cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of antibody and use of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immune globulin to prevent severe RSV disease in high-risk children☆☆☆★★★

Infants with cardiac disease or infants born prematurely with or without bronchopulmonary dysplasia are at increased risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease. A recently developed RSV immune globulin (RSVIG) was studied in a 3-year multicenter trial to determine safety and efficacy in the prevention of severe RSV disease in children who are at high risk of severe RSV illness. Two hundred forty-nine children were studied; 102 had bronchopulmonary dysplasia, 87 had congenital heart disease, and 60 were born prematurely. RSVIG was given on a monthly basis to 81 children at a high dose of 750 mg/kg (15 ml/kg) and to 79 children at a low dose of 150 mg/kg (3 ml/kg). The 89 children in the control group did not receive RSVIG. There were 64 episodes of RSV infection: 19 in the high-dose group, 16 in the low-dose group, and 29 in the control group. High-dose recipients had significantly fewer RSV lower respiratory tract infections, hospitalizations, hospital days, intensive care unit days, and less use of ribavirin compared with control subjects. Only 19 adverse events were reported during the 580 infusions administered (3%). No death was attributed to RSV disease or RSVIG therapy. Treated children did not acquire exaggerated RSV illness in a subsequent year. Thus high-dose RSVIG reduced the incidence and severity of RSV lower respiratory tract infection. It is a safe and effective means of RSV prophylaxis in selected high-risk children.
Solid-state phase stabilities of relevance to metal dusting in coal gasifier environments

Thermochemical calculations involving some typical mixed-gas environments and temperatures of gasifiers were used to examine iron-based phase stabilities to assess the potential for metal dusting in coal gasification systems. The results indicated that Fe 3 C is only stable under conditions when certain reactions are suppressed and that FeO and Fe 0.877S tend to form instead of the carbide. Assuming Fe3C is a necessary step in the metal dusting of steels, there are therefore numerous coal gasification systems where this type of carbon-related degradation will not occur, particularly under conditions associated with higher oxygen and sulfur activities.
The Fresno Sanitary Landfill in an American cultural context.

On August 27, 2001, Department of Interior designated the Fresno Sanitary Landfill as a National Historic Landmark. The next day, Secretary Gail Norton "temporarily" rescinded the designation, claiming that the department was not aware of the landfill9s Superfund status. For many people, the naming of a landfill as an historic landmark seemed ludicrous. For others, the designation offered an opportunity to pillory the Bush administration for its increasingly unpopular environmental policies. What got lost sight of was why the nomination was made in the first place, and if it had any merit as a historically significant site. The controversy also exposed the inability of people to take the waste issue seriously, to view it as an integral part of the process of living, and thus to conceive it as culturally and historically important.
Plasma Contamination and Wall Erosion in Thermonuclear Reactors

Plasma radiations striking the vacuum walls of fusion reactors may (a) seriously damage and erode the wall and (b) release major quantities of gas which will contaminate the plasma. The influence of various secondary particle-emission contributing to these two processes will be reviewed; special emphasis will be given to radiation blistering, sputtering, and the release of gaseous particles by energetic photon impact. From the best estimates of the yields of some of these processes, the lifetimes of walls made for example of Nb or Mo will be estimated.
Parametric Study of Continuous Prestressed Composite Girders

The technique of prestressing has been used successfully to improve the performance of existing concrete structures. However, very few applications of this technique can be found in steel structures. Prestressing by means of high‐strength cable or bar can be used to effectively increase the working load and the ultimate capacity of composite steel‐concrete girders. The benefits of prestressing the steel wide flange section in composite construction can be achieved in strengthening of existing structures as well as in the design of new structures. In this paper, the elastic behavior of continuous, prestressed, composite girders with straight and draped tendon profiles is examined. The effects of design variables such as the prestress force, tendon eccentricity, and tendon length on the working load and deflection of girders are studied. The results show that the allowable load of girder increases proportionally with increase in prestress force and eccentricity. The effect of load pattern on the change in t...
Sensory components in the terminal innervation of the ovine cardiac conduction system

Neuromuscular relationships in the cardiac conduction system of the ovine heart were studied by means of light and electron microscopy. Fluorescence microscopy was used to demonstrate the distribution of adrenergic nerves. Histochemical methods demonstrated sites of acetylcholinesterase and nonspecific cholinesterase activity at both light and electron microscopic levels. Surgical denervation was used in an attempt to support the identification of different types of nerve endings. A dense plexus of nerves strongly positive for acetylcholinesterase was present in all parts of the conduction system. Nonspecific cholinesterase was found to be limited to large nerve bundles which were presumed to be preganglionic. A dense plexus of adrenergic nerve fibers was identified in both the SA and AV nodes, but such fibers were very sparsely distributed along the AV bundle and its branches. On the basis of morphology as demonstrated by electron microscopy, three types of nerve endings or varicosities associated with the specialized cells of the conduction system were identified. Cholinergic endings, presumably post-ganglionic parasympathetic, contained many nongranulated synaptic vesicles. Adrenergic or post-ganglionic sympathetic endings or varicosities contained granulated synaptic vesicles. Axonal enlargements containing numerous mitochondria and varying numbers of pleomorphic dense bodies were identified as sensory endings on the basis of their morphologic similarity to such endings found elsewhere in the animal body. These were found in 22% of the blocks examined by electron microscopy, were present in all parts of the conduction tissue, and were acetylcholinesterase positive. They did not show obvious signs of degeneration following vagotomies or thoracic sympathectomy, suggesting the possibility that they were endings of neurons intrinsic to the heart. No signs of degeneration were noted in the endomysial plexus following vagotomy either proximal or distal to the distal (nodose) ganglion. Degeneration of small fibers of the plexus was noted following thoracic sympathectomy. This study provides evidence suggesting a significant sensory innervation to the cardiac conduction system, with the cell bodies of the sensory neurons located in or near the heart.
A Highly Scalable Approach for Time Parallelization of Long Range Forecasts

Efficient use of exa-scale parallel architectures will require applications to display a tremendous degree of concurrency in order to effectively employ hundreds of thousands to millions of cores. Large scale simulations of partial differential equations typically rely on a spatial domain decomposition approach, where the number of concurrent tasks is limited by the size of the spatial simulation domain. Time parallelism offers a promising approach to increase the degree of concurrency. Parareal is a popular, non-intrusive, iterative parallel in time algorithm that uses both low and high accuracy numerical solvers. While the high accuracy solutions are computed in parallel, the low accuracy ones are serial, which considerably hinders Parareal's scalability, and therefore its potential usefulness in exa-scale environments. This paper proposes a nonlinear optimization approach to exploiting time parallelism. Like in the traditional Parareal approach, the time interval is partitioned into subdomains, and local time integrations are carried out in parallel. The objective cost function quantifies the mismatch of local solutions between adjacent time subintervals. The optimization problem is solved iteratively using gradient-based methods. The necessary gradients, and Hessian-vector products, involve only ideally parallel computations and are therefore highly scalable. Thus the proposed approach has the potential to make time parallelism an essential ingredient for exa-scale applications. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm is studied in the context of WRF (Weather Research \a Forecast), a large-scale numerical weather prediction model. The derivative information required for optimization is obtained with the help of adjoint models. Implementation details and benefits of the new approach are discussed.
The technology learning center (TLC): a comprehensive learning environment for students

As technology becomes more pervasive in our lives, and continues to change rapidly, it is essential for college students to have opportunities to improve their computer abilities and learn new skills. The use of technology for teaching and learning is becoming widespread, and students are often required to use various forms of technology in their classes. In addition, students who are entering the work force are finding that employers are demanding an increasingly higher level of technology prowess and learning skills. Created in 1997 to address the need for timely, up-to-date learning opportunities for North Dakota State University (NDSU) students, the Technology Learning Center (TLC) has evolved into a comprehensive learning environment. The TLC is funded by student technology fees and staffed by a coordinator and student trainers. In this paper, and the corresponding poster presentation, I will present an overview of the TLC and share new initiatives, challenges, and future plans.
Bladder tumours treated by endoscopic surgery: Long-term results

Eighty per cent of bladder tumours can be treated by endoscopic resection of the tumour if the urological surgeon is proficient in this technique. The survival of patients having this treatment is better than more radical surgery in all grades and in all stages except stages C and D.
Inflammation and Myocardial Infarction

A myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack, is caused by a sudden blockage in the arteries that supply the heart muscle, known as the coronary arteries. Most of these blockages occur as a result of atherosclerosis, a process by which cholesterol and white blood cells accumulate in the wall of the artery (Figure). Figure. Formation of an atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries. This is a cross-sectional view (horizontal slice) of a coronary artery with an atherosclerotic plaque. The fibrous cap is made up of a strong material called collagen that is protecting the blood stream from the lipid core. In addition to cholesterol and fats, the lipid core contains white blood cells, which are the inflammatory cells in the body. If the fibrous cap breaks, these inflammatory cells are exposed to the blood stream. A chain reaction then occurs that results in accumulation of platelets, clotting factors, and other cells, leading to rapid obstruction of the coronary artery and subsequent MI. Atherosclerosis leads to the build up of plaque, which is composed of a fibrous cap and a lipid (fatty) core, and grows slowly over years. The fibrous cap is comprised mostly of a thick, strong material called collagen that functions as a barrier between the blood stream and the lipid core. The lipid core is a collection of fats, cholesterol, white blood cells, and proteins that activates clot formation. The fibrous cap prevents the lipid core from becoming exposed to the blood. Direct contact between the lipid core and the blood stream triggers a chain reaction that can become fatal: accumulation of platelets, clotting factors, and other cells leads to rapid obstruction of …
Anti-Zebrin II Immunopositivity in the Cerebellum and Octavolateral Nuclei in Two Species of Stingrays

Anti-Zebrin II is an antibody directed against a 36kDa aldolase epitope expressed by Purkinje cells. Two patterns of Zebrin II immunolabeling have been described in the cerebellar corpus. In mammalian
Contemporary diagnosis and management of Fournier's gangrene.

Fournier’s gangrene, an obliterative endarteritis of the subcutaneous arteries resulting in gangrene of the overlying skin, is a rare but severe infective necrotizing fasciitis of the external genitalia. Mainly associated with men and those over the age of 50, Fournier’s gangrene has been shown to have a predilection for patients with diabetes as well as people who are long-term alcohol misusers. The nidus for the synergistic polymicrobial infection is usually located in the genitourinary tract, lower gastointestinal tract or skin. Early diagnosis remains imperative as rapid progression of the gangrene can lead to multiorgan failure and death. The diagnosis is often made clinically, although radiography can be helpful when the diagnosis or the extent of the disease is difficult to discern. The Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotizing Fasciitis score can be used to stratify patients into low, moderate or high risk and the Fournier’s Gangrene Severity Index (FGSI) can also be used to determine the severity and prognosis of Fournier’s gangrene. Mainstays of treatment include rapid and aggressive surgical debridement of necrotized tissue, hemodynamic support with urgent resuscitation with fluids, and broad-spectrum parental antibiotics. After initial radical debridement, open wounds are generally managed with sterile dressings and negative-pressure wound therapy. In cases of severe perineal involvement, colostomy has been used for fecal diversion or alternatively, the Flexi-Seal Fecal Management System can be utilized to prevent fecal contamination of the wound. After extensive debridement, many patients sustain significant defects of the skin and soft tissue, creating a need for reconstructive surgery for satisfactory functional and cosmetic results.
Magnetic Levitation of MC3T3 Osteoblast Cells as a Ground-Based Simulation of Microgravity

Diamagnetic samples placed in a strong magnetic field and a magnetic field gradient experience a magnetic force. Stable magnetic levitation occurs when the magnetic force exactly counter balances the gravitational force. Under this condition, a diamagnetic sample is in a simulated microgravity environment. The purpose of this study is to explore if MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells can be grown in magnetically simulated hypo-g and hyper-g environments and determine if gene expression is differentially expressed under these conditions. The murine calvarial osteoblastic cell line, MC3T3-E1, grown on Cytodex-3 beads, were subjected to a net gravitational force of 0, 1 and 2 g in a 17 T superconducting magnet for 2 days. Microarray analysis of these cells indicated that gravitational stress leads to up and down regulation of hundreds of genes. The methodology of sustaining long-term magnetic levitation of biological systems are discussed.
Fetal Emergence Patterns in Evolutionary Perspective

Les differents facteurs qui affectent le processus de la naissance chez les hominides par rapport aux autres mammiferes, comme consequences du bipedisme et de l'encephalisation
Joint-space adaptive control of a redundant telerobot manipulator

The design of a joint-space adaptive control-scheme for controlling the slave arm motion of a dual-arm telerobot system developed to study the telerobotic operations in space is presented. Each slave arm of the dual-arm system is a kinematically redundant manipulator with 7 degrees of freedom (DOF). Using the concept of model reference adaptive control (MRAC) and the Lyapunov direct method, the authors derive an adaptation algorithm which adjusts the PD (proportional and derivative) controller gains of the control scheme. The development of the adaptive control scheme assumes that the slave arm motion is noncompliant and slowly varying. The implementation of the derived control scheme does not require the computation of manipulator dynamics which makes the control scheme sufficiently fast for real-time applications. A computer simulation study performed for the 7-DOF slave arm shows that the developed control scheme can efficiently adapt to sudden change in payloads while tracking various test trajectories such as ramps or sinusoids with negligible position errors. >
InGaAs/InP p-i-n photodiodes integrated with AlGaAs/GaAs optical waveguides and air-bridge coplanar metal waveguides using total internal reflectors

Summary form only given. Monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) are of considerable interest for future optical communications systems in the 1.3-1.6 /spl mu/m wavelength range due to the significant reduction in interconnections and ease of assembly. For some OEIC applications, it is useful to use GaAs substrates instead of InP because of the mature fabrication technology for electronic components on GaAs. For high-speed device applications, air-bridge coplanar metal waveguides are an attractive means to interconnect high-speed photodiodes, which results in a reduction of the parasitic capacitance of the diodes. Of the various waveguide photodiode integration approaches, total internal-reflection (TIR) mirror vertical coupling is regrowth-free and applicable to single and double heterostructure waveguides. In the paper, we used a thin InP buffer layer, grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy, to suppress the dislocations between In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As/InP photodiode and AlGaAs/GaAs waveguide layers. The GaAs-based optical waveguide couples light to the p-i-n InGaAs photodetector by an etched, vertically deflecting TIR mirror.
LASTING BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF EARLY ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES : IV. NOTES ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENTEROVIRUS THAT DEPRESSES THE GROWTH OF MICE

Physicochemical and immunological techniques have been used in an attempt to characterize a filterable agent, separated from the intestines of mice raised under ordinary conditions of husbandry, which produces a lasting depression of weight in specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice when administered to them orally shortly after birth. Although this agent has not yet been identified, it will be tentatively designated here as enterovirus. The mouse enterovirus can be readily sedimented by ultracentrifugation and by precipitation at pH 4.3; it does not pass through cellophane membranes. Its infective power is completely destroyed by ultraviolet radiation, but is resistant to heating at 56°C, exposure to ether, treatment with trypsin, ribonuclease, and deoxyribonuclease. Dialysis and treatment with ether and nucleases greatly increase the infective activity of the intestinal filtrates containing the enterovirus, a finding which suggests that these procedures eliminate or destroy some inhibitory substance(s). The mouse enterovirus causes hemagglutination of mouse red blood cells. When injected into rabbits, it elicits in them an immune response that renders their serum capable of neutralizing its weight-depressing activity. As measured by inhibition of hemagglutination or complement fixation, the sera of infected mice do not exhibit any significant activity against usual mouse viruses. Centrifugation of the mouse enterovirus in 50%–20% sucrose gradient gave almost complete recovery of the infectivity and of hemagglutinating activity in the same fraction. In contrast, the protein content of the material was distributed through the various fractions. Consequently, this procedure resulted in a marked increase of specific activity.
Accessibility of transcriptionally inactive genes is specifically reduced at homeoprotein-DNA binding sites in Drosophila

We showed previously that homeoproteins bind to multiple DNA sites throughout the length of most genes in Drosophila embryos. Based on a comparison of in vivo and in vitro DNA binding specificities, we suggested that homeoprotein binding sites on actively transcribed genes are largely accessible, whereas the binding of homeoproteins to inactive and poorly transcribed genes may be significantly inhibited at most sites, perhaps by chromatin structure. To test this model, we have measured the accessibility of restriction enzyme sites in a number of genes in isolated nuclei. Surprisingly, our data indicate that there is no difference in the overall accessibility of sites for several restriction enzymes on active versus inactive genes. However, consistent with our model, restriction enzyme recognition sequences that overlap with homeoprotein binding sites are less accessible on inactive genes than they are on active genes. We propose that transcriptional activation in all animals may involve a localized increase in accessibility at the AT-rich regions bound by homeoproteins and perhaps at a few other regions, rather than a generalized effect on all sites throughout a gene.
The Allurement of Ethnonationalism in Nigerian Politics: The Contemporary Debate

Discusses the incidence of ethnonationalism in Nigerian politics. Reasons for incidence of psychology among ethnic groups in the country; Methods to dampen the effects of the phenomenon on the political climate in the country.
Limestone Buffers in Complete Mixed Rations for Dairy Cattle

Abstract In two feeding trials lactating dairy cows were fed limestone and in one trial growing dairy heifers were fed magnesium-limestone-buffered rations. Complete mixed rations based on corn silage and corn grain were fed ad libitum. In Trial 1, cows fed a ration with 2.76% limestone consumed 7.36% less dry matter of feed than cows fed a ration containing .11% added limestone, with no effect on milk production. In Trial II, cows fed a ration with 2.71% limestone had similar feed intakes and milk production but gained more weight than cows fed a ration with .01% limestone. Heifers fed a ration supplemented with magnesium limestone gained .49 kg more weight per day and made more efficient use of feed than heifers fed the nonsupplemented ration. Limestone increased fecal pH from 5.99 to 6.62 in Trial 1, 6.13 to 6.57 in Trial II and decreased loss of starch in feces. Magnesium limestone increased fecal pH from 6.37 to 6.76 and decreased starch in feces from 5.60 to 1.14%. In these trials both limestone and magnesium limestone increased fecal pH, reduced starch losses in the feces, and improved feed efficiency.
Investigation of slider take-off velocity using the acoustic emission frequency spectrum

Acoustic emission and flying height measurements are performed simultaneously to investigate the take-off characteristics of typical two rail sliders. The rms voltage and frequency spectrum of the acoustic emission signal are examined as a function of disk velocity, and the frequencies measured are related to the resonant frequencies of the slider body obtained from a finite element analysis. The correlation between slider resonant frequency and slider contact location is examined.
Production and Purification of Tartrate Dehydrogenase

Tartrate dehydrogenase (TDH) is a stereospecific intracellular enzyme produced by Pseudomonas putida. Several methods for separation of nucleic acids from the proteins in cell homogenate were compared in this study. These methods included precipitation (using streptomycin sulfate, manganous sulfate, and protamine sulfate) and aqueous two-phase extraction. Under optimal conditions of separation, a single-step aqueous two-phase extraction followed by back-extraction of the enzyme from enzyme-rich PEG-phase resulted in 77% recovery of enzyme. This compared favorably with 50% enzyme recovery using protamine sulfate treatment. Furthermore, the remaining enzyme activity was accounted in the nucleic acid-rich dextran phase and the spent-PEG phase, suggesting that a multistep extraction process would increase enzyme recovery even more. Under the conditions of aqueous two-phase extraction, the selectivity of proteins over nucleic acids was 30, indicating a high degree of separation of proteins and nucleic acids in this process. The experimental data and their implications are presented.
(209) Impact of Co-Morbid Depression on Self-Reported Pain and Physical and Emotional Functioning in Low Back Pain Patients

The demand to document meaningful outcomes is pressuring pain clinics to develop methods to systematically assess the patient's physical, emotional, and social functioning and to include such factors as monitored patient outcomes. To further understand the factors that affect these outcomes, data from 4,113 consecutive pain clinic patients were examined. At a clinic visit, these individuals were administered the SF-36 and a clinical questionnaire. Diagnoses were made by a single pain medicine physician. All patient data were entered into the data registry of the AAPM Uniform Outcomes Measures project and were searched to identify those with low back pain (LBP). LBP patients were further classified according to the presence or absence of a depression diagnosis. The impact of co-morbid depression for patient functioning, as indicated by initial and subsequent SF-36 scores was evaluated. 1,628 individuals had at least one LBP diagnosis. This sample was predominantly female (58%) and middle-aged (mean 55 [SD 15.5]). The most common LBP diagnoses were: radiculopathy (62.2%), disc herniation (17.7%) and spinal stenosis (5.3%) but the sample included the full range of problems causing LBP. 32% of the sample received a diagnosis of depression. While scores for the total LBP group on all eight SF-36 domains were significantly lower (P < .0001) than those of a comparison non-pain patient group, the additional impact of co-morbid depression was striking. Comparison of SF-36 scores indicated LBP patients with a diagnosis of co-morbid depression were 1.7 to 3.2 times more likely than comparable non-depressed LBP patients to be in the worst quartiles of physical and emotional functioning. Moreover, the effects of depression persisted over time. This study demonstrates the feasibility of assessing physical, emotional, and social functioning outcomes in the pain clinic setting. It also provides important evidence supporting the need for the routine evaluation and management of co-morbid depression.
A Birdcage Model for the Chinese Meridian System Part I: A Channel as a Transmission Line

The concept of Qi and the concept of channel are so closely related that they must be defined and comprehended simultaneously in a coordinated fashion. Once the nature of Qi is established in terms of physics, we may be able to explain the functional role that the channels play, as well as explain other Chinese medical terminology with a language of modern science. Based on the low electrical impedance characteristics of acupoints, we propose that the meridian channel is equivalent to an electromagnetic transmission line and the Qi is the electromagnetic (EM) standing wave riding on the line, with acupoints as its nodes. The standing wave within each segment of the channel separated by acupoints is in natural oscillation thus the segment may be analyzed as a λ/4 open circuit that behaves like a series RLC resonator. Acupuncture until De Qi is effectively equivalent to charging the capacitor Ceq of the RLC resonator in the transmission line. The mechanism of bu and xie are charging or discharging the capacitor to bring the capacititive (or inductive) behavior of the segment back to that of the resonant state. Kirlian photograph may serve as a visual observation of the EM waves on channels.
Influence of Using Purged and Partially Penetrating Monitoring Wells on Contaminant Detection, Mapping, and Modeling

An analytical transport model is presented for evaluating vertically averaged concentration data derived from purged and partially penetrating monitoring wells. The model is applicable to continuous contaminant emission from a finite source with longitudinal advection, and three-dimensional dispersion. The model is used to investigate how screened length may influence contaminant detection, mapping, and modeling. Sensitivity analyses suggest that contaminant concentrations determined from monitoring wells may underestimate the level of aquifer contamination, depending on screened depth, location of the well relative to the contaminant source, the vertical source dimension, and degree of vertical plume spreading. The magnitude of this effect may be comparable to, and in excess of, concentration biases related to construction materials and sampling procedures. Additional screened interval influences may include: underestimates of contamination extent and migration rate; apparent indications of attenuation processes and steady-state conditions; over- estimates of vertical contaminant spreading; increased time of contaminant detection; and poor transport model predictions, owing to well-biased concentration distributions.
Spontaneous Hypertrophic Foci of Pancreatic Acinar Cells in CD Rats

A study was conducted to determine the spontaneous occurrence of hypertrophic foci of the pancreatic acinar cells in rats. Tissues from untreated control rats, 4 to 27 months of age and used in either subchronic and chronic feeding toxicity or carcinogenicity studies were reviewed. The lesions, morphologically distinctly different from nodular hyperplasia or hyperplastic nodules and adenomas, were microscopic in size and occurred in 109 of 607 males (17.6%) and 87 of 517 females (16.8%). The overall incidence of hypertrophic foci in the pancreas from rats of both sexes significantly increased with age. The lesion was not sex-related. Neither the size nor the number of lesions appeared to increase with age. The lesion represents a distinct pathologic entity and is considered to be neither hyperplastic nor neoplastic.
Administrative Science Quarterly: Canary of Worldview Shift?

Several authors have suggested that a paradigm shift is occurring in the worldview of people in organizations. A comparison of ASQ articles from 1957 to 1997 provides limited evidence of such a shift. Our results imply that a modest shift is occurring in the assumptions of holism, perspectival observation, and cooperation. The TWV assumptions of reductionism and linear causality show very slight increases over the same time frame. Proponents of mutual causality will be especially disappointed that our research identified only five paragraphs with this assumption in the entire set of 1997 issues. Consequently, the TWV remains a powerful force in the set of assumptions used by authors of ASQ journal articles.
Abstract 2095: The functional significance of microRNA-145 in prostate cancer

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that play important roles in numerous cellular processes including development, proliferation, and apoptosis. Recent studies have demonstrated aberrant expression of miRNAs in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. miRNAs microarray data, showed that miR-145 is down-regulated in prostate cancer. Therefore, we investigated the expression and functional significance of miR-145 in prostate cancer. The expression of miR-145 was found to be low in all of the prostate cell lines tested (PC3, LNCaP and DU145). The level of miR-145 expression in adjacent normal regions was found to be significantly higher as compared to the matched cancerous regions. Over expression of miR-145 in PC3 transfected cells resulted in a significant increase in apoptosis and an increase in cells in the G2/M phase, as detected by flow cytometry. Our results also show that methylation of the promoter region of miR-145 in cell lines and carcinoma samples as one of the reasons for its low expression. To identify potential targets for miR-145, we performed microarray analyses in miR-145 over-expressing PC3 cells and observed up regulation of the pro apoptotic gene TNFsf10 which was confirmed by real-time PCR and Western analysis. This is the first report to show that miR-145 acts as a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer through cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. Since a major target for miR-145 is the pro apoptotic TNFsf10 gene, modulation of miR-145 may provide a therapeutic approach for the management of prostate cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2095.
Crafting interactivity for stakeholder engagement: transforming assumptions about communication in science and policy.

Abstract— The International Radiation Protection Association's guiding principles for stakeholder engagement focus on fostering, facilitating, and enabling interaction among stakeholders that is inclusive and fosters competent decision making. Implicit in these standards is a call to cultivate knowledge and competence in designing communication for stakeholder engagement among radiation protection professionals. Communication as design is an approach to risk communication in science and policy that differs from, yet complements, the more well-known communication practices of informing and persuading. Design focuses on the recurring practical problem faced by professionals in making communication possible among stakeholders where it has otherwise been difficult, impossible, or even unimagined. The knowledge and competence associated with design involves principles for crafting interactivity across a variety of mediated and non-mediated encounters among stakeholders. Risk communication can be improved by cultivating expertise in scalable communication design that embraces the demands of involvement without abandoning the need for competence in science and policy communication.
Absolute Orientation for a UAV using Celestial Objects

We present a solar compass that can augment the heading estimation of UAVs when UAVs fly around the areas with large electromagnetic disturbances. Based on a hemispherical sensor geometry, light intensity sensors are used to determine the vector to the dominant light source, e.g. the sun, in the environment via least squares method. Using the sun vector, a low-cost, small-sized solar compass is designed and compared with GPS compass and magnetic compass to eventually improve the orientation of UAVs. The experiment indicates a directional uncertainty lies mostly within 10◦ and brings conclusion that solar compass works well under clear skies.
Non-Axisymmetric Matrix Cracking and Interface Debonding with Friction in Ceramic Composites

A three-dimensional analytical model based on the principle of minimum potential energy is developed and applied to determine the stress state in a discrete fiber/matrix composite cylinder subjected to axial tensile loading in the fiber direction and containing a non-axisymmetric transverse matrix crack and an interface debond. The friction over the debonded interface is incorporated into the analysis. The strain energy release rates associated with the matrix crack and the interface debonding under the combination of the applied load and the interface frictional force are computed. The strain energy release rate criterion has been employed to evaluate the critical applied loads for the two fracture modes and to assess the competition between propagation of a matrix crack and growth of interface debonding. A parametric study has been carried out. The computed results show that the interface friction plays an important role in the failure of brittle matrix composites.
A Dynamic Agile Process Model for situational awareness

This position paper describes how a proposed Dynamic Agile Process Model (DAPM) can be a useful representation of situational awareness. The traditional definitions of situational awareness are highly conceptual and text-based, intended for human consumption, so a simpler, more specific machine-understandable definition is needed for computer processing. At its simplest, the authors suggest that situational awareness can be considered the intersection of processes. If the processes can be represented effectively and efficiently in a computer representation, then so can situational awareness. The Dynamic Agile Process Model (DAPM) has certain characteristics, including both static and dynamic aspects, as well as fractal characteristics such as self-similarity, complexity built from simplicity, and optimized information flow, which seem to match the similar characteristics of situational awareness. Using this process model, situational awareness can be represented in a manner amenable to machine processing for applications such as planning, training, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and after-action analysis. The authors are beginning to explore enabling situational awareness in smart avatars using this model for these applications in the SPAWAR Systems Center BEMR lab: Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality. For more information or to participate or join the Advanced Exploitation of Mixed Reality (AEMR) Community of Interest, please send an email to BEMR@spawar.navy.mil
Roscovitine as the Archetypal Member of a Novel Class of Antiarrhythmics Targeting Late ICa,L

L-type calcium current (ICa,L) plays a central role in counterbalancing potassium current during the plateau phase of cardiac action potential (AP). When repolarization reserve is reduced, the aberrant reactivation of ICa,L during repolarization can cause transient depolarization events called Early Afterdepolarizations (EADs), a recognized trigger of cardiac arrhythmias. Recently we demonstrated that EADs are highly sensitive to the steady-state voltage-dependent properties of ICa,L. Using the dynamic clamp technique in isolated rabbit ventricular myocytes under EAD-favoring condition (i.e. oxidative stress or hypokalemia), we found that selectively inhibiting the non-inactivating component (late) of ICa,L potently suppressed EAD-occurrence. Roscovitine, a purine analog, has been shown to reduce the late ICa,L component while leaving peak unperturbed. Here we tested the ability of this drug to suppress EADs in isolated rabbit ventricular myocytes induced by exposure to H2O2 (600µM). This oxidative stress caused EADs in 81% [95% CI: 66-95%] of the APs, prolonging AP duration (APD90) from 276 ms [97-433 ms] to 840ms [285-1967ms] (n=4). Addition of roscovitine (20µM) completely abolished EADs and reduced the APD90 to 189 ms [155-222 ms]. Moreover, roscovitine did not significantly perturb the Ca transient, implying maintenance of normal excitation-contraction coupling. We next exposed isolated aged rat hearts to 0.1 mM H2O2 to induce EADs and spontaneous ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF). In all tested hearts (n=4), roscovitine terminated VT/VF and led to resumption of sinus rhythm within 10 min. Our study offers additional proof of concept supporting a pharmacological strategy to target late ICa,L to prevent EAD-mediated arrhythmias, with roscovitine as an archetypal drug to guide the development of this new class of antiarrhythmics.
Massive close pairs measure rapid galaxy assembly in mergers at high redshift

We compare mass-selected close pairs at z > 1 with the intrinsic galaxy merger rate in the Illustris Simulations. To do so, we construct three 140 arcmin^2 lightcone catalogs and measure pair fractions, finding that they change little or decrease with increasing redshift at z > 1. Consistent with current surveys, this trend requires a decrease in the merger-pair observability time, roughly as (1 + z)^-2, in order to measure the merger rates of the same galaxies. This implies that major mergers are more common at high redshift than implied by the simplest arguments assuming a constant observability time. Several effects contribute to this trend: (1) The fraction of massive, major (4:1) pairs which merge by today increases weakly from ~0.5 at z=1 to ~0.8 at z=3. (2) The median time elapsed between an observed pair and final remnant decreases by a factor of two from z~1 to z~3. (3) An increasing specific star formation rate (sSFR) decreases the time during which common stellar-mass based pair selection criteria could identify the mergers. The average orbit of the pairs at observation time varies only weakly, suggesting that the dynamical time is not varying enough to account by itself for the pair fraction trends. Merging pairs reside in dense regions, having overdensity ~10 to ~100 times greater than the average massive galaxy. We forward model the pairs to reconstruct the merger remnant production rate, showing that it is consistent with a rapid increase in galaxy merger rates at z > 1.
Collagen and fibronectin: threads linking obesity and breast cancer.

Evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies correlates obesity with an increased risk for postmenopausal breast cancer and a worse prognosis for breast cancer patients regardless of menopausal status (1). However, the cellular, molecular and structural mechanisms driving this process remain unclear. A potential structural mechanism is extracellular matrix (ECM) density, which is an independent risk factor for breast cancer (2,3). Myofibroblasts, the contractile, spindle-shaped, stress fiber-forming mesenchymal cells capable of producing copious amounts of ECM have emerged as a common hallmark of wound healing and tumor progression (4), leading to the generally held view that tumors are “wounds that do not heal”.
Experiments on the Cultivation of Protoplasts and Calli of Agriculturally Important Plants I. Oat (Avena sativa L.) 1)2)1)This work was supported by a grant to the second author from the RANN (Research Applied to National Needs) program of the National Science Foundation.2)Dedicated to Professor Dr. Kurt Mothes on his 75th birthday

Summary We have devised a satisfactory method for the preparation of large quantities of viable protoplasts from young leaves of Avena sativa. When plated on a defined medium, the protoplasts formed cell walls and remained viable for about 5 weeks. Cell division occurred only sporadically and unpredictably and was not perpetuated once initiated. (But see Addendum, p. 471.) In general, an agar medium was superior to a liquid medium. Variations in growth substances, salts and mannitol had little effect, but biotin seemed to induce a greater number of multiple cell clusters, probably indicative of division. Coconut milk was deleterious. Culture at 22 °C was superior to 30 °C, at 500 lux superior to 2000 lux, and 24 hr photoperiods superior to 18 hr photoperiods. There was no basic difference between protoplasts incubated in the dark and in the light. Oat callus, induced to form from seedling hypocotyl on high auxin medium, was excised and repeatedly subcultured on a defined medium. Roots could be induced on media deficient in auxin or supplemented with cytokinins. Organized green nodules containing meristemoids were induced on media with altered salt concentrations, but no shoots have yet resulted.
Spatio-temporal index standardization improves the stock assessment of northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine

Estimated trends in relative stock abundance are a primary input to fish stock assessments. Accurate and precise estimates are essential for successful conservation and management. Scientifically d...
Ice nucleation on sulfuric acid particles

Publisher Summary Based on measurements of ice-nucleus concentration below -30° C with precisely controlled humidities, hygroscopic particles were converted to ice crystals below subwater saturation environment. Ice-crystal nucleation on sublimation nuclei has been ruled out in Fairbanks ice fog and in diamond-dust crystals formed over polar zones. Hygroscopic aerosol particles have been identified as sulfuric acid, which originate from ocean source, manmade air pollution, and volcanic activities. As far as those particles experienced deliquescence from moist ambient air even lower than ice-saturated water vapor for a long time, the sulfuric acid particles will form minute water droplets, which freeze into ice crystals at the freezing temperatures that vary depending on the aqueous sulfuric acid solution concentrations. Those minute sulfuric acid particles must be responsible for formation on cirrus cloud crystals and even the polar stratospheric cloud particles.
b → sγ and Bs → μ+μ− in extended technicolor models

Abstract The rates of the rare flavor-changing processes, b → sγ and B s → μ + μ − are estimated in extended technicolor models with and without a GIM mechanism. We find the b → sγ rate in ETC models with a GIM mechanism to be at most slightly larger than the standard model rate, whereas there is no significant extra model-independent contribution in other ETC scenarios. In the case of B s → μ + μ − , ETC models with a GIM mechanism can yield a rate up to two order of magnitude bigger than that of the standard model, whereas generic ETC scenarios are likely to give a rate which is about an order of magnitude bigger than that of the standard model.
Motion recognition of self and others on realistic 3D avatars

Current 3D capture and modeling technology can rapidly generate highly photo-realistic 3D avatars of human subjects. However, while the avatars look like their human counterparts, their movements often do not mimic their own due to existing challenges in accurate motion capture and retargeting. A better understanding of factors that influence the perception of biological motion would be valuable for creating virtual avatars that capture the essence of their human subjects. To investigate these issues, we captured 22 subjects walking in an open space. We then performed a study where participants were asked to identify their own motion in varying visual representations and scenarios. Similarly, participants were asked to identify the motion of familiar individuals. Unlike prior studies that used captured footage with simple “point-light” displays, we rendered the motion on photo-realistic 3D virtual avatars of the subject. We found that self-recognition was significantly higher for virtual avatars than with point-light representations. Users were more confident of their responses when identifying their motion presented on their virtual avatar. Recognition rates varied considerably between motion types for recognition of others, but not for self-recognition. Overall, our results are consistent with previous studies that used recorded footage and offer key insights into the perception of motion rendered on virtual avatars.
Peer Interaction and Learning in Multilingual Settings From a Sociocultural Perspective: Theoretical Insights

ABSTRACTReflecting on contributions to this special issue along with my own research, I suggest ways in which sociocultural understandings of peer interactions in multilingual contexts are and should be evolving to encompass the increasingly complex settings that research has come to document. I argue that in order to realize the potential of research in this area of study, it is important that we clearly define how “peers” are conceptualized in our research and carefully explore the implications of multilingual peers’ similarities and differences for learning and development. Further, the dynamic nature of multilingual expertise and peer roles/positioning, and their relation to both micro- and macro-level phenomena, are necessary starting points for any exploration of peer interaction. Finally, we must seek to understand the diverse ways in which peers scaffold each other’s learning through a range of instructional and naturally occurring activities that include but are not limited to those found in trad...