cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
"It's the nature of the beast": Community resilience among gender diverse individuals.

Marginalization causes gender diverse individuals to experience increased stress compared with cisgender individuals, such as social stigma and discrimination, which can lead to poor physical and mental health outcomes. This population uses various resources to cope with these challenges, including community social support. This qualitative research aimed to understand how gender diverse individuals perceive their community resilience. Supported by a community partner organization, we recruited N = 20 gender diverse participants for semi-structured interviews analyzed through inductive thematic qualitative analysis. The data revealed similarities with community resilience factors observed among other minority groups as well as novelty. Themes emerged on both individual and group levels and include strengths (e.g., opening to the group, role modeling for resilience, and group resources) and threats to community resilience (e.g., social anxiety, physical health conditions, and stigma). This paper informs the development of community resilience interventions in the context of gender diversity.
Body Mass Index at Presentation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children.

Purpose The evidence for an association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and obesity is conflicting. Therefore, we set out to review the body mass index (BMI) at presentation of IBD to understand if the rise of the obesity rate in the general population, lead to an increase of obesity in patients with IBD at the time of diagnosis. Methods Retrospective review of all patients with IBD seen at Children's Hospital and Medical Center from January 1st 2010 to December 31st 2014. From the initial visit and endoscopy, we obtained: age; sex; BMI; disease phenotype; disease severity. Results We had a total of 95 patients, 35 patients were excluded due to incomplete data or referral being made after diagnosis was made. 28 were males and 32 were females, Age range was 2-17 years. A 37 had Crohn's disease, 19 ulcerative colitis, and 4 indeterminate colitis. Disease severity in 19 cases was mild, 29 moderate and 12 severe. BMI distribution was as follows-obese (5.0%), overweight (6.7%), normal weight (65.0%), mild malnutrition (8.3%), moderate malnutrition (15.0%), severe malnutrition (1.7%). Conclusion Our data is consistent with other series. Showing most children had a normal BMI, regardless of disease severity or phenotypes. One confounding factor is the possibility of delay in referral to GI. This could mean some obese children may fall in the normal BMI range at the time of diagnosis due to ongoing weight loss. Future studies should include prospective cohort studies, comparing incidence of IBD in obese and non-obese patients, severity at presentation, duration of symptoms, and clinical outcomes.
Dieting and substance use among White and Black adolescent girls.

Abstract Objective Previous research has found an increasing co-occurrence of dieting and substance use behavior among adolescent girls. However, to date few studies have examined the temporal ordering of these behaviors. Further, limited research has been conducted to explore whether the pathways are similar among both White and Black girls. Method For the current study 1580 girls (grade 6–11; 78.2% White; 21.8% Black) provided data on their dieting behavior and substance use. A cross-lagged panel design was used to examine the concurrent and prospective relationship between dieting behavior and substance use across one year, then by race. Results Among the full sample of girls, there was a significant concurrent relationship. Additionally, dieting behavior predicted substance use one year later, but the inverse relationship was not found. For the stratified analysis, dieting behavior and substance use were not correlated among Black girls at either time point, however concurrent relationships were found for White girls. For the prospective pathways non-significant effects were found for both groups. Discussion These findings provide support for a temporal relationship between dieting behavior and substance use, such that the former predicts risk for the latter. However, when examined by race, some pathways of the full sample were found for White girls, whereas Black girls did not report an association between study variables. Thus, future studies should consider the impact of race within risk pathways.
Milk Exosomes Cross the Blood-Brain Barrier in Murine Cerebral Cortex Endothelial Cells and Promote Dendritic Complexity in the Hippocampus and Brain Function in C57BL/6J Mice

Background: Human milk contains large amounts of exosomes (MEs) and their regulatory microRNA cargos, whereas infant formulas contain only trace amounts of MEs and microRNAs. Breastfeeding has been implicated in optimal brain development but experimental evidence linking ME intake with brain development is limited. Objectives: We assessed the transport of MEs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and ME accumulation in distinct regions of the brain in brain endothelial cells and suckling mice. We further assessed BME-dependent gene expression profiles and effects on the dendritic complexity of hippocampal granule cells and phenotypes of BME depletion in neonate, juvenile and adult mice. Methods: The transfer of MEs across the BBB was assessed by using bovine MEs labeled with FM4-64 or loaded with IRDye-labeled miR-34a in murine brain endothelial bEnd.3 cell monolayers and dual chamber systems, and in wild-type newborn pups fostered to exosome and cargo tracking (ECT) dams that express MEs endogenously labeled with a CD63-eGFP fusion protein for subsequent analysis by serial two-photon tomography and staining with anti-eGFP antibodies. Effects of MEs on gene expression and dendritic architecture of granule cells was analyzed in hippocampi from juvenile mice fed exosome and RNA-depleted (ERD) and exosome and RNA-sufficient (ERS) diets by using RNA-sequencing analysis and Golgi-Cox staining followed by integrated neuronal tracing and morphological analysis of neuronal dendrites, respectively. Spatial learning and severity of kainic acid-induced seizures were assessed in mice fed ERD and ERS diets. Results: bEnd.3 cells internalized MEs by using a saturable transport mechanism and secreted miR-34a across the basal membrane. MEs penetrated the entire brain in fostering experiments; major regions of accumulation included the hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum. Two hundred ninety-five genes were differentially expressed in hippocampi from male mice fed ERD and ERS diets; high-confidence gene networks included pathways implicated in axon guidance and calcium signaling. Only one gene was differentially expressed in females fed the experimental diets. Juvenile pups fed the ERD diet had reduced dendritic complexity of dentate granule cells in the hippocampus, scored nine-fold lower in the Barnes maze test of spatial learning and memory (P < 0.01), and the severity of seizures was 5-fold higher following kainic acid administration in adult mice fed the ERD diet compared to mice fed the ERS diet (P < 0.01). Conclusions: MEs cross the BBB and contribute toward optimal neuronal development, spatial learning and memory, and resistance to kainic acid-induced seizures in mice.
Expressions of Time in Ancient Greek

1. Expressions of time: an introduction 2. Expressions of time in Thucydides 3. Expressions of time: style, genre, and diachrony 4. Expressions of time in Biblical Greek 5. A retrospective: going back in time 6. Summary.
The affective politics of friendship in Puerto Rican war stories

This article examines how friendship becomes affective politics that mediate war experiences in a series of Puerto Rican war stories. I propose that there is an affective voice that tells an experience of war and calls for a community that will perhaps share experiences and feelings. This voice forms different kinds of alliances that work together to articulate an even greater community beyond the locus of the story. Therefore, this intention and its affective politics resist a logic of war based solely on national love. By focusing on these affective dynamics and their potential political effects, this article moves away from the 1898 critical paradigm, which has tended to read cultural representations of war almost solely within the context of their connection with the US invasion of the island. Also, by developing a comparative analysis between materials produced on the island and in the diaspora, I am inscribing this article within the scholarly production on Latino soldiers and veterans, where there is often the need to define the “we” that is reclaiming both a voice and a medium to tell “our” story of war. This article assesses the political particularities of the speaking “I” and/or “we” in each analyzed story, while also looking into their (in)stability in relation to an undefined receptive and affective community.
A Bayesian Reanalysis of Results from the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project

Social policy evaluations usually use classical statistical methods, which may, for example, compare outcomes for program and comparison groups and determine whether the estimated differences (or impacts) are statistically significant — meaning they are unlikely to have been generated by a program with no effect. This approach has two important shortcomings. First, it is geared toward testing hypotheses regarding specific possible program effects — most commonly, whether a program has zero effect. It is difficult with this framework to test a hypothesis that, say, the program’s estimated impact is larger than 10 (whether 10 percentage points, $10, or some other measure). Second, readers often view results through the lens of their own expectations. A program developer may interpret results positively even if they are not statistically significant — that is, they do not confirm the program’s effectiveness — while a skeptic might interpret with caution statistically significant impact estimates that do not follow theoretical expectations. This paper uses Bayesian methods — an alternative to classical statistics — to reanalyze results from three studies in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ (HtE) Demonstration and Evaluation Project, which is testing interventions to increase employment and reduce welfare dependency for low-income adults with serious barriers to employment. In interpreting new data from a social policy evaluation, a Bayesian analysis formally incorporates prior beliefs, or expectations (known as “priors”), about the social policy into the statistical analysis and characterizes results in terms of the distribution of possible effects, instead of whether the effects are consistent with a true effect of zero. The main question addressed in the paper is whether a Bayesian approach tends to confirm or contradict published results. Results of the Bayesian analysis generally confirm the published findings that impacts from the three HtE programs examined here tend to be small. This is in part because results for the three sites are broadly consistent with findings from similar studies, but in part because each of the sites included a relatively large sample. The Bayesian framework may be more informative when applied to smaller studies that might not be expected to provide statistically significant impact estimates on their own.
Stability Analysis of Flexible Spacecraft via the Method of Integral Coordinates

This paper presents an extension of the method of integral coordinates to the stability analysis of hybrid dynamical systems containing two- and three-dimensional elastic members. A common approach to such problems consists of system discretization by means of series representation in terms of admissible functions, an approach involving lengthy computations. By contrast, the method of integral coordinates yields stability criteria with relative ease and in a form that permits ready physical interpretation. As an application, the attitude stability of a force-free satellite containing a membrane is investigated and closed-form stability criteria are derived.
A common-sense theory of time

The literature on the nature and representation of time is full of disputes and contradictory theories. This is surprising since the nature of time does not cause any worry for people in their everyday coping with the world. What this suggests is that there is some form of common sense knowledge about time that is rich enough to enable people to deal with the world, and which is universal enough to enable cooperation and communication between people. In this paper, we propose such a theory and defend it in two different ways. We axiomatic a theory of time in terms of intervals and the single relation MEET. We then show that this axiomatization subsumes Allen's interval-based theory. We then extend the theory by formally defining the beginnings and endings of intervals and show that these have the properties we normally would associate with points. We distinguish between these point-like objects and the concept of moment as hypothesized in discrete time models. Finally, we examine the theory in terms of each of several different models.
Image compression with on-line and off-line learning

Images typically contain smooth regions, which are easily compressed by linear transforms, and high activity regions (edges, textures), which are harder to compress. To compress the first kind, we use a "zero" encoder that has infinite context, very low capacity, and which adapts very quickly to the content. For the second, we use an "interpolation" encoder, based on neural networks, which has high capacity, a finite-size context, and is trained off-line. The two encoders can be used separately or in combination. The zero-encoder surpasses JPEG2000 by 3.5% in overall compression, even though it is less efficient in high activity regions. Thanks to off-line training, the interpolation-encoder predicts high activity regions well, so it also matches the performance of JPEG2000, even though it does not use an arithmetic encoder and is less efficient in low activity regions. In both cases it is surprising that we match the state-of-the-art in image compression without using adaptive arithmetic encoding.
Kinetics of NF(a1delta), NF(X3E), and chemically pumped NF(b1E)

We have been investigating kinetics issues associated with the development of a new chemical laser in the green based on the b-X transition of NF at 529 nm. The proposed scheme involves energy pooling of NF(a 1 (Delta) ) with I * ( 2 P 1/2 ) to form NF(b 1 (Sigma) ). The kinetics of NF(a) and NF(X) have a strong impact on the relative populations of NF(X) and NF(b) and therefore play a central role in this system. We have measured the rate coefficients for the reactions of NF(a) and NF(X) with several relevant species including O 2 , NF 2 , N 2 F 4 , and I 2 . We have also carried out a series of measurements on the energy pooling of I * with NF(a) by photolyzing mixtures of HI and NF 2 at 193 nm to produce H atoms and NF(a). Using a flashlamp-pumped I * laser, we optically prepared I * to create a steady-state ratio of [I * ]/[I] during the 30 microsecond(s) laser pulse. This greatly simplifies the kinetics and allows us to extract rate constants for: NF(a) + I * yields NF(b) + I, NF(b) + I yields NF(a) + I * , and NF(b) + I yields other products.
The effect of truncation in plasmon resonance of metal nanoprisms

We studied the effect of truncation on the plasmonic resonance of triangular nanoprisms. Perfect Ag triangular prisms and Ag truncated triangular prisms have been designed and simulated using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation technique. Simulation results show that the increase of the truncations depth in triangular nanoprisms causes a resonance blue shift. However, for the case of truncation depth of up to 15 nm, the number of truncated corners has no effect on the position of the peak or the strength.
Provider Cultural Competency, Client Satisfaction, and Engagement in Home-Based Programs to Treat Child Abuse and Neglect:

Home-based programs to treat child abuse and neglect suffer from high rates of attrition, limiting their impact. Thus, research is needed to identify factors related to client engagement. Using data (N = 1,305) from a statewide family preservation program, this study investigated the role of program type (i.e., SafeCare(®) [SC] vs. Services as Usual [SAU]) and client perceived provider cultural competence on client satisfaction and engagement with services. Families in SC completed more treatment goals than those in SAU. In addition, provider cultural competence and client satisfaction were higher in SC than in SAU. Higher provider cultural competence was associated with higher goal attainment and satisfaction, and these effects partially mediated the service program differences. The effects of service type and cultural competence on goal attainment and satisfaction varied somewhat by client ethnicity. Findings suggest that clients receiving manualized programs for child maltreatment may be more likely to meet their goals and may perceive such programs to be culturally appropriate and satisfactory.
Accelerated Stress Testing of Terrestrial Solar Cells

The development of an accelerated test schedule for terrestrial solar cells is described. This schedule, based on anticipated failure modes deduced from a consideration of IC failure mechanisms, involves bias-temperature testing, humidity testing (including both 85-85 and pressure cooker stress), and thermal-cycle thermal-shock testing. Results are described for 12 different unencapsulated cell types. Both gradual electrical degradation and sudden catastrophic mechanical change were observed. These effects can be used to discriminate between cell types and technologies relative to their reliability attributes. Consideration is given to identifying laboratory failure modes which might lead to severe degradation in the field through second quadrant operation. Test results indicate that the ability of most cell types to withstand accelerated stress testing depends more on the manufacturer's design, processing, and workmanship than on the particular metallization system. Preliminary tests comparing accelerated test results on encapsulated and unencapsulated cells are described.
Distributed parameter control theory applied to the wildland fire suppression problem

The problem of wildland fire suppression is presented from the control theory point of view. A distributed parameter model on a semi-infinite variable spatial domain is developed. The major effects of wind, local topography, fuel type and distribution are included. Fire fighting actions are viewed as the removal of equivalent heat. Several optimization problems are suggested. The solution for one is outlined. Promising areas for future study are pointed out. Because good qualitative experimental data are scanty, and because of unanswered questions, a final solution is not presented. Rather, an initial approach, from a new direction, is suggested.
Feedback control for spacecraft reorientation under attitude constraints via convex potentials

A novel guidance algorithm is proposed for the attitude reorientation of a rigid body spacecraft in the presence of multiple types of attitude-constrained zones. In this direction, two types of attitude-constrained zones are first developed using unit quaternions, namely, the attitude-forbidden and -mandatory zones. The paper then utilizes a convex parameterization of forbidden and mandatory zones for constructing a strictly convex logarithmic barrier potential that is subsequently used for the synthesis of feedback attitude control laws while the inevitable unwinding phenomenon is given a simple and effective remedy. Model-independent and model-dependent control laws are then implemented by using the Lyapunov direct method and the modified integrator backstepping method. The paper concludes with a set of simulation results to evaluate the effectiveness and demonstrate the viability of the proposed methodology.
Nurses' beliefs about a bioterrorism event: Fear of abandonment

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: During a bioterrorism attack in which infectious agents are used, nurses will provide direct care to ill and/or infected patients. Nurses have expressed concerns regarding possible transmission of microorganisms to their families and loved ones. There are few studies on nurses in disaster situations and the psychological stressors put on them related to the risk of infection to nurses and subsequent transmission to their families of others. The aim of this study is to identify beliefs, concerns, and feelings of nurses who work in hospitals designated as receiving sites for victims of a bioterrorism attack. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive approach with focus groups was used. A total of 33 nurses from hospitals designated as bioterrorism-receiving sites participated in focus groups in 2003. Data from audiotapes were analyzed; categories and themes were identified. RESULTS: Fear of abandonment was an overarching theme. Nurses believed they would be functioning in chaotic clinical settings, without a clear chain of command, and with some colleagues refusing to work. Limited access to protective equipment, risk of being infected with a deadly disease, unmanageable numbers of patients, and a potential risk of being assaulted for their personal protective equipment resulted in the sense that they would not be functioning in safe clinical environments. Loss of freedom to leave the hospital and fears that hospitals would not provide treatment and care to them or their families should they become ill as a result of providing care to infected patients also resulted in a sense of abandonment. CONCLUSIONS: Although the nurses in this study were in hospitals with comprehensive bioterrorism plans and resource materials, they feared they would not have readily accessible resources (human and material) to cope with the surge of patients during a bioterrorism event. Bioterrorism readiness plans should include a systematic assessment of the needs, concerns, and fears of the nursing personnel expected to provide care to infected patients. Using the assessment results, specific interventions could be incorporated into the plan to improve a sense of safety and control and facilitate nurses coping in the clinical environment.
Qubit-qutrit separability-probability ratios

Paralleling our recent computationally intensive (quasi-Monte Carlo) work for the case $N=4$ (e-print quant-ph/0308037), we undertake the task for $N=6$ of computing to high numerical accuracy, the formulas of Sommers and \ifmmode \dot{Z}\else \.{Z}\fi{}yczkowski (e-print quant-ph/0304041) for the $({N}^{2}\ensuremath{-}1)$-dimensional volume and $({N}^{2}\ensuremath{-}2)$-dimensional hyperarea of the (separable and nonseparable) $N\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}N$ density matrices, based on the Bures (minimal monotone) metric\char22{}and also their analogous formulas (e-print quant-ph/0302197) for the (nonmonotone) flat Hilbert-Schmidt metric. With the same seven ${10}^{9}$ well-distributed (``low-discrepancy'') sample points, we estimate the unknown volumes and hyperareas based on five additional (monotone) metrics of interest, including the Kubo-Mori and Wigner-Yanase. Further, we estimate all of these seven volume and seven hyperarea (unknown) quantities when restricted to the separable density matrices. The ratios of separable volumes (hyperareas) to separable plus nonseparable volumes (hyperareas) yield estimates of the separability probabilities of generically rank-6 (rank-5) density matrices. The (rank-6) separability probabilities obtained based on the 35-dimensional volumes appear to be\char22{}independently of the metric (each of the seven inducing Haar measure) employed\char22{}twice as large as those (rank-5 ones) based on the 34-dimensional hyperareas. (An additional estimate\char22{}33.9982\char22{}of the ratio of the rank-6 Hilbert-Schmidt separability probability to the rank-4 one is quite clearly close to integral too.) The doubling relationship also appears to hold for the $N=4$ case for the Hilbert-Schmidt metric, but not the others. We fit simple exact formulas to our estimates of the Hilbert-Schmidt separable volumes and hyperareas in both the $N=4$ and $N=6$ cases.
Sensitivity to Stimulation, a Component of the Circadian Rhythm in Luminescence in Gonyaulax

A new method for the stimulation of bioluminescence in the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra is described. With this technique, in which cells flow through a capillary coil, it is possible to graduate the intensity of the stimulus by varying the flow rate. In continuous darkness, the threshold stimulus for cells in the middle of the day phase is greater than that for cells in the middle of the night phase. Some evidence suggests heterogeneity of sensitivity to stimulation among either cells or individual luminescent sources within a cell. At stimulus intensities much above threshold, the luminescence of both day- and night-phase cells is proportional to the number of cells within the capillary coil. Night-phase cells emit about 14 times as much light as do day-phase cells in continuous darkness. Single bioluminescent flashes from cells were recorded with a high speed camera. No significant difference in flash kinetics was found between cells in the day and the night phase in continuous darkness. Cells in the night phase emit a flash three to five times brighter than that from day-phase cells. About twice as many flashes are recorded in a given time from a population of night-phase cells. The activity of both luciferin and luciferase have been shown to vary rhythmically. The differences in threshold and number of flahses are evidence for a second component of the circadian rhythm in luminescence, a rhythm in sensitivity to stimulation.
Erratum to “Mixed-strategy play in single-stage first-price all-pay auctions with symmetric players” [J. Econ. Behav. Org. 54 (2004) 585–607]

doi of original article 10.1016/j.jebo.2002.10.003. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-919-660-1994. E-mail addresses: wilfred.amaldoss@duke.edu (W. Amaldoss), amnon@u.arizona.edu (A. Rapoport). 2 After completing the research reported in the present study, it was brought to our attention that Dechenaux, Kovenock, and Lugovskyy (DKL) have constructed two additional asymmetric equilibria to our game. As the players in our game are symmetric, we focus on testing the symmetric equilibrium only, leaving the discussion of the asymmetric equilibria and assessment of their predictive power to future research. For a characterization of the asymmetric equilibria in the special case of n = 2, see DKL (2003).
Ex vivo preclinical evaluation of membrane plasma separators.

: Four different types of hollow-fiber membrane plasma separators, constructed of cellulose acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene, and polymethylmethacrylate membranes, were evaluated in ex vivo dog perfusions under conditions simulating their clinical use. An arteriovenous (A-V) fistula constructed in the dogs for blood access enabled repeated access to be achieved without surgical intervention. All modules produced transient leukopenia and a reduction of platelet counts. The polymethylmethacrylate module showed minimum reductions of white blood cell counts and CH50. The early leukocyte count reduction in membrane plasmapheresis is most likely related to the magnitude of complement activation by the membrane, as is seen with hemodialysis.
Radiocarbon Dates from the Monumental Architecture at Chavín de Huántar, Perú

Chavin de Huantar's monumental architecture has long influenced archaeologists' ideas about Formative Andean sociopolitical development despite little direct knowledge of the buildings' chronology. Addressing this problem, we collected charcoal samples from architectural mortar at Chavin to directly date the site's construction sequence. Here we present 32 new accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) dates for Chavin's architectural growth. We also present an evaluation framework for analyzing whether dates from architectural mortar most likely represent built-in age, original construction, or renovation work. We apply this framework to link dates to specific building events within the sequence. Results demonstrate the power of directly dating architectural mortar and the necessity of both thoroughly understanding a site's relative architectural sequence and applying a rigorous evaluation framework when analyzing the resulting dates. Specifically, analysis indicates that architectural growth largely occurred during 400 years, approximately 1200–800 calibrated years BC (calBC), with massive, intensive construction approximately 1000–800 calBC. Thirteen of Chavin's 15 known architectural phases were built during this 400-year period. The overwhelming majority of Chavin's characteristic elements developed as part of this growth, including the physical design of Chavin's ritual systems in its galleries and plazas, large-scale landscape modification and civil engineering works, Chavin art and symbolic systems, and the incorporation of Formative Andean architectural forms. Relative architectural stasis occurred approximately 800–500 calBC, corresponding with developments in Chavin's material culture and followed by physical collapse. Architectural renovations occurred throughout the sequence. In sum, Chavin's architectural chronology spanned approximately 1200–500 calBC—notably different than previously proposed ranges based on few dates—providing new architectural insights into Chavin's sociopolitical development.
Comparative petrology of Apollo 16 sample 68415 and Apollo 14 samples 14276 and 14310

Petrographic and electron microprobe studies of Apollo 16 igneous rock 68415 and Apollo 14 rocks 14276 and 14310 show that all three samples differ from the mare basalts and are characterized by plagioclase as the first liquidus phase and by the abundance of plagioclase which is in part cumulate in origin. Major and minor element abundances and isotopic data prohibit the derivation of rocks like any of these samples from one another by magmatic fractionation during their crystallization. They could have originated by partial melting of an old, more Al-rich source material without isotopic equilibration with the residuum, by complete melting of three independent sources, or by contamination with old radiogenic material. The existence of such feldspathic basalts indicates that the generation of Al-rich magmas may have been an important and widespread lunar process.
Abstract 328: The mitotic kinase Aurora-A promotes breast cancer metastases by inducing a CD24low/- basal-like stem cell phenotype

In this study we demonstrate that gain of HER-2/Neu expression in human breast cancer xenografts harboring constitutive active Raf-1 induces Aurora-A over-expression that ultimately drives the transition from a luminal to a highly invasive basal-like phenotype. Over-expression of Aurora-A was induced by phosphorylation and protein stabilization by HER-2/Neu rather than increased Aurora-A gene expression. Moreover, Aurora-A stabilization induced an increase of HER-2/Neu expression in breast cancer cells defining a novel positive feed-back loop between Aurora-A and HER-2/Neu oncogenic signaling pathways. Basal-like tumor cells over-expressing Aurora-A and HER-2/Neu underwent to loss of CD24 surface receptor, expressed epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and acquired stem cell-like properties such as mammospheres formation and self-renewal. Pharmacologic inhibition of HER-2/Neu signaling pathway with lapatinib in cancer cells over-expressing Aurora-A demonstrated that Aurora-A was downstream to HER-2/Neu in the development of EMT and stemness. To determine whether Aurora-A induced a cancer stem cell-like phenotype through development of chromosomal instability and tumor cell phenotypic heterogeneity, we performed a SKY analysis on the breast cancer cell lines employed in this study. Our results demonstrate that invasive breast cancer cells harboring a basal-like phenotype did not develop higher chromosomal instability compared to luminal non-invasive cancer cells, signifying that Aurora-A has a direct effect on the development of basal-like breast cancer cells with stemness properties. Importantly, pharmacologic inhibition of Aurora-A kinase activity with the small molecule MLN8237 restored CD24 expression and reversed EMT leading to the re-establishment of a luminal phenotype and suppression of distant metastases. Our findings implicate for the first time the mitotic kinase Aurora-A in the development and maintenance of CD24 negative basal-like tumor stem cells responsible for breast cancer recurrence and progression. These observations have also important implications for the development of molecular targeted therapies to inhibit Aurora-A kinase activity and stemness improving the overall survival of breast cancer patients. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 328. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-328
Optimization of spiral-based pulse sequences for first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging

While spiral trajectories have multiple attractive features such as their isotropic resolution, acquisition efficiency, and robustness to motion, there has been limited application of these techniques to first pass perfusion imaging because of potential off-resonance and inconsistent data artifacts. Spiral trajectories may also be less sensitive to dark-rim artifacts (DRA) that are caused, at least in part, by cardiac motion. By careful consideration of the spiral trajectory readout duration, flip angle strategy, and image reconstruction strategy, spiral artifacts can be abated to create high quality first pass myocardial perfusion images with high SNR. The goal of this paper was to design interleaved spiral pulse sequences for first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging, and to evaluate them clinically for image quality and the presence of dark-rim, blurring, and dropout artifacts.
Multinuclear Nmr study of some alkali and thallium complexes with 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6 in nonaqueous solutions

Abstract Complexes of 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6 macrocycle with Tl+, Li+, Na+ and Cs+ ions were investigated by multinuclear NMR technique in a number of non-auqueous solvents. With the exception of pyridine solutions the stabilities of the complexes varied inversely with the Guttmann donicity of the solvents. In a given solvent, the complexity constants decreased in the order Ti+ > Li+ > Na+ > Cs+. A somewhat different order is observed for the analogous polyehter 18-crown-6, where it is, Tl+ > Cs+ > Na+ > Li+.
Kock versus right colon continent urinary diversion: Comparison of outcome and reoperation rate

Abstract Objectives To compare one surgeon's sequential experience with two types of continent cutaneous diversion; namely, the Kock pouch (KP) and the right colon pouch (RCP). Methods Outcomes for the final 30 KP patients seen during the period 1989 to 1992 and the initial 30 RCP patients seen between 1992 and 1995 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients differed in median age (KP 52.5, RCP 63.5 years), in number in whom malignancy was the reason for diversion (KP 18, RCP 25), and median follow-up period (KP 50, RCP 16 months). Results No intraoperative complications or perioperative deaths occurred. Immediate postoperative complications were mild and self-limited in both groups, with the exception of 1 RCP patient who developed life-threatening hemorrhage from a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm. KP patients had a statistically higher ( P 12 supplementation was required in 1 KP and 2 RCP patients. Conclusions The markedly higher rate of surgical revision with the Kock pouch has led to our change in practice in favor of the right colon pouch for continent cutaneous urinary diversion.
An examination of concept lattices, types, and functions inRoget’s International Thesaurus

The notions of objects and attributes are essential to knowledge representation. Rudolf Wille’s concept lattices group objects and attributes into concepts, with concepts organized in a lattice, so that some concepts are subconcepts of others. This paper applies certain aspects of type theory to concept lattices in order better to facilitate the representation of knowledge inRoget’s International Thesaurus. Of particular interest is a formal analysis of functions providing concept lattices with a way of representing procedures and actions that currently are not present in the thesaurus.
Mesenchymal stem cells as a novel vaccine platform

Vaccines are the most efficient and cost-effective means of preventing infectious disease. However, traditional vaccine approaches have thus far failed to provide protection against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, malaria and many other diseases. New approaches to vaccine development are needed to address some of these intractable problems. In this report, we review the literature identifying stimulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on immune responses and explore the potential for MSC as a novel, universal vaccination platform. MSC are unique bone marrow-derived multipotent progenitor cells that are presently being exploited as gene therapy vectors for a variety of conditions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases. Although MSC are predominantly known for anti-inflammatory properties during allogeneic MSC transplant, there is evidence that MSC can actually promote adaptive immunity under certain settings. MSC have also demonstrated some success in anti-cancer therapeutic vaccines and anti-microbial prophylactic vaccines, as we report, for the first time, the ability of modified MSC to express and secrete a viral antigen that stimulates antigen-specific antibody production in vivo. We hypothesize that the unique properties of modified MSC may enable MSC to serve as an unconventional but innovative, vaccine platform. Such a platform would be capable of expressing hundreds of proteins, thereby generating a broad array of epitopes with correct post-translational processing, mimicking natural infection. By stimulating immunity to a combination of epitopes, it may be possible to develop prophylactic and even therapeutic vaccines to tackle major health problems including those of non-microbial and microbial origin, including cancer, or an infectious disease like HIV, where traditional vaccination approaches have failed.
Enhancing children's attitudes toward disabled peers using a multi-media intervention

Abstract Interventions are being developed to enhance children's attitudes toward disabled peers and thereby facilitate mainstreaming in schools. This study evaluates the impact of Feeling Free, a multi-media program of disability-related films, activities, discussions, and books. Participants were children from 16 classrooms, grades 3 through 6. Two classes at each grade level (N = 8) were randomly assigned to the six-session program and were compared on five outcome measures to the eight remaining classrooms. Treatment children demonstrated increased knowledge about disabilities, more positive perceptions of disabled persons, and greater awareness of appropriate behavioral responses to disabled peers. There were no long-lasting treatment effects on two measures of children's acknowledged willingness to interact with disabled peers, although treatment girls demonstrated short-term gains on one measure. Suggestions are made for increasing program impact and providing services to other participants in the mainstreaming process.
Computation of approximate null vectors of Sylvester and Lyapunov operators

This paper describes an effective algorithm for computing approximate null vectors of certain matrix operators associated with Sylvester or Lyapunov equations. The singular value decomposition and rank-revealing QR methods are two widely used stable algorithms for numerical determination of the rank and nullity of a matrix A. These methods, however, are not readily applicable to Sylvester and Lyapunov operators since they require on the order of n/sup 6/ arithmetic operations on order n/sup 2/ data. For these problems, a variant of inverse power iteration is employed to compute orthonormal bases for singular subspaces associated with the small singular values. The method is practical since it relies only on the ability to solve a Sylvester or Lyapunov equation. Certain practical aspects are considered, and a direct refinement technique is proposed to enhance the convergence of the algorithm. >
Variability of the International Prostate Symptom Score in men with lower urinary tract symptoms.

Objective: The variability of the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) was tested in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by comparing questionnaire results obtained in the physician's office and, 1 week later, in the patient's home. Material and Methods: A total of 210 consecutive men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) completed the I-PSS questionnaire in the physician's office. One week later the questionnaire was mailed to each patient's home, completed by the patient and then returned. Scores were compared specifically in terms of clinically significant differences defined by a total symptom score difference of &#83 6 points and/or a difference of &#83 2 points in the quality-of-life (QOL) measure. Results: The mean patient age was 67 years. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 127/210 (60%) men. Pearson's correlation coefficient for the I-PSS and QOL results was 0.81 and 0.74, respectively. Clinically significant differences in results were seen in 33/127 (26%) pati...
Diagnostic thresholds for quantitative REM sleep muscle densities, phasic burst duration, and REM atonia index in REM sleep behavior disorder with co-morbid obstructive sleep apnea

Introduction Previous REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) studies have excluded patients with sleep apnea, potentially limiting application to clinical REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) populations. We determined whether phasic burst duration and conventional RSWA methods could accurately diagnose RBD patients with co-morbid OSA. Materials and methods We analyzed RSWA phasic burst durations, phasic, “any” and tonic densities, and automated REM atonia index (RAI) in RBD and matched controls with OSA. Group RSWA metrics were then analyzed and regression models fit to explore associations with clinical variables, with receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves determining the best diagnostic cut-off thresholds for RBD diagnosis. Results All mean RSWA phasic durations and densities were higher in RBD patients than controls ( p p Conclusion This study provides evidence for RSWA diagnostic thresholds applicable in clinical RBD patient populations with co-morbid OSA using conventional EMG lead placements during split-night polysomnograms, with suggested cut-offs for combined SM/AT muscles of 43.4%, RAI of 0.88, and phasic muscle burst durations of 0.65 and 0.79 s in the SM and AT muscles, respectively. Future studies with similar methods in idiopathic RBD patients with co-morbid OSA are planned. Acknowledgements The project described was supported by a Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Grant Award from the National Institute on Aging (P50 AG016574), and the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant No. 1 UL1 RR024150-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
The Major Histocompatibility Complex in the Turkey: Do Erythrocytes Bear Serologically Detectable H Antigens?

Abstract An attempt was made to identify erythrocyte cell surface antigens associated with the major histocompatibility complex in die turkey. Two turkey lines, A and B, from the University of Minnesota, putatively homozygous for different major histocompatibility complex alleles, were used for this study. A total of 79 birds were immunized either by skin grafting or by injection of homogenized skin preparation in Freund's incomplete adjuvant. Antisera produced with skin grafts and homogenized skin inoculated intramuscularly both contained red cell agglutinins of low titer. Because agglutination reactions were weak, no sera were suitable for use as line-specific typing fluids. Thus, we were unable to demonstrate that turkey erythrocytes contain serologically detectable major histocompatibility antigens corresponding to the B major histocompatibility system in the chicken or the H-2 system in mice. Rather, the turkey major histocompatibility complex is more like that in rabbits, dogs, monkeys and humans.
Modeling fire in semi-desert grassland/oak woodland: the spatial implications

Fire-evolved forests that historically had high fire return intervals (<100 years) in the western United States are currently overstocked with fuels due to a century or more of fire suppression and anthropogenic modification. Additionally, some western rangelands have changed composition from fire maintained grasslands to grazed shrublands. Land managers are beginning to reintroduce fire to these ecosystems as a functional component. Estimating fire behavior through the use of computer simulations is one tool to assist in planning management-ignited fire. We evaluated the sensitivity of the fire model FARSITE to the level of detail in the fuels data, both spatially and quantitatively, to better understand requirements for mapping fuels to produce accurate fire simulations. Simulated fires generated using site specific fuel models mapped at 30 m and degraded to 210 m were compared to fires simulated using standard generic Northern Forest Fire Laboratory (NFFL) fuel types. Eight classes of surface fuels were mapped by classification of satellite imagery with an overall accuracy of 0.78. A percent tree canopy cover map was created from digital orthophotos using a linear regression model with an Radj2=0.93 of field sampled percent canopy cover data to a tree canopy shadow model. The dominant site specific fuel model (63% cover) was found to agree with the most suitable NFFL fuel model. Site specific fuel models mapped at fine resolution were found to produce statistically smaller fire areas than those produced with generic fuel models mapped at a fine scale and site specific fuels mapped at a coarse scale. In the worst case scenario (low fuel moistures and high wind speeds) the average fire size was about 20% larger with the fuel map using NFFL fuel models than with the fine scale map using site specific fuel models.
Attention, biological motion, and action recognition

Interacting with others in the environment requires that we perceive and recognize their movements and actions. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies have indicated that a number of brain regions, particularly the superior temporal sulcus, are involved in a number of processes essential for action recognition, including the processing of biological motion and processing the intentions of actions. We review the behavioral and neuroimaging evidence suggesting that while some aspects of action recognition might be rapid and effective, they are not necessarily automatic. Attention is particularly important when visual information about actions is degraded or ambiguous, or if competing information is present. We present evidence indicating that neural responses associated with the processing of biological motion are strongly modulated by attention. In addition, behavioral and neuroimaging evidence shows that drawing inferences from the actions of others is attentionally demanding. The role of attention in action observation has implications for everyday social interactions and workplace applications that depend on observing, understanding and interpreting actions.