cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuronal and immune interactions

It has continuously been growing information on bidirectional communication between the neuronal and immune systems, while increasing evidence suggests that neuromodulators released from the neuronal systems influence cells of the immune system. On the other hand, activated cells of the immune system release an array of immunomodulators that influence the physiologic function of the nervous system. The evidence suggests that the nervous and immune systems are integrated, interdependent homeostatic system.
A DIFFERENTIAL BROTH FOR SEPARATING THE LACTIC STREPTOCOCCI

Arginine degradation and citrate utilization, the major differentiating characteristics among lactic streptococci, formed the basis of a differential broth for separating Streptococcus cremoris, St...
Income Taxes and Team Performance: Do They Matter?

State- and local-income tax rates differ across locations, giving low-tax teams a competitive advantage when bidding for players. I investigate the effect of income tax rates on professional team performance between 1977 and 2014 using data from professional baseball, basketball, football, and hockey in the United States. Regressing income tax rates on winning percentage, I find little evidence of income tax effects prior to 1994, but since then a ten percent increase in income taxes is associated with a three percent decline in winning percentage. A robustness check using within state variation in income taxes affirms this result. The income tax rate effect varies by league, with the largest effect in professional basketball, where teams in states without income tax win 4.5 more games each year relative to high-tax states. The income tax effect is smallest in major league baseball, which could be explained by greater team payroll disparity. Placebo tests using college team performance find no evidence of an income tax effect.
Abstract TMP72: Geographic, Demographic and Socioeconomic Analysis of StrokeNet Research Network Population Coverage

Introduction: StrokeNet is an NIH research network to advance research for acute treatment, prevention, and recovery/rehabilitation following stroke. Hypothesis/Objective: We characterized the adul...
Rapid Response Systems: A Brief Review of the Evidence

While there has been some variability from study to study, Rapid Response Systems clearly are associated with improvements in unanticipated cardiac arrest and hospital mortality for both pediatric and adult populations in pooled analyses. Unanticipated cardiac arrest and mortality are, on average, reduced by approximately 40 and 15 %, respectively. While these results come from observational trials, the data has become progressively more consistent with time as the Rapid Response System concept has matured. However, progress in reducing these rates further seems to be dependent on further improving the Afferent Limb of the Rapid Response system where the clinical deterioration is first detected and the alarm sounded for help.
Analysis of patient-detected breast cancer recurrence.

BACKGROUND After primary surgical resection, breast cancer survivors regularly undergo surveillance using multiple modalities to detect recurrences. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to determine how breast cancer recurrences were detected in our sample population of breast cancer survivors. We hypothesize that the majority of recurrences are patient-detected. METHODS This was a retrospective observational study evaluating patients with a detected breast cancer recurrence between 2010 and 2015. Patients were analyzed by initial detection modality (patient versus clinician versus imaging). Other variables of interest included insurance status, ambulation capability, living situation, age at diagnosis and recurrence, and time to recurrence. Statistical methods included chi-square tests, log-rank tests, and analysis of variance. RESULTS 115 patients were identified with a recurrence (mean age 61 years). 88 (77%) recurrences were patient-detected, 14 (12%) were detected by imaging, and 13 (11%) were clinician-detected (chi-square goodness of fit test p < 0.001). Median time to recurrence was 4 years in the patient-detection group compared to 3 for the clinician group and 2 for imaging detection (log-rank test p = 0.01). CONCLUSION While the majority of recurrences were patient-detected, these were detected later and at a more advanced clinical stage. This could represent an opportunity to enhance outcomes by empowering patient detection strategies.
There's No Place Like Home: Reshaping Community Interventions and Policies to Eliminate Environmental Hazards and Improve Population Health for Low-Income and Minority Communities

Substandard housing and environmental conditions threaten the health and well-being of individuals residing throughout the United States. Empirical evidence on the relationship between housing and health has increased exponentially. However, despite the growth in research, residents continue to be exposed to environmental health hazards. Minorities and people in poverty are exposed to environmental health hazards at a disproportionately high rate. Hazards, such as lead, mold, pest infestation, radon, and carbon monoxide, among others, threaten individual safety and health and limit one’s ability to access opportunity in society. Moreover, the effects of exposure can be far-reaching. Common approaches to healthy communities and homes fail to protect residents from exposure to environmental health hazards. Federal, state, and local jurisdictions often rely on education and research, regulation of real estate transactions, heightened standards for special populations, enactment of minimum habitability standards, hazard mitigation, and community-level interventions. Taken together, these approaches are fragmented, reactive rather than preventive, and under-resourced. As a result, they are inadequate to prevent negative health consequences that accrue to residents. This article analyzes the relationship between policies governing healthy communities and housing and health outcomes for residents. Part I discusses how environmental and housing conditions affect community and individual health, with a particular focus on conditions that cause lead poisoning, asthma and respiratory distress, and cancer. Part II examines current federal, state, and local approaches to healthy housing policy, including interventions directed at individual housing units as well as the community at-large. This part also analyzes the limitations of these policies that prevent residents from attaining good health. Part III offers recommendations to improve health outcomes for individuals and communities.
Neural stem cells: developmental mechanisms and disease modeling

The astonishing progress in the field of stem cell biology during the past 40 years has transformed both science and medicine. Neural stem cells (NSCs) are the stem cells of the nervous system. During development they give rise to the entire nervous system. In adults, a small number of NSCs remain and are mostly quiescent; however, ample evidence supports their important roles in plasticity, aging, disease, and regeneration of the nervous system. Because NSCs are regulated by both intrinsic genetic and epigenetic programs and extrinsic stimuli transduced through the stem cell niche, dysregulation of NSCs due to either genetic causes or environmental impacts may lead to disease. Therefore, extensive investigations in the past decades have been devoted to understanding how NSCs are regulated. On the other hand, ever since their discovery, NSCs have been a focal point for cell-based therapeutic strategies in the brain and spinal cord. The limited number of NSCs residing in the tissue has been a limiting factor for their clinical applications. Although recent advancements in embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells have provided novel sources for NSCs, several challenges remain. In this special issue, leaders and experts in NSCs summarize our current understanding of NSC molecular regulation and the importance of NSCs for disease modeling and translational applications.
Response to: 'Congenital tricuspid valve disease can masquerade as primary idiopathic TR' by Rajpal.

We received the letter by Dr Rajpal addressing the spectrum of congenital tricuspid valve (TV) abnormalities and highlighting congenital tricuspid disease as an under-recognised cause of isolated tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in adults. We agree wholeheartedly that there is a wide spectrum of congenital tricuspid valve disease, ranging from Ebstein’s anomaly …
Mating Status Effects on Sexual Response of Males and Females in the Parasitoid Wasp Urolepis rufipes

Although mate preferences are most commonly examined in females, they are often found in both sexes. In the parasitoid wasp Urolepis rufipes, both female and male mating status affected certain aspects of sexual interactions. Female mating status mattered only in the later stages of mating. Males did not discriminate between virgin and mated females in terms of which they contacted or mounted first. However, once mounted, most virgin females were receptive to copulation, whereas very few mated females were. Whether a male’s mating status affected his own sexual response depended on the female’s ability to respond and the stage of mating. Examining male behavior toward dead females allowed elimination of the role of female behavior in how males responded. Virgin and mated males are both attracted to dead females as evidenced by their fanning their wings at such females. However, mated males were quicker than virgin males to contact and to mount in an experiment with dead females, whereas there was no such differential response in an experiment with live females. This difference is consistent with greater female sexual responsiveness to virgin males. Male mating status also affected female receptivity to copulate. Once mounted, live virgin females were less likely to become receptive to copulation by mated males than to virgin males, but only in a choice experiment, not in a no-choice experiment.
Moving object segmentation using motor signals

Moving object segmentation from an image sequence is essential for a robot to interact with its environment. Traditional vision approaches appeal to pure motion analysis on videos without exploiting the source of the background motion. We observe, however, that the background motion (from the robot's egocentric view) has stronger correlation to the robot's motor signals than the foreground motion. We propose a novel approach to detecting moving objects by clustering features into background and foreground according to their motion consistency with motor signals. Specifically, our approach learns homography and fundamental matrices as functions of motor signals, and predict sparse feature locations from the learned matrices. The errors between the predictions and their actual tracked locations are used to label them into background and foreground. The labels of the sparse features are then propagated to all pixels. Our approach does not require building a dense mosaic background or searching for affine, homography, or fundamental matrix parameters for foreground separation. In addition, it does not need to explicitly model the intrinsic and extrinsic calibration parameters hence requires much less prior geometry knowledge. It works completely in 2D image space, and does not involve any complex analysis or computation in 3D space.
THE DEGREE OF A BRANCHED COVERING OF A SPHERE

This chapter presents the degree of a branched covering of a sphere. In general, the degree of such a branched covering is bounded below by the length of the longest nontrivial cup product in the reduced rational cohomology of M n . A well-known theorem of J. W. Alexander states that any closed orientable piecewise linear manifold M n is a piecewise linear branched covering of the n -sphere, that is, there is a finite-to-one, open PL map M n → S n . The chapter presents an assumption where φ: M n → N n is any branched degree p . There is a space X with an action of a finite group G that fits into a commutative diagram illustrated in the chapter.
Accretion of Dietary Docosahexaenoic Acid in Mouse Tissues Did Not Differ between Its Purified Phospholipid and Triacylglycerol Forms.

Recent studies suggest that dietary krill oil leads to higher omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) tissue accretion compared to fish oil because the former is rich in n-3 PUFA esterified as phospholipids (PL), while n-3 PUFA in fish oil are primarily esterified as triacylglycerols (TAG). Tissue accretion of the same dietary concentrations of PL- and TAG-docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) (DHA) has not been compared and was the focus of this study. Mice (n = 12/group) were fed either a control diet or one of six DHA (1%, 2%, or 4%) as PL-DHA or TAG-DHA diets for 4 weeks. Compared with the control, DHA concentration in liver, adipose tissue (AT), heart, and eye, but not brain, were significantly higher in mice consuming either PL- or TAG-DHA, but there was no difference in DHA concentration in all tissues between the PL- or TAG-DHA forms. Consumption of PL- and TAG-DHA at all concentrations significantly elevated eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) (EPA) in all tissues when compared with the control group, while docoshexapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6) (DPA) was significantly higher in all tissues except for the eye and heart. Both DHA forms lowered total omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFA) in all tissues and total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in the liver and AT; total saturated fatty acid (SFA) were lowered in the liver but elevated in the AT. An increase in the DHA dose, independent of DHA forms, significantly lowered n-6 PUFA and significantly elevated n-3 PUFA concentration in all tissues. Our results do not support the claim that the PL form of n-3 PUFA leads to higher n-3 PUFA tissue accretion than their TAG form.
Impact of Patient Size and Radiation Dose on Accuracy and Precision of Iodine Quantification and Virtual Noncontrast Values in Dual-layer Detector CT-A Phantom Study

Rationale and Objectives Iodine quantification (IQ) and virtual noncontrast (VNC) images produced by dual-energy CT (DECT) can be used for various clinical applications. We investigate the performance of dual-layer DECT (DLDECT) in different phantom sizes and varying radiation doses and tube voltages, including a low-dose pediatric setting. Materials and Methods Three phantom sizes (simulating a 10-year-old child, an average, and a large-sized adult) were scanned with iodine solution inserts with concentrations ranging 0-32 mg/ml, using the DLDECT. Each phantom size was scanned with CTDIvol 2-15 mGy at 120 and 140 kVp. The smallest phantom underwent additional scans with CTDIvol 0.9-1.8 mGy. All scans were repeated 3 times. Each iodine insert was analyzed using VNC and IQ images for accuracy and precision, by comparison to known values. Results For scans from 2 to 15 mGy mean VNC attenuation and IQ error in the iodine inserts in the small, medium, and large phantoms was 1.2 HU ± 3.2, −1.2 HU ± 14.9, 2.6 HU ± 23.6; and +0.1 mg/cc ± 0.4, −0.9 mg/cc ± 0.9, and −1.8 mg/cc ± 1.8, respectively. In this dose range, there were no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) in mean VNC attenuation or IQ accuracy in each phantom size, while IQ was significantly less precise in the small phantom at 2 mGy and 10 mGy (p Conclusion Performance of iodine quantification and subtraction by VNC images in DLDECT is largely dose independent, with the primary factor being patient size. Low-dose pediatric scan protocols have a significant, but limited impact on IQ and VNC attenuation values.
Long-Run Macroeconometric Stabilization Under Bounded Uncertainty

This paper investigates the applicability of the Lyapunov minmax approach advocated by LEITMANN AND WAN for stabilizing uncertain economic systems to problems of quantitative macroeconometric stabilization using existing econometric models. The approach is illustrated by means of stochastic simulations using the long-run version of the French MICRO-DMS model.
Hands-on introduction to test-driven development: pre-conference workshop

Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a style of program development where few simple rules are observed: 1) write a failing automated test before writing any code, 2) the test determines what code you need to write, and 3) remove duplication in code by refactoring. Refactoring is the process of making changes to code without changing its original functionality. Refactoring is a critical part of TDD as it allows one to clean up the design of the code before adding additional tests. Many agile software development methodologies (such as XP) clearly take the TDD approach. This workshop provides hands-on introduction to TDD process, tools, and techniques using the Eclipse IDE, JUnit, and EasyMock tools. In particular, the workshop will cover the following topics: What is Test-Driven Development? Benefits of Test-Driven Development Basics of Eclipse IDE Writing automated tests with JUnit TDD Process -- Red, Green, Refactor mantra Refactoring Mock Objects
Integrating a gas turbine system and a flameless boiler to make steam for hydrogen production in a solid oxide steam electrolyzer

Abstract Solid oxide steam electrolyzer (SOSE) uses both electricity and steam to produce hydrogen in a large scale. Considering losses in the electrical power transmission and significant amounts of fuel for steam making, it is affordable to integrate the gas turbine (GT) system to the SOSE in the power plant to generate hybrid electrical power-hydrogen fuel. In this paper, design and performance of a hybrid electrical power generation-hydrogen production system are analytically analyzed. To make steam, a flameless boiler is coupled to the GT system using the GT extremely hot exhaust gases as the oxidizer. The results revealed that the turbine inlet temperature (TIT) should be kept more than 1314 K to obtain GT exhaust gases at temperatures higher than 870 K (auto-ignition temperature of methane) to maintain flameless combustion mode in the boiler. By increasing the flameless boiler temperature and consequently enhancing the SOSE steam temperature from 950 K to 1350 K, the rate of overall fuel consumption in the flameless boiler slightly increases, however the hydrogen production rate escalates from 2.2 mol/s to 10.2 mol/s. The novelty of this paper lies on the using the GT exhaust gases enthalpy to run a flameless boiler to drastically mitigate fuel consumption in hydrogen production system. The presented model in this paper can be used to perform more thermochemical analyses to attain insightful understanding of the hybrid electrical power-hydrogen production systems.
Near-threshold $\omega$-meson production in proton-proton collisions: With or without resonance excitations ?

We present results for the $p p \to p p \omega$ reaction studied by considering two different scenarios: with and without the inclusion of nucleon resonance excitations. The recently measured angular distribution by the COSY-TOF Collaboration at an excess energy of $Q = 173$ MeV and the energy dependence of the total cross section data for $\pi^- p \to \omega n$ are used to calibrate the model parameters. The inclusion of nucleon resonances improves the theoretical prediction for the energy dependence of the total cross section in $pp \to pp\omega$ at excess energies $Q < 31$ MeV. However, it still underestimates the data by about a factor of two, and remains a problem in understanding the reaction mechanism.
Commonalities across computational workflows for uncovering explanatory variants in undiagnosed cases.

Author(s): Kobren, Shilpa Nadimpalli; Baldridge, Dustin; Velinder, Matt; Krier, Joel B; LeBlanc, Kimberly; Esteves, Cecilia; Pusey, Barbara N; Zuchner, Stephan; Blue, Elizabeth; Lee, Hane; Huang, Alden; Bastarache, Lisa; Bican, Anna; Cogan, Joy; Marwaha, Shruti; Alkelai, Anna; Murdock, David R; Liu, Pengfei; Wegner, Daniel J; Paul, Alexander J; Undiagnosed Diseases Network; Sunyaev, Shamil R; Kohane, Isaac S | Abstract: PurposeGenomic sequencing has become an increasingly powerful and relevant tool to be leveraged for the discovery of genetic aberrations underlying rare, Mendelian conditions. Although the computational tools incorporated into diagnostic workflows for this task are continually evolving and improving, we nevertheless sought to investigate commonalities across sequencing processing workflows to reveal consensus and standard practice tools and highlight exploratory analyses where technical and theoretical method improvements would be most impactful.MethodsWe collected details regarding the computational approaches used by a genetic testing laboratory and 11 clinical research sites in the United States participating in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network via meetings with bioinformaticians, online survey forms, and analyses of internal protocols.ResultsWe found that tools for processing genomic sequencing data can be grouped into four distinct categories. Whereas well-established practices exist for initial variant calling and quality control steps, there is substantial divergence across sites in later stages for variant prioritization and multimodal data integration, demonstrating a diversity of approaches for solving the most mysterious undiagnosed cases.ConclusionThe largest differences across diagnostic workflows suggest that advances in structural variant detection, noncoding variant interpretation, and integration of additional biomedical data may be especially promising for solving chronically undiagnosed cases.
Bleeding risk by intensity of anticoagulation in critically ill patients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Studies report hypercoagulability in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), leading many institutions to escalate anticoagulation intensity for thrombosis prophylaxis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the bleeding risk with various intensities of anticoagulation in critically ill patients with COVID-19 compared with other respiratory viral illnesses (ORVI). PATIENTS/METHODS: This retrospective cohort study compared the incidence of major bleeding in patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) within a single health system with COVID-19 versus ORVI. In the COVID-19 cohort, we assessed the effect of anticoagulation intensity received on ICU admission on bleeding risk. We performed a secondary analysis with anticoagulation intensity as a time-varying covariate to reflect dose changes after ICU admission. RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-three and 387 patients were included in the COVID-19 and ORVI cohorts, respectively. The hazard ratio of major bleeding for the COVID-19 cohort relative to the ORVI cohort was 1.26 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86-1.86). In COVID-19 patients, an inverse-probability treatment weighted model found therapeutic-intensity anticoagulation on ICU admission had an adjusted hazard ratio of bleeding of 1.55 (95% CI: 0.88-2.73) compared with standard prophylactic-intensity anticoagulation. However, when anticoagulation was assessed as a time-varying covariate and adjusted for other risk factors for bleeding, the adjusted hazard ratio for bleeding on therapeutic-intensity anticoagulation compared with standard thromboprophylaxis was 2.59 (95% CI: 1.20-5.57). CONCLUSIONS: Critically ill patients with COVID-19 had a similar bleeding risk as ORVI patients. When accounting for changes in anticoagulation that occurred in COVID-19 patients, therapeutic-intensity anticoagulation was associated with a greater risk of major bleeding compared with standard thromboprophylaxis.
Improving Glycemic Control of Diabetic Patients in an Outpatient Practice

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a devastating condition with premature mortality, poor quality of life, & vast economic cost contributing to substantial societal burden. More resources are allocated to DM than any other condition, & with an estimated worldwide prevalence of 350 million people by 2025, it remains an urgent epidemic. Providing standardized, high quality care (HQC) to improve DM control is a matter of utmost importance. Our residents receive primary care training in a federal funded healthcare system, with yearly reports from Medicare addressing compliance with current accepted standards, including but not limited to DM management. In this Quality Improvement (QI) project, we sought to directly address deficiencies in their management. A retrospective chart review was conducted over 1 year. Patients with uncontrolled (UC) DM were identified & a root cause analysis conducted. It was noted that over 40% of diabetics were UC, with a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) >8%; 60% of whom did not have appropriate escalation of management (AEOM) in further encounters. A QI intervention was developed aiming to improve AEOM in patients. Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles focused on the creation of a standardized documentation system (SDS) for UC DM encounters, a tracking system & a designated “DM manager”, who ensured electronic prescription delivery & early follow-up (F/U) appointments. Clear metrics of AEOM were established & clinicians underwent small group educational sessions emphasizing each intervention, with review of updated ADA guidelines. Although prospective biweekly chart review is ongoing, Fisher’s exact test was used for statistical analysis of initial post interventional data. A total of 33 UC DM patient encounters were analyzed thus far. In January 2020, 31% of all encounters used the newly created SDS; of which 69% had AEOM. In February 2020, 57% of all encounters used the SDS; 71% of providers had AEOM. Of the encounters using the SDS, 83% had AEOM compared to 67% in those without (p:0.42). Average F/U time per patient was 6 weeks. Delivering standardized & HQC in DM patients presents a challenge dependent on a variety of system & patient factors. This becomes more apparent in rural & low-income populations as in our clinic. Although HbA1c is a well-established method of monitoring glycemic control, we propose that other uniform performance measures be used to dynamically assess overall DM management. Our metrics include standardized, replicable documentation, early F/U time & defined AEOM parameters such as timely addition of new medication, dose adjustments, & utilization of resources such as DM educators. Thus far, there appears to be a non-statistically significant trend towards improved standardization of provider documentation, F/U visits & AEOM. Further data is needed. We hope to see these measures translate into overall improved glycemic control.
COVID-19 and the future of work in the hospitality industry.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the hospitality industry. This research combines different data to examine the US labor market trends during COVID-19. It is found that low-preparation jobs in leisure and hospitality are the hardest hit and slow to recover. The pandemic has highlighted growing issues in workplace safety, skill gaps, technology adoption, and work reorganization in the hospitality industry. This paper develops two propositions about preparing hospitality workers for the future of work and providing flexible work arrangements.
The impact of policy uncertainty on the M&A exit of startup firms

This paper examines how economic policy uncertainty impacts the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions as an exit route for startups. Our results show that an increase in policy uncertainty reduces the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions in startups. We argue that EPU negatively impacts the likelihood of M&A activity by increasing both the risk premium for the target firms and the cost of developing the absorptive capacity for the acquirer firm. However, startups that can build competitive advantage and can demonstrate innovative capabilities through the presence of intellectual property are more likely to exit via merger and acquisition, even in high policy uncertainty. Our results are robust after controlling for macro-level indicators and other model specifications. The study contributes to the growing literature that examines the impact of policy uncertainty on various aspects related to businesses in general and startups in particular.
Spatial and Temporal Changes in Nesting Behavior by Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger) in New Jersey, USA, from 1976-2019

Sea level rise from anthropogenic climate change threatens waterbird species worldwide. In New Jersey, USA, one such waterbird, the Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger), uses both salt marsh islands and beaches for nesting colony sites. Both habitats vary in flood risk, with salt marsh islands typically being more vulnerable especially in the face of sea level rise. Given that sea level has increased in the mid-Atlantic region over the past four decades, we hypothesized that Black Skimmers have shifted their colonies from salt marshes to beaches, and that this change has led to an increase in coexistence with Least Terns (Sternula antillarum). We analyzed 44 years of seabird population census data from New Jersey and found that the probability that a Black Skimmer colony was located on a salt marsh island, as opposed to a beach, significantly declined over the survey period. Additionally, the probability of coexistence with Least Terns significantly increased. Such climate change driven population shifts of endangered species may have significant consequences for their conservation in human modified systems where habitat is already limiting.
Retinal photoisomerization dynamics in the primary process of the other natural photosynthetic system, bacteriorhodopsin

Summary form only given. Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is a retinal protein membrane present in bR Halobacterium salinarium that carries out its photosynthetic function. Upon absorption of a photon by its retinal chromophore, bR goes through its photocycle. Using picosecond Raman transient spectroscopy, the author was able to show that the first step is indeed a retinal photoisomerization from all-trans to 13-Cis form. The question immediately arises as to why retinal photoisomerization is so fast when placed in the protein. Using optical subpicosecond transient absorption photoacoustic spectroscopy, the author measured the rate of photoisomerization, its quantum yield, and the energy stored in this process for bR and for a number of its relevant mutants and at different pH. It is found that the presence of the negatively charged Aspartate-85 in the retinal cavity near the 13-14 bond is the most effective in the protein catalysis of this process. This led the author to propose that the positive charge stabilization on C/sub 13/ of the retinal in the excited state by Aspartate-85 reduces the barrier to rotation around the C/sub 13/-C/sub 14/ bond and leads to the observed photocatalysis. It is further observed that while the rate of photoisomerization is sensitive to the retinal environment, its quantum yield and the energy stored in this process are not. This has led to the conclusion that the ground state surface has a large barrier to thermal isomerization around C/sub 13/-C/sub l4/ while the excited state surface is barrierless, flat, and symmetric with respect to rotation around the C/sub 13/-C/sub 14/ bond in the perpendicular configuration.
Change of Time over Changing Time

One Time Fits All . The Campaigns for Global Uniformity. By Ian R. Bartky . Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2007. 320 pp. $49.95. ISBN 9780804756426. Focusing on the International Date Line, the system of Standard Time zones, and Daylight Saving-time, Barkty explores aspects of the global adoption of uniform civil time.
A multi-layer plastic/glass technology for microfluidic systems with integrated functionality

A multi-layer plastic/glass technology has been developed for microfluidic systems with integrated functionality. Hot embossing and heat staking of plastics, microstenciling of electrodes, and stereolithography (SLA) was combined with conventional MEMS fabrication techniques to realize the system. The approach enables the use of multiple plastic/glass materials in a single system, provides a solution for the integration of electrical functionality throughout the system, provides a mechanism for the inclusion of microvalves, and provides an interconnect technology for interfacing fluids and electrical components between the macro and the micro worlds.
Polynucleotide Sequence Relationships Among Some Bacterial Plasmids

The deoxyribonucleic acid of F-like plasmids appear to share a high degree of nucleotide similarity with each other but are not highly related to I-like plasmids.
Boosting first-order clauses for large, skewed data sets

Creating an effective ensemble of clauses for large, skewed data sets requires finding a diverse, high-scoring set of clauses and then combining them in such a way as to maximize predictive performance. We have adapted the RankBoost algorithm in order to maximize area under the recall-precision curve, a much better metric when working with highly skewed data sets than ROC curves. We have also explored a range of possibilities for the weak hypotheses used by our modified RankBoost algorithm beyond using individual clauses. We provide results on four large, skewed data sets showing that our modified RankBoost algorithm outperforms the original on area under the recall-precision curves.
Nucleotide sequence and transcription of the right early region of bacteriophage PRD1.

Abstract We have sequenced the rightmost 1,700 base pairs of bacteriophage PRD1. This region encompasses the right early region and completes the sequence of all PRD1 early functions. We have also mapped the 5' initiation site of right early transcripts in vivo and in vitro. This has allowed us to assign gene XII to an open reading frame and suggests that another open reading frame may also be expressed. Gene XII, which has been implicated in the replication process and the regulation of gene expression, is predicted to encode a protein with a molecular mass of 16.7 kilodaltons. Data base searches have revealed no significant homology between the product of this gene and other proteins. Transcription mapping studies have revealed that right early transcripts elongate from right to left and have enabled us to identify the right early promoter. This promoter behaves identically in vivo and in vitro. We also demonstrate that this promoter directs the transcription of two RNAs of different sizes in vitro.
Female‐headed Single Parent Families

The proportion of traditional family households with two parents has been steadily declining, in large part due to an increase in the female‐headed single parent family – the largest growing family type. Reports on a study to test hypotheses that differences exist between female‐headed single parent families′ and two parent families′ food purchasing patterns. Examines the frequency of use of convenience foods and restaurants and restaurant spending levels, to determine if there are differences between the two family types. Reveals that similar purchasing patterns exist between the household structures and suggests potential marketing implications of this finding.
Cadherin-8 expression, synaptic localization, and molecular control of neuronal form in prefrontal corticostriatal circuits

Neocortical interactions with the dorsal striatum support many motor and executive functions, and such underlying functional networks are particularly vulnerable to a variety of developmental, neurological, and psychiatric brain disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Relatively little is known about the development of functional corticostriatal interactions, and in particular, virtually nothing is known of the molecular mechanisms that control generation of prefrontal cortex-striatal circuits. Here, we used regional and cellular in situ hybridization techniques coupled with neuronal tract tracing to show that Cadherin-8 (Cdh8), a homophilic adhesion protein encoded by a gene associated with autism spectrum disorders and learning disability susceptibility, is enriched within striatal projection neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex and in striatal medium spiny neurons forming the direct or indirect pathways. Developmental analysis of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot data show that Cdh8 expression peaks in the prefrontal cortex and striatum at P10, when cortical projections start to form synapses in the striatum. High-resolution immunoelectron microscopy shows that Cdh8 is concentrated at excitatory synapses in the dorsal striatum, and Cdh8 knockdown in cortical neurons impairs dendritic arborization and dendrite self-avoidance. Taken together, our findings indicate that Cdh8 delineates developing corticostriatal circuits where it is a strong candidate for regulating the generation of normal cortical projections, neuronal morphology, and corticostriatal synapses.
Characterization of differences between blood sample matrices in untargeted metabolomics.

Large-scale proteomic and metabolomic technologies are increasingly gaining attention for their use in the diagnosis of human disease. In order to ensure the statistical power of relevant markers, such analyses must incorporate a large number of representative samples. While in a best-case scenario these samples are collected through a study design that is specifically tailored for the desired analysis, often studies must rely upon the analysis of large numbers of previously banked samples that may or may not have complete and accurate documentation of their associated collection and storage methods. In this study, several human blood matrices were analyzed and compared for the quality of metabolomic output. The sample types that were tested include plasma prepared with a variety of anticoagulants and serum collected by venipuncture and capillary blood collection protocols. Analysis with liquid chromatography−mass spectrometry (LC-MS) revealed only subtle differences between the various plasma preparation...
Metabolism of endogenous lipid by the perfused rat kidney

Abstract It has been demonstrated that in vivo, exogenous [ 14 C] palmitate is rapidly taken up and incorporated into phospholipid, neutral lipid and free fatty acid fractions of the kidney. During subsequent perfusion in an in vitro system, the amount of isotope decreases most rapidly in the neutral lipid (triglyceride) fraction. Net loss of chemical fatty acids cannot be detected after 2 hr. perfusion. The primary source of 14 CO 2 produced appears to be fatty acids from either neutral lipid or phospholipids. Since loss of 14 C from neutral lipids is independent of O 2 and substrates, regulation of fatty acid oxidation must be beyond triglyceride lipase.
Acacia, cattle and migratory birds in southeastern Mexico

Acacia pennatula groves in mid-elevation valleys of southern Mexico supported both the highest density and diversity of migratory birds compared to other habitats in the region. In addition, we found the highest numbers for over half of the common migratory species. Despite the high degree of leaf loss during the late winter, acacia groves do not experience greater declines in insectivorous migratory bird populations than other local habitats. Color-marked individuals of canopy species had a strong tendency to remain resident within a single acacia grove throughout the winter. Management of native acacias on subtropical rangelands for wood products, fodder, and soil improvement would probably directly and indirectly benefit migratory song bird populations. Neotropical acacia woodland is primarily associated with grazing land for livestock which might discourage some from considering acacia management a viable option for migratory bird conservation. However, acacias were probably widespread in recent geologic time under drier conditions with heavy browsing and seed dispersal by a now extinct megafauna. Two observations suggest a foraging advantage for acacia use: the higher density of migratory birds in acacia is a result of higher numbers of canopy insectivores; and acacias are selected by migrants when they occur in mixed habitat. We hypothesize that plant investment in mechanical defenses (thorns) reduces energy available for chemical defenses effective against insect herbivores.
Commentaries on Belk, “Situational Variables and Consumer Behavior”

By his clear statement of some issues met in attempts to bring the environment into psychological theory and research in connection with consumer behavior, Dr. Belk has made a valuable contribution. My comments will be limited to two issues that appear to me to be fundamental: namely, the temporal and spacial extent of the environment and its dynamic properties. It is true as the author says that the surroundings of a person range from the narrowest situation ("a point in time and space"), through behavior settings ("time and space dimensions [stretched] to broader and more continuous units"), to the total circumjacent environment. The question arises, therefore: for what behaviors are these variously constricted surrounds relevant? Consumer behavior, on the basis of the examples given (e.g., shopping for clothes, seeing a motion picture), almost always involves molar actions which extend over time and occur within spacially extended regions with fluctuating properties. An adequate conceptualization of the environment of consumer behavior must, therefore, have the attributes of temporal and spacial extent; and it must have other properties that can vary across time and space. This is true in all applied sciences. The course of a golf ball cannot be predicted from the "situation" (direction and strength of forces) that exists at the moment of impact with the club; the winds, slopes, turf, etc., must be included. This presents great difficulties, but it cannot be ignored. Dr. Belk's situation is defined as a point in time and space and it is important for many psychological problems: for discrete, momentary acts (marking a questionnaire item, for example) and for behavior occurring under controlled, constant conditions in laboratories and clinics. I am sure there are lawful relations between behavior and the variables of such situations, but I fail to see their relevance for molar actions. The five types of "situational characteristics" proposed include none which clearly indicates that environments are dynamic and purposeful with respect to persons. This is a frequent lack in psychological theories of the environment; in them the environment is usually either neutral with respect to the intentions of its inhabitants or chaotic, imposing driving and resisting forces on them in a random way. However, anyone who has driven on a highway, attended a fourth grade class, or shopped in a supermarket knows that these surroundings coerce people to behave in accordance with their, the surroundings', ongoing programs. This, it seems to me, should have a prominent place among the characteristics of situations.
Long-term ethanol-exposure markedly changes the cellular composition of cerebral glial cultures.

Abstract The vulnerablity of morphologically distinct glial subpopulations to ethanol toxicity was surveyed in tissue culture. Secondary cultures of rat glia were examined at intervals during 56 days of ethanol treatment for changes in growth and cellular characteristics. Beginning at 6 days in vitro (DIV), the experimental cultures were treated with either 0.2% or 0.5% (w/v) ethanol in the medium; control cultures received ethanol-free medium. Relative to control cultures, the ethanol-treated cultures exhibited a consistent and dose-dependent suppression in cell number. The development of these cultures was documented with sequential phase-contrast photomicrography. Prior to treatment day 5 (11 DIV), the preponderance of cells were epithelioid in configuration; the astrocytic character of these cells was verified by the immunocytochemical localization of glial fibrillary acidic protein. In control cultures, a subpopulation of process-bearing cells was acquired gradually during the first 3 weeks in culture. The majority of these process-bearing cells were considered to be oligodendrocytes due to their position above the astrocytic carpet and by the immunocytochemical localization of galactocerebroside. Exposure to 0.5% ethanol markedly suppressed the acquisition of process-bearing cells. This ethanol-related suppression of process-bearing cells was apparent in the photomicrographic records of culture development and was confirmed by differential cell counts after 50 days of treatment. These results suggest a possible differential sensitivity of oligodendrocytes or their precursors to ethanol toxicity at elevated (0.5% w/v) concentrations.
Relevance of surgical strategies for the management of pediatric Chiari type I malformation

Objective In face of continuing controversy to the optimal treatment of Chiari type I malformation, the authors analyzed three different surgical strategies.
Measuring and modeling variabilityusing low-cost FPGAs

The focus of this paper is to measure and qualify high-level process variation models by measuring variability on FPGAs. Measurements are done with high spatial resolution and demonstrate how the high-resolution data matches two industry test cases. The benefit of such an approach is that several inexpensive FPGAs, which are normally on the leading edge of technologies compared to ASICs, obviate the need of fabricating many custom test chips. Specifically, our evaluation shows how measurements of an Altera Cyclone II FPGA can be used to derive variability models for several 90nm commercial designs such as the Sun Niagara and Intel Pentium D. Even though the FPGAs and commercial processors are produced by different fabs (TSMC, TI, and Intel, respectively), we find the FPGAs to be very useful for predicting variation in the commercial processors.
Suppressing the suppressor: Role of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells in cancer surgery

THE POWER OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM represents a tantalizing mechanism for potential tumor eradication in patients with cancer. Unfortunately, most immunologic strategies designed to treat malignancy ultimately fail. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) entail a suppressive population of CD4 Tcells with a central role in the prevention of autoimmunity and the promotion of tolerance via their suppressive function on a broad repertoire of cellular targets. These regulatory activities, particularly on tumor antigen-presenting cells and cytotoxic antitumor cells, highlight Tregs as a critical immune-suppressing cell capable of affecting tumor-induced immune suppression. The purpose of this review is to highlight the current understanding of Tregs and their role in cancer, and to discuss proposed therapies to mitigate Treg-mediated immune escape.
Methodology for behavioral synthesis-based algorithm-level design space exploration: DCT case study

Numerous fast algorithms for the DiscreteCosine Transform (DCT) have been proposed. Until recently, it has been difficult to compare different DCT algorithms and select one which is best suitedfor implementation under a given set of design goals.We propose an approach for design space explorationat the algorithm and behavioral levels using behavioral synthesis tools and demonstrate its effectiveness for designing DCT ASIC. In particular, we study andcompare the following nine DCT algorithms: Lee's,Wang's, DIT, DFT, Arai's, DIF, Vetterli's, planar rotation, and direct algorithm. The main conclusions of this study are (i) the best choice among fast DCT algorithms depends on a particular set of design goals and constraints and (ii) almost always more than anorder of magnitude improvement can be achieved using algorithm and behavioral design space exploration.