across segments of flight, however, they were not correlated with subjective ratings of workload. There was a significant difference between the left and right seats in the types of activities that contributed to their workload, however, workload was considered to be equivalent for the two.
Construction of 110 cosmid markers and a 4.5-MB YAC contig on human chromosome 8p12-q11

Microcell hybrids containing various regions of human chromosome 8 were formed by microcell-mediated transfer of neo-tagged chromosome 8 into the cells derived from severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse. Thus, 110 cosmid markers were isolated from SV40-transformed SCID fibroblast cell line (SCVA) containing a p12-q11.1 region of human chromosome 8 and were assigned to eight regions in 8p12-q11.1, using a microcell-hybrid panel. For positional cloning of a human gene that restores the DNA-repair defect in a mouse with SCID on 8p11.1-q11.1 (SCID region), we constructed a yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) contig of about 4.5 Mb. Overlapping YACs were further aligned by restriction mapping, using rare-cutting restriction endonucleases. The cosmids and YAC contig should facilitate isolation of the SCID gene and other genes, such as the Werner syndrome-responsible gene in or near this region.
Of muscle-bound crania and human brain evolution: The story behind the MYH16 headlines

a Division of Basic Medical Sciences, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, GA 31207, USA b Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA c Department of Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA d Division of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA e Department of Cell Biology, Division of Physiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC 27710, USA
High thermal stability of piezoelectric properties in (Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3)x–(BaTiO3)y–(Na0.5K0.5NbO3)1−x−y ceramics

We report the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of (Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3)x–(BaTiO3)y–(Na0.5K0.5NbO3)1−x−y ceramics for Na0.5K0.5NbO3 rich end of composition (x, y ≤ 0.04 mol. %). These compositions were found to exhibit significantly improved thermal stability of piezoresponse. Variation of dielectric constant as a function of temperature revealed that orthorhombic–tetragonal (To-t) and tetragonal–cubic (Tc) transition temperatures for these compositions were in the vicinity of 0 °C and 330 °C, respectively. Dynamic scaling and temperature dependent X-ray diffraction analysis were conducted. Results are discussed in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the piezoelectric response explaining the temperature dependent behavior.
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy

Abstract The development of the field of spectroscopic measurement with the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is discussed. A historical review of early experimental results in this field is presented, with emphasis on the techniques for data acquisition and interpretation. The applicability of STM spectroscopic measurement to surface structural determination is addressed. The role of geometric versus electronic contributions to STM images is discussed, with reference to studies of Si(111)7 × 7, Si(111)2 × 1, and Ge(111)c(2 × 8) surfaces. It is concluded that, for semiconductor surfaces, the observed corrugations are dominated by electronic effects. Issues of dynamic range in spectroscopic measurement, and interpretation of spectroscopic images, are examined.
Changing the peptide specificity of a human T-cell receptor by directed evolution

Binding of a T-cell receptor (TCR) to a peptide/major histocompatibility complex is the key interaction involved in antigen specificity of T cells. The recognition involves up to six complementarity determining regions (CDR) of the TCR. Efforts to examine the structural basis of these interactions and to exploit them in adoptive T-cell therapies has required the isolation of specific T-cell clones and their clonotypic TCRs. Here we describe a strategy using in vitro-directed evolution of a single TCR to change its peptide specificity, thereby avoiding the need to isolate T-cell clones. The human TCR A6, which recognizes the viral peptide Tax/HLA-A2, was converted to TCR variants that recognized the cancer peptide MART1/HLA-A2. Mutational studies and molecular dynamics simulations identified CDR residues that were predicted to be important in the specificity switch. Thus, in vitro engineering strategies alone can be used to discover TCRs with desired specificities.
The interaction of nonhistone chromosomal proteins HMG1 and HMG2 with subfractions of H1 histone immobilized on agarose.

Chromatographically isolated subfractions of calf thymus H1 histone have been covalently coupled to agarose beads and tested for their ability to form complexes with the non-histone proteins HMG1 and HMG2 (High Mobility Group proteins, Walker, J.M., Goodwin, G.H. and Johns, E.W. (1976) Eur. J. Biochem. 62, 461-469). When a mixture of HMG1 and HMG2 is passed through a column of H1 histone-agarose, the HMG2 does not bind. HMG1 does bind and can be eluted from the column with NaCl in the range of 0.05 M--0.15 M. The NaCl concentration required to elute HMG1 from each of the three H1 histone subfraction coulmns is different, suggesting that HMG1 has a different binding affinity for the three H1 histone subfractions.
The model for optimal design of robot vision systems based on kinematic error correction

An active vision system is a robot device for controlling the optics and mechanical structure of cameras based on visual information to simplify the processing for computer vision. In this paper, we present a kinematic model for the optimal design of such active vision systems. We first build a generic kinematic model for robot structure error analysis using a Denavit-Hartenberg transformation matrix, differential changes for this transformation matrix and link parameters. We then extend it to analyze an active vision system using algorithms for estimating depth using stereo cameras. This model is generic and is suitable for analysis of any active vision system. Since we can employ it to analyze errors based on variations of link parameters when we use an active vision system to estimating depth, we can combine it with a cost-tolerance model to implement an optimal design for active vision systems. In this way, we can not only save manufacturing cost and implement design for manufacturing (DFM) but reduce or avoid calibration work for an active vision system. Our algorithm also works for a binocular head and on even more complex tasks. Based on our approach, we have created a software tool that functions as a C++ class library. We also demonstrate how to use this software model to analyze a real system TRICLOPS, which is a significant proof of concept.
Nucleus retroambigualis respiratory neurons: Responses to intercostal and abdominal muscle afferents

Abstract Studies were performed on anesthetized (Dial), paralyzed, vagotomized, artificially ventilated cats. Phrenic efferent activity, ventral respiratory group neuron activity in the region of the nucleus retroambigualis and, in some instances, thoracic dorsal root compound action potential were recorded during electrical stimulation of intercostal nerve afferents (INS). Phrenic activity and inspiratory (I) neurons were inhibited by stimulating external, internal and lateral intercostal nerve afferents. Some expiratory (E)-neurons were also inhibited by these afferents. No I or E-neurons were facilitated with INS. Changes in I and E activity were correlated with muscle proprioceptor and cutaneous receptor afferent fibers. It is concluded that the dominant effect of intercostal and abdominal muscle proprioceptive afferent information on medullary respiratory activity is inhibition of inspiratory activity.
Retroviral Transfer of a Human Fetal Globin Gene Carrying the -202 Gγβ+-HPFH Mutation into the Human Erythroleukemia Line, KMOE

The presence of point mutations at position -202 relative to the mRNA Cap site of both human fetal γ-globin genes is linked with elevated fetal globin levels in adults. The question addressed in this study is whether the -202 mutation affects γ-globin gene expression in the same manner as the -117 hereditary persistence of fetal. hemoglobin (HPFH) Aγ-globin mutation. The -117 mutation was found to cause over-expression and confer inducibility of a retro-virally transferred γ-globin gene in cytosine arabinoside (araC)-treated KMOE cells in an earlier study. In this study, fetal globin genes driven by either the normal Gγ or -202 HPFH Gγ-globin promoter were retrovirally transferred into human erythroid HOE cells. The -202 HPFH mutation did not cause over-expression or confer inducibility of the transferred γ-globin gene in araC-treated KMOE cells. Thus, the -202 HPFH mutation affects γ-globin gene expression by a different mechanism than the -117 HPFH mutation. Furthermore, this study provides evidence aga...
The Stability of the Nuclear Lamina Polymer Changes with the Composition of Lamin Subtypes According to Their Individual Binding Strengths

The nuclear lamina, which provides a structural scaffolding for the nuclear envelope, consists largely of a polymer of the intermediate filament lamin proteins. Although different cell types contain distinctive relative amounts of the major lamin subtypes (A, C, B1, and B2), the functions of this variation are not understood. We have investigated the possibility that subtype variation affects lamina stability. We find that homotypic and heterotypic binding interactions of lamin B2 are substantially less resistant to chemical dissociation in vitro than those between the other lamin subtypes, whereas lamin A interactions are the most stable. Surprisingly, removal of the central four-fifths of the rod domain did not substantially weaken the interactions of lamins A and B2, suggesting that other regions also strongly contribute to their binding interactions. In contrast, this rod deletion strongly destabilizes the binding interactions of lamins B1 and C. Consistent with the binding studies, lamins are more readily solubilized by chemical extraction from cells enriched for lamin B2 than from cells enriched for lamin A. This suggests that the distinctive ensemble of heterotypic lamin interactions in a particular cell type affects the stability of the lamin polymer, and, correspondingly, could be relevant to tissue-specific properties of the lamina including its involvement in disease.
Hidden symmetry and correlated states of electrons and holes in quantum dots

We describe hidden symmetry and its application to the construction of exact correlated states of electrons and holes in quantum dots. The hidden symmetry is related to degenerate single particle energy shells and symmetric interactions. Both can be engineered in a quantum dot. We focus on hidden symmetry involving spin singlet pairing of electrons and spin singlet pairing of holes. Detailed calculations for a third shell are presented to illustrate the mechanism of pairing.
IS LOW CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW (CBF) IN PREMATURE INFANTS COMPATIBLE WITH NORMAL NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME

During an ongoing study on CBF in the first 72 hours of life we tried to see if a critical low CBF value is associated with brain damage assessed either by autopsy or by Bayley's test at 18 months, CBF was measured in fifty-six premature infants (GA: 26-33 weeks) with the i.v.Xe-133 method. Infants with minor brain damage (Bayley MDI 75-90) showed higher CBF values (mean CBF 15.0; SD 3.3) than infants with seven, brain damage (Bayley MDI 90) showed CBF' values ranging from 6,6 to 19.7 ml/100g/miu. (mean CBF: 12.8 SD 3.4) Girls with normal outcome tend to have lower CBF values than boys (t test p=0.046). Conclusion: Infants with CBF as low as 6.6 ml/100g/min can have a normal Hayley's test at 18 months.