cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Equine Arteritis Virus Has Specific Tropism for Stromal Cells and CD8 + T and CD21 + B Lymphocytes but Not for Glandular Epithelium at the Primary Site of Persistent Infection in the Stallion Reproductive Tract.

ABSTRACT Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has a global impact on the equine industry as the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory, systemic, and reproductive disease of equids. A distinctive feature of EAV infection is that it establishes long-term persistent infection in 10 to 70% of infected stallions (carriers). In these stallions, EAV is detectable only in the reproductive tract, and viral persistence occurs despite the presence of high serum neutralizing antibody titers. Carrier stallions constitute the natural reservoir of the virus as they continuously shed EAV in their semen. Although the accessory sex glands have been implicated as the primary sites of EAV persistence, the viral host cell tropism and whether viral replication in carrier stallions occurs in the presence or absence of host inflammatory responses remain unknown. In this study, dual immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence techniques were employed to unequivocally demonstrate that the ampulla is the main EAV tissue reservoir rather than immunologically privileged tissues (i.e., testes). Furthermore, we demonstrate that EAV has specific tropism for stromal cells (fibrocytes and possibly tissue macrophages) and CD8 + T and CD21 + B lymphocytes but not glandular epithelium. Persistent EAV infection is associated with moderate, multifocal lymphoplasmacytic ampullitis comprising clusters of B (CD21 + ) lymphocytes and significant infiltration of T (CD3 + , CD4 + , CD8 + , and CD25 + ) lymphocytes, tissue macrophages, and dendritic cells (Iba-1 + and CD83 + ), with a small number of tissue macrophages expressing CD163 and CD204 scavenger receptors. This study suggests that EAV employs complex immune evasion mechanisms that warrant further investigation. IMPORTANCE The major challenge for the worldwide control of EAV is that this virus has the distinctive ability to establish persistent infection in the stallion9s reproductive tract as a mechanism to ensure its maintenance in equid populations. Therefore, the precise identification of tissue and cellular tropism of EAV is critical for understanding the molecular basis of viral persistence and for development of improved prophylactic or treatment strategies. This study significantly enhances our understanding of the EAV carrier state in stallions by unequivocally identifying the ampullae as the primary sites of viral persistence, combined with the fact that persistence involves continuous viral replication in fibrocytes (possibly including tissue macrophages) and T and B lymphocytes in the presence of detectable inflammatory responses, suggesting the involvement of complex viral mechanisms of immune evasion. Therefore, EAV persistence provides a powerful new natural animal model to study RNA virus persistence in the male reproductive tract.
Extrusion of fused silica cladding tubes

The first step in producing optical waveguides by the MCVD process1 is making highly concentric fused silica tubes with minimal variation along their entire length. These are among the tube properties required to make them compatible with subsequent process steps and end-product requirements. Drawing processes are presently used to fabricate these tubes where their final shape is formed in free space under the guidance of the drawing parameters. Extrusion methods make use of an orifice to control the final shape of the issuing extrudate. It is this inherent process property that was the impetus to explore the extrusion of fused silica tubing. This paper describes a gas-head extrusion method for fabrication of pure fused silica tubes.
A study assessing the post operative outcome in patients of acoustic schwannoma operated through retrosigmoid approach at tertiary care institutions- An experience of one year

Background: The most common tumors of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) is Acoustic schwannoma (80–90%). Cerebellopontine Angle tumors may be asymptomatic or may present with symptoms which could be due to tumor mass or due to raised intracranial pressure (ICP). The Suboccipital retrosigmoid approach has become an increasingly popular method of excising CPA tumors. Aims and Objectives: To assess the post operative outcome and incidence of post operative complications in patients operated for CPA tumor through retrosigmoid approach. Materials and Methods: The present “Prospective study” was carried out in 10 patients admitted to the Department Of Neurosurgery, NRSMCH, Kolkata with a clinicoradiological diagnosis of CPA tumor and were operated between Feruary 2016 to March 2017. Results: The maximum number of cases i.e 38.46%(n=5) were of 31 to 40 years of age. The male to female ratio was 0.3:1.The most common symptom were ipsilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and tinnitus, headache associated with papilloedema. The gross total resection was done in 84.61% cases & subtotal done in 15.38% cases.CSF leakage was present in 23.07 % cases. Facial Nerve function of grade 1 was present in 53.84%. Out of all cases Grade 2 and grade 5 function was present in 1 patient. Grade 3& Grade 4 dysfunction were present in 2 patients. Transient lower cranial nerve paresis was present in 46.15%.One patient expired in postoperatively. Conclusion: Ventriculo-peritoneal shunting followed by excision of tumor by retrosigmoid approach can bring good neurological outcome in patients with CPA tumors. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.8(4) 2017 44-49
A scalable and reconfigurable battery system

This paper proposes a new scalable and reconfigurable battery pack (SRBP), which consists of reconfigurable battery modules (RBMs) and a buffer inductor. Two SRBPs are then connected in series to form a single phase of a multiphase scalable and reconfigurable battery system (SRBS). The SRBS has a flexible interface with external systems with an adjustable DC or a multilevel AC voltage output and is capable of bidirectional DC-AC and DC-DC operations. High reliability and fault-tolerance capability are achieved due to the reconfigurable feature. The state of charge (SOC) equalization among battery cells/modules can be easily achieved by dynamically configuring the connections of battery cells/modules. A three-phase SRBS prototype is simulated and built using the proposed design. Simulation and experimental results on the prototype are provided to validate the proposed SRBS.
MEDELLÍN: FERTILE SEEDS OF PASTORAL CONVERSION IN THE UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT: This article explores the way in which the event of Medellin as well as the document have played a significant part in the unfolding of pastoral and social ministries with and for Hispanic/Latinos in the United States over the past fifty years. The reception in the United States of Medellin in the wider context of the follow-up to the Second Vatican Council has been wide and deep in terms of several developments outlined here. Faith-based social ministries in Hispanic/Latino communities in the form of grass root community organizations in the tradition of Saul Alinsky found inspiration in Medellin’s option for the poor and pastoral de conjunto. Many other examples of Medellin’s impact are placed in the wider historical context of the past fifty years, the half century in which Hispanics/Latinos emerged as the majority of U.S. Catholics under the age of 35. RESUMO: Este artigo investiga a forma pela qual tanto o evento como o documento de Medellin tiveram papel significativo na evolucao dos ministerios pastorais e sociais da populacao de origem latino-americana dos Estados Unidos nos ultimos cinquenta anos. A recepcao de Medellin nos Estados Unidos, dentro do contexto mais amplo que se seguiu ao Concilio Vaticano II, foi ampla e profunda, e e aqui delineada em seus muitos desdobramentos. Naquelas comunidades de origem latino-americana, na forma de organizacoes comunitarias de base conforme a tra­dicao de Saul Alinsky, os ministerios sociais de cunho confessional foram influen­ciados pela opcao pelos pobres e pela pastoral de conjunto lancadas por Medellin. Varios outros exemplos do impacto causado por Medellin sao aqui situados no seu contexto historico mais amplo da ultima metade de seculo, periodo no qual a populacao de origem latino-americana despontou como majoritaria entre todos os catolicos norte-americanos na faixa etaria ate 35 anos.
A Neurological Perspective

Socioeconomic and environmental causes of criminal violence are so many, and the role of mental disorders so obvious, that they have been allowed to obscure the contribution of organic brain defects. This should no longer be acceptable in the courts or elsewhere. There is abundant evidence, collected over a century of research, that damage to specific structures in the brain can lead to recurrent attacks of destructive aggression in formerly equable individuals, that this and other disinhibited behaviors can also be associated with covert neurodevelopmental defects incurred before or after birth, and that the liability to violence in such individuals is usually increased by childhood exposure to social adversity, emotional deprivation, and physical or mental abuse, and is reinforced by criminal example.
Streamlined expressed protein ligation using split inteins.

Chemically modified proteins are invaluable tools for studying the molecular details of biological processes, and they also hold great potential as new therapeutic agents. Several methods have been developed for the site-specific modification of proteins, one of the most widely used being expressed protein ligation (EPL) in which a recombinant α-thioester is ligated to an N-terminal Cys-containing peptide. Despite the widespread use of EPL, the generation and isolation of the required recombinant protein α-thioesters remain challenging. We describe here a new method for the preparation and purification of recombinant protein α-thioesters using engineered versions of naturally split DnaE inteins. This family of autoprocessing enzymes is closely related to the inteins currently used for protein α-thioester generation, but they feature faster kinetics and are split into two inactive polypeptides that need to associate to become active. Taking advantage of the strong affinity between the two split intein frag...
Talin and Signaling Through Integrins

Integrin adhesion receptors are essential for the development and functioning of multicellular animals. Integrins mediate cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and to counter-receptors on adjacent cells, and the ability of integrins to bind extracellular ligands is regulated in response to intracellular signals that act on the short cytoplasmic tails of integrin subunits. Integrin activation, the rapid conversion of integrin receptors from low to high affinity, requires binding of talin to integrin β tails and, once bound, talin provides a connection from activated integrins to the actin cytoskeleton. A wide range of experimental approaches have contributed to the current understanding of the importance of talin in integrin signaling. Here, we describe two methods that have been central to our investigations of talin; a biochemical assay that has allowed characterization of interactions between integrin cytoplasmic tails and talin, and a fluorescent-activated cell-sorting procedure to assess integrin activation in cultured cells expressing talin domains, mutants, dominant negative constructs, or shRNA.
A schedule of gross motor development for children with Down syndrome.

Background Gross motor milestones for children who develop typically have been well established; however, norms for children with Down syndrome (DS) are uncertain. Without a developmental schedule for the gross motor development of children with DS, medical professionals are limited in their ability to identify if the development of a particular child with DS is delayed in comparison with his or her peers (i.e. other children with DS), assess when intervention is needed and answer the questions of parents regarding when their child can be expected to achieve developmental milestones. The objectives of this study are to: (1) provide health care professionals and early intervention providers with longitudinal data on the gross motor development of children with DS gathered prospectively; (2) contribute to the development of a definitive schedule of gross motor development for children with DS; (3) enable the identification of gross motor development that is delayed in comparison with other children with DS; and (4) help medical professionals address the questions of concerned parents who are anxious to know when their child will achieve gross motor skills such as sitting, crawling or walking. Methods Longitudinal data on 44 defined gross motor skills were collected on a large cohort of children with DS (n = 509) who received care at two referral centres that specialise in DS. Mastery was awarded when skills were observed directly by the physical therapist. Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed from a prospective patient clinic database and analysed. Results Specific age of mastery of gross motor skills was assessed. The mean, standard deviation and median age in months of gross motor skill achievement for children with DS, along with the 5th, 25th, 75th and 95th percentiles, are provided for birth to walking skills and post walking skills. No statistically significant gender-by-age group difference was observed in the 44 skills. Conclusions This study provides a schedule of gross motor development for children with DS derived from data collected prospectively from a large population. The gross motor development of the child with DS can be assessed based on his or her performance relative to other children with DS enabling early identification of advanced, age appropriate or delayed development, allowing for appropriate referrals for targeted intervention.
Detection of the False Data Injection Attack in Home Area Networks using ANN

The combination of high penetration of distributed energy resources with fusion of unprotected data from several sources such as digital sensors (e.g., synchrophasors, smart meters, digital relays etc.) and controllers of systems of systems (SoS) that are connected via internet networks invites more vulnerability and thus become possible vectors for potential security risks. These cyber-risks could compromise the confidentiality (C), integrity (I), and availability (A) of the system, and eventually can lead to physical tampering of devices and its systems resulting in severe economic loss. In this paper, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based approach is proposed to detect the false data injection attack in the Home Area Networks. An early and accurate detection of false injected measurements are essential to undertake appropriate countermeasures to avert potential risks. The implemented ANN model is trained and tested extensively on a data set containing energy profile of 200 U.S. households that models FDI attack using two attack scenarios (e.g., on-peak and off-peak hours) with Sigmoid and Trapezoidal representations, and three activation functions. Then, ANN model is compared against other machine learning methods for evaluation. Several performance metrics such as accuracy (a) and probability of detection (Pd) are used. The preliminary results of ANN show promising results with Pd values reaching 99.4% on over support vector machine (Pd =80.5%) and random forest (Pd =88.2%) methods. Thus, deploying such detection algorithms at home area network levels will help identify and reduce these false data injection attacks.
Hormones and behavior and the integration of brain-body science.

Abstract The investigation of hormones, brain function and behavior over the past 50 years has played a major role in elucidating how the brain and body communicate reciprocally via hormones and other mediators and how this impacts brain and body health both positively and negatively. This is illustrated here for the hippocampus, a uniquely sensitive and vulnerable brain region, study of which as a hormone target has provided a gateway into the rest of the brain. Hormone actions on the brain and hormones generated within the brain are now recognized to include not only steroid hormones but also metabolic hormones and chemical signals from bone and muscle. Moreover, steroid hormones, and some metabolic hormones, and their receptors, are generated by the brain for specific functions that synergize with effects of those circulating hormones. Hormone actions in hippocampus have revealed its capacity, and that of other brain regions, for adaptive plasticity, loss of which needs external intervention in, for example, mood disorders. Early life experiences as well as in utero and transgenerational effects are now appreciated for their lasting effects at the level of gene expression affecting the capacity for adaptive plasticity. Moreover sex differences are recognized as affecting the whole brain via both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. The demonstrated plasticity of a healthy brain gives hope that interventions throughout the life course can ameliorate negative effects by reactivating that plasticity and the underlying epigenetic activity to produce compensatory changes in the brain with more positive consequences for the body.
Applying the BRUE Guidelines to Reality: A Retrospective Review of Patients with Apparent Life-Threatening Events

PURPOSE: Apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) is a common reason for infants to present to the hospital, but its evaluation and management has not been standardized until recent guidelines were published to redefine and rename this diagnostic entity as “brief resolved unexplained events” (BRUE). These guidelines stratify patients based on risk and provide management recommendations of low-risk patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of patients with ALTE using the BRUE guidelines to determine 1) which patients meet BRUE …
The effect of deed taxes on real estate prices in China

With rapidly accelerating real estate prices in China, the government has used changes in deed tax rates to affect demand. Tax rates have been increased for buyers of large or multiple homes to discourage speculative demand. We analyze the effects of deed tax rates on real estate prices over the period 2004–2013, estimating traditional dynamic models and dynamic spatial models. Results indicate that deed tax rate increases have a negative effect on pre-tax prices for both residential units and land use rights. Spatial spillover effects are also found in the residential market, with larger effects in the long term.
Emotional Processing of Imaginal Exposures Predicts Symptom Improvement: Therapist Ratings Can Assess Trajectory in Prolonged Exposure for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Research on mechanisms of change in prolonged exposure therapy (PE), an evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is ongoing. Two putative mechanisms of change are engagement during imaginal exposure and trauma-related belief change. The PE Therapist Questionnaire (PETQ), a novel measure based on the emotional processing theory underlying PE, was developed as a practical tool for therapists to use to assess (a) patient engagement during imaginal exposures and (b) perspective shifts during postimaginal processing. Patients (N = 151) at a U.S. Veterans Affairs medical center PTSD specialty clinic completed self-report measures of PTSD and depression symptoms prior to sessions. Study therapists (n = 17) completed the PETQ postsession. Rational construction and psychometric analyses suggested a two-component solution for the PETQ: imaginal and processing. The imaginal factor did not relate to PTSD and depression symptoms. The processing factor correlated with current and next-session PTSD and depression symptoms, with medium effect sizes, rs = -.41 to -.45, ps < .001. Controlling for current-session PTSD and depression, a higher level of processing predicted lower next-session PTSD severity, with a small effect size, β = -.38, p < .04. Postexposure emotional processing, which supports positive changes in maladaptive trauma-related beliefs and tolerance of emotional distress, predicted future symptom improvement, highlighting the importance of processing components in PE. Further, the use of therapist observations may offer ancillary methods less influenced by correlation of within-patient subjective ratings and concomitant risk of construct overlap in mechanisms research.
EMBOLIC STEMI IN CANDIDEMIA

ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) due to septic coronary embolism is a rare complication of fungemia that is associated with high morbidity and mortality compared to atherosclerotic STEMI. A 32-year-old female with a bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement secondary to aortic valve
Use of Electronic Health Records by Older Adults, 85 Years and Older, and Their Caregivers.

BACKGROUND Healthcare providers may not offer patient portal (PP) access to electronic health records (EHRs) to their patients older than 85 years, due to the false impression that they do not utilize technology. It is imperative that older adults be given equal opportunity to use technology in regard to their healthcare. OBJECTIVE To characterize the content and frequency of use of PP messaging tethered to EHRs by older adults, aged 85 years and older, and their caregivers. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS User-initiated communications from electronic PPs (MyChart) tethered to an EHR (Epic) for patients who were 85 years and older, receiving care at outpatient internal medicine and geriatric clinics at an academic health center from July 1, 2016, to December 31, 2016, were reviewed retrospectively and analyzed with mixed methods. RESULTS A total of 1254 user-initiated messages, sent by 62 patients aged 85 years and older (mean age = 87.9 years; n = 576 messages; mean = 9.9 messages per person) and 82 caregivers (n = 678 messages; mean = 7.8 messages per person), were analyzed. Qualitative analysis revealed 12 main themes: clinical issues, medication/vaccine questions, medication refills, laboratory orders/results, therapy/durable medical equipment, care coordination, care transitions, scheduling, appreciation/thank you, administrative/billing, telephone requests, and death notification. Caregivers significantly initiated messages more for care transitions (P < .001). Patients significantly initiated messages more for scheduling (P = .04) and medication refills (P = .04). Patients who had heart failure, coronary artery disease, or Alzheimer's disease were significantly more likely to have caregivers using the PP as their proxy (30.7% vs 21.6%; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS Adults, aged 85 years and older, and their caregivers utilize PPs tethered to EHRs. Healthcare providers should ensure inclusivity and offer access to EHRs to older adult populations, especially those aged 85 years and older. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1078-1082, 2020.
Principal Elements of Nature of Science: Informing Science Teaching while Dispelling the Myths

This chapter is founded on the notion that there is a consensus view of NOS and so offers a rich discussion of a shared set of NOS elements to guide the development of NOS learning standards and classroom assessment and ultimately inform science curriculum development. We begin with some assertions about NOS learning and then offer nine key NOS elements (evidence, law theory distinction, shared methods, creativity, subjectivity, society and science interaction, science and engineering distinction, tentativeness, and the limits of science) clustered in three domains (tools and processes of science, human elements of science, and the domain of science and its limitations). A robust description of each of these key NOS aspects is provided along with common misconceptions about that element of NOS. These descriptions are introductions and/or reviews for educators but cannot substitute for the more complete understanding that would come from a deeper study of these sophisticated notions.
Do FinTech Lenders Fairly Allocate Loans Among Investors? Quid Pro Quo and Regulatory Scrutiny in Marketplace Lending

Marketplace lending platforms select which investors will have the opportunity to fund loans. Platforms claim to fairly allocate loans between retail and institutional investors, but we provide evidence that contradicts this claim. Because of heavy regulatory intervention, platforms favor retail investors with lower defaulting loans, even after conditioning on observable information like credit scores and interest rates. Institutional investors appear to sway the platform; when the value of marginal loan volume from institutional investors is high, institutional investors are preferentially allocated lower defaulting loans. As platforms become constrained in their ability to produce similar quality borrowers, the value of marginal loan volume falls, and with it, the favorable allocation to institutional investors. The evidence suggests strategic platform behavior to maximize origination volume but also suggests a lasting effect of regulatory intervention in emerging capital market technologies.
A Study in Complexity: Unintended Consequences of Multiple Stakeholders in the U.S. Presidential Election Process

In 2023, 3 years after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, a select group of senior intelligence analysts from the National Security Agency (NSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Of...
Prototyping an SDN Control Framework for QoS Guarantees

The centralized control capability of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) gives us an excellent opportunity to enhance the Quality of Service (QoS) routing. The end-to-end QoS-aware traffic forwarding must consider the computation latency associated with optimal path selection while reducing the controller’s response time. In this paper, we propose a new SDN controller framework that consists of a queueing mechanism, active link delay measurements, efficient statistic estimate of network states, and intelligent path computation and selection. We implement our framework as a modular application in a Floodlight SDN controller software and conduct comprehensive experimental studies on the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) testbed. Our performance evaluation based on experimental results demonstrates that the proposed framework can significantly reduce the latency in both the control plane and data plane, and find optimal paths with the minimum end-to-end delay.
Radiographic detection of lateral plateau involvement in medial tibial plateau fractures (AO/OTA 41-B1.2, 1.3, 3.2 and 3.3)

To assess the accuracy of radiographs in detecting the lateral plateau involvement of medial tibial plateau fractures as well as describe the impact of CT on preoperative planning for this specific fracture morphology. Radiograph and CT imaging of patients with a Schatzker type IV tibial plateau fractures (AO/OTA 41-B1.2, B1.3 h, B2.2. B3.2, and B3.3) between January 2013 and July 2017 were reviewed by three trauma fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons to identify fractures of the medial condyle with an intact anterolateral articular surface. Lateral plateau involvement was identified in 16 (37%) radiographs and 26 (61%) CT images (p = 0.051). Radiographic detection of lateral plateau involvement demonstrated a sensitivity of 62% and specificity of 100%, and radiographs were able to predict the recommendation for surgical intervention for lateral plateau involvement with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 75% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 60% compared to recommendations based on CT imaging. Radiographs predicted a need for a separate surgical approach with PPV of 63% and NPV of 70% when compared to recommendations based on CT images. Radiographs are reliable in ruling in lateral plateau involvement of medial plateau fractures, but occult lateral articular extension may only be identified in CT imaging for some cases. Surgical planning may be impacted by CT imaging for this fracture morphology, but further study is warranted to evaluate the correlation between preoperative planning and clinical outcomes. III.
OPTIMIZATION OF FECAL FLOTATIONS IN MARINE PARASITOLOGY AND DETERMINATION OF THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF HELMINTH EGGS IN PINNIPEDS.

Recent studies have sought to optimize the fecal flotation procedure to improve the detection of helminth eggs in terrestrial domestic species. It is unclear, however, whether these efforts in optimization are applicable to parasite species of marine environments, and verification of veterinary diagnostic procedures is clinically important. It was hypothesized that the eggs belonging to the parasites of pinnipeds would have different specific gravities (SpG) than those belonging to terrestrial hosts. Fecal samples were collected from each of 25 stranded pinnipeds representing three species (Zalophus californianus, Phoca vitulina, Mirounga angustirostris), and modified double centrifugal flotations were performed on 1-g samples. Among the 22 California sea lions sampled, trematode, ascarid, and cestode eggs were detected in 17/22 (77%), 10/22 (45%), and 4/22 (18%) individuals, respectively. Sugar-gradient modified centrifugation flotations were then conducted on a subset of 10 samples from California sea lions to evaluate the distribution of eggs in fractions representing varying SpG. Higher numbers of ascarid eggs were found in fractions representing a lower SpG (1.00–1.15), whereas trematode eggs belonging to the genus Zalophotrema were found in significantly higher numbers in the fraction representing 1.25 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the SpG of trematode, ascarid, and cestode eggs from pinnipeds appears to be similar to those from terrestrial hosts, but numerous factors may affect their ability to be detected using traditional diagnostic approaches. Further exploration into the nature of the variability noted may lead to improved diagnostics in marine parasitology.
Modulation of cutaneous responses in the cuneate nucleus of macaques during active movement

To achieve stable and precise movement execution, the sensorimotor system integrates exafferent sensory signals originating from interactions with the external world and reafferent signals caused by our own movements. This barrage of sensory information is regulated such that behaviorally relevant signals are boosted at the expense of irrelevant ones. For example, sensitivity to touch is reduced during movement - when cutaneous signals caused by skin stretch are expected and uninteresting - a phenomenon reflected in a decreased cutaneous responsiveness in thalamus and cortex. Some evidence suggests that movement gating of touch may originate from the cuneate nucleus (CN), the first recipient of signals from tactile nerve fibers along the dorsal columns medial lemniscal pathway. To test this possibility, we intermittently delivered mechanical pulses to the receptive fields (RFs) of identified cutaneous CN neurons as monkeys performed a reach-to-grasp task. As predicted, we found that the cutaneous responses of individual CN neurons were reduced during movement. However, this movement gating of cutaneous signals was observed for CN neurons with RFs on the arm but not those with RFs on the hand. We conclude that sensory gating occurs in the first processing stage along the somatosensory neuraxis and sculpts incoming signals according to their task relevance.
ISSOL Meeting, Barcelona, Spain, 1993

Topics in a conference on the origins of life and the evolution of the biosphere include the origin of chirality, prebiotic chemistry of small biomolecules, primitive polymer formation, RNA regulation and control. Early origins of life and the ecology of hydrothermal systems such as ocean floor vents and their simple organisms are examined. The process of mineral catalysis in Montmorillonite as a model for early metabolism is used. The origin of the genetic code and the development of branching in molecular structures of amino acids is described. Studies are reported of the effects of meteorite impact on early Earth life.
Purification and properties of pregnancy-inducible rabbit lung cytochrome P-450 prostaglandin ω-hydroxylase

Publisher Summary The chapter describes procedures for the purification of the pregnancy-inducible rabbit lung cytochrome P -450 prostaglandin ω-hydroxylase. Pulmonary microsomes from pregnant rabbits or female rabbits pretreated with progesterone or human chorionic gonadotropin catalyze the co-hydroxylation of prostaglandins and related eicosanoids, an activity that is very low or absent in nonpregnant or control rabbits. A unique cytochrome P -450 does not catalyze the ω- or (ω-1)-hydroxylation of lauric acid or the N -demethylation of benzphetamine activities, which are associated with distinct rabbit lung cytochromes P -450.A similar, if not identical, cytochrome P -450 [P-450 p-2 or P -450IVA4 has been purified from pulmonary microsomes of female rabbits pretreated with progesterone and has been shown to catalyze the ω-hydroxylation of medium- and long-chain fatty acids and prostaglandins. The procedure involves the initial isolation of total rabbit lung microsomal cytochrome P -450 by aminooctyl-Sepharose chromatography followed by separation of the rabbit lung cytochromes P -450 by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose. Removal of detergent from the enzymes is then performed by chromatography on hydroxylapatite or by hydrophobic absorption chromatography.
Evaluation of the heat, entropy, and rotational changes produced by gravitational segregation during core formation

Core formation by gravitational segregation allegedly released sufficient interior heat to melt the Earth. Analysis of the energetics, which compare gravitational potential energy (U g) of a fictitious, homogeneous reference state to Earth’s current layered configuration, needs updating to correct errors and omissions, and to accommodate recent findings: (1) An erroneous positive sign was used for U g while maintaining the reference value of 0 at infinity, which results in an incorrect sign for ΔU g, which is crucial in determining whether a process is endothermic or exothermic. (2) The value of U g for Earth’s initial state is uncertain. (3) Recent meteorite evidence indicates that core formation began before the Earth was full-sized, which severely limits ΔU g. (4) Inhomogeneous accretion additionally reduced ΔU g. (5) The potentially large effect of differential rotation between the core and the mantle was not accounted for. (6) Entropy changes associated with creating order were neglected. Accordingly, we revise values of U g, evaluate uncertainties, and show that ΔU g was converted substantially to configurational energy (TΔS). These considerations limit the large sources of primordial heat to impacts and radioactivity. Although these processes may play a role in core formation, their energies are independent of gravitational segregation, which produces order and rotational energy, not internal heat. Instead, gravitational segregation promotes planetary cooling mainly because it segregates lithophilic radioactive elements upward, increasing surface heat flux while shortening the distance over which radiogenic heat diffuses outwards.
Human Rhinovirus Models in Asthma

In both children and adults, rhinovirus (RV) infections remain a major cause of exacerbations in asthma. With the use of both in vitro models of RV infection and experimental models of asthma exacer
Research Spotlight: Climate commitment in an uncertain world

[1] Even if humans immediately ceased emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, the planet would continue to warm, mainly due to thermal inertia of the world's oceans. This “climate commitment” has been of interest recently for both science and policy because it provides a measure of the minimum climate change the planet will face given human activity that has already occurred. Several studies have looked at what would happen if human emission of CO2 were halted, but these studies have overlooked the role of aerosols and non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, whichArmour and Roe include in a new study. If human emission stopped, atmospheric aerosols, which cool the planet by blocking light from the surface, would fall to preindustrial levels within weeks. However, non-CO2 greenhouse gases would remain in the atmosphere for decades to centuries, and elevated levels of CO2 would persist for millennia. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2010GL045850, 2011)
Kinetics of cofactor-activated enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

The rate equations for cofactor-activated enzyme kinetics have been developed from initial velocity-steady state equations by incorporation of a conservation equation for cofactor. This is required for systems in which the concentration of free cofactor is significantly different from the concentration of total cofactor. Solutions to the equations have been calculated and plotted to illustrate the dependence of the kinetic parameters on cofactor and enzyme concentrations. Methods for the determination and analysis of the kinetic parameters are outlined. The dependence of these parameters on mechanism is listed for a series of three substrate mechanisms in which one of the substrates is the cofactor. This kinetic approach appears to be required by at least two copper enzymes which catalyze the oxidation of substrates by molecular oxygen.
Dexamethasone enhancement of gene expression after direct hepatic DNA injection

The critical physiological functions of the liver make hepatocytes important targets for therapeutic gene delivery. This study reports significant gene expression following direct injection of plasmid DNA into the livers of rats and cats. Transfection was characterized using luciferase and Lac Z expression from plasmids with the cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter/enhancer (CMV IE) or the Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat (RSV LTR). Dexamethasone treatment enhanced and prolonged transfected gene expression, possibly by activating gene expression. Southern analysis of total DNA extracted from liver at various times following injection detected persistent unintegrated plasmid DNA which maintained a prokaryotic methylation pattern. This study demonstrates the feasibility of direct DNA injection in the experimental analysis of hepatic gene expression in vivo.
A search for gamma-ray lines from the decay of Fe-59 in Supernova 1987A

We have searched spectra of Supernova (SN) 1987A, accumulated during several 35-day intervals after the explosion by the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), for gamma-ray lines at 1.099 and 1.292 MeV from the decay of Fe-59 which may have been produced in the progenitor's helium shell. We find no evidence for these lines, down to 3-sigma upper limits approximately = 7 x 10(exp -4) gamma/sq cm/s for the 1.099 MeV line, or approximately = 4.5 x 10(exp -4) gamma/sq cm/s for the 1.292 MeV line, in any 35-day interval. We derive a conservative 3-sigma upper limit on the mass fraction of Fe-59 in the helium shell of 2.9 x 10(exp -3).
Hedging rule for reservoir operations: 2. A numerical model

[1] Optimization models for reservoir operation analysis usually use a heuristic algorithm to search for the hedging rule. This paper presents a method that derives a hedging rule from theoretical analysis (J.-Y. You and X. Cai, 2008) with an explicit two-period Markov hydrology model, a particular form of nonlinear utility function, and a given inflow probability distribution. The unique procedure is to embed hedging rule derivation based on the marginal utility principle into reservoir operation simulation. The simulation method embedded with the optimization principle for hedging rule derivation will avoid both the inaccuracy problem caused by trail and error with traditional simulation models and the computational difficulty (“curse of dimensionality”) with optimization models. Results show utility improvement with the hedging policy compared to the standard operation policy (SOP), considering factors such as reservoir capacity, inflow level and uncertainty, price elasticity and discount rate. Following the theoretical analysis presented in the companion paper, the condition for hedging application, the starting water availability and ending water availability for hedging, is reexamined with the numerical example; the probabilistic performance of hedging and SOP regarding water supply reliability is compared; and some findings from the theoretical analysis are verified numerically.
Advantages to point of use filtration of photoresists in reducing contamination on the wafer surface

The trends toward narrower line widths in IC manufacture has placed an ever increasing burden on contamination control in every aspect of semiconductor fabrication. Point-of-use (POU) filtration of photoresists has been used to control particle contamination on the wafer surface during coating operations. The need for tighter filtration has led to the introduction of 0.05 /spl mu/m as well as the traditional 0.10 /spl mu/m membranes to control contamination during photoresist dispensing. With the introduction of tighter membranes for use in photoresist filtration, the end-user may have concerns that the photoresist may suffer some deleterious effects by undergoing filtration. This study centers on the use of 0.05 /spl mu/m and 0.10 /spl mu/m Pall Falcon(R) filters in dispensing Microposit S1813 photoresist for reduction of surface defects on the wafer surface. The results of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) on filtered and unfiltered photoresist showed no effect on the molecular weight of the photosensitive components. Viscosity and coating thickness results indicated no loss in solids that would have an effect on the viscosity and in turn the coating thickness on the wafer surface. G-line exposure demonstrated retention of photospeed, indicating no damaging effects on resin or photosensitive components. The applications of filtration to photoresist dispensing are demonstrated as a positive step to lowering contamination on the wafer surface without deleterious effects on the performance of the photoresist.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cell abnormalities and their relationship to clinical course in homosexual men with HIV infection.

Quantitative abnormalities of leukocyte subpopulations have been shown to correlate with clinical status in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We have performed peripheral blood leukocyte phenotyping in 23 HIV-seropositive homosexual men, and correlated the results with clinical follow-up information. Individuals with CD4+ >400/mm3 (Group 1) had less severe abnormalities in other mononuclear cell subpopulations than patients with CD4+ <400/mm3 (Group 2). Group 1 had decreased CD4+CDw29+ (B-cell inducer) cells, compared to HIV-seronegative homosexual controls, with normal CD4+CD45R+ (suppressor-inducer) cells, suggesting that CD4+ subpopulations are reduced at different rates. Group 2 had decreased counts for both CD4+CDw29+ and CD4+CD45R+ cells. Both groups had increased cytotoxic T cells (CD8+CD11b−), with decreased B cells and CD4+CD8+ ratios, compared to HIV-seronegative homosexual controls. The Group 2 patients with subsequent clinical deterioration had particularly low CD4+ cells, CD4+CD45R+ cells, CD2+Tal+ cells, and CD4+CD8+ ratios and high CD8+CD11b− cells, compared to those with clinically stable illness. Our findings suggest that specific leukocyte subpopulations are altered differentially at various stages of HIV infection. However, the study involved only quantitative measurements of specific T- and B-cell subsets with no attempt to measure in vitro function. It is of course possible that normal numbers of cells in these subpopulations might be functionally deficient.
Rheological properties of simple fluids by computer simulation

We present results of nonequilibrium molecular-dynamics calculations for the triple-point Lennard-Jones fluid undergoing shear flow. The calculations show that this simple fluid exhibits a wide variety of non-Newtonian behavior ranging from viscoelasticity, to shear dilatancy and flow birefringence. It is shown that the constitutive relations describing these phenomena are consistent with nonanalytic functional forms. For every property so far studied these functional forms agree with those predicted by long-time tail theories. However, the size of each effect is found to be several orders of magnitude greater than theoretical predictions.
Probabilistic characterizations of the Generalized Domain of Attraction of the multivariate normal law

For independent identically distributed random vectors,Xi, we give necessary and sufficient probabilistic conditions for their common distribution to belong to the Generalized Domain of Attraction of the multivariate normal law. The first condition says that after projecting onto any direction, θ, the sum of squares, ∑ 1=1 〈Xi, θ〉2, properly normalized, converges to one in probability uniformly over the unit sphere. The second condition says that max 〈Xi, θ〉2/∑ n =1 〈Xi, θ〉2 converges to zero in probability uniformly over the unit sphere.
Systems of Memory in the Human Brain

There has been considerable success in identifying memory systems that are anatomically distinct. Two directions of continued research seem timely. First, it has been assumed that these separate systems will have important differences in their operating characteristics, but these differences have yet to be carefully specified. Anatomic separability would seem to imply computational distinctiveness. A next step in a systems analysis of memory could be a more thorough program to delineate the processes and representations used by each system.A second target for future work in this area might be some consideration of how these separate systems interact. It is likely that there is overlap in these separate systems. For example, it seems improbable that there are two separate and complete lexicons, one to support priming and the other to support explicit memory. Aside from such instances of overlap, there must be instances where the processing in one system influences processing in another. For example, it has been known for at least 20 years that the content and durability of explicit memory depend on the action of working memory at the time a memory is encoded. Explicit memory can also influence performance of motor skills, as subjects adopt different strategies based on explicit memories of prior performance. It is true that different memory systems are independent in that they can operate normally in the face of damage to other systems, but that does not mean that they do not influence one another under normal circumstances, i.e., in the intact brain.
Neural network-based decision making for large incomplete databases

As an extension to the relational algebra, maybe algebra operations have been proposed to handle incomplete information. Such a set of operations allows the user to investigate the potential set of data values (i.e. tuples) to draw his/her own conclusions. However, maybe algebra operations could return nonrelevant data, generate low quality results, and offer low physical performance. Hence, it is appropriate to design a scheme to investigate the results generated by the maybe operations, in order to improve the data quality and performance of large databases. Such a mechanism should be dynamic to adjust itself according to the user's query and the characteristics of the underlying databases. In this paper, an artificial neural network-based decision support system for handling large databases containing incomplete information is proposed. It is a subsystem which learns and constructs a knowledge base to filter out the data that is not of any importance to the user. The network accomplishes the decision-making task in a massively parallel manner. This paper also discusses the implementation of the decision-making network based on the VLSI design of a Basic Neural Unit (BNU). Using a weight-centered design principle, BNU can be expanded and reconfigured to satisfy the requirements of the underlying environment.