cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of flood vulnerability and transit availability with a changing climate in Harris County, Texas

Hurricanes and other extreme precipitation events can have devastating effects on population and infrastructure that can create problems for emergency responses and evacuation. Projected climate ch...
Preparation and pharmacokinetics of genistein MePEG-PLGA copolymer micelles

In this report, we demonstrated a novel technique to prepare genistein (GEN) MePEG-PLGA copolymer micelles. Initial stability and pharmacokinetic behavior in rats after intravenous administration were investigated. The micelles were prepared by modified self-emulsifying solvent evaporation method. The morphology, encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, particle size and Zeta potential were investigated. The release behavior was investigated by dynamic membrane dialysis technique. The micelles were stored in a refrigerator at 4 {degrees}C, and samples were taken after 1 d, 10 d, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, and the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading were examined. The GEN micelles were injected into the tail vein of healthy rats. The blood concentration of GEN in rats was determined by HPLC. The plasma concentration data was processed by DAS 2.0 software. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were statistically analyzed by SPSS 17.0 software. Results The encapsulation efficiency of the prepared micelles was (84.43+/-2.93) %, the drug loading was (2.63+/-0.91) %, and the particle size was (63.75+/-4.12) nm. The release behavior of GEN micelles was in line with the Weibull model. The 6-month leakage rate of GEN micelles was 2.45%, and the drug loading decreased by 0.18%. The main pharmacokinetic parameters AUC0-t after GEN micelles and GEN emulsion 40 mg{middle dot}kg-1 were injected into the tail vein of rats. They were (99.46+/- 4.77) mg {middle dot} L-1 {middle dot}h and (57.51+/-1.37) mg{middle dot}L-1 {middle dot}h, and t1/2 were (7.48+/-1.15)h and (4.95+/- 1.15)h, respectively, and Cmax was (16.03+/-1.20) mg{middle dot}L-1 and (16.73+/-1.10) mg{middle dot}L-1, CL are (0.36+/-0.02) L{middle dot}h-1 {middle dot}kg-1 and (0.67+/-0.02)L{middle dot}h-1 {middle dot}kg-1.
Highlighting Management Issues Affecting Outsourcing in Pakistan's Software Industry

Software Projects Outsourcing is used extensively by different organizations as a sourcing strategy today and it becomes a crucial issue in achieving specific objective. This paper studies the impact of management issues on the effectiveness of outsourcing of software projects in industries of Pakistan. Outsourcing is an imperative trend in now a day's business environment and is vital for us to well comprehend what factors influence more on outsourcing. On basis of literature review this paper recognizes main management issues that the client organization needs to possess to efficiently outsource software projects. Quantitative data from different several software fields is utilized to support the findings that what factors are more influencing during outsourcing for different industries. Different factors are identified and highlighted to catch the weaknesses which occur during successful outsourcing of software projects.
3-Methyl-1-(methylthio)-2-butene: a component in the foul-smelling defensive secretion of two Ceroglossus species (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

A sulfur-containing compound causes the foul smell of the defensive pygidial gland fluid of Ceroglossus buqueti Laporte and Ceroglossus magellanicus Gehin. This compound was identified as 3-methyl-1-(methylthio)-2-butene by a comparison of its mass spectrum, and chromatographic properties with those of a chemically synthesized standard. Although a few sulfur compounds are known from insect secretions, this sulfur-bearing isoprene derivative has not been characterized previously from any arthropod source. Additional components in the defensive section include acetic, propanoic, isobutyric, butanoic, methacrylic, ethacrylic, tiglic and benzoic acids, and 11-tricosene. Samples prepared from specimens of Ceroglossus chilensis Eschscholtz showed methacrylic, ethacrylic, and other acids. However, 3-methyl-1-(methylthio)-2-butene was not detected in the defensive fluid of C. chilensis.
Toward a Neural Model of the Openness-Psychoticism Dimension: Functional Connectivity in the Default and Frontoparietal Control Networks

Psychosis proneness has been linked to heightened Openness to Experience and to cognitive deficits. Openness and psychotic disorders are associated with the default and frontoparietal networks, and the latter network is also robustly associated with intelligence. We tested the hypothesis that functional connectivity of the default and frontoparietal networks is a neural correlate of the openness-psychoticism dimension. Participants in the Human Connectome Project (N = 1003) completed measures of psychoticism, openness, and intelligence. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify intrinsic connectivity networks. Structural equation modeling revealed relations among personality, intelligence, and network coherence. Psychoticism, openness, and especially their shared variance were related positively to default network coherence and negatively to frontoparietal coherence. These associations remained after controlling for intelligence. Intelligence was positively related to frontoparietal coherence. Research suggests that psychoticism and openness are linked in part through their association with connectivity in networks involving experiential simulation and cognitive control. We propose a model of psychosis risk that highlights roles of the default and frontoparietal networks. Findings echo research on functional connectivity in psychosis patients, suggesting shared mechanisms across the personality-psychopathology continuum.
Subaortic Stenosis With Elevated Aortic Gradients in a Pregnant Patient.

Abstract Subaortic stenosis is an obstructive lesion that may be exacerbated by pregnancy. We describe the management of a 39-year-old woman presenting at 37 weeks of pregnancy with a murmur who is...
Redshift-space streaming velocity effects on the Lyman-α forest baryon acoustic oscillation scale

The baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale acts as a standard ruler for measuring cosmological distances and has therefore emerged as a leading probe of cosmic expansion history. However, any physical effect that alters the length of the ruler can lead to a bias in our determination of distance and expansion rate. One of these physical effects is the streaming velocity, the relative velocity between baryons and dark matter in the early Universe, which couples to the BAO scale due to their common origin in acoustic waves at recombination. In this work, we investigate the impact of streaming velocity on the BAO feature of the Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest auto-power spectrum, one of the main tracers being used by the recently commissioned Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). To do this, we develop a perturbative model for Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ flux fluctuations which is complete to second order for a certain set of fields, and applicable to any redshift-space tracer of structure since it is based only on symmetry considerations. We find that there are 8 biasing coefficients through second order. We find streaming velocity-induced shifts in the BAO scale of 0.081%--0.149% (transverse direction) and 0.053%--0.058% (radial direction), depending on the model for the biasing coefficients used. These are smaller than, but not negligible compared to, the DESI Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ BAO error budget, which is 0.46% on the overall scale. The sensitivity of these results to our choice of bias parameters underscores the need for future work to measure the higher-order biasing coefficients from simulations, especially for future experiments beyond DESI.
Listening and question-asking behaviors in resident and nurse handoff conversations: a prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE To characterize interactivity during resident and nurse handoffs by investigating listening and question-asking behaviors during conversations. MATERIALS AND METHODS Resident (n = 149) and nurse (n = 126) handoffs in an inpatient medicine unit were audio-recorded. Handoffs were coded based on listening behaviors (active and passive), question types (patient status, coordination of care, clinical reasoning, and framing and alignment), and question responses. Comparisons between residents and nurses for listening and question-asking behaviors were performed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. A Poisson regression model was used to investigate differences in the question-asking behaviors between residents and nurses, and the association between listening and question-asking behaviors. RESULTS There were no significant differences between residents and nurses in their active (18% resident vs 39% nurse handoffs) or passive (88% resident vs 81% nurse handoffs) listening behaviors. Question-asking was common in resident and nurse handoffs (87% vs 98%) and focused primarily on patient status, co-ordination, and framing and alignment. Nurses asked significantly more questions than residents (Mresident = 2.06 and Mnurse = 5.52) by a factor of 1.76 (P < 0.001). Unit increase in listening behaviors was associated with an increase in the number of questions during resident and nurse handoffs by 7% and 12%, respectively. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION As suggested by the Joint Commission, question-asking behaviors were common across resident and nurse handoffs, playing a critical role in supporting resilience in communication and collaborative cross-checks during conversations. The role of listening in initiating question-asking behaviors is discussed.
Individualized bayesian risk assessment for cervical squamous neoplasia

Background: Cervical screening could potentially be improved by better stratifying individual risk for the development of cervical cancer or precancer, possibly even allowing follow-up of individual patients differently than proposed under current guidelines that focus primarily on recent screening test results. We explore the use of a Bayesian decision science model to quantitatively stratify individual risk for the development of cervical squamous neoplasia. Materials and Methods: We previously developed a dynamic multivariate Bayesian network model that uses cervical screening and histopathologic data collected over 13 years in our system to quantitatively estimate the risk of individuals for the development of cervical precancer or invasive cervical cancer. The database includes 1,126,048 liquid-based cytology test results belonging to 389,929 women. From-the-vial, high risk human papilloma virus (HPV) test results and follow-up gynecological surgical procedures were available on 33.6% and 12% of these results (378,896 and 134,727), respectively. Results: Historical data impacted 5-year cumulative risk for both histopathologic cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (CIN3) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) diagnoses. The risk was highest in patients with prior high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion cytology results. Persistent abnormal cervical screening test results, either cytologic or HPV results, were associated with variable increasing risk for squamous neoplasia. Risk also increased with prior histopathologic diagnoses of precancer, including CIN2, CIN3, and adenocarcinoma in situ. Conclusions: Bayesian modeling allows for individualized quantitative risk assessments of system patients for histopathologic diagnoses of significant cervical squamous neoplasia, including very rare outcomes such as SCC.
Searching for the stairway to heaven: information seeking about an illegal hiking trail in Hawai`i

Outdoor enthusiasts are increasingly using the Internet to discover ‘hidden gem’ activities to undertake while on vacation. Increased foot traffic in off-limit areas and an uptick in the number of ...
The immune and circulatory systems are functionally integrated across insect evolution

The immune and circulatory systems of mammals are functionally integrated, as exemplified by the immune function of the spleen and lymph nodes. Similar functional integration exists in the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, as exemplified by the infection-induced aggregation of hemocytes around the heart valves. Whether this is specific to mosquitoes or a general characteristic of insects remained unknown. We analyzed 68 species from 51 families representing 16 orders and found that infection induces the aggregation of hemocytes and pathogens on the heart of insects from all major branches of the class Insecta. An expanded analysis in the holometabolous mosquito, Aedes aegypti, and the hemimetabolous bed bug, Cimex lectularius, showed that infection induces the aggregation of phagocytic hemocytes on the hearts of distantly related insects, with aggregations mirroring the patterns of hemolymph flow. Therefore, the functional integration of the immune and circulatory systems is conserved across the insect tree of life.
Resolution of Post-Lung Transplant Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury is Mediated via Resolvin D1-Alx/FPR2 and Maresin 1-LGR6 Receptor Signaling

Purpose Dysregulation of inflammation-resolution pathways can lead to post-lung transplant (LTx) ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and allograft dysfunction. We investigated the role of ω-3-derived specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators, i.e. Resolvin D1 (RvD1) and Maresin-1 (MaR1), and the respective receptor signaling in the resolution of lung IRI. Methods RvD1 and MaR1 expressions were analyzed in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from patients undergoing LTx on post-operative days 0, 1 and 7 using mass spectrometry and ELISA. C57BL/6 mice underwent sham surgery or lung IRI (1hr left lung ischemia followed by 6hr reperfusion) using an in vivo hilar ligation model. RvD1 and/or MaR1 (100ng/kg each; given intratracheally 1hr prior to IR) was administered to mice that were previously treated with/without siRNA for FPR2 (receptor for RvD1) or LGR6 (receptor for MaR1; 10μg given i.p. each). Orthotopic left lung transplants were performed between Balb/C brain dead donors and C57Bl/6 recipients to analyze FPR2 and LGR6 receptor expressions at 6hrs and 48hrs post-transplant. Macrophage (MH-S) and epithelial (MLE12) cells were exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR; 3hr/3hr or 24hrs) followed by cytokine analysis. Groups (n=3-10) were compared using ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey's test. Results RvD1 and MaR1 levels were significantly increased in BAL of LTx patients on day 7 compared to days 0 and 1. In the hilar ligation IR model, concomitant treatment with recombinant RvD1 and MaR1 significantly attenuated lung dysfunction after 6hrs compared to either treatment or IR alone, that was abolished by pre-treatment with siRNA for FPR2 and LGR6, respectively. Lung inflammation (IL-17, TNF-α, CXCL1, HMGB1), edema (wet/dry ratio) and injury (neutrophil infiltration) were significantly attenuated in mice treated with RvD1+MaR1 compared to either treatment or IR alone. FPR2 and LGR6 expressions were increased in lung tissue after 48hrs compared to 6hrs post-LTx. RvD1 attenuated HMGB1 and TNF-α secretion in HR-exposed MH-S cells that was abolished by siRNA for FPR2, and MaR1 treatment mitigated CXCL1 secretion by HR-exposed MLE12 cells that was abolished by siRNA for LGR6. Conclusion Our results suggest that resolution of lung IRI is mediated by RvD1-FPR2 and MaR1-LGR6 signaling pathways on macrophages and epithelial cells, respectively.
Flow cytometric quantification of cholesteryl ester-containing "foam" cells. I. Analysis of aortas from normolipidemic swine.

Abstract We have quantified using flow cytometry foam cells of aortas from normolipidemic swine varying in age from 6 months to 12 years. These swine were maintained throughout their lives on a low-fat, cholesterol-free diet. Intimal-medial tissues removed from the swine aortas were enzymatically dissociated to prepare Formalin-fixed cell suspensions. Foam cells were labeled by specific staining of their intracellular cholesteryl ester using the fluorescent dye filipin. This was carried out by first removing cellular unesterified cholesterol with ethanol, then enzymatically hydrolyzing cellular cholesteryl ester, and finally staining with filipin the unesterified cholesterol derived from hydrolysis of cholesteryl ester. Results of flow cytometric analysis indicated that thoracic foam cell densities of female swine became more variable and tended to increase with age. It appeared that there were two sub-groups of female swine with either high or low levels of thoracic foam cells. A similar finding was not observed for abdominal foam cells in female swine nor for thoracic or abdominal foam cells in the smaller number of older male swine. Abdominal foam cell densities in younger males, however, also appeared to be comprised of low and high foam cell groups. Foam cell densities did not correlate with serum cholesterol or triglyceride levels. However, a genetic basis for some of the variability in foam cell densities among these animals was suggested by the observation that females with high thoracic foam cell densities had greater commonality among ancestors than did females with low thoracic foam cell densities.
The Deformation Gradient of Interfacial Defects on Twin-like Interfaces

Twinning dislocations (disconnections) are examples of a unique type of defect which migrate an interface as a result of glissile propagation. These defects produce a well-defined plastic deformation due to their motion occurring exclusively in the interface. In most cases, their deformation gradient is more complex than the simple shear of slip and twin systems. Twins and relatable asymmetric tilt boundaries have deformation gradients which are associated by rotation. For example, the \(\{ 10\bar 12\}\) twin interface and the basalprismatic interface have misorientations which differ by only four degrees and are joined on a faceted boundary by an interfacial disclination line. The deformation due to glissile disconnections on the basal—prismatic boundary may be multiplicatively decomposed into the simple shear deformation of the \(\{ 10\bar 12\}\) twin and a four degree rotation. A comprehensive understanding of the deformation on faceted and asymmetric boundaries enables more accurate analysis and modeling of twinning.
From mirror writing to mirror neurons

The article offers a personal perspective on Simulation of Animal Behavior, starting with the inspiration of Norbert Wiener's 1948 Cybernetics for the publication of Brains, Machines, and Mathematics in 1964. This led to a range of simulations of the brains and behaviors of frogs (Rana computatrix), rats, monkeys and humans. Such work is paralleled by work in biologically-inspired robots, traceable back to Grey Walter's Machina speculatrix of 1953. Recent work includes detailed modeling of hand control, mirror neurons and sequencing as part of a program to determine "What the Macaque Brain Tells the Human Mind". The Mirror System Hypothesis for the evolution of the language-ready brain suggests a path for evolution of brain mechanisms atop the mirror system for grasping, with new processes supporting simple imitation, complex imitation, gesture, pantomime and finally protosign and protospeech. It is argued that this progression suggests the "dead end of the simple model" if we are to fully explore the lessons of Simulation of Animal Behavior for computational neuroscience and biologically-inspired robotics.
Arrival angle estimation of correlated sources under unknown noise of Hermitian covariance matrix

The objective of this paper is to study a method which can estimate DOAs for a general situation, i.e., cohere pair/noncoherent source and correlated/uncorrelated unknown noise environments. The proposed method employs the difference between the FB averaging of the covariance matrix and its transformation to eliminate or reduce the noise effects. The FB averaging is to provide the effects of doubling the number of samples data and to decorrelate the coherent sources in pair
Molecular Mechanisms of HIV-1 Vertical Transmission and Pathogenesis in Infants

Publisher Summary This chapter presents data on the molecular and biological aspects of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV‐1) vertical transmission and molecular mechanisms of HIV‐1 pathogenesis in infants. Progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms of HIV‐1 vertical transmission and pathogenesis in infected infants. Several maternal factors including advanced clinical stages, low CD4+ lymphocyte counts, and high viral load, immune response, and disease progression have been implicated in an increased risk of vertical transmission. While use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy has been shown to reduce the risk of mother‐to‐infant transmission, selective transmission of ART‐resistant mutants has also been documented. HIV‐1‐infected neonates and infants develop symptomatic acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) more rapidly than infected adults, including their own infected mothers do. By using HIV‐1‐ infected mother–infant pairs as a transmitter-recipient model the minor genotype s of HIV‐1 with R5 phenotypes found in infected mothers were transmitted to their infants and initially maintained in the infants with the same properties.
Parental Care in Invertebrates

Publisher Summary Ecological and physiological analyses of invertebrate parental care need to be integrated. This chapter reviews the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that control the onset, intensity, and termination of parental care; and the use of invertebrates to address parental care theory. This approach is taken to demonstrate that mechanistic studies of invertebrate parental behavior will provide insight as well as experimental tools for ecologists, to fill gaps in the coverage of invertebrates, and to reveal the potential for the use of invertebrate models in tests of parental care theory. Broad phylogenetic comparisons have the potential to address how physiology constrains the expression of parental care. Parental care in numerous independent phylogenetic lines of insects is regulated by the same neural and endocrine structures. Individuals from selected genetic lines can be employed to examine the physiological differences between individuals with varying tendencies to express parental behavior; genetic lines also will be useful in field experiments investigating the ecological trade-offs of adopting alternative patterns of investment. The effects of development on the expression of care have been neglected as well. The ease with which the developmental environment of many immature invertebrates can be manipulated suggests that the lack of understanding is caused by neglect and not by experimental barriers.
Importance of thermal disorder on the properties of alloys : Origin of paramagnetism and structural anomalies in bcc-based Fe1-xAlx

${\mathrm{Fe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Al}}_{x}$ exhibits interesting magnetic and anomalous structural properties as a function of composition and sample processing conditions arising from thermal or off-stoichiometric chemical disorder, and, although well studied, these properties are not understood. In stoichiometric B2 FeAl, including the effects of partial long-range order, i.e., thermal antisites, we find the experimentally observed paramagnetic response with nonzero local moments, in contrast to past investigations that find either a ferromagnetic or nonmagnetic state, both inconsistent with experiment. Moreover, from this magnetochemical coupling, we are able to determine the origins of the observed lattice constant anomalies found in ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Al}}_{x}$ for $x\ensuremath{\simeq}0.25\char21{}0.5$ under various processing conditions.
A COMPARISON OF MOMENTARY TIME SAMPLING AND PARTIAL‐INTERVAL RECORDING FOR ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING

Assessment in social skills training often utilizes procedures such as partial-interval recording (PIR) and momentary time sampling (MTS) to estimate changes in duration in social engagements due to intervention. Although previous research suggests PIR to be more inaccurate than MTS in estimating levels of behavior, treatment analysis decisions have been found to be similar across procedures. To addresses limitations of previous studies that did not find substantial differences in treatment analysis decisions, PIR and MTS estimates were compared to those of continuous duration recording of social engagements to determine the effect on treatment interpretation. Five previously conducted social skills training data sets were coded using PIR, MTS, and duration recording. Treatment analysis interpretations using MTS were found to closely match those made using duration recording, but interpretations using PIR significantly overestimated the effectiveness of the intervention. Implications of findings are discussed in terms of assessment for social skills training in both research and applied settings.
Forcing Free Fields

The momentum of a free massive particle, invariant under translation, thereby realizes a trivial representation of the translation group. By allowing nontrivial reps of translations, momentum changes with translation, a recipe for force. Here the procedure is applied to the conventional construction of a free quantum field using spacetime symmetries, yielding a more general field with the free field as a special case. It is shown that a particle described by the quantum field follows the classical trajectories of a massive charged particle in electromagnetic and gravitational fields.
Strategies to choose from millions of imputed sequence variants.

Millions of sequence variants are known, but subsets are needed for routine genomic predictions or to include on genotyping arrays. Variant selection and imputation strategies were tested using 26 984 simulated reference bulls, of which 1 000 had 30 million sequence variants, 773 had 600 000 markers, 24 863 had 60 000 markers, and 348 had 12 000 markers. Edits for minor allele frequency (MAF) of >0.01, linkage disequilibrium of <0.95 and keeping all 0.5 million variants in or near genes reduced the list to 8.4 million, and those were imputed for all bulls. Strategies were compared to choose variants most significant or with largest estimated variances or effect sizes for five independent traits using single or multiple regression. Reliability of prediction averaged 28.4% from parent average, 77.8% from 60 000, 80.1% from 600 000, 85.0% from 60 000 plus the best 25 000 selected sequence variants or 87.2% using only the 10 000 imputed true quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with no weight on the markers. Genome-wide association (GWA) was faster for selecting variants, but multiple regressions were more reliable. With many genotyped animals and many data sources, computing strategies must efficiently balance costs of imputing, selecting and predicting when millions of variants are available.
COMPOSIÇÃO E ABUNDÂNCIA DA AVIFAUNA EM QUATRO FITOFISIONOMIAS DE ÁREA RURAL PERTENCENTE AO DOMÍNIO DA MATA ATLÂNTICA NO SUL DO BRASIL

We studied the avifauna composition and its abundance in a rural area of the city of Viamao, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The study area was composed of fields used for cattle breeding and for agricultural activities (20 ha), secondary forest (7 ha), eucalypt plantation (6 ha) and Pinus sp. plantation (1 ha). Quantitative and qualitative surveys (using line transects) were carried out from May 5 to November 20, 2006. Every detected bird (heard or seen) was considered in the analysis. The survey comprised a total of 80 hours. We recorded 92 species of birds in the study area. Some species were recorded only at the secondary forest, such as Crypturellus obsoletus,Piculus aurulentus, Sclerurus scansor, Dendrocolaptes platyrostris, Conopophaga lineata, Myiarchus swainsoni, Chiroxiphia caudataand Euphonia pectoralis, which indicate more selectivity in certain habitats. We emphasize the occurrences of Piculus aurulentus, an almost endangered species worldwide, and Dendrocolaptes platyrostris, which has no previous record in the region studied. The results show the importance of native forests for the maintenance of more selective bird species and indicate that new studies are necessary in the area and in adjacent forest fragments, in order to improve the knowledge about the composition and the abundance of bird species in degraded environments.
Relationships Between Physical and Non-Physical Forms of Intimate Partner Violence and Depression among Urban Minority Adolescent Females.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression among low income, urban African American and Hispanic adolescent females. METHOD: Interviews with 102 urban African American and Hispanic adolescent females examined physical abuse, emotional/verbal abuse, and threats, and their unique and combined associations with depression. RESULTS: One-quarter of the sample experienced all three types of abuse. Non-physical forms of IPV were significantly associated with depression. CONCLUSIONS: Some urban adolescent females from lower income households experience high rates of IPV. Physical and non-physical forms of IPV are important in understanding and responding to depression in this population. Language: en
Ouabain-induced Endocytosis of the Plasmalemmal Na/K-ATPase in LLC-PK1 Cells Requires Caveolin-1

Ouabain-induced endocytosis of the plasmalemmal Na/K-ATPase in LLC-PK1 cells requires caveolin-1. Background We have demonstrated that ouabain causes dose- and time-dependent decreases in 86 Rb uptake in pig renal proximal tubule cell line (LLC-PK1) cells; and ouabain induces endocytosis of plasmalemmal Na/K-ATPase in LLC-PK1 cells in a clathrin-dependent pathway. Our data also suggest a role of endocytosis in both ouabain-induced signal transduction and proximal tubule sodium handling. The present study addresses the molecular mechanisms involved in this process. Methods Studies were performed with cultured LLC-PK1 and a stable-expressed caveolin-1 knockdown LLC-PK1 cell line by SiRNA method. Results In wild-type LLC-PK1 cells, depletion of cholesterol by methyl β-cyclodextrin reduced ouabain-induced accumulation of Na/K-ATPase α-1 subunit, EGFR, Src, and MAPKs in clathrin-coated vesicles, as well as in endosomes. Depletion of cholesterol also significantly reduced the protein-protein interaction among α-1 subunit, AP2, PI-3K, and clathrin heavy chain. In LLC-PK1 cells expressing mock-vehicle and caveolin-1 siRNA, depletion of caveolin-1 abolished ouabain-induced decrease in Rb uptake and decrease in the plasmalemmal Na/K-ATPase content. Depletion of caveolin-1 also significantly reduced the ouabain-induced accumulation of Na/K-ATPase α-1 subunit, EGFR, Src, and MAPKs in clathrin-coat vesicles, as well as early and late endosomes. In addition, depletion of caveolin-1 also significantly reduced the protein-protein interaction among α-1 subunit, AP2, PI-3K, and clathrin heavy chain. These data suggest that caveolae are involved in ouabain-induced endocytosis and signal transduction by initiating assembly of signaling cascades through the caveolar Na/K-ATPase and/or the interaction with clathrin-mediated endocytosis of the Na/K-ATPase.
Localization of triplet exciton in dibenzoylmethane chelates

Abstract A series of dibenzoylmethane chelates in their excited state were studied using ESR technique. The zero field parameters | D | and | E | are roughly equal for all the compounds: ≈ 0.110 and ≈ 0.027 cm −1 respectively. It is concluded that the triplet exciton is localized in one of the dibenzoylmethane ligands.
External Validation and Comparison of Three Pediatric Clinical Dehydration Scales

Objective To prospectively validate three popular clinical dehydration scales and overall physician gestalt in children with vomiting or diarrhea relative to the criterion standard of percent weight change with rehydration. Methods We prospectively enrolled a non-consecutive cohort of children ≤ 18 years of age with an acute episode of diarrhea or vomiting. Patient weight, clinical scale variables and physician clinical impression, or gestalt, were recorded before and after fluid resuscitation in the emergency department and upon hospital discharge. The percent weight change from presentation to discharge was used to calculate the degree of dehydration, with a weight change of ≥ 5% considered significant dehydration. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were constructed for each of the three clinical scales and physician gestalt. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated based on the best cut-points of the ROC curve. Results We approached 209 patients, and of those, 148 were enrolled and 113 patients had complete data for analysis. Of these, 10.6% had significant dehydration based on our criterion standard. The Clinical Dehydration Scale (CDS) and Gorelick scales both had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) statistically different from the reference line with AUCs of 0.72 (95% CI 0.60, 0.84) and 0.71 (95% CI 0.57, 0.85) respectively. The World Health Organization (WHO) scale and physician gestalt had AUCs of 0.61 (95% CI 0.45, 0.77) and 0.61 (0.44, 0.78) respectively, which were not statistically significant. Conclusion The Gorelick scale and Clinical Dehydration Scale were fair predictors of dehydration in children with diarrhea or vomiting. The World Health Organization scale and physician gestalt were not helpful predictors of dehydration in our cohort.
Foliar Fatty Acids and Sterols of Soybean Field Fumigated with SO2

Sixty-day-old soybean plants were exposed in the field to 78.7 parts per one-hundred million of SO(2) in an open-air fumigation system for 20 days. Leaves from the top one-fourth and bottom one-fourth of the plants were analyzed for chlorophyll, free fatty acids, fatty acid esters, polar lipid fatty acids, and sterols. Fumigated plants had a lower chlorophyll, free fatty acid, and polar lipid content, but a higher fatty acid ester content. Of the individual fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acid increased with SO(2) fumigation while palmitic acid decreased. SO(2) fumigations had only a minor effect on leaf sterols. In general, the lower, more mature leaves showed a greater response to SO(2) exposure.
Entrainment of Circadian Rhythm by Ambient Temperature Cycles in Mice

Much is known about how environmental light-dark cycles synchronize circadian rhythms in animals. The ability of environmental cycles of ambient temperature to synchronize circadian rhythms has also been investigated extensively but mostly in ectotherms. In the present study, the synchronization of the circadian rhythm of running-wheel activity by environmental cycles of ambient temperature was studied in laboratory mice. Although all mice were successfully entrained by a light-dark cycle, only 60% to 80% of the mice were entrained by temperature cycles (24-32 degrees C or 24-12 degrees C), and attainment of stable entrainment seemed to take longer under temperature cycles than under a light-dark cycle. This suggests that ambient temperature cycles are weaker zeitgebers than light-dark cycles, which is consistent with the results of the few previous studies using mammalian species. Whereas 80% of the mice were entrained by 24-h temperature cycles, only 60% were entrained by 23-h cycles, and none was entrained by 25-h cycles. The results did not clarify whether entrainment by temperature cycles is caused directly by temperature or indirectly through a temperature effect on locomotor activity, but it is clear that the rhythm of running-wheel activity in mice can be entrained by ambient temperature cycles in the nonnoxious range.
Polygon Signature And Motor Hunt Correction

Scan velocity variation in a flying spot laser scanner is a major contributor to pixel placement errors. Two sources of scan velocity variation are Motor Hunt and Polygon Signature. Since the incremental change in frequency needed to correct scan velocity variation may be very small, a highly accurate method is required to both measure the facet-dependent velocity differences and correct them.' An all-digital system which has the required high accuracy has been successfully demonstrated for the correction of these effects. The system employs a crystal time base and adjusts the frequency of a bit clock by fractional control of its phase. The accuracy of the measurements of the polygon characteristics is augmented by averaging many measurements.© (1984) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The simulation model for child care programs: Expanding staff-child-parent development

Simulation, a technique familiar to business and higher education, is presented in the context of training in early childhood education. Simulation refers to the creation of an environment which represents situations and personnel roles in actual work experience. Participants adopt roles of persons in the early childhood decision making process. Procedures for development of the simulation situation, creation of “in-box” materials, training, roles of facilitators and recorders, formats, and evaluation are described. Environmental and procedural cues for a successful simulation are summarized.
Guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins; mediators of transmembrane signaling

Abstract Binding of a hormone or neurotransmitter to its cell-surface receptor ultimately modulates the activity of one or more membrane-associated intracellular effectors. Members of a family of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) serve as transducers of receptor-generated signals in several such pathways . Michael Graziano and Alfred Gilman review the functions of both G proteins and the effectors that they regulate. Appreciation of an increasing number of these proteins suggests that they coordinate the cell's response to a wide variety of functionally diverse signals .
Csf polyamines: A new and important means of monitoring patients with medulloblastoma

An earlier study that showed the importance of cerebrospinal fluid polyamine levels for monitoring patients harboring medulloblastomas was expanded to 210 determinations evaluated in 32 patients. The results and conclusions of our earlier study have been confirmed in this expanded patient group. Patient status, with regard to either progression or regression of tumor, was determined by correlating polyamine levels with neurologic examination, computerized tomography, radionuclide scan, cerebrospinal fluid cytology, and myelography. The polyamine assay was predictive of recurrence in 15 patients; three false negatives and no false positives were found. We feel that cerebrospinal fluid polyamine determinations should be a routine diagnostic procedure in the long-term monitoring of patients harboring medulloblastoma.
PCR amplification of SNP loci from crude DNA for large-scale genotyping of oomycetes

Similar to other eukaryotes, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers are abundant in many oomycete plant pathogen genomes. High resolution DNA melting analysis (HR-DMA) is a cost-effective met...
Crisis and policymaking in Latin America: The case of Chile’s 1998–99 electricity crisis

Summary This article studies the effect of sectoral crises on policy reform by emphasizing the conflictive incentives generated by public demands for a solution. On the one hand, the crisis provides the opportunity for bypassing veto points for technical innovation. On the other hand, if simultaneous with increasing electoral competition, it reduces the time horizons of policymakers and their propensity to adopt reforms of uncertain effects for them. Our research traces these on the Chilean 1998–99 electricity crisis, and assesses their impact on policy change through a comparative analysis of reform contents. This article shows how electoral effects prevailed in the context of upcoming competitive elections, suggesting the importance of introducing electoral competition in the study of crises effects on policymaking in the region. Our research strategy for tracing incentives and opportunities generated by crises can travel to other cases to further our understanding of crises’ effects on policymaking.
The history of public participation in ecological research

Members of the public have for centuries recorded their observations of the natural world, including plant and animal distribution and phenology, water quality, weather data, and astronomical phenomena. Given the relatively recent growth of ecological research as a professional field of study, the historical contributions of amateurs to ecology can be easily overlooked. To better understand long-term changes in ecosystems, researchers are now revisiting many of these historical datasets collected by non-professionals. Over the past 100 years, scientific organizations have increasingly included volunteers in large-scale monitoring projects to broaden the geographical extent and sample size of observations. We believe that a renewed interest in citizen science, enriched with the perspective and data provided by the long tradition of public participation in science, will broaden the engagement of the public in ecological research and lead to new scientific insights.
Failure of Cimetidine Prophylaxis in the Critically Ill

• Stress ulcers with subsequent hemorrhage are a well-recognized cause of morbidity and mortality in patients hospitalized for other serious illnesses. In 39 critically ill patients, cimetidine was used as a prophylaxis against stress ulcers with the intent to keep the gastric pH level above 4. In 11 of the 39 patients, cimetidine alone did not effect consistent elevation of the gastric pH level above 4. Of the 11 patients, nine had positive blood cultures or clinical infection and five also developed renal failure. Five comatose patients never had pH greater than 4 on cimetidine alone. The mortality for those whose conditions failed to respond to cimetidine was five times greater than for those whose conditions responded to cimetidine. These data imply that a high-risk group of patients can be identified whose conditions may not respond to cimetidine treatment and whose gastric pH must be regularly monitored. (Arch Surg114:492-496, 1979)
Arteriovenous hemangioma of the palate.

Arteriovenous hemangioma is an acquired vascular lesion usually occurring on the extremities and in the perioral skin, including the lips. The largest series of cases have been reported by Girard et al’ and Connelly and Winkelman.2 Koutlas and Jessurun3 have reported two intraoral cases. The arteriovenous hemangioma appears clinically as a small, red-blue, painless papule. Microscopically it consists of various sized vascular structures resembling veins and arteries that are separated by a poorly cellular fibrous stroma. It occurs predominantly in middle age, and there is no sex predilection. Treatment is by simple excision. Despite the presence of arteriovenous shunts in some lesions, bleeding during excision is not a problem. In many of the reported cases, there are increased numbers of mast cells in the stroma. Arteriovenous hemangiomas are thought to arise by proliferation of the subpapillary vascular plexus, possibly as a reaction to trauma or irritation.3 An alternative theory suggests a hamartomatous proliferation of the Sucquet-Hoyer glomus canal.4 The purpose of this article is to report an additional oral case.
A Study of Fuel Efficiency and Emission Policy Impact on Optimal Vehicle Design Decisions

Recent environmental legislation, such as the European Union Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles and the Japanese Home Electric Appliances Recycling law, has had a major influence on product design from both an engineering and an economic perspective. This article presents a methodology for studying the effects of automobile fuel efficiency and emission policies on the long-term design decisions of profit-seeking automobile producers competing in an oligopoly market. Mathematical models of engineering performance, consumer demand, and manufacturing costs are developed for a specific market segment, and game theory is utilized to simulate competition among firms to predict design choices of producers at market equilibrium. Several policy scenarios are evaluated for the small car market, including corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions taxes, and diesel technology quotas. The results indicate that leveraging CO 2 taxes on producers for expected life cycle emissions yields diminishing returns on fuel efficiency improvement per regulatory dollar as the taxes increase, while CAFE standards achieve higher average fuel efficiency per regulatory dollar. Results also indicate that increasing penalties for violation of CAFE standards can result in lower cost to producers and consumers because of the effects of competition, and penalties based on fuel economy or emissions alone may not be sufficient incentive for producers to bring more costly alternative fuel vehicles into the market. The ability to compare regulations and achieve realistic trends suggests that including engineering design and performance considerations in policy analysis can yield useful predictive insight into the impact of government regulations on industry, consumers, and the environment.
Comparative characterization of SPEC CPU2000 and CPU2006 on Itanium® architecture

Recently SPEC1 released the next generation of its CPU benchmark, widely used by compiler writers and architects for measuring processor performance. This calls for characterization of the applications in SPEC CPU2006 to guide the design of future microprocessors. In addition, it necessitates assessing the change in the characteristics of the applications from one suite to another. Although similar studies using the retired SPEC CPU benchmark suites have been done in the past, to the best of our knowledge, a thorough characterization of CPU2006 and its comparison with CPU2000 has not been done so far. In this paper, we present the above; specifically, we analyze IPC (instructions per cycle), L1, L2 data cache misses and branch prediction, especially in CPU2006.
The solvation structures of cellulose microfibrils in ionic liquids.

The use of ionic liquids for non-derivatized cellulose dissolution promises an alternative method for the thermochemical pretreatment of biomass that may be more efficient and environmentally acceptable than more conventional techniques in aqueous solution. Here, we performed equilibrium MD simulations of a cellulose microfibril in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl) and compared the solute structure and the solute-solvent interactions at the interface with those from corresponding simulations in water. The results indicate a higher occurrence of solvent-exposed orientations of cellulose surface hydroxymethyl groups in BmimCl than in water. Moreover, spatial and radial distribution functions indicate that hydrophilic surfaces are a preferred site of interaction between cellulose and the ionic liquid. In particular, hydroxymethyl groups on the hydrophilic fiber surface adopt a different conformation from their counterparts oriented towards the fiber’s core. Furthermore, the glucose units with these solvent-oriented hydroxymethyls are surrounded by the heterocyclic organic cation in a preferred parallel orientation, suggesting a direct and distinct interaction scheme between cellulose and BmimCl.