cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Teaching Parents to Use Positive Reinforcement Skills

While teaching abusive parents nonviolent methods to control child misbehavior is often an immediate, necessary aim of child-management training, it is rarely a sufficient form of family intervention. Simply stated, therapists should never train parents to use attention withdrawal or time out procedures without concurrently teaching them how to reinforce desirable child behavior. Extinction-based management techniques are most effective when a child learns not only that certain misbehaviors will not result in reinforcement, but also that other desirable actions will be noticed and responded to in a positive way. In addition, since abusive parents provide less verbal attention to their children than nonabusive parents (Burgess & Conger, 1978), it might well be considered unfair or unethical to instruct them simply to reduce further the amount of attention given to their youngsters. Therefore, a clinical aim is to assist parents in altering and redirecting the attention they provide, from negative notice contingent upon child misbehavior to demonstrative positive reinforcement contingent upon appropriate child behavior.
Isolation of surface membranes from mammalian cells

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the isolation of surface membranes from mammalian cells. The preparation of purified surface membranes is an art not to be approached lightly. Methods are available to prepare membranes from most cell types. These methods produce whole membranes, large or small fragments, or vesicles. Cells performing different functions require variations of the isolation procedures. Therefore, the method to be used should be selected on the basis of the cell type as well as on the ability of the final membrane product. Two kinds of restrictions are placed on the interpretation of any data on isolated membranes. The possibility exists that not all of the cytoplasmic contents have been expelled, particularly when whole membranes are prepared. It may not be possible to separate completely all of the internal membranes from those of the surface, particularly when the method causes vesiculation of the membrane systems. As there are vast differences among cells, the criteria cannot be universal but should be categorized for particular cell types. In addition, when possible, similar methods should be used for a particular cell type or comparisons should be made with the other methods if there is a conflict.
Design, Measurement, and Analysis Issues in AIDS Mental Health Research

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, researchers have faced a number of methodological problems that have hampered efforts to understand, control, and ultimately eliminate AIDS and infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV*). While some of these problems are particular to research on the behavioral and mental health aspects of AIDS, others are generic issues that apply more broadly to sexually transmitted diseases and health behavior research. The papers collected in this monograph are the result of a 5-year process of defining the most important methodological issues, identifying persons actively attempting to resolve those issues, and working with these individuals to create a document that would be of practical use to researchers
A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism. By Carol Berkin. (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2017. Pp. 307. $30.00.)

The distinguished historian Carol Berkin's latest volume joins an extensive literature devoted to the politics of the 1790s, stressing how the Federalists' handling of repeated threats to national ...
Electrohydrodynamic-Enhanced Natural Convection in an Enclosure by a Nonsymmetric Electric Field

The present study investigates heat transfer enhancement of natural convection in an air-filled enclosure by a nonsymmetric electric field. The geometry considered is a two-dimensional cavity with ...
Dynamical Correlations for Statistical Copolymers from High-Throughput Broad-Band Dielectric Spectroscopy.

Broad-band dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) provides a powerful method of characterizing relaxation dynamics in diverse materials. Here we describe and employ a novel instrument for high-throughput broad-band dielectric spectroscopy (HTBDS) that accelerates this capability, enabling simultaneous measurements of 48 samples. This capability is based around a coaxial switching system for rapid scanning between multiple samples on the same sample stage, coordinated with shared environmental control. We validate the instrument by measuring dielectric response in three polymers, distributed across 48 sample sites, and comparing results to measurements via a standard BDS instrument. Results are found to be reproducible and are in agreement with relaxation times from traditional BDS. We then employ HTBDS to establish mixing rules for glass transition temperatures, kinetic fragility indices, and segmental stretching exponents in a series of acrylate copolymers, a matter of considerable technological interest in a var...
Sovereignty Rupture as a Central Concept in Quantitative Measures of Civil War

Empirical studies of the causes or consequences of civil war often use measures that do not correspond to theory and results are sensitive to small changes in the coding of civil wars. Civil war is an instance of “sovereignty rupture” and is inherently a polity-level phenomenon, but that understanding of civil war is not reflected in data in which civil war is coded as a dyadic conflict—the state fighting a domestic challenger. We demonstrate the consequences of conceptual ambiguity about which conflicts to code as civil war and when to code the start and end of a civil war. Using a new data set of civil wars from 1945 to 2016 that is consistent with the concept of sovereignty rupture, we replicate several studies and find that their results are often overturned or weakened when we use our data. We advocate for greater deliberateness in data selection in civil war studies, focusing on the fit between the question of interest and the concept of civil war that is underlying a given data set.
“A Second-Chance at Being a Parent”: Grandparent Caregivers’ Reported Communication and Parenting Practices with Co-Residential Grandchildren

Grandfamilies, family structures in which grandparent(s) co-reside with and assume a primary caregiving role for at least one grandchild, are increasingly common in the United States. This qualitat...
Predicting Outcome After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Lactate, Need for Vasopressors, and Cytochrome c

Background:Outcome prediction after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is difficult. We hypothesized that lactate and need for vasopressors would predict outcome, and that addition of a mitochon...
Factors limiting the success of invasive glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) in New Hampshire’s eastern white pine – hardwood forests

Abstract Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) is an invasive exotic shrub in forests of eastern North America, where it can alter the structure and function of ecosystems. Buckthorn is often abundant in eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) stands, though the specific factors that that allow invasion into these stands are not known. In an observational study, we examined the roles of tree species composition, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, i.e., sunlight), and soil characteristics in limiting buckthorn success. Data on buckthorn biomass and forest characteristics were collected from 60 locations in closed-canopy pine and hardwood stands in southeastern New Hampshire. Using logistic regression, buckthorn presence was associated with low soil inorganic-N, high PAR, and a deep humus layer. Using generalized linear modeling, buckthorn biomass was positively associated with high PAR and negatively associated with both the basal area of trees other than white pine (non-WP BA) and sand content. The presence of reproductive buckthorn, analyzed with logistic regression, was associated with high PAR and low non-WP BA. Using discriminant analysis, locations with the oldest buckthorn were best predicted by PAR, non-WP BA, sand content, soil inorganic-N concentrations, and humus depth. White pine BA was not a predictor in any chosen model of buckthorn success. Overall, areas with high PAR and low non-WP BA were the strongest predictors of buckthorn success, and thus sites with these characteristics appear most susceptible to invasion.
Abstract P5-02-13: A novel detection technique for collagen (and other macromolecules) on H&E slides without special stains for improved cancer prognostics

Background: Stromal density including the characterization of the type, abundance and alignment of collagen and other extracellular matrix (ECM) protein fibers in proximity to breast precancers and cancers has emerged as an important and evolving tool for understanding tumor progression and stratifying/classifying mortality risk. Standard methods for this evaluation including second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy requires access to fresh or FFPE tissue samples of limited availability. In contrast, standard diagnostic HE 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-02-13.
Decreasing Unplanned Extubation in the Neonatal ICU With a Focus on Endotracheal Tube Tip Position.

BACKGROUND: Unplanned extubation (UE) is an important quality metric in the neonatal ICU that is associated with hypoxia, bradycardia, and risk for airway trauma with emergent re-intubation. Initial efforts to reduce UE in our level 4 neonatal ICU included standardized securement of the endotracheal tube (ETT) and requiring multiple providers to be present for ETT adjustments and patient positioning as phase 1 interventions. After an initial decline, the UE rate plateaued; an internal retrospective review revealed that the odds of UE were 2.9 times higher in the setting of an ETT tip at or above T1 (high ETT) on chest radiograph just prior to UE. The team hypothesized that advancing ETT tips to below T1 would reduce UE risk in infants of all gestational ages. METHODS: Over a period of 32 months, we compared pre-intervention and post-intervention UE rates in our neonatal ICU after a 2-step initiative that focused initially on ETT securement and assessment, with a subsequent addition of a single intervention to advance ETT tips below T1. To determine if the decrease in UE rate could be secondary to our intervention, data were analyzed from 3 cohorts: a control group of 40 infants with 185 chest radiographs and no UEs, 46 infants with chest radiographs prior to 58 UE events before the intervention, and 37 infants with chest radiographs prior to 48 UE events following the intervention. RESULTS: Advancing ETT tips below T1, in addition to the use of a standard UE-prevention bundle, led to a significant decrease in the UE rate from 1.23 to 0.91 UEs per 100 ventilator days, with 14% of postintervention UEs attributed to ETT advancement. CONCLUSIONS: High ETTs are significantly associated with UEs in the neonatal ICU. Optimizing ETT position may be an underrecognized driver in the provider’s toolbox to reduce UEs. Because ETT repositioning carries risk of UE, extra caution should be taken during advancement.
Evidence that the Central Nervous System can Induce a Modification at the Neuromuscular Junction that Contributes to the Maintenance of a Behavioral Response

Neurons within the spinal cord are sensitive to environmental relations and can bring about a behavioral modification without input from the brain. For example, rats that have undergone a thoracic (T2) transection can learn to maintain a hind leg in a flexed position to minimize exposure to a noxious electrical stimulation (shock). Inactivating neurons within the spinal cord with lidocaine, or cutting communication between the spinal cord and the periphery (sciatic transection), eliminates the capacity to learn, which implies that it depends on spinal neurons. Here we show that these manipulations have no effect on the maintenance of the learned response, which implicates a peripheral process. EMG showed that learning augments the muscular response evoked by motoneuron output and that this effect survives a sciatic transection. Quantitative fluorescent imaging revealed that training brings about an increase in the area and intensity of ACh receptor labeling at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). It is hypothesized that efferent motoneuron output, in conjunction with electrical stimulation of the tibialis anterior muscle, strengthens the connection at the NMJ in a Hebbian manner. Supporting this, paired stimulation of the efferent nerve and tibialis anterior generated an increase in flexion duration and augmented the evoked electrical response without input from the spinal cord. Evidence is presented that glutamatergic signaling contributes to plasticity at the NMJ. Labeling for vesicular glutamate transporter is evident at the motor endplate. Intramuscular application of an NMDAR antagonist blocked the acquisition/maintenance of the learned response and the strengthening of the evoked electrical response. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is designed to faithfully elicit a muscular contraction in response to neural input. From this perspective, encoding environmental relations (learning) and the maintenance of a behavioral modification over time (memory) are assumed to reflect only modifications upstream from the NMJ, within the CNS. The current results challenge this view. Rats were trained to maintain a hind leg in a flexed position to avoid noxious stimulation. As expected, treatments that inhibit activity within the CNS, or disrupt peripheral communication, prevented learning. These manipulations did not affect the maintenance of the acquired response. The results imply that a peripheral modification at the NMJ contributes to the maintenance of the learned response.
Abstract P234: Stroke in Texas: Leveraging Population Level Data to Inform Public Health

Introduction: We studied variation in stroke rates, post-discharge health services, and outcomes across payors in Texas. Methods: Claims for 48,331 stroke patients in 2016 and hospital data coverin...
Relationship Timelines, Dyadic Interviews, and Visual Representations: Implementation of an Adapted Visual Qualitative Technique:

Increasingly popular in qualitative and mixed-methods research design, visual timelines help organize participants’ life histories with an emphasis on temporality and the context in which important...
Genomics Integration Into Nephrology Practice.

Rationale & Objective The etiology of kidney disease remains unknown in many individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We created the Mayo Clinic Nephrology Genomics Clinic to improve our ability to integrate genomic and clinical data to identify the etiology of unexplained CKD. Study Design Retrospective study. Setting & Participants An essential component of our program is the Nephrology Genomics Board which consists of nephrologists, geneticists, pathologists, translational omics scientists, and trainees who interpret the patient's clinical and genetic data. Since September 2016, the Board has reviewed 163 cases (15 cystic, 100 glomerular, 6 congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT), 20 stones, 15 tubulointerstitial, and 13 other). Analytical Approach Testing was performed with targeted panels, single gene analysis, or analysis of kidney-related genes from exome sequencing. Variant classification was obtained based on the 2015 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology guidelines. Results A definitive genetic diagnosis was achieved for 50 families (30.7%). The highest diagnostic yield was obtained in individuals with tubulointerstitial diseases (53.3%), followed by congenital anomalies of the kidney and urological tract (33.3%), glomerular (31%), cysts (26.7%), stones (25%), and others (15.4%). A further 20 (12.3%) patients had variants of interest, and variant segregation, and research activities (exome, genome, or transcriptome sequencing) are ongoing for 44 (40%) unresolved families. Limitations Possible overestimation of diagnostic rate due to inclusion of individuals with variants with evidence of pathogenicity but classified as of uncertain significance by the clinical laboratory. Conclusions Integration of genomic and research testing and multidisciplinary evaluation in a nephrology cohort with CKD of unknown etiology or suspected monogenic disease provided a diagnosis in a third of families. These diagnoses had prognostic implications, and often changes in management were implemented.
Aggregation and Degradation of Dispersants and Oil by Microbial Exopolymers (ADDOMEx): Toward a Synthesis of Processes and Pathways of Marine Oil Snow Formation in Determining the Fate of Hydrocarbons

Microbes (bacteria, phytoplankton) in the ocean are responsible for the copious production of exopolymeric substances (EPS) that include transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP). These materials act as a matrix to form marine snow. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, marine oil snow (MOS) formed in massive quantities and influenced the fate and transport of oil in the ocean. The processes and pathways of MOS formation require further elucidation to be better understood, in particular we need to better understand how dispersants affect aggregation and degradation of oil. Towards that end, recent work has characterized EPS as a function of microbial community and environmental conditions. We present a conceptual model that incorporates recent findings in our understanding of the driving forces of MOS sedimentation and flocculent accumulation (MOSSFA) including factors that influence the scavenging of oil into MOS and the routes that promote decomposition of the oil post MOS formation. In particular, the model incorporates advances in our understanding of processes that control interactions between oil, dispersant, and EPS in producing either MOS that can sink or dispersed gels promoting microbial degradation of oil compounds. A critical element is the role of protein to carbohydrate ratios (P/C ratios) of EPS in the aggregation process of colloid and particle formation. The P/C ratio of EPS provides a chemical basis for the ‘stickiness’ factor that is used in analytical or numerical simulations of the aggregation process. This factor also provides a relative measure for the strength of attachment of EPS to particle surfaces. Results from recent laboratory experiments demonstrate (i) the rapid formation of microbial assemblages, including their EPS, on oil droplets that is enhanced in the presence of Corexit-dispersed oil, and (ii) the subsequent rapid oil oxidation and microbial degradation in water. These findings, combined with the conceptual model, further improve our understanding of the fate of the sinking MOS (e.g., subsequent sedimentation and preservation/degradation) and expand our ability to predict the behavior and transport of spilled oil in the ocean, and the potential effects of Corexit application, specifically with respect to MOS processes (i.e., formation, fate, half-lives) and MOSSFA.
Resonant Three-Wave Mixing Via Subband Levels in Quantum Wells: Theoretical Considerations

There has been considerable interest in recent years in the nonlinear optical properties of semiconductor quantum-well structures. Attention has largely been focussed on four-wave mixing1 and on optical Stark effects2–4, phenomena that involve the third-order electric susceptibility, X(3), which can be quite large at frequencies in the vicinity of an exciton resonance. There has also been increasing interest in second-harmonic generation (SHG) and three-wave mixing (3WM) via subband levels in quantum wells, phenomena that involve the second-order electric susceptibility, X(2)5–11. Theoretical estimates of the X(2) for processes involving interband and intersubband transitions in asymmetric quantum wells and in asymmetric coupled quantum wells indicate that the magnitudes of the second harmonic and linear optic coefficients can be very much larger than in bulk semiconductors. A resonant SHG involving three intersubband transitions has recently been observed in an electric field-biased GaAs symmetric quantum well using a CO2 laser beam as the fundamental10. The magnitude of the SHG was two orders of magnitude greater than that in bulk GaAs.
A review of anhidrosis in horses

Summary Horses with anhidrosis are defined by signs of impaired thermoregulation caused by sweating that is inadequate for the ambient conditions. Anhidrosis has been recognised since the early twentieth century; affected horses have been variably described as nonsweaters, drycoats, blowers or puffers. The condition affects horses of all age groups, breeds, coat colours, genders and activities and is common among horses in hot, humid environments. Despite the enormous financial and emotional costs of anhidrosis, the causes and pathogenesis of the condition are largely unknown and no consistently effective treatment has been found.
Why Were There Fire Sales of Mortgage-Backed Securities by Financial Institutions during the Financial Crisis?

Much attention has been paid to the large decreases in value of non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) during the financial crisis. Many observers have argued that the fall in prices was partly caused by fire sales. We use capital requirements and accounting rules to identify circumstances where financial institutions had incentives to engage in fire sales and then examine whether such sales occurred. For financial institutions subject to credit-sensitive capital requirements, capital requirements increase as an asset’s credit becomes impaired. When accounting rules require such an asset’s value to be marked-to-market and the fair value loss to be recognized in earnings, a capital-constrained firm can improve its capital position by selling the credit-impaired asset even if it has to accept a liquidity discount to do so. In contrast, a financial firm whose fair value losses are not recognized in earnings for the purpose of calculating capital requirements is more likely to satisfy capital requirements by selling liquid assets whose value has not fallen and hence would be unlikely to engage in fire sales. Using a sample of 5,000 repeat transactions of non-agency RMBS by insurance companies from 2006 to 2009, we show that insurance companies that became more capital-constrained because of operating losses (uncorrelated with RMBS credit quality) and also recognized fair value losses sold comparable RMBS at much lower prices than other insurance companies during the crisis.
From bits to chips: a multidisciplinary curriculum for microelectronics system design education

We describe a program in multidisciplinary education of microelectronics systems design at the University of Notre Dame. In the "Bits-to-Chips" course sequence, faculty from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering Departments, and the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning have coordinated their related courses and teaching methods, and team-teach a course on advanced technologies and systems-on-a-chip (SOC). Projects in the capstone course have involved the design and fabrication, completely by the students, of CMOS circuits with 10,000 transistors, and are now developing projects with roughly 50,000 devices. A recent project is an accelerometer control chip for insertion into a model rocket launch. Projects are also submitted to MOSIS for comparison with the students' efforts.
Discrimination between infectious and non-infectious human norovirus using porcine gastric mucin

Human noroviruses (NoVs) are known to bind to human histo-blood group antigens, as well as to chemically-similar porcine gastric mucins. Here, the binding ability of NoV to porcine mucin is shown to be substantially deficient after UV, thermal, and high pressure treatments. Using qRT-PCR, ≥ 68% of GI.1 NoV (Norwalk strain) bound to porcine gastric mucin-conjugated magnetic beads (PGM-MBs). Application of 600-MPa high pressure treatments reduced binding of the virus to PGM-MBs by 4.7-log₁₀, as determined by qRT-PCR, while a 300-MPa pressure treatment, reduced binding to PGM-MBs by only 0.45-log₁₀. This is consistent with a previously reported clinical trial (Leon et al., 2011. Appl. Environ Microbiol. 77:5476-5482.) which demonstrated inactivation of 4-log₁₀ of GI.1 NoV at 600-MPa. After thermal treatment, binding to PGM-MBs decreased when samples were heated from 0 to 80 °C. Ultraviolet treatments of 0.5 and 2 J/cm² reduced observed PGM-MB binding of norovirus to 33% and negligible levels, respectively, from an initially observed 84% binding for untreated NoV. Although thermal and UV treatments are generally recognized to inactivate viruses, verification of NoV inactivation by these treatments may require volunteer studies. In total, these results suggest the loss of NoV binding to porcine mucin as a potential means to preferentially exclude non-infectious virus particles from subsequent RT-PCR detection.
Preparation of cytochrome c2 from Rhodospirillum rubrum.

Abstract A simplified method is described for the preparation and purification of cytochrome c2 from Rhodspirillum rubrum growth photosynthetically under anaerobic conditions. The cytochrome c2 appeared as a single electrophoretic and chromatographic form at all stages of the preparation.
Contact, Change and Industrialization in a Network of Mexican Villages

Since Durkheim's pioneering work on the division of labor, anthropologists and sociologists have treated institutional complexity as a basic dimension of community organization. Over time, the concept has been refined. Redfield, influenced by Tonnies' Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft typology, used complexity as one of the criteria differentiating urban and folk culture. Later, Freeman and Winch, Naroll, Carneiro and others quantified the concept across a number of societies by means of the Guttman scaling technique. More recently, theoretical writings and empirical studies have appeared which examine how industrialization in traditional societies affects the institutional complexity of communities. The work of Frank and Ruth Young, for example, is an important study of institutional change in an industrializing region. Our research is concerned with the same Mexican site that they studied ten years ago.
A surface segregation study in phosphorus-and sulfur-doped type 304 stainless steels

The kinetics of surface segregation of P and S in four purposely doped type 304 stainless steels over the temperature range 550 °C to 850 °C and at aging times up to 12,000 seconds is presented. The saturation coverage of phosphorus is between 30 and 40 at. pct at temperatures greater than 650 °C. Saturation was not attained at 550 °C. The kinetics of the P and S segregation is diffusion controlled and can be described by the surface segregation theory based on a binary system. The results also show that interactions among S, P, and N occur. This interaction affects the kinetic behavior. Site competition of P-N and P-S was also observed.
The electronic chalkboard

The present paper describes “the electronic chalkboard” (TEC), a teaching innovation made possible by the recent development, under a FIPSE grant to CONDUIT, of specialized instructional software. The instructional power of TEC casts the computer in the role of catalyst in the student-teacher dyad and leads to the emergence of the more powerful student-computer-teacher triad. Relevant educational principles and CAI techniques that should ensure the intelligent use of TEC are discussed.
Optimizing and Predicting CHF in Spray Cooling of a Square Surface

Spray cooling of a hot surface was investigated to ascertain the effect of nozzle-to-surface distance on critical heat flux (CHF). Full cone sprays of Fluorinert FC-72 and FC-87 were used to cool a 12.7 X 12.7 mm 2 surface. A theoretical model was constructed that accurately predicts the spray's volumetric flux (liquid volume per unit area per unit time) distribution across the heater surface. Several experimental spray sampling techniques were devised to validate this model. The impact of volumetric flux distribution on CHF was investigated experimentally. By measuring CHFfor the same nozzle flow rate at different nozzle-to-surface distances, it was determined CHF can be maximized when the spray is configured such that the spray impact area just inscribes the square surface of the heater. Using this optimum configuration, CHF data were measured over broad ranges of flow rate and subcooling, resulting in a new correlation for spray cooling of small surfaces.
Emergency department right atrial pressure and intravascular volume estimation using right ventricular tissue Doppler bedside ultrasonography

A 41 year old woman with a history of colon cancer metastatic to her lung and liver, presented to the emergency department severely dehydrated. Bedside ultrasonography revealed a tumor mass in her proximal inferior vena cava at the junction of the right atrium obstructing the ability to assess her volume status with inferior vena cava inspiratory collapse. Bedside emergency department cardiac tissue Doppler ultrasonography of the lateral right ventricle and pulse Doppler ultrasonography of the tricuspid valve was used to estimate her right atrial pressure and intravascular volume status.
Left ventricular unloading before reperfusion reduces endothelin-1 release and calcium overload in porcine myocardial infarction.

Objectives The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that after an acute myocardial infarction, endothelin-1 release with subsequent calcium overload is a mediator of myocardial reperfusion injury, which can be inhibited, in part, by left ventricular unloading immediately before reperfusion. We recently have reported that left ventricular unloading before reperfusion reduces infarct size after acute myocardial infarction. However, the biologic mechanisms of infarct salvage in unloaded hearts subjected to ischemia/reperfusion remain undefined. Methods Twelve pigs were subjected to 1 hour of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by 4 hours of reperfusion. A left ventricular assist device was initiated 15 minutes before reperfusion and maintained during reperfusion (assist device group, n=6). A control group (n = 6) was subjected to reperfusion alone. Infarct size, endothelin-1 plasma levels, intracellular calcium levels, and apoptosis were analyzed in both groups. Results At reperfusion, left ventricular unloading significantly decreased left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic pressures. Infarct size, expressed as a percentage of zone at risk, was also significantly reduced by 54% in the group with the left ventricular assist device compared with controls. Support with a left ventricular assist device reduced endothelin-1 release from the heart at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour of reperfusion. Myocardial release of endothelin-1 was significantly correlated with infarct size at 15 minutes of reperfusion ( r = 0.79; P = .008). Left ventricular unloading caused a significant reduction of calcium overload and of the percentage of apoptotic cells in the ischemic region. Conclusion Our findings suggest that endothelin-1 release and calcium overload are important mediators of reperfusion injury and that they can be significantly reduced by left ventricular unloading before coronary artery reperfusion during myocardial infarction.
Biotechnology and international relations: forging new strategic partnerships

This paper argues that the USA should use its large stocks of scientific and technological knowledge (as well as allied resources) related to biotechnology to help solve food security challenges in developing countries, especially in Africa. Achieving this goal, however, will require the USA and its partners in Africa to focus on the role of science and technology as an instrument of good diplomacy. The paper suggests that such good diplomacy will need to be expressed in the form of a strategic partnership between the USA and African countries in areas such as executive leadership, science and technology policy, technology management and science diplomacy.
Soft query in image retrieval systems

We explore the use of soft computing and user defined classifications in multimedia database systems for content-based queries. With traditional database systems, objects/tuples are grouped into classes/relations using hard membership. Hence, the result of a query to obtain the members of a class is a fixed set. With multimedia databases, however, an object may belong to different classes with different probabilities (soft membership). In addition, alternative users may classify objects differently due to subjectivity of human perception on multimedia objects. In order to remedy for this situation, we propose a unified model that captures both conventional techniques and soft memberships. We implemented the model by extending the traditional database query capabilities such that the result of a query depends on the user who submits the query. We compared our proposed system with conventional image retrieval systems and observed a significant margin of improvement in matching the user expectations.
Effects of hyperthermia on plasma glycoprotein catabolism by the isolated perfused rat liver.

1. 1. Clearance and degradation of the glycoprotein, asialofetuin (AF), by the isolated perfused rat liver at Supranormal temperatures were investigated. 2. 2. The half-life for disappearance of AF was similar at 37, 41. and 42°C, P > 0.05. 3. 3. There was a significant difference between the amount of hydrolysis of AF at 37, 41, and 42°C, P < 0.05. This indicates that there was significant retardation of lysosomal proteolysis or receptor endocytosis by the hepatocyte at elevated temperatures.
Ab Initio Approach to Understanding the Stereoselectivity of Reactions between Hydroxyalkyl Azides and Ketones

A new stereoselective version of the Schmidt reaction has been discovered by Aube and co-workers (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 7914−7922). Quantum chemical calculations reported in this paper were carried out to examine the observed diastereoselectivities. The azide attack step is found to be reversible, but a thermodynamic preference for the equatorial attack product is observed. The final stereoselectivity of the reaction is determined by the axial/equatorial ratio of the chiral substituent in the resulting intermediate. In the case of 2-R-hydroxypropyl azides, interesting axial/equatorial preferences are observed. In particular, the phenyl substituent shows a preference for the axial position resulting from a novel interaction with a N2 cationic group.
Influence of nutrition on reproduction in the ewe with special emphasis on progesterone concentration

Abstract Influence of nutrition on lambing rate and progesterone levels was studied in Rambouillet ewes. In the first experiment, two groups of 10 ewes each were individually fed on a diet containing either high (3.04 kg/day) or low (1.89 kg/day) levels of total digestible nutrients. Ewes on the High Plane of nutrition had lower pregnancy rates and fewer lambs than the ewes on the Low Plane. Plasma progesterone concentration was not significantly different between treatment groups when compared before and after mating. In the second experiment two groups of 25 ewes each were grazed on pasture and supplemented with a pelleted concentrate. One group was fed to gain weight, while the other group was fed to maintain their body weight. There was no significant difference in lambing rate between these two groups.
Smac mimetic Birinapant induces apoptosis and enhances TRAIL potency in inflammatory breast cancer cells in an IAP-dependent and TNF-α-independent mechanism

X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), the most potent mammalian caspase inhibitor, has been associated with acquired therapeutic resistance in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), an aggressive subset of breast cancer with an extremely poor survival rate. The second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (Smac) protein is a potent antagonist of IAP proteins and the basis for the development of Smac mimetic drugs. Here, we report for the first time that bivalent Smac mimetic Birinapant induces cell death as a single agent in TRAIL-insensitive SUM190 (ErbB2-overexpressing) cells and significantly increases potency of TRAIL-induced apoptosis in TRAIL-sensitive SUM149 (triple-negative, EGFR-activated) cells, two patient tumor-derived IBC models. Birinapant has high binding affinity (nM range) for cIAP1/2 and XIAP. Using isogenic SUM149- and SUM190-derived cells with differential XIAP expression (SUM149 wtXIAP, SUM190 shXIAP) and another bivalent Smac mimetic (GT13402) with high cIAP1/2 but low XIAP binding affinity (K (d) > 1 μM), we show that XIAP inhibition is necessary for increasing TRAIL potency. In contrast, single agent efficacy of Birinapant is due to pan-IAP antagonism. Birinapant caused rapid cIAP1 degradation, caspase activation, PARP cleavage, and NF-κB activation. A modest increase in TNF-α production was seen in SUM190 cells following Birinapant treatment, but no increase occurred in SUM149 cells. Exogenous TNF-α addition did not increase Birinapant efficacy. Neutralizing antibodies against TNF-α or TNFR1 knockdown did not reverse cell death. However, pan-caspase inhibitor Q-VD-OPh reversed Birinapant-mediated cell death. In addition, Birinapant in combination or as a single agent decreased colony formation and anchorage-independent growth potential of IBC cells. By demonstrating that Birinapant primes cancer cells for death in an IAP-dependent manner, these findings support the development of Smac mimetics for IBC treatment.
Tier-independent microfluidic cooling for heterogeneous 3D ICs with nonuniform power dissipation

Embedded microfluidic cooling is considered a promising solution for heat removal in 3D ICs. This paper presents tier-independent microfluidic cooling in a 2-tier chip thermal testbed. Each tier has 4 segmented heaters emulating a simplified multicore processor. Tier-independent cooling is shown to reduce the pumping power by 37.5% by preventing over-cooling when an operating temperature is specified. Thermal coupling for 3D chips with liquid cooling is also discussed.
Energy characterization and instruction-level energy model of Intel's Xeon Phi processor

Intel's Xeon Phi is the first commercial many-core/multi-thread x86--based processor. Xeon Phi belongs to a new breed of high performance computing processors that seek high compute density as well as energy efficiency. However, no high-level energy model is available for Xeon Phi software developers to quickly evaluate and optimize energy efficiency. This work demonstrates an instruction-level energy model for the Xeon Phi processor to facilitate the development of energy-efficient software. In order to construct this model, we first characterize the energy consumption of the processor, identifying how energy per instruction scales with the number of cores, the number of active threads per core, and instruction types. Based on the energy characterization, we construct an instruction-level energy model and validate the accuracy of the model between 1% and 5% for real world benchmarks. We show that the energy model can be used to identify software inefficiencies for these benchmarks and find that Linpack code can be optimized to increase energy efficiency by as much as 10%.
Nucleolar organizer regions in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Nucleolar organizer regions are collections of nucleolar proteins associated with ribosomal genes that can be visualized in histologic sections using a silver colloid stain, thus the term silver-staining nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR). In some tissues, the number of AgNORs per nucleus correlates with cellular proliferation and, independently, with malignant change. AgNORs were studied in 66 paraffin-embedded head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and in 12 samples of normal tonsillar squamous epithelium. Carcinomas had a significantly higher mean AgNOR count than the benign epithelium (P less than .0001). Among carcinomas, mean AgNOR count increased with stage of the disease (P less than .001), but there was no significant correlation with histologic grade or DNA ploidy as determined by flow cytometry. These data suggest that AgNOR count should be evaluated as a possible aid in differentiating benign from malignant squamous epithelial proliferations in the head and neck, and also possibly as a prognostic marker in these carcinomas.
Effects of imagining speakers' voices on the retention of words presented visually.

Subjects were introduced to one male and one female voice by a tape recording with instructions to attend to characteristics of the voices. Then 18 pairs of words were presented visually on slides. The subject’s task during each 10-sec interslide interval was to repeat silently the pair of words over and over again in the male voice, in the female voice, or in the subject’s own voice. A surprise recognition test for the words indicated that the words were more likely to be recognized if they were spoken in the same Voice at test as was used to repeat them during presentation. Recognition of the words repeated in the subject’s own voice was not affected by the sex of the speaker at test. In Experiment 2, different speakers were used at test than those used by the subjects to repeat the words. The interaction between the sex of voice used at encoding and at test was again significant, but recognition was generally lower than in Experiment 1. It was concluded that it is not necessary to assume that subjects have literal copies of spoken words in memory but speaker’s voice does form an integral part of the verbal memory code and its influence is specific to a given speaker as well as to a given class of speakers (male or female).
Nevanlinna functions as quotients

Let f be a holomorphic function in the unit ball. Then f is a Nevanlinna function if and only if there exist Smirnov functions f+, f_ such that f = f/fand f_ has no zeros in the ball. Let B = Bn be the open unit ball in C( and S = OB be the unit sphere. If n = 1, then E) = B1 is the open unit disc i1i C. The Nevanlinna class N(B) is the set of all holomorphic functions f on B such that sup log+ fri du 0, there exists 6 > 0 such that
A view on full-diversity modulus-preserving rate-one linear space-time block codes

In this paper, we consider the class of linear space time block codes (STBCs) that possess the following properties: (i) enabling full antenna diversity, (ii) preserving the modulus of information symbols, and (iii) achieving the maximum rate of one symbol per channel use under (i) and (ii). We first provide an alternative construction for full-diversity rate-one STBCs that are based on linear constellation precoding (LCP). In sharp contrast to existing LCP-based designs, the proposed construction is modulus-preserving, thanks to an explicit unitary diagonal precoding on symbol blocks combined with an implicit fast-Fourier-transform (FFT) precoding via circularly shifted transmissions over multiple antennas. Our proposed construction also allows flexible choices on the precoder size, a feature not available in the original design. We then demonstrate that quasi-orthogonal (QO) STBCs can be constructed by embedding modulus-preserving LCP designs into orthogonal structures. Interestingly, QO-STBCs can be interpreted as space-time-frequency (STF) block codes, that were originally developed for multi-antenna multi-carrier systems, up to FFT transformations.
Identification of novel genes in the oral pathogen Campylobacter rectus

Introduction: A poorly described bacterium, Campylobacter rectus, has been implicated as an etiological agent of periodontal disease. The aim of this study was to use a comparative genomics approach to identify genes that contribute to the lifestyle of C. rectus as an oral pathogen. Methods: Suppressive subtractive hybridization was used to identify genes encoded by C. rectus ATCC 33238, but not present in the genome of a related Campylobacter species, Campylobacter jejuni ATCC 11168. Results: Suppressive subtractive hybridization identified 154 unique DNA sequences from the C. rectus genome. Ninety-two of the 154 clones were classified as C. rectus-specific, as they did not show significant sequence homology to genes identified in any strain of C. jejuni (blast E-value >1E-3). blast analysis predicted that the 92 C. rectus-specific gene fragments play a role in a variety of biological processes including signal transduction mechanisms (histidine kinase, response regulators, diguanylate cyclases, chemotaxis receptor) and potentially virulence (S-layer RTX and cysteine desulfhydrase). Further analysis of the C. rectus-specific clones showed that 10 genes had Campylobacter homologues that were only found in species that commonly reside within the oral cavity of humans and 10 other fragments shared homology only with non-campylobacter organisms. Conclusions: These data provide the first substantial insights into the genomic content of C. rectus, a significant oral pathogen. The genes identified in this study are a valuable resource for initiating new research on the virulence of C. rectus during periodontitis.
Affirmative action in winner-take-all markets

Whom to hire, promote, admit into elite universities, elect, or issue government contracts to are all determined in a tournament-like (winner-take-all) structure. This paper constructs a simple model of pair-wise tournament competition to investigate affirmative action in these markets. We consider two forms of affirmative action: group-sighted, where employers are allowed to use group identity in pursuit of their diversity goals; and group-blind, where they are not. It is shown that the equilibrium group-sighted affirmative action scheme involves a constant handicap given to agents in the disadvantaged group. Equilibrium group-blind affirmative action creates a unique semi-separating equilibrium in which a large pool of contestants exerts zero effort, and this pool is increasing in the aggresiveness of the affirmative action mandate.
Neural control of prolactin release in male rats: A possible inhibitory pericommissural component

Abstract Adult male rats under pentobarbital anesthesia received different types of “roof” knife cuts at the level of the anterior commissure. The cutting blade was 1.5 mm long and L-shape. Plasma prolactin concentrations were monitored every 30 min starting immediately before the lesion for a total period of 90 min. Mean prolactin values did not show significant changes in the following groups: no knife rotation, posterior rotation at a depth of 7.5 mm (subcommissural), and posterior rotation at a depth of 6.5 mm (supracommissural). On the other hand, anterior knife rotation at 6.5 mm (supracommissural) resulted in an immediate, significant increase in the plasma prolactin concentration 30 min after the lesion. Hormone concentrations were still high at 60 min. The results suggest the existence of significant projection components passing through and/or making synaptic contact at the level of the preoptic-suprachiasmatic region with elements involved in the (inhibitory) control of prolactin release in the male rat. These projections may take origin in the amygdala and/or hippocampus.