cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhanced immunomodulatory profile of infrapatellar fat pad (IFP)-derived MSC after inflammatory priming, 3D spheroid culture and CD146 selection: a cellular alternative for bone marrow (BM) in orthopedics

Backgrouind & Aim Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) exhibit immunomodulatory properties, making them an alternative to treat inflammation-related musculoskeletal conditions. We have identified a CD146-based subset of BM-MSC with enhanced immunomodulatory effects. IFP-MSC have been proposed as an alternative to BM-MSC. Here, we assessed unfractionated and CD146-selected IFP-MSC's secretory response to inflammation (priming) in 2D and 3D spheroids and functional immunomodulatory effects, all contrasted to BM-MSC. Methods, Results & Conclusion Methods Human BM- and IFP-MSC chondrogenic potential and comparative immunophenotype, growth kinetics and key transcripts before and after inflammatory priming (IFNγ/TNFα) were assessed in 2D. Inflammation-related multiplex secretome was interrogated in 2D and 3D spheroids. Fractionated MSC (CD146Pos C members of IGF family increased only in IFP-MSC; AR and NT3/NT4 up in IFP and down in BM-MSC. 3D spheroids resulted in a sustained increase in CD146 expression and protein presence (IHC), with enhanced inflammation-related secretome in primed IFP-MSC compared with BM-MSC, especially the immunosuppressor IDO. Fractionation both cells types (CD146) further increased IDO expression while reduced pro-inflammatory IL-6 and IL-8 in primed CD146Poscells, more pronounced in IFP-MSC. Finally, primed CD146Poscells strongly abrogated proliferation of activated human PBMCs in a dose-dependent manner, outperforming unfractionated cells at large PBMCs:MSC ratios and CD146Negcells at all doses, suggesting CD146Pos as the actual immunomodulatory subset. Conclusion Inflammatory priming, spheroid cultures and CD146-enrichment result in a significantly enhanced immunomodulatory properties of human IFP-MSC, thus evolving in a viable alternative for cell-based therapy protocols in Orthopedics.
Clostridioides difficile therapeutics: guidelines and beyond:

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has become an increasingly common infection both within and outside of the hospital setting. The management of this infection has been evolving as we learn ...
A taxonomy of crystallographic sphere packings

Abstract This paper seeks to catalogue and examine crystallographic sphere packings as defined by Kontorovich and Nakamura. There exist at least three sources which give rise to crystallographic packings, namely polyhedra, reflective extended Bianchi groups, and various higher dimensional quadratic forms. When applied in conjunction with the Koebe–Andreev–Thurston Theorem, Kontorovich and Nakamura's Structure Theorem guarantees crystallographic packings to be generated from polyhedra in n = 2 . The Structure Theorem similarly allows us to generate packings from the reflective extended Bianchi groups in n = 2 by applying Vinberg's algorithm to obtain the appropriate Coxeter diagrams. In n > 2 , the Structure Theorem when used with Vinberg's algorithm allows us to explore whether certain Coxeter diagrams in H n + 1 for a given quadratic form admit a packing at all. Kontorovich and Nakamura's Finiteness Theorem shows that there exist only finitely many classes of superintegral such packings, all of which exist in dimensions n ⩽ 20 . In this work, we systematically determine all known examples of crystallographic sphere packings.
Innovation, Royalties, and Introduction of the Patent Hirsch Index within U.S. Academic Neurosurgery.

Background Historically, practicing neurosurgeons have been key drivers of neurosurgical innovation. We sought to describe the patents held by U.S. academic neurosurgeons and to explore the relationship between patents and royalties received. Methods The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid CMS Open Payments Data was used to identify academic neurosurgeons who had received royalties and royalty amounts during a 5-year period (2013–2017). Online patent databases were used to gather patent details. Patent citations and 5-year individual and departmental patent Hirsch (h)-indexes were calculated. Royalties were correlated with the number of patents, patent citations, and patent h-index. Results We found that 119 academic neurosurgeons (7.8%) from 57 U.S. teaching programs (48.3%) had received royalty payments; 72 (60.5%) had published 648 patents. All surgeons were men, with approximately one half in the “late” stages of their career (45.3%) and subspecializing in spinal surgery (50.4%). The patented products or devices were most commonly used for spinal surgery (72.1%), with 2010–2019 the most productive period (n = 455; 70.2%). The median number of citations per patent was 32 (range, 0–620), with 33% having ≥100 citations. The highest individual and institutional patent h-index was 95; 25 (34.7%) neurosurgeons had a patent h-index of ≥5. The median total royalty payment per individual neurosurgeon was $111,011 (range, $58.05–$76,715,750.34). Royalties were correlated with the number of patents (Spearman r = 0.37; P ≤ 0.001), citations (Spearman r, 0.38; P ≤ 0.001), and inventor h-index (Spearman r = 0.38; P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions Few U.S. academic neurosurgeons (7.8%) receive royalties and hold patents (4.7%), with an even smaller select group having a patent h-index of ≥5 (1.6%).
Novel coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) associated sinus node dysfunction: a case series

Background Novel coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. To date, there have not been reports of sinus node dysfunction (SND) associated with COVID-19. This case series describes clinical characteristics, potential mechanisms, and short-term outcomes of COVID-19 patients who experience de novo SND. Case summary We present two cases of new-onset SND in patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Patient 1 is a 70-year-old female with no major past medical history who was intubated for acute hypoxic respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia and developed new-onset sinus bradycardia without a compensatory increase in heart rate in response to relative hypotension. Patient 2 is an 81-year-old male with a past medical history of an ascending aortic aneurysm, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnoea who required intubation for COVID-19-induced acute hypoxic respiratory failure and exhibited new-onset sinus bradycardia followed by numerous episodes of haemodynamically significant accelerated idioventricular rhythm. Two weeks following the onset of SND, both patients remain in sinus bradycardia. Discussion COVID-19-associated SND has not previously been described. The potential mechanisms for SND in patients with COVID-19 include myocardial inflammation or direct viral infiltration. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 should be monitored closely for the development of bradyarrhythmia and haemodynamic instability.
The Impact of the Digital Age and Social Media on Connecting the Clubfoot Community

Background Internet chat rooms played an important role in the late 1990s promoting the Ponseti method as the preferred initial treatment for congenital clubfoot. The social media boom has created multiple new methods for caregivers to seek support from a global community using a variety of platforms that are now easily available. This study assesses the reach of information shared across social media platforms about congenital clubfoot and analyzes topics most commonly discussed among members in these groups. Methodology Posts and pages across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok were evaluated to identify the top clubfoot-related hashtags and accounts. In addition, content themes were analyzed for posts across all platforms. Results There were 122 clubfoot-focused Facebook groups for parent support, and the five Facebook groups with the highest number of posts during the study period were found to frequently discuss the following topics: successful treatment stories, questions about casting, bracing, relapse, and commercial items compatible with clubfoot treatment. Twitter pages contained information about live webinars, educational resources for parents and providers, and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on clubfoot treatment. A search across visual platforms using "#clubfoot" yielded over 59,000 cumulative posts on Instagram and over 34.7 million total views on TikTok. Conclusions Parents of clubfoot patients are increasingly connecting through digital social media platforms, relying on them for information on clubfoot, and utilizing them as a network for social support. Clubfoot physicians should be aware of this content on social media to promote education and discussion that addresses parent concerns, provides accurate information, and guides expectations.
SMART Electronic Legal Discovery Via Topic Modeling

Electronic discovery is an interesting subproblem of information retrieval in which one identifies documents that are potentially relevant to issues and facts of a legal case from an electronically stored document collection (a corpus). In this paper, we consider representing documents in a topic space using the well-known topic models such as latent Dirichlet allocation and latent semantic indexing, and solving the information retrieval problem via finding document similarities in the topic space rather doing it in the corpus vocabulary space. We also develop an iterative SMART ranking and categorization framework including human-in-the-loop to label a set of seed (training) documents and using them to build a semi-supervised binary document classification model based on Support Vector Machines. To improve this model, we propose a method for choosing seed documents from the whole population via an active learning strategy. We report the results of our experiments on a real dataset in the electronic discovery domain.
Military mental health: Problem recognition, treatment-seeking, and barriers

Substantial numbers of military troops return from overseas duty with elevated reports of psychological symptoms, but relatively few seek treatment. A total of 601 Army National Guard soldiers retu...
Fluctuating ideal-gas lattice Boltzmann method with fluctuation dissipation theorem for nonvanishing velocities

Current implementations of fluctuating ideal-gas descriptions with the lattice Boltzmann methods are based on a fluctuation dissipation theorem, which, while greatly simplifying the implementation, strictly holds only for zero mean velocity and small fluctuations. We show how to derive the fluctuation dissipation theorem for all $\mathbf{k}$, which was done only for $\mathbf{k}=0$ in previous derivations. The consistent derivation requires, in principle, locally velocity-dependent multirelaxation time transforms. Such an implementation is computationally prohibitively expensive but, with a small computational trick, it is feasible to reproduce the correct FDT without overhead in computation time. It is then shown that the previous standard implementations perform poorly for non vanishing mean velocity as indicated by violations of Galilean invariance of measured structure factors. Results obtained with the method introduced here show a significant reduction of the Galilean invariance violations.
Émigrés of the Killing Fields: The Deportation of Cambodian Refugees as a Violation of International Human Rights

On March 22, 2002, amidst political pressures exerted by the Bush administration, the government of Cambodia was forced into signing a repatriation agreement with the United States that immediately made some 1,600 Cambodian Americans, most of whom were fully acculturated teenagers with virtually no ties to Cambodia, deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s aggravated felony provision. This Note addresses the aggravated felony provision as applied to Cambodian refugees and two legal theories that have been developed in order to prevent their deportation. Based on current trends by federal courts to incorporate international legal norms into American jurisprudence, particularly Beharry v. Reno and Maria v. McElroy, this Note contends that a more serious look at these two legal theories, which rely heavily on international human rights standards, is needed.
Chapter 3 Property Law

Abstract This chapter examines the economics of property rights and property law. It shows how the economics of property rights can be used to understand fundamental features of property law and related extra-legal institutions. The chapter examines both the rationale for legal doctrine, and the effects of legal doctrine regarding the exercise, enforcement, and transfer of rights. It also examines various property rights regimes including open access, private ownership, common property, and state property. The guiding questions are: How are property rights established? What explains the variation in the types of property rights? What governs the use and transfer of rights? And, how are property rights enforced? In answering these questions we argue that property rights and property law can be best understood as a system of societal rules designed to maximize social wealth. They do this by creating incentives for people to maintain and invest in assets, which leads to specialization and trade.
Computer-Aided Screening for Zebrafish Embryonic Motility Mutants

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with the computer–aided screening (CAS) for zebrafish embryonic motility mutants. The zebrafish, Danio rerio, has become an important vertebrate model organism, especially because of the ease with which large-scale mutagenesis screens may be carried out. The CAS primary screen is a simple optical density analysis of the “window” or ROI for the overall grayscale channel from white light scans. As part of the primary screen, stacks are also animated and visually inspected for movement aberrations. Moreover, CAS and CALMS may be used sequentially to cover the first 5 days of zebrafish development. This chapter illustrates that, the real power of CAS-CALMS is the relentless imaging of embryos and larvae through time that allows determination of onset of any mutated motility gene, including lethal ones. Furthermore, death involves cytolysis and large increases in optical density, a characteristic easily recorded by the scanner. Finally, this chapter concludes, CAS-CALMS produce dynamic imaging of embryos and larva, thus providing the needed motility information to allow investigators to narrow the number of candidates for gene identification.
Early Chinese American Autobiography: Reconsidering the Works of Yan Phou Lee and Yung Wing

(2003). Early Chinese American Autobiography: Reconsidering the Works of Yan Phou Lee and Yung Wing. a/b: Auto/Biography Studies: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 45-61.
Order-parameter holes and theory of microwave conductivity in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ

We propose that the low temperature discrepancy between simple d-wave models of the microwave conductivity and existing experiments on single crystals of YBCO can be resolved by including the scattering of quasiparticles from "holes" of the order parameter at impurity sites. Within a framework proposed previously, we find in particular excellent agreement with data of Hosseini et al. on slightly overdoped YBCO samples over the entire temperature range down to about 2-3K, and for a wide range of frequencies. Remaining discrepancies in the "universal" regime at very low temperatures are discussed.
Goal Structure Effects on Social Interaction: Nondisabled and Disabled Elementary Students

This study compared social interaction behavior between nondisabled and disabled students, as a function of the way tasks were structured during a peer integration program. Of the eight pairs of students, four pairs were assigned to an individualistic goal-structured condition; the other four pairs, to a cooperative condition. For nondisabled students, the cooperative condition was associated with more social interaction during activity and free play sessions. For disabled students, the cooperative condition was associated with more social interaction during activity sessions, but not during free play sessions.
A knowledge-based software process library for process-driven software development

The authors present a knowledge-based process library (SPLib) that supports the organization, access, and reuse of software processes. SPLib consists of a knowledge base of software process representations. It also provides a set of process operations that support browsing, searching, composition, and abstraction. These operations reason about the content of software processes as well as maintain proper interdependency relationships among the software processes. To demonstrate the use of SPLib in process-driven software development, a usage scenario is provided where SPLib facilitates the access and reuse of software processes. >
Collapsed close-coupling method: A systematic alternative to the multichannel optical potential for solutions of the Schrödinger equation in a truncated subspace.

On etablit une nouvelle methode generale pour reduire le nombre de canaux couples dans les calculs de diffusion, et la teste pour la diffusion electron-atome d'hydrogene dans l'espace d'Hibert tronque. Cette nouvelle methode donne des resultats encourageants
Herpes simplex virus type 1 modulates cellular gene expression during quiescent infection of neuronal cells

Gene expression profiling of neuronally-differentiated (ND)-PC12 cells quiescently infected (QIF) with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was performed to determine the response of neuronal cells to long-term maintenance of a non-replicating viral genome independent of the heterogeneous response that occurs in latently infected ganglia. Quiescent infections were characterized by 606 up-regulated and 821 down-regulated cellular genes (P < 0.005) compared to parallel, identically treated, mock-infected cultures. Gene ontology analyses suggested that up-regulated cellular genes were involved in steroid biosynthesis and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways and significantly overrepresented for transcription factor and transcription regulatory functions. Many of the most up-regulated cellular genes encode for proteolytic enzymes involved in neurite outgrowth/axon remodeling. Genes involved in DNA and nucleotide metabolism and apoptosis tended to be down-regulated. These findings demonstrate that a quiescent HSV-1 infection significantly alters neuronal gene expression in ways that may promote survival of the host cell and maintenance of latency.
Optimizing source detector separation for an implantable perfusion and oxygenation sensor

Each year thousands of patients are added to the waiting list for liver transplants. The first 7-10 days after transplant have proven to be the most critical in patient recovery and it is hypothesized that monitoring organ vital signals in this period can increase patient and graft survival rates. An implantable sensor to monitor the organ perfusion and oxygenation signals following surgery is being developed by our group. The sensor operates based on measuring diffuse reflection from three light emitting diodes (735, 805 and 940 nm). In this work the optimal source detector spacing to maximize oxygenation signal level is investigated for a portal vein model. Monte Carlo simulations provided signal levels and corresponding penetration depths as a function of separation between a point optical source and detector. The modeling results indicated a rapid decay in the optical signal with increasing distance. Through further analysis, it was found that there exists an optimal range of point source to detector spacing, between roughly 1 and 2 mm, in which the blood signal from the simulated portal vein was maximized. Overall, these results are being used to guide the placement and configuration of our probe for in vivo animal studies.
Queering lesbian sexualities in collegiate sporting spaces.

This article utilizes cultural studies praxis, queer theory, and feminist poststructuralism to explore the ways in which eight collegiate-level coaches who self-identify with non-normative sexualities transgress heteronormative boundaries by being “out” or visible in sporting spaces. Data were collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews and analyzed within a queer-feminist hybrid framework (Sykes, 1998). I found that compulsory heterosexuality continually worked to silence female coaches with non-normative sexualities despite their efforts to change heterosexist sport cultures. Many of these women engaged in necessary practical strategies for historically silenced groups (Sedgewick, 1990) to create change, such as changing language in athletic department policy, and using a politics of difference to challenge the status quo on several fronts (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality). However, in spite of conscientious efforts to do otherwise, poststructuralist and queer deconstructions of th...
Recruitment of Nectin-3 to Cell-Cell Junctions through trans-Heterophilic Interaction with CD155, a Vitronectin and Poliovirus Receptor That Localizes to αvβ3 Integrin-containing Membrane Microdomains

Nectins present a novel class of Ig superfamily adhesion molecules that, cooperatively with cadherins, establish and maintain cell-cell adherens junctions. CD155, the cognate receptor for poliovirus, undergoes cell-matrix contacts by binding to the extracellular matrix protein vitronectin. The significant homology of nectins with CD155 prompted us to investigate the possibility of their interaction. We determined that nectin-3 binds CD155 and its putative mouse homologue Tage4 in cell-based ligand binding assays. Coculture of nectin-3- and CD155-expressing HeLa cells led to CD155-dependent recruitment of nectin-3 to cell-cell contacts. In a heterologous coculture system with CD155 expressing mouse neuroblastoma cells, HeLa cell-expressed nectin-3 was recruited to contact sites with CD155 bearing neurites. CD155 and nectin-3 colocalized to epithelial cell-cell junctions in renal proximal tubules and in the amniotic membrane. Efficient interaction depended on CD155 dimerization, which appears to be aided by cell type-specific cofactors. We furthermore found CD155 to codistribute with αv integrin microdomains on the surface of transfected mouse fibroblasts and at amniotic epithelial cell junctions. Our findings demonstrate the possible trans-interaction between the bona fide cell-cell adherens type adhesion system (cadherin/nectin) and the cell-matrix adhesion system (integrin/CD155) by virtue of their nectin-3 and CD155 components, respectively.
Thermomigration induced degradation in solder alloys

Miniaturization of electronics to the nanoscale brings new challenges. Because of their small size and immense information and power processing capacity, large temperature gradients exist across nanoelectronics and power electronics solder joints. In this paper, a fully coupled thermomechanical-diffusion model is introduced to study the thermomigration induced strength degradation. A nonlinear viscoplastic material model with kinematic and isotropic hardening features is utilized. The model takes into account microstructural evolution of the material. A grain coarsening capability is built into the model to study its influence on thermomigration in solder alloys. The model is validated by comparing the simulation results with experimental data.
Characterization, molecular cloning, and physical mapping of the Shope fibroma virus genome

Abstract Five strains of Shope fibroma virus (SFV), a strain of rabbit myxoma virus, and a strain of vaccinia virus were compared by restriction endonuclease digestion of their viral DNAs. Restriction digest patterns revealed that SFV and rabbit myxoma, both members of the Leporipoxvirus genus, were distinct from vaccinia, an Orthopoxvirus. All strains of SFV examined had a high degree of nucleotide sequence homology as shown by conservation of restriction sites within their genomes. However, restriction patterns of SFV and myxoma were quite different from one another suggesting that the genomes from these two viruse of the Leporipoxvirus genus do not share a large, highly conserved region of homology as do the viruses belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus. Restriction mapping identified inverted terminal repeats of approximately 12 kb in length. Restriction fragments representing all but 400 bp of the termini were cloned in plasmid vectors.
The Psychometric Properties of Four Systems for Scoring Divergent Thinking Tests

The traditional system for scoring divergent thinking tests has been criticized for its lack of predictive and discriminant validity. The present investigation was conducted to evaluate alternative scoring systems. Two divergent thinking tests (Uses and Line Meanings) were administered to 120 seventh- and eighth-grade children; the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, and predictive and discriminant validity) of four scoring systems were evaluated and compared. Correlational analysis indicated (a) that the Uses test had notably higher validity coefficients than Line Meanings; (b) that the summation score (the sum of fluency, originality, and flexibility), the uncommon score (the number of ideas given by less than 5% of the sample), and the weighted-fluency score had the highest validity coefficients; (c) that ratio scores (e.g., flexibility divided by fluency) were generally unreliable and invalid; and (d) that all divergent thinking test scores were unrelated to IQ, but were related to achievement...
Effect of Packing Density on Rhodopsin Stability and Function in Polyunsaturated Membranes

Rod outer segment disk membranes are densely packed with rhodopsin. The recent notion of raft or microdomain structures in disk membranes suggests that the local density of rhodopsin in disk membranes could be much higher than the average density corresponding to the lipid/protein ratio. Little is known about the effect of high packing density of rhodopsin on the structure and function of rhodopsin and lipid membranes. Here we examined the role of rhodopsin packing density on membrane dynamic properties, membrane acyl chain packing, and the structural stability and function of rhodopsin using a combination of biophysical and biochemical techniques. We reconstituted rhodopsin into large unilamellar vesicles consisting of polyunsaturated 18:0,22:6n3PC, which approximates the polyunsaturated nature of phospholipids in disk membranes, with rhodopsin/lipid ratios ranging from 1:422 to 1:40. Our results showed that increased rhodopsin packing density led to reduced membrane dynamics revealed by the fluorescent probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, increased phospholipid acyl chain packing, and reduced rhodopsin activation, yet it had minimal impact on the structural stability of rhodopsin. These observations imply that densely packed rhodopsin may impede the diffusion and conformational changes of rhodopsin, which could reduce the speed of visual transduction.
Controlled delivery of inhaled therapeutic agents

There is increasing interest in the delivery of drugs to the lungs to treat a variety of diseases. The spatial and temporal influence of deposition and clearance mechanisms on the fate of inhaled materials are important factors in the control of delivery of therapeutic agents to the lungs. Balancing anatomical and physiological considerations with pharmaceutical properties dictates the therapeutic potential of any pharmacological and immunological strategy. A brief introduction of aerosol properties and inhaler technology is followed by considerations of in vitro and in vivo disposition in the context of controlled drug release for achieving anatomical, physiological and therapeutic targeting. Comprehensive assessment of drug delivery to, and disposition from, the lungs is required if controlled and targeted strategies are to be successful.
The concept of meta-analysis

Abstract Keeping up with the literature of education becomes a more difficult task each year. The Current Index to Journals in Education last year listed more than 17,000 articles published in 700 journals. Research in Education indexed an additional 9000 documents, and Comprehensive Dissertation Abstracts listed more than 6000 dissertations in education. The number of research studies published next year will undoubtedly be greater, and in the year after next, an even larger number of studies is likely to be added to the literature. Researchers have long been aware of the need for organizing this vast literature so that it will be more useful to policy makers, administrators, teachers, and other researchers. But the case for research synthesis has seldom been made as convincingly as it was in Gene Glass's 1976 presidential address to the American Educational Research Association.
STRANGE XENON IN JUPITER

Jupiter's helium-rich atmosphere contains xenon with excess136Xe and the ratio of r-products more closely resembles “strange” xenon (Xe-X, alias Xe-HL) seen in carbonaceous chondrites than xenon seen in the solar wind (SW-Xe). The linkage of primordial helium with Xe-X, as seen on a microscopic scale in meteorites, apparently extended across planetary distances in the solar nebula, This is expected if the solar system acquired its present chemical and isotopic diversity directly from debris of the star that produced our elements.
Memory may not be the first thing to go: focus on “Drinking and arterial blood pressure responses to ANG II in young and old rats”

the aging of the world's population brings health problems that have the potential of exhausting health care resources, both financial and human. Many of these problems involve the debilitating results of age-related failure of organ systems and/or neurological function. In contrast, one of the most
Combining Probability Distributions From Experts in Risk Analysis

This paper concerns the combination of experts' probability distributions in risk analysis, discussing a variety of combination methods and attempting to highlight the important conceptual and practical issues to be considered in designing a combination process in practice. The role of experts is important because their judgments can provide valuable information, particularly in view of the limited availability of “hard data” regarding many important uncertainties in risk analysis. Because uncertainties are represented in terms of probability distributions in probabilistic risk analysis (PRA), we consider expert information in terms of probability distributions. The motivation for the use of multiple experts is simply the desire to obtain as much information as possible. Combining experts' probability distributions summarizes the accumulated information for risk analysts and decision-makers. Procedures for combining probability distributions are often compartmentalized as mathematical aggregation methods or behavioral approaches, and we discuss both categories. However, an overall aggregation process could involve both mathematical and behavioral aspects, and no single process is best in all circumstances. An understanding of the pros and cons of different methods and the key issues to consider is valuable in the design of a combination process for a specific PRA. The output, a “combined probability distribution,” can ideally be viewed as representing a summary of the current state of expert opinion regarding the uncertainty of interest.
Cliplets: juxtaposing still and dynamic imagery

We explore creating ""cliplets"", a form of visual media that juxtaposes still image and video segments, both spatially and temporally, to expressively abstract a moment. Much as in ""cinemagraphs"", the tension between static and dynamic elements in a cliplet reinforces both aspects, strongly focusing the viewer's attention. Creating this type of imagery is challenging without professional tools and training. We develop a set of idioms, essentially spatiotemporal mappings, that characterize cliplet elements, and use these idioms in an interactive system to quickly compose a cliplet from ordinary handheld video. One difficulty is to avoid artifacts in the cliplet composition without resorting to extensive manual input. We address this with automatic alignment, looping optimization and feathering, simultaneous matting and compositing, and Laplacian blending. A key user-interface challenge is to provide affordances to define the parameters of the mappings from input time to output time while maintaining a focus on the cliplet being created. We demonstrate the creation of a variety of cliplet types. We also report on informal feedback as well as a more structured survey of users.
Sediment-to-water blue-green algal recruitment in response to alum and environmental factors

The sediment-to-water recruitment of blue-green algae was investigated in a shallow lake following treatment with aluminum sulfate and sodium aluminate to control sediment phosphorus (P) release. A comparison of results from two summers each before and after treatment indicates that the treatment did not universally impact the recruitment of either sporulating or non-sporulating forms of blue-green algae. Blooms of Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Coelosphaerium resulted predominantly from growth in the water column following strong recruitment episodes lasting up to two weeks, while Microcystis populations were relatively insensitive to periodically high inputs from recruitment. The development of planktonic populations of Gloeotrichia echinulata, by contrast, were largely dependent on sustained recruitment in response to adequate light and temperature regimes at the sediment surface. The cellular P content of recruited G. echinulata colonies was unaffected by the accumulation of aluminum floc to the lake sediments. Both G. echinulata and C. naegelianum showed elevated levels of cellular P in newly recruited colonies as compared to planktonic colonies, indicating P transport from the sediments to the water column. Total P translocation by blue-green algae was negligible in the absence of a substantial recruitment of G. echinulata. The recruitment of G. echinulata, and hence the magnitude of P translocation, was therefore more responsive to environmental conditions prevalent at the sediments than to direct effects of the treatment itself.
Fermi-Liquid Theory for 3He-4He Thin Film Mixtures: Magnetic Equation of State

Fermi-liquid theory is adapted to describe the effective interactions of 3He adsorbed to a thin superfluid 4He film in an external magnetic field. We treat the 3He as a two-dimensional Fermi-liquid with both direct interactions and indirect interactions mediated by the film excitations, the ripplons. The Landau f-functions are state and field dependent. In this manuscript, we report on a calculation of the 3He magnetization as a function of coverage. We show that the magnetization is given as an integral over the magnetic field strength with the integrand expressed in terms of the Landau interaction functions \(f_{k_f \uparrow ,k_f \uparrow } ;f_{k_f \uparrow ,k_f \downarrow } ;f_{k_f \downarrow ,k_f \downarrow } \) (for clarity, we have suppressed thetransverse state indices). A few concluding comments are made about the contributions to the Landau f-functions from the direct and from the surface mediated indirect interactions as compared with the bulk situation.
Review of symbolic software for lie symmetry analysis

Computer algebra packages and tools that aid in the computation of Lie symmetries of differential equations are reviewed. The methods and algorithms of Lie symmetry analysis are briefly outlined. Examples illustrate the use of the symbolic software.
Charles McBurney: McBurney's Point

Charles McBurney published a treatise on appendicitis in 1891, in which he described the exact point on the abdomen at which tenderness was maximal in cases of acute appendicitis--the point now known as "McBurney's point." He also described his approach to both the diagnosis and management of appendicitis, which at the time consisted of careful observation, total disuse of the stomach, and early laparotomy. Since 1891, many advances in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis have been made. Emergency physicians evaluating patients with abdominal pain may rely on laboratory studies, particularly the white blood cell count, and abdominal imaging with either ultrasound or computed tomography in addition to the history and physical examination. Despite these advances, tenderness to palpation over McBurney's point remains a key finding on abdominal examination in the assessment of patients with abdominal pain.
Hybridization in highly strained small ring hydrocarbons. V. Methylene and isopropylene substituted spiropentanes

Abstract Using the method of maximum overlap, the hybrids, the bond overlaps and the deviation angles as well as the interhybrid angles have been calculated for several methylene and isopropylene substituted spiropentanes. Considerably different hybrids are found for the spiro carbon when the two C3 rings have a different number of substituants. They deviate appreciably from the usually assumed sp3 type, being as different as sp2.70 and sp3.34. A brief discussion and comparison of some experimental molecular properties and the corresponding calculated parameters is presented. A discussion of factors which influence the hybridization in small rings has been given with some critical remarks on the reliability of predictions of molecular geometry (bond lengths) and molecular shapes (bond angles) by the maximum overlap method.
Vacuum polarization in high-Z, finite-size nuclei

We have calculated vacuum-polarization charge densities to all orders ${(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{n}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ for realistic nuclei of finite extent. In muonic Pb, orders $ng~3$ contribute -34 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 2 eV to the $5g\ensuremath{\rightarrow}4f$ transitions, compared with the point nucleus value of -50 eV. This increases the discrepancy (first reported by Dixit et al.) to $E(\mathrm{theor})\ensuremath{-}E(\mathrm{expt})=57\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}18 \mathrm{eV} (5{g}_{\frac{9}{2}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}4{f}_{\frac{7}{2}}) \mathrm{and} 72\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}21 \mathrm{eV} (5{g}_{\frac{7}{2}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}4{f}_{\frac{5}{2}})$. Contributions to low-lying states show nearly an order-of magnitude reduction.
A FACILE SYNTHESIS OF THIOSEMICARBAZIDESAND THIOSEMICARBAZONES BY THETRANSAMINATION OF 4-METHYL-4-PHENYL-3-THIOSEMICARBAZIDE

Abstract Thiosemicarbazones of α-(N)-heterocyclic ketones and aldehydes possess a broad spectrum of potentially useful chemotherapeutic activities. Thus, the antimalarial, antibacterial, and antiviral properties of this class have been explored by Klayman, et al.1 The antileishmanial activity of a series of acetyl β-carboline thiosemicarbazones was recently described by Dodd and coworkers .2 The α-(N)-heterocyclic thiosemicarbazones act as tridentate ligands for transition metals3; this property has been implicated in their biological mechanism of action.4 The synthesis thiosemicarbazone-transition metal complexes and the spectroscopic investigation of structure and bonding in these complexes is being actively pursued 5 In order to facilitate these investigations, an improved method of synthesizing thiosemicarbones is desirable. Such a synthesis should be efficient (high yield), general (afford thiosemicarbazones of N4-monosubstitution or N4,N4-disubstitution patterns), safe (avoids toxic or unpleasant re...
REM-sleep deprivation and the food-consumption patterns of male rats

To clarify ambiguities in earlier studies and to provide a test of the hypothesis that REM-sleep deprivation potentiates primary drive-linked behaviors, the food intake of 15 male rats was monitored continuously for 10 consecutive 24-h periods. Relative to the controls, the REM-deprived animals did not show a significant increase in food intake during the treatment period. However, during this period, these animals showed a pronounced change in their light:dark-period food-intake pattern that persisted into the recovery period. The implications of these data for existing theory and for certain ambiguities in the relevant literature are discussed.
Russia and de beers: Diamond conflict or cartel?

Abstract The article traces the changes in the Russian diamond industry, and the effect they have had on Russia's ability and willingness to participate in the international diamond cartel. It gives particular attention to the political disputes that surround the Russian diamond industry and Russo‐De Beers relations. The article relies heavily on extensive author interviews conducted with a variety of officials in the Russian diamond industry and with De Beers officials in both London and Moscow. The article concludes that three separate domestic Russian disputes have intruded on the creation and implementation of diamond policy. These domestic disputes have markedly increased the difficulty of maintaining Russian participation in the diamond cartel. Thus, while the new Russo‐De Beers agreement marks a remarkable success for the diamond cartel, the relationship is likely to remain one fraught with difficulties
INCLINED PLANE STUDIES OF THE NEWMARK SLIDING BLOCK PROCEDURE

This study considers the shaking-induced displacement and dynamic response of a rigid block and deformable columns of soil on an inclined plane. This work demonstrates that because of the coupled d...
Arc/Arg3.1 Translation Is Controlled by Convergent N-Methyl-D-aspartate and Gs-coupled Receptor Signaling Pathways

Arc/Arg3.1 is an immediate early gene whose expression is necessary for the late-phase of long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory consolidation. Whereas pathways regulating Arc transcription have been extensively investigated, less is known about the role of post-transcriptional mechanisms in Arc expression. Fluorescence microscopy experiments in cultured hippocampal neurons revealed that Arc protein level was dramatically increased by activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) pathway, which is implicated in long-term memory. A PKA-dependent increase in Arc protein level was observed after pharmacological or synaptic activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, which play a critical role in both LTP induction and learning. Arc protein was also up-regulated by activation of PKA through G(s)-coupled dopamine and beta-adrenergic receptors, which regulate the late-phase of LTP and memory. When agonists for the NMDA and G(s)-coupled receptors were co-applied, they had an additive effect on Arc protein expression. Interestingly, G(s)-coupled receptor stimulation was ineffective in the presence of an NMDA receptor antagonist, suggesting calcium influx through the NMDA receptor plays a gating role in this pathway. Stimulation of the cAMP/PKA pathway did not affect Arc mRNA level or protein stability, identifying translational efficacy as the main determinant of Arc protein expression level. It is concluded that efficient Arc translation requires NMDA receptor activity, whereas a further enhancement can be achieved with activation of G(s)-coupled receptors. These experiments have, therefore, revealed remarkable similarities in the signaling pathways that control Arc expression and those that regulate LTP, learning, and memory.
Effects of phosphatase inhibitors on nuclease activity

Abstract Nucleases such as DNase I, which selectively digest chromatin, are inhibited by several commonly used phosphatase inhibitors including sodium bisulfite. Two inhibitors, sodium arsenate and fructose-1, 6-diphosphate, did not significantly inhibit nuclease action. Two other effective phosphatase inhibitors, p-chloro-mercuriphenyl sulfonate and 5,5′-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoate), can be used during nuclei isolation and then washed out of nuclei before nuclease digestion. Using this procedure, 1mM p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate is as effective as 50mM bisulfite in retaining the phosphatase-sensitive mitotic phosphorylations of histones H1 and H3.
Biomechanical performance of orthopedic gloves

The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanical performance of commercially available orthopedic gloves to that of a single surgical glove, as well as a double glove system. The orthopedic gloves were found to be thicker than the single surgical glove. This increased thickness of the orthopedic glove was associated with a greater resistance to glove puncture. The thickest orthopedic gloves also had reduced tactile sensitivity when compared to the single surgical glove. In addition, the glove donning forces and glove hydration rates varied considerably. These latter biomechanical performance parameters were not significantly related to glove thickness. The double glove systems tested in this study had similar performance characteristics in regard to many of the orthopedic gloves. The glove donning forces for the double glove systems were the lowest of the gloves tested. In addition, the double glove systems displayed the greatest resistance to glove hydration of the gloves tested. Their performance in the glove hydration tests and the force required to don the double glove systems were much more desirable than any of the orthopedic gloves. The results of this study indicate that the double glove systems may provide a desirable alternative to the use of the single orthopedic gloves.
Binder-free composite electrodes using carbon nanotube networks as a host matrix for activated carbon microparticles

In this research, networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were used to host activated carbon (aC) microparticles to fabricate freestanding composite electrodes without the use of polymer binders. The aC-SWNT composite electrodes with up to 50 wt. % aC showed specific surface areas approaching 1000 m2/g and electrical conductivities >36 S/cm. The composite electrodes possessed the properties of both pure SWNT electrodes (e.g. low ohmic drop and rapid ion diffusion) and activated carbon particles (e.g. high specific capacitance). With an interconnected mesoporous microstructure and high electrical conductivity, the CNT networks provide an attractive alternative to polymer binders for forming freestanding electrodes for electrical energy storage devices. Here we show that micron-sized particles can be supported in this framework to utilize the performance enhancement and robustness provided by CNTs. Symmetric electrochemical capacitors fabricated with the electrodes in 6 M potassium hydroxide (KOH) aqueous electrolyte maintained specific capacitances of more than 45 F/g after 30,000 constant-current charge–discharge cycles with a current of 3.6 mA/cm2.
Ethnicity and Acculturation: Influences on Asian American Consumers' Purchase Decision Making for Social Clothes

The increased ethnic diversity of the U.S. population and especially the rapid growth of Asian American markets make it critical to assess the importance of developing marketing strategies specifically targeted to these particular ethnic market segments. These circumstances naturally call for an investigation of differences and similarities among various segments within the market to examine whether undifferentiated or diferentiated target marketing is necessary to reach various Asian American subgroups. This study examined the decision-making patterns for purchasing social clothes of three major Asian American consumer groups (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean). Results showed that the three groups display distinct reference group influence, media influence, and store attribute importance and that these patterns differ depending on the level of acculturation. The findings also suggested implications for various marketing and advertising strategies aimed at the three Asian American consumer markets.