cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dermal vascular patterns in response to burn or freeze injury in rats.

Abstract Full thickness injury of rat skin by burning results in wound healing with contraction whereas wounds of similar area and depth caused by freezing heal without contracting. Burns cause cell death and denaturation of the connective tissue matrix; freezing causes cell death, but the matrix is not immediately denatured and appears to maintain its integrity during the initial phases of repair. Differences in vascular perfusion within and surrounding the site of burn and freeze injury are described in the present study. During the first 2 hr after burning, arteriograms and Microfil latex vascular casts showed reduced, but existent perfusion at the injury site; in contrast, the site of freezing showed little perfusion. At 4 to 5 hr following injury, this pattern had reversed. There was loss of perfusion in the burn injury site and reappearance of perfusion in the frozen site. At 24 hr, the burned site was nearly avascular and surrounded by an area of vasodilatation. The frozen site had a patent vasculature within the dermis and little vasodilatation in the surrounding area. The persistent perfusion in the frozen dermis was presumably through vascular channels which were dead, but not occluded. We suspect that factors released from the burned matrix account for some of these differences in pattern of vascular perfusion.
Cure of hypoglycemic hyperinsulinism by enucleation of a focal islet cell adenomatous hyperplasia

During pancreatectomy for refractory neonatal hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia, a well-delineated focal adenomatous hyperplasia was enucleated. Intraoperative glucose levels returned to normal and pancreatectomy was averted. Seven months later the child is euglycemic. This experience suggests that during surgery for neonatal refractory hypoglycemia, a focal lesion should be sought, and if found, enucleated, and blood glucose monitored. If the glucose rises to euglycemic levels or above, the child should be monitored clinically. If sustained elevation is not maintained, a search for an additional focal lesion or pancreatectomy should be performed. Saving the pancreas may prevent future development of diabetes mellitus.
Probiotics for women's health.

Goals: The goals of this research were 2-fold: (1) to determine whether a commercially available probiotic mixture (VSL-3) could survive and grow in a continuous culture system simulating the vaginal environment and (2) to determine whether the probiotic mixture was capable of suppressing the growth of a known vaginal vault pathogen, Gurdnerella vaginalis. Background: An abnormal vaginal microflora, such as that associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an important health issue for women. In addition, the association of this condition with preterm labor and delivery suggests that control of BV may impact the number of preterm births. Interventional trials with antibiotics have received mixed reviews and other interventional options, including the use of probiotics, are being considered. Study: A well-documented continuous culture system has been used to determine whether VSL-3 can survive and grow in conditions simulating a vaginal environment. In addition, the ability of VSL-3 to inhibit the growth of a known vaginal vault pathogen, G. vaginalis, has been determined. Results: The probiotic mixture was shown to survive and maintain itself within the fermentation vessel of the continuous culture system over an extended period of time. This mixture, when challenged with a known pathogen, was also shown to suppress the growth of G. vaginalis. Conclusions: It may be feasible to use probiotics as interventional therapy to suppress the growth of pathogens within the vaginal vault associated with BV.
Comparison of the effects of pinacidil and its metabolite, pinacidil-N-oxide, in isolated smooth and cardiac muscle

The effects of pinacidil and its major metabolite, pinacidil-N-oxide, were compared in isolated smooth and cardiac muscle preparations. Wide variation occurred in the sensitivity of different smooth muscle preparations to the relaxant effect of pinacidil. Relaxant sensitivity of pinacidil was greatest in the one vascular preparation examined, the rat aorta, where the ED50 for pinacidil was approximately 0.5 μM. Pinacidil was equally potent in relaxing serotonin- or norepinephrine-contracted aortic preparations. Although pinacidil was also a smooth muscle relaxant in the guinea pig trachea, guinea pig ileum, rat vas deferens, and rat stomach funds, the ED50 ranged from 1--25 μM in these smooth muscle preparations. In the trachea, pinacidil was most effective in relaxing histamine-induced contractions as compared to contractions induced by carbamylcholine. Thus, bronchodilatory effects of pinacidil might be most apparent when bronchoconstriction is produced by allergic responses that result from histamine release. Pinacidil was least effective in quiescent rat uterine smooth muscle, where approximately 80% of the maximum contractile response to oxytocin was maintained in the presence of 10−4 M pinacidil. Although a direct cardiostimulatory effect of hydralazine has been postulated, no direct stimulatory effect on guinea pig cardiac rate or force occurred with pinacidil. Furthermore, an inhibitory effect on rate and force of atrial responses occurred only in higher doses of pinacidil. The major metabolite of pinacidil, pinacidil-N-oxide, also relaxed the rat aorta, although it was approximately eight- to tenfold less potent than pinacidil. These data are consistent with the contention that pinacidil-N-oxide would contribute to the antihypertensive activity seen after pinacidil only when plasma levels were approximately tenfold greater than the parent compound. Furthermore, because of the relative insensitivity of other smooth and cardiac.
Cystectomy and urinary diversion in patients eighty years old or older.

Abstract Cystectomy and urinary diversion for symptomatic bladder cancer unresponsive to conservative treatment were electively performed in 19 patients eighty years old or odder. The operative mortality was 5.3 per cent, and the one-year survival rate was 75 per cent. This major surgical procedure seems justifiable in regard to patient morbidity and mortality, if used in a select group of patients.
Delivery: The cultural re‐presentation of childbirth

(1991). Delivery: The cultural re‐presentation of childbirth. Prose Studies: Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 108-121.
Injury and repair of articular cartilage: Related scientific issues

Abstract Articular cartilage (AC) is the soft tissue lining the ends of bones in diarthrodial joints. It is responsible for providinglubrication and compressive stiffness to the joint during articulation while responding viscoelastically to mechanical loading. Injury of the tissue caused by trauma or disease can be devastating to joint function as these mechanisms fail. Because of this, it is essential to review the basic science underlying the mechanical roles AC plays while healthy, the biomechanical and biological perspectives of the injury and repair processes, and the current repair techniques available for injured AC. This is done in an effort to further our understanding of the healing capacity of AC and facilitate new efforts into AC repair.
Sensitivity of urban water resources in Phoenix, Tucson, and Sierra Vista, Arizona, to severe drought

Water scarcity is an ever-present fact of life in the arid and increasingly urbanized Southwest. Yet even with the considerable effort expended on drought-proofing urban areas through infrastructure and policy development, droughts of magnitudes found in the historical records of the past 100 yr continue to threaten the region's cities. Results of an analysis of the sensitivity of 3 urban areas in Arizona to selected drought scenarios suggest that severe droughts of 1, 5, and 10 yr dura- tion would severely stress existing water supply/demand budgets. The results of the analysis suggest that very considerable conservation efforts would be required to bring demand into balance with existing supply. This article reports on the results of analysis of the sensitivity of urban water systems in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas as well as in the Sierra Vista subwatershed, which includes the rapidly growing city of Sierra Vista and the adjacent Fort Huachuca Army Base.
Human embryonic stem cell (hES) derived dendritic cells are functionally normal and are susceptible to HIV-1 infection

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells hold considerable promise for cell replacement and gene therapies. Their remarkable properties of pluripotency, self-renewal, and tractability for genetic modification potentially allows for the production of sizeable quantities of therapeutic cells of the hematopoietic lineage. Dendritic cells (DC) arise from CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) and are important in many innate and adaptive immune functions. With respect to HIV-1 infection, DCs play an important role in the efficient capture and transfer of the virus to susceptible cells. With an aim of generating DCs from a renewable source for HIV-1 studies, here we evaluated the capacity of hES cell derived CD34+ cells to give rise to DCs which can support HIV-1 infection. Undifferentiated hES cells were cultured on S17 mouse bone marrow stromal cell layers to derive CD34+ HPCs which were subsequently grown in specific cytokine differentiation media to promote the development of DCs. The hES derived DCs (hES-DC) were subjected to phenotypic and functional analyses and compared with DCs derived from fetal liver CD34+ HPC (FL-DC). The mature hES-DCs displayed typical DC morphology consisting of veiled stellate cells. The hES-DCs also displayed characteristic phenotypic surface markers CD1a, HLA-DR, B7.1, B7.2, and DC-SIGN. The hES-DCs were found to be capable of antigen uptake and stimulating naive allogeneic CD4+ T cells in a mixed leukocyte reaction assay. Furthermore, the hES-DCs supported productive HIV-1 viral infection akin to standard DCs. Phenotypically normal and functionally competent DCs that support HIV-1 infection can be derived from hES cells. hES-DCs can now be exploited in applied immunology and HIV-1 infection studies. Using gene therapy approaches, it is now possible to generate HIV-1 resistant DCs from anti-HIV gene transduced hES-CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells.
FLUME STUDY OF RIPPLE PROPAGATION BEHIND MOUNDS ON FLAT SAND BEDS

Propagation of sediment ripples behind mounds of sediment in uniform flows of water over flat beds of fine sand was studied in a recirculating open channel. If the flow is strong enough, scour downstream of the mound, due to flow separation and impingement of strong eddies on the bed, generates a ripple, which itself grows large enough to cause downstream scour and production of a second ripple; the result is a widening train of ripples. Propagation vs. non-propagation, as a function of mound height and bed shear stress, is interpreted in terms of the tentative hypothesis that ripple development is governed by the relationship between minimum height of bed irregularity necessary to generate ripples on an otherwise flat bed and the maximum height of bed irregularity that can be built up by flow over an originally flat bed. Minimum mound height for propagation of ripples was found to be non-zero even when there was some sediment movement on the surrounding flat bed, but there was no sign of spontaneous development of ripples on the flat bed under these conditions; this suggests that there is a range of bed shear stresses for which a flat bed in uniform flow is metastable rather than unstable.
Immunity to viruses.

The analysis of the innate and adaptive immune response to viruses has provided fundamental insight into the functioning of the immune system. Early studies on the host response to virus infection were instrumental in establishing the concept of immunological tolerance (1). Similarly, the realization that T lymphocytes are ‘restricted’ in their recognition of antigens by gene products encoded within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus came from the analysis of T-lymphocyte recognition of virus-infected cells (2). Likewise, important initial insights into antigen processing and presentation came from the analysis of viruses and virus-infected cells (3, 4). Until recently, it was convenient to view immunity to infectious agents like viruses as a separate branch of immunology distinct from immunity to tumors, self-molecules (antigens), or allergens. As demonstrated in many of the articles in this volume of Immunological Reviews, the mechanisms underlying the induction and regulation of the innate and adaptive immune response to viruses represent the same processes controlling immunity to tumor antigens, allergens, and self-constituents. Thus, the results summarized in these review articles and the implications of these findings are applicable not only to those of us who study immunity to viruses but also to the immunology community at large. In selecting the topics for review in this volume of Immunological Reviews, we were first and foremost limited by space. Consequently, many important contributors to the field of viral immunology (indeed several topics) are not represented in this volume. Our selection of topics and authors was biased towards emerging areas, such as the application of systems biology approaches to viral pathogenesis and immunity, the contribution of inflammatory and stress responses to the induction of Innate and adaptive immune responses, and the impact of the microbiome on immunity to virus infection. We also considered it relevant to include reviews focused on well defined areas where recent findings have resulted in potential paradigm shifts in our understanding of topics such as B-lymphocyte or T-lymphocyte responses to virus infection. This volume of Immunological Reviews is also somewhat weighted towards analyses of the immune response to respiratory viruses. With the recent episodic infections with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronavirus and the outbreak of human infections with the avian influenza A H7N9 virus, respiratory viruses such as these organisms are recognized as major human pathogens with the potential for pandemic spread. Therefore, this class of viruses is a focus of immunological research. The reviews in this volume can be grouped according to the following scheme: (i) molecules and cells regulating the induction of the innate and adaptive response, (ii) expression of immune effector activity, (iii) regulation of the antiviral immune response, and (iv) systems analysis of the host response to infection and vaccination (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 Immunity to viruses
Understanding evacuation preferences and wildfire mitigations among Northwest Montana residents

There is currently insufficient information in the United States about residents’ planned evacuation actions during wildfire events, including any intent to remain at or near home during fire events. This is incompatible with growing evidence that select populations at risk from wildfire are considering alternatives to evacuation. This study explores the evacuation preferences of wildland–urban interface residents in Flathead County, Montana, USA. We compare the performance of wildfire mitigation and fuel reduction actions across groups of residents with different primary evacuation preferences. We also explore what factors (e.g. actions, demographics, attitudes towards government, risk perceptions) help explain residents’ preferences for evacuation. Results suggest that relatively high proportions of residents are interested in staying and defending their homes, with smaller proportions favouring evacuation or passively sheltering in their homes during wildfire. Vegetation management behaviour differs significantly among residents with different evacuation preferences, including significantly higher rates of forest thinning among those intending to remain at home and actively defend their residence. Other results suggest that sex, part-time residency, income and attitudes towards loss from fire are statistically associated with differences in evacuation preferences.
Some effects of auditory grouping factors on modulation detection interference (MDI)

The ability to detect the existence of amplitude modulation at a target frequency is reduced when amplitude modulation exists at a flanking frequency. This effect has been termed modulation detection interference (MDI) [Yost and Sheft, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 85, 848–857 (1989)]. One explanation for MDI holds that the masking and target frequencies are grouped together by the auditory system such that it is difficult to analyze the modulation at each frequency separately. The present study investigated conditions where the asynchrony of temporal gating of the target and flanking frequencies was manipulated in order to make the frequencies more or less likely to be grouped together by the auditory system and perceived as originating from a single putative source. A second experimental manipulation attempted to perceptually segregate the masking and target frequencies on the basis of harmonicity or spectral proximity. The results of the experiments indicated that manipulations that were intended to enhance the ...
Characterization of Nd0.6Sr0.4Co1−yFeyO3−δ (0 ≤ y ≤ 0.5) cathode materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract The crystal chemistry, electrical conductivity, thermal expansion behavior, chemical compatibility, and electrochemical performance of perovskite Nd0.6Sr0.4Co1−yFeyO3−δ (0 ≤ y ≤ 0.5) oxides as cathode materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells have been investigated. The samples crystallize in an orthorhombic structure, and the lattice parameters and cell volume increase with increasing Fe content y. The degree of oxygen loss on heating to higher temperatures and the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) decrease with increasing y due to a stronger Fe–O bond. The electrical conductivity decreases with y, and the system exhibits a metal to semiconductor transition at around y = 0.2. The electrocatalytic activity and power density measured with single cells decrease with increasing y due to a decrease in electrical conductivity and oxide ion vacancy concentration.
Routes of Administration and Dose Optimization of Soluble Antigen Arrays in Mice with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Soluble antigen arrays (SAgAs) were developed for treating mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. SAgAs are composed of hyaluronan with grafted EAE antigen and LABL peptide (a ligand of ICAM-1). SAgA dose was tested by varying injection volume, SAgA concentration, and administration schedule. Routes of administration were explored to determine the efficacy of SAgAs when injected intramuscularly, subcutaneously, intraperitoneally, intravenously, or instilled into lungs. Injections proximal to the central nervous system (CNS) were compared with distal injection sites. Intravenous dosing was included to determine if SAgA efficiency results from systemic exposure. Pulmonary instillation (p.i.) was included as reports suggest T cells are licensed in the lungs before moving to the CNS. Decreasing the volume of injection or SAgA dose reduced treatment efficacy. Treating mice with a single injection on day 4, 7, and 10 also reduced efficacy compared with injecting on all three days. Surprisingly, changing the injection site did not lead to a significant difference in efficacy. Intravenous administration showed efficacy similar to other routes, suggesting SAgAs act systemically. When SAgAs were delivered via p.i., however, EAE mice failed to develop any symptoms, suggesting a unique lung mechanism to ameliorate EAE in mice.
HEUVAC: A new high resolution solar EUV proxy model

Abstract This paper presents a new high-resolution version of the solar EUV irradiance model for aeronomic calculations (HEUVAC) that is designed to facilitate comparisons with measured spectra and enable more accurate calculations of ionization rates, airglow emission rates, and photoelectron calculations. The HEUVAC model bins can range from 0.1 to 100 nm and extends the EUV model below 5 nm. The new solar EUV irradiance calculations with the high resolution irradiance model show good agreement with the most recent solar EUV irradiance measurements from the solar EUV experiment (SEE) instrument on the thermosphere, ionosphere, mesosphere, energetics, and dynamics satellite. Also, photoelectron fluxes calculated from both the SEE measured and EUVAC modeled solar EUV irradiances agree well with photoelectron flux measurements by the FAST satellite. The good agreement of the EUVAC and SEE derived photoelectron fluxes with the FAST measured fluxes at solar maximum lends support to an earlier finding that the previous reference solar EUV irradiances from the Atmosphere Explorer measurements need to be adjusted upward by a factor of 2–3 below 25 nm wavelength. This result is important for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere because, as this paper shows, the airglow emission rates calculated using the SEE and HEUVAC models are 50% higher than those based on earlier solar EUV irradiance models. The calculations also show that for solar maximum conditions on 21 April 2002, most of the degradation of the escaping photoelectron flux takes place below 1000 km altitude.
Hyperthermal (1-10 eV) cobalt deposition on Si(100)

Abstract Cobalt atoms with enhanced kinetic energy (1–10 eV) are deposited on room temperature Si(100) and compared to thermal energy cobalt atom deposition. Growth is monitored with Auger electron spectroscopy and low-energy electron diffraction. At low cobalt coverages, 2 monolayers (ML), thermal deposition measurements agree with previous work where uptake at surface sites occurs up to ≈ 0.5 ML, followed by filling subsurface sites. Auger data suggest that hyperthermal deposition occurs by direct subsurface adsorption.
The relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction

Develops and implements a method for hotels to identify attributes that will increase customer loyalty. Other hotels can replicate the methodology used in this study. The study makes the uses of the hotel’s database to draw samples for both focus groups and a mail survey. Based on 564 completed surveys from hotel guests, the authors found the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was non‐linear. The authors use the data to develop internal benchmarks for the hotel based on scores that were representative of loyal customers. The study makes use of the hotel’s database to draw samples for both focus groups and a mail survey.
Millimeter wave narrowband optical fiber links using external cavity semiconductor lasers

We present the theoretical analysis and the experimental implementation of a narrowband millimeter wave optical fiber communication system using an external cavity semiconductor laser. We derive analytic expressions and present experimental data for the modulation response, relative intensity noise, carrier-to-noise ratio, and harmonic distortion for a semiconductor laser in an external cavity operating as a transmitter in the millimeter wave frequency range. We present a system implementation of this capable of transmitting 40-Mbt/s digital data at a 35-GHz subcarrier frequency with bit-error rates below 10/sup /spl minus/9/ over a 6.3-km-long optical fiber link. >
Vibration and Wave Propagation Control of Plates with Periodic Arrays of Shunted Piezoelectric Patches

Periodic arrays of shunted, piezoelectric patches are employed to control waves propagating over the surface of plate structures, and corresponding vibrations. The shunted, piezoelectric patches act as sources of impedance mismatch, which gives rise to interference phenomena resulting from the interaction between incident, reflected and transmitted waves. Periodically distributed mismatch zones, i.e., the piezo patches, produce frequency dependent, wave-dynamic characteristics, which include the generation of band gaps, or stop bands in the frequency domain. The extent of induced band gaps depends on the mismatch in impedance generated by each patch. The total impedance mismatch, in turn, is determined by the added mass and stiffness of each patch as well as the shunting electrical impedance. Proper selection of the shunting electric-circuit thus provides control over the attenuation capabilities of the piezo-plate structure, as well as the ability to adapt to changing excitation conditions. Control of wave-propagation attenuation and vibration reduction for plates with periodic, shunted, piezoelectric patches is demonstrated numerically, employing finite-element models of the considered structures.
Textured Liquids based on the Marker Level Set

In this work we propose a new Eulerian method for handling the dynamics of a liquid and its surface attributes (for example its color). Our approach is based on a new method for interface advection that we term the Marker Level Set (MLS). The MLS method uses surface markers and a level set for tracking the surface of the liquid, yielding more efficient and accurate results than popular methods like the Particle Level Set method (PLS). Another novelty is that the surface markers allow the MLS to handle non-diffusively surface texture advection, a rare capability in the realm of Eulerian simulation of liquids. We present several simulations of the dynamical evolution of liquids and their surface textures.
MECHANISTICS OF AMOEBOID LOCOMOTION: SIGNAL TO FORCES

Dictyostelium serves as an ideal model system for studying the molecular and structural properties of the actomyosin and microtubule systems. This organism also has been the vehicle on which the gene-targeting technique was pioneered. Dictyostelium also represents a small number of organisms whose chemotactic ligand-receptor mechanism has been well characterized. This article reviews recent advances in studies of the actin-based cytoskeletal system in Dictyostelium, focusing on the mechanistic aspects of the amoeboid motion. Special emphasis is placed on the recently identified cell-substrate-anchoring structures ‘eupodia’, and the measurement of single-cell migration forces. The recent advances in signal transduction cascade is also discussed with relevance to the mechanistics in amoeboid locomotion.
The Contribution of the Family to the Facilitation of Identity Formation in Early Adolescence

This paper explores the family's role in the facilitation of identity formation in early adolescence. First, studies that focus on the family's style of adapting to the transition from childhood into early adolescence are reviewed. Second, research on the relation between identity formation and family processes in late adolescence is reviewed in order to suggest directions for future research with early adolescents. Finally, three issues warranting further investigation are outlined: gender differences, domain-specific studies of identity, and longitudinal studies of developmental sequences of identity formation.
Demographic Modeling of the Geography of Migration and Population: A Multiregional Perspective

This article focuses on the development and evolution of migration and population redistribution modeling within the spatial context of multiregional demography. It begins in 1965, when the state-of-the-art consisted largely of ideas and techniques imported from other disciplines (regression analysis, gravity models, Markov chains, and matrix cohort-survival population projection models) and then continues on to tell the story of multiregional demography, its evolution and emergence as a fully developed paradigm for studying the spatial dynamics of migration and population redistribution and, more recently, its approach for estimating the necessary migration input measures from inadequate data.
Computational prediction of candidate miRNAs and their targets from the completed Linum ussitatissimum genome and EST database

Flax is an important agronomic crop grown for its fiber (linen) and oil (linseed oil). In spite of many thousands of years of breeding some fiber varieties have been shown to rapidly respond to environmental stress with heritable changes to its genome. Many miRNAs appear to be induced by abiotic or biotic conditions experienced through the plant life cycle. Computational miRNA analysis of the flax genome provides a foundation for subsequent research on miRNA function in Linum usitatissimum and may also provide novel insight into any regulatory role the RNAi pathway may play in generating adaptive structural variation in response to environmental stress. Here a bioinformatics approach is used to screen for miRNAs previously identified in other plant species, as well as to predict putative miRNAs unique to a particular species which may not have been identified as they are less abundant or dependent upon a specific set of environmental conditions. Twelve miRNA genes were identified in flax on the basis of unique pre-miRNA positions with structural homology to plant pre-miRNAs and complete sequence homology to published plant miRNAs. These miRNAs were found to belong to 7 miRNA families, with an additional 2 matches corresponding to as yet unnamed poplar miRNAs and a parologous miRNA with partial sequence homology to mtr-miR4414b. An additional 649 novel and distinct flax miRNA genes were identified to form from canonical hairpin structures and to have putative targets among the ~30,000 flax Unigenes.
Microlayer coextrusion as a route to innovative blend structures

Nanolayer and microlayer coextrusion is a method for combining two or three polymers as hundreds or thousands of alternating layers with individual layers as thin as tens of nanometers. The possibility for utilizing microlayer coextrusion as a tool for creating microplatelets of high aspect ration was explored. Polypropylene (PP) was combined with polyamide-66 (PA66) in microlayers. A high volume fraction of PA66 microplatelets dispersed in PP was achieved by injection molding the microlayered materials at a temperature intermediate between the melting points of the two constituents. The difference in melting temperatures provided a broad processing window of about 60°C in which the PP layers melted to form the matrix whereas the PA66 layers remained in the solid state as dispersed microplatelets of high aspect ration. The resulting material had significantly improved oxygen barrier properties. An enhancement of 4–5 times over the barrier of the conventional melt blend resulted from increased tortuosity of the diffusion pathway.
Sex-Specific Deployment of FGF Signaling in Drosophila Recruits Mesodermal Cells into the Male Genital Imaginal Disc

A central issue in developmental biology is how the deployment of generic signaling proteins produces diverse specific outcomes. We show that Drosophila FGF is used, only in males, to recruit mesodermal cells expressing its receptor to become part of the genital imaginal disc. Male-specific deployment of FGF signaling is controlled by the sex determination regulatory gene doublesex. The recruited mesodermal cells become epithelial and differentiate into parts of the internal genitalia. Our results provide exceptions to two basic tenets of imaginal disc biology-that imaginal disc cells are derived from the embryonic ectoderm and belong to either an anterior or posterior compartment. The recruited mesodermal cells migrate into the disc late in development and are neither anterior nor posterior.
Creating the Teaching Professor: Guiding Graduate Students to Become Effective Teachers

This paper describes the practices and outcomes of a pilot graduate student seminar on teaching and learning within the History Department at the University of Texas at El Paso. It documents results by considering the careers of three accomplished PhD students, who learned classroom techniques over different periods of time through personal inquiry, formal training, and by teaching at different levels. Their progress in the History Teaching and Learning Seminar is measured against the documented experiences of thirty other graduate students in three different iterations of the teaching and learning seminar from 2001 to 2004.
The molecular effects of processing on the peanut allergens

The molecular effects of processing on the peanut allergens S. J. Maleki, T. Charles, C.C. Grimm, H. Cheng, B.K. Hurlburt Food Allergy Research, USDA, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124, Fax: 504-286-4430, soheila.maleki@ars.usda.gov Food allergy is on the rise and the prevalence of peanut allergy has more than tripled in the U.S. in the last 20 years. Meanwhile, little is known about why certain proteins in foods are allergenic and others are not. Some classic characteristics associated with food allergens are resistance to enzymatic digestion and heat, stimulation of Th2 cell proliferation, IgE binding and, some times, enzymatic function. However, at the molecular level, not much is known about what happens to the allergenicity of food products after processing. We have shown that thermally processed peanut proteins can form higher order structures (oligomers), are less soluble, more resistant to digestive enzymes, and bind higher levels of IgE than raw peanut proteins. We also show that in a majority of patients, roasted peanuts resulted in a higher skin prick test (SPT) reactivity. To determine if processing-induced structural changes in allergens contribute to an increase in IgE binding by roasted peanuts, the major allergens were purified from raw (R),and roasted (Ro) peanuts and the structure and IgE binding to each allergen was compared. While the structure of the allergens purified following roasting did not show significant changes compared to the raw, the IgE binding and SPT to the roasted samples peanuts were higher. Although allergen structure was found to be more important than linear sequence, it is highly likely that the chemical modifications incurred by roasting are more important for enhanced IgE binding and immunogenicity than roasting-induced structural changes of the major peanut allergens. Therefore mass spectroscopic analysis was utilized to identify specific processing-induced chemical modifications of the peanut allergens that may contribute to the observed effects. Understanding the effects of processing at the molecular level and determining the differences in IgE binding to various processed forms of foods may be useful in the development of more specific and improved diagnostic, therapeutic and detection tools and potentially lead to development of processes that can result in reduced allergenicity of a food.
Effective Role Resolution in Workflow Management

Workflow systems provide the key technology to enable business-process automation. One important function of workflow management is role resolution, i.e., the mechanism of assigning tasks to individual workers at runtime according to the role qualification defined in the workflow model. Role-resolution decisions directly affect the productivity of workers in an organization, and consequently affect corporate profitability. Therefore it is important to develop effective policies governing these decisions. However, there has not been a formal treatment of role-resolution policies in the literature. In this paper, we analyze role-resolution policies used in current workflow practice and propose new optimization-based policies that utilize online batching. Through a computational study, we examine three workflow-performance measures including maximum flowtime, average workload, and workload variation under these policies in different business scenarios. These scenarios vary by overall system load, task-processing-time distribution, and the number of workers. Based on computational results, we obtain the following insights that can help guide the selection of role-resolution policies. (a) As the overall system load increases, the benefit of using batching-based online optimization policies becomes more significant. (b) Processing-time variation has a major impact on workflow performance, and higher variation favors optimization-based policies. (c) Online optimization has the potential to reduce average workload significantly, and to reduce workload variation significantly as well.
A Neural Network Analysis of Mortgage Choice

There exists today an unanswered question as to whether, and the degree to which, borrower characteristics impact the choice between fixed and adjustable rate mortgages. In this paper, we apply a neural network analysis to supply evidence that answers this question. We find evidence that the characteristics of a borrower's net worth, marital status and education level and whether a co-borrower is involved contribute in a significant way to the neural network's ability to determine mortgage choice. Further, we show how, because of the facility of neural networks in modeling intrasample differences, they achieve material and statistically significant accuracy gains over qualitative choice models in predicting whether a borrower will choose a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage.
An NAD(P)H oxidase regulates growth and transcription in melanoma cells.

Malignant melanoma cells spontaneously generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that promote constitutive activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Although antioxidants and i...
Free network measurement for adaptive virtualized distributed computing

An execution environment consisting of virtual machines (VMs) interconnected with a virtual overlay network can use the naturally occurring traffic of an existing, unmodified application running in the VMs to measure the underlying physical network. Based on these characterizations, and characterizations of the application's own communication topology, the execution environment can optimize the execution of the application using application-independent means such as VM migration and overlay topology changes. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of such free automatic network measurement by fusing the Wren passive monitoring and analysis system with Virtuoso's virtual networking system. We explain how Wren has been extended to support online analysis, and we explain how Virtuoso's adaptation algorithms have been enhanced to use Wren's physical network level information to choose VM-to-host mappings, overlay topology, and forwarding rules.
A facile method for patterning substrates with zinc oxide nanowires

Conventional growth of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) is typically carried out using vapor liquid solid (VLS) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. While these methods are effective, they often involve the use of specialty gasses and equipment. We have discovered that ZnO NWs grow spontaneously from zinc (Zn) films (thermally evaporated on silicon (Si) substrates) when the films are merely heated on a hot-plate in air at ambient pressures for 10 minutes. This process does not involve any metal catalysts, seed layers, specialty gasses or surface treatments in forming patterned regions (on silicon substrates) of NWs with typical diameters in the range of 20-50 nm and lengths of 2-3 µm.
Effects of Contraceptive Estrogen and Progestin on the Atherogenic Potential of Plasma LDLs in Cynomolgus Monkeys

This study was designed to determine the effect of oral contraceptive treatment (estrogen and progestin), alone or in combination, on LDL composition and atherogenic potential in cynomolgus monkeys fed an atherogenic diet. Groups (n = 8 each) of monkeys were untreated (control) or treated with ethinyl estradiol (EE), levonorgestrel (LNG); or triphasic oral contraceptive (EE+LNG) for 1.5 years before plasma LDLs were isolated for characterization. Total plasma cholesterol concentrations were unaffected by the treatments. LDL particle size (measured as LDL molecular weight, g/mumol) was significantly smaller, in the EE (4.61 +/- 0.09) and EE+LNG (4.43 +/- 0.09) treatment groups compared with the control (4.99 +/- 0.09) or LNG (5.29 +/- 0.17) groups and contained fewer molecules of free and esterified cholesterol. Both the EE and EE+LNG groups had significantly less cholesterol and apolipoprotein B distributed in the d = 1.015 to 1.025 g/mL subfraction and correspondingly more in the d = 1.025 to 1.035 g/mL subfraction of LDL compared with the control and LNG groups. The apolipoprotein E content (molecules/particle) of LDL was significantly less in the EE (0.35 +/- 0.1) and EE+LNG (0.28 +/- 0.1) groups compared with the control (0.86 +/- 0.2) and LNG (0.99 +/- 0.2) groups, and this trend was apparent in all three LDL subfractions. The atherogenic potential of LDL was tested using an in vitro binding assay to arterial proteoglycans. Twice as much LDL bound to arterial proteoglycans in the LNG group (11.3 +/- 1.8% of total LDL cholesterol in the incubation) compared with the control (6.4 +/- 1.9%), EE (5.5 +/- 1.5%), or EE+LNG (5.2 +/- 1.2%) groups. We conclude that EE and EE+LNG treatment alters the composition of LDL toward a less atherogenic particle that is smaller and more dense, contains less cholesterol and less apolipoprotein E, and is less reactive with arterial proteoglycans compared with LNG treatment. The inclusion of EE in the triphasic oral contraceptive treatment was sufficient to negate the potentially atherogenic effects of LNG on LDL composition.
Comparative Genomics RNAi Screen Identifies Eftud2 as a Novel Regulator of Innate Immunity

The extent of the innate immune response is regulated by many positively and negatively acting signaling proteins. This allows for proper activation of innate immunity to fight infection while ensuring that the response is limited to prevent unwanted complications. Thus mutations in innate immune regulators can lead to immune dysfunction or to inflammatory diseases such as arthritis or atherosclerosis. To identify novel innate immune regulators that could affect infectious or inflammatory disease, we have taken a comparative genomics RNAi screening approach in which we inhibit orthologous genes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and murine macrophages, expecting that genes with evolutionarily conserved function also will regulate innate immunity in humans. Here we report the results of an RNAi screen of approximately half of the C. elegans genome, which led to the identification of many candidate genes that regulate innate immunity in C. elegans and mouse macrophages. One of these novel conserved regulators of innate immunity is the mRNA splicing regulator Eftud2, which we show controls the alternate splicing of the MyD88 innate immunity signaling adaptor to modulate the extent of the innate immune response.
Depression, Healing, and Recovery From Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

• BACKGROUND Effects of postoperative depression on recovery from coronary artery bypass grafting have not been widely studied. • OBJECTIVES To evaluate emotional and physical recovery after bypass surgery and investigate associations between depressive symptoms and infections and impaired wound healing in patients with high and low levels of depressive symptoms. • METHODS A nonrandomized, comparative, longitudinal design was used to study 72 bypass surgery patients without serious noncardiac comorbidities who were available for follow-up after discharge. Patients completed questionnaires to assess depressive symptoms, emotional recovery, and physical recovery within 48 hours after extubation, at discharge from the hospital, and 6 weeks later and performed 6-minute walk tests at the last 2 times. Infections and impaired wound healing (as indicated by positive cultures, antibiotic treatment, or extra treatments, such as debridements or incisions and drainage) were identified by chart audit. • RESULTS At discharge, patients with higher depressive symptom scores (indicating more symptoms) reported poorer emotional recovery (P < .001) and poorer physical recovery (P = .007) and achieved shorter walking distances (P < .001) than did patients with lower scores (indicating fewer symptoms). Six weeks after discharge, emotional and physical recovery remained lower in patients with more depressive symptoms (P < .001). Infections and impaired wound healing were more common among patients with higher depressive symptom scores (46%) than among patients with lower scores (19%, P = .03). • CONCLUSIONS After bypass surgery, depressive symptoms are associated with infections, impaired wound healing, and poor emotional and physical recovery. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2005;14:316-324)
Emergence of inertial gyres in a two-layer quasigeostrophic ocean model

Abstract The emergence of Fofonoff-like flows over a wide range of dissipative parameter regimes is explored in a wind-driven two-layer quasigeostrophic model. Two regimes are found in which Fofonoff-like circulations emerge as a direct consequence of the baroclinic nature of the system, since the wind forcing used in these experiments has been shown to inhibit the formation of Fofonoff flows in the barotropic case. The first regime is one in which the magnitudes of the frictional coefficients (viscosity and bottom dissipation) are extremely small. The experiments clearly illustrate the transition of the numerical solution from a conventional wind-driven circulation to an inertial Fofonoff-like regime. The latter circulation first appears in the lower layer and then spreads throughout the water column via barotropization. The second regime, surprisingly, is obtained with very high bottom friction. This result indicates that entropy can be maximized independently in each layer, depending on the distributio...
On the number of steady states in a multiple futile cycle

The multisite phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle is a motif repeatedly used in cell signaling. This motif itself can generate a variety of dynamic behaviors like bistability and ultrasensitivity without direct positive feedbacks. In this paper, we study the number of positive steady states of a general multisite phosphorylation–dephosphorylation cycle, and how the number of positive steady states varies by changing the biological parameters. We show analytically that (1) for some parameter ranges, there are at least n + 1 (if n is even) or n (if n is odd) steady states; (2) there never are more than 2n − 1 steady states (in particular, this implies that for n = 2, including single levels of MAPK cascades, there are at most three steady states); (3) for parameters near the standard Michaelis–Menten quasi-steady state conditions, there are at most n + 1 steady states; and (4) for parameters far from the standard Michaelis–Menten quasi-steady state conditions, there is at most one steady state.
Frequency-domain photon migration measurements of normal and malignant tissue optical properties in a human subject

A 1-GHz multifrequency, multiwavelength frequency-domain photon migration instrument is used to measure quantitatively the optical absorption (mu(a)) and effective optical scattering (mu(s) ?) of normal and malignant tissues in a human subject. Large ellipsoidal (~10-cm major axis, ~6-cm minor axes) subcutaneous malignant lesions were compared with adjacent normal sites in the abdomen and back. Absorption coefficients recorded at 674, 811, 849, and 956 nm were used to calculate tissue hemoglobin concentration (oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and total), water concentration, hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and blood volume fraction in vivo. Our results show that the normal and the malignant tissues measured in the patient have clearly resolvable optical and physiological property differences that may be broadly useful in identifying and characterizing tumors.
When Deviant Behavior In The Workplace Gets Technical

Workplace deviant behavior typologies typically include absenteeism, theft, incivility and violence. Three recent case studies are reviewed that indicate computer sabotage should be added to these classifications.