cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lipid retention in the arterial wall of two mouse strains with different atherosclerosis susceptibility

LDL deposition in the subendothelium of arterial walls is the initial event in the development of atherosclerosis. The deposited LDL undergoes oxidative modification by arterial wall cells to become oxidized LDL and consequently contributes to atherosclerotic formation. Using mouse strains C57BL/6J (B6) and C3H/HeJ (C3H), which differ markedly in susceptibility to atherosclerosis, we determined whether variation in subendothelial retention of apolipoprotein B (apoB)-containing lipoproteins constitutes a genetic component in atherosclerosis. Lipoprotein retention was quantitated by Western blot analysis to detect the presence of apoB in aortic walls before foam cells developed. In both dietary and apoE-deficient models, B6 mice exhibited up to a 2-fold increase of apoB in the aortic wall compared with C3H mice. This increase could not be attributed to differences in plasma lipid levels of the two strains. In vitro, endothelial cells from C3H mice took up more acetylated and oxidized LDL but not native LDL and converted more native LDL to oxidized LDL than did endothelial cells from B6 mice. C3H mice expressed more scavenger receptor A in their aortic wall than B6 mice. Thus, variation in the subendothelial retention of apoB-containing lipoproteins cannot explain the dramatic difference in atherosclerosis susceptibility between B6 and C3H mice, and endothelial cells may play a role in alleviating lipid accumulation in arterial walls.
Neuronal control of leech swimming movements

1. A system of coupled neuronal oscillators, located in nearly all ganglia of the nerve cord, generates the rhythmic activity expressed as undulations in swimming medicinal leeches. Excitatory and inhibitory outputs from these segmental oscillators are conveyed to the dorsal and ventral longitudinal muscles of the body wall via a set of inhibitory and excitatory motor neurons. Contrary to published reports that electrical interactions alone interconnect the inhibitory motor neurons, the experiments described here reveal that chemical synaptic inhibition connects the dorsal inhibitory (DI) motor neurons to their ventral inhibitory (VI) counterparts. 2. These inhibitory interactions apparently result from monosynaptic, non-spike-mediated connections. The DI-VI connections are functionally important, for membrane potential oscillations in VI motor neurons are greatly attenuated when phasic DI input is removed. 3. Unlike previously described inhibition between the DI motor neurons and the dorsal excitatory (DE) motor neurons, the DI-VI inhibitory connections extend across the midline and hence provide synaptic links that insure that the left and right sides of the leech body make swimming movements in concert. 4. Depolarizing current pulses injected into DI motor neurons during the expression of swimming activity delay the cycle phase; hence these inhibitory motor neurons are candidates for membership in the oscillator circuit that generates swimming movements in the leech.
Circadian pattern to arrhythmias in a genetic mouse model of heart failure

Arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death have a circadian pattern of occurrence in humans. We hypothesized that a circadian pattern of arrhythmias is also present in transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of tumor necrosis factor alpha, which develop a dilated cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias and heart failure. To test this hypothesis, telemetry monitors were implanted and 24hr, ambulatory ECG was recorded ≥ 5 days later. Animals were maintained on a 12hr light/dark cycle. The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias increased between 3pm and 12am, whereas atrial arrhythmias surged between 4am and 12pm. This circadian pattern of arrhythmias is in excellent agreement with human data (taking into account a 12-hour shift between activity periods in diurnal humans and nocturnal rodents). The molecular mechanisms underlying such circadian patterns of arrhythmias were examined using gene expression analysis and mathematical modeling.
Catching "Moles" in Sensor Networks

False data injection is a severe attack that compromised sensor nodes ("moles"1) can launch. These moles inject large amount of bogus traffic that can lead to application failures and exhausted network resources. Existing sensor network security proposals only passively mitigate the damage by filtering injected packets; they do not provide active means for fight back. This paper studies how to locate such moles within the framework of packet marking, when forwarding moles collude with source moles to manipulate the marks. Existing Internet traceback mechanisms do not assume compromised forwarding nodes and are easily defeated by manipulated marks. We propose a probabilistic nested marking (PNM) scheme that is secure against such colluding attacks. No matter how colluding moles manipulate the marks, PNM can always locate them one by one. We prove that nested marking is both sufficient and necessary to resist colluding attacks. PNM also has fast-traceback: within about 50 packets, it can track down a mole up to 20 hops away from the sink. This virtually prevents any effective data injection attack: moles will be caught before they have injected any meaningful amount of bogus traffic.
An institutional critique of intergovernmentalism

Most intergovernmentalist analyses of European integration focus on treaty bargaining among European Union member governments. Recent articles also have examined everyday decision making through power index analysis, an approach that asserts that a government's ability to influence policy is a function of all possible coalitions in the Council of Ministers to which it is pivotal. This approach suffers from two major weaknesses. First, it fails to take into account the policy preferences of governments; it overestimates the influence of governments holding extreme preferences and underestimates that of more centrist governments. Second, power index analysis fails to consider the important roles of the Commission of the European Communities and the European Parliament in legislative processes. Today's procedures affect the mix of agenda-setting and veto power, and this has systematic effects on policy outcomes. If intergovernmentalism is to explain choices made during treaty rounds, it must take into account these legislative dynamics.
Lateral fluid percussion injury of the brain induces CCL20 inflammatory chemokine expression in rats

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) evokes a systemic immune response including leukocyte migration into the brain and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines; however, the mechanisms underlying TBI pathogenesis and protection are poorly understood. Due to the high incidence of head trauma in the sports field, battlefield and automobile accidents identification of the molecular signals involved in TBI progression is critical for the development of novel therapeutics. In this report, we used a rat lateral fluid percussion impact (LFPI) model of TBI to characterize neurodegeneration, apoptosis and alterations in pro-inflammatory mediators at two time points within the secondary injury phase. Brain histopathology was evaluated by fluoro-jade (FJ) staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay, polymerase chain reaction (qRT PCR), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry were employed to evaluate the CCL20 gene expression in different tissues. Histological analysis of neurodegeneration by FJ staining showed mild injury in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and thalamus. TUNEL staining confirmed the presence of apoptotic cells and CD11b+ microglia indicated initiation of an inflammatory reaction leading to secondary damage in these areas. Analysis of spleen mRNA by PCR microarray of an inflammation panel led to the identification of CCL20 as an important pro-inflammatory signal upregulated 24 h after TBI. Although, CCL20 expression was observed in spleen and thymus after 24h of TBI, it was not expressed in degenerating cortex or hippocampal neurons until 48 h after insult. Splenectomy partially but significantly decreased the CCL20 expression in brain tissues. These results demonstrate that the systemic inflammatory reaction to TBI starts earlier than the local brain response and suggest that spleen- and/ or thymus-derived CCL20 might play a role in promoting neuronal injury and central nervous system inflammation in response to mild TBI.
Boltzmann H function and entropy in the plasma sheet

[1] Boltzmann's H function was evaluated using 10 years of 1-min distribution functions. These results were used to study the long-term averaged spatial distributions of four entropy parameters. The average entropy density sa(x), where a = i for ions and a = e for electrons, increased when moving Earthward or toward the flanks. The magnitudes of these entropy changes were similar for ions and electrons. The entropy per unit flux tube Sf,a(x) decreased when moving Earthward or toward midnight. The spatial changes of sa(x) and of Sf,a(x) were attributed primarily to variations of the particle density na(x) and of the particle content of each unit flux tube Nf(x), respectively. A dimensionless parameter (S/Ncv)H,i that is proportional to the average entropy per ion increased when moving Earthward or toward midnight near the neutral sheet. The dimensionless parameter proportional to the entropy per ion that would exist in a plasma with the measured pressure and density but with a Maxwellian distribution function (S/Ncv)P,i was also calculated. Differences between (S/Ncv)P,i and (S/Ncv)H,i showed that the plasma was closer to equilibrium near the neutral sheet at x = −10 RE than at x = −28 RE. These gradients of the entropy per ion and of the deviations from equilibrium suggest that nonadiabatic processes and particle scattering are significant throughout the region studied.
NMR study and molecular dynamics simulations of optimized β-hairpin fragments of protein G

The stability and structure of several beta-hairpin peptide variants derived from the C-terminus of the B1 domain of protein G were investigated by a number of experimental and computational techniques. Our analysis shows that the structure and stability of this hairpin can be greatly affected by one or a few simple mutations. For example, removing an unfavorable charge near the N-terminus of the peptide (Glu42 to Gln or Thr) or optimization of the N-terminal charge-charge interactions (Gly41 to Lys) both stabilize the peptide, even in water. Furthermore, a simple replacement of a charged residue in the turn (Asp47 to Ala) changes the beta-turn conformation. Finally, we show that the effects of combining these single mutations are additive, suggesting that independent stabilizing interactions can be isolated and evaluated in a simple model system. Our results indicate that the structure and stability of this beta-hairpin peptide can be modulated in numerous ways and thus contributes toward a more complete understanding of this important model beta-hairpin as well as to the folding and stability of larger peptides and proteins.
Feasibility of Orion Crew Module Entry on Half of Available Propellant Due to Tank Isolation Fault

The fuel tank isolation as a result of leak or rupture can leave an Orion Crew Module with only half of the loaded propellant for ISS return atmospheric entry. To assess the feasibility of returning under this condition, an analysis of various entry control options with deliberate degradation of control performance was performed. The study determined that a ballistic entry without a raise burn, a steeper flight path trajectory, relaxed atmospheric pitch/yaw rate damping, and degraded touchdown control could achieve 2-sigma requirements compliance with a 2-sigma fuel usage that is less than half of the liftoff propellant loading. The results of this analysis indicate that an entry with only half the nominal propellant load is feasible following a tank isolation fault.
Logistic Regression and Its Use in Detecting Differential Item Functioning in Polytomous Items

A computer simulation study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using logistic regression procedures to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in polytomous items. One item in a simulated test of 25 items contained DIF; parameters for that item were varied to create three conditions of nonuniform DIF and one of uniform DIF. Item scores were generated using a generalized partial credit model, and the data were recoded into multiple dichotomies in order to use logistic regression procedures. Results indicate that logistic regression is powerful in detecting most forms of DIF; however, it required large amounts of data manipulation, and interpretation of the results was sometimes difficult. Some logistic regression procedures may be useful in the post hoc analysis of DIF for polytomous items. Studies of differential item functioning (DIF) are one of the primary methodological vehicles for addressing concerns about equity in standardized assessment programs. A full accounting of DIF should include an investigation into every form in which the phenomenon can become manifest. For the dichotomous case,
Scapula fractures: interobserver reliability of classification and treatment.

OBJECTIVES: There is substantial variation in the classification and management of scapula fractures. The first purpose of this study was to analyze the interobserver reliability of the OTA/AO classification and the New International Classification for Scapula Fractures. The second purpose was to assess the proportion of agreement among orthopaedic surgeons on operative or nonoperative treatment. DESIGN: Web-based reliability study. SETTING: Independent orthopaedic surgeons from several countries were invited to classify scapular fractures in an online survey. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred three orthopaedic surgeons evaluated 35 movies of three-dimensional computerized tomography reconstruction of selected scapular fractures, representing a full spectrum of fracture patterns. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Fleiss kappa (kappa) was used to assess the reliability of agreement between the surgeons. RESULTS: The overall agreement on the OTA/AO classification was moderate for the types (A, B, and C, kappa = 0.54) with a 71% proportion of rater agreement (PA) and for the 9 groups (A1 to C3, kappa = 0.47) with a 57% PA. For the New International Classification, the agreement about the intraarticular extension of the fracture (Fossa (F), kappa = 0.79) was substantial and the agreement about a fractured body (Body (B), kappa = 0.57) or process was moderate (Process (P), kappa = 0.53); however, PAs were more than 81%. The agreement on the treatment recommendation was moderate (kappa = 0.57) with a 73% PA. CONCLUSIONS: The New International Classification was more reliable. Body and process fractures generated more disagreement than intraarticular fractures and need further clear definitions.
Emerging applications of nanotechnology for the diagnosis and management of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques

An estimated 16 million people in the United States have coronary artery disease (CAD), and approximately 325,000 people die annually from cardiac arrest. About two-thirds of unexpected cardiac deaths occur without prior recognition of cardiac disease. A vast majority of these deaths are attributable to the rupture of 'vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques'. Clinically, plaque vulnerability is typically assessed through imaging techniques, and ruptured plaques leading to acute myocardial infarction are treated through angioplasty or stenting. Despite significant advances, it is clear that current imaging methods are insufficiently capable for elucidating plaque composition--which is a key determinant of vulnerability. Further, the exciting improvement in the treatment of CAD afforded by stenting procedures has been buffered by significant undesirable host-implant effects, including restenosis and late thrombosis. Nanotechnology has led to some potential solutions to these problems by yielding constructs that interface with plaque cellular components at an unprecedented size scale. By leveraging the innate ability of macrophages to phagocytose nanoparticles, contrast agents can now be targeted to plaque inflammatory activity. Improvements in nano-patterning procedures have now led to increased ability to regenerate tissue isotropy directly on stents, enabling gradual regeneration of normal, physiologic vascular structures. Advancements in immunoassay technologies promise lower costs for biomarker measurements, and in the near future, may enable the addition of routine blood testing to the clinician's toolbox--decreasing the costs of atherosclerosis-related medical care. These are merely three examples among many stories of how nanotechnology continues to promise advances in the diagnosis and treatment of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques.
Use of fresh frozen plasma to enhance the therapeutic action of rituximab.

Sir, I was very pleased to read the recent report by Dr Klepfish and his colleagues (published online July 23, 2008) in which they demonstrated that fresh frozen plasma could be used to dramatically enhance …
In search of an appropriate form of tourism for Africa: lessons from the past and suggestions for the future.

Abstract This paper examines the concepts of leakage, tourist dollar flows and social exchange by analyzing historical accounts of ‘conventional’ processes of tourism development in Africa found in the tourism literature. It argues that within the context of many Sub-Saharan African economies, ‘conventional’ tourism may actually be more suitable for the developed world than African countries. Suitable alternative perspectives of development in are suggested.
Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias in Patients Receiving an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator for Primary versus Secondary Prophylaxis Indications

Introduction: Data on the mechanisms of sudden cardiac death are limited and may be biased by delays in rhythm recording and selection bias in survivors. As a result, the relative contributions of monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) (cycle length [CL] > 260 ms), monomorphic fast VT (FVT) (CL ≤ 260 ms), and polymorphic VT (PMVT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) have not been well characterized nor compared in patients with and without prior arrhythmic events. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) recipients with primary or secondary implant indications was used to evaluate intracardiac electrograms (EGMs) for the first spontaneous VT/VF resulting in appropriate ICD therapy. EGMs were categorized into VT, FVT, and PMVT/VF based on CL and morphologic criteria. Results: Of 616 implants, 145 patients (58 [40%] primary indications) received appropriate ICD therapy for VT/VF over mean follow-up of 3.8 ± 3.2 years. Primary implants had more diabetes (28% vs 12%; P = 0.02) and less antiarrhythmic use (15% vs 33%; P = 0.02). In those patients with spontaneous arrhythmia, PMVT/VF occurred in 20.7% of primary versus 21.8% of secondary implants, FVT in 19.0% versus 21.8%, and VT in 60.3% versus 56.4%, respectively (P = 0.88). Spontaneous VT CL was similar regardless of implant indication (284 ± 56 [primary] vs 286 ± 67 ms [secondary]; P = 0.92). Conclusions: Monomorphic VT is the most common cause of appropriate ICD therapy regardless of implant indication. These results provide insight into the mechanisms of sudden cardiac death and have implications for the use of interventions designed to limit ICD shocks. (PACE 2011; 34:571–576)
Vessel diameter estimation in x-ray angiographic images using a watergauge algorithm

Conventional quantitative coronary arteriography techniques are limited for the case of small vessel diameters (diam 1.5 mm), both the watergauge algorithm and the derivative-based method produce similar results; however, for the small vessel (diam<1.5 mm), the watergauge algorithm yields better results. The success rate of the watergauge algorithm was substantially better than the derivative-based method for small vessel diameters with nonuniform or cluttered background.
Highly Stereoselective Synthesis of a C2-Symmetric 2,2′-Bipyridine Derived from Glucose

Abstract 2-Bromo-6-lithiopyridine adds stereoselectively to the β-face of 1,2;5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranos-3-ulose (2) to provide compound 5 in 50% yield as a single diastereomer. Compound 5 can be coupled to form novel C2-symmetric 2,2′-bipyridine 7, the first example of a C2-symmetric bipyridine that derives chirality from glucose.
HydroJ: object-oriented pattern matching for evolvable distributed systems

In an evolving software system, components must be able to change independently while remaining compatible with their peers. One obstacle to independent evolution is the brittle parameter problem: the ability of two components to communicate can depend on a number of inessential details of the types, structure, and/or contents of the values communicated. If these details change, then the components can no longer communicate, even if the essential parts of the message remain unaffected.We present HydroJ, an extension of Java that addresses this problem. In HydroJ, components communicate using self-describing, semi-structured messages, and programmers use pattern matching to define the handling of messages. This design stems from two central ideas: first, that self-describing messages reduce dependence on inessential message format details; and second, that object-oriented pattern matching naturally focuses on the essential information in a message and is insensitive to inessential information.We have developed these ideas in the context of Rain, a distributed, heterogeneous messaging system for ubiquitous computing. To evaluate the design, we have constructed a prototype HydroJ compiler, implemented some Rain services in HydroJ, studied the evolution of an existing Rain service over time, and formalized HydroJ's key features in a core language.
Effect of Ag grain size on high temperature joint formation in Ag-In system

After many experiments in developing fluxless Ag-In joints, we realize that the success of producing a joint relates to microstructure of the Ag layer. Ag with small grains results in rapid growth of solid Ag 2 In intermetallic compounds through grain boundary diffusion. Thus, a joint is not obtained because of lack of molten phase, (L). To coarsen Ag grains, an annealing step is added to the Ag-plated Cu substrate. This step makes Ag grains 200 times coarser compared to the as-plated Ag. The coarsened microstructure slows down the Ag 2 In growth. Consequently, the (L) phase stays at molten state with sufficient time to react with the Ag layer on Si chip to produce a joint. Nearly perfect joints are produced on Ag-plated Cu substrates. The resulting joints consist of pure Ag, Ag-rich solid solution, Ag 2 In, and Ag 3 In. The melting temperature exceeds 650°C. Using the present process, high temperature joints of high thermal conductivity are made between Si chips and Cu substrates at low bonding temperature (200°C). We foresee the Ag-In system as an important system to explore for various fluxless bonding applications. This system provides the possibilities of producing joints of wide composition choices and wide melting temperature range. Present study provides preliminary but useful information on how the microstructure of Ag affects the bonding results.
Historical Changes of Reptiles and Amphibians of Northwest Indiana Fish and Wildlife Properties

Abstract We conducted the first formal quantitative study of the herpetofauna of the Jasper-Pulaski, Willow Slough and LaSalle Fish and Wildlife areas (FWA) in northwest Indiana from 1994–1996 to gather baseline data necessary to determine distribution and status of species and to monitor long-term population trends. We compared our results with those of earlier collectors Chapman Grant, Paul Swanson and Sherman Minton. A total of 339 populations of 13 amphibian species and 78 populations of 22 reptile species were encountered from 1994–1996. Only 9 species were found at all three FWAs and only 11 were commonly encountered. Sixteen new site records and new county records were made while at least 7 species with validated records before 1972 were not found during this survey and may be locally extirpated. The relative abundance of species at Jasper-Pulaski FWA has changed between the 1930s and 1990s with declines of the thirteen most abundant species and increases in some formerly overlooked or rare species...
Impact and Limits of the Constitutional Deregulation of Health Claims on Foods and Supplements: From Dementia to Nuts to Chocolate to Saw Palmetto

The lower courts have recognized that the constitutional protections for commercial speech permit food supplements to make health claims with disclaimers even though the claim does not comply with regulatory requirements for agency approval and scientific support. An example of a health claim is a claim that vitamins may reduce the risk of cancer. The court found that the marketer has to permit agency review of the disclaimers in advance, and that the agency could preclude a claim if the agency could show consumers would be deceived even with disclaimers. On remand, FDA issued guidance on the type of disclaimer suitable for claims in light of the scientific support for the claim. The guidance makes it possible to consider in a concrete setting the adequacy of disclaimers to prevent consumer confusion on scientific matters that affect health. The guidance ranks the support by grades such as B, C or D and indicates a suitable disclaimer. Unfortunately, the FDA guidance did not provide for the use of the letter grade in the disclaimer on the label for the product, the type of information most likely to help consumers in understanding the strength or weakness of the claim. Lastly, the article examines a court decision finding that commercial speech did not permit a disease treatment claim with disclaimers for the non-food supplement saw palmetto. The court found disease treatment claims to be illegal without FDA approval, under the first step of the Central Hudson test, making the use of disclaimers to prevent deception irrelevant. While safety factors may also explain the result, it is notable that the courts have found a way to draw lines that allow Congress to establish mandatory testing and approval requirements for some drug claims.
Forced Unsteady-State Variable Volume Membrane Reactor: New Scalable Technology for Distributed Hydrogen Production

Technology for large scale catalytic hydrogen generation from hydrocarbons is quite mature and most reactors are of the fixed catalyst bed-type operated in a steady-state, continuous-flow (CF) regime. However, simple miniaturization of these reactors for portable and distributed applications has proven difficult because of 1) the poor process scale-down, 2) sequential uni-functional design not suitable for miniaturization and system integration, and 3) poor reaction yields due to fundamental mismatch between the time scales of the catalytic chemistry and the transport processes. To address these concerns, we have developed a novel reactor concept which is well suited to be an integral part of onboard fuel processing for the next generation of automobile power plants (or any other small-scale distributed application).Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Photoreflectance Spectra Of Al x Ga 1-x As

The PR spectra of AlxGa1-xAs with different x values (0<x<0.46) were studied. It is demonstrated that PR can be an extremely useful technique in the alloy examination, especially the composition determination, by comparing the PR and the low temperature absorption spectra. The impurity band observed in PR spectra is also discussed.
Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) Break Their Beaks During Attacks on Wooden Conspecific Decoys

ABSTRACT Researchers often use wooden conspecific decoys paired with playback of audio recordings to capture individuals of territorial avian species. Agonistic responses elicited by these decoys can be violent at times; however to our knowledge, there have been no previously recorded instances of physical attacks on a decoy causing injury. In April 2014, we witnessed two cases of male Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) breaking their beaks while attacking a conspecific wooden decoy used during target-netting. Upon recapture 6–8 weeks after initial breakage, beak damage had healed and both males’ mass was virtually unchanged (<1% change from their mass at initial capture). We also observed no detrimental effects of the broken beaks on within-season survival, mate attraction, or territory maintenance. Despite the lack of effect of the breakage on the birds, we suggest the use of softer materials in decoys. In addition to the development of safer practices when target-netting, our observations draw...
Lack of CSF-1 receptor message in Reed-Sternberg cells

The histogenesis of the Reed-Sternberg (R-S) cell in Hodgkin's disease is uncertain. Some have suggested that it is a derivative of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. To explore this possibility, we have searched for the presence of mRNA corresponding to the c-fms proto-oncogene, a marker for cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage which encodes the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor. In situ hybridization was performed using a single-stranded c-fms complementary RNA (cRNA) to probe R-S cells, lymphocytes, and eosinophils from touch imprints of a lymph node from a 12-year-old boy with mixed cellularity Hodgkin's disease in relapse. The probe was synthesized from a bacterial plasmid, pSM3, into which a portion of v-fms (a viral-derived oncogene) had been inserted. The plasmid was linearized with a restriction endonuclease, and 35S-labeled cRNA was synthesized from the DNA template using T3 RNA polymerase and the nucleotide analog [35S]UTP. Positive control hybridizations were obtained with the human acute promyelocytic cell line HL-60 induced to monocyte differentiation. R-S cells were clearly negative, supporting a cell of origin other than the monocyte. In situ hybridization is a potentially powerful method for exploring differentiation and assigning cell lineage in R-S cells.
Who is audience

Music conservatoires have generally neglected focusing on a key issue: that of audiences—their needs and wants, why they value particular music, and how music actually functions in any particular c...
Grain Boundary Effects in Relation to the Dielectric Properties of Infrared Transmitting Materials

Dielectric and infrared transmitting properties of single-crystal and hot-pressed polycrystalline specimens of MgO, MgF2, and other infrared transmitting materials have been investigated. The frequency dispersion of the dielectric loss has been determined from 100 cps to 100 kcps for the temperature range 25–550°C. DC conductivity has also been determined. Initial attempts to separate the grain boundary contribution from that of the bulk by a Sillars-Koops-type analysis were not entirely satisfactory. An alternate qualitative analysis is proposed. The apparent activation energy for the dielectric-loss mechanism has been determined.
Visions of International Scientific Cooperation: The Case of Oceanic Science, 1920–1955

This work explores the attitudes of American scientists towardsinternational scientific activity, with particular respect to theoceanic sciences, during the three decades after the First WorldWar. In the mid-1950s, the Eisenhower Administration favouredthe thesis that increased international collaboration wouldstrengthen the Free World, ease Cold War tensions, and promotethe growth of science. This essay analyses elements in thatthesis, namely, scientific chauvinism, humanitarianism, andscientific interdependence. The narrative traces these themesthrough key episodes in the history of international cooperationin oceanic science, revealing how this experience shapedstrategies and expectations for cooperative scientific research.
Social Work Continuing Education: Current Issues and Future Direction

Continuing education is arising as an area of rapid growth and increased attention in the social work profession. Conceptually, the impetus and focus are on the promotion of the principles of lifel...
Making sense of the emerging conversation in evaluation about systems thinking and complexity science

In the last twenty years, a conversation has emerged in the evaluation field about the potential of systems thinking and complexity science (STCS) to transform the practice of evaluating social interventions. Documenting and interpreting this conversation are necessary to advance our understanding of the significance of using STCS in planning, implementing, and evaluating social interventions. Guided by a generic framework for evaluation practice, this paper reports on an inter-disciplinary literature review and argues that STCS raises some new ways of thinking about and carrying out the following six activities: 1) supporting social problem solving; 2) framing interventions and contexts; 3) selecting and using methods; 4) engaging in valuing; 5) producing and justifying knowledge; and 6) facilitating use. Following a discussion of these issues, future directions for research and practice are suggested.
Policy: Impact on Delivery and Access

Reducing health disparities and improving cultural competency requires complex collaborations between institutions of higher education, health profession societies, and political organizations. Support from federal and state legislation allows for improved collaboration and funding to provide culturally attuned education, perform effective research, and promote positive health outcomes for a heterogeneous group of aging adults. This chapter outlines key legislative efforts to improve ethnogeriatric care and aims to highlight the impact of systems-based policy changes that address the health disparities of the diverse aging population.
Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid promote peroxidation and its possible role in the promotion of cancer.

It is known that an interplay between dietary, hereditary and environmental factors initiate and/or promote cancer. Several factors associated with high risk of the development of diseases including cancer have been identified. Included in these is the amount and type of dietary fat. Circumstantial evidence provided by epidemiological studies is further supported by laboratory models that provide strong correlation between dietary fat and cancer. These studies have consistently shown that high dietary fat level of 20 percent (w/w) or 40 percent by calories promote spontaneous or induced mammary tumor growth in rats and mice (Tinsley et al., 1981, Carrol et al., 1970). Polyunsaturated fatty acid containing several double bonds are unstable molecules and are readily oxidized by non-specific and specific lipoxygenases and cyclo-oxygenase enzymes systems to yield free radicals and peroxides, which are toxic to cells. Although the peroxidation of lipids have been involved in certain forms of tissue pathology and tumor growth, the mechanism and role of these fatty acids in the development of tumors has not been completely defined. Therefore, the effect of dietary cod liver oil, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, in vivo -1-lipid peroxidation as measured by ethane exhalation was investigated.
The Role of Opportunistic Bilateral Salpingectomy vs Tubal Occlusion or Ligation for Ovarian Cancer Prophylaxis

Bilateral tubal ligation (BTL) for sterilization has been known to decrease the risk of ovarian cancer. Recent studies have suggested that bilateral salpingectomy (BS) may be an alternative to BTL or tubal occlusion for women desiring permanent sterilization, owing to a possibly greater protective effect against ovarian cancer. We conducted a PubMed/MEDLINE review of the literature for original studies, opinion articles, and meta-analyses published between 2010 and 2016 addressing the role of BS at the time of sterilization and comparing its efficacy with BTL in terms of ovarian cancer prevention, operative outcomes, and ovarian function. BTL has been found to decrease the risk of any ovarian cancer by 13% to 41%, compared with 42% to 78% for BS. Although operative time is increased with BS compared with BTL, no differences in complication rates or ovarian reserve between the 2 procedures have been demonstrated. Our review suggests that BS should be discussed when BTL is being considered, and that patients should be counseled about the risks and benefits of both procedures based on the current available evidence.
A Contract-Theoretic Approach to Spectrum Resource Allocation in Wireless Virtualization

Wireless network virtualization has emerged as a promising technology to provide multifarious services and applications for future wireless networks due to its efficient exploitation of network resources. In a mobile virtual network (MVN), a network operator (NO) benefits from leasing physical resources, such as subcarriers, to multiple service providers (SPs), whom then make profits from offering certain wireless services to end users. To achieve the maximum profit for the NO, or the highest efficiency of a MVN, specialized trading mechanism needs to be designed when the NO is unable to access SPs' private information about cost. In this paper, we tackle the problem of efficient trading of subcarriers under incomplete information from the SPs to the NO. First, a general system model is developed with one NO and multiple SPs engaged in a trading relation to exchange spectrum resources and money. Subsequently, an optimal trading contract is derived to maximize the total utility at the NO, while maintaining the requirements by the SPs in the trading process. Simulation results confirm our analysis on the optimal contract and its benefits.
Bike Sharing and Car Trips in the City: The Case of Healthy Ride Pittsburgh

With the ubiquitous development of mobile technologies, many cities today have installed mobile-enabled bike sharing systems - both publicly and privately owned - in an effort to nudge dwellers towards a more sustainable mode of transportation. However, there is little evidence - apart from anecdote stories - for the success of these systems. In this work we are focusing on analyzing the impact of a shared bike system on the parking demand. The latter can be thought of as a lower bound for the car trips generated towards a specific area and has implications towards potential substitution effects between driving and biking. In particular, we use data from Healthy Ride, the newly installed shared bike system in the city of Pittsburgh, combined with data we obtained from the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, and using the difference-in-differences framework we quantify the impact of the bike stations on the parking demand around them. Our findings provide evidence that even when controlling for the lost parking space (used to build the parking stations) the parking demand in the nearby areas was reduced by approximately 2%. This can have significant implications that shared bike systems can shift transportation modes, which consequently can have rippling effects for the economy and environment. In particular, our follow-up analyses indicate that the new bike share system could lead to a monthly reduction of 0.82 metric tones CO2 emissions per square mile, or approximately 4,381 metric tones of CO2 in the metro area of Pittsburgh!
Conditionally Independent Sequences

Chapter 6 was devoted to the study of the general properties of tangent sequences. In particular, in Sections 6.3 and 6.4 results were presented for comparing the tail probabilities and moments of tangent sequences when the variables involved are non-negative, conditionally symmetric, or form a martingale difference sequence. Two results from that chapter (Corollary 6.2.5 and Corollary 6.4.3) dealt with comparisons between the moment generating function and the 4-norm of an arbitrary sum and its decoupled (conditionally independent) counterpart. In this chapter we continue to study this type of comparison. The main advantage realized is in the increased accuracy of the results obtained which in several problems translates into the almost direct transfer of results for sums of independent random variables to the case of sums of dependent random variables.
Biomarkers to estimate the probability of complicated appendicitis

Abstract Background The conventional paradigm that all children with appendicitis require an appendectomy is being challenged by the idea that some patients may be successfully managed non-operatively. The study aimed to determine if matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) are candidate biomarkers for estimating the probability of complicated appendicitis in pediatric patients. Methods The study was a single-institution, prospective cohort study. MMP and TIMP serum protein concentrations were measured in patients with suspected appendicitis. Three hundred and thirty-one patients were enrolled with appendicitis. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was used to determine the combination of candidate biomarkers that best predicted complicated appendicitis. Results The CART-generated decision tree for the derivation cohort included WBC count, MMP-8, MMP-9, MMP-12, TIMP-2, and TIMP-4 and had the following test characteristics for estimating the probability of complicated appendicitis (95% CI): AUC 0.86 (0.81–0.90); sensitivity 91% (83–96); specificity 61% (53–68); positive predictive value 58% (50–66); negative predictive value 92% (84–96); positive likelihood ratio (LR) 2.3 (1.9–2.8); and negative LR 0.15 (0.08–0.3). Conclusions MMPs and TIMPs have the potential to serve as biomarkers to estimate the probability of complicated appendicitis in pediatric patients. The multi-biomarker-based decision tree has test characteristics suggesting clinical utility for decision making. Level of Evidence Level II: Study of Diagnostic Test.
SVAuth – A single-sign-on integration solution with runtime verification

SSO (single-sign-on) services, such as those provided by Facebook, Google and Microsoft Azure, are integrated into tens of millions of websites and cloud services, just like lock manufacturers offering locks for every home. Imagine you are a website developer, typically unfamiliar with SSO protocols. Your manager wants you to integrate a particular SSO service into a website written in a particular language (e.g., PHP, ASP.NET or Python). You are likely overwhelmed by the amount of work for finding a suitable SSO library, understanding its programming guide, and writing your code. Moreover, studies have shown that many SSO integrations on real-world websites are incorrect, and thus vulnerable to security attacks! SVAuth is an open-source project that tries to provide integration solutions for all major SSO services in all major web languages. Its correctness is ensured by a technology called self-verifying execution, which performs program verification at runtime. SVAuth is so easy to adopt that a website developer does not need any knowledge about SSO protocols or implementations. This paper describes the architecture of SVAuth and how to use it on real-world websites.
A Distributed Multimedia Data Management over the Grid

In this chapter, we propose a distributed multimedia data management architecture, which can efficiently store and retrieve multimedia data across several nodes of a Grid environment. The main components of the proposed system comprises of a distributed multidimensional index structure, a distributed query manager handling content-based information retrievals and a load balancing technology. The proposed distributed query manager embeds the high-level semantic relationships among the multimedia data objects into the k-NN based similarity search, thus bridging the semantic gap and increasing the relevance of query results manifold. This research has two major usabilities. First, it models a web environment where each node of the Grid can be considered as the nodes or sources of data in the world-wide-web. This should help to investigate and understand the challenges and requirements of future search paradigms based on content of multimedia data rather than on text annotations, as used currently. Second, it provides the foundation to develop content-based information retrievals as a possible Grid service. Extensive experiments were conducted with varied data sizes and different number of distribution nodes. Encouraging results are obtained that makes this endeavor a potential architecture to manage complex multimedia data over a distributed environment.
Abstract 14041: Caring for Infants With Complex Single Ventricle: Impact on Families

Objective: Outcomes for infants with single ventricle (SV) heart defects have steadily improved in recent decades, but there is still significant mortality and morbidity during the interstage perio...
Humanitarian Mapping as Library Outreach: A Case for Community-Oriented Mapathons

Maps and geospatial data are critical in disaster response situations. Accurate and updated maps direct first responders to areas of most need, reroute supply lines according to the post-disaster l...
Analysis of megakaryocyte ploidy in rat bone marrow cultures

Megakaryocytes undergo changes in ploidy in vivo in response to varying demands for platelets. Attempts to study the putative factor(s) regulating these ploidy changes have been frustrated by the lack of an appropriate in vitro model of megakaryocyte endomitosis. This report describes a culture system in which rat bone marrow is depleted of identifiable megakaryocytes and enriched in their precursor cells. Morphologically identifiable megakaryocytes appear when the depleted marrow is cultured in vitro. The total number of nucleated cells, as well as the number of megakaryocytes and their ploidy distribution, are quantitated very precisely by flow cytometry. Although the total number of nucleated cells declines by 35% to 40% over 3 days in culture, the number of megakaryocytes rises 10-fold. The number of nucleated cells, the number of megakaryocytes, and the extent of megakaryocyte ploidization behave as independent variables in culture and are dependent on the culture conditions. The addition of recombinant erythropoietin promotes a rise in the number of megakaryocytes and a shift in ploidy to higher values while recombinant murine granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor is without effect on the cultured megakaryocytes. This in vitro system may provide a means to study those factors that affect megakaryocyte growth and ploidization.
Acknowledging the limits of individual competence.

Surgeons must know their clinical strengths and weaknesses in order to improve their skills and increase patient safety. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Clinical Evaluation of Primary Optic Nerve Sheath Meningioma

Optic nerve sheath meningioma (ONSM) may develop anywhere along the course of the optic nerve, from globe to prechiasmal, intracisternal optic nerve. As progressive visual loss occurs, clinical abnormalities become more developed, making the diagnosis of a compressive lesion more straightforward. As tumor extension develops within the extradural, subdural and subarachnoid space at the orbital, canalicular, or intracranial nerve segments, neuro-imaging abnormalities become more apparent. Clinical evaluation should be directed toward early identification of progressive disease. Direct invasion into surrounding orbital structures is infrequent, although intracranial spread, progressive chiasmal or contralateral optic nerve involvement, and post-operative recurrence are all documented. Although most meningioma are histologically benign and have slow progression, aggressive behavior is seen on occasion and may mimic other neoplasia or inflammatory conditions. Until recently, controlled long-term comparisons of various treatment techniques had been unavailable, adding to the controversy in managing these unusual tumors.